A/N – Here's chapter 2. I saw a few critiques but I knew they were coming since I purposely left out the obvious explanation. Before I start, I wanted to mention that the beginning of this whole story is a little Naruto centric but…hey, I need to give you guys a piece of what he can do before I start focusing on the main storyline.

"False face must hide what the false heart doth know."

- William Shakespeare, Macbeth, 1.7

Naruto was confused.

After meeting a man that mysteriously proclaimed himself as the so called "General" of the ANBU division for the first time, he was lead to a semi large clearing somewhere in the Level 4 area of the Forest of Death. The clearing was surrounded by tall trees that blocked the sun completely, resulting in a huge shadow being cast around for miles. This was Naruto's first time in Level 4 and the blonde's excitement was starting get grated with his nerves. The atmosphere here was heavier and denser, making breathing slightly more than second hand.

The blonde could almost hear the stalking of wild beasts around him… almost as if they were waiting for him to let his guard down for just a moment…and strike. Naruto wasn't scared though, why would he? As far as he was concerned, he was already more than prepared to take on the beasts here. Letting the thought reassure him, he calmly began to survey his surroundings in a discreet manor. The forest was dead silent except for the casual noise leaves made when they were blown by wind.

Before long, Naruto felt the man's stare, if that was even possible. The man in front of him gave a strange aura and yet, his guard was completely down. The ANBU stood in front of him relaxed, as if he was at home rather than a forest filled with dangerous animals.

"Did you come prepared?" The blonde heard the man's voice as he spoke. It was deep, controlled and most of all, commanding.

"Yes." Naruto replied, doing his best impression of a Hyuuga. The General nodded and silently cleared his throat.

"As you may have figured out, genin are given secondary tests to weed out the trash. According to protocol, genin are placed teammates that balance one another so they are able to work together well." Naruto nodded, knowing that beforehand.

"However, the genin tests are designed to trick students into working alone and thus failing. Again, I am sure you know of this." The man continued his explanation, his voice deep and apathetic. Naruto nodded, knowing that as well.

"Whatever team that is able to figure out the trick and pass the test as a team will become full time genin. The failures are sent to remedial courses to teach them the importance of teamwork. Again…I'm sure you know of this." The man's tone hinted at something and that worried the blonde genin a bit.

"You on the other hand…you are different and thus, we cannot give you the regular test." Naruto narrowed his eyes and began to remove his headphones. Though it was unseen, the General smirked at the sudden gesture.

"Don't bother trying, boy." Naruto widened his eyes but was cut off when the ANBU continued speaking.

"I know all about your "secret" abilities, Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi... Uzumaki Naruto, do you even know what your secret ability is called or did you just go on with life…never bothering to question the gift you received?" Naruto narrowed his eyes further, though he was shocked by his knowledge.

"… Seeing as how you use headphones, I'm sure you can't even control the power." The ANBU ended, watching the boy's shock turn into curiosity in a matter of seconds. Naruto regained his composure in an instant and took a small breathe.

"How?" Was all he said.

"One, you just told me." The young Jinchuuriki twitched and decided not to answer to let the ANBU finish his explanation/

"Two, ever since the day you could walk and think, I've had ANBU tailing you from the very start, keeping track of your activities, no matter what and where you were. After many reports of your unusual behavior, I came to a conclusion. Hell…I bet I knew what you had before you did, Uzumaki." Naruto nodded, it made sense in a way but he couldn't help but feel a little violated personally. This man in front of him probably knew more about him then himself and that was a little weird.

"Who else knows?"

"No one. I have no intention on reporting this to the Hokage." The young genin was confused at that remark. He was even more confused by his own inability to read the General. The man's head was as silent as a corpse and his heart was steeled like metal. Naruto had never met a single person that he couldn't read and frankly, that kind of made the boy slightly afraid. This was the first time Naruto ever met someone and not understand their true intentions.

"Isn't that insubordination?" Naruto asked bluntly.

