A/N Heya folks! Another chapter is up! Uhm, sorry about the week-long delay. I decided to add stuff, and it got out of hand. Hopefully, the chapter is good.

To a helpful reviewer who commented about a mistake I made with Gaara's seal, thank you! For some reason I remembered that part of his character completely wrong. It's now been corrected.

Some have asked about pairings. Will this be a Harem? Is Hinata going to be best girl or not? Can I please add Sakura? Or - don't add Sakura or Hinata. These and many more. And well, romance is actually a far ways off. There will be small flirts and probably more than a few one-sided crushes in the coming chapters. But I actually haven't decided if I should just do one serious pairing or have multiple girls - a harem. I might make a poll at some point to settle that.

This is more of an action and adventure type of story in either case. Although pairings will happen eventually.

Anyways, I would like to thank everybody for the great response this story is getting. Thank you for all the help and motivation!

Now! Read!

Legacy Ascending

Emergence of Talents

When Naruto arrived at the Hokage office the next morning in his shinobi attire, he wasn't too surprised to be taken away for a walk. Apparently, the Sandaime had a particular location in mind for the day. The fact that the entrance to this place was in the backroom of an unfrequented shinobi-only bar was only fitting he supposed. Not to mention secretive.

"This seems very shady." Naruto pointed out as he and the village leader descended flights of worn stairs.

"Because it is." Hiruzen replied evenly. They were alone, and he knew it was no use keeping Naruto in the dark. He would find out eventually.

"Oh, how come? Naruto questioned, interest piqued.

"Well, you will not find these facilities in any records, Naruto, they do not exist on paper." Naruto would have normally commented here, but he realized the Hokage was not done explaining.

"You see, a rather powerful and secret faction of Konoha's spy network works here, led by my former teammate, Danzo Shimura. When I say Konoha's spy network I am being literal, they do not answer to me, but to Danzo. He is the leader of Root."

"Root?" Naruto repeated quizzically. The stairs down did not stop.

"Their name, it's symbolic supposedly. The proud trunk that supports the leaves of Konoha is the Shinobi corps. Root however-"

"Lies in the shadow of the tree." Naruto finished for him.

"Very good." The Sandaime smiled encouragingly. "Danzo thinks my rule is 'too soft', on occasion he takes matters into his own hand. He has always tried to keep Root hidden from me. I only discovered its existence a trifle few years ago. And it's only a few months ago that I was able to establish a working relationship with Danzo again."

"Working relationship? Isn't what he does down here high treason?"

"In almost every aspect, yes. I can tell you right now that he also practices several unsavory policies down here. However, I do not have the political ammunition to take down Danzo. For some reason it seems like he has every influential and important person in his pocket just when he needs them the most. An odd thing to say, I know, but it is still the truth. Besides, he has his uses." The Hokage robes continued to swish against the hard stairs as they descended the last few steps. They walked ahead into a dimly lit corridor. Two black clothed figures appeared behind them; both armed with an uchigatana. They impressed Naruto, but the Hokage appeared unbothered.

"So, instead you made some sort of truce with him?" Naruto tried to get back to the conversation.

"In a way. We have an understanding, and we can agree on certain things. He quickly consented when I asked for an out of the way training facility – on the condition that he could participate." The Sandaime gave Naruto a concerned look.

"He knows about you unfortunately, so there is no point in trying to conceal you."

Naruto only shrugged, and followed Hiruzen when they took a right turn. The Root personnel remained in their shadows. Naruto however, was concerned about something else. "What . . . exactly will you have me do today?"

"Hmm, well. Physical tests, a full rundown of your Taijutsu, some theory, a few combat scenarios. Your Ninjutsu will also be scrutinized, as well as your chakra control and elemental manipulation."

"Okay." Naruto responded stiltedly, not sure if he was happy about revealing his kit. The place itself was giving him a mild case of claustrophobia.

"You will also be given a few mental exercises to practice, not to mention some theoretical tests. I need to know how much you know. In any case, expect to be exhausted when we leave."

Naruto dipped his head one last time. He liked structure, so just hearing what he'd be doing for the day was a comfort. Although, I can't say I like the thought of having this Danzo figure observing me.

"I take it we won't be alone during all of this, other than this Danzo?"

"Goodness no, we will have some assistants of mine helping us. Highly overqualified assistants, but assistants nonetheless . . . Oh, it seems we have arrived."

Three men stood waiting outside a door a bit further down a new bend in the corridor. Naruto eyed them levelly, but was careful in taking note of their equipment and postures. He was surprised when Hiruzen reacted to one of the men's presence with mirth.

"Kakashi! This must be the first time in years I have seen you arrive early for anything other than an ANBU assignment."

"Mah, I was just lucky on the road of life today I suppose." The man named Kakashi responded. Naruto thought there was something familiar about the name. Where had he heard it? Other than the very standard flak jacket and shinobi equipment, Kakashi also wore a facemask and used his forehead protector to cover up his left eye. His entire posture was one of absolute nonchalance; the only part of him that seemed ready and aware was his right eye. Which was looking straight at Naruto.

"Hmmph, you still tell your students that old excuse?" The Sandaime asked as the two of them came to a stop in front of the three. Kakashi shrugged noncommittally.

The other two were also clearly shinobi. The dark haired man farthest to the left used a cane to support himself, oddly enough, he also had his forehead and left eye wrapped in bandages. Did everyone lose their eyes down here? The last man wore an ANBU uniform and their characteristic porcelain masks. Naruto couldn't quite decide which animal the mask was trying to represent. The atmosphere seemed tense; he wondered if there was any history between the men.

