Disclaimer: I do NOT own Naruto. Kishimoto Masashi does…
"spoken"
"as spoken by Kyuubi"
-thought-
-as thought by Kyuubi-
Awakening of the Slumbering Beast
Chapter 7: The War of the Villages, Fight of the Shadows
Naruto stared at the crowd in awe as he heard the examiner yell out. "Winner of the final match and thus the Chuunin selection exams… UZUMAKI NARUTO!" He just watched as the roaring increased its tempo… they were cheering for him, the Demon boy. Then something that looked like feathers began to rain down and the cheering died down making the boy wonder what was going on… he was quickly answered by Genma's voice "Look lively Uzumaki. It's starting and you have your orders."He quickly formed a tiger seal and after gathering chakra whispered "Kai! (release)" to fight the off the effects of a sleep Genjutsu.
Near the rear entrance of the arena the rest of the Genins where going through the same motions with Kakashi and Gai who were there as well. They stopped their attempt when Kakashi declared that the Genjutsu had been disrupted and that the imminent danger had passed. The Jounin turned to Shikamaru and said "You have your orders, proceed to the academy and help cover the evacuation of the students." Turning his head towards the others he then continued. "Battle orders place Shikamaru in charge of you until you reach the academy, Shino and Naruto are next in line for command… now go and good luck."
The last part was said just when Naruto joined the group with his clones who were carrying the unconscious form of Temari with them. He grinned sheepishly at Gaara again and then proceeded to 'wake' Sand girl up in his own fashion… A few handseals later a ball of water, about one meter in diameter, formed over the prone girl and promptly fell on her. The now dripping and quite wide awake Temari was about to attack Naruto there and then but was restrained by Gaara's commanding "You can kill him later Temari, we have a job to do."
All the Leaf Genin, aside from Shikamaru, Naruto and Shino looked still somewhat confused at the events that had taken place. They were however been trained for eventualities like this and as such quickly reacted to orders from Shikamaru. "All right! Sasuke, Neji and Lee you are up front, don't toy with any opponents you come across. Just disable them and make towards the academy at the best possible speed… however make sure you don't get separated from the rest so maintain distance… Tenten and Sakura you are their support along with Ino."
The six Genins nodded and formed up and began to make their way towards the gates. Shikamaru continued. "Naruto, you and your clones are to support them and our rearguard. With you are Shino, Kankuro, Choji and myself… Gaara you and your sister along with Hinata and Kiba are in the rear, use your sand to deflect any attacks and such and leave any who get close to Kiba, Hinata and Temari." With that the Shadow user whirled about and took of to follow their vanguard.
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Naruto was quickly getting bored or he would have was it not for the fact that this was the real thing instead some lame exercise. All the Genins where jumping from rooftop to rooftop towards the academy, and they already had the building in sight but had yet to engage in anything aside one hapless Sound nin who had the debatable luck of jumping right to Lee's path. The spandex-clad youth didn't even give his opponent the courtesy of slowing down but instead twisted almost impossibly to perform a flawless midair sweep kick. The blow hit the Oto nin square on his neck, whether the blow was fatal or not was a trivial detail as the man in question plummeted good twenty meters downwards… face first.
Things began to change rapidly when they reached the academy however. There was a team of four Sand nin at the entrance who, judging by their vests, were at least Chuunin. Neji, Lee and Sasuke quickly engaged one opponent each while Sakura went after the fourth. Tenten observed the situation calmly waiting for opportunity to present itself… it never did.
Sakura knew she was outmatched against the Suna nin but still was formulating a plan, she manoeuvred her opponent into a position and then yelled out loud "Ino-Pig do your thing…"
Suddenly the Suna nin froze for a moment and then cracked a smile. "Damn it forehead girl I told you not to call me that. Now knock this guy's lights out on the count of three."
The pink-haired Kunoichi cracked her knuckles menacingly and then slammed her fist straight into her opponent's temple. Ignoring the call of "Nice hit forehead girl" she just stared at the slumped form of the man before her. Inner-Sakura was cheering "Take that you loser!" while she was thinking -Heh that baka Naruto is useful after all… all those beatings I've given to him really paid off… wait did that Ino-pig just call me forehead girl?-
Sakura and Ino were about to engage in yet another of their catfights but the arrival of the rest of the Genins and a swift reminded that they were in war was enough to defuse the situation for now.
As for Neji, Lee and Sasuke… they had managed to dispatch their respective opponents with little difficulty. Neji had predictably used the Jyuken when he, with little emotion, ducked under his opponents guard and stopped his heart with a well placed hit of a chakra emitting hand.
Lee was forced to take less direct approach as his opponent shot a number of sand shuriken his way. He jumped over the incoming projectiles and then used his right hand to pivot straight towards Sand nin. With little effort the Green Beast Jr. deflected any blows aimed at him and proceeded to sweep his opponent off his legs and then ended the fight with a heel strike to the chest which effectively crushed the ribcage.
As for Sasuke… he had the most difficulty, which was not much. He actually had to resort to using Ninjutsu to defeat his own opponent, the only girl of the bunch. After a 'Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu'(Fire Release: Mythical fire Phoenix technique), which he laced with shurikens to create a diversion as he launched a 'Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu' (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) that left the unfortunate Sand nin in a sorry state. While she had managed to shield her face from the flames, her arms and rest of her body were burnt badly and thus she had no way to react to the fist that slammed into her face robbing her of consciousness.
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Naruto didn't have any chance to participate in the action, however he perked up as Gaara reported that several enemies were fast approaching the academy. As ordered Shikamaru quickly set in motion a plan to slow down the enemy approach while the students would make their escape via the tunnels that led towards the Hokage monument. This plan was never to come however as the main force that was supposed to deal with the academy made its appearance… along with a few nasty additions that had apparently followed the running Genin.
For several moments both sides surveyed each other across the academy yard. The twenty-one Suna Genin and the four Chuunin who were supposed to deal with the students were reinforced by nine uninvited Sound nin whose rank was undetermined but, judging by their aura of competence were at least Chuunin. The worst surprise however came in the form of a Sand nin who was identified by Gaara and his siblings as a Jounin.
Shikamaru began to sweat… the odds were sufficiently against them, even with the exceptional talent the Leaf nins possessed. He really had hoped to fight a delaying battle against the opposing forces, retreat to the tunnel and block it off… whether by Gaara's sand or by explosive tags and then hightail it to the main shelters that were designed to be defended against invaders. Now he had a catastrophe on his hands. He had fifteen Genins, himself included… and neither Shino nor Kankuro had really recovered from their fight at the arena and Choji had just been released from the hospital because he had eaten too much.
He did the only thing possible, aside from thinking how troublesome this all was and how he was probably going to die, and began to yell orders. "Tenten and Sand-girl attack anything you can, Naruto... you are the clone support and the rest of you help each other out anyway you can." He then performed the 'Kagemane no Jutsu' (Shadow Bind technique) trapping the foremost six Genins and two of the Chuunins with it and yelling. "Someone nail those in the shadow and be quick about it!"
Naruto and Lee both sprang forward, the former flashing through seals to create a number of Kage Bunshins that dispersed quickly to the battlefield. When the pair reached their target it took only a moment to dispatch the eight targets, what with Lee plowing through the six Genins like they weren't even there.
His blonde partner took it upon himself to disable the two Sound nins that were also caught in the shadow… unfortunately the sudden removal of the Genins from his jutsu disrupted Shikamaru's control over the shadow bind. Fortunately Naruto was already upon them and bashed the other into unconsciousness with a combination of swift hits that landed on the nins head and a final blow that cleanly broke his collarbone to make sure he stayed down.
The other Sound nin turned to form up a defence against the blonde demon carrier only to notice that his opponent was nowhere in sight. He quickly glanced upwards to make sure the boy wasn't about to attack from above, only to feel someone grab his ankles from below. Naruto had performed the 'Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu' (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique) for the second time that day and it had worked just as well. The Chuunin didn't even have time to lament his fate when a hard fist slammed into his face three times in rapid succession, breaking his nose and effectively putting him to sleep.
Jumping away from the nins he met up with Lee who gave an enthusiastic 'thumbs-up' and bounced to engage yet another opponent. Naruto quickly created some two dozen clones that he sent to help whoever needed their help, then pulled out six shurikens and launched them at a Sound nin who was doing his best to dodge Tenten's barrage of throwing weapons. With several handseals and whisper of 'Shuriken Kage Bunshin no Jutsu' the six shuriken became a some six dozen shurikens that made the Oto nin focus his attention on Naruto instead of Tenten… a big mistake when you have assortment of pointy and sharp weapons flying towards you. Naruto winced slightly at the sight of the opposing nin being turned into a human pincushion but shrugged it aside, this was war after all.
All thoughts concerning war, the possibility of killing someone and whatnot where brushed away though when he was jumped by two Suna nins, a Genin and a Chuunin. Naruto activated his Shinkugan, fell into a defensive stance and began to analyze their tactics in order to try and find an opening.
