Author's Note: Heyy, what's up everybody, CannonBaller here with another chapter for you guys today, and I've finished off the Jonin Trials in today's chapter. Also, get ready for a little mayhem, coz things are about to get real! Hope you guys enjoy today's chapter, and review if you do. Happy Reading!

PS: In my fic, the village elders do not know about the Fourth's marriage to Kushina. Just sayin...

Chapter 54: The Jonin Trials, Concluded

"Good morning," the Fifth Hokage greeted the room. She faced the five proctors of the Jonin Trials, behind who the Jonin Council stood. The seating area on the left held the village elders Homura and Koharu, as well as the various clan leaders.

"For those who don't know, this is the evaluation meeting for the Jonin Trials, which completed two days ago. We will be going through the tests of each of the participants, and the proctors will let us know if that person has passed or failed. After that, we will open the floor to question from the Council and any comments, before deciding the candidate's fate. Any questions?"

There were none, so she continued. "Since there are no objections, we will start our candidates' list with those who are renewing their credentials. First on the list…being me."

Some of the Jonins gasped, not knowing that the Hokage had taken part in the trials. Iruka paled, while Jiraiya began sweating.

Tsunade ignored their reactions, "Do any of my proctors object to me retaining my official rank?" They all shook their heads, Neji rubbing his right wrist with his left hand.

"Good, then next…"

"Hold on," Koharu said. "You seem to be skipping ahead. Not to mention, it looks almost like you tortured the proctors into voting for you."

Tsunade smirked, but inclined her head and waved her hand to indicate that the Elder should continue.

"Iruka," Koharu said, "You took Tsunade's GenJutsu test on Tuesday, did you not?"

The Academy teacher nodded.

"And did she meet the requirements?" Homura picked up where Koharu left off.

"She more than met the requirements." Iruka said softly. "She broke five GenJutsus each for ranks D through A. And she showed me three S-Rank, four A-Rank and six B-Rank techniques."

Whispers began filling the room but Koharu ignored them. "Can you list the jutsus?"

Iruka shuddered, and began listing the jutsus. As he did, the rest of the council noticed a common factor. More than half of the jutsus were for interrogation or for breaking morale on a military scale. Koharu glared at Tsunade, "You tortured him?"

"That's a little harsh," Tsunade said. "I used less than half the techniques I know, and those weren't even my worst ones. Nor did I hold them so tightly that Iruka wouldn't be able to break free."

Koharu turned back to Iruka, "Do you have any complaints?"

Iruka shook his head, and said, "Lady Tsunade gave me fair warning about the type of techniques she knew. And she did allow me to break through almost instantly for the tougher techniques."

Koharu switched her target to Jiraiya and said, "Why are you sweating so much? What did Tsunade display in her NinJutsu trials?"

Jiraiya said nervously, "Out of the sixteen required NinJutsus, Tsunade showed me thirty two, all B-Rank and above, the only exception being the Summoning Jutsu. I can list them at the request of the Council."

The whispers renewed. Koharu ignored them and turned to Neji. "How was the TaiJutsu trial?"

Neji smiled slightly, "As expected of the legendary Sannin. I almost lost the use of my right wrist simply while sparring against Lady Tsunade. She passed with flying colors."

Koharu turned to the remaining proctors in annoyance, "I suppose there is no point in asking you, is there?"

Both Anko and Gai shook their heads.

"Fine." The elder sighed. "Let's move on, then."

Tsunade grinned. "The next on the list is Hatake Kakashi."

Anko began without preamble, "Kakashi was the one who took my stealth test when I was trying out for Jonin. So there's really no need to even say it, although I will. He found all my clones in under thirty minutes, and I was only able to find one of his clones in the entire allotted time. He was the absolute best candidate I had to test in this exam, surpassing even Lady Tsunade in stealth skills."

Taking it from there, Gai said, "Having been my rival from childhood, I knew there was no need to even take the test. However, Kakashi showed me three A-Ranked, four B-Ranked and six C-Ranked weapons. Also, he showed mastery of the throwing knives at S-Rank."

Homura frowned. "Throwing knives aren't ranked above B."

Gai nodded, and said, "Kakashi can do the Uchiha Deflection Technique with utmost perfection. It was eerie, almost like I was watching Itachi."

Another round of murmurs went off. Tsunade raised her hand to quieten them and said, "Kakashi, would you like to explain?"

Hatake looked at her lazily, and said, "Itachi taught it to me when we served in the ANBU together." Looks of understanding dawned upon everyone's faces.

Koharu said, "Continue, please."

Neji said, "Kakashi well surpassed the requirements for TaiJutsu. I must say that there are very few unarmed fighters here who match up to him. He easily gives Gai-sensei a run for his money."

Iruka smiled, "Kakashi's gifted eye renders GenJutsu useless against him. And it also gives him an advantage in deceiving others. He was able to show me over fifteen GenJutsus in the allotted time, and also managed to break seven GenJutsus from D through A, as well as three S-Ranked GenJutsus." Tsunade turned towards Jiraiya.

Jiraiya said, "Well, everyone knows Kakashi's nickname, don't you? The Copy-cat Ninja? Well, in the allotted time, Kakashi showed me over fifty NinJutsus, all over B-Rank. In addition, of course, was the C-Rank Summoning Jutsu."

Everyone gaped at Kakashi. Tsunade smirked, "I've long since said that Kakashi is the only person who can take my place should anything ever happen to me. And after hearing these reports, I doubt that there are any who disagree. Does anyone have any objections to Kakashi retaining his position as Jonin?"

No one so much as moved. Tsunade said, "Very well. Kakashi, congratulations." The Jonin bowed slightly.


"So, Takashi will remain a Tokujo." Tsunade said. Everyone nodded.

"This brings us to the remaining list which comprises of Chunin hopefuls. First on the list is Sakura Haruno."

Gai said, "I must say, Sakura handles weapons well. She has trained well under you, Lady Hokage. She has an enormous amount of strength in her arms, which works well, considering that her primary weapon of choice is a battle axe."

