UnsanMusho: Thanks for the review. Orochimaru will play a pretty big part and getting the village's trust back isn't going to be a cakewalk.
PinkiPieParty122894: I Appreciate the review and I'm sorry to say that it wasn't Danzo who placed the seals.
Animaman: The repair of the friendship between Jiraiya and Orochimaru will take some time but Jiraiya is going to get help in realizing his mistakes, one of them being Orochimaru. Also there will be consequences in store for Jiraiya. For the twins, at the moment they want power to destroy Naruto. Despite how they seem, they aren't complete idiots and realize they'd be shut down pretty quick in their current state so they need to get stronger. I Appreciate the review and questions asked.
raw666: They are still going to be suspicious of him in fact he may never be rid of that suspicion I just haven't put him in enough yet to show the mistrust surrounding him. Thanks for reviewing.
MrSunshine744: I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope it continues to entertain you.
Gammagyro: I really appreciate your ideas so whatever you feel the need to suggest go ahead. I'm planning on starting Yakumo's reaper persona after chunin exams and for Sasuke, he's going to take fire jutsu to a new level. As for Naruto he has a lot of different sword moves in store and some of them will project multiple slashes. Now while Naruto helps Yakumo keep her head, there will be times when Yakumo has to do the same for Naruto. I haven't really thought about Hinata but that's an interesting concept for her. Thanks for the review and I hope I answered well enough.
sd74: Yeah I would've liked to go more in depth with her character and her relationship with Sasuke but it is what it is. Anyway hope you're liking the story and thanks for the review.
Naruto and Yakumo watched the scoreboard shuffle. The two knew that Naruto would be next call it ninja's intuition, the only question was who his opponent would be. The blonde haired genin stood watching and waiting for his opponent's name while also dealing an immense pain that was running through his body. He was nowhere near healthy as he was still recovering from Orochimaru and his snake, but Naruto had put worrying about it off. His thoughts ended when the electronic board stopped.
Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze vs. Kabuto Yakushi
As the names were revealed, all eyes were on Naruto. Two members in a row for a team was a coincidence but all three? Something didn't seem right. When Naruto began to walk down to the arena, his hand was grabbed and held onto. Turning around, he was met with the worried eyes of Yakumo. "Naruto, we both know that you're not okay. You need to heal so I want you to promise me something as you made me promise you. Promise me that you will end this as quickly as possible. I know that you'll win but every hit you take, every second you're in pain, it hurts my heart so much. I just can't take it" she said starting to let tears fall but turned so no one else could see. Naruto placed his hand on her shoulder and gave her a soft smile. "Yakumo I promise you here on my life that I will always come back to you" he said before pulling the girl in for a brief hug. When the two separated, Naruto jumped down to the center of the arena leaving a smiling Yakumo behind. "Go get em Naruto, show them your greatness" she whispered.
Naruto stared across from him where his enemy wore a smirk. "Last words for a lover I presume?" Kabuto asked. Naruto did not answer the grey haired man, he simply turned to Hayate who immediately announced to start. The moment Hayate said begin, Naruto rushed at jounin level speed landing a punch directly into the stomach of Kabuto who was launched into a wall. As the dust began to clear from the impact, Kabuto stood there shocked with blood starting to drip from his mouth and a hole in his shirt where the hit landed.
"This is your one and only warning. Forfeit the match or forfeit your life Kabuto, it is your choice" Naruto said with a serious look on his face. Kabuto looked to the ground before a sound of laughter was heard throughout the room. Looking up, Kabuto wore a twisted smile on his face. "I will say Naruto, it's been some time since I've taken a hit as powerful as that, but it matters not for today it won't be my life that ends, but yours!" he shouted rushing at Naruto smiling. Naruto sighed and readied himself for an attack when suddenly Kabuto made a throwing motion. Seconds later, Naruto fell to his knees finding it too painful to stand. When the genin raised his head, there was Kabuto smiling his evil smile. "You must be wondering why you're having such a hard time standing" he said before two blue objects made of chakra appeared in his hand. "Chakra scalpels. You see when I threw them, you weren't paying enough attention to see them and as a consequence it has severed several of the tendons in your legs. This means no more speed bursts like before for you" he said with a smile before kicking Naruto in the face sending him a good ten feet away.
