Chapter summary: Jiraiya decides to be part of Naruto's training, Naruto gets something out of a deal and the finals are finally here.

Hello guys, thank you so much for coming all the way and read the story, I really want to thank you all for reading, liking and commenting. Please remember that English is not my mother tongue so forgive any grammar, spelling and funny mistake.

Chapter 8

Ryuujin, Jiraiya and Gamabunta

The sound coming from the waterfall was at once overwhelming and calming. Naruto stared blankly at the thunderous water, while tears of confusion rolled down his cheeks. He didn't understand completely why the news of his parentage affected him so much.

Did he suspect it? No.

Was it unpleasant? No.

Then, why was he feeling betrayed and undecided? Why did he feel this overwhelming pain in his chest?

Wiping away the tears from his face Naruto sat on a rock near the water that was falling with furious persistence. He put his zanpakutou on his legs and closed his eyes. He had been there before once or twice, which wasn't enough for him to stop being amazed by the sight in front of him.

A forest full of greens and browns, with vivid colours and huge trees above him. The only sound was that of his breathing and a faint whistling. Naruto peered around and then feeling a slight presence calling him he started walking towards his right.

It didn't take Naruto long to find the huge dragon that was his zanpakutou sitting near a cliff, curled up with his head directly towards the edge of the forest where Naruto now stood.

I like this place, said Ryuujin with a deep and low voice. It is nice to come here just to rest, and then jump down this cliff and fly for hours. We did a good job with our inner world.

'Where is Kyuubi?' asked Naruto. Ryuujin turned his head to the left where a small mountain could be seen.

It's best for him to remain locked up in that place while you're here, Ryuujin commented. His tail flicked and one large opalescent eye focused on Naruto. Something is bothering you and it's making me restless. What is it?

Naruto neared his zanpakutou. He sat in front of the dragon. 'Did you hear Yoruichi-chan…about who my father is?'

Yes, I did. I thought you would be happy but instead…

'It's – I don't know! I feel, I feel... angry and sad and confused! Why? Why has no one told me? Why has Ojii-san never said something? He knew! All this time he knew! Not only him but... I think Kakashi-sensei knew as well. He was my father's student after all!'

Ryuujin watched as his master kept rambling about why he thought it was so difficult to accept, why he was feeling betrayed and why he was so confused. Finally, Naruto stopped and took a deep breath before letting himself lie down on the ground.

Maybe you feel betrayed because the people near you keep lying about everything. The Kyuubi, your parentage, your potential, said Ryuujin, nuzzling his master's leg to try and calm him a little.

You feel confused because the hero of your village, the one you want to follow in his steps to become Hokage was actually your father. And he is also a betrayer of the Soul Society.

At that last part Naruto lifted his head and locked his blue eyes with Ryuujin's yellow ones. It was the first time he thought about it. He knew Yoruichi was a rogue Shinigami, that she was considered a traitor because she had left Soul Society, and if his father had done the same thing, well, it was kind of obvious Namikaze Minato was a traitor as well.

'I didn't think about it, but you're right,' said Naruto and his frown deepened. He would need to ask Yoruichi about it later.

And finally, you feel sad because... well, he is your father, he sealed the Kyuubi inside you and you didn't have the pleasure of meeting him. You're carrying a burden inside of you and you don't even know why he chose you.

Exhausted, Naruto let his head fall to the ground again. Ryuujin loomed over him with a questioning rumble. Naruto merely grunted in agreement.

Rest now, Naruto. Tomorrow we can talk some more.

Naruto stood over the water, Ryuujin in his hand and the waterfall in front of him. Part of Ryuujin's plan to keep Naruto's mind off of Namikaze Minato and the people who knew about his parentage was to train with him. Teach him some of the things he as a zanpakutou knew he was capable of.

Remember, your purpose is to part the curtain of water in half by stopping, even for a second, its natural course.

'But, how? I don't think that's even possible.'

With me everything is possible, Naruto. I am the wind and wind can be sharper than a knife or a sword. Right now, I'm going to teach you one of my techniques.

Naruto nodded his head and started gathering his reiatsu, which was kind of difficult considering he was using his chakra to stand on the water.

"Ryuujin Kaze: Tenjoukai Fūjin!"

He followed his command with a jump and a horizontal slash of his sword that freed a thin, sharp breeze that hurtled towards the waterfall. It didn't take too long for the line of wind to contact the water, and with a sudden explosion of water and wind, Naruto saw the waterfall was cut in half: there was a large gap of air where his wind blade had stopped the flow of water. His attack did not stop with the waterfall but further, etching a deep groove in the slippery and wet rock behind the curtain of falling water.

Naruto's eyes opened wide in shock. Naruto thought he wouldn't make it in his first try. However, he had underestimated himself and Ryuujin's power.

"Wow! A-amazing!" exhaled Naruto, his eyes glued to the spot where moments ago the water had stopped falling.

Humph, that was nothing. In fact, it was too weak.

"Weak? Weak? Did you see it?! It actually cut in a waterfall in half! It made it stop!" said Naruto excitedly.

For a split second. Well, anyway, there you have it. See? You should speak more often with me. Let's try it once more.

Naruto tried once more to use Ryuujin's new technique, unaware of his surroundings or the inconspicuous observation from a distance.

"It seems he is calmer than yesterday," said Yugao to Yoruichi. The dark-skinned woman appeared unfazed. "How the hell did he do that?"

