Disclaimer: Bleh, I hate disclaimers. Just remember: I don't own, nor will I ever own, the wonder called Naruto.
Naruto Uzumaki's day was not starting out as well as he would have liked.
At exactly seven in the morning, is when the day went downhill. His alarm clock, set to wake him at seven, did not go off. Why not? Apparently the clock fell victim to a brutal attack, as the only remains left was a few springs and plastic that once made up the casing. It would be something that would cause Naruto to wonder for years, as he had no memory of destroying his alarm clock. That was something he would never do, as he didn't like to sleep in. He felt like it was wasting his life away.
So he laid there, sound asleep, and one by one, the minutes passed by.
The ANBU guards watching his house for any activity were left wondering, as over the week they have been guarding him, they noticed that he never failed to wake up at exactly seven in the morning. His usual routine was to wake up, stretch, take a quick shower, and sit down half asleep at his dining room table and wait for his ramen to cook. After eating his ramen he would get dressed, and do a few basic exercises, such as push-ups, and sit-ups, to help get the blood flowing. When he was finished with that, he would gather all of the gear required for a ninja and make his way out of the house towards the academy.
His routine was so well set, that it made one ANBU worry. Naturally, when one worries, they investigate, so the boar masked ANBU made his way towards the boy's window in his room and took a look around. He saw the boy sound sleep and wondered why, until he saw the remains of the alarm clock. He let out a brief chuckle before knocking loudly on the window to wake the boy up.
Naruto heard the tapping sounds on his window and opened his eyes to see what was causing it. When he saw the ANBU he stood up and opened the window, as if to ask why the ANBU was there. When questioned, the ANBU just explained that it was 7:30, and if he didn't get moving now, he would be late for the academy. Naruto was dumbfounded momentarily, wondering why he would sleep through his alarm clock until he saw it and cursed. He didn't have the money to replace it, not after having to buy all new clothes to fit his new size. They were the same style, however, as he was quite fond of it.
Screaming "Thanks Mr Piggy ANBU man!", the blond ran towards the bathroom to take a quick shower. The shower, which lasted only a few minutes, was quicker than usual. After exiting the shower, he changed his routine and immediately got dressed in his usual orange jumpsuit before putting a pot of water on the stove to boil. Even though he was in a rush, he knew that one should never skip breakfast. He silently grumbled about the wait time, a whole three minutes, that it took to cook the ramen after the water was boiling. When the ramen was finished, he dug into the cup with his usual vigor that he was well known for.
He glanced over at the clock on his wall and noticed that he now had 15 minutes to get to the academy or he'd be late. A late Naruto equals an angry Iruka, and an angry Iruka is not a fun experience for anyone. He threw away the ramen cup and gathered up his ninja gear, forgoing his usual morning exercise. He decided that the run on the way would more than make up for it.
When he finished strapping on his gear, he grabbed his keys and ran out the door, locking it. He then began his trek towards the academy at full speed, knowing full well that the ANBU that were assigned to guard him would be able to keep up easily. Unknown to him, three of the four ANBU that were running along with him were busy making fun of the ANBU with the boar mask. They had a new nickname for him.
A distance away from the current chaos going on at the Uzumaki residence, Nara Shikamaru was having a very relaxing morning. As per the usual, he woke up at 6:30 am to the sounds of a waterfall that his alarm clock makes. His excuse for that specific sound was that it was just loud enough to wake him, and relaxing at the same time. After waking up, he lazily laid back in bed for about a half an hour, staring at his painted ceiling. The mural that was painted on his ceiling was a very basic one. It consisted of being colored sky blue, with a few spots of white clouds, simulating the sky, which Shikamaru loved to watch.
Right around 7 in the morning, Shikamaru's peace was interrupted as his mother began yelling for him to wake up and get ready for the academy. He sighed loudly, before getting up and heading towards the shower while muttering 'Troublesome woman' under his breath. He didn't dare voice it any louder than that, though, as if his mother heard, she would escalate to a whole new level of the word 'troublesome'.
