Chapter 5: Danzo, Friend or Foe

Once team 7 returned to the main part of Konoha, they received the specific instructions from Yamato and were told to expect to be summoned by the Hokage soon. Naruto and co decided to go to ichiraku before going their separate ways for the night and found their regular bar seats open. "Welcome back, I love seeing my favorite genin team visit. Weren't you taking the chunin exams? How'd it go?" Ayame greeted the trio when they took their seats. "We've been good, Ayame-chan. We made it to the third stage of the exam that takes place in about a month and we just got back from the forest of death," Naruto replied with a light smile. "Oh so you're celebrating, congratulations. Everyone's first bowl's on the house today, so what can I start you with?" The trio of genin thanked Ayame and placed their orders with Naruto getting more than his teammates combined.

They enjoyed their meal in a content silence until Naruto voiced a question. "Hinata, Shino, how are you doing? I know what we did in the forest couldn't have been easy. I let my need to improve my chances of survival overcome me again like what happened in wave country. All I can say is my bad, but you both stood beside me through the rain and for that, I appreciate you." "Naruto-san, I was at first conflicted about our actions in the forest, but I've come to the conclusion that our actions were most logical. The more foreign shinobi we eliminated in those exams, the less competition we would have later in the exams and we would weaken future generations of enemy nations. We made a decision to follow you as shinobi so there is no reason for you to claim fault." Shino said. "I thought it was kind of exciting, although I don't think I'll ever get used to the feeling of our special 'showers'." Hinata said with a bubbly giggle.

Naruto chuckled and gave hinata a devious smile and Shino had a bead of sweat roll down his forehead. "Hinata-san I have a question for which I have no logical answer. How were you using hyoton jutsu? If I'm correct, hyoton is a bloodline ability and Haku is the last known member of the Yuki clan." Shino asked stoically. He had seen her use hyoton more than once but said nothing due to coping with the death they had and would cause. Hinata gave a quick glance at Naruto who nodded his head knowing that there were no ninja around to hear them. "Naruto-kun integrated hyoton chakra into my system giving me the ability to instinctually mold hyoton chakra. In short he gave me the hyoton bloodline, I carry it in my dna and Haku trained me over the three months since we returned from the land of waves." Hinata answered quietly and seriously.

Shino was flabbergasted, so much so, his widened eyes could be seen around his sunglasses which prompted Hinata to giggle. Shino looked to Naruto for confirmation and received a nod before Naruto spoke. "It's an ability of my Seigan. It's also how I can use mokuton. I'll explain tomorrow if you come to the compound. I also have a gift for you and for the aburame clan but understand that no one can know about this. Not even your clan or the Hokage if you can help it, at least not until the final stage of the exams." Shino figured there was more and sent a questioning glance at Naruto but received nothing and nodded in confirmation. "Naruto-kun, what about you? Do you still need to improve your chances of survival?" Hinata said as if she was asking him if he wanted another bowl of ramen. "I feel relaxed for now.

But I'm conflicted about how I feel about this village and it seems it puts me 'on edge' sometimes." Naruto said. Shino knew more than most about Naruto's life but there was a large piece of the story he was missing and he felt that now was a logical time to ask. "May I ask you why you hid your heritage your whole life, and why'd so many people try to kill you? The village speaks of you with just as much hate as fear and logically there is some reason why whether it's just or not." Naruto took a second to think of how much he'd divulge to his inquisitive teammate. He figured he could trust Shino or would give it a chance at the very least.

"I never hid my heritage. The village hid my heritage from me and the village under the guise of it being for my protection. I grew up as an orphan who barely received shelter or aid from even the orphanage. I was hated for something I had no control over and the villagers treated me like the worst of scum. I activated my seigan when I was 7 by accident when a mob of villagers waited for me at my apartment the hokage gave me after I was kicked out of the orphanage. They chased me into a busy street where villagers were celebrating the defeat of the kyuubi by Yondaime, my father. The mob began to beat and stab me while the onlooking villagers cheered and threw things at me. I unleashed my chains and activated my seigan killing 23 villagers. Whenever I asked the Hokage where I was from and who my parents were he redirected the conversation or lied. The fourth hokage had sealed the 9 tailed fox into me on the day I was born sacrificing himself and my mother in the process. I found out everything on my own but I can tell you about that another day. This village took everything from me, made me into a human sacrifice for a demon it couldn't defeat, and left me in the dark while its people shunned me and attempted to take my life." Naruto said coldly.

The gears began turning in shino's head as he connected all the dots and lost some respect for konoha in the process. Before he could respond, an anbu in a cat mask appeared outside of the stand. Naruto could tell it was Yugao by his mother's Katana on her back but gave no indication that he knew. "Hokage-sama requests your presence, Naruto Uzumaki, Hinata Hyuga, and Shino Aburame." The anbu spoke firmly. The genin nodded. "We'll be there after we settle our tab," Hinata said with a smile. Yugao disappeared in a body flicker trying to understand how a team of fresh genin could kill so many shinobi then return to enjoy a meal together as if nothing had happened. Team 7 settled their tab and disappeared to the hokage's office in a shunshin.

They arrived in the hokage's office to see the jounin proctor for the second exam, Anko, along with Yamato and the Hokage. Hiruzen had a serious expression on his face and spoke with an authority only the leader of a hidden village could muster. "Genin of team 7, now that you've arrived, we have questions regarding the events prior to and during the second stage of the exam. As I'm sure you know by now, Orochimaru, an s-rank missing nin, was the ninja you discovered posing as a kusa team. He killed them and assumed their appearances but for what, we're unsure. I'd like to hear how you discovered him and any information you were able to gain." "Hokage-sama," Naruto began. "While my team and I were waiting for the remaining genin teams to arrive at the forest of death, I began sensing my opponents chakra signatures to gauge their strength.

I came across a heavily suppressed chakra signature and two similar signatures I was able to deduce were clones. Using my doujutsu I was able to focus in on the suppressed chakra and due to its complexity, density, and quantity I was able to deduce that the shinobi was at least s-ranked. I sent a clone to inform you and then informed my team. I also used a 'unique' opportunity to inform Anko without alerting the shinobi." "I see, and could you and your team give me an account of what happened in the forest?" Hiruzen replied.

Team 7 each explained what'd happened in the forest in their own words leaving Anko and Yamato in shock at the brutality and their 'rains'. Once they were finished, Anko was the first to speak. "Damn gaki's, a little psychopathic don't you think? You could've just beaten them and taken their scrolls but on the other hand I like your style. Maybe this sexy exam proctor can join you in your next 'shower'." Anko finished her statement by wiggling her body provocatively which made Naruto blush, Yamato and Shino to sweat drop, and the hokage's nose to start bleeding. Hinata narrowed her eyes but said nothing. "Are you sure you didn't hear anything else from Kabuto regarding Orochimaru?" Yamato asked. The gathered genin nodded their confirmation. "Now that I've heard your accounts, I need you to understand that your actions in the forest were unnecessarily ruthless and even though villages can't legally take action for the loss of nearly all their genin, there will no doubt be consequences for konoha down the line in some fashion. There are important genin entering the finals who mean a great deal to their village and there would be tensions should they die. I cannot instruct you how to handle your opponents as it would be unfair for your chances but, I will tell you to be mindful of your actions in the future." Hiruzen took a brief moment from his lecture to give a stern look to the gathered genin. He lingered his gaze on Naruto the longest.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, called the god of shinobi, received a chill down his spine as he saw the twitch in Naruto's upper lip. He could tell he was holding back a smile and Hiruzen could only hope the poor genin in the finals met a quick end. "Lecture aside, congratulations for reaching the third stage of the exams. Your team has high expectations from Konoha and other villages. Do not take your preparation lightly, it could mean your lives. Do you have any questions for me before you're dismissed?" Hiruzen finished with a sigh. "What's the seal by your shoulder Anko-san? I can feel a foul chakra coming from it, somewhat similar to orochimaru's." Naruto said. He'd been trying to pick out the chakra he was sensing from the seal since he walked into the room. "None of your fucking business gaki," Anko said with a bit of venom in her voice.

Naruto could sense the jumble of emotions that sprang up when he mentioned Anko's seal so he didn't take offense and boredly replied. "I'm pretty sure I can remove it but I'll mind my business. I guess that's all Hokage-sama, we'll take our leave." Naruto smirked inwardly, he sensed how deep the seal was intertwined in her chakra system and knew it would be as hard to remove as the hyuga's caged bird seal. This meant that he'd be the only one able to remove it and his trickster side kicked in. He couldn't help but antagonize the lady. Now he'd have to remove her seal in the end, but he might even be able to get something out of it.

Hiruzen and Yamato's eyes widened and then narrowed in skepticism. Anko charged Naruto but was stopped by his chains. "Don't play with me gaki, no one can remove this seal, what makes you think you can?" Anko spat out at Naruto. Naruto raised an eyebrow and was wondering if he'd get a chance to improve his survival when the Hokage spoke. "Anko stand down." Anko backed off slightly but looked ready to lunge at Naruto. "Naruto, what do you mean you can remove the seal?" Hiruzen finished. "It means I can remove her seal, I can just absorb it. It's more complicated than that but I'm pretty sure I can do it." Naruto said. "Naruto-kun is good with seals, if he says he can do it, he can." Hinata added while not giving too much information. Hiruzen studied the two genin and knew there was a piece of the picture he wasn't getting but decided it wasn't immediate information.

Anko narrowed her eyes at Naruto and Hinata to see if they were lying and due to her few years in the torture and intorogation unit she was able to tell they weren't lying. Anko dropped to her knees in front of Naruto and grabbed his shirt ignoring the chains hovering around her and spoke pleadingly. "Please gaki I'll do anything you want if you take this damn seal off, I mean anything." And just as quickly as she got down, Anko popped up and began whispering in Naruto's ear. Naruto's face became beat red followed by a heavy nosebleed.

Hiruzen and Yamato shared a quick glance and a fountain of blood erupted from their noses, they suddenly wished they had the ability to remove her seal. Hinata saw Naruto's nosebleed and his chains dissipate causing her to act on instinct and yank Naruto away from Anko like a ragdoll. Shino just watched with a stoic expression before releasing a single sweatdrop down his forehead. After the nosebleeds stopped and the Anko/Hinata glaring contest ended Naruto coughed to clear his throat and spoke. "I will do it, but I must request something from Hokage-sama since I'm sure this would be a 'valuable' service."

"Ah yes Naruto, if you are able to remove the seal I can grant you a request within reason." Hiruzen responded. "I would like to study some of Nidaime's suiton and doton ninjutsu scrolls over our month break from the exams." Naruto said. Hiruzen took a moment to think before he spoke. "You understand that this is a big thing you're asking of me, correct? Also, if i'm correctly informed, your chakra natures are wind and lightning. A month would be too little time to learn two new chakra natures. I doubt what you're asking for could be of any use to you." Hiruzen had no idea why the boy would want the nidaime's jutsu scrolls but if he was as cunning as he thought he was, Naruto had a plan.

"Hokage-sama, you are forgetting that I can perform mokuton jutsu which is a combination of suiton and doton chakra. My doujutsu gives me perfect chakra control and I can recreate chakra natures I've analyzed, giving me a high affinity in eventually all the chakra natures. I haven't tried fire chakra manipulation yet but I've analyzed it and I can create it whenever I need to. I don't have to train any chakra nature like most people because I can attune it to my chakra to make it almost instinctual. With my control, high affinity, and chakra reserves I'll be able to learn most jutsu in those scrolls. Hinata has a high affinity for suiton jutsu and Shino can perform doton ninjutsu so my team can benefit as well. The scrolls will not be copied and they'll be returned before the third stage of the exams begin."

Hinata and Shino had no idea where Naruto was going with his request but felt lucky to have a teammate that thought of the team more than himself. Hiruzen wanted to argue but Naruto had valid reasons and held leverage assuming he could do it. Hiruzen could order him but it wouldn't be a good idea as a leader or for Naruto's flight risk status. "Very well, If and only if you are able to remove the cursed seal, I will allow you and your team to peruse the Nidaime's library and select jutsu to work on but nothing forbidden or above a-rank." Hiruzen said.

Anko was biting her tongue hoping they'd come to the conclusion of her getting her seal removed before she had to seduce or torture the blonde brat. Once the agreement was made, she was done waiting. "Okay let's do this blondie." Anko motioned for Naruto to come to her to take off the seal but frowned when Naruto stayed put and began to speak. "Anko-san, I'll need time to examine the seal and your chakra system and it is late. Come by the Namikaze-Uzumaki compound tomorrow morning and I'll remove it for you." "You better not stand me up for our special date gaki, I'll see you in the morning." Anko spoke sensually as she pranced out of the room leaving Hinata's eye twitching and with an oppressive aura that seemed to now be aimed at Naruto.

