Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto-sensei.
Naruto woke up sometime later staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. Little did he know that he'd be seeing this particular ceiling with a lot more regularity in the future but at this moment it was unfamiliar.
"Where am I?" asked Naruto to no one in particular. He was surprised when he got an answer.
"You're in the Hospital," said the very familiar voice of his Kaasan.
"Will I live?" he asked.
"Yes, this time," she said though the last part was a bit more of a joke. "You depleted your chakra almost completely and for some reason it is refilling much more slowly than it ever has in the past."
"It's got to be that damn seal that snake freak put on my stomach," said Naruto.
"Snake freak?" asked Tsunade, "Did he say his name?"
"No, he might have but I never heard it," said Naruto he then checked to see if the door was closed. "I think I woke up you know who and that Snake freak seemed to know exactly what was happening."
"I see," said Tsunade, "Lift your shirt and let's have a look."
Naruto sat up on the bed and lifted his shirt and focused a bit of chakra to make his seal appear. Then seconds later another seal appeared around it.
"Yeah, this is the work of Orochimaru," said Tsunade spitting the man's name out, "Damn it."
"Who is this guy?" asked Naruto.
"He was the other Sannin," said Tsunade, "but he turned against the village when he wasn't chosen to be the Yondaime."
"I see," said Naruto, "So can you remove the seal?"
"Yeah, it's going to hurt a bit though," warned Tsunade.
"Okay, get it over with," said Naruto bracing himself for impact.
Tsunade did a few hand seals that ended with the tips of her fingers on one hand glowing purple. She then thrust her hand forward into his abdomen.
Naruto felt the same burning as he did the first time but it quickly turned into a soothing feeling. "Ah, that's much better."
"I can already feel your chakra rushing back into your system," said Tsunade.
"So, I finally revealed my knowledge of Kirameki," said Naruto to his Kaasan, "I couldn't have won the fight without it."
"So I heard," said Tsunade, "That boy you fought did a number on himself. He'll be lucky to be back on active duty in the next month."
"I wouldn't count on it with that guy," said Naruto, "I'd give him two weeks and he'll be back to full strength."
Tsunade smiled at her son, "You think so huh? Just who is the doctor here exactly?"
"You are but you've always had a tendency to say it will take longer to heal than is really necessary," said Naruto.
"Only with you," said Tsunade, "You can never tell with you. It seems like the more serious your injury is the faster it heals but then the less serious ones take a normal amount of time."
"That's just the damn fox," said Naruto.
"Speaking of which you said that you think you woke him up?" asked Tsunade with a bit of concern.
"It was like I was just flooded with chakra that I know didn't belong to me. I was feeling stress and worried but most of all I was angry. That chakra it let loose this rage in me that I've never experienced before," explained Naruto thoughtfully.
"I see," said Tsunade, "It might be time for you to learn how to control that bastard."
"Do you think I can?" asked Naruto.
"Yes," said Tsunade, "I would teach you myself but one of the Genin that came in is in critical condition."
"It's not Hinata-chan is it?" asked Naruto worried for his friend.
"No, she was released yesterday in perfect health," said Tsunade, "I'm talking about Inuzuka Kiba. He fought that Gaara kid, he and his dog barely made it out of there alive."
"That's too bad," said Naruto, "He's on Hinata's team."
"I know that," said Tsunade.
"So, who's going to teach me to control that bastard?" asked Naruto now slightly concerned.
"Jaraiya is in town," said Tsunade, "He's a major pervert but he knows his stuff. He's the one who originally trained the Fourth Hokage. He could teach you a lot if you're willing to listen to him. But this is the most important thing. If you turn into a pervert because of him I'll disown you."
Naruto swallowed nervously, "I would never."
"You'd better not and if he attempts to turn you then you'd better tell me and I'll deal with him," said Tsunade.
"How is Sasuke?" asked Naruto.
