It had been several days since Naruto had begun his training with Tenten. The day after he had asked for the training Naruto and Koko sat down and quickly designed their own training schedule making sure that they each trained in both their own skills as well as their teamwork.

The schedule turned out to be this: At 7:00 in the morning Naruto would meet with Tenten and train with her for two hours working on his Kenjutsu. He would then take a break, making sure to feed Koko and himself while he studied Fūinjutsu, and anatomy. Shortly after around 11:00 Naruto would leave with Koko to train his senbon throwing at Team 7's normal training ground. Koko would coach Naruto through the process, as she had watched Haku learn to use the delicate instruments. By 12:30 the rest of the team would show up, as Sakura and Sasuke had long learned not to even both showing up until then as Kakashi was always that late. When Kakashi would finally arrive they would complete the D-rank mission for the day before eating lunch and then Taijutsu and Teamwork practice. Koko had been worked into the normal Team 7 practice, well whenever it actually happened. Normally Sasuke would complain, Sakura would fawn, and Kakashi would just read his book. End the end they would all just go their separate ways, which left Naruto and Koko three hours to work on their teamwork. Following that was two hours of chakra control training and finally dinner. After dinner, Naruto would begin to either learn Suiton jutsu from the scrolls that he obtained from Zabuza or try to learn how to wield his new bloodline using Haku's notes.

Naruto had only been able to maintain such a schedule thanks to his massive reserves of both chakra and stamina. This training slowly began to help Koko as well, as it would held her with her endurance and stamina.

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Naruto was rather pleased with how his training was going. He was progressing extremely fast and was proving to have an excellent aptitude for Ninjutsu. After three months of training in Kenjutsu with Tenten he would say he was at least decent with the blade. He knew he was no master that the style he was learning, the Nadare style, which was based on using the massive weight of his blade to deal fast and hard to block strikes. His chakra control had improved to water walking levels that he was able to maintain for a full two hours, and he was working on adding the leaf technique with it. So far he was only up to two leaves.

With his senbon he was now able to pierce pressure points on just about any target to incapacitate them quickly. He was able to work on it so well by using his shadow clones as mobile targets, though he always felt like he took the hits afterwards.

Both the jinchūriki and his companion had made great strides in their Ninjutsu. Koko was able to fire up to four burst of fire for a three second duration. Naruto had taken to calling it her Kitsunebi(Foxes Fire). Her speed had also increased, as she was now able to move behind a target, bite or burn them and then leave which would then force an opening for Naruto.

Naruto's Ninjutsu had been coming along decently well. He had learned Suiton: Suijinheki(Water Release: Water Formation Wall), Suiton: Suirou no Jutsu(Water Release: Water Prison Jutsu), as well as Hyoton: Sensatsu Suishou(Ice Release: Death by a Thousand Needles. He was slowly working on Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu(Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu), but so far was only able to do it once before he became exhausted. He was also working on one handed seals as well, but it was slow progress with everything else he was training. Naruto's life had slowly become just eat, sleep and train.

The blue-haired genin jinchūriki was currently in his apartment working on an idea for a new jutsu involving his bloodline with Koko.

"Hmm… My short range potential is rather low except for my sword…" Naruto mused out loud, hoping an idea might come to either him or his companion who was currently lying next to him on his bed.

"Well… What if you made ice claws to increase you Taijutsu? If you can make the ice cold enough, it might be able to help freeze the blood of your target when you cut into them. However that would require you to learn different stances or even a different style of Taijutsu…" Koko said the first idea that had come to her mind.

Naruto froze for a moment. 'The last time I had claws….' Naruto thought to himself before he mentally shook his head. He couldn't dwell on the past anymore. Those claws were guided by the Kyūbi, this time would be different, and it didn't sound like that bad of an idea either.

Before Koko was able to worry as his sudden freeze he quickly spoke up, "Maybe I could make claws out of ice. I don't feel cold or receive the effects of low temperatures anymore so I wouldn't get frostbit, but my enemies would be hurt by the cold as well as the sharpness of the claws. Now all I have to do is create them with raw elemental manipulation before finding the proper hand seals to mold the chakra… I never pick anything easy do I?" Naruto asked looking at Koko who just snorted.

"You wouldn't be you if you did anything easy." Koko said as she laid her head back down on her paws.

