A/N: There will be no-I repeat-no pairings in this story. PERIOD. So the NaruHina scene is purely speculative, which means that it's supposed to be according to canon, and can go anywhere I want it to go. So, sorry to all naruhina fans, but no such luck right now. Maybe another fanfic…

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Sakura walked home, brow furrowed in concentration as she tried to figure what just happened. Did Naruto really beat Kakashi?

Her Inner Sakura yelled, Idiot! Only Sasuke could beat Kakashi!

But what about those bells…and the explosion?

Bah! Probably just had a few bells in his pocket at the time and decided to play a little trick on us with some explosive tags.

And the yell?

Umm…probably a kage bunshin. Yeah! Naruto can do kage bunshins! And he's pretty well known for playing pranks on people!

But…it seemed so real…

DON'T SAY YOU'RE FALLING FOR HIM!

Ugh, hell no! Sasuke is the one and only guy for me!

Good so stop doubting him. Bet he'll knock the socks off Kakashi next time!

…yeah…

Looking up, she saw that she had actually passed her home and had walked back to the Academy through sheer habit. About to turn around, she paused as she quickly calculated the time, hmm, Iruka-sensei should still be here. I think I'll pay him a visit…Not knowing why; she suddenly had a compelling feeling to talk to her previous sensei. Walking in, she looked around at the empty halls and felt as if she was in a ghost house. Walking down the hall, she stopped by her old classroom. Opening the door, she felt slight surprise at seeing Iruka-sensei sitting at his old desk and reading from a file. He looked up when the door opened and expressed slight surprise at seeing Sakura standing in the doorway. Smiling, he raised an arm and beckoned, "Come in Sakura! Didn't expect to see you here!"

Sakura quietly closed the door behind her, and took the offered seat. Looking down at his desk, he noticed that it was covered with old class files. Curiosity getting the best of her, she started reading the names, and realized that they were all of the students that had passed.

Seeing her interest, Iruka looked down to where her eyes were staring and smiled sadly. It's always so hard to let go of the graduates, especially this year…Gathering the files up; he placed them in a neat pile. Then he pulled open one of his drawers and pulled out a bottle of sake and a cup. Sakura stared. Ignoring her, he popped the bottle open, poured himself a measure, drank it, then brought his head down so he stared right into Sakura's eyes and asked, "Is there anything I can do for you?"

Slightly startled at the question, Sakura nevertheless answered, "Um…not really I guess, I just wanted to talk to you about stuff."

"Like what?"

"Well, I passed my genin test today and I'm kind of confused as to what happened…" From there, Sakura broke down and talked animatedly of her exam and what happened in it. Throughout the whole story, Iruka did nothing except stare at her and smile faintly at Naruto's antics. When she finished, Iruka stared at her for a second before breaking into a grin, "You're lucky." Sakura's quizzical face emerged and Iruka started digging in one of his drawers. Pulling out a black book, he opened it to a certain page and handed it over to his once-student saying, "Hokage-sama gave this to me earlier today, and showed me Kakashi's genin team pass/fail records."

While drinking another cup, he noted with interest that Sakura's face draining of color as she turned the page, "He failed them all! All seven!"

Iruka nodded as he took his book back, "You would be the eighth team he took, and the first one to pass his test." Sakura closed her eyes and leaned back in her chair, thinking how close her team had been to becoming failure number eight.

Iruka noticed this and said, "You almost failed didn't you?"

Sakura's head snapped back up, "How'd you know that?"

Iruka chuckled and downed his third cup, "I guessed."

Smiling sadly she replied, "Yeah…we would have if not for Naruto; he made two Kage Bunshins, and had them henge into me and Sasuke I still don't know how he fooled Kakashi-sensei…"

Groaning at the reminder, "Believe me, Naruto has had years of experience in pulling off his pranks and getting away with them. I should know, I was on the receiving end of several of them. I still can't figure out how he got that bull into my house…" Iruka trailed off, eyes glazed over as he went back to some very memorable but not-so-friendly memories of his favorite student. Sakura just stared.

She finally broke the silence; "Naruto put a bull in your house?"

Chuckling Iruka replied, "Yep. Dumped red paint all over me as well, made a huge mess, and quite a large hole in my wall. He apologized, but I still didn't buy him any ramen for a week." Sakura stared at him again.

Sakura exploded, "No…no ramen for a week! What the hell kind of punishment is that!"

