A/N: Whew, this is a long chapter! I've decided to introduce a new character here. She'll have a role to play later in the story, especially what she's going to do during the three-year time-skip. Also, to all you Sakura-lovers and nit-pickers who question as to what Sakura is doing here, I will have to point out to you that until after the Chūnin Exams and during Shippūden, she was nothing but dead weight—she's useless now, but I plan to follow canon as closely as possible. Also since I've had Choji starting a band, I will take song requests. Do read and review would you kindly?

…

[Naruto and Tenten…]

It was almost four hours since the scary proctor woman had left, but Tenten chose to cherish this moment. She had Naruto's head on her lap, wistfully stroking his sun-kissed blond hair as he slept. Not too long ago, the color was closer to a whitish blond; a savage cream color, similar in a way to the snowy gray of the Uchiha twins. But now it was the same bright yellow as always, as if she were petting a fox with golden fur. Would he always have the potential to become a bloodthirsty savage? Still, without a doubt she knew that no matter how monstrous he became, he would always be the Naruto-kun she loved deep inside. Perhaps this was how Meilan felt when she herself comforted him on the day he got Mizu-hime from Masamune.

Looking down at his sleeping features, it brought a smile on her face as she realized how truly fox-like Naruto was. It made her happy as to the possible future that Tenten would have with him. Then her eye caught the red left arm. The way it ended in five claws that looked ready to rip her apart at a moment's notice, like it's neighbor. She also remembered exactly who it was that made it so that Naruto was cursed in the first place. In all honesty, when she first heard that her Uncle Manten had tried to kill a little boy with the family heirloom and was killed for it, she'd thought that her father was going mad. There was no way that her kind and sweet uncle was capable of such an atrocity! But then, she did suspect something was wrong between the brothers when her father scared her uncle away for playing with her at the time. It was not until her father told her in a grim voice that the boy he hurt was in the hospital at the time, and under ANBU guard that she started to somewhat believe him. When she got there to see for herself, she understood what her father hadn't told her. Not only did her uncle try to kill a little boy, he tried to kill a little boy she'd recently befriended!

After that, a cloud of guilt continuously followed Tenten everywhere she went—even before Naruto returned to Konoha, she felt bad about what her uncle did. She felt even worse that she was even related to that monster and he did not know it. Her thoughts were interrupted when Naruto finally stirred. "T-Tenten? That you? What happened?" he asked blearily, "I feel like I was torn apart and then stitched back together with a very dull needle."

"It's okay," she said, continuing to comfort him even as he propped himself up and turned to face her, "You've been out for almost four hours. We're separated from our teams at the moment. Do you remember anything?"

Naruto's brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to remember. "Not much, I remember being in a dream where I turned…" at this point, he was interrupted upon hearing the sound of heavy chains rattling the second he moved his right arm with a small amount of difficulty due to the weight that was placed on it, eliciting a flinch and a gasp from him. He then started running his fingers slowly from his right elbow up to his wrist until he hit a metal surface—no, it couldn't be! And as though he were wishing what he felt were not true, he continued to run his fingers over the thick band to the back of his right hand. Even though the sounds of nature were dominating the environment, he could hear the sound of a door slamming shut with a loud and heavy 'bam' the very second he felt that at the tip of his right fingers were sharp claws, causing him to pale upon coming to a very dreadful realization: that was not a dream.

The tremors soon followed as a wave of memories had come to the forefront of his mind; a red haze, bestial roars, the violent murder of a bandaged genin, savagely attacking Orochimaru, attacking the elf team, and they all caused a heavy pounding in his mind as he remembered each moment. Tenten moved in to embrace Naruto only to watch as he flinched away from her touch. "G-g-get away from me," he said, "I'm too dangerous!"

Tenten moved in slowly with her hands in a placating gesture, while also ready to pounce at a moment's notice. "Naruto-kun, it's okay…"

"No it's not!" interrupted Naruto, backing away with every step closer that Tenten took, "I am now the monster that everyone in this kami-forsaken village seems to think I am! One taste of blood, or if my limiters somehow come off, and I'll turn into a monster!"

Without warning, both genin jumped; Naruto in a motion of fleeing, and Tenten in pursuit. The weight of the Weapons Mistress quickly bore down the back of her target. She managed to sum up as much of her strength as she could and wrestled Naruto into the ground in the span of three seconds. It was not easy for her to try and hold him down; she could tell from the way that he was wriggling to get free that he was a lot stronger than he looked. Still, she'd wrestled down bandits at least double his height and bulk before hogtying them. It was no surprise he was this strong; it took a lot of strength to wield a zanbatō in two hands, much less one.

As kinky and enjoyable a position she was in, Tenten knew that this was not the time for sexual fantasies. She needed to pacify him before her arms became too tired to hold, and before Naruto destroyed himself in his own despair. "It's not your fault!" she managed to say, trying her hardest to hold onto a still-wriggling Naruto without a dirty thought, "You couldn't have known what that asshole Orochimaru would've done! And I don't care if you become a monster, you will always be Naruto-kun to me!"

All efforts at escaping eventually slowed to a stop when Naruto realized that resistance was futile. "I could kill you," he protested, depression heavy in his voice as he finally relaxed his muscles in resignation, "I could rip your heart out with my bare hands if I go berserk again."

"My father knows about your condition and explained to me the burden riding on your arms," Tenten began as she finally released Naruto. She stroked his hair, "Even if that were to happen, then I would not blame you. I could never hate you."

"And you'd put your trust in me?"

"I would."

"Even if I killed you, would you still want me as a friend?"

That last word bit at Tenten momentarily, but she made her resolve clear. "No matter what you do to me, no matter what you become, I will never hate you. The only ones I would hate are the people that would willingly use the curse to do bad things, and the one who inflicted the Curse of Kazan upon the world in the first place."

At last, Naruto allowed himself a though other than self-loathing. The curse was a hindrance to him, and now the twins, that much was true and always would be. But in a way, they all had a choice in the matter for how they used their power. Perhaps he could be strong; if not for the village, then for everyone that needed him. He finally relaxed. he had some apologies to make—but first he had to find the others. "Thank you, Tenten," he finally murmured, "I think you can let go of me now."

