Despite it All

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Naruto's POV (Leaf Camp)

Naruto had rarely felt so excited in life. He had done it! His whole team had as well. They were one more step closer to becoming Chunin. Naruto had drawn closer to his goal and merely had to fight to continue. That was fine with him; he loved fighting after all. So engrossed in his head he barely noticed Ino and Neji approaching him. Ino engulfed the blonde in a hug with a laugh while Neji merely shook his head at the touchy reunion as he sighed.

"It has been a mere two days." He chided with a raised brow.

"Ah, is Neji jealous? Does he need some love too?" Ino teased walking towards the genius with arms open for a hug.

"Merely feeling sick from your ridiculous displays of affection." He countered. "It is good to see you two doubtless. Even better to see we have all made it this far."

"Course we did, we trained ourselves into the dirt!" Naruto cheered happily. "We're gonna go all the way of course! Well, I hope you two will go far enough to be beaten by yours truly!"

"Your confidence is well founded, if not slightly misplaced." Neji countered. "I will win these exams after having defeated you." The two friends stood in front of each other. Staring each other down with an excited smile and a smirk respectively.

"HA! Wanna rematch pretty boy!" Naruto said with a foxy grin.

"Shame your little rematch will be outshined by my beautiful skills." Ino interrupted the rivals. Pushing both back by their faces and stepping between them.

"Naruto." A familiar voice rang out. Team Seven spun around to see Gaara standing before them. Behind him were Temari and Kankuro, who were racing over, they looked panicked. "It is time. You will either join me, or I will kill you." The redhead said darkly.

"Gaara, lil bro, we can-" Kankuro started.

"Silence. I never mind killing pests like you." He threatened leveling his apparent brother with a glare.

"I'm not going anywhere with a creep like you. Nor would I let some bastard kill me. You should never talk to your family like that." Naruto responded Riptide now in hand. A determined frown etched into his face. "Some of us aren't lucky enough to have siblings. Some of us wish we had the family you so casually threaten."

Neji and Ino were shocked by not only the menacing presence of Gaara who seemed to dwarf anyone they had fought but also the shockingly menacing presence Naruto had made. Before seemingly now intending to oppose Gaara directly in defense of strangers.

"They are merely humans Uzumaki. In time you will see I'm right. We are treated as nothing more than a beast. Now that your secret is out it's merely a matter of time before you learn. Once you see the level of despair only our kind can experience, you'll be begging for death." Gaara informed. "That's why if you won't join me, I'll kill you."

The two young men started to leak their killer's intent. Gaara's was intense, procuring images of death by crushing sand for the shinobi present. Naruto's felt massive and yet not malevolent. Temari and Kankuro were shocked into silence. Ino and Neji slowly walked forward. Aiming to help their comrade, but doing so somewhat reluctantly.

Before things could truly kick off suddenly there were eight samurai in their midst. The group quickly moved in and surrounded the young jinchuriki. Swords were drawn and nearly dripping with chakra, four stuck to each man's blade surrounding them. The only one without a helmet was an older man who wielded dual katanas. His face was scarred and he had a rough shaggy beard covering the lower half. He was garbed in the standard armor. His face displayed surely as a method of identification.

"We are aware of what you beasts are." The man speaks. "I am Lieutenant Riezo of the Samurai Grand Council. If you had planned to trouble this land with your accursed nature you planned woefully. You will either surrender or be slain like the beast you are." At this, the other samurai sank their blades closer to the throats of Naruto and Gaara.

"Wait! You can't just go around killing shinobi without proper reasoning." Temari said with a frown as she drew her fan. Kankuro seemed to agree as well as he flexed his hands. Surely he created Chakra Threads to prepare for battle.

"I believe she speaks well." Neji interjected as well. Kicking two of the blades away from Naruto and placing himself in between the samurai and Naruto.

"Ya so get away from our blondie before things get ugly." Ino said drawing a slightly longer kunai with a flower hanging from its rung.

"HEY! LEAVE NARUTO ALONE BULLIES!" Fuu called out suddenly, flying in and hovering over the group.

