And we're back! Welcome to Twilight Key, Chapter 25!

Oh hey, we passed 200k words. Awesome! Although I wonder how much of that amounts to AN's…But we're at least close to 200k in story content.

Shorter chapter, I know. But there wasn't really much for me to put here. I don't want to go over the entire month, so I didn't. I put all of the important stuff. I could have made it longer -maybe- but then it wouldn't be uploaded this weekend.

This was, by far, my least productive chapter ever. Not only is it a lot shorter compared to the other recent ones, but I also worked so freaking slowly on it. I really only got 1k words done every hour and a half to two hours.

Good to know my grammar and sentence structure isn't too terrible. That's always something I worry about in the back of my head.

LordGhostStriker: No, he doesn't. I said that was the original plan. I had been planning to give Naruto the curse mark, but scrapped that idea when I saw how many people didn't want that.

Dark Natsu Dragneel: I can't really give you an exact number of chapters, sorry. I plan to do the Kingdom Hearts story during the time skip, but I don't know how long it will take to get there. I go into each chapter with what I want in it in mind, but that changes a lot, especially when I need to split a chapter or merge it with another. I don't plan on doing any fillers -I think- so that means that after the chūnin exams, it is just that Akatsuki bit, maybe a Sasuke arc, and that's pretty much it. Unless I forgot something.

prototype gear: Where Neji fits in on the strength scale has always confused me a bit. He can beat Lee, but loses to Naruto. In my opinion, Lee was the strongest genin at this point in time, regardless of his fight with Gaara. I just don't see how Neji can beat him every time.

Anyways, on with the story!

I don't own Naruto, Kingdom Hearts or anything else. I'm just a broke college student...

Normal Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Normal Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Biju/Diety Talking: "Insert witty remark here."

Biju/Diety Thinking: 'Insert witty remark here.'

Scene Change: Insert Place Here

Jutsu/Magic/Technique: Insert Jutsu Here

Station of Awakening

"So in the end, you got your ass kicked so much that you had to resort to using your keyblade in front of an audience. That sound about right?"

Naruto glared at Yami when she rephrased what he said. "I wouldn't put it like that, but the basic idea is there." The smirk on Yami's face grew.

"So after all that training, all that hard work, you were backed into a corner by someone else just like that. And to top it off, it was a genin that did it."

"Hey! Lee-san is super over powered for a genin! I know I might be considered over powered for a genin as well, but really! Who the hell could have expected something like the inner gates being thrown in my face?!"

Yami snickered. "Well, maybe you should have expected it. Based on what you said, it sounds like both this kid and his sensei are absolutely insane, despite being taijutsu experts."

"But teaching that to a genin?" Naruto sighed in frustration before shaking his head. "Whatever. It already happened, I'm not going to dwell on it. Bottom line is that I used both magic and my keyblade in front of a large group of people. Those secrets are out."

Hikari nodded from where she was watching the argument. "Yes, although it would have been better to reveal them on your own terms, it was going to happen eventually. Look at this as a chance to stop holding back as much."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, sure. That's true enough."

"Good. Now then, you said you have a month before the next part of the exam?"

"Yeah." Naruto crossed his arms. "We drew lots to see who we would be up against and then were told we had a month to prepare."

"And who are you up against?"

"I drew a Kumo genin named Samui. Based off of what little fighting I saw her do and her appearance, it looks like she may prefer to use close combat like I do. She only fought using taijutsu and kenjutsu for a second, but that may have been because she wasn't pushed hard enough."

"Another kenjutsu user, huh? I would be surprised if they were better than you when it comes to that." Yami said.

Naruto shrugged. "It would be stupid of me to think I'm the best at kenjutsu of all the genin, but I also have to agree with you a bit there."

Hikari tilted her head. "So? What will you do? How are you going to prepare?"

"I was planning on just going to Urahara and asking him for some training. He apparently has some techniques that are similar to lightning release jutsu he would like to train me against. Yūgao-sensei also told both Yakumo and I that she is available if we want."

"Hmm, that would probably be a good idea. The two of us can also help you with that..." Naruto smiled gratefully. "Well, that sounds like a plan. Let's move onto the next topic." Hikari and Yami's expressions grew serious, causing Naruto's to do the same. "What are you planning to do about Gaara?"

Naruto sighed. "I really don't know. I never got a chance to do anything about him during the exam so far. My best bet will probably be trying to see if I can do something over the next month..."

"Wow, what an extravagant plan you have come up with. My mind has truly been blown."

