She woke up and quickly glanced around the room. A smile flitted across her face at her success, but it was quiet satisfaction rather than triumph. And then she was off – there was much to be done, and precious little time.
She padded to the window on silent feet, slipping out into the night. There was no sign of her passing. Sticking to the shadows, she soon reached the first target. It was too easy. The shopkeeper would never find out who had stolen the plain scrolls, brushes and ink.
Hiding in the canopy of a particularly large tree, she wrote with swift and precise motions. After an hour and a half, it was time to move on. The messages were distributed in the correct places, where they'd be found at the right times. She knew it would be so.
A strange design was inscribed on the underside of a rock in a rarely used training ground. During a solo exercise routine, a freshly graduated chunin would stumble across it and be inspired to develop a powerful new technique.
A genin's letterbox now held a life-changing scroll. Rather than mediocrity, they'd reach greatness.
In a long-forgotten hiding spot, there was now a manual on some rather unpleasant techniques, but it would be months before they were found and years before they were used.
She snapped back to attention, annoyed at the time lost by reminiscing. A single pebble cast from the top of a mountain could become an avalanche, and she'd just toppled a pile of boulders.
The most important parts would need to be guided by a firmer hand, though. A long chain of handseals was required for the next step, and she gasped as she felt her – their – mind reshape, memories carefully transplanted.
Her breathing was slightly strained now, and she hurried back to where she'd started, still keeping out of sight. At last she was home, and she vaulted through the window without touching the sides of the frame. She pulled herself under the covers and finally relaxed, her technique fading.
She woke up, dazed and disoriented.
-O-
Naruto Uzumaki woke up in the dark of pre-dawn, full of energy and motivation. His alarm hadn't gone off yet, but he leapt out of bed and got ready at breakneck speed anyway. He was excited for the graduation exam tomorrow – and this time he'd pass for sure! – and wanted to get some practice in beforehand.
As he rushed around his small apartment, eating with one hand while trying (and failing) to get dressed with the other, he was already thinking about teams. The small sheaf of notes he'd found outside his doorstep yesterday morning had had some really useful information on it, and the pages were scattered across his kitchen table right now, along with several dirty dishes and a single sock.
The few people who knew Naruto well would have been surprised at his focus. He'd never lacked in drive; he'd always had big dreams and intended to reach them. There was always something more interesting to try than just practising with kunai or punching training logs. Apart from sparring at the Academy and his pranks, most tasks had a lot of boring parts that he ended up avoiding.
Nevertheless, off he went to a little-used corner of a training field. He hadn't had a specific plan in mind, but he decided that some shuriken and kunai throwing could help him pass his graduation exam. He'd finally beat Sasuke at something, and get some well-deserved recognition at last.
The last few times he'd practised his throwing in his free time, he'd given up after a few embarrassing misses. The rote muscle memorisation that the training tried to produce meant that his mind was free to be distracted by all sorts of wonderful ideas as to what else he could be doing, and invariably he'd find half a dozen that sounded better than more failure, especially where everyone could see his mistakes. Half of his best pranks had come from interrupted training.
But not today. Today, Naruto didn't care about missing the target as long as he could correct his throws afterwards. After setting up his equipment and taking off his goggles, he threw the dozen kunai he'd brought at the targets. He grimaced as his first attempt went mostly wide, only hitting the target five times and missing the log completely once. The dozen shuriken that followed were slightly more accurate, but overall he barely reached the passing grade for the exam he'd be taking in just over a day's time. With that thought in mind, Naruto gathered the knives up again, easily pulling them out of the shallow cuts they'd made. He stepped back to his spot and threw again. And again. And again. Until his hands were covered in tiny nicks from where he'd handled the sharp shuriken, the ground in front of the target logs was littered with small pieces of wood and bark, and the sun was well above the horizon.
Naruto set off for the Academy. He was late again, but this time, he would be stumbling through the door right after class started for a different reason than usual.