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Meanwhile Gaara had managed to ensnare and crush one Chuunin with his sand initially and was now chasing a Genin who was frantically trying to avoid the sand that was seeking to embrace him in a grip of death. He however, tripped on one of his team mates causing them both to fall down… Gaara not wanting to look the gift horse in its mouth simply mouthed 'Sabaku Kyu' (Desert Coffin) enveloping both of the unlucky Sand nins with his sand and then with little emotion closed his fist while saying 'Sabaku Soso' (Desert Funeral) causing the sand to crush those within it. Needles to say the sight of the feared container for Ichibi no Shukaku fighting alongside the Leaf nins and using his demonic sand to crush their numbers had a devastating effect on the morale of the Suna forces.
At the same time Kiba and Akamaru, who had turned into a 'Jyuujin Bunshin' (Beast Human Clone) where using the 'Gatsuuga' (Double Piercing Fang) to harass one of the Sound nins who had very little time to act against the blindingly fast half-man-beasts that were flying towards him. He did manage to use some weird jutsu to create a sound pulse that repelled the approaching Kiba and knocked him a into an unconscious heap, only to find that he had no time to dodge Akamaru who had been following in Kiba's shadow. The furious dog-turned-man all but tore the unfortunate nin into pieces for hurting his master… And after a few gory moments let the remains to slump on the ground and ran to check on his master… not before scraping some dirt over the body with a disdainful flick of foot and a small growl.
Temari was having the time of her life. She targeted, or was being targeted, by a particular duo of Genins she never liked, the bastards had tried to grope her once some time back and she had beaten them there and then. Now they were leering at her, promising that they'd be 'gentle' and all that… she smirked and whipped out her battle fan and swung it with practiced ease performing 'Kamaitachi no Jutsu' (Cutting Whirlwind Technique) without delay. The other Genin managed to dodge the giant gust of wind but the screams of pain coming from the other were sweet music to Temari's ears. -Be gentle with that you creep…-
Her grin didn't diminish when the other offending Genin charged her with a kunai held ready to strike… While she wasn't quite as practiced with Taijutsu as she was with her fan there were several nasty tricks with that said fan that she'd picked up during her years. With practiced motion the wind user dodged the blow aimed for her shoulder and used her fan to sweep the attacker from his feet and then, with speed that would make even Lee jealous, she flipped the fan over and drove its butt end into her enemy's groin… hard. If the Suna Genin had not passed out from the pain he would have when Temari kicked him equally hard on the head.
Shino meanwhile was having his hand full in support role, he hadn't quite recovered from the poisoning he got while fighting Kankuro in the exams and as such dared not to engage any enemies directly. Instead he stayed near Kankuro and Choji who weren't in their top form either, Kankuro because of chakra exhaustion and due to having his puppet damaged and Choji because he was still suffering from the effects of previous gluttony.
This did not stop Shino from ordering his bugs around though, especially in a familiar environment such as the academy front yard. Unbeknownst to the enemy, and most of the Leaf nins as well, small swarms of Kikai bugs were marching all around the battle field attaching themselves to the enemy nins, slowly draining them from chakra. One of the enemy nin had positioned himself near a tree Shino was very familiar with, a bad choice on his part since the tree's roots held a hive of ants that Shino and his bugs were in friendly terms with.
The Suna nin noticed that it was very hard to focus on concentrating on jutsus when you are suddenly crawling with ants. To his horror he also noticed that it was not only ants that were crawling on him in numbers as Shino had ordered his Kikai bugs to swarm the said nin, only one who seemed to be in support role of the whole enemy force. In only a matter of moments the Suna nin had fallen from chakra exhaustion and the Kikais moved on to next targets while the ants decided to take their 'payment' in more tangible terms.
Sasuke and Neji were both faring well against their opponents. Sasuke having knocked out an offending Genin with a quick strike to the throat was now battling against a Sound Chuunin who was for some reason reluctant to use any jutsus against him and had engaged him in pure Taijutsu match. The fight was fairly even... while Sasuke had better speed the Oto nin had more experience, experience that didn't help him after Sasuke's eyes turned red and comma marks appeared on them. With the advantage granted by Sharingan Sasuke quickly darted under his opponents guard and rammed a kunai into his throat making him collapse while making wet hacking sounds. He quickly scanned the area to find the Suna Jounin whom he considered to be the only one in this bunch worth fighting… unfortunately the Jounin was quite far on the edge of the battle so Sasuke was forced to engage yet another enemy Chuunin.
As for Neji he was quick to close on two Chuunin, one from Sound and the other from Sand. Both Nins had tried to hit him with jutsus but the other had been too distracted by Tenten's barrage of kunai and shuriken to accomplish anything beyond making a small mound of earth rise in front of him. This left the Sound nin who after flashing several seals blew out a breath and smirked, the chakra laden sound waves would make short work of this weird looking Leaf ninja.
To his dismay Neji easily dodged the ball of sound that was headed towards him and ducked under the Sound nins left arm. Without slowing he slammed his fingers several times into his arm and side and after passing slammed his fingers several times into his back without even turning his head. Behind him the Sound nin collapsed and Neji just smirked at the gawking Sand nin. He then took a weird Taijutsu stance and stated "You are finished… 'Hakke Rokujuyon Sho' (Divination Field, 64 strikes)."
As the last combination of strikes hit the unfortunate Suna nin he was sent flying towards yet another Suna nin who deftly sidestepped the human projectile that sailed past him… straight to an irate Naruto who displayed for the first time his skill with 'Konoha Daisenpu' (Leaf Great Whirlwind) to kick the already beaten Chuunin towards a nearby tree.
Lee on the other hand was having what he thought as fun. He'd been stalked by two Genin and a Chuunin who all seemed to be rather wary of his speed and skill with Taijutsu. After quickly barked orders from the Chuunin the Genins split up while the Chuunin began to pepper the area with shuriken and occasionally something that looked like condensed air that cut gashes to the ground where it hit. The green-clad Genin was jumping around avoiding the projectiles with little difficulty until the two Genins pounced on him with an obvious intent of stabbing him with their kunai.
They failed though, when Lee seemed to vanish from between them and suddenly appeared behind them only to grab their heads and slam them together with an audible crack. Lee didn't stop there but instead used their bodies to launch himself towards the remaining Chuunin, with unexpected speed he closed the distance between them and threw a combination of sluggish kicks and punches towards the Chuunin only to vanish from his sight. He was then kicked into the air by Lee who whispered 'Konoha Senpu' (Konoha Whirlwind)…
Much to his dismay Lee was not done yet as he appeared beneath the Chuunin and whispered 'Kage Buyo' (Shadow of the Dancing Leaf) into his ear. Not wanting to waste energy with 'Omote Renge' (Initial Lotus) Lee opted to deal with his opponent in a more basic way. He wrapped one arm around the Chuunins neck and slammed his fist multiple times into the man's back, aiming mostly at kidneys and base of his ribs. When the gurgles of pain and the cracking sound from his ribs indicated that he might have had enough Lee deftly switched their positions so that the Chuunin cushioned their rather hard landing. The enemy nin spat a good deal of blood and then laid still…
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On the far edge of the battle Hinata, Sakura and Ino were fighting their own fights. The girls had been targeted by two Oto nins and were now fighting quite hard against them. The Oto nins didn't even bother to hold back their contempt and were expecting an easy victory…
One of them charged against Hinata without even using jutsus, confident that he could beat the timid looking little girl into a pulp without any problem… he was wrong. Hinata, despite being mortally afraid, was a member of Konoha's most prominent clan and thus had been trained since childhood in Taijutsu and now when push came to shove the lessons that were drilled into her spine surfaced, not to mention that being exposed to the epitome of confidence named Uzumaki Naruto had boosted her own belief in her skills. With her Byakugan activated she met the attacking nin head on and began to fight with the same determination she had shown during the Chuunin exams when she faced Neji.
Sakura and Ino were about to execute the same plan they had with their previous opponent, namely Sakura distracting the enemy while Ino would use 'Shintenshin no Jutsu' (Mind Body Switch Technique) to take control of the enemy so that Sakura could pummel him into oblivion. They never got to that though, as the Chuunin suddenly grabbed his groin while releasing a rather unmanly and high pitched scream. Sakura blinked but took the opportunity that presented itself and planted her fist into the man's face with power that left the poor individual in a state of blissful unconsciousness.
As he buckled over a ball of reddish fur hurried from between his legs and started to stalk towards her next victim. Sakura and Ino only exchanged silent glances and raised their eyebrows… Akai-chan apparently had a mean streak into her when it came to fighting.
Akai had indeed been circling the battle looking for unsuspecting victims as Naruto had ordered her to stay away from danger, not from the battle. She was now stalking the man fighting Hinata but unfortunately her 'aid' was not required as Hinata managed, while blocking, to hit several tenketsu on her opponents arm. As the arm went limp she quickly used it as cover to step under the man's guard and slam her hand into the man's neck causing a temporary disruption in the blood flow to brain which caused him to black out. A swift kick on the head ensured that he was down for the count…
Their celebrations for personal victories were cut short however when a tall woman wearing a Suna Hitai-ate stepped towards them with practiced ease. She smirked at the Genins and said in an almost playful tone. "Little little Genins… So full of yourself, though I must admit your performance was quite a stretch above what you would expect from Genins normally." She pointed at Hinata. "Yours especially, though you are a Hyuuga are you not? and judging by the lack of a seal on your forehead from the main house no less. I wonder if I should take you alive… a girl with a bloodline limit as powerful as yours could be an asset for our village."
