Naruto: Uchiha no Densetsu

Chapter 23: The Arrival of the Sand Siblings

Naruto, Kakashi and team seven had finally reached Konoha after half a day's of journey from Nami no Kuni. Considering the tiresome mission that they all had just completed, everyone had agreed to walk back at a slower pace. Once everyone had checked in with the gate guards, Kakashi called out to his team.

"You guys should go and rest now. Naruto and I will go report to Hokage-sama about the details of the mission. Take the day off tomorrow to recuperate and then we'll begin training again. Sound good?" Kakashi asked with an eye smile.

"Thanks sensei!" Hinata and Sakura replied. Sasuke merely nodded and proceeded to walk towards the Namikaze Compound. Even though the Uchiha Compound had been cleaned up and renovated, Mikoto did not wish to live in that accursed place anymore. The memories of her dead clan mates often haunted her sleep to this day. And Sasuke respected his mother's wishes. He was certain, things with him would have turned out to be a lot worse had his mother been killed too that night.

"I will see you tomorrow, Hinata-chan? Get some sleep okay?" Naruto said.

"Hai, Naruto-kun. You worry too much. You need to relax a little…" Hinata replied with a small laugh. Naruto chuckled at her reply and simply nodded. Soon enough, the two jounins took to the rooftops and travelled towards the Hokage building.

"Hey, Hinata, you want to get something to eat? I'm starving a little…" Sakura suggested sheepishly. "Yeah, sure. Let's go. Even I'm a little hungry after all that travelling. I must say Tsunami-san makes some delicious food though." Hinata stated as the two girls walked towards the dango store in the neighboring alley.

When Naruto and Kakashi entered the Hokage's office, none were surprised to see Minato lightly dozing off behind a large stack of papers. Both the jounins smirked on seeing the tired look on the Hokage's face. Kakashi cleared his throat to make Minato aware of their presence. The Yondaime suddenly jolted up from his seat and looked around to see who it was that dared disturb his peaceful dream. A sheepish look formed on his face to see his son and Kakashi with small smirks.

"Oh, when did you guys return from your mission?" Minato asked as he regained his bearings and calmly sat down on the chair.

"That's not very becoming of a Hokage, tou-san…" Naruto commented. Minato's eyebrow twitched a little on that comment. "You cheeky little brat…" he whispered under his breath. That only made Naruto and Kakashi laugh further.

"So, how did the mission go?" questioned Minato with a straight face. The two jounin's faces also turned serious as they got down to business.

"Gato has been eliminated and his headquarters has been taken care of too. I have gathered all the necessary documents pertaining to his criminal activities in the Elemental Nations. Also, all the money he had is sealed into this." Naruto stated, putting down two scrolls on Minato's desk, with the kanji of 'documents' on one and 'money' on the other. Minato unsealed the scroll which had documents and quickly scanned through the documents. He nodded in satisfaction once he had reviewed everything. The documents also confirmed his suspicion that Gato was indeed working with Akatsuki by funding them money. Although, none of the documents gave any hints as to where the Akatsuki's base might be located. But he didn't worry too much about it. With Jiraiya and Shisui working outside the village, he was certain given some time, they would find it out.

"And what about the genins? How did they perform?" Minato asked curiously.

"Quite well, actually. Sasuke and Hinata have improved greatly since the graduation. Even Sakura has shown improvement. Since, I'm not well suited to teach medical ninjutsu, there's not much knowledge I can impart to Sakura. We had also come across Zabuza Momochi and Haku Yuki, who's a member of the Yuki Clan." Kakashi reported. Minato was greatly surprised on hearing that. "Include everything in detail in your report, Kakashi." Minato stated.

"Tou-san, there's a few more things, you need to know about. And it's important." Naruto said gravely. Minato turned his attention to Naruto and urged him speak freely.

