The Rise of Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze

by MercenaryGrax

How would things be if Naruto knew who his parents were from a young age? A mysterious man who has watched Naruto his entire life soon takes an interest in Naruto and is placed as the assistant Jonin instructor to Naruto and his team. Who is this man and what relation does he have to Naruto? How will things be different with him training the young ninja? NaruxHarem & OCxHarem.

12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12 – Entrance of a Super Pervert & Sean's First Date!

After finishing up their meal, Sean and Temari left the restaurant in silence. They quickly made their way to the Hokage Tower, leaving both Anko and Ino outside to wonder just what the heck was going on. It wasn't until Jima stepped up and placed a hand on Anko's shoulder that the two of them finally moved from where they were standing.

"Forget about that. I'm sure that if it's really important that we'll be told of it. For now, the three of us need to talk. Follow me." Slowly the two women nodded their heads and followed Jima to what appeared to be a small restaurant. "I know you two have eaten already. That's why I brought you here. We can simply share some tea and speak. It's…important. In a sense." The two women nodded again and walked in, sitting with the blue-haired Uzumaki woman in a small booth.

Anko frowned after placing her order and turned to stare hard at Jima. "This has to do with Sean…doesn't it Jima?" Jima simply nodded calmly and smirked at her friend. "Yes, it does. You see, there was a rather…interesting council meeting last night that Sean and I were a part of. Seeing as the two of you are so affectionate with Sean-kun, I think you deserve to know. I don't think he's going to tell the two of you anytime soon after all."

Ino frowned at this and began tapping her fingers on the table in annoyance. She was still somewhat jealous of Jima for what she considered 'getting way too close to her Seanie-kun'. "What is it? Why would Seanie-kun try to hide anything from us? He trusts us…doesn't he?"

Jima sighed and shook her head. "It's not about trust here Ino. The fact of the matter is that my cousin…he's troubled. There's a lot on his mind at the moment and he's having a rather difficult time sorting through everything." Anko frowned at this and was about to speak when their waiter returned with their tea. Taking a small sip, she placed the cup down and glared at Jima. "What happened last night? Did the Council do something? If this has to do with what happened to their precious 'Sasuke-kun' then I'll sick my snakes on all of them!"

Jima smiled softly and shook her head again. "Oh, the Council tried, but we already planned for everything. Sasuke tried to sick his precious 'pets', the idiots on the Civilian Council and the three elders: Danzo, Homura, and Koharu, on Sean to punish him for 'assaulting the last Uchiha'. Sean…didn't exactly help himself any, but it all worked out in the end."

Before Jima could go on, Anko held her hand up and shook her head. "What the hell do you mean he didn't help himself? All Sean had to do was tell them he didn't do anything wrong. The Uchiha gaki attacked him, not the other way around. There were plenty of witnesses to vouch for that."

The blue-haired, green-eyed woman nodded her head. "Yes, and Sean told them that. But his disrespectful attitude to the Civilian Council and the elders didn't exactly earn him any points. My cousin was incredibly rude to them. All things considered, it's hard to blame him. It would have been best if he had kept calm and been respectful however." With a shrug of her shoulders, Jima simply smiled and shook her head. "Ahhh, slugging Danzo like that and standing up for Seanie-kun sure was fun though."

After a few moments of silence with the three of them simply sipping their tea, Ino glaring dangerously at Jima for talking about Sean in such a way the entire time, Jima spoke up again. "You two truly care about Sean…don't you?" Seeing the two women before her nod, the beautiful green-eyed woman nodded again and giggled softly. "Even though you know next to nothing about him, what you do know seems to be enough." Sighing lightly, Jima finished her tea and nodded as if assuring herself that this was the right thing to do. "Sean and I are members of the Uzumaki clan."

Anko's and Ino's eyes both widened somewhat as they stared at Jima. Ino was the first to speak. "So…does this mean that you two are related to Naruto?" Jima giggled softly and nodded her head. "Yes Ino. Sean-kun, Naruto-kun, and I are all members of the Uzumaki clan. I'm sure that you two may not know much about our clan, but we were a pretty prominent clan back in the day. Fuinjutsu masters, immensely powerful, longevity, we live longer lives than everybody else…lots of great stuff and nobody these days seems to know a damn thing about our forgotten clan. You people in Konoha wear our clan symbol on your clothes and ninja gear for crying out loud! Who the hell decided we weren't important enough to teach about anymore? It sucks!"

Anko blinked a couple of times and waved her hand in front of Jima's face. "Umm…Jima-san? Are you okay?" Jima looked at Anko and put on a big smile. "I'm okay! Just…frustrated. Iwa and Kumo wiped our clan out. You'd think that in all the precious history lessons they teach in the academy here that there would be at least some mention of us, but there's pretty much nothing. We were just…forgotten. Just irks me okay? On top of that, little Naru-kun was beaten constantly before Seanie stepped in and stopped that. One of our last clan members has been treated with so much disrespect and abuse…I honestly can't see how some people can stand it here with such awful people. But whatever. Sean and Naruto are happy here, so I'll just let that go for now.

Anyways, enough about that. When the Council learned that Sean and I are two of the last living Uzumaki clan members, they tried to pull some shit with us. They tried to force Sean and me into the CRA." Before she could go on, Ino interrupted. "What's the CRA? Can you explain that to me real quick?"

Anko sighed and decided to answer for Jima. "The CRA, also known as the Clan Restoration Act, is a measure they use to ensure a clan doesn't go extinct. It's a measure that's rarely used, but it works. It's actually something of a miracle they haven't already forced Sasuke into this particular act, especially since he's pretty much helpless right now and can't do much of anything what with him missing his hand and all." At Ino's look, the Snake Mistress raised her hand and laughed lightly. "Sorry, sorry. Anyways, what the CRA entails is that the person slapped with the CRA is forced to take on multiple partners to ensure that he, or she, has as many children as possible in an effort to rebuild the clan. Seeing as there are so few members of the Uzumaki clan even left alive, and with how powerful they apparently were in their prime, it's understandable that the Council would try to get their greedy claws into Seanie-kun and Jima-san here."

Ino looked absolutely appalled at such an act before she turned to Jima. "Please tell me you two refused?!" Jima giggled softly and nodded her head. "Oh, they tried. When we refused, Danzo decided to try and give Sean an ultimatum seeing as I couldn't be ordered around. After all, I'm not part of the village yet." Smirking to herself, Jima closed her eyes and nodded proudly at this.

When she heard both Ino and Anko urging her to go on, the blue-haired woman giggled lightly. "Sorry, sorry. Anyways, Danzo tried to make Sean choose. Either he could become part of the CRA, or Naruto could." Ino frowned at this and Anko looked furious. She cared for the little Gaki as well. He was similar to her and they got along really well for the most part. "That's actually where the genius of our plan with Sandaime-sama came into play. We prepared for that eventuality."

