Naruto and its characters, story, and everything else is © Masashi Kishimoto.

Child of Destiny
There are plans in motion, always; ever changing, ever moving forward and backwards. Some scheme, yet are never meant to succeed, while others succeed with the most hasty of schemes. However, when many scheme, when many schemers all find themselves playing against each other, the true winner may be all of them. Or none.

▼ Chapter Two ▼

Naruto Uzumaki awoke slowly, feeling the world around him in vibrant colors. It was something he was becoming increasingly used to, yet each day seemed to bring a newer, more intense experience. There was that second layer of seeing beyond the surface, perception on a different, deeper level. How much of it was his eyes improving, and how much of it was him just getting used to the unknown? His visual acuity had grown over the last few weeks since they'd returned from the mission to the Land of Waves and he'd gotten his amazing new eyes. Personally, he'd chalked it up to the training he was doing with his best friend, Hinata.

The blond pushed himself up in bed and looked around. His apartment was cluttered but not dirty; having had Hinata over several times over the past few weeks had made him want to at least make it a bit more presentable. After all, she was a girl even if she was his friend, and so that meant she had to be treated at least a little differently. Sakura had told him that one time; he wasn't sure why she seemed to take such an interest in how he behaved around Hinata, but she did. At first he'd thought maybe it was jealousy, but given she kept giving him advice that seemed pretty unlikely. Whatever it was, she was a girl, so he listened.

He pushed himself out of bed, swinging his feet around and nearly yelping when they touched the cold floor. Bah, he needed a rug there, or something. Seemed like he did it every morning. Pushing past it he got up and out of the bed, stretching wide and yawning before plucking the sleeping cap he wore and setting it aside, and then stripping off his night clothes to head to the shower; he had a bit of time before he was supposed to show up for a team meet-up, and several hours before Kakashi-sensei was gonna show up anyway, so there was no big rush. Still, he'd been trying to be a bit more diligent about things, at least.

Unfortunately, Hinata had been busy and he didn't know when that was going to stop, so he wasn't going to get to see her or get much training in, at least not on what she'd been teaching him. He could practice, sure, and certainly he had a lot to do, but still, it wasn't really the same without her. He yelped again as cold water washed over him after he turned the handle; he'd been lost in thought and forgot he needed to warm it up. Sighing, he moved to the edge of the shower to avoid the icy cold. It didn't take long, steam building up and billowing through the bathroom; he always liked it nice and hot.

He began to scrub himself down, and pondered what he could do after any mission they got. Hinata had started showing him more of her taijutsu, the Hyūga clan's pretty cool Jūken. He wasn't that good with it yet, but the forms and control were actually doing pretty good for him, and in general his chakra control had exploded. With her hands-on exercises and the ability to actually see the flow of chakra it was so much easier; Hinata was quickly catching up to Iruka in terms of favorite teacher, and he had to admit she was one of his favorite people too. She really was just great.

Moreover, she'd helped him indirectly figure out more of his powers. He'd figured out one really cool trait on a mission when he'd triggered Kage Bunshin no Jutsu and then almost screamed and toppled over as he felt the overlap of data. That too had taken time to process; he could see through their eyes and it nearly knocked him out. Slowly he'd managed to build up more and more tolerance for it, but he was sort of angry that his eyes had knocked out one of his big tricks; so far he'd managed to maintain three of the clones without going all woozy. He needed to work more on that. On the plus, it made coordination even crazier. That TOO had taken time, and he'd only really managed to sync up with one clone so far, but the shared vision made him an unholy terror in taijutsu fights.

He began to lather up his hair as he continued to consider the course. His control had made him better with the cool gravity powers, and he'd finally figured out that's what they were. More and more he'd managed to refine the fields he could generate, getting even more precise. He had yet to really replicate that chakra beam, though, which was a bummer, but he'd gotten so good with making the black rods that they weren't even always rods anymore. Seemingly from raw chakra he was forging pitch black shuriken and kunai, and he was learning to affect them in flight, tweaking gravity to adjust their paths or literally directly modifying them.

The soap rinsed away and circled the drain. It wasn't all training either. He'd introduced Hinata to the joy of Ichiraku Ramen, and had even treated her several times. She had shared her love of cinnamon rolls, and the spiral pastries were pretty great. It was nice to just hang with someone, even if they were so different. He didn't feel the drive to do so many pranks, though; no matter what he chose to talk about, Hinata listened. He did the same, as much as he could, and she was opening up as well. It was really great to have a friend like her. Someone who acknowledged him so much. He had never realized it before, either. Which was dumb, and he'd apologized for. Several times, even. Hinata hadn't known what to say to that.

He sighed as he got out and began to dry off, toweling his head vigorously. Hinata wouldn't be able to train today, probably; she'd just be getting back from an out of village mission, the first for Team 8. He'd spent a bit more time with them too, simply by virtue of being around Hinata. Plus, Kakashi-sensei and Hinata's sensei, Kurenai, had done some joint training. Kiba wasn't so bad; the Inuzuka liked to crack jokes at Hinata and his expense, but Naruto didn't hold it against him too much. Shino was... odd, but nice in his own way. He had a habit of just sort of fading away, though; Naruto forgot he was around sometimes.

Sasuke and Sakura, though. That was interesting. Far as Naruto was concerned, Sasuke had gotten all jealous of having a kickass friend to train with like Hinata. He didn't bother bothering Sasuke or Sakura much after missions or team workouts. Instead, he usually just went to find Hinata, and then Sasuke and Sakura would go off to do whatever. Training too, he had supposed.

Begrudgingly, though, Naruto had to admit that Sasuke was getting stronger. He hadn't appreciated Naruto's new kickass eyes, not directly at least, but Naruto took some pride that he seemed to be working harder now that Naruto had them. The Uchiha had taken to using a tantō, and had demonstrated the ability to fling fire with it more than a few times during team training exercises, plus his speed had gone up! Sakura-chan too had improved; she had learned how to detect chakra with her precise control, and her chakra levels had improved. Naruto could actually see that now, what with his eyes and all! Apparently Sasuke had given her some scrolls on jutsu, because she was using earth-based stuff.

If it hadn't been for Hinata teaching him cool stuff too he might have been angry at Sasuke for not sharing with him too. He supposed he couldn't be too angry, though; Naruto was pretty sure his eyes were cooler than Sasuke's. Plus, he'd yet to really use his new taijutsu on him. He didn't think it was ready to show off all his new power. He was glad he had Hinata, though; she would listen to him rant on stuff, and then say just a small line that cooled him off. Plus, listening to her talk about just about anything was great too. She still didn't talk much, but it was happening more and more. It was nice. She was a great friend.

As far as team stuff went, though, Kakashi-sensei seemed pleased. At least, Naruto thought so. It was sort of hard to tell with Kakashi-sensei, honestly. Naruto's cycloptic teacher was an enigma at the best of times. Still, he was giving them more time on their own to train, which may just be him being lazy, but Naruto found it hard to complain.

Naruto pulled on some clothes as he thought about it, a black undershirt and his orange pants. There was some irony that he'd already forgotten about the strange outfit he'd bought on that first day he'd trained with Hinata. Checking the clock, though, he knew he had plenty of time to do a few exercises. It was amazing how much better things were. Hinata showed him all kinds of things her clan had come up with over the years. He'd learned quickly it wasn't the byakugan itself that had given them such great control, but the fact that they'd been able to develop exercises no one else would even think of because of their ability to see the flow of chakra.

