Hello again everyone I'm back once again to bring you another chapter of my story; if you are enjoying it, please keep on supporting me, my brother and my other works. Now with nothing else to say let's begin.

Stitched Kitsune: Chapter 19

Oto: With Naruto, Hinata, Haku, Orochimaru, Roga and Tayuya

"Woah, I look like a totally different person" Naruto said looking at his face; Orochmaru used a forbidden jutsu to put on a layer of fake skin on Naruto's face. Naruto's stitched and markings were now hidden and he looked different "all inconspicuous as they say" Naruto said.

"I seriously doubt you know what that word means" Orochimaru said pinching his nose "Tayuya, why did you dye his hair that color" he asked his patience running thin. Naruto's hair was no longer blonde; now it was purple and no longer spikey as he slicked back his hair with pomade to give him a better chance of not being recognized.

"The little turd here didn't want to get a normal color" Tayuya said making Naruto gain a tic mark "I suggested black, brown and red; but no… it had to be a different color" she said. "Lucky for us we were out of orange dye; that was his first choice" she said.

Haku slapped her forehead "Naruto this is a stealth mission" Haku said "Stealth- 'cautious and surreptitious action or movement' you're going to stick out like a sore thumb" she said and Naruto nodded.

"Exactly; and draw attention away from Hinata" Naruto said pointing to Hinata who was holding a helmet.

Hinata's armor came with a helmet specially made for her; it covered her whole head and had a large one-way mirror in the front that blocked anyone from seeing her face while also allowing her to use her Byakugan discretely.

"I'm surprised Doto was able to make this resistant to the Byakugan" Hinata said as she put it on and looked around "at least I won't be spotted" Hinata said. Roga seeing the way the team is began to have doubts.

"God this is not going to work" Roga said "we won't even make it through the front gates" he said.

Konoha front gates: 2 days later

"Welcome to Konoha" Kotetsu said looking at the I.D "Mr… Roga" he said handing Roga his I.D.

"Thank you" Roga said with a forced smile.

"Ms… Haku" Kotetsu said handing Haku her I.D.

"Much appreciated" Haku said with a genuine smile.

"Mr… Niku" Kotetsu said handing Naruto his I.D.

"Nice hair by the way kid" Izumo said from inside the guard hut "totally metal" he said and Naruto smiled.

"Thanks" Naruto said grabbing his I.D.

"And finally, Ms… Mei" Kotetsu said handing back Hinata her I.D. "and I may say I'm sorry for your congenital syphilis; I didn't mean to make you feel pressured into taking off your helmet" he said and Hinata nodded.

"N-no problem; apology accepted" Hinata nervously said taking her documents.

"Ok then; enjoy Konoha, stay out of trouble" Kotetsu said; Naruto and his team entered Konoha and were heading to their hotel to check in.

'Phase one complete' Roga said as he and his team walked down the street 'now then all we have to do is wait 7 days for the first exam' he thought.

'Konoha… great' Naruto thought 'god I hate this place; I can't wait for this job to be over so I can ditch this shithole' he thought. 'Well, might as well take a look around' Naruto thought

Training ground 7: With Sakura

Sakura was standing with Sasuke and Sai as they were being briefed by Kakashi; Sakura dreaded times like this. Over the past 6 months Sakura hasn't been doing well; aside from the 'incident' things have been getting worse.

Kakashi has always been pushing it with her; a little 'accidental' touch here, a sexist remark there and he's constantly been eyeing her. Sakura always felt uneasy but even with Sasuke and Sai around it has been difficult.

Sasuke is as cold and distant as ever; he hasn't said more than a few words to Sakura. Sakura usually tried to engage in conversation but Sasuke ignored her; what's worse is that Sasuke has been spending time with Kakashi and Kakashi seemed to be making Sasuke his favorite student.

Sai meanwhile is just odd; over the past few months Sakura has barely heard him speak more than a few words; he's like an emotionless robot.

All this mounted to Sakura feeling completely alone.

"And lastly I would like to announce something" Kakashi said gaining Sakura's attention "I recommended you all for the chunin exams that's happening in a week" he said as he pulled out 3 applications. "If you accept fill these out and report at the academy at noon in 7 days" Kakashi said.

