Chapter 11 – Training Trips and Exams

Naruto arrived in Konoha in the evening.

'Eat and buy some seeds.' Kyuubi said to Naruto.

'Why?' Naruto asked.

'Just do it kit. It's for a new jutsu.' Kyuubi offered. He knew Naruto never turned down a jutsu.

'Okay I'll buy some seeds at Ino's shop and then eat some ramen. Any particular types of seeds you would like?' Naruto replied.

'Something that grows vines, and make sure the seeds are small.' Kyuubi answered.

Naruto ran until he made it to Ino's shop. He entered to find Ino working the counter. "Wow you take no rest time." Naruto exclaimed.

Ino turned and said, "Hello Naruto-kun. Why are you here?"

"I need seeds." Naruto replied. "I need something that grows vines. I have a feeling I'll be a frequent customer so can I get something with a small seed and grows vines but is relatively cheap?"

"I think we have something like that." Ino replied as she went into the back. She came back with a large sack of seeds. "They aren't too expensive and they fit your other descriptions. How many would you like?"

'Get the whole sack. Get the entire sack. You'll need it.' Kyuubi stated.

"I'll take the whole sack." Naruto answered. He saw Ino's mouth drop and he asked, "How much is the sack?"

"Well since you're buying the whole sack I'll give you a discount." Ino replied. Naruto paid for the seeds and said, "Thanks Ino-chan" before leaving the shop.

Naruto had gotten home shortly afterwards and cooked some ramen. He quickly gulped it down and took the seeds to his favorite training grounds by the lake. 'So Kyuubi what is this jutsu?'

'I thought you would figure it out by now. This is a wood jutsu. It is also one of the demonic elemental jutsus.' Kyuubi explained. 'Mokudon: Shokubutsu Soujuu no Jutsu. It has two uses. It can channel chakra into plants and either force them to grow or just control them. The other form is that by using the chakra inside your body you can release chakra-filled vines from your body to grab your opponent. These vines are nearly unbreakable as your chakra is running through them. Both of these forms can only be used by those with demon blood.'

'Wow that sounds cool. What are the seals?' Naruto asked.

'The seals are ram, hare, dragon, dog, and demon. We will try to have you manipulate the chakra in the seeds first. Put chakra into the seeds, throw them and then use the technique. The best way to use this technique is to punch your opponent and drop the seeds as they dodge. Then you surprise them and use the technique to hold them in place. They then become almost completely vulnerable to your attacks if you can hold their arms and legs.' Kyuubi stated. 'Now grab a seed and put your chakra into it.'

Naruto picked up a seed and put chakra into it. He then dropped the seed and backed off. 'Now what?'

'Stupid kit, now you do the seals and focus on making the vine grow from the seed. Use your chakra to make it grow.' Kyuubi growled with a hint of annoyance.

Naruto did the seals and focused on making the vine grow from the seed. To his annoyance, the seed sprouted but then didn't grow much at all. 'It didn't work.' Naruto complained.

'That is because you are not concentrating hard enough. Focus on making the vine grow. It will become easier over time.' Kyuubi growled.

After about an hour Naruto was panting but had finally gotten the seed to grow to a vine and was able to control it. 'I did it.'

'You still are not very good at it.' Kyuubi stated. 'You will learn the other form and then practice them both until you have mastered them. Now this form will be even harder because you must form a vine with your chakra and then release it from your tenketsu points and grasp your opponent. Once you have mastered them they will be very useful techniques. Now do your seals and focus on making a vine inside your body. Once you have made the vine let it out of your body and send it out at your opponent.'

"Slave-driving kitsune." Naruto muttered before he practiced the technique again.

The next week went smoothly. Naruto had finally mastered the technique. He could now grow and control more than one seed at once and could release multiple vines from his body. The group had just finished a particularly painful mission as Naruto's dog had dragged him into a minefield. Ino and Sasuke, who had tried to help, were pulled in as well. Kakashi had smiled and said it was good teamwork. Kakashi had disappeared shortly after to give the papers to the Hokage. Sasuke was about to walk away but Naruto said, "Sasuke wait." Sasuke stopped. "Sasuke, I've asked Hinata-chan and she said we could go on our usual camping trip next week. I was also going to invite Ino. Is that alright with you?"

"It's fine." Sasuke replied.

"What is this camping trip and why am I invited?" Ino asked incredulously.

