Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

As Naruto stared down at the dirt at his feet, he felt a variety of emotions at the fact that he, yet again, had failed to pass the Konoha Ninja Academy's graduation test, for the third time. No one that ever failed three times ever became a ninja.

Twirling his foot around in the dirt solemnly, Naruto couldn't help but feel jealous of his classmates. They all had families and parents to help them train, and to go home to. Naruto had no one, he never had anyone.

Naruto's mind began to wander, and he reflected back on his moment of anger when he had failed to pass the graduation test.

***Flashback***

Iruka looked helplessly at Naruto, "I'm so sorry Naruto, but your performance is just so low that I can't even pass you. I'm sorry Naruto, you fail."

Naruto looked up at Iruka with tears in his eyes, 'I failed again, I always fail.'

For a brief second, Naruto's sorrow turned into rage, and in a flash, he was running out of the examination room, back into the classroom, to have Iruka and Mizuki chase after him.

Turning to face his sensei, Naruto screamed in front of the whole class, "For years Iruka-sensei, I waited and waited hoping that I would get a sensei who would really help me, and actually train me! All of my other sensei at the academy ignored me, or taught me wrong things, or sent me out of class all the time so that I couldn't learn anything! But you were different to me! You let me stay in class, you listened when I had questions, and yet even when I try harder than every single person in this room to pass the DAMN test, you still never helped me figure out WHY I can't do it! Everyone else has a family to go home to, to help them, and I go home to an empty apartment every day, knowing that I NEVER get any help to learn! You criticize me and tell me that I need to try harder in class! I stopped skipping class over half a year ago, I devoted all of my time to passing this test! I try SO hard to be a ninja Iruka-sensei, and yet NO ONE ever helps me!"

After his tirade, Naruto left the room in tears, but Iruka got up to chase after him almost as soon as he got out of the room. Mizuki was left in the room to try to retain order in the classroom. Most of the girls in the class were reduced to tears at Naruto's speech, most of them never gave any thought to what the bright and cheery knucklehead went through, most of them didn't even know he was an orphan.

While everyone in the room was impacted by Naruto's speech, there was one who was impacted much more than anyone else in the room was, Sasuke Uchiha. 'Naruto is an orphan like me? He goes home to an empty house, the same way that I do.'

It would be 20 minutes before Iruka returned to class, quickly telling Mizuki that he had not been able to find any sign of Naruto. Mizuki chuckled lightly to try and raise Iruka's mood, "Maybe escaping ANBU after his pranks gave Naruto more skills in stealth than we realized."

This set something off in Iruka's head that would bother him as he pondered what exactly Naruto had meant by the fact that he spent almost all of his time trying to pass the exam, yet he couldn't do a henge or Bunshin. And how exactly, was an academy student able to evade ANBU pursuit for hours inside of Konoha?

***Back to Naruto***

Naruto kicked aimlessly at the dirt while he thought about how entirely mad he was in that one moment, it was as if every fiber of his being just wanted to lash out at someone or something. Naruto sat kicking aimlessly for over an hour, before someone came up to him.

"Hey Naruto." The voice startled Naruto, and as he looked up quickly, he recognized Sasuke was standing in front of him, and talking to him. Confused, Naruto replied, "Umm hi Sasuke. Ugh, I'm sorry about the whole episode I had in front of the class, I was just so… so…" Naruto looked around as he tried to think of the word to describe how he felt.

"Angry."

Naruto glanced questioningly at Sasuke for a second, "Yeah, really angry. Iruka-sensei pretends to care about me, but he never really helped me any, he never actually did anything."

Sasuke was silent for a second, "Is it true that you don't have any one to go home to?"

Naruto was really getting confused, Sasuke never talked to anyone, let alone him, "Yeah, my parents died in the Kyuubi Attack, so I have lived alone ever since the orphanage kicked me out."

Sasuke was quiet again, before inquiring, "Why do you pretend to be such an idiot Naruto? You wear that orange jumpsuit, and you pretend to have no cares in the world, but ever since…"

Sasuke stopped talking for a second, and coughed kind of awkwardly, "Never mind, I will see you around Naruto." Just like that Sasuke was gone, leaving Naruto to wonder what exactly it was that had gotten into Sasuke, while he wondered to himself, how Sasuke had seen through his mask.

With nothing else to do, Naruto left to go home, and in a few minutes he had walked inside his apartment and tore out of his clothes before laying down to try and sleep. With nothing else to do for the day, even though it was really early, Naruto just felt exhausted.

'Why do I wear my mask?' Naruto had never really acknowledged the fact that he really did wear a mask around other people. That mask, the happy go lucky Naruto who just wanted to get attention, was that who he was? Or was that who he wanted to be? And if that WAS who he wanted to be, why be that person? All that being happy and go lucky had gotten him was a lot of negative attention.

As Naruto lay drifting off to sleep, he had a thought, 'What if I just try being who I should be? Do I even want to be Hokage?' Naruto got up out of his bed, glancing at his alarm clock to see that nearly three hours had gone by while all he could do was think, sleep was not going to come tonight.

