Author's Notes: Yup, I'm back! I may have a hard time topping the last chapter, but now, I am proud to say that we will be diving into more action-packed chapters!

Q&A Section(As well as some other responses)

Antex-The Legendary Zoroark: I'll try my best to lengthen every chapter I write. As for how Kurama will eventually be free... It is unfortunate for me to say but I will not be using the Kingdom Hearts method, my apologies. As for her bloodline... Who's to say she doesn't already have one? Stay tuned to find out!

Dragon and Sword Master: Thanks, but I will have to say that Naruto hasn't necessarily shown everything he is capable of...

WindyCitySlayer1: Thanks! As for why I went with Fem!Deidara instead of Kurotsuchi... It's rather simple, I personally just don't really like writing Kurotsuchi, which adds to the fact that I wanted this harem to be unique.

Midnight Lost: Well... You are the Anko enthusiast after all! As for that shit-eating grin, I will, unfortunately, have Naruto remain emotionless to most people(Including his team) to ensure continuity remains.

Beastyd22: Well then, here I am.

dalette: My apologies, we'll get into the action immediately in this chapter.

windwolf777: Yup, filler in Naruto can be weird, and I may or may not have further filler content lined up. Anyways, thanks for enjoying the chapter!

Ages are probably also important, so here they are!

Naruto - 16(altered anatomical structure)
Anko - 23
Kurama -?
Haku - 16

"Talking"
'Thinking'
"'Talking or thinking by Kurama or berserk Naruto'"

Alrighty! To the Land of Waves we go!

-Forest(Land of Waves)-

Naruto took two steps back, flicking his trenchcoat back before reassuming his combat stance. Sniffing the air surrounding him, Naruto closed his eyes, his sea-blue pupils fading upon the reopening of the blond's eyes, his pair of three-tomoe Sharingan now ablaze. Taking his environment into account, Naruto faded into gas, causing his masked opponent's kick to travel past the blond.

Naruto reconstituted his body, before noticing the fatal error he had made. Naruto stared forward, as a senbon's razor-sharp tip slowly approached his neck.

'This shinobi is showing himself to be a tough adversary...' Naruto thought, observing the masked shinobi in front of him. 'This might cause some trouble...'

-Five Days Earlier(Late at Night)-

"So, Naruto-Kun," Anko asked, leaning against the wall, "Where to?"

"The Land of Waves..." Naruto replied, placing a vial of a solution into a pocket of his black trenchcoat. "Or a village there anyways... We need to protect a bridge-builder from mercenaries on the way there..."

"And your team needs you in that mission for?" Anko questioned, "Surely they don't need an entire team of genin to protect someone from simple mercenaries?"

"That's the thing..." Naruto stated, placing his trenchcoat on the coat hanger, "Something is fishy about that mission... A D-ranked mission wouldn't be this difficult, yet, it seems too easy for a C-ranked mission..."

"So, you think that someone else will be attacking the bridge-builder?" Anko asked, to which Naruto nodded.

"Yes, and that whoever this person is, he or she is incredibly dangerous, and more-than-likely will outclass everyone on my team in terms of combat ability and experience, besides Kakashi-sensei," Naruto concluded.

Anko placed her arms behind her back, slowly turning towards the door of Naruto's apartment, "Whatever the case is, you'd better come back in one piece... And while you're at it... Feel free to bring anyone back home... It would be interesting to hear a voice fight over you with me that originates from a physical organism..."

"Oi!" Kurama yelled, knowing full well that Anko's mind was now linked to hers. "I heard that!"

'And?' Anko mentally asked back, 'What are you gonna do about it?'

"You trying to start something?" Kurama argued back.

'Not now, please...' Naruto mentally said to both, 'Let me focus for a bit... Then you two can start arguing again.'

Kurama and Anko nodded in silent agreement, as Anko kissed Naruto goodbye before leaving for the night, leaving Naruto alone in his apartment. Shaking his head from his thoughts, Naruto looked into a specific vial, one with a label distinct from all the rest.

"2,6-diisopropylphenol..." Kurama began to ask, "What does that do?"

"If I remember correctly... It contains hydroxide, oxygen, bits of carbon, some fluorine..." Naruto summarised, "It might have also been neutralized and mediated by gamma-aminobutyric acid... At least, I think it should have been..."

"It's great that you know what it's composed of," Kurama remarked, "But what does it do?"

"Well..." Naruto replied, "If we're lucky, we should be able to test it out on the field..."

