I don't own Naruto or any of these characters.

I intend for this to be a lengthy and very entertaining story. The main couple will be NaruHina, which is my favorite. I'm rather good with grammar, so if the writing itself is good enough this should be a very enjoyable read. Although the manga has gotten pretty far since it began, for this story I've decided to take on the mindset from the story's beginning, and just have Naruto become smarter faster.

Also, if you would please leave a review after reading, and let me know how you liked(or disliked) each chapter, I would really appreciate it.

Chapter 1: The Hidden Scrolls

"I'm so bored!" yelled Uzumaki Naruto as he fell backward onto his mattress. Turning his head to glance out the window, his view settled on the Hokage Monument. The sun was just setting, lighting up the monument with a colorful glow. Those hokages are nothing; I'll be better than all four of them put together! Just wait! As he lay there looking up at the monument, a mischievous expression crept onto his face. Jumping out of bed, he sprinted out the door, off to find some paint.

It took a few hours to find a few buckets of paint and enough rope to put his plan into action. Finding them wasn't really that difficult. The tricky part had been getting them without the shopkeeper noticing. Naruto was now a small orange blot on the face of the Hokage monument, hanging from ropes secured to the monument's top. He was just about to begin giving the yondaime a makeover and make his way left from there, when something odd caught his eye. Embedded in the center of the yondaime's left eye was a small scroll, inserted lengthwise into a hole in the rock. What's the heck's this doing here? Removing the scroll, it was titled "The Hidden Jutsu of Yondaime Hokage".

Hi-Hidden Jutsu? Is this for real? Forget painting! I'd much rather be learning killer jutsu right now! Without even bothering to clean up, Naruto abandoned his most recent genius prank and headed back to his apartment.

"What? It's sealed?" Naruto let out an exasperated groan as he gazed upon the familiar symbols on the scroll. While he had never personally used one before, he recognized this common seal from a lesson at the ninja academy last week. It was a fairly powerful seal used on almost all important documents. It would only reveal the document's contents if an authorized person placed their hand in the middle of the seal.

What else did Iruka-sensei say about these things…important documents…authorized individuals…aha! "The users have to be specified when the document is sealed, but if not specified, anyone can open it." Guess I'll just give it a shot anyway.

Showing no sense of caution, the young ninja-in-training slapped his hand down on the seal. A second passed. Nothing. Another second passed. Suddenly, a cloud of smoke erupted from the seal. As it cleared, a small pile of scrolls lay before him.

"Alright! It worked!" Opening the first scroll, Naruto began reading:

These scrolls contain information on some of the jutsu I developed, as well as other space/time jutsu that should be worth mentioning. While some of the jutsu included are very difficult, I believe that in time you will be able to master them, and carry on in my name. You should start with the scroll that explains the basics of space/time ninjutsu, as it is the base for many of the techniques I was researching. This is only a part of my knowledge, however. If you wish to learn more about seals, we have left that information in the ruins of Uzu no Kuni. I wish you a long and happy life; know that I will be with you always.

Your father,

Minato

"Space/time ninjutsu? Seals? I hit the jackpot!" Naruto exclaimed, eager to learn for one of the first times in his life. "It looks like the yondaime left these scrolls for his son…oh well, finders keepers!"

"A lot of help he was." Naruto muttered to himself. During the past week Naruto had been asking Iruka-sensei to explain individual parts of the scroll to him, claiming that he had been studying at the library for the upcoming genin exam. Sometimes Iruka-sensei would explain something that would help a little, but other times he would say he didn't understand, or insist Naruto had written a prank scroll full of nonsense to waste his time.

"Alright class, that's all for today. Remember to get a good rest for the genin exam tomorrow." The students all began filing out the door, an air of anticipation among them as they discussed tomorrow's exam. As Naruto was leaving, Iruka stopped him and pulled him aside. "Naruto, I know you've been studying hard this past week…or rather, I have a strong suspicion you're up to something…either way, the Genin exam is tomorrow, and you need to review the basics if you want to finally pass." Please just pass the test; your pranks are wearing me down. "That being said, you need to take a break from that strange scroll you keep asking about, and practice your chakra control more. I've noticed that you always seem to use much more chakra than necessary. Work on that for now, and then later you can try more advanced stuff."

