Quote the Speechless: "Well, I think it's been long enough. Do you all think it's been long enough?" He looks out across the angry masses of people. "Yea, I'm guessing you think it's been long enough."
"You should all know the reason that you have waited for my story." Grabs a rope and pulls. A curtain falls to show the Editor, tied up and sitting on the edge of a dunk tank. "It's her fault. She has had this chapter for the past…" He checks his watch. "Three Months. She kept telling me she would get the chapter to me and not doing it." Quote motions and baseballs roll to the feet of every reader. "Now you are free to take your revenge. DUNK HER!"
"Now," Quote steps up behind a podium. "You should all know that I have finished this semester of College, and have made my way home. I have not done any writing recently because of the Hell Raising amount of work that I had to do for college finals. However I am home now and I plan on writing more and more as the summer goes on."
"Just a few more things to cover. A-man, a reviewer of my last chapter told me that Kyuubi was Female. I offered him the chance to step forward and prove himself. I have not even heard a peep in these past months. I have done my own research and found only one thing to point to the Kyuubi's gender in the Naruto Universe. I have heard from a very reliable source that the Japanese word that Kyuubi uses to refer to it's self, in the anime, fully translates to 'I (Old Man)'. In this the Kyuubi is calling it's self a male."
"The second Issue: Haku. I am well aware of Haku's actual gender. In the series Haku is MALE. Yes I know this. I have read the entire series that has been released to this date." Sighs and leans against the podium. "That being said, I offered to let the readers put a little input into the story. It wasn't going to change anything really in the story. Anyway the votes are in. Haku's Gender: 54 votes for MALE, 74 Votes for FEMALE. Haku will be female for the rest of the story."
"I will never leave another option in the story up to you people. All suggestions for pairings are being thrown out. All suggestions for clothes are being thrown out. All suggestions for what else should happen are being thrown out. I will not read them, I don't even care. You are reading this story because you trust me to write it well. Trust me and stop making suggestions."
"Enough Ranting, you may now read my story."
Legal: I don't own Naruto.
Chapter Ten – Return Home
Several days later, Zabuza had been buried, Sasuke had recovered enough for the trip home, and the bridge was finished. All the workers who had run off in fear had returned and worked nonstop, invigorated by the death of Gatou. They finished the bridge in record time.
When Haku realized on the second day that Zabuza had died releasing her, she came out of her shell and made friends with Naruto and the others. While Sasuke was recovering, she and Naruto would spar together. The fights were just practice so neither of them went all out. Usually, they would stop before a clear winner was decided. Kakashi had passed the time guarding the bridge, though it was really unnecessary.
Then it was time to go, and Haku still hadn't decided on what she was going to do. The sword was far too big for her to use. Haku told Naruto that when the next of the Swordsmen was found it would change to suit them, that was the Changing Sword's Ability. Naruto did his best to convince her that she should come with them back to Leaf.
Sasuke was still a little mistrustful of the girl that had beaten him and remained cold towards her, trying his best not to acknowledge her. Kakashi seemed indifferent and shrugged when Naruto suggested that she come, instead giggling at a passage in his book before turning the page.
In the end, Haku decided that it would be best for her to return to Mist with the sword so that its successor could be found. Naruto was disappointed but he understood and said that if she ever came to Leaf she should find him so they could spar. She agreed readily.
They said their goodbyes. Inari took it the hardest, calling Naruto 'brother' and almost bursting into tears when Naruto told him to become strong and a role model for the other people. Naruto promised that he'd come visit when he had enough time off.
As they were walking away, Tazuna proposed a name for the Bridge they had built. The Great Naruto Bridge, for the boy who had brought courage to the people of the village, and had given them a chance for a future. The villagers agreed.
The trip home was an uneventful one. Naruto spent the time training, walking up trees on the side of the road and jumping from one to the other using his chakra to stick to the following tree. Eventually, the other genin joined in and they spent the time racing from point to point. Somehow, no matter what point they selected for the end of the race, Kakashi was always there, reading his book long before they arrived.