Iruka just stared into her eyes until she flushed and sat back down again. Sipping his sake, he replied, "My kind. Since Naruto loves ramen as much as he does, it was a much better punishment then just yelling at him or something. Ever since then, he's hasn't done anything on that level of destruction."

"Iruka-sensei, why are you drinking?"

Snorting, he finished his cup, "I always indulge a little at the end of the school years. To toast those that have passed, to honor that will pass, and to give homage to those that will grow to greatness. Mostly though, I just drink to try and dull the memories. Seeing you kids almost everyday for nine months makes me feel somewhat like a father."

Sakura stared down at her hands, embarrassed. Looking up at the clock, she saw that it was a full two hours since lunch had passed. Starting to stand up, she said, "Thank you for the talk Iruka-sensei. I'm sorry to have bothered you for so long."

Iruka merely dismissed her worry with a wave of his hand and a cheery smile as he poured his fifth cup, "Don't worry about it, these files aren't going anywhere soon, and I have the whole summer to do it. Is there anything else I can do for you though?"

About to leave, Sakura paused as something crossed her mind, she turned around and answered, " Well actually, there's been something I've been meaning to ask you."

Putting his hands behind his head, Iruka leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and said, "Fire away."

"How did Naruto pass his genin exam?"

Iruka stiffened, he then drawled out, "I take it that you asked Naruto this and he told you to ask me?"

"Yes."

Slowly, Iruka took his hands from his head, brought his chair back to four legs, then opened his eyes and stared intently at Sakura, "Sit down."

"Huh?"

"Sit down." Confused, Sakura nevertheless did what she was asked.

Once she was seated, Iruka finished his cup and immediately poured himself another. Finishing that as well, he drawled in a somewhat slurred voice, "Alright, tell me what you think of Naruto."

"Huh? Why?"

Drinking another cup, "Just tell me."

Looking confused and slightly annoyed she said, "Uh…ok. I thought that he was an idiot; always goofing around, always playing pranks, and just generally being annoying and loud. Not a very good shinobi."

Smiling faintly as he drank another cup, Iruka said, "I didn't ask you for your past opinion. I'm asking you what you think about him now."

Scowling somewhat, she said, "He's an ok shinobi I guess. Though I do agree with Sasuke in that him getting the bells must have been a fluke. There is no way that he could have gotten him on his own, not against a jounin. Now Sasuke though…" Her face took on a dreamy and glazed over expression as she thought about her obsession. Iruka frowned a little at the quick mood change. Letting her stay like that for a while, he continued downing sake like there was no tomorrow.

Shaking herself out of her daydream, she asked, "So, how did Naruto pass?"

When Iruka raised his head to look at her, she sweat dropped. Iruka's face was one of someone who was fully, and irretrievably drunk, "Huh? Wass 'hat? Wha you say?"

Sakura reeled back slightly at the smell of sake on her sensei's breath, she waved her hand to try and clear the air. Right then the sliding door opened, and both occupants looked over to see the new arrival.

Looking over the slightly disgusted Sakura and the drunken Iruka, Sarutobi nodded and said, "Sakura, I think that it's time that you be going, I'll take care of Iruka here."

Sakura nodded and was about to rush out when she paused again. "Um, Hokage-sama? Do you know how Naruto passed the genin exams?"

Sarutobi nodded, and then started pushing her out gently, "Of course."

Sakura walked over the threshold, "Then how?"

Putting on a thinking face, he frowned slightly and said, "Well, there were a few other factors involved, but I believe that the main one was that Naruto beat a weapon-specialist chuunin and managed to teach himself a high-level kinjutsu, Kage Bunshin." Smiling slightly at her startled face, he gently pulled the door closed and locked it. Turning around, he saw Iruka pull his head off the desk and cancel the henge on his face.

Iruka turned to face the Hokage and started to say, "Hokage-" until said person silenced him with a finger to his lips. Sarutobi turned to face the door and started a short line of three seals, once done he turned around and said, "We can speak freely now. Sairensa no Jutsu. (Silence no jutsu)" He rubbed his chin, as his eyes took on a calculating glint, "You know, I've seen you fight seriously before, and with your deception skills, why didn't you ever apply for the Jounin exam?"

Iruka just said respectfully, "Hokage-sama, I didn't want the responsibilities that came with the title, I just wanted to teach."

