Don't own anything.

Hey everyone! Before you all read this chapter there is something I'd like to clarify on a little. I know in the manga it is never stated that Naruto is abused by the townspeople, only that he is ignored or looked upon with disdain. But for the sake of this story I'm going with the assumption that he was beaten at least a few times. That's all I wanted to say so enjoy!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

"Demon"

'Gilgamesh'

"JUTSU"

"Would you like to see a magic trick?" Naruto asked Neji from his side of the arena with that ever present grin on his face; that scary kind of smile that lets you know that he's up to something and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. Neji noticed it looked exactly the same as the one Naruto had given Kiba just before he knocked him out a month prior.

"Stop wasting my time fool. I let you trick me once. It won't happen again." He was on his guard now. He wasn't going to let himself get distracted like earlier by some stupid show of clones.

"Are you sure you don't want to see it? I think you of all people would really appreciate just how magical it is!" Naruto beamed.

Neji remained silent as he stared down his opponent.

The silver-blonde haired boy was wearing a purple cutoff shirt, but he stuck his hands out and pulled at fake sleeves as if they stretched past his hands. "There's nothing up this sleeve." He said as he pulled at his right wrist. "And there's nothing up this one." He grinned as he pulled at his left. "But if you watch closely…"

Neji tensed as chakra leaked out of Naruto's feet. People in the audience couldn't see it unless they were Hyuga, but Neji's byakugan watched as the blue colored chakra spread across the ground and seemed to portion all of Naruto's weight evenly across the surface.

"… you'll see magic." The dark hilt of God Eater appeared in Naruto's hand and the hair on Neji's neck stood on end in surprise.

'Where did that hilt come from? I don't see any summoning seals. It's almost as if it came out of nowhere!'

"Told you, you would appreciate it." Naruto said smugly as he saw the widening in Neji's eyes. "But it's not over yet." From the end of the hilt, the black gears of God Eater forced their way into life.

The crowd went into a low hush and the collective visitors from every ninja village listened to the thunks of clashing metal as Naruto's first sword made its appearance and twisted into its futuristic shape of polished black sheen.

Neji didn't know what to say. He believed that something was wrong with his eyes. Maybe Naruto put him into a genjutsu or something. Neji whispered a 'kai' and forced his chakra through his system. Genjutsu never worked well on him before, but there was a first for everything.

The dark haired boy paled when nothing happened. It wasn't a genjutsu so that means what Naruto just did was real. The boy just pulled a giant club like sword out of thin air and it was heavy. Very heavy. It was without a doubt the most molecular dense thing he had ever seen. And yes he can see density. It was a perk of being a Hyuga.

The byakugan measured the amount of force Naruto was now exerting on the pad of chakra coming out of his feet as it dispersed his new overwhelming weight. It must be around… "Fifty thousand one hundred and seventy three pounds." Neji said in disbelief.

"Ahh." Naruto smiled. "You can see that huh?" The blonde said as he looked down at his feet. "So that means you can see this too."

Naruto lifted his right foot off the ground as the energy under him began to churn.

Almost in an instant, the wide pad of chakra that had been surrounding Naruto's feet collapsed into straight line. And at the end of that line stood Neji. 'What is he…'

"You might as well call the medics now!"

The Hyuga prodigy had no time to think as Naruto's foot slammed into the ground and every bit of that fifty thousand pounds traveled down the narrow pathway of chakra it was given. The result was a destructive crater that destroyed the ground in an ugly crooked path toward Neji.

The gentle fist user jumped to the side and avoided the chasm that formed where he stood just a moment ago, but as soon as his foot touched the ground another tendril of chakra shot in his direction. With an extra stomp Naruto sent a shock-wave that shook the spectators in the stands and opened up a precipice under Neji's feet.

(line break)

"Thank you for moving Gaara's match to the end. I do so want to see him fight the Uchiha." The 'Kazekage' said with a wry smile.

The Hokage turned to the disguised Orochimaru and nodded his head. "It was no problem. I must admit I was looking forward to it myself. But Naruto's match has me more interested now." The old man chuckled as he watched the blonde genin's and fight the stadium rumbled with unease. "Crazy kid."

Orochimaru looked down at the obstacle fighting below them. The last time he fought Naruto he got surprised by the little genin's mysterious powers and he paid for it. If there is a next time the boy won't be so lucky.

"Who is that child?" The fake Kazekage asked with fake interest. He already knew about every competitor' skills thanks to Kabuto, but he didn't know any details of Naruto's past so he thought maybe the old man could fill in some blanks for him.

"Uzumaki Naruto. He was the dead last of the academy in the last term."

Orochimaru squeezed his fist in anger as he was reminded about how a dead last genin did so much damage to him. Granted it was after a grueling fight against Sephiroth but still, the kid was a freaking genin. Even in a weakened state, Orochimaru should have had no problem with him.

"He's also the most determined boy I've ever met. He represents the very heart of this village and, more than that, he represents the bright future in front of us." Sarutobi smiled warmly.

'It's not going to be as bright as you think monkey.' Orochimaru thought to himself as he looked at an inconspicuous Anbu. The masked ninja turned slightly and cued his master to let him know he was ready for the invasion. All they needed was the signal.

