Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto-sensei.
"Okay team," said Kakashi starting the meeting. He didn't really agree with the Hokage's decision but at the same time he didn't want to hold back any of his students. "I've decided to nominate you for the Chuunin Exams that start in two weeks. You'll have that time off to yourself to train and think about whether or not you want to take the exam. If you want to take the test you have show up here on the test day," Kakashi handed them each an entrance form.
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto. He was truly surprised. He hadn't expected Kakashi to nominate them this time with how poor their teamwork was. On the other hand, their teamwork was bad the first time too. Then it occurred to Naruto that this was just another attempt to get the Uchiha-Bastard to stay.
"Well, see you," said Kakashi as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Sasuke just stalked away probably to meet Kakashi in some secret training location to prepare for the exam.
"What do you think Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto.
"I will if you're going," said Hinata however Naruto got a sour look on his face.
"No, then don't come," said Naruto, "I don't want you to come if you're coming for me. I want you to take the exam for yourself or not at all. You're ready for this Hinata but if you don't think you are then there is no point in you going. Think about it carefully. If you want to take the exam because you want to then I'll see you tomorrow morning for training. Gai-sensei is going to start prepping me and Lee for the exam then." Naruto then left Hinata standing alone in the training field with a lot to think about.
Hinata had never heard Naruto speak to her like that. He was almost mean to her, if not angry with her decision. But he was right. She would have taken the exam for him and not because she wanted to. So the question was, did she want to take the exam? She would be pushed farther than she ever had been before. If she went through with it and was successful she would have impressed her father a lot and maybe it would have been a start towards changing her clan at least a little bit at a time. Naruto would have been really proud of her if she chose to take this exam because she wanted to take it and not for him. It would be really dangerous and she may have been killed, but then she might have been killed in the mission to wave country but she came out of it fine because she trusted her sensei and one of her teammates just as they trusted her. She was very successful in that mission personally as she had executed her duties perfectly.
"Yes, I will take this exam because I want to pass. I want to prove that I am not the dead last. I want to prove to myself that I can be a great shinobi," said Hinata out loud and clear to the empty training field.
BREAK
Naruto left Hinata alone in that field. He truly wanted Hinata to take the test with him but he knew that she needed to do this because she wanted to, not because he asked her to.
Naruto walked aimlessly through the town before he finally noticed the square rock following him. With a sigh, he turned and threw the blunt end of a kunai at the box scaring the kids inside half to death making Naruto laugh hysterically.
"Hah, just as I'd expect from my rival," shouted Konohamaru as he pointed Naruto.
"Sorry about that Konohamaru but you really need to work on your camouflage techniques," said Naruto rubbing the kids head in a friendly way.
"Leader, will you play ninja with us?" asked Konohamaru with a big grin showing his recently lost tooth.
"Alright, but only for a little bit," said Naruto, "I've got more training to do today."
"Thank you Naruto-nichan," shouted Konohamaru as he, Moegi and Udon ran ahead of him and he gave chase.
Konohamaru was stopped short when he ran into someone wearing a black jumpsuit and face paint.
Naruto found Konohamaru lift in the air by his shirt by the foreign shinobi.
"Put him down please," said Naruto politely.
"This runt ran into me," said Kankuro, "I'm going to punish him. Maybe I'll only take a finger."
Naruto yawned, "Go for it. You'll not only be executed by the ANBU circling us and you'll cause in international incident between Suna and Konoha. With the peace treaty as strained as it is, do you really think that's a wise decision?"
Kankuro was suddenly looking around for the hidden ANBU but saw nothing. Then not very confidently he said, "Ha, you're bluffing. Why would ANBU care about this little runt?"
"They don't," said Naruto, "As standard protocol, one ANBU is assigned to every foreign test applicant during the Chuunin exams to protect the citizens."
Naruto was bluffing but Kankuro had no way to know that.
Kankuro dropped the kid, "Fine, I was just playing with him anyway."
"You can tell Shukaku to stop hiding now too," said Naruto once Konohamaru and his friends ran away.
Kankuro and Temari both just froze in place, eyes wide with terror.
In a whirl of sand Gaara appeared in front of Naruto.
"Hello Shukaku, or are you just a vessel," said Naruto.
"I am a vessel," said Gaara.
"Ah, yes, I can see that now. You're seal though is incomplete. Shukaku must be driving you mad. Not letting you sleep and all of that," said Naruto.
"How can you know such things?" Gaara asked.
