Hello everyone, I'm back with another update. Before you dive in, I'd like to say a few things regarding some things that have come up from reviews and other things.

First off, I'd like to remark on some of the reviews and messages I've received. Some people are perplexed by some of the loops or quality of writing I've put forward compared to some other things they may or may not have seen. I am going to say this now. This isn't my main line of writing. I do this as a side project compared to my novelist projects. Which brings me to my next point.

Secondly, I have a project I am working on I am thinking might be a big success if I put enough creativity and effort into it which I am sure would work out. I am therefore looking for readers who may or may not be interested in closed beta reading. If you are interested at all in details or even doing it, PRIVATE MESSAGE ME. Do NOT leave it in the reviews because I won't reply to that. Leading to my last point.

Lastly, my reviewers and reviews. I want to thank everyone out there who has joined the fanbase, reviewed or have taken the time to read this. It lets me know I am actually a decent writer and gives me the ability to keep writing today. I hope you all enjoy this update. It's pretty long.

A/N: I do not own Naruto. Otherwise I'd be retired and living prosperously.

Enjoy!

Tsunade, Jiraiya, Shizune and Hiruzen were rushing towards where Naruto was with three Anbu trailing behind them. Tsunade looked up and saw the cloud moving farther away from them even as they moved towards it. They were moving too rapidly. Then suddenly, it dissapeared. Tsunade's eyes widened and she stopped, Jiraiya and Hiruzen landing next to her.

They were in the middle of a clearing in the forests surrounding Konoha. They were moving towards where the exams were taking place but now they had no trace. It was eerie. They looked at each other and Tsunade said, "That was our only way of finding Naruto. We don't have a sensor here do we?"

Hiruzen looked at his Anbu, then returned his gaze to her and shook his head. She groaned and said, "We need to split up. It will be quicker to find Naruto that way."

"It could just be another Genin Tsunade, we need to calm down and think about this like normal people."

"Hokage-sama! Thank Kami!" said a voice not too far away.

A Jōnin landed next to the crowd and knelt. He looked up and said, "Hokage-sama, we found the bodies of three Kusa Genin. It appears that they were killed... but the disturbing part is their faces were gone."

"Gone?" Hiruzen asked, his interest spiking.

"Hai. Like they were never supposed to be there. It appears that there is an intruder in the Exams since all teams were accounted for."

Tsunade shook in anger and said, "Now you believe that there isn't anyone out for Naruto?"

Jiraiya shook his head and said, "Whoever it is, we will find them and capture them before it's too late. Naruto can handle himself as it is."

"Naruto-sama? He went through Gate 44. He should be farther out from the rest of the Genin unless he made it through quickly enough."

Suddenly, the air exploded with a killer intent so strong and a chakra so vile it made the Jōnin gasp and the Anbu take a step back. They all turned towards the direction where a thin red pillar rose up in the sky, made purely of chakra. Tsunade's eyes widened and Shizune gasped herself when she realized what just happened. Jiraiya gritted his teeth and Hiruzen shook his head.

"Naruto-kun..."

Orochimaru looked at where Naruto was, enveloped now in a pillar of red chakra before it dissipated after a minute. He emerged, three tails waving behind him and red chakra coating his entire body, looking like blood was mixed with it. He had white ghastly eyes and a white ghastly maw where his mouth. It greatly surprised him. Orochimaru knew Minato was no joke at seals so how was it that the seal had loosened so much to allow that much Kyūbi chakra to escape?

Hiruko grinned senselessly at the scene that unfolded before him. Naruto transformed and went into the Kyūbi state flawlessly, showing tremendous power as it was. The fox form of Naruto looked around, turning it's head slowly before locking onto the two of them.

"Lets begin," Hiruko said before disappearing, reappearing in front of the fox and punching it in the face. The fox flew away and landed with a crunch into a tree some distance away. Then, while still stuck in the tree it turned its head to look at Hiruko before growling and roaring a roar so loud it thudded and echoed around the forest. The fox Naruto disappeared and landed in front of Hiruko, punching him in the face this time and he flew, crashing through a dozen trees before finally landing in a heap on a large branch some distance away. Then the fox charged up some chakra and fired off missile chakra bursts towards Hiruko, the explosions sounding off.

Orochimaru watched the whole exchange, intrigued when he saw the fox turn its head towards him. Orochimaru smirked before getting on all fours and opening his mouth. He muttered, "Sen'eijashu (Striking Shadow Snakes)," and a swarm of white snakes poured out of his mouth, multiplying exponentially before extending a blade out of each of their mouths, all pointed at the fox Naruto. The fox turned it's head curiously, looking at the swords before swallowing and puffing out it's chest. It expelled a burst of pure chakra, exploding out from it's mouth and creating a ray that destroyed the snakes in a horizontal line. The trick wasn't over however as Orochimaru appeared behind the fox and kicked it away, it's form slamming through the trees. The situation quickly reversed itself however as the fox quickly turned firing off spouts of chakra and it crashed into Orochimaru just as quickly as they were fired off. Taking the hits directly, he was nowhere to be found, the light of the chakra consuming him. The fox charged back towards the clearing and landed in the middle of it, looking around for it's opponents. Suddenly, there was a battle cry from above the fox. Turning it's head up, Hiruko was completely encroached in steel as it plummeted at high speeds from above, crashing into the fox and creating a crater of large proportions. Orochimaru crawled out of the ground not too far away from the crater and watched as the ground exploded with light and the fox went flying at high speeds and Hiruko chased off after the flying fox. Orochimaru smirked and chased off after the two in their intense death match.

Sasuke and Sakura landed away from the battle, Sora still on Sasuke's shoulders. They had felt the chakra spike but didn't dare turn around in fear. Naruto had to know what he was doing... right?

Sora groaned and woke up from the stress. Sasuke immediately put him down and Sakura knelt down next to Sora. She started to look over his body and from the diagnosis jutsu Naruto had taught her that his chakra system was out of the normality that is should be. In fact, it was almost chaotic. She looked up at Sasuke and said, "I don't know what to do."