"Yes." If the situation wasn't so serious, he would have fallen over by the sheer boldness of the answer.

"You know that if you're caught…" The ANBU waved him off.

"The Hokage's crystal ball cannot reach this far."

"Isn't that…I don't know…really, really bad?" The General shrugged, uncaring.

"Would you rather I tell the Hokage and have him send you to a mental institution to wipe all of your memories and seal away your power, thus creating a monopoly effect that would erase all of your muscle memory including the knowledge of your Taijutsu, Ninjutsu and Genjutsu abilities? No… I know for a fact that you wouldn't want that. You are like your father…after all." Naruto nodded, he knew of that as well. He knew why he wasn't told as well which is why the blonde never bothered asking the old man. Naruto knew the man told him many lies and over the years, he just adapted to listening to their hearts rather than their mouths. The young Jinchuuriki held no grudge against the Hokage… after all, the past is in the past. The present is now… and right now, Naruto knew he was very powerful.

"You're right…this power is a curse but losing my freedom is too large a cost for a dream that will never come to fruition." The General nodded, knowing that would be his answer.

"Excellent…now, there is no use for you to take a regular genin test. Luckily, I managed to persuade the Hokage to allow you into ANBU. He argued with me for a long time, telling me that you deserved a normal life and not one that mirrors Uchiha Itachi or Hatake Kakashi…but it is far too late for that, isn't it?" Naruto sighed and nodded. It was a lifetime too late for a normal life in his case.

"So what will you have me do?"

"First, I want to know the limit of your Reishi, the Jinchuuriki ability you possess." The blonde quirked a brow but then widened his eyes in realization.

"Is that what it's called?" The General nodded and explained.

"Reishi (Reading the Heart) is an incredible power that has not been seen in the world for many years. I'm sure you know of this. Now, tell me of your control of over it." Naruto nodded slowly.

"I can read the other person's thoughts… but it is too difficult to control in a crowded area. As for the heart...there has been a few times when I can differentiate good intentions with sinister ones but to be frank, I have seen very few good intentions. I cannot read someone's heart without complete focus." The General took a moment to process the information.

"I see. That is to be expected…this power has not been seen in many years... Now, I will be evaluating your skills as a shinobi…-" Naruto was preparing a stance before the man halted him.

"-…Some other time. I'm sure the others are wondering where I am right now so I will take the rest of this time to inform you on how this is going to work." Naruto nodded.

"It has been a long time since I have come out into the open but you must understand, I only did this for two reasons. One, you utilize Reishi and only I know of it. Two, you are a Jinchuuriki thus, I felt that I had to come here personally and see to this matter. Now… when a genin with exceptional skill is recruited to ANBU, there are certain protocols that you must complete. First, you must receive recommendation from a shinobi that is at the very least a Jounin. Second, you must undergo a four month training regime every day from 3 in the morning to 4 in the afternoon. After completing your daily training, you must complete at least three D-ranked missions to keep a cover. When you complete this four month training, your skills will be completely evaluated to determine what branch you fit in the most." Naruto widened his eyes at the sheer difficulty of the schedule…it made sense now, how so many ninjas cracked.

"You will not receive any mission that requires you to leave the village until this training is completed as well. The training will be strictly focused on reducing your weaknesses while at the same time, increasing your strengths. You will also be shown every chakra control exercise known to Konoha. Following that, you will be taught the basic techniques of Medic-ninja. It is a requirement for all ANBU to know basic medical techniques, elemental manipulation and proficient with at least one type of close combat style. Whether it be your martial arts, a sword, a dagger or a spear. It does not matter what type but you must be proficient at it." Naruto gulped and nodded, he was confident that he could handle it. It wasn't like he had a choice in the matter anyways.

"When this four month training is complete, you will be promoted immediately to chuunin. From there on, you will be assigned ANBU missions and receive ANBU credits. To get to Jounin, you must complete at least twenty A-ranked missions along with forty B-ranked missions." The man than pulled out a scroll from his cloak and gave it to the blonde.