Wanting to get out for fresh air, Naruto headed to the roof, to lay down and look at the stars that were now up in the sky. Finding a comfortable position, Naruto lay down to look at the stars and think.

'I failed the academy exam for the third time, and no one has ever passed after a third failure. Maybe I should give up on being a ninja, if I couldn't even learn the most basic things, how could I ever hope to be a ninja?'

***Iruka***

After the examinations were over with, and everyone but Naruto had passed, Iruka took the results to the Hokage's office. This could have easily have been done by someone else, but Iruka had specific reasons for taking them himself.

He was let in the office by the Hokage's secretary, and with a respectful bow, he began the standard overview of the results. "Students will be listed in order of performance, Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akamichi, Kiba Inuzuka, Shikamaru Nara…"

After finishing listing the 26 people who passed, Iruka looked up to see Hiruzen staring at him intensely. "So Naruto failed again did he?" Hiruzen took a deep draft off of his pipe to try and relax his nerves a little.

Iruka gulped, "Yes, and that is mostly why I came myself, to try and talk to you about Naruto. His scores are horrible, yet his effort is up there with Sasuke, or Sakura maybe. How is it that someone who can't even perform Henge or Bunshin can create his own PHYSICAL Henge, and have high enough stealth skills to evade ANBU for hours after his pranks?"

Iruka stopped for a second to drop the folder about the graduates on the Hokage's desk, "I just don't even understand it Hokage-sama. Naruto told me that his education in the academy had also been sabotaged? That his previous sensei had refused to teach Naruto, or taught him wrong info?"

Hiruzen sighed, "Yes that is true, many still harbor harsh feelings towards Naruto due to the Kyuubi he holds within himself. And because of the Kyuubi, Naruto has exceptionably large chakra coils that could very likely equal my own, Iruka. For that reason, Naruto's chakra control is so terrible that he can't perform even the most basic techniques."

Iruka passed back and forth before the Hokage, "So why has Naruto not received special training? With such raw power, if you could train his control, he could be a god-like shinobi from brute power alone. And the amazing stealth skills he has developed are very worthy of note. Today Naruto simply vanished from my sight in a matter of seconds, and I was unable to find him, wearing a bright orange jumpsuit even."

Hiruzen rubbed his temple, "The council deems him unworthy of special training, and as such he cannot receive special treatment, like in the case of Rock Lee, where Maito Gai personally sponsored the boy, after showcasing that while Lee could not traditionally pass the academy, this was over looked due to his raw taijutsu prowess, and his dedication."

Iruka was baffled, "But sir, Naruto's stealth skills alone are worthy of such treatment, not to mention the fact that he has such raw power, that he could supposedly match you, Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen nodded, "Be that as it may Iruka, a jounin would have to personally sponsor for him to receive training. No one has been willing to do so for Naruto."

Iruka seemed deflated for a second, before he responded, "If he is currently in the village Hokage-sama, could you have Kage brought here? I have a favor to cash in with him, that I think I feel like cashing in right now."

Hiruzen smiled at Iruka, 'Now that was unexpected, but it could work. While discouraged, apprenticeships are still allowed, and if I could get Naruto apprenticed, then Iruka may have just found the only way for Naruto to still become a shinobi.'

Within ten minutes, Kage was standing before Hiruzen, standing beside Iruka. "ANBU Kage reporting for duty Hokage-sama."

Hiruzen waved his hand, "Take off your mask Daizen."

The newly identified Daizen seemed taken aback, "Sir? Am I being punished?" The Hokage had not seen Daizen's face, nor called him by that name since he had put on the ANBU mask nearly four years ago, because Daizen had joined ANBU as soon as he turned 18, right when he became a jounin.

Slowly, Daizen pulled off his mask and set it down on the Hokage's desk.

"Do not worry Daizen, you are not being punished for anything, in fact, I have a favor to ask of you."

"Anything that you wish of me, Hokage-sama." Daizen spoke without any hesitation, if the Hokage had a request, he would fulfill that request.

"I want you to sponsor the training of Naruto Uzumaki, and be his personal sensei. Due to certain conditions, Naruto cannot pass the academy conventionally, but I do want him to become a ninja, so I would like for you to take over his training. For all of the time until Naruto becomes a chuunin, I want you to train him. You will be temporarily suspended from ANBU, but I assure you it is not permanent. I want you to train Naruto to hone the stealth skills that he has demonstrated, and to train his chakra control until he has the control that would be deemed acceptable for a chuunin."

Daizen nodded, "Yes Hokage-sama, I will do as you wish. I have heard of the Uzumaki boy's stealth skills from the griping of other ANBU, due to their inability to track him down."

Hiruzen nodded, "However, you are the resident stealth expert in Konoha, and as such I am assigning you to this task. Tomorrow morning I want you, and you too Iruka, to meet here at 9 AM so that we can go as a group to speak to Naruto."

Iruka smiled widely, 'I am sorry I failed your training in the academy Naruto, I hope that this makes it up to you.'

Author's Note: I know, I KNOW! Another new story when I have only just gotten back to writing Fan Fiction! I can't help it, I had over a year where I made myself give up writing Fan Fiction to focus on my own original work, and I have been itching to get this down and post it, and see what you guys think of it.