Disclaimer: Naruto and every character of the Naruto universe belongs to Kishimoto Masashi and companies, I don't know.
Original upload date: 22th of November 2013
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Chance for a Prophecy
Chapter 22. – The strongests of all
Naruto, standing behind his father, glanced around the enormous council chamber, which was currently occupied by the strongest people of the whole Shinobi world. All of them were sitting behind their hat, each of them announcing where they came from. He eyed the still old and still wrinkled face of the Tsuchikage and Kitsuchi behind him, then his eyes moved toward the Kazekage, who acknowledged his attention with a small nod. His pools then traveled toward Yashamaru, who observed him with calm and calculating eyes. However they were much softer than the last time.
Then he turned his attention to the delegation of the Mist. Suikazan Fuguki was even bigger than Kitsuchi, and Naruto could only see the hilt of Samehada strapped firmly on his back. Indeed, the member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist actually reminded him of a pufferfish. Beside him, the Mizukage looked like a small child. Yagura eyed him somewhat calculating and curiously, his pink eyes traveled between him and Minato from time to time.
Lastly he glanced up to the awkwardly young face of A, whose eyes were fixed on his father's form, sending sharp glares toward the also young leader. But Naruto paid most of his attention to the young man standing behind him with folded arms, so did this foreign shinobi eye him almost continuously. They stood there silently, each of them observing the other for their own reasons. Bee suddenly smirked at him which kicked him out from the small world of his memories about the loud rapper. Shaking his head, he came back to reality with a wide grin on his face. However, almost everyone else in the room was tense beyond words beside the two jinchuuriki.
The guard's hands were continuously next to one or two hidden weapons, while each of the Kage had been observing the other with calculating and even sometimes cold eyes. Only Minato and the Kazekage shared one glance which wasn't full of suspicion, or in the case some of them even with flaming hatred. But despite all of the hostile feelings, the eyes deep inside sparkled with a small hint of respect for each other's power and curiosity at what the hell is going to happen.
The Tsuchikage's old and wrinkled eyes finally travelled toward Naruto's own and made a face at the sight of the two blonds. Naruto couldn't fight down the urge, he sent a wide smirk in response at the grimace.
"One Yellow Flash was already more than enough. And now, here is a damn clone of him." Ohnoki muttered through his gritted teeth.
The named blond rolled his cerulean eyes and waved a dismissive hand at the aging man."I'm no clone of anyone, jiji." The Tsuchikage snorted angrily, even raising from his seat, however it didn't help him to gain any height. The only thing he managed was to raise the already heavy tension in the room to an almost unbearable level as killing intent started to flow freely from the small village leader.
"Repeat what you said if you dare...Boy! I can still kick you to the afterlife with my arms secured behind my back!" Ohnoki even tried to lean above the long desk to weight his threat toward the still grinning blond boy, who didn't pick up the gloves. Minato let out a long and weary sigh, ran a hand through his golden locks, and opened his mouth to calm down the already pre-disaster mood. But the deep voice of the Raikage stopped him from doing so.
"The boy is right, Ohnoki. You are old. You should have retired ages ago. Just like the Sandaime." The killer intent raised even more and one silent ANBU started to tremble like a leaf in one of the dark corners of the room.
"At least I don't look like a teenage boy who is trying to act like a Kage." Another wave of killer intent flashed from the direction of the until now stoic Mizukage, who also raised to his feet. Guards tensed until the breaking point behind their leaders, ready to defend them from any attacks. Hands hovered over hidden kunai, small katana ready to lash out in a blink of an eye if necessary.
"What did you just say you living fossil?" The Mizukage hissed, making the named fossil to jump on the table with one graceful movement, giving a lie to the previous statement about his old age. Only Kitsuchi's hand on his shoulders restrained the Tsuchikage from rushing to the other side of the room where Yagura was seated. A deep snort echoed all around the room, making all heads turn toward the smirking Raikage.
"I always loved free circuses. Don't bother yourself, continue. I'll just watch."
"You-"
"Everybody calm down!" All heads snapped toward the now annoyed Minato, whose voice echoed back and forth inside the chamber just like the Raikage's beforehand. The heavy air hung in the silent room threateningly, just like a guillotine above a condemned head. But all of the tension suddenly disappeared as Naruto couldn't stand the scene anymore and burst out with barking laughter.
"Do you think its funny boy?" The Tsuchikage snarled with irritation, his eyes narrowing into slits, deepening the wrinkles around his eyes even more.
"Yeah. Actually it is hilarious. You were bickering like small kids." Naruto choked out between two fits of laughter.
"You aren't helping me..." Minato muttered behind his gritted teeth, slowly shaking his head. But...after one last glance around the room he had to admit that he was utterly wrong. The tension disappeared together with the pre-disaster mood. Despite all the eyes shining with irritation, the previous hatred toward the others was gone as they observed his relative, more curiously than threateningly. Naruto's chuckle finally died down slowly and he wiped the small tears from the corner of his eyes.
Everything was so nostalgic. Their argument, their bickering. Just like when they got together in Suna after the first battle with the juubi. Even as they were allies back then, they couldn't suppress the urge to insult each other just like small children on the playground would do over a toy or candy. Power demonstration between the village leader's by pure instinct. 'It must be coded into the DNA of every leader or something.'
"Minato-san is right. Act your age and stop insulting each other. We are here to talk, not to fight." The Kazekage spoke for the first time, making Ohnoki narrow his eyes even more.
The Raikage snorted before he opened his mouth to retort. "Since when is the Hokage only Minato-san to you, Kazekage-sama? Did you became Konoha's pet? Do you even frisk your tail and bow to him?" The stern and stoic expression never left the fourth leader of Suna as he answered. Only one almost invisible twitch of his eyes hinted at his irritation.
"Minato-san and his brother provided a great service to Suna. I will bow to anyone who deserves my respect, Kage or not." The Mizukage slowly sat down, his rose-tinted eyes observed the stern ones of the Kazekage curiously and with well hidden confusion.
"What kind of service did Konoha give to you, Kazekage-sama?" The named leader eyed the young shinobi for a long silent minute, weighing his thoughts before he answered.
