Big Trouble in Little Konoha

by pyscho mantis

At the age of 5, Uzumaki Naruto's world is turned upside down with the arrival of a ancient power that makes the Kyuubi look like a stuffed animal. What do these new arrivals desire and how does Naruto fit in? Heavy Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino bashing

6. The Graduation

Disclaimer:I don't own Naruto/Big Trouble in Little China nor any characters or abilities created by Masashi Kishimoto or John Carpenter.

Date: 07/08/10

Big Trouble in Little Konoha

Chapter 6: The Graduation

"You say that he not only used a summoning jutsu, but he also knows the kage bushin?" asked the old bandaged warhawk.

"Hai, Danzo-sama. Also, his summon was unlike any that I've seen or heard of. I've never heard of praying mantis summoning contract."

"I've heard of one, but only in stories and legends. It was said that the Rikudo Sennin had a summoning contract with the mantis, but that seemed to be just a myth. I've found nothing indicating that it actual exists on this Earth, until now at least."

"What shall we do to about the kyuubi brat, Danzo-sama?"

Danzo sat, silently, for a moment, clearly thinking of the best course of action to take. "We'll have to watch him closely. The Sandaime has made it his mission to keep me as far from the kyuubi's jinchuuriki as possible. Fortunately, I have been working on plan that would allow me to keep tabs on the boy." said Danzo.

At the Academy...

Naruto was met with stares and glares when he entered the classroom. The first thing that he noticed was that Mizuki wasn't there, but didn't care enough to ask where he was.

"Ah. So nice of you to join us today, Naruto. I was beginning to get worried. Take your seat so we can proceed with the lecture. Also, I want you to see me after class, so I can fill you in on what you missed."

"Hai, Iruka-sensei."

As walked passed the glaring Sasuke and his fangirls, to his seat in the back of the class, Iruka continued his lecture. However, Iruka was cut off again when the door opened once more.

"What is it now?" Iruka mumbled, rubbing the temples of his head.

In walked a pale-skinned boy, around the same age as the rest of the academy students. The boy wore a skin-tight black shirt and black cargo shorts. "Sorry for the interruption, Iruka-sensei. I was told to come here and to give you this note." the boy said, handing Iruka the note.

After taking the note and reading it, Iruka turned to address the class. "It seems that we have another addition to our class. Class, this is Sai. He'll be joining our class for the remainder of the year. Sai, please find a seat, so we can continue with our lecture."

As Sai started to make his way to a seat, he heard the screech of the pink-haired banshee. "Iruka-sensei, why should he get to join our class? I've never seen him in the Academy before. It's bad enough that we got that loser, Naruto-baka, but now we get this pale imitation of Sasuke-kun too?"

"Sakura, sit down and shut up. You are a student, your opinions mean absolutely nothing when it comes to these kinds of affairs." said Iruka.

"For someone so weak, she sure does spend a lot of time worrying about the affairs of others." Naruto said, just loud enough for Sakura to hear.

"Also" Iruka continued "he has been training with his granduncle long before you even started at the Academy."

"Also, I don't appreciate being compared to a dickless little homo like the Uchiha, especially by an ugly bitch like yourself."

Naruto and Kiba both burst into laughter, while Sasuke glared at Sai. The other classmates looked in horror at their 'soon to be dead' classmate. Sakura charged at Sai, veins popping out of her abnormal sized forehead.

Right before her fist made contact with Sai's face, Sai bent over, launching Sakura over a desk.

Naruto had actually fell over laughing at the girl. Needless to say, Sakura was livid. Before Sakura could attack again, Iruka stepped in. "SAKURA! SAI! BOTH OF YOU, SIT DOWN!" Iruka said, as his head seemed to enlarge.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei." they both said in unison. Sai turned to Sakura and smiled before heading to the back of the class. Sakura glared at his back, until she finally noticed Naruto snickering in the back of the class. Sakura directed her glare at Naruto, before going back to her seat.

"Is this seat taken?" asked Sai, motioning to the seat next to Naruto.

"Not at all. Name's Naruto" said Naruto.

"Naruto, huh? You don't seem to be the best of friends with that pink haired girl either. Well...maybe I should take that back until I have some kind of confirmation."

"No, you're right. She not very fond of me either."

"Huh? No, I was talking about the 'girl' part. She's either a very pretty guy or an ugly girl, but I haven't figured out which one yet."

Throughout the lecture, Naruto and Sai conversed in the back of the class. Naruto burst into laughter a couple of times, to the annoyance of Iruka. Unfortunately, Mizuki arrived during the last part of Iruka's lecture. After the lecture was over, Iruka sent his student out for lunch.

"Hey, Naruto. Is it alright if I eat lunch with you?" asked Sai.

"Of course. I'll introduce you to the handful of people that I can actually get along with around here."

As Sai followed Naruto out of the classroom, Mizuki sneered at Naruto back as he exited.

Flashback

"You sent for me Hokage-sama?" asked Mizuki, as he stood in front of the Hokage's desk.

"Yes, Mizuki. It has come to my attention that there was an altercation between a few of your students today."

"Yes, Hokage-sama. Naruto, Ino, and Sakura." answered Mizuki.

"I was informed by Iruka that young Naruto was threatened prior to giving Ino and Sakura a warning of retaliation, however their parents were under the impression that Naruto threatened their children without cause. They said that you were the one that confirmed it, which is why you are here. Mizuki, did you lie to the parents and, if so, why?"

"Hokage-sama, I assure you that I said no such thing. I only told them that there was an altercation. Their children filled them in on the rest."

"Why wouldn't you tell their parents the entire story? You know, as well as I, that they would alter the story to make themselves look like the victims."

"Hokage-sama, as soon as they heard that there was an altercation with Naruto, they stormed off. I wasn't able to speak with them any more than I had."

"I see. Very well, Mizuki. I will trust what you say, since you haven't given me any reason to doubt you. However, I will be keeping an eye on you, Mizuki. I have not forgotten about your friends being put to death for what they did to Naruto. I am also not naive enough to believe that you hold absolutely no grudge. If I hear of any attempt to sabotage or discriminate against young Naruto, I will deal with you personally, do you understand me?"

"H-hai, Hokage-sama."

"Very well. You are dismissed, Mizuki"

End Flashback

Unfortunately, the Hokage's words had the opposite effect on Mizuki. Any animosity that Mizuki held for Naruto was tripled. Not only had the kyuubi brat gotten his friends killed, but now he was trying to ruin him as well. Mizuki swore his revenge, but also realized that he would need to move with more tact and finesse than he had in the past. Now that the Hokage was on to him, he really had to change his approach to the situation.

Outside of the Academy...

Naruto and Sai sat together and ate lunch, while talked about their likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, etc. Naruto had instantly taken a liking to Sai, but Naruto was no fool. He had noticed things about Sai that weren't normal for an Academy student.

The most suspicious things about Sai was his face. Sure, he smiled and talked as if he were just another normal student, but Naruto saw through it. He saw through it because it was like looking into a mirror. You may be able to change you facial features to one that looks care-free, but the eyes never lie. Naruto was just starting to get out of his emotionless demeanor, but that was because he was no longer under the control of Lo Pan. However, he could tell that Sai wasn't as fortunate and was still being manipulated. Naruto decided, then and there, that he would free Sai from the strings of the puppet master, no matter what.

"Hey, Naruto, I think the little Uchiha is staring at you." said Sai.

"I noticed. And I'm sure that you noticed the pink banshee staring at you. Looks like it's gonna be another long day."

Though they didn't approach Naruto and Sai, they continued to glare at the two through the remainder of the lunch period. After lunch, the kunai practice and sparring session were next. Naruto's suspicions had been confirmed when Sai scored higher than anyone else, excluding himself, during the target practice session. Needless to say, Sasuke and Sakura were fuming at Naruto and Sai's performance.

"Great job, Sai. You are indeed a promising student." praised Iruka. "We'll now be going into the sparring area."

Like the last time, the boys were in one group and the girls in another. Iruka decide to spar with Naruto, to prevent another problem between Naruto and Sasuke, but Naruto had another idea.

"Iruka-sensei, if it's alright, I'd rather spar with Sai."

"Why? Afraid to fight me, dobe? Afraid I'll prove that the last time was a fluke?" asked Sasuke.

"Not at all. But the point of sparring is to get better by learning from our mistakes. However, I can't learn anything from you because you aren't even good enough to make me break a sweat. The fight wouldn't last long enough for me to make a mistake."

"And I suppose that this Sai is stronger than me?" Sasuke spat.

"That's an understatement." Naruto replied.

Sasuke turned his attention to Sai, glaring at the newcomer. 'Hmph. There's no way that this loser could compete with a Uchiha.'

"Well, if Sai doesn't mind, then it's okay with me." said Iruka.

"Not at all. To be honest, I wasn't looking forward to sparring with anyone else." replied Sai, with a smile.

Sasuke clenched his teeth. 'How dare those losers treat me as if I'm lower than them. I am of the Uchiha clan. They aren't even worthy enough to wash my under garments. You can't run forever, Naruto. I haven't forgotten how you spoke about my clan. You will face me eventually, and I will show you no mercy, trash.'

With that, the students sparred, one at a time. Sasuke sparred with Iruka, which looked like more of a light workout for Iruka. No matter how Sasuke attacked, Iruka defended almost effortlessly. Once the timer went off, Sasuke stalked off to his original spot outside of the sparring area. Sasuke had not managed to get one hit in, and he was pissed.

"Very good, Sasuke. Sai. Naruto. Are you two ready?" asked Iruka.

"Hai." they answered in unison, taking their positions in front of each other.

"Begin." Iruka yelled.

The two instantly bolted forward, clashing in the middle of the sparring area. Naruto had to be careful not to get hit, otherwise the clone would've dispersed. Naruto threw a right jab at Sai, which Sai caught with his left. Sai quickly grabbed the right hand, freeing his left. Spinning around, with Naruto's arm still gripped tightly in his right hand, Sai threw a spinning backfist aimed at Naruto's face.

Naruto saw it coming and ducked, sweeping his leg towards Sai in an attempt to put him off balance. Sai just lifted one leg. As the sweep sailed under Sai's leg, Naruto used his momentum to flip over Sai's left arm, reversing the grip on his own right hand.

As Naruto landed, he released Sai and they both jumped apart from each other. "You're not bad, Sai." Naruto said, with an excited grin.

"I could say the same about you, Naruto."

The other student watched the brief exchange in awe. It was completely different from the other spares that had taken place that day. Even the instructors had noticed that the two looked more like chuunin than academy students. As the two academy students engaged each other once more, even Iruka wondered how he would stack up against the two students. 'And the scary part is, I think they're holding back, especially Naruto. Just how strong are these kids?' thought Iruka.

With Egg Shen...

After Naruto was summoned back, Egg Shen went into detail about the 'style' that he would be 'learning'. Naruto had many questions, due to the fact that the style made absolutely no sense to him.

"Okay, explain it to me again, and make it as detailed as possible." said the confused Naruto.

"You're confused because you are trying to figure out a style that doesn't exist. This is not supposed to be thought of as a style. It's not something that you learn, you either have it or you don't. It's that simple."

"So, I'm not learning a new style?" asked Naruto.

"Yes, and no. You are learning how to use your body's natural instinct and reactions to counterattack."

"So this style is only for counterattacking?"

"Yes, and no."

"What is this style and who would come up with such a confusing style?" asked an irritated Naruto.

"The name of the 'style' is called 'Jeet Kun Do' or 'Way of the Intercepting Fist'. As for the master that created it, he died long before even the Rikudo Sennin was born. He was said to have been the greatest taijutsu master that ever walked the face of this earth."

"By attacking, you have already given your opponent a opportunity to intercept and counterattack. But, it's not as simple as learning how to intercept someone's attack. Because the taijutsu of today is so set in it's ways, intercepting and counterattacking has become stiff and systematic. The reason is because you are going against your natural reactions. You have been trained to ignore you natural instincts. That is the purpose of katas, to make your body memorize the movement of a certain style, completely disregarding your body's natural movement and reaction."

"Instead of ignoring your natural movements, your goal will be to train them, to harness your natural instincts and increase your reaction time. When you master this, not only will you be able to intercept your opponent, but you will also be able to counterattack with extraordinary speed. And the best part about it is that your counterattacks will be nearly impossible to stop or counter."

"And why is that?" asked Naruto.

"Simple. Because your using your own attacks, attacks that your body tells your to use. It is not of a set form of taijutsu, therefore it is alien to your opponent. And because there is no thinking involved, it is that much faster than someone would is thinking of ways to counter. To simplify it even further, I could say that it would be like being in a foot race with someone. By you using your body natural movements to it's full capability, which means fast but precise movements, it would be like sprinting. Now, if your opponent is conforming to a style that is not completely natural to him, it would be like running backwards. Actually, it would be more accurate to say that your opponent would be doing backflips to the finish line."

"Really! I'm gonna be the best taijutsu fighter in the world!" Naruto said, with stars in his eyes.

"You're delusional, kid. As hard as it may be to believe, there are shinobi that could backflip faster than you run, metaphorically speaking of course. If this was enough to overpower any foe, we wouldn't be in the position we're in now. However, this is just a stepping stone. You will learn to integrate this into your other styles."

"But it seems kinda contradictory to do that, if I understood your explanation of 'Jeet Kun Do' correctly." said Naruto.

