Naruto Chronicles: Avian Shinobi

Chapter 5

Speaking: normal

Thoughts, flashbacks, com-link, and notes: italicized

Jutsus, summons, demons: bold

Summons's and demon's thoughts, and mind link…: bold italicized

(): author speaking

…: Time change

~: Scene change

Summary: Slash-fic. After stealing the Forbidden Scroll from the Hokage's office, Naruto finds a summoning contract left to him by his father's mother. Konoha will soon be taken by storm as the Avian Shinobi carves his name into the records of time.

Grey Orochimaru, evil-ish Danzo, and heavy bashing of Sasuke and the civilian council will be on the horizon.

Disclaimer: Naruto is the property of Masashi Kishimoto. This is a fan-made story made simply for the sake of enjoyment.

Kurama couldn't believe what he was seeing. The last time he had even seen a glimpse of his former host was thirteen years ago. "Kushina, how are you here? You shouldn't even be alive right now."

Kushina looked at the group standing before her with a calculating gaze. She then allowed her focus to return to her son before saying, "Thirteen years ago, I took an injury that should've claimed my life. However, someone intervened and stopped my death. For over a decade, I've been in a medically induced coma."

Kakashi finally rose from his bowing position and smiled under his mask. "Kushina-sama, I am very curious as to what happened as well as pleased to see you among the living. Still, this is a matter that must be brought before Hokage-sama. He will want to know about this as well."

The crimson haired kunoichi gave a simple nod and turned her sights on Serana. "Serana oba-chan, I never would've guessed that you were still alive as well. It's good to see you."

Serana gave a heartfelt smile before ruffling Kushina's long hair. "You've grown into such a beautiful woman, my niece. But you'll always be the little girl with a sword fetish to me."

"I don't have a fetish," Kushina huffed. "I just happen to have a healthy respect for them. Now, excuse me while I take a moment to speak with my…oof!"

Naruto had gotten tired of waiting and wrapped Kushina in the tightest bear hug he could muster up. Kushina retuned the hug with equal strength and said, "My little Naru-chan is becoming a man. I can't believe I missed out on thirteen years of your life."

"It's ok," Naruto whispered. "You still have a chance to be a part of my life, kaa-chan. That's something I wouldn't trade away for anything in the world."

From where she was standing, Sakura was brought to tears by the display between Naruto and Kushina. "Kami-hime, I've been such a selfish little bitch. Naruto, you never got to know your parents and I constantly made fun of you for it like a spoiled brat. I swear that I will find a way to apologize for how horrible I've been."

She then slowly walked over to the duo and gently tapped Kushina on the shoulder. "Uzumaki-sama, would you mind if I spoke to Naruto for a moment?"

Just as Kushina made to speak, Kakashi chose to jump into the conversation. "It'll have to wait, Sakura. We need to get back to Konoha on the double. There's a lot that Hokage-sama needs to know."

Later…

After receiving the report made by Kakashi and Anko, Hiruzen mulled over his options before making a decision. "Zabuza, you and Haku shall be admitted into Konoha's ranks under a sponsor. Haku shall be given the rank of Chūnin and you will be made a Jonin. Now, all that is left is to find you a sponsor."

"Hokage-sama," Naruto said, "I believe the best option would be to make them vassals of the Uzumaki Clan. That would make it impossible for the council to touch them."

"Hold on," Sasuke cut in. "Why should they be made vassals of the Uzumaki Clan? As an elite Uchiha, I demand that they be made Uchiha Clan vassals instead."

A part of Sakura wanted to agree, but the young kunoichi was wiser to Sasuke's true demeanor and could no longer agree with him so blindly. "Sasuke, please just be quiet. You'd just try to use them as human shields like you did to Kurama-san."

"You did what," shouted a furious Hokage.

Sakura, for the most part, put a hand over her mouth in mock surprise and looked at Sasuke. "Oh, did you not want me to mention that? Whoops. I guess I also shouldn't mention you trying to stab Naruto when he refused to fight you."

As Hiruzen began to slowly leak out KI, Naruto cleared his throat to ease the tension in the room. "Jiji, you can punish the idiot later. We still have things to do here and personally, I'm not in the mood to be in the same room as Sasuke-teme right now."

The Sandaime quickly composed himself before nodding. "You're right. Team 7, you are all dismissed. I need to have a word with Team Anko and the others."

To avoid any conflict, Kakashi grabbed Sasuke and escorted him out via shunshin while Sai and Sakura simply walked out through the door. Hiruzen waited until he could no longer feel their chakra before saying, "To be honest, I think your idea is a splendid one, Naruto-kun. Zabuza and Haku will be made vassals of the Uzumaki Clan. Now, with so many of you here barring Anko-chan, you'll need a new place to stay."

The old man reached into his desk and tossed Kushina a blue scroll. "That's the key to the mansion, Kushina-chan. I've taken the liberty of keeping it cleaned up until this point. Yagura-dono, I need you and Harribel-san to stay behind a little longer. The others are free to go."

Ten minutes later…

Kushina led the group to a large set of gates that fenced off a barren field. "Minato-kun's greatest trick was making people think that the mansion never existed. The two of us lived in an apartment and planned to move in here when Naruto was born. But you all know how that went. Still, I can't believe we finally get to enter the compound."

As soon as Kushina placed a hand on the gate, the field distorted and vanished to reveal a large compound that dwarfed even the Hyūga Clan compound in size. The group made their way through the large courtyard and into the main house where they saw a portrait of Minato holding a pregnant Kushina. "This is where we would've raised you, Naruto. Even though that chance is gone, this house is still your home."

Naruto smiled as he began roaming through the house. After a few minutes of looking around, he found a nursery with a decent sized crib. Looking upwards, the blonde saw a banner that said 'Welcome Naruto' in colorful letters. "I have a home," Naruto whispered as tears slowly fell from his face. "I really have a home."

The blonde allowed himself to revel in the moment a bit longer before feeling a familiar chakra approaching the compound. He made it back to the group just in time to see an Anbu with long violet hair appear before them. The woman turned to Naruto and said, "Naruto-kun, your presence has been requested at a council meeting by Hokage-sama. He also wishes for your group to attend as well."

