Kakashi sighed. He didn't know what to make of his charges' attempt at tree climbing. He was, however, really happy when Naruto and Hinata decided to stay and help their comrades for a while before Kurenai took them to teach the girl water walking, and trying to find something for the boy as well.

From what Rin had told him and what Naruto himself reported, it seemed that Tsunade had worked on his control like a possessed woman.

It was good in a way, but Kakashi couldn't understand why the sannin had been so obsessed on him learning that so soon and so well. Must be a medic kunoichi thing.

Despite that, however, the young Senju worried him.

The way he acted always so relaxed made him think that maybe he didn't realize how dangerous this mission was.

It was strange; he could tell that Naruto wasn't arrogant, and the young genin had never said anything about being different or stronger then the others (unlike one of his students... he'll have to beat that attitude out of Sasuke one of these days), but the way he walked, spoke, seated, hell, even the way he simply breathed screamed to the whole word that he didn't felt threatened in the slightest.

The curious thing was that despite that Kakashi often caught that eyesore of an orange mass behaving in the most childish way he had ever seen. And then there was his fixation with sponges. He overheard him mumbling during lunch about how much of a big one he'd need to absorb the whole ocean, or how many little ones.

It was starting to creep him out.

As for the ten other rookies, they proved to be a handful. Sasuke in particular seemed unreasonably pissed at both Hinata and Naruto for knowing something he didn't, and at Kiba who was learning faster than him. Granted, even Sakura was doing better than him, but that was because of her little chakra reserves, and she wasn't rubbing it in his face.

Instead the young Inuzuka, whose more animalistic nature Kakashi suspected helped him in the exercise, snorted every time Sasuke fell from his tree. This infuriated the young Uchiha, sending his control out of the window and worsening his bad mood. And was starting to give him an headache.

"What's the problem, pretty boy? The rookie of the year can't keep up now?" Kiba mocked. He was a foot or two above Sasuke, who glared at him murderously.

"Shut up dog-breath! Sasuke-kun is way better than you!" Sakura yelled from the top of her tree.

"Then why can't he go higher than me? Let's face it, he could have been great at school, but in the real word I'm the alpha."

"Technically, Kiba-san, Sakura-san has done better than all of us. And both Hinata-san and Naruto-san had already mastered this exercise."

Kiba pointedly ignored Shino's words, content to simply have bested Sasuke. Ino, however, decided to question Shikamaru about it.

"Hey Shika, why didn't Naruto tell us he could do this?"

"So troublesome. Maybe you never asked him?"

Ino's eyes narrowed suspiciously, "Wait, you knew it?"

Chouji joined their conversation answering in his place, "He told us that Tsunade-sama trained him in chakra control and medical theory, but he never went into details."

Before Ino could reply Kakashi's voice interrupted them, "Less talk, more practice. We don't have time for that.'' While the genins went back to their exercise, the copy-nin noticed the contempt in Sasuke's eyes. 'Could he really be so selfish to despise whoever knows something he doesn't?'

Kakashi sighed again; he had really hoped they could learn this in a day or two, especially after Hinata and Naruto gave them some pointers, but so far only Sakura seemed likely to do it in that time while, from the look of it, the others will took a little more.

In any case Kurenai, Asuma and he won't be able to teach them anything new. There simply wasn't the time for them to learn new skill good enough to use them effectively in the field. He only hoped that their enemy didn't find a powerful ally in the meantime.

On a shore not too far away from Kakashi and his charges, Kurenai found herself sighing, not unlike her colleague.

It wasn't the fact that she had definitely nothing to teach Naruto on chakra control, on the contrary, she saw that as a great opportunity to start on genjutsu earlier.

The problem wasn't even the very red-faced and very passed out girl in front of her.

Well, that was a problem, but what had her sighing was the boy who caused that.

An orange haired red eyed boy who, upon seeing the ocean, shamelessly stripped down naked in front of both her and Hinata before diving in the water.

"Naruto, was taking off your boxers really necessary? Couldn't you have just a bit more decency?"

"But Kurenai-sensei I'm just a boy and I know you're dating Asuma-sensei, and Hinata-san... well, with her eyes it's not like I've shown something she couldn't already see."

The genjutsu mistress pinched the bridge of her nose. The fact that she had been affected wasn't something she'd say anytime soon or ever. Although, she had to admit that as time went by she felt less and less attracted to him and was coming to see him as the child he was, as if he was slowly closing a tab that poured out sex-appeal.

