Chapter two
Amegakure
Nagato sighed as he cancelled his rain jutsu. The jutsu was perfect in detecting spies within the village. It was compensation to the fact that his senses could not stretch out to the entire village. But he was a very good sensor nonetheless. Even when one could stretch his or her senses over the entire village, it would take complete focus and some serious meditation. As far as his Intel told him, there were only two people who were better sensors than him. Well, he also had some ridiculous chakra control. For someone who had so much chakra as him, it was hard to believe that he could manipulate chakra like he does.
There were no spies within the village or some unwanted guests. He made sure to deal with any intruder in his village. He did not like it when someone infiltrated his home to gather some Intel. The village's security was of high level - It was nigh impossible to sneak inside. And even if someone did sneak inside, he would not take much time to realize that someone was inside this village.
Even top spies knew that Amegakure was not a playing field. He doubted that even the infamous snake Sannin, Orochimaru could tempt his ire by trying to enter the village. He would slit the snake's throat and burn it down. This village was heavily protected. It was the ideal place to keep secrets. When you entered using the back door, you could never go out. It was the den of a lion. Once you entered through the back door, you forfeited your life.
He looked at the streets of the village with an expressionless face; ever since he took over the village, it has been reigning peace. He had ensured that everyone in the village was safe and eliminated everyone he considered an enemy. Yes, there was no one who he even suspected to be any enemy. Even a suspect was not allowed to live. That is how he had managed to lead this village and hold on firmly as its leader. From the Third Shinobi World War, he had been the leader the Amegakure.
He had eliminated Hanzo and everyone who was associated with him. He did not want anyone to start a rebellion on his village. His organized assault on Hanzo had led to the freedom of Amegakure. Of course he had not eliminated Danzo's army alone. He had his own army to command. It had been a civil war that stained this rainy village again. But at the end of the war, he had destroyed Hanzo. And that left Ame in his grasp.
Since he single handedly destroyed Hanzo, and his remaining henchman and the fact that he had never been defeated in battle, the villagers of Amegakure had started calling the God of Amegakure. Well, he had started calling himself the God of peace. Still, the villagers never referred to him by his name. He had abandoned the name long ago. Only those close to him were the ones who called him by his real name.
To anyone else, he was known as Pein and to the villagers of Amegakure, Pein-sama. He was proud of the fact that many have not seen his face. People have seen Konan's face, but he never exposed himself. His paths were the ones who always got to see the world. Even the Akatsuki members have not seen his real body. He only interacted with them using Tendou.
He was not the only one who had a name from the villagers; Konan was also given a name. She was the angel of Pein-sama. She had fought alongside him during the civil-war which was now but a history. But word had not gotten out that there civil war had ended and in his favor. He had ensured that the word never got out of the village because he knew if it got out, he would have to deal with annoyances.
Nagato turned around from the view and walked towards his office. He found Konan sitting down with her usually blank look. ''Have you gotten a word from him?'' the woman asked looking straight at him.
Nagato did not respond immediately, he first went to take a seat before responding. ''No, last time he was here; he said he would keep his distance from us. He said that someone was watching him and it would be troublesome if he had to watch his back every time he decided to come here.''
''It has been three years, Nagato,'' Konan reminded her partner. Really, judging by his posture and expression, he did not seem to mind about it. He was not as concerned as she was. It was not that she was impatient, she was just worried.
''I know,'' Nagato responded blankly. ''It has been three, quiet, long years. Ever since we dealt with the Obito issue, we have had little to do since the village was already stabilized. And the Akatsuki has been quite. I have yet to speak to any member in four years.''
Konan nodded. ''Well that is not anything unusual,'' she said referring to the fact that Nagato has not been in contact with any Akatsuki member. Sometimes they could go for about 5 years without contact. But when he called, it was back to business. ''How are we going to deal with Obito issue? The time for moving again is coming soon.''
''Itachi and Kisame are the only ones who know about him, since both were recruited by him. But Kisame is the one who has seen his face, Itachi did not - he only suspects something. Those two are the only ones who need to be spoken with since both will be curious as to why he has not made any contact,'' Nagato said, before pausing for a moment. ''They will be told of what happened, and if they have a problem with it, they will be eliminated.''