"During our mission in Nami no Kuni I was approached by an unknown figure who called himself Urashiki Otsutsuki…" Naruto started. Minato's eyes widened to great proportions on hearing that name. It was only a couple of years ago when Naruto had mentioned to him about Takeshiki Otsutsuki and that alone had worried him a lot. "We got into a battle and I believe the man was just gauging my strength. If he wished, he could have easily killed me at any moment. Although, I did manage to learn that he was seeking my chakra." Naruto said with utmost seriousness.

"So, your suspicions about a parallel dimension were correct after all…" Minato said with a sigh. He got up from his seat and turned around to gaze over the village through his window. There was so much tension residing in the shinobi world. And with the arrival of this group called Akatsuki that were most likely after the bijuu and the threat of the Otsutsuki Clan, there was simply too much to deal with. The Chunin exam was also going to commence in ten days of time. He would need to call a five kage meeting after that, but he wasn't even sure if the other kages would respond to it or not.

"There are too many variables in play right now, tou-san. Earlier when I was approached by the Otsutsuki by the name of Takeshiki, he stated that the human kind was never meant to learn about chakra and that the Otsutsuki Clan have been guarding the chakra since the beginning of time. According to legends, the chakra in our world originated from the Shinju tree. It leads me to believe there's a chakra tree on every planet and the Otsutsuki travel throughout the universe in search of the Shinju. To this day, none of us know where the chakra tree was located in our world. If we manage to find it's location maybe I can decipher some clues with my rinnegan." Naruto explained after a thought. This was something only he could do. The first time he had met Takeshiki, he had realized his rinnegan could observe distortions in time and that led him to believe he might also be capable to perform jikukan ninjutsu. And he was right, when he had managed to open a whole in space-time while he was training one day. He didn't know where the portal led to since he never dared to step inside. Although, he had kept that secret to himself. No one other than him knew about this.

"Alright, I will let Jiraiya-sensei know about this. He should be able to locate it. I will also consult to the Grand Toad Sage regarding this matter. He is said to have been alive for over a millennia. He would positively have knowledge about some of the events that took place during that era." Minato added. He released a tired sigh as he once again took a seat in his chair. There was never a moment of rest.

"Minato-sensei, there's also the matter of the Akatsuki. It seems Kisame Hoshigake and Hiruko have aligned themselves with that group. They too had showed up in Nami no Kuni." Kakashi added.

"Were you able to get anything off them?" Minato asked. Hiruko was a dangerous and crafty man, who even Minato wanted to evade. It wasn't that Minato was afraid of Hiruko's skills as a shinobi but the heinous experiments the man had performed put even Orochimaru to shame.

"I'm afraid not. I only fought with Kisame and I believe Hiruko was observing my fighting style." Naruto replied. Minato thought over all the information he was given. The number of enemies Konoha had right now, was simply too much. They needed solid alliances. Maybe with the upcoming chunin exams, he could discuss the matter with the Raikage and also about the five kage meeting. He did have another option in mind but that went against all his morals. But, to secure the future of the village, he would need get his hands dirty. However, he would try speaking to the other kages before he took any rash decisions.

"I see… I will speak to Shikaku about this matter and decide on how to proceed." Minato said, dismissing the two shinobi in front of him. Once Naruto and Kakashi had left the room, Minato bit his thumb and performed a few hand seals.

"Kuchiyose no jutsu" Minato said. There was a puff of smoke and a small green toad appeared on Minato's desk. "What have ya called me for, Yondaime?" asked Fukasaku, one of the two great toad sages of Mount Myoboku.

"Fukasaku-sama. I apologize for disturbing you. But there's a favor I need to ask of you. I need to speak with the Grand Toad Sage about the Rikudo Sennin." Minato asked with a straight face. Fukasaku raised an eyebrow at the odd request.

"What do you want Minato-kun? What makes you think he even knows anything about that man?" Fukasaku asked with narrowed eyes. However, Minato kept his composure and looked the great toad sage right in the eyes.

