Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but I do own those OCs, don't I? Not that that's something to be proud about.

Author's Note: Long chapter again! I decided to just mix the previous two chapters up and this one as whole new one. I think you'll enjoy this chapter, I will at least enjoy writing it… Oh and sorry, because there will be no Iruka and Naruto catching up in this chapter. Also, no Konohamaru. My apologies. Oh, does anyone have any ideas for Jutsus for Konohamaru?

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Review Reply Corner:

Lady Light: Heh, I agree. I like all of the Naruto characters… Except for the Konohamaru Corps. --'

Admirer of your Story: Thanks! I'm glad you think of it that way. Yeah I'll do the Jutsu List in alphabetical order, when I have time ;)…

Magicalfoci: Hehehe, indeed... It was fun to write the Naruto-Sasuke fight, I'm glad you like it! Sarutobi Shigeru, I didn't really think anyone would remember him, but it's cool you do!

Perverted-senin: Whoa, thanks! English isn't my first language so I tend to make many grammatical mistakes and my spelling(sp?) isn't that great either usually. I'm glad you like my story!

Sirus183: Thank you for the review! I hope this chapter will entertain you as well! But Sasuke and Itachi meeting each other? I still don't know, perhaps you'll see in this chapter…

Ino Pig: Thankfully! It's long enough! And hell yeah, Naruto is da man! Heh, uhm, yeah… About Hinata and the meeting of Itachi and Sasuke… You'll find out what I decided if you read the Chappie!

Lostlily: Are you kidding? Your story 'Three' is awesome! I just hope it doesn't become YAOI, but well, it's your story! A person's mind in darkness, huh? Kinda reminds me of the Mangekyo Sharingan. Thanks for the review and liking my story! I hope you get rid of that writer's block soon and throw that heavy load off your shoulders.

Pyr00tje: Oh hell yeah you're right! Perhaps slightly obvious, but I think Naruto should be stronger than Sasuke. Here's another update! I hope it lives up to your expectations ;)!

DocDragon: Sasuke finish Itachi off? Well, let's wait with that a little longer. Your other suggestions are right on track!! And yeah! Please send me the idea of your Jutsu! Before you start reading this chapter, please!

RuByMoOn17: Yep, Naruto's really great, huh? Thanks for reviewing!

The-TempesT: SO, you're a definite Naruto lover too?! Same here!! Thanks for the suggestions! Hmm, did I take too long in updating this time? I hope you enjoy this chapter too!

Loon Luu: Thanks for the review! Heh, you enjoy great battles, right? The Sasuke-Itachi one is really interesting to think about. Oh well. Find out what I did with Hinata here, hope you enjoy!

Misu no Yami: I'm glad you liked it, here's another! Thanks for reviewing!

Zsych: Heh, well, what would happen if you would perform the Fourth's Jutsu on yourself? Or on someone who is already dead? Thanks for the suggestions for the Clans. The Akimichi Clan can really grow big, they can even face a big summon on themselves. Hmmm, about the Rasengan… I hope you don't mind, but I still want to consider it something only Naruto, Jiraiya and the Fourth could do. Gomen ne. And man, about that Shadow Technique… That's terrifying. Tear apart your enemy. I made something up thanks to that, thanks! About those Shadow Blades, well, I gave one of the Takabashi twins that technique already…

SilverKnight7: Here's the next chappy! Hope you enjoy! I'm glad you like it!

EfrainMan: Heh, I didn't know it was Mangekyo. But I think the user will simply name it Mange, right? Otherwise he'd have to talk a bit more :P. I assume you're a NaruHina fan, btw?

Shishi haze: Hmmm, about making a shadow a real object, that's really cool… there are many people out there who don't like Sasuke, which is both surprising and not surprising, because… oh well… Thanks for the suggestions and the review!

Stoictimer: I'm glad I don't stink… as an author. Don't know in real life, though… Man, most people want Sasuke and Itachi to meet… It's really difficult to write about it, but fun at the same time. Well, thanks for the review!

Hotaru-chan: Well, here's the next update! I hope you enjoy! And about Hinata and the Senshin-Byakugan, well find out! :P

Animefreakoid: Thanks, I'm glad you like my lil fic! And I agree with pairings, though sometimes it comes in handy, i.e. for dialogue writing. Thanks for your suggestions! I'll keep the ones you gave for the Akimichi and Yamanaka Clan in mind.