The snake turned back to the match and smiled sadistically under the cloth covering his face. 'For now I will just let things unfold. But soon I will destroy the heart and future you hold so dear.'

(line break)

To the people watching it must have seemed like Naruto was performing B-rank doton jutsu using only his feet as he tore through the arena by merely walking, but the Hyuga family saw the truth. Hinata herself wouldn't have believed what was happening if she didn't see it with her own eyes. Naruto was throwing around more weight than humanly possible and his muscles were barely even tightening! It was almost a curse for her to see how intoxicatingly strong he was.

Hinata would have been surprised if she could hear the similar thoughts coming from her sister, Hanabi. The younger Hyuga girl was foaming at the mouth from the raw power in front of her, but who could really blame her? She bit her lip as she watched Naruto's chaotic chakra network spin like an unstoppable flood. She dug her nails into her palm as he pulled a weapon out of non-existence. If the firecracker wasn't sitting, her knees would have buckled at how easily he could tear the earth into pieces. He made it look like he was kicking dirt off of his shoes as he flexed craters into the ground.

Kiba jarred in his seat from the fight. Wiping the forming sweat off of his brow, he thanked Kami that Naruto didn't use that giant metal tank against him. 'Now that I look back at it, maybe my fight with him wasn't so bad.' He told himself reluctantly, but that idea didn't stick in his head very long. 'Eh, I could still kick his ass in a fair fight.' The Inuzuka in him wouldn't let him admit defeat, no matter how unlikely it was he could win. They always were a confident bunch.

Sakura and Ino marveled at Naruto's new technique. Only he would think to use his strength in that way and, in a Naruto like fashion, he made the entire audience forget that Neji was a hailed prodigy that had already shown them amazing things. All eyes were on the blonde now, but that was never a surprise to the two girls. Their eyes have been solely pressed on Naruto for a long time and now others are just finding out what the girls have got to know over the past few months.

"Hey Forehead." Ino nudged as she looked around the audience.

"Shut up Piggy. I'm trying to watch Naruto." Sakura said as she pushed Ino's elbow away.

"You're not the only one watching him." Ino said with a giggle.

Sakura tore her eyes away from the match to find out what the blonde wanted. "What are you talking about?"

"Just look over there." Ino said as she pointed across the audience at a drooling Tenten.

"Of course she's interested. She's a weapons mistress. Naruto has a weapon. What's your point?" Sakura stated even though she knew Tenten probably wasn't ogling just the sword. The panda haired girl will soon find out that if she doesn't keep her distance from Sakura's man, she is going to be in for a world of hurt.

"Really. Well what about her?" Next she pointed at Hinata who almost seemed to be babbling incoherently as she blushed at Naruto.

"Okay she likes Naruto." The pinkette said plainly. "But she hasn't had the guts to say anything for years and that won't change soon." But if it does change then Sakura would have to remove a blue haired stuttering obstacle from her path. And remove it she would.

"I'll give you that." Ino conceded easily. "Hinata doesn't have the guts, but her sister on the other hand..." The blonde left the sentence hang as she glanced over at the other Hyuga sister. The girl was eyeing Naruto up like a piece of well-built meat that she wanted to sink her teeth into.

Ino watched her pink haired friend get worked up at the sight. It was so much fun to mess with her. Plus, she looked cute when she pouted. With her puffed up pink cheeks that matched her hair. And her slightly pursed lips that still looked soft even when she's mad. 'Whoa whoa. Watch those thoughts Ino.' The blonde girl said to herself.

"I've heard of her." Sakura said with a frown. "She's not like Hinata at all. That one is more like the rest of the Hyuga's. Cold, but she gets what she wants." With a wave of her hand the pinkette brushed Hanabi off. "But she's only seven years old. By the time she hits puberty Naruto will be with me anyways." She said smugly.

The mind walker shook off her weird thoughts about her friend. "Ah ah ah Forehead. You're forgetting about the one important person that could actually get in your way." Ino grinned and Sakura rolled her eyes.

"You're thinking too highly of yourself Piggy. You're not in my way at all. I don't even need to try to stop you."

"That's pretty arrogant of you Sakura." Ino said with a devilish smile. "We'll see who Naruto-kun likes more when we go out on our date with him later today. After tonight he'll be all mine."

"Delusional Ino. Just delusional." Sakura said with a smirk.

The two girls giggled and pushed each other around playfully for a few moments. With a final nudge they settled their legs next to each other and watched Naruto continue his fight in comfortable silence.

(line break)

Neji attempted to rush Naruto just to find that the blonde had no intention of making anything that easy for him. Naruto could send out his chakra in different formations so, whenever Neji got within twenty feet, the jinchuuriki would create a T shaped fissure in the ground that kicked up rocks and acted like a barrier.

The dark haired Hyuga took to the walls thinking that maybe Naruto couldn't get to him there, but he found that wasn't the case. The blonde just threw his giant sword over his shoulder and trotted over to the edge of the stadium before shoving his foot directly through the wall and caving in half of the siding.