She grinned wickedly and suddenly seemed to disappear on to appear next to Ino who'd been attempting to use her 'Shintenshin no Jutsu' in an unobtrusive manner. Before the blonde could even blink the Jounin delivered a hard blow to her chest tossing her towards the Academy wall like a rag doll. Without a pause the Suna kunoichi moved right behind Sakura and rammed her elbow into the pink-haired girls head making her crumble to the ground. She then slowly turned towards Hinata and smiled evilly while drawing out a kunai. "Taking you alive would be bothersome so I'll just end it after I get to test the mettle of a Hyuuga and her Jyuken."
Hinata fell back before the vicious onslaught from the obviously more skilled Jounin. Despite the fact that she was able to hold her defences up it was clear that the Jounin was only playing with her, trying to goad her into showing something more advanced. Oh how she wished she knew how to perform the 'Kaiten'… but without it there was really nothing much to do but to hope that some help would arrive soon. Soon her defences slipped slightly and the Suna nin decided that she had been toying with her victim long enough. With deft moves she began to break down Hinata's last defences…
Hinata saw it coming, it was hard not to. She was getting tired quickly and had slipped and now it was time to pay for it. Silently she wished that she would have had the chance to get kissed at least once by her Naruto-kun but judging by the way a certain kunai began its descending arc there would be no such chance. She closed her eyes moments before the kunai struck and then there was a spray of hot blood that drenched her clothing…
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Temari was looking around for an opportunity to use her fan for her benefit when a yell of "Hey you crazy Sand girl… would you turn around already" made her turn around in a rush. Two Suna Genins were there, having somehow snuck up to her undetected… well almost undetected. She noticed that they were picking their noses with one hand and scratching their butts with the other. She blinked in amazement until a loud "Anytime now… sheesh you are so troublesome." shook her from her reverie.
Quickly taking a double take on the Genins and noticed that they were trapped by a shadow that led to an irritated looking Shikamaru. Temari had the dignity to blush before whipping her enormous fan and using it to whisk the hapless pair into the academy wall. She then turned to Shikamaru and yelled "And the name is Temari… TE-MA-RI got it?" Shikamaru just shrugged and mumbled something about troublesome crazy girls and such. She glared at the shadow user but decided to drop the issue for now.
Naruto was starting to get frustrated, why in the hell did he have to pick the one pair out of them all that actually worked together like nothing he'd never seen before. It was infuriating to see how the other would attack and the other would defend the attacker just from beyond the range of his retaliation. Not to mention that they were both quite skilled as well. He considered forming few clones to aid but decided against it for the favour of conserving chakra, he'd just hold against them until someone would have the time to pick off the other one so he could take down the other.
He pondered about his clones for a moment and then deftly kicked an incoming Suna nin, who'd been launched into his direction by Neji, towards a tree. He grinned slightly and focused on his clones, they weren't involved in the main battle but were instead acting as a distraction for several enemy shinobi who'd been attracted to the noise of their little defensive battle. He was about to launch yet another series of probing Taijutsu attacks towards his opponents when a loud yap reached his ears.
Visibly narrowing his eyes Naruto watched as the Sand Jounin effectively took out Ino and Sakura… and then attacked Hinata. Within seconds he came to a conclusion that Hinata would die lest he do something and quick, a conclusion that was accentuated by Kyuubi's "Hurry Kit or she'll die!" A cold lump seemed to settle into the pit of his stomach as time slowed for Naruto, he was about to lose the only person who cared for him, who had always truly cared for him… He would not let it happen. Through gritted teeth he whispered "Give it all to me you damn furball… now!" and reached through the seal to the well of chakra that was Kyuubi's… deeper than he had ever consciously reached.
The Sand duo that had been fighting against him stopped at the odd whisper. Then to their amazement Naruto seemed to change somehow… Kyuubi's demonic chakra burst through the seal like water through a broken dam, wrapping Naruto with its crimson energy. They watched in horror as the Genin who they had been fighting begun to manifest intimidating claws and fangs and to top it all he now had three blazing appendages that swayed behind him like tails.¨
Naruto roared, a sound that completely stilled the entire battle. . His vision seemed to sharpen with almost painful clarity, the world seemed to slow down around him as the power engulfed him… Not since his battle with Haku had he felt such tremendous power, power that pulsed though the seal along with the bloodlust that came with it, the killer intent directed towards those who would try to harm his mate.
He took off on all fours running towards his opponents who were rooted in place by sheer malice that was pouring from the boy in waves. A clawed hand lashed forward, catching the Sand Genin at his neck. Without even slowing down Naruto passed the nearly decapitated corpse that was still standing and slashed out again, this time catching the Chuunin in a horizontal swipe that left the man clutching his stomach in a vain attempt to hold his intestines inside. Showing no signs of slowing he run past the startled Sasuke but not past his unfortunate opponent who didn't have time to jump clear of the path of this embodiment of destruction.
He stood in the demon's way… he was an obstacle… obstacles are to be removed. Naruto slowed down some and brought his hands down in a cross shape tearing the Chuunins torso almost into four pieces. The power of the slashes was enough to send the corpse flying backwards in a massive spray of blood and gore. Without wasting any time he took off once again at full speed towards his mate. And he saw the kunai begin it's decent towards her… a primal growl escaped his lips as he hastened his steps.
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Hinata wondered at the absence of pain, she was drenched in her own blood but there was no pain. Oddly there was also loud growling, perhaps she was dead and had been sent to hell. Carefully cracking open one eye she could only stare at the sight that greeted her. There was the Jounin who had attacked her, with her hand still holding the kunai… only there was a crimson red appendage wrapped around the hand and another wrapped around the Jounin's throat. More disturbing was the fact that there was a clawed hand emerging from the right side of her chest.
She opened both eyes and carefully peered around the Jounin to see what had causing the growling noises. Her breath hitched as she noticed the source. -Na…Naruto-kun… but no that's… that's… not…- As she watched the growling seemed to subside and the crimson tails began to fade as the being before her blinked several times. "Hinata-chan… are you, are you alright?"
She watched as the tails vanished completely as the demonic chakra receded back into the seal. Naruto blinked several more times and then seemed to realize that his hand was in someone's body. With a quick look of disgust he pulled his arm free letting the Jounin's corpse slump unceremoniously to the ground.
Quickly turning around he surveyed the battlefield and the carnage his rampage had wrought. Naturally as timing would have it the Chuunin he had efficiently disembowelled chose this time to collapse to his knees and then face first to the ground. Everyone was staring at him… then, as one the four Suna Genin who were still standing at the time threw their kunais, shuriken and other assorted weapons to the ground and loudly declared that they would surrender. They hadn't wanted to mess with Gaara to begin with… even less with this… whatever it was they had just seen.
Naruto on the other hand just continued surveying the carnage, he could remember the red haze that had seemed to surround him. He looked down on his clothes only to notice that they were covered in blood, as were both of his hands, his right hand being soaked from fingertips to the elbow. And then he could hear the whispers of the villagers from his past… "Monster…" "Demon…" He began to shake and then fell to his knees, unknowingly repeating those same whispers aloud.
At first he didn't even register the small hands that encircled him from behind, nor did he hear the soothing voice that whispered calming words to him. He simply kept rocking back and forth until finally he began to calm down some and lean back towards the warmth that was behind him.
Hinata smiled slightly as she felt the blonde Jinchuuriki calming down under her hug. She could very well guess what the boy felt right now. -All those years of being called a monster or a demon… But Naruto-kun isn't a monster and whatever happened there… he did it somehow to save me. Now I must show him that he's not a monster. I just wish he'd calm down so that we could talk about what happened.-
She now felt that Naruto had calmed down some and whispered a final. "Shhh Naruto-kun… you are not a monster but a Leaf shinobi who had to kill to save a fellow shinobi." She felt him stiffen slightly and continued. "We have to get out of here… but remember that you are not a, a monster or anything like that. We can talk more later." She then felt the object of her affections gently give her hand a squeeze and nod slightly… it would have been a perfect moment had a certain jealous dogboy decided to interfere at this point.
Kiba had been knocked silly when he ran full speed into that weird jutsu that the Sound nin had used. He had been hovering on the edge of consciousness until he felt a massive burst of chakra that flared nearby, determined to try and regain his bearings he managed to get up just in time to see Naruto pull his arm from the body a Suna Jounin and subsequently to turn around and collapse only a moment later. He looked over at the blonde. -Sheesh a little blood and he falls to bits… how in the name of seven hells did I lose to him?-
He then noticed that his girl was there comforting the loser who obviously wasn't cut out to be a ninja. His jealousy spiked and he made his wobbly line towards the pair, ignoring the frantic whimpers from Akamaru who'd been more than alert during Naruto's little performance. He stopped several steps away from the pair and looked downwards. "Hey Hinata, why don't you leave that loser right there… I mean come on some shinobi he is, can't even hack with a little blood. Why you should just forge…"
He didn't get any further when he was face to face with Hinata, only this Hinata wasn't smiling. Instead the veins leading to her eyes bulged noticeably as her Byakugan activated on its own. With an ear piercing scream of "Don't you dare to say that about my Naruto-kun" her open palm came in a wide arc to make contact with Kiba's cheek. Now normally a slap stings some but a Jyuuken style slap didn't only sting. Hinata's chakra enforced hand caused the jealous boy fall on the flat of his back and stare in daze at Hinata who now towered over him. "Don't you dare to say that Naruto-kun is a loser… You don't know a single thing about him, you only ever saw him as the dead last and nothing more. Well he's not, he's a kind person who would do anything to protect those precious to him!"
