I really don't know what to say anymore. Another inspiration, another story. Just hope this doesn't come back to bite my ass off.
This story is your classical (or cliched, if you prefer) Naruto meets Kyuubi early story. More powerful Naruto, but not by as much as other stories (Not that much more powerful than the canon, really). Hopefully, it's different enough from the rest for all of you. Remember, this is AU.
(Sorry for the crappy separating line, add ruler button isn't working.)
Disclaimer:...
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Berserker's Light
Chapter 1
Revelations in an Alleyway
Naruto, aged six years old as of last month, was walking down the marketplace, trying to ignore the glares as best he could. After all, he had a purpose, and that purpose was to buy supplies, because he was due to start in the ninja academy tomorrow.
He had never really bought anything out of a store before, as the Hokage always made sure to buy everything he needed for him and have it dropped it off in his apartment.
And so Naruto walked around the marketplace, relying on the fine art of window shopping to determine where to go.
That was how Naruto found his first stop, a bookstore for he needed to buy books for history and basic chakra lessons. With shopping list and money firmly in hand, Naruto strode into the store.
Of course, it was a stroke of luck that he wasn't spotted right away and thrown out by the store owner, an aging man with grey flyaway hair (though Naruto took this as an act of kindness, or that this man didn't hate him for once). However, he it seemed that he'd condemned him to his fate when he walked up to the counter to purchase his books.
The store owner was already halfway done ringing up the boy's purchase when he noticed who the customer was. He stopped in his tracks to stare down disdainfully at the boy, who quailed under his glare.
It was like a delayed fuse, for without any prior warning, the old man exploded, leaping over the counter with a dusting mop in hand, yelling, "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, DEMON!"
Naruto ran, the owner hot on his heels screaming at the top of his lungs, "THE DEMON TRIED TO STEAL FROM MY STORE! HE TRIED TO STEAL FROM MY STORE! STEAL! STEAL! STEAL!"
Of course, all of this was a downright lie, but who cared? It was Naruto he was talking about. Any excuse, no matter how dubious, was acceptable as long as it allowed him to get beaten.
Naruto ran and ran, the mob behind him growing in size as time progressed. The boy retreated into the slums of konoha, where he felt most comfortable.
Naruto was tiring, and he knew it. In a last ditch effort, he dived into an alley that by his memory would lead into a shortcut into the hot springs northward of where the chase started (that tunnel/slide that Konohamaru tried to show Naruto when he was late for the 3rd chuunin exam finals). However, he was soon disappointed by the fact that someone had built a brick wall over the shortcut, rendering it useless.
The blonde demon container was effectively trapped in the alleyway, a large mob blocking off his only path of escape.
Naruto slipped off into unconsciousness even before the villages started beating him due to fright.
------?------
Naruto found himself in what appeared to be a sewer of sewers. Dim red lighting his only guide, he waded through the dripping pipes and ankle depth stale water (or what appeared to be water).
Reaching the end, the boy discovered a large room, split in half by golden gilded bars. He was frightened not by the size of the bars, but by what was behind them. Two ominous red eyes, as big as Naruto was tall, peered out of the upper half of the cage.
"Boy, what do you think you're doing here?" Spoke the eyes.
Naruto shook his head sadly, "I don't know. I don't even know where 'here' is."
"We are in your mind boy. Why are you in here when you are being beaten to death in the real world?"
Naruto panicked at that prospect. "What! No! No! I can't die! I don't wanna die! I'm too young to die!" he yelled, running around in circles.
The eyes seemed angered, "Stop that. You're annoying me." Naruto stopped, "Now then, it seems that you truly do not want to die. And, well, neither do I. So, I will give you the only thing I can…power."
As the eyes spoke, a tendril of clear red color stretched out from the darkness of the bars towards Naruto, who was hesitant to even get near it. "Do not be afraid. This will be your power from now on. Go on, touch it. It will not hurt you. If anything, it will help."
The blonde touched the tendril, instantly feeling fresher, more powerful than ever before. But not a second later, an overwhelming feeling of pure instinct, the need to kill and protect, and a feeling of anger stronger than he had ever felt or experienced.
