Bonds That Bind
"And then it just disappeared! I know it was another Jinchuuriki." Naruto pleaded.
"Hmm… I have no reason to doubt you Naruto; as well as you have no reason to lie about something of this nature. Yet, the information we have on all of the registered applicants lists nothing to the degree that one of the participants could be a Jinchuuriki. Shizune!"
"Yes Tsunade-sama?"
"Have a squad of ANBU do reconnaissance on the participants for the chuunin exams. Have them thoroughly search each participant for anything strange, but don't mention anything about the Jinchuuriki possibility to them."
"Right away Tsunade-sama!" Shizune hurried out the office to contact the ANBU captain.
"Naruto, do you have any idea what part of Konoha it cam from?" asked Tsunade.
"No, I was leaving the business district when I felt it. But, it disappeared before I could get an idea of where it originated from."
"I see." Tsunade plotted her next move. 'This is a problem, I don't want to have to cancel the chuunin exams. Yet, if a Jinchuuriki could get out of control, there is a possibility of many casualties… Wait a minute, THAT'S IT!' "Naruto, your still a genin aren't you?"
"Sadly, that's another thing I wanted to talk to you about…"
"Ok, you can participate in the chuunin exams without a three-man-cell."
"Really! I can, oh thank God. I really didn't want the risk of being paired with Konohamaru and the others."
"But, you cannot win the exams."
"WHAT?!"
"Its simple Naruto, follow my instructions and you will still become a chuunin. Here's what your going to do. Go into the exams and locate the other Jinchuuriki from within the competition. With you on the inside and ANBU on the outside, we should be able to find the Jinchuuriki and monitor it successfully."
"Ok I see your point, but why can't I win the exams?"
"Because you will stand out too much, try to keep a low profile during the whole thing. It will be the standard test, then forest, then elimination fights. During the test I want to you focus on finding the other Jinchuuriki and then I need you to trail him/her for the remainder of the exams. You still need to complete the exam's challenges so as to not raise suspicion towards you, but your main objective is to monitor the other Jinchuuriki."
"Ok, but what happens if the Jinchuuriki starts to lose itself and the demon comes out?"
"Then I need you to contact ANBU, report the situation, and then restrain the demon. Jiraiya made these seals for you during you training I believe. If and when the time arises I need you to place a seal on the Jinchuuriki and reseal the demon."
"Ok, leave it to me Baachan!" Naruto flashed his grin and was about to leave.
"One more thing Naruto…"
"Huh, what is it?"
"Don't tell anyone about the situation. Think of it as a secret mission." Tsunade smiled in a devious way.
"Really! A secret mission. Oh this is so cool! What grade mission is it Baachan? Is it an 'A'?"
"Uh… sure."
"Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet! My own 'A' ranked mission! Later Baachan!" and Naruto jumped out the Hokage's window. His mind set on the task laid before him. That and Ichiraku.
Two Days Later
"Good luck Naruto!" Sakura yelled.
"Hah, I don't need luck Sakura-chan, this will be a piece of cake." Naruto flashed his toothy grin.
"D-do your b-b-best Naruto-k-kun."
"Huh? Oh hey Hinata!." Hinata appeared from behind a wooden fence and started to walk towards the blonde shinobi in front of the crowded exam area. In her hands she held a small wooden box.
'I can do this, its just a gift. To the man whom I envy with every bone in my body. Oh my gosh what am I doing? He's going to think I'm weird. What if he rejects it? He'll probably think it's a stupid gift. No! I can do this. I'm the heir of the Hyuuga for crying out loud. Just keep walking, c'mon I can do it. Don't look down, keep your eyes on him. I can do it. I can do it.' "I can do it!"
"Do what Hinata?"
"O-oh uh… H-here. F-f" 'Damnit, don't stutter. C'mon. C'mon. C'mon. There is no reason for this.' "For Luck!" 'Yes! I did it!'
"Oh, thanks. Hehe I love gifts." Naruto opens the wooden box to reveal a silver ring that was tinted dark blue. On it was a dove, as if it were flying out of the ring itself. "Hinata, its beautiful."
"It w-was one of m-my mother's pieces of jewel-ry be-before she passed away. It will bring you luck and help you become a chuunin."
"Hinata, I can't accept this. It's too precious to you."
"Jus-s-t think o-o-of it as a-a loan then, y-you can return it a-a-after y-you become a ch-chuunin." With that Hinata gave a soft smile and blushed. Naruto happily returned it with a smile of his own, but not his normal 'fake smile'. It was a real one, one that really showed how grateful he was to have friends that cared for him.
"All right I'm off to become a chuunin!"
Naruto walked away from the two kunoichi that had bid him farewell. He entered the complex and went passed the crowd waiting in front of the examination room's door. 'Too bad they can't tell that it's a genjutsu. Man, it's kind of boring to know what will happen'. He reached the real entrance and saw the multitude of foreign shinobi. Many were staring at his orange and black uniform. Others didn't wish to didn't even wish to grace him with a quick glance. He felt alone. Misplaced amongst a small genin army. 'I've got to stay focused, I'm not here to become a chuunin… well, I kind of am. But I have a mission, I need to start searching.'
Naruto walked around the entrance room, but found no signs of the Jinchuuriki's chakra.
"All right, everyone come into this classroom. We're going to have a little test."
"How troublesome." Naruto laughed to himself at his Shikamaru impersonation.
The genin crowd advanced into the classroom and sat in their seats. On either side of the classroom were chuunin guards sitting with clipboards waiting to catch a cheater. An instructor came out and started addressing everyone. "Hello everyone, welcome to the first part of the chuunin exams…" Naruto stopped listening after that, he had been through it all before. 'Cheat. I already thought ahead this time… right buddy?' He looked at his shoulder to find a small tick. He started scoping out the room for a smart looking shinobi. 'Bingo!' He set his eyes on a ninja from the hidden mist. "Ok, go take a look." Naruto whispered to the bug on his shoulder who then promptly jumped off and made his way for the designated target.
When the tick made it to the mist nin's test paper, he had already completed it. 'Nice.' Naruto congratulated himself. The tick studied the paper and then was released. 'Wow, using a kage bunshin and having him henge really works well for reconnaissance.' Naruto filled in the questions and sat patiently.
The bad cheaters were caught, the smart shinobi and the good cheaters moved on to the next round. 'Damnit, I still haven't found that other Jinchuuriki. I have to really play catch-up in the forest of death.' Naruto was lost in his thoughts as he walked into another person. "Oh, sorry. I wasn't paying attention."
"Oh, no that's ok. It happens to me quite frequently really." Naruto looked to see where the soft voice had come from. In front of him was a girl with long dark red hair. She wore the symbol of Kumogakure and had on a plain black top with a black skirt.
"Hi, I'm Yugito, Yugito Nii. Nice to meet you." She said with a smile.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you too." He returned her smile with his big grin.
"Where are your teammates Naruto? Are you alone?"
"What, oh no, no. They're off over at the… the… the bathroom. Yea."
"Oh ok, so…" Suddenly a voice over a loudspeaker cut her off. "All competitors please come forth to the gate."
"Well it was nice meeting you Yugito, good luck in the competition."
"You to!"
Naruto ran off in the direction of the loud speaker. 'There is something about her, but I can't place my finger on it. I'll track her team until I find another candidate.'