Disclaimer: I own neither Naruto, nor Star Wars, so… yeah…

"Speaking"

"Radio"

'Thoughts'

"Bijuu/Jinchuriki/ Force Spirit Talking"

"Bijuu/Jinchuriki/ Force Spirit Thinking"

AN: Got a pic of Naru for all of you guys! Thanks goes to OffworldTrooper for the artwork: dragonknightryu .deviantart art/Naru-Uzumaki-Shinobi-Jedi-448039015

Chapter Five: Moving Forward

"At a cost, Power comes, for good, for ill… Power, is costly" - Grand Master Yoda's Holocron, speaking on the Force

Higa Village Shrine, Day after the battle

"How are the people of the village holding up, Jonin Yuuhi?" Loya questioned, concern for the villagers bleeding into her calm voice as Kurenai arrived at the shrine.

"They are just fine, Draav-san," Kurenai assured the former Jedi trainee turned Shrine Maiden. "A few minor injuries, but they're already up and moving around, only a small group of men was sent to the village."

Loya let out a relieved breath as she set a hand atop of her chest. "Thank you, Yuuhi-san, for your efforts in protecting the village," she said to the kunoichi gratefully, bowing to her. "You and your students have done so much for us, we can never properly thank you."

Kurenai shook her head. "We merely completed the terms of our contract," she assured. "We will be remaining for a short while to ensure all of the Yakuza elements have been dealt with in the area before returning to Konohagakure."

"I understand, thank you for undertaking these efforts," Loya replied. "Please, feel free to rest here for as long as you stay here, Konoha Ninja will always be welcome here."

"Thank you for your kindness," Kurenai returned politely. "For us Shinobi, having a safe haven to go to while outside of our village is a true relief."

The former Jedi trainee nodded in understanding. "I look forward to our next meeting, Jonin Yuuhi," she said formally before turning to Naru. "If I may, Genin Uzumaki, may I give you a gift?"

Naru blinked in surprise to the request. "Ah, I guess so?" Naru replied slowly, looking confused.

Loya nodded as she reached into the billowing sleeves of her shrine maiden outfit and pulled out a small multi-colored gem that glittered as it reflected the light as it sat in the palm of her hand. "This was given to me by my instructor in the art of the sword and a very dear friend," Loya said, her eyes never leaving Naru's surprised ones. "He passed onto me when I completed my training under him, and now I feel that my time holding onto it is over and it's your time to carry it."

Naru was stunned speechless as she numbly held out her hand and allowed Loya to roll the small jem into her hand.

This particular crystal held a rather… significant memory for her, this crystal had been Ryu's Master, a man by the name of Jolee Korudis who had been killed in a fight against a Dark Jedi, one that Ryu had later then killed after weeks of torture with the help of a group of Mandalorian Commandos.

This sole crystal was the only thing he could recover that was his Master's, it wasn't his lightsaber crystal, but rather, just a simple crystal that he had received as a gift from a traveller he had aided.

Even now as her fingers traced the edges she could 'feel' the soft energy it emitted with her sensory abilities, she couldn't quite place it either, it somewhat felt like Chakra, but… there was something… more to it than that.

"Lo… Draav-san, I…" Naru began only to be cut off by the elder woman.

"It's surprising just how similar you are to him, maybe it is Destiny or Fate, but, whatever it is, no matter how similar, you are still different, and I can only hope that this crystal will help you discover just how different you are in time," Loya said, her words ringing strongly within Naru's mind as she stared at the crystal.

"Thank you, Draav-san," Naru said gratefully, bowing her head towards Loya. "I shall always treasure it."

Konohagakure, three weeks after mission, Namikaze household

Naru sighed as she rolled the small rainbow colored crystal in her palm, carefully inspecting it for any flaws or imperfections as she sat in the small study room that her parents had used when creating or studying seals.

The crystal had been a parting gift from Loya, one that she had received from Ryu when they had went their separate ways, Loya saying she was not returning it to Ryu, but passing it on to Naru, as - in Naru's own words - she wasn't Jedi Weaponmaster Ryu Hisanaga anymore, but Konohagakure Genin Naru Uzumaki.

Setting the crystal - and the memories - aside for the moment, Naru turned her attention back to the notes she was reading, it was in her mother's handwriting. Which was disorganized and… messy.

The notes were on the unique chakra ability her mother had, the ability to manifest chakra chains, being able to use them as weapons and conduits for barrier, bindings and even sealing techniques.

Carefully reading them, Naru took a deep breath and held out her right arm and narrowed her eyes in concentration as she manipulated her chakra in the way her mother's notes described and projected out of a tenketsu in her arm, frown as it slowly solidified into a single chain link before letting out a sudden gasp as her concentration broke, the chain link evaporating into the air.