"That would be considered lucky for you..." Kurama began to say, "For Anko-chan and I... It would be rather lucky... For you to, perhaps... Bring a fourth partner into this unique relationship of ours?" Kurama teased, causing Naruto to blush slightly.

"You know?" Naruto began to reply, "We can't just bring other people into our lives... Before anyone is brought in... We need to ensure that she is willing to share, first."

"Whoever you bring back..." Kurama replied with a wink, one which Naruto felt, "Considering I'm thousands of years old... And Anko-chan's twenty-three... It might be best to bring back someone who's your age..."

Naruto smirked, "As if I'll be able to find someone my age, who is willing to share their lover with two other partners, and that they would even be willing to come back to Konoha..."

"Never disregard probabilities, Naruto-Kun..." Kurama replied, "You of all people should know that..."

"We'll see..." Naruto finished, placing the vial of the compound into a pocket of his trenchcoat, before picking up another vial. "Well... Guess I'll have to test this one too... Let me see what this contains..."

Naruto opened his notebook, before flipping it open. Coming to the final page, Naruto began to read the contents of the page.

"Hydroxycinnamic acid, Chlorogenic acid, Magnesium..." Naruto skimmed, not noticing Kurama's growing laughter, "... And neutralized by a fair amount of Theobromine, an Alkaloid... The fuck was I on? What the hell does this do?"

This was the final straw for Kurama, who broke down into a fit of laughter.

"What?" Naruto asked.

"Be sure to test that one," Kurama said in between laughter, "The effects might be rather... Interesting..."

"From what I think it does, it might be completely harmless..." Naruto replied, before placing the vial in his trenchcoat, "Fine, I'll test it out."

'Oh... This is going to be interesting...' Kurama thought.

-Four Days Earlier-

Naruto hung upside down on a tree branch, the darkness of dawn obscuring him as he patiently awaited the arrivals of his team and the bridge-builder, Tazuna, the client they were meant to protect. Minutes later, Sakura arrived at the village's gate, carrying with her a backpack assumingly filled with equipment. A few more minutes after that, Tazuna, Kakashi, and Sasuke all arrived.

"Alright," Kakashi stated, "Now we just need to wait for Naruto before we explain the plan."

"Hmph," Sakura scoffed, "Damn idiot can't even be bothered to respect an appointment."

Sakura herself had hoped that Naruto did not come with them, which would allow her a chance to be alone on a team with her beloved Sasuke-Kun. In stark contrast to this, Sasuke seemed to dread this possibility more than anything, hoping for nothing more than for Naruto to come with them, even if only to keep Sakura away from him.

"Actually..." Came Naruto's voice from Konoha's gate.

Everyone present looked up, only to be met with the shadow of Naruto looming over them, with the blonde himself perched atop Konoha's gate.

"I was the earliest one here..." Naruto revealed, "Now, what's the plan?"

"Tazuna here lives in the Land of Waves, a tributary of Konoha," Kakashi began to explain, "As of recently, however... There have been several groups of mercenaries who will attack those traveling between Konoha and the island and take all their belongings... Our job is to defend Tazuna on the way back to the Land of Waves, and ensure a bridge is built in that island."

"Sounds simple enough..." Naruto replied.

"That's not all our mission entails..." Kakashi continued, "On the way there... We also have to defeat a group of occultists who have illegally crossed into the Land of Fire from... I don't know where from..."

"That's... Annoying, for sure," Naruto stated, before turning towards the other side of Konoha's gates.

'My god...' Tazuna thought, taking a large chug of his bottle of sake, 'This team is going to be a nightmare to work with... A blonde that seems so full of himself yet seems like he doesn't care... A girl who screeches in a pitch that hurts my ears... And another kid that seems like he wants to murder everyone on earth... At least their jonin sensei looks promising enough...'

"Are we leaving yet?" Naruto asked.

"Yup, we're departing now!" Kakashi announced before the entire team departed from the village's gate.

-Two Hours Into the Journey-

'This is boring...' Naruto thought, looking towards the endless plains. 'Kurama-chan, you awake?'

"Barely..." Kurama muttered, yawning afterward, "What do you need of me, Naruto-Kun?"

'I need to know how long more until we reach the Land of Waves,' Naruto requested.

"I'm the Nine-tailed Demoness," Kurama deadpanned, "Not a compass or a map."

'I figured as much,' Naruto mentally replied, before looking back at his travel companions, who looked just as bored as he did. 'This is going to be a long mission, isn't it, Kurama-chan?'

"You're right about many things..." Kurama replied, "And this one is no different..."