"Yet another one! Call in backup! We cannot allow them to roam freely." Reizo said angrily as he gestured. Suddenly even more samurai ran in leaving the group of shinobi outnumbered significantly. "We are samurai on a similar level to a Jounin grade shinobi. This is the last chance we are offering. Those of you without the cursed energy may leave without trouble. But we cannot allow this to continue, you were lucky to be even allowed in. Yet alone to roam our land without a guard. We will take you to Mifune and he will take care of you." Naruto flinched at the harsh tone the man held. Unlike Lee, Choji, Ino, and Neji the man seemed to hate him purely for his status. Had Gaara told the truth?

"Yo yo yo! A gathering of jinchuribros! Tension is rising, we are just trying to survive. No need for panic, the Killer Bee is arriving! WEEEEE '' A voice rhythmically rapped out.

Everyone in the large group slowly turned. All of them were stunned by the arrival of a strange rapping man. He stood much taller than most, easily being six feet tall. He was well-built and looked similar to A. He seemed to sway into the group. Seemingly enjoying a song the others couldn't hear. Behind stood Omoi and Samui. Both appeared tense as well. With a slight touch of embarrassment emanating from both.

There was a marked silence broken by the blunt call of a certain blonde. "Who the hell is this guy!" Naruto called out quizzically.

The man named Bee didn't offer much of a response, merely walking into the group of samurai. Reizo seemed to growl before he raced forward attempting to draw his blade. Bee merely dashed forward.

He slammed his foot into the hilt of Reizo's blade, stopping the man from drawing it. Reizo growled as he attempted to force his blade free, but was unable to outstrength the strange man.

"You damn monsters! It was impossible to accept this mere juvenile beast. Yet alone one who dared assault this land once!" Reizo said nastily, his voice breaking from emotional stress.

"Showing your hate so plainly. Pretending that you don't understand B. Weee!" Bee rapped in response, seemingly not bothered by the attempt to harm him. "Dontchu you know we are supposed to behaving? I feel this is something I shouldn't be explaining." Bee finished with a small frown.

"Well, would you look at this?" Another voice piped in. "Yet again people are trying to harm my cute little Genin." Kakashi stepped in to place a hand on Gaara's shoulder. The samurai around them, already intimidated by the arrival of Bee, visibly flinched at the arrival of yet another famous man. A sand tendril snaked out attempting to spear the hand. But as soon as it came close Kakashi almost teleported, appearing in front of Gaara and lightly tapping his forehead. Gaara frowned at this as his sand seemed to vibrate at his arrival. Before he suddenly broke down into sand appearing among his siblings and raising them into the air on a sand platform.

"It seems you are luckier than most Uzumaki." Gaara said. Now ignoring the others. "You surround yourself among these pests. In time they will show you the truth known by all jinchuriki. It's a fundamental fact. Like the essence of another life with knowledge of thousands of years transported soul to and I Uzumaki have one of the purest forms preserved inside us. When I show you the strength we wield, these pests will lose their luster to 'll become a threat. A risk. A liability. A weapon. A…..monster. " Finishing his speech, the group of sand shinobi flew off on their sand platform.

This left Team Seven and most of Team Bee standing before the samurai. Reizo and Bee were still locked in their test of strength while Kakashi stood before the others. Suddenly Reizo slid back as Bee flexed his strength and the samurai quickly fired off several slashes from their blades aimed at Bee, Fuu, and Naruto. Before any of them could get even close they were stopped by a blur. First, it intercepted the blast for Fuu, then Bee, and finally Naruto. Mifune appeared between the groups.

"I understand your rage Reizo, though you cannot hold all of them accountable for the actions of a few. Not to mention you would've led your men into a slaughter." Mifune chided as he turned to face Reizo. Suddenly his blade flashed forward the butt of his sword crashing into Reizo's ribs and robbing him of energy and oxygen. "You must need training in humility and agreeability both crucial skills of a true samurai." He recited as Reizo dropped to the ground. The other Samurai bowed to Mifune at this. "You all will report to your homeland for training. Remember this shame today, for you have shown an ugly side of the samurai to outsiders."

