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Chapter 3

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Sarutobi sighed heavily as he stamped another document, putting it aside in a pile of completed paperwork. He stared at it intensely, wishing that it would burst into flames. With the genin graduation coming up, there was so much to be done, especially with several clan heirs participating.

"…You know, you could just use Kage Bunshin."

Immediately, Sarutobi stood up and looked around warily, drawing a kunai from a hidden drawer. He turned in a circle, speaking in a loud and commanding tone. "Who are you? Show yourself!" All of his staff had left some hours earlier, and he didn't recognize that voice as belonging to anyone that he remembered. In addition, being able to make it to the top of the Hokage Tower in the dead of the night…the person could very well be dangerous.

At the lack of any answer, Sarutobi redoubled his vigilance, and barked out again. "I said show yourself!"

From above the Sandaime came an exaggerated sigh. "You know, Hokage-sama…it's not very nice to threaten people with weapons." With a thump, a shadowed figure dropped from the ceiling, landing in a kneeling position on the floor before the desk.

"Who are you?" Sarutobi asked warily. "You're no ninja of Konoha! State your name and reveal your face immediately!"

The figure looked down and shrugged. "Don't remember me? So sad…" he trailed off. "Alright them…ojii-san." Sarutobi froze. He remembered only one person who had ever called him that, and the child had been declared missing years before.

"Who…who are you?" Sarutobi asked breathlessly.

The figure stood tall, allowing the hood of its cloak to fall down to its shoulders. "It's me, Hokage-sama…"

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto."

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Sarutobi stood, frozen in shock at the figure that stood before him. Standing in front of him might as well have been a clone of Minato- except for there-streaked hair and the six whisker scars, which, he noted, were significantly darker than he remembered. He checked for the presence of a henge- and found nothing. "Naruto…" he whispered, reaching out with a trembling hand. "Is that…is it really you?"

Naruto nodded, grinning widely. "Yup! It's me, in the flesh, old man!" He gave a little spin and ended in a pose that had even Sarutobi chuckling to himself.

"But Naruto," Sarutobi said gravely. "Where have you been all these years? You've been gone for over six years, and now, all of a sudden, you just show up? How could you-? Where we you?" He trailed up, evidently unable to get rid of the shock that had taken over his features.

"Old man…" Naruto said. "Don't get worried on my account. To answer your question, I've been…training while I've been gone."

Sarutobi was instantly on alert. "What do you mean? You weren't even entered in the Shinobi Academy how could you have gotten any skills?" If Naruto had been trained by the Kyuubi…

Naruto waved a hand dismissively. "Nah, don't worry. The fuzzbag hasn't been training me…though he likes watching me get my ass kicked. Damn kitsune." He started mumbling darkly under his breath.

"Wait!" Sarutobi said in alarm. "You know about the Kyuubi?"

"Yep. Known since I left."

"But…how did you find out?"

Naruto gave an uncaring shake of his head. "Old man, even if I wanted to tell you, I couldn't. Let's just say that I got told it by my sensei and leave it at that."

"Your sensei? But-?"

"No, he wasn't a missing-nin; no, he wasn't an enemy shinobi; and no, he wasn't a demon."

Sarutobi was dumbstruck. "Then who-?"

"Believe me when I say I can't tell you, ojii-san," Naruto said. "Now…let's get down to why I'm back. And," he said quickly as the Sandaime opened his mouth to speak. "Don't worry, you'll find out more in time…especially at the Chuunin Exams." He smirked as the old man's lips worked silently.

"How did you…?"

"Meh. I have my ways."

Naruto fixed the Hokage with a sharp glare. "Now. I came back because I wanted to give Konoha a second chance, and plus, my master told me that I had to come back to do something for him. So, I need to enter the genin exams tomorrow. Are you going to help me, or what?" Naruto eyed the old man for a few more moments before Sarutobi burst into a chuckle.

"Only you, Naruto, only you…" Pulling out a piece of paper from a particularly tall stack, Sarutobi stamped it with the Hokage seal of approval. "There you go. Just go to the Shinobi Academy at eight in the morning tomorrow. I'll let the teacher know that you're coming." Naruto nodded gratefully and made to leave.

