Well, it has been a month since I have updated. Work before tax day, birthday parties and a pair of First Communions managed to eat up a lot of my time and weekends. Add in a nice bout of writer's block and deleting or putting off enough material to make this chapter 3 times its current size and you have a long delay.

Training toward the Chunin Exams

The opening of the Great Wave Bridge was a grand celebration. The Konoha ninja were in attendance and Tazuna gave a warm thanks to the assembled teams. Once the symbolic carts rolled across the bridge, the teams were free to leave and return to Konoha.

Team 7 and 'Team Apprentice' walked across the bridge and set off back home. Jiraiya used one of his frogs to transport Haku back to the hospital so that his broken bones could be properly dealt with. Anko took the opportunity to teach her team tree running as a faster means of traveling in cross country. It was not quite as fast as simply running down the road had been on their trip to the Wave but it allowed them to move where there were no roads. Team 7 ended up being able to follow along as both Kiba and Shino knew how to tree run from training within their clans. Sasuke growled under his breath at another thing he was slighted in his own training. He quietly used his Sharingan to observe for a few minutes to pick up the technique as it used chakra in the legs to propel the ninja along through the treetops. Within an hour of first attempting tree running on his own he had enough experience to make adequate use of the skills he had copied.

Kakashi had Team 7 travel along in a methodical manner but Anko had her genin constantly switching positions and formations. She felt that even something as simple as going from place to place was an opportunity to learn and improve. Kakashi eventually nodded at this and had a few formation changes with his team but while Kiba and Shino complied without complaint, Sasuke just glared and continued onward. He did move into the new formation after a short delay but considered the whole exercise as more wasted time.

The teams reached Konoha and reported in. The Hokage was pleased with the results of the dual missions and decided he would see them upon their return. Jiraiya and Tsunade were waiting as the teams arrived in the office. Sarutobi smiled at the line of genin before him.

"Welcome back to all of you. I am very pleased with the turnout of the missions. Team 7, your original mission was bumped up to a class B with the missing ninja you encountered. Your records and pay will reflect that. The bounties on several of the mercenaries and the missing ninja that were captured were enough to cover the higher pay. The normal percentage to the person doing the capture will be split among you genin. There will also me an additional bonus later on when the sword of Momochi Zabuza is ransomed back to the Mist."

The sound of more money made the genin smile. Naruto started to think of all the things a bonus could get him when his thoughts turned to Haku. The boy had nothing now. Naruto made a quick decision. He lifted his hand to get Sarutobi's attention then spoke in his most polite manner when acknowledged.

"Um, Hokage-sama? I know this sounds strange, but could you give my portion of the bonus regarding Zabuza to his former apprentice, Haku? He will be trying to start a new life here and has nothing to his name; even less than I had for many years."

The rest of the people assembled before Sarutobi looked at Naruto in shock. Hinata smiled gently at her friend before facing front again, "I would like to do the same, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi smiled slightly at the genin. "Even though he tried to kill you? You did earn the bonus but it is yours to do with as you like."

"Well, he did try to do that, but that was when he was our enemy. Now, he is on our side." Naruto just grinned his foxy grin and left it at that.

"That was a noble thing you did for Haku, Naruto. Noble, but stupid." Jiraiya told his apprentice.

The Old Man said it was mine to do with as I wished, so I figured he could use it more than I could. Besides, all those pranks I did for the Hokage earned me a pile of money. It is all sitting in the bank earning interest for me. As an added bonus, the Old Man stuck his name on the account so none of it could 'disappear' and is managing investing the money for me." Naruto grinned bigger. "I already own the building I live in. The previous owner was eager to sell to the Hokage's lawyer. He figured he could get rid of me and make a pile of cash on that rat trap. The rent money from the other people living there is all going toward improvements. The basic structure is pretty sound; it is just run down from no maintenance for so long."

"It sounds like you really have things worked out for now, Naruto. Now, we need to discuss a few things from the mission and see what can be improved upon. I looked over the mission report and from what I saw, your team did well. I would give it a passing grade since you all lived. There were several glaring mistakes made during the battle but those are something only experience can overcome."

"For you, your taijutsu needs a lot of work. The mercenaries should not have been able to defeat a trained genin so easily. I will admit, a 12 yr old going up against several dozen full grown men is a mismatch to begin with so I cannot fault you on your strength or speed. Your use of the clones to add extra firepower to your shuriken and kunai attacks was well done and cut into your foes numbers quite well but you need a better offense."

