I understand that some people are disappointed that Naruto doesn't summon foxes, but come on, EVERYONE does that.

"You suck, Ero-sennin!" Naruto tackled the surprised old man from behind. "You ditched me!"

"Eh!? You're awake already!"

"Yeah! And now I'm going to clean your clock!"

"Shouldn't you be training with the toads?" Naruto froze from his position atop Jiraiya's head.

"Oh, yeah! Good idea, Kaiki-sennin!" Orochimaru's eye twitched at the nickname, but he didn't even bother to try to reprimand the boy. Besides, the blond was already gone.

"Where does he get his energy?" Jiraiya grumbled as he fixed his ruffled mane.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" The whole forest was filled with smoke as Naruto completed his summoning. "Hey, Gamabunta!" Naruto waved ecstatically at the giant toad.

"What do you want, Naruto?" The toad chief was deeply perturbed at being awoken from his afternoon nap.

"You said if I passed you test I could train with the toads!" In his bad mood, Gamabunta decided to play with the little brat for awhile.

"Oh? And who said you passed?" Naruto narrowed his eyes at the smirking toad before jumping onto his head.

"Hm? Up for round-"

"Tanrakuteki Omoi no Jutsu (Nasty Thought Technique)!"

Several minutes later, Gamabunta still lay twitching on his side. "How about now?" Naruto shouted at the slowly recovering toad.

"Y-yes! Just never use that on me again!"

"Deal!"

"I'm going to enjoy, training you brat." In another giant puff of smoke, the two were gone.

"Awesome!" Naruto shouted as he gazed up the spiritual home of the toads. "This is were you guys live?" Gamabunta couldn't help but smirk at the boy's appreciation.

"And where you'll be training. First up…Hop across the lily pads."

"What kind of training is that?" Gamabunta mumbled something about disrespectful brats under his breath.

"I didn't finish. You'll hop across the lily pads with this toad on your back." At his words, a horse sized toad bounded up next to them. Naruto grinned.

"Ha! This'll be a piece of cake!" Naruto hopped down from Gamabunta and landed next to the other toad. "All aboard!" Looking slightly awkward, the toad got on Naruto's back. Once his load was secure, the blond bounded to the nearest of the giant lily pads. Or at least he tried to. It was more like a warped skip. With a growl of frustration, Naruto fell on al fours and began hopping, toad style. The first lily pad almost immediately gave away, dunking both Naruto and his rider. With wild arm movement, he eventually floated to the surface.

"CRAP!"

"Um, maybe you should use chakra," the toad on his back suggested.

"Huh? Oh, right! Thanks!" Naruto scrambled back to land and started hopping again, channeling chakra to both his hands and feet in order to spare the lily pads of his weight. It didn't take long for even Naruto's chakra reserves to run dry. As he lay gasping on the opposite shore, only one thought ran across his mind.

'This training is gonna suck.'

"I'm going to be late!" Naruto tore across the grass towards the stadium. Only stopping when he slammed into a stump. "Ow! Who put this tree in my way!?"

"N-Naruto-kun?" Naruto blinked in confusion.

"A talking log?" If she wasn't so terrified, Hinata would have done an anime-fall down.

"I-It's me, N-Naruto-kun."

"Oh! Hinata-chan! What're you doing behind that stump?" The shy Hyuuga took a deep breath and moved away from the log.

"I-I was j-just on m-my way t-to your m-match with Neji-niisan." Naruto's face suddenly scrunched into a scowl.

"That bastard doesn't deserve that title, Hinata-chan." Hinata barely heard a word Naruto said. The killing intent he was emitting was nothing short of demonic. It took Naruto a moment to realize why Hinata had paled more than usual, but once he did he toned down his anger.

"Hehe, sorry, Hinata-chan. Oh! Thanks again for that salve. It really came in handy during my training."

"Y-y-your welcome." Naruto grinned at her, but the moment was cut short.

"Ah! I'm late!" Naruto screamed. He grabbed Hinata by the arm and started dragging her to the stadium.

'Naruto-kun…is touching me again.'

"We're here!"

"N-Naruto-kun?"

"Yeah, Hinata-chan?"

"T-the t-tournament starts a-at e-eight."

"Yeah, so?"

"I-it's s-s-seven." There was a very awkward silence.

"Hehe, oops." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "I really need a watch." Naruto turned around all the way to face Hinata fully. "Sorry I sort of dragged you here so early, Hinata-chan." Hinata turned crimson under Naruto's embarrassed grin.

"N-no, i-it's okay, N-Naruto-kun." Naruto's embarrassed grin turned into a smile.

"Really? Thanks Hinata-chan. Hey, how about we find you a good seat so you can watch me own Neji?" Without waiting for her answer, Naruto dragged Hinata once again, this time to a front row seat near the competitor's box. "Guess I'll go warm-up."

"Um, N-Naruto-kun?" The blond stopped in mid-step.

"Eh? What is it?"

"A-are y-you sure you c-c-can b-beat him?" Naruto grinned at her and did the good guy pose.

"No worries, Hinata-chan! I'm not the little brat I used to be!"

"I-I n-n-never thought y-you were a b-b-brat, N-Naruto-kun." At first, Naruto looked genuinely puzzled, but soon a large grin split his face.

"Really, Hinata-chan! Thanks!" Hinata turned a whole new shade of red as Naruto grabbed her in bone-crushing hug, and swiftly fainted.

"Huh? Hinata-chan? HINATA-CHAN!"

"As smooth as ever, eh Naruto?" Naruto stopped shaking the unconscious Hyuuga.

"Sasuke, Sakura-chan?" Naruto grinned at his teammates.

"Don't forget us, kid." Naruto twisted his head around. "Zabuza-sensei! Haku!" Zabuza smirked and let out a low wolf whistle.

"Who's the chick, kid?" A small blush crept its way up Naruto's face.

"Aw, it looks like our little Naruto-chan is finally growing up." Himaru appeared between them with a puff of smoke.

"She's just a friend, okay."

"A friend you were hugging and made faint with you touch?" Sasuke asked.

"Like you're one to talk. You follow Sakura-chan around like a lovesick puppy!"

"Dobe!"

"Teme!" The two glared at each other like two cowboys.

"Whoa, there. Save it for the finals," Himaru said as he put himself between the two rivals. Himaru's expression turned hard as he faced Naruto. The blond held in a sigh of relief. He was glad to be one a different topic. "Now Naruto, put your little girlfriend in her seat so you can go stretch." Or maybe not.

Kind of short, I know. But I need reviews! Please! I'm not asking for a ridiculous number, but I've seen fics with ten chapters and one hundred reviews!