13 years after the Kyuubi struck, Shinobi technology had changed vastly. The indiscriminate violence that had spread from the Foxes claws, and the ineffectiveness of their strikes made them rethink their stratagem. Discarding their swords and kunai, they sought safety in new technology. That of firearms. And though their Ninja arts were still in great use, these weapons become greatly integrated into their life styles.

Changes in weaponry denotes a change in the armoury and the Shinobi world was no exception. Various armouries were commissioned into putting work into more suitable outfits.

Bullet-resistant flak jackets were quickly manufactured, they came in a standard colour, dark gray. Black joint pads were introduced later to prevent loss of limb function. The standardised blue sandals were most recently replaced with hardier black boots, though these were designed to allow full flexibility in the field. Though these were standardised, what the Ninja wore beneath, or chose to attach, was for the bearer to decide. Many of the larger clans also had specially made jackets to differentiate them from others, and to allow them to use their skills to more of an advantage.

All in all, the Shinobi world became a much fiercer place.

There was a brief rustle as an orange blur scrabbled from the bush it occupied, and flung itself beside a crate. The blur was revealed to be a small child, clothed in a bizarre orange jumpsuit and a black jacket coated in spiraling badges. Sweat dripped down his face profusely as he fumbled a pistol from its holster and brought it up close. Gun first, he snuck a peek above his cover only to be greeted by a violent crack as a series of targets sprung up before him.

The child quickly lept to his feet, firing wildly at the targets that seemingly exploded from the ground. One by one, riddled with holes, the targets collapsed. The gunshots ceased only when the boy had to reload his pistol, which in itself was a painful scene to view. Haphazardly thrusting his open hand into a hip-pouch, any offending clip that he pulled out was challenged to mortal combat as he struggled to flick it into the gun fast enough. He was mere seconds away from unleashes a torrent of bullets at the last target, when an deathly shout erupted from his side.

"NARUTO!"

Upon hearing his name, the boy quickly holstered his gun and turned around to salute, grinning ecstatically. He was greeted by the mumbling of his indignant teacher, who's eyes were overflowing with annoyance

"Naruto", he grumbled, softer this time, "What did I tell you about bravado?"

The child, now known as Naruto, stared quizzically at the man, "Eh, Iruka-sensei? What do you mean?"
Iruka sighed, and stared at the cheerful blond. The boy had good movements, and took down the 29 targets with relative ease. But he seriously lacked discipline. The way he had jumped at the chance to waste the targets without bothering with cover or ammo conservation was completely out of order. Iruka placed a hand on the boys head and stooped down to match his height.

"Naruto, it means that you should think more of the situation in hand, and not to jump out so much.

"... But, Iruka, thats just how I am. You know that!" Naruto explained, cheerfully, not noticing the pity seeping into Iruka's eyes.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, you won't be becoming a Genin this year." exhaled Iruka, gently ruffling the childs hair. He was hoping that Naruto wouldn't be put down too much by the news, the blond ruffian was very important to him. Iruka had regarded him as a younger brother ever since he'd gotten over the massacre 13 years back.

"Hahah, theres always next year. Right, sensei?" The words fell through his ever-present smile. "You'll have to try a lot harder than that to stop me being Hokage!" Naruto spun around on his heels and walked back into a crowded class room, giving signal for the next person to go through.

The Uchiha insignia glistened in the sun as a familiarly dark mannered boy stepped from the doorway, fingers tapping rhythmically on the tandem-holster that adorned his left thigh.

"Uchiha, Sasuke, Ready."

Naruto calmly made his way through the mass of girls fighting over who got to congratulate 'Sasuke-kun' first and out of the classroom. He had told the truth to Iruka, it didn't hurt that he hadn't made genin, but it would've been nice to have graduated with his friends. What came next would be worse anyway thought the blond, grimacing. It was why he hadn't waited till everyone had finished their exams

"Ah", Naruto exclaimed, "Lucky!", as he reached the courtyard. Just as planned, no one had shown up yet, and he was thus saved from glares and whispered words. His steps echoed across the concrete flooring as he made his way to swing. Sitting idly on it as he gazed through the leaves of the tree that supported it and listened to the muffled gunshots, It began to dawn on him that he would, most likely, be the only person who didn't pass.

But it really didn't matter, did it?, thought Naruto, his roughly bound hands crumpling the padding on his thighs. He could always use this extra time to train more and then... foot steps?
Naruto turned to look towards the offending perpetrator. Seems like the parents have started to show up to congratulate their children for their graduation into real Ninja. Upon noticing his presence they, uniformly, gave him a brisk glare and then ignored him for the duration of their travel until they reached the entrance of the school. At which they turned their hungry eyes upon him. Like vultures.

The blond returned the favour by turning his attention to his pistol and ignoring them.

It was a standard academy model, nothing special. In fact, compared to the ones that his classmates were handed, his seemed like a toy that had been mistreated. The barrel was badly chipped and hand grip was worn ragged. The whole thing was slightly wonky too, which made shooting the bloody thing a lot more work than it should be.