She was about to continue stomping her foot and yelling at Kiba when Naruto interrupted by placing his hand on her shoulder "Come on Hinata-chan, we have to get moving… there are additional enemies coming…" The Hyuuga girl visibly shuddered as she sought to calm herself, actually it wasn't all that hard as she suddenly came aware that she had yelled out loud 'my Naruto-kun' She gasped and then turned beet red while fighting off a wave of dizziness. Finally she nodded meekly and stuttered out "Hai… Naruto-kun."
Hinata then rushed over to check Sakura and Ino who were both still down. Ino had a dislocated shoulder and several cracked ribs while Sakura had a badly sprained, possibly even fractured neck. "Naruto-kun… we need a stretched for Sakura-san, possibly for Ino-san as well." This caused the blonde to scratch his head, where would they get any stretchers for now… He was answered when sand began to billow under the downed girls setting both on flat beds made from sand. Sakura was actually enveloped with sand from head to toe leaving only her face visible.
Naruto quickly raised an eyebrow towards Gaara who simply answered. "If her neck is damaged it's best to make sure her head won't move." Without elaborating any further the former Suna nin began to move towards Shikamaru who was ordering people into the tunnels.
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Naruto heard the explosive tags go off and the following deep rumble from the collapsing tunnel. He was still troubled by the fact that he had lost control there, somehow letting the demon influence his thoughts. "You didn't kit, not really…" Naruto became more attentive at this. "What I think happened was the same thing that happened in Wave country, you used more of my chakra than your body could handle. You see kit, my chakra in comparison to yours is almost infinite. You could multiply the chakra you used today by a hundred… thousand even and it still would be only a drop in the bucket."
While Naruto was mulling over this and trying to decide whether or not the fox was just bragging Kyuubi continued. "So basically, there is a physical limit to the amount of my chakra you can use without losing control… and when you did the chakra began to overwhelm your senses and allowed a more 'demonic' being emerge." Naruto flinched visibly at this only suddenly feel someone grab his hand.
Hinata was grateful for the darkness of the tunnel, the only illumination being dim lights placed low on the floor every ten or so meters. When she felt more than saw Naruto flinch she decided to be bold and grabbed his hand, only to blush badly when Naruto turned to her and smiled slightly while whispering. "Thank Hinata-chan… just facing my inner demons here." She blushed even more when the blonde gave a small squeeze to her hand and began to lead her once more towards the distant exit.
Kyuubi chuckled at the antics of her container before continuing her narrative. "Basically what you… or rather we felt was a need to protect a mate…" Kyuubi grinned evilly as she heard Naruto sputter out in embarrassment. "…and did whatever it was necessary to protect her. What you really need to ask yourself is: Would you have killed those ninja to save Hinata-chan? And if the answer is yes, then why feel sorry about it. You are a ninja after all so killing is part of the job description."
Naruto tried to grumble some denial but the fact of the matter was that, yes he would have killed to save Hinata. Instead of trying to chop Kyuubi's logic he demanded to know more why he had reacted the way he had to Kyuubi's chakra. The demon considered the question for a while before answering. "Well as you undoubtedly… wait as you might know, chakra is composed of spiritual and physical energy yes? Seeing as how I have no physical body you would need a medium in order to utilize my chakra, namely your own body."
Naruto mentally nodded at this. "So basically every time you pull on my chakra it also drains to an extent your body. The fact is that even with your great stamina, today has been taxing so when you pulled out even more of my chakra, which is demonic to its very essence, you started to lose control. Not to mention the fact that you were clearly agitated which seems to weaken the seal…"
Again Naruto nodded then questioned Kyuubi. "So basically, to increase my tolerance to your chakra, and to keep this from happening again I should what… train myself more?" Kyuubi nodded in his mind. "That and I think you should discuss this with that old pervert that seems to have taken liking in you. Also it might help to practice more with my chakra only… possibly even driving your self to the edge on purpose to better gain control over the 'impulses'. This might be beneficial because there is no knowing when you might have to draw even deeper into my power… also there's another thing we might do but that's not for now."
The blonde brightened visibly at the prospect of gaining control over this newly seen more feral side of himself. He even tried to put his hands behind his back to stretch languidly only to notice that his other hand was still holding Hinata's. His resident demon chose this moment to lighten the mood and poke some fun of her container. "Oh yeah… that issue you have been mulling about the few past weeks, I think you answered it yourself back there. So why don't you admit it to you 'mate'" She roared in laughter as the embarrassed Naruto yelled out loud "Shut up you bastard!"
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Neji was curious. When he, Lee and Tenten had been placing the explosive tags on their pre-designated places in preparation to collapse the tunnel Tenten had wondered out loud what had actually happened with Naruto. This didn't make him curious though, he had seen it better with the Byakugan than the others had with their naked eye. The chakra that had poured out from the seal on his stomach had formed the shape of a large fox… a large nine-tailed fox to be exact.
Elsewhere in the tunnel a forlorn Kiba trudged after Akamaru who was pointedly ignoring his master. Kiba didn't really have a good day… first Naruto had hugged Hinata and worse yet, she'd hugged him back. Then Kiba had been hit by that weird jutsu and Naruto had, during his brief unconsciousness, apparently defeated… no killed a Genin, two Chuunin and a Jounin of all things to save Hinata. If that wasn't bad enough Hinata had yelled at him for being just an ass and after that he'd gotten a serious lecture from Shino and several death glares from Gaara. And now even Akamaru was ignoring him.
He hung his head and thought up ways to make this up to Hinata and show her that he was really the top dog in the village… plans that seemed to be always thwarted by the memory of Shino's harsh words. "Get it through your skull that she is, and has always been, fully committed to Uzumaki Naruto!" He looked towards Hinata's back and felt a stab of pain and jealousy when he saw her reach up and grab Naruto's hand. Hanging his head again he began to make more plans… this time to ease the pain. -Hmm that blonde Suna girl is kinda cute, outgoing too… maybe I should ask her out.-
His thoughts of gaining Hinata back and/or new conquests of love and glory were cut short though when the Genins finally reached their destination. The shelters built beneath the Hokage monument and the place where they were supposed to escort the academy students. None of the Genins were prepared for what they found there though. Four academy teachers, among them Iruka, all in full battle gear, a team of med nins and two members of ANBU.
The ANBU were quick to take custody of the enemy prisoners, wounded or otherwise and depart with them to where ever ANBU took prisoners. The med nins were equally quick to scurry away with Ino and Sakura to give them treatment for their injuries… Iruka was about to push Naruto with them until a sheepish grin and subdued statement of "Ano Iruka-sensei… it's not my blood." stopped him dead on his tracks.
He gave the boy once over and then motioned everyone to get into the shelter. Once inside he pulled over Gaara, Shino, Shikamaru and Naruto for a report and debriefing. Iruka sent them to clean themselves up and to rest after Shikamaru quickly summarized the events and Naruto, with a few words, explained what had happened to him promising a full report at a better time.
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Naruto was feeling somewhat better, having washed most of the blood off his skin. His clothes however were all but soaked in blood and there was only so much you could do without a washing machine. He shrugged, the pants were clean enough after a little washing but no way was he going to wear his vest… the smell of blood was still clinging to it making his nose twitch.
He then observed his undershirt, it was clean enough to wear but uncomfortably wet and he didn't feel like drying it off with fox fire after the recent escapade. Rather he wear a wet shirt or go without one than try and do anything related to his unique 'heritance' for the moment… a notion that was seconded by his resident. After debating silently between a 'wet shirt' and 'no shirt' he decided to go with the 'no shirt' option for the time being.
As he exited the shower stall he noticed that he was no longer alone in the washing room. Hinata and Tenten had both come to freshen up, or in Hinata's case to get rid of the excess blood splattered on her. Tenten was forced to stifle a gasp when she saw Naruto and was able only to form one coherent thought -Hunky-.
Hinata just blushed slightly at the sight. The blonde kitsune container seemed to get better looking every time she saw him in scant clothing… not to mention those droplets of water that were all over his torso. She didn't have time to dwell on this as a stifled gasp came from behind her, her Byakugan activated and she stared through the back of her skull to see the other girl staring at her Naruto-kun. Slowly and deliberately she turned around, radiating controlled killer intent and then narrowed her eyes at Tenten in a manner that clearly conveyed the message. "MINE!"
Tenten was taken aback at Hinata's reaction. -This is Neji's weak cousin… she's just as scary, maybe even more so, as Neji is when he's angry. Note to self: no more staring at her boyfriend.-
Unknown to the girls in the room Naruto, who was pressed against the wall and was inching his way towards the door, was echoing Tenten's thoughts. -Man. I though Sakura-chan and Ino were scary but Hinata-chan… I better make sure I never piss her off royally or I might not survive.-
Just as he was about to make his escape from the room he was bumped into by yet another person who happened to be Neji. Naruto cursed, he really didn't want to deal with Neji at the moment… not with tensions already running high among the Genins. He tried to slip past the Hyuuga genius only to be stopped by his hand. Naruto frowned and asked "What do you want Neji?" with only a barely polite tone.
