Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Naruto. Masashi Kishimoto does. Is the Akatsuki a big happy yaoi harem with Naruto as their ultimate uke? No? Then I don't own it.

WARNINGS: Contains minor foul language and violence. Mentions of abuse and child negligence. Will contain severe Kakashi bashing, minor Sakura and Sasuke bashing(but they will get better), and OOCness (Naruto is the most ooc). Strong Naruto (may seem godlike but with reasons), later stronger Sakura and Sasuke. May jump to others' POVs from time to time (I'll fix that if it really begins to be a bother).

Set a month before Chunin Exams.

Pairings: Undecided (I will take some suggestions from the comments, but NO harem!)

AN: The first two to three chapters may be slow, but i promise to speed things up towards the actual exams! Just leave any suggestions for me in the comments! Now please enjoy the story!

"Ohayou Sakura-chan!" came a shout from a grinning blond running into training ground 7, alerting the other two occupants of the area of his presence. Much to a certain pinkette's disappointment.

'CHA! Naruto-baka ruined my chance at asking Sasuke-kun for a date!' her inner self growled, punching at the air randomly as she fumed. Outwardly however, she simply frowned in the blonde's direction.

"Don't be so loud baka! It's too early for your yelling!" she shouted, steam puffing out her ears as he cocked his head to the side innocently,

"Ah, but Sakura-chan. Aren't you being loud too?" he asked, his eyes big and innocent. Just for a moment she could have sworn she saw hidden sarcasm, but just as she tried to find it again, it was gone. She merely shrugged it off, rationalizing that the blonde was too much of a dobe to even understand sarcasm, or negative emotions in general. Aside from being annoying.

"Whatever! Sasuke-kun and I have been waiting here for Kakashi-sensei way longer than you. So we're just a bit peeved. And you coming in here all happy and cheery doesn't make it any better, baka." she growled, turning away from him in a huff, rolling her eyes at his disappointed whine.

By this time Sasuke had brought his attention back to the two, glaring at the whining blonde in annoyance, "Quite whining dobe. A true shinobi doesn't whine for simply being scolded."

Naruto growled, balling up his fists in a threatening manner, "Wanna say that again teme! I'll fight you here and now and show you who the true shinobi is!" he exclaimed, a tick mark growing on his forehead when the Uchiha smirked.

"Like a dobe like you could."

"Teme-!"

"YO!" came a puff of smoke in the center of the training ground, revealing a silver haired pervert who was(sadly) sensei to team 7.

"YOU'RE LATE!" Naruto and Sakura crying out accusingly, the latter punching the blonde, scolding him for copying her. The jounin simply eye smiled at his team, then in a flash presenting them with three pieces of paper.

"What is this for sensei?" Sakura asked as she took hers, frowning in confusion when she caught a flash of resentment flash through their sensei's eyes as he handed a similar paper to her blonde teammate, albeit reluctantly. Was that her imagination again? First Naruto and now Kakashi. Maybe her dieting was affecting her eyesight...

"These," Kakashi began, gesturing to the papers as he did so, "are your entrance forms for the upcoming chunin exams. After the mission to wave, I was impressed by the potential in this team. So, I decided to enter you into these exams in hopes of your promotion." he explained, though oddly enough he seemed to only be directing his attention towards the Uchiha of the team, tossing a quick glance to his other two students from time to time.

Sakura gazed down at the form nervously. It's not that she was scared of the exam, rather, she was worried about where her skills lie in order to even pass. So far, she has yet to perfect the academy taijutsu style that Kakashi insisted on her learn during training and she has no ninjutsu whatsoever in her arsenal. As far as she knew, Sasuke was the only one who Kakashi has taught any actual ninjutsu techniques to. How could she be of any help if she has nothing to fight with?

Unbeknownst to the rest of the team, Sasuke too was looking down at the entrance form with hesitation. He was an Uchiha, an elite, so of course he wouldn't back out. Though these thoughts usually reassured him, he still felt uncertainty in the pit of his stomach. Kakashi has taught him a few fire jutsu here and there, and has sparred with him regularly, but he didn't feel as though he has grown at all since graduating the academy. He was not one to doubt himself, but he couldn't feel any improvement in himself at all. Sure he was more than likely the only one on the team to know any ninjutsu, and have regular training sessions with their sensei, but was that really a good thing? What if they were outnumbered during the exams? He couldn't rely on either Naruto or Sakura since they haven't had any sufficient training. Could he really support his whole team if the situation ever called for it? Sasuke could practically feel doubt crawling up his spine as he pried his eyes away from the form, turning his attention back to their sensei who continued to smile(as far as they could tell with the mask up), unaware of his students' inner turmoil.

