Kakashi and Naruto had spent a little time at the graves after Naruto buried Zabuza and Haku, even if he kept Zabuza's head. A bit of a shock passed through Naruto when he realized Zabuza hadn't been at full strength.
Zabuza had already been dying from a terrible disease, one that had claimed hundreds of Ninja. It was a variation of chakra poisoning, and it only occurred when a ninja had been forcibly injected with demonic chakra. It most often occurred in those who had contact with a bjiuu, more specifically those who fought against a Jinchurikki and lost. The man had been at full strength during the first engagement, but using chakra and not taking the time to fully recover from a near death state had shoved him down to mid-jonin level, high-jonin at best.
Even still, if it hadn't of been for his speed technique, Soru, which broke several of Zabuza's ribs that battle would have dragged on for quite a bit longer. He soon stopped considering the two, knowing that there was nothing he could do now except get stronger.
Naruto smirked as he told Kakashi that, as the responsible sensei, he was to be the one to tell Sasuke and Sakura what happened. The fact that he shunshinned away before Kakashi could do anything other than stutter added to his amusement.
He stayed away from his team for a while, just training, trying to get his speed up far beyond what most people think possible. He laughed to himself as he recalled the complacency of shinobi.
One would think, that when you have access to an unimaginable force that can get you anything, provided you work for it, the shinobi would be a lot stronger. After all, most people could already reach high jonin level speed just by channeling chakra into their muscles. It was only the greatest, who spent years and years honing their muscles who could achieve true god level speed, like Minato and the Raikage, along with Gai.
For the two weeks they stayed, Naruto focused mainly on speed and strength, the Kyuubi's healing factor allowing him to advance farther than any other, matching the speed that the smaller spandex wearer had with both their weights off.
That was all he had time for though, as his team left after that. The last thing he heard from wave was the shouting out of the bridges name, this being "The Great Naruto Bridge." He assumed because it was he who killed Gato.
~Break~
As soon as he stepped into the Leaf village Naruto felt something. It was something on the edge of his senses, and if it wasn't for the fact that he was only alive now because of those little details he would have passed it over. As they walked towards the Kage tower to give the report and be paid, Naruto eventually managed to make out a small blur every now and then.
'Someone's following us…and they are stealthier than regular ANBU. This is not good.' Kakashi either didn't notice it, or just figured it was an ANBU, so there was no point in bringing it up. 'I'll keep an eye on it, and if it continues to follow me, I will ambush whoever it is before they get the chance to do the same.'
They arrived at the Kage's office, and Naruto drowned out the sound of his two teammates screaming about how it wasn't fair and how Naruto should no longer be able to go on missions with them so he wouldn't steal all the good fights.
"Naruto, are you paying attention?" The aged kage asked, causing Naruto's attention to snap back to him. "I believe that Sasuke and Sakura have produced a valid point. Seeing as you are as strong as they are, but were able to gain more experience in this mission, I believe that it would be best if you stayed in the village for a little while those two gain experience during missions."
'I know that Kakashi has been training Naruto despite my orders, that's the only way the kid could of matched Zabuza, even if by his own reports the man wasn't at full strength. It's just a pity that I can't do anything to Kakashi. The man is a powerful shinobi, and it would not be a good idea for him to have an accident.'
The aged Kage didn't even really care that Naruto could probably see through the plan. After all, once someone got past the grandfather outlook and feeble old man's appearance, Sarutobi Hiruzen was not good with deception. He was a schemer, but he relied upon others to carry out the scheme. That was one of the reasons he let Orochimaru go, most of it was regret, but a part of it was because he needed a scapegoat. Orochimaru actually rebelled because Sarutobi ordered him to do something even he was unwilling to do.
Granted, Orochimaru was a sick bastard. There was no denying that, and he was every bit as evil as he was reputed to be. But even Orochimaru drew the line on experimenting on family. Anko's curse seal was actually supposed to help her fight, unlike every other one designed. True, the others helped the wielder fight, but it came at a heavy cost. Anko's gave her all the benefits with only one negative, that being the exhaustion that overcame her afterwards. Orochimaru was many things, but he was not someone who betrayed family, not after he finally found someone he truly considered family, after his genin team failed in that regard.
It was one of the Saindaime's greatest moments when Orochimaru saw that the one he considered a daughter hated him because of something he had done to her to help her. Those suspiciously missing memories and six months with Ibiki might have helped there.
Back to the point, his lack of skills regarding was also the reason why he had put Danzo on the advisors position in the first place. The man was a master at manipulating others, using every method possible whereas Sarutobi only had a few methods. Lying to someone was one thing, convincing the witness who was there that they saw your version of events was something else entirely.
He didn't particularly care if Naruto saw through it because Naruto couldn't do anything about it. With no one to help him, to train him, Naruto could only get so powerful. Shoot, he wouldn't even be able to master jutsu without experience, wouldn't be able to truly be able to turn his skills into a lethal combination without fighting people to learn how to match his stuff together.
With Kakashi kept out of the picture by missions, the other jonin either busy training their genin, busy with missions, or hating Naruto, and Danzo kept occupied with a few little favors he had called in from a few sources, Naruto wouldn't get any training, or any experience other than D-rank missions.
Naruto, as expected, knew exactly what the much older man was planning. He also knew that he was incapable of doing anything to prevent it, and by Kakashi's furtive glances at him, the jonin knew it too. "Very well, Hokage-Sama." The tone was his usual icy one, with an undertone of disgust, directed at the man in front of him.
Naruto turned and left the room, headed for a private training ground, outside the thirds seeing range while Kakashi tried futilely to change the Hokage's mind, while Sasuke smirked and Sakura continued to try and impress him. It still disgusted Naruto how pathetic she was, but he hoped that her first kill would sober her up and make her take her training seriously.