Jima saw the looks on their faces and grinned. "Your Hokage called Naruto, Fu, Sakura, Hinata-chan, and Haku into the room. After a bit of talking and the five of them giving their speeches and whatnot, Naruto was placed under the CRA with those four agreeing to become his future wives. Therefore, it essentially solved our dilemma so long as the majority of the Council agreed."

Anko frowned and shook her head. "I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that somebody tried to screw with this idea of yours?" Ino nodded her head, obviously thinking the same line of thought as the tokubetsu jonin. Jima nodded sadly and closed her eyes. "Everyone agreed…except for the Civilian Council. They proposed an arrangement with Sean-kun…"

Ino and Anko immediately disliked what they were hearing. Glancing into each other's eyes, they both nodded, a silent agreement being made between them that they would slaughter the entirety of the Civilian Council later if need be, before they turned back to Jima to await the news. Jima smirked at this and shook her head. "You two really are something else. May be incredibly jealous of one another, and even me for that matter, but you make good companions when somebody threatens Seanie. It's good to see."

The two women nodded again as they motioned for her to speak further on the topic. Jima smiled softly at this. "The Civilian Council said that they would agree to the CRA with Naruto if Sean entered into the CRA as well. Sean…was essentially backed into a corner." Anko and Ino snarled at this, but in the backs of their minds they were also thinking about what it'd be like to actually share their precious Seanie with each other. All-in-all, they were having both pleasant and extremely violent thoughts at the same time. "Sean…asked how much time he had, the fewest number of women he'd have to be with, and stated his own conditions as well."

Jima looked into their eyes and smiled softly at them. "In short…Sean gets to choose the women he will be with. The minimum number of wives he has to take is three. Finally, he has one year to marry his first wife." The woman's eyes suddenly lit up as she remembered something else and she began to grin widely. "I almost forgot to tell you. Sean's also the new clan head of the Uzumaki clan! He'll be stuck attending those stupid Council meetings, but he's also got some political sway and all that other good stuff. Though with that I'm sure comes paperwork and shit that I'm glad I don't have to bother with at all." Shivering at the concept, she looked into their eyes and grinned. "Enough of that though. The reason I told you all this is because…"

Hokage's Office – A few minutes after Jima's group left

Temari and Sean were currently seated before the Sandaime Hokage. The ANBU had abandoned the room per the Hokage's orders and the necessary privacy seals had been put up throughout the room. At this point, both men were looking to the lone female in the room, simply waiting for her to begin with what she needed to say. Eventually, Temari finally let out a heavy sigh and decided it was best to start from the beginning.

"As you no doubt already know, I am the Yondaime Kazekage's daughter. My two younger brothers are on my team with me and we have each progressed into the finals of the Chunin Exams. It's…all going according to plan thus far." Sean's and Hiruzen's eyebrows rose at this, but they said nothing. "Some time ago, Tou-san came to an agreement with…with Orochimaru of the Sannin. Traitor to your village."

The blonde girl looked into Hiruzen's eyes and nodded slowly before casting her glance out the window. "Otogakure and Sunagakure's forces have combined. They are planning to destroy Konoha during the final rounds of the Chunin Exams. Gaara…my brother…he's essentially our 'secret weapon'." Sean nodded at this, already expecting something like this with the boy's attitude. The Hokage frowned and looked deeply into her face as he reached into his desk and pulled out his pipe. "Tell me about this brother of yours Temari-san."

Temari nodded slowly and looked into the elderly man's eyes before glancing over at Sean. "Wind God-sama? You already have a few guesses about Gaara-otouto…don't you?" Sean smiled softly at her and nodded. "I've been curious about something, yes. The bloodlust, his eyes, his posture…is he a Jinchuriki? And if so…which one does he hold?" Temari frowned at this and nodded her head. "Gaara-otouto…is the Jinchuriki of the Ichibi. It…Gaara can't sleep. He frightens me…"

When the blonde girl felt a warm hand gently gripping her shoulder, she looked up into Sean's eyes and found herself blushing slightly. "Don't worry too much. There are…a few surprises we have in store. Hokage-sama? I request permission to reveal that secret to Temari-san. She's taken a big leap of faith in us, and I would like to place some trust in her now as well." The Hokage took a few quick puffs of his pipe and nodded with a grim expression on his face. "Go ahead."

Temari blinked, unsure as to what was going on before she noticed the look on her idol's face. "Temari-san? Did you happen to pick up on something Fu-chan said during her fight with Neji?" Temari frowned and thought back for a moment. The first thing she remembered was how much of a prick she thought that Hyuga boy was, but then her eyes lit up in realization at something Fu said during the fight. "You didn't have to live my life, or Naruto-kun's life for that matter. You don't need to know the damn details, but a punk like you doesn't know true suffering yet. We struggled every day and we're starting to make something of ourselves."

Seeing this look of realization dawning on Temari's face, Sean grinned. "I see you've figured it out. Naruto Uzumaki and Fu-chan are both Jinchuriki. Fu houses the Nanabi while Naruto…my relative…houses the Kyuubi. They know of your otouto's pain. I believe that if given the chance…they can truly help your otouto. So when the time comes...I say we leave the situation up to Naruto-kun and Fu-chan and let them handle Gaara. Do you agree Hokage-sama?"

Sean looked to the Hokage, who still had that grim expression on his face. After a time, Hiruzen nodded slowly and smiled at Sean. "I agree Sean-kun. I think that would be for the best. Temari-san." Looking into her eyes, the Hokage could see a bit of hope shining there. Smiling softly, he took another few puffs of his pipe before glancing towards Sean and then back to Temari quickly. "What can you tell us about these invasion plans?"

Uzumaki-Namikaze Clan Compound – Three Hours Later

Naruto, Sean, and Jima sat together in the living room of the main Uzumaki-Namikaze building simply sipping tea again. Jima had managed to join Sean after Temari had left the Hokage's office. The three of them talked about Sean's new duties as the Uzumaki clan head and Jima had taken the opportunity to discuss Jiraiya, the legendary Toad Sannin with both of them. After being reassured that he would be appearing in Konoha soon, Jima seemed to accept his answer and went quiet as her cousin and the Sandaime finished with their conversation.

Upon their return to the compound, they found Naruto, Fu, and Sakura all training. Apparently Haku and Hinata had gone out to meet with Kakashi about coming up with some kind of special training schedule. Fu had set up a time to meet with Zabuza later that night so she could speak with him about the possibility of undergoing training with him. Jima knew that Hinata would decline Kakashi's offer so that she could train under the water specialist. Haku would more than likely gladly take Kakashi up on his offer for further training, so that meant the ice user would be off with him for most of the month while the remaining member of Team 7 would most likely train with his clan to further his techniques.