"Oh, and Naruto?" Naruto stopped.

"Do me proud."

In a fiery Shunshin, Naruto disappeared from the room.

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Chuckling to himself some minutes later, Sarutobi abruptly froze. Wait…

He called himself 'Namikaze'.

…How did he know of his heritage?

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Kiba jogged eagerly towards the Academy, Akamaru by his side, panting happily. This was the last day of school, the day of the graduation exams, and his mom and sister had been hammering all of his shinobi skills into him nonstop for the past month. But now…now he was close to showing the world just how great Inuzuka Kiba was!

Akamaru yipped loudly and Kiba spun around, startled out of his thoughts. "What's the matter, boy?" he asked, crouching down by his familiar's side. But Akamaru only whined, making Kiba become wary and alert. "Is it an enemy?" he asked softly, and Akamaru shook his head rapidly.

"Then what is it?"

The dog refused to answer, instead choosing to sit on his haunches, licking his paw, as he stared off in a random direction, seemingly lost to the world. "Akamaru!" Kiba said. "You've gotta tell me what's wrong! I-"

And then Kiba felt it- a ripple that traveled down his spine, and, involuntarily, his canines lengthened, his pupils elongated, and his fingernails grew into sharpened claws. Akamaru himself was starting to growl, his fur beginning to tinge a bloody crimson red. Staring at his hands in shock- he hadn't used any chakra!- Kiba knew that something was amiss. "Come on, boy," he said quietly, trying to calm the canine down. "What's happening? What's doing this?"

Akamaru didn't answer, instead only motioning slightly over to one direction with a tilt of his head, before lying on the ground, whimpering.

Kiba stared in the direction that his companion had pointed at. "Come on, Akamaru, let's go check it out." Reluctantly, the dog followed its master as Kiba jogged cautiously over to the alleyway that the dog had motioned toward.

Slowly, Kiba peered inside, looking down the alley…and his eyes met darkness.

The only thing that he saw were three pairs of red eyes staring unblinkingly right at him- before they vanished.

Kiba shivered, and after making sure that no one was there anymore, slunk off to the Academy, confidence a little lower, as Akamaru trailed after him.

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As Shino walked into the door of the Academy classroom, he noted Inuzuka Kiba sitting in his seat, arms folded. He and his pet were both quiet, and they looked…worried?

Strange…Kiba-san is usually more vocal than Sakura-san or Ino-san. There must be something wrong here, but I am unable to think of any possible reason. Perhaps he is having troubles with the clan head of the Inuzuka?

Adjusting his glasses, the bug user stepped into the room and sat in his desk, sitting still in the seat. He needed to commune with his insects; the hive was unusually agitated today, and he intended to find out why.

Several minutes later as he was closing his eyes behind his shades in attempt of meditation, Shino was interrupted when the door slammed open once more, startling both Iruka and Mizuki from their thoughts and organization.

Shino took one look at the stranger standing in the doorway and he gave an involuntary shudder, his insects becoming louder and more aggravated, the buzzing in his ears rising to an unpleasant screech. Out of the corner of his eye, Shino noticed Kiba staring at the person as if frozen, hands twitching where he sat as his dog growled softly.

"Who…who are you?" Iruka asked slowly. "Explain yourself!"

The person gave a nod; his head wasn't visible, as he wore a cloak that covered his whole body, though two amethyst-colored eyes were visible through the shadow that made Shino flinch with their intensity. From outside of the doorway came the low sound of growling, and Mizuki took a step back.

"I…I have come as a late entrant in the genin exams," the stranger said, and Shino got the strangest sensation, as if the person was smirking underneath that hood. "I believe that the Hokage warned you of me."

Iruka looked thunderstruck. "Well…yes, but…"

"What is your name?" Mizuki interrupted. "We cannot have you in here without knowing who you are. And take the hood off!"

The stranger gave a dry chuckle. "Fine, whatever…as you wish." He gave a mock bow toward the silver-haired chuunin, and reached up to pull down his hood. Many in the class gasped as his face came into view, the muddy-brown hood disappearing onto his back.

