Disclaimers: I don't own Naruto.
Author's notes: I'm very sorry if I didn't update for so long! Our intramurals were coming up at such a fast speed that we spent all of our time practicing the whole day. I hate a big responsibility since I was one of the squad leader and I needed to make a whole bunch of yells, cheers, and steps for the pep squad.
We're also going tomorrow for a little trip so I guess it's high time that I finally update this thing. I already had the whole chapter idea on my head for two whole weeks but I had no time to type it.
Well… since I now had the time, I'm going to update now. No questions asked.
Anyway… thank you everyone for your reviews!
WARNING: Total OOC-ness ahead!
Chapter 11: Old Comrades Seen: Chuunin Exams Start!
A few days after that incident between Naruto and Kakashi, everything went back to normal. Fortunately, Naruto managed to change Kakashi's memory about their little talk into a little sparring session and Kakashi fainted due to lack of chakra. He hasn't fully recovered yet after all.
The blonde Akatsuki even made a cock and bull story about the fight and everything, saying that he was really exhausted right after the fight and it was just pure luck that Kakashi lost chakra, which reminded the blonde of how he used to be before his life wholly changed.
Inari also got a bit closer to him when some of Gatoh's remaining men bullied him and the blonde saved him by sending the goons away, then telling a fake but true story about his life as a kid: being an orphan and all but changing the whole Akatsuki story into a little farm story when rare sickness killed the people who saved him.
The young wave country boy started calling the blonde 'Naruto-niisan', in which the blonde Akatsuki was secretly happy for and started treating the other young boy as a little brother or something.
The bridge was called The Great Naruto Bridge in which Naruto was shocked of but did not show it. He never expected the bridge to be named after him.
After saying a little goodbye to the blonde's new 'little brother', they left the wave country, finally going back to Hidden Leaf Village.
So now here they are, standing back on the little red bridge, waiting for their sensei that never showed up until at least three hours late.
With Sakura's constant complaining, Naruto sighed and sat down under the shade of a tree, closing his eyes while meditating.
Sasuke, who was currently at a tree branch just above the blonde, stared at the blonde in silent thought. He doesn't want to admit it, but his mysterious blonde teammate has earned his respect.
The sole survivor of the Uchiha clan, decided to start a conversation, in which both the blonde and the pink haired girl was shocked of. They never expected in their whole life to expect the Uchiha Sasuke to even start a conversation.
"Naiki," He started. "Would you happen to know how our previous mission ended?" He asked. It was true. All that happened at the forest fire was still a mystery to him, and their sensei telling them that the mission is over was a plus for a more confusing topic.
Naruto silently sighed. He should have known and expected his teammates to ask about it. "Whatever do you mean, Sasuke?" He asked while his brain was roaming all over looking for a good story to tell.
"Kakashi-sensei never told us the reason why the mission has ended, and since you were the only one missing in the team, I thought that maybe you had an idea on how it happened." The onyx-eyed Uchiha said.
'Think brain. Think.' Naruto thought to himself, scanning his brain thoroughly for another tale.
::Kyuubi, help.::
Kyuubi stifled a laugh. /You're on your own in this one, kit./
Naruto pouted. ::You said that you would help me.::
/In mission and in training. Not in making up excuses and tales to tell your foolish teammates./
Naruto inwardly flinched at the 'foolish' word. He didn't want to admit it, but it seems that he is growing attached to his teammates. The blonde inwardly smacked himself. 'I shouldn't get attached with any of them. I'm in a class-S mission for goodness sake! No feelings. No feelings.'
"Well," The blonde began, creating an entrance for his tale. "If you want my idea, I'll give it to you. I suspect that there was another strong shinobi who wanted Gatoh's head and defeated the two shinobis who were hired by Gatoh." He said.
Sasuke nodded. "Well… that is a possibility."
"But," Sakura cutted in. "If there was another shinobi, wouldn't Kakashi-sensei sense it at once?" She asked.
Naruto inwardly cursed the pink haired girl. It would seem that she is starting to become a problem as well, with her intelligence and all. "I suppose that the certain shinobi who could have attacked Gatoh is a lot stronger than any of us, including Kakashi-sensei." He said.
Sakura nodded. "You do have a point there, Naiki."
POOF!!!
"Yo."