When Naruto finally picked himself up, he painfully stood to his full height. "I must say, you are quite tricky to have caught me off guard like that" he said popping his neck. Kabuto smirked. "So where is this sword that I've heard so much about?" the grey haired man asked with a smile that quickly turned to a frown of confusion when Naruto began to chuckle. "My sword? You are not worthy enough to even catch a glimpse of my weapon. No, I won't need it for someone like you. But you will be a challenge in my current form so I must act accordingly" he said whispering the last part to himself. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his body, on everything that flowed within him, and the beacon of his power. Though it was day, the power of the moon still resided in him. While this was happening, everyone in the arena including Kabuto looked at Naruto in interest.
When his concentration was complete, the blonde's eyes flew open and an explosion of chakra surrounded him before being absorbed back into his body. "Chakra release: Moonlight Residue" he said quietly causing Kabuto to frown. Before Kabuto could return to a body stance, Naruto appeared in front of him. This time however was different. His surroundings were gone and now he was faced with a Naruto who looked bigger and stronger than ever. Strong enough to kill him without the slightest bit of difficulty. Stepping back in fear, he wanted to run so badly but there was nowhere to go. "Remember Kabuto, before this match began I gave you a choice. Now you must suffer the consequence of your decision" spoke Naruto. When the darkness disappeared around him, he was left staring at the genin who he truly believed was no problem for him going into this. Now, he knew that this boy, no this demon was the bringer of his death.
The entire arena of genin, jounin, and the Hokage were silent and wondered what had just happened to make the previously confident man look like he had just seen death itself. Before they could ponder any further, Naruto took action. Grabbing the grey haired man's face, Naruto ran with it to the wall surrounding the battlefield. He didn't miss a beat as he switched from running on the ground to running on the wall at such a high speed that even the jounin were hard pressed to keep up with. Before anyone could diagnose Naruto's strategy, the boy lowered Kabuto's face to the wall still dragging the man with him at his high speed. A ring of blood quickly formed around the walls as Naruto only increased his speed. Just as Hayate was about to call the match to avoid any further bloodshed, Naruto launched into the air with Kabuto where the two somehow stayed instead of dropping like gravity demanded. Naruto looked into the eyes of Kabuto with a sad expression. "I take no joy in this Kabuto. I pray that you find peace someday" he said to the man who was missing half of his face but somehow still alive. Pulling his fist back, a glow of light began to form in Naruto's hand which caused a few of the spectators to look away. When the glow was absorbed into Naruto's fist, he launched it forward at Kabuto shouting "Divinity's Strike" which caused a burst of chakra that forced everyone even the Hokage to be thrown against the wall. It took ten minutes for the dust to clear from the battlefield and when it did, everyone watching was shocked. There was no sign of Kabuto, just blood scattered along the battlefield and covering Naruto's arm. Shaking, Hayate announced Naruto as the winner. For Naruto, it was a hollow victory. He didn't want to kill Kabuto or at least not in that way, but his hand was forced wasn't it? The genin was immediately reminded of his body's status when he fell to a knee and began to breathe hard.
Cursing in his head, Naruto couldn't believe it. He still wasn't strong enough. That attack had only been at about twelve percent of its actual power and it still wore him near complete exhaustion. As the medic team rushed in to bring Naruto to the infirmary, he elected to walk with the doctors instead of being carried out on a stretcher. He didn't care about the results of the rest of the battles, all that mattered was who he faced next for it would decide whether his sword would be revealed to the world or remain in darkness known to a select few for a little while longer.
