Author Note: Thank you for reading my story! I also thank HaveaLittleFeith for editing my story.

However, got some news. I will be taking a small break from posting. I started a new job, so want to get used to it without stressing over both writing and posting. Hence there won't be a chapter posted next week and I will start posting again the week after next as by then I should have a good idea of how to balance writing with work... As well as give my editing friend a break, too.

Hope you all enjoy this chapter and have a great day!

The Old Man was quick with getting Kaus' grave made. After a quick check-up from Medic-nin, we were released from custody with escorts, since most of our group were not from Konoha.

"It's a… bit late, Kaus, but you're here. Welcome to Konohagakure." I lit an intense on Kaus' grave as we stood around his simple grave in Konoha's Cemetery. Raphtalia put some flowers we bought on the grave. I had to give respect to the Old Man. He managed to get the grave marker to put Kaus' name in Fire and Melromarc.

"We… miss you, Kaus." Raphtalia choked back a sob. "Thank you… And please rest in peace."

"Father, who is Kaus?" Filo asked me as Lial and she looked at me with frowns. "Why does he have a stone?"

"Kaus… was a friend," I hugged both my daughters. "He died before you two were born. This is his grave."

"Grave?"

"Where his remains rest. That way we can pay our respects to him." Both Filolial and dragon went silent and snuggled closer to me.

We stayed for a little while before we left to Iruka-sensei's and my apartments. They were a mess, clearly ransacked due to the investigation on us. I was just happy to see I still had a place to live and had Shadow Clones clean both apartments up. Sadly, my plants had died due to lack of care. We headed out to get at least some bedrolls and food for my apartment as it was big enough for us all to sleep in.

"So this is your home?" Aunt asked in awe as she looked around excitedly. "To think I would end up in one of the heroes' worlds! The possibilities are-"

"Limited," Our escort, Aburame Shibi, said coldly. "Non-shinobi, especially foreigners, have little access to shinobi information."

"Not secrets, dearie. Just seeing all these amazing wonders of your village is giving me so many research ideas!" Aunt said as she saw a ninja hopped across the roofs. "To think such feats like that are possible with magic."

"Ma…gic?" The Aburame shifted a little but stayed quiet. Good choice, my man, considering Aunt's berserk button. I even felt the ANBU following us flinch. Guess they got the memo to not diss magic.

"Anyways, let's get a bite to eat," I quickly changed the subject. "We can pick up some bento and eat somewhere nice."

"True. Though, I never knew Konoha had a means of language translation," Iruka-sensei looked at Shibi's wrist where a bracelet was. "Would have made my life easier."

"The seal doesn't always work," Shibi said with a slight annoyance in his voice. "However, I find it quite a feat that you and Uzumaki have mastered a foreign language so quickly."

"Matthew is a good teacher." Iruka nodded to the flushing rabbit man. "Though, Naruto and I still have a ways to go to master Melromarc and magic language."

"But, to think this is where Iruka-sensei and Master Naruto grew up," Raphtalia said as her tail squished excitedly from side and side. "It's amazing. So many people. It's like a city!"

"Konohagakure is known as one of the largest of the ninja villages." Iruka-sensei smiled at Raphtalia. "We have a large civilian population compared to the other villages and rely on their support to keep our village running as the ninja do their jobs."

"I can see why they want to live here," Matthew said as he smiled with seeing people going about their daily lives. No one glared as us, though some did stare.

I was soaking up this… normalcy? Yes, I soaked this normalcy up while I had the chance. It would not last once everyone learned I was Uzumaki Naruto. Thankfully, the Old Man allowed me to keep my face mask, so it will help me enjoy this a little longer.

"Wait a second." Iruka-sensei stopped before a weapon shop. "Naruto, there's something I want you to try."

"Huh? What is it?" I asked as we entered the weapon shop. It had quite a selection of weapons and even had a few historical tools on sale for decoration. Iruka-sensei went over to the smallest section: shields.

"Remember that weapon copy thing?" My eyes widened at Iruka-sensei. "Try it."

"But… Wouldn't that be like stealing?" We have had this discussion plenty of times. We hadn't tried it at Uncle's as I didn't want to ruin my relationship with possibly the only weapon shop that would work with me.

