Chapter 7: Extreme Training and news

"Naruto..." The Old Man looks at me with a dead pan.

"Just what are you teaching those teammates of yours? I can feel the change in their chakra and it's like they are two different people." The Old Man said after the rest of my team had gone home to rest after our report was given.

"I don't know what you mean Old Man" lies, I totally do.

"I'm just training them as hard as I train myself. I know that Hinata-chan and Ino-chan are doing the same, since they've spent the most time with me. I know Lee and Tenten are also rather high up on the skill meter. Not too sure about Neji with his fate crap though." I respond. He stares at me and looks for something. He doesn't find it and deflates with a sigh.

"You're upsetting the balance here Naruto. It's good that your generation is taking its training and shinobi duties seriously. But you're setting an almost unprecedented standard that I fear other shinobi won't be able to follow." He tells me.

"Ah, so that's it" I think to myself.

"Anyone can become great Old Man. They just need to have the guts and determination to put their all into their training and not be afraid to fail. We all have different learning curves, and we all have things that we can become good at. It's just a matter of time before we realize what those are." I impart some Shonen brand wisdom.

"Right you are, my boy. I believe my shinobi could learn a lot from your words." He says after a brief moment of contemplation. "Right then, I believe Jiraiya should be coming back just before this year's Chunin Selection Exams. He will be training you in the month in between the second and third rounds, should you decide to enter when Kakashi nominates you." He informs.

"What makes you think he'd nominate my team so soon? We might be stronger than the average Genin, but we're still pretty fresh." I tell him, already knowing the answer.

"You're being modest, Naruto. We both know why." He leaves it at that, giving me a raised eyebrow.

"Fair point" I conceded with a sigh.


After my conversation with the Old Man, I was given my collapsible, chakra conducting bō-staff, and the promised armor from the Old Man. The staff was actually a sansetsukon that was twice the girth and width of normal weapons of the type, and the armor was more like a custom order for a design I'd shown the Old Man when I was younger.

The armor was just the standard chest plate armor with no shoulders but had my own sci-fi design language for a bit of flair. It wasn't anything ostentatious, but it was different enough that people here would take notice and hopefully start coming up with armor a little less like traditional samurai armor, which is cool too, it's just that it's the only design available. The accented parts were a dark burnt-orange color while the rest of the armor was a dark navy-blue that had black lines to separate each of the sections of its sections. It had the Uzumaki Swirl on the center of the back. I also had a pair of gauntlets that I modeled after Jin Kazama's from Tekken 6 but followed the same dark burnt-orange and dark navy-blue color motif and had slight differences to fit with the look of the chest plate. I wore them over a tightfitting dark navy-blue long-sleeved shirt and had similarly fitting but still breathable black shinobi pants that mom got me some time ago, and standard black shinobi sandals. I had shin guards that followed a similar design language and color motif as well but covered all the way up to just past my knees. I chose to wear a dark navy-blue coat as well.

Overall, it looked cool and corny at the same time; and I loved it. But it offered much better protection to my important bits during battle, for the most part, and the colors were dark and opaque enough to not make me stand out even without my coat. I also made sure to outfit them with various seals and hidden weapons and compartments, I was gonna go Assassin's Creed on them mofo's.

Anyway, my team was able to come back in time for the third Joint Training Session between teams, which as is customary, was on a Saturday. So, I was going to hopefully be able to make up with mom… I missed her while I was out.

But different from the other two sessions we'd had, this time much to my joy and Kakashi's dismay, Team 9 or as we know it, Team Guy, decided to drop in.

"Kakashi, my eternal rival! How youthful of you and the others to organize such wonderful events. I only wish I had been around for the first one Hahaha" Guy bellows in his over-the-top manner.

"Hm? I'm sorry Guy, did you say something?" Kakashi responds coolly.

"Gah! Damn you Kakashi and your hip attitude!" They continue with their antics.

"Hey guys, how's the team life?" I asked Guy's team.

Surprisingly, Lee didn't turn into a mini me of Guy when he joined the team. He still goes on about 'Youth' every so often, but it's much more controlled and he also doesn't wear the green spandex suit by itself. He has a ponytail instead of a bowl cut and has a much more serious demeanor. Still a right cheery bastard like we all remember when the mood struck, though.