'Damn it,' Naruto thought, 'Anyways, what other bloodlines do I have access to?'

"Let's see here..." Kurama began to say, "Besides the Sharingan, the increased bone density of the Kaguya Clan, and the Iburi Clan's Kekkei Genkai... You also have access to Scorch Release, Crystal Release... And my Kekkei Genkai, which I've never mentioned to you before..."

'Which is it?' Naruto mentally asked.

"Boil Release..." Kurama replied, "But I'll tell you more about it later... You have a lot of riveting walking to get to..."

'Very funny,' Naruto thought, as Kurama fell silent. 'And she did it, brilliant.'

-Six Hours Into the Journey-

Naruto looked around, noticing just how much every one of his travel partners besides Kakashi had lost their focus.

'This is a grim situation...' Naruto thought, before stopping dead in his tracks.

Noticing Naruto's halting footsteps, Kakashi stopped as well, before motioning for the other three people on this mission to stop as well. Slowly, Naruto placed a hand on the grasslands they were standing on. Suddenly, Naruto dug his right hand into the ground, before lifting what was revealed to be a large tarp which was covered with grass, which had obscured a pit filled with many punji sticks, which, from what Naruto could tell, were laced with poison.

'How did he know?' Sakura thought, 'He probably got lucky...'

Suddenly, an arrow landed in front of the group, before many more came after than, forcing the group to seek shelter.

"Are those the occultists?" Naruto asked, getting a nod from Kakashi in return, "Damn it."

"Anyone got a plan?" Tazuna asked.

"I sure do..." Naruto replied, picking out a vial from a pocket of his trenchcoat.

"What do you plan on doing?" Sasuke asked, forming seals as he spoke.

"If I tell you, you won't go along it," Naruto replied, placing the vial back into his trenchcoat.

"Everyone, calm down," Kakashi advised, observing the situation as closely as possible. "Whatever you guys do... Stay together, and don't lose sight of one another."

"Umm, Kakashi-sensei..." Sakura muttered, pointing to where Naruto was.

Kakashi turned his head, before being met with the disappearance of Naruto.

'Damn,' Kakashi thought, attempting to locate Naruto, 'I did not see that coming.'

-Naruto Vs the Occultists-

Naruto appeared in front of the archers, before incapacitating the hooded figures with relative ease. Naruto looked onto the camp, only to hear strange noises from behind him. Naruto turned his head, only to be met with the sight of the occultists standing up once again.

'What the-' Naruto thought, only to be cut off as a flurry of arrows came flying towards him.

Subconsciously activating his Sharingan, Naruto dodged every single arrow, before catching one of them and throwing it towards an occultist, jamming the arrow into the archer's chest and causing him to collapse to the ground. To Naruto's complete surprise, however, and contradicting Naruto's near-complete knowledge of biology, the occultist stood up once again, before pulling the arrow from his chest.

'They aren't very good fighters, that much is certain...' Naruto thought, punching an occultist in the face before another grabbed him from behind. 'But they just don't seem to go down! Do they feel pain? Who knows...'

Naruto continued to think as he slammed the head of an occultist into a tree before being punched square in the face. Unfazed by this, Naruto shook off the blow, before kicking the occultist in the chin, knocking him down. Seconds later, all the occultists stood up once more, seemingly unscathed from Naruto's barrage. Amongst deep breaths for air, Naruto stood up once again, seemingly now armed with a plan.

-Team 7 & Tazuna(Half an hour later)-

"On my signal... We leave our positions and assist Naruto!" Kakashi ordered, receiving nods from Sakura and Sasuke.

"3..." Kakashi began to say.

Sasuke held out a kunai.

"2..." Kakashi continued.

Sakura held up three kunai.

"1..." Kakashi stated.

Kakashi poised himself to leap off the branch he was on.

"Now!" Kakashi announced.

All three shinobi leaped out of their positions, ready to fight off the occultists, only to arrive at a quiet venue. Instead of many angry and rowdy occultists, the remnants of Team 7 were met with a calm Naruto, standing next to a group of bound occultists.

'What the-' Sasuke thought in disbelief, placing his kunai in his pouch, 'Did Naruto beat them all alone?'

'Hmpf,' Sakura mentally scoffed, 'I bet Sasuke could've done the same...'

"Well... Mission report, Naruto?" Kakashi brought up.

"Occultists contained," Naruto began to explain, "However... There's something strange about them... There are human sacrifices littered around their camp, and they don't seem to have the capacity of being injured, truly peculiar..."

