After some time of admiring the puppet, Naruto paused. His brows furrowed as he walked around the massive puppet, seemingly deep in thought.
"Um....can we change the design?" He asked
"Huh? Do you have something against snakes?" Orochimaru hissed
"No, it's not that, I like this design quite a bit....but if someone uses this, isn't the first thought that comes to mind....you?" He asked as he pointed at the puppet
Orochimaru paused, he then let out a subtle cough
"Just because it's a giant white snake made with the shed skin of the white snake sage, it doesn't mean it will be linked to me right away" He said
"Key words, 'right away', so you know damn well this sh*t will get me in trouble!" Naruto gasped
Orochimaru laughed
"Well, I do want you to join my side, but if you want to change the design that much, then just paint over it, you know how impressive the exterior is, so replacing the material is non-negotiable" Orochimaru responded
Naruto ruffled his hair and sighed
"Yeah....damn, I'll just warn Ino to only use it as a last resort, if it comes to it, I'll bite the bullet" He muttered
In the end, he had Orochimaru help him paint over it, changing the bright white colour, to pitch black. Once it was complete, Naruto gave it a go at controlling it, which turned out to be more challenging than he anticipated.
The need to change the connection between each core within the snake to use the five different jutsu were not easy, and if done so during combat, it will leave a flaw. But the strength of the puppet was nothing to scoff at either, even without the jutsu, it is still a terrifying force to be reconned with.
"Let's see, fire serpent" He channeled a bit of chakra into the puppet core, and as he did so, a flaming serpent shot out from the mouth of the snake puppet, striking the wall.
The impact wasn't as strong as he hoped for, but it was to be expected since it was just a puppet in the end. If he put a number to it, it was slightly stronger than a normal rasengan he can throw out.
On the other hand, with the self sufficient cores within it, it uses up practically no chakra when he used it, so for Ino, it would be another method of attack.
"Right, how's the Uchiha doing now?" Naruto asked as he stored the puppet away and tucked the scroll into his sleeve.
"He has shown great improvements in regards to his combat efficiency, and the curse mark's power has improved quite a bit thanks to you" Orochimaru replied
He then paused for a bit
"On that note, he requested to duel you" He said
"Me?"
"He walked up to me the other day, and asked where my 'assistant' is" He laughed
Naruto lifted a brow
"Well, I am quite curious about how strong he has become....sure, why not" He smiled deviously
"Won't you be quite restricted?" Orochimaru asked, knowing that Naruto cannot use most of his abilities as Sasuke would find out who he is if he ends up using them.
So, things like the rasengan, or flying raijin, he cannot use.
"Bah, it's fine, he doesn't know much about my proficiency in seals, so I can still use that" Naruto replied
"That's true" Orochimaru nodded
He notified Sasuke soon after, who appeared very quickly when he heard that Orochimaru's assistant was here.
When he saw Naruto, his eyes became cold
"Finally stopped hiding, huh?" He said arrogantly
Naruto gasped
"Buddy, last time we fought, I was worried I almost killed you" Naruto exclaimed
Sasuke's body trembled as he was reminded of his past humiliation.
Naruto chuckled as he drew out Kiba, holding it with one hand as he slashed at the ground.
"Now, I'm a busy man, so let's get this over with" Naruto smiled
"Hmph" Sasuke activated the Sharingan, though he sounded arrogant, he does not look down on Naruto.
"After you" Naruto smiled
Sasuke scoffed and unsheathed a long sword.
'Ooh, a sword as well? I wonder how he is compared to Raiga'
*Clang*
Sasuke slashed forth, striking down at Naruto's head. But Naruto chuckled as he raised his blade up, blocking the strike with relative ease. The impact behind the strike wasn't strong, it's clear that he is still not training much in terms of taijutsu. It's better than before, but not by much.
*Clang*
Sasuke didn't stop, his attacks continued, but he soon realised that Naruto hardly moved from his spot as he blocked each strike. Even more frustrating was the fact that he is only using one hand, meaning, his physique is far above his own.
"Orochimaru, why are you taking your clothes off!" Naruto suddenly gasped as he pointed behind Sasuke
"Hah!?" Sasuke was stunned and turned around, but all he saw was Orochimaru's disappointed expression.
He quickly turned back around, but saw a blade pointed right at him, so close that just by trembling a little, the blade would touch him...
"Wow, you are the second person who fell for that recently" Naruto grinned
'I was going to use my seals, but he's so damn gullible' Naruto thought to himself
Sasuke was left at a loss, he fell for such a simple trick...
