A Different Jutsu: Part Two Chapter 12, a naruto fanfic

Chapter Twelve: Kumogakure, Speed and Strength!

"See you at the finals Naruto-kun!" Tenten said as she stepped away from Naruto's embrace.

Naruto grinned and went to respond when Fuu tackled his chest in a hug, "I'll miss you." she said quietly into his shirt.

Naruto smiled and winked at Tenten before hugging Fuu back, "You know I'll miss you too. It'll only be a few weeks, then I'll be back and then…well y'know." He said with a chuckle.

Fuu blushed as she smiled up at Naruto, "We'll become a real family!" she said excitedly before jumping up and kissing Naruto's lips, throwing her arms around his neck in the process.

Naruto caught her around the waist until she was pulled off of him. Naruto chuckled as Tayuya threw Fuu over her shoulder and kissed Naruto's cheek, "Be safe Naru-kun. Leave an explosive impression for the Lightning village yeah?" she said with a laugh at her own joke.

Naruto nodded, "Sure thing Tayu-chan, and yes I promise I'll get you each a souvenir." Naruto said, finishing a little louder as he saw Tenten about to ask him. She blushed in embarrassment as she was caught out.

He looked to his side and smiled as Hinata approached him, "Hey Hinata-chan," he said as he subtly pulled her slightly away from the group of people and dropped his voice, "I just want you to know, I'm about to try to start a key part in my plan while on this trip." He said, a happy smile on his face while his eyes showed Hinata the seriousness in his heart.

Hinata smiled and nodded, "I'm glad for you Naruto-kun, be safe okay?" she asked as she hugged his chest.

Naruto grinned, "I swear I will be. Wait for me?" he asked as they shared a kiss.

They separated and she smiled happily, "Always and forever." She said before stepping away back towards the girls.

"Naruto, hurry up. All this waiting is troublesome." Shikamaru said before yawning.

Naruto turned towards the group of waiting ninjas and began walking over to them. Tsunade selected two teams to be sent to the Jonin exams this year. Those teams being the original Team Seven and the second generation Ino-Shika-Cho unit.

Team Ten had begun to really push themselves after Asuma's passing, becoming near perfectionists in their specialty fields. Choji had the same amount of fat on him, but he had nearly twice the amount of muscle thanks to the huge club he now wielded, sealed into the brace on his left forearm. Ino had near mastered every mind technique of her clan and taken a liking to Genjutsu as well since she knew the most effective way to affect the target's mind with them. Shikamaru…well his dark style and shadow techniques made him the most unpredictable lazy genius in the world that wielded darkness, though it wasn't like he had much competition in that category.

Naruto came to a stop next to Kimimaro, who was the Jonin escort for team ten and overall second in command under Neji. Naruto looked over his shoulder one more time and waved before Neji yelled.

"I will lead! Team Seven to my Left and Team Ten to my Right! Kimimaro take rear! I want to make it by dinner time to our first pit stop got it!" Neji yelled with a smirk.

"Hai Sempai!" the group said in agreement, except for Shikamaru who just sighed.

Neji nodded and turned forward, "Move out!"

And in a second, the eight ninjas began sprinting down the footpath and under the natural defence wall before leaping behind Neji up into the massive trees. Making good time as they began sprinting towards the junction of the Land of Fire, Land of Water and Land of Lightning. Otherwise known as the Hidden Hot Water Village…

##########

"Umm sempai, this isn't the Hot Water Village." Ino said as the eight ninjas walked calmly into a tourist town.

Neji looked over his shoulder, "I know that Ino. Tonight, we are relaxing as tourists in this spa village. This is your last chance to do whatever you want before we leave tomorrow. We will be leaving the hotel at seven in the morning and getting on a boat that will take us to the Land of Lightning by just after lunch. Then we will travel the rest of the distance by foot making it to the village at approximately nine at night Sunday. This will give us all night to rest up before heading to the first exam on Monday. Clear?" Neji explained.

"Hell yeah!" Choji and Naruto cheered before running off.

Sasuke sighed and stepped up to Neji, "Sempai, where will we be staying?" he asked.

Neji gestured behind him to a moderate sized hotel/bathhouse, "Here, I'll get four rooms. You guys decide where you're sleeping, but I want the girls separate from the guys. No distractions before these exams." Neji said sternly.

Ino and Sakura stepped out of formation and linked arms, "That's cool!" Ino said.

"Let's go get spoiled!" Sakura said before the two walked towards a nearby massage parlour.

Shikamaru looked at the guys around him, "So our place has baths right? I'm just gonna go rest there." He said.

Kimimaro nodded, "I will join you." he said as he followed.

Sasuke hummed, "I could use a snack before hitting the baths. You hungry Sempai?" Sasuke asked.

Neji nodded, "Sure, let's find the two gluttons and grab some food for us all to enjoy at the baths." He said.

Sasuke smirked, "Sounds like a plan." He said as the two wandered calmly around the small town as the sun began its dive.

##########

"So just how good is your water manipulation?" Choji asked Naruto as the two chowed down some BBQ pork about half an hour after their dismissal.

Naruto shrugged, "No better than my wind or wood manipulation." Naruto said with a grin.

Choji chuckled, "So pretty much perfect then?" he said with a grin.

Naruto nodded, "Pretty much!" he bragged, before the two broke out into laughter.

Smelling something familiar, Naruto looked out the window, "Oh! Sasuke, Neji!" Naruto said as he waved.

The Byakugan and Sharingan users looked over and nodded in acknowledgement before walking to the entrance of the establishment as Choji spoke, "I get the feeling they were looking for us." he said cynically.

Naruto hummed in agreement before gasping, "You don't think they want us to leave do you? We can't let this food go to waste!" Naruto said with a gesture to the large slabs of meat they had on the grill.

Choji gulped, "There's only one thing we can do." He said seriously as his hands enlarged slightly and he snapped on his Akamichi Grill-Safe Food Gloves.