Lemmings12: Thanks for reviewing! I'm glad you like how I write, sometimes I doubt it so thank you! Everyone has secrets… some just have darker ones than others, right? Jutsu List will be in alphabetical order. Ah, here's the next chapter, hope you like!

EvilP: Heh, I didn't think you'd read my story again, but thanks! I'm glad you like it again!

Akito: Thank you!! Here's the next chapter!

Hide-a: Heh, thanks! Y'know, I hate exams… Here's the next chapter, enjoy!

Kadetto: Heh, Hiya, Rickard! Yeah, sorry, I've been busy lately because I have exams, but I'll get back to you as soon as I have more free time.

Death Knight: Heh, so you think those four (I'm guessing you mean Naruto, Sasuke, Gaara and Neji) were jackasses? Heh, that's really, somehow… interesting and I do have to say thank you for that! I'm glad you like the fic, here's the next chapter, please enjoy!

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There Where When is Now

Chapter 16

Gloom was reflected on most faces in the Leaf Village. A lot of time had passed ever since the Akatsuki managed to take all scrolls. Many of the younger Shinobis hoped the threats were gone but despair returned easy as allies of the Leaf entered the Village. Many Sand Shinobi and Stone Shinobi were travelling between Leaf and their own Village to report or learn of any new information. Among the Sand Shinobis were Kankurou, Temari and Baki, who were very surprised to find Gaara in Leaf Village…

Most Shinobis were training and when they weren't training they were or sleeping or eating and drinking. Jiraiya was mostly training with Maito Gai and Hatake Kakashi. Yuuhi Kurunai and Sarutobi Asuma found themselves often training with Mitarashi Anko and Morino Ibiki. Uchiha Sasuke ignored one of his old team mates and often chased the other. So Uzumaki Naruto often trained with Hyuga Neji, Gaara and Uchiha Sasuke. An understanding formed between them. Yamanaka Ino, Hyuga Hinata and Haruno Sakura were training each other every day as well. Inuzuka Kiba and Aburame Shino trained together, even though Shino was on a slightly higher level, Kiba was still one of the few Shinobis who knew how to properly fight an Aburame. Rock Lee and Ten-Ten wanted to train with Hyuga Neji but saw that Neji preferred to train with Naruto and Gaara, so they found themselves often training with Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. The Hokage and Shizune focused on making their own medical Jutsus even more effective or in some cases, deadlier.

Uzumaki Naruto had tried to form new Jutsus for himself. He had perfected the Rasengan in perfect way. Thanks to Neji he knew how to perform the Karm no Jutsu more properly. The Ryouganku no Jutsu did a lot of damage to Naruto's mouth because of the lava, but thanks to Kyuubi Chakra it healed pretty fast. His own absolute defence was perfect for Ninjutsu and TaiJutsu, but Naruto still had difficulty in detecting Genjutsu. But once he poured a little Kyuubi Chakra in his own Chakra system, all of his senses improved highly. He could probably use his nose better than members of the Inuzuka Clan.

Hyuga Neji was a true genius. After watching Itachi perform the Mangekyo Sharingan: Amaterasu, he developed a similar move. He didn't name the move, because it was simply a move which needed a high Chakra control. Only fit for a Hyuga, anyway. Itachi was surprised to see Neji perform it and smiled at the similarity between his own Amaterasu and Neji's move. Neji's Kaiten's range was extremely high. One of the benefits of the Senshin-Byakugan was that there simply was no blind spot anymore. Neji had become a true Shinobi and his talent probably exceeded far beyond most Kages.

Gaara's development was very similar to Naruto's. Though his Chakra amount was lower than Naruto's, the way Gaara used his Chakra was a lot better. Where Naruto was more of a show-off, Gaara was a one-hit kill type of guy. His moves simply take less Chakra and are more based on causing a lot of damage. Once Gaara pours a little of Shukaku's Chakra in his own Chakra system, his senses, like Naruto, improve a lot. His defence system is so much solider. But once he transforms in a miniature Shukaku, Gaara becomes truly immovable and he attacks with gruesome attacks beyond everyone's belief.

