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Four was the last to enter the Sandaime’s office. It was full again, with the same people who had been in there when they had killed Danzo. Including a slightly tired looking Kakashi.

All the chairs were taken, and while she could get one, that really wasn’t the point. She pouted. “I need a volunteer lap,” she stated.

A bunch of hands shot up, mainly from men. She shuddered slightly. How many times did she need to tell people that she preferred girls?

“Hands down, perverts,” Kurenai snapped.

The men pouted.

Kurenai and Anko were already together, and she didn’t want to get in the way of them. Tsunade and Shizune needed to move, as Shizune was acting as secretary and Tsunade was a Sannin, Yugito was there, but she had sat on her lap yesterday.

She smiled as she spotted a lap that looked comfy. She walked over to One, signalling with her eyes. He leant down, allowing her to put her foot in his hand. He heaved and she jumped as well and somersaulted over the first row, to land in Tsume’s lap. “Hi,” she greeted.

“Hi,” the feral woman replied with an amused look. “I’ve heard so much about you. One of my children has a crush on you.”

“Please be Hana, please be Hana,” she chanted.

Tsume sniggered. “Sorry.”

Four sighed. “Well, as long as we all agree that if he hits on me, especially when he’s dating Hinata-chan that I will have to hang him from the flag pole by his feet.”

“Okay,” Tsume stated.

“Shall we start?” The Hokage asked.

“Sure,” Four replied cheerfully, as she made herself comfortable. “As soon as Naruto is awake, we’ll rip of that Tanuki’s tail, and kill Garra and those other two, and put their heads on spikes outside the front of the gates to show people what happens to those who try and hurt the boss.”

Jiraiya chuckled, as Tsunade looked away. The Hokage sighed. “Four,” he said gently. “You just can’t kill the children of the Suna Kage.”

“Sure you can, you cut their heads off with a sword. It’s quick and effective, and if that doesn’t work, you burn them alive.”

Four could feel Tsume’s amusement.

“I meant politically.”

“Pfft,” Four stated. “We kill them, and it sends a message that if you come here to cause trouble, nothing will save you!”

“Four makes a good point,” Asuma murmured.

“And start a war?” one of the Jounins that Four didn’t know said.

“Well, isn’t that what we’re facing?” Jiraiya asked.

There was a pause, before an explosion of questions.

“Silence,” the Hokage ordered. And there was; absolute silence. “As some of you are aware, there was an incidence yesterday, where Hayate was almost killed by the Jounin sensei of Suna, Baki.

“Naruto was injured in Baki’s defeat. The information that Hayate discovered is S-ranked, it does not get talked about outside of here.

“Suna and Sound, under the leadership or Orochimaru, are planning on invading during the final of the Chunin exams.”

There were a lot of angry and powerful people in that room, and all of them were ready for a fight.

“I’m with Four,” Kakashi said. “We should eliminate some of the threats beforehand.”

“I can make it look personal,” Four said eagerly.

“No,” The Sandaime said firmly. “We are in a situation where we know when and where they are going to attack. It is far better for us to be prepared, than take action now and have the attack cancelled, and rescheduled for when we might not get the warning.”

Four frowned, that made sense.

The Hokage continued. “Ibiki, Naru Shikaku, Tsunade and Jiraiya are going to be planning the defence. I want all of you in tip top condition, and completely ready to defend our village.”

Everyone nodded.

“One?”

“Yes, Lord Hokage?” One said formally.

“You are in charge, while Naruto is asleep?”

One shook his head. “Actually, no, the others just like to embarrass me. There isn’t a hierarchy. Our numbers are given out in order, not importance. Eleven is normally the best, but he’s already working his arse off, ensuring that Asuma will spend a day in a chicken suit.”

Asuma snorted. “Right.”

“But really, if you asked any of us, we’d say that Four was in charge.”

Four smiled brightly.

“Okay, then I’ll ask you,” the Hokage said. “I want you, and I mean all of you, to come up with your own plan for defending Konoha.”

“Why?” Four asked in surprise.

“Hmm,” the elder Nara mumbled. “I would guess it is because I am logical, as are the others. You are not. Illogic has its place. People will be expecting a normal response, an illogical one they will not.”

“Oh,” Four said. She shrugged. “I’ll call in all the fours we have around, and we’ll start work. The boss will look over it before we give it to you.”

---

The room was silent, and it was the sort of silence that made Temari want to scream. Her little brother was totally still, yet still radiating an upsetting amount of bloodlust. Fortunately, he was obsessed with the blonde Jinchūriki they had met on their arrival.

She looked at Kankurō. Her “war-paint” wearing brother was playing with his battle dolls, practising animating them with twitches of his finger.

Although he seemed in control, she could tell that he wasn’t.

For the second time, she had met the Hokage, and the meeting hadn’t been pleasant. Baki was dead. And the Hokage wanted to know why he had attacked one of their Nins – who was now in a coma. The Hokage was not pleased, especially after not being told about Gaara’s status.

As far as she could tell, they were totally screwed. Their father had taken madness to a new level, and was refusing to see facts.

Fact: Konoha had two of the three Sannin resident. It didn’t matter if they had Orochimaru on their side as he was outnumbered two to one.

Fact: Konoha had a Jinchūriki who scared her more than Gaara ever had. Worse, their demon container held a being nine times as powerful as Gaara’s.

Fact: Konoha had a second Jinchūriki with them. Their ace-in-the-hole of Gaara was both outclassed and outnumbered.

Fact: Kabuto, Orochimaru’s spy had been taken out in seconds.

Fact: Konoha might not have numbers, but they had skill. Everyone knew of Kakashi, of Gai, and of the other Jounins. They all had the combination of skills and personality that made them stand out.

She sighed softly, and allowed her mind to wander back to Uzumaki Naruto. The son of the Fourth Hokage. Everyone recognised the Fourth Hokage as a genius, as probably the greatest ninja since the Rikudō Sennin himself. And it was no surprise that his son, combined with a willing demon, was following in his footsteps.

She had heard of Konoha’s Legion, but was shocked to find that he just a kid. It was small rumours, that of a man who was many, who freed Wave, who was seen all over the Elemental Countries. It was insane. No one should be able to deal with that many clones without going insane.

But the very worst thing was what he had done with Kabuto’s body. He had desecrated it in a way that cut to her very core. Kabuto had been an enemy of Konoha, and Naruto had treated him as such.

She was an enemy of Konoha. He would treat her the same way.

She took a deep breath. “Kankurō?”

“Yes?”

“I’m going for a walk.”

“Okay.”