Kurenai blinked. 'Where did that come from? Never mind, let's focus on the problem.'

"Naruto, you just don't strip down in front other people like that, especially in front of a girl. And even if Hinata could see through clothes, that doesn't mean she does it. I really shouldn't have to say you this, didn't your mother ever spoke with you about this?"

"Maybe..." Naruto muttered sinking into the water.

Kurenai shook her head and turned her attention to her passed out student. Unknown to her However, Naruto was thinking about what she had just said. Those words reminded him of a talk his kaa-san had with him long ago.

"Having the power to do something doesn't mean you have the right to do so. People should try to do the right thing, not everything they could just because."

"How do I know what's the right thing to do?" Asked a curious Naruto.

Tsunade smiled at her little boy, "It's simple, you..."

"NARUTO!"

The red-eyed boy gave a start. "What? What happened?"

Kurenai stared at him with an irritated look, while the now conscious Hinata was working on the water walking with a very red face.

"You were spacing out. Now come here, get dressed, and let's see what we can find for you to work on," the genjutsu mistress ordered.

Zabuza was sitting on his bed, looking at man in front of him.

He somewhat regretted that Haku wasn't there, out of all the seven swordsman of the Mist, the one who was staring back at him was perhaps the most unpredictable one.

Although other people said the same about him after the whole final test of the academy fiasco

"I don't like you. I can't stand you, you and Kisame have always pissed me off."

Zabuza snorted, "Same here, Raiga. But what I propose to you is a just a little easy job, one that will let you organize all the funerals you want afterwards."

The long-haired swordsman pondered the offer for a while. He didn't like Zabuza, he had half a mind to kill him now that he was weak and organize a nice funeral for him. On the other hand, if his so-called ex-comrade was speaking the truth and he followed him, he could make many others soon enough.

"What are we doing, Raiga?" a voice that seemed to come from his backpack asked.

"We'll stick with you Zabuza, but just this one time." That said, the green haired shinobi turned around and left the room.

As soon as the door closed behind him Meizu and Gozu voiced their own question.

"Zabuza-sama, can we really..." "...trust him?"

The demon of the Mist closed his eyes and relaxed, "Don't worry, for now he won't do anything, and once I'm back at full power he'll be no match for me. Now be quiet, I need to rest."

In his mind, however, his thoughts were along these lines, 'He went from being an insane bastard with an obsession for funerals, to being an insane bastard that speaks with his backpack and has an obsession for funerals. Great. I wonder who or what the hell could be there.'

Haku was wandering in the woods looking for medicinal herbs for Zabuza. His current attire was that of a civilian except for the hidden needles in his sleeves. With the basket under his arm he must have looked like someone who was going to a picnic.

He was walking immersed in his thoughts when he saw something out of the corner of his eyes- something bright orange in the middle of a clearing. He went to look closer and recognized one of the genin hired by the old bridge builder.

'Ugh, my eyes hurt. Seriously, though, I spotted him when I was almost a mile away! Bright orange isn't exactly stealthy in a forest.'

Haku felt conflicted on what to do, on one hand this boy was an enemy and should be eliminated, but on the other hand they weren't fighting right now, and he really didn't want to kill him, especially in his sleep. So he decided to wake him and try to gain some info talking with him.

Naruto felt the person who had approached him in his sleep shake his shoulder and put on his goggles before opening his eyes.

"You shouldn't sleep out here, you'll catch a cold." A boy with long brown hair and wearing a pink kimono said.

"Maa, you didn't have to worry about me, I'm used to it and I don't catch colds." Naruto waved him off.

"Oh, I didn't see your hitai-ate, so you must be a ninja. What were you doing in the forest?" Haku asked hoping to know more about what the Konoha ninja were planning.

"Relaxing, seeing the sights, training, napping, a little of everything. And you? Do you always wander in search of people sleeping outside?" Naruto asked. However, giving him a better look, he noticed the basket he was carrying or, more specifically, what was in it.

"Hey, these are medical herbs, are you collecting them? Do you need some help?"

Haku smiled at boy, to recognize those plants for what they were so fast he must have good eyes.

"Yes, thank you. And I really didn't mean to disturb you, I simply saw something bright orange and got curious. You know, I thought ninja were supposed to be stealthy..."

