Kushina stared at the only boy on her team, of which his gender was the least differing thing about him. He was the only one present with no surname, the only one present who no longer had parents, the only one present who had no formal shinobi training outside of the Academy. Not to mention, he was also the only one who seemingly refused to even try to accomplish the task of the test.

Another thing that unnerved Kushina was the boy's deliberate, and accurate teardown and dissection of the team's placement and the effects it would cause. And, while Kushina would like to tell herself she would never be a Sensei who would show, let alone house, any favoritism towards any one student, she ultimately knew that if it came to saving her daughter, or saving the other two genin on her team, she would choose her daughter and let the other two die. And that thought itself ruined Kushina's perspective on her ability to teach the team, of which she was utterly confident of beforehand.

The blonde continued to lay on the grass, his arms nestled neatly underneath his head, and his left eye lazily cracked open to gaze at the sky. "Naruto," Kushina began, prompting the boy to wrestle his one eye's attention away from the clouds and onto her own violet eyes. "While I understand you aren't as far along in your training as the girls," Kushina decided those were the wrong words to use as soon as she saw the boy's chest fall quickly in a sigh, his eye roll back towards the sky, and his right hand untangle itself from underneath his head to pull a bang away from his closed eye, making the action pointless.

"But that's the whole point of being taught under a Jounin Sensei! So, won't you please get up and attempt the test, if not for your Sensei, for your teammates?" Kushina urged, wishing to break the mindset of worthlessness the boy had seemingly put himself into. It was rather clear that the boy seemed to think little of himself in the Shinobi arts. The boy's jutsu surely couldn't be as bad as he thought they were.

Naruto cracked his eye open to gaze at her, curious as to what purpose she was trying to fill with her words of encouragement. He would've sighed, if he was older. Clearly, the woman was trying to make the boy believe he would receive enough training to, at least, put him on par with the others on his team, which, Naruto would believe, had they refused to learn until he caught up, and then allowed him to be granted a 6 month lead. Naruto was no longer prideful of himself, and had come to see reason that he learned Shinobi arts at a slightly below average pace, something which was blatantly obvious by the amounts of studying and practical practice he had to put into passing the Genin Exam, of which he passed barely. Come to think of it, Naruto wondered if the Hokage had specifically ordered his graduation out of pity. Or, perhaps, he had ordered his Graduation so he could place him on a team with his daughter and his good friend Fugaku's daughter, allowing Kushina, their sensei, to specially train the two girls under the false pretense that Naruto was slower, and pass him off to a subpar Jounin, potentially even Chunin instructor.

Naruto did sigh as he got up, feeling his knees pop slightly and his back to crack as he stretched, a tired groan escaping his lips. Naruto cursed his thought process, which has actually made him feel worthless. Probably because the options he had presented himself didn't seem too far out there, maybe with the exception that he would receive a Chunin instructor within the next six months. Push it to 8 and he wasn't so sure.

"Uzumaki-sama," Naruto raised a brow in curiosity at the slight flinch he saw appear on Kushina's face at his even less formal title he called her by, "I know what you are doing. Trying to… encourage me to participate. Well, I suppose I can amuse you." With that, Naruto merely jogged into the woods, and plopped himself onto a branch of the tree closest to the clearing, allowing him to gaze at the woman, but which would actually provide him an opportunity to "help" either Natsumi or Sasuke when the pair no doubt made their move on the bells, either alone or together. While he waited, Naruto decided to ponder something.

Where would he live now that the Orphanage would no longer be legally required to house him?

It wasn't as if his team could fail this test, making him a Genin, and therefore a legal adult.

With Natsumi.