Neji hit the ground and let out a controlled breath as he waited for Naruto's next attack. He had to figure out a way to get near him, but every time he approached the boy a shower of debris would fly directly towards his throat. It was just a game of cat and mouse now. Neji wasn't tired and Naruto wasn't stopping. Nothing had changed in the past few minutes of fighting and it didn't seem like it was going to. Not unless one of them can figure out a new strategy.

"I'm so boooooored." Naruto pouted. "Can't you do something cool? I've been sitting here pretty much waiting for you to come up with something, but you just keep running around."

"Very soon I will figure out a way to get near you. And when I do you won't be getting up like before." Neji taunted.

As usual, Naruto completely ignored the taunt and scoffed. "How about I make it easy for you Neji. If you say you're sorry to Hinata-chan right now, I will put my fantastic super sword away and I won't use it again for the rest of the match. I'm still going to kick your ass for hurting her, but at least you would have a clear conscious while I did it. Whatd'ya say?" He said as he tapped the side of God Eater.

"If Hinata-sama wishes for my apologies she need only ask for them." Neji said involuntarily like he has said it a thousand times before.

Naruto sighed at the lackluster response from Neji. The silver-blonde boy was hoping for an actual apology, not a forced one. "What I meant to say was if you say you're sorry to her AND YOU MEAN IT I will put my fantastic super sword away for the rest of the match."

Neji's eyes narrowed at Naruto. "I will never sincerely apologize to any of the main branch for my actions. My body is made to follow their orders, but nothing else!" The dark haired boy tore off his forehead protector to reveal a complex seal on his forehead. "So long as this curse is placed upon me I will forever despise them! My fate is sealed behind this mark because Hinata-sama and the rest of the main branch have made it so."

"I really don't think Hinata-chan has anything to do with that seal on your head." Naruto jeered.

"You don't know anything about the Hyuga family." He bit back.

"You're right. I don't." Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "But I do know a little about seals. Let me guess, it wraps around your head and with a word anyone in the main branch can turn your brain into mush." It was fairly common knowledge that any side branch member had the Hyuga family seal and most in the ninja community knew what it was for. It was made primarily to keep any usurpers from trying to rebel against the main branch.

When Neji didn't say anything Naruto took it as a yes.

"That's… pretty upsetting." Naruto said with a frown. "But it doesn't mean that your fate is set so stop being such a pessimistic asshole and do something about it!"

"You act like such a child. You don't have any idea how the world works. My life is at the disposal of the main branch just like my father's was and nothing will change that. Any one of them would kill me on a whim." Neji seethed.

"I don't care what you say Neji. I know you're wrong and I'll prove it to you." Naruto dispelled God Eater and cracked his neck. "If you think it's your destiny to win this fight then I will show that fate has no control over us like you think it does! And if a failure like me can win, just think about what a prodigy like you could do. Ne?"

The look in Naruto's eyes was determined, but Neji wasn't so easily swayed. "I've had enough." He moved into his stance. "Prepare yourself."

Naruto got down on all fours into a stance resembling a rabid animal and tilted his head up to look at his opponent. He looked like a hungry predator watching its prey. "I've been ready. And because it's so boring to just keep you running around all day, I've decided to bring the fight to you." He smirked devilishly as his legs launched him into a sprint.

Naruto was ridiculously fast, but it was nothing Neji couldn't handle. Now that Naruto put his sword away he didn't stand a chance. Just a little bit closer and…

The blonde stopped just outside of Neji's striking range. "Just kidding. You didn't really think I was going to get that close to you right?" He smirked as he pulled his feet under him to jump up into the air. "Braver!"

Neji almost didn't make it out of the way fast enough as Naruto crashed down and left a deep gash in the earth using the buster sword. 'Another sword?'

The Hyuga didn't waste a second before jumping towards the open Naruto to finish him. This strike was going straight for tenketsu around his heart. No more games.

Naruto swiveled and used his glowing blue sword to strike in Neji's direction. *"Cross Slash!" He said as he vertically slashed his sword and carved four gashes into the ground with one strike. The damage looked like a shotgun blast as it seemed to concentrate at the sword and arc outwards.

Neji avoided this attack just to find another quickly following behind it. "Blade Beam!"

The fluorescent blue ball of energy exploded a few feet in front of Neji and sent him careening backwards. The Hyuga stood up as quickly as his battered body would allow to see another blade beam heading his way. With a concentrated blast of chakra out of the tenketsu in his foot, Neji stomped the attack away and made it inert.

"Apologize to Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled as he sent out another blade beam.

Neji deflected it. "I will not!"

Naruto sent out three more beams in a row. "Try seeing this from her point of view! You don't know what it's like to be her just like she doesn't know what you're going through."

Neji spun into a kaiten and canceled out the three attacks before moving in on Naruto. "I don't care what her life is like."

Naruto used a cross slash to stop Neji's advance and jumped back to a safer distance. "If you won't walk a mile in her shoes." He said tiredly. "Then I'll force you to walk a mile in mine."

(line break)

A very large vein was beginning to throb on Sakura's forehead as she watched Tenten fawn over her man. The weapon girl looked like she was about to tear off her panties so she could throw them at Naruto as he fought against Neji. With an evident anger in her voice the pinkette cracked her knuckles and stood up. "I think I'm going to have a word with Tenten."