Uchiha Sasuke's Curse Seal was a big problem. The seal Kakashi put on it was gone, so Sasuke asked Kakashi to do it again. This way, he could grow stronger without using the Curse Seal. He could fight longer fights and could use the Mange Sharingan almost five times on a day, the fifth try would simply make Sasuke faint. Sasuke mostly focused on his own body movements and High levelled Jutsus which required a lot of that. He found himself often feeling regret. If he hadn't gone with Orochimaru, he would have no problems at all with growing stronger faster, even though it seemed the opposite way at that time.

Haruno Sakura was THE Genjutsu Specialist of Leaf Village, with Sarutobi Shigeru close-by. It was really surprising she was the best, because she was, after all, still a Chuunin. Her TaiJutsu was lower than Ino's but at least she was better in it that in the past. Her Chakra Control was also perfect but she didn't really possess that much Chakra to control. Other than that, Sakura's personality has changed a lot through the years. Instead of being the whiny, innocent-looking girl she was now more spontaneous and aggressive, though some people would not call the 'more aggressive part' a change.

Hyuga Hinata still hadn't made her father proud of her, but she didn't really need his approval of her skills anymore. Thanks to the Hokage, she had become a true medical Shinobi, especially with a Byakugan at her disposal. Hinata had come a far way with developing the Hyuga Clan abilities and of course knew the Heavenly Spin and the 64 opening Points Attack. Hinata's personality had changed the most and she acted like a real leader when needed. She was the Chuunin who was closest to becoming a Jounin.

Yamanaka Ino had focused more on TaiJutsu combined with sword skills in the past. After that, she had developed her family's Jutsus and had perfected the Shintenshin no Jutsu in a whole new level. She could now control the cloud of Chakra she sent towards her opponent and stay completely conscious at the same time. She could even make the cloud of Chakra expand and hit more opponents on the same time, controlling their movements all the way. The only downside is that Ino does not have a lot of Chakra and is more content on using her family's Jutsus as a last resort.

Nara Shikamaru had terrifying skills, which didn't even exist in the Nara Clan, but ones that only Nara Clan members could perform. So Nara was THE genius of the Nara Clan. He could now control shadows and enter them as well. Once in the shadow of another, he could control the movements of his opponent. He could also simply stick a kunai in the shadow of the opponent and kill the opponent that way, but he has to be in the shadow to be able to do that. His intelligence and his calmness during battle were outstanding and he was the perfect image of a Jounin.

Akimichi Chouji learned a way to control the food within him and was the first of the Akimichi Clan to know how to deal with the downside of the Akimichi Pills. He had found a way to hold all kinds of food in his body in a better way… One of the strange things was, Chouji almost never had to go to the toilet. During a fight, Chouji could also expand any part of his body whenever he deemed fit. When an opponent was far away, Chouji would only expand his arm to be able to punch him. When an opponent was jumping and planning on landing him, Chouji would expand his legs so he would shoot up against the opponent. Chouji had focused more on his speed than anything else. But he was still not really fast.

Inuzuka Kiba had learned a batter Chakra Control and could perform the highest Inuzuka Technique twice a day without it being life/threatening. The third would be fatal, however. Other than perfecting the Inuzuka Bloodline Abilities, Kiba could also communicate with Akamaru without his opponent knowing it. Kiba also had a state of total insanity, in where he would be totally unpredictable in his movements and be more than lethal. He did not have any control in this state and once used, Akamaru would join the party as well… Akamaru, who had grown to be one of the strongest dogs of the Inuzuka Clan.

Aburame Shino had perfected every ability there was of the Aburame Clan. After doing so, Shino became the leader of the best ANBU Leader and learned more and more of how to battle more effectively. Aburame Shino simply knew when he would be outmatched or outnumbered and when he would be able to win a battle. Without the glasses, Shino had found a way to use his Aburame eyes. Like the Sharingan, it was hypnotic, but it could only be used once on a body and Shino could gain control of the Chakra system, implanting poison or taking poison from the body. Or even taking Chakra from the body. But after using it once, the body it is used upon becomes immune for it. Shino uses his eyes as a last resort.

