Hey, got another chapter for ya.

Sorry bout the huge wait!

Hope it's good.

Chapter 9

Naruto wrapped bandages around his fists in preparation for the test that would begin later on today

Naruto wrapped bandages around his fists in preparation for the test that would begin later on today. He had never used to do this, but ever since Kakashi-nii-chan had explained the reasoning behind it, he had always put it to good use. Kakashi had told him that the human fist was not made for the devastating punches and the speed of the blows that shinobi used, therefore, whenever you punched something solid, what would actually happen was that all the bones connected to your knuckle would splay outwards, meaning you could easily break your fist. Naruto realised that this was why Gai and, his apprentice, Lee always wore bandages around their fists, and thus he began to do so too. When Naruto had asked Kakashi why he did not use bandages, the grey-haired jounin had said that his metal plated gloves served the same purpose. So, just in case, Naruto slipped his own set of fingerless gloves on. The gloves were red and black, and sported red swirls where at the palms, and the knuckle area was covered with a metal plate, with the Kazama household insignia adorned on it.

The insignia showed a blazing sun, surrounded by an intricate and interwoven series of thorn branches. Naruto did not know the reasoning behind the strange symbol, but thought it was a pretty cool design. Rolling down his sleeves, and pulling his pants on over his leg weights, he got to his feet. He grabbed some Kunai and shuriken and put them into pouches on his arms, legs, sides and feet. Strapping his sword across his back, Naruto walked to the window, and jumped out, landing in a cat like manner. He got to his feet and walked down the street, lost in thought. He found himself wondering what type of test it would be, he knew for a fact that Kakashi had never passed a team since he had retired from the ANBU ranks, and had always used the same test, supposedly the one his father had given Kakashi after he had graduated.

Naruto walked to the Hyuuga compound to pick up Hinata. He walked in waving to the guards, who gave him a good mannered smile, recognising him. As he walked through the familiar estate he noticed that there were beautiful cherry blossoms, now in full bloom, on the trees around him. He smiled as he walked up a tree and grabbed one of the blossoms, sniffing it, and relishing in the scent.

"Hmm. You seem to be in a good mood today, Naruto-san," said a voice. Naruto looked around to see Hyuuga Hiashi standing there, observing him. He quickly jumped down from the tree and landed before the Hyuuga head, bowing slightly.

"Hiashi-san, it is good to see you after so long," he said politely.

Hiashi inclined his head, "Yes, you have not visited for a long time Naruto-san. I dare say, we missed you, especially my daughter, Hanabi."

"I've missed Hanabi-chan too, but I've been really busy with training. Especially since I got his," Naruto said, pointing at the sword at his back.

"So, that is the sword. May I see it?"

"Of course," Naruto said, pulling it off his back, and handing it to Hiashi hilt first, who gently grasped it, his eyes widening at the sight of the blade. He brought it up to his eyes, and examined it, turning it over, and seeing the word Solaris engraved on its face. Slowly, he returned it to Naruto, who took it and put it back on his back, a slight smile on his face.

"That is an extremely well crafted blade Naruto, take care of it. From what I have heard, it is one of great power too. You must be fortunate that it chose you to wield it, where even Minato failed. Train hard with it, wield it with a skill and vigour that honours such a blade," Hiashi said.

Naruto nodded his head, "Thank you Hiashi-san, I will do my best to live up to your expectations."

"Good. Anyway, Hinata will be ready by now, best not keep her waiting, huh?"

Naruto shook his head, and gave a slight bow before turning on his heel and running to the main house section. Hiashi looked after him, his eyes twinkling. Kazama Naruto, just what does the future have in store for you?

Naruto knocked on the door of Hinata's room, and waited for a moment before it opened slowly. Hinata stood there, smiling at him. She was wearing loose white robes with a purple sleeveless top underneath. This allowed for her to be able to move with agility, to do her Jyuuken. She was also wearing the weight Naruto had given her for her birthday the previous year. The weights were not too heavy, unlike Naruto's, and they were only for the arms, but they were perfect for Hinata. Naruto knew that fast moving arms were exactly what

Hinata needed to beat down an opponent. The Jyuuken was already deadly enough, but coupled with some speed, it would seriously be a force to be reckoned with.