Ino pulled her friend back down. "Settle down Forehead. If you don't get used to girls hitting on Naruto-kun then you're going to be stressed out all the time."

"Are you even looking around at all Ino? I can see them undressing him with their eyes!" A whisper concerning Naruto's backside sprouted up behind the girls and the pinkette heard it. Sakura whipped around and pointed at some defenseless civilian girl that had a blush on her face. "I heard that tramp! Find your own man!" The girl yelped in fear and nodded slowly. The enraged kunoichi turned back around and sat down with Ino. "That's damn right you're scared of me. I'll mess you up." She mumbled to herself.

Ino laughed at Sakura's antics. "Can you really blame them? Look at him out there. All confident and sexy. A fine layer of sweat glistening off the planes of his neck as it drips down his steady shoulders and makes its way towards his firm butt." Ino's eyes went bleary about mid-way through her sentence. "I'm gonna go down there and mount him." She stood up just to be pulled back down by Sakura.

"Alright. You made your point Piggy. I'll try not to threaten everyone that hits on him." Sakura took a deep breath. "Man, you're such a horn dog."

Ino shrugged her shoulders and smiled. "Yeah I know." The blonde girl let out a breath and fanned her reddened face using her hand. "I got myself a little worked up talking about his butt. I think I need a cold shower." She said with a giggle.

Sakura let out an exasperated sigh. "Yeah, me too."

(line break)

"I would like to explain a little bit about my swords if that's okay."

Neji was silent, but interested nonetheless so he waited.

Naruto smiled at Neji's interest lifted the hilt in his hand towards his chest. "This is the Buster Sword. He's been very good to me and I'm proud of him." The blonde smiled warmly at the large blade as it flashed white and faded away. "This one…" Naruto said as the futuristic God Eater formed in his hand. "… is God Eater. He represents my will to keep fighting and more."

Neji shifted in his stance as he observed the second sword disintegrate away.

The troubled jinchuuriki sighed sadly and slumped his shoulders. "But I have another sword. It's not something I am very fond of and I never planned on using it against a fellow Konoha ninja, but I think it suits us well. I've learned that it's just as much a part of me as the other two swords are so I shouldn't try to fight it anymore. It would be like lying to myself." He smiled. "But at the same time it makes me happy because it lets me know that I'm just as human as anyone else and that is something I'm thankful for."

"I don't understand what you're talking about." Neji said cautiously. In fact, a lot of the things Naruto says never make any sense.

The blonde shook his head. "Ah I guess you're right. I'm just talking out of my ass again huh?" He chuckled. "Well, the point of my whole speech was, because you refuse to understand others I'm going to MAKE you understand someone." He thrust a thumb to his chest. "Me."

"I do understand you." Neji said and Naruto lifted a confused eyebrow. "I understand that you are a failure. You are trash. Scum. A waste of life that needs to be removed. Nothing you've done or will do will amount to anything, which means one thing. You're existence is entirely unnecessary."

"Neji. Stop." Neji's venom dripped words were painful. They cut deeper than the raven haired boy could know. Naruto looked up to Ino and Sakura in a moment of desperate sadness and with one look their hearts were torn in half. It took almost all of Ino's might to stop Sakura from jumping out of the stands to kill Neji and it took the rest to stop herself from doing the same thing.

"You're a stain on this village. You delude yourself with ideas that everyone has good in them when the truth is people only care for themselves." Neji said as he continued his insults.

If Neji's byakugan could really see everything like he claimed, then it would be able to witness a silver haired man breaking out of the flimsy chains that bound him and making his way to the surface of Naruto's mind.

(line break)

"I hate it when he does this." The Kyuubi snarled as he watched Sephiroth rise off of the ground with a smirk on his face. "Can't we just kill him already?"

"You know that we are no more able to remove him than we are able to remove ourselves. We have all become too far ingrained into Naruto. If any one of us is taken away we all die." Gilgamesh said impassively to the giant fox demon.

"But still, I really don't like that guy." The Kyuubi whined. "Naruto doesn't need his power when he has us anyways."

"Sephiroth is now a part of him. If Naruto wants to use his power then we have no say over it. And, although I do not appreciate his presence either, he is an asset." The blue skinned spirit moved next to the Kyuubi and tilted his head up as the Soldier kept rising above them.

"He messes with the boy's head." The fox snarled. "But at least he hasn't tried to cause any trouble lately. I think he's just biding his time."

"I agree. That's why we have to watch him. Especially at times like this."

(line break)

When Neji finished insulting Naruto, everything was silent except the short quick breathes escaping the blonde's lips. He couldn't bring himself to even look at the Hyuga.

"I've heard a lot of insults in my day, but I'd have to say you chose a few of my favorites." Naruto said with the same fake smile he wore most of his life. He'd heard the same things before so one more reminder didn't hurt too much more than the last time. Although it was still quite painful, it just proved how far gone Neji's ideals were. "Looks like it's just about time for a finale."

A sickly black aura coated Naruto's left hand as he closed his eyes. From Neji's point of view it looked like a new chakra was beginning to circulate into his system. He could see a black, corrosive, hate filled energy as it coursed through Naruto's veins and seeped out of his tenketsu.