He chose to wear an armored leather vest that covered his chest and shoulders without obstructing his arm movement (think Vegeta's armor when he takes a nap in Frieza's ship but it's all white and leather). He also has a large hunting/ combat knife strapped to his lower back that he uses for when he needs to fight with a little more range. He also keeps a bō-staff in a storage seal on his gloves which turn into full spiked armguards when he directs his chakra to them – I helped make these with Tenten, since Lee can direct chakra, evidenced by the fact he can both tree and water walk, but he can't mold it and channel it externally.

"We are well Naruto-San. I heard your team just came back from a most youthful month-long C rank mission." He replies in a conversational tone.

"Ah, yes. It was pretty cool, ya'know? We improved a bunch, and I even made a few friends. I also got this really cool sword from this guy that I turned to minced meat." I decided to omit the fact I got in bed with two hot women while I was there for now, he'd be told once it was just us guys. I told him and Tenten who walked over leaving Neji to glare at me and Hinata. "I swear I'll beat that ass and get him to lose that stick" I grumble to myself, which causes Kurama to laugh and howl. I then took out the sword from the storage seal on my left armguard.

Tenten nearly took my virtue on the spot. "Is that the Executioner's Blade?!" She squealed and tried to take it. Tried.

"Yup. I had to get involved with Sasuke and Sakura to save Sensei when he got caught in a trap. The guy just left himself wide open for attack thinking I'd just stand around twiddling my fingers." I told her and she looked at me, curious.

"Wait... you killed Zabuza Momochi of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. By chance?" She looked incredulous, as did the rest of the people in the Training Ground.

"Yeah. He thought I was just some snot nosed Genin and decided to grandstand. Learned not to when my Shuriken turned him into paste after a well-timed genjutsu from Sakura distracted him from Sasuke's demon wind shuriken." At this the rookies all nodded, knowing my modus operandi. The Sensei - sans Kakashi - on the other hand looked scandalized.

"Kakashi, you let your students – my son! – fight such a dangerous opponent?" Mom was about to have an aneurism right then and there; but I was happy she came to hug and cradle me in her scandal. I took the chance and recharged my mom-meter. She'd been so cruel before I left, ya'know?

"Ugh, no, Kurenai-san. I was actually trapped in a Water Prison and couldn't do much of anything, so he really did save me too; the whole team did, it was an amazing display of teamwork from all of us. He'd also incapacitated and restrained Zabuza's apprentice at some point before that, too."

This made everyone listening pause, even Guy lost his exuberance. They looked at me amazed. "Kakashi" Guy begins in all seriousness, "At what level was your student at when you got him?" Guy spoke, to which the other sensei seemed interested as well.

"Hm... that depends. Skill wise? Mid to High Jonin, easy. Experience wise, I'd say about solid Chunin." He says after thinking on it for a bit.

"Actually" Asuma interjects. "Now that I think about it, this year's batch of Genin is abnormally strong straight from the Academy. And I know my Old Man isn't expecting kids this well trained to be coming out. Sure, they're a lot older than we were when we came out, but that itself only accounts for their maturity and focus, not their skills."

"Um, sensei." Ino interrupts. "It's because of Naruto that we all turned out like this."

Asuma then looks at her and commands, "Explain".

She does, as does everybody but Neji, who just says that they're lying and that he can easily beat me, a no name orphan.

I look at him shocked. "Wait, don't you know of the Uzumaki Clan? I'm pretty sure they taught it at the Academy."

"Humph, probably some minor clan with nothing special to them that was destined for extinction." He says smirking thinking he's right.

"Oh, Imma beat him up good" I tell myself, fuming in anger at this pompous little shit.

"Actually Naruto, I think only your class got the lesson on them." Tenten replies, glaring daggers at Neji.

"I see..." I begin and all of the Genin notice their cue to move to a safe distance as I turn straight towards Neji.

"Troublesome blonde" Shikamaru mutters just loud enough for everyone to hear. Hinata sighs and gives me a pleading look. I nod and she walks over to Tenten and Lee's side.

The Jonin seemed interested and followed suit. Kurenai gave me a disapproving look that hurt my soul but didn't do anything to talk me out of what I was about to do.

"Let me give you a quick lesson on the Uzumaki Clan and our prowess." I say and he is immediately held in place by my Adamantine Sealing Chains.

