This is my first story. Don't hate for no reason. Will take fair criticism though.

I do not own Naruto or anything related. That goes to Masashi Kishimoto

CHAPTER 30

Hidden in the trees, Team 8 looked down at the sand siblings in a clearing. Temari and Kankuro stood next to each other guarding a sphere of sand that Team 8 assumed Gaara was inside of. Especially due to the increasing chakra and bloodlust that seemed to be emanating from within the sphere. Not wanting to give themselves away, Team 8 signs to each other.

"I will be the one to fight Gaara so you two must handle the other two siblings." Naruto directed.

"My bugs will be at a severe disadvantage against Temari's fan therefore I will fight Kankuro," Shino responded.

Naruto shakes his head, "It is unnecessary for you to fight them. I can disorient them, I just need you two to go for a quick knockout."

"I agree. Better not to waste chakra on a fight." Hinata signs.

Naruto unsealed a kunai and an explosive tag then signed, "Get ready, I will separate them."

Naruto attached the explosive tag to the kunai and threw it at the sand sphere. Hearing the sound of a kunai, Temari turned around and noticed the exploding tag attached and shouted, "Get down!"

Being so close Temari and Kankuro were blown away, and left in a daze. Before either could regain their senses Hinata jumped in between them and knocked them out with two jyuken strikes to the neck.

"Well done," Naruto commends, "Now tie them up and get as far as you can, my fight will get messy."

Hinata and Shino nod, and run away with the unconscious pair of siblings.

Left alone in the clearing standing across from the sphere of sand, Naruto sighs, "Time to do this all over again."

Naruto unsealed a seal tag from his arm and ran through hand seals as he let it fall to the ground. As soon as it touched the grass water exploded from within the seal and Naruto shouted, "Suiton: Suishoha!"

Naruto focused the water into a gigantic whirlpool, surrounding towards Gaara, and as the water swirled around the sphere it washed away the sand.. Once the water dissipated, nothing was left of the sphere and standing in the center was Gaara, but something was off.

"MOTHER WILL HAVE YOUR BLOOD UZUMAKI!" Gaara shouted. Looking closer Gaara had partially transformed into his biju. His right arm and body was completely covered in sand with blue markings, as well of half his face being transformed into the demonic visage of the sand tanuki.

Thrusting his right hand forward, Gaara extended his arm in an attempt to pin Naruto to the tree behind him, but Naruto jumped over. Landing on the extended sand arm Naruto runs towards Gaara and starts a set of hand seals. Suddenly spikes shot out from the sand, forcing Naruto to jump off the arm and over Gaara. Flipping through the air Naruto finished the hand seals and shouted, "Raiton: Rai Tenohira."

Pumping as much chakra into his hand Naruto pressed it to Gaara's body turning all the Sand to glass and freezing Gaara in place like a statue, and knocking him out. Naruto breathed a sigh of relief as he walked towards Gaara, ready to reseal his biju when suddenly Naruto felt an explosion of chakra.

"Naruto! Shukaku is being released!" Kurama shouted from within Naruto's mind.

"What? How?" Naruto was shocked.

"Shukaku likes to torment his containers by not letting them sleep. Usually because he'd be released if they did."

"And you didn't think to mention this before!?!"

"Well I thought you would seal Shukau away before you knocked him out like last time."

Naruto began to back away, when suddenly extreme amounts of sand exploded from Gaara, breaking away the glass and began to accumulate into a gigantic sand tanuki with blue markings.

"I'M FREE! I'm finally free!" Shukaku shrieked with joy, "And with a village here for me to destroy! What fun!"

'Dammit,' Naruto thought.

Naruto went through another set of hand signs, bit his thumb, then slammed his palms to the ground, "Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

With a gigantic puff of smoke suddenly Gamabunta appeared, with Naruto standing on his head.

"Sorry Gamabunta. No time for small talk. Please help me defeat Shukaku."

"Got it. Easiest way to do that would be to walk up his jinchuriki that's hidden near the head."

