Chapter 16 revised and edited. Review or PM me on what you think about this chapter now.
Disclaimer – I don't own anything from the Naruto anime/manga all I own are my original characters and plot twists.
'Talking'
"Thinking"
'Heavily demonic voice'
'Fox talking'
"Fox thinking"
*expression*
Jutsu
Flashback
Chapter 16 – Training and The Finals
'Lame.' Said Naruto in a monotonous voice, which caused Jiraiya to fall off his toad.
'Hey you little brat show me some respect, I'm a Sannin for crying out loud, one of three people in all the land. A legendary ninja.' Said Jiraiya as he stood up indignantly.
'In my experience respect is earned from the individual not the title. Now if you'll excuse me, the Chunin exams are in a month, and I would like to start training for them.' Said Naruto as he begun to walk away.
Jiraiya just stared after him with his mouth wide open.
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For the next week Jiraiya watched Naruto train in Kenjutsu, as well as Taijutsu, from a distance. On the fifth day he saw Naruto utilizing wind techniques which were very powerful, confusing the man, as wind was not a nature common in the Leaf, so finding a teacher would have been quite difficult, which made his proficiency all the more puzzling.
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On the eighth day, Jiraiya approached Naruto just before he started his training.
'Hey brat.' Said Jiraiya as he approached, causing Naruto to glare slightly.
'What do you want, pervert?' Replied Naruto in a bored tone, with a hint of anger at being called a brat.
'Now is that anyway to talk to someone who is willing to teach you something in preparation for your exams?' Asked Jiraiya as he crossed his arms over his chest haughtily.
'No, but it is the way to talk to a person who goes around proclaiming he is a super pervert.' Replied Naruto, with a hint of condescension in his tone.
'Oh well, guess I'll just leave then. To think I could have taught you how to do summoning jutsu.' Said Jiraiya with a smug grin as he walked away, thinking he had the boy hook, line, and sinker.
Naruto scoffed before going through hand signs and slamming his palm on the ground.
'Summoning Jutsu.' Said Naruto, causing a plume of smoke to erupt from under his hand.
When the puff of smoke cleared, the dark red one tailed fox he summoned in the first part of the Chunin exams appeared. Jiraiya turned around and was internally gobsmacked but managed to successfully hide it, instead only raising an eyebrow outwardly.
'You can summon foxes? That's quite... interesting.' Said Jiraiya, as he narrowed his eyes.
'Not quite, they are demon foxes.' Said Naruto grinning smugly.
'Do you want to see the boss?' Asked Naruto with mirth in his eyes, before he started hand signs again, which caused Jiraiya to pale and rush at Naruto in an attempt to stop him.
Naruto stopped of his own accord and started laughing before he eventually fell to the floor, laughing all the way.
'HAHAHA aw man, that was hilarious, I haven't pulled a prank on anyone in months.' Said Naruto, as he kept laughing.
Jiraiya chuckled as it was a good trick before saying exhaling in a bit of relief.
'So you can't summon the Kyuubi, that's a relief.' Said Jiraiya
Naruto instantly sat up, all traces of humour gone from his face as he corrected Jiraiya.
'Of course I can, I'm a man of my word and if you don't believe me...' Said Naruto, trailing off as he formed the first hand sign, which caused Jiraiya to start waving his hands in front of his face nervously.
'I believe you, I believe you!' Exclaimed Jiraiya frantically.
'Good.' Said Naruto, smirking as he enjoyed toying with Jiraiya.
'Amusing Naruto, but had you tried to summon me, you would have fallen unconscious due to chakra exhaustion.' Said Kyuubi.
"Maybe but he doesn't know that." Thought Naruto happily.
'So pervy sage what are you doing here, shouldn't you be off peeping?' Asked Naruto matter-of-factly.
'Well I was thinking and realised you may just be worthy enough to receive some training from the toad sage himself.' Said Jiraiya.
Naruto thought about it and acknowledged the fact that though he may be a pervert, he could be considerably helpful.
'Ok, but first I want to test you to see if you're, worthy of teaching me.' Said Naruto placing emphasis on the you're and me.
'Ha! Kid, I can take anything you throw at me.' Said Jiraiya puffing out his chest.
'Sexy Jutsu.' Said Naruto as he turned into a busty blonde-haired girl with two pigtails and clouds covering up her unmentionables, as she was naked.
Instead of passing out from blood loss as Naruto had intended, Jiraiya simply grinned and got closer.
'Kid you are a genius.' Said Jiraiya, who was starting to drool from the mouth.
Naruto sighed and changed back to Jiraiya's disappointment.
'Ok, I guess you aren't that bad if you didn't pass out from that, after all, I got the old man with this jutsu, so if you're still standing, I guess you're pretty strong.' Concluded Naruto.
"Or just a huge pervert." Naruto thought sourly.
'Alright brat, let the training begin.' Shouted Jiraiya who still had a bit of blood coming down his nose, much to Naruto's annoyance.
