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SOTS-1-01-02

Soul of the Seal - Story 1 - Arc 1 - Chapter 2

Chapter 2 - "Setting the Record Straight, One Headache at a Time"


"Well, I guess we'd better get back, huh?" Naruto smiled at his teacher.

"Ah, yes. I should be able to make it." Iruka said, stretching a bit to test his injuries. They still hurt like the dickens, but weren't nearly as bad as one might have thought. His chunin vest had protected him from the potentially life threatening injuries, so it was mainly his legs that were in the worst shape.

"Do you want me to carry you?" Naruto asked. When Iruka laughed, Naruto shook his head. "I'm serious. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto made the quick handsign, and three other Narutos poofed into existence. While two went over to unceremoniously pick up the still unconscious Mizuki, one went into the bushes quickly, and returned to toss the giant scroll to the original Naruto, who secured it to his back. Then he and the other moved to allow Iruka to lean on them, but there was a... small... problem.

"Perhaps now that you've graduated, the first new jutsu we should look into is one to make you taller." Kyaena was holding her paws over her nose to try to keep herself from laughing out of control.

'Shut up! I have at least two more growth spurts to go through in my life, thank you very much!' Naruto growled inwardly, as he and his double awkwardly tried to find a comfortable position for Iruka.

"I don't think this is going to work, Naruto." Iruka chuckled again. "It's ok, I think I can manage. Come on. I'm sure everyone's worried." He started off, with two Narutos walking next to him should he stumble, while the other two followed behind with Mizuki.

It was obvious that the Naruto's were sorely tempted to just let the traitor drag along, but he was already badly beaten, and Naruto didn't want him dieing... yet. After all, it's worse punishment for a traitor to have to live with the humiliation of being beaten.

"Worried about the scroll you mean." The original Naruto (with the scroll) sighed.

"Naruto, I'm curious. Why did you use Transformation to look like Hokage-sama when you attacked Mizuki?" Iruka asked, to change the subject.

"Psychological advantage." Naruto replied. When Iruka's confused look asked for clarification, Naruto continued. "It was obvious that the teme didn't have any problem with fighting you or me, that is to say, he didn't fear us. But I figured he wouldn't be so confident if he thought he was fighting the old man." Naruto glanced back at the traitor. "Peh. He was so scared, he didn't even try to fight back." When Naruto saw Iruka's astonished face, he shrugged. "I was paying attention in class... Even if you didn't think I was." He smiled weakly. Iruka smiled a tight smile in return.

'Even though he wants to forgive me, he'll never really forget.' Iruka thought sadly to himself. 'I just hope he never finds out I was lying about the graduation test...'

The two (or technically five, plus one dead-weight) of them walked on for a while in silence, with Iruka occasionally limping a bit. But Kyaena decided to have a bit more fun.

"How about you try carrying him on your shoulders? Oh no wait, his feet would still touch the ground!" Kyaena laughed, rolling around in her pillows in the cage.

'I'M NOT THAT SHORT!' Naruto mentally shouted, letting out a small cough-aborted growl at his minor headache. Iruka glanced at him.

"So, Naruto. Why the Shadow Clone Jutsu?" Iruka asked, hoping to keep Naruto calm until they had gotten back to talk to the Hokage.

"Well, considering how much... err... difficulty... the regular Clone Jutsu gave me, I figured it would be best to learn a better equivalent to fill that gap in my abilities." He said. But before Iruka could nod in acceptance of the explanation, Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Plus... It was the first jutsu on the scroll." He admitted sheepishly. Iruka chuckled at the obviousness of the answer.

After a few more minutes, they finally reached the edge of the woods and the village proper. But even as they stepped out onto the well-worn paths, a group of ninja jumped out of the surroundings to land in front of the ragged bunch. A few of them gasped at the four Narutos, and the injuries of Iruka and the still unconscious Mizuki.

"Everyone be careful! The monster has hostages!" A ninja with an eyepatch shouted to the others who yanked out various weapons.

"WILL YOU ALL JUST KNOCK IT OFF!?" Iruka instantly shouted in his 'yell at the class' voice, making the group give a start. Naruto raised an eyebrow as Iruka continued. "Look, I know this seems really bizarre, but Naruto didn't take the scroll on purpose. Well, actually he did, but it was an accident. Mizuki tricked him. But everything is alright now. We're heading to see Hokage-sama." Iruka explained.

The group cast looks at each other for a moment in consideration, before eye-patch spoke again.

"Sorry Iruka, but it doesn't matter whether it was an accident or not. The brat has shown he is capable, and willing, to commit a major crime. We can't risk things getting any more out of hand. And look at yourself! You try to stop the twerp, and he's willing to do that to you and Mizuki!?" Eye-patch barked. Iruka shook his head.

"Mizuki is a traitor. He tricked Naruto, then attacked me. He's the reason I'm cut up. But Naruto saved me. If you guys want to get Mizuki to the hospital under guard, I'm going to take Naruto to Hokage-sama before heading over there ourselves." Iruka said, motioning Naruto to follow as he moved to walk on. But Eye-patch moved in front of him.

"No Iruka! We can't let him get away with it this time! Step away. And then we can lament over the 'accident' we had while trying to retrieve him." Eye-patch said while glaring at Naruto. But he and the others in his group blinked in surprise when Iruka yanked out a pair of kunai.

"Not. A. Chance. In. Hell." Iruka spat. "I told you, Naruto saved me, and he is willingly returning the scroll he 'borrowed'. You've got a lousy sense of gratitude."

"Gratitude!? To that filthy de-" Eye-patch was cut off mid sentence.

"Partial Expansion Jutsu, Arm!" Came a shout as a massive arm and hand, easily six feet wide, swept through the group, sending them all toppling into a heap against a wall. Even as they tried to disentangle themselves, Chouza quickly moved from his position to stand next to, and support, Iruka. "I'll say again, I believe that Hokage-sama's orders were to return Naruto unharmed. And I'd doubt that you'd like to explain the little stunt you just tried to pull, implying that you would attack fellow leaf-nin." Chouza announced in a loud hearty voice.

"What!? We have no intention of attacking Iruka!" Eye-patch shouted as he leapt back to his feet.

"Actually, he wasn't the leaf-nin I was referring to." Chouza said seriously as he pointed to the Narutos, or more specifically, their heads.

"Wh-what? What the hell!?" Eye-patch and the others blinked, now noticing the Hitai-ate that adorned the blonds.

"Oh yes! I forgot to mention the good news!" Iruka smiled. "Naruto has graduated from the academy!"

There were murmurs amongst the group at this development. Even a freshly graduated genin was still technically a fellow ninja. The punishment they would face over that would be extreme.

"I will help you to Hokage-sama." Chouza said, taking one of Iruka's arms. The other clone of Naruto went to the two carrying Mizuki. Naruto noticed that Chouza was actually a little tall for Iruka to lean on properly.

"So unfair..." Naruto mumbled, as Kyaena laughed.

They moved past the still wary group of ninja, then quickly made their way to the Hokage tower, where Sarutobi was waiting out front for them, along with four ANBU and the pair of Sarutobi's usual assistants. Naruto tensed when he saw the ANBU, but they simply took Mizuki and vanished, allowing Naruto to dispel his clones. Naruto stepped forward sheepishly, pulling the large scroll from his back.

"Err.. Sorry about this Old-Man... I-" Naruto mumbled, but stopped when Sarutobi put a hand on his shoulder.

"It's alright Naruto. I know you didn't mean any harm, and are not to blame." The Hokage smiled.

"Well... I'm the one who believed that bastard Mizuki, despite certain objections and-" Naruto stopped when his stomach grumbled loudly. When everyone looked at him in amusement, he jutted his chin. "Hey, I've been up all night, and haven't had breakfast. So sue me."

"Well then, perhaps we should talk after you two are treated at the hospital, and have had a chance to eat." Sarutobi chuckled.

"I don't need to go to the hospital." Naruto said as he looked at his sensei.

"Please, just humor us this time Naruto?" Iruka asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow as he looked him up and down.

"Uh, no offense, but Mizuki never touched me. You're the one cut up, and incidentally, as you're standing here talking, you're risking infection." Naruto commented.

"Come along Naruto. Check up first, breakfast after." Sarutobi smirked as he took the scroll from Naruto, handing it to his assistants, who quickly took it into the Hokage tower.

"Hokage-sama, we should actually try to make this quick, because we'll need the afternoon to test Naruto." Iruka said suddenly. Naruto whipped around on him.

"What!? Another test!?" He demanded.

"Calm down Naru-kun. I think it's something else." Kyaena shook her head.

"Ah, I understand Iruka. Don't worry Naruto, it's nothing bad." Sarutobi motioned for Naruto to calm himself.

"Well, what is it then? You're not about to take back my graduation are you?" Naruto asked in slight anger, his hand going up to his... that is, Iruka's, Hitai-ate. 'Although, I'm sure he'll want this back. I better be given a new one.' He realized.

"No, don't worry Naruto, you've graduated. That's a definite. But since Mizuki had been interfering with your tests, we have to test you one more time so we can see what your real abilities are." Iruka explained, and laughed at Naruto's dumbfounded expression. "What? Did you really think we'd just say 'good luck' and send you on your way?"

"So, this is just to have accurate records?" Naruto asked slowly, as the others nodded. Well, except for Chouza. "So that means... I'll finally be able to show my real abilities!? No interference!?" Naruto's face lit up with excitement. "Well what are we waiting for!? Let's get Iruka-sensei patched up already!" Naruto was practically bouncing up and down.

"He doesn't seem hurt to me." Chouza commented lightly, getting a laugh from the others as they headed off.

As they were walking, Naruto was ecstatic.

'Alright! I'm going to be able to show them what I can really do!' He thought gleefully.

