A/N: PLEASE READ THE UNDERLINED PORTION OF THE ENDNOTE A/N!

I know I know! I shouldn't be writing new stories but I can't stop from writing this one! Originally, this story started out different but I read a story that was discontinued so I'll be incorporating elements of some of that story in this one! Chapters WILL be 4-5k.

This story was inspired LOOSELY by a story called "But He's Just a Ramen Chef." By viperflamer. Basically, the only inspiration from his story was that Naruto quit a shinobi and is now involved in something else... like Ramen lol.

The pairing, at this point, is undecided. Will story deviate from Canon? Yes and no!

There are few changes in the story that you'll notice. If you don't get or miss them, then I'll explain at the end of the chapter!

Cover summary: At the age of nine, an extreme prodigy arose to show himself to those in the Elemental Nations. One smarter than a Nara, one faster than the famous Maito, one who's jutsu repertoire matched that of Kakashi of the Sharingan. By the age of ten, he turned his headband in.

"Speech"

'thought'

"Jutsu: in use"

'Kyuubi/Summon thought'

"Kyuubi/Summon speech"

Disclaimer: This is so stupid, I don't know who started this disclaimer... but damn it all to hell! I don't own anything and all rights in regards to the original story characters and image belongs to their respective owners.

To Rise Again

Chapter One: Fishcake

Three jounins stood in front of a particular busy restaurant.

'RAMEN IN THE HIDDEN BOWL'

One jounin chuckles amusingly, "The 'Ramen in The Hidden Bowl'?, he couldn't come up with a better name?" the jounin's companions said nothing as they smiled all the way through the door.

In the midst of said busy restaurant in the red light district of Konoha, chatter and wild laughing could be heard. The establishment was enjoyed by many jounins and ANBU members. This wasn't to say that no one was barred from coming, it was just that only most jounins and ANBU came here. Occasionally, a chunin may tag along with a group of jounins or maybe even a jounin and his team of genins, but those were rare occasions.

A young golden haired twelve year-old child wipes the sweat off the crease of his forehead that percolated due to the heat of the kitchen. His ears perks as the chiming bells signified yet another group of customers has walked into his restaurant.

A chorus of identical voices welcomed the newcomers.

"Irashaimase (Welcome)!"

Naruto briefly peeks his head out to identify the customers that came in and smiles.

"YOSH! NOTHING LIKE THE HIDDEN BOWL'S RAMEN AFTER AN 'A' RANKED MISSION!" the voice spoke even louder, "DON'T YOU AGREE MY YOUTHFUL RIVAL?!"

"Huh? Did you say something?"

Maito Gai crashed unto the floor before springing back up with renewed vigor, "CURSE THAT HIP ATTITUDE OF YOURS!"

"Ugh, can you guys shut up… anyone got a light?"

Naruto washed his hands quickly and stepped out of the kitchen to the counter top.

The first to greet him out of the group of the three jounins was a man in his late twenties with white hair shooting straight up. The only part visible on his face was his right eye. The other eye was covered by his tilted hitai-ate and a face mask covered the bottom portion of his face. He wore the standard ANBU attire with a gray flak jacket and three armored plates that covered his forearms on top of black pants with a kunai holster on his right leg.

"Yo Naruto-kun!" Kakashi said cheerfully without looking up from a particular orange book.

Next up to greet the young blonde was a man with a bowl style hair cut clad in a green spandex jumpsuit with eyebrows that could be mistaken as a forest. His attire consisted of the standard Konoha flak jacket with orange striped leg warmers. His hitai-ate was weaved around his waist as a belt.

"GREETINGS NARUTO-KUN!" Gai exclaimed while posing in his patented 'Nice Guy' pose

Next up was a man who was currently fiddling around his pockets for a lighter. Said man was a tall individual with brown eyes, tanned skin, short black spikey hair, and a beard. Like his youthful comrade, the man wore the standard Konoha shinobi uniform. One thing out of the ordinary, however, was a sash that was around his waist.

