Phantom hidden in the Leaves
Fingers flew over the antique keyboard as a distant rooster crowed, heralding the dawn of a new day in Konoha, the Village Hidden in the Leaves. A sharp breath blew blond spikey hair out of tired blue eyes that darted over the complex computer code steadily appearing on the dilapidated old computer screen. It had taken quite a bit of effort to scavenge and cobble together a somewhat usable machine out of trash and spare parts, but it was his. The tapping stopped, and with a sharp click of a mouse, the program was encrypted and uploaded. "Bingo." Whispered Naruto Uzumaki. "And boom goes the dynamite." The primary administrative website of Konoha crashed, leaving only a looping animation of the four Hokages dancing in a cancan line, complete with sexy bunny costumes. A small motor sat spinning in the bottom corner of the screen, immediately above a caption reading "This inconvenience brought to you by DYNAMO!" Naruto chuckled, leaned back and stretched, his muscles flexing under a grubby white muscle shirt, then popped his knuckles before taking a sip of an energy drink. "That should keep everyone busy."
If the general populace knew that he was anything other than a dumbass prankster with a sappy grin, a thing for orange jumpsuits, and a silly dream 'to be Hokage' he would be killed in his sleep faster than you could say "Orochimaru likes little boys." Naruto knew that he had to hide his true self, at least until he got some official protection from public wrath. But at night…. At night, he could live, at least digitally. When darkness fell, Naruto unsealed the sprawling amalgamation of circuits that he had constructed from scrap and explored the vast deep recesses of the internet. And he had gained a lot of knowledge. He had learned about life and hardship. He had discovered the joy of learning. Most important of all, in his mind at least, he learned how to hack. Hacking was all the best parts of being a ninja. You infiltrate your target, retrieve your data or leave a trap, and vanish without a trace. Or blow everything sky high, that was always an option. Naruto was good. He had a knack that he couldn't explain. Code just seemed like another language to him, a language of POWER.
It hadn't taken him long to start finding Konoha's deep dark secrets. Much to his surprise, there he was. It just proved that most people were morons. Why on earth would you treat a little boy like crap if you thought he was the incarnation of the fucking Kyuubi? Why would the Hokage just let the container of the most powerful demon on the face of the planet be abused nearly to the breaking point. Naruto smiled grimly. "I'll prove to them I'm no damned fox. They'll see." That was his true ambition. To prove everyone who doubted him that he was better than they were.
He shook his head, brushing away the stray thoughts, and glanced at the clock. 4:36AM. Back to the task at hand. In his extensive database trawling he had discovered something fascinating deep in the administrative core of Konoha's mainframe. Naruto popped his neck. "Let's see who you are and what you're hiding, ROOT."
Three hours later, Naruto groaned and cradled his head in his hands. Whatever ROOT was, it had damn good security. He had never seen so many layers of security and encryption in his life, not even on the official ANBU database, and the throbbing headache he was getting indicated that somehow they had managed to cloak the entire damn thing in a genjustsu, though damned if he knew how. He glanced at the clock and groaned again. "Fuuuuuuck. School starts in thirty minutes. And it's the fucking exam today too. I might as well burn as much chakra as I can if I'm gonna have a fucking chance of getting that motherfucking Bushin technique to work." With a huge surge of chakra, he sent out sparkling blue tendrils of the living energy to grab his clothes, his coffee, and his instant ramen, everything else he needed to start the day. Naruto called it the Chakra Tentacle Exercise. He had based it on what he found on Konoha's database regarding chakra strings. It was vaguely frustrating to Naruto that the Ninja villages hadn't computerized a database of Jutsu. Well, it was probably a good thing, because he would definitely get in huge trouble if he started showing off new techniques every other day. Chakra control exercises, on the other hand, were nowhere near as secured. All it took was a light excursion into the encrypted Jounin database, just a stroll in the park for a hacker with Naruto's skill. Already he had learned how to do all the basic exercises up to water-walking, as well as some more unusual, but useful ones like water breathing, from the Mist village, and Chakra filters for his nose and eyes from Suna.
Within minutes Naruto was dressed, fed, caffeinated, and ready for the start of a new day. He glanced in a grubby, cracked mirror. Bulky fabric jacket and matching pants, dyed 'kill-me' orange and embellished with the red Uzumaki spiral, check. Tattered black shinobi sandals, check. Blue goggles pulled up above his eyes, check. He looked the very image of the sixteen year old village idiot. With a short sigh, Naruto pasted his trademarked grin on his face, and leapt out the window to run to the Shinobi Academy. He had a test to pass.
It took five shortcuts, two near-collisions with fruit-carts, and a nasty encounter with a particularly irate – and moronic – chunin, but Naruto made it to the academy with only seconds before the bell rang. He paused before the classroom door, paused, and patted his face, just to make sure his 'grin like a retarded chimpanzee' mask was still firmly in place. A spark of mischief flared in his eye for a moment. 'heh, might as well go out with a bang,' he thought. And with that, Naruto kicked the door open with a bang and a yell. "What up, Bitches? Naruto Uzumaki here to kick ass and take names!" he sauntered in, noticing the shocked expressions on most of his classmate's faces. He scratched the back of his head. "And pass a test, I guess. Believe it!"