The young blond had cleared out a large section of his small apartment for these exercises. He'd spend hours on them, leading to several late mornings before Hinata had reminded him he needed to put his best foot forward for missions too. Suitably chastened, he'd been less intensive in his nightly training. Still, his chakra control had improved by leaps and bounds. Hyūga clan exercises were very kinesthetic in their nature, a fact that made them literally perfect for Naruto, whose ability to learn by doing was second to none.

He created a pulse of chakra and focused it into his palm, assuming a wide stance with his arms outstretched, one extended higher than the other. It had been embarrassing at first to do some of these; they were more like dancing than stretching in some ways, but watching Hinata had made it easier, even if he'd gotten a bit hot doing it. That was weird, and he'd ended up just doing the exercises to distract himself. Now, though, he was more focused. He adjusted and alternated his arms, guiding the 'pulse' down from his palm and through his network, and then towards his other hand. He could 'see' the pulse, as much as it could be called seeing, and that made it much easier to track. Visualizing it all made it all so much easier.

Repeating the exercise, he also moved the ball of chakra through his legs and across his body. He grinned with satisfaction; it had been hard at first, but it was becoming easier every day. He grabbed up a small ball and held it in his hand. Hinata had said that they had special training tools for this, usually; orbs made of chakra-reactive metal, which had led to Naruto thinking of this. The orb was made of the same black material he'd become able to materialize. He'd managed to form one into a ball, though, and it was pretty much the same thing.

He juggled the ball between his hands a few times, and then let the chakra flow into it. He felt it, like it was an extension of himself. He balanced it in his palm, and then rolled it down, using chakra to guide it over his shoulders and to his other palm. The exercise flowed like that, and he once again fell into the dancing motion. Though, for all his learning it was often still a wild, unpredictable dance. You could teach an old dog new tricks, but you can't change the dog.

Naruto practiced for some time, jumping between routines, kata, and the like as he did, glancing at the clock every so often so he could time things just right. He wondered, idly, as he finally stopped, what Hinata was up to right now. He wondered if she was thinking of him too. The blond sighed, and then grabbed his jacket, heading for the door.

He hoped she'd be back soon.

Sasuke coated a thin later of chakra over his finger and balanced the tip of his tantō there, flicking it slightly and catching it on his thumb. His control was getting better; his arms were no longer covered in burns. Sakura had insisted he go get the wounds looked over at the hospital, which had moderated the scarring somewhat. He cast a sidelong glance at his pink-haired teammate. Sakura was staring up the clouds, long hair flowing lightly in the gentle breeze. She turned to him, catching him watching, and blushed deep crimson. Naruto, shockingly, saved him from having to say anything.

The blond touched down to the training ground and grinned wide. Sasuke was leaning against one of the wooden training posts, Sakura against another of them. Naruto was pleased to see them all; even if he'd been spending less time with just them, he still really loved missions and training with them

"Ah, Sakura-chan, Sasuke, figured you'd guys would know better by now than to arrive on time!" Naruto chuckled at his own little joke. Sakura sighed, while Sasuke flipped the blade onto his middle finger and gave Naruto the bird. The Uzumaki's smile only grew wider at that, though. Sasuke scowled. Naruto gave him a rude gesture of his own. It was Kakashi-sensei's arrival that saved the day this time, as it stopped Sasuke from snapping off a set of kunai at his smarmy teammate.

"My my, lively today I see," the jōnin said as he landed, traditional smile plastered onto his face. Sasuke stifled the anger, something he'd done more and more of late. He glanced at his teammate, eyes focusing on his eyes. Gone was that deep blue, instead just those black rings. Sasuke had become more and more used to them, but they still seemed so odd. It changed Naruto's visage, adding a sinister bend to his usually joyful face, or perhaps that was just Sasuke. The eyes had led the one once thought of as dead last to a rapid increase in power.

It wasn't just the eyes, though. It was more what they let him do. In truth, though the powers were notable and dangerous, it was more than that. His control was better, which meant he was faster and stronger, and it didn't hurt that his form was massively refined. Still wild, still imperfect, but it showed the glimmers of elegance. Naruto's time with the Hyūga girl was paying dividends, and that fact irked Sasuke. His own training with Sakura was fruitful; his ability to balance the blade the way he had been was because of her help, loathe though he was to admit it.

"You were hanging around watching us, sensei," Sakura said with a knowing grin, never missing a chance to demonstrate the sensory capability she'd picked up. That had been Sasuke's doing, and though he wasn't going to be gloating about it, he gave himself an internal pat on the back for improving the team that way. Sakura was useful now, that's what he told himself when he handed over scrolls to her. That, and it was payment for helping him out. Yes, that was the simple truth of it all.

Kakashi's smile didn't falter.

"Oh, you know, I wanted to see how you were getting along," he said, waving it off, "You were late, Naruto."

The blond let out a 'keh' sound and grumbled something about 'look who's talking.' The jōnin appeared behind him in an instant and swept his legs. Sasuke watched as Naruto grinned, GRINNED at this. He brought his hands together, but Kakashi was faster. He nabbed Naruto by the scruff of his neck while the boy was sideways, still smiling.

"Jōnin get to be la-" he began, only to look shocked as 'Naruto' popped into a cloud of smoke. Kakashi's head snapped up as the real Naruto dove at him, grin still wide as he punched at Kakashi. The jōnin blocked the blow with ease, only to feel a sudden force slam him into the ground. His genius mind pieced it together instantly; Naruto had managed to merge his gravity powers with his taijutsu. Fascinating. The blond landed and folded his hands behind his head.

"How'd ya like my new technique, sensei? I call it the Uzumaki Ryū Tokkō Tenken!"

"It's not bad," Kakashi said, lounging against a nearby tree with his perverted book in hand. Naruto nearly tumbled over in shock. His head snapped around to the crater he'd made to find a straw dummy pulverized at the bottom of it. Kawarimi no Jutsu. The jōnin flicked a page over. "But you're still a thousand years too early to land a hit on me."

Naruto's grin turned into a pout for the briefest of moments. Kakashi didn't look up.

"Good work, though, with the Shadow Clone. I take it you've been working on getting over the downside to your new eyes, then?"

"Totally!" Naruto shouted, giving his sensei a thumbs up as he did. Kakashi sighed as he smiled; even failure couldn't keep him down for long. Still, he couldn't not feel uneasy at the rapid pace of the boy's growth. It was both impressive and worrisome; there was a reason they didn't teach certain things to genin beyond their obvious physical limitations. It was almost a relief, in a way, that Naruto's ability to form an army of clones has been curtailed; that much power in the hands of someone so young was dangerous. However, at times it seemed like they'd gone out of the frying pan and into the fire with each new step in skill that Naruto showed.

Hindsight made him wonder if he shouldn't have tried to discourage Naruto from using the powers, or into hiding the eyes, but part of him knew there was little to no chance something like that was going to actually happen. Naruto's naming scheme reminded Kakashi of the boy's father, but his temperament was purely from his mother. Hopefully for the better, too, because Kushina had been a dear despite her temper. Kakashi knew that Naruto was turning into a splendid shinobi, but still... the boy was rash, emotionally volatile, and lacking in key social skills. The jōnin knew full well the difficulties of growing up an orphan.