"I sealed that cursed seal up as best I could but now it's up to him to work around it," said Tsunade, "Kakashi has already taken him away to train. Sasuke has to face that Gaara boy in the first round of the finals."
"I'm sure he'll be fine then," said Naruto.
"Well, why don't you get out of here and try to find that pervert? He should be in the bath house area of town," explained Tsunade.
"Okay Kaasan, see you tonight for dinner?" he asked hopefully.
"Of course, we have to celebrate you making into the finals now don't we?" asked Tsunade with a smile.
"Oh, Kaasan, before I go can I have some money?" asked Naruto nervously.
"Why?" asked Tsunade.
"Well, you see, it's kind of . . . um well . . . in the forest, Sakura had to dump my weights so she could take us to safety and I need to replace them," explained Naruto.
"Fine," said Tsunade as she handed him a wad of cash.
"Thanks Kaasan," said Naruto giving her a quick hug before running out of the hospital.
He made straight for his preferred equipment shop. Twenty minutes later he left the shop with new weights that were ten levels above his previous ones. He had a month to train and he intended to take full advantage of it.
BREAK
"Damn, it cannot be," yelled a very angry man.
"Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto in a soothing voice, "He is of no consequence."
"You fool," Orochimaru yelled at Kabuto before striking him, "That bloodline should not exist. I went to great lengths to kill the last of them when I summoned the Kyubi to attack the village. Damn it."
Kabuto picked himself up, "He is of no consequence. Once you have the Uchiha you will be invincible."
Orochimaru kicked Kabuto hard sending him skidding across the floor. "The Sharingan is useless against that boy you idiot."
"Then I will kill him for you tonight," said Kabuto trying to please his master and calm his rage.
"You," laughed Orochimaru, "You fool, he would tear you apart just as he would tear apart Gaara of the Sand. Not only does that boy have his blood but he also carries the Kyubi. You would be but a fly to him."
"You beat him master," said Kabuto trying to please his master.
"I may have beaten him but only because he was blinded by rage. If he learns to harness that power," Orochimaru stopped and shivered, "Damn. This changes all of my plans."
"What if you were to take the boy as a new host then?" asked Kabuto.
"I cannot enter the same body as the Kyubi or it would tear my soul apart," explained Orochimaru.
"What would you have me do?" asked Kabuto.
"We will still attack, I want the Uchiha," explained Orochimaru, "We will have to do our best to ensure that boy is preoccupied."
"I will handle it personally Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto bowing deeply.
BREAK
"Where the hell is that pervert?" Naruto asked to himself as he checked the eighth bath house in the last two hours. The sound of screaming women told Naruto that he was getting close.
A white-haired man being chased by a dozen women identified the pervert he was looking for. Naruto watched him from a distance while the angry women beat him senseless.
It was after that Naruto approached him, "You Jaraiya?"
"Who wants to know?" asked the pervert.
"You're new student," said Naruto confidently.
"Ha, you must have mistaken me for someone else," said the pervert.
"Kaasan won't be happy to hear you've been lying," said Naruto.
The man narrowed his eyes as he looked Naruto up and down, "and who exactly is your Kaasan?"
"Tsunade the Sannin," said Naruto with a smirk.
The man instantly started looking around him as if expecting her to jump out at him. "Does your Kaasan know that I'm here?"
"Yes," said Naruto innocently, "But she said that it would be okay if you would train me to prepare for the tournament finals."
The man seemed to be contemplating his options, "Alright kid, I'm Jaraiya and I guess I can teach you a few things."
"Good to hear," said Naruto. Normally Naruto felt that he was honor bound to never resort to blackmail. But the fact that this man was such a pervert, it really didn't bother him this time. "So long as you teach me something really good then I'll not report anything you do to Kaasan."
Jaraiya's eye twitched angrily at being blackmailed by the thirteen year old. "You're ruthless kid."