Most people that fight a Hyuga only know a few things about the byakugan. First, it lets them see with almost 360 degree vision. Second, it allows them to see through any object down to the chakra network. But what a lot of people don't know however, is that the byakugan is a lot more than just X-Ray vision. It actually allows its user to see personalities. It can read a smile on someone's face like a fingerprint to a finger. It remembers each person's posture like ordinary people remember names.

That's why when Naruto stood up straight Neji almost didn't recognize him. When Naruto's smile faded and drooped into an uncaring expression he looked like a totally different person. The blonde was no longer the same. He wasn't carefree like before and didn't have the same jovial attitude about the fight anymore. His eyes had become cold and heartless. His back was straight in a show of regality and his lips were pressed together slightly as his head turned elegantly away from Neji. Every move was purposeful unlike before when half the steps were wasted energy.

"You are not Uzumaki Naruto." Neji stated tersely. There was no doubt in his voice. He was convinced someone else was standing in front of him.

The silver-blonde boy looked towards Neji with half lidded eyes and indifferent face. "I am." He said plainly as he began a slow gait in Neji's direction.

"I know that you are not. What did you just do?" The Hyuga narrowed his eyes. Even the voice was different. It was deep and unfriendly.

"I already told you who I am. Believe what you will, but I am Uzumaki Naruto and the things I do are none of your concern." The smoothness in this man's stride was odd for Neji to see. Whenever he wasn't holding God Eater Naruto steps were always soundless when he walked, but now it's like there was no one there at all. "But I am here to help you." The way it was said sounded like anything, but the truth. "You make it sound like your life is so horrible. That no one else has problems besides you. That growing up was tougher for you than it was for me." Naruto stopped seven feet away from Neji. "I'll show you my childhood right now. Here's your invitation to my fifth birthday."

Neji coated his hands with a thick layer of chakra when he saw the hilt appear in Naruto's left hand. The Hyuga tried to bat away the blade of the Masamune like he would any other sword, but instead it shot out of the hilt and pierced straight through the chakra protecting Neji's hand like it was cutting through butter.

In a flash Neji was kicked off of his feet and forced to the ground as Naruto drove the entire seven foot length of the Masamune through the palm of his hand and into the earth. He pushed the sword through so far that the hilt butted up against Neji's palm to hold him in place.

The Hyuga clutched at the hilt of Masamune with his free hand just to have Naruto pry his arm open and shove a kunai into his other palm to make it stay in place.

"Let me go!" Neji raged.

"Oh don't be such a baby. I didn't cut any bones or tendons. Your hands will be just fine once I remove these things." Naruto said in a warmer voice than before.

Neji ignored the pain shooting through his body and looked at the boy sitting on his chest. The merciless killer that was just there a moment ago was gone and back was the kind hearted Naruto he was fighting earlier. The smile, the posture, the eyes, everything was back to the way it was. Even the way he breathed had reverted to its usual pace.

"But if you try to struggle…" Naruto chuckled as he put his hand on the kunai. "… I'll twist it and then you might have a problem making hand signs for a while." Not that Neji needed to make hand signs because he usually just used his family style, but the threat was still noted.

He reluctantly nodded in understanding and Naruto smiled.

"Good. So what do you think about my childhood?" He said as he motioned to Neji's hands. "Not very fun huh?"

"You've crucified me. How is this supposed to be a childhood?" Neji said with a wince as another wave of pain washed over his arms.

"On my fifth birthday I was nailed to the floor of my apartment. This is just one of the things I had to go through while I was growing up." Naruto said non-chalantly.

Neji could tell that Naruto was telling the truth thanks to his doujutsu. To think something like this could be done to a child.

"Except they didn't care as much about avoiding my bones when they shoved spikes through my hands." He said with a sad chuckle.

The pale boy choked on his breath. While Neji was growing up he was pushed and beaten during training, but never nailed down! He never neared deaths door in that manner. His father was always there to protect him from dangers like those. After his father died for the main house Neji became bitter, but he knew his father had loved him once. That's why the thought of a five year old orphan Naruto, nailed to the floor with no one to protect him would even disturb the Hyuga who thought no one else mattered but himself. Naruto must have been so alone.

"But I'll still sit here with a goddamn smile on my face and listen to you bitch about your family. And then one day when I become Hokage I'll help you get this stupid seal off your head even if it's only to shut you up." Naruto said as he poked Neji on the forehead.

The Hyuga boy bit his lip. "That's not possible. They would never allow it." He said quietly.

"I will do it and I bet Hinata-chan would help me." Naruto grabbed Neji's face with his hand and forcibly turned his head to look at Hinata to see her violently coughing up blood. She probably wasn't fully recovered from her fight with Neji and overused her byakugan to watch their fight. "Do you see what you did to her? You tried to kill a kind hearted girl who never wanted to harm you in the first place."

Neji deactivated his byakugan and put his head to the side. He didn't want to see her like that anymore. 'What have I done?'

"I hope I've given you some things to think about for when you wake up." With his last word Naruto grabbed Neji's dark hair and slammed his head into the ground. The Hyuga boy was knocked out cold and the fight was finally over.