Tsunade smiled. "Any complaints?"

Gai shook his head, "She performed splendidly and more than met the requirements of the test."

"Very well. Neji?"

Neji came forward and said, "Halfway through the test I wondered whether I was fighting Sakura or you, Lady Tsunade. She is probably one of the top ten unarmed fighters in our village, and can hold her own against any of the Jonin present here now, including Gai-sensei and me as well."

Iruka said, "Sakura's GenJutsu was on par with the requirements. It seems that she didn't waste time with GenJutsu after your training, Lady Tsunade. She showed me exactly the required amount of GenJutsus, and broke the required amount as well."

Tsunade nodded and said, "I focused her training on TaiJutsu, so that is to be expected. Jiraiya?"

Jiraiya said, "Sakura is well versed in two of the five chakra elements, and showed me enough jutsu to pass the test."

Anko said, "She passed the test, although she didn't do as well as I expected her to. She made a few silly mistakes in hiding and so I was able to find her clones easily enough. Her original managed to avoid me, though. However, she was also able to find all my clones and me in the time limit, so she passed."

Tsunade said, "Very well. Sakura exceeds the minimum requirements for all five pillars. I propose we award her the rank of Jonin. Any objections?"

Koharu said, "She has quite the temper."

Tsunade replied tartly, "If that was a disqualifying factor, neither of us would ever be promoted. And probably not Anko either."

Anko smirked.

Tsunade shrugged, "Let's put it to a vote. All those in favor of Sakura Haruno being granted the rank of Jonin?"

Most of the council raised their hands, and the remaining few followed, once it became apparent that the motion would carry.

"Wonderful." Tsunade said. "Alright, the next candidate is, Ino Yamanaka. I'd like to begin with Anko."

The snake summoner scowled and said bitterly, "Ino was able to find all of my clones and me with fifty five minutes remaining. And, she and one of her clones managed to avoid me for the entire allotted time. The kid is quite creative."

Jiraiya said, "Of the sixteen techniques that were required," he looked into his papers, "Ino showed me nineteen. She also showed mastery in Earth and Lightning elements. I can list the jutsus at the request of the Council. Ino also showed great mastery in her clan jutsus."

Iruka said, "Ino was able to throw off every GenJutsu I put her under. She also showed me a few GenJutsu that are well beyond the required minimum. Some of them were the same interrogation techniques that Lady Tsunade used. So I think it is safe to say that she passed the GenJutsu pillar."

Neji spoke, "Ino was sufficient in the TaiJutsu pillar. She has improved a lot over the recent weeks, and showed me enough hand to hand techniques to pass. Not the best candidate for TaiJutsu, but good enough for Jonin."

Tsunade nodded, and turned to Gai. He said, "Unfortunately, I cannot make things as easy for Ino as the others. Ino just barely made it past the minimum requirements, but her primary weapon is her throwing knives. She did achieve an A-Rank in it as she was much better than the standard rank, however, I do not know whether the Council will accept her primary weapon for the Jonin Trials."

Tsunade said, "How did she do with the other weapons?"

Gai said, "Well, she managed to show me two A-Rank and two B-rank weapons, and four C-Rank as well. That is the minimum requirement anyway. However, her form with the B-Rank weapons was a little less polished than I'd like."

Tsunade thought about it a little. She turned to the other proctors and said, "Did any of you have any complaints with Ino's performance?" They shook their heads, and the Hokage said, "I believe that with a little more practice, Ino will do better in KenJutsu. And as you said, Gai, she has already passed the minimum requirements, which are set for a reason. I propose that she be given the rank of Jonin. How many of you agree with me?"

Not a single Jonin remained neutral, and Tsunade carefully counted the votes…


"Last, but definitely not least," Tsunade said, as she looked at the list, "is Naruto Uzumaki. Neji, you can begin."

Neji said, "Naruto is undoubtedly one of the finest unarmed combatants that the Leaf Village could have produced. He is adept in over ten styles of combat, two of them which amazed me. He started with his weakest style as the Tiger Style, and was able to numb my arm simply while blocking my jab."

Whispers began anew among the Jonin Council, and Neji continued, "Furthermore, the two styles that he showed me apart from the regular styles were incredible. One of them was the coveted Frog Kumite style from Mount Myoboku, which requires nature energy to master completely. He was able to punch me without even physically touching me."

Most of the Jonins raised their eyebrows; few of them had heard about nature energy, and those who did were awestruck that the dumb kid from four years ago had mastered such a technique. Jiraiya smiled in satisfaction.

Neji said, "It was the second style, however, that got me really dumbstruck. It was easily Naruto's best style. It was none other than the famous Iron Monk style." The two elders looked at each other in disbelief. Another set of murmurs were set off in the room.

Koharu leaned forward, "Are you sure about this?"

Neji said, "After the TaiJutsu test was over, I went over to the Leaf Archives and checked the Fourth Hokage's old videos. It was undoubtedly the same style. Naruto was even able to adapt it better. Curiously, he told me that his mother, Kushina Uzumaki was the inventor of this technique."

Tsunade said, "That is true. I knew Kushina well, and she invented this technique."

Homura said, "But how did the Fourth Hokage learn this technique, then? It was arguably his best technique, and he would have to have spent a decent amount of time with Kushina if he wanted to learn it."

Tsunade replied unflinchingly, "The Fourth Hokage was acquainted with Kushina Uzumaki after he saved her life from some rogue ninjas once, who had tried to kidnap her. After that, they became good friends, and I imagine that she taught him the technique."

This explanation seemed to put everyone's minds to rest.

Tsunade said, "If that is all, let us proceed. Jiraiya?"

The Sage smiled, having waited for this moment for a long time. Although he didn't need to, he looked into his papers and said, "Of the sixteen techniques required, Naruto showed me thirty techniques."

