Author's Note: Heyyy, what's going on, guys! Cannonballer here with another chapter for you today, hope you enjoy it, and once again, sorry for the delay. Wow, it's been more than a month since I last updated. I didn't realize that the time was flying by so fast! Anyway, I hope you like today's chapter, it took me a while and I feel like I would be letting you guys down if you didn't enjoy it. Alright that's enough out of me, Happy Reading!

Chapter 53: The Jonin Trials, Part 2

Naruto looked at his time-table. "TaiJutsu, today at 2PM. Ninja Academy. Wait, we're gonna be doing our TaiJutsu test in the Academy? Great!"

He looked up at the others, and they all read out their respective time-tables as well. Lee and Sakura also had their TaiJutsu tests on the same day. Lee hooted in delight, "I will be showing my TaiJutsu to Neji himself! I look forward to showcasing my skills in front of him. But wait, my TaiJutsu test mentions our training ground instead of the Academy. Why would that be?"

Shino adjusted his goggles slightly, before saying, "It is because your TaiJutsu is one a completely different level than ours, Lee, and could end up destroying the Academy itself."

Everyone smiled. Tenten had been thrilled to have her KenJutsu test first. Shikamaru had his GenJutsu test first. Kiba and Ino would have to get ready for their NinJutsu test, while Shino, Hinata and Choji were waiting for their stealth and espionage test.

Naruto said, "Well, the first test isn't due until 2 PM, and it's just past 11 right now. How about getting something to eat?"

Choji smacked his lips and said, "You took the words right out of my mouth, Naruto! Let's go get some BBQ!"

Ino sighed, "Here we go again. Choji, haven't I told you to limit your food intake? You're going to get really fa…"

Everyone gasped, and Ino caught herself quickly. Choji was frowning at her. Shikamaru laughed nervously, "Let's go eat." Sakura looked around nervously, and Ino asked her, "Something wrong?"

The pinkette replied, "Sasuke still hasn't shown up, I'm starting to get a little worried…"

Naruto suddenly straightened up for a minute, standing completely still, before smiling. He turned to Sakura and said, "Don't mind him, he's running late, but he'll be there for the exams."

Sakura said, "How can you tell?" The blonde grinned, "Let's just say it's a natural ability, alright?"

Sakura shrugged. Choji looked at Naruto determinedly, and said, "Well? I thought we were gonna eat!"

"Oh, right, I almost forgot! Come on, let's go, everyone."

The gang headed towards Choji's favorite barbeque restaurant to eat.


"Hello, Naruto," Neji bowed in the formal method as Naruto walked into one of the academy's practice dojos. He was dressed in his formal clan robes as usual, but his hands were wrapped in bandages.

"Hey, Neji. Something wrong with your hands?"

The recently promoted Jonin shook his head gently and smiled, "I won't be able to fight you at full strength unless I am using the Gentle Fist. However, Konoha guidelines state that the proctor of the Jonin Trials cannot hurt their opponent, and since cutting off your chakra points falls into that category, Lady Tsunade asked me to cover my arms so that the impact of my attacks will be softened."

"Ah, I see. That's thoughtful."

"Now, Naruto, the way in which these tests are conducted are mostly standardized. However, the proctor can decide whether one may simply show the forms or apply them in combat. I would like to spar with you so that I may know firsthand how you apply the TaiJutsu forms in real life. Is that okay with you?"

Naruto nodded in determination. Neji continued, "Well, then, in order to pass this trial, you will have to exhibit at least eight different styles of TaiJutsu, four of which should be C-Rank or higher, two of them B-Rank or higher, and finally, two of A-Rank of higher. Now, if you know an extra A-Rank TaiJutsu form, it can be substituted for two C-Rank forms, or maybe even border on a B-Rank depending on your skill. For example, my Gentle Fist is at S-Rank level, allowing me to substitute three C-Rank TaiJutsu forms for it. Are you getting that?"

The blonde nodded enthusiastically and gave him a thumbs up, reminding Neji of Gai and Lee. "I prefer a real fight to showing off anyway."

Neji smiled, "I expected as much."

He got into his favorite stance and said, "I would like you to call out your TaiJutsu forms before you begin sparring. Every form should last at least three minutes. Make sure to start with your weakest form, since you will have a better chance showing your strong ones after you are warmed up."

Naruto slipped into a stance and said, "Well, then. I guess I'll begin with the Tiger Style." Neji raised his eyebrows slightly; if Naruto's weakest form was the Tiger Style, then this could be one tough spar.

Naruto stretched out his right hand while keeping his left hand close to his chest. Both palms of his hand were perpendicular to the forearms, and his fingers were bent just enough to make the hands look like paws. Neji took account of this mentally in his mind. 'Excellent posture.'

The Byakugan wielder stepped forward, aiming a hard jab at Naruto's face. Naruto knocked the hand away with his right arm, numbing it by the sheer force, even as he countered by closing his left hand and aiming a punch at the Hyuga's chest.

Neji was forced to avoid the punch by blocking it with his left hand, and noted Naruto's strength with great amazement. 'I did not expect the force in his block to numb my hand. This is astonishing. It's almost like I'm fighting Lee with his First Gate open.'

Naruto gave him no chance to dodge the next blow, a palm to his chest. Neji was forcefully pushed backwards, and noted that Naruto had opened the palm so that he wouldn't be hurt as much as he would have by a closed fist. His chest was still stinging, though and he doubted that it would still be the same shade as it was now by the end of the day.

"I am very impressed, Naruto. And a little intimidated. If this is your weakest style, I cannot imagine what your strongest is," Neji said. He switched his style in order to a more defensive one.

Naruto smiled and said, "Well, I've been practicing this one a little more recently, trying to get the postures and positions correct."

"Very well, let's continue."


"Good afternoon, Ino," Jiraiya closed his book and put it back into his pocket. The infamous Sannin was hosting his trial at the training ground where Naruto and Sakura had squared off against Kakashi after Naruto had returned to the Leaf. The place had ample space to destroy, as well as a stream for water based techniques.

