Disclaimer: this is a shorter, slightly humorous chapter. it is setting up for what could be the biggest fight scene I have ever written.

-Three days later-

"The sealing of the Gobi is complete."

"Fuck me, that took a long time!" Exclaimed Hidan as he began stretching out.

"Shut up Hidan." Kakuzu growled. "You're an irritant."

"Look, Itachi, the married couple is arguing again." Joked Kisame. "At least Deidara and Sasori don't bitch at each other like that."

"At least Sasori-senpai talks, unlike the Prince of Darkness over there." Deidara snarked.

"Are you still mad that Itachi beat you without lifting a finger?" Questioned Kakuzu with a laugh. "Still too young to know better."

"At least my dick still works, you old bastard."

"Enough!" Commanded Pain, his silhouette flaring with power as everyone became silent. "The matter on whose dick works and whose does not, is not of any relevance. I've changed my mind. Deidara and Sasori will capture the three tails, Kakuzu and Hidan will capture the one tailed jinchuuriki and Kisame, I want him crippled, maimed, anything, as long as he lives. Itachi, you are to ensure that no one interferes."

-Arena, three days later-

Ino huffed as she waited for the proctors to speak. The team had been the first team to complete the second challenge, after being the first team to complete the first challenge as well.

With Hinata's Byakugan and Sakura's intelligence, Ino had been able to use her mind broadcast technique to transfer answers between themselves easily, and even though Shikamaru wrote the test himself, he hadn't gone to extraordinary lengths to hide the answers.

The second test had actually been challenging. They had to fend off other competitors while searching for one of six Kiri Jonin that were actively hiding, and they were allowed to fight back. Unfortunately, the one they ran into had to go to the hospital, muttering something that very closely sounded like 'Three Tsunades'.

Now the three students of Tsunade were standing among four other teams that had made it to the finals and two things had become clear to them. That there was going to be a preliminary, and that this group of Genin really was skilled, just like Tsunade had warned.

"Welcome to the Chunin exam stadium. Unfortunately, due to the fact that too many teams have passed, a preliminary will be enforced." Stated Ao from in front of them. "To remain an even battleground, one of three proctors will be officiating these one-on-one matches. Myself, Baki of the Wind Blade, or Naruto Uzumaki."

"This is bullshit! We beat the challenge, we should all be in the finals!" Shouted a random Genin in the back.

"First, the important people coming to these matches don't care if you earned your spot, only that you give them a good fight to watch." Stated Naruto. "As Ao said, this is a preliminary. You won't all make it to the finals."

"First fight will be Adori of Iwa vs Kano Setori of Mist. I will be judge." Stated Baki. "The fight ends when I say or when the other opponent is incapacitated."

-Border of Fire and Rice-

It has been a long time since Danzo had seen or spoken to his daughter. It has actually been just after Hashi Sarutobi's funeral, when she had asked to be place off the active roster and move away from the village, Hiruzen had allowed it, and when Konohamaru was old enough, he had moved back to the village.

Danzo now stood outside the door to the house he had built, well, that he had Tenzo build, and was about to knock when the door opened. Across from him was none other than Itachi Uchiha.

"Danzo." Stated Itachi as he narrowed his eyes.

"Itachi..." Replied Danzo, his posture unchanging.

"How's the eye?" Asked Itachi, looking at what he knew was Shisui's right eye.

"Fully functional. Yours?"

"In a crow."

"In a crow?"

"Correct."

"Fascinating."

"How is Naruto doing? I will be seeing him soon."

"He is outstanding. He might stand a chance against you."

"He will be fighting kisame."

"Naruto will kill him."

"I believe so as well."

"How was your check up?"

"Don't know, too busy staring at her ass."

"Your an ass man?"

"General pervert."

"Same here."

"Good day Danzo. I'll say hello to Naruto for you."

"You as well, Itachi."

"How are you doing Danzo-Sama?" Kono asked from within the house, her voice tense.

Danzo waited a moment, allowing Itachi to get far enough away before moving into the house. "Kono dear, I am still your father, you don't need to be so formal."

Kono's eyes lit up as she lunged and latched on to Danzo. "Daddy!"

