The Mission

"Are you sure about the teams Kakashi?" asked Kurenai from their position on a cliff above the bandit camp.

"I'm sure, they need to work with other people in different teams if they want to get the experience that they need." Replied Kakashi as he waited for the pairs to report in that they were ready.

It had been decided that Shino and Sakura would prevent people from escaping the camp. That was if they got past the three teams assaulting the camp.

Those teams were Kurenai and Kakashi, Sasuke and Kiba, and Naruto and Hinata.

It was because of the Naruto and Hinata pairing that Kurenai was apprehensive about the strategy. Naruto was the dead last in the academy, while Hinata didn't have the heart to kill anyone.

She had no idea that Naruto had come so far in the past two months and was now at mid chuunin level and easily one of the strongest gennin. His mind had gotten sharp and deadly. He could think up strategies on the fly and act out any role that was needed.

Then there was his nature of just drawing the attention of everyone when he walked into the rooms. He would gladly give his life for anyone of his friends or comrades, never give up even when facing impossible odds, and surprise even the most experienced shinobi.

Kakashi knew for a fact that if anyone was to be paired with shy Hinata it would have to be Naruto. He knew of her crush like everyone but Naruto and that was the main reason for putting her with him.

If Naruto was in danger, she would step in to save his life no matter how shy she was. Kakashi was more worried about Kiba and Sasuke.

They were both rash and would make it a competition to see who could kill more. There was no way of them working together to face a common goal, unless faced with someone stronger than them.

"Is everyone ready?" asked Kakashi through his radio.

"I still don't know why I was placed with the creepy Bug boy." Said Sakura as she crouched down a few hundred yards from the camp.

"Stay focused…you never know what can go wrong on a mission." Said Shino, as if he didn't care she insulted him.

"Why? Sasuke can handle all of the bandits by himself! He is the strongest ninja of our generation after all!" declared Sakura loudly.

"I'm not too sure about that…I know of four gennin who can defeat him in combat." Said Shino as he continued to be on alert.

"Yeah right! Sasuke is the greatest!" she declared.

"Is everyone ready?" said through the speaker.

"I don't know why they put you with me. I don't need help to deal with a few bandits." Said Sasuke smugly.

"You arrogant ass! I'll have beaten more bandits than you by the end of the battle! Then we will see who is better." Challenged Kiba as he glared at Sasuke.

"You got yourself a deal Mutt." Accepted Sasuke as the two glared at each other.

"Although I bet Dobe would provide more of a challenge than you." Said Sasuke as Kiba and Akamaru growled at the emo boy.

"We'll see Sasuke." Growled out Kiba as he turned his attention back to the camp.

"Is everybody ready?" asked Kakashi.

Hinata stared at the boy that she liked. He had changed so much in the past two months, but she could still tell that he was the same.

His eyes still twinkled when he smiled and that smile itself could brighten anyone's day when they saw it. Although on the outside he was cool, calm, and collected. A big change from the brash, loud, and obnoxious boy he was before.

But Hinata liked this Naruto just the same if not more than before. She could tell he was ready for the mission. The Byakugan could read people like a book and she could tell he was ready.

His eyes were sharp, picking up any signs of movement or light. His ears were twitching trying to pick up the softest of sounds so that no one could sneak up on them. Hands held kunai in a firm grip ready at a moments notice to be used.

Yes he had changed more than any other gennin of the year.

Unlike herself…she was nervous, fidgeting, sweating, and unfocused. She just knew that she would let Naruto down during the battle and that it would lead to him being hurt.

Naruto seemed to sense her duress and looked directly at her with eyes that showed concern.

"Hinata are you okay?" he asked in a soft tone.

"N-Naruto-k-kun I'm o-okay!" she said, but her eyes didn't reflect what they said.

There was fear in her eyes, but it was fear of the mission itself but of failing. Naruto had seen those eyes before in himself. He would not anyone else go through what he went through after the Bell Test.

"No you aren't Hinata…you're scared." He plainly stated, causing Hinata to gasp and look down.

Tears sprang to her eyes as thoughts of Naruto thinking of her being weak came to her mind. However, she felt someone place their hand on her shoulder in comfort.

"It's okay Hinata…I'm scared too. I may have faced death a few more times than you, but it doesn't ever get less scary. You just have to focus on the task and let your body do the rest." Said Naruto with a kind smile.

"B-but I-I've n-never k-ki-killed someone b-before. I-I-'m a-fraid of l-letting you d-down." She said sadly.

"That's how I felt on my first serious mission Hinata. I was so weak and I could do nothing to help my team, so I resolved to get stronger to protect them." He said as he smiled at her.

"But what if I fail! I could get you killed!" she said quickly, not even stuttering.

"That's why you won't fail me Hinata. It is when we are protecting our precious people that we truly become strong. As long as you fight to protect you will never be weak." He stated.

Hinata was speechless as Naruto told her this. Did this mean that she was one of his special people? It was a dream come true.

"When we get down there I will be watching your back while you are watching mine. I trust you Hinata as long as you can trust me. Do you trust me Hinata?" he asked confidently with that infectious smile.

She looked into his eyes and was lost for a moment. She could feel warmth spread through her body and in that moment she felt more confident then any other time in her life.

Her eyes took on a look of great confidence and responded. "Hai Naruto, I trust you with my life as long as you can trust me."

"Good!" said Naruto as he smiled at her.

"Is everybody ready?" they heard Kakashi say over the radio.

Back with Kakashi and Kurenai.

"This is Pink and Bug! In position and ready!" came the voice of Sakura.

"This is Canine and Flame! In position and ready!" came Kiba's voice.

"This is Lavender and Fox! In position and ready for phase 1!" came the confident voice of Hinata over the radio.

"She didn't stutter at all!" claimed Kurenai in surprise.

