A.N. Yo! How's it going everyone? This is a re-post of chapter one, because I decided to re-write it to bring it more up to date with my writing style. If you've read the chapter before, feel free to skip this one over. Nothing major will be added.
Another note, chapter five will be up within the next few days. I'm putting the last few touches on it. Then its off to my beta and then onto the net. The hiatus is almost past. In the mean-time, enjoy this revamped version of chapter 1 if you like.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
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The small apartment filled with the blaring ring of an alarm clock, forcing the young blonde in the room from his blissful sleep. He grumbled, sitting up in bed and grabbing the clock from his nightstand. He flipped the switch on its back, cutting off the noise, and yawned, stretching his arms over his head, before swinging his feet over the edge of the bed and standing up.
Scratching his head, Naruto walked into his bathroom. He stopped in front of the sink and picked his toothbrush up from its place by the bar of soap. After quickly brushing his teeth and rinsing out his mouth, he took off his pajamas and jumped into the shower. A few minutes later, he stepped out into the steamy bathroom with a towel tied around his waist.
Opening the bathroom door, he went to the kitchen and put a pot of water on the stove before walking over to his dresser. He put on a pair of black pants and slipped an orange t-shirt over his head. Making his way back over to the kitchen area, Naruto knelt by the counter and pulled out two cups of miso flavored ramen noodles. Setting them on the counter, his gaze drifted up to a small calendar that hung on the wall, multiple Xs crossed over the days that had passed.
He suddenly let out a whoop of laughter and jumped in the air. "That's right! Today's the graduation ceremony! Look out world, Uzumaki Naruto is about to become a genin! Ha!"
Glancing over at his bedroom door, a thought crossed his mind. Well, I have been looking for a good excuse to wear those. Now's as good a time as any I suppose. Pulling the orange shirt over his head as he went, Naruto walked away from the kitchen and back into his room. He stopped in front of his dresser and opened the second drawer from the top, pulling out a sleeveless black shirt and an orange vest. He slipped the shirt over his head and shrugged into the vest. Turning, he looked at himself in the mirror.
"Wow...I look almost like a ninja! I just need a forehead protector and it'll be official!" Satisfied with his appearance, Naruto turned away from the mirror and walked back into the kitchen, grabbing his goggles from their place on his shelf as he went.
By now, the water on the stove had come to a rolling boil, so Naruto tore the top off of a cup of ramen. Careful to avoid splashing it on his fingers, he proceeded to pour the water into the cup. After slipping the goggles onto his head, he knelt and fastened on his sandals, before attaching his shuriken and kunai holsters. He grabbed a set of chopsticks and sat down at the table with his noodles. The ramen, rest its soul didn't stand a chance and was gone in a matter of seconds.
Letting out a contented sigh, he stood up and tossed the empty container over his shoulder. He paused briefly at the door, going over in his head one last time what he needed to bring and, once satisfied that he had everything, walked out into the streets of Konoha, the door closing with a soft click behind him.
The village was only now beginning to wake up. The vendors on the sides of the streets were opening up their shops, and a few early rising citizens were already shopping. Naruto started down the street, ignoring the occasional glares that were thrown in his direction. After all, today was gonna be way to good to let them spoil it.
As he walked towards the academy, his mind drifting to thoughts of the previous day's exams. The extra days of training he had put in with Iruka over the past few months had really saved his ass. He knew he had stomped the kunai accuracy and taijutsu exams so he wasn't worried about them. The written portion of the exam, however, was a different story. Hours of cramming the night before made him think that he at least passed, if only by a small margin. All that was left were the substitution, transformation, and clone exams.
"Come on fate, don't let me down today!" He yelled, pumping a fist into the air.
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Naruto was one of the first people to arrive at the academy. Only four other genin hopefuls were already in the classroom, and he recognized the one sitting at the top of the middle row of seats.
"Hey, Bushy Brow, how's it going?" He shouted, raising a hand in greeting.
Lee glanced up at the sound of Naruto's voice, looking mildly surprised. "Why hello, Naruto-kun! You are awfully punctual this morning. Did the squirrels wake you up again?"
Laughing, Naruto ran up the steps towards his fellow genin. "Naw, I just didn't want to be late! After all, today is the day I take my first step towards becoming Hokage!" He slipped into the seat next to Lee and propped his feet up on the desk.
Lee shook his head, smiling. "Well, with that attitude, I do not see how fate could give you any other destiny." Leaning forward, Lee picked up a pencil and began to balance it on his pointer finger. Soon, the two friends fell into a comfortable silence as they waited for their fellow students to arrive. After several minutes, the classroom began to fill up with aspiring students. Naruto yawned and slouched down in his seat, adjusting his goggles and pulling at his vest.
The door at the bottom of the classroom opened and Iruka walked in, carrying a clipboard. "Okay everyone, settle down!" he called, causing the room of babbling kids to go silent.
