To Love Oneself

by MercenaryGrax

As time goes by and Naruto's loneliness grows, he resorts to spending more and more time with a clone of Naruko, the name given to his Sexy Technique's form. Without friends or loved ones, he slowly begins to fall in love with her. What will happen when society shuns him for being with someone that is essentially himself, only different?

6. Chapter 6

A/N - I know, I know, I've kept you all waiting for months now for me to actually update something. I've been through a lot, I'm afraid. Most recently, I've developed tendonitis in my right hand. My thumb and wrist have been killing me ever since. x.x I've also had to deal with the death of a few neighbors, and one of my neighbors developed Frontal Lobe Dementia and we've had to help take care of her and her animals. Suffice it to say, a LOT has happened and I've been kept rather busy.

Aside from that, I've also been spending a lot of time playing video games. I just REALLY needed to unwind for a while and video games really help me do that. Good music helps too.

Anyways, I figured I'd go ahead and update this one next. Before my break, I was working on a new chapter for Love & Eternity, but I hit that nasty thing called Writer's Block. No fun. Sooo...here's a chapter for this story instead! lol

You'll find out very quickly in this chapter that Hinata is done taking people's shit. This Hinata is VERY different from canon Hinata, and I'd like to think that's a good thing. So here's hoping you like it!

Anywho, I'm currently eating, sooooo I'll end this here. Enjoy!

EDIT: I had to go back through the chapter and fix a few things here and there. Soooo...might wanna give the chapter another read-through. Enjoy!

---

Chapter 6 – Chunin Exams – Begin!

Shortly after her conversation with Hiruzen, Hinata had ventured into the Hyuga clan compound and set to work on a few projects of her own. Her first order of business was digging through the clan archives for any and all information she could obtain on that blasted curse seal. As per her request, Kushina had joined her shortly afterwards and began to explain the seal in all its complexity. She explained absolutely everything about the seal and what each little symbol did, not to mention the smallest, simplest details that would normally go unseen by one not versed in the art of fuinjutsu. After taking the time to pore over the details of the seal, Hinata had requested that Kushina get to work on a new seal that would truly protect her clanmates. She had also requested that the redhead teach her how to remove the curse seal that cursed the Branch House.

Her second order of business was to explain how things would be run in the clan from that point forth. No longer would the clan be divided. There were no more Main and Branch families. She was determined to change things within the clan, and a good portion of the Branch House were more than happy to accept these changes. Sadly, a large number of them remained skeptical and didn't trust Hinata one tiny bit. Neji had not helped with this, sewing discord throughout the clan and filling people's minds with doubt. After all, Hinata was going to make things even worse and she would never amount to anything within the clan, and especially not as the clan leader. He insisted on holding onto the grudge he had towards her and he would not be swayed. Hinata didn't give a damn what he thought of her, however, and this only served to enrage him further.

The Main branch of the Hyuga clan didn't appreciate Hinata's attempts to change things within the clan, believing themselves to be the only 'true' Hyugas. Hinata's changes were far too radical and it would only serve to weaken the clan and cause infighting amongst themselves and the Branch house. Hinata's response was simple and to the point. "If that happens, you assholes only have yourselves to blame. Abusing the use of the curse seal was just asking for payback once they were freed. Naturally, they did not take such a statement very well and tried to force her to obey them and the clan's 'traditions'. Hinata didn't take kindly to their actions and struck each of them down with brutal efficiency. Needless to say, nobody dared to challenge her after that.

Sadly, Neji was only getting worse and worse. It didn't matter to him that Hinata was trying to change things for the better. No, he still insisted that she was weak and her failures had led to the death of his father, Hizashi Hyuga. After all, by his very own logic, a three year-old should have easily been able to stand against her abductor. She was too weak.

At one point during the past week, Neji had begun yelling at Hinata, telling her she was unworthy of the title of clan head and that, were it not for the seal on his forehead, he'd have struck her down for her 'crimes'. Hinata had simply stared at him apathetically and proceeded to use the very seal he so despised to punish him and hopefully teach him a very important lesson: she was NOT to be fucked with anymore.

Finally, Kushina had finished the new seal after a week of trial and error testing. Hinata, however, had decreed that every member of the Branch house, excluding Neji, were to have their seals removed immediately. Hinata decided it would be best to leave Neji's seal intact in the hopes that he would finally learn his goddamn lesson. By her own judgment, Neji was far too unstable, far too much of a flight risk, that he could NOT be freed from his prison. Nobody dared question her on her decision, as they were too happy to finally be free from their curse. And nobody felt any pity for Neji Hyuga. He had brought it on himself with his attitude and his hatred.

Sadly, another problem reared its ugly head during the unsealing process. Hanabi Hyuga had argued against Hinata's decision to free the 'slaves', as she called them. She felt as if she was far more important to the clan than the Branch house. It was obvious that she didn't want to lose her place in the world. Hinata had simply given her a look of apathy before returning to her work.

Frustratingly, after the unsealing process was finally completed, Kushina and Hinata became aware of a plot forming to act against Hinata. Hanabi and Neji had begun to conspire together towards a common goal: destroying Hinata. It was an unlikely alliance, but they found common ground in their hatred for Hinata.