"These are standard protocols and rules as an ANBU trainee. If they are broken, you will be sent to the mental institute to have your memory wiped of everything ANBU. The address you are to report to every morning will be written in there along with blank mask." Naruto nodded again.

"Be prompt..." And with that, the man vanished the moment Naruto blinked. The blonde looked at the scroll in his hands, unable to grasp the surreal feeling.

"Wow…did that just happen."

An hour later, Naruto found himself at the Higurashi shop, shopping for a suitable weapon. He figured that if he was gonna master a weapon, he might as well go get advice on picking one out. Tenten was known to be very proficient about the topic so he figured, she was smarter than him when it came to choosing a primary weapon.

He entered the shop and saw his friend over at the corner, reading a magazine yet again.

"The civilian news must be quite entertaining if you are reading it again." Naruto joked, walking up to the counter. Tenten looked up, seeing her headphone wearing friend and smiled sheepishly.

"Nah, it's actually pretty retarded. Apparently, our village is home to many celebrities and actors. The media record things like their daily lives and what they do every second of the day. I don't even know why I'm reading it." Naruto chuckled.

"I suppose it is because you have nothing better to do." The blonde replied. Tenten sighed, admitting to the fact.

"Yeah… I'm a pretty boring person outside being a shinobi." She replied, not knowing how to answer the blonde boy's statement.

"Meh, at least you aren't some fan girl. Now that would be a terrible look for you." Naruto said, ignoring the Tenten's slight glare at him.

"Don't you dare compare me to those… those… disgraces!" She retorted in a high pitched voice, face turning slightly red in anger. Naruto put his hands up innocently, smiling calmly as always.

"Maah, it was a joke. I'm sorry, Tenten." She calmed much to Naruto's relief.

"So, how was the genin test?" Now, Naruto knew that he had to come up with some sort of lie. He knew that telling her about the ANBU proposition would get him kicked out of the program.

"I was the odd numbered student so they gave me instructions on how the reserve genin work. I can go on missions with different teams if a situation arises." Naruto said, smiling at the thought. He liked the idea even more than the original one of being put on a team.

"That is soooo cool! You get to meet new people!" Tenten was a little jealous. After all, one of her life long goal was to become famous and getting to meet new people was a massive step. But instead, she was stuck with an insane sensei, a miniature clone of him and a quiet, emotionally scarred boy. It wasn't like Tenten disliked her teammates, annoyed by them but definitely not dislike, she just enjoyed meeting new people.

"I guess." Naruto replied, a bit skeptic at the thought. Hopefully the Hokage would give him missions with people that didn't hate him in particular. That would save the blonde a lot of stress in the future.

"So what's up? Did you just come to chat me up or…?" The young Jinchuuriki nodded.

"I've decided to take on a primary weapon so I came for advice." She widened her eyes slightly and smirked.

"Is that so? And you came to me because you knew how awesome I am?" She boasted loudly, eliciting a chuckle.

"Yes, yes. I came to you because I am clearly a clueless fan boy of yours that has no knowledge of weapons. Will you help me, Tenten-dono?" He replied sarcastically. Tenten guffawed, ruffling the boy's hair…only to stop as she realized the height difference and blushed in embarrassment.

"Follow me to the back and I'll see what fits." Naruto nodded and followed suit.

As they entered through the storage room, the blonde couldn't help but look at awe of the sheer amount of metal in the room. On every wall, there was a weapon that went with it. On the far corner of the room, he spotted a guan dao that was glowing as if made for royalty. In another corner of the room, the bright shine of a beautifully made nodachi made its way to his eye.

"Wow. I wonder how you resist playing with all these every day." He joked quickly only for the older girl to snort.

"Please, I have all this in one scroll." She chirped happily. Naruto shook his head, actually expecting the answer.

"I should have known…"

Ignoring him, Tenten went to one of the barrels with swords in them. Carefully looking through the barrel, she took out a particular short sword and threw it at Naruto. Catching it easily, the blonde felt the sword was a little uncomfortable to hold, hence why he frowned a little at the feel when he first caught it. This did not escape Tenten's eyes.

