OP1: Overwhelming Vivid Days by Nanami Yoshi
For the past 4 days, Ayane stayed at Naruto's, helping him train in the basics of mastering ki energy and improve the blond's fighting at his very own backyard, mainly through intense combat. The first two days, she introduced him to Hajinmon style ninjutsu, a style exclusive to the Hajinmon sect. With Hajinmon style ninjutsu, Naruto's attacks would be a lot quicker, allowing him to counter a counterattack before it could ever connect. She also added how it emphasizes stronger ninpo abilities and techniques, and that the style was perfect for someone like him. To her delight, Naruto was a fast learner, able to grasp the fundamentals of her art without having her tell him twice.
The third day, Ayane had him perform the fireball technique. This time, Naruto successfully executed it without any signs of exhaustion. She noted how fast of a learner he was and told him his progressive abilities were beyond extraordinary. Ayane even smiled at him when she told Naruto he was beyond impressive, though that served to embarrass the two. When Naruto asked if she could teach him new ninpo techniques, she denied the request, mainly since she wanted her techniques to be a surprise for when they had a real match, and that if he wanted to learn more ninpo, he'd have to get to the finals of the Chunin Exam so Ryu could teach him.
On the fourth day, Ayane gave the blond specially designed weighted wristbands, shirt, and ankle weights, at the request of Ryu, telling him, with the exception of bathing, not to take them off until Ryu gave him the okay before continuing Naruto's training.
Night
Ramen Ichiraku
Naruto, though still sore from Ayane's training, decided to treat the kunoichi to ramen as thanks for helping him.
"Treating a girl to ramen...Not really something special," Ayane told the blond. "Lucky for you...I love ramen."
"Hey Naruto, I haven't seen you for four days. How..." Ayame turns silent when she sees the blond Genin with the Hajinmon kunoichi. "Oh my, I didn't expect you to bring your girlfriend here." Ayane turns red when the ramen shop owner's daughter assumed they were a couple.
"We're not dating at all. We're just friends is all," Naruto told Ayame.
"That's a shame Naruto, she looks like your type. So...what will the two of you have tonight?" After giving Ayame their orders, the two went silent, feeling a little awkward after Ayame viewed them as a couple.
"...She assumed that we were a couple..." said Ayane.
"Yeah, sorry about that. She and her father tend to do that to every male customer who comes in with a nice girl, whether it's Asuma-sensei, Shikamaru, Neji, and more. Old Man Teuchi would do it whenever Hinata and I came in to order. But, from what Ayame has told me, since he's away on a personal journey to rediscover his cooking, two years before I came back here, she's the only one who does it now. This was the first time she actually did one on me," Naruto informed the kunoichi.
"Runs in the family huh...Is there a girl you like? And don't bring up your beautiful senpai, she doesn't count since she rejected your confession." Picking up his chopsticks, he told her,
"Maybe."
"No yes or no answer...Geez..."
"What about you? Like anyone?" Immediately, Ayane denies having any interest in romance, since she's not one of those girls who go after just anyone, whether they're visually appealing or a celebrity in music, tv, or anime.
"That's expected, given your...tough personality...well...whoever your preferred guy is, I bet any guy you like would be lucky to have you crushing on them." Looking down at their just-arrived bowls of ramen, Ayane simply replies with, "...Yeah." If only he knew. Turning to Naruto, she noticed he was having trouble eating due to the weighted wristbands weighing down his sore arms. Taking his chopsticks, the kunoichi offers to feed the blond.
"Just for today...Now open up." Outside of a small shop, Ino was heading home with her mother, after spending the whole afternoon shopping with her, when she noticed the blond being fed by the Hajinmon kunoichi.
"No way, Naruto is with a girl...and she's feeding him...Hinata never got this far..." Smirking, she figured she'd find a good time to ask him about it and see if she could finally get a reaction out of him and break his usual calm composure.
Hokage Office
"I'm sorry Ayane couldn't make it the past 4 days," Ryu apologized.
"I don't mind since she's still young...Too young to be a representative," said Hiruzen as he neatly stacked papers on his desk. "...I tried to visit Naruto yesterday and saw her training him. You know anything about that, Ryu?"
"Ayane's staying at his place. In return for letting her, he asked her to train him." This piqued the Third Hokage's curiosity. "She's staying at his place?" Hiruzen's eyes widened in surprise when the Dragon Ninja told him Naruto gave the kunoichi a spare key to use.
"I assumed he'd give it to "her." When asked who he was referring to, Hiruzen decided to keep it to himself, a smile on his face as he turned his chair around to look out the window.
The next day
"What do you three think you're doing?" asked Naruto, kicking the box off to reveal Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon. Turning to Udon, he asked him why he hasn't wiped his nose, telling the kid how the snot flowing down his nose was disgusting. Sure it was rude, but it was the truth, and the blond had to point it out.
"Why is it that no one who sees him tells him to wipe his nose?"
"We want you to play with us," said Konohamaru, his friends agreeing with him. Naruto flat out says no, telling them he has important business today. When asked what important business he had today, he told them, "The Chunin Exams starts today. I'm heading there right now."
"Can we come?" Again, Naruto said no before telling them they were too young to set foot on Chunin Exam grounds. "YOU SUCK NARUTO! AT LEAST MAKE TIME!"
"Don't see that happening any time soon."
"YOU'RE THE WORST!" Running the other way, Konohamaru doesn't see where he's going and bumps into a ninja who was walking with his older sister. The boy wore a Bunraku puppeteer's costume; a black, baggy, full bodysuit with a red and yellow circle on the front. He also wore a black hood that covered his head completely and had cat-like ears and his forehead protector on his forehead. He also carried two mysterious objects wrapped in bandages, and his face sported a triangular face-paint design.
The girl had teal eyes and sandy blonde hair, which is gathered into four consecutive pigtails. Her outfit consists of a single light purple-colored, off-the-shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, specifically on her right calf and her left thigh, she also wore her black forehead protector around her neck. She carried with her a giant folding fan. Annoyed by Konohamaru, the ninja, whom Naruto noticed was from Sunagakure, picked the boy up by his scarf and told him, "That was rude, kid. It looks like I have to teach you some-"
"Hey, put the kid down," said Naruto as he turned around to face the ninja.
"I just want to play with him a little, while my sister and I are waiting...for..."