"Thanks," said Naruto with a grin, "Now the most important thing you're going to do is teach me how to use this bastard in here." Naruto was pointing to his stomach as he said it, "That's a direct order from Kaasan."
"And how am I supposed to do that?" asked Jaraiya.
"How the hell should I know? You trained the guy that put the bastard in here. You figure it out," shouted Naruto at the man.
"Fine, fine, just take it easy kid," said Jaraiya, "I guess we can start with summoning then. That might draw him out."
Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Then let's go." Naruto led Jaraiya to his favorite training spot.
"What are we doing here?" asked the pervert.
"It's secluded and there is no one around for miles to distract us or more importantly there are no girls here to distract you," said Naruto.
Jaraiya sighed, Tsunade's brat was going to put a cramp in his business. A few quick hand seals later Jaraiya was standing on a toad with a giant scroll in its mouth.
"Don't you think the fox might dislike me summoning a toad?" asked Naruto, "We're trying to coax him into giving me his chakra not withholding it because I signed contract with a toad."
"What do you want me to do about it? I can summon toads, nothing else. You could ask your Kaasan to let you summon the slugs I suppose?"
"Again, trying to draw out the Kyubi, not piss it off," chided Naruto.
"Damn it kid," said Jaraiya, "I'm trying here."
"Well try harder Ero-Sennin," yelled Naruto.
"How do you think the fox would react to Apes?"
"Apes?" asked Naruto.
"Yeah, Sandaime has a contract with them," said Jaraiya, "Do you think that would work?"
"Maybe, Apes' are known for their wisdom and strength just like Kyubi," said Naruto, "Don't we have anything better than that?"
"I got nothing else for you kiddo," said Jaraiya.
"Let's go see the Third then and you can tell him the plan," said Naruto forcefully.
"You know, Yondaime summoned Frogs," said Jaraiya.
"I would like to summon Frogs but I do not think it would endear Kyubi to me," said Naruto, "Can I have more than one contract?"
"Yes but it is rare," said Jaraiya, "Usually the bosses don't get along with each other."
"First we need to get the Kyubi to cooperate," said Naruto, "We can worry about having more than one summon later then."
Jaraiya sighed sadly. He knew that Yondaime wanted Naruto to summon frogs but Naruto was right. They needed to endear the Kyubi to him not piss him off even further. Jaraiya took Naruto by the collar and then they both disappeared in a burst of smoke.
"Jaraiya?" asked the surprised Sandaime.
"Hey old man," said Jaraiya, "Long time no see."
"Long time indeed," said Sarutobi, "What brings you and young Naruto here today?"
"The boy has this crazy idea about learning to control the Kyubi's chakra and call it to him when asked for," explained Jaraiya trying to be as condescending as possible to Naruto. "So I suggested summoning for the boy because it requires so much chakra. Anyway the brat pointed out that Kyubi might prefer death over giving him chakra to summon a frog."
"So what brought you to me?" asked the old man.
"Naruto thinks that the Kyubi might respect the Apes more than the frogs," said Jaraiya, "So, he wants to sign the Ape contract."
"You know that the frogs are very powerful, don't you?" Sarutobi asked to Naruto. He knew that Yondaime wanted Naruto to summon frogs just as he did.
"I know and I would like to summon frog but as I pointed out to Ero-Sennin, Kyubi might be willing to give me the chakra to summon an Ape but it is still going to be an argument," said Naruto.
"I see. Perhaps after you have worked out a deal with Kyubi you could negotiate with the Enma and Gamabunta to be able to summon both of them," suggested Sarutobi, "But I see your point. Kyubi may respect the Apes more than the frogs."
"Exactly," said Naruto, "So, do you think you would allow me to sign the Ape contract?"
Sarutobi considered it. He was the last to sign the Ape contract and hoped someday to allow his grandson to sign the Ape contract since his father passed. Sarutobi also considered that with Orochimaru plotting right now he may not live long enough to pass that contract on to his grandson.