"Of course you don't. We are dealing with complex fūinjutsu. This is out of our league. Naruto and Jiraiya-sensei will know how to fix this. Maybe Hokage-sama, but it's unlikely."

"Naruto? He knows fūinjutsu too?" Sasuke asked.

Sora smirked and said, "Don't underestimate my brother."

Sakura looked at Sora and said, "That's the thing though. We're not underestimating him. He's just..."

Sora looked at the two and got up, but knelt down, exhausted still. Sakura knelt down next to him, pulling out water that she could give him. Sora looked at Sasuke and asked, "What are you talking about?"

Sasuke stared off from where they came from and said, "Naruto is facing Orochimaru... and another man. He was as powerful if not more powerful than Orochimaru."

"WHAT!?" Sora said attempting to get up again only to be restrained by Sakura with not too much effort.

"Naruto can handle himself... I hope," Sakura said.

"Naruto is a heavily trained shinobi, but they are way out of his league. If I think it is who it is, he will die."

At that moment, a roar sounded through the forest that reverberated in the air around them. Sora looked towards where the wind was blowing towards them now, shielding his face. He heard explosions sound a moment later.

"What is going on Naruto?" Sora asked, rubbing his bandaged arm.

Hinata, Shikamaru and Kiba had halted after only a moment of chasing towards where Naruto went after seeing Sasuke and Sakura. They felt the chakra in the air and Hinata had halted them in fear of the high level battle going on. They continued to let Hinata relay the events of the battle, Naruto not seen amongst the three figures. Shikamaru wondered where Naruto was at, but couldn't figure out where he fit in the entire battle. He was battling Orochimaru and the man a few moments ago and now he just disappears and this fox clouded in pure chakra takes the place in the battle.

"Hinata, we need to leave. Naruto isn't here and we need to find him," Shikamaru said, then sighed and said, "Besides, this battle is too troublesome. If we get involved we will only get killed."

Then a loud roar sounded, farther away from them. Hinata looked back and said, "The battle has moved quite some distance away. We could investigate or get out of here."

Shikamaru looked at the two and said, "This is our chance to figure out where Naruto went. We need to go there, but we must be careful."

Anko Mitarashi was moving through the forest as fast as she could. She knew the forest by heart and knew the possibilities of where Senju Naruto could end up, but this didn't make sense. She had scanned every area where he should have ended up but he was nowhere to be found. She looked around and saw an area completely devastated by what looked like some sort of fire source. She dashed down and looked around, smelling the smoked wood in the air and the chakra still lingering in the area. It had to have been a powerful ninjutsu for this to happen.

"Kukukukuku, so it seems my little Anko-chan has come to investigate. How curious," said a snakelike voice behind her.

She turned and saw Orochimaru leaning against a tree, looking at her like she was a curious specimen. He pushed away from the tree and walked around her in a circle. Anko had already drawn a kunai and held it in a defensive position, prone in front of her.

"Tell me Orochimaru, why are you here?" Anko spat.

"At first, it was for Sasuke-kun. It seems however my interests should be lying elsewhere. Naruto-kun is what has to be my finest... invention yet." Orochimaru ranted.

"What are you talking about?" Anko asked.

"Oh, you don't know? Well you're about to see what makes him so special."

Crashing through the forest came the fox coated in pure blood red chakra. It landed on the ground, impacting at high speeds causing miniature crater to form. Out from the trees came Hiruko, cackling deliriously. Orochimaru smirked and said, "It's like I don't even have to do anything. My old friend can do that for me."

"You bastard. What did you do to him?" Anko asked.

"Kukukuku, Anko-chan. I'm surprised you haven't figured it out. Look at him. Isn't it so much like the others out there?"

"You mean?"

"Yes. He is a Jinchūriki. And that's not all."

Naruto slammed his palm into the ground and out of the trees came wood that twisted and gnarled itself into a twisted form chasing after Hiruko. Hiruko looked at the wood and smirked at the tricks the fox seemed to come up with. Hiruko danced around the fox, the wood chasing after him. Hiruko moved faster and faster as the wood moved faster along with him until the wood tangled itself, but not before exploding on itself, the corrupted wood flying in all directions. Orochimaru grasped a snake seal and an earth wall appeared in front of the two snake summoners.

"He becomes more dangerous to fight as the battle progresses. It's intelligent too. Interesting," Orochimaru muttered, observing the fox.

"I will not let you observe him. I don't know what is going on but I will not let an enemy of Konoha get away with this!" Anko said rushing towards her old sensei, clashing in battle.

Hiruko in the meantime had Naruto pushed back, firing off jutsu after jutsu, clashing with the fox. He enjoyed the challenge the fox was putting up, but he knew he had to end the game soon or else the whole village would see he was here. He started to channel chakra and collect it for his next move.

Then, the wood stopped and the fox froze. It turned it's head looking at Hiruko before making it's move. He tilted his head upward and suddenly chakra began to appear in the air, condensing into a ball.

Hiruko's eyes widened before realising what he was doing. He stopped collecting his chakra and flew through hand seals, racing the fox who had now condensed the chakra into a small ball and swallowed it. Hiruko looked to his left and right and saw the clones he had hidden were now in position. He slammed his palms together and shouted, "Fūinjutsu: Sanhō Fūin! (Sealing Technique: Three Directions Seal!)"

Suddenly, a triangle seal made of light appeared around the fox as it shot off it's blast of chakra and collided with the light seal wall. It exploded inside the seal, light exploding from the inside out and what more, most likely injuring the jinchūriki inside. The blast was deafening and echoed throughout the entire forest, the noise reverberating through the air as the leaves blew away and the grass flattened itself. Hiruko tossed the triangle up into the air and then brought it back down, slamming it into the ground, rattling up the Kyūbi host inside and then released the technique, light blasting itself outwards in all directions. The blast echoed through the forest for a second time, only not so loud.

