Drifting

by AlphaDelta1001

Naruto is many things; troublesome, wild, unpredictable, adventurous, untamable, unique. But there's a benefit to being wild and unpredictable; no one has the faintest idea what you're going to do next. NarutoHarem

49. Post-Gap Arc - New Tricks

NARUTO

Drifting

New Tricks

Looking towards the door of the office when they heard it open, Hiruzen, Tsunade, Naruto, and every other person in the room saw three more figures stroll into their midst.

"Hey…"

On first glance none of them were able to recognize the team of newcomers. But after a careful moment of studying, names began appearing alongside the faces. Even though one of them had grown quite a bit since he'd last saw him, his appearance didn't surprise Naruto in the least. The Jonin simply cracked a smile when his brain eventually registered to the charcoal eyes and raven-black hairstyle cut to resemble the rear end of a chicken.

"Hey yourself, Sasuke," Naruto responded with a grin.

The face was a perfect match. Wearing the same eye patch and drab expression, the Uchiha had not only aged in the last three years, he was also taller, about the same height as the jinchuriki, was wearing a black, high-collar trench coat with white trim that was open at the front, a white obi wrapped around his stomach and waist, which held up a pair of standard blue shinobi trousers, with a pair of blue sandals worn on his feet. Furthermore, he also had a chokuto strapped to his side that not only had a white handle and matching scabbard, but was also emblazoned with his clan's emblem.

The boy was also accompanied by two kunoichi, both of whom the jinchuriki didn't recognize… at first. The one standing on the teen's right was a girl about the same height as Temari with long brown hair tied into a braided ponytail hanging over her shoulder, wearing a Konohagakure headband, green kimono with red trim and white flower patterns on it, a shinobi pouch on her back, and a utility case strapped to the side of her white obi. The other one standing on the teen's left had long, striking and unkempt red hair with red eyes, wearing brown glasses, a lavender uniform exposing her naval, short black shorts, and long black, thigh-high stockings with black sandals. She also had on her, unlike the rest of the people in the room, a Kusagakure headband.

Blinking when he saw the blonde haired young man standing in the middle of the office, Sasuke stared at him for a moment before a smirk crossed his lips, "Heh. Well look what the cat dragged in."

Naruto chuckled, "Pleased to see me?"

"In a manner of speaking," the Uchiha replied, his one good eye scanning the teen from head to toe, "You're looking sharp."

"Well… three years traveling the world can do that to a person," Naruto answered with a grin and a shrug, showing off his new jacket, "My love for the color hasn't changed."

"So I can tell. Though I see you've gone for leather on the jacket as opposed to polyester." Sasuke tilted his head and activated his Sharingan, the tomoes spinning as he gave his former teammate another once over. He grunted moments later when he was able to gauge the chakra flowing through the young adult's veins, "Hmph. Not bad."

"Is this the same Naruto from three years ago?" the brown haired girl next to the Uchiha asked, glancing across at her companion inquisitively.

She received her answer in the form of a playful wave from said jinchuriki.

Blowing her hair out of her face, the redhead on the other side of the raven haired shinobi adjusted her glasses and smiled, "It's him alright. I recognize his chakra signature from the last time we met."

Eyeing the girl in the brown-rimmed spectacles for a moment, Naruto squinted and leaned forward. He then balked when a new face appeared in his head, one he didn't think he'd remember so easily. Were it not for the red hair, her mug and profile would have gone completely over his head. "Hey… aren't you that girl from the grass team that was standing across from us in the first stage of the Chunin Exams?" Yeah, the one that'd been so nervous she couldn't even look him in the eye.

Tucking some hair behind her ear, Karin smiled in his direction, "Yeah… that was me."

"Heh. What a small world," Naruto mused, glancing across at Tayuya and Sakura to see them acknowledge his realization with a smile. "It looks like I've got bucket load of catching up to do." When he turned back to his teammate, the jinchuriki gestured to the kunoichi flanking the Uchiha on both sides, "So who might these two lovely ladies be, if I may ask?"

Adjusting her posture to a more formal one, the one adorned in the green battle robes smiled, "My name is Kurama… Yakumo Kurama."

The redhead standing proudly with a hand on her hip, flicked her hair back and nodded in greeting, "And I'm Karin."

Naruto tilted his head towards the latter, "I may be spit-balling here, but I have to say you've got quite a bit of chakra on you for an ordinary kunoichi. It also feels kind of familiar. Why is that?"

Good eye closed, Sasuke let out a chuckle, "That's because she's from the Uzumaki clan. Your kin."

Ignoring the slightly stunned look she received from Sakura and the sort of surprised one from Jiraiya, the glasses wearing newcomer gave the peace-sign to the spiky haired blonde staring back at her, "What up, cuz?"

Not appearing as surprised as he should've been, the jinchuriki merely smiled and saluted to her in return, "Yo." Looking between the kunoichi, Naruto laughed, "Wow. This is totally awesome. I'm meeting new friends and relatives on the same day. Who would'a thought?" He then turned to his best friend and rival, "So what brings you guys here today? Are the three of you on a mission or something?"

The Jonin failed to spot the smirk from Tayuya and the roll of the eyes from Sakura, who looked away to shake her head.

Raising an eyebrow, the Uchiha glanced from Yakumo to Karin a couple of times to see the shrugs and smiles they sent his way. Following the silent exchange, he turned back to face his friend, "Actually, no. We just got up this morning and were about to hit the hot springs, but while we were on the way out we got a message from the Hokage telling us to come up here as soon as we were able. So we did."

Batting his eyes a couple of times while staring at the trio momentarily, Naruto remained in dead silence as his mind processed what the Uchiha had just told him. While most of the people in the room watched in amusement to see what the jinchuriki's ultimate response would be, Jiraiya also seemed to be working out the riddle in his head and, at the exact same time as his student, he eventually came to the same conclusion.

Naruto leaned forward and pointed lamely, "Wait… are you… like…?" He then started making random gestures in the air that were a cross between innocent and obscene, a sight that had Tayuya double-over with silent laughter and Tsunade snicker in the corner.

Karin, cheeks reddening, rested a hand against her cheek and gazed fondly across at the boy in the middle, at the same time Yakumo stepped towards the Uchiha and leaned against his shoulder, "More or less."

Every single person in the room then watched as Naruto's baffled expression transformed from bewildered to what could only be described as ecstatic. Then, with speed even the best shinobi could barely keep track of, the blonde shunshined Sasuke out from between the two girls and over to a random corner in the office, his arm wrapped over the Uchiha's shoulders and bringing the two of them into a good, old-fashioned, bro-to-bro talk.

Mona-a-mano.

"You sly dog, you. I knew there was more to you than what you were letting on," Naruto whispered, grinning from ear to ear and rapping his knuckles against his friend's chest, "Way to go, Sasuke."

Frowning at the proximity with his friend, whom had just walked back into the village no more than an hour ago, the one-eyed shinobi glared at him, "What's with you? Why are you acting so weird?" Not that he already didn't. His quirky personality had always been his defining trait.

"Well, I'm just surprised. I mean… after months of traveling the world and saving countries from tyrants, the last thing I expected to find coming back was you in a relationship with two girls… let alone with one."

"You think I don't have the capacity to live a normal life outside of my responsibilities as a shinobi?"

"Kind of… yeah." Naruto's immediate response from the dark haired shinobi was a swift jab to the gut.

"Pft. Scatterbrained as usual."

"Takes one to know one," the blonde shot back, earning a passive glare from the young male in return before returning it positively, "But hey, congratulations man. You're finally starting to come out of that dark, unforgiving closet of yours and into the wide open air. Good for you."

"Hmph. Thanks."

A clearing of a person's throat drawing the pair's attention over their shoulders, the two boys saw the other people present in the room staring back at them quietly. Looking from the amused looks on Tayuya, Karin and Jiraiya's faces to the stern ones on the Hokage, Tsunade and Sakura's, the two boys promptly returned to proper standing positions.

"As happy as I am to see you two catching up, I think it would be best that we moved this meeting along. There are still a lot of things that need to be sorted," Hiruzen spoke, closing his eyes and interlocking his fingers in front of him. "Before you walked in, Sasuke-kun, I was just about to tell Naruto-kun and Sakura-san who their opponent for today's assessment was going to be."

The Uchiha blinked, "Opponent?"

"Oh… I think I can guess who it is," Naruto said, his eyes cutting towards the line of windows to their left. "He's been eavesdropping on this meeting the moment we got here." At this admission, everyone in the room soon found themselves looking in the same direction he was. Quietly, they watched the jinchuriki approach the sill and slide it open. Poking his head out, the blonde leant against the frame and smirked along the roof's tiles, "Hey, Kakashi-sensei."

"My, your senses have certainly improved quite a lot, Naruto-kun," the familiar, masked face of Konoha's famous Copy Ninja spoke as he waved back at the jinchuriki. "What's up?"

"Heh. Even after three years, you still haven't changed one bit. And here I was hoping you'd finally built up the confidence to take off that mask and show us all your real face." Chuckling, the blonde reached into his back pouch and yanked out a book. Though at first everyone appeared confused as to what book he'd been carrying this entire time, when he eventually dangled it in full view of the window, all those present knew exactly what it was in two seconds flat. "It doesn't matter. I recognize you better with your face covered. Makes you easy to spot. Anyway… I got a little present for you, sensei. It's your favorite."

"N-No way!" Eye widening at the sight of the piece of literature, the silver haired man wasted no time in leaping to his feet and rushing over to the open window. As if he were admiring a priceless artifact, Kakashi's hands suspended themselves anxiously in front of the novel, "I-Is that what I think it is?"

"Uh-huh. It's the first new issue of the Icha Icha series in almost three years. Took a while for Ero-Sennin to get the ball rolling on this one, but I'd say it turned out pretty well," the blonde exclaimed while handing it over to his stunned teacher, who gingerly took it from him. "This is the only copy to have been printed so far; autographed, hard bound and everything. Hope you like it."

"Like it? I… I love it," Kakashi stammered, running a hand over the hard cover and earning sweat drops from all the people staring at him from inside. The look on his face, as they could easily tell even with his mask on, was one of absolute longing and child-like excitement. It was almost pitiful. To add to the very pathetic air he was putting on, the Jonin gave the book a sniff, "Oh, it still smells of hot press."

"Kakashi, if you don't mind…" Hiruzen spoke, at the same time noticing the look of pride on Jiraiya's face and the disapproval on Tsunade's.