Naruto nodded once before grabbing his Jian from its place by the couch and strapping it to his back. "We'll be there shortly, Neko-chan."

As the Anbu vanished in a swirl of leaves, Naruto turned to Kurama and smirked while pulling the redhead into his arms. "Let's go fuck with the council for a bit."

Council meeting…

Hiruzen Sarutobi was honestly ready to kill someone. It seemed as though the civilian council just wouldn't shut up about things they didn't understand. "Tobirama-sensei, I hate you so much right now. If I ever see you and/or Hashirama-sama again, I'm going to personally kick both of you in the…"

His thoughts were cut off as Team Anko and company entered the council chambers. From where they were standing, Naruto could see the civilian council to Sarutobi's left, the shinobi council to his right, and the elders seated behind him. He could also see that Team Kakashi had made an appearance as well.

The Hokage waited for things to calm down before saying, "Now that we are all gathered here, I can call this meeting to order. First off, I would like to welcome Serana Uzumaki, Zabuza Momochi, and Haku Yuki Momochi to Konoha."

From the shinobi side, Hiashi Hyūga instantly became interested at hearing Serana's name being called. "I didn't know that there could be an Uzumaki with black hair," he thought. "Then again, Naruto-san is blonde so I guess it's not that strange. Still, why does her name sound so familiar?"

He then leaned over to his left and nudged one Tsume Inuzuka to catch her attention. "Does the name Serana Uzumaki ring any bells," he whispered. "I can't recall where I've heard that name before but it strikes me as familiar…in a 'hide and pray you don't get found' kind of way."

Before Tsume could respond, Hiruzen pointed to Yagura and said, "I would also like to welcome the former Mizukage Yagura and welcome back both Harribel Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki. Harribel shall retake the Namikaze Clan seat on the council and Kushina shall reclaim the Uzumaki Clan seat."

Almost instantly, the room grew silent. Hearing Harribel's name was surprising but Kushina's name brought everything to a standstill. The silence grew to be deafening until a lone voice said, "Kushina-senpai, is it…is it really you? Have you really come back to us?"

Kushina turned her head to see Mebuki Haruno staring at her with an intense glare. The redhead couldn't tell if the blonde was currently happy, scared, or even furious. "Yes, Mebuki-chan, it's me."

In that moment, Kushina got her answer as Mebuki leapt from her seat with a wakizashi in her hand. "How dare you show your face in this village, you cold-hearted bitch!? You left your son to fend for himself for thirteen years! For all of those years, I had to watch as a young child faced horrors that could make most criminals cringe! And Kami-hime only knows what I'd do to your husband if I got the chance! However, you'll have to do in his stead!"

While this was going on, Danzo Shimura was currently seething in his mind. "How did she escape my Root facility? It should've been impossible for her to get past that many of my forces. It matters not. Once she's under my control again, it'll be that much easier to turn her son into my perfect weapon."

He was interrupted from his scheming as Mebuki's wakizashi met with a Jian. Naruto slowly pushed forward to throw Mebuki's balance off before kicking the blade from her hand. "Haruno-san, I must ask that you not kill my kaa-chan. She spent thirteen years in a medical coma whilst surrounded by Root Anbu who watched her every move."

At the sound of the word 'root' Hiruzen turned his sights on Danzo. "Danzo, I'll be dealing with you in my office later. For now, this meeting shall be continued."

He then turned his sights down on Mebuki and said, "Mebuki-san, stand down at once. Kushina Uzumaki did not simply leave her son alone. If she had, however, I would've had her head rendered from her shoulders the moment she stepped into Konoha."

Mebuki accepted this answer and took a step back from Naruto. Before returning to her seat, she took one look at Kushina and said, "We will speak later, Kushina-senpai. There are things that we must discuss and we will not avoid them for long."

Kushina simply nodded as the blond woman retook her seat as head of the civilian council members. Once everything had calmed down, Hiruzen decided to speak again. "Now that we've all composed ourselves, we can touch down on the main reason for this meeting. You were all called here today because Naruto Uzumaki wishes to file a formal complaint against one Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto-kun, the floor is yours."

Naruto gave a curt bow to the Sandaime before turning to the council members. "During a joint mission to Nami no Kuni, a mission assigned to both Team 7 and Team 13, Sasuke Uchiha engaged one Haku Yuki Momochi in battle. Seeing that Haku-chan was quickly dominating the fight, Sasuke-teme used my teammate and boyfriend, Kurama Ōtsutsuki, as a human shield by way of a kawarimi. Had it not been for Haku-chan's reluctance to fight us, the attack done to my Kura-chan could've been fatal."

Hiruzen nodded his head while looking at the rest of the group. "Does anyone have any supporting evidence to these accusations?"

Before anyone could speak, a civilian council member wearing too many garish rings slammed his fist on the dais. "Of course they don't have any supporting evidence, Hokage-sama! The demon is obviously trying to undermine Sasuke-sama! We must kill it before it can…"

The man was unable to finish his tirade as Kurama wrapped a clawed hand around the man's throat. "You will not insult my boyfriend in my or his family's presence and expect to live. Give me one good reason as to why I shouldn't snap your neck, you arrogant little piece of shit."

"Put him down, Kurama," said Naruto in a steady voice. "I don't want you to sully your hands with such tainted blood. He's not worth any effort you are willing to put forward."

Kurama squeezed the man's neck a bit tighter before dropping him back into his seat. "You call him a demon yet he spares your life. In my eyes, you monsters on the council are the real demons. Count yourself lucky that Naruto-kun has no desire to deal with you."

As Kurama stepped back to his original position, a civilian woman from the food district turned to Hiruzen in rage. "Hokage-sama, that shinobi attacked him without due cause! He should be arrested!"

Hiruzen rolled his eyes before saying, "Nothing would please me more…than to see you shut up. Kurama might wear a Konoha hitai-ate, but he does not answer to me. If you look at his neck, you will see why."

Everyone looked on in silence as Kurama proudly pulled at his shirt collar to reveal what looked to be a bite mark. Tsume grunted in acknowledgement before saying, "The mark on his neck came from a bite wound. It signifies that the one who bit him is his true master. Kurama-san, would I be correct in assuming that the teeth that caused that mark currently reside in Naruto-kun's mouth?"

