Author's Note

Oh hey wow, uh, it's been like 15 months since I last posted an update...

I want to be honest with everyone here and say, I think a part of me had abandoned this story. The negative comments and a plethora of other things had kept me down for a while. But, while recently rereading this story from start to finish, I felt the urge to pick it back up once more.

I have so many plans for this story that have yet to come together so far, and nothing else I write do I enjoy as much as this. So, I guess that means that I need to continue it. So here we are.

After reading through it all again, I remembered how much I adored writing the fluff scenes and the romance between Naruto and Hinata, and I can safely say that I have much more in store for those two coming soon. This is an M rated romantic story, after all...

Thank you to everyone who has stuck with me for so long, and I hope I haven't lost everyone with the horrible wait time. Please, anyone check your dm's. I've responded to many of you but haven't received anything yet in return to your questions, so I think notifications might be disabled for the website again...

Uploaded

06/24/2024

LEGEND BELOW

"Don't push it..." = Normal speech.

''O-Oh gosh, this is too embarrassing!'' = Normal thoughts.

"Someone has a death wish." = Bujuu/beast Naruto talking.

''Please make it end...'' = Bujuu/beast Naruto's thoughts.

Chapter 22

Forest of Death/Exam number 3

"Seriously, who made the Kyuubi part of the exam!"

Rated-M

M rating for mature themes, nudity, romance, violence, blood, adult themes, and of course, sex.

Music of the day

Naruto Shippuden OST- Mission

Relax, this was always going to happen. It's his responsibility to stand back and watch as she proved herself, something she'd been trying to do for years, something his very existence would constantly hamper.

It was his responsibility to her to not meddle in her affairs when he wasn't supposed to. He was to respect her boundaries and her decisions in life, and support them with every ounce of chakra he had, and kill anyone that got in her way.

Okay, perhaps he was over thinking things…

She did always say she'd really prefer him not do that last part, but sometimes the urge was a bit more difficult to fight then she initially thought.

That being said, he'd resisted doing so for years now…

Hospitalizing people for doing stupid things was different. They were still alive, weren't they?

Lucky filth…

Maybe he should finish them off to prove a-

"Kurama-Kun, you keep stressing out like that and you're going to have a panic attack…" Anko muttered from beside him, arms crossed underneath her heavy breasts.

He smiled his perfect smile down at her, eyes closed in a mask of serenity. "I am afraid I do not understand what you are referring to, in fact." He thought he responded calmly, a perfectly calm smile on his face.

Anko rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right, okay." She said, clearly unbelieving. "That's why you're totally not radiating a mix of murder energy, and anxiety…" She muttered dryly, disbelieving.

His eyebrows twitched, expression faltering for a moment. "Oh, my apologies." He offered her.

She waved him off. "Relax, it's fine. You're allowed to be worried for her, it's your job to be. That's how this whole mating thing works for foxes or whatever right? You bust a thick thousand year old nut in her coochi and you're responsible for her after that, yeah?" The purple haired proctor had said it so unabashedly casually that he completely skimmed over what she actually said, the fox nodding to her in agreement.

"Indeed." He hummed in response, his distracted mind too focused on other matters to pick apart what she had said right away.

Anko leaned over to gauge his reaction, noticing that he was spacing out again. She grinned as she held up three fingers, slowly counting down as she watched his face turn red when he finally managed to replay her words in his head.

On cue he snapped towards her, sputtering nonsense as he tried to deny her statements. "T-T-That's not-! I-I-We've not had- I-I haven't-!" He couldn't even get it out, his mind suddenly conjuring up vivid and explicit images of the girl of his dreams below him. The thought of her moaning his name as he released his seed inside of her, his lips wrapped tightly around one of her perky pink nipples as he helped make her peak even more pleasurable then she thought possible, her eyes scrunched up in ecstasy.

"And I've lost him…" Anko muttered in bemusement, watching his face continually turn redder and redder, before blood started leaking from his nose. "And here I was thinking I was the biggest pervert between the both of us. I can practically see what's going through your mind right now…" She teased, poking him in the arm. "Gosh, you're insatiable…"

Snapped out of his stupor, he quickly turned away from the madly cackling woman, readjusting his kimono casually to make room for the problem the purple haired monkey had caused him. "Curse you and your silver tongue, in fact." He literally hissed in embarrassment, face flushed a hot red.