"Right," the silver haired man chirped, clapping his book shut and hopping up onto the sill to look into the office. When he saw Naruto rejoin Sasuke and the others, he looked around the room momentarily and nodded his head towards his audience. "It seems that we have a full house today… and with so many familiar faces." His eyes then landed on his former kunoichi student, who was also standing by her teammates. "It's been a long time, Sakura."

The pink haired girl beamed and tucked several bangs of her hair behind her ear, "It certainly has, Kakashi-sensei."

Beaming happily at Tsunade's apprentice, with an appreciative gaze also falling upon the Uchiha, the man then looked at Naruto to see the boy straighten up and stare right back at him confidently. "As you've probably already guessed, I'm going to be your opponent for today." His gaze fell upon Sakura and Sasuke as well, both of whom fixed him with equal intensity, "To all three of you…"

"It's time to see how much you guys have improved."

The excitement in the air was almost palpable.

OOO

Sometime later…

Out on the streets…

Following the end of their meeting with the Hokage and his heads of staff, Naruto was eager to get their contest on the road.

Unfortunately, when the village leader finally dismissed them all from his office, Kakashi immediately used that opportunity to take off, saying that his student needed a few hours to rest and recuperate from his three day long journey. While the blonde initially protested the man's declaration, he then realized moments after the Jonin's departure that his team instructor was probably heading off to try out his new present. Though it did satisfy Naruto that his teacher appreciated his gift, it did leave the jinchuriki with a massive gap in his schedule.

Upon seeing their teacher shunshin out of sight, Naruto decided to break away from the office with his friends. Waving 'good-day' to the Hokage and making nice with Tsunade, who'd also been present for his arrival to the tower, the boy ambled away with his best mates in tow.

Together, Naruto, Tayuya, Sakura, Sasuke, Karin and Yakumo vacated the Hokage Tower as a unit, hitting the streets and going… wherever the hell it was they wanted to go. As far as they were concerned, they had an entire day to fill in.

"Fuck me. So you're saying this nut job was going to wipe the entire planet from existence just to defeat the four of you?" Tayuya remarked upon listening to her boyfriend's story of his most epic battle ever, at the same time walking alongside him down the road in the direction of the training fields on the other side of town. "Geez. Talk about flying off the handle."

"Yeah. No shit. The guy was ridiculously strong and he proved it more than once while we were trading hits. If it hadn't been for Shion-chan, that psychotic bastard would have turned this entire ball of earth and water into a cloud of ash and moved on without a second thought," the jinchuriki replied, exhaling sharply and giving an exasperated expression. "I have no clue what he would have done afterwards. Make a new earth… restart humanity from scratch… transport himself to another dimension to conquer it… the list is endless."

"Considering all the opponents you've fought in the past, I'm going to venture a guess that this Moryu prick must've been the strongest son of a bitch by far."

"Correct. Circle gets the square," Naruto answered with a grin, playfully poking his girlfriend in the nose before throwing his arms out to illustrate the scale of the conflict that'd long since passed. "This guy made the tailed beasts look like mice to a tiger. Hell, the Sage of Six Paths' mother has nothing on this guy. I mean, what else can you expect from a Demon God? In his initial larval state when he took the form of a multi-headed dragon monster, he was every bit as powerful as any one of the tailed beasts and none of our attacks had any effect on him. But then, when he ascended to his next form after we roasted the hell out of him, his power level just went through the roof."

"We know. The sensor division back at headquarters caught the whole thing on the projection globe," Sakura pointed out with an incredulous shake of her head. "His chakra dwarfed the entire planet's."

"Yeah. And here's the kicker; the guy toyed with us the entire fight," Naruto informed, reaching up and massaging his shoulder to rid himself of a sudden phantom bruise. "He could have killed all three of us any time he wanted to. Hell, he was even going to incinerate an entire country and split the continent in half just to make a point. Thank Kami I managed to body slam him before he could do that."

"I guess we can count our lucky stars that the guy was arrogant as fuck," Tayuya added with a smirk, nudging her boyfriend in the side playfully and drawing his gaze. "And then the master of the impossible kicked his ass. Am I right?"

"Well, I'm not one to brag but, yeah… you're damn right I did," Naruto nodded affirmatively, cheerful grin and everything. It was this response that earned a giggle from the redhead, who then threw her arms around his and huddled up close to him as they walked. "Boy. I can't wait to get into something normal around here for a change. The last three years has just been one extreme after another."

"No kidding."

Hearing this prompted the blonde to turn to his girlfriend and smile, "So…enough about my adventures. How were things with the ANBU?" Ah. Now this he was genuinely curious about. His girlfriend had spent the last three years training with the black ops division of their shinobi forces, going on tons of missions and protecting Konoha from Kami knows what.

Surely there was bound to be a lot of classified stuff involved, as well as stuff she was willing to share.

Tayuya smirked at him, "You want the long version or the short version?"

The jinchuriki shrugged, "Hmm… how about both?"

"Alright. I'll start with the short version," the redhead began before her smile completely vanished, "It was boring as hell."

"Seriously?"

"The majority of the members in the ANBU were dudes, so I was surrounded by guys in masks most of the time, and any girls that were in the organization were just as stoic and unfeeling as the men. You try to have a conversation with them, but they're so information sensitive that they don't really talk about anything else except their next cafeteria visit," Tayuya replied before shaking her head. "I mean, sure, you get all clammy and emotionless after finishing off opponents, torturing and killing enemy shinobi, but is that really so different from what other shinobi do?"

"Well, aside from being more clandestine and under the table, I'd say not much," Naruto answered.

"Yeah. Not to mention a little bit dirty, but I guess that's just me talking from personal experience," the redhead added with certainty laced in her voice. Breathing out in relief, the girl then gazed fondly at her boyfriend, "Either way, I'm glad it's all over and we can finally go back to being our usual selves."

"Same here."

Watching the pair laugh and hold onto one another as they strolled down the main street brought a smile to Sakura's face. A sense of nostalgia washed over her, bringing back memories of days long past in which the kunoichi was able to see her best friend in social situations, not just with his girlfriend, but with their comrades in general. The intimacy he had with the girl, who was the closest to him in his life, made the medic nin feel a little bit out of place, like she was intruding on something important.

However, if Naruto and Tayuya didn't mind sharing affections in front of them, then Sakura was content with the situation. She was just happy that her friend was back and that they could all be together again; her, Naruto and Sasuke. Team 7.

Speaking of which, the raven haired member of their team was currently keeping in step alongside them with Karin and Yakumo, all of whom were looking across at the blonde and watching his interactions with interest. Having remained silent for a majority of their trek, listening to the jinchuriki and musician chatter away, the trio was then disrupted from their personal time when the pair they were observing sensed their eyes boring into the sides of their skulls.

"By the way Sasuke, how are things going for you?"

The Uchiha smiled and shrugged, "Okay, I guess. Everyone's been busy over the past couple years, so as far as I can tell, there's really nothing to complain about."

"I see. You and Sakura-chan must have been working your asses into the ground then, huh?" the jinchuriki remarked, seeing the pink haired girl in question chuckle.

"Hmph. You don't know the half of it," Sasuke replied, picking up the pace a little and moving across to better engage with his teammates. "There's been so much going on we hardly ever got any time to see the other groups. Things died down a little after the Ghost Army incident, but then started to pick up a few weeks later."

"More missions?"

"Yeah," Yakumo spoke up while walking in closer to join the group in conversation. "After the stone armies vanished, it took several days for the highways to open up and the communication channels to be fixed."

"When the roads finally became accessible, villages from all over started sending in thousands of requests, from building repairs to escorts," Tayuya also added, cashing in the knowledge she was able to gain from her end of the board.

"In other words… it's been hectic," Karin said, earning a nod of agreement from Sakura.

"Has the boom settled down now or is it still going strong?" Naruto asked, curious if he was going to be sent on any missions soon.

"It's gotten relatively quiet," Sakura said while moving into the blonde's line of sight when he looked across at her. The kunoichi smiled and brushed some hair behind her ear, "We're all still pretty busy, especially with this upcoming Chunin Exams?"

"Chunin Exams?" Naruto repeated, looking at Tayuya for confirmation and seeing the girl nod in response. "It's that time again? Man. I almost forgot about that."

The redhead giggled at the incredulous look he now wore, "You've been away for three years. Just give yourself a couple days to readjust to the shit going on around you."

"Yeah. I'll do that."

At that, Sasuke snorted and shook his head at his counterpart, "Obviously you'd forget about something important like that. It makes sense, considering you won't have to take that exam ever again… what with you being a Jonin and all."

His lip twitching upwards, the jinchuriki then perked when he remembered something important and looked across at his friends curiously. "Oh yeah. That reminds me. How are you guys doing in the ranking department? I already know that Temari-chan, Kankuro and Gaara have all been promoted to Jonin, not to mention Kurotsuchi-chan, Shirotsuchi and Akatsuchi. What about the others?" This line of inquiry immediately earned a round of smiles from his teammates and his girlfriend, all of whom looked between one another before deciding to make their big announcements.

"You wouldn't believe how much you've missed," Sakura informed, throwing the boy a look before giving him the 'peace' sign. "I've just been promoted to Tokubetsu Jonin."

Naruto's eyes practically shone at the news, "Whoa. For real?"

"Uh-huh. Medical specialist and combat efficient with Tsunade's seal of approval," the pink haired girl added with a proud grin and a thump to her chest, "Everyone else from our age group has been promoted to Chunin as well."

"Even Choji?" the blonde asked in amazement, the new surge of information forcing him to a stop in the middle of the road.

"Yep. Even Choji," Tayuya chuckled, stepping back some and grinning at the astonished blonde next to her. "And that's not even the half of it. Neji, Shino, Yakumo and Emo-san over here have gone two steps further. The four of them are all Jonin now." While her announcement earned a scowl from the Uchiha behind her, the rest of the news brought an even wider smile to the jinchuriki's face. "It looks like you and I aren't the only exceptional parties anymore, shithead."

"Th-That's great," Naruto said, stepping forward with positive rays wafting off of him as if he was the sun itself. Looking from one face to the next, he was now able to fully comprehend the number of changes that have taken place in his absence.

His friends have truly grown.

"Oh. And there's one other thing I should probably mention," Tayuya continued, drawing the boy's attention over to her and winking at him, "Kin and Isaribi are Chunin as well," She added to this by nodding towards the painter standing nearby, "They were both put on a team with Yakumo, and took the Genin and Chunin exams together."

Sakura, Sasuke, Karin and everybody else then had the privilege of watching the blonde stumble back a bit. When he recovered his footing seconds later, he brought a hand up and massaged his scalp, the shock from all the news shaking him from head to toe. Eyes wide, the boy gave a light chuckle and looked up again, hands returning to his sides and expression quickly showcasing his joy.