The Namikaze Heir was saddened by Naruto's words to her mother, and attempted to persuade herself that he was wrong. However, she was hard-pressed to prove his words wrong. In her head, she knew he was right, but her heart wanted him to be wrong. Surely, her mother of all people, would be fair with her team? Then, a thought broke Natsumi's others. Her mother trained her everyday after Dinner. That alone was favoritism. Her eyes got a little darker in sadness as she realized Sasuke also received said training, if the conversations between her mother and Sasuke's mother were to be believed. That brought another curious thought to Natsumi's mind, where did Naruto even live, if he had no parents?

Shaking her head, Natsumi decided she might as well finish this depressing train of thought. And, to do just that, Natsumi rushed into the clearing.

With Sasuke.

Sasuke did not hear Naruto's words, for she was too busy trying to find Natsumi. Surely, if the girls paired up, they could get the bells. And, even though she had to smother down a frown at the thought of pushing Naruto to his failure, her pride as an Uchiha and the need to prove herself to her Father helped her drown those thoughts. She ran around the ring of the forest, her eyes catching the sight of Naruto lazily swinging his leg from a tree by the clearing as she did so.

When she came around to where she thought she had seen Natsumi dash into the forest, she found herself staring at the back of the girl's redhead. Before she could say anything, the Namikaze Heir dashed into the clearing, prompting Sasuke to do the same.

The two girls exploded out of the forest and into the clearing, Natsumi's hand flying into a cross sign with 15 Shadow Clones puffing into existence around her and Kushina, which prompted her mother to grip her Katana by its sheathe and proceed to cut down all of the clones with speed and strength. Sasuke grabbed the real Natsumi's shoulder and pulled her back slightly while the clones distracted Kushina.

"Listen, I think you and me need to work together to get those bells." Sasuke began, staring into Natsumi's eyes intently. The Namikaze nodded her head, briefly thinking about Naruto, and almost went to talk to Sasuke about their third teammate, before he mother came flying out of a massive smoke cloud just as memories of a painful, blunt trauma death fluttered her mind. "DUCK!" Sasuke yelled, grabbing Natsumi and dropping the pair to the ground as Kushina's foot flew past them, however the woman remained planted in front of them.

Natsumi looked up to see her mother with her sword raised threateningly, only for a shroud of heat and light coursed quickly over her Mother's visage with Sasuke's body flying forward, fire spewing out of her mouth like a hose. Kushina growled out, swinging her sword quickly, water chakra spewing out of her mouth, and her sword forced it at the fire, negating it before it could burn her. Sasuke panted slightly while standing in front of Natsumi protectively. Natsumi's eyes widened, before she jumped up to Sasuke's side with her hands once more forming the cross seal, two clones popping into existence beside her.

"Sasuke, got another fire ball in ya?" One cloned signed to her with its back turned to Kushina, while the real Natsumi and the other clone kept Kushina busy with Taijutsu incorporating Kawarimi and more Kage Bunshin to allow the real Natsumi to remain in good physical condition. Sasuke nodded in confirmation, while the clone began to sign the plan to her. Nodding with a smirk, Sasuke jumped into the fray, Natsumi smirking and forming two more clones behind her, with the one from before joining her.

Kushina smirked as well. "Ah, backing off I see. Admirable, in this situation." Kushina cockily stated, swinging her sheathed Katana in her hand. Natsumi glared at her mother. Quickly, her and her three clones began to flash through hand signs. "Fūton: Daitoppa!" Natsumi and her clones shouted, while Sasuke jumped up behind them and released a massive fireball, larger than the one she had sent before.

Kushina's eyes widened, as the flames overtook her entire form. Quickly, she performed a Kawarimi, even as the fire continued and burned the forestry behind them, prompting another pop of smoke to appear, though dangerously closer to the fire than Kushina's had been. Appearing right where Kushina had been, was Naruto, who had substituted with a larger stick that had been blown off a tree by the scuffle between Kushina and Natsumi's clones.

