Chapter 6

The chunin exam prelims

A few of the matches went by ultimately uneventfully. The fight between Sakura and Ino was fucking hilarious, Naruto was dying on the ground laughing, Satsumei was trying to hold it in, and poor Axel was left twitching from the stupidity of his own kunoichi. How did they pass the academy? More importantly what were his jonin doing!? He looked around for the two in question, Kurenai and Asuma if he recalled correctly. Funnily enough, they were both absent. They would feel his wrath eventually. He didn't blame the two kunochi currently knocked out, no, he blamed the jonin for not fixing the problem. If they were having difficulties, they should have told him, he'd help. Axel watched as the medics brought the two out and could FEEL the pity coming from the other villages' teams. He would personally be calling a meeting between himself, the two jonin responsible, and the two kunoichi. This was unacceptable.

They then got to see some slightly better matches, some big-boobed blonde named Samui from Kumo. Naruto could feel the icy glare on the back of his head as he watched her. He wasn't staring at THOSE, he was watching her sword techniques dammit! THEY were pretty nice though. He looked away and began polishing Ryujin before he got in any more trouble, whistling away.

The second from the kumo team didn't interest Naruto that much, he was more interested in the fact that the red head was fighting Sasuke. They seemed to both have a knack for swordsmanship because he and probably only the keenest of eyes noticed the slash marks appearing around the arena. He didn't realize Sasuke was that good. It ended with Sasuke as the winner, but he expected as much as soon as halfway through the fight he activated his Sharingan. He was actually proud of Sasuke for not relying on the dojutsu until he got his opponents fighting style down.

Poor Hinata, poor, poor Hinata. She ended up fighting her cousin Neji. That rotten bastard who constantly talked about fate being on his side. Kinda ironic since he was fated to be born in the branch side of the Hyuga. He eventually started spouting nonsense about how Hinata was always doomed to fail and Satsumei watched as Naruto literally CRUSHED the railing he was leaning against and began then ripping it apart. The bastard was hurting her little ball of sunshine by belittling his little sister! If Satsumei didn't have animosity towards Neji before she did now.

"Dammit Hinata! Don't take his shit! If he was fated to succeed, he'd have been born in the main branch! Don't listen to his spiel! He's not even as good as the brooder here is!" Naruto hollered and got an elbow to one of the ribs by the said brooder. Hinata gave a smile to Naruto and went in full force. A little determination went a long way apparently. It even looked like she had him for a moment until he pulled out a MAIN BRANCH move called the sixty-four palms. He was about to lay down the last blow before he was stopped by an invisible force. Wind was all he felt and anyone in the arena only knew one person who seemed to have such a high affinity for wind and low and behold it was Naruto from the railing seemingly gripping Neji's hand with wind! "Proctor! Call the match! I think she's clearly beaten! She's not even conscious!" he yelled down below. The proctor took a moment and noticed he was indeed correct, Hinata's will power was the only thing keeping her standing, even as pale as the Byakugan eyes of the Hyuga were, they weren't THAT pale! "Winner! Neji Hyuga!" he called, and Naruto rushed down to the arena to take her to the infirmary.

There weren't too many matches after that to really care about. Gaara of the sand versus Rock Lee which everyone agreed was one of their favorites. Say what you want about how strange both of them were, the two knew how to put on a show. Lee ALMOST defeated Gaara with taijutsu alone. Axel even walked up to Guy. "I'd like to personally congratulate you for training one of my shinobi so well! It is an honor to have known you and had you in my ranks!" he said as it almost looked like he was going to shed tears. Guy took it in stride surprisingly. The match had to be stopped before Gaara could kill Lee but still it was impressive as all hell. Unfortunately, his left arm and leg were crushed to the point he would never fight again.

It was finally Naruto's turn… against fucking Kiba. Son of a bitch, it couldn't have been SOMEONE more interesting? They took their designated spot away from each other and Genma called the start. The shinobi and ninja hound combo took off at the blond in a move that basically turned them into a fucking drill. "Fang over Fang!" Naruto stopped both of them with his bare hands. Tossing Kiba to the side Naruto placed a chakra canceling seal on Akamaru completely muting his ability to fight.

"Kiba, I'm not cruel enough to use your own dog against you so… Satsumei catch!" he said as he then turned to Satsumei and tossed the dog to her using wind chakra to propel him to her. She caught him and started snuggling him immediately. She was in love with that dog, funny enough the dog didn't seem to disagree, he snuggled back! Kiba was pissed and Naruto was amused as Kiba started sputtering incoherent things. Naruto smirked; it was the cocky type of smirk that declared victory. "Well? Do you surrender? Or are you going to keep fighting a meaningless battle? I've disarmed your main weapon. I can easily knock you out," Naruto stated almost sounding arrogant, but it was actually the tone of someone who knew they were the victor.

Kiba instead took off in the same attack only being able to do half of it. The attack of course didn't do shit, Naruto caught it once again and frowned. He tossed Kiba away and unsealed both his weapons and summoned forth a combination of a supercell and a hurricane from his swords. The amount of chakra being used in the attack and propelled at Kiba was to such a degree that it brought him to the ground nearly instantly, it luckily never actually hit him. He looked up at Kurenai who had returned to the stands. Clearly talking to Kiba he said "It's alright to feel fear once in awhile but you have to know that fighting someone you have no hope of STANDING against is pointless. It's fine to be brave, but to be foolish is not. Learn from this Kiba, and get better," he walked away after chopping Kiba in the back of the neck.

When he got to his team he was hugged by Satsumei before being confronted by Kakashi. "That was for all of the genin here, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, it was. I think we both as well as our team and the Hokage all know I'm the most dangerous competitor here. It's better they learn from me than an enemy in the field. Both myself and Lord Axel know that" he was extremely serious, Naruto always said 'Lord Fifth' when he was keeping appearances, so this was clearly different.

"I'm glad your so willing to help your generation grow and mature. I was under the impression that you didn't give a rat's ass about them," Kakashi responded with an eye smile.