The light disappeared and Hiruko walked forward and saw that Naruto had reverted back to normal, no longer in the Kyūbi state. He was asleep on the ground, passed out from the effort the battle had on him. His clothes were in tatters and he had chakra burns all over his body, blood streaming from his arms and legs especially. Hiruko knelt down and put his hand on his forehead. He muttered something under his breath and suddenly Naruto's eyes shot open, a red circle mark that looked like an eye appearing on his forehead. Naruto screamed as he felt pain unlike any he had experienced before before passing out quickly again.

Hiruko smirked and looked towards where Orochimaru and Anko had been battling but discovered that Anko was now leaping towards him, not looking to good. Orochimaru seemed to have disappeared after their very short battle. He smirked and hardened his arm with his Kōton (Steel Release) and smacked her away, sending her flying through a tree. He cackled before he was smacked away by an unseen force that came at an intense speed.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO MY SON!?" Tsunade roared at him as he flew through a bunch of trees. Tsunade flew immediately after him but realized Hiruko had somehow disappeared mid-flight from her power-packed punch. She felt his chakra presence leaving the area at an extremely fast pace.

"GET BACK HERE COWARD!" Tsunade screamed.

"Tsunade! Not now. We have to worry about Naruto!" Jiraiya said leaping behind her. She turned around immediately and saw her boy laying on the ground. She dashed straight towards him. Hiruzen and Shizune were not far behind with the squad of Anbu. Shizune saw Anko laying in what was left of a tree trunk and ran towards her, immediately performing her duties as a med-nin.

"What's the damage?" Jiraiya asked Tsunade.

She shook her head as she ran a diagnostic jutsu and said, "Chakra burns all over his body, blood vessels burst along the arms and legs, chakra exhaustion. The list goes on."

"We have to withdraw him from the exams. He was targeted!" Jiraiya said.

Hiruzen sighed and said, "As much as I hate to do so, I have to agree. I don't see ano-"

"NARUTO-KUN!" A feminine voice shouted not too far away. The small group of older ninjas turned to see Hinata, Shikamaru and Kiba arriving onto the scene, taking in the damage around them. Tsunade's eyes widened and she immediately shielded Naruto from their sights.

"What happened?" Shikamaru asked with a narrowed look in his eyes.

"Mass destruction is what happened. I knew Naruto was strong, but this!?" Kiba shouted.

Trees were smashed into the ground around them, making for a destroyed clearing. The grass even had some burns and there was wood that was gnarled and turned into a decayed state around them, from what they had to determine yet.

"Naruto-kun..." Hinata said, kneeling next to Tsunade. She sighed and uncovered his body and continued working saying, "The damage is already done."

"Hm... perhaps..." Hiruzen said.

"What are you on about?" Jiraiya asked.

"Tora, I need you to dispatch Anbu squads around the forest, preventing any more incidents like this to happen. Obviously we got loose on our security," Hiruzen said in a commanding voice.

"Hai, Hokage-sama," the Anbu captain said, disappearing along with his squad.

Hiruzen turned towards Team 8 and said in a questioning tone, "An attack has occurred on Naruto, but it looks like you came knowing something?"

Shikamaru straightened and said, "Hai. We came when we heard from Team 7 that Orochimaru and a strange man showed up. Orochimaru had initially attacked Team 7 involving Sasuke for reasons unknown, however Naruto intervened, already being chased by the strange man.

"They were both targeted? Why did Orochimaru not take off after Sasuke then?" Hiruzen asked.

"They said that Orochimaru immediately took notice to Naruto," Shikamaru said with a strange look at the boy in question.

Hiruzen turned towards Naruto and sighed. He never wished for this kind of danger upon his surrogate grandson and yet he had to face it here in the safety of home. It was disappointing to realize that he had been lax on security for these exams, especially with four of the five Great Shinobi Nations here. Now, he was paying for it.

Hinata looked up and asked, "Will he still be able to continue. We would be willing to help him."

Kiba and Shikamaru nodded. Tsunade stood up, turning around and shouted, "Absolutely not!"

"Actually hime, I think it's a good idea," Jiraiya said.

"WHAT!?" Tsunade screamed even louder.

"We need to figure out what is going on. Orochimaru and... the strange man wouldn't have come to the Chūnin exams of all places without a purpose. Something is up and Naruto is involved."

"You want to use him as bait," Shizune said plainly, walking up from where Anko now was getting up.

"Not exactly. I don't think they will target him per say, but I do think he will have a major role to come in these exams," Jiraiya said, thinking heavily.

Tsunade stood up and said, "Absolutely not. My son is not to be used as a tool."

"Tsunade, unfortunately I cannot allow you to pull Naruto from these exams. That decision lies with me and I think he can still stand a chance," Hiruzen immediately after.

"WHAT!?" she shouted once more.

Team 8 winced at her now incredibly high killing intent, even buckling a little bit, but Hiruzen did not waiver.

"Here is the issue Tsunade. It is now a matter of what has brought Orochimaru and the man to this village and because of thus, I would like to see things through. They injured him hoping to do something, but what that is I don't know. We both know Naruto would never forgive us if we withdrew him if he had the chance to stay in, which he does now," he said gesturing towards Team 8.

"I promise on everything I have that we will protect him," Hinata said confidently for once.

Shikamaru and Kiba's eyes widened in surprise, but they nodded quickly after getting over their initial shock. Tsunade looked at the three and then sighed. She looked at them all and said resigned, "Please. Just take care of him."

The three genin nodded and they grabbed Naruto, Kiba carrying him the three of them leaping into the trees to find cover.

Anko groaned and said, "That was a smart move."

The others looked at her and Jiraiya asked, "What are you talking about?"

"I have a lot to tell you four," she said wincing.

"We will make it back to my office first, then we will go over everything," Hiruzen said.

After an hour. Team 8 had discovered a cave quite a ways from the battle site Naruto was at. Hinata was tending Naruto's wounds as they sat around eating. She had a lot of ointment lathered on his burns, especially on his arms and legs, bandaging his arms and legs tightly, his chest not as much. She left his face unbounded due to the lack of bandages to cover him. She instead took to using ointment and wet rags to deal with his rough wounds there.

"What could have possibly given Naruto those wounds?" Shikamaru asked out loud finally.