Naruto nodded as his eyes became slits and he picked up another pair of chopsticks in his left hand, 'Thanks Mizuki, still can't get over how much easier life is being ambidextrous.' He thought before making eye contact with Choji as they heard the bell on the door of the establishment ring.

""GO!"" the two of them yelled before tearing into their food.

From there place at the door, Sasuke sighed as he saw sauce and the fat of meats flinging around, "Oh dammit." He said with a huff as everyone stared at Choji and Naruto's table in confusion and slight disgust or awe.

Neji raised a brow, "Are they fighting or something?" he asked as they approached, watching the storm of flying food slow down.

Sasuke chuckled, "No, Naruto knows I'm gonna take his food away. He's just eating." Sasuke said, totally used to his little brother's weird moments.

Neji blinked, 'That's eating?' he thought before moving slightly to the left, dodging a stray piece of food.

Just before the two stopped at the table, the food stopped flying.

Sasuke sighed, "You two good?" he asked.

Naruto and Choji sat back and grinned in unison, nothing but bones and sauce left on the table, "Yep." Choji said before letting out a burp that made his chair fall back.

Naruto laughed at Choji only to be slapped by one of Choji's thrown gloves, knocking him to the floor as well.

The two burst out into laughter once more, causing everyone in the establishment to stare in confusion…again.

Sasuke sighed, "Come on you two. Go pay and we'll get going." he asked.

Naruto and Choji got to their feet shakily, using each other as support for their bloated bodies, "Yessir!" Naruto said as he and Choji began to walk to the pay station.

Sasuke folded his arms as Neji glanced at him, "Is this normal for you?" Neji asked sceptically.

Sasuke shrugged, "I guess so. We're lucky Tayuya and Karin aren't here to contest with Naruto, otherwise we might've actually had to pay for damages or something." Sasuke said as he walked up to the door.

"S-sir! This is far too much!" the waitress said as Naruto put five rolls of money on the bench.

Naruto waved her off, "No way! I paid what I feel this place deserves for such a great time! Thanks for the awesome service!" Naruto said with a grin as he began walking away.

The waitress stared in shock until Choji spoke, "Hey if you don't want it I'll have some of the change." He said, eyeballing the large sum of money.

"C'mon Cho!" Naruto said before grabbing Choji's arm and dragging him out after Neji and Sasuke.

The girl was quiet for a moment before counting out the cash, "Dad!" she yelled as she ran to the service window, "Dad we can do the remodelling!" she yelled as she disappeared from view.

Choji turned from looking behind him back towards Naruto, "Hey, did you know they wanted to do up the place? Cause from the way she counted it you seemed to know pretty much exactly what they needed." Choji asked, showing he did have some brains.

Naruto raised a brow and stopped before pointing to a sign out the front that Choji read out loud, "'Help us save up for remodelling by taking part in our raffle! We're almost half way there!' Cool!" Choji said with a grin.

Naruto laughed along with Choji, enjoying the relaxation time as they followed after Sasuke.

Naruto suddenly stopped, "Hold up, where'd Neji go?" he asked.

Sasuke glanced over his shoulder and raised a brow, "He's leaving a message at the front of the massage parlour that Sakura and Ino went to. Then he's picking up a couple of snack platters that we can enjoy while in the hot spring baths." Sasuke explained.

Naruto grinned, "Hot springs?" he asked excitedly.

"YEAH!" Choji yelled before running forward around the corner on their way back to the hotel, Sasuke and Naruto running to catch up.

##########

"Just when I thought this would be relaxing." Shikamaru muttered as he stretched out in the spa.

Kimimaro lifted a wet towel from his closed eyes, "Agreed." He said before taking something from behind him and passing half of it to Shikamaru.

The shadow user raised a brow as he watched Kimimaro place ear buds in his ears, cutting off the sounds of Naruto's self amusing skills.

"Blublubul: blabababul!" Naruto's voice said from underwater before tiny water sharks began swimming around Choji, who was looking a little nervous at the mini explosive sharks.

Sasuke's right eye flashed open and all the little sharks began burning into nothingness from the black flames, until a little shark jumped out of the water and bit Sasuke's nose before exploding in a small shower of water, making Sasuke close his eyes to keep out the water.

Neji sighed as Sasuke reopened his eyes and distinguished the flames, "Can you please stop it? We're supposed to be relaxing." Neji said.

Naruto popped up from underwater and let the sharks burst into water around Choji, "That explain how good my control is?" Naruto said before floating on his back.

Choji nodded and ate the last food morsel, "Sure does. But my fire is probably better than yours." Choji said.

Naruto smirked, "Yeah, I could really use a stronger fire chakra…the Akamichi clan has always had strong fire chakra." He murmured quietly before chuckling slightly to himself.

Sasuke raised a brow at his brother's tone, while Choji shrugged, "Yeah, that's what happens when a clan lives in their elemental nation long enough."

"Hey guys, we're back." Sakura's voice rang from the closed doorway.

Neji spoke up, "Okay, we're on our way out." Neji said as he stood and prepared to leave the baths, followed by most of the other guys.

After twenty minutes, Kimimaro felt someone poking his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see it was a shadow.

Kimimaro turned to Shikamaru while pulling out his earplugs, "Yes Shikamaru?" he asked.

Shikamaru opened an eye, "Not like I care or anything, but how close are you and Kurayami-chan?" Shikamaru asked.

For some reason, Kimimaro suddenly felt nervous, "I am only her village escort. My job is to make her happy and comfortable, I will stop at nothing to do my duty." Kimimaro said with a perfectly blank face before shifting back to his earlier position.

"If that's your only duty then how come I have noticed you leaving her room in my complex at all hours of the morning hm?" Shikamaru asked calmly.