"Well… I manifested it at least," she muttered to herself as she shook her head. "Right, time to try again."

Setting herself she got back to work on recreating her mother's technique.

Hokage's Office

Sarutobi puffed on his pipe as he reclined in a relaxing manner, looking out over the village from the windows of his office as he took a break from his daily stack of paperwork.

He let out an ever so slight perverted giggle as he saw that he had the exactly right angle to see down a tea shop waitress' blouse into her cleavage - hey, having chakra enhanced eyesight was a plus.

He was startled from his observing - *cough*peeping*cough* - when someone knocked on his door. "Enter," he called out, allowing a chunin to enter, carrying a scroll. "What do you have for me today, Raisen-kun?" he asked the shinobi in charge of caring for the messenger hawks.

"A message from Kumo, Hokage-sama," Raisen responded as he quickly handed the scroll over. "I brought it straight over."

Sarutobi hummed in response as he accepted the scroll and eyed the seal, ensuring it wasn't broken. "Thank you, Raisen-kun, you may leave," he said, dismissing the chunin, waiting for the man to leave before cracking the seal open and began reading.

"Mmm… interesting," he mused as he began to slowly stroke his goatee, considering the contents of the scroll. "Neko-san," he called out, causing a cat-masked female ANBU operative with purple hair to appear before him, kneeling on one knee with one fist planted on the ground. "Please send out a message to the members of the Shinobi Council for a small meeting, it will be held in one hour."

"Hai, Hokage-sama," The ANBU operative responded before disappearing.

"Well… this should bring an interesting result," Sarutobi mused to himself as he rolled up the scroll once again. "Let's hope it doesn't blow up in our faces."

Council Meeting Rooms- one hour later

"Thank you all for coming on such short notice," Hiruzen called out as the council took their seats, from the Clan heads to the heads of the various divisions the Shinobi council was the gathering of the top of the food chain within Konoha. "I received a rather… interesting message from Kumo today."

There were an assortment of responses from the council at that announcement, from Shikaku Nara's apathy to Hiashi Hyuuga's anger filled eyes. "What kind of message was it, Hokage-sama?" the ANBU Commander questioned, a man clad in ANBU gear with a bear shaped mask.

"A request in regards to the upcoming chuunin exams," Hiruzen informed, getting surprised looks in response, in general the Chunin Exams were split, with Konoha and Suna and an assortment of small nations holding their own while Iwa and Kumo held their own with other nations, and Kiri often participating in both sides of the Chunin exams. "The Raikage wishes to hold a Five Great Shinobi Nations Chunin Exams to be held in a neutral location, to be determined when we've all given our responses."

"Kumo asked for this?" Tsume Inuzuka asked in surprise as she voiced what the entire room was thinking. "Well… we haven't heard anything from this new Raikage of theirs since he was promoted."

"I am sure you are well aware of my… personal feelings on the matter, Hokage-sama," Hiashi stated in a restrained manner - his hatred of Kumo was well founded considering they were responsible for nearly kidnapping his daughter and killing his brother in an attempt to get his own Byakugan. "However, I am willing to put that to the side if you wish to go along with this unified Chunin exams."

Sarutobi nodded as he pulled out a second scroll. "This came with their message," he announced as he looked directly at Hiashi. "As a gesture of good faith, Kumo has returned the body - and the eyes - of your brother, along with Blood Money to go to his next of kin as a way of restitution."

The entirety of the Shinobi Council stared at the scroll with wide eyes, for the highly militaristic Kumogakure to take such an action was… shocking to say the least.

"I… see," Hiashi said slowly, swallowing tightly as he accepted the scroll. "I shall ensure that Neji gets this then."

Sarutobi nodded. "I personally am in favor of this course of action," he announced. "This could be a great opportunity for us to form ties with the other Shinobi Nations, and continue this age of peace."

There were nods and murmurs of agreements from the assembled Shinobi.

"Very well then, I will message the Raikage back with our attendance," Sarutobi announced. "And inform all Jonin-senseis who wish to have their team participate to up their Genins training, if that is all this meeting is now brought to a close."

With Team Seven

Sasuke panted as he finished the laps that Kakashi had set them on, planting his hands on his knees to balance himself as he doubled over, Kiba and Akamaru sprawled out on the ground next to him, having finished the laps just ahead of them.

"Ha… ha… told… ya… I'd win…" Kiba gasped out between lungfuls of air.

"Hn," Sasuke responded as he eyed the final member of their team finishing her own sets of laps.

The Sakura that was with them now was a far different person than when she had graduated. After the harsh words he had spoken to her at the festival, Sakura had taken a hard look at herself and her reasons for becoming a Kunoichi.

