Chapter 14

"Again!" Axel yelled as Shikamaru performed another Shadow Possession jutsu on him. The boy managed to bring his hold time on Axel up to ten seconds. That meant his chakra capacity had gone up considerably as well as his proficiency with the technique. Axel didn't attribute it to himself but to Shikaku's focused training. Axel merely provided a target to practice on. He wanted Shikamaru to have a live target and he only trusted himself to remain unharmed out of everyone in the village.

It was the other two techniques that Shikamaru was learning that Axel attributed to himself. The Fire Ball jutsu and a brand new technique that Axel had came up with but obviously couldn't recreate. It would be up to the Nara patriarch and heir to make it a reality but he would at least give them a live target. "Shadow Possession!" the boy yelled as his shadow crept along and took Axel in its hold. Axel gave a small struggle to allow Shikamaru to have to improve and the Nara heir made it to ten and a half seconds. After Axel broke free the boy looked like he was about to fall over from exhaustion. "Let's take a break. I've got some bentos that Mikoto made sealed up," Axel stated as he nodded toward a shady tree. The surprising part would have been that Temari was sitting there waiting for them.

After she got out of the hospital about a week ago this became the routine. She would sit and watch Axel train Shikamaru everyday and have lunch with them. She would then walk among the people of Konoha and meet the few familiar faces of those from the exam. While Shikamaru seemed to be her favorite for a reason she didn't know, she especially liked Naruto and Satsumei. While Hinata was a bit shy she was a kind girl and Temari enjoyed her few conversations with her. Sakura and Ino were also nice to join for just some girl talk. Out of all of them the person she hung around the most was Axel as she more or less metaphorically clung to him like a life saving blanket of sorts. It made sense to her as he was the one who saved her life. She would be eternally grateful to him and would try to repay his kindness any way possible. All he said was to live her life and that would be payment enough.

They sat down near her under the shade of that tree that Axel loved so and he unsealed three bentos. Axel also happened to pull out another scroll and place it between himself and Shikamaru. When he applied chakra to it a shogi game appeared and they began with Axel taking the first move. This was another thing that had happened over the course of the week. They had gotten used to playing shogi during their breaks while training because obviously it was a game that Shikamaru enjoyed and Axel liked the challenge. He had to admit that Shikamaru was much more intelligent than him at that age. The only reason he was able to defeat him repeatedly was his much larger experience in combat and his completely wild and unpredictable moves. He'd sacrifice certain pieces in such a way to make ploys that gave him seemingly small victories that turned out to win the match later on. To Axel every piece mattered, no matter how small. In his eyes, theoretically even a genin could defeat a kage.

"Well, how do you feel about your training so far?" the kage asked as he watched Shikamaru place a piece essentially entrapping him for a few moves. "It's a drag but also necessary. Seeing Naruto and his progress may have given me a new inspiration," the boy replied as he watched Axel use a seemingly unimportant piece much farther away on the board. He really loved his underhanded tactics, huh? Now normally Axel was a fan of straight brute force in most FIGHTS but when it came to war he would do damn near anything to protect his people. That was one thing that Shikamaru got to learn about the man and he respected that about him.

"Look, I don't want to be this harsh on all of your generation. However, I'd rather have you all prepared. I trust you so I'll tell you what's happening but I need you to not talk about it with anyone in your generation other than Naruto. He knows everything. As a possible future Hokage I entrust him with all knowledge of the village dealings."

Shikamaru merely gave a nod as he was too lazy to both respond and focus on eating and shogi at the same time. Temari would obviously keep everything a secret as she owed her life to Axel at this point. "There is going to be war soon. I tried to stop it although poorly, I will admit that. I let my anger get the best of me and may have caused it to happen sooner. I want you to be there for Naruto. There is no one I trust more than you to be his equalizer. I'm not asking you to be his best friend, I dare say that's Sasuke but I want you to be the one who keeps him on planet Earth if you catch my drift. Just watch over him is all I ask and keep him on the straight path. Even I have given into my clan's curse of hatred a couple of times and I'll admit that's why we have war coming."

"Lord Fifth, you understand what your entrusting me with, right?" he was of course correct. Essentially Axel was currently creating an equalizer to Naruto. Someone who couldn't defeat Naruto in combat but with the help of Kakashi for example could subdue the boy at least before he becomes Hokage. "I reckon by the time he does become Hokage there will be no one who can hold him back from his sometimes idioticness."

"Lord Fifth, are you sure your willing to entrust me with this instead of, I don't know, Sasuke or Satsumei?"

"I've gotten to notice that Naruto's had a profound impact on Sasuke and when either one has a dumb idea I'm pretty sure the other will follow suit. As for Satsumei, she doesn't know how to say no to Naruto. As long as he is on board with an idea she will go along with it."

"Hmmmm… I see. Also, I think I win," he stated as he thought he put the king piece in check but Axel merely moved another piece to make sure his king was safe. "I don't know about that. How about another round?" he asked as he put Shikamaru in check essentially and the boy couldn't get out. When it came to battle tactics this man was second to none it would seem.

Neji

He'd been very grateful. Grateful to Satsumei for showing him that fate couldn't control them. Grateful to Hiashi for telling him the whole truth of what happened that night, how Lord Axel was more than willing to go to war for the incident with Kumo but the Hyuga clan had decided peace was better. Grateful that Lord Axel was willing to have each genin and chunin of the thirteen trained by masters of the shinobi arts. He was even grateful that Naruto was willing to push himself so far for everyone. Most of all he was grateful that Hinata had been willing to forgive him for his foolishness.