"Tch. Well, what do you suggest?!" Naruto glared at Yami.

Yami shrugged in return. "I dunno. Why don't you just walk up to him right now and do it? The secret about the keyblade has already been blown, so why not?" Naruto sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Like hell I could do something like that..." He looked over to Hikari. "Do you have any ideas?"

Hikari shook her head. "Nothing here, sorry. I agree that you should just try and see if you can do something about it over the next month. But if you can't, you will need to make an opportunity appear yourself or risk him falling into darkness."

"Figures..." Naruto shook his head again. "Whatever, it's just about morning now. I'm going to head out now. Talk to you two later."

"Until next time."

"See ya."

Uzumaki-Namikaze Household

Naruto finished gathering the rest of his supplies before walking out his door and making his way towards the front door. He had just started reaching for the handle when he was interrupted.

"Ah, Naruto..." Naruto blinked and turned towards the source of the voice and was greeted with the form of his father. Minato sent a smile at him, but it faltered a bit when he saw that he only got a raised eyebrow in return. Not wanting to back down, he continued speaking. "I'm glad to see you are up and ready, I was just about to come and get you."

Slowly lowering the hand that was reaching for the door, Naruto turned to face him fully. "What for?" He asked.

Minato smiled a bit. "I'll tell you at the same time I tell your siblings. Come on." He turned and started walking towards the living room. Naruto frowned a bit before following.

Once they entered, Naruto looked around to see who else was there. Sitting on the couch were Menma and Narumi while Kushina, Tsunade, and Jiraiya were standing on the other side of the room.

Jiraiya looked over when they entered. "About time, gaki! I don't have all day, you know! What was so important that you had to make us wait?" Naruto frowned when he heard this.

Minato blinked before sending his own frown at Jiraiya. "I had to get Naruto, of course. He needs to be here too." This response made Jiraiya blink.

"Wha...Oh, yeah. Fine then..." He promptly shivered after feeling the look Kushina was sending his way from behind him.

After looking at his teacher for a moment longer, Minato turned to Naruto with an uneasy smile. "Please go sit next to Narumi and Menma while we talk to you."

Naruto slowly nodded before making his way over to the vacant spot on the couch. When he was settled, Minato nodded and smiled at the three genin.

"I want to start off by just saying how proud of you three I am. You have done a fantastic job, and I know you will show everyone what you can do in a month's time." Narumi and Menma beamed at the praise. "The reason that you three are here is because we have decided to talk to you about something very important." The serious look on his face made all three of them grow a little nervous. "We have decided...that it is time that you know about a group of people that you will eventually encounter."

Narumi blinked. "What makes them so special?"

Jiraiya had his own frown as he responded. "The thing that makes them special is who they are and what they want."

"And that would be?" Menma asked quizzically.

Minato sighed. "We don't know the identity of all of them, or even the amount of people they have, but they all have one thing in common." His frowned deepened. "Each one of them is an S-rank missing-nin." All three of their eyes widened.

'A group made up entirely of S-rank criminals? That just screams problem...'

"What did you mean that we will be encountering them?" Narumi asked.

Kushina had a variety of emotions filter through her face, from worry to anger. Eventually, she just sighed and looked at her daughter. "That goes back to what they want...they are collecting the bijū." This answer stunned those who were unaware.

"They…They want the bijū? Why the heck would they want to gather all of them?" Menma asked in bewilderment.

Jiraiya shook his head with a frown. "We don't know. It took me a long time to even confirm that this group existed and that small bit of information. But leave finding that out to us. You should be focusing on something else."

Naruto frowned internally when he heard this. 'I think I know where this is going…' And he wasn't sure how he felt about it.

Although slightly worried about the information just revealed to them, Narumi was still curious about what the adults had planned. "What should we be focusing on?" She asked with a tilt of her head.

Tsunade grinned. "You should be focusing on your training and preparation for when you will face them. You have a month now where you won't be getting any missions. Although it is nowhere near as much as we would like, it is still time that can be dedicated to training."

Jiraiya grinned as well. "Exactly! This gives us a chance to up your training. Both Tsunade and I are going to be around the next month to help out."

Kushina frowned. "Kakashi-kun was supposed to be here to help out as well, but he has his own student to train." She looked between her children, her eyes turning slightly hopeful when they landed on Naruto. "So…Are you ready for this?" Narumi and Menma looked to each other and grinned before turning back to her.

"You know it!"

"Heck yeah!" Tsunade and Jiraiya's grins grew when they heard the excitement in their voices.