Reizo and his men wordlessly marched away at this. Heads bowed and expressions of hate were left disguised from their masks. Naruto blinked slowly coming to his senses after that powerful speech to notice the environment, he had never had people hate him so willingly. Most at home were not aware of his hosting of the beast. Was this how people would see him now?

"Naruto Uzumaki, Fuu of the Waterfall, Bee of the Clouds. In your homes, you may be accepted as regular citizens but now that your nature is known to the inhabitants of our land you must tread carefully. Hatred against jinchuriki is a trait shared by most, I can't say from personal experience but that boy presented a pretty convincing image." He warned as he marched off.

"I hate to say it to Naruto but he's right." Fuu said as she lowered herself to the ground. "You should try to control your personality, the less noticeable you are the better. "

"But we didn't choose to be like this!" Naruto countered hotly. Feeling doubly offended by the secondhand insults being delivered to his mother.

"Hate to say it Mr. 9, but our peers don't often see us as sublime." Bee rapped. "Luckily for me, they love it when I rap, WEEE!"

"He isn't well received at home either. Most are cool with him due to his services and station. But he is still avoided by most. " Samui said sadly. "Some even hate us for standing with him. It's incredibly uncool but the truth all the same." Omoi nodded sadly at this. Naruto didn't reply, merely frowning while looking down, his expression masked by his hair.

"Be that as it may, who are you people?" Neji interrupted upon seeing Naruto was locked in thought.

"Good question!" Kakashi said happily. Secretly noticing Bee and Fuu are concerned with what their meeting with Naruto meant to him.

"Oh! This is my bad ya know?" Naruto exclaimed, dropping his hand into his other palm, his mood taking a 180 "These two are Samui and Omoi from the Village Hidden in the Clouds. Their awesome swordsmen who backed me up in the second exam. Especially Samui! This weird guy is their… sensei?" He asked, looking towards the blonde cloud kunoichi.

"He's much cooler than he seems." Samui countered his skepticism with a smile.

"I'm cool! Yeah yeah, ya fool!"

"When he's not rapping…" Samui complained while facepalming.

"Oh, and this other lady is Fuu! She was on my team for the last part! She can fly! It's so cool!" Naruto excitedly grabbed Fuu by the hand and dragged her over to Kakashi. Fuu smiled and shook Kakashi's hand excitedly managing to make the Cyclops wince in the process. "I already made two friends, isn't that great!" He asked his team with a toothy smile.

"The blind leading the blind." Neji said dryly. The over-excited Fuu was now asking him questions so quickly he struggled to hear her properly.

Ino inwardly frowned as she smiled, Naruto sure seemed to find odd friends… and two of them were unique beauties… lovely.

Kakashi relaxed a bit as the group interacted relatively well. Samui and Ino both listened as Naruto described the events of the second exam. Fuu was attempting to interrogate Neji using the most pure-hearted method he had ever seen. Omoi seemed to be mumbling to himself about the meeting. Bee, who had stopped rapping at some point, walked over to Kakashi.

"Kakashi Hatake of the Sharingan. Haven't seen you in a while. Still a slick customer?" Bee asked, getting semi-serious as he jotted in a notebook. Seemingly nodding to some unknown melody.

"Killer Bee of the AB combo. It sure has, can't say I'm unhappy to have not fought you again." Kakashi countered with a smile.

They both glanced at the teams again. "The amazing things the new generations can do so easily. I've never seen even allied villages truly befriend one another like this."

"Yeah~!" Bee agreed. "They doing even better each time ya feel me?"

"Doubtless." Kakashi agreed. "We need to go to our camp for now. Thanks for the assistance."

"Gotta watch out for my bros. Only nine of those." Bee informed with a nod. Kakashi gave him an owlish stare before his body flickering over the Genin.

"Alrighty Team Seven we have a team celebration to go to. Furthermore, we're celebrating with unfortunately a close friend of mine's team as well." Kakashi said.

"Alright, let's party!"