"Naruto was recently apprehended by a man who called himself Urashiki Otsutsuki. The man seemed to be after the chakra that Naruto possesses. I have no knowledge regarding the threat this enemy may pose to Konoha or the entire shinobi world. But the Grand Toad Sage has been alive for more than a thousand years and I have a feeling, he has also met the Rikudo Sennin. I don't want to put Naruto in any unnecessary risk and want to gather as much information as possible. Naruto may be the destined child, the grand toad sage spoke about, but it doesn't mean he has to do everything alone." Minato said. Fukasaku was slightly taken aback by the look in the Hokage's eyes. "Tell me everything you know, Minato. Then, I'll see if the Grand Toad sage is willing to talk to you about this matter." Fukasaku said with a sigh as he sat down cross legged on the desk. Thereafter, Minato went on to reveal everything he knew, to his former sensei. And to say Fukasaku was shocked and unnerved by what he heard was an understatement. Even he wasn't aware of the appearance of the Otsutsuki in their world in the recent years. While he knew about Shinju tree and the chakra fruit, the knowledge about the Otsutsuki Clan was only known to a select few people in Mount Myoboku.

"I understand, Minato-kun. I will relay the message to Jiraiya and speak to the Grand Toad Sage myself." Fukasaku replied understandably. "Do relay this message to Jiraiya-sensei too." Minato requested. Fukasaku nodded and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Next day

Kakashi was casually walking through the market district when he stumbled onto Asuma and Kurenai who were sitting in the local dango store. Deciding to join the two, the white-haired jounin walked into the shop and walked to their table.

"Yo! Asuma, Kurenai. How's it going?" Kakashi announced, taking a seat beside the two. "We were just talking about the chunin exams. Are you going to nominate your team?" Asuma asked as took a drag a of his cigarette and exhaled some smoke. Kurenai shook her head at his habit. Even after berating Asuma on many occasions about his smoking habit, he never did learn to quit. And now, she had just accepted the fact she would have to bear the chain-smoking person for the rest of her life.

"Yeah, I will. They are more than ready for it. I'm sure all of them will qualify to become chunins." Kakashi stated as a matter of fact. Kurenai raised an eyebrow at such faith, Kakashi showed in his team.

"You're awfully confident, Kakashi. I know Hinata, Sasuke and Sakura are quite good, but this year's chunin exams will be quite hard. Kumogakure, Sunagakure and a newly formed village called Otogakure will also be participating this year." Kurenai said. Even though she had a good team which consisted of Kiba, Shino and Fu, she was slightly uncertain if they would manage make chunin this year. That's not say that she didn't believe in them. She herself took two tries to make chunin.

"That doesn't bother me much. I'm still sure my entire team would make chunin…" Kakashi said casually. "You want to make a bet?" Asuma proposed with a smirk. Kurenai rolled her eyes at that suggestion. Asuma had been trying to convince her to bet some money but she had always refused. She had never been able to develop any sort of interest in gambling.

"What do you have in mind?" Kakashi said, interested in what the man had to offer. "One thousand ryo for each student that makes chunin… I can say with full confidence that Shikamaru will make chunin this year. That kid has got the same brain as that of his father." Asuma stated proudly. Kakashi hummed in thought as he pondered over it for a few seconds. "Alright, let's do it. Although, I'm sure Tsunade-sama would want to get in on this too…" Kakashi said which made Asuma and Kurenai laugh lightly. Tsunade's unfortunate luck in gambling was known through the Elemental Nations.

"How's Naruto doing?" Kurenai asked, surprising the white-haired jounin slightly. He wasn't aware that the blonde knew Kurenai to begin with. "He's doing fine… Why do you ask?" Kakashi asked genuinely.

"Oh, nothing really. Fu asked about him a couple of times. She never really spoke to him or met him for that matter. He was after all, one of the shinobi who saved her during the destruction of Taki. Although, I can't say that I wouldn't want to meet him. It's a little hard to believe how much he has accomplished at his age." Kurenai replied. Kakashi laughed a bit at Kurenai's wish. His blonde student was sure popular even among the older women. "Are the rumors about his strength really true, Kakashi? You were his taicho in Anbu yeah?" Asuma also asked, unable to hold his interest about the blonde.