"Gah!" He yells as my chains grab him and squeeze into him, the sharp jagged links serrating against his skin slightly - only enough to cause severe discomfort but not enough to draw blood.

"The Uzumaki Clan is one of the world's most ancient clans, along with the Senju, Uchiha, and Hyūga. We possess incredibly vast and powerful chakra reserves. Long lifespans and powerful vitality, which grants us an enhanced healing factor. We were masters of the Shinobi Arts, but more specifically, Sealing Jutsu. We developed most if not all of the Sealing Techniques used within the Leaf Village. And finally, we possess these." I say pointing to my chains.

"These chains are not only powerful enough to hold down the Nine-Tailed Fox, and are useful for Sealing Techniques and Barriers, but they also suppress the chakra of whoever or whatever is held within them. Not to mention that they are practically indestructible to begin with, and you can see why my clan is not just some 'minor' clan as you so arrogantly stated." I finish, looking right at him, mere inches away.

"So, I suggest that you take that superiority complex of yours and shove it, Hyūga. You're nothing special, even by your own clan's standards, so start looking for something else to bitch about, because destiny is what you make it, and Hinata is a perfect example of that. Out of everyone here, bar the sensei, she is the only one that can fight me to a standstill using non-lethal means, and she was once the 'failure' of your clan. Something I remember you being distinctly adamant about reminding her of until she beat you into submission some time ago." I poke him in the chest twice as I say this.

I then let him go from my chains and punch him with all the non-lethal strength I can muster and send him flying two hundred meters away through three thick tree trunks and leaving him planted on a large boulder. He looks at me barely conscious, but terrified.

The Sensei just gave Neji a pitying look, well, except for Guy, who looked stern at his student. I looked at the other Genin and they just sighed at my actions. They still had a smile on, though.

Hinata then walked over to me and gave me a small hug and 'thank you' before going over to her cousin to help him get out of that rock he was stuck to. Sakura and Shino decided to go help and heal whatever they could. Because apparently, Shino took to Medical Jutsu just like Hinata and Sakura had. Ino seemed more taken with poisons and toxins, I recall.

I walked over to Guy Sensei and bowed, "I apologize for my actions towards your student Guy Sensei, but I felt the need to educate him on one of history's most notable clans."

Guy looks at me and grins. "That's quite alright my youthful companion. It falls on me as a Sensei to educate my students and it seems that I had failed Neji in that regard. I thank you for teaching him a most youthful lesson." He replies in a more subdued but still serious and intense manner. I nodded and started walking over to Lee but was stopped by mom.

"I know you feel strongly about things like this, son, but don't let it get to you so much if you can help it. Alright?" She asks and I nod, a bit subdued at being reprimanded. She then caresses my cheek and gives me a kiss on the forehead. "Hm, good boy. We need to talk later, okay? Now, go." She says giving me a light tap on the bum to get me walking after I nod at her.

"How many times have you beaten him?" I asked, ignoring the looks most of the Genin were giving me, seeing as not many knew of my relationship with Kurenai. "We're at 42 wins to 8 losses in my favor." He says coolly.

"What?" I looked at him, incredulously. "And he's still got that stick up his ass?! Maybe I should have hit him harder." I look back at Neji who's having trouble getting to his feet. "On second thought... maybe that was enough to dislodge the whole thing, ya'know?" I say, a bit remorseful.

Lee seems to find this amusing and starts to laugh his more exuberant laugh.

Tenten then tries and fails to grab my sword and I seal it back into my armguard. "Oh, come on Naru-kun. I just want to play with it for a while, can't you please take it out again, for me?" She says, trying to employ her Puppy Dog Eyes Jutsu on me and failing miserably. This didn't stop her from invading my personal space and trying to sneak in a smooch, though.

"Not here Ten-chan. Maybe in private." I answer her getting her to pout and everyone else within hearing range to sweatdrop at the innuendo.

A little while later everyone is back in their spots and Neji seems fit enough to train, if lightly. Kurenai starts to go over what we will be doing and puts all of us in pairs to stretch and get limber for the training to come.

It was hellish. We were made to spar in pairs, everyone at the same time mind you, while taking care not to interrupt anyone else's fights. We were given twenty minutes to spar, using only taijutsu and bukijutsu. We did this for each person. Meaning, eleven spars with no rest in this exact same configuration.

