okay, so here's the next chapter. but before that, let me just say one thing. firstly, people have been accusing me of copying. I DIDN'T COPY ANYONE! all i did was delete my story and remake it! actually, to be more specific, one person accused me of copying. if i really copied, why would only one person notice it? sigh... i don't give a shit if you give me a bad review -- it gives me a chance to improve. but when you accuse me of copying, i get pissed... so fuck off! if you're gonna report my story, you don't have to tell me! just do it. i knew it was a bad idea to start this story...

"Forehead girl!"

"AH!"

"Ah?"

"Oh, Ino... You just... caught me by surprise."

"You're at my house... Who else would be here?"

"Uh... Hehe... Right. Anyways, let's continue."

"You know you're having more and more of these space outs lately."

"Well, I mean, we just came back from a mission. I'm... tired."

"Sakura, we're genin. We do D and C class missions... There's absolutely no reason to be tired... So..."

"So?"

"How is Naruto-kun?" she said in a falsely cute voice.

"Naruto-kun?"

"Yes, how is he?"

"Naruto is just fine."

"Uh-huh..." she said studying Sakura carefully and as if reaching a conclusion.

"Uh-huh what?"

"Naruto and Sakura, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S --"

"SHUT UP! I do not like Naruto."

Ino suddenly looked very serious. "Sakura, he's not a bad guy. Just totally stupid, but not bad."

Sakura remained silent.

"Anyways, I think we're done. We're not gonna get much progress if you're like this. I'm gonna go."

Silence.

"Sakura?"

Once again, nothing.

"Sakura!"

"Huh? Oh, right. Got it."

"You know what? You're right. You don't like Naruto. Because no matter how many signs your body gives you that you're in love with him, you never will truly be in love until you accept it. Just... Forget it." And she left.

Ino's words somehow hurt more than she had expected.

ONE MONTH LATER

He had done it... He had done it... He had just delivered the finishing blow to the Hyuuga prodigy, Neiji. "Since... you're not a loser like me..." he finished up. An outstanding match was won, one with surprises, twists, revalations, and the inevitable sorrow... everything a standard shinobi match should've composed of... Except... Except for the one thing Naruto was accustomed to his entire life... the pride, the glory, the... the cheering... Where was it? Naruto tried, he really did... But it didn't seem to fit the moment – or his mood for that matter... The feeling he had now was a humbling, quiet, patient one which seemed to quiet down his hyper active self. But it felt great... It was a feeling of accomplishment... yet humility... He liked it. Perhaps this is how it's supposed to be... He thought.

Suddenly, the audience burst into applause as they cheered. He, the underdog, had just given his opponent a severe ass-whuppin'... and the audience was riled up – all his friends, the jounins, his senseis, the other shinobi – everyone he ever knew was now cheering him, or, at least acknowledging him – his true dream... He was having a taste of it... This is what it felt like. Mentally, Naruto recorded every emotion, every breath, every smell, every feeling his senses grasped into a crisp and refreshing chronology. He would never forget this.

Sakura looked at him. You've grown so strong... I can't help but to feel a bit jealous of you...

Hinata stared at him in awe and couldn't help but smile. You did it... I always knew you would...

"YES! GO NARUTO! KICKED THAT NEJI'S ASS!" Kiba made a deafening roar.

Interesting... Perhaps this punk has more to him... Kankuro and Temari simultaneously thought.

Neji... Neji lost? Oh, no... Neji... TenTen stared in awe.

That... That chakra... Is... Could he be a... No... Gaara, too, was amazed.

The kyuubi was still burning inside Naruto, and he just happened to remember Gaara – one who claimed he was a monster... He stared at Gaara with all the anger in his heart... All the anger he felt for 'thickbrows' – one who stood to his dream just as he would've, one who was shunned all his life... One who never backed down from his nindo... Was it fair? No, it wasn't! Damn right it wasn't! How could he win, but thickbrows – one who tried as much, if not more, than he did lose? His heart burned with anger. He looked at Gaara with all his rage, frustration, and sorrow that had ever accumulated in his life... After all, Lee was a person who went through the same thing he did, more or less.

