Chapter One: The Unbeatable Test
Umino Iruka arrived at the top of the Hokage mansion, various ANBU and Jonin swarming around the Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Who was looking up with an amused smile studying the Hokage Monument. It was covered in paint. Near the Yondaime's cheek twelve year old Uzumaki Naruto worked with a paint bottle in his hand, tied to a rope, completely ignoring the congregation forming at the base of the cliff.
"Sandaime-sama, I apologise for this," Iruka said striding up to the Hokage, bowing deeply.
"Oh, Iruka," the Sandaime was faintly amused, "he's been up there for hours. I think he's excited about graduating, says he's found a sure way to do the Bunshin no Jutsu."
The Hokage snorted, taking an idle sip from the coffee in his hand, looking at Naruto in amusement, "you'd better get him down so he's not late."
Iruka grumbled, apologizing again; as he took a foot to the roof rails, "What the hell are you doing during class time?" he yelled, "Get down here you moron!"
Naruto, deeply absorbed in his prank, panicked. Warbling about on the rope tied around his waist, the boy took one look down at the crowd surrounding the Hokage before abandoning his work. Jumping from his rope, onto the nose of the Yondaime, down to the rooftop's, pelting away from the stone monument, and Iruka, at top speed.
The chase was short, Iruka didn't humour him like when his ANBU Guard chased him, and didn't give him tips for next time either. Naruto wanted to be taught stuff, like the weird white haired old Ero-Jiji that got him interested in Fuinjutsu. Iruka simply didn't care a lick about him, he saw no need to indulge Naruto in exploring his growing Shinobi arsenal through the only outlet that wasn't stunted by hatred. Instead for the past year Naruto's favourite part of pranking, the chase, had been decidedly absent with Iruka-sensei's presence.
Eventually Naruto was caught on the roof of a General Store when Iruka tied him up in ropes to drag back to the classroom. A depressingly uncomfortable place for the Uzumaki. Filled with Clan Heir's and Heiresses of Konoha the Konoha Council had blotted out the Uzumaki Clan from their History Lessons. The failure of the last Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Yoko, his mother, made most of the village hate him, extending as far as his Academy Instructor's.
Planted at the front of the class tied up like some kind of prize bull, the larger part of Naruto's peer's not so secretly laughing at him. The Uzumaki Clan had fallen out of favour, reduced to a few surviving members in Konoha. Konoha was more at love with the oldest remaining Uchiha loyal to the Village Hidden in the Leaves, Uchiha Sasuke. In front of the entire class of an entire class of Clan Heir's and Heiresses Naruto felt perfectly dignified for glaring at them all, petulantly from his place.
"Go to your seat Naruto."
Iruka let out a tired sigh, a gesture Naruto saw a lot in the Academy teacher, noone really wanted to be responsible for him. Naruto knew Iruka was caught up in a battle between his hatred and his responsibilities, the young Uzumaki didn't feel it right ferreting his way into Iruka's good graces. Partly because Naruto was afraid which way Iruka's mind would accidently swing if he did. A lot of people justifiably hated the Uzumaki Clan in Konoha; for thousands of years his Clan guarded the Kyuubi no Yoko, containing the demonic aberration of man's hatred. It's escape twelve years ago when the Seal weakened during his birth was a catastrophe.
Naruto moved from the front of the classroom, ignoring the whispers around the room, he would become the Hokage. He would redeem the Uzumaki Clan with the Village as his witness. Taking his usual seat in the back row, on the other side of Akimichi Choji and Nara Shikamaru, Naruto settled down for the last lecture before the Graduation exam's today.
Shikamaru, the lazy one, leaned closer, "Did you leave a going away present."
Iruka was droning on about the importance of continued study after graduation.
"Yeah, a big one on the Hokage Monument,"
Iruka's gaze was travelling from one end of the classroom to the other, he had moved on to the importance of the Graduation Exam. Reminding them in painful clarity of his expectations of the class.
"I made sure the Sandaime had a nice big set of reading glasses for the Icha Icha book he was reading."
Choji snorted, but quickly jumped to apologetic, glaring at him.
"You shouldn't play pranks Naruto, it really irritates Iruka-sensei."
"Pff, I could care less about Big-Head-Sensei, besides its harmless –" but a loud, angry voice interrupted him.