As the cousins watched the three train together, Sean thought about what he would be teaching Naruto for the month. He had agreed to train Temari as well, but he also suggested she learn what she could from her current sensei as well, a man by the name of Baki. But more than that, Temari had been assigned a mission by both the Sandaime Hokage and Sean: learn whatever more she can about the invasion plans and report her findings to them whenever she could after learning something valuable to them. Therefore, it was important that she spend more time with her sensei than with Sean, although he would very gladly teach her more frequently if he could.

When they arrived at the compound, the cousins had looked around for a time for any sign of the younglings. Upon finding the three aforementioned Genin training together, the duo decided to watch and wait for a time. It wasn't until about ten minutes in that they decided that they would jump in and attack the three, therefore forcing a three-on-two battle. It turned into a rather interesting training scenario that ended with all three Genin lying on the ground panting in defeat while Sean and Jima had barely broke a sweat.

Now this brings us to the current situation where Fu and Sakura were both out and about and the three Uzumaki's resting, simply relaxing until they decided it was time to begin training again. After a time, Jima suddenly set her teacup down and stood up from the couch she was sitting on. "I noticed earlier when I was wandering the premises that you happen to have a rather comfortable-looking hot spring nestled in the back, hidden amongst some trees. I'm going to go relax for a time. You two feel free to do whatever you want." Stretching, pushing out her chest somewhat, catching Sean's eyes despite his attempts not to watch, she smirked at him and walked off leaving Naruto to glare at his sensei.

"Sean…what the heck is wrong with you?" The blue-haired male blinked and looked back at Naruto. "Huh? What do you mean?" The blonde narrowed his eyes further and set his teacup down before shoving his right index finger into his sensei's chest. "You were checking out your own cousin! That's just wrong you baka!" At this, Sean frowned and shook his head. "I was not. Why would I even do something like that? I mean, look at what I did to Anko's trench coat during the preliminaries after your match. Shredded it, and didn't even sneak a peek at her. I was very respectful…until she did what she did and my mind went haywire…and shut down…" Turning red, Sean lowered his gaze and scratched at the tip of his nose. "Oh Kami-sama, what the hell is wrong with me? Women come onto me and all I can do is freak out. Then here I am, getting caught eyeing my own cousin? I've got some serious problems."

Naruto groaned and gently slugged Sean in the arm. "You've got that right. But I know what'll help you take your mind off of it. More training with me!" The blonde gaki grinned and took his relative's hand before leading him back outside to his own personal training ground. "You'll be training me this month, right Sean-sensei?" When Sean simply nodded, the blonde grinned more. "Then let's start! I assume you've got some cool techniques or something to show me right?"

Nearby – Outskirts of the Uzumaki-Namikaze Compound

After a rather poor turnout at the public Konoha Hot Springs, a rather sullen-looking old man wearing an odd getup was wandering Konoha in search of some valuable 'research material'. As it currently stood, the poor old guy hadn't had much luck at all throughout the day and was just about to give up when he noticed where he was. This is my old student's place. Last I checked it was abandoned, so why doesn't it look that way now?

Curious, Jiraiya, legendary Toad Sannin, made his way onto the premises, using his skills to bypass what security measures had been set up by whoever lived there currently. However, as he was set to explore, the old pervert's eyes fell upon something wondrous: a hot spring! Grinning to himself, the old man figured he might as well check to see if there was any valuable research material to be had by visiting the onsite location.

Sneaking over, the white-haired old man quickly snuck up into one of the trees and leered down into the springs. The sight that greeted him made his nose bleed and he began to grin quite perversely as he fished out his notebook and began to jot down his notes. What the man didn't expect however was to suddenly be slammed out of the tree into the ground below by three different sources.

Groaning in agony, Jiraiya pulled himself out of the hole in the ground that he made upon impact and looked to see what, or more importantly who hit him so hard. What he was met with had him sweating and sent him into an absolute panic. There, standing before him were three individuals, each one radiating such deathly killing intent that he felt his life flashing before his very eyes. Shit!

Sean stepped forward, a small wind dagger clutched ever so tightly in his right hand as he glared down at Jiraiya. Glancing to his right, he sighed at Jima's appearance. "Jima-chan, you might want to go relax and leave this to Naruto-kun and myself. You're not exactly, erm…'clothed' properly to be dealing with this old pervert."

Jima looked down at her body, clad only in a towel that left very, very little to the imagination, and simply shrugged. "You don't like this Seanie-kun?" She teased, leaving him to shake his head and sigh exasperatedly. "C-Cousin…please? I don't know what's going on with you right now, but you've been acting oddly since we returned home from that meeting. If I didn't know any better I'd say you were up to something." Jima snickered at this and waved off his concerns. "Yeah, yeah. Listen, I'm not leaving until we get some answers from this creep. I'm not exactly about to let some creepy old pervert get away with sneaking a peek while I'm naked in the damn hot spring!"

As Sean went to say something in reply, Jiraiya rose to his feet. It seemed he had finally had enough of the insults and wanted to set things straight. Suddenly taking a rather odd pose that put all three ninja before him on guard, the elderly Sannin smirked at the three of them. "Enough of the insults people! Standing before you now is the one, the only, legendary super pervert, master sage of Mount Myoboku, summoner of the almighty toads, Jiraiya of the Sannin!"

Once he looked back down at the three before him, Jiraiya's eyebrows began to twitch angrily. Naruto looked absolutely bewildered, Jima looked about ready to kill him, and Sean looked stunned beyond belief. "Those…are not the reactions I was expecting. But enough of that. I can understand why the kid's here, but what about you two? What the hell are you two doing on my student's property?!"

Naruto stepped forward at this point and stared up at him. "These two are Sean and Jima Uzumaki. They…are my family members ero-baka! It's you who happens to be trespassing on my family's estate. You're lucky we even allowed you to explain yourself!"

Sean, after regaining his composure, took this moment to look over at his cousin. "Jima-chan. This is the guy we've been waiting for?! I was expecting a little something more. Instead we get this old pervert that actually seems…proud of his perverted ways." At this Jima smirked and looked over at her cousin. "This coming from a man that reads that damnable Icha Icha series? Yeah, some could say similar things about you Cousin."

Before the Wind God could retort, he felt his hands engulfed by Jiraiya's gigantic hands. Twitching, he looked into the elderly man's face and felt horrified. "You're a fan of my books?! Kakashi and Sensei aren't the only ones! Yes!" At this, the three Uzumaki's looked bewildered. That was until Jiraiya pulled out the newest edition of the Icha Icha series and slapped it into Sean's hands. "Faithful fan of my series, I present to you the newest edition of my series! Tell me, what do you enjoy thus far? Any special 'requests'?"

