Anyone want to a beta for me? Ha, I think it would be better with four eyes looking at the same thing and if I would miss anything they could catch it. Maybe even give me some ideas? Besides that, exams are over! Summer has finally begun for me! That means more time to write chapters and upload them faster. Well, hopefully. Enjoy your reading and I wish you all a great summer.

Program X

Chapter Four - Friends and Teachers

Naruto looked around as he sat on a steel bench bolted to the grey floor. He is in a large arena stadium on the Fifth floor, the other 200 participants sitting all around the ring in the middle. They seemed to have already made their own groups out of the people they already knew, ranging from over ten people together to just one alone. Faint echos filled the room as everyone talked together about what they were into.

Though, Naruto sat alone, wearing a silvery grey tank-top and black pants tucked into black boots. It was the outfit everyone wore with no sense of independence from anyone. He suspected that it was so no one was different they were all on the same level; trainees and recruits. Of course that didn't mean he wouldn't paint his clothes to have their own personality apart from everyone else.

"Hey, can we sit here?"

Naruto turned to look at who spoke to him since he didn't recognise the voice. He turned and was surprised to see a young boy around his age with black hair and light grey eyes, almost looking like a storm, with others that he did recognise. Choji Akimichi, Sakura Haruno, Shikamaru Nara, and Rock Lee stood behind the boy. He smiled at them and nodded. "Of course. There's room, isn't there? It's not like I own it."

Naruto watched as everyone sat down around him; Choji and Shikamaru sat to his right, and the boy and Lee sat to his left. Sakura was at the far end, for once being quiet. He just shrugged that off and held a hand to the new boy. "My name's Naruto. Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ryota Shizuka." The boy shook the hand extended to him with a small smile.

Naruto smiled and turned back to the stage. He now saw Danzo on the stage with a white-haired man, however the man looked different. His glowing blue eye and metallic arm was nothing that he noticed from before, or the amount of muscles he actually had. However, the other man looked familiar to Naruto for some reason that his mind couldn't grasp. He was sure he at least saw a picture of him somewhere-

But before he could wonder any further about Danzo's companion, he watched as Ryota and Choji were pushed down against their will. He found the reason in the form of Neji and Sasuke, who took their seats on his left and right, respectfully, before giving a nod of salutation. He lightly chuckled at the bewildered look Neji got from Ryota before turning his attention to the stage.

"Quiet, everyone." Danzo spoke into a microphone, his voice going into the speakers hung high on the walls around the assembly. Once it was quiet he continued. "I have a few things to go over before you turn in for the night. We'll go over rules, room arrangements, and more. First, there are strict rules that every one of you must follow. One, you must all follow everything that the staff tell you to do. If you have a problem or concern you come to me, Dr. Inoue or someone on the First Floor. Failure or disobedience will result in a harsh punishment. Second, curfew is at nine but lights are out at nine-thirty. Everyone will then be awake at six in the morning or what I say otherwise. If you are seen out after this time then you will be stript of sleeping privileges and will, instead, be given more classes. Third, you must all have a staff member with you at all times if you go somewhere out of your class. If you don't have a class, you are on your Floor's break room until your next class and anyone seen out of it will be punished accordingly."

"For your living conditions, you all are bunked with two other people who will become your family. Everyone around you are your family. You will rely on them and trust them just as much as they will depend on you. But your team will be your family within the family. Your closest allies to depend on at all times. You will eat together, sleep together, train together. If one gets punished, everyone gets punished. You will face your challenges together and you will overcome them with everyone or not at all. When you are done, three of you will be called at a time and you will follow your superior officer to your quarters."

Danzo looked around the assembly, taking in the eager, scared, and nervous emotions. "Now, your schedule. You all will follow this every day from the time you wake up to the time you go to sleep. It will change once a month and it will be pinned to your team's bulletin board like every other important notice. Your day will be about unbiased History, so forget everything you've been told to this point because I will not take well to kids whining about something their family did or Konoha did and don't like it, and strategy. You will then be trained in all muscles to enhance your strength, endurance, and speed."

