Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid

by DarkHeroOrion

A true force of nature arises from the lowly roots of Konoha. This child, a scion of noble birthright, is ironically shunned by his deep-seated burden. Follow along as our coming-of-age hero grows through the test of adversity and new challenges.

9. Crunch Time! Road to the Exams

A/N: Hello to you all and I hope that you've been well. I apologize for the late update.

First of all, allow me to retort. I would like to say that in my story, several characters have been met prematurely, such as Rock Lee from Team Gai. Sakura has done some behind-the-scenes research, so that would explain why Sakura found Lee in the first place. I decided to omit what has been going on in the background, since I don't want to reveal too many cards on the table. That and the fact that I want to speed things up to the Chuunin trials.

Word from the Reviews:

I see that some of the comments are getting a bit too short. Once again, I would like to reiterate this. Please, aside from the "update soon" comments and the like, add more, such as what you liked, what you found interesting, what didn't you like, what kinds of improvements can be made, et cetera. And please, don't be a smart-aleck about it. I'm trying to see what I can do to improve on this story.

I would like to add that, if you're a bit confused about the family tree of Naruto, then allow me to clarify for you. Tsunade and Naruto are very distant cousins in this fic (I think fourth-cousins, three times removed, or something along the lines of that). He is the son of the Yondaime, the great-great-great grandson of the Shodai and the great-great-great-great-nephew of the Nidaime.

To those that were wondering about how come Naruto was able to have an earth affinity…Look back at the last chapter and read Sarutobi's explanation. I made it somewhat short, sweet and straightforward. If he doesn't have an earth affinity, then it would be impossible to learn and utilize the Mokuton ninjutsu. It heavily relies on the fluid flexibility of water-chakra and the rigid durability of earth-chakra, and I hope that makes sense.

Well, let's go ahead and speed things up a bit…And some of you got your wish…This chapter is longer than my other chapters.

Chapter Nine: Crunch Time! Road to the Exams

Squad Seven had met up at the bridge the next morning. Sakura arrived at the earliest time. A few minutes later, Sasuke arrived on the scene, downing a few tomatoes in the process.

"Morning, Sasuke-kun," she said with a smile, which led to a rolling-eye gesture from her inner-self.

"Hn," the raven-haired prodigy said while polishing off another tomato from his produce bag.

Five minutes later, Naruto arrived with Doshaburi in tow, albeit a bit dazed and groggy, almost as if he did not get much sleep or had seen an eye-opener in the morning. Evidently, it was the latter.

"Ohayo, Naruto," Sakura said with a cheery (genuine) smile on her face. Her smile faltered as she noticed the something was not right with her blond enigma of a teammate. "What's the matter with you? You look like that you've seen a ghost or something."

The blond wonder's ears perked up as he looked at his pink-haired teammate with a hint of surprise, seeing that Sakura hardly ever asked him what was wrong. Naruto did not want any of his teammates to find out that he had forgotten that he had a houseguest and just so happened to sleepily walk into the bathroom and catch sight of her bare essentials…

(Flashback)

He yawned as soon as he slapped at the alarm clock to disable it. "Ugh…need to go to the bathroom…"

Throwing over the covers, the blue-eyed fox-boy walked out of his room and down the hall with sleepy eyes. He had noticed that the light in the bathroom was already on behind the closed door.

'I thought I turned off that light,' he thought as he inched closer to the door. Kyuubi was debating whether or not to alert the kit about what was behind that door. He decided to kick back and ride out the unfolding scene in front of him.

'I should tell him that Haku-chan lives here,' the lord of bijuu pondered to himself. 'Nah, I'll let him figure it out on his own. Besides, the kit isn't all that bright come morning time…'

With a turn of the knob, the door gave way and Naruto was staring at the exposed backside of the ice-using femme fatale, who was drying off her hair with a towel in front of the mirror. Her skin was nigh-flawless in its creamy complexion. His blush grew to the area of his cheeks as he turned around to avoid staring.

'Okay, let me think. Who the hell is in my house? Let's see…dark hair…Is there anybody that I know that has dark hair?' Immediately, the gears were turning in his head and his eyes greatly widened at the realization. 'Oh…shit…' His tenant inwardly bawled in laughter. Kyuubi was amazed as to how many awkward situations that his host would come across in the future. Maybe being stuck with the kit for a lifetime would be an enjoyable experience after all.

Haku noticed that the door was open and suddenly flung the towel in front of her. She turned to the blond wonder with a furious crimson blush that lit up her face.

"N-Naruto-kun, what the hell do you think you're doing!?" she roared as he turned around.

"H-H-Haku-chan," said Naruto as he was waving his hands in defense, trying to stay focused on her eyes. "Th-This was a s-serious mistake! I totally forgot that you were staying with me! P-Please don't bash me over the head like Sakura!"

With a calming blush on her cheeks, she gave the town savior a gaze that was much unknown to him. She was admiring the toned physique of the blue-eyed wonder. 'I'll say that he has an amazing body…I guess I ought to teach him a lesson then.'

"No, I won't bash you over the head, but…" She lowered the towel a bit to expose more of her porcelain skin while licking her lips in a jokingly sensuous fashion. "I could show you something that'll be worth your while…"

Naruto's face paled and he flew back into the hallway, with blood spewing forth from his nostrils like a steam geyser. He landed in an unceremonious heap in a dizzy-eyed fashion. 'Why does it always have to be me…?'

The dark-haired ice-mistress smirked. "Lesson One, learn how to knock from now on, Naruto-kun." Her eyes widened a bit in realization. "Oh, that reminds me…I had no idea that you also had the Hyouton ability. I was told by Hokage-sama that I'll be training you a bit later. Now, if you don't mind, I need to finish up in the bathroom." She closed the door with that damned smile on her face…

(End Flashback)

To say that the jinchuuriki was having an awkward morning was an understatement. "Not enough sleep," was all the blond wonder could say.

It was not until an hour later that the Cyclopean elite arrived on the bridge in a puff of smoke.

"Hey, guys," he started, displaying his patented eye-smile. "Sorry I'm late, and I do have a good reason for it."

Four question marks were displayed over Squad Seven, with a scrutinizing look at their jounin-sensei. Kakashi reached into his pockets and pulled out three applications.

"I just so happened to select you three to compete in the Chuunin selection examinations," began the one-eyed Copy-Ninja. His charges looked at him in their kid-like stupor. "This is all voluntary, by the way. If you do accept, then fill out the application form and take it to Room 301 at the Academy in two weeks time. Now, are there any questions, comments or concerns?"

"Uh…Kakashi-sensei," Naruto spoke up and looked around to see if no one else was around, "I need to tell you something with regards to my…abilities. It turns out that there was more than just the 'bloodline limit' that you know about."

Kakashi's eye suddenly held a bit of interest. 'He has more than the Kyuubi's abilities? This kid is full of surprises.'

"Okay, Naruto. Care to clarify?"

Naruto sighed and began. "I found out while training that my natural abilities manifested at once. It's true that I can easily learn water, wind and earth-based jutsu because I found out that I had an affinity for all three."

Both Sasuke and Sakura turned saucer-like eyes to the blond enigma and thought the same thing: 'It's always one surprise after another when it comes to you, Naruto…'

"It also turns out that due to the overlay of my elemental affinities, I can use two of them at a time in tandem to form something new…"

The Copy-Ninja hopped off the overhang of the bridge and looked at Naruto with disbelief. He was right; he was one of, if not, the most surprising ninja that he has ever met. "Are you telling me that you can use…?"

"Yes, Sensei, I can use it," interrupted the blond wonder. "I can utilize the Hyouton abilities like Haku-chan…"

"Naruto, I'm not talking about the Hyouton ability. I'm talking about the other dual-element chakra." Kakashi wanted to get to the true ability, of which he had read only in legend.

The fox-boy sighed in defeat. He muttered, "Fine, but what you see here will not be discussed at all, got it?" With a collective group nod, he closed his eyes and held his hands together in a Mi hand seal—the snake seal, focusing the earth-chakra in his right hand and water-chakra in his left. The earth around the bridge rumbled a bit before several wooden blocks shot up from the ground, leaving his two teammates even more bemused.