The toad summoner nodded. "If you two behave well enough, then I may even let you sign the toad summoning contract."

Tsunade huffed and rolled her eyes, but a smile was playing on her lips. "How do you know they even want to sign that? Narumi-chan and Menma-kun might want to summon slugs instead."

"Why the heck would they want to do that when toads are an option?"

While this argument was going on, confused looks blossomed on the mentioned genin. They glanced at each other again before looking over to their sibling, who had his head lowered, making it so they couldn't see his eyes. They soon looked back to the bickering sannin. "…What about Aniki?" Menma asked. This simple question silenced everybody.

Narumi nodded in agreement. "Yeah. What about Nii-chan? He's training with us, right? What about him signing one of your contracts?" She said as she turned a light glare on the two sannin. Menma immediately followed her example as Kushina and Minato frowned a bit at Jiraiya and Tsunade.

"You two said that you would help Narumi and me, but Aniki is here too! He should be included. Right Aniki?" Nothing was said.

"…" The younger siblings blinked and turned to Naruto when he didn't say something similar. Minato and Kushina were also surprised about his silence. Naruto simply ignored the looks he was getting as he continued to think.

'I just don't get it! What changed? Why are they trying to include me now, but not before?' A few months ago, he was sure that his parents would not have even made sure he was present for a meeting like this.

"Nii-chan?" Naruto was pulled from his thoughts and turned to Narumi. "What do you think? Aren't you looking forward to the training?"

Naruto looked away as he thought about the question. Was he? Did he want to train with them? A few years ago, he would have jumped at the chance. But now? He just didn't care either way. In fact, he would rather train with Urahara and Soifon. The both of them were incredibly strong, and they knew about his abilities. Meaning that he could train with that and not get questioned. With that in mind, Naruto turned towards Minato and Kushina's hopeful expressions.

"Sorry, but no thank you. I have my training taken care of." Stunned silence ensued.

Minato soon recovered enough to shakily respond. "What? But…What do you mean no thank you? You don't want to train with us?" Both he and Kushina felt a small sense of hurt and desperation grow in them.

Naruto shrugged. "Never said that. Just that I already have my training taken care of. You don't need to worry about it. Go ahead and focus on Narumi and Menma." This casual reply and dismissal of their help shocked them into further silence.

Soon, the smile returned to Jiraiya's face. "Well, that's great! It's nice to know that there are still some brats out there who are dedicated enough to their training that they don't need people to hold their hand!" He gestured to Naruto in a shooing motion. "Now scram. If you already know what you're going to be doing, then get to it. Just be sure to stay out of the way." The way he said it and the eager acceptance of what was said made Naruto scowl.

Naruto made to get up. "Like heck it's great-ttebane! Naruto, stay right where you are!" He sighed and promptly relaxed back into his seat as Kushina whirled around to glare at Jiraiya, making the white haired man flinch. "Don't just go and dismiss my son like that after we just told him that someone is after his life!"

"B-but, why is he in danger? The Akatsuki is after the bijū. Narumi and Menma are the ones who have the chakr-"

"And what about the soul?! You don't maybe think that they will be after Naruto too?!"

"The soul…" Jiraiya's eyes widened. "Oh yeah…" He waved Kushina off. "Meh, don't worry about it. If I was the Akatsuki, then I would try eliminating the bigger threats first, meaning the ones with the power of the bijū. We can just train Naruto later, or something…"

The scowl on Naruto's face was growing by the minute. 'Training me later after Narumi and Menma? Now where have I heard that?'

Even the frown on Minato's face was growing deeper. "How could you say that, sensei? We shouldn't just dismiss Naruto in favor of teaching Narumi and Menma. We should train all three of them together."

Tsunade stepped forward. "I'm with the pervert on this one. We should focus on those who are the most likely to be targeted. I wouldn't say we are dismissing Naruto, more like pushing his training back a bit while we focus on the more pressing matters."

'I'm still here!' Naruto was starting to grit his teeth in anger.

Kushina was nearly growling at this point. "I cannot believeyou two are saying that!"

"Kushina, think about it! Not only are Narumi and Menma more likely to be targeted first, but you have to think about the pro-" He cut himself off as he realized what he was about to reveal. He sighed in frustration and shook his head. "Just don't worry about him. Plus, he would only be a burden at this point." Jiraiya paled when he realized what just came out of his mouth.

