AN: So here is the long awaited last chapter, I hope you all enjoy.

That being said sorry about the wait, honestly I genuinely forgot about this story for a couple of months, after which I then received a few PMs and reviews that reminded me, but still lacked the inclination. This though was because at the time I was not quite as enamored with Naruto stories as I was due in part to some of the more toxic of the fanbase, and some quite rude comments on some of my other Naruto stories.

Still I got there eventually, I received a sudden influx of reviews and PMs about the story just the other day and then decided to finally buckle down and bash out an update, and so four hours hard graft later and here we are, a nice big update for you all.

Hope you enjoyed and leave a review, thanks for reading.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto etc. or any other influences in this story.

( - )

(Last Time)

"Yes my Lady." Naruto replied, his gaze drifting past Mei to the rest of their group, which consisted of Hodan, Suigetsu and Chojuro, Naruto's 'genin' team, as well as another tall, thin Shinobi with long white hair, violet coloured eyes and sharpened teeth, a Shinobi who looked disarmingly similar to Suigetsu.

That though, wasn't all that surprising considering that he was the other teen's older brother, Mangetsu, who like his brother was another of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Mei rolled her eyes as she heard that, before she swept passed him, her shoulder lightly brushing against Naruto's as she sauntered away, the other four following behind her as she continued the journey to Konoha. With Naruto, Clementine and Viktor quickly following along behind her, after all the Chunin Exams were about to begin.

( - )

Chapter 23

( - )

(In Konoha)

"My Lady Mizukage." Minato Naimkaze said respectfully, a slight smile on his face as he gave the striking and powerful red haired woman a slight bow, his gaze shifting momentarily over to the Mizukage's guards, or more specifically to the now familiar figure of Grimm, or rather Pain as he now knew him as, if even that was his real name. "It's an honour to finally meet you in person."

"It's an honour to meet you as well my Lord Hokage, it's not often that one would find one's self in front of the infamous Yellow Flash." Mei replied just as pleasantly, a coy smile spreading across her face as she returned the bow, her green eyes twinkling with hidden amusement.

Minato nodded at that, though his smile did become a bit fixed at the mention of his moniker. The name the Yellow Flash had several connotations for him after all, in part it represented the great feats he had done for his country and Village. However it also was a reference to how he had butcher over a thousand men and women in a single battle. It was a feat that had ended the ongoing war at the time and had both fascinated, intrigued, terrified and horrified Shinobi the world over.

Picking up on the minute discomfort on the Hokage's face, Mei tilted her head to the side in amusement, before she gave the older man a slight nod and another smirk. "But anyway, I do thank you for hosting the Chunin Exams this year they appear to be going well, and for the hospitality you have extended to my Shinobi and myself during our stay."

Minato's smile became slightly more genuine as he heard that, he might not trust this woman in the slightest, but she was at least pleasant to both speak to and look at, a far cry from the other Kages from Suna, Iwa and Kumo, all of whom were older, aggressive, arrogant men, with quite obvious personality flaws. Mei Terumi however seemed to ooze sexuality and had a certain charm about her that almost drew you in.

Even so the woman was the Kage of a barely neutral Hidden Village, and one did not simply become a Kage for no reason. It required more than just power and skill. No, it also required a sharp mind, an indomitable will and a complete ruthlessness.

"It's no problem." Minato finally replied, looking across at the younger woman and her group of bodyguards with a smile, his own bodyguards and advisors all standing behind him. The two groups in question were currently standing just outside of the Hokage's Tower as they made the expected, formal meet and greet before the Exams started.

Unfortunately this was something that was expected when Kages met, especially during joint Chunin Exams when the Kages of one of the five great Shinobi Villages were visiting due to their own Shinobi taking part.

Watching this from the sidelines, with the rest of Mei's bodyguard, consisting of the three current members of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, Viktor, Clementine and Mangetsu, Naruto had to refrain from rolling his eyes as he watch the two leaders pass meaningless platitudes back and forth. Platitudes that he knew neither of them probably cared about, but which were still done for the sake of propriety.

It almost made him wish that he had stuck with his 'genin' team, all of whom had been sent to book into one of the hotel rooms that were specifically put aside for the competitors almost immediately after they had arrived.

Of course if he had done that, then he would also have had to deal with the loud mouthed Suigetsu, whose attitude was just as irritating as before, despite Naruto having literally tried to beat it out of him over the last month when Naruto had been forced to train both him and his other 'genin'.

