3 CHAPTER 3

Three years later

A forehead protector, it symbolizes that one is a shinobi of a village. Each shinobi village has its own Hitae-ate. Once one wears it, it shows where ones loyalties lie. Naruto held the forehead protector with his right hand. He had been given it after passing the academy exam. His passing was a surprise to everyone in his class, even the sensei's seemed surprised that he had passed. No one had thought that he was going to pass the exams. He was the dead-last after all. So it was expected for the dead-last to be the one that fails the exam that everyone passes. Naruto did enough to pass the exam. He did not have to fail since everyone his age was going to pass. He had already spent too much time in the academy, it was time to get out of the academy and become a shinobi.

It had been just a day now since 'he' got the forehead protector. The Sandaime had been pleased upon knowing that Naruto had succeeded in becoming a genin. Naruto saw it in the old man's eyes, the proud smile he had on his face. Anyone who had looked at the old man that day would have seen that he was truly happy. Naruto had never seen the old man give him a proud smile like that before.

Naruto had returned today from his training. His grandfather had told him to come back to the village and replace with the clone. It was no longer needed. They had planned to dispel it after the graduation. He had also told Naruto to return after he had done so.

In 6 days they would be meeting their sensei's. They were already assigned to their teams. Naruto was placed in team 7 along with Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura. They had said that Naruto was placed on the team to balance the scales. Sasuke and sakura were top students and Naruto was the dead-last, he made a perfect member of the team. They were not yet informed of their sensei's name. They would meet them in seven days at the academy.

Naruto placed the forehead protector on his forehead. He looked at himself and smiled at himself. It felt good to wear the forehead protector. Wearing it meant that he would have more things to do now. No longer would he be worried about training only, he would also have to place missions and team meetings into his daily activities.

Right now he needed to meet with his grandfather. Madara had made it clear that he came back to the hideout after dispelling the clone and taking the forehead protector. He did not want to make his grandfather wait any longer. He entered his bathroom and placed his hand on the floor next to his mirror. A seal appeared on the floor, Naruto bit his thump letting blood leak. He wiped the blood on the seal and then disappeared.

Unknown location

Madara held his Gunbai with both his hands. He looked at it remembering the good days when he was still at his prime. Remembering those days made him wish he was young again. He wanted to give the Gunbai to Naruto as a gift for becoming a shinobi. It would also prove useful in future battles. He had used it many times when he fought, thus he knew its value. He also wanted Naruto be like him, wielding a Gunbai made Naruto like him. He had succeeded in making Naruto think a lot like him though not completely.

Naruto looked at the war fan with an impassive gaze. His eyes were studying the war fan his grandfather held. It was wide with a tomoe on it and had a long handle with bandages wrapped around the base, and a chain attached to it. It had a purple tint with a black border.

''Take this it is my gift to you.'' Madara said

Naruto brought out both his bands accepting the Gunbai. It was a little large for him. He could not use it at his current height. ''Thank you Jiji!''

Madara smiled slightly, ''Naruto, I want you to know that I am proud of you. If you continue to train as hard as you have been you will one day surpass me even Hashirama.''

Naruto did not react at first. It was unusual for his grandfather to say things like that. He brushed off his worries; his grandfather did a lot of unusual things.

Madara continued speaking, ''Never forget what I taught you, and keep my words your heart!''

Now Naruto was beginning to worry, again. It seemed like his grandfather was saying goodbye to him. He could not accept something like that. He still needed his grandfather alive. ''What's wrong grandfather?''

''There is nothing wrong, all is well.'' He lied

Naruto did not see it, even with his sharingan active. ''Do I still have to act weak now that I have become a ninja?'' he asked wishing his grandfather would allow him to stop acting weak and stupid.

Madara smiled at Naruto and replied, ''Patience child!''

Naruto sighed it seems that he was not going to get his wish. ''Okay...I should return to Konoha since I did not leave a clone behind and I have to meet up with my team in a few days.'' Naruto said

Madara nodded, ''You can go I have no other reasons to keep you here.'' He said

Naruto smiled slightly before going to his room. He did not need to take the Gunbai with him to Konoha. He was not going to be using it for now after all. He needed to learn how to use it first before he could carry it around. Also, taking the Gunbai back to Konoha would get him asked questions that he did not wish to answer.

Later that night at Naruto's apartment

A figure in a black attire sneaked into Naruto's room. He looked at Naruto, who was sleeping peacefully. The blond was unaware of the presence inside his room. He slowly made his way towards Naruto; he did not want to be heard, if he made noise the blond would hear him and wake up. He reached Naruto's bed and stared at the sleeping blond for a moment.

He moved both his hands quickly. His left grabbed Naruto's neck squeezing it, the other he firmly placed on Naruto's face blocking his eyes so that he may not be able to see. With his neck being squeezed he would not be able to scream.

Naruto woke from his sleep due to the difficulty in breathing. His neck was pressed tightly and his eyes could not open because there was a hand that was making it impossible for him to open them. He kicked a few times and moved both his hands to try and stop the person from killing him. His kicking and his struggle were proven pointless as the person did not let go off him. Even if he were to scream no one would come and save him. People would probably just come and watch him suffocate. They would certainly enjoy the show. He was not going to die like this. It had been long since he had allowed the villagers to do what they pleased with him. He was no longer going to allow it. Especially since the person had just broke into his apartment to try to kill him. His grandfather had told him to never allow foolish people to do as they pleased with him. He would certainly not allow anyone to take his life not inside of his own apartment. He was too young to die and he still had dreams that needed to be achieved. He could not die and leave his grandfather alone.

Naruto reached under his pillow while struggling to get loose from the tight grip on his neck. His eyes could not see. He took a kunai under his pillow and held it firmly. Because he could not see with his eyes, he relied on his other senses to try and stab the person on his shoulder so that the person could loosen up the grip on his neck. He moved the Kunai quickly and felt it connect with something. The contact gave him the assurance that he had stabbed his attacker.

The hands pressing him down the bed no longer had the power they had. He was able to get loose from the grip. He opened up his eyes and looked at his attacker. Naruto sat frozen on his bed looking at his attacker. His attacker was now falling down because of the wound on his neck. The blood leaked out even though the Kunai that pierced him was still in his neck. Naruto was still frozen when his attacker hit the floor with a thud.

''G-grandfather!'' he managed to stutter out at his grandfather.

Naruto felt his word crumbled down, his heart breaking into pieces. Tears started to wet his cheeks as he cried in regret. He had committed the greatest sin he could have ever do. He had killed his own grandfather. The man who took care of him when nobody wanted to do it, the man who taught him everything he knows about a shinobi. The man he cared for more than anyone he knew, the only person who was closest to him.