"And I thought boys didn't dress like girls, it gives people strange ideas." Naruto replied grinning, "And I can be stealthy if I want, in fact my clothes are perfect for camouflage."

"Really?" Haku looked at him sceptically, but Naruto nodded firmly.

"Yeah, in fact I bet you didn't notice my hair."

The Hyouton user sweat-dropped at his logic. Of course, since the boy's hair were just a shade of orange darker than his clothes, they went unnoticed when you looked at him.

But the fact was that it was astonishing easy to spot him. Haku couldn't believe this was the same boy that helped freeing the Konoha jounin with a subtle genjutsu. Bright orange and subtle simply shouldn't be able to coexist.

Deciding to change topic as to not have a massive headache, Haku asked a question that would help him understand what kind of person he would be up against.

"You seem to know a lot on herbs for a ninja, I was under the impression that your job request a different set of skill."

"Usually it's like that, but I'm more of a defensive fighter than an attacker one. That's the right thing..." Naruto answered slowly, trailing off at the end while memories invaded his mind.

"How do I know what's the right thing to do?" asked a curious Naruto.

Tsunade smiled at her little boy, "It's simple, you must try to preserve life. Every moron, given the right condition, could kill or hurt others. However, very few can cure or save a life. Life it's a great gift, but a very fragile one too."

"But don't ninjas kill?"

The Sannin sighed. "Unfortunately, there are times in which to protect what we love we must make a little bad to avoid a bigger one. Don't worry, one day you'll understand."

"So you fight to protect. I suppose you have a precious person?"

Naruto froze at those words and turned warily to eye Haku. He studied him for a bit before going back at collecting herbs.

"I'm sorry Haku-san, I'm really flattered but I don't swing that way."

Haku sputtered. Now that he thought about it, his question did sound wrong.

"That's not what I was saying, I-"

"Relax Haku-san," the Konoha genin interrupted him with a smile, "I'm not judging you or anything, on the contrary, if you want there's a comrade of mine that might be interested."

Haku was beginning to feel aggravated, his hand twitched towards his hidden senbons.

"Anyway, here, this is for you."

Zabuza's accomplice took the cloth Naruto had given him and looked at it skeptically. "A red hood?"

Naruto nodded, "Wear it the next time you wander in the woods with a basket for your 'precious person' under your arm. But remember, don't trust anything with big eyes, big ears, and a big mouth. Now I must go, my breakfast sense is tickling. It's been a pleasure to know you, I hope you'll find your special boy in the future. Bye!"

Haku stared at the retreating form of the orange clad boy.

The encounter had really weirded him out, Naruto didn't struck him as the sanest person out there. ''Then again, I'm working with Raiga who is obsessed over funerals and speaks with someone he carries in his backpack. Maybe this is what Zabuza-sama meant when he said that all ninjas have their thing.''

Standing up to make his way back to Gato's hidden base, he suddenly became aware of something missing from the inside of his sleeves. Reaching with a hand, his eyes widened while his mind tried to elaborate what this meant In Konoha, a blond hokage was looking at a number of papers on his desk with a frown. They were letters from the other ninja villages, allied and not, with an approximate esteem of the number of genin who will take part in the next chuunin exam, that will be held in the leaf village in a month.

Iwa sent a message saying it hadn't genin ready.

Right, they weren't scared shitless of him, they just weren't ready.

Kumo, on the other hand, will send some chuunin hopefuls.

Minato's eyes narrowed, his spies had warned him against Cloud desire to obtain one of their bloodline, the Byakuugan in particular.

This could be a problem, but the only way to refuse their participation would be if they were at war.

Suna had sent a message informing him that the Kazekage's children would take part on the exam.

And a newly formed village, Otogakure, was asking permission to join the competion for the first time.

Thankfully none of the other villages had anything out of the ordinary. Signing the last document, Minato stood and stretched his back.

Looking at the clock, a smile appeared on his face thinking about his lunch with Shizune.

He really hoped their relationship would continue to go so well, and not only because Tsunade and little Naruto will kill him otherwise.

Shizune was a great kunoichi, but also a fantastic person, beautiful and kind.

The fact that she choose to be a healer instead of a front line fighter reflected a kindness and desire to help others that he really liked.

Now, if he only managed to pick her up at the hospital without being seen by Tsunade...