"I said...put him down," Naruto told him, sounding dead serious when he said the last three words as he glared intensely at the now-scared ninja, his sister feeling just as scared of the blond genin as him. Complying, the Suna-nin puts Konohamaru down. Konohamaru runs to Naruto and his friends as they cower behind the blond. Taking out his wallet, Naruto gives the kids some money for ice cream before telling them to go. Thanking him, they leave, Naruto not leaving the two Suna-nin out of his sights. "If you want to start a fight, it'd better be with someone your own size and weight class. Lucky for you, I am more than happy to-"
"That won't be necessary..." Turning around, Naruto found a boy his age glaring daggers at him. He had fair skin, green eyes, and short and spiky auburn hair. On the left side of his forehead, there was a kanji for "love" (愛) on it.
"You with them?" Naruto was ignored as the red-haired ninja, known as Gaara, told his older brother, now known as Kankuro, how annoyed he was of him, due to how Kankuro lost control in a quarrel with children. Before the older brother could try to explain his reason, Gaara told him to shut up, or he'd kill him, scaring Kankuro. Temari had to calm her younger brother down a bit so things wouldn't escalate further. Turning his head towards Naruto, Gaara apologized to him for his older brother's "idiocy".
"Apology accepted...You three here for the Chunin Exams?" asked a now calm Naruto.
"Yes...What's your name?"
"Naruto Uzumaki. You?"
"Gaara of the Desert."
"...Interesting. Well, see you at the exams." With that, Naruto decided to take a detour and check on Konohamaru, Moegi, and Udon.
Ninja Academy
Hallways
"Where's Naruto!? I thought he'd be here by now, but what's taking him!?" asked an annoyed Sakura. Sasuke tells her he must have his reason for showing up late.
Hearing this, Hinata wondered where the blond was, worried he wasn't going to show as her teammates Shino and Kiba arrive. As Sasuke and Sakura talked to themselves, and Team 8 started conversing with each other, Neji and his teammates arrive, one of the two taking an interest in both Sakura and Sasuke.
Ice Cream Shop
"You three okay?" asked Naruto as he had himself an extra-large orange popsicle ice cream.
"Yeah...thanks for stepping in Naruto," said a grateful Konohamaru, his friends smiling at the blond in gratitude.
"No problem, just make sure you watch where you're going next time," he told the boy before walking off towards the academy, quickly finishing his popsicle. Watching as he walked away, Moegi tells Konohamaru how cool he looked with his calm and uncaring face.
"That's my future master for you!" Checking his phone, Naruto found himself with 75 minutes to spare before the doors to the exam closed.
"Oh? It's Naruto." Turning around, Naruto is greeted by Shikamaru, Ino, and Choji, who asked him if he was on the way to the academy as well. Naruto simply nods yes at them as they approached.
"Want to walk there together?" asked Shikamaru. Naruto, after thinking about it, just nods. Walking side by side with them, Naruto asked them what their thoughts were on taking the exams. Shikamaru, as usual, told him it was a drag, but will see how far he can go. Ino voiced how pumped she was in taking it since Sasuke would be in it and how she can finally have a match with Sakura to prove she was perfect for the Uchiha. Choji was the same as Shikamaru, but a bit more determined. "What about you Naruto?"
"Me?" Thinking about it, he tells them, while he doesn't mind taking it, he doesn't think of it as special, since he has no family to cheer him on like the others.
"What about that girl you were with last night?" asked Ino. Naruto's eyes widened a bit once the blonde genin of Team 10 revealed she saw him with Ayane.
"Girl? What girl?" asked Shikamaru. "Was it that Ayane girl?"
"Ayane's her name, huh? If that was her, she is quite a beauty. She and Naruto were eating ramen together last night. She even fed him herself," Ino informed her teammate.
"There's a good explanation for that," said Naruto. Ino voiced how surprised she was to see Naruto so defensive. "Could she be your secret girlfriend?"
"Don't just assume things, Ino," said Naruto. "My arms just felt sore after training with her, and she gave me some heavy weights to wear around my wrists, shirt, and ankles, so she offered to..." Looking at Team Asuma, they had on looks of curiosity.
"So you train with her..."
"...We're done talking," said Naruto, taking out his headphones to play his music and ignore them.
"We actually won a conversation against him, and we got him to show us his embarrassed side," said a victoriously smiling Ino.
"I'm not embarrassed," Naruto told her, sounding annoyed.
"I think I can see a bit of red on your face..." Shikamaru adds.
"You two are just assuming too much."
Ninja Academy
Large Hall
1 hour later
Naruto had spent a good 10 minutes looking for his teammates after arriving at the academy. Finally, he found Sakura watching Sasuke as he got sent into the air by a kick from a boy who was a year older than them.
He had on a green jumpsuit, and bandages around his hands. Naruto also noticed the boy's bowl-cut hairstyle and large eyebrows. Seeing this get out of hand, within three seconds, Naruto jumps up to the air and grabs Sasuke before appearing next to Sakura, to the bowl-cut haired boy's astonishment.
"Good grief, I'm not around for a good while and already you're making problems," said Naruto. Sasuke tells him the boy started it. "Yet you accepted his challenge in hopes of showing him the pride of the Uchiha, not knowing what to expect..." Landing on the ground, the boy asked Naruto who he was. "I'm the third wheel. Who are you supposed to be?"
"Rock Lee."
"Well Lee, might I ask why you decided to fight my teammate here?" Lee explains to Naruto how he wanted to try his skills against the Uchiha and his Sharingan. As Naruto had witnessed earlier, Lee had a huge advantage over Sasuke, even with his Sharingan. "You seem strong."
"Seem?" Naruto asked. "Looks can be deceiving, ya know, something you should know already, given how you floored Sasuke over here."
"That is true...You have no Sharingan, or any talent in particular that makes you speci-"
"I don't need a Sharingan, a special talent, or any Kekkei Genkai like most clans in this damn village," Naruto interrupts. "To only fight those with talent...You're quite picky with your opponents aren't you?"
"Despite lack of any special kekkei genkai, getting a better look at you, you have quite an odd aura around you." When asked to fight him, Naruto denied Lee's request, to the bushy-browed boy's surprise, seeing as how they had less than 15 minutes before the exams.
"Can you spare at least 5 minutes, Mr. Third Wheel?"
"I was joking about that part, ya know. My name's Naruto Uzumaki." Lee's eyes widened when Naruto gave him his name.
"So you're the one Neji talks about." Smiling, Lee asked Naruto again if he could spare 5 minutes of his time.
"I'd rather not fight before an exam this important since you gave my teammate a few scrapes here and there, but since it doesn't look like you'll take no for an answer...I'll spare two minutes at best. The fight is over once one of us gets knocked down," he told Lee before walking towards him. After getting into their proper fighting stances, Lee disappears in the blink of an eye, reappearing behind Naruto, prepared to use Leaf Whirlwind on him. To his surprise, Naruto, his hands in his pockets, ducked the first high kick before jumping over a low kick and ducking the second high kick. Quickly spinning his body to face Lee, the blond knocks him down with a simple but hard headbutt to the boy's chin, surprising him, Sakura and Sasuke.
