7

Naruto exited his apartment, covered in his black cloak. He looked around, hoping that nobody would see him leaving his apartment. Luckily for him nobody was out yet…an advantage.

He slipped out and ran down the streets towards the training ground, making certain to avoid the shops that were beginning to open.

He finally reached the edge of the forest, where his teams training grounds were. He was halfway down the path…when a sharp shot of pain coursed through his body.

He lost his balance and tripped, skidding a couple feet as he clutched the origin of the pain coursing through his body. He clenched his teeth and began to dig his nails into the ground, 'Shit…what the fuck?!'

As quickly as the pain came…it vanished. Naruto panted in relief as he stood up, checking himself over to see if there were any injuries…which he realized was a stupid idea, as his whole body is COVERED in injuries.

He wrapped up the parts that were bleeding and headed off to the training ground…

Underneath his cloak, the seal began to swirl as the kanji in the center glowed crimson.

Later

Naruto arrived at the training ground, with Sasuke and Sakura already there. As he entered the clearing, the two of them noticed him enter the clearing…but due to his cloak, they did not recognize him.

Sasuke snarled as he pulled out a kunai, "Identify yourself…or so help me I'll…"

"Oh shut up Sasuke" Naruto said as he sat against the tree, "I am really not in the mood to deal with your shit this morning." Naruto laid back and adjusted his hood so that the wind could not blow it back.

Sasuke and Sakura's eyes widened, "Naruto?! What the hell are you doing dressed like…WHOOSH…THWACK!" Sakura stopped as she felt a sudden rush of air pass by her head. She slowly turned around to see a kunai imbedded halfway up the blade in the training post.

Naruto grunted, "Do you hear that…?" he spread his arms out and smirked, "Silence…that is how I would like it to remain, until Kakashi-sensei gets here." he crossed his legs and laid back, closing his eyes as he slept.

Sasuke and Sakura edged away from the tired blond…bothering him at the moment was NOT a good idea.

Later

Sasuke and Sakura were sitting on the training posts, while Naruto was still sleeping.

Sakura turned towards Sasuke, "Ano…Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke looked at Sakura, "Yeah, what is it?"

Sakura looked over at Naruto, "hat do you think is wrong with him?"

Sasuke snorted in disgust as he spoke with venom dripping from his voice, "He is a self centered, conceited, unappreciative asshole who would hit his own mother. I mean seriously, who the hell is he to assault his own mother like that?!"

Sakura flinched back at Sasuke's tone, "Sasuke-kun…while I don't agree with what Naruto did…maybe…maybe something happened between the two of them to make him hate her."

Sasuke turned around and spat, "If something did happen, it was because of him…no mother would ever hurt their own child."

Sakura turned away and looked at Naruto, 'I hope so Sasuke-kun…I really hope so.'

Naruto's thoughts

Naruto was walking through a sewer as if he was in a trance…his eyes were blank, and his movements constant. He looked around, as if he was searching for something…

'Naruto…' Naruto turned and looked in the direction he heard the feminine voice, 'Naruto…come here Naruto…'

Naruto began to walk down the hall, the same blank look on his face.

As he walked down the hallway, the voice grew louder and louder.

Finally he stopped in front of a door that had three spirals surrounding a single kanji. He pushed open the door and walked inside…

Inside the doorway was a large living room with beautiful furniture and a fireplace. Naruto walked towards the chair, where a soft hand was laid out on the arm of the chair.

"NARUTO!" Naruto's eyes blinked as the room faded away, before he was shot out of his mind.

Outside

Naruto's eyes snapped open, and he found Kakashi in front of him, shaking his shoulders, "Naruto, wake up, wake up…Damn it I said wake…CRACK!" Naruto buried his fist in Kakashi's jaw as he shouted.