"Ah. So you are starting to understand the principles of 'Jeet Kun Do'. You are absolutely correct. It would be a contradiction to add 'Jeet Kun Do' to any style, however that is what 'Jeet Kun Do' was created for."

"Explain, Egg Shen-sensei."

'Sensei, huh?' thought Egg Shen. "Jeet Kun Dowas created by a man that had already mastered various styles prior to creating the Jeet Kun Do. He thought that the styles that he ha mastered were too constricting. He also thought that the fights he had been in took too long and wasted too much energy. His initial intention was to just create a style that was more natural to him. However, the styles that he had mastered prior to the induction of Jeet Kun Do were already a part of him. There were some movements of each style that felt completely natural to him, but some did not. It was actually the basis of his whole 'style'. He wanted his whole style to feel natural, so he set about creating a 'style' of his own, however he realized that the 'style' he created had no set form. If two completely different masters of Jeet Kun Do fought, their styles would be almost completely different. Because of this, he didn't like refering to Jeet Kun Do as a 'style'."(I kinda pulled this explanation out of my ass, but I think it sounds like a pretty good concept)

"So, Jeet Kun Do is just a mixture of style?" asked Naruto.

"No, not at all. As I said, Jeet Kun Do is not a set style, you react on impulse, without thinking. However, some styles use impulsive strikes and manuveurs. The only difference is that you are thinking of what you're going to do, rather than just doing it. By thinking, you give the obvious answer, the expected answer. Unpredictability is, by far, the most useful trait of a shinobi. You to use what feels natural to you, bypassing everything else. Don't throw aside what could be useful to you, but don't keep what can be constricting and awkward to you either. In other words, Jeet Kun Do is not a style, it your style. The more you learn about yourself, the better you will become."

"I think I understand the concept, but it may take a while to complete something like that."

"That goes without saying, however, that's where your kage bushin will come in handy. However, we will not be using them just for your Jeet Kun Do training. You will also be using them for the rest of your training, or at least the majority of it. You will be using kage bushin for you bojutsu and your fuuinjutsu, however your stealth training will be done on your own. Now, how long can you keep your kage bushin active?"

Thinking for a while, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I've never had a problem keeping them active over long periods of time, so I wouldn't know. I do remember training alone once, after one of Rain's torture sessions, and falling asleep with my one of my clones. I remember being surprised when I woke up, because the clone had fallen asleep as well. Apparently, they are capable of recharging chakra the same way I am. With a little sleep, they can be back to normal the next day. The only drawback is that I don't gain the chakra it took to make them back until they are dispersed."

For once, Egg Shen had a shocked look on his face. The shocked face then turned to a devilish smirk that sent chills up Naruto's spine. "How many can you make, Naruto?"

"I-I can probably make about two thousand without too much strain on my chakra reserves, why?"

"Because that's how many you will be making. You will not be dispersing theem either, at least not until the end of your training."

"That's insane! I'll be on the brink of chakra exhaustion everyday!"

"No. You will be doing stealth training, which doesn't use much chakra. I will be splitting the rest of your clones to do fuuinjutsu, bojutsu, and taijutsu. Once you have finished your stealth training, you will be leaving to train with the mantis, however your clones will remain here. After you have finished your training, you will return here. Your clones will then disperse, giving you the knowledge that they have acquired. Since there will probably be a tremendous amount of mental stress, I'll have you disperse them one group at a time, got it?"

"Yeah, but with a year of knowledge from each bushin, I'll probably be in a coma for a week."

"Probably, but the benefits far outweigh the drawbacks, but it's up to you. Are you willing to go through with it?"

"Well...how strong do you think it will make me?"

"A lot stronger than you are at this moment, that's for sure. You don't have the luxury of a normal childhood, unfortunately. You have more enemies than you realize, and you will need to be able to protect yourself. From what I've gathered from my own sources, there is a group called Akatsuki, and they will be after you soon. I don't know their motives as of yet but it can't be anything good if they seek the kyuubi sealed within you."

"In that case...let's do it." Naruto said.

"Alright, I want you to create two thousand clones. Five hundred for taijutsu, five hundred for bojutsu, and a thousand for fuuinjutsu."

"Why so many for fuuinjutsu?" asked Naruto.

"Because fuuinjutsu are the most complicated forms of jutsu known to man, which is why it is rarely used anymore."

"What's so special about seals?"

Egg Shen deadpanned at the questioned."Well, I suppose that there's nothing special about defeating one of the most powerful beast to walk the face of this earth. I mean, it just has the power to seal some of the strongest beast known to man, one of which resides in you. Nothing special about that at all."

"Okay, okay. I get your point, but I still think that it a little excessive."

"That's probably because you don't understand fuuinjutsu in it's entirety. Understanding fuuinjutsu and using them are two completely different things. When I'm done with you, you'll be able to create your own seals, not just copy what has been done in the past."

"The best part about the fuuinjutsu and Jeet Kun Do training is that it can not be copied, even with the Sharingan."

"Why is that? From what I understand, the Sharingan can copy any jutsu or technique." asked Naruto.

"Well, as for your fuuinjutsu, it is far too complex to simply be copied. If it were that easy to copy, it would have been already. If you do not understand the theory and array of seals behind fuuinjutsu, the damage could be fatal. As for your Jeet Kun Do, it is too unpredictable. Yes, they could predict your movements to a certain degree, but the unpredictabilty of it would make it almost impossible to counter. They simply wouldn't be able to keep up with such an unpredictable style without putting themselves in a completely unbalanced and awkward position, which would create multiple openings in their defenses. It's actually the perfect counter to the Sharingan."

"Makes sense."

"Indeed. Now, let's get to work."

Over the next six months Naruto trained with Egg Shen. After the first couple of weeks, he really started to get concept of the Jeet Kun Do 'style'. Once Naruto was able to completely understand the concept, he began implementing it into his own styles. To do that, he went threw each style thoroughly, revising his style to match his natural movements. Naruto started to realize that katas were useless to Jeet Kun Do, because he wouldn't know what movement to do. To remedy this, Naruto sparred with his clones. It worked for a couple of weeks, but he eventually needed new sparring partners due to the fact that he knew how he moved. Egg Shen was able to get the Chang Sings to spar with Naruto, to help him improve.

During the first couple of spars, Naruto had to replaced over 50 clones. The Chang Sings were not holding back, which helped Naruto greatly. After the first couple of spars, each clones was able to spar on equal grounds with the members of the Chang Sings. Within a couple of months, each clone could take three Chang Sings at a time. It was then that Egg Shen replaced the Chang Sings.

Naruto wasn't surprised that Egg Shen was many times better than himself. What did surprise Naruto was the fact that Egg Shen was able to make five hundred clones just as easily as Naruto could. He thought that it should've been impossible for the old man to have so much chakra left in him. He wondered how strong the old man must've been in his prime.

Naruto could tell that Egg Shen held back to ensure that he didn't destroy the clones, but Naruto was improving at an even faster pace when he started sparring with him.

As far as his fuuinjutsu, Egg Shen was right to double the amountt of clones in that area. Even with the additional clones, it took Naruto over three months to make any sort of progression. Fuuinjutsu required more mental energy than physical. Naruto and his clones took to reading the fuuinjutsu scrolls that were given to him at the beginning of the training. Each clone read various scrolls concerning differents arrays of seals, sealing matrix, and theories. After each clone read every scroll that concerned sealing, they went into the the practical training, under the watchful eye of Egg Shen. Egg Shen gave him tips on certain seals, but Naruto seemed to be a natural as far as seals were concerned. His unpredictable thinking had helped him come up with his own theories and seals, but he had yet to finish them. One of which was an exploding kunai. Unlike normal exploding kunai, his had 50 kunai sealed within it. In theory, when the exploding tag went off, it would create shrapnel in the form of 50 deadly kunai. He even came up with an idea of sealing 50 exploding shrapnel kunai in one exploding shrapnel kunai. The devastation would be astronomical. Of course, that could only be used when fighting against overwhelming numbers.

Each clone had been working on a different type of seal, some new and some old, but none had been able to produce a working seal. Egg Shen could tell that once Naruto knew what seals were truly capable of, he would fall in love with the art of sealing. And just as he had predicted, Naruto had found a new love, one only rivaled by his love for ramen. Egg Shen thought it was ironic, considering that the Uzumaki clan were known for their mastery of seals. That was actually the reason that he had decided to teach the boy fuuinjutsu.

And then there was the stealth training. The boy stealth was terrible when he first started. Egg Shen was amazed at how he could be so advanced, yet have such awful stealth tactics. But Egg Shen had set up a 30 minute course to remedy that problem. Egg Shen's course was riddled with bells, whistles, and traps for the young blond. It took Naruto a whole month just to get through the entire course without getting caught in one of the traps. After the second month, Naruto was able to make it through the course in 15 minutes, without setting off a single trap, bell ,or whistle. Egg Shen began setting up more and more traps everyday, to keep the boy on his toes. He also made Naruto wear his weights during the stealth training. When the sixth month finally came around, Naruto was able to speed through the course like a bolt of lightning, leaving no traces of his presence.

Lastly, Naruto had been a natural in the art of bojutsu, even rivaling Egg Shen himself. Naruto was already on par with Egg Shen, but he decided to try and implement his wind chakra into his bojutsu. He was showing promise, but it would take some time for him to truly grasp the concept.

Egg Shen decided that it was time for Naruto start his training with the mantis. He called to the original doing the stealth training. "Naruto! Come here!."

"Hai, Egg Shen-sensei!"

Naruto kneeled in front of Egg Shen. "Stand up, kid. I just wanted to tell you that you will be starting your summon training today. Your stealth has improved greatly. It's time for you to train with the mantis now. I will be keeping tabs on your progress, so don't slack off, got it?"

"You just wait, you old fart. When I get back, I'll be even stronger than you!"

*SMACK*

"You have a long way to go before you reach my level, kid."

Before he was able to retort, Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Kama Forest...

Naruto looked around and noticed that his surroundings were not unlike that Konoha. He stood in a massive clearing of what seemed to be a forest.

'Where the hell am I?' thought Naruto.

"Hey, bro! What's up?" asked an 8 foot tall praying mantis.

"Kamachii? Is that you?"

"Who else would it be?"

"It just that you've grown so tall since I last saw you."

"Well, I've been-" Kamachii said before being cut off by a deep, thunderous voice.

"Kamachii! Where are you? It's time for your training!"

"Shit! My old man's here!"

"There you are! Huh? Who's the little, blond gaki?"

"I am Uzumaki Naruto, Egg Shen's new apprentice. I was sent to train with you, Kamachuun-sama."

"Sorry, kid. I don't have time to babysit." said the mantis known as Kamachuun.

"But, Kamacuun-sama, I was sent here to train with you."

"That may be so, but I don't think that a little punk like you could even handle it."

Naruto was starting to get annoyed but decided that a little reverse pyschology would help. "Well, maybe you're right. Maybe I should consiser getting a spider or snake contract instead. I heard that they were stronger anyway. Hell, I even heard that the grasshopper summons may be stronger. At least they can jump high." Naruto said, in his thinking pose.

In an instant, Kamachuun was in front of Naruto. He bent down to stare into Naruto's eyes and spoke in a barely restrained voice. "What did you just say?"

"I said that I heard that snake and spiders could beat a mantis."

"And after that?"

"Oh, that. I just said that someone told me that grasshoppers could be stronger than a mantis. Why do you ask?"

"Boy...you try my patience. I eat snakes and spiders for dinner. As for grasshoppers, they are not even fit to be eaten by something as noble as the mantis."

"Well, I'm sure that they would say the same things about you. How am I to know who's telling the truth?"

"Very well, gaki. I shall take you on as my student. At the end of our training, you will know why we are the most feared summons among all of the animal summons."

'Worked like a charm' Naruto thought to himself.

Naruto would later regret taking up the training of the mantis. It was unlike anything he had done before, and that was saying a lot considering that he had trained with Egg Shen, Rain, Lightning, Thunder, and Lo Pan. He immediately understood why the mantis summons were so legendary. They lived to fight. They trained trhoughout the entire day, as if they knew that war was on the horizon. Everyday was literally a fight for his life. They even simulated a war scenario once a month, separating all of the mantis into two teams, with Naruto on one side, and fighting until no one could stand anymore. There was no such thing as sparring with the mantis. There was only fighting.

Naruto learned from the mantis by fighting them. Kamachii would teach him the Praying Mantis style, but it would be applied during combat. Whenever Kamachii and Naruto were alone, they practiced their combination attacks, which were also applied during combat. They had become so good together that even the older mantis had been impressed with their cohesiveness.

Five months later...

Egg Shen, true to he word, kept tabs on Naruto's progress through the mantis. When he knew that Naruto's training was complete, he summoned him back. He figured that the knowledge that Naruto's clones had gained would create an enormous strain on Naruto, mentally and physically. He wanted Naruto to be able to recover from this strain before he took his genin exams. Having a clone going on missions wouldn't be much help if he ran into a powerful foe. But that wasn't the only reason that he summoned him a month earlier than he was supposed to. To be honest, he wanted to test the kid progress. He knew that Naruto still held some aces up his sleeve that even he didn't know about, but he still had to make sure the kid was strong enough to go toe to toe with some of the strongest shinobi in the world.