"Good afternoon, Jiraiya-san." Ino bowed deeply, showing him the respect he deserved, but didn't usually get from women. Jiraiya fought hard not to gaze at her ample breasts, reminding himself that she was Naruto's girlfriend.

"So, today is your NinJutsu trial. As per the standard norm, you will have to perform at least or better than the following: four A-Rank, seven B-Rank and five C-Rank jutsus. Should you have any jutsus higher than the recommended level, they can be accordingly substituted for some of the lower rank ones, depending on the level of damage done."

Ino nodded her understanding. Jiraiya continued, "You are also expected to show mastery of at least two of the five chakra natures. And, depending on your proctor, you may be asked to show the skills deemed standard and basic by our village. You have two hours to finish this test, and you may use chakra pills. Good luck."

He smiled at her, and said, "I understand that Naruto taught you a deadly technique that he picked up from me." Ino smiled and nodded.

Jiraiya indicated for her to begin. Ino put her hands together in a cross shape, and Jiraiya couldn't help but grin at the familiar sight. "Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

The sage's eyes almost dropped out of their sockets, however, as about fifty clones appeared in front of him. 'Holy…cow! I knew that Naruto would've taught her this technique, but to produce fifty of them? Kunoichi don't have such large chakra reserves!'

Ino read his mind correctly and said, "Training with Naruto significantly increased my chakra reserves, Jiraiya-san."

He quickly took down a note on the notepad he had brought, and said, "Well, I'll have to give that an A-Rank in the very least. I am very impressed, I must say. I expected ten clones at the most."

Ino thanked him and then dispelled most of her clones, leaving around ten of them. She came forward and raised her right hand. Chakra began swirling around the hand, before condensing into a glowing light blue sphere above her palm.

"Rasengan," she intoned, knowing that it was not necessary. Jiraiya noted that she had formed it without the help of a clone, something that had taken Naruto a while to do. "Very nice chakra control, Ino. Another A-Rank Jutsu in the bag."

Ino dispelled her chakra and moved backwards while two of her clones came forward. The first clone held up her right hand in front of her while the other one began to move her hands around it, as though spinning an imaginary ball. Chakra began rotating around the hand, but this time, the orb that formed was over a meter in diameter.

"Odama Rasengan!" both the clones simultaneously announced. Jiraiya gave it a thumbs up, and said, "That's the third A-Rank Jutsu. I'm wondering whether you actually know any C-Rank Jutsus, or whether you're going to substitute all of them for A-Rank ones."

Ino smiled. The clones vanished, and three more clones stepped forward. Two of them began the same process as before, while the third clone simply held both hands forward towards the chakra, as though blessing it. The Rasengan began to turn from blue to purple, and started shining brightly. Jiraiya squinted, trying to keep his eyes open.

Ino's clones announced, "Lightning Style: Rasengan!"

The jutsu didn't stop there, either, as one more clone entered the fray. The orb started glowing more, and began stretching out in shape. It started to resemble a lightning bolt, with the Rasengan orb becoming smaller, but maintaining itself firmly in the center.

The clones shouted, "Lightning Style: Rasenbolt!"

Rather than letting the chakra dispel, the first of the four clones threw the lightning bolt towards the ground, far away from the two of them. It touched the ground, and there was an infinitesimal pause before the ground tore itself apart from the energy of the jutsu. Jiraiya's mouth had fallen open, and he had lost all composure.

'I knew Naruto could do this, but her as well? Wow!'

The four clones vanished, leaving four more, along with the original. Jiraiya said, "Those are two S-Ranked Jutsus right there. Words can't describe what I want to say right now, Ino. I never expected you to have mastered the Rasengan to this extent."

Ino thanked him, and he noted down all the jutsus. He said, "Well, you've already got three A-Ranked and two S-Ranked jutsus, plus a strong start with the lightning element. Although you needed quite a lot of clones for the Rasenbolt. What do you have to show me next?"

Ino said, "I'll begin by filling up that hole, shall I?"

One more clone went up and signed, "Earth Style: Landslide!"

The earth began filling up, and Jiraiya went over to inspect the ground after the jutsu was over. He was satisfied with the end result and said, "As expected. B-Rank, very nice jutsu to have when you have a boyfriend like Naruto."

Ino laughed and said, "That's what he said too."

Another clone came up and signed quickly, "Earth Style: Stone Spears Jutsu!" Seven giant spears of stone came out of the earth just ahead of Jiraiya, and he noted their size with his eyebrows raised. 'And I have to remember that this isn't the original, but the clone performing the jutsu.'

"Very nice, another B-Rank, bordering on A considering that your clone is performing the jutsu. But I'll leave it at B-Rank for now."

The last two clones came over, and one of them signed, "Earth Style: Stone Jacket Jutsu!" The earth rose over the other clone, and encompassed her completely. Jiraiya was surprised; this jutsu wasn't really famous in the Land of Fire.

"Okay, that is three A, three B, and two S-Ranked jutsus. And you also have good control over earth style. If you want, we can cancel out the remaining four B-ranked jutsus with your two S-ranked ones."

Ino said, "I would rather we go through all the jutsus I have and then figure out the rankings, since I have some clan jutsus as well." Jiraiya remembered, 'Oh, right, she's a Yamanaka.'

He gestured her to continue.


"Well, that was the last of the required techniques, Naruto," Neji said, slightly out of breath. "Do you want to stop?"

Naruto grinned, "I have two more forms to show. I think that the Jonin Council will have a nice opinion on one of them."

Neji indicated that he begin, and Naruto said, "This form is special since it uses nature energy, which I gather by sitting still. My clone over there that I created five minutes ago, has been gathering energy while we sparred. It is essential to show you the form in Sage Mode, otherwise, the technique doesn't hold as much merit."

Neji understood. Naruto dispelled the clone and turned back towards Neji, his eyes yellow. Neji was impressed, "So, I finally see the coveted Sage Mode. Give me a second."

He enabled his Byakugan, and saw the chakra flowing through Naruto. "The nature energy enhances your muscles as well, I see. Extremely efficient."