"I have been thinking about this since we left the Wave and I discussed it with Tsunade and Anko. I am going to teach you a new offensive jutsu to give you an edge in close combat." Jiraiya smirked and focused for a moment before a blue / white orb of charka appeared in his hand. "This jutsu was developed by the Fourth. It is called the Rasengan."

Tsunade looked at her apprentice with a slightly glaring eye. "Your performance in the Wave was acceptable. I have read Anko's report on the battle and while you had no real part in the fighting, you followed your orders correctly and saved the life of a comrade. You made good use of the first aid jutsu you have been taught already and made a good adjustment to a type of poison you had never seen before. The Aburame sent their thanks and said they will not forget your actions."

Sakura blushed lightly at the praise from her teacher. Tsunade was never one to give out praise lightly.

"The only downside to your part of the mission was that you were forced to treat a patient under fire. You did leave yourself basically defenseless during the time needed to treat your patient. That is a mistake you cannot afford most times but it only comes from a lack of experience. The one bright spot in that criticism is that you handled the one attack that targeted you and your patient. A medic ninja needs to not only treat the wounded but also to survive the battles intact. If you are a casualty then you cannot treat anyone and you are worthless to everyone. We will shift focus from strictly learning more advanced medical techniques to making you a more combat oriented field medic and add more intensive defense training."

Sakura just nodded and knew the next few months were going to be more of a hell than the previous ones.

Anko glared heavily at Hinata. The younger girl flinched slightly but stood up under the baleful gaze better than she had in the past. Anko smirked at that and proceeded.

"You did well in your part of the fight. Your jutsu and attacks were direct, fluid and accurate. You went through the mercenaries like they were a field of wheat at harvest time. That part was good."

"However, you lowered your guard while there was still fighting in the area and it almost cost you your life. That part is unacceptable. You can never lower your guard like that Hinata. This time you got lucky. You lived. I will grant that the person who took you down was more skilled and a very difficult opponent. He gave me some trouble. All I will say regarding that part of the battle now is learn from it."

"Your father was impressed with what he read regarding your performance. He told me that he wishes for you to continue training in your new style but you will also go back to training with him in your clan's main Gentle Fist style. As you learn more, we can incorporate it into the Flowing Fist. I figure that sounds better than calling it Water Fist."

Three different teachers look at their apprentices and all said the same thing. "We have 3 months to get you ready to see if you can make it into the Chunin Exams."

Sasuke searched through his clan's dusty library of scrolls. He recalled everything about that jutsu which Kakashi called Chidori but he still could not get it to work. He was missing something. He was not going to ask about it because for some reason he felt that he would be told he should not have the jutsu. But all of those others were wrong. He was an Uchiha. He was a member of one of the founding clans of Konoha. He was the elite of the village. On top of all of that, he needed strong jutsu. He had to avenge his parents, and all of his clan. He needed to hate and grow strong enough to defeat Itachi. He would not let all of these weaklings hold him back from what he needed to do.

Sasuke unrolled what seemed to be the hundredth scroll of the day and smiled in an almost feral fashion. This was what he had been looking for. The title of the scroll read, 'Manipulating Elemental Chakra'

The weeks passed by for the 3 genin in a near blur. Team training and individual training had all of them looking forward to their mandatory day off each week. D rank missions took up 3 afternoons each week with the trio acting more alone than anything else. Jiraiya claimed it was training to be Chunin and to develop leadership of a team but the genin knew that the Toad Sannin was just being lazy. Weeding gardens and catching the infamous Tora hardly phased the team any longer and they finished those kinds of missions quickly and efficiently in order to get back to better things.

Naruto was limited on the time he could put into Rasengan training. Tsunade told him only 2 hours per day training was allowed on the jutsu once Naruto fell asleep during her team instruction. Naruto agreed after spending an afternoon filling in the holes the Slug Sannin had punched into a training field while chasing him around. Jiraiya noticed the slight grin on his teammates face as she chased the boy around but kept that bit of information to himself. These kids were a better medicine for Tsunade's loss than all the sake she had drunk over the years. An added plus was that she was not beating on him for once. Stuck with the 2 hour per day limit, Naruto still managed to get the first stage complete in about 3 weeks. Jiraiya made him pop several more water balloons before he would accept that part was mastered. The second stage training with the rubber ball was taking Naruto much longer to accomplish.

