Uhh, are you sure this is alright Gaara-sama? O-Oh okay, umm, Digi-san doesn't own Naruto... um how was that?


Sage

"Whatever your advice, make it brief." - Horace


The cheers of the thousands of people crowded into the stadium were nearly deafening as the competitors for the Chuunin Exams walked into the arena. People from all across the Elemental Nations, cheering as one for the next generation of Shinobi. Many of the teenagers down there now could quite well become the next Sannin, or even Kage; the great part was that nobody knew. They had all come for one thing, to see some exciting fights and cheer on their respective Chuunin hopefuls. Although a good majority were also cheering for the people they had made bets on.

They were there from all walks of life; high class nobles, farmers that had scraped together the ryo, civilian and Shinobi alike. There were so many people there that it was understandable that the three people sitting up on the roof of the stadium went completely unnoticed. It did help that they were completely invisible to the naked eye thanks to a strategic use of the Boidogakure no Jutsu and were crouched over in a way that would make any Byakugan user simply believe they were Shinobi that had decided to take a seat high up. Although a few ANBU had passed by, giving the spot a second glance as they swore they heard the sounds of eating.

"You know, eating dango like that isn't very discreet." Naruto's voice was a whisper so he didn't alert the very attentive guards that were no doubt highly strung due to all the extra security Konoha would have to put in place during the exams. When the fights themselves actually began they would be somewhat distracted but until then subtlety was key; although Fuu didn't seem to get that message. She happily ate her invisible dango, unconcerned by the slight noise she made; if anything gave them away it would more likely be the smell.

As if to exemplify that very point a kunoichi with vibrant purple hair done up in a spiky ponytail suddenly appeared on the roof in a rather over the top Shunshin that had far too many leaves than were necessary. She was looking around in confusion, occasionally taking a sniff of the air and glancing in their direction. At one point it seemed she was actually about to come over but an ANBU appeared shortly after and politely asked her to leave the restricted area. A collective sigh of relief passed between the three kids; being found in a Shinobi village using a Jutsu obviously designed for stealth was not generally a good thing.

"Okay, I think that's enough dango for you." Fuu's shout in indignation as Naruto quickly tossed the food off the side of the arena wall was quickly muffled as Haku placed a hand over her mouth. The ice-wielder suddenly felt incredibly lucky that he couldn't see the withering look that he could practically feel Fuu giving him. Below them came a shout of surprise followed by an even louder cry of indignation as the dango landed on some poor unassuming spectator.

"I thought you said that the Jutsu hid smells as well." Fuu spoke in a hushed but still very agitated tone as she glared at where she thought Naruto was sitting. The invisible blonde simply shrugged, although he quickly realised that such an action was pointless when nobody could see it.

"It should; I mean it did in Kumogakure." Haku perked up at that; he had been incredibly intrigued when Naruto had shown him the Jutsu and told him it required excellent Chakra control. However unlike Naruto, Haku could not keep it up indefinitely without the Preta Path's abilities; although short stints shouldn't have been impossible. They hadn't yet told him the story of how Naruto came up with it, or even why a monk would need a technique like that.

"Kumogakure?" Naruto just patted him on the shoulder as another ANBU raced past, the signal for them to be quiet until he left.

"Long story, we'll tell you some other time." Haku just nodded conceding, humming his acknowledgment considering Naruto couldn't see him, or at least could only see his Chakra. It didn't seem to matter though as there was another approving roar from the assembled crowds below them; it seemed the trio had missed something as only two Shinobi remained in the arena along with the proctor; a lazy-looking, man chewing on a senbon.

"That isn't very good for the senbon." Fuu just nudged Haku and shushed him, even as the dark-haired boy was frowning over the treatment of his favourite weapon. A hush descended over the crowd as a Hokage stood up, to his left sat the Kazekage, his identity given away by the wide-brimmed hat bearing the symbol of his nation. To his right, slightly further away than the Kazekage, was Oonoki, the Third Tsuchikage. There had been quite a stir when news that an Iwa Shinobi had passed to the last stage of the Chuunin Exams in Konoha; nobody had expected the Tsuchikage to come. Finally on the other side of the Tsuchikage was a man Naruto was all too familiar with, the enormous form of the Raikage himself.