Danzo motioned to the group of seven behind him. "These will be your teachers. Your conditioning teachers will be Saburo Kato and Shisui Uchiha. For history, Rin Takeda. Survival will be taught by Tsume Inuzuka, and combat by Nagamasa Asai and Hizashi Hyuuga."

Turning back to the front of the stadium, his body posture relaxed and toned for someone in their late twenties rather than late sixties. "All of you have been evaluated on your height, weight, and personality and with that we have created over fifty teams of three. I want everyone to come down here once your name is called, and you will leave through the door with your team to your squad commanders."

A screen appeared over the stadium, coming to life to reveal three faces…

"Choji Akimichi, Sakura Haruno, and Moriko Fujimoto." Danzo called as he stared at a datapad. "You will be Tiger Squad. You may go through the door to your commanding officer."

Naruto flashed a grin to the three and watched them leave.

"Sasuke Uchiha, Sai Shimura, and Hinata Hyuuga. You will be Monkey Squad." Naruto watched as three more of his group left. "Shikamaru Nara, Yu Cheung, and Hoshi Koizumi. You will be Panda Squad." Naruto stifled a laugh at their squad name. And Shikamaru was with two girls. "Rock Lee, Fu Kita, and Nico Minoru. You will be Mantis Squad."

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he seemed to realize something. All the teams so far had one boy and two girls in it. Yet, there weren't a lot of girls here. Did that mean that the few girls here were like the boys, or were the boys too much like the girls? That made him chuckle at the thought of Sasuke being effeminate.

"Naruto Uzumaki, Neji Hyuuga, and Ryota Shizuka. You're Dragon Squad." Naruto smirked at this, already thinking about rubbing it in Sasuke's face. He stood up with the last two of his group and led them through the door, ignoring the glares he was getting from the other orphans and prestigious family members. He knew it will be rough with the others, even if it resorted to fighting, until they were all taught to be brothers. That'll take a long time.

Naruto looked at the room he entered with Neji and Ryota and was surprised to see the masked face of Kano, if he remembered correctly, and Itachi. The man with metal glanced at them and smiled, his eyes resting on Naruto before turning to Kano. "Take care of him." He then turned to his team, motioning with his hand. "Neji, Ryota, with me. Naruto, stay with your teacher."

Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Teacher?"

Before he could say anything else, he was guided away by the man and down a different hall. They walked in silence, Naruto's head swimming as he simply walked in the direction he was pushed to. Finally, he halted, Kano's arm pulling him back, and he faced the door he was tuned to. Kano pushed a button sequence on the keypad before it slid open, revealing a room that he guessed was the older man's.

When he walked inside, he was able to see what it looked like. Nothing was on the walls. Two dressers are in the corner adjacent to the bed, made of a light brown color, and a punching bag on the opposite corner of the wall. A gun leaned against the small table next to the bed, and a chair and desk was next to the door.

Without a chance to inspect everything further, he was led to the chair and pushed into it. Naruto turned and watched as the man walked to his bed, and was too distracted to register the man speaking. "My name is Kano, just Kano. You may call me my other name, Deadshot, but nothing else. I will be your teacher from here on out. I will teach you hand-to-hand combat, assassination, and the use of guns for the next five to six years before you have your graduation test. Since you are the only one sure to survive everything we do, I am guaranteed to not be wasting my time on you. Nod your head if you understand."

Naruto raised his hand, getting a questioning gaze. "Why are you teaching me, of all people? There were at least one hundred others out there and yet I am chosen. What's so special about me?"

"It's not what's special about you. You have a demon in you, something native to your land. It's kept you alive, something I was curious about but I won't pry." Deadshot started, adding the last when Naruto started squirming at the mention of his condition. "You have more promise than any of these students, and your determination is what will get you through this. That is why I chose you out of everyone else."

Naruto nodded slowly, mindlessly scratching at his right arm. "When do we begin, Kano-sensei?"

"Tomorrow morning we will begin an hour before classes where you and I will spend twenty minutes running laps in the gym. You will then proceed to do sit-ups, push-ups, planks and the sorts to exercise your core muscles. You will take a shower and go to class with your team. Upon your free period you will be back in the gym on the treadmill or bike for the period. You will finish your classes and be left to have time to yourself until dinner. After you eat, I will come for you and we will go to the sparring room where you will learn different forms of martial arts."

