A/N: For all those STILL hung up over my translation of Akahana, I am well aware that Hana means flower, and therefore Akahana means red flower. But does it REALLY MATTER? Whether it is rose or flower, it is essentially the same thing, and it would change absolutely nothing within the story. So please, let it rest.

A/N2: As it happens, I have had most of this chapter done for a few months, I just couldn't think of how to get to the end without dragging overmuch. I hope you enjoy this latest addition.

Chapter 16: From One Oven to Another

The month of training began in earnest. Naruto (the male) immediately asked his father for help. And it was thanks to the Kage Style: Demon Paperwork Killer (i.e. shadow clones) that he was able to make time to do it.

The not-really Naruto was being trained by Roshi, who had been kind enough to offer (read: threatened with molten spears of lava) to take her off Deidara's hands.

Neji was being trained (sort-of) by Gai but largely did it by himself, not wanting anyone to see him train, except for Tenten who was happy to help by throwing a large amount of sharp pointy objects at him at high speeds.

Sasuke was being trained by his big brother Itachi, who had been given the month off, for additional training in his Sharingan, much to his father's pleasure.

Shikamaru just lazed around as it would be too troublesome to actually exert any effort over the troublesome Exams, for all that Ino yelled at him to get his butt into gear. Asuma didn't do anything beyond playing shogi with him.

Shino worked with his father Shibi to learn more insect techniques as well as elemental jutsu training as they had found that Shino has the Earth affinity.

Temari worked with Baki on her wind jutsus, and did her best to stay away from her youngest brother.

Speaking of, no one even considered training Gaara as everyone was too afraid of him.

Kankuro practiced by himself as Baki wasn't really knowledgeable on puppets and Lady Chiyo wasn't around to assist him.

Dosu was by himself as well, but that was because Orochimaru had better things to do than train an expendable pawn that was most likely going to die anyway.

And Jinsoku, well, we're not really sure what he did, as he just disappeared as soon as the match order was announced. But what is known is that Deidara wasn't happy about it, and this was compounded with the knowledge that Onoki's grandson didn't make it to the finals, having lost to an Uchiha of all people.

But let's move on, shall we?

With Iwa Jinchuuriki

Akahana was standing in all her glory (A/N: her henge was down. Ge your minds out of the gutter people!) before her temporary sensei, Roshi. The duo had chosen a secluded area just beyond the borders of the Land of Fire and into the Land of Earth. This was to ensure that the Hokage couldn't spy on them without breaking the treaty and so that in case the Tsuchikage decided to interfere they could just pop back over the line and be out of reach of his arthritis-stricken hands.

For all that Roshi was an Earth and Fire nature, thanks to the Yonbi, he still knew a few tricks to teach her that he had accumulated over the years. At the moment he was having her practice drawing on Kyuubi's chakra by way of summoning. At one point during the Third Great Shinobi War Roshi had acquired the Fox summoning contract, and, while he didn't have the Monkey contract, seeing as the Sarutobi clan had it, he still wasn't able to sign it, so he simply held on to it.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

*POOF*

A cloud of smoke appeared as her hand made contact with the ground. When it cleared a fox kit stood blinking in the clearing. It yawned cutely before curling up on the ground and started to snore quietly. It took all Akahana had not to squeal at the adorable sight. Roshi sighed as Son Goku of the Four Tails snickered in his mind.

After she regained control of herself, Akahana dismissed the kitling and tried again.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

*POOF*

This time a slightly bigger kit appeared, but was still clearly a baby. Four more tries and Akahana got over the cuteness as exhaustion and irritation set in.

With another sigh, Roshi walked over and placed a calming hand on her shoulder, "I think that is enough for now. The more you become frustrated the more likely you are to make a mistake. Besides, it's lunchtime anyway."

With Uchiha Brothers

Sasuke watched with narrowed eyes as his brother showed him how to perform Lightning Style: False Darkness. Because the jutsu required no seals, it was impossible to copy with the Sharingan, although it was possible to see the amount of chakra being released to perform it. Thankfully Itachi was patient enough to do it a couple more times until he got the amount down.

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

And, naturally, he got it on the first try. The electric attack burst from his mouth instantly vaporizing the ground before him. Itachi nodded approvingly.

"Very good. Now we just need to work on your aim."

Sasuke bit back a groan as he remembered why he was working so hard. He nodded determinedly before locking onto a tree a few meters away and began to gather lightning chakra for another burst.

"Lightning Style: False Darkness!"

With Blond Wonders

Naruto the male and his father, Minato, stood opposite each other on an open field, a tri-pronged kunai held in each hand, a seals array present on all four.

As they stared each other down, a leaf slowly spiraled down from a surrounding tree. Neither moved a muscle for what seemed an eternity when, after the leaf gently came to rest on the floor, they blurred into action.

*Clang*

Each threw a kunai at the other, but colliding and falling to the ground. A flash later they were clashing in the middle above their fallen knives.

