Disclaimer: Ya'll know what this is dem for. So I'zas don't claim nuttin…
Chapter 12 – Prelims conclude and training…
"Akimichi Choji and Ami from Kumogakure, will you both please come down?" Genma asked.
Choji and a lithe blue haired female came down to the arena.
"You may begin," Genma declared, and then jumped back out of the way.
Choji and Ami both ran through hand seals, as Choji finished first he said, "Multi-size Jutsu."
Choji's body expanded to the size of a large ball, while his limbs and head entered the ball. It started to move forward, and collided with Ami just, as she completed her jutsu, raised her hands and said, "Static charge jutsu!"
There was cloud of smoke when Choji hit her hands. When the smoke cleared Choji was lying on top of Ami, both were not moving. Genma approached and inspected both, as they both groaned. "As both combatants are unable to continue, it is declared a draw. Medics please take care of them," he said, as the board scrolled through the remaining names.
The next names to appear were Nara Shikamaru and Abumi Zaku. "Will the next two combatants please come down?" Genma asked, as both headed down.
Shikamaru complained under his breath, as he walked down the stairs. "Why do I have to go through all of this? All I really wanted was to be an average shinobi, with an average life, settle down with a nice wife and have two kids, one boy and a one girl," he said quietly.
"You will die at my hands Konoha scum!" Zaku proclaimed.
Shikamaru tilted his head and glared at Zaku. "Why do you have to be so loud, you're as bad as Kiba or Naruto," he said in an annoyed droll.
"I'll kill you, and then get even with the guy who did this to my arms," Zaku exclaimed.
"How are you going to fight with both your arms in slings? And I see you haven't taken off your sandals, so I can't expect an attack from your feet. Or are you going to yak me to death? Ino is worse than you any day, so I think that I will be able to survive your vicious attack of words," Shikamaru explained, as several in the audience began to laugh.
'You're thinking of something aren't you Shika?' Naruto thought, since he was watching carefully.
"What is it Naruto-kun?" Haku asked.
"He's up to something, and that Zaku guy isn't as hurt, as he appears," Naruto said confidently.
"Right loser, I broke his arms and can do the same thing to you," Sasuke said in an arrogant tone.
"Did you hear something?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.
Kakashi looked up from his book and said, "You're getting better Naruto."
"This coming from the guy who let his student break all the rules," Naruto retorted.
"That is true, those who break the rules are scum, but those who abandon a comrade are worse than scum," Kakashi said.
"So abandoning me to bleed out all over the training field shows that you're just at the scum level, how?" Naruto asked, as Shikamaru jumped to his right to miss being hit by a wind jutsu coming from Zaku's not so injured right arm.
"I had to defend my student before I could help you, Hinata there was quite determined to kill Sasuke," Kakashi explained.
"And when the ANBU came you left me to their tender mercy… worse than scum…" Naruto retorted angrily.
Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and returned to reading, as Sasuke smirked. "At least you got your sword back," Kakashi said in an unworried tone.
"I have you now!" Zaku yelled, as he pulled his other arm out of its sling. He then pointed it at Shikamaru who just smirked.
"Shadow possession jutsu success…" Shikamaru said, as Naruto smirked.
"Now what are you going to do Shika if he actually attacks you?" Naruto asked to no one in particular.
"Slicing Air blast!" Zaku yelled, as he grinned from ear to ear, but he didn't notice Shikamaru imitating his stance and position with outstretched arms.
"This isn't good," Shikamaru exclaimed, as he pushed his outstretched arms down towards his legs.
Zaku's eyes went wide, as he realized that his opponent now had control of his arms and now his tubes were pointed right at his own legs. He had already started the jutsu and could only lessen the damage he was going to receive. The winds hit his legs and blew holes into his flesh. He felt the layers of skin being ripped off of his legs, as he attempted to release the jutsu. He screamed in pain, as Shikamaru released his own jutsu letting Zaku fall to the floor writhing in pain.
"Since Zaku is no longer able to battle Shikamaru is the winner," Genma said, as he motioned for the medics to gather Zaku and administer aid.
Shikamaru put his hands in his pockets and walked back up the stairs. He stopped next to Naruto and asked, "So how did I do?"
"You had him really going for a little bit there, but I knew you had him the whole time. No one's, as smart as you," Naruto said happily.
"Thanks for the confidence, Naruto," Shikamaru replied. He then looked down at the arena and continued, "Bet you the girl from Sound loses to the girl from Waterfall."
"Nope, won't take that bet, as I noticed she had a senbon with a bell on it. She is a genjutsu type and the girl from Waterfall is a water user. Too bad for her," Naruto said, as he pointed to the six water skins on the female from Waterfall.
Kin tried to throw her senbon only to have it captured in a wall of water and then sent back at her quickly by Takiko. Kin was pinned to the wall and passed out from nearly drowning, Naruto noticed Sasuke watching with his Sharingan active. Naruto shook his head at this. 'Guess he wants to steal it all,' he thought to himself.