"Right! Which means no holding back and NO messing around!" Kyaena, despite being genuinely happy for her friend, knew that it was important to have this go right. "You goof off on this and I'll make sure you have indigestion whenever you eat ramen for the rest of your life! You've got to do this seriously at your absolute best!" She slapped her tails down sternly.

'Right! Now, lets see, I'll need some shuriken and kunai, maybe some wire though it's unlikely... I'll have to ask Iruka-sensei what else I'll need...' Naruto and Kyaena began going through a list of preparations.

Sarutobi, Iruka, Chouza and Naruto all made their way to the hospital. They walked up to the front desk where Sarutobi gave instructions for the treatment of Iruka, and a quick exam for Naruto. Iruka was immediately taken by a pair of medics, and Chouza left after a bow to the Hokage. But as minutes passed an no one came to take Naruto, Sarutobi got impatient, and gave a new order to the receptionist, who blanched as they sent a message. A few minutes after that, a woman medic came into the waiting area, and nodded to the Hokage.

"Ah, finally. Naruto, you can go with this medic now. It's alright, she's one of the ANBU medics that is among my direct subordinates. You'll be safe with her." Sarutobi explained, fingering his empty pipe. He wasn't so insensitive as to be smoking in the hospital.

Naruto looked at the woman while trying to ignore his tingling whiskers. She was about 5'10", wearing tight dark blue, almost black, long-sleeved skinshirt with matching nonslacks. A strange vest was open loosely on her, a vest similar to other ANBU Naruto had seen before, but it wasn't as thick/bulky, and seemed to have several more pockets and pouches than normal. She had a fair sized ninja kit attached to her belt on her right hip. A long white doctors coat was over top of it all. She had dark sapphire blue hair that barely touched her shoulders, and her eyes were an unusual bright gold. Looking to be about betweem 22 and 26 or so, she was as pleasantly physically fit as one would expect from an exquisitely trained kunoichi. That is to say, she had a blazing hot muscled body with a rack that would be shameful to hide behind her vest. Not that it really mattered to Naruto.

"Can't say I've seen your kind of eyes before." Naruto commented, looking her up and down.

"Can't say I've seen your kind of eyes before either." The woman replied, looking Naruto over. "Nor can I recall the last time a guy had the guts to eye me like you just did." She raised an eyebrow as Naruto frowned at her insinuation.

"Now now, I really think it would be best if the two of you try to get along. Naruto, when you and Iruka are done, I'll be expecting you back at the academy." Sarutobi waved to the boy, and gave a last nod to the woman before leaving, trying to ignore his growing headache.

"Well then, come along." The woman motioned as she turned to lead Naruto away. He considered just running off...

"No Naru-kun. Just get this over with quickly, then you can go get ready for your evaluation." Kyaena ordered. Naruto just sighed at the pointlessness of it as he followed the medic woman, but kept a hand near his shuriken holster. Just in case.

She lead him to a standard exam room, shutting the door behind them as she had him hop up on a medbed. Naruto took off his orange jacket, and just waited. The woman checked him over, but he was more dirty than scraped up.

"Let me guess, you don't have a name, do you?" Naruto asked idly. The woman paused as she glanced into his eyes.

"If you need something to call me... you can call me Tetsuko." She replied as she resumed her examination. She put her hands together for a moment, and her right hand became enveloped in a green glow. She placed her hand on Naruto's chest.

"Does she really expect you to believe that's her real name?" Kyaena snorted, both her eye and tails twitching slightly.

'Interesting question.' Naruto thought as he tilted his head. "So... How come you aren't wearing a mask like other ANBU I've seen?" Naruto asked.

"You have a fever." Tetsuko said, acting like she hadn't heard him.

"That's impossible. You know, the only other ANBU that ever had anything to do with me specifically, also didn't wear a mask. And yet any other I've ever seen in the village, they always wear masks. I find that a bit strange. Care to comment?" Naruto asked with a raised eyebrow.

"You're entire body temperature is elevated. You have a fever of 100 degrees. But I can't find any sign of infection or disease." Tetsuko shifted her hand around his chest slightly as she concentrated intently. But when her hand started to slide down to his stomach, he grabbed her wrist.

"Do you have something against talking like a normal person? And incidentally, I'm fairly sure that the 100 degree temperature is normal for me... for whatever reason." Naruto commented, trying to prevent his mouth from twitching.

Tetsuko stared at Naruto's hand holding her wrist, until he cleared his throat and released her. She looked up into his eyes again.

"I don't have anything against conversation. It's just that I have a duty to perform, and Hokage-sama would most likely be... irked... if I don't do the most thorough job I can. Would you really want me to be reprimanded just because you were a bit impatient?" She asked. Naruto just snorted as he stared her back in the eye. "So, how can you be sure that the 100 degree temperature is normal for you?" She resumed, allowing her glowing hand to remain on his stomach for just a moment before bringing it back up to over his heart, then up to his neck.

"Simple. I've never been sick for even so much as an hour in my entire life. I feel as normal now as I always do." Naruto shrugged, both from his comment, and the slightly unnerving sensation of Tetsuko's hand on the back of his neck. He wasn't used to people touching him without trying to kill him. "And strangely, I've never really been affected by whether it's hot or cold out side. There have been times during the hot seasons that I've seen people practically melting, even in the shade, and yet I feel completely comfortable."

Tetsuko paused to blink at him.

"Who ever said to 'not sweat the small stuff', obviously never met you. Most ANBU dread the hot season. We're not usually dressed for the weather." She shook her head in disbelief, as her hand moved up to Naruto's head, having to shift the Hitai-ate down around his neck. "So Mizuki-"

"-Jerk!" Naruto coughed. Tetsuko raised an eyebrow.

"So Mizuki-" She started to say.

"-Jerk!" Naruto coughed again. She gave him a hard look, but Naruto just blinked innocently, while Kyaena was trying not to laugh since it would disrupt Naruto's concentration.

"So Mizuki the jerk," Tetsuko said, pausing to look at Naruto, who just took an interest in the ceiling. "So he never actually hit you?"

"Nope. He was to busy pissing himself when he thought Old-Man-Hokage was the one beating the crap out of him." Naruto smirked.

"Ah, the psychological advantage." She agreed with a nod.

For the remaining minutes of the exam, Naruto just gave an edited recant of his night adventure. There was an odd moment when she gasped, but refused to say anything when Naruto asked what it was about. When Tetsuko was finished, she was forced to agree that Naruto's temperature was normal... for him anyway. She led him back out into the waiting area.

"You're ridiculously healthy, Naruto." Tetsuko shook her head in disbelief, as they were waiting for Iruka to show up. "Frankly, I don't know why you're still such a-"

"Say runt or midget and you'll be experiencing the Mizuki smackdown action replay in live color of black and blue and red all over!" Naruto growled in warning.

"... I see." Tetsuko remarked after a moment. "One more question, Naruto. A little while ago, when you first saw me, what was really going through your mind when you looked me over? I know it wasn't anything perverted as I implied before. So what was it?" She asked, looking at him seriously.

Naruto suddenly found himself slightly fidgety.

"Does it really matter?" Naruto muttered, not looking at her. 'What does she expect? All I can see is another potential killer who is old enough to have a grudge against you.'

"I don't think it's a good idea to talk about those kinds of things. I smell a lead-on." Kyaena warned.

"I'm just curious. Your eyes seemed to be considerably older than they should be." Tetsuko shrugged.

"I wouldn't know." Naruto said, crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

"So you're not going to tell me?" Tetsuko asked. But Naruto remained silent. She sighed as they waited.

It was about another twenty minutes before a slightly bandaged-up Iruka made his appearance. He paused as he looked at the pair, noting the very unusual silence. Iruka was about to question why Naruto was being so quiet, until he realized that he wasn't really in a position to question a boy that he didn't know as well as he once thought.

"So Naruto, did you get checked out ok?" Iruka asked as he walked up to him. Naruto's eyes snapped open.

"Of course! I told you I was fine!" Naruto huffed impatiently. Iruka smiled at the same old Naruto and turned to Tetsuko.

"No problems?" The chewed-up chunin checked.

"Except for having an out-of-the-ordinary body temperature, he's fine." She nodded.

"What do you mean?" Iruka's brow tensed in instant concern.

"Look, it's nothing! Come on, we've got to go get breakfast then head over to the academy! The old man said he'd be expecting us!" Naruto yanked on Iruka's hand, dragging the protesting teacher out of the hospital.

Tetsuko watched the odd friends exit the hospital. A very small smirk curved her lips slightly before she turned and set about to continue the next part of her duties, pulling out and donning a smooth white mask that had blue flames on the right side edge, and red flames on the left side edge. The only other feature than the narrow eye slits was the etched leaf symbol up in the forehead area. Tetsuko removed the white doctors coat, hanging it up next to others on a rack before rushing out of the hospital herself, needing to get to her destination before the other two.


Sarutobi was directing a few of the academy hands in setting up the area where Naruto would be tested. Contentedly smoking his pipe, he didn't even bother turning when the ANBU appeared to kneel beside him.

"To my knowledge, this was the first time Naruto had ever been to the hospital, or had ever let anyone check on him. I hope you were thorough." Sarutobi commented.

"I did the best I could without raising suspicion." Tetsuko answered. "Over all, he is exceptionally healthy, despite his seeming obsession with ramen."

"It's not that unhealthy a food." Sarutobi coughed slightly, knowing his own weakness for the stuff.

"There were three things, however. The first and most obvious, is a strange fact that his normal body temperature seems to be set at 100 degrees even. I can only assume it's because of his unique nature." Tetsuko explained.

"Does it pose any danger to him? Any potential long term problems?" Sarutobi asked.