Kushina's glare rose to new levels as she began to stalk towards him. Her hair was slowly rising into the air as her inner habanero emerged. "How dare you…" Minato had his own glare directed at his teacher.

Naruto got to his feet, catching the attention of Narumi and Menma. "Nii-chan?" Narumi asked. Her questioning voice gained the attention of everyone else. Naruto had a blank expression on his face.

"Glad we can agree. If that's everything, I'll be going now." He started to walk in the direction of the front door, but Minato stepped in front of him.

"Naruto, wait. I'm sure that sensei didn't mean that. You aren't a burden and we want you to train with us."

Naruto shook his head. "No, really. It's perfectly fine. You should focus on Narumi and Menma. Like they said, they are more likely to be targeted." He sidestepped Minato and continued. "As I told you, I already have plans, so don't worry about it. After all, I would hate to be a burden." For a moment, his blank expression slipped, showing great anger under it.

Bang! Before anything more could be said, Naruto walked out the door and closed it behind him. Narumi and Menma flinched at the loud sound. "Naruto, wait!" After throwing another glare at Jiraiya, Kushina rushed to the door and pulled it open, only to see that Naruto had already vanished out of view.

Urahara's Training Ground

A Corridor of Darkness appeared in the middle of the training ground, unseen by anyone. After a moment, Naruto emerged from it and promptly dispelled the corridor as he crouched over with his hands on his knees in an attempt to regain his breath.

"Dammit…I still need to…increase my resistance to darkness…" While he was now able to travel in the corridors without having to ask Hikari and Yami to shield him, it took a lot more out of him to do so.

After he managed to regain his breath, Naruto made his way over to the ladder that led back into the back of the shop. He soon found Urahara sitting at the normal table in the tea room with Yoruichi lounging lazily nearby. Urahara blinked when he saw Naruto, but a grin soon surfaced on his face.

"Oh, Naruto-kun, welcome back! Safe to say that you missed little old me during your time in the exams?"

Naruto sighed as he plopped himself down in across from the shop owner. "Shut up, moron. If anything, I wasn't gone long enough."

Yoruichi cracked an eye open at him. "Disregarding Kisuke and his need to be obnoxious with every sentence, how did the exams go? Well I hope?" The groan the cat got in response was not the expected response. "Well…that doesn't bode well. Did something happen?"

Naruto slumped. "What didn't happen?"

One Retelling Later

The tea room was silent as Naruto gave the other two occupants some time to absorb the information that he just gave them. Eventually, Urahara was the first to respond. His normal grin was nowhere to be seen.

"Well, this does pose a problem. And a rather serious one, too…"

Naruto snorted. "Which bit? The part where I was forced to reveal way more than I am comfortable with, or the part where it was revealed that one of the biggest psychopaths out there is aware of light and darkness to the point he can control darkness, or the part where he is going to lead this world to getting swallowed by the darkness?"

Urahara frowned as he fanned himself. "While it is unfortunate that you had to reveal your ability to use magic in front of an audience, we are lucky that people will just believe it to be a simple jutsu that you don't need hand seals for. The keyblade is a bit harder to explain, but it isn't a devastating thing to reveal. The guy controlling darkness? That's a problem. And a big one." Yoruichi nodded in agreement.

"Yes. And the fact that he was even able to summon and control the heartless worries me."

Naruto nodded, but his mind was somewhere else. He was thinking about something that Orochimaru said to him. He hadn't put much thought into it, but looking back, it set him on edge. "There's one thing that the snake said to me that worries me…" Urahara raised an eyebrow.

"Besides the parts where he talked about darkness and heartless?" Naruto just ignored the hint of sarcasm.

"…He said…that he always expected me to have an affinity for darkness…" Naruto frowned, the others mirroring his expression. "Because of everything going on, I just never really thought about it. But…how could he have possibly expected something like that? I've never even met the freak before!"

Urahara frowned as he thought about it. "That is strange. I don't see how he could have predicted something like that. He can't possibly know about Hikari and Yami training you to use both light and darkness, but it is clear that there is some other factor that he is aware of that would make him think that way."

Naruto's frown deepened. "It gives me the creeps. That guy is creepy in every possible way imaginable…And fighting him made me realize something…" Urahara and Yoruichi were silent as they waited for him to continue speaking. "I'm still not strong enough."

They blinked when they heard that. "What makes you believe that?" Yoruichi asked him.