Konan nodded, not feeling anything to the fact that Nagato was speaking about killing both Itachi and Kisame should they rebel because the one who recruited them is no longer in this world. Akatsuki did not accept anyone who betrayed them. ''I doubt Itachi will have a problem with it. The one who might have some reactions with be Kisame.''
''I doubt he too will do anything rash,'' but of all the members of Akatsuki, Kisame was the only one who knew the goal Obito had for the organization. Nevertheless, he was not worried about it. ''It would be a pity if we lost them though; they are both useful to the Akatsuki. No one could probably replace them should we lose them.''
''Have you already drawn plans for when we start moving again? We will not be moving in the same direction as we were before he came,'' Konan said, she was not the one with the dream. She was merely a pillar the supported the dream of Nagato and Yahiko. The latter had once said that Nagato was the one who would take Akatsuki to new heights, but it appears that Nagato always wanted to follow someone. Well at least now he was not exactly following someone.
''I have. We have already discussed the important details with him,'' he watched Konan carefully to see how she would react to this revelation since she was not there when plans were made. She was busy cleaning up a mess they had created while dealing with Obito. He got a raised brow from the woman in response to the revelation.
''When did that happen?''
''It happened after we removed Obito. That was when he said he would not be coming here,'' Nagato responded carefully, so that he would not have Konan think that he was keeping secrets from her. He did not like doing something like that to her, especially given their history together.
Konan nodded. ''I am expecting a delivery,'' with that, she stood up and left the office without more words. Nagato did not say anything either. He did not even watch her leave. He just drifted off to his thoughts.
Konoha
The Sandaime sighed as he leaned back to his chair. The graduation was coming soon, and he wanted to pick the best sensei for Naruto should the boy pass his graduation exam. He wanted someone he could trust explicitly. Someone he knew would not drive the blond into the forest to get him killed. If he got a jonin that held hatred for Naruto, he would have made a grave mistake. That person would surely leave the blond to die if the opportunity presented itself.
There were a few jonins he knew would not bring harm on Naruto, purposely. But he needed one that would be suitable for the kind of training the blond would need. He also needed someone who could handle the blond and subdue him if it came to that. He had no doubt that Naruto may one day be able to access the chakra of the Kyuubi, so he wanted someone who would be strong enough to deal with it.
He just hoped that something like that would happen before he had told the blond about his status as a Jinchuriki. As far as he was concerned, the blond was oblivious to the cold hard truth. He had never told him and forbade anyone in the village from even saying the Kyuubi. If one broke such law, death awaited. With the surveillance he has kept on Naruto and his very actions, he was positive that no one had told him about. Even though the blond was not stupid, he doubted that he would have discovered the truth on his own.
It would be something to dread if Naruto found out on his own and kept that fact from him. It was at times like this that he was thankful that the blond did not come from the Nara clan. It certainly would be a disaster if the blond suddenly says, ''I know.'' He would probably have a heart attack if that happened. But just in case, he has put plans for damage control should something like that come to happen. The chances were low, but it never hurt to be on the safe side. Especially since he got the feeling the things may not be as they appear.
Shaking, his head, Sarutobi motioned for an Anbu to appear before him. ''Get me Kakashi, with force.''
''Hai,'' the Anbu saluted before disappearing into thin air.
Sarutobi knew that it would not be an easy thing to find the retired Anbu. The man could hide his presence very well, especially since he once was one of Konoha's top Anbu. The man was somewhat of a legend within the Anbu division. Added to that, the man would take his sweet time to get here. Sometimes he had to use force or remind the jonin who he was. He may be old, but he was no weakling.
30 minutes later a disgruntled Kakashi appeared in the office. The Sandaime almost chuckled seeing the look on the man's face. Almost being the key word. ''You called, Hokage-sama.''
As always, the man looked like he would rather be somewhere. But the Sandaime did not read much into that. ''Yes,'' the Hokage said, taking out his pipe. If he was going to have this kind of conversation with the jonin, it was best settle himself with it. He lit it and puffed out some smoke before fixing Kakashi a look.
''Has something happened?'' Kakashi questioned, seeing the look on the Sandaime. The look only meant serious business. So, he was curious. He would be ready for action if his services were required.
''No,'' the Sandaime responded, shaking his head slightly. ''It is about Naruto.''
Silence greeted the office...