"I guess that's a no." Naruto tilted his head in confusion.

"I haven't even practiced with it yet. How would you know?" Tenten then got into a sort of lecture mode at the question.

"You see Naruto, Ensensei has always taught me that everyone has a subconscious "preference" of sorts when it comes to weapons. Only masters can truly understand this fully but when I saw you frown the moment you caught the sword, I knew it wasn't for you. Even right now, you hold the sword as a mere tool instead of an extension of yourself." The blonde didn't quite understand but nodded. Who was he to argue with an expert on the subject.

Tenten began to search around the room for another weapon. After an hour of searching and many weapons being deemed unusable to Naruto, the girl was beginning to feel frustrated and fumed very openly.

"…Maybe I'm just a Taijutsu guy then…" Tenten felt a little shiver run through her spine, thoughts of Naruto becoming like Gai or Lee suddenly popping up. She couldn't let that happen even if it cost a life. The blonde sweatdropped when Tenten began to sprout a bunch of nonsense about preventing the unholy brainwashing of her younger brother and some other gibberish.

Tenten was throwing around weapons like toys, scaring the blonde with her recklessness. He was about to stop her when a medium sized box fell from the top of a shelf, landing on one of Tenten's hair buns. She carefully took the box off her head and looked at it curiously.

"What's that?" Naruto asked. The girl shrugged and took out whatever was in the box and tossing it for Naruto to catch. In the blink of an eye, Naruto used a single finger to catch it and twirled it in a flashy manner without realizing it.

On his lone finger was a three ponged kunai like weapon. It was melded in black and had an undecipherable seal on its small handle.

"Cool…" The older girl said as she eyed the small weapon. It was light and surprisingly dense according to the metal type.

"Titanium… the metal with the world's best strength to weight ratio. The ideal metal to use when crafting weapons… how did such a rare type of metal end up here?" She mused to herself but stopped when Naruto began to leave… and more importantly with the weapon.

"Oi! Where you going?" Naruto turned around and smiled brightly.

"I'm gonna learn how to use this baby." He said holding the kunai comfortably in his hand. From the very first moment he saw it, he knew that it was to be his destined weapon.

"Jeez! At least let me play with it first." She pouted…only for Naruto to shake his head.

"Tenten… I owe you a lot for finding this for me. Hell, I'll return the favor two folds. I've never seen something as beautiful and wicked as this." He held the kunai loosely with a single finger. She sighed and grinned.

"Alright…but you owe me! Don't go back on your word." Naruto smirked and placed the kunai in his holster.

"I, Uzumaki Naruto of Konoha, will make a vow that one day, I shall repay you back for your help, Higurashi Tenten. I swear it on my very pride and soul." Right out of the complete etiquette book, Naruto thought to himself. Tenten smirked fiercely.

"Well, it's not every day that I get to see you grovel before my awesomeness. Bow down before my might, minion!" It was unfortunate that by the time she finished the sentence, the blonde boy was long out of her sight. She twitched in annoyance.

"…I was really getting into the role playing too…" Pouting to herself, she went back to register to continue the rest of her shift.

Forest of Death – Level 3

Naruto entered his favorite training area with vigor, a large smirk adjourning his face as he immediately pulled out his new signature weapon. The black and white three ponged kunai. The young Jinchuuriki flared a fraction of his chakra to gather the attention of the wild beasts in the immediate area. Eying a giant snake as it slithered towards him; Naruto rushed it with all his speed while holding his kunai in a reverse grip, surprised when the weapon cleanly cut the beast's head off.

Gathering his composure, Naruto stood back up straight and looked directly at his newest weapon. It was light and incredibly durable like Tenten has said. Not to mention it just cut through a snake's head with relative ease.

"I think I'll call you… Kuroshurai (Black Lightning)."

