A year too early
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, nor anything that is associated with it. This merely a work of Fanfiction, as if I fooled you into think this is the real deal. Its not like the website is called .
A/N: So this my answer to Dzerx's challenge. the challenge is : What if Naruto had decided to paint the Hokage monument a year early resulting to the discussion with Iruka Umino? I stumbled on to this when I was favouriting him after he had had favourited my story and I haven't been able to get it out of mind since. Be warned the first chapter is likely going to be word for word the same as the Manga.
Chapter 1 - Year Four shinobi academy exam
A village filled with high buildings made of wood could be seen, behind it were great mountains and trees. On one of these mountains were four great stone face that were carved into the mountain.
On closer inspection one would be able to discern that these great stone faces have been desecrated. The most common factor with each stone face was a trail of paint originating from the nose - this signified a nose bleed - and ending on the chin, as if to say each one of these great stone faces were all perverts.
The first to the left had a spiral on his cheek, then the next had faeces painted on his cheek as well as a tongue licking the bottom of his chin. The next had two stripes originating from the corner of his eyes and running down his cheeks till his chin. The last face merely had two spirals painted on his cheeks.
On even closer inspection a young boy of small stature could be found in front of the head closest to the left. He had a rope tied to his waist that was anchored a little higher up on the mountain.
The boy had wild blonde hair, blue eyes and three whisker marks on each cheek. He wore a pair of forest green goggles on his head, a short-sleeved navy-blue shirt, a thick orange jacket tied around his waist, thick orange pants and navy-blue shinobi sandals.
Every so often the wind would carry his cackles of glee through the village. "Wa hahah!" and every so often every citizen of the village would shudder in fear, and jump at shadows.
An elderly man could be found peacefully practising his calligraphy while he smoked a pipe filled with tobacco. He had wild grey hair and a receding hair line, brown eyes and a liver spot or two on the left side of his face, he had three distinct wrinkles that stemmed from each of his eyes - much like the whisker marks on his fellow villager's face, not too far way from him - He had grey goatee that was almost chest length, it looked rugged yet had some elegance to it .He wore elegant white and red robes and sandals.
"Hokage-sama!"
The elderly man smudged his calligraphy, and resisted the urge to sigh. 'Iruka-kun is here? That must mean its something to do with Naruto.' he tried to keep the annoyance from his voice when he spoke. "What's wrong is Naruto causing trouble again?"
"Yes, he is vandalising the Hokage monument!"exclaimed the shinobi next to Iruka, Ishin Tosuke if he wasn't mistaken - a member of the fire corps.
"And this time with paint!"exclaimed Iruka.
'Vandalising the Hokage monument with paint? Not even your mother went that far! The worst she did was beat up bullies!' the Hokage sighed as he placed his rhombus shaped, two-tone, red and white hat with the kanji for fire emblazoned in the only white background in front on his head.
(Hokage Monument - Naruto)
"Hey stop this!"
"Stop causing trouble!"
"Look at what he did!"
"You'll pay for this!"
There were numerous shouts from the rooftop near the Hokage monument, but Naruto didn't seem fazed by this. In fact he grinned openly at their threats. "Shut up you morons! None of you would be able to do something like this!" he exclaimed."But I can because I'm incredible!"
"Geez. . .what has that idiot done?"
"Hm?" said the Hokage, looking around.
He then noticed that Iruka stepped on to the rail of the rooftop with one of his legs. "Hokage-sama I apologise for this."
"Oh! Iruka." said the Hokage in recognition.
Iruka puffed his chest out as if taking a great big breath. "What the hell are doing during class time?! Get down here you moron!"
"Oh no! That's Iruka-sensei." exclaimed Naruto as he flailed around in his makeshift harness.
(Naruto - Iruka - Academy classroom)
Naruto sat on the floor in the classroom, he was tied up with a rope - probably the same rope that he used as a harness for his latest prank - he turned to the side dejectedly. "Bleh..."
"Tomorrow is the shinobi academy's year four final exam and you've failed the Ninjutsu portion last year! This isn't the time to be causing problems!Idiot!"
"Whatever. . ."said Naruto nonplussed.
"Time for a Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Jutsu) test! Everyone line up."Iruka scowled. "Transform perfectly into me."
