Author's Note: So my internet has been acting up recently. I haven't been able to post chapters one at a time because of it. And for that I apologize. So I am just going to write as many of them as I can while the internet is down and then post them all when it's up again.

Enjoy!

Chapter Three: The Ninja Academy?

Naruto and Sasuke were now six years old, an entire year had passed in the blink of an eye. Minato and Kushina wondered every day how Naruto grew up so quickly, was it always going to be like this? If they took a nap, would Naruto suddenly be twenty years old, an accomplished ninja and getting married to a hopefully charming young lady? They had been previously warned that the time sped quickly after having a child, the days seemed so much shorter, they were more like minutes, and a year was about an hour to them. In just another year Naruto would be seven years old and starting at the academy, the establishment they both went to when they were children.

"You and Sasuke will be needing to make your decisions soon."

Kushina stated, spreading some strawberry jelly on toast while Naruto waited eagerly at the dining room table, his father sitting across from him, nodding in agreement.

"For what?"

His legs swung back and forth as he sat in the chair, his feet still not quite able to reach the ground.

"For the ninja academy."

"Ninja academy?"

Naruto's lips spread wide into a smile, bouncing excitedly in his chair as he turned to his father with glowing eyes. He had heard his parents talking about the academy a couple of times, mainly telling him stories about how they met and the people they worked with when they were younger. Naruto always wondered if he would ever be able to go to a place like that, it sounded like a dream! Minato had told him many stories of his adventures as a ninja and how he went about finally becoming the Hokage. Being Hokage was the greatest honor one could achieve, his father was noble, intelligent beyond his years, kind and powerful. Naruto wanted to be just the same! When he grew older, he wanted to be just like a his father, he wanted to become the Hokage of Konoha.

"Yes, when you turn seven you'll be eligible to join, which means we have to start teaching you some techniques."

Naruto squealed, flinging his hands into the air for a bright cheer. He couldn't believe it! The time had finally come, is father was going to teach him all of those cool techniques he had learned – he was going to become a ninja!

"Yes! Can we go now? Teach me!"

Minato chuckled, pleased with the sight of his son so thrilled by the idea.

"Not yet."

"But why not!"

Naruto whined, pouting as he leaned his chin on the table, his father simply shook his head, trying his hardest not to be phased by the award winning Naruto pout. Kushina entered the room with the jelly and toast, placing it before Naruto.

"You need to eat first. Naruto. Ninjas need food for strength, now eat your snack."

Naruto practically lunged at the meal.

"And don't inhale the entire thing just to get outside faster!"

She snapped, causing him to freeze. His groaned lightly before relaxing and picking at his snack as his mother wished, although trying to do it a little bit quicker so he could go outside. Minato grinned slyly, the thought of his son becoming a ninja was incredible. This day had come so quickly, he would finally be able to teach his son everything he had learned, passing the knowledge on to the next generation. The Hokage had confidence that his son was going to be a great ninja.

"Now Naruto, you're going to be dedicating most of your time to training, meaning that you won't have as much time to hang out with Sasuke or your other friends. You understand that right?"

Minato firmly warned him, wanting to make sure that he knew what he was agreeing to. Every ninja had to begin at a young age if they wanted to be up to speed. It was unfortunate in certain aspects, due to the fact that they were still children, and now their time to play and mess around was being cut short. Naruto nodded his head rapidly, licking the jelly from his lips.

"Yep!"

"Of course, your other friends are going to be training also. And there are going to be things about the training you might not like, you're going to have moments where you just want to stop trying. But you can't give up, ok?"

Naruto smiled with another nod, finishing the last of his toast.

"I don't give up, dattebayo!"

Kushina and Minato laughed, well their son was determined, that much was obvious. Naruto jerked from his chair, scurrying to put his plate in the kitchen before he sped back to meet with his father, tugging on the man's sleeve.

"Time for training!"

Minato stood, leading his son to the back door and Kushina followed, wanting to observe the progress her son would make with every step of the way. The family made their way to the backyard, the mother sitting on a porch chair while the other two went into the center of the grass.

"We're going to start off with very simple techniques. First I am going to teach you how to wield kunai and shuriken. But be careful with them."

His tone hardened at the last part, with Naruto having a reputation for being clumsy, he didn't want anything bad to happen to him while they were training together.

"Ok!"

Minato pulled out two weapons, his signature kunai, specially made only for him because of his special techniques, and then a shuriken, he held them at Naruto's level.

