Naruto: Rise of the Ultimate Ninja

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Opening 2: Far Away [English Version]

*Instruments*

Squad 7 is seen staring at the sunset with Blaze, Tails, Amy and Knuckles there with them.

Naruto turns around and grins as he tossed a Chaos Emerald at the viewers before the title appears on it:

Naruto: Rise of the Ultimate Ninja

Let's hit the gas, it's time to go
There is no need to hesitate no more

We are going on our way

Naruto is on top of the Fourth Hokage's stone head as he looks up at the sky. Sonic, Shadow and Silver briefly appeared behind him, looking up as well, before they vanished.

Naruto had a surprised expression for a moment as he felt Tails jump on his shoulder. He looked back and saw Amy, Knuckles, Sasuke and Sakura behind him, looking at the two with smiles on their faces.

Naruto grins back at them.

I might regret it it the end
But I don't care how long we have to wait

We will live it day by day

Images appear: One is Naruto is doing a pose from the Sonic Adventure 2 cover. The second is Tails waving happily to the readers. The third is Sasuke in an attack pose. The fourth is Sasuke and Sakura standing back-to-back. The last is Kakashi looking at the readers while reading his book.

The scene changes to show them standing in front of a camera. The camera flashes as Naruto and Tails appears in front of it, making goofy faces, much to Sasuke and Sakura's irritation while Kakashi looked at them.

The camera flashes again, this time showing Sakura punching Naruto upside the head, while Sasuke grabbed Tails by his twins and looked at him in annoyance, making Tails smile sheepishly.

The final shot is Squad 7 together, smiling.

Open up your heart now

Pull your loved ones closer

Everything will be alright!

Team Guy makes an appearance together, along with Squad 10 and Squad 8.

An artwork of Kabuto appears, smiling back at the viewers.

The Proctors of the Chunin Exams, Kurenai, Guy, Asuma and the Third Hokage appear.

Conquering Storm appears with her back turned and looking over her shoulder, a cold half-lidded expression on her face.

I can promise you that…

Your feelings will get far~!

FAR~!

Team Sand appears, before Kankuro and Temari disappear leaving Gaara by himself.

Naruto and Sasuke appear behind Gaara, in the background, as he motions his hands up, making sand cover the screen.

Naruto and Sasuke appear in a pitch black space. The camera moves to Sasuke as eyes, similar to a snake, appears above him.

*Instruments*

Naruto is lying down on the grass, staring up at the night sky. He sits up and his eyes widen as he saw Blaze, her back turned to him. Just as a black and purple mist, that has purple electricity, suddenly appears, she turns around and smiles at him. Just as Naruto reached out to her, she vanished within the mist.

He calls out to her before he gets consumed by the mist. Naruto screams as the mist enters his body before he snapped his eyes open, revealing that they are now slitted green.

So hurry up now!

And let it all out!

Conquering Storm, Neji and Lee are seen in fighting stances. Gaara has his arms crossed.

Naruto and the Masked Boy are seen glaring down at each other.

Though my legs might hurt

I know I'll make it far

'Cause I will fight 'till the end!

Knuckles is on Angel Island looking at the sky as the wind blows past his face. Tails is looking up fearfully at a large cage

Sasuke attacks Zaku at the Preliminary Round.

Blaze attacks a Shinobi as she sent him flying and burning in pain.

Naruto appears, in Nine-Tails mode, as he gives a yell at the viewers.

I'm getting closer!

I know I'll get there!

Amy, Sakura and Ino are seen standing back-to-back with Cherry Blossoms falling in the background.

The left side of Orochimaru's face appears as Sasuke's silhouette is on the right and he's gaining purple marks on his neck.

Dr. Eggman Nega briefly appeared, grinning evilly as a screen appeared in the reflection of his glasses.

The right side of Nazo's face appears as Naruto's feral face appears on the other side, though his sclera is green and his skin begins to turn pale blue.

No matter what the cost

If you are there I know

That I'll arrive!

Back at the arena, Naruto falls back. He looks back up and glares at Nazo as he brought a "Bring it" motion with his hand.

I'm going far away...

Naruto's whole body suddenly gained a neon-blue aura coating his body. He gave out a yell and a blue flash appeared.

*Instruments*

Blaze is on top of the entrance to the Hidden Leaf Village. She stares out at the village, holding her Lucky Charm, before she jumps down and runs off to where Naruto is.

The camera backs away from Naruto's serious expression and shows Tails, Amy, Knuckles, Blaze, The Rookie Nine, Team Guy, Team Sand and Conquering Storm.

Ultimate 16: Preliminary Rounds (Part 2)

Chapter Cover: Naruto, Tails, Knuckles and Sasuke are playing a fighting video game with their game faces on. Blaze, Amy, Sakura and Kakashi were watching their antics nearby with deadpan expressions. On the character select screen were Neji, Hinata, Rock Lee, Gaara, Choji and Dosu.

After that intense battle with Nazo, Naruto didn't know how long he stared at his trembling hands, a shocked fearful look on his face. His thoughts kept racing all around his head about this new discovery he and everyone else learned.

Dark Gaia.

A demonic deity that's been living inside the planet's core since its creation. A manifestation of darkness, night and destruction. This thing has been around for eons, destroying the planet only to get defeated and sealed back into the planet's core until the next Time of Awakening, when it's gathered enough negative energy.

Now, a piece of that...that Devil's energy is inside him!

"Nazo…" Naruto loudly growled as he started to tremble, not paying attention to the fact that black energy starts to form in one of his hands. Why!? Why did this happen to him!? First the damn Nine-Tails, now this!?

Nazo...who the hell is that guy!? How does he know him? Hell, how does he even know about Sonic, Shadow and Silver!? So many goddamn questions but no answers! And that so called war he was talking about!

He then thought back on Nazo's words before he left.

"This world, along with the Hedgehogs' world, are but one of many that exists. And when this war begins, all those worlds...will collide."

This world is one of many that exists? Will the world collide? Just what does it all mean?!

"DAMN IT!" Naruto roared as he punched the arena floor, making a fist shaped hole crater. He grit his teeth angrily as he was about to punch the floor again but got grabbed by Kakashi.

"Naruto, that's enough. Calm down!" Kakashi told him.

"Calm down!?" Naruto looked at his sensei in disbelief and anger. "I just found out that I have the energy of a demon god and you want me to calm down?!"

"Listen, I know you're angry..." Kakashi was about to say before he got interrupted.

"Angry?! I'm beyond angry!" Naruto yelled as he removed his hand from Kakashi. "Did you not hear what Nazo said? Dark Gaia has been around since the beginning of time! This thing grows stronger and stronger as it feeds off the negative energies of the planet! It's eating our emotions for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Now I have a piece of that thing inside my body!"

Despite Naruto's angry rant, Kakashi's lone eye narrowed as he saw something he had never seen in his student's eyes before.

Fear. There was fear in Naruto's eyes. No, the better term is terrified. And Kakashi doesn't blame him at all. To be honest, everyone here has many reasons to be scared of the being known as Dark Gaia. But Naruto is the most scared of them. He is scared that this monster's energy is inside him. Scared that he might end using that power again and lose control again like what happened a few days ago. And most of all, scared that he could end up killing those close to him.

Everyone else didn't say anything as they continued to listen to Naruto.

"And then there's Nazo! Just who the hell is he!? How does he know so much about me? And what about this 'war' he was talking about? Why am I part of it? Why are we a part of it?!" Naruto grips his head in anger and confusion. "I have so many questions and Nazo is the only one with the answers damnit!" He launched a weak Chaos Spear at the statue, which only left a burn mark.

But that didn't stop his already increasing anger as his face turned feral and purple static began to dance off his body while he let loose a feral growl. He felt someone touch his shoulder, making him look back to see Hiruzen, looking at him sternly yet with a concerned expression, especially seeing the snarl on Naruto's face.

"Calm down Naruto. You have every right to be angry about what happened to you, but you can't lose control of your anger. Just look at your hand." Hiruzen told him.

Naruto looked down to see the black energy covering his hand, making him gasp fearfully as he shook it which thankfully made the darkness vanish. But that didn't stop his already trembling hands. The Ultimate Ninja saw someone else's hand touching his own. He looked up to see Amy, a worried look on her face.

Knuckles himself had a somewhat concerned look in his eyes, though his expression didn't show it.

Naruto's eyes widened as he slowly looks up at his friends...mainly Blaze, seeing the worried gaze she has on him, making him silently gasp before he looks down, his eyes shadowing over. "It's bad enough that I got to deal with one monster...now this?"

The Genin couldn't hear Naruto's whisper but the Jōnin there could hear him, along with Amy and Knuckles since they were close. The Leaf Jōnin flinched from the mention of the monster Naruto was talking about. Hiruzen frowned sadly at Naruto as did Kakashi.

Speaking of said monster, Naruto came down to a sudden realization that made him unconsciously grip his stomach, a fearful look on his face.

"If I have Dark Gaia's energy...does that mean..."

Naruto was too scared to finish his thought but he probably already knew. If he has Dark Gaia's energy than it's more than likely the Nine-Tails might also have this energy, and it's a monster completely made out of chakra! He doesn't even want to know what would have happened if he used its power.

"I can't believe something like this has happened..." Iruka thought to himself as he stared at Naruto. He grips the railing, making his knuckles turn white as he grits his teeth.

Not only is Sasuke suffering from the Curse Mark, but now Naruto is suffering because of this Dark Gaia monster's energy inside him. What was happening to his precious students? The Nine-Tails was bad enough, but now this and this war Nazo was talking about!?

"Naruto…" A younger Naruto appears in Iruka's mind, but he had a dead look in his eyes. "Hasn't he suffered enough already?!"

Hinata stared at her crush with a worried gaze. She couldn't believe what this Nazo person has done to him and about this Dark Gaia creature. Plus there was this...this war Nazo was talking about. She was scared, horrified, that Naruto is actually a part of it. She knew what war is like as she read and heard about it from the Academy and veteran Hyuga Clan members respectively.

To know that both Nazo and Naruto were going to fight in it, scared her...because Naruto...Naruto could die in it! And she...she didn't want that to happen! Not without her telling him her feelings! What's worse...from the way Nazo said it, it sounds like the war might be happening soon. Very soon.

Just the thought of losing Naruto in this war, never seeing his cheerful happy self again, made her tear up. "Oh...Naruto..." She whispered as a tear slid down her eye and she clenched her jacket tightly.

Kurenai stared at her student as she shed a tear, more than likely about what happened to Naruto and this war he's about to fight in. "Hinata..." She brought one arm around her and embraced her, before staring at Naruto worriedly. "Dark Gaia...even more powerful than the Nine-Tails, and a creature that's been around before it's birth? What was he talking about? And what woman?"

"..." Shino was silent as always but if you look closely, you can see the sweat dripping down his head.