"Wow… that's amazing," Naruto murmured, looking around at his teammates and friends, before his gaze turned skywards. "I can't believe how much time has actually passed. Things sure are different now."

And he knew without a shadow of a doubt that he was going to enjoy getting reacquainted with all of it.

OOO

Meanwhile…

Elsewhere…

Somewhere in an unknown part of the continent, deep inside of a large underground cavern, the black cloaked form of a man with a Venus flytrap growing out of his body could be seen looking up at the titanic frame of an enormous statue. Like some demonic creature from the darkest depths of the underworld, this seemingly lifeless edifice sat atop an enormous lotus flower shaped platform, legs folded and assumed in a meditative position, stewing away while bathed in an eerie glow. Not only did it have strange markings tattooing its body, it also had multiple closed eyes and stumps growing out of its back.

Needless to say, it was one of the most terrifying looking statues anyone had ever seen.

But the Akatsuki member staring up at it wasn't shaken in the least.

With his yellow eyes looking the creature over, the silent, black and white figure of Zetsu remained standing in place and admiring the craftsmanship in interest. He stayed in this position for quite some time, until the feeling of an unsettling presence fell over him. Turning on the spot, the Akatsuki scout saw a whirlpool open up in the air behind him, before the familiar, mask-wearing form of his superior spilled out of it.

Landing expertly upon the ground, the figure in the orange, spiral-patterned mask spoke up. "Our melancholic associate tells me that preparations for the sealing process are just about ready."

"Oh. Wonderful," the white side of Zetsu chirped happily while his other half groaned.

"It's about damn time."

"All we need to do now is move the statue, rally the members and then we can begin removing the Six-Tails from its host," the figure went on, stopping beside the man so that he too was looking up at the statue. "Make sure that everyone is there for the ceremony."

This statement had Zetsu smile, "This will be our very first jinchuriki. I'm sure that Pein will not want to leave anybody out."

The masked man grunted and glanced toward his two-faced subordinate. "But before all that, I need you to run a little errand for me."

Expression tweaking, the spy glanced towards his boss, "Where do you want us to go?"

"I just received a tip that the group responsible for all the noise going on across the five great nations has some sort of mining operation going on in the south. I need you to go down there and check it out for me," the mysterious individual stated in a firm voice, one that had the Akatsuki member frown.

"You want us to 'record' what we find?"

"That's why I'm sending you instead of going down there myself. For some reason, the leader of the shadow organization has been concentrating a lot of his time and effort around that particular area. He's digging around for something that's not there, at least… not on the surface anyway. It must be incredibly important to their group for the air to be clogged up with so much chatter."

The white half murmured uneasily, "It sounds fishy. Those guys have been up to no good for a while now."

"Don't worry. We'll check it out," the other half of the plant man spoke.

"Good. The group's operation is located on the southernmost peninsula inside of the high mountains. Your extra sensory-abilities should be able to do the rest," the masked man informed while looking back up at the demonic statue. "Be quick about it."

"Will do," Zetsu replied, moments before his form sank into the ground.

Within seconds, the spy was gone, leaving the masked leader glaring at the statue with his hands at his sides.

OOO

Konohagakure…

Sometime later…

Finding themselves at the Third Training Field following a delectable lunch, the members of Team 7 and their tagalongs formed up around the three tree stumps that served as the universal meeting point in that area. Scattering themselves across the area, Naruto and Tayuya spent the next hour continuing their previous conversation about the mysteries of the universe, both old and new, while Sakura had some face time with Karin, and Yakumo and Sasuke stood off to the side chatting between themselves about their last joint mission together. So far, the day was proving to be quite enjoyable for all of them, especially after they'd been apart for so long.

They'd spent that entire morning juggling time between one another. During the walk down the road, Naruto yammered away with Tayuya, Sakura and Sasuke simultaneously. At lunch time the jinchuriki spent chatting with the Uchiha over a plate of yakisoba and soup respectively, while the musician and medic conversed in the corner about their regular practices. And then when they decided to walk around the shops browsing the catalogues, Naruto spent time with his cousin Karin and Tayuya eavesdropping, at the same time Yakumo, Sasuke and Sakura walked side by side trading pleasantries.

In the end, it all came down to this; the six of them split up into pairs and waiting for the challenger Kakashi to show himself.

To put it into perspective, by this point in time, the competitors were getting a little bit antsy.

"Does that man always use the waitlist option?" Karin asked in an exasperated tone of voice.

"Yep," Sakura groaned, looking thoroughly exhausted as the group stood around the three logs positioned in the clearing. "You would think we would have learned by now."

"What? To get here two hours after the time he specified?" Sasuke asked from his end of the line.

"I was going to say three hours, but sure… let's roll with that," the pink haired girl replied, gritting her teeth and kicking at the ground, "Damn it."

"Don't worry, Sakura-chan. He's bound to show up eventually," Naruto murmured, leaning to the side and resting his head on top of Tayuya's, who had also taken the liberty of supporting herself on his shoulder. "I mean, how long does it take for a person to get across town? Fifteen… twenty minutes?"

"If you're talking about Scarecrow; I'd say about as long as someone wearing a pair of cement shoes," the musician grumbled.

"Ha." The blonde chuckled while glancing down at his beloved roommate, "Wouldn't that be an interesting look for him?"

Beaming at her boyfriend, the musician then proceeded to lean against him with her eyes closed. Feeling at peace, the pair and the rest of the gang scattered around the space remained in silence. While Yagura went on to painting a picture of the blonde and his girlfriend across the way, Karin and Sakura then went on to discussing the supply of medicinal remedies between their villages. Their conversation was just beginning to kick off of the ground too, until a puff of smoke on the central stump alerted the teams to the ever-tardy Kakashi Hatake's arrival.

"Sorry I'm late," the silver haired man chirped with book in hand while he gave the teenagers a cheerful wave, "I was just on my way over when I saw this beautiful flock of cranes flying overhead. Watching them land on the distant rooftops, I sort of got a little… caught up-"

"YEAH RIGHT, LIAR!" Naruto and Sakura shouted at him, while Sasuke rolled his eye and palmed his face.

Chuckling nervously at the infuriated glares he received from the duo rounding on him, the silver haired man hopped off of the stump and strolled out onto the field. "I assume that you three have had enough time to rest and catch up?" Glancing across the way toward Sasuke's end, he saw the raven haired man standing there with his arms folded and a cool expression in play. "Good." Taking the silence as his answer, the masked Jonin stopped in the middle of the clearing and turned to his team. "I guess we can get this thing started then." His book shut with a snap.

Watching the Jonin file it away into his pouch, the scattered group then saw the man smirk in their direction. At least, that's what they thought if the crease in his mask was anything to go by. "The rules are the same as they were in the Chunin Exam. However, instead of working as a team, I'll be fighting you three one at a time. Your job is to come at me with everything you have…"

"With the intent to kill, right sensei?" Sakura inquired, stepping forward in anticipation.

"Exactly," Kakashi eye-smiled back at the kunoichi. "Show no mercy. If you have any hope of succeeding against me, you have to give it your all. Otherwise… what would be the point of this assessment?" He then proceeded to observe his three former students as they strolled forward, with Sakura pulling out a pair of fighting gloves and slipping them on, Sasuke nudging his chokuto up his belt line, and Naruto setting his sword aside and adjusting his headband. "Good to see that you're all psyched about this."

Looking as eager as he'll ever be, the blonde Jonin chuckled. "So… who gets to fight first?" Naruto asked aloud.

The Uchiha grunted, "I guess that's up to us to decide." Turning to look across at his teammates, he saw them stop and glare back at him competitively.

After a moment of looking between one another, the trio formed up and brought their fists to the center. Tayuya, Yakumo and Karin then proceeded to watch with great amusement as the members of squad seven had a game of jan-ken-po, going through several rounds one after the other. When they began to concentrate and focus all of their attention on their combinations, there was eventually a break in the routine when one of them picked rock and the others predictably selected scissors. A grin appeared on the face of the victor followed by a triumphant exclamation.

"Yes!" Naruto shouted, forming a fist while watching his kunoichi teammate pull away miserably and Sasuke look at the scissors he'd formed with his fingers with distain.

Backing down, the raven haired boy crossed his arms, "Lucky."

"Damn… and I wanted to get a shot in," Sakura also grumbled.

"Don't worry guys. I'll make sure Kakashi-sensei has enough juice left in him for a couple rounds with you," the jinchuriki replied, rolling his shoulder and smirking. "We'll make this a quick one. If we really wanted to, a fight between us would last for a whole day and night. But let's not get carried away."

"I agree," Kakashi answered, giving the blonde a smile and nodding towards the rest of squad seven. "I'll get to you two soon enough."

While the jinchuriki limbered up, the pink haired kunoichi beamed and stepped towards him, nudging him in the side and getting his attention. "Good luck."

"Thanks." Gratitude given, Naruto turned back to his teacher. Once they were both certain the other two had stepped off of the pitch, the pair then made their final preparations. Knowing he wasn't going to need his sword, as he could compensate for its loss with his hands or kunai just as well, the blonde adjusted his jacket and slid into a stance. "On your go… sensei."

"If you insist," Kakashi chirped, reaching up with his hand and gripping the underside of his headband. "Remember; anything goes. Considering the circumstances, I'm going to have to work a little bit harder than last time." He then pushed his protective plate up, revealing the spinning tomoes of his Sharingan, which he focused upon his student. "Ready?"

"Let's rock, dattebayo," the jinchuriki replied, beginning to bounce on his toes before stopping dead with his arms hanging at his sides in their typical fashion.

Sasuke, Sakura, Yakumo, Karin and Tayuya kept their distance as they watched the pair stare one another down. Silence falling over the area, breaths stilled when Kakashi and Naruto fell into defensive positions, sizing one another up and wondering who would make the first move. The tension escalated.

Then, just as a gust blew a collection of leaves from a nearby tree across the pitch, the quiet of the moment was suddenly broken and the two shinobi's feet dug into the ground.

In the blink of an eye, both Naruto and Kakashi shot towards one another in a dash and collided in the center of the prairie. A loud 'crack' rang out when they exchanged blows, with the Copy Ninja throwing a right hook to intercept the roundhouse kick his opponent threw at him. Their blows pressing in, both Jonin glared hard at one another, moments before they both disappeared in a shunshin.