"Long time no see Naruto-kun!" Asuma made a pout that was unfit for such a masculine man, "Got a light!?" The Sandaime Hokage's son all but bemoaned.

Before Naruto could answer, one of the waiters came over and poked the Sarutobi with a lighter. Asuma gave the clone a bear hug before snatching the lighter greedily.

Except, the lighter was not a lighter at all. Rather, it was a water balloon under a henge.

"How the hell do you get this damn lighter to work? Is it broken? Or is it like an advanced one from sky-"

SPLAT!

Asuma glared at an amused Naruto before shifting his angry stare to the snickering waiter before delivering a punch to the waiter.

POOF!

The Kage Bunshin (Shadow clone) dispersed with a satisfying "pop" that resonated sweet revenge in Asuma's ear.

Naruto shook his head in an amused fashion before smiling at the regulars, "Hello Kakashi-sensei, Gai-sensei," he turned to Asuma, "That was me politely telling you that there's no smoking in this restaurant... even if it has been a while."

"That was polite?" The Sarutobi gaped.

Gai laughed exuberantly while Kakashi chuckled.

The child looked up at the familiar jounins, "The usual?"

Kakashi nodded with his eye on his book while Gai smiled teethily. Knowing their order, Naruto turned to the son of the Sandaime hokage, "And what about you Asuma-sensei?"

The jounin questioned gave a thoughtful pose, "Hmm I don't know what's good here... What do you recommend?"

Naruto didn't get the chance to answer cause as soon as the bearded jounin finished talking, suggestions were thrown left and right at him.

"Miso ramen!"

"Most definitely the Miso."

"MISO IS THE MOST YOUTHFUL!"

"Get the Miso ramen Asuma-sempai!"

Nearly every occupant in the restaurant screamed Miso ramen. Naruto held his hand suggestively at the other customers with a grin.

"You heard em."

Asuma sweat dropped. "I'll take the miso then… I guess."

Immediately whoops of encouragements and shouts of victories were heard at Asuma's order.

Naruto held a hand up and created two shadow clones. He sent both of them to the kitchen to take up the orders of Kakashi, Gai, and Asuma.

He took a seat next to Asuma.

"So how was the guardianship?"

"Oh man let me tell you! So get this, there was a freakin' coup…"

Naruto nodded every once in a while to show he was listening keenly to Asuma's tales of adventures in guarding the Daimyo. While Kakashi and Gai ate their delicious ramen, Asuma only just began eating his seeing as to how he wasn't able to eat while recanting his stories. However, a few moments later-

CRASH!

Asuma yelped in surprise as he looked at his downed comrade. Naruto sighed. This was the usual routine with Gai and Kakashi after one of their more physical taxing missions. They finish the mission, get ramen and sake, Gai gets drunk, passes out, Kakashi takes him home, and then Naruto closes shop up.

Kakashi slung Gai's arm over his shoulder and waved them a cheerful goodbye. Along with them, the rest of the shinobi customers left, but not before cheerfully thanking Naruto for the great food yet again. Naruto smiled and waved goodbye to all the leaving people and made a few Kage Bunshins (shadow clones) to help out with cleaning the rest of the store.

Asuma continued eating his amazing bowl of ramen. After taking another scrumptious bite, the Hokage's son noticed they were now alone except the shadow clones that were cleaning and closing up shop. Seeing a golden opportunity, the elder occupant directed a question of his own toward the blonde.

"Naruto, I have to ask, Why'd you quit?"

The young blonde found himself sighing yet again, "I assume you asked Kakashi and Gai? Perhaps even the Sandaime?"

The bearded jounin nodded, "I asked them both and yet they wouldn't tell me. Saying they it wasn't their place to tell me." He then went on to shamefully admitting, "I didn't talk to the Sandaime yet, seeing I only just got back and all… And y'know…"

Naruto nodded, knowing that the jounin was talking about the strained relationship the bearded jounin and the Sandaime had due to Asuma leaving for becoming one of the Guardians.