After having a serious conversation with her Shinobi father, Sakura had thrown herself into their training, cutting her once long hair to around her neck and clad in a skin tight black armored jumpsuit.

She had truly proven herself, however, during their disastrous C-turned-A-ranked mission to Nami no Kuni when she had stepped up and killed several of Gato's ronin thugs in the defense of Tazuna and the unconscious Sasuke.

Another point in her favor was when Sasuke had complimented her on her newfound resolve, and all she had done - aside from a small blush and stutter - was smile and say thanks.

"Alright, nicely done," Kakashi announced with a clap of his hands when Sakura crossed the finish line. "I think you've all improved quite nicely since your graduation, plus you've all shown a good improvement with the water walking technique that I've taught you."

The three genin grinned in response to his praise as he gave them his patented eye smile. "So, I think it's time to get you all started on ninjutsu," he declared as he pulled out four slips of paper. "These are special slips of paper that is harvested from specially grown trees," Kakashi explained as he pulled a single sheet out of the stack and held it between his fingers. "And when you channel your chakra through it, it reacts to the latent Chakra Nature you have.

"For example, if you have a water aligned chakra the paper will get wet, for earth it will turn to dust, fire will burn, wind will cut and finally," he gave them an eye smile as he channeled his chakra into the paper, causing it to crumple in on itself. "Lightning crumples."

He passed the slips out to each of them. "Now, in order to become a Jonin you must have mastered at least two elements," he explained. "So, give it a try."

The genin nodded as they focus on their paper, Kiba's rapidly turned into dust between his fingers while Sakura's became damp.

Sasuke's had been an interesting result with it crumpling on him before the corners caught fire, burning the paper.

"Hm, very interesting results, Sasuke," Kakashi appraised before he handed them some leaves. "Now for the first part of your training, Sakura you must draw the water out of the leaf, Kiba, yours must crumble to dust, Sasuke, I'll have you focus on your Lighting Affinity first, so you'll have to crumple yours."

The three genin nodded as they set themselves up for their training.

Sasuke frowned as he sat down, his back resting on the training stump that sat in the center of the training field, Kiba to his left and Sakura to his right. He, like all Uchiha, had been given basic fire element training when he was young, so the practice of it should work the same, only, trying to use lightning instead of burning the leaf.

He wasn't quite sure of how much time had passed while he was focusing his attention on the leaf, doing his best to channel his chakra into it without lighting it on fire.

He was caught off guard as a familiar voice called out to them. "Hello, Hatake-sempai," Naru Uzumaki greeted as she walked into the training field.

"Ah, fancy seeing you here, Uzumaki-chan," Kakashi returned, looking up from his ever present Icha Icha. "What brings you around here today?"

"I was hoping I could ask you some questions about my Kaa-san's unique chain ninjutsu," Naru said with a hopeful look. "I've been working on trying to develop it myself, although… it's kinda been slow progress."

Kakashi eye smiled at her in response. "I may be able to help a bit, but I'm not really sure how much," he admitted. "I have had my Sharingan active when she used it, but it could never copy it, but, I have asked Kushina-san about it and she was able to give me a good explanation on how it works," he explained as he pushed up his headband to show his Sharingan. "Why don't you do it now and I may be able to see if you are doing it right or not."

Naru nodded as she took a deep breath as she held out her hand and concentrated on forming the links of the chain, the genin of Team Seven watching on in interest as a small chain slowly worked its way out from under the detached sleeve before her concentration was disrupted.

"Hm, I think I see your problem," Kakashi said as he pulled down his headband back over his Sharingan eye. "Kushina-san had said that summoning her chains was instinctual, it wasn't something she needed to dedicate her full attention towards," he explained. "Now that you have the feel of bringing the chains out, you need to work on not trying to micromanage the process."

Naru let out a small hum in response, thinking about the Jonin's words. It made sense when she thought about it - she had been falling back on her old Jedi training, even for lifting something as simple as datapad you had to be aware of gravity's effect on the pad, the strength of the wind, and so on, and with Chakra, things were much more instinctual in nature, yes you had to learn the feel of certain techniques, but that quickly became instinct with training.

With that in mind Naru closed her eyes and let out a breath, relaxing her body and remembered the feeling of summoning those chains, she felt a slight pull on her Chakra and heard a trio of gasps near her, causing her eyes to open to the sight of several chains weaving around her in a lazy pattern.

"'ttebane!" Naru shouted out excitedly as she inspected her chains. "I finally got it!"

The four on watchers stared as she froze, her face turning a cherry red.

"So… still have that verbal tick I see," Kakashi said in amusement as he gave her an eyesmile.

"Shut up, 'ttebane!" Naru shouted, her verbal tic slipping once again as she launched a bunch of chains at Kakashi who merely substituted himself with a nearby log before patting Naru on the head making her pout before returning her attention back to the chains.