Grunting due to the strain, he began his explanation. "Jijii didn't want me to learn Mokuton from Shodai-sama's scrolls until he thinks that I'm ready or if he passes on. If I use it publicly, especially in the presence of those snooty council bastards, then they'll probably treat me like what they would've done with Haku-chan, if not for…my other problem, Kakashi-sensei. That would make me, in Jijii's words, the 'Number One Target in the world of shinobi,' were I to use this ability without caution."

The raven-haired genius was surprised that the dobe, out of all the shinobi, had mysterious forms of power to utilize at his disposal. Even though he had his stoic game-face, the dark-eyed Uchiha was inwardly envious of the fact that Naruto would eventually acquire fine-tuned abilities that even the Sharingan could not copy, since they were inherited traits. He was definitely the rival that could match up to him in a fight…or might even surpass him, but he did not want to admit that. The dobe had a long way to go from the status of a diamond-in-the-rough 'dead last' to a legend among ninja. 'I still haven't figured out that…other bloodline yet, but I will figure it out soon, dobe. Just you wait…Eventually, I'll pick apart what you're hiding…'

Sakura was just as surprised as Sasuke-kun, and her face had shown for it. She had no idea that the pointy-eared boy that was her teammate could potentially kick both of his teammates' asses in the realm of ninjutsu, on account of having three natural affinities and two (possibly three) more from a blend of different types of dual-element chakra. Adding that with his other 'mysterious bloodline,' her respect for the oddball soared greatly. 'Remind me to never anger him…He just might create an actual storm in Konoha if he isn't careful.'

'Sure thing, pinky…Hell yeah! I can't wait to see what Naruto-senpai can really do…Shannaro! We'll kick ass in the exams!' Inner Sakura yelled while holding out a fist in the air. Sakura could not help but agree with her dark counterpart…well, disregarding the whole superior-inferior relationship, at least.

"Well, it looks like that all of my charges have bloodline abilities." Kakashi chuckled to himself. "It looks like that I won another bet, seeing that I lucked out this time."

"Gambling is wrong, you know? As well as perversion, Sensei," retorted the blond genin with a slight scowl. "Anyway, I take it that you made a bet with the other jounin-sensei? What was the wager, if you don't mind telling us?"

Somewhat astounded by the sudden question, the Copy-Ninja answered. "Well, Maito Gai-san, the leading taijutsu expert, had a betting pool going on to see if all three of our charges possessed a kekkai genkai, and that excluded family-clan techniques. Since I won the bet, I won't have to worry about wearing Gai-san's tacky leotards during the Chuunin exams…"

Sakura and her Inner Persona cringed ever-so slightly when he had mentioned the fashion atrocity that was the green spandex. Getting over her initial shock from the Green Beast Duo, they actually knew their subject of concentration extremely well.

"Anyway, that changes everything with regards to how your teamwork will fare. I'll give you another bell test to see if you're ready, which will be three days prior to the exam. The same stipulations will apply: if you don't come at me with the intent to kill, then you will not get the bells."

The gang groaned, save Doshaburi, who was confused about the assessment.

"N-Naruto, what's this b-bell test?" asked the inquisitive fox cub.

"It works like this, Dosha-chan," Sakura said, beating Naruto to the punch. "In this test, we'll have to work as a team to get two bells from Kakashi-sensei. The test itself is designed to fool greenhorn genin; with only two bells, that would pit them against one another and cause conflict in the team. We found out the meaning of teamwork the hard way when we had taken the bell test the first time." Sasuke and Naruto had a nostalgic look upon their faces while Doshaburi nodded in comprehension.

"Oh, that reminds me…" the one-eyed jounin realized. "We still have a few D-ranked missions to complete before midday."

With another collective group groan, they proceeded on to the boring D-rank chores…er, missions.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Midday)

Walking in the direction of the Hyuuga compound, Naruto praised his fox cub via mental connection. He was getting accustomed to commune with the kit so he would not look out of place if had spoken aloud. He did not want to get even more awkward stares when he was talking with a canine that could speak in return.

'I think that's the last time that Tora will ever run away. Ain't that right, Dosha-chan?' the blond asked. 'I think that you scared that fat kitty a bit too much.'

'I tried m-my best, N-Naruto,' replied the ocher-hued fox kit with his own foxy grin on his face.

Approaching the gates of the compound, two Branch House members halted the blond nuisance. "To what business do you have with the Hyuuga?" asked one of the surly guards with a permanent scowl on his face.

"Is Hinata-chan around? I said that I would train with her," answered the fox-boy. 'And what's with the attitude…? I bet it's just a stick in the ass…' Naruto chuckled along with his tenant.

"Just one moment. I'll notify Hinata-sama of your presence." After a few minutes, the stiff guard returned. "Follow me, Uzumaki-san." With a confirming nod, fox and fox-boy walked through the many corridors of the sprawling mansion that was the Hyuuga compound. Their quasi-journey led to a koi pond and a green garden with a vibrant array of flora. In the center of the field was a meditating Hinata, wearing a traditional purple kimono.

The blond wonder crept up in a fox-like manner and tapped her on the shoulder, which made the Hyuuga heiress jump in surprise and out of her peaceful trance.

"Oh, h-hi, Naruto-kun," Hinata said sweetly as Dosha-chan cuddled in her lap.

"You know, even though you stutter, your voice sounds angelic, Hinata-chan," he inadvertently said. The look on his face was worth a thousand words. 'Did I say that out loud? What the hell!?'

'Indeed you did, boy,' answered the bijuu lord while picking his claws and laughing. 'Heh…heh…'

Schooling his facial expression, he continued. "Um…Hinata-chan, I was wondering if you're ready to train with me, if that's okay with you."

Hinata gave her crush a blushing smile. "I'd l-love to, Naruto-kun."

"Okay," said the grinning fox-boy, who had just pulled a slip of chakra paper from his back pocket. "First, I want to test out your elemental affinity, although you aren't a Chuunin yet. I want you to channel some chakra into this paper, and I can tell you of what nature of chakra you possess."

"A-All right, Naruto-kun," she said in a soft-spoken tone. The Hyuuga heiress poured her chakra into the paper and greatly drenched it.

"Interesting…" He stroked his chin as if he were an intellectual scholar. "Since you soaked the paper, my guess is that your chakra nature strongly leans toward water. I find that fascinating because we can train together." He gave another foxy smile to the cute, shy girl.

"Eh?" she asked with a bit of confusion…and a small blush on her face. "What do you mean, Naruto-kun?" 'Wow…I didn't stutter that time…'

"My chakra natures are wind, water and earth," answered the fox-boy in a serious manner, which caused the Hyuuga heiress' eyes to double in size. "Wind is almost close to water in a way, since it flows in currents as well. We can train together and focus on adding some ninjutsu into your repertoire…"

"Uh…N-Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke up while poking together her index fingers. "I-I'm n-not allowed to…to l-learn ninjutsu…o-only Juuken taijutsu."

"Bah, that's nonsense, Hinata-chan," scoffed the blond-haired genin. "I think that you should learn something else besides closing up tenketsu." He leaned down to her ear and began to whisper. "Besides, what your arrogant-ass father won't know won't hurt him, am I right? It can be our…dirty little secret…" Hinata's blush blew to high proportions when he leaned in close to her.

"Oh my…" She appeared to have invented a new shade of red.

Apparently, he had caught wind that Hinata was being mistreated and thrown to the side like an old toy within her own home, and he was going to make sure that she, one of his newfound 'precious people,' could stand with her head held up high with the lesson plan that he had in store for her.

"I offhandedly heard from Sakura earlier today that she was training with taijutsu masters. From what she had told me, part of the Eight Inner Gates would allow you to reopen closed tenketsu. I'm not sure if that'll work, since it's still theory, but I know for a fact that lightning-natured shinobi ('Along with jinchuuriki,' he mentally added) can counter your Gentle Fist style, so it won't hurt to have backup plans and last-resort techniques." He moved away from her ear.