Gaara looked at him, and for the first time in a long while, fear creped into his heart. That little kid was staring at him... with something unnatural in his eyes... with a hatred more powerful than Gaara could've ever manifested. Suddenly, something sparked. Gaara panted and looked away immediately. His intakes were now shallow and choppy, and his exhales were worse.

"You all right, Gaara?" Temari asked.

"You okay?"

Silence... "I'm fine..." he finally grunted, regaining his cold composure.

To use the nine tails' power... the Kazekage thought. The seal I placed is undone...Probably by Jiraiya... Moreover, why is he there now and not the kyuubi? Yondaime's seal is... weakening... He will prove to be trouble for me when Akatsuki gets him...

"Impossible... He just..." Kurenei stuttered.

"Yeah... Most of the leaf are surprised... to say the least..." Asuma said.

"What the hell has Kakashi done..."

Suddenly, a note appeared on Sandaime's lap. From the corner of his eye, he caught a small frog quietly hopping away. Jiraiya...? He read it and his face soon turned grave. Sandaime quickly burned it.

"Is there a problem?" the kazekage asked.

Sarutobi sighed. "The Council of Elders requests me in the next meeting..." he said.

"Troublesome, are they?"

"That, would be an understatement." he chuckled... I wish it was as simple as the Council... the hokage meanwhile thought.

Don't worry... You won't have to worry about them much longer...

Hinata had just gotten up when the ANBU member knocked out her and Kiba. Naru... to... kun... And her world turned dark.

Something had happened during the match with Neiji – something very strange... Something which had never happened before. While he was attacking with the nine tails fox's power, his eyes seemed to be empowered, or so they felt, for, when he charged chakra to them, the nerves almost danced. They bulged in his eyes a bit and his vision became crystal clear, and, once again, the darkness covered him. Soon, a cage had appeared in front of him, and had spoken to the kyuubi.

"What the hell do you want, you fox?"

"That's no way to thank someone whose power you're using... At least partially..."

"What? What do you mean partially? I'm using your chakra, your senses, your reflexes... The only thing that's there is my mind and my body..."

"Hehehe... And I should tell you why? After all, didn't you just interrupt me?""I die, you die."

"Not knowing the answer to this question won't kill you..."

"But I'll make sure it kills you!"

"Hehehe... What guts for a mortal... You're damn lucky this seal is there, or I'd tear you to pieces... You'll find out from your sensei soon enough..."

And then he had returned to real world... His eyes felt the same way when he stared at Gaara... They tingled with power... Staring at the on going match, he absentmindedly thought, I don't feel like that now... Indeed, his eyes returned to normal as he scanned the match. The pain had been almost unbearable – pressure mounted in his eyes, and it felt like his nerves were being ground... The pain was almost unbearable. Why was that... The question burned in his mind...

Apparently, Sasuke hadn't showed up yet, but instead of disqualifying him, they moved his match to the end. Naruto went back up, and Sakura actually hugged him.

"Good job." she said.

Naruto smiled. "Uh, I-... Thanks..." Their 'friendship' still hadn't recovered since the dance incident, but it was on a healthy climb.

Now, the match between Shino and the sound nin was taking place. Naruto watched the fight, but it barely registered. He was too intensely thinking about what was going to happen... The kyuubi, his eyes, Sasuke's match, the results of the chuunin exam... Ironically, they distracted him from the chuunin exams themselves.