"Probably one of his zanpakutou techniques."

Yugao lifted a single eyebrow.

"It was really powerful, I can't think of anyone who had done something like what Naruto did," said Yugao.

"We better let him be. It's a good thing that, after talking with his zanpakutou all of this afternoon, he is finally learning something." Yoruichi placed a single hand on Yugao´s shoulder, a single eyebrow lifted. "How about sake? W can wait until he is ready to talk to us."

Jiraiya was really impressed.

He had heard about the boy owning a sword, but he had his doubts about Naruto knowing how to use it. Now that he saw it with his own eyes, he had to admit that Naruto was impressive.

With a frown, Jiraiya looked back at the multiple reports about Naruto. He had read them over and over again, trying to get to know Naruto before their actual meeting. He had seen his place, which was a real mess and then had seen his Academy records which were just the same: a mess.

But, looking at the boy in front of him and at the reports, he realized that the only truths in the reports were about Naruto's apartment. The boy was skilful.

"I guess hatred and indifference have influenced this information," said Jiraiya whose eyes returned to the blond. He allowed himself a small smile and whistled at Naruto's new attempt with whichever technique he was using. "It seems like your son is a good shinobi after all, Minato."

Hopping off his observation tree, Jiraiya started making his way to Naruto until the sound of delighted giggles and women's voices reached his ears.

"Well, Naruto seems a little busy; I guess... we can postpone our meeting for a few minutes." He said with a pervert giggle.

Jiraiya was happily scribbling in his notebook once in a while, enjoying the distant company of a group of young girls playing innocently in the water. He chuckled again, with a flustered expression and a little drool from his mouth as different images came to his mind.

But then something awful happened.

Jiraiya had to wonder how he ended with young Naruto hovering above him with a katana on his neck. He certainly never imagined his first encounter with his godson, Naruto, would be like that!

"What were you doing, you old pervert?!" shouted Naruto. Jiraiya sighed with disappointment as the group of women squealed, horrified at having been spied on while they were enjoying the cool water on a hot morning.

"Oi, get off me, Brat! See what you have done?!" said Jiraiya shoving Naruto off of him. "Those beautiful ladies left! And I was so close to the climax of my story! And who are you calling a pervert? Don't you know who I am?!"

Naruto stood in front of the old man with Ryuujin at the ready. He had been making his way back to Yoruichi and Yugao when he saw this man ogling a group of girls. If there was something Yugao and Anko had taught him was how to deal with perverts and how not to be one.

It was obvious that when he saw the man he had to do something.

"Well, you are a pervert! And I guess I'm talking with a pervert!" Naruto exclaimed pointing his fingers at the other man. Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched and he pressed hard on the top of Naruto's head.

"Don't you know any manners, brat? You're a ninja, aren't you?"

Naruto slapped Jiraiya's hand away and glowered at the old man.

"Yes, I am! Uzumaki Naruto! Genin of Konoha!" Naruto replied coldly. "And you, pervert, do you have a name?"

"Stop calling me a pervert! If you are a ninja then, you must know who I am," Jiraiya replied, swelling with pride and showing to Naruto the huge scroll on his back and the kanji for 'oil' on the protector of his forehead.

Naruto gawped. Jiraiya smiled, satisfied. That'll teach the brat to interrupt my research!

"Wow! Are you a cook or something? And what's with the huge scroll?"

Jiraiya almost fell over. When he regained composure, he glared at Naruto.

"This is a summoning scroll and this is the symbol of the great..." The old man started jumping here and there while saying something Naruto couldn't hear clearly. The man performed some quick hand seals and then in a puff of white smoke a huge toad appeared and the old man stood on top of its head.

"I... am the great Jiraiya-sama of the legendary Sannin!" The old man stood with one hand stretched out before him and the other above his head holding an open fan.

Naruto stared at the man and then at the toad. He grinned widely. "I don't know who you are and I don't recognize the name or title. But this toad is so cool! Where did you get one this big?"

"Why you impertinent little-! I'm the great Jiraiya, part of the legendary Sannin, haven't you heard about us? The ones with the most powerful summoning and above Kage level?"

Naruto eyed the old man in front of him with suspicion. Just a few minutes ago he had discovered the old man ogling and giggling like an old pervert while watching a group of young women playing by the river. And now the man was saying he was not only a shinobi but a powerful and legendary one.

"Yeah, right," Naruto snorted and turned his back to a gaping Jiraiya. "You're nothing more than a pervert; see you around Ero-jii."

"Oi, you brat! I'm telling the truth!" said Jiraiya, hopping ahead of Naruto. "And don't call me that! My name is the Great Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin!"

Again Naruto had a sceptical look on his face and Jiraiya couldn't help but feel slightly annoyed at the lack of interest. Jiraiya's eyes gleamed when an idea struck him.

"I know. I'm going to show you part of my awesome power," proclaimed Jiraiya. Naruto raised his eyebrows, keeping his eyes glued to an oddly enthusiastic Jiraiya. "After this, brat, you're going to beg me to instruct you!"

This Ero-Sannin is pretty full of himself, eh?

'Yeah, but let's see what he can do. I'm curious.'

Me too. There is something else about him, isn't there?

'Mm-hmm, yeah. I can't say what it is exactly, though. It's like... a danger signal. Maybe this guy is serious about him being a shinobi and all.'