He looked into her lavender-tinted eyes, which caused her to turn an even darker shade of crimson, if that were even possible. "Remember these choice words, my friend: we both have to prove to everybody that we're not weak. That and the fact is that I care about you, just like all of the people that I hold dear to me. You're sweet and kind-hearted, and no one should have to receive that crock of bull from your heartless father, or from your prudish clan. Now let's get going, shall we?"

"Y-yes," answered the befuddled, reserved Hyuuga heiress. She was surprised of the fact that her crush had actually told her that he cared about her. All of a sudden, she realized that she was not in proper training attire. "I h-have to change first, Naruto-kun…I can't train looking like this…"

After about fifteen minutes, Hinata walked out of her room and down to the garden. When Naruto caught a look at what she was wearing, he immediately froze. She had gone without her bulky jacket and opted for a black T-shirt and tight-fitting lavender pants. It was very clear to see that Hinata was…more developed in her age group than most girls. When she saw Naruto's gaze, she looked away a bit and poked together her fingers.

'This may be one…awkward day…' thought the blushing, elf-eared fox-boy as he gathered his senses again to head off to find the person that Sakura had recommended.

XXXXXXXXXX

Naruto, Doshaburi, Hinata, and Sasuke, who had just been walking by at the time, found an abandoned dojo near the Ninja Academy. It was there that they had heard huffing and puffing sounds coming from inside. The quartet peered in and looked at a fast flurry of whirlwind kicks and graceful movements.

'Let's see,' Naruto thought for a moment as he took note of the green blur in front of him. 'Shiny bowl haircut…large, freaky eyebrows…green spandex…There's no doubt about it. That's him, all right.'

The blond genin slid the door to the side as the fast-moving shinobi came to a grinding halt.

"Greetings. I am Rock Lee. To what service do I owe you…?" His gaze moved immediately to the raven-haired genius. "I believe that I have heard of your clan before…Uchiha Sasuke-kun."

Maintaining his hardened gaze, the raven-haired Sharingan-user glared at the weirdo in the leotard. "So, you already know my name. I must say that I'm amused."

"Allow me to propose this challenge to you, Uchiha. Let us fight to see which of us is more superior…one who was gifted with natural talent from birth, or one who dedicates his life to hard work, day in and day out." Lee had taken his Iron Fist taijutsu stance.

"Eh, before you fight, Lee-san," Naruto interrupted, "I come bearing a favor if you don't mind…that is, after your spar with the bastard here." That comment earned a dagger-like glare from Sasuke, even though Naruto ignored it. Lee nodded in accordance.

"As you wish, but I know not of your names. May I ask who are you?" Lee politely asked.

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, this is my nin-ken, Doshaburi, and this is my friend, Hyuuga Hinata-chan," the blond said with a smile. By the mention of the surname 'Hyuuga,' Lee's eyes gained a cold, rock-hard appearance. Looking at the gaze, Naruto quickly commented. "B-Before you jump to conclusions, Lee-san, Hinata-chan's in the same boat as you and me. That and she's the nicest Hyuuga who doesn't act like a pompous ass." He held onto Hinata's shoulders as she giggled. The taijutsu expert's gaze softened, and the partial tension in the air dissipated.

"Very well," Lee said and turned back to the Uchiha prodigy. "But first of all, I would like to see how I fare against this year's number-one rookie. I will give you one warning, Uchiha: you will not win."

The comment stroked the avenger's ego and he charged full-on, with a flaring Sharingan.

The battle was brief; with an incredible burst of speed, Lee picked apart Sasuke's taijutsu and broke through all of his defenses. The spandex-wearing shinobi was about to perform a variation of one of his aerial kinjutsu when a talking turtle-summon and his equally-thick-browed jounin-sensei, Maito Gai, emerged on the scene and berated the boy for showing off his moves, which was not how it should be in the world of shinobi. As Lee was wrapping up his hands in the undone bandages, Naruto took special note of the condition of his hands.

"Hey, check out his hands. They're completely bruised and battered," Naruto perceptively pointed out. "That means he must train rigorously…more so than any of us." He smiled and turned to his foxy comrade and Hinata. "It looks like I found the perfect instructor for you as it is, and maybe I could learn a thing or two from him."

When Sasuke emerged from his daze, he wondered how the competition was going to be for the start of the Chuunin exams, and if there were any that would be in the same class as the green weirdo, then he would have his work cut out for him. It was going to be interesting…

"I'm going to go and train. Later," commented the raven-haired avenger as he walked off.

When Sasuke took off, a bad feeling dropped in the pit of the blond wonder's stomach. He shook his head. 'Something tells me that he just copied Lee's technique without him knowing…'

"Lee-san, that was incredible!" shouted the fox cub without stuttering.

The spandex-wearing splendid ninja looked at the furry kit with amusement. "I see that you have a talking ninja-hound, Naruto-kun. I must say that I am thoroughly impressed with its youthful exuberance. So, you wish to train with me?"

"We do, Lee-san," Naruto said, politely bowing. "We were referred by Sakura to see you. Your training would greatly benefit both Hinata-chan and me. Well, I know that my taijutsu needs a bit more fine-tuning, so that's why I came here. As for Hinata-chan, her Juuken is solid, but I would like for her to have extra reserves of chakra potential."

"Very well, Naruto-kun, Hinata-san. Let us begin. We will start by running around Konoha one hundred times with these." He smiled and pulled out two sets of leg weights from out of nowhere while the elf-eared genin and the Hyuuga heiress sweat-dropped. Something in the pit of their stomachs told them that it was going to be utter hell for the next few hours.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Three hours later…)

And pure hell it was. Although Naruto had superhuman stamina, there was no way that he was going to match that speed in a long time. The dusty-hued kit had no room for complaints, seeing that all he did was climb the walls and ceiling of the dojo with chakra and leg weights. Hinata was not faring any better as they proceeded to the training area to meet up with Haku.

"Hey there, Naruto-kun," the ice-user said with a slightly seductive smile on her face. Naruto picked up on the hidden undercurrent and blushed, knowing that he was not going to get that disturbing image from out of his head, even if she was in her new standard-issue attire. "Good day to you, Hinata-chan." She turned and bowed. "What brings you here? I thought that I was only going to be training Naruto-kun…"

"Yeah, about that, Haku-chan," the blond spoke up as he nervously scratched behind his head. "I was wondering if we could practice how to manipulate our water-natured chakra. It turned out that Hinata-chan has a strong affinity for water-based ninjutsu."

'Hmm…I guess that this is unofficially Phase Two, then,' Haku thought as she looked at the potentially cute couple-in-the-making. "Hinata-chan, I can tell that you have very good chakra control; however your reserves are a bit low. So this is what I'll do. Naruto-kun, I will leave it up to you to train Hinata for a few hours, and I'll begin your lessons a bit later. How does that sound?" The fox-boy nodded and pulled Hinata over to the nearby lake in the training area.

"Hinata-chan, I have just the solution for you." He used a bit of the wind-chakra in his claws to slice off a branch above them. Then, he plucked three leaves from the branch and laid it aside. "While you water-walk, I want you to focus on keeping these leaves on your head with just only chakra. This will greatly increase your chakra potential and hidden reserves as well."

From his knapsack he pulled out two cloths. He gave a dry cloth to Hinata while he dampened his cloth with his water-chakra. The shy Hyuuga's eyes widened. "This is another exercise that will help you draw out your water-natured chakra. In order to do this, I need for you to try to dampen that cloth with the chakra that you may draw from only your reserves. I'll tell you that recomposing your chakra into water will be rather difficult, and if you feel as if you're struggling, feel free to ask me or Haku-chan, okay?"

The Hyuuga heiress nodded with newly found confidence, and hoped to Kami-sama that her brain would not overload on the information that she picked up. She still could not believe that she was being tutored by her idol and crush for the next week. 'I will not fail you, Naruto-kun…Haku-neesan,' she thought to herself.