He had time to self reflect and realized that yes, he'd been acting like a bit of a dare he admit it, a dick to everyone. He thought he was above everyone in his generation except maybe Naruto himself. Satsumei showed him that error. He'd heard nothing about how strong she was and he got his ass handed to him by her. She SOUNDLY defeated him and it was now time for him to become the prodigy everyone said he was.

These were the thoughts going through his mind as he battled against Hiashi Hyuga. The man was beating him into the ground as the Hokage would say and the boy was asking for more. He wouldn't pass up this opportunity to get some intense improvements in. It was basically his obligation to all the people that helped him change.

Ino

"Again!" Anko yelled as Ino ran at her in a slithery style trying to bend around the older woman's attacks. Unfortunately the younger girl was a bit self conscious as she had the Hokage watching over her training currently. Apparently he had decided that checking up on everyone at least once a week was important so he could see their progress. He was sitting under a shaded tree eating out of a bento box and watching the whole thing. 'He's just been sitting there eating, for fifteen minutes. Ive always wanted a hot guy to look at me but im one hundred percent sure he's just judging me.'

Anko saw her distraction and capitalized by launching a round house kick and there was a poof along with a log in her place now. 'That's some surprising reflexes,' Axel thought as he looked over to where Ino was, now weaving hand seals. "Earth Style: Earth Spike jutsu!" she yelled as spikes of earth came out of the ground and fired at Anko. As soon as the spikes made contact the older woman dispersed into snakes.

Axel's eyebrow raised slightly. He was actually impressed by both of them. Frankly he had no idea that Anko had made a snake clone and he had no idea when she pulled off the substitution. He was also impressed that Ino knew a technique like the Earth Spike jutsu. She looked a bit winded but past that she looked like she could still fight. 'I think I've seen enough. I can leave Ino in Anko's capable hands. For that matter it's time Anko got a promotion,' he stood up and gave a whistle.

Anko who had appeared a bit away from Ino turned her attention to him and Ino followed her example. "Anko, I'd like you to meet me in my office when your done with your training for the day. I'll be taking my leave. I'm satisfied with you ladies' progress."

"Yes Lord Fifth!" She yelled with a salute and he left in a swirl of fire. "Hot," Anko said with a cheeky grin and turned to Ino. "We ain't done. Let's get back to it."

Lee

"If I cannot do one thousand push-ups then I will do one hundred laps around Konoha on my hands!" Lee yelled as he continued to push through his regimen on one hand. Guy watched over him waiting for him to be done so they could start their spar. In the time since they'd started this new training program he doubled Lee's weights as well as doubled the harshness of the training.

As for Lee, he had a new reason to fight. He had to become the best shinobi he could in order to repay Mikoto for the kindness she showed to him. She happened to be the only reason he was even able to continue his career after Gaara had crushed his limbs. It was her healing prowess that saved his limbs. When asked how he could repay her all she said was to become the best shinobi he could and support Naruto and her children. He readily agreed.

The scene of Lee training was what one Axel Uchiha came upon when he entered the training ground. "Ah, it's good to see the hard work your putting in but you are making sure to get the proper rest for recovery time, right?"

"Don't you worry about that Lord Fifth. I've been making sure he has the proper rest he needs. A good shinobi needs to know when to take it easy, after all not everyone has the stamina and healing capabilities that you and young Naruto have," was the answer that Guy gave him. "Yeah, I suppose not," Axel states with a slightly sad smile. "Anyways I'll leave you two to it. I'm just making some rounds checking up on everyone's training."

"Lord Axel if I may, why are you so hands on when it comes to this generation? Why do you push yourself so much?" Guy asked and even Lee stopped to hear the answer. Axel had to take a moment to remember that underneath all the 'Flames of Youth' there was a surprisingly wise man in Guy. He saw things from time to time that others didn't. Had he really been running himself ragged? Is that what the taijutsu master was even implying?

"Hmmm… to be honest I hadn't even noticed that I was pushing myself. I suppose I just do things to do them. Half the time I'm not even sure myself why. Part of it is that I want Naruto to have a strong support system. Past that I'm just not really sure," he answered as best he could but there was a bit of doubt present in his tone.

"Well, just try not to go too far in your selflessness. You can always rely on us to help. Don't think that us jonin haven't seen how you don't seem to care for yourself."

"I'll try to rely on you all more often. I can't promise anything though. I'll be taking my leave now."

Hinata- Namikaze estate

Kushina had been teaching her the basics of the Water Whip jutsu as well as the Water Wall jutsu. She'd finally managed to get them both down when they decided to take a break and sit on the backyard porch. Some things had been weighing on her mind and Kushina could tell she was a bit distracted.

"Alright, what's wrong. I've known you your entire life and I've even babysat you multiple times, I can tell when something is troubling you," Kushina stated plainly receiving a small sigh from the girl.

"Yeah, I suppose I wouldn't be able to hide anything from you. I feel like I'm not growing fast enough."

That was a bit surprising to Kushina as her eyebrows raised almost to her hairline. Did the poor girl not realize how far ahead she was compared to the Uchiha three and Neji? "I'm sorry… I need you to help me with this. Why do you think your not growing fast enough?"

"I just look at Big Brother Neji and can't help but think I'm a disappointment to father and the rest of the clan. Look at how powerful he is!"

"Hinata sweety, you need to stop comparing yourself to others. You'll never have enough time if you just try to beat others. Some people are geniuses of hard work while some are geniuses of talent. For instance Axel, Minato, and Naruto are all geniuses of the two while Kakashi is a genius of talent, but Jiraiya is a genius of hard work. Do you get me?"