Tenten turned hot and red with embarrassment before she scrambled to let go. "Sorry," she said, before remembering something else, "Oh yeah, you'll need these!" At this point, she unrolled a scroll, ran a finger across the most recent line, and summoned Mizu-hime and a chakra-reactive short sword.

"You brought them?"

"Of course. A good swordsman is never too far away from his swords."

Naruto placed Mizu-hime back on his right hip, and the short sword resting on his lower back with a happy grin. "You're the best friend a guy can ask for Tenten, which is why you are one of my precious people. I hope we can see each other again more often after these exams."

At that, Tenten felt guilty, hearing herself being called a 'best friend' after what her uncle did. But it filled her heart with joy to know that she was important enough to be considered precious to him. It also filled her with hope, that she would be considered important enough to be considered a lover one day. Before she could think of anything else, she just remembered something. "Oh yeah, I have a message for you from the proctor Anko," she said, "She said to watch yourself and she wants to speak with you as soon as you get to the tower."

Naruto turned his head in Tenten's general direction, curious. What was it that Anko wanted to see him about? Pushing such thoughts aside for later, the two of them ran and back-tracked to where Teams Seven and Eleven were.

…

[Teams Seven and Eleven…]

The twins stirred fitfully as they both awoke. Uchiha Tsukiko and her older twin Satsuki looked at the area around them, their heads throbbing. "Do you...remember anything sis?" groaned the younger twin, quite confused.

"I remember Kikyo getting bitten by Orochimaru," began Satsuki, trying to remember everything, "And then I..."

"What?"

"I tried to save you from Orochimaru, who was biting you. He was using you as a shield. I felt something prick my neck and after that, nothing."

"I…" before she could say any more, Tsukiko noted that her sister was staring at her with a pale face. "What?"

"Tsukiko, your arm…"

The younger Uchiha twin looked down. Her left arm from the shoulder down was a dark, flushed red. As she lifted and inspected the hand, she saw that it ended in five deadly digits, much to her horror. As she looked at her older sister, she too noticed something. "Nee-chan, yours is...!"

Satsuki did the same, and horror crossed her face when she saw that she too had a demonic red arm. "What's happened?"

No sooner than she asked, a torrent of memories came flooding back to both twins, assaulting them with headaches. They were memories of murder, violence, bloodshed, and a red haze that seemed to obscure the whole thing.

"He's worse off than the two of you now," said a stoic voice, interrupting them from their thoughts, "Compared to him, your cases are much easier to take care of—but Naruto's burden is even greater thanks to that idiot that bit you."

The twins looked, and found the source of the voice. It was Kurama, flanked by a concerned Kikyo and Meilan, plus a terrified genin they could not identify with a bloody bandage around her left knee. Satsuki was the one to break the silence. "Did you…"

"No," answered the red-skinned demoness, knowing exactly what she was going to ask, "I was kicked out of my home by my 'father' Kazan, who you may or may not know as the Jūbi. So I was forced out of Naruto-kun's body. Because of that, now Naruto will become a bloodthirsty killer if the limiters are suddenly removed, which is why we have to find him and Higurashi-chan immediately."

Now the urgency of the situation dawned on the genin present. Neji, on the other hand, saw this as an opportunity—limiters eh? So that meant the monster he'd seen butchering the Oto team with the Uchiha demons had a weakness, and so would they!

"Before we go, I have a warning for the two of you," said Kurama seriously, "Since neither of you have a limiter, you have to be careful to not swallow any blood, or get into a fight for longer than five minutes. Otherwise the Curse of Kazan will take effect and you will be turned into mindless killing machines until someone knocks the both of you out."

"I think that can be managed," said a voice from beyond the tree-line, "Perhaps we could all benefit by staying together for now."

The bespectacled boy from before the first Exam, Yakushi Kabuto, emerged from the surrounding forest. Kurama didn't need to see the boy to know that something was fishy about him, his scent in particular. "That's generous," she said curtly, "But I highly doubt you'd offer to help us without something in it for yourself. So what do you want?"

"Nothing in particular," replied Kabuto, with an innocent look on his face, "I just lost my team, and need help finding them. We agreed to meet at the tower if we were ever lost."

Kurama said nothing but glared mistrustfully. She circled him, looking for even the slightest sign of deceit. For a long time, Kabuto felt actual fear. He could tell from her movements that the red-skinned woman was at least at his level, if not higher.

"Alright then, let's join up," she said finally, "This way, Team Eleven and I will find Naruto, Team Nine finds Tenten, and you will get us all to the tower to meet your team. It's a win-win situation."

Satsuki and Tsukiko looked at each other with determination in their eyes. Kikyo and Meilan shared in their agreement before looking towards Neji, who simply sighed in disgust. "Much as I hate to admit it, the cavewoman is correct," he said reluctantly, earning a dangerous look from Kurama, "We'll have to work together in order to find our missing teammates. For now, we are allies, but afterwards we shall all be enemies in this exam!"

With a nod of agreement, everybody started walking, except for Rock Lee who was slung over Neji's shoulder, and Kurama who stayed behind with a very terrified Kabuto in her sights. As she hefted Kin over her shoulder (much to the Kunoichi's silent, indignant outrage and embarrassment) with one hand, she used her other hand to make the universal 'I'm watching you' sign. Once it was clear that he understood, she smiled—a grim, fanged smile to make it clear to the bespectacled genin that betrayal would not be tolerated. He could only imagine the consequences of such things.

After having a small laugh at his expense for almost tripping on a root as he cowered away from her, Kurama followed the other teams. They had to hurry. The time limit was drawing close, after all…

…

[Team Ten…]

It was a really lucky for the Genin of Team Ten. They'd managed to ambush a team for their Heaven Scroll and had finally found the opportunity to rest halfway toward the tower in the center of the forest. They'd managed to kill a large wild chicken for food earlier and were in the process of cooking it now—Shikamaru had barely brought anything in his storage scroll save for a toothbrush, Ino only had three ration bars (which the three of them had to share), and Choji had just finished his last bag of chips.

As she looked wistfully into the fire as it cooked through the meat of the chicken, she began to think. Questions that had had no opportunity to be asked before were now being given priority. However, one question popped to the forefront of her mind—one that was being contemplated by all three members of the team. "What do you think made that sound, Shika?" she asked, earning a sigh of annoyance from the Nara boy.