After taking a long, relaxing, hot shower, Shikamaru lazily got dressed in his usual attire. He took a quick glance at the clock and noticed he still had 45 minutes before he had to be at the academy. Plenty of time for a quick nap, right?
"Shikamaru! Don't you dare go back to sleep! Get down here and eat your breakfast!"
Well, it would have been at least.
Heaving another loud sigh, he made his way downstairs and towards the dining room, where a usual plate of eggs, bacon, and toast awaited him. He slowly ate the food in relative silence, enjoying the flavor. When his mother joined him in the dining room, he asked, "Where's dad this morning? He's usually the first to the table."
"He's upstairs in his office doing some paperwork. Apparently he has a very important meeting in a little while."
"Oh, okay." he responded, knowing it would be too troublesome to get any more details. He finished up his breakfast and made his way to the front door and gathered his ninja gear that was on the nearby table. He strapped it on and called out goodbye to his mother before leisurely making his way towards the academy.
Sitting above the flower shop resided one Yamanaka Ino, who was currently looking through her closet deciding if she would want to try something new today, or just wear her usual attire. She glanced over at the clock and noticed it was 7:00 and quickly decided to just wear her usual clothes, as she didn't have enough time to find another matching outfit she would like.
Taking her clothes into the bathroom, she took a nice long, hot shower, cleaning every part of her body thoroughly. When the shower finished, 20 minutes had passed by. She stood in front of the mirror after getting dressed admiring her looks, examining every detail to make sure everything was perfect. She believed her Sasuke-kun would not settle for anything less than perfection, so she tried her best daily to deliver.
After making sure everything was perfect, she went downstairs to the kitchen to find a note on the refrigerator.
Morning princess,
You're on your own for breakfast this morning. I have an important meeting at 8, and I can't be late. I have a few things to do before I get there, so I didn't have enough time to cook breakfast. Don't skip out on it like you always try to. I'll know if you do and you won't like it.
-Inoichi
Debating whether her father would really know if she skipped breakfast, she decided not to risk it. When her father was angry, there was hell to pay, and she didn't feel like experiencing it.
She decided on a small bowl of cinnamon-apple oatmeal, which she quickly prepared and sat down to eat. While sitting at the table she did her daily routine of looking through the newspaper. While she didn't look at the news, she did find the ads for all of the clothing stores interesting. After browsing through all of the new styles, she found nothing particularly interesting.
Looking up at the clock, she noticed she still had 15 minutes until she had to be at the academy. She decided to wait, like usual, for Sakura to pass by her house so she could have a little friendly competition. She always did secretly love their fights. Deciding to do something useful while waiting, she went into the store and watered the flowers, giving them just enough, and not too much. An art that she perfected over the years of helping her father run the store.
She caught a hint of red making it's way towards the front of her store and immediately knew it could only be one person. Gathering up her ninja gear, she quickly strapped it on and made her way out of the house just in time to run into Sakura. Smirking inwardly, she immediately started throwing her usual insults at the girl.
Haruno Sakura woke at 6 in the morning from a quick nudge of the shoulder and the sound of her mother's gentle voice, "Time to get up, dear."
She groaned quietly before sparing a quick glance over at the nearby alarm clock and cursed inwardly at the time. She had always hated the mornings, as she believed that a girl needed her beauty sleep. Her mother wouldn't allow it, though, always believing that they should be awake at day break. She slowly got up as her mother left her alone in the room and made her way over to her dresser to gather her undergarments. After choosing two that matched, she walked over to the closet and picked out her usual red dress that adorned the symbol of her family.
She paused in front of the mirror and grimaced at the way she looked. Her hair was completely messed up, and her eyes had light circles around them, something she would have to take care of if she wanted to become Uzumaki Sakura. She believed that he deserved only the best.
She quickly made her way to the shower upon determining that she was in need of some care. She took a very long shower, allowing the hot water to relax her muscles. Upon finishing nearly 20 minutes later, she exited the shower and dried herself thoroughly. Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she carefully groomed her long hair until she thought it to be perfect. After getting dressed she looked in the mirror again and paid close attention to her eyes.
Noticing that they still looked bad, she put a little makeup on to cover it up. When she determined that it was acceptable, she left her room and made her way downstairs to eat breakfast with her mother, like she usually did.