"They fixed the seal of Suna's jinchuuriki, and with it, saving the life of not only the vessel, but it seems most likely the lives of my citizens. The seal was weak, letting Shukaku control the jinchuuriki's mind. Who knows what could have happened if Konoha had not intervened." Silence fell among the lines of the leaders, each of them processing the information the Kazekage had just given them. Thoughts raced inside their heads, gears moved continuously.
A disbelieving snort filled the room, interrupting the silence. Ohnoki slowly sat down and leaned back in his seat, folding his arms together as he eyed the two blondes across the room. "Why would they do that? What did you offer them for it? The bijuu, I assume? You offered the power of your tailed beast in exchange?"
Naruto clenched his hands into fists and stepped forward, making the guards tense once more, and the four Kage to shift their attention to him. But in the end, it was Minato who opened his soft lips and answered with a calm tone, his chin casually resting on his folded fingers.
"It was free of charge."
Ohnoki let out one more disbelieving snort. "Yeah...and I will have a tea party with the Raikage after this meeting is over."
Naruto folded his arms across his chest, but his hand squeezed the fabric of his vest hidden behind his elbow to channel down some of his irritation as he answered. "I will do it free of charge for any village if I could help save a life."
"That is very honorable, young shinobi...Helping a fellow jinchuuriki." Naruto glanced over the Mizukage and his lips curved into a soft smile as he made a small thanking bow.
"Honorable but foolish. Handing a living weapon to an enemy is just foolish." The Tsuchikage muttered with irritation, but suddenly the room was filled with a thunderous bang as the Raikage slammed his fist onto the table, cracking the fine piece of furniture. Previously hidden weapons were unsheathed, muscles tensed until their breaking points within the lines of the guards, only Naruto stood still behind his father, his arms still folded across his chest. The Raikage opened his mouth to bark out.
"You should know better than to call a jinchuuriki a living weapon, Ohnoki. The ratio of jinchuuriki is quite high in this room." The old man gave an uninterested shrug after he glanced over at the Mizukage and Bee, who observed him with narrowed eyes as he slowly backed away with a grimace on his face. And 'A' didn't know how right he was while another well hidden blond host restrained his snort with all of his willpower.
Minato let out a weary sigh and shook his head in his displeasure. He traced his eyes over the village leaders once more before he finally slowly straightened himself on the chair
"My fellow Kage. I would like to ask you to put aside your disagreements. The point of this meeting is to strengthen the villages' bonds with each other, not to have petty arguments on trivial matters over and over again. I'm here to offer an alliance in the name of Konoha to all of you." Disbelieving snorts echoed inside the chamber from the Tsuchikage and the Raikage, only the leader of Mist observed the young leader with calm and calculating eyes.
"So that is why you asked every village to participate today? To gather all Kage in one place and offer an alliance?"
Minato turned his head toward Yagura. "No, it just came with the package. I would be foolish if I didn't utilize this opportunity."
"As if I will trust any of you!" Ohnoki snarled and folded his arms across his small chest, eyeing every participant with narrowed eyes.
"The feeling is mutual old geezer." The Raikage hissed through gritted teeth, mimicking the old leader's action as his eyes ran over each leader. The Mizukage however stayed in silence for a long minute, his gaze was locked on Minato, trying to figure out what was happening inside the Hokage's head.
"What will you offer in case of an alliance?" This kicked out the two cantankerous leaders from their small worlds.
"What?! You can't be serious!" Calm and collected pink eyes moved toward the stunned Raikage.
"I am serious. An alliance between Mist and Leaf is unheard of. I'm interested in what Konoha can offer."
Minato leaned back on his seat casually as he answered Yagura's question. "A new trade route between our nations. Help from my shinobi if you need it, or my personal help if it is necessary, just like it happened with the Kazekage." Minato glanced toward the silent leader of the Sand, waiting for validation which came in the form of a small, agreeing nod.
"No way I'm going to agree to this. I'd rather die than to ally with you." Ohnoki muttered, making Naruto to frown and step ahead.
"Why? Why would you throw away an opportunity like this? You could help your people." All attention turned toward him almost instantly.
The aging leader of Stone narrowed his eyes as he observed the young boy. "You're young, but you are old enough to live through the war between our nations. Would you just put aside every hatred and smiled into your enemy's face like nothing had happened before? Konoha slaughtered my shinobi. Your Hokage over there himself killed hundreds of my people with his own hands. So did almost every participant in this room. How couldn't we feel hatred toward the other? You can't change everything like that." Naruto hardened his face, sheer determination appeared in the cerulean eyes, almost burning through the black orbs of Ohnoki.
"Forgiving someone is the first step toward a new world which is free of the circle of hatred. A new world which is free from murder; from vengeance; from the hatred you are currently feeling."
"You are a fool if you think that this is just so simple. Did you even hear what you were saying?" Naruto turned his head toward the Raikage, who observed him with irritated eyes. But the blond's determination only hardened rather than falter by the piercing gaze he received. He already knew what to count on from the the Raikage. A speech about power and that a shinobi should never bow to another that easily.
"Kumo will never bow to any of the other countries. The only thing a shinobi should respect is power. If we let this alliance be forged, we will become weak. And the weak will be crushed. I won't let Cloud fall that far." Naruto forced his face to stay stoic, and restrained the enormous urge to roll his eyes at his accurate predilection.
"You think allying with Konoha or any of the other nations here makes you weaker? Then the fool isn't me. It's rather you." Killing intent filled the council chamber as soon as the words left Naruto's lips, the Raikage slowly raised from his seat with dangerously narrowed eyes. The guards tensed again and this time Minato also prepared to appear behind his brother and get him out of the furious Kage's way if necessary. But Naruto didn't seem to be concerned about the raised tension between him and the leader, he just continued.
"The best example of alliance is a genin team. You will first maybe fight against each other, annoy each other, even hate each other. But soon, you will realize that you can do nothing alone. Some things can only be done if you've got friends and allies to stand beside you. You can find friends and allies in the most unthinkable places. In a rival. In an enemy. All of you are here because someone was helping you. Someone was pushing you over your limits to become Kage."
"The history of shinobi is about power. About wars. The winner will be the most powerful nation. And that's it. There shouldn't be compromise between ninja. Its just a weakness." Hissed the leader of Cloud through gritted teeth, his eyes narrowed into slits by the growing irritation.