"Very well Naruto, but I have one condition," said Sarutobi, "When my grandson is old enough I want you to allow him to sign the Ape contract and then I want you to teach him to summon them."
"I would be honored to teach your grandson in the future," said Naruto. He couldn't help but feel grateful that the old man trusted him enough to teach his grandson.
"You say honored now but wait until you meet the brat," said Sarutobi, "Either way you've agreed."
Sarutobi did a series of hand seals before striking the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu."
With that an ape twice the size of a man appeared.
"Naruto, this is the boss ape Enma Daimyo," said Sarutobi.
"Saru my friend, why have you summoned me?" asked Enma.
"I have chosen to allow this young man to sign the contract of the apes. I wanted you to meet him before hand though," explained Sarutobi.
The ape knelt down next to Naruto and studied the boy up and down before looking deep into Naruto's eyes, "This one has great potential indeed."
"I know," said Sarutobi, "I would also ask that you allow him to sign a contract with the Frogs later and still continue your service to him. And one day, he will pass your contract onto my grandson. But that can be discussed later."
Enma took a deep breath and thought carefully on the topic. The silence was killing Naruto while the Ape boss considered it, "I will consent but before he is permitted to summon me again he must first summon nine of my subordinates about the tenth level. Once he has done that he will have earned my respect. After that I and my clan will serve him faithfully as we have for you."
"And you will consent to working along side the frogs?"
"I will," said Enma."
"Thank you Enma Daimyo," said Naruto bowing respectfully to the Ape boss. Enma returned the bow before disappearing.
"Well done Naruto," said Sarutobi, "He made me summon twenty of his subordinates above the fifteenth level before he would allow me to summon him. You really impressed him."
"Thank you Hokage-sama," said Naruto.
"Okay, now this is the lowest tenth level summon," said Sarutobi as he did a bunch of hand seals before hitting the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu.
An ape about the same size a Naruto appeared. He had a basic looking tunic on and wore steel spiked knuckled on his hands. Across his back there was a large scroll.
"Hello again Ura Onashi," said Sarutobi to the ape.
"Nice to see you again Saru," said the ape, "How can I help you?"
"I would like for you to allow this young man to sign the contract," said Sarutobi.
The ape, Ura Onashi, took the scroll off his back and unrolled it on the floor in front of Naruto. Ura Onashi looked to Naruto, "Sign in blood please."
Naruto cut his thumb on one of his sharper canines and then signed his name in blood. Naruto barely finished when the ape rolled up the contract and put it back on his back before he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
"Well, you and I will have some summoning lessons everyday this month in the afternoon," said Sarutobi, "I want to ensure you are ready to approach Kyubi about giving you enough chakra to summon the boss before the end of the month."
"He'll be ready in two weeks if I have anything to say about it," said Jaraiya, "Then you get to work on the frogs."
Naruto swallowed. He never liked when adults used that particular tone. He'd heard it enough times from his Kaasan to cause him to reflexively become nervous from it.
"So our mornings will now be spent trying to expand your own chakra capacity," said Jaraiya with a grin that caused Naruto to swallow again.
BREAK
As promised, Jaraiya had Naruto up early the next morning to train. Jaraiya forced Naruto to train in an area where he could peep on girls swimming much to Naruto's amusement. Jaraiya had Naruto doing all kind of different exercises on the water's surface. First he'd run laps on the water then he would to push-ups and sit-ups followed by hand stands and back-flips. Naruto had to learn very quickly how to push chakra out of his hands and the rest of his body so he didn't fall in. It was probably the most taxing chakra control exercise he'd ever done in his short life or would ever do again in his life, especially so with the extra weight from his new guards.
Jaraiya would almost always make him spend his afternoon in meditation trying to draw out Kyubi into refilling his chakra supply. It would work to an extent in that his reserves would refill much more quickly but it was flowing freely as it had in the forest of death. This was much more forced. That didn't change the fact that it was effective.
