Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

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Dragon's Blood

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Chapter One

"...Do I have to?" The young man inquired coldly, yet with a hint of trepidation. He wasn't afraid of others. He wasn't afraid of anything. He just didn't like others and they usually didn't like him either. He was the last Slayer alive; an Uzumaki who had activated an ancient bloodline that had eventually been diluted through the ages. At the age of seven, he had been attacked by a group of chuunin seeking to kill the 'demon', the attempt on his life causing him to 'Awaken', which was the first stage of the bloodline. After that, he fled the village and wandered around the world for the past ten years, gradually coming to control and master his bloodline. It wasn't until almost a year ago that he returned to Konoha and took to living in a cave just beyond the village's outskirts, having found caves far more comfortable than normal houses or apartments.

Now, however, he was being forced into attending the Academy by the Sandaime Hokage in order to take the genin exam...

"Yes, Naruto. You can't keep hiding forever." The elderly Sandaime Hokage replied softly with a warm smile, having become something akin to a grandfather to the young man. They stood outside of a classroom in the Academy with Hiruzen in his Hokage robes like usual while Naruto was hidden beneath a hooded black cloak. Sighing heavily, Naruto slowly and reluctantly removed the final barrier between him and the world, passing it over to the Hokage.

Standing at 6'5" with a muscular and lean build and a feral aura, Naruto had bronzed skin that was almost the color of caramel, an array of dark crimson tribal markings covering his body with smaller, more intricate white tribal markings inside the red markings. His once golden blonde hair was now a dark maroon, reaching down to his waist in a shaggy mane that was pulled back into a low pony-tail while his bangs framed his face in rugged curtains that hung down below his broad and muscled chest. His once bright and ever cheerful blue eyes were now a menacing ruby with thin black slit pupils in either iris as both red discs floated in pools of ink darker than night. In his jaws, he had four sharp fang-like canine teeth that stuck out from behind his lips slightly amongst teeth that were sharper than what was normal, his finger tips were armed with pitch black claws confirmed to be sharp enough to rip and shred metal as if it were paper while shorter black claws of identical strength adorned his toes, and his ears were slightly longer than normal and pointed. Three dark crimson markings decorated either of his cheeks that trailed down the sides of his neck and curled forward, connecting in the center of his chest where they formed a ring around a white circle. Decorating his entire back was a set of dark crimson tribal markings that formed an image of stylized over-lapping scale-like designs, the intricate white markings that filled the red markings giving the image better detail and clarity.

Like usual, he was dressed in a pair of baggy dark crimson pants that lightly dragged on the ground and hid his feet from view while white tribal flames decorated the leggings from the cuffs up to his knees, a pure white rope tied around his waist for a belt with the two ends having been dyed blood red, white cloth wrapped around his hands and forearms that left only his clawed fingers uncovered, a pair of dark crimson ANBU-style bracers strapped to his forearms over the wrappings with an additional plate covering the back of his hands, white cloth wrapped around his feet and ankles that left his toes and heels uncovered, dark crimson greaves strapped to his shins over the wrappings that included an armored plate that covered the tops of his feet, and a dark green three-inch long hexagonal gem hanging from a black cord with a pair of large four-inch long fangs flanking the crystal. Crossed behind his waist were a pair of short swords made from what seemed like giant fangs or bones that had been shaved and sharpened into dangerous weapons with black leather wrapped around the foot-long handles while the narrow and slightly curved 'blades' were roughly two and a half feet in length.

The only thing he didn't like about himself was the fact he was so big...but at least it was better than being a scrawny midget, in his opinion...

"...Are you sure there isn't another way?" Naruto asked quietly, casting a mildly hesitant side-long glance at his surrogate grandfather. Hiruzen could only smile and chuckle at the young man's reluctance. He couldn't blame him. Wordlessly, Hiruzen ushered him into the classroom, disappearing via Shunshin before Naruto could turn around. Growling quietly under his breath with a slight snarl, Naruto turned to face forward again, only to go silent and freeze in place, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of so many people being in one room.

"Uzumaki Naruto, correct?" The scarred chuunin inquired, getting a slight nod from Naruto as he recomposed himself and looked at the man, who was a little unsettled by his eyes and over-all appearance. General reaction. Nothing to worry about. The chuunin then smiled, introducing himself. "I'm Umino Iruka, but for the remainder of the day, please just call me Iruka-sensei. Now, if you'll please go have a seat, we'll get started with the genin exams."

