Author's note – Kishimoto Masashi owns Naruto while Guyver is written by Yoshiki Takaya.
I make no claim to either, I am merely playing in their sandboxes.

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Chapter Thirty-Three

Visitors

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Fu stared in amazement at the pair of gates in front of them. Her temporary team-mates smirked at each other over her inability to hide her awe, but she ignored them with the ease of long practise.

"Alright, let's move!" Suiren called and Fu waited for the other two to start moving before she followed. Passing through the gates, Fu looked round, eagerly absorbing what a shinobi village looked like.

It was, after all, the first one that she could remember being in.

A flicker above her caused Fu to stop and crane her neck, trying to see the thing that had caught her attention. She soon spotted the receding form of an armoured figure and her lips twitched in a slight smile.

Naruto was here.

Tonight, she would seek him out and ask for his help.

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"So, that's the Jinchuuriki of the Nanabi." Hiruzen mused as he gazed into the crystal ball on his desk. Beside the crystal ball was a copy of Kakashi's report on the message relay mission, along with a sketch of Fu. "Tenzo!"

An Anbu dropped from the ceiling, landing in a kneeling position.

"Watch over Fu. If she tries to seek out Naruto, guide her to him."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Tenzo replied before sinking through the floorboards of the office.

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"Team Sword of Kiri, here for the Chunin Exams." Zabuza growled at the pale chunin in the guard post, then he felt himself being gently but firmly nudged to one side. "What the hell?"

"I will deal with this, Zabuza-sama." Kimimaru said and Zabuza growled before stalking off. "My apologies, but my master does not like paperwork. Here are the forms."

The chunin flicked through the sheets of paper, then closed the file and handed it back.

"You're clear. Welcome to Konoha and please remember that fighting outside the exams themselves will be frowned upon."

"Thank you, chunin-san." Kimimaru bowed.

"You done with the politeness shit yet?" A shout came and Kimimaru twitched slightly as he fought to not sigh.

"Yes, Zabuza-sama, we may proceed." Kimimaru replied and Zabuza motioned brusquely to the other two Kiri genin.

"Stop lounging around and come on!" He snarled. "The sooner I get you to that hotel room, the sooner I can have a damned bottle of Sake."

"What the hell is going on with Sensei?" Chojuro asked quietly as Zabuza stomped through the gates.

"Uzumaki Naruto lives here." Kimimaru replied equally quietly. "I do not think that Zabuza-sama is looking forwards to meeting him again. Especially since he managed to look at the most recent Bingo Book and discovered that it was a newly-promoted chunin who forced him to retreat in Wave, rather than an Elite Jonin."

"Come on, you brats!"

"Hai, Zabuza-sama!"

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"Sensei."

Hiruzen looked up from his paperwork to see his student lounging on the windowsill of his office.

"Jiraiya. Welcome back."

"Good to be back." Jiraiya shrugged. "So, I see that young Naruto is in the Bingo Books. Are you still sending him out?"

"On any mission with the threat of contact with enemy ninja, I send him out with Kakashi to watch over him." Hiruzen stated and Jiraiya nodded slowly. "He has made great strides with his training and can even carve his own name into a stone using wind."

Jiraiya whistled. "That…that's incredible!"

"My son is working to get his own control up to that level." Hiruzen smirked. "He refuses to be outdone by a chunin. Since you're here, report."

"Something is going on with Suna." Jiraiya stated, all mirth gone from his face. "They're ramping up their shinobi numbers again, burning through their financial reserves. I haven't found out why, but it's all the wrong tempo to be responding to an attack on them. Has Kashi-kun reported back yet?"

"He sent an interim report with one of his ninken." Hiruzen replied. "He's found one hidden base, but it was little more than a guard post. I've sent the recall to him and he should be back in a couple of days."

"Ame is also preparing for something." Jiraiya added. "It may be because they're afraid that we'll attack them to reclaim the raijin, but I don't think so. Again, the tempo's all wrong. It feels more like they're getting ready to attack someone… Why don't you look worried, old man?"

