A/N: I apologize for the delay. Work and the holidays have been keeping me busy, not to

mention me and my family are making plans to move to a new home . Hope you enjoy the chapter, and have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you my faithful readers!

Also, quick word of warning. I am not an expert on the Fate series. I am doing the best I can with what I attempt to research on the Wiki. Why am I not an expert? Well… let's just say that I get Vietnam flashbacks thanks to Fate/Stay Night (Anime) and it's extremely poor portrayal of certain characters. Chief among them Emiya Shirou and his damn White Knight Complex. Hence why I hesitate to try and get into other forms of the Anime series. Though I am considering getting into FGO. So apologies in advance.

This update is a Christmas present for my buddy XXX777, and all you amazing and wonderful readers. Thanks so much for all your support all these years.

Big thanks to Kenchi Narukami as my Beta Reader.

Chapter one: Prologue.

Long, long ago, during a time long before the Rikudou Sennin and Chakra existed in the world. A great and powerful Relic known as the Holy Grail was created. It was a Relic of great power, said to grant the wishes of those who controlled it and granting a mighty army of Servants borne from the essence of many mythical, historic or otherwise legendary figures from across the world.

It often said that whosoever is the Master of the Grail, and its Servants can rule the world. Many sought the Grail for power and wealth, and thus countless wars took place amongst Mages and other warriors vying for control of the ancient Relic. These wars were often known as the Holy Grail Wars. And regardless of the victor, great destruction always followed during and after the Holy Grail Wars.

However, Magus Seers predicted a different kind of war. More terrible than any that had taken place before. The kind that would rock the Heavens and Earth to their very core, and at the center of it all was both the Holy Grail and a Child of Prophecy. According to the Seers, this was the Holy Grail war to end them all, where only the last man standing would be King and would have absolute dominion over the world. This was to be known as… the Throne Wars.

To prevent this war from happening, the Holy Grail was kept hidden and sealed away from the rest of the world, kept under guard by a clan of fierce Crimson haired Warriors that feared not man or beast or even death. The Uzumaki clan.

Many, many years later. Konoha.

In the apartment of Naruto Uzumaki, the boy himself sat quietly on his couch watching some holiday specials that were playing on the television. He yawned a bit as he looked up towards his clock and saw that it was getting late and then glanced over to a plate of cookies and a glass of milk he had left out for Santa Claus. For years, he had been attempting to stay away long enough to catch the entity known as Santa in the act and see exactly how the spirit of Christmas delivered presents.

He even had a camera prepared when the jolly old man did show up. And he was going to prove that Santa was actually real and he was more determined than ever before. Especially after Iruka Umino tried to explain to him that Santa wasn't real during his first year at the Academy when Christmas break came around. He also heard stories that if you actually caught Santa in his usual act, you could ask him for a wish, although in doing so you would forfeit your presents the following year. Which was fine with him, his wish was for his dear friend Anko to be freed from her Curse Mark.

He yawned once more as he felt his eyelids grow heavier as the minutes slowly ticked by. He reached for a can of soda and took a large sip of it, hoping the caffeine and sugar will help him stay awake. So far, this had been the longest he had stayed up late at night and he wasn't about to call it quits yet.

Even with the aid of the sugary beverage it was hard to stay awake, his eyes slowly closed once more as it became almost impossible to resist the need for sleep. He could almost feel himself slipping into a blissful slumber, that is until he snapped himself out of it and quickly shook his head to free himself of his previous sleepiness. After a few moments to collect himself, he decided to take another swig of his beverage… only to find that it wasn't the fizzy and sweet taste of soda entering his mouth. But smooth and creamy eggnog.

He looked at his hand, and found that in place of a soda can was a glass of, as he previously tasted, eggnog. Sitting across from him was a tall and curvaceous woman wearing white satin gloves that covered her arms, a santa hat, a crimson shawl and a red top that showed an almost inappropriate amount of cleavage. Her snow white hair was cut short in a somewhat messy pixie cut, her skin was white and free of any blemish, and her long legs were covered in brown stockings. The woman in question was happily chewing on the cookies and took a few sips of milk before speaking "Ara, Ara. Not just anyone can shrug off some of my sleeping dust. You are very strong willed bouya."

"Who the heck are you supposed to be?" The blonde yelped out and pointed an accusatory finger at her. He didn't even sense her presence and yet she somehow snuck in without any trouble.