Sasuke smirked, recognizing that Naruto had outperformed him once again. 'Not bad, my friend... Not bad...'

"Can we leave yet?" Naruto asked, turning to Tazuna, who had now also arrived next to the group. "Can you lead the way?"

Still shaken, the bridge-builder nodded his head, before hastily running to the front of the group.

'My God...' Tazuna thought, 'That blond kid is incredible... He doesn't look the part of a shinobi... But his abilities show otherwise... If anything... He may make for the perfect inheritor of... The Will of the Blood God...'

-Two Days Earlier(Noon)-

The group had since traveled for two days, taking a couple of breaks in between, which had mostly consisted of casual conversation and Sakura being rejected by Sasuke repeatedly. Finally deciding to break the silence, Kakashi spoke up.

"So, Tazuna-san," Kakashi began to say, "What's the purpose of this bridge you're building?"

Tazuna nearly spat out his sake, a move that had not gone unnoticed by Naruto.

'Strange...' Naruto thought.

"Well, that bridge... Makes it easier for my family and me to go on holiday easier..." Tazuna explained.

"That's nice," Kakashi replied, a slight suspicion now making itself clear in his mind.

'I call bullshit,' Naruto thought.

"You're not wrong," Kurama replied, "No one, absolutely no one, uses bridges in the Land of Waves for holidays! Everyone uses boats!"

'Exactly...' Naruto thought, as his eye fell upon a puddle of water on the ground. 'Now correct me if I'm wrong... It's not the monsoon season, is it?'

"It's not..." Kurama replied.

'Then that puddle of water isn't natural...' Naruto analyzed, 'Which means-!'

Before Naruto was able to warn his team, two figures burst out of the puddle, both of them having bladed chains tied to their wrists. Taking everyone completely off guard, the two shinobi wrapped their chains around Kakashi, before tearing the masked jonin in half, seemingly killing him. Sakura screamed in horror, as Sasuke and Naruto both stepped before Tazuna, who fell unconscious in fear.

"And the one threat goes down..." One of the shinobi muttered, walking forward. "Look, kids, you three should just go on home and leave the bridge-builder with us... From where we stand, you have no hope in hell to defeat us."

"And where have you gotten this information from?" Naruto asked back, "A source? If so, is it a credible source? One which is credited as such? If not, I'd say... We stand quite a decent chance of defeating you..."

"A smart-ass, eh?" The shinobi asked, holding his arm up. "We'll teach you to be so smart."

Before anyone did anything, Sasuke dashed towards the second shinobi, successfully plunging a kunai into the shinobi's chest. Taking this as his sign to strike, Naruto threw a punch towards the first shinobi, which was dodged with utmost ease. Taking this as his opportunity, the shinobi jabbed forward with his clawed-glove, intent on plunging his arm into Naruto's chest. To his surprise, however, the blond's body changed into a cloud of smoke, causing the attempted attack to pass through into nothingness. Meanwhile, Sasuke had just leaped over his opponent, dazing the bandaged shinobi. All while this was going on, Sakura stood in front of Tazuna, still shaking in fear while she still felt obliged to defend her team's client. Suddenly, Kakashi re-emerged, before knocking out both enemy shinobi.

"Nicely done, you three," Kakashi congratulated, placing the two unconscious shinobi on the ground, before turning to Tazuna and narrowing his only visible eye, "As for you, Tazuna-san... You have a lot of explaining to do..."

"I- I don't know what you're talking about!" Tazuna stammered.

"Say's the one who called a mission involving two skilled chunin a C-ranked mission..." Naruto muttered, "If you don't speak up, we'll just turn and go home..."

With a defeated look on his face, Tazuna sighed, before speaking up.

"Fine," Tazuna began to explain, "My country's trade has been largely taken over by that scumbag of a shipping magnate named Gato, we all have no money due to our economic depression... If I can complete this bridge, we can break this stranglehold over our country. Gato would always hire shinobi gangs to assert his hegemony over our society, even murdering my son-in-law, we would pay for a more expensive mission, but we have insufficient funds. I swear... We'll pay up the full price after the mission is over."

"If anything, this mission has now elevated to the level of an A-ranked mission," Kakashi stated. "We have no obligation to continue onwards, so I suppose..."

"NO! We continue onwards!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Sasuke, please try to understand..." Kakashi began before turning towards Naruto, "What do you think?"

"I don't care..." Naruto replied, "I guess we can continue..."

Kakashi sighed, before turning towards Sakura, who merely nodded.