Naruto looked around, acting surprised that he had ended up where he was, despite being the one who had to perform the substitution. Looking down, Naruto crouched and scooped up two small, metal balls in his hand that made little chime noises as he stood up, the two bells clanking together noisily, making everyone present raise their eyes. Kushina, because she did not believe the bells had fallen off of her waist, Sasuke, because she now worried about not graduating, as Naruto would surely choose Natsumi over her, who had been mean to him and bullied him. Natsumi worried because she did not realize that her and Sasuke's jutsu had been aimed at where Naruto.

Looking at them, and even jiggling his arm a little bit to make them chime, Naruto stared with an "O" shape forming his mouth. "Uhhhh… I guess uhhh…." Naruto merely stared at the twin bells in his hand. Kushina pushed past Sasuke and Natsumi, staring at Naruto. "How did you get those, Naruto?" Kushina questioned. Naruto looked at her, and went to answer, before Natsumi stepped forward. "Me and Sasuke executed that conjoined Jutsu to mask my third clone's kunai, and its speed was enhanced by the two Wind Jutsus I used, which propelled it forward, cutting the string on the bells before you had time to Kawarimi away. However, we did not know Naruto was in the tree behind you, and he Substituted with a large branch that had fallen on top of the bells after the fight between you and clones. I don't know how the wind jutsu didn't affect it, though…" Natsumi looked at the ground in thought at this.

Kushina nodded, before staring at Naruto. "Well then, Naruto, who will pass with you, and who will no longer be eligible for the Shinobi job?" Kushina questioned, staring at Naruto. The team passing relied on Naruto, though, unfortunately she knew, no matter what he said, the team would pass. Naruto looked at the bells in his hand, then back to his team.

Naruto personally believed that even asking the question was pointless, and from the look on Kushina's face, she believed so as well. Sasuke looked utterly devastated. Perhaps she thought he would choose Natsumi over her, had the rules 'set' by Kushina actually been true? He supposed that made sense, given her need as the Uchiha Clan Head's daughter to be worthy. And Natsumi on the other hand, seemed to, to some extent, know that no matter what, she was passing this test. Whether that was because she knew the team was bound to pass, or she belived her father would just make her a genin if Naruto chose Sasuke, Naruto did not know, or bother to figure out.

With a slight huff, and an exaggerated swing of his arm, Naruto tossed the bells to the two girls on his team. "They can pass. I'll find somethin' to do, so don't you worry about me being bored. Ja ne!" Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets, and with a mock two-fingered salute, turned around and began to lazily walk away, leaving the rest of Team 7 shocked. Kushina was even too shocked to say anything, watching the boy leave before telling him that he had actually passed.

Naruto however, merely walked onward, eyes gazing at the clouds as he walked back into the Village. Hmm, maybe he'd get a job as a waiter or something in one of the many Akimichi-owned restaurants? Or, perhaps he'd get a nice, elderly care-taking job? Probably not, as he needed food, and he needed it soon. The Akimichi Restaurants seemed better suited for him, considering employees received free meals.

Naruto smiled carelessly as he walked onward, and even hummed a little tune as he walked. Naruto passed a certain Jounin who was leaning up against the side of a bookstore, a new, limited edition orange book in his right hand, with his uncovered eye scanning the pages, before catching sight of the blonde hair which made him believe his Sensei had come to see him, prompting him to drop his book and stare, only to look on in disappointment as he saw the little Orphan with the weird eyes. Actually, this sight intrigued Kakashi, the Jounin who was reading his newest book.

If he remembered correctly, and he knew he did, it was tradition for passing teams to either immediately train together, or to have lunch with each other while the Sensei went to report that they had passed to the Hokage. This intrigued Kakashi for the mere fact that, by this little brat's mere presence, alone, in the village, it implied that Natsumi's team had failed. Raising a brow in curiosity, Kakashi strode forward, eye still glued to his book, and eventually fell into stride with the blonde boy.

