Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, if I did then I would have lots of money.

Hey guys, this is my first Naruto fanfic for this site and I would like some feedback and comments please. Constructive criticism are allowed as long as they help me become a better writer. Oh just a word of warning that there will be some Sakura bashing for a few chapters, I'm sorry since I know its frowned upon but its kind of needed for the fanfic. Anyway please enjoy and leave a review...till the next chapter. Also I'm looking for a beta-reader so if you're interested please say so in your reply.

Naruto sat inside the Academy in silence, he was the first one to arrive in the Academy and that suited him just fine; if this was a year ago he would've been the last to come in. But this year he had changed and it was evident in his clothes, no longer did he wear that orange jumpsuit that he so proudly wears: he now wore an entirely black outfit that consisted of a black leather vest and matching leather pants, while a black scarf trailed down his shoulder; he also wore tabi boots, a ninja head piece that reminded you of a falcon with the symbol of Konoha engraved on it, a mask that covered his face and shin/forearm guards depicting him as a true shinobi in his full stature. However behind him was a katana sheath in a red and gold scabbard while the golden hilt radiated malevolence and evil so if one were to stare at him they would've felt pure evil emanating from the young boy if he wished it. (1)

The silence of the room calmed Naruto down, this was his third attempt at becoming a shinobi and he was determined to pass this year, not that there were doubts with the training he did in the 6 month period since his last Genin test, he exhaled slowly as the door opened and the first batch of students arrived and looked at Naruto, "Hey who's that?" Kiba asked clearly not recognising Naruto.

"A new student?" Hinata suggested.

"Who cares" Kiba said as he sat down and ignored Naruto, who he is still assuming was a new student.

However Hinata approached Naruto cautiously and said in a soft voice, "H-hello…I'm Hinata Hyuga…nice to meet you" she then bowed in respect.

Naruto looked at her and he smiled, "Hello Hinata" he said as Hinata and Kiba gasped in surprise.

"N-Naruto-kun?" Hinata asked as her face went red from embarrassment, "i-is th-that y-you?"

"Holy crap Naruto that's you?" Kiba asked.

"Is it that surprising that I've changed my appearance a bit?" Naruto asked knowing the answer.

"This isn't a bit Naruto" Kiba stated, "this is a complete change…you're not wearing your orange jumpsuit for starters…and where's that can-do attitude of yours?"

"A true shinobi lives within the darkness and he does not reveal himself to the enemy so easily" Naruto wisely said though from where he couldn't figure out.

"Right…" Kiba said as Hinata poked her index fingers in nervousness.

"Hinata…you know you can sit beside me if you want" Naruto said a slight blush creeping up his cheek.

"I-I can?" Hinata asked a smile on her face.

"Of course" Naruto said gesturing to the empty seat next to him.

Kiba looked on as Hinata nervously sat next to Hinata and she looked shyly at her crush, he smiled at this knowing that Hinata always wanted to be next to Naruto who was oblivious to Hinata's feelings…until now that is, "Looks like we're no longer her guardian Akamaru" he said to his nin-dog who barked in agreement with him. He had always cared for Hinata since she was shy and her family didn't care much for her and he had been a friend to her but now he knew from the start that Naruto would care for her though why he underwent a dramatic change he didn't know.

Soon all the other students began to file in, Naruto looked at Kiba and put a finger to his lips indicating silence which Kiba grinned and kept quiet, soon Sasuke came and all the girls fawned over him as usual while he coldly glared at Naruto and was seem to be sizing him up, "Who are you?" he asked as he didn't recognise Naruto underneath all those clothes.

Naruto ignored his question and simply stared at him with his blue eyes as Sasuke stared back…there was a deathly silence as the class watched the Uchiha heir do a staring contest with the new student. However immediately Sasuke stumbled back a bit making everyone gasp, it was not often that Sasuke backed down from anyone, they wondered what had happened not knowing that Sasuke felt such a strong evil intent emanating from the black shinobi that it unnerved even him and he had to back down less he fainted from the sheer pressure of the aura.

However Iruka then came in and was equally surprised to find a new student in his class though he had not been warned about it, he also wasn't too surprised that Naruto was late, he always was but he was more concerned with if he had changed over the 6 month break before the next semester sighing he began the day, "Good morning class…first off I'll do roll call" and he each called the enrolled student's name while at the same time watching the door to see if Naruto came in. However he finally reached Naruto's name and he had no choice but to call him out and mark him as late, "Naruto Uzamaki" he said with a sigh.