Everyone looked at each other again; no one had expected Naruto to have improved so much. Jiraiya continued with a grin, "The only C-Rank jutsu he knew was the Summoning Jutsu. He also had three B-Rank Jutsus. But the astonishing factor about his NinJutsu list is that he had fifteen A-Rank Jutsus and eleven S-Rank Jutsus."

Everyone looked thunderstruck at that.

"Eleven S-Rank Jutsus? List them," Tsunade demanded, more for Koharu than herself.

Jiraiya nodded, and said, "Naruto can use the following jutsus at S-Rank. Wind Style: Rasengan, Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, Lightning Style: Rasengan, Lightning Style: Rasenbolt, Blood Clone Jutsu, Lightning Style: Lance Spears Jutsu, Wind Style: Impervious Wind Defense Jutsu, Wind Style: Zero Point Gale, Ninja Arts Summoning: Toad Battalion, the Weapon Forge Jutsu, and last but not least, the Hiraishin Jutsu."

Everyone stood up at that. Tsunade said, "Calm down, everyone."

Koharu said, "He knows the Hiraishin? How is that possible?"

Jiraiya said, "You might be forgetting, Koharu-san, that the Fourth was my student. I had all his notes on the Hiraishin, and passed them on to Naruto when he was ready."

Neji said, "Naruto was able to perform the Weapon Forge Jutsu in the trials?"

Jiraiya shook his head, and said, "There wasn't enough time for that, since the Weapon Forge Jutsu takes a long time. However, I have seen his creations with my own eyes and I can vouch for his perfection in the jutsu."

Kakashi nodded and said, "I too, have seen Naruto's crafting ability with the Weapon Forge Jutsu. I guess everyone in the room is aware of his weapon, the Kitsune."

Everyone nodded slowly.

Koharu said, "What was that jutsu you spoke of in the middle of the list? Summoning Toad Battalion or something? Summoning Jutsus, as you yourself stated, are C-Rank jutsus."

Jiraiya explained, "The standard summoning, perhaps. But, Naruto was able to summon seven toads from Mount Myoboku in the same summoning, two of whom are toad elders, and one who is the chief toad. Alongside, there were three giant toads and one midsized toad, who is incidentally the son of the chief toad."

Tsunade whistled; she had not known about this one either. Shikaku Nara asked Jiraiya, "Naruto can perform the Impervious Wind Defense Jutsu?"

Kakashi interrupted, "Yes, he can. I taught him that jutsu, even though I myself cannot use it above A-Rank. However, since his natural affinity is wind chakra, he can use it at S-Rank."

Tsunade said, "I guess that is enough about NinJutsu. I believe that Naruto has proved himself in that pillar. Let's move on to Gai."

Gai smiled, "Naruto performed splendidly in the weapons test. He was able to show me six A-Rank and four B-Rank weapons, apart from Kitsune, his primary weapon of choice, in which he displayed a mastery of S-Rank."

Everyone raised their eyebrows. Tsunade smirked, knowing Naruto's mastery in weapons had increased a lot after he had returned to the village. She turned to Anko.

"Naruto was really good at hiding and making me slow down by using traps. However, he took seventy five minutes to find all my facsimiles, and I was able to find two of his copies in the allotted time. The original was able to avoid me, so I suppose he passed."

Tsunade nodded. She glanced at the elders, who didn't seem too happy about the current situation. It seemed that neither of the elders had wanted Naruto to advance in his career.

Iruka looked down sadly as Tsunade turned to him.

"What is the matter, Iruka?"

The Academy teacher looked back up, and said, "Naruto failed the GenJutsu test. In fact, he failed spectacularly. He failed to break D-Rank GenJutsus that even Academy students can break, and was unable to show me any techniques as well."

Tsunade said, "I see."

Iruka continued, "However, Milady, there was a certain scenario that played out while I was conducting Naruto's test. If you would like to hear it, it might give you an opinion on why Naruto's GenJutsu abilities are so much worse than anyone else."

Tsunade said, "I already know the reason, having come across it recently. However, the rest of the Council will need to know, so go ahead."

Iruka nodded."

"Good morning, Naruto," Iruka said. Naruto muttered an incomprehensible wish and stood in front of Iruka silently.

"Is something the matter?" Iruka said, noticing how subdued Naruto looked. When the question didn't gather any response, he tried a different tactic.

"Did Ino's distraction mess up your weapons test yesterday?" Naruto turned red briefly, but shook his head. "Nah, it went great."

"Then what is it?" Iruka pressed gently.

"It's this test, sensei," Naruto complained, "There is no way I can pass."

"You practiced a lot with me, Naruto, I'm sure it can't be that bad." Iruka said.

"To tell you the truth, Iruka sensei, I feel like I haven't advanced in GenJutsu at all ever since I left the Academy."

Iruka took a moment to pity his student, before saying, "Naruto, I'm going to tell you something that very few people know now."

Naruto looked up towards him, and Iruka continued, "You know that I was a Chunin before you left for your training trip, right?"

The boy nodded.

"Well, when I was younger, I had tried taking the Jonin Trials while trying to keep up with Anko. She made it to Tokujo that time. But I totally screwed up the NinJutsu and TaiJutsu tests, and though it was close, I also failed the stealth and espionage test. I was so ashamed of myself that I never even tried it again until I met you, and saw your determination. It made me feel like I could advance as well. That is why I tried for Jonin again when you left. So, even if you make a fool of yourself here, I'd say you're in pretty similar company."

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei," Naruto managed to smile.

"So, let's begin. After all, the only thing worse than failing is failing to even try, right?"

"Right," Naruto said. "And it's not like I've ever been afraid to mess up before."

"That's the spirit," Iruka said. "Now, first of all, we'll begin with your ability to break GenJutsu."

Naruto's smile disappeared instantly, but he nodded.

The proctor said, "We'll start with something simple to get you into the groove." He quickly signed and whispered the name so that Naruto couldn't hear it. Then he took out a kunai and turned it over in his hand. As Iruka displayed the kunai, it suddenly seemed to grow longer and sprouted a hilt, until it was finally a broadsword.