"..." Naruto was silent as he turned his gaze back to the rest of the classroom, searching for a spot that would prove beneficial and amiably comfortable while idly noticing how they all looked a couple years younger than himself. Spotting a young Hyuuga woman in the back that was blushing and looked away briskly when he looked in her direction, Naruto decided she would prove the least...abrasive. Sitting down, Naruto forced a small smile on his face, deciding to politely introduce himself to her. "Hello, I'm Uzumaki Naruto."

"H-Hyuuga Hinata. N-N-Nice to me...meet you, N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata replied shyly, blushing even more furiously as she gazed down at the hands folded in her lap, fidgeting slightly. Glancing at the young woman, Naruto gave her a once over, examining her more closely than he had while searching for a place to sit.

Standing at an even five feet, fifteen year old Hyuuga Hinata held a slender and lithe frame that was hidden beneath a pair of baggy and airy pants with slits in the sides at her hips, a black skin-tight backless and sleeve-less top that did little to hide her impressive D-cup bust and slim waist, black skin-tight arm warmers that went from her wrists up to the middle of her biceps, a lavender colored sash wrapped around her waist, a pair of black shinobi sandals on her feet, and a baggy lavender hoodie over her top with white sleeves and lavender cuffs. Her eyes were the usual pupil-less white as all Hyuuga, but her gaze was soft and kind-hearted. Her skin was a pale cream color and unblemished, the smooth curtain of waist-length obsidian hair contrasting heavily with her complexion. He could only assume it was 'normal' for her, but she had the hood pulled over her head with her hair pulled forward over her left shoulder and her hands were hidden inside the cuffs of her sleeves, looking almost as if she just wanted to disappear into her jacket.

Finding her to be quite beautiful, if not strangely shy, Naruto closed his eyes and adjusted his position, crossing his legs under him as he folded his hands in his lap with his knuckles pressed against each other. While not exactly meditating, it was simply something he did to relax. It also helped pass the time. The only bad thing was that he had to pay attention to how 'deep' of a state he entered because of his powerful elemental affinities. If he reached a certain point, his elements would manifest around him and it had a high risk of injuring someone. Especially, his Fire element.

"...maki Naruto!" Iruka called out, his voice cutting into Naruto's thoughts after what felt like seconds had passed. Slowly opening his eyes, Naruto looked up at the chuunin to find the man smiling at him once more. After the man motioned for Naruto to join him at the front of the class, Iruka cradled his clipboard in preparation to grade the genin-hopeful. "Alright, we'll be doing the ninjutsu portion, so if you don't mind, could you perform the Bunshin, Henge, and the Kawarimi, please?"

"...Kage Bunshin." Naruto muttered quietly without forming a single handseal while two exact and solid copies of himself came into existence via clouds of smoke, all three simply standing there with their arms crossed over their chests. While Iruka was shocked, the chuunin had been 'warned' of Naruto having excessively high amounts of chakra, keeping him from performing certain aspects unlike others his age. It's not like more advanced clone techniques weren't allowed. Even a couple of the students that were expected to pass knew at least one. That was when Naruto performed the Henge without a stating the name of the technique and making a handseal, each of them changing into one of the three deceased Hokages of Konoha without leaving their previous stances; the Shodaime, Nidaime, and Yondaime, all standing there with their arms crossed over their chests. Without a sound or handseal, the clones dispelled their disguises before dispelling themselves a moment later, revealing Naruto to be on the left instead of in the middle like he had been earlier. "..."

"Excellent. Now, I've already been told you can't perform genjutsu, but it is required that you at least know how to detect and break out of one." Iruka stated before his assistant, another chuunin, stood up and went through a couple handseals before Naruto felt the genjutsu take hold. It was a really basic one that simply robbed a person of their sense of smell. He honestly felt insulted by the pathetic illusion and snorted, expelling a whisp of black smoke. Instantly, the illusion was broken from him gathering a hint of chakra in his lungs to create the smoke, entirely out of habit, but it was enough to break the E-rank genjutsu. "Good, good. You can go sit back down now, Naruto-san."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto walked back to his chosen spot beside Hinata and returned to his previous posture, but this time he kept his eyes open, glancing around the room lazily. He was honestly confused as to how someone could fail that test. It was truly pathetic, really. Naruto was sure he could pass it in his sleep. Cocking an eye brow, he noticed several of the girls in the room giving him strange looks while even more were giving the same looks towards a black haired teen that Naruto suspected to be Uchiha Sasuke. The towering tattooed titan of an Uzumaki snorted again, dismissing the sole surviving Uchiha as nothing more than an emotionally disfunctional and mentally destabilized adolescent. There was nothing special about him, his bloodline, or his deceased kin.