"Me? Ohohohoho! I am the person you've been staying up to meet every Christmas eve since you were four years old. I'm Santa Claus. MISTRESS Santa Claus. A pleasure to finally greet you in person, Naruto Uzumaki." She greeted him and then waved her hand, causing a small tornado of snowflakes to form in her open palm before a cup of hot chocolate appeared with a candy cane stick resting inside that she used to slowly stir the hot drink.

That small display of magic, and her knowing that much about him was enough for the boy to know that this woman truly was the real thing. His mouth dropped open as he stared at her since she… well… she wasn't at all what he was expecting. "Something to matter dearie? Am I so beautiful to behold your little candy cane is at attention? Or are you surprised the Santa you have long awaited is actually a woman? Or perhaps it is both? Regardless of the case, my 'jolly old man' image has been purported by a certain soda company and other popular works of fiction which I have made no effort to correct, after all… I have to hang up my hat when I'm not working and not be hounded daily by young children. You get the idea." She spoke as she picked up the candy cane from her cup and sensually put in her mouth, sucking off droplets of hot cocoa as her the stick left her ruby colored lips.

"Wow. Okay. The real Santa Claus. Here. In my apartment. I have to know something… how do you do it? How do you deliver presents all across the world in a single night?" The blonde asked since that was perhaps one of the biggest questions surrounding the mystery of Santa.

The silver haired woman giggled lightly and answered him "That's quite often one of the first questions people ask me. The simplest answer is that I am everywhere and nowhere at the same time. While I am here in your apartment speaking to you, I am also all across the world delivering presents to all the good little children, and coal to all the bad ones."

The blonde slowly nodded in understanding as he slowly sipped his eggnog and then figured that if she was everywhere and nowhere, that would also account for how she knew who was naughty and nice throughout the year. "Given my penchant for pranks, I guess I made the naughty list." Causing Mistress Claus to chuckle as she reached down into her cleavage and pulled out a pair of reading glasses and a red leather notebook of some kind.

She flipped it open began reading from it with the help of her glasses and spoke "This year you successfully performed two hundred and sixty-seven pranks. However, throughout your career as a prankmaster, you have not once caused undue harm to your intended victims and have always targeted bullies or other questionable figures. As such, I chose to keep you on the Nice List."

The blonde was a bit surprised by her lax judgement but then, she probably had her own system for determining whether or not someone deserves to be on her Naughty list or not. "I appreciate that, though I'm kinda surprised. Something else I wanted to ask was… well… do you really grant someone's wish if they see you during Christmas Eve?"

At his question she gave him a sultry smile and crossed on leg over the other, giving him a brief glimpse of her red and white striped panties and answered "Yes I do. But the catch is that if I grant you a wish, you'll forfeit your presents for next year. Is that acceptable? If so, I suggest you make your wish count." She suggested with a wink, although she could already guess what he wanted since she knew he was a kind and caring boy.

"If you can, I wish that you remove all the Curse Mark's that Orochimaru has ever created and make it so he can never ever make another one again." He spoke without hesitation since he knew that the Curse Mark was a symptom of Orochimaru's evil, and the best way to eliminate it… would be to cut it off at the source.

A sharp glint twinkled in Santa's baby blue eyes as she wagged her finger a little causing tiny silver snowflakes to appear from the tip of her finger. And with that she spoke with a crooked smirk "Done and done. With that out of the way, it's time for your Christmas present." She spoke and then produced a golden chalice from the valley of her breasts and placed it on the table across from him. He tilted his head to the side and wondered why Santa would give him a golden chalice of all things. Seeing his confusion Santa began to explain to the boy "This is an ancient Relic known as the Holy Grail. An item of which that many people have fought and killed for. A certain person requested that I give this to you when I felt the time was right. It is said that whoever controls the Grail can rule the world."

The blonde set his eggnog down and hesitantly reached towards the Grail and could almost swear he felt a strange energy coming off of it. "Who asked you to give this to me? Why me?" He asked only for Santa to give a little smirk and put a finger to her lips.

"My apologies. But said requester told me not to tell you. Only to give you a small warning. No matter the cost, do not let anyone steal the Grail from you. If they do, terrible things can and will happen. Best try to keep the secrets of the Grail to yourself. Oh, I almost forgot. You'll be needing these." The Spirit of Christmas answered him and then seemingly reached into the empty Chalice, and then pulled out what appeared to be a deck of cards that she placed in front of the Jinchuuriki.

"Merry Christmas Naruto-kun… or should I say… 'Master'? Ohohoho!" With that said Santa vanished in a swirl of snowflakes and transformed into a card that slowly floated down and landed atop the deck. The blonde picked up the card and saw the picture of Santa Claus herself on it, sitting in front of a fireplace drinking a mug of hot chocolate while reviewing her Naughty/Nice notebook.