"Just try it to see if what we theorized is true." Iruka-sensei took down a small wooden shield from the wall. "This is the cheapest one. Once you get your money back, you can pay for it if you want."

The cashier was looking at us funnily, but… I will never know if I kept avoiding it. I took the Shield and my eyes widened when a strange feeling shot from the wooden shield to Tate-chan.

Weapon Copy System Activated

Wooden Shield conditions met.

Red Wooden Shield conditions met.

Pink Wooden Shield conditions met.

Etc…

Holy Hokage! It unlocked not one shield, but all the color variations of the Wooden Shield!

"It worked?" I dumbly nodded as I put the shield back on the wall. "So, you can gain new forms from already made shields."

"But it feels wrong to do it." I really was tempted to weapon copy on the other shields, but the shop was a Konoha shop. Just like Uncle, they were my allies and I didn't want to steal from my allies.

"If we explain, maybe we can make a deal with the weaponsmith in Melromarc." Iruka-sensei looked at the shields on display. "Ninja don't use shields that often, so it would be better to do the copying from his shop, anyways."

"Oh, the weapons here are amazing!" Raphtalia's eyes sparkled at a katana on display. I looked at the price tag and turned green.

After almost two months of using metal coins… The sheer difference between the two money systems was sickening. How much ryou did I still have left in my name? I know I had enough of a buffer for a few months rent, but could I afford a katana at 30,000 ryou?

"Ah, foreigners?" The cashier seemed a bit nervous. "Is there something you are looking for?"

"Nothing at the moment," I answered and Raphtalia pouted at me. "We were showing our companions Konoha's unique weapons. You have a fine selection, so we will probably be back."

"Oh, okay," The cashier sighed in defeat as we left the shop.

"My, I never tasted anything like this," Aunt said as we ate some bento in the park next to the Academy. "It's odd… But, still good." Aunt used her hand to pop a sausage octopus into her mouth.

"Still not as good as Father's cooking."

"Not good."

"Hey, do you two want just raw meat from now on?"

"Noooo!" Filo and Lial both cried out with watery eyes. "Father's cooking is the best!"

"Best! Best!"

"They don't lie on that front." Matthew laughed at the pouty girls. "Your cooking is amazing."

"I'm not a chef." I joined in the pout party.

"Wait, is that…"

"I think so!"

"Iruka-sensei!"

What the?!

A wild pack of children appeared around us.

"It really is!"

"We missed you, Iruka-sensei!"

"You're way better than the substitutes!" All the children surrounded Iruka-sensei and some hugged him.

"Why'd you all run off?" A mock pained tone came from the voice of the fox masked ninja… Oh, wait, he isn't wearing ANBU gear. Though, his face was still mostly covered with a headband over one eye and a cloth mask over his face. He wore a pair of blue slacks and long sleeve shirt with a green flak jacket. "Aren't my team and I worth your time?" His eyes smiled at the group.

"Hell no!"

"You guys are lousy!"

"I heard that!" Several of the kids gulped as three other teenagers appeared. "We are trying to teach-" The girl of the group looked at us and her eyes widened just as I realized who it was. "Iruka-sensei?!"

"Sakura-chan?" I said quietly at my once crush. She must have not heard me as she rushed over to Iruka-sensei. I looked by Kakashi and saw two… Uchiha Sasuke? One I know for sure was the snob, but the other was a paler, creepily smiling version of the snob. They all had Konoha headbands on their foreheads.

"Iruka-sensei, you're back?!" Sakura asked in shock. "I heard-"

"Yes, yes. Luckily things got cleared up." Iruka-sensei held his hand up in defense. "It has been quite an adventure with Naruto."

"Tch. That loser is probably rotting in jail for being foolish enough to steal from the Hokage!"

"Hit it where it hurts." I slumped. I expected jail time for my crime. Not a promotion to Genin.

"Huh? Who is this?" Sakura looked at me. "He looks like Naruto… Wait, are you his father?!" Sakura pointed in me in horror. "W-What are you doing here when your trash son is-"

"Because he is Naruto." Iruka-sensei smiled as Sakura recoiled back.

"H-How? Naruto! Drop the transformation this instant!" Sakura shouted put her hands on her hips. There are those cute furrowed brows… But now I felt horrible thinking that. Dammit, Raphtalia got me thinking I was older than I am.

