AN: Kon'nichiwa! Doreamu-Desu! (For those non weebs, that's Dream.) This is my first fanfiction, so I'm sorry if I become inconsistent/get carried away. I would first like to say that this fic starts on team selection, everything up to this point will be considered cannon. There are 3 OCs that will play little part on the story in the very beginning, but will be important later on. I don't really mind flames, but I would prefer constructive criticism. Please… I really need the feedback… DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto.. If I did, this is what the story would have been.
Chapter 1: Introducing Konoha's Greatest Gennin Group!
An orange blur sped down the streets, knocking over civilians, and not looking back. If one looked closely enough, they could see a blond haired, blue eyed, whisker-marked teenage boy in panic as he made his way to the academy.
"Gahhhh! I haven't even been a ninja for a week and I'm already screwing up!" the boy yelled as he narrowly dodged a fruit cart that seemingly came out of nowhere. This was Uzumaki Naruto; and as he said, he was late. VERY late.
Konoha Academy
A chunin stood in front of the classroom, a scar across the bridge of his nose. His hair was in a ponytail, and he seemed quite saddened as he read off his list. He was assigning teams currently, yet there was a lack of a blond haired, blue eyed, whisker-marked teenage boy in the class. It wasn't like Naruto to be late for something as important as this. 'He better not be pulling another prank…' The chunin thought as he continued down the list. "Team Seven: Kiba Inuzuka, Sakura Haruno, and Sasuke Uchiha-" the man said before he was cut off by a certain pink haired bansh- kunoichi. Pink haired KUNOICHI…
"CHAAANAROO!" the pink haired bansh- kunoichi screamed at a blonde haired, blue eyed, whiskerless-marked, teenage girl, "I WIN INO-PIG, SASUKE-KUN IS ON MY TEAM!"
"SHUT IT FOREHEAD," said the blonde haired, blue eyed, whiskerless-marked, teenage girl shouted back.
"Ahem."
Both teens looked back at their instructor and shrank with embarrassment. "Sorry Iruka-Sensei…" Both kunoichi spoke.
"Thank you. Team se-" Iruka started again before the door slammed open, an exhausted blond haired, blue eyed, whisker-marked, teenage boy fell to the floor.
"I'm… Here… Iruka-sensei…" said boy huffed.
"Naruto? What are you doing here? Team assignments are only for ninja who passed, remember?" a boy with a puppy on his head spoke up.
"Look at the forehead, dog breath. I am a ninja," Naruto replied.
"If you and Kiba are done, Naruto, please take your seat. As I was saying, Team Seven, your jounin sensei is Hatake Kakashi." A pause for dramatic effect, "Team Eight: Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuuga, and Chouji Akimichi. Your jounin sensei is Kurenai Yuhi."
It was at this point that the blonde haired, blue eyed, whiskerless-marked teenage girl sat up. A small chill went down her spine. Very slowly, her head turned to the left, landing on the seat diagonal to her at a certain blond haired, blue eyed, whisker-marked idio- shinobi. 'No…. NO…. NONONONONONONONOOO!' she screamed in her head.
"Team Nine is still in circulation, so Team Ten, Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Naruto Uzumaki." Iruka said, before he was RUDELY INTERRUPTED FOR THE THIRD TIME.
"NOOOO!" Ino yelled as she stood up, "Sensei can I please change teams? I don't want to be on this team!"
Naruto looked down, a sad look in his eyes. Of course someone would complain about being on his team. Although Naruto knew nothing about her, he knew Ino hated him just as much as everyone else.
"Sorry Ino, the teams were selected by the Council itself. There will be no changing," Iruka said. "Your Jounin sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi. Well then, that's finished. Your jounin sensei will be here shortly." Iruka smiled, walking out the room.
Ino slumped into her seat, pouting. Not only did forehead get HER Sasuke-kun, but she was also stuck with the dead last. Shikamaru wasn't that bad, their dads were close, but he was extremely lazy. They would just drag her down.