"Well then you won't mind staying for detention as well as cleaning it off for your Big! Head! Sensei!"
Iruka had steam blowing out of his ears now, in short, irritated puffs the billows up like devil's horns. The rest of the class was either, laughing, snickering, or glaring at him, like in Sakura's case.
"Iruka-sensei –"
"You can clean it right after exams finish…" Iruka continued, "It can be your celebration for passing."
"Iruka-sensei, I have other things to do afterwards!" Naruto shouted, waving his arms frantically in protest.
"And yet you're going to find the time in your busy schedule to clean all that paint off for me, and then you're going to write 'I will not be an idiotic little moron and disprespect the Shodaime, Nidaime, Sandaime and Yondaime ever again.' Aren't you Naruto?"
"But that's so long,"
"Fifty more times!" Iruka sniped.
"Yes, Sensei,"
Naruto's head hit the desk, sulking against it with a dull thud.
"Now we can finally begin the exam," Iruka beamed with an abrupt, happier note, "the first will be a Written Skills, then Weapon Skills, followed by Taijutsu and Ninjutsu."
"Yes Iruka-sensei," the class parroted, as one well trained body.
Iruka handed out the test papers.
"I should warn some of you that just because you're sitting beside your best friend doesn't mean you should cheat from him," Iruka said as he handed out the final test, his Killing Intent in the air "I will catch you," he smiled, devastatingly serious, "and when I do, You'll wish you were scrubbing paint off the Hokage Monument before I'm done with you."
Two hours later, Naruto warbled out of the classroom for lunch. Around him Naruto could hear the distinct chatter about the tests, it unnerved him, because he knew he wasn't going to ace the written portion. Talking about it just made him more nervous about how he went. Almost a quarter of the test was on the History of Konoha, one of the classes Naruto had dodged out of, since the Syllabus was mysteriously absent of the Uzumaki Clan, and refused to study a history of Konoha completely missing the Uzumaki. At least there was a lot of the knowledge was required for Fuinjutsu, Ero-jiji, who originally pointing him towards the subject, acted as a stand in instructor in the short periods he was visiting the village. So his head was suitably pumped with enough to survive off of selling his Seals creations. The rest of the test was a subject called Shinobi General Knowledge, luckily his ANBU guards had battered most of it into his head using numerous years of alternative learning.
The Weapon's test was proctored by Mizuki-sensei, who switched with Iruka for Iruka during middle period classes. The test was made to be competitive, and consisted of ever increasing difficulty targets.
Taijutsu was the second last portion of the exam, and was marked on technique, tactics and application; after every student would write a critique of him or herself. Giving a brief summary of the fight, and what tactics were employed and why. Naruto's match was to the later end of the order, against Sasuke, all of the class assumed it wasn't going to end well for Naruto.
What the class didn't know was that Ero-jiji's infrequent visits forced the prioritization to the extremely simple and extremely useful. Battering into his head a lot of broad concept knowledge, leaving for Naruto to explore and fill in the rest. According to Ero-jiji Taijutsu was a battle between technique, experience, and motivation that utilised the body and internal chakra control and manipulation.
In the dirt ring Naruto pounced first, lunging with an enhanced leap, hardening his fist with chakra. Sasuke blocked it easily, sweeping it aside with a shrug of his chakra hardened hand. It would become the rhythm of the match, Naruto aiming to make Sasuke work as much as possible, Taijutsu wasn't like Ninjutsu and Genjutsu, the chakra didn't leave the body and was only lost through exhaustion. Taking lunge after lunge at Sasuke, forcing him to move, retreat, dodge and counter attack; at the same time Naruto had to watch his flank, ever weary of dodging Sasuke's returning fist.
It dawdled on slowly as both their reserves of chakra decayed, it turned into a game of attrition with little to no technique when Sasuke began to lose. Naruto could take a hit better, as well as naturally harder, add on the fact that he really wanted to win and Naruto was willing to shrug off most of the punches and kicks.
It was when Naruto was beginning to really get a head over Sasuke, when the injuries and pains, the mental exhaustion of the fight started getting to the Uchiha that Mizuki-sensei broke them apart. Shoving them to different ends of the ring, when they got up, they were both sporting ugly purpling faces.
"For the final exam you will have to successfully produce the Henge, Kawarami and Bunshin no Jutsu."