Shaking his head, the Kitsune instead turned his attention towards the gates to the Forest of Death. Just beyond the metal fences was his team, the trio of girls having been dropped in the forest alongside the other teams for the duration of the exam. She was far out of sight now, but he could still see her, her chakra standing out like a candle in the darkness to him.

Anko had been teasing, but she knew he was genuinely worried. One glance at his face told her as much, his otherwise stoic demeanor broken by the concern in his eyes, his fang poking free to bite his lip. She knew his love for the girl was more than surface level, and she couldn't help but feel a little envious of the Hyuuga.

''You've got yourself a real keeper here honey, you better make sure you don't let him go.'' She thought in an almost motherly amusement, smiling up at the tall Kitsune. "Come on, let's go. Once they complete their test here they'll have to compete in the third qualifying round. You won't want to miss that, now would you? You'll be the star guest, after all." Anko smirked.

Naruto sighed, ears falling flat to his head. She couldn't help but compare him to a disappointed kitten, a kitten that could kill everyone around it. "Be a dear and remind me why I agreed to be the one responsible for sifting the chaff from the wheat?" He asked in a slow drawl, turning to glance at her with a tired expression.

Anko grinned. "Because it's a lazy excuse for you to release some tension on a couple poor bastards without being held responsible for doing so. Just be fair, you don't want this to fall badly on your girly, do you?" She warned playfully.

He sighed, lowering his head. "Yes ma'am."

"That's mommy to you, stud muffin." Anko cooed, before biting her tongue as one of his tails slammed into her head from behind, sending her to the grass below. He glanced down uncaring at her from his position above her, a small satisfied grin on his face as he gazed down at her, face down ass up.

"Oops, silly me, it seems like you got in the way of one of my tails. They seem to have a mind of their own, in fact." He stated coyly, his expression carefully neutral.

"…mhmgnmm…" The purple haired woman muttered into the grass.

One of his ears perked up curiously, trying to pick up what she'd said. "I'm sorry, do speak up, for I'm afraid that I can't hear you…" He poked with a small, yet deeply amused smirk.

"I said if you weren't already taken I'd pin you down and suck your dick for that stunt you just pulled, but I really don't want to get hit again…" She snapped as she pulled her head out of the grass, face flushing with endorphins.

His gaze sharpened in a dangerous yet playful manner, this time two tails rising up behind him like angry serpents ready to strike.

She swallowed nervously, offering him a shaky grin as she backed down.

He nodded confidently. "Good girl." He hummed contentedly.

"Only for you, stud muff-" She cooed, before she squeaked in surprise as she once again found herself face down in the grass, courtesy of his tail's violent tendency to attack whoever irritated him.

"Oops, there they go again, how embarrassing, I suppose…" He said as if it couldn't be helped. "I really should get that checked out, someone could get hurt…" He noted seriously.

Tree branches sped by, the forest becoming a blur of green and brown. A large thick branch shook as three girls landed on it side by side, before kicking off a breadth of a second later.

"I don't think anyone's following us." Hinata called out, her lavender eyes straining with the power of her bloodline. To her, everything appeared as a blend of white, shapes and forms clear as a day even in the darkness of the shade. "The closest ninja teams are to our right and left." She stated, pointing to their rough locations.

"Friendly?" Ino called out quietly as they landed on another branch, kicking off to keep pace with her teammates.

"Team Guy is to our right, they are engaged in a battle with a team from Kiri…" Hinata explained, before trailing off.

"What?" Ino asked, noticing the pause.

"Lee defeated them and took their scroll." The Hyuuga heiress said with a sigh.

"Oh great! They've practically completed the exam! Damnit!" The blond hissed, eyes twitching.

Sakura smiled silently beside her, smashing her fist into her palm.

Ino rolled her eyes. "No, we can't go beat them up and take their scroll. I don't really feel like fighting Neji, and it's cheating to fight Lee-Kun cause he won't fight pretty girls."

Sakura shrugged, admitting defeat. She supposed that her friend had a point.