"I'll leave a shadow clone and Dosha-chan with you, in case if you need anything. I'll get back with you and check on your progress." He summoned forth a shadow clone and ran back to the ice-using kunoichi.

"Okay, Haku-chan, Hinata-chan has her regimen set up. So how are we going to manipulate ice?" asked the boy with astounding wonder.

"Well, this is going to be a different training schedule, Naruto-kun," Haku answered. "When you have your three elements that you can control, it's not very difficult to use them separately. But it's a totally different story when it comes to using two of them together. Such is the case with using abilities in the Hyouton-class of ninjutsu; the theory behind it all is very complex.

"I've done research on the ability and developed several theories on the subject matter, myself. To provide evidence that this is going to be tricky, I will show you this scroll of mine." The dark-haired young lady pulled out a scroll with an iceberg caricature on it. She giggled. "I drew the insignia on the scroll as well."

Naruto glanced at the scroll and read the theories and calculations to the minutest detail. He was intrigued, but mumbo-jumbo concepts would not deter the blond from learning and mastering ice-based chakra. After he read the scroll, he handed it back to the ice-user and began flashing through hand seals. Groundwater and atmospheric moisture condensed on the very spot that Naruto was standing after ending on the Inu seal.

"Suiton: Kyuusui no Jutsu!" cried out the elf-eared genin. The condensed water swirled around the blond in a ring-like fashion when he turned to the gaping ice-user. "Haku-chan, do you have a bucket or a water pail, by any chance? I would need this water to help me with the ice training."

Haku was stunned by the sheer volume of water that was swishing around the village hero. Never had she been able to draw on that much water on her first go of self-training. Quickly concealing her shocked face, she summoned forth a large wooden tub from one of her storage scrolls, which earned her a shocked look from the blond with raised eyebrows. "Here you are, Naruto-kun."

After he moved the water into the large container of water, he pointed at the tub in skepticism and asked, "Eh…Haku-chan, why is it that you lug around a tub in that storage scroll? I know it's not in my right to ask and all, but…I was just curious."

"That would be from my travels…as well as training," she replied with a smile, not at all offended by his inquiry. She had then retaliated with a question of her own. "Naruto-kun, how is it that you were able to draw out that much water?"

"Well," he whispered as he was looking around, seeing no one else, "Jijii told me that my ancestor and relative were the Shodai and Nidaime Hokage, respectively, two very powerful shinobi who had life-giving abilities. Shodai-ossan possessed the Mokuton ability, which allowed him to create forests with chakra alone. Nidaime-ossan, Shodai-ossan's brother, had a strong affinity for water-based techniques, along with those that have lived in Shiogakure. He was even able use Suiton ninjutsu without a water source. I guess you could say that I received a blend of both abilities." Haku was stunned, and the wide-eyed look showed for it. "I don't know if I inherited the wind-element chakra from Otousan, but having it must've come about as an accidental blessing."

The dark-haired ice-mistress had even wider eyes directed at the blond wonder. "Your father…?"

"Yeah," whispered Naruto. "He was the Yondaime, the one who sealed Kyuubi-sama inside of me, and the reason why I'm telling you this is because you already know about my status as a jinchuuriki. You might as well know the entire story, or at least what I do know of it. That, and I trust you wholeheartedly, knowing that you can keep secrets, right?"

"Your secret is always safe with me, Naruto-kun," said Haku with a reassuring smile. "Now, let's get started with the training…"

XXXXXXXXXX

The twilight landscape of Konoha displayed a brilliant array of hues and warm tones. Some stars had yet to appear in the darkening skies when Naruto completed his lesson on how to freeze water, with the aid of his shadow clones.

"Okay, Naruto-kun, you picked up on it rather quickly, and I think that should be all for today," Haku said. "There's no need in burning yourself out." She stood up and stretched, which made Naruto look away when she arched her back. "I'll meet you back at the flat, and I'll cook a hearty meal for you as well. Ask Hinata-chan as well if she would like some dinner." After she walked off in the direction of his apartment, a flash of realization crossed his face.

As the images from her training flooded through his brain, Naruto had then taken note that Hinata-chan never asked for any advice or aid when his clone was in attendance. He smiled at the fact that she had gotten the cloth considerably damp and was able to keep two of the three leaves on her head.

'All that in five hours…? Hinata-chan, you astound me…' He made a note that he should reward her for her great achievements. Besides, she hardly received praise, so treating her to lunch or dinner would be well-deserved.

As he walked over to where she was training, Hinata was fast asleep under a tree with Dosha-chan in her lap.

'Poor girl must be exhausted…' He chuckled inwardly and picked up the heavy, wet, dripping cloth that was beside her. 'Oh yeah, a reward is definitely in order for her…She's earned it…' His thoughts were interrupted when the Hyuuga heiress was mumbling in her sleep between breaths. Fortunately, due to his sensitive hearing, he was able to pick up her words…

"Arigatou…Naruto-kun…for…helping me change…to be…a better person…" She turned her head to the right side and smiled in her dreams. "…I w-want…for you…to r-recognize me…because…" The next words shocked Naruto to the core of his being…

"…I…like you…" The words were silenced by soft, soothing breaths.

The fox-boy's pointy ears shot up in immediate reaction. Naruto felt a bit awkward by hearing an unsuspected confession while sleep-talking. No one neither had said nor had shown the blond outcast any form of close affection, and now here he was…hearing an innocent girl's uninhibited confession in her sleep. Naruto, with tears threatening to fall, did not feel that it was right to wake her and ask her about it (knowing that she might faint soon after), so he decided to stash away that thought as he began to commune with his tenant.

'Oi, Kyuubi-sama,' Naruto called out to his subconscious. Sure enough, the lord of bijuu was awake. 'You don't think that she likes me in that way…Does she?'

Naruto could have sworn that a sigh escaped the hefty beast's lips. 'Boy, the shy Hyuuga girl admires you. In a way, she has always looked up to you. I could also tell that, while you were training in the Academy, and even when she followed you around, she was always watching you…' The beast paused to gauge the shocked expression on his host's face before continuing. 'You exude everything that she does not have…the strong will…the drive to succeed…the passion for achievement…and most of all…like you, Naruto, she strives for recognition as well. At least, that's what I surmise.

'I think that you may start to realize it as well; however, you're too young for the moment. It'll be up to you to decide in the future. Should you reciprocate those feelings to the one that loves you, even though it's a possibility that you may not be allowed to be together? The Hyuuga are strange like that, what with their odd by-laws and political marriages…that sort of thing…

'Anyway, you can't leave her out here like this, so carry her back to the compound and take some time to think about this. There's no need to be hasty,' Kyuubi pointed out. With a complying nod, the jinchuuriki softly woke up his little cloudburst and carried the Hyuuga heiress back to the Hyuuga compound, bridal-style.

'How ironic, kit,' the youkai kitsune chortled.

'Can it, kitsune!' Naruto snapped back.

XXXXXXXXXX

With the lingering thought in the recesses of his mind, Naruto decided to not mention to Hinata about her sleep-talking several days ago. He would wait until he had heard it from a conscious Hinata if it were indeed fact. Instead, he decided to focus more so on training with her and develop her skills in the art of Suiton ninjutsu, alongside the ice-princess and taijutsu practice with the "splendid ninja." For jobs well done, he decided to take her to a few restaurants and an ice-cream parlor as positive incentives to keep up the good work. He thought to himself that they were not dates, but his conscience had been telling him otherwise…along with his ethereal occupant.

Hinata had become more accustomed to her crush's presence in the past several days, so she hardly stammered, unless she received an embarrassing compliment from the blond enigma. However, old habits die hard, for she could neither stop blushing around him nor poke together her forefingers. Her backup ninjutsu were ready by the blond wonder's standards, and he was positive that she could give some confident fighters a run for their money.

"Naruto-kun," Hinata spoke softly while she was walking with Dosha-chan and him to meet up with his squad, "how has your Hyouton training been?"

Breaking from his conflicting thoughts, he answered, "They've been going. I mastered some low-level techniques that could potentially bail out my team in a time of need. I had taken the time to brush up on reading more theory of Fuuton and Doton ninjutsu when I had time at home.

