AN: Wow it's been about seven months since I first posted this story but here is the official second chapter of Tenshi no Hikari I hope you all enjoy it and please review they so mean the world to me.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything that deals with Naruto or anything else that may or may not appear in this Fanfiction.
Chapter 2: An Angel's Promise
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Demon/Inner Sakura Talking"
'Demon/Inner Sakura Thinking'
Naruto made his way up the stairs that lead up to where Gaara's team waited with Gaara leaning on him for support. When he finally reached Gaara's team he noticed immediately how wearily they were of him, 'Considering how I just took down Gaara who is more than likely their strongest fighter it's not surprising.' Not letting it bother him Naruto drew closer to the three other Sand ninja.
"Hey there I think this belongs to you guys." Naruto said with his usual fox grin on his face.
It was Temari that finally got close enough so that she could help Naruto lie Gaara down against the wall. Naruto again noticed the fear that Temari had at approaching them but the concern she felt for her little brother far outshone her apprehension of the situation.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it."
It was at that point that Temari noticed that at some point Gaara had fallen asleep due to the strain from his match and almost losing control of Shukaku. Her eyes started to widen as panic took control.
"GAARA YOU HAVE TO STAY AWAKE!" She started to yell as she tried to shake him awake. "COM-" Temari was interrupted from continuing as Naruto put a hand on her shoulder.
"OI hold up a sec, Gaara needs to rest." He said
Temari simply shook off his hand before she turned to look at him, "You don't understand the danger he's in, the danger we're all in, when Gaara falls asleep…"
"No I do understand and I've taken care of it so you shouldn't worry." Naruto replied calmly
Kankuro stepped closer as he had been listening in to what was being said between the two blondes and asked, "What do you mean that you've taken care of it?" Though he asked it as a question there was an underlying tone that made it obvious that there was a threat should the answer is something bad for Gaara.
Naruto held up his hands trying to show that he didn't mean anything bad by it and to try and calm Kankuro down. "It's exactly like I said; I've taken care of it. I knew what the problem was and how to fix it. Gaara can now get a good night's sleep without having to worry about it."
Temari's eyes widened at the information that she was given, "What but how?"
Striking a thinking pose Naruto answered as best he could. "Well I'm not completely sure how I did it, but I'm sure that Shukaku will no longer be able to bother Gaara without any ill effects. In fact he should be better for it."
With that Naruto made his leave, but before he got too far Temari spoke up once again, "Wait! How can you be so sure that what you did won't end up hurting him?"
Naruto turned back to look at her a small caring smile replacing his usual giant fox one, "Because I would never do something to intentionally hurt my brother like you wouldn't do anything to intentionally hurt him either." With those parting words Naruto made his leave seeing as he was keeping everyone waiting by keeping the next match from being called.
Temari watched as her fellow blonde made his way to his team all the while trying to understand what had happened in the last few minutes. When she first had meet the whiskered blonde he didn't appear to be anything more than a loud mouthed idiot with an obsession with the color orange. Even that speech he gave during the first exam, while it was admittedly inspirational, it could also have had some serious consequences for him and his team. But after all this she wasn't sure what to think about the blonde shinobi. 'Just who are you really; Naruto Uzumaki.'
"So what do you think Temari, do you think we can believe him?" Kankuro asked his older sibling.
Temari shook her head as she turned her sight to her youngest brother as he continued to sleep against the wall, "I'm not sure Kankuro. But if he really did help Gaara like he said he did than at the very least I'm grateful that he gave us our little brother back."
"But what about the invasion plan? Gaara is supposed to lose control of the Shukaku and go on a rampage, what then?" He continued in a whisper making sure no one could hear him.
Temari took a moment to think about the real reason they were in Konoha and what it might mean before speaking in an equally quite tone, "I don't know Kankuro but we shouldn't talk about it here anyway." Kankuro nodded his head in understanding knowing that if they were caught at this point and time they would be in some serious trouble.
When Naruto finally reached the others he noticed that they were all staring at him though they were trying to be discrete about it he could still tell by the occasional glance that they threw his way. Seeing this Naruto decided to just ignore them seeing as he wasn't even sure what he would tell them if they asked anything.
"Naruto."
Naruto turned around to look at his sensei, "Yeah Kakashi-sensei?" the blonde questioned.
"Is there anything you'd like to share with the rest of us?" Kakashi replied.
Naruto scrunched up his face in confusion as he tried to think of a reason as to why his sensei would ask him that. "What are you talking about Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto asked after nothing came to mind.
"Hmmm I don't know maybe an explanation to how you got those wings coming out of your back." Kakashi asked though he the way he said it didn't make it sound like a question.
"Wings?" asked Naruto in a slightly confused tone before he seemed to realize what Kakashi was talking about, "Oh you mean these." Naruto said indicating the six golden wings that were folded over his body.
"Yes those." Kakashi replied.
Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he grinned sheepishly, "Ah sort of forgot about that."
Hearing this Kakashi couldn't help but sweat drop, 'I guess no matter what happens Naruto will always be Naruto.' "So care to explain how you got them? And how could you possibly forget that they are there?"
Naruto simply shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know. They could be some sort of kekkei genkai that I got from either of my parents." Naruto said gaining a faraway look at the thought of the parents that he never met. Naruto shook his head refusing to let the depressing thoughts that came with thinking of his parents to affect him. "As to how I forgot; I guess it's because it feels like they have always been there so it's easy to forget they're there."
"I see… Do you know what this bloodline can do?"
"Besides what I did in the arena I don't have a clue." Naruto answered.
Not knowing what else he could ask, Kakashi nodded his head in acceptance before turning back to his book, 'A Kekkei Genkai is unlikely since Sensei never had one. On the other hand I don't know that much about the Uzumaki clan so it's not completely impossible that Naruto got it from his mother's side. I'll have to speak to the Hokage about this.' With that Kakashi sent a quick hand signal to his Kage to inform him of what little he learned from the blonde before he waited for the next match to start.
"Hey Naruto?" Hearing the voice of his only female teammate Naruto turned his head to look at Sakura and noticed the slightly concerned look that she had.
'I don't think I've ever seen her look at me like that before.' Thought Naruto before answering his teammate, "Yeah Sakura-Chan, what is it?"
"It's just that I wanted to make sure that you were alright." She said in a worried tone, after all it isn't every day that someone is supposedly crushed to death in a sand coffin only to sprout wings before it could happen.
Naruto was confused due to Sakura's question and her strange behavior but decided that he should answer anyway incase she got mad and decided to hit him, "Of course I am Sakura-Chan why wouldn't I be."
