Author's Note

Heh heh, whoops. Sorry that it's been since last December since I posted. In the meantime I've made and posted probably 15 or more chapters for other stories, old and new. So I kinda forgot about this one.

If you're worried that I'm giving up on this story, I can understand entirely why. But, this story is my baby, as it's the oldest story on my profile, and perhaps my first ever. Its very important to me, which was why I was determined to rewrite all those chapters to make it click better. If I didn't care we wouldn't be here right now.

Anywho, warning number forty five thousand and two, no this will not ever become a harem, so please stop worrying that oh, "Author put in a scene with a new girl showing attraction to Naruto, he's betraying his promise of only Naruto X Hinata." Because, it won't end up that way, I assure you. I'm not against harem stories on this site, not at all, but that's entirely against the plot of this storyline, so it won't happen.

Others can fall for Naruto, that's fine. But his eyes will forever be on one girl and one girl alone. He doesn't have to return their affection, he's not obligated to.

Uploaded

03/23/2023

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 21

A long seated jealousy/Who put a fox in charge of the second exam?!

Rated-M

Music of the day

Naruto ost

Ochihabune/Fallen Leaves

Why was she smiling? Why was that beautiful Hyuuga Heiress smiling?

Why was it that she got to smile but she didn't? It wasn't fair.

It was never fair!

She didn't have anything left in the world but her as of yet unachieved revenge plot, and the vein future where she potentially restores her clan.

But the damage done couldn't just be undone, the lives lost reversed. What he'd done… What she saw him do…

She'd never forgive him for what he'd done.

She thought once upon a time that she could get through her situation if she had him by her side. His bright shining blue eyes, his odd way of speaking that she found so endearing, his mannerisms that others found strange.

No, she didn't find them strange at all. And unlike herself, when he was beaten down and defeated, he stood right back up and threw everything he had into making sure that it wouldn't happen a second time.

He was a brilliant shining life light in her darkened world, the only one she felt she had left.

And then one day he vanished without a trace.

She wasn't stupid. She knew he had been the container for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. She'd also gathered that the village itself held that against him like a murder charge that they seemingly had all the evidence pointing towards him as the killer.

But why? Why did they think him a killer deserving of death when they only looked upon her foolish older brother with pity.

He didn't deserve their pity! He didn't deserve anything from them!

And yet!

A-And yet…

She was looked upon like the crazy one. Itachi wasn't the crazy one, no…

No that'd be far too easy.

They thought her crazy!

Her!

They thought she'd break under the pressure placed upon her, and she'd turn out just like her foolish older brother.

She hated him! It's his fault! Everything wrong that happened he could've avoided. And now, they looked at her like she was his shadow, another Uchiha waiting to fall apart.

No…

She wouldn't let that happen…

Naruto wouldn't have wanted that…

For the longest time it was only the memory of his young smiling whiskered cheeks that kept her going forward. But even then she felt as if she was merely drifting through life, making the moves expected of her, gaining strength and confidence befitting of one such as her.

Now, at seventeen years of age, she looked strikingly different than when she was younger. Gone was her spiked black hair, the young woman having let it grow out due to a lack of care. It was only due to her caretaker that it was kept so beautiful looking, long bangs framing her elegant face, while the rest of it cascaded down her backside, easily reaching the middle of her thighs. Her jet black eyes looked empty, a void left in her gaze that unnerved any who saw it.

Just like her brother, in recent years she'd gained the lines underneath her eyes that he was known for. It had the unfortunate effect of making her look older than she appeared to be. The reason behind the odd lines and the deep black bags that had slowly begun to appear underneath her eyes as she grew older were unknown, but it served to be another thing she shared with her brother.

Otherwise, she'd grown into a considerably beautiful young woman that had unfortunately gained a somewhat cult following from the younger, and sometimes older men of the hidden leaf. With a body that was similar in buxomness as the elder Hyuuga Heiress herself.

However, she never planned on catering to the disgusting desires of those that sought her, her heart already taken by one who'd never appear. Her heart was stolen away at a young age by the devil boy that vanished all those years ago, and she'd told herself that she'd never take anyone after that.

There was another that had been infatuated with the blond boy, her old classmate, the eldest Hyuuga Heiress. She should've been equally destroyed when the boy vanished, and she did notice a strange change in her behavior when he did…

But…

Despair wasn't the emotion the young Heiress had gone through. It confused the Uchiha as much as it enraged her to no end. She couldn't fathom why she had seemingly gotten over the disappearance of the boy as easily as she had.

Was she simply stronger than her? Was the Hyuuga merely more put together than her?

No…

No no no…

That couldn't have been it. That wasn't it, she refused to believe it to be the case.

That only left one thing…

He must've still been alive somewhere. And more than that, the damned woman must've been hiding him all to herself.

