Naruto Fan Fiction ❯ After the Dream ❯ Life ( Chapter 7 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Life

From that day on Naruto was watched almost constantly. Unfortunately this didn't have quite the effect that Tsunade had hoped. His “babysitters” - as they began calling themselves to piss off Naruto - were astonished by his dedication to his training. Occasionally they would actually teach him a new technique or give him pointers on how to improve his already existing ones. Normally they just sat back and watched as Naruto continued to push himself.

Once back in the village at night Naruto holed himself in his apartment. Sometimes he would practice his smaller jutsu or chakra control; other times he would sit around and stare at the ceiling. Naruto typically waited until after midnight before leaving his apartment. Surprisingly he followed the rules and remained inside the village. The border guards grew accustomed to seeing him run numerous laps around the inside of the wall.

One week after his punishment began Genma was leaning against a tree watching lazily as Naruto worked on the Rasengan. Though it still needed work he was almost able to perform it one handed, although it couldn't be held for very long. Genma tried to keep the surprise off his face when the twelve year old in front of him ripped a chunk out of a rock, causing a nice explosion in the process. He had heard rumors but all of them said he needed two hands; he was amazed that Naruto would take the time to perfect it with one hand when it could already be performed.

Genma turned when he felt someone approaching the clearing only to see Ebisu making his way towards Naruto and himself. He raised an eyebrow slightly wondering what the other man was doing there. Ebisu paused next to Genma and took a moment to adjust his ever present sun-glasses. “What?” Genma finally asked. Ebisu looked over at him for a moment before shrugging, “I didn't have a session with Konohamaru today and I got bored so I figured I'd come down here.” Genma looked at him oddly for a moment, before shrugging back. After a few moments Ebisu looked up and noticed that the sun was beginning to go down slightly. “It's almost eight, if you want I can stay here until he has to go back and you can head in early if you'd like.” Genma studied Ebisu for a moment before nodding and walking back towards Konoha.

Five minutes later Ebisu sat down under a tree crossed his legs and folded his arms before appearing to doze off. Night fell and Naruto smirked slightly before returning back to his training. His triumph was short lived as a toothpick flew in and `Ebisu' went poof. Genma dropped down in front of Naruto holding a kunai to his throat. Naruto looked up fairly annoyed, “How'd you know?”

Genma smirked, “Ebisu has black eyes not brown and he always says `Young Master' when referring to Konohamaru. When did you make the clone?”

“When I blew up that rock, I used the rubble and dust as a distraction to get it out of the clearing.” Naruto grumbled. Genma nodded and looked thoughtful for a moment, “Who taught you how to combine Henge and Kage Bunshin?”

Naruto looked up slightly confused, “What do you mean? It isn't that difficult.” Genma studied him for a moment before shaking his head; he walked over and picked up the toothpick he had thrown at the clone. “Come on, its past eight thirty. If you come back willingly I won't tell anyone about this stunt.” Naruto sighed and slowly followed Genma back into the village.

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Waruyoi's Sake House was a favorite gathering place for shinobi. That night Genma walked into the establishment half an hour later than usual and walked to join his companions at their usual table. Anko looked up at him and snickered slightly. “What did the brat do today?” She asked. Genma sighed and sat down, “He had `Ebisu' come take my place,” he said causing the others to look at him slight confusion, “He combined Kage Bunshin with Henge and had the clone, in the form of Ebisu, tell me I could leave early. If weren't for the fact that he said Konohamaru instead of Young Master, and one slight slip up in the appearance, I never would have guessed.” The others chuckled slightly; Naruto's training sessions had been very enlightening for many of them.

“At least he didn't use Harem no Jutsu,” Ebisu said. The others looked at him mystified until Iruka suddenly groaned and smacked his head, “Please tell me that isn't what I think it is.”

Ebisu laughed slightly while the others remained in the dark. “A very detrimental combination that can stun even the best shinobi. A combination of Sexy no Jutsu and Kage Bunshin.” Anko snorted while the others just exchanged glances. “What the hell is Sexy no Jutsu?” Iruka and Ebisu blushed slightly. “Its one of Naruto's own creations,” was all Iruka would say. “What does it do turn him into a nude chick?” Anko quipped back. Iruka and Ebisu didn't quite get the joke and their embarrassed nods caused Anko to burst out laughing and Kurenai to snicker slightly. Genma, Ibiki, Asuma and even Gai shuddered slightly hoping that Naruto would never use it on them. After a few moments Anko calmed down enough to turn to Ebisu and say, “Please tell me he keeps the whiskers” before cracking up again. Ebisu nodded slightly before tuning out Anko's roaring laughter and turning to Genma. “Are you going to get him in trouble for it?”

“Neh, the kid was clever enough to almost pull it off. As long as he doesn't try it again it isn't a big deal,” Genma answered. After that the group went on to other topics. One that kept creeping up dealt with when Kakashi would be returning but other than that they had a relatively boring night.

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Two weeks after his punishment began Jiraiya informed him that he would be leaving on a mission and that he would be gone on said mission for at least one week. During their normal training time, Naruto would be watched by his `tutors' as Jiraiya called them. The only change would be that the demonstration and matches would be in two days' time. After the demonstrations, Naruto would have several days off to recover. He would resume training when Jiraiya returned.

The next two days passed quickly. When Anko left him at home the night before the demonstrations she gave him some last minute advice. “Make sure you actually get some sleep tonight, brat,” she said as she walked away snickering. She had already spent the day teasing him about what would happen if he couldn't summon Gamabunta. When Naruto had gotten sick of her annoying banter he had tuned her out and burned down a tree standing almost a hundred feet away from him, that had at least kept her quiet for about half an hour.