"Ten seconds? He knocked me down in ten seconds?" Lee thought to himself. From the expression the blond had on his face, Lee knew he wasn't fighting him with everything he had, wanting to get it done right away without going all out. If he did, how long would it take for him to beat him if he was serious? "Naruto Uzumaki...What sort of strength lies within you?"
"You're knocked down. The fight's done," said Naruto as he walked away, telling Sakura and Sasuke that they needed to get a move on.
"But-"
"I'm not showing you, Sasuke, or Lee everything I know. Wait until the fight really begins," Naruto calmly told Sakura before they're interrupted by a man appears who hits Rock Lee with a Dynamic Entry, surprising everyone. The man looked just like Lee, if not older, and he had on a flak jacket.
"What the hell?" said a confused Naruto.
"Lee...you..."
"Gu...Guy-sensei..."
"It's okay Lee, don't say anything else..." said the man known as Guy. Crying, the two hugged it out in front of the weirded out Team 7. "I forgive you, Lee! It's normal to make mistakes when you're young and full of youth."
"What is going on here..." Team 7 thought to themselves.
"You three, how's Kakashi doing?" asked Guy as he turned to them.
"Just fine, wait...How do you know Kakashi-sensei?" asked Sakura, Guy informing them of their rivalry, and how the score was 49-50 with them. Naruto assures Guy that he'll tell him his rival said hello before turning back around. Before he could walk off, Lee tells him they should have a match again soon. The blond told him to do his best at the exams so they could fight without restraint, an answer Lee accepted, giving Naruto a thumbs-up.
"That Lee is quite a fellow," said Naruto. On the way to the testing room, Sasuke asked the blond how he was able to dodge Lee's attack as he did. When Lee fought him, he was at a huge disadvantage. Yet Naruto easily avoided his kicks and knocked him down.
"It was a simple attack to dodge for me, nothing too difficult, just good ole predicting the opponent's movements and dodging accordingly."
"...What are you hiding from us Naruto?" asked a suspicious Sasuke.
"Not a Sharingan," said Naruto, annoying his teammate.
Testing Room
Entering, all eyes immediately focus on them.
"What is this? The Wild West?" Naruto joked. Sakura tells him not to antagonize the other ninja, with Naruto telling her to lighten up, since they can't fight in the room, let alone start one.
"Well well well, took you long enough to get here, Naruto." Naruto and his teammates look to their right and see Kiba and his team approaching them.
"The best team always comes last...Kiba," said a now-smirking Sasuke. Hinata looks over her teammate's shoulder and tells Naruto how glad she was to see him again. "Oh hey Hinata, how's it going?" he asked her.
"Great, you?"
"More than great since I got back several days ago from my mission. How's your sister and your parents?" Hinata tells Naruto how her father asked where he was, wanting to spar with him. She also told him how her mother wanted a recipe from him she accidentally revealed to her. "I have no problem giving it to you. I'll send it to you later." Turning to Shino, the blond asked how he's been.
"Naruto, you've gotten stronger since you returned from the Land of Waves," said Shino.
"I did do some intense training the day after I got back so...that's something."
"The gang's all here," said Shikamaru as he and his teammates make themselves known.
"With the way we've trained, no way you can beat us, especially you Naruto," said a confident Kiba.
"Oh, good for you," said Naruto, a deadpan expression on his face that showed his indifference. This served to annoy Kiba, who shouts, "Why do you always have to act so high and mighty over everyone, huh?" Naruto tells him he doesn't view himself that way, and that Kiba was making false assumptions.
The blond then told Kiba, in a calm manner, "Unlike you, I don't go around telling people there was no way they could beat you and your team. You're just painting a huge target on yourself, Akamaru, Hinata, and Shino for all the ninja in here to go after." Kiba clenched his teeth in annoyance at this response, finding himself unable to counter Naruto's response. Naruto's claims were correct as the large gathering of Genin on their left looked at them as prey.
"Would you guys do us a favor and just shut up?" Turning around, the Rookie 9 are approached by a boy with onyx eyes and ash-grey hair that was kept in a ponytail. He had on black-rimmed circular glasses and wore a dark purple shirt with a high collar, a white under-shirt, and dark purple pants with a white cloth waistband, as well as dark purple fingerless gloves with armored plates on the back of the hand and a blue forehead protector.
"You three gangs of would-be hotshots are all Genin, right? Kids barely out of the local ninja academy? All wet-behind-the-ears and runny-nosed!"
"Nice to meet you too, asshole," said Kiba, Shino lightly jabbing him in the gut with his elbow to nonverbally tell him to shut up.
"The name's Kabuto, and you kids need to open your eyes." When Sakura asked why Kabuto tells them to watch out for the ninjas from Amegakure since they had very short fuses.
"Everyone's on edge, waiting to take the exam. I wanted to give you a heads-up before someone snaps and beats the crap out of you. Though that's probably unavoidable. Like all rookies, you think you already know everything. I remember what it was like."
"You make it sound like you've taken this before," said Sakura. It surprised her when he revealed the exam he was taking was his seventh attempt, twice a year for about four years.
"Wow, then you've got a lot of experience with what we can expect."
"You could say that."
"Are the Chūnin Exams that difficult?" Shikamaru asked Kabuto. "This is getting pretty troublesome."
"Maybe I should give you guys some info that will save you the trouble, with these Recognition Cards."
"Recognition Cards?"
"Cards that can burn information on it by using chakra. The cards look blank to the naked eye, but when chakra is applied, various categories of data ranging from information about the Five Great Shinobi Countries to the ninja that inhabit them are displayed on the card, even in 3-D," Kabuto explains.
"Do you have any cards that have detailed personal information?" asked Sasuke.
"Yes, are there any people that interest you?" Kabuto asked, Sasuke replying with a yes.
"Rock Lee of the Hidden Leaf."
"Ah, you have his name, good." Kabuto takes out a card and adds his chakra to it, revealing info on Lee.
"Rock Lee is a year older than all of you. 20 D-Rank Missions and 11 C-Rank Missions. His Taijutsu skills are amazing, but ninjutsu and genjutsu are terrible."
"...Do you have information on Naruto?" Sasuke asked. Naruto looked at his teammate, wondering what was going on in his head. To everyone's surprise, as Kabuto's about to show them his card, Naruto grabs the ninja's hand and, in a threatening tone, told him, "Do that and information won't be the only thing you'll be leaking...", as he tightened his grip. Looking at the blond, everyone wondered, what exactly was Naruto trying to hide from them?