Then we were put into tag teams without rest, we partnered in the reverse order of how we sparred. That was another twenty minutes, still just as intense though. After that it was teams of three until we had all fought four matches like this with different people each time. Even I was feeling the strain at this point. The others were about to pop some food pills to keep going.

Then, after a short ten-minute break, we were made to fight each of the sensei at their level of combat in our regular teams to see what the difference was, and boy was it glaring. My team was the best against mom and Asuma, but Kakashi and Guy were still something else.

Then after a one-hour lunch break sometime in the late afternoon - we began at 5am - we were made to fight in a free-for-all where all the Sensei were also actively participating. That must have been the most intense and tiring training session I've had since I stopped training with the Old Man after graduation. I could barely tell where up or down were, and I was the best looking one there; even Lee looked like he'd join the Pure Lands any minute. That free-for-all lasted a full five hours. Five! Godforsaken! Hours! I felt they were taking something out on us.

Mom took me home and helped me shower before dropping me in my bed half dead. We discussed things later in the morning when I woke up with her next to me; because yes, I still slept in the same bed as mom even at fifteen. I only had the one room in my apartment, and I was not going to let her sleep on the couch whenever she was staying over. It was likewise at her place.


The day after the training from hell, everyone asked me about my change in attire since they hadn't had the chance during training. I told them about it and my reasons for getting it, and we all took the next day to go shopping for new digs. The Jonin seemed interested and decided to tag along. Anko somehow found out and sneaked into the group too.

Sasuke started to wear a similar outfit to his 'Road to Ninja' getup, except that it had black pants instead of the green ones, and he wore chest and leg armor similar to mine and Lee's. Although he wore his purple open collar shirt over his armor, which kept the aesthetic with his dark blue undershirt. His armor was black to slightly camouflage itself with his clothes.

Sakura got a massive make-over too. She still has her long hair, but this time it's in a ponytail like Ino's, but with the same side bangs as before. She had her Shippūden outfit on, but had armor on her chest, arms, and legs like I did. She also went with darker colors to better conceal herself in dark places, plus a sick dark navy-blue coat that matched Sasuke's undershirt.

Hinata went with the 'Road to Ninja' treatment as well, but she didn't wear make-up, she had no need for it, and kept her hair in that super cute Hime-style cut that I loved so much. Instead of armor though, she went with wrappings on her arms and legs, like Lee and Neji in the original. She also carries two pouches and Kunai holsters like I do. She does keep her ridiculous melons locked behind her hoodie, though. Too much sway otherwise, I'm told. Even though she has that very sturdy leather bra that I made for her. She does wear it freely when it's just us, however. Anyway, she started to wear similar shin guards to mine, following her own color motif, of course, and had a chest plate like the one archers use that goes all the way down her left arm; again, following the same design language as mine. She took up archery while we were kids and now had good enough technique, she could use that skill during missions.

Tenten, changed her top to her Shippūden one, but got some inspiration from Anko and got a scandalous mini-skirt and full-body mesh armor under everything. A dark red trench coat/ cloak that she had equipped with all of the seals we could cram into it. Her small scroll holders were gone, but now she had a belt, believe it or not, much like Batman's, where she kept all of her scrolls. There was a lot more inside of them than just weapons. Leg and arm armor like mine and Hinata's as well for protecting her extremities, her mesh armor was actually super tough, too. It wasn't just to look sexy for me, apparently. I didn't believe her one bit.

Shino and Kiba chose the simple approach, and just got darker colored clothes with armor padding and got rid of the flair in the case of Kiba, and the mystery in the case of Shino. Kiba no longer had his fur coat and had a more serious jacket that looked a lot like Shino's old one in design, which he kept open. And Shino also started to keep his coat open and kept the hoodie down. He wore a black undershirt and armor like mine on top of it.

Choji and Shikamaru kept their standard stuff, but got darker colors and additional armor, at least for Shika, Choji always had armor on.

Neji, after much prodding and insistence from Hinata, never mind the subtle threats, went with a set of loose robes but kept a set of full-body armor underneath it. He also got rid of the wrappings and kept the colors of his robes dark and subdued. He chose to follow Lee's lead on the armor.