While Karin and Sakura were astounded by the sheer speed being displayed, only Sasuke, Tayuya and Yakumo remained calm. Together, the three of them traced the field for several seconds until their eyes ventured towards the woods across the field. There, the brush became disturbed when two invisible blurs darted into the undergrowth, indicating the separate paths both opponents had decided to take.

The Uchiha had to activate his Sharingan just to keep up with them.

"It looks like Kakashi has increased his speed over the last three years," Sasuke remarked, caught slightly off guard by the level of agility he'd just witnessed.

A smirk appeared on Tayuya's lips, "Old scarecrow must have been training like hell for this fight." She could tell. His movements were much more precise and his take off speed was quite impressive. He must have taken a page out of Gai's book and worked on his close combat skills to accommodate himself for his students' growths. "Shithead has him on the defensive."

Smart.

"Let's see how long it'll stay that way," Yakumo spoke, also breaking out a smile.

As of right now, the fight between Naruto and Kakashi had just begun.

OOO

Hokage Tower…

Hiruzen Sarutobi had the most intrigued smile on his face as he watched through his viewing orb the duel now taking place on Training Ground Three. With his hands behind his back and a pipe in his lips, the man stood beside his chair as the all-seeing eye that was the specter following Naruto and Kakashi through the forest relayed back to him every single moment of their battle.

Switching between both fighters repeatedly, the man was given the full scope of what was taking place on the other side of his village. Needless to say, it was certainly off to an exciting start. To illustrate that point, not only was the leader of the hidden leaf looking on, but Jiraiya and Tsunade were also in attendance and gazing into the glass orb with equal enthusiasm.

Watching the orb dart between the fast moving jinchuriki and his original team leader, Hiruzen chuckled, "So they've decided to start the battle the good old-fashioned way?"

"Off the field and in the shadows," Jiraiya remarked, noting how both Naruto and Kakashi were using the dense foliage of the forest to obscure their movements. Instead of fighting on open ground, they'd instead opted to take their battle into the trees to try and outwit the other.

It was an engagement where they would pit their stealth and combat skills against one another and see who would come out on top; the basic of the basic of openings.

Tsunade chuckled at the development as she watched Naruto and Kakashi make a pass at one another and lash out with a kunai. A shower of sparks scattered when they landed on opposite branches, "That's a pretty slick first move. Kakashi knows his opponent won't be able to use his outrageous speed in a tight space, so he's decided to lead his student into an area where they'll both be hampered by their surroundings."

"Yes. But I bet Naruto-kun has already figured that strategy out," Hiruzen noted, looking up to see the widely grinning Jiraiya. "I know your student. Considering his past battles, he's probably already filed out a lot of, if not all of his weaknesses."

The white haired Sannin nodded, "That and more. The brat has added so many techniques to his arsenal that he's practically transformed himself into a one-man-army, just like me and his old man." He then gestured towards the globe, where they saw Kakashi hiding behind a trunk and looking around wildly in alarm. "Not only that, but his team leader has made his first big mistake."

"How so?"Hiruzen asked, raising an eyebrow at the hermit.

Jiraiya acknowledged the question with an immediate answer, "The brat spent most of his earlier life growing up on the streets and inside forests with wild animals. If you've studied your first issue biology and psychology publications regarding impressionable youngsters, then you would know from this bit of info that his natural habitat is in fact the jungle."

Upon hearing this news, Tsunade cringed, "I wonder how long it will be before Kakashi remembers that about his most eccentric student?"

"Oh… not long, I'm sure," Jiraiya shrugged, rocking back and forth on his heels and watching the Copy Ninja vanish in a shunshin to dodge the hail of kunai sent his way.

Continuing to observe the battle for several minutes, Hiruzen and the rest of the audience remained in calm silence while the glass ball flashed and flickered with the excitement taking place on the training field. It was only after seeing Naruto and Kakashi exchange blows a few more times before the man looked up towards his students in interest. "From your experience with the boy, Jiraiya… how strong would you say he is now?"

Tapping his finger a couple of times and seeing Tsunade look in his direction, the Toad Hermit exhaled, "It's hard to say. The kid has made so many leaps and bounds in the last three years that it's been really tough trying to keep up with him and accurately gauge his power increase." Seeing their attention still set on him, Jiraiya continued. "But I do know this; he's not only the fastest shinobi on this continent now, he's also the most powerful user of the wind element in history."

"No kidding," Tsunade exclaimed, raising an eyebrow. "That would put him on our level then, wouldn't it?"

"Yep. S-Rank," Jiraiya said with a proud smile appearing on his face. "He's more than ready to take on the Akatsuki and Orochimaru. All he needs to do now is learn Sage Mode and go head to head with the Kyuubi. But those are lessons I think I'll reserve for another day."

Hiruzen nodded, "I agree." He then fixed his attention back on the viewing orb, where he saw Naruto fly through the woods and slide along the branches before coming to a stop inside the brush. "For now, let's just focus on the assessment."

OOO

Third Training Ground…

Still standing out in the open, Sasuke and the others continued to stare into the surrounding forest as the battle between Naruto and Kakashi gradually unfolded. Of course, due to the fact that the pair had disappeared far into the undergrowth, it had become incredibly difficult for those without extra sensory abilities to keep track of them.

The only one out of the entire group who'd lost sight of them completely was Sakura. Since she didn't have super hearing like Tayuya, keen eyesight like Sasuke and Yakumo, or a sixth sense like Karin, she was admittedly a bit lost on where the pair had disappeared. However, the one thing she did know for certain was that they were out there and chasing one another down in the shadows. Knowing exactly what her copy-ninja of an instructor was capable of, she could only imagine how far Naruto had managed to push himself to be able to go toe to toe with the guy.

"So… how long is this game of hide-and-seek going to last?" Karin asked no one in particular, her glasses flashing as she observed the pair through her other set of eyes.

"Good question," Tayuya also murmured, tapping her foot impatiently.

Shinobi sneakiness was all well and good. After all, it was the cornerstone of the profession that the five of them practiced. However, what they really wanted to see was a good old scrap out in the open. What good was a show if the spectators weren't getting a thrill out of the performance?

"Don't worry. One of them is bound to break the ice sooner or later," Sasuke stated a-matter-of-factly, his one good eye narrowing on the shadows.

For the next few minutes nothing happened, leaving the group in a period of suspense and boredom. But then, just when it seemed like this game of tag between master and student was going to drag on for the rest of the day, a massive explosion suddenly rocked the entire training field when, over the tops of the trees, a cloud of fire and smoke blasted into the air and scared dozens of birds from their roosts. The earth shaking under the force of the cataclysm, the group standing by the tree stumps perked up when they then saw a flash in the tree line, followed by a second explosion and a figure darting out into the open.

"Bingo." The red haired musician smirked, "It's about damn time." The group gave a collective nod of agreement when they saw Naruto's orange form spring across the field and stop close to the edge of the lake.

Moments later, Kakashi appeared on the scene, leaping out of the trees and landing out in the open as well. When the group glanced at him, they saw he had a bruise on his face and a rip in his shirt, whereas his blonde opponent appeared slightly ruffled. This was probably due to the explosions that had hit the forest mere moments ago.

Naruto grinned, "Nice moves. You've gotten a lot faster since the last time we met, Kakashi-sensei."

The man with the gravity defying hair smiled back, "You too, Naruto-kun. I can see you've learned a few new tricks while you were away. Jiraiya-sama's training must have been pretty intense."

"Oh, you have no idea," the orange wearing shinobi chuckled. "I've broken more bones and collapsed from exhaustion more times than I can count."

Sliding his foot forward, the masked shinobi then started to bring his hands up into another fighting stance. "Of course, it takes a lot more than tricks and cunning to win a battle. A shinobi's ability to hide in the shadows, disguise themselves and conceal their movements is Part One of today's assessment. Now it's time to move on to Part Two."

"Taijutsu." A grin formed across Naruto's face. "I thought you'd never ask." Cracking his neck, the young adult then slid his feet apart and, taking a solid horse riding stance, the blonde pulled his fists up to his sides and fixed all of his attention on the man standing in his line of sight. Aware that the others were now watching them even more closely, eager to see what was going to happen next, the slippery prankster decided to shed a little bit more light on the situation. "Warm ups are over. Let's do this."

Yakumo raised an eyebrow in surprise, "All that was just a warm up?" This certainly caught the Uchiha's attention, who kept his eye fixed solely upon the field.

His Sharingan eye locking onto his student with his guard held high, the silver haired shinobi began analyzing the young man's stance for any slight changes or shifts. Seeing his chakra levels were still registering normally for the jinchuriki, given that it was always set at a grossly high level, the Jonin then figured he should test the waters a little.

If his student was still hiding some cards inside of that sleeve of his, then he was determined to find them out.

In a startling turn, the ground at Naruto's feet suddenly exploded upwards and a second Kakashi sprang up at him with a kunai in hand, which he aimed to impale the boy through the neck. However, just inches from hitting the teen, the blonde's hand shot up and caught the clone's wrist, stopping the Jonin from following through with his attack. This sudden lapse in attention gave the other Kakashi time to dash forward, a second kunai in hand which he aimed to run through the distracted Uzumaki.

It was a maneuver that surprised the audience and brought a smirk to Naruto's face.

In a blur of movement, the real Kakashi thrust towards his target, impaling his own Kage Bunshin and going straight through it to strike his opponent. But then, just when it seemed like he was going to hit, the jinchuriki suddenly turned into an after image and the Jonin's knife ended up running through nothing but air. The silver haired warrior gasped and skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust and smoke, his gaze immediately shooting around wildly.

The group on the sidelines also looked up in surprise, with Sakura's eyes widening in shock. "Whoa… he's quick." She then glanced across at the others alongside her. "Hey. Did you guys see where he went?"

"No. Not a clue," Yakumo murmured.

Even Karin appeared stunned. "He just… disappeared."

While the medic nin was looking at the girl's confused faces, she quickly noticed that both Tayuya and Sasuke were looking off towards the right of the field, their eyes wide and teeth clenched in a clear sign of disbelief. Curious at their startled reactions, the pink haired kunoichi decided to look as well. It was at that point she and the rest of the gang got the biggest surprise of the day when they spotted Naruto standing on the other side of the lake a full kilometer away.

The boy was just an orange speck on the horizon of the glistening surface of water.

"Whoa! What the-?" Karin choked out, shaking her head to see if she wasn't seeing things.

Kakashi, who'd managed to spot him before the rest of them did, was also staring across the lake in shock. "Wait. How did he…?"

"So there he is. Wow," Sakura gawked, before then glancing back at the Uchiha and the flute player nervously. "Sasuke and Tayuya spotted him before the rest of us. They knew where Naruto was the whole time. Man… I don't want to know how strong those two are getting." It was a terrifying thought.