And speaking of the slug sannin, who knows if her son's team will enter the chuunin exam? it was unusual for rookies, but the damiyo would be doubtlessly interested in both him and Sasuke, the last Uchiha.

And the two boys had already shown a great deal of talent.

In the end, however, the choice was up to their sensei.

"Naruto! Where have you been?" Ino yelled at him.

The boy smiled, twirling a senbon in his fingers, "Sorry, I was having a walk in the forest when I met a trap."

Sakura looked at him oddly, "You mean you fell into a trap?"

"God, no! I didn't fall for it; I meant exactly what I said. Anyway, can I have a cookie?"

Tsunami chuckled at him before putting a trail in front of him.

Now that Naruto kept his goggles hanging around his neck while in the house, the dark haired woman was gettingused to his slitted red eyes, and despite having no problem admitting he was quite good looking, she now found him cute in a more motherly way.

Beside he seemed always cheerful and curious about everything, that she couldn't help but to grow a soft spot for him.

Naruto sat down taking a cookie. Looking around he saw that Chouji was next to him munching his own cookie, Sasuke was busy brooding and ignoring Ino and Sakura, Akamaru and Kiba were pestering the senseis who were talking with each other, and Hinata seemed to try to hide herself.

He was re-evaluating her lately. Although her shyness was still a bit too big for the two of them to have a proper conversation, her kindness reminded him of Shizune.

He'll have to try and be friends with her. And Shino too, whoever could play shogi decently had his interest. But for now, since he was playing it with Shikamaru... 'Well, I need at least three other people to play poker, so...' thinking that Naruto formed a single handseal and whispered a technique, "Kage Bunshin no jutsu"

Suddenly three exact replicas of the orange haired boy appeared out of nowhere, while the original gave them five cards each.

Kiba, who was getting tired of trying to get the jounins agree with his ideas, looked at him in wonder.

"Hey, what are you trying to do? Bunshin aren't real, you can't play with them, dumbass."

"That's why I made Kage Bunshin. They're real, in fact they're holding their cards, see?"

Kakashi observed the exchange with interest. Being an expert of ninjutsu, had already recognized the technique, and was curious about how the genin knew it, since it was a forbidden technique.

Furthermore, the fact that he could use it meant that his chakra reserves must be pretty large for his age, but despite that his control was top notch thanks to Tsunade's training.

"Kage Bunshin? I've never heard of that jutsu, what is it Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, forgetting for a second about her Sasuke-kun, whose eyes narrowed while watching the orange clad boy.

"The concept behind it is similar to the simple Bunshin you know, but unlike that the copies are real and can inflict damage to an enemy or being used as scout. However the Kage Bunshin requires great amounts of chakra, so much that it's listed as a forbidden technique available only to jounin. I'm quite curious, how did you learn it Naruto?"

"A moron was walking around like a headless chicken with that big scroll of bad-assery, I took it and had a look inside. Hey, straight flush!"

"Same."

"Me too."

"Idem."

The four Naruto looked at each other and at their cards, happily ignoring the glare from Sasuke.

He just hoped he won't threw another tantrum like the night before when the Uchiha learned that he had began training in genjutsu with Kurenai instead of working on chakra control.

Naruto had decided to sleep outside just to avoid his loud whining.

Was it so hard to understand that when someone is better than you at something you have to catch up before doing the same training?

But noooo, the great Uchiha wanted the same training at once, never mind that without control he'd probably destroy his own mind.

'Although it would be interesting to see that happen... Maybe I could even try and see if I can restore it afterwards. Or rebuild him into a kind-hearted and altruist spirit. Or, making him into a bat-shit crazy guy who argue with himself about his treasure. But I think this is under the even-if-it-sounds-funny-do-not-do-it category. Sigh.'

Munching his cookie quietly, Naruto noticed out of the corner of his eyes another person glaring; not only at him, but at all the rookie genin.

Inari, Tsunami's son, seemed to be angry at them for both being there and opposing Gato who was invincible and will crush them. Yeah, right.

Naruto didn't know what to think of the boy.

Tazuna had told them all about Kaiza's fate, but the adopted Senju just didn't know. A father was a foreign concept for him, but if it's the same as a mother...

Naruto clenched his fists before taking a deep breath. 'I have to stay calm. Probably tomorrow Zabuza will attack, and if Gato is what I think he is, he'll try to take advantage of our fight to kill whoever survives. He'll have another thing coming.'