Naruto put his palms together and rotated the chakra in his body. "Release."

Nothing changed.

"RELEASE!" Naruto proclaimed loudly, pressing his palms together. But there was still no change. Iruka began advancing towards him.

"Come on, please release," Naruto begged as the sword started descending towards his head. No longer sure that it was an illusion, Naruto jumped behind to avoid the blade.

"Naruto," Iruka scolded, "there is no way a kunai could cut you from so far away."

Naruto blinked as Iruka's GenJutsu faded away, and realized that if he had held his ground, the kunai would not even have come within a foot of his body.

"Sorry, Iruka-sensei, "Naruto said, rubbing his finger under his nose shamefully.

"Well, let's try another one," Iruka said. He signed and then split into two. Though one of him was the regular one while the other Iruka looked to be about eight years old, wearing a t-shirt and shorts.

"You can see two of me, right?" Iruka said. Naruto nodded.

"And which one is real?"

"The one on my right, of course." Naruto sounded annoyed, as he pointed to the adult Iruka.

"Good," the pair of Irukas nodded, "Now make the fake one disappear."

"Right," Naruto said firmly, shutting his eyes. "Fake Iruka-sensei, Release!"

When he opened his eyes, however, both versions of his teacher were still there. He repeated the process, but before he could complete it, he was interrupted.

"This is stupid."

Naruto looked into his psyche and said, "What is? My trying to get promoted?"

"Well, that too. But I meant playing around with these illusions. Real is what you choose it to be. If you don't want the child counterpart of your teacher to be around, destroy it with your Rasengan. Trying to do anything else is a waste of energy."

"Shut up." Naruto growled under his breath. Iruka looked at him in confusion and he explained, "The fox is distracting me."

He kept trying to release the GenJutsu but was unable to do so, until Iruka stopped the GenJutsu himself. "Forget it, just show me what GenJutsu you know."

"Sure," Naruto said indifferently. "This is the one I learned in the Academy."

He signed and intoned, "Ninja Arts: Face Changing Jutsu."

Slowly, Naruto's face became longer and his nose grew in size.

Iruka waited, but Naruto said, "That's it."

The proctor was confused. Although the Face Changing jutsu was only D-Rank, most shinobi used it to change their entire appearance in a single instance of the GenJutsu.

Iruka said, "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Naruto admitted with a sigh.

"Why change your appearance with an illusion instead of doing it for real?" The Kyuubi prompted.

"Just shut up, you damn fox!" Naruto exclaimed loudly.

"Naruto?"

"Nine Tails keeps bothering me about how GenJutsu is a waste of time and energy," Naruto said, irritated. "He says instead of wasting chakra on illusions, I should just use NinJutsu to do the same thing for real."

"Really?" Iruka considered that. "And what will he say if I tell him that I can make a forest with GenJutsu, but not with NinJutsu?"

Naruto paused for a minute, then said, "He just made fun of you."

"What did he say?" Iruka continued, curious.

"He said that Hashirama Senju could make a forest with NinJutsu, so you are obviously no match for him."

Iruka chuckled. "Well, I would never claim to be an equal of Senju Hashirama. I mean, there is a reason why he was the first Hokage, hailed as the God of Shinobi."

"Now he says you are smarter than you look."

"Alright, enough. Let's just continue with your test. Do you have any more jutsus?" Iruka prompted.

Naruto said, "Well, if I'm going to fail anyway, why not fail big? My best A-Rank jutsu, the Masking Storms GenJutsu."

Naruto completed the hand signs confidently. But nothing happened. Iruka watched Naruto sadly as the Chunin focused as hard as he could on the technique.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, but nothing is happening. Maybe you should try again."

"Yeah, I guess." Naruto formed the seals of the illusion more slowly and deliberately. Familiar with the jutsu, Iruka could tell that his student was performing the jutsu flawlessly. And the amount of chakra that Naruto was burning could almost be felt by him. But despite that, his GenJutsu never activated, and never invaded Iruka's chakra system.

Iruka said, "Maybe you should try something less complex," Iruka said.

Naruto tried and flawlessly performed six B-Rank and four C-Rank GenJutsus, using up vast amounts of chakra, all with no impact on Iruka at all.

"Are we done here, Iruka-sensei?" Naruto finally panted, exhausted.

"Yes," Iruka said, sparing a look of sympathy for his favorite student.

Naruto hurried out of the room, and Iruka allowed himself to show his worry for the boy.

"So, to caption," Iruka said, "I believe that Naruto's ability to break or use GenJutsu has been compromised by the…his…"

The proctor struggled to find words, but was saved by Tsunade. "For the purpose of this discussion, let us call the fox demon as it is, to make things easier. And I am sure that no one here is stupid enough to degrade a hero of this village in my presence."

"Our presence, you mean," Jiraiya, Iruka, Anko and Kakashi said in unison.

Kakashi spoke up, "I have read certain accounts that seem to indicate that the Kyuubi is especially susceptible to GenJutsu. It is possible that Naruto's use of the Nine Tails chakra has transferred that ability to him."

Tsunade sighed. "Regardless of the conditions, Naruto has failed the GenJutsu test and therefore, he cannot be made a full Jonin. However, Tokujo is definitely on the table."

Everyone nodded, and Tsunade continued, "Naruto has passed four of the five tests, and three of them by more than a notable measure. That is far more than what is required for Tokujo rank. Is there any objection to granting Naruto the rank of Tokubetsu Jonin?"

Not a single member of the Council was in opposition.

"Then we are done here," Tsunade said. "I will get the paperwork done and the results will be posted in two days. Dismissed."


It was a bright and sunny day when the participants of the Jonin Trials gathered outside Ninja Ops to look at the makeshift noticeboard that had been placed there, announcing the results of the trials. However, the noticeboard was blank.