She walked out, and in to the street. She wandered around, trying to work out what to do. She closed her eyes, not paying attention, as she turned a corner and bumped in to the person on her mind.

“Sorry,” he said, as he picked himself up from the ground. He frowned.

“My apologies,” she said formally, suddenly scared.

“No problem,” he grunted. He adjusted some glasses on his nose.

“You wear glasses?”

“I’m not Naruto; I’m a level four clone. My name is Three. Now, if you don’t mind, I have a lot to do, and nowhere near enough time to do it. You’d think that it would be easy researching seals, but no, everyone has to write in the most god-awful handwriting known to man. Good day.”

He turned and hurried off.

She had bumped in to the clone hard enough to dispel any clone she knew. She had sent him flying, but he had just been irritated.

And what was a level four? Logic pointed out that if a normal clone was a civilian, then a four would be Jounin.

A clone with Jounin level chakra? A clone of a Jinchūriki with complete dedication to his village.

She turned and headed straight toward the tower. There was only one thing to do. She asked for an audience with the Hokage, claiming on her father’s name that she had a message for him.

It was an hour later that she was granted an audience. She moved over to his desk, and stood at attention.

“Yes?” he asked, his eyes a little cold.

“I have information,” she stated firmly. “In return for the life of my brothers, and mine, as well as asylum, I will share everything I know.”

---

As Naruto woke up, he was slightly surprised to find that everything was white. He squinted softly, as he climbed to his feet.

He was clearly somewhere, and where that somewhere was, was currently beyond him. Not one to sit around, he moved, but with no frames of reference, he couldn’t tell if he was moving or not, so he sat down.

“ Foxy-chan?” he tried. There was no answer.

He tried to create a clone, but nothing happened. He was alone. So with nothing better to do, he started to sing.

He sung loudly and lustfully, getting in to it. It was a great way to pass the time.

“Stop, please,” a soft voice said.

Naruto turned, to see a woman looking at him. Her hair was proud silver, and hung to her waist. Her eyes were a deep and mystical blue, and seemed to be digging in to his soul. She stood, close to six foot tall, with a bearing so regal that it screamed that she wasn’t human.

He bowed to her.

“You know me as Kami,” she stated.

If there was one thing he knew, it was if a deity appeared to you, there was only one response. He went down on one knee and looked down. “My lady.”

“Lady, Lord,” she murmured. “You see me as you imagine.”

“Oh, another one of them, eh?”

She smiled. “Indeed. Stand, Naruto.”

He stood.

She looked at him for a long moment and then nodded. “My blessings,” she said softly.

He bowed deeply to her.

“You may ask of me one thing,” she stated. “As an apology for the burden you have carried since birth.”

“That is not necessary, my Lady.”

“I am the one to deem that,” she said firmly. Her tone was one of rebuke.

“My apologies,” he said, bowing in apology. “In that case, I desire what all men do.”

“Money or power,” she sighed.

He blinked at her. “Of course not. I want a kiss from a beautiful woman.”

Kami looked at him for a long moment, before she threw her head back and laughed. “You don’t want power?”

“I’ll earn power on my own. And I have money. And any idiot can get more powerful, but how many times have you been asked for a kiss?”

“Never.”

He grinned at her.

She took a few steps forward, bent, and kissed him softly on the lips. The power of the kiss swept through him, like nothing he had ever imagined, ever desired, ever wanted. It was a kiss with the power of creation and life.

As she pulled back, he dropped to his knees. “I think I’ve just had a religious conversion,” he whispered.

Kami’s laugh echoed around him. “Live your life, Naruto. As with all mortals, your life shall be judged at the end.”

He bowed once more.

“Now, there is someone who wants to meet you.”

Naruto looked up, as there was a bolt of lightning, and a tall man appeared.

“Sweet hat!” Naruto exclaimed.

The man slowly raised his head, the hat revealing that his eyes were completely white, with small sparks of lightning coming out of them. He was dressed as a Taoist monk, with the character for thunder embedded on his clothes.

“I am Raiden, the God of Thunder.”

If there was one thing Naruto knew, it was that Kami was the creator, so this dude was powerful, but not as powerful as Kami. “And owner of a sweet hat!”

Raiden smiled. “Your problem was that you searched for something special, not realising that it is you that makes something special.”

Naruto nodded. “Did you invent the lighting transport?”

Raiden nodded. “And the other moves you use.”

“So you know Foxy-chan?”

Raiden sniggered. “Yes, I do, although we’ve never met,” he agreed. “Yes, I do indeed. You may tell the old fox that I said ‘Hi’.”

“I will,” Naruto agreed.

“It’s time for you to wake up,” Kami said softly.

“Pleasure meeting you, Naruto.”

“I thank you for the honour, Lord Raiden,” Naruto said. He turned to Kami. “Would it upset you if I dedicated my victories to you?”

She smiled. “If you so desire, my little warrior.”

Naruto bowed once more, and everything went dark.

---

A third figure appeared in the white. He was an elderly gentleman, with a small silver beard. “You did not give him the Eyes of Reincarnation.”

Kami shrugged. “You’re the one into those gimmicks. I prefer my warriors to learn for themselves. I did think about it, but I think he would not have liked it.”

“My people will win.”

“That is what you have gambled,” Kami agreed.

“Ten gold pieces on Naruto,” Raiden said.

“Done,” the third member said. “When I have this realm, I shall enjoy drinking your gold pieces.”

“If you win,” Kami whispered.

“I have two of the three great Eye techniques. My people are older and more experienced. Your child stands no chance.”

“We shall see. We shall see.”

---

Four grumbled to herself as she hurried toward training ground twelve. She had far too much to do, and not enough time to do it. Even with the boss out, there were still fifteen level four clones in Konoha alone trying to keep things together, and it simple wasn’t enough.

This morning, she had to meet with Gai’s team and deal with a problem there, check in on Hanabi-chan, as she didn’t know Naruto was currently unconscious, check in on Kon, Moegi and Udon, meet up with the other rookies for lunch, continue to plan with the other clones for the invasion, and work out a way to kill the Sand Genins, just in case.

She arrived at the training ground. The scene was familiar. Neji was sparring with another Hyūga, Tenten was training with Zabuza’s sword, and Lee was sparring with Gai.

“Yo,” she called, as she moved toward the two.

“Four,” Tenten called happily.

“Ahh, Four, your flames of youth are bright!”

“They are indeed, Gai,” she agreed. “Can I borrow your youthful student for a few minutes?”

“Which one, they are all springing with vitality.”

Four nodded toward Lee. “Lee, please come at me.”

“Yosh, a spar,” Gai said excitedly. “Lee, my youthful student, it is time!”