Naruto fought desperately to force the feeling down, but it was a losing battle. As the feeling bubbled up again, Naruto lost his strength, settling for restraining the feeling from actually killing, and let it take control.
Back in the real world, all the crowd of villager saw was the appearance of a blazing red aura, which took the form of a large blazing fire, completely enveloping the small boy, hiding him from view.
Stepping back in fear, the crowd saw the blonde get up, the red aura condensing around him into a bright crimson red shell, only visible as a thick outline of his figure. Naruto's eyes had turned red and his hair had grown longer (not shoulder length, but longer than it appears in the anime, so it looks exactly like the anime, but twice as big), flowing back and forth like a waves do at a beach.
Naruto had also grown nail/claws. Flexing them, he pointed them at the crowd. Growling, the child spoke in a guttural voice not all his own, "I…have done nothing to this village, and yet you continue to persecute me, call me demon, beat me. Why? Why, I ask?"
The villagers seemed to react to this, though not in the way one would expect. The firmed themselves, glaring squarely at the child they call 'demon' as if he was too low a being for them to have to explain themselves. Naruto ignored this and kept speaking, strangely calm for such a tense situation, "I see, that is how you answer. Well, at any rate, I will take this abuse no more. With this newfound power of mine, I will protect myself, make myself stronger, make myself respected, even make myself feared if needed. So do not come after me anymore. If you do, I cannot guarantee your lives."
The villagers were shocked. Using this moment of inaction, Naruto broke a pathway through the crowd, rushing home as his power subsided. He was sure that although what that foreign feeling said, the villagers would only be held at bay for a while before they were completely back to their old ways.
Closing and locking the door to his rather shabby apartment, Naruto began to contemplate the eyes behind the bar, and the apparent power it had to offer. It was simple to deduct, even with Naruto's immature mind, that this power needed to be used, as it was most likely the most effective, if not the only way, to keep himself safe. With that in mind, the unknowing demon container resolved to at least attempt to contact the thing behind the bars again tomorrow, and hopefully see what he could develop with his newfound ability.
------Tomorrow, first day of Academy schooling------
Naruto woke up and arrived at the academy early, taking the extra time before orientation to piece out how to get back into the cage.
He figured that the first stipulation was that he had to be removed from consciousness. Not totally unconscious, per se, but not conscious, either. He was not sure of anything beyond that, however, he could hypothesize that being in some kind of danger would increase the likelihood of actually appearing in front of the cage rather than just being unconscious.
So, seeing that he did not know any other way of removing his conscious self, and did not want (or knew a proper way to) to knock himself unconscious, he planned to sneak into the academy library that he saw on the way to the classroom during his free time. He also planned to ignore his idea that putting himself in danger would help him reach his goal, as he didn't know how to do that, either, and didn't want to try, as he could end up getting hurt. He even doubted that he would find a way to do that, or even that the idea would work.
By this time, people had started to file into the classroom. A haughty looking pale-skinned boy with black eyes and spiky black hair styled to look like what appeared to be a duck's ass. He was followed by a large crowed of giggling girls, who all took seats surrounding him in the front, continuing to stare at him and occasionally giggle and blush.
The boy was followed by another series of boys. A hooded one with a dog on his head, a tired looking one with a topknot, a fat one who was eating potato chips, and a stoic one that held a rigid posture underneath his large coat and pitch black sunglasses.
This group all took seats next to Naruto, who happened to be sitting farthest away from the first boy who was surrounded with girls. The hooded one decided to greet him. "Hey, I'm Kiba, and these are Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji." He said, pointing to each person in turn, "What's your name?"
Naruto stared at Kiba for a while, carefully assessing if the boy was a danger. Just when Kiba looked ready to just give up, he said, "Uzumaki Naruto. Nice to meet you."
Kiba beamed, "Ahaha! You aren't talkative, either, are you? Damn, this whole class is looking to shape up as one of the quietest classes ever! Sasuke's got his head stuck so far up his ass that he can't even open his mouth, Shino's practically mute, Shikamaru's too lazy to talk, and Chouji's always stuffing his mouth!"