"And I thought it would take a bit longer for Naruto to break that stutter of hers." Commented Kakashi as Kurenai looked at him.

"You knew this would happen?" she asked in surprise.

"Of course! Naruto has a habit of making the impossible look easy for a three year old." He responded.

"I'm going to have to thank him at the end of this mission." Kurenai remarked.

"That can wait. Start the phase 1, Fox!" said Kakashi through the microphone.

"Here we go!" said Naruto as he concentrated for a second before thirty shadow clones henged as rocks and animals changed back to normal and charged the bandits.

They quickly killed off the outer guards, but the noise alerted the rest of the camp and soon there was a melee on the outer edges of the camp. After a minute of fighting the clones all started glowing.

"Hey Hinata…just remember Art is an Explosion! Katsu!" he yelled as 18 explosive clones blew up at the same time. Completely decimating the palisade wall that surrounded the camp and killing or injuring around 40 bandits and rebels.

"Begin phase 2!" came Kakashi's voice as Hinata, Naruto, Kiba, Sasuke, Kakashi, and Kurenai attacked at once.

Naruto summoned 10 clones that surrounded him and Hinata. They landed in a group of twenty bandits and started fighting.

Naruto and 5 of his clones were using kunai to quickly kill the bandits, by slashing their throats or stabbing their arts. His new training basically made him to fast for the bandits to see.

Hinata was having a bit more trouble fighting the bandits as she was a bit slower than Naruto. Thankfully 5 of his clones were covering her and making sure she didn't get hurt by any lucky hit.

Sasuke and Kiba were doing their own thing as Sasuke let loose a massive fire ball at the a group of bandits and laughed as 12 were burned to ashes. His Sharingan made it impossible to even be hit by such slow bandits.

Kiba and Akamaru were tearing through the bandits. The two were like tornado's through a Kansas dairy farm, however they found less joy in killing than Sasuke.

Sakura and Shino were sitting there waiting just incase any bandits made it through their teammates. Suddenly, Shino talked Sakura to the ground as a kunai whizzed by her head.

The two looked up and found four enemy Shinobi standing there looking at the two. "Well it seems that while we were gone some shinobi decided to attack our army." Said the smallest of the group, who was the only female.

"It seems so." Said a large bulky man.

"Mai, who is fighting in the base?" asked a man looking about twenty two with black hair.

The small girl closed her eyes for a second before responding. "There are two jounin fighting at the west wing, one gennin and one chuunin at the North wing, and there is one gennin with one jounin at the east wing. However, that is just the level of their chakra. Their control suggests a high chuunin level." Said the girl.

"Two jounin at once? Hidan I want you take them down." Said the black haired one.

"Pussy! You just want the easiest one! Haha and here I thought you were tough you freaking coward!" laughed the white haired one. He was in a black cloak and was carrying a triple bladed scythe. (Yes it is him, all will be explained at the end of the battles.)

"Mai take these two gennin, Goro go after the chuunin and the gennin. I will go after the other jounin." Said the obvious leader of the group.

The other two quickly left as the girl looked at the two before them. She had orange spikey long hair. "It looks like I get the kiddies of the group." She said evilly.

Sasuke and Kiba had just finished off the last of their bandits and were arguing who got the most kills.

"There is no way an Uchiha Elite could lose to a dog like you!" Sasuke declared arrogantly.

"You are a prick!" yelled Kiba angrily.

Just then the two jumped back as a massive boulder landed between the two of them. They looked to the side and noticed a large man standing there. He was bald and had extremely tan skin.

"Hmm I though she said I would be fighting a chuunin here? How am I supposed to test myself against others if they aren't even my level!" declared the man as the two gennin glared at him.

"Hn…I'll show you just how weak you are!" declared Sasuke as he smirked got into a stance.

"Haha don't make me laugh boy! You won't even be able to scratch me!" laughed the man as he picked up another boulder with his arms and threw it at Sasuke.

Sasuke easily dodged it and deduced that the man may be strong but he was extremely slow. I will defeat him, then I will be one step close to defeating my brother.

Kakashi had just finished his last bandit and was cleaning his kunai. "This mission went well!" he said cheerfully as Kurenai walked over.

"Yes we are lucky! Wait!" she shouted all of a sudden as Kakashi got wide eyed at the fact that he could sense four chuunin and above chakra signatures heading into the base. The strongest was heading towards them.

It took thirty seconds for him to reach them, he was tall, handsome, and had whit hair. Only problems were the evil smile and the giant scythe he carried. "So I have to deal with these two pathetic excuses for a jounin?" he asked himself.

"Watch what you say, we have more than a few surprises for you." Said Kakashi as he revealed his eye and got into a stance as Kurenai did the same.

"Your blood isn't even good enough for Jashin to take! Maybe my friend might have some more fun with that jounin and the gennin." He said as he charged at them.

'We are the only jounin on the mission? Who is he talking about?' thought Kurenai as she jumped back.

'They sent a jounin at Naruto since they sensed his chakra levels!' thought Kakashi in worry.

"See Hinata-Chan! I told you we could do it!" exclaimed Naruto as he pulled a kunai out of a body.

"Thanks Naruto I couldn't have done it without you." She said with a small smile as Naruto smiled brightly at her.

"You did great Hinata, we didn't have a single problem." He said with a smile. Then his smile morphed into a frown as he spun around and blocked a kunai aimed at his head.

"What is this! I thought I was going to get a jounin, but instead I get two wet nose gennin! I believe that Mai is losing her touch!" he yelled.

Both Naruto and Hinata got close together and observed this unknown nin.

"We can take him Hinata…just stick close together. Kakashi and Kurenai will be here shortly." He said, but the enemy just laughed at him.