Rock Lee had come to know that his speed was slightly higher than Naruto's and he was extremely impressed by it. He worked harder to expand the gap between them. It was vexing to know that Naruto was also a sort of genius of hard work so this was an ambition that would take more than usual. He trained with Naruto once and found out that Naruto could use his Chakra in a different way… He had seen red Chakra around him and saw how his speed increased unimaginably. Lee could keep up but knew he was slower. He increased the weight he wore on his feet, arms and chest and made his headband heavier as well.

Ten-Ten was THE weapon specialist of the Leaf and still a Chuunin. She could even stop any Shurikens coming her way simply using her Chakra to control the weapons' movements, no matter how hard the weapons were thrown at her. That has become her absolute defence. Ten-Ten had learned how to form her Chakra in weapons as well. Like Asuma, who used Chakra to expand the range of his weapons' attacks. But Ten-Ten knew how to make Chakra solid and throws it towards her opponents.

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Naruto was gulping down Ramen while Sasuke and Neji were talking to each other. Gaara was also eating, but in a slower pace than Naruto. They had just finished training and were on their way home.

"So you're saying that there's still Chakra coming out of my Curse Seal?" Sasuke asked Neji, before he faced his own bowl of Ramen.

Neji nodded. "Yes. It seems you can't refrain using little of it. But Chakra is still being pulled out, though not as much as when you really activate it. Even with Kakashi's seal upon the Curse Seal, it seems it's still working."

Sasuke snarled. "Damn that Orochimaru…"

"Hmm? That snake bastard's still alive?" Naruto asked with a lot of Ramen in his mouth. "He was a Leaf Shinobi, right? It would be helpful if he helped fighting against the Akatsuki. Even though he is a traitor."

Sasuke snorted. "Right now he doesn't dare to enter this Village… There are far too many strong Shinobis here."

"Say Naruto? Have you been working on any new Jutsus lately?" Neji suddenly asked, changing the subject and starting on his own Ramen.

Naruto swallowed a lot of Ramen and ordered a new cup before answering Neji with a grin. "Yeah, yeah! But I can't seem to get it to work…"

Neji smiled. Naruto often had great ideas for new Jutsus and had the Chakra amount to try anything out of the ordinary. Often Neji himself could learn the Jutsus as well as he explained Naruto how to do it right. "So, what does it do?"

Naruto put on a difficult face, obvious preparing to explain. "Well… I've been wanting an attack that ALWAYS hits… You know, an absolute offence, instead of an absolute defence? But I can't seem to think of anything that's naturally drawn to us… humans. The only thing I can think of is gravity, right?"

Neji nodded. 'Interesting… An attack that will ALWAYS hit… But how to create such an attack?' Both Sasuke and Neji thought as they listened to Naruto.

Naruto continued. "I tried to create this… gravity effect on myself, so things would be drawn to me, using Chakra, but I can't seem to make it work…"

Neji's eyes widened. 'Of course… Use Chakra to pull the enemy towards you, creating many openings in your opponent as well…'

Sasuke's eyes widened as well. 'Naruto… that's really… an effective technique… To think of it just like that…' Sasuke watched Naruto. 'He invents Jutsus just like that?'

Neji smiled. 'That's Naruto for you… He lays it out and I will play it out… Afterwards learning it to Naruto of course. Still, how to create Chakra to make it have the same effect as Gravity? It will be dangerous, because the opponent will not be the only one or thing who will be pulled towards you. Possible sand from the ground will be pulled towards you as well… and then there are trees and stones…'

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Tsunade was dividing certain teams for the upcoming battle. Jiraiya stood beside her in her office.

"So, what do you think, Jiraiya?" Tsunade asked. "Should I put those together?"

Jiraiya sighed. "I don't know, Tsunade… They can work together better than anyone else, but they're probably also the strongest in the Village. I know Naruto is stronger than me and he can beat you too, Tsunade. Gaara's probably the same. And Neji's growth's close by… I think they should be divided."

Tsunade smiled. "Hm, to divide strength and make all teams equally. But it is time to go out and find the Akatsuki. We've trained a lot already and if we aren't ready now, we won't ever be. It seems they won't come for us, so we'll have to go for them."

Jiraiya shrugged. "Perhaps that Akatsuki Leader hasn't learned all the skills of all those Secret Scrolls yet."

Tsunade scribbled all teams down on paper and Jiraiya had to frown a few times.