"You're not the only demon vessel," whispered Naruto in Gaara's ear.
Gaara's eyes widened in surprise and maybe even a little fear.
"Want to join me for some Ramen?" offered Naruto to Gaara.
Gaara nodded though he wasn't sure exactly what Ramen was.
Naruto led him through town to Ichiraku.
"Two large Miso Ramen please," Naruto called to the shop owner.
"Coming up Naruto," said the shop owner.
Ayame walked over to say hello, "Hey Naruto-kun, new friend?"
"This is, you know what, I never got his name," said Naruto.
"Gaara," said the boy.
"Nice to meet you Gaara, I'm Naruto," he said in reply.
"Nice to meet you Gaara-kun, I'm Ayame," she said with a friendly smile before she got back to work.
"Do these people know what you are?" asked Gaara.
"Yes, all of the adults do," said Naruto, "Most of them hate me. Some have tried to kill me. But there are a few that see me for me. They are my precious people and I would do anything to protect them. That's true strength."
Gaara looked concentrated for a moment, "You're wrong, true strength comes from fighting only for yourself."
Naruto shook his head exasperatedly, "It's that damn demon logic. Think about it for a minute if you can tune out that crazy priest. How did our demons get sealed away in the first place? It wasn't because someone wanted to beat them for their own sake. They were sealed away by people who wanted to protect others from the danger that demons present to humans. When a human or even a demon is protecting something precious to them they will do anything, even die, to protect those precious things."
"How do you know?"
"Because I've felt it before. I've never been stronger then when I've been putting my life on the line to protect someone precious to me. I would put my life on the line to protect this village and because of that I'm stronger than the demon sealed in me could ever be," said Naruto before he dug into his first bowl of Ramen, "I don't know why but Kyubi just loves this stuff and I can't say as I blame him. It's damn good."
Gaara was deep in thought but at Naruto's words he tasted the Ramen. He could hear Shukaku singing in joy at the taste of the stuff.
"Shukaku likes it as well," said Gaara as he ate it, "I like it too."
Across the street from the ramen shop three Suna-nins watched the pair sitting and talking while eating. Then Gaara even smiled but not in an 'I'm going to crush with my sand and feed you to my mother' kind of way.
"What the hell is going on you two?" asked Baki.
"I don't know," said Temari, "That blonde boy knew that Gaara was hiding and he didn't call him Gaara, he called him Shukaku. They talked and then the blonde whispered something Gaara's ear. After that the blonde invited him for Ramen and now they are there talking. It's almost like they are old friends."
"I thought Gaara was uncontrollable," said Baki.
"It almost seemed like Gaara was scared after the Blonde whispered in his ear," said Kankuro.
"That's nonsense, nothing scares a demon," said Baki.
"Except a stronger demon," said a voice from behind them.
The three turned around to see a silver-haired Jounin with only one visible eye who waved hello before walking past them and into the Ramen stand to sit with Naruto and Gaara.
"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," shouted Naruto on seeing him, "This is my new friend Gaara. He's just like me."
"That's nice Naruto," said Kakashi, "It's always good to form such strong bonds with our allies.
"Gaara, this is my sensei, Kakashi," said Naruto with a smile at the red-head.
"Please to meet you sir," said Gaara formally. He was currently filled with so many conflicting thoughts and emotions.
"Hey Gaara?" asked Naruto.
"Yes, Naruto," said Gaara.
"Do you maybe want to get your seal fixed?" asked Naruto hopefully.
Gaara shot up looking at Naruto in disbelief, "Is that even possible?"
"Of course," said Naruto looking to Kakashi.
"I think so, but the Kazekage would have to agree," said Kakashi, "I don't know if I have the skills to fix it but I'm sure the Hokage could or maybe Jiraiya-sama could."
"Hmm, I do not believe my father would allow you to tamper with my seal. If we are going to do this, it would have to be in secret," said Gaara disappointedly.
"Well, Kakashi-sensei may be above that but I'm not," said Naruto with a grin.
"Naruto, that is not wise," said Kakashi warningly.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," said Naruto clearly ignoring him.
"Well, if I can't talk you out of this I better make sure you don't make it worse," said Kakashi with a grin under his mask.
Naruto smiled, "Then we'll do it tomorrow night if you're up for it."
Gaara nodded, "Will it affect my control over the sand?"