"Unbelievable..." Shikamaru said, shaking his head as he tried to wrap around the events that just happened. "Just what the heck is going on here? It's like things are getting more and more crazier by the minute!"

"I'll say..." Ino agreed, trembling fearfully. "First Sasuke having that weird power, then Naruto transforming into that monster, now this Nazo creep and Dark Gaia? This keeps getting scarier!"

"Don't forget about this war Nazo talked about." Asuma said, taking a puff of his cigarette, staring at Naruto in concern. "Adding to the fact that Nazo and Naruto are going to be in it makes it scarier judging from the fight we just witnessed between them."

"Oh man..." Choji muttered fearfully, becoming scared of Naruto. He couldn't understand why only Naruto of all people is in this war and not any of them. It just didn't make sense! They were still Genin for crying out loud!

"Guy-sensei..." Lee spoke softly. "Isn't there anything we can do to help our friend Naruto in this war?"

"That's something even though I don't know Lee." Guy said seriously. "War...it's a very scary thing. When we were young some of us fought in it and some genin couldn't handle the amount of deaths it caused, so they dropped out and became civilians." He turns to look at Naruto, seeing him not moving a muscle, most likely still in shock from what he learned. "If both Naruto and Nazo are going to be in it, then it tells us that there's at least some sort of...connection between them."

"A connection?" Neji asked himself as he looked at Naruto with narrowed eyes, thoughts appearing in his head as he tried to come with what those connections are.

Judging from the interaction, it would seem like Nazo knows Naruto, almost as if the two of them were friends or something. But Naruto doesn't seem to know Nazo as according to him, they seem to have fought at this Little Planet. Who exactly is this Nazo? What's his connection with Naruto Uzumaki?

"Damn, so that kid and Nazo guy are going to war huh?" Kankuro asked, smirking a little bit. "Glad I'm not in it."

"No kidding. I almost feel sorry for that kid." Temari nodded but then felt her hands shaking. "But still…Dark Gaia?" She and Kankuro looked towards their younger brother and saw he was staring directly at Naruto.

Storm didn't say anything. She just looked down at Naruto before closing her eyes. So now Uzumaki has a demonic energy of a deity no has heard from. A very small part of her feels sorry for him, but the other part not so much. To her that just meant, Uzumaki's power has increased further and she wants to see just how powerful he really is now.

"Why..." Sakura spoke up sadly. "Sasuke...Naruto...why did this have to happen to us?" Memories of her time with them came to her mind. "I...I just don't understand it! Everything was just going great again too with Naruto coming back! But now...Sasuke and the Curse Mark and now this? This is...this is too much!"

Tails was silent as he looked at his big brother figure sadly. To have all this happen to him and seeing him like that made him sad. He wants to go down and help him...but...he just doesn't know what to say or do. He looks up at Blaze, seeing that her eyes were focused on Naruto.

"Blaze...?" He called out to her softly.

Blaze didn't say anything as she continued to stare at Naruto. She jumps down, of course from the railing she melted, getting everyone's attention, except for Naruto. She walks up to her childhood friend till she was in front of him while Amy backed away, wanting to see what would happen.

"Naruto."

"..."

"Naruto Uzumaki, look at me." Blaze said sternly.

"..." He couldn't. He just couldn't look at her even though he wanted to so much. If anything Naruto looked down further, unable to meet her eyes. He just didn't have it in him to face her, not after the bomb that was just dropped.

Blaze sighed to herself before she did the logical thing.

Bonk!

By punching him in the noggin...with a fiery fist.

"OW!" Naruto cried out comically as he rubbed the spot where Blaze hit him, making those around to blink or look surprised. "OW! OW! OW! What the hell-!?" He was about to tell Blaze off but stopped as she pulled him into a hug, making him gasp as a blush formed on his face. She released him staring right into his eyes.

"Naruto, it's okay to be afraid. Everyone here is afraid of what we learned, even me." Blaze told him. "But you can't let that fear or your anger cloud you, cause if you do, you'll only increase the chances of the darkness inside you to consume you."

Naruto flinched from that. "I...I know that! It's just...I'm…" He starts to tremble but stopped when Blaze put a hand to his cheek, making him look at her again.

"I know. You're scared that you might lose control like what happened and may end up fighting us again." Naruto's eyes moved down, a guilty expression. "However, you seem to have forgotten one thing."

"...?" Naruto gave her his attention.

"You're Naruto Uzumaki. The next Hokage of the Leaf Village aren't you?" Blaze asked with a smile on her face.

Naruto's eyes widened as he stared at Blaze, his mouth open in surprise. She giggled slightly at his expression and continued what she had to say to him.

"Every Hokage, even Lords Third and Fourth, had to go through hardships to get to where they are now. No matter how difficult it was for them, they still kept going knowing that they'll overcome them, not just because they're strong." Blaze puts her hand down from Naruto's cheek and to his chest. "They have people there to help them through it. So don't let something like this get you down. You'll overcome this and we'll be there to help you, along with this war Nazo was talking about."

"..." Naruto stared at Blaze for a moment before he looked at Kakashi and Lord Third, seeing them both smile and nod their heads. He looks at Amy and Knuckles, seeing Amy smile lovingly at him while nodding her head while Knuckles turned away, but Naruto could see the small smile on his face.

He turns to Tails and Sakura, both of them smiling happily at him as they too nodded their heads. He even looks at Iruka, seeing him nod as well. "You guys…"

A smile slowly appears on Naruto's face before it turns into the famous Sonic grin. "Heh! That's right! I'm the world's ultimate ninja after all! Ain't no way I'm going to let this slow me down! Especially when I'm at the top of my game! If I'm ever in a pickle I can always count on you guys to get me out of it, right?"

That instantly made smiles appear.

"Yeah!" Tails cheered as he flew down to till he was in front of Naruto's face. "You know I'll always be there for ya!" The duo did a double high five.

"Me too!" Amy instantly wrapped her arms around Naruto's.

"And so will we." Hiruzen smiled.

"You know it." Kakashi agreed.

Naruto smiled softly at them before he turned to Blaze, his cheeks reddening softly. "Thanks Blaze. I needed that." Blaze smiled and nodded her head. He suddenly felt intense pain in his arm. "Gah!? A-Amy!?" He looked down at her before he turned white as those ghosts from the Sandopolis.

Amy was smiling, a bright and chipper smile. Only problem was that her upper face was completely shadowed over and her eyes had...a scary dark look in them.

"Naruto, who is she?" Amy asked, leaning a little too closely to Naruto's face as her face darkened further, making him sweat nervously.

"Yes, I'm curious as well." Blaze spoke up, glaring at Naruto with a half lidded stare, making him stare at her with a comical shocked look on his face. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Naruto began to sweat bullets as both Amy and Blaze gazed at him, waiting for him to explain who they were. "W-Well...um…" He turned to look at Kakashi for help but saw that he and Lord Third had already got up on the platform. He turned to Tails and Knuckles and saw they were up there too. He sent a comical betrayed expression to them. "WHY?!"

They all looked sheepish except for Knuckles who was grinning mockingly at him.

"Well? We're waiting." Blaze said, crossing her arms.

Naruto gulps nervously, eyes darting around frantically as he tried to think of a way out the situation he was in. "Oh! Right! Well...you see…"

"Um, hate to interrupt you *cough* but we still have to continue." Hayate said, raising his hand.

"Right! Gotcha! Amy, this is Blaze, my best friend from childhood. Blaze, this is Amy, the girl I mentioned when I was on Little Planet!" Naruto said as he used his telekinesis to grab them and flew up the platform.

"Due to the interruption and sudden arrival of the unknown shinobi Nazo and his battle against Naruto Uzumaki, I guess Naruto automatically wins and advances. We will be taking a 5 minute break."

Most of the Genin looked surprised from that but didn't say anything.

"5 minutes, huh?" Naruto asked, cracking his neck. "Gives me some time to heal." He flinched when Knuckles punched his arm. "Ow! Hey!" He glared at him.

"So are you gonna tell me where I am or do I have to guess?" Knuckles asked Naruto before looking around. "And what's up with this stadium?"

"You are in the Village Hidden in the Leaves." Hiruzen answered, getting Knuckles', along with Amy's, attention. "My name is Hiruzen Sarutobi, I'm the Hokage, the leader of this village. It's nice to meet you both, Knuckles and Ms. Rose."

Knuckles and Amy looked surprised to see a leader actually here in this arena watching the fights and that he knows who they are. Amy smiled happily, already knowing that Naruto no doubt told him about her. She did a polite ladylike bow.

"It's nice to meet you as well Mr. Hiruzen. My name is Amy Rose. Please just call me Amy."

"Ok gramps, how do you know my name?" Knuckles asked rather rudely, which earned some slight glares from the older Leaf shinobi.

Hiruzen however smiled, looking deep into Knuckles' purple eyes. In a way, he was definitely a spitting image of Naruto. "Why Naruto told us all about you and Amy when he came back to the village a little while ago."

"...what?" Knuckles twitched his eyebrows and glared at the sheepish looking Naruto. "Are you serious!?"

"Yup. Welcome to my turf Knucklehead." Naruto chuckled. "And relax, you can trust him. He is the Hokage after all." He leaned into Knuckles' ear, a cheshire cat like grin on his face. "But he's also a pervert who reads smut like my-AAAAAAHHHH! HOT! HOT! I'M ON FIRE!"

Knuckles' eyes widen. Not from the fact that Naruto is getting burned alive right now since he doesn't really care about that and enjoyed it a little bit, but from the little information about the Hokage reading dirty books. It made him blush slightly as he stared at Hiruzen, who only tilted his hat down to cover his face.

Everyone else was seeing a screaming Naruto being burnt alive comically by Blaze, with shocked expressions. Seeing how he had enough of her punishment, the Fire Princess snapped her fingers and the fire dispersed, leaving a comically burnt Naruto as he coughed out smoke and fell back.

Hiruzen sighed tiredly and rubbed the bridge of his forehead. "Thank you Blaze." Blaze nodded while she continued to glare at Naruto.

Knuckles stared at the burnt Naruto before he sighed in annoyance and rubbed the bridge of his nose. "Well that's just great. I'm in a ninja village." He turns to walk away. "I better hurry up and return to the-!"

"Hold up a sec Knux!" Naruto shot back up and wrapped his arms around the guardian, while shaking the dirt off him. "Okay, so you were brought here against your will by Nazo. And yeah, he no doubt kicked your ass, which I'm a teeny tiny wittle bit disappointed that I missed because it would've been funny-."

"Get to the point!" Knuckles growled.

"The point is, he came to the island just for you and you alone, not the Master Emerald. That means it's no doubt safe and sound, so there's no reason for you to just rush off back home." Naruto told him, smiling slightly. "You should take this chance to hang out with us instead, get to see more of this huge world!"

