A/N: sorry for the delay and confusion last week.

Budding Love, Growing Hate

The moon shone brightly above in the night sky. A large beautiful castle could be seen in the light cast by the glowing sphere. The monumental mansion, made of the most magnificent marble, stood proudly on its hill.

The scene looked tranquil from a distance. As one neared it however they would first be hit with a stench, the smell of burning flesh and the metallic tang of blood. If they were brave enough to venture further, they'd be greeted by a massacre.

The bodies of wolves were strewn around by the hundreds. They died in the most interesting ways; some cut into pieces beyond recognition, others burned so badly that their skins were morphed together, there faces reflecting the dying agony they felt. Others were froze in place, temporary statues that would eventually fall to the earth. Numerous piercings adorned some of the flock, but all had one thing in common. They were no more.

Although the outside was brutal, it had no comparison to the S ranked mission that was being held in the house.

In the throne room a stand-off was being held, two on one. Even without the numbers it was an unfair advantage.

A short creature was standing with his back to the wall. His face showed pure fear as he glared at his two attackers. Tiny legs quaked at an embarrassing pace while he fought to hold his bladder in. Beads of sweat flew off in waves as his body was shaking from the killing intent sent from the duo.

The first was a tall tan man, standing beside his throne. He was a very muscular figure, wearing a white hood and black mask that only displayed his oddly colored green and red eyes. Stitches could be seen throughout his body, and the Emperor of two knew its reasons.

The other was a noticeably younger man. His skin was extremely fair, and his head was full of slicked back grey hair. His purple eyes gazed at the smaller being maniacally, seeming to beg for his blood. He licked his lips at him, proving his theory and causing him to relieve himself.

Well, so much for that idea.

The taller took a step towards the midget creature, glaring menacingly at him. "Show me where the money is," he demanded the terrified being.

The younger man rolled his eyes. "What the fuck, Kakuzu, we're here for the Dragonballs, not some wad of cash! Besides," he licked the blade of his scythe, a long trail of blood smearing on his tongue, "Jashin hasn't had Her fill!"

Kakuzu glanced back at his companion, sending him a killer intent that would cripple most jonin. His partner merely smirked. "Wouldn't it be nice if you could kill me?" He then burst into maniacal laughter, gripping his gut while his body shook.

Kakuzu turned back to the small shivering figure. In a flash his arm stretched and his hand wrapped around the creatures neck, instantly retracting back to its normal length. He pulled the snarling being eye to eye with him and glared. His voice was only a whisper, but it promised death. "Where is it?"

The small emperor tried to struggle out of the grip, knowing that it was pointless. If only he'd hired that Zabuza guy to protect him! He could only mentally scold himself, knowing that his own stupidity would be the death of him. He looked to the left and saw the bodies of his two most loyal subordinates, Shu and Mai.

The carnage was brutal. The dog-man's nose was ripped off. His fingers were bent back at intervals that no being should ever have to experience. Each leg had stab wounds that were leaking his life's essence.

Mai was even worse. If Pilaf hadn't seen the way she was murdered, he wouldn't have known it was her. Each of the ladies limbs were missing, as well as her eyes. The skin was peeled off of her skull and he could already see flies beginning to leave their seeds on the corpses.

Pilaf turned back to his captors, his breakfast being forced back down by the fist tightening around his throat. He was shaken as to what to do. If he didn't tell them, he would die. If he did tell them, he would die. He knew the way it worked, considering the amount of hits he put out on others. "I-I-I-"

"-wrong answer!"

"GYAAAAAUUUUGHHH!"

The monster released a glass shattering scream as his right leg fell from his body. Out of instinct he glanced to where his limb used to be and nearly fainted. The cut wasn't even clean, the blade left a jagged tear in his thigh that was sickening to the eye.

Kakuzu turned toward his teammate and glared. The man simply shrugged.

"The fucker wasn't speaking anyway," he said with a smirk.

Pilaf would have lost consciousness if it weren't for the man forcibly shaking him. "Where's the money?"

"In the-the glass room..." he said weakly. The loss of blood had his eyes drooping over.

"Great," Hidan replied. "And the ball?"

"S-s-same spot..." The man's form went limp in the large man's hand. Kakuzu tossed him roughly onto the ground, turning to glance at the place.

"Hidan, go retrieve them," Kakuzu growled at the man.

Hidan glared back. "Do I look like your fucking slave!"

"I'm going to keep him alive, in case he's lying to us!" Hidan's glare remained, resulting in the older shinobi sighing. "You can use your ritual once this is over."