'Heh, we have to make do with what we have, right?' Naruto pondered, a slight smile creeping onto his face, as he calmly released the magazine and emptied its contents onto an open palm. The wax pellets that slid out weren't exactly the most impressive of ammunition. But hey, its what everyone in the Academy has to use. According to what he'd once heard Iruka speak about, the gun was nearly entirely chakra based. The handgrip had a thin rod of metal that traveled up into the inner workings of the gun. Any chakra that was eased through it, was split somewhat in half. One half to power the gun, and the other to... sort of 'change' the pellets. He wasn't quite sure what that meant, as he'd promptly fallen asleep after the technical jargon quickly overwhelmed his mind. He'd been reprimanded on numerous occasions whenever he inquired about using some REAL ammo. It was simple, to them anyway. Wax is very susceptible to chakra, and thus works better for students who may not yet be as used to wielding their chakra.

There was a sudden commotion near the academy which caused Naruto to gaze up, hastily shoveling the pellets back into the clip. More anxious parents had poured into the grounds and it was hard to see what all the fuss was about, but he had a good idea. And as the crowds cleared, the boy was quickly proven correct, the exams had ended and the newly appointed Genin was rushing to brag to their parents. Glee was evident on nearly all their faces.

Naruto sighed, slammed the magazine back into his gun, and was just about to slide off the swing when something black appeared in his peripheral vision. A boot. The blond raised his eyes up to study this anomaly further.

"Hello, Naruto-kun"

It was Mizuki, one of the other instructors for Naruto's old Academy class. He never really paid anyone any heed, leaving Iruka to do most of the work. To put it lightly, Naruto was curious as to why the man was talking to him.

"Eh, Mizuki-sensei?" murmured the boy in curiosity, eyebrows raised.

Seemingly pleased with the response, sly grin working its way upon his face, the Instructor crouched to Naruto's height.

"Why, Naruto-kun, I am so very... sorry that you have not made it to Genin, however I...may have some information that could, perhaps, lighten your mood. Hm?"

The boys eyes widened to dramtic proportions and he nodded erratically. The news had utterly surprised him. He hadn't expected anyone, let alone Mizuki, to try and help him. So, with a trademark grin splayed across his face Naruto whispers, "Hell yes, sensei".

"Then meet me at the uppermost balcony of that building over there", ordered Mizuki, point towards a building next to the Hokage monument. "I'll be there in 2 hours. Don't be late."

Naruto jumped off the the slide and awkwardly saluted the Teacher. "Yes, sensei!" he shouted and ran out of the courtyard, leaving more than a few people confused.

Mizuki merely chuckled and got up from his haunches. "Yes, Naruto. We wouldn't want you to miss out on all the fun, would we?" The man murmured before breaking into a hearty laugh.

Naruto's heart pounded as he sped happily through the crowded streets. The idea that Mizuki would help him was odd, yes, but Naruto was hardly going to complain. Seems like he would be able to graduate after all. One step closer to recognition. One step closer to Hokage.
Bringing his mind back from visions of glory, he spotted Ichiraku Ramen and, with a look of devilish hunger upon his face, hurried towards the entrance.

"Oh, evening Naruto-kun!", exclaimed the store keeper as the young blond burst through onto a stool, "How was the exam?"

"Beef ra- Oh. Well, I didn't make it this time, but Mizuki-sensei said theres a way to get through without any silly exams." Answered Naruto, trademark smile never leaving his face.

"Oh really?, thats interesting. I've never heard of that before...", the man murmured before turning around and lighting the stove.

"Really?"

"Yup! Ah, beef ramen was it?"

"Yes sir!", laughed the boy, sloppily saluting at the man, before screwing up his eyes in thought, "Are you sure that you've never heard about it before? 'Cos I don't think sensei would lie to me..."

The man drew a knife from under the counter and started to slice the beef roughly. "Well I don't really know. Only a civilian after all." chuckled the shopkeeper as he pushed the meat onto a griddle.

"Heh, don't say that, old man. You're still the best ramen store in the world!", Naruto shouted, grabbing a pair of chopsticks, "Mm, that smells as great as ever. Oh yeah, where is Ayame-chan?"

"Ah." muttered the man, amused, "She's out making some deliveries for me" The ramen was bubbling nicely as the man turned back to it so he quickly moved it off the hob and cut the gas. "Ah, its pretty much ready. Grab a bowl, would you? They're just behind me."

"Sure thing, old man!" laughed Naruto, staring lustfully at the noodles as he reached over the counter and grabbed one of the bowls.

"Well get ready for another grand bowl of Ichiraku's finest!" exclaimed the man with vigor as he poured the hot concoction into the awaiting bowl. "Enjoy, Naruto-kun. Oh, when does Mizuki want you?"

Naruto already had noodles halfway drawn towards his mouth as the question was asked and, wasting no time, quickly shoved them in his mouth. "Well, Mizuki sensei said that I should be there in two hours and uh...", the boy spluttered as he looked around to the clock, "Oh crap, we've been talking too long, I only have half and hour till I need to be there!"

"Oh dear"

"Gah, well... thats enough time for a few more bowls, eh?"