"Here" Naruto said though it was rather muffled with his mask.

"Where?" Iruka asked his head snapping up as all the other students looked around searching for the unique orange jumpsuit.

"Over here Iruka-sensei" Naruto said raising his hand a bit so that Iruka could see him; needless to say everyone except for Kiba and Hinata were surprised as they murmured to themselves at how much Naruto had changed; Sasuke was staring at Naruto not believing that this was the guy that forced him to back down, the dope and dead-last ninja. Even Iruka dropped his clipboard and pen upon seeing his student too shocked to say anything; Naruto sighed and whispered to Hinata, "is my outfit that much of a shock to them?"

Hinata giggled, "They just didn't expect you to ditch your outfit completely Naruto-kun" she said.

Finally Sakura was the first one to find her voice, "S-s-stop trying to be cool like Sasuke-kun" she said pointing an accusing finger at Naruto, the other girls finally found their voice as well and voiced their opinion of Naruto's 'attempted coolness' while the boys glared at Naruto with venom at him thinking that he was trying to be superior than them.

"N-Naruto-kun isn't trying to be cool" Hinata said passionately as the girls glared at Hinata with venom making Hinata nervous, "he's just…uhm…he's just trying…"

Naruto placed a hand on Hinata's shoulder and pushed her down, "Don't worry Hinata-chan…just ignore them" he said softly as Hinata blushed and nodded before sitting back down.

"O~kay" Iruka said as he looked at his class and the hostility that was being directed straight to Naruto, "the first order of the day is to practice on our throwing skills so if you would follow me" he said as he stacked his papers and headed off towards the training area, there was a flurry as all the girls stuck to Sasuke like glue while the boys walked off in pairs or single. Naruto sighed as he got up, his black scarf trailing down his body and calmly walked towards the training area.

Hinata and Kiba walked with him, "What made you change your outfit Naruto?" Kiba asked.

"Some things happened during the holiday and I did some deep thinking about how I was going about being a shinobi…eventually I decided that play time was over and I wanted to get serious" Naruto explained though this was partially the reason why he decided to change his attitude and outfit completely…there was also the Kyuubi to consider.

"You look so cool Naruto-kun" Hinata said shyly as Kiba grinned at her attempt to praise Naruto.

"Thank you Hinata-chan but don't let the girls hear you say that or they'll do something to me…especially Sakura and Ino…those two are Sasuke's biggest fans."

"Yeah I kind of got that feeling from them" Kiba said as the trio arrived at the training area. Iruka already had some students try their luck throwing five kunais or five shurikens at a target; some hit it near the centre while others completely missed. Finally it was Sasuke's turn and all the girls cheered and screamed in a fangirl kind of way as Sasuke looked at the target and taking five shurikens and five kuanis threw all 10 of them straight towards the target that hit quite close to the target.

"Well done Sasuke" Iruka said, "10/10" as he marked the score on his sheet, "Naruto Uzamaki…you're next" he called out wondering how he would do, this kind of thing really wasn't his style and he often got a bad mark for it but he hoped that he had improved with this 'new' Naruto.

Naruto stepped up to the throwing point and grabbed 5 kunais and in a blur threw all 5 into the target as all 5 kunais hit dead centre in a small circle. The class gasped in surprise, including Sasuke, it was rare for anyone to hit dead centre with one kunai yet alone 5 so the crowds were impressed and some nodded their approval.

Except for Sasuke's fan though as they accused him as trying to outdo Sasuke, "Enough" Iruka said a bit tired of their antics, "excellent work Naruto…10/10" he said with a smile as Naruto bowed in respect. The day proceeded as normal; Naruto would ace all his practices and was attentive in class while Sasuke's fangirls would accuse Naruto of either trying to be as cool as Sasuke or trying to outdo him, Iruka had to praise Naruto at his patience as he was bombarded with these insults the whole time and his eyes were beginning to twitch from frustration from the whole thing.

Soon the day was over and everyone flooded the exit as they hurried home, Iruka approached Naruto, "Good work Naruto, I'm impressed with your efforts today…keep it up and you'll make Rookie of the Year" he said with a smile.

"Thank you Iruka-sensei" Naruto said as he hefted his katana more comfortably.

"Though I'm wondering where did you get that sword from?" Iruka asked pointing to the katana on Naruto's back; he had never seen Naurto wield a katana before and he was worried that Naruto would injure himself while training or using the weapon.

"From a shop" Naruto said.

"Do you know how to use it?"