When the man threw an arm around his shoulders, Sean found himself blushing a bit as he stared at the book in something akin to curiosity and awe. "W-Well…I personally enjoy the storyline. Despite the things people may say about these books, you're actually quite the gifted novelist Jiraiya-sama. Kakashi and Sarutobi-sama may be more inclined to enjoy the, erm…well, the more 'adult' content of the books, but I'm a fan for simpler reasons. The books are quite good, very well-written, and I enjoy them a lot. So…thank you for this gift." Bowing his head to Jiraiya, Sean found himself blushing further when he felt himself being dragged off by Jima so she could have a little 'talk' with him.

Meanwhile, Jiraiya and Naruto turned to each other and simply watched each other for a time. "Sooo…you're Jiraiya huh? You know, Jima-obasan's been wanting to speak with you." Jiraiya perked up at this and gained a lecherous grin. When the blonde immediately stomped on his food to rid the perverted old man of those thoughts, the Sannin glared down at him. "What the hell was that for?!"

The young man groaned and shook his head. "For thinking of Jima-obasan that way! Sean-sensei and Jima-obasan are looking for Sean-sensei's parents and Jima-obasan's mother! They're also looking for more Uzumaki's. She'll probably ask you sometime soon if you have any information on them. She at least knows Sean-sensei's parents' names, but she hasn't told any of us yet." Naruto admitted with a shrug of his shoulders as he looked over to where Jima was lecturing Sean about something.

Jiraiya frowned at that and shook his head. "And they think I might have some information?" Looking down at Naruto again, the old man sighed heavily when he simply nodded in response. "Figures. I might know something, but it's not much if it does relate to their queries. I could probably get in contact with some of my contacts and see if any of them have any more information on the missing Uzumaki's, but it wouldn't do to get anyone's hopes up."

Naruto nodded in understanding as Sean and Jima rejoined them. Jiraiya looked at the three of them for a time before looking at Naruto again. "Hey Naruto. Seeing as how you're living here, do you know who your parents are?" When Naruto nodded, he quickly then pointed to Sean and Jiraiya looked his way, a curious expression on his face. "Yep, Sean-sensei told me about them and then I talked with Jiji." Jiraiya nodded at this and continued to stare at Sean skeptically. How could he know anything about them? I remember mostly everyone Minato-kun and Kushina-san were friends with and this guy's not ringing any bells. Just who exactly is he?

Seeing the look Jiraiya was giving his sensei, Naruto narrowed his eyes again. "Listen ero-baka! Sean-sensei's helped me most of my life! Those…people of Konoha…they beat me, called me a demon, hassled me, they even went so far as to try and kill me before Sean-sensei stepped in. So whatever problems you have with my relative let them go. Sean-sensei's a great man! And besides that, Sean-sensei's the new Uzumaki clan head, so it'd be kind of stupid to pick a fight with him. Especially when he's got a nickname such as 'the Wind God'."

Jiraiya's eyes widened for just a moment before he nodded his head and looked Sean over carefully. That's a name I've heard a lot during my travels. Sensei has talked quite highly of him as well. And from my reports… The Sannin shook his head and frowned as he eyed the man curiously for a moment longer. What is it about this man? Even Orochimaru-teme's taken an interest in him. I guess I need to talk with Sensei and decide for myself what to do. It's too soon for me to determine if he's truly trustworthy or not around my godson.

Sean eyed Jiraiya as well. He was honestly quite curious about this so-called 'Super Pervert', but for a different reason. "Jiraiya-sama, I was wondering something." The white-haired man nodded to Sean to signal that he could continue. "You're a Fuinjutsu master, correct?" Again, Jiraiya nodded. "I myself only know simple Fuinjutsu, but it came easily to me and I taught Naruto what I could. Jima-chan knows more than the both of us, but she's admitted that she doesn't have the same kind of skills as, say…Kushina Uzumaki or the Yondaime Hokage for instance. And if I remember correctly, you were Minato-sama's sensei, were you not?"

Once more, Jiraiya nodded and Naruto's jaw dropped as he observed the elderly Sannin with new emotions running their course on his face. However, he also seemed to observe that Jiraiya and Sean were skeptical of each other, even wary. Despite a mutual respect, they didn't quite trust the other. There was something that hadn't been said just yet and he was curious.

Sean smirked and folded his arms across his chest. "Before I get into my request that I'm about to make, there's something I feel I should ask. Why have you come now? Why haven't you taken an interest in your student's son? You and Minato-sama were awfully close from what I've heard, so shouldn't you have at least tried to be there for Naruto-kun?"

Jiraiya scowled and narrowed his eyes as he glared down at the man only a few inches shorter than he was. "Naruto is my godson! Don't you think I wanted to be there for him? My spy network…" When Sean raised his hand to silence him, Jiraiya was practically snarling at this point. Sean nodded his head towards Naruto. "Don't try to explain it to me Jiraiya-sama. Naruto-kun's the one you need to talk to. More importantly, he's the one you should apologize to. If you truly are his godfather as you say, then I'm sure you two have a lot of time to make up for. You failed him in the beginning Jiraiya. The first six years of Naruto-kun's life…these villagers did things to him that shouldn't even be mentioned. Somebody as powerful as you could have surely protected him if you were here. Your spy network may be important, and I admit it's certainly quite useful, but you could have stopped by more often and spent some damn time with your godson Jiraiya-sama! You couldn't have been so busy that you were prevented from visiting your home and your godson at least once or twice a month…correct?! The only thing I can think of that would keep you away is your own selfishness. What was it that really kept you Jiraiya-sama? Women? Booze? Your own fear of what your godson would think of you for abandoning him like that when you could have shown him that somebody truly cared for him?!"

Naruto stepped over to Jima and gently gripped her hand. "I…uhh…I've never seen Sean-sensei so furious before. This isn't going to end well…is it?" Jima looked down and gently squeezed her relative's hand with a reassuring smile. "Relax Naruto-kun, everything will be fine." Naruto slowly nodded and watched as Jiraiya and Sean simply continued to stare at each other. The way these two behaved around each other so far had been really strange to him. At one point, they were practically enemies. The next, Jiraiya was bestowing upon Sean something that seemed like a true treasure to the Uzumaki. And now they were back at each other's throats. It just didn't make any sense to him. But more than that was the fact that this man claimed he was his very own godfather!

Jima looked down and watched as the blonde brought a hand to his head and frowned as he visibly shook. Hugging him close to her with one hand, she continued to hold the towel tight to her body with her free hand. Glancing back at the men, the blue-haired woman frowned and shook her head. "Enough of your damn bickering you two! Shut up already and get to your point Sean Uzumaki before I kick your ass! The two of you and all this damn bickering are upsetting Naruto-kun!"

Sean sighed and brushed a hand through his hair again as he looked to his relatives. Upon noticing Naruto's conflicted emotions, the blue-haired man shook his head and closed his eyes before turning back to Jiraiya. "Fine then. My request to you Jiraya is this." Pointing a finger at Naruto, the Wind God smirked to himself. "Teach your godson."

