Chapter 14: Genin Exam Part 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any other references mentioned in this fanfic.

Chapter 14

No words were said as they returned to the cave. Kenji carrying the cat-gator after he equipped a necklace that raised his strength, while Tsubaki carried the burned and shirtless form of Hiashi. Kenji gave him a pair of pants for the time being.

Akame looked smug at her victory, thinking about what sort of reward she should ask for.

Lin-Lin also looked happy as she rode on top of the cat-gator that Kenji was carrying over his head. It weighed close to 2 tons but was being dragged around like a giant stuffed animal.

The trek back was made longer by how mentally tired they were, but they could finally see the camouflaged entrance of the cave.

"Hey they're bac- What the fuck is that!?"

The yell from the guard stationed outside attracted the attention of everyone inside, as they rushed to the entrance with their weapons drawn.

"Holy mother of Shit!"

"The hell is that thing?"

"Mother Nature, you kinky bitch."

Of course, the giant mutated animal got their attention, the thing was easily 30 ft long with a mouth big enough to swallow a person whole.

*Thud*

Kenji dropped it in front of them, causing a small dust cloud to rise. Tenderly, he massaged his newly grown arm. It shouldn't hurt since everything had been healed perfectly, but he still felt phantom pains. Just thinking about the mummified arm brought a shiver down his spine. It was currently in his inventory ring until he found a use for it.

Tsubaki noticed his discomfort but didn't know what to say. She could hardly believe it herself, and she was there. The scene of the sweet if greedy ten-year old boy chopping of his own decayed hand would probably haunt her dreams for some time. Then of course there was the matter, with how he had managed to regrow it again. Say what you will about her, but she wasn't dumb. She had been around plenty of clansmen who had lost a limb during the 3rd Shinobi War or the Kyuubi attack to know that medical ninjutsu could not do what Kenji had just done.

She was sure that there was reason behind all of this, but she didn't want to unnecessarily meddle in his affairs after she had finally become his friend.

'I think I should invest in some therapy sessions after this. Last thing I want is to go crazy before I even reach my teens,' Kenji thought as he clenched his left hand to remind himself that it was still there.

'There's also the matter with him,' the small boy turned to the enemy captain, who was severely injured, with a lot of the wounds being around the *ahem* lower region. The clay plate was still intact but the cloth holding it was burnt to ashes. Akame had made sure to collect the Captain's badge and whatever equipment had survived the flash tag.

Turning to the squad who were too busy crowding around the dead chakra beast, taking turns poking it with sticks like curious children, he noticed someone missing.

"Hey, where's Yuuto?"

One of his teammates stopped their poking to answer him, "Oh him, he had to use the can. Although he's been gone for a long time?"

The small boy but a fist to his chin, "That's not good. Perhaps he's already been captured by an enemy team. If that's the case… then that means we can split up his supplies among ourselves?"

"Oh, I call his tent!"

"I want the te-Damn. Fine then I want his sleeping bag!"

"Then can I have his kunai? I've running a little low."

Immediately more people started to ask for his things.

Kenji sighed at their squabbling, "Alright that's enough. First of all we don't know if he's gone yet. Let's give him 5 more minutes. Second of all, I'm getting his sleeping bag, he would have wanted me to have it?"

Immediately a small rock bounced off of Kenji's head.

"Oi! I'm right here. Stop trying to kill me off, you bunch of vultures," the black-haired young man said with a tick mark as he emerged from his hiding spot.

"Tch!" everyone clicked their tongues.

Kenji looked at him briefly before turning to the group, "Oh, right! Before I forget, don't touch the weird alligator-fish thing with your bare hands, it's extremely poisonous and I can't be certain it it's safe or not.

Immediately everyone took one giant step back and threw their pointed sticks away.

Almost as to prove his point, a lone bird flew down onto the carcass and peaked at its eyes, then stopped and fell to the ground completely dead.

Tsubaki finally got tired of holding the injured man and called the closest ninjas. "Hey, you two. Take this guy toward the holding cell where we have the other enemy Captain. Please be gentle, he's rather injured in the umm… downstairs."

With that taken care off, Tsubaki called everyone back inside.

Kenji opted to stay behind since he wanted to dismantle the body for materials. Tsubaki looked like she wanted to protest but ultimately let him be.

The first thing he did, was use a medical scanning jutsu to locate the chakra crystal inside of its body. Then with a chakra scalpel he cut a hole on its head and retrieved the crystal inside of its brain.

Kenji momentarily held it up against the sun. It was completely purple with no added layers, it would take a day at the maximum for the purple color to bleed out of the crystal, so Kenji could see what element it was.

After safely putting it in his ring, Kenji started using both medical ninjutsu and a sharp knife to systematically take apart the huge beast.

He harvested six poison glands from its mouth. The fangs were pulled out one by one. The two eye's that were roughly the size of tennis balls were plucked from its skull. Next he skinned it, which proved hard that he initially thought seeing as chakra would slide off its skin, meaning he needed to do it by hand. "I can probably make some good leather from this."

He needed to remove 20 more sac glans around its body, with 4 being punctured already and poisoning the meat. When he opened up the stomach, he almost gagged at the putrid smell of decayed meat but then he noticed something.

"What the heck?"

Gingerly he put on a thick leather glove and rummaged inside the undigested mush, finding two orange-sized stones and an additional chakra beast crystal.

? Stone

Quality: Low-Human

+ Can store chakra inside (12/500)

Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A

"Holy mother of chakra!" Kenji shouted in surprise. Whipping away the slime on the stone, he saw that it was a black rock that had red veins on its surface. Getting an upgraded knife, he split it perfectly in half, and saw that there were tiny red crystals inside of it. "This appears to be some type of geode capable of storing chakra. I think I'll call it an Power Stone."

Power Stone

Quality: Low-Human

+ Can store chakra inside (6/250)

Chakra Points Needed to Upgrade: N/A

"Looks like it still works. I wonder where it found this?" Kenji said as he stored the two geodes inside his ring for safe keeping.

"Oh! I found my fishing bobber. Nice."

Next was the chakra beast crystal. It was a bright ocean blue color with only one layer. He channeled a bit of his chakra through the crystal and saw as water began to pour out of it, signifying that it was a water element. 'This will be useful for performing water jutsu without a source of water.'