"Then what?!" Naruto snapped. "You will start another war? Just to show you are more powerful than Konoha? Then Iwa or Kiri or Suna? Maybe you are strong, Raikage-sama, but there are a lot of strong people out there, even in this room, who can kick your butt easily if they work together." The Raikage narrowed his eyes even more if it's even possible, observing the young boy in front of him, while the village leaders settled down to watch their encounter. Even Minato's until now tense and also worried features mirrored a great amount of curiosity, eagerly waiting to find out what his relative will make out of the mess he'd just created.
"You are talking nonsense. Who are you anyway?"
"Namikaze Toroku, chuunin of Konohagakure no Sato." It was Minato who answered the question with a calm tone, gesturing toward Naruto, after he shot a calming glance to his relative.
"A Namikaze. My guess was right then." The Raikage muttered and folded his arms, his previous irritation slowly disappearing. "Namikaze or not, you are just a lowly chuunin who knows nothing about power. You will have the right to speak if you reach a certain level of power. You are babbling the same nonsense as Jiraiya of the Sannin a long time ago. That the shinobi will understand each other. That one day, there will be someone who will bring peace to the world." 'A' made a quick, almost invisible glance toward Minato, then snorted. "Who would believe in such nonsense? Only a moron like him."
"You would be surprised, Raikage, how strong this lowly chuunin is." Minato stated once more with a calm tone, making the named muscular man to snort again in his disbelief. But Naruto just let go of the subject about him being weak as anger rose inside his chest, hearing the insults toward the Sannin he held so close to his heart during all these years.
"Than I am a moron. And I'm proud of it. Because I believe in what he believes. I believe that one day every shinobi will understand each other. Kumo and Iwa and Konoha, Suna and Kiri. Even Jinchuuriki and the bijuu. And when that day comes, then real peace will fall upon the Shinobi world, like Jiraiya said. You just have to take the first step toward it. But it can only be reached together and not alone."
"Toroku-kun is right." All eyes snapped toward the brawny form of Kitsuchi, who until now stood silently in the background as he was supposed to be, making Ohnoki to narrow his eyes when he glance over his shoulder to send a questioning glare toward the fighter. The Iwa commander's piercing gaze traveled toward the two blonds, before he fixed it on the floor.
"I believe in him. I had tried to kill him, to get vengeance on the Hokage. But...Its over. We should seek peace and stop fighting over the past. During my stay here, my team became good friends with some from Konoha. With Toroku-kun. Even with Hokage-sama. And I realized that this is what I want. This peace is what I really want deep inside my heart, not vengeance...I myself stopped fighting over the past. I...I forgive. I forgive you Minato-sama."
Dark eyes glanced up finally from the room, to meet with cerulean pools of the stunned village leader. Slowly, the surprise was over and Minato stood up to give a deep, respectful bow toward the foreign shinobi, making almost everyone in the room to suck in a surprised breath.
"Thank you, Kitsuchi-san. I feel myself honored."
Somehow, not even the Raikage interrupted the meeting after this. There were no loud arguments, no more bickering as every village leader somehow settled into another state of mind, all of them watching the blond teen behind the Hokage with a calculating eye.
Naruto glanced toward Shiko, who was currently eyeing Killer Bee as he stoically slurped his ramen at the other side of the counter at Ichiraku. The three shinobi, each from another nation sat side by side peacefully and Naruto couldn't shake off the urge to grin like an idiot at the out-of-the-way scene. Iwa, Kumo and Konoha. The shinobi from those three nations held the greatest grudge against each other and still... Here they are, eating and casually chatting like nothing had happened in the past between the three nations.
The meeting went surprisingly well after his interference, however Kurama never stopped his almost continuous displeased grumble about him stepping in. Even if it hadn't ended with an instant real alliance like back then, at least none of the Kage jumped at each other's throats. They listened to each other, they spoke with each other. Even Ohnoki and A weren't continuously bickering. Well at least not all of the time.
Finally, Naruto's cerulean pools settled on the younger form of his former teacher, comrade and friend and the blond host glued his eyes on Killer Bee. The rapper, after the meeting was over, had sneaked away from the observing eyes of his brother, leaving behind one of his ink clones to guard his relative, who actually thought that he guarded the loud mouthed soldier more than vica versa. The Kumo nin wandered around Konoha alone, however every twitch of his fingers was followed by a whole ANBU squad silently in the shadows. That was when he bumped into Naruto and Shiko. Ok. It wasn't actually a real accident, more likely the result of well composed timing from the blond.
A sudden familiar presence appeared behind Naruto's back, kicking him out from his musing, but also making Bee tense when Minato casually sat down next to the only empty seat between the named jinchuuriki and the chuunin wannabe, making the scene even more dream like.
"You should go back, Bee-san. The Raikage will soon realize that you've snuck out." The tension slowly disappeared from the named Jinchuuriki as he casually shrugged off the advice.
"If its about him, he would just lock me up in a safe house. That bakayaro." Bee muttered into his bowl.
"Feeling wary in an alien village is normal." Minato answered in the same casual way, setting his triangle hat onto the counter, then stretching his arms behind his back with a satisfied moan. Then he felt a small tug on his long white coat.
"Minato-sama..." The named Hokage blinked and glanced down to Shiko with a questioning expression on his face, waiting for the boy to continue. "...when will I finally get the spar you promised me?" Everybody went silent for a second, the chopsticks frozen in midair in the hand of kumo's jinchuuriki. The soft chuckle of Minato finally kicked him out from his surprise, slowly lowering his hands to shoot a disbelieving glance toward the boy.
"The Hokage of Konoha promised you a spar? You of all people? A genin of Iwa?"
Shiko grimaced and folded his arms across his chest in a sulking way, before he retorted. "Yeah, why is that so hard to believe for everyone I tell?"
Bee let out a snort which in the end transformed into a loud laugh. "Maybe because it is really hard to believe?" The Kumo fighter shook his head and shot another glance toward the softly smiling Naruto. "But, I shouldn't be surprised. Weird things are happening between Konoha and the other nations. Suna suddenly supporting the leaf, the second head of Iwa's forces bowed to the Hokage." His eyes settled again on the now widely grinning blond chuunin, with a wondering expression on his face.
"And somehow I also can't fight of the urge to meet again with you. Even...my companion told me to do so. He thinks you are an interesting one." Naruto raised a curious eyebrow, but his grin never faltered.