"What!"exclaimed the class.
The class soon gathered in the front after Iruka untied Naruto. A civilian boy transformed perfectly into Iruka after forming the ram hand-seal. Dark hair pulled together in a high pony, dark eyes, a scar over the nose. He wore a dark blue cloth around his forehead with a metal plate that had a stylised leaf engraved into it, a long-sleeved dark-blue shirt, with a red spiral sewn on the side of each shoulder, a forest green flak-jacket filled with pocket in front and a great red spiral on the back, dark-blue ankle-length pants with combat wraps on the right leg above the knee, and around the ankles and the hem of the pants and dark blue shinobi sandals.
"Okay good."said Iruka making a note on his clipboard. "Next, Uzumaki Naruto."
"This is all you fault." said one of Naruto's fellow civilian academy students said.
"Like I care." said Naruto with his hands on his hips as he stepped forward. 'Man this sucks.'
As he got to the front he adjusted his goggles and smiled mischievously. 'Here we go, hehehe!'
He made a ram hand seal, and his face became uncharacteristically focussed. Chakra and smoke whipped violently around Naruto. "Ninpou: Henge no Jutsu(Ninja art: Transformation Jutsu!)"
Naruto transformed into a woman with long pigtails of blonde hair, blue eyes and three whisker marks on each cheek. she wore nothing, and this showed off her bountiful breast, the only thing obscuring the nipples was a thin trail of smoke. Additionally she had a firm stomach and long shapely legs. There were trails of smoke obscuring all the important bits around her person.
She smiled saucily as she made a kissing gesture towards Iruka.
Iruka's jaw dropped so low, Naruto was beginning to think that his Jutsu had broken it, then suddenly a huge gush of blood burst from his nose propelling him several feet backwards.
Naruto dropped the transformation before laughing uproariously. "I call this one Ninpou:Oiroke no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Sexy Jutsu)!'"
"You moron! Don't invent stupid Jutsu!"raged Iruka, blood still dripping from his nose.
'Heh! who's the moron? You still have blood dripping from your nose, in my book that works.' Naruto didn't voice his thoughts, he knew that he upset Iruka enough already.
(Hokage Monument - Naruto and Iruka)
Naruto was currently cleaning the mess he had made on the Hokage monument. Aiding him in this endeavour was a platform tied to the top of the mountain with a pulley system.
He scrubbed at the stone unenthusiastically, merely going through the motions.
"I wont let you go until everything is as it has to be."said Iruka, his arms folded.
"Like I care its not as if I have anyone to go home to." Naruto said carelessly as he scrubbed away.
"Naruto. ."said Iruka sympathetically.
"What?"asked Naruto while squinting.
"Well um, if everything is all cleaned up. ."Iruka scratched his nose. "I'll buy you ramen tonight."
Naruto brightened dramatically. "Okay, I'll work as hard as I can!"
(Naruto and Iruka - Ichiraku Ramen)
"Naruto?"
"Hmm?"answered Naruto while he slurped his ramen.
"Why were you doing that to the monument? Don't you know who the Hokage are?"asked Iruka curiously.
"Of course I know! Basically those that get the Hokage title are the strongest in the village right? And among them the Yondaime Hokage, a hero who saved the village from a demon fox."said Naruto.
"Then why?" asked Iruka.
"Well, one day I'm going to get the Hokage title and then I will surpass all the previous Hokage!" exclaimed Naruto boisterously. "And then I'll make the village acknowledge my strength." Naruto then brought his palms together. "Umm, Iruka-sensei I have a little request."
"What you want another bowl of ramen?"asked Iruka.
"No, can I borrow your forehead protector?"asked Naruto, giving Iruka puppy-dog eyes.
"Oh this? No, this is what you get after you graduate. This symbol is that you've come of age." said Iruka as he held his forehead protector between his thumb and index fingers.
"Fine! Then I want another bowl of ramen." said Naruto in a sullen voice.
(next day - academy classroom - Naruto)
"To pass the Ninjutsu portion of the exam you have to do the Ninpou: Bunshin no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Clone Jutsu.)When you're called come to the next room." said Iruka.