“Yosh,” Lee agreed happily. He ran at Four, and Four could instantly see what Tenten was talking about. He was barely going at the average speed for a Genin.

As he arrived in range, she moved, grabbing his arm, countered his counter-move, and flipped him on to his back, while whipping out a Kunai, and placing it against his neck. “You are now dead.”

There was silence in the field.

Four stood and moved back once more. “Again,” she snapped.

Lee looked confused, but came again, this time a little faster.

“Swamp of the underworld,” she muttered.

Lee’s step suddenly dropped through the swamp, sending him flying face first in to the dank ground.

Absently focusing Chakra to her feet, Four walked over to him, and pulled his head out of the swamp. “You are now dead,” she said, and cancelled the Jutsu. With a water Jutsu, she soon had him clean again.

“Now, take your weights off, and again.”

“But,” Lee said, his whole demeanour one of confusion.

“Lee,” Gai said, “Do it, Four is giving you a very youthful lesson.”

“She is?” he asked doubtfully. He shrugged, and kicked out his left leg. Weights dropped off, leaving a small hole in the ground. He did the same with his right, then both arms.

He attacked again, this time much faster, probably at a speed a Chūnin getting ready for the promotion to Jōnin would be able to achieve. But Four could tell that he was still holding back.

It was starting to annoy her. Lee punched, and rather than dodging, she simply put Chakra in her hands, and caught the punch.

There was a slap, and a look of surprise in Lee’s face, as she over powered him and forced him to the ground.

“I won’t say this again, Lee. If you don’t come at me at full speed and full power, I will have you pulled of Gai’s team and placed in another team.”

“What?” he shouted.

Four turned and walked away.

“Lee,” Gai said, “Do you not want to be my youthful student?”

“Yaaargh,” Lee yelled, and the difference was immediate. His speed and skill went up to mid-Jounin, and Four suddenly found herself under a lot of pressure.

Keeping the fight to martial arts only, she concentrated hard, merging lessons from Anko, Shizune, Kurenai, and more than the others, Tsunade together to ensure that his attacks drifted past her by millimetres.

It was incredibly hard work, and the best fight she’d ever had. Compared to the memory of Baki, though, he wasn’t anywhere near as good, as Baki could actually use Chakra, and was far more dangerous because of it.

Suddenly, an extremely unyouthful opening appeared, and she took it without hesitation – smashing her knee into Lee’s crotch.

There was a high pitched squeal, and Lee crumpled to the ground.

She sighed and moved over him, and keeping her hand at least three inches away, she healed any damage while keeping her mind on something else.

“Tsunade would have removed your head without a second thought,” she said intently. “Kurenai would have had you dead long before you got near her. Anko would have hamstringed you. Shizune would have had you unconscious in a cloud of gas. Yugao would have had you killed in your sleep.

“When you use your flames of youth to get in the way of your team mates, you are not being youthful, you are being extremely,” she swallowed, “unyouthful.”

“But...” Lee started.

“There are no buts, Lee,” Four growled. “Do you remember what happened with my opponent?”

“Yes, she was executed. It was most unyouthful.”

Four closed her eyes for a second, and contemplated smacking Lee until he got her point. She resolved to try words one more time.

“I asked her if she was a Kunoichi, she said yes. As such, I gave her the respect she wanted,” she said firmly. “When you try and protect Tenten, or you limit yourself when you spar with me, you are being sexist, patronising, annoying, frustrating, and disrespectful. You are flat out stating that you think that you are superior to the one you are against.

“And frankly Lee, you are not. I understand where you are coming from, that you want to prove that you can become a strong ninja with only hard work, overcoming your handicap.

“It’s a marvellous thing, and everybody is really impressed, but your attitude toward Kunoichi is appalling and takes away from all of that.

“We do not need your so-called protection. We do not want you to go easy on us, and we find it highly insulting that you do so.

“Your flames of youth are not more important than ours, and we will not accept you trying to dampen our flames anymore. Understand?”

Lee’s eyes were wide with shock and horror. “I was dampening your flames of youth?”

Four nodded firmly. “More Tenten-chan’s than mine, but the fact that I had to order you to come at me properly multiple times was enough to make me angry.”

“Four is correct, my student,” Gai said heavily as he knelt near them. “I have told you myself not to hold back.”

“But I could have hurt someone!”

“That is not your decision to make,” Four snarled. “How did you feel when I took you down in one move? You thought that it was okay, because you weren’t going all out.

“But what if I had gone down when you sped up, letting you win? How would you feel? You’d think it was,” she swallowed, “unyouthful. Or what if I refused to use Chakra against you, out of pity? Would that be,” she swallowed once more, “youthful?”

“But my strength,” Lee said. “I’m so strong...”

Four groaned. “Right, Gai, kick that boulder,” she said, indicating a boulder that was about the size of a cow.

“Yosh,” he agreed. In a blur, he jumped up, moved to the boulder, and kicked it, hard. The boulder shattered in to rubble.

Four jumped to her feet, and walked over to another similar sized boulder. She took a deep breath and focused. She always found this easier in the middle of a fight, when she could leave it to her instincts.

She gathered her Chakra, and laced it through her hand as Tsunade had taught her. She pulled her fist back, and punched in to the rock.

The rock completely disintegrated in to a fine dust, as her Chakra enhanced punch did its job.

Tenten whistled slowly.

She turned, to see Lee was looking on in absolute shock.

“We are all strong, Lee. We are all deadly. That is what we do.”

Lee jumped to his feet. He turned to Tenten. “Tenten-san,” he said formally. “I have treated you most unyouthfully. Please accept my most humble apology.” He bowed at the same time.

“Don’t do it again,” Tenten said, “and you are forgiven.”

“Yosh,” Gai said excitedly. “Lee, your flames have diminished. Perhaps a run will help re-ignite them!”

“I will run around Konoha until I am flaming once more!” He vanished, before he reappeared sheepishly. “I forgot my weights,” he explained, as he quickly put them on and vanished again.

As soon as he was gone, Four tried hard not to laugh.

Neji, and the other Hyūga were staring hard at the ground.

“Must... not .... laugh...” Tenten mumbled.

Gai sighed. “A most unyouthful choice of words,” he said. “People might get the wrong idea again.”

Four gave in and laughed.

“Four,” Neji said. “That move with the boulder, it was Tsunade-sama’s?”

“Yep.”

“Crap,” he sighed. “Still need to work harder.”

“You okay, Tenten-chan?” Four asked.

She smiled. “Thanks Four. I really appreciate it.”

“As do I,” Gai said exuberantly. “My youthful student can be a little stubborn, at times.”