Hiruzen knew when it was time to get them out of his office and promptly dismissed the trio of genin. "Hokage-sama that doesn't look like a team of genin who'd killed 49 people in the last week. There was no conflict when they spoke of the teams they killed. No remorse Naruto really rubbed off on his teammates, what have we created Hokage-sama?" Yamato said after the genin was gone. "Those three will become some of the most dangerous shinobi in the world, Yamato. Our job is to ensure they're the most dangerous 'Konoha' shinobi in the world."

Namekazi-Uzumaki compound the next morning. Naruto awoke early to the silent alarms of his compound's defenses. If the barrier seals were alerting him, it meant that someone was attempting to break into the compound. Activating his seigan, Naruto expanded his senses until he found Anko at his front gate. Naruto wanted to improve his survival but there was something about the purple haired Jounin that interested him and he couldn't kill her, at least not in the open. Naruto made his way to the front gate waving off Haku on the way. She would've been alerted as well since he added her to that specific part of the seals.

Awaiting at the gates was an irate Anko midorashi. She'd wanted to give the cocky brat a little good morning scare to ensure he tried his best on her seal but found a barrier that wouldn't allow her entry in any part of the compound. "Anko-san, is there a reason I shouldn't use you to improve my chances of survival?" Naruto said, restraining an annoyed scowl. "Let me in gaki, it's time to remove this damn seal. Fuck your survival." Anko's impatience was reaching an all-time high. She hadn't slept or even been able to eat her precious dengo due her anxiety over the boy's possible failure.

No one could remove her seal and she planned on leaving Naruto one ball short if he couldn't do it either. "If I let you in, you will stop screaming and leave as soon as it's done." Naruto said with a heavy sigh. He could sense the fear, anxiety, and desperation coming from Anko and could see that her personality was a mask. He'd just remove her seal and send her on the way.

Anko saw Naruto motion for her to follow after he granted her access and she quickly entered the gate following Naruto to his house. "How long will this take gaki? Will there be any lasting effects? You better not be lying about being able to remove my seal if you value your family jewels." Anko was growing more nervous by the second, she felt like she was walking into a trap or just a big disappointment. She didn't know what she'd do if he couldn't remove it. Naruto stopped at his front door and looked over his shoulder to speak to the nervous wreck behind him. "I will know after I examine the seal closer and you will improve my chances of survival before you touch my 'jewels'." "Don't act like you wouldn't like it gaki, and if you remove this seal, I might have a little present for you," Anko said with a wink. Naruto chose to enter the house instead of replying hoping to avoid the crazy woman from seeing his blush. He wasn't used to attractive girls flirting with him. Most people were too scared or cautious around him in general.

Naruto led Anko to the basement his parents built for experiments and seal testing. It was wider than the whole house and was filled with sealing ink, parchment, scrolls and various lab equipment he didn't understand. There was an area with seal arrays that could contain and slow the process of seals and he had Anko stand in the middle. "I'll need full access to the seal so I'll have to activate your curse mark. And If what I'm sensing is correct, I'll have to track and identify every single trace of orochimaru's chakra. Finally, to remove the seal itself I'll need to see it completely, meaning you'll have to undress." Naruto could see her seals through her clothes but it'd be slightly harder and if this woman needed it done so quickly that she couldn't wait until the sun touched the horizon, then he'd get it done the quick way.

Naruto inwardly smirked deviously at his inner trickster, he was a teenage boy and wanted to see. Anko gave Naruto a scrutinizing gaze but Naruto and his stoic expression never wavered. "Alright brat enjoy it, it'll be the last thing you see if this seal doesn't come off." Anko talked a big game, but the only man who'd seen her naked was Orochimaru when he'd experimented on her and she wasn't eager to drop it all in front of this blonde brat but it was nothing if her seal could be removed.

Anko started undressing, her seal covered her whole body when activated so she wouldn't be able to keep anything on. Naruto began to turn around when Anko spoke seductively. "Don't look away now Naruto-kun, the show's just starting" Naruto shrugged and turned back around, he'd have to get his peak before he could focus on the job anyway. Anko blushed at the way Naruto watched her assets jiggle and she could've sworn she saw a bulge in his pants. Naruto wouldn't lie to himself and say he wasn't enjoying the view but when his pants tightened he decided it was time to focus. Activating his seigan and instructing anko to turn around, Naruto began to closely analyze her seal and chakra. There was residual chakra from orochimaru mixed in with hers and concentrated within her seal. The chakra was tainted with another more malevolent chakra that he couldn't place.

After a few minutes of tracking down the rest of orochimaru's chakra, he was ready to activate the seal. "I'm about to activate your seal, once it's fully identified, I'll absorb it and the foreign chakra leaving you with no negative effects. It may take a bit." "Damnit gaki, hurry up, I'm freezing." Anko responded. Naruto placed his palm on Anko's cursed mark and infused Anko friendly chakra into the seal. Markings similar to that of a cheetah's began to expand from the seal covering her whole body. Anko tensed but allowed him to work.

Naruto studied the markings with his seigan circling around anko to see the full seal. He even asked to see under her left foot which held markings. This seal was complicated, even for his seigan, but he was able to find out the seal's exact functions. Its main purpose was to absorb and contain natural chakra to amplify one's abilities.

Orochimaru's chakra was added to influence whoever was sealed and to key the cursed mark to his chakra. The malevolent chakra he saw mixed in acted as a buffer between the natural energy and the user's chakra so he made sure to remember seal also grew stronger over time, and since Anko never used it, her chakra reserves and stamina were steadily drained to maintain balance in her seal. Natural chakra was dangerous; he knew that but he was surprised to see it being used in such a way.

He made a mental note to recreate the seal without orochimaru's chakra or the other drawbacks because he believed he could make this cursed mark into a masterpiece. "I can remove the seal now, or I can remove the negative effects and allow you the benefit of the powers this seal has without the drawback of your mind and body being influenced by Orochimaru." Naruto said. "I want it off Gaki, NOW." Anko was feeling the bloodlust and adrenaline rush of her seal and could almost hear Orochimaru in her head telling her to stop. She could feel her body twitching due to her inner struggle to not kill the brat like her body was telling her to do. Naruto knew exactly how much Anko was being affected and decided to do what he wanted to do because Anko wasn't in her right mind.

Naruto began absorbing all of Orochimaru's chakra, it took him a few minutes to filter through her entire chakra system and only take his. He even had to restrain Anko with chains when he sensed her losing the inner struggle. Once all of orochimaru's chakra was gone she calmed down but he still sensed a growing bloodlust. He watched as the malevolent chakra began to grow and attempted to overrule anko's chakra. He'd underestimated this chakra's strength and figured Orochimaru's chakra acted as a limiter to this malevolent chakra. Thinking quickly, Naruto molded mokuton chakra in his off hand and made it Anko friendly before adding a slight bit into the seal where orochimaru's chakra would be.

The whole process took another ten minutes but it worked better than he'd thought and the markings of the seal turned brown instead of mokuton chakra suppressed the malevolent chakra while allowing it to still perform its purpose in protecting and allowing the user to utilize natural energy to an extent. She wouldn't be able to perform mokuton unless he gave her the chakra directly so he wasn't going to mention that little bit. He then removed Orochimaruo's safeguards for control within the seal and spoke.

"You shouldn't be influenced by the seal whatsoever besides some adrenaline that comes with the natural energy utilized by your seal. Right now, this seal has no connection with Orochimaru and even he wouldn't be able to remove or modify this seal. Essentially I reconstructed your seal in a way to make it yours in its entirety. From what I can see, the seal has been limiting your abilities for years. It was designed to make you addicted to its power and orochimaru's influence while weakening your ability to grow on your own and I'm surprised you even made jounin with this seal. How do you feel and what do you think?" Naruto said cautiously. He didn't think he'd be able to fight this naked woman in his basement, he was barely keeping his composure as is.

Anko had felt the change in her seal when it changed color. She no longer felt any bloodlust besides her own and the disgusting feeling of Orochimaru's chakra that haunted her at all times, was gone. Anko wanted to yell at the brat but her new seal actually made her feel warm and in control, not to mention she could feel how strong it made her. She'd actually want to keep it if she didn't have the reminder that Orochimaru put it on her in the form of the visible seal on her neck where she'd felt pain so often, she could trace her whole seal without even seeing it. "It.. It feels good gaki and I'd keep it but I don't want a reminder that Orochimaru marked me whenever anyone sees it. I still want it gone.. But thank you." Anko said surprisingly softly.

Naruto pondered the last hurdle, he could just place the seal again himself and maybe even change the resting seal appearance. "What if I removed the seal completely and replaced it on your forearm? I can even change its shape to an extent." Naruto said. "Gaki, why do you want me to keep the seal so much, did you do anything else to it?" Anko said skeptically. "I can tell you've suffered from this seal for some time and it would only be fair if you gained an advantage after carrying such a disadvantage for so long, you know." Naruto spoke kindly. yhis crazy lady was annoying, but she was hot and he felt there was something he had in common with the purple haired Kunoichi. He wasn't able to place it yet but she never feared him or hated him and that was enough for him to slightly lighten his emotionless expression.

Anko studied Naruto then realized she was still naked and needed to make up her mind. "You can try but if I don't like it you're removing it." Anko commanded. Naruto absorbed her seal after he'd copied it and took a minute to decide how he could alter its shape without its purpose. He placed his hand on Anko's right forearm and placed the new seal which looked like a straight line of three brown tomoes surrounded by an oval. Anko looked over the new seal although similar, it looked different and had no connection to Orochimaru.

She channeled chakra and activated the seal which expanded over her body. Once again she felt the warmth and power of the seal and knew she was free. Orochimaru no longer had any hold on her and his mark was gone. This new mark was hers and she'd use it to take back every bit of strength and dignity she'd lost due to that fucking snake traitor. Anko realized that the gaki had done it. He'd removed her seal. She then remembered what she told him in the hokage's office.

*flashback* Anko jumped up from her knees and whispered into Naruto's ear in her sexiest voice. "I always swore to myself I'd suck the skin of the man's dick that removed my seal. And for a handsome gaki like you, I might even have to go the extra mile." Naruto blushed, his face beat red and his mind froze as his nose bled. Hinata saw this and yanked Naruto like a ragdoll away from anko. *flashback end* The gaki had done more than she ever could've expected and she was a woman of her word.

Naruto was doing final checks on his recreated seal and had confirmed everything was in order when he noticed the hungry look in Anko's eyes. He only had time to raise an eyebrow before Anko turned to face him and jiggled her assets, distracting Naruto enough for her to jump him. Naruto fell to the ground with Anko on top of him and lost all hope of resisting when her large breasts dangled right over his face. Naruto had found another weakness to his chains and his chances of survival but wasn't prepared to fight Anko's unique strategy. Anko knew the boy was putty in her hands when she dangled her assets above his face and decided it was time for him to get his reward.

Anko began placing kisses on Naruto's neck and grabbed his package through his pants and was pleased to feel more than she thought a gaki could hold. Naruto wanted her to stop because he had a fiance but he didn't want her to stop. More likely his body wouldn't let him make her stop and he could only hope that Haku would intervene as he'd sensed her watching since he added mokuton chakra to Anko's seal.

Anko was beginning to tease Naruto to her sadistic pleasure when her shinobi senses told her to move and she jumped away from Naruto just in time to avoid a senbon that looked to be made of ice. Haku quickly jumped in front of Naruto and shook her head. "I had a feeling I should be here, what were you doing to Naruto-kun." Haku said with a glare. "What does it look like girly? I was giving him his reward. You know, You're kind of cute. Want to join?" Anko said nonchalantly while seductively biting her finger.

Haku blushed and sputtered and gave Naruto a look that was almost as hungry as Anko's. Naruto could sense emotions and if he didn't want every single of his tenketsu closed by an angry hyuga and her family, he'd need to get away. These girls were about to do whatever they wanted to him, and he was about to let them. Naruto jumped to his feet and jolted until he got to his study. Once in his sanctuary, free of temptation, he relaxed on the ground and took a deep breath. He had a feeling this wasn't over but for now he was safe. In the back of his mind he thought of the C.R.A. again and guiltily wondered if Hinata would be fine with it.