"If anything, I believe the opposite. He says he's never been sick at all, and is virtually unaffected by external day-to-day temperature. It seems that his enormous chakra levels keep him in near perfect health." Tetsuko tilted her head slightly. "And when I say enormous, I mean enormous! He was just sitting still, and I would still say he has at least a hundred times the chakra that I have, most likely a lot more."

"Ah! Ah-ha... Ah, I see." Sarutobi choked slightly on his pipe. He knew Naruto had a lot of potential and had been exercising his chakra for years, but even that estimate seemed ridiculous. But he was putting his trust in Tetsuko for a very good reason. "And the other things?" He asked.

"Well, I think the other two kind of go together. I said he was in near perfect health. But there were signs that he has been, and is, under almost constant extreme stress. It was especially obvious when I touched him. His nervous system spiked on it's own, implying he really wanted to get away from me." Tetsuko said in a solemn, slightly sad tone.

"Don't take it personally. After a dozen years of abuse, I'm afraid Naruto will have a very hard time allowing anyone that close." Sarutobi sighed. "So what was the last thing?"

"It's something... when I look into his eyes. And the way he talks. I'm not really sure what it is. It's like he double-thinks everything." Tetsuko shifted slightly.

"That's a strange thing to say." Sarutobi finally turned to look at her.

"I request permission to conduct an extensive observation on Naruto." Tetsuko requested... well... officially. Sarutobi considered a few moments before responding.

"I'm afraid that isn't possible right now. Not only is Naruto exceptionally elusive even at the best of times as you well know, there is the point of his graduation. In a few days he'll have his genin orientation and final genin exam. If he passes, his team will begin their active duties, and that would make it virtually impossible for any kind of ongoing investigation. Besides," Sarutobi raised an eyebrow at his subordinate, "You've already done plenty of observations on Naruto. That was the whole point of assigning you as his guard after the Uchiha event. And I can't say I've been at all pleased with the reports you've given in the past, and you've failed to find out anything about Naruto's friend, Kyaena Unaikaji, that he hasn't told me himself." He paused, then sighed. "There are times I begin to wonder if she even exists at all, considering that it seems no one has ever reported seeing her."

"All my reports were as accurate as I could make them, I swear it." Tetsuko declared firmly. "I've tried to find out about her, but you haven't allowed me to stay on watch on Naruto-kun constantly. If I didn't have the other missions to perform, I could get considerably more information. I know I could."

"Naruto doesn't need constant watch, not like he used to. And depending on how things go in the next few weeks... well, at least for the time being, you probably won't be required for anything. But I will be writing an addendum to your file, giving you medical authority in regards to Naruto, so if he winds up in the hospital in the future for any reason, you'll be able to take care of his treatment." Sarutobi gave a puff on his pipe. "I believe that is all for now, and Naruto and Iruka should be along shortly. You're dismissed."

"...Yes, Hokage-sama." Tetsuko said slowly, then turned and dashed away in a less than satisfied mood. Sarutobi turned his attention back to Naruto's evaluation preparations.

'Well, I guess I can't be to upset with her. After all, she's certainly much more thorough and reliable than Itachi ever was. But hopefully, Naruto won't need protecting for much longer.' The aged ninja thought to himself. 'Hmm. I wonder what's keeping them. I would have expected Naruto to be here already, given how excited he seemed earlier.' He tapped out his spent pipe.


"Come on Iruka-sensei! Aren't you done yet!? We've got to get to the academy!" Naruto was standing, arms crossed, foot tapping impatiently.

Iruka and Naruto were at a breakfast bar, having gotten there after stopping at Naruto's apartment for him to grab additional ninja gear. Iruka had ordered them a moderate meal, but Iruka had barely touched his when Naruto had already finished his two plates and a pitcher of fruit juice.

"I like to enjoy my breakfast, Naruto. I don't really want to choke and have to go right back to the hospital." Iruka said as he munched on a piece of toast.

"I have to agree with him! I don't think you chewed even once! I feel like I'M going to have indigestion!" Kyaena groaned with her ears laid back flat.

"Well, excuse me if I'm just a bit anxious!" Naruto huffed at the both of them.

Naruto waited in fuming silence as Iruka slowly finished his breakfast. He was trying to be patient, but after seven plus years of struggling, sweating, bleeding and all around frustration, he was ready to cross the finish line, as it were. Well, technically he already did, having graduated from the academy, but the way it happened was a bit too hectic for him to have really enjoyed it. Having this evaluation was something much more substantial for him. Real recognition. He wished it had happened earlier, when he could have shown his real skill with the rest of his class, but it was enough to just to finally get Iruka and Sarutobi off their butts. He could savor the moment this time, compared to the sudden shock of what had gone on with Mizuki. Heck, he didn't even fully realize what had happened until Iruka had presented him with his Hitai-ate.

Naruto reached up to touch the metal. It wasn't his quite yet. Or rather, he'd have his own once they got back to the academy. And there was another thing. When they had entered the restaurant, people had done double takes at him. Their eyes were drawn to his head. It seemed they didn't like the fact he was wearing the Hitai-ate. He knew they had to get used to it, but he figured he should at least wait for his own. He pulled the band from his head with a sigh and set it next to Iruka, causing the chunin to pause with a mouthful of scrambled egg to look at him.

"Whmmph armm ynn dnninn?" He asked. Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"If you're asking what I'm doing, I just figured you can have yours back, and I'll just get my own when we get to the academy." Naruto shrugged.

Iruka stared at the boy a moment, and before Naruto could blink, the Hitai-ate was back on his head.

"Naruto, you've graduated, and I'm not about to let anyone think otherwise. You keep wearing that, and I'll get a replacement later." Iruka stated firmly.

"But... This is yours. As in, yours-yours. Surely you would want to keep it?" Naruto asked with a frown. Iruka gave a slightly surprised look before waving him off.

"Oh, I see. You don't have to worry, Naruto. That's not the same Hitai-ate that I graduated with. Every once in a while, those things get damaged, or lost, or whatever. It's normal." Iruka shrugged.

"Oh." Naruto slumped ever so slightly. It would have been interesting if it had been Iruka's original Hitai-ate, but not everything in one's life had to have some deep, permanent meaning. But still, he decided he would try to keep it as long as he could.

After a few more minutes, Iruka had finished his meal, and the two headed for the academy. Naruto kept patting at his ninja kit and his kunai holster in a slightly nervous manner, getting a chuckle or two from Iruka. They walked through the academy grounds and were directed to the training field where Sarutobi was waiting, sitting in a chair at a table that had been set up. A second, empty chair, was presumably for Iruka.

Even as they approached, Naruto glanced across the field at what was set up. Numerous target dummies, sparring dummies, some poles, and all the other usual materials that occupied the field for use by the academy students.

"Ah, Iruka, Naruto. I see you've been bandaged up. Everything's alright then?" Sarutobi asked as he was in the process of filling his pipe.

"Yes, we're fine. Got some breakfast and stopped by Naruto's apartment for his gear before coming over." Iruka sat in the chair next to the Hokage.

"Right! So what's first?" Naruto asked eagerly. Sarutobi couldn't help but chuckle.

'Just a few hours ago, he was in a fight for his life with a traitor, and yet now, all he can think about is getting on with his ninja career.' Sarutobi mused as he lit his pipe. "Alright Naruto. We'll have your practical tests first, then lunch, then a cumulative academy comprehension test after that." Sarutobi waited for Naruto to nod in understanding, then addressed the field. "Now, to start with shuriken and kunai accuracy. Those four target dummies there, the red target spots-"

Whoosh-ThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThu nkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunkThunk!

"Alright, what next?" Naruto smiled cheerfully.

Sarutobi nearly fumbled his pipe and Iruka was blinking with a dropped jaw. Every last one of the target spots now sported a shiny shuriken squarely in the centers. And each of the four dummies had a kunai lodged deep in the spot that would have been, on a real person, the crotch. The two watching judges gulped slightly as they shifted in their seats.

"Ah, um, yes. Ok, very good Naruto" Sarutobi puffed as he cleared his throat slightly. Iruka got out of his seat to go over and examine the dummies.

'Holy... He hit every target dead-center. And it looked like he barely even tried!' Iruka thought as he pulled the shuriken out, and, with some awkwardness, quickly yanked out the offending kunai as well before walking back over and handing the weapons to Naruto. "Ok Naruto, now do that twice more please. It's just for averaging's sake." Iruka instructed. Naruto sighed as he threw the weapons twice again, though omitting the kunai to the crotch, and achieved the same bulls-eye results.

Through the hours of the morning, Naruto was tested on every academy standard requirement. Various equipment use, like ninja wire and explosive tags, to the basic jutsu use, like demonstrating efficiency of the Substitution Jutsu. Though, once again, a minor argument arose over the jutsu type of Transformation and the Clone Jutsu, which one was ninjutsu or genjutsu. Naruto thought they had it backwards, the other two couldn't understand why Naruto thought of them the way he did. Naruto was in the middle of trying to prove his point when the two older ninja suddenly told him to stop and move on with the exam. Naruto was slightly confused by their sudden change in attitude, but decided he was wasting time with the argument and should just get on with things. So, as the last of the practicals came to a close, they watched Naruto's taijutsu. And though Naruto had breezed through everything else without problem, despite his speed and strength, his actual style form efficiency wasn't as good as he wanted. But he was hardly to blame, since Kyaena wasn't exactly capable of helping much, with only limited verbal instruction on the basics that she knew, and no one else had ever even offered to try to help him. The pinnacle of it all was, however, what taijutsu he did have was good enough in a pinch to get him next to an opponent to use his chakra strength. When he demonstrated it by lifting a boulder ten times his size over his head, then shattering it like etched glass, the looks on his sensei's faces were priceless. Walking past the debris of the boulder and the demolished sparring dummies, he stood in front of his elders.