"Gyūki was always disturbingly observant. See what you've done? Now even Kumo is way too interested in you than I would be pleased with in this timeline." Kurama grumbled in his mindscape, his tails were continuously swaying behind his back in a restless manner. The time traveler restrained a wince, when one tail hit the soddy ground of his consciousness in an attempt to channel down the fox's frustration.
"You can speak with it?" Minato glanced to the side with a curious expression on his fine features.
"Him." Bee corrected.
"What?" Minato quirked a confused eyebrow.
"It's him. The Hachibi is a male. And to answer your question, Hokage-sama, yes. I can speak with him. And he has quite an opinion about you too."
It was now Naruto's time to snort, but it soon morphed into a soft chuckle. "I would be interested in Gyūki's opinion about Minato."
"Gyūki?" Bee tilted his head to the side in a questioning manner, now all of his attention was focused on the blond chuunin.
"You said that you are in talking manner and you never asked his name until now?" Naruto chuckled once again, not really concerned by the raised eyebrow of his father, nor his observant gaze.
"We aren't in that kind of good relationship." Bee muttered and shrugged before he continued. "Even if it's better nowadays, he still keeps calling me Bastard, Idiot or something like that."
Another snort bubbled out from the blond jinchuuriki, which soon morphed into a fit of laughter, closing him into his own small world, not aware of the increased eyes on him.
This was the point where Shiko lost his patience and interrupted the two men by a loud snort. "What are you talking about?!"
"Hey, Shiko-kun. Don't you think you should be heading to the stadium?" Naruto said, diverting the conversation after he glanced up to the sky, noting the Sun's position. The chuunin wannabe also glanced up but shrugged casually.
"Yeah, I do. But you are also still here. Why should I worry if the Hokage is also here? They won't start the exam without him or you."
A cheeky smile spread across Minato's face. "Shiko-kun. You are forgetting something." The named genin raised a doubtful eyebrow. "I can be there in a blink with Toroku. But I can't say the same about you."
"You wouldn't do it." The genin stated in a casual way, but seeing the widening grin on Minato's face, threatening to simply split it in two, his confidence faltered. The small stand was filled with the tinkle of coins as the blond chuunin dropped them on the counter, with his father's hands on his shoulder and an equally wide and cheeky sneer on his face.
"Try us."
In the next blink both Minato and Naruto were gone, with the flash of their golden locks, leaving behind a stunned jinchuuriki and a shocked genin with opened mouth. It took several seconds before the chuunin candidate hurled down from his seat to start dashing through half of the village.
Bee was left there alone, staring at the entrance of the ramen stand for several long minutes, before he shook his head slowly.
"So, Gyūki right?" The blond, tanned skinned kumo nin suddenly winced to something only he heard, shaking his head once again.
"Definitely Gyūki." Bee muttered to himself before he also headed toward the arena to join the already gathering crowd.
Naruto glanced around himself again, noting the immense amount of shinobi and future customers all around the viewing area. Lords, wealthy business people; and nobody could know what kind of place the others held all around them. Based on the fancy clothes, even a daimyo could be one of them.
The arena was so crowded that not even the child version of Gamakichi could sneak through the people easily. Even as he stood in the background of the wide balcony, which was occupied with the strongest people of the nations, he could feel some glares he receive from the crowd on his side.
Shiko had burst through the crowd ten minutes ago, dumping a long chain of profanities on him. But now, he was panting at the upper part where the chuunin candidates were preparing for their match and nothing distracted his thoughts anymore.
The blond time traveler was nervous beyond words, despite his composed outlook. He had already gotten into an argument with Kurama two times in the last ten minutes because of his anxiety. He couldn't restrain the sudden flinch when Minato reassuringly tapped his back, before stepping next to him to run his eyes along the crowd. "Are you alright?"
Naruto opened his mouth to answer, but when no words came out from his sour and dry throat he instead nodded. An understanding smile appeared on Minato's face.
"Its time to make the announcement and also open the exam." Naruto nodded once again instead of opening his mouth to answer. The young village leader made one last glance over his shoulder where the other four Kage sat on the wide balcony. Minato cleared his throat and stepped to the edge of the parapet, making the until now loudly clattering crowd to slowly become silent. The Yellow Flash of Konoha waited for a long silent minute, waiting to gather every single person's attention, before he talked. His voice echoed, filling the whole stadium in an instant.
"People of Konoha and all other Nations! Thank you for coming to watch the Chuunin Selection Exam! Candidates arrived from all across the shinobi land to display their skills and suitability! But before we start the main tournament matches, an important occurrence has to be announced!" Minato let the words sink in as murmurs spread across the crowd, letting them die down before he continued.
"Orochimaru of the Sannins is dead-" The people around them suddenly exploded as one man, forcing an annoyed and irritated expression on the leaders face as he had to stop before he could really start his speech. Even the four Kage couldn't suppress the urge to start talking with their companion.
Minato waited for a long minute, but when the disbelieving and angry shouting, murmuring and whispering didn't decrease, killer intent started to leak from his body, filling the whole stadium in a blink of an eye, making every attendant to shut his mouth.
"As I said, Orochimaru of the Sannins is dead. However, I hereby preclude Orochimaru from ever being called a citizen or shinobi of Konoha, and I declare him a missing nin." The last remains of murmurs instantly died. "We have discovered that he has done many terrible things. Things, that should never have happened. Orochimaru had been performing unlawful and immoral experimentation on innocent men, women and children. He killed hundreds. His sins will never be forgiven. His remains will be destroyed and placed onto an unmarked grave." Minato's voice filled the silent stadium once more.
"He was killed and punished in a one-on-one battle with my brother, Namikaze Toroku." Minato gestured toward Naruto, and waved a hand for him to come closer. The blond chuunin gulped and hesitantly obeyed, slowly stepping next to his father. His short advance was followed by thousands of eyes, stabbing into his guts, but the piercing gaze of the four Kage was the most intense on his back, making the four or five steps last almost an eternity.
"We were damn lucky back then. So damn lucky..." Kitsuchi muttered with wide eyes, more to himself then to his leader next to him. His eyes were glued on the chuunin's tense back.