The young redhead only gave a toothy grin before adjusting his collar. "Your assumption would be correct, Tsume-sama."

Hiashi gave a subtle smirk as everything clicked into place. "I suppose it would also be correct to assume that Kurama-san will only answer to Hokage-sama as long as Naruto-san answers to him. Therefore, I will make the assumption that Sarutobi-sama does not order him around because it is not his right to do so."

Hiruzen took a puff of his tobacco pipe and nodded. "You are both correct, Hiashi-sama. Because Naruto-kun is Kurama-kun's master and not me, I have no jurisdiction over him. And before anyone asks, I do not intend to interfere with that. Now, let us continue with the trial at hand."

Haku took a step forward and gave a polite bow. "Hokage-sama, this is what I can remember. The Uchiha and I were locked in combat where I was trying to incapacitate him. When I noticed that his Sharingan had awakened, I sought to render him unconscious immediately so as to prolong the fight. When I launched my final wave of ice senbon, he used a kawarimi and switched himself with Kurama-san."

After Haku was finished speaking, Sai decided to add in what he knew as well. "Sir, Sakura-san and I were guarding the client while the Uchiha was dealing with the kunoichi. Kurama-san tried to warn him about her abilities but did not get the chance. Moments later, Sasuke-san returned stating that Kurama-san had decided to take up the fight in his stead. I instantly knew that he had lied to us and that something else had happened."

"Pardon my intrusion into your testimony," said Shibi Aburame, "but how did you know that Sasuke-san was lying?"

Sai gave a fake smile before pointing to Kurama. "Kurama-san hates Sasuke Uchiha with his entire being. Sasuke has done nothing but irritate and insult Naruto-kun during their time in the academy and Kurama-san despises him for it. Also, there is the fact that Sasuke tried to threaten Kurama-san to stay away from Naruto-kun during the mission. When you add those two factors together with the fact that Kurama-san is only loyal to Naruto-kun…"

"It would only make sense that Kurama-san wouldn't lift a finger to help Sasuke," finished a now awake Shikaku Nara. "Think about it, people. The only way Kurama-san would be willing to help Sasuke is if Naruto requested him to do so. Man, this is so troublesome."

Inoichi Yamanaka looked down at Sasuke with shame in his eyes. He couldn't understand why his daughter chased after him. "Sasuke-san," the mind-walker said, "do you have anything to say in your defense?"

Sasuke carefully studied the room and saw that only the civilian council members, save Mebuki, and the three elders were giving him approving looks. Everyone else gave him glares of either disappointment or, in Naruto's case, pure unfiltered disgust. He returned their glares with a sneer of his own before saying, "I honestly don't see why I'm on trial for anything. First of all, he's not loyal to this village at all. Second, it's clearly obvious that he's done something to Naruto. He didn't appear until after we became gennin and Naruto started acting strange the moment he popped up. If anything, he should be the one on trial."

"I think I've heard enough on this matter," said Hiruzen. "Has the council reached a verdict?"

Shikaku Nara raised his hand before saying, "The Nara Clan votes guilty. Kurama-san might not be completely loyal to Konoha, but he is still our ally and deserves to be treated as such."

"The Akimichi Clan votes guilty," said Chōza while raising his hand. "We simply cannot condone such tasteless actions among our shinobi."

Inoichi also raised a hand while glaring at Sasuke. "The Yamanaka Clan votes guilty. I for one have no desire to know what was going on inside your head at the time."

Hiashi gingerly raised his own hand with a serene look on his face. "The Hyūga Clan votes guilty. It doesn't take the Byakugan to see that your actions were undignified."

With an agitated buzzing sound surrounding him, Shibi raised his hand as well. "The Aburame Clan votes guilty. Your actions were truly illogical."

"The Inuzuka Clan votes guilty," growled Tsume. "The people of Konoha are like a pack and Kurama-san has been more loyal to the pack than you appear to be."

From the Kurama Clan seat, Unkai Kurama looked displeased. While he never had a real opinion of either Sasuke or Naruto, he still found what Sasuke did to be deplorable. "The Kurama Clan votes guilty. Such actions are unbecoming of a shinobi."

Asuma Sarutobi, who now represented the Sarutobi Clan in Hiruzen's stead, raised his hand along with the others. "The Sarutobi Clan votes guilty. Kid, that was just wrong, plain and simple."

Harribel raised her hand and closed her eyes in contempt. She honestly didn't want to even look at Sasuke right now. "The Namikaze Clan votes guilty."

"Guilty," was the only word that came from Kushina's mouth. Sasuke had nearly destroyed her son's heart and it made her feel nothing but a scorned mother's rage. Her anger was so prominent that she was positive that she might've killed Sasuke had she said anything else; her friendship with Mikoto be damned.

From the civilian side, Mebuki read over the ballots that the other civilians had passed to her. It seemed as though they all wanted to see Sasuke walk free, but they forgot that Mebuki was a close friend of Kushina and that they were only allowed a single vote during shinobi situations. "As head of the Civilian Council, I vote guilty."

Sitting next to Shikaku, an Anbu with a dragon mask raised his hand. "The Anbu Black Ops votes guilty."

Koharu Utatane shook her head in protest. "I vote not guilty. It's plainly obvious that Sasuke-sama was simply looking out for the dem…Naruto's best interest."

Mitokado Homura gave Naruto a glare before saying, "I also vote not guilty. What Sasuke-san did was done in a state of emergency. Sometimes, sacrificing a pawn is required to save the king."

Finally, the ballot came down to Danzo. Even knowing that it was futile, Danzo shook his head. "As an elder and the representative of the Uchiha Clan, I cast both votes for not guilty."

Hiruzen nodded as the final vote was cast. "Sasuke Uchiha, with a majority vote, you have been found guilty of attempted murder of a fellow Konoha shinobi. I hereby sentence you to…"

Wait," shouted Kurama. "Hokage-sama, I must ask you to reconsider this."

The Sandaime gave Kurama a confused look. "Kurama-kun, why would you want to see your assailant go unpunished? I assumed that you of all people would wish to see justice carried out."

