This time, Kyubi increased his warm-up to fourteen laps around the Konoha village and one hundred fourty pushups and sit-ups. Although it was only the third day, Naruto was getting used to constant exertion over long periods of time. This time, he did not even stumble on anything. On top of everything, his legs didn’t feel as if they would simply fall from underneath him.

Completing the healing technique required even less time than before. Although, he remembered what Kyubi told him when he first learned it, “At your level, it should take around twenty minutes. Eventually that time will be reduced, but it should never take less than ten minutes, otherwise it will not be complete.” Not a chance of that ever happening though, it felt good flowing the chakra through his body. It sort of felt like a gentle rain, washing away the pain.

“It appears as though we have a visitor,” projected the demon, interrupting Naruto’s reverie in the process. The boy extended his senses, and sure enough, someone was in the immediate area, obviously wishing to stay hidden. It was fairly obvious who it was, even though he was not visible, yet.

“What are you doing here Kiba? And don’t tell me you were walking Akamaru,” Naruto said in a loud voice.

“Damnit! How’d he find me,” thought Kiba with a gasp. Walking out into the opening, he could not help but wonder just how strong the other genin had become. Did he know all along? Or was he just toying with him. He was going to find that out right here and now.

He could feel Kiba approach from behind him. He still did not get up, or face him. It was best to remain sitting, to give the impression he knew no fear. Only when he was sure the walking had ceased did he get up on his feet and turn around with a giant grin on his face.

“So! Did you come back for another ass kicking?” asked Naruto in a loud and boisterous tone. “That wasn’t exactly the way I would have started things,” interjected the demon.

“Very funny Naruto. How long have you known that I’ve been watching?” Kiba responded.

“Oh, like, since after the Chuunin exam, I think.” Internally Kiba’s mind was boggling. So he knew for a month that he was being spied upon and he did not do anything about it. Outwardly, though, he kept his cool.

“So then you know why I watch you,”

“Actually, I have no idea.” Another grin.

“Quit playing the fool. There’s no way you could have gotten strong enough to beat me, and especially that Neji kid without something special. I want to know what,” growled the young Inuzuka.

“Hehe, I’ll tell you what it was. Hardwork and dedication: two things every normal shinobi should have. But then again, you don’t look like a normal shinobi,” replied Naruto with a smirk, “Now, I gotta train some more.” With that said, the blonde nin left Kiba standing there with an expression of anger and shock.

The insult was as veiled as it was blatant. Either way, Naruto was going to pay for it.

“If you were trying to make an enemy, that was very well done,” said the demon sarcastically.

“Eh, his fault for spying on me.”

Excluding the confrontation with the other genin, Naruto’s life was settling into a regular schedule, not that it was a bad thing to him. It did not really matter; soon Kakashi-sensei would present them with a C-rank mission, finally! He half-hoped that it would turn out into a B-rank just like the Wave Country mission, although that was almost disastrous.

Turning onto his street, Naruto paused in surprise. Standing near his house were Kiba, Shino, Chouji, and Ino. The latter two were walking towards him as if leaving the other two, but once they spotted him they quickly glanced at Kiba. Something was going on. Shino seemed to be talking to Kiba, but he did not look as if he were paying much attention.

“What’s going on here,” wondered Naruto as he walked towards his house.

“It appears to be a fight,” announced the demon.

“Whaaa! There’s nobody fighting though!”

“You will see, I am right.”

“Crazy fox,” he muttered under his breath. Still in his thoughts, Naruto stopped, surprised at Kiba who was yelling at him, “There you are! Don’t expect to insult me and get away with it. You’re going to pay.”

“Huh? What are you talking about, baka. I’m not gonna fight you.”

“After humiliating me, not once, but twice, I’m not going to let you go without teaching you a lesson.”

“Eh, quit babbling, you’re just wasting your time,” Naruto said as he walked past Kiba.

With his back to his enemy, Naruto realized he might be in a little trouble. Fortunately, Kiba was too blinded by his anger to capitalize on such an advantage. It did not matter though.

“Don’t run away from me! I’m not going to lose to a Dead-last!” yelled out the angry genin in frustration.

That last sentence stopped Naruto in his tracks. There was something about that name that just struck a nerve inside of him. His breathing shortened as it quickened. He could feel the adrenaline pouring into his body. It was no use fighting, but he did not want to lose it, not here.

“It’s no use fighting it. Let it flow through you, but don’t let it take over,” said the demon.

He did not want to give in to his anger, but it felt so good. The power that always came with such heightened emotion was immense, almost as if he was made of purge energy. In these few moments he felt more alive than he ever had his whole life.

The insult definitely had a visible affect on Naruto since he stopped walking. Kiba could not tell what was going on. From the looks of it, he was just standing there, at least for now. It was as if time had frozen, nobody was moving, they were all watching Naruto. The blonde genin’s breathing was gradually quickening as well as more strained. Now he was starting to shake. At first it was slightly, but it was becoming more and more exaggerated. “What is going,” thought Kiba, “I’m going to put an end to this.” Before he could start, Naruto’s body erupted with chakra into a dark red aura.