"I suppose so. Did you ever deal with what I'm feeling?"

"Yeah, I did feel insignificant and inferior. When I came to Konoha I was bullied a lot."

Flashback

Kushina had just made it to Konoha for reasons she had no idea but she went with it for her clan. When she arrived she was immediately put into the academy and she was bullied right off the bat for her hair. She beat the ever living shit out of anyone who tried to mess with her.

One day two blond boys arrived to class about ten minutes after it started and the teacher introduced them. To her they were both super cute but she wouldn't admit it out loud. The taller, probably older one was super confident and bordering on arrogant in her opinion. The younger one looked shy but it was in an adorable way to her.

"My name is Minato Namikaze and I'm going to be the Hokage one day!" she heard him declare and she stood up immediately. "No! I'm going to be the next Hokage! You better believe it ya know!" she challenged even though she wasn't quite sure why.

She noticed that the elder brother leaned in and said something but she couldn't hear it. The two sat next to her as those were the only two seats left in the class.

She enjoyed her academy days with Minato and Axel as well as Mikoto. In Mikoto she found a sister and rival for best kunoichi and in Minato she found a rival for Hokage. Axel was always like an elder brother. For some reason he always seemed so wise for his age and just had that effect. She couldn't figure it out but she didn't mind his overprotective nature as others might call it.

The days went on and while she was bullied still she always had a big brother who would help her and two other people to go to for comfort if she ever needed it.

Then they all became genin. That's when things changed ever so slightly. She remembered the incident with Kumo. At the time it was the Third Raikage so she wouldn't ever hold any resentment toward the Fourth Raikage Lord Ay. Lord Ei the Third Raikage would forever be remembered as a complete asshole and more.

She just came back from training with Team Seven and noticed something seemed off. "Hello? Is anyone here?" Kushina asked with trepidation. Frankly she thought Axel was just playing a prank on her so she just continued farther into her house but was then assailed by two shinobi she couldn't identify off the bat. They placed a hand over her mouth and placed a sleeping genjutsu over her and then when she woke up she was being dragged through one of the forests of the Land of Fire.

She stood up and the two who were pulling her merely allowed her to walk. In hindsight it was quite foolish, they should have knocked her back out but she was dealing with amateurs she supposed. As the three of them walked along she was pulling out strands of hair and leaving them on the ground. She didn't really think there was any hope of her being saved but it never hurts to try, right?

She vaguely heard the sounds of fighting around her but she seemed to be in a sort of trance of hopelessness. So when she fell she barely recognized that she was caught. Kushina looked and her lifeless eyes gained a true shine to them. She looked over as she noticed another presence, it was Axel. Leave it to that boy to always be with Minato. Minato was holding her in his surprisingly strong arms currently and all she could ask was "How did you find me?"

"I could never miss your beautiful hair. You left me a breadcrumb trail after all. I'll admit, I had help from my big brother putting it all together but I came as soon as we realized what happened. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine now that you're here," by now Axel left the scene staying not too far away that he could still interject if someone attack the two, but far enough that they could have their moment together. Minato hopped up the tallest tree he could find for a bit of assurance.

"Why would you come after me? I'm an outsider."

"Because I don't want to lose you. Your precious to me and dare say I'm in love with you Kushina."

"I… love you to Minato. I think I might have always loved you but I manifested a rivalry instead. Let's go back to the village, us and Axel and be a family."

"That's fine by me Kushi," he responded giving her the Namikaze smile making her blush.

Flashback end

"Wow, what a love story!" Hinata stated as she seemed to have stars in her eyes. "Yeah, I can't disagree. Those two have done so much for me and I can never repay them. Minato gave me a beautiful son and Axel protected me and that son. I can't begin to tell you how indebted I feel to the two of them."

Hinata could feel the sincerity in the statement and couldn't help the cute smile that engulfed her face. Kushina herself could not help but pull Hinata's face forward to plant a kiss in her forehead electing a small blush of embarrassment as well as getting an 'eep!' from her.

"Look Hinata, I've told you all of this to help you realize that I felt like I've been behind them most of my shinobi career. However I've realized after having Naruto that I don't care about being the best. I want good bonds and powerful friendships. That's what life is about for me. So please stop comparing yourself to others. It will never end well."

They went into a comfortable silence as Kushina unsealed a bento box for each of them and they began eating. The silence lasted until Hinata decided to ask another question that had been bugging her. "Aunt Kushina, how strong are Uncle Minato and Axel?"

Kushina looked to the sky as she tried to figure out how to answer the question. "Well, Minato is definitely the second strongest in the village. He was the first shinobi to ever receive a flee on sight order in the bingo book. He can take on armies on his own for sure. He's so crazy strong that I don't think I'll be his equal in combat no matter how hard I try."

"And what about Uncle Axel?"

"He's a monster plain and simple. In Iwa for instance along with Minato and Madara Uchiha he's considered the boogie man. The fact he killed nine hundred shinobi with his bare hands should tell you something. I don't think Might Guy is or will ever be capable of that and he's generally considered the taijutsu master of Konoha. Ax is on a league of his own and I've only met three people that could possibly defeat him. Those being people that seem to have no village affiliation. I promise you, as long as he breathes the village is in good hands."

"He's really that incredible?"

"I personally think so. I compare myself to him all the time but instead of getting upset that I'm not strong enough I realize I have to get stronger so I can support him."

"You really do love him, don't you?"