"Well, it's not like I'm close to any of them. But I don't want any of them to die in the field just because they weren't prepared. That isn't me," Naruto stated scratching the back of his head with a sheepish grin and Kakashi just gave him a nod before turning his attention back to the matches making it apparent that the conversation was over.

It was Tenten the weapons specialist of Team Guy versus Temari next. It was a neat battle and gave Satsumei some ideas for her weapons collection, but it ended fairly predictably as Temari's control over the wind was the clear winner in the end. Naruto was a little upset at the end of the fight, it was a bit uncalled for, Temari had tossed Tenten in the air and caught her ON her battle fan but there was nothing he could do. Satsumei had to soothe him by whispering things in his ear that were incoherent to everyone else. It seemed to do the trick.

Finally, after a number of more battles it was decided who would fight who. Naruto versus Samui. Shikamaru versus Temari. Shino versus Kankuro. Satsumei versus Neji. And finally, Sasuke versus Gaara.

The next day- Team Seven

They had met up to find out how their training schedule would be. Kakashi made it to the training ground before the genin which was a first. He'd always been on time but never early. He looked around, he was nervous, he wasn't sure how they were going to take this, but he had to tell them.

"Alright, I've found the most suitable way to train you all for the final exam and I'm sure you'll all agree with me when this is over," they knew it from that. They wouldn't ALL get his tutoring. It was fine for two of them, they didn't feel like they suited his fighting style. However, he DAMN WELL better have gotten better instructors in the meantime.

"What exactly does that mean Kakashi-sensei?" oh fuck! He didn't realize how bad this would hurt him to tell them this. "Well, it means I won't be training you all," no outbursts, more like curious head tilts asking him to go on.

"Well, I'll be training Sasuke, Naruto you'll be trained by the Hokage, Satsumei, you'll be trained by a combination of Kushina Uzumaki and Mikoto Uchiha."

Honestly, in his opinion, they didn't look too unhappy. Honestly, they looked happy and fully satisfied. "Well… seems your arrangements are to your liking?"

"Yes Kakashi-sensei!"

And that's what happened, every day they would still meet up for team bonding and to keep tabs with each other (it was more for Kakashi to keep tabs on them) and then go off to their separate training.

Sasuke

"Now, I know its not going to be too terribly exciting, but I want to teach you a jutsu of my creation, even if by mistake its potent. It's classified as an A-Rank assassination jutsu. It's called… Chidori," the pause was weird, but Sasuke chalked it up to being Kakashi's fetish for dramatics.

"Well, how does it work?" Sasuke asked immediately activating his Sharingan.

"No. You won't be using the Sharingan to learn this. You will eventually use it to master the technique but not to learn it," Kakashi stated in a tone that left no room for argument. After Sasuke relented and deactivated his Sharingan, Kakashi then grabbed the bottom of his right wrist with his left hand and a few hand seals. Sasuke was able to memorize the signs immediately but the actual jutsu that came after Kakashi did the signs was not so easy. This would take a long time.

Satsumei

What the fuck!? That's the ONLY thought that could go through her mind as she not only had to hit Mikoto, but she had to do it while dodging Kushina's chains! They told her this wasn't the only training they had planned for her, but she would have to get this down before they moved on, oh, and don't forget that Mikoto would be potentially attacking her with her own super strength technique. Part of this training was also that if she got injured, she would learn to heal the wounds as fast as possible on the go. After she completed the training to a degree THEY deigned acceptable, she would move on to creating a jutsu all her own with a slight bit of inspiration. This was going to be a long three weeks.

Naruto

He had the worst training possible of Team Seven. He had to learn to use Kurama's chakra to keep himself alive while trying to deal as much damage to Axel as possible. It damn near felt like he should give up, because Axel was also using Kurama's chakra gradually increasingly as Naruto got closer to dealing real damage. Axel was ruthless in this training compared to any previous training sessions or spar they had. Naruto ended up bloodied and beaten every night, as well as with a few broken bones which Satsumei had the luxury of practicing her medical ninjutsu on. She was happy to some extent for more or less being his personal nurse but at the same time pissed at Axel for leaving him in this condition every day. Apparently, there was another technique they were working on at the beginning of each day for about three hours and three hundred shadow clones but Naruto wouldn't tell which technique it was. He merely told her to prepare to give him a big ole' kiss when he was done, and she merely said ditto.

Three weeks later

If it would have been Hiruzen as the Hokage the chunin exams would have been held one whole month later but… unfortunately for any of the competing genin it was Axel as the reigning Hokage, so tough luck. In his opinion they should be lucky he gave them that much time after all, no mission gave them that much time to be prepared, EVER. The event was held in the same coliseum that the Axel versus Uchiha fight was held in all those years ago. Big enough area for the competitors to unleash their strongest jutsu. Barriers on the edges reinforced by Axel and Naruto's own sealing and stands that could hold the whole village's worth of people.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Axel yelled as he gained the attention of everyone in the arena. He was the kind of man that took your attention away from ANYTHING, he happened you listened. The absolute charisma was palpable across the WHOLE arena. He was born to be a leader and that was what he was, even to the shinobi and kunoichi from other villages. Once he got the full attention of the whole arena he continued.

"I present to you the final round of the chunin exams. We've picked out only the best across the five great nations and I would like to proudly present them!" he exclaimed disappearing in a swirl of fire and Genma Shiranui appearing in his place. "Ahem, I would like to present the rules first. Anything goes. You subdue your opponent and while killing isn't necessarily advised or promoted, it is allowed. Now, first match!" he yelled through a voice enhancement jutsu.

Naruto was jumping in place cracking any bone he could, not like it made a difference to him. In his eyes he was going to metaphorically murder anyone in this little 'tournament'. Satsumei finally calmed him down by placing her hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry that we haven't gotten to have our date yet due to our heavy training schedules but once we're done with this maybe we can go on a date and I'll let you go a little farther than just a date," she said with a coy smirk.