After an hour or so more of training, Naruto decided to go back home and rest. He could not shake off the feeling of excitement but he knew that tomorrow would be grueling. After all, he had to wake up at 3 to meet his new master.

Secret ANBU HQ

Naruto stared at the walls around him, studying his soon to be training ground. The place had three times the space as a regular martial arts dojo which was a good sight for him. The blonde had followed the directions the scroll had for him and easily entered the ANBU HQ. He was surprised at the amazing amounts of Genjutsu covering the entrance but he figured it was for the best. After all, why would ANBU have a public building?

Naruto was decked in a slightly new uniform for his training. The scroll the General had given him came with a forearm guards and a completely white mask. He was wearing his black shirt (with the hidden armor), dark green shorts, black shin guards, black forearm guards and a white mask. The boy also strapped a kunai holster across his right thigh, allowing him easy access to his new weapon and an equipment pouch on his waist.

"You have arrived." A dull voice spoke. Naruto turned around and saw the man he had met the other day. The General looked the same…of course that was to be expected.

"We will begin your training immediately. Four months is a short amount of time to drill knowledge into your head." Naruto nodded in understanding.

"We will begin with a spar. I want you to come at me with the intent to kill and nothing less. If you don't, then I will simply kill you and report that you died by an overdose of the Kyuubi's chakra." Naruto didn't know whether he was joking or not but decided not to dwell. He knew the rules and he was gonna play by them.

The young Jinchuuriki took a massive leap back to get gather space to begin thinking of a strategy. Reaching into his pouch, he launched a shuriken at the man while speeding through seals.

"Shuriken Kage Bunshin (Shuriken Shadow Clone)!" One turned into twenty as the man was forced to dodge the incoming attack only to see Naruto running to attack his weak side. The blonde began to attack his lower body with quick punches. The General deflected the hits and gave Naruto a knee to the stomach, sending him flying back towards the wall. Naruto got back up a moment later, his face showing the shock he was in.

"How did he hit me that hard from such a close distance?" As if he were reading his mind, the ANBU began to launch into an explanation.

"You are correct in being confused about that last attack. Normally, to deliver a powerful hit, you must achieve a perfect amount of spacing and timing but in my case, I didn't need to. Next time, use the weight of your body to attack rather than using your arms or legs alone. By doing this, you will be able to deliver stronger attacks at a closer distance." Naruto nodded, his hands flashing through a few seals.

"Tsuchi Bunshin (Earth Clones)!" Naruto grinned behind his mask as five rock clones accompanied him. The General narrowed his eyes, wondering where he had gotten that technique until memories of a certain report got him.

"Ah. He learned it from a scroll Anko gave him for his eleventh birthday." He whispered ghostly to himself, not wanting to think knowing the boy could utilize his special abilities.

Watching as the clones rushed him; the older man immediately dispatched the first three in a flash before feeling a presence behind him holding a kunai that looked very familiar. In fact, the man knew what it was the second he saw it. Dodging the kunai, he gathered some space between the two and gave Naruto a lightning fast kick to the stomach, again sending him flying.

"The Hiraishin kunai... I did not receive any reports on him having such a thing…seeing as how they haven't been seen for almost twelve years. Did Ensensei give that to him?" The man whispered to himself again as he saw Naruto pick himself up.

"Speed is equal to weight, boy." The General said as Naruto finished getting to his feet. He had only been hit twice and he was already feeling the fatigue hitting his body. The kicks weren't normal.

"I can't read his thoughts like I do with everyone else. Though I doubt it would matter since his speed is far above my own." The young Jinchuuriki thought to himself as he began to formulate another assault on the ANBU.

"The essence of tactical combat revolves around speed. You may come up with a brilliant strategy one moment but it will be all for naught if you do not execute on time or if you are too tired to even start it. Once you approach your enemy, study his habits and use it against him. Use his power and make it yours. Do it quickly and efficiently." Naruto nodded again, memorizing the lesson word for word like a mantra.

"That will be enough for now. I have made a good enough evaluation of your skills from this one fight alone. What is left now is to refine it."

