Naruto Uzumaki was known to be sneaky, so much so that he was rarely caught, though it can be said that people usually weren't shinobi or were just Chunin, though even for the times he was caught, it usually took quite a while for the ANBU or Jonin to do so. That ability didn't go unnoticed even if he did. There had been many attempts to draft him into ANBU or to put him under Danzo's wing and all attempts had been Vetoed by the Hokage under the pretext, 'I want him to live as normal a life as possible, especially during his childhood'. Knowing this, you would think that they would have given up. They eventually would as they were threatened with treason if they tried any further.
It also made Naruto able to sneak into places that he shouldn't really be in, like when he found out who his parents were when he snuck into the hospital to find his medical records when he was 9, these contained his relations (known) and any injuries or diseases that he had had. When these were later found in his apartment, he was due an explanation. That was an interesting Saturday.
*Flashback*
"So then, Naruto, I think I owe you an apology for keeping your heritage from you, don't. I?", the Sandaime sat behind his desk blowing on his pipe like he always had, though his expression was one of regret rather than the stoic facade or small smile he usually had.
Naruto was unable to say anything to the old man, he had been quiet since the discovery and so, simply nodded.
"I had reasons to keep your heritage hidden from not only you but also people who are too blind to work it out. Most of them involved the fact that your father had many enemies, as did your mother for that matter, one in particular was the entire village of Iwa, do you know why this is?".
Naruto shook his head, all he knew about the Third Shinobi War was that Konoha and Suna had managed to defeat Iwa and Kumo.
"Of course, they haven't taught you of any truly violent events yet, my mistake, but still, during the last years of the war, Iwa was becoming desperate, so they set up a hidden supply route that went over the Kanabi Bridge in Kusa no Kuni, normally, using such supply routes were a bad option as they could easily be destroyed and when we found out about it, we sent your father and his team to do so. Iwa anticipated such an attack and heavily defended it, having an entire battalion stationed there, during the mission, Minato lost one of his students and another one fell slightly further into depression than he was already in. Can you tell where this is going? I think you can, your father didn't get angry easily but the loss of Obito sent him into a flurry in which he used his famed Hiraishin to slaughter that entire battalion, all that could be seen before the Iwa shinobis imminent death was a yellow flash. That is were your father got his nickname."
All through the story, Naruto had a wide-eyed expression, he never thought that his father was that cool but it also made him a bit curious to his father's students, who were they? Were any of them still alive? He at least had a name he could start his search with. But the Old Man hadn't finished yet.
"If Iwa ever found that Minato had a child, they would go and murder that child, international relations be damned. Your mother had her enemies too, mostly with Kumo since they tried to kidnap her. There is also those people who never had a vendetta against your parents but would love to use you as some kind of experiment or breeding slave".
"Uh, what about my father's team?", Naruto posed this question to the Sandaime, who made a face that just spoke 'I'm glad you asked'.
"Your father's team consisted of Kakashi Hatake, Rin Nohara and Obito Uchiha. Kakashi is the only one still alive, the other two dying during the war, during that time Kakashi was basically like young Sasuke is, an uptight jerk with a superiority complex but he was a prodigy, after Obito died, he started to change, he developed Obito's and became protective of Rin. Speaking of whom, Rin was a kind-hearted girl who was skilled at medical ninjutsu and was infatuated with Kakashi, her death is something I'd rather not talk about, especially not behind Kakashi's back, same goes for Obito's death. Obito was different to most Uchiha, he was kind, he had a tendency to help anyone who needed help and his opinions were very different to Kakashi's."
"Can I go now?".
"One last thing, don't tell anybody. You may leave."
*Flashback End*
Naruto never told anyone about his heritage and if he ever got asked about it, he would just swerve around and say he didn't know.
Naruto could not be described as perfect, he was very far from it, he was the joint lowest rates person in his class alongside Shikamaru Nara, who was probably too lazy to do any more than he needed to, so it could be said that he was genuinely terrible at what he did, something that was later blamed on the isolation tactics the general populace would use, the Academy teachers sabotaging his chances and his constant pranking.
He couldn't get the Bunshin down, though he didn't know why, which was a bad thing was it was one of the three hours needed to pass the Graduation Exam. The date crept up on him like one of the people that had tried to murder him when he was younger and when the time came, he couldn't manage it and was forced to stay down in the lower year.
After the exam, the boy sulked, sitting solemnly on top of a building in western Konoha when Mizuki, Iruka's assistant made him an offer Naruto's gullible and childish mind couldn't refuse, "Naruto, steal the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing and bring it to the old hut in the Northern Forest and you'll be drafted into a special division of the Shinobi".
Of he really wasn't going to do so, that was a ruse to get Naruto to agree to the plan, Naruto agreed for another reason, he knew that he could get some interesting Jutsu from the scroll and knew if he hid for a while and looked at it, Mizuki wouldn't be able to find him as he wouldn't have the skill to.