Kurama took one look at Sasuke before giving off a smile that put the council on edge. "Make no mistake with my words, Hokage-sama. I do intend to see the fool get his punishment. I merely feel as though the standard punishment would be too simple for him. Instead, let's do something a little more…drastic."

Hiruzen admitted himself to be interested at what Kurama had in mind. "If you think you have a decent punishment, I implore you to share it with the rest of us."

The redhead let out a brief chuckle before saying, "Sasuke-teme views himself as an elite shinobi. However, all of Konoha's elite are at least on par with a Tokubetsu Jonin. The most fitting punishment for him would naturally be to deflate that oversized ego of his and remind him of his true mediocrity and status."

Hiruzen raised an eyebrow as he pondered the option standing before him. After a few moments of deliberation, the Sandaime made his choice. "Sasuke, my original punishment was to strip you of your rank and have you locked away until you were deemed fit for duty. However, I have something in mind that should make a better impression. For the next ten years, you are hereby barred from any chance to be promoted beyond the rank of gennin. You will attend every Chūnin Selection Exams and you will watch as others pass you by while leaving you in the dust. My decision is final and shall only be changed at either my or Naruto-kun's behest. This meeting is concluded."

As everyone began to exit the room, Hiruzen asked Team Anko and co. to remain behind. Once the doors were sealed shut, the Sandaime turned his attention to Harribel. "Harribel-dono, I believe that this would be a good time to discuss the marriage contract you made for young Naruto-kun."

"Hold on," said Kushina. "I know about the contract that was made between my son and Yagura-san, but what's going to happen to the contract that I had set with Biwako-senpai?"

"You had another marriage contract set for Naruto-kun," asked Kurama in an unpleased voice. "Kushina, who exactly did you bind your son to?"

Hiruzen tried to speak but Kushina beat him to it. "I'm sorry, but who are you to question me? I understand that you are Naruto's boyfriend but there are some things you shouldn't speak about unless you truly understand them."

Kurama let out a chuckle as he was wrapped in a shroud of red chakra. "Come now, Kushina. I'm hurt that you still haven't recognized me. After all, it was you who asked me to protect Naruto when your husband sealed me away."

Kushina's eyes widened as she finally recognized who she was speaking to. "Kyūbi."

"I answer to Kurama," the biju said. "I also answer to Kura-chan when Naruto-kun's in the mood. Anyways, addressing me by my title in public would give me away and cause both me and Naruto-kun a lot of trouble. Now, tell me about the contract you set up with the Sandaime's wife."

"Kaa-chan," said a cautious Naruto, "tell me that I'm not about to be marrying Asuma-sensei anytime soon. Kurenai-sensei would kill me for it."

Everyone stopped when Hiruzen started laughing. "Dear boy, I can safely assure you that you won't be marrying my son. The contract your mother set was to wed you to my first grandchild. And as you know, Asuma-kun doesn't have any children."

Naruto's eyes widened as he realized who Hiruzen was speaking about. When he finally got over his shock, Naruto simply pulled an apple from his sleeve and looked away from the Sandaime. "Yeah, I'm not delivering the news on that one."

Three days later…

Team Anko was taking a light walk around the village when Naruto noticed something odd. Naruto simply chuckled to himself as a perfectly squared off rock with eye holes followed him around the village. "I wonder if I should just call him out or drag him around a bit. Considering that he dragged his two little friends into it as well and chose a piss poor disguise…let's mess with him a bit more."

"You are definitely Kushina's son," Kurama thought to Naruto. "I still don't see how you picked up her penchant for pranks like this."

"Oh this is nothing," Naruto thought in return. "Need I remind you of the Hyūga incident? They spent an entire year wondering how someone could bypass the Byakugan and dye all of their clothes like that."

After another two hours of randomly walking around the village, Naruto stopped in the middle of the street and turned around. "Konohamaru, you should know better than to follow me around in such a cheap disguise. Honestly, you know that rocks don't have eyeholes in them."

The rock exploded in a cloud of smoke and was accompanied by the sound of coughing. Naruto used a small wind jutsu to blow away the smoke and reveal a trio of academy students who were all wearing goggles. Konohamaru was the first to gain his bearings and gave the others a nudge. "I told you guys that the boss was the best."

"Oh look," said Kurama, "he brought a few friends with him. I guess you were right, Naruto-kun."

Naruto looked down at the Sandaime's grandson before saying, "So, why exactly are you three runts following me around? Shouldn't you be at the academy right now?"

Kono just waved him off while looking at Kurama. "Hey boss, is this guy like your brother or something?"

The blonde gave Kono a small giggle before placing his hand in Kurama's own. Kono-chan, you already know that I don't have a brother. Kura-chan is my teammate and boyfriend."

Kurama giggled at the blush on Konohamaru's face. "He looks so cute with that blush, Naru-kun. Can we keep him?"

Naruto gently tapped Kurama on the nose and kissed his cheek. "I don't know about that, Kura-chan. The Sandaime might have something to say about that. Although, he really is cute. Maybe his grandpa will let us have him if we ask nicely."

"Hey, I'm not some house pet that can be bought," said Kono. "I'm a shinobi in training and should be treated as such."

Naruto snickered into his hand before ruffling Kono's hair. "I guess you're right about that," the blonde said with a fake sigh. "I'm guessing that also means that you're too busy to play 'ninja' like we planned today."

Meanwhile…

Hiruzen looked at the people standing in front of him. "So," he began, "the time has finally come again. Konoha has again been chosen to host the Chūnin Selection Exams. Now, who will admit their teams into these trials?"

Kakashi stepped forward from the crowd and raised his right hand. "I, Kakashi Hatake of Team 7, hereby nominate Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sai for the exams."

The Sandaime nodded and motioned to a woman with black hair and wine red eyes. The woman stepped forward and raised her hand. "I, Kurenai Yūhi of Team 8, hereby nominate Hinata Hyūga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame for the exams."

After Kurenai, there was a man who looked very similar to Hiruzen that came forward and raised his hand. "I, Asuma Sarutobi of Team 10, hereby nominate Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, and Chōji Akimichi for the exams."