His eyes, the two chuunin noticed, where a bright amethyst, burning with a violet flame. Long, crimson-streaked blond hair ran down his back, and the instructors thought for a moment that they were looking at a reincarnation of a red-haired Yondaime. His fingernails, they noted, were slightly sharpened like an Inuzuka's, and the cheeky grin he gave to the class showed off his impressive canines.

With a single pull, he tore off the brown cloak he wore, revealing what he was wearing underneath: an orange and red gi, with a fox's head on either shoulder. Iruka and Mizuki predictably glared at the designs before the strange boy cleared his throat.

"My name," he said, brushing his hand through his bangs.

"…Is Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto." Iruka froze. Where had he heard that name before? Where?

"And I have come back to Konoha."

Chaos erupted.

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Mizuki's eyes twitched. He remembered the name well- after all the brat had basically killed his friends! He remembered kicking it when the thing was younger, and had fond memories of celebrating after its disappearance, especially when he realized that it wouldn't be able to go to the academy where he would have to deal with it.

And now, it was suddenly showing itself here, again?

Foaming at the mouth. Mizuki made his decision.

"DIE, DEMON FREAK!"

Throwing a kunai towards the boy, Mizuki charged, ignoring Iruka's shouts of panic. He grinned maniacally, knowing that if he killed the monster, then he would be looked up to by the entire village. Maybe Orochimaru-sama would even let him join his village and lose this worthless dump! Too distracted to defend himself properly, Mizuki found himself caught by the throat, clawing at the hand that held him aloft like iron.

"Why you…" he choked out. "Put me down…beast!" He spat on the floor by the thing's feet.

"Tell me, chuunin-san," Naruto's voice said, cheerful tone gone and replaced by a cold, burning, feral sound instead. Ino's eyes widened. Underneath his voice, she could hear…growling?

"What are you doing?" Sakura burst out. "Why did you attack Mizuki-sensei?" She failed to notice Kiba in the row below her shivering at the animalistic aura that had filled the room. "What gives you the right-"

"He attacked me," Naruto said angrily. "What gave him the right?" Sakura shut up.

Chouji talked next. "Wait, did you say your name was Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto? Like…like the Yondaime?" Everyone froze, Shikamaru's eyes narrowing.

Naruto groaned, and a little bit of the oppressive energy faded. "Damn…I'd hoped to keep this quiet. But yeah, the Yondaime, Namikaze Minato was my tou-san." Most students sat, awestruck at this announcement.

Looking down coldly at the man who he was still holding, Naruto tossed Mizuki to the floor where he started choking on his injured windpipe. Instantly, two other chuunin burst through the doors, ready for a fight. "What happened? We heard shouting-"

"This guy," Naruto scoffed, pointing at Mizuki. "Attacked me, and I responded in kind. Make sure that your ninja know not to attack students, got that?" Seeing Iruka's lack of response, and acceptance, of the accusation, as well as the burning look in the new kid's eyes, the two chuunin nodded hurriedly and dragged Mizuki out.

Later, the Hokage would personally interrogate the man, leading to the discovery of his connections to Orochimaru, as well as his laughable plot of stealing the Sacred Scroll of Sealing. Mizuki would be sentenced to prison for treason.

Naruto cracked his knuckles lazily. "So…anyone else wanna shot at me?" His grin had reappeared as soon as the men had left, and all of the others, Iruka included, were still frozen in place.

"What do you mean by saying that you've come back?" Ino suddenly burst out. "If you haven't been here, then where've you been? Why'd you leave?"

Naruto turned his attention, raising an eyebrow. "To your first question, I've been…training over the last few years, and so I haven't been in the academy. To your second one, I've been wandering around the Elemental Countries…though I haven't visited many of the other Hidden Villages. To your final question, well…

"Let's just say that I wasn't well-liked and leave it at that."

Many of the kids were taken aback. The heir of the Fourth, not well-liked? How was that possible?

"Now," Naruto said, clearing his throat. I believe that we had a genin exam to get to?"

Iruka visibly started. "Ah! Yes…of course…" He trailed off, searching frantically among the papers on the desk. "Um…I'll be handing out these papers to you all, and you'll answer the questions written on the test. Then, we'll go to taijutsu testing, and finish with testing of a particular technique- which will be the bunshin jutsu."

