Chapter 16

"Have you seen Hinata?" Sasuke asked as he stared at the wall in front of him uncaringly. He was resting his head in his hand as Naruto kneeled down over his free arm.

"Not yet," he replied as pulled a vial of blood from the hub and replaced it with an empty vial. "I teleported directly here and waited for you." Naruto placed the 10-milliliter filled bottle on the ground next to his foot. "I have a meeting with Orochimaru tonight. I'll hand over the jutsu and blood and then go see Hinata in the morning."

"Right before the exam? You know not that I really care, but Sakura says Hinata's missed you a lot."

"I have a lot to do tonight," Naurto muttered softly as he continued drawing blood from Sasuke. Gently setting down the sixth vial Naruto slid a seventh in.

"Doesn't seem like you."

"It doesn't matter right now…" Naruto trailed off as he pulled the last vial out the hub and gently pulled the safety needle out of Sasuke's arm.

"That doesn't sound like you either…" Sasuke trailed off for a second as Naruto placed six vials of blood on a scroll and made a hand seal. The vials disappeared in puff of smoke leaving a sealing formula on the scroll. Naruto rolled it up with a flick of his wrist and stuck it in one the pouches attached to his leg. "What happened out there on that island Naruto?"

"Exactly what you probably expected," he responded as he leaned against a wall and crossed his arms. "It was a slaughter. Men, woman, children, ninja and civilians. All dead. Their bodies left to rot in the streets."

"Did you learn about what happened?"

"It was Konoha," he replied shortly as Sasuke's crimson eyes darted to meet his and opened slightly in surprise. "Every enemy ninja I found had a Konoha headband."

"So, what are we going to do about it?" Sasuke asked as he leaned back in the chair and crossed his arms like Naruto. Naruto didn't respond right away as he stared down at the floor his mind racing. He thought he'd come to terms with his decision on the island but now that he was back it was time to actually act.

"For now, I'm gathering information. I have to figure out what Orochimaru's plan is. Deal with that and work around whatever he's planning. After that I'll figure out why Uzushio was attacked and who ordered it. After that I'm leaving."

"I guess that means I'll be coming along." Sasuke said as he stood up from the chair. "I let you go to Uzushio on your own because I had a feeling what you'd find there. I know what that's like…But from here on out if we're gonna honor the deal between us I'm involved in every step along the way."

"Seems fair to me," Naruto said with a small smile. "As long as somewhere between point A and Z Itachi ends up dead."

"Of course," Sasuke replied with a smirk. "The only thing that matters to me is killing him everything else is just a stepping stone."

"What about Sakura?"

"What about Hinata?"

A small silence hung in the air as the two young men stared at each other for several seconds. Naruto gave a shrug and broke the silence first.

"I can't expect her to give up her home and everything just for my goals. The best I can do is offer to let her come along and hope for the best. What about you? Will you bring Sakura in on this?"

"Maybe," he replied as he shrugged. "Let's see if she can carry her weight in the exams first."

"Do you want me to ask her? Would that make it easier for you?" Naruto smirked as he looked at Sasuke who seemed uncomfortable. "It's okay to admit you want her around Sasuke. I like having her around, and you and Hinata."

"When are we meeting Orochimaru?"

"Actually," Naruto said as he took a step forward and laid a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. The room suddenly went pitch black and then just as fast they were standing in the dark shadows of The Forest of Death. "Right about now."

If Sasuke was surprised by the sudden change in scenery he hid it well. Stepping back, he looked around to find himself exactly where they'd been just over a month ago. It was where Hinata's team had helped Sakura fight off the Oto-nin that had ambushed them. The sun was setting and aside from some pink and orange light off through the distance the forest was dark and swathed in shadows from the enormous trees and branches hanging over them.

"pssp pssp pssp," Naruto called out with a smile on his face. The seriousness of the previous conversation had melted away entirely. "Come on out little snaky."

"He's not a cat." Sasuke said in a bored tone as he paced around the open clearance trying to hide the nerves he was feeling.

"How else are you supposed to call a snake?" Naruto asked back as he smirked at Sasuke. Naruto's teeth were set on edge despite his casual tone and body language.

"How cute," a silky-smooth voice called from behind them. "You've brought me Sasuke instead of just the blood."

Naruto and Sasuke turned to see Orochimaru's figure raising from one of the shadows cast by a near by tree a sweet smile stretched across his pale face. Naruto's mouth went dry but he kept his smirk and tried to keep his muscles as relaxed as possible.

"He's just my back up." Naruto replied flippantly as he reached into a pouch and pulled out two scrolls. "Before I hand these over though I do have some questions for you."

"I imagined you might little fox." Orochimaru cooed as he walked closer to Naruto and Sasuke. "Normally I don't renegotiate, but I'll make an exception for you."

"What are you planning?" Naruto asked as he stared into Orochimaru's yellow eyes.

"I'm going to kill the Sandaime tomorrow after the exam." Orochimaru replied casually as he moved to lean against a tree trunk.

Sasuke swallowed hard at this reveal and he resisted the urge to show his shocked expression. He looked over as casually as possible towards Naruto to see the blond was still holding onto the scrolls with the same fake smile as before.

"Care to elaborate?"

"Not really, but I will tell you that your little cousin plays a big part in my plan."

Sasuke looked between Naruto and Orochimaru. 'Cousin?' he asked himself as he tried to piece it together.

"I assumed you found out that much about your heritage while you were away." Orochimaru hummed as he examined his finer nails.

"Yeah yeah, all the Jinchuriki are Uzumaki. I figured that one out my first day there. What I haven't figured out yet is why Konoha destroyed the village."

"Oh, come on," Orochimaru said with a low chuckle. "Do you really need an answer to that question? Isn't it obvious?"

"Don't play games." Naruto snapped the smirk falling from his face as he stared down at Orochimaru. "I've put everything at risk working with you agreeing to this deal. If Jiraiya ever found out I betrayed him like this I'd lose the only family I have left."

"You stop playing games!" Orochimaru snapped as he pointed a finger at Naruto and stood upright. "You're cleverer than that! You know about your mother, right? Surly there was some record of that there in that village. Once the Konoha had the Kyuubi there was no need for them any longer."

Naruto felt his mouth dry out as he stared at the irritated sannin. Naruto had been hoping to hear another answer. Something that would justify the carnage he'd seen.

"You're still a child," Orochimaru muttered as he crossed his arms again. "The second shinobi war had waged for just over five years. Uzushio had stayed out of it, but during the time of peace between the first and second war they'd tried to extend that peace. By giving each nation one of their shinobi. A Jinchuriki to be exact. They thought that if the other nations that feared Konoha's power and economic superiority had a tailed-beast of their own it would soothe their fears. The exact opposite happened. Iwa and Suna emboldened by that offer went on to expand their territories leading to the war. Towards the end of the war Uzushio gave Konoha their last Jinchuriki their strongest one…the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. The war ended"

"That was the war the sannin made a name for themselves. You survived the battle against Hanzo the Salamander." Sasuke said abruptly as he listened in on them.