''Has something happened with him, Hokage-sama? Or do you wish for me to keep an eye on him?'' Kakashi asked a few questions. Normally that was what the Sandaime would request of him when it came to Naruto. He knew that the Sandaime trusted him with Naruto's safety more than anyone in this village.
''No, nothing has happened with him,'' the Sandaime brushed away Kakashi's concerns for the blond. ''What have you heard about him aside from anything that relates to It?''
Kakashi looked thoughtful for a few moments before he finally responded. ''I often hear other academy students calling him a weirdo, and a failure. I also heard that he has never passed a test since the year began. Why do you ask, Hokage-sama?''
The Sandaime nodded to himself before responding. ''I will skip the weirdo part and get to the failing part. Have you really observed him while he is at the academy?''
Kakashi shook his head. ''No, not really.''
''Do it until the graduation. It is coming soon - Naruto's class will graduate this June since they were supposed to graduate last year December. Until then - the graduation exam - you will tell me what you have discovered.''
''Hai. Is there anything else?''
The Sandaime shook his head. ''You are dismissed. You will talk much with me after you give me your report,'' Kakashi nodded before disappearing. Danzo chose that moment to appear in the office. Hiruzen narrowed his eyes. He had stopped talking because he had sensed the men appear. ''What do you want, Danzo?''
''If you had given me the boy I would have trained him well. But it is not too late,'' Danzo stated, looking straight at his childhood rival.
'Not this again...'' the Sandaime thought feeling all his energy leaving him. He really was becoming tired and too old for having this kind of conversation with Danzo. The man was relentless and it was starting to get on his nerves that the man kept coming. No matter how many times he said no, the man would always come back, looking for a yes.
Academy
''As you all know, your graduation is coming in a short period of time. But that does not mean that you will have to stop attending your classes. You will be attending until the day you graduate,'' Iruka announced, looking a bit happy that his students were finally going to graduate.
''Aha...!'' the class groaned at the thought of coming back to the academy tomorrow. While they enjoyed their time in the academy, they also liked spending time away from Iruka's lectures. The lectures could be boring sometimes.
''Alright, before we take a break, we are going to the training ground to review what you have learned so far in practical skills,'' Iruka said clasping his hands. He was obviously ignoring their groans.
''Yay, we can see Sasuke-kun fight!'' at least some people were a bit enthusiastic about getting to the training ground. The said Uchiha merely stayed quiet, ignoring everyone else.
''Come, kids, let's go,'' Iruka said, smiling, as he began to walk away. He had again ignored something. He was tired of fan girls. No matter how hard he tried to get the girls to behave, he always failed miserably. When it came to their affections for Uchiha Sasuke, the girls were a bit crazy and would not hear a thing.
Naruto groaned. He disliked doing something like this, especially when it was all just academy staff. He had watched real battles - battles could shake the very ground he stood in. Watching academy students make a mess of academy taijutsu was nothing but a bore. How could he down grade like that? Perhaps he had been quick to watch everything and learn all that he has learned. If he had not, perhaps he may have been interested in this thing.
He doubted it though.
''Are you coming?'' Shikamaru asked looking straight at Naruto with a bored look on his face. The blond was sitting as though he was not gone go to the training ground with the others. He knew that the blond had to be forced to participate in the training exercises, or else he would just look elsewhere.
''Do I have to?'' Naruto, almost but whined like a child he was. ''I don't really want to watch Sasuke beat the crap out off our classmates. I have seen the scene many times that it is not even worth it anymore.''
Shikamaru mumbled something, before shaking his head. ''I am just gone leave you. Trying to convince you to do something is troublesome,'' the Nara heir said as he began walking down the stairs.
''You know, Naruto, if you don't go now, Iruka sensei is just going to come back here and drag you like last time,'' Chouji said following his friend from behind. Sometimes, Naruto did it worse than Shikamaru. Perhaps the difference was that Shikamaru was just lazy, while with Naruto, nothing just seemed to interest him.
Naruto groaned again, before looking through the window, for a few moments. ''Well, it can't be helped. If I don't go, Iruka will probably drag me by my feet towards the training. And I don't want to mess my pants, I just bought them recently,'' the blond mumbled to himself as he followed his classmates.