None of the others really reacted, though Shino angled one eyebrow, saying, "I am not mute." In a slight monotone.
Naruto, however, did not seem to affected by Kiba's statement, opting to ask, "Who's Sasuke?"
Kiba looked at the blonde dumbfounded, "You don't know Sasuke? Wow, you're special. It's almost impossible not to know Sasuke, what with him constantly followed by his groupies over there." Kiba pointed at the boy in front, now properly identified as Sasuke.
They didn't have any more time to talk, as by then the classroom was full of people and the teacher, a man in his early twenties who also sported a topknot with tanned skin and a scaracross the bridge of his nose had walked in, calling for quiet.
And so, the class quickly became quiet, eager to receive their first lesson in becoming a ninja. The teacher introduced himself as Iruka and continued to preach the children on what they could expect as a ninja, what they would learn in the academy, and recommending training after school as well. He then went on to preach on the rules of ninja, and basic procedures one should follow in different situations.
After the basic orientation, Iruka had the students introduce themselves, starting from the back of the room and coming forward. Naruto and all of his friends introduced themselves first, and then a series of boys and girls that did not seem to stand out too much to Naruto.
Bored, Naruto's mind started to wander. He managed to catch one last name, Kisetsu Akiko, a normal looking girl with brown hair (and a little black layered under it) and sunflower yellow eyes, before he finally gave up and just devoted his time to devising a plan to get into the school library undetected.
And so the day went on, Naruto already not paying attention and only stopping to answer when called upon while the rest of the class properly finished introductions and moved on to various games and exercises to help accustom them to the building and each other as well as up their physical abilities for the rough training ahead.
Soon, school let out for the day. It was only lunchtime, but the first day was a half day, so they didn't have to come back. Naruto declined the offer for lunch by his new friends, saying that he had business to attend to, and disappeared in the direction of the library, his friends staring at him disappointedly (except Shikamaru and Shino, they didn't bother).
Naruto made it past the librarian safely, and was now sneaking through the aisles, looking for books that might help him.
Making kunai…
Making shuriken…
Mastering ninjutsu and genjutsu…
Mastering weapons and taijutsu…
Medication for all purposes…
Medication for field work…
Meditation…
Naruto's eyes widened. Meditation seemed perfect for what he needed! Taking the book out of the shelf, he hurried over to the self check out station (the librarian recently implemented that, thinking that he could go watch clouds if that was in place) and stamped the book. He ran into a problem, though, when he found out he had to sign his name to indicate who was borrowing the book.
Knowing that the librarian would not take kindly to his being in the library, he decided to use someone else's name. This person had to have been recently admitted, so the librarian wouldn't know the person's proper signature, and hopefully never make use of the library either. Needless to say, the blonde signed himself under the name 'Inuzuka Kiba".
The boy ended up reading the book under a tree next to a brook in a forest behind a training area in konoha. He was impatient, and so only read enough to understand the basics before diving right in. It was a wonder that he was even successful, even if it took him hours to actually properly do it.
When he did succeed, though, he was properly surprised. Although he could not properly see the bars, he could instead feel a small sectioned off portion of his self that was textured with something he had neither seen nor felt before. He did, though feel the same 'presence', for lack of a better word, he did when he was talking to the monster behind the red eyes.
So, he used what he would like to think of was a hand, and reached out to the section, trying to take hold of it and bring it closer to his heart and soul. Of course, doing so to an unknown object is not the smartest of things, but Naruto isn't the sharpest kunai in the pouch, either. Surprisingly, this actually yielded results, not in the way that the boy was expecting, but results nonetheless. Naruto felt the kick of that same instinct from last time in the alley overcome part of his mind, and forming into the disembodied voice of that thing with red eyes.
"Its nice to talk to you again, boy. I suppose you are here for something?"
"Yes. I'd like to use your 'power' again."
"Boy, that power is not for free. You'll not be misusing it anytime you want."
"Didn't you say that that power was mine?"
"Yes, yours to use during times of danger. Not yours to play around with. This power can be dangerous in inexperienced hands, and I'll not be having you do foolish things with it."
"Then what do I need to do?"
"That depends. What do you want to accomplish?"