'Chunin exams' Sasuke thought with a smirk 'probably some strong opponents there I could fight' he thought as he clenched his fist and took the application.

'Lord Danzo told me about this' Sai thought 'I guess I'll be participating' he thought.

'Chunin exams' Sakura thought 'but I don't know any ninjutsu other than the 3 basics and my genjutsu needs work' she thought.

"See you there" Kakashi said "and remember, you're only as strong as your weakest link; isn't that right Sakura" he said with an eye smile making her flinch. "I know you won't let the team down; right" Kakashi said and Sakura swallowed and nodded "good girl" he said as he vanished in a swirl of leaves.

"I better go and prepare" Sasuke said as he turned around and began to walk away "you 2 better show up" he said before walking away.

Sai not saying anything walked away as well leaving Sakura all alone; Sakura now standing in the middle of the training ground began to walk away with her head held down.

A few minutes later Sakura found a walking trail and sat down on a bench on the side; Sakura began to lightly cry as he looked down at her application. 'Why're things getting harder' Sakura thought 'why is no one but Anko helping me, why am I so alone, why is this happening to me' she thought.

Sakura was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't realize that someone was already sitting on the bench; Naruto was drinking a soda when a random girl sat down and started crying.

'What the hell' Naruto thought as he finished his drink and spoke up "um hey are you ok" Naruto asked; Sakura jolted from surprise and looked at Naruto. "Woah, woah, hey, sorry; I didn't mean to scare you" Naruto said waving his hand "you just started crying and uh… you know… uh… are you good" he asked concerned.

"Sorry… umm… no, not really" Sakura said as she looked down at her feet "it's just… I worked so hard for something and it all came to nothing and… I was given a second shot, but things happened… my team, my friend… I don't know how to say it" she said. "It seems like everything that has happened since I became a ninja has been for nothing" Sakura said "I don't think I even deserve to wear this headband" she said taking off her leaf headband.

"Hey don't say that" Naruto said "I know the feeling" Naruto said gaining Sakura's attention. "I used to be told I was worthless, a waste of space, I was hated and despised by a lot of people and I felt hopeless" Naruto said remembering his early life.

"How did you get out of it" Sakura said paying attention.

Naruto smiled softly as he remembered everything; meeting Hinata, then Kakuzu, then Fu, Mie, Karin, Sasori, Fubuki, Haku, Zabuza, Toka being born "I found people worth fighting for" Naruto said "friends and loved ones" he said. "Some of the things I've done for them… will haunt me for the rest of my days" Naruto said "but if it means that they are happy… then… I'll carry that weight I guess" Naruto said looking at Sakura with a bright and energetic smile.

Sakura couldn't help but smile as well as she looked down at her headband 'someone worth fighting for' she thought; Sakura immediately imagined both Anko and Hinata. Sakura put her headband back on and looked over to Naruto wiping her eyes "thanks I needed that" she said and Naruto nodded "I'm Sakura Haruno" Sakura said holding out her hand.

"I'm Niku" Naruto said using his alias "nice to meet you Sakura" he said; Naruto's stomach suddenly growled and he blushed slightly. "I guess I'm hungry" Naruto said "are there any good ramen places to eat here" he asked and Sakura pondered for a moment.

"Yeah, I know a place" Sakura said "and the first bowl is on me, for my new friend" she said with a smile.

Ichiraku Ramen shop: a little while later

"Welcome to Ichiraku ramen; please have a seat" Teuchi said to Naruto and Sakura.

'Holy shit this place is still open' Naruto thought as he sat down next to Sakura; as he did, he spotted a picture that made him go wide eyed. It was a picture of him when he was 5 or so; he could barely recognize himself as it was before he got disfigured "hey who's the kid; he like a special guest or something" Naruto asked pointing at the picture of himself.

Teuchi looked at the picture and scowled "oh… yeah" he said ruefully "he was a kid who came in a couple times; saw him all alone and cold in the rain so I brought him in and gave him a free bowl of ramen" he began. "He used to be the village pariah for some weird ass reason" Teuchi continued "he was only here a few times, but from what I saw he was a good kid" he said. "He went missing a few years ago; haven't seen hide nor hair of him" Teuchi said "I hope he got away from here; just thinking of how the villagers treated him gives me a bad case of the jaws" he said.