He finally reached the training ground and found the others standing, prepared for anything. Naruto looked up at the trees not far away from the training ground. 'Oh, god, not another one,' he thought irately. 'Well at least this one is a little interesting than rest. But by the end of the day, he will have bored me already,' he got a bit sad at the last thought.
While all the thoughts played inside his head, his expression remained indifferent. He was just staring far behind the trees, like he was not interested in anything. The person at the tree had thought he had been seen, but when he saw that the blonds' eyes were not directed straight at him, he sighed in relief. It seemed that the boy was just diverting his attention elsewhere so that he did not have to be tormented by Iruka's lecture.
''Now that everyone is here,'' it seemed that he was just looking straight at Naruto. The blond had been the last one to appear in the ground behind Chouji and Shikamaru. ''We can begin with this session and take a break.''
''Are you going to participate?'' Naruto asked looking elsewhere, but he was talking to Shikamaru. The Nara heir never took part in any of these activities unless he was forced to demonstrate something by Iruka.
''No, it will be a drag. I would rather watch,'' Shikamaru responded. He did not like making demonstrations or being forced to spar with someone. It was too much of a drag to do that when there was nothing serious about it. Perhaps if it was a requirement of graduating, he would certainly do that.
''Well, it would not matter if Iruka forced you anyway,'' Naruto responded, never taking his eyes of the greenly trees. They were quite lively. Perhaps they manifested the mood Hashirama always had. It is said that he was always a lively person, and sometimes carefree. ''If he does force you, I have no doubt that you are just going to get yourself knocked out just to get over with it.''
''Whatever works to get Iruka-sensei off my back...'' Shikamaru said in a nonchalant tone, before looking back at Iruka.
''...Now I will need volunteers. And the faster we finish this, I will free you for your lunch,'' Iruka put on a good offer that he knew his class would love it. Unfortunately, no one wanted to take part. But the girls were not all that.
''Iruka, pick Sasuke-kun!''
It was not a surprise to Iruka that the traditional ''sensei'' was dropped as the girls addressed him. When it came to their Sasuke, those girls cared for nothing. They would probably threaten to kill him if he refused their demand. They had nearly mutilated poor Kiba when he had cursed their precious Uchiha, and Mizuki had also been nearly beat down. But the chunin was a lot faster and quicker than them.
Mizuki had made the mistake of sparring with Sasuke. He was trying to demonstrate the standard taijutsu stance to the class. Since the Uchiha was already good with taijutsu. The boy had been trained well before his family was massacred by his older brother. He also trained at home alone unlike other kids. So Mizuki went on to spar with Sasuke. He made a mistake by misjudging the strength of his kick. The result was an unconscious Uchiha and angry fan girls thinking that Sasuke was dead.
Iruka could remember the day very well. Naruto had been laughing at the expense of Mizuki. The chunin had tried to calm down the fan girls telling them that Sasuke was alright. But the girls did not want to hear any of it. What was important to them was that Mizuki had hurt their precious Sasuke-kun. Mizuki had run about the training ground as the furious mod chased him. He had avoided them by using Shunshin to escape the academy.
Iruka was sure that they would have put his assistant to the hospital if they had gotten their hands on him. Mizuki could not have retaliated because they were just children. Well, angry children. But it would have been seen as a bad thing if Mizuki fought back. He was just glad that no one had gotten hurt. But Naruto was greatly amused by it.
''Pick Sasuke-kun, Iruka!'' Another demand came from the chairwoman of the Nation Executive Committee of the Sasuke fan club.
Iruka was thoughtful for a few moments. He realized that it would not end well if he denied that request, given the looks the ''mob'' was giving him. If they ended up rioting, he would have to cancel school for the day. He certainly did not want to do any of that. ''Okay,'' he said smiling. ''Uchiha Sasuke it is then,'' he said, much to the cheers of the fan girls.
The dark and gloomy Uchiha then stepped out of the group. He looked so calm and carried the atmosphere of almighty around him as he stepped forward. It was probably just another day were he had to show his superiority by beating another loser. It was often annoying. But he would never deny the chance if he was given. While he may no admit it to anyone, he actually felt good about himself when beat down his fellow class mates.
''At least give me someone who will be a bit of a challenge,'' the last loyal Uchiha grounded, quietly. Yet, everyone heard him. His words only served to delight the fan girls, much to his annoyance. Really, he wished they could just all die and leave him alone.