Sakura gave him a look as if questioning how stupid he really was "You're kidding right? Naruto you were almost crushed to death."
"But I wasn't." Naruto replied confused.
"Yeah only because those wings grew out of your back and you started to do all those things you've never been able to do before. At least I don't think you could."
Naruto gave Sakura what he hoped to be a reassuring smile. "Don't worry Sakura-Chan I promise that I'm fine."
Sakura could tell by the look in his eyes that he was being honest and that settled the worry she had been feeling since the match had started even though she wasn't why she had been so worried Naruto simply wasn't the kind of person that would let anything stop him from achieving his dream of being Hokage. "Well if you're sure."
"I am, so smile Sakura-Chan looks prettier when she is smiling." Naruto said as he gave her his infamous fox like grin.
Sakura could feel the heat coming off her cheeks from the blush that now covered her face. She turned away from the blonde to keep him from seeing it. "Baka." She muttered quietly though it lacked any hostility.
"Huh? What was that Sakura-Chan?" asked Naruto as he tried to look at the pinkette who for some reason started acting strangely again. "Hey Sakura-Chan your face is all red you're not getting sick are you?" Naruto asked worriedly.
"It's nothing Naruto." She replied before she thought of something, "Uh Naruto?"
"Hmm what is it?"
"How exactly are you going to wear a shirt with those things coming out of your back?"
This caught Naruto by surprise he hadn't even thought about that in the adrenaline rush that came with his new found power he had not thought about what problems his wings could cause him. But no sooner did he think about figuring out a way to deal with the problem did the wings spread out on their own accord before folding in on themselves and sinking into his back without leaving a mark.
"Whoa wasn't expecting that," Naruto said as he turned his head to try and look at his back, "There isn't even anything to show they where even there."
"Yeah but your clothes are ruined." Sakura said as she finally took in his clothes that were now little more than rags.
"Awww now I'm going to need some new clothes."
Sakura smirked in amusement at the blonde's response, "Good maybe now you'll get some decent clothes. Seriously Naruto why would you even get something that sticks out as much as an orange jumpsuit"
"What? Sakura-Chan how could you say such a thing orange is my favorite color and this jumpsuit is awesome."
"Well that doesn't really matter now does it but come on Naruto that isn't exactly appropriate clothes for a Shinobi." She replied
Naruto hmphed in annoyance crossing his arms over his chest as he looked toward the arena the damage from his fight finally having been cleared as he quietly muttered "Whatever."
As he watched the referee for the matches, Gekkou Hayate, make his way to the center of the arena he thought about what he had not told either Kakashi or Sakura. What happened in that one second before the sand compressed and tried to crush him.
Flashback
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
The sound of constantly dripping water woke Naruto from his passed out state. Slowly he stood up as he took in his surroundings from what he could tell he was in a sewer though none like he had ever seen before. Unlike normal sewers this one seemed to produce its own light and besides the pipes he saw near the roof of the place he could see nothing else worth mentioning. But that mattered little to him at the moment as he started to walk down the sewers many passages ways without any conscious thought of the many turns that he was taking that when he would think about it later he would say it was more like a maze than anything else. But still he felt himself being pulled toward something that he couldn't really be describe though he really couldn't finding himself caring enough to try.
When he finally regained a sense of conscience and thought he found himself in front of a giant golden cage that he couldn't see the top of and stretched to reach both sides of the room it was in with a piece of paper with the kanji for seal written on it. And here was where he felt that indescribable feeling become almost suffocating.
Naruto walked closer to the giant gates as he tried to peer through the darkness that lay beyond them. He only had a moment to react before a giant claw went through the bars of the cage and would have gone through his had he not jumped back in order to avoid it.
"Careful kit a second longer and that would have been it for you." A deep almost malevolent voice spoke as it seemed vibrate off the walls around them.
"W-who are you?" Naruto asked, he tried to sound confident but a bit of the fear he felt still managed to get through.
"Isn't it obvious?" the voice asked, "I am the Kyuubi no Kitsune." The now revealed Kyuubi announced as a giant fanged version of his usual fox grin appeared.
"Y-you're the Kyuubi?" asked Naruto as he realized who it was he was talking to, "You're the reason behind everyone hating me! It's because of you that I've gone through the hell I have! It's your damn fault for all the bad things that have happened to me! The reason why I have been alone all my life!" Naruto yelled as he listed off all the things that he had to go through in his short life.
"Are you done yet?" Kyuubi asked in a board tone.
"What?" Naruto asked shocked.
"I asked if you were done yet kit. You don't really think you can fool me do you? I am a kitsune after all, a trickster, especially one who has been sealed inside you for the past what twelve years." Kyuubi replied as he stared down at his shocked container.
Naruto had his head down so his hair covered his eyes as he began to shake. At first glance one would assume that he was crying but that thought would have been wiped away the moment he started to chuckle. There was no anger or insanity in it like one would expect from a jinjuriki but a laugh that is heard when a person has just gotten done playing a prank. Naruto held his stomach as tears started to fall from his eyes because of how hard he was laughing.
"W-What? Couldn't you let me have a bit more fun?" Naruto asked as he composed himself. "Oh well I guess it's time that I let the mask fall."
"If you are done, we have much to discuss before our time is up." The kitsune said as he lay down to make it easier on the blond.
"Wait you're going to help me? Why? Isn't that sort of against the whole "I am the Great Kyuubi no Kitsune, strongest of the bijuu who only cares about my continued survival and if you don't release me so I may fest on the marrow of your bones." Or something along those lines?" the orange clad shinobi asked.
"For any of the other bijuu you might have been right but I AM a kitsune you damn baka! We do not do predictable you should already know this. " The Kyuubi explained.
"Fine then how exactly are you supposed to help me while sealed away? Since that Hebi-teme did something to the seal I haven't been able to feel any of your chakra and my own control has gone to hell, well the little that I had." Naruto said before mumbling the last part to himself; though Kyuubi still managed to hear him.
"At this point there is nothing I can do." Kyuubi replied, seeing that the blond was about to ask him a question and already guessing what it could be he continued. "But there isn't any reason for me to do much."
"What do you mean there isn't a reason? If you haven't noticed I'm, excuse me WE'RE about to be crushed by Gaara's sand!" Naruto yelled.
Kyuubi scoffed before replying. "Even if you're new kekkei genkai wasn't awakening I would never allow you to lose to the Shukaku's vessel. I might not act like it but I still have my pride, and losing to the weakest of the bijuu is not something I would ever accept.
Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the demon lord's words registered, "K-ke-kekkei gen-kai? A blood line, but how?" he asked. In his twelve years of life he had never even suspected he had a kekkei genkai seeing as he never done anything that would suggest it, so it was understandable that he would be surprised.
The Kyuubi's grin seemed to get larger at the question before he answered. "It is because of what that snake did to you in the forest. The seal he placed on you was the trigger for something that has never happened before."
"What do you mean?" Naruto questioned.
"In your body there is your human chakra, my youki the demon equivalence of chakra, and the reiryoku of a Kami, true it is the Shinigami but a god is a god." Kyuubi responded before pausing to make sure that Naruto understood, "Now you aren't the first person to have the Shiki Fujin used to seal a bijuu inside of you and I highly doubt you'll be the last. But what sets you apart from the others is your lineage."
"My lineage, what do you mean? Does my kekkei genkai come from one of my parents?" Naruto questioned not understanding what his families past might have anything to do with this. 'Is it possible he knows who my parents are?'
"No this goes much farther back than your parents to the time of the Rikudo Sennin." Kyuubi replied.
"The Rikudo Sennin the father of ninjutsu and the legendary wielder of the Rinningan." Naruto said as his eyes widened in surprise at the Kyuubi's mention of the legendary sage.
"Yes him," Kyuubi answered "Though it is not well known the Rikudo Sennin was actually an Uzumaki." Seeing the surprised look on Naruto's face Kyuubi couldn't help but chuckle before continuing, "And it is because his blood, the blood that held the Rinningan, that you were able to gain this new blood line."
"Okay so I get how I got the kekkei genkai but how does the seal the Hebi-teme fit into all this?" Naruto asked still unsure how something that was supposed to hinder him was actually helping him.
Kyuubi seemed to sigh at the boy's impatience before answering, "Because right before the snake sealed away my youki you began to activate the Rinningan, but because of the sudden change in your chakra coils from the seal being placed it caused a mutation to occur."
"Mutation? Then I won't be getting the Rinningan?" Naruto asked only to receive a shake of the head from the Kyuubi. "Then what will be happening? What is this kekkei genkai that I'm supposed to be getting?"
"The possibilities are too great to determine what will happen it could be anything. But whatever it is you can be sure it will be like nothing you could have ever imagined." Kyuubi replied as a smirk made its way to its vulpine face.
"You don't know! If you didn't know then what was the point of bringing me here?" Naruto yelled.
"Because there are other things going on within you besides the emerging of your new bloodline that you need to know about." Kyuubi replied in a calm tone though on the inside he was angry that a human would dare raise his voice against him. Seeing that Naruto wasn't going to say anything having decided to listen to what else Kyuubi had to say. "Your kekkei genkai, whatever it is, is already purging my youki of its poison leaving it all at your disposal."
"Well it's nice to know that you won't be trying to kill me at some point. I guess we'll be working together from now on, huh?" Naruto replied.
The claws that once again rammed through the gate caught the blond by surprise causing him to flinch and fall back. Naruto could feel the Kyuubi's killing intent subtlety rising as its red chakra manifested around its body, though he noticed that it was slowly turning a gold color.
"Don't misunderstand things ningen. Just because I can no longer free myself from this blasted cage doesn't mean we will be friends. If there is a way for me to gain my freedom I'll take it before I rip you to shreds." Kyuubi spoke as retracted his claw back into the cage and lowered his killing intent back to normal levels, well normal for a demon anyway. "As for working together I really don't have much of a choice in that matter now do I?"
Naruto shook off the effects of the KI before smirking at Kyuubi somewhat amused by his reaction though a part of him was also pissed that he tried to skewer him again. "If you say so," Naruto replied dismissively, "So is there anything else or is that it? Because there is still a fight for me to get back to." he asked.
Kyuubi grunted miffed that his threat was being dismissed so easily before speaking. "Just two more things then you can get out of my sight. First of all while you do have access to all my yokai, your body can't currently handle that much energy running through your chakra coils. Using all nine tails, if even that worth of power, while not being able to kill you, will put you in a hospital bed for several weeks and you'll be in severe pain while your laid out."
Naruto nodded his head to show he understood, "Okay so how many tails can I use without having to visit the hospital?" He asked.
Kyuubi actually seemed to think about the blond's question before he answered, "Safely one tail should be fine, two for a few minutes might be pushing it, but three or more and you'll find yourself in a bed for a week at least with your insides feeling like they've been lit on fire."
"One tail is okay. Two only if necessary and three should be avoided, got it." Naruto said with a nod of his head, "What else?" he questioned.
"Finally you'll need that seal the snake placed on you removed. While its initial purpose can no longer be accomplished it is still disrupting your chakra control. We also don't know if it can have any effect on your kekkei genkai and its best to remove it as soon as possible so there will as little damage as possible."
"So I just have to have the seal removed and that's it?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, you can go now." Kyuubi replied as he lay down to go back to sleep.
"What? And how exactly am I supposed to do that?" Naruto asked, but as soon as he finished asking his question he found himself being flung out of his own mind.
With Naruto gone Kyuubi slowly closed his eyes to get some more sleep. Some would call the strongest of the bijuu lazy but with nothing else to do but watch water drip sleeping really that bad of an idea.
'Your son will be great Kushina. Someday he'll definitely surpass both you and Minato; he'll achieve his dream and be the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen. And I'll make sure to protect him till he doesn't need it.' Kyuubi thought silently as he finally closed his eyes and went to sleep his final thoughts of a little girl with red hair smiling up at him.
End Flashback
"The next match will between Neji Hyuuga and Hinata Hyuuga."
Naruto was brought back to the present when he heard Hayate call out the names for the next match. Looking up toward the screen he saw the proof of who would be fighting next. Neji walked down to the arena his resolve to show the heiress of the main branch her place as a failure set. Hinata on the other hand stride was anything but confident. The fear of being shown a failure and how weak she was in front of everyone, in front of Naruto, was already gripping at her heart making the doubt in her increase with each step she took.
Standing across from one another the two members of the prestigious Hyuuga clan couldn't be more different. One with a mask of cold indifference that hid a misplaced hatred for the main branch, the other while kind and caring by nature lacked the self-confidence in herself to bring about the change she wished for, for her clan.
Looking at the two combatants Hayate raised his hand before bringing it down. "Hajime"
For a moment neither moved or made any indication that they had heard that the match had begun, Hinata avoiding all possible eye contact and Neji looking at his cousin as if looking at her very soul. "Hinata-sama I will only say this once please surrender. There is no point in fighting a battle we both know you can't win."
Hinata flinched at his words because she knew them to be true in all the time she had sparred against her younger sister she had never been able to win even once. Her cousin was easily much stronger than even her; he wasn't called the genius of the Hyuuga clan for no reason.