Not that Naruto had done much of the training himself as for the most part he had just acted as a sparring partner and let them develop their own skills on their own or with other Shinobi, after all his own skillset wasn't really applicable to their own.

What with Chojuro and Suigetsu being members of the Seven Swordsmen, which was why they had been mostly trained by the other current members, or at least those who could be bothered, like Viktor and Mangetsu. The chances of Clementine bothering to train or help anyone were nonexistent, not unless she benefited in some way, or she liked the people in question, which again was pretty much impossible as she only liked two people, Naruto and Viktor.

As for Hodan, well he specialized in using his Bloodline ability for combat, something Naruto could understand, but which he couldn't really help with, what with the differences in their abilities.

Still despite that he had sparred with each of them, and sometimes against them in groups, pushing them as hard as he could, sometimes brutally harsh as he showed them just why he had been tagged as an S-rank Shinobi.

This had of course led to some injuries and quite a few beating, but unfortunately though it was necessary, after all with the upcoming invasion they would need to be ready, as they, along with Mei's bodyguard, would be her elite forces during the invasion, and those expected to be in the very thick of the fighting.

Looking past Minato, Naruto absentmindedly looked over at those with the Hokage, his father's bodyguards and advisors, absentmindedly ignoring the ANBU he could feel hiding in the shadows, as he instead focused on the two people standing behind him, one of whom was Jiraiya of the Sannin, whilst the other was Kushina.

Making eye contact with Kushina, Naruto's eyes widened slightly when he saw the red head give him a smile and a nod. With there being no hint of distrust or suspicion in her violet eyes. Something that somewhat took Naruto aback, though there was a possibility that she could just be masking those emotions, but somehow he didn't believe this was the case.

Still he wasn't sure why she would. After all to her he was just a foreign Shinobi who she had had a couple of conversations with, nothing more. On top of that he had killed Kakashi, her husband's former student and Kushina's friend. Then again maybe protecting her children trumped that offence, or at least mitigated it.

Either way he wasn't sure, all he did know was that she was not acting overtly negative towards, unlike Jiraiya who was not even trying to hide his look of distrust, or Minato who had thus far not given him more than a cursory, dismissive glance.

"Well anyway, I look forward to watching the Exams go off without a hitch." Mei then continued with a smile, giving another nod to Minato as their brief conversation came to an end, the formalities having now been adhered to.

"Yes, and can I just say I hope for a Konoha victory." Minato smiled back, his blues eyes flashing in amusement as a slight smile spread across Mei's full lips.

"Well I'm afraid there we will have to disagree, after all how can I not cheer for my own cute, little genin." Mei shot back, her green eyes glittering with amusement.

Naruto cocked an eyebrow in amusement as he heard this, more because of how trivial it all was, after all everyone in the Kiri party knew that an invasion was coming. Still such comments were required in order to avoid suspicion, they couldn't tip their hands this early.

"I suppose I can't blame you for that." Minato replied, before he gave another slight bow. "However, if you will excuse me, the duties of the Hokage are never ending, and as pleasant as this has been I do have other things that currently require my attention."

"Why of course, I understand exactly where you are coming from." Mei replied simply, accepting the end to the conversation, as she then proceeded to make her farewells and lead her group away, heading for a very posh hotel that had been set aside for visiting nobles, Daimyos and Village Leaders. One which would no doubt be nicer than the hotel for the visiting competitors and their Sensei's.

Following behind her as he heard this, Naruto gave the Konoha group one last look before he turned his back on them. His eyes narrowing slightly as he saw Minato and Jiraiya sharing a few quiet words, before the large, white haired Sannin gave the Kiri group an odd look, making eye contact with Naruto for a moment, before he turned and left. Leaving, Minato, Kushina and their ANBU guards alone, as the group turned around and walked back into the Hokage's Tower, making haste as the final stage of the Chunin Exams would soon be beginning.

( - )

(Sometime Later)

"So do we do now?" Clementine asked as the group of Kiri Shinobi, minus the 'genin', gathered in Mei's suite of rooms, all of which were highly plush and filled with expensive looking furniture and decoration, not that that had stopped Naruto, Clementine and Viktor from sweeping the room for listening devices and seals.