Growing curious he pulled out another card from the deck and found a blonde woman with a red dress that almost seemed to be dancing. This one titled 'Nero'. Then he pulled another depicting a woman in blue armor carrying a lance while gallantly riding a horse, this one being titled 'Artoria Pendragon (Lancer.)'

Hmming quietly to himself he pocketed the deck of cards and picked up the chalice which felt oddly warm in his hands. Whoever controls the Grail can control the world? That sounded quite ominous. He still had difficulty understanding why Santa would put such an object in his care, but now that he had it, he supposed it was now his responsibility. He would need to keep it safe and keep it a secret.

He hopped off his couch and went to a spot in the corner and then lifted up some loose boards that he had yet to fix but hadn't gotten around to it. But now it seemed like it would be a good spot to hide the chalice… at least for now until he could find a far better spot. Maybe somewhere in the Forest of Death. There were more than plenty of spots he could hide it there, and no one would ever find it.

After hiding the Grail away, the boy suddenly decided to go visit his friend Anko and reveal to her what had happened. At least the parts about Santa and the wish he made, and maybe about this weird deck of cards. He briefly cursed himself for forgetting to take a picture of Santa but the lack or a Curse mark should be more than enough proof of what happened.

With a broad smile, he rushed out of his apartment and ran as fast as he could to Anko's home. After a few minutes he arrived at his destination and began slamming his fist against the door while using his free hand to repeatedly push the doorbell. "ANKO! ANKO! ANKO! OPEN UP! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!" He screamed at the top of his lungs. This went on for a few seconds until he heard a lock on the other side click, alerting him that his friend had finally woken up and had come to greet him.

The door opened revealing the Dango lover with her hair unkempt and messy, wearing only a black shirt with the words 'Bad girl' on the front and a pair of purple colored panties. Before she could even open her mouth, the whiskered teen began jabbering incoherently as he tried to explain what had happened, but this caused the Snake Mistress to tilt her head in confusion as she tried to rub the sleepiness from her eyes.

"What? What do ya want gaki? Sasuke fell down a well? Kizashi Haruno's bankrupt? I can't understand a fucking word you're saying." She spoke with slight irritation for being woken up at this hour, but she knew that the blonde was most likely here for good reason. So she'd try to hear him out… keyword 'try'

Realizing that he was speaking way too fast for her, the Jinchuuriki took a deep breath to calm himself and then put on a sickeningly sweet smile as he spoke "Heeeeeeeey Anko-chan. How are you feeling right now?"

The Snake user blinked several times as she frowned a bit and leaned against her door frame as she answered "Tired. Slightly miffed at being woken up. Otherwise? I'm effing peachy. Now, what the hell do you want gaki? Why the hell were you about to tear down my door?"

The boy could only snicker as he answered "I just wanted to check on one of my bestest friends ever. And aren't you feeling better? Maybe like a burden has been lifted off your shoulders?" He asked with a smile so nauseatingly sweet that it could cause cavities while at the same time trying to drop a hint about her lack of a Curse Mark.

"Ummmm. Naruto? You're kinda freaking me out right now. I told you, I'm fine. Better than fine. Feels like my Curse mark isn't constantly throbbing anymore." She answered as she crossed her arms beneath her impressive bust…. Then she registered what she had just said as a large question mark blinked over her head since she could no longer feel the constant burning sensation of the Curse mark in her shoulder.

Reaching up to rub the spot where the Curse mark was imprinted into her flesh, she could no longer feel its corrosive presence or its chakra inside of her either. "Naruto? Could you excuse me for just a sec?" She asked and then slammed the door in his face as her footsteps retreated deeper into her apartment. Naruto could only guess that she had finally caught on and had gone to find a mirror to check her shoulder.

His guess was quickly proven correct when he heard an ear-piercing scream come from inside the apartment following by a shout of "IT'S GONE! IT'S FINALLY FUCKING GONE!" After a few more seconds, Anko nearly ripped her door off its hinges and yanked the boy inside by the collar of his shirt and promptly dumped him on her couch.

"Okay Naruto. You better explain right now. How the hell did you know about my Curse Mark being gone? How was it removed?" She questioned him. Although it was easy to see she was trying to resist the urge to glomp him between her large breasts, burst into tears of joy or both.

"Well… I met Santa Claus, who is actually a woman and I made a wish." He explained, giving her the long and short of what had happened earning a confused look from the purplette who mumbled 'Say wha?'