He waved at Iruka with a cheeky wink, ignored his classmates' complaints at his being late for the fourth day in a row, and sat in the nearest open seat. He had a wide smile on his face.
-O-
Sasuke Uchiha turned the plain red comb over in his hands. It had belonged to his mother once. Now it was his, just like everything else she'd owned. He'd thought it lost until that morning when he'd spotted it just lying on the attic floor. He remembered her running it through his hair when he was small.
"Sasuke, your turn to practice!" Iruka called, interrupting Sasuke's daydreams. He quickly slipped the comb back into his pocket. This morning the class was revising the Transformation technique thanks to Naruto clowning around again.
Sasuke stood up and walked to the front of the classroom. Most of the other students talked amongst themselves or otherwise failed to pay attention as they waited, but he knew that at least half a dozen were carefully watching. The pressure to perform felt natural after so long. Then again, it couldn't compare to a time when he'd been under real pressure, with a constant example of where he needed to be stronger, faster, and all-around better at his side. But thinking of that man was not constructive, Sasuke angrily reminded himself. He turned his attention back to Iruka.
Concentrating for a moment, Sasuke expelled a thin layer of chakra from his skin, using a single handseal as a focus. The soft puff of chakra-based smoke around him dulled the sounds of the rest of the room for a fraction of a second. He thought of how he wanted to change his appearance, then warped the layer of chakra that was hidden in the smoke, alterations propagating at the speed of thought. He let it solidify once it held an image of Iruka. Sasuke was mildly pleased to notice that there was less smoke from wasted chakra than the last time he'd used the transformation technique, but the difference was small enough that nobody else would notice it.
As the smoke cleared, he saw his reflection in the mirror at the front of the room. Iruka looked back, smirking slightly at how close to perfect the transformation was. Some of the lines on the face weren't the right depth, and the clothes were too bright a green to serve as adequate camouflage in the forest. Anyone paying close attention would be able to spot the disguise, but the point of the illusion was to avoid any close attention, so Sasuke figured he could do it well enough.
He crossed it off his mental checklist of skills to practice and realised with relish that he could spend the evening working on his only elemental jutsu: the Grand Fireball. Every opportunity he had to work on real ninja skills took him a step closer to killing his target.
Once Sasuke had walked back to his seat and sat down again, he pulled the comb out of his pocket. While it reminded him of all he'd lost, mostly it made him think of quiet, pleasant moments. Evenings as a family in front of the fire, a warm embrace, the gentle rasp of comb on hair. Sasuke gently put it back in his pocket and ran his fingers along the edge – for luck, he told himself.
-O-
Sakura Haruno headed home after the graduation exam with a skip in her step. Her graduating had never been in doubt, but she'd not been sure of where she'd place. Top marks of all the girls in the class – that was really something. She'd mentioned it in front of Sasuke twice, and the first time he'd seemed quite surprised. He'd really looked at her, as though he was re-evaluating her. Sakura was sure today's diary entry would be a very happy one. Her mum had even promised to cook her favourite dinner tonight, to celebrate her becoming a 'real ninja'.
It was so exciting! At last she'd be able to show off her skills. She knew she was good at being a ninja, because she'd always done well in all the lessons and tests. When Sasuke saw how amazing she was, he'd ask her to marry him on the spot. And when Ino saw that there was no point still fighting over Sasuke, they'd be friends again.
"Oi! Sakura!" she heard a familiar voice call from behind her.
"What do you want, Ino?" Sakura couldn't help the slight hardness that crept into her voice. If Ino noticed it, she didn't let on.
"Just... well done on the exam."
"Thanks. You too."
They stood there awkwardly for a moment before Ino broke the silence. "Look, this wasn't my idea. I found this note on my desk when I got home yesterday, only I'm sure I didn't put it there, and it had a bunch of useful advice, and some notes on things we don't normally learn about yet, and it also said to talk to you. So here I am."