Hidan's face morphed into an excited smile. "Alright!" he yelled as he turned out of the room. He loved negotiating with his partner. He always tended to win, so long as money wasn't involved.

Kakuzu could only rub his hands in anticipation. He was aware that Pilaf was one of the richest beings, and this mission could prove to be fruitful. Although it was his top priority, he could give a damn about that Dragonball.

If he were to find one, however, he'd probably sell it.

XxxoxxX

The great castle of the Ox King was beautiful to look at. The stars filling the night sky added to the beauty, reflecting off of the castle walls causing it to appear to shine. Through all the beauty however sat a lone figure.

Jiraiya sadly looked to the sky. As he sat, he could only feel remorse at the fact that his father was gone. To make matters worse, he hadn't seen the man in over a decade. Not that they didn't speak, he just was always so busy. The most communication they did was through carrier pigeons.

Jiraiya felt guilty that he couldn't put two and two together. The pole, the uniform, even the fighting stance was identical to his father. He heard through letters that the man was raising a child, but he never had the time to make a visit to meet his pseudo brother.

Gohan was an extremely supportive father. The man read every book that Jiraiya ever created. He was a huge fan of the first, but he also liked the sequels. Jiraiya could only smirk as he imagined the perverted man reading his newest material.

He released a labored sigh. The man always wanted grandkids, but he was never given them thanks to Jiraiya's fear of commitment. Jiraiya was aware of how lonely it could get in the area that they lived but he didn't want to rush a child just yet. He would have to thank Goku for giving the man some attention.

Jiraiya felt as though he betrayed his father. Although he was a well respected author, as well as one of the most powerful shinobi this world has ever known if he had to say so himself, he had absolutely nothing to show for it. No legacy to leave for his father after he would ultimately perish.

Jiraiya was pulled from his thoughts as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked and saw Naruto, gazing at him with concern. Jiraiya gave the child a weak smile.

"Hey gaki," he said, terribly attempting to put on a normal face. "Came to gaze at the stars with me?"

Naruto gave the man a smile back. "Nope. Just came to make sure that you were ok, ya know." He jumped onto the balcony that his sensei was leaning on. The boy fidgeted slightly, realizing that he'd never comforted anyone before. "So…" He sat on the last syllable for a few awkward seconds, "how are you doing?"

Jiraiya sighed. He couldn't hold back a smile, the boy's attempts at comfort was at least amusing. In the few weeks that he knew the child, he really grew fond of the boy. It did remind him of a certain red head as well. "I'm doing fine. Just a little shocked, ya know?" He turned his gaze back to the sky. "Never thought my father could ever die. He seemed invincible, at least to me."

Naruto nodded. It made him think of his reaction if his Jiji ever were to die. Growing up an orphan always made the boy wonder about who his parents were. Did they care for him? Which one did he look like? Why did they leave? These thoughts always went through his mind. He forced back a tear that threatened to fall.

"At least you got a chance to meet your dad..."

Jiraiya flinched at this. He looked towards his student and saw the tell tale signs of a depressed child. Although it was rare to see this in the boys eyes, his mask of happiness would crack on occasion.

It also made Jiraiya feel stupid. Here he was, moping around when the kid was through worse than he could even dream of at that age. As he stared at the shaking child, he couldn't help but feel guilty at bringing these unwarranted emotions inside of him.

As if on instinct, the man hobbled towards the gaki and ruffled his hair. Naruto looked up at him with wet eyes, curiously gazing at his sensei.

Jiraiya grinned like he usually did. "Cheer up, kid. You have me, the great Jiraiya!" The man went to do his pose, but quickly began jumping in pain from his hurt leg.

Naruto snickered at this. "And you don't have to be so sad! At least you'll have something to brag to the your father about when you meet him in Otherworld!"

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh yeah? And what is that?"

The hyperactive genin jumped onto the railing that he was previously sitting on, thrusting a thumb into his own chest. "You raised the greatest shinobi to ever live!"

Jiraiya gazed at the boy with a renewed respect for him. As he stood there with that grin, he could only think of Kushina's declaration to become the Hokage, and her husband actually succeeding at it, and reluctantly even. He smiled at the blonde in a strange feeling of déjà vu.

"You're right, kid. I did raise the greatest shinobi to ever live." He couldn't help but snicker as the boys smile widened. "The Fourth Hokage!"

"Hey!" the blonde angrily yelled as he jumped at his Sensei. "Take that back!"

Jiraiya snickered as he dodged the sloppy punch the boy threw. "Yeah ri-" In a poof of smoke, the white haired man was gone.