"It's not a transformation." I sighed and dodged Sakura's punch with ease. It was like I was seeing her move in slow motion… Weird. "Please don't hit me. I'm like a rock, now." I rather her not break her hand.

"Master Naruto, why is that girl trying to hurt you?" Raphtalia stood up with her tail fluffed up in anger. She was still disarmed but had her fists clenched.

"Maa, maa, calm down," I scratched the back of my head. "She just thinks I'm pulling a prank. You remember how I used to look like."

"Oh, yeah!" Matthew laughed, "You grew with your levels and are not a child anymore."

"But I'm still twelve years old," I felt a vein pop on my forehead. Thankfully my new headband hid it. "My body might have aged, but I'm still mentally a kid."

"Huh? You can understand that man and woman?" Sakura blinked at me.

"Umino-san and Uzumaki-san were transported to a far away country by mistake," Shibi said as he looked over the kids. "It seems now they are our foremost experts we have for this country called Melromarc."

"Really?"

"What is it like!" The children bolstered questions out.

"Why does the lady got animal ears on her head?" One child pointed at Raphtalia.

"Raphtalia is a demi-human," I crossed my arms in thought. "They are like the Inuzuka clan, but they are part animal instead of looking like their canine partners."

"She's part animal?!"

"So cool! She probably has awesome powers!"

"Hey! He has bunny ears! He's so cute!"

"Seems they like you a lot, Raphtalia, Matthew."

"Eek! These two look so cute!" The girls crowded around Filo and Lial. "Are those wings real?"

"Yes. Why wouldn't they be?"

"You speak Fire?!"

"Fire? I don't have Fire affinity, but Lial does." Filo cocked her head.

"Fire short for Fire Tongue." I laughed at my daughters' confused faces. "It's what we call my native language as the countries each has their own variations even if similar on this continent."

"Oh, so you can spit fire, Father?"

"Fire breathe, Father?"

"No!… Well, sort of… That's beside the point!" I nursed my forehead. "You two must have translation magic similar to my shield. Hence you can understand others no matter the language."

"Oh," Both said before they cocked their heads. "Don't get it."

"Seems the apples don't fall far from the tree." Iruka-sensei laughed at my despair. These two were more airheads than me.

"F-Father?" Oh, Sakura looked horrified as she pointed at me. Sasuke actually had shock on his face, too. Damn, wished I had a camera. "How… Daughters… Naruto, how do you have children?!" Ow! I thought my ears recovered!

"Adopted them," I said and both my old classmates stared at me blankly.

"But… But they look just like you!" Sakura said with a red face.

"They used me as their reference for their human forms." I sighed with pinching the bridge of my nose. "We still have to get their clothes made so their transformation don't rip them to shreds."

"Transformation?" Sasuke asked with a bit of interest in his tone.

"Those two girls are not normal girls?" The Sasuke clone finally spoke up, not losing his strange smile.

"Yeah. Filo is a bird… creature called a Filolial. Lial is a Knight's Dragon." Oh, boy… The children's eyes lit up.

"Dragon?!"

"A real-life dragon?"

"Naruto, don't makeup lies!" Sakura attempted to hit me again. "How can two little girls be fictional animals?!" Okay. Slow motion was getting weirder.

"Can we tran-"

"Hell no!" I snapped at both girls. "You stay in human form. We don't need people freaking out over your real forms."

"Awww!" Both puffed their cheeks. "Meanie."

"You want no-"

"Maa, maa. Aren't you quite the strict parent," Kakashi stepped forward.

"I have to be." My eyebrow twitched at remembering how Filo and Lial were like before I got the monster crests on them. They would transform whenever they wanted, demanded food for almost anything I asked them to do, and both wouldn't listen to me!

I glared at Kakashi as he laughed at me… Wait. "You're chakra is still low." Oh, revenge is sweet. "Here, this should help you recover." I reached for a storage scroll I had in my hip sack. I checked my inventory before leaving the carriages. I took some of my medicines and supplies with me. I pulled out a Healing Beverage and one of the few Magic Power Waters I made. They were for sale, but I hadn't put them on display due to having so few. I wanted to sell them in an adventurer filed town to get the most from them.