No one commented on the idea of Gai calling someone else stubborn.

“Right,” Four said. “I’m off to kidnap Hanabi-chan for lunch. And guys, we’re only three days away. Don’t slack off now.” She closed her eyes and made a clone. “Stay and practice with Tenten,” she ordered.

“Okay, boss,” the clone said happily.

“Go easy on her, Tenten, I can only make level twos.”

---

Four headed toward the Hyūga clan compound, when an ANBU swirled in front of her.

“Four-san,” he said. “The Hokage requests your presence, immediately.”

Four nodded, and made the hand signs. She appeared, to see Hiashi, Jiraiya, Tsunade, and the blonde bitch from Suna. She hissed.

“Whoa,” the girl said.

“Four, please, listen to what Temari has to say,” the Hokage requested.

Four stopped her hand seals, she hadn’t even realised she was doing them, but recognised the process as the start to one of Foxy-chan’s specials.

“I know that you’re upset with my brother,” Temari said. “But you have to understand, that unlike your brother, my brother grew up hated by everyone, he had assassination...”

Two things happened at the same time. Jiraiya had his hand over the girl’s mouth, pulling her away, and Tsunade caught Four mid-dive.

“Let me go,” Four ordered.

“I guess it’s my turn,” Tsunade mumbled with a slight smirk. She lifted Four up, and kissed her firmly.

Four tried to struggle, but she couldn’t match the Sannin’s strength, or the feeling of her hair being stroked just how she liked it, or the softness of Tsunade’s chest pressing against hers.

She pouted in to the kiss, and then kissed Tsunade back briefly. “I’m calm,” she mumbled.

Tsunade slowly let her down, a smile on her lips.

Four looked around, to see Jiraiya, Hiashi and the Hokage with their hands over their eyes. “It’s safe.”

They both looked up. “We need to be conscious,” the Hokage muttered.

“Right, perhaps introductions are in order,” Jiraiya said. “Four, Temari. Temari, this is Four, the Jounin-level female clone of Naruto.”

“Four, Temari has given us a lot of information about the invasion, and Orochimaru’s plans, in return for asylum for her, and both her brothers.”

Four groaned. “We can still rip of that damn tanuki’s tail, right?”

The Fourth nodded.

“As for you,” Four said, looking at Temari. “Our life was just as your brothers, but we decided to do something positive about it, not sink in to a stupid rage and start killing people randomly.

“All he had to do was promise the one-tailed loser that he would kill everyone who attacked his turf, and he would have been happy, but no, he had to feed the idiot with delusions that he could do anything he wanted.

“So don’t expect me to feel much pity for Gaara. He had a choice as well. He made the wrong one.”

Temari didn’t look up.

Four sighed. “The information was that important?” she asked the Hokage.

He nodded and pointed to a scroll on his desk. She created another clone to read it, and when she had, she dispersed the clone. All the pertinent details appeared in her mind, and in the mind of all the other clones. She digested it, and as she finished, a clone of Three’s told her that he was incorporating the details in the plan.

“Fine, we’ll not kill Gaara, or the transvestite. Three is already incorporating it in the plan.”

“Thank you, Four,” The Hokage said. “Temari, you better get back before you are missed.”

“Hai, Hokage-sama,” Temari said, and walked out quickly. A nod from the Hokage sent several ANBU to follow her discretely.

As soon as the door was shut, Four collapsed to her knees. “Chakra,” she gasped.

Tsunade was holding her a second later, and she drunk in as much as she could. “That was close,” she muttered. She kissed Tsunade quickly. “Thank you.”

“Why did you do that?” Jiraiya asked.

“Never show weakness to the enemy,” Four said seriously. “If she talks about us, she’ll talk as if we were normal, not clones with a lot, but limited, chakra.”

She stood and leaned against the older woman. “I’ll call off the team charged with wiping those two out at the first sign of the invasion.”

“Thank you.”

“Okay, I need to get back to what I was doing. I really need to talk to the boss about promoting more people. We’ve not got enough, never enough.”

She dashed out the window, and down the side of the tower. She paused outside the Hyūga clan compound, and then did a little dance. The boss was awake!

And he had some ideas. Ideas that showed why he was the boss, and they were just clones.

They were utterly insane!

---

Naruto awoke, and instantly closed his eyes and dropped in to his mental landscape.

“Where the hell have you been?” Kyūbi demanded. “One second you were unconscious, the next second, you were totally gone!”

“Kami wanted to see me.”

The fox tripped over his paw, and stumbled to the ground. “Kami wanted to see you?”

He nodded.

“Kami. The Kami?”

“Sexless being, regal bearing, feeling of power that makes you want to visit the bathroom.”

“Wow,” the fox mumbled. “Just, wow.”

“Oh, and Lord Raiden says ‘Hi’.”

“You met Raiden?” Foxy-chan demanded. “Oh sweet Kami! You met Lord Raiden, and he said ‘hi’, to me?”

Naruto nodded.

The fox danced around happily. “That’s so cool,” she said.

“So, any way, having met Kami, I’m allowed to dedicate my victories to her.”

Kyūbi nodded eagerly. “Sounds good. As you’ve got good news for me, I’ve got good news for you. However, we’re going to have to go somewhere quiet for a few days.”

Naruto set up the auto repeaters and then opened his eyes. He was alone in the hospital room, with just a few clones.

One of them handed him a note he had just finished writing.

Guys.

Gone training. Be back for the exams. Four’s in charge. Three will drop off some additions to the plan when they’re ready.

Love, N.

With that, he was out the window, and deep in to the forest as quickly as he could.

“Okay,” Foxy-chan said, “You know I was talking about glands and fixing your height that way?”

Naruto nodded.

“Well, I was missing something obvious. When you do your adult Jutsu, you change. All it would take is some pain and some chakra to make that change permanent.”

“Cool, very very cool.” Naruto agreed. “Let’s do it.”

“Well, change, and I’ll start the process.”

He changed, and then started to scream.

---

“Oh, excuse me,” the clone said, as she suddenly vanished.

“What was that?” Neji called.

“I have no idea,” Tenten replied, as she placed her blade down.

There was a flash of lightning, and a new clone appeared. This one looked like Naruto, but older. “Sorry,” he said cheerfully. “All clones were recalled for an upgrade. The boss fixed his problem earlier today.”

“Problem?” Neji asked, as he moved over to them.

“Being small enough to hide in a flower pot,” the clone explained. “This is now his natural form.”

“Crap,” Neji sighed once more.

---

Four snuck in to Shizune’s room.

“Hi, Four,” Shizune said.