"Correct," Orochimaru hummed as he crossed his arms and looked between the two boys. In a weird way they reminded him of himself and Jiraiya when they were younger. "After the war was settled Uzushio issued an order. They wanted to recall every shinobi and Uzumaki to the village especially the Jinchuriki. Their plan had failed. They thought by providing weaker nations power they'd feel more secure but instead they started a war. The villages not wanting to give up their power refused, but they were weakened and wouldn't be able to stop them from taking back the tailed-beasts by force. Konoha struck first, and ended the threat."

"They were attacked for trying to save their clansman." Naruto replied as he sneered at the sannin.

"You were hoping for something more complicated?" Orochimaru asked with a slight smile. "Hoping that somewhere between the lines of my story you could find a reason to excuse what Konoha had done? Something that could sate your rage? Sorry kid. This was pretty straight forward. Konoha wanted to keep that weapon inside of you that secured along with their place as the most powerful ninja village, and wiped out the only people that could do something about it." Orochimaru walked towards Naruto casually and held out a pale white hand. "My payment."

Naruto handed the scrolls over without protest and turned away trying to hid the emotions in his eyes from Orochimaru.

"Don't worry little fox, when I kill that old man tomorrow, you'll have your revenge as well." Orochimaru pocketed the scrolls and took a step back. "Well part of it anyway. You can't forget about that rodent Danzo."

"Did Jiraiya know?" Naruto asked as Orochimaru sank back into the shadows. He could learn more about Danzo later, but this he needed to know now.

"Of course he did." Orochimaru laughed as his head sunk into the shadows and he disappeared entirely.

Naruto and Sasuke stood in the dark forest the light from the moon breaking through the canopy casting long dark shadows around them. The only thing that could be heard for miles was the rustling of the leaves in the soft breeze. Naruto stood and stared at the spot Orochimaru disappeared at for what felt like hours, but it was only several seconds.

'He knew the entire time. Every time I asked, he danced around the subject and this is why…' Naruto thought to himself as he felt his heart racing in his chest. 'All this time he looked me in the eye's and didn't say a word. Didn't tell me about my mother didn't tell me about Uzushio.'

"Naruto," Sasuke said softly as he crossed his arms and looked at the tense blond. He hadn't moved for a while and he was just standing there looking into the shadows.

"He knew the whole time," Naruto said softly as he finally peeled his eyes away from the ground and looked up into the canopy. "I don't understand…How could he never say anything to me? He told me about the fox and he told me about my dad. He even told me about Uzushio…he told me how he visited once, and the hot springs on the north side of the village at the base of the mountains. He told me my mom was from there, and that it was Konoha's oldest allies. He told me how they were related to the Shodai, and so was I. This entire time he just manipulated me.

"Maybe he had his reasons," Sasuke replied as he took a step towards Naruto. Naruto turned to look at him his deep blue eyes cold as steel and watery.

"I'm leaving tomorrow," Naruto said shortly as he looked at Sasuke. "If you want to come you can, if you don't that's okay too. I've probably taught you as much as I can anyway you might be better off sticking with Kakashi. Master the jutsu I gave you and whatever Kakashi can teach you and I'm sure you'll kill Itachi eventually."

Sasuke stared at Naruto for several seconds, he knew what Naruto was feeling. It was the same despair and burning rage he still felt over Itachi's actions. Sasuke swallowed and looked away and took a deep breath, and then sighed.

"This village didn't care about me," Sasuke said softly as he looked back at Naruto. "When Itachi killed my entire clan, they left me in that compound alone. Sure, they cared for a few days but life went on, and no one even bothered to come check on me. I don't care about this village not really, and I don't owe them a god-damned thing."

"What about Sakura?" Naruto asked as he looked back at Sasuke.

"Sakura can come if she wants if not," Sasuke trailed off and shrugged. "I made a deal with you, and you honored your part. What kind of shinobi would I be if I didn't honor my end? What about Hinata?"

"I guess I'll find that out later." Naruto said with a shrug as he looked back at the sky for several more seconds. "Let's call it a night. Tomorrow is going to be a busy day." Naruto turned and looked at Sasuke and smiled, "Because if Orochimaru fails tomorrow I'm going to be there to finish the job. Sarutobi Hiruzen is going to die, and the souls of all the Uzumaki's and people of Uzushio will finally get to rest."


Hinata ran her fingers through her hair again as she stared in the mirror of the third time that morning. The final exams were set to start in about an hour, and she couldn't rest her nerves. She still hadn't heard from Naruto, and didn't know if he was back or not. She'd woken up before the sun rose and had been dressed in her gear and ready for a few hours now. Standing up from the bench in front of her bureau and started pacing around the room again.

"Where is he?" Hinata asked out loud in her empty room. "He said he'd be back for the exam…he's probably at Sasuke's." She muttered aloud as she moved to the window Naruto had left from the last night she saw him a month ago to the day. "Why wouldn't he have come by? He would have stopped by if he was back, right?" Hinata turned around and walked to her bedroom door across from the window. Sliding it open she stuck her head out and looked both ways. She didn't see anyone in the hall so she stepped out and turned in the hall towards the steps.

Hinata went down the stairs quickly and rounded another corner and looked down the hall. At the end of the hall was a branch member chunin guarding her father's study. She made her way down the hall and stopped in front of the guard.

"Lady Hinata," The guard said softly with a small bow. "I'm afraid your father isn't in his study right now."

"That's okay…" Hinata muttered softly. "Has there been any visitors to the compound today? Or any yesterday that might have been turned away?"

The guard looked at Hinata with a confused expression before shaking his head. "No, Lady Hinata. None that I've heard of."

"Thanks," Hinata said softly as she turned away. Hinata mad her way back to her room slowly. Climbing the stairs she turned the corner and walked up to the door. "Hopefully nothing happened. I hope he's at the exam." She said to herself as she pulled open her door.

"You hope who's at the exam?"

Hinata's head snapped up to see Naruto sitting on her bed smiling softly at her. Hinata's face broke out into a large smile, and quickly turned and closed the door. Turning back to Naruto she opened her mouth to say something and paused. Naruto's smile was smaller than usual and the spark of mirth in his eyes wasn't there. Hinata's smile faltered a bit and shrank a little. Hinata wasn't sure she'd ever seen Naruto this reserved before, 'he looks so sad.'

"It better have been me you were talking about." Naruto said looked away from her and stuck his nose up. "I might get jealous if it wasn't."