"To be honest, I have no clue," drawled Shikamaru, "But whatever it was sounded like it was hurt. Don't ask me why, I just have a feeling that there was genuine physical pain in it."

Choji was not an animal-person, but he could not help but agree with Shikamaru. If anything, he felt both fear and pity for whatever made that sound. "You don't think it's a beast that got hurt do you?"

"Maybe," yawned Shikamaru, "But it's not our problem, at least not now. Look, let's just eat and rest before we get to the tower. The sooner we get there, the less we'll have to worry about getting hurt by whatever's out there. Who has the first watch?"

At this point, Ino stood up. "I'll do it. I'm not that hungry yet anyway."

"I'll relieve you when the chicken is ready," added Choji, "And Shikamaru will get the last watch?"

The Nara boy gave a wave of noncommittal followed by a 'yeah, yeah' as he finally took a nap. As Ino walked away from the campfire, she began to think back on the sight she'd seen earlier; on the way to this location, she'd seen a snake biting a blind fox in the paw. She was about to help the poor thing before she saw it go wild and butcher the snake that bit it, then a few birds, and some mice, before it finally succumbed to the venom and died. Then came the roar she and her team had heard, prompting the three of them to find a hiding/resting place.

The second she sat down to start the first shift, Ino could not help but think as to what it was that she saw. Was it an omen? If so, then what was it telling her? Then it hit her that the fox reminded her of Naruto…but what did it mean? As she thought more and more of the possibilities, she found herself horrified and disturbed by her train of thought. She shook her mind clear of such grim thoughts and concentrated on the task at hand; when she saw Naruto-kun again, she'd find out.

…

[Somewhere in Tetsu no Kuni…]

A girl with cream-colored hair sat in her drafting room, writing out the measurements of her latest work of art. She wore a white kimono made of double-woven silk. She kept a decorated tortoiseshell chopstick in the bun of her hair that continued on as a pigtail. She also wore baggy pants with various pockets, and large round glasses that framed her deep sapphire eyes. To the naked eye, she was a beautiful genius hard at work inventing something on the drawing board. As she took a moment to pause, she picked up her coffee for another sip. She only had a few more finishing touches before she could…'wham!'

Oh the horror! All that hard work, ruined! Something hard hit her hand and made the coffee cup lurch, spilling the beverage all over her blueprints. Ignoring the pain of the hot coffee that had spilled onto her lap (ruining both her kimono and pants), the girl grit her teeth in fury. Not only was her coffee pretty much gone, but all the hard work she'd put in over the past, tireless week was now totally ruined. And she knew exactly who to blame.

It was a small basketball-sized robot with a propeller on the top, small wings at the side, and legs on the bottom of its spherical body. Its face had two large glowing blue eyes and a small rectangular slit for a mouth. These little machines were common among the Saika clan; their purpose was mainly to serve as assistants to the clan members that built them. In fact, their construction was a rite of passage to those members of the clan that devoted themselves to the art of the mechanical engineer and gunsmith. This little machine practically trembled in fear, apparently knowing how much trouble it was in.

She practically steamed with rage as she glanced down at the little robot, with a very strained and dangerous smile. The dark chuckle she let out only enhanced the robot's artificial sense of dread. "Well aren't you brave, making me spill coffee all over my blueprints?" she hissed.

The response came in a quick series of clicks, whirs, and beeps that filled the air of the otherwise silent room. The Butler-model Mobile Assistant robots, and all other Saika-manufactured robots for that matter, spoke in this improvised machine language. She was not well-versed in understanding what the robot was saying completely (which she was embarrassed to admit to the rest of her clan members in her field of study), but she understood enough to catch the gist of it. "I DON'T GIVE A RAT'S ASS IF YOU'RE SORRY OR NOT!" screeched the girl at the robot. "I TOLD YOU HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF FUCKING TIMES NOT TO DO THAT! I FUCKING TOLD YOU TO BE MORE CAREFUL, YOU THINK-SPONGE-LESS WASTE OF SCRAP METAL!"

The robot quailed under the tirade, even as its mistress let out a frustrated sigh, placing one arm under her modest bust as the other massaged her temples. Her voice had calmed down to a growl. "Just give me a fucking good reason why I shouldn't throw your metal ass into the incinerator and replace you right fucking now. And no Machine-speak this time! You know how much I suck at it!"

"M-m-my apologies madam," stuttered the robot in the girl's mind, starting to calm down its voice even though there was fear in its tone, "But Master Carlos has sent a message. He seemed to be very…agitated, which is odd for him."

"Damn that impatient, ass-faced, son of a bitch!" grumbled the girl angrily, knowing exactly what it was that Carlos was likely going to be stomping up to her drawing room for, before turning her attention back to the robot, "You're damn lucky on the following counts, Gear: one, I did my god damn work in pencil and was almost done anyway. Two, I need you to get me some materials—ten hardened bamboo boards, a bamboo barrel, strong metal springs, some 11.5mm rounds, and a lot of bamboo parts. Do it now before I change my god damn mind and turn you into a coffee machine!"

"Y-yes madam!" The little robot lifted itself into the air and started to fly away. It would be the worst insult if the mistress actually followed through on her threat. It just so happened that the mistress's eyes had followed the little robot out the door—and then paused on a photograph. With the sight came memories as to why exactly she had yet to carry out her threat…

…

[Flashback, almost four years ago…]

The Saika district was quite possibly the most technologically advanced region in the world, rivaled only by Yukigakure. It is said that the ancestors of the Saika clan came from a whole different world altogether, and that the technology they have produced would have changed the world if they ever decided to share it. Rumors of firearms, the use of chakra for an electrical power source, advanced karakuri dolls... So many wonders have been theorized that would have hurtled the clan light years into the future if they were true.

As he walked through the crowd on a stroll with an improvised bokken strapped to his back, Naruto could hear exactly why the Saika clan was known to be highly advanced: there was the creaking of gears, whirring servomotors, the whine of electrical devices being turned on, even the wayward 'bang!' of the clan's prized riflemen at target practice with their matchlocks. "This place is amazing!" said Meilan with excitement, "Oh, I wish you could see everything they've got here!"

"Well, take it in," said Naruto with a smile, "I just hope we still have time to train. GSD-sensei wanted me to learn this technique properly."