Four slid under the covers, and rolled on top of the older girl. “Hi,” Four said brightly.

“What are you doing?” Shizune asked warily.

“You ever wonder how the boss can ignore the fact that Anko-chan wants to jump his bones? And Why he hasn’t done anything, despite being with four girls who like him a lot?”

Shizune nodded.

“It’s because he knows that this time is special for all ninjas, that between fifteen and eighteen, as puberty comes to an end, is when the biggest period of growth will happen. And with everything that is happening, he’s pushing forward even faster. But that doesn’t leave much time for the better things in life.”

Shizune nodded again. “I thought it was something like that,” she admitted. “As do the others.”

Four smiled. “But that doesn’t mean the boss doesn’t get those urges, but you know how he deals with them?”

Shizune shook her head.

“I took them from him,” Four explained. “With his permission, of course. And that’s why I’m here.”

“W-what?”

Four leant down and kissed Shizune firmly, using the experience she’d gained from the others.

“I’ve... never...,” Shizune mumbled, blushing furiously. “With a girl, I mean...”

Four allowed her smile to turn wicked. “Me neither.”

---

Kurenai walked in to the kitchen, to find Shizune, dressed only in a gown, cooking breakfast. That was unusual in itself, as Shizune never cooked in the morning, and she was never seen in any form of informal clothing.

With a twirl, Shizune finished loading breakfast on to four plates. As if drawn by the smell, Tsunade appeared, settling down at the table. Kurenai joined her. A few seconds later, a sleepy looking Four, with bed hair, and wearing only a long t-shirt, appeared.

“You know,” Tsunade said absently, “the last time you cooked breakfast was that morning after you spent the first night with your boyfriend...”

Kurenai looked at Four, as Tsunade seemed to realise what she was saying, and did the same thing.

“What?” Four asked tiredly.

“Leave her alone,” Shizune ordered.

Tsunade smirked. “So, was she good?”

“Oh yeah,” Four and Shizune said dreamily, before they both blushed.

Tsunade sniggered. “Well, this is going to be a fun breakfast,” she predicted.

---

The Hokage sat in his chair, looking down at the floor of the arena. It was a good thirty yards down from the edge of his balcony. It hadn’t changed much since his day, and offered the space that the Genin were going to need to display their tealents to the fullest.

In the box to his left, nobles from all around Fire country were gathered together, talking excitedly.

He had wanted to ban them from coming, but couldn’t without tipping his hand.

At least the Fire Lord himself wasn’t with them. He had a meeting with the lord of Tea, who had made a complaint about marble, of all things, he’d heard.

The Suna Kage was sat near him, staring as well. Jiraiya and Tsunade sat behind them, as well as four ANBU from Suna, and four ANBU from Konoha.

Despite the fact that there was going to be war, he was looking forward to the competition.

Most of the Genin were lined up, waiting the start. There was still two minutes before the official start.

As the clock ticked over, there were a couple of swirls of leaves, as Sasuke and Haku appeared. The boy with the ice bloodline limit kissed Sasuke quickly, and then dashed up the wall in to the crowd, next to the space where the competitors would sit.

The ease in which he did it, gave huge credence to Kakashi’s thought that he was ready to be a Jōnin. He made a mental note to arrange Haku’s trial as soon as possible.

The clock slowly counted down, and they were still missing one contestant. Naruto.

With fifteen seconds to go, a dark cloud suddenly gathered over the arena, and a bolt of solid blue lightning smashed in to the ground, in the centre of the arena.

The feeling of electricity in the air was making the hairs on his arms stand on edge. A shape appeared, from the cloud. It was the shape of a human; one hand seemed to be holding on to the lightning, as if it was a rope lift, lowering him to the ground.

He was wearing a long cloak, and had a wide brimmed coolie hat.

As he touched to the ground, the cloud and the lightning vanished. The figure walked forward slowly, his head bowed. He looked to be about around six foot two, but not much else could be made out.

He stopped in front of their stand, and for some reason, Sarutobi felt like he was a small child, watching the First and Second Hokages.

The figure slowly raised his head, and looked up. As the hat moved out the way, everyone at their end could see that his eyes were crackling with lightning. The ninja turned, slowly, surveying the competition.

When he had finished his circle, he bowed deeply to the Kages in the stand.  “I’m not late, am I, old man?”

“N-no, Naruto,” he said softly, as he recognised the voice.

Naruto moved over to join the other Genin.

The foreign Genin were looking at him with a mixture of awe and fear. From the Konoha Genin, it was mainly awe, although Neji and Sasuke were rolling their eyes at him.

“Damn, he’s got a better entrance than me!” Jiraiya muttered.

The crowd seemed to wake up from their shock, and they started to cheer loudly.

The clouds above the stadium dispersed, revealing a high cloud cover that made everything seem slightly gray.

Asuma, acting as proctor, shook his head. “The first match,” he started, and then had to wait for the cheering to stop.

“The first match is Sakura versus Ino.”

Naruto’s hands were already moving, and as Asuma finished, he spread his hands. Every Genin, with the exception of the two that were fighting, vanished, and re-appeared in a stroke of lightning in the area reserved for them.

“Idiot,” Sasuke said, with an amused look.

“Good to see you two,” Naruto replied. “You hear about my bet?”

“No?”

“If Sakura loses, I have to give the rest of my kiki island tobacco to Asuma, if she wins, Asuma spends the day dressed as a chicken to promote my favourite ramen stand.”

Sasuke chuckled. “Typical. I just went traditional.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah, placed a cool million on her with the bookmakers.”

“You’re that confident?”

“Aren’t you?”

“Of course I trained her.”

“If you two chattering ferrets don’t mind,” Asuma called acidly.

They both looked down, to see Sakura smiling confidently.

Sasuke shrugged. “If it means that much to you, captain chicken.”

Asuma glared at Sasuke. “Ino, Sakura, begin.”

“For all your new confidence, I’m still better than you,” Ino stated.

Sakura smiled calmly. “We shall see.”

From the crowd, a clone, who the Sandaime presumed was Eleven, shouted, “Enough, Sakura!”

The pink haired girl twirled, a large staff appearing in her hands. She slammed it into the ground. The ground parted before her, like a fast moving earthquake, moving toward the blonde.

Ino looked surprised as she jumped up. With the staff in front of her, Sakura rotated it, slowly at first, then quickly bringing it up to speed. A blast of air shot out, throwing Ino of her jump

As she came down, Sakura was waiting for her, her speed far faster than waht the Hokage would have expected from an average Chunin. Sarutobi wondered just what the clone had done to the girl in the month they'd had available.