He had killed that man

He crawled trembling towards his grandfather. The old man had a smile on his face. Madara looked at Naruto with a small smile before he breathed his last breathe.

Naruto's eyes widened as he saw his grandfather's eyes close, ''No-No-no grandfather don't die I did not mean to kill you. I did not know it was you. Come back grandfather!'' he cried out holding his grandfather's arms.

His grandfather did not respond. Naruto felt the guilt and regret overwhelming him. He had killed his only family in the world. Tears showered down like water flowing off a broken water tap. His hands shook with guilt and regret, while his heart was tore apart. He felt as though he was standing between earth and a large meteor, each pressing him against the other.

His sharingan activated unconsciously and morphed into a new form, the new form had a small black ring in the middle of the eye, 6 black blades connected from the ring, and they stretched to the border of the eye. Naruto felt his head pounding as if it was smashed against a hammer. The pain along with the regret and guilt was too much for him, it caused him to fall into unconsciousness.

The moment Naruto fell down Zetsu appeared within the room. He separated into two, white Zetsu and black Zetsu.

''You clean up the mess, I will take them to the hideout!'' black Zetsu said to white Zetsu in his deep voice.

White Zetsu nodded. Black Zetsu took Naruto and placed him on his left shoulder, he did the same with Madara's corpse placing it on his right shoulder. He left white Zetsu cleaning up Madara's blood on the floor.

Unknown Location, Hideout

Black Zetsu watched as Naruto's body began to stir. Naruto had slept all night peacefully. Zetsu had thought he might have nightmares, but nothing had happened all night. Naruto slept like a baby.

Naruto rose up from the bed and looked around his surroundings. He saw that he was in his room within the hideout. He did not remember coming to the hideout. He saw Zetsu and the events of last night began to play in his head. He looked down in guilt, tears started to leak out again, his hands clenched tightly. ''I-i'm sorry I-i killed h-him, I did not see it was him!'' he said to Zetsu. It did not matter that Madara was the one to have tried to kill him first. What mattered was that he had killed his own grandfather.

Zetsu did not like the situation he was currently in. Seeing Naruto cry was unpleasant. ''It was not your fault. Madara wanted to die by your hands!'' Zetsu said confusing Naruto.

''W-why would he want me to kill him?''

''He was going to die anytime soon. He decided it was best if he died by your hands. Your experience of killing him would awaken your Mangekyou Sharingan. He said it was the greatest power he could leave you with.'' Zetsu replied

Naruto eyes widened. He had killed his grandfather his grandfather just to awaken his Mangekyou sharingan. It was the same when he awakened the sharingan. ''Couldn't he have found another way for me to awaken the Mangekyou?''

Zetsu shook his head, ''No, he was going to die anytime soon. It was either he died on his own and leave you as you are or die by your hands and leave you with a Mangekyou sharingan.''

The Sharingan was a cursed doujutsu. The things one had to do to evolve it were horrible. 'Is this the price of power?' Naruto asked himself. He continued to cry even if his grandfather wanted him to kill him and did not feel betrayed by him he still could not forgive himself for killing him.

''Naruto, It is either you accept that Madara wanted to die or you continue to drown yourself in guilt. I won't watch over you if you are like this,'' He shook his head, ''Your grandfather would be disappointed seeing you like this. I should know that, I am his will after all.'' he said and disappeared from Naruto's view.

Naruto felt conflicted, he knew his grandfather would not be pleased seeing him crying. Madara hated any weakness, at the moment he was in a moment of weakness. If an enemy was to come at him he would surely be killed because he could not fight in his condition.

Zetsu was right, but he could not help but feel guilty for ending his grandfather's life.

The following day

Naruto had just finished burying his grandfather. He was not crying, no Naruto had told himself he would never cry again. He had spent the whole of yesterday locked up in his room thinking. He did not eat anything the whole day, he only ate today morning. He had told himself that if killing his grandfather was the price of power then he would accept it, but it not mean he liked it. It was just that there was nothing he could do about it and was done, he could not change it. His grandfather would not have come back if he had continued crying.

He had told himself when he was just six that crying did not solve anything

He was walking calmly inside the hideout with an impassive look and his Mangekyou activated. He suddenly stopped walking. ''I will be returning back to Konoha, the Sandaime will certainly be looking for me as he would not have been able to see me through his crystal ball,'' he paused for a moment, ''In three days I should be meeting my teammates. Some of my secrets will be revealed.'' he said to no one in particular.

Zetsu stepped from the shadows, ''Which secrets are you going to reveal?''

''That I'm not an idiot. I will release the Genjutsu Madara placed around me and some of my power. But my Kekkei Genkai's and full power will remain hidden for now.'' he said walking away.

Zetsu nodded and disappeared. He was a little surprised that Naruto called his grandfather by his name. He had always called him grandfather never Madara. He guessed it was because Madara was dead now, and the manner in which he died.

Naruto was not going to reveal his Doujutsu and his Mokuton bloodline. It was still going to be fun for Zetsu watching the looks on Konoha's face when it realizes that Naruto was not an idiot it thought he was.

A few days later, Academy

The whole class was quite. No one was saying anything they all just looked at single person. Some looked at him with wide eyes, some in disbelief, one with indifference. They were speaking within their thoughts because they were seeing was something that they thought they could never see, and something that they thought could never happen.

The subject of their thoughts was Uzumaki Naruto

Naruto was not in his kill-me orange jumpsuit. He was different, he looked different. No more was the foxy grin that had always been ever present on his features. Naruto was wearing a black long sleeved shirt with a red Uzumaki swirl in his front and back. The one on the back was small, but the one in the front was large, it covered his chest. He also wore black shinobi pants, black shinobi boots and black gloves each with an Uzumaki swirl at the back of his hand. His blond hair was long, they reached his shoulders, and two large bangs covered a bit of his face. The bang on his right made his eye barely visible. Naruto had not cut his hair ever since he was seven. He let his hair grow for 6 long years. He wanted them to be like Madara's when he grew older. Naruto's whisker marks were still there on his cheeks, but seemed to be disappearing. His face looked mature and his eyes were devoid of any emotion.

A minute passed and everyone got over their shock.

''Is that Naruto?'' A random girl asked still in disbelief.

''Yes that's him, and he looks kind of hot!''

A Sasuke Uchiha fan girl did not like hearing that. ''He might have changed his clothes, but he is still a dead-last!''

''Who cares if he is the dead-last! He graduated and what matters most is that he is hot!''