"Don't worry, you've earned some time off! And besides…" Meilan was interrupted when Naruto raised a hand to her mouth gently. "I hear something approaching."

There was a sudden whir and something small shot through the air, colliding with Meilan's breast. She looked down and saw a basketball-shaped robot with a propeller on top of its head. "THERE YOU ARE YOU LITTLE SHIT!" Meilan looked up and in the direction of the female voice belonging to a cream-haired blonde girl with glasses in a white kimono running in their direction. The robot had trembled in fear momentarily before flying behind her before she caught the robot and held it in a protective hug—which seemed to calm the robot just a bit.

"You thought you could get away huh, you little fucker?" asked the bespectacled girl as she panted, although doing her best to keep up a sneer, "Well you're getting your punishment, and there's no running away from your creator!"

"How dare you!" exclaimed Meilan, as she grabbed the robot tighter in her cleavage, "Picking on something as small and weak like this! What did he ever do to you?"

"You stay out of this, bitch!" barked the girl, stomping towards Meilan and jabbing a finger at the spherical bot, "This is between me and Mr. Coffee-spiller!"

"What'd you…"

Before she could say another word, Naruto grabbed her by the shoulder. "Relax," he said, before turning his attention to the girl with glasses, "There's no need for violence. Neither is there any need for such harsh language. You can have the little guy back—but if I hear of you mistreating him again, I will punish you just as much!"

Even though the robot was returned to her and the couple turned away, the sneer on the girl's face was clear. "Well, you've certainly got a pair! Do you even know who you're threatening, jackass?"

Meilan glanced at Naruto, who merely shrugged. "Don't know, don't care." The girl stared openmouthed: the stranger blew her off unconcernedly. No one had ever, ever talked back to her like that before, nor shown such casual disregard.

…

[Tetsu no Kuni, present day…]

As she sat down with the parts being assembled, the young Saika continued to think back to those days. If it weren't for Gear, she wouldn't have met that first person who was willing to stand up to her. Before she met him, she was a spoiled brat (as much as she hated to admit it), and quite enjoyed having her way. She didn't know what was so damn interesting about that boy; he was blind, apparently well-learned in terms of street smarts, had a red mutated arm (which she found exotic), but other than that there wasn't much special about him. Then again, the fact that he stood up to her was what made her come to his training ground on her breaks, watching him swing that bokken upward in an attempt to perform one of those jutsu that she'd heard about to no avail.

As she assembled the firing mechanism for the barrel, she remembered the day after. It was just shortly after he'd stopped to take a break that the young Saika dragged the boy away with the aid of a few of her robots…taking care to make it so that her rival was unaware he was gone. After resigning himself to his fate, the two of them sat down and had lunch together. Apparently, the boy was named Uzumaki Naruto, and he was training to become strong to protect everyone he loved and loved him back. To be honest, she was bored of hearing that reason—and yet at the same time she could not help but admire people who were willing to go that far. After that, she had introduced herself: she was Saika Sayaka—daughter of head Mechanic Saika Yumi and the samurai captain Toshiro and niece of Saika Shigehide, the current Magoichi of the clan and the samurai general Mifune.

Naruto's response was simple. "I don't really care about that," he said, much to her surprise, "I only care about who you are as a person."

This then led to an argument between the two of them that made Sayaka realize that she thoroughly enjoyed speaking to a person that did not kiss her ass. Unfortunately, the fun ended when that muscle-headed bimbo he travelled with stormed her house with Gear, who willingly led her. As she watched muscle-girl take Naruto back, with a jealous look in her eyes, she found herself returning that jealousy…an act she'd never thought she'd do herself.

After that day, she kept coming back to that training area where Naruto was swinging his bokken upward, for their daily argument. Sayaka was even there when she saw Masamune-san (Kami rest his soul) leave Naruto with his latest work. Later, as she watched him perform moves, she wondered if they were possible with bullets. Unknowingly, her arguments with Naruto led to her being less spoiled, and having a better relationship with the rest of her clan and all robots she built (even though the latter still preferred that muscle-headed bitch Meilan over her). Everything was good; the arguments soon became philosophical discussions and learning experiences of each other, Naruto was starting to call her by name (instead of 'cursing robot girl'). Relations had improved ever so slightly with Meilan with a few lunches, to the point that the outright dislike had become a somewhat friendly rivalry. She was talking to Uncle Mifune and Shigehide more, and was starting to become the best shot at target practice, with a proficiency in all firearm types.

Unfortunately, all good things had to come to an end. After nearly three years and a half of staying in Tetsu no Kuni, Naruto left with Meilan and his sensei GSD to go back to Konoha. When she saw him at the park he usually trained at, Naruto broke the news to her. Her heart broke as she realized that she was in love with the bastard and didn't want him to leave, though said bastard didn't know it. When asked if he would ever come back, he gave her a thumbs up and a sincere smile before saying, "Someday I will; and that's a promise I intend to keep."

Sayaka didn't know what came over her; she didn't understand why it was that it felt so right when she pinned him to the ground and almost started kissing him passionately on the lips until she saw Meilan looking down at them with a 'in your dreams!' expression just made it all the better. After that day, she'd not seen hide nor hair of either Naruto or Meilan; the only proof she had of their temporary residence in Tetsu no Kuni was the photograph she had taken of Naruto and Meilan on either side while she held Gear in her hands with a smile which had been taken almost a month before they left.

Suddenly, the sound of the shoji door opening had broken the lull of the assembly process. "Am I interrupting something?" asked the male voice behind her, "I'm here for your part of the deal—I teach you how to telepathically speak with your 'bots, and I test your new gun designs. My old revolvers are just about ready to go to pieces." The owner of the voice was a young man with messy, dark green hair and eyes, which were partially hidden behind a narrow pair of glasses. He wore the dark uniform of the Saika district's constabulary, though his hands were covered in simple, green line tattoos. He carried a pair of old revolvers in holsters at his hip, though Sayaka knew he had a third gun hidden in his jacket.

"Well quit your bitching asshole, I'm already done!" With that, Sayaka handed him the firearm made of bamboo.

"…Bamboo…?" he asked, a slight twitch in his eyebrow as he took it and stowed it in a pocket, "A gun made of bamboo? This thing won't stand up to a trial, I hope you realize."