Once more he got to dismantling the body, making sure to set apart the hardened bones and ligaments to be made into weapons later. Chakra beast meat wasn't edible for humans, but it was great for other chakra beasts since it helped their crystal grow. He would save it for Akame and Lin-Lin.

Speaking about the little menace, he was surprised to hear that she had jumped in to save him.

'She had no reason to, and with me gone there would be no one to stop her, so why did she do it?' he thought with a serious face. He still wouldn't trust her, but he guessed that it couldn't hurt to treat her better.

When he was done, there was nothing left of the beast except the blood on the ground. Weaving through a couple of hand seals and the earth was overturned.

Walking inside he headed straight for the holding cell, which was really just a room carved out of the side of a wall using earth jutsu, with stone bars the only thing holding them in.

He waved to the guard who nodded back before opening a small hole in the wall big enough for him to enter.

The Akimichi girl turned and glared at him, before laying back down on the stone bed they had made for her. Across from her, was the still unconscious Captain in a similar stone bed.

Walking toward him, he wove the hand signs for the mystic palm technique and began to diagnose the injured man. 'Ouch! That's not good at all. Just what the heck did Akame do to him?'

He began to heal some of the injuries straight away, but some were beyond his capability, plus there was also the fact that he didn't feel like touching another man's junk.

'I could heal him with the Yang Seal, but I already used it earlier today. Yang Seal or another man's junk? …Yang Seal it is,' he said before activating the healing properties of the Yang Seal.

Immediately the person began to change before his eyes. The burned skin began to heal until it looked like normal skin, although perhaps a little too pale. The hair that had been burned off was also starting to regrow. Running a quick diagnostics jutsu, he confirmed that the man's family jewels were also saved.

"Oh shit."

Now that the man was completely healed, Kenji was able to recognize him as the Hyuga's Clan Head, Hiashi Hyuga.

'What does this mean? Why would a clan head be here of all places? …Unless!' Kenji quickly looked around and got out a blanket which he draped over his body. 'Of course! They wouldn't just leave genin hopefuls on their own. They must have mixed in a couple of chunin and jonin into the batch to act as observers. But if a clan head, is here, then that must mean that there could be others too. I should probably try to keep this a secret, since this doesn't seem like the type of thing that should be public knowledge. They must be wearing disguises.'

He incased Hiashi's legs in glass cement as a precaution but left his hands free so that the man could still perform the transformation technique once he woke up.

Turning to the girl that was trying to feign sleeping, Kenji threw a pillow at her, then walked out of the cell.

"I covered him with some ointment to deal with the burns, tell me when he wakes up please," Kenji said to the guard.

They had already decided to rest for the day, so with nothing else to do, he decided to go to sleep and put the day behind him.

(Monitor Room)

The Third Hokage, rubbed his aching temples. This genin exam was turning into a disaster.

The second that Kenji had amputated his own arm and then regrew it, the room had exploded into chaos.

Everyone started yelling. The Medic Corps began to ask pointed questions about what type of jutsu that was. The Research and Development branch had once again yelled out 'dibs'. The Torture and Interrogation Force had also thrown in their lot for the boy, seeing the usefulness in his healing abilities.

The Daimyo and his wife had to be escorted out of the room after the later fainted on account of the gruesome sight.

'You had one job Jiraiya. One job! Protect the boy at all cost, that was it,' he thought angrily as he slammed a fist into the table.

Around him, were the other clan heads, all with serious expressions as they reviewed the tape again.

It was unlikely that Kenji's name wouldn't be known by the end of the day. The Hokage gave a sigh, he really did try to protect the boy. But it was all for not now.

Kenji Yamamoto. He was like a giant puzzle that kept changing whenever you thought you had him figured out. He partly knew the reason why too. DNA scan's showed that he had Senju DNA in him, not a big surprise since at least a quarter of the village had some blood ties with the almost extinct clan, but sensors had confirmed that his chakra signature was gradually changing. What this meant he did not know yet, but at least this proved that he wasn't ordinary.

Hiruzen would admit to himself that even he was slightly taken aback when the young boy cut off his own arm and seemingly regrew it in only seconds. The lack of hesitation showed that the boy was already well aware of his healing ability and had kept it hidden from them all. It was becoming clear that Kenji was smarter than he led on if he had been able to keep this a secret from Cat.

However, the most worrying part was that his gut told him this was just the tip of the iceberg, and something even more shocking would happen soon.

'God, I need a drink.'

(Daimyo's Residence)

Madam Shijimi looked weak and pale as she lay on a sofa, her husband was sitting by her side fanning her.

As she stared at the high ceiling, the same image kept replaying over and over again.

Kenji, the sweet boy that she had met all those months ago had successfully regrown his arm.

She as well as her husband knew exactly how important this truly was. The best medic-nins that money could buy had all told her the same thing, that medical ninjutsu was incapable of re-growing missing body parts. Medical ninjutsu had been designed to accelerate the healing in the body by using chakra, but it couldn't heal something that wasn't there anymore.

Try as she might, Madam Shijimi could feel tears begin to escape her eyes and draw dark lines down her face. She desperately told herself that she shouldn't get her hopes up, but it was impossible, a small flame had been ignited in her heart. 'Kenji Yamamoto, please let me not be wrong about you.'

(Scene change)

"It is good to see you once more My Lady," Kenji said as he gave the Rabbit Goddess a bow.

Kaguya peered down at him without saying a word, her eyes asking the unsaid question?

"Ah you must be wondering about his, right?" the small boy said with a smile as he waved his left hand that had become transparent. "No need to worry, tis but a flesh wound."

This dream world was different from the real world, as it showed your true self. As such, Kenji was back to his bishounen appearance. However, since he partly considered his arm to be lost, it had become transparent to reflect his mental image of it.

"I will not ask any further then," Kaguya said out loud, deciding to let the matter drop for the moment.

"Thank you, My Lady. Was there something you wanted to discuss?" he said as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yes, there is. But not here at the moment?" Kaguya said as she stood up from her throne.

"Then where, if not here?"

With a snap of her fingers the walls of the room began to melt, showing a familiar scenery.

They were back in the Leaf village, above the middle of the market square to be exact. He spun around to look at his surrounding and found that everything was identical according to his memories. Even the people walking around and manning the various stalls acted like he remembered.