"So, I think that about covers all the practical subjects, right?" Naruto smirked, not even winded. Sarutobi and Iruka, who had been scribbling notes like crazy, looked at Naruto.

"Naruto, why is it you've never shown that ability before? I would've thought you'd use it all the time." Iruka asked in a confused and concerned tone.

"What, you mean my chakra strength?" Naruto raised an eyebrow in question, to which, Iruka nodded. Naruto shrugged. "When Kyaena-chan taught it to me, we agreed I should save it as a surprise ace in battle. You know, let the enemy get over confident, underestimate me, come in close to finish me, and CRRRIK!" Naruto made a wrenching motion with his hands. "Bye-bye spinal column. Oh, and by the way, I did show it once before. IN MY FIRST YEAR." Naruto snapped at Iruka. "As I recall, I was forbidden from using it as I 'was a danger to the other students'!" Naruto glared pointedly at them. "I hope you can understand my desire to keep that ability quiet up til now, since I doubted many people would be very happy to find out I could level a building with my bare hands."

Iruka nodded numbly as he remembered in embarrassment, but he and Naruto started when Sarutobi began chuckling, then laughing, then out-right guffawing. The two younger ninja blinked in confusion as Sarutobi's fit lasted a good minute before he got control of himself, wiping his eyes a bit.

"Sorry about that. Just got caught up in a few old memories of another stubborn destructive blonde I knew once upon a time." He coughed slightly to catch his breath, earning another glare from Naruto, but Naruto blinked when he felt a slight tension in his gut.

'Kya-chan? Is something wrong?' Naruto asked inwardly. Kyaena shifted around slightly in her nest of pillows. She had been keeping quiet to allow Naruto to concentrate on his exam.

"No, not really. Just trying to make sure I'm following everything that's going on. I still don't understand what was bothering them about your Transformation Jutsu." Kyaena let out a long yawn. Academy stuff was pretty boring after all, considering Naruto had gone though it for three repeated years.

'Yeah, kinda weird. I changed into the Old-Man, but when he came over and poked me in the shoulder, he and Iruka-sensei suddenly got strange looks on their faces, then they insisted that we move on. I don't get it.' Naruto scratched his head a bit, re-focusing on his two judges.

Sarutobi looked to the side to the large clock on the outer wall of the academy.

"Ok Naruto, you can go get some lunch, then come back for the written exam." Sarutobi motioned for the boy to be on his way.

"Just come to the classroom like normal when you get back. I'll have the test ready for you." Iruka stated. Naruto nodded, but then slowly leaned forward, peering at the papers on the table with his hands behind his back. The two seated men immediately noticed and franticly gathered up the papers, hiding them from view.

"Soooooo... How'm I doin so far?" Naruto asked all too innocently as he slowly straightened back up.

"Oh, fine Naruto! You're doing just fine!" Iruka smiled as he pulled a loose paper back under his arms. Naruto frowned.

"Just fine? I know I'm not rookie of the year or anything, but surely I've got a bit of efficiency that would stand out." His frown tightened into thin lips. "Or do you really hold my minimalistic genjutsu abilities against me that much? I mean come on! It's my countering ability that matters! I broke all but one of them that you threw at me, and even that was only half-!"

"Calm down Naruto." Sarutobi waved the agitated boy down in concern. "You're skills so far really are excellent. You don't have anything to worry about. And you're right, your ability to counter genjutsu is very impressive, despite your slight difficulty in using them. A ninja may need to understand all the basics, but no one is expected to master them all right from the start." Sarutobi gave Naruto a reassuring smile. "You've got a long future ahead of you Naruto. You'll have plenty of time to improve whatever skills you think need polishing."

Naruto stood still for a moment, only his mouth moving and twitching as he considered his Hokage's words.

"Naru-kun, relax. You'll burn yourself out if you keep kicking yourself over the genjutsu thing. And Jiji's right, you've been working for years to get this far, and you'll have to work for years yet to truly become the strongest of all." Kyaena purred to placate her ward, which was a strange concept considering their unique relationship circumstances.

"Alright, fine, ok." Naruto sighed deeply to get himself to relax. "Sorry. I guess I just wanted to know how I compared to my classmates..." Naruto paused as a image of a broody, duck-haired boy flashed in his mind, but he shook it off with a smile. "But then, what does it matter, right? As long as I'm strong enough for the village. But I'll have to master these things eventually, if I plan to fill your shoes, and hat, someday Old-Man!" Naruto chuckled as he went off muttering to himself. "Wonder if the cafeteria has anything decent..."

Sarutobi and Iruka remained in their seats as they watched Naruto head off for lunch. Once he was gone, Iruka promptly slammed his head down on the table.

"Damn it all!" He shouted, giving Sarutobi a start. "What the hell have I done to him!? ... ... ow."

"Iruka-" Sarutobi blinked in shock at the chunin teacher's outburst, and slight carelessness to his own injuries.

"All this time! He's been working himself like crazy and I never realized it!" Iruka grabbed one of the papers in front of himself, shaking it. "Even with his genjutsu handicap, his scores are WAY above the rest of the class! And if he tests even half as well on the written exam...!" Iruka hung his head shamefully while rubbing his forhead slightly. "He should have been rookie of the year, hands down. I can't believe how much I've held him back..."

"It wasn't you Iruka. It was Mizuki. But at least we're finally seeing the real Naruto, and the village will benefit from it. Especially considering..." Sarutobi trailed off in thought as he puffed on his pipe. Iruka's head snapped back up as he remembered.

"His Transformation Jutsu..." Iruka gasped, turning a new, shocked and concerned, look to the Hokage. "That simply couldn't have been possible! I... I thought only summons were capable of that! An ordinary human-"

"Naruto isn't ordinary, despite how much he might sometimes wish he was. The strange thing was that he didn't even seem aware that he was doing anything different. He actually believes that's the way the Transformation Jutsu is supposed to work." Sarutobi puffed on his dwindling pipe as he picked up one of his papers to re-read his own notes.

"So, you think we shouldn't tell him?" Iruka frowned, already disliking the prospect of keeping even more secrets from Naruto.

"I don't see why we would need to." Sarutobi responded casually as he carefully arranged his papers in a neat stack. "He would obviously have trained himself in uses of that jutsu in the way he believes it works."

"But... the potential use... and power of what he can do..." Iruka whispered in worry as he gathered his own papers.

"Which is why, as of now, it is a S-class secret between the two of us." Sarutobi stood with his papers tucked under an arm. "Believing that it's normal means Naruto won't think anything of it, and if in the future he realizes just how vast the capability of that ability is, it will most likely just become something unique that Naruto will become renowned for."

"And what happens if others find out about it? They will surely make a big deal about it! I mean, it IS a big deal!" Iruka jumped to his feet, only barely keeping his papers from scattering everywhere. Sarutobi tapped out his now spent pipe while he thought for a moment.

"If Naruto can use the Transformation Jutsu the way he does because of his... tenant, that means he's the only one in the village who could do it. Which means others can't learn or copy it. So there won't be any sudden upset in the balance of power." Sarutobi slowly nodded to himself, believing the situation was well under control.

"But surely Naruto would be in danger! Enemies, or even people in our own ranks that would want to grab Naruto in hopes of-" Iruka blanched.

"Of what? As I said, they couldn't duplicate it themselves. So if they wanted that power, they would have to get Naruto to agree to use it for them, which is not something I see happening." Sarutobi chuckled a little. "Besides, anyone who found out would have to come after Naruto, and even I would hesitate at the possibility of having to fight him when he has that kind of ability. So as long as we keep quiet for now, by the time the truth does accidentally slip out, Naruto should be more than capable of dealing with it himself... Not to say that I'm just going to do nothing, though." He carefully pocketed his pipe. "I'll have to write up an order in case anyone does try to make unreasonable demands of Naruto after the fact." The old ninja sighed. "... More paperwork..."

"I see." Iruka mumbled, subdued for the time being. "So, I take it you won't be sitting in on Naruto's written exam?" Iruka asked, making a note to be sure to get the table and chairs back inside the academy, as well as assigning some of the not-yet-graduated students to help in the clean up of the training field. Sarutobi laughed heartily at Iruka's question.

"So I would have a choice of returning to the office to do paperwork, or hang around Naruto to watch paperwork? Ha ha! I think I'll stick with the option that is more productive for myself. You can bring Naruto's completed test to my office after he's done. I'll definitely want to look at it." Sarutobi nodded to Iruka as he went off on his way to attend to his oh-so-favorite duties. ... ... Not.

"Yes, Hokage-sama." Iruka sighed as he watched his leader depart. He scratched the back of his neck. 'These stupid bandages! They're supposed to be non-irritative! Yet they already itch like hell!' Iruka left the training field to enter the academy, proceeding through the empty halls. The orientation for the graduated students would be in two days, then it would be a few weeks before classes started again for the next year.

Iruka stopped in one of the storage rooms to dig through the file cabinets until he found the test packet he was looking for. He then proceeded to his classroom, setting the packet on his desk as he sat down to wait for Naruto. He opened the bottom drawer and pulled out a new Hitai-ate for himself, as well as a few snack bags and a couple of canned drinks. It was the very reason that Iruka had told Naruto that he liked to enjoy his breakfast. Because he didn't often have time to have a decent lunch during normal teaching days. Even though he probably could've gone to the cafeteria himself to get a bigger meal with Naruto, he wanted the boy to have a chance to gather his thoughts for the written exam. And Iruka needed a bit of a breather himself to make sure he didn't do anything stupid.