"Also, why did you even look back? If Orochimaru was actually taking his clothes off, would you even want to see that?" Naruto asked with a complicated look
"I-"
"Like come on, unless you're actually g*y" Naruto added
!!!
Sasuke's pupils shrunk, but he was quickly overwhelmed with intense anger
"Well, I'm a busy man, so I won't be staying now" Naruto hung the blade onto his back and said
"This isn't over!" Sasuke yelled
"I mean....yeah, you didn't get to use your curse mark, nor properly use your sharingan....but so what? If you lack so much awareness that you don't go all out against a stronger opponent, I'd say you won't live long" Naruto replied
"...." Sasuke frowned, not able to deny what Naruto just said
"So, be a good little boy and drop this matter, I'll fight you another day" Naruto smiled
Sasuke clenched his fists tightly and his sharingan deactivated.
Just as he was about to calm down, Naruto suddenly appeared in front of him, wearing a diabolic smile as his fist came swinging at him.
"Bwahahaha, I was waiting for you to deactivate it" Naruto laughed maniacally as his punch came down on Sasuke, smashing him into the ground.
!!!
Orochimaru's lips twitched, he realised that Naruto slowly took a battle stance when Sasuke was slowly calming down, meaning, he had been planning this entire thing to catch him off guard, just to beat the daylights out of him!
*Bang*
"Hahahaha...hah....okay, I'm actually bored" Naruto's smile dropped
"Yo Kurama, you want a swing?" Naruto asked
[Nah, I'm kinda sick of beating up this kid, it's like I'm beating up a toddler]
'Buddy, compared to your age, he may as well be a fetus' Naruto replied
[Hmph]
Orochimaru saw how quickly Naruto's face changed. It's honestly quite fascinating, especially because he had that calm smile before he ambushed Sasuke, but it then became a blank expression, seemingly bored of beating up Sasuke.
"Hah, I guess I beat him up so much that I got bored of it....I didn't think it was possible, I actually did the unthinkable...." Naruto shook his head and sighed
Sasuke was beaten unconscious by him, but if he heard what Naruto said, he may very well awaken the next form of his sharingan....
"I'll be leaving now, and tell Sasuke I'm sorry, I shouldn't have beaten him up so often, now I actually got bored of doing it, until he can prove he's a decent foe, I don't think I can fight him again" Naruto said with a helpless expression
'Why are you acting as if he's the one losing out?' Orochimaru wanted to say this, but he could already anticipate Naruto saying something absurd.
"As unreasonable as always" He sighed at Naruto's behavior
Naruto shrugged
"Well, it's just who I am" He stuck out his tongue and teleported away
Naruto returned to Konoha and went to find Ino immediately. When he arrived at the flower shop, saw her leaning against the front counter with her hands on her cheeks.
"Bored?" Naruto asked
"Yeah, watching over the flower shop is so boring~" Ino sighed
"There aren't many customers, and I can't do anything while I'm here" Ino grumbled
Naruto looked around
"Your parents aren't here, right?" Naruto asked
"Mum's at the back, dad's in his office" She replied
"Why?" She lifted a brow and asked
Naruto pulled out a scroll
"A new puppet" He replied
"Really!" Ino's eyes lit up
"However!" Naruto added, which made Ino quieten down.
He placed it in front of her and pulled a seat out to sit down. He then placed a seal down to block out the sound.
"Before I give it to you, I need you to know more about it" Naruto said
"Uh, sure, is there a problem with the puppet?"
"No big deal, it's made using humans and the exterior is made of the skin of a giant thousand year old snake" Naruto shrugged as he said nonchalantly
"Yeah, yeah, no big deal....my a*s! How are you telling me all this so casually!?" Ino exclaimed in shock
Naruto laughed
"I mean, your reaction was priceless"
"Na-kun, this thing in the scroll....you said it's made of humans" She furrowed her brows
"Yeah, I know I sound heartless since I'm so casual about it, but the quality of this puppet is incredibly high, and the puppet....the base materials were stolen from a terrorist organisation" Naruto said
"Th-This"
"I didn't kill them, nor did I turn the people into puppets, the puppet user from that organisation has almost a hundred of such puppets, and I stole a few" Naruto said
Ino had a complicated look on her face, she couldn't get over the fact that this puppet was made with a human.