"To our left is a team from Ami…" Hinata called out, a slow grin forming on her lips. "They seem to be struggling to maneuver through the forest. I don't think they're used to moving through this kind of terrain." She explained.

Ino grinned a dangerous look. "Easy pickings!" She smiled, turning to adjust her course as they all moved to engage with the unsuspecting Ninja. "Let's go forward with strategy C for now, no need to pull out the big guns." She stated with a tone of arrogance.

Although, as opposed to most within the forest, she was deserving of that arrogance.

"Understood." The Hyuuga heiress hummed as she channeled chakra to her fingertips.

Ino launched herself forward, landing on the forest floor just behind the other ninja. She flew through hand seals, before taking aim at the man in the back of the group. "Sorry boys, playtime is over." She muttered to herself.

Within a second she'd taken over the mind of the ninja, drawing his kunai as he casually walked up behind his teammates. The other two ninja weren't prepared to be betrayed, which was why they were surprised when their comrade suddenly held them both at knife point, blades held to their necks. "Surrender your scroll or die." He said sharply, pressing down hard enough to draw a small amount of blood.

"H-Hey! What the hell gives Kento?!" One masked ninja shouted angrily.

"What's your deal, dude?!" The other hissed.

However, at that point both Hinata and Sakura landed before them, poised to strike. "I'd take his words seriously if you wish to live. Otherwise we will be forced to procure it from your dead bodies." Hinata stated calmly, yet her fingers were charged to tear them down in an instant.

The two Ninja from Ami glanced to each other in silent question, before admitting defeat.

They'd lost…

He stood with his arms crossed, a frown marring his elegant features. He stared down over a metal railing, standing on a third story platform that hung over a large sealed arena. Beside him stood other Jonin Sensei, all from other hidden villages.

He could feel the gaze's being sent his way, and brushed them off easily enough. Some were friendly, most were not. He didn't care, instead, his focus was locked solely onto the doors that led into the arena.

No one had managed to make it into the final stage of the match yet, and whoever did first would be granted the title of exam champions. It was mostly for bragging rights, but it also meant that they were allowed to skip this next trial entirely, preventing them from being knocked out of the final competition.

He could feel the smugness radiating off of multiple ninja around him, no doubt thinking that their little murder monsters would be the ones to gain that title.

"Heh, how cute." He murmured, yet loud enough that in the silence of the chamber, all seemed to pick up on it.

"What was that? Do speak up, I don't speak fox." A Rain Jonin snapped, arms crossed over his broad chest.

Naruto gracefully allowed the comment to fly right over his head, casting a smile over at the man.

He was in a good mood, and this shit stain wasn't going to ruin it.

"Oh nothing at all, please do not mind me. I just find it adorable that anyone in this room believes that their ninja have a chance to claim first place." He retorted smugly, leaning forward, placing a hand on the shoulder of the beautiful black haired woman in front of him. Kurenai, reached up, clasping his hand with her own. He seemed to have picked up on her worry, so she appreciated the sentiment of comfort.

"After all, my adorable little ninja will be arriving in first." He added, saying it as if it couldn't be helped. "I've trained them well, after all." He added after a moment.

Some rose to challenge his words, but their cries fell on deaf ears. And not a few moments later saw the first team bursting through the doors to the arena.

And in came his team, seemingly untouched. Ino and Sakura glanced around in surprise at the plentiful amount of new and some familiar faces, while Hinata zeroed in on him. Her eyes widened in surprise seeing him standing atop the railing, staring down at her with a dangerous amount of pride radiating in his eyes.

Made her weak in the knees, and he must've known it, because his grin only widened as her face reddened.

And yet, more than that, it made her heart swell to see him so proud of her.

Sure, she had only passed the second portion of the exam, but she'd done so first.

It was sure to make her stand out more than her peers.

That's when other teams began pouring in from the entrance, only to wail in irritation once learning that they were not the ones to place first. Naruto watched keenly as the teams poured in, eyeing each and every once of them closely. He wanted to know exactly who had passed thus far, and who to keep his eyes on.

Team Guy was second, Neji, Lee, and Tenten walking proudly into the arena. Tenten glanced up to the balcony, quickly spotting him. The weapon expert waved eagerly up at him, only for Lee to pull her away as Neji murmured something ineligible.

