NARUTO

Nox Noctis Ingredior

Moving Shadows

Inside the Tower…

"HELLO! IS ANYONE HERE?" Sakura called out as her and her teammates wandered the empty corridors. The tower was a maze in itself; with every turn they took leading them down more pipe-lined, smelly, cobwebbed filled hallways into some random room with basically nothing in it or to a dead end, which at least had a window in to illustrate where the heck they were. The number of cameras in the facility wasn't missed by Team 7, but they were more focused on trying to find someone and ask them for directions, leading them in search for a ghost.

"M-Maybe we're early," Hinata suggested.

"That's a first," Sakura grumbled, looking about the place.

When the group wandered around what they took was the third floor, they eventually came across a room filled with pipes feeding steam and power throughout the entire structure, with a web of open staircases and walkways strung up all over the place. The fact that there was little lighting and the way the place was all jumbled up had the three teammates question the architecture to this entire building.

"Geez… who designed this place… M.C Escher?" Naruto asked himself, looking around and scratching his head.

"This kind of reminds me of one of those gerbil mazes where you make them run around through the tubes," Sakura commented, looking around. The group turned around and headed back down to the second floor.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we found a skeleton in this place," Naruto grumbled, looking left and right as they passed intersecting corridors. "It looks like nobody has been here in years…"

"They must not use it that often," Hinata said, looking into a room as they passed it by. "The C-Chunin Exams are only held once or twice a year in Konohagakure…"

"I knew that Ibiki was full of himself," Sakura sighed, shaking her head. "Not be able to take the Exams again my ass… at the rate we're dishing out Chunin, we can take it as many times as we want."

Marching downstairs, Naruto and his passenger still snoozing on his back, Sakura and Hinata, found themselves in a bit of a pickle. They were sort of lost.

"Where the heck are we?" Sakura asked, looking around.

"Somewhere between 'lost' and 'dead'," Naruto suggested. He looked down a corridor and saw a door on the other end, an EXIT sign blaring fiercely. "Oh thank Kami. I need some fresh air…" He headed towards the exit, his teammates following him. When they got to it, the blonde attempted to open it, finding out that it was barred shut. A sweat drop formed on his head in his failed attempts, with Sakura and Hinata watching curiously from behind. "Okay… remain calm…" He balled his fist and slammed it into the glass. There was a loud 'wham' on impact, but the numbness to follow had Naruto stagger back. "Ow-ow-ow-ow-ow!" He bit his bruised knuckles and glared fiercely at the door. "Okay, let's take this up a notch!" Drawing a kunai, he slammed it repeatedly against the glass, only for the tip of the blade to go blunt after the first twenty hits. "Damn it! What is this? Shatter proof? That stuff's not cheap!"

"They installed shatter proof glass into the exit doors? How stupid are the designers of this place?" Sakura asked, attempting to open the door herself, but found that she was unsuccessful as well. "What were they thinking? That the spiders were suddenly going to get up and leave out of boredom?"

Naruto gave up on it and turned back, noticing the camera watching the exit door. He knew that if any ANBU were watching them at the moment, they were probably laughing their asses off, so he flipped them off to give them the message of how frustrated he was at the moment. Eventually the three of them moved on in an attempt to find their way out.

They made their way to the first floor, and if luck were on their side today, they found the Sand Siblings also wandering the place. When the two teams spotted each other they approached one another, with Gaara, Kankuro and Temari relatively pleased to see Naruto here. They were unfamiliar with his company though, but made an effort to greet each other politely as friends.

"So you three made it!" Naruto exclaimed, grinning. "That's no surprise; I knew you'd rock it…"

"It wasn't as big a deal as the proctors made it out to be, we walked most of it," Kankuro said, rubbing his shoulder. "Although, the amount of plant life in this Forest is ridiculous…"

"Like on the way here we almost got eaten by a Giant Venus flytrap," Temari said, dusting off her arms and getting rid of some twigs and leaves that had gotten attached to her. "It was pretty persistent."

"It left us alone in the end when we kept getting away from it," Gaara said, looking at the three of them. "How long did it take you to get through?"

Sakura looked down at her wrist, but forgot she didn't have a watch. Instead, she decided to estimate. "We finished in just over an hour. It may have mostly been due to a lot of luck though; we didn't run into anything dangerous this time around…"

"Aside from meeting Naruto's Dark half again… it was… a very fun test," Hinata light heartedly said. Kankuro looked at her oddly.