A lot of time later, the teams that would be moving out and the teams that would stay in Leaf Village were known…

Yuuhi Kurenai, Temari, Uzumaki Naruto, Hyuga Hinata and Nara Shikamaru.

Jiraiya, Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura and Akimichi Chouji.

Hatake Kakashi, Rock Lee, Mitarashi Anko, Gaara and Inuzuka Kiba.

Maito Gai, Hyuga Neji, Kankurou, Morino Ibiki and Baki.

Sarutobi Asuma, Sarutobi Shigeru, Iruka, Ten-Ten and Shizune.

The last team would be staying in Leaf Village and all other Jounins and Chuunins would be staying in Leaf Village as well. The other teams would all be moving out. Tsunade purposely didn't include Itachi, Kisame, Sinobi, Mokito and Dareda, but she did already ask them if they could also form a team and move out.

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Naruto and Neji were going home, Sasuke was also going home and Gaara was staying behind, after Kankurou, Temari and Baki had suddenly entered the Ramen Stand.

"So… How are you doing, Gaara?" Temari asked as she carefully approached Gaara and sat down beside him. Kankurou and Baki followed the example.

Gaara eyed Temari and oddly enough… smiled. "I am fine, Temari… It's been long… I have missed you. I'm glad to see you're all still alive."

Kankurou narrowed his eyes carefully. 'Gaara has changed even more… He actually smiles…'

Baki smiled. 'So, he has finally found himself a nice life…'

"So, did anything… interesting happen to all of you… in these five years?" Gaara asked, opening the real conversation. He wasn't that good in conversations since he didn't really like talking too much.

"We're all Sand hunter-nins, Gaara." Kankurou said, a little proudly.

Gaara looked at him. "So your job is to hunt me… am I correct?"

Kankurou chuckled nervously. "Uhh… Heh, well, I don't think we could take you in, even if we wanted… But no… Even after everything that happened…"

Temari finished. "We still see you as our brother, Gaara. I'm glad you're happy."

Gaara smiled at that and faced Kankurou again. "No need to be nervous, Kankurou… I won't kill you." Gaara stared forward, not at any of them. 'Because both of them are my precious persons… right, Naruto?' Gaara finished as an afterthought.

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The Hokage has summoned all of the Chuunins and Jounins to the Hokage Office. Naruto, Neji and Gaara left, after Itachi and the others let them know they weren't going.

Once there, they found that there was actually a line in front of the Hokage Tower. Naruto, Neji and Gaara landed behind Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji. "Man, how troublesome this is…" He glanced over his shoulder and noticed Naruto behind him. His eyes widened.

"Naruto! So, you're really back." Shikamaru said as he analyzed him. 'So he's with Hyuga Neji and… Gaara…'

"Hiya, Shikamaru! Chouji!" Naruto yelled back with a wide smile.

Gaara smiled at Shikamaru's discomfort. "My apologies…Shikamaru…" Gaara said, learning of his name as Naruto yelled it.

Naruto and Neji frowned at Gaara. "What are you apologizing for, Gaara?" Neji asked.

"We… encountered each other in the past… I trapped him in my Sphere of Sand combined with Suna Bakuhatsu. But I did not kill them."

'How troublesome…' Shikamaru nervously chuckled. "Heh, I hold no grudge…"

Kankurou, Temari and Baki landed behind Naruto, Neji and Gaara. They greeted each other and continued on their way.

Inside the Hokage Tower, Tsunade was telling everyone her plans. Afterwards, she had informed everyone of the teams she had formed and told them to train together to get used to each other. Jounins and Chuunin who weren't in a team had to stay in the Village to guard it.

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"More troublesome than this is not possible…" Shikamaru mumbled. 'Out on a crusade…' He thought as he watched Temari, Naruto, Hinata and Kurenai arrive at the training area his team were to meet. It was more troublesome since no one has been appointed as leader. Shikamaru figured it was either him or Kurenai. Hinata was still Chuunin and Naruto was actually a missing-nin, but a Chuunin before he 'left' Konoha. About Temari he didn't know anything, other than knowing how she fights.

"So… who's the leader?" Shikamaru asked, while looking at Kurenai.

Naruto stared between them and hoped he would be leader, but inside he knew he wouldn't be, simply because he was… perhaps too reckless or something like that. Didn't matter too much, it would be a wonder if he actually got what he wanted. So he simply sat down and decided to just let one of the others be the leader.