If they could track the blonde at the speed he was traveling at whereas the rest of them, including Kakashi, had managed to lose sight of him for three whole seconds, then that meant their strength and experience had gotten to a pretty high level as well.

The silver haired Jonin standing in the middle of the grass frowned and held his knife at the ready. "His Shunshin no Jutsu is remarkable. I was right in front of him and I didn't even see him move. There's only one other person in the world I know who can move that fast." Kakashi then sweated nervously when he saw his student dash forward and spring across the lake. After several jumps and hops, the blonde was back on their shoreline, standing in the center of the grassy clearing smiling cheerfully, while at the same time keeping his eyes set firmly on his teacher. "Alright. NOW!"

In a blur of movement, Kakashi reached behind him and drew a cluster of kunai, which he then hurled at the blonde. The second they were set loose, the man then disappeared in a burst of dust and reappeared charging at the teen from the side. He slowed down however, allowing the kunai he'd thrown to reach their target first, obviously as a decoy so that he could force his opponent to move.

As expected, Naruto did move, but not in the manner Kakashi had anticipated. Instead of dodging the knives, the teen spun on the spot and kicked the kunai away from him and towards the approaching Jonin. The copy ninja had only a split second to react in alarm and sway to the side, with one of the blades slicing through his hair while the rest impaled the ground behind him. Watching his strands fall away the older shinobi then sprang into the air and flipped down at the boy with a kick, which the jinchuriki blocked and countered with one of his own.

Spinning over it, the Sharingan user landed beside the boy and threw a right cross, which Naruto swiftly countered, their forearms colliding with a deafening thump. When the pair began to grapple, Kakashi attempted to hit his student with a left overhand, only to see the youngster catch it with the same forward arm he was grappling with and trap both his arms. This left the man wide open for Naruto to retaliate with a left uppercut directly under their lock. His knuckles slammed into the Jonin's chin and flipped him into the air.

The audience looked on in amazement as Kakashi spiraled and hit the ground with his back before springing to his feet. The moment he slid to a stop, he failed to notice his opponent's form blur out and reappear directly behind him, a kunai drawn and swinging towards his back.

"Whoa." The Copy Ninja looked behind him in alarm to see his student right on top of him.

However, just when it seemed like Naruto had the man at checkmate, the spiky haired wild-child then had his gaze snap to his right when a green shadow suddenly darted out of the woods and shot towards him like a bullet. "DYNAMIC ENTRY!" He stopped his attack mid-swing to parry the kick that immediately followed, the foot crashing into his arms sending him blasting across the field and through the air.

Flipping into a quick recovery, Naruto landed several yards away with a numb forearm. Upon which he looked up to find himself staring at another familiar face. The sight of sparkling teeth and full-body green brought a smile to his face. "I knew I smelt protein powder somewhere nearby."

Even the spectators were taken by surprise at the appearance of the newcomer.

Dressed in a figure-hugging green spandex, complete with orange legwarmers, a red headband wrapped around his waist and wearing a green vest that all Jonin of Konohagakure were known to wear, Maito Gai made his presence on the training field known. Hand extended in its signature manner, with the other slipped comfortably behind his back, the grinning shinobi spoke, "You seem to be having a tough time keeping up with your old student, Kakashi. Are you having an off day today?"

The masked shinobi crouching next to him chuckled in response, "Not really. But that last maneuver did catch me a little bit by surprise."

"Perhaps your legs are still a little bit worn out from the vigorous sparring session we had a few days ago."

"Hmm… maybe. That game of jan-ken-po did last for quite some time. Perhaps standing on that bridge the entire afternoon wasn't such a good idea." Considering their matches usually lasted for days at a time… that was highly unlikely.

Gai's teeth twinkled with excitement, "Well, fear not, my eternal rival, because the beautiful beast of Konohagakure is here to assist you. I'm positive that my flames of youth will be able to help reignite your own, dwindling passions and give you the extra boost you need to carry on with your assessment." There was something about what he said that not only had Kakashi sweat-drop, but the others standing by as well.

Strolling forward so that he stood by his companion's side, the silver haired Jonin then turned his attention back to Naruto, who was now on his feet and watching the pair cautiously. "Though I'm grateful for the last second save, you didn't really have to jump in like that."

"I understand that you wanted to continue testing the youngling on your own terms, but after watching how well he was doing against you, I just couldn't hold myself back any longer," the other Jonin replied with an ever widening grin. "Your boy has come a long way since the last time I saw him, Kakashi. His taijutsu skills and his speed are absolutely sublime." He then glanced at his coworker eagerly. "You… wouldn't mind if I took him off your hands for a little while, would you?"

Kakashi smiled and shook his head, "Not at all. I did ask you to come by to help me out if things got a little bit hairy. By all means, have at it."

"Great."

Upon hearing the conversation between the two adults subside, Naruto smiled. "Long time no see, Bushy Brow-sensei. How're you doing?"

The man in green nodded enthusiastically, "I'm doing well, Naruto-kun. That's very king of you to ask. Judging from the look in your eyes and the smile on your face, you seem to be doing pretty well yourself. I can tell you've been training really hard on your trip away from the village." Gai then craned his head ever so slightly. "Perhaps you've gotten strong enough to give even someone of my impressive caliber a challenge."

Naruto responded to this with a more competitive air falling over him, "We'll see. Since you've decided to jump in, I think it's about time I really started opening up the taps." Widening his feet and taking a firmer stance, the spiky haired shinobi then brought his hands up and began focusing his chakra.

The group observing from the sidelines looked on with even greater interest and excitement than before, with Tayuya making a quiet exclamation as a smile pulled across her lips. "This fight just got a lot more interesting."

How was Naruto going to pull himself out of this rut?

Standing side by side, both Gai and Kakashi took defensive stances as they saw the blonde Jonin several yards away from them assume a battle-ready stance. But, unlike his previous forms, this one had his body crouching slightly lower to the ground with his arms positioned in an unusual way. Relaxed, with one hand held forward and the other suspended at his chin, the young man primed himself by taking a few deep breaths of air until his gaze narrowed in a harsh glare.

At that exact moment, blue chakra started to waft off of Naruto's body and, when the aura started to take the form of steam, the ground started to tremble. With it, every single pebble, rock, grass and leaf that was not tied down to the ground started to levitate into the air all around him, a sight that had Kakashi and Gai look up in surprise.

While Sasuke and the others blinked when the tremors in the ground started to increase, as did the amount of blue steam coming off of the blonde's body, Karin's eyes suddenly widened in shock when a loud 'ping' went off in her head.

"H-His chakra level is growing fast!"

After several seconds of watching the atmosphere around the blonde alter under his increasing power output, a shockwave suddenly exploded from his body. The gust of wind generated by the force struck the two Jonin head on and had the pair recoil in surprise. Upon knocking them off balance, Naruto dashed straight at them at blinding speed, clothes-lining the pair with the force of a locomotive.

Both Kakashi and Gai managed to guard against his attack just in time, but as soon as the blonde slammed into them and knocked them backwards, Naruto's form suddenly transformed into an afterimage and passed right through them.

At first stunned when the blonde seemingly vanished, the pair failed to notice the jinchuriki's afterimage solidify directly behind them and reverse directions, slamming simultaneous elbows into their backs. A loud 'crack' rang out when Naruto struck the two shinobi, knocking both Kakashi and Gai flying forwards. Yelping in shock, the pair then quickly leapt into a recovery and, landing deftly, spun around with their guards up.

It was a good thing that they did because the second their eyes landed on Naruto, the blonde already had his right fist cranked back and blue chakra wafting off of it.

"Futon: Kajo-Ho!" (Wind Release: Coil Gun) With a shout of effort, the jinchuriki threw his hand forward and fired a flash of blinding white light at the pair.

Both Jonin leapt out of the way just in time to avoid the shot striking the ground and causing a massive, geyser like explosion that literally shook the entire area and sent a tidal wave across the lake. The entire audience had to brace themselves when the gust of wind and debris struck them, with only Sasuke and Tayuya managing to hold their ground and watch the blast die down.

Having been separated by the attack, Kakashi and Gai looked towards the center of the cataclysm. Upon watching the smoke lift, both were stunned when they saw a massive, meteor sized crater sitting in the place where an area of flat pristine field once lay. Most of the rubble had been incinerated in the blast, leaving only scattered debris lying in its center.

"Good Kami," Gai mouthed, "What in the heck was that?"

"That was way too close," Kakashi said before his eyes snapped towards Naruto, who was still standing in place with his hand extended. "He supercharged his wind chakra to fire a hyper-velocity, high-density round of air capable of traveling at the speed of light. The power put behind the attack gives the projectile an immense level of kinetic energy and an enormous amount of destructive power with only a small charge." A bead of sweat trickled down the side of his head. "Damn. I couldn't even track the round with my Sharingan and he fired it at us almost instantaneously. Where in the world did he learn how to do that?"

It seemed like his student hadn't just gotten stronger. He'd also acquired some terrifying new jutsu along the way.

Just as Naruto was moving out of the stance he'd used to execute the move, a green blur suddenly shot across the field towards him. Sprinting at him as fast as he could, Gai sprang upon the boy with his right fist cocked back and with a battle cry escaping his lips, before he uncorked the mother of all overhands upon the young Jonin. The second the jinchuriki parried, the pair began exchanging thunderous blows in a blur of movement, gunshots ringing out in rapid succession as the pair struck at each other at a speed very few would be able to keep up with.

Trading shots over and over again, both dodging and blocking respectively, the speedy man in spandex attempted to nail his opponent with a hook, only for Naruto to sway under it and counter with an uppercut, which Gai barely avoided and responded with an elbow. The jinchuriki easily dodged the counter and came back with a right hook, which the older man ducked and retaliated with a rapid fire chain of lefts, all of which Naruto head slipped before countering with a swift combination of punches. Gai blocked them and uncorked a roundhouse kick into the young man's head, only for the speedy blonde to catch it, kick the man's pivoting leg out and, with a yell, tossed the shinobi into the air.

As soon as Gai was sent spiraling into the sky, Naruto cocked his left back and threw a palm strike after him with a shout. The second he did so a Hien (Flying Swallow) round was fired from his hand and smacked the Jonin in the stomach, blasting him through the air and towards the lake, upon which Naruto then pursued.

