AN: Alas, Naruto is still not for sale, so I cannot buy it... Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing! On that note, I am sometimes unsure whether some of you who reviewed wanted replies to your reviews. If you want me to respond, just say so at the end of your review, and I will answer questions or comment or give random advice or something. I have also received many comments on the brevity of my chapters, so I will try to make them longer, but no promises on how much longer. I am so lazy... Enjoy this chapter!
-demonicnargles
"Speech"
thought / talking in mind
"Demon speech"
Demon thought / talking in mind
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Kyuubi arrived at team seven's usual meeting place late in the afternoon. Although he was an hour late, he wasn't worried, since Kakashi was always later. Ignoring Sakura's screaming, he sat down and leaned back against one of the log posts in the clearing.
Sasuke stood over near the edge of the trees, hands in his pockets, reasting against a tree. His bangs hung over his face, partially obscuring his eyes from view. He wore the same white shorts, blue sandals, and Uchiha shirt that he must have worn since the dawn of time. He stared at Kyuubi, his eyes slightly narrowed, as the black-clad ninja sat down.
Kyuubi felt the genjutsu over his eyes. It felt normal. He reviewed his clothing. It was the same black outfit that he had been wearing for a while now. His black cloth mask hung around his neck, unneeded for the moment. What is the Uchiha staring at?
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Sasuke looked at Naruto. That boy was full of surprises. The kid who had once shouted about being Hokage had become increasingly quiet in recent times, and now hardly ever spoke a word. One day, seemingly on a whim, Naruto had changed from his garish orange outfit to an all-black one. He had also become a much better ninja. Sasuke remembered Naruto's abysmal grades, and the rather impressive number of times that the blonde had failed to pass the final Academy exam.
Then one year, he went from a klutz in strange clothing, to someone who acted like a ninja and dressed like an assassin. Sasuke frowned. Something had changed. Although Sasuke had heard of Iruka's death, it seemed like that was the sort of experience that would break someone, rather than one that would propel them into action.
And then, just yesterday, he had been wandering absently through the streets of Konoha, when he had overheard Kakashi and another jounin talking in a nearby alley. Sasuke remembered the conversation well...
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Flashback:
Kakashi slouched against the wall. Asuma stood patiently in front of him, waiting for Kakashi to say whatever he had brought him here for.
"It's Naruto," Kakashi finally said. "He's changed a lot recently, and I'm worried about what he might do."
Asuma sensed that there was more, and said nothing.
"Naruto has become very quiet lately," Kakashi almost whispered. "He changed his outfit, too. It's not at all like he used to be. And on our mission to Wave country..."
"What happened?"
"He had to fight a ninja, at least jounin level. Naruto killed him while under the Kyuubi's influence. That was perhaps to be expected, but then he killed over a dozen people on his own immediately afterward. He was so unfazed by it that I felt compelled to tell him, on our last mission, that he was not to kill anyone. Our mission was to capture some men, and it went without saying that they weren't to be killed, but Naruto was so... cold about that mission to Wave that I felt I had to tell him that. I said it to all the team so they wouldn't be suspicious, but..."
"You're worried that he might do something?" Asuma finished.
"Yes. I don't know what he would possibly do, and he only killed enemies, but I think that, under certain circumstances, kill someone else. Not just an enemy. He doesn't even look the same since I remember hi from before. His eyes are darker, more blank."
Asuma sighed. After a moment of thought, he spoke. "I assume that you have talked to the Hokage about this?"
Kakashi nodded.
"Then keep an eye on him, and follow the Hokage's instructions. I agree that he could be provoked into killing someone, or at least seriously injuring them, but since he hasn't shown any aggressive behavior towards his team, I wouldn't worry too much."
The two jounin continued to talk, so intent on their conversation that they did not notice Uchiha Sasuke slowly walk away.
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Sasuke furrowed his brow. What could have motivated Naruto to kill ordinary thugs? And how could he be influenced by a demon that was killed years ago by the Fourth Hokage?
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Kakashi sauntered into the clearing, reading his favorite book, Icha Icha Paradise. As he came closer to his students, he returned the book to its place in his pouch.
Sakura was fuming silently at his tardiness, standing behind the posts in the middle of the field. Sasuke walked over from his tree, and Kyuubi looked up from his place on the ground.