As they watched, the Hokage came walking out of the door, carrying a large rolled up scroll in her hand.

"I should let you know," she said, "that those who have not been promoted have not made this list. Also, no one has been demoted. The rest of you will find your names and results here. If you have made Tokubetsu Jonin, you will also find the classification that the Jonin Council has decided as your specialty."

She looked behind her, as the proctors for the trials walked out of the building. She continued, "If you have any questions, you can take them up with the proctors." Tsunade stepped over to the noticeboard and unsealed the scroll, pinning it up.

Once Tsunade stepped back, the crows of shinobi surged forward to try and find their names. Naruto pulled Ino's hand and hurried towards the board, anxious to know the result despite being almost certain of it. When the blondes made it within range of the board, Naruto noticed that the results were simply a list of names. He quickly took a look at the list from top to bottom, making sure to note the ranks of his friends as well.

Aburame Shino – Tokubetsu Jonin – Tracking Specialist

Haruno Sakura – Jonin

Hyuga Hinata – Tokubetsu Jonin – Melee Specialist

Tenten – Jonin

Rock Lee – Tokubetsu Jonin – Heavy Combat Specialist

Nara Shikamaru – Jonin

Akimichi Choji – Tokubetsu Jonin – Melee Specialist

Yamanaka Ino – Jonin

Uzumaki Naruto – Tokubetsu Jonin – Melee and NinJutsu Specialist

And the list went on.

"YOSH!" Naruto shouted, "I knew I would make it to Tokujo! Believe it!"

Ino smiled at his excitement. He turned to her and embraced her warmly, before pulling her closer and kissing her deeply. Although a little surprised by the suddenness of the kiss, Ino returned it fully, immersing herself into the pleasure it gave her.

A few seconds later, the two blondes broke apart, and Ino said, "Congratulations, Ruto-kun."

He smiled and said, "Congrats to you too, Ino-chan. You made Jonin, and that is something that I was sure would happen."

The two of them made it out of the throng of ninjas gathered around the board, and met up with the rest of the Konoha 12. Suddenly, Naruto realized something. He excused himself and scanned the list again.

"What the f…" Naruto began, but stopped mid-sentence as he looked up at the roof of Ninja Ops. A lone figure stood atop the building, gazing out at the village, his raven hair fluttering in the wind.

Naruto shunshined up to the roof, and stood beside him.

"So, you didn't take part in the trials after all, I see."

Sasuke looked stoically ahead, and replied, "I don't need to prove my skills to anyone and you know it. The trials would have just been a waste of time."

Naruto turned to glance at him and smiled, "You would have made Jonin, ya know. Unlike me."

"Rank does not equate to skill. I thought that you of all people would remember that, after having faced opponents like Haku." Sasuke commented.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Although, Sakura's going to be pretty sad that you didn't bother giving the trials."

Sasuke turned towards Naruto. "She made Jonin, didn't she?"

"Uh huh."

The Uchiha turned back towards the wonderful view in front of him. "I guess she really did take me seriously back in the day."

Naruto shook his head, "Not just that. She really does love you, Sasuke."

The raven haired boy made no comment, choosing to remain silent. Naruto put his hand on the boy's shoulder, and was secretly glad that Sasuke didn't shrug it off.

"You know, it might not be a bad idea to get that attitude down a notch, Sasuke. It'll really help. I mean, I know you pride yourself in being an Uchiha, one of the elite shinobi in the village, but that doesn't mean you should hurt others around you by ignoring them. Look below."

Sasuke glanced down, and saw Sakura staring up at him, her hands joined together, fingers tapping nervously.

"She's dying to talk to you, but she know that you'll probably just ignore her anyway," Naruto said. "She's no longer the fan girl who used to annoy you back in the day. We've all changed a lot, and I'd like to think that it is for the better."

Sasuke looked back down at Sakura, who gave him a fleeting look of sadness before turning around and joining the rest of the Konoha 12.

Naruto said, "I'm gonna say this once, Sasuke. Forget the past, and focus on the future. I have a feeling it's going to be really bright."

He took his hand off Sasuke's shoulder, and was gone the next instant.


"So, you didn't get promoted, huh?" Naruto said. "That's a bitter pill, mate."

"Yeah, it sucks," Kiba said, sighing heavily. "But it's not like I didn't expect it or anything. My GenJutsu and KenJutsu was borderline going in, but I didn't really expect to fail in NinJutsu. Somehow, I wasn't able to get my best jutsus to work."

The others silently nodded, knowing that those two pillars tended to be a ninja's weakest areas.

Kiba forced a grin, "It's alright, though. At least I know that I'll definitely be ready in two years' time."

Hinata tapped her fingers nervously, and said, "I'm…I'm sure that you will, Kiba-kun."

Choji smiled and said, "Kiba, we are all with you and we will support you until you achieve your desired rank." Everyone vocalized their agreement.

Naruto said, "Of course we will. That's what friends are for!"

Sakura stood off by herself, a little to the side from the main group. Naruto walked over to her as the rest of the newly promoted shinobi began making plans for celebration.

"Hey, Sakura. Congratulations."

She replied, "Thanks, Naruto."

The girl began to walk away, but Naruto stopped her.

"What is it, Naruto? I want to be alone for a while."

"I know what you want to know. You want to find out why Sasuke didn't give the trials, don't you?" Naruto asked. Sakura's eyes shot up to him, begging for an explanation.

"Let's go and celebrate with the rest of our friends, and I'll walk you home later. We'll talk then."

Sakura took a look at his smile and returned it, "Okay. Let's go."

The two of them returned to the group, who had already begun an impromptu party.


Jiraiya looked out towards the crowd below the Ninja Ops from his vantage point atop the Fourth Hokage's head. He did not need to look to recognize who was walking up to him.

"I'm surprised you're not down there with them, celebrating their promotions," he said.

"I wasn't in the mood," Tsunade countered dryly.

"Are you still upset about Naruto and Sasuke not making Jonin?" Jiraiya asked quietly.