"The refraction is probably weaker considering how wide I've had to make the field." Although Naruto had to admit that when he wasn't holding the layer of Chakra around his body like a skin-tight suit it made it easier to control its shape. Then again that was offset by how difficult it was to simply hold it at that distance, it was taking nearly all his concentration to keep the three invisible; he could barely focus on the matches.

"Shush." Again Fuu quietened the two boys as the Hokage stood up, clearing his throat loud enough for the entire stadium to hear him, no doubt using Chakra to amplify his voice. Naruto smiled gently as he listened to a voice he hadn't heard in years; he had genuinely missed his Jiji. Even if he couldn't have the life he had wanted, the friends he had wanted; the Hokage had always at least done what he thought was right for Naruto. He may not have always been there but that was certainly more than anybody else besides the Ichiraku family could profess to have done for him. In his reminiscence Naruto actually missed what the Sandaime had said in his speech and before he knew it two of the Genin were out at the centre of the arena, eying one another up.

"A Hyuuga, this should be interesting." Fuu's voice didn't really express that interest, devolving into her usual toneless drawl but if Naruto could see her he would have noticed that slight analytical glint enter her eyes. During the Kiri civil war she hadn't exactly made friends with many of the rebels but she had garnered an appreciation for sparring against bloodline-users. Their unique and often unpredictable abilities really fed that part of her that yearned to learn more and considering her early life it was unsurprising she had a healthy curiosity regarding fighting styles. The Hyuuga after all were well known for their distinctive and effective Taijutsu style as well as their Doujutsu.

"They possess the Byakugan correct?" Fuu made a slight humming noise to acknowledge Haku but Naruto could tell she hadn't even looked around. The Hyuuga looked like Naruto remembered the clan to be, a haughty and stiff posture, long brown hair, traditional clothing and the memorable pale white eyes. His opponent was less recognisable with his short greasy black hair and deep maroon eyes, his forehead protector loudly and clearly marking him as an Iwagakure Shinobi. However the Konoha Genin didn't seem interested in that, he seemed to alternate between shooting scathing glares at the single Kumo-nin that had made it to the final round and sneering at his opponent.

"You should just give up Iwagakure Shinobi, fate has already declared me the winner here." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the Genin's tone; it was one thing to be confident about one's abilities, it was another thing entirely to speak in absolutes like that.

"He is rather arrogant isn't he?" Naruto couldn't help but agree with Haku on that one and the Iwa Genin seemed to mirror their opinions.

"Screw you tree-hugger, I don't care that you come from some fancy ass clan or whatever, I scrapped my way here from the streets and you're just another obstacle in my way." The young boy settled back into a rather rigid stance as a cocky smirk settled on his face. Neji didn't look all that impressed with the boy's bravado though and simply settled for leaning back into the distinctive first stance of the Juuken. A faint smile crept onto Naruto's face at the stance as a fond memory passed through his mind.


"What do you want?" A tall man with an overly rigid posture stood frozen, mid-step in a stance that was a part of a dance-like movement as beautiful as it was deadly when executed against a real opponent. Nearby a young blonde boy with his eyes squinted in a horrendous impersonation of the Fire Temple's head monk sat, stars in his hidden eyes as he peered up at the taller man looking down contemptuously at him.

"Your Taijutsu style is really cool." The man's already upturned face managed to twist into a look of even greater indignation as he gracefully slipped out of the low stance he had maintained rigidly.

"This is no mere Taijutsu style boy; it is the Juuken, the personal style of the Hyuuga clan and it is by no means...'cool'." His voice carried the contempt he felt rather well but Naruto simply quirked his head to one side in confusion, the name struck at a memory of his. Looking up he felt a wave of familiarity overcome him as he noticed the man's pale eyes.

"Hey! Aren't they a clan from Konoha?" The man sneered again, looking around as if for an exit so he could leave the irritating child alone. "So why are you here at the temple? Did you have to leave like me?" Looking back at the small blonde the man noticed he was no longer imitating Chukaku, obviously too distracted to remember to narrow his eyes. It revealed the light purple, ringed eyes that had been talked about in legends for hundreds of years as just that; legends. Right now they gleamed with an innocent curiosity and something else; excitement.