''Maybe, but he is not as hot as Sasuke-kun.''

''That might be true but it does not change the fact that he is hot and you just admitted it.''

The Uchiha fan girl huffed and looked away.

Today they would not be meeting with Iruka. He had already given his final speech the day he announced the teams. They were told to come here and their Jonin-sensei's would come and fetch them.

A few moments later the doors opened. A group of jonins walked inside class. When they all saw him they eyed him suspiciously and curiously. The Naruto they all knew was not like that. They did not dwell on it though; they went on to collect their students.

Only two Jonin's interested Naruto because they had Genins he was familiar with as their students.

Asuma Sarutobi, the son of the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi. His team was team 9 it consisted of Ino Yamanaka, Akimichi Choji, and Nara Shikamaru. The three were friends so Naruto was not surprised that they were grouped together. He knew that Shikamaru would be the brains of the team, Choji the muscle of the team. He could not figure out what use Ino would be for the team since the girl showed no ninja skills...well her clan techniques could be quiet useful if she did learn them. As far as he knew the girl did not train at all.

Yuhi Kurenai, Konoha's Genjutsu mistress. She was the jonin-sensei of team 8. The team was composed of Hyuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino. 'Trackers' Naruto thought looking at the team. Inuzuka were tracking specialist in Konoha. Their noses were 'blessed' in tracking a person's scent. Hinata with her Byakugan could be useful in the fronts since the Byakugan could see through anything. Shino could also operate like Kiba with his Kinkai.

The class cleared and Team 7 was left alone in the class. They waited for more than two hours for their sensei to arrive. Naruto did not like the time it was taking for the Jonin of team 7 to arrive. He was displeased. He did not like people who wasted his time. Team 7's jonin was wasting his time by being late. Two hours was a bit too much for Naruto to tolerate. Over the time Sasuke had been stealing glances at Naruto who had been quiet ever since he entered the class. Sasuke was curious about the changes in Naruto, but his pride stood in the way of asking about it or displaying his curiosity. Sakura was being Sakura, though she never did try to say anything to Naruto. It was because of the emotionless look on Naruto's face. It was different from Sasuke's, with Naruto's she was not used to it and it gave her a bad vibe every time she looked at Naruto. Her focus was on trying to impress Sasuke. As always Sasuke ignored her attempts.

A few minutes and a man with spiky silver hair, a mask that covered most of his face, the only part not covered was around his right eye. He held a small orange book on his hand, and had a bored expression on his face. His eyes looked lazily at the Genins before going back to his book.

'Copy ninja, Hatake Kakashi, I should have known he would be selected to be Team 7's sensei' Naruto thought looking at the famed sharingan no Kakashi. 'At least I did not get a weak sensei' he thought.

Kakashi narrowed his eye at Naruto. The blond was a different person from the one he had seen in the past months and different from the reports he got. He looked at had went gone through a transformation.

''You must be Team 7,'' Kakashi said lazily, ''Meet me at the roof in five minutes.'' he said and disappeared in a puff of smoke.

Naruto too disappeared into thin air. Sasuke stared at where Naruto had been sitting before clenching his fists. He walked away with Sakura following him behind with a confused look on her face. She was confused because Sasuke seemed angry at something. She could only guess it was because Naruto had just disappeared into thin air. But she questioned herself as she could not understand how it would make Sasuke angry.

Roof

Kakashi looked at Naruto curiously. This was certainly not the Naruto he was expecting to see. What surprised him the most was that Naruto appeared at the roof just after he did. He could not have done it with pure speed he had used a shunshine. It surprised him because Naruto was not supposed to be able to do that kind of jutsu, the jutsu was a chunin level jutsu. From what he had heard Naruto had struggled to even do the Bunshin No jutsu. He shrugged off his thoughts when he saw the rest of his team appear. He looked at them lazily. Sakura seemed out of breath, while Sasuke...well was Sasuke.

Looking at Sakura, Kakashi could tell that the girl lacked physical training meaning she was physically weak. By the looks of things it seemed that the girl did not train at all if she lost her breath by climbing a few stairs.

Sasuke looked at Naruto for a moment before going to take a sit beside the blond. Naruto did not spare Sasuke a glance he just sat there as if Sasuke was not there, something which seemed to trouble him greatly. He hated being ignored especially by a dobe.

Kakashi never took his eyes off his book as he spoke, ''Alright now that everyone is here I want you to introduce yourself by telling us your name, likes and dislikes.'' he said in a bored tone.

Sakura did not seem to get it, ''Sensei, why don't you go first to give us an example on how we should introduce ourselves.''

Kakashi took his eye of his book and stared at the girl for a moment. She was supposed to be smart, he could not understand why she would say something like that. He did say how they were supposed to introduce themselves. He sighed, ''I am Hatake Kakashi. I have no intentions of telling me my likes and dislikes. As for my dream...I have a few hobbies.'' he introduced himself, his eye off Sakura and back on his book again.

'All he gave us was his name', two of the genins thought with a sweat drop. Naruto gave no reaction to it he just stared impassively into the blue sky.

''You are next!'' Kakashi said looking at Sakura.

Sakura nodded, ''Hi, I'm Haruno Sakura, my likes are,'' she looked at Sasuke with a blush, ''My dreams are,'' she looks at Sasuke again with a blush and a soft giggle. Sasuke ignored her; he just went on with his brooding. ''My dislikes are Ino-pig and,'' she paused for a moment looking at Naruto. She sighed in relief when she saw that he was not looking at her. His impassive face kind of scared her, but since he was not looking she could say whatever she wants, ''Naruto-baka!'' she said loudly.

Naruto ignored her; he could care less if the girl hated him or liked him. It did not matter either way, she was weak and useless.

Kakashi looked at her with a raised brow, 'Fan girl' he thought with a sweat drop. Things were going to be rough for him with Team 7. He hated dealing with fan girls, they annoyed him. Especially since they did not take their ninja careers but rather spent their time trying to look good.

He looked at Sasuke, ''You are next!''

''My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I hate a lot of things and I don't particularly like anything. What I have is not a dream, no it is a reality, I am going to restore my clan and kill a certain man.'' Sasuke introduced himself darkly.

'Sasuke is so cool' Sakura thought with a dreamy look on her face. Naruto glanced at Sasuke for a moment before looking away. The Uchiha was stuck in his path for revenge. He was surely going into a darker path.

'I should have expected that much' Kakashi thought looking at Sasuke. He had a lot of work to do with the team, Sakura's fan girl attitude and Sasuke's dark path. He had to do what he could to ensure that Sasuke stayed out of the dark path he was currently in and develop bonds with his teammates. He looked at Naruto giving him a nod to introduce himself.