Naruto got into his position for Frog Kumite, and Neji got into his most defensive position, since he had heard a lot about this TaiJutsu form.

Naruto charged, and swung out at Neji's chest. The Hyuga didn't bother to block it, since Naruto's arm was not in proximity with his body. However, a split second later, he noticed the nature energy streaming out from his punch, and reaching his chest. He could not hope to dodge it; he took the punch and staggered back.

Naruto said apologetically, "I'm really sorry about that, Neji, but honestly, there's no other way I could've shown you how Frog Kumite works. I mean, I could have used a clone but it wouldn't have been solid proof."

Neji said, "It is quite alright. I was made a proctor for a reason, Naruto. I can take a few good hits. Although this nature energy that you've got a hold of, it's really something else, I must say."

They continued to spar for a few minutes, before Naruto said, "Alright, I feel my energy going down. I'll switch to my final form now."

Neji said, "You were right, this Frog Kumite is going to be quite the talk in the Jonin Council."

Naruto grinned slightly, and said, "Oh, that wasn't the one I was talking about. This one is the form which everyone is going to love."

He got into the required stance, and said, "This is the Iron Monk form."

Neji couldn't believe his ears. The Iron Monk! The TaiJutsu form that not even the Fourth Hokage had been able to completely master! How on earth had Naruto mastered it?

"Naruto, I have to ask. Where did you learn this form from?"

Naruto replied, "Well, this form was invented by my mother, Kushina Uzumaki. I have all her notes, which is how I was able to learn this form."

Neji frowned. "That is weird. Did your mother know the Fourth Hokage well? Because I have heard that he liked to use this particular style but wasn't able to master it."

Naruto frowned as well, and said, "I don't know, I guess they might've known each other since they were in the same age group."

Neji said, "Very well, let's begin. We are running out of time, I need to take the test of the others as well, and I know that Lee must be anxious to get started."

Naruto laughed and began sparring.


Ino finished up her final jutsu and Jiraiya looked down at his notes. "Wow, that's amazing. You showed me twenty jutsus, well above the required sixteen. And all of the requirements were fulfilled too, so I have no reason not to say this; you pass."

Ino bowed and said, "Thank you, Jiraiya-san."

The pervert raised his palm and said, "Don't mention it. I know firsthand how powerful the Rasengan based jutsus are. I never expected that you would know how to change the chakra nature. That was a first. Anyway, it's getting late, and I have more people to test. You should get going now. Best of luck for the rest of the trials."

"Thanks a lot. Have a good day." Ino bowed again slightly, and headed home, done for the day. She had been exhausted, and had to take two chakra pills during the trial.

'I wonder how the others are doing.'

She decided to head to the Academy instead, and sure enough, she found Sakura and a few other ninjas standing there, waiting for their trial. Sakura looked at her and smiled, "Hey, Ino, how was the NinJutsu test?"

Ino gave her a thumbs up, "Awesome. Did you finish the TaiJutsu trial?"

Sakura shook her head ruefully and said, "Neji went off with Lee for his trial so we're stuck waiting here until then." Then she remembered and said, "Oh, you're probably looking for Naruto, right?"

Ino nodded. Sakura said, "He's gone off to Ichiraku's, said he needed to eat to maximize his strength for tomorrow. His NinJutsu trial is tomorrow, after all." Ino thanked her and wished her luck, before heading off to Ichiraku's. As she reached, she heard a loud burp, and pursed her lips. She headed into the restaurant and smacked Naruto right on the head.

"OWWW! What the heck was that for?!"

Naruto held his head and danced around in pain. Ino said, "Serves you right! What did I tell you about manners?"

The knucklehead pointed at a fat guy sitting in the corner, and shouted with tears in his eyes, "He's the guy who burped!"

The man looked at the two of them in confusion, and then shrugged, before continuing to eat noisily.

Ino looked mortified, and quickly turned to Naruto, who was now sitting on the opposite corner, pouting in all his glory. "I'm sorry, Naruto-kun. I just couldn't bear the sight of my boyfriend burping in public."

Naruto humphed, and turned away from her. He gave Teuchi the money for the ramen and walked out without so much as looking at Ino. She knew that he was faking it, but she couldn't help herself.

She walked out after him, and as they reached a lonelier road, she hugged him from behind. He blushed as he felt her breasts rub against his back, and she whispered in his ear seductively, "I'm so sorry, Ruto-kun. I shouldn't have acted without having proof. Please forgive me. I'll make it up to you."

"Oh yeah? How's that, huh?" Naruto pretended to still be upset.

"I'm sure I can figure something out," Ino replied, crushing into him harder. Naruto's expression was exactly the same as Jiraiya's had been when he had first seen the Sexy Jutsu. Drool rolled off his chin onto the ground. He said, "I guess we need to go home quickly then."

A moment later, the two of them were on their couch at home, a furious make out session ensuing between them.


Naruto was already waiting in the training ground when Jiraiya arrived the next day.

"Oy, Pervy Sage!" Naruto shouted, waving at him. Jiraiya sighed and shook his head, but walked over to the Chunin.

"Good morning, Naruto," he said simply.

"Are you ready?" Naruto asked, putting his fingers into their favorite hand sign. Jiraiya raised his hand to stop his pupil.

"What's the hold up?"

"Hang on a minute, I need to go through the introduction first." the Sannin explained, taking out a small card out of his pocket.

"To be considered for the rank of Jonin, you must be able to perform at least four A-Rank, seven B-Rank and five C-Rank jutsus. Should you have any jutsus higher than the recommended level, they can be accordingly substituted for some of the lower rank ones, depending on the level of damage done. You are also expected to show mastery of at least two of the five chakra natures. And, depending on your proctor, you may be asked to show the skills deemed standard and basic by our village. You have two hours to finish this test, and you may use chakra pills. Good luck."

He looked at Naruto and pretended to think a little. "Hmm, should I make you do the basic academy jutsus? Let me think…"

Naruto frowned and Jiraiya laughed, "Just kidding, Naruto. Go ahead and begin."