Seeing that the prodigy wasn't saying anything, Asuma continued, "Your track list for your missions was flawless. Every single mission was completed exceptionally and speedily. Within the year you entered ANBU, you completed fourty-nine A-ranked missions, twenty-two S-ranked missions, and one SS-ranked mission; tying with Kakashi's record in two years when it took him ten. You are a once in a millennium shinobi that could have gone so much farther. From the time I trained you when you were three, I knew you were going to be special." The man snorted, "Sort of wounds my pride that you mastered all of your affinities in such short amount of time when it took me a decade and a half to master my one wind affinity."

The boy responded with a small smile.

"My last mission," Naruto spoke softly, "The SS-ranked one..." The boy shook his head and at that moment, looked infinitely aged. "The completion for that mission sacrificed very much for so little."

Asuma looked hesitant, "I won't force you to tell but you know I'm here yeah?"

Naruto shot the man a grateful look, "Arigatou Asuma-sensei."

The jounin chuckled, "I haven't heard you call me that in a long time. Not since the beginning."

The blue eyed blonde hopped off the stool and dusted himself off.

"I'm a different person from back then."

The whiskered boy walked off back to the kitchen to finish the task of cleaning up and closing up shop.

Asuma stared at the retreating back of the child as he spoke quietly, "Gochisousama (Thank you for the meal)."

He left a hefty stack of money and walked out.

Immediately he noticed two people waiting for him. He dug out into his pockets and brought out a cig as one of them neared him.

"I thought you took Gai home?" Asuma asked nonchalantly.

The 'Mighty Green Beast Of Konoha' stood straight and sober, "I am okay Asuma! However, Naruto-kun is not. We were hoping you could bring him back to the forces."

Kakashi lit up Asuma's cigarette with a small Katon jutsu, "He most certainly has changed."

Asuma inhaled the poisonous substance and sighed, "He certainly has… mellowed out. He doesn't have his usual confidence anymore."

"That's for sure."

"I for one, prefer his old youthful self. It was so much more youthful back then!"

Kakashi shrugged, "Maa, for better or for worse, we may never know."

Asuma sighed and threw the cigarette on the ground and squashed it underneath his foot, "Did my pops change the law regarding the," he looked around carefully to see if anyone was near, "Kyuubi no Kitsune? I know he was thinking about revealing it but…"

The Sharingan user of the group of jounins shook his head, "No, and thank kami he didn't. Could you imagine if Naruto was outed as the container of the Kyuubi? His treatment in the village at best would result in him being shunned and hissed at from every villager."

The hokage's son nodded, "I'm glad that my old man didn't tell the village or the shinobis about Naruto being a jinchuuriki, I remember talking to him about it before I left and he always seemed uncomfortable around the topic."

"Well… think of it this way, if you knew you had a giant chakra demon sealed inside you, how would you feel?"

Asuma nodded again, "True. It's amazing he took it so well though. Being told when you barely turned four-"

Gai frowned and decided to intervene, "Come! It is most unyouthful for us to continue speaking on this matter. We should just be happy that Naruto is alive and not unyouthful! Let us go train until the glorious rise of the sun!"

As they were dragged by the Taijutsu specialist, none noticed the boy behind sliding down with his back against the surface of the door who had heard every word they spoke, unbeknownst to them.

He looked at his own hands with a bitter look.

'It's better I'm not like my past self anymore.'

X To Rise Again X

Six Years Ago

Koroto and his classmates that just passed the test were celebrating at a local BBQ restaurant when the newly instated Iruka-sensei announced that all of the passed students were to report to the academy first thing in the morning the day after.

Immediately everyone began speculation as to why they summoned the genins. It couldn't be because of team placement, that was a week and a half after the test to become genins.