"Naruto, you're making a scene," Hinata told her friend. Looking up, Naruto saw all eyes in the room on him. With a sigh, he lets go of Kabuto's arm.
"For a second there, I thought you'd break it."
"If Hinata wasn't here, I might have," Naruto adds.
"...That aside, there are a lot of talented Genin in this room, ready to take the exams. For the three ninja from the recently made Sound Village...I don't know. The Sound Village is small, so I don't think you have to worry about them. As you can see, all the other people here are top elites chosen by each country, excluding the Sound Ninjas. Although...one applicant to worry about is a Mugen Tenshin Kunoichi who applied by herself."
"Mugen Tenshin!?" Naruto wondered who it might be as he surveyed the room.
"One kunoichi from a village is taking the exams without a team? Is that even possible?" asked Kiba.
"Given their extraordinary skills that surpass the other Shinobi villages, ninjas like them and the Hayabusa are allowed to enter by themselves," Kabuto responds.
In the crowd, three Sound Ninjas, hearing how Kabuto considered them not a threat, maneuvered through the crowd as they target Kabuto. The bespectacled ninja dodged Zaku's kunais before narrowly avoiding Dosu's punch, though the lenses on his glasses were destroyed as he fell on his hands and knees and hurled. Stepping back, satisfied, Dosu said to Kabuto, "You're a pushover, aren't you? Pretty sad for someone who's been an applicant for four years now."
"Better add this to your cards. The three applicants from Otogakure will all make Chunin this year, "said an arrogantly smiling Zaku.
"Alright maggots all eyes on me!" In that instant, Ibiki Morino and his group of sentinels appear out of nowhere, in front of the big blackboard at the other side of the room, getting everyone's attention. "My name's Ibiki Morino, and I am the first proctor of the Chūnin Exams." Pointing at the Sound Ninjas, he told them they couldn't carry on any way they pleased when the exams were about to start before asking them if they wanted to be disqualified so early into the first part. Dosu apologizes for himself and his teammates, telling the proctor they got a little carried away.
"Is that so? Then I guess it's high time I laid down a few ground rules. From this point forward, there'll be no more fighting without the express permission of the examining officer...and even if that permission is granted, anything that endangers another applicant's life is strictly forbidden. Anyone who breaks that rule is out. Disqualified, with no second chances." Once everyone understood the rules, it was time for them to take the (paper) test.
The point of the test was to use their info gathering skills to pass it, i.e. Cheat without being caught doing it by the sentinels or else a single three-man cell failed and had to be escorted out the door. For Naruto, answering it was child's play for him. Next to him was Hinata, who was able to answer the first three questions. Seeing her having trouble answering the next question, Naruto secretly gave her hints by moving/tapping his finger in a way that mimicked Morse Code. Hearing this, she understood that, while a few people around them found it an annoyance, it was a message only she and her friend knew. Smiling to herself, she thanked him in Morse Code by tapping her pencil.
45 minutes later...
"Alright, get ready for the tenth question!" yelled Ibiki. Everyone looks up from their test papers as they wonder what about the tenth question. "Before we get to it, however...I'm adding one more new rule. This one...IS ABSOLUTE!" Most of the genin in the room started becoming tense as sweat started forming and flowed down their faces.
"First, you must choose whether to accept or reject this tenth question."
"Ch-Choose!? What happens if someone doesn't accept the question!?" yelled Temari.
"If you reject the question and don't even try answering it, you'll lose all your points immediately and fail. Your teammates will also fail as well. If you try to answer the question and get it wrong...You will never be permitted to apply for the Chunin Exams again.
"YOU CAN'T BE SERIOUS! THAT'S RIDICULOUS! THERE ARE NINJA HERE WHO HAVE SAT FOR THE EXAMS MORE THAN ONCE ALREADY! WE KNOW THERE ARE!" Kiba shouts.
"Just your rotten luck. I wasn't making the rules in past years. I am now," Ibiki responds, an intimidatingly sadistic smile on his face. "You can take a failing grade and try again next time. After all, anyone who has doubts would be smart to reject the tenth question right now. Come back and reapply next year and the year after that. Now that I've finished explaining things, those who choose not to accept should raise their hands. Once their number's been confirmed, they will leave the room." The room became silent. Genin started looking at one another, wondering if any of them were willing to answer the tenth question or raise their hand and try again next year. One by one, a few three-man cells started raising their hands as their numbers were called and started walking out of the room.
Naruto turned to Hinata and saw her tense up, wondering whether to raise her hand or not. Putting his hand on top of hers, he told her, "It'll be alright, Hinata. I assure you, you'll pass this..." This helped to get rid of any doubts in her. After 10 long minutes, only 78 genins were left. Ibiki, looking at each and every one of them, asked if anyone else wanted to call quits. When no one said anything or raised their hands, he said, "Good call. Everyone who's still here...YOU'VE JUST PASSED THE FIRST EXAM!" This served to surprise everyone still present in the room.
"Wait, we passed?" asked Sakura. "When did that happen? What about the-"
"There is no tenth question," Ibiki interrupts, a smile on his face that didn't look sadistic or cold, but welcoming. "Well, beyond the whole "Accept or Reject" thing."
"THEN WHY DID WE HAVE TO SUFFER THROUGH THE NINE QUESTIONS!? Temari yelled. "THAT WAS A TOTAL WASTE OF OUR TIME!"
"There was no waste, I assure you. The questions had a purpose, which they already served. Your goal was to test your skills at info gathering and sharing. I said you pass or fail as a part of a three-man cell. With that rule, I pressured you with the fear that anything you did wrong would bring your teammates down with you. Given that these questions are beyond that of a level Genin could be expected to handle, you'd have to resort to cheating to retain your points. To ensure there would be suitable targets for you to cheat from, we snuck in a pair of ringers who already knew the answers. As for the accept or reject, as a ninja, you WILL be assigned to missions you cannot decline, no matter how dangerous the risk...Above all that, a ninja must demonstrate valor and the willingness to help those to overcome their fears." Once Ibiki finished speaking, Hinata looked at Naruto as the latter gave her a small smile, the Hyuuga doing the same.
"Part one of the exams if now concluded. You can all leave and-" Before Ibiki can finish his sentence, Anko Mitarashi spectacularly crashes through the window as she yells, "Heads up, boys and girls, this is no time to be celebrating! I'll be your next proctor. Anko Mitarashi. Are you ready for the second test? Good! Then let's go, follow me!" Everyone is silent as they wonder what was going on.
"...I'd give that entrance an 8/10," said Naruto.