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Seventeen days later
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'Kid, you have come along really well and should be able to beat everyone at the exam tomorrow.' Said Jiraiya with a hint of pride in his voice.
'Thank you Jiraiya-sensei.' Said Naruto for the first time.
'Don't mention it kid, but more importantly, that jutsu you've learned is incomplete, there is still another step to it.' Said Jiraiya seriously.
'What is the other step?' Asked Naruto, tone equal parts of curiosity and surprise.
'Adding elemental chakra to it.' Revealed Jiraiya, who was pleased to see Naruto's eyes widen with ideas and realisations.
'Once you add an element to this jutsu it is complete, and you have will have accomplished something that neither I, nor the Fourth could ever do.' Said Jiraiya happily.
'Thanks for all your help pervy sage and don't worry, I'll have this jutsu mastered within ten days after the Chunin exams.' Said Naruto, grinning as he jumped away.
"You know what kid; I actually believe you." Thought Jiraiya chuckling.
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The next day
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"Hmm, I wonder if Lee is up for a spar." Thought Naruto, as he walked through town, only to hear a shout of 'Youth' as soon as he thought it.
"Guess that's a yes." Thought Naruto, as he jumped away to find the place the shout came from.
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'That's it Lee, let your "Flames of Youth" explode.' Encouraged Guy.
"Why me?" Thought Tenten, who had to put up with this for almost a whole month now.
'Hey guys.' Said Naruto as he appeared on the training field.
'Naruto!' Shouted Lee and Tenten, but for different reasons.
Tenten dashed to Naruto's side almost as fast as Lee was without his weights and grabbed on to his arm.
'Please, you have to help me! They have been going on and on about "Youth" for almost a month and I've had to deal with it.' Pleaded Tenten, shuddering as she said 'Youth'.
'What are you doing here Naruto, the exams are in four days, shouldn't you be training?' Asked Lee.
'Well actually I already finished and... um, Tenten, do you think I could have my arm back?' Asked Naruto sheepishly, as he was starting to lose feeling in his hand from Tenten's death grip.
'Oh right, sorry.' Said Tenten just as sheepishly and turned away blushing.
"Wow his arms are really hard and defined." Thought Tenten, which was the cause for her blush.
Naruto blinked for a moment, trying to understand Tenten's reaction, before momentarily shelving the thought and continuing on with what he wanted to say.
'I was wondering if you wanted to spar and if you could tell me a little about the Eight Inner Gates.' Finished Naruto.
Lee had flames in his eyes, but Guy frowned at Naruto asking about the inner gates.
'Naruto, why do you want to know about the eight inner gates?' Asked Guy seriously.
'Well I was thinking what would happen if you were in a dangerous situation and had none of your weapons and were low on chakra and figured you'd have to use Taijutsu and sadly, mine is pretty unrefined, so I figured the gates would help.' Answered Naruto.
Guy thought about it before saying.
'Hmm, perhaps I can teach you how the gates work, but I won't teach you how to open them until you can either beat Lee in a pure Taijutsu spar, or at least last for one hour.' Said Guy thoughtfully.
'Fair enough, but I don't think I can beat Lee just yet, but I still want to spar to see how much I need to improve.' Admitted Naruto.
Lee and Guy nodded.
'Ready, begin!' Shouted Guy, beginning the spar between Lee and Naruto.
Lee and Naruto both disappeared even with their weights on, and a boom was heard a moment later. Many other booms echoed every couple of minutes with no signs of Naruto or Lee stopping. Lee went for a reverse roundhouse and Naruto blocked it with a head level guard with his left arm.
'Wow Lee, that kick almost broke my arm.' Said Naruto.
Lee smiled before aiming a punch at Naruto's stomach. Naruto jumped back quickly to avoid getting winded. Naruto, seeing Lee overextended a little jumped forward and tried to land an axe kick to Lee's shoulder, but Lee quickly grabbed Naruto's leg, ignoring the fact that it had a one-hundred-kilogram weight on its ankle, not to mention the weight of the leg itself. Lee then attempted to sweep Naruto's leg, but Naruto back flipped at the last minute.
Lee then jumped at Naruto, not leaving him a moment to recover.
'Leaf Hurricane!' Shouted Lee, before his leg struck Naruto in the head and sent him to the ground.
'Wow Lee, that was some kick. I know when I'm out matched, you win.' Said Naruto, standing up and bowing.
'That was a most youthful match Naruto.' Said Lee.
Guy then told Naruto about how the gates limited how much chakra the body had access to and what happens when you open each gate, with opening all eight leading to death.
After hearing everything Guy had to say, Naruto thanked him and begun to leave before he had another idea.
'Hey Tenten want to have a Kenjutsu spar?' Asked Naruto.
Tenten was initially excited, but then remembered what happened in the Chunin exams and frowned. Naruto saw this and spoke before she could reply.
'I won't use the technique I used in the preliminaries.' Said Naruto smiling.
Seeing that he wasn't going to use a move like that, Tenten became excited at the chance to fight a fellow sword user.