"Are you sure we're ready for this exam, sensei?" the surprisingly composed blonde asked, much to his other two teammates' surprise. They would have thought he would be jumping up and down the walls in excitement of the challenge. To think he had asked the one question on their minds that they were too prideful to ask aloud.

Kakashi remained silent for a moment, his smile dropping for a flash second before returning, though appearing slightly strained, "I have faith that this exam won't be too hard for you, Naruto." he said, his smile turning into a smirk at the blonde's frown, "I also believe that Sasuke will have no problems with passing the exams. I have trained him for these very exams, and have faith that he will be one of the few promoted to chunin." he smiled at his raven haired student, oblivious to the boy's discomfort, though it was well hidden behind his impassive gaze. Naruto rose an eyebrow incredulously but said nothing more.

Sakura frowned slightly at this. Why hadn't sensei mentioned her being successful as well? She passed the academy with the highest written test scores. If anything, she had the actual brains of the team-

She flinched.

She never thought she'd have these types of negative thoughts towards her teammates, especially Sasuke-kun! Why were Kakashi-sensei's words bringing up such negative feelings?

Kakashi cleared his throat, "Alright, now that that's done with, I have the following weeks' schedule for us to go over. As I just informed you all, the chunin exams are in a few weeks, nearly a whole month away. In that time, I would like to cover sufficient training. Now Sasuke, I will be teaching you a few more ninjutsu, including one of my more personal techniques. I will also be sparing with you every other day and will be teaching you how to use your Sharingan to its full potential while at its current stage." he informed, handing over a folded piece of paper to the raven, revealing to be the training schedule he had just mentioned.

"Now if that's all, missions have been canceled for the upcoming exams, so I expect you all to train hard in that time. Dismissed-"

"Oi Kakashi-sensei. What about Sakura-chan and my training? All you did was mention teme's training with you. When will you be training us?" Naruto interrupted, oblivious to Sakura's relieved expression. She was glad at least on the them had brought it up.

"Ah, of course! Must have slipped my mind." he chirped, causing a sigh of relief to escape Sakura's lips. So he did have an actual training schedule for them as well. That was a relief.

Turning to the pinkette, Kakashi handed over a small book that read 'Medical Knowledge For Beginners' in bold red print, "Sakura, I expect you to read and retain this information. It has information on common poisons in Konoha and will help you treat any gained wounds on the team during the exams. Once you've finished that, please continue on with your practice of the academy styled taijutsu formation. That is all." Kakashi instructed, ignoring the flash of disappointment in his female student's mint green eyes.

"Now, Sasuke. Follow me and we will begin our training for the day. The rest of you, dismissed." he said absently, a familiar orange book already in hand. His eyes already glued to the page as he turned to leave, only to stop when Sakura called out to him,

"Wait sensei! What about Naruto? I know he's a baka and all, but you didn't tell him what you'll be teaching him." she called out, rubbing her arm nervously at a sudden tension that filled the training ground. She laughed sheepishly, "I know you're forgetful sensei, but you should really tell him what to do before you leave." she added meekly, trying her best to brush off the pressure the tension brought. She was mildly shocked when Kakashi merely scoffed,

"I didn't forget anything. I'm not going to be teaching him during this time." he stated, rather harshly for Sakura's taste. Both Sakura and Sasuke(though he wouldn't admit to it) were shocked at the tone in their sensei's voice. Why was there so much resentment there? Had the blonde done something to upset the usually lethargic and laid back jounin? A bad prank perhaps?

"What do you mean Kakashi-sensei? Why aren't you going to help Naruto? Aren't we all entering the exams?" Sakura asked, confused and mildly upset with how her sensei was regarding her blonde teammate so offhandedly.

Kakashi's eyes skimmed over his book absently, "His chakra control is awful and I don't feel like wasting my time with trying to get him to get up and actually train to control them. I have better things to do, such as training Sasuke, rather than wasting my time on Naruto." he stated bluntly, a sudden malicious glint passing through his visible eye before it dulled and returned to his book.