"Mm? Medicine?" Kakashi took the two bottles from my hands. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's an apology for the hassle I put you through." I grinned at him.

"You can tell even though-"

"Yep."

"Naruto is a sensor-nin like me, Kakashi-senpai." Iruka smiled at the embarrassed ninja. "Though, kind of hard to hide that silver hair of yours."

"True." Kakashi let out a meek laugh.

"And you better drink that medicine before Naruto decides to charge you." Iruka-sensei gave me a sly look. "Naruto rarely does anything free. Especially giving his medicines away."

"Hey! We had to earn all our money from scratch!"

"But you would even charge bedridden patients."

"You think I do stuff out of charity?!" I glared at Iruka-sensei. "I think not! Everything has value and can be exchanged!"

"Including life?"

"Even life as you have to work to earn people's trust," I said as I nodded.

"What kind of twisted logic is-" Sakura stopped with hearing a groan. "Kakashi-sensei?! Are you alright?!" Sakura focused on the now green ninja.

"Yes… Just… So bitter." Kakashi whimpered while holding two empty bottles.

Tee hee.

I still haven't found a way to make my medicines less bitter. In fact, they all seemed to get more bitter outside Soul Healing Water. That one was delicious water that seemed only useful to me as it recovers my SP which the others don't have.

"It's a prank! Why did you drink that stuff?" Sakura scolded Kakashi.

"No. Naruto's medicines are real." Kakashi recovered from the taste. "I already feel my chakra levels almost restored. Are you planning to share the recipes to the Medic Corps?" Kakashi's eye-smiled at me.

"For a price," What? Why was everyone giving me blank looks? "I have to figure out how to get the herbs to either grow here or research substitutes here to make them." It will be a lot of hard work and I had limited time.

"Which we will gladly pay for your services, Naruto." Oh? The Old Man walked up with several ninja. "You are now part of the Medic Corps, after all."

"Hokage-sama," Kakashi nodded to the Hokage, "Visiting the class?"

"Actually, I'm here to complete a request Naruto asked of me."

"My request?" I asked as before my widened. "You're gonna make Raphtalia and Matthew ninja."

"Depends on the outcome of the test."

"Test?" I raised an eyebrow before seeing one ninja had Raphtalia's sword and Matthew's staff.

"Kakashi, would you mind sparring with Naruto and his companions?" The Old Man looked at the silver-haired ninja.

"Are you sure that is alright?" Kakashi raised his only visible eyebrow. "Are they not ninja?"

"You are basically doing the Genin Exam with them." That shocked Kakashi, his group, and the children around us. "It would be a good thing for the youth to see how combat goes."

"I see." Kakashi sighed as the ninja handed Raphtalia and Matthew their weapons. "So, it will be three against one?"

"Lial wanna fight too!"

"Can we be ninja, too?"

"Can you two become ninja?" I said with a reluctant look on my face. "You two are only two weeks old. Isn't there an age restriction or something?"

"T-Two weeks old?!" Sakura puffed out her cheeks. "Stop lying, Naruto!"

"Are they demi-humans as well?" The Old Man asked.

"No. They are mon-er, animals. They grew up quickly into a Filolial Queen and Dragon Queen thanks to my shield. Hence they have transformation magic." I patted both monster girls on the hand. "Plus, it would be too mean to have a five against one fight." Not that I'm looking down on my fellow ninja, especially one that is an ANBU.

"I will allow it as they would be considered animal-nin." Both girls cheered and hugged the Old Man. "Some animal-nin have transformation techniques, so it's not too far of a stretch."

"Are you trying to punish Kakashi-san for something?" I gave a pity filled glance to Kakashi. "I know he's an elite in the village, but…" I am still figuring out the power scaling compared to the village and my party.

"Kakashi is a talented Jonin. He's much stronger than you underestimating him as."

"No… More I'm worried about us holding back as it is a spar." I don't need to add harming my fellow ninja on my record with still getting the scroll incident on there. "We haven't sparred in a while and have been fighting constantly."

"Well, that's all the more reason to have someone like Kakashi to test you." The Old Man laughed. Kakashi and I eyed each other. We both let out a sigh, knowing all too well this was not going to end well on either side. Nothing goes well on either side if the Old Man was happy about it.

We moved to a nearby training field near the academy. The kids were in awe when Filo and Lial came out of the bushes in their real forms and handed me their dresses.