Hiruzen leaned back in his chair and interlaced his fingers. "Tell me about the Uzumaki Armour."

Jiraiya blinked at the unexpected change in subject. "The thing that Uzumaki Hiro made and bequeathed to Naruto? Not much, it's apparently a masterwork of fuuinjutsu, I know that I wouldn't know where to start when creating something like that. It can fly, has an odd chakra beam on the helmet and can throw a weird chakra attack like a shuriken that sucks things in. I don't currently have much more than that."

"Not bad." Hiruzen allowed. "It is more powerful than you think… and there are three of them."

Jiraiya fell out of the window in shock and Hiruzen chuckled, then his student reappeared, vaulting through the window to land by his desk.

"Three?"

"Three." Hiruzen confirmed. "Naruto has worked out how to use its duplication feature to give his two fiancees their own Armours as well."

"His… two fiancees?" Jiraiya repeated, a perverted grin starting to spread across his face. "Oh, you have got to explain that one to me."

"I'll let him do the explaining while you teach him the Rasengen." Hiruzen countered. "With luck, he might even be able to use it while in his Armour, although he probably doesn't need to."

"Okay, really intrigued now." Jiraiya admitted. "Where is the gaki living now?"

"I'll go with you once I've finished these forms." Hiruzen offered, then he blinked as the piles suddenly seemed to halve in height. A clacking of wood in the corner caught his attention and he turned just in time to see Jiraiya seat himself behind a folding table upon which was the paperwork taken from his desk.

"Let's do this." Jiraiya said, taking the top sheet. "Hmmmm, notification from the Hyuuga clan that the new Heir has been officially appointed… what happened to the first one?"

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Gaara lay on the bed, glaring at the ceiling.

Naruto's words had confirmed that it had not been Uzumaki Hiro who had confronted him in the desert and removed almost a quarter of his sand with a single attack, it had been Naruto.

His sand was his only weapon, his only defense. Knowing that the one he had been assigned to kill just prior to the finals in order to weaken Konoha could strip him of his ability to fight, leaving him defenceless for the first time since he could actually walk, was…

Terrifying.

Plans and contingencies cascaded through Gaara's mind as he sought a way to solve the problem. Normally, a simple Sand Burial would remove whoever the obstacle was, but Naruto…

Gaara groaned as his head started to throb.

Maybe he should try to find out more about Naruto, see if he had family or something.

Yes.

By striking at the weaklings Naruto was attached to, he would weaken his target, and then he could kill him.

Gaara grinned, his eyes glinting with barely-suppressed bloodlust.

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"…Confirmed kills , 1 chunin from Konohagakure." Baki finished reading from the Bingo Book. "Damn."

"What the fuck was father thinking?" Kankuro burst out. "This Naruto took down Gaara with a single attack!"

"Using the armour, you idiot." Temari reminded him. "Don't you see what a boost that armour is? It has the combat potential of almost a whole clan! A warrior immune to almost all weapons and jutsu… he could hit the same kill levels as the Yellow Flash!"

Baki nodded and opened his mouth to ay something, then he paused as the door to Gaara's room opened.

"Gaara…"

"Sensei Baki." Gara droned. "I am going out. There is something I need to see."

Baki nodded slowly. "Alright. Just… don't kill anyone yet. We need to wait for the exams to start."

Gaara glared at him, then slowly nodded. "Very well."

Baki watched Gaara leave, then shivered.

"He gets creepier and creepier." Kankuro muttered.

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Fu flew through the sky above Konoha, the two manifested wings blurring as they propelled her through the air. The six legs extending from her pauldrons clamped tight to her sides in order to help streamline her while her hair was tousled by the night breeze.

"Hello."

Fu jolted, losing her rhythm and promptly started to fall, only for an armoured hand to catch her flailing arm, pulling her back up. Twisting to look at her rescuer, Fu's eyes widened behind her visor.

