Still don't own Naruto

Chapter 39: Iwa

Naruto and the group heading to Iwa were at the main gate, it had come as little surprise to most of the people that Kakashi was not on time.

"You would think such a famous ninja like the copy ninja Kakashi would at least be on time" Samui said clearly annoyed at having to wait for the silver haired jonnins arrival.

Naruto, Jiraiya and team Gai were unfazed by Kakashi's lateness and began to relax under a tree.

"What's up with them" Karui asked.

"Oh Kakashi Hatake Is both notoriously lazy and constantly at least one hour late. It is rather annoying" Yugito said plainly.

"For a elite ninja to be lazy like that, makes you think, I mean Dauri sempai is lazy as well and he is considered one of the strongest in Kumo outside of A-sama and Killer Bee Sensei, maybe being lazy makes you a top ninja and by me being lazy I will one day become so powerful that I become Raikage, but because I am so lazy the village suffers and eventually collapses forcing me to become a wandering ninja and take on jobs I would never do maybe I would even have to join the Akatsuki" Omoi theorized on one of his rant's.

"Will you shut up" Karui said annoyed at Omoi over active imagination.

Around an hour later Kakashi finally appeared with his patented eye smile "Yo" he said with a lazy wave. He had shunshined onto the guard shack and was blissfully unaware of the looks being sent his way by an irritated Karui. She would never express her dissatisfaction at having to wait an hour by the main gate of Konoha toward such a well known ninja however.

"Hey Kakashi sensei, you know your over an hour late again" Naruto said offhandedly.

"Yeah sorry about that I got lost on the road of life again" Kakashi said.

Samui and Karui just stared at disbelief at the man 'that was the worst excuse ever' they bother thought as Kakashi hopped down from atop the guard shack.

"Fair enough" Naruto replied before standing up, followed by the other members of the traveling party.

'what does he mean fair enough, he was over an hour late' Samui thought.

"Well we better get going, it is around thee to four days to get to Iwa and we don't want to be late" said Kakashi. The irony of the statement seemed to be lost on him as the others looked at him disbelievingly.

"That's a bit much for you to be lecturing others about being late" Yugito said as she pulled her back pack on and began heading toward the gate to head on out to Iwa.

"She's right you know Kakashi sensei" Naruto said and he ran after Yugito.

Kakashi sweat dropped but followed in there wake.

The group didn't stop until that night and set up a small camp.

"So we need to break up into groups to get the camp set up quickly" Jiraiya said getting everyone's attention.

"I will go collect water with Yugi-chan" Naruto offered. Receiving a nod from Jiraiya the pair went off with several empty buckets.

"I guess we will collect wood for a fire" Samui suggested indicating her team.

"Good idea, so Gai your team will go collect some food with Kakashi" Jiraiya said.

"Um, what will you be doing Jiraiya-sama" Shinoi said.

"Ah, I have to keep an eye on Naruto and Yugito, cant have the Akatsuki targeting them and have them all alone" Jiraiya said.

Only Kakashi found something off about this statement, 'If the Akatsuki attacked Naruto there would be at least enough chakra being thrown around to alert most of fire country' Kakashi however did not feel it necessary to inform the rest of the group about this as he was hoping for a new copy of his favorite Icha Icha series to come out soon.

(Yugito and Naruto)

Once the couple had left the group they quickly made there way to find a fresh water source.

"Gah we are going to have no time to ourselves until after these exams are we" Yugito sighed.

"Probably not, but that doesn't mean we cant enjoy the time we do get together" Naruto said suggestively.

"Oh you know, I like how that sounds. We will just have to find more time to spend together, I'm sure if we asked we could get a separate room at the hotel in Iwa" Yugito suggested walking over to wrap her arms around Naruto's neck before kissing him passionately.

Naruto readily returned the kiss and ran his tongue along her bottom lip begging for entrance. Yugito complied and invited him inside her mouth before fighting back so her tongue was now exploring the contours of his mouth.

Yugito started to take off Naruto's cloak when he froze. "Naru-kun whats wrong" she purred still freely kissing him despite the fact he was no longer returning them.

"We are not alone" Naruto said expressionlessly.