That was all he needed, and he was instantly down in the arena ALMOST startling Genma. "Naruto Uchiha versus Samui of Kumo!" Genma announced and might as well have gotten a standing ovation from the crowd. Naruto was a fan favorite and it was showing. Naruto didn't like it because most of it from the civilians was due to hero worship but, probably better than complete hate or disgust. "You two ready?"

Receiving nods, he chopped his hand down and got to one of the outer edges of the arena. "So, I noticed you seem to be a skilled swordswoman," Naruto said plainly. "I noticed you seem to be a practitioner of the blade as well."

"Would you like to make this interesting by making this a sword fight. Kenjutsu, ninkenjutsu, and taijutsu only?" Naruto asked. He LOVED his swords and would take any chance he could get to test his prowess with them. "That would be cool," she stated as she pulled out her blade. A tanto was the blade she drew from her back.

The crowd watched as the two sword users stared at each other and then dissapeared and reappeared clashing in various places in the arena leaving slash marks and gashes around them. Anyone who could properly see could tell Naruto had the upper hand when it came to raw strength but not by much. That was also slightly overshadowed by the fact that Samui seemed to have more prowess. She angled every swipe perfectly, she never overextended and she reversed his own style on him.

SHE set up every bout by slashing in places that forced him to block in certain ways and setting up their following clashes as well to her liking. He'd only unsealed Fujin but he may have to bring in Ryujin as well. It was funny how his extended reach did nothing to help him. She was very well trained and knew how to fight against much longer blades.

They stopped for a moment. "You're damn good. Better than I am. I would like to commend both you and whoever taught you," Naruto congratulated before charging Fujin with chakra creating a wind blade.

"I thank you and would like to say that you and whoever trained you are indeed proficient as well. I would like to exchange kenjutsu tips however we only have a limited amount of time here," Samui responded while charging her blade with lightning chakra.

Kage's box

The current occupants of the Kage box couldn't help but sweat drop as Axel had to wipe tears away. Kushina and Kakashi behind him couldn't help but try and console him, for what? They didn't know. The Kazekage even felt sorry for him.

"Lord Axel, what's wrong?" Kushina asked with worry and he began damn near bawling.

"It's just so nice to see a fellow wielder of the blade appreciate mine and my apprentice's hard work! I'm just so happy right now! Just give me a minute, I'll calm down," yup, that was embarrassing for them. Their damn Hokage was acting like a man who never got recognition for anything… and crying about it! He gets more recognition than ANYONE they knew!

Naruto and Samui

Naruto could somehow feel the emotions of his sensei and couldn't help but face palm. Only Axel could have responded to praise for them in such a way.

"You seem troubled, what's wrong?" Samui asked seeing his… distress?

"My idiot uncle is just embarrassing, that's what. I'd like to just continue the fight if you don't mind," he almost couldn't ignore the roaring laughter in his head from Kurama. He also barely ignored the shouting from the Kage box. "Hey you little brat! Jinchuuriki or not, next time we train I'm grinding you into paste!" and he also heard the voice start shouting in pain no doubt getting beaten half to death by an angry red head. NOW he was satisfied.

The two blade wielders dashed at each other and clashed again, wind and lightning flying around them blowing their hair about. Should he use Ryujin? This was supposed to be a battle of honor, he didn't feel it very honorable to just pull out another blade.

The only thing keeping him from doing it was honor and the fact that he hadn't had too many close calls yet. A few cuts here and there but nothing major. She was in pristine condition though. Even with his longer reach he couldn't get a damn hit in. Should he use Kurama's chakra for a speed boost?

They moved around the arena mostly Samui keeping Naruto on the defensive and finally Naruto slipped up blocking a swipe that he didn't realize was a feint and before he could take the hit he pulled a tri-pronged kunai out and faster than almost anyone could comprehend threw it directly behind her.

All the arena saw was a flash of yellow and Naruto was behind Samui, Fujin held to her jugular as well as the tri-pronged kunai. He was panting HARD but he was the clear victor. "Forfeit, I have a few more of those left in me," his voice was gravelly and heavy. If she'd see his face right now she would see his crimson pools with slit pupils.

"THAT'S MAH BOY!" everyone heard from the Kage box from THREE people. Everyone in the crowd was stunned. Anyone who knew the fame of that technique thought the man who made it a damn legend had returned from the dead. He looked just like him!

"I forfeit, you've got me bested," she said with a heavy sigh. The proctor announced the match and it took a moment to process what happened for EVERYONE. Then the crowd ERUPTED in cheers. Great, more hero worship. More comparisons to his father. He loved the man dearly but he was going to be in his shadow forever at this point.

Naruto resealed Fujin and placed his kunai back in the pouch hidden by his cloak. Samui placed her tanto back in its sheath and stared at Naruto for a moment. He held his hand out to her and held her gaze. When she took his hand in hers it was total respect. They smirked at one another in recognition of a rival. "That was a great fight, I would love to test myself against you again. Hopefully I don't have to pull out a cheap stunt like that again though. Sorry about that," Naruto said with a sheepish grin.

"Think nothing of it. We are in an exam for promotions and there is no honor among shinobi. The fact that you gave me such a fight is enough for me. I even managed to learn some from this. We'll have a rematch again sometime and definitely make it just a kenjutsu battle," she stated with a smile.

They walked their separate ways returning to their teams in the stands. Satsumei was the first to greet him and he got his reward. A peck on the cheek for all his hard work. "That was awesome. I'm so proud of you my ball of sunshine," she stated, the aura of pride almost palpable. He looked past her and noticed even Sasuke gave him a nod of recognition.

Kage box

"He worked hard for that technique. We kept it hidden from everyone that we were working on it. I'm surprised he needed it so soon but I'm glad Minato's signature technique helped his son," Axel boasted pride in his godson clearly evident. The boy deserved to know the jutsu and if Axel was lucky it could keep Naruto from having to rely too much on his Mangekyou and Kurama.

"Lord Fifth."

"Yes Kakashi. Speak freely."

"I've never seen Naruto move THAT fast. That was speed and reflexes on par with the late Fourth. HOW did he do that?"