Kimimaro jolted straight, "Wha-what?! Kura-chan said the other shadows were all asleep! How did you-"

Kimimaro suddenly cut himself off as he saw Shikamaru smirking and chuckling, "Checkmate Taicho." Shikamaru muttered before closing his eyes and putting his earplugs back in.

Kimimaro sighed as he centered his emotions again, he looked up at the near black sky and smiled as he imagined Kurayami's face among the stars.

Kimimaro went to close his eyes once more until he realised that Naruto and Choji were finally quiet. He looked around to see that they were gone along with Neji and Sasuke.

Kimimaro smirked, 'Earplugs…you have never failed me, may you never do so.' He thought before sighing again and getting up and leaving Shikamaru. Not telling about the curfew Neji had set for them as payback.

Shikamaru slept in the hot springs for a few more hours before being rudely awoken by a janitor.

##########

"So…this is Kumogakure." Shikamaru said as they team reached the top of the mountain.

Neji smirked as the group exited the cloud cover, looking out at the main portion of the village, "Everyone, this village's entry sequence is very different from the leaf. Take a knee." Neji ordered.

The group looked confused but nonetheless they kneeled behind Neji. The Byakugan user stood with his arms above his head and pulsed his chakra.

Literally only two seconds later, a Lightning village ANBU landed in front of Neji, "Konoha ninja, state your names and business." He ordered.

Neji bowed, "I am Jonin escort Neji Hyuuga. I have escorted a team from Konoha to take place in the Jonin exams." He said.

The ANBU nodded then glanced at Kimimaro as the bone user stood, "I am Jonin escort Kimimaro Kaguya. I have also escorted a team from Konoha for the same reason."

The ANBU nodded, "You will all follow me to the guest quarters. One of my men will find you in the morning and take you to the meeting hall." The ANBU said before turning and walking forward.

The leaf ninjas followed after the ANBU and the group got a good tour through the market district on the third mountain.

"Hey can we grab some food?" Choji asked as the group was about to leave the district.

The ANBU hesitated, "It is not my job to get you food." The ANBU said before walking faster.

After a few more minutes, the ANBU came to a stop in front of a building in the edge of a mountain, "You will be staying here, these are for you to present at the welcome desk." The ANBU said, handing the group two envelopes.

Neji took them and nodded, "Thankyou sir." Neji said with a smile.

The ANBU nodded and disappeared in a shunshin, sparking electricity as he disappeared.

Naruto whistled, "Wow, is that their lightning shunshin? Cool." Naruto said as he snatched one of the envelopes from Neji and walked into the building.

Neji's step faltered, "H-hey! Naruto!" he said as he ran after him.

#########

"Heh, I'll be back later alright?" Naruto said as he walked away from the restaurant which contained his friends and teammates.

Kimimaro frowned, "Where are you going Naruto?"

Naruto looked over his shoulder with a grin, "I'm just gonna take a look around, meet you all back at the hotel 'kay?" Naruto said as he walked around the corner.

Kimimaro sighed, til he felt a hand on his shoulder, "I'll follow him, no worries." Neji said as he walked off after Naruto.

As the Byakugan user caught up, Naruto sniffed the air, 'You feel that Kurama?' Naruto thought.

"Yes, it is definitely a Jinchuuriki."

Naruto rose a brow, 'Really? Here I thought it was just the Raikage, I wanted to meet the guy.' Naruto thought.

Naruto heard Kurama sigh, "Dammit moron. Haven't you realised it yet?" Kurama asked.

Naruto shrugged, "Realised what?" he said out loud.

"Pardon?"

Naruto glanced to his side as Neji walked next to him, "Oh, umm I was just thinking…"

"Why is it that Orochimaru attacked during the exams?"

Naruto frowned, "Why is it that Orochimaru attacked during the exams?" Naruto asked.

Neji frowned, "Because he is the kind of criminal that would use the only truce between everyone to kill the Third Hokage." Neji said.

Naruto raised a brow, "And which truce is that?" Naruto asked.

Neji sighed, "During the exams in any village, foreign ninjas may not be searched or attacked outside of the exams unless they have committed a crime. So even if Orochimaru walked in under the guise of another person, no one would be allowed to question him unless they had solid proof." Neji explained.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he finally understood what Kurama was saying, "So…if there was a Jinchuuriki here during these exams, hypothetically, this very well could be the best time for Akatsuki members to just walk in." Naruto said.

"Correct."

"I…I guess so." Neji said with a scowl.

"So I guess we should consider me a target this whole time." Naruto said.

Neji barely faltered in his stride as he took in this information, "Naruto…I'm not sure if you've told other people about being a Jinchuuriki, but I certainly did not know." Neji said.

Naruto stopped, causing Neji to slow his steps and turn to him, "You mean the knowledge of me being a Jinchuuriki isn't common knowledge yet?" Naruto asked.

Neji swallowed, "So, you really are…a Jinchuuriki?" he asked.

Naruto nodded, "Yep, I kinda thought at least every Jonin would know…well this is awkward." Naruto said with a chuckle.

Neji nodded, "Indeed…so, the Nine Tails I assume?"

"Yep."

Neji nodded and blew out a harsh breath, "Well, alright then." Neji said.

The next few minutes of their walk were silent as the sun began to set. They had finally left what seemed to be the market district. Naruto stepped up to a family in the street, the father was obviously a ninja, Chunnin or Jonin by the look of him.

"Excuse me, could you please tell me where the Shinobi library is?" Naruto asked.

The man took one look up and down at Naruto and Neji before stepping forward, putting himself between the two and his family, "I'm guessing…Jonin exams?" he asked.

Naruto nodded and grinned, "Yep. This here is my escort." Naruto said with a gesture to Neji.

The man looked up and down the two of them once more, "…Alright, the library is just down this road to the right. It'll be hard to miss. Do NOT forget to register." The man said pointedly.

Naruto grinned, "Thanks a bunch, don't worry my aim isn't to break any laws or nothing." Naruto said as walked off, Neji following after him.

