AN: Apologies for this lateness, my glasses still haven't arrived (and I don't do contacts) and with me starting work again, my eyes are really strained and stinging so I've been trying to rest them. Anyways, enough of my excuses, hope you enjoy this chapter!
(1 Month Later)
"Better, but still not quite there brat" Zabuza said indifferently as he removed the edge of the Kubikiribocho from Naruto's throat as he was on his back looking up to the sky. Naruto meanwhile, was not getting up but instead continued to look up in the sky and just reflect on everything that has happened in the last month.
For the last month, Zabuza had worked Naruto and Haku to the ground. Unlike Kakashi, who was more laid back in his approach to teach, Zabuza made sure that everyday was filled with training from morning to evening and their rest days involved D-ranked missions or strategy. In the first week of training, he made sure both of his students knew the basics perfectly so they worked on chakra control and basic jutsus. Both students had mastered the water walking exercise to the point where they could stay on the water even as waves are created from jutsus that Zabuza would cast, they also knew how to cast the three basic jutsus as well mizu bunshins without any hand signs and instantly.
In the second week of their training, Zabuza wanted to make use of their improved chakra control to teach and improve their current jutsu arsenal. Haku was too reliant on his ice techniques whilst Naruto wanted to learn more water and wind techniques from the ex-Kiri ninjas. Outside of the mizu bunshins, which he already knew, Naruto learned the hidden mist jutsu as well as the water and wind bullet jutsus. Haku on the other hand chose not to learn the hidden mist jutsu, but instead learned the wind and water bullet jutsu and managed to combine them to create the ice bullet jutsu and also the ice bunshin. Not being satisfied with his students just learning the techniques, Zabuza made them repeat the techniques again and again until they could narrow down the hand signs to three or less.
Throughout the third week, Zabuza allowed his students to practice their own techniques, things he couldn't necessarily teach but was willing to help where he could – like Haku's ice techniques and Naruto's shadow and genjutsu techniques. Haku mainly worked on maintaining his techniques and pushing his chakra levels to the max in order to hold the techniques for longer periods of time. Naruto, on the other hand, continued working on his yin release, fuinjutsu and shadow abilities, feeling like he neglected them a little with all the new and exciting stuff that recently happened in his life. For his fuinjutsu, Naruto continued reading up the Uzumaki scrolls and managed to improve and develop some new techniques whilst he used his shadow abilities in coordination with the newly discovered hidden mist jutsu. Regarding his yin techniques, Naruto created a few collaboration jutsus with Haku and got the inspiration from Haku's demonic ice mirrors.
Lastly, in the last week, they were working on taijutsu where Naruto continued his Kage Giman style and even managed to up his gravity seal to stage 4. However he was struggling to get used to it and is one of the main reasons why Zabuza managed to dispose of him so quickly in their spar.
"Oi, did I hit you too hard?" Zabuza said as he used a senbon from Haku to poke Naruto in the face, before Naruto swatted it away and got up.
"No, no, just thinking. Anyways, thank you Zabuza-sensei! I'm getting more and more used to the gravity seals. That being said, what was the actual reason for calling us in today? I thought it was our day off?" Naruto asked as he was joined by Haku who had just finished his spar with Zabuza's mizu bunshin.
"This is why" Zabuza said as he handed his two students a piece of paper each, "Chunin exams. You're not idiots, you know what this means and you know what is expected. I know you're both keen to do it, but if you have any doubts you have about a week to pull your heads out of your asses and be ready" Zabuza added before emphasising his point by leaking some KI.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah we are both ready sensei, no need to get pissy. That being said, are we entering only as a 2-man team? Not that I'm worried, just wanted to make sure there isn't someone slowing us down" Naruto double checked as he eyed his teammate for any signs of doubt, but was happy not to find any.
"Yep, that's exactly it. It will be just the two of you. Normally that wouldn't be allowed, however with Haku being the sole survivor of the Yuki clan and your status and situation, the Hokage wanted to make an exception in order to showcase the Leaf's strength" Zabuza explained, receiving nods from both of his students.