"You didn't even want to be here so why keep trying."
"N-no tha-that's not tru-true," Hinata replied.
"Is that so? Don't lie to yourself Hinata-Sama you didn't want to take part in the exams but your teammates did. You knew that all three members of a squad had to participate in order to enter. So in order not to disappoint them you agreed to enter even though you knew you weren't ready." Neji said his tone cold and harsh.
"You're w-wrong I-I wanted to enter I wa-wanted to-to pro-prove to my-self that I could ch-ch-change." Hinata replied her uneasiness with the situation becoming more and more evident.
"One cannot change who they are. At birth one's fate is decided for them and no amount of work or effort can ever change that. Your fate was to be a failure and it's your fate to lose here, to me." Neji stated more forcefully as he finally got into the juken stance.
Hinata seeing her cousin get into the juken stance followed suite knowing that he wouldn't hesitate in attacking her if she wasn't ready.
Up in the walk ways the other participants watched as the two entered a stance that mirrored each other. The members of Team 8 were worried for their friend, teammate, and student as they watched her fight against possibly the worst person possible outside of Gaara.
Noticing their similar stances something seemed to click for Naruto as he just realized something. "Those stances and their lasts names… Are they related to each other?" he questioned
"Yes they are. In fact they're actually cousins." Kakashi answered having heard his blond student's question.
"They're cousins? That guy sure doesn't act like it." Naruto muttered as he watched the two stare each other down though the proof of Hinata's reluctance to fight was still obvious from how shaky her stance was.
"Well… things between the main and branch families of the Hyuuga clan have always been a bit unstable." Kakashi explained, 'Though even this seems to be taking things too far for a feud within the family.'
"I will only say this one more time Hinata-Sama surrender now and accept your fate." Neji said though a part of him wanted her to fight, if for no other reason than to show her just how weak she really was. Seeing that Hinata made no motion to surrender Neji accepted that there was only one way to end this. "So be it."
Neji rushed forward with Hinata doing the same seconds later. At about midway the two meet and immediately started to exchange strikes with one another, though everyone could tell that Hinata was quickly being overwhelmed by her cousin.
With each thrust of her palm Neji would either move out of the way or deflect it with his own hands before he continued his assault. Hinata wasn't helpless though and managed to avoid some strikes but the amount that missed were few and her cousin's strikes at her chakra points were quickly robbing her of both her chakra and what little confidence she had.
After a vicious strike from Neji, Hinata fell to the ground breathing hard and her body was protesting any sort of movement.
"Now do you see the difference between us?" Neji spoke as he looked down at his cousin. ".You might have been born into the main branch but fate has decided that you will be a failure and no matter what you do you will always be a failure" He watched as she struggled to get up only to fall on the ground again. "Why do you keep trying to resist? You who are a disgrace to the Hyuuga clan as its heir have no right to be a shinobi with such a weak heart. Your younger sister already shows more promise than you do, Hiashi-Sama recognized this and that is why he now trains her, to prepare her to be the next clan head."
These words seemed to hit Hinata hard, she knew how disappointed her father was with her and how it was already whispered in the compound that Hanabi would become the clan heiress instead of her. But to hear those words spoken by someone else made them that much more real. With much effort she got back onto her feet his resolve shaken beyond belief. 'Maybe he's right. I've never been able to do anything myself. Even on missions I've always had to rely on Kurenai-Sensei, Kiba-Kun, and Shino-Kun. I've always had to have them save me because I was too weak to do it myself, maybe I should…'
"THAT'S ENOUGH." A voiced yelled from the stands above.
As one everyone turned their heads to the source of the voice with none of the leaf shinobi being surprised that it came from one whiskered marked blond haired shinobi. Looking down at the arena Naruto was glaring at Neji his eyes as cold as winter in Yuki no Kuni. He shifted his gaze from Neji to Hinata, while he lost is glare his eyes were just as intense as they seemed to freeze the pale eyed girl in her place.
"Hinata don't listen to this guy you can't simply give up now you've worked too hard to get here to just quite!" Naruto exclaimed.
Neji scoffed at the blonds words as turned his head just enough to stare at the blond but still keep the Hyuuga heiress in his sight. "What are you blabbering about? Fate has already decided she will lose here what is the point of prolonging the inevitable."
A growl seemed to come out of orange ragged clad shinobi as he once more turned his glare at the Hyuuga prodigy. "Shut up! Who are you to speak about fate and what is decided, I say to hell with all of it." He shifted his eyes toward the shocked girl down at the arena before continuing. "You're here to prove something aren't you, Hinata? Then don't quite just because this teme says to. There is more to being strong than who is the one that wins a fight and now is the time to prove how strong you really are. Show me, show all of us your strength your resolve. Show everyone here exactly why you're a kunoichi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. I know you can do it."
"You are a fool if you actually believe that one can deny their fate. You most of all should know that no matter what you'll always be a failure. For a moment I had forgotten who you were, you were in my class having entered the academy early and even back then you were a failure. Out of everyone in our class you were the only one to fail the graduation exam weren't you?" Neji questioned though by the tone of his voice he didn't really expect or want an answer. "Always acting the fool and skipping out on class and here we are a year later and you haven't changed at all. You are still a failure and that is what you always will be, never amounting to anything more than one more name that will be added to Memorial stone when you die because of your stupidity." Neji spoke out harshly as he stared directly at the blond now. Everyone watched the blond waiting for him to explode at the Hyuuga's harsh words, so everyone was caught by surprise when the retort didn't come from the blond but from the soft spoken Hyuuga heiress.
"That is enough Neji-Niisama." Spoke Hinata her voice while still having its usual softness to it, it also had a hard edge to it that no one present had ever herd before. Neji looked at his cousin momentarily speechless completely taken back by her change of demeanor. "Y-y-you can say what you w-w-wa-want about me but I won't allow you to say such words a-about Naruto-Kun."
"Hinata" Naruto murmured quietly to himself as he heard the young kunoichi defend him.
"Where is this new sense of confidence coming from Hinata-Sama?" Neji questioned having regained his composure as he once more look at his cousin with his impassive stare.
"Naruto-Kun was right; I entered the Chunin th-the Exams b-b-because I wanted to prove t-t-t-to myself that I could change." Hinata spared the blond a glance before she refocused on her cousin, "I can't give up now Nii-Sama n-not until I prove how mu-uch stronger I have become." 'Not when Naruto-Kun believes in me, not when he is finally noticing me.' With that she activated her Byakugan and took the classic Hyuuga juken stance, this time her stance was far more solid in form where before she was shaking like a leaf now her body stood strong as it spoke of nothing but of determination and confidence.