Naruto smiled internally, knowing exactly what he wanted, "I want to be strong. Stronger than any in konoha, or the world. Strong enough so that no one can threaten me again. Strong enough to make the words I said that day true!"
The monster (after all, what else would you call a being of that size?) laughed heartily, "Well said, boy. I suppose, with that answer, I can give you a chance, but there will be a test."
Naruto was confused, "A test? For what?"
"To see how capable you are of using the power, and how responsible you are with it. Will you subject yourself to any test that comes to mind?"
No thought was needed for the boy, he was far too determined, "…Yes."
The eyes closed for a second before reopening, "Alright. For the next few years until I say so, I will give you temporary access to my chakra, allowing you to use it however you wish, although if I deem something unreasonable, I will withhold my chakra from you. When the time comes, I will judge you and see if you are responsible and worthy to use the power I have granted you. Do you accept?"
Naruto consented immediately, and then went home to sleep.
After his first day, Naruto spent his time practicing his ability to use 'that monster's chakra, even going so far as to skip class, not pay attention in class, or even not practicing his jutsu to do it. In his free time, Naruto could be witnessed thinking up ways to practice 'the monster's chakra without being seen and expanding his own chakra reserves as well. Also, it should be noted that Naruto never passed a chance to help animals or other people as well, knowing that his responsibility (read: helpfulness in Naruto's mind) was the key to pass 'his' test.
Six years passed, with Naruto reaching the status of 'one tail' as he called it, as when he used that much power, one 'tail' of chakra seemed to sprout from behind him. He had also become really popular with younger kids, as he had helped them out many times (it was the exact opposite with the adults, who suspected that the 'demon' was up to something, and had as a result intensified their negative reactions towards him). Most notable of his supporters was one Konohamaru, who, as the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, had immediately become attached to him and his 'healthy' sense of disrespect the minute Naruto walked into his grandfather's office yelling "Oi! Old geezer, where the hell is your ass!"
The only sticking point for Naruto that he never got over, however, was the fact that one Hyuuga Hinata was abducted the day he turned seven, by the neighboring country of lightning, no less. He never did forgive himself for not only letting go of a chance to gain the monster's approval, or the fact that he had failed one of his classmates and thus, a potential friend.
Fortunately, this only served to motivate the boy more, as he started pouring even more of his time into improving his skill with his second chakra, as well as his basic jutsu (which he barely paid attention to before, but had been forced to recognize the necessity of when he was almost caught in the library one day).
And so that is how we find Naruto, six years later, waiting for his chance at the Genin exams. The boy was fidgeting…a lot. You see, even though he had been practicing his jutsu, he had only managed to master the henge and kawarimi in time for the test.
Each year, a random jutsu out of the three was picked out from a box for everyone to perform and show mastery of for the genin test. Naruto knew that he had a two in three chance of being tested on one of the jutsu he already knew, but even the possibility of being tested on the bunshin made him nervous.
That was why he was fidgeting in his seat, praying fervently that Iruka-sensei, one of the nicest people he had ever met, would also be nice (and lucky) enough to not pick the bunshin no jutsu.
He had no such luck however, as Iruka drew the small slip of paper, read it, and promptly announced, "It has been decided! All of you genin hopefuls will be tested on the Bunshin no jutsu this year!"
Naruto slammed his head into the desk Dammit! Where the hell is my luck when I need it! Oh, I just know this day will end badly…
Naruto waited patiently for his doom as the clock slowly ticked its time away. Time seemed to slow and distend as his stress increased. Normally, this would inconvenience a person, but to Naruto, it was a lifesaver. Hoping that his name would never be reached, but accepting it as an inevitability at the same time, that was all Naruto had left.
Finally, Uchiha Sasuke walked haughtily out of the next room, followed by the Chuunin examiner's calls for the next person, "Next, Uzumaki Naruto!"
At the sound of his name Naruto's legs seemed to turn into jelly, disabling his most vital of motor skills.
At last, though a long bout of wobbling and near-falling, Naruto made it into the examinee's room. Just before Naruto thought he would collapse of nervousness, however, he was reassured by Iruka's warming smile. "Naruto, perform a bunshin no jutsu for me, please." The chuunin said.