Neji wasn't fazed though. He let go of Naruto's arm and calmly walked towards the faucets while saying. "What happened today, in the match and later at the academy?" Naruto just gaped at the boy, who was now washing his hands and face as if he hadn't even asked a question.
Before the Jinchuuriki had a chance to answer Tenten jumped in the conversation with additional questions. "Yeah, how did you manage to stop Neji from closing your tenketsu and how did you grow those three crimson tails."
Naruto gaped at the girl. "Three?" The question was directed more towards a certain fox demon than the curious girl in front of him, however only astonished silence was 'heard' from within Naruto's mind as Kyuubi, for once in her long life, was at the loss of words.
Tenten was nodding enthusiastically in response but stopped when Neji turned around and said. "I closed those tenketsu… and he opened them." He paid no heed to the mutters of 'Impossible' coming from his team mate. "A seal formed on his stomach and chakra leaked out… forming a head of a fox that loomed over his head and opening his tenketsu." He tilted his head slightly. "Then at the academy chakra began to pour out from that same seal… forming itself into the shape of a giant fox that surrounded Naruto."
Neji then locked his pale eyes with Naruto's blue ones. "Only the fox didn't have three tails… it had nine." This caused Tenten to gasp and take a step back and Naruto to smile grimly.
Without breaking eye contact Naruto began to gather some chakra and felt the familiar tinge of the seal becoming visible. "You have a seal on your forehead. I have one in my stomach… the Yondaime's 'Hakke no Fuin Shiki' (Eight Trigrams Sealing Style) used by him, after defeating the Kyuubi with 'Shiki Fuin' (Dead Demon Consuming Seal), to seal the demon within a newborn baby… namely me."
Only sign that Neji was shocked by the bluntness of Naruto's words was a slight widening of his eyes. "So this seal is the prison for Kyuubi then… I see that" He was interrupted by Naruto who still hadn't broken eye contact. "No… the seal is the gate. I am the prison and the jailor…" Again Neji's eyes widened followed by a slight nod. Without another word he walked past Naruto and stopped at the door. "I apologize then."
The blonde turned around and faced Neji's back. "Yeah well, just remove that stick you have stuck up in your ass and try less like a stuck up prick you are and we'll call it even."
The Hyuuga genius turned his head slightly and smirked at the boy. "I'm only saying that I was wrong, you do understand what it's like to bear a burden you can never be rid of." With a slight nod and almost a smile he left the room leaving Naruto to recover from his massive face fault.
After he recovered he turned to face the girls and the shocked Tenten in particular. "You know I won't bite and all that… anyway if you want to hear the whole story ask Lee. Just tell him that I said it's okay to tell it or whatever." With that he turned around, grumbling something about stuck up geniuses and how they should all be beaten up on a regular basis to make them more human, and left the two girls behind.
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When Naruto came out from the washing room he was noticed by Temari, who immediately took notice of his shirtless form. Naruto didn't notice the girl ogling him though, he was busy glaring at Sasuke who had in turn been glaring at him. Sasuke was indeed furious, the dobe had somehow gained more power in a months time than he had. First he showed off at the finals by using one of the moves that were clearly reserved for his and Kakashi's use… then he'd somehow unleashed massive amount of chakra to defeat that Jounin.
Sasuke glared at the blonde, it was due time for him to squeeze out the secrets from this 'dead last'. The power he'd used to kill that Jounin, it was something that he clearly didn't deserve… something that would better serve those who knew how to use such power for better purposes like killing one's brother for instance. With a final glare that was ignored by Naruto, who was now talking with Shikamaru, Sasuke wowed to himself that he would extract the secret of that power from Naruto and make it his. Feeling confident that he would succeed he went back to his brooding.
Naruto decided that it was better ignore Sasuke-teme than to pick a fight since he really didn't want to deal with another 'Rookie-of-the-year-so-I-am-better-than-everyone-else' case. Instead he just walked over to Shikamaru to ask for any updates on orders and to get the latest news, if any, from the battle. There were no new news and the orders were the same, rest and be ready to defend the shelters if need be.
He was distracted by movement in his peripheral vision and turned to see what it was about only to see Hinata, not an uncommon sight to him, without her baggy grey jacket, which certainly was uncommon. Naruto blinked while feeling his gaze draw lower than it usually did, then... to make a comparison lock onto Tenten who had exited at the same time and then move on towards Temari, back to Tenten and finally back to Hinata. There was only one thing going through his mind. -I seriously need to talk her about ditching that jacket… I mean sheesh, she's got umm… boobs.- Kyuubi cackled evilly at this. "My how very eloquent of you…"
Naruto wasn't the only one thinking along the same lines, in fact most of the males present had a similar reaction. Kankuro even smudged his makeup when he wiped off an errant drop of sweat. Temari was quick to echo Tenten's thoughts from only moments before when she first saw Hinata take of her jacket -Damn I'm older than she is… so how dare she have bigger…-
Snapping himself out of hentai thoughts Naruto stomped towards a small outcropping of rock to which he hung his shirt to dry. Cursing Ero-Sennin for rubbing onto him he then slumped against the wall while trying to yell at the obnoxious fox to shut the hell up about Hinata's umm… assets. He was shaken from this interesting conversation by a small "Ano…" that came from the afore mentioned girl. Getting a closer look on her didn't help and the boy was forced to grab his nose to prevent bleeding… thankfully he had boosted healing ability so the bleeding abated in only moments.
Trying to force down his blushing he motioned Hinata to sit down while ignoring the Kyuubi and a mental image of 'Chibi-Jiraiya' who was waving a 'GO FOR IT!' banner while grinning madly. Deciding to lock his eyes to a safe target he concentrated on Hinata's face… a scrutiny that brought waves of blushing and nervous stuttering from the girl, she wasn't after all used to having Naruto to blatantly stare at her face like that. "Ano… Naruto-kun… is there something wrong with my face?"
Kyuubi decided to rescue her host. "Hey kit, I'll get us out of this… just repeat after me." Naruto quickly debated about it but decided to take the offer, it wasn't as if the fox could get him into any deeper trouble anyway. "There's nothing wrong with your face Hinata-chan." Naruto repeated this. "It's just that I'm a little tired right now…" and this "So I'll feast my eyes on your magnificent form after I'm better rested" Without thinking Naruto began "So I'll feast my eyes on your magnificent form aft… WHAT! SHUT UP!"
Hinata watched in confusion as Naruto began to bang his head against the floor while mumbling "Baka me, Baka fox, Baka me…" The sight was so funny that despite all that had happened during the day she giggled causing the said boy stop his head bashing. He scratched his head and explained sheepishly. "Uhh I'm really tired and all and the idiot furball is poking fun of me."
Hinata smiled again and blushed while taking a mental breath of preparation. "Ano Naruto-kun… if you are feeling tired would you like to… I mean for me … I could give you a massage…" Now she was torn between patting herself on the back for managing to say something like that and berating herself for sounding so forward. -I hope Naruto-kun doesn't think I'm some floozy…- She visibly relaxed when Naruto seemed to brighten and nodded happily.
Only a few moments later they were both in a state of bliss. Naruto was leaning into the fingers that were digging into his shoulders and back releasing tension that had been building for the last few days, weeks even. He let out a small groan as the magic fingers broke a particular knot that had formed in his back. Despite the soldier pill he had ingested earlier the massage seemed to be coaxing him into a state of deeper relaxation…
Hinata on the other hand was relishing at the chance to grope… err massage Naruto, something that she'd learn to enjoy when she'd patched Naruto up after his dodging practice. Only this was so much better than simply gliding your hands over his body and only 'accidentally' brushing against his skin. She was surprised though when the boy suddenly went limp and fell backwards into her lap… Naruto let out a soft snore and snuggled deeper against the furiously blushing girl.
That was the exact position where Umino Iruka found the pair few hours later. Hinata, who had initially been determined to stay awake, had succumbed to sleep as well. Iruka smiled at the cutest thing he had seen… Hinata had her arms wrapped around Naruto, who was snoring softly against her shoulder while the girl was resting her head against Naruto's blonde hair. Grinning wickedly their former teacher motioned Akai-chan to stay quiet and retreated stealthily, only to return a moment later holding a camera.
The flash and click from the camera caused the two stir slightly, a second flash and click transferred them to a half awake state in which Naruto snuggled deeper against Hinata burying his face into her… Iruka's eyes bugged out and he quickly began to flash more pictures wearing a mischievous grin. -Now I can blackmail him into doing whatever I want… I have to make sure these never reach Hiash-samai though or Naruto's life is forfeit.-
The annoying flashing and clicking sound was prodding Naruto awake, he groaned and tried to burrow deeper into his bed… then the bed sighed in contentment making him freeze. He cracked an eye open and saw what he was snuggling against and to make matters worse Hinata chose this particular time to wake up as well. She stared downwards at blue eyes that were staring at her… they both blinked at the same time, then blinked again… then in motion faster than the eye could track Naruto seemed to vanish only to reappear several meters from the girl, blushing with a shade of crimson clearly resembling Kyuubi's chakra.