"Are you swayed by a bunch a foolish words so easily Hinata-Sama? Do you honestly believe that with a bit of effort you'll be able defy your fate so easily? I'll show you just how pointless your efforts truly are." Neji said as he also activated the Byakugan and took his stance.
Without the second thought the two rushed each other each strike with the intent of cutting of the other's chakra network and ending this match. Hinata launched each thrust of her palms with far more strength than she did when the match started, or then she had whenever she attacked before. Neji was only slightly surprised by her change and even that only lasted for a moment before he redoubled his efforts. But her attacks weren't the only things to have changed Neji found that his cousin was dodging more of his attacks. She moved in a matter similar to water itself, the limberness she possessed made it increasingly harder for him to land a hit while she was able to move in order to set up her next strike.
'She is definitely better than what I thought she could be.' Neji thought absentmindedly not very concerned with the situation at hand. At that moment Hinata was able to land a devastating hit with Neji following not a second later, but to the eyes of all the spectators in the stand Hinata had landed the winning blow. 'But she is still nothing next to me.' Grabbing the hand that landed the hit that had all but guaranteed his cousin's victory he took a small pleasure at the surprise that now painted her face.
Everyone was stunned into silence, while no one outside of the Hyuuga clan or had extensive knowledge in the medical field knew just how devastating the Hyuuga's Gentle fist could really be, everyone did expect that this last hit would have knocked the arrogant prodigy down for the count. The shock that everyone felt was further emphasized when Hinata feel forward slightly with a bit of blood coming out of her mouth. Neji grabbed the sleeve of her jacket and pulled it back showing the girl varies marks on seemingly random parts of her arm though there meaning was obvious to the Hyuuga heiress.
"That's…" Hinata gasped out quietly.
"From the very beginning my goal was to close all the chakra points in your arms." Neji explained as he stepped back, Hinata falling to the ground from losing the little support she had. "You were so focused on me you didn't notice that slowly all your chakra was being sealed away. This was always fated to happen Hinata-Sama there was no escaping it, there was no stopping it. No matter how hard you tried fate had already decided that I would be the victor and you the loser." Neji turned away only sparing the proctor a glance before making his way to the stairs leading up to the stands. "Call the match there is no way she will be getting up."
"N-no I-I-I can st-still f-fi-fight." Neji had only walked a couple of steps before he heard Hinata speak up from behind him. Looking back he saw that shy kunoichi was back on her feet though she seemed a bit wobbly.
"Why do you insist on continuing this match you are in no condition to keep fighting and with your chakra sealed off you are helpless?" Neji spoke gaining just a hint of irritation in its tone.
"I-I… won't gi-ive… up Neji-N-niisama. I'll sh-show you… tha-that your wr-wr-wrong… about me." Hinata said as she started to gasp for air as she tried to get back into the juken stance again. Only she had trouble maintaining it as her arms kept falling back to her side as they felt far heavier than they ever had before to her.
"Please stop this Hinata-Sama there is no point in continuing with the match." Neji said though his tone of voice came off more as indifferent rather than concerned. "You only humiliate the clan further if you continue to fight you have been. Things are the way they are because that is what fate has decided there is no point fighting it because you'll be disappointed in the end."
Hinata shook her head sadly, "I-I can't do that. I can't j-j-just accept how th-things are wi-without trying to do som-something. You act s-so strong Nii-Sama b-b-but I can see, I can see h-ho-how hurt you re-really are. How much pain you m-m-must be in be-because of how the c-c-clan is and I want to ch-change t-t-th-that. I wa-want to make it s-s-so that you won't h-have to live wi-with that pain ev-ever again."
Something in her words seemed to have struck a chord in Neji for the Hyuuga prodigy ran forward Byakugan in full blaze as he prepared to land a juken strike at the weakened Hyuuga's heart, no longer caring what the consequences might be if he killed her with this last hit. The proctor along with the Jonin sensei were ready to intervene only to be stopped before they even had a chance to move a muscle by what they saw before them.
There at the center of the arena between the two combatants stood Naruto his six golden wings once more in full view of everyone there. The one at the top right seemingly bent around his body acting as a sort of shield as it had blocked, much to the surprise of, Neji and his attack before it could do any damage to Hinata or himself. His eyes no longer the warm sapphire blue many had become used to instead they were a crystal blue that seemed to freeze all that were in there sight.
"You have done enough Hyuuga. Take one more step and you'll regret it." Naruto said his tone fierce yet colder then what anyone had ever heard, or thought possible, before.
Neji scoffed at the blond's declaration not at all worried, "And what exactly could a failure like you possibly hope to do against me. I would have thought that after watching this match Uzumaki that you would understand that you can't fight against fate."
"You really need to shut up about all that fate crap." Was Naruto's simple reply as he turned his back at the angered Hyuuga and made his way toward Hinata.
In a moment of anger Neji moved to attack Naruto from behind aiming for the spot at his back where his wings connected to his back. Only to be stopped again, but this time by sand that seemed to have come out of nowhere. Naruto turned around having heard Neji's approaching footsteps only to be surprised when he was stopped by a trendily of sand. That surprise only lasted for a second before he started chuckling.
"Shouldn't you be resting, Gaara?" Naruto asked as he turned his head to look over his shoulder to stare at the standing Suna-nin who stood in his classics pose with his hands crossed over his chest.
"Who could sleep with all the yelling you did." Gaara replied.
Naruto had a confused look for a second before he seemed to realize what Gaara was talking about. "Hehe sorry about that guess I forgot." He said as he rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment with a sheepish grin on his face. "But thanks for having my back."
As a response Gaara simply nodded his head as he made sure to keep his eyes on the branch family member incase he tried to attack again.
"So is this how it is, the main house gets shown favoritism, even from foreign shinobi." Neji said through grounded teeth as the spite he felt for the main house became obvious to everyone in attendance. Neji opened to say something else but was cut off as he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"That is enough Neji." Gai spoke from behind his student as he appeared to stop him before he could say anything else. Looking over his shoulder Neji saw his sensei was uncharacteristically series from his usual goofy if not highly disturbing self. He also noticed that his cousin's sensei, Kurenai Yuhi, was beside the fallen kunoichi.
Seeing that Neji was under control Naruto made his way to Hinata as kneeled down beside the girl. "How is she?" He asked as he stared at the girl with slight worry.