They had been taking a break early as Tenten had to do a mission. He figured that they needed the break after the continuous three months of training. Naruto however was not about to just sit around and do nothing.

Pushing himself up, he set about doing a project that he had be putting off until his studies had gotten far enough. Summoning a Kage Bushin, Naruto set out gathering his book on seals as well as preparing an ink. It was a special ink that was a mix of chakra infused ink and his own blood.

After the ink was prepared properly he dismissed the clone, as he had no further use for it other than getting the book to the right page and setting up the pens he would use. Taking one of the pens, he very slowly started to make the seal matrix he needed on the inside of his left wrist. It was a storage seal, as he didn't want to keep lugging around Kubikiribōchō on his back. This would allow him to access it at a moment's notice, and his enemies wouldn't even know he had a sword with him at all.

After five minutes of double checking he had done it correctly, he used his chakra to activate the seal. The matrix glowed for a moment before it rushed together, forming a ring around the matrix itself, and finished with a light red tinge to it. Naruto picked up Kubikiribōchō and sealed it into the seal, then unsealed it and resealed it again.

Smiling at his work, he quickly cleaned up everything, he quickly grabbed his book on anatomy and laid down next to Koko who had fallen fast asleep.

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Hana was frustrated. She had been busier than ever before, as it was time to check over the entire kennel so all of the ninken had up to date records.

The work wasn't what was bothering her, on the contrary she was happy to have all of the work. No it was the fact that she had met an amazing boy, who wasn't much younger than she was, and she had yet to meet him again! And it wasn't for lack of trying either. On her breaks she would try to get away but something would always come up.

It also wasn't helping that her mother had gotten nosey about it and all but interrogated her.

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Flashback!

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"Thanks so much for everything Hana-san! Come on Koko-chan, let's go catch you a rabbit before we head home."

Hana went to whirl around, in hopes of stopping him from leaving so quickly but he was already gone through the door.

"Damnit!" Hana muttered to herself as he turned back around to finish her paperwork, "I almost got to ask him…"

"Ask who what?"

Hana froze at the voice, as it was a voice she had hear since her birth. Turning around with a smile of getting caught with your hand in the cookie jar Hana spoke, "Kaa-san, Hey…."

Tsume stood there with a smirk adorning her beautifully feral face.

"I asked you a question, pup. Ask who, what?"

Hana didn't exactly know how to answer. Her previous boyfriends had been nothing special, or all that intimate mainly because her mother had this habit of checking up on them, and after that she would personally speak with them which ended up scaring off everyone. She knew her mother was just being protective but she was seventeen, and she hadn't had any relationship that had gone past the first date!

"Oh nothing, Kaa-san." Hana said in an almost sheepish voice as she turned her back to the Inuzuka matriarch. She was hoping her mother would drop the subject, "So what are you doing her?" Hana asked in an attempt to divert the conversation.

It didn't work.

"Uzumaki, Naruto…" Tsume said just over Hana shoulders. The fact that her mother was that close to her surprised her for a second. Tsume had looked over her shoulder at the paperwork Hana had been fidgeting around with, "So who's he? Someone I need to have a chat with?" The matriarch said with a feral grin.

"NO!" Hana blurted out before she composed herself, "I mean he just came in with a kitsune that's all. Standard checkup so she could be placed as his companion." Hana said, having reverted to her professional tone.

That caught the older Inuzuka by surprise. No one outside of the Inuzuka's carried companions into battle. Sure anyone could, but no one ever chose to. What also surprised her was the animal that was his companion… A fox. Not exactly a heavy hitting companion, as they weren't built like the ninken of the Inuzuka's.

"Oh? He's got a companion? Tell me about…" Tsume looked again at the paperwork, "the kitsune, Koko."

Hana really wasn't happy right now, not only had the boy gotten away, but now her mother was going to go on her hunt to scare him off after she finally found a guy who seemed to like animals and actually seemed to care about his companion. She was absolutely certain that her triplets would easily agree to him, as she wouldn't be able to be with anyone without their consent as well.