'Oh no, not that one its my worst Jutsu!' Naruto stressed to the point that he was sweating bullets.
"Uzumaki Naruto!"
Naruto walked into the next room. 'But I'll do it! Watch this.'
Naruto made three hand seals: Ram - Snake - Tiger
"Bunshin no Jutsu." a plume of smoke appeared and in its wake a dead looking clone of Naruto laid piteously on the floor.
Naruto eyes bulged and Iruka sweatdropped. "Fail!"
"Iruka. .this is his second time and he did create a clone." said the chunin next to Iruka, he wore the same outfit as he Iruka sans the forehead protector. He had shoulder-length silver-grey hair, there were three bangs on either side of his face and two branching out form the middle of his forehead. He had grey eyes and rather large build. "we could give him a pass, it will at the very least give him some extra credit next year."
"No way Mizuki! All the others created two clones and Naruto only created one and it was a useless one." said Iruka in rejection. "I cant give him a pass."
Naruto could do nothing but scowl.
(outside the academy - Naruto)
Naruto sat dejectedly in a swing under the shade of a tree. He watched as parents congratulated their children on passing their forth year. "Great job! That's my son."
"Hey that kid. ." said a woman taking notice of Naruto.
"Yeah that's 'the kid' and he only passed by the skin of his teeth, I checked out all the scores. He cant do Ninjutsu to save his life. Next year he will fail." said the other woman.
"Well that's a good thing." said the other woman.
"He shouldn't become a shinobi."the other woman said in return. "Since he is-"
"Shh. .we're not supposed to talk about that."
Naruto scowled at the two women talking about him as if he couldn't even hear them, he took off running not wanting to hear any more.
Iruka came out looking for him but, he was interrupted by the Hokage. "Iruka I need to talk to you."
"Hai Hokage-sama"
(Inner Village - Naruto)
Naruto walked dejectedly through the village kicking random pieces of litter around in his anger. "Naruto."
Naruto turned around at the sound of a familiar voice. "Mizuki-sensei?"
The two jumped onto one of the balconies near them, and sat down. "Iruka-sensei is a serious person, his parents died when he was no older than you are and he had to take care of everything by himself."
"But why does he always pick on me?"asked Naruto.
Mizuki gave him a side along glance as the wind blew his hair to the side, and smirked a little. "He probably sees himself in you. He is probably thinking that he wants you to become strong from your own hard work."said Mizuki. "Try to understand since you have no parents either."
"But I just wished that I had passed." sighed Naruto.
Mizuki narrowed his eyes. "In that case. . ."
"Hm?"asked Naruto.
"I'll tell you a secret."
"What secret?"asked Naruto.
"This is a special exam that wont only give you a pass, but also allow you to graduate. Hows that sound?" asked Mizuki.
"What!? How?"
"Simple, all you need to do is steal the scroll of forbidden Jutsu from the Hokages residence, go to a forest clearing just outside of the villages north-wall and learn one of the Jutsu from the scroll."said Mizuki.
(Naruto - Hokage residence)
Naruto shimmed his way across a ledge near the window of the Hokage residence. He quickly made his way into the building, but before he made it to the scroll he was stopped by the Hokage. "What do you think you're doing in my house at the hour?"
Naruto panicked before he was sparked with an idea. 'It worked on Iruka-sensei, didn't it?' Naruto turned around making a ram hand seal. "Ninpou:Oiroke no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Sexy Jutsu)." after he transformed into the the rather fetching mostly naked girl blood gushed from the Sandaime's nose, and he was knocked unconscious from the blood loss.
Naruto soon made his way into a library that was filled with scrolls of varying sizes and colours. He searched from the bottom, and he soon came upon a scroll with a strap on it. He read the title. 'Found it!'
Naruto strapped it to his back before jumping out of the window. Little did he know that his actions were being monitored by Mizuki, who for unknown reasons had an evil expression on his face.
(Naruto - forest clearing)
Naruto sat down on the forest floor and unrolled part of the scroll. "Hmm, the first Jutsu is 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Shadow clone Jutsu.)" said Naruto. "Come on that's like my worst Jutsu!"
(Iruka - Umino Iruka's apartment)
Iruka laid solemnly on his bed as he recalled his conversation with the Hokage.