"I hereby give the rank of jounin to Namikaze Toroku." Unnatural silence filled the stadium in the next moment, not even nature dared to make any noise around them, as the information sunk in. Then a loud shout filled the whole stadium in the next moment, echoing back and forth in the silence.
"I told you that you are all wrong! See? He is a damn hero! I told you that there must be something in the background!" Iruka yelled with the full force of his lungs, forcing a small smile on Naruto's face. As soon as the echo of his future teacher died down, the crowd exploded again and this time the murmurs, conversations and excited yelps didn't falter for long minutes, to Minato's annoyance. When they finally did, the Hokage cleared his throat again.
"The main tournament matches shall now begin!" Naruto didn't move, he just stood there with a wide grin frozen on his face, listening to the new murmurs spreading across the people all around him. Only when Minato poked him hard in his ribs did the grin falter from his face, giving space to an embarrassed smile.
"Don't let the glory foggy your mind." Naruto shot back an annoyed gaze, before he gracefully landed on the shore of the arena, to face with the eight stunned chuunin candidates. Shiko gazed at him with open mouth, while the rest of the genin in front of him also observed him somewhat disbelievingly, somehow suspiciously. Only one pair of eyes ate him with hate, then it morphed into disbelief and denial, but in the next blink all emotion was gone from Anko's pupilless light brown eyes as the small girl composed herself in seconds, pushing aside her troubled thoughts.
Shiko, finally shaking off his surprise, glanced around nervously, his brown eyes flickered from the small colourful jinchuuriki from Waterfall toward the emotionless eyes of Anko. Then he glanced around, noting the other participants next to him. One from Cloud; one more young boy from Konoha, looking quite sick with those dark rings under his eyes he noted to himself. His silent teammate on his other side; the reserved and stoic one from Sand; and the girl from Mist, who silently stood a little away from everybody else, her eyes cautiously observing every single twitch of the others. Eight participant stood there, waiting for the newest jounin of Konoha, to finally call for the first two names.
A wide grin spread across Naruto's face, threatening to split it in two as he ran his azure eyes along the line of the excited children. With one last encouraging smile he called for the first two participants, naming Shiko's teammate and Anko. Before the others left the arena to prepare for their own fight, Naruto crouch down next to Anko, who carefully avoided looking up from the ground, even as Naruto eyed her from only centimeters.
"Anko-chan." Naruto called softly, making the girl glance up, expression as emotionless as ever. But her eyes still looked betrayed beyond words. No words were exchanged between them, only their eyes spoke to each other until Anko finally opened her lips.
"I'm all right, Toroku-san. I can handle it." Naruto made one last glance toward the emotionless face of the girl and nodded.
"I believe in you." Suddenly Anko's dead eyes shined with a surprised flame, before it was gone again after a small nod. Only when all the participants left the arena did Naruto step in front of the two candidates.
"All right. I want a clear fight. No killing is allowed." A minute later both genin burrowed themselves in an intense taijutsu match.
Minato watched as his relative silently stood on the edge of the wide balcony, his eyes and all of his attention was glued on the battle at his feet, muscles tensed, hands on the last sign of a seal so he could instantly step in before something went wrong. Meanwhile the Iwa genin shot another series of shuriken toward Anko as a distraction making the Tsuchikage let out a pleased snort when Konoha's chuunin contender barely saw through the distraction.
"A lowly chuunin of Konoha managed to kill Orochimaru of the Sannin..." The Raikage muttered, gaze also glued on the battle at their feet, but he still shot a quick glance at the back of the blond jounin. "It seems you were hiding a great weapon during the war, Hokage...Why?"
Minato stayed in silence for a long minute, watching as earth spikes rushed toward Anko before he answered. "Because Toroku wasn't part of the Village during the war."
The Tsuchikage let out a disbelieving snort. "Yeah, he just fall from the sky didn't he? You were training him in the shadows, weren't you? Lets play with open cards. Why did you hide him during the war?"
"We found him in autumn of last year. He appeared from nowhere, bloody, wounded, without memories." Minato stated calmly, eyes still fixed on the battle.
"And you just let a kage level shinobi, who appeared out of nowhere, join your village?" The Mizukage asked curiously, pink eyes glued on Minato instead of the fight, noting the small smile on the Hokage's face.
Minato finally averted his gaze from the two genin to glance up to the other Kage with an emotionless face, "Well, he was either a gift from Kami or one of you had sent him here to infiltrate the village and assassinate me." The blond leader scanned the other four Kage with a stoic expression, looking for any hint. But none of them showed what he was looking for with his remark. All of the others did the same, looking askance at each other, searching for the one who had ordered the assumed assassination.
Minato's formerly expressionless face moved into a pleased smile. "At least I thought so in the beginning. Nowadays, I stick with the Kami's gift version."
The crowd around them suddenly became silent, the air heavy and suspenseful, than in the next moment the people exploded with amusement and burst into applause. The five Kage blinked down, noting the unconscious figure laying flat in the middle of the battle arena. Ohnoki let out a sigh and slowly shook his head, watching the medics as they transported his blacked out chuunin candidate away.
Naruto slowly shook his head in displeasure. Shiko's teammate pulled out an impressive move, however he was foolish and got caught inside his own attack instead of Anko, knocking himself unconscious. The newest jounin of Konoha reappeared in the middle of the field, to call for the next two participants.
An hour later, four figures stood silently in the middle of the battlefield. Shiko, Anko, Waterfall's jinchuuriki, Fū, and the silent genin from Mist with long straight black hair. 'What was her name?Megumi? Yeah, definitely Megumi.' Naruto mused silently. The blond time traveler glanced up to the balcony, waiting for his father to call up the second round.
"Dear attendees! The second round of the Chuunin selection exam shall begin. However, this time we made some changes. Instead of one-on-one fights, the next round will be a team match." The crowd exploded once again, so did the other Kage behind Minato.
"A What?! Team match?!"
"You heard me well, Mizukage-sama." The Hokage responded softly, without looking back.
"Mitarashi Anko from Konoha and Megumi from Kiri. Step forward!" A small smile spread across Minato's face when the two girls did so." From now on, you are a team. Your opponents will be Shiko from Iwa and Fū from Takigakure. If someone is knocked out, the other team will be victorious. You have got ten minutes to discuss your tactics, before the fight begins." Minato didn't wait for the stunned genin to gather themselves, he just casually walked back to his seat, his movement was followed by the equally stunned village leaders.