Sighing, the whiskered boy went into detail about how he had met Santa, and about the wish he had made and the strange deck of cards he'd been given. Though he left out the bit about the Grail. Not because he didn't trust Anko, but more to protect her in case it was dangerous. The whole time, Anko listened intently, the whole thing seemed a little farfetched, but she knew that Naruto wasn't a liar and she had no other explanation about how the damned hickey was removed.

On top of that, Naruto also pulled a fast one on her Ex-Sensei since he can no longer make Curse Marks. Meaning Orochimaru would be forced to rot away in whatever body he was inhabiting now. She had never felt so happy in her entire life! "Naruto-kun… you have no idea how much I owe ya right now." She spoke as tears welled up in her eyes, the dam she had built up to hold back the waterworks finally giving way.

"Aww. You don't owe me anything Anko. We're friends." He answered with a kind smile. But then Anko shook her head in denial.

"Shaddap! This… that damned mark caused me so much suffering. Because of what that bastard did to me all those years ago, so many people doubted my loyalty to Konoha. Even though I was used as a Guinea pig, even though I want nothing to do with Orochimaru short of killing him, it was never enough. Every waking moment, that mark would constantly throb and burn against my skin. Every night I could hear his voice whispering in my dreams. And… now that's all gone. Naruto-kun… thank you. Thank you so much. I owe you well… everything.

I mean it. You want me to teach you some Jutsu? Done. Take you as an apprentice when you graduate? Done. You wanna tie me to my bed and fuck the shit out of my holes day and night until I'm a brain dead cum toilet? I'm all yours. Just say the word and your wish is my command. No questions asked. I swear it on my headband and honor as a Kunoichi."

The boy blushed slightly at the idea since Anko's body was indeed pleasing to the eye. He'd be lying if he said he never had wet dreams about certain members of the fairer sex, including Anko herself. With a sheepish grin, he supposed he had no choice but to accept. "Putting it like that, I accept. I'd certainly love to be your apprentice and all that good stuff. But unless I can pull off that damn Clone Jutsu I won't even make it to the Shinobi roster, much less a team or apprenticeship."

"Au contraire my adorable Naruto-kun. According to the rules, you need to he able to perform 'A' clone jutsu. Not 'the' clone jutsu. Back in the day, it was pretty common for students with larger than normal Chakra reserves to be unable to perform that crappy Academy taught Clone jutsu. So students with higher Chakra levels were given permission to learn different variations to help them succeed. Iruka hasn't told you that?" She asked at the end as she scratched her cheek with a lone finger.

"Nope. In the entire time I have been at the Academy, that's never been brought up. Iruka just keeps telling me to keep practicing the Clone Jutsu without telling me what I'm doing wrong." The blonde answered bitterly since he was certain that damned Chunin was deliberately sabotaging him through his negligence.

Before their conversation could continue, a dull white glow could be seen inside of his pocket as a card flew out and then in a bright flash of white light and silver snowflakes appeared the form of Santa Claus in all her glory. "Merry Christmas darlings." She greeted with a small bow, causing her huge breasts to jiggle a bit.

"The hell? I didn't summon you or anything." The Jinchuuriki pointed out, since he hadn't yet figured out the full mechanics behind those cards. Though he was fairly certain they couldn't summon themselves… could they?

"Ah. I suppose I didn't mention this. But during the Christmas season, most especially on Christmas Eve is when my power is at its strongest, allowing me to make my rounds every year. Even in my card form I am still aware of all the happenings in the world. One of the perks of being Santa Claus." The white haired woman answered before giving out her signature 'Ohohoho' laugh.

"You? You're Santa fucking Claus? You're… not at all what I was expecting." The snake user spoke in a skeptical tone. With a smirk, Santa reached between her breasts and pulled out some kind of playing card kept in a glass frame and offered it to the Dango lover.

"I believe you wanted this when you were six. A Minimon, limited edition, legendary rank Zhooper. Is that right?" Santa asked with a knowing smile as Anko accepted the gift with trembling fingers.

"Holy shit. I remember these. Only one hundred of this particular card was ever made. I always wanted one to finish out my collection. With… with this… my Minimon collection is fully complete. You… you really are Santa." She stuttered a bit, a part of her wondering if this night could get any better. As a young girl she had collected those playing cards, and even as an adult she kept an album of her entire collection. But there was always the one card that was missing… and at long last she had it in her hands.