"I found something like that as well! Do you know who it's from?" Sakura asked. The eclectic collection of textbook pages, hand-written notes and precise diagrams had somehow been fairly straightforward, mostly describing a variety of training methods that helped with weaving illusions as well as an example of a finished genjutsu. It still wasn't working perfectly for her, but she'd made a surprising amount of progress. "I thought it was just the instructors unofficially letting me work on more advanced material."
Ino nodded uncertainly. "That makes sense – that it was the instructors, I mean. Who else could it be, that would know our strengths and weaknesses this well? ...Hey, we've talked for almost a minute without insulting each other!"
"Yeah," Sakura said, smiling. "It's... nice, I suppose. I've missed this a bit – having someone to talk to like this." Following the advice at the end of the notes – 'be open to restarting old friendships' – was natural as breathing once she'd decided it came from the instructors. Besides, she missed having someone to just hang out with since most girls at the Academy were put off by her towering intellect.
"Swing by the flower shop sometime, and we can catch up properly. I need to go run some errands now, but it was good to talk." Ino waved goodbye as she jumped up and onto a rooftop, then darted out of sight.
When Sakura went to bed that night, she was still thinking about Ino and the information they'd received. The suggestions that she'd tried so far had turned out to be uncannily useful, and it seemed that the same applied to Ino. Who else was this happening to?
Sakura dreamed of marrying Sasuke. They'd have a big wedding, and she'd wear white, and everything would be perfect forever.
-O-
Iruka Umino raced towards the next hiding place that Naruto might have fled to. There was only a single thought running through his head. Why would Naruto take the scroll?
He'd always known that Naruto's childhood had been rough. He'd not had too much sympathy when he'd seen the endless mischief and vandalism the boy had become known for; looking back, it was easy to recognise that behaviour as a cry for help. Or was he adjusting too far the other way now? Now that there was something real, something important at stake? Nobody knew what would happen if Naruto tried to use the Fourth's sealing technique, the same technique that had trapped the Demon Fox in Naruto's stomach. At worst, the seal would break and the whole village could be destroyed.
Focus! Naruto had taken the Scroll of Seven Seals for some reason. Iruka had to find Naruto before he hurt himself trying to do something with it. The village was sealed and Mizuki, his fellow teacher, had been one of those called away to form a perimeter. Nobody, Naruto or otherwise, would be getting out with (or without) the scroll.
Naruto would have been found by now if he wasn't deliberately hiding away somewhere; that much was guaranteed. If he'd been killed – if the seal had broken – the whole village would know. So, by process of elimination, he'd gone to ground inside Konoha. He wouldn't be anywhere he'd been caught before, which ruled out the western training grounds and most of the south of the village. Iruka had just checked the north, so now he would swing around the east and check the forested areas. If he went near Mizuki's place in the perimeter, he could ask for any advice Naruto's other teacher could give.
There! A speck of orange amongst the foliage! Iruka fluidly changed course, leaping down next to his student. "I've found you at last!"
"Wrong! I've found you!"
As Naruto explained what he was doing there, Iruka noticed his own confusion. Something wasn't right. He tried dispelling a genjutsu, but nothing changed. Then, Naruto's story meandered towards some relevant information. "Mizuki told me about the scroll. And this place too." And suddenly Iruka knew, the pieces of the puzzle falling into place with the inevitability of an avalanche.
He wanted to deny it; he'd worked with Mizuki for years, they were friends and comrades, and yet there was almost nothing else that could fit the facts. He clung to a single faint hope. "If I find out this was all a prank," Iruka threatened, anger and fear showing on his face and in his voice. He was interrupted by a flicker of movement in his peripheral vision, and his heart sunk as his body sprang into action.
Iruka flung Naruto to the side, mind half on the fight and half on Mizuki's larger plan. This was really bad. If Mizuki fled with the scroll, he would be chased. He wouldn't make it far. If Mizuki had a plan – and it seemed like he did – then he'd need to cause a distraction that could delay or even kill any pursuit. Something dangerous and attention-grabbing that was close by, preferably. Like Naruto...
