Six years later…

Lucario was impressed with the progress his young pupil had made over the last six years. Under the steel/fighting pokémon's tutelage, Naruto had learned a form of taijutsu that emphasized and encouraged his reputation as 'Konoha's most unpredictable.' Although, while Lucario had redirected some of Naruto's more disrupting tendencies, the boy still pulled off elaborate pranks that resulted in multi-hour chases through the streets and over the rooftops of Konoha. While Lucario tolerated and considered these childish antics as good evasion training, he would be lying if he said he didn't get a good chuckle out of the pranks and subsequent pursuits. However, Lucario had quickly put a stop to skipping classes in order to pull off said pranks.

An open-palm strike passing a hairs-breadth from his muzzle brought Lucario back to the taijutsu session at hand. Flicking out a trio of kicks, Lucario silently assessed his pupil's performance. In the six years since Lucario had taken Naruto Uzumaki under his wings, Naruto's skills in unarmed taijutsu had skyrocketed, making the blonde in the running for who had the best taijutsu in the academy, right behind Sasuke Uchiha. It also helped that Naruto had extraordinary stamina, thanks in part to the boy's 'tenant.' Lucario parried and countered a pair of snapping kicks to the head and torso, sending Naruto sliding back several feet as the Pokémon recalled learning just why the boy had two aura signatures…

(-o-)

Six years earlier…

Hiruzen Sarutobi frowned as Dog gave his report. "You mean to tell me that you let a stranger, possibly a missing nin, with unknown abilities along with the ability to manipulate ice, fire and lightning elements knocked out a mob of civilians and took Naruto, and all you did was stand there?"

Dog nodded ashamedly. "It happened so fast, I didn't even get a chance to use it."

The Third Hokage slammed a fist into the desk, splintering the aged wood. "Dammit! We need to find him! Aside from the fact that he has the Kyuubi and who his parents were, we cannot afford another incident like the one we had with Kumo last year. Send out the ANBU, hell, get Danzou and his ilk to help if you absolutely have to, but we need to find him before anyone can hurt him!"

"That will not be necessary."

Sarutobi and Dog immediately dropped into fighting stances and prepared to unleash their jutsu against the cloaked intruder as the ANBU bodyguards in the rafters dropped down, surrounding the mysterious figure. Dog snarled at the cloaked intruder.

"You! Where's Naruto?"

"He is safe in his apartment."

"Why should I believe you?"

"Why would I come here to tell you if I was lying?"

Sarutobi dropped his guard slightly. "Then why are you here?"

"Because I was sent here to teach Naruto and protect him from those who would do him ill."

Sarutobi dropped his stance completely, preparing a kawarimi just in case. "And who sent you?"

"Before I can answer that, what I say cannot leave these walls."

Sarutobi nodded. "If it will not hurt the village, then it will stay in this room."

"I, am Lucario, a pokémon, what you would call a summons." Dog and the ANBU who had dropped from the ceiling recoiled as the stranger dropped his hood, revealing a blue and black canine head. "Yesterday, Naruto attempted to create a summoning contract in order to emulate you, Hirozen Sarutobi, Third Hokage of Konoha, Village Hidden in the Leaves. Instead, the boy reverse summoned himself into the void between dimensions. My Lord Arceus and his kin rescued Naruto and sent him back here. While my Lord could not yet create a summoning contract for Naruto, Lord Arceus promised to send Naruto a guardian and teacher. Thus, he sent me here to do so."

Sarutobi nodded, stroking his beard thoughtfully. "It is indeed fortunate that your lord was able to help Naruto. He always was lucky in that regard. I assume Arceus is a boss summons?"

"We pokémon prefer the title of legendaries, however, as the being who may or may not have created our universe, Lord Arceus is far beyond the level of boss summons."

"I see." Sarutobi and Dog exchanged looks. Good Kami, Naruto's befriended a god.

Lucario sat crosslegged on Sarutobi's desk. "Now, I have a question for you, Lord Hokage. Why does Naruto have two au-ahem-chakra signatures?"

Sarutobi sighed and sat in his chair, dismissing Dog and the two ANBU bodyguards. "I suppose if you are going to be teaching him, you will need to know the truth. Six years ago, on October the tenth, the nine-tailed fox demon known as the Kyuubi no Yoko attacked the village…"

(-o-)

The present day…

Lucario returned to the present from his wanderings in his memories as Naruto deflected a kick powerful enough to shatter stone. Lucario blocked a similar kick, followed up by a pulled punch surrounded by lightning. "Thunderpunch!" Naruto smacked upside-down into a tree face-first. Coming into a sitting position, Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he twitched sporadically from the leftover electricity.

"Aw, c'mon Lucario-sensei, you said no jutsu."

"True, but consider it a lesson not to trust your opponent to not fight dirty. Not everyone holds honor in the same high regard as you or me."