"Iruka. . ."
"Yes Hokage-sama?"
"I understand how you must feel. . .but he is very similar to you."
Iruka's eyes darkened suddenly under the light of the image of the demon fox flashed and the night it attacked flashed through his mind.
It stood higher than Hokage monument, it stood so high that its nine tails that were covered in deep crimson fur obscured the light of the moon. The eyes. . . He remembered them most of all, they were deep red as if they were dipped in blood, and its pupil was slitted black. Around its eyes was deep black patterning that looked like shadow that extended all the way to its long ears.
Its presence projected nothing but malice, and what could they hope to do against this beast? Its lone paw was five times bigger than they were.
"We have to stand our ground until Yondaime-sama arrives!" commanded a shinobi with a particularly haggard and bloodied face.
Suddenly Iruka was dragged backwards by the man. "Let me go! My mom and dad are still fighting!"
Knock! Knock!
Iruka was broken from his recollections by a loud knock on his door. He quickly put on his shinobi sandals and answered the door. "What is it?"
"We have to go to Hokage-sama's place. . . Naruto has stolen the scroll of forbidden Jutsu as a prank."
The two shinobi disappeared a whirlwind of leaves and reappeared at the Hokages residence. Where a number of shinobi had already gathered.
"He wont get away with this one Hokage-sama."said two particularly grizzly shinobi.
"Yes that is a dangerous scroll that was forbidden by the previous Hokage. If it is misused it could be fatal for Konoha and Naruto both." said the Sandaime Hokage, he took a puff from his pipe. "Its been about twelve hours since Naruto took the scroll, we must hurry and find Naruto."
'I should check the forestry around Konoha.' thought Iruka.
(Mizuki)
'I should spread the word throughout the village a little more. Then I'll get rid of Naruto and make it look like he disappeared with scroll.' were Mizuki's malicious thoughts as he sped through the village.
(Forestry near the north-wall)
Naruto had the scroll of forbidden Jutsu strapped to his back. He was a right sight to behold. He had scratches and scrapes littering his whole body, from his face all the way to his clothing.
"I've found you!" Iruka grinned.
"Hey! I found the nose-bleeder!"shouted Naruto.
"Baka! I found you!" shouted Iruka, before giving Naruto a stern look.
"Hehehe! You found me. . .I've only learned one Jutsu."remarked Naruto sheepishly.
"Hey! you look all beaten up, what were you doing here?"asked Iruka.
"Never mind that, hey! I'm going to try an incredible Jutsu. . .if I do please let me graduate."said Naruto.
'So, practising here? Enough to damage his body.' Iruka then asked Naruto. "Naruto?"
"Hm?"
"Where did you get that scroll?"asked Iruka.
"Oh this? Mizuki-sensei told me about it, and this place too."grinned Naruto. "He said if I showed you this Jutsu, I'd definitely graduate."
'Mizuki.' Iruka thought in surprise, then he felt something, he quickly pushed Naruto aside and covered his face as a salvo of kunai came out of the foliage. He got cut and stabbed by a lot of the kunai while the others were in-bedded in the tree around him.
Iruka began to pull the kunai from his body. "Nice try finding the moron!" shouted Mizuki. He now had a bandanna over his head with metal plate - with a stylised leaf carved in it - pinned to the cloth, on his back he had two great Shuriken attached to it.
"I see. . .so that's what's going on."said Iruka as he took out more of the kunai.
"Naruto give me the scroll!" shouted Mizuki.
"Hm? What? What the hell is going on here?"shouted Naruto in confusion.
"Naruto! Whatever happens do not give him that scroll!"shouted Iruka. "That's a dangerous scroll that has forbidden Ninjutsu written inside of it. Mizuki used you to get what's written inside of it."
Naruto looked down in betrayal. "Naruto there's no point in you having it." said Mizuki. "I'll tell you the truth."
Iruka was confused until it hit him. 'His going to tell him that?' Iruka then yelled. "N. .No! Don't!"
"Twelve years ago. .you know about the demon fox being sealed right?"asked Mizuki.
Naruto gave him a look as if to say 'Are you stupid?'
"Since that day, a special law has been created for this village."
"A law?" Naruto asked in confusion.
