King of the Green
Chapter 3

AN: STILL ALIVE!

A dull knocking brought Naruto out of his inner revere, the act itself bringing a smirk to his lips. There was only one person that knew where his house was, yet still after all these years he insisted on knocking. Though he supposed it was better than the old man just flickering into the house at will.

People got killed that way, especially in a ninja village.

The teen had been busy this day. After dropping off the documents to his friends and doubling back to get his items he had to finish the modifications to the bracers he had ordered.

It was a unique weapon, not the bracers themselves, many ninja used such things to both defend and attack. However, his were designed specifically with his unique…condition…in mind.

He had yet to name them, and his tenants had yet to offer up any help in that regard, but the fact of the matter was that they were going to give him an edge in the coming years. It was simple in its brilliance, if he didn't say so himself, based primarily on some of the senbon launchers that some ninja preferred.

Just under the ridged armor plate that guarded from just past the wrist clean to his elbow were three small tubes, something that would normally house and fire the deadly needles, however his were different, the steel being lined with seals that would draw in and amplify his chakra, yet didn't allow the energy to bleed off into the surrounding structure and clothing.

The result was simple, within that small tube the raw radiation of Tiberium would focus, generating small needles of the deadly mineral.

When used in proper sequence, the seals would make the weapon, then the remaining chakra would pass into conversion seal at the back of the tube, making a high pressured burst of air launch the needles.

This was not a terribly new design, just costly to make. Most users of such weapons used small powder charges or the mechanical to generate the heat or pressure needed, but they were still, in essence, single use items. Usually a hold out weapon for when one was captured, letting the wielder have one last chance to escape, or start a fight with a 'bang'.

Most kunoichi carried one in some manner or another, everything from rigs more elaborate than his, launching up to a dozen, to those that only fired one but well concealed in the haft of a brush or the like. In the hands of poison experts such weapons could be devastating, he was hoping that his crystal would have similar effects.

Tightening the last belt the blond rose and snapped a hand out to the left, testing the weight before smirking.

Tenten was a genius, there could be no other word for it. The skills of her mother would go far. He adjusted his sleeves a bit even as he made his way to the front door and smiled at the old man before him. "What can I do for you sensei?"

The elderly leader graced him with a smile even as the blond ushered him in, "We just finished a meeting, and I'm afraid that the time has come for you to return to the spotlight."

That made the blond freeze, "No 'hello, how was your day' before that little explosive note?"

"Would you prefer such pleasantries?"

The teen's eyes closed as he chuckled, "You know me to well. Though I'm surprised that it would come so soon, is it really that time already, they're all graduating?"

"Indeed, the time passes all the faster when you detach yourself from the world, ask my old students. Beyond that, you have a test set up with the other graduates in three days, 'he held up a hand to forestall the boy's words, catching him with his mouth open, 'And before you ask, no, you won't be fighting any of the current graduates, instead you will face another boy that has had separate tutoring much like yourself. The nephew of Danzo Shimura."

The duo finally reached the sofa in the living room, Naruto quick to fetch a hot pot for the tea before joining him, still mulling over the bomb that was just dropped on him. Not only would he be fighting for his rank and his master, he would have to fight the son of the Kage's biggest rival to date. He could only smirk at that, the act mimicked by his two tenants. "Didn't want to make it easy on me, did you old man?" The two shared a chuckle before lapsing into a slightly tense silence. "Do you think I'm ready?"

The old Kage could only look at the boy in surprise before his eyes softened; it was so easy to forget that the young man before him was only fifteen, and had largely had his growth stunted due to his isolation even as his skills were improved by it. Something of a paradox. Sarutobi placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, shaking the blond from his thoughts, and giving him a smile. "Naruto, you know I have trained many ninja in my time. I've fought two wars, been on countless missions. There is very little that I have not seen. So take this as the absolute truth."

In Naruto's eyes the Kage seemed to grow younger, like he was seeing echoes of what this great man must have been before the ravages of time had taken their toll.

"You are one of the finest young men I have had the privilege to teach, and I believe that you will not only pass your test, but that you will dominate in a way that will leave everyone knowing with certainty that you are worthy of being not only my student, but the true embodiment of the Will of Fire. I could not have asked for a better student, and when you are a genin, I will begin your training in the true arts of the ninja. It will be my privilege to guide you into becoming the second God of Shinobi!"