After meditating, Naruto would meet with Sarutobi on top of the Hokage monument to work on summoning. Sarutobi would summon a tenth level ape for Naruto to see and meet and most importantly get a feel for how much chakra was needed to summon him.
Naruto found out quickly that he was close to having enough Chakra to summon a tenth level but he would have to work very hard to expand his chakra a lot more if he was going to summon ten apes of the tenth level or higher in two weeks time. That didn't stop Sarutobi from having Naruto summon as high a level ape as he could for the simple fact that he needed to meet all of the apes.
Naruto always followed that up with meditating to refill his chakra faster and then summoning again to deplete his reserves and force them to grow faster. In a day he was able to summon four times before Sarutobi sent him off to do whatever he needed to do.
That first night Naruto received an unexpected visitor as he was nursing his sore muscles. He looked quite humorous answering the door in boxers and a t-shirt with bags of ice taped to each of his major joints including his hips.
"Kakashi-sensei?" questioned Naruto when he opened the door.
"Yo," said Kakashi, "Sasuke is sleeping like a baby after our training today and I wanted to talk to you for a bit."
"Sure, come in," said Naruto motioning the man into his house, "Kaasan and Nechan are at the hospital working on Kiba still. I don't know if they'll be home for the next month or two from what I hear about Kiba's condition. Can I get you some tea or something?"
"Tea would be fine Naruto," said Kakashi as he sat at the kitchen table.
It was a few minutes later that Naruto and Kakashi were both sitting at the table with a hot cup of tea. Naruto's tea happened to be of a sort that it would relax his muscles.
"How is your training going?" asked Kakashi.
"Jaraiya is a pervert but he knows his stuff and Sarutobi-sensei is a slave driver," said Naruto with a laugh and wince after the laugh.
"Jaraiya is training you?" asked Kakashi in surprise. He didn't get past that.
"And Sandaime," said Naruto as he took a sip of tea.
"I see," said Kakashi, "So Naruto, who taught you Kirameki?"
"I had to teach myself," said Naruto, "Every year for my birthday I get a scroll from Yondaime. The first scroll he gave me was on the Kirameki no Jutsu. From there he has given me a new scroll with something revolving around the Kirameki style of fighting."
"I see," said Kakashi. That had answered a lot of his question but he had a feeling that Naruto was unaware of his connection to Yondaime and he wasn't about to be the one to reveal that. The only thing that Kakashi didn't understand is why the boy wasn't raised in the village if he was who he thought he was.
"How is Sasuke's training going?" asked Naruto.
"Fine, he's already improved by leaps and bounds," said Kakashi politely, "anyway, I should be going, I just wanted to chat with you for a bit and congratulate you on your victory over Rock Lee."
"Thank you sensei," said Naruto with a giant yawn.
"Get some sleep kid," said Kakashi as he took his leave.
Naruto agreed with him whole heartedly and as soon as Kakashi was out the door Naruto was in bed asleep.
BREAK
It was a week and a half before Naruto could summon his first level ten ape and even then it was just barely. It was the contract bearer that he summoned that time and the next five times. It was the next day before he'd summoned a level twelve on accident. He'd received a small boost of Chakra from Kyubi catching him off guard, for a moment he could have sworn he heard laughter afterward. That didn't stop him from celebrating his minor victory.
After that day Naruto was unstoppable. Every day he'd summoned two new apes toping out on a level thirty-seven ape. He'd summoned fourteen apes above level ten in the two weeks he had. Now it was time to talk with Kyubi.
"So, any idea how to talk to Kyubi?" asked Naruto as he walked along a path with Sarutobi and Jaraiya.
"We've been thinking about that," said Sarutobi, "we figure that the reason you used Kyubi in the forest of death was because Kyubi sensed that your life was in danger from Orochimaru."
"That makes sense," said Naruto not really thinking about what that meant for him. Suddenly he stopped once he understood their plans but by then it was too late. He was in range of their goal for that day.
