Alright everyone, here we are with the new chapter for Konoha's Batman! My last update was about two weeks ago from the time i'm typing this, so let's see how long it takes to get this to where i want it to be. I'm honestly hoping that i can get this chapter typed and posted today. Also, if anyone wants to see the original symbol I used for Naruto's new outfit, just go to google and type in batman beyond symbol. It's pretty easy to find, however I added the spikes on the wings myself. If anyone would want to draw it out, please do and send me the link!

And if you haven't read the new bio on my profile, I strongly suggest you do! I've created a Snapchat account strictly for the use of this fanfiction account so that I can interact with you all in a fun new way! All information about it is on my profile so go check it out!

Also, a free internet cookie to whoever can name the sci-fi show I referenced in the story.

Anyway, enough of my rambling!

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Konohagakure no Sato

The village was peaceful for the civilians and shinobi of the village today, most just going on about their business while enjoying the nice weather.

However, for one young man, he was doing something else entirely.

Over in one of the training grounds in the village, one can see a blonde boy doing a multitude of physical exercises. He would go from pushups to situps, from sprints to squats, and other such workouts at seemingly random. The reason for this was because he wanted to keep himself on his toes and keep his body from adapting to each workout too quickly. He had been going at it since an hour before the sun rose, and after finishing his last set of pullups on a tree branch, allowed himself to fall to the ground and land on his back.

Glancing up at the position of the sun, estimating it to be around noon, Naruto sighed and allowed himself to rest for a few minutes before getting up and heading to the small lake that was off to the side of the training ground. Glancing around, and making a few Shadow Clones for good measure, to make sure he was alone and no one was about to walk up on him, Naruto stripped his dirty training clothes off of his body and jumped into the lake, eager to get himself clean before heading to where he has to meet up with his team. While washing himself, Naruto observed his reflection in the water.

It had been about three weeks since he and his team had returned from Nami no Kuni, and three weeks since he decided to really take his training seriously. The results were actually fairly obvious. He had lost most of the baby fat in his face, and his muscles had really begun to show how hard he worked them. His pectorals were above average for someone his age, and he had the beginnings of an eight pack forming along his stomach. He even managed to get that V shape along his hips that most men never manage to attain, even after years of working out and eating right. His arms had much more definition than before, as well as his legs. Over all, he had the build of a warrior instead of a body builder. After all, having muscles as large as those would only slow him down.

Finishing up with his cleaning, Naruto took a towel from a duffel bag by the lake and began drying off before getting dressed.

His outfit was something else that had changed in the past three weeks.

Where he used to wear the bright orange jumpsuit, he now wore black steel toed boots with steel plating on the heel to add more damage from his kicks, black cargo pants with seals inside the pockets to make them bigger on the inside, and a dark silver belt with multiple pouches to hold kunai, shuriken, ninja wire, and other ninja tools that might be necessary. Moving to his upper body, the blonde was wearing a borderline skin tight hoodie made from a light material with mesh armor sewn into it. All along the hoodie was pieces of a lightweight armor with seals along the underside of them to help reinforce the metal so that they were stronger than steel but without the weight. On the chest of the hoodie and embossed on the armor was a symbol that Naruto decided to make for himself, seeing as how most of the important ninja had some sort of clan symbol or another. It was a in the shape of a bat in a blood red color, but with a tap on a seal with some chakra in his finger, the color would change to black. The symbol itself looked worn, like it was weathered and missing some small patches of the color, but that was just what Naruto wanted. On the wings of the symbol, near where the head of the bat would be, were what looked like three spikes coming from it.

The hood itself was interesting. When pulled up over his head, Naruto's hair was completely hidden, allowing better sealth, and all that was visible was his eyes and his mouth, chin, and jaw. To match the spikes on the wings of his new symbol, Naruto was wearing full fingered gloves that had small pieces of metal on the backs of them that, when the fingers closed into a fist, covered the knuckles so that they formed into a gauntlet. The gloves then went up his arms and underneath a set of bracers covering his forearms with three curved spikes coming out of them, allowing the blonde to add more lethal hits in his taijutsu and help defend himself from bladed weapons.

Once fully dressed, the blonde left the training ground with all of his gear and headed to where he was suppossed to meet up with his team while pulling a bento out of his duffel bag, eating as he walked.

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Team 7 meetup spot

Funnily enough, even with Naruto adding in the fact that Kakashi being late by about three or four hours, he was still the first one there. Looking up in the tree to see if either of his teammates or sensei were sitting on one of the branches, Naruto shrugged and sat down on the railing of the bridge, using chakra to help keep his balance while meditating to try and help his chakra control.

It didn't take long for his teammates to show up. A few minutes after his arrival, Sasuke and Sakura walked up to the bridge. Both were wearing the same outfits as when they were in Nami no Kuni, although Sasuke had all the markings from training in the past three weeks while Sakura looked like the only training she did was a new technique in styling her makeup or something.

That was another thing that changed in the three weeks since the teams return. Naruto had given up on his pursuit of Sakura.

Looking back on their past interactions, including the way back from Nami, Naruto finally realized that he would never get Sakura to give him the time of day. So, after some serious soul searching, Naruto put his feelings aside and decided to treat her like a friend instead of a romantic interest.

Glancing over at them with one eye, Naruto nodded in their direction. "Hey guys. How's it going?"