"Naruto's Dark half?" Kankuro repeated.

"Putting a pin in that conversation for another time," Naruto hurriedly continued. "Do you guys know what's happening? We've been wandering around here for over an hour. I swear this tower is a conceptual nightmare."

Temari giggled at him, pointing at his shoulder. Kankuro also noticed what his big sister was looking at and snickered as well, with Gaara just smiling a small smile on the side.

"What?"

"That girl you're carrying is drooling on you…"

Naruto groaned and glanced over, finding Kin was nuzzling his shoulder affectionately. As a result, she began chewing on the fabric of his coat. Sakura laughed while Hinata giggled on the side, the blonde finding himself now uncomfortably at the wrath of the sleeping girl.

"Never mind her, she's probably dreaming," Naruto said. He then looked around.

"Let's find a cafeteria or something and sit down. Perhaps we can get something to eat around here…" Sakura suggested. The Sand Siblings agreed, and together, the six of them went off in search of a place to sit and talk. They did eventually find a lunch room half an hour later, and deposited themselves around the place, switching on the lights.

While Gaara sat at the table with his older sister, Naruto went and laid Kin down on the couch, covering her with his trench coat, revealing his fishnet top underneath and assorted weapons strapped to his arms and slung on bandoleers. Making sure she was comfortable, he then joined Gaara and Temari, while Kankuro looked around for something to eat with Sakura and Hinata.

"Hey, is that coffee? Sweet, are there any donuts?" Kankuro exclaimed, looking over the machine and slapping its side. "Black, two sugars… where's the button…" A 'beep' followed, signaling he had found it, and soon enough steaming hot caffeine filled his cup. In the meantime, Hinata was raiding the fridge, finding cups of ramen and microwave food stuffed inside. She took her pick, and decided to make everybody toasted pizza instead. On the other side, Sakura was browsing vending machines, but made a rather unpleasant discovery.

"What's that noise?" Sakura asked, hearing scratching against the glass. She looked towards the machine that sold chips, and backed away when she saw a wall of cockroaches scurrying about inside the vending machine at the bottom. "Ugh? That makes me not even want to loot the machine now…" She moved to the other machine next to it, and found it to be clean. Double checking, she smiled and reached into her pocket. "Hmm… I think I'll have some Doritos. Lets see if I got some change… twenty-five…fifty…sixty…"

Naruto smiled as his teammates made themselves dinner, before looking back at Gaara and Temari, the two of them looking at him curiously. The blonde blinked and shook himself in a waking up fashion.

"Huh? What are you guys looking at? Is it something on my face?" Naruto asked, reaching up and touching his nose and cheeks. "Is it something not on my face?"

"You've changed a lot since we last saw you, Naruto," Temari exclaimed, smiling brightly and propping her head on her hand in admiration. "You're no longer that little brat me and Kankuro used to tease on occasion… you've grown up a lot. I was… pleasantly surprised…"

"Hey, so have you! It's been over four years, we can't help it," Naruto said, leaning back in his seat and putting his hands behind his head, relaxing. "I barely even recognized the three of you when I spotted you back in the classroom where we had the written exam."

"It took me some time to recall who you were when you called out my name," Gaara said, looking the blonde in the eyes as his equal. "After four years, we have become but strangers to each other… for only a moment…"

"There have been a lot of things that have happened to me… lots of changes and lots of events…" Naruto said, raising an eyebrow. "I'm sure you guys have had your share of troubles and changes in your lives…"

"We got around, that's for sure," Temari smiled, before looking over at Gaara. "After you left, things started looking up for all of us. Gaara made a couple more friends; we helped him out a lot with his studies and played around with him a bit more as well. We've never been closer as a family… although our father still treats us as inconveniences…"

"All of you?" Naruto asked. "I knew the Kazekage was a bit of a jerk, especially towards Gaara, but I never knew to all of you guys…"

"He was incredibly disciplined with us, and believed that Gaara was just a weapon for the village to use. He even tried to make him into one too," Temari said with a frown on her face and her brow furrowing, "Isolating him, subjugating him to grueling training sessions, and even sending assassins after Gaara, trying to change him into a mindless killing machine. But he stuck it through." She patted her younger brother on the shoulder, who just continued to stare at Naruto, who smiled at his friend in encouragement.