A couple minutes passed, and several teams left. The door opened and a man with short raven hair, tan skin and a cigarette hanging out his mouth entered the room. "Team Ten?" he asked. Naruto, Ino, and Shikamaru stood up. The man wasted no time, just turning and motioning them to follow.
Naruto had to admit, his jounin sensei looked super cool! Walking eagerly, Team Ten sat by the tree in front of the Academy, Naruto claiming the swing as he got there first. Suddenly an annoyed "Ahem," interrupted his thoughts as he looked at a very annoyed Ino.
"What?" Naruto asked.
Ino rolled her eyes. "Don't you have any manners? It is polite to give your seat to the lady."
"But I got here first!" Naruto exclaimed in a semi annoyed tone. To be fair, he did get there first.
"How about both of you shut it down and no one sits on the swing?" Their sensei spoke up, sitting cross legged on the ground.
In an annoyed huff, both blond teens sat onto the ground in the shade of the tree.
"Thank you. Now, to get started, let's all do introductions. Names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, and dreams," Asuma said.
"Umm, can you show us an example?" Ino asked.
Asuma let out a long drag, "Yeah, I guess I should huh..? Well… My name is Sarutobi Asuma, I like Soba with Tororo and playing shogi. My dislikes? Probably just asparagus. For hobbies… I play shogi and blow more smoke than a chimney. My dream? Hmm… I don't really have one. How about you?" he tossed the focus from himself right back to Ino.
"Oh.. Umm, I'm Yamanaka Ino. My likes are Sasuke-kun and the color purple. My dislikes are…" Her voice trailed off as she took a quick glance at the blond idio- SHINOBI… beside her, which didn't go unnoticed by said idio- Shinobi… Or Asuma. "My hobbies are shopping, gossiping, and going through fashion magazines. My dream…" she thought of herself in a white wedding dress, holding the arm of one Sasuke Uchiha, squealing with a blush.
"Okay then… You, other blond, go," Asuma said, looking at Naruto.
"Right! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! My likes are ramen and training! My dislikes are the three minutes you have to wait for instant ramen. Seriously! If it's instant, you shouldn't have to wait! My hobbies are pulling pranks and watering my plants-" Naruto said before he got cut off.
"Ha! Yeah right! I bet you don't know the first thing about gardening!" Ino said, her arms crossed.
"I do!" Naruto said back, "Anyways, my dream is to become hokage! Then, all the villagers will acknowledge me and I'll be able to protect my precious people!"
"You? Hokage? Yeah right. And Sasuke-kun is gonna confess his love to forehead instead of me," Ino scoffed.
Asuma sighed, rubbing the back of his head before looking at the pineapple haired teen that seemed to be napping. "Alright kid, rise and shine, I gave you a lot of nap time."
Said teen gave a small, "Troublesome," as he leaned back up. "My name is Nara Shikamaru, I like Shogi and cloud watching. My dislikes are honestly too troublesome to say, and so are my hobbies as a matter of fact. My dream..? Hmm… I don't really have one."
'Great, a loud mouth, an idio- shinobi…, and a lazy ass… just what I needed.' Asuma thought. "Right, I'll have an assessment of your abilities tomorrow. Meet at Training ground 13 at 8 AM sharp. Oh, and don't bother with breakfast. You'll just puke." With that, Asuma disappeared with a puff of smoke.
"WHAT?! How'd he do that?! I need to do that!" Naruto exclaimed. Silence came, and as Naruto looked around, apparently his team had ditched him in the middle of his excitement. With a pout, Naruto stood up and decided to walk around a bit. It's not like he was in much of a hurry anyways.
Couple Hours Later, Hokage Tower
"Hokage-sama, what is the meaning of this?" Questioned a semi angry silver haired cyclops. "I specifically remember requesting for Naruto to be on my team."
Sarutobi Hiruzen. The Professor, God of Shinobi. Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure. "I apologize, Kakashi, but the Council refused to allow Naruto be on a team with Sasuke Uchiha. Although I hate to admit, we both know the reasonings. And Sasuke had to be with you, seeing as how you're the only one capable to help him with his Kekkei Genkai."