The Sandaime coughed to get everyone's attention.

"Well then, this is Uzumaki Naruto, Naruto-kun, I would like you to meet Hatake Kakashi, Shimura Danzo, and the ANBU member here is Tenzo."

Naruto dipped his head curtly. "Pleased to meet you."

"The pleasure is ours, young Naruto-kun." The bandaged man, Danzo spoke. "Shall we go inside and begin?" Danzo's question was directed at the Sandaime. Naruto wondered quietly at how fake the subservience was. He could have sworn he saw a wink from somewhere in the dark sockets of the one with the ANBU mask.

"Yes, let's not tarry here."

Multiple spotlights lit up upon their entrance, illuminating a very large and rectangular room. Most of it was naked, with lots of room to maneuver in. There was however, in the top left corner a small and elevated platform with tables and seating arrangements. Blank reports, scrolls, and books littered the tables. Naruto's attention was drawn to the floor and walls, however. It seemed an odd choice to have the floor consist of large black stone tiles. Even the walls had the same makeup.

In any case, all the tests will be done in this room. That meant there were no bodies of water to use, no earth to manipulate, and most importantly to him. No natural wind to fan. His only comfort was knowing that the same thing would apply to his sparring partner.

The group of five motioned further into the room behind Hiruzen. For a few heavy seconds there was complete silence, not even their footsteps gave sound. Naruto honestly thought the situation was more than a bit abnormal at this point. He felt very much like he was in the thick of it. Perhaps not so strange, with an ANBU and a Jonin walking silently at his sides, and two old lions both pretending to be docile walking at the front. He was way out of his league, but there was nothing to do be done about that. He had felt out of his depth ever since he arrived in the Sandaime's office yesterday.

This was just the state of things now it seemed, and he had to adapt. Danzo was the first to speak again.

"This room took years to make, it may not look much at first, but a great deal of work and time has gone into making-"

Frowning at those words, Naruto unceremoniously kneeled down to touch the curious stone floor. This texture. It's oddly familiar. There was a faint, almost magnetic pull on his chakra coils. Now very bemused, Naruto allowed some of his chakra to exit the tenketsu point in his hands. Only to feel the chakra evaporate. It was simply gone. Hmm, it's not just chakra conductive. There's something else to this.

Danzo paused in his explanation to look back at Naruto, who was still crouching by the floor. "What?"

Oh, did I say that aloud?

"The floor." Naruto murmured. "You've mixed some chakra conductive metal into the floor surface – and the walls too I would guess. The only reason you would do that is if you wanted it to react to chakra in some way. This place must've cost a fortune." Naruto rose to his feet, and took some satisfaction from their faces.

"My guess is that you've used Fuuinjutsu in conjunction with the conductive metals to somehow create a surface area which is chakra absorbent. It's probably chakra resistant too. It's very impressive, in either case."

To Naruto's disappointment, Danzo didn't lose any outward composure at having the secrets of the room so easily revealed. Yet, Naruto was surprised when he heard an amused snort at his right side. Everyone turned to look; Kakashi's excuse of a runny nose was even more ridiculous than the actual slight. Danzo appeared as if it was all beneath him.

"Color me impressed already Naruto-kun, right on all accounts. I take it you've come across chakra conductive weapons or objects before then?"

"Yes." Naruto replied uninformatively. His very own tanto was chakra conductive. He only barely stopped himself from touching his tattoos. He would reveal that when he felt like it, and not before. They unanimously began walking again.

"I don't see any seals though, where do they come in?" Tenzo questioned quietly.

"Maybe young Naruto-kun knows the answer to that too?"

"I figure they're on the flip side of the tiles, in other words, beneath us."

"Correct again." Danzo hummed.

"So, what will we do for starters?" Naruto was keen to get the entire thing over and done with. Danzo's unflappable attitude made him uncomfortable.

"I believe I told you what I had in mind earlier?" Hiruzen's calm voice made itself known again.

"Yes, and truth be told, this appears overly comprehensive to me."

"I want more than just estimates, Naruto. I want a full rundown, and an accurate one at that."

"Seems unnecessary no matter how I look at it. I doubt you put any of my peers through a process like this for their Genin exams. You'll see my abilities first hand during the exams anyway. Why the rush?" It was a slight struggle for Naruto to keep his voice neutral at the end of his tirade.

"This kind of disobedience is what you get when you send a man like Jiraiya to tutor an impressionable child." Danzo cut in distastefully. Naruto froze for a moment, surprised at the blatant disrespect to his master.

"Be quiet, Danz-" Hiruzen began, but Naruto overrode him.

"You don't know anything about my master. He would die for this village. Don't talk like you can understand him." Maybe the words put Danzo off-balance. Perhaps it was the ice-cold tone, or the absolute faith Naruto displayed in his teacher. Whatever the case, Danzo stilled and did not retort. Naruto let it be with that. The group had come to a stop by the two tables, the Sandaime eyed Naruto approvingly.

"The way I see it, you have earned a few straightforward answers."

Naruto blinked. The Hokage continued unbothered. "I would like to point out that comparing you to your peers is pointless because you are far more advanced, how much advanced is what I would like to find out today. A single day of reviewing your skills is not nearly that much when you consider the fact that we have years of isolated training to peruse. Lastly, and this I can say with my full conviction; This is necessary."