"Yeah… it's all true. His battle strength is far above anyone's I have ever seen." Kakashi stated.

"I have never seen him fight. I'm sure it would be quite a sight to see him in the midst of battle…" Asuma said with a laugh. Kakashi merely nodded to that. Naruto had never ceased to amaze him to this day. Whenever he thought the blonde couldn't improve more, Naruto would pull out yet another trick from his hat.

Namikaze Compound

Naruto sat cross legged in the training ground of the Namikaze Compound. He levitated five feet above the ground, eyes were closed in concentration and his palms placed together as he manipulated all the rudimentary elements at the same time. Every so often water would materialize around him, then small balls of compressed air, followed by formation of small fire balls that would float in the air, pillars of stone rising from the ground along with sparks of electricity. Each element would appear simultaneously- remain around him for about a minute and then disappear- only to reappear again, after thirty seconds.

'This isn't enough. I need to be able to maintain all five elements for at least five minutes continuously.' Naruto thought as he focused on his chakra more. Manipulating all five elements at the same time dealt a great amount of stress on Naruto's body. If he wasn't using nature chakra while performing this kind of training, he was sure his body would have torn to shreds in a matter of few seconds. Moreover, if not for the rinnegan, this sort of training would practically be impossible. The fact that the rinnegan offered him complete mastery over all the basic elements was a great boost and he wanted to capitalize on that as much as he could. He cleared his head of any unnecessary thoughts and calmed his breathing even further. As seconds ticked away, he could sense the pressure of manipulating different elements wash away from his body. Two years ago, when he had initially started this kind of training, he could hardly manipulate them for over ten seconds. It took him nearly two years to increase the time limit to a minute. Considering the amount of time, he put into this training, his progress was relatively slow. Yet again, as soon as he hit the one-minute threshold, his concentration slipped up, resulting in the elements to disappear.

After about half an hour, Naruto lowered himself to the ground and immediately released a tired breath. He panted as he tried catching his breath. Although, it was a little easier than before but the stress on his body was still immense.

'Man, I'm beat… I wonder if I'll ever be able to accomplish manipulating all of them for five minutes…' Naruto thought tiredly.

'You should be proud… idiot. I doubt anyone else can even attempt what you're doing.' Kurama replied irritatingly. Naruto was never satisfied with anything and always wanted to improve his abilities. At times, even Kurama wondered if the kid had any limits. Naruto's attention suddenly shifted when he saw Sasuke enter the training ground.

"Here for some training?" asked Naruto, taking a sip of water from the bottle beside him. He relaxed a lot as the cold water travelled down his throat and cooled him down relatively. Not surprised to find the blond here, Sasuke moved towards him and took a seat beside Naruto. "What's up? It's rare for you to sit with me like this." Naruto said with a raised eyebrow. However, Sasuke remained quiet for a few minutes as he seemed to be thinking over something.

"How did you get so strong, Naruto? Just because you have Madara Uchiha's blood running through your veins can't be the reason. Both of us are Uchiha, with the sole exception that you're also an Uzumaki." Sasuke suddenly asked. "Why do you ask that?" Naruto asked curiously. The blonde could sense the internal debate within Sasuke's mind and was also surprised to feel a bit of guilt from him.

"Both of us are of the same age. Yet, you are on a completely different level. I doubt if I'll ever be able to reach to the point, you're at. In our fight against Zabuza, Hinata could have died… would have died if that Haku person wished to really kill her… and I wasn't able to do anything. Although, when I thought that Hinata had died, it did help me mature my sharingan." Sasuke said, as he showed his fully matured sharingan to Naruto. The blond remained quiet for a few moments, unsure of what to say.

