A long time ago, in a galaxy that we are currently residing in. An aspiring male writer begin his quest for adventure and fame with one of his written works known as Naruto: Force Unleashed. Unfortunately his noble quest was halted by the power of the dark side, its powerful allure of video games and anime was too much. The dark side unleashed its most powerful technique upon the slowly weakening author, it was the dreaded spell known only as 'Writers Block'.

Now many years later, with the cursed spell finally having been dispersed by the power of a counter technique known as 'Divine Inspiration' and the writer is once again free to remake his uncompleted attempt. Now backed with the power of a thousand fallen souls beside him, he will conquer the dreaded Writers Block and SAVE THE GALAXY!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto nor do I own Star Wars or any franchises related to them, the only thing I own is the idea and creativity behind this story.

Prologue: In Death may we find Life

Konohagakure no Sato

Endless Chasm

0900hrs

Throughout the course of history, the saying that you would witness your life flash before your eyes as you were about to die was rather well known. Apparently nobody had informed the screaming blond-haired boy of this saying as the only thoughts going through his head as he plummeted to his death were along the lines of.

'Oh Kami! I am going to die!'

'I haven't even gotten Sakura-chan to go on a date with me!'

'I still haven't kicked Sasuke-teme's ass in a fair match!'

'I'M GOING TO KILL THAT TOAD HUMPING PERVERT!'

Having stopped screaming as it was just a waste of breath, the boy placed his hands together in a handseal and closed his eyes in a feeble attempt to focus as he tumbled in freefall towards the bottom of the chasm. A faint blue aura glowed around him as sweat started to bead around his forehead, eyes twitching as he tried to concentrate on drawing out more of his inner power known as chakra. Underneath his obscenely bright orange jacket, an intricate seal fizzled to life upon his stomach as it pulsed slightly.

Uzumaki Naruto was in a dire situation, a situation he was in due to his insane new mentor kicking him off the edge of a cliff and into Konoha's deepest chasm. Now that he put some thought into it, maybe the white-haired pervert was just another villager that hated him. Using his desperation for a proper mentor to lower his guard, then now succeeded in disposing of him without any trace left behind. To make matters worse, the Kyuubi no Yoko which was sealed inside him at birth was also refusing to release any of its chakra to the blond.

He could feel the tears building up in his eyes as he realised that this would probably be the end of his life, he would never get to fulfil his dream of becoming the most powerful Hokage. Before he could contemplate more, his eyes and mouth opened in a silent scream as he rammed into a rock outcropping from the side of the chasm. The impact easily shattering several of his ribs as he bounced off and continued to plummet, only in a heap of pain this time.

'F-fuck… can't stay… conscious…' Naruto thought and as if some deity had heard his prayer, unconsciousness took him as he finally collided with the floor of the chasm with a sickening crunch and spray of red viscous liquid.

Konohagakure no Sato

Endless Chasm Entrance

0910

A white-haired man with a rather large stature paced back and forth in front of the massive chasm that lay before him, his face was pale with rivulets of sweat dripping down. He paused for a moment and glanced down the impressive gap in the earth for a few seconds before resuming his pacing, only he was biting his finger nails now too.

'Kuso… where is the gaki? He should have ascended back up the chasm by riding one of the larger Toad summons by now, the Kyuubi would have surely wanted to preserve its own life…' Jiraiya of the Sannin was usually a rather aloof person, which was the total opposite of what he was currently feeling.

Several further minutes of pacing later and the Toad Sage was hyperventilating as he stared down the chasm while on his knees, eyes desperately searching the dark abyss for some kind of sign. He felt tears stinging the edge of his vision as the horrible realisation of what he had just done settled in, he had just killed a child that had not even begin reaching his teen years. Not just any child, he had just murdered the child of the man that he had considered his own son.

"Naruto! Please answer me! I'm sorry! Naruto!" Jiraiya shouted into the chasm, his voice echoing off the walls but there was no response. 'I just killed him… I murdered Naruto… Minato… fuck… I'm so sorry Minato…'

Jiraiya let the tears flow unobstructed down his face and into the chasm, tears of guilt, sorrow, repentance and many other emotions escaping the man in that instance. As the thought settled further into his mind, the white-haired sage found himself considering the act of Seppuku (Ritual Suicide by disembowelment). It sure as hell would not bring his godson back but at the very least, it would grant him release from this life so that he may not have to face the people that had loved the blond-haired boy.

'Yet I can't even do that… Konoha still needs me around. And I still have many regrets that I have not yet settled as well… fuck! What is sensei going to say when I tell him? He's probably going to kill me…' Jiraiya thought morosely, pulling himself back up to his own feet and beginning a slow trudge back towards the Hokage Tower.

Location Unknown

0915

Ba-dump

Ba-dump

Ba-dump

Darkness was all there was to see, floating in an endless void of nothingness. He could discern the sound of his own heartbeat amidst the silence, a slow rhythmic thumping that echoed inside his head. Where was he? What happened? How did he end up in this situation? Questions upon questions piled up inside his head before a sudden moment of clarity struck him.

'The Chunnin Exams… I was training for the finals. That man… he pushed me down into the hole… just like the rest… nobody will acknowledge me…'

Naruto seemed to shrink in upon himself at these thoughts, curling up into a fetal position as his body floating through the void.