Iruka was too slow to get out of the way of Mizuki's attack, but protecting Naruto was more important. As the knives cut through his vest and into his body, Iruka was already planning the best way out of this. Unbidden, he remembered a line from a poem someone had left on his desk that morning.
Mizuki looked surprised that his first volley hadn't killed his target, but seemed content to just stand and watch now that he'd lost the element of surprise. A rush of anger let Iruka ignore the pain of a dozen small wounds. The traitor had a small grin on his face as he looked down at his targets, and two huge shuriken strapped to his back. The branch he stood on was too high to reach easily and wide enough that it would shield him from any counterattacks.
"Hey, Iruka, I can explain," Mizuki said. "I've got a pretty good offer and I can take you along too if you like. What do you say, pal?"
Iruka spat on the floor, a mixture of blood and saliva. He regretted not training regularly since he'd become a teacher. If he were in the same shape as two years ago, Mizuki wouldn't dare confront him like this.
"Traitor," he snarled, and the word carried the weight of twenty-two years of loyalty, of caring for the village and the people in it. And pain, as he realised that all their shared coffee breaks, the quick complaints about problem students, shared celebration when their first class graduated, their friendship was built on lies and deceit.
"Naruto," Mizuki taunted in a sing-song voice. "There's something you should know. You've always been hated, haven't you? Excluded, isolated, unfairly cast aside... Have you never wondered why?"
"Naruto. Whatever Mizuki says, he's trying to trick you. He's a traitor to the village. It's all mind games. Don't listen!" Iruka yelled out.
For a moment, as Mizuki's forked tongue spread poisonous half-truths, it even looked like Naruto would heed Iruka's words. It helped, Iruka thought, that Naruto really didn't want to believe the story, especially since Mizuki had filled it with casual insults.
"How do I know you're not just lying to get me to give you the scroll?" It was a question that couldn't really be answered, and Mizuki seemed to flounder a bit. He had to realise that time was not on his side, but he still seemed to be stalling for some reason.
"Naruto. Listen to me," Iruka pleaded. "I'm an orphan too. I know what it feels like to have no-one. But if you show me the technique you learned today, I can pass you. A field promotion. You'll have a team." And hopefully, nothing like this will ever happen to you again.
Naruto's face lit up and he turned to face Iruka, hands ready in an unusual seal. But it seemed that Mizuki's patience had worn out. He sent a massive shuriken, large enough to bisect his target, whirling down towards Naruto, who had neither the speed to dodge it nor the skill to block it. So Iruka did the only thing he could, and moved.
He flung himself over his student, bracing for the last thing he'd feel in this life. The impact never came. Iruka heard the voice he'd been praying for since he'd found Naruto, and felt the tension drain out of his body.
White robes whipped around him as the Hokage walked out of the shadows, two ANBU flanking him while a third held the windmill shuriken. "Mizuki, you are a traitor to the Village of the Hidden Leaf. Your sentence, to be carried out as soon as is expedient, is execution. Take him away to interrogation first."
Hiruzen Sarutobi's voice was measured, calm, and regal. Iruka could have hugged the man if his legs weren't about to give way. He smiled down at the boy looking up at him, unshed tears in his eyes.
From the corner of his eye, he saw the Sandaime walk over to them. His voice was gentler now that the danger had passed. "Naruto, come here, and I'll tell you the story of how the Yondaime built the greatest cage the world has ever seen, and put a single person in charge of guarding it."
Iruka rolled off from where he had still been crouched over and shielding Naruto, letting him get up. Naruto's eyes widened as he realised that Iruka had been ready to take a windmill shuriken for him. Iruka gave him a tired grin and a hand up, and Naruto took it. Now that he was no longer making a cross seal, his technique finally completed and chakra flooded the clearing.