Both simultaneously thought -Thank the Kami no one saw that one…- only to nearly suffer a cardiac arrest when Iruka cleared his throat. The clearly amused Chuunin looked at them with a smile and said. "As sorry as I am to interrupt your well deserved… rest. I thought that you might like to know that there's dinner to be had." With a smirk and a wave he left the two alone to invent new and intriguing facial colours.
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Naruto stopped like he'd run into a wall when he reached what was set aside as the Genins mess area, he then pointed his finger at the cook and began to stutter. Hinata frowned, worried that something was wrong until she was almost knocked to her knees by Naruto's yell of "RAMEN! ICHIRAKU'S RAMEN!" Everyone sweat dropped at the blonde's antics except the old man Ichiraku and his daughter Ayame who knew very well Naruto's passion for their products.
While waiting impatiently in the line Naruto listened as the old man explained that they had taken refuge on the lower levels of the same shelter and that he had been spotted by Iruka who had asked them to contribute to the defence by coming up here to cook for their best customer and few others. Ayame snickered at this… Naruto might have a passion for eating ramen but her old man had an equal passion for cooking the stuff. She just shook her head ruefully as she watched the blonde to practically jump from leg to leg while waiting for his turn.
Naruto was eyeing the shortening line impatiently, he wanted his ramen… then finally it was his turn but the mood was rather abruptly broken by an old woman who was helping to serve the ramen. She, after glaring at the boy while handing him the bowl, asked in a nasty tone. "Why didn't you do all of us a favour and die in the battle you monster?"
Silence that followed the words was palpable until it was broken by a clattering of a bowl that fell from Naruto's fingers. The blonde looked stricken and then whirled about and rushed out from the room. There was a loud pop as the cork on Gaara's gourd was blown away and sand began to rush out from it… The old woman didn't notice this though as she wore a satisfied smile when she saw Iruka forcibly restrain Hinata to prevent the now seriously pissed little girl from punishing her.
Her smile waned slightly when she was suddenly pushed away from the food by a furious Ayame and told in a stern voice that her services were no longer needed. It vanished completely when Iruka wearing a sombre expression stated that she was now under arrest. The old woman, with a devious expression, argued that she hadn't broken the Sandaime's law to which Iruka replied in a honeyed voice. "No… you didn't. You only wished, before witnesses even, a Konoha Shinobi dead... that alone is worth punishment. However I would point out that we are currently in war and under martial law, which means you just committed treason…"
Naruto was huddled at the exact same place where he'd been sleeping only minutes before, mumbling to himself and trying to hold back tears that threatened to spill. He was interrupted by a bowl of ramen that gently placed in front of him by none other than the old man who'd cooked it. The old man pushed the ramen towards the boy and said in a gruff tone "Now you pay no heed to that old bitch… she doesn't know what she's talking about."
The foxboy was taken aback by the term, he'd never heard the old man use language like that before, but simply shook his head. "She thinks she does… do you know why she said that?" He saw the ramen chef nod and say "But…" at this Naruto interrupted him. "But you can't talk about it because of the law that the Hokage-jiisan made… you know the one that forbids anyone from talking about the Kyuubi and how she was sealed inside a certain boy." He looked at the old man curiously "So why? I mean why don't you think I'm a monster?... most everyone else does."
The old man scratched his chin and pointed at the noodles. "You eat those and I'll tell you." Chuckling ruefully he watched as Naruto reached for the noodles and began to eat them slowly, not inhaling them like he usually did. "See Naruto… first I think people who would consider you as a monster are hypocrites. They proclaim the Yondaime as the greatest hero ever and yet they doubt his ability. Then there's the fact that you have lived in the village for what… fourteen years now and have never hurt anyone, aside from your pranks which only have hurt the pride of some individuals."
Naruto snorted at that. "Anyway there's more to that though. I remember about hmm thirty years back when I was young… Yes, I was young once. I had just started learning to make ramen when this short, blonde, blue eyed and loudmouthed brat came to the shop. He was actually cutting class from the academy to get some ramen, and since Ichriraku's is the best place for ramen in Konoha he soon became a regular, oh and did I mention he was loud?. See he came to us for many years, after he graduated and became a Genin, then Chuunin and so on. He was a regular until he died actually."
At this Naruto was in rapt attention. "He was really something, always cheery and going on about how he was going to do this and that… After he died it seemed that Ichiraku's somehow slowed down... the cheery atmosphere was gone, until about seven years afterwards when a certain other loudmouth baka stepped through our door." He sighed. "We actually lost some customers first you know, what with the 'demon' eating at our place. But it was worth it because the cheery mood seemed to return… since we once again had a blonde moron going on about how he was going to be the Hokage and protect us and all that."
The old man poked Naruto's forehead "Oh and did I mention that you eat more ramen in any given day than half of my other regulars combined eat in a week." This was said with a smile that told the boy that he really didn't mean it that way. "What happened today anyway? I heard you won the finals and all so why'd you get so down from one ignorant idiot? You usually don't let that get to you."
Naruto hung his head again before muttering. "It's just that I… had to use 'her' chakra to protect someone and it got a somewhat out of hand. I killed few people and it was more than little messy."
He felt his head being forced upwards to meet a stern face. "Now listen to me boy… killing is part of your job, and if you that to protect someone then it certainly doesn't make you a monster. Besides I have a sure fire way to fix you right up." The old man smiled at the curious expression on Naruto's face… he pointed at the now empty bowl and said "More ramen!"
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After stuffing themselves with ramen the Genins were settling down again. There was some confusion as to exactly why the old lady had decided to verbally attack Naruto but an explanation that she'd probably been pranked by Naruto was enough to settle most of the questions.
Also they heard that Sakura was going to be fine although she would be forced to wear a neck brace for a week or so and take it easy for at least few weeks. This information was brought to them by Ino who had been released after a stern warning not to strain her shoulder or ribs. She had then been filled on what had happened afterwards by her teammates and was now staring at Naruto with starry eyes.
Konohamaru was bored, they had been cooped up in this abysmal hellhole for hours. And he'd heard from Iruka-sensei that Naruto-niichan and the other Genin were on the upper levels and that they'd been in battle even. He tried to calm himself but to no avail, the idleness was driving him insane. Deciding to take action he went to the bathroom and performed a quick henge to transform himself into a perfect copy of Iruka, something that came easy to him now that he'd passed Naruto's 'Oiroke no Jutsu' (Sexy no Jutsu… you knew that didn't you?) training.
Calmly stepping out from the bathroom he passed the instructor who was supposed to keep them from entering the upper levels. He nearly tripped when the instructor spoke to him. "Going to check on your Genins again huh? I have to say though… I'm surprised about that Uzumaki kid, I mean taking out a Jounin on his own is no mean feat." Konohamaru was so stunned that he was barely able to grunt in response. -Oyabun… you are really awesome to take out a Jounin.-
Meanwhile Kakashi made his appearance. The silver haired Jounin was obviously exhausted and was covered from head to toe with splatters of blood… overall he seemed to be in a good mood though. After having everyone's attention the lazy Jounin said "Alright all, the battle is over and the enemy forces are dead, captured or retreating. Our forces are currently going through the village for any forces possibly hiding there, trying to evade capture."
He cleared his throat. "Now there were some casualties especially among the Chuunin ranks… and Hokage-sama is now in hospital." He was interrupted by a sudden half suppressed sob coming from Konohamaru who had arrived just in time to hear the last part of Kakashi's statement. Naruto was quick to move to the kid and hold his shoulder in a supportive manner while the Jounin continued. "According to ANBU it would seem that Orochimaru had taken the place of the Kazekage. There were further complications as several Sound nins isolated Sandaime-sama and the traitor…"
He looked at Naruto. "The fight was in the Hokage's favour as it seemed to the ANBU present that Orochimaru had trouble using his left arm…" at this the blonde gave a feral grin, which was mirrored by Kyuubi. "As it was Orochimaru didn't have time to finish any jutsus before the Hokage managed to summon Enma and land a hit on his right arm with Enma's 'Gongounyoi' (Adamantine Staff) form. The hit itself wasn't very damaging but apparently Enma decided to take a bite out of Orochimaru by tearing off his arm from the elbow… I saw the severed appendage myself."
Naruto was slightly uncomfortable with the feeling of deep satisfaction that was emanating from Kyuubi but shrugged it off as a probable 'demon' thing. He listened as Kakashi continued. "Anyway that hit didn't come without its own price as Orochimaru was able to impale Hokage-sama with his 'Kusanagi' (Grasscutter)… The wound itself was treated quickly by ANBU medics and the poison from the sword neutralized… however the Hokage suffered some damage to his back and head when he fell from the rooftop they were fighting at."
He then explained how Orochimaru and his minions had withdrawn from the battle quickly after Enma had bitten of the traitor's arm, something to which Naruto paid no heed as he tried to comfort Konohamaru who was now sobbing quietly. Despite feeling sad himself the blonde tried to assure the Hokage's grandson with words like "Look the old geezer isn't going to croak on something that small… he's the Hokage for pity's sake. And remember we both need to kick his ass before he can die anyway..." While not exactly the best words for the situation they seemed to calm the little kid down to a point where he was able to put up a brave, if a little shaky, smile and nod with a determination.
