Balance of Three: Three Doujutsu

by Aikuchi Shikaku

AU Naruto balances nin, gen, and tai jutsu with the kuro nin , aka gen , and aoi tai doujutsu which he acquires by performing the ritual of the forbidden bloodline after reading the forbidden scroll of seals. On indefinite hiatus.

4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, Naruto belongs to Masashi Kishimoto. If I did own Naruto though, I'd be rich and Naruto would be dating Hinata right now during the manga and the series. I wish I owned Hinata though. She's cute, both 12 year old and 15 year old versions of her.

Summary: .AU. Naruto balances Nin, Gen, and Tai jutsu with the kuro, aka, and aoi doujutsu, which he acquires after reading the forbidden scroll of seals after his second failed attempt at graduation.

A/N: I'm happy that the reviews about the characters being OOC, my grammar and paragraphs being bad and the Naruto character speeches being blocky and hard to read are somewhat gone since last time. I guess writing fan fiction on word pad isn't a good idea after all. Oh well. I hope you enjoy this fourth installment of my fan fiction. As always, be patient with me. Pretty Please?

I've been compiling chapter reviews and I'll wait for a few days for other readers to be done reviewing chapter three. The pairings are still up in the air. But last time I checked the votes; the Naruto x Hinata camp made a comeback and are equal with the Naruto x Tenten camp. I have decided that the pairings won't be revealed until several chapters. For now just review and recommend this story to your friends.

I would also like to request something. If you play King of Fighters and are proficient with kicking ass while controlling Leona Heidern Ikari Warriors Team please send me e-mail with a description of all her moves, desperation moves, and super desperation moves. As well as her movements and reaction times and descriptions of her blood riot mode. Any combos and her counter attacks and cancels will also be appreciated. Thanks in advance to the ones sending me e-mails of Leona's moves.

Another request, if you can recommend a translation website or program that translates English words into Romaji text to me, I would be eternally thankful.

Begin Chapter 4.

Iruka and Naruto left the office of the Hokage with grins plastered on their faces. With Naruto's being more prominent. A result of his career as prankster no doubt. It was a true grin, however. It wasn't a grin that didn't reach his eyes. That was a mask for situations he deemed appropriate. But there was no reason to hide now. He had acknowledgement from his precious people. His life will be free from the control of the council of elders, and what he will do with said life will no longer be controlled by barmy old coots, who were more meddlesome than the Hokage gave them credit for.

Konoha, look out! A more confident and mature Naruto is on the prowl! And he won't take shit from villagers anymore, unlike when he did as a young child.

After saying goodbye to Mayuri, -who ruffled Naruto's hair as he said goodbye- sensei and deshi were off for a celebratory dinner at Ichiraku's. They both tried to invite Mayuri, but she declined, saying that there was a lot of work to be done. Her predecessor had left her a backlog of work, in which Naruto berated the last secretary for. She also explained that it wasn't her habit to slack off during the first day of work. Naruto decided to take the advice to heart, and mentally noted to ask Mayuri for more tips about hard work. Saying goodbye to her for the second time, they left the administration building.

As they were walking, student and sensei talked about the events of the day, Iruka asked Naruto what happened during their team meeting. Naruto then told Iruka about Gai and his teammates, after a few minutes, Naruto had a question. "Ne, Iruka-sensei, do you have a copy of my teammate's full info? I'd like to read them if you don't mind me requesting a copy." At this intelligent question, Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Why do you need a copy of their dossier? I have one on file of course in my home. I've always kept a personal file of all the students I've taught." Naruto's face was held in thought as they kept walking.

"Well, I had learned a few things about them when we introduced ourselves in front of Gai-sensei, but I still don't know squat about who they are. So I'm going to need to know them better, I have a feeling that team nine will be together for a long time, even after we become chuunin. So I need to learn more about them. And…do you have Gai-sensei's info as well? Because I need to know at least what to expect tomorrow on our survival exam." As Naruto finished, he turned his head to look at his sensei. Iruka had a dumbfounded expression on his face.

"Are you sure you're not sick or hallucinating, Naruto?" At his sensei's question, he pouted. "Iruka-senseiiiiiii!" The blonde fox whined as his sensei grinned at him.

"Mou, you're enjoying my suffering, aren't you?" Iruka chuckled as he put an arm around his favorite student. "Just getting some payback, with you being genin, we won't see each other that often anymore. So for the rest of today until tonight, were going to spend time together. Just the two of us." Naruto's head hung low, realizing that what Iruka said was true. Naruto visibly brightened again when Iruka said that he would spend time with him.

"Hontou? We're going to spend the rest of the day together?" Iruka nodded in confirmation. "Hai, after we eat at Ichiraku's, we'll head over to my house and I'll teach you some things that I know." At the promise of a little bit of personal training with his sensei later, Naruto jumped up and shouted.

"Yatta! Iruka-sensei's going to train me personally!" Iruka chuckled as Naruto urged him to go faster towards the direction of Ichiraku's. The Chuunin-sensei figured that Naruto should have every advantage given to him. The burden of being jailor to Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai, which resulted in almost all the adults and children of Konoha to hate him with a passion, really weighed his blonde student down. And when the Hokages of Konoha acknowledged him as savior, he again realized that Naruto has been protecting Konoha from the day of his birth, and even now as they walk.

Being the savior AND Hero of Konoha will hamper his progress and growth as a ninja and a person. And now that Naruto will be taking his first step as a Ninja of the Leaf tomorrow, he vowed to himself that at least for tonight, he won't be undertaking a battle unarmed and uninformed. Picking up his stride, he sped up a little to placate his hyperactive student to hurry towards their favorite ramen stand.

But during the way there, Naruto paused, pulled out his hankie, and went into a sneezing fit just as he had his nose covered. Rubbing his nose, he sheepishly laughed at his situation, making his sensei chuckle. "Gomen…looks like some people are gossiping about me again." Iruka nodded in understanding, and they picked up where they left off in their conversation. As they walked to Ichiraku's, Iruka rubbed the scar on his nose, trying to remember exactly what he needed to tell Naruto that was related to the academy. "I guess I'll remember it later. We still have a lot of time left, any way"

Well then, last time we left the 'Annoying Trio', Sakura and Ino were doing stinkingly…

…

Oh well, moving on…

Sasuke was still on the academy grounds as he avoided his most obsessive, rabid, and devoted fan girls, who were on the prowl to get a glimpse of him 'en naturale' with their video and still cameras. These were, of course the girls who missed the 'Shirtless episode' and the 'Naked in the woods episode'. Too bad all of Sasuke's fan girls missed the 'Flying in the air NAKED while cursing Naruto OP and OV' –original pictures and video- THAT was for the black market. The genin academy 'class 105' males who bothered to take those shots will be thousands of ryou richer tomorrow.

Wait…last time the author, they all snapped shots…

I wonder if Itachi watched the black market as well…

…Hee hee…

Well, let's end the torment of the 'Annoying Three' shall we?

…Wait…

…Did I just say 'end their torment?'

…Ah, mou…

…Oh well, time to bash some other characters anyway…

…It's time to spread out, and focus on different targets…

Sakura and Ino, both looking back at the bodies that they left in their wake, just kept running out of the academy. As they neared the residential district, the body count just kept piling up. As they were passing restaurants and other dining establishments serving food, beverages and other types of consumables, the wind picked up. Throwing their 'unique scents' everywhere in their vicinity, the end result was people coming out of said establishments, complaining about the stench and hurling out their dinners, drinks, and whatever they ate or drank.

The business district looked like the morning-after of Konohagakure's drinking festival, and that the participants were doing one nasty upheaval of their hangovers. But it wasn't morning at that time, and the drinking festival won't be happening for several months. And so, there was an argument between the diners not paying because of the stench, and the establishments arguing that it wasn't their fault.

Fortunately, a squad of ANBU had witnessed the commotion from a distance, and started to chase the person, or persons, responsible for this. Of course, they all thought that the perpetrator was Naruto, since he's the only one with the guts and knowledge to stage a village-wide prank. The ANBU fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. They then followed the 'prankster' by sight and scent. As they began the chase for 'Naruto', one ANBU had a confused stare under her mask.

Why are they following TWO stink clouds…?

Meanwhile up ahead, a group of Jounins were walking in the opposite direction of the smelly duo. Kakashi, Kurenai, Asuma, Ebisu, Genma, Raido, Iwashi, Hayate, and Aoba had just walked out of the bar that they had dinner in. The tracker of the group was in the back, reading his 'piece of literature'. Aoba and Ebisu were out in front. Genma, Raido, Iwashi, and Hayate were talking about jutsu. Asuma was of course, smoking. Kurenai was glaring at Kakashi and his 'novel'. But she'd much prefer to torch the one reading the book, not the book itself.

Hey, a woman had issues when porn was in front of them.

There was also a rumor on the Jounin grapevine, stating that Kakashi had issues with women and commitment, and preferred to bed the wilder ones by the dozen, rather than take a decent one to a proper date. It turns out that one girl wasn't that discreet when Kakashi picked her up. By the time he woke up and got rid of his hangover, she had blabbed on and on to her friends how good he was in pleasuring his partner, the measurements of his 'assets' and his 'performance level', which she rated as 'S-Rank to the Kage Level'.

Kakashi was then reported to have donned more masks under his mask. As the new surge of fan girls that Kakashi acquired –which included girls as young as fourteen- hounded the special Jounin.

He never dated anyone outside of the Chuunin and Jounin ranks after that incident.

Suddenly, Kakashi stiffened, jutting his nose in the air as he smelled Sakura and Ino from afar, apparently their stink radius had grown twice over the course of their running.

"Do you smell something?" The Copy Ninja said.

Gekkou Hayate, who also had a sensitive nose, immediately darted sideways perpendicular to the direction that they were walking to. Hayate was heading for the direction of the clean and open air of the forest, so that he won't be affected by the smell. Strangers who looked at him and gave him 'the once over' always concluded three things; One, that he had a respiratory disease because he's always coughing and looking sick. Two, it won't be long before he kicked the bucket. And three, he wasn't a very effective ninja because of the first two things. Well, appearances are more than meets the eye, especially when you look at the ninja. He was just suffering a chronic bout of harsh asthma, which started when he was a kid, and just wouldn't go away no matter what cure the medic-nins tried on him.

And who says he can't kick butt effectively because of it? He actually has Aoba, Ebisu, Genma, Raido, and Iwashi totally owned when they challenge him to spars. His only weakness was that he hated things that smelled bad, rotten, and stinky. And that his girlfriend Uzuki had him whipped in the sparring department.

Hayate's eyes flew open wide in surprise, which shifted to mischievous amusement; as he saw his fellow Jounin drop down like flies, once again his quick thinking spared him from his colleagues' embarrassing fate. He then whipped out a camera as he watched his co-workers taken down by two girls, who he judged to be at ninja academy age. He chuckled deviously as he snapped 'blackmail material'. He and Uzuki will be laughing at these pictures tomorrow after he gets them developed.

After all, having something to blackmail your peers into doing anything you wanted was always a welcomed advantage.

In the ninja world, this was just standard operating procedure, with kickbacks.

As the two groups passed each other, Aoba got decked first with the smell, and fainted. Ebisu dropped down flat and foamed at the mouth while his head twitched involuntarily, he fainted before the two girls even had a chance to pass him. Genma almost swallowed the larger than average senbon in his mouth, luckily his gagging reflex reacted as he hurled, which popped it out of his throat, he promptly fainted after that though. Iwashi's goatee literally fell off of his chin as the duo of Ino and Sakura passed him. Apparently his facial hair was sensitive to stench, he was KO-ed before he hit the ground.

Raido was in the same state; his burn scars were twitching involuntarily in his unconsciousness. Kurenai used Genjutsu on herself to cut off her smelling sense, what she wasn't prepared for was the second wave of stench when she turned it off. She fell to the ground in unconscious bliss, her eyes twitching in anger, surprise, and resentment even if they were closed. There was only one thing on her mind as she blacked out.

"What the hell?"

Kakashi managed to lift his hitai-ate up, and tried to stop the girls via Genjutsu hypnosis with his Sharingan, he wasn't expecting to copy jutsus from the two. As the stench saturated his nose, he fell as well, dreaming of Icha Icha scenarios with him as the male character. The unnamed jutsus floated to his mind for later retrieval. Asuma thought he was safe when he jumped to the trees as he saw Aoba fall. It was then that the stench coming from Ino and Sakura, which had an aerial height of 4 meters, reached his branch, Asuma's eyes rolled to the back of his head, and fainted from the smell, falling on Kakashi in a very scandalous position. Hayate made sure that he had extra copies of Asuma and Kakashi, and pulled out another roll of film before his friends woke up.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen…

Ino and Sakura didn't realize it…but they took down three elite Jounins and five Jounins, without even trying. And in defeating Hatake Kakashi, they unknowingly avenged their dark-haired crush's indignation.

Eventually the ANBU squads increased in number as they tracked 'Naruto' all the way to the residential district, which loomed a few meters ahead. All of the ANBU had learned not to underestimate Naruto's pranks. In fact, it was one of the standard protocols to include Naruto's exploits when ANBU inducted new members and had them briefed of their duties. The squads following 'Naruto' were now five in number. Twenty ANBU were now tracking the unsuspecting Ino and Sakura.

One ANBU, a Hyuuga, was wondering why they were following two stink clouds, instead of one. She recalled her induction to ANBU, and had leaned that Naruto did this prank once or thrice during his early days in the academy. Her doubts forced her to activate her Byakugan. With her telescopic sight, she told all the squads that their targets were two girls around academy age. Confused, the captains of the squads asked for their descriptions.

The ANBU squad leaders then checked the recent academy roster, that they produced from a member of the second squad that decided to follow 'Naruto'. As Ino and Sakura's identities were revealed, the other four squad captains called off their squad's pursuit. Once again, Naruto had duped them. And he wasn't even in on this prank. They all sighed as their egos were taken down a peg, as they accepted defeat from the blonde fox.

The original ANBU squad, who assigned themselves to the task of following what they 'thought' was 'Naruto', just chuckled nervously behind their masks. No big matter, they were newly inducted ANBU anyway, they were bound to make a rookie's mistakes. But academy students or not, this act of randomness won't be tolerated. The ANBU squad separated off when their targets did. Their identities were confirmed when each girl entered their homes, causing screams of outrage and indignation from their parents.

It was all muffled because of the ones making the noises were covering their noses, not to mention the walls and doors further muffled the voices. Immediately the parents, especially Ino and Sakura's mothers, ushered them into the bathroom to clean the unsavory smells from their daughters. Sakura and Ino were muttering Naruto's name as they went to their respective bathrooms, as their mothers tagged along. When asked why they were muttering Naruto's name, the girls said that it was because of his prank on them that they might get in trouble. The Haruno matron agreed on her daughter's conclusion, but was taken aback at the news that Naruto graduated earlier than her daughter.

However, the Yamanaka matron hounded her daughter for information, Naruto was known to be always at the scene when his pranks were triggered, always laughing at the victims, when Ino said that Naruto wasn't at the scene of the crime, or crimes, Ino's mom told her to drop the accusations, as she cannot directly point it to Naruto. Ino's mom then lectured her about using the Yamanaka's advanced logic on her predicament. Mentioning that Naruto had graduated ahead of them, and was meeting his Jounin instructor that day instead of being in the academy all day long, Ino's mom pointed out that THAT was her answer if Naruto had pranked her, personally.

Ino hung her head after that in shame. At least one mother doesn't think that lowly of Naruto, I think…

The sunset on Konoha was as lovely as ever as the day ended. But this day will be remembered in Konoha…as "Naruto's day of 'pseudo pranks' ". Because he managed to prank the top three students of his batch without him being there at all. After receiving the reports, the Sandaime Hokage laughed heartily and loudly. But that did not stop him from imposing punishments on Uchiha Sasuke; for indecent behavior and flashing, and Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura for the village-wide disturbance they created.

Speaking of Sasuke, the ninja academy fan girls gave up and went home. He managed to get out of the academy unseen under the cover of darkness. But then, when he was at the residential district, heading for his apartment complex; the fan girls that adored him from ages fourteen to twenty ambushed him, and took pictures of his nakedness. He sighed and hung his head in defeat as he ran away from them, covering his privates. But it didn't deter him to curse his rival. The number two person besides Itachi, who had the ability to torment Sasuke.

NNNNNAAAAARRRRRRUUUUUTTTTTOOOOO!

Ino, Sakura, and their moms, didn't leave their bathrooms until morning the next day.

Sasuke managed to shake off his fan girls by hiding again, but by the next two hours, he contracted the common cold and flu from staying outside for prolonged periods, with nothing to wear.

Ino and Sakura were in the same predicament, from staying in the water for too long.

No matter, Sandaime sent notes to all three ninja academy students. Their punishment was a week of suspension from the academy.