(Back in the Prelims Arena)
Ino turned to her sensei in horror at what she had just seen. "Sensei, w-what just happened?" she asked still shaking. Asuma took a deep breath and fumbled for a cigarette as his last one had long since dropped from his mouth. "I don't know Ino, I truly don't. But that move was at least jounin level and his chakra levels reached above kage level. Someone like him shouldn't be in this competition" he said finally finding a cigarette to smoke. Across from the Konoha side, a red headed Suna genin was smiling. "Mother, I've finally found someone strong enough" he said to himself causing his teammates to inch away from him. Nearby, a blond Kumo kunoitchi had an interested look. 'Well, he does seem like he'll make a decent enough opponent' she said to herself. With the Iwa team, a black haired kunoitchi had one thought. 'I'll kill you Namikaze. It may be a challenge, but if I were unwilling to embrace impossible tasks I wouldn't be a very good future tsuchikage" thought the kunoitchi.
Back to the Konoha side, while all the teams had fear written on their faces except Yakumo of course, Minato was dissecting his son's match. 'The sudden change in Kabuto's demeanor was killer intent from Naruto directed solely at him so none of us felt it. What I don't understand is how his power rose so quickly. I suppose it could be like Tsunade's Creation Rebirth but this different. And that final attack, it seems that Naruto placed leftover chakra from the absorption of the earlier chakra into his fist. It's similar to Tsunade's powerful punches but once again very different. On top of that, why wouldn't Naruto use his sword?' Minato sighed. Team 11 had played with their opponents and not really shown any of their more powerful abilities. Minato knew that Naruto held back the most of his team. Had the genin used his sword, the match would have been shorter than it already was. The biggest question on his mind right now was one that had plagued him since his son's return. Just how strong is Naruto?
Kurotsuchi vs. Shikamaru Nara
The alert of the electronic board shook everyone in the arena out of their shock over the last match. The Iwa kunoitchi jumped down and walked to the center of the arena while the lazy Konoha genin simply walked down the stairs slowly, muttering "troublesome" the whole way down. When the two met in the center, Hayate prepared to start the match. Kurotsuchi stood tall and proud looking in disgust at the weakling that she had to face while the Nara just lazily stared at his opponent. When Hayate said to begin, neither combatant moved.
Kurotsuchi smiled arrogantly. "If I wasn't so battle starved then I'd suggest that you forfeit, but I could use a small workout. You don't seem like much competition but then again neither do any of you other fellow tree huggers. Me on the other hand, well let's just say that I'm one of the best that Iwa has to offer so this should be over quickly" she said with a smirk. "This is so troublesome. Why did I have to sign up for this? I'd much rather be just staring at the clouds then having to stand here and listen to you" he said plainly, bringing a frown to the Iwa genin's face. "Fights are won through strategy, not by flashing your arrogance all over the battlefield" Shikamaru continued. "You need a battle plan to win a battle. A plan like say, letting your opponent drone on about how great they are all the while setting them up for defeat" he said bringing his hands together. Just as Kurotsuchi was about to comment, she felt her whole body go stiff. Unable to move, she looked at her opponent who stared right back at her. "I would explain it to you but it would be too troublesome" said Shikamaru as he lowered his hands forcing Kurotscuchi to do the same.
Up in the stands, Shikamaru's sensei Asuma Sarutobi was smiling. Kurenai, noticing the smile that was spread across her fellow jounin's face quickly asked why he was smiling. "Fun fact about Shikamaru is that the kid's a genius. When it comes to strategy, I doubt there's a genin alive that's Iwa genin was so sure of herself that she didn't even realize that she was being played by Shikamaru until it was too late" he answered with a cigarette still in his mouth. Kurenai stared at Asuma and then at Shikamaru without a word. 'To be able to win based on strategy alone. Impressive' the female jounin thought. Ino and Choji smiled at the fact that Shikamaru had captured the Iwa genin in his clan's signature Shadow Imitation Jutsu knowing that the match was over.