"We've been working on merely pumping Kurama's chakra into specific body parts that way it was less noticeable. Basically he powered his left hand with the chakra to speed it up. Naruto's actual reaction time is absurd already. Merely having the chakra flowing through your body also enhances reaction time as well so it merely compounded."

"I see."

"Make no mistake, he still has a long way to go to have Minato's reflexes. He had better reflexes than myself."

Naruto

He watched as Shikamaru and Temari entered the arena and took their stances. The fight itself wouldn't be that fun to watch because of the Nara clan's particular techniques. He didn't find them interesting. It was the WAY they used them that would keep it hopefully interesting.

Temari was more interesting to him though. It was said that among the current generation of genin across the nations she had the most talent with wind chakra. He took that as a challenge naturally. But he would observe. He probably couldn't learn much from her just because she used a fan. Needless to say, she still interested him.

Kage box

Axel was thoroughly entranced by the fight about to happen. He may be able to learn something from watching the blond down there use her fan. He had a gunbai so… it couldn't be too hard to replicate, right?

He had even activated his Mangekyou and leaned forward to perceive everything. Kakashi took his lead just because anything that had Axel this interested was something even he could learn from. They even noticed Naruto activate his sharingan and Sasuke followed the blonde's lead. Good, they were both learning. It was a little messed up using the hack but nothing's fair in the shinobi world.

Naruto

As he suspected, no techniques he could use. However, he could use the tactics. Temari was phenomenal at keeping Shikamaru on the run by just blasting away at him with those cyclones. That fan of hers was potent. He did realize he should learn to shape the wind coming out of his blade but… all in due time. Right now he could only send out waves that took the shape of blades, great for slicing but against strong defenses a cyclone that was constantly drilling would be better.

Shikamaru's tactics though were brilliant. He knew he couldn't overpower her so he slowly set up enough objects and shadows in the area to connect his to hers and then he immobilized her. But… he forfeited saying he didn't have anymore chakra. What a shame. He had the win if he would have just knocked her out.

The next fight was Shino versus Kankuro. This… would be boring as all hell. A bug user versus a puppet user. There was nothing to be learned in his opinion so he decided to put some seals up on his ears and take a nap. Satsumei would wake him up when the next match was up.

Naruto's mindscape

He decided to talk to the fox in his gut. Surprisingly he found two new occupants. Another darker Kurama and Axel. Apparently the two Uchihas both had the same idea. Axel's Kurama had his own caged bars. It was like their mindscapes combined together.

"Uncle?" he asked.

"Oh hey kiddo! I appreciate everything the Aburame clan does for the village, they're amazing trackers and great support but their techniques are so boring so I figured I'd come talk to Kurama. Somehow we synced up so… here we are. Your mom will wake me up when the next match starts," Axel explained.

" I see. It seems we think the same. I couldn't take a battle like this. No offense to Shino but he's just a boring shinobi," Naruto responded with a sheepish grin.

"So, you had to use the Hiraishin, huh?" less a question and more a statement but Naruto could hear the disappointment.

"Yeah, are you upset with me?"

"No, if you feel the need to use it then use it but, it would have been nice if you could have saved it. I am proud of how fast you did it though."

They sat in a comfortable silence for awhile until Axel looked directly at his Kurama. "Do you think we're ready for all nine tails yet buddy?"

"Hmmmmm…" the fox seemed to think over it for some time before coming to a conclusion. "Yes, it should be fine. You won't have the full cloak right away but that will come with time as we continue to work together. As for bijuu mode, definitely not yet. All you'll have to do is rip off your seal outside my cage and the rest of my chakra should slowly synch up with you," the titan explained and heard a light growling from his yang half but said nothing.

"So, you wanna be free from those bars now?" Axel asked expectantly receiving a snort.

"Of course I do! I don't deserve to be trapped in this accursed prison!"

"Then I'll free you," the man stated walking up Yin Kurama's cage and grabbed the seal. In one quick motion he ripped it. The bars faded away and Kurama stretched out fully and stared straight behind the two Uchihas.

They looked back and saw him. "Dad?"

"Hey again son, how's it been since last we met?" The question went unanswered as Minato was punched in the gut and sent flying across the mindscape. Naruto saw Axel nursing his hand.

"She still cries for you on an almost weekly basis. I thought I was over it but apparently I've got some pent up aggression I need to get out," Axel stated cracking his knuckles. "Uncle, he's just a Chakra projection. He doesn't have much time, please don't fight him!"

"No Naruto. He needs this. I've done a cruel thing to all of you and I'll at least let him get his anger out. I just won't make it easy," Minato said as he stood up, his Mangekyou activating.

"Good. Someone who can actually give me a challenge," Axel activated his Mangekyou and was instantly in front of Minato launching an uppercut that the younger man swiped to the left and retaliated with a knee. It was blocked with an elbow and Axel sent a headbutt Minato's way.

At this point both halves of Kurama were thoroughly interested. It wasn't every day you got to see the sons of Madara fight each other. Naruto was terrified sitting on the sidelines.

"Naruto! Stay calm. I've got this under control!" the voice of his own father did put him at ease.

The two blond legends clashed again, fists in each other's faces rocketing both men backwards. He pulled out two tri-pronged kunais and flung them forwards teleporting to Axel at the point they were close and delivered a Rasengan which was barely blocked by a chakra cloak enhanced arm.

Minato flashed to the other kunai and was instantly surrounded by a cloak of lightning. "Activating sage mode, huh little brother? Let me return in kind," Axel declared wreathing himself in flames. They both took flight and clashed in the air multiple times before landing again.

"I knew it, you always held back Minato. I've been training any chance I could get since you died and your somehow matching me blow for blow. Father would be damn proud. I however am damn pissed!" Axel roared as he unsealed both his claymore and gunbai and charging forward, his sword sheathed in fire and the gunbai giving off mini hurricane-like winds.

Minato returned it in kind by unsealing his own legendary kunai passed to him by his father. Surrounding the one on his right in a five foot blade of wind and his left in a smaller blade of lightning he charged back at Axel and met the flaming claymore with his wind blade.