Hinata showed great improvement in her developing Flowing Fist style. Hiashi was impressed in a closed demonstration and approved continued training. Hinata also showed great strides in her Gentle Fist techniques as she performed the 64 strikes a dozen times in succession without flaw. Her confidence level continued to rise as each repetition grew faster and more precise. The approval and smiling face of her father made Hinata's own smile light up the room. Anko had Hinata begin modifying her Arms of the Dancing Asp attack into a defensive kata as well using her Byakugan eyes to cover normal vision's blind spots. Neither teacher nor pupil wanted a repeat of the senbon incident.

Sakura had it roughest physically but being trained by a world class medic meant she did not have the bruises to prove it. Speed and agility training took up most of the time Sakura spent on the practice fields. Each workout left her covered in various colors of paint as Tsunade took almost an Anko level of sadistic glee in tormenting her apprentice. Sakura even managed to avoid all the paint one day only to be greeted the following day by two slugs shooting balls of acid instead of Tsunade alone with balls of paint. Tsunade merely called it moving up to Level 2. Sakura cried many times over the weeks as the acid dissolved many sets of training clothes after that but she continued to slowly improve.

The team went on a single class C mission during the 3 months. They were assigned to take some reports to the Daimyo at the capital. The team was surprised when all three instructors accompanied them on the simple mission. It took 2 days of walking to get to the capital city. The night in between was spent at a nice hotel along the road. When asked about the mission, Jiraiya explained to the team. "If this mission did not involve leaving the village, it would be a simple class D mission. These are simple reports that the Daimyo wants a few times a year. The most secret thing in the documents is the schedule for the Chunin exams. Since we provide that information to all participating villages; there is no reason for concern of theft. Just relax and enjoy the downtime as we travel."

Once at the capital, the team was ushered into the office of the Daimyo. The late middle aged man who greeted the mall warmly was not what the genin expected. Surprisingly, Jiraiya and Tsunade smiled back at the country's leader just as warmly. "Jiraiya-kun, Tsunade-hime, you both have not changed a bit. Oh my, and Anko-chan, you have grown so much!" Naruto had to stifle a chuckle as Anko blushed lightly. "So, these must be the students that Sarutobi-san is so excited about. Please, introduce these fine genin to me."

Jiraiya pointed to Hinata. "First, we have Hyuuga Hinata. Hiashi's firstborn and Heir to the Hyuuga clan. Next to her is Haruno Sakura, student of Tsunade. The blonde is Uzumaki Naruto."

"Uzumaki?" The Daimyo motioned Jiraiya closer and spoke to him in a whisper. A few words could be heard by the team but nothing could be understood.

" … son … ka … ato … " Jiraiya nodded and spoke in similar tones.

"He … sn't kn … secr …"

Naruto frowned at being talked about and not being able to hear what was being said. Eventually the Daimyo nodded as he understood. He faced the team once more.

Hinata noticed the look on the Daimyo's face as it betrayed his thoughts via body language to her Byakugan eyes. She was nowhere close to the level of the adults of the clan but she could pick up general mood and emotional state. The leader was confused by Naruto's name somehow, apparently expecting it to be different somehow. All she could get beyond his acceptance of Jiraiya's explanation was a single name read from the Daimyo's lips.

Namikaze

"I am pleased to meet all of you. I hope that you all can fulfill the hopes that Sarutobi-san has for all of you. I will be attending the finals of the Chunin Exams tournament in about 6 weeks time and I hope that I will be able to see one or more of you in the finals."

The three genin looked confused for a moment before realizing what the Daimyo had said. They would be in the Chunin Exams as rookies. Naruto grinned his trademark grin and gave the Daimyo a thumbs up. "We are gonna kick butt!!"

The Daimyo laughed loudly at that. 'He has his father's looks but that attitude is purely his mother. The boy will be truly formidable one day.'

The team stayed an extra day in the capital waiting for replies to the documents before returning to Konoha.

Sasuke was training inside his clan compound. His daily practices were beginning to pay off. He looked down at his hand and the small amount of arcing lightning chakra he had conjured. A dark smile crept across his face.