"It was you," she muttered as she looked away for a second her cheeks feeling hot. "Is everything okay? I was worried."

Naruto's smile faded a little and he let out a sigh. "We need to talk," he said as he stood up from her bed and motioned for her to sit down.

"I-is everything okay?" Hinata asked as she sat down on her bed. Her hands were starting to sweat and her mouth was dry. 'What is this about? Is it about the kiss? Did something happen when he was gone?'

"Hinata," Naruto started as he paced around the room for a moment before turning back to her. "I'm leaving Konoha today."

Hinata's eyes went wide in surprise. She knew Naruto wanted to leave. She'd heard as much that night in the forest, but she wasn't expecting it to be today. She thought maybe he'd stay for a bit after the exam. They'd all gotten so close maybe Konoha would grow on him.

"I'll come with you." Hinata said quickly as she looked up at Naruto and met his gaze. A small sad smile stretched across his lips.

"Thank you for that," Naruto whispered softly as he took a step and sat down on the floor of her bedroom and brought his knees to his chest. "It's not that simple though. Naruto turned and looked out the window he'd crawled through and then back at Hinata. "Today the Sandaime Hokage is going to die. Either by Orochimaru's hands or mine."

"W-what…what do you mean?" Hinata stuttered as she stared down at Naruto her eyes wide. She swallowed hard. 'The Hokage? Why? How? I don't understand.' She thought to herself as she stared at Naruto with a horrified expression. "I don't understand…" she said softly her voice trailing off. "He's our Hokage…he protects the village he provides for us. I don't understand…. what do you mean?"

"A long time ago the Hokage ordered Konoha shinobi to attack Uzushio. They killed every ninja, man, woman, and child on that island." Naruto said as he looked back at Hinata with a sad expression in his eyes. "That's where I was this month. I saw it with my own eyes. Their bones scattered across the roads and sidewalks. Hiding in corners and in their beds. All of them dead. It was Konoha that did it and it was the Sandaime that ordered it."

"Naruto…I don't…what…this doesn't make any sense why?" Hinata sputtered as she looked back at Naruto lost and confused. What was happening? Why was he saying all this? She understood him wanting to leave Konoha it made sense, but killing the Hokage and fleeing?

"After the second war Uzushio wanted its ninja to return the village. Uzumaki clansman who'd been given to the villages in hopes to promote peace and security. Each of them had a tailed beast inside of them." Naruto placed his hand on his stomach. "Ninja like me and before me my mother."

"Your mother was like you?"

"She had the Kyuubi inside of her before I did, and when Konoha heard that they wanted her back they didn't want to lose their most powerful weapon. So, they attacked Uzushio." Naruto got up to his feet and shuffled to Hinata and leaned down. Hinata flinched a little and pulled back, and Naruto paused. "When I left Konoha I didn't think it would be under these circumstances." Naruto said softly as he let out a small sigh. "I was always going to ask you to come with me…but today even if I don't act…even if stand on the sidelines and just watch Orochimaru kill the Sandaime I'm going to be an accomplice to his death, willingly, and happily." Naruto stopped as Hinata looked away, her face was contorted into several different emotions.

"N-N-Naruto I don't…I don't understand…I mean I understand, but can't we just leave? Just tell the ANBU about Orochimaru's plan and we can go together." Hinata said as she turned back to look at Naruto with wide eyes. "We can just tell them. Give them a chance…. you don't have to let this happen you don't have to help we can just go…together…I promise I'll come and everything will be okay." Hinata said quickly her eyes stinging as she felt the tears come to the surface. "If Orochimaru attacks, everyone will be in danger people will die…what if something happens to Father or Hanabi or Neji or Kiba or Shino…" Hinata stopped in her tracks when Naruto pressed his forehead to hers gently. She felt her body relax but she could still feel her heart beating her throat.

"Thank you Hinata," Naruto said softly. His breath tickling her nose. "Thank you for being you and thank you for being my friend. You've meant so much to me these last couple months. I never expected to meet someone like you here, your kind, and gentle, and caring, and smart, and brave, and the best shinobi I know." Naruto paused and swallowed hard then he lifted his forehead from hers and pressed his lips to her forehead. His left hand gently cupped her face and he pulled back.

Hinata looked up to see tears slowly sliding down his whiskered cheeks and he smiled at her softly and genuinely. "But this is something I have to do, and I'm so so sorry. I can't expect you to be a part of this…and I don't want you to be." Naruto's other hand darted forward he was holding a folded up white towel. Hinata's eyes widened as he pressed the towel to her face covering her nose and mouth. Hinata's eyes darted around the room before locking in on Naruto's. Naruto stood up and gently laid her down on the bed pulled the towel away from her face.

"N-naruto please…" Hinata said softly as the vision started to get blurry. "Please don't do this…" she whispered. "This isn't y-y-you."

"I'm sorry," Naruto said as his he watched Hinata's eyes start to close. "This is me…I am what they made me. Their most dangerous weapon." Naruto whispered as he pressed his lips to her forehead again. "I promise you'll be safe."

"Naruto…please," Hinata whispered again as he stood up and placed the folded-up towel into one of his ninja pouches. "I-I-I lo-"Hinata's voice trailed off before she finally nodded out completely. Naruto stared down at her for several seconds before he wiped his face and took a deep breath. Leaning over he gently placed a hand on her shoulder and then suddenly everything went dark. Then they were in his small home on the Uchiha compound. Naruto gently adjusted Hinata so she was laying on his unfolded futon, and gently slide the pillow under her head. Naruto looked at Hinata one last time before he turned and left.

Naruto closed the door behind him and looked up to see Sasuke standing in the road between his house and Naruto's. Sakura was standing next to him. She was paler than usual and a bit shaken up but she looked between Naruto and Sasuke. Her face was a mix of emotions not unlike Hinata's. Fear, concern, confusion, shock.

"I take it Hinata's not coming with us." Sasuke said stoically as he looked Naruto in the eye with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you surprised? How many people would be okay with letting the Hokage by murdered?" Naruto asked as he looked back at Sakura.

"Sakura was weirdly okay with it." Sasuke said as he shrugged his shoulders. "Should we take her with us anyway?"

"No," Naruto said as he pulled out a scroll and unrolled it. He placed it gently on the ground and placed his hand over it. "I told Hinata what was happening, and it was sudden and unexpected. Her reaction was genuine though she wasn't okay with it." Naruto fed some chakra into the scroll and with a puff of smoke his sword he'd used before appeared. Naruto picked up and swung it around in a tight circle before he lifting it up and sliding it into the sheath attached to his black ninja vest. Rolling up the scroll he slid it into one of his pouches and looked at Sakura.