"..."

Outwardly, Knuckles looked at Naruto with a half-lidded glare while he continued to smile happily. But inwardly, he was surprised at his suggestion and was tempted to take the offer. He sighed and shook his head, removing Naruto's arm off of him. No, he just couldn't. He has a duty to fulfill and that duty is to protect the Master Emerald at all cost.

"Look, as much as I want to stay I can't." Naruto and everyone else blinked at Knuckles. He turns to walk off the platform. "You and Tails already know that I have to protect the Master Emerald from anything or anyone that could harm it. It is my-"

"Nope!"

Knuckles gasped as he found himself covered in a cyan aura. "Hey! What the hell are you doing?!" He yells comically at Naruto, who smiled happily.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto summons a clone. "Go to Angel Island and watch the Master Emerald until Mr. Stick in the Mud over here is finished with his mini vacation."

"Got it Boss." The Clone said as he teleported in a blue flash.

Naruto gave a satisfied nod and turned to Knuckles, releasing him from his ESP and making him glare. He crossed his arms and sent him a deadpan look. "Listen Chuckles, you've been living on that flying island by yourself, guarding that emerald. Meaning aside from me, Tails and Eggman, you've never met anyone else outside and don't even know what the world is like."

The Leaf Genin, not including Sakura as she knows about Knuckles' situation, were surprised to hear that.

Naruto grins happily. "So as your new best friend, I'm gonna let you have a nice week long vacation here in the Hidden Leaf Village, whether you like it or not."

Knuckles' mouth opened in shock as he stared at Naruto comically as though he was an idiot. He heard some giggles, making him turn and saw everyone looking at the two with smirks or smiles on their faces.

"Don't bother fighting it Knuckles." Kakashi told him, eye smiling at him. "When Naruto says something, he'll definitely make it happen. And from what Naruto told us about you, you kind of earn it."

"He's also a stubborn idiot." Blaze added in with a teasing smirk.

Iruka nodded in agreement before he decided to leave and head back to the academy, knowing that everything's okay now.

Knuckles stared at them before moving to Naruto, who rubbed his head sheepishly, back and forth. He rubbed his head and once again sighed in annoyance. "Fine. Whatever, I'll stay. For a week!" He turns his head away. "And we're not friends, let alone best friends!"

"Sweet! I'll take you to the greatest spots in the village! And of course we're friends buddy! Don't be shy about it." Naruto laughed.

"I ain't shy!" Knuckles comically roared with a large vein on his head.

"Sure you're not~" Naruto cheekily said, slapping Knuckles' back, only to flinch suddenly as he held his left arm. He could also feel his legs trembling slightly, causing him to fall on the platform which worried everyone.

"Are you okay pal?" Tails asked worriedly.

"Yeah. Just a little bit sore." Naruto said, rubbing his left arm softly. The same arm that he used to create the Chaos Spear to clash with Nazo's weird jutsu. He could see his left arm is trembling, possibly from thinking about it. "Man, the hell was that jutsu?"

Hiruzen frowned as he stared at the trembling arm and legs as his friends helped him up. Staring at the trembling legs told him that Naruto wasn't used to moving that fast at the level of speed he was in despite his incredible skills with it. His body needs to be more properly conditioned so that he won't have to go through this again.

As for the arm it's still feeling the after-effects of the Rasengan after clashing it with the Chaos Spear.

"Nazo...where on earth did he learn that technique?"

There were only three people in this world that knew Rasengan. Minato is dead and Kakashi obviously didn't teach it since he hasn't used it in a long time.

So that only leaves…

"No. Even if it's him, he wouldn't be foolish enough to teach someone his student's personal jutsu." Hiruzen thought, eyes narrowed. "Nazo. Who on earth are you? How do you know about Rasengan? What is your connection to Naruto? And why are you two going to fight in a war?"

"Are you sure you're okay?" Amy asked in a concerned tone making Naruto nod.

"Yeah. I'm cool." The ultimate ninja replied as Blaze helped him back up on his feet.

Hinata looks at Naruto, seeing him flinch from the pain he sustained from Nazo. She looks down at the medicine in her hand before looking up at Naruto, seeing Amy crowding him. With a new resolve, she nods to herself and walks up to Naruto.

"U-Um!" She caught everyone's attention, especially Naruto, which made her blush.

"Hey Hinata. What's up?" Naruto greeted her, ignoring the pout Amy was giving him. Instead of answering, Hinata held her hands out, showing him the medicine she was holding.

Kurenai seeing this smirks slightly at her student. "Hinata? Well, well." Seems that Hinata is starting to get bold. It must be because of the competition.

"Hm? What's this?" Naruto asked.

"It's healing ointment." Kurenai answered.

"Healing ointment?" Naruto asked, looking at the ointment before looking at Hinata in surprise. "Is this for me?"

Hinata looks down but has a heated blush across her face. Eventually she nodded her head which made Naruto go wide eyed before he grins happily.

"Way past cool!" The ultimate ninja gently took the medicine out of her hands. "Thanks a lot Hinata. You rock!"

"O-Oh! You're welcome Naruto." Hinata said shyly as she turned away, trying to hide her burning face and the wide smile that appeared,

Naruto blinks in confusion from that as he turned to Kurenai, only to see her nod in approval at the action while trying to hide a smirk. He turns to Tails and Knuckles, with a raised brow, and they shrugged.

"Well, thanks again Hinata I owe ya." Naruto walked away to join Kakashi and Sakura with Tails and Knuckles following after him.

Blaze followed as well, but not before glancing at Hinata out of the corner of her eyes. Amy, however, was glaring at Hinata with fire in her eyes.

"Hmph!" She huffed as she walked past her and went to join Naruto.

"Anyway!" Naruto said happily as he started to use the medicine on his scars. "Knuckles, Amy, I want you guys to meet one of the greatest teachers I have ever met and the one most famous ninja in the Book!" He points at Kakashi. "Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan Eye!"

"Yo." Kakashi greeted them with a two finger salute.

"Sharing-what now?" Knuckles asked. "And what book are you talking about?"

"The Bingo Book, duh." Naruto replied making the redhead guardian send him a deadpan look.

"Nice to meet you Mr. Kakashi." Amy bowed, causing Kakashi to rub his head sheepishly.

"Hey, hey, none of that 'Mr' stuff. Just call me Kakashi."

"Or Kakashi-sensei!" Tails added in happily which made Kakashi laugh sheepishly.

"And this is one of my teammates, Sakura." Naruto held his hand towards her.

"..."

"Sakura?" Naruto turns to her and blinked in confusion.

Right now, Sakura was staring at Amy with a dumbfounded expression as Amy did the same thing. They looked each other up and down before slowly raising a hand up. They instantly put their hands down. They tilt their heads in the same direction before moving it back in place.

Everyone near them was looking back and forth between the two as they continued to copy what they were doing, more than likely because of the resemblance between them. Pink hair, red dress, red headband, and their love for...certain people.

"Um…" Amy and Sakura started to say but stopped as though they were waiting for one to start. "Hello?"

Everyone near them sweat drops.

"M-My name is Amy Rose." Amy introduced herself.

"Y-Yeah. I'm Sakura. Sakura Haruno, n-nice to meet you...?" Sakura said in an uncertain tone.

Nearby Ino, Shikamaru and Choji were looking at the two girls in confusion. Choji soon turns to Ino in complete confusion.

"Hey, did Sakura ever mention anything about having a twin?" The Akimichi Heir asked curiously.

Ino stared at him with a raised brow. "Are you kidding? I've been to her house plenty of times when we were kids and I've never seen her in any family pictures. So if she did have a twin, I would've known about it."

"They gotta be related in some way." Shikamaru said uncaring. "Aside from their appearance, the only difference is that one obviously likes Naruto and the other likes Sasuke. It's a total drag that we have to deal with another Sakura."

Ino nodded her head and looked at the two, seeing that they're trying to not make things awkward around them. There's no doubt in her mind that the two bore a striking resemblance to each other, they would be confused as twin sisters. But like Shikamaru said, Amy likes Naruto while she and Miss Forehead like Sasuke.

Plus...and she really hated to admit it, but Amy also has a...slightly bigger chest than every girl in their age group. She touched her chest before she pouts in annoyance.

But then her eyes slowly moved towards Knuckles, who leaned on the wall, and she found herself staring at him with a heated blush on her face as she saw hearts floating around him. First was his stern handsome face, which, from what she heard earlier, showed that he considered himself to be a loner, like Sasuke and takes his job very seriously. Then her eyes traveled downwards to look at his rock hard abs.

Out of all the boys in the village, Knuckles and Naruto are the only ones in their age group to have such muscles on their bodies. While Naruto's muscles were lean and athletic, Knuckles looked like he was toned to the point where you can obviously see it.

"Oh...my gosh! He's sooo hot!" Ino thought as she continued to stare at him.

"Hm?" Knuckles felt someone's eyes on him. He turns his head and looks to Ino. Her whole face turned red from embarrassment at being caught before she hid herself between her sensei and the boys, who looked confused until they realized who she was staring at. She peeks out to stare at him before hiding back, her blush increasing. He raised a brow at the girl's odd behavior but shrugged it off and turned his attention to the pink headed girls.

"So yeah." Naruto spoke, getting Amy and Knuckles' attention. "My other teammate is Sasuke, though he's resting right now. You may like him or you may hate him, it's up to you. I'll introduce the others later when this is over and done with."

Knuckles raised a brow while Amy nodded happily.

"By the way." Naruto turns to Amy curiously. "What was so important that you had to come from wherever you were to come here?"

"What do you mean?" Amy asked as she happily hugged her Destined Hero, making Blaze's eyebrow twitched in annoyance. "I came here to see you again silly!" She released him and pulled something out from behind her dress. "Plus I came to give you this."

Everyone's eyes widened as they saw a green Chaos Emerald in her hand.

"Whoa!" Naruto stepped back in surprise as his hair spiked upwards for a moment. "A Chaos Emerald?!"

"Oh?" Kakashi leaned in to get a closer look, an interesting and fascinating look in his eye. "So that's a Chaos Emerald."

"Wow, it's so pretty." Sakura said as her eyes sparkled in awe at the emerald's glow.

"Where did you find it?" Tails asked, staring at the emerald with widened eyes.

"I found it when I was trying to find my way to the Hidden Leaf Village." Amy said, handing Naruto the emerald. She frowned. "But then that jerk Nazo just up and attacked me! He even destroyed my precious car!"

"A car? What's a car?" Sakura asked curiously.

Amy stared at Sakura with a stunned expression, making her uncomfortable. "You...don't know what a car is?" She asked as her fellow pink haired friend shook her head. She turns to Kakashi and he shrugged in response.

"Hey, I don't know what it is either. First time I'm hearing about it."