"That's… that's so cool," Sakura declared excitedly. "This is your family's Kekkai Genkai, Uzumaki-san?"

Naru smiled as she watched the chains weave around her, willing the chakra constructs to move in particular patterns, which they did - much to her delight. "More like a hereditary trait exclusive to Uzumaki-chan's branch of the family," Kakashi pointed out in place of the distracted Naru who was engrossed in manipulating her chains. "At least, that's how Kushina-san explained it."

"Kushina…" Sasuke murmured, catching his teammates attention. "That name sounds familiar…"

Kakashi hummed as he contemplated what to tell the young Uchiha. "Well, that would probably be because Kushina-san and your mother were good friends," he said finally, bringing his genin's attention and breaking Naru's from her chains to him. "They were genin teammates back in the day I believe, and Kushina-san served as Mikoto-san Maid-of-Honor when she married your father."

Sasuke and Naru blinked in surprise as they looked at each other. "Y'know… that would explain where those odds and ends that I had needed and had showed up on my doorstep came from," Naru commented. "They would show up like clockwork right up until… that night."

Sasuke winced at the reminder of the traumatic experience, but otherwise remained in thought. "I would sometimes hear okaa-san arguing with otou-san about 'her friends daughter'," he commented. "But otou-san said it would draw too much attention if they took the daughter in."

Kakashi's lone visible eyes drooped slightly in response to Sasuke's comment, he knew exactly why the Uchiha's couldn't take Naru in after the attack, and it wasn't due to any sort of dislike on their part either, Fugaku - while routinely annoyed by Kushina's antics - would still have gladly taken her daughter into his household - even if only to annoy her father.

The only thing that stopped them, however, was the building suspicion that the Uchiha's were behind the Kyuubi's attack on Konoha, despite them losing the most of their active shinobi clan forces in evacuating the citizens. And had they taken Naru in, many would have seen it as the Uchiha trying to retake control of the Kyuubi.

Shaking himself from his dour thoughts, Kakashi watched as Naru interacted with his genin, Naru was currently accepting an apology from Sakura on acting like a bitch to her for no reason, it seem Naru took after her father with a natural charisma that drew people in - for all her mother's looks and amusing verbal tic.

He eye smiled as he watched Sakura and Naru both deck Kiba right in the face for a rather lewd suggestion about them 'kissing it up' as way of apologizing.

'Sometimes, life is its own Icha Icha' he thought to himself letting out a small giggle as the teens unintentionally acted out a scene from his favorite book series.

Later that Week, Jonin meeting hall

"I wonder why pops is calling this meeting?" Asuma questioned as he, Kakashi and Kurenai all gathered in a section of the room. "The chunin exams aren't for another few months yet."

"YOSH!" another Jonin sensei who joined their small group shouted proudly, sticking out from the crowd with his bowl-cut black hair, thick bushy eyebrows and wearing a green full body skintight spandex. "I look forward to the exams where my most YOUTHFUL students can finally show off their FLAMES OF YOUTH!"

"Hm?" Kakashi looked up from the book he'd been reading, just noticing the jonin's presence - something that had become so familiar to him it wasn't even a blip to his 'threat detector'. "Oh, hey Gai, you say something?"

Might Guy, the undisputed taijutsu master of Konoha, currently had his jaw sitting on the ground as he stared at his honestly confused rival. "Curse your hip and cool attitude Kakashi!" Gai wailed mournfully getting another confused look from Kakashi.

Before the situation could escalate, however, the Sandaime strode into the room even without announcing his presence, each and every man and woman there as they all snapped to attention. "Put yourselves at ease," Hiruzen requested as he took his seat at the desk at the front of the room.

"I called you all today to discuss the matter of the upcoming chunin exams," the elderly kage explained. "As some of you know, we have been contacted by Kumogakure in regards to holding a joint chunin exams between all five of the great nations and any minor nation that wishes to participate."

Some minor murmuring met the Sandaime's proclamation, murmuring that quickly died down as the jonins quickly regained their discipline.

"Thank you," Sarutobi said as the murmurings grew silent. "Just yesterday we've gained confirmation that Tetsu no Kuni will be hosting the exams as neutral ground and the other Great Nations have agreed to participate in this exam.

"Now, the exams will not be held until four months from now, and the reason I am holding this meeting is to gather the applicants early, those that are participating will be given leave to not participate in missions and have their genin paid a stipend to allow them the chance to take those four month for intensive training,

"Please consider this opportunity carefully before submitting your genin into this exam."

Kurenai frowned as she thought about her genin. Naru was no question, she showed all the traits required for chunin, tactical foresight, leadership capability, and battle capability. Shino showed all of those as well - including a high level of deductive reasoning.