"I can't do shit about it Carlos," shot back Sayaka, turning to face the other occupant of the room, "Saika policy clearly states that unless a field test is performed on the bamboo prototype, they won't spend metal and funds manufacturing it. So suck it up, and take that thing for a test drive!"

"Your funeral, Egg-Shell." His transmitter went off and he broke off, immediately pulling it out, "What's going on?"

"Officer Binarius, we have a brawl in the Imperialist Gentleman's Club. We need you there ASAP!"

"Roger that, sir." Carlos then turned to Sayaka. "Well, it looks like this baby is getting her test drive after all. I'll be sure to let you know how it works."

The police officer turned away as Sayaka gave him the finger, only for him to return it without missing a beat as he closed the door.

…

[Naruto and Tenten…]

The two of them had been trudging through the Forest of Death for quite some time now. Naruto was serving as the bloodhound because of his specialization as a sensor-ninja and Tenten keeping an eye on threats such as giant animals and other genin teams. Why he sent out four Bunshin earlier was a bit of a mystery to her. Even stranger to her was that these Bunshin were solid copies. "Are you sure we're going the right direction?" asked Tenten with obvious concern.

"Positive," answered Naruto, gently leading her along by the hand, "I'm following your chakra trail. Hopefully, it won't go cold—and our teams haven't left yet."

"Then what's with the Bunshin you sent out earlier?"

A small 'hmph' of triumph had left Naruto as he continued to lead Tenten along. "I had a theory; if the Kage Bunshins that I create are all solid copies of me, then why can't they use the same jutsu as I can? So, why spend large amounts of chakra to extend the reach and accuracy of my chakra radar, when I could send out multiple Kage Bunshin to scan the area ahead to do the same job?"

"I see!" And she did. It was quite a good idea. In addition, the Kage Bunshin could act as a first response unit, taking care of threats as they took point.

She paused as he gestured at her. "We're getting close," said Naruto, analyzing the information he had just received, "They entered the range of my scans just as my Kage Bunshin passed along their trajectory not too long ago. We'll be on an intercept course with them shortly."

The two of them kept on moving forward. Their teams would be needing their help to get through these exams.

…

[Teams Seven, Nine, Eleven, and Kabuto…]

This whole thing screamed suspicious in at least twelve different languages. Something was not right, and Neji knew it. He just couldn't put his finger on it until he stopped and took stock of the surroundings. "What's the matter Neji?" asked Rock Lee, having awakened moments ago much to the Hyūga Branch Member's relief. His question caused everyone else to pause and look at him.

"It seems we're under a Genjutsu," answered Neji, studying the surroundings.

"No shit," shot back Kurama, still hefting a now-listening Kin "Looks to me like someone is too much of a pussy to fight us up close so, they rely on Genjutsu to win their battles."

…

[Elsewhere…]

"Achoo!"

Asuma looked at Kurenai. "What's wrong?"

"I think somebody just spoke ill of me…" growled the Jonin, clenching her fist angrily.

…

[Back in Training Ground 44…]

"Well how do you know we're in a Genjutsu?" asked Meilan, concerned for what the answer would mean.

Kikyo on the other hand face-palmed. "How could I not have seen it? Look!" she shouted, pointing at a centipede that had been pierced by a kunai. "We've been passing that same centipede nine times now, which means that we've been stuck since the moment that thing died!"

"Good observation!" said a voice that came from the bushes, revealing three genin in dirty yellow jumpsuits and rebreathers. Each jumpsuit had an integrated hitai-ate from Amegakure.

"What do you say boss? Should we kill the men, take the women and steal their scrolls?" asked one of the Amegakure genin.

"Why not? We've got plenty of time, so why not make their deaths slow and painful like we did every other team? But if we're gonna do this, I want to make one thing clear: the red-skinned bitch is mine!"

Kurama's grin turned dangerous. "Oh really? Then why don't you prove you're a superb specimen for me? After all, I'm pretty sure that you can't be any better than the man I've promised myself to!"

The lead Ame-nin's eyes gleamed darkly at the challenge. "Oh, I'm man enough for you! Allow me to prove it by killing everyone in this field!"

The three Ame genin charged in, causing everyone to wonder if they were crazy. Satsuki cut through one of them with her katana while Tsukiko stabbed the other two with her swords. Certain that their enemies were down for the count, the Uchiha twins pulled their weapons back. However, to their surprise the three merely split at their wounds and became six. One tried to stab Neji, only to have his kunai deflected and then take a Jyūken strike to the head, which created another two. Meilan jumped in as well, blocking attacks from the quickly increasing enemy forces while Kikyo shot many crossbow bolts, but no matter what they tried, they kept multiplying. Even Rock Lee's fists of fury seemed to pass straight through them before making more appear—some from the ground, others from being split apart like slime.

Kurama was the only one who was not participating. She had taken Kin away and was watching with a front-row seat. The look of disgust in Kin's face was clear. "Don't worry," said the red-skinned woman, knowing exactly what her charge was thinking, "They can take care of it. I already know it."

"Well if you know how to get them out of this trap, then why aren't you speeding things up for them?"

She merely grinned deviously. There was a legitimate reason for not participating. "I want to watch them figure it out. I won't get involved unless I know the twins are taking too long to finish this fight. Besides, if I'm right, they're already getting reinforcements."

Kin wanted to ask what the red-skinned Amazon meant. Her unasked question was answered for her, however, as large, crescent-shaped wave of chakra appeared. It soared high with great speed and sliced through a branch, which fell on the army of Ame-nin and dispelled the Genjutsu. "Seems you were all in a spot of trouble," said the voice from the bushes, much like the Ame team, "good thing we got here in time."

The three teams and Kabuto turned their heads to see Tenten and Naruto arriving at the scene. As a lull in the battle was found, Naruto's nose caught a scent combination he never thought he'd smell in the real world. "Kurama? What are you doing here?"

The red-skinned woman's response was a light chuckle with the nasal tone of flirting. "Worry about that later, you have much bigger concerns to deal with now."

Naruto's expression turned slightly serious. "If you're standing by until things get out of hand, then I wouldn't have it any other way. I want to prove to you that I'm man enough for you."

Kurama smiled amusedly. Inwardly however, she thought, 'Silly Kit, you're already at that level. I just want you to get stronger so you can get your wish to have the power to protect those you love.'