"Don't make me laugh kid! The two of them are dealing with a S-Rank criminal by the name of Hidan! They stand no chance just like you two! The name's Inferuno, and by the end of this you will be nothing, but a pile of ash." Yelled the man as he started going through hand signs.

"Get behind me Hinata!" yelled Naruto as he went through three hand signs.

"Katon: Burning Wave!" he yelled as he fired a stream of bright fire.

"Futon: Great Breakthrough!" Naruto yelled in response as he concentrated the jutsu at the center of the wave of fire. The wind pushed the fire to the side, but made it much more hot.

"Kid don't you know that fire beats wind?" asked Inferuno as he crouched down.

"It did good enough! Hinata stay behind me and look for an opening! Shadow Clone Jutsu!" yelled Naruto as 5 clones surrounded him and they charged the nin with Hinata not far behind.

"You're pretty fast for a gennin, but I'm not a jounin for nothing!" he declared as he jumped in the are and fired a large ball of fire at Naruto and the clones.

Naruto and Hinata were thrown out of the circle by clones, just before it engulfed them. "Okay, Hinata I will attack him directly while you stay back. When he is distracted disable him!" yelled Naruto as he charged the nin again.

Hinata looked in awe as Naruto closed the distance faster than before and engaged the nin. She watched and waited for Naruto to make that opening that she needed, but the nin wasn't jounin for nothing.

He played with Naruto just dodging all of his attacks, so Naruto made six clones that joined in on the assault. I will give you this kid, you are easily chuunin level. However, I am a B-Rank missing nin from Iwa. You are clearly outmatched by me." He declared as he sped up and nailed Naruto in the gut with a knee then spun around and kicked over to where Hinata was. He then destroyed all of the clones.

"Too easy…what!" said the nin as the body poofed into smoke.

"Surprise!" yelled Naruto as he came from above and nailed the jounin with a powerful heel kick.

However, luck wasn't on his side as he turned into a destroyed log.

"Damn!" cursed Naruto as he dodged out of the way of a few fire balls. He then was put on the defensive as the nin appeared again.

Naruto was letting 1 out of every three hits in. His speed just wasn't good enough to keep up with the jounin. The nin delivered a hard knee to his gut and he went flying into one of the tents.

"Kid has some skill…" he started, but was interrupted as Hinata delivered a strike to his extended arm.

"I won't let you hurt Naruto-kun!" she declared as she pressed her advantage and tried to disable him before he regained control to his arm.

"Stupid girl!" he yelled as he dodged another strike and kicked her feet out from beneath her. Then punched her with his good arm into the ground.

Hinata slowly got up and got into her stance. She had cuts on her body and was bruised a bit, but she could still fight. It was then that Naruto joined her side once more.

"Good job Hinata! His arm is disabled now!" he said as he smirked and made the Ram sign.

"Doesn't matter kid! I'm still strong enough to beat you at your current level!" he declared.

"Maybe then, but not now! RELEASE!" he shouted as his chakra weights were removed.

"Here I come!" yelled Naruto as he disappeared.

"What…!" exclaimed the nin before he was punched in the gut! As he was kneeled over he felt a knee hit him in the gut, sending him upwards. There he was met with a clone that delivered a hammer blow to his face.

Naruto appeared by Hinata and started to roll his shoulders. "Damn, I have to train more with my weights off! It hurts my body too much to move at those speeds." He panted out.

"Damn you kid!" shouted the man as he slowly stood up. His head was bleeding and his clothes were cut up, but he was still fine.

'Damn! There is no way I can catch him by surprise again like that! It is time to bring out my knives.' He thought.

"Bring it!" yelled Naruto as he rolled up his sleeve to reveal his tattoo. "Meet my Shadow's!" yelled Naruto as he was obscured by a puff of smoke.

Naruto was now standing there holding twin trench knives with the crescent moon design. Hinata could tell they were special as she could see the chakra in them, but the nin just laughed.

"Your blades won't help you now! I'm going all out against you kids!" yelled the man.

"Kage Tamashi Encho!" yelled Naruto as two clones grew out of his shadow that was created by Inferuno's fire.

"Let's go Hinata!" he yelled as the four charged the nin.

"Katon: Fists of Malice!" yelled the nin as his fists became covered with fire.

Naruto's shadows reached him first and engaged him with their blades, but the fire from the fists was some how able to black the knives.

"The fire is so dense that it can block anything!" he yelled as he slammed a fist into one of the shadows. It flew backwards with a large burn on its body.

Naruto joined in with the shadow and were able to dodge his attacks. They also managed to get a good cut across his leg. The nin was hard pressed to land a hit as Naruto and his shadow could see him at two angles. If Naruto was attacking the other would defend perfectly.

It was then that Hinata came into the fray from behind, but the nin expected that and dodged. However, her strike went right to Naruto's shoulder. Since he was wide open he could do nothing to dodge the blow.

He was launched across the clearing and slowly tried to stand up. Thanks to his momentary loss of concentration his shadow stopped for one second, but that was all it took for it to be destroyed by a burning fist through its chest.

Naruto got up and charged the nin, fully intent on helping his friend.

Hinata herself could do nothing, but dodge the burning fists. Each time he swung he got a little closer to hitting her.

It was at that moment that she tripped off a rock and watched as the burning fist travelled straight at her chest.

She watched as the fist got closer and closer, so she closed her eyes expecting the worst. 'At least I went down trying to protect Naruto.' She thought.

However she felt nothing hit her, but did hear a grunt, scream of rage, and a splash of warm liquid on her face. She opened her eyes and saw the nin holding what used to be his arm.

Then she spied in the corner of her Byakugan eyes Naruto holding his gut 20 meters away. The clothes were burnt and she could smell cooked meat. It made her nearly retch when she realized that it was Naruto she smelled.

He must have taken the blow for her and delivered a crippling blow to their opponent. She couldn't believe that he took that blow for her.