Jiraiya looked dumbstruck at this as he looked between his godson and Sean. Before he could question the Wind God, Sean spoke up again. "Yes, teach him. Naruto has easily made his way into the final rounds of the Chunin Exams and needs further training for this month. As a seal master, I'm sure you could easily teach him some useful Fuinjutsu. But, there's something else I'm sure you can teach him as well." Smirking at their expressions, Sean walked over and pushed a finger into Jiraiya's chest. "The Toad Summoning Contract. It would be perfect for him, wouldn't you agree Jiraiya-sama? Like father, like son. But beyond that, there's something else." Turning to look at Naruto, Sean grinned wide and enveloped the young man in a tight hug before looking back up at Jiraiya. "If anyone can help Naruto figure out the mystery behind the Hiraishin no Jutsu (Flying Thunder God Jutsu), I'm sure you can provide some assistance, can't you Jiraiya?"

At this point, the Toad Sage had to step in. Shaking his head, he knelt down and smiled at his godson. "I'm afraid the Hiraishin's something I've never figured out. I can promise you this though: Let me take a look at the notes and I might be able to provide my own theories on the subject. It's the best I can do." Looking to Sean, Jiraiya frowned a moment as he thought over the question he was about to ask. Deciding to just say 'screw it and throw caution to the wind', Jiraiya put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and smiled. "How about the Rasengan? How is your progress on that particular technique coming along?"

Naruto, still rather confused about the situation, shrugged his shoulders and stepped back. Without speaking a word to either of the men, he held up both hands and formed a double Rasengan. "Tsuin Rasengan (Twin Spiraling Spheres)!" Naruto slammed both spheres into the ground and dust shot up all around them. When the dust finally cleared, Jiraiya stood amazed at the sheer size of the craters. Before he could say anything however, Naruto found himself slammed into the ground by a powerful fist to the back of his head.

Everyone looked to Jima and saw a vein throbbing on her forehead. "You little gaki! Warn a girl before you go and do something stupid like that! Now where the hell has my towel gone to?!" Sean was blushing a very, very deep red and he was on the verge of passing out as he found it incredibly difficult to pry his eyes off of Jima's naked form. However, just as the darkness was about to take over, Sean snapped to when he heard perverted giggling. Turning to his left, Sean's killer intent went through the roof as he witnessed the super pervert quickly jotting notes down in his precious little notebook. Sean quickly formed a massive scythe made of pure wind and swung it at Jiraiya. "DIE!"

Hokage's Office – Later that Night

Jiraiya carefully snuck his way into Hiruzen's office and sat down before him in a rather comfortable chair. Raising a hand to his head, he groaned in pain and looked at his sensei. "That should teach me to never piss them off again. I'm not sure who was hitting me harder: Sean or his cousin. Between the two of them, I swear I could see the Shinigami itself."

The Hokage sighed softly and lit his pipe before taking a few puffs. Looking his old student over for a moment, Hiruzen couldn't help but shake his head. "You peeped on Jima, didn't you Jiraiya-kun?" Jiraiya sighed heavily and raised his good arm. "Only for a few short minutes. I never realized Minato had that kind of thing on his property before. I was…curious." When his sensei sighed deeply, Jiraiya groaned. "I met my godson, Old Man. It's good to see he's made it to the finals of the Chunin Exams. But what happened to that plan of yours?"

Hiruzen shook his head and smiled sadly. "I'm not even sure how Sean-kun knows all that he does. Despite orders, he chose to tell Naruto everything he could shortly after Naruto-kun's sixth birthday. And to be quite honest with you Jiraiya-kun…I'm grateful to him that he chose to do so. Sean took it upon himself to care for Naruto-kun, even though he could never officially adopt him as his own. Naruto's become quite the powerful Genin, and if my predictions are correct he should easily make Chunin after the completion of these exams. I would ask you if you would care to help further the boy's training, but something tells me I shouldn't bother."

Jiraiya chuckled softly at that and pulled a cloth away from his face, revealing his bloodied lips and cheeks, and even a terribly bruised left eye. "Heh, I pissed off the local 'Wind God' once they learned I was the boy's godfather. But after some talking…I agreed to help teach the gaki. Fuinjutsu, teaching him how to summon the Toads, heck, I've even agreed to help teach him other things as well. This Sean Uzumaki guy though…he's already taught him so much. From what I gathered, Naruto soaks things up like a sponge. He's quite the knowledgeable little gaki, isn't he Sensei?"

Hiruzen chuckled softly and nodded his head. "Yes, little Naruto-kun is a brilliant young man. He may not have the same kind of raw intelligence that the Nara clan members do, but he's a very fast learner. I've considered teaching little Naruto-kun a few things myself actually." Jiraiya looked a little stunned by this knowledge, but he didn't comment on it. Instead, he chose to ask about something else. "Sensei." The tone of Jiraiya's voice caught Hiruzen's attention and he looked deep into the older man's eyes. "I want to know everything you can tell me about Sean and Jima Uzumaki. Are you sure they are who they claim to be and not just…"

The elderly Sarutobi raised his hand for silence and shook his head. "Oh hush Jiraiya-kun! Sean and Jima are trustworthy people. Just because they're around little Naruto-kun doesn't mean they have any ulterior motives." Jiraiya nodded his head calmly at this and was about to speak his apologies, but Hiruzen quickly quieted him again. "I understand your concerns though Jiraiya-kun, and I see no problem in telling you about Sean-kun's past. He's…special. I'm sure you know that already." Seeing Jiraiya nod, the elderly, kind-hearted Hokage grinned and began to regale his old student with tales of Sean and his history in Konoha.

One Week Later – Sean – Uzumaki-Namikaze Compound

The past week had been an event-filled one. Naruto had begun his training with Jiraiya and was currently out with both Jiraiya and Fu. He had not only begun teaching Naruto in Fuinjutsu, but he was also trying to help the two Jinchuriki in harnessing the power of their tailed beasts to further enhance their abilities. Though today was also the day that Jiraiya would allow Naruto to sign the Toad Summoning Contract, and as much as Sean wanted to be there to witness his test, he knew he couldn't be.

This currently brings us to Sean's current predicament. He has been standing in front of his bathroom mirror trying to determine if he should change his clothing for the thirteenth time in the past hour for more than a few minutes now. Finally deciding that he didn't like his tie, the Wind God tore it off and, after stepping back out of the bathroom once more, threw it onto his bed while he tried to find another one that might look better with his current outfit. It wasn't until Hinata stepped in that he finally stopped fidgeting about.