The main cause for her concern was Hinata, a girl she considered to be her own little sister. The young woman had vastly improved since being put under her care as a jonin sensei, and as much as she wished to take credit for it, it was due to the efforts of one Naru Uzumaki that slowly brought Hinata out of her shell.

But, even with all of her progress, was she ready for the chunin exams? Let alone an International one.

"I, Kakashi Hatake, nominate Team Seven, consisting of Sakura Haruno, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sasuke Uchiha for the chunin exams," the silver haired jonin announced as he stepped forward.

"Are you sure of this, Kakashi?" Sarutobi asked sternly. "Your genin just graduated this cycle."

Kakashi gave an eyesmile to the elderly kage. "I am sure that they are more than ready for this challenge," he assured confidently. "Plus, even if they do lose, it will be a valuable learning experience."

Kurenai frowned slightly as Sarutobi nodded his assent before stepping forward. "I, Kurenai Yuuhi, nominate Team Eight, consisting of Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame and Naru Uzumaki, for the chunin exams," she announced, drawing her superior's attention to her.

The ravenette swallowed tightly as Hiruzen studied her intently. "Very well then," he acceded finally after completing his study of her and moving on to the next jonin who stepped forward, allowing Kurenai to release the breath that she didn't realise she had been holding.

"First time facing the 'Professor's' stare?" Kakashi asked, his voice tinged with amusement.

"His what?" Kurenai asked as she sent the grey haired jonin a confused look.

"Did you really think he's the current 'God of Shinobi' because of his Grandfatherly demeanor?" Kakashi asked skeptically.

"No… but… I've never felt anything like that before," Kurenai admitted as she calmed her breathing.

"Yeah, it's easy to forget how intense pops can be when he needs to be," Asuma sighed as he stepped back from nominating his team. "So, what do you plan on doing for the training?"

"Well, I have a proposal if you two are interested," Kakashi turned the page of his Icha Icha, his voice bland. "My family has a 'Vacation Home' outside of Konoha, it's private, not to far from civilization and plenty of room for training…"

"What are you suggesting… a training camp with all of our teams?" Kurenai asked in mild surprise.

"An interesting idea, but… wouldn't it defeat the purpose of them training separately to hide their skills?" Asuma pointed out thoughtfully.

"Well, there's nothing to say we can't take our teams away from one another to get some private training in," Kakashi retorted. "But, given that this will be set on the international stage, and our genin are rookies, I figure it would probably be best if we put our efforts together to ensure they give a good show on the international stage."

Kurenai hummed in thought as she held her chin between her thumb and finger. "It does have merit," she agreed slowly. "I'm not exactly suited for teaching straight out combat…"

"Plus, who knows what may be thrown into this exam," Asuma pointed out. "There's going to be a large number of genin participating, they'll certainly be pulling out all the stops for the first joint chunin exams between all Great Nations."

"YOSH," Gai quietly - read: indoor voice - exclaimed. "I too would wish to join in such a YOUTHFUL plan!"

"So we're in agreement then?" Kakashi asked curiously.

The other three jonin looked at each other appraisingly, with four of their efforts combined, they certainly could improve upon their genin's skill set. "Alright, I'm in," Kurenai agreed.

"Might be fun," Asuma spoke up with a grin as he light up a cigarette.

"YOSH! Let us train our YOUTHFUL genin in ways to IGNITE their FLAMES OF YOUTH!" two guesses as to who said that.

"Alright, here's where the place is at…"

Training Ground 12, the next morning

Naru yawned slightly as she strolled into her team's assigned training ground, it was usual for her to be awake at this time, the time that she had gone to sleep was not usual, instead it had been a few hours past due to Anko showing up to her home to hang out/annoy her pseudo-little sister, not that Naru minded… much.

"G-good morning," Hinata greeted the redhead as she strolled into the training area, poking his fingers together. "L-late night?"

"Anko-nee came by to hang out last night," Naru explained with an exasperated sigh. "She's the most hyper person I know…"

"Oh? Y-you mean even more than when you were 'R-ramen Starved'?" Hinata asked with a teasing tone.

Naru blushed as she sent a small glare to the bluette, not in the least pleased with the reminder of her 'secret' addiction - and by secret it was known to everyone within Konoha, in particular, Ichiraku Ramen and should she not get her fill on a regular basis she ends up becoming rather… twitchy.

"I'm beginning to regret bringing you out of your shell, Hinata-chan," Naru stated grumpily as she sat on the ground in a cross-legged position as she folded her arms over her chest.

Hinata giggled a bit, covering her mouth with her hand as she did so. "T-too late to c-change me b-back," she teased again before calming her giggles. "W-what do you think w-we're going to do t-today?"

