Team 7 approached the training ground with confidence, matching smirks on their faces. They were nearly strutting the last few feet before they stopped in front of the team they were to fight. Naruto's smile immediately faltered and he looked down. 'Why, of all the teams out there, why did it have to be this team? I can't fight them… I can't hurt them… why do I have to meet them as adversaries? Is this the price of gaining the power I have? Losing my friends? …Not that I ever really gained them in this life to begin with…'

"NARUTO!" Sakura shouted, slapping his face, "snap out of it, you idiot! What the hell are you doing?!" She crossed her arms and huffed, but Naruto saw the worry shining in her eyes.

"I…" he started.

"Don't tell me… you're scared dobe?" Sasuke interrupted condescendingly. Naruto immediately bristled, all reservations gone. Sasuke had always had that effect on him.

"Hell no, teme! I was just feeling bad that we'd be beating up people we'd never met!" Naruto shouted, annoyed. Sure this Sasuke was more tolerable than the old one, but he could still be an ass.

"How are you so sure that you rookies will beat us? My team is fated to win this battle," Neji butted in, pissed that this brat would dare to speak that way about him and his team. Tenten groaned at her teammate's antics and Lee began doing push-ups. Not even he was sure why. Naruto sighed. 'I forgot. Neji still believes that fate crap right now. And I won't be in the Chuunin Exams to beat some sense into him… I guess this is the perfect opportunity, then…'

"Fate? Don't give me that crap! The outcome of this battle hasn't been decided yet! There's no such thing as fate! We all carve our own paths! And I'll make sure my team wins!" Naruto proclaimed, knowing that Neji wouldn't believe him until he proved it. 'I guess I have to go all-out…'

"Nonsense. You are just struggling futilely against your fate. Accept it and move forward," Neji responded.

"Like hell I will!" Naruto roared, slipping into his Taijutsu stance. Sasuke and Sakura did the same and Team Gai followed their lead. The two teams sized each other up, glaring, and Kakashi, who had hung back to observe his team, stepped forward.

"Alright everyone, it looks like you're all eager to begin, so let's get down to business. Three…" Kakashi began counting down, "two…" Naruto's eyes met Sakura's, then Sasuke's, "one…" his eyes shifted to Team Gai, "begin!" Naruto disappeared. Everyone on the battlefield stood in shock, searching frantically around. Neji activated his Byakugan and methodically scanned around the wide clearing and the thick forest around it. What he found only left him more stunned.

"Did you find him?" Tenten asked.

"Yeah… thousands of him…" Neji replied.

"What?! How are there thousands of him? Your Byakugan can see through clones, right?"

"Of course. However those are all solid." Tenten's eye began twitching.

"Just who is this guy?" Tenten muttered, annoyed.

Seeing their distraction, Sasuke began to rush in, already weaving hand signs for a fire jutsu. Just as he was about to reach them, a tree fell right between them. Both he and Team Gai jumped back at the last minute, barely avoiding being crushed. More trees began to fall in the area and Sasuke jumped further back, cursing.

"Damn that Naruto! What the hell is he thinking?!"

"I'm not sure…" said Sakura, observing the battle carefully. Sasuke stood next to her, fuming.

"I swear I'll beat him senseless when this is over… stupid dobe!"

"Sasuke-kun… look at how they move… they're very skilled Taijutsu users."

"Hn." Sasuke looked back towards the battle, looking for an opening to attack, but they were jumping around too quickly. Neji's Byakugan allowed them to easily dodge all of the trees, but the consistent pacing of the attacks left them no room to go on the offensive. Soon, waves of kunai and wind blades joined the toppling trees, leaving Team Gai dodging constantly without a moment to breathe.

"It doesn't matter that you can see all my attacks, you still can't keep up," the disembodied voice of Naruto rang through the clearing, "forfeit now."

"No way!" the scratched and bruised Tenten shouted, whipping out one of her scrolls. Before she could unleash the weapons inside it, another wave of kunai, wind blades, and trees crashed toward them and it was back to dodging. She swore and Neji's Byakugan eyes narrowed. Lee, meanwhile, was having the time of his life, dodging and flipping and batting weapons out of the air, not the least bit angry. Sasuke stood to the side, arms crossed and scowling.

"That dobe is crazy," he declared. Sakura stayed silent, not sure whether to agree or be impressed. Naruto was, after all, pushing an entire team of genin a year older than them on his own. At her silence, Sasuke's scowl deepened. Both their eyes remained trained on the battle. The rhythm of Naruto's attacks stayed the same for another ten minutes and Team Gai looked ragged and exhausted, panting and bruised. It was then that three Narutos stepped out from the trees and with a series of pops and a cloud of smoke, the rest dispelled. The three Narutos simultaneously sped through hand-signs and then clapped their hands together. The felled trees began to float towards them, seemingly pulled by invisible strings.

"Fuuton: Suspension," all three chanted in sink, and the logs flew at Team Gai, slamming into them and returning to float by the casters, ready to attack again.

