Fūjin
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Most see Naruto as this idiotic, happy-go-lucky gaki but oh boy, they don't know how wrong they are. Beneath the mask is a rare genius brimming with unsurpassed potential and power. Follow him on his quest to become Konoha's strongest Shinobi: The Hokage. AU
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Main Relationship Focus: Team 7 Friendship
Genres: Action & Adventure, Drama, Friendship and Suspense
Rating: T for violence and language
Length: Epic
Warnings: None yet.
Disclaimers: This story is based on characters and situations created and owned by Kishimoto Masashi, various publishers including but not limited to VizMedia. No money is being made and no copyright or trademark infringement is intended.
Beta(s): Dray, Amber and her cute (kid-cute) son A.J
A little background: The title 'Fūjin' is actually the Japanese god of the wind and one of the eldest Shinto gods and yes, it's a reference to Naruto's bloodline limit and his future position of power.
Author's Note: I was actually reading the Decoding by Aduro where Draco was actually a genius, so I thought: Hey! I could do that with Naruto too! I know that there are a couple of fics like that out there already and some are actually pretty good. I wished to explore genius Naruto's character further and not merely put him down as a genius where everything is nice and rosy, without explaining or showing his character. So here's my take on Naruto as a genius. Enjoy!
Oh! I wrote this chapter to Let it Rock by Kevin Rudolf ft. Little Wayne (AWESOME SONG!)
Additional Notes: Below are the indicators of various formats used in this fic –
"Bold, Italic and in quotation marks" – Kyuubi
"Italics and in quotation marks" – Naruto's responses or conversations with the Kyuubi
Italics and no quotation marks – Naruto's thoughts to himself
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Chapter I: Team 7
Sharp azure eyes looked out of the dilapidated apartment's window and at the magnificent picture of the rising sun. Uzumaki Naruto ran a hand through his messy golden locks and quirked a corner of his lips.
Today was the day the Genin teams' members were announced. To the young boy, it was a new beginning. The day before yesterday was a disaster when he nearly revealed his true capabilities to Iruka-sensei. Thankfully, his mask held on and got him off scot-free. If Naruto were to be honest with himself, the pre-teen would admit that maintaining his 'alter-ego' was getting rather tiring. Granted, it made other people underestimate him and thus allowing him an ace up his sleeves against his opponents, but pretending to be happy when he felt otherwise was draining his emotional reserves.
Actually, speaking of aces, Naruto had many. The Kyuubi container understood, from a young age, that he had to appear harmless in order to keep himself alive. Any sign of a potential threat, the Council would spare no manpower in eliminating him. He decided the best way to do so was to act stupid and immature. It seemed to work well and even though it was energy-consuming, Naruto had to confess that he had fun planning all those infamous pranks.
If an IQ test were administered, the results would be shocking. Despite his young biological age, Naruto's mental age would be in the late twenties. His perceptiveness and ability to memorize and understand materials and situations were off the charts. Living alone and having to fend for oneself amidst all the animosity was a cynical recipe for someone to grow up quick.
He wasn't as naïve as they thought he was. Naruto was not in the dark about his background, thanks to a few clandestine night trips to the archives, and knew that the Yondaime was his father. It didn't take a genius to figure out once he managed to get his hands on a photograph of the powerful Shinobi.
He didn't hate his father. In fact, it merely increased his respect for the self-sacrificing hero and hardened his resolve to obtain that prestigious seat. It wasn't for his own benefits that Naruto wanted to prove his worth to a village who had abused him his whole life. Despite all the things that were done to him, the young boy still had an admirable desire to protect his home and its occupants. For what it was worth, Naruto understood the fear and hatred the people projected; if you couldn't hurt the real thing that caused you pain, hurt the thing closest to it. In Naruto's case, he was the closest thing to the Demon.
It wasn't all bad, Naruto mused, because at least he had some people he could depend upon: Iruka-sensei, Ichiraku ojii-san and Ayame-san would make time for him. Plus, the boy thought as he touched his forehead protector, there was no reason to let them down.
With one last look at his small apartment, Naruto locked the door and began his first day as a Genin. Since it was still at the crack of dawn, there weren't many people on the streets and nobody was awake enough to even bother to glare at him. So it wasn't such a bad start to a day; hopefully the streak of good luck would continue for a while.