'Nobody wants me… Kakashi pawned me off to a random instructor…'

'Sakura thinks I am an annoyance… she would never go out with me…'

'Sasuke thinks that I'm holding him back… that I'm just a dobe…'

'Even the Kyuubi would rather die than continue existing inside me… I am… unwanted…'

Feeling a sudden overwhelming urge to sleep, he decided to give in as his eyelids fluttered shut and his breathing started to even out and slow down. Just as he was about to surrender himself to the void, a strange sensation surrounded his body in a way that intrigued him enough to crack his eyes open again. Wrapped around his form and drifting in the void around him were wisps of translucent bright-blue energy that seemed to flow like water.

'Greetings young one.'

The voice had the same properties as the energy, liquid-like, velvety and seemed to just flow into his head.

'Hello? Is someone else here?'

'We are here, yet at the same time we are not. We are everywhere… yet we are nowhere.'

'…okay? So what are you doing here Voice-san?'

'The same reason you are young one.'

'And that is?'

'To find a purpose.'

This seemed to stun the blond-haired boy for a moment, not expecting to find another kindred soul in the desolate empty void that he had found himself in.

'How long have you been here? Did you manage to find your purpose?'

'We have been waiting for a long time, too long for any of your kind to comprehend. We seek purpose, yet nobody could hear our calls… until now.'

'Does that mean you have found your purpose? What is it?'

'You. You are our purpose.' Seeing the confused expression that had appeared on the boy, the voice decided to elaborate. 'Our calls have always carried on unheard but you heard us… you can feel us.'

'What… what are you?'

'We go by many names. The One. Mother Nature. Fate. Destiny. These are all names that people use to describe us. However we are known just as the Force. We are the force that drives this planet and its diverse forms of life, we are the force that holds everything together, and we are the force that binds people together.'

As the voice explained, though the explanation was vague and uninformative. Naruto realised that he somehow suddenly knew what the voice was talking about, he could feel what the voice was talking about. He could feel the energy flowing over his form, he could also feel the energy flowing through his form as it granted him clarity and the feeling that he could accomplish anything.

'What am I supposed to do? The last thing I remembered is an intense feeling of pain as I fell to my death… I don't even know how I got here.'

'Rest assured that it is not yet your time to join us young one. Your tenant is to thank for that, your body is currently being healed by the energy of the sealed entity.'

'Kyuubi? The Kyuubi is healing me? I thought that it wanted me to die…'

'I cannot answer on behalf of Kyuubi. That answer is something you will have to seek on your own. However I can grant you an answer to your original question. My power is for you to accomplish what you will, be it for good or evil. I am neither light nor dark, how you wield me is entirely up to your own discretion.'

Naruto stared silently into the dark void as he processed what the voice, the Force, had just told him. He now had a second chance at life, wielding a powerful new kind of energy that nobody before him had possessed before. He could use this newfound power to hurt all who have ever wronged him or he could use it to make them acknowledge him.

'I…I will show them… I will show them all that I am not a failure. I will prove to them that Uzumaki Naruto is not a failure.'

'If that is what you wish, I will instruct you in the ways of the Force.'

'What will I be able to accomplish with this Force power?'

'You will be able to grasp objects with just your mind, focusing the energy into an explosive blast or into a vortex that will pull everything towards you. You will be able to influence the thoughts of weak-willed people, the ability to convert the Force into arcs of lightning that will sear your opponents. That is just the beginning.'

'How am I supposed to train in your ways?'

'Right now we are inside your mind young one. Your body was heavily damaged by the fall and even with my assistance, the Kyuubi will take several weeks to fully restore your body to its peak condition.'

'The finals of the Chunnin Exams are in a months' time! How am I supposed to train for it when my body is still recovering?'

'Right now I have entered you into a Meditative Trance, it is a special ability that Force-users can use. While in a Meditative Trance, time passes five times slower while you are in this trance so only an hour passes in the outside world for every five inside here. During this period, I will instruct you on the basis of Force powers and train you up into a proper Force-user.'

'What about food and water? Won't my body die due to a lack of them?'

'That is another feature of a Meditative Trance, your metabolism rate slows to a crawl while in the trance. It is almost like you are hibernating during this period, combined with your tenant healing you, your body will remain in working condition albeit a little malnourished.'

'Okay, I'm just going to pretend I understood what you just said.'

'In simpler terms, it is like your body will be asleep for the entire month.'

'Oh! So how when do we start?'

'Right now.'

Hokage Office

0915

"Let me get this straight… you thought it would be a good idea to throw Naruto down into the Endless Chasm just because you wanted him to access the Kyuubi's chakra? You thought that putting him into an uncontrollable life and death situation would cause him to miraculously pull out even an iota of the Kyuubi's chakra?"

"…"

"I trusted you Jiraiya, I trusted you when you gave me your word. That you would use this one month interval to train Naruto up to become a fine shinobi just like his father was… instead you betrayed my trust. You betrayed Naruto's trust… even worse, you betrayed Minato's trust in you that you would look after his son! NARUTO IS DEAD BECAUSE OF YOU!"

"…"

So potent was the Killing Intent being emitted from the enraged Sandaime that even his secretary outside the office had fainted, foaming at the mouth, from the pressure being exerted. The Ansatsu Senjutsu Tokushu Butai (ANBU) members that made up his personal guard were forced to drop the A-ranked Genjutsu that kept them hidden within the shadows, bracing themselves against the walls as they struggled to catch their breath.