"Your entrance is childish, Anko." Anko turned red when Ibiki told her what he thought of her entrance. Looking around the room, she asked him if he went easy on the 78 genins still present in the room. "Nonsense."
Forest of Death
"Welcome...to the Forest of Death," said Anko as everyone focused their attention on the "No Trespassing" sign on the gate in front of them before turning to the second proctor.
"Inside the forest is a river, and a tower located in the exact center; the forest's radius is about ten kilometers. The tower is your team's destination after collecting two scrolls, one with the kanji for Heaven, and another with the kanji for Earth on it. There are many of these scrolls scattered all around the forest. You and your team will be separated at the beginning of the exam. Once you collect both scrolls, rendezvous with your team and head towards the tower within the five-day limit. If you find a team with the opposite scroll, you can steal it by any means necessary, and if you ever open the scrolls before you enter the tower...well you'll have to find that out for yourselves. Any questions?"
"What do we do for food?" asked Choji, raising his hand.
"It's a forest, I'm sure you'll be able to find food in the forest. Any other questions?...Good. Now before we begin, each person must grab a headset and sign these release forms, acknowledging that the proctors will not be held responsible for any deaths. You have an hour to prepare so take your time."
58 minutes later
After conversing with Sasuke and Sakura a bit, Naruto decided to look over his equipment as Hinata walks to him and calls his name to get his attention.
"Something you need Hinata?" he asked.
"Thanks for holding my hand. If you didn't I..." Clenching her fists, she told him how she wished she was as calm and brave as Naruto, being fearless in the face of everything that was thrown at him.
"It's okay to be afraid Hinata. Even I get afraid...If there's nothing to be afraid of, you can never hope to get stronger and learn from these fears..." Curious, Hinata asked her friend what he was afraid of. "I can't answer that..."
"Why? I'm your friend...right?"
"You are my friend Hinata. I mean-"
"Then why don't you ever tell me a bit more about you? I, along with the others, have been very open with you about our problems, and you've helped us handle it sometimes, yet when it comes to you, you're not open with us. That's not fair." Naruto had no idea how to respond to that. Before he could say anything, they were called to get ready for the second part of the exams.
"If I'm able, I'll tell you..." Unlike the other exams, the Genin were split up, having to rendezvous with their teammates within the Forest of Death itself. Sasuke was tasked with protecting the Heaven Scroll as the three looked for a team that held an Earth Scroll. Once the gates open, every Genin enters the forest.
Naruto jumped from tree to tree as he made his way to his teammate, or tried to at least since he entered through a different part of the forest. As he maneuvered through it, he recalled the conversation he had with Hinata.
"Then why don't you ever tell me a bit more about you? I, along with the others, have been very open with you about our problems, and you've helped us handle it sometimes, yet when it comes to you, you're not open with us. That's not fair." Immediately after exiting his thoughts, Naruto heard three shuriken flying at him before moving out of the way. Landing on a large branch on another tree, Naruto turns around and sees a large snake rise up from the ground. Opening its wide mouth wide, the large snake attempts to swallow him, only for Naruto to jump high in the air and bring his fist down on it, forcing its mouth to quickly close as its fangs stab through its own lower jaw. With a Moonsault Slash, Naruto splits its head down the middle, killing it. Right after, the snake bursts into smoke.
"A summoning?" Feeling a dark presence, Naruto turns around and throws a sidekick at whoever was foolish enough to sneak up on him. To his surprise, it was a Genin from Kusagakure, who managed to catch his kick with his right hand. The Kusa-nin summons snakes from his left sleeve to strike the blond, Naruto quickly frees himself by kicking the ninja with his left leg, knocking him off the branch they were standing on as the snakes miss him by an inch.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere!" The blond genin takes a deep breath and exhales several small blasts of wind chakra at the Kusa-nin, managing to graze his right leg and hit him in the left shoulder and side. Despite these injuries, the Kusa-nin quickly recovers and lands on a branch lower than the one Naruto was on. To his disgust, Naruto watched from where he was standing as the Genin wiped some blood from his left shoulder wound with his right pointing and middle fingers, amused by it before licking it off his fingers.
"To injure me this quickly...How amusing. What else do you have to show me?" asked the Kusa-nin as he advanced towards Naruto.
The blond takes a deep breath and exhales several small blasts of wind chakra at the Kusa-nin, only this time, he started stretching and coiling around the wooden branches to avoid the small wind projectiles before appearing above the blond Genin, reading his left fist. Naruto avoids the Kusa-nin's punch, the impact of his fist creating a small crater. Following that, the blond Genin performed three backflips as he avoids three snakes rising from under him. A fourth one strikes when his back is against a tree, only to be caught in his left grip. With a powerful tug, Naruto pulls the Kusa-nin towards him and punches him in the face, sending him falling downward.
His opponent recovers and summons snakes to wrap around a convenient tree branch he was able to grab before swinging upward, delivering a kick to the unexpected blond's chin, drawing blood from Naruto, causing him to fall off the tree branch he was on. Naruto recovers as he quickly slides down a large vine and lands safely on the ground as his opponent summons a large snake.
"At least I know who summoned that last snake," he said to himself as he avoids the large snake's bite before throwing three explosive tech shuriken at the Kusa-nin. His opponent smirks as he summons snakes from his sleeves to smother them as they explode, remaining unfazed as the snakes are destroyed.
Immediately, Naruto appears in front of him from the smoke as he performs a Cannon Spike, launching the surprised Kusa-nin into the air before performing a Gyro Drive Smasher on his opponent, the impact from the drop crushing the large snake's head, killing it as he incapacitates his foe with a neck breaker.
"I may have overdone it..." Checking for a pulse, Naruto sighed a breath of relief as he heard a pulse. "Good, he's alive...For a slippery snake, he hits hard." Checking for a scroll, Naruto found an Earth Scroll in his possession and took it. Putting it in his pocket, Naruto got up as he prepared to jump. Before he did, however, a snake rises from the ground and opens its mouth, revealing a long blade that stabs through the blond's chest, shocking him as he coughs blood. Turning around, his eyes widened when the Kusa-nin gets up and turns to him, his mouth connected to the snake that stabbed him.
"Truly impressive, as expected from the Kyuubi's host."
"How the hell...do you know about that?" asked wounded Naruto as the Kusa-nin walks towards him as the snake returns to his mouth. The blond genin drops to his knees, clutching his chest wound as the Kusa-nin grabs him by the throat with his left hand and lifts him up from the ground.