Deciding to play it by ear for the time being, Kushina had begun applying the new seal to each of the Hyugas that were willing to cooperate with herself and Hinata. There was no more slavery, no more hatred, no more Main and Branch houses. They were all united as one big family, all thanks to Hinata and Kushina's efforts. The only ones that had been left out were the unlikely duo of Hanabi and Neji. Naturally, this infuriated Neji to no end and he wished dearly that he could just kill the bitch!

All in all, it had been a productive week and Hinata was proud of how things were turning out now. Now, she would be able to focus on getting stronger both as a single unit and as a member of Team 8.

Speaking of Team 8, Kurenai and Anko had both taken Naruto on a date during the past week. They wanted to spend some time with their dear boyfriend and potential future husband. And, now that she thought of it, Hinata remembered how she learned how Naruto and Anko became friends in the first place.

Apparently, Naruto had escaped a mob of villagers and went hiding in the famed Forest of Death. He had heard the rumors about the training ground, but they didn't deter him one bit. No, he was desperately seeking some way to end his own life.

Deciding that the flora and fauna within the forest might help him end his life, he had delved deep into the forest in search of them. However, when he stumbled across some animals, they didn't attack him. No, they seemed as if they wanted to do everything in their power to protect him and make him feel better about himself and his life.

Naruto had managed to befriend the mighty beasts of the forest and made his first friends in them. Sadly, even this wasn't enough to stave off his loneliness and depression. It was on his way out of the Forest of Death that he met Anko, who had reprimanded him at first for venturing into such a dangerous place alone and at his age. Naruto had simply shrugged it off and left.

The next time they met, Anko had taken him to get some dango at her favorite restaurant. She could see it in his eyes. They were like a mirrored reflection of herself and her pain. Seeing this, she had tried to befriend him then and there, but he was naturally distrusting of her and her good intensions. So her first attempt naturally ended in failure.

Her second attempt hadn't had a positive result either. She had actively sought him out, only for him to shrug her off again when she found him at the ramen shack known as Ramen Ichiraku. So, she decided to try again another time.

As they say, third time's the charm. Anko had approached him within her favored training ground and had managed to worm her way into his heart, even if only slightly. She had become his first human friend. However, they couldn't always spend time together, seeing as she did have a job to do. Still, it was something and he cherished that bond dearly.

Sadly, their time together was usually brief and the loneliness he felt only plagued him more and more as time went by. Eventually, Naruto ended up meeting Naruko and they began to spend time together. And, as they usually say, the rest is history.

Arriving at the training ground that they frequented more than any other, Hinata couldn't help but look over her boyfriend. Though calling him her boyfriend was far too light a word for her. No, if she had her way, he'd be her husband in time. Putting that aside, she smiled at her teammates, Jonin included, and greeted them kindly.

"All right, now that we're all here, we've got a little something to mention. The Chunin Exams are coming up real soon and we've decided to nominate you for the exams this time around. I know for a fact that Asuma has already nominated his team, but I'm not sure if Genma will nominate his team, especially considering their newest teammate still needs to truly integrate herself into the team's current structure. Still, there is a chance that you'll be seeing them participating in the exams. There's something you need to understand, though. The Chunin Exams are incredibly dangerous and they aren't to be taken lightly. There's a very real possibility of death and other problems during the exams. If you don't feel you're ready, then you don't have to participate. However, if even one of you chooses not to participate, then your team will be unable to join the exams. You either enter as a team, or you don't enter at all. The choice is yours and I don't want you blaming one another if you aren't ready. Understand?" Anko explained, hoping her message got across to her and Kurenai's students.

Each of the Genin nodded in understanding and exclaimed, "Hai, sensei!" Looking at his teammates, Naruto grinned before turning his gaze back to Kurenai and Anko. "I think we're all ready for this, but if nobody wants to join, I'll understand. Still, I'm eager to participate and show everyone just what we're capable of both as a team and by ourselves. I have a question though."

Kurenai offered Naruto a kind smile and asked, "What is it, Naruto-kun?"

Naruto looked between the red-eyed woman and Anko before asking, "Will Guy's team be participating in the Exams? I really don't like Neji, and it would be nice to knock that asshole down a few dozen pegs. And y'know, I can't help but wonder how he walks with that stick up his ass. You'd think he'd be hunched over most of the time, what with that huge pole shoved so far up his butt."

Naruko and Hinata both giggled at that while Shino let out a snort before recomposing himself. Anko snickered to herself while Kurenai smirked in response. "That's not very nice of you, Naruto-kun." Kurenai jokingly reprimanded. "But in answer to your question: yes, Guy's team will be participating. I think this might be a great opportunity to take Neji out and teach him a harsh lesson in life. I'm counting on the four of you to get the job done and advance through the exams, all the way to the end. Of course, this is assuming you four want to participate at all."

Hinata let a devious smirk cross her face. "Oh, I'm entering for sure. Neji needs to learn a lesson and I'd love to kick his ass in an official setting. I bet he thinks I'll be an easy target in the exams, but I'm more than willing to show him just how wrong he is. I won't even need to use the seal to render him unconscious. No, I'm going to beat him down again and again with my own skills until he finally gets the lesson. He's nothing special and it'll stay that way until he pulls that stick out of his ass."

