:Acknowledgement:
By Xaerox

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto never have and never will
Genre: Action/Adventure and Romance
Rating: G-13 – quite a lot of swearing but who can blame me – it's natural...
Paring: Naruto/Sakura and some others
Comments: Please feel free to add a comment for each chapter to express you own feelings throughout my progression with the story- cheers

:Chapter 5:

Deep in the middle of a thick forest, the peaceful tranquil surrounding was quickly altered from a loud shout.

"Kyougeki Rasengan Kuchikukan!"

The large surrounding was blasted with a large bang with trees and other parts of the forests completely collapsed with a thick white smoke. When the smoke finally died down, it showed a figure in the centre completely calm and unharmed with a massive radius of destroyed trees and woodland around him.

"Well, I guess you mastered your ultimate Rasengan move" came a voice up above.

The figure nodded and looked up at the two people in front of him.

There stood Itachi and Kisame smiling broadly at their student. It has been a while since they been back due to their frequent meetings with the Akastsuki group for further reports from the intelligence. They are now glad with the progress from Naruto all this time.

Three years past away quickly and there have been a phenomenal amount of changes happened to Naruto during that period of time. They stopped and thought with the new figure in from of them.

Now sixteen years old, he changed more than ever in terms of appearance alone. His body was without a doubt a lot stronger and taller from the training. His height was now just a little over Itachi, quite a big difference in terms of height especially for his age; the growth rage was quite substantial compared to three years ago when he considered a little short midget in his class. This was due from the genes inherited from his father as like his dad; he is going to be a fairly tall guy.

His whole body now was full of lean muscle based on the years of hardship though the intense training he dealt with, the skin colour now quite tanned from training in the sun and frequent travelling especially to the Sand country. His hair was still spiky as before except now a little longer that showed a split image of his father. His facial expressions are now a lot calmer and much harder to read his thoughts due to maturity gained from both Itachi and Kisame. The old whiskers are now much fainter and virtually unnoticeable but his bright blue eyes were still gleaming with charm and charisma.

However the biggest changes are his new appearance in fashion. Instead of the orange track suit he wore before, he decided to change his appearance to something less bright. He found the clothes attracted too much attention during his missions and showed up too much especially to the enemies at night.

Instead he now wears an immaculate white ki, pure white with a tint of light blue that gleams in the moonlight. A black belt and silver silk belt secured the waist and he also had bandages around his arms, wrist and one at the right knee. All in all quite a big transformation compared to before. Also, another big change that has happened over the years were the tattoos he now have over his body.

At the back of his neck was the Uzumaki Clan symbol, the swirl in black, he had it done as to prove and constantly remind himself of his proud and noble clan. Also on each arm, at the wrist is also in black, complex Celtic knot design and finally on the side on his right arm in four Black Kanji letters were the words translating to "No Regrets In Life".

He still wears his father's bandana with pride as it floats neatly around his forehand in a gentle ripple movement, plus he now wears a three-quarter length black jacket given to him for his sixteenth birthday present from both Senseis. On the back, was a large white swirl of his dad's clan with a drawing of a ferocious fox, tiger and shark around it. He loved the jacket and wore it all the time as it kept his things in it as well.

During the three and bit years of intense training, he felt relieved that all the handwork has really paid off. He has now mastered all of his parents Jutsus as they wished in the letter. The Light Speed, Inner Diamond and Golden Finger techniques took the longest however to prefect compared with the others as it's mainly based on strong Taijutsu and learning to receive pain.

Before when training Light Speed, he only managed to carry a fair amount of weight, now he carry over a tonne or more easily and still have the same speed. Also to complete the training he had to learn to fight and run underwater as it's a lot harder due to stronger friction forces acting against him. Eventually after the three years, he can now run as fast as dolphins swim in water which was quite remarkable for his age based on his abilities. On land without weight was a completely different story, he proved a master of light speed as the velocity he went up to was so high, in the naked eye he was actually invisible. The main logic of this was that his speed was too fast for the human eye or vision to absorb that amount of data or image that fast, even Itachi with the Sharingan couldn't keep up with the pace. That was the main style and secret of the Uzumaki clan, they specialise in speed and silence to give quick defeats or assassination. The silent air technique has also reached its peak, he could now dive in to water so silently and quickly that not even a bubble of oxygen could be heard or recognised. These two techniques proved to be very useful on missions where they need to find scrolls from enemies.