Maybe, but if he is a shinobi, he most certainly doesn't look like it. I mean, his clothes are kind of ridiculous.

Jiraiya stretched out his hand, the old man made sure Naruto was paying close attention to his hand while he started amassing chakra on his hand.

"Beg you for what?" Naruto furrowed his brows, not understanding what exactly the other male was trying to accomplish.

"You want to be the Hokage, right?"

"Yes," said Naruto uncertainly.

"Well, I was the Jounin-sensei of one of them," said Jiraiya, smiling at the dumbstruck expression in Naruto's face.

"Really? Which one? You're old, but not that old! I think."

Jiraiya's eyebrow twitched with irritation again but he decided to ignore Naruto's comment. "I was the Jounin-sensei of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato."

Naruto felt dizzy for a moment, he watched as Jiraiya smirked in triumph at the blond.

'He was my father's... '

Sensei. Well, what a coincidence. What are you gonna do now, Naruto?

"I knew you would be surprised," Jiraiya seemed satisfied, mistaking Naruto's cold expression for one of astonishment. "See, before he died we were working on a technique."

The toad that was still around them croaked really loudly and Jiraiya waved his hand. "Okay, okay, he was working on a technique that I had the opportunity to learn. Watch this."

Naruto looked on as, without using any hand seals, Jiraiya started gathering chakra at the centre of his palm. The blond watched with amazement as a bluish ball formed, growing with each passing second. The man then directed it to the waterfall. Naruto gaped as the spiralling sphere smashed into the waterfall, sending droplets spraying everywhere. It was some time before the waterfall resumed its normal appearance.

Eying carefully the old man in front of him and knowing he once was his father's Jounin-sensei, Naruto formulated a plan in split seconds.

"Wow, that was amazing!" said Naruto with his voice filled with praise and surprise. Jiraiya allowed himself an honest smile at the child-like behaviour of the blond in front of him.

He had to remember that, shinobi or not, Naruto was still twelve years old and something like the rasengan could be quite impacting.

"So, what do you think? Now do you believe me?" asked Jiraiya.

Naruto fervently nodded his head. "Yeah, I do, Ero-Sannin!"

"Oi, quit calling me that"

"Say, Ero-Sannin, can you teach me the rasempan?" asked Naruto.

What are you trying to do, Naruto?

'I've been thinking what you say about my father,' said Naruto to Ryuujin. 'I'm still a little surprised and kind of mad, but now, I want to learn everything about him. I want to make him proud. But most importantly I want to get to know him to know exactly why he left Soul Society and why it was so important to seal the Kyuubi inside me.'

"It's called the rasengan... and no."

"What? Why?" Naruto argued.

"You're still a Genin and in theory I cannot intervene with your training unless your Jounin-sensei allows me to."

"Then, by all means take up Naruto's training session, Jiraiya-sama."

Both Jiraiya and Naruto turned around to see a purple-haired woman with a black cat on her arms approaching them both. Jiraiya perked up at the sight of the slender woman who was smiling at the both of them.

"Yugao! It's nice seeing you again. I thought you were still part of ANBU," Jiraiya could not hide his surorised clearly pleased to see her. "Got tired of taking care of the old man's back? Decided to give the future of Konoha a try?"

"Nothing like that, Jiraiya-sama," said Yugao. "I'm still ANBU, but I made an exception for Naruto who is going to participate in the last part of the Chuunin exams."

"Eh? Yugao-chan, do you know him?"

The purple-haired woman turned to Naruto and nodded her head. "Of course, he is Jiraiya of the Sannin," said Yugao. Seeing the look of confusion in Naruto's face the woman decided to elaborate. "One of the legendary three? Tsunade-sama, Orochimaru and Jiraiya-sama are legendary ninjas... something you should have learnt in your history class at the Academy?"

"Uh, yeah, I probably skipped most of those," Naruto chuckled, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish smile. "So, he was telling the truth? He is a real and powerful ninja?"

"Of course, I am, brat! That's what I've been telling you all this time!" said Jiraiya.

"He was also the sensei of Yondaime-sama," said Yugao, looking directly into Naruto's eyes, as if she could read his mind.

There was a moment of silence after Yugao's words. Jiraiya watched as Naruto's expressive face turned into a blank mask and his eyes lost all light in them. Yugao's expression wasn't much better, stern, and unmoving.

"I know, he told me," Naruto finally mumbled, directing a small but honest smile to Yugao and Yoruichi. "I was trying to convince him to teach me this rasengan technique."

"I don't know... " said Jiraiya scratching his chin. "You did call me and old man, a pervert and actually thought I was lying about who I am."

"It's not exactly wrong," Naruto protested. "You are old...er than I am, you were peeking at women like a pervert, and with that strange dance-pose-act thingy, anyone would think it was false..."

"You're not helping your case, young man."

Yugao watched amusedly while Naruto begged Jiraiya to teach him the rasengan. Yoruichi left the safety of his arms to reunite herself once again with Yugao, who strolled away from the two males and leaned against a convenient tree.

"He looks better now."

"Yes, he does. Way too calm for my liking though," muttered Yoruichi, though Yugao caught the humour in her voice.

"I know what you mean. That boy tends to be a little too smart when it suits him," whispered Yugao. "But this is good, right? For him to learn something else related to his father. At least until he is ready for the other part of the story."

"I agree with you. Let's see what happens with this old fella," said Yoruichi quietly. "Though I wouldn't want Naruto to learn something perverted."