Instead of going straight to the Academy, the blond boy made his way to an empty training ground. When he finished checking the area, Naruto immediately assumed a taijutsu stance and started going through his usual routines while listing ninjutsus in his head. Early on, the boy realized that although he could absorb information through all mediums but the best way to learn for him was through movement. He was a kinesthetic learner and Naruto was grateful for that because it doubled his rate of progress. After an hour of memorization, the twelve-year-old relaxed and then did a series of seals which was followed by a "Kage Tajuu no Bunshin!"
Twenty-four Shadow Clones appeared in a puff of smoke, solemn and ready for orders.
"Please Henge yourselves into different people and then meet me in the Library of Scrolls. Come in two minutes within each other and then we'll read for an hour." Academy was at eight so as long as Naruto could squeeze in a half-hour powernap, it would just even out and relieve the usual headache following the overload of information.
"Okay!" Two dozen puffs of smoke cleared to reveal henges of different heights, colouring, gender and age. Naruto scrutinized his clones carefully before nodding. "Alright, go." Twenty flashes of different colours bounded in various directions.
The small gaki stopped all movement and focused on that exact moment as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He was frozen for ten minutes before opening clear blue eyes that seemed all seeing. A breeze suddenly enveloped the boy in its embrace and swirled around him, cleansing him.
Naruto greeted the gentle current of air in a whisper, "Hello, Wind. What have you got to tell me?"
The boy closed his eyes again and his ears were assaulted with bits of pieces of conversations. Naruto furrowed his brows in concentration as he filtered through the debris, looking for relevant information.
"Thank you, that would be 25 ryos—"
"NO! I don't want to eat my broccoli! I—" Naruto chuckled and concentrated again.
"Your mission would be—" Even though he was curious, it was time to find something important, and after a few more switches, he finally found a conversation worth listening to.
"The brat cannot be trained as a Shinobi! He will only betray the Village and then set the Kyuubi no Youkai on us again!" A deep, slightly hysterical voice was punctuated with furious slaps to the wooden table and Naruto's face was set into a grim expression. Did they really have so little faith in him?
"Especially not on a team with the last surviving Uchiha heir! He will only corrupt the Uchiha and that is not an option if we want the Uchiha clan to be revived!" Another adamant voice, this time female, cut through the conversation and Naruto sighed. They did really have so little faith in him.
"I believe that it is tradition to put the last and the first in the graduating class; after all, Naruto passed the test and therefore he is a Genin of Konoha. He's going to be trained and he's not going to release the Kyuubi." A strong, calm, masculine voice filled with wisdom and experience effectively silenced the Council. Naruto smiled as he recognized the voice as the Sandaime's.
Thank you, Ojii-san.
"Now, if you all will excuse me, I've got some important paperwork to follow up on as the Hokage, so have a good day." The fox boy's smile became a full-blown grin, You show them!
Breaking his connection with the wind, Naruto opened his eyes and smiled at the air. "Thank you, Wind. I hope to hear from you soon."
The breeze caressed his scarred cheeks before flowing away. At least he knew the name of a team member. Sasuke Uchiha, the sole survivor of the ghastly Uchiha massacre six years before. The murderer had been his very own older brother, Itachi. In a way, the Jinchuuriki could relate to the Uchiha, having no one and to live with such horrible memories. However, Naruto knew that there was a distinct difference between him and the Uchiha: He was despised and hated while the other was admired and worshipped.
Naruto looked at his watch and saw that it was already seven-thirty. He performed the ram seal and said, "Kai!"
Information poured into his mind as the clones disappeared. It took only a second and Naruto was left with a whole lot of extra knowledge and a pounding headache. A feminine voice laden with authority and power purred.
"Gaki, what are you waiting for? I'm feeling the headache too, go get some sleep."
Naruto grinned weakly as he replied his 'prisoner', "Right, sorry, Kyuu-sama."
"I know the technique is useful, but seeing you in this state makes me question whether it was correct to teach it to you. Shut down now, I'll find you a nice place near the Academy for you to rest in. We'll talk more about it later."
"Okay, and thank you…"
Naruto's head went limp for a few moments before regaining its upright position again but when he reopened his eyes, it was not his usual blue, but red flecked with gold and a black slit down the middle. With inhumane speed, the fox lady found a nice spot underneath a large tree that was a minute from the Academy for her charge to rest in.
