Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sighed as he watched the boy in front of him going on one of his infamous seal rants. "Naruto, as much as your seal rants are insightful, that is not what I called you here for," the Hokage said.
At once, the boy's mouth snapped shut. "Then if you didn't call me here for a new seal, then what?" the blonde asked annoyed. Hiruzen sighed, "I believe it is time for you to take down that mask of your's and show them your true colors," he said. Naruto frowned, "Do I have to tell them about my...disability too?" he asked fearfully.
"Of course not, Naruto, but take off that seal," Hiruzen said. Naruto sighed, "Very well," he muttered as he reached to the back of his neck and pulled off the seal. Instantly, his hair turned from bright yellow, to a dark -almost crimson- red. His hair grew longer, making it's way down to his shoulders.
"That better?" Naruto asked as he straightened his hair. "Very much just stop acting like the dead last and show them your true colors," Hiruzen said. Naruto glared at the Hokage with an annoyed look. Witch Hiruzen founded creepy, seeing as the youth was blind. "You weren't just talking about my hair color, were you?" he hissed lowly.
"Look at it this way, Naruto, you are a seals prodigy. The people of Konoha must know this," the Hokage reasoned. "The people of Konoha? Ha! They could careless about me, even if I were to show my true nature," Naruto snapped as he crossed his arms. "Now, don't get anger. I just finished remodeling from the last time you went on one of your rampages," Hiruzen said in a warning tone of voice.
Naruto waved his hand dismissively, "Don't worry, I wouldn't go on a rampage," he reassured. "How many times, have you said that and then went on a rampage anyways?" Hiruzen muttered. Naruto thought for a bit, "No idea," he replied. "Fifteen times, Naruto, fifteen times," the Hokage stated flatly.
"Really? I thought it was more like two or three," Naruto mused. The "Professor" show his head in amazement, "It amazes me, Naruto, that you're your father's son," he sighed. Naruto smiled widely, "Don't forget, I'm also my mother's son as well," he countered. Hiruzen chuckled, "Okay, I'll give you that," he remarked.
"Well, I better get going. See ya, Old Man!" Naruto said as he disappeared in a vortex of yellow. The Hokage laughed, "As enthusiastic as his mother too," he mused.
? ﾟﾍﾜ?
Naruto reappeared in an alleyway not far from the academy. "Just because he wants me to show my true self, doesn't mean that I will now," the redhead muttered as he slapped the seal back on. Once he felt his hair turn back into it's bright yellow, Naruto sent a wave of chakra around the area to get his bearing.
"Hmm...about five people. Two men, one woman, and two kids," the fake blonde muttered. "Will, at least I'll only get a few glares," Naruto muttered as he walked out of the alleyway and started walking towards the academy. As predicted, Naruto felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
"Glare all you want, but you wouldn't get any reactions out of me," Naruto thought as he skipped a little.
Soon, the twelve year old made it to the academy. Sending a small wave of chakra, Naruto sensed that no one was in the courtyard. "Must be in class," Naruto mused out load as he continued to skip towards the building.
"I wonder if I could one up the level of the gravity seal," Naruto mused as he entered the building. "Still going with your fake persona, Naruto?" asked a voice beside him. The blonde turned his head in the direction and shook his head. "No, Gramps wants me to lower it," Naruto replied.
Iruka sighed, "Well hopefully you will lower it completely by your first C-ranked mission," he said. "Most likely not," Naruto pouted. "Don't be like that, Naruto, people would like to get to know the real you. At least drop the act around your teammates," Iruka said. Naruto sighed as he started walking towards the classroom. "Fine, depending on who I end up with, I will drop it," he declared.
"That's all I ask for," Iruka said. Naruto growled and started to head toward the direction of the classroom.
"Okay, everybody, seat down and shut up!" Iruka yelled as they entered the room. "Hey, what's Naruto doing here!?" shouted Kiba. "I graduated," Naruto deadpanned. Kiba grinned, "Well, I'm surprised, good job!" he cried. "Thanks, Dog Breath," Naruto said with a grin. Kiba grinned back and sat down.