Naruto put his hands together and intoned, "Shadow Clone Jutsu."

About fifteen clones split off, and stood behind him. He said, "I don't need to tell you how many clones I can make on my best day, so this jutsu can easily border on S-Rank for me. You remember saying that, don't you?"

Jiraiya was annoyed, and said, "Don't quote back things I myself told you. I remember. However, for this test, the Shadow Clone Jutsu stays A-Rank. Continue."

Naruto puffed out his cheeks in mock annoyance, and put both his hands in front of him. He quickly generated a swirling blue orb in each hand, and intoned, "Rasengan. And by extension, Rasenrengan."

Jiraiya nodded, pleased with the extension.

A set of two clones came forward, and one of them created a Rasengan, while the other kept adding chakra to it. They came forward, each holding the end result with one hand each, and said, "Odama Rasengan." Jiraiya inclined that Naruto continue, having been responsible for creating this Rasengan variant.

All of the shadow clones began gathering chakra in their hands, and formed Rasengans in their hands, working in pairs to do so. The original Naruto intoned, "Rasen Tairengan." Jiraiya gave him a thumbs up.

The Rasengans continued to increase in size as the clones kept adding chakra. The original gave them a signal to stop after a particular size, and Jiraiya noted that each Rasengan was around four feet in diameter. Naruto said, "Odama Rasen Tairengan."

The clones dispelled their Rasengans and two sets of two clones each came forward. One clone from each set created a Rasengan while the other added chakra. After watching them for a few seconds, Naruto stopped them. The result was…

"Wind Style: Rasengan and Lightning Style: Rasengan."

Jiraiya was impressed. 'I wonder how strong these jutsus would be if Naruto himself was performing all of them.'

The original knucklehead made the clones continue. The clones kept adding chakra until…

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken and Lightning Style: Rasenbolt."

"Very good," Jiraiya said. "I'm glad to see that you can create the elemental Rasengans with a single clone. Your chakra control has improved tremendously."

Naruto said, "Ino taught me a method to improve chakra. I was even able to convert that method into another jutsu."

All the clones vanished, and Naruto said, "Focus on my hand now." A single two inch diameter Rasengan began swirling above Naruto's right thumb. Four more orbs followed in succession on each finger, all rotating in perfect synchronization. He darted over to a nearby stone and jammed his hand into it. Once the Rasengans got past the surface, the stone exploded from within. Naruto turned back to Jiraiya and said, "I call it the Five Point Rasengan."

Jiraiya said, "So, you got the Rasengans onto your fingers and created another variant, huh? I imagine this one works by changing the frequencies at which the orbs rotate, rather than the speed." Naruto remembered Ino saying something about frequencies, and nodded.

Jiraiya noted down all the jutsus quickly and said, "Well, that was interesting. In just ten minutes, you've shown me… let's see, yes, seven A-Ranked and four S-Ranked Jutsus. I am not giving the Rasen Tairengan S-Rank because its application in battle is limited. You understand that, right?"

Naruto nodded. Jiraiya said, "By the way, did you and Ino plan this from the start?"

Naruto frowned, "What do you mean?" The old man replied, "I mean that she also started with Shadow Clones to perform the Rasengan and its variants."

The Chunin smiled, and said, "We think alike, I guess."

Jiraiya decided to continue. "Anyway, that's eleven jutsus down, and two chakra affinities as well. How do you want to continue?"

Naruto said, "How about another S-Ranked Jutsu?"

He grinned and took out a kunai, before slashing his wrist. Blood spilled on the ground quickly, and once he had how much he needed, he stopped holding back the fox's regenerative powers. His cut healed quickly, and he began to sign.

"Hidden Arts: Blood Clone Jutsu!"

Jiraiya nodded as two blood clones of Naruto were formed out of the messy red liquid puddled on the ground. He punched one of them in the gut, and it doubled over in pain, but did not dispel.

"Alright, looks like they are holding up well."

Naruto nodded, and dispelled the clones. The blood went back to normal, and he said, "Now, for a little Kekkei Genkai stuff." He quickly signed and the blood began to float in the air.

Jiraiya watched curiously. He hadn't seen Naruto advance much in his Kekkei Genkai except what they had done during the training trip, so he wanted to know where the boy had reached. Naruto closed his eyes for five seconds, and then opened them again. The blood in the air formed a sword in an instant, and stayed upright in position.

Naruto kept his left hand in the hand sign and closed his right fist, before bringing out the index finger. He slashed through the air with his right index finger. The sword mimicked him and slashed through the air in the exact same way.

Jiraiya was suddenly reminded of Orochimaru a little. The way Naruto handled the blood-made sword was eerily similar to the way the necromantic shinobi used to handle the Kusanagi.

He continued watching as Naruto destroyed the sword and reformed the blood to create a thin whip. He twirled it around and lashed it around just like a physical whip. It was effective, no doubt.

Once Naruto was done, Jiraiya said, "You have a ways to go with that one, but I'll give it an A-Rank for now. The Blood Clone Jutsu is definitely S-Ranked, of course."

Naruto nodded and let go of the jutsu. The blood fell back to the ground.

"So, that's eight A-Ranked and five S-Ranked Jutsus. How about showing me the jutsus Kakashi taught you when you returned from the mission to save Gaara?" Jiraiya suggested.

Naruto said, "Sure."

He created nine clones. Each of them faced Jiraiya and Naruto said, "Each of them will perform one jutsu." Jiraiya took a few steps back. The clones began signing and started showing off their respective jutsus one after the other.

"Lightning Style: Lightning Trident Jutsu!"

Three giant tridents of lightning erupted from the hands of the clone, and sped towards the trees behind Jiraiya.

"Lightning Style: Stone Cracker Jutsu!"

The clone coated his hands with lightning and thrust them at a nearby rock, splitting it into small pieces.

"Lightning Style: Spark Darts Jutsu!"