Just as Asuma stepped back, a dark chill swept the room. Everyone froze as the corners of the room seemed to pull the light into an abyss. From the darkest corner, Anko Mitarashi emerged from the shadows with a devious smirk on her face. "I apologize for my lateness, Hokage-sama. I was busy teaching my replacement what she needed to do for the exams. Now then, as the leader of Team 13, I hereby nominate Takami Fūsho, Kurama Ōtsutsuki, and Naruto Namikaze for the exams."

"Hold on," said a frantic Iruka. "You all can't be serious. I can understand Naruto, but most of the others aren't ready for these exams. Hokage-sama, I'm begging you to reconsider this."

Maito Gai looked at his comrades and nodded his head. "Iruka-sensei may have a point about this. After all, I withheld my students for an entire year to make sure they would be able to handle the situation."

Anko rolled her eyes and moved closer to her boyfriend. "Iruka-sensei," she said without a hint of amusement, "I understand your desire to protect them, but you can't hinder them like this. You must be able to trust in their abilities to make it through adversity. Besides, the exams are here in Konoha where they'll have the terrain advantage."

Iruka looked around the room at the faces of the instructors. Seeing that Anko wasn't kidding around, Iruka relented on his outburst. "You're right, Anko-sensei. They're different from the days in my classroom. If anything, I should be the main one pushing them forward instead of holding them back. Hokage-sama, I ask that you and the others please forgive my outburst."

Elsewhere…

Just as Konohamaru persuaded Naruto not to cancel on them, Sakura walked up to the group. "Hey Naruto-san, have you seen either of my teammates nearby? We're supposed to be meeting Kakashi-sensei soon."

"I assume by 'soon', you actually mean a few hours," said Naruto. "I haven't seen either of them lately and I was about to indulge my minions over here in a game on 'ninja'."

Just as Sakura was about to respond, Yagura and Harribel rounded the corner and came up to the group. Yagura gave Kurama a short stare before smiling. "It's good to see you on your feet, Kurama. How are you feeling?"

"I feel a lot better than I did during that little fiasco," Kurama answered. "Those needles left me feeling stiffer than an adamantine tree. Then again, it gives me the perfect excuse to get a good massage from Naruto-kun."

"I see," Yagura said with a smile. "So what's going on over here?"

Naruto looked down at Kono before saying, "I'm giving these three a five-second head start to run and hide before I hunt them down. By the way, I'm already on four."

Seeing a predatory grin form on Naruto's face was enough motivation to get Konohamaru and his friends moving. The blonde waited for them to gain some distance before running after them. However, he was soon greeted to the sight of someone in a black outfit holding Kono by the collar.

The boy in black sneered and said, "You hurt my leg, you little punk. I think I need to teach you a little lesson."

From behind him, a blonde girl with a large metal object on her back quickly said, "Kankuro, put the kid down and let him go. It was an accident and you really don't want him catching you causing trouble.

"Calm down, Temari," Kankuro said with a smirk. "We've got a little time to kill and this brat needs to learn some manners."

Just as Kankuro tried to punch Konohamaru, he stopped when he felt the tip of a sword at his throat. Naruto gently nudged Kankuro's neck with his Jian before growling. "You've got until the count of three to release my student before I run you through. Trying to hurt our Hokage's grandson is more than a good reason to kill you right now."

Temari gasped as she felt a clawed hand on the back of her neck. "Don't bother moving," Kurama said. "If you so much as sneeze wrong, I'll destroy this nerve in your spine and kill you."

Before Kankuro could do anything, a small stone hit him on the hand and forced him to drop the scarf wearing child. "You heard the blonde," said a familiar voice. "Now I suggest you step away from him as well."

Naruto groaned as he saw Sasuke sitting in a tree with a second stone in his hand. "Sasuke-teme, I don't need your help. And instead of focusing on me, you should've been focusing on the redhead standing above you."

Everyone looked over Sasuke's head to see the person Naruto described standing upside-down on a branch. The redhead looked at Kankuro and grimly said, "Kankuro, that's enough. You're a disgrace to our village."

Kankuro nervously stammered out, "B-but Gaara, it's not like that at all. These punks ran into me and…"

"Shut up before I kill you," Gaara said as he used a shunshin to appear in front of his siblings. "Don't tell me you've already forgotten our reason for being here. We didn't come to start needless fights with defenseless kids or the shinobi of this village."

"Sabaku no Gaara," Naruto said with no hint of mirth in his voice. "So, it looks as though the Yondaime Kazekage's children are in the village. I can only assume it's for the exams."

Seeing that Kankuro was at a loss for words, Gaara turned his attention back to Naruto and nodded. "I ask that you forgive my brother's stupidity and lack of manners. Rest assured that this will not happen again."

Naruto nodded before ushering Konohamaru and his friends away from the area. "Don't let me catch him terrorizing kids in my village again. If he wants to fight someone, he can save it for the exams. And if he ever touches my apprentice again, death will be a mercy once I'm done with him."

As Naruto turned to leave, Gaara pointed at him. "I wish to know your name, Konoha shinobi."

Sasuke puffed up in arrogance and boldly stated, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I…"

"I have no desire to know your name," Gaara said. "I was speaking to the blonde one. However, I also wish to know the name of the one with red hair."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki and my teammate is Kurama Ōtsutsuki. We look forward to seeing you in the exams," Naruto said as he and Kurama turned to leave.

Sakura watched as Yagura and Harribel fell in step before she ran to stop Naruto from leaving. "Naruto, let me talk to you for a second. I have something to say and I really think it needs to be said. Naruto, I…"

Naruto held up a hand to silence the rosette. "Sakura, I am a man who must be shown proof to believe it. I know what you want to say and while I hold no ill will against you, know that you will have to show me your conviction to those words before I can believe you. You are a kunoichi of Konoha, Sakura. It's time to act like it."

As soon as he was sure that Gaara's team was gone, Naruto turned to Kono and ruffled his hair. "Come along, my young apprentices. The situation has changed and you three need to get home on the double. Yagura and Harribel baa-chan will take you back to the Sarutobi Clan compound. Meanwhile, Kurama and I need a word with the Hokage."