The next match was between Dosu, the last of the Sound genin, and a Kiri shinobi named Kimiko. Those that watched the fight were impressed that the Kiri shinobi could summon so much water from the air, but it ended when Dosu used his 'Melody Arm' to disorient Kimiko and defeat her quickly.
The next match was an interesting matchup between Gaara of the dessert and an Iwa shinobi named Takashi. The match started with Gaara's sand defended against Takashi's rock storm attack, which would pull stones from the floor and send them at an opponent. Takashi then used an 'Earth clone' to help him with his attacks. This helped to a degree, as he was strong physically and could punch through the sand barrier. Gaara had finally gotten angry and surrounded Takashi with sand. "Sand Coffin," he exclaimed, as the sand fully enveloped Takashi. Several people watched in awe, as Gaara's next words were said, "Rain of blood." The sand suddenly compacted, but Gaara's grin turned into a frown, as there was no blood squirting out of the sand.
"What happened? There is always some blood when he does that," Kankuro said in a surprised tone.
Suddenly Gaara was pulled down to the point where only his head was above the ground. "Earth Style: Inner decapitation," Takashi exclaimed, as he slowly rose from the ground. He then threw a kunai near Gaara. "Surrender and I won't kill you."
Gaara smile became maniacal. The Kunai began to spark and then exploded. Gaara wore a surprised look on his face, but then his face lost color and turned to sand. Sand suddenly surrounded Takashi's right arm and Gaara said, "Sand Burial."
The sand began to contract only to hit a barrier. "It won't work Gaara, I have stone armor. I figured you would eventually get a hold of me and I didn't want to be injured too severely. Proctor, I give up," Takashi said in an even tone.
"The winner is Gaara," Genma said, as Takashi tried to extract his arm from the sand.
"Let go of me already! You won!" Takashi exclaimed.
"The match is over Gaara, you must let him go," Genma ordered.
"Mother wants your blood," Gaara said threateningly, as Baki appeared next to Gaara. Gaara looked at him and he shook his head. He then felt an incredible amount of killing intent coming from the balcony. He looked up and saw something that actually frightened him, the boy Uzumaki Naruto wore a grim visage. The thing that scared him was that Shikaku was suddenly silent and Naruto's eyes were red with slits for pupils. The sand receded and went back into the gourd on his back. Baki and Gaara disappeared in a swirl of sand.
The next match was certainly a mismatch with Temari of the Dessert versus Kosui of Kiri. Temari would just continue to throw wind jutsu at Kosui, until she finally gave up. After that was the match between Tsurugi Misumi of Konoha and Fugu from Kiri. The funny part at least in Naruto's opinion was that Misumi had wrapped himself around Fugu not knowing that the jutsu that Fugu was preparing was a water bomb. The jutsu went off and knocked them both out. Naruto was up on the balcony laughing, as Hinata and Haku giggled, but they were more able to control their emotions than Naruto.
Rock Lee got his chance to participate only to knock out Taro from Waterfall. Lee's speed ended the match quicker than any other match and he actually apologized for hurting the boy. Shino and Kiba's teammate Nijiko was paired against Isas from the rain village, it was quite apparent that Nijiko held the experience edge and quickly beat Isas. Next was a pair of Rain shinobi who used 'Water Bullet' jutsu to knock each other out. The final match was between Kankuro and Tenten. While Tenten could hit Kankuro's doll she missed a senbon coated with a sleeping poison and thus concluded the preliminaries.
Sarutobi stepped forward and asked those who had won to come down and draw lots. The ended matches were Hinata versus Neji, Haku versus Shikamaru, Shino versus Kankuro, Dosu versus Takiko, Naruto versus Temari, Fu versus Rock Lee, Sasuke versus Gaara, and finally Nijiko versus Raijin. With the matches decided Sarutobi explained the guidelines and rules for the third part of the exam.
"Now since you know who you're fighting, we will give you a month to prepare for your fights. Know this that there will be visiting dignitaries from the various nations and even several customers. How you perform will be both a test of you becoming a chuunin and how your respective village will show its power. You may advance to chuunin by losing a fight or conversely you may not become a chuunin if you will all of your fights. There will be people there to grade your abilities, so that it can be determined if you should become chuunin or not. Also a reminder, you can become a chuunin without winning your first match. Now we have your matches and who you're going to fight, so you have a month to train to get ready for your opponents. The reason we are giving you a month is again because of the dignitaries who will take time to come here and so that you can learn more, because right now those here know most if not all of your tricks and it would not be good for you to go into battle having your opponent knowing that much about you. Good luck," he said, as the gathering dispersed.