Shino nodded in agreement. "I plan to enter as well. I wish to test myself against Genin from other villages, as well as our own. And if I should end up fighting someone like Neji, I will crush them. I've learned a lot under your tutelage, Anko-sensei, Kurenai-sensei. And I refuse to let people like Neji continue with their arrogant behavior. Personally however, I look forward to crushing Neji should I fight him in the exams."

Naruto smirked at his teammate and friend and said, "You'll have to get in line buddy. I'm going to be the one to beat the snot out of that jerk. Buuut, if we don't end up fighting against him at some point, then oh well. I'm sure we'll get our chance to beat the stuffing out of him sooner or later."

Shino smirked at his friend and said, "I suppose it doesn't matter which of us fights Neji. He's doomed either way."

The blonde bumped his fist with Shino and said, "Damn right he is. This is gonna be fun."

Anko and Kurenai couldn't help but smirk. "Well Kure-chan, I think our team is going to be just fine. They'll ace these exams and earn their promotion to Chunin, no sweat."

The raven-haired beauty nodded in agreement. "Everything will be just fine. I've got faith in our team, and I know they won't let us down."

"Agreed." Anko said, watching her Genin with a proud smile on her face. The other teams won't know what hit them if these four get serious.

The next day

Naruto and Naruko couldn't help but frown as they saw the scene playing out before them. A black-clad teen had Konohamaru suspended in the air by the scruff of his shirt, an angry scowl on his face. "You little brat! Instead of insulting me, you should be apologizing for what you did!" Naturally, Konohamaru didn't apologize. Instead he said something else that only served to exacerbate the negative situation he found himself in.

Sighing to himself, Naruto stepped up to the Suna Genin and stopped him from hitting the 'honorable grandson'. "Sorry for Kono's rudeness Suna dude. Still, as much as I'd love to let you deck the brat, you could get in very serious trouble for it. Not only would you be causing a scene and harming a citizen of our village, but you'd have assaulted the Third's grandson. Try to be a liiiittle more careful next time, okay? Kono…" looking back at Konohamaru, who had hidden behind him, Naruto said, "You should apologize. You were being awfully rude."

Kono scowled and crossed his arms across his chest. Glancing away, he mumbled out, "Sorry…clown face."

Scowling now, Naruto whacked Konohamaru in the back of the head and said, "Apologize properly you little brat. You're not being a very welcoming member of our village. These people have come from pretty far away to participate in the Chunin Exams and it wouldn't do to have their experience here tarnished by your rudeness. Now apologize."

Konohamaru rubbed at his aching head before looking into the Suna Genin's eyes and saying, "I'm sorry, okay?! I didn't mean to upset you."

The female Suna genin spoke up at this point as she looked at the spiky-haired blonde. "Thank you. The name's Temari, and this is Kankuro. Who are you?"

Naruto smiled at Temari and said, "I'm Naruto and that's Naruko. You are participating in the exams, am I right?" Seeing them both nod in response, the blue-eyed teen smiled and said, "Glad to hear it. I'm looking forward to seeing what you three can do."

"Three?" Kankuro asked. When Naruto pointed towards a nearby tree, the black-clad teen went pale and he stammered out, "G-Gaara. I'm sorry!"

The redhead disappeared and reappeared in a Sand Shunshin, glaring at his elder brother. "You should mind yourself, Kankuro. If you don't behave, I'll destroy you." With his warning given, he turned to Naruto and said, "You intrigue me, Naruto. Mother will enjoy your blood."

Raising a brow in response, Naruto asked, "Say what now? I kinda like my blood where it's at, thank you very much. Still, if we meet in the exams, let's have a good fight. I'll be looking forward to it."

Gaara simply nodded before he turned and began walking off. However, he paused momentarily and looked back at his sister. "Come Temari, we need to go."

Temari frowned slightly as she looked into Naruto's eyes. Without speaking a word, she turned and followed her brothers out of the alley and away from the blonde duo.

Naruto looked at Konohamaru and his friends before making a shooing motion with his hand. "Go on you three. Get out of here and go play somewhere else. Naruko-chan, we should take a look around and see if we can scope out the competition a bit. I'd like to see who we're up against in the exams."

Naruko grinned and pumped her fist into the air with a cheer. "Sounds great to me Naru-kun. Here's hoping we find some good competition. I'd love to kick some ass."

The whiskered teen chuckled a bit and said, "We're going to have a lot of fun, I'm sure of it."

Shortly after leaving the alley, they bumped into Sakura, who immediately pulled their shared boyfriend into a kiss. When they parted, the pinkette smirked at him before saying, "Sooo, looking forward to seeing us in the exams, darling?"

Naruto's brow raised and he asked, "So Genma decided to nominate you three for the exams? I can't say I was expecting that. Still, I am glad to hear it. I'm looking forward to seeing you in the exams. I hope we can all become Chunin together."

The pink-haired girl nodded excitedly before she took his free hand in hers and began tugging him along. "Come on Naruto-sama, let's go have some fun together before the exams start. We haven't gone on any dates since we got back!"