And so the plan was a go, both people going to do their agreed tasks. Naruto snuck into the library that only the Hokage and a select few were actually allowed to go and grabbed the scroll, fleeing from the scene and into the woods. He hid himself inside a small cavern that he had accidentally found when running from one of the drunken hate mobs that would try and catch him so they could beat the shit out him, still had plenty of time so he started reading.
The different types of Jutsu were astounding, one that instantly caught his eye was one called Kage Bunshin and unlike the regular variant he found this one easy. He then saw a plan, "Hey clone, start copying down as many of these Jutsu as possible while I try and get these scrolls out of these seals".
Indeed there was seals that contained scrolls, according to the text, at least. He could only get one out and the clone coionly copy three before they decided it was best to go and meet up with Mizuki at the old hut, he hid the scroll he got from the seal in his jumpsuit and set off.
Once he got there, he found that Mizuki was squaring off against Iruka, "What are you doing Mizuki?, what are you trying to do?".
Naruto could sense that he was betrayed and he would not be going to some special division, he would be going to jail or worse, the afterlife, whether it was heaven, hell, limbo, purgatory or some other place your spirit would go, that did matter. He didn't want to die there, so he had to get the jump on Mizuki and explain his side of the story to Iruka and later the Hokage.
"Wouldn't you like to know Iruka, that's simple ,I'm try-", Mizuki was abruptly cut off by a slam into the back of his head before drifting into blackness and unconsciousness.
To Iruka's eyes the event by quickly, seeing Naruto jump out if the trees, soaring through the aitr before depositing his knee into the back of Mizuki's cranium but there lay a couple of questions for the Chunin, "Naruto, what are you doing here? Why do you have the Forbidden Scroll of Sealing on your back?".
Naruto grinned and explained how Mizuki had decieved him and how he saw the confrontation between Mizuki and Iruka. All the while his Cheshire Cat grin shone out brightly, however he left out the bit where took something from the scroll and learned a few of the Jutsu on it or at least tried to.
"I see, Naruto, I have decided to grant you a field promotion on the grounds that you prevented a traitor of Konoha from carrying out his deed and the fact that you singlehandedly took out a Chunin, congratulations, you are now a Genin".
Naruto's grin somehow got wider and brighter showing off that he was happy with this, though now his mind was in a much more interesting state, in his mind he was hyper as all hell.
It was at that point that ANBU arrived, they heard the declaration that Iruka made and had determined that Naruto Uzumaki was decieved by the man that was now lying out cold on the floor and could not be held responsible for his actions in stealing the scroll. They politely took the scroll off of Naruto, the ANBU that had the scroll left first while, others got the story out of Naruto by only so much as asking for it and then escorted both Iruka and Naruto to the Hokage Tower. A couple stayed behind to collect Mizuki.
"Please wait out here while we inform Hokage-sama of what happened, it won't take long", the one with the eagle mask said in a monotone and utterly emotionless voice.
Outside the office they could hear mutterings and the eagle mask left the office, "Hokage-sama will see you now".
Iruka and Naruto entered the room and stood in front of the Sandaime who had a small smile on his face, "So Naruto, Iruka decided to give you a promotion?".
"Yeah, Iruka-sensei said that I could become a Genin due to beating Mizuki".
"Good, from what I heard in the report from the ANBU, I am inclined to agree with this promotion, so let's make it official shall we?", it was at that point in which an ANBU arrived carrying something in their hand, which they gave to the Hokage.
It was a Hitai-Ate, "Naruto Uzumaki, on the terms that you have prevented an event from happening that would compromise our village's safety, I hereby award you a field promotion to the rank of Genin", the Hokage then picked up the Hitai-Ate and gave it to Naruto.
Naruto gleefully took it and placed it round his forehead, "Genin Naruto Uzumaki, congratulations but can you please leave now and go and celebrate where you usually celebrate, I'll pay the tab this time but I can only do that after you give me the bill, please remember to do so".
Naruto nodded and ran out the door without a moment's hesitation, "Iruka, go and join him, you and him both deserve it".
"Of course, Hokage-sama", and with that Iruka also left to join Naruto at the Ichiraku Ramen stand.
The next couple of days were fairly boring apart from a mishap with the Sandaime's grandson which left the boy an admirer of Naruto, which Naruto didn't really understand.
The day after that was the day they were due to be assigned to teams. Naruto hoped that he could get teammates that he could tolerate, so they could have good teamwork and even if he didn't then he would try and get to know them enough that they could work together without major arguments.
He arrived earlier than he usually would and sat down on the middle throw of desks, on the inner side if the one that was just beside the window, he wasn't the first person there though as the utter prick Sasuke Uchiha, the quiet girl Hinata Hyuga and several civilian children had made it there before he had.
