Author's Note

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. But we are back with another chapter, hope it's worth the wait.

Uploaded

08/16/2024

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 23

Challenging the Kyuubi

"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 OST- Fake

He smiled a disarming look at the three Genin, his arms still splayed out as if welcoming them to come and try to take his bells. He didn't move, merely stood his ground with a little smile, listening in on the conversations spreading around the rest of the Genin Ninja in the arena.

Perhaps Anko was right, perhaps giving him a little time to show off and let some steam off would make him feel better. He already felt irritated that he had to give his name out to all the ninja in the area, but it was better than them constantly referring to him as, 'that fox'.

Not that he'd continue to let them do so anyway.

Peaky vermin, that they were.

"Please boys, I don't bite." Naruto cooed, smile widening just a tad bit. "Well, not hard anyway, I suppose." He added after a moments thought.

''Hmmm… I want to bite her again… She's so close, I can smell her from here…'' On the topic of biting, his mind immediately went to Hinata. His beautiful princess standing in the stands above him, smiling down at him. Her scent was intoxicating, he couldn't ignore it, its usual lavender smell mixed with the earth and dirt of the forest.

It was messing him up more now than usual.

Most of the time he could settle for daydreaming about her whenever his mind would wander to her, but after revealing their feelings towards one another…

Now his body was demanding her touch, ordering him to grab hold of her and mark her…

It was very distracting, to say the least.

But he was a very dignified Kyuubi.

Hmm.

Yes, he wouldn't let himself fall to those baser desires, tempting though they were.

Yes…

Very tempting…

He must've appeared to have spaced out, for the three ninja immediately launched into action, sprinting forward towards the ninja that was clearly lost in thought.

Shikamaru threw his hands together in a familiar hand-seal, his shadow suddenly extending forward like it had a mind of its own. Choji leap up into the air, spinning into a large ball as his body expanded. Kiba slid to the ground, claws scraping against the floor as he prepared to launch into his signature attack.

"Fang-Over-Fang!" The Inuzuka shouted, spinning towards Naruto in a tornado of claws.

"Shadow possession!" Shikamaru exclaimed, his shadow trapping the fox in place.

"Human bolder!" Choji's shout echoed out, a giant spinning ball of destruction coming right for the immobile Kitsune.

Naruto didn't move, the bolder slamming into his…

Hand.

The last moment before impact saw the Kitsune's hand suddenly lash out, his open palm stopping the human bolder and the vast kinetic force behind said attack with merely his hand. Choji, still spinning in place, was suddenly flung across the arena with a flick of the Kitsune's carefully painted red pointed fingernails.

"Oops, my apologies… Did the round start already, I wonder?" Naruto flushed in embarrassment, holding a hand to his lips, seemingly aghast. "Hmm… I would, however, have to advise against such straightforward attacks going forward. I'm afraid that is the least effective way to combat me, in fact." He chided gently.

"And the most effective way…?" Shikamaru tried, reaching. Naruto held up his hand, wagging his index finger back and forth.

"Tsk tsk tsk, I'm afraid that I do not kiss and tell. However, I would suggest that attacks from behind-" He clicked his tongue like a disappointed teacher to a child, his tails behind him suddenly reaching up to snatch the Inuzuka from the air midway through his surprise attack. "-are also not a smart idea." He added, his tail tightening around the dog boy's arm as he tossed him, (gently) across the arena.

"Kiba-Kun…" A quiet voice murmured, the tone dull and monotonous. Temari glanced down to her short red haired sister, surprised to see what appeared to be worry marring her face, her lips slightly downturned. It was a minor look, but for her it spoke volumes.

Kiba howled in surprise, flailing his arms as he tried to regain his balance. He landed on the wall of the arena, chakra sent to his feet holding him in place. He suddenly flew through hand-seals once more, not slowing down in his assault. Two clones appeared on either side of him, all three suddenly launching into a tornado of claws.

Shikamaru cursed, reaching into his pouch as he procured a handful of throwing knives. Clearly his shadow possession technique was useless against the Kitsune, so he'd have to resort to something else.

Naruto smiled up at the three Kiba's as they descended down upon him, the fox's arms crossed casually over his chest as he blocked or redirected the attacks once more with nothing but his tails.

"You'll have to be better than that, Kiba-Kun." Naruto purred, flinging the boy clear across the arena. Kiba bounced painfully off the ground, coming to rest beside a nervously sweating Shikamaru. Choji was quick to join them, clearly realizing that they were outmatched in every single regard.

"Shikamaru, any plans?" Kiba hissed, rubbing at his sore shoulder.