Suddenly, there was clapping, and Naruto snapped back to reality. Shino had won! He cheered loudly, partially because he hated the Sound and he wanted Konoha to win, and partially because he just hated that particular ninja. He was sure it had been a great fight... Just, not important enough as what was on his mind. Not to mention, his damn headache was back, and his eyes were burning again. He was so angry – these random headaches distracted him, and he couldn't do anything about them. In a fit of rage and fury, he powered chakra into his just to 'show his eyes who was boss.' Naturally, all the pain only doubled back on him, but, suddenly, just as the pain reached its peak, it disappeared. Opening his eyes, he saw his vision wasn't normal... He could see better than normal... Everything was perfect! Everything was so crisp; he could see every scratch, every pebble, every particle of dust... It was awe-inspiring; more so because he sat at the top, and the view was remarkable. However, soon after, he still had his headache. Toying with his eyes, he could now turn on and turn off the headaches, and with them, this new vision. Also, he noticed his overall hearing was even better – followed by his smell and touch... When he touched his hand, he could feel the individual hairs, every scratch and flaw in his skin... It was so acute it was frightening.

Appearing in the middle of the stadium, Kakashi and Sasuke now came. The entire stadium boomed with applause – finally, the well awaited match between Sasuke and Gaara would begin. Naruto decided to test his new senses and triggered his headache, which produced his acute senses as byproducts.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes... We'll do it later... Tell them to delay their actions... Until three days from now."

"Understood."

The Sandaime remembered the note... He had to do something – fast. "Kazekage-sama, after the first round, I propose we shall take a one day break, so that we as well as the participants may rest."

The kazekage nodded. "I agree. It would help us all to refresh a bit."

Naruto... You seem down... Lost already, have you? Yes, I remember, you were facing that Neiji... The Hyuuga prodigy... "Naruto... You have lost?" Sasuke asked.

"Dream on... I'm ready for the second round... Let's just hope that you don't get too sloppy..."

Sasuke smirked. "Not gonna happen."

"So, Jiraiya, is what you tell me true?" the Sandaime now came to him.

"Sensei, you saw him fight... And yes, during his training as well I could begin to see traces of it... It's finally beginning, just as Arashi had stated."

"Good... It's nice to know, and, if we're lucky, Arashi's predicted outcome will occur... And not the other option. But I fear Orochimaru's plans have been delayed by three days."

At this, Jiraiya nodded. "Indeed. We have just finished... executing that sound ninja... From what we derived from him, we're going to need help... Perhaps we can attract Akatsuki's attention..."

"No... We must not draw them into this..."

Jiraiya shook his head. "I will take Naruto away to hide; meanwhile, I will train him... We will go look for Tsunade and bring her back, in case... But, Akatsuki comes here and deals with Orochimaru... I doubt anyone can take Orochimaru right now, and if he gets the Uchiha, situations will become even worse... We must take Naruto away at all costs. After all, Orochimaru will want to eliminate Naruto, as he strongly influences Sasuke... And Akatsuki doesn't want ex-members to be hanging around, as valuable information can leak. It would help them, and it would help us... They won't come to us with more than two – after all, we're a village, and they know a mere ten cannot harm us... Thus, they are in no position to bargain... However, they will hunt me and Naruto down, but I intend to take him to a... a safe place."

After long thought, the man agreed. "Very well... But take him right now... I don't want any of Orochimaru's plans to work... I think I will pay this 'Kazekage' a visit..."

Jiraiya nodded.

"Pssst..."

Naruto stared at the ceiling... It must have been the wind.

"Naruto!"

It was the wind... whispering his name... loudly...

"Naruto! Pay attention!"

Yup! He was going insane! Now, there were frogs next to him... He was going mad... No doubt about it. When he saw Jiraiya in front of him, he sighed.

"HEY --"

Jiraiya used a silencing jutsu on him in a flash, bagged him, and disappeared from the stadium. In a safe distance away, he explained everything.

"So I can't tell my friends?"

"No. Let's go. Pack up your stuff, we're leaving."

Naruto nodded sadly.

At his house, Naruto packed up everything. When he opened the door, he was amazed to find Sakura there.

"Naruto? Why aren't you at the Chuunin Exams?"

"... I'm leaving... But, you gotta promise not to tell anyone..."

"Why?" Sakura said, panicking more and more. She didn't like the sound of this one bit...

"I can't tell you. But what are you doing here?"

"I noticed you were gone, and so I wanted to know where you went."