"Yes sensei."

"You have done well with your training, Naruto. Now remember, tomorrow is your last chance to graduate from the academy as a genin."

"Yes sensei."

"Do you remember why you failed the tests the last two times?"

"Yes sensei, I neglected my academic studies. But I'll pass this time, believe it!"

Lucario smiled. "Good. I regret to say that I must return to my world for a while, as Lord Arceus has something I need to do."

Naruto didn't look happy, but he nodded anyways. "Yes sensei."

"Good. Now remember to keep up with your aura control exercises, and I'll be seeing you before too long."

With that, a pink gash was torn from the very air with a terrifying roar. Lucario nodded once to Naruto, who bowed in return, before stepping through the spacial rend. Once Lucario was through, the spacial rend snapped shut like it had never been there in the first place. Naruto put his goggles back on before running through the trees back to Konoha.

(-o-)

Naruto sighed dejectedly as he sat atop the Hokage memorial. He couldn't understand it. He had studied so hard, and yet, none of the questions on the test had made any sense, and some of them he hadn't even seen the source material for. Sure, he could have passed if he had been able to successfully complete the three academy jutsus, and while he had completed the henge and the kawarimi successfully, his earth clones and water clones ended up looking like wax figurines someone had put in an oven. Dammit. Naruto slammed a fist against the rock, leaving a small dent. It's not fair. I was so close. I'll never be Hokage now.

"Hey Naruto."

Naruto looked up. "Oh, hey Mizuki-sensei, what's up?"

"The Hokage has given me permission to give you a special test to see if you truly are worthy of becoming a ninja."

Naruto looked at Mizuki. "Why?"

Mizuki frowned. "Because it's come to light that some of the senseis may have been trying to make you fail."

Naruto's eyes lit up. "So, I get another chance? To become a ninja?"

Mizuki nodded. Naruto started jumping for joy, until he remembered Lucario's words. Not everyone holds honor in the same regard as you or me. Naruto kept up the grin though as he thought about what he was going to do. "So, what's the test, I'll pass it no problem, believe it!"

(-o-)

Naruto sat on the log as he read the Scroll of Seals from Old Man Sarutobi's office. Shadow clones, huh? Sounds like fun. Let's try it. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" With clouds of smoke, the small clearing was suddenly filled with half a dozen shadow clones. "Sweet it worked."

"BELIEVE IT!" Naruto was knocked over by the shadow clones' massive shouted catchphrase. With a giggle, Naruto dispelled the clones. "Awesome."

"Naruto." Naruto looked up to find his academy teacher Iruka Umino standing over him.

"Oh, hey Iruka-sensei. Um, you're not supposed to be here."

Iruka had been about to tell Naruto how much trouble he was in, but Naruto's serious and uncharacteristic reply had thrown Iruka off. "What?"

Before Naruto could tell Iruka the plan, Mizuki dropped down in front of Naruto, not noticing his fellow teacher from the academy. "Naruto, give me the scroll."

"No."

"What?"

"I said no."

Mizuki looked ready to strangle Naruto before Iruka jumped between Naruto and the traitor, decking Mizuki with a well placed right-cross. Mizuki jumped back and looked at Naruto with such hatred that Naruto could only stare as the traitor threw a massive shuriken half as long as Naruto was tall at him. Naruto stared in horror as Iruka jumped in front of him and took the shuriken in the back. "I-Iruka-sensei…"

"Naruto…run, get the scroll away from here…it contains hi-hidden Jutsus that could put our village in danger."

"I-I know sensei."

"Wha-?"

Mizuki interrupted Naruto and Iruka's conversation with a disturbed laugh. "He just doesn't want you to have the power on that scroll, Naruto."

"No, you're lying! Stop lying Mizuki!" Iruka coughed up blood as he yelled at the traitor.

"Me, lying?" Mizuki gave a deranged chuckle. "If anything, you're the one who's lying! Allow me to reveal the truth to you."

"No!" Iruka tried to stand, only to fall to his knees as his legs gave way. "Don't do it Mizuki!"

"Do you want to know why everyone hates you? Twelve years ago, a nine-tailed fox demon attacked the village. When it was defeated, the Fourth Hokage sealed it inside you!"

Naruto took a step back. "What? No…"

"Everyone hates you, even Iruka."

"Y-you're wrong…I don't hate him." Naruto looked at Iruka, who finally managed to lurch to his feet. "It's true, I used to think of Naruto as-gnng-as the demon and blame him for my parents' and friends' deaths, until I saw the-the pranks he did. Just trying to get attention…gya…just like I used to. When I saw that bit of-of myself in Naruto, I realized that you can seal a kunai in a scroll, but that scroll won't be a-gah-kunai."