Jaraiya moved fast and hit Naruto in the chest lightly but for some reason the hit carried him pretty far. When he stopped he was in air over a rather large, deep chasm that seemed to have no bottom to it.
"I'm going to die," said Naruto as he started plummeting to his imminent death. Naruto squeezed his eyes shut not wanting to see it. As soon as he closed his eyes he was no longer in the chasm but instead a poorly lit hallway.
"What the hell?" asked Naruto to himself as he began to explore, "Is this hell?"
He heard a dark chuckle when asked that question. He walked toward that chuckle having let his curiosity get the better of him.
Soon enough Naruto was standing before a giant cage being held shut by a slip of paper that read simply 'seal'.
"Kyubi," Naruto whispered in awe of the cage.
"So brat, this time you've come looking for me," said a dark voice that sent chills down his spine.
"Yeah, what are you going to do about it?" asked Naruto challengingly.
"Come closer kid," ordered Kyubi.
Naruto did so. Suddenly the Kyubi's claws extended through the bars towards Naruto. Naruto did his best not to show fear for he knew that Kyubi would try to take advantage of any weakness that Naruto showed. He'd been preparing for this moment for the last two weeks. As such he had an idea of what to say and how to deal with the bastard.
"What do you want brat?" asked Kyubi.
"Chakra," said Naruto in an all business tone.
"No, you already take too much from me," said Kyubi.
"How much longer before this seal kills you?" asked Naruto knowing how to goad Kyubi.
Unfortunately the Kyubi simply laughed, "I would take millions of years for this seal to kill me even if I gave you the chakra you asked for at all times."
Naruto did catch a hint of something more in Kyubi's voice and smiled. "You know that when I die then you do to. You have a choice. Give me what I want or die sooner."
Kyubi laughed, "You've got guts kit. But if you want my chakra you're going to have to ask me the right way."
"Give me the damn chakra when ever I call for it or I'll kill myself right now and that will be the end of it for both of us," said Naruto with dead seriousness in his voice.
This time Kyubi didn't laugh at him. He knew how serious the kid was being.
"So be it, you have a deal," said Kyubi.
"Whenever I call for it?" asked Naruto.
"Yes boy, whenever you call for. Just scream the thought through your mind and you'll get it," said Kyubi, "At least you have enough respect for me not to come to me with a contract for those damn frogs. Now go and save both our lives before I change my mind."
Naruto smirked as the Kyubi's chakra wrapped around him.
Naruto opened his eyes to see that he was still falling. Naruto bit into his thumb and smeared a bit of blood on his hand, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu." He poured every drop of chakra that Kyubi gave him into the summon which he discovered quickly was just too much. That didn't prevent Enma from appearing.
"Congratulations kid, you did it," said Enma as the pair continued to fall.
"Um . . . Enma-sama, we're kind of falling to our deaths. Do you think you could save us both?" asked Naruto respectfully.
Enma sighed, "Kid, you don't have to ask. I follow your orders. That is the end of it."
"Fine then I order you to save my life before I go splat at the bottom of this chasm," yelled Naruto as he got more nervous.
Enma smirked at Naruto and grabbed the boy with one arm and put him on his back, "Hold on." Enma then grabbed the side of the chasm with ease. Then with a single heave he shot himself and Naruto out of the chasm and back to where Jaraiya and Sarutobi were waiting.
"I'm glad to see he succeeded," said Sarutobi to Enma.
"Actually he over did it on the chakra," said Enma, "He'll have to learn the exact amount to use when he's messing with that other chakra."
"Now that he has access to it he'll have to learn to control it," said Jaraiya.
"Did Kyubi hassle you about your summoning contract at all?" asked Sarutobi.
"The only thing he said is that he was glad I had enough respect to not come to him with a contract for the frogs. I think he's still sore over their involvement in his imprisonment," said Naruto.