Hokage's office…

Hiruzen was doing his best to handle the paperwork when Naruto and Kurama appeared in his office via shunshin. "Hokage-sama, we have a serious issue," Naruto said.

Almost instantly, Hiruzen and every hidden Anbu in the room tensed up and placed a hand on a concealed weapon for security reasons. Naruto only addressed the Sandaime as "Hokage-sama" whenever he was pissed off or felt that something was wrong. "You have my attention, Naruto-kun," he said while activating a privacy seal.

Naruto nodded to Kurama who closed his eyes for a brief second before tossing a kunai into the bookcase on the left side of the office at blinding speeds. The kunai quickly found its mark in the forehead of a now dead Root Anbu. "The room is secure, Naruto-sama. You can speak freely now."

The blonde cracked his knuckles before saying, "The village is in need of better security, jiji. There's an unstable and highly bloodthirsty jinchūriki in our midst."

Hiruzen took a drag from his pipe and set it down. "I see. And you came to me because you knew that sending an unstable jinchūriki into another village can be misread as an act of war. You did well in coming directly to me, Naruto-kun. Now, what village has dared to send an unstable host into our home?"

"That's the bigger issue," Naruto said. "It's the youngest child of that bastard Rasa. Sunagakure no Sato has sent the host of Shukaku to our village to compete in the upcoming Chūnin Selection Exams. Sir, I fear that this is a sign of betrayal. It's only a speculation, but given Suna's current dilemma, they might seek to prove themselves in the eyes of their Daimyo by damaging us. However, they wouldn't be foolish enough to act on this alone. Isn't that right, ero-sennin?"

From the wall behind Naruto, Jiraiya let his transparency jutsu drop. "I'll never understand how you see through that, gaki. Still, you're not wrong in the slightest. I've gathered from my spies that Suna has recently allied themselves with a new village called Otogakure no Sato."

Almost instantly, the temperature of the room became colder than the touch of death. "Jiraiya," Naruto said in a no-nonsense voice, "tell me the name of that village again."

"O-Otogakure," the Sannin said as his breathing got heavier. "The village is called…"

"Otogakure no Sato," Naruto growled as he let up on the KI. "This goes beyond a simple invasion. And I can guarantee that Rasa-teme isn't the maestro behind this little orchestra of disaster. If Otogakure is involved, Orochimaru is pulling the strings. I think we can speculate that an invasion is inevitable."

Hiruzen rubbed his brow in annoyance. "So, my foolish student wishes to try his hand. Then we will meet this threat with a counter-strike of our own. I will confer with the War Council on strategies to minimize casualties and maximize our efforts. Naruto-kun, I am about to give you your first S-Ranked mission. I don't care how you do it, but during the exams, you will neutralize the jinchūriki either by way of incapacitation or by way of execution."

Naruto bowed before saying, "And what of that fool Rasa?"

The Sandaime pondered this for a moment before pulling out a blank scroll. "If, and only if, the Kazekage becomes an obstacle in your mission, you have my permission to do what you feel is needed. I am giving you carte blanche. And should it come to that, this will be marked as an official SS-Ranked mission."

Jiraiya, in a rare loss of composure, gasped at his leader's decree. It was no secret among most of the higher-ups and the elite of the village that Naruto had a vendetta against the Kazekage, but he never would've guessed that Hiruzen would go that far. "Sensei, I hope you realized that you've unofficially consigned the Yondaime Kazekage to death. If Naruto is given the chance, he will make every attempt to kill Rasa."

"I have done no such thing," Hiruzen said as he filled the entire scroll with writing and sealed it away. "Rasa has allied with a traitor of Konoha and has violated our alliance. His death, should it come to that, will be marked as an official decree and an SS-Ranked mission. After all, the killing of a Kage is very serious business."

Day of the exams…

Naruto walked into the academy where the exams would begin with Kurama at his right and Takami at his left. The trio made their way to the second floor where they saw Team Gai getting into an altercation with a pair of disguised Chūnin. Naruto held down a chuckle and said, "Team Gai is sure putting on a show. Now, let's get to the third floor before we get caught up in this mess."

As Team Anko began to move again, a pompous voice said, "Why don't you drop the Genjutsu on the door and let us go to the real third floor."

Takami facepalmed as Team Seven arrived with Sasuke at the helm and Sakura rolling her eyes. "And the arrogance of the Uchiha Clan rears its ugly head."

Sasuke instantly leveled a glare at Takami. "Care to repeat that?"

"I called you an arrogant fool," Takami said with no hesitation. "That that was a test meant to weed out the hopeless cases. And now, because you couldn't keep your fat mouth shut, we'll be dealing with unneeded amateurs."

The Uchiha growled and attempted to lash out at Takami while Naruto drew his Jian to intervene. Before anyone could blink, a boy wearing green spandex had caught both Sasuke's arm as well as Naruto's wrist. "Sasuke Uchiha, attacking a fellow shinobi before the exams have begun is most un-youthful. And Naruto-kun, I ask you not to draw your blade. There is a time and place to draw blood and this is not it."

Naruto released his grip on the sword and allowed the blade to slide back into place. "You may have a point, Lee. I'll wait until the exams and deal with him then. And Sasuke-teme, you're trying my patience. Tsunami-chan saved you in Nami no Kuni and Lee-kun saved you just now. If you keep this up, I will spill your blood with this sword."

As Team Anko turned to head to the exam room, everyone in the hall let out a breath they never knew they were holding. "That was intense," said a girl with buns in her hair. "I never knew Naruto could be that scary."

Tenten got back to her feet as her other teammate, a Hyūga named Neji, shook his head. "That was nothing, Tenten. The last time I ever witnessed Naruto-san so enraged was during a sparring session I had with Hinata-sama. Let's just say there's a reason I don't talk about Fate as much as I used to."

Third floor…

Naruto and his teammates were about to enter the classroom when the blonde lashed out and caught a python just before it could bite into his throat. "Good senses, Naruto-gaki," said Anko as she dropped down from the ceiling. "Now then, I'm supposed to have some sappy speech for you but that's not my style. I expect you three to go in there and kick ass. And you'd better make it to the final stage."