"We haven't received a word regarding this twist. It's unheard of." Ohnoki stated with obvious annoyance in his voice.
"It was Toroku's idea. A good shinobi never leaves a comrade behind. The purpose of this exam is to reduce the distance between the nations. And this is the best way to do so." The Yellow Flash answered casually, with a wide, cheeky smile on his face. He watched as the four candidates finally shook off their surprise, but their eyes were still scanning their new teammate suspiciously.
"There are too many surprises during this Chuunin exam for my liking." The Raikage muttered, his chin was resting in his palms as he also observed the two temporary teams at his feet. None of the other Kage stated that they actually very much agreed with the leader of Cloud. At least for once.
When the ten minutes was gone, the participants lined up in front of each other to begin the last match. Muscles and nerves tensed until the braking point, waiting for one last sign from Naruto to finally begin. And when it came with one loud yell, the outline of the stadium and onlookers within blurred for them as they dashed toward each other.
With one swift movement of his arms, Shiko shot a set of razor sharp kunai toward Anko, who easily dodged the rain of weapons. However only her temporary teammate's sharp eyes saved her from a sneak attack. Razor sharp wind chakra shaved the place smooth where a second ago Anko's opponent stood, making the chuunin contestant swallow down her previous cockyness. Without the silent, black haired girl's help, she would be knocked out. With one thankful nod toward the Mist genin they flung into action again, but this time together.
Shiko hissed a curse through his teeth, while dodging a side kick from Megumi, but from the corner of his eyes, he could still see as the small mint green haired girl from Waterfall struggled under the punches her opponent gave her. Without a second of consideration he jumped to give a helping hand to his teammate. He landed just in time to deflect an attack from Anko. They suddenly found themselves back to back.
A wave of summoned snakes rushed toward them suddenly, their arms clung together to fluidly dance out from the attack's way with each other's help like a seasoned team would do.
A small smile forced it's way onto Naruto's until now concentrating face, seeing the sudden cooperation between the genin. He could feel the annoyance behind him from the four Kage, but also the curiosity leaking behind it, directed both toward him and the battle at their feet.
Fists met with fists, kunai and shuriken met, filling the arena with sharp clinks as metal met metal, the music of a shinobi fight with it's sometimes unpredictable, sometimes mystical, and sometimes rhythmic beat. Jutsu struck against each other, sending dust and debris all over the battlefield.
Naruto suddenly narrowed his eyes when Anko's pleased snort echoed all over the walls, as Fū's small body started to slowly tremble, then sway like she was slowly losing consciousness. A small snake snuck out from under her clothes before the small jinchuuriki dropped to the ground. Shiko was fast enough to catch her body, before her head could meet with the hard ground, his chocolate brown eyes suddenly filled with concern.
Naruto let out a sigh and slowly shook his head. They had been applying such good teamwork. But Anko was indeed as sneaky as her late teacher. The blond let his hand finally release the technique which had been ready to be triggered, letting his hands fall at his sides to get some rest.
But they couldn't get it. Malicious intent rushed over them in the next second, tension raising high, people desperately looking for the source of their sudden uneasiness. Only Naruto's eyes were wide and locked on the small unconscious mint head girl. Before anyone could move, vicious yellow chakra surged out from the small girl's laying form. Freely flowing, hoovering, twisting and writhing in the air like it was a living thing. Naruto didn't think when another surge of power rushed out from the small girl, sending the chuunin wannabes flying to three corners of the compass rose. A clone popped into existence, rushing toward Anko, while the real Naruto grabbed the small girl from Mist. Naruto looked to the side where his father had caught Shiko, sharing a quick glance.
'Fū! Don't give up! Fight!' Naruto desperately tried to channel his thoughts toward the small girl inside the vicious chakra storm.
Suddenly the crowd exploded into screams as they shook off their temporary stasis, civilians surged out from every entrance of the arena, but their place was taken by countless shinobi. An ANBU appeared next to Minato waiting for their leader to give his order.
"Get the civilians out of here. We will take care of it." The masked man hesitantly took a step toward his leader and opened his mouth to argue, but another vicious chakra spike made him forget his intentions and instead he disappeared to finally obey.
The Kazekage straightened from his seat, his movement was followed by seven pairs of eyes. "Where are you going? The real show is just starting." Grunted the Raikage. Gaara's father shot a glare behind his shoulder and jumped up to the edge of the balcony.
"I'm repaying my debt." Before the Kazekage could say anything else, Kitsuchi stepped next to him, to observe as the two blonds were shouting to each other trying to bring about a plan and to get closer to the source of the malicious energy which was blocking their sight of the small child.
"What the hell are you doing Kitsuchi? You are here to watch my back!"
The burly shinobi let out a sigh. "You are more than capable of taking care of yourself for five minutes. But they need help. And I'm going to help them."
"What's wrong with everyone here?" The leader of Kumo snorted and fidgeted in his seat to get a more comfortable position to enjoy the upcoming show. But to his great surprise, Mist's leader also raised from his seat and casually walked up next to the Kazekage.
"What are we waiting for? One of my genin is down there." The Kazekage eyed him for a short second then nodded and jumped down, strictly followed by the other two and landed gracefully between the two blonds.
"So what's the plan?" Yagura turned to Minato with a questioning look on his face, but his eyes sparkled with excitement.
"It seems that Anko's summon's poison is affecting the seal. The poison seems to confuse chakra diffusion, and it would also appear that the seal is breaking due to the lack of chakra circulating in it. If I can get close enough, I can use one of my seals to straighten it."
"My gold dust can restrain Shukaku's power, I should at least be able to slow down the seven tailed beast."
"My coral palm technique could also help you in that. If anything goes wrong I can still use the bijuu's power."
"Hey, this seems like a good party to me. Can I join?" Someone interrupted them from the background and Naruto couldn't help but smile as Bee stepped next to him. Five Kage level Shinobi and not to mention three of them were jinchuuriki with control. It was more than enough to lull the Seven tailed beast back to his slumber.