The blonde gulped and nodded, nervously preparing the necessary handseals and chakra necessary to perform the jutsu. The boy's chakra flared around him, wildly trying to form into the necessary shape for the boy's clone. Alas, Naruto's chakra flared too wildly, causing his concentration to break as he struggled to correct it, ending the jutsu prematurely and resulting in a dead and useless clone, lying pale on the ground.
Iruka twitched in anger and annoyance, even as Naruto did the same in shock and disbelief, "NARUTO! YOU FAIL!"
------Later, after the tests------
The blonde, now a failed genin hopeful, sat on a swing in the playground with a depressed face, wondering what he did wrong or what he did to earn what must surely be the wrath of some vengeful god.
He was driven even deeper into himself by the unkind voices of the mothers and fathers that came to see their children pass, "Hn. It looks like he was the only one that didn't pass…"
"It's a good thing, too…"
"He never deserved to even take the test, anyway…"
"Good riddance to bad rubbish, I say…"
"…agree, especially since he ha-"
"Shut up! Remember the rules!"
Suddenly, to Naruto's surprise, the teacher's assistant, Mizuki, appeared next to him and put his hand on the boy's shoulder, "Come on, I want to tell you something."
Naruto faithfully followed the man to the top of a nearby roof, allowing them to view the beautiful sunset as they talked, "Naruto, I just want you to know that Iruka doesn't hate you."
For his part, the failure scoffed, "Hn, 'bet you're lying. 'Bet he does…"
Mizuki chuckled, "No, really, he doesn't hate you. It's just that, you're both orphans, you know? He kinda sees himself in you and wants you to succeed. That's probably why he's so harsh on you all the time."
Naruto raised his head, wide eyed at the revelation, "…Really?"
Mizuki nodded and smiled, "Yeah, really." (Can anyone say: O rly? Ya rly!")
Naruto grinned, "Then, then, I want to pass the genin test too! Just for him! And I'm gonna do it, too, you'll see!"
Mizuki smirked in return, "Hehe, then maybe…I should tell you about…the second way to pass the genin test?" It didn't take a rocket scientist to tell that the chuunin was planning something.
Naruto was shocked, "Really! There's really a second way! You're kidding, right? There's no way there's a second way…TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!"
The plotting one chuckled all according to plan…hehehe… "Okay, what you've got to do is take the scroll of seals and learn one jutsu from it, got it? Great. After you go and take it, bring it…"
------Hours later, in the middle of the night------
Naruto was running franticly around the surrounding forests of konoha, searching for the spot that Mizuki mentioned to him. He was sure that old man Hokage had found out about the scroll by now, and so was rather in a hurry to find the meeting place.
Finding it, he immediately touched down next to the old shack at the edge of the clearing. Seeing that Mizuki wasn't there yet, Naruto decided to get a head start on learning a jutsu. Turning to the first one he saw, the boy turned thief started reading, "Kage bunshin no jutsu... Augh, dammit! This stupid jutsu comes to haunt me again!"
------Iruka's apartment, same time------
Iruka was having nightmares about having failed his favorite student and the Kyuubi. Specifically, memories of the Kyuubi were surfacing along with memories of failing his student, ultimately joining and creating a new image of the Kyuubi surfacing because of him failing Naruto.
Iruka woke up sweating, frightened by his nightmare. He was just about to go back to sleep when someone knocked on the door. Apparently, this someone was the someone who woke him up 'by' knocking on the door. Iruka hurried to see who it was and hopefully hurry him away, he had a long day tomorrow.
It was Mizuki.
"Iruka, Naruto's stolen the scroll of seals! Come quick, Lord Hokage's ordered a meeting!" He said, leaping off immediately after, Iruka hot on his heels.
In front of the Hokage tower, the Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi, was making an appeal to the chuunin and Jounin of Konoha, "Today, approximately 1 hour ago, Uzumaki Naruto has stolen the scroll of seals."
This caused an uproar in the crowd, almost all the shinobi and kunoichi of konoha were outraged by the 'demon's' actions. "The demon has gone too far this time!"