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The next day he arrived at a rather barren training ground escorted by Genma and Ibiki. It was a wide, flat expanse of land with a lake in one corner. It was near the banks of this lake that the majority of academy students were gathered with their senseis. Also gathered there were the other rookies and their senseis, and much to his chagrin, Ebisu and Anko - the latter of whom was already laughing at him.

“You really are a sadistic bitch,” he muttered as he walked past her, in response Anko merely nodded and grinned at him. He rolled his eyes and turned to look around at the group. He noticed Iruka, Konohamaru, Moegi and Udon were all looking at him; in response he turned away and began studying his surroundings. Iruka shook his head slightly before stepping up with the other adults and shouting, “Alright we're ready begin, could all bring your attention to the front?” The academy students all looked up expectantly.

Several of the older students laughed at the group of Gennin and one Chuunin in front of them. In return they gained glares from TenTen, Neji and Lee who all had respect for the younger rookies, as well as a number of angry looks from the other Gennin, Naruto simply ignored it all. Their snickers were quickly quelled when Anko looked at them and said, “I don't see you wearing a forehead protector.” Iruka glared at her for a moment before turning around and saying, “I'll ask that you show the group in front of you respect and they will do the same for you.”

One particularly loud Gennin looked straight at Naruto and said rather loudly, “Why exactly are we showing respect to a group of losers, especially the dobe?” The entire group of rookies froze and turned to look at Naruto with wide-eyes. No one but Sasuke had ever called him that, hell since the Chuunin exams they had kept away from insults about his strength almost completely. The adults, especially the ones who knew Naruto watched him warily as he slowly turned around to face the boy who had spoken. He recognized the face from his class at the academy but he couldn't remember a name. He debated how he should react for several moments before finally speaking, “Iruka-sensei, can we start the demonstrations soon?” His friends gaped at him and the adults looked slightly concerned.

Iruka finally nodded and looked over to Sakura, “Would you prefer to go first or should Naruto?” Sakura looked up and smiled slightly, “I'll go first.” Iruka nodded and turned back to the class, “The first thing they are going to do is demonstrate lower level summoning. Sakura has a summoning contract with slugs, just like our Hokage does. Naruto has a summoning contract with toads.” He looked back over to Sakura who nodded.

She moved up and her friends moved back to give her some room. She bit her finger to draw blood and then went through the seals before slamming her hand down and shouting “Kuchiyose no Jutsu.” The smoke cleared quickly revealing a slug slightly larger than Gamakichi. It looked up at Sakura and said quietly, “Hello Sakura-san.” Sakura nodded and replied back, “Hello Katmisu-san.”

The annoying student who had insulted Naruto earlier took this time to laugh with his friends. “You call that a summon. That thing could be defeated by any five year old smart enough to step on it.” His laughter died a moment later when Naruto appeared in front of him. He glared at the boy and growled slightly, “You'd be lucky to pull out a slug the size of a snail.” The student, whose name Naruto still couldn't remember, glared right back. “Yeah right dobe. You just can't stand seeing your crush insulted.” Naruto smirked at the boy causing several adults to shift in preparation to interfere. “You can insult me all you like, but if I ever hear you insult my teammate again I'll make sure you never become a shinobi or….” The boy in front of him snorted slightly, “Right the whole, `I'm gonna be Hokage' deal.” Naruto tilted his slightly to the right and just looked at the boy in front of him for a moment. He was fully aware of the fact that nearly everyone was watching them. The blond finally shook his head and sighed. “You can laugh all you want, but I meant what I said. If I ever hear you insult Sakura-chan again you won't be able to walk or talk for a year.”

Sakura was watching him on the verge of tears; she couldn't understand why Naruto had allowed himself to be insulted and then stuck up for her instead. Once more she could only stand and watch as one of her teammates defended her. Her eyes went wide when she heard the boy's next words. “It'd be a blessing if you weren't able to walk or talk ever again, then we wouldn't have to see your stupid face anymore,” the Academy student replied showing no fear of Naruto's threat. The Gennin standing behind Naruto straightened and looked straight at the boy; they may not have been happy with the blond at that moment but the insults being aimed at him were a bit too much.

Shikamaru and Neji took a step forward only to be stopped by their senseis, they looked up questioningly only to see Anko and Sakura standing behind Naruto. Anko placed a hand on his shoulder only to have it knocked away. Naruto looked back at the boy once more and shrugged nonchalantly in response before turning and moving away. Sakura was glaring at the boy in front of her. Before Anko could stop her, not that she had even bothered to try, Sakura had moved and punched the boy sending him skidding back into the crowd. “Naruto isn't the only one who defends his teammates. The same threat stands, if I hear you insult him again I'll do worse,” she said turning away. The idiot she had hit proved just how stupid he was when he stood back up and laughed, “Geez, dobe now you depend on weak little girls to defend you.”

“Don't,” Naruto said. Everyone looked around in confusion before they realized he was looking at Sakura who had moved in to hit the boy again. The other rookies were looking at him disbelief not only was he not defending himself, but he also wasn't letting others defend him. Sakura looked at Naruto sadly for a moment before closing her eyes and turning away. After a moment she let out a deep breath and walked back over to dismiss Katmisu. “I apologize for the fact that you had to see that,” she said to the small slug before it disappeared with a small inclination of its head and a poof of smoke.