As for the Inner Diamond from his mother's Jutsus, he could now do everything the scroll says. When he started for around three to sixth months near the beginning, he could only stand around 200kg or more from stone boulders dropped upon him from a height of around 50 or more metres. He moved up from that to a whole tree log, then stone girders and big boulders that weighs anything over a whole tonne.

However the technique was not just about accepting pain from objects as he had to accept it from other types of elements. He was then required to train by putting his hands over fire and increasing the temperature intensity. After burns and burns, he finally able to pull it off until fire has virtually no affects on him whatsoever, he could put his hands inside an oven for a day or more and still feel fine.

The effects from water element, part of the technique had to be trained underwater as he had to practise to fight against the cold and later freezing ice. Yet this was not all, he had to learn to hold his breath underwater for a long period of time, and this effect not only hurt his lungs but mentally as well. After while he got better and now could stay underwater for over 24 hours no problems until hunger gets the better of him.

The final part of the Inner Diamond technique was training to accept intense pain. He was to kick three trunks with his bare feet and hands. At first he couldn't even cause any cracks on the tree and damaged his feet heavily as it dislocated or disjointed. But he was as ever more and more determined to accomplish the task. Itachi and Kisame hated watching him practise as he takes each blow from the hits and hits on the trunk, the sound of him screaming and crying in pain deeply hurt them inside making them genuinely moved from the boy's willpower.

But after a solid three years period, the pain went away and gradually he was able to knock down whole three with a strong kick or punch, his strength now even matched up to Tsunade at tender age of sixteen. The Inner Diamond training was now complete. He has now complete defence in all the elements around him and in a sense is a diamond himself, the hardest substance on earth.

As for the other Jutsus, he mastered all of his fathers Jutsus at quite a fast pace as it was mainly Ninjutsu, the Tei Kuro, where he makes air clones and the most powerful move of his dads clan, the Kage Shinbou or Shadow Mortality. It's a assassination move depending on how sever he does it, if done correctly, he glides through the opposite like a shadow and as it happens does over three hundred hits at all the major bone joints and Chakra points with it as well done in around a second. It explains why he had to prepare the Light Speed technique before attempting his as the move was so fast when the hits are made it causes a flash of bright light around him as he finishes. Once the move is done, the opponent will burst through all his Chakra points, a very quick way to die. Naruto managed to play around with this move so that he could just touch some minor attack points to knock out the opponent quickly but not killing them.

His mother two other moves were the Tiger Soul where he creates a bunch of huge Chakra tigers, all over three times the size of normal tigers and useful for tracking down prey. They cause fear to their opponents with the huge fangs they have and also breathe out fire or ice depending on the type, land or arctic. Naruto likes to practise moves with them and found them great as dummies or pets. Overall the move is very useful plus powerful and has a spectacular look when the move is done, as the tigers looks like they jump out of Naruto with blinding spectrum of light surrounding them giving the opponent the surprise of a lifetime. To Naruto, he just likes watching their reaction and laughs as his pranks are still with him even till now.

The final and most powerful move left from his mother was the Golden Finger. He knew how powerful this move was and spent extra effort and time truing to master it. Near the beginning of the training, he just practised cracking nuts with his three fingers on the right hand. Then he moved up slowly to pebbles and spent time at the beach as he practised breaking each pebble of all sizes he saw, after that chunk of solid metals. All this time his fingers were severely dislocated, cracked and bled but it didn't stop his purpose as he was even more determined in his heart.