When the Jonin eventually bounced across the water's surface and landed back on his feet several yards from the shore, he quickly wiped the trickle of blood from his lip and grinned. "My, my… now this is what I'm talking about! Woo! What a rush! The flames of youth are burning brightly with this one!" Quickly drawing a set of shuriken from his pouch, Gai pitched them at his fast approaching opponent, who suddenly turned into an afterimage and allowed the projectiles to pass right through him. "Come! Attack me with everything you've got, Naruto!" The taijutsu master then leapt out of the way in time to avoid the blonde reappearing behind him and burying a kunai into his back, the attack striking nothing but air.

Eyes snapping right in pursuit of the Jonin, the blonde smiled. "You asked for it, Gai-sensei." He then vanished with another crack of wind, as did his opponent.

Spotting the two Jonin fighting it out in a blur across the pond, Kakashi quickly turned to join in. However, before he could gain any form of traction, a shadow falling over his position alerted the man to danger, prompting him to duck at the last second. He did so in time to avoid a spin kick from Sasuke, who suddenly appeared directly behind him. Upon dropping to the floor, the Copy Ninja drew a kunai and spun around, slicing up at his new attacker, who easily sprang off of the ground and drew his sword at the same time. With a speedy flip, the boy slashed up at his teacher, who managed to back-flip away and avoid the deadly weapon's arc.

Skidding to a stop, Kakashi watched his student land and, upon sheathing his sword, take a stance as well.

"Two-on-one? That's a little bit unfair, don't you think, Kakashi?" the Uchiha asked with a small smile forming on his face.

The silver haired man gave the raven haired teen his signature eye-smile. "What can I say? The circumstances of a battle will often change… sometimes in a way that you least expect it."

This response also drew a chuckle from the one-eyed avenger, "More like you were worried you wouldn't be able to handle fighting the three of us on your own."

"Maybe," Kakashi replied, before then setting a serious gaze on the young shinobi now standing him down. "But that all depends on how strong you've gotten. Let's see how much you've learned under my tutelage, Sasuke-kun."

The raven haired hawk of a shinobi narrowed his gaze. "Gladly." Digging his feet in, the young Uchiha launched himself forward in a dash, kicking up dust in the process. His charge was matched by that of his teacher, who also rushed forward and, in a flash of light and a gust of wind, the pair passed one another with a swing of their respective weapons.

A single clang rang out the instant they crossed, their Sharingan eyes locked ahead of them as two simultaneous slash marks appeared on their shoulders. When a small pinch of blood splattered to the ground and their sleeves ripped open, the pair glanced behind them to see the other doujutsu user sporting the exact same wound.

"Seven slashes in one combo. Impressive speed, Sasuke-kun," Kakashi thought, before his eye once again narrowed. "Let's see if you can keep it up." The two then spun around at the exact same time and charged, meeting each other in the center.

As soon as they were in range, the pair engaged in a flurry of slashes and kicks, the sound of rapid-clanging and thuds ringing out as the duo began fighting it out across the field. Traveling in a blur, Sasuke lashed out at his teacher with a series of superb kenjutsu attacks, his blade cutting through the air like a spinning top when he attempted to hit their group's instructor. But in spite of his great speed and ferocity, Kakashi was able to match him step for step, easily avoiding and parrying his hits, which sent sparks flying through the air. They began dancing across the field.

Slipping and ducking hits, the Copy Ninja then countered with a series of his own attacks, only for Sasuke to block them effortlessly and, after spinning into the Jonin's range, kicked his kunai out of his hand. With the knife airborne, the silver haired Jonin was forced onto the defensive, excessively blocking and dodging his student's blows. After avoiding a vicious upward kick and springing over the boy's shoulder when he lunged in with his sword, the Jonin caught his falling kunai and attempted to slash his student in the back. But Sasuke, quick as ever, managed to spin around and knock the man's arm away, countering with an elbow that caught the man in the face, a split second before a hook slammed into his own cheek.

The simultaneous blows impacted with a deafening thud, sending both shinobi spiraling away from each other across the grass. Their feet digging into the soil and kicking up dust, the pair ended up glaring at one another and, upon shaking off the hits, dashed through the field side by side.

Watching from a distance, Tayuya and a stunned Sakura, Karin and Yakumo looked on as the four men battled it out in separate areas of Training Ground Three. While it had been overwhelmingly impressive to see Naruto trading blows with Kakashi, things had now stepped up with Gai and Sasuke's intervention. After the four of them had selected their targets, they were now going at one another in a no-holds-barred scrap, with the entire area being caught up in the middle.

While three of the audience members were completely stunned by the battle, the flute player was still maintaining her position with her arms folded and a smile on her face.

"Oh man, this is fucking great," the kunoichi thought, an ecstatic look in her eyes. "I haven't seen a fight like this in ages. I wonder which of them will come out on top." Seeing Sasuke and Kakashi continue to trade shots with one another with their blades, her gaze then shifted towards the lake, where she could see dozens of depth charges exploding across its surface. Knowing that they were the result of Naruto and Gai having it out on the water, Tayuya could only look on and root for the team she wanted to win. "Go shithead. Show me what you've learnt."

OOO

"GAH!" Letting out a yelp of surprise, Gai shut his eyes tightly when he unexpectedly found his face splattered with multi-colored paint fired from Naruto's gauntlet. Stunned and blinded by the attack, which the teen had managed to launch while they were locked in a grappling match, the man backed away while lashing out randomly with his fists, at the same time attempting to clear his vision.

Dodging the well-timed punches, Naruto dove in with a swinging right overhand, managing to avoid the man's left counter cross and slammed his fist into his face. The blow connected with a thunderclap, the shockwave sending Gai spiraling across the lake like a ragdoll. Bouncing across the water several times, the man slammed his feet into the surface and skidded to a stop, kicking up a massive spray and a tidal wave behind him.

As soon as he stopped, Gai dipped his hand into the water and splashed it across his face, quickly clearing it of the sticky substance. His eyes blinking open, the Jonin could once again see the battlefield and the whole training ground ahead of him.

Unfortunately, thanks to his foe's tricky maneuver, the shinobi had lost complete sight of him, which had the taijutsu master grit his teeth in frustration.

"I completely forgot he had that device," the black haired man thought while a smirk formed on his face, "Cheap move… but a clever one all the same."

At that exact moment, Naruto, reappearing behind the man in an orange flash, spun at him like a top and slammed a kick into Gai's back. The blow connected with a deafening crack and knocked the Jonin off his feet, eliciting a loud shout of pain from the stunned fighter.

Upon hitting his opponent and sending him flying in bullet time, Kurama could only sweat-drop as he watched the battle play out through his friend's eyes. "Did you just spin-kick him?"

Naruto, grinning inwardly, watched Gai continue traveling across the lake's surface in slow motion. "I know, right? I've always wanted to do that."

"Please don't do it again."

While still in motion, the Jonin in the spandex slammed his hands and feet into the lake's surface and, emitting a burst of chakra, slid to a stop. As soon as his momentum ceased, Gai looked up, only for his eyes to widen when he saw the jinchuriki teleport directly in front of him in a spin, a second kick primed and ready to fire.

"My body, my rules!" Naruto shot back at the Kyuubi, before uncorking another roundhouse at Gai's head. The moment he threw it though, the Jonin managed to spring off of the lake and backpedal away as fast as he could, the blonde's foot missing him by an inch. "Damn it!"

Moving across the lake in a blur, the winded Gai gritted his teeth and began working on putting as much distance between him and his opponent. The quicker he moved the better. "What terrifying speed… and he only seems to be getting faster and faster the longer this drags out. Naruto clearly has me at a disadvantage here." The shinobi's eyes narrowed as he continued leaping backwards across the lake, keeping his eyes squarely on his opponent still standing in the same place he'd appeared. "If I have any chance of beating him, I'm going to have to use the Eight Gates." In one of his leaps, Gai reached down into his leg warmer and swiftly drew a nunchuck, which he then held out in front, "But-" BAM! "AH!"

The Jonin was punctually cut off when Naruto suddenly teleported directly behind him, covering half a kilometer in less than a second, and unbolted a kick straight into his back. The blow sent the man rocketing into the sky in a glorious arc before he began plummeting back towards the lake's surface several hundred meters away. Upon sending his opponent flying, Naruto took a sprinter's stance and vanished in an orange flash.

Reappearing on the other side of the lake with his fists loaded and ready, the jinchuriki placed himself directly in the path of the falling Gai, who continued to spiral towards him. However, when he was only two meters away from hitting the water's surface, the Jonin came to an abrupt and unexpected stop, an invisible blast of chakra exploding from his body. Arms and legs spread, the Jonin's form suspended itself in midair and, with his hair standing on end, glared down at the equally intense looking Naruto.

"Kaimon!"(Gate of Opening) Utilizing the Gate to cease his momentum, Gai then exploded from the lake's surface with a quick kick off of the water and flew backwards through the air at the speed of a bullet.

He continued to climb to about five stories, by which point in time Naruto had crouched down and, with a yell of his own, exploded from the lake in pursuit of his foe.

Gai spun his nunchuck around him stylishly, watching as the blonde rocketed towards his position with his wind jets propelling him all the way. Timing the young man's approach, the Jonin let out a yell and swung out with his primary weapon, aiming to hit the boy on a pass. But instead of connecting with him, the shinobi ended up striking a Naruto afterimage that passed right through his nunchuck and out the other side, prompting Gai to turn around in midair as his momentum slowed. The second he did, he once again found himself facing his opponent…who was hovering directly in front of him.

"He's going to kick me again, isn't he?" Gai thought, a bead of sweat trickling down his head.

Just as he prophesized, a loud clap of thunder echoed out when he was kicked squarely in the chin and sent blasting back down towards the lake, which he struck at breakneck speed. The splash he caused was massive, sending a towering spray a full story into the sky. When it eventually settled back into the water, Naruto gently set himself down as well. The second he dropped to the surface of the lake, the jinchuriki saw Gai leap out of the water and land several yards away from him.

The Jonin, despite having lost his weapon and was now sporting a massive bruise on his face, grinned pleasantly, "Okay, Naruto. I'm going to need you to do me a solid and not kick me anymore."

His request had the blonde grin right back at him, "No promises."

Gai rubbed at his wound momentarily, "Well then… if that's how it's going to be." His expression then became deathly serious and, in the blink of an eye, summoned yet another surge of energy. "Kyumon!" (Gate of Rest) A burst of invisible chakra blasted off of him in the form of a visible ripple across the water, upon which he then vanished in the blink of an eye.

Tracking his opponent's movements, Naruto clenched his teeth and threw both his arms into a cross arm block. He reacted just in time to intercept a powerful kick that slammed into his guard from below and sent him lifting off of the lake, before another series of kicks began unbolting into him. One after the other, the blows crashed into his guard in a series of loud 'thuds', causing the blonde to wince painfully as he was literally pushed into the sky by his now more energized foe.