As the two left the family's earshot Neji spoke, "So what is your aim exactly?" he asked Naruto.

Naruto grinned as the two of them turned right, "If I get a look at this village's basic jutsu, not only do I have the stepping stones to learn more advanced techniques, but I also get a decent understanding on what to expect during these exams." Naruto explained.

Neji smirked and nodded, "That's smart Naruto, I would not expect it from you." he said with a chuckle.

Naruto frowned, "What do ya mean you wouldn't expect it from me? I'm plenty smart!" Naruto said.

Neji shrugged, "Sure you are," he said before looking forward and raising a brow, "I think we have found the right place."

Naruto looked up and saw a large sign, "The Lightning Library. Yeah I'd say that's right." Naruto said as he walked up the steps and opened the door, Neji following in after him.

##########

"Alright then, I see your point." Sasuke said with a nod as he closed the door.

Sasuke and Naruto were sharing a room opposite Sakura and Ino. Next door was Shikamaru and Choji while in the room opposite them was Neji and Kimimaro.

Naruto grinned, "So, where do you want to start?" Naruto said with a gesture to all the scrolls he was allowed to borrow, which had nothing stronger then a C-rank but nonetheless were useful in some way.

Sasuke shrugged as he pulled out one of his Fission seals, "Left to right." Sasuke said as he fell back onto his bed, a fission clone standing in his place.

Naruto nodded and made a Wood Clone, "These two should be done by morning with them all yeah?" he asked.

The standing Sasuke shrugged, "There may be a couple we won't know, but we'll have all the important ones at a usable level." He said before disappearing in his Mirage Shunshin, taking the eighteen scrolls with him.

The Wood Clone grinned before becoming encased in lightning armour and blurring out the window after Sasuke2.

The original Naruto jumped onto his own bed, "Reckon we'll end up using many of these?" he asked.

The original Sasuke shrugged, "I'm not sure, the majority of those techniques were lightning so we will probably use some of them. The water techniques I will have to graft into my weapon so that will take some time….honestly I have no idea." Sasuke said before yawning.

Naruto nodded before rolling onto his stomach, facing Sasuke, "Hey Aniki…how do you feel now that your main goal in life has been achieved?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke smirked, "I feel…like I've woken up." He answered simply.

Naruto frowned in thought, "Were you sleeping before then?" he asked.

Sasuke sighed, "Not exactly, but before every decision I made ended with something like 'because it will help me defeat Itachi' now though…my thoughts just go wherever, usually back to Konoha." Sasuke said before rolling to his side.

Naruto knew a dismissal when he heard one, "Yeah, I hope my plan goes as swimmingly." Naruto muttered.

Sasuke grunted, "As do I, though I do wish you would tell us what the plan is exactly." Sasuke said in reply.

Naruto rolled onto his back as he hummed, "Hmm, night Aniki."

"Goodnight Otouto."

##########

The Next Morning, Nine O'clock at the main hall of the village.

##########

"WELCOME TO KUMOO!" A really large muscled man yelled as he held up his huge arms in welcome.

Naruto looked around at all the people in the room, obviously Chunnin or Tokubetsu Jonin hoping to earn the full promotion to Jonin.

"Now! Who wants to hear a really long speech?" the guy asked loudly.

Naruto raised a brow, 'What is he talking about?' he thought.

Since there was no reply for about five seconds, the speaker spoke, "Great! No one wants to hear the speech, so I don't have to do it! Registration is there," He said pointing to a desk to his left, where a red-brown skinned lady sat, "Get too it! The first test will begin at twelve! Kumo is done so Konoha ninjas next!" He said before turning and walking out.

Naruto frowned at the guy's attitude, 'Probably some guy from the council that thinks he's top shit…the Raikage would probably destroy him.' Naruto thought.

"Go, hurry." Neji said as he pushed forward Naruto, who led the six Chunnin over to the desk.

Everyone was staring as Konoha seemed to have the least amount of ninjas in the exams, Neji placed down the necessary forms, "Konoha Chunnin Squad Seven. Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki." Neji said.

The girl, Mabui according to her nametag, took the papers and nodded, "Confirmed. Follow these instructions." Mabui said as she handed Neji a scroll.

Neji bowed and stepped away, team seven following after him as Kimimaro stepped up, "Konoha Chunnin Squad Ten. Shikamaru Naara, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi." Kimimaro said.

Mabui smirked, "Ino-Shika-Cho," she muttered, "Confirmed. Follow your comrades." She said.

And with that, the Konoha ninjas left the hall, on their way to prepare for the exams.

##########

"Hello everyone, my name is C." a blonde Jonin said down to the crowd in front of him.

The instructions had been to come to this specific mountain and be ready for what was promised to be the fastest test in the exams.

"Okay, the first exam will be all about speed." He said as he gestured to his right, which was a drop straight to the bottom of a nearby valley.

"In this division, only seventy of you can pass. And that is the fastest seventy of you to get to the opposite mountain peak where my associate is." C said as he pointed across the huge valley.

There was mumbling throughout the crowd until Sasuke asked the obvious, "What are the rules?"

C smiled, "If anyone is found using any form of instant travel techniques such as the shunshin or something of the like they are instantly disqualified. At the center of the valley there are thirty slips of red cardboard. To be classified as one of the seventy ninjas who will pass you must cross the finish line with the cardboard in hand. These are the only rules." C said, "I will give you each five minutes on this before I call to begin." C said before jumping over to the starting line and calling out different teams.

Sakura grinned, "Sweet for us, lots of speed demons." She said.

Naruto shrugged, "He just said we can't use any techniques or anything. I think this'll be harder than it seems." Naruto responded.

"It would be," Sasuke began, "But he said no instant travel techniques. In other words…" Sasuke let his sentence ring out as Sakura and Naruto grinned with him.