Naruto yanked the kunai out of Neji's hand and touched his pointer finger to Masamune to recall it.

With a sigh of relief the blonde fell back onto his butt and wiped some sweat off of his forehead. The fight was long and Naruto was pretty sure he had a broken rib or two ever since Neji hit him with that kaiten at the beginning of the match. He had been having some serious trouble breathing for a bit, but he could feel it getting better thanks to the furball. No need to involve the medics.

The last bit of adrenaline was finally running its course as the blonde shook some energy out of his hand. Taking power from Sephiroth tended to leave him a little high like that. It wasn't something he planned to do very often, but boy was it exhilarating! The confidence, the increase of strength, the clear mind, and the speed. Oh the speed! The world seemed to slow down once he tapped into the foreign energy that Sephiroth provided and his arms felt like they could swing Masamune so fast it would look like it was in a constant state of shunshin.

But taking his power had a major downside. For the few short moments that he allows Sephiroth to fully join with him, Naruto becomes nothing short of a sociopath. If he would've killed Neji it wouldn't have surprised him at all. Using the power was the ultimate test of spiritual control. That's why Naruto limits himself. He would only take as much as he needed and never more, but he found the more he used it the easier it was to control. Slowly but surely Naruto was learning to handle his power and eventually Sephiroth won't even have an ounce of influence over him.

"Winner. Uzumaki Naruto." Genma said lazily to the crowd as he faced the Hokage's personal skybox.

The entire audience was silent as they looked down at Naruto, but that didn't last long as two loud voices cut in excitedly. "Cha! Way to go Naruto!" Sakura screamed at the top of her lungs.

"Whoo Naruto-kun! Way to kick his uptight ass!" Ino joined in immediately after.

The blonde boy turned his head to see the girls jumping up and down in their seats with huge smiles on their faces. Even if no one else so much as clapped for him, he was more than happy just to have their applause.

It was quiet at first, but after Ino and Sakura started cheering, Tenten soon joined in. Then Hinata. Even Kiba howled for his classmate. And soon the whole crowd of people were clapping and cheering for one of the best starting matches to a chuunin exam they had ever seen.

The silver haired jonin turned to the blonde genin. "You okay?" He drawled.

Naruto nodded and stood up to shake the dust off of his wing. He looked around the stands as the thunderous applause slowly started to die down. "Yeah. I'm good." He said happily. Acknowledgement felt nice.

Genma looked the boy over critically for a moment. He was actually checking for injuries, but Naruto didn't know that. To Naruto it looked like the guy was checking him out. "Medics. Come get this one." Genma said as he pointed down at the unconscious Neji. He took the senbon out of his mouth and tilted back before yelling off to the side. "And let's get a doton user down here to fix up this arena!" In seconds a few chuunin jumped down and smoothed out the trenches that Naruto had made a little earlier.

Naruto began to walk away, but he was stopped by the proctor's voice. "And you."

The blonde turned and pointed a finger towards his face. "Me?"

"Yeah you. Get those ribs checked out." Naruto huffed and frowned. "You suck at lying." Genma said with a shrug.

Naruto waved him off as he tapped his side. "It's fine now. See?" The blonde only winced a little.

Genma 'hmphed' and put the senbon back in his mouth. "Suit yourself. Just get out of the arena then. You've already done enough damage to this place and I don't want to risk anymore." He said with a smirk as he turned away.

Naruto smiled and jumped up to the competitor's box to find a row of stunned genin. They all seemed to be staring a little too hard for his liking. "What?" He said with a grunt. Temari and Kankuro scoffed and turned away, but Gaara just kept on staring like usual. Creep.

Shikimaru approached him immediately. Don't mistake immediately for quickly because you'd be wrong if you did. Nothing the pineapple head ever did could be considered quick. As he slowly walked towards Naruto, the look on his face was priceless. It took a keen eye to see surprise on the laziest genin's face, but Naruto had known Shikamaru long enough to see it with no problem.

"That was an interesting show Naruto." Shikamaru started. "Do you have any more surprises for us or was that enough for one day?" The pineapple head lazily leaned against a rail and crossed his arms.

"They wouldn't be surprises if I told you." Naruto chuckled.

Kankuro forfeit his match quickly so next up was Temari and Shikamaru. She jumped down to the arena as her name was called along with his, but it didn't seem like the genius had any intention of moving as he fixed Naruto with a stare.

"Aren't you going down there?" Naruto asked.

The lazy boy turned and looked down at the sand kunoichi impatiently staring at him. "The troublesome woman can wait. I'm more interested in my classmate for now."

Naruto sighed and moved in front of Shikamaru. He was just procrastinating now. "Stop making excuses because you don't feel like going down there yet. Lazy ass." He said as he pushed the cloud watching boy off of the ledge and into the arena.

Shikamaru hit the dirt hard. His ass was going to feel that in the morning for sure. He looked up to see Naruto grinning down and giving him the thumbs up sign. That kid was just begging to be shadow strangled! Calm down Shikamaru. Getting riled up isn't cool.

The lazy genin stood up and brushed the dirt off of his pants before sending a sluggish look in the blonde boy's direction. He was too lazy to glare so a gentle stare was the most he could give. "Eh. Whatever." He found he reached a new level of lethargy as his anger dwindled because staying mad at someone was too hard to do for more than a few minutes at a time.