Also, Three Kinjutsus were created that day:

Haruno Sakura's Stinky no Jutsu…

Yamanaka Ino's Smelly no Jutsu…

And Uchiha Sasuke's version of Naruto's 'anti-pervert technique', which targeted girls:

Sexy no Jutsu: Sasukepoi –Sexy no Jutsu: Sasuke style-

Sandaime Hokage-sama had a wicked grin as he added a footnote:

Inspired by: Uzumaki Naruto

The author writes that justice has finally been served. He had pawned Naruto's main tormentors in the academy thoroughly. In writing this, he hopes that this chapter will be the last appearance of the 'Annoying Trio' in his fan fiction, as he writes further chapters. He hopes that he will not write about them any more than necessary. And that if they should appear again, a year would have passed in Naruto's training, along with Gai's Team Nine. Or if he were to write about them, it would only be in snippets of scenes, or brief visits.

Naruto and Iruka swapped tales as they walked towards Iruka's house. Naruto had been there several times in his academy days. The Chuunin always found the blonde on his doorstep when the villagers get overbearing and lash out at him personally in more violent ways, since they found out that they couldn't step inside Naruto's house anymore to trash the place, as it was barred from them using advanced locks, which they couldn't find a way to undo.

In a way, Iruka was very happy that Naruto wasn't coming over for the usual reasons. He watched his student as he walked beside him. A little sad that his student had taken a stop closer to his dream, but at the same time happy, as a parent would when his child achieved something great.

Naruto meanwhile, had feelings of sadness and happiness as well. He was happy that people acknowledged him, despite what he has under his navel, especially his Iruka-sensei. But he was equally sad, because that one of the first people who acknowledged him won't be there when he achieves something, either in his training, or in his missions. But as he walked, he realized that whatever he does. Whether it bad or good things, Iruka will always be there for him, albeit in spirit. With extra ramen in tow, he let his thoughts wander as he followed his sensei to his home.

Upon entering the home of his sensei, Naruto observed how the house hasn't changed a bit in the last times he visited. The standard couch, coffee table, and television were in the living room. A wall separated it from the kitchen and two bedrooms. As he looked around the room, he noticed something odd hanging from one of the racks. "Ne Iruka-sensei, what is that thing over there?"

Upon removing his shoes from the entrance of the apartment, Iruka looked at the thing Naruto was pointing at. "Oh, that thing? It's called a guitar. It's one of the relics of the old world." Iruka explained as he approached the guitar and lifted it off from where it hung.

The guitar was polished in regular colors, the sides were polished a deep black with white trim around the edges. The front of the guitar was light yellow in color, bordering brown and orange like polished and cut wood. The neck was of regular length, six metal strings, which Naruto observed were a lot thicker than the metal strings other ninja use, were placed along the neck of the guitar. The guitar's strings were placed from the topmost part of the neck, to the mid-bottom portion of the body.

As he examined the guitar, Naruto gave it a wicked grin. "The main part resembles the bodies of some the daimyo's wives." Iruka just chuckled and nodded to the blonde fox's comparison. "Yes, they look quite the same, but don't tell that I agreed with you, ok? It's our secret." Naruto just nodded as he sported a wicked grin at his sensei, who was mirroring his own grin. A question came up on Naruto's head as he was sharing grins with Iruka. "Well…what does it do? Is it a weapon? Is it used in some kind of special jutsu that you use?" Iruka shook his head at the questions Naruto threw at him.

"It isn't a weapon Naruto, and I don't use it in conjunction with a jutsu…it's true purpose, for me that is…is to create music." Iruka explained as he strummed at the guitar, playing a piece of music familiar to him. As Naruto sat, entranced at Iruka's movements on the guitar, he realizes that this was a side of his sensei that was hidden from the rest of the world, a softer, more sensitive Iruka, who was in tune with his life and of the lives of others. As the song finished, Naruto was in awe at the 'music' that Iruka played for him, clapping at his sensei's performance. "S-sugoi, Iruka-sensei…that was awesome…"

Iruka just waved his hand in dismissal of Naruto's praise. Saying that he wasn't one of the best players, he then told Naruto how he had come across the relic.

"I was on a mission near Kusagakure when I came by a stall that were selling several of these, the owner of the stall told me a little history of the instrument and how it was lost eons ago with the advent of the Demons and the last war of the world. He also gave me a booklet on how to learn the guitar, and he also sells other instruments.

He recommended the guitar to me because it was easy to learn if you have the time. That was the time after your last visit I think, which was three years ago. I've been making music for sometime now, if you'll visit from time to time, maybe I can play some of it for you. Playing this instrument also makes me relax." Naruto nodded as he looked at the guitar.

"I guess it helps you relieve the stress from the academy…" The blonde genin-to-be concluded. Iruka nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, sometimes when the work burden, the kids, and you become stressfully hard to overcome, I play. It's a change from all the missions, the lessons for the academy, and the general pressure from the Shinobi career."

As Naruto examined the guitar once again, he asked Iruka if he could teach him to play the guitar. Iruka nodded, but said that Naruto would have to buy his own guitar so that they can play at the same time. After asking how much the guitar was when the Chuunin bought it three years ago, Naruto found that such an investment would be more beneficial in the long run. After a few moments of conversations, Iruka went to his file cabinet to photocopy the dossiers of Tenten, Lee, Neji, and Gai.

Naruto continued to examine the guitar while his sensei was away, after a few minutes, the two set off again for the training grounds that were deserted at nighttime. As they stepped out into the moonlit night, Naruto didn't notice the backpack hanging off of Iruka's shoulders.

Meanwhile in the Hokage tower, Sarutobi was looking in on the conversations of Iruka and Naruto, satisfied that the prophecy and the fact that Naruto was the savior of Konoha wasn't being discussed as one of their topics, he turned the jutsu off on his crystal ball, and proceeded to clean up the draft of Naruto and his status change in Konoha.

The council of elders will have no choice but to give up their hold on him once they read Yondaime's will, he will then present to the council the 'Level of Secrecy Decree' concerning Naruto. He then can act freely on what Naruto's training will be like in the next year or so.

A well-written letter to one of his students, who was now making his living by using his perversion and his eloquence in writing 'literature', had just been sent this afternoon, regarding the discovery of his student's last will, and what it contains. Sandaime was counting on the fact that Jiraiya had gotten over his mourning over the death of Yondaime, and that he was willing to take on another apprentice because of Yondaime's will.

Smiling at the thought of seeing the 'idiot of the three' amongst his students, and maybe getting another unreleased copy of his work before it gets published, he proceeded to write on well into the night his warpath. If the council does not agree to his ideas, then they better look for his replacement this early on. For he will no longer tolerate 'No' as an answer.

Naruto dodged to the left as he parried Iruka's strike, sensei and student have been practicing in one of the deserted training fields nearest Iruka's house. Iruka was instructing Naruto on the basics of fighting with a combat knife, or a tanto. There was no time to re-train Naruto in basic Taijutsu, as the genin survival exam was just hours away. The best Iruka can do for Naruto is to give him instruction in basic knife fighting.

One of Iruka's gifts to Naruto included a titanium combat knife and a tanto, both were carbon black in color so that no light will reflect on the surfaces, the blades were also engraved with a dark orange-tipped tailed fox with red fur, flaming nine tails were wrapped around the blade. Naruto was blinking held-back tears as he examined the blades Iruka gave him. Seeming to be a blessing as Naruto begun his career as a ninja, and acceptance and forgiveness for what he has under his navel.

Said tanto was now hanging in front of Naruto's kunai holster on his right thigh, while the combat knife was strategically placed on Naruto's waist, the holster molded within the belt that now hung above on Naruto's upper waist, along with two pairs of new shuriken and kunai holsters. Iruka also presented Naruto with brand new kunai and shuriken, of course. Iruka also gave him the location of the best weapons shop in Konoha, who made quality weapons at lower prices than the competition.

Iruka was enjoying the spar between him and his most excellent student. He had always known that Naruto was a fast learner, if he applied himself to what he was learning. That was what separated him from his other students, who were either called 'geniuses' or 'prodigies'.

He had also known what Naruto had to go through during the years in the academy that he wasn't present for. The neglect was rolling off Naruto in waves when he became his homeroom sensei. It was no secret in the academy that most of the senseis there hated him, especially the ones who were genin when the Kyuubi killed their parents. Iruka had sometimes wondered if Naruto would have graduated without his help, when he recalled that Naruto graduated on his own determination, he just grinned mentally.

As he brought himself to reality again, he noticed that Naruto was keeping up with his autonomic moves as he parried attacks again and again. He then called a halt to their spar and sat down on the grass. Naruto's face was a grin from ear to ear. Iruka chuckled as he identified with the face. In his genin days, he always wore the same grin when their sensei showed them a new jutsu.

All of his childhood exuberance ended though when he made his first kills as a ninja. As he went through life and coped after those first kills and field experience first as a genin, and later in life as a Chuunin, he wrote a small book with his memos. In time it had become a moderately thick book. He was now just picking a time to get it published.

Naruto dropped from a sitting position, to a lying position. He then looked at the stars up above the night sky. "I wonder if there are other ninjas among the stars, and what jutsus they create that are so different from ours." Once again, Iruka chuckled at his innocence. And proceeded to narrate the past history of their world.

"Some people say that we are the only living things in the universe, Naruto. Ancient history chronicles that thousands of years ago, countries made a bid to conquer the stars themselves, and planned to make contact with beings outside this planet of our 'solar system', as the past scientists call our world and the surrounding planets, along with the sun. The governments all around the world launched space expeditions and had left communication devices to act as our messengers to other civilizations. The governments hoped that these devices would bridge our wishes to communicate with other civilizations that are more advances than ours.

But then, war broke out among the most powerful countries, and the ancient world was plunged in what would be called as the last war of that century. Since other nations can counter the conventional weapons that some countries unleash at them, and so the war turned inward to the human capabilities of the soldiers, and eventually all the countries turned to the science that we call 'genetics'.

All of the nations then surged ahead, and produced modified soldiers that can adapt to any situation and environment. And so the war turned to the frontlines once more. It was called 'the gene wars' back then. Some say that it was the foundation of what is to be called today as the bloodline limits.

And then the time came that nations used the ultimate evil of weapons: The youkai wars were started when a nation summoned minor demons and beasts to fight the war for them. After the first wave of demonic destruction and chaos, all the nations turned to the unnatural and unholy abilities these demons wielded. And thus the advent of the demon wars came to be called the longest and most destructive war of all time, killing billions of humans and destroying the known world, decimating large cities and the vast knowledge they contain. As well as the most advanced technologies that they held.

It is the reason that most of the technologies and how they were used became lost as the demons ravaged the planet itself. At the height of the wars, the tailed beasts like the Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai, and other tailed demons, the fiercest and the strongest of them all, were drawn into this world.

As the tailed beasts fought amongst each other, cities were gone in a night, mountains collapsed, rivers trickled dry, forests burned to embers, and the continents drifted in together to form a new world map. The tidal wave of this new war plunged our already crumbling world into darkness at its climax, which lasted thousands of years. The technologies and advancements we have come to rely upon were now lost. But once again, human nature and the indomitable spirit that we have carried to the beginning of our species until now, found a way to survive.

Our humanity saved us from the brink of extinction. The youkai that were still around taught us how to use their energies, thus 'chakra' was born. The capability to fight against the youkai was more apparent in the people that the youkai touched, befriended, or in some instances, had mates with. Thus the bloodline and bloodline limit clans were born. With their strengths, and the newfound way to manipulate the energies which the demons were using themselves, the humans fought back and drove some of the youkai to extinction, some youkai were sealed like your 'tenant', or the youkai fought amongst themselves and killed each other." Iruka turned to look at his student, and looked at the stars himself.

"And now, here we are, several thousand years when the youkai were driven back, and several hundred years later after the formation of the hidden villages, we still encounter some of the Youkai that are still loose out there, and that some of the hidden villages, like Kumogakure and Iwagakure, are hostile with our village. Thus we are at an impasse situation with some of them. But with the Chuunin exams held bi-annually in the allied countries, the chances of all out war have been reduced.

The technologies that were lost are still being unearthed and rediscovered as time goes on. The only difference is that we are able to draw the power that youkai once called theirs. Even if it's just a simple version of it." Iruka finished as he looked at his student, who was on his side and listening to him with rapt attention. Naruto then nodded and smiled at the small history lesson.

"Ne, Iruka-sensei. If you had summarized the history of our world like that in our lessons, we would have finished with world history a long time ago." The blonde ninja stood up while brushing off grass and leaves on his clothes, that was when he received a bop in the head. "Itte…" he rubbed his head as he smiled cheekily at his sensei, who was now looking at him with disapproval. Shaking his head, Iruka told Naruto that the break was over. It was now nearing eight in the evening, and he still had much to teach his blonde student.

A few hours later…

It was nearing eleven pm when Iruka ended their training session. Iruka toted a backpack while they were traveling. Naruto hasn't seen the backpack before, so he figured that it was for carrying Iruka's ninja tools and such. At the crossroads where they agreed to separate, Iruka slipped the backpack off his shoulders and handed it to him. At his questioning glance, Iruka explained what the backpack was, and what it contained.

"Remember the night when you kicked Mizuki's butt?" Naruto's face lit up in a grin as he recollected what happened that night. He nodded after that. "You asked me for some things that will help you on your training, right? Well, all of what you asked is in this backpack. I've also added some things that you didn't mention to include. I think all of the things inside there will greatly help your training." Iruka then asked Naruto to turn around; he then slipped the backpack on his student's shoulders from behind. Iruka fought his brimming tears as he realized the significance of what he was doing.

"The fact that I am giving this backpack to him, means that I am accepting that he is no longer my student any more…"

As he adjusted the straps of the backpack, Iruka turned Naruto around, kneeled, and hugged him. Tears spilled in his eyes as he fought back sobs. "Hey, be careful out there, ok? Don't be arrogant and loud. Always think before you do something or take up an action, or come to a decision that may be irreversible, or you may wind up dead before you become Hokage. That would be pretty stupid to do, you know?" At Naruto's silent nod, he continued. "The things I gave to you really made a dent in my savings account, so I won't be treating you to Ichiraku for several months." Again, Naruto nodded in understanding.

"If you're not sure about something, need a sparring partner, or if you just need someone to talk to, just visit me at home or at the academy, and we'll see what we can do." Iruka wiped his tears with his sleeve as he broke the hug, and stood up. He just laughed as he saw tears streaming down his student's cheeks. "You've been crying!" he snorted a laugh at his student. Naruto pointed at back at him, along with a sad pout. "Well…you've been crying too!" At this point sensei and deshi burst out in laughter, which died down as fast as the tears did. In a spur of the moment decision, Naruto walked up to his sensei and hugged his waist.

"I promise I'll be careful, can't be Hokage if I'm dead, can I? The next time we meet I'm going to be the one treating you to Ichiraku. And expect me to kick your butt when I need you as a sparring partner." Naruto smiled as he broke the hug. Waving farewell to his sensei in silence, he turned around and ran to the direction of his house. Iruka watched his soon-to-be former student's progress as his form vanished into the night. Walking in the direction of his own apartment, he brushed an errant tear off his eye.

"Naruto, be careful out there. You're like the son I never had. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you…"

Unknown to Iruka, Naruto was musing the same thing in his mind at the moment, as he ran to his apartment.

"You're like the father I didn't have the time to know before he died, Iruka-sensei…I promise to apply everything you taught me in my career as a ninja. If there's one person I need to become Hokage for, it would be you."

Meanwhile inside Naruto's mind, four humanoid figures began to materialize in the recesses of Naruto's subconscious. The imprints of the Hokages of Konoha began to restructure themselves at the edge of Naruto's subconscious. As the Hokages' forms finally stabilized, they each fanned out and looked at Naruto's mind, and the state of neglect, abuse, hate, and coldness that it had endured in eleven years.

The Yondaime was feeling extra guilty as he examined the dark, dank, sewer-like state that Naruto's subconscious was in. According to a research that he had done while still 'alive', only people who were battle-hardened, or had serious mind disorders had this kind of subconscious." How does he handle it all? This mind has been suffering for so long, I'm certain that it's only a matter of time before it cracks!"

Shodaime was nodding at the Fourth's findings. Being close to the founders of the Yamanaka clan, he has seen mind states that were like this, but not to the extent of what Naruto's mind is suffering. "Yes, Naruto's current state of mind is rather unstable right now, but with more people being friends with him and acknowledging him, his mind won't look like this for long. All he needs is more friends and more encouragement."

Sandaime rubbed his chin as he examined the dark passages of Naruto's memories. With his 'peers', he was a calm, comforting presence, but inside the warm mask that he gave to his subordinates, he was seething at his real self, how could Saru-kun allow this? "I believe that my real self is planning something to change that, we just need more time to plan out Naruto's ascension as the true Savior of Konoha. For now, all we can do is strengthen and improve his mind so that the Kyuubi cannot exploit his vulnerabilities. Yondaime is accurate about his conclusion on Naruto's mind as whole. I am going to have some really nasty things to say to my old self when next we meet."

Once again, 'the professor's words and opinions were accepted by the group. As they converged together, Nidaime asked the Yondaime a question.

"Is Naruto your real son and heir-apparent?"