Small darts of lightning burst from the fingers of the clone, and one of them hit Jiraiya, causing him to spasm uncontrollably for a couple of seconds. He could only wonder how bad it would have been if he had been hit by all of them.

"Lightning Style: Lance Spears Jutsu!"

Just like the earth based jutsu, spears shot out of the ground in front of Jiraiya, however, this time, there were ten giant spears of crackling white lightning.

"Wind Style: Wind Screen Jutsu!"

A giant wind went up, and the Sannin felt himself being pushed backwards with force. He had to use chakra to keep his feet held to the ground until the jutsu was cut off.

"Wind Style: Giant Wind Gale!"

"Yikes!" Jiraiya shouted as a giant gale of sharpened wind headed towards him. He quickly activated his own defensive jutsu, and sheltered himself in his own hair using the Needle Jizo.

"Wind Style: Four Winds Scattering Jutsu!"

The Sage didn't bother coming out of his hidey hole.

"Wind Style: Vacuum Wave Jutsu!"

Jiraiya poked his head out of his cover just long enough to see Naruto's clone sending blasts of wind at him.

"Wind Style: Impervious Wind Defense Jutsu!"

"Impervious Defense? Wait a minute!" The Sannin got rid of his jutsu and said, "Are you serious? You're performing the Impervious Wind Defense?"

The clone grinned and said, "Try me out." Jiraiya took out a shuriken and threw it at the clone. It boomeranged off an invisible shield of wind chakra and headed back straight for the Sage. He ducked underneath it just in the nick of time.

"Wow, that's incredible."

He noted down all the names, and then compared them to his database of jutsus stored in his brain. "Alright, that will be two S-Ranked jutsus, i.e. the Wind Defense and the Lance Spears, then one B-Ranked Jutsu, i.e. the Four Winds Scattering, and six A-Ranked jutsus."

Naruto's clones all grinned in synchronization before cancelling themselves out.

Jiraiya wiped his brow; the Giant Wind Gale had been a close one.

Naruto signed at Kakashi's speed and said, "Pervy Sage! I almost forgot this one! Secret Wind Style: Zero Point Gale!"

Jiraiya backed away as far from Naruto as he could, watching the winds pick up around him, screeching as they did. Naruto thrust his hands towards the trees nearby, and they were all cut to pieces in an instant.

Naruto panted, and decided to take a little break. Jiraiya counted his jutsus and said, "Holy cow, you've already gone past the requirements. You've got fourteen A-Ranked jutsus, eight S-Ranked jutsus, and one B-Ranked jutsu. And you still haven't shown me any C-Ranked ones."

Naruto said, "Let me get my breath, I have two more B-Ranked Jutsus to go, and one more A-Ranked Jutsu." Jiraiya almost face planted into the ground.

Five minutes later, Naruto had successfully executed the Wind Style: Cyclone Spikes Jutsu as his A-Ranked Jutsu, and the Earth Style: Stone Spears Jutsu, along with the Stone Jacket Jutsu as his B-Ranked Jutsus.

Jiraiya asked, "Did Ino teach you these?"

Naruto nodded. The elder shinobi said, "Well, that's the third element. Pretty good so far. I can tell you will easily make it to Tokujo this time, Naruto."

The blonde wasn't sure whether he should be happy at that or not. He replied by taking a chakra pill and said, "It's time for two more jutsus. One is only C-Rank and not elemental, but it is one of my favorites. Summoning Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke went up and Gamatatsu appeared out of it. He waved at the two shinobi and said, "Naruto, the others are waiting." He disappeared immediately. Looking at the curious expression on Jiraiya's face, Naruto explained, "I called Gamatatsu in yesterday to tell him that I will be performing a Summoning tomorrow."

Jiraiya said, "I understood that, but what did Gamatatsu mean by 'the others are waiting.'?"

Naruto grinned, "I've been working on something." He reached into his psyche and said, "Kyuubi, gimme some of your chakra."

The fox, who had been watching the entire trial with interest, said, "Why?"

Naruto said, "I need it for a summoning. Come on, don't waste time, you know you want to see this."

The Nine Tails couldn't believe he was being sweet talked by that loudmouth. But curiosity got the better of him and he parted with some of his chakra reluctantly.

Naruto surfaced and saw Jiraiya with a tag in his hand. He shouted, "Wait, it's okay, I'm in control of the chakra, I just needed it for the jutsu I'm about to perform."

The older shinobi put his chakra siphoning tag back into his pocket, and said, "Very well. Go ahead."

Naruto signed, and shouted, "Ninja Arts Summoning: Toad Battalion!"

'Toad Battalion?' Jiraiya wondered what Naruto was thinking. It soon became apparent, as giant plumes of smoke went up in the air. As the smoke cleared, Jiraiya was stunned. There were no less than seven toads standing there. Gamabunta, Gamaono, Gamahiro, Gamaken, Gamakichi, Lady Shima and Lord Fukasaku.

Jiraiya couldn't speak. Words were failing him. True, Naruto had used the fox's chakra, but to summon so many of them… And the two elder frogs as well! Incredible!

"Wow, Naruto, this is an S-Ranked jutsu in itself. Amazing!" Naruto bowed exaggeratedly and turned to the toads. "Thanks a lot for your support, guys. It means a lot to me." They all waved to him except Gamabunta, who snorted, and they disappeared.

Naruto said, "Now, there's no time to show this to you, but you know that I can do the Weapon Forge Jutsu as well." Jiraiya said, "Yeah, I was going to put that in anyway."

Naruto said, "I guess that's all for now. I'm absolutely pathetic in Fire and Water Style so I can forget about those. And I guess these jutsus are enough to qualify me, aren't they?"

Jiraiya snorted. "Qualify? I'd be surprised if the Jonin Council doesn't faint at this list of jutsus. Counting the Weapon Forge Jutsu, you've got ten S-Ranked, fifteen A-Ranked, three B-Ranked, and one C-Ranked jutsu. You should be ashamed of yourself for having so many A-Ranked jutsus, but no decent C-Ranked ones."

Naruto looked worried, but then he noticed the twinkle in Jiraiya's eye, and the two of them laughed their hearts out.