Her mother was a very understanding person, and when Sakura explained to her that she was on a diet, her mother accommodated her to the best of her abilities. Though Sakura, at first, refused to eat breakfast, not wanting to put on any extra weight, her mother quickly corrected her. She explained the importance of breakfast, which Sakura had already knew, but refused to acknowledge. At first Sakura was hesitant, but her mother finally compromised and promised to only make her a light meal for breakfast, to which she agreed to.
When she arrived at the dining room table, her mother was already sitting down eating her breakfast. She sat down where her plate was and began to eat her meal of 2 eggs and 2 pieces of toast, a light yet sustainable breakfast.
After finishing breakfast, she took over the job of cleaning up the mess, and washed the dishes. When she was finished she noticed it was nearing 7:00, and decided she still had plenty of time, so she relaxed on her favorite love seat and began to read her current romance novel, all the while dreaming it was her and Naruto.
She quickly lost track of time while being stuck in her day dream. Her mother noticed that she was doing it again and frowned. She never could understand why her daughter refused to quit her act and just be happy. Why did she have to pretend to like the Uchiha? Was her reputation more important than her own happiness?
There were no secrets kept between mother and daughter in this household. She knew very well that Sakura believed the only person she could ever love was the Uzumaki boy. She also knew very well that her daughter was scared. Scared of being unpopular again, just like she used to be. The elder Haruno remembered those days like they were yesterday. Sakura would always come home from the academy in tears, crying because she was being made fun again due to her forehead.
She had stopped crying when she first met Naruto. He stuck up for her, and walked her home to make sure nobody else could make fun of her. He continued to do so until Sakura met her friend, Ino. When Sakura met Ino, her worries of being made fun of went away slowly, as she became part of the popular crowd in the school. Naruto was never part of that crowd, so Sakura slowly shied away from him in public in an attempt to keep her status, knowing if she went back to the way she used to be, she would be made fun of again. In secret, however, the two were best friends.
The elder Haruno could only hope that her daughter would gain enough confidence to not need to be popular. That way she could move on from her act and be with her crush, and ultimately be happy. She knew full well of the boys status as a jinchuuriki, but it didn't bother her. She believed the boy was merely a container. If anything, his personality showed that he was the direct opposite of a demon, he was a man that held the qualities of a saint.
Her mother glanced at the clock and realized that it was nearly time for the academy, so she walked over to her daughter and nudged her on the shoulder, breaking her from the daydream, "Honey, you only have 10 minutes before you need to be at the academy."
After hearing that, Sakura ran back up to her room and strapped on her ninja gear before rushing out of the house, saying a quick goodbye to her mother. As she made her way past the Yamanaka flower shop, just as she dreaded, her rival, Yamanaka Ino came out and started making fun of her, just like usual.
Neither of those four ended up being late, but they all were just barely on time. As they arrived in class, Ino and Sakura began fighting over who would sit in the spot next to Sasuke-kun. Shikamaru just rolled his eyes at the scene that happened daily and muttered, "Troublesome girls" before sitting in his spot next to Chouji and laying his head down on the desk. Naruto groaned at the scene and decided to stop it. After all, any attention, even negative, from his crush was enough for him.
He took the seat next to Sasuke, and watched as Sasuke actually seemed to visibly relax. Did I just do him a favor? What was I thinking?! Oh well. He didn't have the chance to think for long, as both girls had stopped their bickering and were looking at him dangerously, one cracking her knuckles and the other one slamming her fist into the palm of her other hand. He looked at the scene and gulped. Kiba roared with laughter while witnessing two very angry kunoichi-to-bes give new meaning to a headache.
A few rather large bumps on the head later, Iruka-sensei walked into class and cleared his throat, signaling to his students that the attention was to now be on him for the rest of the day.
The day passed by rather quickly as class, for once, did not consist of a lecture. Instead they were taken outside to the training ground and had organized spars against each other to practice the abilities they know in all three areas. It was encouraged that they use any technique that they had in their arsenal.