At the gates to Konoha, Kakashi told them they had four days off to due to the mission. Kakashi decided to go to the Hokage to give the mission report and figure out what to do with Naruto and his developing abilities. Sasuke left, saying he had training to do. Sakura was anxious to get home and see her parents. Naruto smiled to himself as he went off through the shopping district, he had a friend to see about some new clothes.
Wonderland Clothing was having a slow day. Keito was sitting at the front counter, reading a book when the bell sounded for the door. She looked up from her book to see Naruto dressed in a white shirt and blue jeans. On his back there was a heavy looking bag with a little ripped orange fabric sticking out. She didn't say anything as Naruto walked up to her and set the bag down on the counter. She opened the bag and pulled out Naruto's ripped and ruined jacket. She turned a critical eye on Naruto who only shrugged as he gave her his foxy grin. She almost laughed as she turned to call her husband from the back room.
Kibou came to the front of the store and saw Naruto. He smiled at the boy until he saw the ruined jacket on the counter. He shot Naruto an exasperated look and again Naruto only shrugged and grinned. Kibou shook his head and walked over to Naruto, ruffling his hair with one hand. They were family, they really didn't need words, their body language said everything.
"How about a whole new look," he asked as he surveyed the damage to the jacket. "I was looking over your old sketches, and got some ideas."
"You're not the only one," Naruto pulled out the sketchbook he had filled on the trip to and from Wave.
Keito went to the door and flipped the sign to 'Closed.'
"I'll get the Tea," she said as her husband and the boy walked into the back room. It was good to have Naruto back.
The first day was spent going over old and new sketches, eventually combining the aspects that each of them liked into a new look for Naruto. The second day was spent fitting Naruto and finding the materials they wanted as well as fine-tuning the look. While Kibou made the clothing on the third day, Keito and Naruto worked on the armor. On the fourth day, it was ready.
Naruto walked into the dressing room with the bundle of clothes, while Kibou and Keito waited anxiously for his report.
Naruto stepped out of the dressing room in a slightly loose long-sleeved white shirt and dark grey pants. The pants had several buckles and ties so they could be quickly adjusted from loose casual wear to tight fitting training or fighting gear. Both had the same triple-layer design of his original jacket and pants, but were thinner and lighter without much loss in the protective ability. There was also a belt, which had only a few pouches attached to the rings along its side, but the capability of adding more.
Next, Naruto started to change for the armor. They had decided that the armor should be secondary to the clothing. Naruto reached up and grabbed his sleeves, pulling them off. They could be attached or detached easily because of several clever knots that Kibou had tied. Naruto also reached for several strings on the sides of the torso of the shirt. Pulling them, the shirt became skintight and would remain that way until he released them.
Naruto reached down and picked up the largest piece of armor. Naruto slipped his head and right arm through their respective holes, and then quickly buckled it along the left side. The armor was specially treated metal that showed up as a slight off-white color that did not shine at all. The white armor reached over most of Naruto's stomach and across his entire back. There were also shoulder guards.
Next, he picked up the forearms and gloves. The gloves were fingerless and the same dark grey as the pants. On the back of each glove was a piece of the white metal. They fit on easily and stretched over Naruto's hands. He put on the forearms protectors next. Again, they were the same treated metal, but there was a red design carved into them - the two fox heads that Naruto had put on his original leather forearm protectors so long ago.
Naruto reached down and tightened his pants down along his legs. He took the shin protectors and snapped them on as he had the forearm protectors. A kunai holster attached easily to a few clips on the side of his right pant leg. He then put on a set of shoes. They were black and white with metal bands over the toe and half way up his foot that protected his feet and strengthened his kick greatly.
He looked at himself in the mirror and nodded, checking the full range of motion that he had he did some basic stretches. He turned to Kibou and Keito and nodded to them. This would be good. It would be very good indeed. With practice he was able to go from street clothes to battle ready in a very short period of time.