''Uzumaki Naruto!''

''...''

No one was expecting that kind of introduction. Even Sasuke was not expecting it. Yes Naruto seemed quiet and calm, but he did not expect him to introduce himself like that. Sakura was kind of fuming, thinking that Naruto was trying to be cool. She did not like anyone trying to be better than Sasuke.

Even the Sandaime almost fell off his chair within his office as he was watching the meeting with his crystal ball.

Kakashi looked at Naruto. There was something wrong with the kind of picture he was seeing. First the change in appearance after graduation and Naruto's body seemed strong physically, he looked like he trained hard as his 'eternal rival' Maito Guy. And then the change in attitude, one could not change the way Naruto did in a few days. Unless he was always like this but hiding it behind that mask of happiness. But the hair, last time he saw Naruto his hair was short, that is if unless he was hiding it too. 'Genjutsu' he thought with his eye slightly wide. He had to be a genjutsu master to be able to cast a genjutsu that could fool the whole village, even the Sandaime.

Things were certainly going to be hard for him. 'Fan girl, Avenger and the mystery genin' in a single team was going to consume much of his team. 'Why does the Sandaime hate me?' he thought to himself.

He sighed and looked at the academy graduates, ''Now that we are done with the introductions, tomorrow we are going to be doing a survival test. There are too many graduates this year, thus we will do the tests to determine those are ready to be genins. Out of the 27 academy graduates only 9 will become genin and the rest will be sent back to the Academy.'' he paused and looked at their reactions.

''But sensei we have already passed the academy test, and graduated, which made us Genins!'' Sakura said.

Kakashi shook his head, ''You passed the academy exams, to be a genin you have to pass a genin test.'' he paused, ''Your chances of failing are 66%. We will meet at 6 in the morning, training ground 7. I suggest that you don't eat breakfast if you do you will puke.'' he said, ''Ja ne!'' he said before leaving in a swirl of leafs, but not before glancing at Naruto.

Naruto got up to leave but was stopped by Sasuke, ''Dobe what is with the change?'' he asked...no he demanded.

''Yeh, why are you trying to look cool?'' Sakura added loudly.

Naruto's face remained impassive, ''I did not change, I was always like this you were just too blind to see It.'' he said as he disappeared into thin air.

Sasuke felt offended by Naruto's reply but he could not do anything since the blond was already gone. At least he was not annoying as he was in the academy that was a good thing. But inside of him was begging to be wary of the blond. There was this feeling he was getting off the blond that was not anything good. He started to retreat, Sakura spoke.

''Sasuke-kun, do you want to get something to eat?'' he asked happily with a blush.

''No!'' Sasuke replied coldly.

Hokage's office

The Sandaime was looking at Kakashi. What he had seen with his crystal had been a shock to him. Never had he suspected that Naruto was hiding under that happy mask he always had. But what troubled him were the physical changes in Naruto's body. The only word that came to his mind when he saw the blond was ''genjutsu''. That word alone troubled him greatly. If Naruto was able to hide in a genjutsu while he was around him meant that he had to be a master of the art. He was not just a kage; he could detect even S-rank Genjutsu's. But he could not detect that Naruto had a genjutsu placed around him that he or anyone in the village could not detect.

It troubled him greatly

''I'm guessing you saw everything.'' Kakashi said

The Sandaime nodded, ''Yes, and it troubles me.''

Kakashi nodded, ''I never thought I'd see him like that. With the way he currently looks at the moment he looks exactly like his father. You have to know that not everyone in the village is ignorant, they will start to suspect that he might be related to the Yondaime.''

''Yes, but let us just be grateful that the majority of the village would never think something like that because they are consumed by hatred.'' the Sandaime said

''You did tell me that I was not supposed to fail the team tomorrow, this means that he will go out of the village. Once Iwa sees him they will think he is the Yondaime's son. Anyone who thinks logically will be able to tell.''

The Sandaime nodded, ''For now we won't do anything. But bring Naruto to me after the test after you see his skill level.''

''Hai Hokage-Sama!'' Kakashi said before disappearing from the office.

The Hokage leaned back to his chair. He was definitely getting too old to be dealing with this kind of issues. His most fear was what Naruto might know. He would have a lot to deal with if Naruto did know things he was supposed to be the one to tell him. He just hoped that Naruto was not hiding more things that would be a threat to the village.

Training ground 7

Naruto was relaxing on a tree branch. He had arrived at the training ground before anyone did. He did not want to listen to Sakura's voice, thus he chose to relax on the tree. His teammates could no sense him, they were no good at sensing chakra and he was good at hiding his chakra signature. Someone like Kakashi would be able to detect him.

His teammates had arrived just after he had. Sakura took the time she was alone with Sasuke as an opportunity to impress him. Thus she was fawning over him. Sasuke was blissfully ignoring her.

Zetsu's head appeared from the tree. Naruto looked at him, ''Do you have something to tell me?''

''No!'' Zetsu replied.

''So you were bored then. You no longer have Madara to converse with.'' Zetsu just nodded, ''How goes the information gathering?''

''It has been rather difficult lately. I have not been able to find anything useful.'' he said, ''I'm curious which of your skills are you going to show today?''

''Taijutsu, I have trained in Taijutsu ever since I was seven. It is my best option I can fight without looking weak with just Taijutsu. I will not be using any Ninjutsu...for now that is.'' Naruto responded. Taijutsu was a good option for him since he would have to answer fewer questions. If he did ninjutsu they would ask him where he learned the Jutsu's and who taught them to him. With Taijutsu he could simply say that he trained on his own. No one would question him further.

''It looks like your sensei has not yet arrived.'' Zetsu said, ''I will be taking a look around the village.'' he said disappearing.

It had been 45 minutes after 6 and Kakashi had yet to appear. Naruto was getting impatient. Kakashi was just too laid back to arrive on time at a meeting he set up. He had to wait yesterday and now he was waiting. He hated that Kakashi did not respect other peoples time.

At 8 Naruto's patience finally ran out. He jumped out of the tree. His teammates noticed him.

''You are late Naruto! Kakashi-Sensei said we could come here at 6!'' Sakura yelled out.

Naruto had no words for her. She was not going to believe anything he told her anyway. It was best for him to just ignore her. He stared walking away from the training.

Sasuke finally spoke, ''Where are you going dobe?''

''Home'' Naruto responded without looking back at Sasuke.

''But we have a test to take!'' Sakura said.