Soon after them was Team Gaara, the sand siblings silently strolling into the room. Gaara seemed to immediately seek someone out, and a disappointed frown quirked her lips when she was unable to find said someone. The look on her face was not lost to her siblings, and both Temari and Kankuro were still struggling to get used to a sister who didn't speak in bloody threats all day.

As for her…

Touchy feelings for a certain Inuzuka boy, they still didn't know how they felt about it. It was obvious Kiba was close friends with the Kyuubi, but the young man certainly didn't strut around like some jackass about it.

Next to burst down the doors were Team Asuma. It was something to see Shikamaru walk into the room, hands in his pockets, face disheveled, a small branch stuck in his ponytail. Kiba's boisterous laughter quickly followed, the mutt strolling into the arena with his hands behind his head, a cocky fanged smirk on his face. Choji was right behind him, frowning, yet it was obvious he too was amused.

Gaara seemed to immediately take notice of the loud mouthed teen, as she broke off from her siblings to track him down. Said teen was surprised to find his arm suddenly intertwined with a familiar redhead, Gaara saying nothing as she held his arm close to her breasts. "O-Oh! Heya Gaara-Chan, looks like you made it too. Nice!" Kiba grinned, offering her a thumbs up. "I'm proud of you, you're doing great!"

She didn't say anything in response, her face still blank as ever. Yet the red dusting that bloomed over her cheeks said that she enjoyed the compliment and his company well enough. Her eyes seemed to lack the abhorrent black bags that used to live underneath them, her face looking just a bit more healthy since the last time he saw her. The black marks were still there, likely a birth mark from her containment of the one tailed Tanuki.

Naruto also found it deeply amusing, watching as both Temari and Kankuro's mouths practically hit the floor, completely floored as they watched their murder monster of a sister become completely enraptured by Kiba, hanging onto his every word like some lovesick puppy. A puppy who could kill anything it wanted to, but a puppy nonetheless.

He didn't have to wait much longer before more people started pouring in. The Sound team from before were next, the three women entering as they immediately tried to get out of sight, seemingly not interested in taking the stage. However, unlike the other teams, they seemed to seek him out rather quickly.

They all locked eyes with him, offering a smile and a short bow of respect his way. He found the notion curious, but didn't deem it necessary to look into it just yet. He was curious so as to their homeland, the Village hidden in the Sound a place he'd not heard of until recently. Furthermore, their strange interest in his in particular was curious.

Something was going on here, and he didn't know it just yet. Perhaps not anything dangerous, but there was definitely someone else involved, he was sure.

A handful of no names came in after them, but he couldn't care to remember their names. There was a certain girl who made it in, dark black hair pulled up into a wild ponytail. Her liquid black eyes seemed familiar to him, the deep lines on her face making her seem that much more older than she probably was. She looked as if she'd seen a ghost the moment she lay her eyes on him, and he tried offering her a gentle smile to hopefully calm her down. For some reason she seemed familiar, he just couldn't place his claws on her name...

Then came the next and final team. It was the Cloud ninja from before. He'd looked into their profiles a little since he'd arrived, and he couldn't contain his sneer when gazing down at their arrival. It seemed his disdain was not well hidden, for the ones who his gaze was locked so intensely onto seemed to notice almost immediately upon entering the arena.

''Samui, Karui, Yugito…'' He thought lowly, frowning. ''Three Genin from the Hidden Cloud here now, during the time when the Sand plan on invading. For your sakes, your presence here better be neutral, in fact.'' His train of thought were things better left unspoken, his blood red claws glinting dangerously in the light.

The voluptuous blond woman, Samui, offered him a neutral stare in return, but he could smell her fear hidden underneath the surface. She seemed to be the de facto leader of the group, and from the way she carried herself, she was well trained. Why she was interested in him in particular, or why they were seemingly offering him respect was beyond him, for he was quite certain that the Hidden Cloud knew exactly who he was.

He stopped their last attempt at kidnapping, after all.

As for the dark skinned beauty, Karui, the woman was biting her lips to try and defuse the tension in her shoulders. Clearly she knew that her presence here was unwelcome, and especially now that she knew he of all people would be involved with the exam only made that tension skyrocket.