The begging began to take on greater intensity, until Jiraiya could not hold the blond back anymore.

"Okay, tell you what," said Jiraiya, exasperated. "If you can summon a toad bigger than mine, I will teach you."

"Summon a bigger one?" Naruto's smile grew. "You got yourself a bet, Ero-Sannin! I'll do it and you'll have to teach me the rasengan!"

"Good. Then let's start." Very slowly Jiraiya taught Naruto the hand seals necessary for the summoning. "Now, you just have to draw a little blood, press your palm to the floor, and say: Kuchiyose no Jutsu."

Jiraiya pulled the scroll from his back, speaking to Naruto and explaining to him how the process would go. While Naruto heard carefully, paying close attention to the older man, Jiraiya thought to himself that this was just but a small action to make it up to Naruto and Minato.

'Besides, soon Naruto will need to learn everything he can if he wants to be ready for Akatsuki.'

"Very well, next step would be your signature on the contract. need your fingerprints here in blood, and then write your name, in blood once again, here."

Once Naruto finished the procedure, his eyes drifted to the name before his. He chuckled softly when he recognized the name of his father.

"Okay, now all you have to do is just do it. Let's see if you can summons a toad bigger than mine."

Jiraiya planted himself beside Yugao and the black cat. All three watched as Naruto nodded his head and started practicing over and over the hands seals until he could do them at a regular speed.

"He is quite the character, eh?" asked Jiraiya after a long moment of silence.

"Yes, he is. He is really an amazing person. I'm very proud of him."

"I thought Kakashi was his Jounin-sensei."

"He is," replied Yugao coolly. Jiraiya noticed the scorn that Yugao barely hid. "But he decided to train the last Uchiha instead of training him along with Naruto. He was going to have Naruto train chakra control with Ebisu. That's how Naruto ended up with me."

Jiraiya scowled darkly while Yugao continued with her explanation about Naruto and his training.

"I see. However, he looks prepared to me," said Jiraiya. "A different shinobi than the one I read about."

"Jiraiya-sama, may I ask why you are so interested in Naruto?" Yoruichi lifted her head and purred, nuzzling against Yugao's hand. The purple-haired woman glared at the cat before proceeding to scratch her head which only made Yoruichi purr happily.

"It's just to pay an old friend a life debt."

"Boar, dog, bird, monkey, ram and palm on the ground!" repeated Naruto for the umpteenth time.

"Good, now just draw some of your chakra and do it!"

Naruto lifted his head to see Yugao waving at him and smiling. He smiled back. With normal speed, drawing blood from his thumb and with his palm to the ground he yelled, "Kuchiyose no jutsu!"

Jiraiya, Yugao and Yoruichi watched anxiously for the white cloud to dissipate and see what Naruto had summoned.

"Arrgh! What the hell?" shrieked Naruto at the small, yellow toad whose eyes were looking around curiously until they finally fell on the blond-haired boy looking at him with a funny expression.

"Yo! This is so cool! This is the first time anyone's ever summoned me!" said the young, tiny toad. "Mm, say, do you have any snacks?"

Two days later Naruto was still struggling to learn how much of his chakra to liberate to summon a big toad and not a small one. It took a lot of work. Try as he might do it right and Ryuujin wasn't of any help at all.

"Arrrgh! This is so frustrating!" screamed Naruto, collapsing onto the ground.

"You still can't do it and I'm tired of being called here without any reward. Though I do appreciate the snacks," said another toad. This orange one was slightly bigger than the yellow one.

Naruto learnt, after summoning both toads, that they were brothers. Gamatatsu, the first toad he had summoned, was the younger brother while Gamakichi was the oldest. Both of them were the sons of a boss summons called Gamabunta. It was kind of stressful, since Naruto was only able to call both of them and not a bigger one.

"Sorry, guys. Here, I got this from Yoruichi and Yugao-chan," said Naruto pulling some sweets from his pocket. Both Gamakichi and Gamatatsu dived in, taking as much as they could.

Naruto sat beside both toads and kept his eyes on the ground. He was tired and desperate to get the summoning right, but Yugao was right, he wasn't using the right amount of chakra. It was kind of difficult for him to separate his chakra reserves from that of his reiatsu ones.

Then why don't you use both?

'Uh? Both? You think so? I mean, wouldn't that be a little... I dunno, hasty?'

Humph, we've been spending too much time doing this. I'm also tired. Do it already and let's see what happens.

Naruto nodded his head and stood up. 'Okay, if you say so then I'm going to do it. If we die, I'm gonna kick your ass, no matter how big it is.'

I do not have a big ass.

'Yes you do. Now shut up.'

"It looks like Naruto is going to try it again," said Yugao watching from afar as Naruto stood up decisively.

"Let's hope he doesn't call more of Gamabunta's kids, if he has more. I don't think he would appreciate it," said Jiraiya, already worried that the boss summon would scold him for allowing Naruto to call his sons.

Yoruichi on her part was really curious about the whole summoning thing. Yugao had explained to her (Jiraiya was kind of confused as to why Yugao would want to talk ninja techniques to a cat). And those two toads already had tried to talk to her, sensing something off about her. Yoruichi of course had been really careful but was nonetheless amused at hearing the toads and Naruto created a friendly bond in which she was supposed to be included.

Naruto gathered his two sources of power, carefully melding them together.