Sasuke and Sakura, however, were staring at their teammate in shock.

Well… at leas as much shock as Sasuke was inclined to show. He was an Uchiha after all.

Sakura was the first to recover however, instantly getting angry at the blond. "What the hell's with the new look, baka?! Just because you change your clothes doesn't mean I'm going to go on a date with yout!"

Staring at the pinkette with a deadpan look, Naruto spoke up with a voice devoid of emotion but heavy with sarcasm. "Oh no, whatever shall I do? It looks like my plans have been foiled again. Looks like my thoughts about this new outfit helping my shinobi career are false."

Sakura looked furious at the blonde for speaking to her like that, while Sasuke had to do his best to supress a snort. "Okay, I'll give him that one. That was actually funny."

Before Sakura could try and punch the blonde, Kakashi appeared in a swirl of leaves beside Naruto, offering them his usual eye smile and a wave. "Yo!"

Not hearing the usual yells about his tardiness, Kakashi opened his lone eye and saw his students giving him a blank look. Observing Naruto a bit more closely, especially after not seeing a single bit of orange, Kakashi gave the blonde an eye smile and patted him on the shoulder. "I like the new look Naruto, it suits you. But what brought up the change?"

Looking down slightly, the blonde thought of Haku and Zabuza before looking back up to make eye contact with his sensei, his icy blue eyes staring into Kakashi's grey one. "Nami made me realized that this isn't a game."

Knowing exactly what the blonde was referring to, the rest of his team grew solemn for a moment.

Clearing his throat, Kakashi gained the attention of his students before pulling out three pieces of paper from his hip pouch. "Anyway, the reason I called you here is to tell you I nominated you all for the Chunin Exams. The exam starts this friday, so all you have to do is fill out the form and turn it in at the academy on Friday. What do you think?"

Sasuke looked eager to sign up, obviously looking forward to copying some new jutsu with his Sharingan. Sakura looked nervous, obviously thinking about the dangers that could be involved with taking the exam, especially after seeing the fight with Haku on the bridge. Naruto on the other hand had a… different reaction.

Pulling a paper fan from somewhere, Naruto stood on the railing of the bridge and hit his sensei over the head with it, sending the man to the ground with a growing lump. Glaring down at the man, the blonde started kicking him while giving the man a dressing down that was almost as good as the Hokage could give.

"Are you an idiot sensei!? We almost all died on the mission to wave and the only thing we have trained in other than team exercises is the tree walking exercise! We have no new jutsu under our belt, no new taijutsu techniques, no advanced genjutsu training, we have nothing! Even with the exams being in Konoha this time, that doesn't mean a foreig team with more training and experience can't kill us! If we had been training as soon as we became a team, maybe we would have a chance, but obviously we don't! What the hell made you think this was a good idea anyway!?"

Weakly looking up to his student, Kakashi chuckled nervously at the look he was receiving. It was similar to the looks his sensei would give him when he did something stupid back when he was a genin. "W-well, Asuma and Kurenai are admitting their teams…"

Naruto narrowed his eyes before beating his sensei with the fan again. "Their teams are made of clan heirs dumbass! They obviously have more training than we do, and I bet that Asuma and Kurenai have taught them more than the tree walking exercise in the past few months!"

Looking on as Naruto beat the tar out of their sensei, Sakura and Sasuke lookedon in varying degrees of shock. Turning towards Sasuke, Sakura whispered so as not to bring the attention from Kakashi to herself. "Sasuke-kun, Naruto is just being stupid right? There's no way the exams are that bad, are they?"

Sasuke took a breath before letting it out, glancing at Sakura while speaking in a whisper himself. "Sadly enough, the dobe is right. We don't have the experience or the training that the other teams have, here or from another village. Kakashi hasn't trained us in anything but team work exercises since we formed a team, and then he only taught us the tree walking exercise after the first fight with Zabuza. Looking back on it, it seemed like an amazing skill at the time, but now it seems like a very basic exercise that we should have learned before we left the village. As much as I want to compete, I agree that we aren't ready."

Thinking back on what her crush said, Sakura realized he was right. They weren't ready. They only survived the mission to Nami was to sheer dumb luck. Looking back to where Naruto was still yelling at Kakashi, who was now in the seiza position with multiple bumps on his head, Sakura couldn't help but wonder what Kakashi was thinking.

Naruto was beginning to wind down from the scolding he was giving his sensei, so with a deep breath, the blonde stopped yelling and glared at the jonin. "Now that I beat some sense into your head, you should go talk to the old man and tell him that you spoke too soon and that you withdraw your nomination. Maybe next time we will be ready, but as of right now, we are no where close."

Kakashi just nodded before running off quickly, obviously wanting as much distance between him and the Fan of Pain as possible.

Sighing, the blonde pinched the bridge of his nose before turning to leave. "I'll see you two later. I have some things I need to pick up for my gear. I'll see you tomorrow."

Watching the blonde as he left, Sasuke and Sakura just bid their own farewells before both leaving for their own homes.

And with that, Team 7 would not be joining the Chunin Exams, changing their fate, and the fate of the village, forever.

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Alright, and there's the new chapter! Please review and tell me what you think! Also, please add my snapchat account to your friend's list so that you can hear exclusive news about when updates are being worked on, possible polls, and a fun way you can offer your own suggestions for the stories you like!

Allons-y!