Once again, Sakura's statement… ehem… yell… ehem… of "YOU'RE LATE!!!" was heard all through out Hidden Leaf.
Kakashi chuckled as he motioned the other two boys to come near. "Anyway, I would like to tell the three of you that I nominated you three for the chuunin exams." He said.
"Chuunin exams?" Sakura echoed.
Kakashi nodded. "Yes. Chuunin exams. Anyway, the test will occur within five days (a/n: Was that five days?). Think it over and come at the academy room: 302 (a/m: Am I right?). Bye!"
With that, the silver haired jounin poofed away, leaving the three silent genins among their thoughts.
'Chuunin exams? Can I do it?' I hope that you guys know who was thinking this.
'Hn. Finally… a way to test my capacity.' And this one too.
'Chuunin exams? Heck. I know that I have surpassed that level already. I got to keep my chakra level low enough to not be suspected.' Now this one is way too obvious people. I'll spank you guys if you didn't figure this one out.
"Well you two," Sakura said as she turned around to face them. "It would seem that we don't have missions for today. I'll be going home to think about this then. Bye!"
Naruto sighed as he took a glance at Sasuke who glanced back at him. With a nod, the blonde boy left the dark haired Uchiha.
'Chuunin exams, eh? Hmm… participants from different hidden villages would be participating here. I wonder if they will be there as well… what do you think, Kyuubi?'
/I believe so, kit. In fact, can't you feel that chakra? It's you raccoon friend's chakra signature./ Kyuubi said.
Naruto nodded. ::Yeah. I could feel it, Kyuubi. In fact, I think I'm feeling Temari-neechan and Kankuro-san's chakra too. Heh. Let's see if they still remember me.::
As the blonde started walking along, he suddenly halted to a stop when he heard a little boy's scream.
"Let me go!"
"Konohamaru-chan!"
"Konohamaru-kun!"
"Heh! I hate brats like you."
"Kankuro, stop it."
Naruto smirked. 'Well… I think I spotted them now.'
The blonde narrowed his eyes at the puppeteer as he saw the boy he was currently strangling. 'The Konohamaru Cops.' He thought as his eyes narrowed a little more slightly.
Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon, were one of the few who Naruto actually cared about. Naruto sighed as he let a few of his killing intent seep through his body, making the puppeteer and the fan wielding woman freeze for a few seconds.
"Sand-nins," The blonde started as he glared at then in silent act. "I suggest that you stop what you are doing."
Just then, a stone suddenly hit Kankuro's hand, making him drop the boy. The three looked up to see the Uchiha holding another stone at hand, ready to throw it again when needed.
"What are you Sand-nins doing in our village?" He asked.
"Ahh. I hate noisy brats." Kankuro said as he unstrapped the 'mummy' from his back (a/n: Seriously, the first time I saw Karasu, I though that it was a mummy.). Sasuke then crushed the rock on his hand.
"Kankuro, stop it." The dirty-blonde haired girl wielding a fan said. But then, seeing that there was nothing that could stop the mummy carrying man, she sighed.
"Kankuro, stop it." A voice suddenly said.
…well… someone can actually stop it.
Naruto smirked behind his mask, closing his eyes while shaking his head. 'He finally appeared.'
"…or I'll kill you."
The other two froze on their tracks as they looked up on the tree to see a redhead standing upside down the tree branch opposite to the Uchiha's.
The blonde shook his head as he leaned on the wall for support. He would like to see this.
The redhead scanned the place. He paid the kids no interest and glared at Kankuro and Temari. His eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Sasuke. 'He threw that stone to Kankuro without being noticed. Interesting.' He said as he teleported down.
His glance then landed on the hooded blonde with the mask, who he can tell was smirking at him by the look on the blonde's blue eyes. Naruto, seeing the redhead's expression closed his eyes and glanced up at Sasuke, who in turn glanced back at him.
Naruto decided that it was now the time to finally let the Uchiha see his face, and so will the others present. After all, no one in hidden leaf actually saw what he really looks like.
He placed the hood down, and took off the mask, being sure to put on a genjutsu to hide his whisker marks on his cheeks. He then massaged his left cheek with his hand, glaring at the mask.