"Uh, Brother, what is he doing?" asked Gamatatsu, spraying some remains of sweets from his mouth.

"I don't know, but this feeling..." said Gamakichi, "it feels like home."

Going through the hand seals, Naruto opened his eyes that were gleaming slightly before biting his thumb and pressing his palm to the ground. "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A low puff could be heard along with the huge, white smoke that surrounded the area. Yugao's eyes opened wide and when she turned around she saw Jiraiya's pale expression.

"Oh, fuck," said the Sannin without thinking.

There, in all his gigantic glory, stood the boss summon Gamabunta. The big toad looked at the kid in front of him up and down for a long moment and then he growled deeply.

"Jiraiya! You good-for-nothing pervert! Where are you?" asked the gigantic toad looking around for any sign of Jiraiya. "Why have you called me to this place? If you did it to impress some woman again, I swear I'll smoke you like a cheap cigar. Besides, you know I don't receive human sacrifices like Manda!"

Naruto gulped at being referred to as a human sacrifice. He gazed up at the toad and with a misplaced sense of bravado he decided to say something. Because, for some reason, he sensed that the old pervert wasn't going to appear any time soon.

"Hey you! I'm the one who summoned you! I'm the great Uzumaki Naruto!" shouted Naruto. Gamabunta turned his eyes to the blond boy. "And I'm your new Master!"

Gamabunta watched him for a moment before guffawing uproariously. "You? A puny little tadpole like you? Don't make me laugh brat!"

"Hey! It's not a joke! And my name is Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto!"

"Uzumaki Naruto, eh?" said Gamabunta, lowering his big head. "Yeah, I know you."

"How are you doing, Daddy?"

"Pops? You know him?" asked Gamakichi, surprised.

Gamabunta looked down at his two sons before returning to Naruto. "So, this is the guy you've been with all this while?"

"Yeah."

"Yes, Naruto has been giving us some sweet snacks," Gamatatsu said trying to show his dad the last of his snacks.

"See? I told you I was the one who summoned you," Naruto pointed at himself, slightly intimidated by the huge toad but tried to hide his apprehension.

Jiraiya, who was safe from Gamabunta's clutches but not so far that he could not hear the summons's voice, shook his head. Idiot boy.

"Humph, I will be the one to decide that Uzumaki Naruto. Let's see if you're who you said you are…" said Gamabunta. "Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, move it."

Both of them hopped away as fast as they could. Yugao, Yoruichi, Jiraiya and Naruto gaped in surprise when the big toad pulled his katana out of the sheath and lifted it up. Naruto had just a few seconds to react.

Pulling Ryuujin out of his own sheath and releasing his sword, the boy tried to stop the impeding fall of the big blade over his head. There was a loud clash of metal and a cloud of dust scattered over the landscape.

Naruto was breathing hard and his face was a mask of pure concentration. His blue eyes were looking directly into Gama's black ones. The old toad smirked when he saw the big crater around Naruto and the now unsealed sword in Naruto's grip. The boy was holding the sword with both hands and panting hard, dust and grime caked over his face.

"Well, it seems to me that you were telling the truth, Naruto," Gamabunta spoke and his voice rumbled around the forest, the boy smiled softly at the toad's words.

"Yeah! Now that old pervert has to teach me the rasengan! I did summon a toad bigger than the one he summoned!" And with those words Naruto fell unconscious to the ground.

Gamabunta snorted. "All right, Jiraiya, you old pervert, where the hell are you?"

Jiraiya sauntered out. "Hey."

"Show me," Gamabunta ordered.

Jiraiya rolled his eyes and then let the scroll unroll before Gamabunta, whose smirk only grew bigger. "Humph, I wasn't going to kill him. I didn't hit him with enough power to destroy him. There was no need for this, Jiraiya. I believe the boy. Gamakichi, Gamatatsu, let's go!"

The three summonses left the place. Yugao rushed to Naruto's side. She lifted the boy in her arms and smiled softly at him.

"You did a good job, Naruto."

"The hell he did. Now I have to keep my promise," said Jiraiya, though he was smiling as he spoke.

Naruto spent the rest of his time training with Yugao and Jiraiya. The man had done exactly as he promised; once Naruto had regained consciousness Jiraiya started explaining the basics of the rasengan. However, learning to wield the rasengan was proving to be really difficult.

At first he had to learn how to explode a water balloon with his chakra. After hearing a long discussion between Ryuujin and Kyuubi about the good and evil direction (which he didn't and didn't want to understand; he had a colossal headache after listening to the both of them.) Naruto realized that making his chakra run in different directions could make the water spin in different directions and thus explode the balloon.

For the second task, Naruto had more difficulties. He had tried to do the same as he did to the water balloon. For some reason, it wasn't enough. After almost three days Naruto, in a frustrated attempt, used more power than he had previously and the rubber ball explode. Blinking a little confusedly but now having a faint idea of the theory, he tried it with another rubber ball, using more power than he had used on the water balloons. It worked.

All in all, it took Naruto the last fortnight before the exams to learn the rasengan.

Along with his training with Jiraiya, Yugao (and Yoruichi when the old man wasn't around) kept on instructing Naruto on taijutsu, ninjutsu, shunpo and kenjutsu respectively. Naruto had been happy, his mind forgot completely about the reasons behind these training sessions because he was more focused on the time he was spending with Yugao and Yoruichi. Whenever the Ero-Sannin left him alone, Naruto made sure to sit right beside the two women clearing up his doubts just before speaking about his thoughts and emotions.

