Today was the big day. Today was when Naruto Uzumaki would reveal himself to the world. Whirlpools construction was finished and they had already begun to gather shinobi who were taught under the watchful eye of Zabuza Momochi.
Naruto was going to leave the leaf soon but first, he had to get allies, he was going to pay Gaara a little visit. Naruto was on a journey to find the remaining Uzumaki in the world and either ally with them or get them to join whirlpool. And Gaara was one of them. His red hair was a dead giveaway.
But how would he get his gratitude? He was certain he could beat him fairly easily in battle but that would garner his hate and not loyalty. He had it, Gaara's seal was faulty which allowed Shukaku to easily influence him. If he fixed it Gaara would certainly swear his allegiance to him.
Naruto got up finally knowing how to appease Gaara and searched for his chakra signature, he quickly found it since Gaara's was massive compared to his peers. So he darted off in his direction.
After a few minutes of searching, he found Gaara sitting on top of the roof looking at the stars. Naruto hesitantly approached him and sat beside him. "It is terrible to be alone isn't it" he asked Gaara not knowing what to say just nodded
"I can stop him from affecting you" Naruto said immediately Gaara looked at him his eyes glimmering with hope and joy "Please" was all he said Naruto lifted his shirt and jammed his fingers into Gaara's stomach effectively sealing off Shukaku and letting him sleep once and for all.
After a few hours of impatiently waiting Gaara began to stir and open his eyes. "Rise and shine Gaara" he said Gaara recognised his voice and immediately fell into a bowing position as he placed his head on the ground.
"I Sabaku no Gaara swear my allegiance to you Uzumaki Naruto" he said with respect. Naruto had been expecting a lot of things but Gaara grovelling at his feet was not one of them. He didn't like it when people bowed to him unless they were his enemies of course but it still made him feel wrong. "Rise Gaara from this day forth you shall be known as Uzumaki Gaara" he said and Gaara nodded in response.
"You will destroy as much of Konoha as possible before leaving the village with me there is much we must do" he said as he left Gaara to his own devices. One down. He now had a powerful ally on his side with an automatic defence.
His next target came much later, Orochimaru. He had someone who he shouldn't have and has put her through many sufferings. He would put an end to it soon.
(Chuunin Exam stands)All the fans had lined up in the stands ready to watch the excellent fights that were about to go down. The one Naruto was looking forward to was Hinata vs Neji. He was sure she could beat him but it would be a very close match.
Luckily they were the first competitors to fight so he didn't have to wait all that long to see her showcase her skills.
(Arena)Hinata was stood a few feet away from Neji her previous fear and stuttering gone. She had a lean set of muscles that we're most likely from rigorous physical training.
Neji also had been training to extend the range of his Byakugan and increase how fast he could use the gentle fist. He had gotten it down in one month proving that he was indeed the genius of the Hyuuga clan.
"Hajime!!" Hayate roared as he jumped back from the two opponents.
Hinata and Neji rushed towards each other with a roar as they quickly slipped into the Gentle fist stance. Hinata went for Neji's legs to try and disable him from using the Kaiten. He quickly jumped back and sent a flurry of strikes at her chest which she quickly blocked. She went for a roundhouse kick to his head and it connected knocking him to the side due to the unorthodox use of kicks in a bout he thought would be just the Gentle fist.
Regardless he got up and shook his head to get rid of the dizziness as he ran towards her again. He went for a jab to her shoulder which narrowly connected. He could strike faster than she could move just barely though. She retaliated with a strike of her own to his chest which forced him to jump back and change tactics. He had to stop underestimating her. He sent a kick which she prepared to block only to have another one of her tenketsu in her legs closed. 'A feint' she thought angrily as she rushed at him again. She aimed at his legs with her right bad and while he was focused on doing her right hand he didn't see her left hand coming. She hit him in the forearm rendering it useless. "You are in my field of Hakke" they both called out "Hakke Hyaku Ninjuu Hachi shou" Neji roared. He knew he wouldn't be able to hit all his attacks but he would make it count "Hakke rokujuu yonshou" Hinata roared she had both of her arms so she would be able to execute the move to greater effect than Neji.