Smiling slightly, the Kyuubi closed her red eyes and retreated back into the back of her container's mind. Almost immediately, Naruto's accelerating healing rate kicked into action and the nagging headache subsided. Half an hour later as promised, the Fox woke the boy up.
"Gaki, it's time for your first day."
"Hmm… okay, thanks for waking me up."
"You're welcome and good luck."
The familiar presence in his mind decreased to a slight pulsing that was nearly unnoticeable and Naruto stretched before making his way to the classroom. When Naruto reached his destination, most of the children were already seated and the young blond took his usual place in the very last row. That seat at the back of the classroom had been his for the last two years and truth to be told, it had been enlightening to able to observe his classmates from his objective perspective, far away from their circles and chatter.
There was Yamanaka, Akimichi and Nara seated together in the middle row of the classroom. Ino was alternating between staring at Sasuke and glaring at Sakura, while the Chouji was munching happily away on a big bag of chips and the Shikamaru was snoozing with his head nestled in his arms. Naruto mentally snorted but he had to give it to the Nara, whose IQ most probably rivaled his.
To Naruto, Chouji was the least interesting of the three because he was probably just like his formidable father and the only thing worth investigating was the unique recipe of their infamous soldier pills. Shikamaru had potential and so did Ino, who could prove to be a formidable psychological expert if given the right training. Naruto deduced that the three youngsters would be put into the same team, just as their parents were. It was human nature to like what worked and to keep what worked.
Kiba, near the middle, made himself known with a loud guffaw and was accompanied by a white puppy, a symbol of the Inuzuka clan. After a few days of observation, Naruto concluded that the boy was too brash and loud to actually stay alive for long. Dressed in a white, high-collared coat was Aburame Shino, seated at the far back. Silent and stoic, Naruto thought that the other boy would be the closest to understanding how he felt with the Aburame being the host for his swarm of insects.
Naruto's gaze fell on a small, soft-spoken girl with pale Byakugan eyes startlingly soft on this Hyuuga girl. The Jinchuuriki recognized the young girl as the heir to the most powerful clan in Konoha early on. However, nothing about this girl indicated her status. The eldest daughter of Hyuuga Hiashi was unbearably shy and soft-spoken. It was only on the third day of observing that the blond boy was able to dispel his suspicion of her being mute. Nonetheless, the young Hyuuga's skill with the Jyuuken and taijutsu would make her a valuable member of any team she was going to be part of.
Uchiha Sasuke was impossible to miss in this group of rather cheery children. At the mere age of eleven, the kid was already familiar with the concept of teenage angst. Naruto rolled his eyes mentally. Brooding and moody all the time, the sole survivor of the Uchiha massacre glowered at anyone who even dared come close to invading his personal bubble. Unfortunately, the girls in the class seem to appreciate the whole 'fuck off cuz I'm too good for you and my whole family is dead because of me' attitude a little too much.
Now knowing that the Uchiha was one of his two team members, Naruto evaluated the other boy once more. The boy acknowledged the fact that his teammate had potential but he seemed a little unstable. Knowing how the Uchihas were like from the accounts he gathered, he surmised that the boy would be too focused on getting powerful enough to pose a real threat to Itachi than to care for building team relationships. That would be something he would have to work on with Sasuke if he wanted to climb the Shinobi ladder.
A vivid flash of pink signaled the presence of Sakura, Naruto knew for a fact that the girl was very intelligent and had excellent chakra control as demonstrated in her efficient Henges but she was still stuck on her Sasuke. The young gaki shook his head and smiled wryly but conceded that she had a rather rosy future as a medical Nin if she managed to get over her adolescent crush. It was rather nauseating and a waste of precious energy and time.
"Good morning! And congratulations in passing the exams, you're all Genins!" Iruka was bright and cheery with no signs revealing the fight that resulted in a rather serious injury to the back.
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei!"
"Alright, today's your first day as Genins and you will be placed in teams of three. You will be part of this team for the next year or until you move on to Chuunin level.
"Team 10 will consist of Yamanaka Ino—" Naruto saw the blonde girl praying. The boy sighed inwardly; it was probably a prayer for her to be in Sasuke's team but it wasn't going to happen, "—Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Chouji."