From then on, Naruto began his true training. The General of the ANBU forces was a strict teacher who was always quick to point out a flaw of his. Naruto didn't mind that at all, knowing that the man had ten times the experience he, himself did. They continued the rest of the day covering various topics such as chakra control, the use of knife fighting and real time tactics along with strategies. The young Jinchuuriki knew that with every passing day, he would get stronger and by leaps and bounds at that. As of right now, he knew that experience was needed.

Naruto cut off from that line of thinking immediately. He couldn't focus on the future and present at the same time.

After training was over, Naruto felt fatigue stretch through every point of his body. At the moment, his mask was off since he was no longer at the ANBU HQ and wearing it wouldn't be appropriate. He was currently on his way to the Hokage's office to get his first mission. The blonde was not looking forward on going on these D ranked missions but it wasn't like he hated it. After all, it was an easy and quick way to make fast money.

As he entered the tower, he felt a stare from behind him. Turning around, he came face to face with the one and only team 10, consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji and their sensei, Sarutobi Asuma.

"Hello." He waved casually. Shikamaru nodded to him and walked up.

"Here for a mission, Naruto?" The blonde nodded.

"Yeah, I made an appointment to pick up a mission so I could get a mission in the afternoon."

"That's not such a good idea. Most of the good D ranks are taken early…" Asuma said, grinning at the new genin.

"Oh I don't know… between the usual gardening, babysitting and the casual delivery missions, I just can't seem to find the best one of the three." Naruto replied sarcastically, eliciting a chuckle from the older man.

"True, true… but hey, delivery is the easiest one right? All speed and finesse." Naruto shrugged, unable to that logic. Ino took a look at her blonde classmate with a look of curiosity. She had never really gotten to know him but she knew that Shikamaru knew him well. Naruto was never one to talk and draw attention to himself, opting to blast music into his headphones than to talk to people.

"So…how often do you train?" She said, trying to start a conversation as they waited for their call from the Hokage.

"When I'm not on missions usually, and you?" Naruto replied, also wanting to get rid of the silence.

"Every now and then… I usually just condition but that's just about it. I'm plenty strong." She said, feeling a bit insecure about her own abilities compared to his. The Yamanaka knew that he was one of the top students in the academy and she did not want to look weak. She was to be the next heir of her family.

Naruto quirked a brow, reading her thoughts without a slight hint of guilt of invading one's personal space. He knew that the girl next to him didn't quite take training seriously so he didn't really ask about the specifics of her training to avoid some sort of argument. Now he knew that she felt insecure about her abilities.

"Hm… maybe I should help. After all, it's nice to watch people try to improve themselves. Almost like watching a sitcom on TV." The blonde thought to himself.

"What do you think your strengths are?"

"Well… I'm pretty good at my family techniques. Other than that, I just stick to the academy basics." She replied feeling slightly embarrassed. For some odd reason, she thought Naruto would make fun of her but that did not come which was odd because when people had strength, they also had a lot of arrogance. At first, she thought Naruto was the same...until he replied and crushed her thesis.

"That's good… sticking to the basics is a good thing. While powerful techniques are important, the basics are the very foundation of a shinobi. The Hokage for example, has mastered the basics to the point of beating just about any chuunin and low jounin leveled shinobi by just simply using the starting moves. Of course, this is not something that is easily boasted."

Ino nodded, slightly understanding the concept. Asuma smiled as he heard the words and from a genin now less.

"Wise kid." The Jounin thought as a woman walked into the room.

"The Hokage will be seeing you know, Sarutobi-san." The whole team stood up and began to walk into the office.

"Thanks for the advice, Naruto-san." Ino said before leaving. Though she managed to hear his last words.

"Just Naruto. The only honorifics that I will concede to are Naruto-sama or Naruto-dono and you have no need to say either of those. " He said, smirking as she chuckled.