"Not at all, it will just keep the demon out of your head," said Naruto, "I know just the seal to use too. It was created by the Yamanaka clan to protect themselves a hundred years ago in order to keep other members of their clan out of their heads. The problem with it is that it caused sterility because it was too strong for just blocking humans. It was also the reason there are only two remaining shinobi with Yamanaka blood in their veins. However, if I make a few alterations it should work perfectly against a demon without that particular side effect."
Kakashi was shocked. Naruto was thinking of exactly the same seal as he was. He was even more surprised by the fact that Naruto knew the seal even existed. That didn't even broach the thought that Naruto might know how to alter the seal correctly to do that. But then Kakashi remembered the Chakra Fang that Naruto made, seals and all.
"Naruto," said Kakashi, "How is it you know so much about seals?"
"Well, when I first met the fur-ball I worried he may try to escape or break out so I wanted to learn more about my seal. Once I learned about that I found the subject so interested I dug into it even further. And then when I started make Chakra weapons I had to learn even more about sealing," explained Naruto rapidly, "There is so much you can do with seals. How do think demons enter our world anyway? They are summoned using thousands of human sacrifices and millions of seals that would take several life times to create. That's how the great cataclysm came about that nearly destroyed the world. Once demons entered this world chakra expanded and entered into humans causing an evolution of sorts. The exposure of humans to demons have changed all of us over time so that we can do the extraordinary feats were do. Kyubi told me that when he was first brought into this world there cities filled with millions of people that lived in buildings a hundred floor tall or more in some places. Soon it became a war to see which nation could summon the strongest demon in a war. The cities were destroyed and billions died. The entire world changed in a matter years. The problem was that once the demons were brought to this world there was no way to send them back. It was only a matter of time before the ones controlling the different demons were killed and the demons were free to do whatever they please. However, as human have become more powerful carrying lots of chakra the demons have been slowly subdued and sealed so that now when the containers die the demons will leave this world never to return and eventually there will be no more demons."
Kakashi was stunned by the story Naruto just told him.
"Shukaku said that he was the first of the nine greater demons summoned to this world. Each that came after were stronger until the last, Kyubi was summoned. Not long after Kyubi came, the world was ripped apart by uncontrollable demons. Some of the lost technology survived that we use everyday, electricity, telephones, radios, refrigerators, and few other things we take for granted. Shukaku just filled in the blanks for me," said Gaara when he saw their bewildered expressions.
"We humans must reap what we sow and eventually we'll recover from our mistakes of the past," said Naruto in a sage-like voice.
Kakashi was flabbergasted. He'd just learned so much history that, probably, no one anywhere knew. "Wow."
"Yep, pretty much," said Naruto, "Kyubi just told me all of that as I relayed it to you. He'd never told me that before."
"Naruto, does Kyubi know the process to summon more demons to this world?" asked Kakashi fearfully.
"Not a clue," said Naruto, "The summoning process always destroys the seal patterns and no demon ever witnessed another demon being summoned."
"That's good," said Kakashi, more than a little bit relieved.
"Anyway, I'm sure your teammates and instructors are chomping at the bit to find out what we've been talking about," said Naruto pointing out the back of the shop at the three Suna-nins whispering conspiratorially.
"I suppose I should," said Gaara, "I will meet you tomorrow night."
"Meet us on top of the Hokage monument," said Naruto pointing to Sandaime.
Gaara nodded and left the pair. Naruto and Kakashi watched as the other Suna-nin's tried to question him but he just ignored them and walked away.
"He was a unique character," said Kakashi.
"Yeah, but I like him," said Naruto, "If we can get that crazy badger in his head to shut up and let him sleep occasionally he'll be much happier."
"Why don't you and I go to the Library and make sure we are fully prepared with the rights seals and procedures," said Kakashi paying for their noodles.
"Thanks," said Naruto with a big smile.
BREAK
Naruto and Kakashi were preparing the sealing circle while they were waiting for Gaara to arrive. They found the exact seal they needed to protect Gaara's mind and with a few minor tweaks it would be strong enough to block out the demon, yet not have any nasty physical side effects like impotency.
Gaara arrived as promised.
"Hey Gaara," Naruto greeted him, "We're almost ready here. Just give us a few more minutes."
Gaara nodded and watch diligently as the pair prepared all the proper seals. In Naruto's mind Kyubi was checking over each of the seals as well.
"This looks about right," said Kakashi as he stopped marking seals.
Naruto checked it over one last time, "It's perfect. Ready Gaara?"
Gaara nodded. He could here Shukaku panicking his mind which told the little bit of rational mind he had left that this would work.