Kakashi sighed, fixing his composure after he lost his cool. "I understand, Hokage-same. I apologize for my temper."
The Hokage waved a forgiving hand, "Worry not, Kakashi. I know I would have felt the same."
Kakashi looked at the picture of the his sensei on the wall, the Yondaime Hokage. 'I tried sensei… I'm sorry.' Kakashi thought. He pulled out a small orange book from his pouch, walking out the Hokage tower. Though his eyes read the words, his thoughts were somewhere else, thinking over the past few years of his life.
Next Day, Training Ground 13
Naruto, Shikamaru, and Ino sat in a clearing, waiting for Asuma to arrive and assess their skills. Suddenly, dread creeped into Naruto's mind. 'What if he has us do the bunshin?! Oh dear.. PLEASE NO!' he thought as panic set in on his face.
At about 8:03, Asuma walked up to his genin, smiling. "Good to know you all aren't slackers like a certain colleague of mine."
Elsewhere in Konoha
A certain silver haired cyclops who was currently helping an old lady cross the road sneezed.
"Oh, bless you dear," the elderly woman said.
"Oh, thank you, Haraki-san," he said, pausing to let a few bicycles pass before helping her cross again.
Back with Team Asuma
"What's the test Asuma-sensei?" Naruto asked.
Asuma took a long drag before slowly holding up two bells. "These two bells. You'll have two hours to get these bells from me. If you can manage to do that, congratulations, not only do you get to eat lunch, you won't have to go back to the academy."
"What do you mean go back to the academy? We graduated yesterday," Ino spoke up.
"That you did. But, as a Jounin sensei, I get the last word whether you stay on as a genin, or go back to the academy."
"And with there only being two bells…" Naruto started.
"Only two of us will pass.." Shikamaru finished. "How troublesome…"
"Don't forget, come at me with the intent to kill. If you don't, you'll never get a bell," Asuma said. "Ready?" he asked as the three genin prepared themselves. "Begin!"
As soon as those three words came out his mouth, two of the three genin scattered, hiding within the flora of the surrounding area. Asuma raised a brow, looking at Naruto.
"You know, Gaki, staying in plain sight is suicide if you don't have a plan," Asuma taunted.
"Who said I don't have a plan?" Naruto smirked. He crossed his fingers, determination in his eyes, "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Suddenly, about twenty Naruto's surrounded the jounin, each with their own smirk.
"Not bad, kid. Not too many people know that jutsu. And even less people can create as many as you just did," Asuma said. Though, on the interior, he was panicking slightly. 'How the hell can this one kid have so much chakra?!'
In the trees somewhere, Ino frowned at Naruto, clearly unimpressed. 'What does he think those clones are gonna do? Asuma-sensei is a jounin.' Her words were cut short from shock, as the clones began to move and actually made contact with Asuma. It wasn't an illusion?
Besides Ino, Naruto's other teammate was shocked at the information he just gathered. 'This… This is impossible! Naruto has never been able to do the regular Bunshin jutsu, but here he is, fighting Asuma-sensei with twenty of him!'
Although there were more Narutos currently present than there were Asumas, Asuma didn't have any trouble at all. Naruto's taijutsu wasn't just bad… It was absolutely horrid! This kid was an academy graduate for Kami's sake! What Asuma didn't know, however, was that the academy teachers purposefully taught Naruto incorrectly, through the use of sloppy formation and negative reinforcement.
Naruto swung wildly at Asuma's face, a loud, "Got you!" exiting his mouth. Upon striking Asuma's cheek, Ino and Shikamaru sat wide eyed, watching the spectacle before Asuma poofed into a log.
'Kawarimi huh..? Troublesome..' Shikamaru thought as he continued to watch. Naruto looked all around, screaming at himself for losing track of Asuma.