Anko glared at the academy brat once more before turning and walking back over to the other adults. She grinned when she saw Konohamaru and several other young students glaring at the older student. The other rookies split their glances between Naruto, Sakura, and the idiot that had insulted them. Their senseis could only sigh in relief that the topic of Sasuke hadn't been brought up during the ordeal. Many of the adults looked completely bewildered at the events that had just transpired. The boy's teachers looked at him in disappointment, while many others wondered what had caused Naruto and Sakura's odd behavior.

Iruka sighed after several of the younger students began fidgeting. He turned to Naruto and decided the boy was calm enough to continue before speaking, “Would you be willing to call out a lower level toad so that they can see an example of both? After that we'll move on to the higher level summoning.” Naruto sighed and nodded; Anko giggled slightly as Naruto bit his thumb and ran through the seals. Before slamming his hand down he took a moment to glare at Anko and then shouted “Kuchiyose no Jutsu.” The group watched as the smoke dissipated. All of their attention was focused on the ground where Naruto's hand had been. When the smoke cleared several people laughed nervously at the empty space revealed. That was when several of the adults noticed Anko laughing at Naruto's annoyed expression. Naruto had rolled his eyes up slightly so that he could see the two front legs tapping his forehead. “Yo!” Gamakichi said from his comfortable perch on Naruto's head. Naruto shook his head slightly as several people giggled.

“Gamakichi for once don't you think it would be better to land on the ground,” Naruto said in frustration. The audience watched trying hard not to laugh louder as the small toad on Naruto's head appeared deep in thought. “Nope,” he finally declared causing Naruto to sigh. If anyone had been paying attention they would have noticed the slightly awed looks on the faces of several of the adults as well as Kiba, Sakura and Shino.

Once Anko had calmed down slightly she walked up next to Naruto. She looked down at Gamakichi and laughed slightly. “You two appear on good terms,” she said. Gamakichi looked up and squinted at Anko, “Why are you laughing at Naruto nii-san?” At this almost the entire group roared with laughter, but if possible the awed looks grew even more amazed. Anko blinked at Gamakichi for a moment, “Did you just call him nii-san?” Gamakichi nodded and Anko whistled out loud.

She turned back to the group ignoring Naruto's annoyed look. “Shut-up you runts.” The group immediately silenced and some looked down right scared at the slightly evil grin on Anko's face. Anko then turned to Sakura, Shino and Kiba, “Can one of you three explain to this group why you look so stunned?” For the first time those assembled noticed that the adults had not been laughing as well. Shino was the first of the three to speak. For many this was the first time they had heard the boy speak, even Naruto turned to listen, “The level of familiarity he shows with his summon is achieved by few people.”

“Even with Katmisu a level of formality is required. Tsunade-sama mentioned that of the boss summons Gamabunta is one of the most difficult to deal with, second probably only to Manda and even then if you offer Manda a sacrifice he becomes more compliant,” Sakura added. Anko nodded. “Katsuyu the boss of the Slug summons acts very formal with her summoners. She works well with them and will not turn against her summoners however a level of respect is always present. Manda the boss of the Anaconda summons is very difficult to work with. He requires sacrifices from his summoner and will turn on the summoner if he appears weak,” Anko said turning to look at Naruto who looked up at her in confusion, Anko snorted before continuing, “I've only met Gamabunta once, from what I saw if one manages to impress or amuse him he gave respect to you rather grudgingly. However to be called nii-san by a summon requires a very high level of familiarity. From Naruto's looks I bet he didn't even realize it.” She looked back down at Gamakichi before turning away.

Naruto rolled his eyes slightly before turning to Iruka. “Can we move on?” Iruka just nodded at him and turned to the group. “Anko-san already gave you an overview of the boss summons. What Naruto is going to show you next is one way they can be used in battle. He'll be demonstrating a combination move with Gamabunta.” He turned back around to look warily at Naruto. Gamakichi had listened to Iruka's statement and started laughing. “Hehe, what move you gonna show `em?” Naruto looked up at him before replying, “Jiraiya wants me to practice Gama Yuendan.”

Gamakichi's laughter died away and he lightly hit Naruto on the head signaling that he wanted down. Naruto complied by reaching up and allowing him to settle down in his hands. The rest of the group watched curiously as Gamakichi stared at Naruto for a moment. “You really think you can pull that off?” Naruto shrugged and Gamakichi laughed at him. “Do I need to dismiss you or will you behave?”

“I'll behave as long as I get to stay out here and watch you make a fool of yourself,” Gamakichi said laughing. Naruto sighed and placed the toad back on his head. He then turned to Iruka. “Are you sure you can do this?” The teacher asked once. “We're about to find out,” Naruto said before walking a distance away. He reached up his hand to bite his thumb, but before he could Anko grabbed his attention, “Hold on a second, brat.” She shouted before turning back to the group. “Can I ask your students a question?” She said eliciting a nod from Iruka. “Who can tell me the last two people to ride on Gamabunta's head?”

A young girl in the front raised her hands. Her white eyes and dark hair immediately identified her as a Hyuuga. Iruka nodded at her and said “Hanabi.” She looked over to Anko and spoke, “Jiraiya-sama of the three Sennin and the Yondaime Hokage.” This statement caused a number of people to look over at Naruto with a bit more respect. “Go ahead now brat.” Anko shouted when she had her answer.

Naruto nodded and proceeded to bite his hand again and run through the seals. One of the academy teachers leaned over and asked the group that knew Naruto, “Can he actually summon a boss?” Anko nodded, “He's summoned Gamabunta twice already. From what Jiraiya said the kid's got the toad pretty damn impressed.” Her statement was ended when Naruto shouted “Kuchiyose no Jutsu” and slammed his hand on to the ground. The smoke cleared a moment later to reveal Naruto standing on the head of very large toad. He had his arms crossed and was staring down at the group.

