Konoha Hospital

Daichi and Sasuke stood at the counter of the hospital.

One of the ladies asked. "How may we help you?"

"We're looking for the rooms of Hinata Hyuga and Naruto Uzumaki?" Daichi asked.

The lady nodded. "I'm sorry gentlemen, but those two can't have visitors yet."

"Can you at least tell us their conditions?" Sasuke inquired.

Kakashi walked up to the two of them. "I haven't seen them either, but the doctors confirm both are stable and resting."

"At least they're okay." Daichi stated relieved.

"On that note, I'm glad you're both here. I've been looking into people to train my students for the finals." He looked at the Uchiha. "Sasuke, you're my personal project for the month. We'll have to stick around the village until Naruto recovers, but after we'll be taking a little trip."

"Who did you get for me?" Daichi asked.

"I believe I've gotten the perfect mentor for you Daichi." Kakashi informed.

At that moment, the biggest smile appeared on Daichi's face as Zabuza Momochi himself came to stand beside Kakashi. He wore bandages over the bottom half of his face and a Leaf forehead protector sideways on his head. His attire consisted of a sleeveless black shirt, underneath a Konoha flak jacket, with matching pants. His Executioner's Blade was secured to his back.

Zabuza quickly wiped that smile from his face by roaring. "Get ready Daichi Ryu because the next month for you is going to be hell!"

"Zabuza, we're in a hospital." Kakashi stated.

Zabuza didn't reply to that because he was dragging Daichi, by the back of his shirt, out of the hospital.

Forest, Later…

Daichi currently stood out on the water, using water walking, as he swung the Excutioner's Blade.

Zabuza stood on the shore chucking rocks at him. "Is this the best you got maggot!? It's pathetic! You will be trained how to be a proper swordsman! No student of mine will disgrace the art of the blade! You will never have poor swordsmanship again!"

Now, swing that blade! You're letting to many stones nail you! I swear, you start complaining on me, and you're running to the Wave and back! I will give you the weighted gear I intended for later in your training! I will pelt you with stones the whole way! Am I understood!"

"Yes sir!" Daichi shouted with respect and fear.

He picked up the pace, sweating profusely, without a complaint. He did not doubt Zabuza in the slightest. Frankly, he did not want to test his luck. At that moment, a hardy, manly laugh rang out getting their attention.

They saw a tall, muscular man walk into the clearing. He had short, white hair, orange eyes, and a slightly tan complexion. He also had battle scars. His attire consisted of an orange gi and matching pants with white trim. On his back he carried a large, orange scroll.

"Excellent." The man punched the palm of his hand. "Zabuza Momochi, formerly of the Mist. I can see you already got things started. You're pushing the boy nice and hard."

Daichi was in awe of the man.

"You must be the Lion Yonnin, Kazamae." Zabuza nodded respectfully. "It is an honor to train a student with you."

Kazamae smiled. "Please Zabuza, none of this formality with me. Kazamae is perfectly fine."

"Okay, Kazamae." Zabuza turned to Daichi. "Kid come meet your second Sensei for the month."

Daichi ran over and Kazamae smiled. "You look just like your father, but your eyes portray you got the sense of your mother." He shook his head as he remembered the past. "Not matter how hard I tried to convince Hagane, he'd never remove that ponytail of his."

Daichi smiled as the man seemed just as kind as his mother said. "I can't believe I'm finally meeting my father's Sensei. You're really here to train me?"

Kazamae nodded. "After your father's death, I always intended to train you." He studied Daichi closer with a hand on his chin. "I got to say, you remind me a lot of myself at your age. I can tell you got real spirit and potential. Maybe even more than your dad did at your age."

Daichi smiled. "I'd heard a lot about my dad, so being compared to him feels great. Thank you."

Kazamae laughed. "I can see where you got your manners from considering your old man barley had any." He now took off his scroll, moved back, and face Daichi in an aggressive stance. "Now, I'm not the kind of guy to wait around, so let's spar."