"I really hate this mask. It's now time to take this stuff off." He murmured as he glanced back up at Sasuke who was a bit wide-eyed that he saw the blonde's whole face. There was nothing special about the blonde's face but the deep-sea blue eyes that makes anyone mesmerize while staring at them.
"Sasuke, I suppose it's high time that you go down that tree now. I'm sure that these sand-nins have no intention of attacking us now." He then took a glance at the sand-nin team while smiling pleasantly. "Or do you?"
The sand team's eyes were wide as if they made a discovery, in which they did. Sasuke jumped down and landed beside the blonde and smiled ever so slightly at him.
/Kit, did you see him smile?/
::Yes of course I did, Kyuubi. I'm not blind.::
/No violent reactions about that smile?/
::None of course. It's even a good thing that I'm getting close to him. It would make my mission more easier since I could manipulate him sooner than I expected once I earned his friendship.:: He replied as he placed his attention back to the sand team.
The redhead, in who I am sure than everyone knows, is Gaara, glared at his two teammates. "Temari, Kankuro, we're going back to the inn." He said. The other two agreed at once without question.
"In behalf of my whole team, I am sorry for any trouble that my teammates have caused you." He said.
Sasuke stayed silent while the blonde nodded. "No problem," He said as he opened his eyes slightly showing a slight glint of malice that Gaara only saw. "… Gaara of the Desert." The last part was but murmured by the blonde.
Gaara nodded as they turned around to leave. However, the Uchiha stopped them. "Wait. I want to know your name." He said.
"Who? Me?" Temari asked, turning around pointing at herself.
"Not you. The one with the gourd."
Gaara turned around to face him. "I believe that your blonde teammate have already said my name. But if I need to say so, my name is Gaara – Gaara of the Desert. I am also interested with your names." He said.
"Sasuke – Uchiha Sasuke."
Pause.
"…Naiki – Uyoma Naiki." 'Heh. Though I am sure that you have already figured out who I am, Gaara.'
With that, the sand team disappeared.
"Well… that was a nice meeting." Naruto murmured.
"Hn. Strong people are always good to meet." Sasuke said.
"So," Naruto turned to face the Uchiha. "Are you up for the chuunin exams?" He asked.
Sasuke smirked and faced him. "Of course I am, Naiki."
Naruto smirked deeply inwardly. 'Now is the perfect time to make the Uchiha bloodline limit awaken.' He thought. "You do want to spar again?" He asked.
Sasuke nodded. "Of course."
"Meet me in the forest clearing later at eight in the evening. I'll just take care of a few other things. See you." Naruto said before he disappeared like a bubble.
'Hmm… what's up with Naiki that made him some kind of cheery?'
Somewhere in the forest
Naruto let his feet take him to the pond deep in the forest. It was the area in where he trains himself without actually destroying much of the forest for it was kind of isolated from the other part of the forest.
He smirked as he felt a familiar presence behind him. Throwing a kunai behind him towards the trees, a hand sprout out and threw the kunai back to its owner, in which the blonde caught with ease.
"That greeting again, eh Itachi-san, Naruto." The shark faced Hoshigaki Kisame said as he and Itachi came out of the shadows.
"Itachi-niisan, Kisame-san, it's quite unusual for the two of you to visit me in the light." The blonde said as he faced his two former mentors. "This must be something of importance."
Itachi nodded. "In fact it is. The Akatsuki had decided to send a team from the organization to participate on the chuunin exams." He said.
Naruto went wide-eyed at that information. "What the heck? Are the leaders out of their minds? Why would they send a team to the chuunin exams?" He asked, still dumb strucked.
"The team is to help you defeat Orochimaru." The sharingan master said in a matter of fact tone.
The blonde Akatsuki raised his eyebrow. "That snake is going to enter in the exam? What for? It's not like he will acquire anything there." He said, crossing his arms.
Kisame chuckled. "Oh yes he would… wait. 'Might' is the right term for that." He said.
"And that would be?"
"A new vessel to be his successor." Itachi said as if it was the simplest thing in the world.
Naruto sighed. What was that snake up to now? He sighed exasperatedly. "Wait. Don't tell me that I would need to protect the coming to be victim of that snake." He said, raising an eyebrow.
The longhaired Uchiha shook his head. "No. If you could prevent it, the better. But you are only required to defeat him or slow him down on his plans." He said.