The effect was not quite what many expected. While many of the students looked on in awe, his friends watched and shook their heads. They had learned not be shocked by anything Naruto was capable of. Many of the adults looked slightly surprised but the most unexpected reaction belonged to small group. Anko, Ibiki and Genma and several others all looked as if they had seen a ghost. Genma's toothpick fell out of his mouth as he gaped up at Naruto. Ibiki had to blink several times before turning to look at Anko. Anko quickly recovered before muttering, “I don't believe it.”

Before they could discuss anything however Gamabunta spoke. “Oi, what do you want brat?” Naruto opened his mouth to respond but Gamakichi spoke first. “Yo, Pops. The white-haired one wants him to practice Gama Yuendan.”

“No,” Gamabunta stated bluntly, much to the amusement of those on the ground they could hear the entire conversation, “You're too young.”

Naruto rolled his eyes before replying, “That's what you said the first time I summoned you.” Gamabunta grumbled something before laughing slightly, this action shocked everyone on the ground, “You pass a test and I'll let you try that move.” Naruto sighed slightly before accepting, “What do you want me to do?”

“First dismount.” Naruto nodded, he helped Gamakichi off his perch and walked to the tip of Gamabunta's nose and jumping off. Several people shouted his name but their eyes widened when he suddenly flipped in the air and landed in a nice crouch. Many stared at him in shock as he looked up at Gamabunta expectantly. “Show me the Katon that Jiraiya taught you for this move. If I'm satisfied with your ability to perform it I'll allow you to practice it with me once.” Naruto nodded and walked out in front of the group. He turned around so that his back was to them and Gamabunta shifted to watch. Naruto quickly ran through the hand seals before bringing one hand up to his mouth and breathing out. He spit out a stream of fire just over one hundred feet long. He looked up at Gamabunta who was holding his pipe and looking at Naruto appraisingly.

“Alright brat,” he said looking back down at Naruto and picking him up with his tongue and placing back on his head. “When I give you the oil you direct that Katon straight at it.” Naruto nodded and Gamabunta positioned himself and Naruto so that the audience would be able to watch without getting hurt. The burning stream of the Gama Yuendan amazed many of those watching.

Once they were finished Naruto jumped back off and walked over to a rather dazed Iruka. “Is that all you need to see?” He asked snapping many out of their stupefied states. Iruka nodded numbly before shaking his slightly. As Naruto walked over and dismissed Gamabunta and Gamakichi, Iruka turned back to his class. “Are there any questions?” He asked. The class could only stare at him.

When Naruto walked back over to the group, his friends parted to let him through. Anko giggled slightly before smacking him on the back snorting out “Show-off”. Naruto gave her an annoyed glance before sitting down and looking up at the adults. “What next?” He asked bringing everyone's attention back to the academy senseis. Iruka spoke up, “Next we'll move on to the demonstration matches. To allow them sometime to recover, Sakura and Naruto will be fighting against their opponents later.”

The group nodded before turning to look at the others. Once again a number of students scoffed at their old classmates, doubting that those they saw in front of them could actually be that strong. “While the fights are going on we will be able to take any questions about various jutsu and techniques they use.” Asuma said, pointing to himself, Gai, and Kurenai. “If you have any questions about Sakura or Naruto please ask us.” Said Tsunade as she and Shizune walked up to the group.

“Hokage-sama,” said one of the academy teachers, “we weren't aware that you would be joining us today.” Tsunade smirked at him, “I finished my paperwork early.” She said gaining a snort from Naruto. She glared back at him. Iruka bowed once to Tsunade before turning back to the group. “If you could all move back a bit the first match will be between Hyuuga Neji and Rock Lee.” The academy students followed their instructors to a better area. Their location put the lake slightly in front and to their right.

As Lee, Neji and Genma walked forward, Gai walked to the front of the group. He grinned at them all causing the majority of the group to wince at the brightness of his teeth. “Genma will be refereeing the matches,” he said in response to the questioning looks the Gennin sent him, when they nodded Gai turned back to the academy students. “Before the match starts I'd like to tell you a little bit about each of them. Rock Lee is a taijutsu expert, he is unfortunately unable to use both ninjutsu and genjutsu; however, he more than makes up for that. Hyuuga Neji has inherited his clan's Byakugan; he uses many of his clan's techniques including the Jyuken taijutsu style. These two were teammates until recently; Lee is now my sole student while Neji is studying under his uncle Hyuuga Hiashi the head of the Hyuuga clan.”

Once he was finished talking he looked back out to Genma. Genma nodded once back at him and signaled the start of the match. For the next two hours the academy students watched matches between Neji and Lee, TenTen and Hinata, and Shino and Chouji. The winners were Neji, TenTen and Shino respectively, though in each case it wasn't by much. All of the Gennin that had fought thus far had showed great improvement including Hinata who showed a good deal more confidence in her fight. Their sensei's looked on in pride and answered any questions that arose during the fights.

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“Now that our summoners have had some time to rest we'll move on to the next three matches. The next match will be between Uzumaki Naruto and Inuzuka Kiba.” Before Naruto could step forward, Tsunade stepped up and bent down. The others watched curiously as Naruto glared up at her for a moment and then stalked up to stand across from a smirking Kiba and Akamaru. Tsunade turned around and grinned at everyone. “If there are any questions you can ask me or any of those four. Each of us has a good deal of knowledge about Naruto's training under Jiraiya,” she said happily before stepping over by his `babysitters'.