''Sasuke-kun is so cool,'' the stars, hearts and everything went into display.
Naruto merely sighed, and looked away. He had looked back at the scene in front of him when the fan girls started placing their demands. This was something he did not want to see. Well, it was amusing back then, but now it was just annoying. He did not understand what the fuss was all about when it came to the Uchiha. The boy was cold... maybe he should not be the one to say that. But that was beside the point; the boy was an emo more than anything. But, he was not much interested in the boy anymore. Any interest he had was lost already.
''Isn't someone going to go on and take on the emo? Maybe when someone finally beats his ass, he will stop being so damn almighty,'' Kiba said looking around at his fellow males. There was also the fact that the Uchiha took all the attention of the females. If he got beat, it might make the girls lose all their obsession with him.
''Naruto, why don't you do it?'' Shikamaru asked, with slightly narrowed eyes that only the blond could see.
Naruto shrugged. ''Neh, I doubt that I can land a hit on the great Uchiha Sasuke.''
''You are damn right about that. I have a better chance of beating that bastard than you,'' Kiba retorted. Akamaru barked, perhaps agreeing with him.
Apparently the sarcasm was lost to him.
''How did he miss that one?'' Chouji asked looking at his friend. He knew that Naruto could throw some sarcastic remarks every now and then. This one just a blatant remark, and yet Kiba failed to notice.
''I have no idea,'' Shikamaru responded with a shrug.
Naruto poked his chin. ''Perhaps, you are right Kiba. I mean you have a O-5 record against Sasuke. You have had plenty of experience hitting the dirt; maybe this time you will finally get it right. But if you do fail, you can always try again. I mean you just have to be embarrassed by the guy you hate the most in front of the whole class. Your mom might even find the amusing part of it.''
Kiba glared. ''Are you mocking me?''
Naruto shook his head. ''I don't know,'' he truly looked he did not know. ''Ask Akamaru, perhaps he understood me. I am sure he can interpret it for you. He seems to be a lot smarter and can understand human language better than you.''
''Why did you say?'' Kiba asked taking a few steps towards Naruto.
The blond looked around, looking clueless, ''Are you talking to me?'' Shikamaru sweat dropped. Kiba should have been used to this by now. Naruto did act like that when Kiba started to act otherwise.
''What is going on back there?'' Iruka asked, stopping Kiba in his tracks. ''Kiba if you have so much energy to pick a fight with Naruto, why don't you come here and battle with Sasuke?''
Kiba turned around to face Sasuke. He looked at the emo Uchiha and then The fan girls. ''I think I will pass.''
Iruka sighed. ''Naruto, why don't you spar with Sasuke?''
''Yeh, so that he can demonstrate the difference between number one and last,'' another girl spoke, much to the delight of the class.
Naruto merely looked away, not because of embarrassment or anything. This was all just boring. It was nothing new. He had been in a scene like this before. And last time he had walked away citing that he was bored. Iruka had tried to stop him, but he had disappeared from the radar of the chunin. At this moment, he would rather be in his apartment than here. He looked back at Iruka when he realized the chunin was waiting for his response. ''No.''
Iruka sighed, but before he could speak, Sasuke spoke. ''What is the matter weirdo, afraid you are gone hit the ground like others?'' the Uchiha questioned, with a rare smirk.
''So cool.''
Naruto rolled his yes, before looking away again. ''Yes. You have proven yourself to be the top student. I am no match for you.'' The sarcasm all but lost. ''I mean who can defeat Sasuke-chan and his death glare? Not lil' ol' me. I swear just by looking at you gives me nightmares. And there is also the fact that you might be into boys. I have seen how you stare at Kiba's behind each time you give it a beating.''
Apparently not.
''...''
Kiba looked horrified, while the expressions on other males appeared like they were ready to explode in laughter. The expression on Sasuke's face was simply priceless. Naruto almost laughed. Almost.
The mob was on an entirely different stance. They were glaring down furiously at the blond looking as though they were ready to mutilate him. Naruto though, was not the least concerned. But for the mob, how could he? How dare he say Sasuke is gay? That is blatant blasphemy. A sin that is punishable by death.
''How dare you?''