Hinata slightly blushed as she saw Naruto sat down on the ground and also kept silent. Sure, she was a Chuunin Leader, but Kurenai and Shikamaru were both Jounins, and Jounin instructors at that. She didn't know Temari that well, but surely she had also become high ranked in the Sand.

Temari observed everyone around her. She didn't really like not being teamed up with Kankurou or Baki. She would even have liked being teamed up with Gaara, just to get to know each other more again. Now she was teamed up with these Shinobis. The Hyuga, from what she remembered, was insecure and lacked true skills. Naruto, however, was stronger than Gaara… Shikamaru was intelligent as hell, so that wasn't that bad. She did not know the other Jounin, Kurenai. Temari sighed and said. "I don't want to be the leader."

Kurenai smiled at the younger woman and turned to Shikamaru. "You should be the leader; your intelligence is higher than mine." Kurenai said. 'And I don't really want to be the leader…' Kurunai added as an afterthought.

Shikamaru sighed. Before he could say anything, Kurenai finished. "And don't say it's too troublesome. You're getting the leadership, deal with it." Shikamaru sighed again.

"Fine… Let's start training then, I want to see what you guys can do…"

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Jiraiya grumbled out loud. 'Why did I agree to this anyway? I have to baby-sit the Uchiha, watch an Akimichi eat a lot and… well at least I can try and collect a little data from these two girls…' He thought as he observed Sakura and Ino, who were both cautiously gazing at Sasuke.

Sasuke suddenly walked towards Jiraiya. "So, let's spar, Jiraiya… I don't know how you fight or how strong you are. But you were able to fight Naruto and not get knocked out immediately. Show me your Jutsus…" He said, staring at Jiraiya.

Jiraiya frowned at the younger man before him and shook his head. "Hm, let me tell you guys first that I am the leader of this little group. I am Jiraiya, one of the three legendary nins of Konoha!" Jiraiya turned to Sasuke. "The other two are Orochimaru and Tsunade…"

Sasuke didn't seem to surprised by this. "Well, let's start training. I don't want to waste time. Like those three are." Sasuke said, motioning towards Ino, Sakura and Chouji.

Jiraiya smiled. "Let's begin by all of you showing me what you can do."

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Kakashi sighed as he watched how Rock Lee had already started his training. Even though Rock Lee and Gaara were stronger than him, he was still appointed as the leader. He doubted if Gaara would listen to him. Kiba seemed to have a problem with Gaara, almost as if he feared him and Anko was leaning against a tree, sleeping. 'What a promising team we have…'

"Oy, Kakashi! How about a little fight between you and me?" Kiba suddenly yelled and Akamaru barked to back Kiba up.

Kakashi smiled. "Very well, then I'll learn of what you can do."

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Neji inwardly groaned, if he did it outwardly, all the others would be blown away because of it. Here he was, remembering what Gai was like when he was having one of his times of giving speeches for 'hope' and all that crap. Neji closed his eyes and leaned against a tree. 'This might take a while…'

Kankurou's eyes were widened as he heard Gai's speech. 'This is one of the Leaf's greatest Jounins? What a moron! I'm more afraid of his eyebrows than anything else…'

Baki wasn't really paying attention either and was already trying to learn how the others were in battle. Gai and Kankurou he knew he could count on. The Hyuga boy was there many years ago together with the Legendary Jiraiya when they took Gaara with them, so no problems there either. He did not know big Scarface, who definitely was a head taller than him.

Morino Ibiki had closed his eyes and it seemed he was sleeping and standing at the same time.

Gai finished. "Alright! Let's start training! Show me what your powers are!"

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Naruto was facing Shikamaru and noticed something strange about Shikamaru. 'He's just standing there, doing nothing…' Naruto sniffed the air once and his eyes immediately widened. Suddenly, he jumped high skywards.

Kurenai and Temari were confused by the blonde's actions, while Hinata seemed to know why he jumped. 'That's… impressive… He never knew of Shikamaru's attack, but he found out anyway…'

A sudden groan was heard from the ground. Naruto's shadow began to grow smaller as he jumped higher and suddenly from out of the shadow, Shikamaru jumped. Naruto landed several feet away from Shikamaru on Shikamaru's Shadow Clone, which disappeared.