Knuckles blinks as he stared at Kakashi and Sakura as though they were idiots. How the hell do these people not know what a car is? Hell even though he's lived on an island he knows what it is.

Naruto quickly went by Amy's ear and covered his mouth so that only she could hear his whisper. "Amy, we live on a continent ruled by shinobi with minimal technology."

Tails nods in agreement as he whispered to Amy's other ear. "That's right. Nobody here or anywhere in the Shinobi Nations knows what a car is. Besides, the Nations don't have any streets. The shinobi relies on walking or running to reach their destinations."

"Oh! Got it." Amy nodded her head in understanding. She turns to Sakura. "Well don't worry about it Sakura. I'll tell you all about it later."

"Okay." Sakura said.

Blaze sighed to herself but then smiled softly in a somewhat proud manner as she watched the interaction between Naruto and everyone. To think that in all these years in their time apart, he had gained so many friends.

When she heard about Naruto's violent behavior from Lord Third, she became shocked to the core to hear that he had attacked many people who talked about her or tried to take away his lucky charm. She was also worried because the shinobi may have done some harm to him in his feral state, but was impressed to find out that he actually managed to take them down and even sent them to the hospital.

She had no idea that she drove such an impact on Naruto's life to the point where he would violently attack someone just because they were talking ill about her or because they took his lucky charm. But then again, he himself made an impact on her life as well. So of course she would no doubt react the same way he did.

"Hey Blaze!" Naruto called out to her, getting her attention. He happily showed her the Chaos Emerald. "See? This is one of the seven Chaos Emeralds I was talking about." He gained a thoughtful look as he leaned to her. "So? Does your...you-know-what look like this?"

Blaze shook her head at the whispered question. "No. The Chaos Emeralds are brilliant cut while mine are emerald cut." She took the emerald out of his hands and examined it. "It's weird. I know it's my first time seeing it, but I feel like...I've seen this before. Almost like..."

"Like déjà vu." Naruto finished, getting Blaze's attention. "Trust me. Ever since I met Dr. Nega, Tails, Amy and Knuckles I've been feeling it all the time."

"Right." Blaze said, looking at the emerald once more. The energy of this Chaos Emerald is so similar to the Sol Emeralds that it's scary. And she should know because she's been near the Sol Emeralds since her birth so she can easily since their energy.

But this Chaos Emerald...why did she feel like she's seen it ? She has never seen it and didn't even know that they existed until Naruto told her about them in his stories.

Now holding it in her hand, she knows and feels that she's seen this emerald. But when though?

Blaze shook her head and handed the emerald back to Naruto, who was staring at her in confusion because of that concentrated look on her face. The ultimate ninja was gonna ask her what was wrong but was interrupted.

"AHEM!" Hayate coughed as he got everyone's attention. "The five minute break is over, now we can announce the next match-up."

"Sweet!" Naruto grins as the emerald vanished within his being.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as multiple names began flashing on it. Eventually the names stopped.

Hinata Hyuga

Vs.

Neji Hyuga

Hinata's eyes widened in shock and fear as she stared up at the screen. Neji's eyes were narrowed as a glint appeared in them. They both walked down to the arena and stared at one another.

"Hinata…" Kurenai thought worriedly as she could see her student nervous.

"What an interesting match-up..." Hiruzen thought.

"..." Guy was silent as he stared at Neji.

"I never thought I would be facing you, Hinata." Neji said coldly.

"Nor I, brother…" Hinata said.

"Hold on, what did she call him?!" Sakura asked in a surprised tone.

"Brother? These two are siblings?" Naruto asked, looking between them.

"Well, they do have the same last name." Knuckles said, walking up to the railing. Now that this break is over, he can see what these ninjas are capable of, especially since their around his age. "So of course they're siblings...or something. But who exactly are they?"

"They are members of the Leaf's oldest and greatest bloodline. The Hyuga Clan. But they aren't brother and sister." Kakashi explained.

"Whoa, really?" Tails asked. "Their clan is that old?"

"Then what are they?" Sakura asked.

"Maybe they're cousins?" Amy suggested.

"Well...they are members of the Hyuga Clan's Main House and Branch House. So Amy's right about them being cousins." Kakashi nodded towards her as she giggled.

"Main House and Branch House?" Tails asked, looking at Kakashi.

"What does that mean?" Knuckles asked as well, now wanting to know more about this old clan.

"It means that Hinata belongs to the family's Main House, directly descended by the clan head." Rock Lee explained as though he was a teacher. "While Neji's family is just a side branch of the clan."

"Wow, two family members fighting each other?" Tails asked. "That might make things difficult."

"Yeah I can't help but feel for them." Sakura said.

Blaze narrowed her eyes at Neji. Something told her that Neji must have something against Hinata. "Rock Lee, can you explain why Neji seems...hostile to Hinata?"

"Well..." Lee started, looking down at Neji. "It's because…"

"What is it?" Amy asked.

"Many things have happened between the two houses over the years." Lee explained. "And right now they don't get along very well." His response made everyone look surprised, except for Naruto, who continued to watch the two Hyuga members with a narrowed gaze.

"Why?" Knuckles asked. "What exactly happened between them?"

"This is normal with old houses but…" Lee started as he turned to everyone. "In order to protect the blood and house of the original Hyuga family, many rules have been established to out the main family in an advantageous situation...because of this the Branch Houses feel slighted."

"In other words…" Blaze started slowly, looking down at the two. "The two houses hate each other."

"But wait a second…" Tails said as he recalls what Hinata did for Naruto at the first part of the exams. "Hinata doesn't look like the type of person to hate someone, especially if they're her family."

"Tails is right." Naruto spoke up in a serious tone, getting everyone's attention. "I can see the anger in Neji's eyes right now and it's directed at Hinata. Something definitely happened between these houses a long time ago. Because in Neji's point of view, this is something personal, especially since Hinata's dad is the clan head."

"Something personal?" Amy asked in a worried tone as Naruto nodded.

"You may begin the match!" Hayate declared.

"Before we begin this fight, I'd like to say something. Hinata, a word of advice." Neji said, getting Hinata's attention. "Withdrawal now! You know you were never meant to be a ninja."

Hinata gasped as her eyes widened while Naruto's eyes narrowed

"You are gentle. You seek harmony and avoid conflict. You agree with others without resisting." Neji continued, which made Hinata look down sadly. "Admit it. You have no confidence. You feel inferior to everyone else here. It would've been better if you simply remained a Genin. But to register for the Chunin Exams, you need a team of three people." Neji glared at Hinata. "You never even wanted to take part in these exams, but Shino and Kiba did and you couldn't bear to let your teammates down."

"No! You're wrong," Hinata told him. "I wanted...I had to find out...to see if I could change."

That immediately caught certain people's attention, mainly Naruto, Sakura, Tails, Kakashi, Blaze, Amy, Knuckles, Shino and Kurenai.

"Hinata." The black hair beauty thought.

*Flashback*

Hyuga Clan Residence

Kurenai stood in the same room as Hiashi Hyuga and his youngest daughter Hanabi as she was on all fours panting.

"I will be watching over Hinata from now on." Kurenai told the clan head. "Are you sure it's alright? Hinata is a member of the Hyuga Main Family and heir to your household. Working as a Genin may cause her to be surrounded by death."

"Do what you will." Hiashi told her, making her gasp. "She is less worthy than her sister, 5 years her junior." He turns to Kurenai slightly. "The Hyuga Clan has no need for such an heir."

Kurenai's eyes widened from shock after hearing what Hinata's father had said to her. She turned to Hanabi and saw the bruise marks on her person, along with some blood on the floor.

"If that is all, leave us." Hiashi told her. "We have work to do."

"Alright." Kurenai turns to walk away but stops and gasp slightly. Hinata was there looking down sadly.

*Flashback End*

"Hinata has struggled to become what she wanted to be." Kurenai thought to herself.

Neji glared at Hinata as she looked down to the floor. "Hinata, you are the pampered offspring of the Main Hyuga Branch."

"W-What?" Hinata asked.

"People cannot change no matter how hard they try." Neji told her. Hinata gasped out as she stared at her cousin with fearful eyes. "They can't run away from their true nature. A failure will always be a failure."

"What the hell is this guy's problem?" Knuckles growled as he clenched his fists. Why the hell was this loser talking to his own little cousin like that? That's not how family is supposed to be!

"How could he say something like that to his own family?" Amy asked with a shocked look on her face. Families were supposed to love and support each other and not talk bad about them.

"Hinata...she looks like she's close to breaking." Blaze thought as she glared at Neji in anger. How dare this fool say such things to his younger cousin.

"That Neji is being a total jerk to her!" Tails glared at Neji. "We should do something about him, right Naruto?" He received no answer. "Naruto?" He turns to his best friend and saw he was glaring heavily at Neji as his eyes were narrowed.

"People are judged by their true nature. It is the way of the world. That is why we have elites and we have outcasts." Hinata trembled from Neji's words but he still kept going. "We can change our physical appearance, improve our skills with training and studying. But ultimately we are judged by what we cannot change. What can't be changed must be endured. We are who we are Hinata and that is why we must live with it."

Naruto's hair began to move slightly as he began to grit his teeth. Memories of Zabuza and Haku flashing through his head, even Shadow appeared as well.

"Just as I must live with the fact that you were born in the elite of our clan while I am from a lesser branch." Neji said.

"Shut up." Naruto thought, glaring at Neji.

"I understand these things because I see the world clearly, with my Byakugan." Neji continued. "Despite your brave words, what you're really thinking is that you like to run. Run as far away from here as you."

"No! You're wrong! You're wrong about me!" Hinata exclaimed.

"Shut...the hell…up." Naruto whispered in a soft low voice which barely anyone could hear.

"Byakugan?" Sakura asked, turning to Kakashi, along with everyone else near him except for Naruto who was glaring holes into Neji's head.

"They say that the Uchiha Clan's origins are like with the Hyuga Clan. The Byakugan is one of the advanced kekkei genkai or bloodline abilities passed down in the Hyuga Clan." Kakashi explained. "It's an ability similar to the Sharingan, which is deprived from the Byakugan. But in terms of inside, the Byakugan is more powerful than the two."

"That sounds awesome." Tails said in awe.

Naruto released a silent feral growl at Neji when he saw Hinata's trembling form and scared expression. He and everyone couldn't see it but Neji had activated the Byakugan.

Hinata herself trembled horribly as she stared into the glaring eyes of her cousin's Byakugan. She slightly looked upwards to avoid looking into them before she looked down once more placing a finger to her lips.

"You can't fool my eyes."

Hinata looked shocked from what Neji said, bringing her attention to him.

"Against my pressure just now...you avert your eyes to the upper left. This a sign that you are remembering your past experiences, your painful past. And after that you looked to the lower right. That is a sign that you are imagining physical and mental pain. You are thinking about yourself...and from all the experience until now you are imagining the results of this match. Imagine...that you'll lose!"