"You bastard! You cut off my arm! I'm going to kill you!" he yelled as he charged Naruto who was barely on his knees staring at the nin coming at him.

Both of Naruto's shadows came in to stop him, but he just destroyed them with his last burning arm. They both broke apart and merged with the ground.

She saw Naruto stab both of his blades into the ground and watch the nin get closer.

"This ends now!" the nin yelled as he cocked his last arm back to finish the fight. However, that did not work out as his arm was stopped mid swing.

He looked back and saw a black tendril wrapped around his arm. Then he felt things wrapping around his entire body. He struggled in a vain attempt to free him self from the tendrils that were slowly covering his whole body.

"What did you do!" he yelled as he was dragged to the ground. The dark ground that showed nothing, but a pit of darkness.

Naruto looked up and met the eyes of the nin and smiled. "This is my Kage Seifuku…it will suck all the chakra and life from your body once you are completely covered. It has already started to drain your chakra." Stated Naruto.

"NO I will not die like this!" Inferuno shouted as he struggled even more, but it was too no avail as the shadow covered him completely and he was nothing more than a mass of black on the ground.

Naruto held it for a few seconds before he finally released the jutsu. What was left of Inferuno was nothing but a pale body that looked like nothing, but skin and bones.

Hinata wasted no time and ran over to him. "Naruto-kun are you alright?" she asked in concern.

"Yeah, my body heals burns quickly. However, I don't think I will be training for the next few days." He stated as Hinata turned him on his back.

"What are you doing Hinata?" he asked in a surprised tone.

"I'm looking at that burn! Now don't move until I say you can move!" she ordered as Naruto looked at her with a confused yet proud look.

She took out an ointment and started to spread it across his exposed chest! Immediately Naruto felt the stuff do some good as he stopped feeling the pain.

"There! Now let's wrap that up!" she exclaimed as she wrapped up his side for him.

"Thanks Hinata! Think you could help me up now?" he asked as Hinata pulled him up and supported his weight.

"Thank you Naruto for saving me." She said quietly.

"It was no problem Hinata! I would do that for any of my precious people!" he responded cheerfully. Causing Hinata to blush and smile a bit.

"Do you know where the others are?" he asked.

Sakura and Shino are on their way here, Sasuke and Kiba are with Kurenai and Kakashi. They are also on their way here. They all had to defeat other ninja." She said.

"I'm glad they are all okay. Hey we just beat a jounin Hinata! We are going to get so much money for this!" Naruto exclaimed.

"But don't we need proof that they are dead Naruto?" asked Hinata.

"That's why I took his hand when I cut it off." Responded Naruto as he pulled out the hand of Inferuno.

"That is disgusting!" exclaimed Hinata.

"Yes, but I can buy new clothes with this! Hahaha" laughed Naruto. "You haven't stuttered for awhile Hinata." Stated Naruto.

"I know…I guess after something like that there is no reason to be scared of anything anymore. Thank you Naruto…you gave me so much courage today." Said Hinata with a small smile at the end, and her cheeks got a little red.

"Eh you know your voice is cute when you don't stutter right?" he asked, which made her cheeks go bright red.

"T-thank y-you N-naruto." She stuttered out.

"Ah and you were doing so good to!" said Naruto as Hinata had to look away to make herself not blush so much.

"Hinata! Naruto!" they heard someone yell.

Then from nowhere Kurenai appeared in front of them, but she had to dodge two kunai thrown at her by the pair.

"I'm sorry Sensei!" exclaimed Hinata in shock at the fact that she just threw a kunai at Kurenai.

"Who cares about that! Are you two okay? Kiba, Sasuke, and Sakura have a few injuries. Shino didn't get hurt, but they weren't fighting a jounin!" exclaimed Kurenai as she checked the two over.

"It's okay, I have a few scratches and bruises, but Naruto got caught by a fist of fire. It burned him pretty badly, but it has already started healing and I put my ointment on it before bandaging it." Explained Hinata.

"What happened to the jounin?" asked Kurenai.

"I killed, albeit it was a lucky attack! You should've seen Hinata! She was awesome! If it wasn't for her, we would be dead!" exclaimed Naruto.

"Congrats Hinata! You two did great, I'll wait for the full story when we reach the others." Said Kurenai as they began to walk back to the others, with Hinata still supporting Naruto.

"Hinata do you think you can not mention my Trench Knives? I don't want Sasuke to know about them unless he has to?" asked Naruto.

"Of course Naruto-kun. I don't even like Sasuke too much…he's too mean." She said as Naruto smiled.

"Thanks Hinata-chan! You are the best!" said Naruto as they entered the clearing where the others were.

"Well it looks like the Dobe had some trouble with his ninja." Stated Sasuke with a smirk as he saw Naruto's bandages.

"Yeah! I bet Sasuke didn't even have to sweat while he fought his opponent!" exclaimed Sakura as Sasuke smirked and Kiba rolled his eyes.

In fact it was through sheer luck that Sasuke landed that killing blow to the back of the man's neck. The man thought he could endure two Gatsuga's and not move an inch. It was during that point that Sasuke was able to pierce his neck with a kunai. Although they got the crap kicked out of them beforehand.

"Weren't you paying attention to what I told Kakashi-sensei? We barely won that match and it was through sheer luck that we won!" said Kiba as Sasuke glared at him.

"Well at least none of you got killed. How did you guys handle your opponent Shino?" asked Naruto.

"The girl was too brash and engaged Sakura in Taijutsu. She didn't notice any of my bugs crawl on her and begin to suck her chakra. After defeating Sakura her chakra was all but gone. She collapsed and I cut her throat." Said Shino in a monotone voice that made Sakura wince, but Naruto smiled sadly at him.

He saw Shino's eyebrows twitch and look at the dead body of the nin, indicating that he was upset about taking a life.