Naruto stared in the spot that his Sensei was not even a second ago. His eyebrows furrowed in anger. "That's rude, you old geezer!"

XxxoxxX

The living area of the castle was monumental. The space was wider than a football field was long. It had to be of course to accommodate the giant and his once large family.

The ceiling was aligned with the most ordinate chandelier; the glass on the top was turned upward to resemble the horn that was seen on the head of the king. On the walls were over a hundred pictures and paintings displaying a variety of people.

The furniture was massive and of the most decorative brand of its era, all of it the same ravishing purple and gold. The eight couches, each over ten feet long, were set up in an octagon with gaps to squeeze between them. In the center was a mat that was once used to wrestle and brawl his brethren; the couches were set that way to spectate and make bets with each other.

On the other corner was a library. No literally, a library. The mass amount of books could put a school to shame, and they were all organized based on genre and author name, something that was sure to take much time and precision. Upon seeing it Bulma made a beeline, her target clear in sight.

Chi-Chi was laying one of the couches, feet up kicking the air behind her. She was focusing fiercely on Goku. The young boy was currently doing katas with his power pole, viciously beating down an imaginary opponent. His face displayed extreme concentration as he went through his motions.

"Watcha doooooin'?" she asked the boy as he continued to swing his weapon.

"I'm training," Goku replied without looking in her direction. He ducked an imaginary kick and thrust his pole through the chest of an attacker.

"Oooooooh." Chi-Chi continued staring at him. She couldn't help but to notice his young physical features. He was chubby yet muscular, something that she thought was cute.

"Are you a ninja or something?"

Goku looked at the girl with a smile, his pole still thrust out ahead of him. "Nope. I'm a martial artist!"

"Me too!" Chi-Chi said as she jumped to her feet.

Goku cocked his head at her, reminding the girl of a confused dog. "I didn't know girls could be strong."

The princess pouted angrily at the boy, but it came off more as cute than anything. "You take that back!" she shouted, to which he replied with a tilt of his head.

"So you are strong?" A smile quickly morphed onto his face. "Want to train with me?"

This question caused the princess to momentarily freeze. If she were to be honest with herself, it had been a while since she really trained, and even longer since she did so willingly. Her father would force her to practice his techniques, but she was more concerned with her hair looking its best.

Her mind then replayed the entire spar that Goku was having. The opponent that she before couldn't see was now there, plain as day. The pink and blue clad girl was now as visible to her as it was to him, and she could only wince as each hit of his pole, fist, and feet beat the defenseless girl into a pulp. With his final thrust into her chest, the girl slumped forward, trembling hands gripping the weapon. She weakly looked into her doppelgängers eyes before she fell forward, defeated.

"M-m-maybe some other time," she stammered with an uncertain wave. The boy looked sad for only a second, before returning his flurry onto another opponent.

The girl watched, becoming more infatuated the more the boy sweat. Her face bright red, she decided to go for broke.

"So, Go…." she began awkwardly. They boy gave an acknowledging sound as he bicycle kicked and landed on his hands. The girl continued faster and with more force than she meant. "Doyouhaveagirlfriend?"

The boy paused, one leg straight in the air while the pole was thrust forward with both hands. "Huh?"

The cherry faced girl turned away from the boy. It should be easier talking if she couldn't see him, right? Taking a deep breath she began anew. "Do you have a girl that you," she paused as a shiver ran down her body, "love?"

The boy lowered his leg back to the ground, his arms relaxing as he held the pole. "What's love?"

"He's trying to learn my definition of love!" The ebony haired female almost melted on the spot. She barely caught herself, leaning forward on the large couch. "Well…" she began, gathering her words before she embarrassed herself, "is there a girl that you'd fight for?" Chi-Chi began to rock foot to foot. "One that you'd want to make happy more than anything? The thought of disappointing brings a sad pang to your heart?"

Chi-Chi turned towards Goku at the end of her speech. She was surprised to see him cross legged on the ground, his pole horizontally in front of him.

"Hmm…" He scratched his head in thought. "A girl that I'd fight for…. And don't want to make sad?"

"Yes!" The girl was in his face, her eyes begging for an answer.

The boy looked down at the ground. He thought hard about the question, each passing second agonizing to the questioning girl.

His face suddenly lit up. "Oh! There is one person I fight for…"

"There is?" Chi-Chi failed at holding the disappointment out of her face.

"Yeah. And I always make her happy…"

The girls arms fell to her sides in defeat. "Y-you do?"

A quick nod and a yes followed. "And I don't know about sad, but I'm more scared to make her sad than anything.