Groaning, Sarutobi waved his hand and pulled his pipe out from his mouth, "I not here on official business, and I don't want to be, so don't call me by my damn title!"

Startled, Iruka asked, "Er. So what should I call you then? And respectfully, why wouldn't you wanted to be called Hokage-sama?"

Chuckling bitterly, "Sarutobi-san is good for now. And I don't want to be reminded of my successor in anyway, not today. Remember what today is?"

Sagging slightly, Iruka mumbled quietly, "The Yondaime was made Hokage thirteen years ago today." A long silence passed between the two.

"Do you know…" Sarutobi began quietly as he stared at the wall and nothing at all.

"Hmm?"

Slightly louder, Sarutobi repeated, "Do you know why he chose today of all days to hold his ceremony?"

Staring at his leader, Iruka replied honestly, "Actually no. I always assumed that you decided he was fit for the job and just decided to give it to him one day."

Laughing, heartily this time though, the Sandaime replied, "Nah. I had decided to pass on the job somewhere back in mid March, but he managed to convince me to hold on to the job for another three and a half months. When I asked right before the ceremony why he did that, he pulled open the side of the curtain and showed me why." Staring right into Iruka's face, he said, "He wanted it to be on a day when all the Academy students were free and able to come. He said that it wouldn't be fair to not let the future generations of shinobis not to be in on this event."

Smiling, Iruka said, "That sounds like the Yondaime alright. Always caring for the little ones. I have an exceptionally fond memory of when he came by to the park one day and played with us kids."

Staring at the teacher, Sarutobi suddenly gave out a great laugh and said between chuckles, "Haha! So that's where he went! I always wondered where he went every time he disappeared when he was supposed to be doing paperwork. Never could track him with that blasted shunshin no jutsu of his."

Chuckling with him, Iruka suddenly turned serious and asked, "So, what did you really come her for?"

Sarutobi instantly stopped laughing and put on a neutral expression, "Its about Naruto."

Smiling knowingly, Iruka went back to his desk and pulled out a file. "I assume that you want to know the reason behind the sudden change?"

"You're damn right I do. I just watched his test with his sensei and did I get a surprise when he pulled off a high-level jutsu that most chuunins don't even know how to do."

Iruka walked around his desk and gave him the file. When he received it, Sarutobi was fairly shocked at the weight. Pulling up the seat that Sakura had just inhabited, he opened the file and started flipping through it, almost idly at first, then with growing seriousness as he read more and more. Looking up, he glared at the teacher.

Iruka winced, he wasn't used to such a commanding glare from the kind, old Hokage. "Everything there is true. I looked up the old security tapes of my classes' target practice like you said, and you were right, I started finding patterns in his throwing."

Sarutobi just shook his head slightly, slightly shocked as he continued reading, "Yeah, I thought he was holding something back ever since he beat Mizuki, but not this much. He practically invented a new weapon style! Non-lethal hits with lethal weaponry!"

Iruka nodded, "I was particularly impressed with his ability to throw a kunai ring-first. I've talked some with some of the senior weapon-masters, and they told me that its, and I quote, 'Damn hard to impossible. A kunai is a weapon built to kill, not to incapacitate, which is why we make the bloody blade heavier than the handle! So it can be thrown accurately and hard, blade-first! If anyone has ever pulled it off, its either a mistake or a lot of luck.' End quote. After that, I gathered them all, and showed them tapes of Naruto throwing them, one after another, handle-first," Iruka chuckled at the memory, "Naturally, half of them accused me of rigging the tape and left in a furious rage, horribly insulted because a twelve year old boy could do something they couldn't. The other half…" Iruka paused here and started laughing so hard that the Hokage was momentarily concerned until Iruka waved his hand to show that he was alright.

Once he had regained his breath, he continued his story, "The other half demanded the identity of the shinobi, wanting to place themselves under him so they could learn such a revolutionary technique! Imagine it Hokage-sama! Men of great repute and well into their prime…all bowing at the feet of an Academy student!" Here, Iruka started laughing again, and this time, Sarutobi joined in.

Eventually, they sobered up and Iruka started to stand at attention again while Sarutobi flipped through the file again. Eventually he commented, "You mentioned here that his kunai and shruiken aim and distance are much better than the others?"

"Yes, he is."

"How do you know this?"

Iruka started, "Huh? I could have sworn that I put it in the report."

The Sandaime merely shrugged and stated, "I just wanted to hear it coming from your mouth."