"Shut up…!"

The spines of Naruto's hair began to float upwards gathering everyone near him his attention. They looked shocked at first, thinking that he might start to transform into his dark form, but they were surprised when they saw the red stripes in his hair glowing crimson slightly along with his hair. They saw his hand gripping the rail extra tightly but they could clearly see it's starting to bend at an odd angle and they saw smoke rising.

"N...Naruto?" Amy tried to approach him but was held back by Kakashi and Blaze.

"This is something new." Kakashi said to himself as he watched one of his student's hair starting to turn red as well but it kept flashing on and off. This isn't the Nine-Tails' doing so that's out, and it definitely wasn't Dark Gaia. So what was happening now?

"The Chaos Emerald...did it unlock a new power within Naruto?" Blaze asked herself. It certainly did make sense. Because it looks like Naruto is starting to enter a whole new form and he doesn't even realize it.

And right now Neji is the one triggering this transformation because of what he's saying to Hinata which Naruto doesn't like at all.

"The action of raising your arms in front of your body…" Neji listed off. "That shows that you are trying to create a wall between us, create a distance from me...that you are trying to prevent me from figuring out how you are truly feeling. Because everything I said has been totally right."

Hinata still remained rooted in her spot as tears began to gather in her eyes, making Naruto reach his boiling point as his eyes began to flash from glowing red to blue. There was also a red faint aura surrounding his being. He ripped the rail off of its stand and was gripping very tightly.

"Hey, uh, I think we better step back." Kakashi told everyone as they stepped from the glowing red Naruto. Judging from the way he's trembling right now and how hard he was holding a piece of the railing, it's safe to say that Naruto might try and do something rash at Neji.

"Furthermore…" Neji still kept going as Naruto began to scowl angrily. "Touching your lip is a personality trait revealing a disturbance. It's a defense mechanism to soften the nervousness and worrying. So basically...in reality...you realized it haven't you? That you cannot change your…"

"ENOUGH!" Naruto's roar echoed out as he threw the rail at the stone statue finger, making it go through it and stuck itself on the wall behind it. The action and roar caught everyone's attention and they looked surprised to see his hair floating.

Neji turnt his Byakugan off as he turned to look at Naruto over his shoulder while Hinata looked up at him in shock. Her eyes widened as she saw his hair floating upwards and it seemed to be glowing red.

"Hinata, don't you dare listen to a goddamn thing that comes out of this guy's mouth!" Naruto turns to Neji and glares at him. "And you! Who the hell gave you the right to decide who Hinata can or can't be? This is her life so she can live it however she wants to! And if you ask me, she has changed! You're just too damn blind to see it!"

Hinata's eyes widened from Naruto's declaration but he didn't stop.

"Ever since we were at the Academy, I've been seeing Hinata train by herself from time to time! And guess what? No matter how much she hurt herself or how much pain she was in, she still got back up and kept going! Back then, I didn't know about it because I was a stupid kid, hell I'm still stupid that I can admit it! But now, I know that deep down inside Hinata is a lion that is waiting to come out!" Naruto exclaimed, making Hinata gasp out loud and everyone looked surprised at Naruto's words, especially Kurenai and Shino, while Neji just looked on.

"But guys like you just keep dragging her down, keeping her from reaching her full potential! That's the real reason why she joined the Chūnin Exam! To unleash that potential within her, just like the rest of us here! But here you are trying to scare her away with your words? That's something cowards would do."

That made Neji narrowed his eyes at Naruto, who turned and gave Hinata a happy grin. "Come on Hinata! Don't hold back! Show this guy what you're made of!"

Hinata had a stunned look present on her face as she stared up at Naruto's smiling face with eyes full of wonder. "Naruto…" Her lips trembled as she looked down hiding her face from view not letting everyone see the smile that was present on her along with the increasing blush.

That was...that was the first time anyone has ever said something like that about her. What's more it came from Naruto's own lips, which made her heart soar. Because he was right. She knew that somewhere deep down she had potential that lies dormant within her. But she hasn't reached that potential due to her gentle nature.

While true that Kurenai-sensei believed in her potential and has been helping her release it, even though she always gives up. But to hear that Naruto not only has been seeing her train by herself, he also believed in her potential and said that she changed because of it...

"Naruto…"

"God he's annoying…" Neji thought. He turned to look at Hinata and looked surprised for a moment as he saw a determined look on her face.

"Thank you…!" Hinata thought.

Naruto seeing the determined look on Hinata's face, grins softly as his hair stopped floating. "Heh! Atta girl."

"...her eyes have changed." Neji said to himself. "Fine then. I won't be responsible for what happens."

Hinata closed her eyes as veins pulsed around them. Her thoughts went back to what Naruto said on the first day of the exams and she repeated what he said.

"I won't quit...I won't run away..."

"I never go back on my word. That's the way of the ninja." Naruto's voice said as his smirking expression appeared in her head.

"I won't...run away!" Hinata opens her eyes to show her Byakugan activated, which caught everyone's attention and Naruto's smirk grows bigger. "Defend yourself…" She took the Hyuga Style fighting stance. "My brother."

"...Fine." Neji took a similar stance.

"...I thought so." Lee spoke up, getting everyone's attention.

"What's up?" Naruto asked.

"She uses the same Hyuga Style...her stance is similar to Neji." Lee replied.

"Hyuga Style?" Amy and Sakura asked at the same time, making them glance at each other.

"What is this Hyuga Style?" Knuckles asked.

"The Leaf's strongest taijutsu style." Lee said his fist clenched and body trembling.

"Huh? The strongest?" Tails asked in surprise. He didn't know that the Leaf had strong fighting styles.

"I said it before...the 'strongest genin on my team'...that's him. Neji Hyuga." Lee replied.

Hinata and Neji soon charged at each other and began their assault against each other, both of them blocking or dodging each other's strikes as bursts of chakra erupts from them.

Naruto watched the match intently, his eyes focused intently on Hinata as he watched her dodging and blocking Neji's attack. He grins as he saw Hinata's strike graze Neji's shirt.

"Yes! She almost had him." Naruto said.

"What do you mean 'almost'?" Knuckles asked, crossing his arms. "It looked like she slightly touched him."

"A slight touch is still enough. That's what makes the Hyuga Clan so great." Lee told the redhead.

"How do you mean?" Blaze asked curiously.

"The Hyuga Clan have a special fighting style that's been passed down for generations." Guy answered this time.

While everyone was listening to Guy's explanation, Naruto was still focused on the match, though he was slightly listening to Guy's explanation.

After all, he doesn't know much about the Hyuga Clan, so if there's a chance he might fight against Hinata or Neji in the final round, he'll have to learn about their fighting styles and everything.

The Ultimate Ninja then noticed the conversation turned to talking about chakra coils in the body, which Tails asked about since he didn't know about them. Apparently, the Hyuga's Byakugan allows them to see someone's inner chakra coils and they strike the pressure points to damage the chakra coils.

"Heh. So avoid their strikes and make sure they don't hit my inner chakra. Got it." Naruto thought to himself. His eyes widened as he saw the two Hyuga members attack at the same time, making his eyes narrow.

"What happened?! Did she get him?" Tails asked.

"No." Naruto grit his teeth. "He got her."

Tails, Sakura and Amy's eyes widened in shock when they saw Hinata had coughed out blood. Knuckles and Blaze's eyes were narrowed and Naruto glared at Neji.

"So this is it…" Neji spoke up. "The extent of the Main House's strength."

"Not yet!" Hinata tried to strike him again only for Neji to strike her arm and hold her in place. He rolled the sleeves up to reveal red dots on her arm.

The Hyuga Heiress looked surprised. "No way...then from the beginning…"

"Exactly. My eyes can even see the 'opening points'." Neji told her.

"Opening what?" Knuckles asked.

"Above the 'inner coils system' are 361 pressure points called chakra holes." Kakashi explained. "They are the size of the tip of a needle. They are also called 'opening points' and if you press them accurately you can stop or increase your opponent's flow."

"Hmm...so does that mean you can see it Kakashi-sensei? With your sharingan?" Tails asked though Kakashi shook his head.

"No. My sharingan can't see them. Even with the ability to use it effectively in a battle." The teens stared at Kakashi after he finished his explanation, though Naruto watched on as Neji pushed Hinata back.

"This is the difference in talent that can never change Hinata. One that divides the elite to the loser." Neji said. "This is the reality that can't change. Forfeit now."

Hinata stared at her cousin before she weakly tried to stand up, making Neji narrowed his eyes. "I...don't go back...on my word." She stood up and turned to face Nejo, a smile present on her face. "That is...my nindo way."

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise at hearing what she said. "Hinata…" A small smile appears on his face. He watched as Hinata looked up at him and his smile widened as he nodded at her.

"You got this." He mouthed to her. Hinata smiles softly from that as she nods back at him before facing her cousin.

"You know…" Naruto said, getting everyone's attention. "I always knew Hinata was incredible...but I wasn't expecting this."

"She's quite similar to you…" Lee smiles, pointing his thumb over at Naruto.

"She has been watching you." Sakura added, which made Naruto rub his head sheepishly.

"What can I say? It's always nice to have a fan." He chuckled which made Knuckles shake his head while Amy stared at Naruto with a half-lidded annoyed expression.

Blaze sighed and shook her head at her dense best friend. It was true. When they were young, she always saw this girl hiding behind buildings and poles whenever Naruto was by himself or she was with him. She smiled in amusement as she remembered whenever she saw her, she would quickly hide from her view.

"Come." Neji told her.

Hinata tried to move but suddenly coughed out blood, which alarmed the others.

"Oh no!" Amy cries out. "What happened?"

"Neji's attack has completely shut down her chakra flow." Kakashi answered. "She can no longer do her Gentle Fist. This match is over."

"No. It's not over." Naruto spoke in his serious voice. "It's not over until one of them stays down! Keep going Hinata! Show everyone here your resolve!"

"Yeah! You got this Hinata!" Tails cheered.

"Naruto…" Hinata smirks in determination as her eyes hardened which Neji noticed. She charges at Neji and began to attack him all the while thinking about Naruto, from when she met him a long time ago as children. "Whenever I look at you...I feel courage."

She remembered all the times when Naruto failed he would always get back up and try again, no matter how difficult it was.

"I feel like I'm trying my best…" Hinata dodged a strike from Neji. "Even I can do it. That I'm worth something. That's how I began to feel." She gasped when Neji struck her in the stomach before hitting her up the chin. She stumbles back and coughed but she didn't fall back.

"Hinata…" Kurenai said worriedly.

Her student used to always be a quitter, but then she tries to change herself. The red eyed beauty knew better than anyone the tough training she put herself through. She'd often fail on missions because Hinata was weak when it mattered most and she quickly lost her confidence.