Surprisingly with just one hand, he had blocked thirty-two of her attacks and landed thirty-two himself. Both of them were winded but due to her greater physical conditioning, she was able to remain standing just barley though.
"Winner Hyuuga Hinata!!!!!" Hayate roared and the crowd began to clap. She had won. She was no longer a failure. She soon passed out and was carried to the hospital by the medics.
As Naruto watched as she was taken away he looked at her with pride and said "I'm proud of you my little stalker" he whispered as he was taken to the stands. Naruto quickly adopted a serious expression as he jumped from the stands into the arena. While he had fixed the seal he had to remind Shukaku of his place and to do that meant to battle with the bijuu.
(Arena)
Gaara stood across from Naruto each of them wearing their grin. Gaara's was one of happiness, he was going to prove his strength to his Saviour and Naruto's was one of absolute ecstasy he finally got to leave the village after this.
To him, they were nothing more than gutter rats that deserved to be killed and living and walking among them took a toll on his self-control.
"Hajime" Hayate roared as he quickly ran into the stands he didn't want to have anything to do with those two Goliath's.
Naruto activated his storage seals and there it was Madara's war fan. He held it in his left hand and his scythe in his right. His shuriken remained in their pouch as he didn't want to reveal his skill with the Hiraishin just yet.
Naruto ran straight at Gaara and sent a downward slash with his scythe before it could get anywhere Gaara's sand moved to block it but it too was cut through like a knife through butter. Gaara jumped back to avoid a slash and sent his sand towards Naruto "Sand Shuriken" Gaara shouted as he moulded his sand into massive shuriken as he ordered them to hit Naruto. Naruto swung his fan and dispersed all the sand that was coming towards him. He sealed his weapons again and began kneading hand signs "Katon: Gouka Mekyakku" Gaara covered himself in the sand in fear of being burned into a crisp. The wall of flames battered the sand and it became so hot it turned the sand into glass.
He ran towards Gaara and punched straight through the sand and landed a punch onto his face. He then loosened the seal awakening Shukaku.
He jumped back and created five shadow clones "Four flames formation" they all shouted in unison trapping he and Gaara in the arena
(Back in the stands)
'That fool he is trapping Gaara in there' Baki said. Naruto had delayed the invasion now and Gaara didn't like it
"He is forcing the Bijuu out" said Kakashi. He was strong in his own right but even he didn't dare fight a Bijuu on his own.
(Back in the Arena)
Gaara's eyes began to glow gold and he began to turn into Shukaku. Naruto mouthed for Orochimaru to start the invasion which he happily obliged to.
Bird feathers began falling from the sky 'So it begins' Naruto thought before turning his attention to the now fully transformed Shukaku.
Naruto activated his Sharingan in it's EMS form and those who were in the stands dropped their jaws in shock. Sasuke seeing this was about to storm down into there and demand answers but he was quickly grabbed by the strong arm of Kakashi. "Not now" Kakashi said turning his attention to an Oto shinobi.
"Shukaku you arrogant child I will teach you to respect your elders" Naruto said in a serious tone of voice. "I'll kill you HAHAHAHAHA" Shukaku cackled madly. Naruto quickly began running through hand signs and whispered "Suiton: Bakusui Soha" he said ejecting waves of water from his mouth. This slowed down Shukaku's movements and made his sand harder to control but Shukaku wouldn't allow it "Futon: Renkudan" he said firing pressurised wind bullets at Naruto. Naruto simply placed unsealed his fan again and raised his fan in front of him. The bullets hit it dead on but it didn't shatter or shake.
Naruto ordered his clones to drop the barrier. He wanted as much collateral damage as possible. Naruto retreated a bit and Shukaku chased destroying any and everything around him in a fit of rage. Naruto was beginning to grow tired with this little dance. "Futon: Rasenshuriken" he said launching the giant shuriken at his foe.
Shukaku was engulfed with white and once the smoke cleared revealing the downed form of Gaara who was currently sleeping. Naruto picked up his body and left Konoha. When he came back it would be on his terms.