Ino… she wanted me to pick out her new outfit when we all decided to make the change, and to say that she milked the chance to give me a private fashion show would be a gross understatement. I swear I saw over fifty different configurations within the span of two hours. How she changed so fast and even changed her hair is beyond me. I even asked if she knew Space-Time Ninjutsu; she was changing so fast.

Eventually, she went with a combination of her Shippūden outfit and the standard ANBU garb. And changed everything to either her regular purple or dark gray and black. She wore the Shippūden crop top instead of the ANBU armor, but the top was padded to the brim for protection, it also looked really good on her too, I have to acknowledge. Same skirt too, but on top of skintight leggings that were also padded to the brim for protection. She kept her hair the same and had a dark black cloak around her as well.

Everyone seemed happy with their new wardrobe, and I thought we looked more like proper shinobi now. The sensei even had a bet going to see who would stand out amongst the newly equipped Genin. Mom won the bet with Tenten and Sakura. I was surprised she'd picked those two, but when I saw them side by side, I saw why.

They looked a lot alike in their new gear for some reason. I got curious and asked why, and they said they had Anko pick out their gear. "Ah, so that's why." I chuckled internally.

Once everyone had adjusted to their new looks and gear, we went home for the rest of the day for a small break, before the Jonin continued our extreme training. From sun-up to sun-down, we would be doing drills, start working on new techniques, and spar constantly. It was a packed schedule, and I had a feeling the Jonin were doing it because they wanted us to clean house during the Chunin Exams. People here like to gamble it looks like.

I chose to work on incorporating my new staff into my Fighting Style fully. Deciding to go with a quick switching between the massive Executioner's Blade, the bō-staff I had decided to name the Power Pole in homage to a certain Saiyan, and my aggressive, acrobatic, and counter-focused Taijutsu Style that I'd developed over the years. I focused my efforts on getting everything to be as fluid as I could possibly get it in the short span of time I had before the exams.

Everyone hated fighting against it, even Tenten and Lee who were the best at ken and taijutsu out of all of us. Guy and the other sensei had mixed reactions to my lethality, some thinking it was too much – enter mom – and some thinking I was too dangerous to be a Genin much longer, Asuma and Kakashi. Guy was just elated at the prospect of a challenge.

The Hokage requested I use it exclusively in our random spars after he had a taste of the difficulty of fighting under such strain – mind you I fight with two to three clones applying pressure. He may not train me anymore, but that doesn't mean we don't spar every now and again. I've also gotten rather good at fighting in conjunction with my clones, so there's that, too.

Everyone else also had their own peculiar projects that they worked on in secret. I was only aware of Hinata's after we went on a mission a few weeks later. The other two chose to keep their secrets. I nodded at their approach. Still got triple teamed at my apartment, though. Sigh.


My team's schedule continued on with three D ranks a day every other day, along with nonstop training in the mornings or evenings, depending on when the missions were taken. We also messed around with the team compositions from time to time. Sometimes it was because a Sensei had a mission they had to do, other times it was to help with training and to give us the chance to work with different skillsets and personalities.

There were also a lot of changes in team dynamics and overall improvements in our relationships with each other, even for those of us who already got along really well.

Neji up and did a one-eighty after that last beating and Hinata seemed elated that she now had her kind 'Neji-nii-san' back with her. Hiashi also seemed relieved that his family was getting along and finally gave Neji his father's letter. Why he decided to wait almost 10 years to do it is beyond me.

Sakura and Sasuke finally became official too, although Sakura also seemed to have gotten rather comfortable around me as well and started to show her affections towards me under any pretense she could come up with. I didn't mind but it was hard to not want to cop a feel; thankfully I had Hinata, and she got a lot more handsy when I talked to her about Haku and Tsunami. And boy, was sending that letter in advance a good decision.

She told me she'd been so upset when she read it that her father had to knock her out to keep her from storming all the way to Wave Country. Small mercies. She did insist that I spend more time alone with her, and we went on many, many, many… many dates whenever any free time came up. She was torturing me and acted like she knew not of her actions. Sly devil, this one is.

Tenten, Ino, and Anko were likewise just as incensed when Hinata told them after I was back. I was hospitalized for dehydration for two days after that.