There was a few moments of quiet confidence until Naruto tilted his head, "Y'know, he just said that we need to have a slip of red cardboard from the valley. He didn't really say we had to pick it up, we could take someone else's." Naruto said.

Sasuke smirked, "So, basically there may end up being a huge fight for the last group of cardboard pieces." He said.

Sakura shrugged, "No offence to these guys, but I'm pretty sure we'll be the fastest people here, or at least within the top five." Sakura said.

"Konoha's two Teams!"

The trio jogged over to C just as the Ino-Shika-Cho group arrived, "You will be starting here, Team Seven to my right and Ten to my left." C said before moving on to the next spot.

Shikamaru spoke, "So, you guys got any plans or strategies?" Shikamaru asked.

Sasuke shrugged, "Go really, really fast." He replied.

Sakura whispered, "Yo Ino, have you-"

"Yes! Yes, I have. Now shoosh!" Ino interrupted with a smile.

"READY!"

The six ninjas quickly got in line with the other ninety ninjas.

"SET!"

Sakura's legs began to glow rainbow, Sasuke was covered in smoke, Naruto moved into a sprinting position.

Choji blew up into his human boulder form, Ino lifted slightly off the ground in the same way Sakura did when she activated her skating ability while pulling out a rose, and Shikamaru stealth fully tied himself to Sakura's shadow.

"GO!"

*FWOOM*

From the get go, people launched attacks at the other competitors to slow them down while doing their best to push forward.

Sakura blurred ahead of everyone, causing her to become the main target. So as she sprinted downhill, she had to dodge behind boulders or focus on avoiding the attacks.

Sasuke exploded from his cloud of smoke, standing on his board as he dove down the mountain, blasting a Wind Style: Great Breakthrough from the umbrella he held under his arm straight back, giving him a defence from attacks while propelling himself into seconds place.

Naruto had used his adamantine strength to jump, by the time Sakura was halfway down the mountain, he was perfectly over the top of the valley which is when he implemented his plan.

Naruto flipped upside down and from his foot funnels shot two tornadoes of wind, propelling him downwards as he struggled against the air pressure to bring his hands together above his head.

"WIND STYLE: MOTION SICKNESS!" Naruto yelled as he became little more than a line leading a falling tornado.

Sakura grabbed her piece of cardboard as she leapt over the river running through the valley, pulling it from a bamboo shaft stuck into the river's base as her shadow micked the same movement, but unknown to her actually grabbed three more pieces before becoming two dimensional once more. She landed and blurred into the lead as Naruto approached the ground.

Naruto smirked as he flipped around to hit the ground feet first just as Sasuke approached the edge of the river, 'Bada-boom!'

*BOOOOM*

The impact from Naruto's kick exploded the entire river outwards along with shooting all the pieces of cardboard far down the valley.

There was a slight hesitation from everyone outside the cloud of dust and smoke, until Naruto and Sasuke shot out the other side, trailing after Sakura with a piece of cardboard each.

Naruto was slowly outrunning Sasuke as the two flew up the mountain, "Hey Aniki! Why are you holding back?!" Naruto yelled over the winds.

Sasuke frowned, "I'm not! Something is weighing me down!" he yelled.

"HURRY UP!"

The two boys looked backwards to see Ino was skitching a ride, using her Rose Whip that was wrapped around Sasuke's umbrella while she used Sakura's skating technique, skating along in what the boys knew as fourth place.

The two stared in shock, which was all Ino needed as she yanked her whip, using the burst of speed to pull herself up to Sasuke before kicking off his back, launching her into the spot behind Sakura just in time…

"VA-ROOOOOOM!"

The two men of team seven looked up as Choji's bullet tank form shot out from the cloud of the explosion and over their heads, becoming the normal Choji as he flipped in the air, catching Ino in a hug before he became a large ball once more.

"SPIKEY HUMAN BULLET TANK!" Choji yelled as he began rolling up the hill at high speed.

''We won't lose!'' Naruto and Sasuke thought as their eyes flashed.

His slitted eyes burned and the wind from his feet became white hot fire, "FLAMESTREAMS!"

His eyes burned with the Sharingan as he focussed Cursed Chakra into his propulsion seals, "CURSED SPEED!"

The two boys shot off, gaining speed on Choji in a matter of seconds just as Sakura reached the final few steps.

Sakura smirked, 'I win!' she thought.

"Thanks for the lift!"

Sakura gasped in shock as Shikamaru popped up from her shadow, his legs folded against Sakura's chest. He pushed off, pushing Sakura backwards as he soared over the finish line, throwing out two pieces of cardboard over Sakura's head.

Sakura fell backwards, her eyes wide as she saw Choji uncurl in midair, letting Ino free as the two of them caught each piece of cardboard in midair.

Sakura lifted her arms as Naruto caught her left, Sasuke her right. They arrived together at the finish line in two minutes eighteen seconds.

Right behind the smirking Team Ten.

##########

"I can't believe it! This is bullshit!" Naruto yelled angrily as he kicked a loose rock, accidently kicking it into a nearby restaurant window and smashing something inside rather loudly.

"Maybe you need to calm down. They knew they wouldn't be able to outrun us except for maybe Choji, it was their only option." Sakura said with a shrug, "Besides, we passed anyway so who cares?"

Sasuke sighed, "Let's just go find Neji. He said to meet up at the same place we went for dinner last night, though I honestly doubt he knew we'd finish so early." Sasuke said as he walked ahead of his teammates.

Sasuke led the way for the three of them, sighing in annoyance as Naruto took the chance to complain about Team Ten using a very good strategy to beat everyone else in the competition, and it working against Team Seven.

The group turned the next corner only for Sasuke to stop, making the others stop behind him.

Sakura glanced over Sasuke's shoulder, "Neji? What's he doing?" she asked in confusion.

Naruto looked over Sasuke's other shoulder and raised a brow.