However Jiraiya was forced to keep his silence due to a completely different reason, the reason being the wrinkle-filled hand that was clamped down around his throat like an unbreakable vice. The Sandaime Hokage had his arm held out before him, pinning the white-haired Toad Sennin to the wall of his office.

Sarutobi Hiruzen was by no means large or imposing, in fact he had always been on the rather small and lean side. Both of his male students had been taller than him with Jiraiya being the largest as he held both the height and shoulder width. However for all the difference in size, Jiraiya felt that he might as well have been the size of an ant as he gazed into the smouldering rage that burned within his teachers' gaze.

"Not only have you killed a shinobi of our village, the child of a Hokage, but also the Jinchuuriki of our village! Do you know what kind of repercussions would befall us should any of the other villages catch wind of this!?" Hiruzen growled as he spun around and flung his student against the door of his office, breaking it into pieces and sending Jiraiya into the hallway. "You're lucky you're more valuable to the village alive than dead… or I would have killed you where you were standing. You are to keep your silence regarding this issue. Now get out of my sight before I do something I regret."

Jiraiya scrambled to his feet, hand massaging his throat, and performed a deep bow before disappearing in a gust of wind. The ANBU all heaved a hidden sigh of relief as the pressure slowly let up, allowing them to catch their breath and reapply their Genjutsu.

"None of you are to say a single word of what happened in here, SS-ranked secret. If I find out that even an iota of information was released about this, I will hunt down and execute each one of you personally."

"Hai Hokage-sama." All of them acknowledged with a bead of cold sweat forming on their necks at the threat.

"Good, now one of you please help poor Sakazuki-san outside before she chokes on her own saliva."

One of the ANBU snapped off a salute before walking out the office to assist the secretary, the remainder stepped back into the shadows of their illusion. The elderly Hokage sighed tiredly as he collapsed back into his seat, burying his face in his hands. Saving himself the humiliation of allowing his subordinates to see the tears that flowed down his cheeks, tears of grief and sorrow at the apparent death of his surrogate grandson.

One Month Later

Bottom of Endless Chasm

0900hrs

The sound of two muffled impacts broke the concentration of the blond-haired youth sitting cross-legged upon the unforgiving stone ground. Eyes fluttering open from the meditative state he was in, the origin of the noise was revealed to be two completely identical copies of himself that were each holding onto different objects.

Raising himself up from his sitting position, he accepted the objects in hand before he mentally dismissed the two Kage Bunshin as their purpose had been accomplished. Opening the first bag revealed a stack of neatly folded clothes that he had his clone purchase to replace the destroyed orange jumpsuit that clung to his frame. Quickly stripping himself free of his old jumpsuit, he donned the clothes that he had purchased at the advice of someone else.

Once fully outfitted in his new clothes, he turned his attention to the other bandaged item that he had placed onto the ground. Carefully unwrapping the cloth that bound it, revealing a midnight-black sheath decorated with golden kanji markings along it. Placing his hand upon the handle, he grasped it tightly and unsheathed the blade. A well-crafted silver blade greeted him, a simple kodachi that he had his clone buy from a shinobi weapon store. Satisfied with the craftsmanship, he slid the blade back into its housing before tying it to his waist.

'Seems like someone is ready to show his presence to the world once more.'

The voice was not the same one that had tutored him in the ways of the Force, instead this one held a deeper tone and always ended with a growling sound. This was the voice of the Kyuubi no Yoko (Nine-Tailed Demon Fox) that resided in the seal that was painted on his stomach. The five months within his mind had been productive, one of the end results was him forming a much more amicable relationship with his tenant.

'Time to show the world that Uzumaki Naruto is back, better than ever.'

Closing his eyes in preparation, he called out to the Force and felt it respond to his wishes. The energy of the world flowed through him and into his legs as he crouched close to the ground, tensing his leg muscles as a small gust started kicking up around his form despite a complete lack of wind at the bottom of the chasm. Eyes snapping wide open, he leapt upwards whilst releasing the built up energy within himself.

The end result brought a large ear-splitting grin to his face as he felt himself rocketing upwards through the chasm, wind blowing past him as he felt himself ascend higher and higher. Sunlight soon invaded his vision as he blasted out of the crack in the earth, performing a perfect mid-air somersault and landing on his feet.

Looking around as his eyes readjusted to the sunlight, he noted that he had ironically landed in the exact same location that he had been before he was kicked into the chasm. Brushing some imaginary dust of his clothes, he looked up into the sky to determine the time of the day causing his eyes to widen in alarm.

"Kuso! I hope I'm not late for the finals!"

Konohagakure Stadium

0900hrs

The day of the Chunnin Examination Finals had finally arrived, streams of excited villagers and visitors filtered into the stands at a steady pace. Mummers and whispers of excitement filled the air, numerous people discussing about the final line-up of competitors and for whom they had placed their bets on. A special portion of the stands had been cordoned off for competitors as well as their teammates, a few of them had already begin to settle down there.

"Forehead, where the hell are your teammates?"

