Chapter X

The Strongest: Beginning of the end

A month had passed since Team Seven had returned from Novigrad, where they celebrated the yearly festival of Belleteyn at Naruto's request. The missions seemed to bring the team closer while at the same time showing them there's more to life than constant battle and training. All of them had a great time in the northern port city, and upon their return to Konoha, all were rested and prepared to up their training.

And so did the month go, waking in the morning for a workout session, a break, then missions, another training routine, a break, self-study on Elemental Chakra, and more missions. Kakashi drilled the three real Genin into the ground, while himself being pushed to his limit by Naruto, who swore to bring Kakashi back to his ANBU levels.

Meanwhile, Haku's prohibition had ended and she was given the rank of Genin, before being put in the reserve Genin corps, where she would either wait for a team to graduate to Chunin or a slot in a Genin team got free. Of course, that didn't mean she cut off her ties with Team Seven. Now, she spent even more time with them, after becoming an unofficial squad member.

She trained, studied, and rested with them. The only thing that changed was the fact she now did D-Ranked missions herself and while that meant more work for her, she also didn't have to split the way so she could earn some good cash.

Currently, Team Seven is back in their training ground. It was time for their afternoon training session, which ranged from individual training on techniques to team training, like combinations or tactics, or hand-to-hand combat training.

Currently, it was the latter. Sasuke was sparring against Kakashi, his Sharingan ablaze. Well, it was more akin to trying to survive as long as he could and learn to fight superior opponents while training his Sharingan. The silver-haired Jonin pulled no punches. From powerful strikes, huge techniques, and sneak attacks, Sasuke had to be prepared for everything.

On the other side of the training ground, Naruto did the same with Haku and Hinata, whose objective was to survive as long as possible. However, if one of them was out of the fight, the other lost too. It was supposed to push them to watch each other's back while making them make up tacts on the run.

Ever since coming out of the academy, both Hinata and Sasuke had made huge progress, living up to their Clan's names and fame. Of course, Naruto always reminded them that they were nothing compared to his genius and prodigious talent, but the two Genin were nevertheless happy with what they achieved.

Sasuke, already in the second stage of the Sharingan, was slowly becoming a monster of Ninjutsu. His arsenal of techniques grew day, by day, currently focusing mostly on Fire and Lighting, which were both his best abilities. With the added perception of Sharingan, his hand-to-hand combat as well as swordsmanship was coming along nicely. While his speed and strength were trumped by his teammates, his innate ability to adapt to his enemy kept him close to Hinata's level.

The Hyuga girl herself opted to stay more in tune with the tradition of her clan and focused primarily on hand-to-hand combat, with only a few supplementary Ninjustu that might come in handy. Her strength and speed grew quickly, her durability, stamina, and precision even quicker. Of course, like Sasuke, her Byakugan had grown too. With extensive training, while using the 360 field vision, she was able to pick up things quicker than before, while the range and depth of her Dojutsu grew as well.

Haku was making great progress on her Bloodline Limit, with the added insight from Naruto's six-eyes and Kakshi's expertise in the field. Usually, she was faster than Sasuke, but a tad slower than Hinata, but while using the Hyoton, her speed trumped that of the two Genin. Thanks to constant spars with Naruto, she became more durable and learned to use her Bloodline in more diverse ways.

"Alright, come on, gather around," Kakashi said while clapping his hands, gaining the team's attention. He saw the three true Genin fall to the ground, sweaty and out of breath, while Naruto sat down next to them with a smile and a light sheen of sweat covering his body.

In the last month, the blond had progressed probably the least. Not because of lack of trying, mind you. But simply because at his level it was difficult to progress easily. The last month had been spent learning the basics of barriers, and seals as well as honing and polishing what he already knew.

Kakashi himself was happy at his pace. Slowly, he felt himself getting back into shape, after all the brutal hours of training with Naruto. His speed and strength were back to his prime, his reflexes were never this sharp. With the help of Naruto, he managed to minimize the amount of Chakra his Sharingan took and in retrospect, it was worth it. If he had to say, he would say he was even slightly stronger than in his ANBU days, not by much, but still stronger. More experienced too.

"What's up, Cyclops?"