Shortly after Naruto was assigned to Zabuza's tutelage, the Hokage had a meeting with both ex-Kiri nin, after double checking with Naruto, in order to fill them in on Naruto's history and status. Naruto and the Sandaime both felt it necessary to keep an open relationship with his new team.
(A Few Days Later)
"Ahhh you've caught me again! Not too shabby for my eternal rival!" the childish voice of Konohamaru rang out as Naruto currently held him in a headlock with one arm whilst trying to enjoy his ramen with the other hand, Haku by his side enjoying the noodle dish too.
"How many times have I told you not to disturb me during ramen time you brat! It is my sacred time!" Naruto scolded as he tightened his grip a little before letting Konohamaru out, "anyways, if you are going to try and sneak up on someone, you shouldn't yell out when you're attacking, it takes away the element of surprise" Naruto finished lecture, and his fourth bowl of ramen, before turning around to ruffle his 'rival's' hair.
"Thank you Naruto-sensei! Also who's this with you?" he asked loud enough for Haku to hear, causing him to turn around to address Konohamaru.
"Hey, I'm Haku, Naruto's new teammate" Haku said with a gentle smile, causing for Konohamaru to blush wildly.
"WOOOAAHH, miss you're beautiful!" Konohamaru loudly exclaimed, before Naruto whispered something into his ear, "A GUY?! IMPOSSIBLE! That must be a lady-boy! Or maybe he doesn't have a penis? Something isn't right here sensei!" Konohamaru monologued, not noticing the temperature around them continue to drop.
"Erm, maru…RUN!" Naruto warned his apprentice as Konohamaru finally noticed Haku's ice cold devious expression and proceeded to run out of the ramen shop at full speed with Haku chasing and Naruto paying before following suit.
(A Few Minutes Later)
"I should really teach little brats like you a lesson, don't you think Temari?" a young teen clad in black full body suit looked towards his partner as he held Konohamaru by his scarf and lifted him off the floor.
"Don't get me involved in your dick measuring contest, please Kankuro" the identified Temari responded with a heavy sigh whilst massaging her temples.
"Whatever, time to tea- AHHHH! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Kankuro screamed out. Opening her eyes, Temari quickly entered a battle stance over what she was seeing.
Kankuro desperately tried to cover his stump of a right hand with his left hand to stop more blood gushing out. The kid in the meantime was nowhere to be seen and a malicious killing intent had washed over the area with some cracks forming in the ground and surrounding walls. However, as quickly as that feeling came, it vanished when sand hit both of the Suna Genin, strong enough to send them against the wall behind them.
Opening their eyes and readjusting their bearings, Kankuro and Temari were once again surprised when Kankuro's hand had reappeared and no visible cracks could be seen, other than the one they caused from the sand attack. Speaking of sand attack, they quickly looked up to the source of the attack, stood on top of a tree branch.
"Gaara! What's going on?!" both screamed out in confusion and a little bit of fear of seeing their younger psychotic brother.
"Shut up. You were captured in a genjutsu, pathetic" Gaara began in a monotone voice, whilst his two siblings were assessing their surroundings trying to identify what actually happened, "and you, come out, mother can see you! She wants to taste your blood!" Gaara said whilst looking into a nearby corner, near where Kankuro stood initially with Konohamaru.
"Interesting, I guess jinchuriki really do have a natural immunity against most genjutsu" Naruto said as his head, followed by the rest of his body, slowly began rising from a nearby shadow. Although keeping his focus on Gaara, Naruto knew Haku had his back and was proven right as an ice mirror materialised behind him and Haku stepped out to eye the two remaining Genin.
"Is it wise to pick a fight right before the Chunin exams Naruto?" Haku asked loud enough for Naruto and the Sand Genin to hear.
"Nah nah, there will be no fighting, isn't that right Shukaku-chan?" Naruto teased and got the reaction he hoped for as sand in the form of shuriken was hurled at him, however he was already gone and disappeared into his shadow whilst Haku disappeared into his ice mirror under Naruto's signal.