"Yeah, he should be grateful to even be alive at this point!"
"Well then, let's take back that gift we gave him, let's kill him!"
At this point, Sarutobi could stand the crowd's talk no longer, "No! Naruto is to be caught alive! Remember that no member of konoha under the rank of chuunin knows about the existence of that scroll. I suspect foul play. For now, find and catch Naruto and retrieve the scroll, it must not be allowed into enemy hands!"
A collective "Yes, sir!" was heard before the ninja gathered before Sarutobi disappeared in a flash. They all split into different paths searching in and around Konoha, Mizuki, however, seemed know something, as he went straight for the forests around konoha, as if he knew Naruto would be there. None of the ninja caught this, however, and the Chuunin made it into the forest without any hindrance.
Clever, Sandaime, to already suspect one of us for foul play. Mizuki thought as he ran through the forest No matter, no one suspects it's me and it will only take a second to rid the world of the demon brat and leave Scot free.
Mizuki was surprised though, for as he entered the clearing, he clearly saw one Umino Iruka in the clearing with the demon boy. Not stopping to think, Mizuki immediately launched a handful of shuriken at Naruto, hoping that Iruka would take his side.
The bandana wearing chuunin was disappointed, however, when Iruka pushed the boy out of harm's way, getting pinned to the old shack himself. Mizuki scoffed damn he thought, won't be getting any help from him, then. Just hope he doesn't cause too much trouble… Shit, I need to get moving, they might catch on to me soon…
Without further ado, the white-haired chuunin turned to the demon-carrier, "Boy! Hand the scroll over to me now!"
Iruka was rather thrown off guard by the traitor chuunin's forward actions, " What! No, Naruto, don't do it! Mizuki's tricking you!"
Naruto, confused, was looking back and forth between Mizuki and Iruka. Not sure who to believe, Naruto simply turned…and ran. Shit! Both chuunin thought. Mizuki immediately took off after the boy, Iruka trailing not far behind after having removed the throwing weapons from his clothing.
Mizuki found Naruto, collapsed and panting in a clearing, clearly exhausted by the training he did before he was found by them. Mizuki smirked, "Hn, this is too easy to be true…" he said as he approached the resting boy with kunai in hand, ready to kill him and take the scroll by force.
That was, until the boy poofed out of existence, showing that he was sitting over an exploding note placed on the ground, and recently activated as well. The traitor gasped as he leapt back, eager to avoid the impending explosion.
He was just a second too slow, however, as when the note exploded, he avoided the fire, but the resulting shockwave blasted him through a tree and into a second one.
Mizuki was down, but not out. As he slowly raised himself from the ground, he looked up to see Naruto, watching him impassively from a tree. "Iruka sensei told me. He told me about your trick." He said.
Even though he was found out, Mizuki still tried to find a way out of it, "Naruto, you shouldn't have listened to that guy! He's tricking you, can't you tell?"
The blonde raised an eyebrow, "Oh? Why would he?"
Mizuki sighed, there was no going back now. He was going to leave, anyway, "Because of…the rule."
"…What rule?"
"The rule that you weren't supposed to know" Mizuki answered, "The rule that no one was supposed to tell you…that 12 years ago, the Kyuubi was not killed. Instead, the Kyuubi was sealed inside you. YOU ARE THE KYUUBI, BRAT!"
Naruto gasped, "No…NO THIS CAN'T BE! AAAAUUUGGHHHH!" He cradled his head in his hands as he sank to the floor, eyes dilating in disbelief. The enormous shock dealt to him by this news was apparent, as he soon fell into a state of blissful unconsciousness.
Mizuki smirked. His plan had worked! Now it would be simple to just walk over, slit his throat, take the scroll, and leave. However, even he noticed that his steps were gradually getting smaller and smaller until, inevitably, they stopped. At this point, Mizuki was shaking slightly from fear and wonder What…what is this I sense, I feel? Why…why is it causing so much fear? Nothing, nothing has given me this much fear since…! No! It can't be, the Kyuubi!