"During that fight, I…I was just toyed with the entire time. I couldn't do anything against him. He was in control from the start, and the only reason that we all got out of there alive is because he allowed it. And I know it won't be the last time I see him. I can't do anything against him as I am now. If he attacks again, I won't be able to stop him. And if he targets the people I care about, he will be able to just knock me aside and continue. I need to get stronger."

A smirk slowly made its way onto Urahara's face. "Is that so…?" He mused. "Well then, I guess it falls upon me to make sure that my student gets stronger. But are you up for it?"

Naruto grinned at him. "I would be a pretty crappy student if I refused when my teacher is so willing to help me. We have a month before the next exam, we can work every day until then."

The cat frowned. "Won't people question where you are going every day?" The scowl that flashed across Naruto's face immediately grabbed the attention of Yoruichi and Urahara. "What happened?" Yoruichi asked.

Naruto looked away. "I was hoping that you would be ok with me sleeping here for the next month…" He asked.

"Why? What happened?" Urahara asked, only to get a shrug. "Naruto." The crimson blond sighed when he heard the serious tone from the normally laid back man.

"Jiraiya and Tsunade are going to help my parents train Narumi and Menma. They will be focusing on the two of them for the next month."

Urahara frowned. "But not you?"

Naruto shook his head. "No. I would just be a…burden if I was there." Dead silence.

"Did they say that?" Yoruichi asked in a chilling tone. "Were those the words used?"

"Yeah, but I think it might have been a slip of the tongue. Jiraiya said it after I told them I already had training plans. He said it was a good thing because they could then focus on my siblings without having to worry about me."

Yoruichi hissed. "How dare he! How could he say that?! I should go slash him apart!"

Naruto's eyes grew wide in surprise before he frantically shook his head. "No, don't!" He sighed. "Just…forget about it. I don't even care. It's not like this is anything new." Urahara looked like he was going to reply, but was cut off. "Look, I don't want to talk about it. Can we please just move on?"

Urahara and Yoruichi looked at each other before looking back to him. "Fine…" Urahara said reluctantly before he returned to fanning himself. "So the four of them will dedicate the next month to training your siblings? While I get that the chūnin exams finish in a month, aren't some of them normally really busy?"

"Oh, did I not mention that?" Naruto sighed again. "This is really important because apparently there is this group of S-ranked missing-nin out there that are collecting the bijū. And that of course means…"

"That you and your siblings are targets…" Yoruichi finished. Naruto nodded.

"Exactly. Because of that, us getting stronger became more of a priority than it was." A determined look crossed Naruto's face. "I will get stronger. The whole reason I've ever been getting stronger is to protect those who are important to me. Only Orochimaru's own agenda saved us in the forest, that won't happen with these guys. I'm not going to just sit around and wait for them to come and do whatever. I'll grow stronger so I can fight them."

Both Urahara and Yoruichi couldn't help the smiles that appeared. Urahara stood up. "Is that right? Well then, I guess we should get going. If you want to become as strong as them, then you can't slack off!" He pointed dramatically towards the door. "Follow me, we are off to train!" Naruto rolled his eyes, but smiled and followed anyway.

Urahara shop (Three Weeks Later)

Naruto sighed as he walked towards the door of the shop. It has now been three weeks since the end of the preliminaries and Naruto was dead tired. While Urahara trained him into the ground during the day, Hikari and Yami were relentless while he was in the Station of Awakening.

'Sometimes I wonder if they just like to beat me up…'

"Oh? Where you going at a time like this?" Naruto blinked and looked to the side to see Soifon lounging on a cushion with another magazine. Naruto shrugged with a small smile.

"Just out and about. I kind of want to just get out and walk around for a bit. I haven't really left for the past three weeks. I just want to relax for a bit before I head into the Station of Awakening to train with Hikari and Yami."

Yoruichi smiled and nodded. "Oh, I get ya." She turned back to her magazine and waved a lazy hand in his direction. "Well, don't let me stop you."

Naruto had an amused smile on his face as he responded. "Right. See you when I get back." And with that, he stepped out into the cool night air and walked away. He didn't really have a destination in mind, he was more just letting his mind wander as his feet walked.

As he walked, he reflected on what he managed to accomplish so far. 'Urahara pumped up my training even more…And Soifon-san started to help me improve my taijutsu…I don't think I'm on the level of Lee-san, but I think I wouldn't get kicked around as much if we were to fight again.' He turned down another street. 'Hikari and Yami have also helped me refine my magic and teach me a couple new spells…but I'm not sure if I would say that I've mastered them yet…'

His mind went back to the fight in the forest, like it has been doing often lately. 'I know that I'm still no match for someone like Orochimaru. I don't think I will be for a long time.' He stopped walking in the middle of a deserted street. His hands balled into fists. 'How long will it take me before I'm able to fight on that kind of level? I need to-' Clang!