"Well, it's that time of the year again, the Chunin exams are here I decided to promote your team," The silver-haired Jonin stated with an eye smile, making Hinata and Sasuke look at him with wide eyes.

"Hm? You think they are ready?" Naruto questioned with a mocking smile, making the two growl at him, before he laughed loudly when Sasuke threw a small stone at him. "Just kidding. So, where do we sign up again?"

"The thing is, you don't,"

"Huh?"

"Naruto isn't taking the exam?" Sasuke asked with a confused look. By all means, the blond was the strongest of them, he was also known by the upper echelons of other Villages, so why... his eyes widened for a moment before he closed them.

"I see you have figured it out, Sasuke. Naruto can't take the exams because it's an international affair and he's a known S-Ranked Ninja. If he were to enter, the other Villages would call it cheating,"

"Meh, I don't really care. Playing around with a bunch of Genin sounds boring anyway," Naruot answered with a small pout, failing to hide his slight disappointment.

"Who will be our third teammate," Hinata asked and Kakashi smiled again.

"What do you say, Haku? I already asked Lord Hokage about it and he agreed to allow you to participate,"

"I... of course, it would be my pleasure to work with you all,"

"Then from now on, you are officially a member of team Seven, congratulations. Now, I need you three to sign here. Good, the exams start in a week and the first part takes place in the academy. I will get you more info tomorrow. We will change our training schedule for the time so that you can rest before the exams. Our mission schedule is still the same, meet you later,"

As Kakashi vanished in a puff of smoke to deliver the needed documents, the team of four sat in silence for a moment.

"Well, I've got to go too. I think I should have time to meet you three before the exams start, but just in case," Naruto gave them a genuine smile. "Good luck,"

Later the same day, Naruto arrived in the Hokage office after being summoned by the ANBU. The old man was reading some files, his pipe lit in his left hand. Once the blond arrived, the Hokage dismissed the ANBU guard before placing the papers on the desk and looking at the blond.

"What is it, old man?"

"Hm? Kakashi didn't tell you yet?"

"You mean the Chunin exams?" The blond asked and sat down in front of the desk.

"Of course, the chunin exams are being held in a week. From the reports on team Seven, both Sasuke and Hinata are sure to be promoted. Congratulations, your assignment to guard the two Genin has been completed,"

"Ah, I see,"

"Hm, something the matter?"

"Nah, all good, just... it was kinda fun," Hiruzen looked at the blond's slightly disappointed face, before smiling.

"Just because you are not on their team anymore, doesn't mean you won't be in touch. I'm sure that in the future you will be sent on many missions together,"

"Yeah, yeah, I know. So, what now?"

"Now? Congratulations on your field promotion to Jonin-rank, Naruto,"

"Ah, not ANBU?"

"No, your days in ANBU are done and you will be more useful in the spotlight,"

"Okay, anything else?"

"There will be a council meeting tonight,"

Naruto groaned and leaned back in the chair. "I hate those. Can't I skip this one?"

"Unfortunately, not. It's quite important, so make sure not to be late,"

"Yeah, I got that,"

The council room was big and round in shape. There were three tables in the room, each crafted with dark-brown wood. Two on the sides of the door and one opposite of it, with enough room in between for people to stand that didn't sit at the tables.

The table in the middle belonged to the Hokage, left of him sat the ANBU commander, Danzo, and right of the Hokage sat the Jonin commander, Nara Shikaku. The table left to the Hokage was for the Clan heads. All of the major Clans in the Village were sitting next to each other. The table opposite of them was reserved for prominent Shinobi in the Village. Currently, at the table were Naruto, Asuma, Gai, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and Hiruzen's teammates, Homura and Koharu. Orochimaru was absent from the Village.

Unlike the rest at the table, Jiraiya and Naruto's places at this table were guaranteed by their status as S-Ranked Ninjas. Shinobi who reached the S-Rank, also known as Special-Rank, were one of the most important assets of the Village, and whose opinions were highly valued.

While most Shinobi who were given the S-Rank were Kage-level Ninjas, the Special-Rank was not indicated by strength alone. S-Rank indicated that the Shinobi was way above his peers, that he reached a height, that normal Shinobi wouldn't be able to gain no matter how much they trained. Talent, genius, and bloodline. All that played a part in who had the chance of becoming an S-Ranked Ninja.

