when the entrance to Konoha became visible, Naruto couldn't help but sigh "home sweet home."

as soon as team 7 entered, they suddenly heard "dynamic entry."

it was then, a green spandex wearing individual with bushy eyebrows came out of nowhere and kicked Sasuke in the face.

"Sasuke!" his teammates yelled out.

"ha, my youth shines brightly, second to-" the individual was unable to finish as he suddenly found himself suddenly encased in a bunch of sand.

it was then Naruto, with anger in his eyes, spoke "I don't know who you are, but since you attacked my friend for no reason, YOU are in for a world of hurt."

Naruto was unable to deliver on his word. as another individual, who looked very similar, riding a turtle came out of nowhere and delivered a punch towards the attacker in the face, knocking him out of Naruto's sand.

Sasuke then got up, rubbing his nose.

Naruto completely forgot what he saw "Sasuke, are you okay?" he asked, genuinely worried for his friend.

"yeah, I'll be fine."

"LEE!"

everyone turned their attention to the green spandex individuals.

"GUY-SENSEI!" the now identified Lee yelled back.

"you can't just randomly attack people." Guy said.

"I'm sorry Guy-sensei. I shall do 150 laps around Konoha, then 150 push-ups with my pinky to make up for it."

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

"Lee!"

"Guy-sensei!"

the two then embraced in a hug and a flash of light suddenly appeared.

Hinata was caught off guard "What the-"

"How are they doing this?" Sasuke yelled.

'GUYS, DISPELL THIS, I BEG YOU!' Naruto begged his Bijū friends.

"WE'RE TRYING, BUT NOTHING IS WORKING!" Gyūki said.

"WHAT SORT OF GENJUTSU IS THIS!?" Isobu yelled.

"MY EYES!" Saiken cried out.

eventually the hug was over and Guy the turned around to see his eternal rival.

"Well, well if it isn't Kakashi?"

"oh, hey Guy. how have you been?"

while Guy and Kakashi conversed, Naruto noticed that the turtle Guy rode was staring at him.

"Hey, do you contain the sanbi?"

Naruto was caught off guard by the talking turtle before realizing that it was likely a summon "yes, I'm his jinchūriki, among others, why?"

"hmp. well, make sure that he knows his place." the turtle said before poofing.

'Isobu, what was that about?'

"long story short, we don't get along with our summon counterparts."

'we? as in? all of you?'

the bijū all gave various forms of yes.

'so I should avoid getting into any summoning contract with your animal counterparts.'

"yes, that would be very wise, gaki." Gyūki replied.

"and I see that these are why you've been a lot less lazy huh?" Guy said with a smile.

Kakashi nodded "yep, I've been training them hard."

"oh have you?" Guy said with a smirk.

'oh boy. I know that smirk.'

"say Kakashi, how about a nice little spar? my team versus your team. loser buys the winner's lunch, his team included."

Kakashi hummed to himself "I'll do you one better, how about a 1v1 tournament at training ground 15 with Kurenai's and Asuma's team too? the winner is whoever team he/she is a part of. and the three losers buy the lunch? tomorrow though, I have to give a mission report."

"you're on. I shall inform the others." and with that, Guy took off. Lee did soon after.

Kakashi looked down to his students "I'll give the report, and you'll get your pay soon after. in the meantime, start training for tomorrow."

they all nodded and took off.

Hiruzen looked over the report Kakashi gave "I see, well then. they'll be compensated with an A rank payment."

"good to hear."

silence filled the room.

"so... did any ANBU like figures attack you while on this mission?"

Kakashi shook his head "no."

"then that confirms that the attacks are indeed coming from Konoha" Hiruzen sighed "and I think I have a pretty good idea from who."

"should I-"

"no, I'll handle it."

Kakashi nodded in understanding and was about to exit when suddenly "Kakashi, I'm curious as to if you plan on enrolling your team in the chunin exams."

"I haven't decided on it yet, but I'm sure I'll make up my mind in about... 5 months was it?"

Hiruzen nodded.