Naru shrugged. "I dunno, I'm getting a strange feeling of… hypeness from the jonins around the village," she mused, a frown working onto her face. "It almost feels like something big is about to happen."

"I believe Naru-chan is correct," Shino commented as he appeared near the pair. "Why do I say that? Because Otou-sama has decided that I am ready to have an additional hive implanted into me."

"Yeah?" Naru questioned in response. "Congrats, Shino-kun, when does it happen?"

"Tonight," Shino answered, adjusting his sunglasses as he took a seat next to his teammates. "Father wants me to take it easy during training today so that my chakra coils can properly adjust to the strain of a second hive."

"Well, it's a good thing that we don't have any training today then, isn't it?" Kurenai asked as she arrived in a flurry of leaves before her only mildly startled students. "These are for you three," she handed them a sheaf of paper forms. "Applications for the chunin exams that are going to be held in Tetsu no Kuni, I want you three to take the rest of the day and carefully think about joining this exam as each of the five Great Shinobi Nations will be participating."

"Wait… all of them?" Naru asked, her jaw dropping in shock at the revelation.

Kurenai nodded her confirmation to Naru's question. "Yes, hence the reason why we are preparing for this exam earlier than usual," she explained. "And why I want you all to carefully consider your participation, this will be seen internationally with all of the major and minor Lords watching."

The team reeled at the information that had been dropped upon them. A gathering of every shinobi nation for a chuunin exam, it was unheard of since the end of the second shinobi world war.

"Ah, any reason you submitted us for this, sensei?" Naru asked slowly, still reeling in shock from the announcement.

Kurenai contemplated her words for a few seconds before answering. "I believe that this will be a good learning experience for all of you," she finally answered. "Even if you don't get very far in the exam, I feel that you will gain much from it," she then smiled at them. "But, that does not mean that you will be going in unprepared for it, however. The Exam will be held four months from now, Kakashi-san has graciously invited our team and two others to a home his family owns outside of the village as a location to do some training in, and all of us jonin going there will be pooling our efforts into training all of you."

"But don't the exams pit the teams against one another?" Shino questioned, an eyebrow raising as he looked at his sensei. "Will we not have to face the other Konoha teams eventually? And if we are training alongside them, will they not know our skills?"

Kurenai gave him a small smirk in response to his question, planting a hand on her hip as she replied. "We will be also having private team training sessions," she assured the three genin. "So, are you three in agreement?"

The genin exchanged looks with one another as they contemplate the possibility. "Honestly, I'm all in for this," Naru announced, raising her hand. "It seems like the perfect chance to test my skills."

"I must agree," Shino stated, pushing his sunglasses up his nose as he studied his teammates. "Fatalities within Chunin exams are rare, and it would be a good place to get a basic understanding of how the other nations fight."

Three pairs of eyes turn to Hinata as she, looked down at the ground frowning slightly in contemplation. "I'm in," she declared firmly, looking up, steel in her lavender colored eyes. "I don't w-want to be held b-back by what ifs."

The three turned back to the proudly smiling Kurenai who nodded her assent. "Very well then," she accepted, pride in her students welling up from within her chest. "Fill out those forms and give them to me tomorrow, and make sure to pack enough gear and clothing for an extended trip."

"Hai!" the three students confirmed as Kurenai disappeared in a flurry of leaves.

"If you will excuse me," Shino said as he turned to his teammates. "I will be returning home to get started on implanting a new colony, I wish to be completely ready for tomorrow."

"I n-need to be h-heading home as w-well," Hinata announced apologetically to Naru who shrugged in response.

"No worries, I have someone I need to go talk to anyways," she announced. "I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Assuredly," Shino stated as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, Hinata nodding empathetically in agreement.

Naru grinned broadly at her two friends, her eyes closing to slits from the broadness of the smile. "Right!" she declared happily as she started to make her way towards the village proper. "See ya'll then!"

Hokage's Office

Sarutobi hummed quietly to himself around his pipe at he worked his way through the pile of paperwork related to the chuunin exams, namely selecting the Konoha proctors, when he was interrupted by his intercom buzzing.

"Hokage-sama," his aide, a secret ANBU agent codenamed Aika called through the intercom. "Genin Uzumaki is here to speak with you, shall I send her in?"

Sarutobi smiled in response as he pressed down on the intercom's reply button. "Please do, Aika," he confirmed pleasantly before setting about on straightening his desk.

In short order the door opened, the red headed genin stepping in through the doorway, her golden flecked, cerulean blue eyes apprehensive as she closed the door behind herself.

"Is there something wrong, Naru-chan?" Sarutobi asked in concern, the teen rarely looked apprehensive about anything.

"No… I mean yes… it… it's a long story," Naru explained with a heavy sigh her shoulders slumping. "And not something I really feel comfortable talking about… can… can you please call for a trusted Yamanaka?"

