Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor do I own Devil May Cry. These stories are not sold for profit, and I receive nothing for writing them.

As Dante arrived at the training area, he had a thought. "Hey shortstuff. When's this exam supposed to happen anyways?"

"You mean the fight? In about three weeks." Naruto didn't even flinch at the insult.

"You have any idea who you're gonna be fighting?"

"Yeah. A guy named Rock Lee. He's really strong. Fast too. He's good at Taijutsu. Hand to hand kind of stuff. He could have beaten us both senseless last time we fought, that's how good he is."

"How's a guy like that still your rank?" Dante asked, stopping in the middle of the clearing.

"Well, he's my age, and he only can do Taijutsu. Either he hasn't learned any other abilities, or he doesn't know them. I don't know, but all he has is his physical strength and speed."

"Just how strong is he?"

"Well, he broke a statue once."

"I've done that. He can't be THAT strong" Dante had forgotten just how strong he is compared to a normal human.

"Yeah, but this one was a couple hundred feet tall. And he did it so fast, we never saw him actually move."

"... Yeah, that's impressive." Dante thought for a moment. "Ok, so far we've just been fighting and calling it training. And all it got us was a trip to the hospital. We actually have to come up with some stuff here." Dante paced around for a bit.

"What do you have in mind?" Naruto asked quizzically.

"Well, my fighting style pretty much comes down to this. Hit them, then hit them again, then hit them harder, and then just keep hitting them until they stop moving." Naruto nodded, his style being essentially the same thing. "But I have come up with a few Styles of fighting. I have a couple focusing on weapons, one focusing on speed, and one focusing on defense." Dante didn't bring up his Doppelganger or Quicksilver styles, since he knew, as a demon, only he could use the latter, and Naruto had him beat in the former. "It'll take more than a few weeks to get you even a competent level with weapons, so we won't even both with those, but we CAN begin with my Trickster and Royal Guard styles."

"... You have odd taste in names."

"Hey, don't diss my Style. Anyways, you have me beat in outright speed, but I can teach you the tactics I use in Trickster. Give you a better way to use your speed. And the Royal Guard should leave you pretty much invincible since it's a perfect defense, IF you can pull it off. You've seen me use a couple of my techniques already."

"I saw how you blocked my shadow clones without a weapon. I'm guessing that's part of the guard style? But I don't remember any speedy moves you made." Naruto sat down on a nearby rock. "How'd you do that anyways? The guard I mean. I saw sparks, but there was no metal to make it."

"Remember the Soul power these people use. Their chakra is the same as your demonic energy. Use that word." Cerberus said while Dante paced pensively, acting as though thinking of what to say while listening to the demon.

"Well, it's hard to explain. I guess the best way to put it is that I just released a bunch of chakra," he felt odd using the word, "outwards at where he was gonna hit, just before his fist made impact. It completely blocked him, and threw him off guard. The sparks are probably from the chakra being pushed around his fist." Dante felt odd using a third person word to describe the person he was talking to as well as the clone. They were essentially the same person. "And as for the Trickster, I, for lack of a better word, teleported behind a couple of your shadow clones. I call that Air Tricking."

"I remember you doing those. That would be handy to have. And to be able to manipulate your chakra like that... You must be pretty skilled. Even if you still have no taste in names."

Dante just shrugged at the blonde's insult "That's a big word, kiddo. And I've had a lot of practice. It's mostly second nature to me. Just comes down to reflexes."

"So when can we start?" Naruto had become inured to the older man's insults.

"Right now, if you want." Dante stood a couple feet back, so Naruto could get off his rock and get into a suitable position. He did so and took a stance. "Alright, here's what you do..." Dante walked Naruto through the steps and they did a couple slow practice runs of how Dante would punch Naruto, so he knew exactly where the blow would come from. After a couple minutes, Dante said, "I think you got it. Let's give it a test run."

"Wait, what? You didn't teach me much."

"There's not much to it. I punch you, you blast the chakra at my fist to stop it."

"If you say so..." Naruto said reluctantly. He got back into his position, and readied himself. Dante wound back, and... Reached behind his back and pulled out Cerberus. "Whoa, you're not hitting me with that, are you?"