Neji stood, hiding behind a stack of crates and blushing bright red as he looked at something he obviously found interesting.

Sasuke followed Neji's line of sight, 'That is Kumo's Squad One. They're going for the Jonin exams as well.' He thought before the trio walked up behind their captain.

Naruto spoke up, "Yo Neji!" he said as he slapped a hand on Neji's shoulder.

Neji jumped in shock, spinning while whipping out the handle of his weapon, "Oh, it's just you three." Neji said before glancing over at the team of Kumo nin once more.

Sakura tilted her head, 'Wow, talk about déjà vu. I swear this is exactly how Hinata was acting when Ino and I busted her stalking Naruto back at the academy…' she thought with a small chuckle before seeing Neji's blush, 'Wait a sec..' she thought as she looked over at the Lightning squad and who appeared to be their sensei.

The blonde turned, a cold look on her face as she flicked her pale blonde hair to the side.

Neji seemed mesmerised by the simple movement.

It was definitely a good thing that everyone was focussed on Neji, who was focussed on the blonde woman.

Because Naruto had just found the other Jinchuuriki.

Naruto swallowed as he stared at the dark shades of the person staring at him, 'You…are definitely who I've been looking for.' Naruto thought as he pushed his way forward.

Neji reached out in fear, "N-no Naruto! She'll s-see us!" Neji whispered.

The Jonin walked forward to meet Naruto as his own team trailed behind him, a moment later found Naruto standing face-to-face with the large black man.

The Jonin nodded, "Yo number nine, this here village is mine. What you here fo' yo?" he rapped.

Naruto raised a brow, "You sensory skills are very good. I'm here for the exams. Could we please talk privately?" Naruto said with a respectful bow.

The guy grinned, "Yo, for sho! The name's Killer Bee, what's yours Kyuubi?" he rapped.

The dark skinned male Chunnin gasped, "Kyuubi? This guy's a Jinchuuriki? Oh my god, this is bad. What if he tries to attack us? What if he-"

"Shut up Omoi!" the dark skinned female yelled as she punched the guy's head.

Killer Bee turned to his team, "Yo Karui, quiet down. Let's take this team out on the town, Aiiiiight?!" Bee said as he held his arm to the sky.

The blonde girl just sighed, "Sure, let's go to Higushi's ok?" she said before walking away, expecting the others to follow after her.

Naruto smirked slightly, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. And this is my Jonin captain Neji Hyuuga." Naruto said.

Killer Bee nodded, "Good to know! Samui here is promised to one of you yo!" he said with a gesture to his blonde student.

She spun on her heel, "Shut up Bee-sensei, as if we're gonna be entering an agreement with the leaf anytime soon! I'm promised to no one." she said before storming off, her teammates following her to Higushi's.

Bee grinned, "This'll be cool yo, man you should meet my bro!" Bee rapped.

Naruto nodded, "Sure thing Killer Bee, how bout first you get to know me?" he rapped in reply.

Bee's grin grew, "Yo! Little man's got some beat to his soul!" he said with a laugh.

Naruto matched his grin, "For sho!"

""Hahahahaha!""

##########

"Later, we'll join you guys to eat, just get us something with meat!" Bee rapped as he and Naruto walked out into the back balcony of the restaurant, everyone else there bowed respectfully to Bee before leaving.

Bee spun to face Naruto, "So Naruto, why you holding back everything about ya?" he asked, for once not rapping.

Naruto raised a brow, "Two things, I don't know what you mean by holding back. And honestly, why should I trust you about anything? You are still an enemy ninja Bee." Naruto said sternly.

Bee laughed, "Hey! I'm noone's enemy unless they get on the bad side of me. And bro, I can feel you chakra, the Nine ain't the only thing you got in there." Bee said.

Naruto frowned, 'How much does he know? How is he this good?' Naruto thought before shrugging with a sigh.

"Fuck it, Jinchuuriki's honour?" Naruto said while holding out his hand, offering a hand shake.

Bee grinned, "For sho!" he said as he grabbed Naruto's wrist and made him pound fists.

Bee grinned as he made the connection, 'You can hear my thoughts yo! I can't hide nuthin from ya like this!' Bee thought to Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened, 'How? Can you hear me to?' Naruto thought to Bee.

Bee nodded, 'Yeah man, this is something only us JNK's can do! Synch our minds so that you can talk toooooooo!'

"Me."

Naruto gasped as he heard an unfamiliar demonic voice, 'Is that your demon Bee? Who is it?' Naruto thought.

"I can think for myself you know, I am the Eight Tales, the Octo-bull."

Naruto blinked as his brows creased, 'Octo-bull? What the hell is that?' he thought.

Bee grinned, 'Does it really matter? You'll probs see him in action someday soon.' "Trust me now?" Bee said out loud as he pulled his hand back.

Naruto nodded slowly, "Yeah Octo-Bee, I get it. I trust ya." He said.

Killer Bee smirked, "Yeah boi! Now tell me bout yo chakras!" he said loudly.

Naruto shrugged and leaned against the rails, "Well, there is mine and the foxes, I haven't learnt to use it 'properly' yet so I don't try to otherwise Kurama gets pissed at me." He explained with a chuckle, hearing the fox growl at him in his mind.

"And I'm not allowed to give the details, but because of a jutsu I know I have been able to learn heaps of techniques and get close to mastering four of the five elements. I just gotta master fire now." Naruto said.

Bee chuckled, "The kid with the fire demon from the land of fire. Can't use fire." Bee said.

Naruto nodded with a chuckle, "Heh, I never thought of it like that." He said with a chuckle.

Bee nodded, "Question from here yo. You know's the fox's name already, so why hasn't it taught you to wield its chakra?" he asked.

Naruto sighed, "Basically, I haven't proved myself enough for him to let me use it 'properly.'" Naruto said with quotation marks.

Bee shrugged, "Well you got some wicked strong chakra, why not just take it from him?" bee asked.