"Nah, not upset." she softly replied.

"Disappointed?"

"It's quite hard to be disappointed by something that you are expecting anyway," Tsunade answered.

"Well, then, I guess melancholy is the word you're looking for." Jiraiya smiled, looking at her.

"I guess that's probably the best word," she agreed.

"Come on, Tsuna, you know it will happen sooner or later," the Toad Sage said.

"Will it, Jiraiya?" the Hokage countered apprehensively. "By the time we were their age, we had already been Jonin for at least a year."

He ignored her smug look, and said, "Like I've been telling you and many others from years, rank doesn't equate to skill. I might have lost a step in the last few years but I don't have any doubt that I'd kick sixteen year old me's ass with my hands tied behind my back and blindfolded. Also, I don't hold any illusions that I could beat any of those kids without surprising them. If anyone is worthy of taking up our places, it is those three."

"I don't know, Jiraiya," Tsunade shrugged. "Lately, I've been wondering whether we should let the title of Sannin die with us. It was forced upon us by Hanzo of the Salamander, and hasn't exactly been a blessing."

Jiraiya shook his head firmly. "The Sannin are the three ninjas who protect and inspire the Konohagakure. And although the three of us might have fallen short, I think that the current team 7 might be up for the challenge."

"I'll think about it," Tsunade said, noncommittally. Then she smiled, "You've been here a long time now. Aren't you going to head out for research any time soon?"

Jiraiya pouted, "If I didn't know you better, I'd believe that you are actually allowing me to write more Make-Out books."

Tsunade grinned, and he sighed. "Fine. I'll head to the Hidden Cloud as soon as I can. But I'm not making any promises."

She nodded. "You got it."

The pervert pulled her down and said, "Now sit down and enjoy the view. It's a beautiful day."


"Well, what do you think, Zetsu?"

The plant like shinobi turned to look at Madara Uchiha. The black part said, "I see only one of them worth inducting into the Akatsuki."

Madara picked up the information card of the shinobi Zetsu was indicating at, and said, "Yes, I was also thinking along the same lines."

White Zetsu said, "So, what's the plan here, Madara-sama? Are you going to look for more replacements for the Akatsuki?"

The immortal Uchiha nodded, "It's been far too long. My plan has been delayed enough. I am going to rebuild the Akatsuki from the ground up and complete my plan."

Black Zetsu said, "Will you ever find anyone as good as the original Akatsuki?"

"Shinobi…are constantly evolving, Zetsu. No matter how good you are, there will always be someone else who is better. As the generations of shinobi continue to grow, so do their skills. In my time, all that was required to become a Jonin was to defeat one or be acknowledged by one. That isn't the case anymore, though. Ninjas in today's world are quite different from our time, and mostly for the better."

He looked at the card stacked across his desk and said, "Although it seems as though the Cloud Village is pitiful. I don't see a single Jonin apart from this one capable enough, and this guy is already a missing-nin."

White Zetsu smiled, "Well, the original Akatsuki also comprised of missing-nin. Why change the tradition?"

"Because, times change. We are in control of an entire village now. What use is it if none of them are talented enough?"

"Well," said Black Zetsu, "the ones who are talented already left the village, taking the Fourth Raikage's body with them. If you hadn't allowed them to go, we'd have a couple of good soldiers with us today."

Madara folded his hands, "It is useless to think that way. They were bold enough to leave, they would never have turned to me. Never mind that. White Zetsu has said something useful for once. We need to go through the Bingo Books and find more missing-nin for the Akatsuki."

"And what about this one?" Black Zetsu asked.

"We will have to find him, and bring him here by any means possible."

Zetsu nodded. He picked up the information card put it into his robes. Madara turned to look out of the window. He saw a white bird flying towards the tower, closing the distance between them rapidly, and smiled. "It is time to bring back one of my old friends to me, Zetsu."


Naruto and Ino strolled along the road at a leisurely pace. Having been given a few days off after the trials, the two of them had decided to take it easy for a while, by going for a swim.

Naruto took Ino's hand, and she put her head on his chest. The two of them continued to walk in contented silence for about an hour, until they reached the outer wall of the village. They waved goodbye to the guards at the gate, and strolled off towards their destination.

After almost another hour of tranquil walking, the forest around them began to thin out, and the roar of a waterfall made its way into their ears. Moments later, they reached the sandy beach surrounding the pool at the base of the waterfall.

Naruto took out a scroll from his pocket, and opened it, before signing thrice. A rug appeared on the scroll, surrounded by a grill, a packet of chicken, and a cooler filled with mineral water. Along with these items were a couple of towels, and spare clothes. Ino was already in the process of removing her skirt and top. Naruto turned towards her to tell her that he was done, and his jaw dropped.

Unlike the last time, Ino wasn't wearing her matte black swimsuit. Instead, she was clad in a Cornish blue bikini, composed of a halter top and hipster boy briefs. Although not as revealing as the previous time he had seen her in a swimsuit, Ino was undeniably looking sexier than last time.

Noticing Naruto's slight nosebleed, Ino laughed. Naruto closed the space between the two of them and swept her off her feet into his arms, kissing her passionately. Ino returned the kiss wholeheartedly, losing herself in the moment.

After they broke apart, she asked playfully, "Does this mean you like the new suit?"

"Ino, you are the most beautiful girl I have ever set gaze upon," Naruto replied softly. "And if you think that you could look bad in anything, I haven't been telling you that enough."

Ino pushed him away playfully and began heading into the water.

"STOP!" he ordered. Ino froze at the sudden change in his voice and turned to look at him, completely bemused.

"You can't go in the water until I put sun block on you," he said, grinning.

"Okay!" Ino agreed eagerly. She jogged back to where Naruto had unsealed everything and spread out the rug. She lay down on it, and Naruto took out a plastic bottle containing the sunblock. He kneeled next to Ino, and rubbed some of the lotion all over her exposed back and legs. Although, with the time and effort that he put into it, it practically turned into a full body massage than a simple sunblock application.