It was also common practice to label Ninjas as S-Rank, simply because of their lineage and potential. That was something that had been seen and applied numerous times, mostly by rival Villages, in hopes of some mercenary wanting to get a high bounty and by process eliminating a potential threat.

Naruto had been one of these people.

Even before he matched the other S-Ranked Ninjas in power, he was labeled by Iwa as a Special-Rank Ninja. Maybe they hoped that someone would kill him, maybe they just wanted to alert their own Ninjas. Whatever the case, just because someone was labeled as an S-Rank, didn't mean he was at the same level as the others.

Nevertheless, such status was something that each and every Village wanted to nurture, to keep loyal to their villages. That's why anyone deemed, either by their own Village or a rival Village, was given special privileges, just like a place on the council.

In Konoha, the same privileges were given to veteran Ninjas, even if they never attained the S-Rank. In a way, it was a way to show gratitude and appreciation for the long duty and sacrifices they have made.

Feeling someone elbow his shoulder, Naruto looked to the left, where Jiraiya, with a usually serious expression mouthed. "Pay attention," Rolling his eyes, Naruto focused back on the meeting at hand.

"Now, for this year's Chunin exams," Hiruzen started, gaining everyone's attention. Even Naruot had to admit he was slightly curious about them this time around. "29 teams from Konoha had entered the exams. 10 teams from Suna, 7 from Ame, 4 from Kumo, 2 from Iwa, 1 from Kiri, 2 from Kusa, and one from Uzushio," Silence reigned the room as Everyone thought over what they just learned. Naruto was the first one to break the silence.

"What do you mean by Uzushio?"

Hiruzen looked at the piece of paper in front of him with a grim expression, before looking up.

"Uzushiogakure had sent a team of Genin for this year's exams,"

"Does that mean the Uzumaki Clan is back?" Someone asked before people started speaking in hushed tones, ever so often looking at Naruto who ignored them.

"It is also possible, that the new Village just has taken the name. There is a slim chance that true Uzumaki is leading Uzushio again," Shikaku added, rubbing the goatee on his chin.

"Still, if we put the matter of Uzushio aside for now, the fact remains that each great Village had sent a team. That hadn't happened since the first exams hosted by Lord Tobirama!" Akimichi Choza exclaimed, making more people mutter in hushed voices.

"That's true and that's a reason why we will need to prepare for all possibilities. Inoichi recall all Shinobi's on leave. Jiraiya, track down Orochimaru and bring him back immediately. Shikaku and Choza, make sure all units on patrol are on high alert at all times. Koharu, check the barrier to ensure it works properly. Danzo, regroup the ANBU in the field. Hiashi and Homura, make sure all key positions are in the expected conditions. Tsume, Shibi, sends out specialized patrols through the main Highways leading to Konoha. This meeting is adjourned, remember, the safety of the leaf rests on your shoulders, dismissed,"

As everybody nodded and went to do their assigned duties, the third called for Asuma, Kakashi, and Naruto. The trio waited until everyone was out of the council room and after the doors were shut close, the third gave them orders.

"I have special assignments for the three of you. Kakashi, I need for you to keep an eye on the teams from Iwa. You will have two squads of ANBU assigned under your command. Asuma and the squad of ANBU will be in charge of making sure the Kumo teams don't try anything," The two nodded before Hiruen turned to Naruto. "I will need you to keep an eye on the Uzushio team for now. Inform me of everything you learn about them, no matter how insignificant. Don't make contact. Dismissed,"

In the end, he didn't find a moment to meet up with team Seven, between his current mission, their missions, and training, there was not enough time.

A week has passed since his sudden promotion. A week since he had last seen team Seven, his team. He wasn't worried about them or really missed them, but it was weird coming back to doing missions solo. He had yet to tell them about his promotion and what it meant, but he was sure Kakashi already did that, so again, he wasn't worried.

The Uzusio team had arrived the same day he was promoted, so it was straight to doing the job. Naruto spent the last week following the team of four around from a safe distance and there wasn't a need to intervene yet. They behaved well and followed the rules, as well as you could from sitting in your hotel room and never leaving it.