''I am aware of that, but I do not have the patience to deal with our sensei's tardiness. When he does get here tell him I will be my apartment. If he is really serious about the test he will come and fetch me.'' Naruto said and disappeared.

An hour later

''Yo!'' Kakashi greeted with an eye smile as he appeared in a puff of smoke.

''You are late!'' Sakura screeched making Kakashi wince but he blissfully ignored her. He looked around because he could not see or sense Naruto.

''Where is Naruto?''

''He left about an hour ago because you where late.'' Sasuke said with a glare directed towards the jonin. He was furious he did not like being kept waiting. He could have left with Naruto but chose not to because to get stronger he needed to pass the test for him to be a ninja.

Kakashi brushed Sasuke's glare aside, ''Did he tell you where he was going?''

Sakura nodded, ''He said he was going back to his apartment.''

''I will be back in 10 minutes with him, so don't go anywhere.'' he said as he puffed away.

Naruto's apartment

Kakashi arrived at Naruto's apartment. He found the apartment's door slightly opened and decided to enter.

''Naruto'' He called out entering the blonds' home. He got no reply. He was surprised when he found the apartment looking empty. There was no furniture in and there things packed inside boxes. It seemed like the blond was moving out or moving things out to make space for new furniture.

'No, he is moving out.' Kakashi thought to himself.

Naruto walked in front of Kakashi, ''You are moving out?'' kakashi asked curiously.

Naruto nodded, ''This place is degrading. It's a rundown apartment, something not suitable for a shinobi.''

It was indeed degrading, but it was not the reason he felt he needed to move out now anyway. The apartment reminded of the good days he had with Madara, and his bedroom made it difficult for him to sleep since it was the place he had killed Madara. He could have gotten over that in time but he needed to find a suitable place for him to live in.

''Where are you going to live now?''

''The Shinobi district'' Naruto replied.

Kakashi just nodded, but he had questions. Naruto was definitely not getting help from the Sandaime, if he was the Sandaime would have told him about it. That begged the question, where did Naruto get the money go rent an apartment at the shinobi district. He knew that someone like Naruto who was not yet a ninja and lived off the allowance the Sandaime gave him every month should not be able to afford an apartment on his own. He would get answers when the Sandaime spoke with Naruto later on.

''Come on lets go the others are waiting for us.'' he said, Naruto nodded and went on to close the door while Kakashi disappeared.

Training ground 7

Kakashi remembered something that he wanted to tell Naruto. He had forgotten about it after he had reached the blonds' apartment. ''Naruto don't do what you did again in the future if you pass the test I'm going to give you.''

Naruto stared at Kakashi for a moment before responding, ''Give me that lecture again when you learn to respect other people's time.'' he said

Kakashi was not expecting Naruto give that kind of reply. He could not argue, but he could give a good reason as to why he had been late today, ''Well you see a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long away around. You did not have to live since it was not my intention to be late.''

Naruto just looked at him with indifference

Kakashi shrugged and looked at the rest of the team. ''Now that everyone is here we can begin with the test,'' he said, ''Your objective is to get a bell from before noon,'' he said taking out two bells, ''If you do not get a bell you will be sent back to the academy.''

''But sensei there is only two bells and there are three of us, does this mean that only two of us will become genins?'' Sakura asked confusedly.

'Should have expected that from her' Kakashi thought. ''That is if you do get the bells...now come at with the intent to kill...begin!''

The three genins dashed off to the trees to hide their positions making Kakashi smile. It was a good sign that they did listen to the academy lectures and understood some of shinobi's rules. Never show your location to your enemy. They did just that by hiding from him. It was not that they could actually hide from him, they were just genins and he was an elite jonin. They were merely trying, and he could give point for their attempts.

Kakashi made his way to the trees to look for the genins. He was in no hurry because he knew that sooner or later one would come after him and try to get the bells. He was able to detect Sakura rather easily. A few seconds later he detected Sasuke hiding in a tree, but Naruto he was unable to find. He stretched out his senses. He smiled as he found Naruto sitting comfortably on a tree branch. The blond looked comfortable and was observing him.

He looked at Sakura's direction and decided to start with her, she was the weakest of the three no doubt about that. She was no challenge in taijutsu so he decided Genjutsu would be a better test for her. The girl had a great mind genjutsu should be a good challenge for her.

Sakura felt a bit dizzy, her vision was blurry. She could not understand what was happening to her. The last minute she was perfectly fine hiding away from Kakashi while she was also looking for Sasuke. She wanted to hide where Sasuke was hiding. She needed to be near her Sasuke-kun so he could get a better look at her. But now she did not feel well.

''Ugh Sakura!''

She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a voice calling her name. She could now see clearly and the weird feeling she was feeling in her head was gone. She looked up to see Sasuke coming into view. She beamed suddenly upon seeing that it was Sasuke who was calling her.

''Help me!''

Sakura looked closely at her Sasuke-kun. Her eyes opened wide as she watched Sasuke struggle his way towards her, the horror. His body was battered and bruised; it was also pierced with several Kunai's. She rushed over him trembling. Her heart was beating faster than normal. Sasuke dropped to the ground. 'Sasuke-kun' she thought as she stopped in her tracks as tears began to rush off her eyes. She felt as though her heart had stopped beating.

''Ahhhh!'' she screamed loudly at the thought that Sasuke was dead and fainted.

Kakashi looking from a distance could only sweat drop. The girl had just fallen to an easy D-rank genjutsu. She was supposed to be smart, and should have detected the genjutsu easily. 'Maybe I should have used an E-rank genjutsu' he thought. Kakashi shrugged and went away to find his next 'victim'.

Sasuke did not spare the girl a second glance. He really did not care what happened. She was a nuisance and annoying. With her out of the he could have a better chance of getting a bell. If she was still active she would no doubt get in his way and become a burden to him. He wanted to get the bell and pass the test. His quest could only be fulfilled if he became a shinobi; no one was going to stand in the way of his quest.

'Pathetic' Naruto thought looking at the fallen girl. It was clear that the girl was caught in a simple Genjutsu that she had been unable to detect. Naruto could only guess what the girl had seen to make her faint. Whatever it was it had something to do with Sasuke. Sakura was not fit to be a ninja. She was book smart, but that did not make a shinobi. Skills and dedication made a ninja, Sakura had none. All she cared for was looking good in the eyes of her Sasuke-kun. If the girl ended up being a genin with her current mindset she would certainly become killed in her first mission if her teammates don't carry her over their shoulders.