"Alright my boy," Keito said as she cracked her knuckles. "Time to see if you've been practicing." Naruto nodded and followed her out the back of the building. The sparring session went much better for Naruto than the earlier ones had. Neither of them used any Jutsu, instead sticking solely to the Element styles. Naruto's speed had greatly improved along with his control and his strength was also much greater than before. This put him on an even footing with Keito, who was slightly slower than him and not as strong.
The fight halted with Naruto using an open palm Earth strike to Keito's chest as she landed a burning Fire punch to his cheek. Both of them skidded away from each other, Keito winded from Naruto's punch while he was still dizzy from hers.
"Very Impressive, Naruto," Kibou clapped from the sidelines.
"Yes indeed, little brother." A small man apparently in his late thirties stepped out of a shadow by the wall. He was wearing brown clothing of a nondescript nature. He had strong-looking arms and large hands. His hair was brown and cut short. His face was pinched, with small eyes hidden behind black sunglasses.
Naruto turned to face the intruder. The voice sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. His vision slowly cleared and he squinted at the face. Then suddenly it came to him.
"Second Brother, what are you doing here?" Naruto blurted out, surprised at Nibi's sudden appearance and his human form. Keito and Kibou relaxed a little, if Naruto knew the man, he was alright. Naruto had told them about his last mission but they had understood when he had said that he couldn't tell them everything.
"Good to be recognized," the Two Tailed Mole Demon in human disguise broke into a wide grin. He turned and bowed to both Kibou and Keito. "I thank you, for all you have done for my little brother, but if you will spare us a moment we have something to talk about." Husband and wife looked at each other and then at Naruto. He nodded that it was alright and they took their leave, going inside to wait for him.
"Second Brother, it is good to see you, but why are you here?" Naruto questioned. He motioned for him to sit in one of the chairs that were there. They sat facing one another.
"We each give out tests in out own ways," Second Brother began. Naruto was suddenly paying very close attention to what the being in front of him way saying. "One aspect of my abilities is to find what is hidden, and this is indeed an important part of everyone's life. For this reason I present to you my test. Find our First Brother. When you have, you will receive my blessing."
"Find him?" Naruto was shocked. "But he could be anywhere. How am I even supposed to start?" But Nibi only smiled and shook his head.
"Sorry Little Brother, but that is for you to find out. I wish you Luck." And with that, there was a swirl of purple chakra and the man disappeared. A lingering odor of wet earth remained for a moment before blowing away. Naruto slowly turned and wondered back inside the back room of the store where Kibou and Keito were waiting.
"Naruto," Keito said slowly. "Who was that?" Naruto shook himself out of his thoughts and smiled at the two of them.
"He's family," and that was all he had to say. Naruto removed his armor and loosened the clothing. He put the forearm protectors in the shin protectors and then placed them both into the torso armor to save space. He put them into a bag that fit easily into his backpack and there was still some extra room. They ate lunch together before Naruto had to go home and prepare for meeting with his team the next day.
Keito gave him a hug and a new scroll for him to read when he got home. Kibou ruffled his hair again and made him promise to stop by on days when he didn't have missions. He also made him promise to come by once a week for dinner no matter what. Naruto agreed whole-heartedly before he set off home. His thoughts reverted to what Nibi had told him his task was. How was he supposed to find Ichibi, his First Brother?
Naruto's thoughts were interrupted when he heard the shout of a boy as he turned a corner. Just a little way down the path a little boy with a long scarf was being held up by a teenager dressed in black with odd face paint and a wrapped up parcel on his back. Behind him there was another teenager, a girl dressed in pink with a large folded fan strapped to her back.
"Let him go," Naruto said. "Or something bad may happen to you." He noted that they were wearing forehead protectors with a different design from his own. They had the hourglass mark of Hidden Sand.
"Huh, this kid ran into me," said the one in black holding up the boy. "It hurt." He started to pull back a fist to punch the boy with the abnormally long scarf. Naruto jumped into action performing hand seals. A clone formed behind his back and with a Kawrimi no Jutsu (Body Switch Technique) switched the places of the boy and the clone.
Before the boy with a painted face could react, the clone had grabbed his wrist and was flipping backwards. A metal-toed sneaker came into hard contact with his chin and sent him flying back as the clone disappeared.