Satsuki, Tsukiko, Kikyo, and Meilan wanted to run up to Naruto, but he stopped them with a raised hand. "Not now, they're still here; I can sense them moving around. They're likely to try and catch us in a genjutsu again and then kill us all when we're tired." The four went on guard at that. There was no way they were going to get caught again. "What's the plan?" asked Kikyo.

Naruto grinned predatorily. "Simple. We just need a distraction."

"And why should we listen to a monster like you?" spat Neji.

"Do you really want to stay here all day?" Tenten shot back, "We need to get to that tower immediately Neji! So shut the hell up and listen to him!"

…

[Team Oboro]

The Amegakure team had been trying to get into a better position for the past few minutes. Once they could get into a better position, they could… "You traitor!" shouted the holier-than-thou Hyūga boy, catching their attention as they watched an exchange between him and the blind swordsman, "You come here claiming you wish to aid us, and you do this?"

"Whatever it takes Neji-teme," said the blond, readying his katana to cut Neji to bits, "You and I both know that these exams are cutthroat. I intend to shrink the competition."

Team Oboro studied the fight before them. so far, the all-girl team was incapacitated, along with the taijutsu specialist of the Hyuga's team and that guy with the glasses. The exchange was between Neji and the blond. "You think you're going get away with this, Naruto?!" asked the girl with buns angrily, "You'll be punished for this!"

As they watched, the three boys suddenly felt something his them in the chest. They all turned and looked down at their chest to see disk-shaped adhesives with blinking red lights. "Enjoying yourselves, boys?" asked the moss-headed girl. She was holding a small, but ominous-looking device with a button on it, which she was in danger of pressing. "Oh dear, falling for the old 'fake fight' trick? For shame, you three. Right, here's how this'll go: I ask you for the scroll, you give it to me. If you don't, then we've got a problem. If we've got a problem, then I press this button and you've got a problem. Got me?

"Oh yeah, and what'll happen if we don't?" asked the Ame team leader defiantly.

The moss-head grinned dangerously. "Do any of you know what you've got stuck on you? It's a little number I mixed up called 'composition four,' a plastic explosive; in short, you've all got bombs stuck to you. Quite powerful I might add."

Outwardly, the team leader of the Ame team showed bravado, but inwardly he was shaken. "You're bluffing! This shit isn't a bomb—just some clay you picked up earlier to make us think it's an explosive, bitch!"

At that, she glanced briefly at the girl in white, who tossed a similar disk to the one that was attached to the team's chest. It stuck to the trunk of a tree, and then she pulled out another small device with a button. When she pressed it, the Ame team watched in horror as the flashing of the red light increased in frequency, before a loud whine sounded off and the disk exploded, utterly destroying the upper half of the tree. "That was one pack," said the moss-headed girl, "But the ones attached to the three you are linked together; meaning that if I press one button, you're all dead. Give me that scroll, and I'll see to it that you have enough time to get the explosives off you."

The genin of Team Oboro stared at the moss-head with fear in their eyes. The standoff continued silently as they trembled in fear for a moment. "Don't do it Oboro," warned one of the Ame genin, "They'll just kill us all after we give them the scroll!"

"I'll kill you if you don't," Kikyo corrected in a sing-song voice, "But if you give us the scroll, I'll give you boys some time to get out of those clothes and get out of here. Meilan here will collect the scroll if you're ready."

"And nothing funny," added Meilan, "Kikyo has the remote, but don't think for a second that I won't kick your asses and then search your pathetic bodies down to the barest minimum of clothes afterwards. In fact, compared to my boyfriend over there, I'm pretty sure you're all limp and useless between the legs anyway!"

Kikyo shot Meilan a brief look of surprise before turning her attention back to Oboro and his team. The question on her mind in that moment was obvious. "Don't be surprised. Naruto-kun and I bathe together due to his blindness, so I pretty much have an exclusive pass to be with him in the tub."

The expressions on the faces of Oboro's team ranged from slight outrage at Meilan's earlier accusation of inadequacy to outright envy that the blind kid actually had a girl like this with him in the bath. Oh the injustice of it all! They would've fought back were it not for the fact that Kikyo held the remote in one hand, and a crossbow in the other. "So, what's it going to be?" she asked, challenging them all.

Oboro reached into his back pocket and pulled out a scroll with the kanji for 'Heaven' on it. With a slight nod, Meilan walked carefully towards him, grabbed it and walked back to Kikyo. "Now, here's how this is going to go down," the green-haired girl said, keeping her crossbow trained on Oboro's head. At the same time, the blind genin walked out from the bushes. "Meilan and I are going to go back to our team with your scroll while our friend here keeps an ear on you. If you try to pursue us, if you try to take off the explosive before all of us leave, then the pieces will be so small that your only purpose from that point on will be as fertilizer for all the trees in the forest. Am I understood?"

The Ame genin simply glared at her. With that, the two girls left the blind genin to keep watch, so to speak…

…

[Teams Seven, Eleven, and Nine…]

"Did you get it?" asked Naruto, dispelling the Kage Bunshin disguised as Meilan and Kikyo. As he did so, everyone who was pretending to be knocked out got up and looked at them. Kurama, on the other hand, merely hefted Kin over her shoulder and walked closer to the group as they all gathered together.

"Worked like a charm," answered Kikyo, "They won't be following us. And if we're lucky, they won't infect the world with their pathetic skills as shinobi."

"You sound so sure of yourself," shot back Meilan, as she handed the Heaven scroll to Satsuki, "You're not seriously considering pressing that button, are you?"

Kikyo put on a look of feigned hurt, while her hand still thumbed the trigger on the detonator. "Of course not; I hate to waste good explosive materials as much as the next girl on a simple ruse, I had to make them believe me somehow. Although, given the humiliation they caused me, I'm tempted to do so."

"So what are we going to do?" asked Tenten, quickly breaking up the fight between Kikyo and Meilan before it started.

"There's nothing else to do," answered Kabuto, "We just head for the tower. There's no need to kill them."

Kurama simply glanced at Kabuto with another suspicious glint in her eyes.

"He's right, killing them is a waste of time," Neji cut in, "But we're going to have to split up. We are still technically enemies in this exam."

"Well why don't we stick together?" asked Kurama, though her distaste for the Hyūga brat was clear in her voice, "If we do that, then we're more likely to waste less time getting to the tower than if we got there individually."