"What about you?" Naruto asked softly as he looked at the green eyed kunoichi. "You're like Hinata, you have friends and family here. Letting Orochimaru attack and letting him kill the Sandaime or even helping him…that puts all of them in danger. Once the days over me and Sasuke are going to be missing-nins and we'll probably have the ANBU on our asses and bounties in the Bingo book. You want a piece of that?"

"They'll be okay," Sakura muttered softly as she looked between Sasuke and Naruto. "What they did to your clan…to that entire village…" Sakura trailed off as she looked down at the ground. "I can't be a Konoha shinobi knowing what they did and why. We're a team, and that means we stick together."

"Alright then," Naruto said as he laced his hands behind his head. "If that's what it's going to be."

"Are you sure you want to just leave Hinata like this?" Sakura asked as she took a step forward and look at the small home behind Naruto. "This was sudden Naruto…I'm sure with more time to understand what happened…I've known her for a lot longer than you have…and she's loved you the whole time."

Naruto froze as he heard Sakura's words and he looked back at the house and then back to his teammate. "Like I said before, I saw her reaction…she was confused and upset."

"So was I," Sakura said quickly as she took another step towards the blond ninja. "But I understood, when Sasuke told me everything when he explained it to me, I understood what you were doing…what we're about to do…Hinata will too."

"You've had 7 years with Sasuke!" Naruto snapped back. "You think I don't want her to come of course I do, and its crazy to spring this on her but I don't have that Sakura. I've been gone for 7 years, and yeah maybe she's had feelings for me since then, this whole time like you said but this is her home her family…she doesn't want me to do this. She offered to run with me for us to tell ANBU what Orochimaru was going to do and to run…and I made my choice. I can't just do that I need to make sure he dies today. That's what I need, and I need it more than I need her to come with me today. Sasuke sprung this on you today to and you made your choice, and she made hers. I wasn't going to force her to compromise herself for me."

"So, you're taking the choice away completely? We still have 40 minutes before the exam starts, and Sasuke said the attack was happening after the exam. You took away her agency." Sakura said as she pointed at Naruto.

"Enough," Sasuke said harshly. "Naruto did the right thing. If Hinata wasn't onboard its safer this way."

"You gave her 20 minutes to choose between you and the village she's lived in her whole life. You didn't even give her time to change her mind."

"You only had 20 minutes to choose too." Naruto replied softly as he looked at Sakura his expression soft. "You made the choice and she didn't and that's okay I don't blame her for it, but I wasn't going to talk her into it."

"This is going to devastate her," Sakura whispered as she took another step towards the home. "Naruto, I promise you she would have chosen you. Don't leave her behind."

"Naruto's made up his mind Sakura." Sasuke said sternly as he looked between them. "This isn't the time to argue about this. What matters is that we get through this exam and we're ready to act when the time comes."

"Fine," Sakura muttered as she crossed her arms.

"I need to do something," Naruto said as he looked at them. "I'll meet you at the stadium before the exam starts."

"See you then." Sasuke said softly as Naruto teleported away again. Sasuke turned and looked at Sakura and then back to the house Naruto had been staying in. She was still staring at it. "I'm gonna go have some tea before the exam." He said as he walked away leaving Sakura in the smooth dirt road. "I'll make you some too."


Naruto appeared in a tree near the bath houses. He'd been there earlier that morning and left a seal there when he hadn't found who he was looking for. His blue eyes scanned area quickly, and paused. There hunched over a bush was a wild mane of spikey white hair. Naruto couldn't see Jiraiya's face as it was pressed up against the wooden fence that blocked the bath house from the public eye. Naruto jumped from the tree and landed on the ground. He walked over to the part in the fence and paused behind Jiraiya.

"I need to talk to you," Naruto said softly.

"Not now kid, I'm busy." Jiraiya said in a hushed whisper as he chuckled to himself. "I'm doing research for my next book. Why don't you join me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Tell you what kid?"

"About my mother and Uzushio."

There was a pregnant pause as Jiraiya's chuckles faded and Naruto stood behind him his arms crossed. Jiraiya didn't move for several seconds, and then with a heavy sigh he stood to his full height and turned around. He looked down at Naruto with a sad expression his dark eyes filled with regret.

"Because it was complicated kid…when I told you about the Kyuubi you didn't handle it well, and you had so much hate and anger for Konoha…then when I told you about Minato it just got worse." Jiraiya took a step towards Naruto, who stepped back. "I didn't want you to hate Konoha any more, and I didn't want you to be angry with your mother the same way you were at Minato."

"Konoha wiped them out. All of them dead. My grandfather…all because they wanted my mother back. Konoha killed them to keep this damned cursed fox for themselves."

"Yes."

"And you don't see the problem with that? You're still loyal to them? You were the one who taught me right from wrong you were the one that taught me everything!" Naruto said loudly as he resisted the urge to shout. Jiraiya looked around as several of the girls shouted from behind the fence. He started walking towards a few trees away from the bathhouse, and Naruto followed him.

"I guess you've spoken to Orochimaru then?" Jiraiya had an unreadable expression on his face as he said it.

"Maybe."

"This information isn't recorded anywhere Naruto. There are only a handful of people alive that know what happened. The Sandaime, Orochimaru, Tsunade, myself, and one other." Jiraiya let out a sigh and pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose. "He's manipulating you Naruto, that's what he does. He's trying to turn you against your home."

"What about you? Weren't you manipulating me? You hid this from me. You knew what life was like for me here you knew what Uzushio meant to me."

"Naruto, everything I've done since I took you in has been to protect you. Whether you like it or not you were born in Konohagakure, you're the Nine-tails Jinchuriki. It isn't fair, and what happened to Uzushio isn't fair. That's the life of a shinobi Naruto, you have to take the good with the bad. What do you think would have happened if Uzushio hadn't gotten what they wanted? The Second Shinobi war left us all weak. Konoha, Iwa, Suna, even Kumo. How would you feel if Uzushio came in and attacked Konoha? Ripped your mother away from your father? Killed your teammates parents?" Jiraiya sighed and dragged his hand across his face. "You're taking this personally kid. You're really good at being objective when it doesn't affect you but you need to take a step back from this as well. This isn't your problem. You never met them they were long dead before you were born, and if Konoha hadn't attacked when they did you wouldn't have been born."

"You're right…" Naruto said softly as he looked at the ground. Jiraiya let out a deep breath and placed his hand on Naruto's shoulder. "You're right, that life isn't fair," he continued as he looked up and locked eyes with Jiraiya. "I don't know what Uzushio would have done, and I don't know if it would have been justified or not. Maybe I wouldn't have been born, maybe some of my friends wouldn't have been born. What I do know is what I saw, and what I saw was a genocide. My clansman's bones scattered around a broken and decrepit village, a place where someone like me would have accepted and not ostracized and beaten by mobs. I can say one thing this village isn't my home, Konoha isn't my home, and Uzushio isn't my home either I don't have one." Naruto took a step back and shrugged Jiraiya's hand of his shoulder. "I saw the man that would have been my grandfather dead, using his dying breath to seal the village away. What I saw wasn't justice it was murder. Justice would have been sending the Uzumaki Jinchuriki back to Uzushio, and the right thing would be to forsake a village capable of murdering children hiding under their beds."