Of course, Naruto's growth had been a motivation for Sasuke too, which in turn had inspired Sakura. His conversation with Hiruzen about the generation of prodigies was becoming more and more true with each week that passed. Even Sakura, who came from no major clan, showed promise far above what most would expect. He'd brought in Kurenai in hopes of providing not only guidance, but a female role model. Hindsight again caught up with him as he realized this was likely an unnecessary gesture. Still, they were learning to work with other teams, which was nice, even if it was a bit advanced for them.

Then again, everything about this team was advanced.

"Well, then..." Kakashi mused, sparing a glance at Sasuke and then Sakura in turn, "I wonder what your teammates can do. I know all of you have been working very hard."

Sasuke hnn'd, flicking the tantō into a sheath over his shoulder. Kakashi watched him lazily; he recognized that style of tantōjutsu. Shisui Uchiha had been Anbu, not unlike Sasuke's brother. Scrolls on the Uchiha-style tantōjutsu had been easy for Sasuke to get, and a chakra-reactive tantō was likely either already in the compound somewhere or an easy buy with their large earnings from the mission to Wave, to say nothing of the minor D rank missions they'd been doing. Sasuke's chakra control hadn't been good enough in the past, though.

Kakashi's eye settled on Sakura for a moment. Sasuke was no fool, even if he was stubborn as hell. Sakura's help was useful to him, and he'd taken it. That was good. Anything that helped Sasuke learn the importance of comrades was good. In the end, all Sasuke had really learned was chakra flow, which was advanced but less so than one might think. When combined with his already advanced nature manipulation, though, it set Sasuke apart. A true prodigy.

Sasuke spun and flung a cluster of shuriken, about half a dozen, towards a distant group of training targets. His fingers flew, and Kakashi knew most of the seals by heart. However, there were seven of them, not the six that he'd been expecting. The shuriken hadn't flown for more than a few seconds before Sasuke exhaled a stream of controlled flame. It clung to the throwing stars, and Kakashi realized it was more than just cloaking them in flame, but actually infusing the blades with it.

Another Uchiha technique.

The blades slammed into the target, several cutting very deep indeed, and igniting the wood in the process. The blades cooled quickly, leaving scorch marks rather than deep smoldering. Sasuke had not yet learned how to infuse the blades with chakra quickly enough. Still, it was an impressive step.

"Katon: Hōsenka Tsumabeni. Infusing shuriken with katon chakra to increase their attacking power," Kakashi said, snapping his book shut. He dropped down from his perch and gave the boy an approving nod. His next words were calculated. "You're becoming a true Uchiha of the Leaf."

Sasuke actually smiled at that, apparently overlooking that his technique was perhaps not quite on par with what Naruto had been doing as of late. Still, with Sasuke's head start on elemental techniques, adding chakra flow to his list of skills would mean that Naruto's new power would only be so far ahead of him.

"Wow, so the Uchiha clan has cool powers too, not just the Hyūga-ttebayo, eh?" Naruto said, hands folded behind his head. Sasuke's expression cooled slightly, "If you can do that stuff, I wonder what awesome stuff Hinata can do."

Kakashi watched Sasuke's reaction to that, and sighed internally. Though he seemed to be trying to hide it, Kakashi knew full well the level of insecurity Naruto's sudden power increase was making him feel. Having been on top for years, and with a goal like his, the idea that Naruto, the Dead Last for so long, was not only catching up but may have surpassed him, was driving Sasuke. For both good and ill.

Sakura, on the other hand...

He turned to the pink-haired genin, relaxed but expectant. Sakura straightened up under the jōnin's monocular gaze, perhaps not brimming with confidence but doing a good job trying to fake it. She gathered herself up and rushed one of the training logs Sasuke had peppered, yelling out at the top of her lungs as she cocked an arm back for a punch. Her arm, from her elbow down to her knuckles, darkened before she slammed the fist into the log. Splinters flew out around her and she yanked her arm back, holding a red-hot shuriken. She made a fist around it and then tossed the hunk down to the dirt. It was not as unrecognizable as she had likely tried to make it, and the heat had made the metal softer, making it easier, but it was still an impressive move.

"A chakra flow technique channeling doton chakra into your body," Kakashi noted, nodding sagely, "I'm impressed, Sakura. That takes a lot of control, and your chakra stores have improved, too. With more practice and your growing talent with sensing you too will be a splendid shinobi."

Kakashi known she had been trying to develop that. Earth techniques had less of a backlash than fire, lightning, or even wind, and her affinity (Sasuke had apparently dug out a book of chakra paper from one of the Uchiha storehouses) made it easier. Still, Sakura lacked the natural genius of Sasuke or the kinesthetic talent of Naruto. Kakashi truly was impressed by her growth. His praise though, was only part of it. Kakashi watched as she turned to Sasuke.

The jōnin frowned as Sasuke, even more socially stunted than Naruto, simply looked off with aloof indifference. The disappointment on Sakura's face was easy to see, even as she tried to hide it. As much as Sasuke had been driving Sakura to be better, and even helping her do so. he also seemed to find issue with actually letting people in. Sakura was trying, though. Oh, how she was trying. It hurt him. It had been only a few months, but he'd rapidly come to understand how Minato-sensei must have felt.

"Wow, that was awesome, Sakura-chan!" Naruto exclaimed, causing the smile on her face to improve slightly. Kakashi sighed but smiled; at least Naruto was still being Naruto in most ways. The jōnin watched as Naruto put on one of his dangerous contemplative expressions. He turned to Kakashi, hands folded behind his head. Those ringed eyes still were strange to look into, though Kakashi was getting more used to it. The kids had to get used to staring into his single normal eye, after all. It was the least he could do.

"Hey, Kakashi-sensei," he began, "With Sakura-chan and Sasuke learning elemental stuff, shouldn't I learn that sort of jutsu too?"

Sakura sort of just stared at him, Sasuke exhaled a sharp hiss of air in what was something between amusement and annoyance. Kakashi contained himself.

"Well, maybe you should focus on mastering your gravity powers and eyes first, hmm?" Kakashi said with his trademark smile. Naruto contemplated this for a moment, frowning slightly. Kakashi could tell Naruto both understood and accepted the answer, even if he didn't like it. The jōnin nearly sighed. Same Naruto.

"Anyway, there is something else I have for you." Kakashi watched as the trio gave their various looks; expectant curiosity from Naruto, the more academic curiosity from Sakura, and the aloof curiosity he so tried to hide behind a facade of indifference from Sasuke. Ah, his beloved newbies who had not yet lost that wonder at everything he said and did. Kakashi understood why Minato-sensei had loved teaching so much.

"Are we not doing a mission today, Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked, applying that analytical mind. Kakashi smiled at her as she continued to explain her reasoning. "If we were going to, we'd have left already, and Team 8 is off doing a mission out of the village. So, are we working on team training?"

"No, not quite, though very good job on that analysis, Sakura," Kakashi replied, honestly impressed. Sakura had a habit of that; many people underestimated Naruto, but in a different way than they did Sakura. He had done it himself, and each time she reminded him how wrong he'd been he still couldn't help but feel a swell of pride. "Today will actually be an off day. However, in three weeks the village will be hosting the Chūnin Exams, and I'm planning to nominate you three for it. Your growth has been impressive, and I think you're ready. It will be a good learning experience for you, I think."