Sakura's "YES!" could be heard miles away while Ino glowered, Shikamaru merely muttered something, and Chouji continued munching on his barbeque-flavored chips.
"Team 7's members are Uchiha Sasuke—" this time it was Sakura's turn to press her palms together and squeeze her eyes shut, "—Haruno Sakura and—" Iruka was interrupted with Sakura's squeal and another one of her loud yeses.
Iruka cleared his throat and the pink-haired girl smiled sheepishly but kept quiet, "—and Uzumaki Naruto."
"WHAT?! I'M NOT GOING TO BE IN A TEAM WITH THE CLASS'S DEAD LAST!" Sakura's shrill voice caused a few flocks of birds to scatter into the sky in a hurry. Iruka sighed and explained.
"Sakura-chan, you have no choice in team members and it has always been a tradition to place the graduating class's first and last in the same team."
Gee, thanks, Iruka-sensei. Like I need to be reminded of my current standing in class… Naruto rolled his eyes and then Sasuke spoke up.
"Sit down, Sakura, I don't really care as long as the dobe doesn't get in my way." The blond boy realised that it was his time to shine and he hopped on his table and shouted.
"WHO ARE YOU CALLING DOBE, TEME?!"
Here it goes… thought Naruto and he wasn't disappointed when the pink-haired member of their team voiced her opinion on that matter.
Loudly.
"HOW DARE YOU CALL SASUKE-KUN THAT HORRIBLE NAME? SHUT UP!!! YOU ARE IN NO PLACE TO CALL HIM THAT! YOU NEED TO SHOW SOME RESPECT FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE UNDOUBTEDLY BETTER AND MORE TALENTED THAN YOU ARE!!"
Naruto raised an eyebrow mentally and thought, Woah, she has got it bad…
"Enough! Both of you should be ashamed of yourselves! Fighting within seconds of being a team! Sit down!"
Naruto made a mental note to send the man something good for Christmas as he put on a show, scratching his head sheepishly and grinning idiotically.
"Yes, before I was rudely interrupted, members of Team 8 will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino.
"Once again, congratulations, and I hope you all will do the Academy proud. You will meet your Jounin senseis in the next building." As a whole class, the nine Genins stood up and bowed respectfully to the shinobi.
"Arigato Gozaimasu, Iruka-sensei!"
Naruto was amused to see the kind teacher tear up slightly and then he ushered the nine students out of the classroom. The blond boy was the last one to leave the classroom and before he managed to step out, he was held back by a hand to his shoulder.
"Naruto-kun, after your first meeting with your Jounin-sensei, why don't you meet me at Ichiraku's and I'll treat you ramen for passing."
Naruto froze and his eyes widened. He honestly did not really know what to say as something lodged in his throat so he nodded jerkily and ran out.
Iruka-sensei just…
"Well, I told you that you weren't alone."
Smiling a little, Naruto ran to catch up with his teammates. He was then directed to a small room where Sakura and Sasuke were already there. Sakura was still glaring at him with all she had while the other boy was ignoring him. Naruto took a seat opposite the pair and started tapping his 1-3-2-4 rhythm with his fingers.
An idea suddenly popped into head. It was perfect because it would maintain his prankster image but also test out his new sensei's abilities. There was a duster in the classroom and Naruto grabbed it, nimbly placing in on top of a slightly ajar door. Sakura actually looked excited while Sasuke scoffed and said, "He's never going to fall for that; he's Jounin, not a dobe like you."
"WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"
Naruto made another mental note to get some lozenges to soothe his sore throat from the pharmacy later.
"Okay, okay. Just wait before you two fight it out because I want to see how this plays out." Naruto was surprised by the authoritative voice Sakura adopted. Perhaps there was some potential for leadership as well, Naruto added into his mental file of his female teammate.
The door opened slightly and then the duster obeyed the rules of gravity, only to end up on top of a mop of silver hair. Sasuke and Sakura widened their eyes, shocked at how easy it was. Naruto could see the sentence, "Holy shit, we've got a really lousy Jounin for a teacher, we're so screwed," going through their minds.