Jiraiya of the Sanin was infamous for knowing things he shouldn't after all, and was purported to have a massive spy network that encompassed the Elemental Nations. On top of which Kushina was known to be one of the last of the Uzumaki, and if there was one thing the Uzumaki was known for, aside from their short tempers and red hair, it was their ability with Seals.

"Why we attend the Chunin Exam of course, and support our genin as they represent our Village to the spectators, nobles and Daimyo's alike." Mei replied pleasantly to the loudmouthed blonde as she lounged back on one of the comfortable looking chairs, a slight curl to her lips as she saw the impatience on Clementine's face.

The blonde haired, pink eyed girl flipping one of her stiletto blades in her hand as she leant against a nearby table, clad as she was in her striking if a little scandalous outfit which consisted of numerous forehead protectors, that she had taken from foes she had killed, being forged together to create a macabre pieces of armour that covered her small but firm breasts, her forearms, her thighs and waist. Her lower stomach having been left open to the air, along with her upper arms.

"Pain, Viktor and you, Clementine, will be joining me in the top box as my bodyguards, whilst Mangetsu will be taking over as the genin's Jounin Sensei." Mei continued after a few moments, her green eyes trailing from the fidgeting blonde, to the bored looking Pain with his crimson irises and black sclera, and the eerily grinning Viktor who was fiddling around with his own needle like sword.

Looking over to Mei at her words, Naruto couldn't help but frowned as he heard her orders, an expression shared by Mangetsu as they both looked over to Mei in confusion.

"Why the sudden change? I am one of the Seven Swordsmen and your bodyguard?" Mangetsu asked abruptly, not sparing Naruto a glance, as although they didn't exactly dislike each other, nor did they really like one another either, or have anything to do with one another.

"Because I am going to be in an area filled with Kages, Sannin and S-rank Shinobi, I am going to need my Ace with me if I am to come out on top." Mei replied, sending Naruto a significant look at this, one which spoke of her knowing something none of the other save Naruto knew, a look of hidden communication, which made Naruto's face tense for a moment, before he nodded in understanding.

"You think it necessary?" Naruto asked cryptically, with Mei nodding in response.

"I believe so, with so few of our number in the Village at present, we'll need to use all of our trump cards to ensure we come out on top." Mei responded, before she looked to Mangetsu.

"So that's it, you think him stronger than me?" Mangetsu asked, a hint of anger entering his tone now as he glared at Mei.

"Due to his unique and overpowered Bloodline, he is indeed stronger than you Mangetsu, there is no point in denying that. Especially when working in his three man team." Mei replied honestly, not batting an eyelash at the hostility in his tone. "I am not about to lie to you. But you are still one of my strongest Shinobi, and that is why I brought you. You and the three 'genin' will have your own mission when the invasion starts."

Mangetsu frowned at that, but said no more, his pride somewhat appeased, even if he didn't like the blunt declaration that Pain was stronger than him.

Mei nodded in satisfaction at that, before she looked over at the others. "Tomorrow will be of crucial importance for our Village, there can be no mistakes. Ao and Furui both have their orders and duties, so do all of you. We must act cohesively and as one, if we succeed the reward will be great, but if we fail it could lead to another drawn out war starting."

All of those assembled nodded, even as Naruto grit his teeth, understanding as he did just what he might have to do tomorrow.

( - )

(On the streets of Konoha)

It was sometime later that evening that Naruto left the hotel and headed for the Shinobi Village's high street, Clementine tagging along with him as Viktor and Mangetsu stayed with Mei as he protection detail. Both of them more than happy to get outside after having been trapped in Mei's suite going over the plans for the next few days in excruciating detail for the last couple of hours.

It was unfortunately really, but Orochimaru had hardly been forthcoming in regards to his grand plans, not when he first approached Mei under the guise of the Otokage, the snake wasn't an idiot after all. This of course meant that they only knew what he deemed they needed to about his plans, though the information Naruto had gotten out of recently departed Kabuto had helped supplement what they did know.

Still despite that they still created numerous contingency plans based on speculation about when Orochimaru will trigger his invasion, and how his forces, Suna's forces and Konoha's forces will act. It had been exhausting to say the least.

"Ahh thank the gods, I thought we would never get out of that stuffy room!" Clementine groaned out loudly, stretching as she did so, the metal on her outfit glittering in the light from the nearby lamps as she twisted this way and that.

Her sudden, loud exclamation causing passing civilians to flinch as the two of them, both now bereft of their full face masks ambled down the high street.