Turning around to face the goddess, Kenji saw that she was no longer a giant. She was now the same size as a regular human being.

They began to float down until they touched the ground. The people paid them no mind as if they were invisible, and when someone walked into Kenji, they literal walked through him not unlike a ghost.

"This is very well done. Did you craft this place from my memories perhaps?" Kenji compliment her.

Kaguya gently stroked the cheek of one of the phantoms, her touch apparently being able to interact with them. "It has given me time to think."

"It must have taken a rather long time?"

"Time is all I have I'm afraid," she admitted with a melancholy expression.

Now that he looked carefully, he could see that some of the phantom's movements were stiff and their interaction were the same, almost as if they were reading from a script.

"Ahem? Was there somewhere special that you wanted to have our talk My Lady?"

Her hand phased throw the phantom of the person, and they were free to go on their business once more. White pupil-less eyes turned to him before she began to head in one direction.

Kenji followed behind her without question.

'A park?' he thought when he saw that they were heading toward one of Konoha's largest parks.

When they reached it, they began to walk along the worn path, or rather Kenji began to walk since Kaguya was gliding an inch above the ground.

Then for no particular reason Kaguya began to speak, "It truly amazes me?"

"Hm? What does my lady?"

"Humans. Back during my era we had none of these contraptions, or this ee-lick-tri-city that people nowadays have become so dependent on. But I suppose that that is the mark of progress," Kaguya said to him.

Kenji decided not to correct her as he nodded back, "Yes, humans truly are curious creatures. They tinker with anything they can get their hands on. Sometimes something good will come of it, but most of the time it is something bad. The memories I got from my extra-dimensional half showed me that much."

"Hmm? Tell me Kenji, do you consider yourself human?" Kaguya asked as she slowed her pace so that they would walk side-by-side.

"That's a good question. What does it mean to be human I wonder? Is it the body or the mind that gives credence to calling oneself human? If an ape were to say that it was human solely on its belief would that be enough? What if it were too somehow gain a human body, would that be enough to make his statement true?" Kenji said philosophically, relying on Adult Kenji's memories of taking a college course on the subject to stall for time. 'Why would she ask me that so suddenly? Could this be another test?' "To tell you the truth My Lady, I am not sure what to consider myself. While I do possess a human body and a human mind, I can not say that I was created in the traditional sense." 'There, that should be a good enough answer?'

Kaguya stared at him intently before nodding to herself and continued to walk forward.

'Looks like I passed,' Kenji thought, giving an internal sigh of relief. Just to be on the air of caution, he had made sure to limit the connection between him and Kaguya so that she could not just read his thoughts.

Once more the Rabbit Goddess spoke, "I feel the same. Though my appearance may look human, there is no denying that my species is many times more powerful than those on this planet. They are so very different from us?"

'Us?' Kenji suddenly didn't feel right with the way that the conversation was turning, "My Lady-"

He was cut off before he could ask his question. Kaguya turned to face him fully, "You and I could be considered outsiders as it were. Our circumstances are not that far from each other if you think about it?"

"I-I suppose so," Kenji said unsurely.

They continued their walk silently.

When they reached the river that cut through the park, Kaguya continued. "I have though greatly of what we spoke of last time?"

"Oh? And what was your conclusion, if I may ask My Lady?" Kenji said with genuine curiosity.

"I have determined that your words have some merit after all. Perhaps it is time for me to leave the reins of protecting the earth to the younger generation," she explained.

Kenji gave a small bow, "I am glad to offer council."

"However," she continued, causing Kenji's insides to freeze, "I still have doubts whether this generation is currently capable of repelling my clansmen. Answer me Kenji, from your insight, do you think that they are strong enough?"

'Ah damn.' Kenji closed his eyes to appear as if he was in deep thought. He could feel Kaguya's eyes stare at him with laser focus, "…If I were to say the truth, I would have to say that no one right now would be able to stop them should they visit this world. As stated before, it was not until the Fourth Shinobi War that they were forced to grow to fill that role."

Kaguya then finally asked the topic that had been on her mind, "Yes, I remember. Which leads me to my next question, do you believe that this war is essential to their survival?"

For the second time now, the small boy felt the blood in his veins freeze at the question. Somehow, he didn't think another philosophical explanation would be able to fool her.

He stayed quite for much longer as he thought over everything that he knew about the war until he reached a conclusion that left his mouth tasting something bitter, "I-I-I believe that it is essential for the world's survival." As much as he didn't want it to be true, there was no denying the fact that the Fourth Shinobi War was ultimately what led to the first true steps for world peace. With the Shinobi Alliance set in place, all of the nation's hidden villages would be able to grow strong in relative peace. Naruto and Sasuke would also receive the experience needed to fight someone from the Otsutsuki clan. "S-Sometimes a n-necessary evil is needed to achieve the best results."

"Is that your final answer?"

*Gulp* "It is, My Lady."

Kaguya stayed silent as she turned and walked toward a gazebo that was overlooking a small lake.

Kenji stayed by her side all the while.

She sat on a stone bench and looked at him with a calm smile. He chose to remain standing in front of her.

"It would seem I was not wrong about you Kenji Yamamoto," she said in a sweet voice as she held out a finger so that a small bird could land on it. The small sparrow chirped and tweeted in happiness as she petted it lightly on the head.

"I see."

"I've concluded that this world does not need a mother to protect it, humans have managed to survive well enough in my absence after all. Instead I will assume the role that I should have initially taken after I ate the Chakra Fruit. I will become this world's deity," she declared to him, determination flooded through their connection.

"I-I am happy to hear that My Lady, I am sure that the world will benefit greatly from your guidance," the small child said after a while.

"Thank you. But before I can ascend to that position, I have one final task I must complete."

"And what might that be, if I may ask?"

"A final test for the denizens of this world. The war shall go as foretold," she said in a almost sad tone before her eyes hardened, "I will test their abilities to fight for themselves. On that day, they shall have to prove to me without the shadow of a doubt that they will be strong enough to defend the Earth."

"…And if they should not?" Kenji couldn't help but ask.

Kaguya's eyes had turned emotionless, "Then I will continue with the original plan."

"I can see that you have thought hard about this decision My Lady."

"Yes, I have. Which is why I have brought you before me," she said as she stood up, towering over his small frame.