Hinata was watching Naruto in silence after shooting a freezing glare at Ino who was staring at the blonde while thinking. -He's even good with kids… and he saved me from that Jounin too I really have to make it up to him…-
Hinata didn't say anything though as she watched Konohamaru get comforted by his 'Oyabun' She did a lot of thinking though. -Naruto-kun is so kind, even when he's in pain himself he still thinks of others first. From what he told me I think that Hokage-sama was like a grandfather of sorts to him… and Iruka-sensei was like a father…-
Her gaze glided over to the bored looking Kakashi who was now reading his orange book. -I wonder if he thinks that Kakashi is like a uncle or something for him.- Her train of though was interrupted when Kakashi noticing that he was being watched smiled at the girl causing his visible eye to curve in a curious way. Hinata shook her head mentally and though. -Nah… no way-
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Naruto was currently in the little place in his mind that was referred as 'Kyuubi's' and was engrossed in yelling at the fox. To say that he was pissed was an understatement. He had been walking Hinata home, on the pretence that there might be enemy ninja about, and had even mustered the courage to hold her hand… And had bloody well been about to talk to her about some more personal issues, namely asking her to go out with him as a couple, when the damn furball had started giving 'advice' and had effectively ruined the moment.
And now he was here yelling. "Ok now you listen to me you damn furball… I don't really mind you living in my head/belly/whatever but stay away from my private affairs." Kyuubi just blinked innocently. "And don't play innocent with me you baka kitsune… You know we humans have a saying that goes something like 'Two's company, three's crowd…'"
Kyuubi scratched the behind of her ear thoughtfully. Just as Naruto was about to launch into tirade she cut in. "Well I just wanted to help you get some pups…" The blonde naturally went ballistic at this. "PUPS? Hell I haven't even been on a date with her and you want me to get kids… sheesh, humans aren't like foxes or demons or whatever. We don't just jump straight into the family phase."
Kyuubi nodded sagely "Yes well the courtship is important…" she was cut off by Naruto who was again getting red in the face. "That's not the point… the point is I want you to stay the hell quiet when I'm doing something like that. I mean some things need privacy so please… unless you want to move back to your old residence in the sewers?"
Kyuubi snorted in surrender at the face of this 'vile' threat. "Fine… but I get to tease you afterwards." Naruto snorted too and then conceded to the point as there probably was no way to keep the fox from doing it anyway. "Fine…". Kyuubi smiled "And I want to meet her after you two start courting…" Seeing that Naruto was about to object she hastily continued. "If she agrees…"
Naruto glared at the fox and huffed in defeat "Fine…" Kyuubi smiled at the boy and wagged her nine tails a little making Naruto to wag his three tails. This was something that Naruto and Kyuubi were both quite proud of… to gain a third tail in matter of months instead of decades. Both the Bijyuu and the Jinchuuriki were now smiling at each other having reached an understanding. Then Kyuubi spoke. "So when am I going to get grandkids?"
It took Naruto some fifteen minutes to recover from his shock while Kyuubi was laughing wholeheartedly at her 'baka container'… -Yes it certainly won't get boring with this kit.-
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It was the day following the battle of Konoha and the Genins were gathered near the Hokage tower to receive their missions. None of their Jounin instructors were present when a Chuunin arrived tossing a scroll at Shikamaru. They were ordered to move to the southern section of Konoha to aid in clearing the rubble from a fire that had started, and destroyed a good portion of the city, there. As during the battle Shikamaru was in overall command with Shino and Naruto working under him.
At the end of a long day the whole group, including Gaara, Naruto and Lee, were exhausted, sweaty and covered in soot. As he made his way home Naruto had only one thing in his mind… shower, bath, bed and of course... cup ramen. After opening his door he realized that things never were that easy, a realization that was borne from the sight of a certain silver haired uncle of his, lounging lazily on his bed reading that hentai book of his.
Kakashi waved his hand in greeting without bothering to rise from his comfortable position. "Hello Naruto… It was quite a performance during the finals with the 'Chidori' and all…" He raised his eyebrow slightly at the lack of response from the exhausted boy. "Anyway… I brought you a new set of jutsus you could study seeing as how you are going for a mission and all." Now this got Naruto's attention, he hadn't heard about any missions. "Oh and if you don't mind I'll just move all your stuff to your father's house. Apparently your landlord decided to evict you in the favour of those people who lost their homes during the battle. Well it's his loss really… and your gain."
Naruto was trying to get his mouth working. -Mission, evicted, mission? What the hell what mission?- Before he could utter a word Kakashi stood up, tossed him a bundle of scrolls and said "Study those if you have time… Jiraiya will give you the details on your mission so see you in a month or two. Oh and by the way coax him into teaching you the 'Rasengan' (Ummm you know what this is right?). Well anyway I got things to do, missions to accomplish." He then vanished in a cloud of smoke before Naruto could utter a single word. -A mission with Ero-Sennin, what the hell… and a month or two?-
While cursing Kakashi in his mind and pondering the mystery of this new 'mission' Naruto spend the next hour soaking up in his bathtub. -Well I definitely have to see Hinata before I leave… and go see that old geezer to tell him to get better, and maybe Sakura-chan too.- As he exited the bathroom he found that he had another uninvited visitor. Mt. Myobukugama's holy master sennin, also know as the toad sennin or the great Jiraiya-sama was digging through his closets with abandon. He blinked at the sight and then walked over to the old man and poked him politely on the shoulder. When the aged pervert turned towards him he yelled at the top of his lungs "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DIGGING THROUGH MY STUFF OLD MAN?"
Jiraiya was quick to recover and answered. "Now now brat, just tell me where are you 'educational magazines'" Seeing Naruto frown in confusion he yelled in inquisitorial tone. "Your porn brat… I know you have some, how else could you have gotten that sexy jutsu of yours down to perfection." Naruto began to develop a slight twitch as a vein popped on his forehead. Few moments of hentai bashing later the pervert was sporting a rather nasty looking bump on his head.
He composed himself quickly though. "Now listen up Naruto… we are going to track down an old team mate of mine by the name of Tsunade. She's a legendary medical ninja and possibly the only one who can wake Sarutobi-sensei from his coma." He looked at Naruto who was now listening carefully. "Also… I want you to come with me as my personal apprentice so get ready as we leave tomorrow morning." The Gama sennin wasn't certainly expecting the reaction he got from Naruto who simply crossed his arms and said "No!"
Jiraiya blinked and looked at the blonde questioningly. Naruto elaborated. "I got some stuff I need to do before we go… like going to see the old geezer and stuff." He didn't go any further to who he exactly needed to see, it was better not to give the pervert any ideas. "Anyway I can leave after lunch at the earliest…"
Now, Jiraiya was not called a super-pervert for nothing, the man who'd developed 'Toton jutsu' (Transparent Escape Technique) just for peeping purposes was not fooled. His well developed sense for anything even possibly and remotely perverted told him that Naruto was definitely going to see a girl before leaving Konoha. -I have stay on his heels the whole day tomorrow… he's probably going to say 'sweet goodbye' to the cute Hinata-chan.- Barely suppressing a perverted chuckle he simply nodded and ordered Naruto to meet him at Konoha's gates right after lunch.
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Naruto was feeling somewhat nervous, something that he really didn't know how to cope with. Here he was, carrying take out ramen from Ichiraku's, which had luckily survived intact, and waiting for Hinata to show up. And there she was running towards their appointed meeting place even if she wasn't late yet. She smiled shyly at Naruto, a smile that faltered when she saw the large backpack that was beside the boy.
Foregoing any talking they dug into their respective dishes, which were the Ichiraku deluxe special that the old man whipped out just to thank them for their efforts in the defence of Konoha. However all things come to an end and Naruto was growing even more uncomfortable. He was spared from trying to talk coherently though when Hinata asked in a tiny voice "Ano… Naruto-kun, why do you have a pack… you are not going anywhere are you?"
Naruto began to fidget and poke his fingers together, something that Hinata found rather cute and irritating at the same time… she also wondered if Naruto felt the same way when she poked her fingers together. "Uh yeah… Umm. Hinata-chan I have to go for a mission for some time, for like maybe a month or so." Hinata's face fell at this. "So anyway I just wanted to say goodbye and all that before I go." Suddenly Naruto rammed a fist to the side of his head causing Hinata to jump back a little. "Uh… sorry, just trying to ah. I mean damn it. Remember what we talked about… you know before the finals?"
She nodded, only thing that she could do really from the emotional strain of the moment… this was it... the hour of judgement was nigh. "So anyway about that… I was just wondering if you would like to. I mean with me. To go out someday?" Inside Naruto's mind Kyuubi was biting her own tail to keep from laughing out loud. After a few more head bashes Naruto tried again this time with little more coherence. "I mean would you like to go out with me after I come back… like for a date?"
Hinata was however far from Konoha in a place between the 'Cloud Nine' and 'La-la Land'. Finally as Naruto was getting rather impatient and dejected looking she suddenly returned and squealed in delight as she tackled the startled blonde. "Yes… yes… YES!" She then realized the position they were in and quickly scampered back when the nervousness returned with vengeance. "Ano… Naruto-kun I mean I would like that very much…"
This time it was Naruto who was somewhere far from the vicinity of Konoha… few moments later he returned and flashed out one of his widest smiles as of yet. "Yeah that's great Hinata-chan… so umm well… I guess I'll have to go then." He scratched his hair nervously… "So see you soon right?"