"Shut it Ino-Bunta (Pig), I'm sure that Kakashi-sensei is at fault for making Sasuke-kun late, he is always doing things like this!" Haruno Sakura shouted out as she shook a fist angrily at an imaginary image of her perpetually late teacher.

"What about Naruto, he isn't down there as well." Ino pointed out as she gestured to the field below.

True enough, gathered on the field that consisted off the main arena of the stadium were the final competitors in the Chunnin Examinations bar a few. Currently gathered on the field were the figures of Hyuuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Aburame Shino, Sabaku no Gaara, Sabaku no Temari and Sabaku no Kankuro. Which meant that three competitors were missing, Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Kinuta Dosu.

"Now that you mentioned it, that's pretty strange. Naruto has never been one to be late for anything…" Sakura admitted as she rubbed her chin in thought. "Actually, I haven't heard anything from or about him for the entire month. I at least catch a glimpse of Kakashi-sensei and Sasuke-kun around town whenever they break from training. It's like he just vanished."

"I'm sure he just found a secret location to train in so that nobody will bother him or spy on him." Came the brash voice of Inuzuka Kiba as he plopped himself down into the seat behind the two gossiping girls.

"Spy on Naruto?" Both of them echoed with equally incredulous expressions on their faces, clearly disbelieving of what the Inuzuka heir had just suggested.

"Hey it could happen! He did defeat me after all!"

"He farted at you…" Ino deadpanned causing a cloud of depression to form around the suddenly sulking boy.

"Don't remind me, I had to endure a week of teasing from both my Kaa-san and Nee-san…"

"Yosh! What youthful conversation were you partaking in my fellow youthful comrades?" A sudden voice cut in, prompting them to look for the source despite them only knowing two particular people who spoke in that manner.

Limping down the stairs with the help of a pair of crutches as well as his female teammates, who shot them an apologetic look, was the form of one Rock Lee. His arm and leg still in casts, a reminder of the ruthlessness of the sand-wielding Suna Genin. Helping him down into one of the front row seats, Tenten turned her curious gaze upon the rest of the Genin in hopes of someone filling them in.

"They were discussing… about the missing… competitors… Two of them… being Naruto… and Sasuke…" Akimichi Chouji kindly explained, though his words were punctuated by the crunching of potato chips that he was stuffing himself with.

"Naruto-kun will surely appear! He is a fellow genius of hard-work and had sworn an oath to defeat Neji-kun during the preliminaries! His youthfulness would not allow him to break such a promise! Yosh!" Lee cried out with vigour, clearly excited to see his genius teammate go up against a fellow dead-last.

"Despite the eccentric way he said it, Lee is right. From what I've heard and seen of Naruto-san, it doesn't seem like he would be one to brake such a solemn promise." Tenten said, adding on to what the bowl-cut Genin had mentioned.

"A-ano, I agree with Lee-san and Tenten-san… N-Naruto-kun wouldn't break any p-promise he makes…" Hyuuga Hinata stated in her usual soft-spoken tone, fingers pressed together in a shy gesture.

"Yeah I agree, Naruto may be loud, annoying and dumb but he would never break a promise that he made. Working with him for all these months has taught me that much about him at least." Sakura said with a smile, convincing herself not to worry about her teammates.

Kage Booth

0900hrs

"Has there been any sign of either Uchiha Sasuke or Uzumaki Naruto?" Sarutobi Hiruzen asked the Jounin beside him, keeping up appearances that the blond Jinchuuriki was missing instead of the actual truth.

"Unfortunately we have had no luck in locating either boys or Kakashi-san. Not to worry Hokage-sama, we have ANBU teams searching for any traces of them."

"I understand…"

Any further words were interrupted by the arrival of several men within the booth, the one in the lead wearing the customary robes of a Kage with two Suna Jounin on either side of him.

"Well if it isn't Kazekage-dono, I trust that the trip here has been of no issue for you?" Hiruzen started the conversation with some friendly banter.

"Not at all. In fact I am rather glad the Chunnin Exams are held here this time. I fear that while you're still young, your body might not have been able to handle the strain of travelling to a different country. Maybe it's time for you to decide on a Godaime (Fifth)?" The Yondaime Kazekage shot back, his tone teasing causing a chuckle to emerge from the elderly Kage.

"Hahaha please don't treat me like an old man, I still have at least another good five years inside this body of mine. Well now, I think it's about time we begin, the audience seems to be getting antsy…" Pushing himself up from his seat, the Sandaime stepped forward to address the crowd.

"I would like to thank everyone for coming to attend Konohagakure Chunnin Selection Examinations! Of all the participants that had gathered here on the first day, their numbers have been whittled down through various tests of intellect, endurance and skill! Now only eight remain, this eight will compete in a tournament style bracket system until only a single winner emerges! We will now start the main tournament matches, please stay and watch till the very end!"

"If there are eight finalists, it appears that two are missing…" The Kazekage commented offhandedly, though it was still heard by the Sandaime.

'When Naruto does not show up, everyone will just assume he quit due to his nerves or for some other reason. I can't let such sensitive information such as our village's Jinchuuriki having died escape.' Hiruzen thought to himself, his eyes betraying the sad thought of not being able to see his surrogate grandson perform in the finals.

Shiranui Genma twirled the senbon in his mouth around as he fished inside of his flak jacket before pulling out a piece of paper, unfurling it he presented it to the awaiting Genin. Expressions of surprise flared across several of their faces.