Naruto's spar with Kiba was the shortest of them all, as when they both made it onto the field, Naruto just grinned evilly. When Iruka-sensei ordered the spar to begin, he quickly made a familiar hand seal and transformed into a naked female version of himself, with clouds of smoke loosely covering certain parts of his female body. Kiba, and many of the male witnesses to the spar, Iruka-sensei included, all passed out from blood loss. Once again, though, Naruto's quick thinking, or lack thereof, quickly landed him in between quite a few angry Kunoichi in training.
When the spars ended, and all of the men woke up from their nap, Iruka-sensei lead them to the nearby training area for throwing weapons, as he felt some of his students needed to work on their accuracy. They stayed their for quite a bit of the day, before they were called back into class for a lecture, which made everyone, except Sakura, groan.
When they arrived in class and took their seats, Iruka-sensei quickly grabbed their attention, or at least what he could, and began explaining the importance of taking care of their gear. It was a subject they have heard before, and were likely to hear again, but after he noticed the condition of the gear his students were using, he felt they needed to be reminded.
Just as he was beginning to get to the good part, the one where he explained in detail how to sharpen a dull kunai, the class was interrupted by the door opening, revealing the Hokage. All attention was on him as he walked casually towards Iruka, "I hope I wasn't interrupting anything important."
"Not at all, Hokage-sama. We were just reviewing on how to care for their gear properly." answered Iruka, gesturing for the Hokage to observe his bored looking students, "As you can see, it's a very interesting topic."
The Sandaime chuckled as he looked through the students and saw the majority looked half asleep, only a few paying attention. "I can see that. Anyways, do you have a moment to speak, Iruka?"
Iruka nodded and looked towards the class, "I expect that you will be on your best behavior while I'm outside. You wouldn't want to disappoint me, would you?" He smiled amusedly when he got a bunch of frantic nodding from some of his students, ah the joys of being a teacher. "After you, Hokage-sama."
The Hokage with Iruka in tow quickly made his way outside of the classroom and shut the door. "What did you need to speak to me about?"
"Straight to the point as always." The Sandaime began, "The council and I have recently come to a decision regarding a few of your students."
"And what decision would that be?" Iruka questioned warily. It wasn't everyday that the council took an interest in your students.
"We are giving an early genin exam to a certain selection of students. If they are to pass, they will be placed together on a genin team." the Sandaime explained, he was about to continue but was interrupted by Iruka.
"So soon? This class is still a little over a year away from their official exam, what would cause the council to make a decision like that? And which students have you taken an interest in?"
"This decision is being made for several reasons, and I feel I can explain it to you. You know of Naruto's status in this village. Recently, on the day of the festival, there was an explosion of chakra which I'm sure you felt. You probably have guessed that it came from Naruto. I can't explain everything to you, but what I can explain is that the blast has put his life in danger. Just in the past week since the festival, there have been 16 confirmed attempts at his life, from both civilians and shinobi. We have to do something drastic in order to protect him. As for the students of interest, there is obviously Naruto. The others are Haruno Sakura, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru."
"Excellent choices, they are some of my best. What is this drastic plan you have in store for them, if I may ask?"
The Sandaime thought for a moment on how much he could explain to Iruka then answered, "We are placing them on a genin team if they are to pass, as I said earlier. As genin, I am able to assign them missions. Immediately after the team is formed, I will be sending them, along with their jounin sensei, on a long term mission outside of the village for training. This will get Naruto outside of the village, as well as give his team a head start on some very important training."
Iruka nodded his understanding, "Can I be of any help? I would like to help in any way I can to help insure Naruto's safety."
"I was hoping you would. I would like to you perform a review of their jutsus. Test them on the graduation required ones, the henge, kawarimi, and bunshin. Allow Naruto to use kage bunshin in place of bunshin, as he is unable to perform the standard bunshin, which you have already been informed of. How you do it is up to you, be it a class wide test, or pulling them aside. I will observe, and be the judge on if they graduate or not."
"Understood, Hokage-sama. I will do a class wide test. That way I can also test the progress of all of my students."