With his hands in his pockets he walked over to start his match. "Fighting just ain't my gig."

(line break)

Naruto laughed as Shikamaru hit the dirt. 'Serves you right bum!' He peered over the edge and gave him the thumbs up to make sure he had enough encouragement. It didn't seem to work as Shikamaru kind of glared at him, he guessed.

'Now to sit back and enjoy the match.' Naruto said to himself as he leaned against the wall and stretched out. His rib injury made him wince, but it wasn't as bad as before. It wouldn't take long before he wouldn't even feel it anymore.

The blonde tried to relax before he had to fight again, but there was someone making so much noise that he couldn't fully unwind. Naruto kept hearing someone say 'mother' and 'blood' over and over and it was driving him nuts!

"Mother. Please be patient." Gaara said to himself.

The red head turned slowly when he felt a presence to his side and he almost shrieked a bit when he saw the face of Naruto blinking at him owlishly. The blonde had pulled down his collar to show that he was frowning drastically and was obviously upset about something. "Shh!" He said as loud as he could. "Some people are trying to relax over here!"

Gaara narrowed his eyes. "Mother. I can now understand why you are so impatient." He said as a visible tick mark formed on his head.

It took a second, but Naruto registered the sand boy's words and a huge grin hit his face. "Did you say mother? No freaking way! The voice in my head never shuts up about his mom either!"

Naruto was about to say more, but instead he suddenly put his head down in concentration. "Yes you do."

Gaara wasn't positive, but it seemed like the strange blonde boy was talking to himself.

"Yeah you do! You were literally just talking about her and I interrupted you!"

'…'

"You can go to hell!"

'…'

Naruto gasped. "Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?"

'…'

"Jokes on you! I didn't even know my mom!" Naruto looked triumphant before sighing and sulking in over exaggeration. "Well thanks, now I'm all depressed. Consider yourself cut off!"

By this time Gaara had taken a step back. Seeing someone else talk to themselves made him reconsider his own position since it even creeped him out a little.

Naruto looked at him and smiled knowingly as he pointed to his head. "Voices." He said jokingly. "Can't live with them, and can't stop them from taking over your body at the worst times. Am I right?" He chuckled.

Gaara wanted to say no, but that statement was actually quite astute. His mother did tend to take over at inopportune times.

"You know. I thought you were weird before, but now I see that we actually have a lot in common." Naruto said happily to Gaara.

The red haired boy didn't know how to react to someone treating him nicely. "Common?"

"The voice in our heads. You got one too right?"

Gaara nodded slowly. "My mother."

"Let me guess. Your 'Mother'..." Naruto used air quotes when he said it. "... keeps telling you to kill stuff. Am I right?"

The redhead nodded again.

The blonde furrowed his brow in thought. "Hmm. Isn't that kind of weird thing for a mom to say?"

Gaara crossed his arms and tilted his head back slightly. "Not really. That's what she always says."

"And her voice. Is it nice and pretty like I imagine a mom would be?" Naruto questioned.

"Umm... no. It's kind of raspy. And deep." Gaara said hesitantly.

"Well that doesn't sound like any mom I've ever heard of. Did you ever think that maybe..." Naruto trailed off.

"What?" Gaara said impatiently.

"Well. Did you ever think that maybe... I don't know... It's not your mom, but instead it's an evil spirit that's trying to take you over so he can destroy the world or something." Naruto said kind of quickly.

Gaara pulled his head back a little and looked at Naruto confusedly. "Err no. Mother has said nothing of destroying the world. Why do you ask?"

Naruto looked down and itched his chin in embarrassment. "Personal experience I guess." He said quietly.

There was an awkward silence as the two boys stood there. It was that point in the conversation when you discover that there's nothing else to talk about, but neither person wants to be the first to say it.

"Soooo. Nice talk." Naruto said awkwardly before walking away as quick as he could.

Gaara watched Naruto trot away and was surprised to find that his bloodlust had actually decreased slightly after talking with the blonde. With his thoughts finally to himself he decided to ask his mother the question that seemed prevalent at the moment.

'Hey mother?' Gaara said to himself.

'Yes.' Shukaku answered back.

'You're not like, an evil spirit or anything are you?' He asked hopefully. He said it the same shy and cute way a baby boy asks his mom something.

'Uhh ummm. No?" Shukaku said nervously.

Gaara gave a small sigh of relief. 'Oh good. For a second there I thought I was going to have to turn on you and do everything in my power to sequester you to the deepest and darkest parts of my mind where you would never be heard from again.' He started out the sentence nicely, but by the time he was finished there was an evil undertone in his voice.

'Oh yeah. I'm your mom alright. Gave birth to you and... umm... stuff.' Shukaku stuttered. 'So keep up the good work. Maim and kill and whatnot.'

'Of course mother. I will maim and kill anyone who crosses me...' Gaara said eerily. 'Anyone.' There was an obvious extra intention in his words.

Shukaku never thought he would be afraid of his container, but he had a feeling that the jig was almost up. 'Ah shit.' He said forlornly.