Naruto grinned and said, "We are inviting you on a trip that Hinata-chan, Sasuke and I go on every year. We go into the woods and stay for a week. We train and just have fun. It is our special time but this year we are inviting you as well. This trip will be more about training because I have heard that the chuunin exams are coming up soon. We will leave tomorrow at noon and be back in five days so it will be a little less than a week."

Ino looked puzzled and asked, "I will come but what are the chuunin exams?"

Naruto sighed. "They are the exams held where genin from all the different villages come to try and make the rank of chuunin. Speaking of which, I have training to get to."

Sasuke just turned and walked away. Naruto turned to go to his house as well when he noticed a square rock with two holes in it move up behind him. "Drop the disguise, Konohamaru."

A blast emitted from the rock and the smoke cleared to reveal Konohamaru, Odon, and Moegi all coughing on the ground. "It is expected that you detected us easily. That is why you are my eternal rival." Konohamaru coughed. Konohamaru looked around and saw Naruto standing next to Ino. He smirked and said, "Sorry to disturb you. Is she your…" He waved his pinkie.

Ino crushed him the moment he said it and said, "Stupid kids" before she walked away.

Kakashi stood with the other chuunin and jounin in front of the Hokage. The Hokage stood up and said, "Now as most of you have realized the chuunin exam is going to be starting soon. We will start with the nominations of rookies. Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma please come forward. All genin can be nominated as they have all completed at least eight missions. We will start with you, Kakashi."

Kakashi stepped forward and said, "I nominate Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and Yamanaka Ino to take the exam in the name of Hatake Kakashi."

When Kakashi stepped back, Kurenai stepped forward. "I nominate Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino to take the exam in the name of Kurenai."

Kurenai stepped back and Asuma stepped forward. "I nominate Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji to take the exam in the name of Asuma."

A murmur swept through the crowd of ninjas. Most of them were talking about how all nine rookies were chosen for the exam. Some thought they could not handle it. One such person was Iruka. He stepped forward and said, "Hokage-sama, I had these students in the academy. They are skilled but they are not yet experienced enough to take the chuunin exam."

Kakashi turned around and said, "Iruka-sensei, you have no right to challenge our authority. This will be a good experience for them."

"But…" Iruka started to argue but was cut off by Kakashi.

"You must let go. They are no longer your students. They are my subordinates." Kakashi stated firmly.

Konohamaru got up as Ino walked away and said, "Good thing you aren't with her. That bitch is ugly."

Ino heard what he said and got a crazed look on her face. She slowly turned her head to reveal her look to the rest of the group. As soon as the group saw her face, they ran. Konohamaru, knowing he was the main target, ran faster and bumped into a man as he looked back. He looked up and Kankurou said, "How dare you bump into me and hurt me you little brat." He picked him up and said, "I should kill you."

"Let him go." Naruto commanded.

"Why should I?" Kankurou sneered. His sister just sighed and muttered something that sounded like, 'Not my fault.'

"Because I'll make you." Naruto said as he charged at Kankurou. He jumped over the chakra string that Kankurou sent his way and tried to punch him. He missed and tried again. Kankurou just dodged his punches until finally he slammed his fist into Naruto.

"Wow leaf genins are weak." He taunted. His eyes went wide as the Naruto in front of him disappeared in a puff of smoke. Suddenly vines shot from the ground and wrapped themselves around Kankurou's arms and legs. "What the hell."

"Mokudon: Shokubutsu Soujuu no Jutsu" a voice said from behind him. Kankurou turned his head and saw a vine wrap itself around his neck. "Weak are we. My clone was a distraction. My clone dropped chakra filled seeds, which I can control with my jutsu. That is how I was able to restrain you, and now I have your neck in one of my vines. I know you want to use your puppet but I will snap your neck the moment you launch an attack and I promise I won't die in the process. Now let him go and don't embarrass yourself further."

Kankurou hated this kid. He wanted to kill him but he had no choice but to let go. He reluctantly let Konohamaru fall to the ground. Naruto released the vines, turned to a tree, and said, "Come out. I know you are there."

Gaara appeared on the branch and said, "Kankurou you are embarrassing. Don't cause trouble. If you do I will kill you."

Kankurou visibly trembled under Gaara's glare. Gaara used his sand to get next to his siblings and said, "Who are you? You defeated Kankurou. You must be strong."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto and your teammate was easy to defeat. He was very gullible. He fell for my Kage Bunshin so easily." Naruto laughed. He saw Kankurou clench his fists and Naruto said, "I am interested in your name may I talk with you alone for a minute?"