"Really?" Daichi questioned.

Kazamae nodded. "Show me what I'm working with kid."

Zabuza moved off to the side and crossed his arms to observe. Daichi immediately got into his own stance before charging at Kazamae and throwing a kick infused with chakra. The Lion Sage grabbed his leg and threw the Fusion member towards a tree.

Daichi flipped and landed on the tree's trunk sticking to it with his chakra. He didn't get much time to recover as Kazamae was on top of him in an instant. He jumped away from the tree just barley avoiding the Lion Sage's punch.

Daichi landed on the ground before charging at Kazamae. He pivoted on his left foot and struck at Kazamae who once again avoided him. The Lion Sage then kicked Daichi away causing him to land on the ground.

"Alright, that's enough for me to get a good gauge of your skills." Kazamae walked over to his large scroll. "You did good Kid.

Zabuza said, "I guess he did alright."

Daichi walked over to them. "Wow, the Lion Yonnin is as great as my dad said. I wasn't able to land a single hit on him."

Kazamae unrolled the scroll before himself revealing names and hands imprinted on it in blood. "We'll begin your training with this."

Daichi sat down across from him. "What is this Kazamae Sensei."

"This is the contract of the Lions, and your first test." Kazamae began.

Daichi looked at him. "Test?"

"This is the test to see if your training goes any further. The lions have as much say in your training as I do. As such, they have me administer test from time to time. You start as my student and the end goal is that of a Lion Sage. You can be stopped down that path at any time.

Your father couldn't complete the last step, so he never became the next Lion Sage. That said, him and I had a great relationship. Before you ask, lions are battle oriented. Great for combat. Now, it's your choice entirely. Want to become my student?" Kazamae asked.

"I'm not running from some test." Daichi smiled. "Bring it on."

Kazamae smiled. "Bite your thumb, use the blood to sign the scroll as others have before you, and perform the Summoning Jutsu outlined on the scroll. You pass if a lion answers your summons. If they do, you'll be able to summon a variety of lions after the initial."

Daichi had been studying the contract, and while it had his father's name, another name had caught his attention. "Shisui Uchiha?" He looked at the Yonnin. "You trained an Uchiha?"

"I most certainly did." Kazamae smiled fondly. "Besides your father, he was one of my favorite students, but that is a story for another time."

"I see." Daichi nodded and took out a kunai. "Well then, I'll simply sign the contract now."

He cut his hand and signed the contract. He then performed the hand signs as shown before placing his hand on the scroll. A bronze lion cub appeared in a puff of some.

"They answered my call!" Daichi looked at Zabuza. "Look Zabuza Sensei, I summoned a lion."

"It's a just a cub." Zabuza stated. "He doesn't look anywhere near as threatening as those dogs Kakashi summoned."

Kazamae smiled. "You did good kid."

The cub turned to face Daichi. "Hi, my name is Tosen. You're the one who summoned me, right?"

"That's right Tosen, my name is Daichi Ryu." Daichi pet the lion. "Wow, you summoned animals can actually talk." He placed another hand on the lion. "Look at you. I bet you'll turn into a mighty lion"

Tosen enjoyed the attention. "I like this new summoner. Your nicer than the old man. He rarely summons me."

Kazamae laughed. "Come on cub." Tosen turned to look at him. "You know you aren't old enough to fight. Kizen and your father would have a field day if you got hurt."

"That's no excuse for not summoning me." Tosen turned back to Daichi. "I like the new summoner better than you and that's final."

Kazamae shrugged. "Fine by me little cub."

The cub looked up at Daichi. "Can I stay for a while? I haven't ever stuck around much to see this world."

Daichi smiled. "Sure."

The cub jumped up and down excited. "Thank you!"

"Alright, that's enough kid." Zabuza declared. "Back on the water swinging the blade. I'll start pelting you with stones immediately."

Daichi jumped to his feet and nodded. "Yes sir, Zabuza Sensei."