"What do you mean I cant sense anyone, come on your not going to stop now are you" Yugito purred and finally pulled cloak off him before running her hands underneath his shirt along his well toned muscles.

"Sorry Yugi-chan but I am sure you don't want us to be part of someone's next book" Naruto said he started as almost a whisper but ended loud enough so that anyone in the area could hear him.

Then Jiraiya shimmered into existence. "Damn it how did you notice me" he complained.

"You taught me, and you think I wouldn't recognize your favorite jutsu. Sorry Jiraiya sensei but we are not going to be staring in your next book" Naruto said but he held no malice in his voice.

"Cant blame me for trying, can you" Jiraiya joked.

"I can!... What the hell are you doing here!" Yugito snapped she was angry at being interrupted and had not yet given up hope that Jiraiya would go away and as such had not left her place in Naruto's arms.

"Sorry Yugito its Tsunade's orders, I'm not allowed to let you two out alone until you make it safely to Iwa, that's why Kakashi and yours truly were sent anyway" Jiraiya replied with a smile.

Yugito seemed to deflate at this, she was far from happy, to her it was like she had been given a plate of her favorite sushi only to have them take it away after she only had one piece.

"I'm sorry Yugi-chan guess we are going to have to wait, and you... Your going to pay for this sensei" Naruto said in mock seriousness. He did not like Jiraiya spying on him but he couldn't stay mad at the man, his perverseness was part of what made him Jiraiya and the person he cared for most, well after Yugito.

"Sure thing kiddo, now come on if you don't get that water everyone else will wonder where we all are" Jiraiya said still smiling.

"Fine lets get this job done then head back to camp" Yugito said and reluctantly removed herself from Naruto's embrace.

(Sealing Cave)

The last signs of life faded from Hans face and the sealing ended on the Gobi as his body crashed to the ground.

"Well It's about time" Kisame said as he stood in silhouette form.

"It was faster than sealing the Gobi, we must have enough energy now to seal them without having to overcome the lack of Nibi" Itachi said.

"Yes it would appear that is the case" Pein said

"Yeah but it still took three days" Kisame complained.

"That is to be expected now I want you both to return and prepare for the capture of the Nanabi, and Zetsu I need you to go find Rokubi he has without a doubt moved from his last location" Pein said

Pein faded from view after the plant like Zetsu left to find there next target, followed by Kisame and Itachi.

Itachi was sitting next to a clearing in Earth country when he he returned to his body, he immediately stood up and began gathering his belonging's.

"Hey Itachi whats the rush, we wont have to capture Nanabi for awhile yet. I mean we can take our time" Kisame said.

"Kisame I want you to head out of Earth country without me, I have something I need to do" Itachi said.

"What why, is this some fancy Uchiha business that I cant be involved with or something" Kisame mocked.

"Sure I guess you could consider it that. I need to check on something that is personal business, you don't need to be involved in it, so I guess it is Uchiha business" Itachi said as he began to walk towards Iwa.

"Hey you cant just blow me off like that were partners" Kisame yelled back at the retreating figure of Itachi.

"I will meet you at the staging area to capture the next jinchuuriki, don't worry about me I will be fine" 'I hope...' Itachi thought the last words as he walked away from the Monster of Kiri.

(Naruto's Group)

It took the team's from Konoha and Kumo another three days to reach Iwa, on there arrival Naruto found a group of familiar faces waiting for them.

"Hey Shikamaru, when did you guys get here" Naruto called out getting the lazy Nara's attention.

"Troublesome, we have been here for almost a week now, they told us you would be entering... I just hope I don't have to fight against you, it would be rather detrimental to my health" Shikamaru said.

"Ah big deal so what if he is a S ranked ninja me and Akamaru can still take him right boy" Kiba said confidently but fell over when Akamaru just shook his head and backed away.

"Kiba it would be foolish to try and fight Naruto one on one, the only people who would even consider it are the elite jonnin, Hokage and Jiraiya-sama" Shino said his face still hidden behind his big jacket.

"We should get to the hotel I am sure the gate guards need to check our passports" Kakashi said breaking up there friendly reunion.