Ino moaned softly as he rubbed his hands repeatedly up and down her legs and back. Naruto turned her around and cupped her face, before gently rubbing the oil into her cheeks, nose and forehead. His hands moved lower, towards her neck, all the while firmly pressing the lotion into the pores of her skin.

Slowly, his hands moved past her breasts to her stomach, and he caressed it lovingly, kneading the sun block into her skin. Ino closed her eyes, allowing herself to immerse into the blissful heaven of pleasure that Naruto was subjecting her to.

"All done," he finally announced. She let out a disappointed groan. Then she opened her eyes with a snap, and sat up, staring at him expectantly.

"That means it's your turn," she said. "Take off your shirt."

Naruto readily obliged, stripping to his shorts and laying down on the rug. Ino spread the oil across his arms, legs and face. Then, she made him sit up straight, and pressed her breasts against his back hard, as she wrapped her arms around his body to apply sunblock to his chest. Naruto couldn't help but drool a little as he tried hard and failed to suppress his lecherous grin from spreading across his face.

Finally, Ino couldn't keep up the pretense of applying sunblock to his chest anymore, and she had to move to his back, quickly applying the lotion to his shoulder blades. After completely coating him in sunblock, she slid to her feet and ran back to the water.

"Oy, Ino, wait up!" Naruto scrambled up, but she just laughed.

"You want me, come catch me!" She dived into the pool.

"Oh, that's how you want to play it?" Naruto said in mock anger, and dived into the pool after her. Once fully underwater, he looked at her hungrily. She saw him coming for her and swam away as fast as she could. However, Naruto was known far and wide for his stamina. He torpedoed after her, using puffs of wind chakra to increase his speed. He caught up to Ino relatively easily, and pulled her into an underwater kiss.

The two of them continued their kiss as they pushed back towards the surface. As they broke into the air, he ended the kiss. The two of them floated in the water for a few seconds, gasping, but exhilarated. Suddenly Naruto slipped free of Ino, swimming away.

"Tag, you're it," he told her, before diving underwater. Ino's surprised look changed to that of determination and she followed him underwater.


After around two hours of swimming, the sun had reached the highest point, and Naruto announced his intent to eat. Ino joined him, and the two of them began to prepare. Naruto went to gather firewood, while Ino set up a ring of stones for a fire pit. The knucklehead set up his grill atop the fire pit, and Ino set a small fire to the wood.

Naruto grinned happily as he started grilling the chicken, and Ino looked at him, amused. The male blonde looked to be in a world of his own, poking the chicken with a stick, smiling as he observed the progress.

"Ruto-kun, I thought you didn't like cooking," Ino said.

"This isn't cooking, Ino-chan," Naruto told her, "This is grilling. No prep time, no cleaning, just a man and his flames."

Ino smiled back at him. The two of them continued to make small talk as Naruto finished grilling the chicken.

After lunch, Naruto lay on the rug, sighing with satisfaction, Ino lying atop him with her head on his chest. She snuggled upwards and kissed his nose lightly, causing him to grin.

"There's not many times that we can get to unwind like this, are there?" Naruto said. Ino replied with another kiss, "You got that right. Although, these moments keep me satisfied for a long time."

Naruto put his arms around Ino, and just stayed where he was. Ino said, "You know, we haven't really talked about getting married yet. At least, not seriously."

He looked straight at her and said, "That's true, I guess. We are engaged, after all. What are you thinking? You wanna get married soon?"

Ino thought about it, and said, "Nah, I'm good as we are right now. I just thought, we've been engaged for a while, so I wanted to get your opinion on it."

Naruto said, "Well, I've spoken to Grandma Tsunade, and there might be a slight…complication in the whole marriage thing."

Ino frowned, "Complication? What do you mean?" She sat up and allowed Naruto to do the same.

He said, "Well, you are slated to lead your clan, right?"

The Yamanaka nodded. Naruto continued, "Well, so am I."

Ino was blank. Naruto said, "Remember what I told you about my Kekkei Genkai? It indicates that I will have my own clan someday, and the rules of the Hidden Leaf actually are quite strict about two clan heads getting married to each other. It is not usually allowed, since that would make the two clans much more powerful than any other clan."

Ino scoffed, "What a rubbish rule this is, Naruto. As if anything like that is going to happen between us."

Naruto looked at her seriously, and said, "Ino, you might want to re-think that sentence. You see, this rule was approved by the First Hokage due to the adamancy of the Hyuga Clan, and reinforced by the Third, due to Hiashi Hyuga's stubbornness. As of now, there has been no change in that rule."

Ino looked at Naruto with tears in her eyes, "What do you mean to say, Naruto? That we can't get married?"

The male blonde cupped her face and said, "Of course not, Ino-chan. I'm just saying that it could be a while before I get rid of that repugnant rule that is keeping us apart from becoming one."

"Wait a minute. If you knew about this rule, then why did you ask me to marry you on my birthday?" Ino asked.

"I came to know about the rule afterwards, Ino. Grandma Tsunade called me in specially to inform me that we can't get married until that rule is removed, and that is only possible if Hiashi Hyuga relents."

Wheels were spinning in Ino's head. She suddenly smiled as a proverbial light bulb flicked on inside her head. "Naruto…What about Hinata and Kiba?"

Naruto looked flummoxed at the sudden deviation. "What about them?"

Ino looked at him excitedly, "Hinata and Kiba both are slated to lead their respective clans as well. If Hinata is able to convince Kiba, then she can help us indirectly, by making her father remove that stupid rule. If that happens, then we can get married too."

Naruto said, "That's a good idea…with one exception. This is Hinata you are talking about."

Ino's face fell as she digested that. "I guess you're right. I got too excited too fast."

"Don't worry, Ino-chan," Naruto said. "I'll figure something out."