After saying his goodbyes, Naruto was summoned to Egg Shen's residence. Egg Shen treated Naruto to lunch and listened as Naruto told him about the fierce battle that he and Kamachii had fought. They both laughed as they talked about their experiences at Kama Forest. Once they finished eating, Egg Shen told Naruto that he would be dispelling his clones. Naruto nodded and followed Egg Shen to where the clones were currently training. Egg Shen then turned and stared at Naruto.

"Are you ready, kid?" he asked Naruto.

"As ready as I'll ever be." Naruto responded.

"Ok, I want you to dispell the bojutsu clones, then the taijutsu clones. I want you to save the fuuinjutsu clones for last because they will be the ones that cause the most strain. Unfortunately, even I don't know how bad it will effect you, but you will at least be able to see what your clones have accomplished before you pass out...at least I think."

"You know...you're not helping to build my confidence when you talk like that. For all I know, I could die dispelling all of these clones."

"Well, there's only one way to find out." Egg Shen retorted.

Steeling himself, Naruto did as Egg Shen instructed, dispelling the bojutsu bushin. The information that he gained was mind boggling. He was surprised to find out that they had indeed managed to add wind manipulation to the bojutsu style, with staggering results. Then again, with the amount of clones that he had working on it, it would've been almost impossible for anyone else to live long enough to acquire the amount of training that he was capable of in just a year.

Naruto started dispelling the taijutsu clones before all of the knowledge caught up with him. There was no going back now. Whatever the effects were, he had already gone too far to back out now. Taking in the taijutsu clones knowledge, he was very surprised with the results. Their grasp of Jeet Kun Do seemed as natural as walking to them. He now wondered how he could've possible been so stupid as to not understand such a simple concept.

Feeling the strain starting to take effect, he mustered up the strength to dispell the fuuinjutsu clones. Now, this was a completely different experience from the other two groups. Naruto had never imagined that such things were possible. Apparently, seals were only limited by the users imagination, and Naruto had that in spades.

Before Naruto could even think over all of the knowledge gained from the fuuinjutsu clones, a high pitched screech took over his senses. Naruto closed his eyes and covered his ear in pain, but the screech continued, distorting the world around him. Even Egg Shen feared for the worst. Finally, unable to take the pain, his body collapsed on the ground. Egg Shen rushed to his side. 'Maybe I shouldn't have pushed him so much, but it was necessary. My time is nearing and I need a successor. I'm sorry for putting you through this, Naruto, but I had no other choice. I have faith that you will accomplish what neither one of us could.' Egg Shen thought to himself, picking the boy up.

Three weeks later...

Naruto had been in a coma for three weeks. His entire body shut down, unable to deal with the stress of the information he gained all at once. Even one clone would knocked him out for at least 20 minutes, but they didn't have the time to dispell one clone at a time. Egg Shen stayed with Naruto for the entire three weeks, hoping for some sign of Naruto's awakening, but, sadly, he had no such luck as of yet.

Just as he started to doubt his decision, Naruto finally showed signs of awakening from his slumber. It started with the twitching of his fingers. Then, his body started moving again, as if he had just fallen asleep. Finally, Naruto eyes opened. He squinted as his eyes adjusted to the light. It had been painful for him to even open his eyes. He was well aware of what had happened, he even expected it. What he did not expect was the pain that ran through every fiber of his being. Though it was the clones that did the training, his brain was telling his body otherwise. Naruto groined in pain, waking Egg Shen, who was sitting next to him.

"So, you're finally awake. You had me worried for a second there." Egg Shen said.

"How long have I been out?" asked Naruto, voice just as strained as his body.

"A little over three weeks."

"I feel like my even part of my body is on fire."

"It's to be expected. To be honest, no one has ever even attempted the kind of training that you just did. If it wasn't for the kyuubi, you'd probably be dead right now."

"It's about time that furball started pulling his weight around here." Naruto joked.

"Since your awake, I assume that the kyuubi has repaired any life threatening damage that might have been done. You will probably be back on your feet in no time, now that it is able to concentrate on the more minor injuries of your mental fatigue."

"So how long do you think that I'll be in here?"

"Probably a couple more days, considering the state your in, but I think it may have been worth it."

'Says the old fart that isn't laying in the hospital bed.' Naruto thought to himself. "So, I'll be leaving for Konoha in a couple of day, then?"

"Not quite. You still have one more phase of the training."

"And what's that?"

"You'll find out soon enough. Now, rest."

Three days later...

Naruto stood across from Egg Shen, in a huge clearing, miles outside of Egg Shen's residence. "What are we doing out here, sensei?" Naruto asked.

"Well, I didn't want my current home destroyed or anyone casualties, so I brought us out here."

"Why would your home be destroyed, and what does that have to do with us being out here?"

"Simple. We're going to have a good, old-fashioned spar."

"I don't understand."

"You will not be holding back."

"WHAT!"

"You heard me correctly. I want to test your progress over the last year."

"B-but, I could accidentally kill you!"

"The arrogance of you kids is amazing. You have a long way to go before you can do that, kid. But since you are so convinced that I am such a feeble old man, perhaps I should give you a little motivation."

Before Naruto had even noticed that Egg Shen had disappeared, he was caught with a flying kick to the left side of his face. Naruto was sent flying across the clearing like a shooting star. Lesser ninja had died by hits with much less power. Fortunately, Naruto was far from an ordinary shinobi.

Naruto landed on his back and skidded to a stop. Shaking his head, he stood up and wiped the blood from his mouth. He then glared at the old man across from him. "You're gonna pay for that one, old man."

"Old man, huh? What happened to 'sensei'?"

Naruto gave no answer.

"Looks like you're finally ready. Come! Show me what you've learned, kid!"

Without warning, Naruto charged at the old man with speed that would catch a kage off guard. Naruto and Egg Shen traded blows, neither one landing a solid punch. Both were using their own personal Jeet Kun Do, making their styles unidentifiable to anyone other than the two. Unfortunately for Naruto, Egg Shen's was much better than Naruto's. Even with the clones experience, Egg Shen still had more considering how long he had lived and the shinobi that he had fought in the past, not to mention the knowledge he inherited from the Rikudo Sennin.

Naruto, seeing that he was still inferior to Egg Shen in taijutsu, decided to take advantage of the one thing that he knew he had the edge in. Jumping back, away from Egg Shen, he bit his thumb and went through some handseals that Egg Shen was familiar with. After finishing the handseals and slamming his hand to the ground, a large puff of smoke revealing a eight foot tall mantis appeared.

"Yo!" was the mantis' greeting.

"A summoning jutsu? You should know that won't work on me, kid. Maybe I overestimated your abilities." said Egg Shen, though he knew that Naruto wasn't done yet. He was no fool. He knew that Naruto was easily one of the most unpredictable people that he had ever met, and unpredictability could be very dangerous when underestimated.

"Kamachii, I need you to transform. The old man wants me to come at him with everything we've learned, so we can't hold back against him."

"Right." the mantis said. With another puff of smoke, Kamachii had transformed into a green staff, not unlike bamboo. Outside of the green color, one would think that Naruto had stolen some monks' staff. It was the image of perfection. It was perfectly balanced and looked, both, flexible and sturdy.

"What do we have here? Looks like you learned some new tricks while you were away." an amused Egg Shen said, while drawing his own staff.

"You'll find out soon enough, old man." was Naruto's reply.

The two slowly moved in closer, until they were in striking range. Both studied each other, looking for weaknesses in their seemingly nonexistent stance. Egg Shen decided to take the initiative, lunging at Naruto. Naruto simply spun his new staff in one hand, deflecting Egg Shen's strike. The two went at each other with reckless abandon, but it wasn't hard to see that Naruto had the advantage. 'He's underestimating me again. He isn't even adding his wind manipulation to his strike.' thought Egg Shen.

"Kid, your arrogance will be your downfall. I told you to come at me with everything you have." said Egg Shen

"No, I think that you are the one being arrogant now, sensei. You know that your no match for me with weapons, yet you haven't withdrawn."

"See, there you go again. You remind me of myself when I was your age; young and stupid."

Naruto just snorted at the jabbed.

Egg Shen decided to clarify. "You may have surpassed me in bojutsu, but you are far from being better with weapons than me. You see, your staff would technically be counted as your primary weapon, and your sword your secondary weapon. However, the staff probably wouldn't even be considered a secondary weapon for me."

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked, but knew exactly what he meant.

"What I mean is that the staff is my worst and your best."

"Well, stop messing around and pull out your primary weapon."

"No need." Egg Shen said.

Egg Shen then snapped his staff across his knee. The end result was two perfectly even pieces of the staff. "Now, that's much better."

"That's it." Naruto deadpanned.

"Well, your more than welcome to attack." Egg Shen taunted.

Naruto instantly rushed the old man with intentions to pay him back for that kick to the face. 'What the hell was the old man thinking? All he managed to do was give me a reach advantage. It'll be even easier for me to hit him' Naruto thought to himself. What he wasn't expecting was for the old man to block his attack with one of the broken pieces of the staff and smack him across the back of the head with the other. After recovering, Naruto jumped back to put so distance between the two.

"You still have much to learn, kid. Having a reach advantage isn't everything. I'm sure that you thought it would be easier to strike me with your reach advantage, but you forgot one very important detail. You only observed my weakness, you completely disregarded my strengths."

"Explain." said a confused Naruto.

"Well, besides the obvious fact that I have two weapons and you have one, the longer the weapon, the slower and more restrictive it is. But snapping my staff in half, I have the have the advantage in speed and agility."

After taking in what Egg Shen had told him, Naruto cursed to himself. 'Damn it! The old bastard's right! I should've seen that! While I was only thinking of my advantages, he thought of my advantages and weaknesses, as well as his.'

"Don't beat yourself up over it, kid. I've fought against every kind of weapon there is, so I already have the advantage of knowing their strengths and weaknesses. You, on the other hand, have only fought against staff and sword users, correct?"

"Hai, Sensei."

"Well, it's impossible to know how to use your staff properly against the more exotic weapons around the world. But hopefully this will humble you enough for you to want to train against weapons outside of the standard sword or staff. Now, how about you stop holding back and start getting serious, or do you need some more motivation?" Egg Shen taunted.

This is when Naruto realized that he was being toyed with by Egg Shen. He had actually thought that he was close to surpassing Egg Shen, but this spar was showing him just how far he needed to go to even come close to someone as strong as Egg Shen, and it was humbling. With all the experience he had gained, there was still such a big gap between their power. It was like a genin fighting an Anbu level nin, which was ironic since he knew that he had to be at Sannin level.

Naruto decided to go all out against the old man. He started spinning his staff in front of him, creating a huge gust of wind that would've blown anyone with less than chuunin chakra control away. As suddenly as he started, he stopped, but Egg Shen could see the transparent, blue chakra covering the green staff. Naruto then jabbed his staff at Egg Shen, creating a horizontal tornado that encased the staff. Egg Shen knew that the staff didn't need to touch him for him to be hit, so he jumped to his left side, letting the staff pass by him.

The trees in the path of the staff were completely blown away, giving the apperance that an actual tornado had gone through the area. Naruto then grabbed the edge of staff with both hands and spun three hundred and sixty degrees, swinging at Egg Shen's head like a baseball player. Egg Shen instinctively ducked, causing more trees behind him to blow away.

Naruto then jumped towards Egg Shen, swinging his staff vertically, trying to smash Egg Shen head. While he jumped forward, Egg Shen jumped back, spreading his legs, so the staff would fall harmlessly between his legs. What he didn't expect was for a jagged blade at the tip of the staff to shoot out, turning the staff into a scythe.

The scythe sliced into the crotch of Egg Shen's pants, revealing white underwear. 'That was a little to close for comfort' thought Egg Shen, observing the blade on Naruto's staff. It was actually just one of Kamachii's claws that had extended from the tip of the staff. "Clever. Any normal shinobi would've been cut down by that attack. Your finally starting to use your unpredictability to your advantage. But your still underestimating me. You didn't use your wind manipulation for that attack."

"Well, it's just supposed to be a spar. I don't want to kill you, especially not by cutting your old balls off."

"And what makes you so sure that you would've actually hit me with that attack." Egg Shen said, from behind Naruto, before striking him from behind in the same fashion that he did the first time they fought, instantly paralyzing the boy.

Naruto fell to the ground in agony, then smirked. "You have to look underneath the underneath, Sensei." Naruto then burst into smoking, revealing himself to be a shadow clone.

Before Egg Shen could retreat, the ground under his feet began to glow purple, revealing seals that had been placed there prior to Egg Shen stepping on it. With the seals activated, Egg Shen was detained within the seal. "What the hell!" said Egg Shen.

"Just a little seal I've been working on. You like it? It completely detains anyone standing in it, once activated."

"Quite the seal, kid." Egg Shen said, as the seal started to falter before it completely deactivated. "Unfortunately, my knowledge of seals far surpasses yours."

"How'd you do that? You shouldn't have been able to disable that seal!"

"I can easily see through the make-up of seals. It's just a matter of rearranging the seal, to make them unstable, though it can become dangerous if you don't know what your doing. Worse case scenario, you could end up strengthening the seal or turning it into one that could be fatal. Now, shall we continue?"

'This is going to be a long day.' Naruto thought to himself.

Seven hours later...