So they ruled out team placement. After all, it hadn't even been a full day since they became official shinobis.

"Did someone cheat?!"

"Maybe they're re-ranking the students?"

Koroto scoffed, "Yeah right!" He then added rather haughtily, "Even if they do, I'm still gonna be the rookie of the year!"

The next day, Koroto and his fourteen classmates appeared at the given time in the classroom. They all sat along the closest row of the desks and pondered why Iruka-sensei hasn't yet said anything. Suddenly, Iruka stood at attention just as the door slid open.

The Sandaime Hokage stepped in with a tiny whiskered blonde boy in front of him. Excited shouts and whispers erupted at the presence of the village leader.

Eighteen-year old Iruka Umiino cleared his throat, "Class! Be quiet!" As they became silent, Iruka nodded and announced, "Today, you have been summoned for a special… exam, if you will, for a special case."

The Sandaime hokage stepped up, "Thank you Iruka-kun, I will take over for now." He continued at Iruka's bow, "This is Uzumaki Naruto." The blonde boy stepped forward.

"Due to some unforeseen circumstances, he was not able to attend last week's genin exams."

The implications of the village leader's words suddenly dawned unto most of the students. Many students looked unsure as they shared a pensive look. One student, however, scoffed.

Koroto did not hide his thoughts often.

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I don't think this child is fit to become a genin."

Before the Sandaime could retort, Naruto tugged at the hokage's sleeve. An unspoken message went between then Sarutobi sighed and took a seat. The child gazed impassively at the black-haired pre-teen that spoke.

"In order for me to be recognized as a genin, I am to show an aspect of this year's exam via a combat stimulation with one of the passing students. I would like to fight you."

The tone was simple yet it had a sense of condescending in it.

Koroto laughed haughtily, "Do you know who I am boy? I'm the rookie of year. Do you really want to fight me for your exam? After all," He stood up, "I am an Uchiha."

Naruto stared at the charcoal eyed boy with nonchalant, "You'll lose. I am stronger than everyone here, excluding, the Hokage of course. However, that won't be for long. In seven years, I will topple the Jiji's power with my own by far."

Iruka stood up in anger at the boy's impudent statement more so at the fact that he insulted the village leader. The statement of the boy saying he was stronger than everyone... well, the scarred chunin didn't know if he himself was included so Iruka was unsure if he was insulted. However, before he could reprimand the blonde, the Sandaime held a discreet hand up.

A slightly amused glint twinkled in the Hokage's eyes. What the boy was saying was not a lie; Naruto was the strongest child ever at his age. His own family, the Shodaime and Nidaime, could not match the boy's skills or potential when they were a child.

Gasps were heard at the boy's words and the statement also elicited a jeering response from some of the more vocal and 'cool' kids that worshiped the reigning rookie of the year.

"Kick his ass Koroto!"

"Show him what being a shinobi means!"

"Don't let him get away with those words!"

Koroto Uchiha felt anger bubbling inside him, "Are you stupid?! The Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the village! You're a child and that's it! And as rookie of the year, I will show you exactly that. Prepare to be let down!"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders, "You know, it's sort of weird, when a child speaks the truth, people find it very hard that it is the truth the child speaks." The boy looked around the class before asking, "Would you like to spar privately?"

The Uchiha furrowed his brows, "And why the hell would I do that? Are you scared?"

Naruto rolled his eyes, "I was just suggesting a private spar so you do not dishonor your clan. After all, the Uchihas are a prideful bunch." The child proceeded to send the aggravated Uchiha a smirk, which only further served to anger him

Koroto slammed his desk, "We'll do this right now! And I'll show you the power of an Uchiha!"

Naruto yawned and gave the Uchiha a boring look, "Okay then?"

The Uchiha seethed as Iruka led them outside as Sarutobi tilted his hat to hide his amused smile.

X To Rise Again X

"The rules are of the following: you are victorious if you knock your opponent out of the ring or if you force your opponent into submission. There are to be no fatal blows! And Ninjutsu along with Genjutsu is prohibited, understand?"