The team consisted of three Genin, two boys one girl, and a male Jonin Sensei. Honestly, the blond was disappointed with them. They showed none of the Uzumaki CLan's huge Chakra reserves, all of them being on the level of regular Chunin. The boys had brown and black hair, while the girl's hair was a dark shade of blond, so maybe it was his bad for assuming they were Uzumaki.

He thought that maybe like him, they had mixed parents, and somehow their genetics were different than full-blooded Uzumaki, but it seemed like he was wrong here.

The Jonin was nothing special. If he were to fight Kakashi, the silver-haired Ninja would wipe the floor with him, even before his renewed rigorous training. The Jonin from Uzushio had low-level Jonin CHakra reserves and from what Naruto saw, there was nothing special about him.

In short, the last week had been boring. He was mostly sitting on the roof of a building with a good view and was waiting for the uzushio team to do something, but they never did.

Finally, the past few boring days came to an end when he was relieved of his mission by a squad of ANBU. With a sigh of relief, he headed home to rest after the long and difficult mission of sitting on a rooftop.

"Alright, guys. Remember to stay together and you will fly through these exams with flying colors," Kakashi encouraged the new team Seven with an eye smile. The team was currently standing in front of the doors leading to the first exam.

All of them looked confident and had the same goal in mind.

"Ah, while Naruto is busy, he sent me a message to pass on to you guys," The Jonin Sensei cleared his throat and made his best impression of the blond. "I managed to get promoted at six, so if you fail to at least reach the third stage, my six-year-old self could beat you. That's about it,"

"Reach the third stage? We will win this for sure," Sasuke said with a smirk, getting a nod from Haku and Hinata. As the team opened the double doors to the room, Kakashi smiled softly under his mask, wishing them good luck.

The first thing they noticed was the number of participants. The room was huge, but there were so many people, that they had to search for a quiet spot to wait for the exams to begin.

The other thing was the amount of Shinobi not from Konoha. Usually, there were only a handful of teams from different villages, mostly from the small bordering countries and Suna, but as they walked through the room, they saw each great Village, along with many headbands of Villages they had never seen before.

"Hey guys," They turned to the left, where the voice came from, and saw Kiba waving to them, followed by Shino and Sakura. That was Team Eight, led by Yuhi Kurenai, Konoha's genjutsu Master. Sasuke seized the trio up and noticed how they didn't change a bit. Kiba still walked with his usual arrogant swagger, his Ninja Hound sitting in his hood. Shino, as always stayed quiet, silently observing the area around them from behind his glasses. Sakura still looked as weak as in the academy and if the blush on her face was any indication, even Kurenai was unable to beat the fangirl out of her.

The Uchiha nodded, Hinata gave them a glace before closing her eyes, rather to prepare herself for the exam than ignore them. Haku smiled at the incoming trio and greeted them back.

"Oh man, how is it fair that Sasuke of all people gets on a team with two beauties while I get Shino and Sakura?" The Inuzuka grumbled, making Shino shake his head, while Sakura stomped on his foot. "Ouch, sorry, sorry. Not going to introduce us?"

Sasuke sighed, seeing how Haku was uncertain how to proceed and Hinata was currently in her own world. It seemed like the duty of introductions fell on him, usually, that was Naruto's job.

"That's Haku, Haku, the loud one is Kiba, the pink one is Sakura and that's Shino,"

"Pleased to meet you," Before the group of six could continue, a loud screech of 'Sasuke' reverberated through the room. Everyone turned to the blond girl wearing purple and the two resigned boys behind her. Sasuke groaned under breath, closing his eyes for a moment.

'Nothing really changed since the academy,' The Uchiha thought with a small frown, yet he was slightly happy at the same time. Even if never voiced it and probably never would, he didn't dislike his old classmates. While most of the time they were annoying, he still saw them as comrades, and meetings like these, for which his team hadn't had time since graduation, almost brought a small smile to his face.

"Shikamaru, Choji," Hinata greeted the two with a small nod, who nodded back. While she didn't consider them her friends, she could see the potential Shikamaru had with his intelligence and the undying loyalty and faith of Choji in his friends were good values. Enough for her to at least respect them and greet them.

Before long, the group of nine was making casual small talk, mostly with Haku and Hinata, since Sasuke was being besieged by Sakura and Ino. Suddenly, a thought overcame the blond Yamanaka and she turned on her heel towards Haku, seizing her up before coming in closer and pointing a finger at her chest.