"Fine, whatever. I'm sure I'll do great this time around." Naruto then turned and ran out of the now empty classroom.

What a troublesome kid…I just don't know what to do about him. He's always so confident about himself. I'd like him to pass this time, but if he's not ready to be a ninja, things will only get worse from there…

"Now to try this again. I think I understand it better now. " Naruto began drawing a large pattern on the floor. The pattern he had drawn a week ago after finding the scrolls had worn away already, without ever being used. The jutsu Naruto had decided to start with proved to be much too complicated to simply master in a few minutes with no knowledge of the principles of space/time ninjutsu. And so he had studied the scroll about theory for the past week, from the time he woke up until he fell asleep each night. Now it was time to try again. The seal was in place on the floor. He took a few steps back and recalled the hand signs needed for the technique. The scroll said that once familiar with the technique, it could be used without hand signs, but that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Naruto quickly ran through the hand signs he had practiced. "Hiraishin no jutsu!"

Naruto felt a strange feeling for only an instant. Then silence. Nothing happened? What gives? I was sure I had gotten it right this time! Looking down, the seal seemed to have moved a few feet closer to him. No, the seal was still where he had drawn it. It was Naruto who had moved a few feet towards the seal, and now stood on top of it.

"That's all it does? What's the point of teleporting to a seal if I have to walk there first to draw the seal? Let's see what other jutsu this scroll has…Ah! This one seems much easier than the last one. 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'."

An alarm clock sounds as the sun's bright rays peek through the window. The hand of a disgruntled young blonde reaches out to stop the unpleasant ringing. Several minutes pass in silence.

"Crap! I overslept!" Naruto jolts out of bed, slipping on one of many scrolls left open on the floor. "Ite! Gotta get to class. The genin test is today!" Getting back on his feet, Naruto quickly changes and runs out the door.

Okay, next is U, so it should be my turn now. Naruto stood up and began towards the door just as it opened from inside. A teacher stood at the door holding a clipboard. "Next is…"

"Uchiha Sasuke!"

Oh, forgot about that jerk. I'd like it if he fails, but with his grades I doubt he will…I guess I'll just have to beat him myself as a genin!

"Get out of my way, baka." The young Uchiha stood behind Naruto with an annoyed look on his face. "You're blocking the door."

"Well why don't you get out of my way, teme!" Naruto shouted, now having the attention of the few other students waiting to be tested.

"That doesn't even make any sense. Now move." Sasuke took this chance to push his way past Naruto and enter the testing room. "You there, Naruto, stop causing trouble." The teacher said before closing the door to the testing room.

A couple minutes later, the door opened again. "Uzumaki Naruto", the teacher called out begrudgingly. Naruto dashed into the room, ready to finally become a genin.

The room was an empty room, with a long table at one end. There sat Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei, and the other teacher who had been calling students to enter the room. "Okay Naruto," Iruka began, "I'm sure by now you're familiar with how this test goes. Just make a decent Bunshin and you pass."

"What? Bunshin again? Why is it always Bunshin?" All of Naruto's confidence from a moment ago had left at the mention of Bunshin, his worst jutsu.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it's the same test for everyone. We can't just change it to match your strengths for you." Iruka explained.

"Just hurry up and try making a clone, we've got other more-promising students to test." Mizuki said, earning a quick glare from Iruka.

Crap, what am I gonna do? I can't make a Bunshin. The closest thing I can make to a Bunshin would be… Naruto's panic seemed to vanish as a smile crept onto his face, his confidence returning.

"Fine. One Bunshin, coming up!" Naruto turned around, hiding his hands from view. A large cloud of smoke formed, and as it cleared, two Narutos stood with wide grins on their faces. The teachers were shocked, of course. Iruka-sensei was the first one to break the silence. "Well done, Naruto! I guess you really have been practicing. It seems you've finally learned to control the amount of chakra you put into your jutsu. Lower level jutsu don't need as much chakra as high-level jutsu, so using too much causes them to fail."