Naruto suddenly said wickedly, "By the way, I have another C-Ranked Jutsu. You know which one, don't you?"

Jiraiya looked bemused only for a second, before laughing and saying, "The Sexy Jutsu isn't counted here." Naruto pouted, and said, "Fine, if you don't want to see it, why should I take any extra efforts?"

The older pervert said, "I don't mind seeing them in the least, but they won't be counted."

The knucklehead said, "Forget it, then. Hey, wait a minute! How could I forget that jutsu?" He took out his kunai and threw it at Jiraiya, who dodged under it. A second later, Naruto had a Rasengan aimed at Jiraiya's ear. "Hiraishin Stage Two."

The pervert was sweating bullets at the close proximity of the Rasengan, although he knew that Naruto would never hurt him on purpose. "You mind cancelling that Rasengan? It's pretty damn close to taking my ear off."

Naruto cancelled the orb and Jiraiya straightened up. He said, "You've become even faster at the Hiraishin. I guess you could compete with the Fourth Hokage for speed now. I'm tired of counting all your jutsus all the time now, I'm just going to put them in the list. Unfortunately, FuinJutsu doesn't come into the NinJutsu pillar, or you could have used to that to gain even more of an advantage."

Naruto nodded. "Well, I guess that's about it." Jiraiya said, "Well, you pass, no doubt. And there's still some time left. Ah, whatever, I can take the next participant a little early. Good job, Naruto, I'll make sure to emphasize on all the S-Ranked ones. However, you do know that this will mean that the Jonin Council will learn of your secret?"

Naruto said, "It's about time, too. They were bound to find out, otherwise they would never promote me to Jonin."

The Sannin nodded, and said, "Get going, then."

Naruto left the training ground, full of enthusiasm.


"Well, well, well." Anko Mitarashi smirked as Ino entered the small forest clearing. "My victim appears, right on time."

"Anko." Ino smiled slightly.

The proctor began explaining the test, "Alright kid, this is how it's going to work. In order to test your stealth and tracking skills, we are going to play Hide and Seek."

Ino nodded. Anko continued, "I will create three Shadow Clones, two to hide along with me, and one to stay here with you. You will wait here with my clone for ten minutes, after which it will dissipate, letting me know that you are going to start hunting. Now, once you begin, you will have an hour and half to find all three copies of me. To be fair, I will leave a few trails behind me. If you manage to pass the first test, we will switch places, with three of you hiding and me hunting. As long as even one of your copies avoids me for the allotted time, you pass. And you won't have to leave any trails for me either."

Ino simply nodded her understanding again.

"Oh, right. Other than any jutsus that enhance your senses, no GenJutsus or NinJutsus are to be used. Or TaiJutsu and KenJutsu for that matter. The rules apply to both of us."

Ino said, "Are the participants allowed to set traps?"

Anko smirked and said, "Not that they will do you any good, but sure, as long as you don't use jutsus to set them up, let your imagination run wild. Any more questions?"

"No."

Anko signed, and three more Ankos appeared next to her. One of them moved towards Ino, and the original said, "Good luck, kid. You're gonna need it."

Three Ankos headed into the woods, and Ino observed their direction carefully, before realizing that in ten minutes, Anko could have circled around the entire forest and reached behind her.

After the ten minutes were over, the shadow clone next to Ino winked at her and dissipated into a puff of chakra.

Ino quickly signed, "Ninja Arts: Five Sense Augmentation!" Her five senses immediately became much more sensitive than normal. She looked around in the direction that Anko had headed, and her GenJutsu augmented eyes immediately picked up a couple of trails heading towards the north. She began heading in the same direction.

As she headed into the trees, Ino noticed that Anko's footprints had disappeared. 'So, she headed up into the trees.' Ino quickly ran up the nearest tree and looked around. A slightly bent branch caught her attention and she looked past it to find a few more discrepancies in the environment. She smiled and began to track them.

A couple of minutes later, the trail hit a dead end, and Ino wondered where Anko could be. There was absolutely no indication that Anko had ever even been here. However, Ino was a specialist in stealth. She trained her ears to focus on the trees themselves, and sure enough, in a few seconds, she caught the sound of light breathing.

She turned directly towards the tree and said, "Anko, I forgot to ask you, what do I have to do after I find you? Do I have to tag you, or is finding you enough?"

There was no answer, so Ino quickly ran towards the tree and pulled at it. Sure enough, the chameleon tarp came off, revealing the fishnet and overcoat clad proctor underneath.

Anko gave her a sour look and said, "Tagging will be the indicator for the next two."

She exploded into a burst of chakra, and Ino realized that she was a clone.

Ino checked the time. "Around fifteen minutes. That gives me seventy five minutes to find the rest. I should get back to the start point."

She ran as fast as she could towards the starting point, keeping a sharp eye around in case there were any Ankos in the path. But there was nothing to indicate her presence, so Ino quickly reached the home base, before looking around again. One of the trails she had not noticed had been the one behind her, heading the other way.

The blonde quickly picked up on that trail, but realized that the chakra from here was rather faint. 'Is it a trap? Or a fake trail?'

She slowed down and looked around. There were no more footprints to follow anyway. The Jonin aspirant ran up a tree to get a bird's eye view of the surroundings. As she was about to give up the trail, she noticed a leaf out of place. It was enough for her. She picked up the leaf, and noted the direction it had come from.

"Ah, that way. Clever, Anko-san."

Anko had doubled back after reaching that point, with the leaf being the only indicator. Ino turned around on her heels and ran as fast as possible, following the leaf's direction towards the north east. She picked up the trail after a few minutes. After a few seconds, she noticed Anko's trail becoming more and more erratic, switching directions every few feet. But Ino kept up determinedly, and finally caught up to the Jonin, who was resting atop a branch.

Ino slowed down, narrowing her eyes. 'Why is she out in the open?'

Mitarashi smirked, "No need to get scared. This is my 'hard to follow' trail, so I don't hide."