Haku cursed her moment of hesitation and addressed Anko curtly. "He's gone to his study and he's the only one that can enter so there's no point in looking for him. You should leave, I'm sure you'll see him again." "Hmpf I bet you're just mad I thought of it first, but I have a new seal to test so gaki can get his reward later." Anko skipped away and out of the compound with a satisfied smile on her face while Haku stomped to her home thoroughly annoyed. Naruto sensed the two leaving and took a cold shower before returning to bed hoping to get some more sleep before Shino arrived.

Later that morning, at a more reasonable hour, Shino arrived at the compound with Hinata who he'd met on the way. Haku had returned to Naruto's house to cook breakfast and she smirked at Hinata when they entered his house. Hinata was annoyed at the smirk but unsurprised and returned a smirk. Naruto and Haku ate breakfast while Shino and Hinata discussed their upcoming month of training because they'd eaten before they left. "Shino, it's about time I explained a few things about my doujutsu.

Essentially it evolves around chakra, I can sense, see, and manipulate chakra to an ever-increasing degree. I can also copy and recreate seals, similar to the sharingan's ability to copy jutsu but it's slower and more complicated. For my mokuton and Hinata's hyoton, I analyzed the chakra of the kekkei genkai and recreated them by combining their base elements in the correct rations. From there I had to manipulate the chakra to be completely compatible with our individual chakra signatures before infusing it into our system. For me the process was quicker but for Hinata it took longer for her to begin integrating the chakra into her unique signature granting her the kekkei genkai. It's permanent and embedded into our very D.N.A.

I want to give you Kabuto's bloodline. From what I can tell his bloodline gave him incredible healing and increased physical abilities depending on how much of the chakra he molded. But there's a drawback, the more he used, the more he was driven by a bloodlust. He was able to control himself but I'm sure that the only reason we beat him is because he underestimated me until I'd injured him too much forcing him to mold a large amount of the chakra. He was too busy fighting his bloodlust to notice you in the shadows. It fits you because Aburames have an extremely high degree of emotional control and it'll cover your weakness of close combat. What do you think?" Naruto said as he finished his food.

Shino appreciated Naruto's directness, it was most logical. He'd guessed they're rare abilities had something to do with Naruto's eyes but was surprised at the offer of a bloodline. This must've been what Naruto meant when he said he had a gift for him and his clan, Shino thought. "Naruto-san, it would be logical of me to ask if this carries any risk. And although I appreciate it, I must ask if you understand the magnitude of your gift. My clan may have secret techniques but we do not have an actual kekkei genkai. If I receive a bloodline with the ability to pass it on to my children, my clan would not only be strengthened but held in a higher regard than it already is. Are you sure you are willing to give such a gift?" Shino said seriously.

Naruto gave Shino a smirk. "I'm sure Shino, but I don't want you to reveal this to anyone until the chunin exams, not even your clan. Even then we should come up with a cover story or give the least amount of detail possible. If you need to train with the chakra, you're welcome to come to use the training grounds here. I'll give you a scroll with enough chakra to infuse yourself with a little bit everyday for a month. You should be able to use it sometime in the first week and after that, the infusions will help you gain a better grasp of control.

There's going to be another jutsu that may take a while to learn but you are to burn the scrolls after you're done. I will put a blood seal on the scroll so only you can open it and the jutsu is a clan secret that I'm gifting to you and you only. Please don't teach it to anyone. I want our team to have a strong finisher." Naruto said. Hinata's curiosity grew when he said 'our team' and wondered if that meant she'd be getting his clan jutsu as well. She would've been able to get it eventually anyway but now she was slightly excited.

As if in answer to her thoughts Naruto gave her a quick nod. "Once again Naruto-san, I and the aburame clan appreciate your kindness and as the clan heir I promise the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan they will always have a friend and respect from the Aburame." Shino said genuinely. He'd find a way to repay Naruto and his clan. He made a silent promise. "Naruto-kun you should probably make the scroll soon. We have to meet with Yamato sensei about our training for the chunin exams." Said Hinata. After a nod, Naruto made Shino's scrolls and made one for Hinata in his study and delivered them to his teammates as they made their way to their team's training grounds. Haku had a shift at the hospital and walked with them until she had to go her own way. *

Yamato watched as his team approached hoping they'd like the training schedule he'd taken so much time putting together. He'd found a few jounin senseis to help with their training in areas he wasn't the best at and felt all his students would thoroughly be prepared with his program. Naruto sensed Yamato's excitement and had a feeling his sensei would be left disappointed. "I wanted to meet today to discuss your training over the next month. I'm assuming Hinata and Shino will spend a considerable amount of time training with their clans but I've put together a program for the three of you with slightly more time for Naruto to make up for not having a clan to train with.

It's going to be tough to complete but I'll ensure you're properly prepared for the kind of opponents you'll be facing in the exams." Yamato said excitedly. "Yamato sensei, along with my clan training, I have a special training to complete and will only be available for taijutsu training." Shino said. Yamato was slightly disappointed but he still had two he could focus more attention on. "Yamato sensei, I won't have time to train with you as I've arranged another sensei for a "special training" along with my father. I appreciate the offer though." Hinata said regretfully. Yamato was beginning to see a pattern but he had one last hope so he looked at Naruto with near pleading eyes. "I will train alone," Naruto said emotionlessly. Yamato was officially depressed, he wanted to train Naruto in his mokuton more than anything but knew his team wouldn't listen to him even if he tried ordering them.

He had one last message before he found a bottle of sake, "Naruto hokage-sama wants to see you about a request you've previously made." Yamato then disappeared in a twig shunshin. Hinata giggled and looked at Naruto, "request," she said questioningly. "If I'm right my apparent 'godfather' is in the village. I'll get the Nidaime's scrolls and bring them to the compound. See you later Hina-chan, Shino." Naruto disappeared in a body flicker as well leaving his teammates to go their separate ways. *

Hokage's office, Naruto entered the hokage's office and presented himself in front of a warmly smiling Hiruzen Sarutobi. "Hokage-sama, you called for me," Naruto said. Hiruzen wished Naruto would smile and call him hokage-gigi again but after his mistakes and lies it was too much to be expected. "Naruto, yes, your uh godfather is in the village and if you want to see him you can find him around the hot springs. Also, I spoke to Anko this morning and I hear that not only did you remove his seal but placed another similar seal that gave her all the benefits with none of the drawbacks. I want to know how you did this Naruto, I wasn't aware your skills in sealing were at such a level." Hiruzen spoke his last sentence firmly expecting the truth.

"It's an ability of my seigan, I can manipulate seals as well as chakra and although my full ability isn't defined I knew I could remove the seal. I didn't necessarily place a new seal, it was more like moving her previous seal and taking away harmful components." Naruto weaved lies into the truth hoping it'd be enough to quell the hokage's curiosity.

Hiruzen studied Naruto's mannerisms, and even with years of experience he wasn't able to read Naruto. "Alright Naruto, as promised you have access to the nidaime's scrolls but remember our agreed upon rules and I expect your team to make the most of this opportunity. Train well my boy, here are the documents to allow you access to the Nidiames library, dismissed." Naruto nodded and created a clone who took the documents and disappeared in a shunshin to take the scrolls to his compound.

Naruto himself disappeared as well leaving Hiruzen to his worst enemy, paperwork. Naruto went directly to the hot springs, it was time he received his clan contract and maybe even a look at his seal key. Why Jiraiya of the sannin could usually be found at the hot springs, he didn't know. Naruto didn't care either as long as he got his contract. If Naruto could somehow trick Jiraiya into summoning a toad, he could introduce himself to the toad and ask for the contract. He didn't know much about summoning animals but if they made a pact with his father, they'd more than likely honor it regardless of how Jiraiya feels about it. Naruto arrived at the hot springs and searched around the area with his seigan. He found mostly civilian and some chunin level chakras but there was this one genin level chakra that seemed too complicated and condensed for a genin or civilian.

Naruto honed in on this one and found it to be suppressed like Orochimaru in the exams but it was different. The man was beyond the wall on the woman's side of the bath houses that enclosed the hot springs. Naruto had an idea of what he was doing and honestly didn't blame him, but he wanted to get his contract and leave. Naruto could hear the giggling and scribbling as he got close to Jiraiya. The man had a ridiculous amount of spiky white hair in a ponytail, he wore a short green kimono under a red sleeveless jacket with matching green pants and a large scroll on his back. "Jiraiya," Naruto said from behind the sannin.

Jiraiya momentarily stopped his activities to wave off Naruto but continued to look through a small hole made into the wooden wall of the hot springs. Being ignored wasn't new to Naruto and he doubted he could improve his survival with this man but he wasn't deterred. "JIRAIYA," Naruto said loudly. "Damnit gaki, shsssss." Jiraiya performed quick seals and summoned a toad almost bigger than Naruto with a staff on its back. "Gamahoru, keep the gaki quiet for me will you." Jiraiya told the toad. Naruto smirked inwardly as he jumped backwards to avoid the toad's tongue. He did a set of backflips to get the toad to follow him away from Jiraiya. Gamahoru jumped after Naruto intending to knock the poor gaki out with a lash of his tongue when chains intercepted his tongue and wrapped around him tightly.

The toad was caught in mid-air and when Naruto sent more chains to reinforce his hold, Gamahoru was immobilized. Naruto looked at the surprised toad who probably thought he was some random kid or genin who was annoying Jiraiya. "My name is Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki, I'm here to get the summoning scroll for my clan as promised by your elders. As you can see, my initial attempts to speak to Jiraiya didn't work and I'm unsure if he will willingly give it to me. If possible I would like the toads to deliver the contract to me to prevent conflict." Naruto spoke calmly to show no hostile intention to the toads. Gamahoru thought the blonde kid was going to squeeze him to death before he could even return to mount myoboku, but after the chains stopped tightening, he heard what Naruto had to say.

"I'm not able to verify your identity but the fact that you know of our promise and bear a resemblance to Minato is enough for me to speak to the elders. I'll go back and return depending on their decision." Gamahoru said before he disappeared with a poof. No longer needing Jiraiya, Naruto felt like he had a score to settle and his devious side was out for blood. He could still see Jiraiya peeking as if he didn't exist and had an idea. Creating a shadow clone that hinged into a woman whose body was strikingly similar to a certain purple haired jounin, Naruto sent the clone to Jiraiya who slapped him and screamed "pervert," in a high shrill voice.

Knowing that all the women in the hot springs were now on alert, Naruto just needed one last push. Clasping his hands together as if praying to mold mokuton chakra, Naruto then stomped on the ground causing a thick tree branch to rapidly grow under Jiraiya's butt, which caused the gray haired man to jump over the bath house wall in surprise and pain.. There was a loud splash followed by an eerie silence. Then, from what Naruto could tell, all hell broke loose. The women were screaming pervert as well as other obscenities, and from the slaps and thumps he was hearing, meant they were tearing Jiraiya apart. "Ahh not there!" Jiraiya screamed above the commotion.

Naruto couldn't help but laugh, allowing his impassive mask to melt away for the moment. Naruto assumed Jiraiya had made it out of the bath house because the hot springs quieted down. He heard a poof behind him and turned to see a toad that was maybe 1 or 2 feet tall. It was obviously old with his white hair and loose skin and it wore a green cloak. The two observed each other for a moment before the toad spoke. "I am Fugusaku, one of the toad sages and elders of the toad summoning clan. Gamahoru informed me of your identity and I had to confirm it for myself. I can sense your chakra is similar to your mother's and your father's so it is indeed you." The toad, now introduced as Fugusaku said.

"Fukasaku-sama it is nice to meet you. As you know I am Naruto, I've heard of the strength the toads possess and was happy to hear your clan's promise to mine. I plan to rebuild my clan and would like the toad's assistance in my endeavors." Naruto said stoically. He'd learned a lot from being around the hyuga's so often. Fugusaku appreciated the respect shown by the boy he knew nothing about other than his heritage. "Gamahoru told me of your encounter and believes you will be strong so the toads look forward to working with you. We only ask that you treat us with the respect and dignity deserved and only allow those in your clan to sign the contract." Fugusaku said.

"I appreciate the compliment and I have a question about your last statement. I have a fiance, and possibly another soon. Would it be fine for them to sign the contract after an engagement is finalized? I'm unsure when they will take place and believe it would be best if they were able to sign the contract as soon as possible." Naruto said inquisitively. "I believe we can make an exception if and only if you are officially engaged and fully plan on integrating them into the clan. The toads also have the right to refuse summoning to anyone other than the clan head so they will have to prove themselves to their summons." Naruto nodded and dodged the incoming kick from Jiraiya, he'd sensed it coming from the battered sannin.