"'Niisan, the Akatsuki organization has nothing to do with that snake any longer. Why are we obliged to attack him?" He asked.
"The akatsuki now sees Orochimaru as a threat to our plans."
"Why?"
"That matter is none of your concern, nor is it mine."
Naruto sighed in defeat. If that was all he could squeeze out of his unofficial older brother then so be it. "Fine then. I won't argue with the organization then. But I believe that I deserve to know who are the members of the team who will help me out." He said.
Kisame nodded as four other people appeared from the shadows. One was a long red haired girl with maroon eyes to match her hair. She wore a sleeveless red tank top and black leather shorts with nettings on both of her legs. She also has red warmers on her arms. She had a hidden moon forehead protector on her neck with a slash in between. She seems to be about Naruto's age.
Another one was another redhead except that she looks older and she had shaggy hair in a short high ponytail. She wore a red kimono (the part for the legs ends by the thigh) and a red fittings that goes down to the knee. Nettings are also seen by the chest area. She was about Kabuto's age. She also has the forehead protector of the hidden moon on her neck. (a/n: Imagine Machi's clothes from Hunter x Hunter.)
The third member of the group is a young Orochimaru look alike except that he doesn't look that pale and he has blue eyes instead of snake like eyes. He has the forehead protector of the water country on his forehead.
The last member of the group has semi-long flyaway hair and wears a whitish-yellow trench coat. (Imagine Sanada Yukimura from Samurai Deeper Kyo) He has a katana strapped on his waist. He has the forehead protector of the earth country on his arm.
Naruto beamed as he saw the three.
"Yuumei-chan! Rae-san! Yomi-kun! Narue-san! What are the four of you doing here?" The blonde beamed.
The long red haired girl, known as Yuumei, 'hned'. "Obviously Naruto. We are the sent team. We are to help you defeat a.k.a slow down that traitor."
The other two were silent.
The blonde then turned his attention back to the sharingan wielder. "Oh well… I'll see you guys later." He then turned to the team. "And I'll see the four of you at the exams. Be sure to change your personality there."
Narue chuckled (the Yukimura look alike). "Of course we will. Anyway, you won't be seeing me that early because I am going to be the jounin instructor." He said.
Naruto nodded. "Alright then. I'll see you guys after the exam. I promised Sasuke that I'd spar with him later on. It's also my chance to help him awaken the sharingan. Bye!"
With that, the blonde disappeared, leaving the other Akatsuki members shaking their heads while smiling at the blonde's antics.
In an inn somewhere in Konoha
"Yo." Naruto said as he appeared before the sand-nins.
Temari and Kankuro immediately turned defensive in case that a battle with happen. Upon seeing their reactions, the blonde laughed out loud, surprising the other two sand-nins.
"Temari-san, Kankuro-san, you should see your faces on the mirror. It's hilarious!" He exclaimed as he laughed.
Temari and Kankuro narrowed their eyes. "Who are you?" Temari demanded.
The blonde pouted. "Awe… Temari-neechan forgot me already? I'm so hurt." Naruto said, faining hurt and tried to sound like a ten year old kid.
Gaara 'hned' as his lips twitched into an almost smile. "You really should stop popping out of nowhere, Naruto. You'll be surprising the other shinobis." He murmured.
The other two were both shocked. They glanced at Gaara then back to the blonde. "Naruto, is that you?" Kankuro asked, placing Karasu down on the floor.
Naruto snickered. "In the flesh."
"Naruto…" Temari said as she closed her fan.
Just then, Naruto was crushed into a bear hug by the blonde member of the sand team. "You little runt! We gave up a fright back there! Why didn't you tell us that you were you and introduced yourself as someone else?!"
"Ack! Ack!"
"Well?! Answer!"
Kankuro and surprisingly even Gaara sweat dropped at their sister's antics. "Uhh… Temari…?" Kankuro called.
"What?!"
"Ack! Ack!"
"I don't think he can answer you."
"Why not?!"
"Ack! Ack!"
Sweat drop. "You're suffocating him."
Temari glanced at the blonde boy and sweat dropped herself.
"Aaaack… I…can't…breathe… help…"
"Ahh!" The blonde girl immediately let go. "I'm sorry, Naruto."
"Augh…" He started massaging the back of his neck. "You really should learn how to get a hold of yourself, Temari-san. I swear you're going to kill someone without even using your chakra."