Naruto nodded sadly. "Well... Bye, I guess."

"Bye, Naruto..." she said sadly.

As he walked off with the strange white-haired man, she looked at him.

"You love him, don't you..." Ino asked, but it was more of a statement.

She closed her eyes as tears came... She was weak under pear pressure... All this time, she had never done what she wanted... She had done what others wanted her to do... All this time, she had never shown the real Sakura... She was weak... and caged...

Not any more... She would change... She would change to become the true Sakura... She didn't care what others thought anymore... She would do what she wanted... She would become the damn best ninja she could be! She didn't care what the hell her friends thought – they could go censored... themselves up their censored... censored which should burn in hell. And she finally accepted it. "Yes... I do. But so what?"

Ino seemed a bit irked. "I wasn't teasing you... I wanted to tell you sorry... So... Its about time you ditched Sasuke..."

Sakura burst out in tears... "I know... I will... I'm sorry..." she sobbed her heart out there... Years of emotions came out then and there... They couldn't stay locked up in there forever, after all... And it was time they came out. "Oh, and Ino... What you said before, 'I'll never truly love him until I accept it...' Thanks."

"So, get up!" Ino said. "We have one serious make up job to do before he gets back."

"Thanks, Ino..."

"Hey, it's the least I could do after pushing you around all this time. Besides, you've always stuck up for me... It's about time I did the same."

She looked at Naruto... No, she looked at her Naruto... and smiled. Naruto... Please... Don't forget me...

TWO WEEKS LATER

"Jiraiya."

"Hai, Godaime-sama..."

Tsunade winced at the name. She and Jiraiya had just had a fight – it didn't happen often, but when it did, it hurt a lot. After all, Jiraiya was one of the few friends she had. Sighing, she said, "You will train Naruto for three years?"

"Yes. I'll get him back on track."

"You left him outside Konoha?"

"Yes... It's best for him not to come inside... Not right now.

"All right. Here's a schedule for --"
"Don't tell me how to do my job, Tsunade. I know this boy more than you."

Tsunade opened her mouth to protest as her anger came back when Jiraiya cut her off.

"Did you this kid already invented a form of the rasengan by himself without my help?"

She paled. No way... Impossible.

"He learned it completely by himself. He made it up in a year..."

Tusnade stared in silence.

"Is this all you called me for?"

"No." She whispered. Jiraiya had a strange power. Without ever raising his voice, he could be ten times scarier than an angry Tsunade. "Akatsuki is making a move..."

Sakura's eyes widened. "Sasuke... What are you... What are you doing?"

Sasuke's sharingan blazed in surrounding blackness of the night.

Sakura sank to her knees.

Sasuke... What the hell... He was just about to jump out when Jiraiya caught him.

"I thought I told you to not come in!" Jiraiya scolded when they went away.

"But Sasuke just knocked Sakura unconscious! He's sneaking out in the middle of the night! What was I supposed to do?"

"Sasuke is your team mate, so trust him a little, huh? Jeez..."

"Besides, the right thing to do is to knock him unconscious instead of a confrontation. He's around your strength level, right?"

"Y-Yeah..."

"Then you don't want to risk it. You have the element of surprise. Use your kidney." Jiraiya said.

"What?"

"Well, since your head clearly doesn't work, you have to use something... Sorry, my lame joke of the day."

Naruto grunted. Coming back, he and Jiraiya knocked Sasuke unconscious.

"So, Naruto-kun... You think it'll be that easy?" Orochimaru laughed from his lair, as four large bodies came and picked up Sasuke. "This way it'll be much faster... Hahaha."

"Orochimaru..." Sasuke grunted.

"Ah, you're awake, Sasuke..."

"So, Ero-Senin, what are we going to learn?"

"Firstly, I thought I'd tell you what this trip is about. As you know, we are in hiding. But the main training portion, is to get you back on track."