As Shikamaru moved his hand, so did Kurotsuchi as were the effects of the Shadow Imitation Jutsu. Shikamaru forced Kurotsuchi to grab one of her kunai and slowly place it to her neck. "Forfeit" he said lazily while Kurotsuchi held the kunai to her neck. "If I don't?" she asked her smirk never leaving her face. She was immediately forced to push the edge of the kunai into her neck drawing a little blood. "It'd be troublesome to have to kill you. You lost, just accept it and live to see another day" Shikamaru said his expression never changing. Kurotsuchi chuckled. "My my, aren't we presumptuous" she said before her mouth began to fill up. Before Shikamaru could question what was happening, Kurotsuchi sent a ball of something flying towards him causing him to end his jutsu. After avoiding the ball, he looked behind him at the wall in which the ball landed only to see molten rock covering the wall. Looking back at Kurotsuchi, he noticed that she was still smiling. "Do you really think that I would enter Konoha without knowing about the more prestigious clans of this pitiful excuse for a ninja village? You see, I know your type of ninja. You rely completely on your clan's techniques and neglect everything else. You neglect basic ninja skills but I guess I can't blame you for that. It seems to be a common trait among ninja belonging to clans in this Kami forsaken village. Meanwhile in real ninja villages like Iwa, we train ourselves to the ground to improve all of our skills. Anyway, I've droned on long enough. Let's continue shall we?" she said rushing forwards at Shikamaru.
Shikamaru put his hands together for his Shadow Imitation Jutsu and sent his shadow chasing after the Iwa nin but she was on to his plan. Now paying attention, Kurotsuchi dodged the shadow and continued towards the Nara. Upon reaching the Konoha genin, she swung and landed a hit to the face knocking him backwards. When the boy got back up, he put his hands back into position but Kurotsuchi was already there. Landing a kick to his solar plexus, she knocked the air out of Shikamaru causing him to fall to his knees. Before he could catch his breath again, Kurotsuchi came up behind the boy and slammed an elbow into his back knocking him flat on the ground. Kneeling on his back, Kurotsuchi placed the blade of her kunai to the back of his head. "I have no problem killing you Konoha nin, but I will give you one chance to give up" she said coldly. Shikamaru wasted no time in signalling his forfeit and ending the match. Kurotsuchi got off of Shikamaru as soon as the match ended and walked to join her team. Upon Kurotsuchi getting off of him, Shikamaru got up and walked back to his team with a small amount of shame in his heart. Sure he didn't really want to move on in the competition but what Kurotsuchi said had resonated with him.
Team 10 was speechless. He had it. They thought he had been playing her but in actuality it was the complete opposite. As the team met up with their teammate, Yakumo concentrated on the Iwa kunoitchi. She would be a difficult opponent in the future. Her thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of her sensei in a shunshin. Looking at her sensei without surprise at his sudden appearance, she asked "How are they?". Itachi looked at his student. "They will be fine. If you want, you can go check on them and I'll keep up with what happens here" he suggested. Yakumo nodded and took off for the infirmary.
(T&I Building)
Orochimaru sat with Jiraiya across from five ANBU guards and Ibiki Morino, the head of T&I. "So the Sandaime gave you an S rank mission to infiltrate Ame and investigate a new group rising. Can you tell us anything about what you found" Ibiki asked. Orochimaru concentrated hard. "The group's name was the Akatsuki. They wore black cloaks with red clouds but there were others. A group of five. They were powerful, each of them at least kage level. After I saw the group, I got ready to leave but that's when everything went black. The only thing past that is Minato asking me what I remember. I wish I could remember more" Orochimaru said regretfully. Ibiki nodded and decided to leave since the Hokage had told him to go easy on the questions. He still didn't trust the snake sannin but five ANBU and the toad sannin should be enough to keep the man in his place.
Orochimaru turned to Jiraiya. "Jiraiya, what's happened in my absence and where is Sarutobi sensei?" he asked which gained a sad look from Jiraiya. "Orochimaru, sensei is dead. He died sealing the Kyubi inside of Minato's twins" he said and was saddened by the amount of pain that was displayed in his fellow sannin's eyes. He and Tsunade knew that Orochimaru loved Hiruzen as if the man was his own father and vice versa. That fact alone was why it had been so hard for Jiraiya to accept that his best friend had betrayed the village like he did.