"I do. He's the big brother I wish I was born with but fate had other plans. It didn't matter, Minato and him came crashing into my life regardless and I have an incredible family now. That includes you by the way," Kushina answered as she then held her forehead against Hinata's. "If you ever have any doubts about your training or your strength, please come to me," she stated as she then stood up.

"I suppose it's time we got back to training, what do you say?"

"Yes master!" Hinata answered as she felt a certain sense of renewal from their conversation.

Sasuke

They were in training ground seven. To Jiraiya this brought back so many memories with his own Sannin team under Hiruzen as well as his genin team with Axel, Minato, and Mikoto. Great memories, and the funny thing that he realized is that he taught an all Uchiha team and the very next Team Seven was also all Uchihas. It was a strange coincidence or maybe Axel planned it after all. Who knew with that boy?

"Jiraiya-sensei, I don't want to be offensive but I don't want to be a toad summoner. I'm not a fan of toads," Sasuke stated as he looked right into the man's eyes. He was slightly hurt the boy could tell. From what he could tell the man just wanted to pass on the toad summoning to one person.

"Well then, what do you want to summon?"

"I'm not sure but I've read that if you perform the hand seals without a contract it brings you to whatever clan is most suited to you."

"That's true. That's exactly how I became a toad summoner. Are you saying that you want to do that to figure out what the best summon for you would be?"

"If it's okay with you sensei. I know Lord Axel entrusted me to you for a reason and if my mother didn't say anything against it its because she trusts you so I trust your judgement."

"I wouldn't want you to have a summon you didn't personally mesh with," Jiraiya stated as he looked up into the sky mulling over his decision. They were outside the village near a waterfall not too far from Madara's house. As part of Sasuke's training he had been given the chance to act as a patrol with Jiraiya in the Land of Fire and they were given the small cottage temporarily to use as a base for the five months if they decided to stay out of the village the whole time. 'Well, maybe Naruto then.'

"Alright let me teach you the hand seals of the summoning jutsu but just know you'll be on your own once your summoned to them," Jiraiya stated the last part in an almost grave tone. He was serious, Sasuke would be alone and relying on his own strength once he was taken away. Jiraiya saw the uncertainty in Sasuke's eyes, good, he was actually thinking about his own life.

"Hey, if I could do it as a clanless orphan loser, then you can do it as one of the most talented of your generation. You are much stronger than I was at your age. I couldn't even do a quarter of the things you can. I heard about your lightning stunt in the Land of Snow. You called down NATURAL lightning. That's insane for a genin to even think about it let alone do it. Don't let it get to your head though. I know you've got a goal and I know you've got an ego as well but just remember those who are important to you and you'll always find the strength inside," be stated as he showed him the hand signs. Sasuke studied them and then performed them. He was gone the next moment.

Sasuke felt the cold rush of air on his body. His hair was whipping back and forth and he felt almost weightless. When he opened his eyes he noticed he was falling. He was falling down the side of a cliff and he had to do something fast or he would go splat. His Sharingan activated instinctively for extra precision and he pulled his tanto out. The boy coated his blade with lightning chakra and stabbed into the cliff gradually stopping his descent but then came across another problem. 'I should have let myself fall a bit farther. I have one technique but I can't do it one handed yet. I can hardly do it two handed. I'll have to fall a bit farther I suppose.'

He looked at the surface of the cliff. 'Entirely too slick to get a hold on even if I used chakra. Plan A it is then,' and with that thought he pulled his tanto out and sheathed it then performed a string of hand seals hoping he would make it in time before he picked up too much speed. 'Earth Style: Earth Spike jutsu!' the spikes came from above him and stabbed into the cliff below him making a sort of stairway for him to jump down. He landed in a crouch while applying a bit of chakra to his legs to lessen the impact. ' I'm so glad I had my Sharingan active that day. I would not have accidently picked up those hand seals. May as well descend the rest of the way.'

With that thought he began jumping down the spiked stairway and finally made it to the ground. He took note of his surroundings, it seemed to be a giant jungle at the bottom of the cliff. He looked back up the cliff and noticed there seemed to be a giant waterfall farther down the way that ran down into a river. He couldn't see much farther that way even with his enhanced perception as the trees obstructed the view. He did what any normal person would do, he walked into the jungle!

He did keep a hand on his kunai holster just in case he'd need a quick draw. He couldn't help but record every detail of the jungle with his Sharingan as he'd never seen one. He was quite fascinated by the temperate climate. It was humid and hot and he wasn't sure how to feel about all the sweating he was doing. Where could all this heat be coming from with all the trees? The sun was almost completely blocked out similar to the forests back home.

Sasuke continued farther into the jungle trees noticing that there were also quite an assortment of insects and small fauna like birds and rodents and such. He still hadn't seen anything that could be considered a summon unless it was some kind of bird. He just couldn't help the feeling though that he was being watched, it was as if he was being stalked. Maybe it was the summon clan? Possibly some kind of predator then.

It didn't take him too long to find out as he'd gotten to a very large cave and before he could get inside something pounced on him. Something extremely large. He couldn't get it to budge and then he felt the claws on his neck. What came next was a deep baritone voice that sent shivers down his spine. "Don't move human, state your business and I might let you live."

"I used the summoning hand seals and was brought here. I'm a shinobi of the Leaf looking for my summon."