"It wasn't that bad." Naruto replied dryly, his lips quirking upwards beneath the half mask he still had covering his lower face and mouth.

"Well not for you, after all you were in the presence of your precious Mei…" Clementine cooed, her pink eyes glittering with amusement as she saw Naruto's eyes twitch.

"She's got us there." You chipped in helpfully, causing Naruto's eye to twitch again as he tried to ignore the ever-present voice of his inner self in his head.

"So anyway, where do you want to go?" Naruto instead asked, swiftly trying to change the conversation now.

"Wait, no biting retort or witty comeback?" Clementine asked mockingly, her mouth curving up into a grin now.

"If you want my cum back you can scrap it off your mum's face." Naruto replied brusquely, looking around at the busy street now with interest as he got one of his first real tastes of Konoha's nightlife during what was practically a festival, ignoring as he did the scandalized looks on the faces of some of the families that rushed past him as they processed what he had just said.

"Wow straight for the mum jokes, scraping the bottom of the barrel there aren't you? You must really be distracted if that's the best you can come up with." Clementine replied glibly with a smirk on her face entirely unbothered by Naruto's comments, after all she had never even met her mum and had no family to speak of, so really low blows like that really didn't affect her. This was something that she knew Naruto knew.

"What do you think?" Naruto shot back, his gaze deadpan.

"Hmm, I think this is more than that." Clementine replied, knowing as she did that he was subtly referencing the intricate plans they had just been discussing and the upcoming invasion. "Normally you would be entirely unconcerned, but for some reason being here in Konoha is making you act a little off…"

Clementine paused here, her gaze fixing on Naruto as he sent her a bland look. "Where did you say you were from again?"

"I didn't." Naruto replied tightly, a hint of warning entering his voice now.

"Nor did you give your name…" Clementine whispered, her voice so low that only Naruto could hear her, even as she shifted closer, her sweet smelling breath ghosting over his ear. "I wonder why that was…?"

"Drop it." Naruto replied just as quietly, only there was a harshness and anger to his voice that had not been there before.

"Whatever you say… Pain." Clementine chuckled after a few moments, dancing forwards with a grin on her face before she turned and smirked at him. "But if I do that you need to cheer up, this is a festival after all, you should be acting festive. There's no need for you to act so 'Grimm'!"

"Really, a pun?" Naruto retorted, though he couldn't help but a smile a bit, something which he knew could be heard in his voice.

"So anyway, where do you want to go?" Clementine asked, sending him a wink as she did so.

"Well I wouldn't mind going somewhere to eat, I'm pretty hungry." Naruto shrugged looking around as he did so.

"Well there's plenty around if you fancy grabbing a bite, we can even share?" Clementine replied, her lips curving up into a feral grin as she looked around at the surrounding crowd. "Hey we can even bring something back for Viktor too!"

"You know what I meant." Naruto replied with a sigh, ignoring the fact Clementine, who was a cannibal by nature, was actually referring to them plucking some innocent of the street and eating them. Naruto getting the soul and Clementine the meat, whilst Viktor would be given a few organs or limbs, things he could use in conjunction with his own Bloodline ability to swap out his own body parts.

"Fine!" Clementine groaned out, raising her arms up and resting her hands on her shoulder length, golden blonde hair as she exhaled loudly, once again making some of the more nervous civilians flinch. "So where do you want to go?"

"There was a good Ramen place the last time I was here." Naruto replied, rolling his eyes at his friend's childishness, then again she was still a teenager.

"Do they at least do drinks there?" Clementine groaned, she was lucky enough that she could still enjoy a good drink, even if getting hammered was pretty difficult with her regenerative abilities. Still, it was just a shame she couldn't stomach normal food, it was one of the draw backs of her Bloodline ability, and also one of the reasons why she was one of the Outcasts. Predatory cannibals that needed human flesh to survive weren't exactly the type of person a normal Village would want lurking about.

"Probably." Naruto shrugged, before he began to head towards where he knew the stall was, wending his way through the crowd with ease, Clementine strolling after him, her obvious weapons and armour, and Naruto's mask and stocky build causing civilians to dart out of their way as they did so.

Within a few minutes the two of them had made it to the stall they had been looking for and had taken up stools, the kindly woman behind the counter, Ayame, recognizing Naruto from a month before as she walked over to take their order. "Hey there, it's nice to see you back. What can I get you?"