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The trio met up with Kurenai and headed out of the forest. The approached their home to see two figures standing at the front door. One was an ANBU and the other was Zabuza in cuffs. "Uzumaki Naruto, Yuuhi Kurenai, I'm leaving this man in your custody. He must be with either of you at all times, unless you have a valid reason for his absence and have someone of trust watching over him," the ferret masked ANBU explained.
Kurenai and Naruto nodded. "Thank you very much. We will make sure he stays out of trouble," she said in an assuring tone.
Naruto waited until the ANBU was gone before launching into Zabuza and hugging him. "I missed you sensei!" he exclaimed.
Haku followed suit, but in a more sedate way, as she only hugged him and said, "I missed you father."
Hinata bowed and opened the door. "The spare bedroom is ready for you, sensei," she explained.
Zabuza nodded and entered the apartment followed by the others. Just as the door was nearly closed there was a knock. Naruto opened the door and Anko was there. Naruto bowed and showed her into the apartment. They all sat down and began to talk.
"Good job gaki, as you all made it into the finals," Anko explained.
"So you're earning your keep, good," Zabuza said happily, but then asked, "You haven't given me grandchildren yet, have you?"
Naruto paled and then passed out, as both girls blushed, but shook their heads. Kurenai was simply annoyed at the question, but Anko was licking her lips at Zabuza. "No, Zabuza. They haven't engaged in that yet, so far as I know. Also Tsunade-sama wanted to talk to you. Speaking of which, she should be here," Kurenai said. The front door opened and three people entered the room.
"Yo!" Jiraiya said happily. He took a seat at the table and looked out into the living room. Shizune took a seat next to Kurenai and Tsunade took a seat next to Hinata.
They waited until Naruto woke up, which took a few minutes, but was entertaining none the less, as Haku and Hinata both brushed his whisker marks, making him almost purr.
Tsunade saw that Naruto was up and started by saying, "I want all three of you to make chuunin. I've seen who you're up against and all of you have hard opponents. Hinata, you have your cousin, who is thought of a prodigy. He will not be easy to beat, but I think we can find some ways to either slow him down or possibly even defeat him. That is if you're willing to take some extreme measures in training."
Hinata nodded, as Tsunade turned to Haku and said, "You're opponent is a Nara, while not that strong in jutsu or physically, they are great strategists. He will more than likely make chuunin even if he gives up while fighting you. We have to work with your strengths, so again I think I know how you can win against him. Are you willing to follow some hard training?"
Haku nodded, as Tsunade finally turned to Naruto. He noticed tears forming in her eyes, but could not figure out what it was. "What's wrong obasan?" he asked with a concern laced in his voice.
"There are two issues we need to discuss. First is your training," Tsunade said with a trembling voice. Then sighed and then continued, "You're up against the Kazekage's daughter and she is a strong wind user. I'm going to leave some of your training to the pervert over there." She pointed at Jiraiya and then continued, "But you will come to me for chakra control lessons, Zabuza for Water jutsu lessons, and finally a friend for other lessons."
He nodded, as he noticed a tear fall down her face. He was concerned, but wanted to let her finish what she had to say. "I'm torn between two possibilities. Jiraiya and I are at odds right now. We both want you to sign a summoning contract, but we're not sure which one. If we could do both we would and then we could figure which of your lovely brides-to-be would sign which contract."
Naruto nodded his understanding of her dilemma. "There is more isn't there obaasan (aunt)?" he asked.
Tsunade wiped the tears from her cheeks, as Hinata handed her a tissue. "Thank you, Hinata-chan," she said. She sighed several times before she continued, "Naru… You're… I mean…" She shuddered out, as she seemed not to know where to start.
"Would you like me to explain, shishou (master)?" Shizune asked.
Tsunade nodded, as she took more tissues and blew her nose rather loudly.
Shizune took a deep breath and sighed. "Naruto-kun, what she is trying to say is several things all wrapped up into one. Firstly, she is sorry," Shizune raised her hand to forestall a question and then continued, "I will explain, as I go. Secondly she IS your grandmother. Thirdly Jiraiya IS your grandfather. He is sorry too, by the way." Jiraiya sneered at Shizune, but nodded. "They are both sorry for not being there for your childhood and ask for your forgiveness."
Naruto looked like a fish out of water, with his mouth opening and closing, but no sound coming out. Tears began to roll down from his eyes, but his fists were clenched.
"So the gaki is from good stock," Zabuza teased.
"Youfu (adopted father), that isn't nice," Haku said in an annoyed tone. Zabuza put his hands up in defeat, as the girls rubbed Naruto's back to try to get him to calm down.
Anko whistled at the interaction. "So the gaki is actually really important. How do I sign up?" she asked in a seductive tone.
"You could always marry him," Kurenai said, as she pointed at Zabuza, who wore a look of a deer caught in headlights, with his eyes wide. Anko then wore a predatory grin and licked her lips.
Naruto attempted to stand only to fall back down on the couch. Hinata pulled him into her shoulder, as Naruto began to sob uncontrollably. "Its okay, Naruto-kun. We're here for you," Hinata said in a soothing tone.