"Jiraiya boy, Naruto has requested the summoning scroll for his clan and as you know ownership of the scroll has been promised to his family. It is your duty as the former holder of the summoning contract to give it to him and show him how to summon." Jiraiya glared at Naruto the whole time the toad sage spoke but didn't jump on the brat out of respect for the sage. Fugusaku noticed Jiraiya paying attention to the brat instead of him and he jumped up and hit Jiraiya in the back of the head with a wooden stick that appeared and disappeared out of nowhere. Naruto smirked and Jiraiya rubbed his head grumbling something about senile old geezers which earned him another smack from the magical stick.

"Naruto, when you have the time, you should visit mount myoboku, Ma would love to see you, you're a spitting image of your father. Have a toad send me a report once you can properly summon so I know Jiraiya holds up his end of the bargain." Fugusaku said before poofing away in a cloud of smoke leaving the two shinobi alone. Jiraiya once again gave a glare to Naruto as he studied the boy. The hokage briefed him on the kid when he returned to the village to report on the findings of his spy network and to say Jiraiya was curious was an understatement. "So you're Naruto huh, quite a depressing looking brat aren't you." Jiraiya sent the insult at Naruto to see his reaction but Naruto didn't speak or react. He simply looked at Jiraiya with an emotionless expression.

"Well if you wanted the contract you could've just asked instead of setting me up with those angry women, I swear no respect for your elders kid. Come on, I'll give you the contract but I want to talk to you first. I'm assuming you know who I am and who your parents are since you moved into their compound and are here for your contract. For starters, how?" Jiraiya led Naruto away from the hot springs and into a nearby clearing while he was talking. "The hokage told me what he knew but I want to hear it from you. And I want to see this new doujutsu for myself." Jiraiya continued.

Naruto was annoyed by the demands but would play along for a little longer to get his scroll. "My dad sealed their chakra inside me with the kyuubi in waves and I was able to speak to them for a few hours. And I'll show you my seigan but I won't explain it's abilities." Naruto said. Jiraiya noticed the suspicion and distrust shown by Naruto. He probably didn't take it well when he found out Jiraiya did nothing to help when he was the kid's godfather. "Well you know gaki since you're going to be signing the toad contract anyway, I could be persuaded to take you on as an apprentice, but I'll need to know what you can do. I trained your father the 4th you know.

I'm the great and gallant Jiraiya, toad sage of mount myoboku, and one of the legendary sannin of the leaf." Jiraiya said loudly with a dance and striking pose. Jiraiya knew it'd be a long shot but he'd realized his mistakes and utter selfishness and owed it to Naruto to help with his shinobi career. He was a sannin and the boy would be lucky to receive his training. Hiruzen was skeptical about Naruto's willingness but Jiraiya believed he knew the right incentives to persuade Naruto. The blonde genin looked at Jiraiya emotionlessly and spoke as if annoyed, "I refuse, my contract now please." Naruto activated his seigan and made them glow furiously for extra effect.

His seigans growth had continued since wave and now covered over half of his iris, the dark blue of his seigan slowly drowning out the light blue of his eyes as his doujutsu grew stronger. Jiraiya was taken aback by the outright refusal but wouldn't give up just yet and took in the sight of Naruto's seigan while he played his cards. "You should think about what you're passing up gaki, I'm the strongest ninja in our village and I can teach you your father's signature jutsu, the rasengan. Not to mention how to properly be a toad summoner, you'll need that training if you intend to pass it on to your family." Jiraiya smirked, he was sure he had Naruto. Naruto figured Jiraiya had been briefed about him because the sannin seemed prepared for this conversation. Jiraiya might be right but Naruto didn't care, he didn't need Jiraiya then and he wouldn't need him now.

He might be being stubborn but his mother spoke of the uzumaki's love of family and he wouldn't respect someone who'd abandoned him. "My answer is still no, I have access to all my father's jutsu's and I'll get help from the toads. I'll become stronger than all of you, and I don't need your help for it. Now, the contract." Naruto's tone was beginning to get slightly colder. His 'godfather' had the audacity to act like he had any place in Naruto's life other than returning his belongings and Naruto was beginning to feel the need to improve his chances of survival.

Jiraiya could see that he wasn't going to be welcome into Naruto's life anytime soon but he had to try one more time. "Look, Naruto, I understand I wasn't around but I had to run the spy network outside of the village. You weren't very safe in the village but I was protecting you from foreign threats, you have to understand." Jiraiya said with a solemn tone. "It doesn't matter, what matters now is me getting the summoning contract and you showing me the seals to summon." Naruto said evenly. Jiraiya grumbled about disrespectful grudge bearing brats which Naruto ignored.

Jiraiya then went through hand seals slowly twice before summoning gamahoru the third time going through the seals. He then removed the scroll from his back and gave it to Naruto. "Alright gaki just sign the scroll with your blood and push out chakra when you place your hand on the ground. The amount of chakra you use decides the level of summon you get and you'll be able to summon specific toads once you get to know them." Naruto nodded and turned to leave with the scroll and the seals memorized in his head. "Woahh gaki damn what's the rush, aren't you going to sign the contract and summon your first toad? And are you sure you don't want me to teach you your father's rasengan, it'll be easier to learn." Jiraiya said in a last ditch effort to try to build some sort of bond with his godson.

Naruto wanted to sign the contract with Hinata so he didn't answer Jiraiya. Instead, Naruto put the scroll over his shoulders, created a rasengan in his hand and held it over his shoulder so Jiraiya could see, then disappeared in a shunshin. Naruto secretly kept one or two clones in his study working his dad's two signature jutsu's since they returned from wave and they'd finished the rasengan quickly due to his seigans ability to control chakra. He hadn't used it yet but he would eventually.

Jiraiya saw the perfect rasengan before Naruto disappeared and felt his heart sink. He knew he couldn't have expected more but seeing his perform the rasengan perfectly along with everything else Hiruzen said he could do, Jiraiya couldn't help but think he was like Minato. He'd left Minato's prodigy son to the wolves and although he wasn't the complete monster most people thought he was. The boy was cold and impassive like most hardened shinobi he'd seen and at such a young age, it was partly his fault. *

Naruto arrived at his compound and he sensed Hinata with Haku in Haku's house which was odd but he was hoping they were getting along. If he was to stay in Konoha, he'd definitely be put under the CRA. The village wanted him to reproduce his doujutsu and rebuild his clan and when he unveils his mokuton during the exams they'd only double down with the pressure to come.

At the same time, It would be preferable to have more than one wife to build his clan quicker and further the likelihood of any bloodlines being passed down. Haku would be his next option next to Hinata but he didn't know how to bring it up with Hinata just yet so he'd handle it after the chunin exams if at all. Naruto went to the training grounds with the intent to acclimate himself to a katon affinity. He didn't have it Naturally but had seen it enough to recreate it and after attuning it to his chakra signature he'd be able to learn katon jutsu in about a day.

Haku's front room, Hinata and Haku were having a stare off after Haku asked to speak with Hinata in the privacy of Haku's home. The two girls had a growing tension and they both knew why. Haku thought it was time to make her move with Naruto after recent events and figured it would be easier if Hinata wasn't an obstacle. Hinata knew Naruto naruto was starting to like Haku, she could read him like a book.

Haku obviously had feelings for him in Hinata's eyes. She doubted Naruto would love her any less if he had more than one wife in the future, at least she hoped. Not only that, and she wouldn't admit it, yet, but she liked girls too and Haku was gorgeous. One thing Hinata wouldn't stand for is someone trying to take her Naruto-kun so she needed to know Haku's intentions.

"Hinata-san, I think we both know why I wanted to speak today so I'll go ahead and say it. I know about the CRA and I want to help Naruto-kun build his clan. I know you want him for yourself and I don't want to compete with you but I will if you refuse to share him." Haku spoke firmly with a deep blush undermining her seriousness.

Hinata narrowed her eyes at Haku who stood her ground in the renewed staring contest. The tense atmosphere ended abruptly when Hinata giggled and smiled at Haku. "Haku, I've made my peace with the CRA, my father has explained its necessity for Naruto and the village and I'll have to admit. I would like a big family like I had in the Hyuga clan and that would take more members of the clan so I'm fine with Naruto taking other wives. But not too many, and I'll be the first wife and his f-first." Their staring contest quickly became a blushing contest as Hinata grew redder at the thought of going the distance with Naruto.

Haku was embarrassed but excited that things wouldn't be awkward with Hinata anymore and responded with her biggest smile. "Thanks Hinata, I guess we'll be like sisters if I can get Naruto-kun to notice me." Haku said. Hinata once again giggled before speaking, "I'm sure that won't be a problem, just do what I tell you and it'll be fine." Hinata moved closer to Haku pressing her body against hers and whispered something in Haku's ear. Haku was beet red at Hinata's closeness and what she'd said but nodded emphatically at her plan. *

Council Chambers that night. Hiruzen sat in front of the gathered council to discuss the massacre during the second stage of the exams. He'd gotten the full report of the investigation on what happened in the forest and both sides of the council insisted on viewing the results. "I have given you a copy of the final report on what happened in the forest of death including statements from the surviving teams. I think we will all see something very concerning but I will remind you that any actions taken in the forest were sanctioned by the exam so we will not focus on blame today."

Hiruzen paused and took a deep sigh before he spoke his next words. "The floor is open for discussion." The council room exploded with questions, accusations and statements. Hiruzen had to motion for everyone to stop speaking and give them a chance to go one at a time before he had to have them raise their hands like academy students. The council took the moment to collect themselves and suddenly no one knew where to start.

"Hokage-sama, is it wise to continue the exams with such a high death toll already. It's obvious that certain genin are not only significantly stronger but have a lust for killing and the political drawbacks of the second stage itself will probably be astronomical. Iwa lost 5 of its 6 competing teams to the Namikaze heir's team and one more in the prelims which won't bode well with the tsuchikage. His granddaughter is in Nartuo's bracket and if Naruto kills her we might just have a war on our hands. Kumo won't be happy with their losses as well but our genin wasn't involved in all of their deaths." Homura said getting things started.

"I understand that but there will be just as costly political ramifications if we cancel with so many important figures expected to attend. As you said, most of the damage is already done, we can't afford to look apologetic or weak now." Hiruzen said sagely. "Hokage-sama, what are the odds of team 7 killing konoha genin during the final stage? It would look bad for the village and we can't afford to lose more genin," said Tsume Inuzuka. "I cannot give you a definite answer but I will strongly advise them against it. It would be unfair competition if I ordered them to keep other konoha shinobi alive and every genin has the right to forfeit at any time. They know the risks, now more than ever," Hiruzen responded, taking the questions in stride.

"The bodies of 3 iwa genin teams killed brutally in close proximity were found surrounded by a newly grown dense forest. The clean kills, closed tenketsu, internal injuries, crushed bodies, raiton burns, and pools of blood point to a pattern that indicates team 7. This means that a person on their team can perform mokuton to a proficient level and I have a good Idea of who it is. My question is did you know Naruto Namikaze could perform mokuton?" Danzo spoke evenly but was inwardly furious at Hiruzen for not refining such a gem.

Team 7 led by Naruto acted as if they were on orders from Danzo yet he'd never spoken to either of the genin. The pride Danzo felt in Naruto and the disgrace of his lack of loyalty to his village was ungodly in his eyes. The gathered council was generally surprised at the revelation beside a few of the keener minds on the shinobi council who'd noticed it in the report immediately. Hiruzen took a moment to gather his thoughts with all the attention firmly on him.

"It isn't confirmed that he has mokuton but as you say, it seems he does. He was the one who completed Yamato's mokuton vaulting him in the competition for strongest jounin in the village with guy and kakashi. Not including the sannin of course. I have a feeling we'll know for sure when the third stage of the exams commence but I don't wish to pressure him on this just yet. He needs more ties to the village, not only does he deserve it, he will become an astronomical asset to the village regardless of his jinchuriki status." The council seemed to accept their hokage's answer and soon the next question was raised.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to reiterate the potential repercussions of the third stage of the exams. I assume the raikage and the tsuchikage will be there since they have prominent genin competing in such an anticipated event. If the son of the yellow flash kills the granddaughter of the tsuchikage in front of the tsuchikage and virtually the whole elemental nations, we may very well see war. There's already history because our yondaime killed the tsuchikage's only son and Iwa wouldn't stand for this." Shukaku Nara said with concern. "You are right, but there is nothing I can do. Even if I rig the lineup they may still meet in the finals. Iwa won't be able to declare war easily or they'll look bitter and brash, our wisest and only option at this point is to hope for the best." Hiruzen responded knowing the council wouldn't be happy but didn't have a good enough reason to disagree.