Naruto just fixed the mob a nonchalant look that did nothing but infuriate them.
''Well, it appears that you are gone have to spar with Sasuke, Naruto,'' Iruka said, a bit worried about where things were going with the mood change.
Naruto sighed. ''It appears so...''
''Sasuke-kun, show the weirdo who is the boss! Make him pay for that blasphemy he has just uttered!'' Sakura yelled, earning nods of approval from her fellow fan girls. Naruto had to pay, he had to pay. It was unforgivable that he called Sasuke, their Sasuke-kun, gay. Sakura cold not even dare repeat the words the blond had said.
''This is just going to be troublesome,'' Shikamaru said looking at the mob that had been ready to pummel Naruto. They must have stopped from doing anything once it became apparent that the blond was going to face Sasuke. They would have surely chased the blond around the training until they could no longer move if it had not come to this.
As far as Shikamaru could remember, Naruto had always stayed away from Sasuke's path. Even when Iruka wanted the blond spar with the last loyal Uchiha, Naruto had last walked away from the training ground. The blond never showed any interest in the Uchiha. While Sasuke settled for the mask of cold impassiveness, Naruto settled for the mask of blatant boredom, but most of the time it was indifference. He also carried a nonchalant aura around him.
But what had changed? It was the first time he had heard Naruto make fun of Sasuke so bluntly. He made fun other people, but not Sasuke and the fan girls. If his memories served him correct, the blond had yet to even talk to the fan girls. He always ignored them and looked the other way. But then again, Naruto ignored many things, as long as they were of no interest to him. He did not even know what interested the blond. As far as he was concerned, the blond showed little interest in anything or no interest at all.
Sighing, Shikamaru shook his head. Thinking of an answer was just going to be troublesome. It was better to be at peace and allow things to unfold themselves.
''You think so?'' Naruto said, responding to Shikamaru. He then decided to get this over with so he can go away. He surely did not want to be here anymore. Perhaps he could see for himself what the so called prodigy and genius could do.
''Well, at least, give them a show, Naruto. Today might be the last time we come here before graduation,'' Chouji said before Shikamaru could respond.
''Yeh, he is going to end getting beat like everyone else. If he even lands a hit on Sasuke, I will become his slave for a month,'' Kiba said, looking confident that Naruto could not even land a hit on the Uchiha. The blond could not even defeat him, what more could he do?
Naruto looked at Kiba, with a somewhat twisted grin that rang all sorts of alarms within the boy's head. Well, it only lasted for a second, only for Kiba to see it. ''Are you sure about that?''
Though Kiba felt confident, he surely did not feel comfortable with the grin Naruto had shown him. It was just wrong for someone to smile like that. He was sure even Sasuke would feel sick if he saw a smile like that. ''N-no...''
Naruto sighed, ''How disappointing. And I was looking forward to having you as my humble slave,'' the blond said walking towards the waiting Uchiha. He certainly did look like he was disappointed. The look of indifference returned in full force as he went to face the number one in the academy.
''Remember that this is just a sparring session. Nothing too damaging,'' the message was clearly addressed to Sasuke since he was the one who has showed more skill than any of the students. The Uchiha was also quite brutal; he did not want anything hurting being done to Naruto.
Sasuke nodded, quietly and settled to giving Naruto his famous cold mask of indifference. What infuriated Sasuke was the fact that Naruto did not even flinch. He just continued to have that look of blatant boredom. He did not seem to be interested in anything. If Sasuke was not mistaken, the blond was not even looking at him. That look of nonchalance may seem like it was looking at him, but it was not the case. He was not looking at him.
It felt like the blond was looking down on him. How dare he? The thought infuriated him. Who does the weirdo think he is looking down on him? No one did that to him. Naruto could see Sasuke's jaws clenching in anger. He silently shook his head, he had yet to say anything and the Uchiha was already grinding his teeth. What more would he do if he does open his mouth?
''Okay, you can start now!'' Iruka said, giving the boys the green light to start the session.
Naruto did not move. He merely folded his hands across his chest, before looking elsewhere.
''Gah!'' one of the fan girls growled pulling her hair. ''The audacity of that weirdo. He is trying to look cooler than Sasuke-kun.''
''Sasuke-kun, you cannot allow something like that to happen. It is unforgivable!''