But today...Hinata was different.

"This is the first time...I've ever seen her with such eyes." Kurenai said.

Hinata was in a lot of pain right now. Her chakra has stopped flowing when Neji struck her and she couldn't use her Gentle Fist now because of it. She knows that she reached her limit but she didn't care.

She ignored all of it...because she kept thinking about Naruto. The one from the past to the current Naruto. She always watched him from afar, watching him grow more and more each day as he kept reaching for his dream.

When she saw his battle with Nazo, she realized that he too had changed not just physically but mentally as well. It's like there are times where he acts silly and times when he knows playtime is over. He has definitely grown a lot stronger than he was before at the Academy.

So if he can change like that...then why not her?

"Naruto…" Hinata said to herself as she charged at Neji. "I've always watched you. Now you're watching me…" She stops in shock as Neji struck her in the chest. She painfully coughed out blood and fell face first on the arena floor while Neji remained where he was.

"You don't understand anything." Neji told his younger cousin. "From the very beginning of this match, your attacks have done nothing…"

Kurenai looks down at her student, a proud look on her face. "Hinata...even though you lost...you truly have changed."

"A deciding blow to the heart…" Guy said solemnly. "I feel bad for her but she won't be getting back up."

"How cruel." Amy whispered as she turns away from such a horrible scene. She couldn't think that someone of the same family would do something so terrifying to their own kin.

"Hinata..." Tails said sadly.

Knuckles clenched his fists tightly. "Damn that bastard!"

Blaze glares at Neji in anger at what he had done. Struck her in the heart? Was he truly trying to kill his own cousin, a clan heiress, because of some stupid grudge over something the main house has done? To her, it was utterly foolish and childish!

"Continuing on is impossible…" Hayate said. "So the winner…"

"Don't stop the match!" Naruto called out.

"What are you saying you-!?" Sakura was about to tell him off before Naruto covered her mouth with his hand.

"Look!" Naruto told her as everyone turned to Hinata and their eyes widened in disbelief and shock, including Neji, who had a surprised look on his face.

Hinata weakly tried to get back up. Slowly but surely, she got back on her feet. Neji just stared at her in confusion.

"Why do you stand? If you keep going you'll die." The older Hyuga told her.

Hinata took deep breaths, a smile present on her face. He was watching her. Naruto, the person whom she admires the most, is finally watching her. She looks up at Neji and smiles weakly. Her eyes glanced upwards and she saw Naruto smiling happily at her. Her eyes went back to Neji and saw his Byakugan is activated.

"It's not over." Hinata said weakly.

"Acting tough is useless." Neji said. "You can barely stand. Ever since your birth, the responsibility of the Hyuga Main House has been forced upon you. You have always hated yourself for your own weakness...but people cannot change. That is destiny. There is no need for you to suffer. Let it go."

Naruto, Knuckles and Blaze's eyes narrowed at Neji from what he said. Destiny? It's destiny that people can't change? What kinda BS was this guy on?

"That's not true…brother." Hinata said. "Because I can see it...it's not me at all...the one who's lost and suffering from the destiny of the Main and Branch House...is you."

Neji's eyes narrowed in anger from what she said. He then charged at Hinata with the intent of finishing her off once and for all, ignoring what the proctor was telling him. Before he could even touch her, he was stopped by Guy, Hayate, Kakashi and Kurenai.

"Neji, give it a rest." Guy ordered his genin sternly. "You promised me that you wouldn't let this family business go over your head."

"Tsk!" Neji grit his teeth in annoyance. "Why did you even bother to interfere? More special treatment for the Main House."

Hinata's eyes went wide as she felt her heart pulsed. She was about to fall to her knees but felt a soft breeze appear and found her head leaning on a shoulder with arms wrapped around her. She looked up and saw she was leaning on Naruto, who was looking at her worriedly.

"Naru-" Hinata suddenly coughed out blood, landing some on Naruto's clothes, which he didn't care for.

"Hinata!" Kurenai cried out just as Naruto softly lay her down. She quickly ran to her just as Sakura, Lee, Blaze and Tails jumped down and ran over to them.

"Hinata! Is she okay?!" Tails asked.

"This isn't good. Look how pale she is!" Sakura said worriedly.

"Where are the medics!?" Blaze yells out in the arena.

"N...Naruto." Hinata said weakly, getting everyone's attention.

"Shh. Don't say anything." Naruto said softly, smiling at her. "You were amazing. Get some rest, kid. You earned it."

Hinata stared at Naruto's face, eyes weakly widened in surprise before she smiled back at him. "Did I...really change...just a little bit?" She slowly closed her eyes.

"Yeah…you truly did." Naruto nods at her. He smiles as he saw her smile weakly widen.

"Hey you there." The Ultimate Ninja lost his smile and looked over his shoulder at Neji, a blank look in his eyes. "There are two things I would like to tell you. You're a shinobi, cut out that pathetic cheering of others. And...it's exactly what Nazo said. A loser is a loser, that will never change."

Naruto, along with Lee, glares at Neji for what he said. He stood up and fully turned to him. "Wanna test that little theory of yours?"

"Heh…" Neji smirked.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and did a spin charge. Sakura knew what he was going to do and tried to stop him. But it was too late as Naruto charged at Neji, only to skid to a halt as Lee appeared and blocked him from going any further, much to everyone's surprise.

"Why are you stopping-!?"

"Naruto, I get where you're coming from, believe me." Lee told him, his hair shadowing his eyes. "But the fighting should occur in the matches."

"..." Naruto stared at Lee with eyes full of surprise.

"Whether a loser can defeat a genius through the power of hard work." Lee stated. "That's something to look forward to in the main event." He looks up and stares at Neji. "Though his opponent might be me."

"..." Neji stares back at Lee.

"But even if it's you Naruto, there will be no hard feelings." Lee finished, looking back at Naruto, who was glaring at Neji.

The Ultimate Ninja's face turned comical for a moment as he looks between them before he sighed and smirks a little. "Alright. Fine. You win." He turns away, not paying attention to the fact that Lee and Guy gave each other a thumbs up.

"GAAAH!" Hinata coughed out blood again, getting everyone's attention.

"Hold on!" Knuckles jumped down the platform and ran to them. He kneels down in front of Hinata and holds his hands out. A green glow erupted from his hands and shrouded Hinata in a green energy field.

Everyone stared in amazement at the technique and they could hear sparkling noises coming from the energy field as the gold rings entered her being. Knuckles turn to everyone, ignoring their surprised expressions. "I healed what I could but she needs to go to the hospital now!"

Kurenai stared at the redhead before she nodded her head in gratitude. She turns to the arrived Medical Team. "What are you waiting for!? You heard what he said! Hurry!"

"R-Right!" The Medical Team quickly placed Hinata on the stretcher as they carried her away with Kurenai following after them.

Naruto watched on as she saw her peaceful expression on her face. He thought back on the fight that just happened. How hard she fought to prove to her cousin that she did change, how she continued to get back up and fight the good fight, made him proud of her and found respect for her.

He looked down at the blood that Hinata coughed out and the blood on his shirt. He wiped the blood off his shirt and reached down and used his fingers to pick up the rest of it. He turned to Neji and held his fist out towards him, the blood dripping down his fingers, which immediately caught everyone's attention.

"Neji Hyuga. You're on my list." Naruto spoke, his voice and expression matching the seriousness that he's known to have. "You better watch out. I'm coming at ya, full speed."

"...Bah." Neji said as he turned to walk away.

"Naruto…" Blaze, Tails, Amy, Sakura and Lee thought as they stared at him.

Naruto walks towards Knuckles, who stood up and stared at him. He smiled at him and held his fist out towards him, his eyes showing new respect. "You did good...Rad Red."

Knuckles stared at the fist before he closed his eyes and smirks. "Thanks...Yellow Streak." He bumps fists with Naruto as the two chuckled a bit.

Everyone smiled at the interaction between them. Soon they all walked back to the stands. Meanwhile, Storm and her team were impressed with the fight the two Hyuga Clan members showed.

"I gotta admit. I wasn't expecting a fight between two members of the same clan." One of her teammates commented.

"Not only that but from what we just heard that was the supposed clan heiress." The other said.

"Hmph. Some heiress she was. She was supposed to represent her house yet she lost to someone from the branch house?" Storm asked with narrowed eyes. "What a disgrace. If anything…" Her eyes moved towards Neji. "Neji has what it takes to be a clan heir." Her eyes then moved towards Naruto, watching as the Sand's puppet user walked towards him and two of his friends and started a conversation with them. "That is...if he can win against him."

"Now it's time to begin the next match." Hayate called out, getting everyone's attention. They looked up at the monitor and saw who was next to fight.

Rock Lee

VS.

Gaara of the Desert

"YES! It is now my turn!" Lee cheered as he happily jumped off the platform, doing a flip.

"..." Gaara appeared on the floor in a swirl of sand.

"If you're ready…" Hayate started as he stared at both fighters. "You may begin."

Lee immediately took a stance while the cork on Gaara's gourd popped open, which released a bunch of sand and formed a circle around him. The action took Lee and everyone else, except for the Sand Ninja.

"Eh?" Tails asked, rubbing his eyes in disbelief. "Dudes, did you see that?"

"Yeah. That was sand." Naruto replied, eyes wide in surprise. "So that's what was in that gourd."

"...I don't like this." Knuckles said, narrowing his eyes at Gaara and crossing his arms. "Something about that guy feels...weird."

Naruto and Tails stared at Knuckles for a brief moment before they looked back at the match, both of them agreeing with what he said about Gaara feeling weird.

Rock Lee charged at Gaara, landing a few hits but were blocked by the sand. He took out a kunai when he saw the sand trying to attack him, so he dodged and slashed at him before jumping away. He charged at Gaara once again, this time trying to attack him with a barrage of kicks which were blocked as well.

"How is Gaara doing all that?" Blaze asked in complete confusion. "Just look at him, he's not moving a single muscle."

"I don't know." Amy said, shaking a bit as she eyed Gaara with fear in her eyes. She flinched when she saw hit the wall. "But that guy, his eyes...they scare me. It's almost like...he's not human. To be honest, I'm worried about Rock Lee."

The sand moved towards Lee who jumped out of the way in time and launched several shurikens at Gaara which were immediately struck blocked by the sand. Just as he landed, he jumps again to avoid a tsunami of sand that appeared behind him. He landed on the stone fingers and stared hard at Gaara while he did the same thing.

"Damn! That Gaara guy is tough." Naruto said. "What's up with that sand of his protecting him? It's almost like it's alive."

"That's because it is." Kankuro replied, earning Naruto and his two friends attention. "Gaara isn't controlling the sand. It protects him of its own accord. And because of that...no one hasn't been able to touch Gaara."