"Naruto you idiot!" yelled Sakura Haruno, the class's resident bookworm, as she jumped up from her seat next to her idol and prey, Sasuke Uchiha. The 'Last Loyal Uchiha' could not suppress a shudder as his pink-haired fangirl waved a fist and started ranting. "You'll never pass the test by acting like that you moron! And when you yell like that you disrupt Sasuke-kun's concentration!" Sakura sat back down and leaned her head on Sasuke's shoulder. "I….Love….you… Sas-u-ke-kun…." She crooned in a sickly sweet tone. In the back of the class, Kiba Inuzaka gagged.
"Get off my Sasuke-kun!" howled Ino Yamanaka, as she tackled her rival in a blur of blond hair. Naruto used the resulting embarrassing catfight to sneak over to the seat beside Hinata Hyuuga.
"Embarassing, huh?" Naruto asked. Hinata blushed beet red and pushed her fingers together, then nodded jerkily. Naruto sighed internally. The poor girl was too shy to come out of her shell around him still. She was cute, yeah, and that jacket could never completely hide her huge….tracts of land… but Naruto wanted a girl with a bit of fire and backbone to her. That was why he had originally thought about dating Sakura, at least until he realized that the pink-haired menace was a complete bitch. Ah well, he was only sixteen, and he had the internet. Love could wait.
The two teachers, Iruka and Mizuki walked in to see a tangled blur of pink and blond hair tussling in the middle aisle with a group of students gathered round. Shino Aburame was quietly taking bets, his usual pastime when not communing with his insects. Oddly, the Aburame heir never actually gambled, he simply managed the bets and odds as a neutral, trustworthy party. Mizuki waded in and separated the girls, as Shino handed Shikamaru his winnings. As the dueling fangirls cooled off in separate corners, Iruka stood in front of the class.
"Attention, please!" the room quieted instantly. Iruka was quiet and mild-mannered, but had an intangible ability to keep the class's attention. And if they were too disruptive, there was always the infamous Demon Head Transformation. "You have been taking several tests over the last few days, and it is now time for the last and most important test: The Ninjutsu test. You will enter the room when our name is called, and then Mizuki and I will mark you on your mastery of the three Academy Basic Ninjutsu: The Transformation technique, the Replacement technique, and the Clone technique. At that point we will inform you whether you passed or failed your graduation exam. Good luck to you all. Shino Aburame, you're first." Iruka turned and walked into the examination room, closely followed by Mizuki and Shino.
Naruto groaned. It was times like this that he hated that his last name was at the ass-end of the alphabet. He chuckled as he laid his head down to wait. At least he wasn't a Yamanaka. He waited. And waited. And tried to ignore Hinata's brief activation of her Byakugan, her small squeak and fire-engine-red blush. He definitely ignored the small trickle of blood from her nose that she hurriedly wiped away. He studiously ignored the Hyuuga's shifting in her seat and the odd smell and the small noises she was making until he heard, like the voice of a delivering angel, her name being yelled by Iruka. Naruto sighed and relaxed, so much that when Iruka called his name, he jerked awake. With a small blush, he rushed out of his seat and hurried down toward the examination room.
As he entered, he noticed the two separate desks covered with papers and his instructors seated behind them. Iruka was smiling warmly as he gestured Naruto to the center of the room. Mizuki smiled as well, but Naruto, schooled in the many different nuances of hatred and disgust by his difficult life, felt a sense of forboding at the look in his white-haired sensei's eye. "Alright Naruto," Iruka said, "First you need to demonstrate the Transformation Technique. First, transform into me, then a different person of your choice."
Naruto nodded, and made the appropriate handseal. He noticed Iruka's eybrow twitch quizzically, but his sensei said nothing, so he continued. "Transformation technigue." He mumbled, and in a puff of chakra smoke, he felt the odd stretching sensation as he transformed into a perfect likeness of his favorite sensei.
"Excellent! Full marks on that one, Naruto. It's like looking in a mirror." Iruka exclaimed. Muzuki nodded grudgingly. "Now for the transformation of your choice."
Naruto fixed the image he wanted in his mind, took a moment to verify all the details, and then formed the handseal. "Transformation technique!" A burst of smoke, and he drew a previously nonexistent orange-covered novel out of a hip pocket and pulled it in front of his masked face. It was odd, only seeing out of one eye, but he had to have the hiate covering the other eye, and it was crucial to maintain the odd shape of the gravity-defying silver hair.
Iruka gawped for a moment at the perfect likeness of Kakashi Hatake, complete with his typical slouch and his nose in an Icha Icha novel. "Incredible! I wish I could give bonus points for that one!"
"Hmm? You say something?" Naruto muttered, in a passable imitation of Kakashi, and Iruka and Mizuki snorted with suppressed laughter.
"Very, very good. You can drop the Technique now, Naruto." Iruka continued, and in a puff of smoke, Naruto reappeared. "Next, show me the replacement technique. We have placed a log over there in the corner for your convenience."