"Well how did Hinata and you do Naruto?" asked Kiba.

"It was tough! He was stronger, faster, and more experienced than us! Luckily he didn't take us seriously at first and we got some blows on him. Then he got serious and kicked our butts, Hinata distracted him while I got lucky with a finishing move. Hinata did awesome during the fight!" said Naruto.

"You forgot that you were fight against a B-Rank Jounin level ninja from Iwa, that goes by the name of Inferuno." Said Kakashi as he stood up.

This information caused everyone to look at Naruto and Hinata in surprise and anger. Kurenai was the only one who didn't look shocked as she found out from fighting that Immortal freak.

Sasuke was pissed…it was a no name loser who fought against a jounin and won. He also fought alongside that freak Hinata. 'What is it that gives him so much power? IT should be mine not his!' thought Sasuke as he glared at Naruto.

"Wow you two beat a jounin level ninja? That is amazing! We should get Team 10 around and celebrate something like that!" said Kiba as his dog was barking in excitement and Shino nodded in agreement.

"They got lucky! Didn't hear him? He said that he defeated him with a lucky attack! Shouted Sakura.

Kakashi could only shake his head at two of his students. He would've dropped them by now if it didn't stop Naruto from taking the Chuunin exams.

"Well seal up the bodies and get ready to move. We will leave for Konoha tomorrow morning." Said Kakashi as he turned around.

"Wait Kakashi-sensei! How did your battle go?" asked Naruto.

"You're lucky Leader-Sama told me not to kill anyone! He just wants to test out that jinchuriki in your team! Next time we meet…you will die Pussy!" said the man as he retreated.

"Our opponent retreated after he found he could not win." Stated Kakashi as they all sealed up their bounties and left for their own campsite. Unaware of the one bandit that had escaped after witnessing Naruto and Hinata fighting.

The next day just after entering Konoha. "So Sensei, how do we turn in bounties?" asked Naruto.

"You have to have a chuunin level ninja or above turn it in for you. I can't help you today, as I have to report to the Hokage. You are all free to go for now." Said Kakashi as he and Kurenai ran to the Hokage's tower.

"Well Sasuke! I'm going to get my sister to turn this bounty in for us! Want to go?" asked Kiba.

"As long as I get credit for the kill." Stated Sasuke as he followed him.

"Umm you can just collect that girls bounty Shino…my parents have enough money as it is." Said Sakura as she didn't want to spend any more time with the Creepy Bug Boy. Shino nodded and left for his own home, leaving Naruto and Hinata alone.

"Well Iruka is in class so I don't know anyone who would do it for me. Do you know anyone Hinata?" asked Naruto hopefully.

"Well I could ask father." She said quietly.

"Well let's got to your house then and ask him!" said Naruto.

"Okay, but I'm not sure if he will." Said Hinata as she led the way with Naruto following her. She had a blush on her cheeks as she was alone with Naruto once more.

"I don't know why he wouldn't? I mean you just defeated a jounin level ninja as a gennin! What father wouldn't be proud of that?" asked Naruto as Hinata grew courage from his words.

They soon made it to the Hyuga compound and were let in by the guards after seeing Hinata. They made their way through the building until they reached a door to a small building.

"This is Father's study. You have to take your shoes off to enter Naruto." She told him as he did what he was instructed to. He knew that the Hyugas were a respected clan and it would be smart to act his best.

Hinata knocked on the door and waited for her father to say she could enter. After a few minutes they heard a person call for them to enter so enter they did.

Hiashi Hyuga was a proud man, who wouldn't be proud of being Head of one the most prestigious clans in Konoha. Not much was said to faze him, but when his eldest walked into the room with Konoha's jinchuriki. It actually surprised him.

They both sat on two mats in front of Hiashi's desk and waited for him to talk. Naruto was a little unnerved by the man's gaze and was a moments breath from making clones incase he was attacked.

Hiashi observed the two for a few minutes before he decided to talk. The boy was on alert and he could tell that he was preparing a jutsu just in case. His daughter was nervous like always, but she wasn't shying away or fidgeting like normal. 'Interesting.' Was the only thing he could think to say.

"Hinata! Explain to me why this boy and you are here to see me?" he questioned her as he gazed at her with his emotionless eyes.

"Father." This one word was enough to surprise Hiashi as he hadn't heard his daughter not stutter out his name in a long time.

"Naruto and I came to ask you if you would come with us to Konoha's Bounty Station so that the two of us can deposit proof of a kill we collected on our last C-Rank mission that was most likely bumped to being an A-Rank." Stated Hinata slowly and carefully as if she was afraid she would make a mistake.

"Why was this mission of yours bumped up to an A-Rank mission?" asked Hiashi.

"We encountered four missing nin alongside the bandit camp that we were sent to eliminate." Said Hinata.

"What were their ranks?" asked Hiashi as Naruto was starting to get nervous.

"There were two chuunin, and two jounin. Naruto and I were able to fight and kill as jounin by the name of Inferuno. He was a B-Rank missing nin from Iwa, and master of flame jutsu." Said Hinata as Naruto showed his bandages in conformation.

Hiashi's eyes widened a fraction, but the two gennin didn't miss this. He was surprised that they had defeated such a powerful jounin. His mouth twitched upwards in a small smile.

"Very well Hinata we will go to the Bounty Office this moment. You have brought pride to the Hyuga Family." He stated to the wide-eyed girl and the grinning Naruto.

Hinata was surprised she had never once been complimented by her father. It made her smile that she was finally starting to live up to the expectations of her father and it was all thanks to Naruto.

"I would like to hear the details of the battle while we are on our way." Said Hiashi as they left the building with Naruto giving an account of the battle minus the shadow manipulation.

The next day Naruto was training at Training Ground 7. He was using his weights while sticking rocks to his body with the leaf sticking exercise while dodging wind jutsu and kunai being thrown by his clones.