“What did you say to him?” Ibiki asked curiously as Naruto and Kiba stared each other down. “I just told him not to summon toads, but other than that to do what he needs to,” Tsunade responded as Genma signaled the start of the fight. Kiba immediately performed Shikakyu no Jutsu and gave Akamaru a soldier pill before the two performed Juujin Bunshin. Naruto quickly countered with Kage Bunshin, creating a crowd of clones. They quickly spread out trying to separate the dog and his master. Kiba and Akamaru used Gatsuuga to go against Naruto's clones.

One by one the clones disappeared in puffs of smoke, it was almost impossible to tell whether or not the real Naruto had been hit. After some time the dust settled revealing Kiba and Akamaru facing the real Naruto. When the two charged he didn't even bother moving, he quickly went through a number of seals and just before the collision as dust blocked the three from view those closest heard Naruto say “Togeyomi”. When the dust cleared Shikamaru smirked at a familiar sight. Naruto was covered by blond spikes, Kiba and Akamaru were standing to one side growling at him. Slowly Naruto allowed the spikes to recede and smirked at the two.

Kiba growled before shouting “Now.” Akamaru quickly changed back into his dog form Kiba shouted “Douteki Saitentei”. Naruto attempted to dodge as Akamaru jumped in the air and pissed all over, unfortunately the disgust on his face proved that Akamaru had hit his mark. The dog then jumped onto his master's back. Kiba went through the hand seals and shouted “Kontsemin Henge no Jutsu: Soutourou”.

After the smoke disappeared Naruto staring straight at a two headed, oversized dog, just as Kiba and Akamaru began their strongest move, Garouga. Naruto didn't have time to dodge so he quickly activated Togeyomi again to take some of the impact. It wasn't enough and the collision sent Naruto flying backwards, he deactivated Togeyomi just as he hit the water.

Many of the younger students were shocked when, instead of sinking, Naruto skidded across the surface before coming to a stop. He walked back to about the middle of the lake and looked over at Kiba and Akamaru, though still in their two-headed form the confusion and surprise was quite evident on their faces. Kiba deactivated Soutourou and looked out at Naruto, “You lazy ass, get back over here and fight me.” Naruto simply stared back at Kiba. After a few moments of staring Naruto's eyes suddenly went wide and he plunged under water.

The group watched as resurfaced and swam back to shore. The blond was panting heavily and Kiba was laughing at him. Naruto was still on all fours when he glared up at Tsunade, she stared back and nodded once. Naruto wearily pushed himself up to his feet before turning to face Kiba and Akamaru. “You gonna give up jackass,” Kiba shouted at Naruto.

Naruto's breathing remained labored as he continued to watch Kiba. He looked back at Tsunade and smirked slightly, causing her to look at him in confusion. He brought his hands together in his favorite seal and called “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu.” Instantly three clones appeared besides him, “I don't give up,” the real Naruto replied.

As one, the four Naruto's charged forward. One split off from the rest and grabbed Akamaru separating him from Kiba; the other three attacked Kiba. After a moment of exchanging blows - none of which managed to disperse the clones - one of the clones slid under Kiba and landed a kick to the other boy's chin launching him into the air. Another clone jumped up ahead of Kiba and landed a solid kick to the boy's stomach causing Kiba to plummet back towards the ground. Right before he hit the ground the third Naruto lashed out punching Kiba in the stomach. The force behind the blow caused Kiba to sail out over the small lake; he hit the surface and slowly sank.

On shore Naruto released his clones, he walked over to the edge of the water and waded out slightly, looking for any signs of his opponent after a moment he dove under the surface. The other watched as the surface calmed once more before breaking as Naruto surfaced holding the back of Kiba's jacket. When they landed on the shore Naruto looked up at Genma. The Jounin laughed lightly before turning to the crowd and announcing Naruto's win.

Naruto stood up followed by a weary Kiba; Akamaru quickly joined the two as they walked back over to join the others. With the other rookies Kiba leaned on Chouji's shoulder as he regained his breath. Naruto moved several feet away from the others before sitting down and curling up slightly. Kiba and the others could only stand there and watch as Naruto attempted to gain his composure. After a moment Tsunade walked over and gave each a quick glance. “That was a good fight, both of you,” she said glancing over to Kiba.

Iruka looked over the academy students who had been silent the entire fight. They had been so captivated during each of the fights that none of them had been able to ask questions until after everything had been finished. Hands immediately shot up, but before Iruka or any of the others could answer anyone Naruto stood up on shaky legs. His friends watched as he spit out a bit of blood and turned to Tsunade. She walked away and allowed him to follow. The group tried to ignore the fact that their Hokage was arguing with a very angry Gennin as they went through that fight.

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Naruto glared up at her and coughed out a bit more blood, much to the worry of those who were watching him. “I can't fight another match,” he finally said. “You only have one more. It's against Shikamaru.” Naruto looked back down and took in deep breath before looking back up. “What'll you do if I hurt him?”

“You've never seriously injured someone in a fight when using its chakra. At least not unless they were a serious threat,” Tsunade said while looking down at him. Naruto laughed bitterly. “Apparently you didn't see Sasuke when we were done,” he said. Tsunade stared down at him in shock for a moment. He had only spoken to her about that fight once before. Her eyes hardened as she remembered his state when he came back on Kakashi's back. “When you were finished with Sasuke he was still standing and able to walk away to Orochimaru. You were found unconscious and from the state of you shirt and jacket I'd say Sasuke punched a hole through your chest,” she said bitterly looking down at him.