"I agree with the Red Queen," added Tsukiko, "If we all do this as a large group, we're less likely to run into teams that would otherwise take the opportunity to try and slow us down."

"Fine!" spat Neji, "Have it your way, but this changes nothing!"

After that little argument, everyone took off; it would be best to move while they still had the numbers advantage. With a shrug, Kikyo threw the detonator away without pressing the trigger as she followed the others in their sprint to the tower…

[With Team Oboro]

"Man, this sucks!" snarled Kagari. The Ame Genin had divested themselves of their clothing, somehow believing the girl would indeed blow them up if given reason. After all, it's what they would do.

"Any idea where we're gonna get more clothes?" asked the third teammate, poking at the clay gloomily, "We look ridiculous without anything but our masks and underwear."

Meanwhile, Oboro seethed in indignation. "If it's the last thing I do..." he growled, "I'll get those two bitches back, somehow. And by the time I'm done, they'll like it! Huh?" His tirade was cut short as he saw something small fly out of the trees. It was the detonator to the C4 packs. "Ha! Haha! I knew she didn't have the balls to blow us up!" he sneered triumphantly.

"Well, she's a girl, so of course she doesn't have any..." Ame-nin no. 3's voice trailed off as Kagari glared at him. "...Right. Sorry."

"Freakin' smartass."

Grinning smugly under their re-breathers, Team Oboro put their jumpsuits back on, ignoring the now-useless (to them) clumps of clay still stuck to their chest. A sudden chattering made them freeze, before turning slowly. A small monkey had climbed down from a nearby tree and picked up the detonator, scratching its head as it examined the curious device. It put its thumb on the button.

"No-!" cried Oboro in horror.

*BOOM!*

All three exploded, blood and bits of corpse showering the clearing as the monkey hightailed it out of there.

One of Naruto's Kage Bunshin, which had hidden in the trees after the group left, tilted its head and heard the sound of droplets and...other things hit the ground. "Well, would you look at that," he muttered, "It's raining Ame-nin." Then he vanished in a puff of smoke.

…

[Elsewhere in Konoha…]

GSD stood on the rooftops of Konoha overlooking Training Ground 44. He'd heard that roar hours ago, and it pained him that what he had predicted had come to pass. Why did things never seem to go as planned? And now Orochimaru had awakened the Curse of Kazan, with the possibility of a return to its previous state as an infectious disease! "You seem in bad spirits," said a voice behind him, venom lacing its tone, "I take it your threat to Orochimaru didn't work?"

"Has Orochimaru always been this horrible at listening to his elders?"

"No, he only listens when he thinks it could gain him something in the future," answered the voice of Jiraiya, "But all that aside, what are you going to do about Naruto?"

"What is there to do?" asked GSD, "I cannot be involved any further than I already have. As much as I wish to protect Naruto, I cannot—he will encounter the prophecy soon enough, and nothing I do will prepare him for it. Kurama will train him well enough, but ultimately, it is up to Naruto to fulfill it."

"And what prophecy is that?" shot back the Gama Sennin.

"It was a prophecy I'd found in my travels once. About a Sage born of the Curse of Kazan. A Sage who gains the power to become the mightiest warrior the world had ever seen, ending the demon Kazan and the reign of terror caused by his blood curse once and for all. It is also said that the after the battle with the demon, the Sage of Kazan will have the power to decide the fate of the world—for the power of Kazan will be in his hands."

"It sounds a little too familiar to me," Jiraiya murmured darkly, "Either way it seems we have intersecting goals. The only question I have now is, what do we do at the moment?"

"As I've said, there's nothing I can do for now," answered GSD with a sigh of hopelessness, "All I can do at the moment is listen and hope for the best. Though to be honest, I still have a grudge with Orochimaru-"

Jiraiya grunted, "Who doesn't?"

The corner of the old man's mouth twitched. "...Which I plan to settle in the foreseeable future—perhaps I should warn him one last time to not follow through with what he intends to do…or maybe make my threat more believable so that at the very least he learns to respect his elders. You, on the other hand have your own part to play in your prophecy don't you?"

With a grim chuckle, the white-haired man stood back up. "What else is there for me to do?"

"You could properly do your job as a spy master instead of spying on women in bathhouses." Unfortunately, GSD's words fell on deaf ears as Jiraiya had already left. The elder man let out a sad chuckle. "Then again, I suppose I was like you at that age once...when was that again?" GSD had been around for a while.

…

[Training Ground 44 Central Tower, almost half an hour later…]

Teams Seven, Eleven, and Nine had arrived at the tower with Kabuto running to meet his team. After entering the building, the three groups saw a sign that read 'When heaven is plentiful, seek Earth. When Earth is in abundance, seek Heaven.' "What do we do now?" asked Sakura, looking to her mistresses in curiosity.

"I guess we have to open our scrolls," answered Tsukiko, unsure of her answer.

"It's a long-shot," Satsuki continued, "But I suppose it's worth a try."

"You girls sure about this?" asked Naruto to Meilan and Kikyo. The two of them nodded before confirming it to Naruto. "We're ready."

That said, all three teams had laid their scrolls on the floor before untying the strings holding the rolls shut. With one quick motion, all six scrolls were unfurled and smoke had filled the entire room. "Well it seems we have some more winners here!"exclaimed a very familiar voice from the smoke, "And just in time by the looks of it."

"Is that you Iruka-sensei?" asked Naruto, recognizing the voice immediately.

"Naruto! I see you've gotten stronger."

"But...I don't get it, what is the meaning of that sign, and what was the purpose of not opening the scrolls?" asked Sakura, genuinely confused.

Iruka was not bothered in the slightest, and was about to explain when a voice spoke up. "When you are plentiful in strength of the mind, of Heaven, then seek to strengthen your body," said Uchiha Mikoto, "But if you are full of Earth, your body is powerful, then you should seek to improve your mind."

"In answer to your second question, Haruno-san," added the voice of Maito Gai, "It deals with your ability to handle a mission involving confidential intelligence. Many times, missions are on a need-to-know basis, and oftentimes clients might need a shinobi that can keep it that way. Now if you'll follow us, we'll take you to the arena." With a nod of acquiescence, the other teams started to follow. However, Mikoto let out a 'psst' to the twins with a dire look in her face. As they walked over to her, she held out a briefcase. "It is important that I give you these," she said quietly, handing it to Tsukiko, "And if I were you, I would put them on right now."

