"-In conclusion, the third hokage is smart, strong, and knows nearly a thousand jutsu! Plus, he's the only hokage to be called the professor. He's also very nice, and considered one of the most peaceful kage, even in a wartime scenario."

Fortunately, the youth weren't watching the way Iruka's eyes instantly rose, and his lips pursed. Peaceful in a wartime scenario?

He had a kill count equal to the Uchiha massacre during the Rock-Leaf conflict, and nearly eighty-nine unconfirmed kills after the Hyuuga/Cloud incident.

He had gone alone, and he had sent himself on that mission in broad daylight. All of his kills ranged from Jounin to ANBU, and he had not been seen once. There was no proof; only widows, blood, and orphans.

THAT was when Cloud stopped demanding proper payment for their lost diplomat.

The only reason Iruka knew was because Sarutobi had passed the highly confidential post-report to him that same afternoon; as calm and collected as though he were providing him with more Academy work to dig through for proofreading.

It dawned on Iruka that this was the only way the old man knew to vent.

"Excellent, Haruno-san, please take your seat. Your research was well done, however; I do ask that you do the extra effort, and gather information from older shinobi, rather then from an encyclopedia."

'Your inability to look past your books reflects badly on your future as an information gathering shinobi, and shows that you lack the current ability to look past the obvious on the field.'

He made a mental note to place that in his next report, and stood to his feet.

"Alright, Inuzuka Kiba, please present your report on the greatest hokage to the cla-"

"-Actually, Iruka-sensei…"

In an instant, Iruka was at attention, his hands to his sides and his head bowed, and the rest of the class followed suit. Instantly silenced at the sudden arrival of their Sandaime Hokage.

"Heeeey! Old man!"

Of course, only one student had the utter gall to ignore the fact that his military leader had arrived, and not salute.

It was unspoken that only Naruto got away with not saluting. But then again, it was also unspoken that no one but a few people liked him.

Sarutobi ignored the young Uzumaki.

"Iruka-sensei, I would like very much to see your student's progress. A quick tournament, no holds barred, and a pass the stake bracket. The starters will be Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke."

Gasps erupted throughout the class, but Sarutobi's attention remained focused on the equally stoic Iruka.

A stoic, very concerned Iruka.

"Yes...of course, Lord Hokage."

"Very good. Take them to field Number three, then Iruka-san."

Naruto was, bar none, the single best trap layer in the room. He was also one of the worst taijutsu, ninjutsu, and genjutsu practitioners in the room. In fact, as far as his practical usage of these subjects went, he was just above the practical dead last, Haruno Sakura.

And even worse, field Number three was designed for heavy combat specialists in mind. It was an open field surrounded by thick, hard to traverse foliage that wouldn't allow for much more than very temporary hiding.

There would be no trap making. No...hide and go seek, as it were.

In short, Uzumaki Naruto was about to get his ass kicked in a very public and very humiliating way.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Sasuke hit the class dobe, he sent the boy tumbling back, his arms flailing backwards in a desperate attempt to catch himself before the bastard had…

Nope.

The gap was way, way too far between them. The second Naruto managed to stop himself, the hand-signs for his fire technique had begun and ended, and the Uchiha spoke for the first time.

"Katon! Great Fireball!" With practiced ease, he gathered the chakra in his lungs. He took a moment to savor the lava swimming up his throat, to enjoy the hazard of having superheated chakra permeate and multiply inside his chest before holding up his middle and index fingers to his mouth and exhaling.

The fight was, after all, no holds barred. And in the face of that…

"Whoa!" Naruto flailed to the right, just out of the path of the flaming wrecking ball.

The orange to-be genin never missed a beat, however, and stumbled forward, desperate to regain his footing and go on the offensive.

Sasuke, desperate to press his advantage, charged in after his off-balance prey. Forget any fancy roundhouse kicks or forward flips. He found himself skidding to a stop in front of the genin hopeful, planting his left foot deep into the ground, crouching his body, and thrusting his right foot into Narutos stomach.

He didn't have time for anything but efficiency.

Naruto was sent backwards, his arms flailing, an unfortunate backflip that ended with him face planted and wheezing for every last trace of air he could inhale. His stomach already sore and burning from the abuse, and his hands planted beneath himself, holding himself up as he seethed through his teeth.

The Uchiha performed a snap forward flip, ending with his foot outstretched and his heel aiming directly for the back of the young Uzumaki's neck.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Sarutobi watched with a calmness and curiosity that perfectly matched his namesake. The Professor.

"Naruto-kun is out of his depth, Iruka-san." A puff of his pipe, and the hokage spared the academy instructor a sidelong glance.