Tetsuko was sitting on the roof of the academy behind the wall that held the large exterior clock. She had watched Naruto's practical exam in stunned silence, and now was just sitting, thinking. Sure, she had seen him in training plenty of times, heck, it often seemed like all he ever did was train, but to see him putting all his skills out at once for evaluation in front of the Hokage had been quite the sight. She may have been dismissed earlier, but since she was assigned to watch Naruto, and she didn't have any other standing orders for missions at the moment, she figured she might as well stick around to watch. And she was very glad she did.

'I can see why Hokage-sama said that he doesn't need as much protection as before. He's quite capable of defending himself now. In pure combat ability, he could take down most of the chunin in the village with little effort.' Tetsuko thought to herself. She pulled out a specific scroll from her vest, opened it, and wrote down some of the notes she had made in her observation. 'And his skill will only increase from here on out. He must be one of the strongest academy graduates the village has seen in a long time.' She paused in her writing to make sure she was putting down all the notes she wanted. 'Having such well-controlled chakra strength, knowing the Shadow Clone Jutsu, an A-ranked forbidden skill, as well as that impossible Transformation Jutsu... It's almost scary to think what kind of things he'll learn in the future. I wish I could see how he does on his written exam, but it's not likely. In fact, there's no telling if I'll be getting directly involved again any time soon.' She finished writing, repacked her scroll, and jumped off the academy roof, heading off. 'It's a real shame I can't have more chance to get to know you, Naruto Uzumaki. You truly are a remarkable person. The village is blessed to have you with us.' Despite herself, an unseen blush touched her cheeks. 'And speaking of, I can't believe he has t-... Whoa! No way!' She shook her head. 'No thinking like that. It's... unprofessional.' She scolded herself as she hurried on.


Naruto finished downing the large glass of milk of his meal, then proceeded to quickly throw his small bundle of trash into the wastebasket. The cafeteria had been empty, as there was no classes that day, therefore there was no need of the kitchen staff. So Naruto had just raided one of the refrigerators, getting a few sandwiches, a couple of oranges, and a whole carton of fresh milk. And of course, he had made sure it was fresh from the date on it, having some unpleasant memories of times when carelessness on that point had resulted in painful and humiliating encounters with the bathroom.

As Naruto was heading though the halls to Iruka's classroom, he felt Kyaena stir from the quiet relaxation she had been enjoying.

"Oh well." She yawned, shaking her head to wake herself up. "That was a nice little nap. But, paperwork waits forever, no matter how much you want to ignore it."

'Eh? What are you talking about?' Naruto asked curiously as he paused in the hall to take a sip of water from a water fountain.

"Your written exam. You're going to want help, right?" Kyaena stretched out her paws, back and tails to their limit before curling back into a comfortable spot.

'I don't really expect to need it. I mean, what could possibly be on the test that I haven't covered a hundred times before?' Naruto scoffed as he finally reached the classroom.

Walking through the door, he saw Iruka sitting back in his chair with his feet propped up on his desk. Iruka was reading a book with an orange cover that Naruto didn't recognize. After a minute, when it became obvious that Iruka was too involved in his book to notice his student's arrival, Naruto lightly flicked a shuriken that zipped over and pinnngged off Iruka's new Hitai-ate, causing him to yelp as he toppled backwards to the floor with a crash.

"NARUTO! WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING!?" Iruka was instantly back on his feet, momentarily reverting to 'teacher mode'.

"Just determining if that book you were reading was really worth being killed over. You had no idea I was standing here." Naruto frowned crossly as he crossed his arms in crossness at his teacher.

Iruka froze at Naruto's statement before looking down at the orange book on the floor. With speed that Naruto almost couldn't follow, Iruka snatched up the book, threw it into a drawer of his desk, and slammed it closed.

"Ah, right, so, um, the test, yeah, if you'll take a seat..." Iruka motioned vaguely for Naruto to sit while trying to hide his red cheeks... and slightly bloody nose.

Raising an eyebrow at his teacher's strange behavior, Naruto shrugged as he moved to the front row center desk and sat down. A moment later, Iruka slapped a thick pack of papers down in front of him. Naruto paused, then slowly put his face down to the level of the desktop, looking slightly sideways at the material in front of him.

"Uh, Iruka-sensei... What the heck is this?" Naruto asked tentatively. Iruka tried to suppress his smirk, and failed miserably.

"That's your written exam." He snickered.

"Exam? This isn't an exam! This is a continental population census poll!" Naruto whined as he took his pencil and placed it next to the papers, measuring it's height. "There must be a hundred pages here!"

"Sorry Naruto, but it's necessary. There's more to being a ninja than just fighting. And after all, if you really want to be Hokage someday..." Iruka trailed off in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, yeah, dumb paperwork..." Naruto grumbled. He looked up at the clock. "How long do I have?"

"There's a lot there, so no time limit, however, I would certainly hope you get done by sundown. Don't forget, I'm treating you to ramen tonight." Iruka smirked as Naruto's face instantly lit up.

"Right! So I better get started!" He twirled his pencil once, then focused on the paper in front of him.

At first, Naruto was startled at how easy the questions were. Sure, he had long since memorized almost every single lesson that he had taken in the academy, but even still, the test seemed almost too simple. However, after the first ten pages, the questions started getting harder. Still easy for Naruto, but he immediately realized how the test was obviously set up. The further along he went, the more difficult the questions got.

Iruka watched with great interest. In less than two hours, Naruto had already hit the half-way mark. One might have thought Iruka would get bored out of his mind, just sitting, waiting for a student to finish a written test. But it was not so. He was watching Naruto's face as he worked through the test, trying to guess what was going on in the young blonde's mind. It was certainly an eye-opener for Iruka, seeing Naruto so quiet, concentrating so hard. Especially since Iruka knew that after the half-way point, Naruto was getting to the questions that weren't normally covered in standard academy classes. It was to see how much Naruto really knew. Iruka knew he'd probably get an earful from the Hokage for giving Naruto that particular test, but then, Naruto had been originally registered as an advanced student, so Iruka figured that it was a more appropriate test for him.

It got to the point that Naruto was frowning, almost scowling, as he scratched his head repeatedly in frustration. He had passed the three-quarters mark, and was reaching the end of his patience. The questions had gotten, in Naruto's opinion, ridiculously complex and unrealistic. Like having to calculate multiple shuriken trajectories between two opponents, one on the ground and one in a tree seventy-five feet away and thirty-five feet high. Though Naruto was still (barely) managing to answer them, he found them annoying, and that he was spending too much time on each question. And as his frustration built, his concentration crumbled.

"Are you sure you don't want my help?" Kyaena asked at long length, when she sensed that Naruto was about five seconds from shredding the test papers.

'Grrrr. I'm so close to being done! This is important for me to show my hard work to Iruka-sensei! I don't want to have to resort to cheating now!' Naruto struggled not to grind his teeth as he glared down at his paper.

"Cheating? Naru-kun, you idiot. As of today, you're a ninja. There's no such thing as cheating to ninja. You use what skills and resources you possess to accomplish your mission. You think enemies are going to call a time-out in the middle of battle to call you a cheater? It just so happens that you possess a resource that no-one else has. Me. So it's not cheating, because it's not possible to cheat." Kyaena explained in a slightly surprised tone, having expected Naruto to realize the fact on his own. "Besides, you never had a problem with my helping you before." She purred playfully.

Naruto straightened up, blinking in surprise.

'Oh. Yeah, that makes sense. Sorry, it's just-' He sighed.

"It's ok, I know. Now let's get this thing done already!" Kyaena snickered at her friends honorable intentions as he turned his focus back to the paper.

Iruka, who had been watching, was slightly confused by Naruto's actions. He had obviously been having trouble, but then got a surprised look on his face, then seemed to calm down considerably. He also seemed to make better headway on the last few pages of the test. But he was still frowning at them. Iruka once again sighed at the re-realization that he didn't know Naruto at all, and had badly hindered the boy's life with his short-sightedness.

Finally, Naruto came to the last question, and he nearly gagged when he saw what it was. Out of all the brain-busting questions he had struggled through, even some of the last few that had nearly stumped Kyaena, the very last question was ridiculous.

Question #1200: What happened in the battle between the Yondime Hokage and the Kyuubi no Kitsune?

Barely keeping some curses held back, Naruto scribbled in the 'expected' answer, and flipped the test packet closed.

"You finished?" Iruka asked, straightening up in his seat when he saw Naruto stand up.

"Yeah, finally!" Naruto groaned a bit as he went through a few stretches. He picked up the packet and walked over to Iruka.

"So, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Iruka chuckled as he went to take the papers from Naruto, but paused in confusion when Naruto didn't release his hold.

"There were a number of questions that I know we never covered in class." Naruto growled lightly. "Were you expecting me to fail this?" His eyes narrowed at his sensei, who waved it off franticly.

"No no! Not at all! This wasn't a pass-fail test, it was just to see what you actually know." Iruka took the packet. "I know it's a little hard to get used to, but you've graduated. You don't have to worry about..." Iruka trailed off as his eyes stared off into the distance. Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow.

"Hey, I'm still right here!" Naruto waved a hand in front of the man's face, snapping him back.

"Oh, sorry." Iruka shook his head slightly, then looked up at the clock. "Just about six. Ok, tell you what, I'll meet you at Ichiraku's at eight. I'm going to try to get this test checked over, so you can just relax until-"

"Six? It's six!? I've been sitting here for nearly seven hours!?" Naruto paled in shock. Iruka's face furrowed slightly in worry.

"Hey, it's ok Naruto. Just the fact that you finished in that time is impressive. You can relax and-" Iruka went to put a hand on Naruto's shoulder, only to find the blonde moving away at a frantic pace.

"Can't relax! Bathroom! BathroomBathroomBATHROOM!" Naruto shrieked as he rocketed out of the classroom in a trail of smoke, the echoes of his sandals fading through the halls.