It wasn't fair.

But, then again, she'd learned the hard way at a terribly young age that life just wasn't fair.

It was the thought that he was still alive that had kept her going, even when her traitorous heart told her that the Hyuuga woman had likely taken the blond for herself, it didn't matter to her.

If she could, at the very least, become his mistress, even if she had to obey the Hyuuga first…

Well…

She would be able to live with that…

She didn't ask for much…

She giggled, a soft mad laugh escaping her supple lips hidden behind her hand. Her dull eyes gained a dangerous, mad glint, cheeks warming as thoughts that should be left unspoken filled her head.

The students nearest her scooted away as a terrible shiver ran down their spines.

Her giggles were cut short, a soft cough erupting from her lips. She reached into her ninja pouch, procuring a small cloth to cough into. Small specks of red stained the fabric, but she didn't seem to notice…

It was still early in the day, the sun having not yet even reached its peak in the sky above. A cool breeze wafted through the streets of Konoha, carrying with it the scents and sounds of a village getting into the flow of the day once more.

The streets were filled with villagers and Shinobi alike, all taking to themselves or assisting the new tourists about during their stay in the hidden village.

It was odd, he realized. Walking at a leisurely pace through the definitively beautiful streets of the business district, it felt odd not having to worry about how he would be seen. Where once before people had been sent running screaming bloody murder, now many would simply give him a curt nod or a shy hello.

It wasn't the same pleasantries that were given to the ninja of the village, but he supposed that beggars couldn't be choosers. And he had come to learn from Hinata that he should take everything in stride, and take what lay before him as what it was. Whining about his treatment wouldn't change a thing, but continuing to be civil and upstanding in the presence of the public eye would only serve to make him be seen as someone worthy of trust where trust had previously not existed in the first place.

It was a slow and agonizing process, but he'd managed to make it this far. As he was now, currently walking down the streets on his way to the designated training ground where the second part of the Chunin exam was to take place, he felt his mind was stuck dwelling on the conversation he had only an hour ago.

Seeing Zabuza again was definitely something he hadn't expected, but nothing could prepare him for the news the man would bring.

"I never planned on coming this way to begin with. And if I had my way I would stay as far from you as possible." The man grunted uncaringly, acting aloof.

"Of course." Naruto muttered automatically in response.

Zabuza looked aloof, but quit the uncaring attitude when Haku elbowed him in his ribs, keeping that smile on her face. The man coughed, cheeks warming in slight embarrassment. "Well whatever. Honestly, I came here to warn you." He said seriously, leveling a gaze at the Kitsune.

Naruto raised an eyebrow in question, looking confused. "Warn me, i wonder? Why?" He asked in his typical fashion, his verbal tick giving the Mist Ninja pause for a brief moment.

"I've picked up word of an underground organization made up of some seriously dangerous people. And unfortunately, I've heard they're after the Jinchuriki, or even the legendary tailed beasts in general." The man muttered seriously, gauging the fox's reaction.

Naruto's face twitched, a dark look entering his eyes. It was easy to see where Zabuza was going with this.

"I wanted to let you know, because these people are the type of bastards that'll stop at nothing to get to you." He warned. But his unspoken words were what upset the Kitsune.

"Listen. I don't know what the hell you are, human with a demon, or just a demon. But…" Zabuza trailed off gruffly, struggling with words. Naruto didn't interrupt him, waiting for him to finish. "It doesn't matter. I'm just paying you back. You let Haku and me live, so I'm trying to make sure that your girl doesn't bite it before you make your move." He remarked gruffly, trying to play off his motivations behind his trip to Konoha.

Learning of this little tidbit of information had served to upset the Kitsune. It wasn't the fact that this group of dangerous individuals existed that upset as much as the fact that it took the randomness of Zabuza Momochi, a missing ninja who he'd spared long before, deciding to tell him of his discovery once he'd obtained this information.

If such a dangerous group existed, and they were known to be after the tailed beasts, then he needed to know about it. More than that, these people wouldn't hesitate to kill Hinata if it meant getting to him, something he wouldn't let stand.

So he found himself wondering how it seemed that Zabuza had discovered this before someone like his godfather, Jiraiya, who was a sage and a spy master who had contacts across the entire nation, had somehow missed this.

Unless, of course, Jiraiya did know. If that was the case, then the fox found himself questioning why he of all people had not been informed of their existence beforehand.

How was he supposed to defend Hinata against a threat he'd never see coming? What was he supposed to do if they barged in unannounced and took her hostage?

What would happen if she was sent on a mission without him, and word spread that she was deeply connected to him?

They'd take that chance to hunt her down immediately, just to get at him.

The very thought made him so filled with righteous anger that he almost destroyed the Iciraku's ramen stand in his rage. It served to display to Ayame about that anger issue he'd worked years on controlling, and how he still did not have it under control.

