DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN NARUTO NO MATTER HOW MUCH I WANT TOO!

7. Sticks and Stones Can Break Bones

The next few days had been rough for many of the members of Team 7. Well two of them excluded really. Naruto and Kakashi didn't think that the trainings, D-ranks, and joint sparring session with other genin team were a bother. Sasuke didn't like it because both Sakura and Ino kept coming on to Sasuke while the rest of them were trying to focus on training. It got irritating to the point that Sasuke blew fire at the two that cause the bottom parts of their clothes to be partially incinerated beyond repair. After that flaming moment, both the girls kept away as far from the raven haired idol as they could.

Shikamaru was lounging about with Chouji next to him. Hinata was with Tenten who was showing her how to handle a bo staff. Neji was sparring against Naruto which had been against Kakashi's judgment but was overruled by the other jounins. Naruto agreed and sparred.

"This may just be a training session but I will not go easy on you. It is your fate to taste defeat against me." Neji said as he got into his stance while Naruto narrowed his eyes.

Kakashi was watching this and was worried for the male Hyuuga.

"Really? And you believe that there is no other way around this so-called fate you speak off?" Naruto asked with humor lacing his words.

"It is my fate to defeat you and show you your place!" Neji answered him.

However, in a blink of an eye, Naruto disappeared from his sight and appeared behind him. Everyone else stopped whatever they were doing to watch. Even Sasuke had his eyes wide when he saw what happened. He didn't even see Naruto move at all.

With on punch, the male Hyuuga was sent flying forward and slammed against a tree. Naruto looked serious and Kakashi merely sighed. He'd interfere when needed. Naruto wasn't the type to just lose control.

"I detest people like you. Fate and destiny? I write my own destiny." He spat as Neji stood up but was then thrown back to the direction of where he was standing not a twenty seconds ago.

Naruto was scary and the others were shivering as they watched the 'strongest' of the genin rookies get trashed by the blond. To add insult to Neji's obvious defeat, Naruto used the Hyuuga's own paralyzing technique and attacked Neji's nerve points, paralyzing him in the center of the clearing.

"Can't move? I could kill you where you stand, Hyuuga. Just three points and I can stop your heart from beating. And it won't even be considered murder." Naruto whispered so low that only Neji could hear.

The male Hyuuga in question stared with undiluted fear in his eyes. The person before him… was stronger than Neji.

No.

Uzumaki Naruto was stronger than all the genins combined.

"And Naruto wins this round. Release him please, Naruto." Kakashi intervened as it was already obvious that Neji was no longer able to fight.

Naruto did as he was told and released Neji from his paralysis before turning to face the one eyed jounin.

"Ne, Kaka-sensei… Mind sparring with me? If you beat me, I'll get you the second book of Icha Icha Paradise." Naruto said and smirked.

"And if I lose?" Kakashi asked, humoring the blond for the sake of appearance.

He already knew he'd lose actually. There was no way he'd be able to win against his Commander.

"If I win… hmmm… you'll treat me to dinner." Naruto answered and chuckled.

The real reward was 'Go on a date with me', which wasn't really a reward for Naruto since Kakashi would willingly go out with the blond… win or lose.

"Get ready to lose, Naruto." Kakashi said confidently and chuckled.

Gai and Asuma were cheering for their colleague while Kurenai merely watched.

"Don't you dare hold back, sensei. I'll be really cross if you do." Naruto said as he disappeared instantly.

Kakashi disappeared too and both were crossing kunais in the middle of the clearing.

"I would never hold back, Naru-chan." Kakashi teased and both disappeared once more.

The others who were watching didn't know how to react. Right before their very eyes, the great copy- cat Kakashi was head to head with a 'genin' of their age.

Instantly, the members of Naruto's squad appeared next to the jounins.

"Kakashi better not hold back." Said Sparrow and got nods from the rest.

"Katon: Hidora no Jutsu" Naruto said and did a five seal instead of the usual ten, sending three streams of fire towards Kakashi.

The jounins knew it was different since the fire streams weren't heading to the same direction. One was rounding to the right, the other to the left while the middle one was the only one going straight. If Kakashi didn't let the earth swallow him down, the fire streams would have done him a great deal of damage.

However, Naruto smirked and did another set of five seals.