For once Sasuke agreed with the fan girls. He smirked as he got into a stance. Yet Naruto still looked away from him. He even let loose a yawn.
Sasuke glared before calming himself down. He rushed towards the blond, but grew even frustrated when the blond did not even turn his head to face him. He stopped in his tracks with his fist close to Naruto's face. The blond did not even twitch. Naruto raised a brow as he turned to face Sasuke's fist. ''Aren't you going to hit me and get this over with?''
Sasuke glared. ''You are not doing anything to defend yourself. You just want me to knock you down so you can get this over,'' the Uchiha spoke in a cold tone, clear that he was not the least amused.
''I see. I shall end this then...''
In an instant, Sasuke was down on the ground, hitting dirt, while Naruto was walking away. No one actually saw what happened. Perhaps it was because no one was expecting Naruto to attack. Even Kakashi who was watching from afar blinked in surprise. He did not see that happening. This second Sasuke was standing still ready to attack, and then the next, the Uchiha was eating dirt with Naruto walking away from him.
''What the hell?!'' Sasuke yelled uncharacteristically getting up from the ground.
''What the hell just happened?!'' The fan girls yelled echoing everyone's thoughts. The Sandaime was asking himself the same question. If he had been expecting that, he would have seen that.
''Can we get a replay for this?!'' Kiba yelled. ''That weirdo could not have put the Uchiha on the ground. I must be dreaming here. Iruka-sensei, tell me that this is all just a prank.''
''I am afraid that is not the case, Kiba.'' Iruka responded quietly. He was not expecting that to happen. He too was a bit shocked by the turn of events.
Sasuke charged at Naruto while the blond had his back turned against him. He delivered a hard kick on the blonds' back, before moving down swiftly to a leg sweep. The attack got the blond and forced to hit the ground on his face. The Uchiha stood proudly, after exacting his revenge. This was much to the delight of the fan girls.
Naruto sighed as he turned around to face the sky. ''I should have expected that,'' the blond muttered to himself, looking all but bored. He was not hurt or anything. He was just finding it to be a task to get up after the Uchiha's dirty trick. Well, he had also played dirty when he tripped the dark haired boy.
''Sasuke-kun is so cool. The weirdo had cheated to trip Sasuke-kun.''
Naruto rolled his eyes, while still lying down. Foolish girls, they did not understand the shinobi world. The world was not fair, nothing was fair. Well, he could not expect children, fan girls, especially to understand the real world. These girls wanted nothing more than fun with their Sasuke-kun. It would be a drag if he ended up getting stuck with one of them in his genin team.
''Okay, class; you can take your break,'' Iruka said, particularly to one, since no one was listening to him. The chunin sighed and went to Naruto, who was still on the ground. He held out his hand to the blond. ''Come on, let me help you out.''
Naruto took Iruka's hand and got up. ''Thanks,'' he just found the words coming out of his mouth.
Iruka smiled at him, warmly. ''Are you hurt?'' the Chunin asked with some concern in his tone. What Sasuke had done was not allowed. He had been slow to act because of his shock. Regardless, he should have expected it from the Uchiha. Sasuke was like that. He had noticed that the Uchiha did not accept it when someone seemed to be better than him.
''No; I am fine,'' Naruto said dusting himself up. Well, at least his pants were not damaged. He ran his right hand along his hair, getting a feeling from it. He sighed, his hair was not messed up. ''The Uchiha hits like a girl.'' He had experienced worse, but Iruka did not have to know all that.
Iruka nodded. ''I glad you are not hurt. I will have to speak to Sasuke, though.'' the man looked thoughtful for a few moments. ''If you had paid attention to class, you would have known that you should never turn your back on your opponent.''
Naruto shrugged. ''I am just a 13 year old kid, and this was just a little demonstration. I also assumed that once the Uchiha was making out with the ground, I was the winner. I did not expect that he would attack me like that.''
Iruka nodded. ''You are right about that.'' He almost chuckled though, at Naruto's choice of words. ''How did you manage that anyway?''
Naruto merely smiled at the chunin. ''A little trick I learned. When you can't beat your opponent with skills, you have to use your wits.''
''So you have learned some things. I was afraid that you may not have learned anything since you are always sleeping at class,'' Iruka said, smiling. ''So you knew that Sasuke would not attack if you pretended like you were not going to defend yourself.''