Orochimaru was not the one to cry, ninjas weren't supposed to cry anyway, but for once he wept. The man who trained him was gone. The worst part of it was that Orochimaru had caused his sensei whom he saw as a father such pain because he was to weak to resist mere seals placed upon him. Clenching his fists, he silently swore to himself that when he found who put those damned seals on him that they would die in the most painful way possible. After his moment of grief and anger, he looked up at Jiraiya. "So what have I missed?" he asked. Jiraiya smiled a small smile. "Well, you missed out on training two of the greatest ninja in our lifetime. I suppose there's still time to train them seeing as they're just genin so never mind" Jiraiya beamed. Orochimaru blinked. "I'm sorry could you explain?" he asked his friend. Jiraiya nodded. "Minato's kids, the twins, are the children of prophecy I just know it and someday the whole world will too" he said proudly. Orochimaru sighed. "Still chasing prophecies are we Jiraiya?" he asked in a slightly annoyed tone. Jiraiya frowned. "The toads have predicted it, it was given by the Great Toad Sage himself" he said causing Orochimaru to roll his eyes. "Jiraiya, why do you put so much trust in these prophecies and better yet why is it that only the toads are able to give out prophecies? I have never received a prophecy from Manda and last I remember Tsunade has never received one from Katsuyu. Come to think of it, I've never heard of anyone being given a prophecy from their summons so what makes the toads so special?" he asked. Jiraiya's frown deepened. "Orochimaru, I know that it's hard to believe but the prophecy will come to fruition. Two ninja that have received a legendary power will either save or destroy the world" he said crossing his arms. Orochimaru laughed. "And that's your basis. I want you to think of something Jiraiya my friend. What if you're wrong about the twins?" he asked before getting up and leaving with the ANBU to a cell. Jiraiya was left in the room to think about the question given to him.
(Infirmary)
Naruto lay in bed near Sasuke's bed. Both were conscious and awake. Naruto had been healed by a nurse for his injuries sustained in his fight with Kabuto and was told to rest and let his previous injuries heal. Sasuke had been given medical treatment for the burns he suffered from his fight with Neji and was resting his previous injuries as well. The two were enjoying the quiet between them when the door slammed open. As both sat up quickly, a blur collided with Naruto. There Yakumo was, holding Naruto's head to her chest never noticing the massive amount of blood she was causing her boyfriend to lose through his nose. Watching the spectacle, Sasuke simply said "I'm fine too". Yakumo stopped rocking her Naruto and stuck her tongue out at the Uchiha. "Get over it duck head, I'm not dating you" she said causing a storm cloud to develop over Sasuke while he entered a depressed state. "I don't have a duck head" he said insecurely to himself. When Yakumo removed Naruto's head from her chest, she immediately followed up with a fist to his head. "You idiot. Making your girlfriend worry about your health constantly is not good for a relationship according to the book" she said irritated. Finally regaining his bearings, Naruto looked at her confusedly. "What book?" he asked a little bit scared. Yakumo simply smiled and removed a book from her pouch and handed it to Naruto. "Mei Terumi's Wonderful Guide to Lasting Relationships" Naruto read and sweat dropped. "Yakumo, I'm sorry that I frightened you but you've gotta realize that getting hurt is part of the job" he said calmly making Yakumo look down. "I know but that doesn't mean I like seeing my precious people hurt" she said sadly before being pulled onto Naruto. Naruto brought Yakumo's chin up to look at him. "I know your heart's in the right place, but remember what I told you Yakumo. I'll always come back to you" he said caressing her cheek. Just as the two were about to kiss, someone decided to ruin the moment. "Hey, I'm still here!" he shouted, annoyed by his teammates sickening affection towards each other. It was suffocating.
(Preliminary Arena)
Itachi stood looking as impassive as ever but on the inside he was smiling wider than he ever had. All three of his genin had moved on to the finals without even really trying solidifying his belief in his team's potential.