After glancing over the rest of the students in the room, Naruto found himself focusing back on the girl beside him; Hinata. Everything about her was a contradiction to the general personality of her clan. Where they were arrogant and stubborn in their ways, Hinata was shy and submissive. While other Hyuuga had the same solid white eyes, Hinata's were a soft and faint shade of lavender. Even the way she dressed was completely different. Albeit, still baggy, Hyuuga normally preferred robe-like attire while Hinata seemed to prefer something she could easily 'hide' in. Making a mental note to assist the poor girl with her obvious self-confidence issues should they be placed on the same team, Naruto sighed quietly and focused back on the front of the class.

It was only a couple minutes before they were led outside to the Academy's training ground set up behind the facility. Forced to stand, Naruto simply crossed his arms over his chest and waited for his name to be called for the Taijutsu portion of the genin exams. Much like the ninjutsu portion, they were being called alphabetically. This only annoyed Naruto, especially when he realized that none of the other students were all that skilled in taijutsu with the only exception being a few of the clan heirs. A quiet, yet rumbling growl formed in his chest and throat as he realized he would be stuck with a bunch of brats that couldn't do a damn thing. He just knew it was a bad idea. Why couldn't he have just left and become a wandering mercenary or something? It would have been so much simpler and more enjoyable...

"Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto! You're up!" Iruka called out. Sighing heavily, Naruto pushed his way to the front of the crowd and stepped into the designated sparring circle drawn into the soil via white chalk powder. When Sasuke stepped in, Naruto winced at the volume of the rabid fangirls' screaming.

"Damn banshees..." Naruto snarled under his breath with a snort, causing another whisp of black smoke to escape his nostrils. Facing his opponent, Naruto waited for the Uchiha to enter his taijutsu stance before slipping into his own. Bending his legs at the knee and spreading his feet apart until they were a little more than shoulder-width, Naruto kept his left side to Sasuke while bending his left arm with his tensed and partialy curled fingers held at his eye level, his right hand held similarly just above his right hip. Across from him, an arrogant smirk formed on Sasuke's face as he locked gazes with Naruto. The red head's eyes narrowed with destructive anger as he remained stoic, his mouth parting slightly and letting twin streams of black smoke ooze out of the corners of his mouth. The damn brat was pissing him off...

"Hajime!" Iruka called out. Sasuke didn't even have time to blink before Naruto made his move, digging his left foot into the ground while swinging his right foot around, purposefully dragging the claws of his right foot along the ground. Swinging the foot up as it came around in front of him, Naruto kicked some dirt into Sasuke's face, forcing the Uchiha to close his eyes and look away to avoid getting any in his eyes. While he was distracted, Naruto swiftly stomped his right foot back down before swinging his left foot up, catching Sasuke in the ribs on his right side with enough force to crack one and bend the Uchiha over his shin for a moment. Moving just as quick as before, Naruto swung his left foot back down while kicking off the ground, only to slam his right foot into Sasuke's left flank in the same manner, cracking another rib before the Uchiha was sent tumbling a few feet.

"Ah!" Sasuke cried out in pain briefly, stumbling slightly as he got back up onto his feet while trying to ignore the pain in his sides. Glaring daggers at his red haired opponent, Sasuke balled his hands up into fists once more and charged in for an attack. Without warning, Naruto took a single step forward and thrust his right fist into Sasuke's stomach once he was within range, doubling him over, only to retract his hand and bring his right knee up, bashing it into the Uchiha's face. As Sasuke was knocked back up into a standing position, Naruto, having cocked his right hand back again, slammed his right palm into Sasuke's chest, launching him back towards the edge of the ring. Shifting back into his beginning stance, Naruto snorted once more, exhaling yet another whisp of smoke. Scrambling to his feet, Sasuke glared at Naruto with enough hatred that the Slayer thought he was about to spontaneously combust into flames; it wouldn't do much, but it would be some-what amusing if it actually happened. It was only a few seconds before Sasuke came at him again.

"You're going to pay for that!" The Uchiha snarled as he attempted to kick Naruto in the head with a roundhouse with his left foot that was surprisingly swift, but not quick enough to catch Naruto off guard. Instantly, he rose his right hand and blocked the kick with his forearm before lashing out with a powerful left jab that caught Sasuke in the jaw, knocking him back again. However, Naruto didn't let it stop there and stepped into Sasuke's guard while he was disoriented. Grabbing the slightly dazed Uchiha by the collar of his top, Naruto let a fanged grin spread across his face while leaning back.