Naruto remained silent before raising his eyes to her. The fire burning behind those bright blue eyes almost made Tsunade take a step back. “You old hag,” Naruto shouted catching the attention of the entire group. Many turned in shock hearing their Hokage addressed so rudely. “Don't ever-” he never got to finish what he was about to say as Tsunade grabbed his chin and forced him to look at her. “One more fight Naruto, that's it. You have the control to call out the Kyuubi and make it through that.” Naruto continued to glare up at her and breathe heavily. After a moment Tsunade realized he was attempting not to cry. “Whatever Hokage-sama.” He said bitterly rubbing his eyes and walking back over to the group. Tsunade groaned and rubbed her eyes before following him.

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Once they joined the rest of the group Tsunade looked at Iruka and asked “Are you done with the questions already?” Iruka blinked and looked back at the group. The students were still too stunned to ask any questions so he shrugged and nodded to Tsunade. “Good the next match will be between Uzumaki Naruto and Nara Shikamaru.” Naruto glared over at her before shrugging his wet jacket off and walking away. Tsunade couldn't help but notice how thin he looked in just his t-shirt. Shikamaru recovered fairly quickly before following Naruto out onto the field. “Tsunade-sama, shouldn't Ino and I go first so that Naruto has some time to rest?” Sakura asked.

Tsunade turned and smiled down at her. “Naruto's chakra and stamina are still higher than yours. You still haven't completely recovered what you lost summoning Katmisu.” With that she turned back to watch the fight. Naruto was hunched over with his hands on his knees staring up at Shikamaru. The lazy shadow user was watching him with some interest and Genma was just eyeing the two like he was already bored. “Begin,” he said as he stepped out of the way.

Naruto straightened slightly and looked over at Shikamaru. “Forfeit,” he said. Shikamaru blinked in surprise and furrowed his eyebrows slightly, “Why should I?” he asked. “Because I don't want to fight this match and I'm not allowed to forfeit,” Naruto growled out making the other boy eye him curiously. “Neh, I'm actually kinda interested in seeing how I fare against you. I figure you've done some serious training since you stopped seeing us. I wanna see how much.” With that said he took several steps and eyed Naruto again.

Naruto barely managed to jump out of the way before Shikamaru's shadow appeared in front of him. He moved quickly out of range before looking up at Shikamaru regretfully. “Sorry,” he said before placing his hands together and closing his eyes. After a moment Naruto's eyes snapped back open, the rookies who had been at the river suddenly realized why Sakura had screamed that day. His eyes were red and the pupils were slitted like a cat's. The whisker scars on his cheeks had gotten darker and his canines had grown sharper.

Shikamaru studied his features for a moment before walking forward. “It's an interesting look, I'll give you that.” Shikamaru said causing Naruto to pale slightly. “What is it, some type of blood line limit?” He asked. Naruto breathed a bit heavily but jumped out of the way. Shikamaru was trying to distract him as his shadow moved around the plain they were fighting on. “It almost looks like Kiba when he uses Shikakyu no Jutsu but you have a more feral look about you.” Naruto growled slightly as he continued to move so that he remained out side of Shikamaru's range. “If I had to guess I'd say it's not a domestic animal something more wild.”

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment before launching upwards. “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu” he said as he jumped over Shikamaru. He and his clones simultaneously launched a number of shuriken at Shikamaru. The shadow user barely managed to dodge the barrage. When he looked up a single Naruto was standing on the surface of the lake, the clones had been dispersed. Shikamaru looked at him for a moment before sighing, “How troublesome,” he said as he stepped out onto the surface of the water, “but this is a trick I can do as well.”

Naruto studied him for a moment. “Can you control your shadow on the surface of water?” he asked with honest curiosity. Shikamaru shook his head. “Unfortunately my shadow can only stretch over solid surfaces. It appears I'll actually have to use other jutsus to get you back on a dry land before I can beat you that way.”

On the shore the gathered group was watching in amazement. Seeing Naruto walk on water briefly during his earlier fight had been a first for many. Now seeing two shinobi carry out an entire fight on the water was something few had ever seen. Even the Jounin and Chuunin gathered were impressed, but that had more to do with the chakra control both were showing as they had to continuously change the amount of chakra they were putting out.

On the surface Naruto and Shikamaru exchanged shuriken, kunai, punches and kicks as they tried to best each other; every once in a while a low level jutsu was used. After a few minutes Shikamaru stood back and smirked at Naruto. “Based on your fight with Kiba, I'd say you're going to sink pretty soon.” Naruto looked up and smirked at him. Shikamaru had to admit it looked much more frightening when the blond had fangs in his mouth. “Against Kiba I ran out of chakra. Now I have more than I'll ever need, at least against you,” he said before slowly walking forward.

He stopped several feet away from Shikamaru and looked him straight in the eye. Shikamaru immediately froze. After a moment Naruto smirked and performed Kage Bunshin. He resorted to his old tactics and used his clone to begin forming the Rasengan in his hand. Once he had it completed he released his clone and allowed himself to sink into the water. Shikamaru recovered just as Naruto disappeared under the water. He looked down as the lake he stood upon began slowly forming whirlpool. Before he could regain his footing or move off the lake he was sucked down.

On the shore Anko gained a number of glares as several of the academy teachers recognized the Kanashibari no Jutsu that Naruto had used to temporarily paralyze Shikamaru. The others watched as the lake began settling back down. A few moments later a panting Naruto dragged Shikamaru back out and set on the shore. Genma walked over and smirked down at Shikamaru. The Chuunin was still conscious but it was quite obvious that he wouldn't continue. Shikamaru groaned and nodded at Genma who then called the match.