"But the law was never meant to be told to you."said Mizuki, starting to enjoy himself.
"Not to me? What is this law? Tell me!"shouted Naruto.
Mizuki chuckled evilly.
"What kind of law?"asked Naruto.
"The law is that nobody is allowed to talk about the fact that you are the nine-tailed Demon-fox" said Mizuki evilly.
"What?" Naruto's eyes wide and vacant."What do you mean?"
"Stop it!"shouted Iruka.
"It means that you are the nine-tailed demon-fox that killed Iruka's parents and destroyed the village."said Mizuki, now cackling with glee. "You were sealed up by the Hokage you admire and -"
"Stop it!" Iruka tried to cut him off.
"You have been lied to by everyone! Didn't you find it odd how everyone hates you?"Mizuki reared a giant Shuriken back. "Iruka is the same! He also hates you!"
Naruto's eyes widened. 'Damn it!' chakra erupted around Naruto whipping up sand as his fingers became more claw-like.
Iruka was brought back to his discussion with the Hokage. "He has never known a parents love and is hated by all the villagers"
He then heard Mizuki shout. "Nobody will ever love you!"
"So to get attention he acts out. He wants people to acknowledge his existence in any possible way."
"A Jutsu from that scroll was used to seal you up!"a malicious grin adorning his visage.
"He acts tough, but he is truly suffering"
Suddenly Iruka shielded Naruto with his body, taking a gain Shuriken to the back, that sputtered his blood everywhere. "Guurg."Iruka grimaced in pain, blood pooling in his mouth.
"Why?" Naruto asked in confusion.
Iruka looked down casting a shadow over his eyes. "My parents. . .after they died there was nobody to compliment or acknowledge me. I always acted like an idiot just to get peoples attention. Since I wasn't good at things like learning or doing homework, it was better than being nothing, so I kept acting like an idiot." said Iruka, tears streaking down his cheeks. "It was so painful. . Naruto, you also must of been full of pain. .I'm sorry Naruto if only I did a better job you wouldn't have to feel like this."
Naruto looked at him sadly before a look of fear took over and he bolted away from the clearing.
"Naruto!"Iruka yelled, but it was to no avail, he kept running.
"You saw those eyes earlier, the eyes of a real demon."remarked Mizuki.
"Ah!"Iruka pulled the giant Shuriken from his back. "Naruto isn't like that."
"Well that doesn't matter I'll kill Naruto." said Mizuki before sprinting off.
(somewhere in Konoha)
"We should of killed him!" shouted a shinobi in glasses. "Now we must find him before he releases the demons power."
Another shinobi shared his opinion. "If you find him, kill him!"
(Hokage residence - the Sandaime Hokage)
"I finally found him"said the Sandaime as a image of Naruto appeared in the crystal ball that was between his palms. "Mizuki told him and now he is more afraid than he has ever been."
'The power that is sealed may be released. .plus he is holding the scroll of forbidden Jutsu, the odds of him him being able to break the seal and release the fox from his body is one in a million, but there is still a possibility, and if that happens. . .'
(Forest)
"Found him.' said Iruka as Naruto came into sight. "Naruto! Hurry up and give me the scroll Mizuki is after you."
Naruto landed on a branch before swiftly turning around and tackling Iruka out of the sky.
"Huh? Why Naruto?" asked Iruka in a pained tone.
"How did you know I wasn't Iruka?"asked Mizuki.
"Heheheh!" Naruto laughed before bursting into smoke. Iruka and a wooden log remained in its wake."I'm Iruka."
"I see."
Neither of them were aware of Naruto hiding behind a tree near their location.
"You would even Henge(Transform) into the thing that killed your parents to protect him." said Mizuki in disgust.
"I wont hand the scroll over to someone like you! You are such an idiot if you cant see that Naruto and I are the same." said Iruka.
"If you use the Jutsu on the scroll you can do whatever you want."said Mizuki. "There is no way that a demon fox wouldn't use the power of the scroll, unlike what you are assuming."
"Yeah. ."drawled Iruka.
'I knew it. .see even Iruka-sensei deep down doesn't acknowledge me." thought Naruto darkly.