"Doton: Kekkai Doroudomu" he said and slammed his hand to the ground, causing Kakashi to reappear but inside an earth prison cell.

"I did warn you not to hold back." Naruto teased and smirked.

Kakashi used his chidori and freed himself from the earth prinson cell and created a clone who ran forward. To the watcher's surprise, Naruto created four clones: a water clone, a fire clone, an earth clone, and a lightning clone.

The lightning clone met the clone Kakashi head on while the other three ran towards the real one. Kakashi's visible eye widen as he then was forced to have to use the Sharingan. Naruto smirked again, wider this time.

"that won't work Kaka-sensei. I am immune to the three tomoe Sharingan. The only one that can probably have any effect would be the Tsukiyomi." Naruto informed him as he himself vanished and reappeared behind Kakashi who vanished in a puff of smoke. The clones protected the real Naruto and then turned to the real Naruto's left where Kakashi appeared, killing the earth clone with a chidori. But the fire clone got to him, punching his stomach, sending him flying back and crashing into a tree that snapped and began to fall. The stomach area of Kakashi's clothes were burnt as they turned to see the fire clone was no longer there.

The Kakashi clone and the lightning clone were no longer there as well. The real Naruto and the water clone smirked at each other before a wind clone of Naruto appeared and the water clone disappeared. Both nodded and began to run.

"Fuuton: Rasen Shuriken!" both said and two huge blue chakra like shurikens appeared and thrown towards the jounin who instantly got back to his feet and avoided the impact of the chakra like projectiles.

The jounins and genins watching were in utter shock. Not only was Kakashi being pushed back, he was injured as well… by a 'genin'. The ANBU who were there merely watched with amusement. They knew their Captain was holding back. If he wasn't, Kakashi would have been defeated ten seconds after the spar began.

Kakashi wondered how he'd get the blond off guard. There had to be a way.

Just then, Naruto was behind him and with a punch to his stomach once more, Kakashi was sent towards the clearing.

"Doton: Doryu Heki." Naruto said and a mud wall appeared, catching Kakashi and strapping him in. His hands and feet were engulfed with mud to make sure he wouldn't be able to do anything. Even his mouth was covered with an earth version of duct tape.

"Don't bother trying to get free, Kaka-sensei. The more chakra you try to use, the more the mud sips it out of you. It will drain you faster if you struggle." Naruto appeared in front of the jounin who instantly stopped and sighed.

Before anyone else could say anything, the ANBU disappeared and Kakashi was released. Naruto helped him up and chuckled.

"You said no holding back but you did." Kakashi accused Naruto in a low volume.

"If I didn't, you would have gotten hurt worse than you are now. I don't plan on killing you, Kakashi." Naruto answered him and was grateful when Gai ran to help the blond carry Kakashi.

However, Naruto couldn't help but laugh when Kakashi was riding piggyback style on Gai who had his bright smile. The one eyed jounin sighed in defeat as he knew he'd be in for an embarrassing moment in front of Naruto, nevermind the others.

"YOSH! YOUR FLAMES OF YOUTH ARE BURNING SO BRIGHT, NARUTO-KUN! WHEN YOUR OLDER, I WILL CHALLENGE YOU MYSELF IN A TAIJUTSU SPAR! AND WE'LL SEE WHO'S FLAMES WILL BURN BRIGHTER!" Gai said in his usual loud tone which made Naruto's eye twitch.

"I think I will have that challenge now." Naruto said calmly as he took off his jacket. He tossed it to the side which created a 'thud' sound and the jacket sunk into the ground.

The other genins were more stunned than ever. Naruto had been trashing Kakashi with a heavy weighing jacket?

Asuma instantly got Kakashi off Gai and hurried away. They knew what was going to happen next. Naruto didn't like loud noises and Gai practically screamed at his face.

Naruto got into a stance while Gai was still processing what just happened. He then realized that he screamed at the boy and was now obviously going to be trashed, if Kakashi's defeat was any indication… which it was!

Lee was about to yell when Sakura and Ino covered his mouth instantly.

"Don't scream. Naruto will hurt you next if you do." Sakura hissed and released Lee.

Both girls knew that being loud was going to be a sure fire way to get the blond's negative attention on them. They didn't really care if Lee got hurt. But as a fellow genin, they had to look after their own. Kakashi, a jounin, was defeated easily by Naruto. How much more a genin like Lee.