"I never really had a dad who was like that or… really… a dad for that matter," Naruto commented. "But I guess I can understand where you're coming from. My life is just a step off of yours…"

Gaara nodded. "You've been hated, you've ran… us jinchuriki all go through that stage…" the Sand user stated, looking around. "You're the one who made me realize this, and I was able to move on. I made some friends and both my siblings look after me well. You also have a family of your own… a family of friends…"

Naruto grinned, reaching up and removing his straw hat and propping it on the table. "Yeah! And I'm so glad I do…"

Gaara smiled back, and looked over at Temari, who was smiling in a very friendly manner towards the blonde. Blinking, the red haired boy turned towards his friend and smiled a small-smile of his own.

"I believe my sister… also has something she wants to say to you…"

"Really?"

"Is it about her desperately wanting to see him for more then a year, because she really likes him, since he was the first boy to ever give her a flower as a present?" Kankuro asked, holding his half drunk of steaming hot coffee in his right hand. Temari's face reddened immediately and, not wanting her older brother to spill the beans, took off her sandal and threw it at him. The puppet wielder dodged it, grinning. "Ha! Missed!" WHACK! He didn't count the second one to be thrown in such rapid succession. "Gah! Dammit! Who throws a shoe?"

"Shut up!" Temari shouted, before sitting back down. When she looked back up at the blonde across from her, still red faced, she was lucky that he was clueless.

It must have been from his mother's side.

"It can wait," Temari said, smirking at the blonde, who just shrugged back.

"It's fine. However…I do have a question for you… in regards to what you wanted to say to me, back in the classroom," Naruto said, his smile turning to a serious frown. "The way you acted, you were really concerned for my sake and the sake of this village…"

Temari and Gaara looked at each other, and then looked back.

"Before we do tell you, can you promise us that we won't get in trouble for it?" Temari asked now a little bit more nervous then usual. The whisker-marked boy nodded in response and thumped his chest, giving them the thumbs up.

"Don't you worry; I've got quite a bit of a pull with the Third Hokage. He doesn't know this yet, but he's got a ton of favors he owes me," Naruto stated. Temari looked somewhat more relieved at hearing this, whereas Gaara's expression seemed like he treated it with indifference. As curious as the pair were with Naruto's connection to the higher-ups, they instead went on to the issue at hand.

"You know the Village Hidden in the Sound right, as well as the recent events of Konohagakure's ties with Sunagakure steadily becoming weaker due to the new tax laws and embargoes placed on Suna by Konoha?" Temari asked, with Naruto nodding in response. "Well, the Village Hidden in the Sound has convinced Suna into taking up arms against Konoha, with both the Hidden Villages planning to attack the village… during the exam…"

Not the most lightly taken of conversations to follow up after a tense time wandering the Forest of Death. Frankly, Naruto found the Forest to be a walk through a flower field compared to what he was told by Temari and Gaara about the planned invasion of Konoha. He was given the full insight into the plans as far as they knew, from the forces involved, numbers, strength and method. The plan was simple, but involved very precarious steps, the first one being to put the entire village or as much of it as possible to sleep so that the invading forces could storm and conquer with little resistance, and then isolate the Third Hokage from the rest so that the leaders of both Sound and Suna could dispatch with him, essentially cutting off the head of Konohagakure. They would also use the power of Gaara's One-Tailed demon Shukaku to wreck havoc on the village by having him transform right in the middle of it. Apparently, Gaara was the trump card of the invasion, and Naruto was rather pissed at this.

"I can't believe this," Naruto grumbled, folding his arms, "Using you as the main weapon, now that's low. The jinchuriki of the Hidden Villages are meant to protect their home and their people, and not be used to target other villages. That's genocide on a whole new level…"

"Apparently, there are other things going on in the shadows, however… we don't really know what these other things are," Temari said, interlocking her fingers. "My siblings and I are forced to take part in this invasion because our father sees us as some of the best amongst our village's forces. But…it's the Hidden Sound that's contributing most of its forces to this attack, and the one with the most things going on. Needless to say, I think they're hiding something…"

"What about Kirigakure?" Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow. Gaara and Temari looked at him a bit in surprise at the mention of that Hidden Village, wondering where he was going with this. "I believe we all noticed the three shinobi that suddenly showed up right before the written exam started and made such a frightening first impression. What do they have to do with this invasion?"