The whiskered teen chuckled a bit and looked back at Naruko as she began to follow them. "Well, this isn't what I was expecting to do today." He admitted. Looking at Sakura, he said, "We were going to scout out the competition, but a date sounds really nice right now. So long as you don't mind Naruko-chan tagging along, of course."

Sakura glanced back at Naruko before returning her gaze forwards. "Not a problem with me, my beloved Naruto-sama. The more the merrier, right? Besides, think of the kinky times we could get up to together." She said with a wink.

Naruto blushed and palmed his face. "You have no shame, I swear." He said with a chuckle.

"When it comes to you? None at all. Why? Don't tell me you don't like it? You sure didn't seem to mind when…" Sakura said, only for Naruto to interrupt her.

"Okay, I get it." He said with a chuckle. "Some of what we get up to should remain private. Don't want to give too many people certain images. Though I must admit, I love your kinky side very much."

Sakura simply smirked at him and leaned in close, nipping at his ear. "I know you do. Just wait, we've got plenty of fun times ahead of us. Maybe, if we can get some alone time together during the exams, I could give you another good ride. How would you like that, Naruto-sama?"

Before Naruto could say anything, Naruko walked up and patted Sakura atop her head. "Okay, that's enough of that. As fun as that all sounds, we'll essentially be in enemy territory once the exams start. I doubt we'll have the kind of time we'd like to really have some fun. Then again, it really depends on the rules for these exams. Maybe we will have the time after all? Who knows?" she said with a shrug of her shoulders.

The emerald-eyed teen smirked at her lovers and said, "I bet we'll have enough time for a quickie or two. Maybe three. Details, details. Who really cares if we get to have some special 'alone time'?"

Naruto chuckled and said, "You're insatiable, I swear. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

"Face it Naruto-sama, you love me how I am. You like being with me. Now come on, it's time for our date!" Sakura exclaimed as she took their hands in hers and rushed off with them.

Once they were gone, a one-eyed mummy-looking fellow turned his gaze to his teammates. "So that's the little punk Orochimaru-sama wants us to kill? I don't see what's so special about him."

The lone female of the team shook her head and said, "Whether he's truly dangerous or not doesn't matter. We have our orders and they say to kill him for his role in Sasuke's death. Orochimaru-sama was NOT happy to hear about what happened to Sasuke. Still, weren't you paying attention to what he told us? This Naruto possesses some kind of special chakra, unlike anyone we've ever seen. He warned us to be careful and not to take any unnecessary risks."

The third member of the team, a spiky-haired, arrogant individual, said, "This Naruto guy doesn't look like much. I bet he can't fight his way out of a wet paper bag. Not really sure what those girls see in a loser like that."

"Zaku, you really need to learn not to judge a book by its cover. Then again, an idiot like you wouldn't understand even if the truth hit you right in the face." The girl said to the now named Zaku Abumi.

Zaku snarled and shot her such a nasty glare that, if looks could kill, she probably would have died at least three times over by now. "Don't call me stupid, Kin! Just because I'm not as smart as some other people doesn't mean I'm an idiot!"

"Shut up, both of you." The leader of the team commanded. "We'll follow Orochimaru-sama's orders and kill Naruto Uzumaki when the opportunity presents itself. That's all there is to it. And Zaku," shooting a fierce glare at his male teammate, Dosu said, "Don't go judging a book by its cover. I could sense it when looking at him. There's something different about him…something dangerous. It would do us good to be careful when the time comes to confront him."

Zaku found himself frowning deeply as he returned his gaze to Naruto Uzumaki. They're full of it. You're nothing special and I'm going to prove it by killing you myself.

What none of them realized was that a certain redhead had overheard their entire conversation. Smirking to herself, Kushina disappeared to go and have a chat with a certain Hokage.

Hokage's Office

"I see. So my old student's finally making his move against us." Hiruzen said as he pondered over the information he had been given. "We need to warn Naruto-kun about the danger he's in. I don't trust my old student to leave such a mission in the hands of a few Genin. No, I fully expect him to approach Naruto-kun himself. Kushina-chan…" Looking into Kushina's violet eyes, he said, "I have a request to make of you. Act where I cannot. Follow Naruto-kun throughout the exams, but don't let anyone catch you. I would act personally, but I cannot be accused of favoring one Chunin hopeful over all the others. You, however, are not bound by such restrictions. Keep him safe and, if you are able, kill Orochimaru. I want him dead. Can you do this for me?"

Kushina simply smirked in response. "Oh, I'm looking forward to this. Nobody hurts my babies. If there's a threat to them, big or small, I'll deal with it all personally. Orochimaru and his lackeys are dead, they just don't know it yet."

Hiruzen smiled thankfully at her. "Glad to hear it. And please, try to keep your involvement in the exams to a minimum. Only reveal yourself before Team 8 if you absolutely have to. Otherwise, stick to the shadows and kill all foes as needed."