Danzo allowed a smile to grace his lips as he embraced his daughter, patting and rubbing her back as she tried her best to squeeze the life out of him. "How has it been these last two years?"

Kono broke the embrace and led Danzo to the kitchen. "I've been fine. I miss my son and I miss Hashi. Tsunade keeps me company sometimes when she passes though, and Itachi is always pleasant during his checkups, even though the little brat always looks at my ass when he thinks I'm not looking."

"He said as much." Humored Danzo before pulling out a scroll. "Konohamaru is no longer in a marriage contract with the Hyuuga."

"What?" Demanded Kono. "What happened? Did those fucking Hyuuga ruin this again?"

"No, quite the opposite." Stated Danzo as he unrolled the scroll, the girl definitely had her mother's temper. "This is an estate contract, signed by one Naruto Uzumaki, declaring him as the executor of my estate. Naruto is now a vassal of the Shimura clan, and he will be fulfilling the contract, as he is courting Hinata Hyuuga."

"Kushina's son and Hana's daughter? God that child will be terrifying." Laughed Kono. "Does this mean that I must come back to the village now?"

Danzo looked into his daughter's eyes and saw the conflict within them. "Until Itachi Uchiha is issued a clean bill of health, you must remain here. However, you need not return to the village until both I and Sarutobi are dead."

"Thank you father." Smiled Kono as she poured some tea. "I'd like to visit with my son though."

"I shall have Naruto bring him out when he gets back from Kiri." Stated Danzo. "But we have other things to discuss. With Naruto being the executor of the estate, he will inherit IT when I die. He has been instructed to place it somewhere safe until Konohamaru can use it. Along with IT, he will be the one to gain the other Shimura clan treasures. He has been instructed to place it into an account that only you and Konohamaru can access."

"That's fine father, I have plenty of money, and Konohamaru will always be a Sarutobi." Stated Kono. "But there is something you should know."

"Before we get to whatever it is you are going to tell me, I must know. Do you have absolute control over the your mother's bloodline?"

-Chunin exams-

Hinata was bored. There were only two matches left, and Sakura and Ino had won easily. Sakura could hit just as hard as Tsunade and Ino was no slouch herself.

Now Hinata was simply waiting to see which of the two remaining Iwa ninja would be her opponent. Unlike her first exam, Hinata had no butterflies. Her time on Squad One had made her a cold and ruthless fighter, with her time under Tsunade only furthering her skills and Brutal Fist style.

"Alright, since we have an odd number of ninja left, the last match will be a three way free-for-all. Would Hinata Hyuuga of the leaf, Dozu Ishiwa of Iwa and Raizu Ishiwa of Iwa please make their way to the ring."

Hinata began to feel a bit of excitement as she made her way down to the ring, Ino and Sakura wishing her luck. 'The Ishiwa clan is said to hold the Iron Body jutsu, making them extremely good in taijutsu and impervious to the Gentle Fist.'

By the time Hinata had made it to the ring, an evil smirk was plastered on her face. 'Let's see how they stack up against my Brutal Fist.'

"How lucky! We get a Hyuuga. And not just any Hyuuga." Raizu crowed as he stretched his arms.

"We get the Namikaze bastards' whore." Dozu sneered, but instantly regretted it when he felt several sources of killing intent focus on him.

"I was going to make this easy on you two." Stated Hinata, her Byakugan activating and chakra flaring from the ends of her fingers. "But I think I won't."

"Ha, good one. We all saw your teammates matches." Stated Dozu.

"It's obvious they carried the team. You're just a spoiled, pampered heiress." Stated Raizu.

"Weak, like paper mâché."

"Or radish."

"Enough banter." Stated Baki. "Final match of the Chunin preliminaries, Begin!"

Hinata's eyes saw both Iwa Genin force chakra into thick layers below their skin. 'I wonder if Naruto could do that with his- No, focus Hinata!'

Dozu and Raizu charged, confident grins on their faces as Dozu launched a punch at Hinata's head. Hinata ducked, letting the punch sail over while spinning out of the way of a kick sent at her torso. She grabbed Dozu's ankles and used her momentum to bring him completely around, smashing his head into Raizu's hip, causing Raizu to go flying while Dozu screamed in pain. Hinata lifted Dozu high and smashed him into the ground, his back and neck bouncing of the ground as he continued to scream in pain. As Raizu charged, Hinata spun, whipping the screaming Iwa nin into his clanmate.