Shukaku saw the gigantic toad that now blocked his path and was enraged, "Hey! I finally become free and now you're here to ruin my fun? No way! I'll KILL YOU! Futon: Renkudan!" (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)

Shukau fired off multiple shots of compressed wind towards the titanic toad, forcing Gamabunta to dodge. However, Shukaku continued to fire off air bullets so in response Gamabunta used a jutsu of his own, "Suiton: Teppodama!" (Water Release: Gunshot)

Each water bullet met the compressed air dispersing both and creating a massive downpour.

"Hey Gamabunta! If you can drench Shukau, I can shock Gaara awake."

"You got it punk!"

"I won't leave!" Shukaku screeched, "I haven't had my fun yet! Futon: Renkudan!"

Gamabunta jumped into the air and responded with a jutsu of his own, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

Once again the two jutsu met in the air and dispersed each other. but being above Shukaku's head the water began to soak into his body.

"Awesome!" Naruto cheered, "A little more of that and my lightning jutsu should wake Gaara up."

"Good. If this goes on too long, I'll run out of chakra long before he does."

Not giving Shukaku a moment of rest, Gamabunta jumps into the air and fires off his jutsu again, "Suiton: Teppodama!"

The huge bullets of water fell down towards their target, and splashed on Shukaku's head, drenching him, and turning his body to mud.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME?" howled Shukau. "I WILL KILL YOU! Futon: Renkudan!"

Gamabunta jumped around, dodging each of the wind bullets..

"Hey, kid! You ready yet? I'm getting tired of this!"

"You got it, Gamabunta! Just get me close!"

Shukaku grins as Gamabunta lunges towards him, "Thanks for making it easy! Futon: Renkudan!"

The bullets of air speed towards Gamabunta but just before they land he disappears in a puff of smoke, and they all fly by. Emerging from the smoke Naruto sped through the air running through hand signs finishing by thrusting his hands forwards, "Raiton: Raimyaku" (Lightning Release: Lightning Pulse) (Original Jutsu)

A small circle of electricity emerged from the palms of Naruto's hands. It began to grow larger as it sped forwards towards Shukaku. When it collided with Shukaku's wet body it coursed through the sand causing Shukaku to shriek in pain. But it also ran through Gaara's body, shocking him awake.

"NOOOO! I'm leaving so soon, and without having any fun!" Shukaku screeched as the sand began to dissipate.

Naruto was slightly cushioned by the wet sand as he crashed into it. And as Shukaku's sand body fell apart Naruto and Gaara were lowered to the ground. On the grass Naruto stood haggardly over a frantic Gaara, who was unable to move.

"Get away! I refuse to let my existence end!" Gaara shouted.

Naruto sighed, "Gaara, killing people is not the only way to validate your existence."

"Everyone in my village hates me. The only people who ever interact with me are the assassin's my father sends after my head! But mother…everytime I killed the assassins…she validated me."

Naruto's eyes widened in shock and disbelief, "That's not your mother Gaara. It's Shukaku trying to get you to do what it wants. Besides, haven't you noticed how much your siblings care for you?"

"YOU LIE!" Gaara snarled, "They fear me just as everyone else does!"

"Of course they do. They've seen you kill jonins as if they were nothing, then threaten to kill them. Why shouldn't they be? But you know what? When I first defeated you Temari ran over to me, worrying about what I had done to knock you out. She loves you Gaara."

"But then how else would I prove my existence?" Gaara whispered.

"I won't pretend to understand the depth of your loneliness however, instead of seeking validation from those who hate you, find the people who appreciate you. Your siblings for example."

Gaara was about to respond when Hinata and Shino jumped out from the trees carrying Temari and Kankuro unconscious and restrained.

"Naruto!! Are you okay?" Hinata called out.

Naruto gave a tired grin, "I'm okay, just feeling drained."

"Fighting through the chunin exams then defeating a biju is would explain your fatigue." Shino commented."

"Is Gaara restrained?" Hinata asked, "We have to take them back to the village."

"Not yet."

Turning back to Gaara Naruto went through a few hand signs, "Sorry about this Gaara. Gogyo: Fuin!" Naruto slammed his palm into Gaara's gut once more, knocking him out.

Naruto hefted Gaara onto his shoulder, "Alright. Now we can bring them to the ANBU. "

"Do we not have to clear the village of the remaining invaders?" Shino asked.

Naruto shook his head, "No, the invasion is pretty much over. I received memories of my clones protecting the villagers while the jonin fought off the invaders. One of the last memories I received was the Hokage finishing the job."