"I don't know if you are aware, but Sasuke is off the radar, he will be mine one day. So if I catch you trying to seduce him, I will be the one to show you your place," ino stated loudly, with unwavering confidence. Haku, ever the one to avoid any conflict, lifted her hands in surrender with a bewildered expression.

"Ah! Sasuke and I are just friends, nothing more," The black-haired girl answered with a sweatdrop, not sure how to answer these accusations. Ino looked at her for a solid moment before she nodded with a triumphant harumph.

"And it better stay this way, Sasuke is mine," Haku smiled and nodded her head, not wanting to get into an argument with a fellowLeaf Ninja, especially after just coming out of prohibition. As Ino and Sakura went on about who was going to be a better girlfriend for Sasuke, Haku noticed from the corner of her eye the small twitching of Hinata's right eye.

Before the Hyuga Princess could give her fellow female Genin a piece of her mind, a silver-haired Konoha Genin walked up to them with a friendly smile and a small wave.

"Another mission? Oh jeez, if I knew being a Jonin was this troublesome I would have tripled Sasuke before the exams," Naruto groaned as he stood in front of the Hokage again. The Third was not sure if he should be amused by the comment or if he should fear for the Uchiha's health. After all, if there was someone who would follow a comment like this, then it was Naruto.

"Please, if you would forget about injuring young Sasuke, let me explain the mission to you,"

"Sure, sure," Naruto muttered and sprawled over the chair he was currently sitting in. Hiruzen sighed seeing how lax the blond had become over the past few months, but it was no surprise. In the ANBU, he at least had Yugao to keep him in line, and during his time on team Seven, Hiruzen was pretty sure Kakashi just let the blond do his thing without a complaint.

"In the northern part of the Fire Country lays an ancient burial site that a squad of our Shinobi was guarding. We discovered it a few months ago and until now we were unable to enter the place,"

"Hm? It's sealed?"

"yes, however even Jiraiya was unable to break the Seal. We have come to the conclusion that it must be sealed this tightly for a reason, so we had a team deployed there to make sure no other parties would try to enter it,"

"I see, so someone had killed the squad and managed to enter the burial,"

"Exactly, I need you to head over there and secure the area. If you were to meet anyone inside, you are to capture them. At the same time, try to learn what is sealed inside,"

"Sure, sounds easy enough," The blond answered and made to leave the room before the serious voice of the third Hokage stopped him.

"Naruto, whoever must have broken the seal must have been a really great Seal Master or monstrously powerful. Make sure to take this mission seriously,"

"Heh, you underestimate me, old man. It has been ages since our last fight, so you might have forgotten, so don't worry. I'm the Strongest, after all," The blond stated with a cheeky grin before leaving the amused Hokage in his office alone.

An hour later, Naruto walked past the gates of the Village, reading through the scroll given to him by the Third at the beginning of their meeting. With a single leap, the blond arrived at the top of the wall that surrounded the Village, before his eyes roamed over the area. He looked south, towards the huge and unnatural trees of Forrest of death. He focused even more, seeing all the participants who managed to pass the first exam before a small smirk formed on his face when he saw his team.

'Huh, so they passed, really shouldn't expect less from them. Wait, is that Anko? What has the old man thinking about putting her in charge of the second round of the exams? I wonder what that crazy bitch is going to make them do to pass,' The blond shrugged, confident in his team's ability to pull through anything that Dango-loving monster would throw their way.

"Now, then," The blond looked north before speeding off toward his next mission. After all, he was working on a limited timetable. The second exam usually took two or three days and he wanted to meet his team before the third exam in person.

Yo, it's been... two months already? Damn, don't really have an excuse, lately, I have less and less time for myself. Working two jobs and going to college isn't exactly too nice, but oh well. You gotta do what you gotta do.

Initially, I wanted this to release the Chunin exams as a single Chapter, but it would be around 30k words and I'm not really sure how long it will take me to write it all down, so I decided to cut this 'intro' you could say, to give you at least something to read.

Good news, I've already started writing the next Chapter, about 3k words in and I think I will drop it once I hit around 7/8? So hopefully I will be able to update before the end of the month. Hopefully. Can't promise anything.

Well, that's all for now, thanks for reading and I hope you have a great day.

See ya!