"The Chūnin Exams?" Naruto queried. He had a quizzical look on his face, and Sakura let out a frustrated huff. Kakashi allowed the academic of the team to take the lead on this.

"Don't you know anything, Naruto?" she said, planting her hands on her hips. Kakashi noted she seemed to have recovered quickly, though her heartbeat was still a bit fast from her earlier exertion. She ignored his annoyed expression at the rhetorical question and continued, "The Chūnin Exams are tests to see if a genin is ready to get promoted to the next level. How the hell do you think you'll ever become hokage if you don't know something like that?"

"Bah, details, details!" Naruto exclaimed, waving off his teammate's little jab at him, "I'll just become the strongest ever, and then everyone will have to acknowledge me!"

"Well then, Naruto, if you want people to acknowledge you, performing well in the Chūnin Exams is a great place to start," Kakashi said with a smile. Naruto seemed to consider this, and then smiled.

"Hey, yeah, you're right! I'll blow this thing out the water-ttebayo!"

Kakashi smiled at the enthusiasm. He turned to Sasuke, who was trying his damnedest to keep up that aloof stoicism. Hmm...

"Well, keep in mind, you'll be facing not only the best of Konoha, but the best of other villages too," Kakashi said, letting it sink in. Sasuke perked up at that, just as Kakashi knew he would; the boy cared nothing for rank. Power, though. He craved that.

"Other villages?" Naruto queried. Kakashi nodded.

"Mhm. The Chūnin Exams are an international event. You'll be tested against the best, and it's where legends are first born," he continued. That would make sure that both Naruto and Sasuke were more than sold. Sakura, though... Kakashi watched as her positivity seemed to falter again, and moved to head that off. "I have faith in you," he said, focusing on Sakura in particular. She matched his gaze as he spoke. "All of you. You'll do great, I'm sure."

"Hell yeah! We'll kick everyone's ass, you better believe it, Kakashi-sensei!"

"I'm sure... and, on that note, I actually have a surprise for you all. I've made arrangements for all of you to work with someone who will help get you ready for the exams when we're not working together. The exams are team-based, but I think a little individual training can't hurt."

Kakashi was very good at lying, and he knew the best lies were ones with a hint of truth. He had a hint of truth in this one too; individual training wouldn't hurt them, but the reality of it was a bit deeper. For Naruto, he needed a convincing way to introduce the only person who could be said to know something about both the seal that held in the Kyūbi and his very powerful dōjutsu. He also needed a way to justify taking Sasuke off for a bit of one-on-one time; teaching him more about his own sharingan would go a long way toward mollifying him.

Which is why he'd made plans, most of all, for Sakura.

"I called on an old friend of mine, a colleague from before I became a jōnin-sensei," Kakashi began. "He's a strong doton user, and I think you could learn a lot from him, Sakura. He's a member of the Anbu, no less."

"Wait, you were an Anbu member?" Naruto exclaimed, pointing accusingly at his silver-haired teacher, as if he'd been caught keeping the most dire of secrets. Sakura already knew that little fact, ever since Kakashi had said as much back on the bridge in the Land of Waves. Kakashi shrugged.

"No, of course not," the white-haired man said. Naruto looked confused. Kakashi just smiled. "I was an Anbu Captain."

Silence reigned, and Kakashi noted even Sasuke was giving him a strange look. Apparently, even with all they'd seen, that little declaration had raised all of their opinions. Naruto looked shocked; even the dead last knew the Anbu, and respected them too. Sasuke's brother had been part of it, and that gave him a very unique view of Kakashi, a new perspective... and Kakashi could see a number of questions forming. Kakashi gave him a look that cut off the impending demands, but the jōnin could tell he would need to spend some time talking about that before they could get much training done.

"His name is Tenzō," Kakashi said, turning back to Sakura. He had known she'd know full well who the Anbu were, and what this meant; personal tutoring under an Anbu? He could tell she felt as though she was not good enough, it was easy to see. She had noticed Kakashi's look at Sasuke too; clever girl. There was some irony that while Sasuke was a natural genius and Naruto was almost too rapidly rising in power, it was Sakura more than any of them that could have been perfect for the Anbu.

He wondered if she also knew the level of trust that was being placed when he revealed that not only he, but Tenzō too, were Anbu.

"I'm... not sure, sensei," Sakura said, looking down. "Do you really think I'm good enough for something like that?"

"Your analytical ability is the best of Team 7."

Kakashi was surprised. Naruto turned, but grinned. Sasuke fixed Sakura with stare and a grin. She looked up, face full of shock.

"And your chakra control is the best of all of us." Sasuke folded his arm across his chest, as if trying to put up a small barrier even as he praised his teammate, as if he was compensating. "Never turn down a chance to gain more power."

Kakashi didn't quite like the message, but was not going to say anything here; Sakura needed it. She grinned back at him, flush with enthusiasm, and nodded.

"Right. I'll keep up with both of you."

Sasuke hnn'd at that. Naruto gave her a thumbs up. Kakashi simply smiled. Well, that worked. Naruto and his wild mind didn't stay in one place for long, though. He turned to his teacher with an expectant look.

"What about me, Kakashi-sensei? Do I get to study under some kickass elite ninja?"

Hmm, how to play this. Kakashi considered his options quickly. On one hand, he could reveal the full depths of Jiraiya's prowess; his place as one of the sannin, his tutelage under the Third Hokage, the fact he was the teacher of the Fourth. That he was the 'Legendary Toad Sage,' that he was a master of seals, that he was the only living person who seemed to know anything about the rinnegan, that he was the only living person who really knew anything about Naruto's seal and passenger. It was an option. Or.

"He's an old friend of the hokage," Kakashi said simply, playing things close to the chest. "He's passing through on some business, and I called a favor in."

Naruto looked... not quite crestfallen, but underwhelmed for sure. Kakashi's declaration (read: lie) of having called in a favor did little to forestall the pout that began to grow on the boy's face. Kakashi cut him off before he said anything.

"He is also the only person I know who has encountered a dōjutsu like yours."

Ah, now that got attention, both from Naruto... and from Sasuke. Sasuke kept quiet, though, even as Naruto began to babble on about how maybe this guy could tell him how to activate his ability to make explosive bombs or control puppets with his eyes, amongst other ridiculous theories on possible powers. The more Naruto seemed to learn how to use his eyes, though, the less shocking Kakashi found it that they'd have some strange power like that.

"Which means you're going to tutor me yourself, right?"

Ah. Sasuke. Kakashi grinned internally; he may have called Sakura the best analyst, but he was no slouch himself. Kakashi gave him a questioning look, just to see what would happen. Sasuke shrugged.

"It makes sense, you're... the only one who can teach me about my eyes; clan texts can only do so much," he said, clearly struggling with pats of the statements. Kakashi was impressed; Naruto's new growth must have had even more of an effect than he thought. That, and Kakashi's Anbu revelation likely had a lot to do with it. Sasuke craved answers and he craved power; Kakashi might have both, now, which made him useful.