"I did warn you," Naruto said smiling a bit as the boy picked himself out of some trash. The girl had gotten into a defensive position expecting the fight to continue, her hands on the massive fan ready to swing it into position. The boy in black stood and brought the wrapped bundle from behind him. Glaring at Naruto he grabbed the bandages and started to unwrap it when he was stopped by a voice.
"Kankuro," the voice came from a tree, Naruto looked to see another boy standing upside down on a branch. He was dressed in black with a sash across his front and a large gourd on his back. Under short-cropped hair there were black-rimmed eyes and a tattoo over his left eye. "Stop that, you're an embarrassment."
"G… Gaara," the ninja in black stuttered. All the fight had gone out of him, and he was shaking a little as he put the wrapped thing back on his back. This new boy seemed to scare him and the other girl. Naruto wondered what was up and activated his demon eyes to level one only, he had mastered it to a level where it looked like his normal eyes. "It wasn't me… that kid started it," he said, pointing at Naruto.
"Shut up," Gaara said as he jumped down from the branch, falling easily onto the ground between the two foreign ninja. "Or I will kill you."
What Naruto saw with his Aura vision told him some interesting information. The boy in black and the girl were not just scared, they were terrified. He looked at the boy next and was startled at what he saw. The boy was deeply troubled, the shimmer of madness flowed around him but it looked like he wasn't beyond hope yet. The other thing that he saw really put him on edge. His aura had demon qualities to it, like those of the other Great Demons that he had seen at the meeting.
"You," Naruto pointed to the red haired boy that scared the other two so much. "Who are you and why are you here in Konoha?"
"Gaara of the Desert," he said. His voice was neutral, his arms crossed in front of him as he looked at Naruto. "We're here for the Chuunin Exam."
Naruto nodded, he knew what the Chuunin exam was, Keito had explained it to him before. It was the series of tests that were used to determine who could graduate from Genin to Chuunin, the next step up in the ninja hierarchy. It was available to ninja of all nations so in all likelihood there were going to be a lot of foreign ninja coming in to Konoha.
"I expect I'll see you there," he said, smiling as the red haired boy turned and walked away. Naruto had no idea what Kakashi's plans were for the Chuunin exam, but he was going to be sure to bring it up next time he saw him.
Naruto released the Demon Eyes, but still watched them until they had rounded the next corner. He looked down at the boy he had saved and saw he wasn't afraid any more. In fact he had the bright eyes of admiration for the blond ninja. That made Naruto a little uncomfortable.
"WOW," the youth suddenly yelled, causing Naruto to jump back. "That was so awesome. He was so big and scary and you were so AWSOME! I'm Konohamaru," he spoke very quickly and loudly continuing on. For every step back Naruto took the boy took a step forward, keeping them at the same distance. Naruto was greatly relieved from the boy's ranting when Sasuke took that moment to come and inadvertently rescue him.
"Naruto," he said from a high branch on a tree. "Kakashi wanted us all to meet at the training grounds. Come on." He continued on to the Training Area, leaving Naruto to catch up.
Naruto didn't waste a moment. Immediately blurring, he disappeared and left the Hokage's Grandson with a new idol. He caught up with Sasuke and they continued on together.
They arrived to find Sakura already there. As usual, Kakashi had not arrived yet, so they waited. Sasuke brooded and Sakura fawned over him. Naruto sat down to meditate. Kyuubi had been acting weird since the Nibi had talked with him. In his mind, Naruto stepped out of the shadows and formed a comfortable chair for him to sit in.
"Kyuubi, what is going on?" Naruto questioned.
"Hmm," Kyuubi rumbled to himself. "Second Brother knows something," he seemed to be talking to himself. "Why he waited till now to give you this task…" Kyuubi continued to mumble too low for Naruto to hear. Naruto sighed and snapped his fingers, sending a mental command to the area on the other side of the seal. The reaction took a moment, but the effects were explosive from there.