"Because I used to be part of the Hidden Leaf. I was hoping you'd use the Kyuubi's chakra to fight me, but it seems that you can't use it. I wonder, how can I draw its power out? Oh well, I'm not looking to face it. After all, I'm after something better...Your teammate Sasuke."
"What... are you going on about?"
"If I told you, it'd be troublesome. I was lucky to have found you before you could rendezvous with him. You'd be a huge nuisance to me, one that needs to be dealt with." With his right hand, the Kusa-nin performs the Five Elements Seal on him, causing Naruto great pain before he fell unconscious. Finished, the Kusa-nin drops him to the ground.
"I have no interest in the exams, so you can keep the Earth Scroll as gratitude for putting up a fight." Turning around, the Kusa-nin goes off to hunt for Sasuke.
Dream?
I'm your friend...right?"
"You are my friend Hinata." Naruto's eyes widened when Hinata called him a liar.
"You don't trust me with what and how you feel. You don't trust anyone. After knowing you for so long, you still can't open up? I guess I was wrong to make you my friend," she told him, anger in her eyes as she turned away. Naruto tries to run to her, only to find his feet stuck in what appeared to be blood.
"You don't deserve to have companions." Turning around, Naruto's confused to see Iruka looking at him with rage and anger. "To think I considered you family and took care of you, the one who killed my parents."
"It wasn't me, it was-"
"Why do you act the way you are? Do you like being alone? Enjoy it even. That must be it. After all, a demon like you knows nothing about connections," he interrupts. "You care for no one but yourself. That explains why you always have that uncaring look on your face."
"You're wrong, that's not-" Before he could say anything, everything turns black.
"This is all that waits for you and me...Nothing." Turning around, Naruto sees himself. The only difference was that his eyes were yellow, and the sclerae were darkened. "Nothing...We will die one day. Alone...No one will miss us...No one will be there at our last moments alive...You and me...Loneliness is our end...There's no escaping this fate."
Dream? End
Naruto gets up screaming before heavily panting. Looking at him was a surprised kunoichi. Focusing his attention on her, she was a slender, physically-fit and petite young and beautiful girl, about 13-years old. She had amber eyes that complimented her copper brown hair. She had on a black cloak to cover her ninja attire.
"You're up..." she told him as she hands him a fish that had just finished cooking by the fire. Thanking her, he took a bite out of it as she smiled at him. "You were out since yesterday. Had to save you from getting your scroll stolen by some enemy genin. I also snagged you a Heaven Scroll along the way so you're welcome."
"I see...Wait...Yesterday? You mean-"
"Yes, a day has passed."
"A whole day...Who are you? And why save me?"
"Oh, didn't Ayane tell you about me?" she asked Naruto.
"Ayane? Wait, that means...You're her sister!" Smiling, the kunoichi introduced herself as Kasumi, Ayane's older sister. "So you're the Mugen Tenshin kunoichi Kabuto warned us about."
"That's me. The reason for saving you is because I wanted to thank you personally for Ayane talking to me again," she adds, smiling as Naruto finished his fish. "When the second exams started, I went through a few genin to find you. I never expected to meet you like this. She told me you were a very capable ninja."
"I...I simply underestimated my opponent."
"That sounds like something my sister would do...You were talking to yourself in your sleep." Naruto had a look of surprise when Kasumi told him that.
"What did I say?"
"Something about being someone's friend and telling another person it wasn't you..." she answered. "Must be quite an intense dream for you to talk in your sleep. Mind talking to me about it?" Kasumi asked. While they did just meet, Kasumi wasn't one to ignore when something was bothering another person. She wanted to listen and see if she could help out.
"Seeing as how Ayane opened up to me after so long, she must've confided in you about things she could never tell me. So...what do you say? You want to talk about it?"
"...You did help save my life and offer me fish, so it's the least I can do," Naruto responds. "...I never told my...friend this...Never wanted to...But...I may be afraid of ghosts, but the one thing I am scared of the most is...being alone."
"Alone?"
"As the Kyuubi's host, I'm obviously hated by a large majority of the village. I was a very sad kid back then, crying like a baby. Eventually, the crying stopped once I realized no one was going to feel sorry for or pity me. So I stopped being sad, improving on myself, relying on no one but myself. I was looking after me, and only me, no one else, and I was okay with it. It was through the Third Hokage that I slowly became friends with someone named Iruka, despite a somewhat rocky start. From there, I met a girl who wanted to be my friend, and then after that, I made a few more friends. I hate to admit it, but part of me was happy to hear that they wanted to be friends with me. At the same time, it scared me."
"Scared you how?" asked Kasumi.
"I've seen people die in front of me when I was 11. Good people...I ended up killing the ones who caused their deaths and injuring someone I cared about...I thought after all that, I wouldn't have to experience that ever again. But I was wrong. There's this teammate of mine, huge ass by the name of Sasuke Uchiha. Well, he used to be a huge one...He almost died during a mission we were on...At that moment, I wondered, as his body dropped to the floor, "How could I let it happen to me again? It could be any one of my friends in his shoes. Would all the fights I happen across end with me losing them one by one, with me being left alone to die in the end? No one there at my side in my final moments? That's what scares me. Being and dying alone, and forgotten. Yesterday, my frien- best friend asked me if I was scared of anything..."
"Let me guess, you couldn't answer her?" Kasumi was correct as Naruto admits it to her. "Why haven't you told her?"
"I felt that...if I told her, she'd promise me she wouldn't die, only to lose her life because of me...That's why I never told her. I'm afraid she'd end up dying because of me. Because I'm her friend."
"Hmmm...Hinata, did you hear all that?" said Kasumi, a smile on her face. Naruto's eyes widened when Kasumi said that. Coming out from behind a large tree, a teary-eyed Hinata went over to her friend and hugged him.
"You should've told me this yesterday Naruto..." she told her friend.
"I bumped into her while I was looking for you. She asked me to do this," Kasumi informed Naruto.
"You should be more open like this instead of keeping it to yourself. If you can't do that, then..." Putting his hand on her head, Naruto told her she was right, and that he was truly at fault for not telling her before apologizing to her.
"I'm not great at talking about myself...and I don't always understand how other people feel because of me. But...I'll try being more open about them," he told her. Two seconds after he said that, he felt a sharp pain pulsating from within that made him wince. Worried, Hinata asked him if he was okay. "No, my body is..." Going over to him, Kasumi found the Five Elements Seal on his stomach.
"This seal...it's messing with your chakra network. Unfortunately, I am not my sister, who knows more about this than me. If you want to get rid of it, you must get to that tower," said Kasumi. "Without chakra, you're bound to be easy-"
"I'm fine...I can feel the pain, but I can manage," Naruto interrupts as he gets up. Worried, Hinata asked if he was sure. "I am..." Looking into his eyes, Hinata could tell he was telling the truth. "Besides, chakra's not the only thing I can use."