Haku turned to Tsunade and looked at her. "So you're saying that Naruto-kun is your grandson, but you have had little to do with him for the past thirteen or so years?" she asked angrily.
Tsunade nodded, but wore an equally angry look on her face. "Sensei played politics with my grandson and those in this village have done me and mostly Naru-chan a great disservice. I know I ran from the village when the war ended. I knew there was a possibility that Minato was my son and I knew that something could have gone wrong when the Kyuubi attacked. Had I been here Kushina and Hana might still be alive," she explained. She then turned to Naruto and asked, "Please forgive me for not doing the right thing, Naru-chan. Please forgive a hurt, blind, old lady for not coming home when she should have."
Naruto turned to her with puffy bloodshot eyes and said, "Do you love me?"
Tsunade nodded. "I would love you, even if you weren't my grandson. I've come to appreciate you for who you are in the last few days and weeks. You are very special to me. That you're my grandson is just icing on the cake. So can you ever forgive me?" she asked, hoping for a positive answer, but expecting the worst.
Naruto slowly left the embrace of Hinata and stood, unsteadily he moved around Hinata to stand in front of Tsunade. She looked up at him with fear and hope in her eyes. The tears continued to run down both of their faces, then suddenly the couch was over turned by Naruto jumping at Tsunade. He took the whole couch and all three women over, with his embrace of Tsunade. He then whispered, "Yes… yes… yes… I forgive you, obaasan." He hugged her for all he was worth.
Not a dry eye was left in the house. Jiraiya stood and pushed the couch back to the upright position, but that didn't break the embrace between Naruto and Tsunade.
There was a knock at the door and Jiraiya walked to the door to answer. A few observed him scowl deeply before he said, "What do you want?"
"Is that how you treat your old sensei?" Sarutobi asked.
"It is when I find out how my godson and grandson are treated," he answered angrily.
"So you found out?" Sarutobi asked with a mirthful tone.
"Enter…" Naruto said coldly.
"Ah, Naruto-kun, I'm here to congratulate you on successfully completing the second part of your exam. I'm sure Kurenai-chan and Zabuza-san will be able to help in training all three of you for the third part of the exams. I'm sorry to hear that your fiancés might have to fight each other in the finals," Sarutobi said in a sorrowful tone.
"Why are you here, I'm sure you don't go and congratulate all the finalists," Naruto said.
"Yes… yes, you're right. I don't do it often. It's just that your team is the only solid team to make it to the finals. I'm here to compliment all three of you, along with Kurenai and Zabuza for their training and your hard work," Sarutobi said. His demeanor became a little less jovial, as he then continued, "The council isn't pleased with your little stunt a couple weeks ago, Naruto-kun. Haruno-san is pushing to have you exiled for that little stunt."
Naruto scowled at this comment. "Like I care, they all can go ahead and banish me for all I care. I could always just go to wave. Also how would you feel if the other countries found out that Konoha's jinchuuriki, son of the Yondaime, great-great-grandson of the Shodaime, and great-great-grandnephew of the Nindaime was banished for something he didn't do? Or better yet, how about if we retire and leave the village, I'm sure another village would love to have several bloodlines, such as Ice, Byakugan, Regeneration, and Wood," he said in a scathing tone.
"No need for threats, Naruto-kun. We're all friends here," Sarutobi said in a reassuring tone.
"Really? Then why were the Yondaime's wishes not followed? My own father who is revered as a god, but his son is the pariah of the village hidden in the leaves. Now I find out that you wouldn't do anything against those who murdered my family. How can I trust you?" Naruto asked.
"We have found the guilty parties," Sarutobi exclaimed.
"A little late, and now I find out you could have called both my grandparents back. Instead what do you do? You allow me to be persecuted by my own village. You preach about the will of fire, but what is there in this village that I should protect? You have done some in an attempt get back in my good graces, but you were truly neglectful. I could have been a strong shinobi by now, but you allowed my schooling to be tampered with, along with allowing people to put seals on me. Do you realize that those people could have released the Kyuubi back into the village, and they would have blamed me? When it would have been their fault, not mine!" Naruto yelled at the Hokage.
"That is about enough out of you genin," Sarutobi said, as he released some killing intent.
Naruto and the others began to laugh. "Now you want to impress me with your authority? Where did your backbone go when you allowed me to be assaulted?" he asked in a hurt tone.
"Yes sensei, why did you allow it to happen?" Jiraiya asked.
"Your father should have allowed me to do the sealing. He would have been better able to shield you, where I couldn't. I live by politics now, instead of jutsu. A deal here, a deal there, will bring more peace than all out aggression," Sarutobi explained.
"So you allow some individuals to be hurt or killed, while letting others get away with said acts?" Jiraiya asked.
"If you look at it like that, then, yes," Sarutobi answered.