"A sand that protects someone?!" Tails asked, his eyes turned into stars. "Oh man! That's so cool!"

"Hope that Lee guy has a plan." Knuckles said, hearing the older guy that looks like Lee says something about taking off his weights. "Because if not, he's going to be in a lot of trouble."

"Yes sir! I shall take them off!" Lee exclaimed, holding two weights in his hands before he released them.

Everyone watched as the weights fell to the ground. The moment they landed, the entire arena shook as two large clouds of dirt appeared from where the weights landed. Everyone, not counting Gaara were incredibly shocked or surprised by how heavy those weights were.

"KYA!?" Amy and Sakura screamed in comical shock.

"What in the world!?" Storm asked in shock, staring at Lee in disbelief. How the hell could anyone wear those kinds of weights!?

"My god!" Blaze exclaimed, jumping like a frightened cat as cat ears and a tail comically came out.

"Guy, you are too much." Kakashi thought with a deadpan expression.

"WHOA!" Tails floated in the air, screaming in comical shock before he fell back down, landing on his butt. "Ow!"

"HOLY CRAP!" Naruto yells in comical surprise. "How much are those weights!?"

Knuckles whistled in awe, staring at Lee with respect. "This guy was wearing that kind of weight the whole time? Me and him have got to fight."

Lee then vanished much to everyone's surprise, especially Naruto and Gaara. He then reappeared behind Gaara and attacked him harder and faster which made the sand harder to block.

"Oh snap! He's moving as fast as you Naruto!" Tails said in excitement.

Naruto looked impressed by that as he smirks. "Oh? Sounds to me like I got a new competition in speed bud."

They continued to watch the match as Lee kept attacking Gaara in a burst of speed. In fact, thanks to Naruto's heightened senses, he can follow every movement Lee is making as he attacks Gaara.

Yet despite all that, Gaara was still getting back up and he looked like he was enjoying this match. Wanting to end this fight, Lee then did something that shocked everyone, he opened up five of the Eight Gates, increasing his power and speed further judging by his pupils disappearing and his skin turning red.

"I've got a bad feeling about this…" Naruto said to himself, gripping the railing as he continued to watch the match, ignoring everything around him.

Lee sent a barrage of attacks at Gaara while airborne as he kept getting hit all over his body. He sent one last attack that sent Gaara crashing down to the arena floor, causing a massive crater to be formed. When Lee landed, tired and exhausted, and after seeing the cracks all over Gaara's face and body, everyone thought Lee had won the match.

That is until Gaara went in for the attack. Lee tried desperately to get away from the sand, but it managed to grab his arm and leg. With a sickening crunch that made most in the arena to flinch or cover their ears to block out Lee's screams of pain.

"LEE!" Naruto called out as he and Knuckles were about to jump down and interfere with the match.

The match was already interrupted by Might Guy entering the arena and blowing the sand away, preventing it from doing anymore damage to Lee. Gaara had asked why he protected him only to get an answer that drove more confusion from him. So he decided to up and leave the arena. But much to everyone's amazement, Lee suddenly stood up and took a weak fighting stance.

Naruto instantly appeared and stood in front of Lee. "Hey! Dude! It's okay! You don't have to fight...any…" His words died in his throat as he stared at Lee's eyes before he looked down and bit his lower lip.

"What's wrong?" Guy asked, wondering why Naruto went silent. He shook his head and moved out of the way, allowing the Jonin to see his student before his eyes widened. His eyes started to water. "Oh Lee...what have I done?"

While Guy was busy hugging Lee and crying just as the paramedics showed up, Naruto clenched his fists tightly, ignoring everything that was happening. He couldn't believe it. Lee had that guy! He had him! He had the speed, the power boost and the advantage. He's given in everything he had in order to win at the cost of his stamina in order to win, so how could he lose?

He heard the paramedics talking to Guy about Lee's condition and it shocked him to hear that because of Gaara's sand crushing the bones in his left arm and leg, his career as a shinobi was over. Even Knuckles, much to his anger and disappointment, tried to heal him but could only heal what could little injuries he had.

As much as Naruto wanted to deny it, to tell the doctors they were wrong, he knew they were right. And it made him angry that there was nothing he could do to help Lee.

Hearing footsteps walking past him and sensing the familiar cold atmosphere, Naruto glanced to the side and glared at Gaara, who glanced back at him with an emotionless glare. He instantly reappeared next to his siblings though Naruto's eyes never left his form.

"Gaara of the Desert…"

Feeling a hand on his head made Naruto turn to see it was Kakashi. "Come on, the final match is about to start."

Naruto nodded and silently went to the stands with the others. He took a sneak peak at Gaara out of the corner of his eyes. "What the hell are you?"

After the drama was over and done, it was time for the last match which was Choji against Dosu. Well, if you could actually call it a match since it only lasted for about a minute or two which caused various amounts of comical reactions from the Leaf Genin while the others were indifference.

"Um, what just happened?" Amy asked, blinking in confusion.

A sheepish Naruto laughed a little bit. "That's Choji for ya. Call him fat or take the last bite of his favorite snack and he will snap on you like an angry bull."

"He's right." Tails said, sitting on the railing. "I mean, this isn't the first time Dosu and Choji fought each other."

"They fought before?" Knuckles asked curiously.

"Yeah, it was a couple of days ago when we were in the Forest of Death." Sakura replied, unknowingly creeping Amy while Knuckles looked bewildered.

Blaze shook her head and crossed her arms, staring at the downed Akimichi heir as the medics took him away. She glanced at Kakashi. "It seems pretty childish to be worked up over someone calling him fat, don't you think?"

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders. "What can I say? Some Akimichi men are quite sensitive about their weight."

"I bet they are." Blaze, Amy and Sakura thought with deadpan looks on their faces. After all, women everywhere concern themselves with their weight everyday.

"With that match concluded, the third exam preliminaries are officially over." Hayate said. "All winners gather to the arena."

Naruto, Neji, Shikamaru, Shino, Kankuro, Temari, Gaara, Dosu and Storm gathered to the arena floor, standing in front Anko, Hayate and Ibiki. Behind them stood Hiruzen.

"We commend all those who advances towards the finals of the third level of the Chunin Exam." Hayate said. "Well there's one person missing but still congratulations."

Hiruzen coughed to get the attention. "In the final rounds, each of you will put your battle skills on display. You'll demonstrate the power and control that you've received in your respective discipline. Accordingly the final battles will commence in one month."

"We have to wait a month for the finals?" Naruto asked. "Why?"

"This is to provide a suitable period of preparation." Hiruzen answered.

"What do you mean by that?" Shikamaru asked.

"Simply this; in addition to announcing the conclusion of the preliminary matches to each country's leaders, we must also have some time to prepare and distribute summons for the final selection." Hiruzen closed his eyes and smirked. "Not to mention you examinees are going to need time to prepare for something this important."

"Oh! I get it now." Naruto said, smirking slightly as he caught everyone's attention. "While you guys are busy taking care of the important stuff, we get to take this month long break in order to train ourselves. Makes sense when you think about it."

"What exactly does that mean?" Kankuro asked.

"When we fought in the preliminaries, we were basically fighting unknown shinobi." Conquering Storm answered, bringing attention to herself. "During that time, we had no idea what our opponent's skills and abilities were. But now that everyone knows each other's techniques, we're taking this month break in order to hone our own skills against the opponent we're facing during the finals. Am I correct Lord Third?"

"Yes. That is absolutely correct." Hiruzen said.

Naruto turned his head to stare at Gaara, Neji and Storm, who noticed his gaze as she glanced back at him. She sent him a challenging smirk before closing her eyes and ignored his presence. He looked at the floor as he thought about Sasuke and Nazo.

He clenched his fists just from thinking about him and the demonic power that he infected him with. Oh yeah, he's definitely going to get some serious training done if he's going to win this competition. Especially learning how to control this dark power.

Meanwhile up in the stands, Blaze, Tails, Knuckles Amy and Sakura were watching everything unfold.

"Oh man! It looks like next month is going to be crazy!" Tails said, kicking his legs excitedly.

"And from what gramps said down there, a lot of important leaders will be watching everything happen." Knuckles added in, leaning on the wall. "To be honest, I want to check that out."

"Hm." Sakura nods, her eyes focused on Naruto's determined expression as he looked at his hands. "I can't help but worry about Naruto. I mean I'm happy that he's advanced but…" Her eyes moved towards Gaara. "What if he ends up fighting Gaara and ends up like Lee?"

"No way!" Amy shook her head, looking at Sakura with a happy smirk. "Naruto would never lose to a guy like that. No matter how tough someone else is, he'll always find a way to beat them, just like how he did with Nazo and Dr. Nega. He IS Naruto after all."

Everyone smiled at that as they nodded their heads.

"Of course he is." Blaze smiled staring at Naruto as he and the other examinees were given pieces of paper. "That fool never knows when to call it quits."

"Alright from left to right, start to call out your numbers." Ibiki instructed them.

"I've got 8."

"Number 1 here."

"I have 7."

"5."

"3."

"9."

"2."

"6."

"10."

"And that means Sasuke will be number 4." Hiruzen stated. "Excellent. Now I will tell you how the selection tournament works. Ibiki you may reveal which ninja has been paired up."

Ibiki nodded and showed everyone what was written on the board; (1) Naruto vs. (2) Neji, (3) Gaara vs. (4) Sasuke, (5) Kankuro vs. (6) Shino, (7) Storm vs. (8) Dosu, (9) Temari vs. (10) Shikamaru

The assembled genin looked at the board each with their own thoughts on the opponents they were facing. Naruto grins at seeing that he was the first to fight and that he was going to face Neji. Lady luck is on his side today ladies and gentlemen! Not only that but Sasuke and Gaara will be fighting in the next round.

Even though he wanted to take down Gaara after what he did to Lee, he still wanted to get the chance to fight his longtime rival. He hoped that Sasuke would win against him, but then again because of that weird tattoo on his neck he never got the chance to see Gaara in action so he doesn't know what he's up against.

He glanced up at the bystanders and noted that Kakashi wasn't there, which meant he was checking up on Sasuke. He nodded in acceptance, knowing that he'll tell Sasuke what was going on and when he does, he'll be out training.

"Now that you know who you will be up against, take this month break to hone and master your individual skills against your opponents. That is all." Hiruzen said.

After that the examinees went with their teams, each of them getting ready for finals.

Later that day

"Aw~! Ichiraku! It's been so long since I've had a taste of your delicious ramen!" Naruto said happily, drooling slightly.

Naruto and his group of friends which consists of Blaze, Tails, Amy and Knuckles were at Naruto's favorite ramen restaurant. Sakura went home, saying that she was going to take a shower and nap.

"I really don't understand what's so special about this place." Knuckles said, tapping his finger on the table.