A stroke from Sakura’s staff smacked in to the girl’s stomach, throwing her hard in to the ground. She followed up with an instant smack straight to the face, which she pulled at the last second.

“Proctor,” Ino called, staring at the end of the stick. “I quit.”

Asuma’s mouth was wide open. Sakura reached down, and held out her hand to Ino. Ino took it, and was hauled up.

The crowd exploded in to cheers, but the Hokage ignored them, and concentrated on the conversation between the two Kunoichi.

“What the hell happened to you, forehead?” Ino asked, as they walked toward the wall.

“How much did you train, pig?”

“Five days a week, all day. You?”

“I had four weeks of absolute hell. I got just one night off a week, and no more than five hours sleep any night. Eleven pushed me through every barrier I thought existed.”

Ino sighed. “I should have asked for the same thing.”

“I was surprised that no one else did. It’s not as if Naruto has a shortage of clones.”

Ino stumbled, and then groaned. “Still, at least we get to watch our sensei dressed like a chicken.”

The two girls walked up the side of the arena without interrupting their conversation – showing that Ino had grown as well, just not enough.  Their progress was slightly studied, and no where near as smooth as Haku's had been earlier.

Intensive training was a credible explanation for what had happened. It wasn’t something most ninjas went for – only the truly driven and dedicated. It warmed the Sandaime’s heart to see a Kunoichi doing it.

As she got to the top, Naruto reached out and grabbed Sakura. He swung her around and then hugged her tightly.

Eleven was making his way along the edge of the arena.

Naruto passed Sakura to Sasuke, who did the same thing. “That was brilliant,” he said firmly.

Sakura blushed.

Eleven arrived next to Sasuke, who passed the girl to him. He hugged her. “That’s how you do it, Sakura-chan,” Eleven said excitedly.

Sakura stepped back slightly. She clasped her hands in front of her, and then bowed from the waist, until she was at a forty-five degree angle. “Thank you, Eleven-kun, for everything you did.”

The clone blushed.

“The next fight,” Asuma yelled, “is Naruto against Tenten.”

Tenten stood. “Well, you got me up here, you can get me down.”

Naruto smiled and made the hand signals. They both vanished and appeared in the middle.

“Begin,” Asuma said abruptly.

Naruto instantly ducked, as Tenten bought Zabuza’s sword out of a seal, and attempted to decapitate him.  “One second,” he said, jumping back. He created a clone, and handed over his hat and cape.

The Hokage blinked slightly.

“What the hell is that?” Jiraiya demanded.

Naruto’s outfit was slightly off-white, with large silver shoulder guards, knee and elbow protectors. He had on white boots, with leggings underneath. From his shoulders, and down to his waist was a burnt orange sash, with the kanji for Fire, Lightning, Wind and Kami on it. Attached to his waist, to his left, was a katana scabbard.

“It looks pretty damn good,” Tsunade said appreciatively.

“Nice outfit,” Tenten called.

Naruto grinned at her. He reached in to his scabbard and pulled out a pommel with no sword. He smiled, and the blade crackled in to life.

Tenten stumbled backward.

The Hokage turned to stare at Tsunade. She just smirked at him.

“How the hell do you have the Raijin?” Tenten yelled.

“Funny story,” Naruto said. “Thirteen and Fourteen were heading toward Rain, under a henge, as we have some businesses there, when they stumbled across Aoi. He was having a nap.”

“And?” Tenten asked.

“He was a Leaf traitor, so Thirteen pretended to be a damsel in distress – escaping from bandits. Aoi was happy to help, and when he went for what he thought was his reward – Thirteen, he sliced the veins in his groin so he couldn’t fight back. As Thirteen and Fourteen had some time, they healed his cut, broke every bone in his body and left him overnight, where the local wildlife ate him alive.

“The next morning, Fourteen then cut of what remained of his head, and put his sword and head in a scroll and posted it to me. Tsunade-chan said I could keep it,” he finished with a smile.

“My Grand-Uncle would be proud that his sword is back in the Leaf, and that is it being wielded by someone who understands what it means to be a Hidden Leaf ninja,” Tsunade announced.

“Hell yeah,” Eleven cheered.

Naruto grinned. “Shall we?”

Tenten nodded. She attacked again, moving into a steady rhythm that drew him in to a defensive pattern.

He blocked and dodged, watching her fighting style. As he ducked another attempt to decapitate him, she jumped back and launched over a hundred weapons at him.

Rather than move, Naruto opened his arms. The weapons hit him, before he suddenly vanished in a puff of smoke. Tenten dived forward, narrowly avoiding being skewered as Naruto appeared silently before her.

“When the hell did you make a clone?” she demanded.

Naruto just smiled. “Swamp of the underworld!”

The whole arena suddenly changed, the wide area Jutsu making the whole ground unstable.

Naruto didn’t look bothered, even as Tenten growled. She attacked again, skidding on top of the swamp. Her feet were glowing slightly as she tried to avoid the chakra-draining effects of the swamp.

Naruto looked pleased, even as he blocked the swipe, the next one he deflected, and Tenten over balanced slightly. The long headed cleaving sword splashed in to the swamp. Tenten pulled once, and then somersaulted backward, leaving it there.

Naruto reached out and took the handle. He heaved, swung it a few times, and then threw it hard in to a wall, where it stuck out. “A good sword shouldn’t rust,” he said.

Tenten grinned at him, as two short swords seemed to appear in her hands.

This time her style was radically different, as she attacked far faster, and at different angles.

Naruto was forced on to the back foot, as he had to swing the Raijin much faster to keep her out.

The Hokage nodded softly. He’d seen enough; she was going to get promoted. The speed and skill was more than what he expected from a new Chunin, and against a lot of surprises and a serious opponent, she’d kept her head and was still attacking, and showing mastery of different weapons.

He hoped that others would be tempted to take up weapons. Nothing beat having something else to rely on. Chakra could be exhausted, and having a sword could save your life.

Naruto dodged backward, and then started to implement the pattern of the Dance of the Crescent Moon. It finished with his sword against Tenten’s neck.

She sighed. “Proctor. I quit.”

Naruto smiled, a few handseals later, and they were both back in the combatant’s area. Tenten was pouting, and accepted a hug from Neji.

“Interesting,” the Sand Kage said. “I expected a bit more.”

“He was more interested in making Tenten look good,” Jiraiya pointed out.

There was a pulse of Chakra, as Naruto cancelled his swamp Jutsu. Asuma called down the next two combatants, both foreign nin, and as much as he wanted to, the Hokage couldn’t concentrate on it.

There were some good matches coming up, and he was really looking forward to them.