Shrugging, Iruka said, "I started to notice that every time Naruto misses, his weapon goes off into the forest, which is fifty meters behind the targets. Once I actually walked out there myself, I saw lots of indents made from kunai and shruiken. As for aim…" Iruka shrugged again, "You notice the pictures of the target he always uses? The edges and sides of them are dented with hundreds of blade marks, not one of them farther than half an inch in. The entire target is ragged at the edges because of that, in fact, aside from the edges and the middle, the entire target is clean, devoid of practice marks. He's also somehow he even managed to get the shruiken and kunai to hit the sides of the target. Full aim straight on is hard enough, from a curve… I tried it and couldn't get it to hit after a hundred throws. The only person I know that's better than him is a girl I taught a year ago. She had one hundred percent accuracy, no matter the conditions, and the next best after them is a long step down."

Shaking his head slightly, the Hokage muttered, "You must mean Ten-ten, Ikegata Ten-ten, daughter of the Master of Blades."

Curiously, since there were several blade masters residing in Konoha, Iruka inquired, "Which blade master do you mean?"

The Hokage looked him sharply for a moment before his eyes softened, "Not a blade master, the Master of Blades." Iruka's drew in breath sharply at the title, and Sarutobi nodded. It was the usual reaction to the name, as 'The Master of Blades' was a title given to a retired ANBU member for his unfailing accuracy and proficiency in anything and everything with a sharp edge. It was said that he once managed to kill an entire squadron of soldiers with nothing more than a broken beer bottle and shards of glass. Unfortunately, someone managed to cut his eyes, rendering him blind, and therefore useless, since all the accuracy in the world was useless if you didn't know where the enemy was. The Hokage sighed at the loss of such a fine shinobi, and flipped through the pages again, then paused on one of them.

"He can hit the back of the target? How?"

Iruka scratched the back of his head sheepishly, "I really have no idea, all that I know is that a few meters past the target, the shruiken, and its always shruiken for this, suddenly curves around and hits the target in the back. I think it might be wires, but all he does and flex his fingers a bit. Anyway, his aim with that technique is not perfect, but fairly commendable as he's aiming blind."

"Hmm," Sarutobi was thinking hard over this mystery, "It might be chakra strings, like puppeteers use, but I have no idea where he would learn a technique like that…"

Iruka's face lit up with understanding, "Oh yeah, in the jutsu section, I said that Naruto was learning from the Kyubbi."

Sarutobi's head looked up so fast an audible crick could be heard, "WHAT!"

Iruka winced as the aged Hokage started massaging his neck, but continued on gamely, "I asked Naruto how he got so strong, and he said that he and the Kyubbi had started talking around the beginning of the school year. I'm guessing that the Kyubbi taught him those jutsus, and had been training him in other areas as well."

Sarutobi studied him critically before he nodded; he closed the file and said, "Well, if the Kyubbi is training him, then we don't have to worry to much. I assume you were one of the kids he showed his other summons?" Iruka nodded. Sarutobi stood up, and handed the file back, "Well I'm glad that jutsu wore off. And since it's Kyubbi, I guess we mortals shall just have to take a step back to demon training, after all," Sarutobi gave a wicked grin, which was answered by confusion of Iruka's face. The Hokage looked slightly shocked. "He never told you?"

Not having any idea what he was talking about, Iruka decided to go down the safe pass and shook his head. Sarutobi's grin widened as he started explaining. "You know that the fox summons was incredibly versatile and strong, right? Well how do you think they got that way? Kyubbi trained his kin to the point of exhaustion and beyond, earning him a fairly infamous name among the foxes, as common knowledge as him being the lord of foxes; he's the Trainer from Hell. I wonder how he'll fare against a student with as much energy as he does?"

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Unbeknownst to the two, Naruto was currently getting his mental ears yelled off him by a very irate demon kitsune. YOU DAMN BAKA! HOW MANY TIME HAVE I TOLD YOU YOU"RE NOT READY TO USE MULTIPLE-CONTROL TECHNIQUES LIKE THE FUUSHA DOHYOU (Windmill Arena)!

WHY THE HELL NOT! IT WORKED PERFECTLY DIDN'T IT?