"Let me get this straight… You allow Orochimaru to get away with multiple murders and experimenting on the general population with only a slap on the wrist. While heros like Naruto, Kushina and Hana are all punished for doing nothing wrong," Tsunade said in an angry tone.
"Orochimaru got away, because I was too slow at the time," Sarutobi rebutted.
"The Uchiha clan owes Naruto for what they have done. Between Sasuke and his father, Fugaku, they have hurt Naruto severely," Jiraiya said without emotion.
"Along with Sasuke being allowed to enter the chuunin exams, so soon after assaulting a fellow Konoha shinobi, what are you thinking? Has there been any compensation to Naruto and Haku yet?" Tsunade asked.
Sarutobi shook his head. "The council is trying to make that a civil matter, but Sasuke was given a psychological evaluation and he is said to be fine," Sarutobi said in an attempt to reassure the group.
"Right, and Haku-chan is good with Fire jutsu…" Naruto replied, as the others chuckled or giggled at Naruto's barb at the Uchiha boy.
"Under clan law, Sasuke nearly started a clan war. You know that Naruto, Jiraiya or I would be able kill him at any time if we so decide for what he has done. He tried to murder him for Kami's sake. I swear if you give him any leeway in the finals, such as promoting him just for him having a doujutsu, then I will personally rip his eyes out and sterilize the bastard," Tsunade angrily exclaimed, as Naruto laughed out loud, while Haku and Hinata both giggled deviously.
"That wouldn't be wise, as Sasuke has quite a few followers in the council and the Daimyo himself, as supporters," Sarutobi exclaimed.
"Well then, if this village wants to reward the Uchiha, then the Senju will take it too him in the finals. Naruto, you have my permission to remove one or more of his testicles if he survives that Gaara boy, that is," Tsunade said with a sinister grin.
"Not likely. He's a jinchuuriki too. I think there are a few in the village right now. The girl from Waterfall, Fu, Gaara, and that jounin sensei from cloud, but she seems to hide it better than the others. I'm glad that Zabuza sensei taught me to detect chakra signatures. Oh and by the way Orochimaru is in the village," Naruto said, as Sarutobi, Anko, Jiraiya and Tsunade froze.
"How do you know about that?" Sarutobi asked.
"I reported it when we got to the tower. He gave a nice hickey to Sasuke-chan," Naruto explained.
Anko pulled off her trench coat and bared her shoulder. Naruto saw a heaven seal on her shoulder. "Did it look like this?" she asked.
Naruto came closer and touched the seal mark and nodded. "Yes, but from what I saw it was almost able to take control of him to some extent. The chakra emanating from him was nearly, as evil as the Kyuubi chakra. So is it a mating mark, Anko-chan?" Naruto asked.
Anko raised an eyebrow and then she asked, "What do you mean a mating mark?"
Naruto moved into his room, and shuffling of papers was heard. He then returned with a scroll and handed it to Anko. "I found this in the library, and it shows a mark similar to yours, as the mark a demon would leave on its mate. I don't quite understand it, but here is the information I copied on it in hopes of figuring out how to break the caged bird seal. With the help of jiji there," he pointed at Jiraiya, and then continued, "We should be able to get it removed after the chuunin exams. Right jiji?"
Jiraiya chuckled, and replied, "You bet, we can do anything."
Anko blushed and then wore a longing look. She then asked, "Could you take mine off too?"
Naruto thought for a minute and then looked at Jiraiya, who just shrugged. "We could also to fix or remove yours after the chuunin exams. We would have to take some time to study it," Naruto replied in a reassured tone.
Anko immediately wrapped him into a hug. "Thank you, Naruto-kun," she exclaimed, as she pushed him into her ample cleavage.
Hinata and Haku scowled at Anko who only smiled slyly at the girls. She let Naruto go, as he then gasped for air.
"I will authorize both of you to try to remove Anko's little annoyance. Naruto-kun, I'm sorry for before, but I was doing what I thought was in the best interest of the village. Please understand that I couldn't be everywhere at the same time," Sarutobi said in an apologetic tone.
"You could have at least found someone trustworthy to take care of me or adopt me. You could have let Jiraiya know that my mother was in ill health. You could have let Tsunade, obaasan, know that my mother was ill. You could have pushed harder for the investigation of who killed her. You could have… you could have… you should have done all of those things. They were the right thing to do, not the path of least resistance. The Uchiha, Hyuuga, and Yamanaka clans all assaulted me. The head of the Uchiha clan, Sasuke's own father, thought that he could put a seal mark on me to impede my development. He was the head of the damn police forces. What type of man would do that to a young boy? Did he think that I was the Kyuubi?" Naruto asked, as his lips quivered with his anxiety. Not sure if he should cry or scream. Right now he hated the village, most of all he hated Sasuke, for getting all the favors, getting all the shortcuts, in a word he was jealous, but he also was sad that the boy may not be redeemable at all.