"Very well, shall we begin?" With that, both men made their way back into the classroom where Iruka cleared his voice and spoke clearly to his students, "Alright, change of plans for today. I want everyone to line up, we are going to test your abilities with the jutsus we have taught. Hokage-sama will be observing." When he finished, he waited as they all lined up in the front of the classroom, in a random order. The Hokage took a seat nearby and paid attention to each of the students. Even though he was only concerned with the performance of four, he still liked to know about all of his future shinobi.
The test went on for quite some time, student after student performing all three jutsus: henge, kawarimi, and bunshin. Some students failed to do some of the jutsus, while a few did all three without much effort. When Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru's turn came up, he paid close attention. He watched as Sakura was able to perform all three jutsus without wasting an ounce of chakra and was slightly impressed, that was a rare talent in academy students. Ino completed all three jutsus successfully as well, which he had expected, as he had always known Inoichi to be very strict when it concerned the shinobi career of his daughter.
He frowned slightly when Shikamaru tried to perform the bunshin, but the only thing that happened was a cloud of smoke appearing, no bunshins at all. He was hoping Shikamaru would be successful, as he knew his father would most definitely not be happy. The Hokage listened in when Iruka was questioning Shikamaru about his bunshin, and he heard as Shikamaru explained that it was too troublesome to practice. He chuckled inwardly, like father like son.
The last student in the line happened to be Naruto. The entire idea was riding on him passing this test. If he failed, the Sandaime and the council would be back to square one, but the old Hokage had faith in the boy's abilities. He was not disappointed, as Naruto both successfully performed the kawarimi and the henge. When Naruto was asked to create a kage bunshin, the students began questioning why he had a different test, and how it wasn't fair. The Hokage decided he would settle this for Iruka.
"Naruto's test has been modified by myself. Naruto is not able to do a basic bunshin for reasons beyond his control, but he happens to know a jutsu that can overwrite the bunshin. The kage bunshin is just like the bunshin, as they both create clones. The kage bunshin is more advanced, however, as the clones are not illusions, they are solid."
After his explanation, the class's uproar died down to a dull whisper, where students were now questioning how Naruto knew such an obviously powerful jutsu. They all watched as Naruto successfully created enough clones to fill all of the empty spaces in the classroom and held them for a few seconds before dismissing them. The Hokage sighed, some things never change. Naruto was always looking for an opportunity to showoff.
As they all took their seats again, the Hokage was satisfied that his plan was indeed going into motion. He reached into his coat and pulled out the forms he would need to fill out to pass the students and he quickly began. It took him a few minutes, which was about the time the class needed to settle down. When he finished, he went over to Iruka and had him sign as a witness. Once that was complete, the Hokage pulled out three Konoha headbands, which made the students wonder. Sasuke smirked, believing that one of those headbands was for him. He was definitely disappointed when he heard the Sandaime's next words.
"I am proud of all of you. While some of you were having trouble with some jutsus, I believe that with a bit of practice, you will be able to master them in no time. You all did excellent, and I am sure you will make great shinobi in the future. Now, I need three of you to come to me, as we need to have a talk. Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, and Uzumaki Naruto, please follow me outside."
All three looked at each other before shrugging and followed the Hokage outside of the classroom. When they made it outside, the Hokage looked at the three students with a soft smile, and began to speak, "I would like to congratulate you. You three are now officially Shinobi of Konoha, the rank of genin."
"We graduated?" questioned Ino, and Sakura added, "I thought that wasn't for another year?"
Naruto was oddly quiet, both girls noticed, but what they didn't know was that he had an idea of where this was going. The Hokage also noticed his look of understanding and nodded to him, "You are correct, normally it would be another year before you would take the genin exam, but circumstances have changed that for you three. That entire class demonstration was just a ruse. I was there to give the exam to you, which you each passed with flying colors."
"Why did we get tested early?" questioned Ino, still not quite believing that she was a genin.
"While I can't inform you of every reason, I can explain to you one of them. The council and I have looked through the files of your class, and saw an amazing amount of potential in you three, and we decided to act on it." the Sandaime informed them.
Naruto thought for a moment before asking the question that was bugging him, "It's me, isn't it?"