They both then switched to their left hands and gunbai and kunai clashed. They broke off seeing they were evenly matched and Axel noticed that Minato was breathing heavily. Axel stood straight up and resealed his weapons into his arms with a sigh. "Your low on chakra and time."

"Yeah, I didn't put enough chakra into the seal to have a full on battle with you. I didn't expect you to be that pissed."

"I'm not pissed for myself. I'm pissed for Kushina, Naruto and Mikoto. Kushina and Mikoto are still mourning your death and Naruto grew up without a father. I can only do so much cooped up in the office. I however had resolved myself to you dying that night. I know you too well."

"I see. You took good care of them regardless. Thank you. You managed to be a pillar of strength for all of them. I wish I had more to say but that's about it. In the meantime if your done with your tantrum, I'd like to hear how the village is doing."

What was only a couple of minutes felt like hours as Axel gave him the rundown of everything that happened.

"I see, our clan is gone. Such a shame Fugaku let his pride get the best of him. It's even worse that Itachi had to take that sin himself. But at least the three survivors seem to be recovering. Looks like I'm about to fade. This is goodbye for the last time," Minato confirmed as he started shimmering.

Before he could fully disappear Axel grabbed him and pumped chakra into him. A combination of his own as well as Kurama's. "What are you doing Ax!?"

"Something probably stupid but I'm not losing you after I just got you back!" Minato's figure began stabilizing and he felt something… strange.

"You connected myself to your chakra?" Minato asked incredulously. "Yeah, from now on as long as I'm alive and producing chakra, your not going anywhere," the Fifth Hikage responded with a smirk.

"So, now I'll get to keep talking to my dad?" Naruto asked finally approaching after determining the battle was truly over. "Whenever the two of us are in this shared mindscape then yes. Hold on, I think I feel a pull."

Naruto hugged Minato since he knew what that meant. "This isn't goodbye son. We'll see each other again soon. Your uncle will make sure of that," the older man assured as he hugged him back.

"Naruto. We're going."

He didn't get a chance to answer as he was pulled out.

The arena stands

"Who won?" Naruto asked as he opened his eyes.

"Shino did. It looked like Kankuro was going to but he forfeited for some reason," Sasuke answered next to him. The suspicion was evident in his voice but he didn't elaborate any further.

"I guess I'm up next then!" Satsumei exclaimed jumping up and down and rolling her shoulders around. She was about to walk down after hearing her name get called when Naruto grabbed her by the wrist turning her to face him. "What's up sunshine?" she asked.

"When this whole thing is done we ARE going on that date and even my uncle won't stop us. Now, show me how much stronger you are now. Neji might even be tough for you so be careful and avoid getting your tenketsu shut down," he advised with concern but also faith.

"You got it Lord Sixth!" she saluted and got a chuckle out of him. She jumped down to the arena and smashed a crater in the ground. All of a sudden everyone heard "That's my fucking coliseum your wrecking young lady!" from the Kage box followed by the sounds of pained cries as well as "There are children here! Watch your language or your in the dog house again!"

She couldn't help but give a heavy sigh. She loved her family so much but they were too damn noisy sometimes. That was made even more apparent when all of a sudden Axel crashed right in front of her. "You damn harpy! I shall not forget this!" He turned to Satsumei and winked. "You've got this in the bag. Stay true to yourself and you'll win. Now excuse me while I go get my ass kicked," he stated before flying up to the Kage box in sage mode.

"So… now that there are no more interruptions we've got Satsumei Uchiha versus Neji Hyuga!" the proctor Genma announced and got cheers from everyone. "Begin!" he shouted chopping his hand down and backing away quick. It almost wasn't quick enough as Satsumei shot forward delivering a wicked strong uppercut that was barely swiped to the right and she launched her other hand in a right cross which was also blocked with a swipe.

It seemed Neji Hyuga was paying attention during her preliminary match. He knew not to directly block her hits but to deflect them instead. It wouldn't help him but he's still very intelligent for it. She twisted around roundhouse kicking with her right leg and he jumped back to gain room.

"It seems that not having a reputation has done you some good. Without anyone knowing your abilities other than your enhanced strength it's very difficult to find a way to fight you," she wasn't sure if that was a compliment or not. She would take it as one and battle on.

He darted to her first and started jabbing at her rapidly with chakra infused finger tips. The jyuken, he must have actually seen her as a threat now. She deflected a few of them but a couple clipped her in spots that didn't matter too much. Luckily she moved at just the right time to avoid any tenketsu being hit. She would for sure admit that he was indeed more adept at fighting than Hinata. He was talented and she would actually have to be careful like Naruto told her.

She decided a different approach was in order and jumped back while flying through hand signs. "Fire Style: Flame Bullets!" she blasted him with a barrage of fire balls that he dodged through. He attempted to get within close range but didn't notice that some of the fire that flew past him stayed in the air and now came back at him. He realized he should have been using his Byakugan from the start as he activated it.

It was too late to dodge so he spun rapidly like a top and expelled chakra out of his body creating a blue dome of spinning chakra that blocked the fire.

Satsumei narrowed her eyes. "So, that's the famed Rotation of the Hyuga clan. I'm impressed a branch member knows it but I shouldn't be considering everyone says you're the genius of the Hyuga," she commented in an almost bored tone.

"Your confidence is admirable however you are fated to lose to me. Now forfeit or this WILL become ugly."

He received an almost mad cackling from her that even had Axel shocked. "You think I'll surrender!? After everything I've gone through to make it this far!?"she screamed as chakra enveloped her hands forming small blades made of green chakra.

She dashed at him and punched him with her right. He tried to deflect but soon found that to be a foolish move as the blade of chakra seemed to cut some of the muscle on his wrist. He jumped back to assess the damage. It wasn't completely useless but it sure as hell would hurt to use it.