"I can sympathize with what you're feeling, Sasuke. I have probably killed over a thousand people up to this point and have also lost a lot of people. The pain of seeing someone close to you die, it's unbearable and suffocating. But you can turn that pain and suffering into an even greater strength. People think that the Senju Clan is the clan of love… but an Uchiha's love is even greater than that of a Senju. It's just that we Uchihas tend to hide our emotions more." Naruto said softly. Sasuke listened to the blonde's words keenly and was surprised to know the last bit. Once again, Sasuke became quiet as he thought over things. Naruto frowned slightly on seeing the look on his friend's face.

"Don't beat yourself up too much. You are really strong, Sasuke. With more intensive training, you might become a formidable opponent for me also…" Naruto stated, trying to keep a straight face. However, seeing Sasuke's narrowed eyes, he couldn't help but laugh.

"Screw you, loser…" Sasuke scoffed, but a slight smirk formed on his face as he saw Naruto's carefree attitude. "Come on, let me help you out with your raiton chakra manipulation. Hinata told me about your raiton armor. I must say, that's impressive." Naruto commented with a smile.

"Alright, let's do it." Sasuke said with a smirk.

A week later

Sasuke, Hinata and Sakura waited on a small bridge for Kakashi and Naruto to arrive. By now, the three had gotten accustomed to wait for the two jounins. In most of their team trainings, Kakashi and Naruto always showed up to thirty minutes late. There were often days, when the white-haired jounin made the three genins wait for three hours. However, the three were told to meet on the bridge today for an important meeting and were given no further details about it. A few minutes later, Naruto and Kakashi arrived on the bridge via shunshin. The three genins immediately turned their attention to Kakashi, keen to know as to what the important discussion was about.

"Alright, good. Everyone's already here." Kakashi stated which made Sakura look at the jounin in slight anger. "Well, you two are the ones who are behind schedule." She replied blatantly. Kakashi merely chuckled at that point. He looked towards Naruto for some help, but the blonde simply ignored him.

"So, what important matter did you want to discuss, Kakashi-sensei?" Hinata asked, trying to cool down the situation. Sakura sure did loose her anger very easily. Even Sasuke seemed to sigh at the pink-haired girl's temper.

"Oh, right. I have nominated you three for the chunin exams. It will start day after tomorrow and here are your participation tickets." Kakashi stated as he handed one ticket to each. Sakura's attitude flipped completely on hearing that.

"uhm… sensei, are you sure we are ready for the chunin exams?" Sakura asked uncertainly. However, Kakashi simply smiled on hearing the girl's question. He couldn't help but think of his old teammate, Rin Nohara, upon seeing Sakura right now. The two were similar in many aspects. Their interest in medical ninjutsu, concern for her teammates and underestimating her own skills. Yet, it saddened him at the same time when he thought of Rin. The image of Rin throwing herself on his attack still haunted his dreams to this day. Composing himself, Kakashi placed a comforting hand on Sakura's head and patted her a few times, much to her discomfort.

"Trust your sensei, Sakura. You are ready. But, if you still feel unsure, you can opt to take the chunin exams another time. It's not compulsory." Sakura looked towards her two teammates and relaxed a bit on seeing their faces. "You got this, Sakura. Don't worry. I'm sure you'll do amazing." Naruto also urged. Sakura smiled widely on hearing Naruto's words and nodded her head. Though a little uncertain, she was sure if her team was with her, she could definitely pass the chunin exams.

"The chunin exam is divided into three parts. And the first part will be held in the Konoha Academy and you have to be there by eight in the morning. Don't be late or else you might not be allowed to enter." Kakashi said, giving the three a little warning. "Alright, get going… that's all for today. Hopefully, all of you will make chunin." Kakashi stated with an eye smile, saying the last bit in barely above a whisper as the three genins walked away from the bridge. However, Naruto clearly heard him and laughed lightly. Kakashi had told him about the bet he made with Asuma and the man had a lot of money riding on his team's performance. The blonde couldn't help but roll his eyes as to how the two jounin sensei made a sport out of their team's shinobi careers. Saying goodbye to his sensei, Naruto immediately caught up with Hinata who was walking towards the Hyuga Compound.