"yeah, I'm sure my mind will be made up."

tomorrow had came, and a certain busty blonde was rubbing her head, as she walked through her old home.

"ugh, still can't believe I'm back here." she groaned.

meanwhile her apprentice, while carrying a pig, reassured her "admit it, you're happy deep down." her pig then oinked.

Tsunade sighed, deep down she was. after finally accepting her love's death and getting over her fear of blood, after saving someone who was critically injured after someone else had begged her, Shizune convinced her that now would probably be a good time to go home.

it took a lot of arguing and convincing, but eventually, Tsunade caved.

they continued walking towards her sensei's office, when suddenly someone bumped into her.

Tsunade looked down and went wide-eyed at who she saw.

"argh, sorry for that, I was in a rush."

mini-flashback

"Argh, sorry for that Oneesan, I was in a rush."

end of mini-flashback

Tsunade cupped her mouth and held back her tears "Na-Nawaki?"

the blonde raised an eyebrow "huh?"

Tsunade shook her head "sorry, you just... reminded me of someone." she said sadly.

"oh."

"aw fuck."

'what's wrong Saiken?' Naruto asked, curious as to what caused the usually cheerful slug to be so upset.

"It's one of the slugs' summoners. Tsunade." Saiken replied bitterly.

'really?'

"yep, Kami, I hope she doesn't summon that whore, Katsuyu."

"Hey, aren't you Tsunade?" the blonde asked cheerfully.

"oh, you've heard of me." Tsunade said while smiling "yes, it is I, Senju Tsunade. granddaughter of Senju Hashirama, the best medic nin in the world, and slug princess."

Naruto raised an eyebrow "aren't you a bit old to call yourself a princess?"

Tsunade grew a tick mark, and raised her fist.

"oh boy." Shizune said.

before the punch could land, Naruto used his sand to block it, much to the surprise of Tsunade and Shizune "it is clear, that I've said something that you've tooken the wrong way. so let me rephrase and be clear." Naruto then coughed "aren't you, a full grown adult, a bit too old to call yourself a princess?"

"and what would you call me?"

"slug queen."

Tsunade was about to retort, but then realized that 'slug queen' was cooler than 'slug princess'.

"crap."

"well, it was nice meeting you, Tsunade, but I have to go. I hope we can talk again." the blonde smiled in a way that reminded her more of her long lost brother.

as the blonde took off, Tsunade yelled "wait."

the blonde stopped and looked back at the sannin.

"what's your name, brat?"

the blonde grinned "Uzumaki Naruto, future hokage." he then took off.

Shizune looked at Tsunade "with that sand, it's obvious that he is a... you know."

Tsunade sighed "yeah, poor kid."

"yeah, but he looks happy."

Tsunade smiled "yeah, he does."

a knock on the door distrubed Hiruzen's misery "come in."

it was then two figures, plus a pig, walked in.

Hiruzen smiled "it's nice to see you again, Tsunade. I'm glad that you decided to return."

"hey, Hiruzen-sensei. it's great to be back I guess."

"so, how was your return to Konoha?"

Tsunade shrugged "meh, nothing has changed much. the most eventful thing, was that I passed by a jinchūriki."

"ah, so you've met Naruto?"

Tsunade and Shizune were caught off guard by what the professor said.

Konoha had nine jinchūrikis right? one for each bijū? how did Hiruzen know that she was talking about him specifically?

curious, she raised an eyebrow "how did you know which one I was talking about?"

"because currently, Naruto is our only jinchūriki."

this only made her more curious "explain."

Hiruzen sighed "I suppose I should catch you up to speed."

Hiruzen then told the slug sannin everything.

Tsunade and Shizune stood there in shock.

Shizune then spoke "all of them?"

Hiruzen nodded.

Tsunade then felt sad over the blonde that reminded her of her brother "poor kid."

"yes, but rest assured, even though he had a rough childhood. he has persevered and has made many friends."

Tsunade smiled.

"anyways, now that you are back in Konoha, would you consider taking this hat?"

"uhhh."

"please, I beg you."

Tsunade sighed "I'll think about it, for now, I'm going to head towards the hospital. see how its been."