Naruto noticed Kakashi's presence, but didn't react to it at all, merely walking with his hands in his pockets, observing the businesses and market stalls they passed on their tranquil walk. The blonde knew the man wanted something from him, considering he had gotten up as soon as Naruto passed him, but didn't know quite what it was. He decided, that if it was important, the man would've asked by now, so he left it alone and continued to walk, even humming a little tune as he did so.

Eventually, Kakashi sighed, stuffing his book in his back pocket and pressing his hand to his brow ridge. "Do the youngsters of today not care if some random shinobi, not to mention stranger, walks up behind them and then follows them?" Kakashi questioned the blonde, who stopped and looked into the man's one eye with his swirled eyes, which Kakashi found intriguing as well, and personally believed they were a Dojutsu, though which one they were he did not know, which caused him to pass it off as weak, seeing as he, nor anyone else, knew what they were, or even what they did. It seemed, even the boy himself didn't know, and had just believed his eyes had changed for no reason.

"Well, Jounin-san, I happen to know that you are a Konoha shinobi, of rather high rank and reputation, given that on multiple occasions, I have seen you frequent the Namikaze household, and even have gone to Dinner with Yondaime-sama's family. So, unless you are going to tell me that I'm suddenly going to be assaulted, I don't believe your presence is of any concern for my well being." Naruto explained casually, causing Kakashi to sigh in exasperation.

"Well, I guess my reputation precedes me." Kakashi replied rather cockily, even tilting his head rapidly as if his head had to adjust to the ego boost he had just experienced, until Naruto chuckled and turned around, returning to his walk.

"Actually, Jounin-san, the Hokage's reputation precedes even you, who is not said Hokage." Naruto's cheeky reply caused Kakashi to deflate and cry a river of tears, before he jogged to catch up with the boy after rapidly wiping his one visible eye.

"Now, in all seriousness Jounin-san, I do believe you wanted something from me, no?" Naruto glanced up at the silver-haired man to his right, and began to ponder on exactly what it was he wanted. Perhaps Naruto had over exaggerated the time it would take to assign Naruto a separate teacher out of pity? Surely Kushina, or someone had noticed how pathetically long it took Naruto to even Kawarimi. He gazed up at the man, who seemingly had one eye, considering he concealed the other. Perhaps this man no longer had a use in the field, and was being delegated Naruto as a student, out of equal pity from the Hokage? If that were the case, Naruto decided he would quit being a Shinobi, to preserve both of their dignities.

Kakashi nodded at Naruto's words, scratching the top of his head lightly. "Ahahah, well uhhh, I was wondering if your team passed the Genin Test?" Kakashi questioned, staring with his cycloptic eye at Naruto's dual swirls. Said blonde stared up at the Jounin, before smirking lightly, almost unnoticeable. "Well, Jounin-san, I do believe we would have all passed to be a team in the first place. Though, I must confess I had a rather hard time passing the Bunshin portion, and I am glad that Iruka-Sensei took pity on my current situation and passed me. Though, to be truthful, I almost wonder if it would've worked out better for me if he hadn't." Naruto admitted truthfully, thinking on his need to find a stable job so he could at least eat every day now.

Kakashi further sighed at his words, once more flailing his arms in annoyance. "Gahhhhh, you know what I mean! The real genin test, the one administered by your Jounin Sensei!" Kakashi muttered in exasperation, glaring with an annoyed gleam at the blonde who once more strode forward with no stop.

A lightbulb seemingly appeared over Naruto's head. "Ahhhh thaaaat. Well, to be honest with you, I don't think that question is really warranted by you, or anyone for that matter. I mean, let's be real here, Jounin-san, would the Hokage allow his daughter, or the daughter of one of his closest friends, the Uchiha Clan Head, to fail the test and have to retake the final year of the Academy? Not even that, would the mother of one of her Genins allow the team to fail?" Naruto chuckled as he walked away from a far-eyed Kakashi, "Come on Jounin-san, look underneath the underneath, right?" With that, Naruto disappeared into the crowd of Konoha Citizens, a bewildered Kakashi left in his wake.