"So the brat was right," said Jaraiya with a shrug.
"I think he would have given it to me either way given the circumstances," said Naruto, "He really doesn't like the idea of dying at all."
"Don't forget that kid," said Jaraiya, "You can hold that fear over his head anytime you want something from him."
BREAK
Sarutobi and Jaraiya took Naruto out for Ramen that night to celebrate his success but it ended with the promise of Naruto having to negotiate with Gamabunta the next day.
Naruto and Jaraiya traveled back to the same deserted area.
"Naruto summon Enma and I'll call on Gamabunta," said Jaraiya.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu," called Naruto and Jaraiya at the same time summoning the two boss summons.
"Jaraiya," yelled the boss frog Gamabunta, "What the hell did you call me for?"
"Hello Gamabunta," greeted Enma.
"Eh, Enma, is that you?" asked the boss frog.
"Yes, it's been a while since I last saw you," said the Ape boss.
"Indeed, do you know why this idiot on my back summoned me?"
"I wished to discuss something with you," said Enma simply.
"Oh, and what's that?"
"This boy," said Enma putting a heavy hand on Naruto's shoulder.
"Where is Sarutobi?" asked Gamabunta.
"In his office probably," said Enma, "This boy summoned me this time as it is."
"Eh? You let this little thing summon you?"
"Hey, I'm not that little," protested Naruto angrily.
"He has a signed the contract," said Enma before Naruto did anything he might regret.
"So what did you want with me?" asked Gamabunta.
"I have already told this boy that I would be willing to allow him to have a contract with both of our clans," said Enma, "I wanted to ask you if you'd agree to the same?"
Gamabunta bent low and looked hard into Naruto's eyes for a few minutes just as Enma had, "Fine, but if this boy ever manages to summon me I reserve the right to test him."
"I'll pass any test you give me," said Naruto strongly to the giant frog that could squash him easily.
"We'll see," said the toad before he vanished in a large puff of smoke leaving Jaraiya hanging in mid-air for a moment until he plummeted to the ground.
"Okay, bring on that toad contract," said Naruto rubbing his hands together. He could hear the Kyubi growling angrily in his head but the just had to remind the dumb bastard of their agreement.
Naruto once more signed the contract in blood. He then smeared some blood on his palm before completing the necessary hand seals.
"Now remember Naruto. You need to picture what you want to summon in your head. That will let you distinguish between the apes and the frogs," Jaraiya instructed him.
"Yeah, I got it," said Naruto as he slammed his hand on the ground calling up Gamabunta.
"What?" complained the giant frog, "Twice in one damn day?"
"I summoned you," said Naruto who still had a bit of Kyubi's chakra left in him. He could feel his body trying to convert the chakra into his own but it wasn't going very well, not that it mattered much.
"You," said Gamabunta, "But you've already summoned Enma today."
"I know," said Naruto, "I have a certain fox who is really pissed at me right now for using him to summon you, especially since you were involved in his being sealed in the first place."
Gamabunta laughed heartily, "That was great boy, I haven't laughed like that in years. Not since the Yondaime. You know you remind me of him."
"Really?" asked Naruto, "It's my dream to make Yondaime proud of me. He sacrificed his life to seal the fox in me. It wouldn't be right if I let him down and made his sacrifice in vain."
"You're on your way boy," said Gamabunta, "Just because you forced that damned fox to give you chakra to summon me I'm not going to test you. If you ever need my help just call me."
"Thanks Gamabunta," said Naruto.
"What?" complained Jaraiya, "Just like that you accept the boy and then offer him help any time he needs it? You still complain to me whenever I summon you."
"That's because I don't like you," said Gamabunta as he set Naruto on the ground before disappearing. Naruto was trying his hardest to simply not laugh at the stunned Jaraiya.
"Don't say a word Naruto," said Jaraiya as he wandered off probably to peep.
