Pre-rant: Haha, think this is my fastest update ever. (not saying much there though) and I have very little to say… so on the responses.

Eliza, hate to say it but you're way off target. Darh is no way obsessed with Hinata, he sees her as a little sister at most. The admiration is appreciated but misplaced

Dragon Man 180, yes he does. But He will stick around unless the voters change their POV drasticly.

Chibified Kitsunes, thanks for the review and for your question, read on. I may try to implement your idea into the story.

Animewatcher, I think this'll be the average size of a chapter, but as I improve , and when I get into the parts I like better, the length may increase. Next chapter, we will get to see some of the secrets behind his bloodline.

Everyone else, basic stuff; read review, enjoy and if you're gonna flame, just realize that I don't care and it ain't gonna stop me.

Disclaimer: I do not have any rights to Naruto! If I did, many things would change. Yes, many things…

Chap. 3: Testing fools

"Whadda ya mean we're chickening out! I ain't afraid, what about you Hinata-chan?"

"Um… I'm okay… maybe, I think. Um, I've got to go, bye!"

"I doubt any thing useful will be accomplished now, I'm outta here."

'Dang, I wanted to scare them some more.' "Hey, don't any of you eat breakfast tomorrow morning. I don't want you to puke it up later!"

: Shuurajou Residence:

Darh sat, deep in thought. "Yes, that's it!" He suddenly exclaimed. He got up and rushed over to a desk… and added a few small lines to a sketch. "Perfect," he whispered to himself. What he held in his hands was a small drawing of a mildly attractive female with slightly past shoulder length hair tied at the bottom with a small bow. She wore a headband devoid of any insignia linking her to a village. "K-chan, I miss you. I wish I knew what you looked like today. When we left, I lost part of myself. I wonder if you even remember me anymore. I doubt it; we're not in one of my romance novels or nothing.' Hell, moving away is what got me held back two frickin' years in the damn academy." He put the drawing back down and let his mind wander again.

: Uzumaki Apartment:

"Then I'll hit him like this and when he counters, I'll sweep like that and then punch him in the nuts!" This continued for hours until he collapsed on his bed, worn to complete exhaustion.

: Hyuuga Mansion:

In the back of the Hyuuga estate, soft noise was coming from the training grounds. A young girl was seemingly dancing around the trunk of a tree, seemingly striking at random against its bark. The strikes tore small gashes in her delicate palms, sending blood into the air. She winced as she continued to attack the tree, but in her mind she chanted a steady mantra to herself, 'I must get stronger, I must get stronger.' Soon after her body informed that she had reached her limit. Sadly she pulled herself away from her training, never looking at the tree she had been assaulting. A good chunk had been carved out from her training.

: The Next Day:

"He's late."

"Gaaa! And I got up early just to get here on time too!"

"…"

The new genins of team 7 were not happy. It had been three hours since they had been told to arrive at the training grounds, and their sensei still had not shown up.

"Hinata-san, could you run a scan of the area for Kakashi-sensei? He may just be toying with us again."

"H…hai Darh-san, I'll check it out." 'He's still at the monument, and still praying. I should let him stay; I guess I'll have to lie again.' "Ano… he still isn't here. Or I can't find him if he is."

"'Kay, well this just sucks… Uzumaki, stop pacing."

"Well, what else am I supposed to do? Sakura isn't here, so I can't ask her out…"

"Actually, start pacing again, you were quieter then." 'He really is dense, talking about her in front of Hinata-san.' Hinata looked over to Darh thankfully; glad she didn't have to hear any more about Sakura from Naruto. "Hey, he's here." "YOU'RE LATE!" yelled two, extremely annoyed, voices.

"Good morning class, aren't we all lively today?"

"Meh, what do you mean 'Good morning?' It's already eleven o'clock. You told us to be here at seven."

'Did I spend that long praying for them? I have to start keeping better track of time, otherwise they may find out about… '"Well, now to business. I have here two bells. My challenge to you is for you to steal one of these bells before noon. If you do not get a bell, you will be tied to that tree stump," he gestured to a log with two bentos resting on top, "and will not get any lunch. Plus I get to eat their lunch while sitting in front of him or her."

"Fing sadistic jounin, I want my goddamn food. Meh, this whole thing sucks."

'He's kind of scary; I hope I can get one of the bells.'

"Ha-ha, this'll be easy!"

"Another thing, if you fail to get a bell, you also fail this test. You will be sent back to the academy for further training. Attack with the intent to kill, that is all I will say."

"Ano… sensei, isn't that a bit dangerous?"

"You're gonna get yourself killed telling us to do that. I mean, you couldn't even dodge an eraser!"

"Only the weak brag like that. Now let's forget the dunce and start on my signal,"

"Die you asshole!"

"…I didn't say to start yet." Kakashi had caught Naruto's arm and pushed the kunai to rest at the base of his skull. "But you attacked with the intent to kill. So you seem to have developed at least some degree of respect for me. Hm… maybe, just maybe I'm starting to like you guys. Now ready, set, and GO!"

The training ground was empty except for two figures, facing each other. Darh and Hinata, both hidden in the brush, face-faulted. "Does Uzumaki realize that this is supposed to be a team exercise?"

"Darh-kun, I think Naruto-kun just wants to make sure that he can become a true genin. He doesn't want to lose his dream, and is willing to die for it. That is his strength, and why I admire him."

"I say that he's just too dense to think before he acts. Well let's see how well he does."

They watched as Kakashi-sensei defended against Naruto's attacks, all while reading a strange red-covered book and laughing at its contents. Then he ended up behind Naruto, hands clasped together, both index and middle fingers extended. 'The sign of the Tiger!' Realized Darh and Hinata. 'The sign of flames, Naruto-kun's going to be killed!' "Sensei knows what he's doing, there's no chakra flowing as he does this. See?" Hinata activated her byakugan and saw that Kakashi was not moving any of his chakra.

"Konohagure's most secret and sacred technique: One Thousand Years of Pain!" Naruto was thrown into the lake.

'He just shoved his hands up Uzumaki's ass. That. Was. Sick. That was just really, really wrong.'

Hinata just looked frightened. 'He did that without using any chakra. What power, this isn't a fair fight at all!'

: Underwater:

Naruto was remembering all the insults thrown at him over his life. 'I've changed, I'm different now dammit! And to prove it, I will not back down!' He pulled himself out of the water.

"Well, what's the hold up? You have to get one of these bells from me otherwise you don't eat lunch."

"I know that dammit," Naruto coughed.

"How pathetic, you said you were going to become Hokage, but you can't really do anything can you?"

"Crap, crap, crap! I can fight no matter how hungry I am! I just wasn't ready that's all!

"Should we help him Darh-kun?"

"No, it'd hurt his pride. We may be able to work at a team after he's blown off some steam. Until then we wait."

'Dammit, I have to earn his respect. No matter what, I have to make him respect me!' "Ha-hah, take this; my specialty, Kage Bunshin No Jutsu! Get ready, now you're gonna have to face a lot more than just one of me!"

Post-rant: This is the closest thing I've ever done to a cliffhanger, did I do it well? I hope so. Let me know if Darh should live, what you'd like to see happen after the wave country arc, and anything else you can think of comment-wise. Till next time!