The others were looking at him for an answer as well. Including imprint Sandaime, feeling that he was cornered, Yondaime shook his head. "I do not know for sure if he is my son. When I got to the hospital, I immediately rushed to the ward where the newborn babies were being cleaned. There was only one babe who was born that night, without looking at the nametag on the baby's wrist, I whisked him off from the nurse's arms, took off the nametag, immediately summoned Gamabunta, and headed off to the location where our Shinobi were fighting the Kyuubi." Yondaime took a deep breath and continued.

"You all know what happened next, after sealing Kyuubi in Naruto's navel, I died. As an imprint, I have no recollection of what has happened after I sealed Kyuubi, I am like you in mind state, we are only the last thoughts and wishes of the Hokages that we portray. That we are only a way of storing information inside the scroll of seals, and that we have almost all the memories of our real selves. But for now, we will just have to wait for Sandaime's updates on the scroll of seals." Yondaime finally finished his explanation to the others, who just nodded in assent to his explanation. Nidaime once again joined the conversation.

"I believe this is the appropriate time to check up on Naruto's 'tenant'. This is also a test to see if Aniki still has his Bijuu-controlling abilities, even though he is just an imprint. It is also a test to see if Aniki's bijuu-control has been passed down to Naruto as well." As Nidaime finished, Yondaime added a suggestion.

"I think we should wait until next night. If I remember correctly, Naruto needs his sleep, as he has to take the genin survival exams tomorrow. We will have to wait before we can bring him here. So that 'tenant' and 'landlord' can finally see each other, face to face." The Hokages agreed as their forms dissipated again.

Inside the Kyuubi's cage, the Nine-tailed youkai was anticipating the arrival of his jailor. For the Demon, it did not matter if the one who kept him inside these bars were accompanied by the mere imprints of the past. What mattered right now were his plans for the future, and the time when he is freed from this cage that the yellow-haired rat put him in eleven years ago. After he was free, he will again hunt down the treacherous being who put him and his loved ones in this predicament.

Naruto opened the door to his apartment with a special key that he kept in a chain around his neck. It was the only reminder that he has owned anything in this world. He had found out long ago that Sandaime was the one paying the rent of the apartment, as well as the water, gas, and electricity bills. He also has a monthly allowance, given by the Sandaime himself. He was thankful that the Third was looking out for him, despite the whole village treating him lower than the dirt under their toenails. Ten years of his memories were spent here, especially when the orphanage kicked him out at the age of one year and three months.

Stepping inside the threshold of his room, he announced his presence. "Tadaima…" he said sadly, as he lived alone, he had no one to go home to, no family, no mother to greet his arrival with a warm meal and an even warmer and kind smile, no siblings to exuberantly greet him as he took off his shoes, and no father to ask how he was progressing at the academy. Such was the life of an orphan, never knowing who your real parents were, if you had siblings or cousins or any relations somewhere. He even envied his rival Sasuke, as he had parents before some Itachi person killed off the whole Uchiha Clan, the absence of relations was more heartfelt when there were activities in the academy that included someone related to you. To Naruto, the pain was more acute when his birthday or other holidays came up.

As Naruto shook off his sadness, he sat up from the entrance and turned on the lights, he then entered his apartment. Dropping the backpack off his bedroom, he proceeded to clean his somewhat messy living room. Because Naruto had the whole village hating his guts, he hasn't had a visitor since he moved in when he was only one year and three months, except for the occasional irate villagers who trashed his apartment when he had just started living there, to drive him out of the village. So it was perfectly normal for him to find his apartment in a mess. But now that he was going to be a genin, he needed to shape up his house, for he would never know when his teammates or sensei would visit him.

After the 'cleansing' of his living room, he decided that it was enough work for the night and headed off to the shower for a quick bath, and to brush his teeth. As he dried off, he headed for his bedroom, which was a little messier than the living room. With laundry basket in hand, he proceeded to at least clean his room of stray and dirty clothing, which he had always neglected to pick up until the last minute when he did his laundry.

Seeing as the basket was almost full, he reminded himself to do laundry as soon as possible. Dumping his laundry basket in the small laundry room, along with the towel that he used for the shower, he padded back to his room in his boxers. Buttoning up his pajamas, he spied the backpack that Iruka gave him, looking at the time on his alarm clock; he proceeded to examine its contents. Opening the zipper, he spied a scroll of above average size with a note tied in its seal strings, along with rolled up papers containing the dossiers of his teammates. Naruto then read the attached note on the scroll.

Naruto,

Congratulations on becoming a graduate! This scroll, and the contents on this backpack are filled with training tools and aids with you in mind. This big scroll contains scrolls with Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu of basic genin level. It also contains a scroll with chakra control exercises on them, from genin to jounin. Example is the academy level leaf control exercise. I also have some basic elemental jutsu scrolls in here, like Suiton: Mizu kunai no jutsu. Some practical jutsus for everyday use like the quick drying jutsu, and regular, non-elemental offensive jutsus like kage shuriken and kage kunai no jutsu.

I also gave you ten pairs of clothes, in stealth colors that you can mix and match. I've also provided a scroll to contain them, I know about the irate villagers who vandalize your apartment from time to time, so this is a good solution. Remember the belt I gave you along with the knife? If you take it off, you'll find that there are seals on the holster of the knife. Just press the different seals and see what happens. But that would be for later, I have also added some books and scrolls for you to read and learn. Now, don't make that face Naruto. The tai chi and meditation books will help you greatly. Trust me on this, please? I've never taught you anything that you can't apply on in life. Haven't I?

I have also put two scrolls on the bottom of the bag. These scrolls contain a kodachi, and a ninja-to. These are for when you master the knife and tanto forms I have included on a scroll in the large scroll. Remember that there are no shortcuts to hard work and perseverance, so I want you to master the tanto and the knife forms of fighting, as wielding swords of greater length are taxing to the body. So I just want you to practice with the tanto and knife until you're proficient enough to bring down someone twice your size with them.

I have also given you gravity weight bands, what are they you ask? They are just bands with seals written on them in permanent ink. Activating them will increase the weight, and increase the gravity in that part of the body. Unlike training weights, which you can only put in specific parts of your body, weight bands can be easily put on or off in areas of the body that get neglected. That way you can fully train the whole body. You can also use training weights in conjunction with the weight bands, as the weight bands can be configured to sink under your skin so as to not get in the way with your everyday activities. The weight bands are our secret by the way. Do not, I repeat. DO NOT tell anyone that you are wearing gravity weight bands! Ok?

Well then, I hope that when I see you next, you'd have grown more as a ninja. Good luck on your career. And remember; don't go running into something that you can't get out of! And don't take any crap from anyone starting tonight. And don't listen to people that will say that you are weak, are a waste of training space and time. You're my 'most excellent student'! Always remember that, ok? You're the only one amongst the countless students that I have taught to ever receive a title from me, so live up to the title that I gave you.

Your shinobi gakuen sensei,

Iruka.

P.S. About the genin survival exam…well, it isn't fair for your batch mates that are still here in the academy if I easily gave you the exact answer to pass the exam. I know that you know about the genin survival exam already, but I'm not really sorry that I did not give you any warning as to what it was. But as my favorite student, and a close friend of mine, I want you to pass the exam. So I'll just give you some clues.

A whole does not function without its parts; it also cannot function with just one part.

There is no "I" in the word "Team".

Ganbatte! -Drawing of a chibi Iruka with the speech bubble 'Ganbatte!' written in bright orange kanji seen here-

Naruto smiled as he read Iruka's letter over and over again, brushing an errant tear out of his eye as he hugged it to his chest. His resolve for passing the survival exams and making one of his precious people proud loomed in his mind. But before he resolved to sleep, he decided to finally read the forbidden bloodline scroll. Lifting up his pajama shirt, he uncovered the container seal on his heart. Sandaime had put it in there as a storage seal for the forbidden bloodline scroll. Drawing a small amount of blood. He spread it over the seal and did a minor summon. The scroll then materialized in his bed. Naruto opened the blood seal on the scroll with just a drop of blood, and started to read.

"Welcome, Savior of Konoha, and possibly the world… to an exclusive club that is more rare than even the rank of any Kage of the five Shinobi countries. This scroll details the abilities of the three doujutsu. It also states why acquiring these doujutsu as one bloodline was deemed forbidden. And why only the Savior of Konoha and the world is permitted to have such bloodline doujutsus in one person or body. It also details the initial tasks for the blood ritual the savior must undergo if he were to receive the forbidden bloodline.

But first, here are the abilities of the three doujutsu, in no particular order.

Kurogan – A bloodline doujutsu especially made for the aspect of Ninjutsu, The black eyes focus more power into Ninjutsu when it is cast with less chakra costs. Making it better and more formidable. Unlike the Sharingan of the Uchiha, which only copies Ninjutsu and stores it in the part of the brain where it is easily retrievable. Although it cannot copy jutsus, the Kurogan forces it's wielder to look at the deeper aspects of the Ninjutsu, which he or she is studying or watching.

Better understanding of the Ninjutsu results in a better execution of the technique at the moment the Korugan wielder calls for it. With the Korugan, it's wielder will have a better understanding of Ninjutsu, as well as forming ideas for the improvement of Ninjutsu that he has already mastered, or the formation of a new Ninjutsu. It was reported that some of the greatest Ninjutsu ever created came from the theories and insights of Kurogan wielders.

Akagan - A bloodline doujutsu especially made for the aspect of Genjutsu, The red eyes help the wielder to set-up a Genjutsu in half the time it normally takes. Since Genjutsu users are intelligent already, it simply builds on the wielder's imagination to create more powerful Genjutsu, which can fool two or more of the five major senses of the body. With time and training, the wielder of Akagan will study and create more powerful Genjutsu that takes only a short time to set. As well as the creation of Genjutsu which other doujutsu users cannot break.

The Sharingan can see through Genjutsu while the Byakugan disables a Genjutsu completely. But if faced with a high-leveled user of the Akagan, they will be hard-pressed to dispel the Genjutsu it's wielder casts, because the Genjutsu an Akagan wielder casts can be equaled to a blood-limit aided, or blood-limit created Genjutsu. Full mastery of the Akagan means that you can create a Genjutsu that can fool all five senses of the body, including the sixth sense. Making its wielder very deadly indeed.

Aoigan – Some say this doujutsu came from the eyes of a god. Some say that the god of war, Mars, wielded these eyes himself. This bloodline doujutsu is also sometimes called 'the eyes of war'. The Aoigan can prove it's worth in battle. These eyes bestow upon its wielder the gift of doubled training. Any effort to strengthen the body, whether physical, mental, spiritual, or any other aspect will result in greater benefits for the Aoigan user, whether it is active or not, as the Aoigan supports the physical aspects of the body and it's growth. Using the Aoigan in battle will keep your body in a relaxed and calm state, letting you think and plan your movements as you fight, therefore minimizing the damage you will receive in battle.

The Aoigan also raises your fighting spirit and stamina reserves by ten percent in it's starting level, full mastery of the doujutsu results in an increase of fifty to eighty percent in chakra reserves, depending on the user. You will also learn how to masterfully wield a weapon in half the time it takes to learn to wield it and master it, as Taijutsu also includes physical weapons. Fully mastering Aoigan makes its wielder into a soldier who can walk into an existing skirmish and walk back out with three fourths of the enemy force decimated, while receiving little to minimal damage to the user.

As stated at the beginning, these bloodline doujutsu are so powerful that it was forbidden to acquire it as one bloodline limit, apparently the three doujutsu becomes limited in form and power because of interbreeding between the tribes of Aka, Kuro and Aoi.

The history of the three doujutsu states that these doujutsu once came from the most powerful youkai that entered the planet via a summoning ritual. These records are thousands of years old, as it chronicles the dark ages of human history after the youkai wars plunged the world in a state of darkness and chaos, where the youkai ran freely on the world and the humans they terrorized were mere playthings and food in their view. Although some youkai would disagree with that notion

Kyuubi no Kitsune no Youkai came into this world, bringing forth chaos and destruction. It's eyes were the foundation of Akagan, and the human Aka tribe who used illusions for defense. The Aka tribe was moderate in population, as the mates the Nine-tailed fox chose to bring forth Hanyou were few and far between.

The more peaceful Nana Ookami no Kuro, the seven-tailed black wolf, had more difficulty finding mates. The Kuro tribe was formed after the Aka tribe. Some of The Ookami's most talented offspring had turned to manipulating nature. Lightning, Earth, Wind, Water, and Fire were just some of the elements that the Kuro tribe controlled. As such they faced no competition from other Hanyou clans. But the Kuro tribe preferred to share their abilities with other people who were outside the tribe, especially with the Aka and Aoi tribes, which the seven-tailed wolf approved.

The lesser-tailed youkai with six tails completed the trio of powerful youkai that had tribes of their own. The Rokubi no Tora no Aoi was the most prolific amongst the three youkai. The six-tailed, blue tiger demon was the strongest among the three in a physical sense. The Aoi tribe that the tiger formed after the youkai's first Hanyou was born held the triple balance in check. With the tribes and youkai, the governing rule of demons and Hanyou were settled and unchallenged for thousands of years.

There were also lesser Hanyou tribes and communities that had other doujutsu colors. But in time they grew scarce and their line died out, only to reappear again as their youkai interbred again with humans.

Eventually the color of eyes became diverse in a hundred years, but scarce the next hundred. Only the red, blue, and black tribes and their Hanyou remained intact and well.

The three tribes also recognized a powerful tribe outside of their alliance, because of their unique white eyes. The white eyes were stated to have come from a demon falcon, hawk, or eagle with four tails.

After two hundred more years, the none-doujutsu bloodline limit clans were formed, because there were blood limits that focused on other parts of the body instead of the eyes. A blood limit is very much unlike a regular bloodline. The difference is that there was limitations imposed either physically or genetically in said bloodline. Hence the added word 'limit', because more bloodlines became more focused on an aspect inside or outside of the body, and limited the clans to that ability.

One day the white tribe's ruling family produced an offspring with onyx eyes. They found out that their abilities did not breed true to this offspring, and the white tribe, turning proud and arrogant as the years passed by, disowned the child and his 'inferiority', but it was recorded that the child wasn't banished from the tribe, as it was the mother's request that he stayed. The status of an outcast though, did not deter the child to develop his own power.

In an inquiry about the child, it turned out that the ruling family had come in contact with some members of the Aka, Aoi and Kuro tribe's Hanyou eight months before the offspring was to be born. The contact alone was enough at it seems. For when the child matured, the blood red eyes with black tomoe appeared in his pupils. The child, now a man, had a level of proficiency of both the Aoi and Kuro tribe's abilities, as well as to seemingly counter the abilities of the Aka tribe. But this seemingly new eyes did not achieve the full powers of the tribes that the ruling family had contacted with. The newly spawned doujutsu; was recognized by the three major Youkai tribes as another bloodline limit doujutsu.

Eventually, more offspring bearing the new eyes appeared within the white tribe, which the tribe perceived as a plague or disease that threatened their superiority, and the future of their tribe. Eventually the tribe underwent 'cleansing' to get rid of the chaos the new eyes would bring to their internal government. As the last member of this new tribe drew his last breath, he promised that his descendants would 'come like a wave', and disrupt 'the life and ruling of the white' with their call of rebellion and freedom.

As this was happening, the three major tribes still balanced each other in power and strength. A thousand years more passed and a mysterious person challenged the tribes with extinction. Incidentally, the three youkai had left their tribes to fend for themselves, as they were more structured and organized than the lesser tribes out there.

Eventually this mysterious person began a study of the abilities of the three doujutsu, and his power-hungry quest began. He proceeded to make a forbidden jutsu and transferred the essence of the Kurogan to his own eyes, after killing off the whole Kuro tribe, who had been nothing but hospitable and tolerant with him. His next conquest was the Aoigan. Although the Aoi tribe resisted en masse, they were outmatched by the person's intimate knowledge of the Kurogan's full abilities. The last one who died in Aoi was the leader and the oldest one who had the Aoigan.

After obtaining the essence of the Aoigan and the Kurogan, he proceeded to torment the Akagan tribe. The Kyuubi elected nine guardians of the red tribe to act as his tails before he left. The Akagan users held and repelled the mysterious person responsible for unbalancing the three tribes. But at the eighth battle, the Akagan nine crumbled and the Akagan was acquired, the genocide of the three tribes was now complete, which did not escape the knowledge of the three youkai who founded them.

After the tribes of Kuro, Aka, and Aoi were wiped out, the now dubbed 'Goshijun-sama no Akuma' confronted the ire of the youkai that built the balanced power of three doujutsu, along with the souls of the human and Hanyou tribes and communities that they had invested in for thousands of years. The 'Master of Demons' fought the ones who indirectly blessed him with his own powers in a bloody display of combat that left the lesser Hanyou, Youkais, and some humans who watched from afar, Shaking to the core of their heart and soul. It was not a battle for the faint-hearted.