"Surrender," the center Naruto commanded steadily, looking each opponent in the eye. All three shook their heads.

"Never," Tenten ground out through her teeth. Naruto sighed hopelessly and readied his trees to fly toward them again, but Lee suddenly had a burst of energy and sped at him. Naruto blocked his kick with the nearest felled tree, which shattered on impact.

"Kaimon: kai! Kyumon: kai!" Lee screamed, coming in with another kick towards Naruto's chest. Naruto ducked but swore when Lee's leg dropped down on his back. He rolled out of reach, created 20 clones, and sped towards his teammates. 'Shit! I was trying to avoid a Taijutsu match. I may have to release all my weights and make use of my full speed.' Halfway to where his teammates were standing, Lee appeared in front of him, two clones in pursuit. Naruto sighed defeatedly and clasped his hands in a ram seal while his clones distracted Lee.

"Time to get serious. Kai!" Naruto felt the weight drop away from his body in an instant and he pulled out two tri-pronged kunai, holding them in front of him in reverse grip. Naruto hesitated for a second, looking between the remaining members of Team Gai and his team.

"Sakura! Sasuke! Keep the other two occupied!" Naruto ordered, gaze hardening. Sakura nodded and Sasuke's scowl deepened but he took his stance.

"Who said you could order me around, dobe?" he shot over his shoulder, glaring, but grudgingly drew his kunai. Naruto simply shrugged and turned his attention back to Lee who had finished disposing of the clones and was turning to face to him. Lee bowed formally and then grinned widely. Naruto bowed back and smirked, beginning to get excited. Then Lee charged in and the two began a fierce Taijutsu back and forth, zooming around the clearing at inhuman speeds. Naruto thought frantically as they exchanged punch after punch. He didn't want to seriously hurt Lee, but he needed to win this. An idea came to him and he created a few clones and they each began forming hand-signs for different jutsu. Naruto threw a strong punch at Lee, purposely overextending and Lee took the bait, grabbing Naruto's arm and flipping him over his shoulder. At the last moment, Naruto threw a kunai and appeared behind his clones, just as they sent their jutsu at the confused Lee. Lee dodged the water bullet but was cut by the invisible wind blades, then felt his feet grabbed and his body submerged in dirt. Naruto stood victoriously above him, dusting off his clothes. He then bent down and chopped the back of Lee's neck, knocking him out.

"Sorry, Lee," he whispered to the unconscious boy before pulling him from the ground and binding him to a tree with ninja wire, "I've been training with the infamous Copy-Ninja. That head-hunter jutsu is one of his favorites." Naruto then turned to check on his teammates. He saw Sakura engaging Tenten in close combat and overpowering her completely, to the point that Tenten was struggling to stand. He new it was unfair because Tenten's strength was in long-range combat and that she was already tired, but he couldn't help but feel proud of Sakura. He shot her a quick thumbs-up when she glanced at him and jumped in to help Sasuke, who was having trouble with Neji. He knew this was also unfair, since Neji was the strongest on Team Gai and also the least injured due to his ability to see the wind blades, but such was ninja life, and they needed to defeat Neji to win. Sasuke glared as Naruto landed next to him and shot a wind blade at Neji, which was dodged expertly.

"Dobe! What the hell are you doing? I can take him myself!" Sasuke roared, turning on Naruto with his hands ready to weave signs. Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Later, Sasuke. First we've got to beat him," Naruto responded, hooking a thumb at Neji. Sasuke's eyes didn't lose their angry fire, but he turned back towards Neji.

"Okay Hyuuga bastard, I'm going to take you out quickly so I can fight this idiot teammate of mine. Prepare yourself," Sasuke declared. Neji's hands were shaking with rage as he clenched them into fists.

"How dare you, you damned Uchiha! I will defeat you here and now! I am the fated winner of this battle!" Neji screamed, his cold exterior crumbling away as they both activated their bloodlines and sprinted at each other. Naruto shook his head hopelessly and threw his Hiraishin kunai between the two of them, appearing and blocking both of their attacks as if they were nothing. His eyes blazed scarlet. He slapped a seal tag on each of them and made a ram seal, his hands a blur.

"Gravity seal: fuin," he said, voice firm, quiet, commanding. Sasuke and Neji both collapsed on the ground, unable to move, glaring at him, "I don't care how much you want to win, don't use techniques that could in a practice match." With that, he whipped out another spool of ninja wire, dragged the immobilized Neji to the tree Lee was tied to, and bound him. He saw Tenten already bound on Lee's other side and Sakura standing proudly a little ways off, looking slightly tired but otherwise fine. He smirked.

"I win," he announced, "and I didn't need fate to do it." Then he clasped his hands in the ram seal again, raising Neji's gravity until he blacked out and then releasing it. He dropped his hands to his sides before glancing disgustedly at Sasuke, who was still on the ground trying desperately to push himself up.