Other than Gaara, the remaining Sand siblings were shocked at what Naruto had said and knew, worrying about their future plans. However, their worries further increased when Naruto appeared right next to Gaara and whispered something in his ear, which caused Gaara's eyes to widen momentarily. Kankuro and Temari, nearly wet themselves though, when Naruto wrapped his arm around Gaara's shoulders before grinning widely and disappearing in a plume of smoke.
"What did he say?! What just happened?!" Temari asked and tried to touch Gaara only to be met with his sand defence. Gaara kept on walking on though, ignoring his siblings.
(A Few Minutes)
"Haku, before you go home, if during the Chunin exams you encounter Gaara, run. Please. No matter what" Naruto stared Haku into his eyes with an absolute serious expression, "the Kyuubi tells me that Gaara's bijuu, Shukaku, was always homicidal and tends to make its host the same. So please, do not engage" Naruto finished and only when Haku promised Naruto that he wouldn't, did the two boys part and head home, ready for the Chunin exams in a few days.
(A Few Days Later)
"Naruto, don't. Less competition for us" Haku said as he kept on walking past the fake 'door guards', Naruto was planning on having some fun but decided against it following Haku's words. Although that didn't stop him from pouting.
Entering the room, both Genin instantly faced the combined KI from everyone in the room, including but unsurprisingly, the slightly bruised and battered form of Sasuke. Haku knew he wouldn't be able to stop Naruto's mischievous side twice so simply shook his head as he continued walking and joined the Konoha Genins' side and whispered something to a small group of them. He was right on time too as not even a few seconds later, a killing intent dwarfed the previous room's attempt. The source? Naruto. Naruto and Haku weren't fazed by the initial killing intent due to the intense training sessions Zabuza put them through and being able to resist it. So instead, Naruto channelled some of the Kyuubi's chakra and released it in a wave over the room, he chose to channel enough to change some of his features – the slit eyes with the red taint over them, thicker whiskers and the sharper finger nails. However, due to the secretive nature of his status, Naruto also added his yin release shadow mutations technique, to make the room seem darker with the shadows seemingly moving.
The result were a few Genin fainting and others trying to dispel the 'genjutsu', some of the stronger teams were sweating and avoiding eye contact with Naruto. Letting the 'illusion' hang for a few seconds, Naruto finally released it before smiling brightly and addressed the room.
"Oh sorry! I guess I got a bit too excited! I hope I get to know you all a bit closer later on." Naruto said with a wide grin before simply walking towards the Konoha Genin, each having different expressions on their face.
Haku, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, Shino and Hinata were all prepared for following Haku's advice so they were indifferent, although Ino still shuddered a little. Sakura was passed out on the floor whilst Kiba and another Konoha nin were sweating with Kiba trying to growl in order to try and establish an alpha status. However, the most intense reaction was Sasuke, who although was trying to remain stoic, let loose an involuntary shudder and had his two tomoe sharingan eyes glaring at Naruto, with his fists clenched tight enough to draw blood.
"Troublesome, every single time. Nothing has changed about you" Shikamaru said with a sigh, although he had a small smile on his face.
"Shika! How are you man?! It's been some time! Last time I saw you I whipped your ass at shogi" Naruto said as he embraced Shikamaru in a tight hug before greeting his other friends.
"Meh, it was two weeks ago, you know I will have improved by then. Plus, it was your birthday, didn't want to embarrass you on your day" Shikamaru said trying to keep face.
"Yeah yeah yeah whatever," Naruto dismissed Shikamaru with a small smile whilst waking up the passed out Sakura, "oiii, bubblegum. Wake up. You really have not improved eh?" Naruto said as Sakura came to.
"I'd appreciate it if you didn't antagonise my teammate anymore Naruto-san" the unknown Konoha nin said.
"Oh? I guess you're meant to be my replacement! You know my name, but I don't know yours, doesn't seem very fair, does it?" Naruto said as he eyed him suspiciously.
"You can call me Chima" he simply replied before ignoring Naruto completely and tending to Sakura.