"Alright, let's party!"

Ino and Naruto parroted happily. Neji merely sighed with a rueful smile. Kakashi subtly smiled as well, happy to see his team operating well and enjoying life. Team Seven was suddenly assembled by clones of Kakashi appearing and throwing the three to the original. Who stacked and carried the young adults like sacks of potatoes.

"Chow!" He said to Cloud Shinobi and Fuu as they poofed away.

"Aw, man wanted to hang out with Naruto…" Fuu whined as she prepared to fly off.

"No need to fret! Miss Seven the greenette!" Bee rapped.

"Wha…" Fuu asked, confused.

"It means it'll be cool with us if you wanna eat with us." Samui informed smiling at the woman as she placed a hand on the shoulder of Fuu. Omoi was too busy discussing the ramifications of intervillage friendships.

"Are you sure?" Fuu asked nervously. Worried they would reject her now.

"For sure we know your pain. Partying with potential friends ain't no thing!" Bee continued rapping. 'Better be careful big bro don't find out though.' Bee thought as they walked back to the Cloud camp.

Sasuke was never one for celebration. His home life had been destroyed, his legacy besmirched, his purpose discovered. He had expected the help of his older brother. The man who had originally been his goal and mentor. Once his clan had been deposed he and several other younger Uchiha had been spared the wrath of the Leaf, he had expected his older brother would be with him. Looking to redeem their name, find out why they had struck out, and how the most powerful clan in the village had been casually deposed. Itachi, before he had been arrested, warned his younger brother to not follow his clan's path. That redemption could only be earned through loyalty. So Sasuke listened, serving faithfully. Training harder than his peers. Pushing himself to the next level, someone even stronger than Itachi. Someone who had the knowledge and power to fully revive the Uchiha to their former glory. With this in mind he had determined becoming a Chunin was his only choice. He had trained with Shisui, the best friend of his brother, who had taught him his style. Sasuke was no master of it yet but he had made it his own. Yet when he had intended to meditate for the night one of his few remaining family members called to him.

Yuno was the oddest Uchiha he'd ever met. They were often known for their stoic and intelligent demeanor only matched by a fiery temper. Yet she was known for cold patience and odd penchant for anyone or thing she considered "interesting". Truthfully Sasuke found her complex and often infuriating. Yet he had come to treasure their rare haunts. It reminded him of a kinship he may never feel again. He had his mother but similarly to Itachi she seemed supportive of the fall of the clan. Yuno was more open-minded. Similar to him she figured the full story wasn't out. Unlike him, however, she had determined it wasn't worth the trouble pursuing it. Dubbing the attempt, "an incredibly painful way to commit suicide". The better option would be to simply let go of his anger and treasure what he had left. Earnestly this offended Sasuke to some degree. Of course, he treasured Yuno, Shisui, and his mother. But he yearned for the world he had before. He recognized the injustice of it all didn't matter. Not unless he had the power to do something about it. So he tentatively allowed his anger towards them to dull. It served him no happiness to draw the line against his remaining blood. Yuno recognized Sasuke's inner turmoil better than most had arranged for meetings between the two.

As such Yuno, Sasuke, Hinata, and Shino sat at a bar. Hinata and Shino both listened in shock. As an angry Yuno berated Sasuke aggressively. The male sat as if he was used to this and unaffected by her harsh words. Tellingly he did not rage back at her or leave. Instead, he seemed accepting of this. It was odd to see him so calm when someone was acting so bold towards him. He assumed they thought of him as some kind of emotional brick. Typical of the Leaf to subtly look down on the Uchiha.

"You kicked Choji's cute little head through a stone, you absolute jerk!" Yuno yelled as she shook Sasuke violently.

"I could've killed him if I wanted." Sasuke countered.

"I'LL KILL YOU RIGHT NOW!" Yuno roared.

"Sasuke-san, it's unwise to get Yuno all worked up. She simply cares." Hinata said patiently as she sipped her tea. She wasn't much of a drinker and preferred to avoid it when possible.

