Hi guys. Sorry it has been so long since I have updated. I was taking a composition course in college to improve my writing. But now I'm back with lots of ideas on where to take this story. So let's get right to it!

Uchiha Hideout

Naruto dropped into the hideout quietly. But he saw that his stealth was wasted since Itachi was up and moving. "Ah, there you are Naruto." Itachi said. "I was beginning to worry that you were having too much fun with Hinata." Naruto blushed and Itachi smirked as he went into the kitchen.

"I had a lot of fun Itachi-sensei. I sparred with Hinata and it kind of ended in a draw." Itachi sighed. "You need to do better than that if you want to pass the chuunin exams Naruto." Naruto frowned. "I know…. I got the blood scroll you wanted."

Naruto tossed the scroll to him and Itachi caught it without looking. "Thank you Naruto, but this is yours." Naruto looked confused as Itachi tossed it back at him. "What am I supposed to do with it?" Itachi walked into the weapon room and brought out Naruto's weapons. Claw and Serra were Naruto's prized possessions. The hook sword, Claw, had helped him catch Itachi off-guard once. Serra, the serrated-edge sword, had not yet proved its use, but Naruto knew that it would in time.

"Naruto, anything sealed inside the blood scroll is sealed to the user. That means that no one will be able to open this scroll once you seal it." Naruto stared in amazement. "So you want me to seal my weapons in the scroll?" Itachi nodded. "Weapons are seen as ninja tools in the chuunin exams, which means that you can use them. However, since no one can open the blood scroll except you, they will not let you bring it into the exams. Now—"

Itachi flinched as he felt someone's presence at the entrance. "Naruto….were you followed?" Naruto looked confused. "I don't think so." Itachi motioned Naruto to step back. As Naruto did, he felt the vibration of the boulder being moved manually. "Woah, there must be someone really strong out there." Naruto thought as he grabbed his swords.

Itachi activated his sharingan and waited for the intruder to jump down. He and Naruto waited for about ten minutes before a shadowy figure dropped into the hideout. Itachi looked at the figure with determination. "Kurenai, to what do we owe this visit?" Naruto's eyes widened as Kurenai stepped out of the shadows.

"Kurenai-sensei, what are you doing here?" Naruto asked. Kurenai kept her eyes on Itachi and replied, "I wanted to know where you were going with that blood scroll." Kurenai stared at Itachi with fierce eyes. You are… Itachi Uchiha, rogue ninja of the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Hidden Leaf Village

Shino walked around aimlessly through the markets. He never admitted that he was aimless, just that he was looking for something in particular and couldn't find it. After walking around a bit he decided to send one of his insects to look for Kurenai-sensei since he was bored and wanted to train.

Even though it was late and the sun was setting, Shino thought it would be best if he trained with Kurenai-sensei and Hinata so that he could get stronger for the chuunin exams. He wasn't very accepting of Naruto. He always thought something about him seemed off. He also noticed that Naruto never had a clear explination for his abilities.

As he walked toward the Hyuuga mansion he saw Hinata leaving. "Hinata, where are you off to?" Hinata looked over and waved to Shino. "Oh, hi Shino. I was on my way to get something to eat." Shino looked over her casually. "Would you mind training with me? I want to test my abilities against your rotation technique.

Hinata pushed her forefingers together. "Oh, well, I just got done training with Naruto and Kurenai-sensei an hour or two ago." Shino looked disappointed. "Oh, I was looking forward to training with you but I guess Kurenai-sensei will do." One of Shino's bugs landed on his finger. "What?!" Shino exclaimed. "You can't find Kurenai-sensei? Where was she last?"

Shino listened to the small bug for a second and then looked at Hinata. "Hinata come on, I think Kurenai-sensei is in trouble." Hinata looked worried. "What do you mean Shino?" Shino looked away and said, "My insects tell me that she is somewhere in the forest. They lost her scent at a hole in the ground and they think she might have fallen in." Hinata gasped and followed Shino out of the village.