Raizu caught Dozu and set him down. "Dozu, what the hell is wrong!"

"My-my ankles." He strained out. The crowd gasped as they collectively zeroed in on the ninja, only to see both ankles absolutely shattered.

"Impossible..." Muttered Raizu. He looked up in a fury, his eyes meeting the cold eyes of the Byakugan. "Impossible! The Iron Body Jutsu wouldn't allow that kind of damage!"

"I'm surprised that you believe that one jutsu would make you invulnerable." Stated Hinata. "You channel chakra in that technique, am I correct? You channel it to your skin, bones and ligaments. That's the reason the normal Gentle Fist doesn't affect you."

"That's it, I'm going to kill you!" Raizu shouted as he sprinted at Hinata, kunai in hand.

It was over in a millisecond. One strike to the shoulder led to the first explosion of pain as the ball and socked were torn apart by the vicious blast of chakra that separated the joint. Next was a strike to the diaphragm, paralyzingly his lungs. As he dropped to his knees, trying desperately to breathe, Hinata placed her palm against his forehead. "Yield, or you never leave this place."

The Iwa ninja nodded as he started to black out.

"Winner, Hinata hyuuga." Baki declared.

Everyone tensed as Hinata reached down and grabbed the boy's chest, only for the boy to gasp in air. Hinata's hand moved to his shoulder, a green aura surrounding the area as loud pops and cracks sounded, though the look of pain was fading from Raizu's face.

When Hinata got done, she stood and made her way back to her teammates.

"The preliminaries are complete. You will not be told who you are fighting in the finals." Stated Ao. "You may all leave now. The finals will be in one months time."

"Jezz Hinata. That was brutal." Laughed Ino.

"They deserved it." Stated Sakura. "Could you imagine if Naruto got to them?"

"Wish I had a boyfriend like yours Hinata. He's so nice and powerful." Stated Ino before pausing. "Think we could share him?"

"Ino, knock it off." Muttered Sakura. "I don't think Hinata wants to share him."

"It's ok Sakura, but you are right. I don't want to share him." Stated Hinata.

"Which is good, 'cause I don't want to share you." Stated Naruto as he snaked his arms under hers and kissed her neck lightly.

"Hey, Naruto, why don't we get to know our first opponents this time?" Sakura asked, far too use to seeing her friend with her current teammate.

"Mei-Sama wanted it to reflect a real mission. That's why she's not announcing the match ups until two weeks before the exams." Stated Naruto, still embracing Hinata. "Now if you'll excuse me, I only get six hours with Hinata before you all head back to Konoha, and I'm going to enjoy every second of it."

In a blur of speed, Naruto was gone, a small eep from Hinata was all that remained.

Ino once again sighed. "I wonder how big he is." A snort from Sakura was her reply.

-Next day, Chunin exam stadium-

Seven teams of four stood in the bowl of the stadium.

The competing villages were Konoha, Iwa, Kiri, Kumo, Suna, Ame, and Taki.

Naruto looked around, he already knew about the Kumo team, Gaara had informed him that the Suna team was instructed to stay away from Naruto and his team. The Ame team looks familiar, but he knew about one ninja. Aoi , the man that had tricked Ibiki's younger brother into stealing the Raijin.

Naruto would be sure to retrieve it. The murderous look Ibiki was giving the man didn't help.

The Taki team was non-descript, all wore the standard Taki uniform. Same for Kiri, though Naruto noticed that Goma was actually competing. He really hoped that the Kiri nin wouldn't do anything stupid .

Finally was the Iwa team. Kurotsuchi stood proud as she glared daggers into Naruto. The other ninja in her team, he didn't recognize.

"What did you do to piss her off Naruto?" Questioned Iruka as he sized up the competition. Iruka was unnerved by the people around him. Even though he was a Jonin in strength, when you factored in his barrier jutsu and his echolocation abilities, he was still just a Chunin. He was incredibly thankful to be teamed with three incredibly powerful and deadly fighters, even if two of them had been his students.