Naruto got the distinct feeling that if the Kyubbi had fingers, he would pulling out his hair in frustration. IT WORKED BECAUSE I WAS MAKING IT WORK! The Kyubbi sighed, Baka, the chakra control required for that technique is incredibly high, why do you think most people don't use chakra strings, even though they're incredibly useful? They're either too lazy to train, or they just don't have the natural precise chakra control required to make them. The Kyubbi snorted Its also precisely for those reasons why true puppeteers are few and far between, their entire battle style is based around chakra strings and maintaining that control even in stressful conditions. They also need a fairly large chakra reservoir needed for the long battles.

Fairly confused now, Then why don't you let me try? It's not like it'll blow up in my face, right?

The Kyubbi gave a dry laugh at this statement. It won't blow up in your face, but if you don't control the strings precisely, as well as the jutsus, you can get a lot worse than a simple explosion. For instance, if there isn't enough chakra in the strings, you can't do a thing with the shruiken except send it faster, if there's too much, the shruiken is pulled towards you. Like you know already, less chakra to go faster, more to pull it back, but the overall change in the chakra has to be kept smooth, a sudden jump could have that thing taking your head off before you noticed, and I really want to keep you alive for as long as possible.

Naruto blanched, So why did you wait until now to tell me that?

Because I didn't think you would go farther then one. And I exhausted myself trying to save your ass after holding back and regulating your chakra from this cell.

Oh, well, thanks, I guess. Silence ruled as Naruto walked home. Hey, wait a minute, if you were holding back my chakra, where did the rest go?

Oh, that? I still have it. It's just sitting here, now that you don't need it.

Well give it back will you? I'm already getting tired, and I don't want to take anymore Uzumaki pills.

Hold your horses. Just take a few regular soldier pills, this chakra is slightly unstable now that it's been my almighty presence, giving it back might be painful. Besides, I have an idea… just stop by some stores and buy…say a few dozen, second hand kunai and some cloth, preferably silk, but fairly small is ok. Oh and you might as well buy some food while you're at it. Something with vegetables, BUT NO RAMEN!

Grumbling, but doing as he was told, Naruto walked down to the market district. Finding the kunai and food, he started looking for some silk, but was getting distracted by muttered comments from the Kyubbi that constantly piqued his interest. Not looking where he was going, he bumped into one Hinata Hyuuga.

"Oh! Ko-konnichiha Na-naruto-kun."

"Hey! You're the girl with dog boy and the bug freak, right?" Hinata's head hung at the thought of Naruto only knowing her through her teammates.

IDIOT KIT! SHE HAS A NAME YOU KNOW!

"Oh. Sorry Hinata, I just suck with names."

"Th-that's ok Na-naruto-kun." Naruto looked over his shopping list again and frowned. Hinata noticed this and asked, "Wh-what's the ma-matter Naruto-k-kun?"

"Huh? Oh, I just can't find anybody here that sells silk." A thought struck him, "Hey! You're a girl! Do you know where I can find a fabric store?"

Hinata almost fainted. Did-did Naruto-kun just ask me to help him? YES! "Um. Yes. F-follow me please."

As Naruto followed a staggering Hinata, she thought, I can't believe this! I'm helping Naruto-kun! He's following me! YES! Eventually, they reached quite a worn-down shop, Naruto said his thanks, and went inside. Once he brushed aside the beads, he was immediately set upon by a smallish gray blur, which started running a circle around him. Naruto's shinobi training immediately took effect, and he threw a barrage of punches at the gray mass. He was quite surprised when they were all either blocked or dodged, and even more so when he suddenly found himself flying through the air to hit a conveniently placed pile of clothing.

Moaning, a old lady entered his field of vision upside down and started clucking, "I'll give you points for effort and reflexes, but your speed is sorely lacking and your attacks…pfft, well I just trashed your ass and I'm way into my sunset years."

Naruto was quite surprised at such an astute analysis, and decided to respond with the all-round intelligent answer, "Huh?"

"Lacking in brains too."

An aggrieved, "Mother!" was heard, and Naruto suddenly felt himself lifted up onto his feet. Once up, he saw a young man arguing with the old lady.

"Mother, how many times have I asked you not to attack the shinobi customers?"

"Pfft, you call these pathetic pieces of trash shinobi? Back in my day, the genin were a lot better trained. It's almost painful seeing Konoha's next generation so damn weak."

"Mother, not in front of the customer please!"

"Bah! You're right for once, why should I argue about such a weakling." Saying as such, the old woman walked out the back door.