On Hinata's other side knelt Kurenai trying to determine the extent of the damage her student had received. She only spared the blond shinobi a glance before she refocused on the young heiress. "She is badly hurt that last attack was very close to her heart if we don't get her to the hospital soon it might become worse." She answered as the med-nin that were there for the preliminaries made their way over, "Don't worry Naruto she'll be alright." She tried to reassure the blond.
Naruto only nodded solemnly never having taken his eyes off of Hinata. 'I wish there was something I could do.' He thought to himself feeling slightly responsible that the girl was now in the condition she was in. From the back of his head he heard a whisper telling him what to do. It reminded him of when he was fighting Gaara and he knew instinctively what he needed to do in order to win. Gathering chakra to his hands he watched as they started to glow a golden color holding them above Hinata's body the light that came off his hand seemed to reach out and bathe Hinata, "Heaven's salvation."
Kurenai watched what Naruto curiously as he gathered chakra into his hands and was about to stop him from whatever it was he was doing when she noticed that Hinata started to have easier time breathing. 'Is he healing her?' She thought to herself.
'You were amazing Hinata you proved how strong you really are by standing up to your cousin and that you truly deserve to be a kunoichi of Konoha.' Naruto thought silently to himself. After a few seconds the golden light started to fade away as Naruto started to pant slightly from exhaustion as he stepped back.
The medics immediately got to work, having been held back by Kurenai, as they checked the girl over. Kurenai on the other hand focused her attention on Naruto wanting answers to exactly what he was doing to her student.
"I was healing her." Naruto answered already guessing what Kurenai was about to ask before she could, "I wasn't able to heal… her… completely but at the very least… she won't be in any danger." He finished as he tried to regain his breath.
"But how?" She asked doubting it was any medical jutsu since that took years of training and a level of chakra control she doubted Naruto had.
"I'm not sure… I just knew that I could." Naruto replied honestly.
At that moment one of the medic-nin moved toward Kurenai catching her attention before more could be asked. "Whatever it was that Uzumaki-San did seems to have healed much of the damage caused to Hyuuga-San. There is still some damage to her chakra coils but nothing series that can't be treated at the hospital and after some rest she should be alright." The med-nin said as the others put Hinata on a stretch to prepare her for transport.
"Understood," Kurenai replied relieved that her student was not in any critical danger. The med-nin nodded his head in reply as he followed his colleagues out the door. Kurenai turned her attention back to Naruto to thank him for his help only to find him glaring at the Hyuuga prodigy that had stood there watching the whole thing.
"What is it?" Neji asked, though it didn't seem much like a question, annoyed with the whole situation.
At first Naruto didn't reply he simply stared at the genin across from him before he knelt down where some of Hinata's blood had fallen on the ground. Reaching out his hand Naruto swiped it through the blood before he stood back up, held out his hand that was clenched as a fist toward Neji with some of the blood dripping off it. "On this blood and my Nindo I promise you Neji Hyuuga I will make you pay for what you did to Hinata." He said his eyes glowing a dark blue that spoke of the power he now held as his wings shone with that same brilliance that bathed everyone, "I will prove that you are wrong and that fate has no say over us, that a person can become great with enough effort. That I swear to you Neji Hyuuga."
If Neji was worried by the blond's words he hid it well as he refused to answer as he turned away and made his way back to the balconies. Seeing as the Hyuuga refused to answer him and there were still other matches to get underway Naruto, along with Kurenai and Gai, left the arena floor.
Watching from the stands Sakura watched as her knuckleheaded teammate made his promise. She once again was surprised by the blond he gave Hinata the strength she needed to stand up for herself and then protected her when it was obvious to everyone she could no longer continue, a part of her wondered if he would do the same for her, and finally healed the girl of her injuries. Throughout the match she stood there and watched as Hinata fought to prove herself and defend Naruto from her cousin. Then seeing how he acted toward her, it made her heart clench slightly.
Of course she was proud of her teammate but watching how he would stare at Hinata during her match unsettled her. She, along with everyone else, knew about the crush Hinata had harbored for the blond shinobi but it wasn't until now that it finally registered what those feelings meant or that Naruto could someday return them. The ideas of Naruto being with Hinata; or anyone made her heart feel a sorrow that seemed to consume it and she didn't know why.
'Why am I feeling this way? Shouldn't I be happy that Naruto might finally leave me alone? But if that is true why am I feeling this way?' She thought to herself as she watched Naruto make his way back and finally resume his spot beside, though she knew by the look on his face right now wasn't the right time to speak to him.
A few minutes later the arena had been cleaned of the blood that was still on the. Either because his sickness or because he wanted everyone's attention Hayate coughed drawing all eyes to him.
"We will now chose the next combatants for the next round." He announced amazingly enough without ever stopping to cough. Names began to flash across the screen as those that had yet to fight tensed with anticipation at the chance of being next. When the names stopped flashing it drew twin cheers from the two participants.
Kiba Inuzuka
VS
Rock Lee
"Cough. Cough. Cough. Will both Kiba Inuzuka. Cough. And Rock Lee make their way to the arena floor. Cough. Cough." Hayate said as he went into a coughing fit.
"Alright Akamaru it's our turn to shine. Let's show them who the best around here is." Kiba declared as he jumped down to the arena floor from the stands with Akamaru riding on top of his head.
"Yosh it's finally my turn!" Lee exclaimed as he pumped his fist and all but jumped up and down in excitement.
"Alright Lee! It's time you show everyone your flames of youth! Gai said in a overly loud voice as he stood beside his prized student.
"I won't let you down Gai-Sensei." Lee promised as he saluted his mentor.
Leaning in close Gai spoke in a whisper, as in only people in Kumo couldn't hear him, "Listen up Lee I'm going to give you some advice." Lee came in close to make sure he heard every word that his sensei said. "Watch out for his dog something tells me he is not only Kiba's pet."
'Are you telling me that all these years you barely figuring that out Gai?' Kakashi thought exasperated at his oldest friends antics.
"That is most excellent advice Gai-Sensei!" Lee said as he wrote it down in a notebook he seemed to pull out of nowhere. (AN: Wonder if Lee ever met Jiraiya they both seem to be able to do that. Hey can anyone imagine what Lee trained by Jiraiya would be like.)
"What are you doing you won't have time to read notes during a match." Gai chided his student though it barely came off as such.
"Ah, more excellent advice." Lee replied as he wrote that down to.
Pointing forward Gai seemed to ignore the fact that Lee had wrote his 'advice' down again, "Go Lee!"
"Right Gai-Sensei I won't disappoint you!" Lee exclaimed has he jumped over the railing like Kiba did.
Landing across from Kiba the two became deadly serious as they stared each other down looking for any possible opening they can exploit, even Akamaru.