"Good. Now, in a few minutes, Mizuki-sensei and myself will begin calling you into the back one at a time to take your exams." He paused for a moment. "Before we get started, though, I would like to say something." A smile appeared on his face, "It's a little bittersweet to see such a talented group of young men and women go into the ninja world. It will be a dangerous place, but I have faith in each and every one of your abilities." His eyes briefly locked with Naruto. "I know all of you will go on to do amazing things." Iruka paused for a moment, rubbing the corner of one eye, before continuing. "Good luck everyone. Now, will Hyuuga Neji please follow me."
A boy in the front row with long brown hair and milky-white eyes stood up. As he followed Iruka, several girls waved and called out to him as he walked by. Not even sparing the fangirls a glance, Neji made his way into the back.
A few minutes went by and he re-emerged with a headband tied firmly around his forehead. Iruka called the next name and a red-haired girl went into the back. The cycle continued for a while, before Iruka appeared in the door way, smiling slightly. "Uzumaki Naruto."
Naruto jumped to his feet with a whoop of excitement, ran down the aisle, past Iruka and into the small office. In the middle of the otherwise barren room sat an empty wooden chair and a desk, behind which sat Mizuki. Catching up with Naruto, Iruka told Naruto to sit down before joining Mizuki behind the desk.
Leaning back in his chair a little, Iruka began, "Well, first we will tell you the results of Yesterday's exams." He flipped through the clipboard for a moment, before beginning, "You scored a ninety-two on your kunai accuracy test, and a ninety-four on the taijutsu exam. Very good." He locked eyes with Naruto and his gaze became stern. "I am, however, very disappointed in your score on the written exam. A fifty-nine percent, Naruto? Come on, do you hear me when I talk or do you just day-dream?"
Naruto laughed sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment. "What can I say..? Book smarts aren't my strong point."
Mizuki snorted, earning a disapproving glance from Iruka. "Lucky for you," Iruka continued, "The scores from your other exams bring up your total considerably, however you cannot fail any of the exams today if you wish to become a genin."
"Alright," Naruto began, a cocky grin on his face. "Let's get these out of the way, I can take anything this exam can dish out."
Smiling, Iruka said, "That's what I like to hear. Now, first up is the transformation technique. I want you to make as accurate a copy of me as you can."
Naruto nodded, taking a step back. He formed the necessary hand signs and a thin coat of blue chakra formed on his skin. "Transformation!" he yelled, his body becoming enveloped in a thick cloud of white smoke, briefly obscuring him from the instructors' view. When the smoke cleared, a perfect copy of Iruka stood in front of them, grinning cheekily.
The real Iruka stood up and walked around the desk. He closely examined his doppelganger, occasionally making a mark on the clipboard. After a moment, he nodded, "Good, that gives you a ninety-seven for transformation. Next, you are to utilize your substitution technique to avoid a thrown kunai. Mizuki-sensei, if you will."
As his gaze shifted over to the other teacher, Naruto was met with a kunai whizzing towards his head. Cursing, Naruto flashed through hand signs, the last one forming just as the tip of the throwing knife touched the edged of his vest. Another cloud of smoke erupted in the room, followed by a loud clunk. The smoke cleared, revealing log that lay on the ground, kunai jutting from its side. Naruto stumbled out the nearby broom closet, grumbling under his breath.
"Very good, Naruto!" Iruka exclaimed, clapping Naruto on the back. "That gives you a perfect score on the substitution technique. Now, for your final exam, the clone jutsu."
As Iruka stepped away, Naruto place his hands together in the ram seal, his entire being focused on passing this part of the exam. A maelstrom of blue chakra whipped around him, ruffling his clothing and hair. With a cry, Naruto released the pent up chakra into a jutsu."
Reluctantly, he cracked one eye open. A groan of despair escaped his lips at the sight. Before him stood three perfect copies of himself, but next to them, crumpled into a heap, was a badly deformed version of himself.
Iruka, however, was laughing. Naruto glared at him, "What's so funny, Iruka-sensei? I failed, didn't I?"
Still chuckling, Iruka answered, "No, Naruto, the minimum number of clones required to pass is three. You did it, congratulations, graduate!"
A grin slowly split Naruto's face. "Alright!" He cried, before jumping over the desk and capturing Iruka in a bone-crushing embrace. "Thank you, thank you, thank you!"
Iruka carefully pried his way out of Naruto's grip and stood up. "You did very well, Naruto. However, I still have five students to test, so..." He picked up a headband from the desk and handed it to Naruto, "How about we grab some ramen from Ichiraku's tonight? My treat."
"Now that's an offer I can't refuse!" Naruto yelled, hugging Iruka one more time.
Iruka shook his head in amusement as the newly appointed genin ran from the room, tying his new headband around his head as he went.
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Alright guys and gals, that's the re-write of chapter one. I'm probably not going to do this to anymore chapters for a while, so my next update will be chapter five. Don't worry, it's on the way!