"In a way." Naruto blinked in confusion; for a moment he thought he had found somebody he could relate to, being forced to leave their homes despite not wanting to.

"Huh, what do you mean?" The man simply turned, figuring if he couldn't leave the child or make him leave, both of which were against the code the temple taught, he could simply ignore him. "Hey!" The man winced at the young boy's irritatingly high pitched cry of indignation. "Don't ignore me! I just want to understand 'ttebayo!" The man swivelled on a foot, none of his movements anything but the epitome of grace and poise, as he had always been taught. After all, the clan with the greatest Doujutsu in the world had to act the part; although hearing of the powers this young child displayed already put less credence into that belief.

"Understand? You wish to understand?" Briefly the man's look of disgust turned into something reminiscent of a snarl but years of indoctrination and training couldn't be broken so easily and almost instantly it morphed back into a superior sneer. "You are just a child, how could you possibly hope to understand me?" He reached up to his brow, swiftly removing the leather headband he wore there in a smooth movement revealing something imprinted on his forehead. It was two horizontal lines ending in small hooks bordering a left-facing Manji symbol, each spoke also ending in a small hook. The entire tattoo-like design was done in a pale green and despite its innocent appearance Naruto could see the Chakra faintly pulsing through it.

"What's that?" The man glared at the young boy for a moment but the blonde seemed to simply ignore the look; obviously rather used to them considering what he contained. The man didn't particularly care that the boy housed the Kyuubi, he had been living at the temple since before the attack but he still looked down on him with the same contempt the Hyuuga did for everybody else.

"This? This mark represents the cage we branch family members are forced to live in, having them simply because we were not deigned to be born into the main family." Naruto blinked in confusion, his young eight year old mind struggling to comprehend everything that was being said. He didn't really understand the talk about branch and main families; after all the concept of a family being divided in any way was almost incomprehensible to the young orphan.

"So it's some kind of seal?" Naruto didn't really need to ask, since learning of his burden and his search to free Sora beginning he had seen plenty of them; he knew at least how to recognise them.

"Yes. It is a seal." At this point the man was actually wondering why he was still even talking to this boy. In his time at the temple, as per an agreement between the Hyuuga clan and the Fire Daimyo, he had rarely spoken to anybody; most of the monks simply went about their business neither ignoring him nor making any special effort to talk to him. Yet this little boy, the age of a first year academy student, had managed to get him to speak more than he had in the past year.

"Then why don't you just remove it?" At that the man just huffed in irritation, as if the very idea of it was beneath him as well as ludicrous.

"And you believe it to be so easy?" He didn't even ask it as a question; from his mouth it sounded more like an insult to Naruto's intelligence.

"Well why wouldn't it be?" Without any warning Naruto suddenly stepped forward, reaching out and poking the man in the forehead, directly over the faint Manji symbol there. The man, in his surprise at not only being approached but actually touched by the boy, couldn't react in time to stop him. However before the instinctual berating could cross his lips his pale eyes widened as a sudden lance of pain shot through his skull. He recoiled in shock, clutching at his forehead in pain as Naruto fell backwards, tripping over his own feet as the man pushed him back.

"W-What did you do?" The man practically growled it out as he clutched at his forehead despite the pain already dissipating. His trained instincts screamed at him not to show this kind of weakness as it was unbefitting of a Hyuuga yet for some reason he just couldn't find it in himself to care as much anymore.

"Uh what?" Naruto sat on the ground, rubbing at his elbow that he had banged on the floor as he gazed up at the man in confusion. "You called that seal a cage right? All cages can be unlocked. So I just got rid of it; I thought you would be happy." The young blonde seemed genuinely confused at why the man suddenly seemed so angry with him; he had only been trying to help after all. However as the man's shock subsided and Naruto's words fully struck him his pale eyes once again widened. The throb was gone; the ever present but almost unnoticeable throb that served as a reminder of the branch family's subservience was gone.

"You... got rid of it?" The man blinked very slowly, his mind struggling to believe that such a thing was even possible; it shouldn't be, everything he had been taught said otherwise. "How?" Naruto stood up again as the Hyuuga did the same, rippled purple meeting pale white.