"Hey, Hinata-chan. Come on, let's go get some ramen." Naruto said as he appeared beside her. Hinata shook her head at his ramen obsession.

"Naruto-kun, eating so much ramen is not good for your health. It's an unhealthy food!" Hinata berated him with a mock glare. Naruto widened his eyes dramatically on hearing her words. He couldn't believe that she had just insulted his favorite food. "But, Hinata-chan, it's… it's ramen… the food of gods!" replied Naruto with a bit of drool forming on his face as he thought about the delicious food.

"And who told you that, huh?" Hinata asked firmly that made Naruto stare at the girl in pure shock. No one had ever asked him such a question. "I… uhm… well, I told myself… whatever…" Naruto said and turned his head around with a scoff. He couldn't believe Hinata would say such a thing about his food. Hinata giggled on seeing Naruto's behavior. She knew how much he loved ramen and it was just hilarious to watch him act this way.

"Alright, alright. Stop acting like a baby, Naruto-kun." Hinata said with a small laugh. "Hmph… I'm not the one acting like a baby…" Naruto replied stubbornly. Hinata then got a devious smirk on her face upon seeing Naruto's stubbornness. She inched closer to the blonde and whispered a few words in his ears that made his entire face turn red.

"Re…really?" Naruto asked again, unsure if he heard her correctly or not. Hinata nodded, that further intensified Naruto's blush. Naruto was about to hold her hand and disappear from the place when the two of them heard a scream. "What was that?" Hinata asked curiously. "It sounded like it came from somewhere close by." She added. However, Naruto's face turned completely serious as he knew who that voice belonged to.

"Let's go, Hinata-chan." Naruto said seriously and Hinata quickly followed the blonde. 'It must be someone, Naruto-kun knows.' Hinata thought as she turned around a corner. She immediately turned her byakugan on and looked around. Her eyes suddenly fell upon three figures who were on the other side of the street, to their left. She was surprised to see that one of them was a young kid, most likely a fresh academy student. A few minutes later, Naruto and Hinata stumbled upon a scene that confused as well as angered the blonde.

A shinobi dressed in Bunkaru puppeteer's costume- black, baggy, full body suit with red and yellow circle on the front held Konohamaru by the hem of his shirt in air. The shinobi also wore a black hood which covered his head completely and also had cat like ears. Konohamaru thrashed his hand around in the air to free himself but all his efforts proved to be in vain. Beside the young boy stood a kunoichi with sandy blonde hair and teal colored eyes. She wore a single light purple-colored, off the shoulders garment that extended to halfway down her thighs, with a scarlet sash tied around her waist. In addition to incorporating fishnet worn over her shoulders and legs, she also wore a black forehead protector around her neck. Naruto and Hinata were slightly surprised that these two shinobi were from Sunagakure, judging from the symbol on their headband.

Before the two Sunagakure shinobi could notice Naruto and Hinata's presence, the blonde swiftly moved behind the guy holding Konohamaru and gave a roundhouse kick, straight to his face. The shinobi was immediately flung to his right and hit the wall to his side, cracking it slightly. Before the kunoichi could even react, Naruto moved behind her and pointed a kunai to her throat.

"Don't move…" whispered Naruto dangerously. The kunoichi nodded with wide eyes and slight fear. Taking the opportunity, Hinata promptly moved towards the fallen kid and ushered him aside.

"Ughh… what the hell?" the Suna shinobi groaned in immense pain. Standing up on his feet, he looked in front to find a Konoha shinobi pointing a kunai to his sister's throat.

"Do you realize who that kid was, Suna shinobi?" Naruto asked flatly. The shinobi gritted his teeth in anger at being outdone like this. He was just about to teach that kid a lesson. "I don't care who that kid was. He bumped into me and needed to be taught a lesson. He should watch where he's going." Stated the guy with a defiant look on his face.