"I am awake for the love of Kami! Damn…" he rotated his arm as he groaned, "I think you threw out my damn shoulder you prick!" he felt his shoulder crack a few times and sighed, "Ah, much better…" he looked up…and found Sasuke and Sakura staring at him, "What?"

Sasuke was about to speak, but Sakura placed a hand over his mouth, "Uhm, Naruto…we have been trying to wake you up for the past ten minutes, but you were in a trance like state."

Naruto raised an eyebrow, "Is that so?"

Sasuke snorted, "Yeah, I was about ready to kick you to wake you up. But Kakashi-sensei arrived just before I could…damn bastard." the last part was muttered under his breath.

Naruto scowled underneath his hood, "Oh that makes me feel so much better."

Kakashi got up after snapping his nose back in place, "Ouch, man Naruto, was that really necessary?"

Naruto frowned in Kakashi's direction, "I don't know, was it necessary to shake me like a rag doll?"

Kakashi eye smiled, "Touché…now, if you have your papers filled out, could I please have them?" Sasuke and Naruto handed theirs to Kakashi, while Sakura hesitantly did so.

As the three of them trained, Naruto could not help but wonder what that voice was that was calling him…and why he was so drawn to it.

Naruto never noticed the seal on his back glow momentarily before it began to fade into his skin.

With Kushina

Kushina groaned in pain as she sat up, her body feeling like it had been trampled by a herd of antelope. She grabbed her head, "Damn, that freaking hurts." she tried to stand, and ended up losing her balance as she grabbed the arm of a chair, "Dear Kami, what is wrong with me?"

"The seal is merely taking affect." she snapped around to see a hooded figure standing behind her, "I am terribly sorry to intrude, but Orochimaru-sama saw fit to give you this…" he held out a scroll that had a tear drop on it. Orochimaru's favored symbol.

Kushina carefully took the scroll, not sure what to do with it.

The man, as if reading her mind spoke up, "The scroll contains information on the seal Orochimaru-sama applied to both you and your son. Each of your seals are different, but are still linked. I have not read it, so I cannot explain more than that." the man stepped back and bowed, "A great many thanks for your assistance in aiding Orochimaru-sama." he turned around and walked into a shadowed part of the room, vanishing in the shadows.

Kushina looked at where the man had vanished…and then grinned widely as she turned her eyes to the scroll. She practically tore it open as she began to read…

Unknown Location

It was dark…as if the room had never seen sunlight, or knew even the faintest glimmer of a candle. The walls were solid stone, and the faint etchings of kanji and cracks were apparent.

On the other side of the room, sitting atop a great serpentine statue, a humanoid figure was sitting with its legs crossed, and the only sign that they were alive was the tell tale rise and fall of their chest.

Suddenly, the figures eyes snapped open, revealing golden orbs, and turned their attention towards a point on the wall, "So…you have returned." the figure grinned, revealing snake like teeth, "So, how did it go?"

The same cloaked figure that gave Kushina the scroll got down on one knee, "Orochimaru-sama, the scroll ahs been delivered, as per your instructions."

The figure stood up, and snapped his fingers…the room was suddenly lit as candles were set ablaze, and the face of Orochimaru of the Densetsu no Sannin was revealed, "Very good…my loyal servant." he leapt down from the top of the statue, landing on his feet as he turned towards the exit.

The Snake Sannin was about to walk through the doorway, "Orochimaru-sama…" but stopped as the man whom had delivered the scroll to Kushina spoke up, "If I may ask my lord…why did you give Kushina the Master seal? A Master seal connected to a servant seal that controls the Jinchuriki of the most powerful Bijuu…especially when she shows absolute hate for you for the destruction of her village?"