"Is that all you've got!" Yelled Naruto as he jumped into the middle of the clones and used too much chakra on the rocks attached to him. They all shot off and connected with every clones causing a massive smoke cloud.

Naruto smirked as he sat down by the Memorial Stone. He looked at all the names until he found the name of Minato Namikaze.

"Why did you choose me as the jinchuriki for the Kyubi?" Naruto asked himself out loud as he looked at the name.

'Did you know my parents and ask them to use me? There must have been a specific reason for using me? Was it because of the fact that I have blonde hair similar to yours? I'm your legacy, but I don't even know why you chose me. Why choose me from the four other kids born that day in the village?' thought Naruto as he began to run through all of the information he knew about the 4th Hokage.

He had blonde hair, he had one of the strongest wind affinities ever known, he was the strongest Hokage in the history of the village, he had enemies all over the world that would do anything to make sure he and his children were dead, and he never asked anyone to do something he wouldn't do himsel…

"No…." Naruto whispered as he finally made the connection that was staring him in the face. It all made sense, why there was no record of him being born. It was a cover up to protect his life from Minato's enemies.

Why Kakashi always called him the 4th's Legacy! It wasn't because of the Kyubi, but because he was the 4th's son.

Tears leaked from his eyes as he figured out the truth. 'I need to talk to someone! Anyone, I just need to talk to them!' he thought as he jumped from Training Ground 7 just as Sakura and Sasuke showed up.

"I wonder where that loser is going?" asked Sakura.

"Hn…" responded Sasuke, which made Sakura gush all about him being so cool.

Naruto landed on the 4th's head and looked at the village that his father sacrificed so much to save, including himself.

"Why did it have to be me?" he whispered to himself as he heard footsteps behind him.

"He had no other choice Naruto. It was either you or the village and sadly he had to choose the village. He loved you very much and cried when he made the decision to do this." Came the voice of Kakashi.

"It doesn't really matter Sensei. I'm still going to make him proud, but I can't help to think that everything is a lie." Said Naruto.

"The only reason you weren't told is due to the fact that we didn't believe you mature enough to know the truth. If you had known you would've told everyone and Iwa would've killed you by the end of the week." Said Kakashi as Naruto nodded.

"Who was my mother Kakashi-Sensei?" asked Naruto.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. A deadly woman who could make any man piss themselves just by glaring at them. She was a great woman, but sadly she died giving birth to you Naruto. Now why don't you wipe those tears and let's go tell your team that we will be participating in the chuunin exams." Said Kakashi as he put his hand on a now smiling Naruto's shoulder.

"I will make them proud as their son Sensei." Stated Naruto right before they disappeared.

It was three days before the chuunin exam and Naruto was just walking through the streets of Konoha. He had been training hard all week sharpening his skills so that he would pass the exam. He had learned two new jutsu and had improved greatly with his Taijutsu and his knives.

As he turned a corner he spotted Hinata up ahead walking. Smirking slightly he creeped up behind the unaware girl and yelled. "Hey HINATA-CHAN!"

Hinata eeped and turned around and slapped whoever scared her and sent them flying into a wall. It was after a few seconds that she realized that she had just slapped Naruto.

"Naruto-Kun!" she shouted as she went over to the dazed boy.

"Ow! Remind me to never sneak up on you again Hinata-Chan." He laughed out as Hinata helped him to his feet.

"I'm so sorry Naruto-kun! I didn't mean to do that at all! You just surprised me!" she tried to apologize before Naruto just smiled at her.

"It's okay Hinata-Chan it is my fault for sneaking up on you." He laughed as Hinata smiled a bit.

"Hey you want to go on a walk with me Hinata? Since we haven't seen each other since that time we went to Akimichi's BBQ in celebration of our mission?" asked Naruto.

'He's asking me to go on a walk with him!' Hinata thought as her cheeks turned red, but she managed to nod and the two were off.

They talked about things like training, what they had been up too, their thoughts on the chuunin exams, and other meaningless things. That was until Naruto decided to turn around and yell at something.

"Konohamaru that is the worst disguise I have ever seen! Boxes have round sides, not corners!" yelled Naruto as the box exploded in a puff of smoke.

Out of the smoke came three kids doing a weird pose while introducing themselves as Moegi, Udon, and Konohamaru.

"Haha Boss I knew you would be able to see through my disguise! Just like what I expected from my rival!" yelled Konohamaru.

Hinata thought she heard Naruto whispering about never teaching again.

"Boss! Will you play Ninja with us?" asked Konohamaru.

"A ninja playing ninja? How pathetic are you Naruto?" asked Sakura as she turned the corner and walked in between Naruto and Hinata.

"Hey Boss! Who is this, is she your girlfriend?" Konohamaru asked Naruto.

"Hell no! Not in a thousand years!" yelled Naruto as Sakura looked at him in annoyance, while Hinata blushed a bit.

"Well that's good. If I were you I would hook up with the Hyuga girl! She isn't flat chested liked Pinky there." Said Konohamaru as Sakura looked like she was about to explode and Naruto and Hinata were both blushing.

"Umm Konohamaru…Run!" yelled Naruto as Sakura charged at the poor boy.

They followed him behind a corner and found Konohamaru being held up by a boy in a black suit. There was also a 15-year-old girl off to the side watching.

"Kankuro put the kid down. We don't have time to be playing games." She stated.

"Don't worry Temari, I'm just going to teach this kid a lesson for running into me." Said the boy as he raised his arm.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you." Stated Naruto as he drew his kunai. Hinata got into her own stance and Sakura just looked confused.

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it kid?" asked Kankuro as he raised his arm to strike the boy. That was when he felt the touch of steel at his throat.