"Of course. Now that I think on it though, what exactly does he want? I'm fairly certain that, were Sasuke still alive, he'd go after him to get the Sharingan. But that's out of the question now, thanks to the damn psycho's actions in Wave. I highly doubt he knows about Naruto-kun's chakra either, so I don't think he'll be looking to mark my son. Hmm…"

The elderly Hokage frowned in thought for a time before it dawned on him. "Actually, he might be aware of Naruto's unique chakra. He already knows that Naruto-kun is a jinchuriki, or at least he was. However, Naruto-kun's holy chakra is another matter. When it was first explained to me, I worry that one of Danzo's men was spying on us. I wouldn't be at all surprised if such information was relayed to Danzo and then to Orochimaru, especially if the two of them were conspiring together for some reason. My best guess is that Orochimaru was helping Danzo to get rid of me so that bastard could take over as the new Hokage. It was always his desire to be Hokage of the village and run things his way. But that's not important right now. What does matter is the possibility that Orochimaru knows about Naruto-kun's special abilities. If that's the case, I wouldn't be at all surprised if he attempts to use his curse seal on Naruto-kun. Were such a thing to happen…"

"It WON'T happen. I'll kill Orochimaru if he so much as looks at my babies the wrong way. Those Oto Genin seem to think he wants them to kill Naruto-kun for his hand in Sasuke's death, even if he really had nothing to do with it. I think they're being used to test Naruto-kun in some way. Chances are, Orochimaru is so confident in his precious curse seal and his ability to give it to people that he likely doesn't even realize the danger he's in by coming here. Heh…" Laughing softly to herself, she said, "If he does manage to bite my son, you can bet his holy chakra will burn Orochimaru. It will hurt him so badly that he'd be out of commission for some time. However, I don't plan to give him the opportunity to mark my son, regardless of the fact it would probably poison Orochimaru in a sense."

Hiruzen found himself smirking. "No matter what, Orochimaru won't be making it out of Konoha alive. Either Naruto-kun's chakra kills him, or you do. Actually, this brings to mind another problem. Do you think you could create a kind of counter seal to remove his curse marks from people like Anko-chan? Kami knows she deserves to be free of such a curse. Though I have a nagging suspicion that there's more to the curse seals than what they initially appear to be. So please, Kushina-chan, do what you can."

The redhead smiled at him and said, "Of course, Hiruzen. Since Naruto-kun is busy today, I'll get Anko to show me that curse seal of hers. It might take a little while, but I guarantee that I can remove it, given enough time. It would probably be easier and faster if we made use of Naruto-kun's holy chakra, but I'd rather not disturb him if I can help it. He deserves to have some fun before the exams truly begin."

"That he does. You know what I find interesting about all of what he's been through lately? Retsu-chan's son has already started calling him 'Daddy'." Hiruzen said, chuckling to himself. "To think he'd be a father, even an adopted one, at his age. I don't think I've ever seen him so happy. Naruto truly deserves the best we can do for him."

Kushina giggled and said, "Most definitely. Take care, Hiruzen. I'm going to go find Anko-chan." And with that, she left the office to go in search for the Snake Mistress of Konoha.

As soon as she was gone, Hiruzen turned to stare out his window. "Soon Orochimaru, soon. You'll get exactly what you deserve."

Naruto

Naruto blinked as he got a good look at the three shinobi that had sat down across from himself and his girlfriends. They had gone to a rather nice restaurant and had just placed their orders before these three sat on the other side of the booth they were sitting in. "Umm…hello?" he said unsurely.

These three were Kumo shinobi, as evidenced by their headbands. Two of them were females, while the final was a dark-skinned male. One of the females was a dark-skinned redhead with amber eyes. The final member of the team was a tall woman with blonde hair and blue eyes. Her most prominent feature, however, was her rather sizeable breasts.

Naruko frowned slightly and asked, "Okay, what do three Kumo shinobi want with us?"

The blonde decided to speak up, acting as the spokesperson for her team. "We were instructed to seek you out, Naruto Uzumaki. Sensei, a man by the name of B, asked us to relay a message to you. But before that, allow me to introduce you to my team. My name is Samui, this is Karui, and he's Omoi. It's a pleasure to meet you Naruto."

Naruto offered them a polite smile and motioned towards his girlfriends. "Since you already seem to know who I am, I'll introduce my girlfriends. This is Sakura and this is Naruko. Nice to meet you."

Before Samui could respond in any way, a waiter approached them and asked what they'd like. Samui frowned for a moment as she looked over the menu for something that would really jump out at her. After a few brief moments, she looked at Naruto and his girlfriends and asked, "What would you three recommend? This restaurant has food we're unfamiliar with, I'm afraid." Sakura offered her a smile and decided to suggest a few things that Samui and her teammates might enjoy.

Once their orders had been placed, Samui thanked Sakura before turning her gaze on Naruto once again. "Sensei wanted us to warn you of something. The Raikage has entered into a temporary alliance with Orochimaru of the Sannin and the Kazekage of Sunagakure. They plan to attack Konoha during the final stage of the Chunin Exams and assassinate your Hokage. B-sensei and Yugito do not support this plan and instead wanted us to warn you before anything could happen. This could be considered treason, betraying our Raikage like this, but we wanted to warn you so you know to be careful during the exams. You are the son of the Fourth Hokage, correct?" Seeing him nod, Samui offered him a small smile before saying, "I think you will be targeted, in that case. A-sama would gladly kidnap you if the opportunity were to present itself. To make things worse for you, teams from Iwagakure are here as well. You should also be wary of the team from Otogakure. That's the village Orochimaru founded recently. B-sensei told us what you are, so you need to be especially careful. Okay?"