In the battle against the three youkai, the power hungry destroyer held his own in terms of ability, skill, wit, and cunning. But as a mere frail human, he lost the battle of attrition that the youkai, especially the Kyuubi, thrived in. As the three youkai stripped him of the eyes, tortured, mutilated, and killed his body, he vowed that even if he couldn't go back to this realm, he would find a way to make everyone and everything in this planet suffer a hellish existence. The youkai then sent his soul to the void realm via a special demonic banishment technique.

This is where the tale of the forbidden bloodline doujutsus pauses for the moment. All other details will be revealed in subsequent readings of this scroll. However…the window for the bloodline ritual begins here. For now, you must complete three tasks prior to undergoing the ritual. The first three tasks the Savior needs to do is…"

Reading the scroll for the tasks he needed to do, Naruto began to memorize it as he reread the tasks several more times to ensure he does not make any mistakes, but just to make sure, he wrote the tasks on a separate scroll with his secret script. Resealing the scroll, he cancels the summoning via a seal outside the scroll, making it disappear in existence. He then went back to examining the other contents of the backpack Iruka gave him, and secured it in his 'secret room'. The blonde ninja finally succumbed to his weariness and fell asleep with a wide grin on his face, after he set his alarm clock of course.

Next morning…

The loud blare of the alarm clock signaled the onset of morning. Naruto sat up from his bed, a little more bleary-eyed than usual. Fully waking up was accomplished when his feet touched the cold floor. He then glanced at the time; there was an hour to go before he was due to go to training grounds nine. Naruto then recalled the first team meeting with Gai-sensei, and his last words before he left them after the meeting.

"And don't bother to eat breakfast, because I cannot guarantee that it will stay in your passionate stomachs!"

Naruto chuckled at his soon-to-be-sensei's speech, and contemplated whether or not to eat breakfast. Having still not made up his mind, he figured that it would be better to multi-task and think while he was in the shower. Shedding his pajamas and nightcap, he made a side-trip to the laundry room. Retrieving the towel that he used last night for his morning shower. Clad in his ramen boxers, he proceeded to have an invigorating bath.

After stepping out of the bathroom, he padded over to his closet while he dried his hair and body. He opened his closet halfway and plucked a pair of pants, muscle shirt, and a vest in the same style that he wore yesterday. But instead of red, this pair's color was midnight black; the vest's color was also black. Naruto figured that he might need the stealth factor today in the test. He also used black fighting bandages instead of the sky blue ones that he used yesterday, but he hesitated to put it on, deciding to bandage later, he searched for his ninja gear. Strapping his gear on the right places, he then walked over to his 'secret room'.

They say that in the old days, a Ninja's house had secret entrances and exits that assured the owner that his escape was guaranteed, if his true identity were to be ever found out. Naruto's secret room was a little bit different; the room had a door, which connected to a passageway that he followed one day to investigate where it led. He discovered it six months after he moved into the apartment. It just led him to a door that was locked from the other side and was barricaded. After his curiosity was satisfied, he never felt the need to explore the tunnel anymore.

After some irate villagers broke into his apartment and trashed it several times in order to drive him out of the village, Naruto decided to build his 'secret room'. He then hid his most valuable things in the room that he himself renovated, painted, and rebuilt with his own hands. Sandaime also helped him by pointing him to the house of an old locksmith, who took up the job after he retired as a Jounin. The locksmith had no grudges with Naruto, as his loved ones had long since died before Kyuubi attacked the village.

The locksmith, feeling that his life was waning, lessoned four year-old Naruto on basic sealing techniques, which the Jounin then invented into the profession of lock sealing. The result of this was that Naruto was familiar with basic, mid-level and advanced seals, and he could now invent powerful locking techniques. The locksmith told Naruto not to use his teachings for mischief and illegal purposes.

He then made Naruto to take a Ninja's oath, which at the time was a very serious promise Naruto made. The locksmith was proud at the amount of knowledge Naruto learned, and gave him the scrolls that he first wrote and used when he was beginning his livelihood, saying that Naruto was now the only person in the whole continent with the knowledge of locking techniques via seals.

When the locksmith died, the ones who came to the burial were only Naruto and the Sandaime. Naruto held back tears as he held the picture of his first sensei and master. Sandaime then gave Naruto a bankbook after the funeral, and handed the urn with the locksmith's ashes to him. The ashes, scrolls, and bankbook were now in an altar that Naruto dedicated to his sensei. As well as a few trinkets and things that were precious to him. Thanks to the locking techniques, no more villagers can break into his house and trash it like they owned the place.

He then proceeded to kneel at his first sensei's altar and pray. He just told him about his graduation, his coming survival exam, and the new things that Iruka gave him to further his training. Naruto then voiced the question of whether or not to eat breakfast at his sensei's altar. In an eerie display of advice, the unopened cup of rare flavor instant ramen in his sensei's altar dropped to the floor, and rolled over to his knee. Naruto looked at the cup ramen and lifted it up. Sensing that this was the answer, Naruto nodded at his sensei's portrait. Saying a prayer of goodbye and promising to visit again tomorrow, he then walked over to where his new backpack and training gear lay.

Naruto then systematically took out the training gear and aids. Pulling out several repaired scroll racks of different sizes from a storage box, he then pressed the seals on the somewhat large scroll to separate it into the different scrolls, which he then laid on the scroll racks. The scrolls containing the Kodachi and the Ninja-to were put in a separate rack. He then picked up the scroll of Tai chi, basic knife drills, the knife and tanto fighting style that Naruto practiced with Iruka, and meditation exercises. Naruto then took out the scroll of the 'Futae no Kiwami' and placed it on the special scroll rack, along with the Kodachi and Ninja-to. He then randomly put the other scrolls in the racks, planning to organize them later.

He then picked up two black bags, which had 'gravity bands' written on one side. Placing one bag in the storage box, he opened the other bag's zip lock; different weight bands in the color of peach greeted his gaze, along with an instruction manual. All of the bands had a weird script written in their middle.

Naruto then shed his clothes and put them on. The different weight bands were of one size, but labeled to be worn in the designated part of the body, which adjusted accordingly to his body's size. The kanji for forehead, middle-head, neck, upper shoulders, upper arm, lower arm, wrist, mid-hand, chest, thorax, lower thorax, abdominal, waist, inner thighs, mid-thighs, knees, legs, ankles, and mid-feet were labeled precisely.

After Naruto put the weight bands on, a seal formed on his left upper-middle wrist. Picking up the instruction manual, he then figured that this was the control seal. A registration process was apparently required for the gravity weight bands. It involved covering the seal with blood, thus activating it. After covering the whole seal with his blood, a voice emanated from the weight bands. An energetic female voice greeted him, full of life and happiness. Naruto grinned as he listened at the voice.

"Ohayou Gozaimasu! As of right now, the time is 6:25 AM! Oh! I forgot to introduce myself! Watashi wa Kurosaki Orihime desu! Yoroshiku onegai shimasu! I thank you for buying the Kurosaki gravity weight band system, version 212621131119-14118212015! Now, please do not be annoyed or aggravated by my voice, as you can change it to my husband's voice if you would prefer it.

After signing the seal in your own blood, the weight bands are activated and can now be increased individually for specific training regimens, or increased all at once for total body training. You can also access the various options by placing the right index and middle fingers to the seal and closing your eyes. A full menu of options will be presented to your mind in virtual scroll form. That is all the instructions for now. Please enjoy the Kurosaki weight bands and give us some encouraging feedback! Arigatou Gozaimashita for choosing the Kurosaki brand of training weights!"

Naruto smiled as he read the beginnings of the manual. He then formed the monkey seal, and the weights shifted to match his skin color, forming the rat seal resulted in the gravity bands sinking under his skin. Returning to the contents of the backpack, he then pulled out a book called 'memoirs of a Shinobi: a deep analysis of what shinobi encounter in their daily lives and missions, by Umino Iruka.' He then pulled out a book about practical tactics and planning, a book about Shogi, and GO, and the western version of Shogi, called Chess, and a book of meditation exercises.

He then pulled out a dozen utility pouches, which had a special seal that increased the capacity of the pouches to ten times than normal, five pairs of shuriken and kunai holsters, and a large spool of all-purpose ninja steel string, in standard size, thickness, and cutting ability. He then grabbed the tanto, combat knife, and their holsters, which he slung over his shoulder.

All of the utility pouches also had a special honing stone and sharpening stone in a small bag, so he can re-sharpen his blades if they turn dull. Spying two pouches on the side of the bag, Naruto unzipped one pouch to reveal twelve pairs of gloves with metal plates on the back of the gloves, five pairs were in a black color, while the other five were in red, blue, white, gray, and brown color. The black gloves had the sigil of Konoha engraved in them, while the colored gloves had Naruto's spiral engraved on them.

There were also two pairs of chakra-focusing gloves, according to Iruka's note that points them out as special gloves. One pair was engraved with the leaf sigil, while the other pair was engraved with a spiral sigil. Naruto decided to wear the black chakra-focusing gloves with the spiral sigil. He then spied a very small scroll that, when he opened it, produced a Shogi, GO, and Chessboard. Putting them in a table beside the altar, he opened at last the last pouch of the bag.

The pouch revealed a long-distance headset communicator, and a box containing a music player with an almost complete database of music, it was currently set in the Japanese regional setting, and it can be played with the ear buds and headset that were in the box, or with the headset communicator. Strangely enough, the player and headset communicator were either independently powered with a mysterious inexhaustible energy source, or powered with your own chakra. The pouch also yielded a high-powered, twenty mega-pixels, long distance, dual-action, hybrid still and video digital camera, which had a power source just like the audio player, and communicator.

The pouch also produced a watchcase; containing an all-weather, all-altitude, all-depths, all-temperature, all situations, all proof, and infinitely-powered pocket watch, which Naruto readily wore underneath his vest, along with a ceramic-titanium chain that came with it. He then decided to take the camera, and to try the other devices later. He left the other devices inside a special closet in the room. Naruto then climbed out and resealed his 'secret room' with a lock seal and a specially designed key, which was synchronized to only respond to his chakra.

Returning to his room, he then strapped the tanto, combat knife, and their holsters to their respective places. After bandaging the places where he had exposed skin in black bandages, and adjusting his hitai-ate to be a bandana so that it covers his bright hair completely, Naruto proceeded to cook himself a big breakfast, composed of seven bags of instant ramen and half a carton of milk.

After the breakfast, he locked his apartment in the same way that he had locked the secret room. Looking at his pocket watch, he realized he only had ten minutes left. With an extra burst of speed, he dashed to training grounds nine while adjusting his new chakra-focusing gloves.

An hour earlier…

Iruka arrived on the academy grounds at six am in the morning; as he entered the sensei's offices in the academy, the Chuunin senseis Isamu and Suzume approached him, and proceeded to recount the events during the last hours of the academy yesterday. As he listened to the misfortunes his top three students, his inner mind was tickled raw by the latest misfortunes of what class 105 had dubbed 'The Annoying Trio'. Inner laughter filled his mind, which was filled with nervousness for his most excellent student an hour ago. Laughter, smirks, snorts, and chuckles of amusement were kept in check from his colleagues.

He nodded at specific points of their story, and when they hinted that Naruto was behind all the pranks, Iruka glared at them, hard, and with a small growl on his voice, told them that Naruto was with him and the Hokage all day. He told them that Naruto never left their sight until well after eleven pm, while the academy's dismissal period was five pm. Iruka then proceeded to spend fifteen minutes of his time lecturing the two about making sure their accusations were truth, and not fiction.

Iruka then shamed the two by words. Instead of pointing fingers and blaming the usual suspect, they should have paid more attention to the classes; he then added that, even if Naruto wasn't around anymore, it doesn't mean that they can slack off on their work. He then reminded them of their colleague-turned-traitor, Ashiya Mizuki, who was now spending a week with the infamous torture expert and all around sadist Morino Ibiki, in the ANBU incarceration facility, and how spreading false accusations can land them in said same facility, if Naruto were to dispute their claims and be found innocent. Iruka then turned around and headed over to his desk, acknowledging Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke's one-week suspension with a wave of acknowledgement and dismissal.

Suzume and Isamu hung their heads in shame, as they went back to their desks.

Being corrected and scolded by Umino Iruka wasn't the high point of their day.

Also…being wrong about their 'usual suspect' was a blow to their ego; shattering their mindsets that teachers were infallible and did not make mistakes.

It's funny how some ninjas fall prey to false assumptions, often times ending a career, or a life.

On a side note, three bed-ridden eleven year-olds sneezed loudly, and muttered someone's name inaudibly, along with a curse.

"Naruto…"

Once again, our favorite blonde pulled up a newly laundered hankie to his nose, Naruto was getting used to these regular bouts of sneezing fits, figuring out that an early graduate was apparently big news to some people.

As Naruto looked at his watch, he discerned a pattern on top of the cover, it was a spiral with the repetition of Naruto's full name in his own script. It made his day even brighter, and sent a silent prayer to kami-sama for Iruka's constant guidance and generosity. Determined more than ever to make his ninja academy sensei proud, he put more speed in his legs and ran faster to the training grounds.

On training grounds nine, three people were waiting. One was a boy of about 154.1 cm in height, he was wearing a white jacket with a thick, and high collar that covered his neck, and a part of his chin, he wore traditional Shinobi pants that reached just above his knees, along with the standard Shinobi sandals, his right leg, arms, and hands were bandaged. The boy, called Hyuuga Neji, had pupil-less eyes of the blood limit called 'Byakugan', which all Hyuuga acquired from birth. Unbeknownst to the other two in the clearing, a curse seal lies covered amidst the bandages, pilot cap, and the hitai-ate on his forehead. He was currently meditating as he waited for his other teammate and sensei to arrive.

The other boy was about 155.1 cm in height, he was wearing a white undershirt with long and loose sleeves, along with a forest-green Chinese style, long-sleeved jacket with light green trim, which was opened fully and seemed to conform to his undershirt. He was also wearing matching pants of the same style and color. He wore his hitai-ate the traditional way on his forehead. He seems to be fidgeting every few minutes, looking in every direction, as if anticipating someone to appear through the trees, or the entrance of the clearing. Rock Lee was waiting for his newfound friend in spirits, Naruto. He was also waiting for the arrival of his sensei, Maito Gai, to prove that he can be a ninja without using Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.

The lone girl of the group was fingering her kunai and shuriken holsters with anticipation, opening and closing the clasp holding her weapons, as well as fiddling with the scrolls hidden in her utility pouch. She was about 152.3 cm in height, her brown hair done in the traditional Chinese style, termed as 'odango', which was made up of two small buns, she was wearing the traditional Shinobi pants, which ended just above her ankles. She also was wearing a Chinese style sleeveless top, in peach plum colors. Kirimai Tenten was getting more and more antsy with every minute that passed by, and hoped that his sensei and his other teammate would arrive already, so that they can pass this test and finally do missions as genins of the leaf.

The three then heard the soft footfalls of someone, and turned in unison to the direction of the sounds, they then saw a boy, clad in all-black gear, with the exception of the royal blue cloth on his head. He was wearing his hitai-ate like a bandana, covering the color of his hair. The boy wore a black muscle shirt, pants, and vest. Two pairs of kunai and shuriken holsters were strapped to his left and right outer thighs. Strapped on his right outer thigh, in front of the kunai holster, was a well-designed tanto. And on the back of the boy's upper waist was a combat knife, strapped onto a separate belt, as the belt on the pants held two utility pouches. Black bandages completed the ensemble, making Naruto look more like a fearsome opponent, instead of the goofball that he normally was. He waved to his fellow graduates as he approached them.

"Ohayou Lee, Tenten-san, Neji-san, anou…I'm not late for the exam, right?" Naruto greeted them as he stopped in front of Lee, who greeted him energetically. Tenten just waved at him, while Neji just grunted. "Ohayou gozaimasu Naruto-kun! You're just in time for our exam, Gai-sensei is still not here at the moment." Naruto opened his vest and took out his new watch, hidden in a secret pocket on the underside of the vest.

He then breathed in relief as he read the time on the watch, which also had a digital display; it was just six fifty-five in the morning. Closing his watch and putting it back in his vest pocket, he then decided to discuss the exam that they were going to take. "So…do we have any idea what Gai-sensei's exam will be?" Lee decided to answer his question, as he has had more contact with Gai than any of his teammates.

"I believe Gai-sensei will make us undergo an exam to test our initial abilities, although he is a Taijutsu specialist, he will also allow us to use Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, as he can also use them in battle." Lee nodded to himself as he thought of Gai's attitude and what his habits were when they met inside and outside of the academy several times. The three other genin-hopefuls nodded their heads and contemplated their strategies and moves for the upcoming exam.

Team Nine's musings, especially Lee's, were broken by a voice that boomed throughout the clearing.

"How clever, Lee! You actually remember Gai-sensei's teachings, even though he hasn't visited you for a year and a half until you met him again! You are truly a person worthy to be a disciple of his!"