Orochimaru looked at the man without emotion…

The felt fear at the look and bowed all the way to the floor, "P-please f-forgive m-me my lord…I d-did not mean to off-ffend you, I w-was merely…"

"That is enough groveling…" the man looked up to see Orochimaru smirking, "Your question is perfectly understandable." he walked over to the man, "Why would I give a seal that allows one to manipulate another with a matching seal to someone whom hates me…why would I give her the strength to command a Jinchuriki who has the capability to become a thousand times stronger than me…why would I risk such a force opposing me?" his smirk widened, "The answer…is simple my dear servant…but, now is not the time to discuss it." he turned around and headed towards the doorway, "In the mean time …continue your mission."

The man raised his head to reveal a single lock of white hair coming from underneath his hood, "As you command…Orochimaru-sama." he melted back into the shadows as Orochimaru transcended down a set of stairs.

On the walls, carvings of snakes and dark runes laced every inch of the wall. Pictures of many people also adorned the walls…all of them, the greatest warriors from their lands.

He finally reached the bottom and pushed open the doors…revealing his personal laboratory.

Young snake hatchlings in jars with multiple heads, human organs connected to tubes, and several preserved cadavers laid about the room.

He walked towards a single set of doors on the other side of the room, and slid open the doorway…Orochimaru smirked as he looked at its contents.

A severed left hand, with a single ring adorning the pinky finger, the gem a slate blue color, and the kanji for void in the center.

Various scrolls were pinned to the wall…but a single tablet rested in the center, protected from humidity, decay, and possible contamination by a sheet of glass.

Orochimaru smirked as he walked over to the first cadaver, 'Now…where to begin?' he picked up a scalpel and placed it in the middle of the forehead, 'Perfect…'

The sound of metal cutting flesh could be heard throughout the room, only a dark chuckle, being heard besides it.

Time Skip…Chunin Exam day

Team 7 walked past Kakashi as he explained how if one of them refused to partake in the exams, none of them would be allowed to continue. Naruto basically turned it out, as there was no reason to explain it after the fact…once they walked inside; they found themselves staring at a group of genin larger than any he had ever seen before.

He looked around and saw many teams from Konoha, some of which were as old as Kakashi-sensei, 'If we have Genins as old as our senseis, then how the hell is Konoha the greatest of the hidden villages?'

It was a good question, as when he looked around, he saw that many of the genin from other nations looked no older than sixteen at most, still old, but not so old that it was pathetic, at least they had some battle scars.

The entire group of Genins stared back at him and his team…those that came from Konoha were shocked by his new look.

He had finally managed to get the genjutsu up…but there were still some problems, as it left some of his facial scarring visible. It was nothing major, but it was new to the Konoha genin. He had also changed his wardrobe. He now wore an orange jump suit with black arms and shoulders, and a black cloth replaced his blue one for his headband (Shippuden outfit).

"Hey dobe!" Naruto turned around to see Inuzuka Kiba walking towards him, "I got a few words to say to you!" he grabbed the front of Naruto's shirt and snarled, "Where the hell do you get off bitch slapping your own mother like AhAhAhAh…" Naruto squeezed Kiba's wrist, forcing him to let go before he shoved him backwards, knocking into a genin team from Ame.

Naruto snarled as the Inuzuka got up, "Touch me again mongrel and I will feed you your pet on a stick."

Kiba growled as he began to stalk over to Naruto…

"Hey you guys, you ought to keep it down, other teams here are pretty damn testy." Kiba and Naruto stopped their dispute and looked at the one who spoke.

He was a white haired teen with a purple shinobi outfit, and wore a pair of glasses.

Naruto snorted, "Who the hell are you? And why the hell should we listen to you?"

The man smiled, "Oh, I am terribly sorry…my name is Yakushi Kabuto." he smirked as he pointed behind him, "As for why you guys ought to keep it down, take a look at them."

Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura looked behind Kabuto to see most of the people glaring at them, releasing a bit of KI.

Naruto snorted and released a KI of his own, making the rest of the genin flinch back, 'Weak…'

Kabuto raised an eyebrow and looked at Naruto, "Impressive…I can honestly say that was the first time I have seen a green as a grasshopper's ass genin scare a bunch of veteran genin."