Naruto glanced up to the balcony where the Raikage and the Tsuchikage still occupied their seats with an irritated expression on their faces. Naruto gestured with his head in an inviting manner but all he received from the other two leaders was a snort and slightly turned heads with noses scrunched in a sulking manner. But instead of being disappointed, he just laughed. He glanced to the other five shinobi. One from each of the big nations, discussing their tactics like a real team. It was already much more than he imagined.
A roar interrupted his musing as with one last chakra spike an other worldly creature appeared in the middle of the arena. Its form was stuck between a human and a giant beetle, three tails flung freely behind its back. But thankfully it was unmoving. A scroll appeared from Naruto's pocket instantly and not a second later a purple barrier appeared around the whole arena, locking away the bijuu.
"So gentleman? What are we waiting for?" No one said anything, he only received some annoyed glares. But in the next second, their forms blurred out from existence. Five people reappeared around the awakening bijuu, each of them already ready to attack or deflect.
Gold dust spread across the battlefield as soon as Yagura's palm connected with the bijuu's bare back. Faint pink corals started to grown while hard ground mixed with gold dust whirling around the beast, grabbing all six of its feet to steady it in place. A tentacle shot forward in the same moment, squeezing the bijuu harder to stay in place. Minato reappeared on the tentacle and raised his hands to slam it and place his seal, but before it could happen, another wave of vicious energy dismissed the restrains in the next instant.
Yagura jumped backward and raised a curious eyebrow. "Its stronger then I thought. It must be quite pissed off." Naruto nodded in agreement and jumped next to his father. But before any of them could say a word, the bijuu let out a loud roar and soon another tail came into existence, but the creature was thankfully still standing still, like it was waiting for something to happen. Minato frowned.
"Why isn't it attacking?"
"It's Fū. She is still trying to restrain the bijuu." Naruto noted. Or much more guessed. But based on Kurama's agreeing nod, he was actually right.
"It doesn't matter. Let's get this over with." The Kazekage stated, a black ring appearing around his eyes, while his hands were blurred as he made the hand signs with insane speed. But before he could finish it, strong hands stopped his movement as soon Naruto realized what the Kage was about to do.
"You can't kill the host. Fū is still there, fighting for control." The kazekage narrowed his eyes, observing the teen, but in the end, to everybody's surprise,he nodded and took a step backward.
Suddenly another roar echoed inside the high walls. Vicious intent flowing over the place once again. Naruto swung his head toward the bijuu, grabbing the two nearest persons instantly and only his speed saved them as a razor sharp stinger rushed toward where they stood a second ago.
Debris and dust flew across the landscape, shrouding their vision. With one swift movement of Naruto's wrist, wind chakra surged from his palm, clearing their line of sight instantly. And what he found behind the dust made him freeze in place.
A thick ice wall was shrouding his vision with an enormous tree chunk sticking out from the middle of it, where he knew the Mizukage had jumped. The named leader was just standing there, his eyes wide, surprise written all over his face.
Naruto glanced to the side, looking for the hyouton user. The small black haired chuunin candidate from Kiri stood firm on the ground, her heavy breathing echoed all around them, small hands still clutching the last handsign of her jutsu. Yagura finally also spotted the black haired girl, their eyes met for a moment and the girl froze, her eyes widened by pure terror and fear. The mist leader held the eye connection only a second more, then smiled at the girl and sent a thankful nod.
Naruto glanced toward the frozen Shiko and barked out in a commanding tone, holding out a small paper tag toward him. "Shiko! Get Anko and Megumi and retreat. Your job is over. Channel some chakra into the tag and stay out of the way!" The chuunin candidate shook off his terror and slowly nodded. In the next second, he grabbed the two girls and rushed toward the back of the stadium with the paper tag in his hands. Another purple barrier came into existence in the next second around the three genin.
There was no time for more words, another tail threateningly started to grow on the bijuu's back. Yagura jumped into action together with the others.
Gold mixed with soil again, hardening it this time like diamond around the six legs, more tentacles shot forward to wrap around the bijuu's form again. And this time, lightning surged forward with insane speed from a giant electric dragon as the Raikage jumped next to Naruto.
"It was a pain to watch how you were struggling." The blond time traveler sent a wide grin in response, watching as his father reappeared again above the bijuu, slamming his palm onto it's back. An ink black pattern spread across the scarred ground. The tension slowly started to disappear. Naruto watched as the vicious chakra slowly started to fade away, until the small burned body of Fū become visible.
Naruto immediately jumped toward the girl, before she could hit the ground. He gently placed her down, foggy orange eyes looking up to him.
"Hey. Its alright now." A small smile appeared on the girls weary face.
"I heard you. I heard you all the time shouting at me to not give up. To fight." She whispered. A wide grin spread across Naruto's face. He took a step back as soon as the first medic arrived, but the soft smile never left his face.
But his peace was interrupted when a body slammed into his own, almost making him tumble to the ground. Naruto glanced down to find the trembling Shiko, tightly clutching his waist in an attempt to calm some of his fear. Naruto didn't say a word, only patted his brown crown in a soothing way.
"You did well, Shiko." Naruto murmured. However the genin didn't respond by words. Shiko sniffed and nodded, his face still carefully shrouded by the blond's waist. They stayed like that for long minutes until the child gathered himself.
"I thought I was going to die. You too. And Kitsuchi-jiji. And Minato-san. And everybody." Shiko finally murmured through the fabric of Naruto's vest, making Naruto's smile even softer.
"We aren't as soft as you think, you know." The genin finally released him and sent an annoyed glare through his watery eyes, breaking all of his previous tension into tiny shreds. Shiko narrowed his eyes when Naruto started to snicker and he gathered a lungful of air to hail a long round of swearing toward the blond time traveler.
Kitsuchi stepped next to his leader at the balcony, who was currently watching the scene with an unreadable expression on his face. Ohnoki didn't know what to think anymore, or what to feel. So he decided to ignore his thoughts and emotions until he finally figured out what to think about today's happenings. His eyes trailed toward the Raikage who was currently obviously scolding his brother for interrupting. Then his pools moved toward his genin, desperately hugging the young Namikaze, while Minato watched the scene with a soft smile on his face from the corner of his eyes, as he was currently in a conversation with the Kazekage and the Mizukage. The wrinkles around his mouth twitched as the smallest smile started to tug his lips upward. Ohnoki let out a sigh and shook his head, forgetting about his commander next to him. But when Kitsuchi's baritone cut into the air he immediately regretted his slip.