"Naruto…" Jiraya said sternly as he looked down at the blond ninja glaring back up at him. "If you're implying what I think you are…if you flee Konoha they'll label you a missing-nin and they'll hunt you down and if they don't kill you, they'll drag you back here and lock you up. Not even I will be able to stop that."

"That's the problem." Naruto said as he turned away from Jiraiya to hide his face. "You still don't see why any of that is wrong." Naruto disappeared instantly without a trace. Jiraiya leaned back against the thick trunk of a tree and sighed as he slid down the base and sat on the ground staring at the point Naruto disappeared.

"Minato…" Jiraiya whispered softly as he leaned his head back and looked at the blue sky through the leaves. "What should I do?"


"So, this is where we're supposed to show off in front of all these special people?" Naruto asked no on in particular as he leaned over the dull brown metal railing. Naruto was staring down into large circular arena covered in dirt with a few trees and bushes probably for coverage. Around the arena were large grey slab walls made of concreate about 50 feet high. Behind him hundreds of people were packing themselves onto the basic wooden stadium styled benches. Naruto looked out to his left to see two more buildings next to the one he was in.

Including the building Naruto was in three large white stone buildings with dark yellow late roofs stood towering over the domed wall that protected the arena. The center building was the largest with the most elaborate traditional Fire country design. That's where all the dignitaries and lords would be including the Hokage and Kazekage. To the left of that building was another one exactly like the one Naruto was in filling with more spectators. The bottom two rows of the building Naruto and the others were in was reserved for the contestants and their team's and family. In the distance over the wall Naruto could see Hokage monument and he sneered at it before turning around.

Naruto watched silently as Sakura smiled and laughed with her parents. They were both average height and looked relatively normal. Sakura had inherited her mother's green eyes and her father's pink hair. In just a few hours though Sakura would be labeled a criminal, and she would probably never see them again.

"Don't think about it too much," Sasuke said as he leaned against the railing next to Naruto his eyes flashing between Sakura and Naruto. "She made her choice, and it was hers to make."

"You and I are orphan's Sasuke," Naruto said softly as he looked at him with blank slightly sad expression. "We're not leaving anything like that behind."

"Are you second guessing yourself already?" Sasuke sucked his teeth and turned around to look over the arena like Naruto before him.

"Just the part where we drag Sakura with us." He muttered softly.

"Drag Sakura with you where?" A loud voice barked from around the stair case to their left. It was Kiba, and he was dressed in a pair of shorts and his usual dark hoodie, though he seemed to be lacking his usual ninja gear.

"A huge party with spin the bottle, but it's only for the contestants. Sorry dog breath." Naruto replied with a small smile.

"Does Hinata know about this?" Shino asked softly as he stood behind Kiba, his eyes covered as usual along with his mouth.

"It was her idea. We're having it at the Hyuga compound. I know your sad now Kiba, but Neji won't be there so you can cheer up a bit."

"Shut up loser," Kiba said with a chuckle as he softly punched Naruto in the shoulder. He looked around frowning before turning back to Naruto. "Where is Hinata anyway? Have you seen her?"

"Not yet," he lied as he looked around. "I got back late last night and went over there this morning but the guards said she'd left for the day already"

"Ugh, she's probably out in the woods freaking out. She used to do that before missions. She'd wake up early and pace around the tree's all nervous and stuff." Kiba muttered as he rubbed the back of his head. "Maybe me and Akamaru should try and track her down."

"She's a big girl Kiba," Naruto said with a shrug. "Besides her fights after mine and Shino's she has plenty of time to show up."

Sasuke looked over at Naruto for the quickest second, and Naruto met his gaze and subtly tilted his head. Sasuke sighed looked away.

"When are we getting started?" Sasuke groaned loudly as he pushed himself up off the railing. "All this waiting around is getting boring."

"You're starting to sound like Lee," a young feminine voice said. Naruto looked over at the stairs to see Tenten, Guy, and Neji. Neji sneered at Naruto and turned his nose up at him.

"Sasuke-kun is right!" Lee shouted as he bounded up the stairs behind him. I'm ready to get going! I've waited a month for this!" Lee quickly closed the gap between him and Naruto and smiled brightly at the blond. "I'm looking forward to this!"

Naruto straightened up and looked Lee up and down. "You know I kind of am too, but you might wanna take these off before the match." Naruto lightly kicked Lee's bright orange leg warmers and the subtle sound of clinking metal could be heard.

"We'll have to see about that!" Lee said excitedly. "Sensei can I take them off?" Lee turned and asked Guy.

Guy looked between Naruto and Lee with a stern expression. After several seconds that expression melted away into a large grin that showed way too many teeth. "Lee! This one time you have my permission to take them off during the match if you need to! Do whatever it takes to win and achieve your goals!"

"10-4 Sensei!" Lee shouted as he gave Guy a toothy grin and a thumbs up. "You won't be disappointed Sensei!"

"Ahhh the springtime of youth burns bright in you, my precious student!" Guy shouted loudly as he grinned. "I expect great thing today!"

"These two again?" Sakura asked as she came over to Sasuke and Naruto, she gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sakura-chan! My beloved!" Lee shouted as he rushed over to Sakura.

Naruto tunned Lee's ramblings out as he watched the stairs, the hairs on the back of his neck raised slightly as tall pale ninja with bright red hair appeared at the top of the stairs. Following behind him was their jonin sensei and his siblings. The blond woman and the guy in black leotard with makeup. Their eyes met for a moment before he turned and walked up the stairs to the top of the stands with his team away from the others.

"Do you have a plan to deal with him?" Sasuke asked in a hushed tone as he leaned towards Naruto. "If he uses that tailed-beast inside of him I don't know if I can beat him without killing him."

"I have…. a plan…" Naruto said as he trailed off and looked back at Sasuke.

"That doesn't sound very reassuring." Sasuke muttered softly.

"I'm not 100% sure it'll work, but we can subdue him without killing him for sure." Naruto replied as he rubbed his mouth with his hand. "Worst case scenario I can use the Five Elements Seal Orochimaru used on me to disrupt his chakra network enough to stop the tailed beast…probably…and we can incapacitate him."

"Aren't you worried about going against Orochimaru?" Sasuke asked softly. "We're burning a lot of bridges here."

"My deal with him is completed. I don't care what he does to the Hokage or the village, but he isn't turning my clansman into weapon of mass destruction. He'll have to adapt."