Sasuke shot her a glare for teaming up on him. But Hinata merely met this with a patient smile. Seemingly unbothered by her teammates' brash nature.

"Hn," Sasuke replied stubbornly. As much as he tried to be aloof Yuno seemed to drag a reaction out of him.

"Ugh, you're such a bore. You're never gonna lead the clan and raise an heir without some social skills." Yuno complained crying into Shino's shoulder.

"You should respond to someone fully, that is because you need to be charismatic as a clan head like myself." Shino responded suddenly needing to adjust his shades. He felt much more open after a few glasses.

"There is no way I'm less charismatic than Shino." Sasuke said sharply. He didn't usually allow himself to be so open. But he found it harder to contain his emotions when Yuno was around. "I was the most popular guy in the academy. Not to mention the number one shinobi. Fitting of the Uchiha clan."

"I-I find Sasuke very charming." Hinata tried to help her teammate.

"Is that why you asked me how to befriend him~? Saying you found him unnerving and hateful." Yuno sang.

Hinata eeped at this, her whole face blushing at this. She quickly poured herself a shot of sake and threw it back. Seemingly determining that it would hide her shame.

Yuno laughed at this, Shino seemed to vibrate for a second before controlling himself, and Sasuke smiled for a mere second. The tension broke up a bit with the joke.

"I-I-I hate you s-sometimes Yuno." Hinata quietly whimpered.

"Love you too lavender princess." Yuno countered with a smirk. She poured Hinata a glass of the liquor and slid it her way with a smile.

Sasuke glanced around as he noticed it seemed both Hinata and Shino had drunk a bit much and seemed about ready to depart. While he would silently admit to having a good time, he needed to meditate tonight for at least three hours. The sooner he settled in for the night the better. Yuno met his stare and rolled her eyes. Subtly the two suggested breaking off for the night. Shino and Hinata headed back to their rooms. Sasuke and Yuno had decided to walk a bit. They walked the snowy path around the camp. Light by torches.

"You find anything out? My emo cousin." Yuno asked with a smirk. He knew she subtly was happy he hadn't found anything. She likely didn't want to even know. She was such an odd woman.

"I've exhausted leads. With Chunin level access there is a chance I may find a new one but at the moment I have no luck." Sasuke said with a frown. "There certainly was a cover-up of some kind. Crimes of the nature of the Uchiha have been accused of should have an array of evidence. Documentation, containment papers of property and wealth, imprisonment or execution records of at least the civilian members of the clan were to be expected, and yet he had discovered a lack of information. The story he had found at first as he investigated had fallen apart.

"A cover-up is troubling, it suggests it was an order from up top." Yuno mused. "Perhaps it's related to Root? Or maybe even that secret Kabuto had mentioned to you?"

"I thought so as well. But they say Kabuto oddly enough attacked his team and has gone missing since." Sasuke replied.

"Kabuto? Really? He was cute but didn't think he was strong enough to do that. Or mean enough."

"That's the odd thing. He lagged behind even Hinata. Without his healing skills, he wouldn't be much." Sasuke said, focusing inwardly as he thought about it. "The timing is odd. I feel like it's not a coincidence he informed me of some secret and then suddenly went AWOL."

"Certainly does seem odd, even… ominous. Do you think he might not even be leaf?" Yuno said, suddenly alarmed.

"Seems our timing is impeccable." Jiboro announced as he walked in front of the group.

"I would simply say the game has begun." Kidomaru offered as he walked in behind the two. "Objective: Capture one Sasuke Uchiha. Preferably alive. Expected difficulty?" Two arms suddenly snapped out barely managing to catch a kick sent from Sasuke. "Medium." Kidomaru taunted as he threw Sasuke back. Yuno went to attack him as well but had to dodge a swipe from the larger man.

"It's a shame I must kill a lady such as yourself." Jiboro commented as he stood between her and her cousin. "You should attempt to flee, someone as puny as you would barely be a snack."

"Not cute or interesting…" Yuno said darkly as she pulled out two kunai twirling them skillfully as she slid into her stance. "Guess I'll just cut you down to size."