The night right before the Chuunin exams Jiraiya had gone with the promise to see Naruto's fight the next day, the fire around them was burning brightly projecting shadows around the campsite. The blond placed his bowl on the ground taking a deep breath of satisfaction.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" Yugao gave him a quick glance, studying Naruto critically.

"I am." Naruto leaned forward, his hand scratching the back of the ears of Yoruichi. "You two had taught me so much in this last month, but even if we hadn't done anything related to my training, I'm just happy I got to spend time with you two."

Yugao grinned her eyes locking with those of Yoruichi, she leaned in wrapping her arm around Naruto's shoulder bringing the kid close to her.

"I'm glad we spend time as well, Naruto. I really am." Yugao placed a single kiss on his forehead, Naruto leaning against the touch.

"And how are you feeling with our conversation?" This time around it was Yoruichi the one who interrupted. "We haven't had the time to continue with that particular conversation…"

"I know." Naruto interrupted Yoruichi bringing her closer to his chest. "I know there are many things you can´t tell me about him, but I also realized that I want to learn about him on my own. And I want to learn about him on my own time, when I'm ready I will ask you and I know you will answer, Yoruichi-chan."

The black cat nodded satisfied; she nuzzled the chest of the blond before curling up to glance at the fire.

"You better kick some ass tomorrow, Naruto." Yoruichi finally said. "I want you to give it you all in that fight. Show them without any restrictions what you really are made of."

"I will, Yoruichi-chan, Yugao-chan, tomorrow you will be really proud of me."

Finally, the time for the finals of the Chuunin exams had arrived.

And Naruto was still fast asleep.

"Naruto? Naruto! Wake up!"

The blond felt someone shaking him roughly. He opened one eye lazily while trying to slap away the annoying hand.

"Naruto! You're going to be late!"

That was all it took to make Naruto sit up and look around with panic on his face.

"No! I'm late! I'm late! The Chuunin exams are about to start!" said Naruto grabbing Ryuujin.

"You can't go like that!" laughed Yoruichi, stopping him.

"Eh? Didn't you hear me! I'm late!"

"Look at you! I'm not letting you go like this!" This time it was Yugao trying her best not to grin.

Naruto looked at himself and had to admit they were right. His clothes were destroyed. The orange of his pants crusted with blood and dust and shredded in various places. His white shirt wasn't any better. The only thing decent in his attire was his hitai-ate and his sandals.

"But... But..." stuttered Naruto when Yoruichi dragged him to the river.

"Take a bath and then you can use this," Yoruichi said, tossing him a small package.

"It's a gift, from the both of us," said Yugao. Naruto turned to Yugao who was smiling softly at him. "Move it, take a quick bath and then put this on."

Fifteen minutes later Naruto was ready. He looked at Yugao and Yoruichi with a genuinely pleased smile. "Thank you!"

"You can thank us later. Now, go! You're already late."

"But... you're coming too, right?" Naruto couldn't help the hesitance in his tone.

"Of course, we are! but you can get there faster than us," said Yoruichi with a smirk. "Can you not? Go and show them what you are made of, kid."

Naruto nodded his head, bowing deeply to the two women in front of him. He turned around and sprinted off at a speed Yugao didn't think she could imitate.

Two steps, four steps, eight steps... Naruto grinned wolfishly, he shouldn't, he really shouldn't, but Yoruichi had said to show them, right? So maybe if he arrived flying to the stadium… well, that would show them just how different Uzumaki Naruto had become.

Kazama Arashi looked around with some interest.

Little kids ran around with some harmless kunai and pretending to be 'ninjas'. Their mothers followed closely behind while talking with each other. Arashi also saw the other shinobi, women, and men alike, walking and talking with excitement about the finals, the participants, and the bets on each one of them.

"Over there, sir," murmured Kariya. Arashi turned in the direction Kariya indicated. "Those people are the daimyo of this place and other important villages. According to our research, some of them will help in the decision of who should be given the title of Chuunin."

"I see. Well, this seems to be a show no one would like to miss."

"It appears so, sir."

Arashi smiled and continued his walk towards the seats reserved for them; his smile only grew when he saw the two figures waiting for him inside the stadium.

"Kyouraku-taichou, Ise-fukutaichou, it's a pleasure to finally see you here," Arashi signalled the seats, he sat right beside Kyouraku glancing around the stadium with just the right amount of curiosity in his eyes. "I take it that everything went well on your mission?"

"Yes, sorry for the delay. While it wasn't difficult, it took some time to organize some of the teams," said Kyouraku. "But once we received the assistance of Hitsugaya-taichou we could make it in time to see Naruto's performance. I'm rather eager to see what he has in store for us."

Arashi bowed his head slightly, "I am excited as well, the stories and the reports I've been reading about him are unreliable."

The conversation around them seemed to grow as some of the participants were showing on the arena, Kariya made sure to stand close to his master while Nanao was glancing anxiously at the people filling out the square.

"I take it, Arashi-san, that after this you're going to talk with Naruto-kun?" Kyouraku inquired softly, his gaze flicking to Nanao who was paying attention to every word that was said while her eyes searched for the blond.