"Sean-sensei, you might want to calm down." Sean looked to her and nodded before sitting upon his bed. Lying back, he let out a shaky breath and closed his eyes as Hinata sat beside him. "I understand you're nervous, but I don't think you should be. Everything will be just fine, I promise you that." Reaching over, she gently adjusted Sean's shirt before brushing a few strands of hair out of his face and smiling at the Uzumaki clan head. "I don't think Anko-sensei really cares about how you look on the date, but I think it's sweet that you're so nervous about looking 'right' for her."

Sean smiled and patted Hinata on her head, laughing lightly at what she said. "Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, any suggestions? As you already know, I'm nervous as hell. I don't know what the heck to expect. When she asked me out yesterday…" Hinata started giggling and poked him in the forehead. "Just calm down Sean-sensei. First off, you look just fine in what you're currently wearing, so I wouldn't change anything about your appearance. Second, I want you to try and remain calm. Anko-sensei asked you out for a reason. She likes you very, very much. I'm not sure about how strongly she feels for you, but the way she behaves when she's near you…it's very obvious that she wants to be with you. And I think that you want to be with her too, don't you Sean-sensei?"

At this, Sean blushed and scratched at the tip of his nose as he sat up and smiled down at his relative's fiancé. "I like her…a lot. Anko-chan's a very, erm…uhh…well, I guess a somewhat appropriate term would be 'interesting' woman. She's also incredibly attractive, and I don't mean with just her looks! Anko-chan makes me laugh, and we can just sit and talk with each other for practically forever. She just…well…Anko-chan understands me and I understand her. I swear, I'm actually willing to challenge Orochimaru a hundred or so more times if it means she could be happy. It's sort of strange to me. I want…hmm…"

Hinata smiled at Sean and gently patted his hand to reassure him that she was there and listening to him. The young Hyuga exile was not going to say anything more; she wanted to just let her superior say everything he needed to say. Despite her age, young Hinata was actually quite wise and understood exactly what Sean was attempting to explain, even if the man himself didn't quite know how he was feeling. Giggling quietly to herself, she simply looked into his eyes and found herself understanding further the relationship between this man and her precious Naruto-koi.

Sean soon began speaking again, snapping Hinata from her thoughts. "I want…to hold Anko's hand. To make this d-date as p-p-perfect as po-possible. All…for her. After everything she's been through, Anko-chan deserves so much more. She deserves the best of everything. I attacked Orochimaru not because of my orders that day, but because I couldn't allow him to hurt her anymore than he already had. It was my desire to protect her, and so I fought. Thinking back on that day…I'm amazed at what I managed to pull off. I nearly took one of his arms. I hurt Orochimaru-teme. And you know what? I'm going to get stronger and stronger until I can one day kill that traitor. I'm going to learn more about myself and my family…I'm going to protect my clan members, you included Hinata-chan…" Sean smiled sweetly down at Hinata and patted her head.

Sighing softly, the Wind God shook his head and went quiet for a moment, his point falling with his mood. "Hinata…despite everything that you've been through and all your father has done…I'm actually kind of glad. You're more than welcome to live here with Naruto-kun, Jima-chan and myself. You may be considered a Hyuga exile these days, but you're safe from everything so long as you're in these walls and under my watchful eyes. I don't trust Hiashi, your father, to just leave things alone. But as the Uzumaki clan head, I hereby declare that you and the rest of Naruto-kun's fiancés are under my protection. Should he try anything at all, I will take it as an attack upon MY clan and will do everything within my power to bring that fool to justice. Hiashi may not have been much of a father to you Hinata-chan, but you know what? I don't care. From now on, I'm declaring you to be my adopted little sister, just like Naruto's my adopted little brother, whether official or not. We're family and I'll love you as such. Screw what anyone else might say, I'm going to make damn sure you and the others can be as happy as can be so long as I'm still standing!"

Smirking down at the young lass, Sean ruffled her hair a bit before placing his lips atop her head and kissing her. This affectionate action effectively made young Hinata blush, and that only caused Sean to grin. "Ahhh, this time I make the young lass blush. Good. I'm going to make sure Naruto-kun treats you right Imouto. If he doesn't, I'm taking away his ramen. Mwahahahahahahahahahaaaaa!" Sean cackled evilly and winked at his new imouto. All of this served to make her start giggling cutely and Sean grinned proudly as he wrapped an arm around her and pulled her close.

"Hinata." The Wind God looked down at her and smirked as she looked up at him and smiled. "Thank you for coming to check on me. I really appreciate it. I'm actually feeling a lot better, and I'm feeling much more confident as well. This date's going to be perfect, I can just feel it. I'll probably start fidgeting or something at some point throughout the date, but just as long as I can spend time with her and just…talk or whatever, it'll go great. Now, think you can do me a favor?"

Hinata smiled and nodded her head. "Good. When your fiancé gets back, I want you to make that boy take you out on a date for being such a sweet princess. I don't care how tired he is from training; you make that boy take you out. Understand me?" The Hyuga girl giggled cutely and nodded her head to affirm him that she would do as he said. "Good. I have a date to get to! Catch ya later Hinata-chan." Chuckling softly to himself, Sean patted her head again and, after finishing his preparations for his date with Anko, dashed out of the building to go and pick up his date.

Dango Shop – Thirteen Minutes Later

As Sean gently helped Anko into her seat, he smirked at her and kissed her cheek before whispering to her. "You look absolutely beautiful tonight Anko-chan." Chuckling softly as she blushed, Sean took his seat across from her and grinned as he looked into her eyes. "I have to admit, I kind of figured you'd pick this place as a spot for our first date."

Anko pouted cutely at that and poked his chest. "What? You have some kind of problem with dango or something?" Sean smirked and shook his head. "Of course not Anko-chan. I just think…hmm…well, I think it's appropriate I guess. Your absolute favorite food is dango and I really want you to have a good time on our date. I…well, I know you asked me out on this date and you asked me to come with you here for our first date, and as simple as it is, I think it's actually kind of perfect in its own right. But…"

Anko frowned when she heard the word 'But' and wasn't sure what to think. Glancing away, she realized that she was actually feeling incredibly nervous about this date, but before her thoughts could wander too far, she felt a warmth come over her hands. Glancing back to the table where her hands currently laid, she saw that her date had placed one of his hands over hers. Looking back up into his face, Anko blushed at the intense gaze he was giving her. "Anko-chan, I'd like it if you would go walking with me after we are through here. We don't have to do anything else but walk."

The lovely young Snake Mistress smiled sweetly at him and nodded her head. "I'd be glad to walk with you Seanie-kun. Now, let's order what we want and get to talking!" Giggling, she placed one of her hands over Sean's hand that he had used just moments earlier to get her attention. Gently caressing the back of his hand, she continued smiling at him and was content to just look into his beautiful green eyes.