Naruto went and handed his passport to the gate guards who upon reading his name began to tremble slightly. The fact there was a living Namikaze and he was a S ranked ninja at the age of only 16 had spread through Iwa faster than Tora can escape the Daimyo's wife.

"Here you go sir" the guard stuttered as he handed back Naruto his passport. It didn't get any better for the guards as they then had to mark the passports of three feared men in Iwa, that of Kakashi, Gai, and Jiraiya.

As Naruto walked through Iwa he took in how different it was to Konoha. While Konoha was surrounded by trees, Iwa was surrounded by mountains and had various waterfalls and cliffs that made a natural defense fortification like Konoha's walls. The buildings were created out of rock and stone and shaped out of elevated formations in the basic structure of the valley that the village lay in. while many of the buildings sat of cliffs and needed a complex system of bridges to get from each area.

Naruto also noticed on his journey towards the hotel they were staying in that the people were readily avoiding the group of Konoha ninja walking through there town. Gasps and whispering followed Naruto where ever they went, Naruto found it unsettling and would have preferred it if they just showed him open dislike to fear of someone who had never harmed any of them in anyway.

Just as Naruto was contemplating talking to one of the civilians who seemed more interested in finding out what the Konoha ninja were like rather than hushed speaking about them Naruto felt something move on a rooftop above him.

Having to react quickly Naruto narrowly avoided a large clump of mud thrown at him, this caused Jiraiya and Kakashi to get on edge but only forced Naruto to burst out laughing.

The villagers did not seem at ease at this not knowing if the spiky haired blond would hurt the child, many recognized the boy he was an orphan his father and mother were ninja who died on a mission six years ago when the boy was only two.

"Hey that was a pretty nice ambush you almost had me" Naruto joked easily jumping up and landing behind the boy. Said boy wore dark red pants and a black top with an Iwa symbol on the back, he had short black hair and brown eyes.

The young child was so shocked at the speed Naruto had shown he didn't even realize he had moved before he started speaking in his ear.

The shock was too much for the child and he fell from the roof. Expecting to fall and hurt himself he closed his eyes and waited for the pain, but it never came, slowly opening his eyes he found himself in Naruto's arms.

"Hey careful kid, sorry for spooking you like that" Naruto said kindly as he put him down.

The child looked up at Naruto, 'He's not mean or blood thirsty why did the lady at the orphanage say we were not to go anywhere near this guy, he seems friendly to me' he thought as he struggled to find the courage to thank Naruto for saving him.

"Hi my name's Naruto, whats yours" Naruto asked seeing the kid still seemed to scared to speak.

"I-I-Iwaka" the boy stuttered out still slightly terrified that Naruto might attack him for trying to hit him with mud.

"Well Iwaka it was nice meeting you, I am sure you will become a fine ninja one day with skill like that, you almost got me good" Naruto joked and ruffled the the young Iwa orphan's hair before moving on.

The poor boy just stood there in shock before grinning and running off. The scene did not go unnoticed by the groups of civilians and shinobi alike who were in the area to get a good look at the blond haired Konoha ninja. As soon as Naruto was out of sight they began fiercely gossiping amongst each other about what they just saw, half were convinced it was just an act while the other half was reserving there judgment of the boy until later.

(Orochimaru's group)

Sasuke and Orochimaru were walking the halls to meet up with his team for the exams. Sasuke was his usual brooding self but Orochimaru seemed to be slightly more anxious than was often seen from the Hebi sannin.

"what's wrong with you, don't tell me your worried if this mission will succeed, all we have to do is capture some pathetic Iwa kunoichi, there will be nobody there that would stand a chance against me anyway" Sasuke said arrogantly.

"Perhaps you have forgotten that Naruto-kun is going to be at the exams Sasuke-kun, he will be more than a match for you I am afraid, and we have just received word on who his escorts are, Kakashi Hatake and that deranged spandex wearing Miteo Gai. And finally that fool of a ex teammate of mine Jiraiya" Orochimaru spat at the last name knowing that if Sasuke came into contact with the elder toad sage he was as good as dead.

"Hn so what they are nothing compared to me, only an Uchiha can defeat an Uchiha" Sasuke said his arrogance knowing no bounds.