"So, you found out I was in your shadow? How?" Shikamaru asked, really interested in how Naruto had found that out so fast. He wanted to impress Naruto a little bit…

Naruto grinned. "My nose. I can smell almost everything! Other than that, my ears and eyes are also a lot better than usual…"

Shikamaru frowned. 'That's odd… Naruto isn't a part of the Inuzuka Clan, but he could still smell me in his shadow?'

"So, if you can enter one's shadow, what can you do when in his or her shadow?" Kurenai asked, several meters to Shikamaru's side.

Shikamaru sighed, not really wanting to explain. "Well, if I put a Kunai in the opponent's shadow while I myself am in it, the opponent feels the kunai where I stick it. So if I stick a kunai in the shadow of the opponent's head, the opponent dies."

Kurenai looked quite impressed by that and so did Temari.

"Awesome! I bet that's one your bloodline skills, huh? Those which I can't learn, right?." Naruto yelled.

"Correct."

"Aww crap…" Naruto pouted. "Let's continue!"

Shikamaru nodded. 'So far, it feels I can depend on Naruto in battle. He has quick reactions and his Chakra is overwhelming… His weakness is mostly his mouth. He talks too much. Another weakness is he is easily insulted. Say drop-out or dead-last once and he freaks out. Judging from the Chakra he has, he can probably break my Shadow Bind with it too… He's become strong alright… What should I do?' Shikamaru thought as he watched Naruto perform hand seals.

"Taiyuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

"Whoa…" Shikamaru uttered as he found himself surrounded by hundreds of Naruto. 'My Shadow Shield can stop all attacks usually, but he's created a big amount of clones… Perfect for me to test my Kage no Tate…'

"Attack!!" All Naruto's yelled as they rushed forward.

"Kage no Tate!!" Shikamaru yelled back. 'Still even though they hit my Shadow Shield, they will all freeze when they touch it. Since they're all jumping it's even more troublesome…I can hit about six of them in one swing and that simply isn't enough. I conclude… Naruto will have me on this one… My intelligence won't work in this case…'

And Shikamaru got a little pummelled right then…

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Jiraiya had concluded his analyzing and was now lazily sitting on the ground, looking at how Sakura was jumping away from three clouds of Chakra that Ino had sent her way. Jiraiya had fought all of them.

'Uchiha Sasuke is rash and inconsiderate of his own damage as he attacks. Still, despite that, he's a force to be reckoned with. I can't let my guard down when fighting him. He can probably beat me when we both go all out. Haruno Sakura hesitates to attack her opponents, but she can leave her opponent completely open using her excellent use of Genjutsu. I don't get fooled a lot by Genjutsu, but I think she knew that… She purposely used a Genjutsu that seemed completely normal to me… Still, one Cancel hand seal deals with that. The girl needs to learn more things. I heard she could summon Katsuyu. The Yamanaka girl is also quite impressive. The way she uses that sword is formidable, but what's even more impressive is the way she can utilize the Jutsus of the Yamanaka Clan. Though the Jutsus move slow, the fact that she can move the Jutsu itself might come in handy later on. Even the Akimichi surprised me, being able to attack his opponent by expanding certain body parts. His attacking range is big because of that. But against me he had to use those Akimichi pills… Quite bothersome they are, they grant the user a lot more power… With the last pill he can probably beat me… But I'm not really sure about that… We'll have to try someday.' 

Uchiha Sasuke was also impressed by the others. 'Sakura even managed to fool my Sharingan… No Genjutsu I encountered managed to do that… And Ino got me off guard and actually controlled my body for a few minutes. Damn that. Chouji's hit power is much higher than mine, but my speed is much higher than his.. But those pills of his… They really give him a lot of power…'

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Kakashi's assumptions were right. Gaara and Rock Lee were well above him. Kakashi found himself considerably slower than Rock Lee and he couldn't even throw a decent attack at Gaara. But he was able to beat Kiba and Anko. It seemed Kiba was the weakest of the team, but Kiba was still very quick and powerful. Difficult to beat, anyway, Kakashi decided. Anko was another story, the ANBU Leader was as skilled as Kakashi in his best years, but Kakashi carried more experience.