"Why-"

"Let me finish, Naruto. Yesterday I told you, you would compete in the exams. I never told you in what capacity."

"Ugh, I was afraid of this."

A half-smile appeared on Hiruzen's face. "I will be blunt then. I want your cooperation in countering an invasion orchestrated to take place sometime during the Chunin exam, among other tasks."

A long silence enveloped the small group, and Naruto felt scrutinizing looks from all sides. Everyone was waiting for a reaction, but Naruto remained stoic. Inside his head, his mind was awhirl. A full-scale invasion and a possible war in the woodwork was not what he expected. This was far bigger than he had imagined, and somehow he was getting hauled into it by a pair of self-righteous old men.

The real question, however . . .

"What exactly do you want me to do?" The short and clipped question came out tiredly.

"We've already given you more information than we should have, don't press your luck." Danzo said stonily. He had taken a seat in a red and comfy armchair by the end of the closest table, he idly picked up some of the sheets on the table. They looked like empty reports from where Naruto was standing. The Sandaime followed Danzo's lead and sat down. He took out his pipe and began stuffing it calmly, completely unbothered. He only spoke up when Naruto sat down. Kakashi and Tenzo both remained standing.

"We just want to do some tests, for now. When we have an accurate measurement of your abilities, we'll decide on what kind of assignment you're suited for."

We . . ? Naruto was rapidly starting to understand that Danzo and Hiruzen intended to combine their forces to fight of the invasion. Peace through a common enemy, ey? Naruto threw Sarutobi a knowing look. Make sure not to get backstabbed, old man.

What seemed obvious was that they both wanted to use him. Although he assumed in very different ways.

" . . . I'm not really keen on killing Genin, if that's what you have in mind." Naruto finally replied. Gaara will be doing enough of that on his own.

Kakashi and Tenzo both glanced at him quickly before looking away.

"To my knowledge, you have killed before." The comment was almost off-handed. Nevertheless, Hiruzen let it hang long enough to make it obvious he expected a reply. Naruto stared as the old man lit his pipe with a slight flick of the hand. Fire manipulation, his mind supplied distantly.

"That was unavoidable, and unplanned. I just don't like the thought of taking someone's life simply because it's convenient."

"You're an idealist." Danzo told him. "I can respect that."

At this Naruto gave the bandaged man a raised eyebrow in challenge. Danzo smiled bitterly. "It's far better to put your faith in ideals than in people. People are whimsical and bound by mortality whereas an ideal is consistent and everlasting. However, you would do well to get rid of that naïve perspective of yours. Sometimes taking a life is more than merely convenient, sometimes it's necessary."

"That's the sort of sentence that can excuse nearly anything." Naruto returned hotly. He rose out of his chair to face the Sandaime. "Can we get started? I'd like to get this over with."

Danzo leaned further back into his chair and began writing small tidy lines over the sheets in his hands. The image only served to aggravate Naruto further, how dare he say I'm naïve?

"Well, the floor is right there. Kakashi and Tenzo have their instructions." When Naruto didn't immediately move, he was shooed away. "Go on then, I will take notes on you, so don't hold back."

Nodding, Naruto trailed after the two assistants. Kakashi started talking when Naruto caught up.

"Okay, your first test: Reflexes, perception and general reaction time." The masked man ticked off a finger at each point. "We'll begin immediately."

The actual testing proved very peculiar at first, at least to Naruto. Tenzo stepped away and watched with crossed arms as Naruto and Kakashi walked into the center of the large open room. Once there, the silver haired Jonin held up a simple rubber ball.

"Try to keep track of this, your objective is to catch it, but you have a time limit of three minutes."

Poof, and three identical sets of Kakashi's popped into existence from a smoke screen. Ugh, I can tell this is going be difficult already.

That thought quickly proved itself true, as the Jonin had his clones' dash around him at different ranges, all the while passing the ball around with incredible strength. Naruto thought he might break an arm snatching the ball at that speed. If I can catch it at all, that is.

He was tempted to use a few shadow clones himself, but figured it would work against the purpose of the test. When Uzumaki Naruto did something, he did it properly.

The ball however, simply flew by too fast to rely on instincts alone. He might catch it given a few attempts, but not on the first try, and Naruto had long ago fallen into the habit of perfecting everything. So, first he had to get the timing down.

Naruto didn't keep his attention on the ball for long. Instead, he watched the clones in the hopes of catching a pattern.

Nearly every throw went either left or right. He completely disregarded the occasional odd ball that whizzed by uncomfortably close.

He could take a gamble and preemptively dash as Kakashi threw the ball, and hope he lucked out. Even if that worked however, it wasn't the clean solution he wanted.

I guess I have to memorize his movements.

After having watched several repetitions however, it became obvious Kakashi never threw the same throw twice in a row. If one clone threw an overhead fastball, then the next would always throw something else – a low curveball example wise. Moreover, the man had no obvious idiosyncrasies, it was clear Kakashi was trying to be unpredictable.

That was not entirely bad for Naruto. The fact that Kakashi was intentionally mixing things up gave Naruto some good information. For one, Kakashi had yet to throw the same kind of ball twice in a row. If he kept that in mind and remained observant, he could effectively rule out an entire throw.

Now, if he could somehow figure out how to get a good read on the Jonin, maybe he could anticipate a throw and react in time.

The timer is ticking down fast. I need to be quick about this.