"Well all seals need Chakra to work right? That's what the books I read said. Yours took Chakra away from you so I just stopped it from doing that and took out the chakra already in it." The answer was quite rational but coming from the young blonde, with his high-pitched, immature voice it just sounded surreal. "Hey, I don't even know your name anyway." Again the Hyuuga blinked slowly; that was right, he had failed to introduce himself which was another etiquette he had looked over and found himself not caring about anymore.

"My name is Rohani Hyuuga." The young blonde just grinned, the seriousness as well as the consequences of what he just did completely passing over his immature head.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Rohani simply stared at the boy for a few seconds before tentatively placing a hand up to his forehead, a single tear valiantly fighting to fall down his cheeks.


Naruto remembered that fondly; it had been Rohani who had given him the inspiration for his Kaminari no Mai, using the fast and precise finger strikes from the Juuken to instead attack pressure points. He remembered the Hyuuga's surprise at how quickly Naruto picked up the various stances for the style; it helped that Naruto perfectly remembered each step after he had done it correctly once. The man hadn't even meant to teach the boy, after all it was forbidden for a Hyuuga to teach anybody outside the clan their techniques; Naruto had simply started picking them up one day after watching him.

"Ow, that has to hurt." Naruto snapped out of his reverie at the sound of Haku's voice, blinking in surprise when he noticed he had completely zoned out through the match. The Iwa boy lay on the ground, badly bruised and bearing what appeared to be burn marks while the Hyuuga looked none the worse for wear, not even bothering to look at his defeated opponent in favour of glaring at the Kumo Genin. It couldn't have been a long match but judging by the awed and cheering reaction from the crown it had been eventful.

"It was definitely interesting; I had been taught that only the main house members of the Hyuuga could perform the Kaiten." Fuu's emotionless summation had Naruto looking down at the floor; he noticed the distinctive two metre radius indentation that looked like they had been burned into the ground. Being a branch member Rohani was unable to perform the move but he had described it to Naruto, the hint of envy in his voice unmistakable.

From the state of the arena Naruto could at least take a guess at what had happened; there was a long line of loose earth stretching from the Iwa genin's body to the edge of the Kaiten's mark. It was obviously the remains of an earth dragon that had been unable to breach the Hyuuga's impenetrable defence. Naruto had always wondered why anyone believed the defence was impenetrable; all you needed was something matching the rotations of the Chakra dome but in the opposite direction. That would be enough to throw the user off balance, probably leading to their own technique harming them. However even as Naruto thought this the next two contestants were brought out, two people that brought a smile to his face.


Naruto knelt down on the soft ground, smiling sadly as stared solemnly at the two small raised plaques on the ground. Each bore the name of somebody who would always be dear to him, Teuchi and Ayame Ichiraku. They were buried near the outskirts of the cemetery, near to the training ground that also bore the Shinobi memorial. It had taken him a while to find them, their names lost among the myriad of others buried in the very same place. The cemetery was quiet, he hadn't passed anybody else on the way here but he had noticed more than a few flowers placed on the graves.

Along that line his hands lit up in red and blue flames as he clasped them together, when he opened them again he held two identical flowers. They looked like roses but they were completely white, as if somebody had taken a flower and bleached it of all colour; he thought it was appropriate given the circumstances. Gentle he placed them down on the plaques before leaving his hand resting over their names as tears began to well in his eyes.

"I'm so sorry Ayame, Teuchi; it was my fault." He sighed heavily as his body hunched forward, wiping away the tears before they could fall on the simple bronze plates. "If I... If I had just..." He sighed again, not entirely sure what he wanted to say anyway. Maybe if he had never known them, maybe if he had shied away from their kindness then they might not have died. He shook his head sadly; he just couldn't imagine his life without them, without Ayame's warm smiles and Teuchi's jovial laugh.

"Dammit I told you we were lost!" He sniffed back any tears that were still clinging to his face and looked up, noticing that he was no longer alone in the cemetery.

"Would you quiet down, we're in a graveyard!" The blonde frowned for a moment as he wiped his eyes, he could have sworn he recognised that voice.