"Back on track?"
"You may be chuunin level, but your chakra control is worse than genin, your common sense in battle is as well, and most of all, you need more jutsus. You know about three major ones. An average jounin knows about one hundred. Most kages know upwards of two hundred. This and stealth. These areas I will focus on. Stealth, chakra control, and learning more jutsus."

"I AM NOT WORSE THAN A"

"For instance, yelling when we are in hiding is not a good idea. You have just proven my point." Jiraiya said seriously. "Naruto, let me tell you this. I may fool around a lot, and I may be a pervert, but when it somes to learning, I am a very strict teacher. When I taught before it was in a very relaxed atmosphere. I hope you get used to the new one... For your sake."

Naruto gulped. Perhaps there was more to Ero-Senin than he knew.

"You'll have to earn my respect. If it wasn't for the fact that you have determination, I would have absolutely no respect for you right now."
"I thought ninjas had certain rights. Like no cruel and unusual punishment."
"Heh." Jiraiya chuckled. "I'm surprised you knew that. Well, let me tell you I could hide you just as well in Konoha."

Naruto's eyes widened. Meaning he was leaving Konoha for that reason.

"The fourth lived through it... And he didn't have the kyuubi. I'm sure you'll come out alive..." Sorry, kid... So sorry. But for your sake, I gotta be tougher than usual on you. "Listen to me, Naruto. I don't care if don't learn a thing from me... But what I will care about is effort and respect. I don't care if you're a pervert, if you smoke, or if you drink. I need you to be respectful of everyone, and I need you to put in your full effort. If you do this, perhaps I will respect you." I do kid... A lot... But for your sake, I gotta go tough. Believe me, this hurts me a lot more than it hurts you... Perhaps I'll tell you one day... When you're older.

"I'm not worse than a genin." Naruto said quietly.

Good... Unfortunately, I have to break his pride, and only then begin the repair... I'm so sorry, Naruto. "Yeah? Prove it." And Jiraiya got into a battle stance.

Naruto's ego was truly demolished that day. Jiraiya didn't have one scratch on him, and worse than that, he made sure Naruto didn't go unconscious – that way, he felt all the pain. No matter how many times he got up, Jiraiya would knock him down again. Right when the kyuubi was about to help him, Jiraiya put a seal on him similar to Orochimaru's during the chuunin exam. Naruto had never been in such a state of helplessness before. He lay there on the ground, his body completely demolished, and his mental state was worse.

Now Jiraiya stood over him. "All right. Hokages are leaders, and so, I need to teach how to be one."

Naruto coughed. "Another lesson already? Isn't there a break period?"

"Well, that depends. Do you want to be hokage or not? If you don't, rest as much as you want."

Anger coursed through Naruto.

"Oh, and, you can get as angry as you want, but if all you're going to do with that anger is yell at me, it would be a waste, wouldn't it. If you're angry, do something about it. Prove me wrong, Naruto."

Suddenly, his acute senses kicked in, but this time, they were flaring. His chakra level rose incredibly. From that day on, he would work hours into the night just to learn something extra, just to prove to Jiraiya he was in fact capable.

"Naruto, you've progressed quite far on your own."
"Hn..." Was Naruto's nonchalant reply.

So, he still holds a grudge against me. Heh. Ah, well. It'll dissipate soon enough. "But what if I told you you possessed something equivalent of a bloodline limit?"

Naruto turned around, eyes popped open.

"I didn't say a bloodline limit, I said equivalent. As you know, you have the kyuubi inside you..." Jiraiya continued the explanation... A/N: Yes, I'm evil and will not tell you what it is. :P

THREE YEARS LATER

"Like the hotel room?" Jiraiya came in now.

Naruto smiled. "Yeah... It's homely... Can't wait until tomorrow though..."
"Yeah, nothing beats home... But you have something else on your mind..." he said sitting down next to Naruto. "Reminiscing?"
"Yeah... Pretty much... Tell me, do you respect me?" Naruto asked, remembering one of the first things Jiraiya said.

"Yes, Naruto... I respect you."

Naruto smiled.

"So, what did you think of my training?"