"Kirigakure is in no way involved in this invasion," Temari said, earning a rather nerve-rattled look from Naruto and a confused look from herself. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know. It just seems that… those particular three have their own agenda going on. They seem stronger then any of the other Genin, especially you three… not to mention they, like the Sound Genin, are the only three from their village to be participating…"

"Now that you mention it," Gaara murmured, looking over at Kin lying on the couch across the room. "Those three Sound shinobi are the only Genin from the Village Hidden in the Sound to actually participate in the exams. That is quite perplexing…"

Naruto looked over at Kin, who had rolled over in her sleep, hugging the mattress. Ignoring the fact that she was very clingy when she slept, the blonde instead focused on the possibility that perhaps the Kiri Nin and the Sound Nin were connected some now. If not, then if Sound knew anything about the secret missions in the shadows occurring around him, then she must have some knowledge about it. He rose from his chair.

"I'll talk to her… see if I can get some more information," Naruto said.

Temari blinked up at him, seeing the serious look on his face. "Really? I mean… I know you're good at making deals and you always keep your word but… I don't think you're that good of an interrogator…"

"I'm no Ibiki, but I have my moments," Naruto said. He cracked his neck from side to side, stretching out his fishnet top, and then stretched his fingers out. Licking his lips, he cleared his tongue, in preparation for what was to come. "Wish me luck…"

He marched on over, pulling up a chair and sitting down right next to her. Gaara and Temari watched on curiously, while Kankuro was deeply engrossed in a conversation with Sakura and Hinata, all three of them eating microwave pizza and drinking coffee, with the exception of Sakura, who was still on her first bag of Doritos.

"…so I stuck it out on a triple twist, but overshot it on the aerobes," Kankuro exclaimed, chuckling in embarrassment. "Training with Gaara really isn't a pleasant experience… it pushes me outside of my comfort zone…"

Sakura nodded, while Hinata munched on a piece of pizza, both of them listening intently to his stories. It was when Sakura was reaching in for another bite she looked down at the chip for a moment, hesitating.

"Wait. What am I doing? These chips were in that vending machine like… forever… oh man," Sakura groaned, scrunching up the still full bag and throwing it at the bin, scoring a perfect ring. "I feel strange. I don't trust these Doritos… I think I've got bad nachos…"

"Oh come on, they can't be that bad," Kankuro exclaimed, before gesturing down at the pizza on the cafeteria desk. "Food like this outlasts everything. They're perfect in fields like carbonization and war time, and can keep for months… maybe even years. Like this pizza for insta…" He looked over the pizza again, finding something out of place. "I think one of my mushrooms just crawled away…"

Back to Naruto, the blonde was watching Kin as she slept, knowing that his presence at this proximity, she would eventually wake up. The girl did stir, and opening her eyes and looking in his direction, her awareness and instincts suddenly kicked in. Startled by the face that had attacked her team, the girl cried out and attempted to jab him with a well-placed senbon, only for Naruto to grab her wrist in response and hold firm. The girl struggled momentarily, but then stopped when she saw that it was the blonde that had saved her and not the one that had torn her team to shreds.

"O-Oh… it's you…" Kin said. With her wrist being held firmly in his grip, you'd think she'd be more inclined to break free. But instead, remembering what he had done previously and how close he was to her right now, she instead blushed a brilliant shade of red and looked away. "S-Sorry…"

Naruto released her hand, and let her put away her weapons, before both of them were able to fully relax. As Kin sat up, looking down at the trench coat that covered her, the blonde opened up with a question.

"How are you feeling?"

"F-Fine… I guess," she replied, disheartened.

"I'm sorry about your teammates. They fought valiantly… in spite of the fact that their opponent was far above their league," Naruto whispered, closing his eyes and bowing his head a little. "It was my fault…"

"No… it wasn't," Kin replied, looking up at him to see his eyes re-fix with her own. "My teammates wanted to fight, so they jumped in. I…I didn't because… well… I…"

"You were scared?" Naruto asked. The girl nodded her head, wrapping her arms up.

"I… I didn't know how to describe it," she said, looking down at her hands, seeing them tremble a bit. "Even before we entered the forest, it felt like… I was… sensing something so incredibly powerful and bloodthirsty… I knew that the moment we stepped beyond those gates… it would be the end of all of us. I just didn't know what to expect…"