The class were back inside the classroom, Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei normally took the third and final period together.
At the back of the classroom Naruto sat with a petulant look on his face that did not bode well for the Konoha marketplace. It was always the Bunshin, a basic genjutsu technique used to demonstrate chakra control and reserves for Genin level Shinobi. Along with the Henge no Jutsu they were the very basic of genjutsu techniques, Naruto thought the Bunshin was completely useless, obviously Sandaime disagreed, otherwise he would have given in to the many of Naruto's complaints.
"When you are called, come to the next room, Shino, your first."
Naruto, as an Uzumaki, was one of the particularly last names on the list, in mulling silence he watched his peers enter the examination room. Shino enter the test room first, Naruto drifted off to think about his plan for the Bunshin, and a little while later Hinata emerged from the room with a headband. Kiba was called, as well as Yakumo Kurama and Shikamaru. Finally it came round to the U's, the heartthrob of the village, Sasuke, entered the room. Appearing moments later with his headband.
A moment later, Mizuki came out, calling his name.
Naruto walked into the testing room, since Ero-jiji's last visit Naruto exhausted himself researching his Bunshin problem, eventually he came up with a plan to deal with it. Naruto wouldn't exactly say he had found a solution, but realising exactly why he was failing so badly at the Jutsu helped immensely.
The room was surprisingly sparse, with a single table, covered in scrolls for the Kawarimi. Iruka and Mizuki were standing against the far wall to the door, in one hand Iruka held a clipboard. They were both looking at him expectantly.
"Okay Naruto, first we'll do the Henge," said Iruka, "you're required to change into your instructor, not anything else or you'll get marked down."
"Yes Sensei," Naruto said, grasping his hands together, into a Tiger Seal.
In a rush of smoke that swept to the four corners of the room, Naruto changed, in his place another Iruka stood. Of the two Iruka's now in the room, one was coughing, spluttering in the smoke as he glared at the culprit. Naruto, the second Iruka, had a mark of concentration on his face. The Jutsu was still going on, still accumulating chakra, Naruto was pushing it all between the Genjutsu wall and his skin. When he dispelled the Henge all that chakra would be wasted, which was what he wanted.
Mizuki-sensei gave him a heated glare, in return of an infuriating smile; grinning like a fox as Iruka placed a single tick on his clipboard.
"Now for the kawarami," Iruka said oblivious to Mizuki.
Naruto dispelled the Genjutsu, another wave of steam pouring into the room's pores and out the windows.
"NARUTO!"
"Sorry Sensei," not feeling really sorry, "I just wanted to make sure I did it correctly. I guess I put too much chakra in."
Naruto smiled, sheepishly, scratching the back of his head.
Raising an eyebrow, Iruka scolded him with a look.
"You have that much chakra," he grumbled, "and you don't look very tired?"
"Hehe –"
"Just do the Kawarimi," sighed Iruka, massaging his eyes.
"Okay sensei," and with that, Naruto disappeared, a log replacing him.
Except it wasn't the log he was supposed to use. It was Sasuke's, Naruto was sure he wouldn't mind. Doing it was difficult, the log's were stored in scrolls, and attuned to the owner's chakra to cut down on an otherwise intensive Jutsu. Naruto had just brute forced his way past that, grabbed the log with his metaphorical fingers, and then used the Kawarimi no Jutsu with it.
Breaking the Sealing Scroll in the process.
Iruka would be suitably furious.
"NARUTO," he shouted, once again glaring at him, "do you really want to annoy the person in charge of making you a Shinobi."
"No Sensei," Naruto quipped, innocently as ever. Except he was an Uzumaki, and their long history of Kyuubi Jinchuuriki had bled into their smiles.
After a soft groan, Iruka murmured to himself as he ticked another box.
"Just do the Bunshin no Jutsu."
"Hai," and now Naruto was nervous.
His plan wasn't actually much of a plan, more a get as exhausted as possible before attempting a Bunshin no Jutsu. Labelled as a 'if everything else fails' option. So it was untested, and it was quite possible that he still fail spectacularly. But it was his only option. Since for the life of him Naruto couldn't figure out how to change the Jutsu tp more chakra intensive.