"Koko is a rare kitsune, her breed can grow multiple tails as a result of their chakra reserves. The tails are a directs show of their strength, just like our ninken's strength is shown in their size. She's young, only what I would guess to be a year or two. She'll probably get as big as one of my huskies depending on how many tails she's able to grow. She currently has two tails. The surprising thing is the bond that she and her companion share. It is very strong, and it's only been a short time since they've been together." Hana said, her voice petering out at the end as she was still stunned by the strength of the bond that she had seen.

Tsume was surprised by this, though she did her best not to show it. She had the name of the boy and that was enough for her, though if what her daughter was telling her she might just make an exception for him and let him have a try for her hand.

"So, do you like him?" Tsume pressed. Hana groaned, as she knew this questioning was not going to end.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Flashback End!

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Her mother had not given up on trying to figure out what she felt for Naruto. It wasn't easy to answer her, as she herself had no clue what felt for the blue-haired shinobi. It didn't help that her mother would question her any chance she got, whether it be at home in front of her little brother, or at work in front of her fellow medics. Her mother sure could be a nag when she wanted to.

She had hoped to see him when she dropped off the paperwork, but he had already left before she had gotten there. She was damned and determined to figure this boy out.

Heaving a sigh, as she walked down the halls of the animal hospital, she was almost done with her work day. She just had to drop off the last of the records at the front desk and then she was done; And she wasn't going to be headed home just yet. She had brought her ninken to work today, not only to get them checked out, but also so she could hunt the boy down.

At times she wondered if she was taking her curiosity to an obsessive level, but then again she didn't really care.

As no one was at the front desk, she placed the files in the 'To be Processed' bin, then hung up her coat. Giving a quick whistle, she walked out the door followed by three identical huskies. She wasn't like most Inuzuka's, not only did she go and learn medical Ninjutsu, but she was also bound to three dogs instead of just one. She had only been six years old when they were born, and they just took to her as she did to them. Since then they had been inseparable, fighting, playing and laughing together, they had been through thick and thin together.

They could tell that Hana was on a mission, they weren't positive what kind of mission, but they could tell that she was serious.

As she walked out onto the street, she turned to her ninken and held out a few hairs, "Alright boys, I want you to help me track down this smell okay?" Hana said as the dogs sniffed at the scent. Within minutes they caught the scent and took off with the feral kunoichi hot on their heels.

The trio of dogs led Hana across the village towards the training grounds. As she entered training ground seven, she was forced to stop for a moment as the area was filled with a mist. From the scent in the air, she knew it was manmade. Calling upon her previous experiences with manmade mists, she quickly concluded that it was the Kirigakure no Jutsu(Hidden Mist Jutsu) that forces from Kirigakure would use often.

Hana, not wanting to be forced to rely on her nose only, held her ninken back in the trees as they waited for whenever it would clear.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Naruto was currently in the mists, he was practicing using it, hoping that make it combat ready. He had his hitai-ate over his eyes, so he would have to focus entirely on his ears. He had been doing this training for close to an hour.

Hearing the ever so slight pitter-patter of pawed feet, Naruto quickly turned and caught Koko as she jumped into the air.

That was how he was training, Koko would hide in the mists and try to tackle him and he'd try to stop her by catching her. This improved both Koko and Naruto's reaction timing to attacks, as well as speed for Koko and hearing for Naruto.

"Damn, I almost had you!" Koko whined out. Naruto, lifting the hitai-ate onto his forehead, chuckled as he released his jutsu and began to stroke her behind her floppy ears gaining a coo from Koko.

"It just means I'm getting better is all," Naruto said before his ears picked up four different heart beats. He hadn't heard them before as his attention was so focused on hearing everything in the clearing, not so much in the trees lining the clearing, "Show yourself!" Naruto called out, as Koko crawled up onto his neck barring her fangs in the direction Naruto was facing.

"Well that was impressive, to find me so quickly…" a feminine voice called out. Out of the shadows of the trees walked Hana, clad in her chūnin gear which consisted of tight forest brown capris, a sleeveless mesh shirt under her form fitting chūnin vest. Behind her were three huskies who, while trying to give the illusion of laziness, Naruto could see were on high alert.

Naruto quickly recognizing who it was gave a smile, "Ah Hana-san, to what do I owe the pleasure of a visit?" Naruto asked.

Hana almost giggled, Naruto had sounded older than she knew him to be. She knew he was only thirteen years old from her younger brother, yet he gave off an air of confidence and experience that Hana couldn't help but fall for. Giving the shinobi in front of her a once over, she couldn't help but notice the changes about him.