Sakura gaped, sputtering in surprise, "B-But sensei! Why won't you try and help him-"

"It's alright Sakura. I don't need his help. But thank you for worrying about me. Just do as he says and remember that book. We'll be relying on you during the exams to patch us up if we get ourselves into a mess." the blonde spoke suddenly, drawing their attention as he offered a small smile, much smaller than his usual large grins. The smile vanished however as he turned a cold stare to Kakashi, who sent a glare right back,

"And if you hadn't noticed, sensei, I have gained perfect control over all of my chakra. Even as large as my reserves are, I managed to gain perfect control over them without any help from you, sensei. And having Sakura continue on with learning the academy style, really? No disrespect to Iruka-sensei, but that style can be easily recognized and countered by an enemy with sufficient training. Instead of having her continue on with a style that could get her killed, sensei, you should help her create her own style so as to keep the enemy on edge. Or better yet, maybe you should have at least recommended her to an actual medic nin so that she could learn something useful rather than reading a book that is mere child's play at being doctor. Not even a part time nurse would recommend that book to a beginner! Yet here you are handing Sakura-chan scraps of your so called 'knowledge.'" Naruto hissed, his fists balled up, shaking as he strained himself to remain in place and not attack the glaring scarecrow.

Sakura stared at him open mouthed, glancing over to find Sasuke in a similar state. Since when did Naruto talk back to anyone? Their sensei no less! Also, Sakura couldn't help the flutter that erupted in the pit of her stomach. When she really listened to the blonde's words, he was all in all defending her. Even going as far as to reprimand Kakashi for his lack of care for her well being and training. She clutched the book to her chest, biting her bottom lip as she felt heat rise to her cheeks. When he wasn't yelling nothing but 'Sakura-chan', he could be pretty...sweet.

Sasuke gave Kakashi a suspicious glance, for once questioning the respected jounin. He had known for along time that the academy style wasn't well suited for Sakura, but said nothing as he himself was gaining sufficient training from their sensei. Though he had known the style wasn't that good for defense, could it have been so bad as to endanger Sakura as Naruto had said? If so, why would Kakashi continuously push her into perfecting it rather than teach her a style less predictable?

Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the jounin's back. He was truly having doubts about this man who had the unfitting title of team 7's 'sensei'.

Kakashi's eye hardened, his knuckles turning white as he gripped the now closed book. How dare this...demon speak disrespectfully to him!

"Listen here, genin," he hissed, his body tensing at the challenging gaze of the blonde boy, "I am a jounin and your sensei, so I am well within my rights to teach my students whatever I deem worthy of teaching them."

Naruto scoffed, crossing his arms as he gazed on at the jounin with disappointment and pity, much to the man's ire, "If you deem what you just tossed to Sakura worthy, then you have no right to call yourself sensei, let alone a jounin and an ex-ANBU captain. Now if I were to ask you about what you would be training Sasuke in during this month, you would give me a full list of things that could actually aid a shinobi in battle. Though I can guarantee that most of what you plan to teach him will not only endanger him, but his comrades as well." he stated, his earlier expression of disappointment turning dangerously into anger as he looked on accusingly at Kakashi, who was smart enough to flinch back a good step.

"Tell me, Kakashi. What you plan on teaching Sasuke are things a genin, a hell bent vengeful genin at that, shouldn't be taught until high chunin or low jounin level. I bet you that 'personal technique' you plan on teaching him is some A-rank ninjutsu that could get him or his comrades killed, am I wrong?" he sneered, turning on his heel so he was no longer forced to look at the disgrace he called sensei, "Until he has learned to get over his quest for revenge, he will only bring harm onto himself and others." Glancing over to the Uchiha, he wasn't surprised to find the raven giving him one of his own glares. Unlike his usual loud reactions, Naruto only gave Sasuke a look that shocked him with the understanding it held,

"Giving up on revenge does not mean you have to give up your vow to avenge those who have fallen. You can train and continue to gain power in order to fight the one who caused you pain, but if you set your life on seeking out his demise, then you are not living the way you should be. I can't tell you to give up your goal, but I do know that revenge is not something you want to set you entire life on. Nor is it something your fallen family would want for either, i'm sure."

Sasuke gazed on at the blonde's retreating back in utter and complete shock. He had never heard such serious things come from the blonde's mouth, and he couldn't stop the shock making its way to his face. He could tell Sakura was just as shocked, if not more so at the wisdom their blonde had just displayed to them.