It was during one of our tortuous dates, that Hinata told me that she submitted a C Rank mission to go with me and the other girls to Wave and meet Haku and Tsunami, Anko was somehow also roped in via mom who helped Hinata submit the mission, when she heard of my exploits. She was none too pleased with my misadventures and made me recount everything that happened and how. I got a spanking after that.

"I swear my butt has a permanent imprint of her hand on it by now!" I wailed inside the seal with Kurama while he laughed at my pain.

Anyway, I think Hinata had been planning to do the mission as soon as I got back but had to delay her plans because of the joint training and all of the additional training the Jonin had scheduled in advance for us. We travelled there at shinobi speeds, so it took us about three days each way.

When we got there, Haku and Tsunami were at the bridge to greet us, and suffice it to say, the girls loved each other. Haku and Hinata hit it off like two peas in a pod, and Anko took a liking to Tsunami just as fast for some reason that I still can't figure out. But they really looked like they were old friends, so I decided to just not overthink it.

Mom was also there, and they all got along just fine… except for when Tsunami said she had a bun in the oven. Then all hell broke loose, and mom was trying everything she could to strangle me for my recklessness. After everything calmed down and I was given the all-clear by Hinata, I heard mom talking excitedly about having grandkids.

"Sigh… If I didn't love her so much, I'd call her a hypocrite." I think to myself sardonically.

Ino and Tenten were also getting along with Haku rather well, and they seemed to have a lot in common with each other, too. I was glad there weren't any outliers here, but I noticed that I may have to rein in my flirtatiousness if I want to have any time to myself when I'm older. Otherwise, I'll be drowning in thirsty kunoichi forever and I'm not quite that big a pervert just yet.

I was surprised the bridge was still called 'The Great Naruto Bridge' since I hadn't done things the same or even remotely similar to canon. Though, I have the feeling that Tsunami had a hand in this if her giggles at my facial expression were anything to go by. I chose to do my own thing and get together with Inari and Tazuna for few of those days and learned a few good tricks for carpentry. Tazuna was giving me a look that I chose to not acknowledge, and Inari asked if he should start calling me papa. I fainted.

After I woke up, I heard some commotion in the kitchen and chose to check it out. I stopped by the entrance, just out of sight, and listened to what was being said. I heard Tsunami start to pick out baby names and made sure to pay extra close attention to what they were saying.

"What name do you girls think would be best for a boy? I'm thinking of maybe calling him Masashi for a boy. Or maybe Akira?" she said excitedly.

"Hm… I like both of them, honestly. But what if it's a girl? We can call her Dango!" I don't need to tell you who said such a thing.

"Be serious Anko! This is important." Mom chided.

"But I was serious…" Anko pouted and grumbled. She was ignored, dutifully mind you.

"I like the name Shizuka, but Hayase is also a nice name." Tenten mentions.

"Oh, those are such good names… I'll have some time to decide though, so I'm not in a hurry, hehe" I hear that sweet little giggle of hers and my heart flutters a bit.

"Shit! This is too fast, too soon!" I cry out internally. Then they started talking about how many kids they wanted to have and I… I was at a loss for words.

Tsunami said she'd do no more than five, and surprisingly Anko agreed. I was flabbergasted. Haku and Hinata chose the more conservative three, with Haku admitting to maybe having a fourth if things head that way.

"I may need to start reconsidering my intentions for many of the women I'd meet in this life if these are the numbers these girls are throwing around." I thought with a giant bead of sweat rolling down my back as I felt mom tap my shoulder from behind me. I was about to get it now and I had no one to aid me in my perils. I whimpered and followed her to the forest for a stern talking to.

Overall, that so-called 'mission' was a success and took about a week for them to talk about… whatever they were going to talk about. I'd decided to spend my time training as hard as I could whenever mom kicked me out of the house to discuss matters involving, oh, I don't know? ME! But I can't argue with the results, so I guess it's fine.

Once we got back to the village, I was hoping for some peace and quiet for a few hours and I was blessed with just that. I fell asleep immediately after we came back and just left for the Pure Lands.


In a little over five weeks, everyone had managed to get the hang of and complete what was left to train their elemental affinities. Although, I did make mention of the fact that they should put just as much, if not more, focus on their Clan Techniques so that they could bring their own unique skills to the table and have the standard stuff as backup just in case.