Uchiha Hideout

Itachi smirked. "Kurenai, you are not welcome here." Itachi readied a kunai and adjusted himself into a fighting stance. "And Naruto is not safe here.", said Kurenai as she pulled out a kunai as well. "Kurenai-sensei, he has been protecting me." Kurenai looked over at Naruto, stunned. "Protecting you? Why would he protect you? He's a rogue and a killer! He must be dealt with."

Naruto shook his head. "No, he is my sensei." Kurenai hesitated. "Your sensei? So HE is the one who taught you seal jutsu." Itachi remained in his stance but lost some tension. Naruto nodded. "Yes, he has been taking care of me and preparing me for the chuunin exams." Kurenai lowered her guard. "Why Itachi? Why would you do something as foolish as taking on an apprentice?"

Itachi lowered his guard as well, and stood up straight. He put his kunai away and walked over to Naruto. He put his hand on Naruto's head and looked at Kurenai. "Because it is my last mission as a member of the ANBU black ops, and I always carry out my mission." Kurenai looked disgusted. "You are no longer part of the ANBU Itachi. So what is the real reason?"

Itachi sighed. "I was asked to look after him and make sure he grows into a strong shinobi. I wasn't too excited at first, but Naruto has grown on me. In a way I see him as my own son now and I will do whatever it takes to keep him safe." Tears fell from Naruto's eyes as he realized what Itachi had just said. "Itachi thinks of me as his son?

Naruto wiped the tears from his eyes and stared at Kurenai. "Kurenai-sensei, both of you are my sensei. I respect you both. So please, don't tell anyone about Itachi. I know I can't keep it a secret forever…but he still has a lot to teach me." Kurenai sighed and looked at Naruto. "Naruto, I can't just leave you here with him. Even if Itachi is telling the truth." Naruto frowned and looked at her with pleading eyes. After a few minutes, Kurenai shook her head. "Alright Naruto, I will keep it a secret. But know this, if Yugao has any suspicions and asks me about you two, I can't withhold information. You will only be safe for awhile."

She turned and looked at Itachi. "As for you Itachi, keep your word and make sure Naruto is safe. If you teach him jutsu and Naruto tells me," Kurenai glared at Naruto, "then I can show him how to use it in any situation." Itachi nodded, showing that he understood. "Thank you for understanding Kurenai-sensei."

Kurenai nodded and turned around to leave. She jumped up out of the hideout and pushed the boulder back. As soon as she was done, Hinata and Shino came running down the path. Kurenai-sensei, are you all right?!" Shino asked. Kurenai sighed, then turned around and smiled. "Yes everything is fine." Hinata let out a sigh of relief. Shino calmed himself and looked at Kurenai-sensei. "Can you train with me sensei? I know it's late but I feel as though I'm much stronger in the dark." Kurenai nodded. "Sure Shino, after we walk Hinata home." Shino nodded in agreement as they all walked towards the village.

Uchiha Hideout

Itachi sighed in relief. "I'm glad she took it so well, I wasn't up to fighting your sensei." Naruto nodded in agreement. "Now then Naruto, as I was saying. Since you cannot take the scroll in with you manually, you will need to learn the scroll teleportation technique." Naruto looked excited. "So I can summon the scroll to me wherever I am?"

Itachi nodded. "But first, you must make this scroll sealed to your chakra signature." Naruto nodded. "In order to do that, you must sign your name, in blood, on the scroll." Naruto opened the scroll and cut his thumb. He then wrote his full name on the scroll with his thumb. "Now all you have to do is seal it. Then unseal it and put your weapons in it."

Naruto did that also and resealed the blood scroll. He looked up at Itachi. "Now what are we going to do Itachi?" Itachi yawned. "Now, we sleep. I am exhausted and you won't be ready to learn the scroll teleportation until your chakra reserves are full." Naruto nodded and said goodnight. Then he crawled into bed and slept.

Well, there you go. Chapter 12 is done and out of the way. Next time is the chunnin exam preliminaries. Once again sorry for it taking so long to get this chapter out. I worked on this non-stop and managed to get it done in an hour and a half. If I'm feeling up to it, I was planning on making a "movie" chapter. That is I was going to make a chapter 2-3x as long as normal. It will most likely be the final exam fight between Naruto and ?. Please review, thanks.