Naruto grinned at her, and she blushed slightly, "So you ready to go, Hinata-chan?" he asked eagerly. She nodded slightly in reply. Naruto grabbed her hand and dragged her outside and off to the training ground. Naruto waved at all the Hyuuga's he passed, and Hinata inclined her head to them, blushing at Naruto's grip on her hand.

The two arrived at the training grounds a few moments later, to see Sasuke already there, leaning against a tree, with a brooding expression on his face.

"Yo teme," Naruto called out, waving tom the Uchiha.

"Hmph, dobe," Sasuke greeted.

"See, I told you guys nii-can wouldn't be here on time, he'll be at least a couple of hours late."

5 HOURS LATER

Naruto had got tired of practicing his taijutsu stances, and now found himself incredibly bored. Suddenly, a figured blurred into existence before the exasperated genins.

"Yo Team 7," Kakashi said, flashing them a peace sign at them, book still in his hands.

"Hey, nii-chan. What time do you call this?" His voice calm, yet his gaze promising pain.

"Sorry, I got lost on the road of life," Kakshi explained.

"Well it better not happen again, or else that road's gonna be ending pretty damn soon," Naruto growled.

"Anyway, enough with the dramatics, it's time for your test," Kakashi said, holding out to bells for them to see. "Your task is to get one of these bells off me. Whoever gets one passes, whoever doesn't fails, and goes back to the academy."

"A-ano, sensei. There are only two bells," Hinata pointed out.

"Hai, whoever doesn't get one, fails. So, one of you will definitely fail.

Naruto was confused. Why would the Sandaime put all three of the best students in the class in the same team, if one of them would definitely fail, it was almost as if the real aim of the task was covered. Naruto shook his head, and continued to listen to Kakashi.

"Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you will fail. You have until midday, begin!"

All three genin disappeared into the woods, in different directions. Kakashi smirked and turned back to his book, patiently waiting for the first attack.

Naruto was crouched on a branch, a few hundred metres away from Kakashi's position. His head was bowed in thought. What exactly was this exercise all about? It was almost as if Kakashi was trying to purposefully play them off against one another. Naruto's head was beginning to hurt with the confusing thought, he shook his head and got to his feet. He leapt off the tree into a dive, and grabbed onto one of the branches below, using the momentum to wing himself off onto another branch. Naruto swung from tree to tree, a look of determination etched in his features. Look out nii-chan I'm coming for you!

Sasuke was hiding behind some foliage, less than 50 metres from Kakashi's position. His eyes were trained on the jounin, watching the man reading, he wondered if all jounin were so lapsed in concentration and alertness as this one. He shook his head slightly, taking up a kunai in each hand, his eyes never leaving Kakashi, he began to make his move.

Hinata was walking slowly and carefully. Her Byakugan was trained on Kakashi. She could see Kakashi standing alone in the clearing they began in, Sasuke nearby, and Naruto moving in on them at a high speed. She decided that, she too, would make her move. With that thought in mind, she bounded off to the clearing.

Kakashi glanced at his watch, an hour had already passed. The genin now only had an hour to act, or they would fail.

There was a rustling behind him, and Kakashi moved to the side as a flurry of kunai hit the point he had been standing in a moment before, his eyes never leaving his book. Suddenly he heard a yell of "Katon: Goukakyou no jutsu, and he leapt in the air to evade the huge fireball.

"Now I've got you right where I want you!" somebody yelled from below, Kakashi looked down to see a crouched Sasuke. Sasuke threw all eight shuriken he held between his fingers, before making some handseals and yelling out, "Kunai kage bunshin no jutsu!" Suddenly the eight kunai had become almost 50, Kakashi found himself unable to dodge, and fell to the floor, a kunai pincushion.