"Besides giving up?" The pineapple haired teen murmured, ignoring the glare sent his way. "Right, right… Okay, so, we don't necessarily need to win here to move on. We just need to prove that we are worthy of a passing grade in his opinion. If we can somehow force him to attack back, we win, but somehow I feel like that won't happen. Clearly we are outmatched, even saying that we had a chance would be a lie." The young man explained lowly, keeping his voice down.

Naruto's ear twitched, his smile still in place. He hadn't moved an inch, giving them the stage to make the next move. He could tell they were up to something, but he was curious to see what would happen if we were to wait. It wouldn't be fun, or fair, if he took the initiative in this situation.

He wanted to be impressed, and so far, he wasn't. But he'd still give them time.

He knew that given enough time to think, Shikamaru would devise some sort of plan. He just had to force him into a corner to get him to do it.

"We're supposed to stand up against that? How the hell does anyone even expect us to have a shot in hell?" Tayuya hissed, clenching the metal railing. "What the hell was he thinking… S-Sending us here to-"

"Keep it down, Tayuya!" Kin hissed, slapping the other girl upside the head. "Do you want to blow the mission here, now?"

"Quiet!" Karin hissed, eyeing the two sharply.

Naruto's eyes glanced back up towards them from the corner of his eye, having sworn to have overheard something. It was strange, but those girl smelled… familiar. He couldn't place it, but it was akin to a scent from years ago, although faint.

Either way, he turned his attention back to his opponents.

"The rules state that he can't retaliate, so all he can do is either defend our attacks or block them. He's expecting us to try and come at him aggressively, since that's what the proctor said to do. But that's never going to work." Shikamaru muttered to the two beside him. "He's simply far too powerful to even attempt something like that. So… we need to attack his other senses instead of going all out."

Kiba's eyes widened. "His sense of smell is even better then my own, hell, it's better then any Inuzuka." He pointed out quietly, acutely aware of Naruto's great sense of hearing.

"What are you suggesting?" Choji chimed in, keeping his eyes on the still unmoving fox.

"He's way too on guard right now. If we're even to have a chance, we need to throw him off balance." The brainiac muttered. "His sense of smell is our way in, combine that with a simple Gen-Jutsu and it might just work."

Kiba's eyebrows rose. "You're not seriously suggesting… that…? Are you?" He alluded nervously, swallowing thickly.

Shikamaru's eyes narrowed. "It must be done." He admitted darkly, eyeing the fox with a newfound seriousness.

Choji's eyes widened. "W-Wait! I thought we decided that we'd never use that…" He ranted nervously, suddenly fearing for his life. "I-I thought that plan was reserved for end of the world scenarios… Is he's gone off the rails, n-not an exam…" He mumbled in abject horror.

"Do you want to win?" Shikamaru asked lowly?

Kiba swallowed thickly, glancing over to the face of the fox again. Naruto's gaze seemed curious now, aware that they were up to something devious. "I guess we have to try… Got someone up there to look good for." He added with a nervous laugh.

"I see. It's come to this then…" Choji muttered darkly, turning to face his foe.

Naruto's smile waned slightly at the dark determination in their eyes, suddenly feeling nervous.

But why?

He was the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Nothing they could do would ever even hope to harm him, nor hinder him.

So why did that serious look in Shikamaru's eyes make him worried…?

Kiba suddenly cleared his throat, standing up with a mischievous laugh. "Ah geez, you sure are strong. I mean, we've been training all this time and we still can't even lay a finger on you. You're something else, you know that?" Kiba admitted with a playful laugh, get a light flush out of the Kyuubi. "I mean, come on, you're the strongest guy I've ever known." He continued, buttering up the fox man.

"Flattery will get you nowhere, in fact." Naruto clarified, yet the light dusting of red on his cheeks signified that flattery would indeed get them somewhere.

In fact, flattery would get many people very, very far with him…

"Nah, I'm just speaking the truth. Not only are you strong, but you're good with the ladies too. Hell, the world's gotta know how special you are, bro." The Inuzuka carried on unchanged, the fox's face growing progressively redder and redder from the constant flattery.

"What's happening…?" Temari murmured in confusion, watching as the cold blooded Kitsune's stony expression seemed to crumble underneath the mutt's words. "He was all game just a second ago… where did… What?"

"No way…" Kankuro muttered, mouth slack-jawed. "I can't believe it." He breathed.

"What? What do you know that I don't?!" Temari hissed, grabbing her brother by the front of his collar. "Tell me his weaknesses! I must know!"