"Uhh…yeah. Less chakra. Got it." Naruto muttered sheepishly, not accustomed to receiving words of praise. "So, did I pass?"

"Oh. Yes, Naruto, you passed." Iruka-sensei stammered, still a bit surprised. "The ceremony will be held tomorrow morning at the time class normally starts. Don't be late." With that, Naruto happily ran out of the room, letting the clone vanish in a cloud of smoke.

A shy young girl with raven-colored hair stood outside the school building. Feelings of joy and confusion filled her head as she let sink in what she had just seen. First of all, and most importantly, Naruto-kun had passed his genin test. While it brought her great joy that the boy she liked could finally be a ninja, she was more pleased at the possibility that they could end up on the same team. Secondly, the confusing part of what she saw, was the clone Naruto-kun had made. He byakugan should normally be able to easily tell a clone apart from the real thing. Naruto-kun's clone, though, was different. It seemed to be…another Naruto, not just an image. It was identical to Naruto-kun in every way, up until it vanished. Also, those hand signs he had made were not the same as the signs for bunshin no jutsu. That must have been some other type of clone, like the high-level clones used by jounin. As much as she would like to follow Naruto-kun home, or even more so to walk home together with him hand in hand, Hinata had some other matters to look into. She had told herself that from the moment she passed the genin test she would start taking her life into he own hands. Of course, she had told herself the same thing many times before, but it wasn't an easy thing to do. Still, watching Naruto-kun gave her strength, and now was a decisive moment in her life. She was tired of all the regret, thinking back on her actions and what she should have done, had she the courage to act. Hinata headed for the Hokage tower, hoping to catch Kurenai before the teams were decided.

Hinata arrived at the Hokage's tower and was about to activate her byakugan, when a gentle voice behind her got her attention.

"Hinata? What are you doing here? Did your genin test go well?" Kurenai-sensei asked as she approached Hinata. "I was just about to meet up with the other jounin to assign genin squads, though I guess I am a bit early."

"I-I passed." Hinata said, smiling. "Oh, Kurenai-sensei. I have a r-request to make." Hinata could feel her heart beating heavily. She resisted the urge to just turn and run away, or make something up to change the subject. This would be her only chance. This was too important to just leave up to fate. "About t-the genin s-squads…" This was her one chance to be with Naruto. Hinata steadied herself, the uncertainty in her voice faded. "I want to be on the same team as Naruto-kun." Hinata stated, surprising Kurenai with her resolve.

Kurenai didn't need to ask any questions. She knew what the reason was. Hinata was almost like a daughter to her. Since Hinata's mother passed away during childbirth, Kurenai took on a motherly role to her. Occasionally visiting the Hyuuga manor, she had made arrangements with Hiashi to have Hinata in her squad, though she doubted that man even cared what squad his daughter was in.

For a moment, Kurenai thought to refuse her request. After all, she would be more useful in a tracking squad, with her byakugan. But she had never seen Hinata like this, speaking with such confidence. It was almost as though the young girl were giving her an order, not making a request. She was always worried that Hinata was too timid to be a ninja, but maybe with Naruto's help, she could change. It might be good for her to spend more time around that orange-clad boy she's always watching.

Kurenai let out a sigh. "Fine." Relief and a bit of disbelief washed over Hinata. "I'll talk things over with Hiashi. I'm sure I can come up with a reason to have you placed on that boy's squad….You've grown quite a bit since we first met."

"W-what are you talking about sensei?" Hinata was a bit confused by that remark.

"I just mean, well I've always worried about you. You were just a shy little girl when we met. I didn't think you'd be able to live a ninja's life. But now I see that, with that boy by your side, you should be just fine." Kurenai smiled a bit teasingly with the last comment, causing Hinata to flush bright red from embarrassment.

"Thank you, Kurenai-sensei!" Hinata bowed in gratitude, before turning and heading to the library. She was still curious about that clone Naruto-kun made earlier. Today was a very good day, and tomorrow would be even better: the day when she and Naruto-kun would be on the same genin squad together. Her heart still beat strong, as she began daydreaming of the future.