"Stick around and I'll show you." Whispered Naruto's clone as it pressed the Kunai tighter against his neck, drawing a little blood.

Immediately Kankuro dropped the Konohamaru, as he scurried behind the original Naruto. The clone immediately let go and poofed out of existence.

"Dammit Kankuro I told you not to cause trouble!" shouted the blonde, but the boy paid little attention as he grabbed the pack that was on his back.

"This will only take a minute Temari! That was nothing, but luck right there!" shouted boy.

"Give it up! I could do that all day against someone like you! Besides the red head in the trees doesn't look to happy." Said Naruto as both Temari and Kankuro both looked deathly pale as they looked to the trees and spotted a red head in the tree..

He reappeared in between the two groups in a cloud of sand and glared at Kankuro.

"Enough Kankuro. You are pathetic." Said the red head with no emotion.

"G-Gaara th-they started it!" stuttered Kankuro out.

"Shut up or I will kill you." Said Gaara as Kankuro immediately shut up.

"Sasuke! Get out of the tree, you look stupid!" yelled Naruto as they all looked up to see Sasuke leaning against a tree while glaring at Naruto.

He jumped down and glared at Naruto. While Sakura had hearts in her eyes about how awesome Sasuke was being.

"Dobe, let me handle this. What are you doing here in Konoha?" he demanded in an arrogant tone.

"Duh! They are here for the chuunin exams that take place in three days! Come on Sasuke were taking the exams too!" said Naruto as Sasuke just looked like an ass.

"That is correct. Temari and Kankuro, Baki-Sensei wants to see us immediately." Said Gaara as Naruto and Hinata turned away.

"Wait! What is your name?" asked Gaara.

"Why would you care what his name is? He was the dead last at the academy, while I was the Rookie of the Year. My name is Sasuke Uchiha." Stated Sasuke arrogantly, while Naruto made gagging sounds to Hinata's amusement.

"Not you! The one with blonde hair!" ordered Gaara, as Naruto looked up and smiled at him.

"The names Naruto Uzumaki, nice to meet you Gaara." Said Naruto.

"Your strong…mother will enjoy spilling your blood." Stated Gaara with an insane smile, as he left with his brother and sister.

"What a nice young man!" exclaimed Naruto cheerfully as he turned around and walked away with Hinata. Meanwhile everyone was looking at him as if he was crazy.

As soon as they passed a corner Naruto looked at Hinata. "Promise me that if you have to fight him in the exams that you quit Hinata?" asked Naruto suddenly.

"Why? What's wrong Naruto?" asked in concern and surprise.

"Something about him gets my stomach upset. Stay away from him please Hinata?" asked Naruto as Hinata nodded, trusting his judgement.

"Good, lets finish this walk then!" said Naruto as he grabbed her hand and dragged her around, while talking about all the secret passages he knew.

Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all walking into the Ninja Academy. The exams were to be held on the third floor. So why were there 15 people trying to get into a classroom on the second floor?

Before he could do anything Sasuke walked up to and announced the trick to everyone there. "Seriously? Didn't you know that this must be like a test to weed out the groups not good enough to pass?" asked Naruto as the kids guarding the door charged their team.

However, a boy that Naruto had seen once or twice before while exercising intercepted the kick with no difficulty. 'He's faster than me without my weights.' Thought Naruto.

"It is not wise to do fighting in such a cramped area." Stated the boy. He had black hair cut like a bowl, huge eyebrows, and was wearing green spandex.

"Lee wasn't it your idea not to show our skills too early?" asked a girl who walked up. In Naruto's opinion she looked like a Panda.

Their last teammate was a Hyuga, but unlike Hinata his eyes weren't filled with kindness. His eyes were cold and held hints of hatred in them.

'He reminds me of Sasuke, but a much better check on his emotions.' Thought Naruto.

"Come on let's head to the 3rd floor, before we attract anymore attention." Said Naruto as they turned away from the other gennin and headed for another staircase.

However, they didn't get far before they were confronted by the black haired gennin with big eyebrows.

"Hey! Are you by any chance Sasuke Uchiha?" asked the gennin.

"Yes I am. Why do you want to know?" asked Sasuke.

"My name is Rock Lee and I want to challenge you to a friendly spar!" exclaimed the Rock Lee loudly.

"Sure, I don't have much better to do. However, you won't be beating me." He said as they entered a gym.

"Just like a regular genius. My dream is to defeat a genius of your caliber! I will prove that hard work is the greatest strength of a shinobi!" exclaimed Lee.

"Sasuke we don't have time for this. We need to be at our best for the exams or we could lose them." Said Naruto, but Sasuke just scoffed and stared at Lee.

"It won't take long for me to beat this loser." Said Sasuke as he slid into his stance.

'Fool! Lee is even faster than me! You have no chance against him!' thought Naruto as he got ready to intervene so no one got hurt.

Naruto's fears were no unfounded though as it didn't take long for Lee to break through Sasuke's defense. If the match had continued then Sasuke would've been too hurt to participate and everyone on Team 7 would've been forced to quit before they even started.

Luckily Gai had intervened before anyone was hurt. Although Naruto kinda wished that he hadn't as that illusion that the two spandex wearing ninja used had scared his fragile little mind more than any other amount of torture.

As they were leaving Naruto decided to confront Sasuke on what he had just done.

"Sasuke that was the stupidest thing I have ever seen! You are lucky that we are still allowed to participate. If you had been hurt, then I would've killed you myself." Said Naruto in all seriousness.

"Shut up Baka!" shouted Sakura, before she found a knife at her throat.

"Shut your harpy mouth Sakura!" he growled out to her.

"Hmph that kid got lucky. Next time he won't be." Said Sasuke arrogantly.

"Next time you are going to be dead Sasuke." Naruto growled out as he pushed by him up the stairs.