Tsukiko thumbed the locks on the briefcase, and opened it for both her and Satsuki to see. "They will limit your power," added Mikoto, looking at her daughters (one of whom was disguised as a boy) with a hopeless expression, "But they will allow you to fight indefinitely, so long as you don't ingest any blood. After this however, I would recommend that you speak to Naruto about training…it is likely that he understands more about the Curse of Kazan than I do."

"Mom, why are we infected with the Curse?" asked Satsuki, as she snapped the shackles over her infected wrist and bicep. Though she tried to keep her voice level, Mikoto could hear a note of despair.

"There's no time now," interrupted Tsukiko, comforting her older sister in disguise, "We have to finish off these Exams." Once she was assured that Satsuki was all right, she faced her mother with concern in her eyes. "We'll talk with you later about this."

As she watched her daughters walk away, Mikoto let out tears of sadness and sympathy for her daughters. "...I'll tell you everything I know," she murmured.

…

[Chūnin Exam Stadium]

Sakura found her mistresses running up to meet her at the ground level of the indoor arena. She noted that the both of them each had a set of shackles like the one worn on Naruto-baka's arms. At this point, she knew that nothing she said would make any difference…they needed some time to think.

"Welcome all Genin to the Chūnin Exam Preliminaries," said the proctor with a hoarse voice, coughing violently into his hand, "My name is Gekkō Hayate, and I'm your proctor for this part of the exams. *cough* Now, before we get to the matches, the Hokage would like to have a word with you all."

"Greetings, potential Chūnin," said the Hokage as he smoked his pipe, "As I'm sure you are all aware, there is more at stake in the Chūnin Exams than simply your standing as a ninja. The truth of the matter is that these exams are being held as a means of averting an all-out war; rather, they are being held in place of a real one. Now as a reminder, while I frown upon deaths in this stage of the exam, it is in fact allowable if you killed your opponent. That being said, once the Proctor says the match is over, it's over. Do not hold back, and you shall all do well in these exams. That is all."

With that said, Sarutobi turned and left the arena. Hayate turned to the crowd of genin before him, ready to say his own piece. "Now, one more thing before we begin: is there anyone who feels that they do not wish to participate?"

Almost immediately, Kabuto raised his hand. "I feel I used too much chakra in the previous Exam, and would like to drop out."

Hayate looked at Kabuto, apparently unsurprised. "Very well then, you may leave."

As Kabuto bowed respectfully to the Tokubetsu Jōnin, Kurama silently looked at him with even more suspicion. Yes, something was most definitely off about him. She could feel that he had plenty of chakra, more than enough to continue these exams—why he would lie about this? She had her suspicions, but there was nothing she could do about it at the moment except to glare daggers at him before moving closer to Naruto's ear. "Be wary of that Kabuto, Kit. I have a feeling he's up to no good."

"I hear you," he whispered back, "I know he has more chakra than a standard genin, so something definitely doesn't add up."

"Anyone else want to drop out?" asked Hayate, scanning the crowd, "Okay then, here's how this works: your names will all appear on the screen. Only the people who are called up for their matches may stay here; the rest of you will wait up in the balcony. Am I clear?"

There was a general agreement. The rules were clear-cut and understandable, to them. Hayate let out another ragged cough and turned to face the screen. "Alright then, the first match will be…"

…

A/N: If I had to have someone do Gear's voice in English, I'd have the voice-over for the Hyperion Cl4P-TP Robot from "Borderlands" to do it.

…

Dungeon Fighter Class Introduction:

Berserker—this is a subclass of the Slayer that specializes in single-target DPS. Berserkers do best with either a katana for great speed or a zanbatō for massive damage, and specialize in Heavy Armor. Berserker attacks tend to cause bleeding or at the very least do more damage when the target is bleeding, and sometimes requires health instead of mana to use for their attacks, this is most notable in their Frenzy skill as they always have a chance to cause bleeding and heals the user when the target dies bleeding. This is also the only Slayer class with any skill directly related to healing, as Diehard allows the Berserkers to heal themselves when low on health, giving the class the nickname "Cockroach" among the Korean players.

Mechanic—a Gunner subclass; this class specializes in summoning robots to support the gunner that summoned them from exploding windup toys to a flying robot that guns down enemies with bullets and missiles. Male Mechanics get a slightly different set of moves from females, but both are best played with an Auto Gun and Cloth Armor. Saika Sayaka is mainly a Mechanic.

…

Character classes:

Len Ferro: Avenger/Necromancer hybrid. Skills are different due to 'praying' to different gods.

Carlos Binarius: All Gunner. Primary-Ranger, Secondary-Launcher, Tertiary-Spitfire,Quaternary-Mechanic. Skills work slightly differently from a normal Gunner.

…

Dungeon Fighter Techniques Used:

Spirit Crescent

Flying C-4: The Spitfire throws disks of C-4 that detonate with the press of a button.

…

Songs Used:

"Mononoke Hime (Instrumental)" by Joe Hisaishi from "Mononoke Hime"—Tenten and Naruto

"Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Kurama's suspicion

"Someone Else's Song" by Wilco—Team Ten's meal

"Victory Fanfare" by Uematsu Nobuo from "Final Fantasy"-Reunion

"Soldier Vs. Ghost" by Konami JPN from "Metal Gear Solid: The Twin Snakes"—Team Seven and Eleven vs. Team Oboro

…

Vocabulary/Culture Notes:

Bokken—this literally means 'wooden sword' in Japanese. These weapons are used for training, and are meant to be an approximate equivalent to the weight of a real katana; they are still deadly however, as despite being blunt they can be used as a bludgeoning weapon (to which the late Sasaki Kojiro can attest to).

Saika Clan—this clan is based on the infamous Saika Mercenary group, an army famous in Japan's Sengoku Basara era for being the first all-rifleman army of the time. Their numbers were made up of many matchlock specialists, gunsmiths, and foundries. Their leader was Saika Magoichi; a name that was given to the head of the clan, and bestowed upon only three men, Saika Shigehide being the last one to hold the title.

Nee-chan: this is the Japanese word for 'older sister' used between family members.