Hi guys! I apologize for the long wait but I did get caught with slight writer's block and did lose a bit of my drive to write but here it is the next chapter. This is a pretty long chapter and I hope this would make up for my long absence. I hope you enjoy this chapter! Thank you guys for your support!

*Human/Spirit=Talking*

*Human/Spirit=Thinking/Thoughts/Memories/Flashbacks*

*Demon/Demonic voice=Talking*

*Demon/Demonic voice=Thinking/Thoughts*

Hikari woke up sleepily to the bright morning sun peeking in through the window of the guest room. She gave a loud yawn and rubbed her eyes. "What happened last night…? Oh… Now I remember."

She had trouble sleeping last night, her mind occupied with the worrisome news that Svet gave to them despite her best efforts not to let it bother her too much. Svet had tried to soothe her worries but it didn't help one bit.

"What's the use in worrying anyway? Get it together Hikari. All you can do is prepare and train for the worst just as Tou-san said." Suddenly a loud knock came from the door, knocking Hikari out of her thoughts. "Hikari, wake up. You, Naruto, and Cho have to get to the Academy to take the Exam today." Hanzo said.

"Okay Tou-san." She could hear Hanzo walking away and once he was gone, she yawned loudly and threw the covers off. She got off her bed and went to the bathroom to take a quick shower. Once she was ready, she grabs her scabbard and slips it behind her back with her belt holding it in place.

With a grin, she opened the door only to nearly collide into Naruto. "Morning Nee-san! Come on, today's the Academy Exam! We can't be late!" He cried out as he ran past her straight for the stairs. Hikari could only shake her head and smile at her little brother's excitement. "I'm actually hyped up for this Exam to be honest. I wonder what the Exam will be like?" She thought excitedly.

Cho walked past her, sending her a quiet greeting, before making her way down the stairs. "That's Cho for you. Quiet and serious." She follows Cho closely behind humming a soft tune.

Down at the kitchen, Hanzo, in his usual attire with his hood down and mask gone, had already prepared a simple breakfast for the three teens and was sitting at the table waiting for the teens to arrive. He had learned how to cook food much to everyone's amusement when he had been turned back to a human. It would do him no good if he died from starvation and he wasn't about to let Johnny laugh over his grave if he did.

"Thank the Elder Gods that the fridge is fully stocked. I better go thank Sarutobi after Naruto, Hikari, and Cho leave." He thought, grateful for the elderly man.

Naruto could smell the delicious food as it wafted out from the kitchen making his stomach growl loudly and licked his lips. Once he entered the kitchen and saw the delicious breakfast laid out on the table, he could barely contain himself from gobbling it all up immediately.

Seeing Hanzo, Naruto greeted the older man. "Good morning Naruto. You better eat now or you, your sister, and your friend are going to be late." Naruto nodded and went to take a seat at the table. Taking the chopsticks laid out in front of him, Naruto grinned, "Itadakimasu!" Pulling the chopsticks apart, he then started to dig in.

Hikari and Cho came into the kitchen just as Naruto began to eat and the sight and smell of the delicious food on the table was enough to make their mouths water.

"Oh that smells so good Tou-san." Hikari said.

Naruto swallowed and drank some of his cold green tea. "And it's so delicious Tou-san!" He added.

Hanzo gave them a small smile and thanked them for their compliments. "Hikari, Cho, there's plenty of food for you both. Take a seat and quickly eat your breakfast before it gets cold." The two girls nodded and went to take their seats at the table.

"Itadakimasu!" Hikari cried out, pulling her chopsticks apart, and began to dig into her breakfast just like Naruto who sat beside her.

"Itadakimasu." Cho said quietly and started to eat her food in a quick but neat manner.

Hanzo could only watch in amusement at the three adolescents as he ate his share of the food silently. "Seeing these three eat together never fails to amuse me especially Hikari and Naruto. Those two practically inhale their food ever since they were little."

He could still remember both Hikari and Naruto both gobbling up their food in record time especially when it comes to ramen. Their preaching of ramen is the food of the Elder Gods never fail to crack him up.

Once the trio were finished with their breakfast, they quickly washed their dirty dishes and left the house, thanking Hanzo for the delicious breakfast.

"Thanks for the meal Tou-san!" Both Naruto and Hikari cried out. "Thank you for the meal Master Hanzo." Cho said.

"It's no trouble. Here are the permission slips the Hokage gave me yesterday for you three to attend the Exam. Now off you go. I don't want you three to come back here all because you failed to attend the Exam." Hanzo said.