~Break~
'That person isn't going anywhere, now I think that the Hokage purposely sent him or her here to observe me. I guess that I will have to delay this watcher.' Naruto thought to himself as he devised a way to get rid of his stalker. He looked around at the crowded street of Konoha, viewing the various crowds and street vendors as he walked.
He hopped up onto a roof so he could go faster, a common sight among the populace of the Leaf village. He jumped towards his training ground, the roof hopping allowing him to move a great deal faster than walking in the crowded streets below.
He felt more than saw the ninja following him increase the speed they were going to keep up, and Naruto managed to leap straight onto a patch of earth, knowing he had mere seconds before he was in view again. He made three hand seals, channeling a constant amount of well controlled chakra. "Doton: Torappingu no Jutsu.(Trapping skill)" He muttered, creating a fifteen foot hole in the ground with a twelve foot diameter right in front of him, covering the top with a very light layer of earth and grass, making it so that there was no difference between the trap and the area around it, before leaping over it and landing right before the ninja came into view again.
He slowed down into a walk now that he was out of the village, ensuring that the follower would not grow suspicious if the observer knew his habits. He kept a small amount of chakra connected to the trap, but little enough that only a skilled Hyuga would notice it. Even then they would have to look for it. After all, it wouldn't be a trap if it was found out, would it?
He heard as the shinobi made the mistake of leaping out, falling through the false ground perfectly. He smiled maliciously, finding dark amusement in the hidden features of his little trapping jutsu. Torappingu no jutsu was unique in the fact that not even chakra could find purchase on the walls, and the floor of the jutsu would allow no purchase for a shinobi to leap out of it. Of course, one could always layer the bottom of the pit with various things with a more lethal intention.
He headed back, to see who it was; using a more basic genjutsu he had created to hide himself from the senses of his new opponent. Inside the pit was a non-descript male with brown hair and basic ANBU gear, a tanto sheathed over his back and a blank mask on his face. The only distinguishing feature was the kanji for "Ne (Root)" on the forehead of the mask. Naruto frowned, he had never heard of an organization called Root.
There wasn't much that he could do, so he cast a sleep genjutsu on the man, and another on the hole, both would last for several hours, so Naruto tried to make sure that they were both quite strong ones. Unused to casting powerful genjutsu, he would not know how long these would last. He made a shadow clone to inform him as to the exact amount.
He walked into the clearing, only to know immediately something wasn't right. He looked around, not seeing anything. He drew his ninjato, channeling chakra and pulsing it out, breaking an illusion on him just in time to block a blade being stabbed at him.
He looked around, thinking 'This isn't good.' Other than the one in front of him, pretty much just like the one in the pit a way away, there were also two more of the Ne shinobi, waiting, circling around him like the wildcats around an injured bird. Naruto was given no time to think of a way to escape, as the ninja in front of him proceeded to prove just why he appeared as an ANBU.
Even despite Naruto's training, he was unable to counter the powerful kick that sent him flying, and unlike with Zabuza, he was given no break to recover. The ninja was above him in an instant, kicking him down into the ground with a powerful heel drop. A crimson spray flew from his mouth as he hit the ground, but Naruto didn't even take the time to feel the pain, substituting away just in time to avoid a stab from the ninja's tanto that would have killed him.
He took the precious second and removed his weights, managing to catch the Ne member's blade with his, but was unable to avoid the punch to the face. Channeling chakra to his feet, he was able to only slide back, his eyes going golden in preparation.
The Ne member paused in his assault for a moment, apparently curious as to what the eyes did, and wary about attacking someone with an unknown dojutsu. That was all that Naruto needed to turn the fight around. "Soru." He vanished from the view of all three Root ninja, reappearing behind the one who had been attacking, blood spraying from the other ninja's torso. "Kenjutsu: Bleeding Prey." The ninja collapsed, blood pouring from the seven wounds he had.
The other two shinobi prepared to fight him, Naruto realizing that Soru wouldn't help him too much here now that those two had seen it. He made no reaction as the two appeared beside him and stabbed him through the heart and the kidney.
The two jumped back as Naruto exploded into dust, one going through handsigns to counter the mud balls coming at them and the other kneeling next to their injured comrade to stop the bleeding.
Having countered the mud shots with balls of fire, the ninja tried to find the blonde, only to discover he couldn't. He supposed that Naruto ran away, and began to use a jutsu that would allow him to track them.
Hiding in the shadows nearby, a malicious, foxy grin appeared as said blonde swiftly went through hand seals. "Doton: Hell Zone Rock Shard!" The ground shook violently, dozens of sharp shards of rock rising up swiftly, before piercing right through the root ninja.
Naruto tsked to himself, knowing that was too easy. He replaced himself with a mud clone, hiding in a different part of the forest. It turned out to be a wise decision, as his clone died soon after. He leaned closer to the ground, using another jutsu. "Doton: Jihibiki Kansei no Jutsu (Earth Tremor Sense Technique)"
He quickly found where the other ninja was, as that technique found movement, and the other ninja was keeping on the move. Naruto moved to intercept him, sheathing his ninjato and getting a double handful of senbon. 'Three, two, one, now.' One of the best things about senbon is that they are silent. This was the case here when Naruto was able to put the ninja in a near death state before the root member could do anything.
He hid the body and returned to the clearing, seeing three ninja, one still unconscious, one who looked exactly like the one he imprisoned, and one on full alert, waiting for him. There was also a fourth person, one he half-remembered, an averagely tall man with spiky brown hair, an eye bandaged, and a useless arm.
That man turned around, looking at the exact point where Naruto was. "That's enough Naruto, you've passed my test. Come on out and join us."