Neither of the girls understood that, but the Sandaime obviously did, "Indeed, Naruto. Now that you have figured it out, it is your choice if you want me to tell them the reason. I understand if you'd rather keep it private."
Naruto looked down towards the ground and thought for a moment, shuffling his feet. Coming to a decision he spoke, "You can tell them the reason why this is needed. Sakura-chan already knows my secret, so I guess Ino should know as well, since she's my new teammate."
The Sandaime nodded, and looked towards the girls, "I expect you to keep this between yourselves," upon seeing their nods of agreement he continued, "The team is being created out of necessity. Naruto's life is in danger while he is here in Konoha, and I could not send him outside of the village unless he was a shinobi. In order for him to be one, he was in need of a team. We carefully looked through the files of every student to find students that would not only work well with him, but also had potential to become great ninjas individually. You two were chosen."
"How is his life in danger? I mean, isn't it safe here in Konoha?" asked Ino, a slight hint of concern in her voice. Sure she wasn't very fond of Naruto, but she would still treat him as a friend, and if a friend is in danger, that was never good.
Before the Sandaime could respond, Naruto spoke up softly, "16."
Ino furrowed her brows in confusion, "16? What's that supposed to mean?"
Sakura joined in, "16 what?"
The Sandaime looked at Naruto and studied him for a moment before asking, "You knew?" when Naruto slowly nodded his head, he sighed, "I was hoping you didn't, but then again, you always were very observant." The Hokage turned to both girls, "Since he knows, I can tell you a little bit more. As he said, there have been 16, but he didn't explain what. There have been 16 assassination attempts with him as the target in the past week alone. That is why it is dangerous for him here. Even at this moment, I have an ANBU team guarding him closely, but I fear that is not enough. Two of those 16 have made it past the guards and into striking distance. Fortunately the ANBU were able to stop them in time, but that may not always be the case. That is why I formed this team. The first thing you will do together as a team is a long term mission outside of this village, where you will train with your sensei."
Both girls look towards Naruto sadly, before Ino spoke up softly, "Why are there people trying to kill you? Did you do something bad?"
The Sandaime noticed Naruto's reluctance to answer, "Would you like me to explain it to her?" upon receiving a nod from Naruto, he turned to Ino, "Know that this is an S-class secret. You cannot repeat it to anyone, understand?"
Ino nodded her acceptance, so the Hokage continued, "What do you know about the Kyuubi?"
Ino put a finger on her chin and thought for a moment, "Well, Kyuubi was a gigantic demon fox that had 9 tails. He attacked the village 12 years ago but was stopped by the Yondaime. He fought the Kyuubi and eventually killed it, but the Yondaime died in the process. Why?"
Sakura sighed, "That's not exactly the truth, Ino. It's just what we were told."
Ino looked at her, not quite understanding. The Hokage noticed her curious look and continued for Sakura, "Sakura is correct. What you were taught about the Kyuubi is a lie. Kyuubi could not be killed, so the Yondaime did the only thing he could to stop it's rampage. He sealed it away. He didn't seal it in an object, as it would be too easy for it to escape, so he sealed it into a newborn baby. He sealed it into Naruto."
Ino looked at Naruto in shock. Naruto had his head down, awaiting a painful reaction to the information. "You...have the Kyuubi inside of you?"
"I used to. He's gone now." Naruto responded softly, still expecting to be hated by Ino.
"Used to? You never told me he was gone. How did you get rid of him?" questioned a very curious Sakura.
Naruto was trying to think of a way to explain it, but didn't have a chance to as the Hokage explained it for him, "Last week, on the day of the festival, did you feel the shock waves?" He watched as both girls nodded, "Those were caused by the seal that was holding the Kyuubi. Last week the Kyuubi merged with Naruto, leaving behind only his chakra. So the Kyuubi is now gone, forever, and Naruto was gifted with all of it's chakra."
Both girls voiced their awe at him having so much chakra. Naruto sighed, "Do you hate me now, Ino? I'll understand if you do."
"Why would I hate you for that? If anything I should thank you. I mean, we wouldn't even be alive right now if you didn't have him sealed inside of you all that time, would we?"