Once Jaraiya was out of earshot Naruto fell to the ground laughing at the pervert. Naruto had a good two weeks in retrospect. He'd acquire two summoning contracts, something that hadn't been done in four hundred years, not that he knew that. He'd made arrangements for Kyubi to pay when ever he demanded it of him. The thing Naruto had to be careful of was not pushing the Kyubi too far in his payments or the beast might just cut him off completely.
That left Naruto two weeks to finish preparing himself to face whoever it is he was to face in the finals. In everything that happened he hadn't bothered to ask who he would face.
BREAK
Naruto returned home that night exhausted. Now that he could summon it wasn't that uncommon that he'd summon and ape to fight against him, which was definitely not an easy undertaking on his part.
Naruto was surprised to arrive home and have Hinata waiting for him.
"Hey Hinata-chan," said Naruto as he walked up.
"Hello Naruto-kun," said the shy Hinata.
"What are you doing here?" he asked already knowing the answer.
"I wanted to see how you're doing since the exam," said Hinata shyly.
"I'm as good as new," said Naruto, "Tired from my training today but completely uninjured."
"That's good," said Hinata, "Well, I suppose I should go."
"Hold on a minute, why don't we go get some ramen," suggested Naruto. Though Naruto knew that he didn't care for her as more than a friend he was also reminded by his Kaasan how quickly things like that can change when you're young. She encouraged him to become closer to her despite his feelings. Naruto had a feeling that his Kaasan either knew something he didn't or she was just plotting again. Still, she'd never led him wrong in the past . . . or at least too wrong in the past.
"Okay," said Hinata with a bit to eager of a smile.
Naruto thought she had a pretty smile as he rarely ever saw it, "Let me go in and shower and change and then we can go."
"Okay," said Hinata with a bit more control.
"You can wait in the living room," said Naruto motioning her in ahead of him.
It didn't take Naruto long to shower and dress. He was worried about Hinata when returned to the living room to see she'd gotten a bloody nose. She claimed that she just stood up too fast before and it caused all the blood to rush to her head. Naruto wasn't so sure but he couldn't think of anything else that would cause her to get a bloody nose.
Together they ate in silence. Naruto ate a few bowls while Hinata limited herself to only one bowl. After dinner they just sat and talked.
"So, Naruto-kun, are you nervous about your next match?" asked Hinata.
"Not really," said Naruto, "On the other hand I don't even know who I'm fighting so . . ."
"You don't know?" asked Hinata in surprise.
"Nope, no one told me," explained Naruto, "Do you know who I'm fighting?"
Hinata nodded then swallowed nervously.
"Who is it?" asked Naruto curiously. She was being strangely quiet about it.
"You have to fight," she paused and swallowed, "Neji-nisan."
"Yes," said Naruto excitedly, "I get my chance to fight him right away. This is great."
Hinata seemed shocked that Naruto was so excited about fighting Neji. "Naruto-kun, he's really dangerous. He might kill you."
"What?" asked Naruto, "Already losing faith in me?" he teased.
"No," said Hinata a bit too strongly, "I just worry about you."
"Thank you for your concern but I can handle Neji," said Naruto, "You missed my fight with Lee so trust me when I say that Neji is toast."
"Can you really beat him?"
"Yep," said Naruto confidently.
"Why were you excited to fight him?" asked Hinata.
"When he did that to you I swore that I'd beat him for you," said Naruto trying not to meet her eyes. He didn't have to, to know that she was shocked. Then it was Naruto's turn to be shocked when she hugged him and cried on his shoulder. He did what his Kaasan always did for him when he was upset and wrapped his arms around her. He was surprised by how soft she was and then her perfume got into his nose and he felt slightly funny. He comforted Hinata for a while longer not really thinking about the comforting part but these odd feeling that were suddenly making their appearance in his subconscious.
Naruto eventually walked her home and then returned to his own home. His mind was a buzz with everything that he'd just dealt with and in truth he was much more confused than he'd ever been.