"Hmm, I'm in the mood for something pretty heavy, lots of broth and lots of meat." Naruto replied, eyeing up the menu as he did before he looked at the pretty, older girl. "Anything you can recommend?"

"I think I have the perfect thing for you." Ayame grinned at him.

"Then please do surprise." Naruto replied with a grin of his own.

"What about you Miss?" Ayame then asked the bored looking Clementine politely.

"I'm not really here to eat. If you have any drinks though, preferably the alcoholic variety, then I'll have that!" Clementine shot back brusquely, but not impolitely, after all she didn't need Pain nagging her about her manners, which he tended to do when she was rude to someone he liked.

"A saucer of Saki coming up." Ayame nodded, her smile fading slightly as she noticed Clementine's age which could be barely around fourteen or fifteen, though she did still try to be accommodating.

"Forget the saucer, just bring the bottle and two shot glasses." Clementine replied fishing around in the pocket of Naruto's trousers as she did so, before she dropped his stupid turtle themed wallet on the counter, sending the white haired teen a sultry grin as she did so. "He's paying."

Naruto rolled his eyes as he saw this, but didn't deny it as he instead just gave Ayame a commiserating smile. "Sorry about my friend, she never really did learn the finer points of polite conversation, manners and etiquette."

"Bite me." Clementine shot back at Naruto, before her face suddenly turned mischievous as she licked her lips. "Or would you rather I bite you?"

"Maybe later." Naruto replied dryly, making Clementine blink in surprise at that response, even as he turned back to the now smiling Ayame and rolled his eyes.

"It's no problem, being in a Shinobi Village I tend to get all sorts of eccentric people coming in." Ayame replied with a slight laugh, before her gaze flickered to just behind Naruto. "The Namkaze's and Uzumaki's being just one example."

Naruto blinked as he heard that, before he turned around, only to nearly freeze as he saw Kushina, Mito, Erza and the young, still scarred Sasuke Uchiha walking into the stall. All four of them pausing at the sight of Naruto and Clementine, Mito flinching, Erza and Kushina smiling pleasantly and Sasuke instinctively grabbing the scarred side of his neck, as they saw him.

"I'll just go put in your order." Ayame spoke up, an awkward look on her face as she sensed a bit of tension between the two groups, her soft brown eyes flickering between the two before she turned and headed into the kitchen.

"So, this is fun." Clementine tagged on too, also noticing the tension. However unlike Ayame, Clementine didn't feel awkward at all, instead she looked positively delighted by the sudden tension she could feel between Pain and the three redheads and one boy.

"Kushina." Naruto said, pushing down his discomfort of calling his mother by her given name as he instead just gave her a nod and a smile. "It's been a while, how've you been?"

"Busy." Kushina replied after a few moments, a smile spreading across her own face as she strode forwards and took the seat next to Pain, her team following her lead. "It's nice to see you again though Pain, I was worried you wouldn't be coming back, not after everything that happened the other month..."

"Mei commanded and I answered." Naruto shrugged, knowing as he did that she was referring to the way Minato and Jiraiya treated him, like a snake that was about to strike at any time, despite the fact that he had saved Minato's daughters and the last Uchiha back in the Forest of Death. "How are you all, have you recovered from that unpleasantness in the forest?" Naruto continued looking to his sisters now, both of whom had taken up seats on the other side of their mother.

"Yes, fine." Erza replied quickly, brushing her long crimson hair back behind her shoulder as she smirked at Naruto, her sharp, violet eyes flashing with some indecipherable emotion as she met Naruto's crimson ones, her smile widening as she did so. "It was a learning experience, one I intend to use to my advantage."

Kushina rolled her eyes at that. "What she means is she's been training almost continuously since the fight."

"Why? Is it because you want to catch up to that old, snake faced bastard, Orochimaru?" Clementine butted in rudely, getting several surprised looks from the others, and a sigh from Naruto. "Oh yeah I'm Clementine by the way, since shit for brains over here didn't introduce me."

Naruto gave Kushina and her daughters a long suffering look as Clementine said that, getting a soft laugh from Kushina in response.

"Charmed I'm sure." Erza replied disapprovingly, her violet eyes trailing up and down Clementine's lithe, athletic form in distaste, focusing on the number of looted forehead protectors she had used to make her outfit and the many blades she was openly, almost arrogantly wearing. "But no, the one I intend to catch up with is Pain of Kirigakure, someone not that much older than me, but who is already an S-rank."