That said nothing, however, of the last girl. Yugito Nii, blond hair, dark black eyes. She seemed fully aware of his presence, the full untapped power of the nine tails baring down on her. She shivered where she stood, averting her gaze meekly underneath his sharp gaze. It was a similar reaction like that of Gaara.

His eyes only narrowed in suspicion, wondering if she too was a Jinchuriki. He supposed, once more, that those were questions for a later time.

The third section of the exams were about to begin.

And he supposed that his not subtly leaking killing intent was not helping the examinees keep their calm whatsoever.

"Alright maggots! Listen up, because I'm only going to say this once!" Anko took the center stage, drawing everyone's attention towards her. She grinned, a dangerous glint in her eyes. "This years Chunin exams have seemingly produced a few too many good candidates, good on you all!" She genuinely congratulated.

The teams, those who did not know the woman in particular, cheered at their own success. But those who did, started to sweat nervously.

"Sadly, however, that means that not everyone will pass onto the finals today. So, in that regard, Hokage-Sama has devised a little game to decide who will move forward, and who won't. Do keep in mind, failure here and now doesn't completely prevent you from rising through the ranks, the final decisions will be made at a later date." Anko continued.

"There it is…" Shikamaru murmured, realizing that there was something he was missing. "Knew it wouldn't be that easy…"

"A-A game…?" Karin spoke up, the bright red haired girl from the Sound team speaking her mind.

"You aren't seriously going to twist our nuts like this, are you?" Tayuya snapped, crossing her arms underneath her breasts as she glared up at the purple haired woman.

"I hate this already…" Kin sighed to herself, the black haired girl already fearing what might lay in store for them.

Anko's grin grew dangerous as she addressed the redhead. "Indeed, girly. A simple test of everyone's strength and skills to work together as a team unit against a formidable opponent. The matches will be a three on one fight, wherein the team will face off against none other than Kurama-Sama in a match. The objective is to procure the bell hanging from his neck, and you win." The Snake woman explained simply.

Everyone sighed, realizing that it wasn't going to be some sort of death match.

That said…

Who was this mysterious Kurama-Sama?

"Who are we facing? I highly doubt some dude could take three of us on at once and not at the very least get caught?" Some kid from the village in the grass spoke up, not necessarily cocky, but not necessarily meek either.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry everyone. It seems as if I've yet to properly introduce myself, in fact." Naruto's voice suddenly rang out, sending a shiver of dread down the spines of nearly every Genin in attendance. "You may all call me, Kurama-Sama."

"Oooh fuck…" Someone murdered, face white.

"Is it too late to give up?"

"I don't think I want to be a ninja anymore…"

"H-How is that fair!"

Naruto had to withhold the urge to smile at the hushed whispering, something only he'd managed to pick up. It wouldn't do to completely destroy their confidence, now would it?

"Now now, children. I'll clarify. Kurama-Kun here will be holding back. His rules state that he may not attack his opponents, but merely defend or avoid them. It's your job to get those bells from him, in any way possible. Nin-Jutsu, Gen-Jutsu, Tai-Jutsu. For the attackers, there are no rules. Fight like you intend to kill, otherwise you will have no chance." Anko clarified, seeing most in attendance ready to throw in the towel. "You are working to gain his approval. If he declares you worthy to move on, no won't even need to win. If you are deemed a failure, then you're out."

"Everyone ready? The first round is about to begin. Team Asuma, you are up first. Everyone else, get out of the arena!" Anko declared.

"Shit…" Shikamaru sighed.

"N-Now, Kurama-Sama is friends with us? Surely he won't be too rough…" Choji tried helpfully, glancing back up to the fox.

Death stared down at him, and its name was Kurama, the nine tailed fox of Konoha.

"Shit…" Kiba added, thinking along the same lines as Shikamaru.

Choji's hopeful expression fell apart quickly after that, watching as Naruto leaped elegantly from the top floor, landing before them all without a sound. He splayed his arms out, as if beckoning them forward to face him, a playful little smirk on his lips. A fang poked free from his lips, a glint in his eyes as his nine billowing tails fluttered slightly behind him.

"…Shit…" Choji muttered.

Chapter

22

End