A slow exhale calmed him somewhat. He straightened up and tried not to be too obvious in his thinking. His blue eyes skipped from clone to clone.

Whoever he was, Hatake Kakashi was a refined shinobi. His movements belied years of field experience and a firm confidence. The man had clearly taken great care to erase his patterns, his habits.

But what Naruto tried to spot was beyond that. He was trying to see even the slightest preference in the man's movements, the tiniest hint of anything 'regular'. Not a habit, not a pattern, but something to exploit nonetheless. He was disappointed to come up with nothing as the seconds passed by.

He's just . . . too meticulous.

There was no timer anywhere as far as he could tell, but Naruto had a fairly good internal clock. There was not many seconds left.

I guess . . . It's time to try.

It happened at explosive speeds. Kakashi received a fastball and began the first motions to throw. Considering it's the last few seconds, he's going to play it safe and throw it straight into the closest clone. Naruto sprinted off from his point in the middle of the clones with a burst of chakra.

The Ex-ANBU reacted immediately, and changed the course of his throw. The kid made a good guess, but he should have tried something sooner. Going for the ball in the last few seconds is too predictable.

Kakashi released the ball and watched as it flew through the air towards the clone furthest away from Naruto. He messed up. Kakashi summarized to himself.

The Jonin choked on that very thought in the next instant when Naruto blasted straight into the ball's trajectory.

What? He managed to turn so abruptly!?

The rubber ball slammed into the boy's ready hand with a satisfying smack! Naruto let his momentum carry him forward and was able to skid to a stop several meters away from where he had intercepted the ball. A moment of silence, then several audible pops signaled the disappearance of Kakashi's clones.

"You . . . how did you do that?" The silver haired shinobi asked, not sure how the boy had done it. No one can react that fast!

The young blonde gave his instructor a neutral look, and Kakashi almost physically winced at the striking resemblance the boy had to his father.

"You never adhered to a pattern. But to constantly keep away from any pattern is in itself also a pattern. The fact that you never threw the same ball twice in a row made me realize you were the analytical type. After studying you for a while, I realized my best shot would be to surprise you. So, when the clock started running out, I went with my instincts and dashed towards a clone. You noticed immediately and switched up your throw, but I had anticipated that, so I caught anyways."

Naruto gave the man a satisfied smile. "If you had done a few repetitive throws every now and then I don't think I would have tried that move against you."

From the table a small distance away, the Sandaime paused in his scribblings to add something. "He read you, Kakashi. Not your patterns, I think. But your tendencies, your methodology. The way you operate and make decisions."

The Jonin seemed stymied at that, if only for a moment. "He was able to see what was underneath the underneath." He muttered in realization. "Hmm, okay. Next test we'll check out your speed."

Naruto nodded, and glanced at the ANBU operative, who continued to watch the proceedings stoically from the side. Danzo mostly had his eyes on his writings, but every now and then he looked up to study Naruto.

It was going to be a long day.

After having him run through a gauntlet to test his speed, he was surprised to see Tenzo issue the next test, a test of brute force. The ANBU spoke with a clear voice, and used inflections to impress the importance of certain words. Not like Kakashi's laid back and relaxed explanations.

"We'll measure your strength next. First we'll see what you can do without any chakra enhancement helping you." Tenzo paused, and Naruto could feel the man considering him from behind the mask.

"Before that, however, you need to understand the absolute secrecy you will have to maintain after today. Needless to say, what transpire down here today cannot be spoken of. That goes doubly so for what I'm about to show you."

Naruto merely nodded, slightly surprised at the sudden intensity of the ANBU.

It was all made very clear when actual branches grew out of the man's open palms. Naruto was mollified. "That's . . ."

"Mokuton-release, yes. Recognize, accept and adapt. I'm not going to answer any of your questions right now."

Naruto looked up into the slits of the ANBU mask, a pair of black eyes looked back at him. Naruto dipped his head in understanding. He's not going to answer any questions. Still . . . The Shodaime's ability in someone else. That is scary.

"Okay, let's get started."

Tenzo wasted no time in doing just that. He kneeled down and swiftly created a wooden dummy. Or rather, he grew one out of his hands. Tenzo then straightened up and stepped away from his creation. He gave a meaningful look to Naruto.

"Remember, no chakra. Show us what you got."

Naruto stared at the dummy in front of from him. Strength, eh? Well, it's obvious enough what they want me to do.

Naruto reared back his arm, and stepped forward with the intent to punch it with enough force to see it flying.

Tenzo regarded the boy silently. In truth, he didn't expect the boy to do much damage. By not allowing the boy any chakra usage, they had effectively removed all of his firepower. For some reason the Sandaime still wanted to know what the Uzumaki could do despite the obvious outcome.

CRUNCH!

Tenzo looked on in interest as the target dummy took an impressive double back flip before it crash-landed headfirst a small distance away. Not at all bad, did he cheat somehow? Tenzo peeked over at Kakashi, who was staring at Naruto with his lone Sharingan activated. Kakashi didn't see anything. He would have signaled me otherwise.

Still, Tenzo looked back at the young subject – who was currently waving a scraped and bruised hand around. To have that much raw physical strength so early in life was no small feat, Tenzo briefly wondered at what the boy had done in order to attain it. Part of it might be due to his Jinchuriki status, but that was not nearly all there was to it. Tenzo was certain of that.

"One more time, Naruto-san. Give us your best shot, chakra is allowed."