Gaara was pouting inwardly. 'Why do I have to be teamed up with a bunch of moronic weaklings?' Gaara did not even have to try and beat Kakashi, Anko and Kiba. The only one that could really get a decent hit in was Rock Lee, who he had to beat by enveloping him in the Sphere of Sand. Still, Gaara was almost unharmed. Only Lee had hit him about six times or so. Kiba's Sankontessou needed to be dodged, Gaara found out. The same goes for Kakashi's Chidori. Only Anko did not have a powerful attack, the snakes she uses can't get past Gaara's defence.

Anko was smiling as she walked home. The guys in her team were all stronger than her, except for the Inuzuka, who lacked control in battle and left many openings for her to exploit. Gaara was really good. There was nothing Anko could do to the boy. Against Kakashi she was able to at least hit him. Rock Lee was too fast for her. The team she was in was pretty good. If it was to encounter Orochimaru, he'd be dead…

Rock Lee was also smiling as he arrived home. He was able to beat all of them, except Gaara, who easily washed him away. But he was proud of the fact that he was the only one who got past Gaara's Armor of Sand. Not many people could do that. He was also impressed by the talents of the others and he could not wait to go out for the mission. His team was really good!

Kiba wasn't all that happy. Everyone in his team was able to beat him. The only ones he could actually fight decently with were Kakashi and Anko. Gaara and Rock Lee were just too strong. His ultimate attack got past all of Gaara's shields, but Gaara was smart enough not to keep standing in one spot, so Kiba was not able to actually hit Gaara at all. It was pretty frustrating to realize that. But now he had a team that was really powerful, he would have to train harder so they could depend on him.

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Training was over for today, Shikamaru had said. Now they were all heading home, still walking together in a rather slow pace. Naruto was not really impressed by all of them, but that was only because he knew how to get out of a Genjutsu now and because he could always heal his wounds. Hinata was even surprised when her Gentle Fist failed on him. Temari was even more surprised as she used one super wind blast attack on him and Naruto only had his clothes ripped, nothing else. Kurenai didn't have anything on him, because Naruto simply smelled Kurenai and got out of her Genjutsus easily. Still, as a team, they would work together good enough.

But Naruto didn't really like being set up in a team. His last transformation would give him more of a fox look and could blow his cover. He was very sure Kurenai knows of his secret, but she didn't seem to give him one of those old-fashioned cold stares.

Suddenly, Naruto sensed others and immediately used his nose to identify them. 'Neji, Gai and the other smells I don't know.'

Neji landed several feet in front of them, with Gai, Ibiki, Kankurou and Baki around him. Neji glanced over his shoulder and smiled as he recognised Naruto. The others of his team went home, while Neji waited for Naruto and the others to catch up.

"So, how was your training, Neji?" Naruto asked.

"Boring. They're weaker than I expected." Neji answered and gazed at Hinata. They nodded to each other. Neji narrowed his eyes and observed Hinata's eyes.

"I'm going home." Temari suddenly stated. All of them said goodbye and Kurenai also left. Hinata stayed because Neji was still staring at her.

Naruto frowned at Neji's look. "What's wrong, Neji?"

"Naruto… Hinata-sama… She's pretty strong, isn't she?" Neji asked Naruto, still analyzing Hinata's eyes. "Hinata-sama… could you perhaps activate your Byakugan?"

Hinata blushed and shyly nodded. "Byakugan!" Neji also activated his after that.

Neji smiled. 'As I thought… Her Byakugan is highly developed already… It seems her father has never told her about the Senshin-Byakugan, or perhaps he didn't think Hinata-sama would be able to learn it or maybe… he doesn't know the Senshin-Byakugan… But now that I see how far her Byakugan has come… Perhaps she can learn it…' Neji smiled. "Ok, thank you, Hinata-sama. How about we eat some Ramen? My treat?"

Naruto's smile went from small to extreme and hopped around Neji. "Alright! Alright! Hurry up, Neji! I'm hungry!"

"Shut up, Naruto."

Hinata tried to fight a giggle, but it didn't work, making the other two boys chuckle. Hinata blushed, but giggled again.

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TBC

A/N: In the next chapters, the teams have trained a lot together and are ready to go out on the mission to find the Akatsuki's location! Get ready, for the war is about to start… I'll be rearranging the chapters in a few days, so Chappie 14 and 15 will become 14 and this one will become 15.