"Yes, two more days and the preparations to take him with us would be complete." Arashi commented lightly, he glanced out of the corner of his eyes before continuing. "It would be wise to speak with him before we proceed to the ritual, do you gather he would take our approach rather invasive?"

Kyouraku pressed his lips together, after a while his hand went to his hat lowering it the brim of his hat. He was hiding the uncertainty in his eyes; they had discussed with Naruto the possibility of leaving his village and joining them in Soul Society but at that time Naruto had been a kid still and in his mind he was not ready to understand the implications of such a decision. Now, he was a teenager, and he was a ninja, his feelings about the whole situation might have change.

"I think he would be rather surprised, Arashi-sama, but perhaps the knowledge of meeting his family would be enough for him to not be so…shocked by the news."

Arashi nodded curtly, his attention back to the arena. He would never say it aloud but he was rather excited to see the fight, to see his nephew in action. With practice patience, the Lord of the Kazama Clan waited for Naruto to show up.

The stadium was full.

Sakura had found a comfortable spot right above the arena where she could see the fights that would unfold in a few moments. Beside her Kiba, Ino and a now recovered Hinata were waiting just as anxiously as her.

As she suspected, Sasuke wasn't there yet and Naruto was also missing. The pink-haired girl leaned forward, her hands tightly closed while she tried to search for her teammates and sensei by the gates. Ino leaned closer to her bumping lightly against her.

"Don't worry too much, Forehead. I'm pretty sure Sasuke-kun is going to be here on time," Ino tried to sound reassuring, with a tone full of adoration and confidence in the Uchiha.

For a brief moment, Sakura felt the pulsating doubt inside her mind before she turned to Ino and gave her a shaky smile.

"I don't know about being 'on time', Kakashi-sensei is not very good at that." Sakura then leaned back against the char biting her lower lip. "But I guess you are right, Sasuke-kun will show up in no time; actually, I'm more worried about Naruto."

"Naruto?" Both Ino and Kiba couldn't keep the surprised in their voices, Sakura merely nodded.

"The dumb-as-hell Naruto?" Kiba continued earning himself a glare from Sakura and Hinata.

"Yeah, and he's not that dumb," said Sakura glaring slightly at Kiba. "He didn't go with Sasuke-kun and Kakashi-sensei. Actually, I haven't seen him since after the preliminaries."

"I see," mumbled Ino, not really understanding why Sakura was so worried about Naruto. The blond boy probably chickened out, though a part of Ino knew it was impossible for Naruto to chicken out at all.

"Oh, wait," Ino said, abruptly turning to face Hinata who squealed at the intensity of Ino's glare and forceful tone. "Hinata, you must know where Naruto is, right? Have you seen him?"

"I... I..." Hinata stammered and bowed her head, hiding her red face. "N-no, I haven't seen him."

"Now that's weird," said Ino. "Well, maybe he decided to back out of the exam?"

"Humph, I don't think so." Kiba shook his head, "Naruto may be an idiot, but he is not coward. He will come, so I wouldn't worry too much."

Ino was about to reply when a loud and enthusiastic roar erupted inside the stadium. When the blond-haired girl turned around she saw Sasuke and Kakashi arriving just in time for the proctor to announce the finals were about to start.

"See? There is Sasuke-kun," shouted Ino, cheering along with the rest of the audience. Sakura sighed in relief and joined in the loud welcome. However, she couldn't shake her worries for Naruto who wasn't there yet.

Sasuke directed a really annoyed glare at his sensei who was explaining how Sasuke made him arrive too early. Genma, the proctor for this part of the exam, glowered in a resigned manner at Kakashi as well and explained to him for the ten thousandth time the importance of punctuality.

Sasuke's eyes roamed around the arena; he felt a frown form on his face. "Where is Naruto?"

Genma turned to Sasuke and sighed, "He hasn't arrived yet, obviously. I thought he was with you two."

"No, Naruto went to train with someone else," said Kakashi who was also frowning. "This is weird. He is being late, I mean."

"Humph, let's hope he didn't learn his sense of punctuality from you," Genma drawled and then turned his attention to the Kage stand where the Kazekage and the Hokage were watching.

"Well, I can't wait any longer. In fact, you two arrived just on time," said Genma. "I was about to start the first fight."

"Wait, we can't start without Naruto," said Sasuke firmly. His words were met with raised eyebrows, not only from Genma and Kakashi, but from Shikamaru and Shino as well.

"We can't wait for him any longer, the audience is getting restless," said Genma, chewing the senbon in his mouth.

"Well, then, I won't participate unless Naruto is here," Sasuke crossed his arms, eyes gleaming with determination. "I didn't come here to fight any of them; my goal is to fight him. So, it's no use for me to stay any longer."

Genma scowled at Sasuke. "Hmmph, you guys are not worth what they pay me for this crap," mumbled Genma through his teeth. "You got until his fight. We'll wait for him five minutes. If he hasn't arrived by then you can withdraw. How does that sound?"

Sasuke opened his mouth to reply when Kakashi put a hand on his shoulder and smiled at Genma, "It sounds reasonable, Genma. Thanks."

Sasuke freed himself from Kakashi and went to the balcony along with the other Genin except Temari and Shikamaru, whose fight was about to start.

"He seems quite intelligent, if a little unmotivated," Arashi was enjoying the fight greatly, while he might hold some resentment against the world that represent his brother's fall, it didn't mean he could not appreciate individuals such as the young adults fighting on the arena.