Hinata and Haku felt that Naruto was uneasy and had moved to his side. Both grabbed an arm and began to rub his back. Naruto felt his feelings begin to steady, as his mind cleared. "Naruto-kun was wronged, the Hyuuga have already put in compensation. The Uchiha and Yamanaka haven't," Haku explained.
"That would explain how you treated your friend Ino, Haku-chan," Sarutobi said with a blush.
All the females in the room thought the same thing 'Pervert!' and scowled.
Jiraiya just shook his head and thought, 'You're not going to win back Naruto by acting like that.'
Naruto shook his head and said, "That was public embarrassment, so that Ino would understand what her family did to me. It was a personal message from her to Ino. Ino got the message and will be working with us to put right, what that bitch did to me," he explained angrily.
"Very well Naruto-kun, I will leave that in your hands," Sarutobi said.
"Oh, by the way, I'm adopting Naruto-kun, and if the council wants to stop me then they can meet me on either the battlefield or in the office of the Daimyo. I sent the paperwork directly to him. I didn't put in it that he was my grandson, but if I have too I will. Do you understand, while my loyalty is to this village, it is also to my family. If loyalty to the village is repaid the way Naruto-kun was treated then, this village doesn't deserve our loyalty. If it is just political wrangling, then fix it, as I will be in attendance to the council meetings, as the Senju member," she said with a stern look at Sarutobi. She then smiled at Naruto, and then continued, "We now have a clan of two and soon to be more." She then wrapped her arms around Haku, Hinata and Naruto.
Jiraiya then wrapped the group with his own arms. "I feel the same way you do hime. Even if we do not get together I will support whatever you and Naruto decide. I'll be there for both of you," he explained.
"So I might end up having three, rouge Sannin?" Sarutobi said in a joking tone.
"You might if things don't improve for Naruto-kun," Tsunade said with a warm smile.
"Very well, I will finally take my leave of you. Have a good day everyone," Sarutobi said, as he left the room and closed the door behind him.
"I bet Sasuke will be late to the third part of the exam and he will be given extra time to arrive," Naruto said in an annoyed tone.
"No way would I bet against that. Right now the village council let him off with attempted murder and kidnapping, with only a slap on the wrists," Tsunade said angrily.
"So what have we decided to be their training?" Zabuza asked.
"What are their strengths and their weaknesses?" Tsunade asked.
"Naruto, is weak in chakra control, but can push heavy jutsu out like there's no tomorrow. Haku is the most balanced and overall the strongest of the three. Hinata while weak in her chakra reserves has great control and has gotten good with her water jutsu. She is also working on a jutsu that could be used as a shield, using water. Naruto needs some Wind and Earth jutsu to complete his affinities. Haku could use some Wind jutsu to balance against her supply of Water and Ice jutsu. Hinata could use another jutsu or something else as a backup or trump card," Kurenai explained.
"So they have improved that much during the time I was away?" Zabuza asked.
Kurenai nodded and began to explain. "Naruto has mid genin level control with a Kage level reserve, Haku is balanced at high chuunin level with both. Hinata is at high genin level for chakra reserves and high chuunin level for control. Their arsenal has improved some, but not that much. We have refined those that they already know. Naruto and Haku both worked on their Wind affinity and can bring it out more quickly. We just need Naruto to be able to use his Earth affinity, so that he can do well enough in the chuunin exams to get the promotion. I want all of them to be promoted. So here's what we need to do…" she began to explain.
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Naruto held his sword hilt to steady himself with the sword tip stuck in the ground. He was very tired. "Man, Hayate-sensei, you're an even worse slave driver than Zabuza-sensei," he exclaimed.
"While Zabuza-san is an expert with a Zanbato, so he isn't quite as good with the smaller swords. You've come far in only a couple days, Naruto. Your mother has my thanks, and please forward my thanks to Tsunade-sama for healing my lungs," he said gratefully. "You do have some natural talent for the sword, but we will continue your training until lunch time. Then Jiraiya-sama will then be your trainer, as we will keep this program for the whole week. Tsunade-sama will then have you after dinner for chakra control training. I really feel sorry for you Naruto, because Tsunade-sama is the best medic out there and will drive you to exhaustion with her control exercises."
Naruto paled, as this was only his third day of training and Tsunade had pushed him with chakra control, water walking was nothing. His now mother, legally, was a real slave driver when it came to chakra control. You would think that she wanted him to become a medical ninja with her training methods. His schedule was mornings with Hayate, his afternoons were spent with Jiraiya and his evenings with Tsunade and Shizune. Naruto knew the girls schedules were similar rotations to his. Haku worked with Kurenai in the mornings, Tsunade in the afternoon and Zabuza in the evening. Hinata got Zabuza in the morning, Kurenai in the afternoon and Tsunade in the evening, she wasn't a morning person.
Naruto laughed, as he remembered the first afternoon.