"Wait you want to catch up with me?" Naruto asked, a bemused look on his face now as their roles seemed to have reversed now since their childhood, after all back then he had been the one wanting to catch up to his two sisters.

"And why would I not, you are a deadly and dangerous Shinobi, one skilled beyond your age. What better measuring stick could I have than you?" Erza asked, her tone still strong and confident, though now Naruto could notice a hint of pink on Erza's cheeks as she gazed at him, and a flash of worryingly familiar emotion in her violet eyes, one that Naruto could now recognise.

"I think our sister as a crush on us." You butted in helpfully, his usually dry and sarcastic voice filled with mirth as he mocked his outer self.

'Do shut up.' Naruto thought back, before he gave Erza a nod. "Well thanks I suppose Erza. What about your sister, has she been training with you too?"

"Yes, she has." Mito replied acerbically, her previous discomfort vanishing now as she sent Naruto a scowl. "And she is here and can answer for herself."

"Mito." Kushina groaned, shaking her head as her daughter, who was so like her both in appearance and temperament, seemed to flare up with indignation.

"Sorry, you just looked a little… uncomfortable before." Naruto replied, unsure what to say now.

"Wow she kind of looks like a tomato now doesn't she? You know with the red hair, round face and now the angry red cheeks." Clementine tagged on helpfully, causing Mito's temper to flare yet again and her face to redden even more. Kushina letting out a slight groan at the comment too, even as Erza once again clicked her teeth in disapproval of Clementine's actions.

"You wanna to go!?" Mito shouted, her attention now entirely on the grinning Clementine, her hands clenched into fists and her long crimson hair, still in a ponytail, waved about behind her as she practically shook with outrage.

"Mito enough." Kushina cut in, her tone sharp now as she looked over at the still smirking Clementine, her violet eyes meeting Clementine's pink ones warningly. "These Shinobi are here as guests in our village, and so should be treated as such."

"They should also act as such." Naruto tagged on, his gaze flickering over to the surprised Clementine as he did so, who in response sent him a look of betrayal, and then confusion as she looked between Naruto and the three red heads.

"Indeed," Kushina nodded, sending Naruto another smile now, before she looked back to Mito. "Besides you would be in a lot of danger if you were to fight her. She is not the kind of Shinobi that a genin should be trifling with."

"Oh ho, it sounds like you recognise me." Clementine mused, licking her lips again now as she eyed the wary looking Kushina up and down, her pink eyes then flicking over to the stern Erza, the still angry looking Mito, and the boy, who even now was just watching the proceedings calmly, his dark eyes occasionally flicking to Pain, a hint of challenge and fascination in them. "Though I can't say I ever had the pleasure of meeting you before? I think I would have remembered."

"Nor I you, though I have heard of you." Kushina replied, before she looked to her teammates. "As you know Pain here was once known as the S-rank Hunter-nin Grimm, I believe you met him in Wave. Clementine though, from what I have heard she is his former teammate, the Hunter-nin known only as 'the Cannibal', and is a powerful A-rank in her own right, and is responsible for killing Zabuza Momochi and many other missing-nins."

Mito and Sasuke both flinched at the reminder of Wave, both of them looking nervously over at the two Kiri Shinobi now, both of them remembering the confrontation and ensuing fight in Wave. Sasuke more intrigued than ever as he cautiously watched the person who killed Kakashi Hatake. Mito's reaction though was harder to read.

"You're very well informed." Clementine mused, before she tilted her head. "Then again I have heard that that pervert Jiraiya has a formidable spy network."

Kushina smiled slightly at that but said no more as she instead locked eyes with Clementine, violet boring into pink and vice versa as some unspoken battle began to take place between the two powerful Shinobi.

"But anyway." Naruto interrupted, sighing at their actions, before he then looked over at his sisters. "How have you been? I didn't speak to you after the events in the forest, in part because I didn't really know what to say after, well after what happened in Wave."

"You mean when you killed our Sensei?" Mito asked harshly.

"Yes." Naruto replied bluntly.

"It's the life of a Shinobi, few of us ever die of old age. Most of us fight until we meet someone better than ourselves, at which point we die." Sasuke finally spoke up, his tone bland and his expression disinterested. "Death walks hand in hand with the life of a Shinobi."

Naruto tilted his head to the side as he heard that. "Wise words. You're an Uchiha aren't you?"