"You're one of the Neji guy's teammates aren't you?" Kiba finally asked as his feral eyes narrowed a bit.
"That's right." Lee answered.
"Then I defiantly can't hold back or lose here." Kiba decided as he threw a pill toward Akamaru who immediately ate the pill as his fur turned a dark reddish color. Going through a quick series of hand signs let crouched down on all fours. "Ninja art: Beast Mimicry." He then went through another series of hand signs as Akamaru hopped onto his back. "Ninja Art: Man-Beast Clone." With a puff of smoke where once stood one Kiba there were now two.
'So this is the Inuzuka clan's Kekkei Genkai. The ability to fight alongside their Nin-ken' Lee thought as he kept his eyes on the now two Kibas.
"Let's go Akamaru." The Kiba at the bottom spoke as the one on top seemed to growl in agreement. With that the one on top jumped off the others back before the two raced forward. With a cry of "Fang over fang," The two Kiba began to spin in a matter similar to a drill as they closed in with their opponent.
Lee stood his ground as the attack closed in on him. At the last moment when Kiba was sure that he would be making contact the bowl cut haired boy seemed vanish into thin air. The two Kibas were surprised by this turn of event and immediately stopped their rotation to land where the spandex clad boy stood only a second ago. 'What where did he go?' Kiba thought as he began to look around, it was only a second later that his enhanced sense of smell let him know that his opponent was behind him.
"Your attack is most impressive," Lee said as he stood behind the two look a likes, "But if you can't keep up with me then this match is already over." He finished as he threw a punch at one Kiba who was only just able to lift his arms up in order to block the hit but was still thrown back by the force of the punch. Lee then spun around poised to kick the other Kiba only to have him barely jump out of the range of the kick. Lee wasn't giving Kiba any time to react to his assault as he charged forward before jumping into the air, "Leaf Whirlwind."
Kiba ducked under the first kick but was caught by surprise when he saw the second kick coming his way. 'Damn.' Without enough time to either dodge or raise a good defense the kick was able to hit its target and sent Kiba sprawling further back.
While this was happening the other Kiba had recovered from the initial punch and had rushed over before jumping into the air as he spun around intent on hitting the person who had attacked his partner. The attack hit Lee's back sending him toward the ground, when he hit Lee went into a roll both to lessen the force of the impact with the stone floor and to get out of range of any possible follow up attack.
Quickly recovering the Kiba that had been kicked pulled out a couple of smoke bombs that he had on him knowing that he needed an advantage of some sort against the Taijutsu user. "Alright let's see how you deal with this!" he shouted as he threw the smoke bombs at Lee's feet. The smoke bombs instantly did their job once they hit the ground as they released black smoke making it impossible to see for both Lee and everyone up on the balconies. "Alright let's try this again. You ready Akamaru? Fang over fang!" The two Kibas once more became twisters of claws as they dove into the smoke relying heavily on their sense of smell in order to find their target.
In the smoke Lee had his hands up in a guard position protecting his face and most of his upper chest as withstood the assault of Kiba's attack, as small tears would appear at seemingly random spots as the only proof that a hit landed. 'This is most serious, I cannot see where he is attacking from but this smoke doesn't seem to affect him at all. If I do not do something quickly he will wear out my defenses. I must get out of this smoke.' With a burst of speed Lee sprinted out of there when Kiba and Akamaru stopped their attack for a second to catch their breaths.
"Damn this guy is fast." Kiba muttered as he watched Lee land on top of the statue.
"You are a most excellent opponent Kiba. Your teamwork with partner is truly admirable." Lee said from atop the statue. "You said when this match started that you couldn't lose here. Well I too cannot lose here."
"LEE!" Gai shouted from the stands catching the young taijustu specialist, well everyone's really, attention. "Take them off."
It seemed to take Lee a moment to register the words before for he grew noticeably excited. "But Gai-Sensei you said I shouldn't take them off unless it was to uphold my nindo."
"I know what I said but I'll allow it this one time." Gai replied as he struck the good guy pose.
At Gai's words Lee seemed to become ecstatic at the chance to finally go all out, "Right Gai-Sensei!" Lee answered as he sat down on the statue and started to remove his leg warmers.
Everyone watched as Lee took off what appeared to be leg waits that he had worn under his orange leg warmers.
'Are those leg weights? What does he think he will do by removing a couple of extra pounds?' Kiba thought. After he removed the leg weights Lee stood back up and extended his arms out to his side before he let them go. Nearly everyone's jaw dropped to the floor, except for Gai, Neji, Tenten, and Gaara, when the two training weights left massive creators on the floor where they landed. 'You have got to be kidding me.' Kiba thought in disbelief as he stared at the two columns of smoke that rose up from where the weights landed and seemed to go as high as the statue itself.
"Ah that is much better. Prepare yourself Kiba because from this point forward I will come at you with everything I am." Lee declared proudly before he vanished from everyone's, below the rank of Jonin, line of sight.
Kiba only had a second to register the fact that Lee was now faster than before, before he felt a fist come in contact with the side of his head. Akamaru, who was standing by Kiba, instantly tried to swipe at Lee with his clawed hand; unluckily Lee ducked under his swipe before he hit Akamaru with an uppercut to his jaw. Disoriented from the hit Kiba shakily stood back up as he shook his head trying to focus on the situation. 'Damn it! He's even faster now than he was before! If I don't do something quickly this match will be over.' Kiba thought to himself. With his enhanced speed, thanks to his clan's jutsu, Kiba rushed forward trying to close the distance between him and Lee.
Jumping into the air Kiba spun as he used his signature attack. Sadly with his unrestrained speed Lee had more than enough time to get out of the way of the attack. What he didn't expect was for Akamaru to come down on him with a drop kick. Lee raised his hands up in a guard position in order to block the kick. The two were at a stalemate for a second as they each tried to push the other one back until Lee finally managed to send Akamaru away. Righting himself in midair Akamaru landed on his hands and knees besides his partner before the two went into their combo attack.
With a cry of "Fang over Fang." The two began their assault on bushy-brows, only to miss each time they tried to land a hit as Lee would move out of the way thanks to his superior speed. Though some were close calls, as the two had been working together for a long time and knew what to do so if one of them missed the other one would have an excellent chance to land the hit themselves.
Seeing that this was getting them nowhere Lee decided it was high time to end this match. Getting into position Lee waited for the two to make their way back for another attack. Thinking that they had managed to wear the Taijutsu user out Kiba didn't hesitate in charging ahead hoping to end this match in his favor, with Akamaru right beside him.