Sakura had also managed to create a Taijutsu Style that took advantage of her claws and use of the Earth Style: Earth Spears to harden her skin to fight stronger more dangerous opponents. She also made incredible headway in the medical arts learning the Chakra Scalpels and being able to create the long blade form in a fraction of the time it took me to do the same.

Thankfully, by this point she, along with Hinata and the Hokage had helped me achieve the necessary Chakra Control to be able to perform medical techniques should I want to. I decided to only learn certain techniques for battle use, but I was glad to have finally broken through to the S Rank on my control. Although having mastered the Wind Style: Rasengan, the Wind Style: Rasengan – Flash, and even the Flying Thunder God Technique to a degree had been what actually got me there, seeing as the control needed to add my wind element to an already incredibly control heavy technique was ridiculous to begin with, and adding more complexity to an already complex technique was just the icing on the cake for me. I do, however, have to admit that maintaining this level of control was much easier now that I had the proper exercises and techniques to properly polish and maintain it.

The Wind Style: Rasengan - Flash is essentially a Ki blast I can use to propel myself up or use it to blast someone. The effect of the technique depends on how much chakra and how focused I make the blast. The original Naruto created this in the 'Naruto The Movie: The Last' by infusing Kurama's chakra. I'm only using mine with lots of wind chakra added to it.

The Flying Thunder God Technique, I was surprised to learn that the only thing related to Sealing Jutsu with the technique was the formula, and not the technique itself. Although, I do remember reading that the technique is actually ninjutsu, not Sealing Jutsu, as many fanfics would like to establish. It is ninjutsu aided by a jutsu formula that requires knowledge of Sealing Jutsu to be made and be effective. Kind of convoluted, but it's a technique that is a combination of different aspects of the Shinobi Arts.

Anyway, the Old Man and Kakashi were floored when I showed I could use it in battle, albeit to a much lesser degree than the fourth. I haven't gotten to that point in my training just yet. Been working on way to many things at once. I had a lot of clones doing most of the research and theory behind most of these technical feats. I kept myself in check and did the practical portions of the training myself, but clones really were the best cheat code Kishi ever came up with.

There was also a lot of research done with Tenten when it came to seals. We made quite a few to help Lee cover his deficiencies and strengthen his… well… strengths, haha. Um… moving on. Everyone got a lot of upgrades in gear and technique thanks to Tenten and I's sealing mastery, so I felt that we were going to clean house for sure in this run through of the Chunin Selection Exams.

All of our training paid off and spars between any two teams or team members became much more even, and everyone was now relatively equal - save for standouts like Sasuke, Lee and me. Even Neji had caught up in a relatively short amount of time. So, I was doubly sure we'd be the last ones standing.

I was also thrown under the bus by my girls when they told Sakura she was going to be an Aunty soon. Everyone else found out about my little bun and I was given all sorts of gifts, well wishes, and advice from their parents. Ayame was overjoyed that she'd be an aunty for a little me, and asked if she could be the godmother to my firstborn. I wanted to say yes, but I needed Tsunami's input for that kind of thing, so we postponed her appointment until after the Chunin exams were done with and Tsunami moved to the village.

She also got a big ego since the first to have my babies was a civilian woman and not one of the kunoichi I was with. She wanted to keep my firstborn a civilian; it seems. Tsunami seemed to have similar thoughts, and I didn't have anything against it. I was working to make this place as safe as it could be, but I wouldn't achieve that for another decade or two.

Thankfully, I decided to keep it in my pants and not have any more misadventures with civilian women, since very evidently, they can get pregnant a lot faster than kunoichi. And no, I do not use protection with my girls. Never. I think they have a jutsu for that, though. Pretty sure they do, actually. That's probably the reason, since I would think it would be the other way around.

Regardless, at the end of these six weeks - total for our roughly fifteen as a team - my team had a total of 124 D Rank Missions, 1 C Rank, 1 B Rank, 1 A Rank, 1 S Rank. What were those last three? The B rank was the Bandit Extermination in Wave, the A rank was the Gatō Assassination, and the S rank was the information gathered regarding Gatō's finances and businesses. Yes, that's how much importance that info had. We were surprised too, we thought that would have been B rank at most, if anything.

And it was with this record of missions and list of technical and training achievements that my team was nominated for the Chunin Selection Exams.