Sean stayed quiet for a time and just looked his date over, carefully taking in her appearance. True to what he said earlier, the woman looked stunning. Rather than come dressed in what he expected her to wear, she was wearing a sparkling black dress with a single shoulder strap that hung over her left shoulder. Hardly any of her cleavage was showing at all, and he was actually somewhat thankful for that. The dress had an open back going down to her mid-back. There was a small slit going up the left side of her dress that left part of her leg visible, but not enough to show anything truly revealing. On her feet, she wore beautiful red, high heeled shoes. When Sean had first seen these, he had actually asked Anko if she was truly comfortable wearing such shoes, but had let it drop when she simply bonked him over the head with her fist and told him it was fine. Thankfully, the heels weren't too big, being only about 3.5 – 4.5 inches in height.

The Wind God muttered a single word as he took in her full appearance once again. "Beautiful." Upon hearing this, Anko once again blushed a deep crimson and began to fidget in her seat, an unusual sight for the patrons that had seen her there before. It wasn't much longer before Sean and Anko had their meals placed before them, along with some simple spice tea.

As Anko began to eat, Sean chose to simply watch her for a short while longer. As he did, he noticed that inside, something felt as if it was simply fluttering around. At the same time, he could feel a strange heat rising in his face. Sighing quietly, he closed his eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm himself before he took a sip of his tea and began to eat in silence.

Anko, having noticed his stares, not only blushed, but she grew curious as well. Reaching across the table with her free hand, she gently brushed her fingers along his arm and smiled at him. "Seanie-kun? Are you alright? You're acting kind of…different tonight. If you don't want to be here, I…I'd understand, I really would."

Sean chuckled softly and waved off her concerns. "No Anko-chan, it's nothing like that. I'm just…admiring your beauty and thinking a bit. That's all." Setting his teacup back upon the table after taking another sip, he smiled kindly at his date and gently brushed the backs of his fingers along her left forearm and hand. "I'm…actually very thankful that you asked me out Anko-chan. You have no idea how nervous I was about everything. Don't deny it, Jima already informed me that she informed you about the CRA and I've no hard feelings about that. I…wanted to ask you out Anko-chan. I really did."

Hearing this, Anko just turned redder and quietly began stuffing more dumplings into her mouth so she wouldn't say anything stupid to ruin the moment. Right now, she just wanted to listen to him and hear what he had to say. Inside, her heart was fluttering and she was hanging onto every single word he spoke. At this moment, she found herself watching his lips and every little movement they made. They look so soft. I wonder what they'd feel like…

"Anko-hime…" Anko's eyes widened at this. At this point, she nearly choked to death on one of her dumplings, but quickly fixed her own dilemma with some water and some careful breathing. Feeling highly embarrassed at this moment, she held her head down and sighed. "S-Sorry Seanie didn't mean to ruin the moment. But…I'm no princess, I'm really not. I'm just another village pariah. I'm…alone. The crazy Snake Bitch. I'm not some precious princess, I assure you. You don't even know for sure if I've…"

Sean sighed and quickly flicked his date in her forehead to shut her up. When she turned to look into his eyes, he simply smirked at her and took another dumpling into his mouth, chewing slowly before swallowing the whole thing. After another sip of his tea, the Wind God spoke. "Anko, don't try to tell me that I don't know if you've slept around or whatever the hell you were going to say. You think I don't know when somebody's putting on an act to hide their true self?"

At the Snake Mistress' expression, the blue-haired man smirked and shook his head. "You don't need to hide who you are around me Anko-chan. Naruto used to be like you y'know. Always hiding behind a smile, refusing to let people see what they were really doing to him. The people of Konoha have hurt you. That moniker that people slapped you with, the 'Snake Bitch' of Konoha? It only serves to hurt you. You took a slightly different route than Naruto did. Instead of just smiling all the hurt away and hiding from the world that way, you adopted a new persona 'worthy' of the new name. Joined I&T, started with the whole blood tasting thing, and even began that sexual flirtatious thing you do. You let all kinds of new rumors float around about you and you didn't seem to care one bit about the new ones. But…it didn't really help…did it Anko-chan?"

Anko looked into his eyes and felt stunned. This man's eyes; they appeared as if they could peer into her very soul! Starting to shake, Anko brought her arms up and wrapped them about her person as if she was trying to shield herself from the cold. When she felt a pair of strong arms wrap themselves around her, she glanced over to see Sean had moved from his spot and was now beside her, holding her close. Slowly, the Snake Mistress of Konoha laid her head upon his shoulder and closed her eyes as he gently rubbed her arms.

"Sorry…but I just don't like seeing you lie to yourself like that. I…like when you flirt with me Anko-chan. But…w-would you mind…if you only flirted with m-m-me from now on?" Anko stopped shaking and froze, silently staring straight ahead for a time before she raised her head to gaze up into his eyes. "A-Are you asking…what I t-think…you're asking me?" The Wind God smirked down and nodded his head, a very visible blush on his face. "Why, I do believe I am Anko-cutie. How would you like to be my g-girlfriend?"

Her response was to press her lips to his in what appeared to be a hungry, somewhat sloppy kiss as she threw her arms around his neck. Taken aback at first, Sean didn't respond for the first few seconds, but quickly wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her close to him as he returned his new girlfriend's kiss with gusto. When they separated, they were smirking at each other. "Okay Mister, that wasn't bad for a first kiss. We've got some work to do, but I think with all the dates you're going to be taking me on, we'll get pleeeenty of practice."

Sean chuckled at this and snatched a dango stick from her plate, waving it in the air in between the two of them. "Ahhh, I see you agree to being my girlfriend Anko-hime. Good, good. Buuut, don't get too comfortable. Anything could happen y'know?" Smirking at her expression, Sean managed to pop one of the dumplings into her mouth before she could say anything in response and he chuckled at her flabbergasted expression for a moment before stealing one of her dumplings for himself and swallowing after chewing for a small amount of time. "Kidding, kidding. I wouldn't trade you for the world Anko-hime. I guarantee it." For a good time after that, the two continued to feed each other, joke around, and laugh as they relished in each other's company.

One Hour Later – Streets of Konoha

After having finally left the dango shop a short seven minutes ago, Anko and Sean were now hand in hand as they walked along the dimly lit streets of Konoha. The beautiful Snake Mistress had her head resting on her new boyfriend's right shoulder and she couldn't stop grinning for anything. Smirking down at her, Sean reached up his free hand and gently turned her to face him. Leaning down, he captured her lips in another, soft, passionate kiss.

A few minutes later, they heard somebody teasing them for their behavior and turned to see two very unexpected people out on what appeared to be a date of their own. Smirking right back, Sean pointed his finger at the bearded man before him. "Oh-ho, I see you finally got your lass Asuma-san! Congratulations. Are you enjoying your date with the Bearded Wonder, Kurenai-san?"