Naruto gave Hanzo a big grin and replied, "Got it Tou-san!" Come on Hikari Nee-san! I don't want to be late!" Naruto grabbed Hikari's hand and ran for the Academy, not once slowing down despite Hikari's cries at him to slow down.

Cho bowed and left without a word, following the two teens closely behind. Hanzo chuckled as he watches the trio leave. He then grabs his mask and puts it on then pulls his hood up and went on his separate way for the Hokage Tower.

The three teens ran through the still quiet streets and reached the Academy Just as the student body were entering the Academy. A few of the students noticed the newcomers and couldn't help but feel curious about them.

A young girl who looked to be about Naruto's age with dark blue hair styled in a short, levelled hime-cut with long strands of hair framing her pale face walked over to the group. "H-H-Hello. I-I b-believe we h-haven't m-m-met. My name's H-Hinata. What a-are your n-n-names." The young girl stuttered.

"My name's Naruto Uzumaki-Hasashi. This is my big sister, Hikari, and my friend Cho." Naruto said. "Hey there!" Hikari shot the young girl a cheerful smile. Cho muttered a greeting softly almost to the point Hinata had to strain her ears to hear her.

"A-Are y-you h-here for the E-Exam?" She asked.

"Yep!" Naruto said.

"Oh. M-Me too. Then that m-means you're in m-my c-c-class."

"Cool! Good luck on passing the Exam Hinata." Hinata blushed madly and poked her fingers together. "T-Thank y-y-you. I c-can t-take you t- t-to the c-classroom." She said.

"That would be nice Hinata. Lead the way." Hikari said. Hinata nods slightly and beckons them to follow her. The three followed after her into the Academy ignoring the rest of the curious and strange looks directed at them.

Entering the Hokage's office, Hanzo greeted the elderly man with a bow. "Good morning Lord Hokage." Hanzo greeted. "Good morning Hanzo. It's good to see you again." Sarutobi said.

"I am here for the sparring match that you mentioned yesterday."

"Ah yes. The Jounins I have selected for your match are ready and waiting for you. But before we head to the training grounds, may I ask you a question?"

"You may Lord Hokage."

"Please stop with the formalities Hanzo. Just call me Sarutobi. It makes me feel my age." Hanzo nods and lets the old man speak.

"Do you know about chakra and that Naruto, being an Uzumaki, has very large reserves of chakra?" Sarutobi asked the masked man. Hanzo nods, "I do." Hanzo then went on explaining how he had met the nine-tailed demon fox sealed inside Naruto and how said fox told him about chakra and Naruto's unique bloodline.

"You met the fox!? And came out unscathed?" Sarutobi cried out. "Yes. But what I am about to say is for your ears only and nobody else's." Hearing the serious, monotone tone lacing Hanzo's voice, Sarutobi's mouth closed to a thin line and he immediately activated all the anti-spy seals.

"Now what is it you need to tell me Hanzo?" Sarutobi asked with his hands pressed together and his elbows on the arms of his chair.

"I, Hikari, and Cho have chakra as well thanks to the fox." Sarutobi nearly fell off his chair from sheer shock. "WHAT!? How?"

Hanzo told Sarutobi everything. How he, Hikari, and Cho acquired chakra and its explosive effect on him, Naruto, Hikari, and Cho being trained to control their chakra and learning ninjutsus and genjutsus by the fox himself and of Kurama's warning and Svet's grave news from the night before.

Sarutobi sat in his chair dumbfounded and troubled as he slowly processed the information he heard in his head. "These four… are seriously going to give me a headache. I'm too old for this shit."

Sighing heavily, Sarutobi knew how far Danzo would go to secure the 'future' of Konoha. "Danzo would have you both captured once he knows how much chakra you have. I know him too well." Sarutobi muttered angrily.

Hanzo growled under his breath. He was fine with Danzo capturing him but if he so dared touch Hikari, Naruto, and even Cho, no deity would help him escape his wrath.

"And this Scorpion… Do you wish for us to help you seal him away?"

"I fear that it would not do much good. Scorpion's power is what gives me the ability to use Hellfire since he is connected to the Netherrealm or Hell. Without it, I would have no choice but to use chakra and I would like not to reveal that secret just yet." Hanzo said grimly.

"I see… If that is the case, then I wish you luck on controlling Scorpion. I also have another question Hanzo. Have you given any thought of becoming a ninja of Konoha?"