"The one and only dearie. Consider that a reward for being a good girl, and for being a good friend to Naruto-kun for all these years. Now then, I think there's something you need to know about one Iruka Umino." The Holiday Servant responded as she reached into the valley of her breasts once more and pulled out her reading glasses and notebook with both Pariahs wondering what she's about to say about the Chunin teacher. Something incriminating most likely given her tone.

Santa hummed 'jingle bells' beneath her breath as she flipped through the pages until she reached the desired entry and spoke "Iruka Umino. It seems that one 'Jiraiya' has been sending monthly payments to your Academy teacher's account to spy on and hinder any signs of growth or development in school."

"Jiraiya? The fuck? What the hell does that shitbag up to? Why does he care about Naruto's education? And why does he want it sabotaged?" Anko questioned in a rapid-fire manner, her face reddening in anger. Feeling furious that the old bastard would dare do that to her Naruto-kun, and perhaps even more furious that Iruka was going along with it.

"Jiraiya? I feel like I've heard that name from somewhere." The blonde spoke since the name was on the tip of his tongue, but he couldn't remember why or where he had possibly heard it from.

"He was the Sandaime's student back in the day. You might know him as the Toad Sannin, and potentially an enemy of all women. He's also bothered me on occasion, offering to do something about my Curse mark in exchange for sex. He's a real piece of shit. Problem is he's currently Konoha's resident spymaster, so he gets a lot of leeway. But I think that's gonna change." Anko explained and gave a shark-like grin since they now had the ultimate spy in the form of Santa, who always knows if a person's good or bad.

"I believe you're right dearie. It'll be my pleasure to assist, if only for the sake of my new Master." Santa announced with a small smile as she sipped at a cup of hot cocoa that seemingly appeared out of thin air.

"Works for me. We can report this to the Hokage, first thing in the morning. Also… I think I might know a few clone techniques to teach you Naruto-kun." Anko spoke with a cheeky grin, she was very eager to start taking him under her wing and start to repay her debt to him. Things were about to get very interesting from here on. Naruto glanced at his pocket and pulled out the deck of cards since he was also eager to get to know how it worked and all the various Summons inside.

Graduation was about a week after Christmas break, so there was plenty of time for him to get started and finally get a leg up. He was eager to finally kick some assholes like Iruka off their high horse, and now he had the means to do it.

Santa Claus had given him the ammunition, now he just had to pull the trigger.

The next morning. Hokage's office.

Hiruzen sighed as he sat in his office as he was buried underneath a mountain of paperwork which seemed almost double the size than usual since it was the holidays. He had been so busy he had been unable to find a certain toy that his grandson wanted very badly, he even went so far as to commission a D-rank mission for a ninja team to track down the toy, but it was impossible since it had already been sold out.

He was worried since it was Christmas day, and Konohamaru would be disappointed at not getting his present. His fears seemed to come to fruition when the form of his grandson came barging into his office shouting "Merry Christmas!" The Sandaime nervously returned the greeting as he tried to think up an explanation as to why the boy's present would be late. He supposed he had little choice other than to tell the boy the truth.

Before either members of the Sarutobi family could even speak, three new figures entered behind the younger Sarutobi. "Morning Jiji! Merry Christmas!" greeted Naruto with a large grin as he was accompanied by the form of Anko Mitarashi and an unfamiliar woman who seemed to be dressed very much like Santa Claus.

"Ah. Merry Christmas to you as well Naruto-kun?" The Hokage asked, hoping to delay the impending conversation with his grandson, even though he knew it was inevitable.

"Got something to tell you. It's important. And… who's this guy?" The whiskered boy asked as he turned to the boy with the long blue scarf.

Before Hiruzen could introduce his grandson, the white haired woman beat him to the punch and said "That is Konohamaru Sarutobi. Poor boy has been feeling rather lonely since people only know him as the 'honorable grandson' of the Sandaime Hokage, and not as 'Konohamaru'. He's a genuinely good boy though. This year he wanted a Steel Samurai action figure."

The brown haired boy's eyes lit up like stars as he spoke "Woooooow. How'd you know all about that?"

"Easy. I'm Santa Claus." She answered with a small 'ohohoho', her response making both Sarutobi's tilt their heads and look at her with some skepticism. Although Konohamaru seemed more receptive to her identity but still couldn't help but ask "Are you really Santa? Aren't you supposed to be some fat old guy with a sleigh and reindeer?"