Grasping his hands into the Tiger Seal once again, Naruto grasped the smallest chunk of his chakra he could, and directed all his attention to it. His chakra had a naturally unstable element to it, a gift from his mother, and it was prone to jumping up and down in potency. It made it harder to control in small amounts. Yet Naruto still prised the chunk in his metaphorical fingers ripping the chakra in half, and then he did it again, discarding one part of the two halves each time. It was mildly dangerous to his health keeping tiny bubbles of chakra floating around inside him. But Naruto would get rid of them later, after the test, which was more important at the moment.
With a vibrant, loud ear cracking yell, Naruto shouted, "Bunshin no Jutsu."
It worked, sort of, many puffs of smoke later the room was filled with close to fifty abominations in varying states of decay.
Oops.
"Wha –" Iruka spluttered, "Naruto, this isn't –"
"Sorry Iruka-sensei," Naruto squirmed, horribly embarrassed, "I know I can do it, I just need to get my chakra into small enough pieces."
Naruto dispelled the Jutsu, smoke filling the room once more. With a rush, Naruto grabbed one of the other little chakra bubbles floating around inside him. Quickly, before Iruka could send him out of the classroom, he got his hands up in the tiger seal.
"Naruto –"
"Sensei, just let me try again" he said, splitting the chakra to even smaller degree's, "it's just the amount of chakra is so fucking small –"
Iruka gave him a measured look, "You've got too much chakra."
Mizuki grunted, he wanted the entire thing done with already, but couldn't rightly fail the kid, there were rules when students had too much chakra.
"Well," Iruka frowned, taking a hand to his chin in thought, "that was why you were wasting all that chakra on the Henge and Kawarimi?"
"I'm sorry sensei, all the other deviations of the Jutsu either need an Element or clan Jutsu," Naruto panicked, in a fast, hurried tone, squirming under Iruka's gaze.
"Yes," murmured Iruka in consideration, "The Uzumaki's never did have a plain Bunshin, they all seemed to…" Iruka blinked away from his thoughts, looking at him in a different light, "Naruto, do you think you could do try again. Except this time could you use this hand Seal."
Iruka took a cross-like hand sign, that looked like a two fingered attempt at a plus sign.
"Iruka we can't," Mizuki said, "The kid clearly doesn't –"
"The kid is clearly has too much chakra to use the basic Bunshin, you know anyone with Chunin level chakra has trouble with the Bunshin no Jutsu, and we're required to allow for alternative assessment if that is the case."
Iruka gave him a short glare.
"You know how Hokage-sama gets," Iruka said, "if he heard that we found out, and we didn't do anything… Naruto's got a huge amount of chakra, more than me, and I can make the Kage Bunshin."
"But –"
"He'd be stuck here at the academy for another year."
"Fine," Mizuki said shortly, "no skin off my back if he doesn't have the chakra."
Quickly, Iruka explained. That the theory for the Kage Bunshin was the same as the normal Bunshin. Only the invented Sign, the Cross Hand seal, impeded the chakra, and smashed it back into it's Spirit and Phsyical Energies.
"But only for a moment," Iruka explained, "the next, all the extra chakra's soaked up the two Energies. So the Bunshin forms, it's got a Yin chakra core and a Yang chakra shell."
Nodding, Naruto copied the hand Seal Iruka-sensei showed him, shouting the "Bunshin no Jutsu," as nervously, he put some of his chakra into the Jutsu, testing the Jutsu's constraints.
Out of nowhere, despite his exhaustion, five Bunshin's appeared in a huff of smoke. All of them perfectly created. With a yell all six of him jumped into the air, a "Yatta," on leaving their collective lips.
Even Iruka's lips twitched into a smile, "It's called the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he said, as Naruto dispelled his clones.
"I'll put you down in the variant section, which will get you extra marks, and I'll give back all those marks I took from trying to waste all that chakra."
Iruka smiled, "you'll have to practice it a bit, explore the jutsu, it's a bit different from the normal Bunshin. For a while you'll be getting feedback headaches."
"So I pass then," Naruto chirped, "because I can do a clone, technically I did a clone."
"Yes you pass Naruto," Iruka chuckled, amused, "You're now an official Genin of Konoha."
"Just you wait Iruka-sensei, it won't be a while until you're calling me Naruto-sama."
"Yes, Naruto-kun," Iruka sighed, exasperated, as Naruto left the room.
"God I pity the Jonin-sensei that gets him."