Naruto then turned to the direction of the voice's source; the quartet then approached the direction where it was coming from. A green colored summon came into view, the hard shell formed a pattern of summoning scripts, it's beak-like mouth was closed in stern contemplation, the stubbed head was nodding at them to come closer, with four legs that were meant for either swimming in water, or walking on land, were planted firmly on the grassy landscape. The turtle or tortoise summon then spoke.

"You four, are you Gai's potential genins? Are you ready for his exam? Are you ready to give everything you've got in this exam? As in one hundred and twenty percent of your abilities?" At his questions, the genin-to-be nodded. The summon paused for dramatic effect…

"Then here comes Gai-sensei!"

There was a puff of ninja smoke, revealing Gai as he stood on top of the summoned animal's shell, two fingers of one hand were encircling his right eye with his arm bent in an angle, while his other arm was outstretched and his hand bent, parallel to the ground. His legs were slightly bent for a balancing effect on the shell. If a fairly busty and sexy female struck the same pose like Gai, it would look sexy on her.

This wasn't the case for Gai, though.

Tenten and Neji were already creeped out by his summon. And their sensei's pose didn't help to alleviate matters. Naruto was just surprised, but the creepiness was all but lost to our blonde genin-to-be, what he was creeping out for was the way in which Gai's caterpillar-like eyebrows moved. Lee meanwhile, was smiling wide. Posed in his sensei's 'nice guy pose'; he greeted Gai a good morning. "Ohayou gozaimasu! Maito-sama!" Gai turned to look at Lee, and nodded. Dismissing his summon, which was named Toriyama and was really a turtle-tortoise hybrid, he walked over to where his students were standing and greeted them.

"Good morning my students! It is now seven am, which means it is now time for me to announce that your genin survival exam will start in a few minutes. I will now discuss the mechanics of the exam!"

Gai then produced nine circles from his vest pocket, which were colored white, and four circles, colored red, brown, blue, and green. The circles were approximately proportionate to the size of a human heart. Gai then put the white circles in different locations on his body. The white circles were put on his head, upper neck, left chest, spine, lower left stomach, left lower arm, right upper arm, right lower leg, and left upper thigh. Gai then threw the colored circles to the chests of the genins. Naruto got red, Lee got green, Tenten got blue, and Neji got brown. Gai then explained what the circles were for.

"Well then, these are the mechanics of the exam, the circles on your chests represent your youthful spirit! If I hit you directly where the circles are, they will fall off, change to the color white, and will stick to a beautiful body part of mine, signaling that you fail the exam. Some of the white circles on my body are covering some of my vital points, the circles on my body will only fall off if it takes a decent hit and turns to your passionate color, which in turn sticks to your youthful body.

The object of this exam is to have four circles in your color by lunchtime, or before I signal the end of this exam. Having five or more circles isn't necessary; you just need three more circles to make four, as you have one already!

The exam will end when I deem that it has ended. There is also no time limit, but we will pause the exam at lunchtime when the alarm rings once. The three examinees with the most number of circles at lunchtime will be permitted to eat one of the four lunch boxes that my loving and thoughtful Okaa-sama has prepared for us, while one of you will be left with nothing to eat! After thirty minutes, the second alarm will signal the resume of my exam.

The ones who have four circles by the end of this test will pass the exam. One person will be left with just one circle and will have to go back to the academy. Now, once you get a circle, expect me to try everything to get it back from you, I will not hold back anything from you! Also, there will be no fighting amongst the four of you for circles, or you will be failed instantly. Use anything you want to use to try and hit me. You must come at me with everything you have got! No hesitation, no fear, no indecisiveness is needed in this exam."

At those words, the four genin tensed, and took their fighting stances. They then looked at Gai, who was placing an alarm clock on a tree trunk. The alarm clock was special, as it had a secondary alarm hand that was meant to ring a second time when the sleeping owner pressed the snooze button, it was meant for the lazy-ass Shinobi who had an important mission. It was noted however, that a certain gray-silver haired Shinobi's infamous punctual lateness, was no match for the alarm clock's waking ability.

After setting the alarms, Gai nodded at the four genin. "Remember the mechanics of the exam. Now, are all of you ready?" Seeing the nods of the four, Gai pushed the primary and secondary snooze buttons of the clock to the 'ON' position, and shouted.

"Hajime!"

Four blurs were seen separating and disappearing through the bushes, undergrowth, and the tall branches that were part of training grounds nine. Gai closed his eyes and concentrated his chakra sense to detect his future students. Gai felt three chakra signatures some distance away from him, while he felt a signature, which was nearing his location. Gai was proud of his 'examinees' as he mused.

"Very good, they have managed to hide their chakra signatures at the level that I thought it would be, but not well enough to not be detected by the Proud Green…" As he planned his next course of action, a voice reached his ears, and derailed his train of thought.

"Gai-sensei! Let me prove my insistence to be a ninja of the leaf!"

Rock Lee had stepped out of the underbrush that he was hiding in, and had eased into the basic Taijutsu stance that was taught at the academy. Gai sighed at this development, and shook his head.

"Lee, it wounds my youthful spirit to see you so soon after the start of this exam. What are you planning now that your cover has been blown?"

Tenten was hiding in one of the branches of a tree some distance off the clearing where Gai and Lee were, but she can still see their forms in the distance. The accuracy, deadliness, and the natural skills of the Kirimai family were based on their eyes, coupled with their unique and highly awakened senses, which were better than regular people's.

The Kirimai family did not announce to the general populace of Konohagakure that their eyes have an almost perfect vision. And a heightened-more-than-normal senses, in the normal, none-bloodline or none-blood limit-aided eyes and senses category. Tenten now tracked Gai and Lee's movements through her eyes and senses. Giving her an unobstructed view on the rising tensions of the upcoming battle.

Tenten was in fact, somewhat worried for Lee, stealth was a factor that the academy senseis frequently drilled into their skulls, a lesson which the senseis insisted to instill in their brains as they taught the students. Lee had broken the rules of stealth, concealment, and enemy engagement. All academy senseis sternly beat the rules of ninja concealment into their heads and brains, practically memorizing them in their sleep and free time. The price for coming out of concealment in a mission often causes dire consequences, for a Ninja, and his teammates.

Neji was a long way from the clearing, hiding on top of a tree, where he had the advantage of tracking his sensei and his teammate. The Byakugan really had an advantage at these kinds of situations. As he tracked the two, he was already planning an attack strategy that would yield the greatest amount of success for him to pass the exam. The only thing to do now is for him to wait, and see if any of his other teammates would attack Gai. He was anticipating Lee's movements to be deliberate and careless, and he was right.

"That fool, I told him to quit before he bit off more than he could chew, it is not in his fate to be a ninja. No matter, he will fail this exam and I will pass it, as my fate does not lie in failing this exam, it is my destiny to be a genin this year."

Naruto however, was the only one who was seriously worried for Lee. Naruto was hiding in between Neji and Tenten's hiding place, under the lush bushes in the clearing. He knew that his newfound friend was lacking in Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, and the Taijutsu the academy taught was only average, bare essentials, resolving that the Jounin senseis will teach them more powerful Taijutsu styles. Naruto then recalled the hints that Iruka gave him in his letter.

A whole does not function without its parts; it also cannot function with just one part.

There is no "I" in the word "Team".

Naruto scrunched up his face in thorough thought, and then shook his head. Even though he hated to admit it, he was not the sharpest kunai in the holster; cursing himself for not paying attention to the academy, he vowed to re-study five years worth of academy lessons during the next year. That was his long-term goal, for now however, he had to save Lee from the predicament that was about to bite his ass. Naruto then sent a silent prayer for Iruka's forgiveness, and rushed to Lee's location to support his new friend. He had decided, and vowed, to prevent Lee's failure from the genin survival exam. Even if there was a sixty-six percent chance that he will fail said exam because of his insolence.

"I was never a thinker anyway, it's not my strong point. I'm a 'do it and worry about the consequences later.' person since I started pranking everyone who has hated me. If I do pass this exam, my attitude and way of doing things needs to change, or I won't live through my first D-rank mission."

Neji had noticed a movement as Lee charged Gai, the genin-to-be seeming to have the gall to engage Gai in a Taijutsu match. Neji thought it was futile to fight a special Jounin in his own specialty, he then decided that it was Lee's destiny to fail this exam, because fate picked the wrong time for Lee to move in and fight Gai. He was then surprised as Naruto revealed himself, and began a short conversation with the future 'Beautiful Azure Beast'.

Tenten however, failed to notice an incoming black blur that was Naruto until the last second, rushing in harm's way. Naruto planned to protect Lee from failure, even if he was to become a failure himself. With her almost perfect vision, she watched the turn of events that Neji did not predict. Tenten then prayed that Naruto would turn the situation around as she watched from her perch.

As Lee began his charge, a black blur cut his path to Gai. Standing in his full height, Naruto eyed Lee and Gai with a piercing stare. His eyes then turned to Lee, who seemed angry at his interruption.

"Hey Lee, why did you blow your cover and charged straight to Gai-sensei? Don't you realize that what you just did violates the academy rules of stealth?" Naruto berated Lee, as Gai listened in on their conversation. As Naruto's back was turned towards him, Gai did not see the wink Naruto bestowed upon his new friend. But Lee just ignored his signals, and instead began to berate Naruto back.

"W-What are you doing here then, Naruto-kun? You have broken the rules of stealth as well! So do not lecture me on what to do or not to do! I do not need a prankster to lecture me on rules and morals! So get out of my way!"

Lee shifted to the left, and began to charge towards Gai anew. Naruto couldn't do anything but sigh, and follow Lee's movements, ignoring the barb about his prankster career, as he was proud of his legacy. Besides that, he had no breath to waste on a barb that was spoken out of spite.

"For a guy who doesn't know shit about Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, his movements are fast enough that I almost can't keep up. Gai-sensei's appraisal of Lee was right…" Naruto mused as he cut Lee's path again. Naruto's movements were starting to frustrate the cartoon-eyed, genin-hopeful. Lee then decided to yell at Naruto for his interference with his desire to be a genin.

"What are you doing? Don't you realize you're ruining my chances of becoming genin? Now move out of the way before I really get mad!" Lee's temper snapped as he remembered his saddest days in the academy, the moments that he was belittled, taunted, and bullied. Just for the fact that he couldn't mold chakra, and that when the chakra molding and jutsu lessons began, he was always left in the dust, even if he listened intently to the teacher's instructions, and followed it to the letter.

As Lee sped towards Gai, Naruto saw the frustration, pain, and pleading in Lee's eyes, as well as the pure determination of his comrade in arms to prove his worth as a ninja of the leaf. He then realized that Lee's classmates hated him, just because of his inability to mold chakra, and treated as an outcast. Which somewhat mirrored his life at the academy. They were literally on the same boat, which sailed in two different waters.

Sighing in defeat and assent, he stepped aside for Lee to pass. But as Lee passed by, he once again voiced the hints that Iruka wrote for him in his mind. He then decided to contemplate the clues as he followed Lee, if only to support him and back him up, if he ever went down or was knocked out. Gai analyzed the movements of the two, his musings going a mile in milliseconds.

"Ah, it seems that Iruka-kun's info about Naruto-kun was true, if there is one genin-hopeful in this team that can be passed as an official genin, then it would be him! I think he is starting to realize the importance of teamwork, but I think he hasn't fully grasped it yet. Lee-kun is a hotheaded and frustrated youth, full of passionate energy! I believe discipline will have to be imposed on the two. Hmmn, more time for musings later, here comes Lee-kun…"

Lee was a slight blur as he sped towards Gai, arms stretched way back for an aerodynamic boost. Stopping three steps towards Gai, he reared back a punch, Naruto was several steps behind, and his view of the skirmish at hand was advantageous for him, he then watched as Lee fought Gai with the basic academy Taijutsu style. Naruto also noticed that Gai was holding back most of his power in the kicks and punches he was throwing at Lee, who blocked, parried, and counter-attacked in return. Naruto was in awe at Lee's seemingly unnatural talent in Taijutsu. The still hidden genin in the clearing were also watching with baited breath at the future sensei and deshi's 'dance'.

Lee then aimed a roundhouse kick at Gai's side, the Jounin reacted quickly and blocked it with an arm; Gai took hold of Lee's leg and swung him around, stopping to throw him at ten turns. Although he wasn't expecting a black blur intercepting Lee's impromptu flight, he smiled at Naruto's support for his teammate. Gai halted the spar as he allowed Lee a moment to recover. As Naruto and Lee landed, the blonde checked the older academy graduate for injuries. Lee then shakily stood up, with Naruto just behind him. Naruto then hissed at Lee's ear. "Don't let your guard down even for a minute, remember that he's a Taijutsu specialist, he's been kicking ass even before we were born!"

Lee nodded at Naruto, and said a quiet nod of thanks, which Naruto returned with a salute. Lee then stepped forward, but hesitated. He then smiled sheepishly at the black-clad, had-to-be-genin. "Anou…Naruto-kun, would you watch my back? But…don't get in the way of my attack range. Ok?" Naruto was taken aback by the simple questions, but nodded in silence as he grinned. Lee smiled and charged the Jounin with his second wind. Gai was impressed with Naruto's gesture, and decided to take the two genin seriously.

Tenten watched as Lee became a blur again, but this time Naruto was backing Lee up as he fought Gai. The special Jounin's face then lost its youthful exuberance, and shifted into a warrior's façade. The special Jounin was half-thinking, half-fighting as he pondered the right words to speak at this particular moment, as he parried blows from both Naruto and Lee. Lee then looked at his blonde comrade, who was also looking at him. At Lee's nod and signal, they charged Gai head on. But Gai seemed prepared. He then reared his body in an advanced Taijutsu stance, and spoke at the charging examinees.

"I admire your youthful exuberance my dear student-wannabes, but this test is also a lesson in itself. First lesson: Taijutsu; will be for the both of you! Here is a Taijutsu maneuver that I learned when I was starting as a genin! Konoha Daburuu Senpuu! –Leaf Double Whirlwind-!"

Gai then shifted stances and kicked Naruto violently in the chin, making him sail up in the air. Lee used the moment that Gai let his guard down, or so he thought, and reared his leg to release a kick of his own. The Jounin just dodged under Lee's ineffective kick, and released another high-powered kick to Lee's cheek, sending him on another unplanned flight opposite of Naruto's direction. Gai was planning to hit Naruto and Lee's chest circles and get them out of the exam with the Kage Konoha Buyou –Shadow Leaf Dance-. His plan however was interrupted, as he felt an attacker charging towards his blind side. As well as the incoming rain of steel, made up of kunai and shuriken, advancing at him from above.

Naruto's brain signals were jumbled as he was sailing towards a tree, try as he might, his mind was fuzzy as he pushed his neurons to form a coherent thought. The only coherent thought from his brain was 'pain, intense pain'.

"Itte! Head's hurting so bad…Ano sa, did anyone get the ninja license number of that Special Jounin who kicked my ass?"

Interestingly, he was startled to an almost coherent thought, when a malevolent voice answered him inside his own mind.

"Wait a minute…Ah, no…I didn't get that ninja's number. Get over it, you weakling! This is no time to laze around and decide if you have wings or not! Now get going, GAKI!"

That sentence restarted Naruto's brain, just as he was mere feet away from 'communing with the trees'. Deciding that he wasn't a tree-hugger by nature, Naruto released the clasp holding his titanium knife, and unsheathed it. Holding the knife handle between his teeth, he formed a set of hand seals, and called forth the technique in his mind.

"Shimmering Veil!"

Naruto was grinning widely as the light around him seemed to bend and reshape itself in a radius of three and a half meters, which covered the first part of his escape and recovery plan. He then called forth another technique, which was starting to become second nature to him.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Naruto made three shadow clones in mid-air. One clone took his place in mid-freefall, while the other two grabbed his arms and tossed him to where Lee's unplanned 'flight plan' was taking him. He then made another Kage-Bunshin and ordered it to Henge in Lee's image. Looking down at the escalating skirmish on the clearing below, he reached into his utility pouch and pulled out a length of steel wire.

He then tied a kunai to one end of the wire, and threw it on the high branch of a tree, which was hidden from the skirmish happening below. Grabbing Lee's unconscious form, he swung on the steel wire and landed on his intended 'runway' with the knife serving as his impromptu 'landing gear', pulling the kunai and knife out of their embedded positions, he watched the chaotic display which his Kage-Bunshin were causing to Neji and Tenten's spar with Gai. Taking flash-less pictures with his recently acquired, digital camera.

He then made another Kage Bunshin, and ordered the clone to carry Lee some distance away from the ongoing skirmish. Naruto dropped down to the forest floor and underbrush via branch skipping; he then removed his hitai-ate and waited to signal Tenten, Neji, or both of them. A patch of sunlight was perfectly positioned in front of his face as he played his first 'waiting game'.

Fifteen minutes earlier…Tenten's view

Tenten skipped from tree to tree as he followed Gai's Taijutsu, which was effectively holding Lee and Naruto's attempts splendidly well. She then waited for the opportune time to strike. As Naruto and Lee went flying with the Konoha Double Whirlwind maneuver, she grinned and pulled a minor summoning scroll from her pouch. She then jumped high, poured her chakra onto the summoning scripts on the scroll, and opened it to rain steel on his sensei. She then called forth the scroll's jutsu

"Minor summon: Metal Shower, Piercing Death!"