A gloomy cloud could be seen over the girl. Although she didn't want the answer she had to ask it. "Who is she?" The lightness of her voice should have been surprising but she didn't notice it.

The boys head shot up, a big smile on his face. "That's easy! Her nam-"

"Goku, come over here right now!"

"Bulma!" With a hurried leap the boy was to his feet, dashing in the direction of the voice. His questioner stayed rooted to the spot, her face a mirror of agony.

"Go loves Bulma…"

XxxoxxX

Neji struggled to stand back to his feet. He was sweating and panting profusely from the strain he was being put through. His body was aching and he could feel his muscles beginning to swell.

His new sensei stood across from him with a wide smirk on his face. The man didn't have a single scratch on him. He stoically stared down his pupil, analyzing every move he saw.

Needless to say, he was a little disappointed.

"Please forgive me if I'm going too hard on you," he said with feigned innocence. "I only thought the Hyūga were much stronger than this."

Neji glared at the man. He had to admit, this guy packed a punch. Surprisingly he was also good at hitting chakra points. He could easily halt an opponents use of chakra without breaking a sweat.

Neji lost the chakra to retain his Byakugan, grunting as his vision returned to 20/20. His knees buckled and he fell, gripping the destroyed dirt between his fingers.

Chakra exhaustion was quickly taking its toll on him. Training with Guy seemed hard, but this man was ridiculous. The word restraint seemed to have little meaning for him as he battered the boy brutally. Neji struggled to stand, but felt a foot gently land on his back.

The man lowered his eyes closer to his students face. He glared sternly at the teenager, the makings of a scowl on the sides of his mouth. "This will be our last training session, until after the exams. I want you to train that technique that I've been teaching you, both of them." His eyes lowered at the boy. "Do not lose in this exam, Neji, or there will be consequences." The man increased the pressure on Neji's back, causing him to grunt in pain. "Do you understand me?"

"Hai!" the boy quickly responded as the pain became too much for him to handle. The man continued to apply pressure, and then sped off into the sky, using the boys back as a spring board, effectively knocking him into the ground. Neji could hear the man's cackles as he continued to distance himself.

Neji rolled into his aching back, exhausted beyond belief. Guy sensei had never been as vicious as this man was, and he was a tough sensei himself!

He had to admit that it was helping, however. Neji could feel that he was much more powerful. His eyes were stronger and his chakra capacity and control were increasing as well.

Neji forced himself to his feet. He shakily began to walk through the trees, in no rush to get home. It was then that he heard footsteps.

"Byakugan!" Neji's eyes activated for a split second and he saw the culprit, marking his location in the time. Standing a few yards away was none other than this years top rookie, Sasuke. The boy looked as if he had trained himself to near chakra depletion as well.

Neji held in the cringe as pain assaulted him. He was dangerously low on chakra if his eyes couldn't even last a second. His Master was a beast!

Both boys glared at each other. They knew that the other was tough, but each believed to be the better.

Neji's blood began to boil as he stared at Sasuke. His mouth uncharacteristically gave a barely noticeable smirk; here before him was the person he was to destroy. He didn't care about his match with the Uzumaki, or even the sand kid that destroyed his pathetic teammate. No, this was much more important. Their match would decided which was truly better, the best the Hyūga could offer, or the sole survivor of the Uchiha clan. The sharingan versus the byakugan.

It was fated to come to this.

"What are you staring at?" Sasuke asked, annoyed with the Hyūga. He didn't really have any issues with the boy, but his teammate did beat him rather soundly, so he didn't like him by association.

Neji's eyes narrowed, his face returning to its usual scowl. "You better show some respect to your superior, rookie."

Sasuke grit his teeth, fists shaking at his side. His former assessment of the teen changed in a split second, the once mere dislike morphing into despised. Not only did he lose to his idiotic partner, but he was supposed to be the better shinobi. But if he thought there wasn't any improvement since then then he was in for a surprise.

Neji calmly gazed at the Uchiha. He knew that Sasuke was no match for his skills, and that was before his new training regimen. Even Sasuke knew it, if he was as smart as he was praised to be. He was just pissed that his new sensei seemed blind to the truth.

"Watch it, Hyūga…" the Uchiha growled lowly. His body shifted into an aggressive stance; his left foot was pushed slightly ahead, his body leaning more forward. "Unless you're looking for a fight."

Neji's frown remained stoic. As much as he would like to destroy the boy it would be pointless to do so now. Plus, fighting when exhausted was idiotic at best. His sensei wouldn't approve of him doing it this way he was sure.