Both participants nodded.

"HAJIME!"

THUD!

Naruto dusted himself off and held his fingers in a peace sign, "I win!"

Koroto angrily gathered himself from outside the ring and stomped towards the child, "Hey! What's the big idea?! Sensei said no Genjutsu or Ninjutsu!"

The boy ignored him, "Yo sensei, you gonna call the winner?"

Iruka looked a bit hesitant before he looked at the hokage who nodded at him.

"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto!"

Koroto exploded with rage, "WHAT THE HELL SENSEI?! HE CHEATED! THERE'S NO OTHER EXPLANATION FOR HOW HE WON!"

Naruto chuckled, "Sort of an oxymoron how an Uchiha can't see that it was simply raw speed that kicked his ass. Y'know, oxymoron cause you guys got the best eyes or whatever."

Said Uchiha growled at him, "Shut up! You're lucky this isn't real life, otherwise I'd use my Sharingan and toast your ass!"

Naruto waved him off, "Please, you and your lackeys-" he pointed at the boys who jeered at him earlier in the class, "-still wouldn't stand a chance together. Evern with your little pink eye Jutsu."

The last comment brought out some giggles and chuckles from the crowd. Immediately the mentioned 'lackeys' stood up with obvious anger.

"Wanna prove that?!"

"You're just a cheating child!"

"Yeah! A cheater!"

Naruto looked at them each before looking at Iruka, "Okay."

Iruka responded with a confused look, "Okay? Uh… what?"

"Let's me fight them, no rules, everything goes." The boy then added thoughtfully, "And I won't kill them either."

Iruka was just about object when the Sandaime stopped him yet again. The Hokage spoke quietly, "I am interested in Naruto's abilities. This will be the first time he will be tested against ninjas even if they are only genins." The village leader leaned in and whispered something into the chunin's ear.

Iruka grimaced and set the new rules.

"Okay you four! You'll be heading into the forest over there. However, before you leave, you'll have five minutes to set whatever traps- including lethal ones." At these words, the four genins shared a look and grinned. Ignoring their evil looks, Iruka continued to explain, "Winner will be determined when the other party admits defeat or loses consciousness. Both parties will be carefully monitored."

One of the students observing asked a question.

"Sensei! If their traps are set for fatality, will they also be able to use jutsus for lethality?"

Iruka glanced at the Hokage briefly before giving a resigned sigh, "Yes…"

The observers gasped with horror while the genins that were fighting shared another maliciously happy look. Worried looks were sent towards the boy who looked… bored at best.

Iruka looked at the four genins and dismissed them to the forest. Before they left, the group of genins sent Naruto a glare promising he was going to lose.

The chunin gestured for Naruto to come close. The scarred man leaned in and brought the boy closer so no one could hear, "Unfortunately, there are more rules for you-"

"It's okay Iruka-sensei! I know, I'm not allowed to kill them right? At best, knock em out right?"

Iruka numbly nodded, how did he know?! The shock must have been obvious on his face because the boy rolled his eyes.

"I know Jiji. I think it's been five minutes so I'm gonna go ahead and start it off!" he cheerfully waved to everyone before performing a Shunshin Jutsu (Body Flicker technique).

…

… … …

"Did… a five year old just use… a Shunshin Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique)?"

The Hokage simply chuckled in amusement.

X To Rise Again X

Koroto swore as his classmates were strewn across the ground knocked out. It had happened so fast, he himself wasn't sure what exactly happened. One minute they were all in the trees waiting in their positions for an ambush and the next moment, they were suddenly on the ground.

Five year old Naruto smirked with his arms crossed on his chest. He looked down upon the fallen genin with a condescending look.

"You're not fit to be a genin brat."

The twelve year old growled at the child who was sticking to the wall; a skill that should not have been known by a fresh genin, much less a five year old.