Unfortunately for him, he was correct, as they blonde boy was standing up, ominous red chakra bubbling up around him and apparently animating his body. It was as if the boy was a puppet, as like a marionette, his body was completely limp, and it was apparent that he was still unconscious, but the red chakra around him seemed to be moving for Naruto, causing the body to follow much like a shadow or afterimage.
Naruto's eyes snapped open, shocking the one chuunin present. His eyes! That shade of red…No…it's really back! Mizuki thought. The chuunin couldn't move, he was too terrified of what was happening to the boy. He was transforming, by application of chakra, into something that was never again supposed to see the light of day, something that the whole world feared, even the five kage themselves. The greatest of the nine bijuu, the kyuubi.
As the transformation completed, a glowing crimson eyed Naruto stood, hunched over, with a shell of chakra around him, complete with two ears and a tail, hunched over and only mostly visible through the wisps of chakra flowing around him. "So, it seems the boy has been robbed of his consciousness." He spoke, and turned to Mizuki, "By you, I presume? All right then, in return, I shall rob you of your LIFE!" With that and a crazy happy smile, kyuubi Naruto leapt at the fear-injected chuunin.
Mizuki closed his eyes and brought his hands to his face, bracing for the impact of the hit. It never came, however, as when the kyuubi made contact with him, it ghosted out of view…and was replaced by around 500 kage bunshin of kyuubi/Naruto.
"Hmph. Shameful" he said, "Cowering in fear at something smaller than you. You should fight, and die, with HONOR!" As he spoke, he and all his clones leapt at the frightened chuunin, fist raised and chakra shroud dissipating, allowing him to pummel Mizuki without fear of killing him.
After Naruto/kyuubi was finished, he glared at the freshly beaten chuunin with his crimson red eyes, "Hn, not even worth killing. I'll let the Hokage take care of you." With that, he released control back to Naruto, who was just waking up.
As that happened Naruto fell due to the stress placed on his body while kyuubi was in control. Bracing himself for impact with the hard ground, he was surprised when he felt none.
Iruka sensei had rushed through the tree line and had caught Naruto before he hit the ground, "Naruto! Naruto! Are you okay! Get a hold of yourself, Naruto!" the chuunin teacher yelled in worry.
Naruto weakly turned around and opened his eyes, "I-Iruka…sensei…?"
Iruka smiled, "Yeah…it's me, Naruto. Just rest for now, I'll take you back. And when we get there, I'll have a present for you, too." Naruto smiled and blacked out soon after.
------Later, Naruto's apartment------
Naruto woke up to find Iruka sitting next to him, hands folded in his lap and holding…his goggles? Then what was on his head? Curiously, he reached up and fingered…his new…forehead protector?
It suddenly hit him, he had a new forehead protector! That meant he had passed, right? Right? Iruka was smiling, happy at Naruto's wonder and elation at having gained the status of genin, "So I see you've noticed your new forehead protector, Naruto."
Naruto was now officially hyper off of happiness, "Yeah! Yeah! So that means I'm a genin, right? Right! That's soooo awesome!"
"Yeah, you were great summoning all those kage bunshin. I only got there for the last part, barely ten seconds before they disappeared, but still, well done." Iruka said.
Naruto could only grin widely at his teacher as he talked, "Naruto, remember, genin orientation is the day after tomorrow at our old classroom in the first floor at 10:00 am, okay? Don't be late."
------two days later, Ninja academy------
Naruto was sitting excitedly in his seat, eager for Iruka to arrive and get this started. That was when Shikamaru walked by and ruined his mood, "Oi, Naruto, didn't you fail the test? You shouldn't be here. It's only for those who passed."
Now officially annoyed, Naruto answered in a clipped tone, "Don't you see the forehead protector, Shikamaru? It means I've passed."
Shikamaru sighed and quickly labeled the whole matter as 'troublesome' before stalking off somewhere more quiet. Meanwhile, across the room from the blonde (though it didn't seem that way, because his fangirls made a crowd that stretched all the way to his side of the room), Sasuke was trying to ignore all his admirers, a scowl on his face. Shit Naruto thought little bastard, getting all the attention when he doesn't deserve it. I'm just as good as he is, dammit! Has a stick up his ass too, ignoring all those people. Stupid duck-butt shithead, I should teach him a lesson. Naruto continued to grumble about Sasuke in his mind, trying to restrain himself, but ultimately fighting a losing battle.