"Naruto, go to the hokage's office. Your tutor will meet you there. Sakura, Tenzō will be at Training Ground Six. Sasuke... well, stay here," Kakashi said with a playful smile. The various members of Team 7 gave each other looks, then went off. Naruto bolted not long after saying goodbye in a slipshod fashion; he was eager to find this guy who supposedly knew more about his eyes. Sakura was more reluctant, but left after saying goodbye to 'Sasuke-kun.' He actually nodded in reply, sending her blushing. She must have glanced back a dozen times as she walked off.

Kakashi waited for them to go, and then waited some more. Sasuke watched him in silence for several minutes, looking both uncomfortable and curious. Kakashi simply waited.

And waited.

Finally, after nearly ten minutes of silence, Sasuke spoke. He fixed Kakashi with as piercing a gaze as he could muster.

"...tell me about Itachi."

Hiruzen folded his hands in front of his face, elbows propped up, and eyed the man that was, in many ways, his greatest 'rival.' Danzō Shimura and he had been something so long ago, not quite friends (at least anymore) but not enemies. Rivals, yes. Both chasing the hokage's hat. Hiruzen rose to the challenge, and Danzō descended into the shadows. Hiruzen had no doubt about the love Danzō had for the village, but he questioned the other man's methods. Danzō man had been under house arrest for years now, following the official dissolution of Root, but he'd petitioned for a meeting with the hokage. Hiruzen had been inclined to disagree at first, but had been swayed due to the intervention of his old teammates and councilors.

The hokage suspected he knew what this was about. Danzō was smart and connected. Hiruzen knew full well he'd never fully dissolved Root, not really. And Danzō knew that Hiruzen knew, and Hiruzen knew that Danzō knew that he knew. No, this insight into the mind of the other was no new thing. They'd known for decades, with no end in sight, or at least not to Hiruzen's knowledge. He didn't know what Danzō had planned, he knew nothing of what the Darkness of the Shinobi had in store, but he still knew exactly what this was about.

Naruto.

Danzō stood, resting lightly on his cane, a tool of appearances rather than of mobility. He used it only out of habit. The hokage knew full well that even at nearly seventy years old, Danzō was one of the most powerful shinobi in the village, much in the same way that Hiruzen remained a living legend. His single exposed eye was half-lidded, while Hiruzen hid his behind his hands. The rest of the hokage's office was empty; Danzō had requested privacy.

"So, then, Danzō," Hiruzen began, "I hope you understand the gravity of me granting your request, particularly when you were so... concealed in your purpose."

Danzō tapped his cane once, and let out a long breath, nodding once, as if steeling himself. Setting his cane against the hokage's desk, he reached slowly into the folds of his clothes and withdrew a scroll. He held it up by the long end as he spoke.

"For over half a century we have done our duties, in our own ways, to the village. Never did I doubt your love of this village, even if I disagreed with how you showed it." Danzō closed his one eye, and for a brief moment Hiruzen had a thought that Kakashi could have ended up just like Danzō. He almost had. The hokage waited, letting Danzō continue at his own pace.

"We are old, Hiruzen. We won't be around forever, and we both know there are very few candidates to take the position of hokage," he continued, setting the scroll down on the hokage's desk. He backed up afterward, retrieving his cane. It tapped lightly as he adjusted himself, straightened up, and continued to speak.

"That is a list of the full roll and roster of the members of Root, including rough estimations of their skill levels," he explained. Hiruzen's face did not betray the surprise he felt.

"You were told to disband Root years ago."

"You knew full well I never did. No more games, Hiruzen."

"You expect me to believe you don't have some scheme in place here, Danzō?" Hiruzen's voice was mirthful, yet laced with a more serious intent; his mind was stretched as he attempted to work through the plan he knew Danzō must have been putting into action. Danzō sighed and shook his head.

"Of course I have a scheme, Hiruzen," he said, tapping his cane against the ground, "I'm simply telling it to you up front. That list, of all the operatives? I'm giving that as a sign of good faith. The Chūnin Exams are soon, and that list has several teams on it, people I would like to nominate for it. I want to integrate all of them back into the system. I'm stepping out of the shadows, Hiruzen; you know full well what that means."

Hiruzen did, even if his brain raced to put everything together. He suspected (rightfully) that Danzō had not put every bit of his information out there, but plenty of it; the level of dedication to whatever plan he had was truly remarkable.

"This is about Naruto Uzumaki, isn't it?"

Danzō grunted.

"Of course it is, the boy has the potential to surpass even Hashirama Senju himself," the Shimura patriarch said with a decisive tone. It caught Hiruzen off guard; that was a brave declaration, and Danzō saw the opening. He pounced.

"You spent much time concerned with what the recent developments meant for the boy, and what the boy could mean for the village slipped past you."

"He is not a weapon, Danzō," Hiruzen said, eyes narrowing, "Not a tool."

"No, but he could be a hokage."

Silence reigned. Danzō grinned, and Hiruzen knew that his old rival was pressing hard... and winning. Hiruzen folded his hands back in front of him and said nothing. Danzō took it as an opportunity to continue pressing.

"It's hardly a secret, that's his ambition. A delinquent, an orphan... yet also the the child of a hokage and a jinchuuriki, a jinchuuriki himself... and now the bearer of the legendary dōjutsu of the Rikudō Sennin himself."

"I never took you for a man who believed in old myths, Danzō," Hiruzen said, grasping for replies.

"It doesn't matter what I believe, it matters what is. What is in front of us." Danzō tapped his cane for emphasis. "I made mistakes, choices I should not have. I still believe in my path and my methods, yet I am more than aware of my failings. Are you aware of yours?"

Hiruzen's stared for a moment, unable to reply. His eyes grew somber as he remembered his greatest mistake, walking from that ghastly laboratory. Yes. He had made mistakes, more than one. Naruto, too. How many mistakes had he made there?

'Danzō, you shrewd bastard,' the hokage thought coldly, forced to recognize the truth in the words of the man they called the Darkness of the Shinobi. Danzō did not let up.

"We are old men, Hiruzen. Naruto Uzumaki... he has the potential to become the greatest hokage who ever lived, one of the most powerful shinobi ever... if he is prepared. Half a century of schemes and counter-schemes has led to this: We can make him into a true shinobi. Together."

"What do you want, Danzō?" Hiruzen said swiftly. At that moment, the Shimura knew he'd won, at least the first round. He nodded.

"You have called in your old pupil," he said. Hiruzen nodded.

"Jiraiya is a boon. Not only is he the best man to check on the state of the Fouth Hokage's seal, he is also the only man I know to have ever encountered the rinnegan. It is fortunate we have him."

"No doubt. Then, my request is that you allow me to speak with the boy, and assist in his training."

Hiruzen eyed his old rival, mind whirling with possibilities and paths this could take. Yet he knew he was outmaneuvered. With what Danzō offered, and the truth he spoke, how could he say no? He leaned back his chair and sighed.

"Very well. Naruto is on his way here now; I was intending to use one of the training grounds. For the time being, I will allow you to assist in training him. I want to be clear, though; the hokage is a position that is earned, you know this. For all intents and purposes, your house arrest continues except when you petition to train with him... and only while I, or Jiraiya, is present. Understood?"

It was a small thing, an attempt to reassert authority. Danzō knew, though, that he'd won. He tapped his cane and smiled.