"You know, you'll fail if you don't try to get the bell," Asuma said as he walked out the forest, "But I gotta admit, I like your courage. If only your teammates could show the same." His hands moved quickly, forming seals, Asuma inhaled deeply, "Katon: Haisekishō." With an exhale, black, chakra laced ashes blew towards Naruto. The blond started coughing, staying in the cloud, oblivious to the amount of danger he was currently in. With a smirk, Asuma clicked a piece of flint between his teeth, igniting the ashes and causing an explosion within the ash cloud.
Needless to say, Shikamaru and Ino were shocked. There's absolutely no way Naruto would live through that. As the smoke cleared, Naruto lay on the ground, burnt and singed. Asuma frowned. If this was all it took for Naruto to go down, the academy was losing its touch. He even held back a ton.
Suddenly, shocking everyone even more, Naruto poofed out of existence as the real Naruto shot from underground, reaching for a bell. He could see it. A bell in his hand. His fingertip almost touching the grey ball. A sharp pain came from the back of his neck, everything going black as he fell unconscious from Asuma giving him a swift chop, working through instinct.
Sometime Later
Naruto slowly opened his eyes, completely disoriented. He tried moving, but soon discovered he was tied to a post.
In the background, he could see Asuma fighting both Shikamaru and Ino. Pouting to himself, a small ache flushed his chest. "Looks like they got the bell…" Naruto said softly. "Sorry, Iruka-sensei, looks like I can't make a good ninja after all." Just then, the bell rang, signalling that time was up. Naruto perked up at this. If the timer went off now… Then he would have still had a chance! Shikamaru and Ino collapsed onto the ground, panting as Asuma came to silence the timer.
"Good to see you're awake, Naruto," Asuma said.
"Yeah, too bad I couldn't get the bell, though," Naruto said softly.
"What are you talking about? You grabbed it just before you went out," Asuma said. "Sorry about that, by the way, I didn't mean to knock you out for so long. It's reflex from fighting stronger opponents."
Naruto just now noticed a small glint beside him, the shine from a tiny silver bell. "Wait.. I got one?! Yatta! I'm so great!"
"You and Shikamaru both have one. The brat caught me off guard when I was distracted by Ino and pretended to keep getting it," Asuma said.
Shikamaru rolled his eyes, "It was too troublesome to fake for so long, honestly."
Naruto smiled at Shikamaru. It was just like him. Then, he noticed the sad face Ino wore. Then he remembered. There were only two bells. He has one and Shikamaru has the other. "Hey, Ino…" Naruto started.
"Shut it, Naruto. I know, I'm going back to the academy…" Ino snapped.
"No, I wasn't going to make fun of you… I was gonna say, you can have my bell if you want…" the blond said.
"What..?" Ino asked.
"I mean, you saw that fight… I think… I'm nowhere near good enough to be a ninja, I just graduated by luck. I saw you and Shika fighting Asuma-sensei. You deserve the bell more than I do." Naruto smiled. "Plus, it'll give me more motivation for next year in the academy!"
"I don't think that's necessary, Naruto," Asuma said with a smile.
"What do you mean? You said-" Naruto started.
"I know what I said," Asuma cut him off. "But what I didn't say was that this was a test to see if you could all work together as a team. From your self sacrifice, you gave Ino the chance to advance and go forward. That, Naruto, is why you graduated."
"So… We all passed..?" Ino asked.
"You all passed," Asuma said with a wide smile.
"Yatta! I'm one step closer to becoming Hokage, dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed.
"Anyways, I'll be on my way, have to tell Hokage-sama of your success," Asuma said, disappearing in a shunshin.
"I have to go tell my parents! They'll be so proud!" Ino said, running off.
"I'm off to nap. Today was just too troublesome…" Shikamaru said, walking away.
"U-uhh… Guys...? I'm still here!" Naruto said, still tied to the post.
Chapter End
AN: AAAAAAAAAAnd that's a wrap! Wait… no… that's a chapter. This one was pretty short, since I have a tendency to write long chapters, but worry not! I'm in the process of planning the second chapter! The next chapter should be longer..? Maybe? I'm not sure, but I like to write long chapters. See you all next time! I… think…?
PS: Beta read by his amazing (but idiotic) sister. Just so you know he's not flawless.