"Ryuu no Monshou!" Naruto roared before suddenly headbutting Sasuke in the face, flooring the Uchiha and knocking him out in an instant while breaking his nose. As the victor was declared by Mizuki, Iruka came running over to check on Sasuke. Snorting out another breath of black smoke, Naruto crossed his arms and stepped back. "The brat is fine. Too bad his pride is going be scarred for the rest of his life..."

"Mizuki! Keep an eye on the class while I take Sasuke to the nurse to make sure he's okay." Iruka ordered of the other chuunin before Shunshin-ing out of the area with Sasuke's unconscious form. Snorting more heavily than before, Naruto narrowed his eyes and walked back to where he had been earlier, only to have a tiny hand grab his arm to turn him around. He didn't even react as a second one became a fist and struck him across the cheek, but it barely even made his head move, let alone turn his head to the side. He hadn't even felt it. The other person, however, was cradling their most likely broken hand and glaring at him venomously.

"How dare you hurt Sasuke-kun like that?! Who do you think you are?!" Ami, if he recalled right, screamed. Naruto simply stared at her coldly before wrapping his left hand around her face and lifting her off the ground, a slight snarl of anger forming on his face. Those around them could only watch with hesitance and slight fear as they watched the giant easily lift someone off the ground with a single hand by holding onto their face. That, and he had effortlessly and ruthlessly taken down Sasuke, the supposed 'Rookie of the Year', with only a handful of moves.

"I am Uzumaki Naruto and the last Slayer alive. I will not tolerate your attempts to hurt me and insult me nor will I tolerate those of any other. This time, I'll let it slide, but if you do that again..." Naruto trailed off for a moment, squeezing a little harder, just enough to make the purple haired girl cry out faintly, before tossing her back to cower away from him in terror. "...You will soon regret provoking me and meet a swift end shortly after."

"Heh...Sleeping dragon, much?" Inuzuka Kiba teased with Akimichi Chouji. They immediately tensed up when Naruto glanced at them over his shoulder with a smirk, his eyes narrowed slightly with amusement. He liked the sound of that; a sleeping dragon. What better way to describe him than as such? Ignoring the others, Naruto returned to his spot at the back of the crowd, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned back against a tree. His smirk became a slight frown, however, when he realized it wouldn't be much longer before he 'Ascended', achieving the next level of his bloodline. He internally dreaded that day, knowing his life would only get more...irritating...afterwards.

'Why do Slayers have to keep 'evolving'?' Naruto mentally grumbled as he slouched slightly for a moment...

xXx

"Grrrrrrrr..." A long and deep growl continued to rumble in Naruto's chest as he sat at the back of the class by himself, black smoke oozing from his nostrils as he glared at the far wall with his arms crossed over his chest, his Konoha hitai-ate tied around his left bicep on a strip of black cloth. He had been assigned to a team, but not just any team. No, it had to be that one. Team 7, under Hatake Kakashi, consisted of himself, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata. What angered him so much about the team assignment was the fact he had been placed with the Uchiha. That and their sensei was two hours late. He was just thankful that the purple haired banshee from earlier had failed the taijutsu portion and the accuracy test, resulting in her failure to graduate to genin.

"Grrr...Fuck this. I'm going somewhere else." Naruto finally snarled as he stood up and moved to leave, only to have the door slide open and reveal the one-eyed jounin that was to be their sensei. Clenching his jaw tight, Naruto glared into Kakashi's lone eye before snorting out a puff of onyx smog in the jounin's face before stepping aside to let him in. "You're late."

"...I got lost on the road to Life..." Kakashi lied pitifully, succeeding only in making Naruto snort out another cloud of black smoke while Hinata gained a slight frown on her face with Sasuke simply glaring heatedly at Naruto, plotting his revenge against the red head. Eye smiling at them, he motioned for his new students to follow him before leading them to the roof. Sasuke and Hinata sat down on the steps to the balcony while Naruto leaned back against the railing of said balcony behind them, his arms crossed over his chest and eyes locked on the jounin. "Okay...Let's begin with some introductions. I'll go first to start things off. I am Hatake Kakashi and I have no real desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hm...Oh, and I have lots of hobbies. You're next, Smoky."

"...My name is Uzumaki Naruto and I am the last living Slayer of the Uzumaki clan." Naruto began with a growl and a glare at first, irritated by the nickname. His mentioning of being a Slayer confused Hinata slightly, didn't phase Sasuke, and made Kakashi's lone eye widen slightly in surprise. "I like fire, caves, and meat. I dislike arrogance, ignorance, stupidity in general, cowardice, and I will not tolerate the mistreatment of females. My dream...is personal and I refuse to share it. As for my hobbies...Training and sleeping."