"The report mentions Orochimaru making an appearance after taking the identity of a genin team he'd killed. Have we discovered anything about his motives? Also, there's a logical possibility of him interfering with the third stage of the exams. How do we respond?" Shibi Aburame added evenly. The elderly kage replied soothly, "As for his motives, we do not yet know but an autopsy of Kabuto yakushi and his teammates revealed body modifications and their corpse contained evidence of experiments conducted by orochimaru.

Team 7 revealed Kabuto's admission of his loyalty to orochimaru. After an investigation into Kabuto's history we can reliably say he was a major mole for orochimaru. A pattern of deaths, coincidences, and mission deviations follow him although he was good at what he did so it was hard to find. Hopefully the lack of his main informant will hinder his plans. For the exams non-crucial missions will be put on hold for three days: the day before, the day of, and the day after the exam. Foreign ninja attendance will be severely limited and heavily monitored, even our allies in tsuna.

The extra shinobi will be stationed around the village and the surrounding forests and beyond to create a temporary blockade. Naruto was the one who sensed Orochimaru the first time but I'll have Jiraiya there personally to screen those in attendance. I'm employing all active anbu to bolster the village's security as if we know of an imminent attack. These exams will possibly be the biggest event in the elemental nations because of who is competing and no doubt even more so once the results of the second stage are known publicly. Even if orochimaru is able to slip through the cracks, he won't have any help and won't leave alive. There isn't much else we can do unless we get more information." The council nodded to the hokage's wise decision and they were dismissed after going over a few more topics.*

At a hidden meeting place near Konoha later that night, Danzo looked at Orochimaru, he'd worked with the man behind the scenes since before the snake sannin defected from Konoha. "Orochimaru, why did you need to contact me?" Said Danzo seriously. "Kukuku well as I'm sure you know my plans have been derailed and I'll need information and another opening for a few of my men to enter the village," Orochimaru answered. "And why should I do that? You had your opportunity and were discovered. Your inside man is dead and because of your blunder, the village's security has been bolstered to a war level threat. What would Konoha and I gain from this?" Danzo said scoldingly.

"We had a deal Danzo. I'll kill Hiruzen and get the oldest surviving uchiha in the leaf and you get Hashirama's cells and the vacant hokage position, everyone's happy. Don't abandon the plan now when I have so much information on you." Said Orochimaru hoping to pressure Danzo into following through with their deal with a threat. "Even if Hiruzen dies, there's now two new candidates for the position along with the last sannin arriving in the village soon. The position would more than likely go to someone younger. My best option to mold Konoha in my image would be choosing a future Hokage candidate to follow my ideals and ensure he is ready and chosen for the position when the time comes.

I sense war on the horizon and Konoha cannot be disjointed during such a crucial time so all of our dealings are off. I have just as much information on you as you do me and I can cripple your new little village of otto. I will be warning Hiruzen of your connection with sunagakure and about a possible invasion at a later date. I highly advise you to stay away. My root force will defend Konoha from the shadows and any places you might slither through our borders.

Things have changed. In times to come the roots must stay firm to support the great tree that is Konoha and for new roots to grow, ever expanding the tree's hold." Danzo spoke firmly with no room for misinterpretation. Orochimaru was angered but knew a fight with Danzo and his root at this time would be inadvisable even if he knew he could win. "I will take your warning but know that from this point on we are enemies. I will destroy the leaf village with your help or not eventually.

Tell me this though, it seems like you've found someone you approve of. Who is it, a member of your root?" Orochimaru finished with a smirk. Danzo narrowed his eyes but gave no answer before leaving in a body flicker. Orochimaru knew his plans were ruined, how could he attack the leaf village without a way to get his forces safely to the village and he couldn't rely on gaara since Kabuto's final report said the mokuton experiment somehow completed his mokuton. If Kabuto's report was true, the anbu Yamato, one of Orochimaru's old experiments, now had a stronger mokuton and could possibly subdue a raging jinchuriki on his own.

Orochimaru was planning on impersonating the Kazekage who he'd killed a few weeks prior but it would prove pointless if he was discovered like the last time and had no backup to cover for his escape. If he couldn't avoid the special sensor in the village then the sound 5, his elite guard, wouldn't be able to avoid detection. Orochimaru was brazen but not suicidal so he' have to abandon tsuna before they discovered his deception and return to the drawing board. He'd first need more information which meant time so his plans of attacking the chunin exams to kill Hiruzen was no longer an option.

He may still be able to get Sasuke or one of the other little Uchiha. Itachi had spared 5 kids, his brother being the oldest while the rest of the kids were toddlers or newborns meaning Sasuke was the only one fit to join him and become the next vessel for orochimaru's soul. After that moment of thought, Orochimaru disappeared in a body flicker. *

Namikaze compound training grounds the next day. Hinata and Naruto were signing the toad contract with their blood. Hinata was ecstatic to find out they had a clan summoning contract and couldn't wait to meet the toads. "Naruto-kun did Jiraiya-sama explain how we should summon?" Hinata said. Naruto nodded and replied, " yup just follow my hand seals, and you also need a little blood." Naruto slowly showed Hinata the hand seals which she remembered. "The pervert said the amount of chakra we use depends on the level of summon we get and I'm sure he condensed the chakra into his palm as he placed the summoning seal on the ground. We should probably start with the chakra a c-rank jutsu would take."

Hinata raised an eyebrow at Naruto's 'pervert' comment, but nodded and followed along as Naruto performed the hand signs before biting his thumb to draw blood. Naruto slammed his hand on the ground followed by Hinata and in unison, they said Kuchiose no jutsu, summoning jutsu. Two puffs of smoke appeared in front of the duo and when the smoke cleared there were two small toads about the size of the elder toad Naruto had met but these were obviously much younger. Once was a dark orange toad wearing a blue sleeveless jacket, the other was a yellow toad with orange markings wearing a blue sleeveless jacket. The orange toad introduced himself to Naruto as Gamakichi, while the yellow toad introduced himself to Hinata as Gamatatsu.

After the genin introduced themselves as well, Gamakichi asked a question. "So you're our new clan of summoners? Are we your first summons? And how did a hyuga get to sign the contract? Naruto raised an eyebrow and the barrage of questions from the young toad and Hinata giggled. "Gamakichi-san, Naruto-kun is the heir to the Namikaze-Uzumaki clan and we're engaged. I'm not a member of the clan just yet but your elders agreed to allow me to sign as long as I have full intentions on going through with the marriage. And yes you're our first summons."

The two toads nodded and jumped on their respective summoners heads. "Do you have any snacks?" Gamatatsu asked and was backed up by a vigorous head nodding of Gamakichi. Naruto smirked at the toad's antics and created a shadow clone to grab snacks from his house. "My clone will grab snacks, he'll be back in a minute. We're going to keep trying to summon more toads if you want to stick around and wait." Naruto said slightly impassively but he was quickly warming up to these two toads.

He had a feeling they were going to be useful in the future. Naruto and Hinata continued to summon toads upping the amount of chakra until they'd both summoned toads that required an A-rank's amount of chakra. Hinata was exhausted but seeing the giant toads they'd summoned was worth it. They weren't boss toads but extremely competent battle toads and gamakichi said their next jump were the boss toads. The two genin had introduced themselves to all the toads they'd summoned and found that they needed to earn the respect of every toad they were going to use in battle.

To do that they sparred with almost every toad they summoned, they even sparred with the b-rank toads. By time the stronger toads were summoned, the A-rank toads were laughing their asses off at the two new summoners knocking around the other summons for respect. They didn't want anything other than details on their strengths so they could work to accommodate them. Their last summoning of the day wouldn't be a hurdle for Naruto but Hinata was nearly out of chakra.

Naruto filled her reserves in preparations and Hinata planned on using the chakra stored in her arm guards. Before they started the hand seals, Gamatatsu spoke up. "Isn't it kind of small to bring two of the boss summons, Kichi?" "You're right, tatsu. Naruto, we should go somewhere with more space doncha think." Gamatatsu said. Naruto thought of the best place to go when Hinata had a suggestion. "We could go to the stream by training grounds 7. There's multiple large clearings around and the toads might appreciate the water."

The two genin and two toads made their way through the village via shunshin to Hinata's offered location. Gamakichi and Gamatatsu would never forget the day they met their new clan summoners. It was unheard of for mere kids to have enough chakra control or chakra to summon any of the b-rank or higher toads least of all on their first try. When Naruto had summoned Gamakichi's dad, Gamabunta and Aid Hinata in summoning Gamatatsu's dad gamaken, all four toads were flabbergasted.

Gamabunta didn't believe two brats could summon him and Gamaken but Gamakichi and Gamatatsu assured him that they'd been with the two kids the whole time and saw them do it. Gamaken liked Hinata and respected her feat of summoning so many strong toads and after an endorsement from his son, Gamatatsu. Gamaken gave Hinata his blessing before dispelling with Gamatatsu. Gamabunta on the other hand was vastly more stubborn. Soon, an argument broke out between him and Naruto that was getting heated. "I ain't acknowledging a gaki like you as my summon, no, not happening, you can't even drink damnit." Gamabunta thundered, eliciting heavy giggles from Hinata and Gamakichi who'd taken a spot on her head since Naruto was busy.

"I'm a shinobi. I'm considered an adult, so I can drink dattebayo. And you're not too big to improve my chances of survival." Naruto screamed at Gamabunta through gritted teeth. "What the fuck are you talkin about gaki, bring it on lets see what you got." Gamabunta responded. Hinata figured it was time to interject to prevent their relationship with the toads from going down the drain.

"Gamabunta-sama, you're the current head boss of the toad clan right? It'd be best to have a good relationship with your future clan of contract holders so isn't there any way Naruto-kun can prove himself to you besides the two of you beating each other to a pulp?" Hinata said sweetly with a smile that could melt the heart of even a cold blooded animal. Gamabunta took a moment to think over her words, the brat didn't seem to be much of a pushover when he took another look at Naruto.

"Alright, brat if you want me to acknowledge you as my henchman then stay on top of my head until the sun goes down. If you can't do that, you aren't worth my time." Gamabunta looked smug but he didn't know Naruto Namikaze-Uzumaki. "Hina-chan, you should go back to the compound to study the nidaime's scrolls. I found one that would interest you the most and you may be able to do it with your high suiton affinity. You'll know it when you see it. I'll be back later after this toad show's acceptable behavior," Naruto said with a light smirk meant for Hinata, he was barely holding his composure. Naruto wanted to drop a salt mine on the uncooperative toad.

It was unacceptable but Naruto knew he wouldn't have just accepted a summoner for nothing either. Hinata smiled before giving Naruto a peck on the cheek and leaving via shunshin with her toad friend. "Come on gaki lets see what you got, I'll show you, acceptable you uppity midget." Gamabunta spoke tauntingly. "Deal, but after sundown you're going to acknowledge me as your summoner not your damn henchman."Naruto used a jolt step to appear on Gamabunta's back and channeled chakra to his feet to latch on. Gamabunta puffed a cloud of smoke towards Naruto on his head as he grunted in affirmation before preparing to humble the brat. Naruto threw some chains that wrapped around Bunta's body for extra security and even gave the toad a healthy squeeze.

With Naruto's perfect chakra control and chains, sticking to the giant toad, despite all Gamabunta's efforts to throw him off, was easy. Gamabunta tried everything, jumping high, jumping far, jumping fast, jumping a lot, rolling, and cursing up a storm. Naruto Sat down and latched on with his chains. By sundown, Naruto wasn't even out of breath though he was nauseous. Gamabunta was lying in a shallow stream desperately gasping for breath. Naruto jumped off his head and landed in front of the giant toad's face with an emotionless expression on his face.

Naruto stared into the still heavily panting Gamabunta's eyes for a few moments before speaking firmly. "I don't appreciate you treating me like some snot nosed kid and frankly I feel the need to improve my chances of survival right now. Although, I respect your strength and the strength of your clan. I expect the same respect as a summoner that I give you as the summon. I'm not some weak brat. I'm a real shinobi. Understand?" Gamabunta wanted to yell at the brat for his audacity but he knew the brat was right and he was a toad of his word.

"Yea yea gaki, I'll admit, you're made of some tough stuff. The chains were definitely cheating but you've earned my respect as the holder of our contract and my summoner. We only have one more thing to do, next time you're free, I want you to summon kichi and have him tell me to prepare for a night of drinking. I want you to summon me an hour after kichi returns so we can make it official. Welcome to the family, kid," Gamabunta gumbled before dispelling and returning home leaving Naruto somewhere in the Konoha woods.