The jonin instructors of genin squads for Konoha were gathered in the meeting hall. The nomination process for the Chunin Exams was underway. One by one older squads were put forward or declined entry by their respective senseis. Dozens of older squads had been nominated this year as Konoha was the host. Even marginal squads had been given entry as it would not cost the village anything extra to have them participate like it would in a foreign country. For foreign competitions only the best five squads would be sent. Only two second year squads were nominated. The rookie squads rarely had any nominations but tradition said the Hokage had to give the jonin a chance to nominate their teams. Most teams had not done a class C mission yet and were not qualified to enter.

"I, Hatake Kakashi, do nominate my squad of Uchiha Sasuke, Aburame Shino and Inuzuka Kiba for the Chunin Selection Exams."

This caused a murmur among the gathered jonin. The Uchiha was being entered.

"I, Sarutobi Asuma, do nominate my squad of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji for the Chunin Selection Exams."

The Hokage looked up at his son and saw his serious expression and nodded, accepting the team into the Exams. "Are there any other teams that wish to enter into the current exam?

Jiraiya stood up in the back and said, "I, Jiraiya, the Toad Sage and Sannin, speaking for Senji Tsunade and Mitarashi Anko, do nominate the squad of Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto for the Chunin Selection Exams."

This brought on another bout of murmurs from the jonin. 'Team Apprentice' was also going up as rookies. Never before had 3 teams of rookies been entered into the Chunin Exams. If nothing else, this year would prove to be an interesting test.

The last week before the exams was the lightest training week Naruto could remember. The physical training in the mornings was just as demanding but the afternoons consisted mainly of reviews and tactical discussions. The team was dismissed earlier than they were used to being finished and ran into a familiar boy playing with his friends.

"Look, its Naruto!" the young girl shouted.

Naruto saw the 3 young Academy students rushing over to his team. He grinned as he had met all 3 in the hospital after the fire.

"Hiya Konohamaru, Moegi, Udon. What are you kids up to? You didn't cut school did you?"

"No way! I can never make Hokage before you if I cut school. We just got out and were playing ninja missions! Hey, who are these girls with you Naruto?" asked Konohamaru. "You have 2 girlfriends?"

Hinata blushed while Sakura got mad and yelled, "We're teammates you lil snot!"

Konohamaru put on a face, "Good thing I guess. Naruto, she gets ugly when she is upset."

"WHAT!?" yelled Sakura. Then she cracked her knuckles and lunged at the boy.

Konohamaru fled as fast as he could with Sakura in pursuit.

A few seconds after the pair rounded the next corner, Naruto heard a thud and shout of pain from Konohamaru and ran up to make sure Sakura did not hurt the boy too much. He was surprised to see Konohamaru lifted off the ground in the grip of a foreign ninja. The boy had on face paint and was wearing a dark outfit with what looked like cat ears on the hood.

"Yo, Max. You want to put the kid down. It might be cool to beat up grade-schoolers out where the wild things are but in Konoha it is frowned upon."

The teenager glared at Naruto. "He ran into me and tried to run off without apologizing. So I am going to teach him a lesson in manners."

Konohamaru was sweating nervously already and stammered out, "I really do apologize, Sir. I was running for my life from a harpy and didn't see you there."

Sakura growled at being called a harpy but the painted boy kept pushing things. "Well, she is ugly enough to be a harpy but that is no excuse kid. It's lesson time." He pulled back a fist.

"Kankuro," a girl's voice said. "Leave the kid alone."

The teen named Kankuro looked behind him to see a girl coming up. "Aw, Temari. I was playing around. I was only going to scare the rugrat."

"You know what Baki said about making trouble in another village. If we get sent home because of you, Gaara will be upset with you for screwing things up."

A wave of malice passed over the group. Everyone looked to see a red headed boy with a beige gourd on his back glaring at everyone.

Kankuro smiled weakly and put down Konohamaru. The boy ran behind Naruto and peeked out from behind the blonde's orange clad leg.

"You are embarrassing us, Kankuro."

"I'm sorry, Gaara. It won't happen again," Kankuro stammered out.

Gaara walked past Kankuro and Temari up to Naruto. "Mother says you are strong, but I don't see it. Are you in the Chunin Exams?"

Naruto stared back at Gaara and could only focus on the redhead's eyes. They were full of hate and malice and his posture dripped killer intent.

"Yes, I am. I assume I will see you there. I am Uzumaki Naruto."

"I am Gaara. I will kill you at the Exams then."