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When students began asking questions all Iruka could do was shrug. Instead Anko answered the majority of them with Asuma answering for Shikamaru. Meanwhile Tsunade and Shizune walked over to check on the others. Shikamaru stood up after being declared the loser and walked over to join his friends. Naruto slapped Tsunade's hand away and walked to stand near the group, though many noticed that he still kept himself separated.

After giving him a moment Tsunade walked to him again. “Why haven't you stopped channeling its chakra yet?” She whispered. Naruto glared up at the Sennin. As much as he loved Tsunade she wasn't one of his favorite people at the moment. “If I release it then I'll pass out,” he said. Tsunade smirked and straightened up. “You're allowed to pass out you know. I'm actually surprised you made it that far into the fight. Hell you even managed to win it.” She said loud enough for everyone to hear. Naruto glared at her and shook his head. She shrugged and walked over to the Jounin that were explaining the match.

When Tsunade was gone Naruto fell back onto the ground and hunched over. He tried to regain control of his breathing but he was having a great deal of difficulty. His friends looked at him in concern. Even Kiba looked worried and he was still pissed off at Naruto for ignoring Sakura two weeks before, not to mention kicking his ass for the second time. His shoulders heaved twice as Naruto fought the tears that were trying to come out.

Tsunade glanced back at him once and furrowed her brow slightly. When she turned back around to the academy students many were looking at her with confused expressions. “Some of you might be wondering why we had Naruto participate so much. Right now Naruto has almost no chakra left. Summoning a boss such as Gamabunta is draining at any age, but for a twelve year old it's almost impossible. Naruto passed out for several days after the first time he summoned him. The second time he fought along with Gamabunta against a very powerful opponent during the Sound Invasion; however after that fight he also passed out.” She let this information sink in and noticed that even some of the rookies looked slightly awed. “The reason Naruto was pushed so much today is because his sensei, Jiraiya, is training him to increase his stamina. The fact that he lasted this long shows that the training paid off.”

At this point Naruto looked up and glared at her. Several of his friends noticed that his eyes were still red and that the effects of whatever it was he had done earlier were still in place, though they had been slightly dampened. “The only reason Naruto is still conscious is because that baka is too stubborn to allow himself to pass out in front of so many people.” Naruto glared and stood causing Tsunade to smirk. “Stupid bitch,” he muttered causing Tsunade to glare at him and everyone else to stare at him in shock.

“One finger, Naruto. All I need is one finger,” she said smirking at him. “Yeah right you old hag. Last time you said that I won your necklace,” Naruto said glaring back at her. “Humph,” Tsunade said turning to glare at him slightly, “It's not my fault you're unnaturally lucky.” Many could only watch this exchange in awe. They had just seen a Gennin get away with insulting their Hokage. Tsunade jerked her head up when she saw Naruto sway and murmur, “Oh shit.” When he next looked up his eyes had returned to their normal blue. Those nearest heard him mumble “that stupid bastard” before his eyes closed and he collapsed. Before he hit the ground Tsunade had already moved to catch him. What she wasn't prepared for was Naruto slapping her hand away. “I'm still awake.” He said glaring up at her. She helped him sit back down and looked at him curiously for a moment before turning back around and looking at the group. As she turned those closest heard her mumble “stubborn brat.”

Tsunade finally turned her attention back to the academy students. “The last fight of the day will be between Yamanaka Ino and Haruno Sakura.” She looked over at Sakura, “Do need more time or do you want to get it over with.” Sakura looked over at Naruto sympathetically it had become obvious that she wasn't being tested on endurance. “I'll be fine, we can start the fight.” She said after glancing at Ino. With that Tsunade nodded once.

As the two rivals walked forward Naruto remained curled up and shifted just slightly to allow him to watch the match. He wondered briefly if this fight would turn out the same way it had during the Third Exam's preliminary round. He knew Sakura had been training a lot but he didn't know whether or not she would be able to turn her medical knowledge into fighting skill. He also didn't know whether or not Tsunade had passed on her massive strength, he shivered slightly at the thought.

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When Genma signaled the start of the match the girls stared at each other. Both remembered their previous match and as they began moving in a flurry of movement they each hoped that they had improved enough to win this time. The battle quickly became an exchange of blows similar to Naruto and Shikamaru's once the two took to water. After several minutes of this the two once more backed away. During their previous fight the two had exhausted themselves quickly and since then had begun building their stamina. Their improvement showed as neither looked particularly winded.

Ino glared at Sakura for a moment, Sakura smirked back and said “This time you can't use your hair to hold me in place.” Ino grew slightly angered and fingered her shoulder length locks. After a moment she looked back at Sakura and smirked, “I don't need to.” With that she looked straight into Sakura's eyes, Shikamaru quickly recognized the jutsu as the one Naruto had used on him earlier. While Sakura remained frozen Ino quickly performed her family's trademark Shintenshin no Jutsu. It hit dead on and as Ino slumped over Sakura raised her head and smirked in a very Ino-like fashion.

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Naruto watched slightly confused. The last time this had happened Sakura had been able to break the jutsu. He sat up slightly straighter as he noticed his teammate's eyes cloud over slightly, he assumed that this was a sign of the battle going on inside. As nearly a minute passed with nothing happened a number of people began to grow confused.

Naruto furrowed his brow slightly trying to remember what Sakura had done last time. He wondered briefly if Ino had simply improved so much that she was giving her pink-haired friend more trouble before quickly disregarding the idea. He looked up and noticed Shikamaru and Lee watching him; Naruto gave them a confused look before returning to his thoughts.