The white haired woman clicked her tongue and waved a finger from side to side as she replied "I'm afraid that is untrue. But I can still prove it. Did you know that when your grandfather was a boy, he wanted a Katana? Not just any katana, he wanted a special one made from the forges by the Samurai. Like so." She then reached deep into the valley of her breasts, making both Sarutobi's blush as she began to pull said katana from breasts and revealed it to be a blade from the Busujima family. A world renowned family of Samurai and Katana makers. Finding one outside the land of Samurai was next to impossible.

She placed it on the desk in front of Hiruzen as he picked the sword up and pulled it out of its scabbard a bit, as his jaw dropped. Santa then reached between her breasts once more and pulled out a Steel Samurai action figure still in its box and gave it to the scarf wearing boy whose face was now beaming since this was indisputable proof she truly was Santa. "Yaaaaaaaaas! Thank you so much! Thank you, thank you!" The boy shouted before he ran off, likely going to enjoy his present for the day.

"How is this possible?" The Sandaime questioned, prompting Naruto to explain everything to the Hokage, from Santa's first appearance to his wish about the Curse marks and so on, though once more he left out the bit about the Grail since it would be best that only he knew about it for the time being. The whole time Hiruzen listened with immense interest and fully accepted it since he had absolutely no reason to doubt Naruto, not to mention Anko showed him the lack of a Curse mark, further proving the story to be true. Afterwards, the boy finished with revealing what Santa had told them about Iruka and Jiraiya. The news shocking the Hokage.

"... And that's the whole story. So what's the deal with this Jiraiya guy? What's his interest in me?" The blonde questioned as he crossed his arms since that had been the question on his mind all night long.

The Sandaime laced his fingers together and spoke with a certain amount of venom in his voice "Well Naruto-kun… the truth is that your father wanted Jiraiya to be your godfather, although your mother heatedly disagreed. Jiraiya has some kind of obsession with a prophecy of some sort, believing you to be a part of it. Aside from that, I haven't the slightest clue what he hopes to gain from this."

"My father? My mother? Who were they?" Naruto demanded as he slammed his hands on the Hokage's desk, making Hiruzen sigh since the boy was now asking questions he had hoped to hold off on, and had been sworn to silence.

"My apologies Naruto-kun. But I am unable to tell you. I made oaths of silence and cannot tell you much about them until you reach the rank of Chunin. All I can say for sure, is that they were both the best Ninjas I ever had the honor of knowing, and they have countless enemies inside and outside of Konoha who would seek to manipulate or harm you. I'm sorry. Truly. But I cannot tell you, even though I desperately want to. The risks are too great at this time." The Hokage explained.

At first the Jinchuuriki felt angry, but he couldn't help but concede. If his parents really had enemies that even the Hokage was worried about, it was probably for good reason the whole truth behind his parentage had been kept hidden… for now. "Okay Jiji. I believe you. But seriously… this Jiraiya guy is supposed to be my Godfather? Where the hell has he been all my life whenever I may have needed him? Was it too much for him to occasionally drop by and visit? Or send a letter or something? Whoever he is, I honestly don't care anymore. He has been fucking up my education, and has neglected in his job as a godfather. Whoever he is, he's dead to me."

"Right you are Naruto-kun. I'll make sure that both Iruka and Jiraiya pay dearly for this… but first would you care for a little payback against the former? Seems only fair you get a small pound of flesh before I bring the hammer down." The Sandaime asked, having a somewhat sadistic glint in his eye. Giving Naruto the impression that he had an idea he was very much going to enjoy.

A week later. Graduation day. (Konoha Academy.)

At long last, Graduation day had arrived and may hopeful Genin candidates couldn't wait to pass the exam. However, it was rumored that things were going to be different this time, with written exams being optional for extra credit. Though no one was certain exactly how this year was going to be different, not even the teachers knew for sure what was going on, but the word was that the Hokage himself would be overseeing this exam himself.

Naruto smirked as he twirled a kunai between his fingers, now sporting clothes and armor similar to what the Shodaime Hokage wore back in his prime. A small 'thank you' gift from the Hokage for helping make his grandson a very happy child since the boy was Santa's master. He had spent the past week training and preparing himself, and he felt ready to take on the world. Not to mention he had an entire deck full of legendary heroes and figures in his pocket, many of them spoiling for a fight. The summoning process itself was actually simple, all he needed to do was draw the desired card and channel his chakra into it to summon a Servant. And since he was the owner of the Grail, the Servants would only obey him, so he didn't need to worry about that… unless the Grail is stolen.

