Chapter 1: Naruto Uzumaki
"Naruto... Why are you doing this...?" "Because you're my friend."
1 year earlier...
"YES!", Naruto yelled as he hugged Iruka after finally receiving his headband. Though this meant he no longer had to take the Genin Exam. As a result, his Jutsu were a bit shaky but he had decided to work ten times harder to make sure he doesn't fall behind. "I'm proud of you, Naruto.", Iruka said with a smile, "I always believed in you."
By the next morning, Naruto's wounds were almost completely healed. This reminded him that he was by no means what was considered "normal", as within him dwelt Kurama, the Nine-tailed Fox. However, his sadness was soon lifted as he saw the sun reflect off of his brand new Leaf headband. He smiled, strapped on his gear and ran outside to be assigned to a squad.
As he entered the Hokage's room, he was greeted by Shikamaru. Lord Hokage was sitting at his desk doing paperwork. Shikamaru took one look at Naruto's headband and said "Naruto.. Don't tell me you're a Genin..." Shikamaru looked at the ground and sighed with his hands in his pockets, "Ugh.. What a drag." Naruto heartily stated, "Hell yeah I am! I'm gonna be Hokage one day! Is that a problem with you, drag queen?" By this point Naruto and Shikamaru were butting heads, and Lord Hokage stood up and slammed on his desk. "Enough! Naruto, what do you need?""I'm here to be assigned to a squad!", Naruto proclaimed, pointing at his headband. "Naruto... I don't know how to say this... We had exactly enough people for four squads. I'm sorry, you will have to wait until we get more graduates next year." Naruto's heart sank. How was he going to become Hokage if he had no completed missions on his resume? Suddenly an idea struck him. (I don't need anyone...), he thought. (All they would do is bully and ridicule me... I can become Hokage on my own!) Suddenly, without much thought, Naruto grabbed one of the papers off of Lord Hokage's desk and ran out. Shikamaru tried to stop him but was overpowered. Naruto bolted out of the building and towards the woods. "Leave him be.", Lord Hokage ordered. Shikamaru looked at Lord Hokage, "What did he take?" "Hmm... Let's see... What's missing..." Lord Hokage's eyes got wide. "Oh my God... The mission brief he took... It's an escort mission to the Land of Waves. A C-Rank... He won't make it back alive." "What should we do, Lord Hokage?" "Call Team 7. Send them East, the boat for the Land of Waves leaves a sundown. Have them intercept Naruto and bring him back, I'll assemble a squad of Anbu to finish the escort." "What a drag..."
Naruto was running through the forest with thoughts racing through his head. (What am I doing-) suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks and bounced back and onto the ground. He looked up at what he ran into. It was a man, mid-50s probably. He had a straw had and a robe on, with some sort of building materials on his back. "I'm sorry mister.." "Yeah you better be, kid.. Wait... That headband... You must be the Ninja that's going to take me home! Well, let's get going!" Naruto lit up with excitement as he and the old man traveled for the Land of Waves.