"You three do understand that from here, we could meet shinobi on the same level as me?" Kakashi asked. "If any of you perish during this mission, it would be in your hands."

The three genin nodded before Kakashi turned to Tazuna. "Well then, lead the way."

-Hours Later-

Now deep into a forest, Naruto noticed a white bunny hopping across the ground. Lifting a hand, Naruto motioned for his companions to stop moving forward.

"What is it now?" Sakura asked, slightly frustrated.

"There's someone here..." Naruto explained, "A white rabbit can't be found in the wild... So it likely belongs to someone... Someone dangerous... Someone skilled... Someone... who's currently observing our every step as we speak... DUCK!"

"Well played, kid," A menacing voice suddenly said, as a large metallic broadsword whirled overhead, one which Team 7 and Tazuna narrowly ducked under. The massive sword jammed itself into the trunk of a nearby tree, as a figure now stood atop its blade, one which Kakashi recognized.

"Zabuza Momochi," Kakashi stated, "Guys, I'll handle this, if things go south, take Tazuna and run!"

"Heh, to be identified by the legendary Kakashi of the Sharingan..." The now identified Zabuza began. "Such an honor, but even such high praise will not save you." Zabuza formed a single seal, as mist emerged and encased the entire forest."

'Sharingan?' Sasuke thought in confusion.

Kakashi looked around, before lifting his headband, revealing the three-tomoe Sharingan in his left eye.

'Wait, what the-' Sasuke thought, 'How did he get that eye?'

'Well, that was unexpected...' Naruto thought.

All of a sudden, Zabuza appeared in the center of the whole group, yanking his massive blade over his shoulder. Before he was able to do anything, Kakashi dashed over, plunging his kunai into Zabuza's stomach.

'That was kinda easy...' Naruto thought to himself.

Before anyone was able to react, a second Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, as the first Zabuza's body dispersed into a body of water, splashing to the ground as the second Zabuza lifted his sword over Kakashi.

'Shit,' Naruto thought to himself.

Zabuza slashed at Kakashi, cutting him directly in half, only for the cyclopean shinobi's body to disperse into puddles of water. Before he was able to do anything or even move, Zabuza felt the distinct feeling of cold metal on his neck. Shocking everyone watching, Zabuza bent his head back, delivering a brutal headbutt into Kakashi's nose, staggering him before the larger shinobi kicked him into the river. Kakashi reemerged from under the river, standing on the riverbed. Before anyone was able to react, Zabuza appeared behind Kakashi, before encasing him in a sphere of water.

'So this is how it ends...' Kakashi thought to himself, before lifting his head. "Guys! Take Tazuna and run! Leave me behind!"

'Ah, for fuck's sake...' Naruto thought, withdrawing a kunai from his pocket.

"Larynx, Spine, Lungs, Liver, Subclavian Artery, Kidneys or the Heart..." A deep voice echoed in the fog, "Which should I choose now..."

'This guy's creepy...' Sakura thought, clearly shaking in fear.

"You missed one," Naruto replied, stabbing forwards and plunging his kunai into the neck of one of Zabuza's water clones, "The Jugular Vein... Which could cause anyone to bleed out within seconds if cut..."

'Nevermind that,' Sakura thought, 'Naruto's even creepier...'

Analyzing the area, Naruto's ears shook slightly, before the blond raised his kunai, blocking a strike from another one of Zabuza's water clones, shocking the massive shinobi. Not giving up, the water clone attempted to throw a follow-up strike, only to be dispersed by a slash in its throat.

"That kid is something, isn't he?" Zabuza asked, to which Kakashi nodded.

"You have no idea..." Naruto muttered, appearing behind Zabuza.

Naruto stabbed downwards with a kunai, threatening Zabuza's exposed liver. Having no other choice, Zabuza leaped away, releasing his grip over the cyclopean shinobi. Landing back on the water, Zabuza hefted his sword over his shoulder, before performing a large slash against Naruto, who merely smirked in face of this. As the blade was about to slash Naruto in half, the blond's body dissipated into smoke, causing Zabuza to trip slightly, still in confusion over Naruto's sudden disappearance.

'Am I going mad?' Zabuza asked.

Zabuza shook his head, before turning to the released Kakashi and forming seal after seal. "Let's end this now!"

"Gladly," Kakashi stated, forming the same seals as Zabuza, shocking him.

"How are you-" Zabuza began, before being cut off by Kakashi.

"Copying me?" Kakashi mocked Zabuza, before continuing the same seals.