"I didn't think 'sleeping' could be considered a hobby, but okay...You're up, White Eyes." Kakashi remarked, making Hinata seemingly sink further into her jacket at the apparent monicker she had earned herself due to her clan's eyes and doujutsu.

"I-I'm Hyuuga Hinata." The dark haired young woman responded, her voice soft-spoken and timid with a slight stutter, but it did catch more of Naruto's attention. He narrowed his eyes slightly, wondering what had happened to make her so nervous and submissive before silently vowing to do whatever he had to in order to fix that problem. "I-I like g-gardening and f-flowers. I d-don't like bu...bullies, fighting, o-or needless vi-violence. My hobbies are making different medicines using the herbs I grow in my garden. M-My d-dream is to one d-day unite the M-Main and B-Branch Houses of the Hyu-Hyuuga clan and abolish the Ca...Caged Bird Seal."

"Your turn, Sunshine." Kakashi stated calmly. Completely disregarding what the Uchiha had to say, Naruto focused his attention on a lizard that was on the railing beside him. It was an unusual one that Naruto found quite interesting due to its coloration; its body was a turquoise blue with dark maroon stripes running horizontally across its back with a dark maroon ring on top of its head that had a small dark maroon dot in the center of it, its under-belly being a biege-ish color while its eyes were a unique red-orange with black vertically slit pupils. Slowly lowering his hand down to the railing, Naruto was kind of intrigued when it fearlessly crawled into his palm. Lifting it up so that it was eye level with him, he maintained his blank look of disinterest as he entered a staring contest of sorts with the gecko up until he heard someone laugh about something, making Naruto jump slightly and blush ever so faintly, but it was hard to tell due to the red markings on his face.

"Hm? What'd I miss?" Naruto mumbled as he glanced over at Kakashi, who was eye smiling at him and chuckling still. That was when Naruto realized that they were the only ones there...

"You've been staring at that lizard for more than ten minutes now. The others have already left." He commented, making Naruto sigh heavily before gently setting the gecko back down on the railing and turning to leave while stuffing his hands in his pockets. Before he got too far, Kakashi called out to him while lazily walking after him. "I was wondering if you'd answer a few questions for me. Would you mind?"

"...You're a lazy fool with no sense of time, but fine. Ask your questions." Naruto remarked, regaining his rather cold and somewhat cruel demeanor as he stopped and turned to Kakashi, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Earlier, you mentioned you were a Slayer. I once knew an Uzumaki and she mentioned that name once before. Would you mind explaining what a Slayer is?" The jounin inquired, making Naruto sigh, knowing that Kakashi was talking about his mother. Not wanting to be over heard by anyone that might be listening in on their conversation, Naruto suddenly grabbed Kakashi by his flak vest before using a Shunshin that surrounded them in a swirling vortex of fire that died out a moment later. Reappearing outside of the entrance to his 'cave', Naruto released the man and motioned for him to follow. "...What are we doing here?"

"I don't want others hearing what I'm undoubtedly going to end up telling you. I may mention that I'm a Slayer rather openly, but I like to keep the details a secret from other people." Naruto responded as he led the jounin down the dark tunnel that had only a few torches scattered along the wall down its length, leaving large pockets of shadow. After a couple minutes, they eventually reached a large open chamber. Kakashi could only stare on in amazement, finding it to be a hidden paradise of sorts.

Taking up most, if not all, of the chamber was a large, natural pool of cool, crystal clear water that was easily two hundred meters in diameter with a circular opening in the ceiling directly over it almost a hundred feet above that was only about seventy-five meters across. Sitting in the center of the pool was a fifty meter wide island of smooth stone with a narrow path of smooth river rocks leading from the shore in front of the tunnel to the island and from the back of the island to the other side of the lake. Two steel posts stuck out of the rock at one side with a large hammock hanging from them while what appeared to be an anvil, a hammer, a pile of unshaped metal, and a pile of random metal objects sat off at the other end of the island. Hanging from the edge of the hole above the island were innumerable leafy vines that nearly reached all the way down to the water, creating a privacy curtain of sorts around the island while even more vines stretched out across the hole to the other side, creating a natural screen of shade that kept the lighting at a comfortable level. Kakashi noticed another tunnel at the back of the chamber, but he couldn't see anything beyond that due to the black bear fur veiling the opening; he could only assume it was Naruto's bedroom or something.