"M-My Lady?"

"Kenji Yamamoto, I ask this of you now. Are you willing to be my General during this war? Will you be my voice and do my will in this world? Will you pledge your loyalty to me?" she asked in the most serious tone that Kenji had ever heard.

However, the small boy was left stunned at this outrageous proposition. 'All I wanted was to be a simple merchant and live in peace. How did things become so complicated? Ah shit, she's waiting for an answer! Quick say something!' "I-I-I … I'm sorry my lady, but I can I have some time to think this over?" he said bowing at a 90-degree angle, unable to meet her gaze.

Kaguya's brow scrunched together as she frowned, feeling both disappointed and happy at the same time. "While it is disappointing that you do not have an answer right know, I am at least relieved to know that you are not a fool that runs into situations headfirst without careful planning. … I shall give you adequate time for you to think about my proposal."

He gave a sigh of relief at that, "Thank you my godd-"

"However, please be aware that although I may be eternal, my patience does have its limits."

He swallowed nervously, "I'll be sure to keep that in mind."

She nodded, "Good. Now that that is out of the way, why don't you tell me about how you lost that arm of yours."

'Oh boy, out of the frying pan and into the fire,' he thought bitterly as he silently cursed the giant amphibian.

For the next couple of hours, Kenji had to come clean about the truth of the Chakra Beasts that were currently roaming the world. That then led into a discussion on wuxia culture from where the creatures were originally from and that led back into his Upgrading Ability. Of course, he didn't outright say that it worked similar to a video game, instead passing it off as a way of enchanting an object with special abilities. Amazingly enough, Kaguya confessed that her clan was able to do something similar. Kenji already suspected this, since he recalled the Dog Mask that she had given him as well as the Treasured Tools of Sage of Six Paths.

After an unknown amount of time, Kenji was finally allowed to leave.

(Cave)

Kenji woke up in a cold sweat, Tsubaki who shared the same tent with him was standing over him.

"Are you okay?" she said in concern.

"Huh? Yeah, just a dream. Is it time to head out already?" he answered as he got out of his sleeping bag.

"…Yes. We better get ready before breakfast is gone," the blonde confirmed, as she stared to get dressed herself.

Kenji put on a green kimono jacket and white pants with shinobi sandals. Tsubaki chose a black long sleeve sweater and some green overalls again. They undressed in front of each other since it took less time, plus with Kenji still being a child that hadn't even hit puberty, there was no need to worry. Kenji himself was unaffected by Tsubaki's unclothed form since he had plenty of experience being around naked women thanks to his medical examinations in the red-light district. Although he was mildly surprised to find that the introverted blonde was hiding an impressive figure underneath her baggy clothes.

Breakfast was a simple porridge with some bread and cured meat.

The sun had been up for an hour now, so it was high time for them to go out again.

"Not you Kenji," Tsubaki said when she saw that the boy was heading toward the entrance of the cave.

"What?"

"You needed to rest? Plus someone needs to stay behind to guard the prisoners," she said in a rational tone, for once showing a strong back bone.

"But Captain, how are you supposed to find the enemy team without me. I'm the only tracker in the group," Kenji countered.

"You are also our only medic, and we need that a lot more. I can also body a bird and scan from the skies, so there is no need to worry," Tsubaki said as she placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

Kenji could feel the concern bleed into him. Seeing that she wouldn't back down, Kenji had no choice but to bow his head, "I understand. I'll stay back and guard the prisoners."

"Good. Also make lunch if you have the time," she said as she adjusted her glasses and gave him a wide smile.

Kenji watched them leave from the entrance of the cave.

"Well I guess I finally have time to myself again. I suppose I can train for a bit," he said to himself as he walked into the cave. Akame was taking a nap, while Lin-Lin was left to guard the enemy captains.

Jumping onto the stone stage that he had made on the first night, he took in a deep breath. He then began to go through a couple of katas, making sure to go slowly to get them perfect. When he felt he had them all correct, he began to pick up the pace. It was like an intricate dance as he jumped and spun around in the ring, throwing kicks and punches from all directions, fighting invisible enemies. The movements then got faster and faster until he looked more like a blur. Coming to the finally, he stepped forward, utilizing all of the muscles in his body to throw a single punch.

*Pow*

The air cracked with power as his punch broke the sound barrier.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

Hearing clapping Kenji turned toward the direction of the sound and saw Hiashi standing next to the stone bars of his cell. He had reapplied the henge jutsu at some point since his appearance was that of a young Hyuga clansmen.

"That was very well done," the disguised Clan Head said to the small boy, who was panting and sweating from his workout.

Kenji bowed as he cupped his fist in respect, "Thank you, for the compliment."

"Hmm? I take it you know who I am then," Hiashi concluded from the respectful gesture that he was given.

Kenji nodded as he began to walk toward the man, "Yes, I was the one to heal your wounds. Although I don't think we have been introduced. I am Kenji Yamamoto."

"I am Hoheto Hyuga," the man told him. They both knew the name was false, but appearances had to be kept since there was still a witness in the room.

Deciding to play along, Kenji smile, "It's a pleasure. Shame it has to be in these conditions."

Hiashi looked as stoic as usual. "So, I take it that my squad has already been eliminated."

The fat boy gave a shrug, "How knows? You'd have to ask Akame."

"Akame?"

As if on cue Akame peaked out of their tent and gave a yawn before dismissing Hiashi entirely.

"…So I take it that that little hellbeast is yours then," the Hyuga said bitterly giving him a deadpanned face.

Kenji gave him a wide grin rather than answering.

"I noticed that your taijutsu shares similarities with those of my clan," Hiashi inquired.

"I suppose it does. I am using your taijutsu as a base after all," Kenji confessed.

Hiashi cocked an eyebrow, "To think I would meet someone arrogant enough to say that the Hyuga's Gentle Fist is nothing but a base."

Kenji huffed, "Well, it's not like I have the byakugan to help me. I think I've done pretty good at copying your clan's fighting style."

"That's quite the big head you have their child, to claim to be able to copy our fighting style," the disguised man said shaking his head from side to side.

This caused Kenji to smile, "Then how about a bet?"

Hiashi gave Kenji a searching gaze, "What sort of wager?"