Naruto found himself standing on the large seal he had drawn on his apartment floor the previous day. I guess this jutsu has some use after all. It saved me a walk home. I think I can find some practical uses for something like this…

Hinata sat in the near-empty classroom, blissful and nervous. Next to her sat Naruto, the newly appointed genin whom she truly adored. Naruto, however, looked less than happy. He didn't mind Hinata at all; she was a pretty nice girl. It was the third person in the room that had him in such a bad mood.

"Stop staring at me with that angry expression, baka." Uchiha Sasuke said from across the aisle. "This just means that you can sit back and watch every mission while I take care of the important stuff. Don't try to interfere, it'll just slow me down."

"Shut up, teme!" Naruto yelled, ready to tackle the uchiha boy.

"Naruto-kun…ano…our sensei sure is late." Hinata mentioned, hoping to keep the two from killing each other.

"Oh, you're right. I've got an idea. Help me out here." Naruto said. He then took an eraser, and placed it above the door so that it would fall.

"Naruto-kun, he's coming!" Hinata warned. Naruto hurried back to his seat, just in time to see the door slide open. A man with tall silver hair, and a mask coving his face, peered into the room, and was promptly hit in the head by the falling eraser. Naruto burst into laughter, but Kakashi-sensei was less than amused.

"Let's see here. We've got the sole survivor of the mighty Uchiha clan, the daughter of the head of the Hyuuga clan, who has the byakugan, and…some sort of goofy orange kid. I'd like you all to meet me on the roof in five minutes….don't be late." Kakashi closed the door, and the three paused to consider the odd man that was to be their sensei.

'Don't be late'? He's the one that's late! He was supposed to be here two hours ago! "Oh yeah, Hinata, so you're dad's the head of the Hyuuga clan? What the heck's a byakugan?"

"It's—"

"It's a doujutsu, like the sharingan" Sasuke interrupted. "Of course, the sharingan is on a whole different level."

"I wasn't asking you, teme!" Sasuke didn't bother responding. Instead he just walked out of the room with his usually attitude of superiority.

"So the byakugan's like a secret powerful eye technique?" Naruto continued. "What's it do?"

"With the byakugan active, I can...see in almost all directions…and through objects." Hinata blushed a bit. She had often used her byakugan to observe Naruto from behind a tree or other object. "And, I can see chakra." Hinata continued, partly to change the subject. "Although my byakugan isn't very powerful, so I can't see very far yet."

"That's so cool, Hinata! I wish I could see through things!" Hinata could feel her heart beating faster, having been praised by the one she loves. "Wait, does that mean you can see me naked right now?" Naruto shouted, covering himself up as though it would help.

"W-what?" Hinata's face had gone bright red as she was pulled from her blissful moment. "No! I don't even have it active right now!" She just wanted to disappear. Naruto, however, was satisfied with her answer and didn't seem to think any more of it.

"Oh, we were supposed to meet our sensei on the roof! I nearly forgot. Let's go Hinata. Hinata?"

"I'll be right there. Go on ahead." As Naruto left, Hinata debated whether she should follow or not. After a minute of regaining her composure, she made her way up to the rooftop.

Two days later

The first meeting with Kakashi-sensei had only consisted of some less-than-informative introductions, and a warning to not eat breakfast before meeting the next day. The next morning they were subjected to a rigorous test, which they barely passed, despite not getting the bells from Kakashi-sensei as they were supposed to. The three were now waiting in front of Hokage tower to begin their first mission. Kakashi-sensei was of course nowhere in sight.

"Ano…Naruto-kun?" Hinata said quietly. Sasuke was out of hearing range, but she wanted to be certain nobody overheard. "That clone you made at the genin exam…that was a shadow clone, wasn't it?"

"Eh? How'd you know that?" Naruto jumped a little in surprise. He hadn't intended to let anyone know about the shadow clones, since he wasn't sure if it really counted for the genin test.

"I saw it with my byakugan. It- It had its own chakra." Hinata answered, wondering if she should have brought it up. "I looked it up in the library. Gomen. I didn't tell anyone, since I thought it might be a secret."