"You are not Naruto! Who are you?"

"I'm Ino." The dark-violet figure said. "Pleased to meet you."

"Fu is pleased to meet you too." Fu replied blankly. "Why does your armour look like Naruto-kun's?"

"…naruto-kun?"

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Fu stared at the house in front of which she and Ino had landed. The house itself was placed so that the cliff face also acted as one wall and although it looked like it was one storey high at the front, she could see a balcony inside that indicated a second storey.

"Fu is impressed." She admitted as she followed Ino inside, taking off her sandals and placing them in the rack beside the door.

"Thanks." Ino said, then she waved at Naruto, who was visible through the hatchway between the main room and what looked like the kitchen. "You Naruto or a clone?"

"Clone." The blond said with a grin. "Boss is out the back, relaxing with Hinata-Hime. You want me to dispel and tell him you're here?"

"No need." Ino said as she walked over to the clone and kissed him on his cheek. "I'll surprise them. Come on, Fu. Let's get washed up and in swimsuits… they are wearing swimming costumes, aren't they?"

The clone nodded, then sniffed and cursed. "The food's starting to burn! Sorry!"

Ino smiled as she watched the clone resume his task, then she turned and grabbed Fu's hand, pulling her into the bathroom.

"Alright, you start washing yourself while I get you one of my spare costumes."

Fu blinked. "Costume?"

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"So." Hiruzen mused. "Ino intercepted Fu before you could and took her to see Naruto."

Tenzo nodded.

"Very well." Hiruzen nodded. "Dismissed."

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"Fu!"

Hinata blinked and looked at the person entering the onsen alongside Ino. The newcomer was slightly older than her and had green hair.

"Naruto-kun." The newcomer smiled and Hinata frowned inwardly. Sharing her snuggly with Ino was one thing (especially since Ino deferred to her on most things), but bringing in a third girl?

And one Naruto already knew?

"Hinata-hime, this is Fu." Naruto laughed. "She's kinda like a younger sister."

Hinata blinked. Sister?

"Fu is happy to meet you." Fu said. "Fu hopes you are happy with Naruto-san. Fu needs to talk to Naruto-san about exams."

"Hinata and Ino both know all my secrets." Naruto said as Ino lowered herself into the pool while Fu sat on the edge, her feet in the water. "You can talk freely in front of them."

"…Fu wishes to join Konoha."

Naruto whistled. "Really? Wow. Um, you know that Takigakure won't want to lose you because of your burden."

"Fu knows." The green-haired girl sighed. "Fu wants to leave Takigakure. Fu no longer worries about seal stopping Fu, but Fu needs a way to leave that stops Takigakure chasing Fu."

"You know, she's got a technique that looks like the start of our armour." Ino commented and Naruto raised an inquisative eyebrow.

"Really?"

Recognizing the request, Fu stood up, then closed her eyes in concentration. Chakra briefly swirled around her before changing color to a deep red and condensing to form a visor, pauldrons, a pair of wings and six insectile limbs.

"Wow." Naruto said, his eyes wide.

"Fu is trying to do the rest of the armour, but Fu is having trouble." Fu admitted. "Chomei's armour is wrong shape for Fu."

"Ino, can you armour up, please?" Naruto asked and Ino sighed before climbing out of the pool. "Fu, once Ino's armoured up, examine her armour and see if you can duplicate it."

"Fu understands!"

"Can we hurry?"Ino grumped. "I want my soaking time."

"Hmmmm, I wonder…" Naruto mused, then he extracted himself from Hinata's arms and stood up, his hands forming a familiar seal. A cloud of chakra smoke heralded the formation of several dozen kage bunshin and Naruto turned to face them.

"Alright, guys, you know what needs doing." He stated and the clones ran out of the onsen. Hinata pulled him back down and looked at him.

"What's going on?"

"Just searching for some techniques I came across several years ago." Naruto replied.