The stadiums were close to full now and the dull whispers between friends and teammates had become a loud roar. Naruto turned his eyes to the middle building where he could see the Hokage and Kazekage sitting together out in the open. His blue eyes scanned around again. ANBU were posted everywhere, either they knew about the attack or suspected it. Naruto found Dosu standing in a corner on his own his teammates nowhere to be found, and his sensei missing. Naruto took another deep breath and calmed his nerves. The roaring whispers started to quiet and everyone started to look on in anticipation. Turning around again Naruto looked out into the arena to see someone making his way into the center.

He was average height, and looked a bit like the previous proctor but healthier. He wore a similar bandana styled headband but flipped around to the pack and between his lips was a long thin senbon needle. He stood still for several more seconds as the whispers all died away before he looked up into the stadium.

"My name is Shirauni Genma, and I will be proctoring these upcoming matches. We're about to start the final test in this year's Chunin Exams. During this exam shinobi will battle each other until only one victor remains. This is an opportunity to showcase everything you've learned up until this point. The winners of the first rounds will go on to face each other, and that will continue until only one shinobi is left standing. A reminder to the contestants winning does not guarantee a promotion to chunin, and losing doesn't guarantee you won't be promoted. After the exams the village leaders will meet and discuss these matches and make their recommendations based on all qualifying performances. "Genma paused and looked around the stadiums for a few seconds before continuing. "The first match will start in 60 seconds. Contestants Rock Lee and Uzumaki Naruto please make your way to the arena."

"Well, I guess that's our queue," Naruto said with a smile. Reaching into his pouch he pulled out a kunai and seals spread over the blade from his fingers. Walking over to Lee Naruto placed his hand on his shoulder. "We'll take the express elevator." Naruto tossed the kunai down into the arena, and he and Lee disappeared. As the kunai's blade buried itself into the dirt a few feet away from Genma Naruto and Lee appeared out of thin air. Instantly the stadiums erupted into hushed whispers.

'The rumors were true he really can use The Fourth's teleportation jutsu,' Genma thought to himself as the blond bent over and picked the kunai up out of the ground. "Alright then since you two got here so fast why don't we speed this up." Genma jumped back a few paces as Naruto walked away from Lee and turned to face him.

"You're not wearing your headband kid." Genma called out from his spot a few yards away.

"Lee, I gotta be honest with you, this will probably be the only thing I really enjoy doing today so let's make it a good one." Naruto said as he stretched his neck from left to right. Lee was standing opposite of him crouched down stretching his left leg before moving to the right one. "Don't take it personally either," Naruto said as he reached into a pouch behind his back and pulled out a bright silver forehead protector with a long orange band attached to it.

"I'm looking forward to the match as well Naruto-kun! I hope you don't take it personally when I win and prove that hard work and dedication can beat a prodigy like yourself!" Lee replied with a large grin and another signature thumbs up.

"Here's the thing Lee." Naruto said as he bent his head low and placed his forehead protector on and tied it behind his head slowly. "This isn't just a match for me, I have to make an example out of you, and I'm sorry." Naruto lifted his head and looked past Lee and into the Hokage's box. Sitting on Naruto's forehead was a polished forehead protector that was glinting brightly in the sun, but everyone in the stadium and the Hokage could see it. Etched in the center was the traditional swirl of Uzushiogakure. "Did you know my clan hails from Uzushiogakure?"

"I did not Naruto-kun," Lee said seriously as he watched Naruto his smile fading as he looked at Naruto's serious face.

"It was a ninja village that was wiped out…the last victims of the Second Great Ninja War. Today I'm honoring them and their memory. You're not fighting a genin from The Village Hidden in The Leaves, today you're fighting a proud ninja of The Village Hidden in The Whirling Tides."

"It will be my honor." Lee said as he crouched down and held out his bandaged hand tucking his other hand behind his back.

Genma looked between Naruto and Lee before looking up at the Hokage. The stadium was roaring with whispers, and there was stern look on The Sandaime's face, but he locked eyes with Genma and nodded. Genma lifted his hand, "3…2…1…Begin!" Genma brought his hand down and watched as the two ninja before him disappeared in a blur.

Naruto and Lee launched themselves at each other in yellow and green blurs. Suddenly Lee came to a stop and wound up his fist and launched an explosive punch at Naruto. Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out the same kunai from earlier. Casually he flicked it slightly past Lee and disappeared. Reappearing behind him Naruto stopped and launched an elbow at the back of Lee's head. Lee ducked the elbow and spun lashing out his left leg to try and sweep Naruto's.

Naruto leapt out of the way of the kick flipping forward grabbing the kunai. As he came around from the flip, he tossed it into the air and disappeared again narrowly avoiding a kick from Lee's other foot. Naruto reappeared above Lee. "Water Style: Dragon Bullet!" Naruto moved chakra into his mouth and molded into water before opening his mouth. A huge blast of water shot from Naruto's mouth taking the form a large dragon that barreled towards Lee.

Lee's eyes widened at the size of the huge dragon coming down on him. It was almost as long as the walls to the arena were tall. Lee sprang up and turned into a handspring just as the dragon crashed into the ground where he'd been standing, but it didn't stop, it suddenly turned and went after him. It tore the ground up leaving a deep gouge as chunks of rock sprayed around the arena. Lee continued to flip out of the way before landing on his feet and jumping back as far as he could. The dragon stopped and fell a part washing out a part of the arena and soaking the ground.

'These two aren't fighting like genin!' Genma thought as he jumped back away from the damage. 'They're easily chunin level already maybe even special jonin level.'

Naruto fished two more kunai out and tossed one at Lee. Lee dodged, and turned expecting Naruto to appear, but he didn't he realized to late he'd been tricked when Naruto's foot lashed out and connected with the side of his head. Lee went spinning to the ground, but he recovered just fast enough dodge a right hook from Naruto and block the blonde's left knee.

'Am I really this far behind?' Lee thought to himself as he danced around another punch and jumped away from another kick. 'He's barley used that teleportation jutsu, hasn't made any clones, and still hasn't used that other jutsu Hinata-chan used.' Lee reached into his pouch and drew out three smoke bombs and threw them at Naruto before pumping chakra into his legs and leaping onto the wall behind him. Sticking to the wall with his chakra Lee quickly reached down and pulled off his leg warmers.

"Finally getting serious?" Naruto asked as he stood below the wall smiling up at Lee. "I told you to take those damn things off before the match."


"Are those leg weights?" Sakura asked as she stared at Lee through narrowed eyes. He was sticking to the wall while Naruto stood below him smiling. "What's he doing? Why isn't he taking this seriously?" Sakura asked as she looked over at Sasuke who was watching with his Sharingan.

"He's having fun," Kiba said as he threw an arm around Sakura. "You should try it sometime."