Hinata let out a sigh of relief as Shino nodded and said, "Good. Then let us return to the village."

-few days later-

The bright morning sun was peeking through the shades of Naruto's apartment. Slowly a single ray of sun made its way across the room, eventually covering Naruto's eyes. He groaned as the light shone into his eyes and raised his arm to block the sunlight. Slowly Naruto tried to sit up, however, he felt it weighed down. Looking down, Naruto smiled gently.

'Hinata-chan looks so cute sleeping in her pajamas.'

Hinata was snuggling deep into Naruto's chest with a small smile on her face.

Naruto plants a soft kiss on her forehead, then seamlessly and silently made a shadow clone and replaced himself with it.

Looking at the clock it read 8:00 am.

'Wow,' Naruto thought, 'We slept in.'

Naruto brushes his teeth then makes his way to the kitchen and was about to prepare breakfast when he heard Hinata call out from the bedroom, "Naruto?"

"I'm in the kitchen," Naruto called back.

Hinata walked out of the bedroom rubbing the sleep out of her eyes and asked, "Why'd you leave me in the bed Naruto-kun?"

Naru rubs the back of his head, "Well I was going to make breakfast and bring it to you in bed."

Hinata inflated her cheeks in a fake pout, "Hmpf…But my pillow isn't supposed to leave the bed before me."

"Your pillow?" Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah! You're my nice warm comfortable pillow. You can't get out bed before me"

Chuckling lightly, Naruto walks over to Hinata and gives her a hug, "I'm sorry Hina-hime. I won't do it again. Why don't we make breakfast together?"

"Okay."

There was a sudden knock on the door.

"I'll get the door," Naruto said, "You go brush your teeth."

Standing in front of his door was a boar masked ANBU.

"Good Morning ANBU-san. What's wrong?"

Without missing a beat the ANBU responded, "You and Hyuga Hinata are to report to the Hokage's office in 30 minutes. Do you understand?"

"Hai."

With a nod the ANBU shunshined away.

-thirty minutes later-

In the Hokage's office the sensei's of teams 8, 9, and 10 stood behind their respective genin teams, who were all standing in a line before the Hokage. They all stood in silence as the Hokage finshed writing on a document in front of him.

Putting the pen down, the Hokage spoke, "Thank you all for waiting. I called you all here to discuss the chunin exams."

"Then why isn't Team 7 here?" Ino interrupted.

"Ino! Do not interrupt the Hokage!" Asuma scolded.

Hiruzen chuckled, " It's okay Asuma-kun. It is because none of them made it to the finals."

"Oh," Ino whispered.

"Moving on… may the people who did participate in the third exam please step forward."

Quickly Naruto, Hinata, Shino, Lee, and Neji stepped forward, though Shikamaru lagged a bit behind.

"Last night I made my decision on who should and shouldn't be promoted, so I will go in order of your matches. Nara Shikamaru you are first."

Shikamaru stepped forward a bit more.

"In your one match you demonstrated great intelligence, and an amazing strategic mind, a clear demonstration of your Nara blood. However, in another unfortunate demonstration of your Nara heritage, your laziness goes too far. To give up a match because you do not believe you will win the next one is unacceptable. In an actual battle that is not an option because surrendering could mean death or worse. Therefore I will not be promoting you to chunin."

Stepping back in line, Shikamaru let out a sigh. However, instead of it being a sigh of disappointment, it was a sigh of relief.

Ignoring the sigh the Hokage spoke, " Hyuga Neji and Hinata step forward."

After the genin followed his command he continued, "Neji, you are strong. Stronger and faster than most genin, your skill of the gentle fist is impressive as is your highly developed byakugan however, your mindset is atrocious. Your belief that Fate has already declared all things is an excuse to release your anger on those around you as a coping mechanism for your…situation. Konoha prides itself on its teamwork yet you take every opportunity to disrespect those around you. Therefore you will not be promoted to chunin."

Neji sucked his teeth as he stepped back in line.

"You should talk to Hiashi about the death of your father," Hiruzen recommended, "There is much you don't know."