"Then, Haku-chan wanted to berate me for working too hard. I swear that she's like the older sister I never had…" He displayed one of his sad smiles and his true façade exposed. He quickly rebounded as they arrived at a fork in the path to the different training areas. "Well, it looks like that we'll be going off on our separate ways, then, huh?"

The Hyuuga heiress nodded and boldly gave Naruto a hug. "I don't know what to say but…thank you, Naruto-kun…for everything."

The elf-eared genin was surprised by his friend's bravado, but gladly returned the friendly embrace. "You're welcome, Hinata-chan. And good luck on the exams in three days." The hug slacked a bit, but they still had their arms around one another.

Looking up at his cerulean orbs, she said, "I will, and promise me that you will do your best."

Staring down at her opalescent eyes, he smiled and replied, "You know that I'll do that and then some, Hinata-chan."

She smiled and retorted a variation of his catch-phrase. "I'll believe it."

"N-Naruto," Doshaburi spoke up, feeling a bit remorseful of 'ruining the moment,' "we need to get going. We're already late."

The blue-eyed enigma glanced at the sky to evaluate the time. The grimace on his face was evident. "Right…All right, Hinata-chan, I'll see ya when I see ya, and take care." Without thinking, he planted a small kiss on her forehead and ran off with his dusty-hued companion to Training Area Seven.

Hinata was speechless; all she could do was touch the point of contact and blush a profuse fuchsia. 'D-did Naruto-kun just…k-kiss me…?' She felt lightheaded as she walked off to meet with her teammates.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Training Ground 7)

"Naruto, we've been waiting for you!" yelled a frantic Sakura who had small bandages wrapped around her wrists. One of the biggest pet peeves for the green-eyed bookworm, aside from perversion, was tardiness.

"Relax, Sakura," Naruto said, trying to calm down his flustered teammate. "It's not like he's going to show up on time…" He dusted off a dried noodle from his new black jumpsuit.

"Don't you even think about adopting his habits, or else," growled the pink-haired kunoichi.

It was strange for Sasuke to not say anything insulting for the moment. "Hey, Sasuke, what's up? You don't seem like yourself today," Naruto commented.

"I'm fine," the raven-haired prodigy said. 'How could I lose to that bushy-browed weirdo?' He was mentally irate on the inside that his ego was dropped a peg or two when Lee easily slid through his guard and soundly pummeled him. "I'm just thinking."

Surprisingly, ten minutes later, Kakashi appeared from out of nowhere. "Good morning, everyone…"

"YOU'RE LATE!" shouted the pink-haired bookworm while pointing at him.

"Sorry…I guess I got lost on the path of life…"

"He was probably looking over at the memorial, down the way from here," Naruto surmised. "Your scent is strong over in that area. I take it that you visit that place often, Sensei? Is that the reason why you're always late?"

Even more taken aback by his charge's nose and analytical skills, he nodded. "Now that you know (and we'll be keeping it between the five of us), let's get started with this test, shall we?" He pulled out two bells and clipped them onto his pants.

"Begin!" At that signal, four blurs disappeared into the forest and convened at a predetermined meeting spot. It did not take long to figure out their course of action. Sakura ran support, Sasuke was the lead striker, and the wild cards of the pack were Naruto and his now muscular kit. Luckily, with little bickering, they came up with a solid strategy.

"I think that this is going to be interesting," the raven-haired genius said, smirking a bit. "I didn't know that you already made a shadow clone that's with Kakashi now."

"You know, Sasuke, that's the most I've heard you speak all day." Naruto's offhanded comment earned him a slightly annoyed glare from the quiet Uchiha.

"Let's just get to work," Sakura stated with a heavy sigh. "We don't have all day."

XXXXXXXXXX

Kakashi decided to read up on what was to come in Make-Out Tactics when a pair of hands burst forth from the earth and latched onto his ankles.

"Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!" Kakashi was dragged underneath, replacing the blond in the ground.

"Sorry, Naruto, but I've already pulled that trick on Sasuke the first time," Kakashi languidly said when he disappeared in a puff of smoke, leaving a small head-sized hole.

'Damn it…' the Naruto clone mentally cursed when the Kakashi clone dispersed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"He's on the move. Phase One complete," Naruto said to his companions. "Let's move out." Giving a consenting nod, the four figures dashed off to find their perverted sensei.

XXXXXXXXXX

After giving the Naruto clone the slip, he pulled out his reading material once again. After reading a few pages, his chakra felt…disturbed in a way. He was starting to smell flowers of some kind while a chilling mist encompassed him.

'So…Sakura's casting a genjutsu underneath Naruto's Hyouton, huh? It seems a bit weak and easy to disperse…' Kakashi tried to disperse it, but found it somewhat odd that it still remained. 'What the…?'

His thoughts were cut short when an ivy vine crept up and held him in place. He struggled to reverse the low-level genjutsu, but it was to no avail.

"Magen: Tsuta Wana no Jutsu…It's a very tricky genjutsu that's difficult to dispel unless you were a genjutsu specialist or an advanced doujutsu wielder," Sakura spoke up while walking out behind a tree and into the icy miasma. "The Haruno-clan genjutsu are pesky and rather annoying, just like a weed that won't go away, Kakashi-sensei." She gave a rather evil grin. "Phase Two…complete…"

Kakashi was about to speak up but then he smelled something that was rapidly burning…

"Fuuton: Daitoppa!"

"Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!"

"Gousei Hijutsu: Shounetsujigoku!!" A raging wildfire rushed through part of the forest, incinerating anything in its wake….and it was heading for the wide-eyed jounin in incredible haste.

With ingenuity and a good bit of luck, the Cyclopean jounin managed to replace a log in his stead, using the Academy-level Kawarimi no Jutsu, before the raging inferno burned him to a crisp. The intense heat evaporated the chilling mist as he was evaluating their attack patterns.

'Whew…that was too close, and I can feel the heat from this far away…' He smiled under his mask. 'It looks like they're finally working together…as a team. Sakura is running support with her genjutsu, which leaves Naruto and Sasuke to alternate attack patterns…very clever…'

Something felt very off at the moment, and then Sharingan Kakashi realized it. 'Wait a minute…where's Dosha-chan…?'

A voice rang out behind him…

"Tama Tosshin!" Sure enough, it was the unofficial forth member of Squad Seven.

A crimson flash bore through the Copy-Ninja's back as he was forced back into the slightly glassed-over terrain. Peering over his shoulder, he saw the dust-colored kit, perched on the branch, with a crimson aura surrounding him…and blood-red irises instead of the curious-gray kind. What had been the shocker was the somewhat hardened look etched onto his muzzle.

'So, I take it that the Kyuubi decided to give the kit of bit more youki…' He lazily thought. 'This ought to be interesting…' Kakashi got up and put away his book. He had then pulled up his hitai-ate to reveal his Sharingan eye. "Since you four aren't joking around this time around, I won't pull any punches, and while I'm at it…" He whipped out his dog-summoning scroll and summoned a few nin-ken to hold off the ocher-hued cloudburst. "Take care of Doshaburi…I'll take on my charges." The elite jounin and his hounds pounced to strike.

XXXXXXXXXX

The bell-test-turned-brawl lasted for about two hours. Sasuke sparred with Kakashi in taijutsu while holding off Naruto's Fuuton ninjutsu with his own Katon ninjutsu. However, with his attention diverted, Sakura focused onto Kakashi's chakra signature and snared him a couple of times with her Ivy Snare Illusion. Although she was a one-trick pony, Kakashi knew for a fact that she was holding back a bit. He could probably assume that her clan genjutsu were just as dangerous as Yuuhi Kurenai's brand.

'The girl is smart, but she needs to not hold back when it comes to eliminating an enemy.' Kakashi thought as he back-flipped away from his charges, exhausted. He would have to admit that they could give the elite jounin a nice spar when grouped together. When he landed on the ground, he heard no jingle. His eyes widened and felt where the bells had been tied…and they were gone.