Suddenly there were a hundred Narutos all around the Hokage, appearing in a huge burst of chakra-laden smoke. "By the way, Iruka, do I pass?"
-O-
Kakashi Hatake peered down at the three students he'd been given this year. It seemed someone had taken an unusual interest in assigning him to the team most likely to crack his shell. It was clear why he'd received these particular archetypes – there was the clown, the talented and aggressive loner, and the talented but not very driven girl. These three new genin had little else in common with his original team, though, and he refused to be swayed by such an obvious attempt at emotional manipulation. It set a bad precedent.
He'd not been ordered on – or even offered – any sensitive or particularly important missions in the last few years, and Kakashi knew why. He was considered a flight risk: a talented jounin with no close ties, who was preoccupied with the past and all his dead teammates, and slightly too fond of alcohol and women. It was a formula that he'd seen result in a desertion rate as high as one in three. And now that he was part of that group, Konoha didn't trust him anymore.
Once he accepted a team, the village would give him some time to grow attached. They called it the Will of Fire – using people caring for their comrades as a way to ensure their loyalty. While Kakashi disliked it, it was infinitely preferable to how the other ninja villages enforced obedience. And once Konoha trusted him again, he'd be given dangerous missions once more. Right now, he simply lacked the drive that was necessary to keep up. There was no-one left for him to prove himself to. As long as he could keep up with Might Guy, he considered himself good enough. Starting to care about and then probably losing a team of fresh genin would take him out of the comfortable rut he was currently in.
Kakashi was professional enough that his face didn't so much as twitch while those thoughts passed through his mind. "So, why don't we do introductions?"
He went first, giving vague non-answers that seemed to annoy his audience. Then, he noticed a detail that hadn't stuck out at first. Naruto was wearing goggles.
There weren't many ninja who wore goggles.
Kakashi could count the living on one hand, and the dead on the other.
"...I hate waiting three minutes for the ramen to cook," Naruto was saying when Kakashi started paying attention again.
"Why are you wearing those?" Kakashi asked, gesturing at Naruto's face. Nothing that a new teacher wouldn't usually ask of his charges, he told himself, and if that wasn't his true motivation, no-one needed to know that.
"I was gonna stop wearing them when I got my headband, but they're good for stopping smoke from getting in your eyes and stuff. So now I have my headband on my shoulder instead. It's pretty cool! Why, do you want a pair too?"
"No. They can hurt your peripheral vision, so I'd recommend getting rid of them." Accurate advice, and it would make it less uncomfortable to look Naruto in the eyes when he failed him.
Naruto seemed to consider this recommendation for a moment before shrugging. "Anyway, my goal is to surpass all the Hokage and gain the acknowledgement of every person in the village!" Save the most surprising for last, Kakashi thought to himself.
Sasuke went next. It was roughly what Kakashi had expected. Lots of brooding about killing Itachi Uchiha, despite the fact that Itachi was probably the most dangerous man alive and could almost certainly take on Kakashi with both eyes closed and one hand tied behind his back.
The only surprising part was his plan to restore the Uchiha clan – not the goal, but the way Sasuke talked about it. He was basically telling the world that he wanted to make as many babies with as many women as possible. Then again, if he was fifteen now, and hadn't had a chat with his parents about where babies come from before the massacre, then that would mean that his new teacher (after Kakashi failed them all and they had to retake the year) would have to sit him down and explain a few facts of life to him. Yet another reason to be glad that he wasn't taking on a team.
Sakura's introduction was unexpected, and not in a good way. She seemed temperamentally unsuited to the life of a ninja. Not counting outliers like Itachi, the main limits that ninja had were down to their drive and ambition. A complete nobody who worked their ass off could be one of the elite – if they were willing to give up every distraction and pleasure for the rest of their life. Guy was the perfect example, and Sakura was his opposite. Skill and natural talent in almost indecent amounts, but no drive at all to improve as a ninja.