"That's right. There have been some minor changes to the tournament layout due to the Sound Genin forfeiting due to personal reasons, please check again to see who you will be fighting." Genma explained.

"Hey I have a question." Shikamaru lazily raised a hand to draw the proctor's attention. "What happens to those that don't make it on time for their match?"

"That's simple, if they are not here by the time of their match… they are disqualified."

"Thanks…" Shikamaru replied but was inwardly processing a hundred different thoughts. 'Where the hell are Naruto and Sasuke? They are the last two I expect to not show up for this event… troublesome…'

"Alright you all, if there are no further questions… welcome to the final round of the Chunnin Exams. The arena may be different but the same rules from the preliminaries applies here as well, there are none. The winner is determined by death, knockout or if the opponent acknowledges defeat. However if I determine that the fight is over, I will step in and stop it. Understand?" Genma stated seriously as he locked gazes with each of the participants, frowning when he passed over the youngest son of the Kazekage. 'This one will be a problem…'

Amplifying his voice with chakra, his next instructions echoed clearly throughout the stadium.

"Now the first match will be between Hyuuga Neji and Uzumaki Naruto! All other participants are to vacate the arena and proceed to the waiting area established for you in the stands!" Waiting until only the male Hyuuga remained on the field, he addressed the crowd again. "Seeing as Uzumaki Naruto is not here, a standard allocated waiting time of five minutes is allowed for the participant to arrive. If said participant fails to arrive within the stipulated timing, he will be immediately disqualified!"

"Tsk, looks like fate has declared me to be the victor. At least he was smart enough to back down rather than humiliate himself by turning up." Neji smirked as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch." Genma retorted, deciding that he did not like the kid's attitude, causing the boy to scoff.

"Once fate has decreed your lot in life, nothing can change that…"

Within the Stands

"Hey Shika, did Naruto tell you where he was?" Chouji asked in curiosity, drawing the attention of the other gathered Genin.

"Tsk troublesome, no he did not. I haven't seen him at all during this month as well…" Shikamaru replied, still bothered by the non-attendance of his fellow ex-classmates.

"Don't worry, I'm sure he will be here." Sakura stated with resolution, confidence shining in her eyes.

"Forehead…" Ino did not expect such confidence from her pink-haired rival, especially towards the blond dead-last of the academy.

"Naruto… he has always been there to pull us through when it mattered. During the Wave mission at the bridge and in the Forest of Death, it was always him and Sasuke-kun that got us through… so I've decided to put my faith in my teammate that he will once again pull through even when the odds are counting him out."

"Yosh! Sakura-chan is right! Naruto-kun will surely surprise us all once again with the power of his youth!" Lee shouted energetically, waving his crutches in the air.

"Oi! Lee calm down, you'll aggravate your injuries again!" Tenten scolded the Taijutsu specialist causing him to hang his head in apology.

"Heh, so what if your little buddy doesn't turn up? From what I've seen in the prelims, he is as good as dead if he steps foot on that field." Kankuro mocked from his position beside his siblings.

"What did you say make-up boy?!" Kiba growled as he made to get up from his seat, frowning when he was restrained by Hinata.

"It's WARPAINT!" Kankuro shouted back with a vein throbbing on his forehead.

"Not that I want to be the bad guy but… Neji is the rookie of the previous batch of Genin. What are Naruto's chances against a guy like him?" Chouji asked with a small frown.

"Normally I'd say that Neji would straight up trash him… but we haven't heard from the troublesome blond for the entire duration of the month. To me, it means that he must have been training so rigorously that he did not even have time to walk about the village. So it could go either way…" Shikamaru said with a sigh as he stared out at the field. 'Come on Naruto… where the hell are you?'

"One thing I've learnt is not to underestimate Naruto, he is stubborn as hell and cunning as a fox. Even if he can't beat Neji in a straight up fight, he will definitely find a way to give himself the advantage." Kiba grinned as he slammed a fist into an open palm. "This fight is going to be epic, I can't wait to see Naruto wipe that smirk off that arrogant asshole!"

"Naruto…" Sakura bit her lower lip in worry.

Stadium Arena

0910hrs

"Uzumaki Naruto has thirty more seconds to turn up or he will be disqualified from this tournament!" Genma announced, resulting in whispers and grunts of dissatisfaction from the audience.

Genma nervously chewed on the senbon in his mouth, knowing that it was not a good start to the tournament if the participant of the first match did not even turn up. Eyes dropping down to the stopwatch in his hand, he made a sound of annoyance when he noticed that only ten seconds remained.

"It seems I was right after all…" Neji stated as he turned around and started walking back to the waiting area.

"Tsk… Uzumaki Naruto-!" Genma paused when he noticed a shadow falling from the sky, squinting through the glare of the sun he managed to make out a humanoid shape.

Boom!

A cloud of sand was kicked up when the figure impacted the arena floor, obscuring the vision of everyone trying to determine the identity of the person within the cloud of dust.

"Somebody call my name?"

The dust cleared to reveal spiky sandy-blond locks that fell over a pair of cerulean-blue eyes, whisker-like marks decorated each cheek that was spread in a cocky grin. Despite looking thinner than before, everyone could immediately recognise him even though his fashion sense had changed dramatically.