"Eh, there's nobody here anyway, now stop trying to change the subject!" Two girls came into view, one with long brown hair hanging down her back like a veil and the other with sandy blonde hair tied back into four distinctive ponytails.

"I'm not! Baki-sensei said that it was the training ground with the memorial stone, when we asked that weird Jounin with the mask he pointed us this way!" Naruto's frown deepened, recognising the girls or not he thought speaking so loudly in a place of mourning was disrespectful.

"Well then you must have misinterpreted him." Naruto coughed into his hand, a mildly irritated expression on his face; he went completely unnoticed by the two girls though as they continued to bicker between themselves.

"He just pointed! How do I misinterpret that?" Naruto coughed a little louder yet his efforts seemed futile as the girls didn't even seem to notice.

"I don't know but if anybody could find a way it would be you fangirl!" Again Naruto coughed, more forcefully this time and once again the noise seemed to bounce off some invisible, intangible barrier between him and the girls as they didn't notice a thing.

"What did you call me?" Naruto had finally had enough, he was simply glad that there was nobody else in the cemetery to be disturbed; people in mourning tended not to be the most reasonable or rational people, especially Shinobi. He slammed his shakujou down on the ground and despite the loose soil it made a sharp, clear tone that sounded throughout the area like he had struck metal. Immediately both girls stopped shouting at each other and clutched their ears in pain; the sound only lasted for a split second though and they quickly recovered.

"Are you two finished?" Despite his young age Naruto had long ago learned how to give his voice a commanding edge. It was something he picked up from Chikaku; the man could be jovial and playful one moment and serious or commanding the next. Both girls turned towards him slowly, already looking at the ground sheepishly, expecting to look up and see a Jounin. However they were not expecting a young blonde boy in monk garb bearing a shakujou... a very familiar looking blonde monk.

"Naruto-sensei?" "Naruto?!"

Naruto raised an eyebrow at the two before realisation of his own set in; it had been a few years but the defining features were still there. After all his memory was perfect and despite growing taller, their hair getting longer and the new outfits they still appeared to be the same two girls he had met all those years ago. Although he certainly could have done without hearing the sensei title again, it brought up painful memories of Shizuku.

"Matsuri? Temari?" Both girls' eyes lit up before simultaneously both their expressions twisted into a frown as they faced one another.

"How do you know Naruto-sensei?" "How do you know Naruto?"

Naruto just blinked at the odd synchronisation between the two before taking a step back as they both repeated the action, although now they were both glaring at him.

"How do you know fangirl?" "How do you know Matsuri?"

Temari turned to the younger girl, glaring at her for the name before returning her intense gaze to Naruto, the young blonde suddenly feeling uncomfortable with two irritated girls staring him down. It actually took him surprisingly little time to explain it to them, that he had met both of them during his stay in Sunagakure those years ago and had in some way helped both of them with training. By the end the girls just seemed shocked that they both had met Naruto yet neither had known about the other's relationship with him. He had moved them away from the cemetery, towards the training grounds so they wouldn't disturb anybody else.

"So wait..." Temari looked across at her teammate confusedly. "Naruto is the reason you advanced so quickly in the academy?" Matsuri immediately looked indignant; she often found people questioning her abilities due to her age and she didn't need that from her teammate. However she glanced at Naruto and a hint of red entered her cheeks, making her meekly lower the hand she had raised in protest; technically Temari was right.

"You should give Matsuri more credit, I only showed her basic techniques; she was the one who learned them." The younger girl blushed at that; she was used to people congratulating her on her nearly prodigious skill but to hear it from the one who trained her was something else. Temari just smirked knowingly at the girl, crossing her arms under her chest.

"So the little prodigy had help huh?" Matsuri simply crossed her own arms over, looking annoyed again, the blush abated from her cheeks.

"Can still beat you in a fight fangirl." Temari's smirk turned into a scowl as she reached for the large black battle-fan on her back; for a moment Naruto thought they were going to fight right there.

"Bring it on then Matsu-chan." At that the younger girl scowled as well, reaching for the Kunai in her pouch, filling her hand with them.