Naruto had finally arrived at training ground 15 "sorry, my alarm died."

Asuma sweat dropped "Oh dear Kami. Kakashi is spreading his lateness and his lame excuses to the next generation."

"Kami save us all." Kurenai added.

"mahhh, come on guys."

"ENOUGH TALKING!" Guy exclaimed.

"urgh, this guy's yelling is troublesome."

"oh, hey Shikamaru."

"hey, Naruto."

"let us begin."

Kakashi sighed "this is how this will work." he then pulled out a box. "we'll draw two names, and the two shall fight. whoever loses, their name will be removed. and then rinse and repeat until there is only one."

Kakashi then handed the box to Kurenai "we'll take turns. you first, then Asuma, then me, then Guy, and then back to you."

Kurenai sighed and took the box. she shook it and took out two names "up first is Lee and Naruto."

"YOSH! PREPARE TO SEE MY BURNING YOUTH IN ACTION, UZUMAKI NARUTO!" Lee said.

Naruto stood silent "you're a freaking weirdo."

the two then entered the marked area that was clearly the arena.

"ring out rules by the way." Asuma said.

the two fighters nodded.

Lee then took his taijutsu stance.

seeing this, Naruto took his.

Guy raised an eyebrow at this "I've never seen this type of pose before."

"oh, it's a taijutsu Naruto made himself. he hasn't come up a name for it yet, so don't ask."

"ah, interesting. I'm curious as to what it'll look like in combat."

"well, let us all see for ourselves, HAJIME!"

Lee, at speeds that surprised everyone, ran to punch Naruto.

the blonde quickly used his sand to block it and retaliated with his own punch.

as the spar between the two dragged, Asuma decided to ask "hey, what's up with his speed?"

Guy chuckled "you need to ask?"

Asuma caught on "oh, weights. Cool."

at the mention of weights, Kakashi had an idea 'with Naruto having all nine of the bijū within him, he heals exceptionally quick. meaning that Naruto could quickly handle having his muscles torn. I'll have to remember to get him some weights. and for others too.'

meanwhile Guy was impressed by his rival's student's taijutsu "I see, so it's a style that focuses on aggressive attacks and taking advantage of openings. very nice."

"yeah, it took a lot of sparring with Sasuke, Hinata, and I, and a lot more shadow clones for it to even be decent. but now, it's a proper taijutsu. able to handle its own against the strong fist and the gentle fist. only thing it needs now is a name."

as Lee ran up to Naruto, said blonde took a deep breath and blew ink into him.

using Lee's blindness to his advantage, Naruto quickly made a bunch of strikes against him.

wiping the ink off his face, Lee ran up behind Naruto, and threw a punch which the blonde barely blocked.

Naruto then lightly laughed "Lee, you're the biggest werido I've ever met, but you are also the most fun person to fight, I'm barely keeping up."

Lee let out a huge smile "thank you, Naruto."

Sasuke was surprised at what his teammate had said, Naruto was the fastest out of everyone on team 7, except for Kakashi, and even then their sensei struggled to keep up with Naruto. so for Naruto to exclaim that he was struggling to keep up was quite the feat. Sasuke was interested in how though.

it was then, Naruto landed a punch on Lee, that had knocked him out of the arena.

Naruto went up to Lee and offered his hand "it was fun fighting with you, Lee. I hope we can do it again someday." he said while smiling.

Lee upon hearing his opponent's word, was struggling to hold back his tears.

Lee got himself up with a somersault and raised his fist in the air "Uzumaki Naruto. you have pushed me like no other, you clearly have what it takes to push my flames of youth to its limits" he then pointed at the blonde "from this day forward, you are my eternal rival, may our rivalry shine bright through all of Konoha."

everyone, except for Kakashi, Guy, and Naruto, sweat dropped.

Naruto shrugged "okay, I accept the position of your rival."

'oh Naruto, you poor soul.' Kakashi thought.

"yes, so far. it is 1-0, to make up for this loss, I shall run 200 laps around all of Konoha. then come tomorrow, I shall challenge you. what to, is for me to know, and for you to find out tomorrow. I must go now." he then ran off.