"He reminds me of somebody…" Arashi sneaked a glance at his taichou companion.

"I can completely understand the boy," Kyouraku drawled with a languid grin. "Why fight if you could be doing something else?"

Nanao rolled her eyes and decided to not make any comment about her taichou's remark. The man was not only lazy when it came to fighting but to anything resembling effort.

A few minutes later the fight had ended with a surprising turn. Even after all he had done, after all the well-laid plans, Shikamaru forfeited his chance to move on to the next round. Arashi was really shocked at the turn of events, though Kyouraku merely chuckled knowingly.

Nanao was about to say something but her words died in her mouth at the feeling of a familiar presence. A small smile appeared on her face and Kyouraku lowered his straw hat, grinning broadly.

"Yep, it seems that Naruto-Kun is finally here."

Gaara looked to the right to see the blond he had been waiting for all along. He saw the blur of the boy way up in the sky before he landed smoothly on the ground. The dust he raised was enough to cover half of the arena. People were making indignant and confused exclamations at the sudden dust storm and the loud growl that accompanied it.

Hyuuga Neji protected his eyes from the dust and took a fighting stance, startled by the sudden intrusion. He didn't have time to process what was happening when a somewhat familiar voice reached his ears.

"Uh, sorry I was so late," said the voice tinged with embarrassment. "I still am not used to this. I didn't think I was going to make such a mess."

Neji narrowed his eyes. The dust was settling and he could see through half-opened lids a blond figure in front of him.

Genma on his part was glaring at Naruto while patting down his clothes. "You're late."

"Yeah, uh, sorry. I woke up late and then I have to change my clothes because the other ones were... destroyed."

Finally, the air had cleared enough for Neji to fully open his eyes. The young Hyuuga had to suppress the gasp of surprise when he finally focused on his blond opponent.

Naruto was… different.

Naruto had a big grin on his face and was listening carefully to Genma, but he was looking at Neji at the same time.

Neji noticed that Naruto's hair was a little longer, falling on his Hitai-ate and in his eyes. His Hitai-ate was now on a black bandana, the ends slightly longer than the previous one. His outfit consisted now of black sandals with a single orange line on each side. He also wore black cargo pants with his kunai holder (a dark blue) on his right leg. Outside of his dark blue shirt, he wore a jacket resembling the ones Anbu members wore. As a final arrangement to his new outfit, the katana he usually wore on his left side was now resting on his back.

"So, should we start the fight or not?" said Naruto with a cocky smile on his face. Up in the stands Sakura sighed with relief, and where the other contestants were, Sasuke allowed himself a rare smile.

The people that had gone to the stadium to enjoy the fights were starting to get restless. Bets had already been made, sides had already been chosen and now people were just waiting impatiently for the fight to start.

Sakura, Ino, Kiba and Hinata were all frowning at the couple of Chuunin behind them. The guys had been talking for quite some time with some civilians and they had already made predictions of the outcome of the battle.

None of the Genin listening was really happy about the conversation.

"Did you see it?" said one of the Chuunin. "Stupid brat, always being a show off but with no talent whatsoever."

"And on top of that he is fighting a Hyuuga and the rookie of his year," said another. "I heard he is part of Mighty Guy's group."

"Say, you don't think Uzumaki has a possibility?" said one villager, the only one who had bet on Naruto.

Both Chuunin turned to look at each other and then directed their pitying gaze to the villager. "You do know who the brat is, don't you?

"Well, yeah… I mean, that's why I bet on him…" said the man. "With that kind of potential... "

"Sshh, you know you shouldn't say anything," said a new voice. "Anyway, I heard the blond is not only stupid but that he also lacks the talent to be a shinobi."

"Yeah, he became a Genin with sheer luck," said a Chuunin chuckling darkly. "And he got to the finals of the exam thanks to the Uchiha."

"Well, if you ask me, he just ran out of luck."

"Okay, that's enough from you!" said Ino glaring at the four surprised men. "You're talking about our friend and fellow classmate!"

"Yeah, Naruto may be an idiot but he deserves to be down there!" This time it was Sakura who shouted, spurred on by Ino's outburst.

The men blinked, surprised, and while one of them smiled sympathetically at the kids the other merely sneered in an unpleasant way.

"Fellow classmate? Friend?" said one of the Chuunin. "You really consider that a friend?"

"You are mere kids, you don't know nothing at all," said the other. "You don't know about the monster the brat can be."

Ino's eyes narrowed dangerously and Kiba was ready to give the man a piece of his mind when another voice interrupted their conversation.

"Is something the matter?" Hatake Kakashi asked the Genin while his eye focused on the others present. "Sakura?"

"They were badmouthing Naruto; I was just telling them Naruto is a good fighter and definitely not a monster."

Kakashi's eye widened fractionally and the man glared at the Chuunin who lowered their gaze, feeling slightly ashamed.

"Is that so? Well, please refrain from making those kinds of comments about my student," said Kakashi. "I don't take it lightly and I guess Hokage-sama wouldn't take it lightly either."

"Eh... s-sure, Sir."

Ino and Sakura smirked and turned their attention back to the arena. Hinata however was frowning faintly after hearing Kakashi's last comment. Why would the Hokage be interested in the conversation those men were having about Naruto-kun? Why did they call him a monster?

However, Hinata's musing was interrupted by loud explosion followed by dust lifting from the arena. The fight between Naruto and Neji had just begun.