Fortunately had hidden it deep within the Forest of Death, in a spot only he was familiar with. So it would be impossible for anyone to find it unless he told them, or someone dug around inside his head. His musing was interrupted when the students were called to gather around the Academy's sparring ring, prompting the students to silently obey as they shuffled around and began to gather at the designated area. After a few minutes, the Hokage appeared and cleared his throat, with Anko Mitarashi standing nearby.

"Welcome to all of you. This year, I have decided to perform a trial run of a new graduation exam. Why? It has recently come to my attention that the current Academy curriculum has put more emphasis on theory and written exercises than practical and physical ones. Additionally, I have… eyewitness reports of certain teachers taking bribes to rig the education of certain students. Your goal for this exam is simple, last three minutes in the ring against your designated opponent, push them out of the arena, make them surrender, or knock them out. Simple and straightforward. Any questions?" The Sandaime asked, and waited a few moments.

The students all murmured amongst themselves, wondering who the teachers were that were being bribed. Such an offense was punishable with jail time… extreme jail time. Like 'flush the key down the toilet' kind of jail time. In the background, Iruka sweated nervously as he wondered if he'd been caught… but then he hadn't been arrested yet.

"I have a question. Can we use Ninja tools and Jutsu?" Spoke the form of Naruto with a raised hand, a broad grin on his face. The Sandaime smiled and nodded, giving confirmation that was within the rules. After waiting a few more moments for any additional questions, the Hokage announced "For our first match, Naruto Uzumaki will be facing Iruka Umino."

At that, Naruto let out a loud whoop of excitement as he seemingly bounced inside of the Arena and began to stretch out his limbs a bit while Iruka also entered. "This has got to be a joke. Naruto-kun doesn't stand a chance against me, a Chunin for crying out loud." The scarred Chunin spoke in a sympathetic tone, though it was easy to tell that it was both fake and had a mocking undertone to it.

"You can drop the act, ya bastard! I'm gonna make you pay for trying to keep me a prisoner in the Academy. And I have just the Servant in mind for you!" The blonde announced gleefully as his hand reached towards a special holster on his leg, carrying the Servant cards. He smirked as he pulled out the first card on top of the deck and called out "Quetzalcoatl!"

In a flash of golden light, a blonde woman in rather revealing attire appeared with a Macana at her hip. "Ara ara. So I'm the first to be summoned to battle? What an honor! I shall not fail you Master!" The blonde woman giggled as she happily clapped her hands. The Chunin teacher tilted his head, wondering what kind of Contract the boy signed to summon a human being… but was it really human? Now that he thought about it… wasn't that the name of a god from another culture the boy had called out? Had he just literally summoned a god? No… that's impossible.

"I'm not sure what game you're playing here but…" Iruka tried to speak, but was cut off when the blonde goddess sent a thunderous kick to his chest region, sending him flying back a few feet and then started rolling across the ground. The Chunin heaved for air as he shakily got to his feet, years of lack of training obviously showing.

When Iruka looked up at the blonde woman, her teeth had taken on an almost shark-like appearance as she marched towards him. In a panic he tossed a kunai in her direction only for her to bat away the projectile as if she were shooing away a fly. "I may have only recently entered the Master's employ, but I find it utterly disgusting that a swine like you would dare sabotage his education, yes!" She spoke with a ferocious and almost satanic grin as the Chunin got up from the ground and adopted a sloppy looking taijutsu stance.

"I, uhh, don't know what you're talking about lady! You've got the wrong guy!" He shouted, trying to hide his guilt, he glanced around and spotted the other students murmuring amongst themselves as they looked at their teacher suspiciously.

"Don't avert your eyes in a fight!" She shouted as she grabbed him by the throat and used the force of her momentum to slam him to the ground. She began to laugh maniacally as she lifted her fist up and slammed it down into the Chunin's face. The sounds of bone and cartilage breaking could be heard as she continued beating the Chunin with her bare fist. Many of the students cringed at the display of brutality, with some of them shouting for the fight to be stopped.

The Hokage stood by silently as Anko quietly munched on some dango, neither of them making any effort to stop the match. As the beating continued, Iruka's face became less and less recognizable, appearing like an improperly packaged pile of meat at this point. At last, the blonde woman stood over Iruka and slammed her foot down on his crotch… several times. When she was finished, she stepped aside and gestured for her master to join her. The Jinchuuriki smirked as he stood over the barely conscious teacher and spoke "You kept on failing me because I couldn't perform a Clone Jutsu… how about this?"

With a single hand sign, the boy produced a number of perfect replicas of himself, who held down the teacher's limbs, showing they were solid clones. The goddess offered her Macana to her master who accepted it, and lifted it high in the air before bringing it down on his crotch with a sickening squelch sound. "That's for being a shitty teacher." The whiskered teen growled before spitting on the scarred man.