Ino closed the distance between the two of them and tagged Anko. This one didn't vanish, though, so Ino said, "You're the original. So I guess I got a clone to find now."

"This took you only ten minutes," Anko said, trying not to sound annoyed. "Maybe you should hold back or something, you know, try not to completely humiliate me?"

Ino smirked, "I thought that you'd be more of a challenge."

Anko was really annoyed now, and said, "Oh yeah? I bet I'll find all of your clones and you in under an hour."

Ino waved goodbye as she turned and raced back to the home base at super speed. She had just over an hour left to find the final Anko, who was a clone. Once she reached the starting point, she looked around at the final trail, adjoining the first one, heading towards the north.

The wind had picked up, covering the tracks of this Anko. But even through the obstructions, the path was pretty clear to Ino, since this Anko had sacrificed stealth for speed, running all out. She wondered whether any other average shinobi would have been able to follow this trail, with the proctor running at this speed, leaving behind almost no trace of herself.

As she sped up, putting chakra into her soles to increase her speed, she wondered how Naruto's NinJutsu test had gone, and how the others were faring at their own tests. The little thought distracted her, and she suddenly realized that Anko's footprints had long stopped.

The blonde came to a skidding stop, and turned around, running back to the last point where Anko's footprints were visible. She couldn't see anything, however. The proctor seemed to have vanished into thin air.

Ino tried to remember the basic rules of stealth that the students had been taught at the Academy. She remembered Iruka sensei saying, "Even with the most advanced sensory abilities, most humans tend to focus on the horizontal plane. We mostly never look up or down."

Ino looked up, and saw nothing out of the ordinary. That left only…

She looked down with her sharpened senses and barely made out a chakra presence. The blonde quickly put her hand through the ground, which was soft since it had been recently dug up. As she continued through the ground, her hand touched the chest of the Jonin, and Ino said, "Found ya."

Anko emerged out of the ground with a grin. "I thought I had you there for a moment. Well, it did take you quite a while to find me, though. I guess you better get moving."

Ino smiled, "You are the last one. I already found the original Anko."

Anko's clone blinked in disbelief. "Well, then, I guess the game is over." She dismissed herself with a frown. Ino stretched her legs and started to run back to the starting point where the real Anko was waiting.

Anko looked really annoyed at having been beaten so easily. "You finished the test with fifty-five minutes to spare. I hope you're feeling good about yourself, because this is the last time you will."

Ino wasn't even the slightest scared by that and smiled, "We'll see about that."

Anko pulled out a pouch and took out a chakra pill from within. "Holding on to clones for so long can be draining. You need one?"

Ino shook her head, "I'm good."

"Okay, are you ready for the second round?" Anko prompted.

Ino crossed her fingers and intoned, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Three clones split off and one of them stepped off towards Anko. The original blonde and the other two clones headed into the woods.

After ten minutes were up, Ino's clone said softly, "Best of luck, Anko-san. You're going to need it." She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Anko signed, "Ninja Arts: Obsessive Eyes." Her vision became sharper, and she began to see Ino's chakra brightly.

She signed again, "Ninja Arts: Nose of the Bloodhound." The Jonin's nostrils widened slightly, and her nose became sharper. She inhaled Ino's scent, allowing her to determine the direction in which Ino was heading.

There were three visible trails, two heading east and one heading to the north. One of the trails was the same one she had used, making it difficult to spot footprints.

"Clever, but not good enough to fool me," Anko said as she sped off towards that path. After a while though, Ino's trail vanished. Anko couldn't smell her anywhere near either. She looked up and saw a mark on a nearby tree. A few quick jumps, and Anko was atop a tree branch looking back towards the starting point. Surprised with the change in direction, she headed back.

"She came back." Anko mused, "But that leaves only two paths for her, and neither of them looks to be reused." Anko felt a slight respect for the Chunin. The false trail she had followed had already taken ten minutes of her time, and now she was no closer to finding Ino than she was in the first place.

As she thought, she suddenly realized that Ino's scent hadn't become any fainter since the Jonin had entered the starting point. "She's definitely been here recently. Could she have…? No, that would be unexpected. Wait, what am I saying, she's been with Naruto so long, he's probably grown on her."

She trained her eyes on the nearby trees, and sure enough, a moment later, she had her target. She ran towards a tree and flicked the trunk hard.

"Owww!" Ino's voice sounded under the chameleon tarp which Anko pulled away from her.

"Tag. And it took me only thirteen minutes."

Ino nodded with pursed lips, and then exploded into smoke.

Anko looked at the two paths heading east, and grinned. "Both in the same direction. That makes things easier. Now which one should I take? The one which looks more obvious? She must've gone through it really fast, seeing as she's not even bothered to clear the mess she made, heading into the trees. Or maybe she did it deliberately, trying to throw me off."

Then Anko grinned, "Or maybe, she just wanted me to sit here thinking instead of finding her!"

Without any further ado, Anko charged into the trees. However, a few hundred meters, she was forced to slow down as the path split into three. One continued onwards, one headed towards the south-east, and the last one veered upwards to the north.

All three of the paths looked pretty real, but Ino's specific scent was coming from the eastern track, so Anko followed that path.

And so it went on and on. Every few hundred meters, the path would split into two or three, making the Jonin pause and use her GenJutsu to determine Ino's real path.

After the seventeenth split, Anko was pissed. "What, is she planning to go to the Land of Lightning?" Ino had generally been heading towards the east, with minor detours to the north or south. So Anko had kept on that path. But on the next split, she hit a new roadblock. Of the three paths in front of her, none of them contained Ino's scent. Anko grimaced and took the left path, following it for a few hundred meters, before the trail hit a dead end. She scowled and backtracked to the last split, and chose the center path this time.

It continued onwards until the next fork a few meters ahead. "How on earth did she do this in ten minutes? How could she run so much and lay so many false trails?" The Jonin was tired now, and decided to finish it as fast as she could. She picked up speed and sprinted through the trees.