No longer was he wearing the orange eyesore of a jumpsuit, instead in its place was something more practical yet uncommon. Naruto was decked out in robe-like garments similar to the Hyuuga household, except his version was more formfitting and did not hang loosely about his body. They were also grey in colour, two different tones to be precise. And clearly displayed to everyone was the blade attached to his left hip.

Kage Booth

Sarutobi Hiruzen was initially hit by an overwhelming sense of disbelief, then he was forced to smother his urge to jump down into the arena and crush the boy in a hug, there would be time for that later. Instead he reigned in his emotions and refused to allow the tears of happiness to fall down his face, he could not allow such displays in front of his counterpart after all.

Another individual above the Kage Booth had no such restraint, choosing to allow the tears of joy and relief flow as he gazed at the son of his student standing in the arena. Jiraiya wiped his eyes with the back of his hands, not wanting the tears to prevent him from watching the match. Wondering just what his godson had been doing during his so called period of 'death' and how much he had improved, which was clear from the way he had just arrived and how he held himself.

Competitor Booth

"Is that… Naruto?" Ino asked in disbelief, rubbing her eyes before checking again.

"It is! Just thinner and not wearing that horrible monstrosity!" Sakura could not help but cheer in relief, both for his timely appearance and his new wardrobe.

"I can't believe I'm saying this but… he actually looks good!" Ino exclaimed in surprise.

"Maybe he decided to cut back on the ramen?" Kiba joked as he leaned forward in his seat, excitement dancing across his features.

"Yosh! Go Naruto-kun! Go Neji-kun!" Lee shouted from his spot but refrained from making exaggerated actions under the watchful gaze of his teammate.

Arena

"Cutting it a little close kid." Genma drawled as he looked at his stopwatch, a second left on the timer.

"There were some… unforeseen circumstances. I'm here now though, can we start the match?" Naruto asked as he cracked his neck in preparation.

"You should have just stayed away, at least you would have saved yourself the humiliation of losing in front of everybody." Neji stated calmly, an indifferent expression on his face.

"I could say the same to you. However I believe actions speak louder than words, so are you going to stand there flapping your gums all day or are we going to fight?"

His taunt seemed to work as a look of annoyance briefly flittered across the face of the Hyuuga prodigy before it was schooled back into his usual expression, the Doujutsu-wielding Genin settling into his clan's Taijutsu stance. Seeing that both participants were ready for battle, Genma leapt backwards to the arena wall as he shouted out.

"Let the first fight, begin!"

Both participants remained stationary, both of them clearly studying their opponent and waiting for them to make a move. Naruto grinned as he placed a hand on the handle of his kodachi, veins bulged around Neji's eyes as he activated his Byakugan (White-Eye).

"Don't worry, I'm not going to use this blade. In fact, I'm not going to use anything other than Taijutsu to beat you down into the ground." Naruto announced as he smacked a fist into his palm.

"Humph, I see that whatever training you had this month has made you arrogant Uzumaki. However challenging a Hyuuga to a Taijutsu only match is a death-wish, not even Lee has been able to defeat me in straight up Taijutsu!"

"Watch carefully Hanabi, there is no Hyuuga whose blood is thicker than Neji. He is truly a prodigy of the Jūken style of fighting." Hyuuga Hiashi explained to his younger daughter, though inwardly he was sighing. 'A once in a lifetime prodigy and he was born to the branch family, Hizashi… there is truly something wrong with our clan…'

"Hai Otou-san." Hyuuga Hanabi was the younger sister of Hinata by an age gap of two years, she was more proficient than her sister in the Hyuuga martial arts despite the difference in age. 'That boy… he just claimed that he would go up against Neji-niisan in Taijutsu only… interesting.'

"Heh the kid is crazy, declaring that he will win using Taijutsu only against a Hyuuga! I'm not even a Konoha shinobi and I know that is straight up suicide!" Kankuro laughed out loud.

"As much as I don't want to admit it but he is right. What the hell is Naruto thinking?!" Kiba exclaimed as he stood up from his seat, irritation evident on his face. "Naruto you better beat him up good or you'll regret it!"

"Naruto-kun… your flames of youth burn brightly!" Lee cheered even louder at the prospect at an all Taijutsu match.

"N-Naruto-kun…" Hinata stuttered out in worry, her cousin was hailed as a Hyuuga prodigy after all.

"Troublesome…" Shikamaru muttered as he slumped forward, though his eyes were keenly fixed onto the battlefield.

"Go Naruto! Kick his ass!" Sakura pumped her fist in the air as she shouted.

Naruto paused when he heard the shouts, surprise evident on his face as he listened to all the various cheering and praise. Shrugging them off for the moment, he heard the sound of feet hitting the sandy ground and turned to engage his approaching opponent.

"Don't underestimate the Jūken (Gentle-Fist) of the Hyuuga clan!" Neji shouted as he thrust his arm forward, fingertips alight with the blue glow associated with chakra usage.

Naruto exhaled deeply as he surrendered himself to the Force, allowing the all-knowing energy to flow through his limbs and direct his movements. As the Force surged through his body, he realised that he could predict where his opponent was going to strike based on the subtle twitching of muscles as well as displacement of the air. Taking a small step to the right, he twisted his torso slightly just enough for the fingers of his opponent to pass in front of him.