Egg Shen was carrying Naruto back to his residence on his back. Naruto was still awake, but completely exhausted. Egg Shen had managed to push him passed his limits. He now understood where he had to approve, which just so happened to be almost all areas. But it only motivated him to become stronger.

Egg Shen was thoroughly impressed with Naruto's progression. Naruto had exceeded his expectations, even surprising the old man a couple of times. Naruto had been keeping a few aces, kings, and queens up his sleeve. "So, when were you planning to tell me about that technique of yours?" asked Egg Shen.

"What technique?"

"Kid, don't play dumb with me. I knew that you were hiding secrets, as do all shinobi, but you definitely should've told me about this one."

"Well...Lo Pan helped me develop it. I...I just didn't want to give him the satisfaction of knowing that I used the power that he helped me create."

"Stop acting like such a child. He may have helped you develop that power, but it is your power, not his. Besides, he won't be taking much satisfaction out of knowing that he helped bring about his downfall, will he?" Egg Shen said, with a smile.

Naruto smiled back at the old man. "Hai, Sensei."

"Once we get back, I want you to get some sleep. You'll be going back to Konoha tomorrow. The graduation exams are tomorrow."

"Oh..." Naruto said, in an emotionless tone.

"I thought we got rid of your little emo phase."

"No, it's not that. It's just..."

"Don't worry, kid. I'll pop up every now and again, to check up on you. I can't have my star pupil getting lazy now, can I?"

Naruto smiled at the old man again. Egg Shen had become like a grandfather to him, and he wasn't in a rush to go back to the same place that treated him like shit for the majority of his life.

The Next Day...

(In Konoha)

At the Academy...

Everyone had come earlier than normal, excited about taking the exams. In all honesty, none of them were ready for the life of a ninja. Thoughts of killing or seeing your teammates killed never entered their minds. They only thought of striking hero poses, while saving the princess. They were in for a rude awakening.

When Naruto walked in, all of the students turned to look at him. He was no longer wearing his usual clothes. He was wearing green coveralls(see flight suit, Top Gun), with black boots, and a yellow band across the arm; signifying his alliance with the Chang Sings. A ponytail hung at the back of Naruto's head, reaching his back, but from the front, Naruto could easily be mistaken as young Minato Namikaze.

Naruto walked into the room, ignoring the glares from Sasuke and Kiba. Kiba, who was once on good terms with Naruto, had since become very hostile toward Naruto. The reason for such a dramatic change? A certain Hyuuga heiress that had taken a liking toward the young blonde. Hinata Hyuuga had become infatuated with Naruto, which was not missed by Kiba. Kiba had already marked Hinata as his mate, yet Hinata had shown no interest in the boy and thought him to be incredibly rude and forward.

Naruto was waved over by Sai. On the way to his seat, Naruto nodded towards Shikamaru and Chouji, which was returned. Naruto continued his ascent to his chair, stopping to smile and wink at Hinata, who blushed furiously. He heard the growl come from Kiba, which is what he was hoping for.

He finally found his seat, next to Sai. "I take it that your training is complete." whispered Sai.

"Hai." answered Naruto.

Naruto had confronted Sai about Danzo long ago. Since then, Sai had begun to think for himself. With Naruto as his best friend, Sai personality had taken a dramatic turn. Sai trusted Naruto far more than anyone else in the village, considering that Naruto reminded him of his dead brother. Sai had since left the Root organization and dedicated himself to protecting the one that he now considered a brother. Danzo was livid. He had sent many Root members to assassinated Sai, but they never returned. Once Danzo figured that the kyuubi brat was probably helping Sai, he withdrew, wary of the wrath that the kyuubi brat would bring if something were to happen to Sai. Naruto was still an unknown to Danzo, and Danzo was far too smart to underestimate the unknown.

Sai now lived with Naruto, and was the only person in the village to know what Naruto truly was. "I figured as much. You should probably supress your chakra, it's shooting through the roof. Any sensory nin will be able to sense it a mile away."

"I am suppressing it."

"WHAT!" Sai yelled, gaining the attention of the entire class.

Naruto just sweat-dropped.

Fortunately, Ino and Sakura bursted through the door, arguiing over who got to sit next to Sasuke, taking the attention away from Naruto and Sai.

At that moment, Iruka and Mizuki entered the room and told the girls to sit down and shut up. Once the girls complied, Iruka and Mizuki handed out the written exams.

Just as Naruto had expected, Mizuki had cast a weak genjutsu over Naruto's exam. Dispelling the genjutsu, Naruto completed his exam and turned it in to Iruka, followed by Sai. Iruka graded the papers and gave them both perfect scores. Sakura was the only other person to get a perfect score, though Sasuke had come close.

Next was the taijutsu portion of the exam. Naruto and Sai didn't even have to participate, which caused most of the other students to protest, until Iruka reminded them how much more advanced they were compared to the rest of the class. Even Mizuki had no objections to this. Sasuke didn't protest verbally, but mentally he wasn't the happiest person in the world. 'Why do they get to skip this part but I, a Uchiha, have to take it. This is bullshit!' he thought to himself.

After the taijutsu part of the exam was finished, they went back into the classroom and perform the ninjutsu portion of the exam, which included executing a bushin, a henge, a replacement jutsu, and a personal jutsu(for extra credit).

Sasuke had just finished executing his katon jutsu, which impressed both instructors. He walked to his seat, with a superior smirk on his face, as his fangirls went crazy; praising the Uchiha as the number one rookie.

"Uzumaki Naruto, please step forward." Iruka said.

Naruto did as Iruka said. He was told to do the replacement jutsu first, which he did. Next, he did the henge jutsu, turning himself into a perfect copy of the Yondaime Hokage.

"Iruka-sensei! He didn't change his appearance! Naruto-baka only changed his clothes!" yelled Sakura.

"Sakura, sit down and shut up. He changed into the Yondaime Hokage, he just so happens to resemble him." said Iruka, though he was just as stunned as to how much Naruto looked like the Yondaime.

Sakura scowled at her sensei, but didn't reply.

For his bushin, Naruto made a lightning bushin. He tried to encourage Mizuki to touch it, but Iruka stopped him before Naruto dispelled it into lightning.

"Naruto, where did you learn the raiton bushin?" asked a shocked Iruka.

"Here and there." Naruto replied.

"Well, you want to go for extra credit?"

"Sure, why not?"

Naruto bit his thumb and went into a series of seals, then slammed his hand on the ground. The result was a huge cloud of smoke.

"Smoke? This his jutsu? What a loser." Sasuke said, making the majority of the class burst into laughter.

As the smoke cleared, the laughs were turned to shrieks and screams. Even Sasuke stiffened when the eight foot mantis approach him.

"Hey, Naruto! Who's this weakling and why does he insult me?"

"Oh. That's the 'great last Uchiha'. Bow in his presence." Naruto said, sarcastically.

"Bow? Yeah, right. The day I would bow to such a weakling is the day father would bow to...anyone."

Even in his fear, Sasuke sneered at the mantis, which the mantis completely ignored.

Iruka was the first to come to his senses. "Naruto, is that a summon?"

"Of course, Iruka-sensei. What else would it be?"

"But...you're only an academy student. Not only should it be be impossible for you to have a summoning contract, but normal academy shouldn't have enough chakra to summon something this big. Lastly, I've never even heard of a mantis contract, outside of some legends. They are said to be the strongest and oldest summons on the planet, and you have a contract for them."

"Yeah." was Naruto's reply.

Everyone in the classroom was in awe. Some visible grimaced at the fact that Naruto had seemingly progressed even further. Naruto had always been ahead of the class, but now he seemed to be so much more ahead of them, and yet they all had the feeling that Naruto hadn't even begun to show them what he was truly capable of.

"Incredible, Naruto!" Iruka almost shouted, while handing Naruto his Konoha forehead protector.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, excepting the forehead protector.

Mizuki grimaced as he thought about what had just happened. They had just made the demon into a shinobi of the same village that he had destroyed years ago.

"Alright, Kamachii. I'll summon you back out here later on today, after class."

"Alright, Naruto. See ya later!" Kamachii said, before disappearing with a puff of smoke.

The last one to go was Sai, who made ink clones and summoned three lions that were made of ink.

"Very good, Sai! To be able to manipulate your drawings like that is a talent indeed! You will be very valuable to whatever team you end up going to." Iruka praised.

"Thank you, Iruka-sensei." Sai said, snatching the forehead protector from Mizuki's hands. Sai had noticed Mizuki disdain for Naruto long ago, and he didn't like the teacher. Mizuki just glared at the boy. He had noticed that Sai had taken a liking to Naruto, therefore making him guilty by association.

"OK, we were going to reveal the new teams and rookie of the year tomorrow, but, since we finished so early, I have been given permission, by the Hokage, to let you know this information, though most of you won't have your team meeting until tomorrow. So, which do you want to hear first?"

"I say 'rookie of the year', even though we all know that it's gonna be Sasuke!" said the pink banshee, backed by the rest of the fangirls, excluding Ino.

"Why does she speak as if she isn't, physically, the weakest person in the class?" Sai asked Naruto, loud enough so that Sakura could hear him.

"What did you say, you pale losers!" Sakura shouted.

"I think that she may be retarded, like her mother. I mean...look at her. I'd rather hear what teams we'll be on, that way I'll know whether or not I'll have to kick old man Hokage's ass for putting me on that banshee's team. Knowing him, he probably tried putting the strongest with the weakest." Naruto said, completely ignoring the glare he was getting from Sakura.

In Sarutobi's office...

The Hokage sneezed and got a chill up his spine. "What the hell was that? Someone must be talking about me."

Back at the Academy...

"Iruka-sensei, I want to hear the team selection first."

"Okay, anyone object to Naruto's request?"

Sakura's hand was the only one in the air. "Ino, what the hell are you doing?" Sakura scolded her friend.

"Put your hand down, Forehead! I want to find out whether I'm on Sasuke's team or not!" Ino said.

Everyone realized, by Sakura's expression, that the girl had never even thought about it. "Sasuke-kun's gonna be on my team, Ino pig!" Sakura yelled.

"See, she's retarded." Naruto deadpanned.

Five minutes later...

"Team Seven will consist of Uchiha Sasuke, Hanaro Sakura, and Inuzuka team will be lead by Hatake Kakashi."

Sakura seemed to be the only happy one in the new team. Sasuke was not looking forward to being teammates with a fangirl and Kiba was disappointed that he wasn't going to be on Hinata's team.

"Team Eight will consist of Aburame Shino, Hyuuga Hinata, and Kang Liu. Your team will be led by Kurenai."

Hinata was disappointed that she wasn't on the same team as Naruto, but Shino and Liu seemed content with their new team.

(Team Ten still consist of Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino; so I'll skip that part)

The only ones left were Naruto and Sai. The others were well aware of what that meant. Whenever there weren't enough students to make up a team, the left over students were placed on the reserves list and forced to wait until the next year to get assigned a team, unless someone was injuried, died, or quit. This fate was normally reserved for the worst students of the graduating class. It gave said student time to gain the necessary skills for actual missions.

"Ha! Naruto-baka and Sai-baka both got stuck on the reserves!" Sakura laughed, prompted the rest of the fangirls to laugh at the two. Kiba also laughed his obnoxious laugh, pointing at the two ninja.

"What a loser. Better luck next year, dobe." Sasuke said, chuckling himself.

"I'm glad that you all find that amusing." said Iruka. "Now, why don't we find out who this year 'rookie of the year' is?"

The class finally calmed down enough to hear who would be selected to be 'rookie of the year'.

"This year's 'rookie of year' is Naruto and Sai."

The whole classroom went silent, until Sakura, Kiba, Ino, Sasuke, and his fangirls let out a collective screech. "WHAT!"

"You were so quick to jump to conclusions. Naruto and Sai not only had the highest scores throughout the entire year, but they were the only ones that had a perfect score on each portion of the exam."

"But they didn't even take the taijutsu portion!" yelled Kiba.

"Well, how about me and you go outside and take it right now?" asked Naruto.

Kiba visibly tensed. It was apparent that he did not want to spar with Naruto.

"I thought so." said Naruto.

"Like I was saying, Naruto and Sai have been sparring at chuunin level through the entire year. Even I would be have trouble with them." Naruto and Sai gave each other a look that said 'Is he crazy? Does he really believe that he could keep up with us?'.

"That's why Naruto and Sai have both been given special titles. I went to the Hokage and recommended that they be placed as special genin, pending their exams, of course. As of this moment, both Naruto and Sai outrank all of you, and any other genin."

This did not go over well with the majority of the class, but Naruto and Sai ignored the glares they were given. Iruka then looked at Naruto and Sai, and spoke directly to them. "Naruto. Sai. You are to report in thirty minutes. Your new sensei wants both of you to come mission-ready. Here are directions to where you are to meet her. I'm proud of both of you, and honored that I was able to be your instructor. You may leave now."

"This is bullshit!" yelled Sasuke.

"Sasuke! Watch your mouth! This decision was approved by the Hokage! If you have a problem, take it up with him!"

Sasuke just sat back and glared at the instructor, before turning to glare at the backs of Naruto and Sai as they exited the classroom.

Naruto and Sai both followed the directions that Iruka gave them. They were both already mission-ready. After Danzo started attacking Sai, they made it a point to always be prepared for battle. The directions led to the heart of the Forest of Death. Naruto and Sai both had to kill multiple oversized snakes and insects prior to reaching the spot. They arrived with 15 minutes to spare, so they decided to sit down and wait for their sensei.