"Ino, if you don't wish to use it, I won't mind, since it is a lot to take in, I chose to give this puppet to you because I believe it will cover nearly all your weaknesses, I don't expect you to use it all the time, only in times of emergencies" Naruto explained
Ino looked down at the scroll, still conflicted
"Na-kun....do the puppets have souls?" Ino asked
Naruto was surprised by her question, but soon understood why she was so hesitant.
"If they are still lingering inside the puppet, without their freedom...I'd rather the puppet be destroyed" Ino said
Naruto heaved a sigh of relief
"So that's it, thankfully, no, they aren't conscious, they were killed, and their bodies were turned into puppets by a red haired brat, these are just exterior bodies" Naruto responded
Hearing this, Ino felt a lot more at ease, though it was still uncomfortable to use something that was made with humans.
"Can I...see what it looks like?" She asked, if it looked like a human, she would probably not use it.
She grabbed the scroll, about to summon it when Naruto grabbed her hand
"Uh, the puppet is rather large, perhaps you'd want to do it at the training ground
"Eh? H-How big is it?" She asked
Naruto grinned
"You'll see....after your shift" He said with a mischievous grin
"Urgh, now I'm both bored and curious!" Ino stomped her feet and huffed
Naruto laughed
"I'll wait for you then until your mum can take over for you here" Naruto waved his hand and stepped out
-Later on, at the training ground-
Naruto set up a barrier around like usual, and Ino took out the scroll.
"If this thing looks like a human, I'm throwing it away" She said
"If you think it looks like a human after seeing it, I'll have to check your eyes" Naruto responded nonchalantly
*Puff*
The scroll activated, summoning the puppet, and immediately, Ino was covered by the shadow of the puppet. She had to take a few steps back and look up to see what it was.
"A-A snake!?" She exclaimed
"Keep this a secret, but Orochimaru designed this, it used to be a white snake, and I had to paint it black so it is less likely to be recognised his creation" Naruto sighed
"..." Ino was stunned, this puppet was not just domineering looking, it was massive! Much bigger compared to the previous puppets Naruto gave her.
Naruto then began showing her the full capability of the puppet, and the more she learnt, the more shocked she became. The puppet can actually use jutsus!? Not just that, it's jutsus of four different elements!
After she tried them out for herself, Naruto gave her the same warnings Orochimaru gave her, with a final instruction.
"Ino, this puppet is very strong, its physical capability is immense, as well as a wide versatility, but if it gets recognised as Orochimaru's creation, claim ignorance, and say I gave it to you" Naruto said in a low voice
"Th-This....then I'd rather not use it" Ino furrowed her brows and said
"Don't worry, just use it sparingly, not many will actually link it with Orochimaru, so the chances of it happening is quite low" Naruto smiled
"A-Alright" Ino stored the puppet away, and vowed to not use it unless she absolutely needs to, or if she is alone.
-1 and a half year later-
At the training ground, 3 people were in combat, with the sound of bells jingling with each movement made.
*Whoosh*
Kakashi took a step to the side in a hurry, as Naruto leapt past where he originally stood. His sharingan was activated, reading every movement from Naruto.
Sakura took this chance to rush him, forcing Kakashi to stay on the defensive as she punched towards him. Each strike carried immense force, so much that even Naruto was scared to be hit directly.
'Those medics and their insane training regiments' Naruto and Kakashi both thought
Over the year and a half, Naruto has grown considerably. his round face sharpened, and his hair grew out a bit more. Sakura became more mature, no longer expressing unnecessary emotions during combat.
*Bang*
Naruto activated sage mode and threw a rasengan at Kakashi, who threw a simple kunai in return. The rasengan easily blasted the kunai away, however, it also caused a slight deviation in the trajectory.
*Whoosh*
The rasengan flew past Kakashi's face, barely grazing him.
"Got you, sensei" Sakura emerged behind him, and threw him into a bear hug. Kakashi sighed faintly as Naruto walked over and snatched two bells from his waist.
"You two are growing so fast" He shook his head and said
"Aw~, are you saying a nice thing for once?" Naruto grinned
"Especially you Naruto, I remember when we first did this, I used the hidden leaf secret jutsu on you, the thousand years of death" Kakashi added
"....wow, really? Bringing up old wounds?" Naruto lifted a brow and gasped
"I don't seem to understand what you mean" Kakashi responded with a friendly smile
Sakura let out a laugh
"You two always bicker like this, it makes me wonder how you are both Jonins, while I'm still a genin" Sakura shook her head and said
"Don't be too down, the Chunin exam is about to happen again" Naruto placed his hands behind his head and grinned
"Mn, I'll crush this year's exam and hopefully, become a Chunin" Sakura sighed
"Right, because I'm a Jonin, I'll be overseeing this exam, so you better show a good attitude towards me, or I might just fail you out of spite" Naruto revealed a sinister smile as he crossed his arms.