(Flashback)…
Naruto, Haku and Hinata stood waiting for Jiraiya and Tsunade to show up. Suddenly two calls of 'Summoning jutsu!' were heard. A giant slug as large as the Hokage's tower, and a large orange toad with a jacket and a scar on his left eye appeared in the training ground.
"Hello Katsuyu," Tsunade said to the slug.
"Greetings Lady Tsunade. What can I do for you?" Katsuyu asked in response.
"What do you want, you lecher, Jiraiya?" Gamabunta asked angrily.
Jiraiya smirked at the reference. "Hey Gamabunta, we have a question for you and Katsuyu," he asked.
Both nodded, so Jiraiya proceeded. "This is Naruto and his prospective brides to be. We want to know if he can sign both contracts," he said, but raised his hand to forestall any questions. He then continued, "We know this is kind of unusual, but Naruto is OUR grandson and we want him to be able to use either of you in battle if needed. We also want to know if you will allow one of his brides to sign one of your contracts."
Gambunta lowered his face down to look at Naruto and then asked, "Is he who I think he is?"
Jiraiya nodded, and replied, "Yep, he's his son and my grandson."
"So you and Jiraiya-san…" Katsuyu asked, as Tsunade blushed and nodded. She then continued, "Very well, I will allow it if Gamabunta will."
"As long as he isn't a lecher like you I'm not against it, but he will have to summon me personally for me to allow him to summon toads to battle," Gamabunta replied.
Naruto walked forward and bowed. "Thank you Katsuyu-sama, and Gamabunta-sama for offering this most generous gift," he said with much conviction.
Gamabunta laughed at Naruto who appeared confused. "I like this one, he has actual manners. Must come from his grandmother's side," he said with a wink at Tsunade, who just blushed.
Hinata stepped forward and bowed. "Actually Gamabunta-sama, it was Haku-chan and I who helped instruct him on manners. He was quite crass before he learned of our betrothal," she said with a blush, but continued, "But it was one of his endearing qualities. He just knows when to use manners now, where before he totally lacked them."
Naruto brushed his finger under his nose and asked coyly, "So you like it when I don't use my manners?"
Hinata blushed and nodded. "But not all the time, Naruto-kun," she explained.
Tsunade and Jiraiya both had the contracts out showed them how to sign them, with their name in blood in the next available area on the scroll. Naruto signed both, but would have to take the time to summon Gamabunta to actually use the toads in battle. Haku then signed the toad contract, while Hinata signed the slug contract.
After being told the hand seals for summoning the trio began to attempt to summon. Naruto dug deep down for a large pool of chakra and performed the seals and thought about toads. Much to everyone's surprise including Gamabunta Naruto summoned a large toad nearly the size of Gamabunta with two swords on his back. Haku was able to summon a toad the size of a man with arm guards. Hinata was able to summon a slug the size of a large wolf. All three were exhausted by this and were given the rest of the day off except for studying chakra control techniques. They were not going to use them, just read about them so they could use them the next day.
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The three had soaked in the bathtub for over an hour after going to the hot springs that evening. They could barely move from both chakra exhaustion and training. They had agreed not to discuss the finer points of their training, but did talk about generalities like what to expect the next day. They had a late snack and went to bed. Sleep quickly overtook the three genin.
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The next morning Naruto continued his kata for an hour with Hayate. They would eventually do some sparing and work on speed and control work.
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Hinata thought she had gotten the worse of the deal in getting training. She had Zabuza, and he worked on her water jutsu. He also helped her work on some surprises for both her teammates and of course for her cousin.
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Haku was taking her genjutsu lesson in stride, as she knew she had the easiest schedule of the three. Kurenai went into detailed descriptions of how to form and work genjutsu. Haku was pleasantly surprised when Kurenai helped her to create a genjutsu for a certain someone that she was actually still quite mad at.
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The afternoon training was different and still quite hard for the genin, as they moved to their next sensei. Naruto was introduced to a new attack by Jiraiya, while Hinata learned genjutsu from Kurenai and Haku was pushed to her limit by Tsunade in chakra control.
The evening training was very hard for Haku, as she had Zabuza to work with, while Naruto and Hinata worked with Tsunade and Shizune on chakra control. After the lesson Tsunade assembled the team and made an announcement.
"Naruto-kun, you are officially a Senju now. It took most of the morning, but I was able to adopt you, as my son," she said happily, but raised her hand and continued, "Yes we all know that you're actually my grandson, but we don't want them to know that just yet. So congratulations, Naruto Uzumaki-Senju, my son."
Tsunade hugged Naruto and kissed him on the forehead. Hinata and Haku followed suit, but kissed him on the lips for good measure. Naruto was happy and confused.