Soon after Team Ten's departure, the young Jinchuuriki was also being called in for his mission appointment. Naruto walked in to see the man he partially looked up to, the Shinobi no Kami (God of Shinobi), Hiruzen Sarutobi the Third Hokage of Konoha and probably the most powerful man in the village, even at his age. Of course, that was probably why he made Hokage in the first place.

Surrounding the old man were five chuunins, one of whom was his old academy instructor, Umino Iruka.

"Is this what you do when you're not teaching, Iruka-senpai? It must be tough, dealing with all this paperwork every day." The middle aged man chuckled.

"Hey! I go out on missions too you know. Hokage-sama just happened to assign some chuunins to assist with paperwork." Naruto grinned and looked at the old man, whom was also watching the conversation in interest.

"Must be why he picked you, Iruka-senpai. After all, who else is patient enough to do all of this fine paper work." Iruka narrowed his eyes comically.

"The words come out of your mouth as a compliment but why do I feel that it is actually an insult?" Was the witty reply. Naruto shrugged.

"I dunno… pencil pusher." Before the conversation could escalate, the Hokage stepped in and calmed down the young chuunin whom was now red. He didn't know if it was by rage or embarrassment. All in all, it was all light hearted anyways so he didn't bother.

"So Naruto-kun, you have come here for your D-ranks correct?" He nodded and waited for whatever assignment he was given. The Hokage began searching through his files for a suitable mission while Iruka and the other chuunin went back to their work.

"Since you are on the reserves, you will be assigned on a joint mission with Team Gai. Do you know them?" He did if the smile on his face was any indication.

"Yes, Higurashi Tenten is a part of that team. She's a friend." Sarutobi nodded and threw him a scroll.

"Meet them in the outer walls of the village. They're doing some basic construction work and with your help, they'll finish faster. I gave them this mission about twenty minutes ago so…you better hurry up." Naruto nodded but not before asking a question.

"I don't want to sound rude but why are you sending me to do a mission that you have others assigned to? Wouldn't that be unfair to them since I arrived late and did a lesser amount of work then them?" The Hokage shook his head in the negative.

"Not at all. Think of this as a simulation for a "sending reinforcements" type of order. Besides, I doubt that those three are anywhere near done. I bet they would appreciate the help." The blonde nodded and bowed formally.

"I understand. By your leave, Hokage." The old man nodded to him and he began to take his leave.

Hiruzen looked to where the boy left and sighed.

"I am kind of worried about assigning him to ANBU… but the question is, why did that man of all people want to train Naruto personally?" Hiruzen was not only familiar with the ANBU general, he also knew the man as well as he knew a brother. The General was a strong and capable shinobi that, like Hiruzen himself, far surpassed anyone of his generation. He was loyal to a degree but will take matters into his own hands if he thinks necessary on any given assignment. The ANBU general was probably the most independent shinobi he'd ever met and that was partially a reason of why he'd let the man train Naruto in the first place. The Hokage trusted the man with his life.

"What are you planning my old friend? You know how Minato wanted his son to grow up…what are you hiding from me, exactly?"

END

Just another chapter to set things up. I also revealed Naruto's ability so I mind as well make the proper Disclaimer.

I do not own Naruto or Shaman King.

Reishi (Reading the Heart) is an ability that the main antagonist of Shaman King, Asakura Hao, once used. Whether or not you are familiar with it, I'll explain the powers full abilities soon and how the General knows about it.

Oh and one more thing. I have been deciding against writing the wave arc… why? Simple. I bet that anyone that has read more than a hundred fictions will know how it will turn out. The hero will look cool while unintentionally (or intentionally) making everyone look bad. On some occasions, even the Jounin who is supposed to be FAR superior to a regular genin would be written as inferior and incompetent. Naruto isn't regular sure but he is still quite green despite whatever circumstances.

Really, would you trust a 13 year old with your life? Even if you knew this person was the nicest kid on the planet. I wouldn't but perhaps that's just me.

Now for the true question? Is the General an OC? He might be but I have no intention on telling any of you.

Thank you for reading.