Kiba sniffed the air and shrugged. He looked at them and said, "I've never heard of anything like this. It's almost surreal to think Naruto of all people could get injured like this."

Hinata nodded sadly and said, "When they were battling, Naruto was cloaked in the fox chakra I was talking about."

Shikamaru's eyes widened when he looked up and said, "Fox chakra?"

She nodded and said, "The chakra was... evil. I'm surprised you couldn't feel it."

In truth, he hadn't considered what was going on. He had adrenaline spiking just thinking about how they chased towards the troublesome high level battle that had occurred not too long ago.

Kiba looked at Naruto and said, "As much as I hate it, we need to wait on Naruto to explain things. I can only hope he will be honest with us."

Hinata nodded a bit shyly and said, "We all care about Naruto-kun. We're his friends."

The boys looked down at Naruto and could only think about when he would wake up. Shikamaru fumbled through his pouch and took out the three scrolls they had. Two Earth scrolls and one Heaven scroll. Hopefully Naruto would have a Heaven scroll and they would be able to get out of this forest.

Naruto was sitting in a clearing, the sky which was crimson red was no longer so. It was calm, and dark. He looked towards where his tenant was laying at, staring at him. He got up and shouted, "WHAT ARE YOU STARING AT!?"

The fox snorted and said "After the generous amount of chakra I gave you, this is the thanks I get? I knew my keeper was a brat."

"WHAT!?" Naruto shouted.

"Relax kit, we need to talk," the fox said.

Naruto looked at the fox strangely and gestured towards him to continue. The fox looked at him seriously and said, "You have a seal on you. Something I cannot recognize. It is nothing like that senile fool Mito ever used nor is it a standard seal. This is something unique and beyond my knowledge."

"What?" Naruto asked.

"That bastard Hiruko applied it to you."

Naruto recalled then how he had woken up for a moment, his body had screamed out in pain, his head scalding hot and then he had passed out again from the shock. He gritted his teeth in frustration and asked, "What do I do then?"

"Ask that baka Jiraiya to help you. He will know."

"He's not a baka!... but I will."

"Take care kit. I have nothing else to say to you. Do not call upon my power again. There is much risk in using it and as much as I hate to admit it, I like this calmness that being your tenant has brought me."

"Are you thanking me?" Naruto asked.

The Kyūbi roared and shouted, "Do not think that I have thanked you human. You mistake thankfulness for curiosity!"

Naruto sighed and said, "Someday, I'll get it through to you." Then, he promptly disappeared from his mindscape.

Naruto woke up late at night, pain spiking throughout his entire system. He groaned and hissed at the pain as he attempted to get up, but found his arms and legs wrapped tightly. He used his arms as leverage and sat up. He saw that he was covered in bandages and his pants were now shorts, and he was down to his t-shirt. He sighed and slowly went through the process of unwrapping his mummified body.

Once he was done, he took in his surroundings. He was in a cave and from the looks of it, it was relatively late in to the night as the moon was high in the sky from his vantage point. He looked around and saw Shikamaru and Kiba sleeping. His eyes widened as he thought over the events that happened before and realized that he had been in a high level battle out of his control so he couldn't remember anything. He sighed and got up, and realized Hinata was sitting outside on a rock keeping watch. He walked up and asked, "Can I join you?"

She jumped up a foot and she turned to see Naruto up. She blushed and said, "N-Naruto-kun. I didn't t-think you'd be up."

"I recover fast," he said, shrugging it off before sitting down next to her. He felt truly exhausted in all honesty, but he had to be strong because he was still in the exams. He would have time to rest when he got to the tower. He looked over at Hinata who was looking at him curiously. He grinned and she blushed, turning away but with a small smile graced on her lips.

"N-N-Naruto-kun. What h-happened?" Hinata asked, turning towards him when she finished.

At this, Naruto frowned before he looked at her and said, "Orochimaru and Hiruko happened."

"Hiruko? Was he the pale man Sasuke-san and Sakura-san were talking about?" Hinata asked, engaged and forgetting her previous nervousness.

Naruto nodded and he launched into the story of what had happened to lead him up to the transformation, then he paused. He wasn't sure how to explain what had happened, but Hinata seemingly launched into her question of what happened at the clearing. He finished by saying he was defeated quickly from an explosion of condensed chakra and unfortunately he had been caught in the middle of it. He used the excuse of a shielding technique he knew from fūinjutsu to cover him, which wasn't all lies in honesty.

She nodded, but knew he was hiding something. He never explained the cloak of chakra that had enveloped Naruto and didn't explain why Hiruko had chased him in the first place. Along with that left a mystery of questions to be answered. She sighed in exasperation before looking out towards the forest again keeping her vigilant watch.

Naruto's eyes clouded over in guilt as he knew Hinata was somewhat disappointed in him, but he couldn't throw out his secrets yet. He had to protect himself and his cherished ones. He especially didn't want to hurt her. They had gone to great lengths to help him.

"I'm sorry if I hurt you," Naruto said a little sadly.

Hinata looked at Naruto and she said, "Don't worry Naruto-kun. I'm not sad," she said with a small smile.

He grinned back at her with the reaffirmation of her emotions and leaned back on his arms, wincing slightly at the pain before laying on his back staring at the stars in the sky. He stretched out his senses, trying to connect with the forest around him and felt no one in the area other than the four of them near the cave.

"Thank you... Hinata-chan," Naruto whispered to himself.

Hinata watched Naruto the whole time, blushing but happy that he was okay and with them.

They all were up the next day. Naruto had fallen asleep on the rock outside, and found himself in the cave again waking up to Team 8 having breakfast. After a quick meal and packing up, they found themselves getting ready to move when Shikamaru turned towards Naruto and asked, "Do you have any scrolls?"

Naruto nodded and said, "I have my Heaven scroll, but nothing else."

Shikamaru smirked, grabbing an earth scroll and tossed it towards him and said, "Your in luck. We have an Earth scroll. And we're not too far from the tower. We can make it there by nightfall undetected if we move carefully."

Kiba grinned and Hinata smiled at that. Naruto himself gave a smirk and said, "Yosh! Lets go!"