The redhead walked past the Konoha group and did not wait for the other 2 foreign ninja as he turned the corner. Temari and Kankuro hurried after the departing Gaara.

Naruto shuddered a bit and took a deep breath. 'That was a close one.'

On the night before the first part of the Chunin exams, their teachers invited Naruto, Hinata and Sakura to a dinner with their families. Hinata arrived with her father, Hiashi. Sakura brought her parents Shukei and Sumomo. Naruto was going to go alone until he asked Iruka to go with him. The teacher had kept in touch with the blonde and was delighted to attend. The restaurant was one of the best in the village. Live music was being played softly and a small stage had been curtained off in the private area they were dining in..

Naruto was not fond of the food and really wanted ramen but ate without complaint. Iruka had sat between Naruto and Anko and was pleased to 'talk shop' with an old classmate. They had known each other as children before Anko became apprenticed to Orochimaru. They had known each other professionally after that but never had much of a chance to rebuild that friendship as their duties kept them busy.

Sumomo was dominating conversation at her end of the table. Shukei merely nodded at the appropriate times and kept drinking sake. He managed to match Tsunade bowl for bowl all evening. On her part, Tsunade was glad for the sake as well as someone else drinking so much. She figured with a wife like that, he was an old hand at it. It bothered her to think that this harpy was distantly related to her by blood but was very glad Sensei had kept that information secret. She was also glad that Sakura had been seated between them or the woman would be dead. Jiraiya only tried to think of a way to incorporate the entire scene into on of his books. His idea included the death of the foul woman.

Shortly after the main course had been finished Anko rose and led off Hinata. Tsunade and Jiraiya knew what was happening but merely smiled. After about 20 minutes, they returned in formal kimonos and stepped up onto the stage. A pair of waiters followed and pulled back the curtains revealing a pair of tea services. Anko and Hinata both began moving in unison as they both went through the tea ceremony for the gathered family and friends. Both moved flawlessly and with confidence for the duration of the preparations. When the time to serve tea arrived, Hinata presented to her father as most honored guest while Anko presented to Iruka. She had planned on using Tsunade but somehow it felt right to have Iruka fill that place tonight. After everyone had been served and everything admired and put away, the teacher and student returned to their seats with compliments from all guests.

Naruto had been mesmerized the entire ceremony. He had never seen one before and could not tear his eyes from how graceful Hinata seemed. He had been afraid when the girls approached with the tea that one would come up to him and almost sighed in relief when both passed him by. When his turn had arrived, he had just mimicked what the ones before him had done.

With things winding down, Jiraiya stopped and had everyone brought a bowl of sake. The teens had much smaller ones with a token amount. "A toast, to tomorrow and a successful exam for our students. Know that your teachers are proud of you." Everyone drank and then the party broke up.

Hiashi walked home slowly in silence with Hinata beside him. In the silence, she feared something was wrong until he stopped shortly before the entrance to their compound. He faced her with a smile on his face.

"Daughter, you have earned the respect of your teachers and teammates. You performed the tea ceremony in a flawless manner that your mother would have been pleased to see. You have made me very proud tonight. Well done."

Hinata only blushed lightly and bowed. "Thank you, Father. I had good teachers."

Next Chapter: The Chunin Exams

End Notes: There were a lot of things I originally planned on putting in this chapter. I ended up trashing a good amount of material each time I came back on my proof reading a few days later. Nothing seemed to fit what I had wanted. Writer's block is so frustrating. You think you are going along well and come back later to think it is all crap. One sequence I wrote ended up being saved for a later chapter so not all is a loss. I should be getting back to weekly updates again with things less hectic until summer really gets here.

Somehow, I kind of miss Narutomaniac and his near flames of my work. I honestly do not mind bad reviews along with the good ones as long as they are honest and constructive. Things that make me think about what I am writing always seem to bring out my best stuff instead of simply cranking out more words to fill space. I had to even go back and re read the entire story before I proofread this chapter to make sure it held up to things I had written previously. I was satisfied with it.

Review Notes: Not much was brought up about my story in the chapter 15 reviews. So only a few points to make.

To the anonymus reviewer, There had to have been more than 1 classroom of students in the Academy. If there are thousands of ninja in a village, only having 9 genin in a year or a single classroom full of about 30 graduate would not even cover the deaths we see in the manga and anime. Most of the other ninja of Konoha occur off panel.

Lyra, um, Sakura is going to do more than cry soon.