"Acceptable."

Of course, his mind already was aflame with ideas of how to usurp these small controls. Danzō believed, truly so, that this path was best. However, he would be damned before he let Hiruzen think he was in complete control, and he was sure that Hiruzen expected just that from him. Yet Danzō was nothing but honest in his true intent; Naruto Uzumaki was something that could not be ignored, now more than ever.

The Root leader, or former leader he supposed, pondered the course the future would take. Even with the information he'd held back, what he'd handed over signed away the true end of his little paramilitary force. Not that he wouldn't always retain some degree of control; he doubted his ninja would easily reintegrate back into the clans, for those that had them. Most of the clans would be leery of allowing a potential foreign agent into their midst. The Hyūga of Root in particular. He expected Torune to rejoin the Aburame, if only due to the rarity and value of his rinkaichū.

Regardless, there were other matters at hand.

"You can come out now, Gama-Sennin," Danzō said, turning to a seemingly blank space. Hiruzen leaned back, apparently forcing a bemused smile onto his face.

"I told you he'd notice, Jiraiya," the hokage said, retrieving his pipe from the desk and planting it into the corner of his mouth. The man, in his full regalia and with his long, wild white hair, faded into few as he dropped his tōton jutsu. Jiraiya's arms were folded across his chest, knowing more than enough about Danzō than to try his theatrics on the elder shinobi. As both a spymaster and a sealmaster, Danzō resembled a dark form of Jiraiya as much as he did Hiruzen. The toad sage had a sort of grudging professional respect for the man, even if he detested his methods; Danzō reminded him far too much of Orochimaru for Jiraiya to ever like the man.

"You wound me with thinking I'd be fooled by something like that, Jiraiya," Danzō said with some annoyance. The sage shrugged.

"If you noticed, you noticed. It was obvious you wouldn't bring it up until afterward anyway," he said, moving a hand to scratch at his chin. Danzō had a desire to wipe the smug grin off the man's face, but endured such desires without reacting. "If you didn't, I'd have questioned your supposed talent. Least it was the latter; you live up to your reputation, I see."

"Tell me, Jiraiya, how goes your hunt for your old serpentine friend?" Danzō asked, causing Jiraiya to frown. Hiruzen tapped his pipe and then sighed; old wounds.

"Well enough," Jiraiya said, bristling at the remark, yet playing it off with an easy smile, "He keeps slipping from hole to hole; I wish I had it as easy as he does doing that, if you know what I mean."

Danzō remained stoic even as Hiruzen suppressed a chuckle at the double entendre. Jiraiya took out a notepad and jotted something down, mumbling something under his breath about that being a good line for his next 'masterpiece.' The Shimura elder drew on all his emotional training to avoid rolling his eyes; only his fingers moved, adjusting on the grip of his cane.

"To the point," Danzō said, clearing his throat just prior. "What are your plans for the Uzumaki boy today, Toad Sage?"

"Ah, well, need to see what he can do. Figured we'd spar a bit, see what's he's learned," Jiraiya replied, tucking his little notebook away. He jerked a finger over toward Hiruzen, "If what sensei has told me is correct, than he's got a rather impressive rate of growth. I wanna see it for myself."

"Acceptable," Danzō replied. Hiruzen held his tongue, though Jiraiya gave him a frown; they wouldn't be baited by the false assertion of authority. Danzō did not let much show, but Hiruzen knew it was just another small game. For as much changed, much stayed the same.

"I volunteer to be his opponent," Danzō continued, "Jiraiya can observe, with his expertise, and it won't be bogged down in any sentimentality he might have for the hokage."

Hiruzen and Jiraiya both contemplated this, and the way it was stated. The pair applied that shinobi skill, that 'looking underneath the underneath,' but in the end it seemed simply a reasonable statement.

"Besides, I have not had a good spar in quite some time," Danzō said with a grin and some mirth. Ah, so he could show emotion still. Jiraiya shrugged, while Hiruzen simply nodded an assent.

"Very well then; I instructed Naruto's jōnin-sensei to send him here after their morning briefing. Prepare a training field and we'll bring him there. Then we see what he can do."

Sakura yawned and stretched, folding her arms behind her as she tried to recline. She had perched herself atop one of the wide wooden training posts, legs dangling idly and bouncing off the wood as she waited for this 'associate' of Kakashi-sensei to arrive. It was, in part, an act; she had felt off for some time, a strangeness to her surroundings that she was unsure she'd be able to notice if it wasn't for the way she'd been refining her ability to sense chakra.

One could train the mind to push aside distractions to focus on a sound, or focus on the sight of an object, yet this did not stop one from seeing or hearing normally. For someone who had woken up the part of them that sensed chakra, with that fine control it required, this was not so different. She had picked on something 'off' a bit after she'd arrived and had been attempting to 'sense out,' as it were, the source of this feeling. It was not possible to read emotion, and it wasn't killing intent, but it was... something. Natural, yet out of place.

Her legs swung back down and she jumped up, leaving behind an explosive tag connected to the training log. She brought her arms up to shield herself from the explosion, letting the blast wave push her back. She rotated mid-air, and tried to focus her chakra so she could stick a landing. It was rough, and it gouged out trenches in the dirt, but it worked. She surveyed the devastation, eyes widening in shock as a man emerged from the billowing smoke.

"I'm impressed. When Kakashi-senpai mentioned you had managed to become a sensor at such an age, I was expecting something less," the man said, odd hitai-ite framing his face. "But you did quite well."

"You're Kakashi-sensei's friend? Tenzō, right?"

The man seemed to smile more at the word friend, though Sakura didn't really notice. He simply nodded.

"That's right," he said, utterly nonchalant despite being hidden inside the wooden post seconds ago. Absently, he glanced behind him and noticed it was destroyed. He formed a few seals, slamming his palm to the ground and causing a new post to shoot up to replace it. Sakura watched in wonder.

"But that's Mokuton!" she said. The man, this Tenzō, smiled and folded his arms across his chest, "I thought only the First Hokage could do that? Are you a Senju, then?"

"Not exactly, though you are correct, it is Mokuton. Kakashi-senpai said you were smart, but he did not do it justice, well done."

Sakura blushed at the praise, folding her arms behind her and circling the dirt with her foot, "Well, uh, I did get top marks in my class on that. I've been working on genjutsu too, and my taijutsu with Sasuke-kun."

"And your ninjutsu?"

Sakura froze up. That had... not been her best subject. Not her worst, of course, but...

"It's... a work in progress," she said sheepishly. Tenzō just nodded. He brought a hand up to his chin.

"You seem remarkably calm about all of this," he said. She paused, and then shrugged.

"I've seen some things lately. Honestly, I'm just trying not to be so shocked anymore," she said. "I froze up before when I was needed. I'm not going to do it again."

"Well, you are learning to be a shinobi. Good." Tenzō smiled as he approached. Sakura pondered for a moment, taking it all in; except for the strange forehead protector, Tenzō didn't really seem that odd. His uniform was more or less standard of Konoha, not unlike Kakashi-sensei's (though he had his own odd trait, using his hitai-ite to block off his hidden sharingan). Despite that, though, this unremarkable-looking shinobi possessed a power that was nearly unheard of.