It was a few hours later when they ran into Team 7 and Kabuto.

Team 8 was moving carefully when they noticed Team 7 and Kabuto were fighting off what seemed like illusions to Hinata. On closer inspection, it was confirmed they were fighting some sort of clone illusion. Naruto stretched out his senses and picked out the targets, each of the members of Team 8 taking their own.

The results were brilliant, they quickly ambushed the Ame genins that were taking on Team 7 and Kabuto and captured them. They immediately gave up their scroll to Team 7 who just so happened to need a scroll. When they scrammed off, Naruto found himself immediately tackled by Sora who gave him a huge bear hug, Naruto gasping for breath and relief from pain.

"What were you thinking you fucking idiot!?"Sora shouted.

"Sora! He's in pain!" Sakura shouted, pointing at Naruto's face that was gasping.

Sora immediately put him down and checked him over, trying to see if he had any further injuries from his attack.

"Honestly Sora! I'm fine!" Naruto said for the thousandth time, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Kiba snickering behind his back.

"You are a complete idiot! Taking on two of them! TWO!"

Naruto gulped but nodded solemnly and defeated at that remark. Sora looked at him seriously before engulfing him in another hug, this one much gentler.

Kabuto chuckled at the little reunion and said, "As much as I hate to break this up, we need to get to safety. We're an hour out from the tower. If we travel in this size of a group, we won't be bothered by anyone else."

Naruto nodded, but narrowed his eyes and turned on Kabuto and asked, "If that's the case, where is YOUR team?"

Kabuto sighed before he said, "Unfortunately, they all died."

Naruto nodded solemnly and turned towards everyone and said quietly, "I'll explain everything at the tower. I know you all have questions."

Sasuke and Sakura nodded while Sora gave him a reassuring smile and they all took off towards the tower in the middle of the forest.

When they made it to the tower, the group stopped, all looking at each other and broke out in thei own traditional grin or smile. They took in the fact that they made it out of the forest successfully. Naruto let out a heavy breath as he took in the fact he was no longer in danger.

"I'm glad we got here, but it's time we go our separate ways," Kabuto said.

"We appreciate the help Kabuto," Sakura said.

Kabuto smirked and said, "I look forward to seeing you all in the finals."

He then trounced off towards double doors on one side of the circular tower. Naruto gestured towards another set and the seven Genin set off towards the double doors. Once they had made it inside, they were in a tall room that had pillars inside but nothing substantial. They looked around and Naruto sighed before pulling out his scrolls, getting ready to open them.

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Shikamaru asked in a strict tone.

"We made it to the tower. We have to do SOMETHING with these scrolls," Naruto said exasperated.

He cracked his Earth and Heaven scrolls open and realized that it was a summoning technique as soon as he opened them, dropping them to the ground and there was a poof of smoke. Once it disappeared, it revealed Yamato standing there with his arms crossed and a smile on his face.

"Naruto, you did it," he said.

Shikamaru and Sasuke immediately went for their scrolls and opened their respective scrolls. There were two plumes of smoke and out of them came Kakashi and Kurenai. They looked at their teams with pride evident in their eyes.

"So, it seems they came together," Kakashi said slightly impressed.

"Proves that the concept of teamwork does still exist in these exams," Kurenai said.

It was then that the three Jōnin looked at Naruto and realized how torn up he was, his skin still red along his arms and legs and how his clothing was torn up. Naruto looked at them and said, "I know, I'll explain everything, but first I need my family. Now."

"MY BABY!" Tsunade shouted when she saw her son.

"Mooom!" Naruto said defeated.

"Don't you 'Mom' me young man. Come here so I can heal you," Tsunade said patting a spot on the couch she now took up. It was followed up by much snickering from many parties in the room.

It was in a lounge that the large party of fourteen resided at now. The lounge had couches and chairs now set up in a circle. Hiruzen was taking up an armchair at the head of the circle. Kakashi, Yamato and Kurenai were taking up a couch to the left of the Hokage. Jiraiya and Shizune took up their own couch on the right side of Hiruzen. Sasuke and Sakura were sitting on a smaller couch to the left of the Jōnin senseis to Sasuke's disappointment. Sora was taking up an armchair to their left, snickering about Sasuke's predicament. To Sora's left and across from Hiruzen were Tsunade and Naruto, the latter being tended to now. Hinata, Shikamaru and Kiba sitting on their own couch to Jiraiya and Shizune's right and Naruto and Tsunade's left. In the center of the circle was a circular table, assortment of teas and drinks on the table.

"Now we can figure out this mystery. Naruto, can you explain what happened?" Hiruzen asked.

Naruto looked wearily at Team 8 but a look from his mother told him it was okay. He still seemed unsure and asked, "Is this really the best environment?"

"Team 8 I assure you has more knowledge than they should know at this point. It would be unwise to leave them with unanswered questions and would prove better since they may be able to contribute to this mystery," Hiruzen said nodding towards Shikamaru who nodded at Naruto with a stern look.

Naruto sighed and delved into his tale of how he emerged from the dangerous area he had been assigned and had engaged Hiruko and soon found himself on the immediate defensive. He retreated in hopes of finding refuge, but instead found Orochimaru tormenting Team 7. He engaged Orochimaru in hopes of the two S-ranked ninja fighting each other, but instead found they had somewhat teamed up on him so he used went all out.

"What I want to know is what exactly this chakra cloak is that Hinata was talking about," Shikamaru said, interupting Naruto for the first time.

The adults and Naruto all exchanged looks before Naruto sighed and said, "Alright... what do you know about bijū?"

Team 8, Sasuke and Sakura exchanged looks. Sora smiled in slight amusement and Kurenai and Kakashi exchanged looks, the former in confusion and the latter in a knowing look. Yamato sighed and rubbed his face with one of his hands.

Sakura finally spoke and said, "Bijū are tailed beasts that are known for their maliciousness. They are giant beings that are usually sealed within people known as jinchūriki."

Naruto nodded and said, "What do you remember about the Kyūbi attack?"