The Hokage then turns to Hinata with a smile, "You, Hyuga Hinata, have surprised me. You have created your own form of the Jyuken, one that fits your body better. And while it is clearly incomplete, it was impressive. Then you shocked me by using ninjutsu, something that most likely gave most of your clan elders a stroke. You showed great skill in taijutsu, and a level head during your first match, and added onto it by demonstrating your ability in ninjutsu. Therefore you have been promoted to chunin. Congratulations."

Hinata had a wide grin on her face as she stepped forward to receive a green chunin vest from the Hokage who had a king smile on his face. Afterwards the two Hyuga stepped back into line, one with a grin the other with a scowl the Hokage continued, "Rock Lee and Aburame Shino step forward."

Both quickly followed the command.

"Aburame Shino," Hiruzen started, "From your match I can tell you are adept both in your clan jutsu and doton jutsu. Your taijutsu was never demonstrated so I cannot judge you on it but, your mind was on display. Your plan against a physically stronger and faster opponent was spectacular, especially since it almost won you the match. Your strategic mind is good for leading teams and has convinced me to promote you to chunin. Congratulations."

"Thank you." Shino said as he stepped forward to receive his chunin vest. Stepping back in line his teammates could literally hear the buzz of excitement coming from his bugs.

Hiruzen then turned to Lee, "Rock Lee, I had to think hard about you. Your taijutsu is masterful, obviously due to who your sensei is. And while I am aware of your situation, I didn't believe there was more to you than your taijutsu. However, demonstrating that you can open 5 of the 8 gates impressed me immensely. Therefore I will be promoting you to Chunin."

"YOOOOOSSSSHHH," Both Lee and Gair shouted.

"You have done well Lee! Your youthfulness and hard work has gotten you your promotion." Gai said, beaming with joy.

The two shinobi in green ran towards each other, tears of happiness in their eyes and arms out ready for an embrace."It's all thanks to you Gai-Sensei!"

"Lee!"

A sunset, rainbow and waterfall began to form behind the two.

"Gai-Se—"

"NO!" The hokage bellowed, exuding his Killing Intent (KI). "Not in my office!"

Gai and Lee were shivering in fear as the rest of the ninja breathed a sigh of relief.

Ending his KI the Hiruzen handed over a chunin vest.

"While taijutsu is the most direct way to become a shinobi with your condition, there are other things you can learn like bukijutsu and trapmaking. After you accept this vest I would like you to branch out slightly. Taijustu can remain your specialty but some diversity in your moveset is always helpful."

Lee nodded as he accepted the vest,"Hai. Hokage-sama."

"Last but not least, Uzumaki Naruto."

Hiruzen turned to the blonde with a smile, "You have done well, not only during the Chunin Exams, but during the invasion as well. In your first match your ninjutsu was able to defeat one of the most difficult competitors. During your second match your fuinjutsu was able to restrain an opponent you could barely touch. Those two things alone and I was ready to promote you to chunin, but then the invasion happened and you impressed me further. I received multiple reports of your clones helping to evacuate civilians and stalling the enemy and a report from the ANBU informing me that it was one of your clones that helped them enter Orochimaru's barrier. Finally you were able to defeat a fully transformed jinchuriki in their biju form. Your promotion to chunin was essentially guaranteed, the only thing I was contemplating was whether or not I should promote you to tokubetsu-jonin."

This left many both the genin and the jonin shocked, including Naruto himself.

"However," The Hokage continued, "You are only 7 months out of the academy, and have no real experience. So that promotion will be put on hold. Regardless, congratulations on your promotion to chunin."

Naruto stepped forward to receive his vest when Hiruzen held his hand up, "Wait a second Naruto."

The aged hokage turned to the rest of the group, "This meeting is officially dismissed. Everyone, leave the office except for Naruto."

After a few minutes the only two people left in the room were Naruto and Hiruzen.

"What's wrong Jiji, why did everyone have to leave before I receive my vest."

The hokage let out a long sigh before opening a drawer, removing a piece of paper and slapping it onto the wall. After holding up the ram hand sign the paper glowed.

"Jiji? What was the silencing seal for?" Naruto questioned.

Looking up, Hiruzen looked into Naruto's eyes and whispered, "Naruto…it's time I told you about your parents."

To be continued...

Sorry for the extremely late post. I will try to post every two to three weeks. Thank you for reading.