"Hmph, what a great jounin," Sasuke said, walking up to Kakashi. His eyes suddenly widened, "Replacement!" On the floor was a completely massacred log, Sasuke turned around a second too late. He suddenly felt himself sent flying from a kick from his sensei.

"You should never underestimate an opponent, no matter how lazy, or young or weak they may seem on the outside. In the shinobi world there are people younger than you, yet stronger than me, remember that. If you faced an opponent like that, you would be dead before you knew it.

Sasuke snarled and got to his feet, bounding forward to meet Kakashi with the Lion Fist, taijutsu form. The Lion fist was meant to rely on hard open palmed blows to the mid body, to push the opponent backwards. Sasuke swung to Kakashi's left, but the jounin tapped the blow away with the side of his arm, as Sasuke brought his other arm around for Kakashi's now open midriff, but the jounin merely moved his body to the side, evading the blow. This went on, Sasuke attempting to land a blow on the jounin, while Kakashi merely evaded and blocked, his eyes never leaving his book.

Hinata looked on at the two in awe, from behind a bush, no more than 20 metres away from them. She had never seen anyone move like Kakashi did, the way he fought seemed to flow like a current, from one position to another. She decided that she would wait for an opening before she struck.

"Your very good for your age, but I'm afraid that you won't be able to land a hit on my like that.," Kakashi smirked, as e suddenly brought his right leg up and smacked the Uchiha in the head sending him flying into a tree.

Sasuke growled and got to his feet, unable to believe he couldn't land a hit. He flashed through some hand seals, a growled out, "Katon: Fiery Tiger Claws." He thrust out his hands, so that his palms faced Kakashi, and suddenly a score of small crescent shaped blades of fire came out of his paths, heading straight for the jounin. Kakashi looked on in surprise, this was a jutsu he had never seen or heard of before. He quickly put his book away, and went through some hand seals, calling out, "Doton: Doryuuheki." Kakashi began to spew mud from his mouth, forming a solid Earth wall in front of him, which absorbed the small fire blades.

"You are in the field of my divination!" A voice called out from behind Kakashi, and the Copy nin turned too late, as he was struck repeatedly on his tenketsus by the Hyuuga who had crept up on him. Suddenly the Kakashi in front of Hinata turned into water, and the real Kakashi appeared behind her, gently tapping her forehead, placing her in a genjutsu.

Sasuke bounded forward, as Hinata fell to her knees, the genjutsu taking affect on her. Kakashi appeared in front of him and used his two arms to block a kick from Sasuke and flip the genin, so that he found himself pressed to the ground. "Hmph, brash moves like that will not work against me."

Suddenly they heard a yell of "Fuuton: Daitoppa no Jutsu." A powerful wind blew Kakashi off Sasuke, and sent the grey haired jounin into a tree. Kakashi promptly got to his feet and brushed himself down, in time to see Naruto helping Sasuke to his feet.

Naruto promptly made a set of shadow clones which he sent at Kakashi, and Sasuke joined them in fighting Kakashi. The real Naruto walked up to Hinata and crouched beside her, briefly touching her forehead, saying, "Release." Hinata promptly opened her eyes and looked around in confusion, until she saw Naruto.

"Naruto-kun, y-you're okay!" She exclaimed. Naruto smiled.

"Of course I am, you were just experiencing a genjutsu from nii-chan."

Hinata turned to glare at Kakashi, who had already dispelled the clones and was dealing with Sasuke skilfully. She promptly got to her feet and dashed at the jounin. Naruto laughed and bounded after her.

Kakashi struck Sasuke on the side of his head, sending the Uchiha flying into a tree, and turned just in time to block Hinata's probing fingers. He pushed her back, just as Naruto sailed over her head, twirling in a whirlwind, as he brought his foot down. Kakashi dodged to the side, and found himself facing Naruto's onslaught of punches and kicks. Kakashi moves to the side to dodge one of his kicks and grabbed the offending leg, gripping it and using his body weight to throw Naruto over his shoulder. He moved to the side to counter Hinata, and leapt back from her, before flashing through some hand seals, and calling out "Doton: Imprisonment Technique!" Hinata found her self trapped in an Earth Prison, unable to move.