This time, Shikamaru took the floor and stated like a well rehearsed fact, "The Kyūbi attacked the village almost thirteen years ago in hopes of destroying the village. It was a wild rampage. It was defeated by the Yondaime who slayed the beast."

Naruto chuckled and said, "Close except you lost one point Shikamaru."

"Huh?" Shikamaru asked.

Naruto went on to explain, "Bijū are entities made up of pure chakra. In other words, they cannot be killed. If they happen to be... dispersed, then they reform after an unknown amount of time. The Yondaime never slayed Kyūbi. He sealed him."

"Sealed him?" Sasuke asked this time.

Naruto nodded and said, "Inside a boy. To be specific-"

"You," Shikamaru said.

Naruto smiled sadly in confirmation, blowing the minds of Kurenai and the Genin who had just discovered Naruto's secret. They looked at him and took in the realization of what he was. A jinchūriki. Naruto looked at them and said, "It's not cool seeing you all like that. It's not a terrible job."

Hinata was the first to crack a smile, shy in nature. Naruto grinned and dived back into his story, about his chat with the tenant inside him.

"So that bastard Hiruko applied a seal on you did he?" Jiraiya asked with a stern look.

Naruto nodded and said, "If the Kyūbi can't recognize it, will you be able to?" Naruto asked.

"Between me and the old man here, we might be able to figure it out," Jiraiya said with a knowing smile.

Naruto nodded and said, "I would help, but I think it's on my head."

"So you can't see it without a mirror," Jiraiya said.

Naruto nodded in acknowledgment. Jiraiya sighed and Hiruzen stood up before saying, "I'm glad we got to talk to you all. Naruto, do you have spare clothes or shall we retrieve some?"

Naruto then face palmed himself and went to a scroll in his pocket before unsealing it and insde were a few sets of clothes. He grabbed one and resealed the rest. He looked up and said, "This set I have on is completely done for... unfortunately."

Everyone chuckled as he got up and left to go change. Tsunade sighed and took a look at the others before setting to work on healing the minor wounds each of the Genin had. They had a right to healing after all before the third part of the exams.

"So Hokage-sama, if you don't mind me asking... how many other teams are here?" Shikamaru asked.

Hiruzen chuckled and said, "I do not mind. It seems we have the single team from Suna as well as the team from Kumo and the team from Kiri. There is also Team Gai from Konoha. They still have a while left to get here though."

Shikamaru nodded and everyone took looks at each other before Kurenai said, "Why don't you all go rest. We will see you at the ceremony."

The Genin all nodded and got up to leave after Tsunade had finished healing them, the adults making idle talk. Once they all had left, Hiruzen sighed and said, "So these exams have become so much more troublesome."

"If what Anko-san said is true, Orochimaru may be planning something huge. An invasion possibly?" Yamato asked.

"It's troubling that my old teammate would attack Konoha over Sasuke of all people. The last Uchiha. What would he want him for?" Jiraiya asked.

Tsunade stood up then and looked at Jiraiya in fear and asked, "Did you see a mark on his neck?"

"What do you... oh boy," Jiraiya said in realization.

Hiruzen caught on too and nodded. He looked at Kakashi and he nodded, disappearing in a shunshin after his student to take care of the situation if needed. They looked at each other and he said, "There has to be more than just his vessel if he truly perfected the technique."

"An invasion is very likely. It was a threat after all," Shizune said.

"We will have to see," Kurenai said.

Two days later, everyone had assembled in a large hall. In the hall were a total of twenty-nine Genin. Naruto had made a full recovery and had worked with his godfather on trying to figure out the seal on his forehead, but they couldn't even coax out the formula to observe it. They had tried many things but all of them ended in failure.

Around them, the Rookie Nine plus Naruto and Kabuto had made it through along with Team Gai. There was a team from Kiri, Suna, Kumo, Oto and Ame. Naruto stood by Team Ten waiting for the Hokage to make his address to the crowd of Genin. Along the balconies, there were the Genins team senseis and a few other observers.

Hiruzen finally appeared and said, "Congratulations to all Genin here, but before we continue I should explain the true purpose of the Chūnin Exams."

"True purpose?" Kiba asked.

Hiruzen launched into a rant on how the exams were a preventative for other nations to declare war and show their power through their enlistees. As he finished his explanation and was about to explain the third part of the exams, a second person appeared, this one looking more sickly and coughed.

"Hokage-sama, if you would allow me to explain," the man said.

"Of course Hayate. Please," Hiruzen said.

"My name is Gekko Hayate and I am about to explain the preliminary rounds for the third exam."

Naruto felt his eye twitch in irritation and asked out loud, "A PRELIMINARY ROUND!?"

Jiraiya sighed from the balcony and felt himself sighing about how his godson had his mother's temper. Hayate nodded and said, "Due to the number of people who have made it past the second round, it is necessary to cut down the number. We have dignitaries coming from around the continent to see only the best perform and therefore we need to cut down our contestant number."

All of the Genin looked at each other before Hayate said, "It will work like this. You will each be drawn from a random pool and will fight. Before we continue, is there anyone who wants to forfeit due to circumstances?"

Kabuto looked up towards the balcony and looked towards where his master was in disguise. He shook his head, surprising Kabuto. He thought for sure he would drop out, but it seemed that this was neither the time nor place.

"Very well then. Due to the number of contestants, one person will have to fight twice. The winner of the first match will fight a second match at the end of the contestant pool," Hayate said.

Then, a screen buzzed to life and images flew on two sides of the screen going through different Genin before landing on two of the perspective candidates.

Senju Naruto of Konoha versus Tuzuki Hattori of Ame.

Some of the senseis on the balconies looked at the names in shock, both heirs of their perspective clans. Naruto looked towards where the Ame team was where he was standing behind Team Ten and saw the older teen glaring at Naruto. He snorted at the glare and stepped away from the team, taking off his dark blue jacket and tossed it off to the side.

"Good luck Naruto-kun!" Ino shouted.

"If the two Genin on the board could stay down here while the rest proceed to the balconies to observe the battle so we can get started," Hayate said.