It had taken Kyuubi a moment to realize, but he was no longer the Great Demon Fox, Lord of Volcanoes, strongest of all the Great Demons. Instead he was Kyuubi, Great Stuffed Fox, Lord of the Girls Room, and Cutest of all the Plushies. The look on his face was one of abject terror and he screamed in horror at the change in his environment. He was no longer in a great barren lava field. Instead he was in a girl's room, a PINK girl's room, surrounded by all manner of things 'cute.' The change only lasted a few seconds but it left the Great Demon trembling even after his normal environment had been restored.
Naruto, on the other hand, was laughing so hard he was almost falling out of his chair. He had wanted to do that for ages, ever since he could change the look of things beyond the seal. He had just meant to get Kyuubi's attention, but the reaction he got was much better.
"Never," Kyuubi growled once he had gotten his composure back, "do that again," Kyuubi preened for a moment, smoothing down his ruffled fur. That alone almost got Naruto to break into new bouts of laughter, but he held back, Kyuubi was speaking again. "My Second Brother, Nibi, may not be our strongest, but he is one of our smartest. He gave you that task earlier today for a reason. My guess is that Ichibi is somewhere in this pitiful village." Naruto was thinking about what Kyuubi said when he felt someone shaking his shoulder in the Real World.
"We'll talk about this later," Naruto said before fading away and returning to the Real World.
"Alright," Kakashi started when he saw Naruto had woken up. "Sorry it took me so long, I was picking these up." He reached into a pocket and took out three pieces of paper. "These are your nominations for the Chuunin exam." This made Naruto break into a wide grin and even Sasuke smirked a bit. Naruto looked over and saw Sakura looked torn.
"Don't worry Sakura," he said, giving her a friendly smile. "We can take anything they throw at us, but we'll be stronger, and have a better chance if we go into this together as a team. And besides, we've all gotten TONS better, all of us." She smiled at him and Sasuke nodded in agreement.
Kakashi smiled at them, they had become a lot closer as a team. He reached into a pocket and took out a pen. He held it out for them, Sasuke took it and signed his name, Naruto second, and Sakura after that. He then took them back and put them into a pocket before giving them his final instructions.
"The exam starts in two days, train today, rest tomorrow and be ready for anything in the exam. Remember, you are a team." And with that, he disappeared glad that he didn't have to worry about all three of them signing up together.
"YEA!" Naruto punched the air. "There will be tough opponents. I can't wait. I'll see you guys in two days." Naruto started running, heading to his home. Sasuke started to work out at the training fields, and Sakura was running up and down trees to work on her speed and stamina.
When Naruto got back to his apartment, he sat down in the middle of the room and sunk into a deep meditation. When he stepped out of the shadows of his mind this time, he formed a dojo-like setting on his side.
"Alright," Kyuubi said, ready to train in jutsu and control. "I was just looking back a little bit on that boy with the strange aura. I'm almost sure of it now. He was getting that aura from my First Brother." The demon settled down on the other side of the seal. "But that is not important right now. He will be at the test, confront him there. Right now we're working on control, and you're going to get a few more jutsu from me."
"Alright Sensei," Naruto bowed to his Demon Teacher. "Let's begin." And so they started. Naruto started with control. Coming out of his trance, he performed his flow exercises, going through every stance of the Element Styles. While he did that, Kyuubi lectured him about the new attacks he was giving him.
The first attack was a non-lethal disabling attack that went under the dubious name of Arerugibakudan (Allergy Bomb). A Close-Range attack, it required that Naruto form a specific toxin in his body that would induce an allergic reaction in the target. The reactions varied but they were each disabling in their own way – Sneezing, watering eyes, constricted breathing, or a terribleitching rash. Few would be able to fight for long after getting a face full of the gas. Through practice, Naruto would be able to exhale the toxin as a gas, or administer it through physical contact as well as be immune to it should it be used on him or if it goes wrong.
The next attack was called the Kitsune otakeb (Fox Roar). The technique amplified the user's voice greatly as they roared out. It had several uses. It could activate what Kyuubi called a Flee Reaction, it imposed the feeling of terror on anyone it was directed at and could cause them to panic and run away. If Naruto was in trouble it could be used to call for help in the form of any Foxes that heard it, they may come to investigate anyway if he ever used it.