"Ahem." At this point Naruto was just annoyed; they may have left the cemetery but they were still close and these two were about to fight it out over something as inane as this. Immediately both girls turned back to Naruto, blushing slightly in embarrassment as they realised they weren't alone.

"Uhh, sorry Naruto-sensei." "Sorry Naruto."

Naruto just sighed before smiling softly; these two, like Sora, had been some of his earliest friends, even if it was just teaching them things. He couldn't stay mad at them; in part due to the fact he found it hard to get mad at anybody.

"So what have you two been up to in the last few years?"


He smiled softly but snapped out of his memories as the call to begin fighting rang out through the arena; he didn't want to miss this. When he had left Sunagakure Temari had been a fledgling wind user while Matsuri was just beginning to grasp basic Chakra exercises. However from what he was seeing they had advanced greatly in that time, more than he would have thought. Temari opened by unfolding her fan completely, obviously taking Matsuri seriously from the get-go; on the other hand Matsuri seemed rather unconcerned but still had her muscles tensed to move. From what he had heard from them she was usually the victor in their spars.

Without any delay Temari swung her fan, releasing an enormous bout of wind that Naruto could clearly see with his eyes. The gust contained many smaller blades within it; sharp enough to cause debilitating damage but small enough for it not to be fatal if it struck. It didn't seem to matter though as before the deadly winds could reach her Matsuri tensed before disappearing with a small could of dust at her feet. Naruto raised a brow as he spotted her racing across the arena, ducking and weaving at such speed Temari seemed to struggle to keep up. He could clearly see the Chakra she was using to enhance her movements; on her feet to provide traction, in her muscles to quicken their contractions and in her joints for reinforcement. It was somewhat similar to how Tsunade strengthened her body but on a much simpler scale.

Instead of trying to focus in on her Temari swung her fan in a large arc, covering much of that side of the arena in her dangerous winds. That forced Matsuri up in to the air which was exactly what Temari wanted; she used the opportunity to create a powerful updraft, further launching the smaller girl up and into the sky. However before anything else could be done Matsuri surprised everybody, apparently even Temari given her shocked expression, by suddenly launching something from her hand.

It was small but to the Shinobi it was obviously a jouhyou, a small blunted dart attached to a long length of wire. However what they couldn't see and Naruto could was the thin layer of wind Chaka coating it, allowing it to dig deeply into the ground. Matsuri pulled on her end of the rope, allowing her to reach the floor again and as soon as her feet met the ground she was off again, a blur to the untrained eye. It made Naruto smile to see her use what he had taught her so well and advance it as she had.

The fight didn't last too much longer; Temari was exhausting herself with her wide-spread and frequent Jutsu while Matsuri was able to use the minimum Chakra to simply enhance her movements. Neither were Chakra powerhouses but when it came to a war of attrition Matsuri would be the clear cut winner. Sure enough after ten minutes of this back and forth between the two Temari made a mistake, not putting enough Chakra into one of her wind Jutsu. Matsuri was just about able to power through the weak winds, connecting with a powerful blow to the jaw that had Temari on her back, unable to continue.

The crowd cheered heartily; it hadn't been the most exciting of matches but it was always worthwhile to see the up and coming generation show of what they knew. There was also the mystery of what Matsuri might show in the next round of the fights; after all she had managed to keep many of her skills hidden like a true Ninja. However as loud as they were the crowd's cheers became nearly deafening as the next two opponents walked out onto the arena. Naruto quickly recognised the first as the Uchiha that he had briefly met in Wave while the other was a stocky, dark-skinned Kumo Genin.

Both settled into their respective stances, not a word spoken between them but a cocky smirk on both their faces. However before the match could even begin Naruto frowned; he felt the familiar tug as foreign Chakra tried to invade his system only to be passively absorbed by his Preta path. He wasn't sure what everybody else was seeing but soon much of the non-Shinobi crowd had fallen in to a deep slumber. One by one members of the crowd not affected by the powerful Genjutsu stood up, confused by what was going on.

Then chaos erupted from the ground.


A/N: Wow, sorry guys; I never meant to let that update take so long. I got really absorbed in GTA V (awesome game but they really need to fix the online issues). Trevor ftw, that's guys f**king crazy.