"I wish." Dante said as he laid Cerberus on the ground. "Get ready." Dante wound up, and let off a strong jab at Naruto's face. He was startled as his fist went flying back, and the force spun him half around. Turning to the blonde, Dante began to say something when he saw Naruto lying a few feet away, struggling to get up. "You ok there shrimp?"

"I'm not a shrimp," Naruto snapped, getting up. Rubbing his cheeks, he asked, "What the hell was that?"

"Well, I guess there is more to it. You let off too much. You're trying to break the laws of physics. Right now, you're just forcing the chakra out to stop my fist. But by doing that, you're pushing the force of my fist, through the chakra, and into your face. You're whole face instead of just one part of it. You need to only focus on one area of your face."

"So then what's the whole point of this if I'm still getting hit?" Naruto asked.

"YOU'RE not. The chakra is. You can't use the it as a buffer to slow down, or stop it. You're forcing it out, and having it push back on you. You need to force it out, then have it act as a wall, to stop my punch, without getting close to you. Then use the energy from the punch, and have the chakra redirect it back to the fist."

"So what you're saying is, I'm just making my face bigger right now. And I need to make a shield in front of me."

"Basically, yeah. But it only lasts for an instant. You can't make a permanent field around you, because that takes too makes concentration and energy to hold. It's just a small shield, the size of whatever's going to hit you, far enough away to be safe, but close enough that you have enough control over it to make sure it stops the attack."

"That takes a lot of control. I don't know if I could do that..." Naruto said, aware of how little chakra control he had. "I'm good at using a lot of it, but not a little bit to do what I want."

"And you think I'm any better at finesse? This isn't brain surgery. All it takes is practice. Come on, let's keep trying."

"Right." Naruto nodded, before returning to his stance.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

'I'm wearing Naruto-kun's shirt...' Hinata though to herself. She knew it was only a henge, but it smelled exactly as she though his shirt would. She lay, curled up under the covers of Naruto hospital bed, her hands bunching up the shirt under her nose as she gently breathed in the scent of the young blonde. 'How long am I supposed to stay again...?' she absent mindedly thought. Ever since she'd been called into the room, she'd lost all track of time, focusing on her promise to Naruto.

She was harshly driven out of her revelry when the door opened fiercely and a large nurse walked in. Slamming the door behind her, she called out, "Ok Naruto. Time to take your temperature. Since you're so insistent on biting on the thermometers, this one is going in the other way. So I need you to stand up, turn around, drop your shorts and put your hands on the bed for me.

All Hinata could do was turn pale and pass out.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I think that's enough for today." Dante said, as he sat down on a rock a few hours after they'd started trainng. "You're making a lot of progress, but you don't really have it down..."

"Gomen," Naruto said as he smiled and scratched the back of his head. "I just don't get how you can be so precise with how you mold your chakra."

"That's because he has a lot of practice in doing it without any hand seals. I'm guessing... self taught?" The two looked towards the creek, and saw an old man walk out from behind the trees with a fishing pole in his hand. His headband seemed to be made of stone, and his long white hair extended down to his legs.

"Who are you?" Dante said.

"Don't mind me, just an old man out fishing. I heard you guys while I was out looking for a good fishing spot. I have some... Experience with the ninja arts. Maybe I can be of some help?"

Dante nodded, while Naruto scratched his chin in thought. "Wait! I know who you are!" Dante was startled by the boy's outburst. "You're that pervert! Shouldn't you be at a hot spring, peeping on women?" Naruto pointed at the old man accusingly.

"Hey, a man's gotta have a hobby, right? I'm guessing you're the prankster, Naruto, right? And you are...?" The old man gestured towards the man on the rock.

"Dante." He said as he stood up. "And you are?"

The old man dropped his pole, and spun around dramtically. "The Great Sage!" He hopped on one foot to the side, before slamming his other in the ground and assumed a position much like a ssumo wrestler's. "But you can call me..." He threw a peace sign at the two. "Jiraiya!"

Naruto looked at Dante. "And I thought YOU were overdramatic."