Watching as the two twisters came in close Lee waited to make his move at the last possible moment. Everyone up in the stands was expecting for Lee to move out of the way as he had done before but was surprised when he instead cocked both of his fists back and then threw them forward when Kiba and Akamaru were within range.
Lee gritted his teeth in pain as his opponents attacks slowly cut into his skin. Luckily his bandage wraps offered some amount of defense being specially made to last, especially with his and Gai's training regimen. This only lasted for a few seconds before Kiba and Akamaru had to stop their attack from being disoriented from the hard punch they both received.
Acting quickly in order to capitalize on his opponents being out of it Lee moved toward one of the Kiba's hoping that it would be Akamaru he was attacking to knock him out and get him out of the match so he could focus solely on Kiba. Lee's luck held out as with a quick kick to the look a like's side and an additional punch to the head saw the jutsu being broken and Akamaru laying on the ground unconscious. Knowing he didn't have much time to spare Lee gave a silent apology to the small puppy before he appeared in front of Kiba a couple of seconds later. Sweeping Kiba's legs from underneath him the Inuzuka began to fall back.
"What the-!" Whatever Kiba was going to say was cut off as Lee had quickly spun around before he did a drop kick on Kiba's midsection knocking the air out of him and making him hit the ground hard. Reacting just as quickly as before, Lee grabbed a kunai, only cringing slightly from the pain in his hands, before for he held it to the rookie Genin's neck.
"This match is over." Lee declared as he waited for the proctor to make it official.
Seeing that there was no way for the Inuzuka heir to get out of this one, with the boy coughing slightly to get air back in his body and his partner knocked out, Hayate nodded his head in agreement before announcing it to everyone else. "This. Cough. Cough. Match in now over the winner is, Cough, Rock Lee." (AN: Sorry if this match seemed to short but I'm neither good with writing fight scenes or think that Kiba could actually match up to Lee as he currently is.)
"Yes I am now in the Finals!" Lee shouted as celebrated his victory, "Did you see that Gai-Sensei? I WON!"
"YOSH WAY TO GO LEE!" Gai exclaimed, yelled, bellowed, and pretty much any other word you can think of that means to speak loudly, as he once more got into the good guy pose and this time his teeth seemed to sparkle like the stars in the sky. "I'M PROUND OF YOU."
"It's all thanks to you. Gai-Sensei." Lee said as he jumped up onto the balconies to stand by his sensei as the medics, and a vet, came in to take Kiba and Akamaru away and make sure their injuries weren't anything to worry about.
"Nonsense Lee you worked hard to get here you definitely deserve to go to the finals." Gai replied as he put his hand on Lee's shoulder.
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
"Gai-Sensei"
"Lee"
The two then hugged each other as a sunset background with waves crashing onto shore appeared behind the two. To say all those in the stands were highly disturbed was an understatement, heck Gaara was considering killing the two and blaming it as momentarily insanity caused by Shukaku.
'Why can't you two be normal for once?' The lone kunoichi of Squad 9 thought as big anime tears went down her face. (AN: All the other matches happened like they did in cannon along with the pair ups for the finals with the only exception obviously being that Lee is replacing Gaara.)
Looking at the matches for the Finals next month Naruto was only focused on the fact that he would be fighting Neji in the first round. He knew that he would have to put in some serious effort if he wanted to stand a chance of beating last year's Rookie of the Year; even with his newly awakened Kekkei Genkai he doubted it would be easy. Now the question was what he would spend his month of training on.
"I can help you with that kit." A familiar voice spoke up from the deep recesses of his mind.
'Kyuubi?' Naruto asked surprised as his quickly looked around in case someone was watching if he reacted when Kyuubi spoke to him.
"Who else would be talking to you from inside your head?" Kyuubi questioned.
'But how are you doing that?' Naruto answered with a question of his own.
"I was finally able to establish a mind link with you so we can now talk with each other." Kyuubi replied in a slightly irritated tone of voice.
'Since when have you been trying to establish this link?'
"Ever since you first started to use my youki back on the bridge; kit. It was a slow process that I've only now been able to finish." Kyuubi answered, "It didn't help that that damn snake's seal set it back for a time." The Kyuubi seemed to grumble to itself
Naruto gave a mental nod of his head in understanding before he voiced his next question. 'Okay, you said you could help me? Are you going to teach me a bunch of super cool jutsus?' Naruto asked genuinely excited about what Kyuubi would be teaching him.
Kyuubi seemed to snort at the blond's comment, "What makes you think that I know any of your ninja techniques?"
'What? You're supposed to be thousands of years old! How could you not know some jutsus that you could teach me?' Naruto shot back.
"Tell me gaki when you're out do you stop and look down at the ants and see how they live their lives." Kyuubi asked.
'Well, no.' Naruto answered.
"So what makes you think I would waste any of my time watching you ningen perform your precious jutsus? No what I'm going to help you with is control."
'Control?' Naruto asked confused by what the Kyuubi was trying to say.
"Yes control. Like I already told you I am a being made completely out of youki, the demon equivalent of chakra, and that means being able to keep perfect control of my youki I don't waste it carelessly." Kyuubi answered. "What I am proposing is for me to help you get as much control over your chakra as possible in this one month."
'I don't think that having better control over my chakra will help me much in my match against Neji.' Naruto said.
Again Kyuubi seemed to snort at the blond's comment, "Don't underestimate what you could do if you had perfect control over your chakra kit. Plus I could also help you with learning the ins and outs of your blood line. After all who better to help you learn about your new Kekkei Genkai than a being that can see how it affects your body?"
'Why are you helping me Kyuubi? I know we agreed to work together but this seems a bit much.' Naruto questioned as he grew a bit suspicious at the fox's true intentions.
"You made a promise, kit. And as a kitsune we don't go back on our word, I am not about to let my container go back on his. So do we have a deal?" Kyuubi asked
Naruto thought it over for a second before accepting the fox's reasons. After all it wasn't like he could actually do much now that Kyuubi youki was becoming his and anything that made him stronger couldn't be much help to Kyuubi. 'Fine, but I'm going to ask Kakashi-Sensei for some help also.' Naruto responded.
"Fine with me kit. Just expect this month to be the worst month of your life." Kyuubi answered as he started to laugh at everything he would put the blond through in the upcoming month. Hearing the Kyuubi's laugh made a shiver go down Naruto's spine as he started to second guess his accepting of the Kyuubi's help
'I hope I'm not making a mistake.'
AN: There finished. What did you all think please tell me in your reviews.
Now that I finished with this chapter I will refocus again on my other story, which I've already started to write, just don't expect it to be out anytime soon.
And please remember to review and until next time good-bye.