"I'M PROUD OF YOU LEE!" Guy exclaimed.

Asuma then sighed "alright, let's see who is next."

as Asuma shook the box, Kakashi thought of something again 'one of Naruto's affinities is air, and so is Asuma's. I wonder if he knows where I can get those chakra blades.'

"next up is, Shino and Shikamaru.

team 7 were currently celebrating their victory over at Icharku's ramen.

"and then Sasuke finished him with a fireball." Naruto said, explaining how Sasuke won his match up with Kiba.

Ayame smiled "my, my. you gave them quite the beating it seems."

"hn. they never stood a chance." Sasuke said.

after finishing his bowl, Kakashi got up "welp guys, enjoy your meal. tomorrow we meet up at training ground 7."

"are we going to be doing another mission?" Hinata said while finishing up her ramen.

"no, we're going to be taking a brief break. we'll resume doing missions next week. until then, we train."

"what can we expect for tomorrow, Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi chuckled "some gifts."

and with that, Kakashi left.

Danzo had entered the hokage's office "Hiruzen, why did you call me at this hour?"

Hiruzen said nothing.

Danzo scowled at his old friend.

"Danzo, ever since team 7 was formed with Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata. there have been many instances of unaffiliated ANBU attacking them."

Danzo said nothing.

"recently, I started to suspect that these attacks were coming from inside Konoha."

Danzo, once again, said nothing.

"so I had gave team 7 an out of village mission. said mission lasted two and a half months."

Danzo still said nothing.

"during this time period, where they were outside the village walls, Kakashi reported that no ANBU attacked them."

Danzo continued to say nothing.

"I investigated the ANBU here, and it came up clear, which leaves the only possible option for ANBU attacks coming from Konoha are from root."

Hiruzen looked up from his desk, towards his once friend.

"Danzo. are you behind these attacks?"

Danzo scoffed "and if I was, what would you do?"

Hiruzen said nothing.

"yes, I orchestrated the attacks, but only because I'm not afraid to do what is necessary for the good of Konoha. unlike you."

"I've heard enough. ANBU!"

"don't bother, I've already left."

Danzo then puffed into a cloud of smoke, revealing that was a shadow clone.

"I want every ANBU searching. now."

tomorrow had arrived again.

team 7 eagerly awaited for their sensei.

and as if on que "yo."

the team smiled at their sensei.

Kakashi then laid down his bag.

he first pulled out some weird metal things "these, are weights, they're for all of you." Kakashi then went on to explain the concept.

"so, the more weights we add, the faster we'll eventually go?" Naruto asked, excited about the idea.

Kakashi nodded.

Sasuke then asked "will we be as fast as Lee?"

"in due time Sasuke, in due time."

Kakashi then pulled out a box and threw it at Naruto.

the blonde excitedly opened the box, seeing two knifes "theses are chakra blades. blades made with a special metal, that'll allow you to channel your chakra, for these blades, I would recommend using wind." the blonde nodded in understanding "by the way, there are holsters within that box."

Kakashi then threw a pouch that had a tantō at Sasuke "this blade is much the same, only I would recommend using lightning." the Uchiha nodded.

Kakashi finally threw a bow and a quiver "I hope I don't have to explain."

Hinata looked at the bow "Kakashi-sensei, not that I am ungrateful, but my clan traditionally uses taijutsu."

"three things. 1, you're clan traditionally doesn't use ninjutsus and yet you have combined the gentle fist with lighting release. 2. you, yourself, said that you don't like some of your clans' traditions. 3. well then, I guess you're screwed if you're up against a ranged fighter."

Hinata said nothing.

"thought so, anyways let's start trainin-"

"UZUMAKI NARUTO, I HOPE YOU ARE READY!" a certain spandex wearing individual said.

and that's it, leave a review and tell me what you thought.

important stuff.

1. Danzo has left the village and is going to do God knows what.

2. Tsunade is back in the village.

3. Team 7 has weights and weapons.

join us next time as we finally get to the chunin exams and Gaara.