Sakura frowned deeply at this information. "Why are you telling us all of this? What do you and your sensei hope to gain by telling us this?"

Karui shrugged and said, "Hell if I know. I do know, however, that B-sensei respected Minato Namikaze a great deal and would never approve of what the Raikage is doing. Still, having us tell you all of this is a little strange."

Naruto frowned and said, "I appreciate the warning, but you and your sensei could get in very real trouble for bringing us this kind of information. It might be that he plans to defect to Konoha and this is a form of peace offering between our people."

When Omoi opened his mouth to say something, they were all caught off guard when Karui whacked him over the head. "No. We don't need to hear about your little conspiracy theories." Turning her gaze to Naruto and his girlfriends, she said, "Maybe he is, maybe he isn't. What we do know is that he's worried about you and wants you to be extra careful during the exams."

Before Naruto or his girlfriends could say anything, Samui spoke up again. "A-sama wanted B-sensei and Yugito to act as his ultimate weapons for the upcoming invasion, but neither one has any intention of doing anything like that. Then there's Suna…" Frowning to herself, she thanked the waiter when he returned with their food. After he was gone, she looked squarely into Naruto's eyes and said, "The Kazekage has sent his children to participate in the exams. One of them, his youngest, is the jinchuriki of the Ichibi. He is to serve as the ultimate ace in the hole and unleash the rage of the Ichibi upon Konohagakure."

Naruto frowned deeply before saying bluntly, "I see. They're jinchuriki themselves then, if that's the case. Don't try to deny it; you kind of gave it away. If you're speaking truthfully, then your sensei and this Yugito person have no plans to follow through with this invasion scheme. Which means that the Ichibi jinchuriki is the big threat here. Fine then. I'll just have to make extra sure I kick his ass in the exams. Or outside of them, if need be. Thank you for the warning, I really appreciate it. I'm sure we all do. But…"

Sakura, picking up on what Naruto wanted to say, asked, "What will you do now that you've informed us of this? You're technically betraying your own village by doing this."

Karui shrugged and said, "Honestly? Hell if I know. We'll go where B-sensei goes, I suppose. If that means defecting to Konoha, then so be it. Because I sure as hell am not going to return to Kumo to face the Raikage's wrath for our betrayal."

"Well, if need be, you can take sanctuary in my home. We've got plenty of room and it's safe. Really safe. For now though, why don't we enjoy our meal and enjoy the Chunin Exams. Sound good?" Naruto suggested.

"That sounds cool." Samui said. "Thank you, Naruto Uzumaki."

"Anytime." The whiskered teen said with a kindhearted smile on his face.

Day of the Chunin Exams

Naruto and his girlfriends had spent the rest of the day on a strange combination of a date and an impromptu scouting mission. They had seen a variety of Chunin hopefuls throughout the village, exploring their new surroundings, even if it was only temporary for the vast majority of them.

One team that worried Naruto and his girlfriends more than anything was Might Guy's team consisting of Neji Hyuga, Rock Lee, and Tenten. The only one they were truly concerned with was Neji, seeing as he made it no secret that he was going to try and kill Hinata in the exams. His teammates, on the other hand, didn't quite agree with that sentiment. However, Naruto and his girlfriends determined that Lee was a huge threat in the exams due to his sheer strength and speed. He may not be able to use ninjutsu or genjutsu of any kind, but his taijutsu skills were insane.

Now here Team 8 was, standing in front of the academy building. They watched as other teams of Genin entered the building, watching for any teams that might prove a threat in the exams. While normally, one wouldn't be able to really tell such a thing just by watching them, the various members of Team 8 could at least get a good feel for their competition at a glance.

After a short while, Naruko looked at her teammates and asked, "We ready to go in? I'm anxious to get in there and kick some butt!"

Naruto and the other members of Team 8 chuckled and nodded in agreement. Stepping into the academy, they began their climb to the third floor, only to stop on the second floor upon seeing a rather large crowd forming before a door that said 301. Frowning at this, Naruto whispered to his teammates, "They do know this is only the second floor…right? Please tell me they're not that stupid to fall for such an obvious genjutsu?"

Before his teammates could respond, they saw Lee get knocked on his ass. Frowning at this, Naruko said, "His team knows this is a genjutsu, so I'm willing to bet they're trying to scope out the competition as well. We should just go."

As Team 8 walked past all the students and continued their climb to the third floor, Naruko whispered to them, "You know, if Sasuke was still alive, he would've tried to show off a bit there by informing everyone about the genjutsu over the door. The ever arrogant moron would've helped the competition."

The other members of Team 8 chuckled at that as they approached the real room 301. "I think you're right about that. He would've just made more competition for everyone. It's best that he's no longer alive, don't you think?" Hinata asked, giggling a bit afterwards.

Shino nodded before adjusting the glasses on his face. "Indeed. However, the only team I'm really concerned about is Team 9. You know your cousin will be attempting to kill you during these exams, don't you?" he questioned, looking directly at Hinata.