Naruto blinked before turning towards the source of the sound. Clang! Clang! The repeating sound of metal clashing against metal echoed throughout the night. "A fight? At this time of night?" Naruto muttered to himself before his eyes narrowed. 'There isn't any training ground over there. Meaning that whatever is going on could be serious…' He crouched in preparation. 'Better go check it out!' Naruto promptly jumped on to the nearest roof before starting to head over to the noise.

The fight sounded like it was relatively close, only a block or two away, so Naruto was able to get close quickly. As he neared it, there he masked his presence so he wouldn't alert those fighting that he was there.

Whoosh! "Argh!" Just as the fight was about to come into view, a powerful gust of wind and cry of pain echoed into the night air. Naruto quickened his pace across the roof. Eventually, he was finally able to gain eyes on the fight.

Or the result.

"Hayate-san!" Naruto rushed over to the bleeding form of Hayate Gekkō who was laying on his back in a pool of his own blood with a long cut going across his chest. Lying on the floor next to him was his katana. Naruto immediately brought his hand forward to check for a pulse. A sigh of relief escaped him when he felt the weakened pulse. "Hayate-san, can you hear me?" No response. "Dammit Hayate-san! You better not die on sensei like this!"

"Gah…Who-" A weak groan came from Hayate. He tried to speak, but was interrupted by a cough. But unlike his normal ones, this one made him cough up blood.

Naruto glared at him. "Shut up! Don't try to talk right now!" He looked over the injuries Hayate had. 'Damn, what do I do? He won't last long like this…'

"N…No. You have to li…listen." Hayate coughed up some more blood. "You…have to w…warn the Hokage…" Another cough.

"You can warn him yourself! I'm going to get you some help." Naruto moved to pick him up, but was stopped.

"No! This…This is more important…Tell the Ho…Hokage that Suna…and Oto are going…to attack…"

Naruto's blood ran cold. "An invasion? They will start a war?"

Hayate weakly nodded. "Yes…Tell the Hokage…that they will attack…during…the…exam…" Hayate's voice trailed off as he slowly closed his eyes.

Seeing this, Naruto spoke up. "Hey! Stay the hell awake-ttebayo! You aren't going to kick the bucket now!" No response. "Dammit!" Naruto looked over his injuries again. 'He's lost too much blood and he's still bleeding! He won't make it to the hospital at this rate. Crap, I don't have a choice…' Naruto brought his hand forward, hovering it over Hayate's wound. "I really hope this works…" Naruto took a breath.

"Cure." A green light surrounded Hayate, bathing the area in a soft glow. When it faded, Naruto inspected his work before heaving a sigh of relief. 'Thank kami that worked.' The wound wasn't completely healed, but it was still a lot better than what it had been a minute ago. Naruto then inspected how much energy he had left. 'That took quite a bit. Not as much as it could have, but it definitely isn't something I can spam…'

Naruto shook off these thoughts as he thought of the next thing for him to do. 'There's an invasion coming. And Suna and Oto are behind it. It is during the final exam. It is obvious Hayate-san saw something that the enemy would rather he didn't…Other people need to be told. But first, I need to get him to the hospital…'

Urahara Shop (Twenty Minutes Later)

Naruto walked through the front door of the Urahara shop and immediately walked to the back room. Once he entered, Urahara and Soifon glanced up at him. His serious expression immediately told them that something happened. "What is it?" Soifon asked.

Naruto sat down on a cushion. "Konoha will be invaded during the final exam in two weeks." Grim silence ensued.

"How do you know?" Urahara asked seriously. Naruto immediately went on to recount what happened while he was out.

One Retelling Later

Urahara sighed when Naruto finished telling them what happened. "Well, this poses a problem."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "I figured that much. What do you think we should do?" He asked.

"Nothing."

This made Naruto blink in surprise before his mind registered what he just heard. "Nothing? You think we should just do nothing?"

Urahara nodded. "Yes." He swiftly raised a hand to silence Naruto when he opened his mouth. "Give me a second to explain. I think we shouldn't do anything. You got that exam proctor help in time, right?"

"Yes…"

"Then that means that he will be able to inform the necessary people. They will do something. We should just continue training like usual and prepare ourselves for the attack. That sound reasonable to you?"