Just after three years, he eventually cracked a small solid piece of pure diamond which they stole from a jeweller to test out the ability. It was the hardest substance on earth and probability the most expensive as well but he was able to break it with his three fingers with either hands. With this amount of power in these three fingers, he could easily send high amount of shockwaves through the wrist of opponents to kill or paralyze them for life instantly due to the strength of the waves hitting the brain. This move proved most useful in quick and silent assassination missions which he received so much from the years.

Apart from mastering his parents Jutsus and techniques, Itachi and Kisame made him master their own moves as well. The Nova Discs taught by Itachi was learned and mastered to an even further extent than Itachi. Due to excellent Chakra control, Naruto's versions were more streamlined and could make them target enemies as if they had mind of their own. This of course impressed Itachi a lot and was proud to see his apprentice over take him at his own Jutsu. Also he leant some more fire Jutsus which are similar to the standard ones that Sasuke learnt except because of his immense Chakra, he can make the range of fire cover longer distances and gives greater damage up ten times as efficient.

As for Kisame, he mastered the summoning and went on to exceed Kisame as well in his Water Prison Jutsu and Water Explosion Jutsu. The Water Prison Jutsu has to be done with the hand connected or near the opponent to imprison like used by Zabuza, however the fault with the technique is that it is only a short distance attack. Naruto developed it so unlike the standard attack, he can make the prison from any distance making it a very useful trap move. The Water Explosion Jutsu was even more powerful as Naruto made his more of a cyclone explosion than anything else, sucking the victim underwater making it harder for them to surface. Kisame was most pleased to see the improvements from Naruto; he was thrilled that his student has now taken over a move not just on him but over the whole mist clan.

Other things Naruto went through include mastering the Rasengan. He now overtaken Jiraiya as not only can he make Rasengans easily with either hand and can throw them around as if they were baseballs, he could now make them heat seek targets which is quite amazing considering his age. What even more amazing is that fact he can now push together two Rasengans in to one giant Rasengan in to the size larger than a basketball. He loved showing this off to Jiraiya every time he came to deliver news and missions but it was short lived as the Senin would just say his dad was better making Naruto more determined to overcome his father.

Naruto also handled all the power of Kyubi given to him. His Chakra Burst was now covering a radius of over ten meters around him that stops virtually any objects or Jutsus coming at him, he found it useful protecting the team.

Kyubi's Eye is a big use as he found out throughout the three years experience. Itachi can't copy moves when he activates it and nor can any other Byakugan user see his Chakra points. He mastered the eye so he can see through even the strongest Genjutsu and can even create it as well. Soon he got to the point where he can stun or paralyze people with a stare at ease. With constant meditation talking to Kyubi himself, he gained advice and teachings on how to use the eye to the fullest. Now the eyes hardly use up any Chakra, it's so small in terms of use that when he activates it, it is as if the eyes were natural and hardly feels any draining in power. Overall he knows Kyubi's Eye is probably the most powerful asset he has and probably most dark as well, with it on he found fighting was almost too easy at times.

During the three years of intense training, Naruto wanted to train himself to the maximum and wanted to get all his senses at full alert. He managed to perfect his hearing by designing his own training programme. At first, he blindfolded himself and dodged on coming shurikens and kunais coming from both Senseis. After that he moved up to fighting blindfolded and eventually he got up to the point where he can listen to the amount of leaves fallen at near one hundred metres away from him. From this he can make very accurate assumptions whether people were lying through hearing and can even sense a persons appearance blindfolded as well. He lived up to the saying that "ones ear can also be ones eyes".

Apart from fighting, amazingly enough he studied a lot traveling through different countries and clans around the country and taking p in mental challenges. Itachi helped his studies with mathematics and strategies so he wouldn't the dumb "dobe" that everyone expects. He also learnt to play chess from Kisame who was a keen chess player and became very good at it as well, even Shikamaru may fight him a bit of a challenge now. Healing powers was another part which his Senseis thought he was very weak on and soon taught him the basics about the art of medicine and even more from the doctors in the Hidden Mist. He was given good knowledge on being a medic and can now heal people using his own Chakra. He fought it overall quite useless on himself as Kyubi's Chakra already healed him anyway from the most sever cuts and poisons, however because of the respect he had towards his Senseis he took time learning the art.