Just as he was about to stand and beat the crap out of Sasuke, they were both saved by the entrance of Iruka, here to announce the teams and give them a prep speech on being genin. "Alright, everyone calm down! It's time to announce your genin teams!" Iruka called. Everyone calmed down after a few minutes, and Iruka started.
Eventually, Naruto heard his name, "Uzumaki Naruto, Kisetsu Akiko, and Aburame Shino under Hatake Kakashi for Team 7. Followed by Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke under Yuuhi Kurenai for Team 8. (…) And lastly, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino, and Akimichi Chouji under Sarutobi Asuma for team 10. We will now break for lunch for one hour. Afterwards, come back to this room for your orientation speech and then you will wait for your Jounin sensei to pick you up and hold a personal team orientation. Oh, and some personal advice, you might want to eat lunch with your teammates. To improve teamwork and whatnot."
With that, Iruka left and the new genin either split up or left in their groups. Naruto approached his teammates and they left to eat together. The three genin ended up eating under a sakura tree in the field out front. They ate in silence for a few minutes before Naruto got sick of it and grabbed for conversation, "Hey, your name was Kisetsu Akiko, right? I don't think we've ever properly met before."
She nodded, "Yeah, I've never actually talked to you have I? In that case, My name is Kisetsu Akiko. I like training and oranges. I'm skilled at weapons and Suiton jutsu. My hobbies are training and shopping for new weapons. I dislike overbearing people that make me feel uncomfortable. Pleased to meet you."
Naruto smiled, "My name's Uzumaki Naruto. I like training, Ramen, and Iruka sensei. I'm not really skilled at anything, but I have lots of chakra and a secret jutsu that I'm not gonna tell you about" he winked at this, "My hobbies are training and eating ramen. I dislike people who are mean and judge other people without getting to know them. Pleased to meet you, too."
Shino, not liking being left out of his own team, took the initiative, "My name: Aburame Shino. Likes: entomology, training, and improving teamwork with my comrades. Skills: family jutsu, taijutsu. Hobbies: entomology, sparring with clan members. Dislikes: people who underestimate their opponents, people who mistreat insects."
The three spent their lunch mostly in quietness, trading a few questions or comments here and there in small conversation. Soon, it was time to return.
They came in last of all the candidates, so Iruka immediately began his speech. He reviewed on what it was to be a ninja, hinted at true strength, and warned them on the dangers of being ninja as well as what ninja would be expected to do. Namely for this matter, kill. He told them and gave them advice for dealing with their first kill, as he understood how hard it could be. Finally, after almost an hour and a half, he finished, bid the class goodbye, and left.
After he left, various Jounin sensei filed in and called out the number of their team before walking out, their genin in tow. A lot of genin left at once, leaving teams 7, 8, and 10.
Asuma and Kurenai came in next muttering about the other Jounin sensei being to eager and crowding up the hallways. They called for their teams and left, Shikamaru giving out one last 'troublesome' before slipping quietly out of the door.
It was now just team seven. The three waited for their Jounin sensei, Kakashi, for a good half hour before getting bored and going off to do their own thing. Shino did something with his bugs, Akiko took a nap, and Naruto meditated in a corner to try and improve his control over the 'mysterious' chakra. In this fashion, time passed by. Soon, it was half an hour later…
One hour…
Hour and a half…
Two hours…
Two and a half hours…
Three hours…
At this point, the whole team was officially pissed. Shino didn't show it, but behind his glasses, he was glaring stonily at the door. Akiko woke up almost half an hour ago and had a vein on her face, ready to burst. Needless to say, she was ready to punch her sensei's lights out, Jounin or not. As for Naruto, he stopped being able to concentrate about an hour back and was busy thinking up a prank or something to avenge his anguish.
It was to his own luck (as Naruto had finally thought of something and was currently moving to carry it out) that Kakashi sauntered in at that moment, caught Akiko's fist, and threw her back into her seat.
His greeting speech: "My first impression of you is: I don't like you."
------
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