"Just sit in the center and don't touch any of the seals or lines," said Kakashi.
Gaara sat.
Kakashi joined him the center, "take off your shirt please."
Gaara took off his shirt revealing several small seal that were obviously meant to hold Shukaku in. Kakashi pulled out his Fang and Gaara's sand grabbed Kakashi's wrist.
"I'm not going to hurt you Gaara, I need to shave the hair off your neck and the bottom of your head," said Kakashi.
"I'll do it," said Gaara taking the Fang from him. He knew his sand would not allow Kakashi to touch him and it would fight him along the way anyway. Gaara carefully shaved the hair from where Kakashi told him to.
"That's good Gaara," said Kakashi taking his Fang back putting it away reassuring Kakashi that they weren't trying to kill him like Shukaku kept trying to warn him.
"I need to draw a seal on your neck and head," said Kakashi, "Is your sand going to protest?"
"A bit but I will try to control him long enough for you to finish," said Gaara.
Kakashi rapidly inked the sealed on his head and neck and then leapt out of the circle.
"This might hurt a bit Gaara but it won't take long I promise," said Naruto with a grimace.
"Ready Naruto?" asked Kakashi as he took up position on the sealing circle.
Naruto nodded as he started making hand seals at the same time as Kakashi until they both slammed their hands into the seal and filling it with chakra. Slowly the seal collapsed in on itself as each layer of the seal attached to Gaara.
Gaara grimaced in pain but it wasn't too bad as he thought it could be.
"Almost done Gaara, just hold on a bit longer," said Naruto encouragingly.
A few minutes later that last layer of the seal completed and it was over.
"There, not so bad," said Naruto to Gaara whose eyes were drooping heavily.
"Sleepy," said Gaara before his eyes closed and sleep claimed him. Better though was that Shukaku did not come out or bother him in the slightest as he slept peacefully for the first time in his life.
"What should we do with him now?" Naruto asked Kakashi.
"Take him to your apartment and let him sleep it off," said Kakashi, "He'll probably be out for a few days so just leave him on your couch."
"Fine," said Naruto grudgingly as he lifted Gaara and carried him across town to his apartment.
The next morning Naruto was out early for his training as usually. Gaara's brother and sister asked him a few times over the next week if he'd seen Gaara to which he feigned ignorance. Gaara finally woke up two days before the exam was set to begin. He woke up with a big yawn. For the first time ever he felt well rested.
As he looked around he didn't recognized his surroundings. It was then that the door opened to reveal a girl with blue hair and clear eyes.
"Oh, Gaara-san, you've awoken. Naruto-kun will be so pleased," said the girl.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Hyuga Hinata, I'm one of Naruto's teammates," she said, "I'm just going to shower and change before I head home. Naruto should be at the Ramen stand if you'd like to join him." The girl then collected a few things from around the apartment before she entered the bathroom.
Gaara stood and stretched before he left the apartment to find Naruto. It was quite odd now for him not to hear a voice constantly telling him to kill everything that moved. He was actually thankful for it.
Gaara found Naruto at the same Ramen stand.
"Gaara, you're awake. It's about damn time," said Naruto as he motioned for another bowl for Gaara. Gaara sat down and happily gorged himself on the noodles. He actually gave Naruto a run for his money.
"Alright, now that that's done it's time to put you to the test," said Naruto, "Come on, we'll head out to one of the training grounds."
Gaara followed Naruto across the roof tops. It was one of the first time that Gaara could remember being able to travel using his own strength and not getting tired and having to use his sand. Because he never got to sleep his muscles were always fatigued and he always had to rely on the sand.
Eventually they landed in a deserted training field, "Alright, now as far as Kakashi-sensei and I can tell the sealing went perfectly. He asked me to help you make sure of that. We want to make sure there is no delay in your sand control or anything like that."
Gaara nodded and took command of his sand and moved it about just as easily as before but without the voice telling him to kill, "Seems okay."
"Good, then let's have a spar," said Naruto charging in to attack.
Gaara's sand reacted as usual but was surprised when Naruto was still able to penetrate his defenses.
"Don't forget, I have my own demon," said Naruto, "I can break through that defense of yours so you're actually going to have to fight and move on your own."
Gaara nodded, this would be a first for him.
Naruto and Gaara sparred for a long while that day. Naruto even took the time to teach Gaara some basic Taijutsu moves.
"You can't always rely on your sand Gaara," said Naruto, "There is a Taijutsu user in this village who is stronger than me even with Kyubi giving me a boost. You need to become a more well-balanced shinobi. Now you have a good chance to do so."