They didn't have to wait long. A kunai was thrown at Naruto from his left side. Naruto caught the kunai and stabbed it into the ground, not even acknowledging who threw it. "Well, I must say that I'm impressed that you two made it this far. I was actually hoping that you two would get eaten before I got here. It would've saved me the trouble of training you two shit-stains."

"Enough with your bitching and moaning. Are you gonna tell us what we need to do to pass or what?" asked Naruto, in his usual bored tone.

"Shut up, you arrogant little shit!"

"I seem to be hearing that a lot lately."

"Okay. All you have to do is manage to beat me and you pass. I'm going to enjoy kicking your ass all around this forest, brat. It been a while since I've tasted blood as young as yours, you little blonde piece of shit."

"Well, maybe we can set something up later and you can have all the blood you want. However, now is not that time. Sai! I want you to stay back. I'll handle her."

"She's all yours Naruto." Sai said, taking a seat on a tree stump.

"You can't possibly believe that you can handle me on your own."

"How about a bet? You win, I give you whatever you want. I win, you go on a date with me. Deal?"

"Deal. After I get done slicing your body to ribbons, you'll pay for my dango."

"It would be impossible for me to do that if you slice me to ribbons." Naruto said, matter-of-factly.

The female instructor jumped from her branch and got into her stance.

"Snake style, huh?"

"Getting scared already?"

Naruto did not answer. Instead, he went into his Praying Mantis style. He purposely left out his Jeet Kun Do, deciding to keep it a secret until the right time. Besides, his standard Praying Mantis style should've been more than enough to handle the pyschotic instructer.

"The Praying Mantis style? You really are ignorant to think that you can beat me using that. What? You read a book on the style and practiced a couple of katas, now you think you can use it on someone like me? I'm so going to enjoy cutting your arrogant little balls off and rolling them like dice."

"You sure do talk a lot, for someone that supposed to be so badass, Anko-chan."

"How'd you know my name?"

"..."

"Did you hear me? I asked you a question, gaki!"

"..."

Anko finally snapped. She wasn't the most stable of shinobi anyway, but Naruto had pressed all of the wrong buttons. She was only planning to hurt the kid before. Now, she was planning on crippling the boy for life. She lunged at Naruto, aiming to jab him in the throat with a fast snake strike. Naruto merely jumped back, out of range of her strike.

Anko had planned to follow him and was in the process of doing so, until Naruto landed. Instead of back-peddling, as soon as Naruto feet touch the ground, he bolted forward, striking Anko in the left arm. Anko's left arm went limp, but she grabbed Naruto's right arm with her right arm.

"That arm isn't going be any good for at least 20 minutes. I tried not to be too rough." Naruto said in a sexually suggestive tone.

"I like it rough." Anko said, in her own sexually suggestive tone.

Before Naruto had the chance see them coming, three snakes flew out of Anko's sleeves, striking Naruto in the neck. "Looks like you'll be going back to the Academy. I also remember something about a bet." said Anko. To her surprise, the 'Naruto' that she struck disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"As do I." the real Naruto said from behind Anko, before hitting her with a strike that he had been the target of numerous times. Anko wasn't able to move a muscle. She collapsed on the forest ground.

"What the hell do you do to me?" Anko said. She was still pissed and wanted Naruto's blood.

"The same thing I did to your arm, only a more powerful strike. You'll be there for an hour."

"You can't leave me here for an hour! Even I'll die out here if I can't moved, you little asshole!"

"Such a filthy mouth. Like I said, your owe me a date. I can't let you die yet without letting you pay your debt."

Naruto picked Anko up and threw her over his shoulder. "You better not be grab my ass, gaki."

"There'll be plenty of time for that in the future, Anko-chan. Just be patient. Sai, I'll meet you at the apartment."

"Yeah. Take it easy on her, bro." said Sai, with a smirk on his face.

"I'll be a perfect gentlemen."

Twenty minutes later...

Naruto had taken Anko to the top of the Hokage Monument and left her there, cursing him to the worst death imaginable. Naruto arrived back at the Hokage Monument ten minutes later, with a blanket and a basket. Anko was still cursing him, while he spread the blanket over the ground.

Naruto then picked Anko up and placed her on the blanket. "Let go of me, you little piece of shit!" she spat.

"Oh, now it's let go of you? I could've sworn that you were the one begging me to take you out of the Forest of Death. You didn't have a problem with me touching you then, now did you?"

"I. Wasn't. Begging."

"Whatever you say." Naruto said, as he lifted her head and laid it on his lap.

"What the fuck are you doing!"

"Shut up." Naruto said, before opening the basket, revealing dango and sake.

Anko instantly became like a child. "A-Are those for me?" she said, eyes glazing over.

"Of course. What kind of man would I be if I let you pay on our date? Now, open up." Anko opened her mouth, as Naruto fed her dango.

"Mmph. You sure know how to treat a girl." Anko said, with a mouthful of dango.

"If I knew that dango calmed you down this much, I would've just offered to buy you some and saved myself a lot of trouble."

"Speaking of which, just how strong are you, and how did you know my name?"

"As far as how strong I am, let's just say that I'm above genin level."

"And how you knew my name?"

"Simple. I've been watching you for a while now."

"Watching me? Why?"

"Because the villagers seem to hate you almost as much as me. I wanted to know why."

"Fuck those close-minded pricks. I could give a shit what they think of me."

"Cut the bullshit. I know that you care. I've seen you cry when you thought that you were alone."

"If I were you, I'd drop this subject right now." Anko warned.

"Well, you aren't me. I'm not afraid of you, Anko-chan. When you've gone through as much as we have, there's little room left for fear."

"You don't know shit about me, so don't go waxing intellectual about my problems."

"You're wrong, I do know about you. It's what draws me to you, and you to me. You think I haven't noticed you spying on me every once in a while? There's no use in denying it. Face it, you're just as screwed up as me, if not moreso. Though I don't know the details, I do know that Orochi-"

"Don't you DARE say that bastard's name in my presence!"

"It isn't your fault, you know. You were taken advantage of. The people of this village may not see it, but I do. We are the same. Two innocent people corrupted by the world. Even if you weren't my new sensei, we still would've sought each other out eventually."

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"I mean is that only someone like me would be crazy enough to be attracted to you. Who else would take you on a date, against your will, and feed you dango atop of the Hokage Monument? And trust me, no other woman in this village would dare to speak to me as you have today, without fearing for her life. It's because you could give a shit about the kyuubi sealed inside of me, just like I could give a shit about that snake bastard, Orochimaru. You see me as a normal person, the same as I see you. It's because our definition of normal is completely different from the village's."

"So, two demons think of each other as normal?" Anko said sadly, looking away from Naruto.

Naruto tilted her head by her chin, until she was staring at him again. Naruto then gave Anko a kiss, which, surprisingly, she returned with even more force, as if she had been waiting for someone to kiss her all of her life.

Breaking the kiss, Naruto spoke again. "Demon? No. You are my angel, Anko-chan. The one that will save me from my own darkness." Naruto said, smiling widely.

Anko melted into Naruto's lap. As tough as she appeared to be, she wanted the same thing every other woman wanted; something she had been denied due to her association with the snake sannin. That was for someone to care about her; for someone to not prejudge or treat her any differently than anyone else.

Until now, no one had seen through her tough, psychotic exterior, mainly because she actually was very unstable. Waking up with your kidneys missing wasn't an impossibility with her. The only way to handle someone as strong-willed and free spirited as Anko was to literally tame her, which no shinobi or villager in Konoha was capable of doing; at least not until now.

Anko was having conflicting feelings about Naruto. A part of her still wanted to bleed him dry, part of her wanted to subdue and mount him (with or without his permission), part of her grimaced a the thought of taking a 13 year old genin seriously (though she did acknowledge that he was far from a normal 13 year old), and part of her wanted to completely submit to Naruto.

Before Anko could manage to clear her thoughts, Naruto's hand gently ran up and down her stomach. Her body jumped instinctually, but she put her head back and took in the feeling of someone elses' touch against her skin. It had been so long since someone had acutally touched her, outside of trying to killing her, she had actually forgotten how good it could feel.

"Anko-chan, you do know that you can move now, right?"

Anko wiggled her toes, confirming that she could indeed move again. She suddenly produced a kunai, seemingly out of nowhere, and swung it at Naruto's throat. Naruto didn't flinch, nor did he even attempt to move from it's path. Seeing that he wasn't going to move, Anko stopped her swing centimeters away from Naruto's throat. "Why didn't you move?" she asked.

"Why did you stop?"

"Because I didn't want to get any of your blood on my jacket." Anko said, laying her head back on Naruto's lap.

"You smell that? Smells like bullshit to me!" Naruto joked.

Anko was not amused. She snorted "As if there could ever be anything between myself and an infant like you. Imagine the villagers would say?"

"Who gives a shit what the villagers say? How could it possibly be worse than what they say about us already?"

"You couldn't handle a girl like me anyway. You aren't experienced enough for me, kid. But I wouldn't mind having a little slave to do whatever I want. Dango!" she said, as Naruto fed her another dango.

"Sorry. I not into the whole S&M thing. And as for me not being enough for you, that remains to be seen. It may end up being you that can't handle me. Underestimating me is what got you here in the first place."

Anko's narrowed her eyes, remembering being beaten by Naruto, then a devilish smirk appeared on her face. "We shall see, Uzumaki Naruto. We shall see."

With that, she stood and vanished from the Hokage Monument, taking the rest of the dango with her.

"Why do I get the feeling that she's up to something that's gonna cause me problems in the near future?" Naruto asked himself.

(With the Sandaime Hokage)

There had been another council meeting called, directly after the genin graduation. The civilian council, and a few shinobi clan heads, were outraged that the demon brat had even been allowed to graduated. But when word got out that he and another, not even from one of the clans of Konoha, had been promoted to special genin, all hell broke loose.

To be honest, the Nara clan head, the Akimichi clan head, Sarutobi, and Danzo were the only ones that didn't feel some sort of resentment towards the young jinchuuriki, though Danzo merely considered Naruto to be a weapon of the village of Konoha.

"This is bullshit! That damn brat should've been killed on sight as soon as he stepped foot back in this village, and yet you promote him to a title that hasn't been given since the Third Great Ninja War? That's foolishness, Sarutobi!" said Haruno Kira, speaking on behave of the civilian population.

"I have to agree, Hokage-sama. I do not understand why you keep such a threat like Uzumaki Naruto alive." said Hiashi, the Hyuuga clan head.

"First of all, you will address me as 'Hokage-sama', Haruno-san. Secondly, Uzumaki Naruto was given the title of special genin simply because he is far more advance than the other students. There was no favoritism, he earned his title."said Sarutobi.

Tsume, head of the Inuzuka clan, snorted. "I highly doubt that. But assuming you are correct, if he's so strong, what will happen when he gets older. What will you do when he attacks this village? How are we to know that he won't attack us on a whim of his?"

"Well, you could never be sure whether or not he will attack you. But, if someone spoke to you the way the majority of you speak to Uzumaki Naruto, you would probably attack them as well, would you not?" asked Sarutobi, silencing the Inuzuka head.

"Well, with all due respect, he isn't the same as us. My daughter has told me disturbing things about the de-...boy. From what she tells me, the boy is nothing but trouble. I vote that the boy be killed, or at least banished from the village." said Inoichi.

Before any one else could agree, Sarutobi slammed his fist into the table, turning the entire table into toothpicks. "SILENCE! This issue is not up for discussion! Uzumaki Naruto is a shinobi under MY command! That means that nothing will happen to him unless I deem it necessary! Do you understand me?" Sarutobi said in a barely restrained voice.

A few shinobi answered, but the rest remained defiant, glaring at the old Hokage.

"I SAID DO YOU UNDERSTAND ME!" Sarutobi said, as his killing intent rose through the roof. Some of the civilians even fainted or collapsed and seized on the ground.

"HAI, HOKAGE-SAMA!" everyone that was still conscious yelled.

The Sandaime Hokage then stormed out of the room. Once gone, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Any thoughts of the old man had becoming docile in his old age had immediately been dispersed. Not since the kyuubi attack had they felt so much killing intent.

Two Weeks Later...

Indeed, Anko had been planning something for young Naruto. After finding out that Naruto and Sai were far more advanced than mere genins in team strategy and tactics, due to the multiple times they had been attacked by Root members, she decided to train them in her specialty; assasinations, torture, and interrogations. Since she had no test subjects, she normally volunteered her two students, though Naruto got the worst of the torture. And since Naruto was so stubborn, he always got the worst of the interrogation training.

Anko had demanded that her team take no less than C-Rank missions. Given that they were special genin, the Sandaime agreed to her demands, but warned her that she would take full responsibility for any lost of life during said missions.

They had completed 10 C-Rank missions, unscathed, and were currently returning from their first B-Rank.

As they entered the Sandaime's office, they reported that the mission had been successful. Just as the Sandaime was about to dismiss them, Pakkun, one of Kakashi's summons, jumped through the window and explained to the Sandaime that Team 7's mission had been upgraded, due to hostile foreign shinobi targeting the client. He also explained that the client knew about it prior to contracting Konoha shinobi.

Sarutobi sighed and lit the pipe hanging from his mouth. "Anko-san, I need your team to back Team 7 up. Is your team up to it?"