"What did you do to me?" he asked. "A good kunoichi doesn't give her secrets away but… since your about to lose I guess I could educate you. That was a chakra scalpel and while it doesn't normally cut actual bleeding wounds on the skin it is more than capable of cutting tendons and muscles. I figured hey, you could disable my chakra so I'll disable your body," Satsumei explained with an almost smug smirk.

He suddenly roared in anger and charged her, he got into close range and took a stance. "You're within my divination! Eight Trigrams: Sixty-Four Palms!" he began the attack by blasting her with palm strikes. Either he didn't notice or didn't want to acknowledge the dust kicking up.

When he was done with his palm strikes he awaited his results. He was shocked when the dust settled. There standing was Satsumei, arms crossed and chains surrounding her body. To any who knew about the Adamantine Chains that Kushina used, this was impossible. "What did you do!?"

"Part of my training these past few weeks was to recreate a weaker version of my godmother's Adamantine Chains which are capable of holding down tailed beasts. These in my case are merely used as a defense mechanism for now however they are more than capable of holding off mere chakra enhanced palm strikes. Now that I've made your most powerful technique null and void, will you surrender?" she honestly didn't want this battle anymore. This was a broken boy who's only goal keeping him going forward was recognition.

Yet again he charged forward in blind rage and she retaliated by sidestepping repeatedly and waiting for him to slip up. Rage would do that to you and she would take advantage of it. When the opportunity presented itself she struck him in the chest. HARD. Harder than she hit Dosu and almost as hard as she hit Orochimaru. It had the desired effect, he went sailing across the arena and collided with one of the walls of seals. He TRIED to stand up but she was right there holding a kunai to his jugular.

"Don't make me. I will if I have to but I don't want to kill a future comrade," she advised in a monotonous tone. "I… surrender proctor," Neji admitted with a downcast expression. The proctor rushed to Satsumei and raised her arm up announcing her win but she didn't pay attention. "Neji," she said drawing his attention.

"Use this opportunity to grow. Your not invincible and your not fated to win. Get better and for the love of all that is holy, take care of Hinata! She cares about you and you just treat her like a damn maggot. Apologize and treat her like your sister!" she advised before walking to the stands. She didn't even pay attention to the medics that came to retrieve him.

She got back to her team and was congratulated by everyone and received her peck on the cheek from Naruto and a hug. "I think you deserved that. Chakra chains and the chakra scalpel? Holy shit!"

"Our mothers grinded me into the ground for those techniques. I'd say it paid off. Like I told Neji, the chains are only for defensive purposes right now and their nowhere near as strong as Aunt Kushina's," Satsumei explained with a smile.

"Good job Satsumei. I can see training was good for you," Sasuke said from beside Naruto. She beamed at his praise. It was nice considering how closed off he is usually.

"Will Sasuke Uchiha and Sabaku no Gaara come down to the arena!" they heard the proctor yell and Sasuke began his descent before Naruto caught him by the wrist. "You better not be about to ask me on a date."

"Sorry, not my type. No, I was going to say he's just like me," Naruto said piercing into Sasuke's eyes for a moment before realization dawned on him. "You mean a-"

"Yes, a jinchuuriki. Be careful, if he manifests fully I and my uncle will be down there to stop him. You can't wear him down, you won't have enough stamina. You'll need one decisive blow," Naruto was deadly serious and worried about him. Sasuke gave him a nod and started descending again.

Kage box

"Hmmmm… this might get sticky. I'm not sure if Sasuke has the firepower for this," Axel commented clearly showing he knew more than he let on.

"What do you mean Lord Fifth?" Kakashi asked. "Use your Sharingan and analyze Gaara," the Kazekage tensed but said nothing. Regardless, Axel saw the reaction.

Kakashi did as told and was instantly met with his answer. 'Jinchuuriki, I thought Naruto was the only one in the exams.'

"Well, I think Sasuke may have everything he needs for this," Kakashi said with hope.

Arena

Sasuke was staring down Gaara when he began to speak. "You, mother is interested in your blood. I will give it to her."

"Mother? You got voices in your head?" Sasuke asked with a raised eyebrow. He barely noticed Axel and Naruto's laughing in the background. Those two idiots were too damn similar. "You think your amusing? I'll enjoy painting this ground with your blood."

"I thought you wanted to feed it to the voices in your head?" this time even his sister was laughing. Maybe if this whole shinobi thing doesn't work out he should be a comedian?

"Are you boys ready?" Genma asked stepping between them. When he received nods he chopped his hand down and retreated.

'His sand seems to be damn near impossible to get around unless you're excessively fast. I might be able to penetrate it with Chidori but let's test the sand a bit,' Sasuke thought before launching forward pulling his tanto out and charging it with fire chakra.

He made sure to slash at any tendrils coming at him instantly turning them to glass falling around him uselessly. He did note the closer proximity to Gaara he was the more sand attacked him. He swiped at Gaara and another tendril came at him. He was even forced to backpedal as more sand attacked him.

He was now in his starting position. He learned the attack speed of the sand as well as a rough aggression level. The training from Kushina back in Wave would be crucial here. He was used to attacks from multiple directions at once. He swiped his free hand over his chest with a pulse of chakra and felt the gravity lessen on him. He took off several times faster than before now charging his tanto with lightning chakra and slashed. The Gaara in front of him dissolved into sand and reappeared a few feet away. It seemed the speed boost just now was enough to catch Gaara off guard but not enough for a decisive blow.

Naruto and Satsumei

"Hmmm… he's only been feeling Gaara out so far but proved even before the seals came off that he's faster than the sand. Now that he's taken the seals off Gaara's sand shouldn't be able to touch him. Still, he needs a ridiculously powerful attack to get through that sand shell," Naruto surmised while nodding sagely.

"Well, maybe if he launches enough Fireball jutsus at him?" Satsumei suggested but it was more in jest. "He'd tire himself out before making any leeway. I almost wish we didn't have to cut off his link to the Curse Mark, that would have given him the edge he needed."