"Naruto," said Gaara with a slightly worried look, "My village it is planning . . ."
"To attack Konoha in a surprise attack with Orochimaru's Oto-nin," finished Naruto.
"You know?" asked Gaara.
"What will come will come," said Naruto with a friendly smile, "The question is, what are you going to do when it does come?"
"I would like to fight by your side," said Gaara, "You are my first friend, probably my only friend."
"Then defect from sand and join us," said Naruto, "I've heard things about your father and what he's done to you. You'd be welcome here and things like that would never happen here. You'd be able to start again fresh here."
"Do you think your Hokage would do that?" asked Gaara.
"Yes, he would," said Naruto, "But you're going to have to act the part of a Suna-nin until the attack begins."
"I would need to inform him then in secret," said Gaara.
Naruto smiled and raised an arm to signal someone. The Hokage then appeared next to Naruto.
"Naruto-kun, nice to see you again," said the old man, "And nice to meet you at last Gaara-san."
"Hey old man, you spying on our training?" asked Naruto with a big smile.
"Not at all, just checking in as I do sometimes," said the Hokage.
"Anyway, it's a good thing you just happened by," said Naruto, "Gaara wanted to talk to you about something."
"Oh, do tell," said the Hokage smiling pleasantly towards Gaara.
"I would like to become and Konoha Shinobi and fight by Naruto's side," said Gaara.
"I see," said the Hokage.
"Suna and Oto plan to attack during the finals," said Gaara, "I don't want to betray the one place that has treated me like a human and not a monster. Please let me stay."
"Of course," said the Hokage, "However, you will have to be tested. We will be watching during the exams. You must not kill a single Leaf Shinobi or cause permanent injury to one. Second, you must act the part of a Suna-nin until the attack begins, once you have dropped your Suna Hitai-ate and replaced with this, I will consider you an official Leaf-nin."
Gaara accepted the Hitai-ate with a reverence, "I will honor this bond Hokage-sama." Gaara then bowed deeply before having his sand gourd suck in the forehead protector to hide it.
"Naruto, am I to assume that you and Hinata-san would like to exchange the Uchiha for Gaara-san?"
Naruto looked like a miracle had just been granted to him, "Yes!" He then started jumping around in celebration.
"Well, after this exam, Uchiha will be a Chuunin and moved into Hunter-nin training," said the Hokage, "It will eliminate the weakness he's created with this team and give him a goal to work towards."
"Are you serious?" asked Naruto. He was torn between being pissed off that the Uchiha was getting favoritism again and joy at the thought of him getting his ass kick in the Hunter-nin division, maybe even killed by a missing-nin.
"Quite," said the Hokage, "Hunter-nins usually hunt in teams but occasionally we'll have a lone hunter who has suffered some tragedy in the past and has sworn to become an avenger. Actually, you'd be surprised at how often that happens." The old man chuckled.
"But what if me and Hinata and Gaara all pass the exam?" asked Naruto.
"You won't," said the Hokage, "It is not that you're not capable Naruto. But once you become a Chuunin you have far less time for training. Training that you will desperately need in the future if you're planning to take my job someday."
"Really?" asked Naruto, "But I thought . . ."
"Naruto, the only Rookie Genin other than the Uchiha that might be promoted is Nara Shikamaru. I know he is really lazy and I have no intention of sending him on missions as a Chuunin, however, in order for him to work as a strategist, he must have Chuunin rank. With this upcoming war with Otogakure and Sunagakure, we will need his skills, also, if he is not at least Chuunin it will be harder for him to exert his authority. Anyway, enough of this political stuff. How is your training going?"
"Really well. Gai-sensei may be completely insane but he knows how to train great shinobi if they are willing to listen to him. Unfortunately I'm running out of scrolls to learn from in the library. I would like access to the Chuunin level Scrolls if possible. Hinata and I have nearly flawless teamwork and I'm really looking forward to bringing Gaara in as well," said Naruto rapidly once more.
The Hokage chuckled lightly, "I'll be sure to get you access to the Chuunin scroll before the finals begin. I'm glad that Gai-san has been able to help you. Anyway, I'll leave you and Gaara to your fun. Good luck with the exams Naruto." Then the Hokage just vanished.
"Naruto," said Gaara, "How did you know?"
"I had a hunch you'd be like me," said Naruto, "Besides, if you didn't ask I would have asked you."
"Thanks," said Gaara.