Naruto reluctantly nodded. "Yeah…"

"Good!" Urahara made a shooing motion with his fan. "Now be a good boy and go to bed. I think it's time for your night training to begin! Hurry, it is very important for you to learn all the different ways that it is possible for you to get your ass kicked!"

Kami, Naruto really hated this bastard sometimes…

Konoha Hospital (One Hour Later)

Hayate weakly groaned as he returned to awareness. The first thing his sluggish mind registered was that he wasn't dead.

The second was the pain.

"Guh…That hurts…"

"Hayate!" Hayate blinked when he heard the voice and weakly turned his head to face the person who just rushed to his side. Seeing who it was made him smile.

"Yūgao…"

The purple haired jōnin gave him a teary smile and nod. "Yes, I'm here. Are you alright? How do you feel?" She asked him in worry.

"Well, I'm not dead…So I would say I feel better than I expected I would…" Yūgao was not amused by the poor joke.

"Take this seriously, idiot. You nearly died tonight. It's a miracle that you're still alive." It seemed that just saying that brought more tears to her eyes.

"I'll say." The two of them turned their heads to the source of the new voice. Tsunade was standing in the doorway. She walked into the room, Minato right behind her. "If it wasn't for the fact that you are still breathing, then I would have never believed you had lived long enough with that kind of wound to make it here."

Minato nodded with a smile. "It's great to see that you're alright, Hayate. You gave us all quite the scare."

Hayate's eyes widened. "That's right! Hokage-sama you'v-" In his haste to report to Minato, he forgot that he was injured and quickly sat up.

Yūgao was immediately hovering over him again while Tsunade glared. "Hey! Watch it there, idiot! You may be alive, but you're still in no condition to be doing that!"

Minato nodded in agreement. "She's right. Take it easy Hayate." Once he saw that Hayate was settled back in and the pain had subsided, he nodded again. "Good. Now what were you trying to tell me?" He asked.

Hayate's expression grew serious. "We are going to be invaded during the final exam." This one sentence made the temperature of the room drop. In an instant, Minato's entire presence shifted. He was no longer Minato, the kind Hokage, he was now Minato, the Yellow Flash and the man who played a huge role in securing victory for Konoha in the last war.

The piercing blue eyes of the Hokage never moved an inch from Hayate's own. After a moment, Minato spoke up.

"Tell me what happened tonight." It wasn't a request.

One Retelling Later

"Suna and Oto are going to attack during the final exam?" Minato asked after he heard the story from Hayate. Hearing this, the wounded jōnin nodded.

"Yes. I believe what I stumbled upon was a meeting between the two sides."

Tsunade scowled. "I always knew something was off about that Kabuto kid. I should have guessed that he was a spy from the beginning. And for Orochimaru no less…"

Minato shook his head. "Regardless. We can use this to our advantage." The others blinked and looked over to him. "It is obvious now that Suna is working with Oto to attack us. I'm not sure what role Orochimaru plays with Oto, but he must at least be fairly high up if he is leading them. I wouldn't be surprised if he turns out to be their kage. We can use this as an early warning and prepare for the attack."

The sannin smirked. "You want to use this as a chance to get rid of Orochimaru, don't you?" Minato smirked back, making Tsunade's smirk turn into a grin. "I like it."

Hayate coughed. "But won't they know that we know now, thus making the entire thing pointless?"

The smirk on Minato's face grew. "Not at all." When he saw the confusion on Hayate's face, he continued. "As far as everyone else is concerned, Hayate Gekkō died tonight against an unidentified enemy, thus making it so the warning never reached others." Hayate's eyes widened.

"How would that work?"

Minato gestured to Tsunade. "Tsunade personally oversaw your treatment, no one helped her. You were brought in quietly with no witnesses. The only reason we found you was because someone left you on the roof of the hospital and left a note on Yūgao's front door telling her where you are and to be quiet about what happened. We don't know who. Probably the same person who healed you enough to survive." Minato shrugged. "Meaning that the enemy thinks you died."

"But…But I know who saved me…" This one claim silenced the others. Minato blinked in surprise.

"You…you do?" He asked.

Hayate nodded. "Yes. They arrived just after the enemy left. My consciousness returned for a bit and I was able to convey the information of the attack to them. I had thought that they would have been the one to tell you what happened, but I guess not seeing as I was the first to tell you."

Yūgao took Hayate's hand in her own. "Who was it? I want to thank them for this." She smiled at him when he looked her way. "I don't think I can ever repay them for this. I'll have to introduce myself to thank them." She blinked when Hayate chuckled. "What? What's so funny?" She asked him.