The gennin of Team Anko all gave a salute before entering the classroom. As soon as the door opened, Naruto was glomped by a lavender blob. "Naruto-kun, I haven't seen you in almost two months," Hinata said as if she were on a sugar rush.

A barking sound filled the air and Naruto turned to see Kiba Inuzuka, Kiba's ninken Akamaru, and Shino Aburame. "Sorry," Kiba apologized. "She saw you and snuck off before we could stop her."

"Don't worry about it," Naruto said as he pried the yaoi fan off of him. "It's good to see you all in good health. How's the colony, Shino?"

There was an almost harmonious buzzing in the air. "They are doing well, Naruto-san. Also, I am glad you haven't forgotten me. As most people say, I tend to fade into the background very easily."

"And the other blonde is here," griped a familiar lazy voice. "This is so troublesome."

"Team 10," Naruto said. "The 16th generation Ino-Shika-Cho combo is here. Now all we need is Team Kakashi and we'll have the whole set."

A hand tapped Naruto on the shoulder and everyone turned to see Sakura. "We're here, Naruto. We ran into a bit of trouble with Team 9 and saw…"

"The most devastating Genjutsu to ever exist," Kurama said with a shiver. "A full frontal lobotomy could not erase that from my head. Anywho, it's a good thing you made it. The Konoha rookies are all here."

"Don't speak as if you're actually one of us," Sasuke suddenly griped. "You might wear a Konoha hitai-ate but you are not one of us."

Kurama was about to retort when a voice said, "Hey, you guys should keep it down. You're attracting a lot of attention."

Everyone turned to see a Konoha shinobi with white hair and glasses. "Oh, it's Kabuto-senpai."

The boy smirked before nodding. "Thank you for ruining my intro, Naruto-kun. I'll be sure to remember that during your next physical. As I was about to say, my name is Kabuto Yakushi. I'm sort of a veteran at these exams."

"A veteran," Kiba asked. "Is this like your third time?"

Kabuto shook his head with a smile. "It's my seventh. These exams aren't easy and they get harder every year. I'm honestly lucky that I haven't died yet. Still, knowing how severe these exams are has given me the foresight to collect as must data as possible on my potential competition. I keep that info stored on my chakra-encoded ninja info cards."

He then pulled out a stack of cards that were blank on one side. "They may not look like much, but once I apply my chakra, they'll reveal the info I have on anyone I've managed to research."

"Senpai," Naruto said, "what info do you have on Sabaku no Gaara?"

Sasuke saw this as a decent opportunity to get some info on Naruto and smirked. "While you're at it, tell me what you know about Naruto Uzumaki."

Kabuto read out Gaara's stats before coming to a special note on his card. "According to this, he's never received a scratch on any of his missions."

He then pulled out a second card and decrypted it before smirking. "Well, it looks like you're out of luck, Sasuke-san. Someone must not want information about Naruto-kun getting out. His files have all been either moved into the restricted archives or completely destroyed."

Naruto took the card and saw that Kabuto was lying. His info was there clear as day with only the most important things being omitted. Still, he gave Kabuto back the card without a word. He felt it was better if nobody knew what he could do.

"Kabuto-san," Sakura said, "how do you know that his info has been tampered with?"

"Let's just say I've done my homework," Kabuto said with a smile. "Now then, you should know that Konoha has the highest turnout for candidates this term. The lowest turnout is from some unknown village named Otogakure. Their shinobi all wear a headband with a musical note on it."

Across the room, the Oto gennin heard what Kabuto said and were not happy about it. "Did he just call our village unknown," said a gennin wearing a lot of bandages.

"I think he did, Dosu. It kinda pisses me off a bit. Wouldn't you agree, Zaku?"

"Kin's right," said the third gennin. "I think we should show them who they're dealing with."

Dosu nodded as clenched his fist. "You have a point, Zaku. Let's show them the error of their ways."

Without warning, Dosu charged at Kabuto and threw a punch that the older Gennin easily dodged. However, it was only after Dosu moved back did everyone notice a crack appear in Kabuto's glasses. "Hmm," Kabuto said, "I guess that actually grazed me after all."

Out of nowhere, Kabuto hunched over in pain and vomited a bit of water. "Put this in your fancy cards," Dosu said. "The trio from Otogakure will indeed become Chūnin."

Naruto saw Kabuto's reaction and turned to Kurama. "I assume you noticed it as well."

"Yes," Kurama chimed back in Naruto's head. "It was a sound based attack. I would recommend sound filtering seals for our team."

Naruto nodded as he eyed Dosu's gauntlet while discreetly grabbing Takami's wrist. "I'll take care of it once we get to the second portion of the exams. For now, let's just focus on this part."

Before anyone else could move, a small explosion filled the room. Everyone turned to see a man in a black bandana and trench coat standing in front of a group of Chūnin who were all wearing gray uniforms. "Aright, that's enough out of you idiots! The fight's over!"

Dosu instantly stepped back while putting his hands up in an 'I give up' fashion. "Sorry, I got a little carried away there. It won't happen again."

"It damn well better not," the man in the bandana said. "Now then, my name is Ibiki Morino and I'm the proctor for the first exam. Before we begin, let me make something clear. There will be no more fighting in this portion of the exam without our express permission. And even if we do allow it, there will be absolutely no killing. Now, all of you have an assigned seat with a paper in front of it. I want asses in chairs in the next five seconds or you all fail!"

As everyone got to their seats, Ibiki motioned for the uniformed Chūnin to take their places on either side of the room. "Before we begin, I will explain the rules of the test. You have one hour to complete this exam. There are a total of nine questions on the paper and I will administer the final question at the fifty-minute mark. Understand that cheating will not be tolerated. For every time we catch you cheating, you will lose two points. If anyone loses all ten points, their entire team will fail. The test begins…now!"

Everyone turned over their papers to start hashing away at the test. Naruto looked at the first question and realized something was off. "These aren't the kind of questions that a gennin or even a Chūnin would know. Hell, I'd have to cheat off someone like Sakura…to get the…son of a bitch. We're supposed to cheat."

Without giving himself away, the blonde looked around and noticed multiple people cheating their asses off. "Well, it's a good thing I have the ultimate answer key. Kurama, we need to talk."