"Fascinating. I never thought I'd see another human here in the Raion no Su. Very well. I'll take you to the elder and he'll decide your fate. Come along cub and don't do anything suspicious if you want to live. I'm not the only one you have to worry about. We have about twenty more pairs of eyes trained on you," the beast stated as he released Sasuke and trailed into the cave. Sasuke stood up and looked at what he was dealing with and had to hold back a whistle. Walking ahead of him was a large probably fully grown lion. Well, fully grown by normal animal standards. A golden brown pelt that was finished off with a blood red mane. The end of his tail matched the mane. Those black claws looked like they could eviscerate almost anything. He was glad they weren't pushed any farther into his neck.

He followed and soon stood before a silver lion with a pale red mane that looked almost ancient. He was a bit smaller than the one that led him here and was probably the elder he was talking about. He approached carefully and remained a respectable distance. These were predators that could fairly easily rip him apart and he didn't plan on forcing his mother to be one more child down.

"Young cub, what brings you to our lands? Our clan hasn't spoke to humans in a time probably longer than any other clan," the voice was elderly and even a bit raspy but had a sense that he held much knowledge.

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha and I've come here to find my destined summon contract," Sasuke declared with a bow. He knew from his meetings with the Uchiha elders to show respect even in a situation like this. The elder took a moment to look the boy over and then began to groom the back of his right paw.

"Hmmmm… before we take you on as our second summoner you must pass three tests."

"Alright, I'll take these three tests head on. What are they? Am I fighting someone?" The lion could see and hear the pride in Sasuke's voice and could tell he had a long way to go to become a great warrior. But his fierce resolve was remarkable. He held a certain fire in his eyes that impressed the elderly lion. By now a group of more lions had gathered around Sasuke keeping their distance and staying weary. The boy showed no fear but was also careful to study his surroundings.

"Not quite. The first trial is to play with the cubs and keep them entertained for one hour," Sasuke almost face faulted but couldn't help the slight twitch of his eyebrow. 'I didn't think I'd become a damn babysitter for a bunch of cubs! Well, I may as well go along with it.'

"Lead the way. I'll take this trial on no matter how unorthodox."

Thirty minutes later he regretted it. He was taken a bit farther away but still in the cave which he was surprised as to the size of. He now had a blanket of lion cubs rough housing on top of him and some of them trying to nip at his face. That lion that found him first seemed to be chuckling at him.

"Not as easy as you thought it'd be, is it?" he asked. "I wasn't expecting they'd be so rowdy. Is this how they always are?"

"Yes, literally all the time until they get to be about my size and even then I still act like them from time to time. The name is Reo by the way. A pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"As you already know I'm Sasuke. WHOA!" he yelled as he was pulled this way and that way receiving full blown guttural laughter from Reo.

This continued on for another thirty minutes, him being a toy was not what he was expecting to do but he had to admit that he kind of enjoyed it. He supposed he wasn't a complete emo like Naruto would call him. He could still enjoy the simple things in life.

He was now standing in front of the elder again. "So how was the first trial Reo?"

"He did well Lord Regulus but he was more akin to a chew toy than a babysitter," Reo answered in a bit of a mocking tone. 'That overgrown furball enjoyed that!' Sasuke angrily thought with a twitching eyebrow and a tick mark on his eyebrow. The elder sensed the boy's growing frustration and moved the conversation forward.

"So now we move onto the second trial. It's very simple, you must go out into the wilderness and avoid capture from my trackers for thirty minutes. They will be instructed not to maim you but I can't promise anything past that."

"Alright, let's get started," Reo took him outside and turned to him. "The pack of trackers only consists of ten but they're the fastest in our tribe other than our boss. After thirty minutes I'll retrieve you myself. Good luck," he stated and went back into the cave.

Sasuke darted to the trees and caught movement with his Sharingan that he'd only just noticed was still active. 'Let's get this over with.'

Five minutes in and he wasn't having much trouble, it seemed like they were merely feeling him out so far. A few tried to catch him but he managed to evade and get away. He'd gotten caught by one but with a quick look into his Sharingan they backed off. One thing he noticed was that all the trackers so far seemed to be lioness'. If he recalled, male lions tended to stay with the cubs while the females did the hunting with the older adolescents so this made sense.

When he was beset by five at once Sasuke had to think of a way out and he remembered one of Naruto's favorite jutsus. 'I'm not even sure if I have enough total chakra for one but the idea is better than nothing.'

He performed the cross hand seal and was surprised to see not one but two clones pop up. 'Wow, all the training's actually been paying off. Also, I just pulled off that jutsu on my first try. Suck it dobe!' he thought with a shit eating grin as him and his clones separated and went different ways through the jungle dividing the attention of the pride of lions.

Five minutes later he got the memories of one of his clones. It was brutal, getting crushed by the lioness but at least it was a clone. They didn't seem to be pulling their punches… claw swipes? Yeah, that's what he would go with.

He'd managed another ten minutes but lost the other clone. He had to substitute a number of times in order to avoid capture so he was sure he couldn't use anymore chakra with another clone. He'd have to do this himself. At least the clones bought him a good fifteen. The clock was ticking as he continued to avoid their swipes and lunges. He'd been using them against each other by getting them into positions that would force them to have to attack their brethren if they wanted to hit him. It was the concept that Naruto's dual wielding style used and was based around. Using the enemy against themselves, their weight, height, reach, it was all factored in.

He made it to the last minute and his Sharingan had fully adapted to their speed and movements and surprisingly they weren't much faster than Haku was. Obviously this clan's power was based around its boss or so he could only surmise. A second before the time would be up he unfortunately tripped back over a root he hadn't caught and had to watch as one of the lions came down on him. Before her claws made contact he was pulled to the side by his shirt.