"Nothing…It's just…" He shook his head. "You already know the person. Definitely much better than I do."

Yūgao blinked. "I do?" A nod. "Who is it?"

Hayate smirked. "I was fading in and out of consciousness at the time, but there were two things that I clearly remember. The first was the person saying, 'You better not die on sensei like this,' and the other was hair that had a mix of blond and red." The eyes of everyone in the room widened at this.

"N…Naruto? He's the one that saved you?" Yūgao asked weakly, getting a nod in return.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure it was him. I admit that I was not as lucid as I could have been, but still."

Minato stepped forward. "Would you have any idea where he is?" The others blinked when they heard the worry in his tone. "Naruto disappeared three weeks ago. We haven't seen him since he told us he had plans for his training…"

Hayate shook his head. "No, sorry. I have no clue." He looked to Yūgao. "He's your student. You have any idea?"

Yūgao shook her head. "I haven't seen him since the preliminaries. I told him that he was welcome to come to me if he wanted some help with training, but he told me he already had something planned."

Hearing this, the Hokage sighed and slumped. "That's fine…" He shook his head before another thought came to him. "But…That would also mean that Naruto was the one to heal you…" The eyes of the others widened at that realization. "I was not aware that he knew any medical techniques…Or that he could even do any."

Naruto's sensei nodded in agreement. "I didn't even know. He has never done something like that before now, as far as I know."

Tsunade hummed to herself as she went over the chart detailing Hayate's condition. "Well, whatever he did, it worked. And well. It wasn't a complete job, but it definitely was a good one for an emergency job without any tools. You should be fully recovered by the time the final exam starts." The others were silent as they thought about it.

Eventually, Minato broke the silence. "Well, regardless, it is good to know you will be fine, Hayate. If you remember any other details about what happened, contact me." He looked at each person in the room. "It goes without saying that everything discussed in this room is to be kept quiet. I will notify people who need to know starting tomorrow." They nodded. "Good. Have a good night." And with that, he disappeared in a yellow flash.

Station of Awakening (Few Hours Later)

"Alright! That's enough!" Hearing that shout, Naruto sighed in relief before he got out of his battle stance and dismissed his keyblade. Yami soon followed. "Pretty good. Or at least, not terrible."

"Please, you don't have to lavish me in such generous praise…" Naruto said sarcastically.

"Whatever. I call it like I see it."

"Please, you two. Don't start arguing again. I think you've already filled that quota for this session." Hikari interjected as she walked up to them. She smiled at Naruto. "You have really improved, Naruto-kun. I think it is only a matter of time before you are ready to learn the next technique."

Naruto smiled. "That's awesome, thanks." He grew silent as a thought crossed his mind and he looked down in thought.

Seeing the thoughtful frown on his face, Hikari spoke up. "What is it? Is something wrong?" She asked him. Naruto shook his head.

"No, nothing's wrong…I was…just wondering if I should go out and find a summoning contract…Or if there is even one that would fit my combat style…" He would rather not sign the toad or slug contract, but he didn't know of any others beside the dog contract, and that was out too.

Yami and Hikari blinked before looking at each other for a moment. They soon turned back and Yami spoke up. "You want a summoning contract?"

Naruto nodded. "Yeah. The conversation I had a few weeks ago got me thinking about it. Narumi and Menma have probably both signed one by now, and I was thinking I should probably do the same." He sighed. "But I have no idea where I can get one to sign…"

Hikari and Yami frowned in thought and traded another glance. "Well…we can help you out there…"

Naruto blinked in surprise and looked at them. "You guys have a contract I can sign?"

"No…We don't have something like that…" Hikari smiled. "…But we have something that is just as good."

Yami smirked. "Probably even better."

Now Naruto was really curious.

There we go! All done with Chapter 25!

Like I said, short chapter compared to the others. I still think 7k words is pretty good for a fic that gets updated every week though. There are so many out there that just upload a 3k word chapter once a month.

Naruto and the others were finally told about the Akatsuki!

Things escalate in the Uzumaki-Namikaze family! And Jiraiya's fat mouth isn't helping!

Yes, I totally saved Hayate. Deal with it.

I have had Naruto summons picked out for a while now. Some of you can probably guess what it is, and that's fine. I had to go ask another author to use his idea for the summons so it would make sense. I try to not alter too much when it comes to how things work, but I like what I have planned.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Post a review!

Until next time,

Kog6943