Naruto stared as his teacher because he recognized Konoha's Copy Ninja, and if he remembered correctly, Hatake Kakashi was known to be an exceptionally skillful ninja, a child prodigy who attained Chuunin rank at the age of 6 and became a Jounin at age 13. His father was Hatake Sakumo, known as the "White Fang" of Konoha and a genius ninja on par with the Legendary Sannin. His aliases referred to the fact he copied more than a thousand jutsus using his left eye, which was the Sharingan.
Interesting, concluded Naruto as he smirked inwardly.
"I think I'm going to enjoy this."
Naruto could hear the smirk from the demon's words and laughed in his head. The Jounin gestured for his team to leave the room and two minutes later, the four-man team found themselves on top of a building. There was silence for a while before the tall man spoke up.
"Hmm… How can I say this? My first impression is that… I don't like you guys."
Sakura's jaw dropped and Naruto forced his own to follow as he tried desperately to rein in his laughter. Sasuke was still stoic but you could see a tic forming on his forehead.
"Okay," the man spoke up again, "let's begin with some introductions."
"What do you want to know?" Sakura, always the teacher's pet, asked politely.
"Dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."
Naruto decided that it was time to introduce his idiotic self. "Hey, hey! Why don't you introduce yourself to us first?"
The shinobi turned a bored eye to look at him and Sakura backed him up. "Yeah… you look suspicious."
"Oh… me?" Naruto never wanted to laugh so badly in his life. "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes…"
Something resembling respect was starting to build in Naruto.
"This looks promising."
Naruto nodded mentally and then Sakura made herself known again, "So… all we've learned is… his name?"
Before anyone could answer, the Jounin changed the topic and his voice was filled with forced cheerfulness. "Now it's your turn, from the right."
Time for Naruto-the-idiot to make an appearance. "Me!!! Me!! My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like cup ramen!!! What I like even more is the restaurant ramen and what I dislike is waiting three minutes for the cup ramen to cook."
There, that would be enough to make sure that they'll see me as the idiot, but I can't let them see me as a complete idiot. Okay, I'll tell them my goal.
"My dream… is to surpass the Hokage!!! And then… have all the people of this village to acknowledge my existence!!!"
Oh shit, I revealed too much. Need to change tactics!
"Hobbies…" Naruto scratched the back of his head. "Pranks… I guess."
Their sensei's visible eye glittered thoughtfully but his gaze switched to the next person due to explain. "Next."
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike but I don't really like anything. And… I don't want to use the word 'dream,' but… I have an ambition: the resurrection of my clan and… to kill a certain man."
I thought so. We really got to work on the whole anger management thing; it's getting rather unhealthy.
Kyuubi laughed.
"Okay… and lastly, the girl." Sakura seemed to be bouncing on the spot as she introduced herself.
"I'm Haruno Sakura. The thing I like is… well, the person I like is… umm… should I say my dream for the future…? OH MY!"
Naruto was amazed at the redness of the flush the girl managed to produce, and the Jounin seemed to be a little weird-ed out as well.
"The thing I dislike… is Naruto."
Ouch, that actually hurt…
"My hobby is…"
Naruto saw the pink-haired girl glancing at the brooding boy beside her and he felt an inkling of sympathy for the Uchiha. It must be damn annoying…
"Okay! That's enough of that. We will start our duties tomorrow."
That was a cue for Naruto-the-idiot, who shouted his joy.
"YAY!!! What kinds of duties?!!! Duties!!! Duties!!!"
"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us."
"What?! What?!"
The blond boy grimaced inwardly and thought, Well, that would probably cement my status as the team idiot.
Kakashi merely give the team something resembling a devious look with his lone eye and mysteriously answered, "Survival training."
"Alright, team dismissed and I'll meet you on Training Ground Seven at seven tomorrow morning."
The two Genin nodded while the Uchiha grunted, "Hn."
Their Jounin sensei was gone in a flash and Sakura stared while Naruto wondered, Will I be as fast in the future?
He also had a weird feeling that told him that things wouldn't start tomorrow at seven…. Then Naruto remembered his appointment with Iruka-sensei and gave a loud goodbye before running off in the direction of the town. He got there in a matter of seconds and when Iruka-sensei saw him, the man's face lightened with a smile. Naruto felt something warm fill his heart and he quickly made his way to sit beside his sensei.
He was right, Naruto concluded once again, about the day being a new beginning.
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I hope everyone enjoyed that! It's compensation for not updating for sooo long :D
Cheers,
Kage