"Eh, no problem," said Naruto with a grin, "I think we should call it a day. Besides, your brother and sister are probably going crazy with worry."
Gaara nodded, "I'll see you later."
Naruto ran off waving while Gaara just vanished in a whirl of sand.
BREAK
"Finally," yelled Naruto outside the building, "It's test time."
Hinata giggled at Naruto's antics. He had yet to tell her about Gaara and wanted for it to be a surprise when he did tell her.
Sasuke of course ignored them both and went straight into the building.
"Asshole," mumbled Naruto.
"I know," said Hinata trying to placate him a bit.
Naruto smiled at her, "We'd better follow him before he does something stupid."
"Too late," said Hinata with her Byakugan activated.
"Great," said Naruto as he entered to see Sasuke picking a fight with the two Chuunin planted to stir up trouble. Naruto decided to ignore him and walk past the whole scene straight to the third floor. He'd already warned Lee not to mess with Sasuke now that he had his Sharingan eye or he would copy his moves.
Naruto and Hinata had to wait on Sasuke to arrive. Apparently his pride was wounded because he was in an even fouler mood than before.
"You two had better not hold me back," said Sasuke as he entered the room.
"Asshole," this time it was Hinata muttering under her breath causing Naruto to smile brightly at her.
"Hinata," whispered Naruto, "Before we go in, I need to warn you to avoid a Leaf Shinobi named Kabuto. He may seem really nice but he's actually and Oto spy."
Hinata seemed surprised but nodded her understanding.
"And remember, no matter what the consequences, don't give up," said Naruto, "That's our nindo, right?"
"Right," said Hinata fiercely.
"Now let's go have fun torturing the other Genin," said Naruto with a grin that Hinata matched.
"Naruto man, long time no see buddy," said Kiba as soon as Naruto and Hinata entered.
"Arf," barked Akamaru.
"Hello to you too Kiba and Akamaru," said Naruto.
"Hello Kiba-san, Akamaru-chan," said Hinata with a small giggle after Akamaru growled at her.
"Hinata, you're not stuttering," said Kiba in shock.
"I know," said Hinata with a smile.
"You're smiling too," said Kiba, "Who are you and what have you done with Hinata?"
Hinata laughed out loud at that, "It's still me Kiba. I've just come out of my shell a bit."
"A bit?" question Shikamaru who had joined them along with Choji, Ino, and Shino.
"Okay, a lot," said Hinata, "You have to if you're going to control Naruto around the Uchiha-Bastard."
At that the whole group laughed.
"You've definitely spent too much time with Naruto," said Ino, "Where's Sasuke-kun at anyway?"
"The Uchiha-Bastard is over there being fawned over by Sakura," said Naruto pointing toward the wall.
"Big-Forehead," yelled Ino as she stomped over there to fight for Sasuke's attention.
"You know she only does that to irritate Sakura?" asked Hinata to Shikamaru who had developed a slight twitch.
"What are you talking about?" asked Shikamaru.
"Ino-san doesn't like Sasuke anymore. She just does that to annoy Sakura-san," said Hinata.
"Women are too troublesome to understand," he sighed.
"Yeah, but they sure as hell understand us," said Naruto, "Except for maybe Sasuke. I think he might be gay but I'm not certain."
"He is," said Shino out of the blue.
"Now how do you know that?" asked Kiba.
"I caught him checking out that Lee kids butt in that green spandex," said Shino.
"No way," said the group at once.
"I don't know if he likes Lee, but he was definitely drooling a bit," said Shino.
"Oh, now that's not right," said Naruto with a shiver, "So he might have been checking me out when I was around him? I feel so dirty . . . and cheap . . . and just used."
Hinata rubbed his shoulder, "It's okay Naruto-kun."
"Hold me," said Naruto jokingly hugging Hinata which she happily accepted but laughed with the other and Naruto when the hug broke.
"This is just too weird for me," said Kiba, "Hinata is laughing, smiling, joking, and talking without a stutter. What ever happened to the super-cute, unbelievably shy girl I used to have a crush on?"
"Naruto-kun," said Hinata simply getting a laugh from the group.
"So are you two together now?" asked Ino who had rejoined the group.
At that Naruto and Hinata both blushed uncontrollably.
"We're friends," said Naruto, "Best friends."
Ino gave them both a look, "Right, if you say so."
Choji then whispered to Shikamaru, "Do you think they'll ever figure it out?"
"Hinata has but Naruto is still clueless," said Shikamaru.