"Perhaps, but if that was so then why are there no Uchiha up on the Hokage monument" Orochimaru said, he enjoyed making Sasuke angry, the angrier the young Uchiha became the more control over his will the snake had.

"The Hokage's were nothing but fools" Sasuke spat.

"Oh I know, but that doesn't mask the fact no Uchiha was ever chosen to be Hokage, in fact I came much closer when choosing the forth than your father did" Orochimaru said bitterly, still upset that they chose Minato over himself.

Sasuke was getting mad now, to him it seemed like Orochimaru was mocking his father. "My father would have beaten you both if you ever fought he was an Uchiha, don't forget it" Sasuke yelled and stalked down the hall leaving Orochimaru standing there and licking his lips.

"He will be a fine body. But that arrogance, Fugaku Uchiha was nothing but a loud mouth arrogant whelp, but then again so were most of the Uchiha, those eyes need to be in the hands of people more deserving" Orochimaru said before licking his lips at the prospect of what would soon be his.

Catching up to Sasuke as he entered the main chamber he observed the current occupants, Karin was currently hitting Suigetsu for insulting her, and Kabuto was just sitting watching with his usual smug air of being better than everyone else.

"Orochimaru-sama why are we still here, most of the teams have already arrived for the exams" said Kabuto as he saw his master walk into the room.

"Because Kabuto, we don't want those pests from Konoha to become suspicious when we show up, I do not plan on having you all arrive until the day of the exams" Orochimaru said.

"Why its not like they are allowed to do anything to us while we are in Iwa" Sasuke said

"That may be true but you arrival will certainly make at least that old fool Jiraiya think something is up, also it is not just you, Suigetsu will be recognized by the teams for Kiri, and Karin might even be remembered by Kusa if they even managed to send a team" Orochimaru said.

"Hn fine I don't care lets just get this job over with, and if I run into the dobe, all the better" Sasuke sneered.

"Heh you call him the dobe but what I remember, he beat you into the ground and you needed help to get away" Kabuto sneered.

"He is nothing compared to me, nothing but a dobe" Sasuke said and stalked off destroying several walls with chidori's in anger.

"Was that really necessary Kabuto, he's ego is ever so fragile" Orochimaru said smoothly.

(With Naruto)

Naruto had settled into the hotel and was happy when he found that he had indeed been offered a separate room that he could share with Yugito. After enjoying there alone time for awhile Naruto decided to go for another quick walk and find a training ground.

Walking out of the hotel he ran into Gai who by the looks of things had just finished a work out of his own.

"Hey Gai sensei, good work out" Naruto asked despite knowing what was about to happen.

"Yosh I fed my flames of youth for all Iwa to see, now I only hope that Lee will be awarded promotion as well as yourself my fine rival" Gai pronounced loudly.

"Yeah I have been wondering about that, if Lee cant use ninjutsu how can he be promoted, I thought the first task always consisted of a skills test to make sure that the ninja have to pass to get through to the next round, wouldn't Lee fail because he cant use ninjutsu at all?" Naruto asked remembering what Kakashi told him about needing two elemental transformation's to be eligible for jonnin.

"Ah normally yes, but in Lee's case no, you see he is only held back because of a medical problem, for this reason he is given a waver also the common use of two elemental transformation's is no longer in use, they stopped using it around three years ago, that is how Kurenai made jonnin, as she had very small chakra supplies and ninjutsu was a complete waste of time for her" Gai said.

Naruto was confused about this. "But I thought you needed to have at least two types of elemental affinities to continue past the first task" Naruto said.

"In the past yes, but if someone is exceptionally gifted in a certain area, like Lee is in taijutsu, if he knows enough styles he can claim point's in the exam that way, for you having two types of elemental transformation is a positive because it proves you have mastered at least one type of elemental manipulation and are almost guaranteed to pass" Gai said.

"Ok I get it so basically they award points for what skills you can do, so while I will score a zero on genjutsu because I cant perform any, I will score high on tai and ninjutsu to pass" Naruto summarized.

"Exactly, Neji last time scored poorly on ninjutsu but because of the byakugan and his taijutsu style passed via Genjutsu and Taijutsu. Tenten will pass with Kenjutsu. See it is a way so that a jonnin is able to still focus on there strengths while still encouraging well rounded ninja" Gai lectured happily.