"Looking for these, Kakashi?" asked the raven-haired genius who held out one bell for Naruto to hold along with him. Sakura was kneeling down, holding the other bell. From the forest, Doshaburi, who returned to normal, emerged from some shrubbery with a few scratches but was relatively unharmed as he touched the bell that Sakura was holding with his tail. "I grabbed them while you were preoccupied with Sakura's genjutsu. You should've looked underneath the underneath." He smirked.

With a sigh, Kakashi pulled down his forehead protector and said, "Well, I'll admit that you've earned it, and I must say that, compared to the first time, your skills were synchronous and on-point, with little to no error. Hell, I would say that I really like you guys now, and you all have some skill if you apply it properly.

"Sakura, I'm impressed by your illusionary techniques. However, you mustn't hold back in the field of combat, because I know for a fact that your chakra potential is higher now than what it had been normally. It's obvious that you learned more than just that one genjutsu in the past two months."

"I understand, Sensei," said the pink-haired flower mistress. 'Sorry, Sensei, but I don't want any of these two to see what I can really do now…'

'Hey, if they have secrets, then why can't we? Shannaro!' retorted her inner-self.

"Sasuke, Naruto, you were the ones to improve most of all. You moved aside your friendly rivalry (for now) for the greater good of the team. That's why I'm proud of the two of you as well." They grinned at the compliment as he turned to the ocher-colored fox cub.

"Dosha-kun, you surprised me back there. I didn't see you coming at all…no chakra signature, no scent, nothing. Being a bit young for a nin-ken, you actually managed to be on-par with a few of my hounds. Has Naruto been giving you steroids?" He joked and grinned behind his mask.

"N-No, Kakashi-sensei," replied the little hound as he pawed at the dirt in embarrassment. "It was all natural ability, sir."

He leaned down and patted the kit on his head, while displaying his eye-smile. "Well, good job, and tell Naruto to not slack off, will ya?"

The elf-eared genin mumbled with arms crossed, "I'm right here, you know…"

"Okay, guys, you can have the rest of the day off." Kakashi looked around and saw that the training field could use some repairs. The earth was pockmarked with smoldering craters, some trees experienced a bit of frostbite while others were subjected to fiery destruction, and there were layers of glass around the field from the intense flames. "…I'll ask Hokage-sama if he could send a repair team out here to fix up the training field. If we torched the Hero Monument, he would probably have all of our heads…" He chuckled to himself as his charges bolted from the destruction zone. After his squad fled, he looked to see a fully intact stone obelisk and grinned under his deep-blue mask. 'Well, they're safe for now…'

XXXXXXXXXX

"I'll see you guys later. I have to train," Sasuke stated as he walked away.

"Hey, I'll do you a favor and give you a few clones spar with you," Naruto spoke up before he walked off.

"No thanks," retorted the raven-haired prodigy. "Besides, your Kage Bunshin wouldn't even last one minute with me."

The red color on Naruto's face rose up like a thermometer before he fumed at the ears. "Oi, bastard, I'm trying to be a good teammate here! We're supposed to help one another!" Taking the reins of his temper, the blond cooled down. "I know that my taijutsu sucks, but I'm at least trying to understand our teamwork better. Plus, I'll admit that I…need-your-help-in-that-realm." It was a bitter taste in his mouth for asking the number-one rookie for aid, but he needed to at least be well-rounded in ninjutsu and taijutsu. Lee was excellent, but the wanted to garner another opinion on the matter.

Sasuke was somewhat puzzled as to why the prideful 'dead-last' wanted his help. Normally, he would want to outdo him in every possible aspect. To the raven-haired Uchiha, he would never live down this very moment of superiority. "I'm sorry, but I didn't quite catch that. I couldn't hear you…" He held a hand to an ear and leaned toward the dobe. He would milk it for all its worth.

"I said," growled the fox-boy, "that I'll admit…that I…need your help in taijutsu…" Naruto would not usually feed the Uchiha's ego, but he had to bite the bullet for his sake to get stronger. He turned to his pink-haired teammate. "And I could use some pointers on how to break a genjutsu, if that's fine with you."

"Why would I help you, knowing good and well that you can use Fuuton, Suiton, Doton, Hyouton…" she paused and whispered. "…and Mokuton ninjutsu?"

"Okay, so I'm a potential ninjutsu powerhouse, you're a developing genjutsu specialist, and Sasuke can…probably wipe the floor with me in taijutsu. I only need pointers on how to identify and break an illusion, not to learn one. I want to work with the bastard here ("I knew who my parents were, dumbass," Sasuke grumbled) to improve on physical combat." Before the even more prideful Uchiha spoke up, Naruto turned in his direction to cut him off. "And no, Sasuke, when you spar with my clones using ninjutsu, do not use the Sharingan, because I'll know if you did or didn't when it dispels.

"Copying a technique is one thing, but using it at your disposal with a lack of regard to those who worked hard to use it is an entirely different story." His gaze hardened in likeness of glaciers, just to reinforce his position on the subject. "If you want to learn a technique, learn it in the traditional way…train your ass off until you can't stand. You should take what Lee-san said when he soundly beat your ass."

Sakura gasped that Sasuke-kun, who had supposedly awakened his Sharingan, was easily trounced by her spandex-wearing tutor. As for Sasuke, he could not help but take in the words of wisdom from his pointy-eared teammate.

"Hn, fine," snorted the raven-haired prodigy. "If I teach you some taijutsu, then teach me some of your ninjutsu."

"Eh, I guess so," Naruto said. "But, you're only going to be learning more ninjutsu theory first because you're fire-natured and you can't effectively use any of my jutsu. Add that to the fact that naturally recomposing your chakra into fire can add more might to your already powerful fire-based attacks."

Sasuke reluctantly nodded after mulling over the benefits. It was either that or nothing at all, seeing that if he had copied any of the dobe's ninjutsu, then all hell would break loose and he would feel the full wrath of the elements upon him.

Naruto summoned his bunch of shadow clones for Sasuke to use at whim while summoning a few more to head off with Sakura to learn how to get out of the illusions. And as for Naruto…

He decided to go to his one-stop eatery for binge eating…the Ichiraku Ramen Shop.

'Jeez…I haven't seen Teuchi-oyaji and Ayame-neechan in a long time…' he thought as he ran to the quaint little joint.

XXXXXXXXXX

It was the peak of the lunch hour and the ramen parlor was filled to capacity, save for two seats. A seasoned chef with gray hair in white chef's attire was sweating rivers as he was fulfilling the orders of many. His brunette-haired daughter/assistant was quickly jotting down the meal orders.

Eventually, the rush started to lose its momentum when a pointy-eared blond boy appeared on the scene with an adorable fox cub.

"Oi, Oyaji," Naruto cried out. "I want five bowls of miso, a couple of shrimp and prawn and one barbecue ramen for me and my Dosha-chan, please."

Teuchi gave the blond wonder a scrutinizing look before his eyes widened considerably. "Naruto…!? Is that really you? You've…changed."

"Yeah, it's me, old man. I decided to drop by to see how business has been going. I would've been here more, but Haku-chan keeps me away from this place. She said something about watching what I eat or something like that…"

"Hmm…" Teuchi thought with contemplative eyes. He lowered his tone of voice so only Naruto could hear. "So, I take it that he was responsible for your changes, huh?" The elf-eared genin gave a slight nod.

The beautiful brunette appeared from the storage area and glanced at the familiar newcomer. "Father, who is he? And you do know that we don't allow pets here…"

"Ayame-neechan, it's been a while," Naruto spoke with his somewhat deeper voice and a Cheshire grin. "And this pet is my friend, Doshaburi, a stray that I had picked up while on my mission in Wave Country…"

Ayame's eyes widened just like her father's. "Naruto-kun, is that you?" she asked in amazement.

"Yeah, it's me, Oneechan," he answered while chuckling. "How've you been? How has this place been while I was away?"

'Those ears and whiskers make him look so cute like that…wait, what am I saying…?' she thought before she answered the blond's question. "Business has been going smoothly. So what have you been up to?" She moved from around the counter to sit by Naruto and his foxy comrade.