He took off his jacket and shirt before grabbing the Executioner's Blade and moving out onto the water where he started swinging the blade. Tosen moved to the edge and sat down.

Zabuza said, "At this rate, with the Lion Yonnin's help, the kid may just be ready for the third exam."

Kazamae smiled. "He's going to make a fine student, Hagane."

Hospital: Naruto's Room, Day…

Naruto woke up with a slight haze over his eyes. "Why am I in the hospital?"

At this moment, Kakashi entered the room. "Ah, you're awake Naruto."

Naruto suddenly remembered that Hinata was hurt causing him to look at Kakashi. "Kakashi Sensei, where's Hinata? Is she okay?"

"She's fine Naruto. She's in the room next door." Kakashi began only for his student to jump out of bed and attempt to run by him. "I'm not done." He grabbed his student who attempted to struggle free. "She needs her rest Naruto."

Naruto stopped as the rest of his memory came to him causing him to grit his teeth angrily. "Neji Hyuga…"

Kakashi let go as Naruto was at least calm-ish. "Ah yes, in one month's time you're to fight Neji in the first round of the Third Exam. It's where the judges will ultimately decide whether or not you become Chunin."

Naruto clenched his fist determined. "I'll need to put a lot of work into defeating him." He turned to Kakashi. "Kakashi Sensei, you have to train me for the Third Exam."

"Sorry Naruto, I'm training Sasuke." Kakashi explained.

"That's not fair Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed. "You got to train me to!"

Kakashi sighed. "Look, I would train you Naruto, but I'm the only person in the village with a Sharingan. That means it makes the most sense for me to train Sasuke. It's also important not to learn from one singular source. Learning from other sources is advantageous."

Naruto understood at least, but he didn't have to be happy with it. "Okay, who am I supposed to train with?"

Kakashi gave an eye smile. "Don't worry Naruto, I've found you the perfect teacher."

"Really, who?" Naruto asked.

"That would be me." A male voice stated as he entered the room.

It was Ebisu who had sunglasses, standard Konoha attire, and forehead protector worn like a bandanna.

"You!" Naruto pointed at him. "You closet pervert!"

"Such insolence." Ebisu stated.

Transition

Naruto got a free meal out of Ebisu after bringing up the Harem Jutsu and was told to work on his basics by Kakashi. Naruto resigned himself to his fate show casing he was already fine with all the basics.

Ebisu talked about how it was due to his wonderful teaching to which Naruto rolled his eyes. They eventually ended up at the hot springs working on more Water Walking which was incredibly dull to Naruto as he pretty much had it down.

During the training, Ebisu noticed an old man peaking on the girls and moved to attack him for it. This man was tall and well-built with fair skin. He had a wart on the left side of his nose and waist-length, spiky white hair tied back into a ponytail with two shoulder-length bangs.

His attire consisted of a green shirt and matching pants under which he wore mesh armor that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side.

He handily beat Ebisu down by summoning a frog. Little effort was exerted. Jiraiya the Toad Sage introduced himself with a lot of spectacle and show off a pervy book Kakashi reads. Naruto was familiar with its contents and scared the girls away.

From there, Naruto spent most of the day trying to get Jiraiya to train him. It took a lot of effort, but the sage eventually agreed on the condition that Naruto get him a lady. He wasn't clear, and they ate a watermelon. Naruto then used his Sexy Jutsu to get what he wanted.

Transition

Jiraiya and Naruto knelt by the river with Naruto demonstrating all he could do already.

Jiraiya stood up. "Alright, before we get started, I'd like to test out what you call Ultra Instinct." Naruto nodded having settled on the name. "I got an opponent in mind." He wove hand signs. "Shadow Clone Jutsu." A clone of Jiraiya appeared. "Fight my clone."

Naruto stood and activated Ultra Instinct gaining the red eyes, red sheen to his hair, and a blue glow from his Chakra. He then faced off with the clone who charged at him. Naruto managed to dodge and get a punch in resulting in the clone taking the fight seriously from there on in.