"You rookies should quiet down," said the voice of a silver-haired Leaf shinobi.
Naruto gave him one look and snort, "Go away Kabuto."
The silver-haired man seemed surprised.
"Have we met?" asked Kabuto.
"Not officially," said Naruto, "I've heard of you though, skilled enough in medic-nin techniques to be a Jounin but still a Genin after seven attempts, and not because you failed but because you quit. I don't trust you so stay the hell away from me and my friends or I'll kill you."
The group was shocked and so was the silver-haired teen, "How do you know that?"
"I pay attention to the Chuunin exam results," said Naruto, "They are recorded as a matter of public record and displayed as well as sent to every participating village. It helps too that I hear things because most people ignore my presence."
"Who are you exactly?" asked Kabuto.
"Your worst nightmare if you don't go away right now. Your blood limit won't help either by the time I'm through with you. No go away," ordered Naruto trying his hardest to keep Kyubi's chakra under control.
Naruto then looked at his friends, "Don't use any names around him. He has a technique that he can use to acquire all of you information and Jutsu knowledge if he knows your name."
The other just nodded keeping to mild chit-chat until Kabuto left. Naruto could feel the controlled killer intent radiating from Kabuto after Naruto completely thwarted his plans. Without names he can't properly identify the person, it is one of the requirements of his information Jutsu to work. He spotted Sasuke and was about to start questioning him when the examiner entered the room.
"Sit down you damn bastards," the man ordered.
"Chill out Ibiki-san," said Naruto completely deflating the tension in the room.
"One more word out of you brat and we're going to have a nice long chat in my office," said Ibiki. Naruto knew that Ibiki had already been ordered not to use any names so it wasn't an issue.
Naruto pouted at the man but took a seat.
"Each of you will come up and get a test paper and then sit in the seat listed on the paper," said Ibiki.
All the students collected their papers and sat in their required seats. Naruto was now thanking Kyubi for all those lessons on cheating he'd received in the Academy. He managed to steal all the answers from those around him in no time at all.
Finally the tenth question came and Naruto didn't even blink. He just stayed seated while several of the students just stood and left. Hinata remembered Naruto's instructions about not giving up no matter the consequences and didn't move an inch.
"Now for those of you still here, congratulations, you all pass this test," said Ibiki.
"But what was the point of answering all the questions then?" asked Temari.
"The tests will still be scored and affect the judges final decisions, however, sometimes being a ninja is about being willing to risk everything on a single factor," lecture Ibiki, "A ninja who is not willing to put it all on the line isn't worthy of being called a ninja or a Chuunin."
It was then that Anko bursts through the windows cutting off the rest of Ibiki's speech.
"Not bad Ibiki," said Anko, "Only fifty-four left, don't worry though, by the time I'm done there will be less that half left. Everyone follow me."
A few minutes later Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were waiting outside the forest of death.
"Listen up brats, this is area 44, lovingly called the forest of death. You'll be living in here for the next five days. Your goal is to acquire a pair of these scrolls anyway possible. You'll be graded on speed, accuracy, style, and any extra scrolls you may have acquired. You'll all have to sign one of these first as there will be deaths in this one and we don't want Konoha to be liable if one of you end up dead," explained Anko.
"Crazy woman," said Naruto under his breath knowing it would be heard. Anko threw a kunai at him cutting his cheek ever so slightly. His acting was perfect, even when Anko licked the blood off his cheek from behind him. He was just waiting for the snake-freak to threaten Anko.
"I think you dropped this," said the woman with her tongue holding the kunai.
Anko had a second kunai pointing between the woman's legs.
Naruto though just smirked as he vanished from Anko's grasp. Faster than most of the Genin could track, Naruto had severed the freak's tongue.
The woman screeched in pain soon dropping all pretenses and ripping his mask off to reveal Orochimaru, "I'm going to gut you for that brat."
"I would not advise that Orochimaru," said Sarutobi from behind him.
Orochimaru looked around in panic. ANBU surrounded the forest area and the Hokage was dressed in battle gear.
"Ku ku ku ku ku," laughed Orochimaru, "Sarutobi-sensei, I'm impressed. I don't know how you saw through my ploy so quickly."
"You are a genius Orochimaru, geniuses are generally overconfident in their abilities and make several mistakes along the way," said Sarutobi, "Your first mistake was deciding to betray the village. Your second mistake was not destroying the bodies of the Grass Genin you killed."