"The demon-fox would do that, but Naruto is different, he is. . .I've acknowledged him as one of my excellent students. He may not be the hardest worker and he is clumsy and nobody accepts him. . .he already knows what it is to feel pain inside his heart."said Iruka. "He isn't the demon fox, he is a member of the Konoha no Sato."
Naruto lowered his head as he silently cried.
"He is Uzumaki Naruto!"
"Well whatever. ."said Mizuki as he grabbed his giant Shuriken from his back.
Iruka slide down from the tree he was resting against as he grimaced in pain. "Iruka I said I would take care of you later but I changed my mind."he reared the Shuriken back and got ready to throw it. "Hurry up and die."
Just as Mizuki go ready to launch the Shuriken Naruto dashed from behind the tree and hit him with a running knee to the jaw that sent him falling backwards.
'Naruto!' Iruka thought in surprise.
"You shouldn't have done that!" Mizuki's voice was dripping in contempt.
"Don't touch Iruka-sensei!" said Naruto, the scroll of forbidden Jutsu at his side. "I'll kill you!"
"You idiot! Why did you come out!? Run away!" shouted Iruka in fear.
"Hahaha! I'll kill someone like you in one shot." shouted Mizuki.
"Try it trash! I'll return the favour a thousand time over!" shouted Naruto darkly, his index and middle fingers from each hand creating a criss-cross hand seal.
"Then do it! Demon-fox!"shouted Mizuki.
"Ninpou:Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Shadow clone Jutsu!)"yelled Naruto as a great plume of smoke covered the entire area. When it cleared all that could be seen was Naruto. He was on the ground, in the trees, on every branch that could support his weight. He was practically a sea of orange.
"What? What's going on?"asked Mizuki in shock.
"What's wrong?"asked Naruto darkly. "weren't you going to kill me with one shot?"
"Naruto you have. ." Iruka looked on in surprise
"Well then, I'll start, OK?" yelled all the Naruto's - the clones and the original - in sync, it was mildly disconcerting, although not as disconcerting as the horde of Naruto's jumping on top of Mizuki, some of them merely dog-piling him, and the others lashing out with drop kicks, stomp kicks, mean running hooks and knees.
"Ahhhh!"Mizuki screamed in anguish as Naruto beat the living daylights out of him.
'Hehe, he really did divide more than a thousand. .each of them was a real body and not an illusion. Maybe he will surpass the previous Hokage.' Iruka thought internally.
Mizuki laid on the ground, broken and bruised, his face and nose misshapen to the point that he was almost unrecognisable.
"Hehe, I went a little too far."said Naruto sheepishly.
"Naruto come over here." said Iruka. "close your eyes."
Naruto closed his eyes nervously, and rightly so because after that Iruka nailed him on the head with his fist. "ow!"
"Now don't you ever do something so idiotic again!" shouted Iruka.
"Sorry sensei. ."Naruto looked down.
(Hokage residence)
A whole contingent of shinobi were gathered in front of the Hokage. They were shouting amongst themselves.
"Did you find him?!"
"No!"
"Dammit this bad!"
"He could be far by now!"
"There's nothing to worry about."said the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama?"
"He'll be back soon. . Don't you worry, you can all retire for the night." said the Sandaime.
(Naruto and Iruka)
Iruka lifted Naruto's chin. "Naruto I'm not mad. .er well maybe a little, but I'm actually very proud of you."
"So are you going to let me graduate?"asked Naruto.
"Kami no, just because you can do such an advanced Jutsu doesn't mean you are ready to be a shinobi." Naruto looked down. "Don't look so down Naruto, I'm doing this to protect you."
"Ha! You just watch me nose-bleeder-sensei! I'm going to show you! Next year I'll pass and I wont be dead-last any more, you better start scouting for a replacement because come next year you will be begging to give me that forehead-protector!"yelled Naruto.
Iruka laughed, coughing up blood as he did so. "Same old Naruto. . ."
(Next day - Naruto - Hokage residence)
Naruto sat across from the Sandaime Hokage, his legs were getting stiff from his position in seiza. His weight rested on his knees and shins, while the soles of his feet touched his posterior.
"Naruto, I must ask you to pay rapt attention to me." said the Sandaime.