His arms seemed more defined, as was his torso. Since he wasn't wearing his vest at the moment, she could almost make out the rippling muscle underneath the skin tight shirt he wore. His eyes seemed to hold an almost unbreakable resolve in them, however there was something lying underneath that Hana wasn't quiet able to make out. It was as if he was keeping a part of himself hidden from the world and he was doing a damn good job of it.

"I just wanted to talk with you. I've never met anyone who's bonded with an animal outside of my clan, so you kind of intrigue me." Hana said in an almost coy voice.

The tone she used almost set Naruto on edge, it was as if she was baiting him, hoping he'd give something up. He was also on edge, because no one EVER wanted to know about him, hell most people just wished he would roll over dead.

"So what would you like to know?" Naruto asked, paying attention to everything around him and everything she said. Meanwhile, Koko seeing that there was no danger decided to curl up around Naruto's neck, laying herself out on his shoulders and falling asleep.

"Why don't I buy you a cup of tea and we can talk? How does that sound?" Hana asked. She could tell by his body language that he was defensive right now, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get any answers out of him that way.

Naruto thought on it for only a short moment before nodding and gesturing for her to lead the way. Hana led the boy in silence to a new café that had just opened up. They had walked through the streets in silence, neither one willing to start the conversation. As they arrived, they took a seat outside so they wouldn't have to send their animal companions away.

After a quick order of tea and a few treats for their furry friends, Hana went back to observing Naruto. She noticed that he looked uncomfortable for some reason. With a quick glance around, she didn't find any reason for it so she chalked it up to being with her. 'He must not have a lot of experience with women…' Hana thought to herself.

"You don't have to look so uncomfortable, Naruto-san. I'm not going to bite… much." Hana said with a smirk.

Naruto gave a small chuckle, but didn't seem to relax. It wasn't so much the fact that he was uncomfortable sitting here drinking tea with a beautiful woman. No that was a different matter all on its own. No he was uncomfortable right now due to the fact that he wasn't used to sitting out in public. The village didn't seem to catch onto his new looks yet, and he was nervous that they would any second and throw him out. He didn't want that happening, especially not in front of someone who had shown him kindness.

"Sorry, just not used to this is all." Naruto said with a small sheepish smile, "So what is it you wanted?" Naruto asked.

Hana's smirk slowly slipped from her face as a thoughtful expression took over, "I just wanted to get to know you. I've never met anyone who can form a bond as strong or as quick as you have with Koko there." Hana said in a light tone, as if it was nothing special really.

Naruto just leaned forward, feeling Koko shift slightly in her position, "Well what would you like to know?"

"Oh where to begin?" Hana asked rhetorically. For the next hour both teens sat there, sipping tea and talking with one another. From a distance they looked like two friends who had gotten together after a long time apart.

Naruto was careful not to divulge too much into his personal life, just relating experiences he's had with his team. He was able to make Hana laugh at a few of his stories of him verses the demon cat of Konoha, Tora. Hana would talk about her work or her clan, a smile not far from her face. The only time they stopped talking was to order another round of tea.

At the end of the hour, Hana knew she had to get home otherwise her mother would come looking for her and of course that would lead her to meeting Naruto. She had slowly started to like the guy, and she was not about to subject him to her mother's treatment. Naruto, having spent more time than he had anticipated, needed to get back to training to stay on schedule. Little did they know, on a rooftop not far away, they were being watched from the shadows.

As they got up and paid their check, both nodded and agreed to meet again whenever they had free time. Hana slowly walked to her clan's compound with her triplets in tow. She was musing over the mystery that was Naruto. She knew he hadn't shared much, but what he had shared she found that she liked.

As she walked through the gates she immediately felt a presence behind her.

"Well don't you look happy."

Hana turned around to be greeted with the sight of her smirking mother. She hadn't realized that she had been smiling the entire time, or that she was practically radiating happiness. "What do you mean, Kaa-san?" Hana asked trying to wipe the smile off her face, but to no avail.