"So, how did you learn Mokuton, then? Is it something that can be taught?" she asked, perhaps even eager on the last part. If she could learn that, she'd never fall behind Sasuke or Naruto. However, Tenzō's expression dashed those thoughts before he spoke.

"No. It is a complicated and personal story, I apologize. I am flattered you are so interested, though. However, don't worry; I am skilled not just in Mokuton, but its components as well. I have been told you have a Doton affinity, yes? And you've even begun to learn to utilize chakra flow?"

"Uh, yes! Though my chakra reserves aren't that high," she said, somewhat dejected at the last thought.

"But your control is fantastic, or at least that is what Kakashi-senpai said."

That got her to smile again. Tenzō returned it.

"I suspect the best way to help you would be to simply work on your capacity. Chakra is like a muscle; the more you use it, the stronger it gets, but if you overuse it you can damage your body. Though, I suspect you already know that." Sakura didn't gloat or deny it, but it was obvious from her face that he'd been right. "To that end, there is something I think that will do you good. Something like a mix of tree-walking and chakra flow, that requires not so much chakra, but a high amount of control. With practice, it should be both useful and increase your capacity."

"That sounds amazing!" And it did, almost too good to be true, really. It was a small thing, but an important one. She could catch up with Naruto and Sasuke, she just knew it! Tenzō simply nodded as he brought his hands up in front of him.

"Now then, watch closely," he said, and began to form seals.

Naruto felt a combination of frustration and self-consciousness as he was eyed up, not only by the old man hokage but by this strange new guy too, with his flamboyant outfit and strange hitai-ite that had a kanji for oil rather than the symbol of the leaf. The man was eyeing him up and down. This was the hokage's friend, some old dude? How was this guy supposed to help him? Naruto just couldn't believe this guy was some expert that knew something about his kickass dōjutsu. Honestly, all of this just seemed annoying and weird. He folded his arms behind his head and stretched, scowling.

"Well, he's got a winning attitude, at least," the old man said with no shortness of sarcasm. A vein felt like it was throbbing in Naruto's head.

"You got a problem with me, you freaky weirdo?!" he shouted. The man's face scrunched up and he threw himself into a retort.

"Oh, big words coming from a half-pint kid with freaky eyes!"

"Jiraiya. Naruto."

The pair froze, two heads turning to look at Hiruzen. The Third Hokage had a long-suffering and exasperated look on his face. One of his hands was rubbing his temple. He started mumbling about how there was one of them every generation, or something along those lines. The pair seemed sheepish, straightening up under the impressive gaze of the man who had inherited the title of Shinobi no Kami.

"So... are the eyes the same as the ones you encountered?" Hiruzen asked, retrieving his pipe as he did; the sweet smoke particularly useful when dealing with not only these two but Danzō as well. On point, though, Jiraiya may have been the only person that could give any sort of insight into what they were dealing with.

"Well, yeah, they look the same," Jiraiya said. That caused Naruto to perk up; so he had seen them before. "So, kid, what do they do?"

"What, shouldn't you be telling me? What sort of useless guy are you?" Naruto exclaimed. Hiruzen sucked deep on the pipe, trying to blot out the headache that was forming.

"Useless? I'll have you know that I am Jiraiya, the legendary Toad Sage!"

Naruto stared as the man started posing dramatically, causing his opinion to fall even further. He was about to open his mouth for another invective when, once again, Hiruzen stepped in.

"Naruto, he's asking to see what you can do with them, to see if they operate the same," the hokage said, exhaling a long stream of sweet smoke as he did. Naruto stared for a moment, and then hmphed, folding his arms across his chest.

"Well, fine. They seem to give me really cool gravity powers, like grabbing stuff and pushing and all, and I can see chakra too! Plus, ever since I got them, I can make these black rods and weapons and stuff... oh, and if I use a Kage Bunshin, I share vision with it, but that really hurts my head so I can't make many."

"Hold up, kid. Kage Bunshin? Sarutobi, how the hell did a brat like this learn the Second Hokage's clone technique?" Jiraiya looked over to his teacher and frowned when the man just shrugged.

"It's a long story. Suffice to say, Naruto was able to steal the Scroll of Seals and master the technique in just one night. Quite impressive, I think."

"Hehe, that's right! I'm amazing, and totally was even before I got my amazing new eyes! That's why I'm going to become the greatest hokage ever-ttebayo! And don't call me a brat, you weirdo!"

"Then don't call me weirdo, brat!"

The hokage cleared his throat, once against silencing the pair before they really got into bickering. Really, they were so much like each other it was no wonder they fought; that much personality filled up a room. Hopefully it would have more space once they'd gotten outside. The hokage stood, smothering the pipe and straightening himself up. He retrieved his hat and placed it on his head, smiling.

"Well, I think the best thing to do is to simply head to the training ground and get a first-hand look at these eyes in action, don't you think, Jiraiya?"

The next few minutes were slightly productive, Naruto explaining more about his odd powers. He demonstrated the production of the black substance that could be shaped into various physical tools and weapons. That was beyond strange, particularly given it was supposed to be linked to his eyes. Naruto didn't entirely understand the conversation that followed, something about the eyes being an outer displayed effect of inner shifts to his chakra system, and then several questions involving other events or occurrences. It passed right over his head when they went deeper into possible influence from foreign chakra sources, or complications with sealing matrices, so he instead talked about how he once shot a laser from his hand and that got the topic on stuff he actually understood.

"Kid, have you tried any other techniques?" Jiraiya asked as the trio approached their destination. They could see Danzō waiting, even if Naruto had no idea who this other weird old guy was and why he was apparently meeting one weird old guy after the other today.

"What kinda techniques?" Naruto asked, shrugging, "I mean, I've told you pretty much everything. Hinata has been teaching me some cool taijutsu stuff but that's not really a technique I guess."

Jiraiya glanced over to Hiruzen; apparently hoping for answers from his old teacher rather than Naruto, based on his expression.

"Hinata is the eldest daughter of Hiashi Hyūga," the hokage explained simply, and Jiraiya took a moment to take that in, sly grin forming on his face.

"Oh ho, kids got some talent to pull a big name like that," he said, nudging Naruto as he did. The young boy just looked confused (with an additional helping of annoyance, too) like he had been when the two were talking about other boring stuff about seals or something. That, though, he at least figured was about his seal, and this was about Hinata, but...

Adults were confusing.

They arrived at the training field not too long after, an empty field that clearly had seen its share of action before, but it was one Naruto hadn't been to before. The man waiting for them there, old like the hokage, had one arm tucked into his robes and another resting on a gnarled wooden cane. With one eye covered, the man reminded Naruto of Kakashi-sensei, sort of. Naruto eyed him suspiciously. The man looked at him back with a stern expression that sort of pissed him off.

"Who the hell are you, old man?" he shouted, thrusting a finger out at the man. Danzō grunted, but Hiruzen spoke up.

"This is Danzō Shimura. He is a veteran shinobi who was trained by the Second Hokage, as I was."

"Hmph," Naruto said, dropping his accusatory finger and folding his arms across his chest, "Well that's kinda impressive, I guess. But what's he doing here?"

"I will be your opponent today," Danzō quipped, shrugging off his robe to reveal the rest of his arm. It was covered in bandages from hand to shoulder, and then some, with a strange bump around the shoulder joint. The elderly shinobi flexed lightly; clearly the arm had power in it. Its movements were uncoordinated at first, yet rapidly became strong and decisive. Naruto just eyed Danzō incredulously.