The younger blond was quickly losing the contest of strength so he brought up his left hand and started to form a Rasengan. Minato apparently had the same idea as the two orbs of spinning chakra collided, creating a large cloud of smoke. When it cleared, it revealed the two blonds back where they were at the start of the fight.

Naruto and Minato blurred through handseals with Naruto finishing first, calling out, "Wind Style: Wind Dragon Jutsu!"

As the behemoth formed behind him and surged forward, Minato calmly finished his set and called out, "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!" and blew a torrent of flames from his mouth that shot forward like a ball from a cannon, quickly overtaking the wind dragon and blanketing the field in fire.

After blowing the smoke away, Minato saw that his son lay on the ground knocked unconscious from the blast. Shaking his head ruefully, he went about putting out the flames. Of course, he didn't get very far before his wife cleared her throat from the backdoor. He froze, a shiver going up his spine as he felt her eyes boring into him. Minato turned slowly to face Kushina.

"You will be fixing this mess." He nodded hurriedly.

"You will take our son to the hospital for Tsunade to look over him." Again he nodded quickly.

"You will be sleeping on the couch until after the Third Exam." He started to nod once more when what she said registered in his head. He tried to argue but a single glare silenced any complaint.

"If you don't want to sleep on a bed of sparking spikes, I suggest you get moving." Eyes widened in terror, the great Yondaime Hokage fled before his spouse.

With Sound Smasher and Sand Smearer in the evening

Dosu had been looking all over for the Kazekage's youngest child, wanting to take out who he viewed as the most dangerous competitor. Of course, Gaara wasn't exactly hiding so the fact it took him 2 hours to find the kid was laughable, and further proof for why he was given "expendable pawn" status. Now, we all know how this really goes down: Dosu meets Gaara, Dosu taunts Gaara, Gaara says Dosu will die, Dosu flails about feebly and finally is smushed. Now, I also know (as a result of me being the author) how this goes down in this story. Fortunately for you, I am feeling generous and decided to tell you.

After searching tirelessly for the panda-boy, Dosu declared, "If Orochimaru-sama thinks I'm expendable, I'll prove how useful I am by getting rid of you. After all, there's no way you coud beat a seasoned ninja as weak as you are."

Gaara simply looked at him and the Oto-nin flinched before steeling himself, "That won't work on me, panda-eyes! My melody-gauntlet will tear you apart from the inside out. Then my master will train me as I deserve!"

Gaara didn't even blink as he said tonelessly, "Mother doesn't like you. Mother wants you dead. And Mother gets what Mother wants."

Sufficiently creeped out, the not-so-confident-now Shinobi shakily raised his hand in a bizarre form of a wave before he promptly turned around and ran in the other direction, sand already chasing after him as he screamed at the top of his lungs, giving the nearby ANBU who had been listening in on the whole thing and excuse to move in.

"I think its time to go back to your room, young man." When the sand began to converge on the masked nin, the cat-masked ANBU quickly pulled out a piece of paper with kanji on it and stuck it on Gaara's head before his defense could react. The kid lost consciousness and fell into her arms. Shaking her head, she decided it would be best to take him to the Hokage. If nothing else he could check the seal on the kid. She motioned for Tiger to come with her lest the kid woke up prematurely and had Wolf trail the Sound Genin.

Upon arrival at the Namikaze household, she sweatdropped at the scene before her.

Running around the house was a terror-stricken Minato Namikaze who, upon sighting his security guard, immediately dove behind her and cowered, attempting to escape his wife's ire. Seeing as Cat stepped aside the moment Kushina appeared, he sighed in resignation and bowed his head in defeat.

The Uzumaki princess, ever one to pay attention to the little things, noticed that the female ANBU had something, or rather someone, in her arms. In the dim light she could make out a shock of red hair. She almost got her hopes up before the purple-haired woman shifted and revealed the sleeping face of Gaara no Sabaku. As her hope dwindled, her curiosity increased, as she wondered what could have prompted such an action.

After the woman explained the incident involving the Sound Genin and Gaara, Minato nodded and asked for the boy to be brought inside, whereupon he was placed on an empty bed in a guestroom and his shirt lifted up off his stomach. Channeling chakra into his hand, he watched as the boy's seal came into view... and promptly bugged out at how the Suna Seal'masters' messed it up so badly.

"What the hell is this!? My youngest would be able to do a better job then this and she hasn't even progressed beyond elemental chakra storage seals!"

Cat furrowed her brows at that statement. What kind of monster is that kid?

Sighing, Minato looked to Kushina who nodded and walked over and then flying through handseals she called out, "Eight Trigrams Seal!" and slammed her hand onto the seal.

The effect was immediate, as the seal evened out and changed to the sturdier spiral seal. After thoroughly checking it, the Namikaze adults nodded before motioning for Cat to take the boy back to his room. He likely wouldn't wake up any time soon.

Please tell me what you think, your opinions matter to me. Keep in mind, flames will be ignored.