(End Flashback)…
All three genin met up at Ichiraku ramen, and proceeded to take in a high carbohydrate diet for their afternoon training. Naruto enjoyed this, as he still loved ramen. Haku and Hinata liked it, but also understood what it would take to replenish their energy reserves. It seemed that as soon as the ramen hit Naruto's stomach his energy level would increase. With an hour lunch break the three would talk and work on how they figured they should work on courting each other. Naruto didn't quite grasp all the concepts, but was willing to do what was needed for their unusual relationship to work and this pleased the girls to no end.
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Jiraiya was snickering, why you ask. He had just sent Sasuke packing with a huge lump on his head.
(Flashback)
Jiraiya was contemplating what to do with Naruto's training when an upstart appeared before him.
Sasuke stood before Jiraiya pointing at him with Kakashi standing with an annoyed look in his single evident eye. "You will help train me Jiraiya of the Sanin, for I am Sasuke Uchiha and it will be your privilege to do so," he exclaimed in an arrogant tone.
Kakashi rolled his single eye at this and said, "Sasuke, I don't really think that this is a good idea. Jiraiya-sama might not want to train you."
"Shut up Kakashi! And he will train me or I will get the council to force him too," Sasuke replied with venom in his voice.
"The council might be able to pull some of my strings, but if you want to go barking up this tree… be my guest, but I will not be responsible for what happens to you," Kakashi said angrily.
"So Uchiha, why should I train you?" Jiraiya asked, as he leaned back on the bench. He knew this might be entertaining.
"I am of the elite Uchiha clan and you will help me fulfill my purpose, to kill my brother," Sasuke said.
"Killing your brother is your problem, not mine…" Jiraiya said, but then pause and released a large amount of killing intent at the genin. He then continued, "But you will know your place genin. I am above jounin level, and am skilled enough to be a Kage in my own right. You trying to give me orders, it's like a civilian trying to order an assassin to kill some when their target is said civilian. It is laughable. The council can be damned for all I care. Now let's get to the reason I don't want to train you. First, you should request things from your betters, not order them. Secondly, you should treat your sensei like one and not some servant to be ordered around."
Jiraiya then stood and looked down at the cowering Uchiha. "Third, but not last, you attempted to murder my godson. Do you for one moment think that I would want to make someone who tried to kill my godson even more powerful than they are now? Right now I'm of the opinion of removing the Uchiha from the gene pool, or at least you from it. From what I hear, doing nothing would do the same thing, but would endanger others lives. So either get out of my sight or die where you stand," he said, as he thumped Sasuke on the head and then sat back down to wait for Naruto to arrive.
(End Flashback)
Jiraiya sat there and thought, 'You know letting the little shit live might be torture enough. If he does something then I can just seal his chakra. Then hime and I could beat him to a pulp, then hime could heal him and we could start all over again.' He chuckled at the thought.
Naruto finally arrived they began their training. Naruto seemed to have a new spark and wore a happy grin.
"So did she actually get them to allow it to happen?" Jiraiya asked, as Naruto nodded. "Great, now the emo-prick can be in even more trouble when I tell you that he came here demanding training. He thinks that having the council in his back pocket will sway me."
Naruto laughed, as he began to start his exercises for manipulating Earth chakra. "So how many reasons did you give him for saying no?"
Jiraiya chuckled, and replied, "Three, heck I even gave him a lump on the head for his troubles."
"Good, we can kill him after the exams, or at least you can take that hickey from Orochimaru off of him," Naruto said.
Jiraiya looked at him in surprise. "What hickey from teme? Oh yeah that one. How did it happen?" he asked.
"Well during the second portion of the exams I came upon Orochimaru and a guy named Kabuto. Orochimaru looked like a Grass genin, but had too much power, so my team held back and listened in on it. I told the old man about it and he thanked me, but I haven't heard anything since," Naruto explained.
"So sensei didn't come to me about checking the possible seal on the Uchiha, he might have thought that I might kill him after what he did to you and to be honest I forgot you mentioned it," Jiraiya said jovially.
"It would have gotten rid of the possible curse seal," Naruto said with a little too much mirth in his voice.
Jiraiya chuckled. "Now get back to work and we will have some surprises for the exams, so you can make chuunin," Jiraiya said with enthusiasm.
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A/N: Guess I scared off a lot of the readers… Oh well… Sorry for the dryness of the chapter. Hope you enjoyed this chapter...
Now to answer the reviews…
OnGuard: Huh? I'm not emphasizing Sasuke and gave him an easy win. So you figure either the match was set before hand or the match was one I just didn't want to write. I also wanted to get through the fights. I'm a novice martial artist, with experience in tai-chi and Greco-roman wrestling, so shoot me if I can't write a fight scene that I didn't want to write.
XPGamer: I responded in a PM, but I can say here that there will be changes to the final exams.
Dragon Noir: Naruto could care less how the Uchiha punk won other than the merciless treatment of his victims. I might go back and look at that… maybe not.
Leobelkin: Yes Naruto got his sword back, when the ANBU (Bear) handed him his sword. Sorry for all of you guys being confused by this.