Naruto jumped off the tree he was in and made his way towards Kakashi. There was something about the test that was hidden. A genin team in Konoha was composed of three genins and a Jonin. There was no team in Konoha that was a group of 3, even the ANBU squads where made out of 4 members, 1 being captain. Konoha preached teamwork to their shinobi. The objective of the test was in contrast to that motto. Despite them not being an official team they were still a team and fighting for themselves to get the bell did not promote teamwork. Also it was not possible for academy graduates to defeat a Genin.

A thought came to his mind. They were not expected to defeat the jonin, but work together as a team. They were a team and were expected to work with one another in missions. Sasuke and Sakura would never agree to work with him. He wanted to have some fun, and he would have his fun by fighting with Kakashi. He could not beat Kakashi, but the Jonin was surely going to underestimate him. He also had the element of surprise. He would take the advantage of that.

He was stopped from going after Kakashi because Sasuke beat him to it. Naruto jumped up to a tree again he could see what the 'last faithful Uchiha' could do. It would prove certainly interesting if the Uchiha was just not full of arrogance.

Sasuke made his way towards Kakashi. He had a confident look on his face. He felt confident about his chances of getting the bells. He was different from the others. He was an Uchiha and best in the academy class. He was considered a prodigy of his age.

''I'm going to get those bells!'' he said arrogantly.

Kakashi looked at him once then looked back to his book. His response to the proclamation annoyed the hell out of the Uchiha. It was like the jonin was taking his challenge as if it was nothing, not worth his time. He hated anyone who felt as though they were superior to him.

He rushed towards the jonin at his full speed. Kakashi was slightly surprised by the speed the young Uchiha was showing. He did not put away his book though; he waited for Sasuke to come at him.

Sasuke jumped and brought his right fist trying to punch Kakashi on his face. Kakashi blocked with his free hand. Sasuke was quick to use his other hand. He forced Kakashi to dodge was punch.

Sasuke engaged the jonin again. He attempted to side kick the jonin, but Kakashi blocked his attack. Sasuke did not stop he brought out his other leg trying to kick the Jonin. Kakashi was again quick to block again.

'Shit, I can't read my book like this' Kakashi thought. Sasuke brought out his left hand trying to punch Kakashi in the chest, but the Jonin blocked again frustrating Sasuke. But he did not give up. His left leg moved faster than before heading straight at Kakashi's waist. Kakashi caught Sasuke leg, but was not given the chance to do anything as Sasuke moved with impressive flexibility. He tried gutting the jonin with his left hand. Kakashi was up to the challenge he caught Sasuke's hand with his other hand. Sasuke had expected as much, his free hand moved for the bells hanging on Kakashi's belt. He did enough to almost get them but Kakashi let go of him and jumped back a bit.

He looked at Sasuke. The boy was certainly good for an academy graduate. With his taijutsu, he could actually beat seasoned Genin. He rushed at Sasuke, catching Sasuke off guard by his superior speed. He spun around and kicked Sasuke in the chest. Sasuke flew back but recovered quickly and landed on his feet.

''You certainly are good, better than most genins.'' Kakashi commented on Sasuke's skills in Taijutsu. He was certainly skilled and Kakashi was impressed by the young Uchiha.

Sasuke did not react to Kakashi's words. He was a little angry that he was not able to get the bells. What was more troubling was that he was unable to land a hit on the Jonin. Jonin's were really strong they were unlike any other shinobi. But he still had an ace in his pocket.

He smirked and inhaled large amounts of wind. He held his hands together near his mouth as he muttered his jutsu.

'Fire release: Great Fireball no Jutsu'

He breathed out a large fireball that sped toward Kakashi. This was ace the jonin would have been expecting him to do that. He would certainly burn the Jonin with his jutsu and get the bells.

Kakashi had wide eyes as he looked at the Jutsu. 'An academy graduate should not have that much chakra to do that Jutsu' he thought. It was a surprise to him that Sasuke could do the jutsu at such a young age. He quickly replaced himself with a log to avoid him being burned.

Sasuke smirked in victory seeing his sensei burned. He ended his jutsu. He looked at where Kakashi was standing to see a banned log. 'Replacement' he thought as he gritted his teeth.

''Earth release: Projection fish style no jutsu''

Kakashi did his jutsu while he was underground. He pulled Sasuke to the ground. Sasuke cursed as he felt his feet being dragged down the ground. He was unable to stop being the dragged into the pit. Kakashi got out from the ground and appeared in front of the buried Uchiha. Sasuke was buried with only his head being the only part of his body left on the surface. He glared at Kakashi angrily.

''Get me out of here!'' he demanded. He felt embarrassed by being caught so easily. He was stuck in the pit and could not move his feet or legs.

''Sasuke-kun'' A screeching voice of Sakura stopped Kakashi from responding. Kakashi looked at the pink haired girl wondering when she had woken up.

Sakura ran towards Sasuke. ''Sasuke-kun'' she cried out trying to pull Sasuke from the pit. She was unable to do anything, as she was weak to do anything to begin with. Kakashi just watched the girl struggle his face showing a bit of amusement at what his eye was seeing.

Sakura got up tiredly and glared at Kakashi, ''Kakashi-sensei get Sasuke-kun out of here now!'' she yelled at her sensei. Kakashi raised a brow he did not think that the girl could be capable to doing something like that, standing up for Sasuke even if it was against someone stronger than both of them. She could not do anything to him but here she was demanding that he pull Sasuke from the ground. Sakura saw that Kakashi was not going to do anything and sighed dejectedly. She sat down next to Sasuke.

''Don't worry Sasuke-kun I will get you out of here.'' she said trying to make Sasuke happy. Sasuke did not bother to look at the girl he just continued glaring daggers at Kakashi who blissfully ignored all the daggers.

Kakashi realized that one of the genins was missing

Naruto was watching from afar. Sasuke was not that bad for a genin, but he expected to see more from an Uchiha. He jumped from the tree and walked calmly towards the others. Kakashi noticed him and looked back at the blonde. Naruto still had his impassive gaze on.

Sakura was the first to say something, ''Naruto come and help me free Sasuke!''

Naruto ignored her, and looked at Kakashi. He took a taijutsu stance which Kakashi was similar to the Uchiha interceptor style.

''Shall we dance Kakashi-sensei?'' Naruto said impassively.

Kakashi raised a brow but nonetheless continued reading his book. He had taken it out after he had subdued Sasuke. To anyone he might not look like he was ready, but Kakashi was paying attention to Naruto.