Sakura rolled her eyes, not scared of his threats at all
"Hah, then I'll need to ask my bestie to help then, I'm sure she'll make sure you stay neutral" Sakura said proudly
Naruto paused, and Ino came to mind.
"Damn you and your childhood friend perks" Naruto cursed
Sakura laughed, no matter their ranks, Naruto always seem to be the same nonchalant and casual person he is back then.
"Speaking of, I need to go see sis, she's going to meet the representatives of Sunagakure, and need me there to mediate" Naruto said
"You? Mediate? Are you sure you won't incite a war instead?" Sakura furrowed her brows and asked
"Hah!? How little faith do you have in me? Kakashi sensei, you don't think that as well, right?" Naruto turned to Kakashi, who wanted to sneak off, but was dragged back when he was brought up by Naruto.
He gave Naruto a quick glance
"Hm, I trust my students to be sensible" He said with a friendly smile
"See, sensei trusts-"
"Specifically Sakura" Kakashi added
"...."
Pfft
Sakura covered her mouth and snickered
Naruto gave Kakashi a look of betrayal, h-how can he do this to him? To give him false hope, the viciously crush him with such favoritism!
"S-Sensei, I-I'll remember this!" Naruto covered his eyes as he teleported away
With him gone, Sakura burst into laughter
Naruto appeared in Tsunade's office, covering his eyes with his hands
"S-Sis, listen, Kakashi sensei-"
"Hush, I'm busy" Tsunade said
"...."
Naruto lowered his hands and sighed
"Really? No reaction at all?"
"You cry about these small things so often that it's part of my daily routine, I'd be more surprised if I had a reaction at this point" Tsunade replied
Naruto sighed as he leaned back on the chair
"Fine, fine, so, when are the representatives coming?" Naruto asked
"They are arriving soon, so just wait here" She replied
-A few minutes later-
"Lady Tsunade, representatives of Sunagakure have arrived" Shizune spoke from outside
Tsunade raised her head
"Let them in" She said
The door opened, and three people walked in. When Tsunade saw who was at the front, she was at first surprised, but quickly regained her composure.
Naruto turned around
"Gaara, you became the Kazekage? Damn, and people say I rise in ranks quickly, you skipped every level and went straight to being the boss" Naruto gasped when he saw Gaara in the Kage uniform.
"Thanks to you" Gaara smiled
The people of Sunagakure has warmed up to him considerably after his return. His outward animosity had faded, and he has did his best for the village, allowing for the fear that many had for him to fade.
Behind him was Temari, as well as an elderly lady.
"Be more respectful towards the Kazekage" The old lady said
"It's fine" Gaara said
"Alright" The elderly lady backed off respectfully
Naruto stood up as it would be rather disrespectful if the representatives still stood while he sat.
"Let's discuss in the meeting room, the elders are already gathered" Tsunade stood up and said
Tsunade walked them to the meeting room, where many of Konoha's elders sat, including Danzo.
His gaze narrowed in on Naruto for a bit, but retracted his gaze.
"Greetings, representatives of Sunagakure" The elders greeted perfunctorily
The three didn't care about the attitude the elders showed, as the relationship between their two villages are rather tense after the previous Chunin exam.
"Don't be so stiff, relax a little, or is it your job as elders to look as if you have a stick up your a*s every time I see you?" Naruto found himself a seat and sat down
His remark made them all flinch, but they chose to ignore him. This isn't their first time meeting him, but every time they do, he would talk sh*t about them this way.
The three from Sunagakure couldn't help but feel shocked with Naruto's attitude towards the other elders, and even more surprised that they didn't get angry at him.