Gritting his teeth under the pressure of forcing his opponent into the sky, Gai then swung up at him with a hook, which Naruto speedily avoided with a flip and countered with an elbow. Parrying it, the Jonin in green threw a spin kick, crashing it into the boy's guard, followed by another kick and a hook, both of which were deflected. The blonde then threw a butterfly kick as they began to fall, the two blows being blocked and resulting in the jinchuriki receiving a spinning back-fist across the face.

Stunned by the hit, Naruto was unable to react in time when Gai slammed another kick into his chest, setting him up before the man unfurled two lengths of bandages from his sleeves. With terrific speed, the strips of white rushed out of his arms and coiled around the stricken Uzumaki, wrapping him up in a cocoon and binding his limbs together. Upon tightening the strips, the Jonin in green grabbed the restrained boy, held him upside-down and, with a yell, began to spin like a drill.

"Omote Renge!" (Front Lotus) The pair started to plummet at an insane speed, their forms melding together into a multi-colored blur. Traveling to the earth's surface and picking up speed with every second, the audience from the ground initially believed Naruto was done for.

Even Tayuya was looking up in alarm.

But just when the group thought it was over, in the middle of the dive, the once stunned Naruto gave a smirk and, popping a blade out from his gauntlet arm, sliced through the bandages in one go. The second the strips were torn away by the speed of their corkscrew-like descent, the blonde freed himself from the surprised Gai's grip with three sharp kidney shots followed by an elbow to the man's face. Upon which the ever flexible boy deftly flipped around his stunned foe and reversed their positions, trapping the man in an arm lock and slamming his hand into the back of his neck, locking him up.

An excited grin appeared on Naruto's face while Gai freaked out, "BANZAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIII!"

With a massive clap on impact the pair pile-drived directly into the lake's surface with a splash that reached three stories into the air, causing all those looking on to wince.

Whatever the outcome of that last maneuver was, there was no arguing that that had to be one hell of a belly flop.

OOO

Hokage Tower…

"Ouch. That must have hurt like a bitch," Tsunade commented, cringing at the counter Naruto had managed to deal his opponent.

Hiruzen, chuckling in amusement at the collective reactions of his audience, looked up to see Jiraiya also wearing a similarly pained expression. "I never thought I'd see the day someone would be able to successfully break out of the Front Lotus and reverse the body lock in the same move. Guess that shows you should never underestimate the most unpredictable shinobi in the village." The Hokage added to this with a quick puff of his pipe.

Arms still folded as he watched the fight continue on in the viewing orb, the Toad Sannin smiled when he saw the lake's surface settle and calm return to the area. "It seems my student has the number one taijutsu master in the country on the ropes."

"That's quite the impressive feat actually," the blonde kunoichi in the room said with her hands on her hips. "His speed is so great that the only way Gai can possibly keep up with him is by activating the Eight Gates. It's bad enough that the kid's taijutsu is ridiculous to fight against even at a basic level, but combined with that agility… it's just damn near impossible."

Jiraiya chuckled at this, "Oh, trust me. You haven't seen anything yet."

OOO

Third Training Ground…

Sparks flying as the two blurs darted across the field, Kakashi and Sasuke continued trading blows one after the other. Avoiding taking any debilitating hits to the sides, the pair eventually reappeared out of thin air in the center of the grass, blades crashing into each other before their free hands shot forward to grab the other's arm. This inevitably locked the pair in another heated grappling match, their weapons grinding into each other while their Sharingan eyes glared across at their opponent.

Dripping sweat, both master and student dug their feet into the soil in an effort to try and throw the other person off. It was only until moments later that electricity started to crackle around one of them and, with a sly smile crossing his lips, Sasuke's back foot suddenly became enveloped in a sheath of lightning chakra.

The sight of it had Kakashi look down in alarm.

"Chidori!" (One Thousand Birds) With a shout, the Uchiha suddenly performed a back-flip and thrust his foot straight up towards his teacher, forcing Kakashi to hastily break their lock to avoid having the front of his body sliced open.

Leaping to about fifteen yards away, the Copy Ninja eventually slid to a stop, his hand digging into the ground to slow his momentum. Before he could completely stop however, the Jonin then slapped his hands together and flew through seals at a damn near untraceable speed. A second later, his chest inflated and his head reared back.

"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) With a gust of wind and a flash of orange light, Kakashi threw himself forward and unleashed an enormous ball of flames from his mouth. The projectile gushed out of his mouth and rocketed across the field towards its target, tearing and burning an enormous trench along the way.

Rising to his feet, Sasuke watched carefully as the attack approached, the ground shaking as it drew closer and closer. Of course, instead of dodging the blast like any ordinary shinobi would, the one-eyed avenger merely smiled at it and allowed the attack to hit him front on. In the blink of an eye, the teen was swallowed up by the attack and seemingly incinerated, a sight that had Sakura react in alarm.

"Sasuke!"

However, while the girl was busy covering up her scream, Tayuya smirked, and Karin and Yakumo smiled at one another.

Watching his attack detonate, the blast sending rubble and debris pelting in all directions, Kakashi narrowed his Sharingan on the heart of the explosion. At first he believed his student had bailed out at the last second to try and throw him off his tail. But then, just as the Jonin was about to begin scanning the surrounding area for his opponent's whereabouts, he then got the shock of his life when he suddenly saw a second fireball rocket out of the wall of smoke and shoot towards him like a bolt of lightning.

Before Kakashi could even move an inch, the mass of fire cut right through him like a bullet and skidded to a stop on the other side, leaving a trail of flames in its wake.

Stepping out of his running position, the mass of pulsing energy revealed itself to be none other than Sasuke. His body covered in an armor of fire, the boy turned on the spot and smirked towards his stunned foe, who he'd managed to disintegrate an entire half of.

"Katon: Ningen Suisei," (Fire Release: Human Comet) the teen said, allowing the fire to continue burning as he faced his stunned instructor. "You can cut the theatrics, Kakashi. I know that you managed to avoid it at the last second."

Right on cue, the Kakashi copy went up in a puff of smoke, an event which was immediately followed up by the ground directly behind the Uchiha exploding and a literal bolt of lightning shooting up out of it. The flaming teenager followed the streak of electricity up into the sky, where he saw it arc over before beginning to dive straight towards him. The head of the attack quickly took the shape of a wild dog, which gave an artificial bark as it charged him down.

Frowning as he saw it approaching, Sasuke waited for it to barrel down on him before vanishing in a blur of movement. The moment he disappeared, the lightning beast changed directions and shot off after him, pursuing the fireball across the field at insane speeds.

Tayuya and the others watched the cat and mouse game crisscross the ruined field several times, one blur chasing the other.

Eventually, the Uchiha grew tired of the game and, slamming his feet into the ground, spun about and drew his sword. Timing his counter just right, he sliced through the bolt of lightning and carved it in two. The two halves of the animal then shot off in different directions and impacted the ground safely out of range, where they detonated harmlessly. Upon dispersing o the attack, Sasuke allowed the flames engulfing him to subside, leaving him standing normally once again.

Spinning his chokuto, the Uchiha then sheathed it behind him and narrowed his gaze on the ruined training ground. Glancing left and right, he waited silently, at the same time looking for any signs of his opponent.

It wasn't long before his sneaky adversary decided to show himself. The ground directly in front of him cracked and, in a blast of smoke and debris, Kakashi came leaping out of it with a jumping uppercut. Moving back at the last second, the ever calm Sasuke avoided the concussive blow and snapped his hand out, catching his teacher's wrist and dragging him back down to the floor. As soon as the man's feet touched down, the Jonin jabbed out at his student with his free hand, which the Uchiha head slipped and ended up grabbing the man's vest.

As soon as he had a hold of him, the tomoes of Sasuke's Sharingan spun, at the exact same time Kakashi's did as well.

In that single instant, both student and teacher found themselves trapped in a genjutsu of their opponent's making, leaving the pair standing in place and locked in a two-way grappling match. While one battle was fought on the surface, another was now being fought in another plain altogether.

Seeing her teammate grab and hold his opponent, Sakura gave the sight a deep frown before, bringing her hand up and adjusting her glove, the girl leant forward and dashed out onto the field, making a B-line straight towards the unsuspecting Kakashi…

OOO

Meanwhile…

On the other side of the training field, the once calm surface of the lake was soon broken by a series of depth charge like explosions. Geysers of water blasting up across the glistening pool at random, the earthshaking anomalies continued on for several more seconds. When the fifteenth one inevitably took place, a body of a person was also shot out of the geyser and sent spiraling across the lake, where he bounced several times before rolling to a stop on all fours.

Panting heavily and dripping from head to toe, a slightly winded Naruto glared up from his crouched position and, with a noticeably bruised face, grinned across the battlefield. He chuckled and wiped the blood that trickled out of the corner of his mouth, "Looks like he's finally starting to get serious. Man… what a hook." A split second later, his expression became serious once again.

At that moment, the field of water directly in front of him burst upwards and a green blur shot towards him like a bullet. Reacting instantaneously, the jinchuriki vanished in a crack of wind and avoided the swinging punch the blur threw at him, prompting the fast-moving attacker to skid to a stop.

When he did, the haze revealed itself to be none other than Gai. Skin red, hair standing on end, and a blue aura blasting off of him like a flame, the Jonin frowned at his miss and spun around. His gaze fixing upon the sky, he saw Naruto hanging there with his wind jets rocketing off of the soles of his feet and keeping him suspended.

Having managed to avoid the concussive hit from his now super powered opponent, Naruto smirked down at him and rolled his neck, "Alright. Let's see you dance up here." He then waved for the man to 'bring it on.'

"As you wish." Clenching his fists, the elite shinobi bared his teeth and, with a mighty howl, powered up even more. "SHOMON!" (Gate of Pain) With a blast of wind and a deafening thunderclap, the man launched himself from the lake and flew up towards his adversary in the form of a comet. Traveling at a speed very few could track, Gai barreled down on his foe with a roar and a punch.

However, the instant he threw his attack, he saw the frowning Naruto vanish in a blur, his attack passing through an afterimage. Growling in frustration, the Jonin kicked off the air and changed directions, shooting back down towards the lake in pursuit of his opponent.

Naruto, reappearing out of his light speed movement, curled up into a ball and spun with his descent. When Gai eventually caught up with him, the teen once again vanished, avoiding yet another punch that had the Jonin balk in shock. Tracking him, the burning Jonin quickly changed directions once again and shot across the sky after his fast-moving target.