"I have thought about it and I have decided not to become one. I decided to let Hikari take the Academy Exam and become one of Konoha's ninjas because then she will be able to show her loyalty to the village. I have also discussed with Cho's master regarding this before we left and he has agreed that she may become a ninja of Konoha to further prove her clan's loyalty to you. In the meantime, I will be leading the Shirai Ryu clan here temporarily until Hikari has passed her Chujin exam and becomes leader of the clan. Once Naruto is old enough and has passed his Chujin exam too, only then will Hikari pass the reins of leadership to him and be his second-in-command. I will be traveling back and forth to Konoha and Earthrealm to check on the clans though."

Sarutobi nods, respecting Hanzo's decision. "Very well Hanzo. If it is no problem however, would you care to become one of the squad leaders once the students have graduated? I suspect that we may have a four-membered team and we may need two squad leaders."

"I do not mind as long as I get to handle Naruto, Hikari, and Cho. Any other graduate may come and ask for my training if they so wish but they must be prepared for the training that I will give them." Hanzo said.

"Understood. Now come. I will bring you over to the training grounds to meet the Jounins." Sarutobi said, pleased that Hanzo had at least decided to become one of the instructors. He deactivated the seals and beckoned Hanzo to follow him.

"Sarutobi, I'd like to thank you for stocking up the fridge in Naruto's home. But if I may ask, how did you know we would be arriving that day?"

"It is no trouble Hanzo. And as for that, you could say I had a hunch." Sarutobi chuckled. Hanzo raised an eyebrow at the old man's response and silently followed the elderly Hokage to the training grounds.

Hinata led them past through the long hallways and finally came before her classroom. "Ah so here is m-my classroom." She said. Naruto stood in front of the door and could feel his heart pounding away as excitement, nervousness, and a bit of dread filled him.

"What if they don't see me as Naruto and just Kurama?" Naruto was snapped back to reality when he felt Hikari's hand on his shoulder.

"Hey don't worry Naruto. I know you're thinking that the others will look at you and just see Kurama but I'm sure they won't. But if they do…" Hikari flicked her sword out of its scabbard a little, revealing the glinting metal underneath. "They'll have to answer to me." Hikari finished with a cold look.

Naruto felt better from Hikari's words and smiles up at her. "Okay Nee-san. Let's do this!" Cho simply watched the two interact keeping mostly to herself. She knew that Hikari had Naruto's back but she would not leave her to do all the work. Ice started to form slowly underneath her revealing her full intent on protecting Naruto.

"Come on Cho. Don't be so quiet over there." He grabs her hand pulling her close to his side. "Ready?" Cho nods. Naruto shoots her a grin and slides the door open, revealing the myriad of different students sitting at their desks and their teacher standing in front of the classroom.

Hinata mouths them a quiet goodbye and quickly makes her way to her seat partly because she was late and partly because of the killing intent that both Cho and Hikari had unknowingly leaked out. After being so close to such a terrifying power, she needed some time to get her bearings straight.

The teacher, a young man with a scar across his face with his hair tied up into a ponytail, came up to them. "Hello there. The Academy Exam is about to start and we can't be interrupted right now. If you don't have any important news for me, I'm afraid that you three will have to leave." The young man said politely.

The trio showed the teacher the permission slips that the Third Hokage had wrote for them. "As a matter of fact, we do have some important news for you. We're your new students taking the Academy Exam today." Hikari said.

The Chunin read over the permission slips and froze when his eyes landed on Naruto's name on his slip. "Can it be? Naruto!?"

"Naruto is that really you?" asked the surprised Chunin.

Naruto gave the Chunin a grin, "It's me Iruka-sensei."

Iruka was so happy and relieved to see the little troublemaker back in his class once more. He had feared that Naruto had been killed and regretted not apologizing to him sooner for his terrible behavior towards him back when he was a student in his class. Now he was back, alive and still giving him that familiar grin he always had on his face.

"Naruto, you have no idea how glad I am to see you here. Class, we have three new students joining us today. Why don't you three introduce yourselves." Said Iruka.

Hikari nods and turns to face the seated teens. Giving them a warm smile, she formally introduced herself. "My name is Hikari Sol-Hasashi, daughter of the legendary Scorpion."

Cho too also introduced herself in her usual quiet manner. "My name is Cho. My last name is of no importance to you all. I am the second apprentice of Sub-zero." She said, staring blankly at the adolescents.

Naruto puffed out his chest and gave them all a cheeky grin. He points his thumb at himself and with a deep breath, introduces himself before the curious students. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki-Hasashi, son of the legendary Scorpion!"