"I think he's got a thing for praise or something…" The puppet Ninja trailed off. "Like a kink or something…"

Temari's expression faltered. "Oh god, I can't believe I actually thought you knew something for a second there…" The sand girl sighed in disappointment.

"Sis, I'm serious!" Kankuro hissed.

Seemingly ignorant to the quiet conversation above, Naruto focused on the guy he called his friend as he buttered him up. "O-Oh you're just saying that to butter me up…" He waved the dog ninja's words off, holding one hand to his cheek as if to hide the warmth hidden beneath them.

He missed Kiba's grin when he inadvertently looked away.

"Now!" Kiba shouted, rushing forward. Choji threw a handful of powdered balls at the distracted Kitsune, a purple mist suddenly exploding around the surprised fox. Naruto coughed as he accidentally inhaled the scent, waving it away before his eyes suddenly shot wide.

It was…

I-It was…

Lavender, and cinnamon rolls. The smell was so intense, like his nose was shoved in crook between Hinata's neck. If he couldn't get his mind off of her before, then he certainly couldn't do so now, for it's all his mind was doing now.

He stumbled backwards, still blinded by the purple fog. Reflexively, he lashed out with his tails, banishing the cloud in an instant.

He wasn't ready for what he saw standing far…, far too close to him.

His mouth fell open in shock, a hot breath slipping past his lips as he stare in wide eyed disbelief at…

"Kurama-Kun…" Hinata cooed lowly, not a single article of clothing to her body. A thin, wispy cloud surrounded her, just barely preserving her modesty. It wasn't exactly her, the proportions were wrong, her hair wasn't the right color, and she was a little too tall.

But in that moment, combined with the scent bombs overwhelming his nose, it certainly made his brain short-circuit. 'Hinata' snuck forward, procuring the bell around his neck while his brain tried to restart. The moment she had it in her hands, a poof of white smoke emerged as the Gen-Jutsu faded away, leaving a grinning Kiba.

"Hahah!!!! Yes!!! We did it!" Kiba howled, holding the bell up in the air victoriously. He laughed in glee, completely proud of himself. He wiped a tear from his eyes, turning a grin over to the silent fox. "Boy, you should've seen your… face…" He trailed off, face paling as he took in the red faced Kitsune, Naruto's eyebrows twitching violently.

It wasn't the face he had when losing his control over his anger, but the carefully crafted look that told him he was going to suffer for the stunt he pulled today.

Perhaps not right now, perhaps not even today…

But he would pay for it one day.

With a sickening smile that formed over his lips, eyes just a tad too tight to make anyone feel safe, Naruto walked over to the white faced Inuzuka. "That certainly was quite the stunt you pulled. I'd be praising you for its success were I not contemplating how to gut you right now." He explained simply, before swiping the bell from his hands. "You all pass…" He murmured lowly, turning away.

"Why do I feel like what we've accomplished here today was not worth it in the long run…?" Shikamaru murmured, glancing to the white faced Kiba and Choji.

"That's what we like to call self preservation instincts…" Kiba squeaked, throat dry.

"And what are they saying now?" The brainiac asked lowly.

"…"

"Kiba…?"

"They're saying that we fucked up…" Kiba murmured defeatedly. Surprisingly, the killing intent he felt focused on the back of his head wasn't coming from the Kitsune he'd tricked. Casting a nervous glance to the floor above, he caught the cold gaze of a certain Hyuuga Heiress.

The three, (victorious?), ninja quickly made their way out of the arena, preferably to somewhere where they could hide away from the Kitsune's ire.

"Next up, the team from Rain. Make your way down to the-" Anko started.

"We give up!" The entire team shouted unanimously.

"Y- What?" Anko choked, glancing over to the young ninja.

"Uh, yeah… We barely made it through your crazy forest alive in the first place. We know when to give up, and that-" One member pointed to the smiling Kyuubi, the elegant look on his face practically sickening. "I-I mean, Kurama-Sama here, would wipe the floor with us…"

"You flatter." Naruto cooed, fluttering his eyelashes dangerously. The other ninja paled.

"It wasn't meant to be a- Y-You know, never mind." The Rain ninja decided, stepping back to his group.

"Up next, Team Guy!" Anko skipped right to the next matchup. Naruto's eyes widened slightly when Lee burst onto the scene.

"Kurama-Sama!!!" The green spandex wearing young man cried out in glee, eyes shining as he stood opposite the fox. "I've been waiting to challenge you to a fight forever now! The time is finally here! Guy-Sensei, are you proud of me?!"