"You are not in Sunagakure anymore… Suna shinobi. You lay a single hand on anyone in my village, you might just find yourself lying dead in an alley." Naruto said as he narrowed his eyes on the guy before him. Loosening the grip on his kunai, Naruto lowered it and placed it in his pouch and pushed the kunoichi aside unceremoniously.

"Why don't we really find out, if you can kill me or not?" The guy stated with a smirk and moved his hand behind him, ready to unseal the wrapped bag on his back. It was this point, Hinata stepped beside Naruto and placed a hand on his shoulder to gain his attention.

"Naruto-kun, leave them be. They are most likely here for the chunin exams. It wouldn't be good for the village if we got into a fight before the exams even began…" Hinata said, hoping to calm him down. The Suna kunoichi's eyes widened even further on hearing the Konoha shinobi's name.

"Naruto…? As in Naruto Uchiha Namikaze?" whispered the kunoichi fearfully. The name was feared even in Sunagakure. The shinobi who single handedly killed over a hundred Iwagakure jounins and defeated the Tsuchikage in the battle of Takigakure. She couldn't believe she was standing in the presence of the Shiroi Shinigami. She glanced towards her brother, hoping he wouldn't do anything dumb. "Kankuro, don't do anything stupid! He's not someone you can hope to defeat!" She said out loud, but her voice only seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Naruto was about turn around and walk away with Hinata and Konohamaru when he felt the shinobi named Kankuro rush towards him from behind. Naruto ducked under the guy's swing and punched him harshly on his stomach. Kankuro immediately clutched his stomach in pain and fell on the ground, yelling curses at the blonde shinobi. The blond haired kunoichi swiftly moved towards her brother before he'd try anything else, although she doubted if he would able to get up for a while on his own. Suddenly, sand swirled in front of the two Suna siblings and a young red-haired kid with a large gourd strapped to his back appeared, sporting a blank face.

"I was wondering, when you'd show up, Tanuki…" Naruto commented as he kept his eyes at the new appearance.

"Temari, Kankuro, we're leaving right now. You've disgraced the name of our village." Stated the red-haired shinobi coldly. Naruto raised an eyebrow at the look of apprehension that had appeared on Kankuro and Temari's face. He could tell that the three were siblings. He found it a little odd that Sunagakure would send a jinchuriki for the chunin exams, but he was relatively certain, he'd able to take care of Shukaku's jinchuriki if anything happened.

"Ga… Gaara… it wa… wasn't our fault." stuttered Kankuro on seeing the maniacal look on his face. They were worried that their brother might unleash the monster inside of him. However, Temari was more afraid of the blond Konoha shinobi with them. She was certain, they'd be dead if they made a single wrong move.

"Mother says to stay away from you, Namikaze… But I want to prove mother wrong by killing you!" Gaara yelled madly as he released a large amount of killing intent. Sand started swirling around him dangerously as he was itching to drench his hands in Namikaze's blood. Hinata and Konohamaru inched a little closer towards the blonde on feeling the pure blood lust from the red-haired shinobi. While Hinata was able to manage herself somewhat fine, Konohamaru was shivering in fear.

Naruto merely laughed at the pathetic display of killing intent and released a tiny bit of his own chakra, which far surpassed the potency of Gaara's chakra. Gaara immediately took a single step back in astonishment. No one had ever been able to withstand the pressure of his chakra before. And the moment he had felt Naruto's chakra, he clutched his head in pain.

"No… no… mother. Please, don't say such things…" Gaara whispered to himself. Yet again, Naruto raised an eyebrow as to what the genin was muttering to himself. He imagined that the Shukaku must be whispering something inside his mind. Few seconds later, several Anbu had appeared all around the six people but kept their presence hidden. Naruto glanced around and signaled them stand down. Even though, he wasn't in Anbu anymore, the shinobi from the black ops unit still highly respected Naruto and his decisions.

Without saying anything further, Gaara turned around and began to walk away with his two siblings following him. "We shall meet again, Naruto Uchiha Namikaze…" Gaara stated before the three Suna shinobi disappeared from view. Naruto's face softened once the three were gone and turned around to face Hinata and Konohamaru. The Anbu too disappeared once the Suna siblings took their leave but a few of them followed the Suna genins to keep an eye on the three.