Naruto was headed home when he sensed 3 chakra signatures quickly approaching. Unsheathing his furaijin no ken, Naruto activated his seigan and assumed his kenjutsu stance waiting for the shinobi to arrive. He wasn't familiar with their chakra so he decided to prepare for the worst. The three chakra signatures surrounded him but stayed hidden in the shadows. Naruto focused on the three hidden shinobi and found 2 jounin and one kage level shinobi although their presences were suppressed. He knew he'd have to escape if they were hostile.

Naruto knew it wasn't a fight he could win and honestly he was tired of kage level shinobi coming out of the woodworks so he searched their emotions and found nearly nothing. The only thing he could sense was curiosity and determination from the kage level shinobi. Naruto focused mainly on that chakra signature and saw seals covering his right arm and eye hiding a familiar chakra behind that he couldn't place. Naruto sensed a chakra spike from the emotionless shinobi on his back right and jolted away just in time to dodge two slabs of earth rising from the ground that would've either crushed or trapped him. He felt the other emotionless shinobi charge him from his blind spot and Naruto twisted and swung his sword to where the shinobi would be.

The shinobi ducked under the swipe and jumped back to avoid chains that erupted from Naruto's back. Naruto got a good look at the shinobi and he wore a facemask that covered everything but his mouth with a konoha headplate attached. He wore a black cloak, black pants, and black gloves with a tanto strapped diagonally on his back. Naruto channeled futon chakra into furaijin and jolt stepped towards the shinobi and sent a barrage of slashes aiming for vital or crippling cuts. The ninja tried parrying with the tanto on his back but Naruto sliced it in half and left the shinobi with a deep gash on his shoulder before the shinobi began dodging in an attempt to find an opening.

Naruto sensed the other emotionless shinobi appear above him with a downward slash of his tanto and Naruto rolled to the side. He caught a view of the new shinobi and it looked like an anbu but with a weird blank mask. Naruto lashed out with his chains to keep the black masked shinobi back while he sent a wind slash at the anbu who dodged. Naruto was about to charge in to follow up when he received a kick to the side of the head, courtesy of the black masked shinobi who'd somehow outmaneuvered his chains.

Naruto flew towards the edge of the clearing and he used his chains to grab a tree and stop his momentum. The white masked anbu appeared next to him thrusting his tanto towards Naruto's gut. Naruto had sensed his opponent at the last second and managed to create a chain shield but it only lessened the damage. Naruto assumed the white masked anbu used futon chakra through his blade. Naruto sensed the other shinobi closing in and released a barrage of chains that forced both enemies backwards.

The stab into Naruto's side missed any vitals so he'd be fine but he was livid. Naruto now wanted to improve his survival despite the odds. "Kit calm down, don't lose your shit now. You'll get us killed, I'll heal your wounds but focus." Kurama said. Naruto was surprised to get help from Kurama in a fight but he assumed the fox liked playing around with manifestations of orochimaru since he absorbed the snake's chakra. Naruto used the space his chains gave him to run through hand seals, if he could reduce visibility and spam clones he might be able to escape. His opponents were strong, especially together and the near kage level shinobi still hasn't moved from his spot. "Mokuton Nativity of a world of trees," Naruto said as a small dense forest sprung up all around him. Naruto quickly created 75 clones and they all began to jolt-step erratically before taking to the upper branches and attempting to flee.

sensed his two attackers randomly attacking his clones but lost track of the kage level shinobi. Naruto jumped into the trees with his clones and honed his immediate senses, noticing a shinobi on the branch he was headed to. Naruto looked just in time to see an old man with bandages covering his right eye and his arm in a sling under a formal kimono, appear in front of him and punch him to the ground. Naruto hit the ground hard but was cushioned by his chains. He jumped up but the man appeared in front of him throwing a kick that sent Naruto through a few trees. Naruto pulled himself back up and was ready to fight back when the old man appeared in front of him again and yelled, "enough."

The look in the man's single eye was enough for Naruto to at least pause. He saw the man wasn't attacking and jumped back to create a bit of room. Naruto stayed in his kenjutsu stance and on alert for whatever was to come. Danzo stood in front of Naruto observing the boy best suited to continue his legacy. He'd followed the boy's progress and kept watch over the years and was pleased with what he'd seen. Despite certain factors out of his control, the boy had grown strong and kept a semblance of sanity, more than people would expect by the boy's actions.

He was impressed by his sensory abilities and his composure and wise decisions in battle. The boy's kenjutsu wasn't refined but it was lethal and his chakra control was ridiculous as could be seen by his chains which are pure chakra constructs. And what Danzo had wanted to see most of, his mokuton was powerful. The boy didn't even look winded for doing something Yamato would need to put in a substantial amount of effort to accomplish, even with his new improvement. The boy was trained by Itachi who he'd trained himself so the old warhawk guessed it was to be expected.

"I'm Danzo Shimura, I'm not here to kill. I simply needed to test your capabilities before I extended my offer. I'm impressed, you truly are a prodigy. I can see that even with your little display." Naruto was confused because it seemed like a compliment but Danzo's face told him it was simply a statement. He was pissed but even Naruto knew when he couldn't improve his survival so he'd listen, for now. "What offer could you extend to me, and what do you want from me?" Naruto said evenly with his emotionless expression. Danzo approved of Naruto's behavior, it was fitting of a true shinobi. "I'm offering to train you for the chunin exams. You are strong, Namikaze, but not yet strong enough.

Your kenjutsu is practiced but I can tell you haven't had prolonged instruction. Your physical abilities, while impressive, are lacking for your potential. You have yet to realize the full abilities of your own doujutsu and with your chakra reserves you should've been able to level the forest of death but there was no evidence of any outstanding jutsu's besides your mokuton and a raiton jutsu of unknown origin. I have followed your progress since you are our village's jinchuriki and while you are no doubt leagues above your generation, your full potential is still being wasted." Danzo slammed his cane into the ground to emphasize his point before continuing. "I once heard your dream was to be the strongest shinobi there ever was.

I want you to become that and bring Konoha with you to be the strongest village without question. What I want, Namikaze, is your loyalty to konoha, and in exchange. I'll give you the power you want and give you the means to protect the few that you truly care about." Danzo had done his homework and, unlike Hiruzen, he knew Naruto's true nature even more than Naruto.. Danzo believed Naruto felt stronger whenever he killed, sort of like 'whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger'. Naruto didn't get killed so he was stronger. If he gained the slightest inkling of trust or respect from the boy, his plan might work.

Naruto felt like there was something missing, he'd be lying if he said the man wasn't right but he was obviously shady despite how strong he was. "Answer this for me. I'm assuming you can help with all the areas you mentioned, but what do you mean by 'yet to realize my doujutu's full potential and how could you help', Naruto said. "You've never shown any proficiency in genjutsu when your seigan constantly leaks chakra into the atmosphere. The light your dojutsu is producing this very moment is really your chakra. You can use that chakra to invade an opponent's chakra system and maybe even a few more applications I have a theory on." Danzo said evenly.

Naruto focused on the space immediately in front of him and noticed an ultra-fine layer of chakra leaking from his eyes. How he'd never noticed it he didn't know, it was like the lenses on glasses to him so he probably overlooked it til now. "You might be right about some things but Jiraiya of the sannin offered to train me recently and I already have a sensei. Why should I train with you and more importantly why should I trust you any more than I do them." Naruto wanted to take the offer but his gut and a fox inside his head were telling him to be wary of the man in front of him.

"Trust is a dangerous thing in the ninja world, boy. I've told you what I wanted from you, I may ask more of you at a time but you will have a choice. All that I ask of you is to keep our meeting a secret whether you accept my offer or not. I can train you in kenjutsu and can offer training for any element you would like to learn as well as for your mokuton. I will train your physical abilities as well as teach you genjutsu. Lastly, I'll help you unravel the secrets of your doujutsu. Our training will take three weeks. The first week I will show you a training method with shadow clones that will take advantage of your monstrous reserves. It will be mentally taxing but you'll get years of practical knowledge in a week while I train your body and discover more about your seigan for the full three. I will leave before we have any 'unwanted' guests and I advise you to do the same.

Take these scrolls and burn them when you're done with them, allow no one but you to see them. Consider it a gift of good will and meet the two men who you fought, here, tomorrow morning at dawn if you accept my offer." Danzo tossed Naruto three scrolls before disappearing in a shunshin. Naruto sensed the other two shinobi who were watching from the shadows leave as well. Naruto didn't know what to make of the situation and sealed the scrolls away before leaving in a shunshin to his compound. *

Naruto went straight to the training grounds where he found Hinata and Haku practicing suiton jutsu. They seemed to be trying to pull water from the surrounding atmosphere and were doing a decent job at it. Naruto figured Hinata had found the scroll he thought she'd want the most. Making his way to the two girls, Naruto got their attention and described what had just happened with Danzo. He knew he could trust these two with his life so he didn't care what Danzo told him. Haku jumped Naruto looking for his wounds but only found dried blood where he'd been stabbed, and Hinata was in deep thought knowing Naruto would've been healed already.

"Naruto-kun, Danzo is a dangerous man. My father warned me about him a long time ago. I'm pretty sure he has a spot on the civilian council as well. He was a hokage candidate when the third was chosen so he's definitely powerful. My father also doesn't think he's as crippled as he seems. What did you feel from his emotions, and the scrolls seem important as well." Hinata said. "His emotions were controlled and vague but I never felt ill intent and the most I got was curiosity and eagerness. I might've felt a bit of pride when we talked in the end but that's about it. And here's the scrolls. I didn't see any harmful seals with my seigan so they're relatively safe." Naruto finished and unsealed the scrolls from the storage seal on his sleeve.

Unrolling the first one, Naruto began to read. The scroll detailed parts of two people's lineage. According to the scroll, he had a living relative. Tsunade senju was his cousin. He was the great great grandson of Mito Uzumaki's sister Rui Uzumaki and Tsunade was the granddaughter of Mito Uzumaki. Naruto remembered his mom referring to someone as her ne-chan and wondered if it was tsunade. The scroll further detailed Tsunade's relationship with his mom. His mom had lived with Tsunade in the nearly abandoned Senju compound. Apparently they had a close relationship until his mother's death was the final straw for Tsunade who left the village and never returned since. The scroll stated that she was likely not informed of his existence.

Naruto relayed the scrolls information and cursed the hokage for hiding even more from him. Hinata and Haku stayed silent to allow Naruto to deal with the information at his own pace. Naruto burned the scroll with condensed raiton chakra and opened the next. This scroll was classified information on the anbu, crow. Naruto's eyes widened when he saw what was in the scroll because the hokage would never answer questions about his sensei crow. Naruto figured he was an uchiha because he disappeared completely from the village around the same time as the uchihas. Naruto could tell because he could occasionally catch a trace of inkling of his sensei's chakra before then.

The scroll confirmed Naruto's suspicion but exactly who his sensei was shocked Naruto. His sensei crow was Itachi Uchiha the exKonoha nin who killed the whole uchiha clan except for 9 kids, single handedly. The scroll went on to detail some of his abilities. His katon jutsu prowess, his proficiency in genjutsu, and his contract with crows. It was hard for Naruto to believe his sensei killed his entire clan but he had no reason to not believe it. If Itachi had a crow contract, then he believed he was his sensei. Naruto remembered his sensei's crows vividly.

He relayed his newfound senseis identity to his team, which earned surprised expressions from the two hyoton users. He held the last scroll in his hand and opened it to see a summoning contract titled crow. He only saw itachi's name signed in blood which meant he was the first and last to sign the contract. How Danzo got this contract, Naruto didn't know but if it was he sensei's, traitor or not, he'd carry it with his clan. "Is that a crow contract?" Haku asked. "It is, somehow Danzo had my sensei's summoning contract and Itachi is the only one who'd signed it." Naruto responded. "Are you going to sign it? Will there be any problem with the toads?" Hinata asked thoughtfully.

I'm not sure but It's getting late and I know the quickest way to find out." Naruto went through hand signs as he spoke then bit his thumb before slamming his hand on the ground. Gamakichi appeared in a puff of smoke, confused. "Hey whatsup man, did you miss me already?" Gamakichi asked. Naruto spared the toad a small smile before replying. "Actually Gamakichi I have a question for the toads. I have a crow contract that my sensei used and was wondering if there would be any conflict for me to sign it." Gamakichi pondered his question before giving his answer, "Just call me Kichi and I don't know for sure, I'll have to ask the elders. Mind if I bring them the contract? I'll come back in a bit, hopefully you'll have snacks." Naruto nodded and handed Gamakichi the scroll and sent a clone to get snacks as the toad poofed away.