Naruto could only dodge about 10% of the strikes and didn't get another hit in. After Naruto and Jiraiya sat across from one another. Jiraiya helped him understand more about the Nine Tails in him with Naruto explaining that there were times he's felt the Chakra.

Transition

Jiraiya then took him to the baths declaring training finished for the day. Later, Jiraiya would watch Naruto sleep while Ebisu approaches. They discussed the Orochimaru situation with the Toad Sage expressing no interest in tangling with the Yonnin.

Ebisu tries to reason with him over the matter and ends up placing his trust in Jiraiya. Elsewhere in the village, Dosu attempts to target Gaara only to be wiped out himself. Kabuto and Baki watch this from a safe distance only for Hayate to hear them.

He tries to get away, but Baki confronts him. The two fight with Baki killing him. The following day, Jiraiya and Naruto pick up the Genin's training. Naruto drains his Chakra through continuous fights with shadow clone after shadow clone leaving him with the Fox's.

He then signs the Toad Contract and attempts the summoning only to bring out a tadpole. Back in the village, the Anbu discover Hayate and Dosu's dead bodies leaving them with many questions.

Hyuga Compound

Neji had been cleared to come back to the compound only to immediately return to his room. Once there, he began thinking about the Preliminary Exam. Specifically, his fight with Hinata, the Curse Seal, and Naruto Uzumaki.

"I felt all that power in the moment. My anger at the clan and growing anger of Konoha was made clear in that moment." He clenched his fist. "I must access the seal again to truly feel it and gain clarity."

A fellow Branch member knocked on his door. "Lord Neji, your Genin teammates are here to see you."

Neji opened his window. "Tell them I shall be training alone for the Chunin Exams. I do not want to be disturbed."

He jumped out the window.

With Team 8

Sakura was panting as Kurenai, Shino, and Kiba came at her.

She quickly wove the right signs and slammed her hands on the ground. "Earth Style: Earth Wave Jutsu!" The ground shook all around Sakura off setting everyone as she wove more hand signs. "Water Style: Water Shuriken Jutsu."

Shuriken made of water appeared in midair and fired off at her team who blocked them. They then ran in and attacked Sakura only for her to vanish as flower petals fell to the ground. She then punched Kiba and Shino before engaging her Sensei in Taijutsu.

With Lee, Tenten, and Karin

After hearing that Neji had taken off to train alone, Lee and Tenten were training hard at the training grounds while Karin watched.

"Lee, what do you think is up with Neji?" Tenten asked. "First he leaves the hospital and we only find out after coming to see him. Now, he's blowing us off when we came to help him train."

"I am not sure Tenten." Lee declared. "Maybe that whole incident with Naruto shook Neji more than we thought."

Karin spoke up. "Both their Chakra, from what I felt, were cold and dark. Neji's has remained so from what I could feel at that compound's gate while Naruto's has returned to normal. I'm not sure what to make of it."

Lee closed his eyes. "The only thing we can do is trust Neji and be there when he needs us." He started picking up his training. "Now, let us get back to the matter at hand. We may not have passed the Preliminary Exam, but we must endeavor to grow."

With Kanja

Kanja faced down Kenjo and Akana with her sword out, but her one eyes remained covered.

"Keep coming at me with different strategies." Kanja declared. "That Shikamaru Nara is smart, so I need to be ready for anything."

Akana and Kenjo charged in.

With Shikamaru, Asuma, and Choji

Shikamaru was working on stopping Choji who was using expansion Jutsu to turn himself into a boulder. When he ran out of Chakra, the exercise continued despite the Nara becoming exhausted.

With Naruto

He continued to practice the summoning Jutsu all this time managing to summon a tadpole with legs. Naruto viewed this as a victory, but Jiraiya was at a loss with his student. At least Naruto was making progress.

Atop a Mountain: Kakashi and Sasuke, 11 Days Later…

The two were sparing intensely to work on Sasuke's Taijutsu as he relentlessly attacked a blocking Kakashi. "That's it Sasuke. Keep it up. High speed Taijutsu needs to be maintained at this level."