"First the rewards. Seeing as we took your headband and your Captain's badge, you will most likely be our prisoner until this mock-war ends. That could take anywhere between a day to a week at most. Now I am sure that you don't want to spend the next couple of days in a dingy cave like this, so if you win, I'll convince my Captain to destroy your headband and your badge. With them gone, we no longer have a reason to hold you here, and you are free to go back to your lavish clan compound," Kenji explained. Sure it didn't seem like much of a reward, but that was frankly the best that Kenji was willing to give.

"And if you win?"

"If I win, then you have to give me pointers for my taijutsu," Kenji said it nonchalantly.

Hiashi looked like he was thinking it over, "…and the rules for this wager?"

Kenji stood in front of the prison cell well out of arms reach, "I bet that I will be able to replicate one of your clan's signature techniques?"

Hiashi narrowed his eyes before scoffing, "Now I am certain you are mad. I'll admit that your fighting style resembles ours, but do you really expect me to believe that you've managed to replicate one of my clans' techniques."

The small boy swayed on his tippy-toes back and forth looking like the very definition of mischievous imp, "Maa, maa, I don't see why you're so hesitant. If you really believe that, then there's nothing to fear. Plus, you don't stand to lose anything if you think about it."

"…"

Hiashi looked at the boy in front of him, the veins around his eyes bulging as he activated his byakugan. There was nothing special about the chubby boy, other than having mid-genin level reserves. "…Very well, I accept this wager. Show me this supposed technique."

Kenji continued to smile as he brought out his index finger and middle finger and poked his opposite shoulder.

The Akimichi girl that had been ease dropping, found this entirely anti-climatic.

Hiashi on the other hand scowled. 'How is this possible. He closed one of his chakra points similia- no, exactly like someone from my clan. Did someone perhaps teach him? If they did, they must be punished immediately for disclosing clan secrets to an outsider.'

Seeing as he got the desire effect, Kenji unblocked his chakra points.

Yep, Kenji was proud to say that he was able to use part of the Gentle Fist. Not enough to fight someone like the Hyuga's but certainly enough to block and unblock his own chakra points. He had actually stumbled onto this while he was in the library, researching famous ninjas.

Apparently there had been a famous Kiri-nin a couple years back, during the Second Shinobi War, that had been famous for his tracking technique. Since this book was in the civilian library, it didn't have that much information on the actual invents since they were classified, but it did have some interesting eye-witness reports. A civilian doctor that had been working in the front lines wrote that this Kiri-nin was most certainly a sensor of some kind, since when they had brought in his body, they had noticed that the man was blind. The one who had taken him down, had been a Hyuga that had only been a genin at the time. When the doctor had asked how the small boy had done it this was what he had said.

'-it was scary. I-I don't know how long I ran. He struck in the middle of the night, took out my entire squad before I even knew it … no matter how hard I tried to hide he would always find me … So I back tracked back to my camp hoping to at least get some of my supplies. It was then that a stupid idea came to me. I didn't have much choice, so I acted fast. I grabbed one of my deceased teammates bodies and placed them inside on of the tents, I then performed the Gentle Fist on the body and hid them behind some supply packs. I then coated the inside of the tent with explosive tags and ran away. … I had been running for about 10 minutes before I heard an explosion. After a couple of hours of waiting, I returned to camp and found the chard body of the enemy. …I sincerely regret what I had to do with my comrade's body-'

That by itself wasn't much, but when you took into account all of the facts, things began to get clear. Kenji had previously tried to replicate the Hyuga's way of blocking and unblocking the chakra points but had found that it was much harder than it seemed. Sure it was an open secret that they used their fingers to push chakra into an opponents chakra points, but it was more than just that.

Kenji had found the first clue to their secret in the boy's careless statement. Just how did a sensory shinobi confuse a dead body to that of the boy? How did the chakra stick to the body long enough for the boy to get away? It took days of late-night practice behind closed doors for Kenji to finally figure it out.

Shape transformation.

All anyone knew about the technique was that you needed to inject chakra into a chakra point for it to be blocked. But what if it was already blocked? Wouldn't injecting more chakra just do the same thing.

The answer was simple. The Hyuga's created a thin chakra needle the same size as the chakra point. When they attack, they extended this needle at the moment of contact to reach the chakra points inside the body, similar to what a jellyfish's tentacles would do when it touched someone.

It didn't stop there however. Once they had pierced this chakra point, they break off a part of the needle and leave it behind to block the flow of chakra. To unblock it, all they needed to do is hit it again with a chakra strike, until it was completely through the chakra point.

In simple terms, picture stabbing a running hose into the ground with a wooden stake. That cuts the flow of water immediately, but you can use a hammer to push the stake all the way through and allowing the water to flow again. He was sure that there was more to the technique, but this was all Kenji could get out of his own experimentation.

This would also explain how Naruto was able to unblock his chakra points during the fight with Neji. Hinata had also done something similar when she had fought off those bees, using an extra-long chakra needle to cut them in half.

The only reason why Kenji had been able to do it at all, was because he had perfect chakra control and was able to feel the location of his chakra points. Still, even with the byakugan, the pure skill and precision needed to perform this on a moving target during combat was enormous. Kenji's opinion on the clan had risen as a whole after this.

Hiashi looked composed on the outside, but Kenji could see that his eyes had turn into glaciers when they stared at him. "Who was the one to teach you," he questioned in a clipped tone.

Kenji decided to throw him a bone. "You know, it's amazing what you can find in the civilian library. I'm sure that not many from your clan goes their since you probably have your own library and all but still."

The Hyuga's expression lessened as he deactivated his dojutsu. "You learned this all from a book?" he asked skeptically.

The small bow shook his head, "No, of course not."

"Then how?"

"Well it's a personal hobby of mine to research famous jutsu and recreate them. It's sort of like doing a jigsaw puzzle. There just happened to be a book that gave me the final pieces needed to finish the puzzle," Kenji explained.

Now Hiashi's interest in this supposed book were peaked. He would need to retrieve this book and dispose of it before anyone else was able to figure out the clan's techniques. "I would appreciate it, if you were to tell me the name of this book?"

Kenji felt a tingling sensation on the back of his spine, telling him there was a chance to make money here. "I don't know? I already said more than I should. Plus, there really wasn't nearly enough for someone to figure your clan's techniques."

"You were able to figure it out," the clan head pointed out.