Gaara didn't reply but simply walked with him away from the group. Naruto turned to him and said, "Gaara I must talk with you soon. Please meet me in the woods. It is very important. I am not trying to attack you or anything. It is about what you are about to do."

Gaara stared before he asked, "How do you know my name?"

"You will find out if you come to meet me. I will meet you at 2:00 in the morning. I assume you can escape from Baki at that time, not that he wouldn't let you go anyway. One glare from you and he would back down. I am not that type of person. We will discuss more when you come. You do have a choice but I think you will meet me." Naruto said. The two walked back to their respective groups before Gaara and his team walked off.

Naruto walked in a little late to his training session with Gai. Gai immediately pounced on him and said, "Why were you late? Just because you have Kakashi as a sensei does not mean you should pick up his bad habits."

"I had a run in with a few sand-nin and fought one." Naruto said defensively.

"Oh you scoped out the competition. Lee take notes." Gai commanded as Lee pulled out a pad and started to scribble down Naruto's words. "What were they like?"

"I fought one who uses puppets to attack his opponents. Another one used a giant fan to fight and she presumably uses wind attacks generated by that fan. Finally, the third uses sand on the ground and in a gourd he carries on his back to attack his opponent. I believe the puppeteer was named Kankurou and the sand user was named Gaara."

"Excellent information." Gai exclaimed. "We can now strategize for our fights against them."

Naruto sweat dropped and asked, "Gai-sensei what are we doing for training today?"

"Use your youthful energy and run 100 laps around Konoha." Gai exclaimed.

Naruto started to protest but felt it was no use and took off after Lee who had already started.

The next morning Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino waited for Kakashi to arrive. Each had a large backpack and was ready to go after their meeting with Kakashi. Kakashi arrived late as usual but no one cared. They had all learned to come at least two hours late for anything with Kakashi. "Good morning." Kakashi said. "Where are you going?"

"A training trip." Naruto replied.

"That is good because I have nominated you all in the chuunin exam." Kakashi stated. None of them reacted and he said, "You knew already didn't you."

"Yes we did." Naruto stated. "We were all ambushed on our way to the bridge and they perpetrator kept talking about the chuunin exams."

Kakashi pulled out three forms and handed one to each of them saying, "These are the application forms. Just because I nominate you does not make you obligated to take the exam. You can all think about it and decide on your own. Well I will not keep you here. Goodbye." Kakashi disappeared in a gust of leaves.

Naruto walked out of his house to see the rest of the group was already there. He laughed nervously at the looks he was getting, "Sorry I'm late. I just didn't wake up when I was supposed to."

Everyone just shook there heads and turned to walk off. Naruto grabbed a boulder Gai had made him wear on the way up and tied it to his back. Once he finished he ran and caught up with the others. "Sorry." He said as he scratched the back of head nervously.

They made it to the campsite quickly. They set up the three tents in a triangle, Naruto and Sasuke shared, and built the fire in the middle. They each went into their tent to unpack their stuff. Naruto finished first and went into Ino's tent. He walked in and said, "I need to talk with you Ino. It is about training. You did make a promise with me in the wave country to let me teach you and this is what this week is about."

Ino hung her head and said, "Yeah I understand. I'm the worst and so you need to make me stronger so I don't slow you down."

"No." Naruto stated flatly. "You are a very good ninja but you rely too much on other people and let little things…" he coughed something that sounded like Sasuke and continued, "…distract you. I will help you improve and teach you some jutsus this week, I think Sasuke would be impressed if you became stronger and he might like you more."

Ino's head shot straight up and she said, "Sasuke-kun would like me getting stronger. Then I will get stronger and become a chuunin to impress him."

"Good, then you will have no trouble with my hard training methods then." Naruto said with grin. "The first thing you will do is to wear weights all the time. I had something made for you. You may not like t but it will help you." Naruto ran out of the tent and came back a minute later with a purple weighted vest. "I got a weighted vest for you. I choose purple because you seem to like it. I have a blue non-weighted one for Sasuke. It will make us look like a team."

Ino was visibly glaring at him and said, "There is no way you will disrupt my outfit with our training."

Naruto sighed and turned to his last resort. "Then I guess you will have to accept Sakura getting Sasuke because she is training hard."

Ino looked stunned but said, "Fine I will do it but I will only wear it to the competition if Sasuke wears his."

Naruto nodded and walked out of the tent. He grabbed the other vest, hurried over to Sasuke's tent, and walked in. He saw Sasuke unpacking and said, "Sasuke I have a present for you." Sasuke turned and Naruto handed him the vest.