With that, Iruka handed out the exams, though he kept throwing furtive glances Naruto's way, an action which was followed by most of the rest o f the class, but was ignored by the boy himself.

"You will have one hour. Begin."

Naruto finished the questions in forty minutes, not really bothering to answer them completely, and spent the rest of the time doodling on his paper. When Iruka collected the test twenty minutes later, he found an assorted collection of foxes, dogs, trees, and other various things drawn on the paper next to the questions.

"Now," he said, leading them out to the Academy yard. "I will be testing your proficiency in taijutsu, so you will be matched up in pairs and fight as I record your scores. Match One: Inuzuka Kiba versus Hamachi Ichigo."

Naruto watched idly, lazing on a bench as he observed the hooded boy attack the other with the aid of his dog. Hm…

"…Next match, Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto against Uchiha Sasuke!" The other boy, one with raven-black hair and an unmistakable air of arrogance, stepped up, hands at the ready to begin.

"Eh…Iruka-san?"

"Yes, Naruto?" Iruka asked warily.

"Are we allowed to use animals to help in these fights? Like that dog-boy did?"

Iruka was taken aback. "Well…I suppose so, as long as you don't use any jutsu in the fight with them."

Naruto nodded. "Alright, then." He cracked his neck and flexed his hands. "Let's do this," he said with a grin, biting into his thumb and making several hand signs.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

Everyone was shocked. How had this strange kid done such a high-level technique? Even Sasuke looked surprised, and oddly wary.

When the smoke cleared, the students were treated to the sight of what Naruto had summoned- a small puppy and a fox kit.

Sasuke started laughing. "You're trying to beat me with those? Idiot." Immediately, several fangirls began cheering him on as Naruto sweatdropped.

Is he serious?

Naruto smirked. "Oh, don't take me for granted. After all," he said with a grin, as the two animals began to grow, reaching near-waist height in moments. "The more of my chakra I give them, the bigger they get!"

Iruka, blinking at what had just happened, took a breath and gulped. "Now…begin!"

Instantly, Sasuke had several shuriken out in his hands, all of which he threw straight at Naruto, who dodged them using a kunai that had suddenly appeared in his hand.

"You guys take the sides!" Naruto yelled to his familiars, who nodded, surprising everyone.

/Right./

/You got it, boss!/

Naruto leapt forward, nails lengthening as his grin widened into a feral smile. "Take that!" he yelled, slashing at Sasuke with his hands. The Uchiha jumped back, slashing widely with his kunai. He's…he's so fast!

Sasuke attempted a quick punch to the gut, but Naruto rolled around it, delivering a roundhouse kick to Sasuke's chest. With that, the fox and the dog came from the sides and tackled Sasuke, driving him into the dirt were he came to rest.

"…Winner, Naruto."

The whole thing had taken fifteen seconds.

Everyone had their mouths open as they watched Naruto dust himself and walk off, the two animals shrinking down to size before following him inside.

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"Now, Naruto…" Iruka said apprehensively. "Please do three bunshin."

Naruto wiped off his forehead. "Does it have to be a basic clone, or can it be something else?"

Surprised, Iruka answered him. "W-well, yes, but…can you really do one?"

Naruto nodded. "Yup. Call it Kitsune Bunshin." Iruka's eyes widened, but Naruto just made a lazy ram seal and called out the name of the technique. The chuunin's eyes widened as he went up to a clone and poked it.

"These…these are real! But they're not Kage Bunshin?"

Naruto shook his head. "Nope. Made this one myself. Each one can take tons more damage than a normal shadow clone can, though I can only make three, regardless of how much chakra I use."

Iruka's hand was shaking as he stamped a seal of approval on Naruto's forms, and reached for a hitai'ate.

"Namikaze-Uzumaki Naruto, pass…with flying colors."

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AN: And…done! Yays!

So, which team do you want Naruto to end up in? Let me know! (Remember, more reviews = faster updates). Also, how much do you want the council to be involved, on the subject of Naruto's heritage, disappearance, abilities, etc. Tell me!

R&R

-SoS, out!