"It really is a dragon!"

"You'll have to save up a lot for one." Iruka-sensei laughed at the kids with sparkled filled eyes. "Lial's a Knight's Dragon and those cost 20 gold coins."

"Twenty coins? Isn't that cheap?"

"No. As in solid gold coins."

"What?!" The kids looked at Iruka-sensei in shock and horror. "How does he have one?"

"He cheated at a lottery."

"Hey! I didn't cheat!" I puffed my cheeks at Iruka-sensei. "I didn't even know at the time it was abnormal to be able to sense things!"

"Right," Iruka-sensei smiled at me and I scowled back.

"Well, this will be a fun exercise," Kakashi sighed out as he popped his shoulders. "How about we do the bell exercise?"

"Bell exercise?" I asked as Kakashi reached into his hip pouch and pulled out two bells.

"Yes. You have to get these bells from me. However, since there is only two… Well, only two of the five of you will pass."

"Two out of five?" Filo asked, "That's isn't fair."

"In the ninja world, nothing is fair." Kakashi hummed as he put the bells on one of the loops of his pants. "You can use any weapon and techniques. You will have to come at me as if to kill me to get these bells."

"So can I eat him?"

"No!" I smacked my forehead at Kakashi's mortified eye at Filo. "No eating ninja. Plus, you don't know where he's been!" How much residual poison was in an elite ninja, anyway? It actually made me wonder if there were Poison Resistance abilities are in this world, too.

"Aw… But he looks tasty."

"Not you, too, Lial!" I shouldn't have used them for that threat against the bandits. I really, really shouldn't have planted the thoughts of humans as food in their heads. Aaagh. Just thinking of them eating humans… Squick, go away! Go away squicky thoughts!

"Go Filo! Lial!"

"Yeah! Eat up that lousy sensei!"

"Don't egg them on!" I snapped at the children and they hid behind Iruka-sensei, Old Man Hokage, and the other ninja. "Jeez. No. I order you two to not eat any Konoha ninja."

"What about other ninja?"

"We'll discuss that when the time comes."

"What are you teaching them, Master Naruto!" Raphtalia huffed at me with her tail angrily swiped from side to side.

"Ma, ma, let's get back on topic," Kakashi let out a weak laugh. "As I said, you need to come at me as if to kill me if you have any chance." I relayed what Kakashi said to Matthew and Raphtalia.

"As if we would let the odds deter us." Matthew chuckled while Raphtalia unsheathed her sword. "We fight for you, Master, not some stupid bells."

"Yes. As your sword, I will follow you even if I don't get a bell." Raphtalia stood in her stance, ready to strike.

"Good… Filo, you stick with Matthew! Lial, Raphtalia, front line with me!" I changed Tate-chan to the Light Metal Shield and held it before me.

"Ah! Filo wanted to fight, but o-kay," Filo got before Matthew as Lial prowled closer to Raphtalia and me.

"Seems you are taking me seriously even after all you said," Kakashi said with a slightly narrowed eye. "Seems you do have some respect for me." He whipped out… a book?

No. Books could be weapons, too. I found that out while discussing possible magic weapons for Matthew that more could be hidden. I wouldn't be surprised if there was a ninja version of combat grimoires.

"Oh? You are so serious even with me pulling out a book?"

"Of course. Ninja don't play by the rules." I smirked at Kakashi as I pushed chakra into my muscles. "And after learning magic, you can never look at a book the same ever again."

"Interesting." Kakashi's eye smiled at us. "Ready… Set… Go!"

"I am the Shield Hero and I order thee!" I shouted as Raphtalia, Lial, and I sped towards Kakashi. "Decipher the laws of nature and slow my enemy! Faust Slow Down!" I targeted Kakashi and he tried to casually dodge us.

Not happening! Put some effort in, Jonin!

"Huh?" The spell struck and Kakashi's eyes widen as Raphtalia and Lial pincer him with a sword and tail whip. He barely dodged at his slowed down speed and his hair got grazed by Raphtalia's sword. Lial used the force of her tail whip to spin around and her jaws wide open at Kakashi. She bit down only for a branch to break in her mouth.

Damn. A silent substitution! Where-

"Air Strike Shield!"