"Don't call me a brat, I'm older than you!"

The blonde boy's face schooled itself into an impassive one.

The silent and eerily cool response made Koroto extremely uncomfortable. After what seemed like an eternity, the prodigy spoke.

"Uchiha Koroto, I know you activated your clan's Doujutsu. Use it, that the only way you can even hope to get a fraction of a sliver to beat me."

Koroto suddenly stood up, "I didn't want to use it on a five year old but… Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye)!" The twelve year old stared at the boy with haughtiness, "I hope you know you brought this on yourself!"

The whiskered blonde hopped off the tree and peered intently at the eyes of the Uchiha, "Interesting, your Sharingan is already at stage two."

"That's right, are you scared now? Are you regretting your decision of picking me?"

Naruto smiled, "No… I'm quite excited actually. Since I'm feeling generous and sympathetic today, i'm gonna give you an already bigger handicap." His smirk became even more pronounced as Koroto growled once more. The blonde boy looked at his nails as if everything around him held no interest for him.

Koroto snarled and growled at the five year old. Deciding he had enough, the Uchiha prepped a stance for a speedy lunge. Just as he was about to propel himself towards the child, the little bastard spoke.

"I will punch you in the face in five seconds. five…"

Koroto paused and suddenly broke out in laughter

"four..."

"Are you being serious?!" Koroto asked as he wiped a tear from laughing.

"Three…"

"Oh kami! You're being serious?! Ha!"

"Two…"

"As if I'd let you do anything like that, stupid bastard!"

"One…"

X To Rise Again X

Naruto whistled jauntily as he dropped four unconscious bodies off in front of a gaping crowd of students plus Iruka. The only chunin in the vicinity blinked uncontrollably when suddenly, Naruto disappeared in a plume of smoke indicating that it was only a Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone).

The real Naruto appeared out of nowhere and yawned. He took the headband from the chunin and lazily lounged over to the Hokage as the children that waited whispered excitedly to each other. Iruka used some smelling salts to rejuvenate the knocked out twelve-year olds and sent everyone on their merry way.

Naruto turned to the Sandaime, "When can I become chunin?"

"All in due time Naruto-kun."

"Ugh, whatever, does my apprenticeship change?"

"At this point, no. However, if a change occurs I'll let you know."

"I'm off then jiji."

"Train hard."

Naruto nearly scoffed, "That's not necessary." The blonde then Shunshined (Body Flickered) to who knows where.

Iruka, witnessing their whole exchange, decided to voice a question.

"Permission to speak freely, Hokage-sama?"

"Permission denied."

"Ah… right, my apologies-"

"I was kidding Iruka-kun, please, continue."

"Why do you let him talk to you like that? Just who is he to be that disrespectful to you, one of the most respected and revered shinobis of all time?!" The scarred shinobi asked, glaring at the spot Naruto had disappeared from.

The village leader sent the young chunin a gentle smile, "He bears a special set of circumstances and shoulders a burden that no one else has to carry. Though this isn't an excuse, it provides a leeway for his attitude. Naruto-kun thankfully has the power and skills to back his ego."

Iruka shook his head, "Still, Hokage-sama, you should be respected by all."

"Interestingly enough, that is the way he shows respect. There is no one besides me who he doesn't directly insults, except few individuals; and by that, I mean perhaps two." Sarutobi Hiruzen let out an amused snort, "That boy has too much power and he damn knows it too." The wizened man took a drag out of his pipe, "You know Iruka, you should get to know him when you get the chance, he is actually an extremely pleasant acquaintance to interact with."

The chunin looked thoughtful for several moments.

"Maybe…"

X To Rise Again X

Four Months Later

"So… room 204 is where it'll all start huh…"

Despite how many people walked by with obvious nervousness or anxiety, Today, to them, was probably a huge day for them in their shinobi careers. Naruto didn't really think about it so he simply whistled a jaunty tune as he waited for his teammates to show up. He had met them recently. Deciding that being paired with randoms would do him no good, he decided to… research (Read: stalk) them. He had found out that one used to be apprenticed but her sensei was no longer in the village due to being a traitorous snake.