Sakura shrugged Kiba's arm off her shoulders and glared at Kiba. "I know how to have fun dog breath."

"I don't get it through," Kiba said with a shrug. "How are a few pounds going to help him here?"

"Those are special chakra enriched weights!" Guy said loudly as he smiled. "I infused them with chakra myself so you know they're good!"

"Is that so?"

Sakura turned at the familiar voice. It was Kakashi, and he was standing behind Guy his signature bright orange book in his hand. "YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura shouted at Kakashi as she pointed at him. "You could have missed Naruto's match. What kind of sensei are you!"

"The kind that helps an elderly woman and her granddaughter bring groceries into their house." Kakashi replied lazily as he took a few steps past Guy and sat down on one of the benches reserved for contestants and their teams. "Besides I think I got here just in time for the good part."

Sakura turned to see Lee standing up straight on the wall directly above Naruto. In his hands were two sets of traditional looking leg weights. Sakura watched as he let go of them and the fell from down and slammed into the ground. There was a thundering roar that echoed through the stadium as large clouds of dust rose form the impact and the stadiums shook. Sakura's eyes went wide as she looked at Sasuke who was trying to mask his surprise.

"That's a little extreme, even for you Guy." Kakashi said with an exasperated sigh.

"Not at all! You see Lee can't use ninjutsu or genjutsu. The best he can do is channel a bit of chakra through his body along with tree climbing and water walking. So that means he had to become Taijutsu specialist like me. To achieve one's dreams through nothing but headwork, sweat, and blood. That is Lee's true goal. No training is too extreme to achieve your dream."

"You both are nut jobs," Sakura huffed as she turned back to the fight.

()()

"Finally," Naruto said with a grin as he jumped back as the arena shook. "We can start getting a little serious." Naruto's grin faded as Lee appeared next to him. Naruto ducked a punch only for Lee to disappear and reappear to his left with a tightly coiled kick. Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as the kick collided with his chest and he was sent flying back. 'Okay, he's a little faster and stronger than I thought he'd be.' Naruto thought to himself as he rolled and got back up to his feet.

Naruto barley dodged another fury of blows, as Lee blocked or slipped all of his counter attacks. 'Guess I'll stop playing around,' Naruto tossed a kunai behind Lee and disappeared, reappearing behind him Naruto grabbed the kunai and turned to slash at Lee, but he was already gone. Lee was suddenly to his left and Naruto weaved out of the way and launched a knee into Lee's gut it connected. Taking advantage, he brought his elbow down on the back of his head and was about to follow up with another kick when Lee disappeared again. Naruto flicked the kunai into the air again and let out a large blast of wind chakra kicking up the dirt before weaving a quick hand seal. Lee appeared above him but not where he'd tossed the kunai. 'Guess he didn't fall for that again.' Naruto reached out with his chakra found what he was looking for and quickly swapped just as Lee's heel came crashing down on Naruto's head.

Naruto swapped with a quickly made shadow clone, but it didn't seem like Lee had noticed. Lee appeared below the clone and kicked it up into the air. Naruto watched from behind a bush as Lee kicked it several more times higher and higher until he reappeared behind it and wrapped it with his bandages. Lee turned the clone upside down, and started spinning rapidly.

'I honestly didn't expect him to be this fast. I could finish this now while he's distracted, but the plan was to make Lee into an example. Might as well have some fun and show that old bastard a bit more of what I learned on Uzushio.'

Naruto stood up from behind the bush just as Lee and his clone came crashing down. 'Good thing I gave that one a bit more oomph.' Naruto walked to the center of the ring as Lee stood looking down at his clone which disappeared with a puff of smoke. Lee was panting and he turned to see Naruto standing in the center of the ring.

"That was a neat move, Lee. Mind if I show you one of mine? I picked it up while I was training this month. Took me forever to work out the kinks."

"I'm down for some more," Lee said as he stretched his neck. "The lotus of the Leaf Village blooms twice."

"Good to hear."


"Guy, you didn't!" Kakashi said as he bolted up from the bench and pulled up his headband after hearing Lee's declaration.

"What's going on?" Sakura asked as she looked between her sensei and Sasuke who was staring at Lee intently.

"I don't know for sure. The Sharingan isn't as good at seeing chakra as the Byakugan but somethings happening to Lee's. The chakra in his head seems more potent than before."

"How many can he open?" Kakashi asked as he turned to look at Guy.

"Six," Guy said with a large grin. As he crossed his arms.

"You taught him how to open six of the eight gates!" Kakashi turned back to stare at Lee. "How can a 16-year-old pull that off? Even with hard work and years of training…"

"What are the eight gates?" Sakura asked as she looked at Kakashi.

"There are eight gates that exist in everyone's chakra network. They exist to regulate the flow of chakra through the body. Normally people use around 20% of their total amount of chakra at a time. The gates protect the body from overusing their chakra and hurting themselves. Some ninja can learn to open those gates and remove those limits increasing their strength, speed, and stamina for a short time." Kakashi said as he stared down at Lee. "But it has its limits. With out regulators our bodies can tear themselves apart using that much chakra. If you opened all eight gates, you'd become more powerful than any Hokage, but you'd die after. Lees already opened two."

"What's Naruto doing?" Sasuke asked distracting Sakura and Kakashi.


"You're a bit faster than I thought you'd be." Naruto said as he reached into a pouch and pulled out a glass vial filled with blood. Popping the black cap off the end with his thumb reveled a thin needle at the end. "I could cover this arena in clones and teleportation seals or I could make a few more water dragons, but this seems to be the perfect time to try this out." Naruto led out his left arm and slid the needle into his arm just below the elbow. The blood drained from the vial and Naruto pulled it out and tossed it away. "If it doesn't work, I'll just end this quickly." Naruto bent over and placed his fingers on the ground. Suddenly inky black calligraphy spread from his fingers. A dark circle of seals formed around his feet and branched out in eight different directions. North, South, East, West, North West, North East, South East, and South West. Another circle surrounded them connecting each point with one another.

"I'm looking forward to it." Lee said as he readied himself for another attack.

"Uzumaki Sealing Style: Kekkei Genkai Coalescing Technique," Naruto called out as he clapped his hands together. The seals started to burn a bright red and faded away. The outer circle burned away and lines followed burning in on themselves racing towards Naruto. Once it got to the inner circle around Naruto's feet it burned violent orange and red before it disappeared. Naruto closed his eyes and smirked and when he opened them, they were no longer a cerulean burn but a bright crimson red with three tomoe swirling around his pupil.


'That little fox!' Orochimaru thought as he tightened his hand his seat next to the Sandaime. He tried to school his body language as to not alert the old man sitting to right. Disguised as the Kazekage he turned to the Hokage whose shocked expression betrayed him. Smiling widely under the veil he spoke. "Is that the Uchiha's famous sharingan in that young genin?"