"Agh!"

Ow. That had to hurt an elite ninja's pride. Kakashi ran straight into my Air Strike Shield when he tried to push past us to Filo and Matthew.

"Zweite Aqua Shot!" Matthew unleashed an orb of water at my Air Strike Shield… Wait, something popped up in my status magic?

"Aqua Shield!" Matthew's magic never appeared and a new Air Strike Shield appeared behind Kakashi as he jumped back away from the first shield. This new shield was made of water instead of being energy like before.

"Shit!" Kakashi got grazed in the side as he dodged the hose like shot the shield unleashed while being lightly hit when retreating from the first shield.

Hey now! We can combine my skills with other's magic?! Where the hell was this in the manual… Oh, now it shows… How the hell did I miss that before?

"Faust Tornado!" Filo flapped her wings and unleashed a tornado. Kakashi rushed out of the way and turned back towards my group. He put the book away.

"Seems I won't be able to read with you lot." Kakashi chuckled, "Let's get serious." Whoa! Did the spell break?! He flew through hand seals so fast that I couldn't catch it! "Fireball Jutsu!" A huge sphere of fire shot at us.

"Behind me!" Raphtalia and Lial got behind me and I braced myself with chakra. A barrier formed when the fireball struck.

Good. Seems Magic Defense Up included chakra attacks like magic.

Wait... Kakashi vanished from where he was when the flames dispersed. Where-

"Up we go!"

"Lial! Flame attack now below!" I shouted as Lial grabbed Raphtalia and me by the arms and flew up.

"I am the source of all power and I order thee. Decipher the laws of nature and burn them! Faust Fire Breath!" A bolt of fire fired out of her mouth and toward the ground just as a pair of hands shot out of the ground. They quickly went back down just before the fire breath hit the ground.

The damn bastard used the ground as a shield and… "Shield Prison!" I encased Matthew in my prison skill, blocking Kakashi from attacking him from below.

"As if being underground will stop me! Hah! Hah!" Whoa! Filo began to stomp the ground and broke it open to expose the masked ninja. He looked at us wide-eyed.

"Matthew, below you at 9 o'clock!"

"Zweite Fire Blast!" A firestorm sparked outside the Shield Prison and headed straight for Kakashi.

"Water Bullet Jutsu!" A torrent of water shot out of Kakashi's masked mouth and put out the flames… And knocked the Shield Prison towards us.

"Gaugh!" Matthew landed hard as the skill dispersed. "I'm okay!" He leaped back onto his feet in a crouching position with his staff in hand. "Filo! Look out! He's casting jutsu again!" I could sense him kneading it inside his body.

"Got it! I am the source of all power and I order thee! Decipher the laws of nature and disperse the tornado!"

"Wind Cutter Jutsu!" I could sense several blades of winds shot from Kakashi.

"Anti-Faust Tornado!" Filo flapped her wings and the blades turned into a breeze that ruffled her feathers. Where did she learn that? Well, glad to see again magic could counter jutsu. Definitely got to learn that.

"This is actually turning into a fun fight," Kakashi said with a cheerful tone. "Guess I really need to get serious." He eye-smiled before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

What? A shadow clone?… Where-

"Change Shield! Gotcha!" I substituted with Filo and blocked Kakashi's kunai with the Bee Needle Shield. The counter attack activated and Kakashi got two needles into his arm. I've been practicing my substitution jutsu like crazy since Kaus died.

"What a nasty shield!" Kakashi chuckled as he puffed into smoke and I was restrained from behind. "But, you shouldn't show your back to the enemy."

"Shit," I grabbed the kunai he tried to aim at my neck.

Clang!

"Huh?" That sound… It couldn't be. I looked down at my hand and saw no blood.

No way… No freaking way this was possible!

"Ku ku ku." I let a big grin my face. "Too bad. Your attack stat is too low." I changed the shield to the Two-head Black Dog Shield and slammed it right between us.

Ow! One bit me, but the other head had gone after Kakashi.

"Ouch!" He was forced to let me go.

"Air Strike Shield!" I made a shield between us and created distance. Wait… Thinking back.

"Matthew, fire now!"

"Right!" He chanted the spell as Kakashi went around the Air Strike Shield and headed straight to me. "Zweite Fire Blast!"