Through medicine, he came across various types of poisons and its antidotes and fought it most fun and interesting. He practiced smelling out poisons from sake and other drinks but also various foods, especially his precious ramen and pot noodles. He didn't want to go through what Jiraiya had last time when Tsunade poisoned his drink; then again he thought he probably was too busy focusing mostly on her boobs... naturally.

Using knowledge on poisons he made his own move that he call "Chimeiteki Senbon" or "Lethal Needles" where he creates poison Chakra needles which are ultra slim and light that are nearly weightless and streamlined, travelling at high velocity at very low friction.

Another move he developed was the ability to make one handed seals. He could now do deals using one hand which he normally does hiding the hand behind his back to surprise his opponents. Even Itachi and Kisame was surprised at how he managed to it, they guessed it has something to do with his speed. They know now that this kid is a genius not only mastering Jutsus but also developing his own, he shows strong a strong resemblance with Jiraiya who developed a lot of his own moves. The kid is no longer dead last as before and they knew it, if anything dead first showed be put under his name now.

Naruto has also been travelling far and wide making regular visits in the different hidden villages and countries as he keeps up with Itachi and Kisame. All this time, he always had fun with his two Senseis who now deeply cared for him. He got given a pack of cards to keep him occupied which he played around and gambled at times.

He became a very good card magician and made his own card tricks and moves that later be converted into fighting Jutsus. He liked the idea and made his special moves based on card moves and when good hands such as "Royal Flush" and "52 Card Pick Up". His most powerful card move was never used or even known by his Senseis which remained his secret.

Also for the first time in his life, he had been given proper birthdays. For his 14th birthday, Kisame offered to give him piano and guitar lessons and the following year flute lessons, as being a keen musician. Itachi taken him to various placed like treating him out to ramen, going to the cinema, and buying him clothes and other types of gifts. Tsunade been sending Naruto gifts as well, mainly food she cooked with her special recipes and recent reports of the village. Jiraiya sent countless volumes of his books, and the latest signed trilogy set which Naruto been saving it up for Kakashi. He had been pleased with the fact that the perverted Senin also taught him some new tricks as well as a real gift. Even Kyubi been surprising everyone by getting to teach Naruto new moves as a birthday present from her with added countless kisses which Naruto preferred a lot more, even Itachi and Kisame nearly had a nose bleed with the clothes she been wearing for each event.

By far the best present he got was his latest, 16th birthday present where apart from the jacket he loves to store his flute and cards. Itachi and Kisame surprised him with a beautiful slightly curved Katana. It had a long curved handle with weaved black leather grip and on the brilliant bright lade it self had blue swirls of fantastic carvings. There were nine swirls altogether representing the nine-tails of Kyubi and on the side of the blade and hilt was engraved with the name "Xeo" for the Katana. Up till now, Naruto been practising with wooden ebony swords that he broke easily but Xeo was different, it had superb weight and was virtually featherless. It blade itself glows radiant blue and causes sparks when Naruto wields the weapon.

He was so shocked of such an amazing and rare weapon and so moved, he couldn't stop but sobbing gently with sentiment feelings from his Senseis gifts. He kowtowed three times for both Itachi and Kisame before they could stop him. They continued the celebration by relaxing in the hot springs up in the mountains and ended with a splendid meal at an all you can eat buffet.

"Naruto... lets celebrate our return and get something to eat" said Itachi, pleased with how much Naruto grown

"Sure... lets go... I am hungry as hell"

Naruto packed up his things and prepared to leave with his Senseis towards their favourite buffet in town, "You know You Like It Big" apart from the big long name, the buffet offered a big wide range of local and other delicacies with array of splendid liquid refreshments. Their slogan was "Eat till you're stuffed beyond misery" and from the delicious smell and loud gasps of surprise from the customers emitted from the restaurant, it sure gives the impression the slogan wasn't lying.

The waitress came towards the three to take their order.