“That’s the same chakra feeling as during the Chuunin exam!” gasped Ino in shock.  Kiba, who had been unconscious when Naruto finished his fight, was still completely unaware of what had happened. The only thoughts in his mind were that he had most likely made a huge mistake, and that he should run away. It was too late though.

As Naruto turned around, his face looked strangely inhuman. It was the eyes. His pupils were so small, they were more like slits. Suddenly he spoke up, “Don’t ever call me Dead-last.” Although he said it quietly, there was no mistaking the menace in his voice.

“Did he copy my jutsu?” wondered Kiba. To him, Naruto looked strangely like an animal, not quite to the point of his own beast effect jutsu. As he placed his hands in a seal Naruto started speeding towards him. Before he could activate his jutsu in time, it was all over. He was doubled over Naruto’s fist that was still pressing his stomach. The taste of blood was creeping into his mouth as he tried to breathe. The pain was intense.

Naruto moved his fist away from the other genin. He was not through with him yet. A quick kick to the stomach sent his opponent flying for several meters. This power within him was still too raw, he needed to control it.

Amazingly, Kiba was still able to stand up after those two hits, though shakily. “It’s time to end it,” decided Naruto. He did not think he would be able to keep control over his emotions for very long. The temptation to completely give in was stronger than ever.

Yesterday’s practice had served him well. He was so familiar with Kage Bunshin no jutsu that he hardly needed to concentrate. In a poof of smoke, two clones appeared on either side of Kiba and grabbed him in vice-like grips. Extending his hand, he started to gather his chakra inside the palm. At first it was a whirlwind of motion, but within a few seconds it was all focused into a glowing sphere of pure energy.

There was no hope of escape for Kiba. Even if he were not being held by two shadow clones he was too injured to dodge. Closing in fast, a wicked grin spread on Naruto’s face in anticipation of crushing his opponent. But as he was mere inches away from Kiba, he caught a blur of movement on the outside of his field of vision. It was too late to react; he had already taken a kick to the ribs and was sent crashing into a tree with the Rasengan ripping the entire roots from the ground.

After getting up and dusting himself off, Naruto turned around to face his new attacker. It was Sasuke!

“Oy, baka. What were you trying to do? Kill him?” shouted Sasuke at him.

“N…No. But he started it!” responded the blonde genin, anger clearly gone.

“Pff, whatever. Kakashi-sensei sent me to tell you that our mission will be ready in four days.”

“Yea, yea. Whatever. I don’t need you to look out after me.”

Although he did not see it, Chouji and Ino were breathing huge sighs of relief. They had never seen Naruto so angry before. He definitely looked like he was going to kill Kiba…and that technique; that was not the kind of skill a genin could learn.

“Well, now that all the excitement is over we can get back to training. South-east of the village is a mountainous area. Go there once you are done cleaning yourself,” ordered Kyubi.

After a shower and some lunch, Naruto headed south-east and after about forty-five minutes of traveling, he arrived at the mountain ranges.

“Great, now what do I do?” inquired the boy.

“Now, you climb the cliffs.”

“Whaaat!”

“Without using your legs either, otherwise you won’t be able to develop strength in your fingers, which is the whole purpose of this training.”

Grumbling still a bit more, the boy finally complied. How hard could it be after all? All he had to do was climb the rocks. As long as he paid attention to where he put his hands, he would do just fine. After all, it was just climbing rocks…without using his legs. It was doable.

“Man, this is gonna suck,” grumbled Naruto to himself, and rightly so. After only an hour he was barely a fourth up on the smallest of rock formations. His fingers were trembling from the exertion and his upper-body muscles were burning. If only he could use his chakra; it would make things so much easier.

“I already said, no chakra,” interjected the Nine-tails, “Using some would defeat the entire purpose of this training. The taijutsu I will teach you is extremely advanced, and requires great muscle control in your body extremities. This taijutsu alone should put you on the same level as those arrogant Hyugas, let alone the jutsus you’ll learn.”

“Y…Yeah,” stammered Naruto, clearly too tired to hold a conversation. He was wondering how in the world to climb to the top of the rock he was hanging off of.

“There is much hate, and resentment in you; I can feel it. Instead of bottling it up and wasting it, grasp it. The villagers hate you for what you have sealed up inside of you – me. The children disregard you because of your once poor grades.”

“God damnit! Why do you keep bringing that up?”

“Because you try to forget it all, instead of looking at reality. Don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s something different. Your sole reason of existence is to bear the hate of the village, but from now on it’s different! From now on, your purpose is to prove to everyone who you are and what you are capable of.”

Fueled by the demon’s speech, Naruto found strength in his anger towards the village. Inch by inch he forced his hands to move to higher handholds. Though despite the odd inspiration, the feelings within him raged against each other. Was the demon right? After all, there was still Iruka-sensei who bought him ramen every now and then. Still, Kyubi had killed his parents; his acts of kindness could merely be attempts to satisfy his guilt. Naruto sighed at this thought. Life was exceedingly cruel sometimes.