The answer came quite suddenly. His head shot up when he realized what was missing. No one was cheering. At the Chuunin exams their teammates and supporters had been cheering them on. It had been the screams from Kakashi and himself that had caused Sakura to finally fight back. When he looked up again Shikamaru smirked at him. “Finish it already Ino.” The shadow user yelled to his teammate. When that encouragement caused Ino to begin to gain the upper hand, at least as best as they could tell, Naruto glared over at Shikamaru.

Shocking a number of adults who had assumed the boy didn't have the energy to stand Naruto jumped to his feet. “Fight already Sakura.” He shouted to his teammate. “You've spent almost six months training, you're stronger then her so fight like it already damn it.” Naruto's encouragement was all it took. Though many of the adult were gazing at him disapprovingly for his harsh words they immediately noticed a change in the fight. Moments later Ino was dispelled and a harshly breathing Sakura was looking down at her opponent.

Before Ino could react Sakura was behind her and had delivered a blow to the back of the neck. Many expected Ino to fall unconscious but instead she remained in her position looking forward with a confused look on her face. Sakura walked back around to stand in front of her. With her rival in sight Ino glared and moved to stand unfortunately all she managed was causing her neck to jerk violently. When she moved to raise her hand to her neck she found one of her legs move out from under her. Her eyes were wide when she looked up at Sakura. “It's called Chuusuusei Biribiri. I convert my chakra to electricity and attack the nervous system. You won't be able to move normally until I release the jutsu.”

Ino nodded, or at least would have if her right hand hadn't twitched, “I give,” she said to Genma. He nodded and watched as Sakura walked over and delivered another blow to the back of Ino's neck. After a moment she helped her friends stand. Ino found that although she was a bit shaky her body was working correctly. She grinned up at Sakura before commenting, “Good fight.” Sakura grinned back at her and helped her walk over to the other Gennin. She noticed briefly that Tsunade was looking at Naruto oddly.

Once Ino was able to stand on her own Sakura walked over to Naruto. “Thanks for that. Your encouragement always did help.” The only sign that Naruto had heard her was a slight wave of his hand as if he were dismissing her. Sakura breathed deeply and attempted not to whimper again as she walked over and rejoined her friends. Shikamaru rolled his eyes and looked away, many of the others glared at Naruto for a moment. Several of the adults looked at the scene sadly and the students were just confused by his behavior. Gone was the Naruto they knew, the dobe, the prankster, the smiling ball of bouncing happiness. Whatever he used to be he wasn't any longer.

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After the demonstrations the group had split up. Despite Tsunade's protests, and a good deal of yelling between the two, Naruto refused to return to the village at that time. Instead he left with Genma towards the training grounds.

After watching him go, Sakura left as well. She went to her own training spot. As she worked away at a punching log she thought back on everything that had been going on recently. Naruto's behavior was really starting to scare her. When he hadn't been there for her parents' funeral she had almost lost it, he had always been there for her and now his support had just disappeared. After that she barely saw him, once or twice she thought she had caught a glimpse of him in the streets but she had never managed to actually get a hold of him.

She knew that she wasn't the only one worried. She had heard Jiraiya and Tsunade meeting almost everyday to discuss what was wrong with him. Of course she hadn't actually been able to hear what they had said. She knew that the other rookies were worried too - not to mention pissed off beyond comprehension in some cases. Shikamaru and Neji had simply appeared to disapprove of his behavior and that was just for a few days, after that they attempted to convince the others to just give him some space. This had pissed off Kiba to no end as much he pretended to hate Naruto the two had always been fairly similar and seeing Naruto's drastic change in behavior had startled Kiba the most.

After the fight between Kiba and Naruto on the stairs of Hokage Tower, Shikamaru had somehow learned what had gone on in Tsunade's office; Sakura personally suspected Shino and his bugs had something to with it. Shikamaru hadn't told them much, only that Tsunade was worried because Naruto hadn't been seen by anyone but Jiraiya in almost a month and he hadn't returned to his apartment in at least a week. He also said that Naruto admitted that he hadn't slept in almost five days and that he had been training almost non-stop. The others had been fairly shocked by the information they had learned.

This didn't shock Sakura as much as it had the others. She knew Naruto had pushed himself ever since he became a Gennin. The blond had wanted to prove that he deserved the rank and the title of shinobi. It had never really crossed her mind before that his behavior wasn't normal. After all both of her teammates were only concerned with training she thought bitterly. However it did concern her when she saw him at the matches. When he took off his jacket Sakura noticed that Naruto looked thin, too thin.

As she continued to punish the log in front of her, her mind to drifted back to the fight against Ino. She had almost lost today. Without anyone cheering her on, she had almost lost the fight against Ino in her mind. It wasn't until Naruto yelled at her that she had been able to fight back. She admitted that the shouting at the Chuunin exams had been more encouraging and less abrasive than the comments today but at least he had showed support.

When she went over to thank him after the fight she had hoped that she could get him to talk more. She had hoped that she would be able to convince him to stand with their group instead of off to the side. She had hoped that he would smile again. Unfortunately he was already huddled up when she made over there. He had waved her off like she was some annoying fly. Like those shouts of `encouragement' he had given her minutes before hadn't meant anything.

She gave the log one final punch causing it to splinter and break in half. She bent over panting slightly before looking back up and hardening her eyes. Kiba was right. Naruto was being a jackass. She didn't know what had caused his sudden change in behavior but she didn't like it. She didn't know what she had done wrong, after that night at the bridge she had thought everything would be alright. When they had first learned her parents had died he had come the minute Shikamaru had gone to get him. Then he left. He took off and no one could figure out why. They all knew something was bothering him, and she was going to figure out what it was.