Inside him Kane's smile grew. Things had certainly not been boring for him since he met that child so long ago. The Messiah turned to look at the great cage to see the bright, toothy grin of the fox, "To think that Kushina's child would earn that level of praise…"

The man nodded, "Indeed, although it is to be expected with you and I guiding him…"

The beast's grin grew, "But of course."

For some, such time would pass like a flash, a test looming up on them before they knew it.

But for one as energetic as Naruto, though it had been heavily curbed over the years thanks to the near constant training from those around him, it only seemed to crawl. The fastest the time had passed for him was when he was taking his gauntlets for their initial test run, yet that hadn't lasted as long as he had hoped. Tenten and Mitsuko were masters of their craft after all, so there was very little that had to be altered about them, primarily just the strap lengths as his forearms had gotten larger since he had ordered them.

Instead he took the opportunity to increase his presence in the village, personally taking stock of his investments as well as letting people get a slightly better look at him.

Most still couldn't place him, it was only a few of the more dire holdouts that saw him as he once was, the 'Kyuubi brat'. Though if he were to be honest a part of him liked the term now. Not the 'brat' part, obviously, but being compared to a being of such great knowledge and power was far from bad.

Ok, maybe the 'destruction' and 'malevolence' were things to be avoided, but still, a force of nature, and one never to be underestimated.

He'd taken the opportunity to try and visit the smithy every day, not only to renew his connection with the family, but to also check on how his new business contract was developing.

As he expected, he didn't have to wait long for a response. They sent one of the faster messenger birds (for civilians) to their current distributor to find out the validity of his claims, and after a few back-and-forth moments where they tried to dodge the question it was confirmed, much to their sadness, and lead to the man's loss of business.

Now the duo had one of the more lucrative contracts in the whole of the village, and could only wonder as to how he had come to them with such an offer.

It was a secret pleasure of his, watching their frustration grow as he kept his secrets. Only telling them that they would know when the rest of the populous did, mostly due to the fact that he wouldn't be able to keep the secret after his test.

For an adopted child, Tenten did mirror her mother's pout most wonderfully.

"Hey Sakura, scoot over!"

Said pinkette only leveled a scowl at her rival, "Why should I Ino-pig! I was here first!"

The blond shot her a dirty look, when was that name going to end? She at least had been trying to be civil.

But hey, two could play this game! "Look around you Forehead, this is the last area with any real space, don't make me sit next to Chouji…even if he made room, it would be just so that I could hold his chips."

Sakura gave a superior smirk, "I'll consider it…if…"

Ino felt a slight chill run up her spine, it was rare that Sakura got that kind of look in her eye, last time it cost her her favorite top, she got it back when they bet on the last exam, but it was still the principle of the thing. "If?"

"If you acknowledge me as Kunoichi of the year!"

"Denied!"

She scowled at her 'frienemy' "You know I always have the top spot Pig, I just want to hear you say it. Then I'll scoot over, I'll even share my dango!"

Ino gave a huff and crossed her arms under her bust, "Seeing it on paper and admitting it are two different things. And we both know that that's only in the tests, you lost overall against Sakae, so get off your high horse!"

That caused a tick mark to appear on her…voluminous…forehead; Sakae had always been something of a sore point. She felt for the girl, she really did, losing her family like that, but she didn't have to be so cold with everyone. She didn't speculate on boys, didn't seem to care about her class ranking, nothing, just training until she dropped day in and day out. Slighting everyone that would try to be friendly to her and just walking off. Male, female, didn't matter.

She wasn't the only girl that was annoyed by the last Uchiha, most of the girls in class considered her a rival, only one that may not have was shy girl of their class, the Hyuuga. Sakura knew something was driving the young woman, but who couldn't say they weren't driven by something in this world?

After holding out a moment longer Sakura let out a long sigh, "Fine, get over here. Then maybe you can give me some details of what is going on. Rumor mill says that there is a contest between two privately trained ninja?"

The blond nodded as she dropped into the seat, quick hands snatching up a dumpling before popping it in her mouth. "Yep, daddy says that one of the elders, Danza or something has a nephew that he privately trained, that he's to strong to be put on a rookie team and will be put in rotation as a 'plus one'."

Sakura took up one of the skewers before passing the last to Ino, "Okay, I get that, but why this contest? Who's the other one?"

The mind walker's eyes lit up a bit at the gossip, "That's the thing, apparently Danza wanted to put him on the team with Sakae, Kiba should have been put on your team as he was the dead last, but his mom requested him to be on a tracking team, so you're left one short. But that's the best part! Apparently Hokage-sama had a secret apprentice of his own! He's going to be the one that's fighting Danza's student! It's like something from a soap opera! Two old rivals, training new students that are walking the same path! The only way it would be better is if they were fighting over the same girl!"

