Naruto Uzumaki grinned as he entered the classroom, his brand new (well, brand new for him) Konoha forehead protector holding up his spiky blond hair. He was ecstatic. Today was the day that he would be assigned his team and begin serving as genin of the Leaf Village. Naruto couldn't wait!

Ignoring some of the surprised looks on faces of some of the other new genin, Naruto headed for the nearest empty bench, sitting down on it as Shikamaru approached. "Hey Naruto, what are you doing here?" he asked. "Today's class is for those who passed."

Naruto spun around, facing Shikamaru, a little annoyed at his words. "Take a look at the headband!" he exclaimed, a hand grabbing his headband.

Shikamaru shrugged, muttering "Whatever," as he walked off to find his own desk while turned to the front again.

"Excuse me, may I pass?" another voice inquired moments later.

Once again, Naruto turned over to the voice and instantly blushed. It was Sakura Haruno, who, in Naruto's opinion, was the most beautiful girl in the class. She wore a red qipao dress with white circular designs and tight dark green shorts. Her forehead protector was resting behind her ears, holding her long pink hair in place. As Naruto stared at her, annoyance flashed across Sakura's green eyes. "Move it Naruto!" she yelled, startling Naruto. "I'm trying to get around you!"

Naruto glanced behind him, staring at who was sitting at the other end of the bench… Sasuke Uchiha. Naruto scowled at him. Sasuke Uchiha, the Rookie of the Year, and a Grade A jackass as far as Naruto was concerned. Sasuke was cold and aloof, yet despite that, nearly every girl in class was attracted to him, including Sakura. The pale teen wore plain white shorts, a dark blue shirt with a red and white fan on the back, and like Naruto, his forehead protector was rest resting on his forehead. His hair and eyes were black, like all the members of his clan.

At that moment, Sasuke noticed that someone was staring at him. He turned to Naruto. "You want something?" he asked coldly.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Naruto exclaimed, annoyed by his tone. "Are you talkin' to me?"

Before either of the two could react, Sakura pushed Naruto out of her way, moving in between the two. "Good morning Sasuke. Is this seat taken?" she eagerly asked, ready to sit down next to him.

Naruto sat back up as Sakura sat down. He shook his head, watching Sakura try to get as close to Sasuke as possible. "Excuse me, could you please move over a little?" someone else politely asked.

Naruto turned around, facing the person. It was Kenshi Mitsurugi, another of student from his class. He didn't know much about Kenshi, he was a bit on the quiet side and tended to stick to himself but otherwise a pretty good guy. Standing an inch shorter than Sasuke, Kenshi's short brown hair was styled into spikes, held up in part by his forehead protector which had longer ties than a normal one. He wore a pair of dark blue pants with shuriken holsters on both thighs and sandals on his feet. On his chest, he wore a gray light jacket with leather strap running from his right shoulder to his left waist, holding a sheathed sword on his back.

"Whoa… Cool sword," Naruto said, eyeing the weapon as he moved over, allowing Kenshi to sit down.

The katana was rather big, but then it was a full-sized weapon intended for an adult, not a young teen. The hilt of the sword was dark blue and the guard was a silver and in the shape of a hexagon. "Look, but don't touch," Kenshi replied, leaning back.

Naruto shrugged before glancing over at Sakura again, who was still utterly focused on Sasuke. Naruto scowled. 'What's so great about him?'

An instant later, he was kneeling on the desk, staring down Sasuke, who was staring back at him in return. Needless to say, Sakura was not pleased by this. "Naruto! Leave Sasuke alone!"

At that very moment, a boy in the row in front of theirs, moved suddenly, bumping into Naruto's leg. Naruto fell forward, his face hitting Sasuke's, pushing their lips against each other. Somehow, in less than a second, everyone was staring at the lip-locked pair. Nearly every girl in the class was frozen in shock while most of the guys were just staring at them in disbelief, a few snickering. Kenshi started laughing as Naruto and Sasuke pulled away, spitting and gagging. Naruto collapsed over the side of the desk, his breakfast threatening to spill out.

"Naruto…" Sakura uttered.

Naruto slowly and fearfully turned around as Sakura cracked her knuckles. "It was accident," Naruto pleaded.