Naruto nodded, and without thinking, focused and activated the Replacement Technique silently and without the typical cloud of smoke. He disappeared, and the large log reappeared in his place. From his new position in the corner, Naruto could see Mizuki's slight scowl. 'Damn it to hell, I fucked up. I almost forgot that that bastard hated my guts.' He scratched the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. "hehe. Guess that was a fluke."
Iruka smiled broadly, and made a note on his paper. "Quite good. You must have practiced that one." Naruto nodded. The replacement technique had saved his ass so many times, he'd lost count. "And now, Naruto, it's time for the Clone technique. You need to make three clones that can be useful in a field combat situation."
Naruto nodded, formed the handseal, and delicately shaved off as little chakra as he could manage, and spoke in a whisper. "Clone technique." A huge puff of smoke appeared, then faded away, revealing three pale, sickly illusions that visibly shimmered like a heat haze in the summer sun. one of the clones collapsed in on itself and vanished in a poof of smoke.
Iruka sighed sadly. "I'm sorry Naruto, but I can't pass your clones. They just wouldn't cut the mustard in combat. And…." He visibly deflated. "Because you didn't pass all three portions of your Ninjutsu test, I am not permitted to give you a passing grade on your genin exam. I'm sorry."
"Couldn't you cut him a break this time Iruka? He did form three clones." Mizuki spoke up for the first time. Naruto was utterly surprised at the sincere tone and hopeful expression on his other sensei's face, but realized something was screwy when he saw the faint calculating gleam in mizuki's eyes.
Iruka shook his head sadly. "I just can't. I wish I could. You may go, Naruto." The orange-clad teen slowly turned and walked out the door, his face and body the perfict picture of dejection. Inside, however, his mind was racing. What was Mizuki up to?
Several Hours later
Hiruzen Sarutobi cradled his head in his hands between the massive piles of paperwork on his desk. "He did what?"
"MIzuki-teme told me that there was a special make-up graduation test for students with my skill set. He wanted me to sneak in and steal the Forbidden Scroll and learn one technique from it before giving him the scroll. Did he really think I was that moronic?" Naruto complained. "Everyone knows I'm tight with you. Did he really think I wouldn't ask you?"
Sarutobi shook his head and sighed. "I must confess you played the convincing role, my boy. If I didn't actually know, I would have been fooled by your act. Mizuki was always arrogant and foolish, which is why he's stuck in the academy teaching students. He would be a liability on the field. What did you tell him?"
"Oh, the usual bullshit about how I wouldn't let him down, that I'd be hokage no matter what, believe it, yadda yadda ya." Naruto chuckled and leaned back in his chair and folded his hands behind his head. "To be honest, the core concept of requiring students to retrieve an object in a mock field setting is a good one. The current tests seem too academic for training assassins and killers."
"You have a point there, Naruto. I had to reduce standards after the death of the Yoindaime so that we could refill our ranks, and the council never let me raise them up again." The Hokage sighed sadly. "I wish I had never taken this job back. Anyway, I am giving you an A-rank solo mission to lure out the traitor Mizuki and prevent his escape. Will you need me to reduce security on the scroll?"
Naruto snorted with laughter. "Old man, I've been pranking your ANBU for years. This will be a piece of cake."
Sarutobi smiled. "Very well. You accept?"
"You bet your wrinkled old ass I do. You'll never see me coming." Naruto stood up and walked to the door. As he reached it he turned around and waved. "See ya, boss-man."
The old hokage chuckled and lit his pipe as the teen left, glancing out the wide window at the face of the Yoindaime on the Hokage's monument. "If he wants to, he will be a great successor for you Minato. I'm sure you'd be proud, if you could see him."
Scene Break
Naruto stood in his shabby apartment, orange light from the setting sun painting his walls as brightly as the jumpsuit he held loosely in his hands. It was time for the end of an era. Time to abandon the mask that protected him from the civilians and fools. He ran his fingers over the red spiral on the sleeve. He hated the ratty old thing but it was hard to leave behind. With a wry chuckle, he tossed it aside. No time like the present. With a surge of chakra to a seal on his shoulder, he unsealed the uniform and equipment he had painstakingly assembled over the past year and started to pull it on. First came black cargo pants with dark grey tape around the ankles, above a new pair of black shinobi sandals. Then a tight, long sleeved, black turtleneck of thin material that wouldn't bunch or cling. The neck pulled up into a tight hood that covered his wild blond hair. Black goggles covered his eyes, and a breath mask painted a matte grey covered his mouth and, incidentally, his characteristic whisker marks. A pair of fingerless shinobi gloves with metal plates on the backs of the hands and matte grey bracers protected his arms. When he received his hiate, he was planning on tying it around his right forearm. Finally, he donned his belt with holsters for kunai, as well as his secret weapons. He glanced in the mirror, and saw a compact, black clad, menacing figure. But he was missing something…. With a smirk behind his mask, Naruto threw a ragged black cloak over his shoulders. Goodbye class clown, say hello to the phantom. With one last glance at the jumpsuit lying crumpled in the corner, Naruto turned and leapt out his window. Konoha wouldn't know what hit it.