The young man gave a great sigh, then slapped his forehead, "Oh! I'm sorry! I forgot you were up there."

"Huh?" Looking to his sides, Naruto noticed that he was being held up by several pieces of clothing. They lowered him down to the ground, then went back to the pile and went back to being normal. Looking back at the storekeeper with awe on his face, he burst out, "COOL! How did you do that! Are you a shinobi? Can you teach me?"

Surprised, the man just stared back. He was saved from answering when a young woman came up and just shook him out of his daze. Smiling prettily at Naruto, she said, "His name's Ling. I'm Kaori, his wife. Who are you?"

"Uzumaki Naruto. Hey Ling! Can you teach me those techniques?"

Ling recovered enough to answer, "Sorry. Ok as for your questions before, I used chakra strings, no, I'm not a shinobi," here he muttered under his breath, "least, not anymore," then continued in his normal tone, "and I can't teach you."

Naruto's face fell, "Why not?"

Ling's face turned white as a sheet as he said, "Because my mother said that if I ever taught those techniques to someone, she'd find some way of making the rest of my life hell."

Naruto froze, he had only felt a fraction of the old woman's power, if it was all unleashed at a specific target…he shivered. Kaori noticed this and added, "However…" Naruto looked up.

Kaori continued, "If you can get my mother-in-law to teach her yourself, you could get around her threat."

Naruto brightened at those words. "Hey, thanks!

"You're welcome. Now, why are you here? I highly doubt it's because of my husband's shinobi skills."

"Oh yeah!" Naruto dug into his pocket for his list, "Do you have any silk?"

He was answered by a cry from the back room, "Do we have silk? Of course we have silk! Son, bring this boy back here! He interests me."

Naruto paled as Ling's face looked on sympathetically, then he said, "You might want to hurry up Naruto, it's not a good idea to keep my mother waiting too long."

Naruto started to walk confidently towards the door, but with each step, his knees started to shake some.

HAHAHA! Is the almighty future Hokage of Konoha scared? Scared of an old woman? HAHAHAHA!

Hearing the Kyubbi make fun of him strengthened his resolve, and he walked through the doorway muttering, "...baka kitsune…"

Once he saw the back room though, he froze in shock. There must have been some sort of seal placed on this room; because there was no way that there was all this room behind the small store. In the middle of it all, sat the old woman, back to the door, and working over a table. She yelled back at him, "Well hurry up! I haven't got all day you know."

Naruto quickly did as he was told and plopped himself down on the chair in front of her. She had her head down over a large piece of cloth, and was tracing one finger down a line inked into the fabric. He was surprised when the cloth split at the line where she traced her finger, and curious, he paid closer attention. At first he couldn't see anything, but using his Kitsune Shiryoku, he finally saw the faint trace of chakra on the cloth, and the bright, concentrated chakra coming from her finger. Disabling his doujutsu, he stayed silent, not wanting to disturb her work. Things stayed silent for a minute, until she said, "If you don't ask questions, you'll never get answers."

"But I don't want to disturb your work baa-chan."

"Bah, don't call me 'baa-chan' it makes me feel older than I already am. My name's Tsubaki, use it."

Ooooook… "Um, Tsubaki-san, how are you doing that?"

Sounding amused, "You've never seen a chakra scalpel before? Oh yeah, you're too young. Well, here's a free lesson. A chakra scalpel is the main manipulation of chakra that a medic-nin uses, both for battle and for field surgery. It was made to cut through skin and muscle and make the minimum amount of damage, but I adapted it here for tailoring."

Quietly, Naruto said, "You were a medic-nin."

"I was a medic-nin." Silence reigned for a full minute.

Then Naruto asked, "What rank?"

"When I retired, I was jounin."

More silence, finally, Tsubaki finished cutting the fabric, and put it aside, giving her full attention to Naruto, "Ok kid, cards on the table, what do you want?"

Naruto stared back into her eyes, "Chakra control, strings, and scalpel, maybe some basic tailoring if you have time."

Tsubaki had an amused look in her eye, "No medic jutsus?"

"I'm never going to have the control for them, and you know I don't need them anyway."

She nodded, "I approve, straight up and truthful. I'll throw a few of them in anyway, never know when your medic will need a medic."

Naruto was hard-put to keep in his face straight, "So does that mean that you'll teach me?"