Iruka cleared his throat, "Now that that is settled, let me start by congratulating everyone for making it to this point. But this is only the beginning. Listen to your Jōnin Sensei and I wish you all good luck. I will now start calling out squads," he said as he pulled out a scroll and started to call out the squads.
Naruto (who had taken a seat) zoned out. He didn't care who he was on a squad with. As long as it wasn't the picked haired banshee or the Uchiha ass, he was fine.
"Squad Seven is Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha, and Nar-" Iruka was cut off by an explosion right next to his head. All heads snapped to the blonde that had thrown the explosive. "Oh no, I am not being stuck in the same squad with the pink banshee and the stuck up Uchiha prince. Put me on that squad, and you will suffer," Naruto threatened.
Iruka gulped, "I'm sorry, Naruto, but the placement of squads is based on grades. You're the dead last, therefore, you are placed on the same squad with the top boy and girl of the class. Being Sasuke and Sakura," he explained. Naruto narrowed his eyes, "If you don't wake up tomorrow, you'll know why," he stated as he sat back down.
Iruka gulped and rubbed his neck. "Thanks for the warning," he muttered. "It's not going to help, but you're welcome," Naruto replied bitterly. Iruka cleared his throat, "Your Jōnin sensei is Kakashi Hat-Naruto where are you going?" he asked as Naruto got up from his seat and walked towards the door.
"To get lunch. Hatake's not going to be here for hours," Naruto replied nonchalantly as he slipped out of the room.
The classroom was silent for a few minutes, till Iruka cleared his throat and continued calling out the squads. "Your Jōnin senseis will be coming by to pick you up. Good luck," Iruka said once he was finished.
The students started to talk, not about their squads, but the uncharacteristic Naruto that was in the room a few minutes ago. "That was really strange. Shikamaru, any ideas?" Choji asked as he continued to munch on his barbecue chips. The Nara shrugged, "I have an idea, but not enough evidence to support the theory. It's too troublesome anyways," Shikamura replied.
"I'm going to be stuck with the dead last," Sakura pouted. "At least your not stuck with Choji and Shikamaru," Ino muttered. "That's right, I have Sasuke-kun!" Sakura cheered. Half of the female population deflated at the reminder.
The door to the classroom opened, to reveal a long haired, red eyed woman. "Squad Eight. I'm your Jōnin sensei, Kurenai Yuhi," the woman announced. Shino, Hinata, and Kiba stood up and headed out of the room.
After a few hours, the only squad that was left was the newly formed squad seven. Sakura was busy trying to ask Sasuke out, while Sasuke was busy ignoring her. The door opened and the two looked thinking that they would see their Jōnin sensei, only to see Naruto with a bowl of ramen.
The blonde shrugged as he walked towards a table, opened his lunch, and started to eat.
Sasuke and Sakura secretly watched their blonde teammate eat. "If you want to know something, just go ahead and ask," Naruto said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin.
"What's up with you, dope?" Sasuke asked. "A lot of things are up with me. I'm stuck in a room with a dude with a duck's ass for a hairstyle and an obsessive fangirl," Naruto replied as he stirred his meal around his ramen bowl. Sasuke was about to snap at the blonde, but was cut off by an explosion to the right of his head.
"Before you pop your lid, let me get one thing straight. I am not as dead last as I made myself up to be. It was simply practice for an infiltration mission. At times, a ninja must make up a truly fake persona just to get info out of a rival village. So don't think for a split second that I wouldn't rip your balls off if you ever call me dead last again. Got it?" Naruto asked as he took a sip of his bowl.
"Is that a threat?" Sasuke asked with and edge to his voice. "No, it was a promise," Naruto replied. The Uchiha prince was about to reply, but was cut off by the I arrival of their sensei.
"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura yelled. "Sorry, I got lost on my way here," Kakashi lied. Sakura was about to snap at her sensei, but stopped when a small explosion took place right next to Kakashi's head.
"You're late, don't do it again or else," Naruto warned as he walked out of the room.
The room was silent after the blonde left. "My first impression of him is: he hates me," Kakashi commented and his remaining students sweat dropped.