"We're here to organise the next Chunin exam, and also apologise for the previous....incident" Gaara sat down and said
The elders frowned
"Lady Tsunade, I believe that cooperating with Sunagakure is still risky considering what happened last time" An elder voiced out
Tsunade tapped her arm and turned to Naruto, suggesting him to speak as well
"I think it's fine, what happened last time wasn't just Sunagakure, but also involves Orochimaru's manipulation, as we all know, the previous Kazekage was murdered and replaced, and Sunagakure has no reason to further antagonise us" Naruto responded
"That's just your assumption, what if they worked together with Orochima-"
"Are you suggesting a village is working with wanted Shinobi who is responsible for the deaths of numerous Shinobis?" Naruto interjected
"Th-That-"
"Orochimaru isn't just an enemy of Konoha, he is an enemy of the Shinobi world, and now, you're suggesting that Sunagakure, not a small time village, one of the rulers of the five great villages, is working with such a person?" Naruto said in a low voice
At this moment, a deep voice rang in his head
[Humans are hypocrites, you're a hypocrite, how come you're my jinchuriki?] Kurama spoke
'Hush, I'm speaking from the moral high ground right now' Naruto replied
His statements were valid, and the elder that spoke badly of Sunagakure was now left speechless, unable to retort.
"I believe what Naruto said is valid, so what does the other elders think" Tsunade smiled
"Hokage-sama, even if Sunagakure has nothing to do with Orochimaru, and was used by him, they are still responsible for considerable damage, as well as mobilising a jinchuriki no less, against our village, this is an act of war" Danzo suddenly spoke up and said
'Damn, Kakashi, Sakura, you both owe me an apology, I haven't even mentioned a war, and this f**ker already says that Sunagakure's actions are an act of war' Naruto gasped in his heart
His words made Gaara, Temari, and the elderly lady very displeased, but they didn't interject, waiting for Tsunade to say something.
"Does the representatives of Sunagakure have anything to say?" Tsunade asked
"As mentioned, we are here to apologise for that incident, and are willing to compensate so we may continue our cooperations in the future, the next Chunin exam will be a sign of trust, and we have agreed that the exam will once more take place fully in Konoha, entrusting our genins to you" Gaara said calmly
"What if the same thing happens then?" Danzo asked, suggesting that having the exam to be located at Konoha will only subject it to another attack.
"To show our trust, we will not have the elites enter Konoha directly, only safeguarding our young ones until reaching the location, of course, we do expect them to be safe during your care" Gaara responded
Danzo narrowed his eyes, he was about to speak when Naruto tapped the table with a smile
"Danzo, you seem awfully against Sunagakure and Konoha maintaining a cooperation, you should know, the other villages are in a cooperation, and if our relationship with Sunagakure falls through, we may very well be attacked" Naruto said
"Perhaps Kumo will take advantage of this" He added
That last sentence made Danzo tremble slightly as he stared at Naruto. He realised now that Tsunade may have told Naruto about the incident with Kumogakure, which made his worries increase.
"I have no further objections" Danzo sat back down and said
Gaara gave Naruto a grateful look
"Now, about the Chunin exam, since it will be located in Konoha once more, which is typically unprecedent, the exams will be decided by us as well, of course, we won't show any bias towards our own and give hints, so you have no need to worry about cheating" Naruto smiled
"After all, we can't have our own Shinobis becoming lazy"
His intention was to show that Konoha will make sure Sunagakure will be on even ground with Konoha, no matter what happened in the past. The elders were a little displeased, but none could argue against Naruto, as what he brought up were all valid.
"For this exam, we will also invite Amegakure, Kusagakure, and Takigakure to join the Chunin exam, any objections?" Tsunade said
No one raised any objections, which made her pleased
"Originally, the second half of the exam is meant to take part in Sunagakure, but since we will be taking over this time, we will once more open up the forest of death" Tsunade said
"Agreed"
"With this, the meeting is over" Tsunade declared
With the meeting over, the elders, including Danzo, all left, leaving only the three from Suna, with Naruto and Tsunade.
"Thank you Naruto, you helped us again" Gaara said
"What are friends for? How's Shukaku? Are you getting along just fine with him?" Naruto grinned
"W-We're getting along well" Gaara revealed a smile that made people's heart melt.
"Aw, aren't you precious" Naruto said
"Please mind your manners, he is the Kazekage now" Temari coughed
"How's Kankuro? I haven't visited him in some time"
"After you have him some guidebooks on puppeteering, he's been holed up in his room every day" Gaara replied
Naruto laughed
"Well, as long as he's happy"
The elderly lady frowned a little
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but this is the jinchuriki of Konoha, no?" She asked
"Yep, that's me, and you are?"
"I'm Chiyo, a retired member of the council" She replied
"Th-The jinchuriki of your village wonders to our village often?" She asked
"Uh, when you put it that way....I mean, yeah, I guess I'm a bit too free spirited as the jinchuriki, huh?"
'Way too free spirit!' Tsunade and Chiyo both thought