Yugito Nii vs. Kiba Inuzaka
Itachi looked at the arena in interest. Only a few of the genin other than his team interested him and she was on that list. The way that she took her battle stance without a word showed that she wasn't interested in getting in a pissing match with her opponent. The Inuzaka however seemed to completely look past his opponent as he stood casually out of stance next to his puppy. Itachi already knew how this battle would end. The Kumo kunoitchi would destroy the dog boy. Deciding to try and save the boy from suffering such an embarrassing loss, he walked over to the boy's sensei Kurenai Yuhi. "Hello Kurenai" he greeted upon arriving which Kurenai quickly greeted back. "So your entire team has made it to the finals, you must be so proud" the woman said with a hint of bitterness. She was still a bit upset at the way Yakumo had beaten her precious student. Itachi nodded. "I am very proud however that isn't why I'm here. I'm here to tell you that you should ask your student to not overlook his opponent" he warned making Kurenai frown. "Itachi, Kiba is my student and I believe that I've trained him well enough to not make the cardinal sin of underestimating an opponent" she said with an irritated tone. Looking in her eyes, Itachi simply sighed and nodded. Walking away, Itachi simply shook his head. 'I tried' he thought to himself.
When Hayate announced the beginning of the match, Kiba stood there with a smirk. "You smell like a cat. Normally, I'd beat the shit out of someone for that but I'll make an exception for you cutie" he said with a wink. His flirtatious mood did't last long though as the girl disappeared from her spot and reappeared in front of Kiba's partner Akamaru. With a strong roundhouse kick, the puppy was sent rolling roughly across the ground. Resuming her stance and turning her attention back to Kiba, Yugito smirked. "You were saying dog boy?" she asked. Kiba growled in anger and launched at her. Unable to do his fang techniques without Akamaru, he settled for punching wildly at his opponent who easily dodged all of his strikes before going on the offensive herself. Starting with a punch to the shoulder that made Kiba's arm go numb, she followed up with a series of punches to his chest and finished with a kick to the chin knocking him away. Walking forwards to continue her assault, she readied herself when Kiba began to rise. Growling, the boy got on all fours and an increase in chakra exertion was detected by Yugito.
Kiba growled while giving Yugito a murderous look. "Fine bitch, you wanna real fight then let's g-" Kiba never finished his sentence as he was launched upwards by a kick to the face from Yugito. "You talk too much" the blonde said while the boy was still in mid air. When he landed, Hayate started to walk over and declare the match until Kiba began to get up again. "You think I'll go down that easy bitch?" he growled with a little bit of blood leaking from his mouth. Yugito sighed. "The dumb ones never do" she said ready to attack again. Just as she was about to rush Kiba, Akamaru in the form of a white blur jumped up and bit down hard on Yugito's shoulder. "Atta boy Akamaru" Kiba shouted while Akamaru held on for dear life. Yugito, tired of dealing with these idiots, reached around and grabbed the scruff of the white dog. Yanking him off her shoulder, which hurt badly and caused the wound to start bleeding profusely, she slammed the dog onto the ground and stomped. She stomped again, and again, and again. She stopped when she noticed that one more stomp would have ended the puppy's life. He was a tough dog that was for sure as most dogs would have either passed out or died already. But despite how tough he was, now he lay on the ground whimpering. Punishment for daring to make her look foolish.
The Inuzaka fell to his knees seeing the punishment that his partner and best friend had just endured. When the blonde kunoitchi stopped her assault on Akamaru she stared directly at him. The girl's eyes seemed so cold and full of rage. "Your mutt is strong. You truly don't deserve him. If you weren't so stupid and excited at the fact that your pathetic partner was biting me, you would have realized that it was a perfect moment to attack me seeing as I was caught off guard. You could have given me a true challenge but instead you proved just how pathetic you are. You don't deserve to be a shinobi if you're both stupid and selfish enough to let your comrade take on a more powerful enemy alone" she said in disgust. Pulling out a kunai, she held it to the dog's throat. "One slice, that's all it will take. One slice and your mutt dies unless you say the magic words dog boy" she said coldly. Kiba teared up and quickly shouted "Proctor, I forfeit" and the match was over. The medical crew came in and took all three contestants to the infirmary.