Asuma stood dumbfounded at the odd nickname before he turned to Kurenai and smiled. She was giggling in response to Sean's question. "I've never actually heard Asuma called that before. Yes Sean, I am enjoying my date with this big teddy bear. Though I wish he'd stop smoking that damn cigarette." The Genjutsu Mistress glared up at Asuma before flicking him in the nose and making him cough as he turned away from her to rub his now sore nose.

Anko smirked at this and nuzzled her cheek against Sean's shoulder. "I'm glad you're having fun Kurenai-chan, but I just can't see what you see in Mr. Smoker over there. Doesn't matter though, so long as you're happy with him. I've got all I need right here in my sweet hunk." Giggling as her boyfriend turned red, the two women couldn't help but smirk at each other.

After sharing a bit more chitchat with one another, the two couples went their separate ways. It wasn't much longer before Anko and Sean found themselves passing by the Ichiraku Ramen stand where they happened to spot two very recognizable people. The blue-haired man smacked his face and groaned before he leaned in close to Anko and whispered to her. "I told Hinata-chan to make that boy take her out on a date and what does he do? He drags her along to get some ramen."

Anko giggled and shook her head before she whispered back. "Hinata doesn't seem to mind it so much. She's giggling as she listens to him talk. They get along so well, so let's not bother them, okay Seanie?" Sean reluctantly nodded as he chose to simply continue walking with her. It had been a fantastic date for the two of them and he really didn't want it to end. Sadly, with how late it was getting, the newly formed couple knew that it would have to end soon. Deciding to simply return to the Uzumaki-Namikaze compound together so they could talk and spend more time together, the two dashed off for home.

Chunin Exam Stadium – Beginning of the Final Stage

Most of the combatants participating in the final rounds of the Chunin Exams currently stood in the center of the stadium staring up at the large crowd up people gathered above them. Naruto and his fiancés stood together, each of them feeling somewhat nervous. On his left stood Hinata and the two were currently holding hands, both giving the other strength. On his right stood Fu, and she as well was holding his hand as the three of them looked into the crowd. Upon finally spotting who they were looking for in the crowd, the three of them grinned and began to wave, glad that Haku, Sakura, Sean, Jima, and the others could all make it.

Nearby were the three Suna siblings: Gaara, Temari, and Kankuro. Temari looked somewhat downtrodden and ashamed. She had tried again and failed to get Kankuro and Gaara to listen to her, but she wasn't all that surprised. Glancing towards Naruto and then to Sean, she tried to figure out just how everything would play out. The invasion would be starting today and she wasn't sure what to do. Temari wasn't even sure which side she would aid. She was ashamed of herself for feeling this torn, but she was more ashamed of her tou-san and her siblings for going along with that Snake Bastard's plans! Sighing, she came to the conclusion that if she was forced to choose, she would simply make her decision then. There was just no point in stressing herself about it now.

Kiba, Shino, Ino, and Shikamaru all stood together. Kiba was grinning, brimming with confidence as he looked about. Shino was as stoic as ever and wouldn't speak a word, no matter what was said to him. To careful observers, they could tell that he was simply preparing himself mentally for his match that was to come soon with Kiba. Ino and Shikamaru on the other hand were simply talking, enjoying each other's company as they so often did. After all, they were longtime friends and got along fairly well, all things considered.

The only ones who had yet to arrive were Dosu Kinuta and Sasuke Uchiha. Dosu's disappearance was odd, but not entirely unexpected to Naruto, who simply didn't care either way if he showed up for his match or not. Sasuke on the other hand was another matter. I heard he disappeared from the hospital and nobody has seen him this entire month. Will he even show up in time for our match, or has Orochimaru-teme truly taken him? If he does show up, how will he even fight with only one hand? Damn it this just doesn't feel right to me!

Sensing his distress and confusion, Hinata and Fu gently squeezed his hands and kissed his cheeks to calm him down. As they went to speak to him however, the two of them were interrupted as Genma Shiranui turned to look at each of them and began to speak. It was odd to them that he had taken over for Hayate as they hadn't heard of anything happening to the sickly Jonin, but they weren't about to question things now. It was when Genma showed them the new battle arrangements that Naruto and friends began to truly suspect something was wrong. Something must have happened during this past month. Dosu didn't seem like the type to simply drop out. Looks like after I beat Sasuke-teme, I'll have to fight Temari. That's going to be interesting. At this, Naruto found himself smirking at Temari, eliciting a small blush from the girl when she looked his way.

Finally, after a speech from the Hokage and being ordered to go wait in their designated spot, the majority of the contestants left the arena. The only ones to remain were Hinata Hyuga and Kankuro. However, before they could even begin, someone from the audience rose and spoke with his booming voice. "Do not refer to that girl as a Hyuga any longer! She has disgraced us and I will no longer allow that exile to use our clan name!"

It was simple, short, and to the point, but Hinata did not let any emotions show at the blatant disrespect from her father displayed towards her. Turning to the proctor, Hinata smiled and closed her eyes to fight back any tears that might threaten to spring up behind her eyelids. "It's…alright Proctor-san. Just…call me Hinata Uzumaki from now on. As I will be married to Naruto-koi in the future, I may as well begin using his last name as my own." When Genma smiled softly at her and nodded his head, quickly announcing his apologies to Hiashi and declaring her new chosen name, much to the shock of many present, Hinata smiled and issued him a small, polite "Thank you, Genma-san."

As Genma went to announce the beginning of the fight, Kankuro suddenly raised his hand and shouted. "Sorry Proctor, but I'm going to forfeit here." Genma's left eyebrow began to twitch involuntarily at this and he looked into Kankuro's eyes, clearly searching for any sign that the Suna Genin was trying to play some kind of a trick on him. Finding none, the Proctor shook his head and sighed. "Kankuro has forfeited the match. Hinata Uzumaki is the winner by default! Will Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame come down for their match please?!"

Hinata narrowed her eyes as she stared at Kankuro. What are you up to Kankuro? Upset that she didn't get to fight yet again, Hinata began her trek up the stairs to the contestant waiting area as people booed Kankuro. Not much longer after that, both Kiba and Shino stood in the arena, staring calmly at one another. While Kiba talked and tried to psyche his opponent out, Hinata turned to Naruto and leaned her head on his shoulder. "Something doesn't feel right about this." Naruto nodded and shot a quick glance to Temari. "I know…"

A/N - I'm having a bit of trouble getting Chapter 13 of RoNUN started. Sadly. x.x; Every time I go to begin work on the chapter, I end up freezing and just can't do it. My depression is getting to me again and it's causing me problems. I'm hoping that after I finish taking care of a few things (i.e. editing old chapters and taking care of a few things on another site) that I'll be able to work on chapter 13. Here's hoping. *shrugs* I know exactly what I want to do with the chapter, no worries there. Just...well, having a hard time getting myself to actually write it. *sighs* Sooo...just be patient with me I guess. :(