“Next, Airi against Shikamaru.”

“Do I have to?” Shikamaru muttered. “So troublesome, fighting a girl.” He slumped down in his seat. “I’d rather not.”

Eleven moved over to him, but stopped as Naruto shook his head. Shikamaru started to move, but it was too late.

Asuma growled. “Fine,” he spat. “Winner, Aiji, next, Temari against Hinata.”

The Hokage looked at the truly shocked face of Shikamaru. He sighed. Asuma had just given a very harsh lesson, but perhaps one that was needed.

What was interesting was the expressions that danced on Shikamaru’s face. First shock, then horror, then understanding, and finally shame.

The fight between the two Genins was better than the one between Kiba and Temari, as Hinata managed to dodge and block the range attacks, but in the end, she fell to the constant barrage of air assaults.

In quick succession, Neji beat Kankuro, and Shino won his fight,

The Hokage sighed. The next fight was Lee against Sasuke. The Suna Kage next to him perked up at that.

Did Orochimaru think him an absolute senile idiot?

He’d known the Suna Kage for close to forty years. While not a candidate for Father of the year, he was a very proud man, with little interest in foreign ninjas. So when he had hardly reacted to Kankuro’s defeat, the Sandaime had his suspicions raised. And now the interest in Sasuke, it was obvious. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw that his two students had weren’t surprised in the slightest.

With a mental shrug, he went back to watching the match. It was a good one. Lee had immediately removed his weights, and had gone for broke.

Sasuke was forced on to the back foot, but seemed to be able to keep up with Lee’s speed.

“You’re fast,” Sasuke said, catching another kick, “but my girlfriend is fast, and with her ice mirrors, she’s faster.”

Lee somersaulted backward and skidded to a halt. “Then I shall have to do something different.”

He pulled out a bottle, and took a swig. “Ahh, sweet sake, that’s the spirit.” He shuddered, and glared at Sasuke. “You’re a meanie,” he mumbled, as he stumbled toward the last Uchiha in Konoha.

“Are you drunk?” Sasuke asked in surprise.

The punch that Lee launched was pitiful, the kick that followed it though, smacked into Sasuke’s jaw.

“A natural drunken-fist expert?” Jiraiya asked. “We do have some interesting Genin this year.”

Sasuke looked a little frustrated, as he tried to fight back, but Lee was never where he was supposed to be – or even where he wasn’t. There was no logic to his movements.

Sasuke looked up to the side, and then took a deep breath, as he tried to regain his control.

He swayed to avoid one foot that seemed to come from an impossible angle, blocked a punch to his chest, and accepted a backhand across his face.

“This is your fault, Naruto,” Sasuke shouted, as he jumped back.

“Mine? How?”

“Everything weird always comes from you. Kakashi said that Gai would have taught him to open the Chakra Gates, not get drunk and beat me up!”

Naruto sniggered.

Sasuke launched some fireballs at the boy, only for him to stumble out the way. Other ranged attacks just didn’t seem to be able to hit the drunken boy.

“Think,” Sasuke muttered to himself. “What would the idiot do in a situation like this?”

He suddenly smiled. He created a clone, which instantly vanished in a swirl of leaves.

Lee attacked again, but this time Sasuke just moved out the way as best as he could.

The clone returned.

“Hey, Lee,” Sasuke said, as the clone henged in to a bench. “How about a timeout and a drink?”

Lee looked drunkenly suspicious, as Sasuke sat down, took a swig of the bottle. Lee snatched it as he stumbled down. He raised the bottle, took a swig, burped, and then attempted to drain the rest.

“I’m gonna…” Lee muttered, before he keeled over backwards, the bottle going in to the air.

Sasuke quickly caught the bottle, and took another swig. “Good stuff,” he muttered to himself. “Cheers,” he saluted his clone.

The clone changed from the bench, nodded and dispersed.

“Winner, Sasuke.”

The Hokage applauded. He was impressed with Lee. Against another Genin, he would have won. He was more impressed that Sasuke could think on his feet, and find a non-violent way to deal with someone who was impossible to hit, and practically impervious to pain.

Gai appeared, and picked up his student.

Sasuke walked back up the wall, and offered the bottle to Naruto.

Naruto took it and had a sip.  His eyes widened. “What the hell is this?”

“My late father’s pride and joy,” Sasuke said. “Packs a punch, doesn’t it?”

Naruto nodded; his eyes still wide. “Oh, and I’ve not talked to Lee about doing that! I didn’t even know he was like that.”

“It’s still your fault. All your ‘think outside the box’ crap and this idea of yours that people need more than just stupid Jutsus to get by in life. And just because you’re right, is irrelevant.”

The Hokage noticed the slight glare of anger from the disguised Orochimaru next to him, and smiled.

The next few fights went quickly, two of them with double knock-outs, leaving Naruto fighting Neji, Sakura fighting Temari, Sasuke fighting the last of Yugito’sGenins, and Gaara fighting a Rain nin.

“The quarter-finals,” Asuma yelled. “Naruto, Neji.”

Naruto jumped down, as Neji did. As he landed, his cape and hat arrived with him.

“Let’s put on a show,” Neji called.

“For the Glory of Kami,” Naruto yelled. Sunlight broke through the clouds and illuminated him for a second.

“I did not just see that,” Jiraiya said cheerfully.

“Coincidence,” Tsunade agreed.

“Have you gone and got divine support?” Neji demanded, his hands on his hips.

“No,” Naruto said. “Not support, I swear.”

Neji smiled. “So chaos still rules?”

Naruto nodded. He launched himself forward, in his Torpedo move. Neji jumped out the way, and threw some weapons at him. Naruto blurred, and was suddenly fighting the Hyūga up close.

Neji’s hands started glowing immediately. The Hyūga blocked Naruto’s attacks, and retaliated smoothly, going through some of his clan attacks.

Naruto broke off, creating a large amount of clones. They attacked as one.

“Kaiten,” Neji yelled, as his hands started to move.

The first few clones disintegrated, and the others pulled back warily.

Naruto fired a blast of Chakra at the shielded boy. “An absolute defence?” Naruto whispered. “Impressive, Neji, really impressive.”

Neji smiled.

“I was going to save this for the final,” Naruto said. He took a deep breath, and a feeling of Chakra exploded around the arena. It was somehow warm and comforting.

The Hokage looked at his arm, to realise he was getting Goosebumps. Something was about to happen. Something that was going to change the game for everyone. He knew it.

“Six path no Jutsu!” Naruto yelled.

Neji faltered, his Kaiten failing. There was not a sound in the whole arena, as six forms took shape around Naruto.