"What you like to drink sir?" she said showing deep signs of interest at all three men

"Oh, two bottles of chilled Sake for three of us" Itachi said giving her a wining smile

The waitress could have fainted with joy and surprise but she hid it and hurriedly quickly out looking very hot-headed.

Naruto and Kisame grinned at Itachi who grinned back, knowing the kind of manipulative moves Itachi played on women.

Soon Naruto realised everyone in the room, especially the ladies, were looking towards their direction. He could hear clearly the odd giggles and comments.

"Oh my... god isn't that guy buff!"

"The blonde one is cute as well, specially his eyes, makes me wanna go there and kiss it"

"And the giant one... I think he likes it rough"

"Stop giggling so loud, they'll hear us"

He could hear it all and more loud giggles followed on and tried not to take notice.

"Don't worry Naruto" said Kisame calmly

"Today we going to have a nice time to relax and celebrate these past three or more years of success that you have achieved through your own hard work"

"Yes" agreed Itachi

"We both wanted to say how proud we are of your achievements and can see the route to greatness has already started" he said with a smile Naruto just nodded and smiled back trying to hold up his happiness inside.

"I will continue to pursue my goals and protect and honour my Senseis and my people"

He said with a low bow showing great respect towards the two men in front of him.

"Here are your drinks Sir" said the waitress now next to them

She blushed and added "Enjoy yourselves" and went away

"So..." said Itachi smiling at them "Let's get munching"

"Hell Yea!" cried Naruto and with that he ran off to the buffet and back in a few seconds with three filled plates of mouth watering food and quickly eating for his life.

"That kid never surprises me" grinned Kisame and made his own way to get something on his plate

"Mmm... this is so good... I love this buffet... Hidden Rain sure makes the best food!"

"Well Naruto, this buffet has won the all-you-can-eat buffet award in a row for the past then years...and also won this years best choice of food buffet as well" replied Kisame

"Yea... well I can take up all these recipes in my head... my cooking skills are pretty good now"

"True... your cooking has vastly improved... it's a great skill for the ladies you know" grinned Itachi

"They like a man who knows his tools" making Naruto choke on his buttered corn on the cob

The two Senseis laughed at the now blushing Naruto who couldn't stop but grin as well with them.

After they were fed and had desert plus some considerable amount of Sake, Itachi went and faced seriously towards Naruto.

"Naruto... umm I don't know how to put this to you..." he started "But we going back to the leaf"

Naruto eyes widened from shock.

"Already?" he asked

"Yes... we feel you developed Kyubi's skills and became friends with her and that means the mission is a success" smiled Kisame

"Actually a huge success with your accomplishments and due to your fitness level" he added

"We want you to go back ready for the on coming Chuunin exam" said Itachi

"We have already filled you in..."

"Already!" cried Naruto "when is it... the start of the exam?"

Itachi and Kisame looked at each other and grinned with the reply "Its tomorrow"

Naruto nearly fell off his chair making Kisame and Itachi laugh a bit lightly.

"Don't worry Naruto" added Itachi "You light Speed technique will become useful trust me... you will reach there in time...in a few hours I should think... no problems"

"With this time available" said Kisame

"We want you to know how proud we are of your abilities plus you don't need to worry about pairings as you going singly with the level that you currently at... I 'd say you probably well above Jounin level"

"Well I suppose that's true" said Naruto modestly giving a grin

"Plus you already done over thirty A and B rank missions" added Itachi

"Yea... and that" agreed Naruto, now feeling slightly hot around the collar

"You'll have no problem with it...I should think" said Itachi quite confidently

"I wish we were there to see you off but we have to go undercover... as you know... I am sorry Naruto... this time you are on your own"

Naruto felt slightly depressed and sad by this but showed no change in reaction as he knows how to be strong after these three years of training. It is something he can bare now.

"I wonder how Sasuke and Sakura are doing right now?" he said silently

"They are probably Chuunins by now..."