The other Genin left until only Hayate, Naruto and Hizuki stood on the ground. Naruto looked closer at the white haired boy and took in his appearance. He had a look eerily similar to Hanzō except he was a lot younger. Not only that, but he didn't wear a face mask. He also sported a trenchcoat over everything he wore, the black long coat covering everything underneath him.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you Senju Naruto," the older teen said.

Naruto smirked at him and said, "Confident much? I'm about to kick your ass."

The teen scoffed and said, "Too young and too inexperienced."

"Are both contestants ready?" Hayate asked with a cough.

Both Genin nodded.

"Let the first match of the preliminary round begin!"

The older teen leapt backwards while Naruto rushed towards him in a zigzag pattern, immediately trying to get close to him, testing the waters with taijutsu. The older teen reached into his coat and pulled out a scroll, unsealing it and there was a poof of smoke before a torrent of water was unleashed, flying into Naruto who got hit directly by it, disappearing into a plume of smoke to signify he was a Kage Bunshin.

"Doton: Doryū Taiga! (Earth Release: Earth Flow River!)" Naruto shouted from a distance.

The ground underneath the older Genin turned into mud and he found himself trapped only he had substituted himself with a log, the wood sinking into the mud. He was instead now standing on top of the inch of water that covered the entire arena. He clapped his hands together and shouted, "Suiton: Suiton: Daibakuryū! (Water Release: Great Waterfall Flow!)"

Naruto's eyes widened at the lack of handseals and realized the water was starting to gather around him. He did a few handseals and shouted, "Doton: Doryūheki! (Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!)"

He slammed his palm into the ground and a thick square wall rose up underneath him, raising him above the whirlpool that had formed to try and drown him. He looked at his opponent across the arena and grinned at the fact that this would be an actual challenge.

"Naruto is doing well," Kiba said with admiration.

Kurenai nodded and said, "Naruto has a good grasp on his earth style ninjutsu and is doing well to hide his talents from the others. He never does reveal all his cards to one person."

Yamato nodded and said, "My student is good at that. He hasn't shown all his tricks in this tournament yet seeing how some of the competition has yet to see the other pulls and stops he has. I have a feeling he hasn't even shown ME everything."

Shino and Shikamaru exchanged glances at that when Shino said, "It is only logical. Naruto-san is a good shinobi and good shinobi always have a few hidden tricks."

Ino nodded and said, "Naruto-kun will kick his ass!"

Along the balcony, Team Gai was standing by, watching the match. Maito Gai, a tall man with a bowl cut haircut and a flak jacket stood with his arms crossed, watching the Senju heir. He looked down at his students, watching the match closely. Lee, who looked eerily similar to that of his sensei stood in front of him watching in excitement the match that was transpiring.

"Yosh! Gai-sensei, I want to battle Naruto and show him how strong my youth is!" Lee said.

"Then you can do that Lee! Show him what you got when the time comes!" Gai said.

"Hai!" Lee said, giving a smile that sparkled.

Neji looked closely at the battle going on, the Hyuga prodigy watching the battle with a close eye. He saw how Naruto could be an obstacle to what he knew was his fate to succeed and become a Chūnin. He knew he could beat him though. Tenten shared the enthusiasm of her teammate, hearing many things about the Senju heir and most importantly about how he was trained by his idol, Senju Tsunade. She wanted to battle him as much as anyone else may want to.

Tsunade shook her head at the antics of the Genin there while she, Shizune and Jiraiya stood close off too the side. Team Gai was relatively close by, watching the battle before them.

On the other side of the arena were the other teams standing by. Zabuza watched Naruto battle, impressed by his show of power, but knew he was hiding so much more. Haku knew that as well, watching. They had chosen not to share the information they knew about Naruto with their team unless it was absolutely necessary. They knew Naruto would benefit from it.

The Suna team watched too meanwhile, having been warned of Naruto beforehand and about how powerful the Senju were. Temari seemed intrigued by Naruto not only because of his power but because she had to admit he was kind of cute. Kankuro kept looking between Naruto and his brother Gaara who was watching the battle intently.

The Kumo team meanwhile had taken to watching the battle by instruction from their sensei. They had to say they were impressed from the first few moments of the battle, the tactics and power between the two already evident. Kabuto smirked, standing by his master in disguise who was on the inside chuckling at the humor in the situation.

Naruto looked down as the water finally calmed down from the whirlpool technique. Naruto sighed and looked at his opponent, deciding his next move. His best option was to stick with ninjutsu at this point to hide his skills. He didn't want to give away too much to his other foes in the competition. He sighed and went through more handseals before shouting, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu! (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!)"

Hizuki grinned and flew through his own hand seals before shouting, "Katon: Karyū Endan! (Fire Release: Fire Dragon Bullet!)"

Naruto formed a dragon bullet made of water, the head large and the neck rather long as it stretched out to attack it's target while Hizuki launched a fire bullet that seemed to increase in heat as it battled against the water bullet until finally steam covered the entire arena preventing sight for anyone.

Hizuki's voice rang out through the mist and he shouted, "Futton: Kairiki Musō! (Boil Release: Unrivaled Strength)"

The steam suddenly started to draw itself in and cover Hizuki in an armor that was thick and boiling in temperature. Naruto stood back, watching the process, curious about it as the spectators observed as well.

"So the kid has a kekkei genkai. This can't be good," Asuma said.

"Don't doubt my student Asuma-senpai. He has many tricks to show us still," Yamato said.

"I know he has the three elemental manipulations and a few other surprises, but can that get past that thick armor of his?" he asked in curiousity.

"You'd be surprised what my godson can do... he takes after his mother after all," Jiraiya said not too far away.

Tsunade and Shizune both jumped at this and said, "You don't mean?"

"We had some free time, but I don't think he'll be using it here," Jiraiya said shrugging.

Tsunade suddenly grew a grin and couldn't wait to see what destruction Naruto could bring to the stadium.

Naruto looked at the steam armor and asked, "So is this supposed to give you some sort of super powers or something?"

Hizuki laughed, but he manipulated the boiling steam into a stream that headed towards Naruto at a fast pace, but not super fast. Naruto eyed it warily and took steps to avoid it while going through a few hand seals and shouted, "Fūton: Renkūdan! (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet!)"