Anko shared a look with Naruto and Sai, then answered. "Hai, Hokage-sama. What kind of mission are we talking about, and where is it located at?"

"Well, as you heard, it started off as a simple C-Rank. Team 7 were to guard the bridge builder Tazuna, who is a resident of the Wave Country. However, with this attack from the Demon Brothers and the possibility of another attack from any even higher ranking shinobi, this mission is at least a B-Rank mission, possibly an A-Rank." Sarutobi finished.

"Ya hear that, boys? We may have an A-Rank mission on our hands!" Anko squealed.

"Well, we're already packed, so let head out!" said Naruto, just as excited.

"But these clothes are dirty. Can't we at least get some clean ones." Sai complained, but was completely ignored. "I mean, what if I meet an attractive girl in the Wave? We smell like a mixture of fish and shit. Do you know how hard it is to get a girl when you smell like that?" Sai said, but was still ignored by his teammates. Before Sai could complain anymore, he was dragged out of the window by an excited Anko and Naruto.

Four hours later...

Team Anko had managed to catch up to Team 7, due to the civilian bridge builder slowing them down. When they arrived, the saw that the Kirigakure nuke-nin, Momochi Zubuza, had just captured Kakashi in a mass of water. Kakashi's genin seemed to be scared stiff, which was understandable, facing a jounin such as Zubuza.

"Anko-sensei, let me take care of Zubuza." Naruto whispered.

"What? And miss the chance to fight one of the 'Seven Swordsman of the Mist'? You've got to be fucking joking?" Anko whispered back.

"You always get take the big ones! I called this one first!"

"The other ones could hardly be called 'big ones'. But this, this is the real deal!"

"Rock, paper, scissor?" Naruto asked.

"Fine. Rock, paper, scissors, shoot! Damn it!"

"Ha! Now you get to see the master at work!" declared Naruto, triumphantly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just try not to get killed."

"Awwww. Is Anko-chan worry about wittle old Naruto?" Naruto said in a child's voice, causing Anko to blush and glare at the same time.

Naruto jumped from his branch and landed in the middle of the clearing, startling everyone in the clearing. "Am I late?"

"Naruto? What are you doing here? Get out of here while you still can! All of you, get out, now!"

"Calm down, Kakashi. I was sent here by the Sandaime, as backup."

"Why'd they send a loser like you?" Sasuke said, all his fear forgotten and replaced with angry, seeing the special genin.

Sakura and Kiba also seemed to forget their, with the arrival of the young blond "Yeah! If Sasuke couldn't handle it, why would they send a useless loser like you!" Sakura yelled.

"Special genin. More like special shithead! Who reveals themselves to the enemy like that, you moron!" Kiba shouted.

Both, Sai and Anko had to restrain themselves from attack the genin where they stood.

"You know what, Zabuza? I'm starting to rethink my decision to help these weaklings. Unfortunately, I had no quarrels with Kakashi. How about we trade? Kakashi for these three?" Naruto said, motioning to the three genin.

"Oh. So you know my name? I'm impressed that one so young would be familiar with one such as I. You seem more advanced than the clueless trash behind you. Unfortunately, I don't plan on letting Sharingan Kakashi go so easily. You see, I'll be able to fetch quite a large sum of money with his head. But, you do intrigue me. How able you join me instead?" said Zabuza.

"No can do, No Brow. You see, I have this thing for this sexy little snake charmer back home." Anko snorted at that. "And it would be hard from me to marry her and raise our kids if I'm on the road with you all of the time."

"You would anyone want to marry you, Naruto-baka?" Sakura chimed in.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather take them?" Naruto said, before getting into his stance.

"What is your name, kid? I normally wouldn't ask, but you intrigue me greatly. I will remember you long after you have passed."

"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and I don't plan on dying any time soon."

Zabuza's clone, seeing an opportunity to strike, shot toward Naruto with speed that no genin could match and swung the massive Kubikiri Hōchō at Naruto, in a vertical strike, intent on slicing the young blonde in two. Naruto jumped back, letting the blade slash into the ground. He then jumped forward, before the clone could react, landing on the massive blade. Using the blade for leverage, Naruto jumped toward the clone, planting a hard knee into the clones face, dispelling it as continued forward. Naruto landed on his feet as the puddle of water collapsed behind him.

"Hmmm. Impressive. I didn't expect you to be able to defeat one of my clones. And to do it with such ease, you are an impressive one, Uzumaki Naruto. But there is much more where that came from." Zubuza said, create ten more mizu bushin.

"Sorry, Zubuza, but I've gotta cut this fight a little short. Kakashi isn't looking too good in there. It wouldn't look to good if I allowed him to die, when I'm supposed to be backing him up."

Without warning, Naruto threw a kunai at the Zubuza holding Kakashi. "You're too arrogant, kid. You can't possibly think that can stop me."

While Zubuza was talking, he missed the series of handseals Naruto had done. Just before Zubuza was about to catch the kunai, 50 kunai appeared beside them, moving at incredible speed. "Shit." was all Zubuza was able to say before he was forced to cancel his jutsu and dive out of the way. However, he did not get away completely unscathed. His carelessness was awarded with a gash just below his eye. Needless to say, he was not happy.

"Brat. I'm gonna kill you." Zubuza said, stalking toward the special genin.

"Hey, it's not my fault. You were the one that got careless, and yoy paid for it. Never underestimate your opponent, Zubuza. You would do good to remember that. And, with that gash under your eye, I doubt that you will be forgetting it any time soon." Naruto said, nonchalantly, cleaning his ear with his pinky, while looking up at the sky.

Before Zubuza could exact his revenge, Kakashi had stepped in. The two had finished their battle, with Zubuza on the receiving end of the beating. Just as Kakashi was about to finish him, three senbon needles hit Zabuza in the neck, effectively 'killing' him. As Kakashi looked up, he saw that it was the work of a Kiri hunter-nin.

After thanking Naruto and Kakashi for weakening Zabuza, the hunter-nin took Zabuza and vanished into thin air. At this point, Kakashi fell unconscious from using his sharingan so excessively during the fight.

"A little help, here?" Naruto said, as Anko and Sai jumped from their branches.

"Why'd you let that hunter-nin go, Naruto? You know that he was working with Zabuza." said Anko.

"Simple. How does an uninterrupted battle with those two sound?" Naruto said.

"I get Zubuza next time." Anko said, already getting excited about the chance to fight the nuke-nin.

"Anything for you, Anko-chan. Beside, I want the hunter-nin anyway."

"Right. Now, let's get Kakashi and the bridge builder back."

"Hey! Why don't we get the rest of Team 7 to carry Kakashi? They haven't done anything, and he IS their team leader." said Sai, with a devilish smirk.

"Sai, you're a genius." said Anko and Naruto, simultaneously.

Twenty minutes later...

Naruto and Anko walked with Tazuna, ahead of Team 7, while Sai walked at the back of the group. Team 7 collectively glared at the back of Naruto's head, each thinking of ways to get back at the young blonde. After twenty more minutes of walking, they reached the bridge builders home. They were greeted by Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Tsunami had instantly taken a liking to Naruto, which Anko didn't seem to like too much. Team 7 are instructed, by Anko, to place Kakashi into one of the beds upstairs. When Sasuke asked why they had to do it, Anko sent her snakes after them, causing them to sprint up the stairs, with Kakashi in tow.

Naruto then helped Tsunami cook, since she was nice enough to let them stay with her for the duration of the mission. Tsunami and Naruto laughed and conversed while they cooked, which made Anko even more hostile than before. Anko did not like Tsunami too much, but she couldn't figure out why. Ever since they had entered the house, Anko had the urge to beat the woman within an inch of her life. Everyone seemed to feel the tension as well, except for Naruto and Tsunami. Even during dinner, Naruto and Tsunami seemed to be the only ones talking.

Once they finished eating, they decided to choose where everyone was to sleep. "Well, why don't you and Sakura take the room next to Kakashi, me and Sasuke can stay in Kakashi room, and the other two can sleep downstairs; on the floor." Kiba suggested.

"I don't have a problem with that." Sai said.

"Hell no. I refuse to sleep in the same room with this shrieking fangirl. I'll end up killing her in my sleep." said Anko.

"Me and Anko can sleep upstairs, Sasuke and Sakura with Kakashi, and Sai and Kiba downstairs." said Naruto.

'Hell yeah!' thought Sakura.

"No. I also refuse to sleep in the same room as Sakura." said the emo Uchiha.

"Well, Sakura could always sleep in my room." said Tsunami.

"Okay. Well, let's get some sleep for now. Me and Naruto will take the first watch." said Anko.

Anko was quiet until everyone went to sleep. Once she was sure that no one was awake, she turned to Naruto. "Why didn't you try to get a room with your new girlfriend?"

"I thought that's what I did." Naruto said, clueless of what seemed to be bothering her.

"You know what I mean. I mean that bitch you were flirting with."

"Tsunami?"

"Yes. Tsunami."

"Flirting?"

"Yes. Flirting."

"..."

Naruto then burst into a fit of laughter that threatened to wake the others. Anko narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"I'm glad you find this funny. I wonder if you'll find it so funny when I cut her fucking eyes out!"

Naruto immediately stopped laughing, but still had a smile on his face. "Anko...you're retarded." Naruto said.

"What was that?"

"I said that you are retarded. One girl, outside of yourself, treats me like a normal human being and you jump to conclusions. Were you even listening to me early today?"

"What are you talking about?"

"During the fight with Zabuza, I said that I wanted to marry you some day, that I wanted you to have my children. I wouldn't say those things if they weren't true and I wouldn't want those things from someone that I didn't love."

"I...I thought that you were just talking nonsense. I didn't know that you were serious!"

"Of course I was serious. I love you, Anko."

"I...I love you too, Naruto."

"Ha! I knew it!"

"S-Shut up!"

"Feels weird saying it out loud, huh?"

"Yeah. But it feels good to finally let it out."

"I apologize if I hurt you by acting that way around Tsunami. Looking back, if it was the other way around, I probably wouldn't have dealt with the situation as well as you did. Actually, I'm pretty sure that I would've killed someone by now."

"Oh, don't bother apologizing. I've already decided how you will make it up to me."

"Back massage? Foot rub?" Naruto asked, though he knew Anko better than that.

"No, though that does sound tempting. But I think I'm gonna use you to test a couple of new toutu-, I mean interrogation techniques that I've been working on, once we get back to Konoha."

"Shit." Naruto said, realizing that she was planning to inflict even more damage than before.

A week later...

Once Kakashi had finally awakened from his sharingan induced slumber, he revealed to his team that Zubuza was indeed alive, due to the actions of the fake hunter-nin. While Kakashi recovered, he set his team a training schedule. He had planned for Team Anko to take part in the training as well. Sadly, things didn't go as he planned.

(Flashback)

"Tree-climbing? How's that supposed to help us fight someone like Zubuza?"

"It's not 'tree-climbing', it's 'tree-walking'. Let me demonstrate for you."

Kakashi then proceeded to walk up a tree, stopping under a branch, hanging upside. "You see? This is tree-walking." he said.

"Again, how is this supposed to help us defeat someone like Zubuza?" Kiba deadpanned.

"Let me take it from here, Kakashi." Anko said, standing up from the stump she had been sitting on. "What Kakashi means to say is that your chakra control sucks. Well all except the annoying pink haired girl, but she has low reserves anyway. The worse your chakra control is, the more you waste and the less effective it is."

"And who are you to tell us anything?" said Sasuke, as arrogant as ever.

"Dumbass." Naruto said to Sai, as Sai nodded his head in agreement.

"What did you say to me, you little Uchiha shithead?" Anko said, trying her hardest not to kill the boy.

Sasuke was planning on repeating himself, but he was sliced on the cheek with a kunai before he could even open his mouth. Anko then smirked at the boy. "Someone as weak as you shouldn't even bother asking questions. Instead, you should be training, because you need as much as you can get. And stop trying to glare at me. You're about as threatening as a baby fox."

"Hey, you crazy bitch! How dare you hurt Sasuke-kun like that! I 'll make sure my mo-" before Sakura could finish, she was sporting a similar cut on her cheek.

"And you, I'm surprised that you haven't died yet. You are a disgrace to all shinobi. You're nothing more than a fangirl, playing at being a shinobi. You'll be lucky if you don't die before the end of this mission." Anko said.

"That's the same thing I said." Naruto chimed in.

The glares instantly went from Anko to Naruto. "Shut up, Naruto-baka!" Sakura yelled.

"She's even uglier when she's mad, isn't she Bro?" Sai said to Naruto.

"No doubt. She gets it from her mother." Naruto replied.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY?"

"We said that you are ugly. Add that to the fact that you're loud and weak and you may currently be one of the worst ninja in Konoha." answered Sai.

Before Sakura could attempt to attack Sai, she was interrupted by Anko. "That's enough! Naruto! Sai! Go somewhere else and train for now."

Kakashi raised an eyebrow. "Anko-san, I think Naruto and Sai should join my team in the training. Our teams may be able to help each other in completing the exercise."

Anko snorted. "No, Kakashi. They both completed that exercise, along with the leaf and water-walking exercises, long before they became genin. Actually, they were far more advaced than your average genin. Even I don't know what level they're really on. I've been teaching them assasination, interrogation, and torture tactics."