"Seriously, some old guy? Come on, I'm too cool to be beating on senior citizens!"

Jiraiya was torn; part of him rather enjoyed the utter irreverence of the kid, but the kid's cockiness and ego were dangerous. If he couldn't back it up, he was very likely to get himself into no end of trouble, endangering not only himself and his teammates, but possibly the village as a whole. As both the bearer of the Kyūbi and, now, the legendary Rinnegan, his loss could double as a strategic boost to any given village. Like many top shinobi, Naruto was as much of a target as an asset, and he didn't have the experience or, probably, the skill to back it up. But even more dangerous than ego that couldn't be backed up was ego that could.

The Toad Sage thought of his old teammate for a moment and suppressed a sour expression.

Danzō settled into a relaxed stance and waited.

"You may begin when ready," he said, almost bored in tone. Naruto glowered, displaying that remarkable propensity to shift between wild emotional displays in an instant. He pushed off, launching himself forward like a bolt of lightning. Jiraiya and the Third watched, analytical minds piecing together the resulting exchange.

Naruto moved quickly, but no faster than one might expect for a young shinobi. Danzō snapped an arm up to block a direct attack from the genin, who seemed overly confident in that strike. All three other older shinobi noticed the signs of Jūken in that form, and deduced its source. The boy had picked up that style quickly, but it was still filtered through his wild mind. Naruto's blow struck, but was rebuffed as a wave of shimmering wind pushed back against him, neutralizing the force of his odd powers.

Danzō had no wasted movements. He swept down with the blocking hand and backhanded Naruto, sending him sprawling onto the ground. Danzō's expression remained stoic, but he spoke before Naruto to leap up or demand explanations.

"Never assume an opponent is unaware of your capabilities, and certainly never assume they're not smart enough to have a way around them," Danzō said. He waited for Naruto to get back up, and then it was his turn to move. His strikes were calculated, slow but still challenging, or at least they were supposed to be for a genin. Naruto was pressed, but not as much as he might have been prior to his time with Hinata; he had taken the taijutsu lessons to heart. But the old man wasn't letting him make contact with any blocks, either, meaning he couldn't do the fancy stuff he'd been shown about shutting down chakra. That annoyed him.

This old guy knew all of his moves! What sort of unfairness was that! What was the point of having a kickass kekkai genkai if folks just knew how to counter it! Well, fine then... he would pull out all the stops, or his name wasn't Naruto Uzumaki! The young man jumped back, making that seal that was becoming a trademark. It was a good thing Hinata had been helping with his chakra control, or he might not have been able to create so few Kage Bunshin, and then he might not have been able to use it at all! His mind swam slightly as the multiple inputs of flooded him. He grinned. Yeah, he had him now. No way could he could be stopped!

Naruto collapsed into bed and groggily pulled the blanket over top of himself. His sweat-drenched jumpsuit was piled up in a corner, and he was only barely dry from the shower that had been barely long enough to rinse himself off. He ached all over, having been thoroughly and repeatedly stopped by the old geezer. Naruto had tried everything, but this Danzō guy has seemed ready for it all. Naruto wasn't really sure how long the fight had gone, but it had lasted until Naruto was simply unable to go on. The old man had kept hitting him with weird symbols and seals that drained his strength. He broke free (a fact that seemed to shock the old geezer at first) but no matter how hard he tried, no matter how he used his clones, Danzō always seemed one step ahead.

The genin grumbled at first, until the old man had knelt next to his sprawled form and said, stern but impressed, that Naruto was one of the most promising and talented genin he had ever seen. But, the man had said, he needed to learn control; Naruto, wild and unpredictable, still forecast so much in his very nature. The old man had slung his arm back up and retrieved his cane, and then gone to talk with the Third and the weird white-haired guy, leaving Naruto to ponder those words.

Even now, finally home and utterly exhausted, he was still thinking. Danzō was strong, and he seemed to know just how to stop Naruto... which meant he'd be the perfect guy to teach Naruto. Maybe, if Hinata wasn't back tomorrow, and the mission didn't take so long, he could go find the guy...

Naruto faded off into sleep, pondering all the cool stuff he bet the old dude with the bandages could teach him. Yeah... it was gonna be great.

Orochimaru lived for anomalies. Every so often, he'd find one and become utterly unable to stop until he'd dissembled and understood every bit of whatever it was he'd found. That knowledge often proved useful in strange and new ways, and led to new avenues. That had been how he'd discovered not only Ryūchi Cave, but the first step to creating the Cursed Seals borne by some of his most powerful and faithful servants. Jūgo was, and remained, such a valuable asset, all because he was an anomaly. He had assets embedded in other villages too, like the red-haired Karin, unaware of her heritage but with unique talents that made her oh so very useful.

Shin, too, had been a treat. That man was a truly remarkable asset, and a fantastic assistant. Had Orochimaru not found him so early in his career, well, who knows how long some of his research would have taken? Between that, and the notes he'd discovered squirreled away in Konoha, he'd been able to conduct far greater experiments than he'd expected. Yet, many were failures still. He hunted for anomalies, and sometimes, he found them. Other times, they found him.

Orochimaru leaned back in his seat, candles flickering. He preferred the low light, though his labs often were more spaciously lit, a concession to practicality. In his private quarters, though, he preferred the more natural flame-based illumination. It was here that he received his various reports and missives from agents, and he had one now, one that required true and full attention, for it was an anomaly like no other.

A child, a mere genin of the Hidden Leaf, had managed to manifest the legendary Rinnegan. Once, Orochimaru had coveted that elegant dōjutsu, but had been unable to gain it. Likewise, the eyes of the sublime yet wretched Itachi had eluded him. Even now, he felt, the world was taunting him, as this new manifestation was from not just any child, but the container for the Nine-Tailed Beast; something he knew full well he could never fully possess, at least not easily. Yet like so many anomalies, while taking their body for himself might be out of the question, obtaining their service was not so hard...

Coincidences were anomalies themselves, and the fact that this child was associated with the younger brother of that accursed Itachi only stood out more. How sublime... this required investigation, and perhaps a rework of plans. To move against the village may not be the wisest, not when he was unsure of how he'd need to act to gain this new asset's compliance.

Author Note:

Uzumaki Ryū Tokkō Tenken means Uzumaki Style Special Attack Heavenly Fist, for the curious.

I've gotten a few reviews that think things are moving a bit fast. I am slowing things down a bit, which is why I didn't rush through the Chūnin Exams as I intended to in this chapter, and instead focus a bit on setting some things up. So thanks for the opinions there. Honestly, it worked out better as things are becoming more fleshed out.

Also for the curious, Sasuke's use of Katon: Hōsenka Tsumabeni is essentially a slightly more advanced version of what he did on his own against Orochimaru in the Forest of Death. There, he used Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu to hide shuriken. The difference with Katon: Hōsenka Tsumabeni being the merging of Chakra Flow, which is basically the core of everything Sasuke has been learning. The technique was demonstrated in canon by Itachi.

Tōton Jutsu is Transparent Escape Technique.

Beta Note:
If only I'd scrolled down and read this earlier... I almost corrected 'Tōton' to 'Doton'.