He was not exactly pretending. But Iruka did not need to know that. He did not want to be scolded for nothing. ''Pretty much.''
Iruka nodded. ''Join the others for lunch.'' He said looking at the other students, the fan girls were already disappearing to follow the brooding Uchiha.
Naruto said nothing. He merely turned around to leave. He placed both his hands inside his pockets and walked like he was being forced to do so. He was not feeling hungry, so he would just end up watching the others eat or he could just throw himself to a nap.
''For a second I thought you were going to win against that brooding bastard. But I should have not expected from someone like you,'' Kiba said, making Naruto roll his eyes. ''What did you do to him anyway?''
Naruto shrugged. ''Go away, Kiba. Akamaru wants to feed you.'' That was all said in a nonchalant tone. He was really brushing off Kiba's question like that.
Kiba glared, but before he could say anything, Chouji patted him on the back. ''Cool down, Kiba. You know saying anything further will only make him antagonize you further.''
''Come on, Akamaru, let's go somewhere,'' Kiba said to his pet dog. He held no ill feelings towards the blond. They just played like that. Sometimes he won some rounds, sometimes he lost badly. But he would get back at the blond.
''Why do you enjoy picking on him anyway?'' Shikamaru questioned.
''It is easy and it amuses me when he becomes infuriated. His retorts are always amusing,'' Naruto responded with a nonchalant wave of his hand.
Shikamaru could not deny that, and so he said nothing further on the matter. ''You really did pull a fast one on Sasuke,'' the Nara said calmly. He could guess what the blond had done, but he had to have been fast to pull it off. Thinking much about it would be a bother. ''You know, I know for a certain that you could have dodged that attack by Sasuke.''
Naruto shrugged. ''It would have been a drag to do so.''
Not so surprisingly, Shikamaru seemed to nod in agreement with what Naruto had said. ''Where are you going?''
''To my apartment - I need to change my shirt. This one has some dirt that is glaring at me,'' Naruto replied, walking away.
''What a lame excuse to ditch class,'' Chouji said, knowing that Naruto just wanted to go home. Even Shikamaru nodded at this. Naruto was not a neat freak. But he did like his things clean.
''If there was a way I could ditch class without my mom knowing, I would be leaving with you. This day has been rather dull and I don't see it improving.'' Shikamaru said, walking away with Chouji towards their usual spot.
Naruto said nothing as he started walking away from the ground. He was just going to his apartment to do something useful, or sleep. He sighed when he sensed something. ''Naruto! Where do you think you are going?'' Iruka called out, staring at the blond.
He really did not want to have Iruka searching for him around the village. He just had to endure. ''Nowhere,'' he said turning around. He better go around relaxing on his lonely tree.
''I thought so,'' Iruka said, smirking. ''You better not think of leaving while I am not looking. I will find you wherever you run off too.'' The academy teacher stated going back to his class to deal with some things.
''It would be a drag if I leave now,'' Naruto muttered to himself as he climbed the tree like any academy student. He sat on a branch. ''Reading my book seems like a good option.''
'Well, at least he has a good hobby,' Kakashi thought looking from afar. 'I do wonder what he is reading though.'
Still, it was hard to believe that the blond wanted to be a shinobi when he showed absolutely no interest in academy work. Perhaps he just found it boring rather than anything. 'I am going to call it a day,' the jonin thought before he disappeared from his location. He did not think that there will be anything happening for the day. And he thought he had seen enough. He probably won't be watching the blond tomorrow.
Naruto closed his book when he felt Kakashi disappear. 'I wonder what the Sandaime is planning,' he thought silently. He then shrugged. 'I doubt it is anything interesting.' He opened his book again, and continued reading.
Like I said, there is a reason behind Naruto's hairstyle. And that thing that made him change his hair style will be revealed as the story continues. What I can say is that the hairstyle was changed when he was 10 years. With the current timeline on the story, I guess you can figure out what happened three years ago. But, I will not confirm nor deny anything.
The style like Madara's, with a large bang covering his right eye, seems to fit perfectly. This way, his hair can still be spiky.
Ultimately, Naruto will end up with one woman. I won't say who, but I do believe those who read "The Sage" already know who it will be.
Well, anyway, Sir Rob is out.