Iruka started to laugh, until he froze, going pale as well.

"Dang you Naruto! You just had to bring that up!" He yelled as he raced out of the room himself.


Sarutobi sat quietly in his office chair, leisurely smoking his pipe. Some might say he smoked too much, but at his age, he could afford it. And it relaxed him. So he understandably needed it quite often. He had completed his paperwork for the day, and was pondering what to do for his dinner. But his mind kept wandering to Naruto. He looked around his office, just casually reminiscing over the various mementos that he had collected over the years.

A knock on the doors jarred the Hokage out of his memories as he called for the person to enter. A small smile worked it's way onto his wrinkled face when Iruka entered the room, carrying a pack of papers.

"Ah, Iruka. So Naruto finished the test?" Sarutobi eyed the papers under Iruka's arm with interest. Something he rarely ever did, and would deny it if anyone asked.

Iruka marched over and slammed the papers onto the desk, giving Sarutobi a slight start.

"Twelve... hundred... questions. And Naruto only got nine even slightly wrong!" Iruka sputtered. Sarutobi's eyes widened.

"Twelve hundred? What test did you give him?" He picked up the papers, and checked the ID number in the upper corner. "What!? Iruka, what were you thinking? This test-"

"Taking his practical scores added to this, all Naruto is lacking is field experience, and he'd make chunin already!" Iruka shouted, throwing up his hands.

"Now wait a minute," Sarutobi frowned slightly, "Don't you think you're over reacting just a bit? Certainly Naruto is turning out to be more accomplished than we thought, but surely-"

"By all means Hokage-sama, feel free to look over that test yourself! You said you wanted to anyway! You can decide for yourself if I'm exaggerating!" Iruka blurted out, before letting out a sigh as he ran a hand over his face. "Please forgive me, I'm just feeling a little... diminished."

Iruka's strange comment caused Sarutobi's eyebrows to raise significantly.

"What do you mean?" He asked in patient curiosity as he puffed on his pipe.

"Even Naruto could tell that most of the latter half of the test was material that isn't normally taught to academy students." Iruka seemed a bit depressed. "And yet, he was still able to answer them." He paused with a serious expression. "The other day, after the graduation at the academy, when we were talking about Naruto, you told me about the woman who's been helping him."

"Kyaena Unaikaji." Sarutobi nodded.

"I call myself a teacher, yet..." Iruka gestured to the thick pack of paper, "She has taught him so much more than I ever would have, one way or the other."

"You can't blame yourself. You have responsibilities to all your students, while this woman has obviously devoted herself entirely to teaching Naruto alone." Sarutobi let out a measured sigh. "Although I never really had any way to know how effective his work was, since Naruto has no family... and no other distractions... This means that while all the other students spend some of their time at home with family, or with friends, Naruto does not. And all he ever does is train and study." He eyed his pipe a little, gauging how close it was to burning out. "I was a fool for not having more faith in his last intent..." Sarutobi nearly whispered to himself.

Iruka whipped around from his thoughts to give a surprised look in the elders' direction.

"Hokage-sama? What are you-" Iruka's question was stopped when Sarutobi held up a halting hand.

"Now's not the time to discuss that. I believe Naruto will be waiting for you at Ichiraku's?" He smirked slightly. "Go on. I'll look over Naruto's test." The Hokage motioned to dismiss the chunin.

"Ah, yes, he's probably there already." Iruka snickered lightly as he headed for the door, but paused. "Hokage-sama, what's she like? Kyaena-san I mean." Iruka was surprised when Sarutobi let out a frustrated sigh.

"I don't know anything beyond what Naruto has told me. I've never met her." The old man frowned, making Iruka turn back in shock.

"What? Never?" The flustered chunin gaped. "But, for how long she's been helping Naruto-"

"He says that they keep things secret for her protection. They seem to think that most of the village wouldn't take kindly to her helping him to such an extent. So, to my knowledge, no one has ever seen her." Sarutobi shrugged to his subordinate. "If it weren't for the fact that Naruto's progress proves her existence, I'd think that she's just a figment of his imagination. Still, if you can persuade Naruto to have her make an appearance, please let me know. But don't push to hard." Iruka nodded slowly in his stunned state as he turned to leave again, when Sarutobi called out one last time. "Oh, and be sure to tell Naruto about the registry photo. Tomorrow at about ten, I believe." Sarutobi called to the departing Iruka, who gave an acknowledging thumbs-up.

Sarutobi sat back in his seat after tapping out his pipe, and picked up Naruto's test papers to begin his personal review. And as for his own dinner...

He had an assistant send out for dumplings.


Ayame gave another glance at the strange sight in front of her. Naruto, sitting at a ramen bar, NOT eating ramen. He had shown up twenty minutes prior, but hadn't ordered anything. He just sat quietly, waiting. Teuchi had been a bit curious, but hadn't said anything yet. Ayame on the other hand, was itching with curiosity.

"Naruto-kun, you're making a mess, drooling over the counter like that. Are you going to order, or what?" She asked at last, pretending to wipe up a puddle of drool in front of him. He gave a sarcastically amused smirk.

"Ha ha. But seriously, I'm waiting for Iruka-sensei. He's treating me tonight!" Naruto switched to a full grin. "To celebrate my grad-u-a-tion!"

"Oh really?" Ayame giggled, "I mean, the Hitai-ate you're wearing was such a small and subtle clue, I wasn't sure!" She laughed.

"What, thiiiiissss?" Naruto drawled, tapping the metal. "Come on Ayame-chan, do you really think they just give these away in cereal boxes!? I'm going to be the greatest of the great!" Naruto beamed with a huge grin, making Ayame laugh more.

"You know Naru-kun, Ayame-chan has grown to be quite the cutie in the last few years. Maybe you should ask her to be, you know..." Kyaena snickered in a teasing tone, as she extended her smallest claw of one of her paws. Even though Naruto couldn't see the action at the moment, the meaning in her voice was obvious.

'WWHHHHAAAAAT!? Are you nuts!? She's like a sister to me! It would be way, way, WAY to akwierd for us!' Naruto coughed and choked as his tingling cheeks turned slightly red. Unfortunately, Ayame was still standing right there.

"Naruto-kun? Are you alright?" She blinked in concern.

"Uh, (hem), yeah, I'm fine, uh, S-sis...?" Naruto looked away, scratching the back of his head nervously with his cheeks still a little red. He was expecting a smack, but got something else instead that was just as jarring, if not more so.

"Well FINALLY!" Ayame threw her hands up in exasperation. "We've know each-other for how many years, and you're only just now deciding to consider me your sister? Sheesh! I thought you were more assertive than this!" She reached over to ruffle Naruto's hair before turning to her chores, leaving the boy drop-jawed.

"Y-you're... ok... with it?" He asked in a tiny voice. In the rear, Teuchi gave a chuckle without turning away from his boiling pots. Ayame gave Naruto another, even warmer smile.

"Absolutely! Unless of course, you'd rather I be something else?" She gave him a wink, which caused Naruto to bury his face in his arms to hide himself.

'Well, she certainly can tease like a sister...' He groaned, getting a laugh from Kyaena. "Uh, no that's fine! Sorry, I've just had a rather rough last seventy-two hours. Haven't gotten much sleep either." He had to raised his head again to yawn.

It was in the middle of Naruto's yawn that Iruka finally came through the shop flaps to sit down next to the tired boy. He looked around with mock surprise.

"And here I was half-expecting there to be a dozen empty bowls already." Iruka chuckled, drawing the attention of the others.

"Aww, nuts! You hear that Sis?" Naruto smirked, "We could've tricked him into paying for a lot more if we had just set out some empty bowls to make him think I had started without him!" He laughed as Ayame gave a mock snap of her fingers in disappointment.

"Yeah, as if I'd fall for it!" Iruka rolled his eyes.

The two took a minute to order, waiting until they had their bowls in front of them. Even as Naruto inhaled the wonderful smell, he cast a side glance at his teacher.

"So, I hope you left your 'sensei-ness' back at the academy, and are just here to enjoy some ramen." Naruto said cautiously. Iruka cleared his throat.

"Well, there is something I wanted to talk to you about..." Iruka said slowly, taking a bite of noodles.

"Gee, what a surprise..." Naruto groaned, before slurping up his second bowl. Iruka turned to look at him.

"Naruto, this is serious. I wanted to talk to you about... Well, Naruto, a ninja's life is hard. A lot harder than you think." Iruka said with all seriousness.

"A hard life, huh?" Naruto frowned. Although it was aimed at Iruka, he misinterpreted it as concern on Naruto's part.

"Yes, it's hard. All the classes in the academy, all the training in the world can't really prepare you for what going out there is actually like. The danger, the fear, the pain. There's no re-takes or do-overs out there. You have to be extremely careful." Iruka was so intent on his words, that he was ignoring his cooling ramen. Naruto however, was silently eating his fifth bowl in growing irritation.

"Hey, at least have the decency to let him finish first before you snap at him." Kyaena said quietly.

'Oh, don't worry. I intend to.' Naruto thought back, draining his sixth bowl of the leftover broth.

"You're going to have a lot of responsibility." Iruka continued. "It'll be very important for you to pay attention on missions, and to listen to your sensei. Don't be rash, and try not to let your temper get the better of you. You still have a lot to learn, so don't think that just because you've graduated the academy it means you can let up on your studies or training. Comparing yourself to academy standards, or even your fellow ninja just isn't going to work anymore. You'll have no idea what skills the enemies you'll encounter will have. You shouldn't take risks, and for the love of Kami, please try to put your pranking behind you." Iruka had a half-serious-half-pleading look at that last comment. "Please forgive me for saying this, but I've never understood your decision to become a ninja. I know you're always saying you want to be the greatest ninja, to become Hokage, but what started it? You... You don't have family, no parents to try to live up to. In a way, you could have done anything with your life." Iruka watched his effectively-near-ex-student polish off his eleventh bowl, hoping he hadn't stepped on any sore subjects. He had no idea.