Naruto raised a brow, "I can take it? How?" he asked.

Bee grinned, "Nah man! I can't just tell ya! It's a technique known only to Jinchuuriki and the lightning village, I didn't know that you didn't know, otherwise I'd've never said it yo!" he said with a laugh.

Naruto frowned, 'Dammit! This would make my plan so much easier if I could just take the chakra.' Naruto thought with a sigh.

"Hey Bee-sensei, the food is here!" Karui said from the balcony entrance.

Killer Bee nodded, "Aight, let's go chow down Naruto, keep up your energy for tomorrow." He rapped before walking in ahead of Naruto.

Naruto sighed again while nodding, until his head snapped up, "Wait, what about tomorrow?"

##########

"Oh yeah, I'm gonna like this one." Naruto said with a grin as the group of gathered ninjas listened to the explanation of what C referred to as…

"The Power test." C said as he stepped up to the huge slab of cement that sat in the center of the arena. Every person who had passed the first exam were standing around him waiting for the demonstration.

C cleared his throat, "In this test, you each will be given a large slab of cement much like this one," he said as he swept his arm in the direction of the large cylinder, "Your objective is to do as much damage as you can to the cylinder of cement in a single strike. There are no rules other than the single strike." He said before taking a deep breath and turning to the cement.

He pulled his hand back as it sparked with lightning, he calmly pressed his hand to the cement cylinder as his hand glowed so bright that everyone had to look away.

*SLAM*

People looked back as the light faded to see that C had somehow made a concentration of something, it had cut through the cylinder on an angle so that it there was a noticeable hack, causing the cylinder to fall, "When I did my exam, this was enough for me to pass. But that was because there weren't that many power hitters in my year, I was lucky."

"We have three judges, they will compare you to the people who went before you. These judges are under a Genjutsu that makes every person out to look like a black blob. Their sense of hearing is also blocked so that there is absolutely no bias judgment. They will give you a score each from 0-10. You must have a total of at least 20 to pass this round. Any questions?" C asked.

A sand ninja lifted her hand, "Yeah! What if our repertoire is focussed on assassinations? I have no super power moves!" she complained.

C smirked, "As an assassin, you may be ordered to break into a stronghold. How are you gonna penetrate a fully defended fortress if you can't break through a simple wall?" he asked.

A rock ninja yelled, "Go underground!" he said logically.

There was a slight silence until C stepped aside, "Go ahead then, penetrate this fortress with such a simple move." He said with a gesture to a new slab that just lifted out of the ground.

The rock ninja scoffed and formed hand seals, "EARTH STYLE: SUBTERRANEAN VOYAGE!" the ninja said as he dove underground.

Naruto looked over his shoulder, "Did you get it?"

Sasuke nodded as his Sharingan followed the ninja's underground movement, when his eyes spotted a basic seal underground, 'That's gonna hurt.' He thought as he quickly jumped to the front of the Konoha group.

Sasuke's cheeks filled as the ninja hit the underground Explosive Notes.

"UCHIHA FIRE STYLE: WALL OF FIRE!"

*BOOOOOOOOM*

The earth ninja was blown up from the ground as was ever ninja in the vicinity other than those Sasuke had protected and C, who had leapt up to stand ontop of the wall.

The dust cloud disappeared and everyone slowly regrouped, no one was severely harmed other than the rock ninja who had a large gash down his arm. C just nodded to Sasuke as the Uchiha's large shield of fire dissipated.

C smiled politely, "Any person who is worth an assassination mission from a Jonin would have some kind of underground defence and most people cannot see underground. Therefore, shut up and do the test how I say to got that?!" he said as his eyes hardened.

Instantly, the slab remaining was joined by five others, "Since the Konoha ninjas acted first, I'm going to let them decide if they want to go first. Sasuke Uchiha I believe?" C said as he waved the six ninjas forward.

Sasuke nodded, "No Thankyou C-san, may we please be the second group?" Sasuke asked.

C shrugged, "Sure thing, in that case, the remaining Suna ninjas please step forward." He said with a wide gesture.

C nodded as the group of four lined up, "Okay, let's start. For each test we'll be going village by village, left to right. You will get your scores right as you finish. I will count your number and you will strike. Ready?" C asked, receiving a nod from everyone in return.

C blew his whistle, "One!"

The first ninja sprinted forward, "WIND STYLE: ABSOLUTE SLASH!" He screamed as he swung a wide axe on a collision course with the slab.

His axe cut through the slab almost entirely, cut the wind blade kept going, hacking the rest of the way through.

*SLAM*

The slab fell to the ground as the ninja turned to the judges who sat up in the stands.

C smirked, "22! Pass! Two go!"

A ninja scowled as he ran forward, running vertically up the cement with his hand stabbed into it, "FIRE STYLE: SOLAR PALM!"

The attack was hot enough to turn a majority of the cement into sludge, it fell to the ground in a wet slop but the cylinder did not fall.

C shook his head, "19! Fail! Three go!

The female ninja who had asked the earlier question bit her lip as she opened her two hand fans all the way open to their two moons.

"WIND STYLE: DUAL DEATH SLASH!" she yelled.

Her attack cut a huge cross into the slab, which unfortunately did not cause enough damage to make any pieces of the pillar drop off or break, if only barely.

Instantly, there was an uproar, "Hey! I thought you said only a single strike! That was clearly two!" some guy yelled out.

C sighed, "It was a SINGLE jutsu! Therefore it counts!" he yelled back, shutting everyone up as he glanced at the judges.

"19! Fail! Four go!"

The next ninja shrugged with a frown before pulling out his puppet, "I want to pass, this is a real shame." He muttered as the puppet flew forward and extended it's arms, hugging the cylinder.

"PUPPET STYLE: SACRIFICIAL ACID GRIP!"