A few minutes later...
It was a surprise to Kasumi and Hinata when Naruto told them he knew magic. At the moment, Naruto was following them with no trouble at all. With every step, a magic circle appeared from under his foot, accelerating his movements for a split second. Right now, they were on their way to meet up with Sakura, who was in trouble earlier, being attacked by the three Sound Ninjas. Lucky for her, Lee, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, Tenten, Neji, Kiba, and Shino came to their rescue. As they made their way to their friends, Kasumi decided to ask the blond, "So who taught you this sort of magic?"
"Tatsuya Shiba. He told me how using this type of acceleration magic for a split second would increase its effectiveness. We would go running like this to the ninjutsu master he knew every morning as we followed his sister. There's more he taught me, but I'm not willing to show people that."
"Is there a reason why?" asked Hinata.
"Element of surprise. Make my opponents think I am defenseless and unable to use chakra. Hit them hard with something they can't understand. It's pretty much a last resort. It's a good thing I have a lot of chakra at my disposal, giving me the advantage. But now that my chakra's been messed with, I have to use it for now...Are we getting close?" Hinata nods as they keep going.
10 minutes later...
Naruto, Hinata and Kasumi meet up with the other, who tell them how glad they were to see them safe before noticing the Mugen Tenshin kunoichi's presence.
"Naruto, who's that girl?" asked Shikamaru.
"She's the Mugen Tenshin kunoichi Kabuto told us about...Where's Sakura and Sasuke? Are they okay?" asked Naruto. Shikamaru tells his friend that Sakura was okay, resting from overexerting herself from protecting Sasuke by herself. "She actually protected him? I find that hard to believe."
"Well, she did. As for Sasuke...He's fine but..."
"But what?" Naruto asked. Ino tells him about how he was bitten by a man with pale skin, and how he had a strange mark on his neck. Neji interrupts, telling Naruto, "He's at the river behind me. It's best if you saw him yourself..." Looking over Neji's shoulder, he found Sasuke standing by himself before making his way to him.
"Sasuke, are you okay?"
"I'm fine, in fact, I'm better than I was before," he told the blond genin, an arrogant smile on his face.
"Sasuke...everyone's worried about you. They think that-" Sasuke interrupts him, telling Naruto he was fine, and that they were worried about nothing. "Nothing? Then explain that mark on your neck."
"That's rich, coming from you, who keeps things to yourself," Sasuke countered. Naruto said nothing as he wondered what would happen next. However, instead, he sensed someone's presence.
"You must be foolish to think I wouldn't notice you. Come out of there." Naruto is surprised to find Kabuto coming out from behind a tree.
"You got me..."
"Kabuto?" Turning to the bespectacled ninja, Sasuke prepared to attack him before Naruto stopped him. Turning to Kabuto, he asked him what scroll he had.
"An Earth Scroll. You?"
"Earth and Heaven..." Naruto replied. Kabuto tells him he has no intention of fighting since his teammates have already obtained a Heaven Scroll.
"While I'm lucky to have fought some basic level Genin to get my scroll, I know that I don't stand a chance against other shinobi. That's why I've decided to come to you for help. My teammates are already at the tower so..."
"...Your teammates must be very cold to leave you to fend for yourself..." After some thought, Naruto decides to consult with the others. After talking about it, the Konoha 12 decide to allow Kabuto to accompany them since all four teams had both scrolls. Kasumi left to head to the tower by herself, telling Naruto he should be able to get to it with the friends he had at the moment. Smiling, he thanked her for looking out for him and for getting him a Heaven Scroll after Orochimaru burned theirs.
"It's the least I can do for everything you've done for me, even though you didn't meet me until now. One last thing though...What do you think about my sister?"
"Ayane? She's...a very scary girl, but she can be nice once you get to know her." Curious, she asked him if that was all he thought about her.
"Pretty sure." Kasumi knew he was lying, but decided not to ask further. After all, the answer was all over his face.
40 minutes later
The group made haste as they advanced towards the tower. From afar, Orochimaru watched them, mainly Sasuke.
"Hmmmm, time to test Sasuke and his Cursed Seal of Heaven. Summoning Technique!" As they were jumping from tree branch to tree branch, Kabuto noticed something coming their way.
"Everyone, look out!" Looking behind, they see a large three-headed snake coming towards them before jumping out of its way.
"Whoa! That's a big one!" Ino shouts.
"Eh, I've seen bigger snakes," Naruto joked, Shikamaru telling the blond it wasn't a good time to crack one.
"There's 13 of us and one of it, we can take it!" says Kiba, who was ready to fight it. To their surprise, the three-headed snake splits into three separate snakes.
"You just had to say that.." said an annoyed Naruto, looking at Kiba. The snakes start shooting venom at the group. As they dodge their venom blasts, Naruto noticed the venom burning some of the tree's leaves. "It's acidic, be careful."
"We have to split up, each team will take out one snake," Shino told the others, Naruto agreeing with him. Naruto, Tenten, Sasuke, and Shikamaru go in one direction while Neji, Hinata, Kabuto, and Shino go in the opposite direction. Kiba, Chōji, Ino, Rock Lee and Sakura battle with the remaining snake.
"So, what's the plan?" Tenten asked the blond. Before he could respond, Sasuke yelled, "This one's mine!" Naruto tries to stop him, only to watch as Sasuke's cursed mark activates, spreading flame-like markings across his body. Sasuke punches the snake, sending it crashing into the ground as the blond genin looked visibly surprised by his teammate's newfound strength.
"Stay out of this! I can handle this one!" he told them as he jumps at the snake and prepares to attack it again, only to be knocked back by its tail, landing next to Naruto as Tenten and Shikamaru distract it.
"Sasuke, you're not yourself. Stay back and let us handle this."
"You guys will only hold me back!" Sasuke shouts, looking at Naruto.
"Guys, no time to argue, we need help!" Shikamaru interrupts as Tenten throws a few kunai, with explosive tags attached to them, at the snake as she avoids its tail whip.
"Move out of the way, Naruto, or else I'll make you," Sasuke told him in a threatening tone.
"That thing on your neck is affecting your mind and your chakra. Stand down."
"Why!? Are you scared that I've gotten stronger than you? Jealous?"
"What? No, that is not your own power you're using, it's that thing on your neck that's giving it to you!" Naruto countered. "If you're relying on power like that, what sort of ninja are you?"
"Get out of my way, or else." With a sigh, Naruto apologized to him as he used the basic oscillation type spell "Compound Waves" to cause a hallucinogenic effect on the Uchiha, knocking him out. The markings on his body disappear after.