This time, Tenzo made the dummy several times more robust and heavy. Yet it hardly seemed to matter. With chakra at his disposal again, Naruto easily plowed the dummy into the far wall. Chips of wood flew everywhere, but the wall remained untarnished.

Tenzo allowed a ghost of a smile to grace his lips. We're going to have a field day with this kid.

"I think it's time we moved onto a combat scenario, what do you think, Kakashi-senpai?"

"Agreed." Kakashi concurred from the sidelines. He gave Naruto a questioning look. "Unless you want to wait until after we've examined your entire skillset?"

"Point taken." Naruto replied. "I'm ready when you are."

Tenzo moved away, and Kakashi's visible eye narrowed slightly. Overconfidence?

"Don't take this –"

Kakashi formed a hand seal with both thumbs pointing up. Naruto processed the single seal quickly. That's a tiger seal – a Shunshin!

"Lightly!"

The silver haired Jonin appeared behind Naruto thinking the boy would try to scatter. He was surprised when instead; Naruto performed a sudden spin kick aimed at his solar plexus.

The experienced veteran deftly caught the leg by the ankle before it hit its mark. That's some good reflexes and decisiveness, but a bad move overall. Kakashi chided internally.

He was surprised yet again though, when Naruto kicked off ground with his standing leg, and once in the air, he twirled. Kakashi reeled back a bit as he caught the sweeping kick, this one uncomfortably close to his face.

Didn't he learn from the first failure? Kakashi wondered. I'll just throw him into the ground!

Naruto – with both his legs in a vice grip – quickly realized his predicament, and immediately snapped out his right arm. Kakashi watched the arm stretch out towards him in confusion. It shouldn't make contact.

A small cloud of smoke appeared and momentarily concealed parts of Naruto's body, who was now level with the ground and picking up speed from Kakashi's swing.

Then, a sharp knife cut through the smoke like an angry bird of prey. Kakashi was forced to let go in order to dodge the wide slash. Naruto caught himself with his left hand and rolled back onto his feet and into a low stance.

The Jonin let out a small breath. He hadn't imagined himself nearly cut open in the very first exchange with the boy. He looked up, and the Uzumaki met his eyes without any of the fear and nervousness you would expect in someone so young in that situation. Instead, Naruto's eyes considered him blankly, analytically.

Looks like I won't have to tell him to come at me with the intent to kill. His hand travelled up his chest to rest at his collarbone, where the tanto from earlier had nearly drawn blood. He's already given it a good go, after all.

With a slight exhale, Kakashi pulled away his forehead protector. Naruto stared at the revealed Sharingan, and something finally clicked in his head.

"You . . . You're the Copynin, aren't you? Famed for stealing a 1000 techniques, supposedly."

"Hmph, I would expect nothing less from you at this point. Still, Jiraiya-sama overdid himself this time."

Naruto took the compliment without comment. Neither felt a need to mention their odd connection derived from the Yondaime. In the end, that was unnecessary. Instead, Naruto made the seal of reconciliation. Jiraiya had explained once how the seal was used prior to traditional shinobi sparring, to demonstrate that the two opponents are still comrades after sparring. In this instance, Naruto hoped it conveyed some of his respect for the famous Jonin who had once been his father's pupil.

Despite the facemask, Naruto could detect a small smile in the man. The two then lowered into their separate stances. Naruto with his tanto at the ready, and Kakashi with several kunai held in-between his fingers. A sort of excited energy came over the Uzumaki.

Unable to wait any longer, Naruto ran at the Jonin.

The renowned Sharingan wielder met him head on, and for a breathtaking moment, the two traded blows evenly. Steel bit into steel as the two wrestled for dominance. Shimura Danzo paused in his writings to observe more carefully. Taking Kakashi on like that is beyond foolish. Even if he's holding his own for the moment.

Naruto slashed at the Jonin with ferocious fervor, the equilibrium was already inclining. He knew what he was doing was reckless. In addition to the Sharingan, Naruto was physically outmatched. Although he used ample amounts of chakra to greatly boost his own strength, that didn't change his inferior height or reach. To top it all off, Kakashi was by far the more experienced of the two.

Despite all of that. Or maybe because of it. Naruto refused to back down. He wanted to see how far his abilities could take him against such a strong opponent.

He wanted to try!

Kakashi deflected the tanto with a sweep of his kunai. The Sharingan wielder then tried to step in closer to better work the angles with his choice of weapon. Naruto recognized his intentions almost immediately and hopped backwards into a defensive stance. He knows I have the better reach with the tanto, and he probably thinks I'll use that to counter attack him when he steps in . . .

But why should I make things obvious?

Kakashi was closing the distance when Naruto vitalized his body with a large influx of chakra. Quick as lightning, Naruto flicked two senbon at the approaching Jonin before he dashed forward with a thrust of his Tanto. The Jonin merely leapt above the danger zone and launched some of his own projectiles down at Naruto in the process. The Uzumaki sidestepped them narrowly, and with a rapid swivel of his body, he blasted off a Futon: Kazekiri at the airborne Kakashi.

The wind cutter never hit Kakashi. Instead, it sliced through the handle of a lone Kunai.

He used Kawarimi!

The silver haired Jonin reappeared directly behind Naruto, at the spot where the last of his earlier projectiles had hit. The young blonde whirled around just in time to put up a guard. Even so, the strong kick had him skid several meters across the stone floor. Naruto recovered quickly, but he was surprised when he saw Kakashi reach over his shoulder to unsheathe a steel blade of his own. Also a tanto.