Kurenai clenched the bars of the stands hard. Another one of her genin hurt much worse than they deserved. She found the actions of Yakumo and Yugito to be utterly deplorable but knew that other jounin may not see it the same way. Hinata watched in concern as her teammates were taken to the infirmary and muttered a silent prayer for them to be safe. Shino held no reaction to the fight he had just seen. Itachi stood in his spot without emotion. He tried to tell Kurenai to warn her student but the woman refused. Figuring that it couldn't be helped, Itachi along with everyone else in the room turned their attention to the electronic board to see who was next.
(With Narumi and Menma)
Narumi and Menma were both trying to master the rasenshuriken at training ground 7. A move much stronger than the rasengan with enough power to rid the world of their brother was a gift from Kami for the two. Or gift from Jiraiya to be specific. While the two practiced, they never felt the chakra of their mother who had been looking for her children in order to train them.
"What are you two doing?!" Kushina shouted causing the twins' concentration to dissipate and turn to face their mother. "We're training mom" spoke Menma in a sarcastic tone. Kushina walked closer. "And what pray tell were you training in?" she asked dangerously. Menma refused to back down. "We're learning the rasenshuriken" the boy said with a smirk. Kushina was shocked. How would her children have gotten the instructions on one of her husband's most powerful jutsu. "And just how did you come across the instructions for it?" she asked not moving from her spot. "Jiraiya sensei taught us" spoke Narumi. "In fact he seems to be the only one who cares about us these days anyway" she continued causing Kushina to turn her attention to her only daughter. "Why do you keep giving that failure, that outcast, all of your attention. What about us?" Narumi asked. Kushina sighed. "Narumi, Menma, I love you just as I love Naruto. You three are each my children and I love each of you equally. If it seems that I've shown more attention to Naruto or been easier on him then I'm sorry, but he went his whole life without anyone. Both of you have been given everything you've asked for yet Naruto was given nothing. Things are fragile right now but someday we are going to be a complete family and to do that I need to make sure Naruto knows that we love him" she said softly.
Kushina's soft side ended at what Menma said next. "I want Naruto to die and if I have to do it myself then so be it. He'll never be a part of the family if I can help it" he said viciously and Narumi nodded in agreement. Kushina looked at her children in horror. What had they become? When and why did they become these hateful children. Knowing what she had to do, she overcame her horror and shock. "Both of you go home now. We will have words later tonight" she said coldly before disappearing in a shunshin. When she left, Menma looked at Narumi. "Do you think I said too much?" he asked to which Narumi shrugged. "It doesn't matter. Soon we'll be out of the village learning how to kill Naruto" she said with a smile that was eventually mirrored by Menma.
(Preliminary Arena)
Itachi stood in the middle of the arena. All the matches had finished. Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka had knocked each other out, Temari of Suna had beaten Tenten by using her wind ninjutsu to destroy the kunoitchi, Kankuro of Suna had beaten Choji Akamichi when his puppet was able to land a hit to the genin's head knocking him out, Omoi of Kumo beat Shino Aburame when the bug nin forfeited for reasons unknown, the two teammates of Kurotsuchi from Iwa knocked each other out for their match, and Kabuto's teammates forfeited for unknown reasons as well. Since Sakura's teammates had still been recovering in the infirmary and weren't able to compete in the prelims, the last match was that of Rock Lee vs. Gaara of Suna. It was a close fight, especially when Lee began to open the gates as a trump card, but Gaara was too much as he eventually was able to heavily wound the boy after he was unable to keep using the power of the gates. Now everyone stood in the center of the arena looking at the electronic board as it would reveal the match ups for the final round of the chunin exams. When the board sounded, everyone looked up.
Match 1: Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze vs. Kurotsuchi
Match 2: Yakumo Kurama vs. Sasuke Uchiha
Match 3: Yugito Nii vs. Gaara
Match 4: Temari vs. Karui
Match 5: Kankuro vs. Omoi
After everyone had their opponent, they began to leave.