He looked up at whatever was holding him and it seemed to be a bipedal lion. A bulky body underneath a forest green kimono and a blood red mane. His eyes were a piercing golden-orange. This was a true predator. Sasuke was frankly doing all he could not to wilt under the beast's gaze. "Fear not little cub. I've heard everything that has been going on and I'm merely here to make sure you get back to the cave in one piece. They went over by exactly one second. You survived thirty minutes and that shall be honored," the beast stated as he dashed back to the cave so fast that Sasuke may have gotten whiplash.

"Honorable elder Regulus, this is the cub you spoke of, correct?" the bipedal lion spoke as he waved Sasuke around in the air. Sasuke couldn't help but feel like he was gonna be sick.

"Yes indeed. This cub here is young Sasuke Uchiha. Apparently he performed the summoning hand seals without a contract and ended up here in the Raion no Su."

"I see. He lasted a whole thirty minutes against our trackers and actually managed to give the slip to them like our only other summoner. Many have made it to this trial but failed and died. I would like to oversee the final trial."

"I see no issue with this Bosuraion. You may oversee the final trial."

"Um… is anyone going to tell me what the final trial is?" Sasuke asked in trepidation. He felt like he'd been through hell so he was hoping it wasn't insane. The problem is that with the information he'd been given so far the third trial was definitely the most difficult.

"Ah, of course young cub. The final trial is essentially to learn an entry level jutsu of our clan. You'll be learning the Fire Style: Flame Pride jutsu. Bosuraion here will demonstrate the rest."

"Come with me young cub. I shall be the one testing you and will ultimately decide your fate," Raionbosura stated as he walked out of the cave with Sasuke following him. They eventually got to a clearing that was extremely wide open and had plenty of room for stray fire and whatnot.

"Alright, before we begin, I'd like to educate you about the lion clan. We are a prideful bunch who are adept at primarily Fire but also wind and earth chakra natures. Our coming of rights jutsu for our young is the Flame Pride jutsu. It is an autonomous jutsu once launched that homes in like a heat seeker. You must be careful when using it around allies as it could very well attack them. The only other human to have ever learned this as well as our other jutsus is now dead. She was something else even among us."

"I see. I'll take this challenge on and learn that jutsu."

"For this trial you will be given five hours. I will show you the hand signs and then perform it and you shall use the allotted time to complete the technique."

"Understood."

Axel

He'd come upon the waterfall that was near his father's house and found his sensei sat against a tree eyes closed, and arms crossed over chest. Anyone finding this sight would think he was asleep but the Hokage knew better.

"Where's Sasuke? Mount Myoboku?" the blond asked as he looked around. "No, he didn't want to be a toad summoner," the white haired sannin responded as his eyes opened and he stared at his eldest student. "Where is he then?"

"I'm not sure. He knew about how summoning works without a contract and asked to do the seals without. I agreed it was for the best. He doesn't like toads and I'd rather not force a summoning clan on him he doesn't mesh with."

Axel's eyes widened a bit and then he understood. "I see. Mikoto's never going to forgive you if he dies you know. Frankly I'm not sure if I'll forgive you. That's one of my godsons."

"Trust me… I know. I don't want him to die but this is the path he chose. Sasuke is much stronger than I was at that age. I believe he'll be fine."

Axel let off and they sat in comfortable silence for about five hours. Finally when Axel was about to leave they heard the sounds of a poof.

He turned around and saw Sasuke with a small tan pelt over his left shoulder. Axel rushed immediately and began checking for any injuries. Sasuke was trying not to sweat drop at his actions. 'I can't be mad at him, he's my godfather. Funny enough this reminds me of our return from Wave.'

"Wait, your holding a lion cub," indeed he was carrying a lion cub in his arms. "Yeah, apparently part of being a lion summoner is to take care of a cub until it reaches the age of an adult. He with us for the long run. You don't mind furry animals in the estate, right?"

"Not at all. As long as he doesn't eat all my pasta or barbecue him and I will probably get along."

"See Axel? It all worked out," Jiraiya stated standing up and walking to them to inspect the cub. He was frankly adorable. He was a golden tan with a slight bit of lighter spots.

"What's his name?"

"Ritorubosuraion. Or Ritoru for short."

"Well, I gotta get back to the office. Congratulations on getting a summon contract Sasuke. Your already doing Konoha and her people proud. I look forward to seeing what you accomplish in the future."

The next day- Axel

He'd found out that somehow all of Konoha had gotten word that he as well as Minato and Naruto were all related to Madara. He was surprised to find the people in the streets showing no hostility. They were going about their business and giving him the usual greetings as normal. It was both baffling and relieving, he didn't have the intention of revealing their secret so soon but it was fine.

The other main change was that all shinobi were on high alert because everyone of chunin rank or higher were told about the incoming war. Good, at least he knew they wouldn't be caught flat footed.

He decided to check up on Naruto's training before he went to begin Satsumei's for the day.

He found Minato and Naruto flashing around the Namikaze backyard trying to hit each other. It was quite impressive to be able to use the Flying Raijin that many times in a row. He did notice that while Minato needed no buffs to react properly Naruto was having to enhance his reflexes and muscles with Kurama's chakra just to keep up with his father. 'It's to be expected. His father has more experience and therefore doesn't need to waste as much brain power figuring out where the next attack is coming from. That means more efficiency going into his reactions.'

He watched for a few hours as they devolved into a sword fight with Minato of course using his elongated kunai. They then ended with Rasengans. Minato won obviously but Naruto flashed away in time to save himself from any harm.