Mizuki stood there picking at his nails, looking bored. "Yes, yes, that's very touching, but I'm afraid it's time for you to die." Mizuki drew his second large shuriken. "Die!"

The windmilling blades flew towards Naruto. Iruka tried to protect Naruto a second time, but his jump turned into a collapse as his legs gave way. Naruto merely glared at Mizuki before blitzing a series of handsigns. "Mamoru!" A shimmering barrier surrounded Naruto just as the windmilling shuriken reached him. Bouncing off the barrier, the shuriken smashed into a tree off to the side, several severed branches and limbs falling to the forest floor. Mizuki nearly fell off his branch with astonishment.

"What!? What the heck was that!?"

Iruka wanted to know the same thing. He only Jutsu he'd seen even remotely similar to that barrier was the Hyuuga clan main branch's Hakkeshō Kaiten, but that required the user to spin in place and expend an exorbitant amount of chakra. Naruto hadn't even had to do that. Boy were the Hyuuga gonna be mad.

Naruto gave a grim smile. "That was a technique my master calls 'protect.' It creates an impenetrable barrier that surrounds the user. Timing is key though, it only lasts a few moments." Sure enough, the shimmering barrier flickered and died. "Now, lemme show you what else my sensei taught me." Naruto crossed his arms. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" The clearing was filled with smoke. When it cleared, there were dozens of Narutos around the clearing and in the trees. The original pointed a finger at a suddenly sweating Mizuki. "Get 'im!" Mizuki shrieked like a girl as the army of orange jumpsuit clad clones jumped him. However, Mizuki quickly regained his composure long enough to dispel several clones before the rest began to play badminton with his body.

"Ow! Stop! Doing! Ow! That! Ow! Put! Me! Down!"

Naruto looked to his clones. "Well, you heard him. Put him down." With that command, one of the shadow clones jumped up and spiked Mizuki into the soft earth of the forest.

"Ow."

Naruto cracked his knuckles as Mizuki staggered to his feet, spewing all sorts of blue invective at the blonde boy standing in front of him. "Okay boys, let's finish this." Naruto began to rapidly spin his arm, channeling chakra into his fist, creating a vacuum as Mizuki moved in for the kill. "Shinkū Name!" Naruto's fist snapped out in a punch as the vacuum shot a shockwave at Mizuki with a loud crack! Mizuki staggered back before being sent flying through a tree as the shadow clones followed through with their own vacuum waves. His body snug in an impression of himself in a tree, Mizuki groaned, a high-pitched, squeaky thing, before mercifully passing out.

Iruka sat slack-jawed as Naruto dispelled the shadow clones and reeled back from the memory backlash as he received each clone's memory. "Whoa, didn't know they did that."

Iruka could only stare at the boy walking towards him. There was no earthly way Naruto should have failed his last graduation exam, much less the first two. It made Iruka suspect that some of his fellow academy teachers had been intentionally sabotaging Naruto's learning career. He'd have to discuss this with the Hokage. But right now, he needed to right a wrong.

"Naruto. Come here and close your eyes." Naruto walked over and knelt by the sprawled out Iruka.

"What's wrong, Iruka-sensei?"

"Just-just close your eyes." Naruto closed his eyes. He felt Iruka doing something with the goggles resting on his forehead. "Naruto, it is my greatest pleasure to say that you are now a graduate of the Konoha Ninja Academy. Congratulations." Naruto just about jumped with joy when he felt the Konoha headband that used to be Iruka's on his head until he heard Iruka grunt. "Urgh." Iruka contorted in agony. "I'm gonna need a medic."

Naruto patted Iruka carefully on the back. "Don't worry Iruka-sensei, the ANBU should be here shortly."

"The ANBU-you had this all planned, didn't you?"

"Um, ehehe, yeah." Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment. "Well, something Mizuki-sen-ahem-Mizuki said rubbed me the wrong way, so I wnet to the Old Man, and well, went from there."

Iruka shook his head. "And people think you're a dense knucklehead. Boy were we wrong."

The ANBU arrived shortly thereafter, to Iruka's and Naruto's relief. "Hey Cat!" The ANBU wearing a cat mask that Naruto had addressed nodded.

"We'll take it from here, Naruto. We'll be talking with you later. For now, you may go home while we deal with Mizuki and the Scroll of Sealing and get Iruka to the hospital."

Naruto watched as Iruka was carefully placed on a stretcher. The scar-faced teacher turned his head to Naruto. "Remember, graduation is on Monday. Don't be late."

Naruto grinned like an idiot as he replied. "Don't worry Iruka-sensei , I wouldn't miss it for the world, believe it!"

Iruka watched as Naruto bounded away. "Make me proud, kid."

(AN: The two techniques used by Naruto are protect and vacuum wave, two techniques I figured that Lucario would be able to teach Naruto, seeing as they are techniques that Lucario can learn.)