The Hokage smiled at the response, happy that Naruto now had one more person who accepted him for who he was. Naruto also smiled at the answer, glad he had a teammate who understood, because it would be hard to work with someone who hated you.
Sakura went over and gave Ino a hug, silently thanking her for being so understanding. She knew that it would have devastated her crush if Ino would have hated him. Ino was slightly confused by the reactions she received, but she shrugged it off.
"I am glad you both understand. Anyways, I have to leave now, as I need to inform your sensei of your graduation, and fill out the paperwork for the mission I am sending you on." the Sandaime explained, then glanced down to the objects he was still holding. Handing them out to the three genin he continued, "Wear these proudly, as they signify that you are Konoha shinobi."
Each of the three students took a headband from the Hokage and proceeded to wear them in the spots they liked best. Naruto tied his around his forehead, while Ino decided to wrap hers around her waist. Sakura took out the red ribbon in her hair, and replaced it with the headband. The Sandaime smiled proudly at the students before bidding his farewell and making his way towards the academy exit.
"Wait, Ojisan!," when Naruto got the Hokages attention he continued, "You never did keep that promise! I still have yet to use that jutsu that you promised me I could use when you were around!"
The Sandaime chuckled, in all honesty he had forgotten, "I am sorry, Naruto. Would you like to do it now?"
Naruto nodded furiously and was about to do the jutsu when Sakura questioned him, "What jutsu?"
"It's a summoning jutsu. You'll see in a second." and with that, Naruto formed the few hand seals that the fox had taught him and when the jutsu was successfully done, a small scroll appeared in his hands in a puff of smoke.
"That's it? You summoned a scroll?" exclaimed Sakura, obviously disappointed. "I was expecting something more, I don't know, useful I guess."
"What's the scroll about?" questioned Ino.
"I don't know, actually. This was the second time I've ever done the jutsu. The first time I didn't know how to open the scroll." He turned to the Sandaime, "Hey, Ojisan, how do I open it?"
The Sandaime walked closer to Naruto and examined the scroll for a moment, "That is a blood seal on the scroll. Draw some blood and wipe it across the seal. If you are accepted, the seal will release."
Naruto nodded his understanding, and both girls watched as he followed the instructions. Once complete, the seal glowed momentarily before disappearing. Naruto unrolled the scroll about halfway, and found another seal on it, "Uh, Ojisan, what's this one?"
"That, Naruto, is a storage seal. They are simple to use. Just focus some chakra to the palm of your hand and place it in the center of the seal, and whatever is stored inside will appear." explained the Sandaime, a little curious to know what could have been given to him by a demon such as Kyuubi.
Naruto did as told, and in a puff of smoke, appeared a scroll and a ninjato, it's blade encased in a black leather sheath. The handle of the sword was pure black, with three small white seals located along the side of the grip. Naruto looked towards the scroll for answers, as he knew the Hokage, and probably the girls, were also wondering about the item.
When he found the part about the seals he explained, "Apparently, this first one," he started, pointing to the first seal along the edge, the one closest to the blade, "Is a chakra channeling seal. The scroll says that the seal allows chakra to flow through the sword better. And this one," he explained, now pointing to the one in the middle between the two seals, "Is a chakra storage seal. I can store chakra in that seal for use in the channeling, so I don't have to use my own chakra I guess. And this last one," he explained pointing to the final seal, located close to the bottom of the hilt, "Is what this scroll calls a defense seal."
"It says that this sword is very valuable, and so it needed to be protected. Only the true owner of the sword is able to even touch it, anyone else who tries will get shocked violently, which will force them to drop the sword," he looked up and noticed all three were still paying close attention to him, "It also says I can allow others to use it, by combining a drop of my blood, and a drop of the other persons blood onto the seal and focus a small amount of chakra on it."
"Well, hurry up and unsheathe it already! I wanna see what it looks like!" cried Ino.
He nodded and pulled the sword out of it's leather sheath quickly, only to have his eyes widen and his jaw drop, though his weren't the only ones that did. The blade was slightly curved, about 2 feet in length, but what made it special was that it seemed to be made completely out of what could only be described as diamond.