"It's that powerful?" she asked obliviously. "You might not have felt it but your chakra sky rocketed. And if what my uncle says is true about the mark using nature chakra than it's a power boost almost on par with probably a one tail cloak and potentially even more than that. We haven't seen the full power of the mark so it's hard to say," Naruto explained seemingly mulling over something. She could see the gears turning but he seemed to repeatedly get stumped. Like his uncle he thinks with his face and her knowing him so long she almost always knows what he's thinking.

"He won't win this."

"What do you mean he won't win?" she was flabbergasted he would say such a thing! That was their teammate and brother down there. "He has no way to win. The rules of the matches are to force a surrender or render your foe incapable of fighting by any means necessary. He doesn't have the power to knock Gaara out and I doubt Gaara will slip up enough for Sasuke to kill him. Good luck making the boy surrender as well. It's not that I don't have faith, it's just me stating facts," the explanation was reasonable no matter how much she hated it.

"However, we are about to see him pull off something I'd have never thought of."

"What do you mean?"she asked noticed his Sharingan were active. "Look down in the arena and tell me if you see that glint all over."

She did as told and low and behold there was a shiny glint placed around everywhere Sasuke had been and a few kunais scattered as well. "When did he?"

"The whole time but I think the only two that could have possibly noticed it were my uncle and possibly the Kazekage. Whatever Sasuke is about to do is going to be devastating and it may prove me wrong," Naruto explained, his attention focusing solely on Sasuke. 'Prove me wrong. You want to surpass Itachi? This is your first step.'

Sasuke and Gaara

'Well, here goes… something,' Sasuke thought with as much hope as he could muster. Truth be told he knew he was in over his head the moment Naruto told him he was fighting a jinchuuriki but he couldn't back down now. Itachi would have already had Gaara beaten so this was a good stepping stone if he could win.

He pulled slightly on the ninja wire he had scattered on the ground connected to kunai all over testing it. Good, it would all come up at once just like he planned. He only had one shot with this. If it didn't work he'd have to forfeit. He could only launch one Chidori as it is. It was simply too chakra draining and Kakashi focused more on his strategy making than the Chidori. He was fine with it though, after all he knew being able to do one or even two more wouldn't help him in a fight like this. With that in mind it was time to put his plan into action.

Sasuke blurred through hand seals and took a deep breath. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame jutsu!" it was a technique he learned on the side with Axel. He was waiting for a chance to use it on Naruto but hey, this should work. He shot out a massive amount of flames that took the shape of a dragon and rocketed towards Gaara. The sand around them rose in defense of the jinchuuriki and formed a wall that held off the attack. Sasuke put the second part of his plan into action by pulling on the ninja wire laying around and sending fire chakra down the line.

It closed in on Gaara and suddenly more sand came out of his gourd and formed a dome around him. The wire couldn't go through however it was slowly turning the sand to glass. Now that Gaara's focus was off Sasuke he ran through more hand signs and supported his right wrist with his left hand and a highly dense amount of concentrated lightning chakra formed eliciting the sound of chirping birds. He activated his Sharingan and charged around the flames he created taking one large leap and plunging the now formed Chidori into the dome where his best guess of Gaara's location may be. He heard a scream of agony and all hell broke loose.

"Is this my blood!?" he heard from Gaara and a malevolent chakra similar to Naruto's on the bridge washed over the whole arena.

Naruto and Satsumei

This wasn't right. That was too easy for Sasuke to get in that hit no matter how carefully planned the strategy was. It WAS brilliant and something Naruto wouldn't have thought of nor used. He wouldn't have used it just because of the number of components, too complicated but he understood why Sasuke went the route he did.

Right when the tailed beast chakra washed over the arena feathers began falling and putting the crowd to sleep. Fuck, an invasion and he knew DAMN well that Orochimaru was behind it somehow. He heard the jonin around him barking out orders and getting the genin to start evacuating the citizens to the underground bunkers hidden beneath the coliseum.

He looked to Satsumei, she was awaiting his plan. "We rendezvous with Sasuke before anything," he commanded before looking up to the Kage box noticing it was a scorching mess. That means there would be no help from his family or sensei.

He took stock of the enemies around them. It looked like Suna and Oto were the only ones, hell, it seemed like the few shinobi that were visiting from Kumo just got caught up in it and were trying to defend themselves. That gave him an idea.

"Head to Sasuke, I'll be with you in a moment," he ordered taking off towards the Kumo shinobi. On his way he formed a mental link with Axel.

Axel

Fucking great. An invasion. He didn't think Orochimaru was this bold but apparently he didn't give the snake enough credit.

As soon as the bijuu chakra flooded the arena there was a sizzling and Axel had to make a split second action entering sage mode and grabbing both Kakashi and Kushina, rocketing out of the Kage box and finding a suitable location for a fight.

He touched down on one of the roofs on the Hokage Tower which was luckily enough close by and noticed that the 'Kazekage' wasn't too far behind. He released his companions and stood up straight waiting for HIS prey. The snake bastard thought he was the predator here? He would rue the day.

The Kazekage threw the cloak to the side and released his transformation revealing the sannin in his full glory. "You seem to not be surprised too much, Lord Fifth" he commented with a sneer.

"I'm not surprised, I'm elated. I can't stand your presence. Your very existence is a stain on Konoha and after what you did in the forest to my goddaughter I'm gonna make you feel a wrath which even Hell itself could not produce before I send your soul straight to the Shinigami. Make no mistake, you won't leave here alive. I am NOT like Hiruzen, you will be shown NO mercy," Axel declared while emitting a killing intent not seen since Hiruzen's prime.

Just then four shinobi swarmed around those present and started going through hand signs. When they were done a large purple barrier went up around them and Axel started cackling like a mad man. Everyone present looked at him like he grew a second head. "Ax? Are… you okay?" Kushina asked out of concern. His sudden outburst put everyone on edge INCLUDING her. This was the most powerful man in the nations right now and he seemed to have just gone insane.

"I'm in ecstasy right now. This filthy fucking VERMIN just made my life easier. Now he can't escape from me," this wasn't the reaction that Orochimaru wanted, he wanted at least concern, but this? He was even more confident he could kill the sannin now. "One question before I exterminate you. Are you working with Danzo?" no point in hiding it now the snake supposed.