"No." With a twist of his heel the boy was headed west, towards the village. Each clack of his sandal was a shout to Sasuke's ears.

The boy began to relax, silently cursing his excessive training for the day. He knew he wasn't ready for a fight, he barely had the chakra for a single Fireball.

"Besides," he tensed as the voice carried back towards him. "I wouldn't want to waste my time. It took Lee all of ten seconds to beat you, yet he's never beaten me."

Before he could finish his proclamation Sasuke was already leaping in his direction, fist cocked to attack.

"Come on you Hyūga trash!" he yelled as closed in.

Neji gracefully ducked under the punch and forcefully shoved the following knee away. Sasuke used the momentum from the push to spin and try to strike with a closed fist.

Surprise colored his face as Neji ducked and grabbed the appendage in a single motion, hurling the preteen over his shoulder. Sasuke caught himself with the other hand and pushed off the ground to avoid the following palm strike. Upon landing on his feet he began to jump away, throwing shuriken to hide his retreat.

With a disinterested grunt Neji withdrew a kunai. He swatted the weapons away without moving an inch.

"Running away?" The teen crossed his arms nonchalantly. "I'm sure the Uchiha are proud."

Sasuke held in the growl, not wanting to give away his hiding spot. As much as he would like to pound his pretty face in for the insult he held it in. A lot of the training Kakashi gave over the last week was to control his hot temper. The man relentlessly taunted him, having fun at seeing the boy go on a rampage.

Sasuke was quick to learn however that the more frustrated he got, the more violent his sensei did. On his first day of what the cyclops called "tantrum training", after the boy was embarrassed by … that jutsu, he roared some… rude things at his sensei. After ignoring the fight and trying his hardest to grab the book the man was reading instead and actually succeeding to singe the page that was the white haired mans focus, he was finally introduced to how it felt to face a sharingan.

Lesson learned.

Back to the present, Sasuke weighed his options. He could fight Neji toe to toe… if he wanted to lose. Lee was a taijutsu specialist and couldn't beat him.

His chakra was too low for a jutsu assault, and Sasuke took the fact that Neji had yet to use his eyes as a good sign. He must've been low as well or else the hiding position wouldn't do its job at all.

And then… there was that.

The gift that he was unwillingly given by that snake bastard. Although he promised Kakashi not to use it, the thing was resourceful. The backlash was a bitch, but it got better every time.

'No,' he mentally chided, 'it's not worth it.'

'Or is it?'

'Kakashi told me not to.'

'Kakashi isn't here.'

He was shocked at his thoughts clashing. He was usually a decisive person, but this new voice was making sense. He could end it quickly. All it would take was a bit of chakra...

Sasuke paused he heard sandals clicking. Risking it, he glanced around his tree. Neji walked calmly towards the village, ignoring his fellow genin.

Without looking back, Neji began speaking. "This bout is frivolous. Neither of us are in top condition, and it is unfair to have a strictly taijutsu fight." The Uchiha ignored the barb, knowing that it was more a fact than a boast. He also didn't want to let the boy know that he could have chakra if he wanted too.

"I will warn you, however." Neji suddenly stopped walking. Their hair blew in the wind as they stood stoically. The elder teen glanced over his shoulder, making eye contact. "Train." Ebony orbs narrowed at the single word that came out more as a demand then anything. "I've made leaps and bounds in the past week. If you even hope to pose a threat, then don't take this one lightly." He turned fully to face Sasuke. "I will defeat you, Uchiha."

Sasuke silently leered as Neji continued his trek to the compound. He watched him walk away, his anger building at the exchange. Neji spoke as if he'd already won the fight. Sure he was a year ahead but that meant little.

Sasuke was focused to kill a monster, not just fight some genin. If the stuck up prick thought that his game of intimidation was working, he was in for a surprise. If anything, it only pissed Sasuke off.

He had ten days until the second round. That was plenty of time to cram in training, as well as time to rest and relax.

With a silent hn, he shoved his hands in his pocket and began to stroll home. His mind was so full and his body so tired that he didn't notice the two that watched the entire exchange.

"Guy, did you see?" Kakashi silently asked. His voice was strict, sounding more like the Anbu captain he was than the Jonin Sensei he is.

His eternal rival nodded somberly. "So that's the cursed mark?" he whispered as the seals receded back into the boy. It made the normally stoic man's skin crawl.

The child's seal was leaking. Kakashi was sure that he sealed it well, but apparently he wasn't as good as he thought. He would have to take him to the greatest seal master that belonged the the village.

Even though he already regretted asking.

XxxoxxX