Temari laughed nervously before becoming serious. "Naruto, why did you lie to us and introduced yourself as Uyoma Naiki?"
Naruto sighed. "It is because of my mission."
"Mission?"
"Yes. I'm a spy for the Akatsuki organization."
/Kit, are you sure it's alright for you to tell them what you're here for?/
::Yes. I am. I can trust them since I have a feeling they are here for the same thing.::
"…well… it's a mission by the organization. You'll know the details soon since my mission is more like yours. Well… I need to go. I have a sparring session to attend to. Bye!"
The three sand-nins sighed. Naruto will always be Naruto.
Naruto had reached the clearing right on time. Sasuke was already there waiting for him. "Sorry if I'm late, but hey. I don't see that I'm late. I'm exactly on time." He said as he took out a kunai from his holster and discarded his cloak.
'I might be needing about a half to three-fourths of my real speed to awaken the Uchiha's sharingan. I won't be needing my cloak for a while.'
'What the heck… Naiki has a lot more weapons under that cloak of his?' Sasuke thought as he eyed the patches that hung onto the various loose belts on his waist. 'Naiki must really be a shinobi of skill.'
Naiki smirked as he lowered himself into a stance. "Are you ready, Sasuke?"
"Ready when you are, Naiki."
"Now!"
Naruto quickly dashed around Sasuke in a very quick motion. His movements were so quick that every move he does seems like a blur to the Uchiha.
'Drats! I can't keep up with his speed!' Block.
Clash. 'You will need to awaken the sharingan to follow my movements, Sasuke. Come on. Show me what you got.'
Naruto then dashed forward and attempted to stab Sasuke in the gut. Fortunately, the dark haired Uchiha managed to notice it and evade just in time.
The blonde smirked as he quickly took out another kunai in his other hand and attacked Sasuke from below with it.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he leaned back and used his kunai to block the kunai from hitting him as he jumped away and crouched into a defensive stance. The blonde stopped his assault and smirked at him.
"What's wrong, Sasuke? You're an Uchiha. You should be able to see my moves." He said.
Sasuke narrowed his eyes in thought. 'I can't even follow his movements that much. How will I even be able to attack him?'
The blonde sighed, seemingly reading his thoughts. "Listen Sasuke. I'll give you a hint for this match. So listen. Deep within the human body it is hidden. Not the organs, not the cells, not the molecules. It is in the blood rushing in a human's veins. What am I? What am I?"
At that, Naruto dashed again towards him, this time twice as faster than before. Sasuke immediately jumped away from the attack, his eyes widened at the damage that it did on the ground.
The blonde narrowed his eyes at him. "I will start aiming to kill you, Uchiha. If you don't fine the answer to the riddle, you're as good as dead." The blonde akatsuki said as he started forming hand seals.
His chakra started to surround his whole hand. He held only a tree trunk and it dissolved to ashes in contact. Sasuke narrowed his eyes. "You really want to kill me, don't you?"
"If you can't answer the riddle then you'll definitely die in the chuunin exams." The blonde said as his palm made contact with the ground in where Sasuke once stood. The ground exploded, making a rather large dent.
Naruto swiftly turned around and made contact with another tree. The tree exploded to ashes after that. He turned around and saw Sasuke panting while concentrating chakra into his feet to speed himself up.
'Concentrating chakra into his feet to make himself move faster eh? Nice idea and he does it nicely even though he still doesn't have full control over it. However…'
Naruto added up his speed a little more to move more swiftly. "That won't help for long, Sasuke."
Sasuke managed to evade again. Naruto inwardly sighed. 'I don't really intend on killing him. Itachi-niisan will kill me if I do that. But I'll definitely kill him if he doesn't awaken the sharingan soon. Alright. I have a plan.'
The blonde then decided to run around in swift moves around Sasuke, making it look like Sasuke was surrounded by a glob of blonde and black. 'Sheesh. I'll definitely kill him if it stays this way. Time for the needles then.'
Using Haku's style, he swiftly started the senbon assault on Sasuke. The fast movements made it unable for the Uchiha to evade. However, little by little, the Uchiha was starting to evade the flying needles.
'This is good. He is beginning to have access to his bloodline limit.'