The conversation didn't last must after that, Zabuza claiming that sticking around a hidden village while still being a missing ninja was asking for someone to hunt him down. He revealed that the only reason he was A, allowed in the village in the first place, and B hadn't been accosted immediately was because of Naruto. At the gate the missing ninja had seemed to convince the gate guards that he was a friend of the resident murder yokai of the hidden leaf, and as such, allowed him passage under the condition that he was followed by a small group of Anbu.

Wisely, he had not tried to fight it. The Anbu had asked him about the man once the conversation was over, and Naruto found himself convincing them that Zabuza was an…

Acquaintance of sorts, and explained nothing more. It was an unstated fact that you do not A, threaten a friend or acquaintance of the Kyuubi's, and B, try to deny him their presence.

Unfortunately, many did not understand that, or didn't care to follow it due to pride or prejudice against him…

They eventually learned the hard way why that was a foolish decision.

"Alright girls! Listen up! Today you will all be participating in the second exam, which happens to take place here in this wonderful little forest behind me. Now then, I'm going to lay out the rules and the details of the exam, and you'd better listen. Trust me, failure to adhere to the rules will result in punishment, and my cute little boy toy here won't hesitate to dish it out, so I'd advise you listen. Unless, of course, you're into that sort of thing, lord knows I am."

Naruto cringed at the words directed his way, inwardly cursing whoever it was that had decided to place him as Anko Mitarashi's assistant during the second half of the Chunin exams. Speaking of the lewd mouthed purple haired ninja, he couldn't help but feel like she was getting a real kick out of using him as her weapon during this exam.

He sighed openly, running pointed red claws through his long wild golden white blond locks in exasperation. His tails whipped around behind in anxiously, his mind currently dwelling on questions he wouldn't get the answers too for a little while.

"Kurama-Kun?" Naruto's attention was drawn to the busty purple haired ninja as she slid up next to him, calling his name with her eyebrows raised questioningly.

Ah…

He must've gotten lost in thought again…

"Ah, I apologize, Anko-Chan. I was lost in thought, I suppose." He said lightly, offering her a smile that had his fangs poking past his lips.

"Daydreaming about little old me?" She asked, fluttering her eyelashes up at him, pressing her arms together underneath her chest as if to make them appear larger to draw his wandering eyes.

He smiled, looking her in the eyes. "No, in fact." He stated bluntly, that pleasant smile not leaving his elegant features.

Anko sighed, dropping her arms. "Fine then. You're no fun…" She grumbled. "Tell them the rules or whatever, I'll just stand back and admire the view." She said offhandedly, taking a few steps behind him.

Either he didn't pick up on her intentions from her words, or he was too caught up in his own head to register them. Either way, he found himself stepping forward to address the massive crowd of ninja that stood before him.

The Kitsune took a moment to take them all in, seeing some familiar faces, yet also seeing many new ones. There was a plethora of ninja from foreign lands. Ninja he recognized as hailing from villages in the sand country, rain country, grass country, stone country, and even the hot springs country.

There were a few more however, that he wasn't pleased to see willing to step foot into his land again, and he had to actively restrain himself from growling at the sight of the ninja hailing from the cloud country.

He would not, and could not forgive them for what they had done when he was younger. For trying to take Hanabi and Hinata away from him, forgiveness was the very last thing they'd ever gain from him.

However, he supposed it would be selfish and wrong to vilify those ninja standing before him now for the transgressions of their village. He was sure Hinata would not be happy to hear about him taking his anger out on those technically innocent.

Pushing that aside, he found his attention drawn to a different set of ninja. They seemed to hail from a country he'd not heard of before, and wore headbands discerning their backgrounds as such. Ninja from the hidden sound village, not a name or place head heard of before recently.

Aside from all the ninja present, the ones that made up the hidden sound had been looking directly at him since they arrived. More than that, he couldn't quite discern their intentions. They weren't hostile, not at all, but they weren't friendly either. More than that, most of their teams didn't look anything too special.

However, there was one team that had captured his attention more then the rest. They too hailed from the sound, and it was an all female team consisting of two different looking head haired women, and one with jet black hair. The moment they had arrived they'd been staring at him, and whenever he'd glance their way they'd avert their gazes and mutter something to each other that he couldn't quite pick up. His large furry ears turned their way as if to try and glean more from them, but he couldn't manage anything.

Still, their appearance and their attitudes seemed strange to him. He couldn't help but notice how they seemed to shy away from him, and seemed to get antsy when his gaze didn't leave them.

"You're gonna turn those girls into a puddle if you keep staring at them so intensely…" Anko chimed in from behind him.

Naruto blinked in surprise, turning away from the increasingly fidgety sound ninja and to the woman beside him. He blinked in confusion.