"I'm not going to lose to Daichi or Naruto." Sasuke yelled as he took the pace up another notch surprising Kakashi. "Gate of Opening, Open!"

"Gate of Opening, Open!" Kakashi shot back.

The two moved around the space colliding at several points before Sasuke collapsed on the ground panting and sweating profusely.

"That was awfully quick to falter Sasuke." Kakashi looked at him. "I do not think you will come close to matching what Lee could do with the gates. No matter how hard you train, your body can't handle it like him."

"Damn it." Sasuke laid there panting. "What you're saying is, I can open the gates, but no matter how hard I try, I'll never be able to go as far as Lee."

"In terms of the Gates, you won't; however, other things I can teach you will allow you to compare with him and beyond." Kakashi declared. "Now, we'll call it a day here and switch back to training you on the Chidori tomorrow."

Forest Training Camp

Daichi ended up roped into a training camp with Zabuza and Kazamae. Honestly, it was perfect since it allows the Fusion member to get the most out of this month. Especially with Kazamae and Zabuza pushing him every day. Still, he had to wonder if Hinata and Naruto were okay.

They had just finished breakfast and Daichi looked at the Yonnin. "Kazamae Sensei, what's the important thing you said we needed to work on today?"

"Ah, that would be Lion's Will." Kazamae stated before bringing out a piece of paper with ink on it. "This is a very important seal that will grant you access to a great Jutsu."

"Okay, but what is Lion's Will?" Daichi asked. "What does that seal have to do with it?"

Kazamae nodded. "This is a seal the lions and I developed which grants the user access to Lion's Will. A Jutsu that works by slightly opening 7 of the 8 gates. Picture a dam slowly being worn down before being rebuilt.

With that picture in mind, you see why this is safer; however, it's not without risk. Usually, this Jutsu works in percentile increments of 5. The total percent you can withstand is displayed below the seal. Going over the limit of the can cause exhaustion and has the potential.

"Where's your seal Kazamae?" Zabuza questioned.

"I had it put on my back." Kazamae turned around and removed the top part of his gi revealing his own ink lion with the number 75 printed below. "Back in my youth, that number read 100%, but everyone gets older." He gave a hardy laugh. "That said, I still got years of fight in me."

He replaced his gi.

"Then, I want my seal on the upper part of my right arm." Daichi stated.

The Fusion member pushed his sleeve up. Kazamae put the paper on the arm, poured Chakra into it, and the seal transferred from the paper to Daichi's arm. A 15 appeared below it.

"15%." Daichi put his sleeve down. "That is as far as I can go."

"Eventually you will be able to use this Jutsu without hand signs, but for now they are as follows." Kazamae wove the signs which was relatively short. "Now you try.

Daichi nodded, stood up, and perfectly wove the signs. "Lions Will: 15%."

Orange Chakra appeared around Daichi. He could feel his speed, and to a lesser extent his strength, grow.

"As you can see, it's relatively easy to activate, but someone can only do it when a recognized Lion Summoner applies that seal." Kazamae stated.

"This is amazing." Daichi cut the flow of Chakra. "Thank you, Sensei."

"It's your right to have it as my student." He stood up. "Now, we're going to spend the rest of your training on two more Ninjutsu and a Taijutsu style. This is in conjunction with your strength and speed training with Zabuza."

Zabuza stood up. "You heard him maggot! It's time to get off your lazy ass and get to training! The finals will be here before you know it!"

Daichi jumped to his feet. "Yes sir."

Kazamae joined them. "This first Jutsu has two levels; however, level two, the finished product, isn't accessible until you learn an entirely different Jutsu that I'm not at liberty to teach. So, you will only learn the first level.

It won't be too strong, but at least both levels don't require hand signs. Now, the key to this Jutsu is to wrap one of your arms with your Chakra." Kazamae's entire left arm glowed with wild blue Chakra before he ran at a tree and punched it. "Lion's Devastation!"