Sasuke looked down at the vest and then over at Naruto and asked, "Why did you get me a vest?"

"I thought it would make us look like a team. Ino has one as well. It even has the Uchiha symbol on the back so you don't have to abandon that." Naruto explained.

"I won't do it." Sasuke replied. He threw the vest to Naruto and continued, "It looks stupid. We don't need to look like a team."

Naruto also had a trump with Sasuke but it would take more personal sacrifice. "Would you wear it if I showed you some of my jutsus?"

Sasuke stopped cold and looked up at him. "You want me to wear this that much?"

"Well no not really." Naruto answered honestly. "I really want Ino to wear hers. I had hers weighted so she can get stronger. By getting stronger she will be a better addition to the team but she only agreed if you wore yours."

Sasuke sighed. He wanted his team to get better and the vest looked good. "Fine I'll do it and you don't have to show me the jutsus as long as you train Ino and keep her away from me while I'm training."

"Deal." Naruto grinned. He handed the vest back to Sasuke and made his last stop on the tent tour. He walked into Hinata's tent but quickly ran out when he registered what he saw. Hinata was changing from her sweaty clothes and she was almost completely nude when he walked in. 'She has such a hot body but she hides it under that baggy clothes. I guess her family rules are really strict.' After a few minutes he tried again and said, "Hinata-chan are you dressed now?"

"Yes." Hinata squeaked. 'Naruto saw me naked. This is so embarrassing.'

Naruto walked in and said, "I'm sorry Hinata-chan I did not mean to walk in on you like that. I came to discuss training for this trip with you." Hinata didn't say anything and he found this an invitation to continue, "I know a couple Hyuuga moves you can learn and I want to teach you some other jutsus. The Hyuuga clan relies too much on their hand to hand combat."

"Naruto-kun, how did you learn of these Hyuuga family moves?" Hinata asked.

Naruto turned red and muttered, "Well I might have seen Neji do a couple."

Hinata giggled and said, "I'd like it if you train me, Naruto-kun."

"Great." Naruto grinned and as he walked out he said, "You are a pretty girl, Hinata-chan. You hide a lot of it under those baggy clothes though." He laughed and exited the tent.

That night the four of them sat by the campfire. They had eaten dinner, which to Naruto's delight was ramen. They were now just talking. They were trying to find something to do though. "I know let's play truth or dare." Ino suggested.

"That game is stupid." Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time.

Ino laughed and said, "I understand that you are afraid of being made to do something you don't want to. We don't have to play."

That struck a nerve in both boys and they said, "Fine we're in."

"I'll play too." Hinata replied.

"Cool I'll go first." Ino stated. She turned to Naruto and said, "Truth or dare".

"Dare." Naruto replied. "I'm not afraid."

Ino grinned mischievously and said, "Then I dare you to kiss Hinata."

Both Naruto and Hinata blushed but Naruto moved over to her and gently pressed his lips to hers. The kiss felt warm and little sparks ran through his body. He slowly broke the kiss and moved back to his spot. He looked around to see whom to ask next. Hinata was still blushing and looking at the ground. Ino looked satisfied but he didn't want to ask her. Sasuke was indifferent and Naruto turned to him and said, "Truth or dare".

"Dare." Sasuke stated simply. 'How bad a dare could Naruto come up with?'

Naruto's eyes glinted and he said, "I want you to kiss Ino."

Sasuke froze. That was not expected. 'Damn it. I'll get you Naruto.'

Ino on the other hand was overjoyed. 'I'll get to kiss Sasuke.' She quickly moved next to him and roughly pressed her lips into his. Sasuke gagged and pulled her off but Ino was beaming.

Sasuke turned and glared at Naruto. Suddenly he got an idea and said, "Naruto truth or dare?"

Naruto hated that look and said, "Truth".

'Perfect.' Sasuke thought. "Okay Naruto. Explain your kiss with Hinata-chan and tell us if you liked it."

Naruto blushed and said, "Well I definitely liked it. It was warm and it was kind of like sparks shot through me."

Sasuke smirked. 'He is so embarrassed. That will teach him to do that to me.'

Naruto looked over and saw that Hinata was blushing madly and was staring down at the ground. No one had asked her yet. He had the perfect question though. "Hinata-chan, truth or dare?"

"Truth." Hinata squeaked.

"Okay then who do you like as more than a friend Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked.

Hinata blushed even deeper and looked at the ground. "Well I…I…I like…I like you Naruto-kun."