After around fifteen more forks, Anko noticed Ino standing in the center path in front of her, panting. She looked tired from all the running around. She held a stone in her hand, approximately a foot long and with a thin rope tied around it. Ino threw the stone into the ground on the left path, causing it to disrupt the foliage and create marks that looks quite similar to the balls of her feet. When the rock reached the end of the cord, Ino pulled it back.

"Very clever," Anko announced.

Ino spun around, looking at her proctor.

"But you didn't do this in the ten minutes," Anko said, annoyed.

Ino smiled, "You never said that we had to stop after the ten minutes were up. And most of the times, the best way to avoid someone is not to stop and wait for them to catch you."

Anko looked like she had been slapped. Then she smirked and admitted, "Fair enough. But I have you now."

Ino smiled again, and looked at her watch. "Are you sure about that?"

Anko looked at her own watch, and cursed as the time showed that her ninety minutes were up. She struggled to regain control of her emotions, and said in a strained voice, "Are you the real one?"

Ino shook her head, and Anko said, "Well, get lost then, and tell the original to meet me back at the starting point."

Ino nodded and dispelled. Anko took out a chakra pill, regaining some of her lost chakra due to the straining GenJutsus. As she felt strength returning to her body, she jogged back to the starting point and waited for Ino. To her surprise and slight irritation, Ino took nearly ten minutes to arrive.

"Where were you?!" Anko demanded. "The Land of Wind?"

"Well…" Ino said evasively…

"Ino? What are you doing here?" Naruto gawked at her. He was in his house, practicing his weapons skills for the test in the evening. "Aren't you supposed to be at the stealth and espionage test?"

Ino smirked, "Actually, I'm in the middle of the test. We're playing Hide and Seek. Mind if I hide here for the next hour and half?"

"Sure," Naruto smirked. "What do you suggest we do?"

Ino grinned wickedly.

"You went to Naruto's place for a quicky?" Anko burst out.

Ino blushed only slightly at that and said, "Not really, we just made out. Well, mostly. And anyway, you never said that the village was off limits. Besides, it's always easier to get lost in a crowd."

Anko glared at her until she could no longer hold her composure. The Jonin burst out laughing, clutching her sides in pain as she did.

Ino looked completely bemused, and said, "What's going on, Anko? Are you alright?"

"I'm okay," the snake summoner wheezed, finally regaining a bit of control. "I just, saw a little bit of myself in you for a moment there, I guess. I never thought that you'd make me change my rules for the next time I have to do this."

She straightened up, trying hard not to giggle, and said, "Congratulations, Ino. You have passed the stealth and espionage test."

Ino bowed, "Thank you."

"Now get out of here, before I collapse in a fit of laughter." Anko ordered. Ino promptly took off.

Even as the gap between the two widened, Ino could hear peals of laughter emerging from the forest behind her.


"Well, Naruto, you slipped up a little with the pole. I'll have to give it a B-Rank, I'm afraid," Gai said.

Naruto nodded, as he put away the weapon. Gai continued to stare at him with some expectation.

"What is it, Bushier-Brow Sensei?"

"Well, the requirement for the test is two A-Rank, two B-Rank and four C-Rank weapons. And with your six A-Ranks and four B-Ranks, you've pretty much blown the test away already. But I was rather hoping to see your favorite weapon. It has become quite famous."

Naruto said, "To be honest, I wasn't really expecting to exhibit Kitsune here. Most people just diss it as a stand-in for a training tool anyway."

Gai frowned and Naruto continued hastily, "Of course, that's part of why I like it so much. It doesn't have a formal style, so most of the moves I know for the long sword, katana, short sword, mace and even the short spear, can be easily translated into the staff-blade."

Gai smiled as he took his nunchaku out of his pouch. "Naruto, I'm certainly not one to chide you for choosing an unusual weapon."

Naruto chuckled, "I guess not."

Gai stretched out the nunchaku, and pointed them at Naruto, "So, will you show me the infamous Kitsune?"

Naruto said, "I could, but like I said, there's no formal style to it. How will you give me a ranking on it?"

Gai smirked, "I think that is pretty obvious. You'll have to beat an acknowledgement of your skill into me. And if you're half as good as I hear you are, you should be able to mock a fight with me without hurting me."

Naruto grinned, and said, "I wouldn't worry about that if I were you." Kitsune suddenly appeared on Naruto's back, within its scabbard. He drew the blade in one smooth motion, and assumed a fighting stance. He extended Kitsune in his right hand, keeping his left hand free and balanced.

Gai mused, 'That is the jian's fighting stance. Which means that if I attack hard, he will try to redirect me, and I can use that to turn back for a quick shot to his head.'

Gai swung his nunchaku sideways at Naruto's chest, and as he expected, the Kitsune flicked out to intercept. However, instead of deflecting it, Naruto pushed the blade of his weapon into the chain of the nunchaku, pulling them to the ground. Gai went off balance, not anticipating this change of events.

Once Naruto had driven the nunchaku too far beyond return, he quickly pulled his arm back and stopped Kitsune just short of Gai's chin.

"Bushier-Brow Sensei, you should stop underestimating me and take this a little seriously, ya know."

The Jonin nodded, and took a few steps back. He opened the First Gate, knowing that he had little chance of holding his own against Naruto without the extra speed.

"I'm afraid that a spar will not be enough for me to acknowledge your skills, so we need to have an actual battle. Let's go, Naruto," Gai announced.

Naruto smirked, "Bring it!"


Gai stopped, raising his hand to indicate that Naruto should stop as well. The Uzumaki obliged.

"What is it? Are you alright?"

Gai nodded, breathing hard. He said, "I'm fine, it's just that we ran over. The trial ended long ago."

Naruto looked at the large clock hanging in the academy dojo. Then he grinned sheepishly, sheathing Kitsune into its scabbard. "Sorry, sensei, I guess I got too caught up in the fight."

Gai shook his head, "I was having too much fun. It's been a while since I've had a challenge like this."

Naruto and Gai shook hands, and Gai said, "Congratulations, you pass with flying colors."

"Thanks, Bushier-Brow Sensei!"