(line break)

Naruto stared down at the empty chair that was just calling his name. He so desperately wanted to sit down after his match, but there was something very important he had to take care of first.

There was a little dog boy that was in dire need of a pranking. Kiba probably thought he was off the hook, but he was so very wrong. But how to do it? He could just go into the stands and get him, but that seems to lack finesse.

He let out a gruesome smirk as the pieces of a plan came together. "I think I need to pay a visit to Ino-chan." He said evilly.

(line break)

Kiba stared intently at Shikamaru's match as his hand idly pet Akamaru's furry little noggin. He was blissfully unaware of the danger that sat just a few rows behind him as he pet his cute puppy. Even if he could see Ino forming the hand signs for her jutsu there was probably nothing he could have done.

He was a front line fighter. He didn't have any defense against mind attacks. That's why he was powerless to stop himself as he was forced to stand up and walk in front of the crowd of people watching the fight below. All he could do was scream in his head about how pissed off he was.

He took a firm stance in front of the crowd and drew all of their attention to himself. With a clawed hand and a single swipe he ripped his pants off and swung them to the side. In his head he was absolutely livid about his situation, but on the outside it looked like he was ecstatic to be in front of the crowd with his manhood on display.

And then the show tunes started.

װ Hello my baby! Hello my hunny! Hello my ragtime gal!װ

It was accompanied by a dance, but luckily that was as far as he got before four Anbu and three angry mothers tackled him to the ground. He screamed about the injustice as they drug him out of the arena in chains.

A few rows back Ino smirked in satisfaction at her work. That's another notch on her belt.

Naruto held his sides as they burned from laughing too hard. "Thanks Ino-chan." He whispered into her ear.

She shivered from his light breath on her neck, but turned and winked at him. "Too easy."

He reached down and pulled both girls into a hug. Sakura latched around his back and held him in place. "You haven't forgotten about tonight? Right Naruto?"

He poked his temple with his pointer finger. "Uber memory." He said with a wry smile.

The pinkette resisted the urge to smack him. She knew he didn't forget. Sakura was just showing him how excited she was without having to directly tell him.

Also, she and Ino had been prepping for the date all night. Her skin was at its smoothest and her hair was at its softest at the moment so she wanted to call a little attention to herself.

"Don't you worry Sakura-chan!" He said as he hugged her a little closer. "Tonight's gonna be a blast dattebayo!"

Sakura's face went pink and she smiled sweetly as she slowly let go of Naruto. The girls watched as he moved back out of the crowd and waved goodbye to them. They smiled as a few civilian girls attempted to approach him, but his attention was so focused on Ino and Sakura that he didn't even notice the other women.

Sakura's heart filled with hope for the amazing time she planned to have later. So long as everything goes well.

Too bad an entire army of ninja's had other plans.

(line break)

By the time Naruto made it back to the competitors box the chair he wanted to sit in earlier was already taken. The blonde sighed and sat on the ground next to the spot stealer. "Hey teme. Glad to see you could make it."

Sasuke leaned back and crossed his arms. He had arrived just in time to see Kiba being dragged away by Anbu. It was easy to see Naruto had something to do with the situation, but he didn't really care so long as someone put Kiba's pants back on.

"Hn."

Naruto leaned his face up against his hand for comfort, but failed. "You're up next. Oyaji moved you're match to last." He said as he laid his back against the ground. "Try not to lose because I'd much prefer to kick your ass over Gaara's." The blonde smirked.

Sasuke scoffed. "You talk too much dobe."

"Yeah well you don't talk enough so I'm just making up for it." He said sardonically.

"I'm going to wipe that smirk off of your face." Sasuke smirked as he looked down at the prone Naruto.

"I'd like to see you try." Naruto chuckled and pushed Sasuke's arm jokingly.

Sasuke touched a finger to Naruto's nose and shocked him into next week with a small lighting jutsu. The blonde was left in a smokey, charred heap as he wriggled on the ground.

"How was that?" The Uchiha mockingly said.

Naruto smoothed his frizzy static hair down and laid next to Sasuke again.

"I don't know." Naruto grinned. "Why don't you tell me?" Sasuke and the chair he was sitting on were swiftly launched ten feet in the air as Naruto formed God Eater under his seat and propelled the Uchiha upwards. 'Revenge complete.' Naruto thought to himself as he put his hands behind his head.

Sasuke hit the ground and rubbed his now aching back. "Okay." He groaned as he stood up and stretched. "You're dead."

The blonde boy prepared to run away, but the announcement of Temari's victory over Shikamaru just went over the loud speaker so all Sasuke could do was glare at Naruto as he was forced to make his way to the arena.

"Hey teme."

Sasuke turned back.

"Be careful." Naruto said seriously.

"Hn." The raven haired boy smirked. "You should worry about yourself because as soon as I'm done with Gaara I'm coming after you."

Naruto returned the same friendly challenging smile. "I'm counting on it."

*This cross slash was taken from FF7 Advent Children. Cloud swung his sword over his head and four slash marks formed on the ground. They never explicitly said it was a cross slash so I just guessed.

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Thanks for reading!

If you guys feel like reading some more of my stuff I just released a one shot called Reverse Summon. It's just a little story shot from Anko's POV.