"But that will mean Lee has to show off a lot more of his flashy moves to pass while I could just coast through as I am unaffected by genjutsu so I am bound to get some points there, my Taijutsu is good but not as advanced as yourself and Lees and my ninjutsu is my strongest area but I wont even have to show much of it at all" Naruto said.

"Yes this is true my young rival, but it is because you work hard that you have these advantages, it is also why Lee does not mind to reveal more than you in the first task as he wants to prove that he can become a splendid ninja with taijutsu alone" Gai said proudly.

Naruto and Gai talked awhile longer about the skill's that they would need to show and different types of traps set up in the first task. After that Naruto began walking around town looking for a training ground but could tell someone was following him. 'So, trying to sneak up on me fine I will play along for now' the blond thought as he continued to walk on casually.

As Naruto came into a clearing that just had to be a training field Naruto made a seal less clone and jumped up into a nearby tree and waited. Moments later Iwaka the small boy from before slowly appeared in the clearing and began to sneak up on the clone.

Just as Iwaka was about to jab 'Naruto' in the back he puffed out of existence. "You know kid its not smart to sneak up on a ninja" Naruto called from his tree shocking the poor boy.

"Hey... How did you do that" Iwaka asked wide eyed.

"It was a clone, you will learn them in the academy... well maybe not one like that but a basic illusion clone at least" Naruto said and he jumped down into the clearing to talk to the boy.

"Yeah they told us about clone jutsu but we haven't been able to learn any yet I only started at the ninja academy this year" Iwaka said.

"Well then seeing as we are in a training ground why don't you show me what you have learned, come at me with everything you have got" Naruto said.

The small boy hesitated for a second but then decided he would trust Naruto and charged. His attacks were sloppy and ineffective but at the same time he was an eight year old so that was to be expected.

"Ok kid tell me, what training do you do, you know apart from stalking foreign ninja" Naruto joked.

"Um the lady at the orphanage lets the students at the academy train with blunt kunai and shuriken, we have a small training area" the young boy said.

"An orphan huh, you know I'm an orphan as well so I know how hard it can be, tell you what I have a gift for you" Naruto said and removed a scroll from his belt and unsealed a small weights set. "these will help you with your training, sooner or later they will become to light and you will have to get more but they should be fine until you finish at the academy" Naruto said handing the boy the chakra weights.

"Really your giving these to me" Iwaka asked with tears of joy forming in his eyes.

"Yeah why not, all you have to do is add chakra into them. Do you know how to do that" Naruto asked unsure of what the academy taught here.

"Yeah we have to channel chakra into pebbles to get them to stick to our hands" the young boy said nodding rapidly.

"Good then we can move on to other stuff, here throw this kunai at that post over there" Naruto offered the young boy one of his own kunai and watched as the tossed it slightly wide of the post.

"Not bad" he lied. "But I think you can do a lot better here watch me" and Naruto pulled out a kunai of his own and showed the boy how to throw the blades properly.

They continued this for quite awhile until the boy was able to hit the target close to center on every attempt. The boy was so happy with his effort he gave Naruto a hug.

"Well look at that, he's good with kids as well, damn you Yugito-chan" Samui said to her blond counterpart. As they both hid watching Naruto and the young boy train.

Yugito didn't say anything she just smiled and watched on thinking of how fatherly he looked with the smaller child. "Come on he wouldn't be happy if he thought we were checking up on him, he can take care of himself" she finally said and began to leave there well hidden area.

Naruto knew they were there all along and gave a small smile when he felt them leave knowing they were just worried about him, he also became surprised when the Anbu who had been watching him decided he proved no danger and went to report to Oonoki.

Naruto had just finished explaining why his shuriken were so small compared to other ninja when he saw something that troubled him. 'What is a crow doing out here, they are not native to this land...I see, and hes alone as well, what could this be about' "Hey Iwaka I'm sorry but your going to have to go home now there is something I need to do.

The young Iwa boy was upset but nodded in understanding before heading home with his new weights tucked securely under his arms.

End Chapter!