But Sakura didn't listen…

Iruka entered the room, a clipboard in his hand. "From this day forward, you are no longer mere students of ninjutsu, but full-fledged shinobi. But among the ranks of the shinobi, you are mere novices, lowest of the low," he said to the gathered students…former students. "Your greatest challenges all lie ahead. The next step is the assignment of official duties to you all on behalf of our village. Now, normally all of you would be sorted into three-man teams, however, due to a surprise graduate, there will be a single four-man team in addition to the three-man teams. Each team will be mentored by a jonin, who will guide and coach you as you become more familiar with your various assignments. Each team has been balanced so that their skills are about even."

Naruto only half listened to his former teacher, still bruised and sore from the beating Sakura gave him. It wasn't fair! Why did she care so much about Sasuke? What made him so special? What did Sasuke have that he didn't?

At that moment, Iruka's words pulled Naruto from his thoughts. "And Team Seven will be our four-man team. Members are, Kenshi Mitsurugi, Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki-"

Naruto cheered, ignoring Sakura's groan.

"And Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka finished, earning a groan from Naruto and a cheer from Sakura.

Kenshi merely shrugged a grin on his face. 'Part of the four-man team? This could be interesting,' he thought.

Sasuke, on the other hand, was less than thrilled though his face bore no emotion. 'They better not hold me back.'

"Hey! Iruka-sensei!" Naruto yelled, shooting up from his seat. "Why are you pairing a great shinobi like me with that loser!"

Iruka sighed, rubbing the scarred bridge of his nose. "Of the twenty-eight graduates, Sasuke has the highest marks in the class. Both Sakura and Kenshi are overall in the middle of the class, while you are at the bottom of the class," he explained. "The idea is to balance out your different strengths. That's why you ended up together."

"Just don't hold me back, Dobe," Sasuke said.

"What'd you call me?" Naruto shouted back.

"Knock it off Naruto!" Sakura yelled at Naruto, once again annoyed by his antics. "Quit bothering Sasuke!"

With that, she struck Naruto again, her fists hitting him again and again. "Ow! Stop it! Ah! Ow! Help! Ow!"

Sasuke gave no outward reaction what so ever, while Kenshi backed away from the pair. "Ah…I think I'm gonna sit this one out. It looks like she can hit pretty hard."

Iruka quietly chuckled. 'They'll work things out eventually. Even Naruto.'

Their jonin-sensei was late…really late, leaving the newly established Team Seven waiting in the classroom for over an hour. Sasuke sat at one of the tables, waiting quietly for the Jonin to show up. Kenshi sat on another bench, his sandaled feet resting on a table, half-napping. Sakura was leaning up against the same table while Naruto paced back and forth impatiently.

Suddenly, the blond growled in frustration and rushed to the door, opening it up a crack and peering into the hallway, looking for some sign of the Jonin. "That's it! I can't take it anymore!"

Naruto rushed over to Iruka's desk, grabbing his chair before grabbing an eraser from the blackboard, carrying the two back to the door. He climbed atop the chair, jamming the eraser into the practically opened door.

"Knock it off Naruto," Sakura said, annoyed at his antics. "You're going to get us in trouble."

"Let him do," Kenshi replied, his eyes closed. "It's better than having him pace around the room like he has been."

"Hmph. There's no way a Jonin could fall for such a simple booby trap," Sasuke added.

However, Sasuke was about to be proven wrong. A one-eyed, silver haired man opened the door, the eraser hitting him on the head. Naruto started laughing uncontrollably. "Ha ha ha ha! Gotcha!"

Kenshi started laughing as well, though not quite as much as Naruto. "That actually worked!" he exclaimed. "I…don't believe it!"

"I'm terribly sorry sensei," Sakura apologized, hoping to avoid any punishment for Naruto's actions. "I tried to stop him, but Naruto…"

Internally however… "Hell yeah!" Inner Sakura shouted. "That was awesome!"

'So this is our elite Jonin leader,' Sasuke thought, staring at the man who had fallen for such an utterly simple trap. 'He looks completely hopeless.'

"Hmm… How shall I put this?" the man pondered. "Based on my first impression…I hate you all."

Now, for this one, the first chapter will cover the events of the bell test. The next chapter will jump to the beginning of the Chunin Exams, skipping the Wave Arc. I just don't really feel like doing the Wave Arc when there isn't much I would really change.