"Hey a guy's gotta make a dynamic entrance. And how about that help? I can show you a couple hand seals that might help. I think Hare to bring out the chakra quickly, Ox to stop their attack, and Dragon to force it back might work." Naruto ran through the signs quickly. "But timing will be extremely important. Internally, your body will keep the chakra molded so you can execute the technique. Externally though, you'll need to mold it just as you need it. Hare as their attacks is getting close, Ox to stop it where you need it, and Dragon immediately afterwards to turn it back onto them. But if start too late, you won't be able to get out enough chakra to stop them with Ox, or you'll stop them too close to yourself and be blown back. Do it too early and the chakra will dissipate too much to be molded with Ox effectively."

"So this is even harder." Naruto complained.

"Timing wise, yes. But that's it. You won't have to worry about molding it as much, so you only have to focus on getting your timing down pat. In the long run, it's much easier and effective. So let's give it a try." Dante sat back down as the other two got into position. "Ready?" Jiraiya asked.

"Hai." The instant the words left Naruto's mouth, he was sent flying into the trees in the other side of the clearing.

"That's for ratting me out last week you little brat!" Jiraiya shouted. Dante just smiled. "Now get back over here and let's try it for real this time." Naruto looked angry as he walked out of the forest.

"Not my fault you're a pervert..." he said to himself.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Hey Kuma." Dem said as he laid in a hospital bed. The larger boy looked up from his book. "You ever get the feeling someone forgot about you?

"You mean like Hana?"

"No, like someone important..."

"Hana isn't important?"

"Dammit man, you know what I mean."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun was beginning to set, and Naruto laid on his back on the ground, exhausted. He hadn't been able to master the timing needed to pull of the Guard, but he could slow down and occasionally stop the attack. It wasn't perfect, but it was a start, and much better than just being blown across the clearing as he'd been doing with Dante. "Nice work today," Jiraiya said. "You guys can continue tomorrow. It's getting late."

Naruto slowly got to his feet as Dante walked over from rock he was sitting on. "Come on kid, let's get some food. My treat."

"Sweet!" Naruto exclaimed as he ran off towards the ramen shop. Dante began to follow when a hand clasped him on his shoulder, stopping him.

"Hey kid. The Hokage's told me who you are, and he trusts you. But I don't. I don't know who you are, or where you came from. And you know some high level abilities. A perfect guard through chakra? Flash stepping? You're a very dangerous man. So where are you from? Who are you loyal to?"

Dante turned towards the older man, surprised by his shift from a laid back tone to a very serious one. "Just like I told the Hokage, I'm not loyal to anyone. Technically, you guys, since you picked me up and took care of me. But I'm not from around here. And you wouldn't believe me if I told you from where."

"Hrmph. Pretty secretive, huh? You know I can't trust you for that."

"Everyone has their secrets. Even that kid."

"What do you mean?" The old man asked accusingly.

"The demon." Dante replied honestly. Jiraiya's eyes narrowed.

"You know it's punishable by death to speak of that kids secret, right? And you're an outsider, how would you know?" Dante was surprised. He didn't know.

"No. And I was told by someone who was at the sealing." Dante hoped his answer would satisfy the old man's paranoia, knowing that only someone high level, or present at the event would be able to speak of the incident without punishment.

"Hrmph." Luckily, he had thought correctly, and the old man's fear was put to rest. At least a little. "And you won't tell me who, right?"

"Punishable by death, remember?" Dante replied mockingly.

"Cocky son of a bitch." Jiraiya laughed. "But remember, I've got my eye on you. Don't do anything you might regret. I'm not a man to be trifled with."

"I can tell."

"Good, now let's go get some food. I'll treat this time." Jiraiya raise his hand to stop Dante's protest. "I know you said you would, but consider it a token of my trust." Dante only replied, and the two walked off in the direction of the ramen shop.

Hey guys, I'm back. I had every intention on just dropping this story, but after seeing all the reviews and how many people still read and enjoy it, I have to keep writing it.

Also, a thank you to my new beta. She's awesome. Give her some love for making sure this story stays awesome.