"Come. Sit." Naruto offered as he took a seat on a large, smooth rock at the edge of the water with his legs crossed under him and his hands folded in his lap, his knuckles pressed together; just as he had been sitting while back in the classroom. Kakashi sat down on a second rock that was a couple feet away from the one Naruto was sitting on. "You asked what a Slayer was, correct? A Slayer is an Uzumaki that has awakened a very ancient and powerful bloodline that had once been thought lost to us. It had become so rare that the last Slayer to awaken their Kirinketsu before me died almost fifty years before the Shodaime founded Konoha with the Uchiha clan. As of now, I am both the last known living Uzumaki and the only Slayer left, but a strange anomoly about me is that my Slayer blood is much more potent than what it normal should be due to my ancestry and lineage."

"I see. However, it doesn't exactly answer my question fully. What is this bloodline you speak of? What makes it as powerful as you say it is?" Kakashi inquired, but he figured he already knew the answer after glancing over Naruto's tattoos and seeing him breathe smoke several times already.

"The bloodline is called Kirinketsu and it has multiple stages. The first is the Awakened stage, which is actually where I am right now, but I'll soon be achieving the next stage, which is the Ascended stage. When a Slayer activates their Kirinketsu, they are considered Awakened Slayers and develop the same markings that I myself bear, but at a progressive rate, showing how far they are in their training and how close they are to reaching the Ascended Stage. They also gain a very powerful Fire affinity alongside their natural element, or elements, which are Earth and Water for me." Naruto explained, turning his eyes over to the still mirror-like surface of the water beside him. "Like I just said, the Ascended stage is the next level. When a Slayer reaches that stage, they will sometimes grow a pair of horns on their head and always start to develop armor-like scales on their body. Some have even been reported to grow a tail, but that was a rare trait even when Slayers were common. Anyway, the third stage is that of the Adult Stage, which is mostly just a medium between the Ascended Stage and the final level, the Elder Stage. In the Adult Stage, the Slayer's scales will grow denser and thicker along with spreading a little more while their abilities will be boosted such as a faster healing factor, hotter flames, greater physical strength, and the like. Adult Stage Slayers will also always grow horns if they didn't have them already alongside gaining another boost in their abilities and their scales spreading a bit more. In the last stage, the Elder Stage, the Slayer's scales will spread to a couple more places on their body, their horns will grow more prominent, and Elders have been reported to grow wings that actually gave them the capability to fly, but very few Slayers ever lived long enough to reach that stage mostly due to the wars; the Clan Wars, to be specific. While everything isn't quite that simple, I'm sure you understand that I can't simply reveal everything about my bloodline to you, seeing as you are not one of my clan nor is there a proper reason for me to explain everything to you."

"No, that's alright..." Kakashi, despite the response, was rendered speechless for a few moments by the knowledge, his lone visible eye wide with surprise. "If you don't mind me asking...just what can a Slayer do?"

"As I mentioned earlier, we have very powerful elemental affinities. One is always Fire. The other element, or elements, vary depending on the person. These powerful affinities allow Slayers to utilize raw elemental chakra manipulation in combat instead of having to rely on ninjutsu. An example of which is one of the most basic abilities a Slayer has; it is the ability to actually breathe fire and not in the form of a Katon technique." Naruto explained and just to insure Kakashi got the point, Naruto turned his head to the side before taking a deep breath and exhaling, breathing out a stream of white-hot flame that made Kakashi recoil slightly due to the seering heat that accosted him from several feet away. Stopping and facing Kakashi once more as black smoke leaked out from his mouth, Naruto lazily waved his hand to clear the smog from in front of his face. "We are also gifted with great physical strength that allows us to crush even diamonds in our fists during the later stages of our bloodline's evolutionary cycle, we have powerful natural healing abilities that grow stronger as our Kirinketsu awakens further, a longer life span than what is considered normal due to our originating Uzumaki lineage, and we're very agile, but the level of such usually depends upon the Slayer's build like it normally would for anyone else. Other than that, most of what we can do is limited by our will and what we learn from the clan scrolls. However, I am quite sure you already know, but I am not just a Slayer..."

"...You mean the Kyuubi, right?" Kakashi inquired seriously, getting a nod from Naruto.

"Yes. On the night of my birth, it attacked Konoha and was sealed into me by the Yondaime; you're sensei, might I add." Naruto began while locking gazes with the cyclopian jounin. "Anyway, I figured I would warn you of that because I do not know how I will behave while progressing to the Ascended stage. I might go into a berserker rage if the Kyuubi acts up. For now, that's all I will tell you."