"It's been a while since I used one of these, I usually don't have to. But swordsmanship is one of my best qualities, you know." The Jonin drawled warningly.

"Bring it." Naruto called out. You're not the only one talented here!

Without any hand signs, Naruto blurred into a shunshin. He reappeared at Kakashi's right side. The two slim blades clashed in a shower of sparks, but Naruto didn't have the raw strength to challenge Kakashi for more than a moment. He didn't need any more than that. With his left hand he hooked a finger around one of his kunai before he expertly twirled it into his grip. Withdrawing his tanto, Naruto narrowly sidestepped Kakashi's immediate follow up attack, and in the same motion, he stabbed at the man's side with his off-hand. Kakashi flicked it away with a kunai of his own.

Growing bold, Naruto did an abrupt dash to the side, he then performed a curved upwards strike with the tanto. Kakashi smacked it away, he then moved to parry Naruto's subsequent off-hand stab. Only, this time it was more to it than just a stab. Kakashi's eyes widened. He' infusing the kunai with wind chakra!

With the wind chakra extending his reach, Naruto managed to cut off the tip of Kakashi's kunai and make a rift in his Flak jacket.

His Sharingan saw me molding the nature chakra? Incredible.

He didn't get to think much more, because Kakashi had finally decided to go on the offensive again. The Jonin dropped the now useless kunai in favor of using his tanto with both hands. All thoughts seized in Naruto's head when the silver haired Jonin went on the attack. Years of inbuilt muscle memory and instinct guided the teen as he continued to parry and weave in-between increasingly violent attacks.

Naruto deflected three rapid strikes from Kakashi. He then stepped forward to slash at the Jonin with his own blade, but the veteran batted his attack to the side and quickly went for the opening. Unknown to Kakashi, Naruto also saw an opportunity. The younger duelist moved and used his left hand to grab and stop Kakashi's blade in its movement.

Naruto grimaced in pain, and blood spurted onto the floor. Kakashi stared at him.

"Looks like you drew first blood." Naruto congratulated with an adrenalin-filled smile.

"Bad move, Naruto." The Jonin replied quietly, before channeling lightning into the blade.

Or rather, he tried to, but the blade vanished in a small smoke cloud. Unbeknownst to the elite shinobi, Naruto had sealed it into himself. Kakashi barely contained his surprise at the sudden lack of his weapon.

Naruto pounced at the opportunity with a feral grin. Kakashi leaned out of the way of Naruto's wind enhanced swing with very little margin. The Jonin then opted to use another kawarimi to create some distance. Naruto had anticipated the move, and dropped his tanto in order to form the bird sign. Kakashi had little time to recollect himself before an air bullet was fired from across the room. The old ANBU operative danced past the bullet, just in time to see his own tanto slice through the air towards him.

Kakashi dodged that too, and the tanto flew past him. Only to realize Naruto was nowhere in sight. The tanto! He substituted!?

The Jonin whirled around with blinding speed. He only barely managed to stop Naruto from cleaving him in two.

Kakashi's eyes bulged when he noticed the seal-tag on Naruto's arm – no, scratch that, the clone's arm.

The copy then exploded in a spectacular fashion. Even with the shunshin, Kakashi didn't get away unscathed. The Sharingan wielder appeared on the other side of the room with a thin trail of smoke rising in his wake. Thankfully, the flak jacket had done a good job protecting him from the blast. Even so, the burnished markings in his clothes hinted at some good damage. Argh, my hair got singed. I'm never going to live this down.

The lazy Jonin straightened up to look across the room, where Uzumaki Naruto stood staring at him in a silent challenge. His bleeding hand dripped only a few drops now. Just as interestingly, a smoke bomb was releasing a steady stream of thick, black smoke from a point in between the two. Kakashi regarded the fumes calculatingly. A smoke screen now, what's he planning?

Removed from the fight, the two village elders by the table had long ago abandoned their ministrations in favor of spectating the fast-paced spar more closely.

"Kakashi is being too lenient." Danzo murmured.

"Maybe, Kakashi was very fond of Minato, and this is his son he's fighting." Hiruzen replied. By now, Naruto's smoke bomb had sent large parts of the room into obscurity. The young apprentice was somewhere inside, no doubt making traps. Kakashi walked fearlessly into the black smog. A shadow clone. Hiruzen guessed.

"Even so, Naruto might be a ways off from Kakashi's level, but he's clever enough to still pose a threat. Kakashi's natural inclination to avoid any unnecessary risks is helping him a great deal in this fight. A more aggressive Jonin might have been able to overwhelm Naruto early on, but there is also a small chance Naruto would have overcome them using his dangerous tricks. The ones Kakashi have been successfully evading – well, evaded for the most part."

Danzo nodded stiffly at the lecture, but looked up when an explosion blew some of the smoke screen away. The youngest combatant in the room waited patiently, still partially obscured by the remaining vapors. Kakashi was nowhere in sight.

"Seems the clone stepped into something he shouldn't have." The Root leader spoke quietly. The Hokage inclined his head in agreement, having arrived at the same conclusion.

But where is the real one?

The quiet disappeared when Hatake Kakashi burst out of the last remaining smoke with tremendous speed. He then recognized the seal under Naruto's form. The Jonin immediately skidded to a stop. Another explosive surprise?

The two fighters locked eyes. Kakashi with his narrowed three tomoe Sharingan and Naruto with his blue ones.