"What...I…." Iruka fumbled for the words, but simply found them muddled by his own anger towards the situation. In end, he settled for a simple,"Yes, hokage-sama."

The older man nodded once.

"Sasuke-kun, on the other hand, has a prowess that is impressive for his age."

"Y-yes, Hokage-sama."

Sarutobi's eyes never left the fight. A crooked smile took the place of his usual scowl, and the pipe found his mouth again.

"Let this fight see it's natural conclusion, Iruka-san."

The scarred chunnin's head snapped towards the hokage, but no words left his mouth. He was left gaping like a fish at the order.

The older man continued, exhaling a lung full of smoky tobacco as he gestured towards the two boys with his pipe. "This is a no holds barred battle Iruka, calm down. Let Naruto surprise you."

Iruka laughed. "Oh, he'll do that pretty definitely."

- - - - - - - - - - - -

The heel drop hit home, boring into Naruto's neck with a very audible snap.

Way, way too audible.

Uzumaki vanished in a plume of smoke, and Sasuke found his foot planted firmly in a hastily chopped chunk of tree trunk.

"Hm." He couldn't help it, he smiled a little bit. 'Interesting. So where are you now, idiot?'

Another snap of wood, and Sasuke heard the tell tale sound of something heavy being thrown; a whipping in the wind, as it were.

As if by magic, an axe wedged itself deep into the ground next to his foot, followed by a kunai…

And then an arrow. Apparently the idiot had been practicing with the bow and arrow. And hidden it somewhere in the trees the entire time. And somehow knew they were going to have their battle in this very area.

Focus, Sasuke.

And then he caught the sound of a very confused Uzumaki Naruto who sounded as perplexed as he was. That was good, it meant it wasn't just him.

Seriously….A bow and arrow?

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The second Naruto threw the kunai, they appeared out of nowhere.

He didn't have to look...he could feel the tree branch shift ever so slightly with their added weight, and then shifting as if they had never been there.

Mostly because that was exactly what happened.

Naruto threw the kunai, and in concert, they appeared. A minute puff of smoke, and then one with an axe, the other with a bow and arrows. The two weapons were launched the second they touched down, and then they bounced off the branch and into smoke without another word.

"So, when I throw kunai…? Wild."

He hastily drew more kunai from his pouch.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Sasuke spun around and darted towards the sound of drawn kunai. Without missing a step, he drew his own blade…

The first kunai that rained down bounced off the ground harmlessly. It hit hilt first, and proved harmless.

"Right." The dobe was dead last in armed warfare, 2 out of 48 legitimate targets every time...it was only natural that it carry over here.

In other words...ignore kunai.

Sasuke nodded to himself as he spun on his feet, scooping up the kunai as it made its second bounce against the ground, and using it to block the next incoming salvo.

...Only to perform a u-turn when he saw what was coming; Seven axes on a high arc, but their weight brought them in fast. Nine arrows were hurtling in on a second arc...directly at him.

And one more wildly spinning kunai that was on a completely different arc; aimed, presumably, at someone in Rice country, and therefore considerably less deadly.

"Oh fu-"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"-ck yes!!! This is so awesome!!!" Naruto cheered and started pumping his fists in the air excitedly. "I'm gonna kick so much ass now!!!"

- - - - - - - - - - -- - - - -

Iruka kept his hands clasped with each other, in front of his mouth, hiding the smile on his face.

It wouldn't do for him show to favoritism in front of the Hokage.

"Naruto-kun is doing very well, Iruka-san. It reflects positively on your ability, although…" The old man pursed his lips and fought a losing battle with a smile. "He is a bit loud, is he not?"

Iruka simply pursed his lips.

"I'd prefer to call him...enthusiastic."

"Ah."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I want you to listen to me very well, Naruto."

Sasuke's smirking tone carried over Naruto's yelling, and the excited cheers of his peers.

Being forced to retreat by the dead last.

Either he was getting worse, or the dead last was getting better…and obviously, one was easier for him to accept than the other.

He dug a blunted kunai out of his pouch, and flipped it into the air a few times, catching it easily on its descent.

"You've got my attention now."

The blunted kunai was launched with an eagle's accuracy, and he waited for that tell-tale…

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"DAMN IT!!!"

Thunk.

The kunai hit him dead center in his forehead, and Naruto had just enough time to release an awkward sounding squawk followed by a string of obscenities.

As he fell from the tree head first, he couldn't help but think that being hit by a blunted kunai felt a lot like being punched in the face.