The puppet's joints leaked a highly corrosive liquid that as it's hug tightened, it was able to eat through the cylinder in less than a minute, but also destroyed itself.

He looked to the judges hopefully as he pulled back the head, the only remaining part.

"22! Pass! Suna ninjas are free to leave, would those who pass please remember to return to the meeting hall tomorrow morning at nine." C said as the Suna ninjas left, offering to take their failed comrades out for a drink.

C turned back to the remaining ninjas as new slabs grew from the remnants of the old, "Konoha ninjas, your go." C said with a nod to Sasuke.

Sasuke smirked as he walked to the slab furthest to the right, Sakura, Naruto, Ino, Choji and Shikamaru following behind, spreading out to his left.

C nodded, "Same as before! Left to right, go by your numbers! One!"

Shikamaru walked forward and placed his hand on the ground, touching the shadow of the cylinder.

"DARK STYLE: BLACK PIT!"

Everyone stared in shock as the cement fell into nothingness, making the spot absolutely spotless as Shikamaru turned to the judges.

10.

C raised a brow, "Why did he only give a four?" he muttered.

Shikamaru yawned as he walked past C, "Probably because I technically didn't destroy the slab. The other two don't seem to care though, I got it out of the way, that's what matters." Shikamaru said before turning back to his previous spot and waving his shadow over the area.

In a few moments, the cement's shadow reformed and from it came the slab, good as new.

C nodded, "Well then, 24! Pass! Two go!"

Choji smirked, "NINJA ART: SUPER EXPANSION JUTSU!" he yelled as he grew.

And kept growing…and some more.

Choji was now taller than the arena, he lifted up the slab with his two hands before cracking it into his thigh, destroying the whole thing into average size chunks about the size of a normal man's chest.

Choji began shrinking as his scores were revealed.

"26! Pass! Three go!"

Ino took a deep breath, "Focus.." she muttered as she focussed a jutsu she had learned from the secret sannin sensei she had since team seven left on their training trip.

Ino ran up the cylinder before leaping into the air, "HEAVEN KICK OF PAIN!" she yelled as she flipped downwards through the air.

*BLAM*

Her heel cracked into the cylinder, she kicked all the way through, right till she was flat foot on the ground again.

The cylinder creaked before falling into two halves, everyone stared as the girl seemingly hacked a giant slab of cement with a single kick.

Ino panted as she rubbed her sore foot, 'Still haven't mastered Tsunade-sama's chakra strength in the feet. Ooowwww!' she thought before standing on up and looking to the judges.

"24! Pass! Four go!" C said with a gesture to Naruto.

Naruto decided to show off a bit, so he casually flew into the air above the pillar, making many gasp at the power of flight.

Naruto pulled out Samehada Bocho and grasped the handle between his two hands as the blade began to glow. Even the members of team seven gasped as the one blade became it's two components in less than a second, Naruto began to dive.

"WIND STYLE: TSUUGA!"

Naruto span in a green tornado, his swords making it sharper, wider and over ten times more powerful.

Naruto didn't even make contact with the pillar as his chakra was so sharp, the cement just was destroyed into millions of pieces about the size of a knuckle.

*BOOOOOOOOOOM*

Naruto impacted the ground and his jutsu dissipated, the released air causing a small tornado that pushed almost everyone back a few feet at the minimum while lifted the stone fragments and taking them away.

The breeze died down and Naruto resheathed his once again single blade with a smirk as he looked at the wide eyed judges.

10.

C gulped, "Wow…oh! Ugh 30! Pass! Five go!" he said in shock as Naruto walked past him, giving in passing a high five to Sakura.

Sakura smirked as she walked up to her pillar of cement, her right foot glowing in a rainbow hue. People watched in confusion until she stomped, one step before the pillar as her boot materialised.

Sakura smirked as she kept her thoughts in her head to prevent anyone connecting the dots, 'Shocking Burst Bullet!'

*BOOM*BAM*

Sakura's kick shattered the pillar above and below her kick while sending the middle portion careening into the stadium wall with concussive force.

Sakura smirked as she turned to the judges.

"27! Pass! Six go!" C said.

Sasuke stood with his arms folded as his eyes flashed to become the Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan.

"AMATERASU! INFERNO STYLE: FLAME CONTROL!"

From the area in front of Sasuke, a small pin of black fire shot forward and penetrated the very center of the pillar, nothing happened afterwards.

Some people began laughing and then-

*BOOOOOOM*

The black flames from the inside burst upwards, rendering the entirety of the pillar above the impact point into nothing more than ash.

Everyone went quiet as the flames disappeared and Sasuke glanced to the judges.

10.

Sasuke frowned as he walked over to the other Konoha ninjas, 'Should've made it burn down as well. I didn't think that little remaining section would cost me.' He thought as he arrived.

C nodded to himself, 'HOLY SHIT WHAT THE HELL DOES KONOHA DO FOR TRAINING?!' he thought on the inside as he raised his arm.

"29! Pass! Konoha ninjas pass! Please feel free to vacate the area but you are reminded that tomorrow morning you are to return to the main hall at nine in the morning. Water village ninjas come forward along with Waterfall, Rain and Grass since there is only two Water ninjas and two Grass." C ordered as the new pillars rose up.

The Konoha ninjas leapt into the stands so that they could leave when Sasuke acted, "Naruto, Sakura, you two take these three outside to Kimimaro and Neji. I'll set up the watch." Sasuke said before fading into his chameleon Genjutsu.

Ino turned to Naruto and Sakura, "What's going on?" she asked.

Naruto grinned, "Aniki is going to record the rest of the competition with his Sharingan and give the information of those who passed to us tonight. He just likes being mysterious about it." Naruto said with a laugh before leading the way out to see their captains.

##########

To be continued…

I had to stop because it is now 5am when I finished typing. Goodnight and I hope I didn't screw anything up in the story.

I've gone back and re-edited it now, hope it's still good.

Please R&R, goodnight.