Sakura just gave her friend a dull look, "You need to stop watching TV…"

The blond could only pout at that.

Naruto currently stood in the main office of the Hokage, taking yet another mental inventory of his supplies before running a hand through his hair. He had to get his nerves under control…this was no big deal…just a fight with the Shimura Danzo's student…

The blond looked at the helmet that sat on the desk before him. Like the rest of his armor it was pitch black with red accents, a solid face mask with red lenses for the eyes and a built in air filtration system around the mouth and nose. The mask and helmet being able to detach if needed as the helm part was not unlike a samurai's hachi, though rather than being segmented plates his was a solid steel, the inner cloth and padding the same dark red of the lenses.

His armor itself was built to be both flexible and durable, multiple solid plates over the planes of his body that wouldn't need as much mobility, like the chest, parts of the back and the shoulders. Other parts were a dense black cloth formed as part of the armor-weave meshes that the ANBU used as part of their uniform. On the shoulders he and his right breast he had the symbol of Nod, the same red triangle with scorpion tail in side. On his belt though he had a red Leaf symbol, showing his 'second' allegiance.

This was going to be the day that Naruto came out of the shadows.

He absently adjusted the bracers once more, making a tight fist, one that was 'improper', keeping thumb tucked inside, but this motion caused the top section to slide back, revealing the rotary barrels of his senbon launchers. Letting the fist relax caused the plate to slide back forward. His hands drifted the this plates of his leg armor, a spark of chakra put a trio of flat, leaf bladed throwing knives in his right hand, while the left held a long dueling kunai.

He replaces them and took up his helmet, looking inside at the nearly unnoticeable seal work inside for the hundredth time before he slipped it on, the door behind him opening as the old man entered his office. "Naruto, it's time."

The blond smirked before sliding a lock in place on the neck, the re-breather hissing as it activated. The red lenses alighting as chakra flowed through the mask to keep its extra features ready at a moment's notice.

This rig had been fun for him. The lenses, if he focused chakra into 'his eyes', would snap into infrared, thermal, whatever he needed really. He was currently working on a seal that may allow him to share vision with another wearer, but that progress was slow…or the blond he thought that the key may lay in studying the Kage's scrying orb, but thus far he hadn't been allowed to, the elderly leader wanting him to be more proficient in control before he let him tinker with the relic.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh, "Ready as I'll ever be…now the true question is, are they ready for me?"

The old man smiled, "That, I highly doubt, especially when they see your armor's…accents."

The blond smirked, "You don't mind do you? Kinda makes it look like I'm not loyal…"

"But I know you are my boy, I know you are."

He nodded and places a hand on his master's shoulder, "Should we make a grand entrance?"

Sarutobi gave his own smirk, one that was mirrored by the tenets, "I wouldn't expect anything less…"

Sai was currently standing in the middle of the training field. This was a new experience for him, he had been trained privately for so long, only ever exposed to the other ROOT members. The dark haired youth had out his sketch pad, making quick doodles of the people that caught his eye in the stands, though even that pastime was heavily influenced by the training, his eyes quickly picking out clan heirs and drawing them before finding the current clan heads, the Jonin sensei-to-be and some of the ANBU that were always present when so many influential people were present.

He had just finished with the rather pronounced forehead of the pink haired girl when he felt the tingle of chakra fill the air, a swirl of air picking up and causing a number of leafs from the area to be pulled in before there was a large explosion of smoke.

A body flicker…but something more…

Chakra surged further, the smoke spread wide in the area before a small whirlwind filled the region, blowing it all away to show the Hokage and a tall, darkly armored man with him at the far end of the arena.

However, now surrounding the area, flanking the Kage and perfectly spaced in the ring were more of the darkly dressed figures, though these were both men and women judging by the body structures.

The tension in the arena shot through the roof at the appearance of the odd soldiers, for that is the only thing that they could be, suddenly surrounding the area.

ANBU drew swords.

Jonin pulled blades.

Students and civilians shot to their feet in sudden panic.

Yet the newcomers didn't move. All standing 'at ease', their legs spread slightly and arms clasped behind their backs.

Now that the smoke had cleared, and people were slightly less focused on those around them, they could see that this one had a black haori over his shoulders, red trim and the odd scorpion symbols at his breasts, though his back held a large Leaf symbol. A few of the civilians recognized the garment, one that the odd blond had been seen wearing around town.