"Actually Naruto... no" said Itachi

"You see, the year of the exam when you were 14, they didn't finish the second round of the test due to some row or argument in the team"

"And when year the exam was held when you were 15, in the final fight, only Sasuke got through but he didn't show signs yet of a good Chuunin" added Kisame

"Remember it's as much to do with fighting as well as strategy involved as well plus you must show care and respect towards your opponents and teammates"

"Hai, no problem Kisame sensei, Itachi sensei" said Naruto

He then looked at their eyes suddenly as if remembered something important.

"Wait... I don't have a team... I am just by myself... I can't enter just on my own"

Itachi and Kisame grinned knowing this question would come up.

"We sorted that out with Tsunade... she said it's ok for you to go by yourself with your currently abilities, first person ever for this to happen apparently... anyway she also wanted to thank you for the missions you did for her... you were very efficient"

"Perhaps" added Kisame "You could break more records with this opportunity"

He grinned "You have already proven a lot to us already"

"Thanks Kisame Sensei" bowed Naruto "I'll try my best to succeed for you all and for myself"

Both Senseis nodded with a satisfied look on their faces. Itachi was getting ready to get up from his seat to leave.

"I think we better leave now" he said whilst signaling for the bill

The waitress came towards almost immediately with deep breathing. Itachi even added a big tip for her and give a wink on the way out... she almost fainted from joy.

"Couldn't resist yourself could you" added Kisame as they went outside "I swear you could have given her a heart attack if you did it again"

Itachi smiled back "I know, couldn't help it... sorry"

Naruto just laughed, he loved the way his Senseis played pranks on people just he himself. Still somehow he felt everyone; even the most serious types can have a fun side inside themselves.

"Ok we better go now" said Itachi looking down at Naruto "We will meet again Naruto... I promise" he said whilst offering his hand

"Damn right we will!" shouted Naruto, still grinning and shook it and did the same with Kisame

He looked back at his two Senseis that helped to train him and maybe love him for the last three years.

"Well... I better be off" he waved back and without another sound, he was gone from their sight

Itachi and Kisame watched with wonder at the amount of speed he went and how silent he was as well.

"He really is something now... that kid" Kisame said at last whilst watching the stars above

Itachi smiled and nodded. "He sure is"

"C'mon lets go" and with that they left quickly for their destination.

Two hours later, Naruto reached the gates of Konoha, he been traveling at lightning speed non stop but became used to it and now it hardly tired him out anymore.

"My god" he thought looking up at the big gates and the surrounding woods

"Never thought about coming back here again... wonder if they forgotten about me... hmmm only one way to find out" with that he reached the entrance

As he came closer he saw the ANBU guarding the passage on the top of the gates. They were most surprised to see a tall kid in front of them instantly without any notice.

One of the ANBU with a cat mask shouted at Naruto loudly

"State your name and your purpose here!"

Naruto looked up and smiled "Uzumaki Naruto and participation for the Chuunin exam"

He was happy to sense the shock on their faces even with the masks on and could hear them muttering against themselves.

"He is back... never thought he'd come back... thought he was dead"

Naruto who would have shouted back before now knew better. It is clear now that he is now much more mature and more levelheaded. "Ok" replied the guard, still sounding a bit annoyed and depressed with his return

"It's been a while... well you may enter" with that they opened the gates for him

They didn't even see him enter so silently and fast.

"Weird kid..." muttered one of the guards "didn't even see him go... guess he changed"

Meanwhile Naruto was fast away doing through the town checking around the place to see the changes that has happened over the years. Without a second thought, he knew who he must see first and ran extra fast towards the target.

:Author Notes:

Ok i am really really sorry about the late update but i just finished my AS exams yesturday so i think thats a reasonable excuse....

Anyway thanks alot guys for the reviews and the critism - it really kinda helped to improve upon the story itself. I decided to continue writing even longer chapters as i feel its so better than reading short ones as you can hard add enough in those, if you disagree tell me.

Finally do a review expressing how how this chapter went or the overall story itself, it really helps me to carry on... any constructive critism would be great and add things where you are confused about.

Till then all the best - Cya Next Chapter! :P