Sarutobi blinked at the unusual, but not exactly uncommon request, in fact, many high profile meetings had been held in the mind, after all, the walls could very well have ears. "Is it that important?" he asked softly, garnering a shaky nod from Naru. "Does it relate to anything endangering the village, or… your tenant?"

"No… to both," Naru replied with a shake of her head, her bangs waving from the motion, a small tail of her crimson colored hair whipping back and forth, getting his attention at the new addition to her hair.

But he nodded nonetheless, sending out one of his guards to collect his go to Yamanaka for meetings like this. "Is it why you are so nervous, right now?" he asked her kindly.

"Y-yeah," Naru replied, calming her breathing. "Been trying to work up the courage to tell you about this for a while now."

The elderly Kage nodded his understanding as his guard returned with a man with long, ponytailed pale blonde hair, and pupiless blue eyes.

Sarutobi smiled at Inoichi Yamanaka as he entered the office. "Thank you for coming so promptly, Inoichi-kun," he said with genuine gratefulness as the head of the Yamanaka Clan bowed in response.

"Of course, Hokage-sama l," Inoichi replied sending a nod of greeting to Naru who smiled back in response. "I take it I'll be doing the joining with you and Uzumaki-san here?"

"Yes," Sarutobi informed. "Do you mind him doing the joining, Naru-chan?"

Naru shook her head. "I don't mind it being Yamanaka-san, jii-san," Naru confirmed, Sarutobi's heart warming for a minute at her familial referral towards him.

"Very well," Sarutobi nodded. "Inoichi-kun, please begin."

Inoichi nodded and began to form a series of hand seals. "Ninpo: Senka Nento (Ninja Art: Mind Joining)"

As the jutsu was finished a flash of white light enveloped their vision as their minds joined.

When the vision of the two older shinobi finally cleared, they found themselves in a rather spartan room, modeled after the one she now had in her parents home, but… there were a few things that gave them pause, namely what looked to be a set of heavy armor, one fitted for an adult male.

Elsewhere in the room was a small rack that held several tube like metal devices sitting neatly next to an array of L shaped objects of varying sizes.

And most peculiar of all, were a pair of pictures, one featured Naru, fully clad for combat with her ninjatos on hand, but the other one was an adult male, wearing the armor that was hanging off the racking, and wielding what looked to be swords of light in a stance identical to that of Naru's. His features bearing a remarkable similarities to Naru's own, with the most obvious being the golden flecks in their eyes.

"Welcome to my mind," Naru called out behind the pair.

Turning they bore witness to what had looked to be just a simple wall sliding open to reveal Naru, although she was now wearing a simple set of hooded brown robes that hung off her maturing figure while revealing nothing.

She raised a hand before they could speak. "Before you ask me anything, I want to tell you what I had asked you here for," she told them looking a bit uncomfortable as she shifted around, sitting down on the edge of the bed and looked squarely up at the pair.

"I am Naru Uzumaki, daughter of Kushina Uzumaki and Minato Namikaze," she began, sounding proud of that statement. "I am also a genin of Konohagakure and sworn to your service, Hokage-sama, but…" she paused as she took a calming breath. "Before I was any of those, I was Ryu Hisanaga, Jedi Weaponmaster of the Jedi Order and General within the Galactic Republic Army."

Silence greeted her pronouncement as the two processed what she had said. It took a few seconds but the Hokage's eyes widened as he stared at the teen he had watched over since she was but a babe. "Reincarnation?" he questioned in shock.

Naru gave him a small smile but nodded. "Yes," she confirmed, casting a look towards the photo of the brown haired, green-gold eyed male. "Don't ask me how it works, because I haven't the foggiest, but… all of the memories of Ryu Hisanaga are within my mind, whether it was an active choice by the Force that bonds us all, or just a simple quirk within the reincarnation process, but… I have them all."

She let out a small sigh and looked over to the picture of herself. "It's… complicated, y'know," she managed to get out. "As much I am the being that is Naru Uzumaki, I was also once the being known as Ryu Hisanaga," she looked over to the listening the pair, specifically at the Hokage, fear lurking in the depths of her golden flecked eyes. "I can understand if you're angry about me keeping this hidden, I mean you probably going to need to impri-"

Naru found herself being cut off, both in her growing anxiety riddled fear and her words as a pair of aged, but deceptively strong arms wrapped around her body, pulling her close.

"It's alright," the voice of the person she considered to be her grandfather whispered into her ear. "I've been watching you since you were a babe, all this is to me, is the answer to a few answers I had about you growing up."

Naru couldn't help it as a tears began to leak from her eyes as her arms wrapped around the Hokage, hugging him tightly as she silently sobbed in relief. "I was scared," she admitted in a choked voice. "That you would hate me, be afraid of me, that we wouldn't be family anymore."