"It took me a while to discover the true meaning. At first the only thing fueling me was rage, but as I progressed, I saw what you said was true... Especially regarding shogi."

"Yes... But what surprised me was my shogi hunch actually worked."

"You mean you just guessed?"

Jiraiya shrugged. "Hey, some of the greatest things in life were done by accident."

Both laughed.

No kidding... Who knew the kid had an IQ of 186... He may be the most socially handicapped person I know, but jeez... When it comes down to business, this kid is really smart. Of course, not a genius – not one by far... Kakashi with 212... That Shikamaru with 226, the Hyuuga prodigy with 198... But still, he isn't dead last... Not anymore... Then again, perhaps he never was...

Naruto suddenly winced.

"Kyuubi?"

After the pain subdued, he nodded. "Sensei, when will I be fully merged?"

"It should be about ten years from now. You've already absorbed a lot of it's chakra, and so you have much better chakra control. However, you won't, even after your body adjusts ten years from now, fully absorb all of it. I'm guessing half of it will be yours."

Naruto's eyes widened. Half of the kyuubi's plus his own... All that chakra which he would control perfectly... "It's still an incredible amount."

Jiraiya nodded. "On top of that, you have your incredibly acute fox senses."

"Did you find an answer, Sensei?"

"No... I didn't. I'm sorry." Naruto... There is no Uzumaki clan...

Things got quiet after that.

"It would do you well to go to bed... Tomorrow will be a busy day – you probably won't get very much sleep... First time in three years, after all..."

"Yeah... I wonder if Sasuke is chuunin or a jounin... I would be a chuunin, if someone hadn't taken me out on a trip during the exam..."

Jiraiya chuckled, putting aside telling him the truth. In fact, they had recruited Tsunade, but he hadn't allowed Naruto to go back to Konoha – he simply said the Sandaime wished to pass on the seat... Naruto didn't know yet... Guilt crawled in, but he pushed it aside. "You have the strangest ways of thanking people..."

"Thanking you? If you think --"

"Good night." Jiraiya said and closed his room door. Going into his own, he, too, began reminiscing and wondering about how it would be.

All in all, Naruto had seen Jiraiya's wisdom as he matured. He could sense Jiraiya's reasons and grew to understand them. He was like the father he never had – strict and rough, but kind and fair. "Sensei..." Naruto knocked on the door, smiling.

When Jiraiya opened it, he heard, "Thank you... For everything." and saw Naruto walking away. His jaw dropped. Was that Naruto just now? A smile came to his lips. Perhaps he hadn't done such a bad job after all...

Kakashi chucked a kunai at the enemy and he dropped dead. You knew all along who he was... And yet, you didn't even tutor him personally... All you did was go with your prized student... Uchiha Sasuke... Who, in the end, basically stabbed you right in the back and left... Damn it... That's the second unchangeable mistake you've made in your life... Obito... What would you do if you were here... Sensei... What would you do... Damn it... Kakashi retrieved the jewel case and turned back to Konoha.

Jumping on the trees, he wrestled his conscience. He had to be grown up like a regular boy... After what he faced, he wasn't regular... Never would be... Damn it... His conscience was winning by a large margin. And because of you, he wasn't properly trained to defend himself... Kuso... He gave the case to the hokage, received his money, and left. He's coming back tomorrow... Who knows how much he's changed... Crap... You wasted your time with him... Kakashi, you idiot...

Naruto... Iruka looked at an old picture. You're probably going to come back as good as a chuunin... I wonder how you'll do... I'm going to miss our dinners at Ichiraku's... He sighed and forced himself into bed, although he knew there was no way he would or could sleep. Yes, tomorrow would be the day Uzumaki Naruto returned to Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves...

sigh... well, that's it. anyways, i'm disabling anonymous reviews now. at first i didn't understand why other authors did it, but now i do. man, i'm so pissed off...

after all that work, someone accuses me of just ripping of someone else's efforts... man... anyways, once i cool my head off, i'll continue my work.