"...Alright. Thank you for your time. Oh, and don't forget to come to Training Ground 13 by sunrise tomorrow morning." Kakashi responded before standing up and walking away, heading down the tunnel towards the exit. Watching the man leave, Naruto sighed quietly before standing and stretching.

"Hmm...barbeque sounds good right about now..." Naruto mumbled to himself as he stood up, scratching under his chin as he made to leave his humble abode in search of dinner...

xXx

Kakashi was far from weak. He had made jounin at the age of thirteen. He was among the strongest of jounin in Konoha. He had been trained by the Yondaime Hokage himself. He had a Sharingan for a left eye. He had participated in and survived the Third Great War. He had been an ANBU Captain. He had copied a thousand techniques...

So why was he getting thrashed so badly by one of his prospective students? One that was self-taught, at that?

"Gah!" The wind was forcefully evicted from Kakashi's lungs as a large tattooed fist buried itself in his gut with the strength to lift him several inches off the ground, only to be retracted while the other came down and slammed into his upper back, smashing the jounin down into the ground. Or rather, he would have been had he not used Kawarimi to replace himself with a log at the last second. Staring down at the crushed remnants of splintered and mulched wood that his right fist still sat in, Naruto snorted out another puff of black smoke before standing up straight again and dusting his hands off.

'God, that kid's a taijutsu monster! Worse than Gai was at that age!' Kakashi mentally cried as he remained hidden amongst the branches of a tree, still holding his stomach in agony. He was pretty sure he had at least three cracked bones in his body, if not more, and that last blow he took to his stomach felt like he was just hit with an Oni's club. Sighing heavily as the pain started fading away slightly, Kakashi leaned his head back against the tree trunk. 'This just isn't my day, is it?'

Not only that, but after being backed into a corner at one point and forced to use a low-level Katon technique, Kakashi had discovered a rather startling fact about his student; he was fire-proof, a side-effect of having such a high Fire affinity. Naruto's skin was also far denser than normal due to his abnormally high Earth affinity, making things even more difficult when it came to trying to cut him with a simple kunai when in close-quarters while thrown kunai and shuriken just didn't have the penetrating power to do little more than scratch and poke him, drawing only a few drops of blood at best. On top of all of this, Naruto was shockingly quick for someone of his size and had ungodly strength that, if Kakashi didn't know any better, the jounin would have sworn Naruto had been taught by Tsunade.

"This is getting boring..." Naruto muttered to himself. Smirking faintly to himself, he found it entertaining how Kakashi had yet to realize that the red head had stolen the bells from the man not long after engaging him in taijutsu. What annoyed him, however, was the apparent purpose for Kakashi's little test. The man wanted them to work together, but Naruto knew that it was virtually impossible to work with the Uchiha brat and he didn't even know the brat. He knew the team was doomed from the start, but that didn't mean Naruto was going to sit back and get sent back to the Academy, which he would undoubtedly be forced to attend by the Sandaime until he was placed on another team. Creating a Kage Bunshin, Naruto watched as it grinned fiendishly before leaping into the tree line. A moment later, a loud crash was heard before a tree started falling over, only for Kakashi to flee the forest in an attempt to put distance between himself and Naruto's clone.

"That should keep him busy for now." Naruto mumbled before creating two more Kage Bunshin and passing a bell to either of them. "Locate the other two and give them a bell. Hinata should be rather easy to deal with, but if Sasuke starts getting out of hand, just knock him out and leave the bell in his pocket or something..."

"Hai." Both of his clones responded before taking off in search of their targets. Heading off to where his clone had chased after Kakashi, Naruto let a fanged grin split his face as he grabbed the leather-bound handles of his rather 'primitive' looking weapons without drawing them just yet. Coming to a stop on a thick branch in a crouch with his hands still resting on the handles of his swords, Naruto's grin grew a bit more as he watched his clone continue to simply smash through every guard Kakashi threw up in order to protect himself. It was obvious that he was better in taijutsu, but Naruto was curious as to whether Kakashi was any good at kenjutsu...

"Well, let's find out." The red head mumbled to himself as he leapt from the branch just as Kakashi managed to dispell his clone with a well-placed rabbit punch to the neck, drawing his bone-like swords as he descended upon the man with a fanged grin...

xXx

"Hm...It seems like Kakashi is late once again..." The Sandaime Hokage grumbled quietly as the other jounin that had taken up teams stood before him along with a few others that simply wanted to attend. The next moment, however, the door opened and a very exhausted Kakashi stumbled into the room, his singed clothes still smoking with small rips and tears throughout it, his lone visible eye wide and unfocused, a few scratches dotting his limbs, he was covered in more than enough bruises for an entire group, he looked rather well concussed, and he was missing his left sandal for some reason. While the crowd of jounin instantly broke out into mutterings and whispers, Hiruzen took one look at Kakashi and sighed. "I take it they passed?"