Kenji gave a fox like smile, "What can I say, I'm one of a kind."

Hiashi could immediately see the intentions of the boy as he gave a sigh, "Then perhaps a trade is in order."

"Now that's an idea I like!"

"Well what is it you want in exchange for this information."

"Hmm… Oh I know," Kenji said before he held open his palm and took out a written contract from his ring. He had a number of different contracts in his ring for all manner of occasions.

Hiashi was able to keep a calm expression when he saw the paper materialize suddenly, regretting turn off his byakugan to see where it had come from.

"So in a few days once I pass this test-"

"If you pass this test."

"-once I pass this test, I plan to open up a shop. I'd really appreciate it if your clan would be willing to support an up-and-coming shop and its humble shop owner," Kenji said as he threw the contract between the bars with expert precision.

Hiashi snatched it easily and read through he contract and gave the small boy a raised eyebrow, "This is a pledge for a 300,000 ryo purchase."

Kenji could hear the girl choking on her spit when Hiashi had called out the amount. He shrugged in a what-can-you-do manner, "Everyone needs to make a living, and I can guarantee that my products will not disappoint. I make everything myself."

Haishi debated this before he asked Kenji something else, "Before I decided, what exactly were the contents of this book."

"Nothing special really, it was a biography from a doctor that was in the Second War. Apparently some unnamed Hyuga had managed to kill some famous hunter-nin by using his teammates dead body and a few explo-"

"Enough. I'll sign," Hiashi declared suddenly, surprising Kenji. Kenji took out a metal fountain pen from his ring and threw it towards him. When he went to write his name, nothing came out of the tip.

"Oh right, that pen is special, you need to click the top."

On the top of the pen was a small rubber piece that looked like it could be pushed inside. He clicked the pen and was alarmed to feel something stab at his thumb. He then noticed that the tip of the pen was leaking with his blood.

Kenji continued to smile in a fox like manner.

Hiashi scoffed, 'Really, this child. Making me write in my own blood. He must have nerves of steel.' Even if he was a tad annoyed, he still decided to sign it simply because he need the information. The last thing he wanted was for the clan to find out that it was his fault that an outsider now knew one of their techniques. He would make sure to personally destroy this book and erase any evidence of his past-self's carelessness.

When he was finished, Hiashi threw the paper for Kenji to examine.

Kenji began to carefully look it over to make sure that it was correct.

It was at this moment that Hiashi flicked the pen straight towards Kenji's headband, wanting to take the small boy out of the exam once and for all.

Kenji however wasn't a fool as he had activated a shield talisman as soon as he had given Hiashi the pen. It was a good thing that they acted automatically too, since Kenji didn't even see the pen until it hit the transparent barrier.

'He must have added chakra,' the chubby boy concluded as he saw the pen spinning, trying desperately to drill through the shield. He calmly plucked it out of the air, returning it and the contract back to his spatial ring. He deadpanned before quickly smiling at the Hyuga, "Well everything looks to be in order."

Hiashi didn't say anything, unable to believe what had just happened. In his eyes, whatever Kenji had used to block his attack looked close to the beginning stages of the Revolving Heaven technique. 'Who are you Kenji Yamamoto?'

"Well it's time for me to make dinner so I guess this is it for now. I'll be sure to ask for advice with my taijutsu next time," he said walking away. 'Damn, that was close.'

Kenji went through a couple of hand seals and four earth clones materialized out of the ground. Each one already knew what to do. One went to place traps around the entrance of the cave, while another would act as a scout, and the final one would begin to cook a delicious meal for the team.

What was the original Kenji doing? He went to his shared tent to practice his techniques. He placed a privacy talisman to block the byakugan as a precaution.

The first thing he did was take out a couple of slips of paper and inject them with chakra. He moved them around the small tent as if he was using telekinesis. He slowly began to add more paper slips, but even after he reached 600, exceeding his past limit by 500%, he still didn't feel mentally tired like he usually did.

It was then that he remembered something. 'Yang chakra can be used to breathe life into form. Could the Yang Seal somehow be automatically leaking into my chakra and changing it.'

Using the paper, he thought of making a human sculpture, and with a bit of practice he found that the chakra inside the paper followed his command as it tried to form a human shape. Looking at the blocky paper person he found that he was still in control of it. Immediately his mind raced with new ideas, the flying sword technique from xianxia novels being the most prominent.

Getting a small towel, he injected it with an adequate amount of chakra, making sure to not activate his upgrading ability by mistake. Taking a calming breath, Kenji tried to make it fly around the room like the pieces of paper. For six minutes, nothing happened but his determination finally paid off as he managed to get the small hand towel to levitate 2 cm off the ground before he lost control.

Kenji finally felt the mental exhausting hit, but he was still happy. It would take a lot of practice, but he was sure that he would one day be able to use flying swords.

For the following couple of hours, Kenji chose to meditate with Akame.

With their connection completely opened, Kenji could identify the small amount of nature energy being drawn into Akame. All chakra beasts that had a chakra crystal were able to do this naturally he had found out. And unlike people, they could do this even when they were moving. They would condense this energy around their crystal and begin the process of adding another layer.

He was curious if it was possible to learn sage mode this way. Using Akame to collect the nature energy and then filtering it into his own chakra pathways. Akame could also suck the energy out of him, if it looked like he was turning to stone too.

It was around 6 pm when his team finally returned, looking beat up, but generally well off.

"Damn, you guys look like shit," Kenji couldn't help but comment.

They laughed as they passed him. Their stomachs rumbling in hunger as they smelled the cave that was filled with all manner of delicious smells.

Tsubaki limped toward him and smiled, "Something smells really good."

"Welcome back Captain," he said bowing, "Yep, I have dinner all prepared. I also took the liberty of adding another room in the cave that can be used for bathing."

He walking to a side of the room that had a long hanging curtain. Pulling the curtain back, there was a bowl-shaped hole in the ground with the sides and bottom being smooth thanks to heating it with a fire jutsu. It was already filled to the brim with water. Kenji took out a red, flame chakra crystal and stuck it under the water, channeling some chakra through it. Immediately the temperature of the water rose as it began to steam. "There, perfect for a bath. When everyone is done, there is a plug at the bottom that can be taken out so that it can drain the water into a pipe that leads off the side of the mountain."