"It's a nice view, isn't it?" The old leader stayed in silence for long, long minutes, the innocent question left almost forgotten in the air, until the Kage finally answered by a soft whisper. Maybe more to himself then to his commander.
"Yes. It is."
Four genin stood straight in front of the strongest people of the elemental countries filling the council chamber once again, observant eyes were glued on their nervous forms. Finally Minato decided that the tension had risen high enough, so he straightened from his seat and a proud smile appeared on his face almost instantly as he ran his sight on the tensed genin one last time before he opened his mouth and his confident voice filled the until now silent room.
"Shiko from Iwagakure no Sato. Please step forward." The chuunin hopeful did so after a gulp.
"Fighting against hatred is the hardest, but you managed to do so. I hereby give you the rank of chuunin because you had shown flawless teamwork and the instinct to protect your team during the fight. " Minato sent a warm smile, holding out a small scroll for the Iwa soldier. Shiko let out revealed sigh. He fought down the trembling of his legs and slowly walked to get the scroll with a wide grin on his face, which stayed on place even when he moved back to the line. The old Ohnoki couldn't fight the urge, his lips also curved up into an almost invisible smile.
"Mitarashi Anko from Konohagakure no Sato." Anko straightened in an instant. "I hereby declare you as a chuunin. Staying calm and collected in even the hardest of situations is essential during a fight. You've earned my respect for that." Minato's smile widened as he handed over the scroll to the purple haired small girl. He turned his head toward the silent girl from Mist.
"Yuki Megumi. I hereby declare you as the newest chuunin of Mist. Keeping an eye on your surroundings and protecting your leader while facing an opponent far stronger than you is something which has to be acknowledged." The dark haired girl twitched and after a thankful bow, she went back to her place with graceful steps. However her eyes drifted toward Yagura uncertainly from time to time. Minato stood in silence for a long tense minute, eyeing to only remaining genin, the mint head girl fixed her eyes on the floor with carefully restrained emotions.
"Fighting against a bijuu is hard even for a kage." The mint head genin twitched, eyes still carefully averted. "If a genin is doing the same, it is honorable." Minato's smile softened. "Fū from Takigakure." The named jinchuuriki finally painfully slowly raised her head to meet with a pair of azure pools. "As I said, fighting against a tailed beast is an honorable feat. So I will honor you with the rank of chuunin." The mint head girl opened her mouth, her eyes widening in disbelief. She gaped for a long minute, unable to squeeze any sound or air from her stressed lungs until she finally found her lost voice.
"But I-I didn't fight. It-It was my fault and-"
"You didn't fight with jutsu. You fought with willpower." Minato interrupted. "You have to have a strong will to resist the taunting of the power of a bijuu, against the hatred they are feeling against humanity."
The small mint head girl shook her crown, her green locks following the movement, gracefully swinging together with her head in the motion. "It just wanted to fly freely, high up to the sky until it could touch the clouds. It didn't want to hurt anyone. It just wanted freedom. But I was too afraid to let it go and..."
A blond eyebrow raised curiously until it reached Minato's forehead protector. He glanced toward his brother, who until now silently stood at the back of the room, his eyes closed and only a small smile on his face indicated that he was indeed listening the whole time. The leader mimicked the warm expression as he turned back to the newest chuunin of Waterfall.
"Then maybe you should speak with it." Fū snapped up her head, eyes wide with disbelief and confusion. The Yellow Flash of Konoha made a side glance once more at his relative before he continued. "A young man once said that the time will come when every shinobi will understand each other. Even the bijuu and its jinchuuriki. First we have to know more about them to understand them." Naruto's eyes flung open, azure pools were fixed on his father's back. Then his expression relaxed into a soft smile.
Fū eyed the leader for a moment then blinked away her confusion. In the end, she hesitantly nodded and made a deep bow. "I will, Hokage-sama."
Silence fell over the the council chamber, each leader observing their chuunin with a proud expression. Then they slowly started to move and leave the room until only Yagura, and Megumi were left behind, together with some lurking ANBU hidden deep inside the shadows. The Mist leader eyed the girl for long minutes, who didn't dare to move or look up to her leader. The young kage finally let out a long sigh and stepped in front of his newest chuunin.
"I still don't know if you are brave or just simply a suicidal fool. Revealing your bloodline limit while the citizens of your home are persecuting your name..." Yagura shook his head disapprovingly, than his features moved into a thoughtful expression, his eyes fixed on the dome above their heads for a long time until he finally blinked and turned his attention back.
"But perhaps we could also use this to our advantage, to finally stop this madness." Megumi forced down her fear and finally glanced up to her leader with a confused expression on her fine features. However, the Mizukage didn't bother to clear her confusion. He just continued his musing.
"I was finally able to dismiss the graduation exam thanks to Momochi Zabuza. It came with great cost, but hundreds of children will be able to live in the future thanks to his act. If I play the cards right, maybe the people of Mist will also look differently at those who held a bloodline limit. But I will need your help, Yuki Megumi. You have to follow my orders." Yagura finally looked at his young soldier with a questioning expression, waiting for the small girl to answer. The chuunin chewed on her lower lip, but in the end nodded.
"Perfect. I will put you into Zabuza's care from now on. You have to become strong, and quickly. You have to know every aspect of your bloodline as soon as possible."
"But my family-"
"Will be under my personal protection. No one will dare to lay even a finger on them." Yagura interrupted.
The girl eyed the leader for a long silent minute until she made a low bow. "Thank you, Mizukage-sama."
Author's Note:
Now...wasn't this the busiest chuunin exam ever? So let's make a small summary what Naruto has already achieved. He fixed Gaara's seal, saved Karura, gained his precious people's acknowledgement, helped the Uchiha, weakened Danzo's power and influence and even directed Minato's eyes toward Root, making Uchiha Shisui to spy on them. He taught the Rasenshuriken to his father, and the nations are nearer to each other than ever before.
And now Orochimaru is dead, and with it Naruto gained the village's and also the other four Kage's acknowledgement, while freeing Kitsuchi from the circle of hatred. And a lot more is waiting for him.
I repeat. I'm going to ignore the manga from chapter 629!
Story recommendations:
Twenty Times Uzumaki Naruto Didn't Die By Kraken's Ghost
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