Before Naruto could add another remark, another Konoha nin joined the group and adjusted his glasses before adding "you guys are making way too much noise, its almost like you want to draw the attention from everyone in the room. The name is Kabuto by the way, before you ask". True to his word, most Genin in the room were eyeing the group of Konoha ninjas intently, although avoiding Naruto's eyes, due to all the noise and commotion they were making. "Anyways, I'm not going to bore you with details, but if any of you want any information on anyone in this room, let me know. These cards have all the information, you can say I'm a bit of a collector with how often I've done these exams" Kabuto said as he withdrew a deck of cards from his pocket.
Kiba was planning on making a snarky remark before Sasuke shoved him to the side, "Naruto Uzumaki, Haku Yuki and Rock Lee" Sasuke demanded with his sharingan staring down Kabuto.
Naruto simply raised an eyebrow at this but his eyes narrowed at what information Kabuto could have. "You already know their name? Way too easy. Anyways, let's see: Rock Lee – a Genin for a year longer than you all. Trains under Might Guy with teammates Neji Hyuga and TenTen. Has completed 250 D-ranked missions and 24 C-ranked missions, skill wise practically non-existent in all the shinobi arts except for taijutsu and survival skills. Yuki Haku – ex-ninja from the hidden mist and joined Konoha approximately a month ago. Trains under Zabuza Momochi with Naruto Uzumaki as his teammate. Has completed 20 D-ranked missions due to being on house arrest for their initial probation period. Haku is an ice user from the Yuki clan, non-existent fuinjutsu and average genjutsu but his ninjutsu prowess and speed is incredible as well his ability using senbon. Now then, Naruto Uzuma-" before he could continue with this description of Naruto's skills, Naruto himself had appeared behind Kabuto and grabbed the card out of his hands before having a quick read through and then burning the card.
"Now now now, no need to give up all the information for free is there? How about this? Anyone who wants to know what I can do, just come up to me and strike a conversation, very happy to meet new people!" Naruto said with a wide grin but was leaking some of his own killing intent, without the Kyuubi's influence. Speaking of the Kyuubi, Naruto was having a very quick conversation with his prisoner, 'this is not right. He shouldn't have most of this information. What do you think Kyuubi?'
"You're right, something is definitely wrong with him. Also that Chima guy, something is definitely up. Ask him about Shukaku's container, from what you've told me and what I know about your people, this kind of information is usually classified" the Kyuubi added. The two of them haven't had much time to interact and bond since the wave mission, although Naruto didn't directly blame the Kyuubi for its influence, he didn't like that he lost control in the way he did so has been focusing on his training a lot more. That being said, their relationship didn't necessarily deteriorate.
"Oi Kabuto-chan" to which the sliver haired Genin simply narrowed his eyes, "what do you know about Subaku Gaara?" Naruto asked innocently, trying to prove his theory.
"Let's see, Subaku No Gaara. Teammates with his siblings Temari and Kankuro, all three of which are children of the Kazekage. 100 D-ranked missions, 25 C-ranked missions and even 5 B-ranked missions! What's crazier is that he hasn't received a single scratch in any of them! The main reason for this being that he is the jinchuriki of the one tailed tanuki, Shukaku. This guy is no pushover" Kabuto said and had to dodge some sand shuriken that was sent his way in response.
Whilst Kabuto was busy dodging the sand shuriken, Naruto's mind was working overtime. 'Gotcha! Its one thing for you to know about classified Konoha mission details but details from another nation? Something is definitely up here' Naruto thought and started formulating a plan in his head.
Right as Gaara's sand began engulfing Kabuto, a plume of smoke erupted in the middle of the classroom and kunai was flung at Gaara, disrupting his focus and attack. "Finish this attack and I'll make sure you're the first one sent home" the form of Ibiki materialised out of the smoke and stared Gaara down. What followed was a minute of both maintaining the contact, neither planning on backing down. In the end, following a few whispered words from Temari, Gaara withdrew his sand but continued staring Ibiki down. "Good. Now that is done. Any sort of attack not within stated rules, will automatically lead to your disqualification if not worse, depending on how I'm feeling. Now, I'm Ibiki Morino, the examiner of this first portion of the Chunin exams."