"Lee-Kun… Not so loud, people are watching…" Tenten murmured, trying to calm the overexcited teenager and hide her embarrassment at his actions.

"This is a three on one, Lee-Kun…" Neji clarified. "Please don't go rushing off to fight him without a plan." He tried, a strange… Playful sound in his voice.

"I know! But my excitement is burning with my youthful passion! I simply cannot contain it anymore!" Lee was practically vibrating in place, grinning ear to ear.

"You know the rules! Get that bell by any means necessary, or prove to our adorable little fox here that you are worthy to move on." Anko spoke up, leveling a gaze down at the Genin.

Lee bent down into a battle stance, Tenten whipped out a scroll, and Neji settled into his clans Tai-Jutsu stance. Naruto's eyes widened slightly as Lee suddenly took off, launching towards him at speeds most in the arena couldn't track completely, save for the Jonin or Chunnin themselves.

Naruto's hand immediately raised to catch the wild flying jump kick, Lee's shin crashing into the fox's open palm. But the green spandex wearing teenager wasn't finished, as he used the momentum to carry his other leg forward, crashing into side of the bemused Kitsune's face.

Naruto's eyes widened as his head craned to the side slightly, gaze locked firmly onto his opponent. Lee grinned wildly, thrusting both feet into his chest to launch himself backwards.

"I'm surprised, Lee-Kun…" Naruto murmured, head straightening out as he leveled a serious, yet playful look at the young man. "I-"

He realized that Lee was the distraction, not the problem he should be worried about as a certain Hyuuga branch member appeared from behind him, hands raised and charged with chakra. "Sixty four palms!" Neji shouted.

Naruto spun around, kicking off the ground to backpedal from the rapidly advancing ninja. Were this a fair fight, he'd have turned his opponent into paste with a mighty swing of his tails, but he couldn't do that. His job was to retreat, keep them away from him. This was the first time he'd actually had to move from his original position.

Hell, that alone was enough for as pass in his book. But he wanted to test them further, see if there was more to their surprisingly effective teamwork.

He landed across the arena, wooden geta clacking lightly as he landed. He ducked as a volley of weapons were suddenly sent his way, kunai, shuriken, and even a mace? The weapons went soaring overhead, crashing into the ground behind him uselessly. He cast a glance up at Tenten, raising an eyebrow at her terrible aim.

His eyes gazed to the side as he saw Lee suddenly spring into action once again, rushing towards him without a moments hesitation. He wanted to roll his eyes as he waited for the boy to come near, ready to lash out and grab his ankle to toss him away.

He moved to block the attack again, however, he noticed the spandex wearing ninja grin as he neared him. In a puff of smoke, it was Neji who was too close to block properly. His eyes widened slightly in surprise, quickly leaping backwards to-

"Yip-!" The sound that suddenly escaped from his lips had his cheeks flushed in mortification, face flushing hot as he glanced behind him to find Tenten, in her hands the tip of his middle tail. She grinned an evil look, rubbing the tip of it back and forth aggressively.

His eyebrows twitched violently at the feeling that suddenly shot through his body, a feeling that was ignored as a certain Hyuuga crashed into him with a chakra infused jab. He reflexively reared his hand back to take a swipe at him, a move that would've likely taken the young man's head off instantly.

The moment he realized what he'd done, he stopped in his tracks. Neji fell to the ground, as if his body had just stared death in the face and survived.

Naruto sighed in defeat, yet a smile graced his face once more. He extended a hand down to the befuddled Hyuuga, gently grasping his hand to pull him to his feet. Neji stared at the red painted sharp fingernails, swallowing thickly as he raised his hand up to take the offered help.

"You pass, as well, Neji-Kun." He muttered, turning to walk away. "You all worked together to catch me off guard and make me take a swipe at you out of reflex, that's worthy of a passing grade." He felt the need to explain.

He glanced to the weapon user, noticing that she'd yet to let his tail go. He frowned as he watched her grip his furry, sensitive appendage. The tail suddenly yanked out of her grasp, flying back to him.

The group cheered amongst themselves, although it was mostly Lee cheering boisterously. It had been a while since he'd felt pride in someone else, save for Hinata. But watching Guy's team cheering at their victory over him actually made him smile just a little bit.

His amusement thus far would end there, however.

The next handful of matches did not go as well as the first two. Gaara didn't seem to have the will to try and attack him, probably the Tanuki inside her crying in a corner at the thought of trying to fight the Kyuubi. It certainly wasn't a fair match, yet with her skills with her sand, she was able to put up a good enough fight to let them all pass.