Ino smiled, and Naruto kissed her forehead, reassuring her. As he looked above her head, however, his eyes widened, and he pulled Ino towards him. An explosion went off where Ino had been seconds ago, and Naruto stared at the remains of what looked like a white falcon.

"Deidara," he growled. Naruto looked up at the sky, and sure enough, Deidara was hovering atop his giant white bird, one hand in his clay pocket, and the other shaping another missile.

"Hello, Naruto. You were able to escape last time, because of Kakashi. But you won't make it out of here this time. You will witness my art and be caught in its magnificent explosion!"

Naruto literally face-palmed and said, "Do you honestly think that your art is going to be good enough to capture me?"

Ino looked behind her, sensing trouble. Sure enough, Zetsu ascended from the ground, and began walking towards them. Deidara sent a rain of clay hawks from above, and it was all Naruto could do, trying to dodge them as well as keep Ino out of harm's way.

As Deidara's attack ended, vines sprung up from the ground, trying to ensnare the two Leaf shinobi. But Naruto summoned Kitsune and slashed at the vines with the wind broadsword extension. Ino looked behind, and Zetsu had vanished.

The forest nearby had given the advantage to the plant like shinobi. He used his chakra to bring the vines from the forest into the waterfall area, and began trapping Naruto and Ino within them. Naruto had also summoned one of his special kunai, made with the Weapon Forge Jutsu, and given it to Ino to defend herself.

The two of them slashed at the vines continually, keeping an eye out for Deidara as well.

"We're losing," Naruto whispered.

"I thought we're doing well so far," Ino whispered back, worried by his attitude.

"No, they're toying with us," he explained. "You know that Deidara was able to take out Gaara. And we don't know almost anything about that guy Zetsu, except that he uses plant based jutsus."

"So, what do we do?"

"Give me a second, cover me." Naruto slashed his own wrist, allowing the blood to flow freely. A few moments later, he allowed the wound to begin closing, and signed, "Hidden Arts: Blood Clone Jutsu!"

Three clones formed out of the puddle of blood lying on the sandy floor, and they began cutting at the vines as well.

"I was actually hoping that you would have a plan," Naruto whispered, "but I guess we can use two of my clones to keep these vines away from us while we try to take out bomber man. And the third clone could try to locate our plant guy."

"It is a workable plan," Zetsu agreed dubiously, as he sprouted up in between the two of them. Naruto glanced back, and noticed that one of the two clones had been wrapped up by the plant vines, while the other two were busy trying to get close to Deidara.

Both the Leaf shinobi jumped away, but Zetsu followed Naruto, while more vines erupted from the ground in front of Ino. Zetsu's fingers turned into thorny extensions, and headed for Naruto's chest, too suddenly and too fast to dodge. He tried to block with Kitsune, but the extensions wrapped around them and kept going. Naruto started to create the wind broadsword again, but before he could, Zetsu's fingers lightly struck his chest.

The Akatsuki member pushed Naruto away, and he landed on his feet, suddenly feeling weak and light-headed.

"What did you do to me?" Naruto mumbled, trying to stand straight.

Black Zetsu said, "I poisoned you with a rare breed of my own toxins. Most people who get injected by it end up in a coma of ten days or so. But with you, I guess I'll be lucky to get two days out of it."

"It will still be enough," White Zetsu said, shrugging.

"Naruto!" Ino shouted, trying to make her way to him. She managed to cut through the stalks blocking her, but the opening she made was too small, and the edges of the cut plants tore at her skin and bikini, leaving her with scratches and close to losing her already minimal clothing.

Zetsu turned around instantly and kicked her back into a fresh layer of vines, which wrapped themselves around her limbs, ensnaring her.

"Time to go," Zetsu said, as he walked over to the now unconscious body of Naruto, and began to wrap him up in tendrils. He also took Kitsune with him, and wrapped it in a cocoon of its own.

"Deidara, I'm leaving now. Follow me when you are done here."

He vanished into the ground, leaving the area. Ino cried out in anger and pain, as she tried to get free of the vines surrounding her. Deidara continued launching clay missiles at the clones fighting him.

"NO! NARUTO!" Ino screamed as she slashed away madly at the vines, which were now losing strength and withering, as they began to collapse without Zetsu's chakra. One of the clones, who had been trapped in the vines, looked at the other two, who nodded. He quickly shunshined next to Ino and teleported them away.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" Ino screamed, trying to get free of the clone. The clone stopped about one mile away from Konohagakure, with a sad look on his face.

"There is absolutely nothing you can do back there to help our original. That plant guy is way too fast to follow anyway, and with the real Naruto gone, we will lose power as soon as he gets out of range."

Ino nodded, in spite of herself, tears streaming out of her eyes.

"What do I do now?"

"We will hold them off as long as we can, though I don't know how long we'll last with our real body getting further away every second. You have to get back to the village and get reinforcements. Crap, I've used too much chakra."

The clone turned back into a puddle of blood, and Ino forced herself up. She knew that the Akatsuki would try to clean up loose ends and would come after her unless she headed into the village. Only one idea crossed her mind, and she crossed her fingers. "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

Five clones split off, and she sent them in different directions to distract Deidara while the real one charged into the village.

"Was that…" Lee looked doubtfully at the blur that ran past him without a pause. Tenten nodded, recognizing Ino's blonde hair instantly.

The platinum blonde continued at full speed straight to Ninja Ops. She poured massive amounts of chakra into her legs, causing damage to them, but allowing her to run much faster than normal. Her bare feet were bloody, and she was running out of chakra, but she didn't care.

"Ino?" Sakura noticed her old rival racing up the stairs of the Ninja Ops building, and quickly followed. Ino charged past Shizune, practically busting the door of the Hokage's office off its hinges.

"INO, WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Tsunade roared, as she stood up in anger. Shizune shuddered as she stepped into the room after the younger kunoichi.

"The Akatsuki have kidnapped Naruto." Ino said fiercely.

"Oh no! Naruto!" Sakura whispered, standing outside the door.