"You finished?" Naruto asked bluntly after a silent moment as he slurped noodles.

"Uh, yeah, I guess." Iruka blinked in confusion and concern at Naruto's tone as he watched the blonde place his twelfth and final bowl in the stack with the others.

"Ok then." Naruto turned to face his chunin friend head-on. "First, it was Kyaena-chan's idea for me to be a ninja. I agreed because it seemed to be the best option at the time, and as far as I'm concerned, it still is the best option. No one would have ever let me do anything else with my life in this village. No one was willing to take me in, no one was interested in giving me a future. Even Kyaena-chan could only do so much for me. She couldn't be there for me like a... m-mother... only as a friend. Certain problems in her own life prevent her from being able to have a life here in the village." Naruto was so completely serious, that Iruka was a little scared. But he still caught the meaning of that statement.

"Wait, she isn't a member of our village? Where-" Iruka leaned forward in concern.

"Quiet! I let you finish, now let me finish!" Naruto snapped, causing Iruka to jerk back slightly. "Becoming a ninja was the best way we could think of for me to take care of myself! The only other option would have been for me to leave the village with Kyaena-chan to find somewhere easier to live!" Naruto watched as a look of near panicked shock hit Iruka's face, but the taped-up teacher held his tongue. "In fact, she tried may times to convince me to leave, but it was MY choice to stay! Why? Because this is my home! No matter how empty and cruel this village is to me! You're right, I don't have family now, but I had parents. Parents who lived here before... dying... fighting the Kyuubi." Naruto was tense by this point, his fists clenched on his knees, his jaw slightly ridged. "Whether I stayed or left, I had to decide on a purpose for my life. You said I don't have parents to live up to, but you're only half right. I didn't know them. No one seems to know. But... I decided, if my parents thought this village was worth dying to protect, then why couldn't it be a good enough purpose for me?" Naruto's face fell in sadness, even as Kyaena purred to keep him steady.

"How... How can you be sure... that your parents died in the Kyuubi attack?" Iruka asked slowly. Although Naruto was annoyed that he had been interrupted again, he just shrugged.

"I was born somewhere near that very date, but afterward, I was alone. So unless they just abandoned me to run off together, the only explanation is that they died before having the chance to... well, make 'arrangements' for me." Naruto sighed. "But I think we're getting off subject. You're trying to warn me that a ninja's life is dangerous. But unfortunately, beyond this point, it won't be any different than my life so far. If anything, it will be safer."

"But Naruto, you-" Iruka tried to interrupt again. He really was being rude.

"Last night, with that bastard Mizuki, when you were trying to protect me, you compared your life to mine, claiming to understand what I've been through. And you remember that I said we WEREN'T alike?" Naruto's voice had become hard again, allowing Iruka's nervousness to return as well. "You talked about being lonely, doubted, an outcast, and I'm willing to take your word on that. But tell me..." Naruto leaned forward menacingly, making Iruka lean back in retreat. "Were you beaten every time you showed your self in daylight?" Iruka winced. "Did you have to sleep in ravines and drainage pipes until you were five?" Iruka's head lowered in shame. "Did you have people trying to MURDER you just for trying to get enough food so you weren't STARVING!?" Naruto shouted out in anger.

"Careful, Naru-kun. Don't loose control." Kyaena warned quietly, but personally, she was thrilled that Naruto was finally throwing the truth in someone's face, even if it had to be Iruka.

"No! That's impossible! You can't expect me to believe it was that bad!" Iruka suddenly shouted back, but nearly choked when he noticed out of the corner of his eye, that Teuchi and Ayame were both trying to hide their teary (and in Teuchi's case, slightly guilty) faces. "Y-you don't have any scars! You have a fine apartment! I've seen it!"

"Sure, now! But it wasn't always like this!" Naruto steamed. "Jiji has helped me a lot. At times it seems almost as much as Kyaena-chan has. But I've lived a life others haven't. I'm... well..." Naruto frowned, unsure how to describe himself. Kyaena was about to make a suggestion, until Iruka made the critical mistake.

"No Naruto! I don't believe you! There's no evidence that you've gone through anything like that!" He said angrily at the perceived lies of Naruto. Kyaena gasped.

'Oh crap, this is going to be bad.' She tensed.

"Evidence? EVIDENCE!?" Naruto's eye's were dark with rage as he yanked back a sleeve to expose his bare arm. "You want evidence!? HERE'S YOU'RE DAMN EVIDENCE!" Before anyone could move, Naruto pulled out his red kunai from his holster and stabbed it deep into his forearm, almost completely piercing straight through.

Ayame screamed, Teuchi dropped a pot of water that crashed and splashed everywhere, even as Naruto's blood splatted on his and Iruka's faces.

"NARUTO! What in Kami's name-" Iruka, in panic, lunged to take the kunai, but Naruto slapped his hands away.

"Now look at it!" Naruto shouted, holding his dripping arm up in front of Iruka's face.

"Naruto, stop this! We have to get you to the hos-" Iruka tried for the kunai again, only to have his hands slapped away again.

"LOOK AT IT!" Naruto seethed, his eyes daring Iruka to try to take the kunai again.

Iruka swallowed hard, but forced himself to look at the self-inflicted wound.

'I don't know what he's doing!' He thought as he examined Naruto's arm. There was surprisingly little actual blood flow or loss. Only a few drops that leaked out from around the wound. 'I don't know what he wants me to see. I can't tell if the muscles are severed, it seems to have missed the bones... I can't believe he did this to himself! Great Kami, he must be in excruciating pa-' Iruka froze as a chilling thought rippled through him. His gaze moved beyond the bloodied arm to Naruto's face. Iruka looked at the boy in front of him. Naruto's eyes were hard and steady. His breathing was normal. He wasn't reacting like he was in pain. He was acting... like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"This is what hardship looks like!" Naruto said, noting the look on Iruka's face. "I've been beaten, stabbed and cut so many times, pain like this doesn't even faze me anymore! So don't you dare try to lecture me on how dangerous life can be!" Naruto paused to draw back his arm. "Can you name even one of any of the students you've ever had that could've, or would've, done something like this to themselves?" Naruto noted Iruka's silence, and nodded. "That's what I thought." He turned to look at the still terrified ramen cooks. "Ayame, can you give me something to wipe my arm off with, please?" Ayame grabbed a towel from next to the sink, and dampened it before handing it to Naruto.

Iruka watched as Naruto laid the towel on the counter, then placed his arm on it. Partly pulling one side of the towel around his arm, he switched his hand to the kunai. Focusing demonic chakra into his arm, Naruto slowly pulled the weapon out, letting the wound heal behind it. He set the kunai to the side then wiped off his arm to get what little blood there was. Satisfied, he put the blood covered kunai back into his holster, then handed the towel to a visibly shaken Ayame, who immediately began washing the towel in the sink. Naruto turned back to Iruka, holding up his arm again for him to see.

"Th-there's... no mark... not even a scar!" Iruka gasped. Teuchi was mopping up the water behind the counter, trying not to draw attention to himself. He had seen enough of Naruto's blood over the years.

"That's why I don't 'look' like I've been through anything." Naruto sighed. "I suppose it will work to my advantage in the future. It makes people underestimate me... not like they need help doing that." Naruto grumped, turning round in his seat. "Can I have some fruit juice please?" He asked to Ayame, who went to the refrigerator and quickly pulled out a quart bottle of juice to set in front of the blonde boy.

Everyone was silent for a few moments. Teuchi and Ayame were continuing to clean up, while Iruka just watched Naruto gulp down his juice with a very confused and worried look on his face.

"Damn Naru-kun, I think you scared the piss out of them!" Kyaena scolded mildly as she pawed one of her tails to smooth out the fur.

'I was only trying to make a point. It's not my fault that I'm more used to cruelty than they are.' Naruto replied as he wiped his mouth.

"Naruto, what did you mean, before, when you said that things will be safer for you from now on?" Iruka asked quietly. "I mean, if... if your not even safe in the village..."

"One very simple reason." Naruto held up a finger for emphasis. "Up until now, I've had to just take what comes at me in silence. Because of the 'lack of evidence', I could never say anything. All I've ever been able to do is to try to run when I can. I can't hurt anyone in the village. But out there..." Naruto smirked a hellishly foxy grin, "I'll finally be allowed to fight back."

"Oh..." Iruka was slightly pale at his student's answer, even though it made a sick sort of sense.

"Hey, don't look so freaked out! It's not like I'm eager to hurt people or anything like that, but this is what I've worked for! I've gotten quite used to taking care of myself, so you don't have to worry!" Naruto shrugged with a more honest smile. "Frankly, it's nice to have someone other that Kya-chan and the Ichiraku duo here to worry about me."

Iruka smiled at the comment, as did the two chefs. Iruka made a decision, and took a breath.

"Naruto, you won't be alone you know. You're going to be assigned to a squad team." He said seriously. Naruto froze with a surprised look on his face.

"Crap. I completely forgot about that." Naruto's brow tensed in sudden worry. "I mean, I know a squad consists of four, but I guess after three years just trying to get through the academy, the fact that I'd be one of four kind of slipped my mind."

"Ah, yes, well, there's something more to it than that. Graduating the academy means that your individual skills have reached an appropriate level for a genin, but..." Iruka paused, wondering how Naruto was going to handle the news.

"Eh? But what?" Naruto asked.

"Maybe you have to take another test." Kyaena snickered.

'Hey, not funny.' Naruto snapped.