And then his world exploded into muffled noises and pitch black...and for only a moment, he could have sworn he heard something that sounded like…

"Tch...almost got me. Dobe."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Iruka pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed.

The Hokage had been right to interrupt his class and demand the free for all battle, as it brought certain issues about his students to his attention. He looked down at the newest report on his desk, signing the bottom and following up with a quick swipe of his pen to his finger, and pressing a bloody finger print next to the signature.

Post Academy Tournament Results: Results listed in the order of most pressing issues.

Haruno Sakura: As instructor, I am declaring this student an unnecessary risk to the more promising genin. Sakura surrendered the moment Sasuke took stance.

Inuzuka Kiba: Has complete confidence in his combat prowess. He was defeated by Sasuke in 4.5 seconds, because he charged the boy. Thus far, all grades and actions indicate that he needs to be a combat specialist, front lines. It is postulated that he will peak at rank Chunnin.

Yamanaka Ino: While defeated by Sasuke, showed certain amount of potential in direct combat. She proved to be impressive defensively, and even managed to trap the Uchiha in a low level positioning genjutsu. Diverse, placing her under Sarutobi Asuma or Hatake Kakashi would be wise.

Uchiha Sasuke: Highly impressive across the board. Won all of his matches flawlessly. He adjusted accordingly to every new opponent, and did so nearly instantaneously. I stand by my recommendation that his exams be waived, and he be placed under Hatake Kakashi, or in an internship with Special Jounin Mitiarshi Anko.

Uzumaki Naruto: Proved himself impressively flexible, which causes me to retract my previous report. Uzumaki Naruto is not entirely inept in close combat, and is apparently highly diverse in ranged combat.

In short, he seems to be skilled in avoidance and retaliation attacks in close range combat. Although his noisiness leaves much to be desired, he has grown in an unexpected way. It is recommended that his exam be waived, and he be placed under Hatake Kakashi or Sarutobi Asuma.

All other potential shinobi were unremarkable or typical of their current recorded skill.

As per always, these recommendations are only that, Lord Hokage, and likely to change. This is especially true due to the upcoming practical Academy finals.

"That sounded like quite the test."

Iruka flinched, and before he had time to think or stop himself, stood out of his chair and held his pen to the intruder's neck. Jabbing it just deep enough into the trachea to pause his prisoner's air flow. He kept the man, taller and stockier then him, in a loose standing hand lock, keeping his fingers intertwined with the man's; one turn of the wrist, and he could snap three fingers.

It transpired in less then a second.

And then time caught up with him, and Iruka found himself staring not at the faceless apparition invading the academy, but Morino Ibiki pressed face first against the wall.

Iruka exhaled.

"Ibiki." He released the man's hand and took the pen from his throat, returning to his seat with a smile. "What can I do for you?"

The interrogation specialist rubbed his hand and laughed. The teacher man hadn't gone soft...not in taijutsu anyway.

"I was comin' to see if you weren't busy. Goin' drinking." He leaned over the smaller man's desk, and continued appraising the report. "Looks like you got a few decent brats this year, though."

"Yeah, Ino and Naruto surprised me." His finger traced past the names, stopping at Ino's. "Especially Ino. She has a lot of her dad in her."

"The littlest Yamanaka's a spitfire, huh?" He chuckled at that. "Her old man was a bit nuts...sat there and told me not to charge off without him, and the second a Rock nin shows up, he charged off cursing and yelling about this single nin ruining Konoha. I think he was a chunin!"

Iruka released a bark of laughter, and began nodding with the larger man.

"Yeah, Sasuke hadn't even said anything before Ino started yelling at him about not taking her seriously." Iruka laughed even harder at the thought. "They had only been standing there for a few seconds...it was the damned funniest thing I've seen in a long-"

Snnnnnnnnnnnrrrrrrrrr…

Both men's eyes snapped to the back of the classroom.

"You let Uzumaki sleep in here?"

Iruka didn't respond at first, he just stared at the boy who had fallen asleep with his arms folded on his desk, an urchin of blonde spikes sticking atop a sea of orange that shifted lazily as he slept.

"Sometimes." Iruka's tone suddenly changed, as though he were speaking about something homey or familiar. Something that was particularly close to his heart. "He's not in much of a rush to get home."

He shook his head and raised his arms in defeat. "Stop by T&I if you wanna hit the bars with me an' Kurenai."

"Yeah, okay Ibiki."

The teacher went back to work, and Ibiki stood there a moment longer.

"Oi, you did a hell of a job training Uzumaki."

Iruka only smiled in response. "I'll see you later, Ibiki."