Fifteen minutes earlier…Neji's view

Neji watched the skirmish between Gai and Lee, with Naruto acting as back-up support with his Byakugan. He never thought that Lee would be able to escape his fate of being a failure. With just a simple gesture of support, the blonde graduate that was Uzumaki Naruto had intervened in Lee's destiny, and turned the wheels of fate around to save his friend. As they once again entered the fray of battle, Neji clenched his fists at the seemingly simple way Naruto changed someone's fate-line. Dropping down on the forest floor, he proceeded to dash to Gai's blind side, where a normal person's blind spot was supposed to be. His Byakugan flared to life as he ran, hands eased into the traditional Jyuuken Ryu stance of the Hyuuga clan.

Now returning to normal viewpoint.

Gai grinned again as he dodged the steel rain that Tenten was showering on him. He was glad that he was assigned to a kunoichi that had an abundance of chakra in her system. This will make her on par with the testosterone-driven members of their group, if they manage to pass. The fierce look she was giving Gai inspired him to continue the lesson. He then managed to completely dodge Neji's initial strike from behind, and give back a strong kick.

Neji wasn't prepared for the blow and only managed a half block. The force impact of Gai's weight-aided kick pushed Neji a good twenty feet away from the skirmish. Neji then decided to try another approach as he saw Tenten making another attempt to hit Gai; he then winced slightly as he felt the bruises on his arms, which were shaking with the shock of impact. The simple kick Gai gave him had effectively sent him out of commission for the next few minutes. Neji then backed out of the battle, intending to rush back in as soon as the pain left his arms.

Whatever Gai was wearing under those orange leg warmers, it was very heavy and it made you go "Ugh-Oomph!" if it ever hit you. Which was bad for your survival.

Tenten then dropped down to the forest floor via tree descent, and drew six kunai in each hand. She then charged at Gai with the intention of making him into a human pincushion. That was when Naruto and Lee landed in front of the fray. Gai, and Tenten blinked at the sudden appearance of the two boys. Naruto scrunched up his face in a brief thought, and then grinned while speaking.

"Lee, why don't we join this battle? You agree with me?" Naruto then turned to his somewhat fellow dusty and bruised companion, which struck his nice guy pose.

"Of course Naruto-kun! We must prove to Gai-sensei that the maneuver he 'demonstrated' to us won't keep us down for long! Our youthful spirit will prevail in the end! Now then…shall we dance?" 'Lee' then nodded his head in question to his companion. 'Naruto' smiled his most wicked prankster grin, and pulled out a smoke bomb, which Naruto handed to him after he was created. 'Naruto' then ignited the bomb as two other Shadow Clones landed beside him, turning into a Henge of Neji and Tenten.

"LET'S DANCE!"

Gai coughed slightly at the smoke that the bomb produced, this particular brand of smoke bombs irritated his youthful lungs. He then picked a peripheral open spot in the clearing to attempt an escape. As the Jounin got out of the smoke cloud, a Neji and two Tentens blocked his path. Along with 'Naruto' and 'Lee'. Gai's face turned more serious as he recalled Naruto's dossier info.

"Impressive! He can make Kage Bunshins at this early age, and make them perform simple academy jutsus like Henge. A B-Class Jounin level Kinjutsu, and Naruto-kun's info says that he can make a hundred of them at once! This year's examinees are very talented indeed! And I had thought that it was just an encoding error on his data sheet! I will not underestimate you again, Naruto-kun!"

'Naruto' and 'Lee' Dashed forward, along with 'Neji' in the forefront of the attack formation. Gai's exuberant face was back again as he dodged blows from all three of them. Back-flipping out of the three boys' Taijutsu range, he formed the seals for a fire jutsu.

I admire your fiery spirit and determination my youthful 'genin-hopefuls' but it's time for you to 'disappear'! Second lesson; Ninjutsu! Katon: Housenka no jutsu! –Fire Element: Mythical phoenix fire flower technique-!" Gai then breathed out fireballs at the three 'genin-hopefuls'. 'Naruto' 'Neji' and 'Lee' had no time to dodge as were hit with three fireballs each, and promptly poofed out of existence in a cloud of ninja smoke.

The real Neji was surprised at the seemingly advanced bunshins that he had seen as he hid behind a tree. Tenten then turned and looked at her 'look-alike' "Naruto created you, right?" 'Tenten' nodded and answered back. "Hai, Tenten-san, I am a Kage-Bunshin, a solid clone that can also fight! Demo…one hit will make me disappear." Tenten then nodded and turned to look at Gai, "Before you disappear, back me up and help me get a circle." 'Tenten' saluted her and tensed to fight as well. "Ossu!" the Tentens grinned as they charged in sync.

As the two Tenten dashed towards him, Gai launched into another set of hand seals, and crouched down low to avoid the girls' kunai that were thrown at him. While holding the seal, he shifted to his next Taijutsu maneuver.

"Konoha Daburuu Reppu!" –Leaf Double Gale-!

Gai then performed a double spinning sweep kick at the two Tenten, and one of them disappeared in a puff of smoke, while the other recovered on her feet, albeit shakily. Gai was instantly beside her, and kicked her on the shoulder, throwing her off balance as she flew parallel to the ground, as she was flying lower and closer to the ground in semi-shock, Gai followed her with inhuman speed, and tapped her neck, while shouting at her.

"Here is the Third lesson! Genjutsu: Nemuri no Hane no jutsu! –Illusion arts! Feathery Sleep technique-!"

Gai then caught Tenten and laid her down on the grassy forest clearing, deciding that Tenten will be out of the exam by hitting her chest circle and adding it to his own. This was the time Neji decided to retaliate for the rather aggravating and insulting injury to his ego, and the now phantom pain that the special Jounin inflicted on him. Gai nodded with exuberance once more as he dodged Neji's seemingly glancing blows. Their movements took them further into the forest canopy. Gai was again lost in thought in mid-fight. Neji was hard pressed to keep up his movements so as to not let any of Gai's punches and kicks to pierce his defense.

"The data sheet was right about Neji-kun, his Taijutsu is flawless in the Jyuuken style, but his judgments are still clouded by the veil of Fate and Destiny, I have learned personally that it is idiotic to rely on both of them for your guidance in life, I am also powerless to influence his decision. So I will just have to leave it to his teammates to induce a change in his viewpoint of life, or he will spiral down into empty nothingness…"

Neither of the current combatants noticed a forest-colored, larger-than-the average fox-humanoid lift up an unconscious, odango-styled, brown-haired girl, which then disappeared amongst the shadows of the forest. The forest-green, fox-humanoid-thingus handed the kunoichi to a black-clad genin, saluted, then poofed into nothingness.

Naruto grinned as he looked at his makeshift 'campsite', and proceeded to boil water for cup ramen. After three hours of waiting, fighting, and being "shaken, not stirred" by a certain green-spandex-leotard-sporting, orange-leg-warmers wearing, bowl-cut haired, super-fuzzy eye-browed, special Jounin's Taijutsu, Ninjutsu, and Genjutsu, they deserved a slight reprieve. He mused as he waited for the camp-size kettle to boil.

"Hey, we did our best. Let him give us some slack…"

"Well, except for HIM."

"That brooding, arrogant, white-eyed, humanoid-thingus with a stick in his ass can wait until he gets his ass royally owned by Gai-sensei, before the team went to save his too-proud, and too-arrogant behind."

Now minna…we all know Neji's history…he was born into the Hyuuga Bunke, got the Bunke Juuin jutsu on his fourth birthday –A/N: As a birthday present no doubt, damn stuck up Hyuugas…- and lost his father when the cloud Shinobi tried to kidnap the Hyuuga heiress.

Things started to spiral downwards after that.

Neji then started spouting about faith and destiny, about how you can't escape the pre-ordained path that they had set out for you. And that the only thing constant about everyone's fate and destiny; was that every one of us would eventually DIE.

Keh, tell that to Orochimaru, and then he'll proceed to laugh his ass off on your face.

As the author was writing this part of the fic, Fate and Destiny has had enough of Neji's bashing of their abilities and decisions. They then decided to listen to the author today, and agreed with his notion that Neji needed to be taken down a peg or two. The author had been convincing Fate and Destiny to give THE Hyuuga Prodigy, his 'just desserts'.

And as the author of this fic, he will gladly oblige the two women, who had been kind and generous to him all throughout his life, with bashing the white-eyed pretty boy.

Fate, Destiny, and Aikuchi Shikaku, all laughed wickedly. With Fate and Destiny eagerly anticipating Hyuuga Neji's incoming 'divine 'intervention. What a happy day it is…

Heh heh…

As Maito Gai dodged Hyuuga Neji's glancing blows, he observed his immediate surroundings and nodded mentally. Gai then concluded that Neji had purposely fought him to this location. The trees in this part of the clearing were only a quarter of a century in age, thus the trees here were in close proximity with each other, leaving neither legroom, nor elbowroom for his particular style of Taijutsu.

Neji then eased out of his stance, and crossed his arms in arrogance. He then eyed Gai with his activated Byakugan, as if to intimidate Gai into passing him.

"Since you're an experienced Jounin, you must have figured out already why I brought you over here. I am nothing like Lee and 'that Naruto' kid. I will make sure that I will pass this survival exam, because it is in my fate and destiny to start my career as a ninja, starting this year. And neither you, nor my assigned teammates, will stand in my way."

In the author's writing room, Fate and Destiny rolled their eyes and snorted. They then added their thoughts to the writing process.

"BOOO! YOU SUCK HYUUGA NEJI!"

Gai chuckled, and then laughed evilly…in a very, very rare moment of OOC-ness. He then turned an amused eye to his soon-to-be-student.

"Yare yare Neji-kun, are you still seething at the events of eight years ago?"

As the words 'eight years ago' left Gai's lips, Neji's memories flashed back to that time.

Flashback no Jutsu!

A four year old Neji; after receiving the cursed seal of the branch house, was standing face with his father, Hyuuga Hizashi.

"You have great potential my son…if only I had born you in the Hyuuga main house…."

"Otou-san?" Neji at that time; was clueless of his father's words.

"You're the latest Hyuuga prodigy in a hundred years, Neji. I now bless you with the powers, the prowess, and the abilities of the Main House.

Time shift no jutsu!

Four year-old Neji held on his father's sleeve as they slept on their bed, it was a few hours after the disastrous training session of Hinata, Neji, Hizashi, and Hiashi. Hiashi had activated the secret seal that activated the Bunke Juuin. As Neji looked at his father's sleeping form, resentment for the caged bird seal and the Hyuuga Main House had begun to form in his mind.

Time shift no jutsu!

"OTOU-SAN? OTOU-SAN! WHAT HAVE THEY DONE TO YOU? OTOU-SAN!"

A still four year-old Hyuuga Neji was tugging at the pure white kimono of his father's lifeless body. Tears were cascading down his eyes as he tried to wake his father, to no avail. The other branch members had to restrain Neji as they covered Hizashi's corpse, which was to be surrendered to the cloud Shinobi waiting at the borders of fire country. As a crying Neji watched the branch members walk out with Hizashi's body, his hatred and loathing for the Main House grew more and more intense.

Flashback no jutsu, kai!

Neji's eyes automatically shifted to the Byakugan in rage. "What do you know about my father? What do you know about the true events of my father's death? Answer me!"

Gai just shook his head in reply, and then sighed. "I know that you are the one who has suffered the most when you lost your father, but he would not want you to hate the Hyuuga Main House like this. It is time for you to forgive and forget, Neji-kun. Hatred and loathing will get you nowhere in the long run. Your Fate and Destiny lie in your hands, do not throw it away with a false sense of peace and a fake feeling of closure."

Gai then puffed in ninja smoke. "Kage Bunshin!" Neji exclaimed in his mind, as he ran. He then retraced his steps to the main clearing as he ran, intending to pass his survival exam and get answers out of Gai.

Meanwhile, Rock Lee finally returned to consciousness as he felt something damp on his cheek and forehead. He then smelled something good to eat, and because he didn't eat breakfast, his stomach growled loudly. A voice from above him chuckled as he removed the damp towels on Lee's forehead and cheek.

"Finally, I thought you'd never wake up! Listen, I think we're going to need everyone's cooperation…" Naruto's voice faded as he helped Lee up from his lying position. The simple movement made Lee dizzy, this made Naruto more worried.

"Daijoubu ka?" The blonde genin cocked his head questioningly at his friend. Lee however nodded at his friend's worried expression. "Uhn, daijoubu daio, demo…" That was the cue Lee's stomach was waiting for, as it then growled loudly. Lee blushed sheepishly as he covered his stomach. Naruto then nodded and handed two cups of piping hot, instant cup ramen at Lee, who accepted it gratefully.

"Arigatou, Naruto-kun!" He then motioned a 'thumbs up' sign to his comrade, said 'Itadakimasu!' and his prayers of thanks. And proceeded to eat after that. Naruto then looked at their lone female teammate, who was still unconscious. "I can't seem to get her to wake up Lee, how do we wake her?"

Lee stopped halfway in eating his first cup ramen, and went into his 'thinking mode' "Ah! She must be under a Genjutsu! Check her chakra flow, if it's flowing irregularly, she's definitely under a Genjutsu." "How?" was the simple question Naruto asked, "The simplest way to detect chakra flow irregularities, is to check the afflicted person's temperature, Naruto-kun." Lee concluded as he went back to eating his cup ramen. Naruto nodded and checked Tenten's temperature.

"She's a bit cold at the base of her neck, while the rest of her body is warm, what do I do now?" The blonde genin asked his teammate again. Lee nodded and pondered the answer, then brightened up.

"If she's cold or hot at the point of where the Genjutsu touched her, and the rest of the body is warmer or colder, then it's just a low-class to middle-class, or a middle bordering high-class Genjutsu. You just need to disrupt her chakra flow to return it back to normal." Lee then sated his stomach's hunger as he ate while he thought.

"Etou…the normal way is to use the 'Illusionary arts: dispel skill'. You have to mold chakra for the nezumi hand seal, say "Genjutsu: kai!" and then tap the person afflicted with the Genjutsu to interrupt it's effects on the body, and return their chakra flow to normal.

You can also use the dispel skill on yourself, if you feel that someone is casting a Genjutsu on you. The second technique is to disrupt the Genjutsu by forcefully ejecting chakra out of your body, breaking any nearby Genjutsu in your immediate area." Lee concluded, and then turned to Naruto, who was staring in dreamy-eyed mode at his teammate.

"Sugeee! You know so much of the academy's lessons, that is so cool Lee!" Rock Lee turned red in embarrassment, but swatted Naruto's praise away with a dismissal. "Ch-chigau, I guess I just paid more attention to the chakra molding and jutsu classes." Naruto then nodded at his teammate's answer. He then turned his attention to Tenten as Lee finished his 'brunch', forming the chakra moldings and hand seal for nezumi, or rat, he then attempted to dispel the Genjutsu on their brown-haired teammate.

"Genjutsu: kai!"

But Tenten did not wake up, even as Naruto tried and tried again to dispel the Genjutsu on his female teammate. After several more attempts, Lee stopped Naruto and grabbed his hand. "Matte, let's pause for a moment. I'm assuming that you don't have complete control of your chakra?" Naruto nodded sadly at Lee, who nodded thoughtfully.

"That's okay, but I think the second method won't be of much help here, you still need to use chakra for the exam. How about using a Kage Bunshin instead? I heard that it has a set amount of chakra, right?" Naruto then nodded and formed a Kage Bunshin, whom he then ordered to dispel the Genjutsu on Tenten.

Tenten woke up as soon as the shadow clone disappeared; the brunette yawning loudly and stretching like a cat. What Naruto didn't notice was that a droplet of blood just escaped his nose while he was watching Tenten get up. This was Tenten's stomach's cue to complain about not being filled at the usual morning hour. An embarrassed Tenten then accepted the two cups of ramen that Naruto prepared for her. He then wiped his nose absently as the blood was wiped inconspicuously on his sleeve.

Naruto then counted the ramen cups that were still unopened on his other utility pouch, and proceeded to make Tenten and Lee one more serving, which the two accepted with smiles. Naruto observed the two as they ate voraciously. He then imagined himself in Iruka's place, and that Lee or Tenten was himself as he ate bowl after bowl of ramen like there was no tomorrow, he laughed at his contrast vision, which Tenten and Lee looked at him with confused looks. "Just eat, I'm just seeing myself in your place."

Tenten then looked at her half-eaten ramen cup. "Ne Naruto, why are you not eating?" Lee then offered his cup ramen to his friend. "You can have my cup ramen if you want, Naruto-kun." Naruto then shook his head, and answered Tenten's question, intending to ease his teammates' apprehension to eat their cup ramen.

"Well, unlike you two, or three if Neji decided to follow Gai-sensei's orders; I ate breakfast before coming here, part of the reason was because I had been given a divine advice this morning. Another reason is that my brain doesn't function well enough if my stomach doesn't have anything to digest." The blonde genin-hopeful rubbed his head sheepishly as the other two smiled back at him. But sadness followed their smiles after a few minutes.