After he arrived people started flooding in including Shikamaru who was the only one to question Naruto as why he was there, Naruto responded by saying, "What do you think the thing wrapped around my head is, c'mon Shikamaru, I thought you were smarter than this".
Shikamaru shook off the jab at his intelligence, shrugged and walked off to his seat. Then the banshees came and demanded that Naruto move so that at least one of them could sit next to their precious Sasuke-kun. Naruto refused to do so, simply saying, "No", in response to their demands. This made one fangirl in particular named Sakura Haruno get very angry and very violent, Naruto, seeing an opportunity to be sneaky, said, "This is threatening a fellow Konoha shinobi and peer pressure, both of which are greatly discouraged by the Hokage".
Sakura reeled in her swing and he rest of the fangirls dissipated to other parts of the classroom, though Sakura didn't move from where she was standing, "You seriously want that seat so much, huh? All you needed to do was ask and not barge in and say 'Move or I'll batter you'".
Sakura was visibly shaking, clearly angry with the boy in front of her, almost literally swallowing her pride, she relented, "Naruto, can I have that seat next you?".
To Naruto, it looked like she used all sorts of emotions to get through the question, "Sure but you can just squeeze past, you are thin enough".
Sakura wasn't just shaking but twitching but did so knowing that it probably wouldn't end well for her if she didn't and sat down next to the brooding emo who was looking at this exchange with a vague curiosity. So was the rest of the class mind you. As soon as Sakura sat down, she stopped shaking and twitching.
It was at this point that Iruka decided to make his arriva, "Alright everyone, please sit down, right let's get down to business, Team 1-", Iruka started reading off the teams, which at that point were, all just, civilian in their entirety, "Team 7 consists of Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno and Sasuke Uchiha", Naruto groaned and facedesked, grabbing everyone's attention for a brief moment, "Team 8 consists of Kiba Inuzuka, Shinobi Aburame and Hinata Hyuga, Team 9 is still active, Team 10 consists of Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka and Choji Akimichi. Those are all the teams, now please wait for your Jonin sensei to arrive".
Iruka then left the room and people just sat around, waiting like Iruka instructed them to. One by one, the sensei for the other teams arrived and took them away to someplace. 2 hours had passed since Iruka had left the room and the dysfunctional trio sat in the classroom, waiting for whomever to show their face and Naruto decided that they deserved some kind of punishment for being so late. "What are you doing, idiot?", Sakura asked in a coarse manner.
"Laying a trap", Naruto had put pepper in the duster for the blackboard and then put the duster between the door and the frame.
"That won't work on a Jonin", Sasuke rather pointedly remarked.
"We shall see Uchiha, we shall see".
Naruto then went back to the desks as if he had always been there and waited, it was another couple of minutes until a hand appeared at the door and a head poked out. The duster fell and clonked the person on the head and they started sneezing.
"I will be honest, I did not expect the pepper, anyway, my first impression of you three is, your all meh", the man had gravity defying silver hair, a mask that went up past his nose, his Hitai-Ate was placed over his left eye and he was wearing the standard Jonin gear, "My name is Kakashi Hatake and you have five minutes to meet me on the roof", he then used Shunshin
Naruto had just met the only surviving member of his father's Genin team and was slightly underwhelmed. Despite this he walked out of the classroom and up the stairs, just behind his teammates that wanted nothing to do with him.
Getting up to the roof just in time, the 3 Genin sat themselves down in front of Kakashi, "Alright then, tell me about yourselves, your dreams, your likes, that sort of thing".
Naruto went first, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like ramen, gardening and other things that I find interesting, I don't like arrogant assholes, loud banshees or the time that it takes for instant ramen to boil and my dream is, well, do I really need to say that, everyone knows what it is I've said enough times".
"True, Moody you go next".
Sasuke scowled but complied, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha, there are few things I like and even more I dislike, my ambition is to kill a certain man".
"I see, lastly, you go Pinky".
Sakura looked more peeved about her nickname than Sasuke did but complied as well, "I'm Sakura Haruno, I like *giggle*, I dream to *giggle* and I dislike Naruto".
"The feeling is mutual".
"I see now then you may have escaped the frying pan but you are in the fire now as you still aren't quite fully fledged shinobi yet, you still need to pass one more test, a survival test, meet me at Training Ground 7 at 5 tomorrow and I do not recommend having breakfast as you may throw up", with that Kakashi left.
A cold child breezed over the rooftop, as the 3 members of Team 7 got the feeling that tomorrow wasn't going to be good.
So that was the first chapter of a new project, how'd you like it? Seriously though, was it any good? I need to now these things. In other news I may be getting rid of every other story I have including Memories, yeah, that wasn't going anywhere. You are perfectly open to adopt them, of course.
Anyway, if you liked this and would like to see more, review, follow and/or favourite.
This was your friend, DaPika, signing off