Kakashi looked at her – really looked, taking in all the minor details and small tells that he wouldn't usually bother with. Soft hands unmarred by callouses from training or small cuts from frequently handling blades. Thin arms and legs that spoke of good chakra control, but no base strength to augment. Long hair that was a liability in even a schoolyard brawl, and it wasn't even put up into a slightly more practical ponytail. On top of everything else, her stance, huddled over and clutching her knees, painted the picture of someone who was in over her head and just starting to realise it.
He analysed Sasuke as well. Strength was there, and plenty of it, as well as control and skill. The arms could have been Kakashi's own at that age, except for the shorter sleeves, and Sasuke's stance kept his hands near his mouth. Kakashi didn't doubt that Sasuke had at least one technique he could quickly launch from that position, and the outline of a kunai under each wristwrap enhanced the image of someone ready to fight at any second. He was very impressive for a genin nominee, and more competent than most chunin exam candidates, although it remained to be seen whether or not Sasuke's other skills were at the same level as his paranoia.
Naruto had calloused hands with no cuts at all. It was quite easy for Kakashi to deduce a regenerative ability – Naruto's weapon skills were good enough that it was clear he practised regularly, but not so good that he never made mistakes. While the orange outfit was good for merging with a crowd, it didn't exactly lend itself to hiding in forests – but somehow he made it work, and wasn't that a nice ace to have? Currently, Naruto was the weakest member, no doubt about it, but he definitely had enough drive to excel one day. His goal was just as out of reach as Sasuke's, and he seemed just as determined to reach it despite all the possible setbacks.
"Alright," Kakashi said, now that the new genin nominees were watching him expectantly. "We have survival training tomorrow."
He talked over the questions and complaints. "This is a different kind of training. I will be your opponent." There was a surefire way to separate the wheat from the chaff – mental pressure. Once the wannabe genins' confusion peaked, he started laughing gently.
"There's a secret purpose to the training. If you fail..." He raised the pressure to a fever pitch. "You go back to the academy. It would be as if you failed the graduation exam. And your odds aren't good, either – two-thirds of the teams get sent back every year. Of the 27 graduates, there will usually be 9 genin."
Chuckling, he enjoyed the looks on their faces. Naruto was trying to hide his surprise, Sasuke looked angry, and Sakura seemed defeated already. Kakashi fielded their questions without offering much information of value, and gave them some misleading advice to top it off, then headed off to his favourite pub. He had a pretty girl to meet, and a new book to keep him company while he waited.
-O-
A/N: Quite a few details from canon have been changed (especially ages, since the genin in canon Naruto don't act anything at all like twelve-year-olds).
I've deliberately taken Kakashi in a different direction. I know that it clashes with later canon, but he won't be a static character – everyone (especially those whose POV I've used so far) will develop in some way.
Everyone in Team Seven has their own hangups in canon, and I plan to explore that further. Hopefully, I can avoid the common pitfall of making a character's weaknesses just be minor quirks that are mentioned once and then forgotten.
I should be posting the edited chapters (i.e. chapters 1-6) every day or every other day, since they're basically finished. Other than that, I'm not making any commitments on length or update frequency. That said, this is going to be my only long story for a while, so other than occasional one-shots I shouldn't be writing much else. I'll tentatively estimate an update every two to four weeks, and a final length of 100-200k words.
If you've read the old version of this story, you can probably skip to the start of the fourth chapter, since the earlier parts' events are being changed in minor ways and some extra information is being added. Mostly, I'm trying to improve the story's writing quality, although from chapter 4 onwards events take a slightly different turn.
Thanks to Fin (aka JohannesSilentio), Wes (aka WesDunne) and Jam (aka still hasn't published anything on here yet - if you're reading this, hurry up!) especially, but also the NarutoFanfiction discord in general, for improving this chapter immeasurably. (Come join us – there's a link in the sidebar of the Naruto Fanfiction subreddit.)