'The eye of insight... Allowing the user the ability to copy the movements of another flawlessly...' Sasuke recited mentally. 'And the eye of hypnotism, allowing the user to cast genjutsu more efficiently, even able to subtly cast genjutsu upon another... Whether or not the user is aware of this.'

Zabuza and Kakashi finished their seals, before forming the same finishing seal. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!" The riverbed rumbled, before the water behind both Zabuza and Kakashi took shape, forming two massive dragons that launched themselves towards each other, clashing against each other in the middle, with no one side able to attain the upper hand.

"Then again..." Naruto's voice echoed, causing Zabuza's eyes to widen, "No one ever said I was gone..."

Naruto's body reconstituted behind Zabuza, before the blond plunged a kunai into the large shinobi's hamstring, causing Zabuza to lose his focus, leading to him being sent flying into a tree by Kakashi's water dragon.

'My Goodness...' Tazuna thought, 'Are they even human?'

'Naruto's so strong... But how?!' Sakura thought, 'Was I wrong about him?'

'Naruto's incredibly strong...' Sasuke thought, 'If that's the case, I must begin training immediately... I can't afford to fall too far behind him...'

Kakashi walked in front of Zabuza, before holding a kunai to the swordsman's throat. "It's over."

"Do your worst!" Zabuza taunted.

"Gladly," Naruto began to reply, all while walking towards the swordsman, only to be cut off by the sudden introduction of three senbon into Zabuza's neck, rendering him lifeless.

A lean, masked shinobi landed next to Zabuza, picking up the large shinobi. "Sorry for the trouble, but I'm a hunter-nin from the Hidden Mist, I've been hunting Zabuza for a while now, so thank you." Before waiting for Team 7's response, the shinobi lept away.

'Well, that was unexpected...' Naruto thought, attempting to make sense of the situation, 'In any case... That 'hunter-nin' was probably allied with Zabuza as well...'

Suddenly, a loud 'thud' could be heard behind Naruto. Everyone present turned towards the source of the noise, only to be met with the sight of an unconscious Kakashi. Shaking his head, Naruto walked towards the masked shinobi, before covering Kakashi's left eye with his headband. Finishing this routine, Naruto lifted Kakashi over his shoulder, before turning to Tazuna.

"Tazuna-san, how far away is your house from here?" Naruto asked.

"About half an hour," Tazuna replied.

"Then lead the way," Naruto stated.

-Four Hours Ago-

It had been a day and a few hours since Team 7 took up refuge in Tazuna's home, now being acquainted with Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter, and Inari, Tazuna's anti-social grandson. With it being a few hours until midnight, Naruto sat atop a large tree in the forest, slowly observing something interesting. Beneath him, a familiar face walked by, seemingly gathering herbs as he did. Intrigued by this, Naruto slowly watched as the 'hunter-nin' walked across the forest.

-Five Minutes Ago-

Out of nowhere, a bee stung Naruto, causing the blond to fall into the field below, landing in front of the hunter-nin. Staring at the hunter-nin for a bit, Naruto noticed something interesting about his soon-to-be opponent.

'This hunter-nin...' Naruto thought, seconds before a senbon plunged into his face, 'She's a female...'

"Oh?" Kurama asked as Naruto's body dissipated into smoke, "You interested?"

'We'll see...' Naruto replied, reconstituting his body in front of the hunter-nin. "Alright then, you have ten seconds to explain what you're doing here!"

"I should be the one asking you that," The hunter-nin replied.

-Present Time-

Millimeters away from being stabbed in the neck, Naruto grabbed onto the wrist of the 'hunter-nin', stopping the stabbing movement entirely.

"You know..." Naruto began to say, confusing the 'hunter-nin', "It would be easier to address you by a name... Rather than just 'hunter-nin'..."

"Hmpf," The Hunter-nin scoffed, "We'll see if you deserve it, first."

'Fair bet,' Naruto thought.

"I see where this is going..." Kurama muttered with a smirk.

Author's Notes 2: Mwahahahaha! Betcha none of you expected this cliffhanger! If anyone was to be blamed for it... I have to say that MercenaryGrax has been ending many of his recent chapters with cliffhangers so... Blame him for it. For real tho, do check out his work if you haven't already... He's one of the best writers at the moment.

After writing a longer chapter... I don't feel like writing them this long anymore... So, I'll, unfortunately, be breaking my promise regarding longer chapters... But the shorter chapter-length would allow me to post more frequently.

Regardless of all this, tell me what you guys thought about it in the reviews down below!