"Long story Iruka sensei." Stated Naruto.

"Everyone, thank you for coming." Stated Mei as she walked to the center of the makeshift circle. "Welcome to the opening stage of the Kiri Jonin exams. In this stage, you will be competing against other teams to gain control of a certain item. There are five of these items, and only five teams can pass the first round. After that it will be a team on team fight to see which two teams will be heading to the final round, with the quickest team to complete this challenge getting a free pass to the finals, which will take place after the conclusion of the Chunin exams. From there, six ninja total will be selected to go to the finals. Two ninja get byes,Three matches, winner take all."

"Two from each remaining team?" Questioned Aoi.

"Any six ninja. It will be a ninja exclusive vote from each of the competing villages." Clarified Mei. "Any more questions?"

After no response, Mei continued. "Here are the ground rules. This will be as close to a mission as possible. Fighting is allowed at all points of all rounds and stages. Killing is allowed, but unlike the Chunin exams, repercussions can accrue after death. There is to be no outside interference. Any outside interference, can and at least in my case, will be determined as an act of war."

"Bullshit!" Shouted a Taki nin, eying up the Kumo team.

"Shut up weakling. The last good ninja from your village was Kakuzu." Stated Aoi.

"That's enough!" Demanded Mei. "I'll kill you both myself if you don't stop this squabbling. This the the Jonin exams, if you can't behave then go back to your village."

When no one spoke again, She continued. "Good. Now, does anyone have any real questions?"

'I'm surprised no males asked for sexual favors. that woman is rather delicious...'

'Not now fox...'

-Timeskip, 2 days-

Naruto and his team had just retrieved the item, which strangely enough, was a lone chopstick, and were headed back to the stadium. But something wasn't right. Yes, they had purposely gone for the most remote item, but they hadn't seen another team since the start of the mission.

"Iruka, can you find anyone?" Questioned Ibiki from his spot next to Iruka, behind Naruto and Shino.

"Unfortunately, I just began to feel two large chakra signatures. The closer they get, the bigger they are, and they are coming right for us." Stated Iruka.

"Akatsuki." Stated Naruto as he slowed down. "Shino, take Iruka sensei and Ibiki and get around the back of them. They want me, so I'll hold them off until you can surround them."

"Naruto, that's insane!"

"Hai, taicho." Stated Shino, interrupting Iruka and motioning the two to follow him.

A few moments later, Naruto was alone in the mist, waiting for them to show. He closed his eyes and began slowly filtering Kurama's chakra through his coils.

As he opened his eyes, he saw none other than Kisame Hoshigaki, the monster of the mist, standing across from him.

"Where's your partner?" Questioned Naruto as he looked over the man, Samehada quivering on his back, mostly from the bloodlust and chakra in the air.

"Itachi intercepted your friends. He's going to keep them and anyone else from interfering." Grinned Kisame with sharp teeth. "Leader-Sama has ensured that there is nothing to stop me from maiming you."

A flare of chakra from Kisame was all Naruto needed to know that this wasn't the kind of fight that simply ended when someone lost. No, if Kisame beat him, not even Itachi could save him. And beating Kisame didn't solve anything. Naruto needed to kill the monster of the mist, and fast.

Naruto allowed Kurama's chakra to explode from him, his body outlined in golden chakra as the ground around him began to crack and fatigue. Kubikiribocho drawn from his back as the sword began to faintly glow a blueish white as Naruto keyed in on Kisame. "I see. One of us will die because of this fight."

"It's going to be you kid, no one can fight a Jinchuuriki as evenly or effectively as I can."Kisame laughed, drew Samehada, and with a quick flick of his wrist, ripped the sentient blade from its bandaged coating. "Let's see if your a better ninja, or a better Jinchuuriki."

The mist enveloped them more and more, cutting down on visibility as their eyes never lost contact.

They both knew, the world would speak of this fight in awe and fear.

This battle would be legendary.

(Like I said, a shorter chapter. But I need something from all of you... Should Samui have a bigger role in the story? I was leaning toward having her be a sister figure for naruto, but my lady friend says that samui and hinata balance each other out well in this story. What do you all think?)