"Hey Naruto! I want a quick spar with you! I want to see how far along you've come with the Explosive Phoenix Fist!" he yelled gaining their attention. He didn't have to wait long as Naruto was upon him with a fist already in his face. He moved his back in time for it to miss as well as for him to see the explosion. 'Well, he's got the explosion part down. Let's see how long he can keep it up though. He's also not using Kurama's chakra which means he's quite proficient with it.'

He had to dodge multiple punches and kicks that all ended with mini novas but had to admit that the boy had stamina and chakra in spades. He kept coming at him for a few minutes until there was a light sheen of sweat as well as him panting a bit.

"Alright, alright, that's enough. Your doing great brat. I'll see you later."

'I wasn't lying to dad when I told him that the brat is a monster of a shinobi. The kid is just insane for his age. There's literally no one in his age group that could seriously fight him and win. Not even Sasuke or Satsumei. I've seen enough I suppose. I should pick up that paperwork real quick while I'm here.'

Satsumei

She been brought to a place unbearably hot. If it wasn't for her first affinity she'd feel like she was melting. She could only describe it as a mountain of fire. It was called Hōōzan and it was the home of the Phoenix Clan. A great volcano that had no end to the flow of to which she had no idea where it all went. There was an extremely dense forest all around that the lava did not flow to though she could not figure that out either. It must've been some form of sealing jutsu as she's pretty sure she had seen Ifrit use a brush and paper before. How he had the dexterity for that she wouldn't know. 'I'm beginning to feel like I don't know a lot. Where the hell is that uncle of mine!?' Satsumei thought with a tick mark.

He'd made special clothes for her training here. A simple shirt and shorts with seals for keeping her from overheating as well as to keep the clothes in tact so it didn't burn. There were also storage seals with bottles of water sealed up. She'd gone through three of them already and wasn't sure how many were left. She was trying to conserve them as best as possible but the heat felt impossible to adapt to. There he was, walking up to her with Ifrit perched on his shoulder.

"Well, how are you doing with the heat?" he asked. He'd been walking around for awhile allowing her to get used to the heat while he talked with all the summons and he didn't even have a bead of sweat. "I'm not doing any better now than when I started if that's what your asking," she snapped with a tick mark. Testy, he needed to remember she had Tsunade's super strength techniques. If he upset her too much he'd be in for a world of hurt. "Sorry, didn't mean to upset you. My first time here was rough too. I didn't have the clothes you have as well as the bottles of water though so I just had to tough it out."

"So… why am I here?"

"In order to learn Sage Mode you must adapt to the heat here. You see every different Sage Mode has dangers while learning. For the toads you could turn to stone, the thunderbirds could shock you to death, I have no idea about Hashirama's. How that man had a Sage Mode ill never know. Talk about bullshit shinobi with their bullshit powers."

"Uncle Axel, you're a hypocrite. You not only have the Sage Mode of a legendary clan that most would kill for but also have access to a perfect jinchuuriki cloak with Kurama and have the Mangekyou Sharingan. If there is anyone who is bullshit its you," she stated with a twitching eyebrow. "Did I here that you wanted to stay here twice as long without me bringing you more water bottle?"

She was now clutching his leg like she was begging. "No please! I don't want to be here any longer than I have to! Please don't make me stay here! I'm sorry, you worked for everything you have!"

"Good girl. Now, get up we have training to do. You'll be doing some light sparring with me for awhile as well as taking rides with the patrol until here. Namely Azmus as well as the Taka twins. Then you'll be explained the basics of our Sage Mode. We won't start that training for awhile. Your going to need about a week of being exposed to the natural heat here on Hōōzan in order to be capable of surviving the Sage Mode flames. Surprisingly even though they are exerted from the Senjutsu chakra flow through your body, if your tolerance isn't high enough you can burn up from the inside out in a similar fashion to the Eighth Gate."

"I've done research on the Eight Gates since I saw you use the fourth one. Two questions, the first being how did you skip the first three. Second, what's the point if it could kill you?" he blinked at her for a few moments before sighing. He didn't realize she was that dense.

"Well, I opened the first four all at once. It's pretty easy once you've trained with it enough. Four is my limit though. I haven't trained with the second four and I don't plan to. I'd used them back in the day during my time in the wars as I hadn't mastered Sage Mode yet and they were more efficient. The answer to your second question is that if your not a master of them like Might Guy then they aren't really worth the risk in everyday combat. I get a pass because of Kurama's healing but I've even considered outlawing the technique period in the village for others. The only reason I haven't is because then I'd have to start outlawing forbidden techniques."

"I see. Shall we begin?"

"Your sure ready to fight."

"No offense but I kind of want to pummel you for into the ground for bringing me here," stated in such a sickly sweet tone that he couldn't help but shiver. She was just like Mikoto sometimes and that kind of terrified him.

"Right. Well let's just see you try," he shouldn't have said that, her slight smile turned into a wicked grin and he was pretty sure he saw a demon's teeth. What the hell was Mikoto teaching her? "SHIT! FLY IFRIT! EVASIVE MANOUVERS!" he yelled as a missile in the form of a fist came flying at him and he had to roll. "Your on your own now Lord Axel. I am not helping you with this mistake," Ifrit wisely stated as he flew away leaving Axel to deal with the now raging thirteen year old that would probably attempt to turn him into goop if she got a hold of him. She'd take advantage of her knowledge of the human body as well as Kurama's healing factor to cause as much pain as she could without seriously maiming or killing him. 'What the hell did I just awaken!' he cried in his head with anime tears falling he continued dodging or parrying her punches and kicks.