"It appears so…yes," The Sandaime whispered as he watched Naruto with wide eyes. 'This boy is a prodigy like his father before him. In all my years I've never witnessed something like this. To copy another clan Kekkei Genkai…only an Uzumaki could find a way to seal someone else's bloodline trait inside of them.'

'This boy is more than I ever thought he could be!' Orochimaru thought as he turned back to stare at the blond. 'He didn't just copy the Kekki Genkai it's matured…it has three tomoe in it…he must have found a way to reverse engineer the jutsu I sent him after.'


"Is that the-"Sakura was cut off by Sasuke who was more shocked than anyone else there.

"It's a Sharingan," Sasuke whispered as he stared at Naruto with wide eyes. 'No none can copy a Kekkei Genkei its blood trait born from genetic mutations that change the way chakra interacts with a person's body…the vial! He used my blood…this what he meant when he said he could probably undo that jutsu if Orochimaru used it against me.'

"No fucking way!" Kiba said as he leaned over the railing. "That little brat has a Sharingan now."

"Naruto…" Kakashi said as he trailed off and stared at his student.


"Let's have some fun," Naruto said as he copied Lee's stance. Neither of them moved for several seconds, and then suddenly Lee shot forward, along with Naruto. 'This is incredible! Is this how Sasuke sees the world?' Every move Lee made seemed like an open book to Naruto. The ninja who'd been too fast to see just a few seconds before seemed slower than he did at the start. Naruto noticed every muscle twitch every slight shift in weight, and instinctively he knew Lee was going to do next. It wasn't a thought process…Naruto didn't have to think about what Lee was going to do next he just knew…Naruto weaved through Lee's attacks with ease countering every single one. His fists and legs connected with Lee with ease, even as he pumped chakra into his body to keep up.

'This technique has its draw backs. I was right when I guessed I'd only be able to use it for about 10 minutes. The second Sasuke's blood entered my body my cells started attacking it as a foreign substance, and without the blood to act as a template I can't transform my chakra to mimic Sasuke's. Not to mention the amount of chakra it's burning through. I'm not supposed to have these eyes my body isn't suited for it. Not to mention the Sharingan is driving my actions not the other way around. It's using me more than I'm using it. But with these eyes I can make up for my inexperience with the Flying Thunder God, if I teleport, I can react fast enough to adjust now especially against opponents faster than me.'

Naruto landed another right hook to Lee's face. This time however Lee jumped back and didn't retaliate. Naruto was about to push forward when something happened. Suddenly Lee faded from Naruto's vision and all he could see was a mass of chakra. It was the Sharingan suddenly two spots on what Naruto would assume was Lee's back seemed to explode with power. Suddenly the chakra disappeared and reappeared in front of Naruto. Once again Lee was almost too fast to perceive, but he could still feel what Lee was about to do. The problem was Naruto's body was too slow to respond. Even with the additional weight training he did on Uzushio he still wasn't fast enough.

"Gate of Life Open!" Lee shouted as he pummeled Naruto in the chest. Naruto felt himself fly back but was able to adjust at the last second. Naruto created another clone as Lee closed in again. Naruto took the second hit to buy himself sometime, this time as Lee launched him into the air with an uppercut to the gut Naruto placed a finger on Lee's wrist seals flowing from the tip.

'I've had my fun, time to end this.' Naruto thought as he quickly swapped with his clone again. 'Feels like a cheap trick but if it isn't broke don't fix it.'

"Gate of Pain Open!"

Naruto landed on the ground in plain site as he watched Lee pummel his clone the tomoe in his copied Sharingan spinning. Naruto grinned widely he was memorizing all of the moves. Lee was bouncing all around the walls and floor hitting Naruto's clone so fast Naruto could barely see it clearly. Lee landed on the wall one last time jumped with enough force to crack the wall one of his bandages extending to wrap up Naruto's clone.

Lee pulled the clone to him with a jerk burying his left fist and leg into Naruto's clone. 'Gate of Closing!' Lee thought to himself just as his blows -collided. "Hidden Lotus!" Naruto's clone exploded as wind chakra blasted from it with the last attack as Lee landed on the ground with a large blast. The arena shook with the force and large cloud of dust and dirt exploded from the ground.

When it was over Lee was once again standing over an empty crater panting. His skin was a dark red, mixed with bright red from the blood running down his body. Naruto's wind clone had left several large gashes around Lee's body. Naruto closed his eyes and cut the chakra off, the bright red Sharingan faded back to Naruto's usual deep blue. Naruto teleported directly next to Lee, just as the other ninja collapsed. Naruto caught him and eased him down gently.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto," Genma said loudly to a silent crowd. Instantly the crowed broke into loud cheers and shouts. Naruto undid the bandage around his wrist and offered it to Lee.

"Thank you," Lee said painfully as he bit down on Naruto's wrist. Deep green chakra bubbled up to the surface and Lee started to inhale the chakra. After a minute or two Lee pulled away and stood up, any damage the opening the gates had done to his body had been mostly healed.

"It was a good match Lee," Naruto said he placed a hand on Lee's shoulder. "You really are a genius of hard work."

AN: That's it for this chapter. I've gone through and edited a few times. Trying to make it a cohesive as possible.

I'm not going to drop a whole lot of exposition in the story about how Naruto's jutsu works so I'm going to do it here. Naruto isn't a medical nin and in my mind he doesn't really know how it works either so he can't explain it in story. It's a gamble he took. The Uzumaki's were able to punish ninjas by sealing away their Kekkei Genkai or other genetic traits like themselves. It was part of what made them so feared and plays a part in why Konoha decided to attack outside of what was said this chapter.

The way I figured someone's genetic make up is what gives them specific chakra including even their nature types. Naruto basically just reversed the original Uzumaki jutsu and added some formulas that would release the genetic code in the blood and then the formulas he added facilitated a temporary change in the type of chakra in his body. Since he was copying Sasuke's chakra type, he was able to redirect more chakra into his eyes and manifest a Sharingan. I'm not a doctor but from what I gathered small amounts of foreign blood isn't dangerous when in the blood stream because our white blood cells attack it. I don't know how much or how long but I figured since Naruto was only using a few milliliters it maybe be a few minutes especially because he's an Uzumaki and his body heals faster than others which means his cells divide faster etc. From Naruto's perspective this was something he did as way to safeguard Orochimaru using the sealing Jutsu against Sasuke or Hinata or any future allies that have Kekkei Genkai it just so happened he was able to modify it slightly to do this.

The truth is from a writing perspective I just thought this would be fun. I wanted to give Naruto a kind of mid story trump card he can use. I don't really know how much I'll use this going forward. I didn't want to give him a huge power up in what is basically just past the halfway point of the story.