Sasuke nodded at that, stiffening slightly as he watched Pain's cold, crimson eyed gaze examining him.

"Then I suppose you'd be used to death, you are after all one of the last of your family." Naruto said, not offering any sympathy or empathy to the boy, in part because he knew the brat wouldn't accept or want any, and in part because that wasn't who he was as a person. "That's good, the sooner you shed your naivety the longer you'll live."

Sasuke grunted at that, before he looked away.

"Here's your order!" Ayame suddenly called out breaking the following silence as she walked out of the kitchen a large steaming bowl in one hand and a bottle of Saki and two glasses on a tray in the other. Both of which she put in front of Naruto and Clementine before she turned to take Kushina and her team's orders.

"Thanks." Naruto nodded, before he pulled his bowl over, basking in the warm, wonderful scent of the food before he began to dig in.

"Finally." Clementine said at the exact same time, pouring out two generous glass of the strong spirit before she then took a swig straight from the bottle, letting out a gasp of pleasure as the burning liquid slid down her throat, and smacking her lips as she did so.

"Do they not teach you any manners in Kiri?" Erza asked irritably as she looked over at Clementine, even as Naruto began to devour his meal with gusto.

"Oh they do, but I'm not from Kiri, not originally anyway. No I'm an Outcast born and bred." Clementine shot back with a grin, clinking glasses with Naruto as he came up for air from his food and grabbed his own drink. "Not like Pain here, I mean who knows where he comes from…"

Naruto's eyes flashed as he heard that, even as he shot Clementine a warning look, which only garnered a smirk form the girl in response.

"Outcast?" Erza asked in confusion.

"I'll tell you later." Kushina replied, cutting off any need for an explanation as she once again looked over to their neighbours.

"So is your team ready for the Exam?" Kushina asked, returning the conversation to safer grounds now, after all talk of murder and death were not exactly acceptable at the dinner table, or at least not in Kushina's household.

"As ready as they'll ever be." Naruto shrugged noncommittally, inwardly thankful to Kushina for changing the topic.

"Ha don't be modest Pain, our boys will crush the competition." Clementine shouted out, a grin on her face as she saw all three genin stiffen at that challenge, before they glared at her.

"You seem very confident." Kushina mused, placing her hand on her more impetuous daughter Mito's shoulder as she did so.

"Anything can happen." Naruto shrugged neutrally, sending his blonde friend another warning look as he did so. "But what about you, are your team ready for the Exam?"

"As I said I've been preparing, and am stronger than ever before. I am more than ready to meet any challenge that may come my way." Erza spoke up first, her eyes blazing with confidence.

"Yeah I doubt anyone will provide that much of a challenge, not even your team." Mito shot back, her gaze not leaving Naruto, as she once again gave him a very strange look, one that not even he could interpret. "Erza's not the only one that's been training, I have too. And not just my Sensory abilities but also…"

"Not in front of Shinobi from another Village Mito." Erza cut in with a sigh, before she sent Naruto an apologetic look. "Not that there is anything wrong with you, it's just, well you know…"

"Yes I understand." Naruto replied with a nod, before he looked over to Sasuke, the one Orochimaru had been hunting, the one the Snake Sanin was so interested in. "What about you Uchiha?"

"Hn, no one will stand in my way." Sasuke replied bluntly, his hand once again moving to the scar on his neck as he gave Naruto a challenging, slightly angry look, one that Naruto could not quite see the reason behind.

"I see, well that's good." Naruto nodded, before he waved over at Ayame, catching her attention as she came back in with Kushina and her team's orders. "Can we get another glass please?"

"Sure." Ayame chirped.

"How about a drink Kushina?" Naruto then asked as Ayame brought over another glass, and Naruto wrestled the half empty Saki bottle off of Clementine, filling up the three glasses once he did so before offering one to the red head.

Kushina titled her head in amusement as she heard that, before she picked up the glass, her gaze flicking over it as if trying to see any possible way it could have been interfered with, before she then shrugged. "Why not."

"Hey can we have some too?" Mito cut in next.

"Yes, I would like to join as well." Erza added on, her gaze once again on Naruto.

"Hn" Sasuke grunted, in disinterest.

"No, you're too young." Kushina shot back.

"We're not that much younger than those two!" Mito complained gesturing at the smirking Naruto and Clementine now.