"Well, kinda…" Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously. "I guess it's okay if it's you though. They're really cool. They have physical form, and their own thoughts, so they're just like more of me. Also, they have their own chakra, so they can even use jutsu. Well, it's not really their chakra, it's a division of my own. I've been experimenting with them for a couple days now, and I've learned some nice stuff about them."

"Sorry I'm late." Kakashi sensei's voice came from a swirl of leaves that had formed in front of the tower. "Well, shall we head inside?"

"Keep this a secret, okay?" Naruto whispered as the four went into the tower.

Team seven's first mission went well, thanks to the help of Hinata's byakugan. They were able to track down the missing cat, 'Tora', in only three hours. Having returned to the tower after stopping for lunch, Kakashi decided they could take one more assignment for today. Unfortunately for team seven, their second mission was also to find and apprehend Tora, again.

The next day they spent the entire morning picking up trash that had been thrown in and around a stream. That afternoon, team seven was spread throughout the town, taking on their fourth mission.

"Do you see it Hinata?" Kakashi asked over the radio transmitter.

"No. Have you found any clue to where it is, Naruto?" Hinata asked.

"Nope. Hey, Kakashi! Why have three of our four missions been tracking down the same stupid cat? Can't we do something harder? Or at least something different? I don't even mind picking up trash again."

"Sorry Naruto, but you've got to finish the missions you're assigned. Once you've proven that you're trustworthy the Hokage will assign you more difficult missions. Besides…" Kakashi continued, "You never would have passed my bell test if Sasuke and Hinata hadn't ignored the bells to dig you out of the ground…or cut you down from the tree…or free you from my genjutsu…or untie you from that trap…or—"

"Fine, I get it already!" Naruto interrupted.

"Hey, Hinata." Naruto said over the transmitter, limiting the frequency to Hinata's set only. "I've got a plan to take care of this cat, but I need to find it before Kakashi-sensei or Sasuke-teme. Could you tell me if you see it?"

"I guess so…you aren't going to hurt it, are you?" Hinata replied, fearing what "take care of it" may imply.

"Of course I won't hurt it. I'm just going to make it easier to find in the future." Naruto answered.

"Ah! I saw it Naruto-kun! It should be heading toward your location!"

"Alright! Thanks Hinata! I can see it. I'll let everyone know after just a minute." Naruto carefully moved closer to the cat. "Kage bunshin no jutsu." Five Naruto clones appeared and surrounded the cat. In one quick movement, they moved in. A few clouds of smoke later, two of the clones managed to secure the cat, while the others had been scratched enough to make them vanish. While the clones held the cat, Naruto removed the cat's tag and began etching the hiraishin seal onto the back of it. Once complete, Naruto put the tag back on Tora's collar, and radioed the others, completing the mission.

"What? That cat again?" Even Sasuke was complaining now.

"Don't worry Sasuke-teme, it should go much faster from now on. I learned this secret jutsu that attracts cats. They can't resist it!" Naruto grinned broadly.

Kakashi couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "I…see…a jutsu that attracts cats, you say. Well then, this should be over quickly." Their sensei's words dripped with sarcasm. "Well then, let's just use the standard formation then. Here's your official cat-hunting radios and earpieces."

Once they had split up, Naruto found a good secluded place to use the jutsu. "Hiraishin no jutsu!" Immediately after appearing, he quickly grabbed the cat that was resting at his feet. Looking around, he seemed to be in a back alley on the other side of town.

This is pretty far from the tower, so I should probably wait a while before letting the others know I've got it. Still, it's a good thing this cat didn't leave Konoha. If it had more time to run away, who knows where I might have…ended…up.

A wide grin appeared on the genin's face. If things worked out well, he could really have some fun with this jutsu.

Chapter 1 End

That's all for the first chapter. Although the plot at this point hasn't developed much, this story won't just be the same as the manga. Things just start out similar, and will change greatly pretty soon.

As I said before the chapter, it would be greatly appreciated if you would leave a review. Even if you have nothing to comment on, just saying something like "I liked it" is fine. (or "meh, it was okay", or "I have read traffic signs which were better written than this.")