Gamakichi returned after a few minutes and received his snacks from a clone. "The elders don't necessarily like it but will allow you and your clan to sign both since the crow summons are a very minor clan used mostly for distractions, surveillance, and delivering messages. They said you may be able to travel on one if the crows have progressed enough but there won't be a conflict of interest." Gamakichi took his snacks and returned home after receiving a nod from Naruto who was eager to follow his sensei in becoming a crow summoner.

"Would it be alright If I signed the contract as well? Haku asked when Naruto began signing in blood. Naruto gave Haku a smile and answered. "Ok but if you sign it, you're a part of the clan." Haku didn't think Naruto meant it too seriously but blushed at the implications of being accepted into his clan officially. Haku blushed even more when she thought about marrying into the clan. "Hinata, I want you to sign as well, in the future the contract could be invaluable when it comes to communication." Naruto spoke warmly as he thought of the decision he'd just made.

"Ok Naruto-kun, but what do you think about Danzo's offer? I'd say it was a good idea if it wasn't who it was. I don't think we can trust him but he could make you stronger if that's what you want." Hinata had an idea of what Naruto would decide by the contemplative look on his face but wanted to know for sure. If he was going to train with the man this would be the last time she'd see him for 3 weeks. "I'm going to take him up on his offer. I want to be the strongest for our chances of survival and although I don't trust him, I believe his offer is genuine this time." Naruto said.

"So you're leaving for three weeks," Haku said with a cute pout. Naruto had an urge to comfort Haku in a way he was sure wasn't acceptable in front of his fiancé, so he settled. "I'm sorry Haku-chan, but maybe when I get back, I can try building that bathhouse you keep saying you want for the compound," Naruto said, hoping to bring back Haku's intoxicating smile. Haku indeed smiled warmly at Naruto making it his turn to blush. Hinata watched the two interact and smirked inwardly before pressing herself against Naruto. "Naruto-kun, do I get a going away gift," she said.

Naruto couldn't help but stare into the eyes of the beautiful hyuga pressing herself against him. Willing to grant almost any wish she'd ask of him in that moment, Naruto leaned down and gave Hinata a passionate kiss. Hinata enjoyed her gift but remembered her discussion with Haku. Once the lingering kiss ended, she grabbed Haku's hand and pulled the ice user in front of her, pressing Haku between her and Naruto. Haku knew this was an improvised part of the plan but still wasn't fully prepared. Haku steeled herself before giving Naruto a hungry kiss.

One moment, Naruto was kissing Hinata and the next, Hinata was placing Haku between them and Haku was kissing him. Naruto was never the best thinker so he just went with it. Why look a gift horse in the mouth. Naruto enjoyed how aggressive yet submissive Haku's kiss was, it was different from Hinata's soft, slow, and sweet kisses. Naruto felt Haku's breath hitch and he opened his eyes to see Hinata laying soft kisses on Haku's neck. Naruto began kissing Haku with growing intensity until he pulled away to catch his breath.

The full scope of what was occurring at the moment became clear in Naruto's mind and he froze in shock. Hinata couldn't just stand there and watch and ended up kissing Haku on her neck which left Hinata embarrassed but by the reactions of Haku and Naruto, it was well received. Looking at the shock on Naruto's face, Hinata winked at her fiance and with a giggle, pulled a stunned Haku with her as they left Naruto on the training grounds alone. "You are one lucky gaki you know that. Now go ravage your two vixens, now. Don't be a pussy, marriage be damned Your compound, your vixens." Kurama said to Naruto making his opinion of the situation known. Naruto ignored the fox sealed inside his stomach and went inside his home for a cold, cold shower. *

Afternoon the next day, Tsunade was staring at the gates of Konoha. Admittedly, she never planned on returning to the village that took so many of her loved ones but once she'd heard of a Namikaze-Uzumaki child participating in the chunin exams, she needed answers. Apparently the whole elemental nations were anticipating the next chunin exams due to the prominent genin participating from almost every village who received an invite, including Iwa and Kumo. She was away dealing with an outbreak during the kyuubi attack and was informed that Kushina and Minato were killed.

Kushina's death, her adopted little sister who she saw more as a daughter, was the final straw. Tsunade left the village with Shizune in tow. She'd gambled off her personal funds and now owed a bunch of land sharks around the elemental nations. She could pay them off with the senju clan money but she couldn't bring herself to use it for her gambling addiction, no matter how much was there. Over the years she'd heard from Hiruzen but nothing about Kushina's child and every step Tsunade took, her level of fury rose.

Over her travels she had, in fact, learned of a demon child who was massacring the civilians of the leaf village. Tsunade had always been more than smart and she was safe in believing Minato didn't actually kill a sentient mass of chakra. More than likely he sealed it into their child and the kid's life obviously wasn't easy. Hiruzen would have a lot to answer to, she would've come back to raise the child. She wouldn't have willingly made that mistake again. Shizune was nervous because she'd rarely seen her sensei so apprehensive and angry. She was happy to finally see the village again but had a feeling it'd be bittersweet. She held tonton the pig a little closer.

Tsunade walked past two gate guards and one with a bandage across his face and over his nose jumped in front of Tsunade and asked to see her identification. Tsunade swatted him away without breaking her stride while he went flying. "Kotetsu are you stupid, that's senju Tsunade. Haven't you heard of her temper?" Izumo said to his partner who was crumbled in a heap against the wall of a building. Izumo then nodded to Shizune who hurried to catch up to Tsunade. Tsunade marched to the hokage's office with enough killing intent to clear the streets.

The receptionist and shinobi in the Hokage tower knew when to mind their business and said nothing to the obviously angry senju. Hiruzen felt Tsunade coming since she came through the front gates due to the heavy killing intent she was releasing. He wasn't the least surprised to see the doors to his office shatter to pieces. His anbu jumped to intercept the attacker but Tsunade sent two through the window before the last two anbu took a second to see who was attacking. Neko and Kuma were seasoned anbu and knew the legend of Tsunade.

If they intervened, they'd be beaten and Tsunade would receive no penalty. "Choose," Tsunade said, sensing their inner turmoil. The two anbu turned to Hiruzen and bowed before returning to their hidden spots in the corners of the room. Hiruzen scowled at his cowardly anbu, but he didn't blame them. He wished he was one of them at the moment. "Now Tsunade, you can't just.." Hiruzen was interrupted when Tsunade destroyed his desk and scattered the piles of paperwork he'd just completed.

Shizune remained right outside of the office to let the Hokage handle his own problems. "You said nothing! You know how I felt about Kushina. I didn't think the child was ever born!" Tsunade screamed. Hiruzen was devastated to see all his paperwork be scattered and destroyed. It'd taken him all day to get it done. "Tsunade, If I told you, you would've taken him from the village and his heritage would've been obvious, putting the boy at risk." Hiruzen said, trying to save face.

In all actuality, he didn't want the village's jinchuriki coddled and Tsunade would've made it hard to control or manipulate Naruto. Some of the strongest ninja came from the worst of circumstances and now the village's jinchuriki was strong. "Bullshit, I'm a sannin and I could've stayed in the village for Kushina's son! Tell me he's not the one they say is a demon who kills citizens? Tell me you haven't twisted his mind." "The boy is fine and he's only killed in self-defense. If you ever came to the village, you might've seen him." "Is that what this is, spite? You didn't tell me because I left the village? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Alright Tsunade enough, I am the kage of this village. Naruto's Identity was a village secret. I had no obligation to inform you of his existence. Now leave! Come back when you've calmed down and I'll inform you on what I know of the boy." Hiruzen said forcefully with the authority of an experienced cage. Tsunade couldn't believe the audacity of the man. She knew Hiruzen's true nature and the man was just as devious as Danzo, he only hid it better.

She needed to find out what happened to Kushina's son and protect him like she should've from the beginning. She cursed her weakness for leaving the village so readily. She was a shinobi and if she'd been strong enough to continue her duty, she would've found Naruto sooner and raised him regardless of what the village had to say. "Where does he live?" Tsunade said calmly. Hiruzen had a chill run through his boy when he heard how calm his student sounded so he responded in hopes she'd leave until she cooled off.

"He lives in the clan district between the Nara, Akamichi, and Yamanaka clans." Hiruzen responded carefully. Tsunade nodded and then suddenly lounged at Hiruzen, she grabbed the old kage by his robes and yanked him across the room into the wall. Hiruzen was able to dampen the collision with his experience and dense chakra but he definitely felt that one. He'd honestly expected no less and he wasn't going to execute the last senju, and imprisoning her would cost too many shinobi so he'd have to defend himself until she cooled down, maybe even knock her out.

Tsunade turned swiftly and Hiruzen hastily pulled himself out of the wall and assumed a defensive position. "You will explain everything about Naruto when I return and you've lost my respect, old man." Tsunade said as she began walking out of the office. "I do what I must to protect this village, you would understand if you hadn't abandoned it." Hiruzen responded as Tsunade disappeared through the doorway. Hiruzen looked around his ruined office, his head hurt. He walked to the shattered remains of his desk and picked through the remains for the bottle of sake he always kept for stressful days and was relieved when he found it.

Unfortunately, when he pulled it out of the pile, the bottom of the bottle was broken and there was no sake left. Hiruzen growled and tossed the bottle back into the mess of his office. He nearly demoted his anbu to genin when he heard snickering from his two hidden able bodied guards. Tsunade visited the compound but only found Haku who informed her that Naruto was away training for the chunin exams. When questioned on when he'd return, Haku simply said the only certainty was that he'd be back before the final exam.

Tsunade returned every day in hopes of finding her now self-proclaimed grandson. She'd been briefed on Naruto's life and abilities as well as his mental state. She even spoke to Jiraiya and Kakashi about their interactions with the boy and from what she gathered, the boy could be on the edge of sanity but he still retained most of it up to this point. That's the way they described him, that and the fact that he was powerful with many secrets. She'd met another girl at the compound a few times too, a hyuga.

Tsunade was tempted to leave the village and return when the exams commenced but shizune was already enjoying the village and taking shifts at the hospital. She also couldn't give up the chance to see Naruto as soon as possible. She was already 13 years late. In the meantime, until Naruto showed up, she was planning on getting an understanding of the current political landscape of the village.

Three and a half weeks later, Naruto arrived back at the compound well into the night. Despite Kurama's healing, Naruto's body was battered and he was exhausted mentally and physically. Danzo's training was brutal and Naruto wasn't allowed to return until he passed Danzo's final test of fighting and defeating 5 of his root anbu at the same time. It took Naruto three days to finally beat his opponents so his three weeks were extended.

Danzo was true to his word and developed a training method utilizing hundreds of clones a day that dispelled at predetermined intervals while he slept during the first week. His clones were able to master over two dozen jutsu for futon, katon, and raiton chakra manipulations. He'd received his clone's memories when they dispelled and although he knew, he'd never thought of using it in such a way. The mental drawback of the training was taxing but the way the clones dispelled lessened the mental strain as much as possible. He was still organizing his memory so he couldn't use the training often.

He'd learned a few genjutsu from Danzo over the next two weeks and even discovered more about his seigan. His seigan could be used to cast a sealless genjutsu. By leaking his chakra into the air he can invade an opponent's chakra system and he didn't need eye contact like the sharingan. The sharingan's genjutsu were much stronger though. He'd improved his jolt-step by leaps and bounds. By coating his limbs with a dense layer of chakra and using precise bursts of raiton chakra, Naruto's jolt-step became much easier on his body.

His new jolt-step not only carried less risk, but it was astronomically faster. Everytime he used it, the raiton chakra discharging from his joints creates a snapping sound. Similar to the sound of a spark of electricity jumping between two pieces of metal and Naruto thought it was cool. The last thing Danzo emphasized were his base physical strength and speed along with his Kenjutsu. All-in-all, Naruto was undoubtedly jounin level after the last few weeks that felt much longer. He'd be lying if he said he was looking forward to Danzo's brutality in correcting his mistakes again anytime soon.

Naruto went straight home and took a long shower. He'd sensed when Haku entered the house and waited in the front room so he got dressed and went down to meet her. He hadn't seen Haku since she and Hinata kissed him the night before he left and wondered what to say. "Welcome back Naruto-kun. You know, you signed a contract with crows who can deliver messages right?" Haku had a light smile but her tone betrayed her annoyance at Naruto's lack of communication.