"The phantom produced a resonance frequency with its chakra that only a certain few can pick up, mainly because they aren't directly affected by its technique," Naruto stated. "This is due to its ability to suck dark thoughts and hatred from its victims. Your teammates didn't feel it because they were directly channeling the manifestation's energy, while you were just getting a splash back. You may have a strong spirit, but you lack hatred… which is its primary fuel, explaining why you were affected. My teammates and I felt the same thing you did too… because we weren't feeding it anything." Kin looked up at him, surprised and fearful of his knowledge. The boy smiled at her. "A lot of people don't admit it, but in reality, their greatest fears are, not the dark or the creatures of the night… what we fear the most is nothing. We fear nothing the most, because we don't want to lose what is closest to us. The means to be empty, devoid of everything, and to lose everything we hold dear that makes us who we are. The lack of friends, the lack of a family, the lack of anything of material value or matter, is what people fear the most. That's what good people, who weren't directly feeding it, feel when they stand close to the phantom; because its hand could swiftly take away anything you held dear to you… such as… your life. But you don't need to worry about that now, because he's moved on."

Kin tilted her head at him, intrigued by what he had said. The blonde sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"There I go again… ranting on and on… must have picked that up from my dad," he sighed, scratching his cheek. "He was always so perceptive and detail oriented…"

"You're not a normal ninja, are you?" Kin asked with a smile, feeling a bit better now, after what he had told her. "I saw you during the written exam. You were loud and obnoxious… but then you come out with a smart side… which I find curious…"

"You should have seen my test sheet, I covered it in profanity. Heh…well… you can say I'm made from exact opposites," Naruto said, referring to his parents. "This is what you get when you cross a smart, good-looking, powerful guy with a loud, beautiful, obnoxious girl…" He gestured to himself. "I'm the whole package!"

Kin giggled. "Well, they did a fine job putting you together…" She blushed even more at that thought. And if her face wasn't red enough already, it got even redder…

"Well, your parents certainly did an excellent job with you," Naruto exclaimed, poking her in the middle of her forehead protector. Kin blushed and rubbed her cheek in a bashful manner, now starting too really, really like the words coming out of this boy's mouth. It was then, the blonde decided to change the subject, moving on from poking fun and comments at each other. "As much as I love to get to know you more… there are some things I need to ask you…"

Kin looked at him, noticing the seriousness on his face, prompting her to develop a curious expression in kind. The blonde gestured to her headband.

"I need to know more… about the upcoming invasion of Konohagakure…"

The following five days…

Team 7 and the Sand Siblings enjoyed four days of reprieve from the hectic events of the exams. In the time between the day they arrived at the tower and the day of the next stage of the exams, they were able to talk, rest, sleep, eat and whatever. Although... eating was sort of put off when they found out that Kankuro, Sakura and Hinata suffered diarrhea following their pizza night, and spent the next day afterwards in the respective bathrooms provided. After which, Naruto chose to focus his time with Kin, Temari and Gaara, taking the girls aside to share some quality time with them individually, while also going for a stroll around the tower with Gaara to catch up with his oldest of friends.

Team 8 had joined them on the same day a little bit later, having run into the same Venus flytrap problem and had to wrestle both Kiba and Akamaru out of its jaws. They slept for the entire first day here, and waited, not only for the other candidates to show up, but also for the five days to end. The Kiri Ninja followed them soon after, but segregated themselves from the rest of the Genin.

The first three teams that were already at the tower eventually found out what was up with the scrolls. They unfurled them to find out that they were actually summoning seals that immediately called a Chunin or Jonin out to discuss with the teams about the next stages of the exam, or to fail them if they were opened too early. Team 7 had Iruka, Team 8 had Asuma, and the Sand Siblings had… unfortunately for them, Gai. It was a rather amusing meeting, but once everything was cleared up, they were led to rooms the teams would spend in for the rest of their stay.

"I'm surprised you guys didn't open the scrolls sooner," Iruka exclaimed, watching as Team 7 slumped down onto beds and couches. However, Sakura and Hinata immediately ran into the bathrooms to throw up, leaving only Naruto and Kin. "From what I heard from the monitor room, you three made it here first place; one-hour and eleven minutes. Now that is impressive! You broke the old record by several hours."

"It was just luck," Naruto replied, sitting himself down on the bed, with Kin immediately slumping over in the heavenly covers. "I'm actually surprised at the amount of Amegakure shinobi that were tormented in those woods. I wonder if the bunch we tied up is still hanging in the tree we left them in." The blonde rubbed his chin in thought, earning a small smile from Iruka.

"You and your team have really come along since the academy, eh Naruto?" his old teacher asked. "You've grown a lot, Sakura has gotten much stronger, and Hinata has developed so much confidence. Your group is even setting records and completing missions no Chunin or Jonin has ever come close to achieving in their lifetime. Anko is really teaching you three well."