He'd eventually worn her out with all his damn dodging and she was sitting underneath a tree with a bento box in hand eating while he sat next to her. "You didn't even fight back. Why didn't you try to hit me?"

"Fid you really think that spar was for me? It was for you to get used to exerting energy while under pressure from the heat of the mountain as well as hopefully just work on your stamina and technique. Believe it or not the Phoenix Sage Mode is a technique that has to be monitored constantly. It continues to raise your body heat over time and you need to keep it at a cap by exerting the excess chakra that it constantly gathers. That's another difference between it and the Toad Sage Mode for instance. Once it's active you no longer have to keep it going by adding senjutsu chakra. You just have to keep your own body heat from burning you up. You can't be focusing on other things and that at the same time. I let you come at me because I need you to get used to acting and reacting with as little brain power used as possible."

"It's really that powerful and dangerous?"

"It is. It's double edge is as sharp as my claymore or Naruto's odachis. But… I have faith you'll master it even better than I have. I know I make it look easy what with being able to gather and balance the nature chakra as well as my own but believe it or not I have someone who helps me with that as well. Kurama helps with the balancing. He can't gather it for me yet but he can balance it better than I can. That's why all I need is a trigger which for me is the clenching of my hands."

"And what about Uncle Minato? Why can he do it instantly. It's not like he has a Bijuu inside him," she heard him muttering something about 'damn geniuses and prodigies' and she couldn't help but chuckle gaining his attention. "Something funny young lady?"

"First off, stop talking like that or I'm going to start calling you old man. Second, I just find it funny that you of all people are jealous of your brother's genius and talent."

"Jealousy huh? Possibly, also don't call me old. Turns out I don't react very well to it. I almost spartan kicked a little girl over that," he said it so matter-of-factly that she wasn't even sure if he realized how horrible it sounded.

"You-,"

"Yes, I was about to wreck a little girl's shit over being called old. She shouldn't have kept goading me!"

"Do you understand how childish that is!?"

"I've been told. I also don't care. I wasn't going to kill her but she was the one that wanted the spar. I wasn't even going to maim her just hurt her a bit. That's it I swear! If it wasn't for her superior arriving to the scene she would have been in a crater."

"Your still at fault!"

"It's a matter of perspective. I COULD have killed her but I didn't. I COULD have put her in a full body cast but I didn't. She's alive and I assume healthy and that's all that matters. Besides I'm satisfied, I'm pretty sure I saw the fear of God on her eyes towards the end of the fight. Hehehe."

"Your impossible and childish!"

"And your no fun! Now I know what Naruto was talking about," he stated receiving an eyebrow raise as well as he bangs shadowing her face. Her fist was clenched in shaking and he was pretty sure he heard her teeth grinding a bit. "What did he say?"

"Oh nothing much, just that you wouldn't let him have any fun by pranking the teachers or sleeping in class. He also said that Sasuke seemed to be interested in his pranks but you shut them all down. How could you? How could you be less fun than Sasuke? The emo brooder. How could you do that to an Uzumaki of all people, do you understand that pranks are part of their genetics?"

He was quickly grabbed by his collar and shaken violently. "Listen you! He was showing disrespect to his superiors i:e the teachers and I wasn't going to let him make a bad habit of it! He needs to learn respect young before something bad happens!"

"And your totally showing respect to your superiors by panhandling your Hokage. Right," he mocked as he rolled his eyes. At least she was pretty sure that the eye covered by his bangs also rolled, she couldn't quite tell. "I, you, ugh!" was her indignant response as she released him, huffed and turned away crossing her arms.

"Satsumei, I'm just messing with you. You don't have to get so upset."

"I'm not upset. I'm frustrated with you people. Your all so… aloof and other stuff! Can't any of you take anything serious?"

"Life is too short to take EVERYTHING seriously. Take this lesson with you for the rest of you life. Sometimes you just gotta calm down and be aloof. You can't always be serious or you'll burn yourself out. Now, you have some patrols to do. I'll go find Ifrit and Azmus. I won't be leaving you here on your own any longer so don't worry about that," he stated walking off. 'But… you just did,' she thought with an eyebrow twitch. Screw it, she was following him!

A few minutes later they were flying over the forests of Hōōzan, Satsumei riding Azmus and Axel atop Ifrit in his boss form. It was massive, easily four times the size of Azmus. He wasn't quite as large as Shukaku had been but still!

"Well, how are your eyes adjusting to this speed?"

"Quite well even without the Sharingan. I obviously don't have the recording capabilities but still."

"Enjoy it while you can. Pretty soon you won't be patrolling as training. It will be to keep enemy shinobi out of our borders. Take this opportunity to get the training in while you still have time. Hey Ifrit how about a little faster?" he asked with a pat to the boss's head and was rewarded with the bird shooting off so fast all Satsumei heard was "Whoohoo!"

"Have those two always been buddy buddy?" Satsumei asked Azmus. "As far as I'm aware yes. I've never seen those two fight for as long as I've been alive. Believe it or not Lord Axel is older than I am and from the time I met him to now he's always been the best of friends with Ifrit, especially after his brother died."

"Hmmm… interesting. I never thought that the boss of the Phoenix Clan would be so into having fun."

"Yes well, according to the both of them sometimes you just need to let loose a bit once in awhile. When I take over the clan I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to follow that mentality but as long as it works for Master Ifrit I suppose that's all that matters."

"Do you want to go faster?"

"Sure, why not?" and he took off too. Not as fast as Ifrit but definitely faster than she had ever flown before. "Hehe this fun!" she yelled and gave a grin.