Hinata looked at him and shrugged. "If he thinks he can kill me, he's more than welcome to try. I refuse to give him the privilege of taking my life. If need be, I WILL strike him down. I'm honestly tired of his arrogance and his attitude. I'd have freed him of that wretched seal by now if he wasn't such an asshole. Hanabi isn't any better. And they think they're being so secretive too. It's obvious the two of them are working together to get rid of me. No, Neji WILL die if he and I meet during the exams."

Naruko nodded in agreement and said, "And he'd deserve it too. No matter what, don't take it easy on him, Hinata-chan. Be cold, quick, and precise in your attacks."

"Naturally." Hinata said, smiling kindly at her friend. "Now, let's get in there. I'm eager to see the competition and see what the first exam is going to be like."

Together, Team 8 opened the door and stepped inside room 301. Almost as soon as they crossed the threshold into the room, they were hit with a blast of killing intent from nearly everyone in the room. Unfazed by such weak killing intent, they grinned before hitting the entirety of the room with a blast of their own killing intent, freezing a great number of Chunin hopefuls in their seats. "Good, now that that's settled, let's relax a bit." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Walking to a nearby corner, Team 8 stood there, waiting for their friends and fellow Konoha Genin to arrive. The first to enter were the members of Team 7. As they approached, Kiba grinned and said, "Well well, looks like the loser's club is ready for an ass-kicking. You really don't think you stand a chance in Hell of becoming Chunin, do you?"

Sakura groaned and palmed her face. "Kiba, you're the one who has no chance. You're brash, you're arrogant, and you're just a general pain in the ass. Haku-chan and I are going to have to pick up the slack if we want to have any shot at making it through to the final exam."

Kiba squawked in shock before glaring at his teammate. "Hey! I'm definitely not the weak link on the team here fangirl! Tch, you'll spread your legs for just about anyone, won't you? After all, you've pretty much given yourself to this weak chickenshit here." He said angrily, pointing at Naruto now. He would have said more were it not for Sakura's fist colliding with his face.

"Shut up you stupid mutt! And for your information, the only person I'll 'spread my legs' for is Naruto-sama. You're just jealous that he's got all the girls and you're left trying to pick up scraps. You'll be lucky if any girl takes an interest in you at the rate you're going. Disrespectful asshole." Sakura said angrily, her fists clenched at her side.

As the other Genin in the room's eyes widened at hearing Sakura's declaration, Naruto facepalmed and said, "Maybe you shouldn't say such things in front of so many people?"

The pinkette simply smirked at him before sauntering up to him and leaning in close. "Why? Is Naruto-sama a little embarrassed?" she whispered before she began nibbling on his earlobe. When he blushed deeply, she smirked and slowly slid a hand down his chest and almost into his pants before Hinata stopped her. "Awww. I was just about to have a little fun."

Hinata sighed and shook her head in mild disbelief. "Maybe when you can get him alone you can do that. Not right now and especially not in front of so many people. Though…" Looking at Naruto and then down at his hardening package, she smirked and licked her lips. "Then again…"

Naruto held up a hand and said, "Maybe when we can be alone together. But not right now and not in front of all these people."

Pouting cutely, Sakura nodded her head reluctantly before she turned to glance at Team 9 as they entered the room. "Is it bad that I want that prick with the stick up his ass to die during the exams? 'Cause I don't trust him not to pull something."

Naruko nodded in agreement with that statement. "Chances are that he'll actively seek to harm, probably even kill Hinata-chan, simply for existing. I can't believe he still blames you for his father's death. How the hell could he possibly expect a three year-old child to fight off a grown man? Makes no sense to me."

Hinata simply shrugged in response. "He was looking for someone to blame and I was the easiest one to blame for what happened to his father. Neji just will not listen to reason, and he's gotten even worse since I became clan head. If he tries to kill me, then I'll strike first. I'm not just going to roll over and die just because that's what he and Hanabi want. I fully expect Neji to try and kill me, so I'll kill him first. And you know what? I'm not going to lose any sleep over it."

Haku nodded and said, "If that's what it takes to remove a threat, then I'll support you. For now, it looks like Team 10's finally here."

As Ino and the other members of Team 10 approached, Sakura decided to do something rather bold. Leaning against Naruto, she pressed her lips to his and made a show of rubbing his crotch through his pants to get a reaction out of him. Once she had finished, she turned to face Ino and grinned maliciously at her. "There we go. That's so much better. How are you Ino? Have you been well? Oh wait, you're still mourning Sasuke's death, aren't you? Ohhh, too bad. So sad. Tell me, how often do you dream about what he'd never have given you?"

Ino scowled at her rather hatefully. "It's not like he would have given you the time of day either, Forehead. And don't you remember? I told you and everyone else that I was giving up on Sasuke. I want to be Naruto's friend. So don't screw with me."

Sakura simply grinned at this and said, "I'm glad to hear it, Pig. Because Naruto-sama's more of a man than Sasuke could ever have hoped to be. Besides that, sex with him is AMAZING. Besides, have you seen this?" she said, reaching down and freeing Naruto's cock from the confines of his pants. Giving it a few pumps, she smirked at her lover before looking at Ino again. "I mean, seriously, have you seen this thing? It's AMAZING!"