"Not so fast young 'un. I approve of your character; I have yet to see if your strength matches it. If you want to win my respect, fight me. Next Saturday, after whatever pishposh genin duties you have, six o 'clock, training field twenty-five. And if you want to win, you better start training now so, and you bring everything you have with you, 'cause I won't go easy." Finishing her sentence, she grinned at him. Naruto grinned confidently right back, then got off his chair and ran back outside, where Ling and Kaori were waiting.

Kaori was the first to ask, "So, what did she say?"

Naruto grinned up at them, "She said that if I win her respect, she'll teach me."

Ling asked, with trepidation, "Just how did she say you were going to earn her respect?"

"A fight! Next Saturday."

Ling and Kaori exchanged glances, then started walking around and picking out certain items of clothing. Naruto was confused as to what was happening, and asked, "Huh? What's going on?"

Ling answered, "That sadistic mother of mine wants to fight you, and you're not ready to fight her yet."

Naruto asked, "Aww, c'mon. How hard can it be to fight an old lady?"

Baka kit! She threw you halfway across the store, remember?

Suddenly scared, he asked, "How strong was she?"

In a serious tone of voice, Ling replied, "Jounin at age twenty-five, ANBU at age twenty-eight. Had no more than superficial scratches, and was infamous for her ability to make her kills look as if they were from natural causes. Retired from ANBU after five years and became a general jounin medic-nin for a year. Became Head Medic-nin at the hospital after Tsunade left for sixteen years. Retired at age fifty, thirteen years ago."

Naruto was suddenly nervous at fighting the old lady. Shit. Ex-ANBU. Can probably heal injuries as fast as I deal 'em. I am so screwed!

Damn right you are kit!

Naruto was shaken out of his shock when a large pile of clothes was suddenly dropped in front of him. Ling brushed the dust of his face, "Ok, that should be it. Now, I can't teach you anything, but I can give you some advice. One, don't try to beat her, because you can't, go for the short wins, and get in as many hits as you can. Two, bulky armor won't help much against the chakra scalpel, but they will prevent it from going as deep. Three, medic-nins are usually the first to be targeted, and they had to get from one patient to another, so they are usually very fast. Unfortunately, medic-taijutsu is very subtle, and extremely hard to counter without sustaining damage, so most people just dodge the attacks. You figure out what you need to concentrate on to stand a chance against her."

Here Kaori stepped in, "Now, these pieces of clothing were made specifically for shinobi use, so if you buy them, they might just come in handy." Naruto looked down at the clothing, there were several shirts and pants, and a few pieces of light armor, he picked up a piece, and was surprised at it's weight; it was heavier than he thought it would be. Kaori continued, "The pants have a lot of hidden pockets, so you can store extra weapons, the shirts are specifically made to hold extra kunai or shruiken up the sleeves, which can also double as extra armor, and they're spring loaded so you can get them in a hurry. These bracers are special though. We got these when a traveler sold them to us; actually, he sold us these clothes as well, now that I think of it… Anyway, we found that if you put a little chakra in, well, you try."

Naruto rolled up one of his sleeves and strapped a bracer on. Then he focused a little chakra out, and was immediately surprised when overlapping, fin-like metal plates snapped out, providing slight armor. Looking at the edge of the armor, he found there was a long razor blade about an inch out on the outer side of his arm. Looking over the other pieces, he found that there were pieces for the entirety of both arms and legs. Looking up, he asked happily, "How much?"

When all had been added up, including his silk, he found it to be slightly on the expensive side, but still within his bank account. Paying for his items, Naruto happily walked out of the store, money pouch lighter, but feeling much richer.

Remembering the odd shopping list he had gotten, Naruto thought-yelled, Hey Kyubbi-sensei! What's the silk for?

I'd explain it, but you'd probably get lost, kit. Just do what I say, and you'll have a new weapon to play with.

Oh…ok.

­

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Naruto stood in the middle of his training ground.

Alright kit, in order to make this happen, you need to be able to focus your chakra through the kunai.

That's easy!

Think so? Try it on one of the old kunai.

Naruto pulled out one of the kunai he had bought, and forced chakra into it. Immediately, the kunai cracked, then broke into several pieces. Kyubbi's voice took on an amused tone I said focus, not force. There's a difference you know.

So tell me what the hell it is then!