"I already know," the biju replied. "I'm constantly in your head after all. This test is an intelligence gathering trial. Now all we need to do is find a way to patch Takami into this conversation and we'll be good."

Naruto chuckled to himself as he activated a seal on Takami's wrist. "Takami, it's Naruto. Can you hear me?"

"Yeah," came a somewhat confused reply. "But why can I hear you?"

"It's a seal Naruto made after working with Inoichi Yamanaka," Kurama said. "He placed it on you so we could discuss how to deal with these exams without anyone getting the drop on us. And this is a good time to use it."

Takami looked at his wrist briefly before pretending that nothing was there. "Naruto-sama, that's brilliant. So, what's going on with this insane test?"

"We're supposed to cheat," Naruto said. "Our goal is to cheat and not get caught. And luckily for us, we've got Kurama to help us out with that. After all, I can imagine he'd know a lot of these if not all given how long he's been with the Uzumaki Clan. No offense, Kura-chan."

Kurama simply yawned. "None taken, but you owe me sex on that desk when you finally become Hokage. Now, let's get this test done."

While Team Anko was burning through the test with ease, more teams were being booted for their piss poor cheating attempts. The time eventually wound down to the last ten minutes and half of the teams had been eliminated by that point. Ibiki looked at the clock and gave off a feral grin. "Alright, you little piss stains. It's time for the final question. But before we continue, there's a new set of rules to explain. First off, note that taking the last question is completely optional."

"Well that's dumb," said a random Iwa gennin. "Why would it be optional? And for that matter, why would it matter if we've already finished the first nine questions?"

Ibiki inwardly laughed at the gennin's gullibility. "I'm glad you asked. For those that choose to pass on the final question, your team will be booted from the exam and will have to try again the next time."

"Are you serious," Temari exclaimed in shock. "The answer's simple then. Of course we're gonna take the question."

"Oh it's not that simple," Ibiki countered. "For anyone that answers incorrectly, their team will be permanently banned from ever taking the Chūnin Exams again."

Kiba instantly jumped out of his seat and pointed a finger at Ibiki. "What the hell!? That rule is a load of crap!"

Ibiki actually laughed at Kiba before saying, "Well, it looks like you got rather unlucky to have me for a proctor this year. Now make your choices. Will you leave or stay?"

A lot more teams started dropping like flies and left the room. The proctor stared Naruto down and decided to have a bit more fun. "What about you, Uzumaki? As Anko's student, I'd expect you of all people to know when you're about to get screwed over."

Naruto casually gave Ibiki a one-fingered salute. "Fuck off, you hideously deformed S&M loving sewer rat. Your scare tactics might work on some of these people, but I walk with a living embodiment of fear every single second of the day. Compared to that, you are nothing to me. And besides, even if I fail here, I'll just become the first gennin to ever be made a Kage. I won't ever let my resolve falter, and I will never back down. That's my nindō, and you'd better not forget it."

As the clock hit the hour mark, Ibiki couldn't help but smile. "I see there's no helping it. Thanks to this gaki, a lot of you punks found your resolve. So you can personally pin this next part on Naruto. For everyone who stayed behind, you have all passed the first exam."

There was a stagnant pause before the crowd erupted into shouts of surprise. "Be quiet and let me explain," Ibiki said. "The written portion was to test your ability to gather info and not get caught. In fact, we placed two Chūnin among you with the correct answers to the test. As for the last question, it was a test of your resolve. It was determined to see if you would abandon a mission like a coward or see it through to the end."

The moment Ibiki's sentence ended, the room was filled with an overwhelming chakra presence. Everyone gasped as the air itself became cold and heavy. Even Ibiki was on edge. As the chakra signature grew closer, it began to feel more and more familiar. "This…this chakra…I haven't felt chakra this dense since…"

"The night of the Yondaime's inauguration," Naruto finished. "On the night that Minato Namikaze was announced as the Hokage, he did battle with a group of shinobi to determine who would be in his elite guard. This chakra…belongs to the single kunoichi that bested him in that battle."

Out of nowhere, a spiral of dark red flames appeared next to Ibiki. When the fire died down, a woman with long red hair and a sword on her back stepped forward. "I see we have quite the turn out this year. It looks like I'm in for a rather interesting time."

The woman turned to Ibiki and said, "I'm shocked at you, Ibiki-kun. You let this many gennin teams slip through your intimidation."

Ibiki instantly bowed before smiling. "Taichō, we had a rather outstanding batch this year. And the blond menace over there's got a brass pair on him. He actually looked me in my eyes and stood his ground."

From the back of the room, the Iwa gennin from earlier pointed at the kunoichi and growled. "Just who the fuck are you!?"

Almost instantly, Ibiki launched a kunai that landed just a millimeter to the left of the gennin's throat. The woman patted Ibiki's shoulder and smiled. "Calm down, Ibiki-kun. You'll get wrinkles like that. Alright everyone, congrats again on passing the first test. But it only gets harder from here. You are to meet at Training Ground 44 tomorrow at ten am. Anyone who fails to show will be eliminated."

As the woman turned to leave, she stopped and held up her palm at the Iwa gennin. Everyone was shocked to see a gold chain phase out of her hand and grab the kunai from the wall before returning to her. "By the way, I am Kushina Uzumaki and I am the proctor of the second exam."

The class sat in shock as Kushina casually exited the room. After a brief pause, Naruto finally broke out into a fit of laughter. "What's so funny," the Iwa gennin asked in an irritated tone.

Ibiki saw the look on the blonde's face and decided to answer for him. "It's simple. You just got embarrassed by the first woman to ever be nominated for the position of Hokage. And that woman is Naruto's mother."

Once the class had finally been emptied, Ibiki went around to collect the papers. As he got to Kurama's test, his blood stopped cold when he looked at the message written on the back. "Izumo, go to Hokage-sama at once. Let him know that we need to up security for the exams. Orochimaru is in the village."

Hello again, my faithful readers. I have to apologize for such a long wait time on this update. Needless to say, things weren't moving as fast as I would've liked them to. Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long to post. Note that the translation list is not here due to me not using anything needing a translation in this chapter.

That all being said, keep reading and I'll see you all in the next chapter.