Naruto nodded. "Hai Hokage-ojisan."
The Sandaime took out a brush and an dipped it in ink, his hands fluidly drawing kanji on the paper. It took him a minute to complete, he placed his hand on the edge of the paper and made a half-tiger hand seal with his brush hand and the ink dried before Naruto's eyes. "This is a Fuinjutsu formula that is commonly used to store objects into it." the Hokage then procured a kunai from his sleeve and placed it on top of the formula. He pulsed his chakra into the edge of the seal, suddenly there was puff of smoke and when it cleared the kunai was gone.
"Is the kunai in the paper?" asked Naruto in confusion.
"Well yes, but technically its in the sealing formula. The paper is merely a medium to draw the formula on." said the Sandaime.
Naruto nodded in understanding.
"Now tell me what you see here."said the Hokage.
"A paper with scribbles on it."said Naruto.
"Remember the scribbles are called a fuinjutsu formula."
"fuinjutsu formula."replied Naruto.
"Good and where is the kunai?"asked the Sandaime.
"Its in the fuinjutsu thingy."said Naruto.
"the fuinjutsu formula."corrected the Sandaime. "And when I sealed the kunai in the formula did the paper become a kunai? Or did the formula become a kunai?"
"No, the kunai is in the fuinjutsu formula." said Naruto.
"Exactly, its the same with you Naruto, you are not the Kyuubi no kitsune. Your body was used as a canvas for a fuinjutsu formula where the beast is sealed into." said the Sandaime.
"Is it really that simple?"asked Naruto.
"Yes and no, while the fundamentals of it is straight forward, that seal is very powerful and very arcane, even my student Jiraiya does not know the full mechanics of that seal yet - and he is a fuinjutsu master - but the facts remain, you are not the Kyuubi, you are the gatekeeper, you keep the beast at bay protecting the village from harm. You are a hero."
Naruto started to tear up. "Thank you Hokage-Ojisama."
The Sandaime raised an eyebrow at Naruto's small show of respect towards him. "No problem Naruto, now we must move on to that Jutsu that you learned."
"Kage Bunshin?"asked Naruto.
"Yes Ninpou:Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Shadow clone Jutsu) and its variation Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu(Ninja Art: Multiple shadow clone Jutsu.)"said the Sandaime. "The reason that you were able to use that Jutsu and not the academy clone Jutsu is because you have copious amounts of chakra, a little more than I had during my prime years of being a shinobi."
"Wow!"exclaimed Naruto. "I'm awesome."
The Sandaime chuckled. "That you are, however as a default of that you have absolutely horrendous control." a rain cloud suddenly appeared over Naruto's head. "Now onto why the Kage Bunshin is a kinjutsu, the first is because it requires at least high c-rank chakra, and even then it will be difficult to sustain the clone, and when it is struck you will be severely weakened, naturally this does not apply to you. The second reason that it is a kinjutsu is because when a clone is dispelled its consciousness is transferred to the user, if too many clones dispel at once it could cause major brain damage."
Naruto gave him a blank look. "Consciousness?"
"Yes the Kage Bunshin was created by my sensei the Nidaime Hokage of Konoha, Tobriama Senju. He invented this technique to be the ultimate spying tool. When the clone dispels it transfers the consciousness or the memories and experience of the clone to the user. That way the original will see and feel everything that his clones do." explained the Sandaime, his professor persona taking over.
"So, I could train with this Jutsu! And become super strong super quick!"exclaimed Naruto.
"No! Naruto if you use this technique to train you must limit the clones that you use for training to a maximum of twenty. It could cause severe brain damage, furthermore I want you to sort through the memories of the clone you dispel before you dispel the rest. You also need to make sure that whatever you are training in, be it Genjutsu, Ninjutsu or Taijutsu form or general school studies, make sure that you choose one exercise or topic and focus on that. Do not, I repeat do not study multiple things at once in hopes of learning faster. It could even send you into a coma." he gained a nod of fearful understanding from Naruto, before he continued. "and lastly you cannot use clones to train physically, it is a chakra construct and thus cannot transfer physical training, only exercises that contain muscle memory as that is a mental aspect."
"Whoa!"exclaimed Naruto. "That's a lot to remember."