When she finished she looked up tentatively and saw Naruto beaming at her. She took her chance and said, "Naruto-kun truth or dare".

"Truth" Naruto replied.

"Who do you like, Naruto-kun?" She asked blushing even deeper.

Naruto grinned and said, "I like you Hinata-chan. You are probably the most precious person to me. You were my first friend and I've grown to realize that I like you as more than just a friend." Naruto looked and saw Ino and Sasuke were watching their conversation. Ino was just watching a sort of gleam in her eyes but Sasuke was glaring at Naruto somewhat coldly. "Sorry about that."

"It's okay." Ino yawned. "It's late anyway. We should go to bed."

She headed off to her tent and said a final good night. Sasuke followed shortly, mumbling something about needing rest for training. Hinata sat there on her log. Finally she got up the courage and asked, "Did you mean what you said Naruto-kun."

Naruto sat next to her. "Of course I did Hinata-chan. I wouldn't lie about something like that. I like you a lot."

Hinata blushed. "I meant what I said too. I've always admired you but recently I have realized that it was more than that."

Naruto leaned over and softly kissed Hinata. Her body froze for a minute but she responded and kissed back. Slowly they pulled apart. Naruto smiled, not in his usual grin but a true smile. Hinata blushed even more but she smiled too and headed for her tent. "Goodnight." Naruto said just as she entered her tent. He entered his tent and lay down. He glanced at Sasuke and noticed that Sasuke was breathing hard. 'Why is he breathing hard, he's supposed to be sleeping. Unless he watched what happened. Then again, why would Sasuke do that? He wouldn't do it without a reason.'

'He's jealous kit.' Kyuubi replied. 'It all fits. He glared at you after you and Hinata told each other that you like each other and then he is breathing extra hard after you two kiss. He saw and he obviously liked her. I still don't understand your human ways though. In the demon world when a male finds a good mate he marks her and all others know to stay away.'

'It isn't like that here.' Naruto replied grimly. 'Love does weird things to people. I hope that Sasuke gives up on her quickly though. I feel kind of bad about it but I love Hinata-chan and there is nothing that can stop that.'

Naruto got back up at two o'clock and found Gaara already waiting outside the tents. "Hello Gaara. I'm glad you came but let's go somewhere more private. The two leapt away and found a secluded clearing to talk. "Gaara I know this will be hard to believe but I have already met you. I even fought and beat you."

Gaara was stunned, "That is not possible. I have never been beaten. Don't you think would remember if I was beaten."

"This is my second life. I am like you. You have the Shukaku and I have the nine-tailed demon Kyuubi. I died fighting the bastard that your village is conspiring with, Orochimaru." Naruto replied. "I fused with the Kyuubi to save my life and ended up as my six year old self. In my last life, we fought. I won but it was a tough battle. Gaara I am warning you. If you attack Konoha, I will defeat you like last time. You could be a good ally. I could help you become stronger. So what do you think?"

"How can you make me stronger?" Gaara asked.

"The Kyuubi told me there is a technique I can use to fuse you with the Shukaku. I could teach you the techniques the Kyuubi is teaching me." Naruto answered. "Think about it Gaara. You and I did become friends in my last life after our fight. I hope we can do that again."

With that said Naruto walked back towards the campsite, leaving Gaara in thought.

The week passed by quickly. Ino had gotten down a couple jutsus that Naruto taught her. She was also getting faster and stronger thanks to the weights and Naruto's training. Naruto had spent a lot of time doing 'special training with her and no one except them knew what it was.' Sasuke had gone off by himself and no one knew what he did for training. Hinata had improved a lot in the eyes of Naruto. She had gotten down the Kaiten and a couple other jutsus. She couldn't completely see the tenketsu points but she was getting there. She and Naruto had asked Ino and Sasuke to keep their relationship a secret and both had agreed, though Ino grudgingly. Once they reached Konoha, the group split up and headed in their different directions. Naruto went to the training grounds and practiced for the chuunin exams. 'Tomorrow I will show everyone what I am made of and I won't let that snake freak give Sasuke the curse seal.'
AN - Hi! Its been a while since I last posted a chapter. I'm sorry for lateness but school has been hectic. I'll try and post more frequently and I hope everyone likes this chapter.I wanted to plant some doubt in Gaara's mind. it would be unrealistic for him to agree now so I want to set the stage for a later part of the story wink! I want people to realize that this is an eventual Naruto/Hinata , Sasuke/Ino fic with some Sasuke/Hinata later on. Please Read and Review and thanks to all those who reviewed chapter 10.