Sarutobi raised a hand, staying the ANBU and the Jonin before the soldier with him stepped forward. He raised one hand, it held in a tight fist.

"ONE VISION!"

The solders around him clapped a fist over their hart, the sharp sound of clothed-flesh on steel echoing through the arena, "ONE PURPOSE!"

"PEACE THROUGH UNITY!"

"UNITY THROUGH POWER!"

All at once they raised their fists like the first and shouted, "FOR NOD!"

Sai's brush never stopped.

Sakura and Ino shrank away from the figure close to them, the dull 'hiss' of breathing coming from the helmet of the woman who had joined the others in their proclamation unnerving them.

They weren't the only who were still off put

"S-Sakura…who the hell are they!?"

"Like I know…"

"I-I thought this was supposed to be a contest, not some kind of invasion!"

"The Hokage came with them…m-maybe they are some kinda new ANBU?"

Ino took a few calming breaths, her stronger mind quickly reigning in her emotions to look at it more objectively, several of the clan heirs quickly doing managing the same. "No…they said Nod, that's that new conglomerate that started up! The one that's been spreading all over Fire and Wind!"

Sakura wasn't known for her keen mind for nothing, quickly putting pieces together, "Do you think that means that Hokage-sama had been training one of their members? I mean…why else would they be here?"

Before Ino could answer she became keenly aware that she was being watched…the armored woman had turned her head slightly, those baleful red lenses boring into her for several long moments, making a trickle of cold sweat run down the blonds' neck before she gave a slight nod, confirming the pinkette's theory much to the Yamanaka's surprise.

Nod was here…after never really being seen there were suddenly a dozen members here…and the HOKAGE had trained one!? What the hell was going on!?

The aged leader quickly made his way to the middle of the arena, the adorned warrior he arrived with following him two steps behind, one to the right, the perfect measure of a student to his master. As they passed the armored figures quick dropped to one knee even as the pair ignored them, it was all part of the plan after all, make the people here know that Nod was more than just a business, and that they would show honor to both Naruto and Sarutobi. They didn't need to know that they were just clones, which would be their little secret. Naruto's chakra was more than potent enough to make them, have them henge as needed, and feel like they had enough power to be actual people rather than constructs. These happened to be Shadow Clones, however the blond in question didn't really care for those, too easy to destroy, and his bloodline pushed him more to the earth techniques regardless. However, in this instance his altered earth clone technique would have taken too long for their little surprise.

Sai held a ghost of a smile as his brush flew even as the Hokage approached, a ghost of a smile on his lips as he observed and recorded.

Danzo-sama would scold him if he did anything less.

The aged leader stopped in the center of the ring, turning to address those in the stands. "Ladies, gentlemen, clan heads, graduates. Thank you for baring with our sudden arrival and I hope you were not to alarmed by the Nod group's honor guard. We are gathered here to test who will be put on special rotation, made into a special genin for the lack of a better term. The winner will be placed with groups as they are needed, trained with special intent to act as support for any given situation and cross trained with different teams to ensure they can work together more efficiently. This is a pilot program, so for now there will be only one victor. The loser will be placed on Team Seven to fill the empty slot we've found ourselves with. Those competing will be Sai Shimura,' The Kage gestured to the pale lad who had finally put his brush and book away, 'Nephew and apprentice to Danzo Shimura, former head of the ANBU Black Ops. His opponent today will be Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice and representative of the Nod group." The stands started to chatter excitedly, some in shock at having members of Nod here, others knowing the name, and knowing what that meant…

The Kage turned to face the two youths, "Combatants, are you ready?"

Sai, his smile still present, drew a tanto from the small of his back, ANBU issue, held in the reverse grip as he slid into a ready stance. "Yes, Hokage-dono."

Sarutobi looked to Naruto, the blond clapping his hands together, a green glow, almost like flames surrounding his hands before he slammed the right into the ground. Instantly arcs of blue-green energy danced from his gloved hands into the dirt, slowly he drew the hand back, a long green staff of crystal coming with him as he rose back to his full height. With a quick sweep of his right leg he snapped the shaft off and spun it several times like a quarterstaff. With a clap it stuck his left hand and a flash lit up the area, when their eyes cleared they saw it was now an ornate looking crystal spear with a broad, leaf shaped blade. He dropped into a slight crouch, the spear held a bit high, like he would be thrusting downward with it.

The rough hiss of a voice echoed through the silent arena, "Ready sensei."

The Hokage gave a great chop to the air between them, "BEGIN!"