"Y-Ye-cough-Yeah...Team 7 passes..." Kakashi managed to get out, literally coughing up a bit of smoke as he sunk into one of the few chairs in the room. Walking over to the dazed jounin, Anko, with a look of unconvinced confusion, licked the tip of her index finger and thumb before putting out the small flame burning at the end of a few of Kakashi's hairs.

"So, you're saying a couple of genin did this to you? Impossible." The twenty-four year old purple haired tokubetsu jounin inquired and then stated, but her look of confusion intensified when Kakashi shook his head, only for her eyes to go wide with shock, along with those of the others present, when Kakashi spoke up again.

"Not a team...just one...Just one great, big, brute..." He corrected a bit absently and vaguely, obviously still suffering from a rather hard blow to the head, making Hiruzen smirk slightly while Anko, and everyone else in the room looked to him for an explanation. Thus, the Sandaime sighed once more.

"He's talking about one Uzumaki Naruto, a newly graduated genin that possesses a bloodline that not even the Councils would dare to mess with." While he was absolutely serious about what he just said, Hiruzen couldn't help chuckling at the looks of shock and the whispered disbeliefs from the assembled jounin. Well, at least the ones currently capable of coherent thought. That's when the kunoichi he saw as a daughter/grand-daughter decided to open her mouth...

"Bullshit! There is NO way a fresh-out-of-the-Academy Genin could do THIS-" Anko paused for effect as she jabbed a finger at the still stupified Kakashi. "-to a veteran jounin! Especially one of Kakashi's calibur!"

"Anko...He's a Slayer. You remember what a Slayer is, don't you?" Hiruzen stated calmly and patiently as if he were talking to a child. Anko blinked for a moment as she recalled everything the Sandaime had ever taught her about bloodlines, focusing on the word 'Slayer'. A moment later, she gained a sheepish look and blushed slightly, scratching the back of her neck as she turned her gaze down to the floor. The Hokage merely stared at her for a moment and sighed. "...You forgot, didn't you?"

"Um...Yeah, I did..." Anko answered timidly, looking much like a scolded child at the moment. Once again, Hiruzen sighed, but this time out of exasperation. How was it possible for a grown woman to go from being one of the most talented and, in his opinion, one of the scariest females in Konoha one moment to being so child-like and 'innocent'/immature the next?

"Come see me in my office after the meeting. I'll explain it to you there." The Sandaime stated before shuffling some of the papers on his desk and looking up at the gathered jounin in the room. "Now, on with the meeting. Team One?"

"Failed."

xXx

"Wait, wait, wait! So, this kid has dragon blood running through his veins?!" Anko practically yelled out in shock, drawing a chuckle from Hiruzen while Kakashi, having recomposed himself and changed into a set of fresh clothes, merely sighed at her reaction.

"That's just it's name, Anko, and while his bloodline does share a number of similarities with dragons, there is still no solid evidence that suggests it is actual dragon blood flowing through his body." Kakashi remarked, this time getting another chuckle from the Sandaime along with a knowing smirk from the elderly man. Kakashi narrowed his eye with a deadpan expression. "...Anko was right, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she was." Hiruzen answered while Anko looked like she was just given a life time supply of dango.

"WHOO! IN YOUR FACE, KAKASHI-BAKA!" Anko howled with a shit eating grin as she pumped her fists into the air excitably. Sighing yet again, Hiruzen rubbed his temples, dreading the day Anko and Naruto met. An over-excitable woman with an addiction to scaring people, sharp and/or pointy objects, a strange attraction to blood, and prankster-esque tendencies paired up with a dragon-like juggernaut capable of breathing fire, a very short fuse and anger management problems when it comes to his temper, has a habit of solving 'problems' by setting them on fire, a very vindictive side, and is also a secret master closet-prankster? Konoha would cease to exist if those two became friends...

"Now, as I was say-" Sarutobi Hiruzen was interrupted as Anko ran for the door.

"See ya' later, Old Man! I've got a Dragon Dude to track down!" Was all she yelled over her shoulder before slamming the door shut behind her. As the blood drained from his face, Hiruzen slouched in his comfy chair and stared at the door blankly. The Sandaime's next words would forever haunt Kakashi from then on after questioning the Hokage as to why he said them...

"We're all doomed..."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Ryuu no Monshou- Dragon's Crest

Kirinketsu- Dragon's Blood