Naruto displayed a fang-toothed foxy grin. "I've been training practically non-stop after I came back. I have a good bit of jutsu under my belt, so now I'm more capable of holding my own…and Dosha-chan here knows a good bit of moves as well."

"That's great to hear, Naruto-kun," Ayame said with a warm smile to her 'little brother.' She picked up the cute, muscular fuzz-ball and began to stroke its pelt. "Dosha-chan is so adorable." She decided to rub behind his ears…a grave mistake…

"Ah…that f-feels lovely…"

"WAH!" Ayame wailed as she dropped the cub back onto the stool. "That fox just spoke to me!" She pointed in disbelief at the cute kit.

Naruto cheekily grinned. "Yeah, I forgot to mention that little tidbit. He's a special kind of fox that can speak in human tongue."

"So he can speak human like that one-eared wolf that's owned by Tsume-san, eh?" Teuchi asked while rubbing his chin. "Anyway, Ayame, we need to get back to work for our number-one customer."

She slightly rolled her eyes. "Fine, Tousan…" 'I wanted to talk with him a bit more…'

XXXXXXXXXX

(The next afternoon…)

After another D-rank mission the raven-haired recluse traveled back to the Uchiha complex to throw himself into training once more, leaving the pink-haired bookworm, the pointy-eared wonder and his vulpine comrade.

They were walking a bit until Naruto and Doshaburi smelled three distinct odors from behind them. They turned around and noticed…a rectangular rock disguise. Naruto scratched his head and wondered who would be dumb enough to be persuaded by that phony camouflage.

"All right, the jig is up…Konohamaru-otouto," Naruto flatly stated.

"Shoot! You saw through my disguise. That's why you're my rival, Oyabun…" The square aggregate burst in a flash of light and exploded, leaving three coughing children: one with dark, spiky hair and a long, blue scarf around his neck; one with dark, mushroom-like hair, glasses and a running nose; and a kunoichi with upturned red-haired braids. "Udon, I think that you used too much gunpowder."

"What do you guys want this time?" Naruto asked. It was a welcomed relief to be away from the Konohamaru Corps for quite some time. However, all good things must come to an end.

"Do you want to play Ninja with us, Oyabun?" asked the leader of the squad, the Honorable Grandson.

"How about I one-up your offer, Otouto? I'll give you one of my scrolls on chakra control exercises. Even though you won't learn that until much later on, I suggest that you three get started on it now. Trust me; it'll pay off in the long run."

Konohamaru looked at the scroll and held it like it was the Holy Grail. "Wow, boss, thank you so much. Now I won't lose to you now…" He turned to the odd-looking girl with pink locks and pointed. "Who is she, boss? And why is her hair freakishly pink? And the size of her forehead…Is that…natural?"

Sakura looked at the little shrimp with a glint of anger in her eyes. The glare that Konohamaru received made him slightly walk back. "For your information," growled the pink-haired kunoichi as she approached the little runt, "I'm Sakura…MY HAIR IS REAL! AND MY FOREHEAD IS NOT HUGE!!!"

Naruto sighed at what was about to develop. "Sakura, please relax. You'll make that kid wet his pants." He took a second glance at her and noticed a dark, wavy distortion superimposing around her. His eyes grew in shock. 'Oh shit, that might be the Inner Persona switching places with her…This could get ugly…'

Konohamaru was on the receiving end of a ki-filled glare and decided to make a run for it…only to bump into two foreign shinobi.

One was garbed in all black, with a matching black hood with two points on top of them. The shinobi carried an odd bundle on his back that was wrapped in bandages. He had a circular pattern on his chest that was half-yellow and half-red. Purple face-paint lined around the edges of his eyes and cheek region like a kabuki stage performer. His hitai-ate displayed an "I"-like hourglass engraved in the middle.

The second outsider was a dirty-blonde kunoichi a couple of years their senior, garbed in a pale-purple battle kimono with a red obi. The back of her hair was divided into four messy ponytails, and she carried a foldable battle-fan strapped onto her back. Her hitai-ate with the same hourglass carving was loosely tied around her neck.

The foreign ninja with the face paint picked up the frightened Konohamaru by the scarf and neck collar of his shirt, making him gag for air.

"That hurt, brat," the estranged shinobi said with partial disgust in his voice.

"Knock it off, Kankurou. You're going to be in trouble for this later," said the exotic kunoichi.

'Just who are those people, anyway?' Sakura mused, looking at their forehead protectors. Since she started the situation, she decided to diffuse it as quickly as possible. "I'm sorry about what happened just a minute ago. I was just joking around…"

"Hey, let go of him right now, you fake-ass bully!" yelled the pointy-eared genin who had just started to crack his knuckles.

The one known as 'Kankurou' looked at the blond whelp's hitai-ate. 'So these guys are Konoha genin, eh…?' He said with an eerie smile and fake whine, "Aw…but I want to play a bit before some annoying little gnats come…"

Naruto whiffed the air and caught the scent of his dark-haired teammate. 'He's here…' He peered over at the trees and noticed that he had a rock in his hand, ready to strike. He turned to the foreign shinobi with a frozen death-glare. "You're going to be sorry for laying your hand on him. Put him down, or face the consequences!"

Kankurou turned to the elf-eared runt and looked upon him in a condescending manner. "You Konoha genin are pathetic, and you're starting to piss me off."

He pulled up Konohamaru a bit further off the ground before he continued. "I always hated short people, and you're so disrespectful for someone younger than me…It makes me want to enjoy breaking you…"

Naruto and Sakura's eyes narrowed at the make-up-wearing bastard while Moegi and Udon stayed behind them, cowering in fear. 'Just who the hell are these guys…?' they both thought while coming up with a quick solution.

With a defeated sigh, the Suna kunoichi remarked, "Well, I'm not going to be responsible for your actions, Kankurou."

"Don't worry, Temari," Kankuro smoothly retorted. "After I'm done with this little gaki, I'll take care of the blond leprechaun…"

He reared back his left hand only to be stopped by two things…a flying rock into his right hand, which dropped the Honorable Grandson, and a stone obstruction into his face, which made him fly back a few feet. Shakily standing on his own two feet, he saw the dark-haired avenger in the tree, holding another rock and the blue-eyed loudmouth in front of the pink-haired girl in a defensive stance, with his cold, unnerving gaze affixed onto him.

"You're a long way from home, and you're way out of your league," Sasuke coolly remarked.

"And never underestimate us, you mascara-wearing freak…" For a fraction of a second, Kankurou could have sworn that the blond's eyes flashed blood-red before they changed back, but he passed it off as some genjutsu.

"Now you've pissed me off greatly, you little brats…" The puppet-master was about to pull off his back-bundle when a creepy, monotonous voice foiled his 'fun.'

"Kankuro, back off."

The voice shocked everyone who was in attendance. Hanging upside-down from a tree was a boy with blood-red hair, cold teal eyes with dark rings surrounding them. On the left side of his forehead was the kanji for the word 'love' branded on his face. The biggest surprise had been the large, peanut-like gourd on his back.

"You're an embarrassment to our village. Have you forgotten the reason why we came all the way here?" asked the unidentified enigma.

'How did he appear without making a sound?' thought the raven-haired genius. 'Only shinobi on Kakashi's level could do that…'

The elder boy tried to laugh off the situation. "I-I know…I-I mean, they challenged us…They started the whole thing really…See, here's what happened—"

"Shut up…" His cold gaze shocked Kankurou to no end, and the next words that were felt by the surrounding ninja were cold to the marrow. "…or I'll kill you…"

After stammering briefly, the puppet-master caved in to his crazed little brother and put up his hands in defense. "Uh, right…I was…totally out of line, Gaara…"

The one identified as Gaara looked over to the branch where Sasuke was standing. "I'm sorry…for any trouble he's caused."

Before he disappeared in a flurry of sand and reappeared in front of his team, Sasuke made a note of that crazed look in his eye.