"You just forgot everything didn't you?" said the Sandaime.
"Not everything. I remember that I can use the Kage Bunshin(Shadow Clone) to train, I have horrible chakra control and the Kage Bunshin(Shadow Clone) will hurt me if I use too many."
"Well that is the basics of it I suppose."sighed the Sandaime.
"You are lucky that I wrote this all down on a scroll, so that you can study it at home. It has a blood seal, so every time you open it, you will need to place some blood on the scroll for it to open."said the Sandaime.
"Thanks Hokage-ojisan." said Naruto.
'And we're back.' sighed the Sandaime.
"Hey Hokage-ojisan, how come the clone Jutsu didn't hurt when I fought Mizuki last night or give me memories?"asked Naruto.
"Because you were all seeing the same thing - at different angles mind you - and so your mind put it on a the back-burner, and when you went to sleep last night it was likely processed. But nothing fatal happened because of your incredible healing factor, partly because of the fox and partly because of your genes. Additionally you weren't consciously aware of the techniques side-effects and so it wasn't on the forefront of your mind when your clones dispelled." said the Hokage.
"Okay, I think I'm gonna go home and get some rest I'm still tired from last night."yawned Naruto.
"Very well, but before you go I want you to promise me something."said the Hokage.
"What is it Hokage-ojisan?"
"I want you to promise to me to stop pranking."said the Sandaime.
"To never prank again?" he asked wide-eyed.
"Look Naruto, Iruka has acknowledged you, and so have I. You don't need to keep throwing these stunts but I suppose you can still use your pranking mindset in fights."said the Sandaime.
"Huh?"
"What I mean is, that sneaky and creative side of you that assists you in creating and completing all your pranks - nobody even finds out until the pranks are done - I want you to use that side of you in fights, missions, tactics and planning. If you can do that, then I'm sure you can become a great shinobi."explained the Hokage.
"Hm, fine I promise that I'll never prank anyone again unless I'm fighting."swore Naruto.
"Good, just know that it will help you in the long run. You have to study and train very hard this year. So you will have no time to prank anyway."said the Sandaime.
"Hai, hai."sighed Naruto before leaving the Hokage residence.
"Hah! Take that Asuma-kun, Kakashi-kun! Your Icha-Icha limited edition is mine! Mine I say! Who said I couldn't get Naruto to stop pranking! I am the Hokage never doubt me."The Hokage stood up giving the empty air a fist-bump. And then his legs brushed against a rope that tied his legs together, and then released a bucket of orange paint on his head, the paint covered his elegant white and red robes, as well as his sitting area. "Naruto! You promised!"
A/N : So I may of drifted passed the discussion with Umino Iruka, I just felt that it would not cause a great enough change, so now I have Naruto learn about the Kyuubi a year early, the shadow clone Jutsu a year early, as well as the mechanics of the shadow clone Jutsu something like three years early. That's big enough of a change to really give Naruto a chance at not relying on luck. I mean everything he has ever achieved has been by luck, when he was kid that was fine, but when he had a three year training trip with one of the Sannin no less and to only get by with luck is ludicrous.
Tell me what you think, and yes I know that this is basically the Manga written to paper, but I did warn you. It wont remain that way.
I'll also be taking suggestions for team placements and sensei's since its unlikely for Naruto to be placed in team seven because he isn't going to be dead-last and this isn't a spoiler because if I made him become dead-last after learning the shadow clone Jutsu, promising to be better and learning the mechanics of the shadow clone Jutsu, then that would be completely and utterly stupid.
Okay give me suggestion for pairing and I'll consider them. I'm leaning towards one that are around his age group so no older women. However under no circumstances will I be including Sakura and Hinata in this Fanfiction as a possible pairing for Naruto. So the available ones will be Ino, Tenten, Temari, Samui, Karui, Karin, Kurotsuchi, Yugito(younger) Haku(female)Kin Tsuchi, Tayuya. If there are any other girls in his age group you are free to suggest them.
The same for his elemental affinity, I'm leaning towards fire or earth maybe both with either of the two being minor and the other being the primary affinity. Also some suggestions on a few specialities will be welcome, I have his first to shinobi branches, but a few more may be just what the doctor ordered.