Jinchuriki Gathering

Naruto and Hinata sparred with Haku and Zabuza at the training ground. Ever since Naruto had obtained his Sword of the Thunder God, he had asked Zabuza for some guidance in swordsmanship.

##Konoha Village Central District##

Naruto and Hinata walked calmly through the streets of Konoha when they suddenly noticed a box following them.

"Come out, Konohamaru," Naruto said. Suddenly, the box exploded, releasing a cloud of colorful smoke. Three children appeared within it.

Konohamaru stood in the middle. He was the Hokage's grandson, and they had become quite good friends after meeting a few months ago.

"Konohamaru, what do you want?" Naruto asked.

"Want to play ninja games together?" Konohamaru asked.

Suddenly, the three of them heard laughter. They turned and saw Sakura.

"Who still plays 'ninja games' these days?" Sakura asked smugly.

"They're actually pretty fun, and they can train stealth and tracking skills too," Hinata explained, leaving Sakura speechless.

"Get lost, flat-chest," Konohamaru said, followed by a deathly silence.

"Konohamaru, you should run," Naruto said, seeing Sakura's fury.

Konohamaru swallowed and immediately started running, with Sakura right behind him.

Naruto and Hinata watched Sakura chase Konohamaru and could not help laughing.

Apparently, Sakura had been dieting to pursue Sasuke, to the point that even catching an eight-year-old was difficult for her.

Konohamaru was still running when he took a sharp turn and crashed into another ninja.

"Damn brat, that hurt!" The ninja grabbed Konohamaru by the collar, ready to beat him up.

Naruto and Hinata heard the impact and rushed over.

When they arrived, they saw two unfamiliar ninja wearing Sand Village headbands.

"Put that child down, Kankuro," the female ninja behind him said.

"I need to teach him a lesson, Temari."

"Fine, fine. But if you get into trouble, I'm not helping you," Temari replied. Kankuro nodded and prepared to bring his fist down on Konohamaru.

Sakura watched them in terror until Naruto and Hinata arrived.

"Hey, clown, put Konohamaru down," Naruto said.

"Who are you calling a clown?" Kankuro asked.

"You. You're wearing a whole cat outfit and makeup," Naruto replied.

"It's not makeup, it's face paint," Kankuro said unhappily.

"Either way, put the kid down," Naruto said.

"He deserves a beating." Kankuro clenched his fist, ready to hit Konohamaru.

Naruto and Hinata vanished almost instantly.

A second later, Hinata had a dagger at Temari's throat, while Naruto had one at Kankuro's.

"Now, you'd better... put him down," Naruto said, as a drop of blood fell from Kankuro's neck.

Kankuro and Temari were both sweating.

"And your teammate doesn't seem very happy either." Naruto pointed toward a nearby tree. Suddenly, another Sand ninja emerged from behind it. He was slightly shorter, with pale skin, short spiky reddish-brown hair, and the kanji for "love" carved into the left side of his forehead.

"I-I was just teaching him a lesson," Kankuro said shakily.

"Shut up. You're disgracing our village," Gaara said coldly.

"It's actually nice to meet you... One-Tail," Naruto said. The others froze, knowing full well what he meant.

"How do you know?" Gaara asked. Naruto simply turned around and showed them the character "nine" on his back.

"The tailed beasts said you're a crazy guy," Naruto said.

"Mother said you are strong. By killing you, I will prove my existence," Gaara said, his killing intent completely undisguised.

Suddenly, a team from the Hidden Cloud Village arrived. They seemed to be following their jonin teacher. He was dark-skinned and muscular, with white hair and a goatee.

There were also two girls and a boy.

One girl was blonde, with bandages wrapped around her hair and deep-set eyes.

The other girl had dark skin, red hair, and amber eyes.

The boy had dark skin and short, spiky white hair.

"Nice to meet you... Two-Tails, Eight-Tails. I'm Naruto," Naruto said.

Sakura and Konohamaru did not understand what was happening, but everyone else could feel the tension between the two teams.

The Hidden Cloud Village had tried to kidnap Hinata when she was six, so they were wary of Cloud ninja.

Likewise, Gaara looked as though he might leap out and attack everyone at any moment.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Nine-Tails! I'm the Eight-Tails' jinchuriki, the mighty Killer B!" Killer B shouted, waving his fists.

"Shut up!" the blonde girl shouted, striking him hard on the head.

"My name is Yugito Nii," she said.

"Omoi," Omoi said.

"Karui," Karui said.

Suddenly, another team joined them.

"May I join?" a green-haired girl asked.

Naruto and Hinata said in surprise, "Feng."

"I'm guessing everyone here is going to take the Chunin Exams?" Naruto asked. Everyone nodded.

Kakashi, Kiba Inuzuka, and Sasuke arrived shortly afterward.

"Hey, Kakashi-nii," Naruto greeted.

"What's going on here?" Kakashi asked. He too could feel the tension in the air.

"Kakashi-sensei, if you want your team to survive, you'd better increase their training. I can guarantee that everyone here will make it to the final selection," Naruto said. Everyone except Team Seven and Kakashi wore smug smiles.

"What do you mean by that?" Kakashi asked. Naruto smiled.

"What are you laughing at, idiot?" Sasuke asked.

"Nothing," Naruto replied. "Kakashi-sensei."

"One." Naruto pointed at Gaara.

"Two." Naruto pointed at Yugito Nii.

"Seven." Naruto pointed at Feng.

"Eight." Naruto pointed at Killer B.

"Nine." Naruto pointed at himself.

Kakashi's eyes suddenly widened. Right before him, five tailed-beast jinchuriki had met by chance. Such a situation was exceedingly rare; it seemed this time, it was fate's arrangement.

"Stop trying to act as cool as Sasuke!" Sakura shouted.

"Sakura, I allowed you to take the Chunin Exams. If you run into any of their teams, surrender immediately. Do you understand?" Kakashi asked sternly. Sakura nodded.

"They think they can beat me?" Sasuke laughed.

"I crave your noble blood, Uchiha Clan," Gaara said, making everyone shudder involuntarily.

"Very interesting. See you at the exams." Naruto left with Hinata.