'Ok.' Said Tenten, as she unsealed the head chopping cleaver.
Naruto pulled out his katana holding it in his right hand, with his left next to his waist and lowered his stance with both feet with their heels together but facing away.
Once again Guy shouted, 'Begin.'
At Guy's command the two rushed into combat. Tenten was using a very direct style, aiming at Naruto's limbs, while Naruto was using the Demon Fox style, which involved parrying and striking out at the joints and vital points of the body. After coming dangerously close to having his arm sliced off, Naruto started to make use of his speed. He appeared behind Tenten and stabbed at her kidney, but her quick reflexes saved her as she dodged by leaping to the side. Naruto kept charging and had two close calls, almost stabbing Tenten in the stomach and lungs, but to her credit, while Tenten wasn't as fast as Lee, she was still very fast. Eventually however, Tenten brought her blade down on Naruto's shoulder, which was just barely stopped in time by Naruto's blade, however this gave Naruto the opportunity he needed as he quickly pushed against the blade, causing her to stumble, which allowed him to get behind her and press his sword to her back directly over her heart.
'I think I win.' Said Naruto happily.
Tenten smirked before saying, 'Maybe or maybe not.'
Tenten quickly stuck her leg out and swept Naruto's own, but Naruto was holding on to her shoulder, so he didn't run her through, which caused Tenten to also fall and turn around. Eventually they both landed on the floor, with Naruto under Tenten, which caused Tenten to drop her sword and Naruto to drop his as well. Tenten looked at Naruto and Naruto looked at Tenten, after about ten seconds of staring into each other's eyes, they both realised that the way they looked right now could send the wrong message about what they were doing. Both had a tinge of pink come to their cheeks before Naruto said, 'Let's call it a draw.'
Tenten was too embarrassed to speak, so she simply nodded her head and they both stood up.
Naruto quickly picked up his sword and gave Tenten own sword back, which Tenten responded to by mumbling thank you.
'Um, well thanks for the spars and advice, Guy, Lee, and Tenten.' Said Naruto before jumping away as fast as possible.
'Your face was priceless back there. Ha! If this is how you react to situations like that, I can't wait until...' Started Kyuubi.
"I can't hear you Kyuubi." Repeated Naruto over and over again until the Kyuubi stopped.
'Fine Kit, I'll leave you to wallow in your embarrassment, but when you go to sleep today, I want you to hold onto your sword and push some of our chakra into it, I have an idea to make it better.' Said the Kyuubi.
It was already nine when Naruto got back, so he went straight to sleep.
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The next day
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Naruto awoke and saw his blade had changed, it was now seventy five centimetres in length and the blade was pitch black with the only colour on it being nine red fox tails which came from a tiny fox with ruby eyes on the handle. The handle was gold with a citrine embedded in the hilt, which represented powerful symbolism and regeneration, a fitting representation of both an Uzumaki and the Kyuubi.
"Fox, this is the most amazing blade I have ever seen." Thought Naruto excitedly.
'Well are you going to give it a name, all great swords have a name?' Asked Kyuubi.
"Hmm, hey, Kyuubi, what's your name, I don't believe your name is just the nine tailed fox or Kyuubi?" Thought Naruto.
'I was wondering how long it would take you to figure that out. I guess you're not as dumb as you look.' Said Kyuubi chuckling.
'Ok then, my real name is Kurama.' Said Kyuubi.
"Ok, then I will call this blade 'The Claw of Kurama.'" Declared Naruto in his mind.
'Whatever.' Said the fox, who was surprised Naruto named the sword after him.
'All right, time to start my training for the day.' Naruto said out loud, as he jumped out of his window.
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Day of the exam finals
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Naruto, Sakura, Haku, Shino, Lee, Neji, Tenten, Shikamaru, Choji, Temari, and Gaara all stood in the centre of the stadium alongside a special Jounin who they had never seen before. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes. He wore his forehead protector like a bandanna, and the standard Jounin outfit. He also had a senbon needle in his mouth.
Naruto walked up to him and said, 'Excuse me, but where is Hayate-sensei?'
The special Jounin looked at him before sighing and said, 'He couldn't make it today, so I'm filling in for him. I'm Genma, and I'll tell you what happened after the finals.'
Naruto frowned at the vague response but nodded nonetheless, before walking back next to Haku and Sakura.
"Poor kid. Why do I have to be the one to tell a kid his sensei was found dead last night?" Thought Genma.
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The Hokage stood up and welcomed everyone to the Chunin exams before telling Genma to begin.
'Will everyone except Naruto Uzumaki and Neji Hyuuga please go upstairs to the observation area.' Said Genma.
'Your fate is to lose to me today.' Stated Neji arrogantly.
'Please don't start talking about fate.' Said Naruto jokingly, before turning his blue eyes on Neji.
'Because fate has got nothing to do with me beating you today and making you pay for what you did.' Said Naruto with a deathly still tone.
'First match, Naruto Uzumaki VS Neji Hyuuga. Begin.' Shouted Genma.