Had he really been staring at them that intensely, he wondered?

Although, judging from the teasing look Anko gave him, he assumed that he must have been. He sighed, allowing that elegant smile to return to his face as he faced the crowd. He could see Hinata somewhere in the back, blurred by the rest of the group. He also saw Kiba, having deviated from the rest of his team in an effort to hit on Gaara again. He also noticed how the other two sand siblings were pale as a ghost, watching their sister with bated breath.

As for Gaara, however, she seemed to take Kiba's outward displays of affection and cocky boasting in stride. If her blank expression and otherwise stoic yet meek demeanor said anything to him.

Suffice it to say that she didn't brush off his arm when he slung it around her shoulder, pulling her into his side. And maybe he was insane for thinking this, but he might have caught the smallest inkling of a smile off of the murderous redhead.

Nevertheless, he focused his attention on his current job for the day. He found himself grinning a fanged grin, knowing that somewhere hidden out of sight was the members of Hiruzen's ninja, watching him to make sure he didn't do something out of line. He was sure the old man was watching him right now through that crystal ball of his, likely sweating bullets as he watched.

Naruto clasped his hands together, eyeing the entirety of the crowd. "Welcome everyone, to the second half of your exams. My friend here has decided to let me explain what it is you will be doing today, so allow me a moment to announce the rules." He started.

"Just hurry the hell up already, quit wasting our time! Stupid fox…" Someone from somewhere within the crowd shouted, muttering that last part.

A blood vein appeared on the forehead of the still smiling Kitsune.

"Rule number one, cut me off again and I'll fail you. Rule number two, call me a stupid fox and you may not go home in one piece, in fact." Naruto stated, keeping that smile, which felt more sinister now than sincere. Suddenly a hole opened up in the crowd, the man responsible for shouting having been singled out, no one willing to stand near him.

"Rule number three, killing is not allowed during the duration of this exam. Failure to cooperate with this order will result in punishment, something that I will personally see to. Rule number four, imitation of any examiners and other members above you will also result in a failure for you and your team. That goes for any found caught cheating as well, in fact." Naruto explained with a smile, slowly glancing at all in the crowd.

No one spoke up against him again, so he took that as a good sign. He clasped his hands together, nodding to himself. "No problems? Wonderful. Now then, you all have thirty minutes to prepare and go over the details of the test. Anko here will be happy to give them out." He said, letting the purple haired woman take the stage while he stepped back to watch from a distance.

She wasn't sure why she was so nervous, but stepping into the grassy field filled her with a sense of awe. There was far too many ninja to count, and so many of them weren't from the hidden leaf.

She found it easy to get lost in the crowd, but then a familiar warmth hit the edge of her senses. She turned her attention towards the front of the crowd, catching the eyes of the foxy man she called the one she loved.

He was standing beside one of the other proctors, the woman whispering something to him. She couldn't help but feel so proud of him, having witnessed just how far he'd come in reaching this milestone in his life. She knew she'd let him know how proud she was later, when they were alone again, but for now, he was not her lover, but her proctor.

Obviously he was going to hold some biases against her, but she wasn't willingly going to use that to her advantage here. This was the real world, where real people were going to be watching. She needed to prove to everyone that she was strong on her own merits, not just riding off the back of the nine tailed fox that dedicated himself to her.

That being said, doing just that was going to be difficult, which was why she'd asked him not to go easy on her or her team.

She focused her attention as he and the busty purple haired proctor began listing off the rules and regulations regarding the exam. The moment he was done, there was to be a short pause before the beginning of the exam.

"Hinata-Chan, what's the plan?" It was Ino who spoke up, drawing both her and Sakura's attention. "You heard your man, we've got to get to the end with both scrolls. Sooo, we gotta take at least one team out of commission." She explained, drawing attention to the rules that had been listed.

The Hyuuga Heiress sighed, crossing her arms underneath her considerable bosom. Sakura glanced between the both of them, waiting to see what they had in mind before adding anything of her own to the conversation.

"To be honest, I don't want to go after any of our friends. I understand that this is an exam, and that friends can be placed against each other, but that doesn't mean that we have to actively engage with them." Hinata started, eyes glancing down in thought.

Ino nodded, Sakura silently mimicking her to a more expressive degree. However, Ino raised a finger. "I agree, however, it's not like anyone from Konoha would actively engage in a fight against you…" She added dryly.

Hinata's expression fell, realizing what she meant. "I see… You're right." The Heiress muttered.

"Yeah, no one's going to willingly mess with you when Kurama-Kun's around. So I say we scout out the teams now, and make a target to focus before this begins." Ino continued, glancing at the other teams out of the corner of her eye.

"Right." Hinata nodded, deciding to let the brainiac of the team hold her weight.

Chapter

21

End