"I hope so too" said the cook's daughter Ayame who came out of the back "he was such a sweet boy; I can't remember his name for the life of me" she said sadly. "I hope he's ok where ever he is" Ayame said clutching her chest.

"How awful" Sakura said looking at Naruto's old picture "I wonder why the village hated him; he looks pretty normal to me, although those whisker marks area little strange" she said making Naruto look at her. "Maybe he was an outcast Inuzuka or something" Sakura said "but that still doesn't excuse anything" she said.

"Heh… strange indeed" Naruto said as he looked at the menu 'they don't know, is it possible that not everyone in Konoha hated me' he thought.

"Hey let me go" came the voice of a kid; Naruto turned around and got up.

"What the hell was that" Naruto said as he and Sakura ran off to see what was the commotion.

With Konohamaru, Udon and Moegi

"Let me go circus clown" Konohamaru said to the sand ninja holding him; Udon and Moegi were cowering as they saw Konohamaru being held up by his collar.

"What did you say you little shit" Kankuro shouted as he held Konohamaru hostage.

"Cut it out Kankuro" Temari said from behind him "let the brat go" she siad.

"Stay out of this Temari" Kankuro said "I'm just going to- Guh" Kankuro began but stopped as he began to start choking.

"Kankuro are you ok" Temari asked concerned while Konohamaru and the others were confused.

"Hey make-up boy" came a boy's voice; Konohamaru and crew turned and saw a purple haired boy with his finger extended "You shouldn't bully little kids" he said as he pulled his finger closer to his palm.

Konohamaru looked closely and saw what was going on; the purple haired boy had a thin wire running from his finger to the sand ninja's neck which was choking him like a noose.

"Hey let my brother go" Temari said as she grabbed her fan.

"Or what blondie" Sakura said coming up from behind Naruto "I got your back Niku" she said with as much confidence as she could muster.

Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were looking at Naruto with the same thought 'so cool'. Naruto was about to say something when a swirl of sand appeared in between Naruto and the 2-sand ninja.

"Enough" came a monotone voice; out of the sand a short redhead with dark marks around his eyes appeared "release Kankuro, please" Gaara said looking at Naruto sizing him up.

"Sure bud" Naruto said releasing his thread from around Kankuro's throat and allowing him to breath.

"You little- "Kankuro began but Gaara looked at him.

"Kankuro, shut up or I'll kill you" Gaara said stopping him before looking back at Naruto "I apologize for my teammate; I am Sabaku no Gaara" he said.

Naruto paused for a moment before speaking "I'm Niku; you in the chunin exams" he asked and Gaara nodded "how about we wait til then to fight; in the streets isn't exactly legal" he said and Gaara nodded.

"Agreed" Gaara said as he turned around "I look forward to fighting you and your 'partner'" Gaara said shocking Naruto as he walked away.

'No damn way; how does he know about- 'Naruto began until he felt a tug at his sleeve.

"Hey thanks… Niku right" Konohamaru said and Naruto nodded "I'm Konohamaru Sarutobi; nice to meet you, thanks for your help" he said and Naruto smiled.

"No problem kid" Naruto said "oh crap right" Naruto said as he looked over to Sakura. "You still want ramen" he asked and Sakura smiled.

"Wow you don't miss a beat do you" Sakura said and Naruto nodded "sure" she said.

"Hey can we join" Moegi asked and Naruto pondered before shrugging.

"Sure, why not" Naruto said and all 3 children cheered.

At the hotel later that evening: With Naruto

Naruto entered his hotel room and upon closing the door he saw Roga, Hinata and Haku all sitting in the living room.

"Where the hell were you" Roga said annoyed "you were suppose to be back 2 hours ago" he said; Naruto walked over and sat down on the couch and folded his hands.

"Guys you won't believe this" Naruto began gaining all their attentions "I just hit the information jackpot" he said with a smirk.

Ok another chapter done; I hope you all enjoyed it, if you did please, like comment and share with your friends. And until next time bye.