Sasuke resisted the urge that he had to plunge a kunai deep into his teammates back as they walked up the stairs. 'No, Naruto is needed for now, at least until I make chuunin. After that I will stage his death, no need for weaklings in my village.' Thought Sasuke as they made it to the room.

Outside Kakashi was waiting for them to show up.

"So I see that you decided to take the exams. Be wary, people die on these exams when they underestimate opponents. Do not make that mistake and you will all do fine." Stated their Sensei before he was gone in a puff of smoke.

As they entered they were confronted by the glares of many different gennin from different villages. Overall they put on a pretty menacing appearance. Although Naruto just wanted to laugh in all of their faces.

"Hey looks like Team 7 is also taking the exams!" came the voice of Kiba.

"Duh! I told you that four days ago!" replied Naruto as he shook Kiba's hand.

"Well some of us tend to forget things that aren't important." Replied Kiba.

"Yeah sure! Hey Hinata-Chan! Did you learn that new technique you have been working on in the past three days?" asked Naruto as Hinata smiled at him and slowly shook her head.

"No Naruto-Kun, but I am coming very close to finishing it." She said with a smile.

"That's good! I'm sure you will do it Hinata-Chan!" said Naruto, before they were interrupted.

"Troublesome, it seems that all the rookie teams are taking the exam this year." Stated Shikamaru as he walked up with Chouji and Ino following them.

"Hey Ino-Pig, what's with the face? Mad that I'm on the team with Sasuke-Kun on it?" taunted Sakura.

"No, I'm just not too sure about taking the exams." She answered.

"Ha, well I got Sasuke-Kun on my team to protect me from being hurt!" said Sakura.

"I really want a new team." Said Naruto as he grabbed both Chouji and Shino.

"What do you say boys? Team 20, the Massive Bug Fox team?" asked Naruto to the two guys, who just looked at him like he was stupid.

"Fine! I just can't take these two anymore!" said Naruto as most of the Rookies, beside Sasuke and Sakura smiled at him.

"You should all learn to be quiet." Stated a voice from behind the group.

They turned around and were faced with a white haired gennin that was wearing glasses. He looked friendly enough, but looks could be deceiving.

"What do you mean?" asked Sakura.

"It means that we are attracting too much attention and should learn to be quiet." Said Naruto as they looked at all gennin glaring at him.

"Well anyway I have a lot of information on these exams. You see I have taken them 6 times now and have gathered a lot of information on gennin. If you want I can give you some information on some of the gennin in the room." Said the gennin.

"First off we don't even know who you are. Second, how do we know that your information is reliable?" asked Naruto as the others nodded in agreement.

"I'm sorry, my name is Kabuto Yakushi and well my information isn't totally reliable as it comes from these cards that I use to gather information on. It comes from the Bingo Books, observation, chakra sources, and Fan Clubs." Said Kabuto to the rookies confusion.

"What?" asked Naruto.

"Well you see fangirls stalk their interests and learn everything they can about them. That is why the information is more reliable than usual." Said Kabuto.

"I guess that does make sense." Stated Naruto as the others nodded in agreement.

"So do any of you have any specific gennin that you want to know about?" asked Kabuto.

"You have gennin from each village right?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes I do, from Konoha to the new Oto village. They are fairly new and probably don't have that many strong ninja yet." Explained Kabuto as the Oto gennin glared at the boy.

"I want information on Gaara of the Desert, Rock Lee, and Naruto Uzumaki." Demanded Sasuke as the others beside Naruto looked shocked.

"Ahh you know their names!" whined Kabuto as he drew a card from the deck and channeled chakra into the card.

"Gaara of the Sand? Hmm…it says his taijutsu and genjutsu scores are low. Ninjutsu says that he has control of sand similar to that of the Third Kazekage. He has completed 24 D-Rank, 13 C-Rank, and 4 B-Rank missions. He has also never been injured on any of his missions!" stated Kabuto to everyone's surprise, including Naruto's.

'He has never been injured in a fight? I'm going to have to go all out if I want to fight someone at his level.' Thought Naruto as he glanced at the red head.

"Rock Lee has absolutely on ninjutsu or genjutsu on his records. However, his taijutsu is off the charts for any gennin. He has completed 59 D-Rank Missions, 28 C-Rank, and 2 B-Rank." Said Kabuto.

'That didn't help me at all!' thought Sasuke angrily.

"Now Naruto Uzumaki, also known as the 'Shadow of Konoha' according to the Bingo Books." Started Kabuto.

"What I'm in the Bingo Books?" asked Naruto.

"Why is he called the 'Shadow of Konoha'? asked Shikamaru as he looked at a nervous Naruto.

Sasuke himself was extremely pissed that Naruto was in the Bingo Books and he wasn't.

"Well it says that he was witnessed causing the death of a B-Rank missing Nin by the name of Inferuno. The abilities that were witnessed in the fight were shadow based and similar to a Nara's, but different in their own ways." Explained Kabuto.

'So he can use Shadows, but his techniques differ from my clan's. I'm going to have to ask my father about this.' Thought Shikamaru.

"He is wanted alive in the village of Iwagakure for questioning. It is unknown why he is wanted for questioning. His taijutsu skills are mid chuunin, ninjutsu is mid to high chuunin, and genjutsu is none existent. He has completed 23 D-Rank missions and two A-Rank missions." Stated Kabuto as the others looked at Naruto in awe.

Just then three blurs entered their vision. Kabuto ducked under a punch and smirked at the three ninja that had come after them. Just then his glasses snapped in half and he bent over and puked.

"Put this in your cards! The team from Oto is going to win this exam!" declared the obvious leader.

Just then a kunai landed in between them. "There will be no fighting during the exams unless told otherwise. Now sit down in a seat. Welcome to the Chuunin exams!" stated a ninja as other's started to poof into the rooms.

So the chuunin exams have started!