The last was a fire attack, called Hinote inju (Fire Ribbons). It allowed him to cast whips of fire from his hands at a distance of up to twenty feet. It took a burst of chakra to ignite them, but very little to keep them lit. Naruto had never trained with whips, so he would not be very good with them without practice, but it might be a good trick to surprise an opponent with.
For the rest of the night, Naruto rehearsed the hand seals for each of the moves, though he didn't actually ever cast them. Naruto went to bed mentally exhausted. The next day he would train the physical aspect of the moves out in the forest.
In the morning, Naruto left for the forest early. He went to his usual clearing only to find that it was being used. He recognized the three individuals as people from his class, Kiba, Shino, and Hinata. Kiba's dog, Akamaru, sitting on the boy's head, looked around sniffing before looking up and seeing Naruto and Barking. The three Genin turned but only Kiba looked up at the tree where Naruto was.
"Hey," Kiba yelled sounding affronted. "You were spying on us?" Naruto jumped down from the tree shaking his head.
"No, no," Naruto assured him. "I just came here to practice for the Chuunin exam tomorrow." He jumped towards them. Underestimating the power he needed, he flew through the air, landing an inch in front of Kiba. He reacted quickly and acted like he had meant to. "What are you doing here?" His dog took the opportunity to take a whiff of Naruto's scent, and gauge his power.
Kiba was startled by how easily Naruto had jumped through the air at him, and he stepped back. But he rallied himself and faced Naruto.
"We've been training here for the Chuunin exam for a Week," Kiba said. "Where have you been anyway?" Naruto just grinned at the question.
"I've had a mission for a while, just got back a few days ago and I've been busy with stuff," he squeezed one gloved hand into a slow fist before releasing, the material stretching over his hand.
Hinata was watching Naruto, he had chosen to leave the sleeves at home that day because it was hot, and she could see his toned arms and couldn't help but blush a bit. Shino noticed her reaction but didn't say anything.
"Well," Naruto continued. "I guess I should find a new place to train." Naruto turned and prepared to jump back into the trees, but Kiba stopped him.
"Hey," Kiba was stretching his arms a bit. "How about a friendly spar?" Kiba was not expecting Naruto's reaction – laughed.
"No," Naruto laughed a little. "I don't want to hurt you before the exam tomorrow." Kiba was about to retort but wasn't fast enough. Naruto was already jumping through the trees quickly making his, way to another spot.
"Gah," Kiba made a fist and shook it after Naruto. "I could have taken him. He wouldn't stand a chance, isn't that right Akamaru?" Kiba was sure that his dog partner would agree with him, but he was disappointed. Akamaru whined and buried his nose in the boy's hair. Kiba frowned and looked back in the direction that Naruto disappeared.
"Is… is something wrong Kiba?" Hinata asked. Her stutter wasn't so bad when she was around people she knew.
"Akamaru can sense someone's strength by their smell," they knew he had been working on that skill so Hinata and Shino nodded. "Well he's saying that Naruto has gotten a lot stronger, and there is something odd about his chakra. If Naruto has improved enough to frighten Akamaru, think about how much Sasuke has improved. It looks like this isn't going to be as easy as we thought." This info had no effect on Shino, but Hinata started to worry.
Hinata looked where Naruto had gone and wondered if this is what her father had meant. Did he know about Naruto's growth? How far had he truly come since they all became Genin? More questions than answers seem to be the norm when it came to Naruto. But she had to admit that he was very cute, and his smile made her heart flutter. In Hinata's mind, the questions were becoming less and less important than the boy they concerned.
Kiba fumed and ranted for a while about how rude Naruto had been, but he stopped when he realized that no one was listening. Even his dog had started to take a nap in the shade. Eventually, they got back to their original reason for being out there and started training, but thoughts of the blond still surfaced in the mind of the pale-eyed girl.
Quote the Speechless: "No closing remarks. I'm tired. Just go make your reviews and please try and make them intelligent and readable."