Reappearing out of thin air, his wind jets propelling him backwards at an insane speed, Naruto frowned when he watched his adversary chase him down. He then shot up into the sky with a sonic boom, avoiding his opponent appearing in front of him and throwing a kick.

Missing his mark yet again, Gai followed the boy with a glare. "Damn! Alright. If that's how you want to play." Clenching his fists, his blue aura exploded off of him at an even fiercer rate and his chakra output increased once again. "TOMON!" (Gate of Limit) With yet another thunderclap, the man vanished and shot up after his adversary.

"Fuck!" Naruto swore, gritting his teeth and slapping his hands together. "Fine. You're it!" With a yell, the blonde haired shinobi put all the power he could into his thrusters and shot off at an even greater speed.

Tearing across the sky, the highflying jinchuriki was pursued by the blue streak of light that was Gai. The two of them crossed paths several times, the man in spandex putting all the power he could into his own chakra bursts just to stay on the kid's tail. Eventually, after two minutes of extreme cat and mouse in the skies above the training grounds, in which the pair left a pair of vapor trails in their wake, the teen in orange soon became fed up and decided to fight back.

After passing Gai one last time, forcing him to painfully change directions to continue his chase, Naruto took full advantage of his lapse in attention by performing a quick teleport and left behind an after image. While the man barreled down on his 'target', the blonde effortlessly blindsided him with a glorious, full body check to the side. The blow literally knocked Gai out of his Eight Gate state and sent him spiraling across the sky like a ragdoll. With his adversary stunned, the jinchuriki then flew after him and intercepted the Jonin, appearing directly in his path and dropping a kick straight down onto the hapless Jonin. He smacked him out of the air and sent him plummeting towards the lake.

As Gai fell, yelling out all the while, Naruto shot down to the lake's surface after him and, cutting off his opponent, caught the Jonin with a jumping knee into his stomach. A loud 'crack' rang out on impact, the blonde literally stopping the man dead. It was then Naruto laced his fingers overhead and drove a hammer blow straight into the taijutsu master's back, smashing him into the lake where he vanished in a splash.

Panting from the rigorous chase, the jinchuriki staggered away and glared down into the water. With sweat pouring down his head, the blonde chuckled, "Holy hell. I knew he was tough, but this is just insane. It's taking everything I've got just to lose him."

Standing atop the water for several minutes, the teen spent whatever time he could to catch his breath and sense out his foe. Looking around with an intense glare in play, the blonde then sensed a disturbance on the surface and glanced to his left, where he saw a couple of bubbles pop into view. Moments later, the water around him started to boil and waves began kicking up into a storm.

Knowing what was coming next the jinchuriki sprang out of the way and leapt to a safe distance. Upon stopping many yards out of reach, he then saw the area he'd previously been standing in go up in a massive geyser, which cleared seconds later and revealed Gai floating there, bathed in the exact same blue aura as before.

This time though, the chakra he was radiating was far more intense and Naruto could sense a far more dramatic increase in his strength. The sight had him tense up nervously.

"Keimon!" (Gate of View) the man bellowed, before a grin formed on his face. "You've done well in this fight, Naruto-kun! But now it's time I ended it! Get ready!" Bringing up his fists, Gai then took up a new stance, while at the same time effortlessly holding onto the new form he'd achieved.

His own glare becoming more pronounced, the jinchuriki slid into a stance and balled his hands. "Whatever you say, Bushy Brow-sensei." At that exact moment, thick blue chakra exploded from both his arms and quickly transformed into two miniature tornadoes, with the points molding into drills around his hands. The force of their appearance kicked up the water behind the teen and began to twist around the blonde's body protectively, his teeth clenching as he focused all of his chakra into his fists and feet. In a matter of moments, he was done. "Let's do this!"

A battle cry escaping the two shinobi, both Gai and Naruto then launched themselves across the water at blazing speeds. Covering the space of five dozen yards between them in under a second, the two fighters, kicking up a massive spray of water behind them, met each other in the middle and swung at their opponent with their respective attacks.

"Asa Kujaku!" (Morning Peacock) Gai roared.

"Tsubame Gaeshi!" (Swallow Return) Naruto bellowed in kind.

Then, with a deafening thunder clap, their fists collided. The result was a massive shockwave that punched a crater into the lake beneath them all the way to the rocky bed, which literally split the ground under the tremendous force. Immediately after that, more and more shockwaves began ringing out as the pair laid into each other with an onslaught of lightning fast blows. Their impacting fists and shins filled the air with the sound of a relentless artillery bombardment, the lake around them literally being parted all the way to the edges from the force. Soon enough, the shockwaves being generated by their attacks soon transformed into a raging inferno of multiple explosions going off one after the other.

Tayuya, Karin and Yakumo looked on in awe and amazement as Naruto's taijutsu based fight with Gai escalated to a whole other level. It was a sight that lasted for a whole, glorious minute, before all of it ended with one last, decisive explosion, which sent the water of the lake blasting in all directions in a tidal spray.

Feeling the shockwave from the sphere shaped blast pelt them with water, the audience on the shoreline watched through squinted eyes as the winds slowly settled. The heat from the clash caused the perspiration to evaporate, filling the training ground with a heavy mist. This left the girls blinded for several minutes.

When it started to left, they saw an orange blur flicker into view and leap back onto dry land.

Sliding to a stop as he turned around to face the lake, Naruto took a low fighting stance and panted. Sporting a number of new bruises and burns, along with a few wears in his jacket, the young man quickly sucked it up and fixed his eyes squarely on the shoreline, where he saw the mist part and reveal Gai standing on the edge in an equally battered and exhausted state.

Both assumed in defensive positions, they smiled across at one another and nodded in respect.

"Superb work, Naruto-kun. Your time training with Jiraiya-sensei has definitely paid off. You should feel proud."

"Thanks. You've got some pretty awesome moves yourself, Bushy Brow-sensei," the blonde replied, his fox-like grin returning to him full force. "Got any more tricks up your sleeve?"

Before the teen could have his question answered, a figure dropping down next to Gai cut off the duo's confrontation and drew their attention to the newcomer. Quickly recognizing the person as Kakashi, Naruto then spared a glance to his right to see Sasuke take up position on his flank as well.

The sight of the sweating Uchiha appearing next to him had the blonde smirk. "Tired?"

The raven haired shinobi scoffed back, "As if. You?"

"Not at all. I'm still game," Naruto replied, straightening up and fixing his gaze back onto the two Jonin standing several yards away from them. Despite the vicious beating both sides had received thus far, all four fighters were still pumped and raring to go. "Man. I can't remember the last time I've had this much fun."

"What? Traveling across the continent wasn't satisfying enough for you?" Sasuke asked.

The blonde rolled his eyes, "I'm talking about fighting, genius."

"Ah," the raven haired teen replied, seconds before another figure appeared alongside them.

When Naruto looked to his left, he saw his pink-haired teammate standing there with a smile of her own and covered in several scuffs that he knew she didn't have before. "Oh? Have you decided to join us, Sakura-chan?"

A chuckle left the kunoichi's lips, "Did you honestly think I was going to let you and Sasuke-kun have all the fun while I stood by and watched?" Adjusting the fighting glove on her right fist, the girl tugged on the back of it and clenched it tightly. "This is my assessment too, yah know."

Sasuke sighed as he glanced across at the girl, "You didn't have to jump in like that, Sakura. I could have taken him."

Realizing he was referring to the genjutsu battle he'd been having with Kakashi several minutes earlier, the pink haired girl merely shrugged and slid into a stance of her own. "I know. But like Gai-sensei said… I just couldn't help myself." From the grin that formed on her face, the two boys could tell that this girl was raring to show off just as much as they were. "You guys aren't the only ones with a few new tricks up their sleeves."

Glancing at his compatriot, Naruto stifled a laugh and retook his stance, "Fair enough. I suppose this should even the odds a little." His shifting hand positions also prompted the Uchiha to take a stance as well. The moment all three of them set their crosshairs on their two Jonin instructors, the bonds between them were officially sealed and approved. "Well, it's been three years… but Team Seven is back in action."

The blonde's proclamation had Sasuke snort and shake his head, "Lame."

"Shut up."

And, just like the good old days, the quick shoot off between the two boys had Sakura giggle.

Seeing the trio come to stand before them and assume battle ready positions had Kakashi and Gai look across at each other. Sparing a smile and a nod, the two Jonin then stretched out and took new stances as well. With the man in spandex extending his hand and the silver haired shinobi setting his at his sides, the pair primed themselves for one last bout.

"You still got enough gas in the tank?" Gai asked.

"Plenty," Kakashi replied, rolling his shoulder instinctively, "What about you?"

"Oh… enough to make even someone like you work, I'm sure," the taijutsu master replied, at the same time his eyes twinkled with excitement. "So… ready for another round?"

The masked man nodded. "You hit em' high, I hit em' low?"

"That's the plan."

Taking that as their cue to move, the two men sprang forward and separated, at about the same time Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura launched from their spots in kind. In a matter of seconds, the entire area was filled with the sounds of clashing blades and impacting fists, as the team of young go-getters squared off against two of Konohagakure's finest shinobi.

Getting comfortable on the sidelines, Tayuya, Kurama and Karin watched on with enthusiasm and awe as the battle between the team and the instructors carried on into the afternoon. It wouldn't be until the sun started to set before the group decided to call it quits, and by that time almost all of Training Ground Three had been permanently reshaped.

Needless to say, for Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura, it was one hell of a welcome home party.

TO BE CONTINUED…

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Author's Note: Wow, it's been four months since I last updated. Sorry for keeping you all waiting.

All of you are probably wondering where I've been this entire time. Well, sadly, I've been very busy with work and studies. I'm afraid that my writing comes second to all of that.

I've also been commissioned to help a friend out in editing his own stories. So on top of trying to write my own chapters, I've been helping to edit his… and it's taken up a lot of my time. (It's also why I don't Beta read, take challenges, or commission that often)

You guys should check out Dragonball Z: Legacies and Naruto: The Part-Timer. They're an awesome read. He's put a lot of work into them.

Anyway, as for this chapter, Naruto is just getting settled back into the village, and what better way to do that than a full-on spar in the training fields. By this point, Naruto and Sasuke are evenly matched with Kakashi and Gai. While Naruto is fast enough to keep up with Gai's Eight Gates, Sasuke has a few new tricks of his own that he was eager to show off.

In the next chapter we'll be moving into the next arc, so I hope you're all looking forward to it. Might take me a while, but bear with me. There's no way I could abandon this story.