Tsubaki look stunned at all the Kenji had been able to do while they were out, "You really are full of surprises."

As expected, everyone cheered at the inclusion of a bath since most of them were starting to stink, especially after a battle.

When everyone finished their bath, Kenji began to take out the food that his clone had prepared. Since he hadn't been specific, the clone had taken it upon itself to do its very best, so it had gone with a Chinese's style buffet as the theme. Plates of fried rice, egg rolls, orange chicken, sweet and sour pork, potstickers, beef with broccoli, steamed buns, and soup were passed around.

Everyone looked like they hadn't eaten in days with the way they were looking at the food. Almost immediately they began to sing praises about his food. Kenji would mentally tally up which dish got the most reaction so that he would later add them to his shop's menu. If only using a few ingredients from the cultivation tank was able to get this response, then surely a complete meal using only cultivated ingredients would be without equal.

Their prisoners were also given their share, after the Akimichi girl started complaining about pesky human rights and us being selfish for hording all of this delicious food for ourselves. Hiashi had too much pride to complain, but even he was drawn to the fragrant aroma of the food, as his nostrils would flare up every couple of seconds to inhale just a bit more of the smell.

When they were all sitting around the campfire, Kenji passed out two bottles of Lion Breath Sake. He wanted to test if it was safe for extended periods of use, …was what he told himself.

Then he took out a small guitar out of his ring and tuned it in front of them.

"Ah, a dinner and a show, what more could I ask for," Yuuto said as he held out his own cup of sake next to him.

Kenji rolled his eyes but smiled anyways. Just a week ago he would have never even thought that he would come to think of anyone as a teammate. He chose a song from Adult Kenji's memories that embodied these new feelings of comradeship.

"Oh, misty eye of the mountain below

Keep careful watch of my brothers' souls

And should the sky be filled with fire and smoke

Keep watching over Konoha's sons

If this is to end in fire

Then we should all burn together

Watch the flames climb high into the night

Calling out for the rope, sent by and we will

Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side hey

And if we should die tonight

Then we should all die together

Raise a glass of wine for the last time

Calling out for the rope

Prepare as we will

Watch the flames burn on and on the mountain side

Desolation comes upon the sky…"

(Time skip)

Kenji woke up as soon as he felt the flux of chakra only a few inches away from him. He stayed quite for a moment and clenched the kunai hidden under his pillow. He heard the flapping of wings as the tent flap was opened.

Sitting up, he noticed that Tsubaki was still in her sleeping bag but the cage holding the captured bird used for reconnaissance was open, and the bird was gone.

Looking at her closely, Kenji noticed that the blonde now wore an engagement ring on her finger.

Akame who had also woken up, looked up at Kenji, and saw that the plump boy had a small frown on his face before it became melancholy and finally turned into a face of understanding.

"Akame, I need you to do something?"

(Time Skip)

"I'm going," Kenji said to Tsubaki as they all prepared to leave the cave.

"Kenji I don't think that is a good idea-"

"Please Captain, like you said, I am the only medic in the team-"

"Which is why you should-"

"-go. I'll be of more use to the team if I come along, since I can heal them on the spot. If you don't feel certain then we should leave it to a vote."

She did just that, with the majority electing to bring the small shinobi with them. Tsubaki bit her nail, kinda disappointed that the team still didn't trust her completely. "Fine, but I take point."

"Deal, I'll leave some earth clones to watch the prisoners while we are out so no need to worry."

Kenji was already prepared as he wore a blue robe over his chain mail that boosted speed. Two metal bracers that boosted his strength and hand speed. And finally, a necklace that gave him 1500 extra points in chakra, with a small boost to elemental manipulation.

They left without a second to waste. It was already Day 3 and there were only a few teams left. Four red and three greens including them. Kenji needed this exam to end fast, if he was going to meet the deadline to buy that farm land in order to build his shop.

"So what way are we going?" Kenji asked Tsubaki.

"I scouted the area yesterday using my bird. There's an enemy camp along the base of that mountain over there. Unfortunately, the entrance is well guarded, and they will spot us if we try to take them head on. Luckily their base is connected with a network of interconnecting tunnels. There's a secret pass between these two canyons here that leads into one of these networks of cave. From there, we can just follow it all the way back to their base and take them by surprise," she explained as she pushed her glasses up, and letting the sun shine off them.

"Wow Captain, that's a pretty good plan," Kenji praised her, causing Tsubaki to preen.

"Kahum. Yes well, I can't always rely on others for everything," she stated with a smile as she began to lead them toward the direction of the mountain path.

He nodded, "That's true."

Lin-Lin was on his shoulder with her tongue out, enjoying the wind as they sprinted through the tree tops. Akame was hiding in his shadow acting as his sensor and back up if he needed it.

When they got closer to the canyons, he saw that there was a wide path between the two canyon walls.

They began to walk, with everyone being on guard for any traps.

Feeling eyes on them, Kenji looked up and saw that a lone hawk was staring at them from the top of the canyon wall. Despite it being so high in the air, Kenji could see that it was entirely white and black.

He ignored it and made his way to the front of the group. He walked just behind Tsubaki, who was taking point, and decided to start a conversation.

"So Tsubaki, did you ever manage to find the answer you were looking for?"

"Huh?" she glanced back at him for a second before turning back to the front, "Oh! You mean about our conversation by the river."

"Yeah, I noticed that you looked more relaxed, so I'm guessing you found an answer."

"…I did actually," the blonde whispered tilting her head downward.

"That's good. You know I also found the answer to my own dilemma," the boy threw in happily.

"That's great. I'm happy for you Kenji," Tsubaki said as she turned around to give him a smile.

However, the second she did, Kenji rushed at her and struck her with a chakra palm in her gut, knocking the wind out of her. Then he struck with precise finger jabs around her body that managed to paralyze her. She crumbled to the ground, but Kenji caught her at the last second.

The blonde could see that everyone in her squad had a serious expression as they took out their weapons. However, their attention wasn't on Kenji, but Tsubaki that was forced to kneel in front of them. She then felt Kenji grab a hold of her head and place a kunai on her throat.

Kenji still had a small smile on his face, as if he hadn't just attacked his friend and was holding a knife to their neck. "Thanks Tsubaki, I decided to listen to my heart and give this person a chance you know? I guess we both did what we thought was right huh?"