"My bad Haku-chan, I didn't think about it. You were probably worried when I didn't return after three weeks and I should've sent a crow or a toad." Naruto could feel the relief in Haku's chakra and he figured she must've been really worried about him. Haku closed the distance to Naruto and gave him a hug. Naruto returned it and figured, if Hinata was fine with it, there was no need to hold back. Placing a hand on Haku's cheek, Naruto gave her a long kiss. Haku was overjoyed that Naruto had accepted her but had something to tell him and it was the perfect time.

"Naruto-kun, we've gotten to know each other quickly and I already can't see a life without you in it. I know about the C.R.A. I want to help you build your clan with Hinata. I love you Naruto-kun." Naruto didn't know what to say, he had feelings for Haku but did he love her like Hinata? He wasn't sure yet. "I have feelings for you too Haku and I'm sure I'll love you like I love Hinata eventually. I'm guessing you already have Hinata's approval, so If you're willing to be a part of the clan, there's no one else I'd rather have alongside me than you two." Naruto said warmly.

Haku blushed and wondered if she should tell him about his cousin coming by the compound to see him every day but decided not to because it was her night. Tsunade could have her reunion tomorrow. Haku couldn't look at Naruto when she asked the next question, "Can I stay here tonight?" Naruto had spent the night with Hinata in tents but this was kind of different, this was his bedroom.

In the end he couldn't deny the cute ice user. "Sure Haku-chan but I plan on sleeping for a long time so try not to wake me too soon." Naruto gave her a smile and motioned for her to take his hand. "One second Naruto-kun." Haku summoned a crow and whispered in its ear before letting open a window for it to fly out. Naruto gave her a raised eyebrow wondering what she just did. "I figured Hinata would want to know you were back. The crows can pass on a message in the sender's voice. It's creepy at first but you get used to it," Haku said with a tinge of amusement in her voice. Naruto once again motioned for Haku to take his hand and led her to his room. *

Despite Kurama's goading in which at one point he even called Naruto a pussy, Naruto and Haku only got a little touchy with a lot of kissing before they went to sleep. Naruto was nearly furious when his compound seals were alerting him in the morning. It wasn't terribly early but he wanted to sleep till noon. Expanding his senses he found Hinata already at the compound and heading towards the gate with Haku. Hoping they'd handle the problem, Naruto wondered what he was going to do for the last two days before the exam.

Danzo said he should relax his body so his mind could recover faster. Naruto would get flashbacks of his clone training occasionally and he just needed time for his mind to fully acclimate to all the information. He hadn't had any flashbacks in the last two days but Danzo was right. Naruto had an idea that he'd need hinata's help to complete but first he could risk more shadow clones if they'd be dispelled quickly.

Naruto created 25 clones who'd raid his study to find the uzumaki seals he'd need. There were hundreds if not thousands of seals compiled into scrolls that were sealed into other scrolls and then sealed into larger scrolls of specific types of fuinjutsu. It would take his clones at last ten minutes but they'd work quickly. Turning his attention back to his senses caused him to jump out of bed and quickly get dressed. The person at the front gate was yet another fucking kage level shinobi. He hoped the two girls hadn't left the compound. Naruto used a shunshin to appear at the gate of his compound next to Haku and Hinata.

On the other side was a woman who looked like she was in her late 20's. She had long blonde hair, wore a green haori over a gray sleeveless kimono with matching pants. The woman had a violet diamond shaped mark in the center of her forehead which stood out to Naruto. He could also tell she wore an elaborate henge to look younger. "Welcome back Naruto-kun" Hinata said, giving Naruto a kiss on the cheek that earned her a glare from Tsunade which seemingly went unnoticed.

"Naruto, I'm Tsunade Senju, I was close enough with your mom to call her a sister but I've been away from the village since I heard of her death. I never knew she even gave birth, I was outside of the village on a mission at the time. I'd like to talk to you for a while." Tsunade instantly knew Naruto was Kushina's son because he looked exactly like Minato and the sign she'd read said Namikaze-uzumaki compound. She'd traveled all the way back to konoha with her apprentice Shizune and their pet pig tonton when she heard of the chunin exams featuring the son of the fourth Hokage and many other prominent names. Her main surprise was the yondaime's son and she would even return to konoha if kushina's child was alive.

She blew up on Hiruzen and Jiraiya for never telling her and visited the compound every morning for weeks but was always told that Naruto was somewhere training. Now she'd found he adopted sister's son and she would make up for lost time whether he liked it or not. Hiruzen had given her his classified shinobi profile and briefed her on his team's performance in the exams so far and Tsunade didn't know what to think. She blamed the villagers and civilian council for pushing her nephew to such a point but she would do everything she could to help.

Naruto recognized her from the picture in the scroll Danzo had given him and remained cautious and kept his stoic expression but allowed her entry into the compound. Quicker than he could've expected, Tsunade pounced onto Naruto and smothered him between her large breasts in a bone gripping hug. At first Naruto felt under attack but he never released his chains because of the large amount of regret, sorrow, and love coming from his cousin that was more like his aunt. Naruto began to feel his bones creak and eventually had to substitute with a wood clone that Tsunade could hug to death which she did. Tsunade was surprised when the Naruto she was hugging turned into a piece of wood and was looking at the moku bunshin oddly as if to see if it was a genjutsu. "Yes, Tsunade-sama Naruto has Mokuton." Hinata said while sharing a giggle with Haku at Tsunade's befuddled expression.

"Tsunade-baachan, follow me we can talk inside," Naruto said while motioning them all to follow. As the group was walking to the house, a Naruto clone came running out carrying a bunch of scrolls. The rest of the clones had dispelled as soon as possible. Naruto had quickly forgotten about his idea and instructed the clone to explain everything to Hinata and Haku while he went with Tsunade. Naruto created 3 moku bunshin to help with the building process. The moku bunshin could perform mokuton jutsu while his shadow clones did the seals.

He'd need Hinata's brain to really make it work but knew she'd probably figure it out within a couple hours. His clones would do everything else. Naruto led Tsunade into his front room and after a short stare off, Tsunade asked Naruto about his relationship with the two girls to which Naruto told her he needed to get to know her more before divulging that kind of information. Tsunade took this as a challenge and began telling Naruto about herself and her relationship with his mom. Naruto was hard-pressed to maintain his stoic expression when Tsunade told him about the time his mom dyed Tsunade's hair red when she was unconscious in the hospital so they'd look more like real sisters.

Eventually Naruto began asking Tsunade questions about where she'd been and why she left in the first place. Naruto somewhat understood when he sensed the pain Tsunade felt talking about her brother, her fiance, and her adopted sister's deaths. Naruto could see that the pain broke her and he didn't hate her for leaving. How could she know he was alive and she was his last blood relative. Surprising Tsunade, Naruto gave her a smile for the first time since they'd met. It was small but Tsunade was glad to see something other than the impassive mask, even if brief. Tsunade took her chance to ask Naruto about his life and Naruto gave her answers, although hesitant. He told her of the assassination attempts and awakening his seigan. About his sensei crow and his disappearance. How he met hinata and how they'd grown and trained together.

Tsunade was especially surprised that she was the hyuga heir. After more prodding Naruto tells Tsunade about the academy and everyone's fear and hate towards him even though he'd never killed someone unlawfully. He explained how he'd borrowed her grandfather's chakra to recreate mokuton. Naruto continued to tell her about meeting his parents chakra and the mission's they'd been on and apologized for destroying her great uncle's sword. Tsunade didn't seem to care, especially after Naruto allowed her to look at the sword he'd made it into but not touch it.

When asked about the two girls again Naruto felt the protectiveness Tsunade felt for him already and told her just about everything. She weaseled answers out of Naruto before he'd even noticed but Naruto could tell it wasn't for any nefarious reasons. This lady was there just to get to know him despite all her negative emotions for the village. Naruto was inwardly ashamed of himself for allowing this woman to get so much information from him but she was family. His mother emphasized the uzumaki's love for family so he'd believe in his mother at the very least. Tsunade was overjoyed that Naruto would be so willing to open up to her and mentally thanked Kushina for speaking so fondly of her and preaching the uzumaki ideals of family.

The only thing Naruto outright refused to answer was where he'd been for the past few weeks but Tsunade didn't want to push her luck. Hinata and Haku joined them after about an hour having completed Naruto's idea with his clones. "Ba-chan, this is my fiance, Hinata hyuga, and my girlfriend Haku Yuki." Naruto said while smiling at the idea of his dreams of having a family seemed more and more possible. Tsunade resisted the urge to wack the boy for calling her granny because she didn't want to ruin the meeting that she thought wouldn't go well in the first place. "I've met them both from the other side of the gate gaki. But now that I know of your relation why don't I have a little discussion with them. Go ahead Naru-kun, check out how it went. We'll be right behind you."

The twitch on Naruto's eyebrow was enough for tsunade to feel better as she smirked inwardly. The look in Hinata and Haku's face told Naruto he'd be hearing it more often from now on. Naruto made his way towards what was previously a large clearing in front of the houses in the compound. Now, there was a building that looked eerily close to the konoha hot springs. From his shadow clone's memories Naruto knew that it was almost an exact copy of the hot springs on the inside. His Mokuton clones created the building and the large open baths but he needed Hinata to help him figure out a way to create running showers from the ceiling. After an overview of the seals he could copy and place for the task, Hinata came up with a functional system.

Two water storage seals would be connected, one on the floor and one on the ceiling with a water filtration and cleansing seal. When activated, the water storage seal on the roof would release water in a way similar to that of a shower after passing through a heating seal. There were two sides with identical showers and hot spring style open baths. The open baths were littered with water heating, cleaning, and filtration baths and water storage seals were already full, courtesy of Hinata and Haku. The only thing missing were towels, soap and lavender for fragrance seals and Hinata had sent out a couple shadow clones to accomplish the task. When Hinata's clones returned, Naruto created shelves, benches and the fragrance seals and finished just in time for Tsunade, Hinata, and Haku to join him. "Wow gaki what kind of chakra control do you have?" Tsunade exclaimed.

Punching her hand, she continued, "Finally, a bathhouse in Konoha that Jiraiya can't peep on. Naru-kun, I'll be back with my apprentice later if it's okay." Hinata giggled and Naruto nodded with a tick on his forehead. Tsunade said her goodbyes and left the compound. Hinata took this time to give Naruto a long lingering kiss to make up for lost time. She then gave him a playful punch to his shoulder. It was Hinata just showing Naruto her frustration with him not communicating. Naruto gave Hinata a smile before he spoke, "Sorry for not letting you know I was ok Hina-hime."

"It's okay Naru-kun, So what do you plan on doing for the next two days?" Hinata said with a devious smirk. "I'm going to relax, I don't need any more training for now. I still have to drink with Gamabunta tonight too, Tsunade-bachan will probably enjoy that. What about you two Hina-hime, Haku-chan?" Naruto said, begrudgingly accepting his new nickname and showing his acceptance of Tsunade. His emotion sensing has never been wrong and the woman was sincere. He'd be lying if he said he didn't want an older family figure in his life and for his new clan.

"Me and Hinata have to put the finishing touches on a jutsu. You know, If you're not careful she'll beat you in the tournament. She's not just pretty you know," Haku said with a wink to Hinata who blushed. Naruto raised an eyebrow and wondered just how close the two had gotten in his absence. Naruto smirked and told them he'd be trying out the bath house while they trained. Haku found it strange how distracted Hinata was while they were training until she remembered exactly what the byakugan could see. She was suddenly jealous of the doujutsu.

Later that night the group met Shizune, Tsunade's apprentice, and Naruto had summoned Gamabunta to make their contract official. Hinata returned to the hyuga compound and didn't get to see Tsunade, Naruto, and Gamabunta get hammered. Gamambunta brought three whole barrels of the toads special sake. Neither Kurama's healing or Tsunade's tolerance were enough to keep up as they drank for most of the night, though Naruto suppressed most of Kurama's healing effects. Shizune was forced to drag Tsunade to one of the guest rooms in Naruto's house.

She stayed as well to look after her sensei. Haku eventually coaxed Naruto into his room by using a cup of instant ramen to guide him. She stayed the night under the pretense of watching over him and didn't complain at how clingy and grabby he was in his sleep. The final day was spent meditating and enjoying the company of his precious people. The only event of any notice to Naruto was when he'd felt something weird from the furaijin no ken. Like a pulse of chakra that almost seemed as if it carried a message. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination because the sword was sheathed on his back but he wouldn't worry about it for now.*