Seeing her daughter attempt to stop smiling caused Tsume to roar with laughter on the inside. She had been observing her for the past hour. When she had taken her ninken to work with her, Tsume knew her daughter was planning something and she figured it was going to be to track down the boy. While Tsume knew she had been pestering Hana about her relationship with the blue-haired shinobi, she was in all actuality happy. She knew Naruto hadn't had the easiest of lives, and to her own fault of being caught up in council politics and clan affairs she hadn't been able to help the child at all.

"Oh," Tsume began as she slowly circled her daughter, "Just that you seem rather happy after your little date…"

Hana's eyes shot open, as she felt like she was pray being hunted. Not only had her mother found out that she had met with Naruto, but that they had spent time together. Quickly covering up her shock with steeled determination she moved to complete denial, "I don't know what you're talking about, Kaa-san. Now if you'll excuse me, I had a long day at work and I think I need a shower."

Tsume's smirk grew even greater at her daughters response. When her daughter walked past her towards the house she just had to throw the icing on the cake, "Oh, did you want this photo? I think you and him looked so adorable…" Tsume said holding up a small photo of Naruto and Hana laughing together.

Hana moved so fast, she was nothing but a blur as she grabbed the photo out of her mother's hands and ran into the house. The entire time this was happening, her ninken had just sat there listening to the conversation. In no time flat Hana had made it into her room, closing and locking the door. Her breath came in a soft pant, as she didn't realize how fast she had forced her body to move.

After catching her breath, she put the photo on her dresser face down as she pulled out a pair of loose fitting shorts and a t-shirt to lounge around in. 'Ugh, she's so damn nosey!' Hana thought to herself, as she made her way into her adjoining bathroom and started to shower.

XXXxxxXXXxxxXXX

Naruto found himself back in the same clearing again, only this time without the mist. He was currently working on making his, what he dubbed, Kōri no Tsume (Claws of Ice). So far he had been able to extend the claws over his finger nails. They weren't really sharp at all, but when he had tested them they made frozen marks on the tree. The thing that really irked him was he was only able to make seven marks before they shattered.

He was currently hoping to increase but as he made his sixth strike, "Alright, that was six… Here's seven!" Naruto exclaimed as he moved to slash at the tree. As the claws made contact, he could feel them crack. As the hit followed through, the cracking continued until the claws were no more.

"Damnit!" Naruto exclaimed, his frustration getting the better of him, "Not only does it take me like forever to make them, but their so damn fragile!"

Koko sighed from her place off to the side; she knew Naruto was getting worked up. It was inevitable really, but to Koko he was making excellent progress. It had been two days since he started working on this jutsu, so she wasn't all that worried, "Naruto, you need to calm down. You've only just started, now don't we need to go meet up with duck-butt and foghorn?" Koko asked in a cheerful voice.

Since getting back from Nami no Kuni, she had really taken a dislike to Naruto's teammates. Mainly for their continuous insults towards him, and since Naruto never defended himself against them they kept coming all the time.

"Koko," Naruto said in a complaining tone. He wasn't really in the mood to listen to insults from either side, as Koko had slowly been getting more and more vocal with them. Koko just walked over to him and rubbed her side against his leg, and all the tension between them seemed to stop, "Alright, lets go." Naruto said in voice that sounded tired.

Koko, using her claws, climbed up his right leg and perched herself on his shoulder. Naruto was used to this by now, and didn't even pause as me made his way towards his team's meeting place. As he walked he couldn't help but think back over all of the training he had undergone to get to this point. How he spent many hours with his old friend Tenten learning how to use his blade properly, or all of the Ninjutsu he taught himself. He could only think to what would happen had he not jumped with Haku. He'd probably still be running around, screaming how much he wanted to be Hokage, and still wearing those orange jumpsuits.

He still remembered when his team saw his new outfit. Sasuke was stunned into silence… that or he was just shocked and began to brood like always. Sakura screamed about how Naruto was trying to copy Sasuke's coolness and how he'll never be anything like him. Kakashi just took one look at Naruto and then patted him on the head telling him 'good job'. Naruto tried to deck him for that but even with his back turned Kakashi was able to dodge him.

As Naruto neared the meeting place, he pulled out a book he was carrying with him so he could study. In his mind he was going over the style of fighting him and Koko had been speaking about as she took a nap on his shoulder. The style consisted of quick and fast paced movements, he would use his claws, if he ever got them combat ready, and hit areas on the body to slow movement before he could fully disable them. When combined with Koko's speed and flexibility, they made a very formidable pair.