However that did not deter his opponent in the slightest, instead the white-eyed boy seemed to pick up the pace of his attacks. Finger thrusts, palm strikes, back-hand slaps were all mixed into the onslaught of attacks that were flying at him. And each and every single one of them was perfectly evaded or diverted with simple Taijutsu of his own, though he was still being forced backwards by the intensity of the attacks.

A sudden premonition through the Force notified him of a suspicious lull in his opponent's attack pattern, which was proven true when Neji took a small hop backwards before rushing in with a double open-palm thrust. The attack was clearly meant to catch him off guard due to the original pattern of light attacks, aiming to deliver a heavy blow to break through his guard. However instead of backpedalling or raising his arms in an attempt to guard, both of which the Hyuuga prodigy had factored in, Naruto chose to dash forward into his guard.

With a quick upwards slap with both arms, Naruto diverted the attacks of his opponent before drawing his arms back and unleashing a devastating double open-palm thrust of his own. The attack connected with the chest of his opponent, effectively knocking the breath out of him and pushing him back several metres. Here the blond-haired shinobi stood upright again, a grin on his face whilst rolling his neck and shoulders.

"Come now Neji-chan, that can't be everything you got?"

In the Stands

Eyes were bulging and jaws were dropped when the audience witnessed something unexpected, the Uzumaki kid was dominating the Hyuuga prodigy at pure Taijutsu combat! A certain group of Jounin were among the people who were shocked, Sarutobi Asuma even left his jaw hanging for so long that his cigarette fell out.

"That… that's Uzumaki Naruto? Kakashi's brat? The prankster and dead-last of the academy?" Asuma voiced aloud in disbelief.

"I… I don't believe it… his dominating the match! He was matching the Hyuuga blow for blow in a pure Taijutsu fight!" Yuuhi Kurenai gaped at the scene that was still replaying inside her head.

"Hehehe I knew he was something special when I chose to drink his blood outside the Forest of Death! Wooo! Go Naru-chan! Kick that pompous asshole's ass!" Mitarashi Anko was cackling madly as she cheered causing sweat-drops to form on many of her fellow colleagues faces.

"For him to have improved this much over the course of one month…" Maito Gai whispered with narrowed eyes before he suddenly punched his fist into the sky and shouted aloud. "Kakashi my hip rival! Your flames of youth burn brightly for imparting such skills in Taijutsu to young Naruto-kun! Yosh!"

"Somehow… I don't think Kakashi was the one that taught him during the one month interval." Kurenai said, a small frown working its way onto her face.

"Yeah, that perverted scarecrow has never been that proficient at Taijutsu. Not to mention he is as lazy as a Nara! No way could he have brought Naru-chan up to this level of Taijutsu!" Anko added on.

"No, I don't think Kurenai was referring to his teaching skills. What she meant was that the few times we saw Kakashi, he would always be with Uchiha Sasuke. We inferred that he was probably teaching the last Uchiha to properly use his Sharingan and tips on how to fight that Suna Genin with the gourd." Asuma said with a frown as well.

That was certainly something for the gathered Jounin to think about.

"Wooo! Go Naruto! Knock some sense into that asshole!" Kiba shouted out as he slammed his fists onto the railing, turning around he pointed a finger at the surprised Kankuro. "You are so going to get your ass handed to you by him! That is if you even get past my man Shino here!"

"That is illogical, his rate of success is smaller than the size of my Kikaichu…" Shino stated in his calm tone.

Kankuro growled and reached for the bandaged puppet on his back but a strong grip on his arm by his sister, along with a disapproving shake of the head, was enough to stay his actions. Turning his attention back to the field, he ground his teeth and bared with the mocking.

"If you aren't going to come to me, I guess I'll just have to go over to-"

His statement was cut short as he disappeared in a blur of speed, a small cloud of sand rising from the point that he had kicked off.

"-you!"

Neji barely had time to raise his arms in a cross-guard before a haymaker crashed into his guard, the impact forcing him back several steps. He could feel his bones groaning in protest from the hit, something that had only ever happened when he was sparring with Gai before.

'Just how strong are his blows?'

He was not given any more time to think as his Byakugan spotted his blond-haired opponent rushing in from his left flank, he twisted his body around and flung out a jab. Naruto foresaw the attack and easily batted it away before throwing a hook at the side of his opponents' head, which was dodged at the last second by veering his head backwards. A victorious grin broke out across the face of the blond-haired shinobi as he unclenched his fist and grabbed a fistful of his opponents' shirt.

"Gotcha you elusive bastard!"

'Kuso! No choice, I have to reveal my trump card…' Neji cursed as he started to pivot about his right foot, pushing out chakra from all the tenketsu located around his body.

"Kaiten (Heavenly Spin)!"

Naruto was forced to let go in surprise when a dome of rotating chakra expanded around his opponent, the force pushing away everything in an outwards direction. As the Hyuuga prodigy spun to a stop, there were obvious friction markings on the ground around him that depicted just how strong the rotational forces were.

"Otou-san that was?" Hanabi asked as she glanced at her father, whom had an expression of surprise on his face.

"Yes… the Kaiten. A technique from the Hyuuga Main Branch family that is only passed on to the heirs… for him to have mastered it on his own…" Hiashi could not help as a small smile tugged at his lips. 'Brother, you have truly left your legacy behind…'

"Don't blink or you'll miss it because it is already over for you… you are within the field of my divination." Neji spoke out loud as he slid into a low stance, one hand near his outstretched foot and the other hand held out directly behind him.