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "Eh, Zabuza was scarier than those punks."

On the other side of the room, three individuals, all of them wearing headbands with a musical note on it, were looking at the blond.

One looked like a mummy with metallic gauntlets, another had spiky black hair and had an arrogant smirk on his face, and the other was a girl with long black hair tied in a ponytail.

The mummy man looked to the others, "That's the one…"

The spiky haired male snorted, "Him? Oh please, why would…" he was silenced as the girl slapped the back of his head.

"Shut it Zaku, we are in a room FILLED with people, do you honestly think talking about why we are here is a good idea."

The mummy man looked at the now known Zaku, "For once, I agree with Kin, you have a bigger mouth than you are worth."

Zaku snarled at the bandaged man, "Oh shut up Dosu or so help me I'll…BANG!" Zaku was silenced as Kin smacked him over the head with an iron bar.

"Would the two of you shut the fuck up, we are here to observe the contestants, not prove which of you is dumber!" she said it silently and with a hiss, forcing her two teammates to shut up.

Team 10 and the rest of team 8 jointed Kiba and team 7 as they spoke with Kabuto, who had brought out his nin-info cards.

"So, is there anybody specific you want to know about?"

Kiba and Sasuke spoke at the same time, "Uzumaki Naruto!"

Everyone looked at the two of them as if they had gone crazy…

Kabuto frowned, "And you even know their name…that ruins the fun." he pulled out a Nin info card and charged chakra into it. Once it was charged he looked at the card…raising an eyebrow in confusion, "Uhm…I think somebody might have tampered with my cards…there is NO way a new genin ahs done this!" he turned the card towards them…shocking everyone there.

Uzumaki Naruto

Born October 10th, 0 AK (After Kyuubi)

Parents: Classified

Ninjutsu: High

Genjutsu: Below average

Taijutsu: Above average

Notable traits: Blond hair, blue eyes, whisker marks. Beyond Kage level reserves.

Feats: Completed an A-rank mission before Graduation, killed two Mid B-rank Nuke Nins, one A-rank Nuke Nin, and an A-rank unregistered Nin, and Massacred an army of thugs in less than a minute.

Everybody stared at Naruto in shock…Naruto…the dobe of the academy…he accomplished THAT?!

Kabuto looked at his card, "I swear, this card must have been altered…nobody in Konoha's history has that kind of track record."

Naruto smirked, "Until now that is…" he grabbed Kabuto's card, "And if I have anything to say about it…nobody else will know." the card was torn apart before the pieces were dropped back into Kabuto's hands.

The white haired genin looked at Naruto, 'This boy…is more than I originally thought…Orochimaru-sama should know about this.'

"POOF" a large cloud of smoke erupted in the middle of the room, and revealed a large bear-like man surrounded by a large group of Chunin's, "Alright you maggots! Welcome to the first stage of the Chunin Exams! I am your proctor, Ibiki Morino!"

Five Minutes Later

Naruto sighed as Ibiki finished explaining the rules, he hated written exams. He may have worn a mask of stupidity, but he truly sucked at written exams.

Naruto grabbed the pencil and looked at the first question…only to raise an eyebrow in confusion as the words seemed to shift around and form entirely new ones, 'Do I have dyslexia?' he looked at the paper to see what it said…

'My sochi…do not hate your Kaa-chan…please…come back to mommy.'

Naruto shook his head and looked back at the question, to find it was back to normal, 'What was that?' he looked up at the clock…only to curse, fifteen minutes had already passed, 'Shit…I don't have time to worry about this.' Naruto then went about trying to answer the questions in front of him…

Elsewhere

Kushina sat on an arm chair as she looked at the mural she had made of Naruto, using every possible picture she could find.

She caressed their cheeks, "My Sochi…do not hate your Kaa-chan…please…come back to mommy…"

On the back of her neck, the mark glowed as the mark swirled around the kanji