It was, however, funny watching the little redheaded murderer retreat immediately to Kiba's side, grabbing his arm possessively. Temari looked as if she was going to faint, so that was something, he supposed.

Then came the final team to face him.

He couldn't help the sneer that marred his face at the Cloud Ninja that stood before him. He wanted to fail them immediately on principle, or kill them, or throw them so hard that their bodies landed back in the village hidden in the clouds.

Apparently his displeasure at their appearance before him was very apparent, as they struggled to withstand his killing intent. He had to rein in his anger, before it got the best of him.

Instead, he leveled a calculated smile at them, one those close to him could see through in an instant. "Well well well, color me surprised. I had not anticipated the possibility that I would be the one to judge ninja from the hidden cloud, in fact. It almost feels like fate for us to meet here today, I suppose." He muttered quietly, only the girls standing opposite him able to hear his words.

"I suppose it wouldn't be… proper, if I were to take out my anger at your village on you lot. The scandal that would cause here, oh my, I'm afraid I wouldn't even wish to see the outcome." He rattled on, every single word that came out of his mouth laced with barely restrained venom.

That and, they realized with a sinking sensation he wouldn't mind the fallout of committing such an atrocity against them right now. The dark look in his eyes, the eyes of a mad monster was something it seemed that only they saw. But as soon as they'd seen it, it was gone, replaced with that neutral outward look of his a moment later.

"But I am… trying to become merciful. Although, as I've been informed… my attempts have been somewhat, lacking." He informed regretfully, shaking his head as if it couldn't be helped.

"We are not our village, Kurama-Sama…" Then someone spoke, her voice firm, respectful. Not ounce of smugness or arrogance in her voice as she addressed him. Yes, not even a hint of deception passing through the air. "I understand well your displeasure toward my village, believe me, I believe it both well founded on your part, and well deserved." She explained firmly.

His eyes narrowed curiously at her, sizing up the large breasted blonde woman with a deep scrutiny. Unlike others he'd faced before, especially during this exam, especially within her own team, she did not look away.

She was strong willed, he'd give her that.

"Oh, do tell?" He muttered lowly, tails slowly coming up to wrap around him. She blinked, not looking away.

"In the years following that incident, our Raikage has been hard pressed to recover from the incident and the reputation hit Cloud took from such an unfortunate incident." She explained simply yet carefully. "He never issued the order to kidnap the Hyuuga Heiress's, but that didn't matter in the eyes of the world." She explained quietly.

No one else in the stands could hear the conversation between the two of them, save for a certain Inuzuka whose eyes widened as the conversation went on.

"Despite what you may believe, Raikage-Sama knows how important the Heiress is to you, as well as her sister. He understands that our presence here is unwelcome, but I wish to be that opening to prove that we are not your enemy." She held her hand to her breasts, locking eyes with him deeply.

"This fighting that has continued on long before I was ever born is something I do not wish to continue. If you would allow it, I would appreciate the chance to show you that at the very least, you do not need to view the Cloud as your enemy anymore. I understand your decision should you choose to deny this, and will not push the subject." Capping off her words, she offered him a bow of respect and, to show that she also deeply respected his decision.

Knowing the fox and his tendency to make snap decisions based on his emotional state, he was surprisingly quiet as she addressed him with her offer. Perhaps it was how she referred to him in a deeply respectful manner, or her strict and personal approach to speaking with him.

Either way, she'd certainly got him listening.

However, it was what she'd said that had gained his attention.

"You said the Raikage understands his ninja's appearance here, yet you said that you wish to smooth dealings between the nations out." He repeated curiously, catching onto her wording.

"Correct." She said, facing him once more. "I was the one that made the suggestion to Raikage-Sama. I was the one that offered to be here today." She explained simply.

His expression, surprisingly, softened somewhat. "This is very important to you, isn't it, I wonder?" He murmured, finally getting a surprised look out of her. Her eyes widened slightly, an almost hopeful look in her eyes.

He looked her over with a softer look, completely unlike the monstrous gaze he'd held when first facing them. She wasn't going to look this gift horse in the mouth. "It is." She nodded.

He hummed, tails beginning to shift around him. "Well then, prove to me that you're worth my time. If you do, I'll humor your desires, in fact. I am in a pleasant mood today." He smiled, gaze sharpening playfully, uncrossing his arms.

Her eyes widened, blinking in surprise, before she finally smiled. "Cool…" She murmured, sliding down into a Tai-Jutsu stance.

"Begin!" The proctor finally shouted from across the arena.

Chapter

23

End