"We're going to fail…" Tenten then hung her head in defeat after she spoke, and Lee followed suit. "I don't want to go back to the academy…" Naruto then patted the shoulders of the two. "Don't worry, there's still an hour left before the timer for lunchtime rings. All we need to do is work together so that we can pass the exam." At the words 'work together', the two other genin-hopefuls looked up at him, waiting for an explanation.

"Iruka-sensei sent me a letter along with some of my new gear, in the letter that he wrote, he sent me hints so that I could pass the genin survival exam. I just figured it out as I was patting your shoulders."

"The words: 'A whole does not function without its parts; it also cannot function with just one part.' Means that, as individual 'parts' of the 'whole', we need to work together for the 'whole' to be 'complete'. That also explains why a 'whole' cannot function with only one 'part' moving by itself. While the phrase: 'There is no "I" in the word "Team".' Also hints us to work together, a 'Team' is also related to the words: "us" or "we". In those words, there is no letter "I", which is used by a single person.

Gai-sensei has also hinted us to work together for the common good of our team; our immediate goal is 'to pass'. But he confused us by making sure to tell us that only three people will pass, so that we will think hard to pass individually, and make mistakes in judgment. Sure, nine white circles will really mean that only three of us will 'pass'. But if there were only three of us, and not four, Gai-sensei would have six circles on his body. Gai-sensei is not watching how skilled we are in taking the circles away from him individually, but on how ready are we to work together as a team." Naruto finished as the two other genin-hopefuls brightened up. Naruto then paused and turned around, he then looked at Tenten and Lee with serious eyes.

"Every team must make a sacrifice, it is after all, for the common good of the team. I have decided to make the sacrifice, and 'fail'. There's no time left for arguments right now, so the matter is settled. Besides, I still have a year of academy left. I'll just treat this survival exam as fodder for my official genin survival exam. Let's hurry up now, we're still a team member short." Tenten and Lee nodded as they cleaned up and headed for the direction of Gai and Neji's chakra signatures.

Neji's Byakugan was fully activated as he searched for Gai's hiding place in the clearing. As he spotted the Jounin amongst a field of wildflowers, his eyes glinted on his upcoming triumph. It was his destiny as a member of the Hyuuga Bunke to pass this survival exam, and fate will not let anything interfere with his chances of becoming a strong Shinobi of the leaf.

Fate, Destiny, and the Author had different plans for him, of course. At least for this story's humor factor.

As Neji arrived at the natural flowerbeds on the outskirts of the training grounds, he found Gai kneeling in the middle of the largest flowerbed, seeming to be in prayer. Gai then stood up from his position, and disappeared in front of Neji's range of vision. Gai's words echoed throughout the forest.

"If you seek the truth, then you're going to have to find it for yourself. The answers have always been inside you."

Neji just shook his head, and shouted back at Gai's voice. "Don't mess with my head! I know the truth already, so just quit trying to change my way of dealing with things!" The Hyuuga prodigy growled as he continued to track Gai to another clearing in the training grounds.

Tenten, Lee, and Naruto hid in the bushes as Gai and Neji arrived, having been in the clearing while searching for the location of the two current combatants.

Gai then turned around to face Neji. "I guess this is the end of the line, Neji-kun." The special Jounin remarked as he slid into his Taijutsu stance. Neji eased to his Jyuuken stance as well.

Naruto brought out his camera to shoot footage of the fight.

The whole clearing then shifted to an eerie silence, the only sound was the rustling of the leaves as branches brushed each other. Eventually, a leaf floated down from the highest branch of the tallest tree. The leaf fell in an agonizingly slow descent…

…Lower…

…Lower…

…Lower…

…Lower…

…Lower…

After what seems to be an eternity, the leaf finally fell to the ground, and the two Taijutsu specialists exchanged blows, glancing blow against hard blow, Gokken Ryu against Jyuuken Ryu. Hyuuga Taijutsu versus the personal Taijutsu of a Jounin of Konoha…

It was at that moment…that Fate and Destiny decided to frown upon the life of their charge.

Having followed Gai's orders, Neji did not have breakfast that particular morning.

And now, that decision was biting him on his ass.

As Neji parried blow after hard blow of Gai's personal version of the Gokken Taijutsu, he felt his strength waning as he fought his stomach's loud protests. After another ten minutes of 'sparring', it was evident in Neji's sluggish movements that he was rapidly losing energy. Gai noticed this, and stopped his movements altogether.

"Neji-kun, has the fire of passionate youth deserted your body? It feels like I'm fighting a geriatric ninja!"

Neji was panting as he breathed in shallow gasps. The sounds that escaped his throat sounded more like guttural hunger than a growl. "Don't…under…estimate…me!" Neji then charged Gai directly, having acquired his second wind. But it still wasn't enough to pierce the defense of Konoha's Proud Green Beast. "You're getting sloppy Neji-kun! If you're not careful, a simple gust of wind will topple you over!" The Green Beast taunted his white-eyed examinee as Neji struggled to put up a fight.

"I've…been through worse…" Neji breathed hard as he parried another barrage of kicks and punches from Gai. The Jounin then contemplated on how to end this battle without hurting him physically. Suddenly, he had a wicked idea that he hasn't tried in several years. He then figured that a simple humiliation, instead of a flat out defeat, would knock his errant student-hopeful off of the pedestal that he himself had made for his ego. Now that the decision was made, he was just waiting for the opportune time to strike.

After a few more minutes, Gai's movements had shifted from attacking and blocking, to just simple dodging. Neji's movements had deteriorated to a drunkard's sluggish style of brawl, as he had no energy left in his body to even put up a decent defense. Neji was cursing his weakness and ineffectiveness as Gai now merely played with him as he dodged. The three other genin-hopefuls felt bad for their teammate,

Even Naruto, who didn't like Neji at first impression, hated to see Neji like this.

After several more minutes, Neji drew his fist back and clumsily punched Gai's cheek. The hit connected however, much to the surprise of Neji and the three hiding genin-to-be. The Gai that received the punch however, just grinned with exuberance. "Omedetou, Neji-kun! However…the one you punched isn't the real me…"

The Gai that Neji punched then disappeared into puffs of smoke. Gai's voice was now located a little distance beneath Neji's waist. The Taijutsu specialist sported his most wicked grin; that even Naruto shuddered at the creepiness of it. Nevertheless, the blonde genin-hopeful just continued the footage.

Naruto, Tenten, and Lee then watched in horror as Gai formed the tora seal from behind Neji. They wanted to warn him about the incoming fire element Ninjutsu, but they can't risk their cover, not just yet.

Gai then shouted at his weakened student. "…Always remember Neji-kun …that a Ninja DOES NOT get caught from behind! No matter what the situation is!" Gai then had a wild glint in his eyes, as he thrust the tora seal in a place where the sun doesn't shine on Neji.

"KONOHA FURUI TAIJUTSU NO OUGI: SENNEN GOROSHI!"

-KONOHA'S SUPREME ANCIENT TAIJUTSU SECRET TECHNIQUE: A THOUSAND YEARS OF PAIN-!

-Insert sound effect of something very hard and very long invadingyour asshole in an instant-

-Like an uber-powerful ass-poke-

-Insert sound effect of Neji's girly scream, HERE-

Iruka's lecture at the academy was interrupted by a very manly, yet very feminine scream. His students were also curious at the sound. Iruka then explained that the source of the sound was a voice synthesizer, or it was either that Morino Ibiki was torturing someone again in broad daylight. The students of Room 105 nodded their assent at Iruka's explanation. He then chuckled at the thought that when The 'Annoying Trio' was around, the classroom was in a state of constant chaos and chatter. How he wished that these kinds of peaceful days could last forever.

Naruto snickered as he videotaped and photographed the last and final member of their team, take 'an unplanned flight' to 'commune with the trees', while screaming no less, a girly, yet manly scream at the same time. Neji's face was a visage of insulted pride and righteous indignation of pain and suffering as he flew, hitting a tree trunk and knocking himself out in the process. The Hyuuga prodigy unconsciously slid down the trunk, and involuntarily draped himself over a large branch.

The prankster was at his element while snapping pictures and shooting footage of Neji's 'humiliation' on camera. Tenten had a big sweat-drop on her head, while Lee had a somewhat smaller one. He never thought that Gai-sensei would use a technique to humiliate someone, but reasoned that it was for the best. Naruto then decided that there was enough pictures and footage to blackmail Neji for the rest of the year. Stowing his camera back inside his pouch, he signaled Tenten and Lee to move out.

It was time to rescue their white-eyed pretty boy of a teammate.

Gai had a wicked grin as he followed Neji's progress, his attention was distracted however by three blurs coming towards him. Lee eased himself into a Taijutsu stance. Tenten drew her kunai. And Naruto drew his shuriken. The three then charged at Gai, who also charged at them, drawing a kunai for each hand. As Tenten and Naruto threw their weapons, Lee flipped overhead and did an upside down kick, which was aimed at Gai's head. Gai reacted and deflected the weapons, while Lee's kick grazed his arm. Gai went on the offensive and punched Lee's chest as he landed. The Jounin then charged into a blur and reappeared in front of Tenten, kicking her feet right out from under her. Gai then reared his leg and released a roundhouse kick on Naruto, making him fly into a tree.

While Naruto's clones in Henge diverted Gai's attention, Tenten climbed the tree and spied an unconscious Neji from his perch with her clear-vision eyes. Naruto was also there, as he was observing his clones, which Gai was fighting at the moment. He then snapped a picture of a swirl-eyed and bruised Neji, whose stomach was now protesting in hunger. Tenten snickered at his predicament as Lee lifted him up on his shoulder. Naruto grinned as he used Kage Bunshin again, making it rain clones down on the clearing, a quarter of the clones each took the forms of Naruto, Neji, Lee, and Tenten. They then nodded at each other, and skipped over to the location of their base camp with an unconscious Neji in tow.

Gai wasn't surprised as 'Naruto' 'Lee' and 'Tenten' disappeared into puffs of smoke. His face then turned into seriousness as close to a hundred plus clones dropped down on the clearing. Lees, Tentens, Nejis, and Narutos now charged him en masse. Once again Gai was impressed with one of his students, as he charged at the clones with a battle cry.

"What stamina! If I can hone his chakra control, along with his large amount of stamina, he will be a force to be reckoned with once he takes the chuunin exams! I will beat you yet Kakashi, my eternal rival! All of my students are talented as it is. I just hope that they can pass this exam. With their youthful energies, they shall become the strongest genin team!"

Several minutes later, before lunchtime.

Hyuuga Neji opened his eyes, as a patch of noon sunlight streamed down on his face. He noticed three forms surrounding him. One of the forms then spoke. "I think he's coming out of it." Another form then spoke out. "Yosh! Now we can pass the exam! Our youthfulness will help us pass!" A girl's form scolded the second one. "Quiet Lee, he's still a little groggy after being knocked out."

Neji then rubbed his eyes, and looked back at the faces surrounding him. Recognizing the faces as his teammates, he got up from his position on the ground. "How are you feeling?" Tenten inquired as she helped him up to sit. "Still a little lightheaded, my…behind is still hurting as well." The white-eyed boy answered as he regained his consciousness completely. Naruto wanted to speak an insult, but held his tongue. Instead of throwing a barb, he tossed a damp towel at Neji, and spoke with a careful consideration of his words.

"Here, freshen up a bit, you hit that tree trunk pretty hard when Gai-sensei…did…that." Naruto then turned around and reached for the watch in his vest. "Rest and regain your energies, minna. We're going to be here for a while." A ringing sound then confirmed his sentence. "That was the lunch bell on the alarm clock, Gai-sensei should have defeated all of my clones by now and heard the bell. So we're safe."

Tenten and Lee nodded their assent, while Neji tossed the towel back to Naruto, and got up to leave the three. "Wait! Where are you going?" Lee asked Neji as he took a few steps away from them. "To eat lunch, Gai-sensei said that he has lunch boxes for us. So I'm going to him for my meal, so that I can regain my energies and pass this exam." Naruto smiled a sly smile as he spoke.

"True, but Gai-sensei said that you could only eat the obento that he brought if you have two or more circles, if my eyesight is wrong, you still have only one circle, just like the rest of us." Neji's steps faltered as he walked, he then turned around and glared at Naruto in anger, while pointing at Lee. His ego bruised yet again, just after Gai gave it a brutal beating "If you hadn't interrupted this baka while he charged Gai, I would've had my circles by now and passed." At Neji's hurtful words, Lee hung his head dejectedly. Naruto defended his friend and his actions. Raw anger was bubbling out from him, in resentment of Neji's words.

"So what if I helped him? Haven't you figured out the purpose of this exam yet? And here I thought that you're a genius prodigy. So much for that title…" Naruto snorted as Neji glared harder at him. Tenten decided at that moment to break up the argument.

"Come on now guys, no time for arguments. Neji, as much as we hate to admit it, we need every bit of help we can get to pass this exam, we have…" Neji turned around and ignored Tenten, cutting her sentence off as he talked with his back towards them. "And why should I, Hyuuga Neji, help weaklings like you? I can practically pass the exam myself, without any of your help." Neji spoke as he used his look of superiority at the three of them. Naruto decided to take him down a peg or two again, and spoke while he reheated the kettle of now lukewarm water to a boil.

"If you're still clueless, Hyuuga-sama…this exam was set up to gauge our abilities and readiness to work as a team, this is NOT I repeat, NOT an individual exam. Gai-sensei only made it like this so that we will fight over who will get the circles and who will not. And if you're still thinking about passing this exam by yourself, reflect on your last spar with Gai-sensei. Frankly speaking, he had your ass handed to you when you fought him. What now, you'll fight him on an empty stomach? We three witnessed what happened when you did that. If there's any consolation, all of us had our ass kicked today. Believe me when I say that the only way to get those circles, is if we work together." Naruto finished his speech as Neji contemplated his response. Ignoring the barb on his now very battered pride.

"But still, there are only nine circles, as there are four of us…it means one of us will actually fail." Naruto nodded at Neji's conclusion and spoke again. "It has already been decided that I will be the one to fail the exam. Lee, Tenten, no arguments for now…" The brown-haired girl and the black-haired boy stayed silent. Naruto smiled at them.

"Do not worry, if the plan works we will all pass as Gai's new genin team. If it doesn't work…then we'll have to go back at the academy. Demo…with Neji's insistence to pass, and Lee's desire to not go back there, I am the only one eligible and expendable in this team. You're also twelve years old now Tenten, and by the academy's standards, you're too old to go back with those snot-faced kids." Tenten snorted a laugh at her blonde teammate, who grinned back at her.

"Well now, what we need is a plan. I'm really not a thinker by nature, so only you three have to work it out. I'm just a follower, and not a leader, for now that is." As Naruto finished his sentence, Neji, Tenten, and Lee worked out a plan. "What if we…"Tenten then started their brainstorming as Naruto handed her and Lee a cup of ramen, while Neji accepted three cups from him.

Twenty-nine minutes after lunchtime…

Maito Gai, having already eaten one of the large obento that his mother gave him for lunch, was now on the prowl for his errant students. Fighting four genin, and multiple shadow clones had exhausted his 'youthful spirit', which was now back in full. As he stepped inside the center of the main clearing, the sound of the second alarm for the resume of the exam sounded. A rustling in the bushes made his head turn, which revealed Lee, already in a fighting stance.

"Gai-sensei! let us continue where we left off! This time there will be no Naruto-kun to disturb our match!"

As Lee charged Gai head-on, another rustling in the bushes signaled another person's arrival.

"Step aside baka, this is not a playground, let me show you how real ninja's fight. Fate has decided that I will be the first one to pass this exam." Neji revealed himself beside the tree that he was using for cover. Lee then tried to retort, however, another sound near their proximity interrupted his intended barb.

"Oh come on boys, are you really going to leave me out in the cold?" Tenten purred as she completed the triple lock, blocking Gai's every avenue of escape. Lee had regained his voice after Tenten appeared, and resumed to speak to Neji.

"What do you mean by 'the first to one pass this exam'? I'm going to pass first! And no one is going to stop me!" Neji just grunted at Lee's words. "Care to back that up, shit for brains?" Lee was about to retort again when Tenten interrupted him.

"Hey! Don't ignore me you assholes! Why I…"

Gai was shifting his attention at the three academy graduates as one person decided to speak his or her own opinion, the ping pong of barbs, insults, and swear words constantly bouncing around and eventually making him roll his eyes uncharacteristically. Gai was paying attention at the current conversation so much, that he had failed to notice what was going on under his feet.

The loud volume in the clearing effectively hid the sounds of four, orange-colored squirrels, which darted around Gai's ankles, wrapping steel wire around the leg warmers that the Jounin preferred to wear. There were instances that the wire almost tightened because of the movements of the squirrels, but had been slackened enough by the clones holding the wires at each end. After making sure that they had wrapped enough wire to make the 'prank' secure, the squirrels scattered in different directions. Two backtracked and ran up to a Naruto clone, nodded, and disappeared in a muffled puff of smoke as the clone saluted them. Squirrel team2 had done the same thing with their clone 'commander'. Drawing their combat knives, the Naruto clones threw them in the same direction, where their creator was waiting for a signal.