"Damn right she is," Naruto replied, taking off his sandals and lying back on the bed. "I wonder what she is doing right now…?"

"Probably watching you in your sleep," Iruka chuckled, gesturing towards the camera in the top far corner of their room. "Don't get too comfortable. The next stage of the exams will start in the next five days, so stay on your toes."

"Will do…" The blonde was about to relax, when retching from the bathroom reminded him of his teammates' predicament, forcing the male Genin out of the bed and trotting off to see if he could help. "But first… errands!" He enthusiastically disappeared into the bathroom and got around to providing aid for his two girlfriends.

Iruka shook his head at the blonde and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

"Some things have changed… some things haven't…"

Day Three…

The Forest of Death…

"You never told me about the three Sound Ninja participating in this Exam, Lord Orochimaru," Kabuto said, pacing up and down the large branch as his master leant against the trunk nearby. "I was surprised when I saw them in the crowd. They seemed pretty capable…"

The other two masked Genin accompanying the four-eyed medic ninja stood on separate branches on separate trees, surveying the area and staying away from the conversation. They were an intimidating presence, but not as much of an intimidating presence as Orochimaru himself, standing in the shadows with his arms folded.

"Ultimately, they were failures meant to test the Uchiha…" Orochimaru hissed with a wide grin a constant on his face. "My mission here to the Forest was a failure, due to a rather unfortunate… 'Run in'…"

"So you told me," Kabuto replied, stopping just before the shadows and staring at the Snake Sannin seriously. "You wrote your Genin Team their death warrant when you pointed the phantom in their direction."

"He would have killed me if I hadn't. You know more then anybody else where I place my value on certain items, Kabuto. My lives are more valuable then my subordinates. Those Genin were just expendable assets… pawns on a chessboard… failed experiments," Orochimaru whispered. Kabuto smirked.

"What do you plan to do now then, Lord Orochimaru? With your failures out of the way and the Uchiha now making it on to the Third Part of the Chunin Exams… do you have a backup plan as to getting at your prize?" Kabuto asked. The Snake Sannin grinned even more, his teeth shining through the shadows as brightly as his eyes and facial markings.

"I now have… something else in mind," Orochimaru whispered, unfolding his arms and stepping forward, approaching his student. "Kabuto, I have a new mission for you. Your scouting of the Hidden Leaf Village and the exams so far has bared some rather… promising fruits with… surprising results, has it not?"

"I've gotten a lot of information on the candidates with the most potential… yes," Kabuto said, raising one of the many chakra cards he carried with him and looked down at it. "Sasuke Uchiha, Subaku no Gaara, Rock Lee, Sakura Haruno, Hinata and Neji Hyuuga… and even Naruto Uzumaki… these have been the candidates to show the most potential above all the others."

"Well… I don't need them specifically…" Orochimaru said, grinning. "I just need some DNA samples… of all of them. Once you infiltrate the Third Part of the Exam, I want you to acquire a DNA sample of every single one of the Genins to have passed this part of exam successfully. I may have some use for them in the future…"

"My Lord…?"

"Just do it," Orochimaru replied, turning away and glaring out across the Forest. "For your sake… you'd better succeed… otherwise…"

The Snake Sannin grinned.

"I will have to kill you myself…"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Author's Note:

Harem stats update (canon characters): Sakura, Hinata, Ino (I just don't know yet...), Isaribi, Temari, Kin, Tenten, Kasumi (I can't stress this enough, for the millionth time, she is Princess Kasumi from Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Heroes 2: Phantom Fortress)... and more to come.

Other OC characters in the Harem: Ryoko (The series has yet to evaluate the other original Seven Ninja Swordsmen members so I am not sure whether to classify her as OC or not), Mia (a.k.a the Sage of Six Paths, hey, once again, not sure if she is OC or not. Even so, both the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and the real Six Paths of Pain are canon, I've just twisted it so big whoop).

Also, please no more reviews on my spelling mistakes and grammer and stuff, I'm aware of that already, and I don't really like double checking my work. Who does anyway? (I'm amateur, not professional. That's a long way down the road). Oh yes, and Zangetsu, I know the damn difference already, I used the name for more of a illustrative point, to better describe what Ryoko's sword actually looks like or resembles (obviously resembles Ichigo's sword from Bleach).

Anyway, reviews on the story's progress is much appreciated. Thanks for reading, and the next chapter will be uploaded soon.