"Flame Shield Prison!" I was engulfed by a ball of flaming Shield Prison.

Hot! Hot!

But I pushed my chakra in my legs and ran right at Kakashi.

Wait! This feeling! It was similar to Motoyasu's Lightning Spear! It was sparking into the same of some kind of hound before Kakashi.

"As if!" I changed my shield to the Chimera Viper Shield and grounded to a halt.

"Lighting Hound Jutsu!" The prison was shattered with a loud snap and a hound of electricity shot right at me. I gritted my teeth as the attack hit and sparks flew all across my body.

Damn. Wait, what the hell? It barely bit into my health points compared to when I took an attack directly! Was I paralyzed? I was sure as hell feeling numb in the limbs.

"Time to end-"

"As if!" I blocked Kakashi's strike with my shield and smirked when the snakes lashed out. They scored a bite on his arm before he could pull back and land a ways from me while gripping his bit arm.

So I can still move… But it was weird. Guess this was what it was like to fight without feeling.

"Quite a nasty bag of tricks you've been pulling." Kakashi laughed before his eye widened at the sound of the bells. The bells hit the ground and Raphtalia appeared as her Hide Mirage canceled out. She reached for the bells, but Kakashi snatched them up and kicked her away.

"Dammit!" She gritted as she flipped and landed on her feet. "Gimme those bells!" She swung at Kakashi and he blocked her attack with a kunai. He reeled back to punch, but Raphtalia shifted back and I caught it with my shield. Kakashi backed off in time to avoid the snakes, but Raphtalia was right on him with her sword. He dodged and slashed at Raphtalia. I blocked Kakashi and Raphtalia countered with her sword.

Yes! Kakashi turned a little pale! The venom must have had an effect. He parried Raphtalia's attack and I charged in for the bells.

"Enough!" I fell flat on my face as Kakashi was replaced with a log. "Well, Kakashi, what do you think?" I looked up at the Old Man and found Kakashi kneeling before him.

"Dammit." I clicked my tongue. Of course, it was a fail. We didn't get any of the bells!

"They passed the Bell Test with flying colors."

"What?!" I yelled out in shock. "But wasn't the objective to get the bells?!" I stood up and pointed at the well-covered ninja.

"Nope. The bells were just a distraction to cause dissension amongst the team. The objective was to have you all work together to pass." Kakashi eye smiled at me. "Your group is the first group to get the exercise correct on the first go and even got me to pull out some of my tricks. My only passing Genin Team to date had to have a second chance."

"Eh?" I just blinked at him. My brain was not processing this correctly. How the flip did we just pass?

"Since they managed to pass the notorious bell test, what do you all think?" The Old Man looked to the ninja with him.

"They had you working out there, Hatake." One of the ninja laughed.

"Their teamwork is rough around the edges, but they make up for it with clearly trusting each other and having the creativity to boot." Another ninja snorted.

"Creativity is an understatement." Kakashi laughed out before his face turned green.

"Here! Take this antidote quickly!" I unsealed an Antidote and rushed over to Kakashi. I popped the bottle opened and forced it into his mouth through his cloth mask. His body glowed as the Potion Efficacy Skill took effect.

"That's… gross." Kakashi choked out once he had swallowed all of the Antidote. "That shield of yours is nasty."

"Yeah. Sorry, but when you pulled out that lightning jutsu, I had to use my strongest shield." I laughed weakly, as I scratched the back of my head. "I've killed a person with its venom once."

"I can attest to that as it made me quite ill," Kakashi sighed. "At least you keep the antidotes for that poison handy."

"No, this is a cure-all antidote." Kakashi's face drained of color. "I used the ability of my shield to increase its effectiveness."

"I am glad you are a medic-nin and on our side." Kakashi sighed as Sasuke pushed past the children.

"Dope, how did you get so strong?" Sasuke narrowed his eyes at me. "What the hell have you been doing to get strong enough to push Kakashi into a corner?"

"Sasuke…" Kakashi said in a tired tone.

"Do you think I would give anything away for free?" I smirked at Sasuke. As if I would give this snob anything.

"I'll pay you!" Sasuke shocked everyone. "Anything to get stronger! I'll even sell the rights to some of my clan's jutsu to you!"