When you force chakra into an item, you run the risk of it breaking under the strain. If you focus it though, it'll be like an extension of your own chakra pathways. Forcing it means you're forcing an unknown energy into something that usually doesn't us it. Focusing it means you slide the chakra in, letting it adapt. If done right, you could focus all of your chakra through that kunai and it wouldn't even get warm. Get it?

In response, Naruto took out another kunai and tried 'sliding' his chakra into it. This time, kunai shattered, but didn't break.

Less force kit.

It took Naruto almost two hours, and many broken kunai, to finally perfect the technique, but in the end, Hey Kyubbi! I finally got it!

Eh? What? Oh. Good job. Wake me up in a few hours would you?

YOU"RE SLEEPING! NOW! GET THE HELL UP YOU STUPID FOX!

YOU STUPID BRAT! YOU NEARLY MADE ME DEAF! HOW WOULD I BE ABLE TO HELP YOU THEN? HUH? YOU TELL ME THAT!

Naruto grumbled, "…stupid baka of a furball…

I HEARD THAT!

WHO CARES! TELL ME WHAT THE HELL TO DO NEXT!

Brat. Do the same thing with each of the steel kunai. I can almost guarantee that it will be harder.

Muttering many unsavory things about foxes in general and one in particular, Naruto reached into his jacket and pulled out his weapons scroll. Unrolling it, he found the seals he used for the kunai, and unlocked it. Pulling out the six steel kunai he had, he rolled up the scroll, dropped five of the kunai, and started pouring chakra into the sixth.

Six hours later…

Naruto was puffing from chakra depletion. He had already exhausted half of his soldier pills in trying to stay awake, and a good portion of his own Uzumaki pills. Even so, he had a happy smile on his face, and was lying on his back, kunai still held in his hand, staring at the moon, at the stars.

S-so Kyubbi. Wh-what's next?

Kyubbi's voice could have almost been described as tender and caring, Get some sleep kit, you're going to need it tomorrow. I'll take over for a while to get you home.

Wha…N-no, I can…still go…on… Naruto was asleep, and Kyubbi woke up. Looking around, he silently noted the sudden jump in ambient chakra levels in the surroundings. About to pick up Naruto's stuff, he hesitated, then his face broke into a wicked grin. Well, I was going to give this to him tomorrow, but hey, what's a few more hours going to do to his body? Well, besides horribly wear it out anyway, and there being lots of labor work tomorrow too…

Grinning in a manner that could only be described as diabolical, Naruto/Kyubbi bit his thumb then quickly scribed a quick seal on the back of his left hand. In the end, there was a solid circle drawn on Naruto's left hand, and inscribed inside a was a twelve pointed star, with ten demon numeric symbols placed evenly on the outside of the circle, zero to nine, the zero at the top most point. Outside the numerals, there was a circle of symbols encompassing the first seal, giving the whole appearance somewhat of a clock face. Satisfied with his work, Naruto/Kyubbi concentrated on slightly mixing both Naruto's and his chakra in his hand, then concentrated it all into his fingertip. Biting it, he slowly, carefully, placed one red drop in the middle of the clock. With a quick flash of red light, the whole seal sunk into the skin, and the blood turned black as ink. Slowly, two curving, thick lines emerged from the dot in the middle, like minute and hour hands o a clock. Grinning at a seal well done, Naruto/Kyubbi gathered chakra into his finger, and slowly, meticulously adjusted the 'hour' hand so that it pointed to the demon number two, he immediately felt it's effects, and grinned even wider.

Sighing, Naruto/Kyubbi started to pick up what he had left on the forest floor when he thought of something, thinking some more for a few moments, he quickly drew another circle of seals around the first, insuring that it couldn't be removed so easily. He activated it with Naruto's chakra, resulting in both seals glowing a bright blue for a full minute, then dying down until there remained only a faint outline of the second seal, and a faint blue glow coming from the first. Nodding, he dispelled the chakra gathered into his hand, allowing the seal to fade into the back of his hand. Slinging what Naruto brought with him on his back, Naruto/Kyubbi leaped up onto a tree branch, and left for the village his container called home.

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A/N: Alright, two things. A. You all should know what I'm doing with the seal. If not, too bad, you'll have to wait. And B. If any of you have ever read the Last Rebel, then you know where I got the tailor idea. Now before any of you start flaming me for that, I already got his consent to write this. So, for all of those who want to rip my throat out for that, I'll say this in as a polite as manner as possible, BUG OFF AND DON"T YOU DARE FLAME ME! Thank you. Till next time. 