“B-Byakugan,” Neji said, as he gulped. He looked at the clones. He paled. “That’s impossible.”

“Sweet Kami,” Tsunade said in shock. “They have Chakra sources. He’s done it. They are true clones, and no longer constructs.”

“What have you done,” Jiraiya screamed.

The Narutos looked at him.

“They all have the Kyūbi! That’s impossible!”

They all gave him an identical smile. “Foxy-chan and I have been working on this for months!” One to the left said.

“We took some simple things and threw them together, and we have seven bodies. We don’t have the Eyes of Reincarnation, so this isn’t a true Jutsu, like the Rikudō Sennin, but it’s named in his honour.”

“I can see the Chakra moving between you, it’s wild, chaotic, beautiful,” Neji said. “One of you pulses, another catches. It’s amazing, perfect, beautiful, instant.”

The Narutos all scratched the back of their heads.

“We’re still on average Jounin power levels,” a third said. “We have to get these clones up to average Kage level.”

“Proctor,” Neji said.

“Neji?” Asuma asked, his eyes still on the Narutos.

“On a mission, if one comes across overwhelming force, a good ninja will retreat and regroup, as the parameters of the mission have changed. As such, I retreat.”

“Neji,” a fourth Naruto protested.

“Sorry, Naruto, I thought I could come close to beating one of you, as well as your normal clones, but this?  No. My friend, you have created pure chaos, and I am proud that you honoured me with this technique.”

The six clones turned so that they were facing inwards, and walked toward the remaining one. As they got nearer, they merged, until only one remained.

“That’s intense,” Naruto noted. “Really intense.” He looked around, to see everyone gaping at him. “What?” he asked, what looked like genuine confusion in his eyes.

“Naruto,” Neji said gently. “How did you invent this Jutsu?”

“Well, like I said, I was talking to Inoichi, Ino’s dad, and he was willing to teach me his mind transfer Jutsus. We thought it might be useful at the time, but it wasn’t until the snake-paedophile-gimp Orochimaru gave us the curse seal, that I realised how we could get around the problem with my clones. No matter what I did, I couldn’t get them to have their own chakra sources.

“Three’s been studying seals, so I quickly realised how the tosspot was trying to change my Chakra. He was dragging it through subspace, via a Möbius warp and with some of his own Chakra.

“So all I needed to do was come up with something similar with my clones. I taught Foxy-chan the Shadow Clone ages ago, so we were able to work together to create a joint clone. It took practice and working together, but we soon created a symbiant clone. It still had the problem of no chakra source, but that’s what the seals were for.

“The last thing we needed to do was break down the mind transfer Jutsus, into seals, so that we could transfer at will. After that, it was just practice and making sure we got everything right.”

“You’re fifteen years old,” Neji said, shaking his head. “Naruto, this Jutsu is as important as your father’s Flying Thunder God technique.”

“No it’s not,” Naruto responded. “It’s just six clones that I can swap with.”

“You’ve not thought this through,” Neji continued.

The Hokage shook himself. He was a Kage, damn it, and having his jaw dropping at a Genin was beneath him. He quickly broke down what Naruto had said, absently stitching together the Jutsu’s needed, and came to a startling conclusion.

Naruto was right, it wasn’t that special in its parts, and although something was missing, he could stitch most of it together.

“And I’m not going to spoil it for you,” Neji finished. “Come on, we’re stopping the other fights.”

The Hokage found himself in complete awe of the sideways thinking needed to emulate the single most famous Jutsu in history, from a bunch of relatively simple ideas.

Naruto and Neji arrived in the competitior's stand.  

“Sakura was right,” Sasuke muttered. “You really are an idiot savant.”

“Thanks, I think,” Naruto mumbled.

“There’s a missing piece,” Jiraiya suddenly said to himself. “He didn’t explain the full process. And I’ll bet that the missing piece is the Fox himself.”

Orochimaru was grinding his teeth in frustration.

The Hokage smiled to himself. It must be galling to see something that you have always dreamed about – practical immortality, only to realise you can never have it, because you need to have a emon sealed in your stomach.

“This is now going to be anti-climatic,” Tsunade said with a sigh. “How can anyone top that?”

Asuma coughed. “I need a drink. Thirty minute break.”

Still almost silent in their shock, the crowd slowly turned to each other, and started to talk excitedly.

“An interesting exam, so far,” The Hokage said to the disguised Orochimaru.

“Indeed. If you’ll excuse me, I need the bathroom.”

“Of course, old friend.”

Orochimaru walked away, his ANBU following him.

To the side, Naruto was surrounded by Ninjas throwing questions at him.

“He didn’t realise,” Tsunade said with a laugh. “He creates an imitation that powerful and he did it for a laugh.”

“Insane,” Jiraiya stated. “Completely, totally, fucking insane.”

“You going to promote Neji?”

“Yes,” the Hokage said.

“I agree,” Jiraiya stated. “Naruto’s a tough little bugger to start with on his own, but seven of him, all with endless Jounin level chakra, and his knowledge of assassination moves? All it would take is one tiny mistake and you’re screwed.”

Four walked around the edge of the stadium, and dropped in to their box. “You all look you’ve seen a ghost.”

“Can you blame us?” Tsunade asked.

“Can we please have some privacy?”

The Fourth nodded, and Jiraiya did his dome of silence again.

“It eats chakra like nothing we’ve ever seen,” Four said casually. “And its as confusing as all get out. We can’t fight with it yet, or keep it going for more than ten minutes.”

“What!”

“You don’t have to shout,” Four snapped, covering her ears.

“Sorry,” the three of them said together, before the Hokage chuckled as he got over his automatic reflex.

“When we are doing it, we’re getting constant information for seven sources, different perspectives, angles, everything. It’s a complete nightmare to try and control it and do anything other than stand there and talk. It’s not like we’ve got a bloodline to help us.”

“That was a bluff?”

Four grinned. “Five or ten years, the boss reckons, and he’ll have the chakra and experience to use it properly, so think of it more as a preview.”

“Wow, just wow,” Jiraiya said, shaking his head.

Four smiled. “The important thing, though, is the seals he was talking about.”

“Why?”

She turned and flipped her hair up, revealing a pretty looking seal on the base of her neck. It was brightly coloured version of the swirl of the Uzumaki clan. “No more recharging for me. I’m set for as long as I want!”

“Congratulations, Four,” Tsunade said warmly.

“Anyway, now you three are reassured, I’m heading back to Anko-chan, ‘Nai-chan and Shizune-chan. Enjoy the rest of the show.”

She skipped out of the dome, before using the Lightning to make her way across to the other side of the stadium.