Naruto disappeared in a burst of speed and appeared in front of Kakashi. 'Fast' Kakashi thought with wide eyes. He had never seen an academy graduate move that fast, never in his life. He expected Naruto to surprise him, but this was too much for a surprise. Naruto right hand rushed at Kakashi, but Kakashi was quick to get over his shock, he was fast to react. He blocked the blow. He felt a tiny bit of the power behind the punch. 'He hits like Gai but at a smaller scale' Kakashi thought.

Naruto brought out his right leg and attempted to kick Kakashi on his left side. Kakashi raised his knee to block the attack. He quickly put away his book because he now knew he would get embarrassed by a genin if he continued reading the book.

Sasuke gritted his teeth in anger. Naruto was moving far faster than he could and seemed better than he was.

Kakashi brought his right leg trying to hit Naruto. His foot connected with Naruto's hand. He retrieved his leg and brought it back again at Naruto. This time he spun around for more speed and power. Naruto brought out both his hands to block the attack. The power behind the kick was enough to force him back a feet away from Kakashi.

''This dance should be entertaining!'' Naruto said just enough for Kakashi to hear him.

Kakashi looked at Naruto straight in his eyes, 'he seems to be happy, and calls a fight to dance. He must really love the thrill of a good fight' Kakashi said looking at the blond. There was no smile but he could see a bit of excitement in Naruto's eyes.

Kakashi got into his own stance. Naruto seemed to be good in taijutsu and his speed was impressive. He had to seriously fight if he was going to evaluate Naruto's strength.

Naruto got back into his stance. He knew he could not beat Kakashi, but fighting against someone who could match and surpass your every move was something he could not miss. Both he and Kakashi disappeared from view and clashed in a taijutsu fight.

Naruto attempted to kick Kakashi in the face, but Kakashi bended back to avoid being hit. Naruto spun around balancing himself and not giving Kakashi enough time to attack him. Spinning around he brought his right foot trying to gut the jonin. Kakashi caught the blow and held Naruto's foot firmly with both his hands. His right foot moved fast and crashed into Naruto's stomach sending the blond flying away.

Kakashi did not give Naruto the time to recover within seconds he was already in front of Naruto. He attempted a right hook which Naruto was quick enough to block. Naruto jumped away from the jonin.

He rushed at Kakashi again. He tried crashing his foot into Kakashi's ribs but the jonin jumped back. Naruto did not stop he dashed at Kakashi and jumped up. He appeared above Kakashi, his right foot was crashing down with speed and power. Kakashi did not attempt to block, he replaced himself with a log. Naruto's foot connected with the log breaking it in half.

Sasuke was now feeling jealousy towards Naruto. Naruto was faring well against a jonin, while he could not do anything. He could not even get the jonin to fight him seriously, but Naruto was able to. Naruto was just a dead-last what could have changed for the blond to be better?

Naruto landed to the ground and stood still. His eyes narrowed to where Kakashi was. The jonin was within the trees. He disappeared off to the trees.

Sasuke and Sakura could not see anything since their teammate and sensei were fighting within the trees. But they could feel that the fight was still going on.

A few seconds later both saw their sensei flying back into the clearing. A second later Naruto appeared above the Jonin and attempted to pummel the jonin to the ground. Kakashi could not dodge but was able to bring out both his hands to block Naruto's punch. The power of the attack was enough to sending Kakashi crashing down the ground even though he had blocked the attack. A small crater was formed were Kakashi had crashed. Naruto jumped away from Kakashi allowing the Jonin to recover.

Kakashi got out of the crater and rushed at Naruto in great speed that should make him invincible to a genin. He appeared in front, Naruto was not fast enough to react as Kakashi's fist crashed to his gut making him grunt at the effects of the powerful punch.

Kakashi did hand seals and held his hands together close to his mouth doing the same jutsu Sasuke had used on him earlier albeit bigger than Sasuke's.

''Fire release: Great fireball no jutsu''

Naruto disappeared fast to avoid being hit by the jutsu. Kakashi ended his jutsu having sensed that Naruto had been able to dodge. Naruto was now a distance away from where he was previously.

''You are far better than I thought, far better than Sasuke. I don't think there is a genin in Konoha that can beat you. But I must end this now.'' Kakashi said, but before he could do anything the alarm rang signifying it was noon.

Kakashi sighed and motioned for Naruto to follow him to the rest of team 7. Kakashi freed Sasuke, who could not stop glaring at Naruto with clear jealousy. Naruto had been able to hit a jonin while he had been unable to. Kakashi gathered them and looked at each of them disappointedly.

''You did not get the bells, thus you failed the test.''

Naruto took out both bells from his pocket making Kakashi look at his belt and then at Naruto with wide eyes, ''When did you get them?''

''The time I pummeled you to the ground, before I jumped back I had already taken the bells. You were too focused on testing my power that you forgot about the test and you were thinking I had no interest in the bells, I just wanted to fight. That made it easy for me to get them.'' Naruto responded.

Kakashi nodded, ''So what are you going to do about the bells?''

''The aim of the test was not to get the bells but to test if we could work together as a team as three genins cannot defeat an elite jonin. I'm surprised that Sakura with all her brains couldn't figure that out.''

Sakura glared at Naruto for the jab. It seemed like one but Naruto was just pointing out that someone called smart like Sakura should have been able to figure the meaning of the test.

Kakashi noticed that fact because Naruto's face remained impassive and there was no amusement in his voice. ''If you knew that why did you not try to work with your teammates?''

''Isn't it obvious, none of them would have been willing to work with me. Sakura's only concern is Sasuke, while Sasuke thinks he does not need help and can do everything on his own and his pride would not allow him to accept help from anyone.''

Kakashi had to agree with Naruto. But Naruto should have tried to talk to them. ''Naruto is right the purpose of the test was teamwork. I could give you another chance to work together but since Naruto has the bells and I was not supposed to fail you I guess I will...pass you!'' he said making Sakura and Sasuke sigh in relief.

Naruto threw the bells back at Kakashi. Kakashi caught the bells, ''You can go now except for you Naruto. We will meet tomorrow at 9am for a team meeting.''

Both Sakura and Sasuke left but not before Sasuke glanced at Naruto.

''The Hokage's office I presume.'' Naruto said to which Kakashi nodded

Hokage's office

The Sandaime stared deep into Naruto's blue eyes. He found nothing from the blond his eyes had nothing they were just devoid of any emotion. He never thought he would see Naruto's eyes like that. Naruto knew that the Sandaime wanted to ask questions about the 'transformation'. He was not going to answer any questions he did not want to answer. No one forced him to do anything he did not like.

''Naruto what happened to you?'' The Sandaime asked breaking the silence within the room.

''I don't understand the question.'' Naruto said. He certainly did not understand what the Hokage meant. He could only guess, but guessing was not the right way to go if the person who asked the question was there to clear the question.