Some distance away and close to the wall, the real Naruto was observing events from a crouch. He resolutely held up a single-handed seal, and Kakashi's clone vanished in the resulting explosion. His Sharingan had failed to spot a seal behind him through some of the last smoke wisps.

To be truthful, Naruto wasn't even sure which of them benefited most from an extended fight. He had the unfair advantages that came with being a Jinchuriki, monstrous endurance and vitality being the key factors. Then again, the more Kakashi learned, the less of a chance Naruto had in surprising him, and the experience gap would only become more noticeable as time went on.

Either way, stalling any more would be boring.

That thought hit him just as his spatial awareness kicked in. Naruto quickly dashed to the side. He never saw the projectiles, but he heard them clack into the floor behind him. Feeling imminent danger, Naruto quickly adapted a guard stance, which stopped Kakashi's heel kick. If only barely.

Naruto didn't pause to check for damage, and quickly stepped in close to the Jonin and performed one of the first move sets Jiraiya had taught him. Kakashi deflected the entire combination series and returned fire with an open palm strike, which Naruto dodged by bending unnaturally low. From there the lithe teenager leaned into a handstand and executed a leg sweep.

Kakashi jumped over his sweeping kick and came down with at him with a kick of his own. Responding quickly, Naruto launched himself away and back onto his legs.

A loud clang resonated through the air, and similar sounds ensued from the center of the room. Naruto managed to take a quick peek at his clone and its adversary, before another small-scale explosion shook the room ever so slightly. Naruto was back to observing Kakashi when he received his clone's memories. So, the last of our duplicates took each other out.

. . .

As if on cue, both opponents charged ahead and met each other in a contest of Taijutsu. Naruto made sure to never use the same move in the exact same way, he had to respect Kakashi's Sharingan. Nevertheless, despite using everything in his Taijutsu repertoire, he still found himself on the defensive. The Jonin was just too good, and his Sharingan made it nearly impossible to go on the offensive.

It was time for a strategy change. A glancing blow struck his shoulder, and Naruto had to quickly duck and roll to escape the onslaught that followed. He bounced to his feet and quickly took out a kunai to fend off Kakashi, who equipped a kunai of his own in response. The two locked in a power struggle. Naruto struggled until he channeled wind-chakra through his kunai. He was surprised however, when Kakashi brought his lightning element into play.

The two stood in a deadlock of disastrous proportions. Wind howled against screeching lightning. Naruto gritted his teeth and focused on making his chakra as sharp as possible. Kakashi had the advantage in size and strength; he might even be better with lightning than Naruto was with wind. Even so . . .

You're not beating me with a weaker element!

With considerable effort, Naruto pushed on and sliced through Kakashi's kunai. What happened next occurred in an instant. Naruto, carried by his momentum, tried to stab the Jonin in his side. Their eyes met for half a second. Then, Naruto ran the kunai through the flak jacket and deep into the man.

Kakashi groaned through gritted teeth and dropped to his knees. The young apprentice reflexively let go of the kunai.

What? Did I . . . No! It's Genjutsu!

He couldn't see himself taking Kakashi down with such a simplistic move. Earlier he had made the mistake of looking into the Sharingan for a split second. That's probably when he got me under.

An acute sense of danger rose up in him. Was there any time left to dispel the illusion? Kakashi wouldn't hesitate in taking him down even if Naruto was effectively blind. He was sure of that.

Naruto ignored the bleeding fake Jonin on the ground and quickly vanished from the spot in a Shunshin. He was fully aware that Kakashi could be literarily anywhere. Naruto reappared on the far side of the room, high up on the wall. Not pausing to enjoy the view, Naruto coaxed out his chakra.

Instead of directing it around smoothly as he normally did, this time he forcefully squeezed the chakra through his coils at a record speed. The power obeyed, and the mysterious substance coursed through him. Chakra was life, and Naruto always felt that to his very core when he used it.

With so much of it roaring through his system, Naruto was standing on a dangerous cusp. He had to use some of it very soon or risk destroying his pathways. It had done its job however. Any foreign chakra in him was without doubt long gone by now. Now it was time to weaponize the chakra.

Naruto cracked open his eyes, and immediately spotted Kakashi on the floor below, sprinting towards him. The Jonin got more than he bargained for when Naruto bursted of off the wall like a cannonball. Eyes wide, Kakashi threw himself to the side and narrowly avoided the fly kick. Naruto whirled around and fended off Kakashi's first strike. Naruto's chakra system was close to the boiling point by now, but he relieved some of the pressure by discharging a great deal of chakra into his Taijutsu. Kakashi was caught off guard by the sudden explosive burst of power in the blonde.

Naruto plowed into Kakashi's blocks. Who winced every now and then at the fierce power of each strike. After another powerful attack, Kakashi adapted and took hold of a kunai. Naruto saw this and quickly changed his own stance into a more fluid and versatile one. With both palms held flat, Naruto attacked again.

Kakashi dodged the attacks, and his eyes narrowed when actual wind blades extended out from the young shinobi's flat hands. That requires some serious guts, considering he could just as easily cut himself with that technique. It says something about his control over the wind element though.

Kakashi quickly understood how difficult taking the boy on at close range would be right then. A part of him wanted to use some of his more lethal techniques to even the field, but that was out of the question. Instead, Kakashi opted to make some space. He should probably check out how the boy did on the medium-range anyways. Preferably, before he ran out of chakra. He was starting to feel his reservoir draining. He used another shunshin, with no assistance from the traditional tiger-sign.