Naruto blushed deeply as he put his penis back in his pants. The damage had been done though. A number of girls throughout the classroom had eyed his piece of meat while it was free and some of them were now squirming in their seats. One such girl was Kin Tsuchi, the lone female from Otogakure's team. Now I see what makes him so special. Damn.

Ino's eyes were wide and her jaw was slack as she tried to process what she had just seen. After taking a moment to gather herself, Ino looked into Sakura's eyes and asked, "Was that really necessary? Why the hell are you even calling him -sama to begin with? How…how did all of this start?!"

Sakura sighed and bopped Ino in the forehead lightly. "Hush Pig. It started on our mission to the Land of Waves. I've been feeling horrible about how I used to treat Naruto-sama, and I was more than glad to find a way to make it up to him. Sasuke…was not the kind of person you seem to think he was. He more than proved that fact when he…when he forced a child to murder his own mother. He tried to command Haku-chan to give him a blowjob…and he tried to kill Naruto-sama. If we didn't get help from a certain somebody, chances are that we'd all be dead at his hands. I'm not 100% certain of that, but I wouldn't have put it past him to do such a thing. Sasuke was evil and he got what he deserved. I just wish all of his fangirls could see the truth. It's too bad they likely never will."

Ino frowned, but didn't say anything in response. Instead, she looked at Naruto and Naruko and said sincerely, "I'm really glad you're all okay. I'm so sorry you had to go through all of that. From the sound of it, it was a horrible experience."

Before anyone could say anything more, a bespectacled teenager approached them. "Hey, hey. You might want to quiet down and have a look around. You're making a hell of a scene and it's attracting a lot of unneeded attention your way."

Looking at the silver-haired teen, Naruto and his teammates, including Sakura and Haku, became instantly wary of this young man. Rather than act on their suspicions, however, Naruto asked, "And who might you be? I get the feeling you already know all of us. So what's your angle? Why approach us?"

"My name's Kabuto and, as a senior Genin, I wanted to give you a little advice. I'm pretty much a veteran at these exams by now." the now named Kabuto explained.

Hinata frowned at him and asked, "And how many times have you taken these exams before?"

Kabuto offered her a disarming smile and said, "This makes my seventh try."

While a number of the rookies immediately became even more suspicious of him, Kiba exclaimed, "Holy crap! You must REALLY suck at this!"

Kabuto chuckled good-naturedly and said, "Maybe so. But I've gathered all kinds of information on everyone you could ever want info on. I have here a deck of Info Cards. Just tell me who you want information on and I'll give it to you. I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

Before they could stop him, Kiba smirked and said, "Yeah, I've got a few people in mind. I want info on Naruto Uzumaki. Let's hear what you have to say about him."

The silver-haired 'Genin' smirked and pulled a single card from his info deck. Revealing the information on it, he looked it over and said, "Well, this is interesting. It says here that Naruto Uzumaki is the son of…"

Before Kabuto could give away such information, the card was snatched out of his hand by none other than Naruto. Looking it over carefully, his eyes narrowed at all the information he was reading. Before he could say anything, however, Kiba interrupted him. "What the hell?! Are you that afraid of having a little information revealed about you?"

Ignoring the Inuzuka, Naruto narrowed his eyes at Kabuto and said, "There's no way a simple Genin could gain access to this kind of information. Tell me something Kabuto…who are you working for? Is it Danzo? Perhaps…Orochimaru? Whomever you work for, it doesn't matter. I know you're there Mr. Proctor! I do believe we've got a spy in our midst."

Kabuto's eyes widened in horror as a squad of Anbu suddenly surrounded him with weapons drawn. Before he could react, they took him away, along with his teammates. Once they were gone, one Ibiki Morino appeared and smirked at the Uzumaki. "Well done, Naruto Uzumaki. We'll squeeze every last drop of information out of that guy, I guarantee it. For now, I want you all to come draw a number. This number will determine your seating position."

Once everyone had gotten their numbers and taken their seats, they each realized that they weren't near their teammates. Shrugging it off, they listened as Ibiki explained the rules for the first exam as they were each handed a single sheet of paper. As soon as he finished his explanation, he smirked at each of them and said, "You may begin. Good luck." And with that, the first exam had begun!

---

A/N - Aaaand that's the chapter everybody! Hopefully you enjoyed it. I think it turned out rather well, but that might just be me. *shrugs* Oh well.

I really don't have a lot to say, so I'll simply say this. Updates might be a bit slow for a while as a result of my hand injury. On top of that, I'm trying to get caught up with all my gaming because I have an insanely huge gaming backlog right now. Over 100+ games I need to play through and beat and whatnot. I doubt I'll ever get caught up. XD

Oh! I've had a few people talk about how I should set up a account. Honestly, I never even thought about it. I don't want to take money from my fans. It'd just feel wrong of me to do so. Aside from that, I'm not sure what I could do to make such a thing worthwhile. Yeah, the money would DEFINITELY help pay bills and get some groceries and whatnot. Still, I have no intention of doing that. Thanks for the thought though! I do appreciate your sincerity and desire to help.

Anyways, I really need to finish eating. Soooo...hope you enjoyed the chapter and are looking forward to whatever comes next! Ciao!

EDIT: As I mentioned before, there's been some changes to the chapter. I screwed something up and had to go back and fix it. Sorry about that!