The Sandaime narrowed his eyes at Naruto. This was not the same Naruto he knew, ''Last week you were not like this.'' he said not really wanting to say what exactly had changed in Naruto.

''My physical appearance and attitude you mean?'' The Sandaime nodded, ''I am afraid I cannot answer that question...for now anyway.'' he responded coolly.

''Why?''

''Because Hokage-sama, it is something I don't want to reveal.''

''Naruto, why don't you want to reveal such information, what are you hiding, don't you trust me?''

''It is not a matter of trust and it is that I just don't want to tell you and I think I am entitled to my secrets.''

The Sandaime stared at Naruto sternly, but Naruto was not affected by it, ''Naruto I don't understand why you are being like this, but I don't like you keeping things from me, you are an important part of the village and everything you do I must know of it.''

''Ironic isn't it, you don't like me keeping things from you while you have been doing just that my whole life.'' Naruto said sounding almost amused but he was far from being amused.

The Sandaime and Kakashi tensed just when Naruto uttered those words. Naruto saw them tense, ''You thought I would not find out? I know everything Hokage-sama.''

The Sandaime looked at Naruto with shame and guilt. Naruto was used to seeing the look from the old man. It was like the old man wanted him to see the guilt and shame. He did not understand if it was what the old man wanted him to see or he was he felt guilt. The Sandaime could be two faced sometimes.

He brushed off his thoughts. The Sandaime had to know he knew things that he had been keeping from him. It was not going to do anyone any good if he just kept it to himself. He did not hate the old man for keeping things from him, but he hated that when the old man found that he too was keeping things from him, he was quick to show that he was displeased.

''You know of the Kyubi.'' It sounded like a question but it was not.

''Yes and about my mother.''

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded, ''Only your mother?''

''I also know about the man responsible for my birth. But he never was my father. The only parent I had was my mother.''

Kakashi and the Sandaime looked at Naruto with wide eyes. They did not expect Naruto to reject Minato as his father. It only meant he hated Minato for sealing the Kyubi inside of him, condemning him to a life of hatred.

''Naruto I'm sorry for not telling you about your parents. Your father had so many enemies we feared that they would come after you to kill you as you are a Namikaze.'' The Sandaime said sadly.

''As I said Minato was not my father, I suggest you don't call him as such. Your reasons are nothing but excuses, you know full well that it was either I was killed by the villagers or the assassins. Have you forgotten what they used to do to me on my birthdays?''

The Sandaime failed to meet Naruto's gaze. How could he argue with what Naruto was saying? His life was already in danger by the villagers. It was a miracle that he had survived all the brutal beatings he had received in the hands of the villagers. ''I still am sorry Naruto for failing to protect you.''

''I never hated you,'' Naruto said, ''I don't believe there is anything more that needs to be discussed now. I will be taking my leave.'' he said disappearing from the office.

''Well that went well!'' Kakashi said.

The Sandaime shook his head, ''No nothing went well for us anyway. Everything went the way Naruto wanted it to go. He never answered any of my questions. We don't know who trained him and who told him about his heritage and the Kyubi. And I believe he has more secrets. You have to keep an eye on him Kakashi, find out what he is hiding.''

Kakashi looked at the Sandaime, ''I thought you were going to leave it as it is. Won't he tell his secrets when he is ready?''

''Maybe he might, but we cannot wait for that. Naruto was able to fool the whole village even me for the past few years. Who knows what kind of secrets he is hiding.''

''You do know that if he finds out that you sent me to spy on him, he might never forgive you.''

''That is something I am willing to accept for the good of the village.'' The Sandaime replied lighting up his tobacco pipe. If Naruto was hiding things that could make him a threat to the village they had to be found out soon. He was also not sure if Naruto was loyal to the village with what he had gone through in his life and the transformation only made him more suspicious of Naruto.

While the two talked, they never noticed a pair of yellow eyes recording their conversation

Shinobi district

Naruto walked calmly inside an apartment block. He was looking for apartment Number 38. It was the apartment he had rented and was going to move into. He climbed stairs looking for the apartment until he found it. He entered his new home and breathed in the fresh air within the apartment. He could almost smile, but at the moment he had to unpack and put in the furniture he had bought outside the village from one of his travels with Zetsu.

Naruto took out several storage scrolls from a small bag he had been carrying. The apartment had two bedrooms, a bathroom, kitchen and a sitting room. He had all the furniture for all the rooms. He made 10 wood clones to help him unseal his things. He started unsealing the couch for his sitting-room and the large flat screen. By the time he finished putting everything in his sitting-room his clones were finished with their duties. Naruto had them dispel.

He heard a knock on the door. He went to open wondering who it might have been. No one for now knew where he was leaving. Naruto opened the door and looked at a purple haired woman, her hair reached down her waist, brown eyes and a shade of red lipstick. She was with another woman he recognized as Yuhi Kurenai.

''What can I do for you?'' Naruto asked calmly.

''Naruto!'' the purple haired woman said looking at him with slightly wide eyes. Naruto recognized the voice, 'Neko' he thought. She was an ANBU who had been once assigned to 'watch' over him.

''Are you familiar with him, Yugao?'' Kurenai asked.

Yugao smiled slightly, ''Sort of,'' she said, ''Sorry for disturbing you, we had noise like things were being moved and decided to check what it was since no one lives in this apartment.''

Naruto nodded, ''The noise must have been me. I was putting my furniture in order.''

''You are going to be leaving here?'' Yugao asked, Naruto nodded, ''What happened to your previous home?''

''Nothing'' he said dismissively.

Yugao nodded, Kurenai smiled at Naruto. ''Well it seems you and I will be neighbors.'' She said as she and Yugao turned away from his door. Naruto closed his door at walked back to his sitting room. He found Zetsu already sitting there.

''It appears you were right!'' Zetsu said

Naruto had sent Zetsu to spy on the Sandaime knowing full well that the old man was capable of anything he set his mind on.

''He does not trust you.''

''I expected as much from him. He may feel guilty for lying to me but he can see that I get dealt with should I be a threat to the village. The Sandaime might be old but he can be cold, cunning and manipulative when he wants to be.'' Naruto said, ''Who did he send then?''

''Your sensei''

Naruto nodded, ''We will see what Kakashi will discover about me.'' he said, ''I have to admit the old man is truly brave, to have someone spy on me just after the talk I had with him.'' Naruto said

''What are you going to do about it?''

''Nothing, they can look all they want but can never find about my secrets unless I want them to.'' Naruto said confidently.