Kakashi, on the other hand, was not so impressed.

Kakashi shook with rage, his Sharingan spinning wildly behind his hitai-ate. He felt his rage only rise when he caught sight of the complete lack of respect and pity in the blonde's gaze as he looked over his shoulder once more.

"Where do you think you're going!" the jounin snarled, uncaring of the others' shocked expressions at the utter and complete rage in his voice. The blonde didn't show any sign of care for him however as he turned back around to walk away,

"I am leaving to gain some actual training. You have denied me of that long enough, so I am done pretending like I care. Make no mistake, this change in attitude has nothing to do with my want of your attention. I am simply done with hiding my true self and refuse to do so anymore." he turned to look at his teammates, his expression softening, if only slightly,

"I do not intend to abandon my teammates, but should you be the ones to abandon me, I will not help you." he said cryptically before turning back to leave, only to surprise the three when he left via a shunshin of blue flames.

'Where did he learn shunshin from? Kuso, no doubt he learned it from the Kyuubi. That brat.' Kakashi cursed internally, releasing his clenched fists as he turned his attention back to his remaining students, frowning when he noticed their shocked expressions. He will surely get that demon back for disrespecting him in front of them.

"Sasuke," he called out suddenly, breaking the two out of their trance like gazes as he reopened his book, turning in the opposite direction Naruto vanished in, "Follow me and we will have a short spar, seeing as how our training was so rudely interrupted just a moment ago. Tomorrow I will test your affinity and will be teaching you the first steps to that personal ninjutsu I promised." he instructed as he began walking to another training ground, expecting the boy to follow after him and for his other student to get the hint and go off to learn her medical book he, oh so graciously, gave her.

When he didn't hear a second pair of footsteps following behind him, Kakashi turned back around to find Sasuke staring at the same spot Naruto had left via shunshin. He eye smiled,

"Don't worry about that Sasuke. You have no need to be jealous of such a flashy display. I will teach you the leaf's standardized shunshin as soon as we've finished with our spar." he stated with a smirk, under the impression that Sasuke wanted to become stronger than Naruto. He would gladly teach the Uchiha if that were the case. Gladly.

Sasuke frowned, surprisingly not jealous by the display of power on the dobe's part. Rather, he was curious as to how the blonde was able to teach himself such a difficult technique without any form of instructor or sensei to aid him. He was not blind to the fact that the past instructors were extremely reluctant to teach Naruto anything, even something as simple as aiming kunai at a target. So he was sure no one was training the blonde at this moment. Had Naruto figured it out all by himself? If so, how was he able to do it? Though he was reluctant to admit it, Sasuke knew he was unable to break down a jutsu far enough so he may be able to teach it to himself without some form of instruction. Even with help, he knew it takes quite some time to master a jutsu. But by the look of it, Naruto not only mastered it, but altered it so it had some style.

Glancing back at the spot his teammate had just been in, Sasuke couldn't deny that he was now very curious about his blonde teammate. Maybe he could find him and have a talk with him about possibly having a spar sometime-

"Sasuke, are you coming? The sun is setting and I would like to have at least a few hours to begin teaching you my preferred style of taijutsu today."

Sasuke didn't turn to face the man, rather shoving his hands in his pockets as he began to head off in the direction of the village,

"I'm not feeling well today. I'm going home." he stated shortly before jumping off into the trees, grateful Sakura wasn't following him home for once. He would make sure he found the dobe tomorrow, but for now he wanted nothing bust rest. Watching your once dobe of a teammate turn into a completely different person in a matter of minutes was quite tiring.

Watching the Uchiha jump out of the clearing, Kakashi couldn't control the sudden surge of anger that surged through him, releasing a sigh of relief when his last student decided to leave as well, rushing out of the clearing so that Kakashi was the last one remaining.

Kakashi glared at nothing in particular, vowing to train Sasuke into what a true shinobi should be. Far exceeding that filthy demon brat! He vowed to avenge his fallen teammate and sensei by training the last Uchiha with all he had! He would bring down the demon who defeated his sensei at any cost.

AN: As i said before, first two to three chapters may be slow. But the story will begin to build up by the end of third or so chapter. I will be taking suggestions for future pairings in the comment section. If there are not enough suggestions given, then i will create my own poll and will be taking a vote for pairings. I hope to post regular updates for this story, but if i fail to do so, then it is because i am working on another story. Thank you to all who choose to continue reading!