"This is a kunai, now they don't all look like this. Mine are made differently because of a special jutsu I use. Usually they consist of one point instead of three. And this is a shuriken, they have many different sizes of these, such as the windmill shuriken, which is much larger."

Naruto gazed at them with sparkling orbs, intrigued by every point of these bladed materials. He had only seen a few of them on rare occasions, or pictures of them in books. But he had never been allowed this close to them before.

"Awesome! Can I hold them?"

"Yes, but remember to be careful, they're sharp and they can really hurt you."

Minato handed them to his son, he would have to learn how to use them eventually, so he decided it would be best to teach him these basic things first. Naruto carefully took them, gripping the kunai handle tightly, lifting it up and down and testing its weight, and in the other hand he held the shuriken in his open palm.

"These are the two most basic weapons for ninja, you have to learn to use these before you can move on to more difficult ones."

"I'm ready!"

Minato smiled at his son's eager attitude, it really did remind him of Kushina when she was a young girl. Always ready to take on the next challenge, sticking her chest out and marching into battle like it was no big deal. Sure, it got her into trouble from time to time, but he loved it about her. And he loved it about Naruto as well.

"Alright."

Minato stood, grabbing a leaf from the ground and pinning it to a nearby tree.

"I want you to hit the leaf with your shuriken and kunai."

Naruto practically leapt full force into the air from the thrill of it all. In a split second he flung both of the blades towards the tree. Only they didn't exactly go where he planned for them to. The shuriken missed the mark completely, chipping off some bark as it whizzed past the tree and into the fence around their yard. Minato's eyes widened as his eyes followed it, well, he was somewhat close, he at least almost hit the tree.

"Dad look out!"

Naruto paled as he witnessed the kunai heading straight for his father, Minato whipped back around, releasing a call of fear before he slid to the side, narrowly dodging the blade which managed to clip off some of the hair from his bangs. Minato fumbled awkwardly to the side, catching his balance, his eyes wide as he glanced over at his now strangely cut bangs. Damn, if he hadn't dodged right at that moment, Naruto would have taken out one of his eyes.

"Naruto, your father is not the target!"

Kushina called to them from the porch, muffling her laughter with her hands. Naruto sent her a brief glare, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I know that!"

Minato struggled to catch his breath and straightened up with a nervous smile, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Sorry, Dad!"

"It's ok, Naruto! Practice makes perfect, now let's try that again, and this time let's try and stay away from throwing them at me!"

He chuckled a little at himself, he couldn't believe he had almost been taken out by his son. It was clear that it would need some working on, but he was willing to go for as long as it took until Naruto grasped everything. He swiveled around on his heels, sighing deeply as his heart beat calmed down significantly and he went searching for the missing weapons. The shuriken was lodged in the fence, and with a rough tug he managed to yank it out, and the kunai was not too far away in the bushes.

"Ok, let's try it again!"

He handed Naruto the weapons once more. The pair continued this until night fall, Naruto continuously attempting to hit the leaf target that was nailed to the tree. A few times he hit around it, but never the center, and by the time the sun went down, he was lying on the ground, panting on his back as Kushina rejoined them.

"Time for bed, that's enough training for today."

She smiled at her boy, his gazed up at her with tired, drooping eyes, fighting against all odds to stay awake when his body was begging for him to give in.

"But...but I didn't hit it...y-yet..."

"You can try again first thing in the morning. But a good ninja needs their rest or else they won't be able to continue."

She had never seen Naruto hop up so fast, wobbling a bit until he was leaning on his father's leg. Minato immediately hoisted him up into his arms, allowing Naruto to lean on his shoulder and close his eyes while they went back inside.

"You did very well today, Naruto."

He gently spoke into his son's ear, the boy blinked, giving a very weak smile in return.

"Really?"

"Absolutely, you're going to be a great ninja some day."

The entire time they were practicing the boy didn't complain even once. From time to time he seemed to become frustrated when he was so close to hitting the target, but he didn't let it get him down, he would simply snag up the blades and go for another round. And he was getting closer surprisingly quick. They brought their son upstairs to his bedroom, Minato gently placed him on the mattress, pulling the blanket over him while he snuggled against his pillow.

"Remember, training first thing in the morning."

"I'll remember!"

He rejoiced, Minato kissed the top of his head, allowing his wife to do the same before they inched out of the room, trying to be as silent as possible as they watched him drift away into dream land.

"We love you, Naruto."

He lifted his head with great struggle.

"Love you too..."

He whispered, his skull collapsing onto the pillow once more as he allowed himself to be taken away by the tempting hands of sleep.