"What do we do now?" asked Shikamaru. Quickly surveying their surroundings, Naruto finds a tree with a tight hole underneath it.
"Follow me." Shikamaru does what he's told and follows Naruto, Sasuke over the blond's shoulder, and Tenten as the snake gets up and chases after them. They manage to trap it in a hole underneath a tree before Naruto cupped his hands together to gather ki energy, forming an orange sphere before thrusting his hands forward to shoot out a streaming, powerful beam of energy that went through the snake's mouth and exited through the back, killing it. (It's not a Kamehameha. It may look like it, but it's not.) The attack surprised Shikamaru and Tenten, the former asking what that was. "It's complicated..." After saying that, Naruto's body got heavy as he fell to his knees. He knew it was risky to use that much ki energy, but he had to be sure the attack killed the snake.
"You okay Naruto?" asked Tenten, the blond telling her he was just tired from using the attack. Having said that, he asked her if she could carry him on her back, telling her she was stronger than Shikamaru.
"Really?" asked a bothered Shikamaru.
"Good to know all that weapon training is good for some things." Rendezvousing with the others, having to carry Naruto, Tenten asked if they were okay.
"My hair's ruined," said Sakura. Ino tells them how the giant snake they fought had caught her by her hair and she had to cut it to free herself. Looking at Naruto, Hinata asked if he was okay.
"I'm fine, I just overexerted myself is all. How did-"
"Shino choked the large snake we were fighting to death with his insects," Hinata interrupts. The blond turned his attention towards Shino and tells him "...That's pretty dark, Shino."
"It tried to kill us."
"...Simple but good point." Looking at Sasuke, Sakura asked Shikamaru what happened to him.
"He...got knocked out by the snake we were fighting," he told her. Shikamaru had to lie for Naruto, aware of what happened. Looking at Kabuto, he noticed his left leg was a bit burned, asking him what happened.
"During the fight, the snake hit me with its acidic venom. I'll be fine, don't worry."
"Well, at least you're still alive..."
Forest Tower
The group finally reach the entrance of the tower, where Kabuto's teammates, Yoroi and Misumi, were waiting for him. After saying goodbye to him, the Konoha 12 entered the tower.
"Well, we're here. I guess we should open the scrolls now," said Shikamaru. Naruto, Shino, Shikamaru, and Neji open their Heaven and Earth Scrolls, causing smoke to come out of them. Throwing them down to the floor, they summon Jōnins Might Guy, Asuma Sarutobi, Kurenai Yūhi, and Kakashi Hatake, the latter congratulating them for making it to the tower before noticing an unconscious Sasuke.
"...What happened to Sasuke?" asked Kakashi, Naruto telling him how they ran into a bit of trouble, which ended with Sasuke being knocked out by an enemy. "Well, at least you three are here in one piece."
"So what happens now?" asked Choji.
"There are still more Genin teams coming so once the five-day limit is up, we'll start the next round of the Chūnin Exams," said Asuma. "This place has its own lounge, hot springs, training rooms and bedrooms to use so rest easy, train hard, and be ready to give it your all in four days."
"I could really use a hot springs bath. I smell really bad," said Ino, smelling herself after.
"Wow! I need a bath too!" Kiba yelled after sniffing his armpit. As the afternoon turned to night, the guys took time to relax and ready themselves for when the next part of the exams start. Naruto had informed Kakashi of the cursed seal on Sasuke, with the Jonin assuring Naruto it wouldn't kill the Uchiha and that he was working on a temporary solution for it.
Near the end of the night, Naruto met up with Kasumi, who was glad that he made it, telling him how she looked forward to fighting him in the exams before going off to train by herself. Entering his room, he found Ayane waiting for him.
"So you've met my sister..."
"Yeah..."
"She...told me about the seal that was messing with your chakra network." Naruto shows her the seal as she looked it over. "Five Elements Seal, huh? This is a powerful fūinjutsu...it's a good thing I have a remedy for that." Behind her back, the fingertips on her right hand were glowing blue. Just when he was about to ask what the remedy was, Ayane struck Naruto in the stomach with her right hand. Immediately, the blond drops on the floor and clutches his stomach in pain as the Five Elements Seal is removed.
"There you go, seal removed," she told him as he got up.
"You could've told me what you were going to do!" he yelled.
"That was for seeing me naked."
"That was a few days ago." Looking away, the blushing Ayane told him, "I know that...How do you feel?"
"Tired..."
"The unsealing tends to do that. Get some rest. I'll be helping you train before the next part of the exams begin." When asked if she was okay with training him, given her job as a representative of the Mugen Tenshin Clan, she told him, "My brother's handling it..."
"Brother?"
"Hayate, I told you about him, idiot."
"I forgot..." With a sigh, Ayane tells him to rest. "You don't...have to...tell me twice..." With that, Naruto passed out from the effects of the unsealing. Making sure he was asleep, Ayane couldn't help but look at his lips once more. Blushing, she was about to claim them when Kasumi walked in on her, wanting to ask if her sister wanted to train with her, only to stop when she saw her sister inches away from kissing the sleeping Naruto.
"Oh my..." Closing the door slowly, she told her, "I'll let you continue where you left off..." Embarrassed, Ayane, red in the face, got up to chase her sister.
TO BE CONTINUED...
ED1: Self-Inflicted Achromatic (自傷無色)(Cover) by Raon Lee
In this chapter, I wanted to show a rare fear Naruto barely told anyone, mainly the idea of being alone and losing people. I feel that this Naruto, while brave and calm, is truly a scared person on the inside. He feels that he should be the person his friends rely on and not the other way around, he doesn't want to be seen as a vulnerable person. The only ones who know of this are Ayane, Kasumi, and Hinata. With Hinata asking if they were truly friends, it puts Naruto in a spot he was uncomfortable with in their conversation and it reveals his thoughts on Sasuke's "death" during the Land of Waves Arc.
Yes, Naruto is not limited to chakra. Not only does he know ki energy, but he also learned magic from Tatsuya Shiba himself, as well as some magic from Luvia Edelfelt after being forced to serve as her personal butler during his visit/stay in London during his four years away from Konoha. It might be shown in Road to Journey to Now, which I have yet to continue to work on.
With this knowledge, Naruto didn't want to reveal what cards he had under his sleeve, aware of the problems it'd bring, only using it as a last resort. Naruto will show off what he can do once an event in a later chapter forces him to go all out.
The next chapter will complete the preliminaries before Naruto goes to the Hayabusa Village to train, where he meets a person who will play a huge part in his life.