(Hokage's Office)
Minato flashed to his office. He had been feeling a tug from the seal inside his office near the end of the prelims but didn't want to leave so suddenly. Looking around, he was surprised to see a sad looking Kushina lying on the sofa in the office. Walking towards his wife, he knelt down to meet her eyes. "Kushina, what's wrong?" he asked putting a hand on her shoulder. Kushina's eyes were red and puffy obviously from crying which was surprising as she was known as one of the toughest women in Konoha. Sitting up, she took Minato's hand in her own. "Minato, we need to talk about Menma and Narumi. I want you to suspend their ninja licenses indefinitely" she said shocking her husband. "They told me today that they wanted Naruto dead even if they had to do it" she said as tears began to flow from her eyes. Minato was shocked. He knew that Menma and Narumi didn't have a good opinion of their brother but this was unbelievable. "Minato, Jiraiya's trying to teach them the rasenshuriken. I'm so scared Minato, what's happening to our family?" she cried. Minato just held her and listened. "I'm scared for Naruto as well. What if Menma and Narumi actually try to kill him. They're jinchuriki Minato and we both know what jinchuriki can do" she said quietly. Minato held his wife for a while longer until she fell asleep. Carefully removing his wife from him, he summoned a shadow clone to take her home.
When the shadow clone left, Minato got to work by first suspending his children's licenses. Next came something that had been on his mind for some time now but he had never had a reason to act on it until now. Going through his desk, he eventually found what he was looking for. An heir replacement form. From what Minato had seen recently, Menma and Narumi were getting worse and worse. He had tried getting through to them. Kushina had tried. Kakashi had tried. Nothing worked and as far as Minato was concerned the two didn't deserve to be an heir and heiress. Naruto on the other hand had shown patience, forgiveness, intelligence, empathy, all good qualities for a clan leader. Once the form was finished, he decided to get some more work done. After about two hours, Minato flashed home to get his wife and go to visit their son.
(Infirmary)
Naruto was sitting in bed talking to Yakumo. Not long ago, Itachi had come to pick up Sasuke to prepare for the finals. Now, Naruto was having a nice conversation with his girlfriend when a red headed missile sped into the room and enveloped the boy in a hug. "Oh my poor baby, do your injuries hurt? Are you feeling okay? Do you need anything? Why haven't you come to see me?" asked Kushina in rapid succession. Minato, who arrived a few moments after his wife watched the scene in amusement. Naruto detached his mother's arms causing the red head to pout. "I'm fine mom just a little sore" he said causing Kushina to smile wide. Naruto turned his attention to his father. "Hey dad" he greeted in which Minato chuckled in response. "Hey son. Impressive performance" he said with a look of pride on his face. Naruto lightly blushed before turning serious. "Dad, I was wondering if you wouldn't mind training me for the finals" Naruto asked avoiding making eye contact with his father. If he had, then he would have seen the stars in Minato's eyes and giant smile on his face. "Of course I will. I was actually going to offer you some training, some father son bonding" he said with a smile that was matched by a smile from Naruto. Their smiles turned into frowns however when they noticed what was going on a few feet away from them.
Kushina and Yakumo were staring daggers at each other with sparks of electricity forming between the two. "Naruto who is this girl?" Kushina asked dangerously. Before Naruto could answer, Yakumo did. "I'm Naruto's girlfriend" she said without giving in. The two men in the room started to get nervous. "Is that so?" Kushina asked before smiling an evil smile. "I have an idea. Since your father will be training you, I'll train this little girl for the finals" she said with a smirk that made Yakumo go red with anger. "Kushina, I don't think that's a good idea" Minato said, but Yakumo stood and answered "I accept". Both women continued their mental war, neither backing down. Both men put their faces in their hands. 'This is gonna be a long month' both men thought.
Author's Note: Hey everyone hope you liked the new chapter! I'm so grateful for the support this story has received and I hope that I continue to entertain. Also LEAVE A REVIEW! It definitely helps the writing process. Anyway, next up is the chunin exams finals.