"I expected better from you, Sasuke," Naruto sighed, "just a teammate stepping in to help, a single taunt from your opponent, and you're already angry enough to kill. He's still a comrade from the leaf, you know." Naruto once again clasped his hands in tha ram seal and released the gravity on Sasuke, who stayed silent, walking slowly away from Naruto. Naruto then turned to where Kakashi and Gai were observing and strode quickly toward them.

"Kakashi-sensei," he said, then turned and inclined his head to Gai, "I don't think we've met before, sensei. I'm Naruto Uzumaki." Gai grinned and gave Naruto a thumbs-up, teeth sparkling blindingly.

"I AM MIGHT GAI, MY YOUTHFUL BOY! I MUST SAY, THAT YOUTHFUL MATCH WAS QUITE IMPRESSIVE!" Gai shouted excitedly, shaking Naruto's hand vigorously. Naruto shook back, grip firm, before extracting his hand. Kakashi's questioning gaze was starting to get to him.

"What's up, Kakashi-sensei?"

"I think we need to have a private talk, Naruto," Kakashi said seriously. Naruto shivered slightly but nodded. Kakashi and Naruto walked across the clearing in a slightly tense silence before sitting down on a felled tree trunk at the edge of the clearing. Kakashi asked Naruto to erect a sound barrier, which he did quickly.

"So…" Naruto trailed off, looking expectantly at Kakashi.

"I have a few questions. First of all, most people are at least a little uncomfortable during their first encounter with Might Gai, but you weren't. Why?" Naruto shifted anxiously, looking down, but when he looked up his face looked just as confident as usual.

"Uncomfortable? Of course I was uncomfortable. Why do you think I started talking to you right after his introduction?" Naruto chuckled nervously at the end of his explanation, and Kakashi nodded, accepting it.

"Question two: why did you stop Sasuke and Neji, the Hyuuga boy?"

"The Hyuuga, Neji, was building up chakra in his palm and aiming for Sasuke's heart. Sasuke was running through one-handed seals behind his back…"

"One-handed seals?!" Kakashi cut in, visible eye wide.

"Yeah. He decided to learn them after meeting Haku, thought it was cool or something. Anyway, he was going through the seals for one of his more powerful Katon, which could be incredibly destructive at close-range. They were seriously trying to kill each other, sensei, so I had to do something," Naruto said solemnly.

"I see," Kakashi replied, just as solemn.

"I was hoping you'd talk to Sasuke. I think he'll listen to you more than me right now. Maybe you could also ask Gai-sensei to talk to this Neji? Comrades should protect and help each other, not try to kill each other."

"I'll see what I can do. Thank you, Naruto." Kakashi eye-smiled, beginning to stand up.

"No problem!" Naruto said, also standing up and stretching, "Hey, sensei?"

"Yes, Naruto?"

"However I act, I really love Team 7. It's like my second family. I want Sasuke to be happy, even if I have to beat sense into him before he understands. Please help him."

"I'll do my best, Naruto," Kakashi replied, and meant it.

"Thanks, Kashi-sensei! See ya!" Naruto shouted, smiling broadly as he sprinted toward Sakura, who was healing the members of Team Gai. Kakashi sighed at the nickname, but smiled fondly as he watched Naruto interact with Sakura. 'I love Team 7 too, Naruto. I really do.'

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The lighting was almost non-existent and the air was musty. The sparse candles flickered menacingly with red flames, and the toad sitting cramped in a crack in the wall wanted to be anywhere but here. Still, this was his job, and he needed this information even more than he wanted fresh air, a few flies, and a puddle. The toad silenced his thoughts as a new presence entered the room and the man in the chair began to speak.

"The young Uchiha won't be participating in the exams?"

"No, sir."

"You've confirmed it?"

"Yes, sir."

"Well that certainly does throw a wrench in our plans. This attack will not be quite as simple as I thought. Still, we must have the Uchiha boy. Not just any specimen will do, you know. Sasuke-kun… I want you to come to me on your own… but a push may still be necessary."

"Sir?"

"Get me Kabuto."

"Yes, sir."

The toad disappeared in a small puff of white smoke, its job completed. Miles away, Jiraiya the Toad Sage swore and began rapidly packing his stuff, having to return to Konoha on urgent business.

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A/N: Aaaah! I've done it again! I haven't updated in months! Gaaah! Gomenasai! Gomenasai! Gomenasai! O Yurushikudasai! *bowing on hands and knees and begging you* Please forgive me! Anyway, much later than intended but finally here: chapter 7 of Protector! Yay! Thank you to all those who reviewed and encouraged me to keep writing this! You guys rock! If I get enough requests (and suggestions) I may write a short omake that I can get out quickly so you guys have something in-between this chapter and the next, since it may be a while. School is starting again and this year is even busier for me than last… we'll see what happens. Anyway, enjoy the (short) chapter!

Reviews, favorites, follows, and PMs are appreciated!

All the best!
–Ayame77