"Well," Iruka continued, "We don't just slap groups together and send them out. Each group has to be compatible, and be able to work together. So, once the teams are arranged..." Iruka cleared his throat slightly.

"What is it already?" Naruto was getting a bit impatient.

"... The teams have to be tested to make sure they will hold together in the field." Iruka blurted out quickly.

Naruto stared at him for a second, before face-faulting to the ground.

"WHAT!? ANOTHER TEST!?" He screeched as he erupted back to his feet.

"Hey, I was just kidding about that!" Kyaena whined, while trying to keep from laughing herself stupid. Iruka was franticly waving defensively against his verbally vicious dinner companion.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but it's the way it works! Sit down, please!" Iruka waited until the furiously glaring youth was back on his seat. "Look, it's basically considered 'the genin exam'. It's all about teamwork. That's the only way a squad will be passed. If you can't work together effectively, you'll be sent back to the academy for further training." Iruka said the last part with a deadpan tone.

"Oh that's just wonderful." Naruto smacked his face in aggravation. After a moment, a pondering look crossed his face. "So, it won't matter if just one or two of the candidates have sufficient skill? All four of us have to pass together?"

"Well, three. Three genin lead by a jounin. But yes, it's a pass-fail test. No partial squads, no singling out one over the others. And you won't have any time to get set up with your teammates. After the orientation, where your teams and sensei's are assigned, your sensei will test you immediately. It might be that afternoon, or it might be the next day. So I suggest you make sure you're as prepared as you can be." Iruka said with a sigh.

It was a slight burden off his chest. After what had been happening lately, he felt Naruto deserved to know what was coming next. The other students probably knew, due to family members who were ninja that had mentioned it to them, so Iruka felt he was merely equalizing things to make sure Naruto wasn't placed at an unfair disadvantage again. He'd have enough of that later in life.

"Sorry you two, but we're closing now." Teuchi said over the counter, momentarily interrupting the two ninja.

They said their goodbyes after Iruka paid for the meals and stepped out onto the street as Teuchi lowered the wood planks to shut up the ramen stand. Iruka began walking alongside Naruto as they headed towards Naruto's apartment.

"Ask him who you're going to be teamed with." Kyaena instructed as the pair walked.

"So, sensei... Any chance you can tell me who I'm going to be teamed with?" Naruto asked in a innocently curious tone. Iruka sighed as he shook his head.

"No, Naruto. I'm afraid you'll have to wait until orientation like everyone else, the day after tomorrow." Iruka shrugged.

"Day after tomorrow. Two days. Great." Naruto scratched the back of his head. "This... is going to be interesting."

"I certainly agree with you on that." Iruka laughed.

"And I hope I don't have a migraine by the time this is over." Kyaena groaned, causing Naruto's mouth to twitch in ammusement.

Naruto and Iruka stopped at last on Naruto's apartment front porch. Even though it was the second floor of the building.

"Naruto, you should try to rest up a bit before orientation. Just take it easy until then. Take some time to think about how you're going to handle being part of a team." Iruka said as he stood next to Naruto who was unlocking his door.

"It'd be easier if I knew who I was going to be placed with." Naruto suggested again, but Iruka just shook his head in refusal.

"Sorry, but I can't tell you. Mainly because, I won't know myself until I go talk to Hokage-sama, who should be done looking at your test by now." He shrugged innocently

"Oh. My bad." Naruto scratched his head akwardly.

"OK then, I'll see you at orientaion." Iruka gave Naruto a pat on the head and turned to leave, but just as he was about to leap the railing, he stumbled, then turned back. "Oh, I almost forgot, report to the Hokage tower tomorrow at ten. You'll have to get your registration photo taken, for the ninja roster and records. Please try to be presentable." Iruka gave a salute, then leaped off.

Naruto let himself into his apartment and quickly went about getting washed, then changed for bed.

'This could be a problem, you know.' Naruto thought as he flopped down.

"As far as the issue of your teammates go, it's up in the air. It depends on who gets assigned to your group." Kyaena paused, before turning completely serious. "There is a much bigger potential problem."

'Oh? What?' Naruto put his favorite buck-toothed-night-cap on his head.

"The jounin sensei. I'm guessing that the odds are not in our favor for getting an un-biased individual." Kyaena flinched when she felt Naruto's instant apprehension. "I'm sorry, but think about it. It took three years to get through to Iruka-san. Unless the jounin assigned to your team is very reasonable and understanding-"

'What, you don't really think they would fail the team just to get at me, do you? If it was just me, well sure, that would be expected. But they couldn't mess with the others without getting in trouble. I'm betting the Old-Man would kick some ass.' Naruto frowned as he pulled his covers up over himself.

"Maybe. I hope your right." Kyaena stretched thoroughly, then curled up in her favorite pillows. "But there's no point in being reckless. Not for this. So don't trust the jonin. Not at first. I say we test them for a change. So we don't make the same mistake like we did with Mizuki-"

'Sorry, sorry, sorry...' Naruto whined.

"Hey, take it easy. Nobody is perfect." Kyaena purred.

'But, first it was the traitor Itachi, then the traitor Mizuki... I don't have the best judgment when it comes to people...' Naruto rolled over and closed his eyes.

"Those were special cases. You couldn't have known about the Uchiha, who you did stay away from, but it was him that came after you. You couldn't have avoided it. And as far as Mizuki, well, he was real smooth and cautious, playing things real low. And again, he was in a position that you couldn't avoid him without dropping out of the acadamy. But take heart that you did manage to get through both those situations, and you did well in beating the crap out of Mizuki-teme. At least you managed to stop one traitor. Just learn from the experiences, Naru-kun." She yawned.

'Right. So for the jonin sensei, who I can't avoid, I need to be ready. I can't trust him from the start. He has to earn my trust. I'll have to make sure that this time, I test his intentions. This time, the guy gets the gauntlet!' Naruto vowed. 'But first, there's that registry photo shoot. I wonder how I should make myself 'presentable', as Iruka-sensei put it.'

"Hey, you've got a legendary artist inside your soul. And your own artistry skills are coming along very nicely. I've got an idea that should make quite the impression." Kyaena let a huge grin bare her teeth. "Trust me." She snickered.


END OF CHAPTER


Author's Notes:

I make no apologies for how long it took me to write and post this chapter. Since it is an original chapter, I wanted quality, and I hope I got it. Plus, my internet connection was giving me trouble for quite a while.

Is it as long as I thought it would be? Yeah, it hit about the same length as the previous chapter, so it feels good.

Is this chapter really necessary to the main storyline? I sure as hell think so. Since Mizuki had interfered with Naruto's academy tests, and admitted to doing so, it stands to reason that Iruka and Sarutobi would want an accurate measure of Naruto's skills, hence the re-evaluation testing. Did I over do Naruto's skills? I don't think so, and I hope you've been paying attention to the reasons I give for why he's as he is. He's not invincible or unbeatable, but he's definitely starting out ahead of the usual academy student standards. Don't worry, he will definitely face problems down the line, in his own way.

The Ichiraku scene with Iruka's 'lecture'. I felt that it was important, since in canon, they mention it, but don't show it. If it was something Iruka really wanted to impress on Naruto, it needed to be written out. And for those of you who think I made Naruto react to the lecture the wrong way, please go to the prologue, go down to the very bottom with the notes, and re-read the very last line. Thank you.

I'm sure you're wondering why I would introduce an OC in this chapter if I'm trying to parallel the canon storyline. Because I wanted to, and in my take on Naruto's life, the dangerous life, he would need a replacement guardian after Itachi took off. She'll pop up from time to time, in situations that would necessitate her presence, but will otherwise be a 'hidden' character until much, much later in the story. She'll only turn up three more times between now, and the 'Retrieve Sasuke' arc. After that, it'll be play by ear. I think.

To answer the next batch of reviews:

Crusifikz70: Sorry if I've confused you, but take into account that the shadow clone is an A-rank jutsu, and the fact that he thought he only needed one, and the fact that he was focused on repairing his one short-coming so far, and... well, you get the picture. As to the team-7 thing, I'll have an explanation, though I don't know how many people are going to like it. But I feel it will keep to canon to a degree, and the fact that I have no intention of making things too easy for Naruto.

Loatroll: Another reviewer mentioning the team-7 thing. I don't mind, but I'll just keep saying the same things. Naruto will be on team-7 with Sasuke, Sakura and Kakashi. But as the end of this chapter shows, them getting together may be a bit more complicated in execution. Wait to see the bell test. It should amuse you.

Spectral Soul: You sound like your offering to be a beta reader, which I already have, but if there are other things you mean, please PM me and keep the discussion off the review board, as I think it would be impolite to other readers/reviewers. Thank you.

Silent Blade: I'm glad you approve of the length of my chapters, cause I don't expect them to be getting much shorter anytime soon. As for the pairings, it's much, MUCH too soon for it. It'll happen when it happens. And as for the suggestions on changing my story rating/category, yes, you make sense, but I'm trying to be accurate/truthful in what the story includes so far. But maybe, if by the time I finish the first arc I still feel my reviews are a bit low, I'll try your suggestions. Thank you.

Oni244: 'Stab himself with a kunai' indeed! As you can see, he won't do it by accident, but he'll do it on purpose! It does seem in canon that no one has any faith in Naruto at all, and they definityly don't make any effort to actually help him. In fact, I just saw shippuden episode 55, and Kakashi is only just getting to telling Naruto about the shadow clone trick? That is just not right, for a number of reasons. And don't forget, it's only now, the beginning of the series that is, that he's beginning to get involved with more 'adults', you know, people who are likely to be kyuubi-haters. So he's still learning who he can and can't trust. I hope the end of this chapter piqued your interest, since we all know who that 'jonin sensei' is going to be!

Thank you all so far, and I hope things continue to go smoothly!


This chapter edited:

5-17-2013