The other member of his team had the misfortune of having her teammates decimated on a mission that went south.

The reason it took so long for both genins to take the Chunin Exams was because one couldn't participate without a three-man team. Genin one couldn't enter because no one wanted join her team... simply because she had a stigma of her leader's traitorous legacy attached to her. It was most unfortunate that shinobis and civilians couldn't get over their prejudice.

The other genin simply couldn't get over the death of her teammates and it seemingly haunted her. However, instead of grieving, she spent all her time training. It was impressive to see records of her training for hours at a time. It was only recently had she decided to get back into missions and such.

Anko Mitarashi and Kurenai Yuuhi.

He had met them several weeks ago and deemed them worthy of being his teammates. They were strong, no doubt, not as strong as him in his humble opinion, but they were strong enough. Both girls excelled at many things that would prove beneficial to each other if they could work cohesively as a team.

Anko excelled in stealth, assassination, tracking, interrogation, Ninjutsu and was proficient enough in Taijutsu to get by. However, she was brass and confident, much like himself, but he was better so he had every right to be as arrogant as he was.

So he believed.

Kurenai Yuuhi on the other hand, specialized in Genjutsu, stealth, assassination, she had minor capabilities in Katon jutsus and was average-chunin in terms of Taijutsu. She however, had a better head on her shoulder than Anko and that, in Naruto's opinion, made her even better to have as a teammate

When he met them, he noted immediately they were already well acquainted with each other. Naruto was desperately convince the Hokage to send him as a one man team to Chunins exam when the two girls he would be partnered with came in. And so, like that, good ol' Jiji placed them together.

For the sake of team chemistry, Naruto suggested they do some missions together from D-ranks to C-ranks. This suggestion, however, didn't stem from the boy, but rather the Hokage forcing him to. Naruto was more than okay just to take the rein and completely obliterate whatever obstacle stood in the way between him and his promotion.

But no! The Hokage insisted (Read: Beat up) that Naruto rethinks his decision. So they went on escort missions, elimination missions, all the way to mundane tasks of picking weed, gardening, and other annoying tasks. The Jiji talked about how he had to be at his best, for this Chunins Exam was one that deemed which village has maintained the most power.

It was a show of strength and endurance.

Ah well, It didn't matter. He's getting his promotion one way or another and no one is going to stop him. Then it would be the end of those unearthly chores Konoha called D-ranked 'missions'.

Naruto sensed two familiar chakras entering together. He turned his eyes to the right to see a sadistically grinning girl accompanied by an impassive-faced girl.

Oh goody, twelve-year old Anko and twelve-year old Kurenai has arrived!

X To Rise Again X

A/N: Okay, changes that has been made from Canon thus far:

Anko and Kurenai are younger by a ton. I originally had em pegged as older in this fic but decided to change it since Anko was a prodigy according to wiki and I know Kurenai isn't a pushover so I made em the same age... Granted, twelve year-old at chunin isn't too prodigal but they had their reasons. In addition to this, this opens them up for pairing options!

CHANGES FROM CANON:

Naruto is aware of the Kyuubi being sealed inside him.

Naruto, was, at one point, in the ANBU.

Kurenai and Anko are much younger.

He runs a Ramen Shop

And another sidenote: in the near future, i'll be posting a poll on which story to update next out of this, The Genocide's Testimony, To Rise Again, and Team Uzumaki!

I'll be updating AMTRIM at its regular interval so the poll only affects which of those three stories of mine in which you guys determine is updated next... if that makes sense.

To dumb it down, the poll ON MY PROFILE will have these three stories as its choices. whichever gets the most votes is the story that will be updated next. I have several chapters in advance done for EACH story, so! vote!

P.S.S STILL NEED A BETA!