"Sasuke-kun!" Sakura reached out to him. "What do you mean?! You just can't give our your clan's secret jutsu!"

"Oh?" The Old Man looked on with interest. The ninja, however, looked a bit disgusted.

I just looked Sasuke in the eyes. I saw hatred, it burned in his eyes… Yet, he wasn't looking at me with that hatred. Only determination and seriousness was aimed at me.

"Why are you wanting to get stronger?" I asked as one of the ninja lead the children back to the academy.

"I… have sworn to kill someone." Venom filled Sasuke's voice. "I have to kill him." Sasuke clenched his fists in fury.

"And what will you do if you can't kill this person?"

"I will…" Sasuke took a step back as I narrowed my eyes at him. I felt my own hatred and rage boiling. "I will kill him no matter what!"

"I'm not talking about your determination to achieve your goal." Sasuke looked a bit pale and shocked at me. "I am talking about what you will do if you can't kill him."

"I… I…" Sasuke gritted his teeth at me. "Why the hell would you ask that?!"

"I cannot avenge Kaus," I said in a low tone.

"Kaus?" Sasuke and Sakura spoke at the same time.

"My comrade," I gritted my teeth at the thought of Motoyasu and King Melromarc. "He… was family to me. Yet, his murderer goes free and I was the one branded Kaus' murderer."

"What?!" Sakura actually looked mortified. "That's not right! How the hell- No, what… What has happened to you, Naruto?"

Huh? What's with the looks everyone were giving me? Even the ninja all looked at me a bit horrified.

"A lot thanks to Tate-chan on my arm." I raised Tate-chan up. "Not that I would really blame her as she just chose me, not summoned me."

"So, that is how you disappeared?" The Sasuke-clone smiled at me. Seemed whatever got the others wound up didn't spook him. "You were summoned like a summoning?"

"Yeah. And I'm stuck in the contract." I said with a snort. "It will only end if I complete the task that I was summoned for, or I die. Tate-chan teleports me to the… war zone I have to fight on."

"So, doesn't that mean you are allied to someplace other than Konoha?" I threw a punch into the Sasuke's clones face. His eyes opened slightly at the loud clang that came with my ineffective attack.

"If I could kill that blasted king and his bitch daughter, I would. I would kill them, along with Motoyasu, but I can't." I glared at the Sasuke clone and snorted. "I need Motoyasu alive to fight and I don't want to risk dragging Konoha into the twisted politics… Melromarc is currently in. I fight only to protect the innocent people who get caught up by the battles." And those Waves really could destroy the world if left unchecked.

"Your punch didn't hurt at all." The Sasuke clone asked with a tinge of confusion in his voice. "How is that possible? You clearly used your whole body to punch me."

"Tate-chan increases my defenses at the cost of my attack power." I snorted before focusing back on Sasuke. "So, I'll let you in on one piece about how I got stronger. I learned to fight with others. Forced to do so, as I can't even wield any weapons besides my shield." Which, on a side note, I really need to see what else I could combine my skills with. I just stumbled across it by chance. I wonder what other effects magic could mix with my skills would produce? Could it work with jutsu?

"Teamwork." Sasuke clicked his tongue. "Why does everyone say that? Teammates only slow-"

"Sasuke, did that… person who enraged you tell you to be alone?" Sasuke's eyes widened at me and I saw it. A flash of recognition. "Was that man or woman… very smart?"

"How do-"

"As a warning from someone who fell into the trap of such a person, don't allow them to pull the strings that make up your life," I said in a flat tone. King Melromarc may have the upper hand as ruler of his kingdom, but he can't control me without a fight. I will figure out a way through his clever plans and pay him back tenfold for his actions.

"Naruto," Sasuke said my name but looked away with shame in his eyes.

"Excuse me, Naruto," The Old Man stepped forward. "However, we have much to discuss. Do you mind if we go to my residence? I have a meeting room set up so everyone can understand each other."

"Yes, sir." I took a deep breath and tried to cool my head as my group followed the Hokage.

"Kakashi-san, your team is to come to this meeting as well."

"Oh? This will be interesting..." Kakashi said, but I paid no attention to his team and him.

At least Sasuke got knocked off my hate list. Seemed the jerk had similar motives to me and was tricked…

Just wish Sasuke would learn not to be a dick about it.