"Yes. In fact we needed his assistance to get into the village with how tightened the security has been during your reign. That doesn't matter though because all three of you die tonight along with the village," and before anyone could say anything or react he blurred through hand signs and slammed his hand on the ground. Four coffins then rose up out of the ground and the lids slowly began opening one by one.

Axel noticed Minato's presence seemed to have left his mindscape. He looked across all four beings and was only actually shocked at the fourth one. Hashirama Senju, Tobirama Senju, Minato Uchiha, and finally… Madara Uchiha.

Kushina hit her knees seeing Minato and Kakashi was in shock seeing all four legends being reanimated. He'd heard of the Edo Tensei from both Axel and Minato but never thought he'd have to face it. He almost lost all hope when he heard the almost broken voice of his leader.

"F-Father?"

The coffins disappeared into the ground and all four legends looked around at each other, then to their new foes, and finally the one who summoned them, instantly figuring out what happened.

"We're back Tobirama. It must be that accursed jutsu you created, I told you not to record it down but you wouldn't listen to me," Hashirama scolded. "It was only for the good of the village. I never thought it would be used to destroy it," was the younger Senju's response.

"Hello Kushina," Minato said, he wanted to rush to her, hold her but it was all he could do to fight the preprogrammed orders his summoner gave him upon reanimating him. He was still trying to figure out how he was pulled out of Axel's mindscape.

Madara finally decided to speak. "Sons, it is good to see you both again although I wish it was in better circumstances," Axel still hadn't spoken and THAT was more concerning than anything so far, it could mean any number of things.

"Yes father, I agree. I dreamed we could meet again but not like this. A quick introduction is in order. The beauty over there is my wife or… I suppose not quite anymore since I'm dead. Point is we got married and had a son together after I became Hokage," Minato responded worrying over the currently unmoving catastrophe that was standing a mere fifteen feet away. The moniker 'God of Fire' was not just given to Axel because of his godlike control over the element but also due to his apocalyptic temper when it came to his loved ones. This would not bode well. His concerns were made worse by the chakra output from said individual that EXPLODED like a volcano.

"OROCHIMARUUUUUUUU!" Axel's full nine tail cloak enveloped him in a golden aura that seemed to flow off him like fire. Everyone except for Hashirama, Minato, and Madara were floored. It got even worse from there as Axel's eyes seemed to morph into his Mangekyou and his Susanoo formed around him. It formed the skeleton and then continued to form armor that looked like a shogun's and a tengu mask covered the face. The whole Susanoo was larger than even Kurama in full form. He was suspended in the middle and seemed to have taken Kakashi and Kushina with him.

"You two!" he roared gaining their attention. "These are your Hokage's orders. Slaughter Orochimaru! I want his head on a fucking platter by the end of the day! I will take on the Hokage and my father!" he commanded and didn't give them a chance to respond as they were forcibly ejected from the construct at Orochimaru and as a Susanoo formed around Madara instantly and took a swipe with one of it's katanas it was blocked by Axel's claymore.

Kushina and Kakashi rocketed down and Kushina summoned her chains to not only catch Kakashi but also break their fall. As soon as they touched down they launched into action.

"Axel, your godson is trying to get ahold of you!" Kurama roared from within. 'Tell him I'm busy and he has my full authority to commence with any plan of his. I trust him not to fuck the village over,' Axel relayed to the fox. "Okay. And do you have a plan for taking on all four of those LEGENDS!?"

"Nope, we're winging it. However while those three only seem to have about forty percent of their prime power Minato seems to have his full power. I wonder if it's because his soul was pulled from my mindscape? Regardless everyone here will be damn near impossible to overwhelm and your chakra will only last so long," he pondered.

Naruto

'Well, I guess it's time to go through with it. Kurama, I'll be using your chakra for an extended period of time,' he said to the fox.

' Fine, just make sure you don't fail. I won't be known as the bijuu who had a failure of a jinchuuriki'

Naruto gaining the boost took off faster towards the Kumo team and landed within a few seconds. He immediately dashed around and killed every Oto and Suna ninja around and stopped in front of Samui.

"I have a proposal to make to your village," Naruto stated.

"Cool. I'm listening," she stated plainly.

"If you don't mind, I would like you to give aid to myself and after this whole thing is over we can work out negotiations and possibly make an alliance between Kumo and Konoha," he explained as if it was the simplest thing in the world.

"If not then it is our duty to offer you protection in which case we have to hold you in the underground bunkers," he finished. It took a few moments to deliberate but Samui did come to a conclusion eventually.

"It should be acceptable to aid you. I believe the Raikage would have no problem with us aiding the son of the Yellow Flash. It's probably not what you want to hear but it's the best way to justify it to him," she responded.

"It's fine. Given the history of my father and Lord Ay I truly believe from a political standpoint that is the best way to spin it," Naruto assured as they took off toward Naruto's team members. Luckily he could fairly easily sense Gaara's chakra and knew that's exactly where Sasuke would have gone. Since he told Satsumei to go with him that would be where she was.

Sasuke and Satsumei

They had continued to pursue Gaara and his siblings through the forest but it felt like they weren't getting any closer. Those three kept running and running and running. "Satsumei," Sasuke said in a tone that almost reminded her of Naruto. "Yeah?"

"I want you to speed ahead and intercept them. We'll box them in. I'm fairly certain I can one shot Kankuro as soon as he stops to try and hold me off. Just make sure Temari can't go any farther and we can double team her," it was a sound plan and she was all for it. The only thing she didn't like was leaving Sasuke with Kankuro alone. She knew he was a powerful fighter but he probably just used half his chakra against Gaara.

"Fine. Be careful. Don't die on me. I can't handle losing another brother," she said and took off, her gravity seals coming off, and her body blurring away. There was absolutely no way they could out speed her. She was faster than himself and even faster than Naruto without boosts. She'd make it, he had full faith in her. Faith huh, that was the first time he'd felt that emotion since the massacre. Interesting.