The first exam

Suddenly, a powerful surge of chakra came from behind them, accompanied by the sharp chirping of birds. The thick mist cleared, revealing Zabuza pinned down by Ninja Dogs. Lightning gathered in Kakashi's hand as he prepared to deliver the killing blow.

"I'm sorry. This is the last thing I can do for Mr. Zabuza."

With that, Haku dashed away.

Meanwhile, by Kakashi

The Copy Ninja's hand pierced flesh, and he felt a heart shatter beneath his palm. But the person he had struck wasn't Zabuza. It was Haku, who had thrown himself in front of him.

"Looks like my tool finally came in handy." Zabuza seized the opportunity to break free of the Ninja Dogs.

"Was he nothing but a disposable tool to you? He saw you as a father. I could see it in his eyes! He didn't want to kill, but he did it for you, and that's all you have to say?!" Naruto arrived and roared in fury at the sight of Haku's fallen body.

Zabuza's eyes filled with tears. "Damn brat... you made me lose my composure. Haku was like a son to me. I just kept hiding behind the mask of a cold-blooded killer."

Just then, applause came from the other end of the bridge. Gato appeared with over a hundred thugs in tow.

"Heh, you Konoha Ninja saved me some trouble. Zabuza, did you really think I'd pay you? Ninjas cost too much, and you couldn't even kill one bridge builder. You're useless," Gato sneered.

"Kakashi, it looks like we're not enemies for now. Lend me a kunai. I'm going to kill Gato and avenge Haku," Zabuza said.

Kakashi handed him a kunai. Zabuza clamped it between his teeth and prepared to charge.

"Wait, we'll help! You don't have to go alone!" Naruto pulled out a kunai and wrapped an Explosive Tag around it.

Zabuza shook his head, signaling that he wanted to settle this himself. He charged into the mob, cutting them down like vegetables. Despite his grievous wounds, he never retreated, pushing straight toward Gato.

Gato hid behind the crowd, but the blood-soaked Zabuza still found him and cut his head off with a single slash.

Zabuza staggered back to Haku's side and collapsed.

I wonder if I'll see you again in the next life... I probably don't deserve to. Haku, you were too kind. You should never have taken this path. I'll miss you.

Those were Zabuza's final thoughts. Then he lost consciousness and left the world forever.

"That bastard ruined our livelihood! Grab whatever you can, then let's get out of here!" one thug shouted.

Just as they were about to act, an arrow struck the ground in front of them. Inari arrived with the entire village, blocking the way onto the bridge.

"If you want to hurt our village, you'll have to get through us first! I'm not running away anymore. I'm going to fight like Naruto!" Inari declared loudly.

The remaining thugs still refused to give up. Naruto immediately created fifty Shadow Clones and threw a kunai wrapped with an Explosive Tag in front of the mob. The blast destroyed a small section of the bridge deck, frightening them out of advancing.

A week later, the bridge was completed without a hitch. The Konoha Ninja said their tearful goodbyes. Naruto promised Inari that he would return to visit, then set off for home.

"What should we call this bridge? I think 'Super Invincible Tazuna Bridge' sounds good!" the bridge builder suggested, only for the villagers to reject it immediately.

"How about Big Brother Naruto Bridge?" Inari shouted, drawing a chorus of cheers.

"All right! Naruto Bridge it is!" Tazuna announced, and the villagers burst into enthusiastic applause.

The next day, in the Hokage's Office

"Team 7, Naruto Uzumaki. Our C-rank mission was upgraded to A-rank and successfully completed. Reporting back for duty!" Kakashi announced proudly.

"What?!" Iruka exclaimed.

"We ran into an unexpected situation on our way to the Land of Waves. I assume you've already apprehended the Demon Brothers, Lord Hokage?" Kakashi asked. When the Hokage nodded, he began giving a detailed account of the mission.

Later, at Ichiraku Ramen

"Boss, another bowl!" Naruto called to Teuchi, and Ayame brought over a steaming bowl of ramen.

"Kid, I hear you ran into some serious trouble on that mission." A voice came from behind him.

Naruto turned to see Jiraiya walk into the shop and sit down beside him.

"Pervy Sage, you're back! You bet I did. It's a long story!" Naruto excitedly began recounting his first A-rank mission.

"Pervy Sage, I used the Nine-Tails' chakra this time, but not on purpose. It wasn't like when I summoned Gamabunta. I nearly lost control. I was still conscious, but it was like I'd become someone else," Naruto said worriedly.

"I see. When you experience intense negative emotions like anger or sorrow, you unconsciously draw out the Nine-Tails' chakra, and it feeds on those emotions in the first place. It was harder to control this time than when you summoned Gamabunta because both the circumstances and the amount of chakra you used were different," Jiraiya explained.

"So I need to learn to control how much Nine-Tails Chakra I use and keep my emotions steady to make proper use of its power, right?" Naruto concluded.

"Exactly. We'll go back to training after we eat. If you do well, I'll sign you up for the Chunin Ninja Exams next month."

"Awesome! I'll become a Chunin in no time!" Naruto shouted excitedly.

Jiraiya smiled and shook his head, following the excited blond boy to the Training Ground Above the Waterfall.

Two weeks had passed since they returned from their mission in the Land of Waves. Naruto was searching the village's various women's hot springs for his hopelessly lecherous teacher, but he wasn't at any of his usual haunts. Naruto grew increasingly irritated.

"Damn Pervy Sage, where did he run off to? I need him to train with me, or at least give me a mission. I haven't had one since I went fishing with Team 8 last week. And that only lasted an hour. I was just about to strip and get in the water when Hyuga fainted, so I had to stay on shore."

As Naruto grumbled, a sleazy chuckle came from behind him.

Jiraiya stood behind him, scribbling something in a notebook. Apparently, Naruto's complaints had given him "inspiration." The thought of appearing in his teacher's trashy novels made Naruto squirm. He immediately snatched the notebook and tore out the page.

"You perverted teacher, don't put me in your books! Why didn't you show up for training today? I still can't cut the leaf, and I don't know what I'm doing wrong," Naruto said.

"Dammit, kid, you didn't have to tear that page out. I was late because I went to sign you up for the Chunin Ninja Exams. Normally, you need a three-person squad to enter, but out of respect for me, the Hokage agreed to let you compete alone," the white-haired Toad Sage said smugly.

"Tch, I bet you just slipped the old man a signed copy of your new book. Hurry up and help me practice wind release nature transformation," Naruto grumbled.

"All right. My chakra affinities are Fire Release and Earth Release. Wind Release is rare; even in Sunagakure, only a handful of people can use it. I can only think of two Wind Release ninjas right now, but you'd better stay away from Danzo. You could ask Asuma, but it's best to wait until after the exams. He's busy training his own squad right now. So keep practicing on your own for now. How's your Rasengan coming along?" Jiraiya asked curiously.

"It's going all right, I guess. I just can't handle the rotation, power, and stability all at once. It falls apart just when I start getting the hang of it. Fifteen seconds is the longest I can keep it going." Naruto felt discouraged. The final stage was far harder than he had imagined.

"You could use a Shadow Clone to help you train," the Toad Sage suggested.

"No, I'm going to master it myself, and faster than you did... wait! I've got it! You're a genius, Pervy Sage!" Naruto suddenly cheered.

"Uh... thanks?" Jiraiya was baffled, unsure which of his words had sparked Naruto's realization. If Naruto insisted on training without Shadow Clones, what exactly had he thought of?

Naruto created a Shadow Clone and had it handle the chakra's rotation while he focused on building power and maintaining stability. Before long, a perfect Rasengan appeared in his hand.