"Sure, I trained with it during the holidays…"

"Okay just be careful with it."

"Yes Iruka-sensei."

"Hey Naruto do you want to eat ramen with me? My treat!"

"Sorry not tonight Iruka-sensei" Naruto said as he then disappeared as leaves surrounded him.

"Body-flicker Technique?" Iruka mused to himself before chuckling, I might need to talk to Hokage-sama if Naruto keeps impressing me like this.

Naruto soon arrived at his apartment and took off all his clothes and the katana before he sat down, "Ugh…I don't know how you managed to survive through that school" the Kyuubi's voice echoed in Naruto's head, Naruto glanced at the katana as it shimmered with a red aura before it turned into smoke and formed into a fox grinning at Naruto.

"I have to go through that school Kyuubi" Naruto said calmly, "if I want to become a shinobi."

"True but you don't have to take the crap those girls give you" the Kyuubi said, "you could always show them a little bit of your power…"

"I will not abuse the power given to me through you being sealed the Dragon Sword" Naruto said as he remembered what happened 6 months ago:

Flashback

Naruto walked down the street, angry that he had been rejected again by the Academy to become a shinobi, it was his second failed attempt and he was starting to think that he had no future in this village of his; he ignored the glares of the villagers as he had gotten used to them, "Stupid village…stupid villagers" he muttered under his breath. He then kicked an empty can and it rolled down to a nearby travelling merchant, which was when he saw the Dragon Sword for the first time, it was simply sitting there and it seemed to be calling out to him. Naruto warily approached it as the merchant looked down on him, "Ah…so you're the boy the Dragon Sword calls for…" he said.

"Eh? Wh-what?" Naruto asked blankly.

"The Dragon Sword…" the merchant said lifting the katana, "is calling for you…I can sense that it wants to be with you" he said.

"I-I don't want it" Naruto said taking a step back.

"It can also seal that demon that resides in your body" the merchant said with a smile.

"W-what? Ho-how do you know about it?" Naruto asked, he himself knew that he held the Kyuubi after he overheard one of the shinobis talking about him; it had frightened him that such a demonic and powerful spirit resided within him but he had vowed never to let that stop him from becoming a true shinobi.

"I know many things and I'm sure this sword will help you seal the Kyuubi…it is very powerful and once you can control it nothing can stand in your way" the merchant said.

"But I can't afford it" Naruto stated bluntly.

"Since the sword calls for you…I'll give it to you free of charge" the merchant said handing the sword to Naruto.

Naruto stumbled a bit from the weight and he looked up to protest but the stall wasn't there…he looked around but couldn't see any sign of the merchant at all. He looked down at the sword and shrugged thinking that if anything it would make a good decoration at his home, he hurried home and placed the katana on the floor, "Now what do I do?" he asked himself as he stared at the sword intently willing it to do something…anything to seal the Kyuubi in it and free him of his power and control…however suddenly a intense pain erupted throughout Naruto's body. He screamed in agony and rolled on the ground trying to find respite but the pain continued to increase in intensity until he completely blacked out from the pain…

End flashback

And that was it, when Naruto woke up he saw the Dragon Sword thrashing around the room while he could hear the Kyuubi's voice echoing in his mind telling him to release him from his prison which was now the sword. Naruto lifted his shirt and saw that the seal on his stomach was not there, that had been the happiest moment of his life, until he realised that now the Kyuubi was within the sword…if another person got to it and properly wielded it then it would be a disaster for Konoha. Therefore he made a promise, he would wield the Dragon Sword and master it, he would change the way he operated; although his dream of becoming Hokage remained it was no longer to make people acknowledge him but he would achieve it in order to become the strongest shinobi and protect Konohakagure, his home, thus he had ditched his orange outfit and swapped with his now black outfit and he changed his attitude to one of reserve and calm; not one of passion and anger.

The relationship between him and the Kyuubi also somewhat improved, at first the Kyuubi was furious that he had been sealed within the sword, but as time went on and the Kyuubi watched as Naruto trained himself and become an entirely different person his attitude towards his jailor changed into one of respect though grudgingly and he became silent except to comment on a particuluar thing or another. Naruto himself had become his only human friend in the mortal world and he too wondered how much stronger he will become now that this 'new' Naruto was about to enter the Academy for the third, and hopefully final, time.

1. Naruto's new outfit is the same as the one worn by Ryu Hayabusa from Ninja Gaiden/Dead or Alive. Just thought I put this here in case I didn't describe it right.

So should I continue this fanfic?