"That would never happen," Sarutobi assured the teen in his arms. "You are family to me, Naru-chan, no matter what."

Naru choked out another sob as she hugged him tighter, off to the side Inoichi politely looking off to the side.

After a few more minutes of hugging and allowing Naru to gather herself together, the two finally began to ask her some questions, with Naru doing her best to answer, talking about the Jedi Order, exploring space, the Republic, anything and everything she could, even using the fact that they were within her mind to bring up her memories as Ryu Hisanaga to show things as examples.

"You won't be able to recreate those unfortunately, while I have an understanding on how they work, I never learned how they were built," Naru explained to the pair as she showed them the blasters the two shinobi obviously interested in their military potential for the defense of the village. "Aside from the technological limitations, you also need to be able to pull gaseous vapors from Gas Giant planets, and besides…"

"We already have enough ways to do harm upon one another," Sarutobi concluded, getting a grim nod from Naru, his mind whirling with the information he had received from her.

"If I may," Inoichi spoke up, rarely speaking throughout the conversation, choosing to listen and observe Naru instead as she spoke about the Jedi Order, the Galactic Republic, planets she had visited, her friends, the comrades she had throughout the war that took her previous life. "I've heard you speak about your friends, comrades and acquaintances, but never of family, of lovers."

Naru was silent for a long moment as she looked down at her hands. "Attachments like that one were… forbidden," she answered finally. "We were always told that those attachments would lead us to the dark side, into evil… but… looking back at it, all I can see of them when they speak of it… is fear."

She looked up at her grandfather figure and gave him a somewhat teary smile. "I had always thought that they were family, the people that I called by brothers and sisters… but… when you watched over me, I learned… I saw that there had always been a wall separating me from them. 'All power comes at a cost'," she quoted, looking down. "All the power I had as the Weaponmaster of the Jedi, as their Sword, the one who was the first to fight, the last to leave, all that power I had… and its cost… was loneliness…"

She shook her head. "Even now, I have power," she continued, gesturing to her stomach as an obvious reference to the creature sealed within her. "But… while I bear the hatred of so many… I don't feel alone, I… I feel loved, Iruka-nii, who looked out for me at the Academy, buying me Ramen all the time to make sure I'm eating, Kurenai-sensei, she… she's been doing so much for me in showing the people who hate me how wrong they were about me, Hinata-chan and Shino-kun, they both stand up for me all the time," she laughed, trying to wipe the tears that had begun to spill from her eyes away. "And… and you, Jiji," she gave him a luminescent smile. "You gave me love, thank you."

Sarutobi returned her smile with one of her own. "You are more than welcome, Naru-chan," he assured her quietly, before turning to Inoichi. "I trust you are aware of what everything you have heard here is not to be repeated?"

The clan leader nodded his understanding. "Yes, Hokage-sama," he confirmed. "Shall I end the jutsu now?"

Sarutobi looked over to Naru who nodded before nodding to Inoichi who quickly formed the needed seals, releasing their minds from the jutsu.

Naru took in a deep breath as she opened her eyes to the sight of the Hokage's office. "Thanks for listening, Jiji," she said gratefully.

Sarutobi inclined his head. "I may call you later with some questions, is that alright?" he asked her.

Naru nodded in confirmation, rubbing her tear streaked cheeks. "Sure," she agreed. "If… if you don't need anything else, I need to get ready for training camp tomorrow."

"Of course," Sarutobi assured her. "I look forward to seeing the results in the exams, Naru-chan."

Naru grinned, regaining her usual luster from the emotionally charged revelation. "I'll blow them all out of the water," she declared proudly.

Sarutobi chuckled as Naru left the office. "What she told us… it suddenly fits things into place," Inoichi mused. "Her kenjutsu has always had been a question that rolled around with the jonins, no one stepping up to claim teaching her."

Sarutobi nodded his understanding of Inoichi's comment. "It's almost unfair," he said in amusement, getting a curious look from Inoichi. "With all that experience she already has, she's already a shoo-in for Chunin."

The blond man chuckled in response. "All that experience, i almost makes it unfair for the competition," he agreed. "This year will be one to watch for certain."

The two shared another laugh as they enjoyed their mental imagery.

END CHAPTER

Custom Jutsu List

Ninpo: Senka Nento - B-Rank Supplementary Jutsu - A jutsu exclusive to the Yamanaka Clan, the Senka Nento is primarily used as a way for a group to have a conversation without the risk of being overheard by outsiders, when used it draws the mind of the caster and up to four targets into the initial target's 'mindscape' for the jutsu, and time within said mindscape flows at a slower rate than when outside of it, meaning that for every hour within the mind, ten seconds pass in the real world.