Immediately he launch a rapid succession of bullets that flew towards the armored Genin, but found the steam impenetrable still. He frowned at this and jumped backwards to the top of a statue along the wall to buy him a little time. He wanted to get the steam near him for whatever reason and he had to stay away. A small stream like that would do nothing to him directly, but he might have a trick for that. He frowned and thought about what to do.

"Seems Senju-san is having difficulties," Yugito said standing along the railing on the balcony.

"The kid is good. Three elemental manipulations and what looks like a good amount of speed," Samui said, observing closely.

"The kid's still a brat," Karui said.

"Only two years younger than us and he already stands at a level I'm not sure we can compete with. He's firing off one jutsu after another and is hardly tired," Samui said.

"Oh boy, what if I go up against him and lose terribly. I could disgrace our entire village, or end up getting pulverized by the kid, or bring along a catalyst-"

"Omoi!" Yugito said scolding.

"Sorry," he said.

Haku and Zabuza were still standing farther apart from the rest and observed closely and Haku said, "Naruto-kun is pulling out a lot of stops here."

"Sure is. The brat still doesn't surprise me," Zabuza said.

"How strong is Naruto exactly? He's firing of one ninjutsu after another like it is nothing," Mangetsu asked.

"This is nothing kid," Zabuza said.

Temari had overheard Zabuza speak briefly and was watching Naruto closely. She had to admit the Hizuki kid had skill, but it was Senju who intrigued her and her team. Baki stood nearby and watched closely the battle and watched Gaara slowly get more excited as he revealed more and more about himself.

"What is he hiding?" Temari asked to herself.

Naruto decided on a course of action finally, going for a more direct approach. He created two clones and sent them off to engage him in combat to gauge his armor for weak spots while he kept him occupied with the steam.

Hizuki saw the clones and immediately stretched out a stream of steam down the middle of the two charging clones and as soon as it hit it's point directly between the two, he used the steam to go at an immensely fast pace, charging like air itself, then punched the two clones, destroying them on impact and standing again, as if nothing happened.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw the speed he flew and knew he couldn't get let a stream of steam near him ever. That speed was immensely fast. Faster than some chūnin out there. He was as fast as him and that's what worried him. If that was the case then he would have to hit him hard and fast. He flew through hand seals and shouted, "Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

Hizuki smirked and said, "It's useless. Katon: Karyū Endan!"

The two jutsu collided again and he started to gather the steam to make him more powerful, but Naruto saw where he was collecting the steam from and channeling it out of. He thought for a moment before making clones and sending them to surround the Ame nin. Hizuki smirked before saying, "This trick again?"

"What can I say, I'm a one trick pony sometimes," Naruto said shrugging.

Kizuki went through hand seals before landing on one and shouting, "Futton: Mudan no Jutsu! (Boil Release: Steam Bullet Jutsu!)"

The steam armor he had quickly transformed and parts of it flew in bullet sized patterns towards the clones respectively, destroying each of them quickly, but he soon found that there was not a single clone left and Naruto was missing.

"Come out coward!" Hizuki shouted, looking around before his eyes widened and he looked down where two hands had shot out and grabbed his ankles.

"Doton: Shinjū Zanshu no Jutsu! (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Jutsu!)"

Hizuki was pulled into the ground and the mist armor he had before spirited in the air. Hizuki looked up as Naruto came out of the ground and said, "That was too simple."

"How?" Hizuki asked.

"When I made those clones, I made a third one that I substituted with. It had gone underground as soon as I created it, in waiting. I found the right time to strike."

Hayate was impressed by the skill Naruto had shown. Hizuki had obviously been to careless with the match. Naruto moved quicker than he had the whole match and channeled chakra to the back of the boy's neck along his nerves before he could react, knocking him out instantaneously.

"You have to give the kid credit, he's got the thinking level of at least a Chūnin. He may even have more up his sleeve," Zabuza said.

"Yes. Naruto-kun is very impressive," Haku replied.

"He has an arsenal of ninjutsu at his disposal, knows Kage Bunshin, what else does he have?" Chojuro asked.

"Plenty to go around it seems," Mangetsu said matter of factly.

Temari smirked as she watched Naruto, growing more fascinated by how he held himself and had gone about winning the match. She saw Hizuki had some merit to go with his skill, but he had a surperiority complex to him that Naruto overrode and knew to take things seriously. She gave him credit. She turned to her brothers and saw Kankuro was watching Gaara with a wary look and she had to admit he was getting a little scary.

Gaara smiled to himself, now craving the opportunity to fight the Senju boy. He had the match and he would get to watch him even more. Maybe he would even be the one to fight him. He couldn't wait until he made his bones into dust with his sand. He wanted his blood.

"That boy is someone to watch out for. Did you see how casually he just dealt with his opponent?" Samui asked.

"The Senju boy is indeed an ideal threat. The Raikage would be interested in knowing about him," Yugito said nodding.

"Oh boy. He just won the match. What if I got up against him? What if I lose and disgrace the village?" Omoi asked.

"That won't happen Omoi," Yugito said.

Tsunade across the way pumped her fist for her son in enthusiasm and said, "Yosh!" Shizune shared her enthusiasm, nodding and smiling for her surrogate brother while their little piglet oinked in his own manner. Jiraiya grinned for his godson and Yamato smiled at his student, proud of him.

"Naruto certainly handled the match well," Kakashi said giving his traditional eye-smile.

"Yosh! Naruto certainly has the power of youth!" Gai said.

"I'm sorry Gai, did you say something?" Kakashi asked.

"Curse you and your cool hip attitude!" Gai said, turning with a scowl on his face.

Hinata smiled at Naruto, admiring how he dealt with his opponent and silently cheered for him, Ino not too far away cheering obnoxiously for him. Kiba, Shikamaru and Choji all smiled for their friend and teammate at how he defeated his opponent.

"Winner! Senju Naruto!" Hayate declared.

So, good update? Review! I love the love!

Thanks everyone! See ya lata!