To his immense shock, the young Futon-user appeared at his side in the next instant, already in the motion of another attack. He read me!? Age-old instincts resurfaced in the ex-ANBU, and Kakashi responded by lowering his center of gravity and striking out at Naruto in a vicious counter attack. Electricity thrummed into life, and small sparks danced over Kakashi's hand.

It was not quite a Chidori, but it was dangerous nonetheless.

Surprised at the immediate reaction, the Uzumaki shifted himself to the right with a powerful chakra burst to his feet. The young prodigy whizzed past the lightning attack to the dismay of the Jonin. Acting in mid-movement, Naruto took a hasty chop at Kakashi with his wind-style aiding him.

The Jonin evaded the dangerous attack and took hold of Naruto's wrist. In response, Naruto reshaped the last of his pent-up chakra into his wind-affinity. A concentrated burst of air escaped his left hand and hit Kakashi. The blast knocked the air out of the man and pushed him across the floor on the balls of his feet.

Naruto didn't pause to look, instead he flicked a senbon needle at the veteran before he ran to engage him again. The young blonde had realized something valuable. Unlike with his teacher, it seemed he could actually overpower Kakashi in the chakra department. That might be useful, because I can't fight him efficiently up close as long as he has his Sharingan active.

Kakashi recovered quickly enough to dodge the senbon, and before Naruto managed to reach him, Kakashi flashed through a hand sign so fast Naruto failed to spot it.

The Uzumaki nimbly dug out a seal from his Fuuinjutsu compartment. He didn't stop his run. Not even when Kakashi finished the Jutsu by spewing a fireball at him. Naruto ran some chakra into the scroll and held it up towards the fire technique. The fiery red-hot ball was absorbed into Naruto's complex elements seal.

Naruto clutched the scroll in his left hand and channeled a tiny trace amount of chakra into his right, where his trusty tanto appeared in the next moment. He stepped up to Kakashi fully intent to continue fighting. But it was not to be.

"Enough."

The two combatants stilled in their movements. For a short moment, neither moved.

The Sandaime rose from his seat, and in a calm tone he said. "I believe I have seen more than enough to draw up an accurate image, we have other things to go through today as well, as I'm sure you both know."

The two slowly relaxed their postures, bit by bit they disconnected their flight or fight instincts.

The Hokage sat down again and made a small hand motion at the quietly observing Tenzo. Hiruzen expected the instructor to keep to the schedule. Tenzo dipped his head in recognition before performing the shunshin.

"A good spar, you performed at a more than adequate level Naruto-san." Naruto stiffened at the close proximity to the Mokuton-user, whom he had not noticed appearing behind them.

"Ah, well, thank you. It was just starting to get interesting though." Naruto replied, a bit winded after the spar.

"Yes, I look forward to seeing you in the exams. Moving on, Hokage-sama's next point on the list is chakra control. After that, we want to go through your Ninjutsu. Your manipulation over your affinity is remarkable, I want to see how far you can take it. Also, do you have some control over the other elements? Other than that, we're also going to thoroughly dissect your Taijutsu, you had at least three distinct styles that I noticed, any others? There's also a few theoretical tests Hokage-sama wants you to take, as well as . . ."

Naruto listened closely, silently dreading the ensuing hours. A long day indeed.

xXx

A worn down and exhausted Naruto returned to his new apartment that night. He had almost made it up the stairs to his flat when a door somewhere on the story above opened. Two raised voices easily made it down to him. He paused in surprise.

"I'm just saying you could try working with the team a bit more!"

"Oh yeah? I don't see you complaining when I save your asses! Still, it's nice to see you guys appreciate what I do!"

A door slammed shut somewhere above him, and Naruto swiveled his head around to see a girl stomping down the stairs. Hadn't he been so tired, he might have moved out of the way. That was not the case, and he watched with detached feeling as the pink-eyed girl stiffly walked down the stairs with her fists clenched tightly.

Their eyes met for an instant, and Naruto found himself hoping she wouldn't walk into him. No such luck, she attempted to shoulder her way through him. Instead, she grunted and stumbled back when she hit what felt more like a rock wall than a person. Her hands quickly reached out to grab the railing before sending the blonde a scorching look. Naruto didn't react at all. He merely kept his eyes on her.

"What's your deal? I'm not in the mood for this!" The girl said loudly.

Naruto released a small breath, and walked past her.

"Yeah, you just walk away, and stay away too. Don't waste my time, I'm gonna win this exam."

"Doubtful." The simple reply infuriated the black haired girl to no end. She turned around and stared hard after the incredulous boy. Naruto kept walking.

"What the hell does that mean? You think I'm not good enough, huh? I'm the granddaughter of the Tsuchikage, you shouldn't underestimate me."

"No, it's just that I'm probably gonna have to win it." He gave a tiny shrug. One that very clearly said 'tough luck.'

The audacity of the boy left the Iwa Genin stunned for a moment. Unbothered and tired, Naruto unlocked number 9 and walked into his flat without further comment.

He did take some amusement from the frustrated groan he heard outside, followed by a mad dash down the stairs.

A/N Okay! How was it like? I might go and edit a few things in this one later, but for now this is the release.

At the end of the next chapter, we'll get to the start of the exams. Which I'm looking forward to! Stick around if you want to read it. Like previously stated, the exams will be original from the get go.

Leave a review if you have time to spare!