(2 Hours Later)
"Well considering the circumstances…we'll meet tomorrow at the forest of death at 9am! See you!" the form of Anko Mitarashi disappeared in a shunshin. During the first portion of the exam, although not many figured out the real reason for the exam initially, everyone had their own way of gathering the answers needed for the exam. For team Zabuza, Haku had used his ice mirrors in order to copy other people's answers, meanwhile Naruto created a gust of wind which blew the paper of a hidden Chunin invigilator under the desk to which Naruto quickly swapped their two papers using his shadow abilities.
However, it was the tenth question which led to Anko's current reaction. Following Ibiki asking the question itself and teams dropping out, one Chunin hopeful, from one of the minor villages, was enraged and decided to try and attack Ibiki, leading to the Genin to quickly be decapitated. His teammates tried to avenge their fallen comrade only for them to be met with the same fate. Anko, having come in at that time, decided to give the Genin until tomorrow to sort themselves but mainly give Ibiki and Konoha time to explain and sort the legal circumstances to prevent an international incident.
After Anko left and Naruto said his byes, he quickly disappeared and chose to enter the Hokage's training ground. "Summoning Jutsu!" Naruto slammed his hand on the ground and Ameya appeared.
"Naruto-kun, what's up? You okay? I thought you had an exam?" Ameya asked as she laid on Naruto's sitting lap, wanting to be petted and receive affection.
"Heya Ameya-chan! Yeah I am but circumstances have given me a break until tomorrow morning. Listen, I remember you saying the panther clan has various different felines and each one different abilities etc. I know in order for me to access the other summons, I need to meet with your mother and prove myself to her. However, something shady is going on and I need you to please ask one of your family members to help track this person down and investigate them for some time" Naruto said in a serious manner to let Ameya know he is in a desperate position.
"I don't know Naruto-kun, it is highly unlikely for my mother to agree to this, you're only allowed access to the whole clan once you have proven yourself. I will try and vouch for you but just know it is not a guarantee." Ameya explained. Once Naruto thought it over properly and agreed, Ameya disappeared again to ask for the favour. Getting up and heading home, Naruto was briefly distracted by the memories of one of his shadow clones dispelling itself.
"Well these exams are surely going to be fun! Don't you think so Kyu-chan!" Naruto said out loud as he exited the training ground.
"I agree but if you ever call me that name again, I will personally fill all of your dreams with nightmares of your worst fears and make sure you can never sleep again" the Kyuubi growled out, to let Naruto know he wasn't joking.
"Spoil sport" Naruto pouted before heading to his apartment.
(The Next Morning – Forrest of Death)
"That's all! Any questions?" Anko finished off her explanation of the second round. A few hands went up, causing Anko to simply start chuckling, "yeah that's tough! Okay, everyone go to one of the many gates and have fun!" Anko said before disappearing from view.
"Okay Haku, how do you want to play this? We can either actively try and hunt down some of the teams or we can start making our way to the tower and camp out there?" Naruto asked as soon as they went through the gate.
"Why not do a bit of both? We can start making our way to the tower and on the way we can take out Genin teams. Also, what are your current chakra levels?" Haku asked.
"Probably mid to high Jonin. Definitely around the level Kakashi sensei and Zabuza sensei currently have, how come?" Naruto asked.
"Well, do you want to create a bunch of kage bunshin and henge them into us and have them disperse? They can either take out teams that also have the heaven scroll or they can try and engage teams that have the earth scroll and try to steal it" Haku suggested.
"You're a genius Haku! Yeah for sure! Shadow clone jutsu!" Naruto said as 20 shadow clones formed before they teamed up and henged themselves, "okay you know what to do!" Naruto instructed before they all dispersed. "Okay Haku, let's head to the tower" Naruto said as both Genin sprinted off.
AN: Sorry for the slightly shorter chapter. I wanted to update after not doing so last week. That being said, the next chapter is being written already and should cover the prelims, the month and some/all of the finals.
In terms of the mission records, I figured they do around 5-10 a week for D-ranked missions, 1-2 a month for C-ranked missions etc etc
Again, apologies for the delay in this chapter. Updates should be coming weekly from now on around the weekend. I promise you all I am not abandoning this story no matter what.