'In the blood? What does he mean?It seems that he isn't even aiming for my vital points. What is Naiki up to? No matter. I'm beginning to get used to this now.'
"I'll end this now, Sasuke!" Naruto exclaimed as he took a kunai and attacked from behind. 'If you don't evade this, Sasuke, you do not have the right to be called as Uchiha. In case Sasuke dies, I'm sorry 'niisan.'
Just then, Sasuke spun around, taking out his final kunai and blocked Naruto's kunai, sending it towards a tree. However, he wasn't prepared for the second kunai. The blonde tackled him to the ground and aimed the kunai right as his throat.
Sasuke glared at him.
Upon seeing Sasuke's eyes, Naruto smiled and got off him, placing his kunai back into the holster. He extended his hand towards Sasuke, who unexpectedly took it. The blonde smiled at him.
"Congratulations, Uchiha Sasuke." He said, placing his hands on his hips, smiling pleasantly.
Naruto chuckled at the confused face that Sasuke was giving him. He pointed at a nearby pond and told him to look at his reflection.
As Sasuke stared at his reflection, he gasped. Two red eyes with one comma each stared back at him. As his eyes turned back to its normal black shade, he turned back to the blonde who, for the first time made a true smile at him.
"Those eyes…"
Naruto nodded. "Yes. The sharingan."
"Y-you meant this to happen." Sasuke said, his eyes widening in realization.
The blonde nodded at him. "Yes. I planned this spar to be the key for the activation of your bloodline limit. That's the answer to the riddle. 'Deep within the human body it is hidden. Not the organs, not the cells, not the molecules. It is in the blood rushing in a human's veins.' A person's bloodline limit is deeply hidden inside his being. The person's blood has it in it. The bloodline limit of a person is hidden inside and is not activated right away. That's why I made this spar as a key. A person's bloodline limit is normally not activated through normal means. The person that has the bloodline limit must first put his life in line for it to activate. That's why I used this kind of battle." He explained.
Sasuke nodded. "I see. I believe that you also have a bloodline limit within yourself." He said.
Naruto shook his head. "No. I do not have a bloodline limit like the sharingan or the byakugan. But I have a bloodline limit that is not that special for others. They fear my bloodline limit and view it as a curse. But for me, it is the best gift that I ever had. What it is you will soon find out."
/Kit, you don't have a bloodline limit./
::Yes I have.::
/And that would be?/
::…it's not exactly in the blood…:::
/Then tell me. Where is it?/
::It's not exactly where is it? It's WHAT is it.::
/Alright. What is it that is not special to others but is the best gift that you had?/
Naruto inwardly closed his eyes. ::You, Kyuubi.::
/Me?/
::Yes Kyuubi. You.::
/Thank you, kit./
"Well," Naruto said as he focused back to his surroundings. "Your bloodline limit would have activated sooner if we just fought those people that Gatoh hired, but they're gone so I made another method."
"Why did you went through this trouble even though I didn't ask for your help?" Sasuke asked.
Naruto was silent for a moment. "Because…"
'…you're Itachi-niisan's little brother and you're my friend as well…'
Pause.
"Naiki?"
"…because…" He smiled. "I don't want another person precious to me die. I lost the only person I care for when I was young. I won't allow it to happen again."
With that, he disappeared, leaving Sasuke alone on his thoughts.
The night was silent with the whispers of the night… and one of those whispers belonged to the Uchiha…
He smiled ever so slightly.
"…arigato."
NOTE: The OC's up there are just extras. If you people don't want OC's, then don't worry. They'll disappear soon enough and they'll just be playing a minor role here.
Author's notes: Augh!!! I know! Everyone was so OOC! Ahh!!! The horror! Ehem. Well… I did my best in this chapter. If there was something wrong about this chapter, please to not hesitate to tell me. I also want to improve. But please, do me a favor. NO FLAMES PLEASE! I worked out my guts for this chapter.
Anyway... Naruto's first precious person who he lost would be explained later on in the later events.
I did my best to make this longer to make up for my lack of updates. I hope that you guys like it.
No confusions? If there are, feel free to ask me.
I hope that you like it though…
Alright. I ranted enough. (Authoress smiles) Anyway, I hope that I did not offend anyone in any way. If I did, then I'm sorry.
Reviews please!