Gai swallowed and got into his own stance.

In a split second, Naruto vanished and appeared in front of Gai proceeded to bombard the older man with punches and kicks. Gai instantly defended himself and blocked the blows. But as he did so, he could feel the pain building up as he received punch after punch and kick after kick.

He didn't know how long it had been since he had started to defend himself but the next second blew by that Naruto tripped his legs and punched him in the stomach, slamming him hard into the ground, causing a small crater to appear after the impact.

Gai got the wind knocked out of him but he did his best to get back up. However, just as he was back on his feet, Naruto was showering him with punches and kicks once more. They're movements were so fast even the Hyuuga's were having a hard time catching up. Even Kakashi's Sharingan was starting to hurt.

Right then and there, Sasuke's two tomoe Sharingan activated. But it pained the Uchiha as he watched. He was able to see it better than the rest but the speed the blond was going at was making his eyes hurt. He had to look away and close his Sharingan. He'd ask for Kakashi's help later on.

Normally, Sasuke wouldn't ask for help but since he wanted to be strong and defeat the blond. If he managed that, he'd be able to defeat his older brother too.

Gai was getting weaker and he knew he wouldn't last. He was about to open a gate but Naruto obviously saw through it and sealed using the Hakke Rokujuuyonshou which both Hyuuga's instantly recognized. Neji knew his sensei was going to lose. And when Naruto was done, Gai felt on the ground, weak and tired.

"Be glad that I wouldn't do to you what I did to Anko, Gai-sensei." Naruto said as he reversed what he did to the man and this time, Gai fell face forward, unconscious.

Asuma walked up and carried the unconscious taijutsu master to the side where Kakashi was recuperating.

The rest of the genins didn't say anything when Naruto walked off the clearing and sat next to Kakashi. Sakura knew better than to say anything. She had learned the hard way. Ino learned from Sakura's mistake and swore to never repeat what her best friend did. Kiba who normally would have an arrogant thing to say, kept quiet. He saw two jounins getting beat up in front of him by a boy his own age. If they lost, Kiba knew he had no chance on winning. Akamaru growled at him to remind him that if he opened his mouth, Akamaru wasn't going to back him up if Naruto challenged the to a fight.

The rest just kept quiet until Kurenai had confirmed with Hinata's help that Gai was alright.

"Listen up, this joint training is now over. Your have three days to rest up. After that, you will be informed where the next team meeting will be." Asuma spoke for the rest of the jounins who nodded sans Gai who was still unconscious.

The genins nodded and all ran off immediately. Not because they were afraid. They just didn't like the tension that was there. Lee helped Neji to walk while Tenten and Hinata followed them. Asuma carried Gai while Kurenai turned to Kakashi and Naruto before sighing and leaving the two behind.

When they were alone, Kakashi sighed deeply.

"You didn't have to be so rough, you know." Kakashi whined a bit as his head fell on Naruto's lap.

Naruto chuckled and ran his fingers through the silver hair. It was smooth and soft which made Naruto smile a bit.

"I did warn you didn't I? Not my fault you held back and didn't believe me." He said and got another sigh.

"All this for a date? I would have gone out with you without being trashed around." Kakashi whined again and got a laugh from the blond.

"I didn't beat you and Gai so badly just because I wanted to go out with you and that Gai was too loud. It was also a statement to the others that they are far from my level and if they didn't shape up, they'd be killed in the battle field… or worse, I'd kill them 'accidentally' during a sparring session." Naruto explained as he looked down at Kakashi who understood what the boy was saying.

But still, to Kakashi, Naruto had been too rough on him.

"Will you ever tell the others who you really are?" Kakashi asked as he looked up at Naruto who sighed.

"I don't know… maybe… but at the moment, they are better off not knowing. They won't be able to accept it. Sasuke would be the most difficult of all. He wants the strength and power I have and he will do everything it seems to gain power to avenge his kin." Naruto told Kakashi who nodded in understanding.

Sasuke wanted to find Itachi for revenge. Naruto seem like he knew something that Kakashi didn't. He wanted to ask but knew better than to. He'd find out eventually.

A/N: That's all for now! How was it? Did you like it? Read and review then please. ^_^