Upon seeing the blade, there were different reactions throughout the group. Naruto immediately looked back over to the scroll and read the part about the blade, confirming what he believed the blade was made out of. The Sandaime looked closely and now understood why the Kyuubi would place such a seal on the sword, as it would indeed be very, very valuable. Ino gasped and screamed, "Holy shit!" to which the Hokage immediately told her to watch her language, as she was too young to say those words. Sakura was calm, yet still voiced her thoughts, not once looking away from the blade, "Wow...It's just...beautiful."
"It's made out of diamond, says right here." he explained pointing to one of the last paragraphs on the scroll, "It says the blade alone took over a decade to shape, and that diamond is the hardest substance known to man. Is that true?"
Ino responded, "Yeah, it's also a womans wet dream." which made Sakura giggle, "I'll say, and that's enough diamond to make every girl in this village happy."
The Sandaime chuckled, "Indeed, that ninjato is very valuable. I am glad that it has that defense seal on it then, as I would hate for it to get stolen. Is there anything else to know about it?"
"Um." a few moments later he finished what he was saying, "Yeah. The last owner of this sword, Kyuubi, placed a very powerful seal on the blade. It says here that he wanted to make sure that if anything were to happen to the blade, that it could be fixed. So if the blade gets broken in half or something, according to this, I can focus a large amount of chakra onto the point where the pieces meet, and it will repair itself until it is back in perfect condition. It takes a lot of chakra though."
The Sandaime looked towards Naruto, "I doubt the chakra cost would be a problem for you. Kami knows that you probably have enough to repair it ten times over."
"Hehe, probably!" he responded.
"Anyways, congratulations on the sword Naruto. It was a beautiful gift from him, which has me surprised. Maybe it would be best if you took an interest in kenjutsu?" questioned the Sandaime, to which Naruto nodded, "Yeah, I guess I should."
Sandaime then spoke again, "Well, I must get going and get started on this paperwork. You are free to do as you want for now. I would recommend you say goodbye to your friends, as you are no longer in their class, and will be going on a very long mission outside of the village. Spend time with your families as well. I will send for you when everything is complete and your sensei is ready to meet with you."
With that said, the Sandaime bid his farewell and took his leave, making his way back towards his office. The genin trio stayed there for a moment, Naruto attaching the sheath of his sword to his waist to carry it around. Ino spoke up, "So what do we do now?"
Naruto and Sakura looked thoughtful for a few moments. Naruto was about to ask his pink haired teammate to a date, but was stopped when Sakura came to a decision. She quickly went back into her fangirl act, "Well, I'm going to go say goodbye to everyone in class, especially Sasuke-kun. We're leaving on a long mission, I want to try and make sure he doesn't forget me."
Ino looked at her and stuck her tongue out, "Well, I don't think it would be possible for him to forget such a large forehead. I bet it even gives him nightmares. I'm going to say goodbye to him, too. I already know he wont forget about me."
The pinkette's eyebrows twitched, "Shut up piggy. Who would want to remember someone like you?"
"Sasuke-kun would, of course." Ino replied, brushing a loose strand of hair out of her face, "Nobody could ever forget someone as beautiful as me."
Naruto just looked at them, rolled his eyes and sighed. Hopefully he wouldn't have to deal with the fangirling throughout the entire mission. One can dream, right? "You two have fun with the teme. I'm going to go say bye to Iruka-sensei and all the guys." With that said, Naruto walked back towards the classroom, both girls following after him, trying to be the first to get to their precious Sasuke-kun.
AN: Well, now you know the team! Also, I know I'm probably going to get complaints like "Sakura doesn't have a crush on Naruto!" Well, in this story she DOES. That's the beauty of fiction.
And yes, I did something very cliche. I gave Naruto a sword. Don't worry, his sword isn't the end all be all sword of uberness that has moving eyes that shoots laser beams and can move on it's own. The only thing special about it really, is the blade. The only reason I even made the blade out of diamond is because of it's previous owner. He was the freaken Kyuubi! Of course he's going to have nice stuff.