He tried to get up but was stopped by a shy arm that was holding his hand. Hinata was blushing like mad and managed after a not so few tries finally stutter out the words "Ano… Naruto-kun… a goodbye kiss?" Naruto nodded breathlessly while trying to control his blushing and keeping several not so pure thoughts out of his mind. They inched closer and closer until finally their lips met ever so briefly… it was a peck really and that would have been the end of that if Hinata hadn't suddenly felt the reality of the situation crash over her. -I'm kissing Naruto-kun… and he's leaving and… I want more!-
Feeling bolder than ever before in her life she grabbed the Kyuubi's carrier by his blonde hair and pulled him into a full kiss, which was something that Naruto was quick to participate in after getting over his initial shock. Then she remembered something she'd read in a women's magazine that was left lying about in the hospital and decided to go even further causing Naruto to almost faint at the feel of a soft tongue probing his teeth.
Back in Naruto's mind Kyuubi was chuckling to herself. She'd been sure her little promise of 'non interference' would have needed some bending in the form of cleverly applied chakra and little kitsune seduction but apparently the shy girl wasn't as shy as she believed herself to be. She grinned to herself and began again wondering exactly how powerful her grandchildren would be.
Naruto started losing himself in a haze after Hinata had deepened their initially innocent peck into a full blown make out session with tongues, gropings and all. He was enjoying himself to the fullest until he began aware of several things. A) They were near Konoha's gates. B) They were as they said 'making out'. C) He could hear chuckling and it certainly wasn't Kyuubi.
As Hinata stopped to draw breath Naruto used the break to his advantage and pressed the girl against him so that they could no longer be in direct liplock. He stroked her hair for a moment while trying to calm his erratic breathing and heartbeat. "Ah Hinata-chan that was… I take that means that you like me right?." He almost continued their previous activities when he heard a whisper of "I love you Naruto-kun" from the girl. Fighting down the urges he then managed to stutter. "I uh… we're kinda in the open and I think someone saw us."
This caused an immediate reaction from Hinata who quickly scooted to her knees and a good meter away from Naruto while blushing like a tomato. The chuckling died down at this and soon revealed itself to, Hinata's relief and Naruto's dismay, be none other than the legendary Jiraiya. He flashed his most charming smile at Hinata and then said in an apologetic tone "Sorry to interrupt you Hyuuga-sama but I'm afraid I need my young apprentice for a mission and he's late already."
This made Naruto to object loudly. "Ero-Sennin, we were supposed to meet after lunch damn you… and we just got here. Look our second round of ramen is still hot even." Jiraiya just smirked at the boy who was now trying to act nonchalant and open a container of takeout ramen only to find that the ramen was indeed cold and that he was… late. -I just wonder how far they'd gone if I hadn't blown it… the boy would have probably shown up tomorrow or something. Maybe I should give him the talk and everything… especially if he's serious about Hinata-chan, I mean Hiashi-kun would have probably killed him for what happened already, with him always being such a hothead.-
Before Jiraiya could drag the boy off he walked over to Hinata and hugged her one last time while whispering "Goodbye Hinata-chan… I love you too." to her ear before jumping off and shouldering his backpack. Flashing the girl a dazzling smile he yelled "Well I'm off to train with Ero-Sennin so you keep on training too and I'll see you soon!" He then grabbed the pervert and began to drag him towards the gate before he could say anything to ruin the mood.
Just as they reached the gates a panting Iruka came to view yelling at Naruto to stop. Trying to catch his breath the Chuunin said "Heh Naruto… I heard you were going on a mission for a while so I got you a little something to remind you of Konoha." He pushed a small package to Naruto's hand. "Anyway I got to go…" and then whispered "And I have the negatives so prank me again I dare you…" to Naruto's ear before vanishing from sight. Naruto scratched his head in wonder and began to think of possible ways of making Iruka's life more 'exciting'
They were a good fifty meters from the gates when he suddenly remembered the package Iruka had showed into his hand. It was a small travel size photo album that had a few pictures in it. There was the picture of him sporting his new Hitai-ate, him eating ramen with Iruka and then to his joy and terror a picture of him sleeping in Hinata's arms and worse yet another off him snuggling to her bosom. As the blonde looked at the pictures he began to reminisce about what had transpired just moments earlier…
Jiraiya watched in amusement as Naruto's eyes glazed over, he could very well guess that the boy was thinking at that time and why he was thinking it. After all he had seen the photos too and had made a mental note to extort copies of those pictures from Iruka. He began to chuckle again as he too remembered what had happened… and then the inspiration struck. Yes… it was pure gold, his biggest yet. -Hmmm let's see… the son of a noble family whose parents are killed by highwaymen leaving the young toddler to be found and raised by a kitsune yokai. He then shares a blood bond with the kitsune mother… hmmh have to research yokai legends for that. The boy meets a girl from another noble family and the two fall in love. Yes…thats it, the new bestseller.-
He whipped out a notebook and wrote with careful and refined hand the words 'Icha Icha Foxboy' on the first page. Then his perverted chuckling escalated into full blown laughter that spoke volumes. The laughter was cut abruptly though when Naruto suddenly asked. "Oi Ero-Sennin… what's so funny?"
Jiraiya began to sweat -Shit… if he finds out about 'Icha Icha Foxboy' I'm as good as dead… Think Jiraiya, think.- Then in a sudden flash of insight he said. "Oh nothing, just thinking how much ass you are going to kick after I teach you Arashi-kun's most powerful attack… the 'Rasengan'" He mentally patted himself on the back as Naruto's expression turned from suspicious to eager. -Yes the Rasengan will keep the brat occupied for the duration of this trip… maybe if he behaves I'll teach him something else. But for now it's my newest masterpiece.-
TBC… (The next chapter will come faster than this one… I promise)
Author's rant after these 15.1k words (without the rant)
First I'd like to thank all those who have reviewed/pmessaged me and all that and to alleviate your worries no this fic is not dead and will not die until it's finished… as in at the end of its road. It will not be abandoned or nothing of the sort. I think I have answered most of the Pmessages I've gotten, if you haven't been answered then I'm deeply sorry and will give myself fifty lashes for every transgression of this type.
Also if you are concerned as to why I don't answer your reviews… when I'm lazy and answering n+1 almost identical reviews would be like drinking tar. I try to address any questions dealing with the fic in these ridiculously long A/N's though :)
And… I was going to off the old man btw. but then the multitude of people wanting to leave the geezer alive had me thinking. I hope it came out as a plausible way to keep him alive and kicking (more or less)... So keep those reviews coming
Right… I have been lazier than Shikamaru on tranquilizers when it came to starting this fic. Well not really, it's just that my employer decided that a little bureaucracy wouldn't hurt and thus I didn't get paid until last week... as in I got paid first time this year last week.
How this affects my writing you ask… well not much really only that I've been eating Ramen or Macaroni and cheese (without the cheese since it costs too much) for the last month and a half. Naturally I had to hunt in the suburbs to get some meat to go with these fine dishes… You know. Ducks, rabbits, pigeons, neighbourhood pets, little children and the elderly… whatever I was able to catch.
But seriously I promise I'll get the next chapter out sooner and if I can't I'll make up yet another silly explanation for my laziness :)
Now then to the issues…
1) Apparently there is some confusion about the Shunshin and Hiraishin. Now I use Wikipedia's Naruto page as my source since it's the best one I've found thus far. There Hiraishin is described as the Yondaime's jutsu that allowed him to 'summon' himself to a location that contained a specific seal. And the Shunsin is described as being a 'high speed movement technique'. Anyway check it out yourself at www(.)wikipedia(.)org
2) Now… why didn't Jiraiya teach Naruto the Rasengan? I stated that there was only a month to teach it and he didn't do it because of that. Well we know that Naruto learned the Rasengan in one month… Jiraiya however doesn't and as it took him what? three years to master it… so he wouldn't expect a brat like Naruto to learn it so quickly. Hope this clarifies any confusion.
3)Hinata is being so bold/scary because a) she's been 'sampling' the goods for over a month now and really likes what she's uhh… sampled so far b) she nearly died at the fight and was rescued by the hero c) those women's magazines are really frank ( I read several articles from one once at the dentist and have to say that they would probably get banned from most any site) On a related note I'm debating whether or not I should have a huge catfight between Ino and Hinata in which Hinata would Jyuken Ino a bit… probably not but still… Also they are fourteen instead of twelve in this fic... so raging hormones... admit it you had them too!
4) I hope the fighting didn't suck as it was damn hard to write about. The initial battle had 'only' 50 participants plus the two animals.
5)If you are wondering about the shelter just take a natural cave and your standard (thus desolate) military barracks and mix em up. Your neighbourhood bomb shelter probably is something like that too, though it would have to be a natural cave to have outcroppings that conveniently shield lovebirds from the sight of others :P
Stay tuned for the next chapter in which Naruto reads the 'Icha Icha Foxboy' and in which Tsunade 'busts' loose :P (pun intended)