It was enough to crack the tree.

"Wow, that was cool." Daichi stated excited to learn.

"If that's level one, I can only imagine what level two is like." Zabuza thought.

Kazamae turned to Daichi. "You get the general idea. I attempted to hold back my own strength from the strike to showcase about how powerful it'll be in your hands." He walked back over. "Now, start by trying to wrap your predominate arm in Chakra."

Hospital: 2 Days Later, 13 Days Since Training Began…

Hinata sat in bed looking out the window when her door opened. Sasuke entered looking pretty banged up.

"Sasuke, are you okay?" Hinata asked concerned.

Sasuke put his hands in his pockets. "I'm fine. Just been training hard with Kakashi Sensei for the Final Exam." He walked up to her bed. "If anyone should be asking that, it's me. How are you doing?"

Hinata giggled. "You know, it's odd to hear you care about other people Sasuke."

"Hey, I care." Sasuke looked away from her. "I'm just not as open about it as you guys."

Hinata smiled. "Don't worry, I'm okay. They've just been keeping me here to make sure I'm 100% before I can get out there and train." She looked at the bed. "I know I didn't make it the Third Exam like the rest of you, but I don't want to fall behind."

Kakashi walked in. "I'm glad to hear that Hinata."

Hinata smiled. "Kakashi Sensei, you're here to."

"Sasuke and I agreed on stopping by before getting back to training." Kakashi explained. "As for your training, I considered asking Anko, but realized she wouldn't mesh well with your personality. Fortunately, I managed to convince a couple of old friends to train you.

I hear you'll be cleared to leave tomorrow, so head to our training ground. With the others training away from the village, it'll be perfect for your training. They'll help you improve your Taijutsu and have a few Jutsus up their sleeve."

"Thank you, Kakashi Sensei." Hinata nodded. "I'll have to work hard to catch up."

"Don't go pushing yourself to hard." Sasuke sighed. "The Dobe and Daichi would become unbearable wrecks if they found out you were cleared only to reenter the hospital."

Hinata smiled. "I'll do my best."

Kakashi turned towards the door. "Let's go Sasuke."

Sasuke nodded and the two of them left.

Forest Clearing

Neji stood in a clearing with his arms opened as he let the seal wash over him. Black lines appeared all over his body. His Chakra became a visible purple as it raged around him. His Byakugan involuntarily activated.

Neji clenched his fist. "This power… I've never felt better. Now, I see what it is I must gain and what I must do. The Leaf Village is rotten to its core. The Hyuga Clan has never once been corrected. My father's death was expected.

The clan has not changed since it joined the Leaf Village. Destiny has given me this power and opportunity to bring justice down upon all who have turned a blind eye. When I am done, Konoha will know my wrath, justice, and fury."

"Interesting." Shun stated getting Neji to look up at the Uzumaki sitting in a tree. "I came to the Leaf Village for an unrelated reason, yet here I find you. Boy, you are taking to that new power Neji Hyuga."

Neji reigned in the Curse Seal. "You… You said you would help me with my goals provided I do the same for you. I agree to those terms. What do you need me to do?"

Shun smiled. "Play loyal Hyuga until the Third Exam. At that time forfeit because a huge event, you'll know it when you see it, will be kicking off. It's doomed to failure, but it'll provide a nice cover for your escape. Then, come to Land of Wave. The Great Naruto Bridge. I'll be there."

"It will be difficult to resist the temptation of showing Naruto Uzumaki what his true destiny is, but I will refrain." Neji stated.

"I'll see you then." Shun stated.

They both went their separate ways.

Within the Village: Roof of Mist Genin Hotel, Night…

Kuma was laying on the roof and looking at the stars overhead. Then, a bird as black and silent as night landed on his arm. He looked at it and noticed a scroll on its back. He took the scroll which allowed the bird to fly away.

"So, the seals have been set around the village." Kuma destroyed the scroll. "It's about time."