Naruto picked up on the vibe as well. 'Man, I got a bad feeling about this guy…'

'I would suggest that you stay on your toes with that one, Naruto,' noted his tenant. 'Something about that aura seems…oddly familiar…'

'He r-reeks of chakra…and I can smell b-blood in that gourd, Naruto,' the little cloudburst intoned via mental link.

"Let's go. We didn't come here to play games," Gaara stated unemotionally. He turned around and gazed at the raven-haired kid and the blond with the pointy ears. 'I ought to keep my eye on the both of them…' he thought as his team walked away, only to be stopped by the dark-haired tough-guy.

"Wait," called out Sasuke. "You, with the gourd on his back…Identify yourself."

Gaara fully turned around. "My name is Sabaku no Gaara…I'm curious to know about you as well. Who are you?"

'I get it now,' the pink-haired wiz-kid thought. 'They must be from Sunagakure, from the Land of Wind, and they're here to compete in the Chuunin exams as well. They sure are a tough bunch…'

"I'm Uchiha Sasuke," retorted the lone Sharingan-wielder, with a small grin on his face. 'It looks like the Chuunin exams are going to be quite interesting…'

"And you," Gaara spoke up, turning to Naruto. "The pointy-eared kid with the little fox cub by your side…Who are you?" 'This guy oozes power…Mother will be pleased when I feed her his blood…'

Although he was a bit unnerved by the stare-down, the fox-boy spoke up. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto." 'And those eyes look reminiscent for some reason…but I can't put my finger on it.'

"Now that introductions are out of the way, we leave," Gaara said as he and his siblings took off in a triplet of blurs.

All was quiet for a while, until Naruto spoke up. "It looks like that we may have our work cut out for us, after all…" His teammates silently nodded.

XXXXXXXXXX

(Ninja Academy, two days later, 3 pm)

"Hmm…I wonder what's with all the ruckus…" Naruto mumbled as they walked into the crowd with Doshaburi atop his forehead. He paused for a moment to see a young lady in a Chinese pink shirt and green pants get knocked down by two little 'kids' blocking the doorway to 'Room 301.'

As Squad Seven approached the door, Sakura and Naruto recognized a familiar face. "Lee-san?" both had asked.

The Second Green Beast turned in their direction. "Oh, good day to you Sakura-san, Naruto-kun." He politely bowed as they bowed back.

"So, what's the deal here?" Naruto asked. "Why are we waiting around here knowing that this isn't the right floor? And how come you didn't take out those guys in front of the door with your blinding speed?"

"Yeah, Lee-san, this hall oozes of illusion," Sakura stated, on account that illusions were her specialty, "so why dilly-dally around here anyway?"

"We did not want the other competitors to know how strong we truly are," Lee answered. "That and we were trying to scope out the competition."

While Sakura and Naruto were chatting away with their former tutor, Sasuke demanded that the disguised jounin remove the genjutsu, which they did. So much for the intended plan of weeding out those who did not belong here…

"All right, guys, let's go," said the raven-haired genius. Before Squad Seven left, a white-eyed boy with long, flowing locks halted them.

"Hey, you there," said the equally stoic lad. "Identify yourself."

"It is common courtesy to state your name first, before you ask someone else of his own name," retorted the dark-haired avenger.

"You're a rookie, aren't you?" asked the white-eyed shinobi, totally dodging the question. "How old are you?"

"Since you won't give me your name," Sasuke started, maintaining his cool composure, "I'm not obliged to answer that." The white-eyed ninja narrowed his eyes, while the girl with the chocolate-colored buns thought that he was kind of cute.

"Well, well, well…" Naruto spoke up while narrowing his eyes slightly to analyze the pale-skinned boy. "You're one of those pompous, self-righteous assholes. I can tell by those freaky eyes of yours that you're definitely a Hyuuga."

"And what of it?" the Hyuuga prodigy asked with subtle ire. He was somewhat irked by the blond dropout's nonchalant comment. "This does not concern you, scum."

The elf-eared genin blearily gazed at the more prideful kid. Seriously, what was up with all the conceited pricks that hailed from Konoha? Dealing with one was trouble enough. "It does when it comes to my teammate, Hyuuga-yarou. C'mon, guys. We were just taking our leave to the real Exam Room."

The team brushed off the now-fuming Hyuuga prodigy as they headed upstairs to meet up with their sensei.

"Hey, guys. Glad that you could make it," said the joyous jounin, displaying his patented eye-smile. "Since you three have shown up, you all can take the Chuunin exams. If even one of you were to not show up, then the team wouldn't be able to compete." Seeing the slightly skeptical looks on their faces, he continued. "I knew that if I were to phrase it that way, then one of you probably wouldn't have gone through with the selection examinations.

"Well, anyway, step into those doors and good luck. I have my complete faith in all four of you." The Copy-Ninja disappeared in a poof of smoke as the squad pushed through the double-doors.

'This is all or nothing…' the raven-haired Uchiha thought.

'Let's give it our best shot…' thought the pink-haired bookworm. 'Let's kick some major ass…Shannaro!' her Inner Persona clenched her fists and did a barrage of punches and kicks.

'I think that I'll be as ready as I'll ever be…' thought the elf-eared fox boy as they were encased by light and faded into the room…

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

A/N: I hope that you have enjoyed this chapter. I know that some things are out of place as compared to the canon, such as the true introduction of Rock Lee before the Sand Siblings. I let it be that way for a reason.

I decided to add in the little tidbit with Hinata and Naruto as a bonus within the chapter to see how well they have progressed.

As for the preliminary exam prior to the Chuunin exams in canon…I decided to opt out that part. The second bell test, in my opinion, sufficed for Squad Seven.

The start of the exam is about to commence. What lies in store for our newly-developed Squad Seven? Will they be ready for what will be thrown at them?

Jikai… (Next time…) on Birth of a Legend: The Fox Druid…

Impending Danger: A Snake in the Grass

Sakura: This test is ridiculously…hard…

DHO: Remember what your sensei told you, Sakura…Look underneath the underneath…

Sakura: Yeah, yeah, I know…Now, if I could figure out this solution…

DHO: Sigh…I guess you're a bit too focused on that test, huh?

Romaji Guide:

Mi: snake; serpent

Senpai: superior (yes, Inner Sakura holds Naruto in very high regard now)

Tenketsu: pressure points; in this case, pressure points along the chakra network

Kinjutsu: forbidden technique

Inu: dog

Suiton: Kyuusui no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Absorption Technique): C-rank supplementary ninjutsu; user drains fresh groundwater from the earth or water vapor in the atmosphere for other water-based techniques; useful for finding water sources when on prolonged trips (created)

Ossan: slang term for "old-man"

Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Inner Decapitation Technique): D-rank supplementary short-range ninjutsu; the user, emerging from the ground below the target area, pulls down (or possibly swaps places with) the opponent so that only their head is above ground (Narutopedia)

Magen: Tsuta Wana no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Ivy Snare Technique): D-rank offensive/supplementary Haruno-clan genjutsu; allows user to "ensnare" the target with an illusionary ivy plant (created)

Fuuton: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough): C-rank offensive short- to mid-range ninjutsu; user blows out a powerful blast of wind, which can easily level a large area (Naruto )

Gousei Hijutsu: Shounetsujigoku (Combined Secret Art: Burning Hell): B-rank offensive all-range ninjutsu; users combine fire and wind-chakra create a scorching wildfire that destroys anything in its unaltered path (created)

Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Technique or Body Replacement Technique): E-rank ninjutsu; switches body with another nearby object; the mechanics of this technique have been contested and has not been concluded with a sufficient physics engine on how it properly functions (Narutopedia)

Kitsune no Hijutsu: Tama Tosshin (Secret Art of the Foxes: Spirit Rush, aka Bullet Charge): D-rank close-range hijutsu for vulpine-class animals; user charges dead-ahead at high speeds, encased in bright, crimson light; hits target about 85 percent of the time, due to its tunnel vision effect (created)

Oyaji: old man

Otouto: little brother

Oyabun: boss; chief

Obi: kimono sash

Yarou: literally, 'rascal,' but in other cases, it can also mean 'bastard,' too