"Very good Sarutobi-sensei," said Orochimaru before he melted into mud. When he had the chance to switch places with a mud clone no one was sure. It had to have been after Naruto cut of part of his tongue but before the ANBU appeared.
"The Sound Village is hereby disqualified this exam and all future exams until further notice. ANBU, arrest the Yoroi brother and Yakushi Kabuto for espionage, and betrayal," ordered the Hokage. The Yoroi brothers were taken easily but Kabuto also dissolved into mud.
"We've not heard the last of this," said the ANBU captain to the Hokage.
"Indeed not," said the Hokage, "You have your assignment. Anko, please resume this exam. To the visiting Genin, I apologize for the delay and this little scene. Good luck with the exam."
Anko nodded, "Right then, sign this and we'll get you inside so you can start killing each other."
Eventually Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke got there scroll and gate assignment.
"So what's the plan Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.
"We get to the tower as fast as possible and prepare an ambush for the first team to arrive with the scroll we require. Orders from the Hokage though say we're to avoid the sand team but everyone else is fair game," said Naruto.
"Why don't we just use Hinata's Byakugan to find a team with the scroll we want and attack them?" asked Sasuke always looking for a fight.
"Look, we can still use Hinata's Byakugan to pick our target, but if we set up a proper ambush, we can avoid unnecessary fighting, plus once we're inside the tower we can't be touch by other teams," explained Naruto.
"Fine, whatever," said Sasuke turning to the gate.
"So we're going to be moving fast," said Naruto to Sasuke, "Try to keep up would you."
That pissed Sasuke off. He was about to hit Naruto when the gate opened and Naruto and Hinata ran through it and took to the tree tops moving quickly with Hinata's Byakugan active so they could avoid teams and Genjutsu traps along the way.
It only took the two hours to get to the central tower. As soon as they arrived they started laying out traps and preparing the ambush. Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all set the traps up to activate using Chakra strings so they were able to let the Sand Team pass untouched despite Sasuke's protests.
Finally a team from the Village of Hidden Rain walked right into their trap carrying both scrolls. Naruto and Hinata sprung their traps in perfect timing with their arrival pushing them all right in place for Sasuke to set off his traps to finish them off.
"You over did it a bit Sasuke," said Naruto looking at the bloody mess of bodies, "I hope the scrolls are recoverable. Hinata?"
She looked pale from the sight of so much blood but she located the scrolls, "They're fine. Look under that leg for his pouch."
Naruto kicked the severed leg aside and picked up the bloody pouch and pulled out both scrolls.
"Okay, so now it's a committee vote," said Naruto, "The more teams we eliminate the less we'll have to fight later. However, we put ourselves at further risk when we could just end this exam now, still ahead of the game."
"We're ahead," said Hinata, "I say we just end it now."
"Uchiha-Bastard?" asked Naruto.
"I say we get more scrolls and eliminate as much competition as possible," said Sasuke.
"I agree with Hinata, I say we end this now while we're ahead and enjoy the four days inside the tower relaxing," said Naruto ending the discussion.
Inside they were greeted by Iruka. They received their time score and were notified that they were the second team to arrive and only an hour after the Sand Team. They receive bonus points for the extra scroll though they weren't told how many points they were awarded.
BREAK
"How the hell did they know I was there?" demanded a very pissed off Orochimaru to Kabuto.
"I don't know Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto, "I still can't understand how they found out I was a spy."
"Who was that brat?" demanded Orochimaru.
"I never heard his name. When I went to talk to him before the exam started he knew too much about me. He knew my history with the exam and my skill level. He even knew about my old blood healing ability. He even knew how my nin-card Jutsu worked with the name requirement so he warned off all of his friends to not say their names around me. Some of them I knew but most I did not. I did not know who the Uchiha's teammates were either," said Kabuto equally angry.
"When we attack, I want that kids head on a platter," demanded Orochimaru.
"Gaara-san will take care of it," said Kabuto, "I will see to it."
"Everything is in order with sand?" asked Orochimaru.
"Yes sir," said Kabuto, "I am meeting with Baki in a week to make sure everything is in order."
"You will not have trouble sneaking into the village now?"
"Now, it shouldn't be a problem," said Kabuto.
"Kabuto, there must be a leak supplying information to Konoha. That is the only explanation for what happened," said Orochimaru still seething with anger.
"If that is the case than the attack may be compromised," said Kabuto.
"That does not matter," said Orochimaru, "They can't stop me."
"As you wish Orochimaru-sama," said Kabuto before he vanished from sight.