"That was awesome, Naruto nii-chan!" Konohamaru yelled with stars in his eyes. Naruto and Hinata chuckled on seeing the kid's reaction. Konohamaru pumped his fists in the air and began narrating how cool Naruto was on scaring those three bad people away. Naruto bent down to the young kid's eye level and patted him on the head, a couple of times. "I'm glad you're safe, Konohamaru. Can't let anything happen to you, now, can I?" Naruto said with a laugh. Hinata found herself slightly mesmerized as to how good Naruto was with kids and it made her slightly blush.

"Is she your girlfriend, boss?" Konohamaru asked suddenly, surprising the two. Naruto opened his mouth to speak something but could not bring himself to say anything. How the kid even knew what a girlfriend was, completely eluded him.

"Hai, I'm Hinata Hyuga." Hinata finally confirmed with a soft laugh. Konohamaru winked towards Naruto and gave him a thumbs up. "Nice one, nii-chan!" Konohamaru said with a small smirk.

"Alright, get going kid. And be careful, okay?" Naruto stated with a shake of his head. The young kid nodded vigorously and after a quick thanks to the blonde and Hinata, Konohamaru promptly ran away from the place. He was definitely going to tell all his friends about what happened and how Naruto and his girlfriend saved him from the bullies.

"I don't even know, what to say…" Naruto said with a laugh. He wasn't sure if the kid was smart for his age or someone had told him about this. Hinata giggled at the look on Naruto's face and softly nudged him by the arm. "Well, it doesn't really matter, does it? Let's go. You don't want to keep me waiting for our date, do you?" Hinata said with a mock glare. Naruto immediately waved his arms, signifying a no. "Let's go…" Naruto replied with a small smile.

"Looks like, the chunin exams are surely going to be interesting." Hinata casually said as the two once again made their way towards the market district. Naruto nodded as he completely agreed with her. With the addition of Sunagakure, Kumogakure and Amegakure genins, it would definitely be entertaining. Yet, for some reason he couldn't shake off the morbid feeling he had in his gut- that something terrible was going take place soon. He glanced towards Hinata as he found his worries washing away. Her presence always did make him feel at peace. And he was sure, so long as he had his loved ones close to him, he would be able to go through anything.

Author Notes: So, Gaara and Naruto met for the first time and I can assure you that they are going to have quite an interesting friendship. The chunin exams will begin next chapter and the other teams from Konoha as well as Kumogakure, Otogakure and Amegakure will also be introduced. Naruto's role in the chunin exams will also be clarified, either in the next chapter or the one after that. Now, there will be some big surprises by the time the chunin exams get over. But I believe it's necessary for Naruto to grow as a character and also for the other teams in Konoha. Naruto and Sasuke will begin to get a little closer too, from now on. Since, Itachi is still in Anbu, he hardly ever stays at home or in Konoha for that matter. Shisui will return to Konoha for the duration of the chunin exams.

Now, about the space-time ninjutsu that Naruto can perform, it is related to the dimension of the Otsutsuki Clan and is similar to the one adult Sasuke can perform. Although, Naruto hasn't been able to perfect that jutsu completely. Once the chunin exams end, the story will shift it's focus on the Akatsuki and then on the Otsutsuki eventually. I can say with certainty that the fights during those times will be gruesome and brutal. The way Naruto matures his power more and becomes capable of handling it perfectly is something that I will go into detail. The way Konoha repairs it's relationship with Iwagakure will also be an interesting one. Well, those are some of the things you will expect to see once the chunin exam arc gets over. Anyhow, I didn't want to give an spoilers about the current arc, that's why I didn't talk about the next five or six chapters much.

Do follow, favorite and review the story! Keep on leaving the reviews, so I can make developments aptly! Once again, I'm glad that most of you seem to enjoy the story.

Until next time!