Kakashi's eye twitched. "Anko, that is far too advanced for kids their age. I know that they're supposed to be advanced, but teaching them that sort of thing is just irresponsible."

Anko laughed at the masked jounin. "Oh, the irony! My team just completed their first B-Rank before they had to come here and save your ass. Your team is far behind the average genin team, in teamwork and skill, yet you have the nerve to critique my team. Sai, alone, could take your entire team, excluding you, of course. But Naruto? He could easily take your entire team, with or without you."

Sasuke, who was eavesdropping, clenched his fist at the new information he had received. With a new determination, Sasuke continued his tree-walking exercise. 'That damn dobe won't beat me! I am a Uchiha! I have to get strong enough to beat Itachi! You will serve as my measuring stick, Uzumaki Naruto! I will utterly defeat you, then I will destroy you for trying to make a mockery out of the Uchiha clan!' Sasuke thought to himself.

Kakashi eye-smiled at Anko, finding her confidence in her students amusing. "I fear that you overestimate your students, and underestimate me and my team. The notion that Sai is capable of defeating my team is hard enough to believe, but the thought of Naruto defeating me, let alone me and my team, is down right laughable."

"That's because you haven't seen what I've seen."

"And who's fault is that?" said Kakashi, in a more aggressive tone, that didn't seem to fit the jounin.

"It was the Hokage's decision to make me his sensei, not me. I didn't even want a team. Never have. However, I will say that I am glad that the Hokage did give them to me. If you have a problem with that, take it up with the Hokage."

"Oh, I plan to. To think that the Hokage would see fit to give you your own team makes me question his sanity."

"Well, Naruto and Sai don't seem to mind one bit. Besides, they'd only end up getting weaker with a half-assed sensei like you. Just the fact that your students haven't even learned the tree-walking exercise is a testament to lackadaisical training habits."

"Okay, Anko! If you're so sure about you teams abilities, how about we set up a little sparring match, after the mission of course."

"Sure. Maybe it will motivate your team to become stronger, and motivate you to get off your lazy ass and give them some decent training. What are the stakes?"

"I win, your team will train with me, instead of you."

"OK, if I win, you will have to take off your mask. Deal?"

"Deal."

(Flashback Ends)

Anko, Naruto, and Sai had the day off, while Team 7 had guard duty. They were on their way to the usual training spot, to do some light sparring, until they all noticed the fresh cuts in the trees and the blood of the wild animals.

"Naruto! You go check on Tsunami and Inari. Me and Sai will back up Kakashi and his team." said Anko.

"Right!" said Naruto, before using the shunshin jutsu, instantly disappearing.

At the bridge...

Kakashi was engaging Zabuza, but thing weren't looking good for the Copycat Ninja. Zabuza's subordinate had seen the previous fight and had broken down Kakashi's sharingan abilities, which put Kakashi at a disadvantage.

On the other side of the bridge, Sasuke was fighting a losing battle against the fake hunter-nin. Apparently, the hunter-nin had some sort of hyouton kekkei genkai, and was using it to completely overwhelm the last Uchiha.

Outside of the ice dome, Kiba wasn't having much luck. Kiba and Akamaru were up against the Demon Brothers. Kakashi carelessly tied them up and sent word to Konoha Anbu. Unfortunately, they had been freed prior to the arrival of the Anbu. Once freed, the Demon Brothers had trained until it was time for their payback from the team that defeated them, and they were currently taking reparations out of Kiba's ass.

Sakura seemed to be in the best shape, as she stood in front of the bridge builder with a kunai in her hand. Unfortunately, she was only half as intimidating as she looked. And considering that she didn't even look intimidating, it would be safe to call her useless against their current opponents.

"Sai! You help the mutt. I'll take Zabuza."

"What about the Uchiha?" Sai asked.

"Someone from such a great clan, like the Uchiha, won't need help from the likes of us." Anko mocked. "Besides, Naruto called the hunter-nin."

"Hai."

"You think you can handle those two?"

"When some wild-eyed, twin maniacs grabs your neck, taps the back of your head up against the barroom wall, and he looks you crooked in the eye and he asks you if ya paid your dues, you just stare those weird fuckers right back in the eye, and you remember what Sai always says at a time like that: "Have ya paid your dues, Sai?""Yessir, the check is in the mail."

"Why do you always do that shit before a big fight? And what the fuck does that even mean, Sai? You know what? Don't answer that. Scatter."

Sai arrived just in time, as the Demon Brothers had just injuried Akamaru and were heading for Kiba. Before they were able to get within striking range, two lions, made entirely of ink, attacked the two Demon Brothers. The Demon Brothers were force to evade and counterattack, turning the lions into splashes of ink.

"I will be your opponent! Kiba! Take Akamaru and go guard the bridge builder. You can check on him there."

Kiba immediately followed Sai instructions, picking up the injuried Akamaru and sprinting to Tazuna and Sakura.

"You fate will be the-" one of the Demon Brother said, as the other one finished the statement. "same as the rest."

(With Anko)

Though he thought differently, Kakashi was not fully healed when Zabuza attacked. Now, Kakashi was, once again, reaching his limits. A non-Uchiha using the sharingan may have had more perks than disadvantages, but the disadvantages could be fatal.

Zabuza could hear Kakashi's ragged breathing and knew it was time to end it. Without warnings, Zabuza came rushing out of the mist and toward Kakashi, blade poised to slice Kakashi's head off. Kakashi saw the attack coming but his body had already been pushed past the point of exhaustion. Kakashi was forced to watch as the massive blade set a course for his face.

*cling*

Kakashi opened his eyes to a sight that he would rather forget. In front of him stood Anko Mitarashi, holding Zabuza's blade with two kunai.

"Ah. Seems like I get to have a little more fun. And with Anko Mitarashi, The Snake Whore Konoha, no less."

"Kakashi, get your ass up and get the fuck out of the way!" Anko said, glaring at Zabuza.

As Kakashi struggled to retreat, Zabuza started putting more and more weight on his blade, bent on crushing Anko's skull. Anko, being fairly outmatched in terms of strength, used her kunai to send the blade to her right side. The blade sliced into the ground, leaving Zubuza open for a counterattack. Anko took advantage, throwing a backhand at Zabuza with her right hand, with intentions to drive the kunai into his head. Zubuza blocked the backhand and rolled towards his sword, as Anko threw another backhand with her left.

Zabuza grabbed his sword and they both spun around to face each other. "You aren't strong enough to beat me, snake whore. Now, why don't you be a girl little girl and stand down. I may even let you be my new mistress. I need someone like you to wash my undergarments and cook my dinner."

"Sorry, I'm already taken. But you won't have to worry about clean undergarments for long, considering that you'll be dead long before you get a chance to change them."

"Taken? What fool would want a whore like you?"

"One that's a lot stronger and better looking than you. Now, if you're finished, how about we get this show started."

"You're a cocky little bitch. I'll enjoy tearing off your limbs, one by one!"

With that, the two engaged each other once again.

Sasuke vs Haku...

Sasuke tried desperately to escape the senbon needles, but nothing seemed to work for him. He even tried using fire jutsu on the ice mirrors, but had no success there either.

"I suggest that you withdraw from the fight, Uchiha. You are obviously no match for me. If you continue to attack, I will be force to take your life."

'No! This can't be happening to me! I am of the great Uchiha clan! I will NOT die until I get my revenge!'

As Haku threw another handful of senbon needles at Sasuke, Sasuke was able to dodge them this time. 'It seems that he has managed to unlock his sharingan during the battle. Impressive.'

'I can see it. I can see the chakra now! I've finally unlocked it! I can feel the power coursing through my veins! I feel invincible!'

With Naruto...

Naruto had defeated the bandits and was now watching the fight between Sasuke and Haku.

"Wow. So he finally activated his sharingan, huh?" Naruto said to himself. "He's gonna be even more arrogant than he was before. But Haku's kekkei genkai, now that is an interesting jutsu. We could definitely use someone like her."

Sasuke vs Haku...

Haku had planned on using her speed to try and knock the Uchiha out, instead of using the senbon needles and actually killing him by mistake, but Sasuke's newly activated sharingan prevent that. Sasuke caught Haku with a overhand right, knocking the girl to the ground.

Instead of trying to finish the girl off, Sasuke used the opening he created to warn the girl of his new found power. "Now that I've finally activated my sharingan, I suggest that YOU withdraw from this fight. In front of the sharingan, those considered genius are merely mediocre."

Haku was normally as gentle as they came, but the Uchiha pressed buttons that she didn't even know she had. At that point, she decided that she wanted the arrogant Uchiha to feel pain. "You are entirely too arrogant, Uchiha-san. For that, I've decided to take you down a few pegs. Normally I wouldn't, but I think I'll make an acception for you."

She stood up and jumped through one of her ice mirrors. "Prepare yourself, Uchiha-san."

"What's the point? I can see you now. You have already been defeated."

Haku then threw another handful of senbon needles at the young Uchiha.

"Is that all you can do?" Sasuke asked, as he jumped to the side and out of the senbon needles' path.

"Nope." Haku said from beside the Uchiha.

Sasuke had been so busy focusing on the senbon needles that he hadn't noticed Haku slip out of the ice mirror in the direction that he had jumped to. With Sasuke currently moving directly toward Haku and Haku going directly toward Sasuke, the impact of a punch would be double what a normal punch would be. As Sasuke turned his head to see where the voice had come from, he was met with a bone shattering punch to the face. Sasuke was unconscious before he even hit the ground.

With Naruto...

"What a dumbass." he said, shaking his head. "He probably could've won, if he wasn't so damn arrogant."

Naruto then perked up a little. "Well, hopefully that'll humble him up a little."

Naruto then started strenching himself out. "Well, I guess it's my turn now." he said.

Naruto leaped from the branch, and landed outside of the ice dome. Naruto then casually walked into the ice dome, as if he was just a tourist. "This is a nice place you have here."

"I was wondering when you were planning on coming out." Haku said.

"Well, I noticed that you were busy with the Uchiha, so I decided to wait. Besides, I couldn't pass up the chance to see the Uchiha get some of that arrogance beaten out of him."

Haku smiled at that. "Well, he is quite the arrogant one. Pity that his skills don't back up his arrogance."

"Well, if they did, he'd be the strongest shinobi in the world."

Haku had struggle to keep herself from laughing. "Well, I suppose it's time that we got on with our battle."

"Right. You do remember the terms don't you?"

(Flashback)

Naruto had stayed out all night training. Sai had opted to draw, which he considered his own form of training, so that left Naruto to training by himself. After he finished training, Naruto, too exhausted to make it back to the house, had decided to sleep outside. Night soon turned to dawn and Naruto had sensed someone approaching him.

Once the intruder got within range, Naruto immediately knew who it was. Naruto felt a tiny bit of killing intent and was about to subdue the fake hunter-nin, but decided against it when, instead of attacking, she woke him up.

Naruto decided to play dumb to find out more about the girl. Apparently, she was picking herbs to help a friend, which Naruto figued was Zabuza. Naruto helped her pick herbs, while they conversed about various different topics, from ramen to love.

"Naruto-kun, do you have any precious people?" Haku suddenly asked.

"Of course I do. There's Sai, my Anko-chan, Hokage-sama, and a couple of other people. What about you Haku-chan?" Naruto said in his childish voice, giving the impression that he was an innocent, and somewhat clueless, kid.

"Well, I guess I have one." Haku said, though she seemed unsure.

"Zabuza?" Naruto said, dropping the childish voice.

Haku immediately jumped up and grabbed a senbon needle from her sleeve, taking a defensive stance.

"Take it easy, Haku-chan. If I wanted you dead, I would have taken advantage already."

"What do you want?"

"Simple. I want you Haku-chan."

Even in her defensive stance, Haku started blushing. Seeing how she had taken his words, Naruto decided to clarify.

"What I mean is that I can sense that you are very strong for your age, and I want you to join my team and village."

Haku was shocked that someone would make such an offer to her, seemingly out of the blue.

"Well, I can understand why you would want a strong ninja, but what's in it for me?"

"We are similiar, you and I. It's the same with my teammate and my sensei. You have been hated and manipulated by others. Like you, I'm an orphan, but my teammates serve as my family now. I only offer you a chance to have a real family. One that actually cares whether you live or die. One that will be there for you and protect you with their lives, if need be. Will you accept my invitation...nee-san?"

As soon as she heard the word 'nee-san', tears started streaming down Haku's face. "On one condition." Haku choked out.

"Name it."

Steeling herself, Haku looked at Naruto in the eyes. "You'll have to defeat me, first. As much as I would like to go with you, I pledged my loyalty to Zabuza-sama. The only way that I will be willing to leave is if he dies or if I am not fit to protect him."

"Alright, nee-san. If it means freeing you of your pledge to Zabuza, then I'll kick your ass all around that bridge."

Haku smiled. "Then it's a deal...n-nii-san."

It was now Naruto's turn to smile at Haku. The two continued picking herbs and conversed about the future.

(Flashback Ends)

"Hai, Naruto-nii-san. I remember."

Sai vs The Demon Brothers

Sai was completely overwhelming the Demon Brothers, while flying out of range of their attacks. The Demon Brothers specialized in assasinations, therefore they couldn't keep up with someone so well-versed in combat.

"We have to get within range of his attacks-"one brother said. "Otherwise it'll be useless." finished the other.