"Well they're not my children." Kushina shot back looking back at Mito now, who merely scowled truculently back at her, Erza adding her own scowl to the mix.

Sasuke meanwhile frowned, though not at Kushina's words, not that he thought she would ever allow him to drink either, but instead at Pain as his right eye seemed to twitch and his lips, barely visible through the half mask, also seemed to curve downwards for a moment. A very odd reaction, and not one he thought the usual calm and composed S-rank Shinobi would let slip.

"So what should we drink too?" Kushina asked obliviously as she quashed her daughter's complaints and turned back to the two Kiri Shinobi.

"To the Chunin Exams, may they be bloody and brutal." Clementine shrugged raising her glass and ignoring the eye roll from Naruto and Kushina's sigh as by now she had already gotten a good grasp of the blonde Shinobi's personality.

"To the peaceful co-existence between the different Shinobi Villages." Kushina shot back raising her own glass now, her lips twitching as she saw Clementine scowl.

"Well that would just put us all out of the job." The blonde muttered.

"To the future." Naruto finally said, rolling his eyes before he raised his glass and clinked it with the other two, after which they then downed their drinks.

( - )

(In the Kage's Box the next day)

With a roll of his eyes Naruto had to refrain from letting out a bored sigh as he leant against one of the pillars in the Kage's box, his bored, crimson eyed gaze looking over at the four seats in the box, which contained Kazekage the leader of Sunagakure, the OtoKage the leader of Otogakure, the Hokage the leader of Konohagakure and finally the Mizukage, Mei. All of whom were making dry comments and sarcastic digs at one another, engaging in a verbal battle as they each tried to one up each other, without appearing to give insult.

All of them acting like they were all quite friendly as they sat in their large, throne like seats, all of which were on a slight raised dais that looked down into the arena below where the beginning of the Chunin Exam final round had just been announced and the first competitors had been called up to start the tournament off.

It was still quite early in the day, but in spite of that Naruto had been up for a while now. Already he had checked over all of his weapons, and gone through his usual set of warmups, readying himself to fight at any moment.

The same could be said for both Clementine and Viktor who were also in the box, both of them trying to look casual as they had their swords slung over their shoulders and their masks on, even as their sharp, experienced eyes flickered back and forth looking for any potential threat to Mei.

The same could be said for all of the other Shinobi in the box, the guards of the four Kages, all of whom were eyeing the foreign Shinobi around them cautiously, their eyes constantly switching back and forth between the different Shinobi in the area. More than a few looking over at Naruto, the only known S-rank Shinobi amongst the assembled bodyguards.

Noticeably absent from the surrounding Shinobi was Jiraiya, who strangely was not at Minato's side like he had been the last few time Naruto had seen him, instead the man was missing, his location currently unknown to the Kiri group.

The same though could not be said for Kushina, who even as he watched could be seen throwing caution to the wind, a grin on her face as she waltzed over to Minato's seat and leaned against the arm of her husband's chair, whispering in his ear for a moment, before she then excitedly settled herself on the arm of the seat and looked down at the arena below.

As this was happening Minato initially went red in the face with embarrassment as he felt the judging eyes of the Kazekage on him at first, as well as the amused, salacious gaze of the Mizukage and the faintly surprised gaze of the Otokage. But only for a moment as Kushina then gave them all an amused look, before turning back to the arena, putting an end to any questioning or commentary from them before it could even begin.

Rolling his eyes at the unpredictable woman's actions, Naruto instead looked out at the arena itself. Already he could see that the place was packed out, every seat seemed to have been taken up by spectators, all of them shouting and roaring their enthusiasm as the first of the matches was about to begin.

None of them were aware that at some point very soon all of the fun was going to come to an end, and war was going to come to Konoha.

( - )

AN: And so the Chunin Exams final round has begun. That being said I won't be covering all the fights in my writing as honestly I don't' really want too. That being said I might cover a few for reasons, before I finally get down to the climax of what the last few chapters have been building to, the Konoha Crush, or at least I think that's what they call the arc in canon. Not that anything in this story will follow canon anymore, not with all the changes.

But anyway, what did you all think I hope you enjoyed it? Please do leave a review. If you have any questions and what not feel free to Pm and I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

Also please do favourite and follow, I would love to break 3000 favourites with this story. Other than that I hope you are all well and continue to enjoy reading what I put out.

If any of you have some time please do check out some of my other stories.

Thanks for reading and I'll catch you later.

Seagate.