As everyone arrived, they all set about waiting like usual for their sensei to show up. However unlike usual, Kakashi showed up thirty minutes early.

"Yo." The one-eyed jōnin said with a mock salute.

The team was startled, and if it hadn't been Koko telling Naruto that it was really him, he would have thought he was caught in a genjutsu like Sakura and Sasuke thought, though only Sakura tried to dispel the possible illusion.

Seeing his students not believe he could arrive on time made him sweat drop a bit, "Anyway, sorry I'm a little late, but I was getting your applications to the Chūnin Exams. Here you go," Kakashi said as he handed each of his students a single form, "If you wish to participate go to Room 301 in the Academy this Friday at 0800. No one is going to force you to participate, but I believe all of you can handle this. I'll see you at the exams!" the lazy jōnin sensei told his students, as he left them eager to continue reading his little orange smut.

Left there standing without the adult, the teens all felt differently about the exam. Naruto and Sasuke were both excited to get to test their skills against other genin, though only Sasuke say this as a way to increase his power. Sakura felt rather unsure of herself, but would attend anyway just to impress her Sasuke-kun. Naruto and Koko quickly pocketed the application and left to go train on their own some more, they had only three days tell the exam and Naruto was going to use every minute he could. Sasuke left to go train as well at the Uchiha compound, while Sakura continued to pester the boy for a date.

While heading to his favorite training ground, Naruto heard a kid struggling. Quickly turning the corner he say said kid struggling in the grip of a boy wearing what appeared to be a cat suit with kabuki makeup on, a Suna hitai-ate, and a strange object wrapped in bandages on his back. IN a tree near him was a kunoichi also from Suna if the hitai-ate was anything to go by, yelling at the other Suna shinobi to put the boy down. Upon further inspection Naruto noticed the boy was Konohamaru, the Hokage's grandson. Naruto had a small soft spot as the kids dream was also his own, and as such said that they were rivals for the title.

Not wanting the boy to get hurt Naruto decided to intervene, "Hey Suna-nin! You might want to put the Hokage's grandson down before you inadvertently cause a war. All three of you might as well come out as well, no reason trying to hide in the tree." Naruto said, his eyes on the tree. The two Suna nin looked up in the trees and their eyes widened with fear.

"G-g-gaara!" Both of them stammered out.

The third Suna-nin now being called Gaara, quickly used a Suna Shunshin(Sand Body Flicker) and placed himself between Naruto and the other shinobi.

"Kankuro, you're an embarrassment to Suna. Put the boy down before I kill you." Gaara said, his voice menacing with the promise that he would do as he said.

Kankuro quickly released his grip on the boy who quickly dropped to the ground and darted behind Naruto.

"I apologize for anything my brother did." Gaara said in a monotone voice. Naruto took the time to better access the situation. The girl behind the small redhead had a fan on her back and wore a light lavender dress that went down about mid-thigh. On her left leg she had mesh armor and he could see the armor at the top where it held onto her shoulders as well. Around her waist was what appeared to be a red belt, and she had four pigtails tied back. The boy had a mess of red hair, and was wearing a black body suit with mesh armor peeking out at the sleeves. He had a brown belt tied around his torso that held what looked to be a gourd of sand as well as a piece of white cloth over the belt. On his forehead the kanji for 'love' was in a red dye.

"No harm, no foul." Naruto said, as he collected Konohamaru and was about to leave before he was addressed again.

"Konoha-nin, what is your name?"

Naruto turned and saw that it was the same redhead that had addressed him before, "Uzumaki Naruto. And what are your names?" Naruto asked curiously, the boy's scent was off putting as he smelled of sand and blood.

"I'm Subaku no Gaara." Gaara replied in his monotone voice.

The girl seemed to perk up at being acknowledged, "I'm Temari!" The girl said with a smile. The boy next to her wearing the cat suit didn't speak at all and just held his tongue.

"I'm assuming your all here for the exams correct?" Naruto asked getting a nod from the group, "Well please try to cause any more potentially disastrous incidents anymore." With another nod of understanding, the trio of Suna-nin left, and Naruto went off to find Konohamaru's sensei so he would be watched. From the vibe they were giving off Naruto wanted to be prepared for them if he had to face them in the upcoming exams.