After killing the last of the ink clones, one of the brother jumped high into the air. The other brother then jump on his back, using it as a springboard to get within range of Sai.

Sai had been secretly waiting for them to try this. While in the air, they were totally immobile. Sai didn't have this problem, due to the fact that he was riding on the back of a massive bird, made entirely of ink.

As the Demon Brother close in on Sai, Sai's bird shot toward the ground, only to go under and behind the airborne Demon Brother. Considering that the airborne Demon Brother didn't have enough momentum to turn around in mid-air, his back was completely exposed.

Sai jammed his sword into the Demon Brother left shoulder blade, piercing his heart in the process. The Demon Brother died before he even hit the ground.

When the other Demon Brother saw his brother's lifeless body hit the ground, he went into a fit of rage. Sai dispersed his bird and landed across from the remaining Demon Brother. One Demon Brother was barely chuunin level, but one that was ruled by rage was even lower than that. As the Demon Brother attempted to claw Sai's eyes out, Sai grabbed the clawed hand by the forearm. With one quick swipe of his blade, the Demon Brother's head rolled off, effectively killing him.

Sakura, Kiba, and Tazuna, who had been watching the entire battle, looked at Sai in disbelief. Sai noticed them staring and look at them like as if it was just another day at the office. "It's all in the reflexes." Sai said to the three, answering the unasked question of 'How the fuck did you do that?'

Anko vs Zubuza

Zubuza was covered in snake bites and his strength and speed had decreased dramatically, however Anko was in much worse shape. She had shallow cut all over her body and even some internal bleeding, caused by Zabuza's monsterous strength. She knew that it wouldn't be long before her injuries caught up to her and Zabuza took advantage.

"You don't look too good, snake whore."

"Funny. I was just about to say the same thing to you, you brow-less freak."

Without warning Zubuza attacked once more, driving Anko back. Anko barely had time to think, as Zabuza attack her with reckless abandon. While jumping away from a swing the would have easily separated her head from her body, Anko tripped over a rock, slamming into the ground, hard. She had twisted her ankle, which crippled the one advantage she had over Zabuza, which was her speed. She was done for, she knew it.

"Uh oh! Looks like you're luck has run out, Snake Whore of Konoha. I may just cripple you if you beg me to let you live. Come on, let me hear you beg."

'Looks like this is it for me. Sorry, Naruto, but it looks like this is where we part ways.'

Anko spit at Zabuza's feet. "The day I beg a dickless asshole like you is the day I'll kill myself!"

"Such a filthy mouth. I expect nothing less from The Snake Whore of Konoha. Now, what would be a fitting end for you. I know! First, I'll cut off all of you limbs. Then, I'll pull out every tooth in your mouth. But that's just the beginning. You'll go by a new name when I'll finished with you. You'll be known as Anko Mitarashi, The Portable Snake Whore of Konoha! I'll strap you to my back, like a backpack. And whenever I feel lonely at night, I will bring you out to comfort me.

For the first time since her time with Orochimaru, Anko felt true fear. Anko was not afraid of death, but to suffer the fate Zabuza had planned for her put fear in her heart.

Naruto vs Haku

Haku had yet to lay a hand on Naruto. No matter what she tried, she was never fast enough to catch him. However, she had also remained untouched, though Naruto didn't seem to be going all out like she had.

Sasuke was starting to awaken from his slumber he heard a voice that he dreaded. "I'm sorry, Haku-nee-san. I was really planning on seeing all that you are capable of, but it looks like we're gonna have to cut this fight short. This fight will be decided with our next move."

'Is...is that the dobe?' Sasuke thought as he opened his eyes and saw Naruto standing in front of him. If he had the strength, he would've stabbed the blonde in the back. Instead, he was forced to assume the role of the helpless bystander.

"OK, Naruto. We'll end it with this last attack."

Haku then appeared in all of the mirrors. She went for the same tactic that work on Sasuke. Unfortunately, for her, Naruto was not Sasuke. When she threw her senbon needles, Naruto dodged the same way, although a little faster. 'Got him!' she thought, as she proceeded to cut him off the same way she had cut Sasuke off.

What Haku didn't notice was that Naruto making a strange twisting sign with his hand(see opening and closing of Naruto's seal). Just as Haku was about to get in range of Naruto, a spiral of water and wind appeared directly in front of her, spinning like a little minature hurricane. Haku tried to stop, but her momentum wouldn't allow it. Her entire body entered the spiral, but did not come out of the other side.

'WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?' thought Sasuke, still pretending to be unconscious.

Once Naruto landed, he made the strange twisting of his hand again, this time toward the ground, as if opening a pickle jar with one hand. The spiral appeared again, two feet off of the ground and parallel to it. Haku shot out of the spiral, like she went in. She smashed, face first, into the ground, knocking her out instantly.

"I'm sorry, Haku-nee-san. I'll be back to check on you in a minute."

Naruto opened another spiral and dove through it.

Anko vs Zabuza

Zabuza was in motion, intent on slicing Anko arm off at the shoulder. Anko closed her eyes and waited for the pain. Surprisingly, it never came. When she opened her eyes, what she saw brought tears to her eyes. Naruto was facing her, with the edge of Zabuza's sword in his palm, though some of the blade had cut an inch deep into his shoulder.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?" Naruto yelled at Anko.

"N-Naruto? What are you talking about?"

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You were really willing to let this brow-less prick kill you?"

Anko looked away. "He was stronger than me, Naruto. I lost."

"That's not what I asked! You were just sitting there, waiting for him to kill you! I don't care if I was fighting the Shinigami himself, I would never have given up! Not when I know that I would be leaving my future wife at home, grieving over my death! Did you even think about what it would do to me if you died!" Naruto yelled, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.

"Naruto, I-" Anko began to say, but was cut off.

"So, you're the fool that has fallen in love with The Snake Whore of Konoha. Such a shame. And here I thought you had potential."

Naruto could care less what anyone thought of him, but talking about Naruto's loved ones garaunteed a quick death for anyone foolish enough to do it in front of him. It was a mistake that Zabuza would never have the chance to repeat.

Holding Zabuza's sword with his left hand, Naruto unsheathed the sword on his back with his right hand, turned and slashed. Naruto then turned backed to Anko, as Zubuza's head rolled and his body collapsed.

"Don't ever let me see you give up again, Anko-chan." Naruto said in a calm voice.

"Bravo, kid! To think that the so called The Demon the Mist would fall to a child." yelled a short man standing on the other side of the bridge, surrounded by what seemed to be mercenaries.

"Who are you?" Naruto asked.

"Me? I go by the name of Gato."

"The same Gato that has been trying to prevent this bridge from getting built?"

"The one and only! You kids have been making a lot of trouble for me. That's why I hi-" before Gato could finish, a kunai exited out of the back of Gato's skull, killing him instantly.

The mecenaries only saw Gato slump to the ground. Once they saw the hole in Gato's head, they knew that the kid had killed the man right in front of them, and none of them had even seen it. One of the shaking mercenaries spoke what the rest had been thinking already. "W-what did y-you do?" he asked in a shaky voice.

"Isn't it obvious? I killed him. With the oppressor dead, the Wave will be free to build any bridge they want. In other words, mission accomplished. That is, unless you guys feel some sort of way about me killing your employer." Naruto said.

Before anyone could say anything, Naruto directed a highly concentrated dose of killing intent at the mercenaries. Even Anko found the pressure of it hard to bare, being so close to him. The mecenaries wanted to run, but they were frozen with fear. Suddenly, an arrow landed in front of the mercenaries and Naruto stopped emitting his killing intent.

"We won't let you run over us anymore, right guys?" Inari said, backed by the cheering villagers behind him. Despite how intimidating the villagers thought they looked, they were barely even noticed by the mecenaries. Every single mecenary retreated, as if their lives depended on it. They leaped off of the bridge and swam away from the bridge as quickly as they could.

"We did it! Did you see how scared they were?" a random villager celebrated.

Naruto sweat-dropped and turned to Anko. "You'd think I'd get a little attention over here."

"Don't worry, Naruto-kun. I'll give you all the attention you want, when we get back to Konoha." said Anko.

"Really? So you're finally gonna make a man out of me, huh?"

"Yep! I seem to remember someone agreeing to help me with some of the new tort- interrogation tactics that I've been developing! That'll put some hair on your chest!" Anko smirked.

"What? Come on, Anko-chan. I was actually hoping to learn something other than torture tactics." Naruto whined.

"Oh, you will Naruto-kun. There's nothing sexier than torture. Besides, pain and ecstasy go hand and hand."

"I would have to disagree, Anko-chan. There's nothing sexy about being tortured."

"Well, when I'm done, you'll be begging for more."

'Somehow, I doubt that.' Naruto thought to himself.

With Sasuke...

Sakura almost fainted when she saw Sasuke in such a worn state, thinking he was dead. "NOOOOOOOOO! SASUKE-KUNNN!"

"Sakura...shut up. Your too loud." said the young Uchiha, in a weak voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun! I knew you wouldn't die that easily! No one can defeat a Uchiha!" Sakura said, stroking the ego of the young Uchiha.

Unfortunately, for them, Sai was also there and he wasn't known for stroking egos. "I don't know about that, Sakura. It looks like he took a pretty good ass kicking today, not to mention the fact that I've kicked his ass before. And Naruto, he sent Sasuke to the hospital on his first day at the Academy. Nah, I think you're just talking out of your ass, Sakura."

Before Sasuke could say anything, Sakura came to Sasuke's defensive. "Sai! Shouldn't you be checking on your worthless 'brother', Naruto-baka!"

"Worthless? Naruto saved Sasuke, killed Zabuza, and killed Gatou, while you... wait, what exactly did you do? Besides, Naruto doesn't need help for something like this. But, maybe I should check in with him and Anko-sensei." Sai said, before using the shunshin jutsu to meet up with his 'brother' and sensei.

"Sakura. Give me one of your kunai." Sasuke said, fatigue apparent in his voice.

"S-Sasuke-kun, what do you need a kunai for?" Sakura asked.

"Unfinished business. That fake hunter-nin is still alive. And as long as she's alive, she's still a threat. I need to kill her before she's able to recover." Sasuke lied. He knew that the girl was no more a threat than Sakura was.

"I understand, Sasuke-kun. Here." Sakura said, handing Sasuke one of her unused kunai.

Sasuke struggled to get to his feet, but eventually managed to do so. He limped over to the sleeping form of Haku, kunai clutched in his hand. 'Since you have taken my pride from me, I will take something from you, Uzumaki Naruto! I'll take your precious 'nee-san' from you!' Sasuke thought, with an evil smirk on his face.

Sasuke then quickly stabbed toward the young hyouton user's jugular. The smirk on Sasuke's face quickly turned to a scowl as his kunai met with the cement structure of the bridge.

"Where the hell did she go?" yelled a confused Sakura.

Sasuke knew exactly where Haku went. He whipped his head to Naruto's direction. He was met with a glaring Naruto. Naruto then smirk at the Uchiha, wagging his finger, as if to say 'you may win some, but you just lost one'.

'What the hell is that jutsu? I'll have to talk to the council about making him teach me that jutsu. It's far too powerful for some clanless loser like him. Once I learn it, I'll be strong enough to destroy him! Then I'll come for you, Itachi!' Sasuke thought to himself.

With Naruto...

"Where the fuck did she come from?" asked a startled Anko.

"Don't worry about it. I brought her here to keep the Uchiha from killing her." answered Naruto.

"Okay. Now, tell me how the fuck you did it?"

"Anko-sensei, maybe we should talk about this at a later time. We have to take care of the injuried, which is just about everyone besides us and Sakura." said Sai.

"That damn girl really is useless." Anko said, rolliing her eyes.

"Instead of taking Tazuna to a safe place, she actually stood in front of him with a kunai. If anyone had attacked from behind, they both would've been dead. Luckily, the enemy was already occupied. There's a reason why we only do that when there are two other teammates there."

"Well, she must have alligator blood or something because she managed to get through this while ordeal unscathed." said Sai.

"Alright, let help the others. Naruto, I want you to tie that girl up." said Anko.

"That's not gonna happen."

"And why the hell not?" asked Anko.

"Because she's coming back to Konoha with us." Naruto answered.

"You mind repeating that." Anko said, her anger visibly growing.

"Calm down, Anko-chan. I met her while I was training. Because she pledged her loyalty to Zabuza, she was not able to just leave with us. The only two ways for her to be free of her pledge was for her to become useless to Zabuza or for Zabuza to die, so me and her made a deal. If I beat her, she would be on our team. Not only did I beat her, I also killed Zabuza. So she's with us now."

"You can't be naive enough to believe that it will be that simple. Besides, why go so far for this girl?"

"Don't worry about Konoha. I think it's time that I shake things up around there anyway. Besides, with the Uchiha witnessing my jutsu, it was going to start getting a little hectic anyway. As far as why I'm willing to go this far for someone else, it's the same reason that I'm willing to go so far for you and Sai. It's because she is similiar to me, and you as well. You'll understand when she wakes up."

"Well, she is kinda cute. Maybe I'll hit her with a little bit of the old charm that the women can't seem to get enough of." said Sai

"In other words, you plan on insulting her and making her hate you for life?" asked Anko.

"More or less." said Naruto.

A/N:There you go. Again, sorry for the delay. The next chapter will be the beginning of the chuunin exam and the explanation of Naruto's jutsu. Thanks for reading.