"Point well made Naruto-kun." Hiruzen spoke and then snapped his fingers, prompting several Anbu to appear and began dragging him away, leaving a bloody trail from his now destroyed crotch. The Hokage then addressed both students and other teachers who had watched the grisly scene. "Let this be a lesson to any and all teachers of the Academy. Selling out, accepting bribes, and sabotaging a student's education will not be tolerated." The other teachers, most especially a certain white haired Chunin sweated nervously and knew that it would not be wise to go down the same road as Iruka… or at the very least try not to get caught.

With that said, the Hokage announced "It is now my proud duty to announce Naruto-kun as the first graduate of this class, and the first Elite Genin. He shall be trained personally by Anko Mitarashi, in recognition of his service of exposing this corruption, among other things." With that said, the Sandaime pulled a headband out from his robes and personally offered it to the Jinchuuriki himself. Quietly congratulating the boy for graduating and punishing the likes of Iruka with the aid of his Goddess Servant.

In the background, Sasuke Uchiha leered at the Dead-last, finding it ridiculous that Naruto had passed in spite of barely doing anything. But still… he recognized that… that woman with the long name was still powerful. And it seemed she hadn't even shown her full strength yet. If he could somehow acquire whatever Summons the dobe had, he could kill his elder brother with little difficulty. On another note, he was livid at how the dobe got a special rank and his own apprenticeship, he as an Uchiha should be getting those things. Not some orphan brat.

While Sasuke was stewing in his brooding. Naruto asked the Hokage "So what does being an Elite Genin entail exactly?" since he wondered if it came with any extra responsibilities and privileges. If so, a tiny part of him was looking forward to rubbing it in the face of Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno who had relentlessly bullied him throughout his time in the Academy, usually in the forms of beatings.

"Well Naruto-kun, it means you'll sometimes be called to assist other Genin teams in certain missions, and you're of a higher rank then theirs, giving you some authority over them. So on and so forth. For now, focus on your training with Anko until I call on you for an assignment. In the meantime, I'll see about getting Jiraiya back in the village so he can answer for his wrongdoings." Hiruzen answered, making the boy nod in understanding.

Now that he was finally free of the Academy, he could focus on his training under a competent teacher that actually cared about him. Smirking, he turned to the goddess and spoke "Thanks for the assist Que-chan. That felt great."

"My pleasure master! Summon me anytime, yes! I look forward to future battles!" She spoke as she clapped her hands together. She stood there with a bright smile on her face… which slowly became uneasy as the moment became a little awkward. "Erm… master? I can't change back into my card form without your leave." She explained, wondering why her master hadn't sent her back to the Deck of Heroes.

"Do I have to though? Wouldn't you rather be able to walk about and enjoy the world instead of being stuck in a card?" The whiskered teen asked innocently as he tilted his head. His question earning a stunned silence from the goddess… until she burst into boisterous laughter.

"Ahahaah! Master! You're too much for me, yes! If it is your wish, then I welcome this freedom you so graciously give me! Ne, Master? Do you know anything about luchadores?" she asked and then wrapped her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

"Seems like you're gonna have your hands full from here on Gaki. I'm looking forward to this. Just wait till you see what else I have waiting for ya. That Shadow clone technique I taught ya is just the tip of the iceberg." The purple haired woman spoke with a small giggle it was going to be fun, being his teacher. A small part of her picturing herself in a leather corset, acting as a 'different' kind of teacher for her new student.

"No kidding. I get the feeling I'll have plenty of sparring partners to pick from too." He answered his new sensei while patting at the Deck attached to his hip. Things were definitely looking up for him now, and it was all thanks to a Christmas miracle. Things could only get better from here on. Although, judging from the sour looks he was being given from some of his now ex-classmates... he would probably have some problems to deal with in the future. Chiefly from Sasuke Uchiha. But he would deal with that in the future, for now... he would savor this victory.

End chapter one.

Next potential update(s): Keys to the Kingdom, Empathy, Throne Wars.

A/N: This was something of a rush job for me since I wanted to finish it as soon as possible. So apologies for any mistakes. Anyways, I'm not sure when my next update will be since I'll be moving soon. Probably in a week or so. Anyways, thanks for everything my readers. Thanks for your time, your reviews, and so much more. And Merry Christmas to all, even if you don't necessarily celebrate Christmas. Thanks again. And yes, Santa Claus is an OC Servant.