The insults in the clearing had grinded to a halt, as Naruto revealed himself from his hiding place. "Yare yare, you're all so loud, I had to cut my naptime short because of your volume. I'm here to fetch my circles. Don't get in my way…" Naruto hissed as he charged Gai, kunai firmly held in each hand. Tenten, Lee, and Neji also decided that it was also time to attack as well, Gai was just standing as he contemplated what to do next.

Naruto approached first and swung his armed left hand. Gai figured that he was aiming for the circle on his right upper arm, and dodged accordingly. Which made Naruto completely miss, what made the miss disconcerting was that Naruto grinned as he recovered. He was distracted however from thinking, as Lee performed a jump kick on his head. Gai once again dodged the blow.

He then saw Tenten appear on his left side as a flipping Lee passed his left shoulder, the lone female graduate then tossed two kunai at him, which Gai dodged as well, the kunai traveling between his shoulder blades, the right one was traveling upward, while the left one was traveling downward. Neji then decided to enter the fray and tossed kunai of his own, his kunai traveled in the same path as Tenten's kunai. Neji's kunai hit their intended targets, which changed trajectories, and spun.

As the kunai spun around Gai's arm, he noticed the inconspicuous wires tied on the kunai, which then became taut. Four Naruto clones then grabbed his limbs, while one clone covered his eyes. The clone then shouted.

"Now guys!"

Some distance away from the clearing, four Naruto clones were each holding onto a steel wire, they then let loose the very heavy logs that the wires were tied to with their combat knives. The logs were set up at the highest point of the tallest trees in the clearing. After all, Naruto had the skills, time, and chakra to order fifty clones to cut and rig very heavy logs as counterweights throughout the clearing.

It was now time for some payback, and to pass the exam at the same time.

As Gai and the clones were being raised up, a voice shouted above the clearing. "NOW!" said the voice, as Gai's ascent gained speed. Six shadow clones then appeared near the genin-to-be; formed into pairs, kneeled, and motioned for Neji, Tenten, and Lee to hurry up and approach them. The genin-examinees were then launched upwards by their 'catapults' towards the now rising Jounin examiner. The wires then finally tightened taut, suspending and restraining Gai, who was now spread-eagled in mid-air. The clones on his body completed the final diversion, and completely blinded Gai's vision with their smoke as they puffed into nothingness.

Neji, Tenten, and Lee were now focused on the task at hand. With Lee being the tallest of the three, he launched upward and firmly punched the circles on Gai's upper neck and head. He then flew past the now immobile Jounin, flipped, turned, and planted a medium strength, but firm kick at the middle of Gai's spine in mid-air, three more circles in green color followed him as he made his free-fall, his eyes were in tears because of his success.

Not about to be outdone by his teammate, Neji controlled his ascent and activated his Byakugan, tensing into the Jyuuken ryu; he then pressed the circles on Gai's right lower leg, left lower stomach, and right upper arm. Confirming the three brown circles following his progress as he reversed directions, he curled his body tight and spun downwards to the ground. He smiled arrogantly as he descended to the forest floor.

Tenten was the last one to acquire her circles, but she really didn't care if she came first or last. Passing the exam was the most important thing at the moment. She then reached into her utility pouch and slipped her steel knuckle-dusters on her hands, she then proceeded to punch the remaining circles on Gai's left upper thigh, left lower arm, and left chest. Three blue circles immediately fell off from Gai's body, and promptly stuck to Tenten's. She grinned as she forward flipped to a branch, using a kunai to stop her descent. She then descended to the ground on her own terms.

Gai then cried tears of joy at his new team, although they had a rocky start, they overcame the adversities and prevailed in his exam by working together. All the teams that undertook his exam always gave up halfway, or failed outright because of infighting between teammates, or because of complaints about the unfair mechanics of the exam. He was glad that he changed the rules of this year's exam because of Naruto's presence as the fourth genin examinee. As Neji, Tenten, and Lee gathered in front of him, he announced the results of the exam.

"You guys…PASS WITH FLYING COLORS! Never in my years of being an Elite Jounin and genin examiner have I seen such chemistry and teamwork! Demo…Even though Naruto-kun didn't try to get a circle from my youthful body, he was the one behind gathering the three of you, convincing you to work together, and the executor of the plan that you three have come up with, am I right?" The stunned looks of the now official genin, was enough to answer Gai.

"My now official students of passionate youth, do you have no faith in your sensei's experience? Oh! How you wound me with your untrustworthy attitude, and we aren't an official genin cell yet!" The Elite Jounin slash Taijutsu specialist inquired in mock-sadness, and wept fake tears. Tenten and Neji gave him pointed looks, while Lee hesitated, and was about to answer that he believes Gai when Tenten and Neji smacked him upside the head in sync.

"Itai!"

Lee then encountered the glares of the two, and raised his arms in surrender. He then promptly changed tunes and glared at Gai as well. At this show of unity, well, almost-unity, Gai laughed out loud heartily.

"Ah, I guess you found me out. Although I was planning to spy on you four using Kage Bunshin, Naruto anticipated my move and used clones to patrol the clearing while I ate. Even though I am an elite Jounin, the best of the best in my rank, I do not have the abundant energy, exuberance, and stamina to make batch after batch of shadow clones like our dear Naruto-kun. Take note however, that I am not praising our mischievous teammate, I am just pointing out one of his talents.

Neji-kun for example, is the most proficient practitioner of the Hyuuga's Jyuuken ryu at his age and skill level, a real prodigy if I do say so for myself. Tenten-chan has the most knowledge and grasp of weapons handling and throwing skills in our group. A trait of every Kirimai family member, but Tenten-chan really takes it to another level. A true Dancer of the blades, she is. But let us not forget Lee-kun, among the four of you, he has the most potential in Taijutsu, his body's physique, and movements are already proof of his talent. I am already starting to envision his potential. He will be one of the strongest genins of this generation. All four of you have the potential to be the strongest genins. I am very sure of it." Gai finished his speech in a solemn tone as the three smiled.

Gai was about to speak again and point out their weaknesses, when a rustling in the bushes drew the attention of the genin on the ground, and the Jounin in mid-air. 'Naruto' stepped out of the bush and spoke. "Is it…is it over?" He asked the three on the ground. Lee-kun gave the Naruto clone a nice guy pose his teeth flashing brightly. "Hai! We passed the exam! We are now official genins of the leaf!" Tenten was all smiles, and Neji had a smug smirk on his face as they both nodded. What followed was an eerie silence after the three genin spoke.

The Naruto clone then nodded solemnly, and bowed at the three, he then turned and bowed at Gai, who was still suspended by the wires. "Omedetou Lee, Neji, and Tenten for passing the exam. May you have fruitful careers as official genins of the leaf…I also want to thank you, Gai-sensei, in behalf of my creator, for giving him the opportunity to undertake your examination, although he did not pass your exam, he says that he will always be grateful and thankful that he had met you and team nine. He says that he will use the experience that he gained on this survival exam to pass his next genin survival exam. Well then I have to go and give him the news, I guess I'll see you around minna…it's been fun while it lasted. Jaa ne…"

As the clone walked away in a slouched position, Gai had tears in his eyes as he felt it's dejected progress. He then shouted at the clone. "And where is your master at the moment! Youthful shadow clone?" The Naruto clone paused for a moment, and resumed his 'walk of shame' without even turning to look at Gai. "He already started to head for home after all my other comrades disappeared. He already knew that he was going to fail anyway." Neji decided to take matters into his own hands, and spoke up

"Tell your 'master' to haul his ass back here in the training ground. Because he has also passed this exam." At Neji's words, the Naruto clone turned around, his face in a stunned expression.

"H-hontou? He also passed the exam?" The clone asked carefully, not being sure if this was a trick or not. Tenten placed her hand on the clone's shoulder, which calmed it down.

"He's not kidding, Naruto also passed the exam with us. In fact, if it weren't for his insistence and reassurance that we needed to work together, we wouldn't have passed Gai-sensei's survival exam. So will you please locate him and bring him back here?" The clone then saluted Tenten, the foxy grin pasted on its face.

"Ossu! Gyokai Shimasuta!" The Naruto clone shouted as he ran off to find Naruto's location. Lee then dashed and followed the clone. "Matte kudasai! I want to bring Naruto-kun back here too!" Tenten just snickered at Lee's childishness, while Neji walked in his own pace to follow the two. "If I know Lee, he's going to thank Naruto to death for helping him pass the exam. Let's follow him to ensure that doesn't happen." Tenten nodded in agreement and followed the white-eyed youth. Their destination was wherever Naruto was at the moment.

Gai chuckled brightly as he nodded his agreement to bring Naruto back to the clearing. After all, he still hasn't officially passed him as a genin of the leaf. "I admire your passionate determination to bring your teammate back here, so that I can officially pass him! So go forth and drag your errant teammate my passionate students as you…a're? Neji-kun? Tenten-chan? Lee-kun?"

Gai then noticed that he was speaking to himself, for the genins that made up his team were now absent, searching for their missing teammate.

Gai also didn't fail to notice that he was still hoisted up in the very literal center of the clearing. The steel wires were still taut enough to deem escape as impossible.

He was now, literally and figuratively, a sitting duck.

Maito Gai sighed mournfully, as a cold wind passed by the clearing, amidst the afternoon sun.

As Master Yoda would say: "Lonely a Jounin's life living, it is as…"

Gai then looked forward, fire in his eyes and waterfall tears in his cheeks, as he looked at the direction where his three students, and a shadow clone, disappeared.

"Oooooh! The fiery passion of youth will surely bring them back here! They will surely never forget to release my restraints…"

Wind passed by the clearing once more, seeming to be colder and more impersonal than the last one. Gai then felt uncertainty pass by his intuitive senses.

"…They will surely be back and release my bonds, right?"

The author sighed as he typed this part of the story. He just hoped that Gai wouldn't jinx his predicament any further…

…Or maybe not…

"They will surely be back! If not I will stay in this forest and run laps a thousand times around the clearing with my legs tied behind my back and my eyes blindfolded! Yosh!"

Aikuchi Shikaku had a vein in his temple as he typed Gai's antics. He then decided to get some shuteye for a few hours. He will just have to leave Gai to his predicament, and go back where he left off in this story.

End Chapter.

A/N: And…Cut! Gomenasai for the late update! I just kept adding and adding and adding to this fic, so that I can finish the 'Genin Survival Examination arc' in one go. I hope you like how the chapter came out. I won't be giving a sneak peak for now, as I haven't added the last one in this chapter! Hontou ni Gomenasai Minna-san! TT But as of now, this chapter is complete.

And now, to answer the reviews of chapter 2:

Chaosronin – yes, there aren't a lot of stories out there where Naruto graduates early. I admit that it came from saraki22's 'beasts', but I hope that my story deviates completely from that fan fiction. I respect saraki22 and hope that I didn't plagiarize his whole fic. Well, at my progress I can see that it's vastly different from his. As for Neji's attitude about fate and destiny…we'll see what I'll do about it.

Hiakaru – At the rate I'm going, I hope I can produce chapters every week. Writing ten thousand words plus per chapter isn't easy. I'm as excited about what happens next as you are. Pray that my muse is always beside me so I can write chapters easily.

LIMAR – I know my grammar is bad, I've already fixed that, I think. I did keep putting 'i' instead of 'I'. I already fixed that by using Microsoft word and NOT word pad. The characters are somewhat OOC…yes, I guess Shino is a little bit OOC since he doesn't talk as much in canon as in my fic. The others have been pretty in character in my opinion. My idea is fairly original, I admit. A 5 out of 10 rating isn't fairly bad for a fic, so I thank you for it.

I hope I have fixed the grammatical errors and spelling and fixed the paragraphs, I have also toned down Gai's shouting. If you would read the whole fic from chapter 1 to now, I think I have cleaned up my errors, spelling, grammatical errors and the paragraphs. I'm sure I made Naruto a bit OOC, but I planned it to be that way.

But…if you have been reading this fic from chapter one to now and have read my author notes, you may have noted that this is my FIRST multi-chaptered fic. So there are bound to be errors, which I can fix. I also always note for you, and everyone to go easy on me. The fact that I mention this time and time again should be obvious.

SO WILL YOU PLEASE CUT ME SOME SLACK? PLEASE?

Thank you. And thank you for the review.

Elicit – Thanks for that correction. The error has been fixed. I didn't realize that tiny detail until you pointed it out. Thank you for the input.

She.Who.Knows – Thanks for reviewing again. For now the Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura fans aren't breathing down my neck. Sadly the Annoying Trio's bad luck will have to go back to the normal levels again. I'm a bit tired of including them in my fic. The next time I write them will be when they meet Naruto a year later. And don't worry. I'll finish this fic even if it's the last thing I do. Keep reviewing.

demon-sword – I'm glad you like the Sasuke bashing. But sadly, all things must come to an end. But don't worry. He'll get his ass handed to him very soon. The short sword training will be either in this chapter, or the next. Naruto has wielded a Katana in some fics; in time I will also join the bandwagon. I just hope that the Naruto in this fic will be able to be on par with other Katana-wielding Naruto in other fics.

The Hokages will just pop in and give him advice in training, especially when he practices their jutsus. On the theory that Naruto is Yondaime's son…well, the best that I can do is to make him the heir of the Fourth's assets and techniques. Jiraiya will be taking him in as a pseudo apprentice in this fic. I also do not know if Naruto should learn the body flicker or not. I have read of fics that have done that. But we'll see what happens.

scott – The bashings will be either toned down or ended in this chapter. Thank you for enjoying my bashing moments. Sasuke is somewhat an overrated character so it's fun to take him down and his fan girls a peg or two. Please keep reading and reviewing.

wolvesm0on – the bloodline doujutsus, will hopefully be in this chapter. As well as its abilities and potentials. And what Naruto's training will be like. I just hope I don't make him too powerful, too fast.

DJ Rodrigues – Yes, Naruto has a very tough road ahead of him. What with training, the bloodline ritual, and the survival exam, along with missions and sparring sessions with team Gai, he has a very busy year a head of him.

You're right; the Hokages will train him and give him pointers, but not that much. It's up to the people and Shinobi that I will assemble to train Naruto to fill in his gaps and make him a balanced Shinobi. As for your NaruTen and NaruHina votes, it has been acknowledged and added to the tally. Keep reading and reviewing, thanks for the review

Captain50 – Thank you for the positive comment. As for the updates, the best I can commit to is a weekly one. Please understand if the chapters are delayed. Thank you again for reviewing.

akume vanessa200078582atyahoodotcom - Yes, I did read about that part. It was a great idea of saraki22 to ally Kirigakure to Konoha with a team program. I've rarely seen Kirigakure involved in the canon. Thank you for the comments of my bashing scenarios. In my opinion, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino had it long coming for them.

Lord Myst – I'm sorry if you found chapter 2 hard to read, especially Gai's speech sequences. I have changed it so that he doesn't scream. I have read some fics and have found that he only has exclamation points in his speeches, and not full out screaming. I have fixed chapters 1, 2, and three. About saraki22's beasts, it appears that he has broken his writer's block, and has now been writing further chapters, or has moved on to his other fics to shake off said writer's block.

Mealstrom – I also hope that my fic will be an excellent story as well. As for right now it is still in its infancy, I hope you stick around to read and review my fic. Your vote has been acknowledged and added to the tally.

The Sandman – Yes, I know the format was bad the last couple of chapters, they have been fixed now, and I hope you haven't turned away from this fic because of it. Please keep reading and keep reviewing.

Dragon Man 180 – I'm glad you enjoyed the bashings. They're going to end as I focus on Naruto and his training, as well as his interactions with team nine and Gai. As for Lee and Naruto humiliating Sasuke, Lee will humiliate him canon-style of course. Naru will wipe the floor with him during the chuunin exams. Yes, I plan to improve Naruto's Taijutsu. It's so pathetic in the Manga, especially in the Anime, that it's not funny anymore. I plan him to be on par with Neji and Lee's Taijutsu levels, or beyond. I do not know if I plan to have Gai teach Naruto to open the initial gate, or gates.

neosildrake – Yes, I do not like Sasuke and Ino and Sakura. As for Naruto training under Gai…well, the nightmare starts this chapter, or next chapter. Look out for it and read and review as well.

granite69 – Yes, it was hard to read, I admit that and I apologize if you had a hard time reading chapter 2. It has been otherwise fixed. I hope you can read it well now.

To: cat, KitMiyu, and lawyer1, a reviewer for chapter 1, thank you for your reviews. Keep reviewing

A/N: Re-Edited April 23, 2006 6:05 PM

A/N:Next arc will be the bloodline ritual arc! So please practice the three R's! Read, Review, and the most important R, which is Recommend! Onegai shimasu? TT