Naruto glared at him, before settling into the Dance of the Rising and Setting Sun form, and bounded forward attacking ruthlessly, yet never landing a hit. Naruto leapt back, panting slightly.

"Goss I'm going to have to take this up a notch, huh nii-chan?" So saying Naruto put his hands together in a seal, dropping his weights, to the grounds. Naruto smirked, before he disappeared, reappearing in front of Kakashi, his foot in the jounin's face. Kakashi raised his right hand, and caught the foot, pushing Naruto back. Naruto flashed through some handseals, and called out, "Fuuton: The Armour of the Cutting Winds."

Naruto once again appeared, and this time when he struck, and Kakashi blocked, the jounin swore as his skin was broken by the winds. "Good jutsu Naruto, but you're going to need better than that to beat me!" The jounin flashed through some handseals and called out, "Katon: Goukakyou no Jutsu!" A huge fireball erupted from his mouth, and approached Naruto.

Naruto's eyes widened, as he realised that wind was the perfect medium for fire, quickly he flashed through some handseals, "Suiton: Great Waterfall Jutsu," and just in time, the fireball was extinguished by the water. Naruto sighed in relief, but then he saw Kakashi sprinting towards him, the jounin had used the fireball to cover his movement, so that he could get closer to Naruto.

Kakashi, grabbed kunai from the pouch at his waste, and flung it at Naruto. Naruto jumped over it, but then saw another kunai behind it. Kage Kunai, he realised. As he evaded that one too, but as he turned his head , he saw Kakashi throwing a large number of shuriken at him. The jounin said, "Shuriken Kage bunshin no Jutsu," and suddenly Naruto was faced with a huge number of the blades.

Naruto did the first thing that came to mind. "Radiance!" A brilliant white glow covered Naruto as the shuriken bounced off his aura harmlessly, Naruto smirked at Kakashi. "My bloodline may not be too developed, but it's still enough to handle a few shuriken."

Kakashi stuck out his own hand, which held a kunai. He concentrated for a moment, and suddenly the kunai began to glow white. "This is my bloodline, it's called Howaii Chakra! Let me show you what it can do!" He flung the kunai at Naruto, who looked at it carefully. As the kunai struck his aura, instead of bouncing off like the others, it went through and pierced his shoulder. Naruto looked on in surprise, before wrenching the kunai out of his shoulder, the wound healing promptly. "My bloodline allows me to use another type of chakra, which is much denser, when I concentrate it into my kunai, it can cut through almost anything. I believe you may be able to do the same thing, but on a much larger scale, with Radiance."

Naruto's expression instantly became one of glee, as he rubbed his hands together in anticipation, "Really, you'll teach me how to do it, right nii-chan?" Kakashi grinned behind his mask, and nodded. "Well the sooner I finish this task the better then, huh?" Just then a bell could be heard, signalling midday. Naruto's eyes widened.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it looks like you guys failed," Kakashi said, looking around to see Sasuke, still smarting from the blows Kakashi had dealt him, and Hinata still imprisoned. He made a handseal, and Hinata was released.

"What! That's totally bogus, how could three genin stand up to a jounin anyway?" Naruto asked, glaring at Kakashi, as he made his way over to help Hinata.

"Heh heh, just kidding, you all passed. I believe all of you understand what it means to be in this team. You displayed teamwork and a close bond, that was the real requirement of this test. Anyway, I've got stuff to do, Team 7, rendezvous at the North Bridge at 8 am tomorrow." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a whirl of leaves.

"Yatta!" Naruto yelled, hugging Hinata, who blushed. "We passed, we passed, we passed!" Sasuke walked over and smirked at him. "Hey wait a second! Nii-chan! You were supposed to teach me how to do that cool kunai thing, get back here!" Naruto yelled Running off after the jounin.

Team 7's journey's were about to begin! One of my longest chapter's yet!

Hope you enjoyed it

I'll try to update soon

It would be appreciated if youg uys could translate some of the jutsus I've written in English for me! )

Satansrogue.