"Two palms!"

Neji blurred forward in an impressive display of speed as he performed two consecutive jabs towards his blond-haired target, only to blink in shock when he slipped around them. Focusing on his attack once again, another two consecutive jabs were made followed by another four consecutive jabs.

"Four palms!"

The blond slipped through the attacks again.

"Eight palms!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he avoided two before being forced to use his hands to divert the path of the remaining two jabs.

"Sixteen palms!"

Neji gritted his teeth in annoyance and disbelief that his ace-in-the-hole move was having no effect against the dead-last of the academy, he pumped more chakra into his limbs in an effort to increase his speed.

"Thirty-Two palms!"

The intensity of the next sixteen jabs had Naruto on his toes as his sense were forced into overdrive to keep up with the speed at which the jabs were being thrown at him. A small side-step followed by a backhand, a twist of the body followed by an open palm to divert another jab, a tilt of the head followed by a nudge of an elbow. To the people viewing the fight, it looked more like a well-choreographed dance than an actual fight.

"Sixty-Four Palms!"

The final onslaught of thirty-two jabs were delivered at such a blistering pace that it put the previous sixteen to shame, they came at nearly twice the speed and intensity. Sweat started dripping down the neck of the blond Uzumaki when he realised that his body was not conditioned enough to keep up with the pace, even if his senses were honed enough to keep track of the attacks. Several attacks were breaking through his guard, closing the tenketsu points that were hit and numbing the affected area in an instant. Cerulean-blue eyes widened slightly when a particularly powerful thrust slammed into his left shoulder, knocking him off balance just as his opponent reared back to deliver the final blow.

"Hakke Rokujūyon Shō (Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms)!"

The final attack was an open-palm arm thrust that was driven straight at the sternum in a decisive blow to end the match, a strong gust of wind blew out from between the two Genin due to the strength behind the attack. Neji was left panting slightly from the effort that he exerted during his technique, a smile slowly stretched across his face before several fake coughs interrupted him.

"Man that was pretty intense!"

His carefully crafted mask of cold indifference shattered when he noticed that his final attack had been stopped by his opponent, the blond having used both hands to clamp down on his forearm to prevent any further movement. His palm a mere inch away from the grey-robe covered chest of his target.

"Impossible! He just managed to counter one of the strongest techniques of the Hyuuga Taijutsu style!" Hiashi gaped as he rose from his seat in disbelief.

'To provoke such a reaction from my usually emotionless father... you intrigue me Uzumaki Naruto.' Hanabi thought to herself, a small smile on her face.

"That was a pretty close call, just means I have to get my body back into shape again!" Naruto exhaled in relief before he lifted his head and stared straight into the Byakugan of his opponent, a smirk forming upon his face. "Over for me you said? Well looks like I'm still standing, so I guess it's my turn now!"

Tugging the captured arm forward, he tucked it under his left armpit and trapped it there against his ribs in a tight grip. In an attempt to retaliate, Neji aimed a jab with his remaining hand only to have it caught in a grip by the wrist. Not wasting any time, the blond slammed a Force-enhanced knee into the opponent's unprotected stomach.

"Hrk!" Neji grimaced as he coughed out a wad of blood from the blow.

Without any mercy, the unforgiving Force-driven knee slammed home twice again with each time holding significantly more force, Releasing the gasping Genin from his make-shift hold, Naruto delivered a flurry of hooks, jabs and haymakers that found purchase on every inch of the Hyuuga Genin's face before ending with a double rabbit punch to the chest. Neji grunted in pain as his body was blasted backwards, though he managed to stay upright through sheer force of willpower.

Breaking into a run from his stationary position, Naruto accelerated towards his opponent only to stomp his right foot into the ground at the last instance and pivot about it. Transferring the entirety of his built-up momentum into a single devastating roundhouse kick that connected squarely against his opponent in the chest, the force behind the kick blasting Neji straight across the field and into the wall of the arena.

Dust from the impact slowly drifted away to reveal the prone and unmoving form of one Hyuuga Neji, blood leaking from the corners of his mouth.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha!" Genma announced as he lifted the hand of said Genin skyward, subtly whispering to him. "Good fight kid, glad to see that brat get knocked down a peg or two… maybe ten from that beating you gave him."

"I aim to please!" Naruto responder with a mischievous tone, a genuine smile upon his face as he basked in the cheers of the crowd following the aftermath of his victory.

Turning around to make his way back to the competitor waiting area, he clenched his fists as translucent swirls of Force energy gathered around them.

"Through death may we find purpose, through purpose may we find life and through life may we find the Force."

Wow that took more out of me than I expected it too! So after much delay, private messages, reviews, complaints and tons of other things! I bring to you the new revamped story for Naruto Force Unleashed! Hope you will enjoy it as much as the original, which I will be leaving up as a reminder of the difference in my writing skills!

As for the pairing of this story, you can tell it is going to be different already as no similarities remain between this story and the original Force Unleashed. Currently I am heavily leaning towards a Hanabi route, seeing as I have recently discovered a new found addiction to Naruto x Hanabi stories.

Leave your thoughts on the matter?

Ja ne!