"Sorry I'm late. For real, this time," he said, seeing Sakura's furious glare. " I had to get these forms for you guys. The chuunin exams are coming in a month, and I think you three are capable enough to compete. If you want to enter, all you have to do is sign these forms and turn them in to the Hokage. You already have my permission. If you don't want to enter, that's fine. People have died in the Exams, and there is no reason to risk your life if you don't feel that you're ready."
Sasuke smirked. Of course he was ready. How could he ever expect to kill his brother if he couldn't even pass the Chuunin Exams? He took a form from Kakashi.
Sakura squealed in delight. Although she had already known about this, it was still exciting when it actually happened. She took one of the forms.
Kyuubi paused a moment before taking the last sheet of paper.
"I think you all will do well," Kakashi said before disappearing in a cloud of smoke.
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Naruto ran along the worn path in what he now called 'his' training field. Every so often, Naruto would spend a day in the body, making sure that he could still use it. A half-moon shone in what was otherwise a dark night. The first part of the exam started tomorrow. Some sort of written test. Neither Naruto nor Kyuubi were too worried, since Kyuubi had been paying attention in class, even if Naruto hadn't.
Naruto stumbled on a rock, but quickly recovered, and kept running. He and Kyuubi had decided to use the fourth set of weights in the past month to be prepared for the exam. It was working, but it was more difficult to run.
That's the point, kit.
Naruto smiled at Kyuubi's name for him. After enough complaining, the demon had agreed to stop addressing him as 'mortal'. It was an improvement.
Naruto flung a handful of kunai at a tree. Although his aim was lacking, all of his training enabled the kunai that did hit to embed themselves totally into the tree, with only the end of the handle showing.
Naruto licked his lips, tasting the blood from his meal earlier in the night. His speed training allowed him to easily catch a deer, provided he removed a few weights. This particular deer had been fairly young, and had been a rather nice meal. It was rare for deer to venture into this part of the forest anymore, since he and Kyuubi preferred them over any other meat. Taking after Kyuubi's example, Naruto had eaten the deer raw.
It was another way that Naruto found himself emulating the demon. After so much time spent talking, he and Kyuubi were becoming more alike. Kyuubi now had a general sense of what was 'normal' for humans, and had gained an appreciation for the difficulty humans had in becoming strong. Naruto found himself preferring to eat meat, to the point that he hardly ever ate anything else. He also saw how much easier it really was to kill than to knock someone out, and had developed a tendency to look down on other people, and to refer to them as 'mortals'.
Naruto touched the tree's worn trunk, then sprinted the other way. He still had a few hours before they needed to be at the examination.
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Kyuubi walked into the room, and sat down in his assigned seat in the third row, number 25. He saw that Sakura and Sasuke were already here, seated closer to the front. Looking around, the demon glanced at the people in the room.
Then Kyuubi saw him. The signs were unmistakable. The black rings around the eyes, the sandy gourd, the slight aura of killing intent. The Shukaku host.
This was going to be an interesting exam.
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Kyuubi slowly left the room. After listening to the rules of the exam and seeing the difficulty of the problems, he had realized the true nature of the test. The person to his right was one of the chuunin with the answers, who did not even try to hide his answers.
Because he knew the examiners were looking, Kyuubi let Naruto look at the answers from his perch in his mind. Because of where he was, Naruto could, with some difficulty, focus on a point that was in Kyuubi's peripheral vision. So Kyuubi got all of the answers from Naruto, and never had to look up.
When the tenth question was posed, Kyuubi stayed in the room silently. This is so easy.
After more than half of the ninjas had left, the chief examiner had congratulated them on passing. Then the strange woman, Anko, who had crashed through the window, told them to meet at the Forest of Death tomorrow for the second part of the Exam. Kyuubi chuckled at the ominous name.
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The next morning, Kyuubi waited as Anko explained the rules of the test. Kyuubi stood near the back of the crowd of genin, waiting for the exam to start. Naruto was listening, and so Kyuubi just waited impatiently for the end of the rules.
Once Anko had finished, team seven received their earth scroll and jogged to gate 17.
"Who should carry the scroll?" Sakura asked.
Sasuke shrugged, so Kyuubi took the scroll from her hands and put it in one of his concealed pockets.
Sakura looked miffed, but didn't say anything.
Then the signal came, the gate opened, and the second phase of the Exam began.
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End of chapter. Yes, this is longer than usual. I measured. Please review, and don't forget to mention if you want a reply!