She gulped for air but didn't say anything when she felt the blade nick her skin.

"So, I just want you to know, that I'm not mad or anything. I completely understand where you are coming from. I'd be a hypocrite if said I wouldn't have done the same." Kenji confessed.

"…"

"No point in hiding it now. But I am curious. Are you starting to regret your decision?" the small boy asked with small frown.

"…No. I don't regret my decision?" she admitted with a straight back as conviction flowed through her.

Slowly his frown morphed into a wide smile, "That's good, I'd have lost any respect I have for you if you had said yes. Your fiancé must be one hell of a man. By the way, I liked to apologize before hand for what I am about to do. Hope we can still be friends after this."

Without another word, Kenji pulled on her hair and Tsubaki yelped in pain as some of her hair was ripped off by the roots.

Kenji tilted his head an inch to the left and avoided the kunai that had been thrown at him. Looking at the direction where it had come from, he saw an older boy, about 17 years old, glaring murder at him from on top of the canyon wall. Immediately more shinobi began to appear on the ledge seeing that their cover had been blown. All of them carryied red headbands.

"Ah, so this must be him. Oh, he managed to gather his fellow captains too, but I'm guessing you had some part in that too huh?" Kenji spoke nonchalantly as if they were discussing this over a tea party.

"I give you 3 seconds to unhand my fiancé or I'll rip of those hands and beat you into a bloody pulp with them!" the teen shouted angrily.

Kenji gave him a 'not-bad' face as he looked to Tsubaki, "He seems nice."

Everyone was tensed as they awaited the unspoken signal for the battle to commence. Everyone but Kenji that is.

"Hello up there! I don't think we've been introduced, I'm Kenji Yamamoto. I'm a friend of Tsubaki, well not so much right now but you get the idea. What do I call you?"

"…"

"Ah, I get it, not much one for banter. I can understand that-"

'Jerk, the traps are set.'

"not much point this late in the game right. But I want to ask you a question before we begin. Whose idea was this?"

"…"

"I-It was m-my idea."

Kenji looked at Tsubaki with gaze full of respect, "Not bad Tsubaki, and you said you weren't good in strategizing. I might even have a job opening for you at my shop after all of this."

Turning to face the angered fiancé Kenji spoke in a sweet voice, "You should be proud of her, you know. It was a good plan. Unfortunately for you, you made three mistakes."

"First, I'm always prepared for the unexpected."

Immediately everyone in the squad formed a protective circle around him and Tsubaki.

"Second, I don't take betrayal very well."

The red team's Captain didn't get the chance to even yell, as Kenji took out a Monkey Talisman and slapped it on Tsubaki's back. Her entire body flashed white for a fraction of a second and the next she had been turned into a transparent glass statue, her horrified expression captured perfectly. The man felt his heart get ripped out of his chest.

Kenji seeing that he had successful unbalance their leader, placed Tsubaki into his ring for safe keeping. Her badge and headband had been replaced with fakes earlier that morning, so she was still technically in the exam.

"And finally, your last mistake, was choosing me as your opponent!"

He held up a ram seal and activated Stumpy's seed pods, that Akame had planted all around the ground, sacrificing some of his chakra reserves to activate the Yang Seal on his arm to make it extra potent.

Immediately enormous thorny vines erupted from the ground and began to form a dome-shaped cocoon around the squad just as the first of the fire balls reached them.

Kenji and Tsubaki's fiancé looked into each other's eyes, calm amber meeting murderous brown, before the vines blocked them completely.

A/N:

Finally finished and Stumpy the wood beetle saves the day.

Now it is time to clear a few things that you all must be wondering.

First, I'd like to start by stating that Kenji won't be taking on the whole Senju name and stuff, he's too prideful to just be known as a Senju. He wants to create his own legend not borrow from the past. Like I said before, at least a quarter of the leaf village has some Senju blood in them. He also isn't the secret great-grandchild of the First or Second, just someone from the branch family. He also doesn't have wood release yet, the vines are from the wood beetle's missile like seeds.

However! Expect that Kenji and the Third will be having some words later about this issue.

Now, did you like Kaguya's offer? ;)

I will warn ahead of time, that his appearance will change to suit this new role. But I will give a hint of who I am modeling it over. Hints: small animal that turns into large beast, anime was mentioned in past chapters, lost an arm too, and is known as a Dog General. Those are all the hints.

So with this chapter, he made another important connection with a ninja clan. You go dough boy.

Was Tsubaki's betrayal surprising? It shouldn't have. I've been foreshadowing it since the beginning after all. Plus, it's not like Kenji will blame her, since he is practically betraying the entire human race by siding with Kaguya.

Did you all like the song? It is 'I see Fire' by Ed Sheeren. I thought it fit the theme nicely.

Also I know this would be the last chapter for the genin exam, but I ended righting too much, and was forced to cut it off here, otherwise it would be like 17K.

Now to answer a couple of questions:

So one of the most common is, why the Hokage leave Kenji alone just because the Daimyo's wife said so? The answer is that right know the Leaf is in a bind. They are still recovering from the Kyuubi attack and are late on the taxes. The land is technically belongs to the Land of Fire since the past Daimyo only gave the First Hokage permission to build the village, kinda of like a lord, in exchange for their loyalty. Not to mention that the Leaf is mostly military base, so it needs to import like 95% of their supplies from the rest of the country, which the Daimyo can restrict at any time.

While the Leaf is no doubt strong, that doesn't mean that they can just defy the entire country. Obviously it's more complicated than that, and I'll cover it later in the story.

Another good question is if people would try to get Kenji into their family, to get more influence over him. That's actually going to be a recurring theme in the story, with Kenji quickly turning the tables on them to make a profit.

Also don't expect Kenji to hang around the main characters like some sort of groupie or terrible self-insert. He has his own life and goals, and this story will mostly be about that. So he won't exactly be all buddy-buddy with Naruto and Sasuke. Give them advice? Sure. Sell them some overpriced equipment? Most definitely. Become the fourth member of team 7? Never.

Oh, before I forget. The time line is two years before the start of the series. Right now Kenji is 10 and so is the rest of the Rookie 9.

I'll answer more of your questions in the next chapter.

But until then, I hope I quenched your fiction addiction. Bye-Bye/