"Poor simple Knucklehead, haven't gotten the time to try out the best, I repeat the BEST ramen in the world." Naruto said, wagging his finger, making Knuckles glare at him in annoyance.

"Is the ramen here really that good?" Amy asked curiously.

"Of course! I've never had ramen as good as this!" Tails said happily. He's currently in his human form, only he wore a hat to cover his ears. Amazing, he joined his twin tails together to form a single tail and used wrapped it around his waist, making it look like a fashionable belt.

"It's been so long since I've been here." Blaze mused as she looked around the small restaurant with a small smile on her face. "This place hasn't changed a bit."

Hearing laughter coming from the kitchen made everyone look to see the owner, Teuchi, walking out with two bowls of ramen in his hands as he handed one to Naruto and the other Blaze.

"That's right! And hopefully it's going to stay that way for several more years!" Teuchi said as his daughter came out holding a plate of three bowls and handed them to the others.

"Thank you for the food!" Naruto and Tails said happily as they dug in.

Amy giggled at them as she raised the noodles to her mouth, blowing on it for a couple of seconds before eating it. Her eyes widened in delight at the amazing taste that touched her tongue. "It's good!" She continued to eat at a pace that was closer to Naruto's.

Blaze stared at them with a deadpan expression at how they were eating. She sighed and shook her head. "Oh brother." She followed their example, with noble grace befitting her statues as princess and slurped in the noodle.

Her eyes widened as a minor blush spread across her cheeks. Oh my! She's completely forgotten how amazingly good Mr. Teuchi's ramen was. This gentleman's cooking shows how much love and care he always put in the taste of his food. While true the chefs at her castle would always cook for her, but the ramen they made wasn't as special as Mr. Teuchi. He is certainly quite skilled in the culinary arts.

Knuckles glanced around, seeing everyone was happily enjoying their food. He looked down at his bowl before shrugging his shoulders and taking a slurp. His eyes widened comically for a second as he immediately dug in. "Whoa! What am I eating!? This is amazing!"

After a couple of minutes, everyone was finished with their bowls as they sighed in content and bliss

"Thanks for the ramen you two." Naruto said as he reached in his pocket to take out his money, only for Teuchi to raise his hand.

"No pay! This is on the house!" The owner said happily as he picked up the bowls and stacked them. "Not only did you make it to the finals but you also finally found your little childhood sweetheart and brought some new guests in!"

What he said caused several things to happen; Naruto did a large comical spit take, and coughed uncontrollably, Blaze blushed slightly, Knuckles and Tails were laughing and giggling, and Amy looked wide eyed as she snapped both chopsticks in her hand.

"She's not my sweetheart!" Naruto exclaimed while blushing. "She's just a friend! Just. A. Friend!"

"Oh?" Ayame asked, raising a brow as teasing smirk appeared on her face. "I remember a certain little boy who said that he won't stop until he finds his precious Blaze."

"I NEVER SAID THAT!' Naruto yelled blushed up a storm while Blaze's blush increased further. It drove Tails and Knuckles on the ground laughing so hard they were holding their sides.

A pink aura erupted from Amy as she let out a growl, turning to face Naruto as her pupils shrank in anger, making him shake in fear. He leaned towards Ayame's ear, a frantic pleading expression on his face.

"Ayame, can you please be quiet before Amy does something crazy to me!"

Ayame giggled slightly before pulled away. "Okay, okay. I won't tease you anymore."

Naruto glanced at Amy and saw she was still staring at him in anger making him sweat nervously before he stood up. "Hey! Now that we've had our fill why don't I give you guys a grand tour? Okay? Okay, let's go!" He tried to laugh in excitement but it was more nervous.

So for the next hour, Naruto and Tails had given their friends a grand tour of the Leaf Village, showing them various places like the BBQ restaurant Choji and his team always hung around, and the flower shop that Ino and her family owns.

Knuckles being curious wanted to enter to see what kind of flowers they sell so he did. When he entered he saw Ino talking to her parents about the exam and when they saw him, Ino blushed up like a storm and stuttered uncontrollably. She looked down and saw how daughter she was, so she ran up stairs to her room to get into a shower, leaving behind a confused Knuckles and her sheepish looking parents, with Naruto and the others peeking in to see what was going on.

After that little episode, Naruto, in his own simple unique way of course, explained the history of the Leaf Village from its founding to today. He showed them the Hokage Monument which had the faces of the First, Second, Third and Fourth Hokage.

Looking at the Fourth Hokage's face caused Amy and Knuckles to look between it and Naruto's, noting the resemblance between the two. Judging how Naruto proudly looked up at the Fourth Hokage's face and how Blaze and Tails held their fingers to lips when they saw their expressions, they put the pieces together and didn't comment on it as they continued.

They went to the Academy, Hokage Manor, and the various training grounds that were open. They were now heading towards the hot springs area.

"So Naruto." Blaze spoke up, getting everyone's attention. "What exactly is your plan for the finals this month?"

"What do you mean? I'm gonna train like crazy of course!" Naruto grins in confidence.

"I know you're gonna 'train like crazy'." Blaze said rolling her eyes in exasperation. "And that's not a plan."

"Yeah." Knuckles said, stuffing his hands in his pocket. "Your opponent in the first match is that Neji Hyuga guy."

Tails nodded in agreement. "He paid very close attention to your fight against Nazo, so he knows what he's up against and will find a way to counter your speed."

"Then I'll just have to find a way to counter him back." Naruto said, placing his hands behind his head, frowning. "I'll be honest guys, when we met that creep Orochimaru I think the bastard did something to me."

"What do you mean?" Amy asked curiously.

"I mean when me and Nazo fought each other, I tried to get a good amount of access to my chakra but I couldn't." Naruto answered, getting everyone's attention. "It's like whatever Orochimaru did to me disrupted my chakra, making it difficult for me to use it."

"Did you tell this to Kakashi?" Blaze asked, eyes narrowing at this mysterious Orochimaru character.

Naruto shrugged in response. "I was going too but I don't think Kakashi himself knows what this thing is. Besides, knowing him he's gonna train Sasuke on how to beat Gaara since they both have the sharingan."

"What about Lord Third?" Tails asked with Naruto shaking his head.

"The old man is too busy with the exams, and I don't want to put more stress on him. He's already worried about me enough with this Dark Gaia thing's power flowing through me."

"And...what about Dark Gaia's power?" Amy asked, making Naruto frown in thought. "Did you figure out a way to control it?"

"That's a different story." The ultimate ninja admitted. "I mean come on. Nobody, not even the old man himself, heard of this thing until today."

Blaze nodded in agreement. "The only one who does is Nazo. He gave you this power so he must know a way to get rid of it. So until then you're stuck with it."

"Right." Naruto said. "If I need to learn how to control this power I need to either A): Find someone else who knows more about this thing or B): Learn it myself."

"Let me guess, you're gonna pick option B." Knuckles stated.

"Like I got a choice in the matter." Naruto said, scratching his head in annoyance. "Damn. This whole mess is starting to turn into a drag."

"Hey, you sound like Shikamaru just now." Tails giggled making everyone else laugh as well.

"I think he's starting to rub off on me." Naruto chuckled.

"AIIIIIIIII~!"

BOOM!

"Huh?" Everyone looked ahead at the cloud of dust. Once it settled, they saw a man lying on the ground unconscious. He wore the usual shinobi outfit without the flak jacket and wore a bandana with the forehead protector on it. He also wore black sunglasses.

"Look at that, it's the closet pervert." Naruto said, a comical blank look sent towards the man.

"Closet pervert?!" Amy cried out, hiding behind her Destined Hero as she and Blaze glared at the man.

"He definitely looks like one." Knuckles said with a half lidded expression.

"Yup. This guy is Ebisu. Met him when the old man's grandson came rushing in like a dork. Wonder what's he been up to throughout this story." Naruto mused to himself.

"What do you think happened to him?" Tails asked, poking at the unconscious man with a stick.

He received no answers.

"Guys?"

Tails turned back to his friends, seeing them staring up ahead with widened eyes full of comical disbelief and wonder. Curious, he turned to the bridge they were about to cross until he gave a startled yelp.

Standing on a bridge was a big orange frog with blue markings. Not only that there was also a man sitting on top of the frog. A man whom Blaze was very familiar with by the way her eyes were narrowed in complete anger and disgust.

Even though the man was sitting on his frog, they could easily tell that he was tall and well-built. He has waist-length, spiky white hair that is tied back into a ponytail, with two shoulder-length bangs framing his face. There were red lines under his eyes which extended further down his face to they were at the bottom.

His attire consisted of a green short shirt kimono and matching pants, under which he wore mesh armour that is visible at his wrists and ankles. He also wore hand guards, a black belt, traditional Japanese wooden sandals, and a red haori with two yellow circles on each side. He often carried a large scroll on his back, and had a tattoo on his left palm, and he wore a horned forehead protector with the kanji for "oil".

"What's wrong with you?" The man said, obviously talking to Ebisu as he glared at him in annoyance. "Keep it down. Are you trying to get us busted you idiot?" He then turned his attention to the group in front of him, all of them staring at him with widened eyes while only one of them was glaring at him.

Thankfully Naruto summed it up for everyone.

"Dude...what the actual fuck?"

Ending 2: Harmonia [English Version]

Hey, can you hear me?

A drawing of Tails, in his fox form, is seen with his back turned to the audience. He turns back and smiles happily at the viewers.

The sky is limitless and blue
The sea is endlessly large
To you, please remain smiling or else I'll cry

Tails is flying in the Tornado. He waves to a bunch of birds as they waved back. He flew down just above the sea as the dolphins jumped out. Everything vanished and Tails is by himself.

Naruto, Knuckles, Amy, Sasuke and Sakura appeared for a moment before they vanished, making Tails cry out before he sneezed and he transformed into his human form.

You don't have to look around now, because everyone are in these hands

Pictures start to rain down and Tails watches each one that passes. All the pictures had everyone on them: Rock Lee, Iruka, Hinata, Asuma, Might Guy, Kurenai, Shikamaru, Naruto, Amy, Knuckles, Sasuke, Sakura, Neji, Tenten, Choji, Kiba, Shino, and Kakashi.

Wanting to cry, wanting to run
If you forget happiness then sing
Light was born and dark was born, the two is together
Feeling harmonia, telepathy

Tails, still in his human form, is walking around the woods, looking for everyone as the sun shines on him. A bunch of animals soon followed him and he began to happily lead them as though they were a marching band.

One by one the animals began to leave Tails by himself. He looked in front of him and saw Naruto's back towards him.

A big smile appeared on his face as he ran to his best friend and jumped on his back, causing him to turn around in surprise before a smile appeared on his face. He turns around facing the viewers and looks at them.

Hey, can you hear me?

Naruto and Tails then gave the viewers two thumbs up.