Naruto nodded and sat in silence, his face scrunching up as he thought. He should be grateful he will be learning these skills individually, and truthfully he was, but he felt this wouldn't be great for the rest of his team. If anything it will create dissention in the group, and a sense of favouritism to him, and he wasn't sure how we would be able to handle being hated from Neji and his new friend, at least he hoped that's how it was, Ryota. If they were to be the greatest team, they would need to do everything from training and learning to eating and surviving together. It created the best sense of brotherhood in teams, not something that can be taught to anyone.

"Kano-sensei?" Naruto asked, getting a look from the man. "What about my team? Wouldn't they get jealous? I mean, I know Neji-chan has been trained by her father, but if I was being personally trained by you, someone with a name that carries a lot of weight, wouldn't they get jealous? It would then cause dissention and impossible teamwork. I don't want that to happen."

Deadshot stayed quiet for a second, staring at Naruto with a steady gaze, before shaking his head. "No. Neji is personally being taught by her father, and Ryota is being taught by Itachi. Your team specifically is made specifically of ones who are known to make it to the end. You for the demon you hold, Neji since she's already gone through the process, and Ryota before of his unique anatomy."

"Unique how?"

"Unique as in he has a certain brain condition where his brain is weirdly divided into three parts, where our brain has but a left and right. I can't tell you too much, simply because of doctor-patient agreements and everything. I guarantee to you that they won't be alienated. But you will get the better training, not to offend Hizashi and Itachi."

Naruto nodded, relieved but also a little curious as to what Ryota's brain was like. Three parts? As in three brains or just three specific areas of function? This is confusing. "Okay, Kano-sensei, but I must get back to my team. This should be our bonding time, and other things. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night, Naruto."

(O.O) Fifteen Minutes Later - Conference Room (O.O)

Eight individuals were gathered in the room, all more important to the function of Program X. Jiraiya and Danzo sat opposite of each other at the ends. From Danzo's right sat Inoue, Kano and Itachi while to his left were Shisui, Tsume and Hizashi. Each of them stared at copies of the summary of the evaluation of all of the participants. On the wall behind Shisui, Tsume and Hizashi were six televisions, each presenting a new person.

The top three consisted of Mifune, the ruler of Iron Country, the Fire Daimyo and the Wind Daimyo. The bottom row had the Water Daimyo, Lightning Daimyo and the Earth Daimyo. All watched silently, present to hear from the group that has done the work of ensuring the safety of each nation after the Third Shinobi World War. While Root acted as an independent, they were an agreement on from the five major Daimyo as an incentive to avoid war. Root will hunt down the shinobi or rogues that threatened the safety of one of the Lands, and return will be paid for it. It is surprising how many ninja leave their village daily. Of course, many aren't as dangerous as some and have been given the chance to work for something more than village rivalry.

"Okay, we'll start with Dragon Squad." Inoue started, gaining everyone's attention. "I'm sure that's the only group the Daimyo's want to hear."

"Of course." Each spoke their agreement.

"First, we'll talk about Neji Hyuga, female, born July 3 of 2126, nine years old. Born of Hizashi Hyuga and Yumiko Hyuuga in the Branch Family. She has already exhibited skills from Serum-X, most of it magic-based. Beside her control over all elements, and shadows, she has early control of telekinesis, telepathy, force fields, flight, and energy manipulation unlike chakra. She is great with her clan's taijutsu despite not using chakra."

"How come Neji is still with all the other participants?" Asked the Earth Daimyo. "She clearly shows more skill and power than the others. She's even unlocked her abilities."

"Well, Neji is still growing, and we wouldn't want her to be alienated from others her age. She still has a lot more to learn and isn't even in puberty yet." Tsume laughed at Hizashi's face when they mentioned puberty, every father's bane of existence when raising a daughter. That, and the boys that they have to scare away. "Plus, she likes Naruto."

"The Uzumaki?"Mifune asked this time, his usually quiet presence shocking everyone. "I thought they all died in the Third Shinobi War."

"They were, by treaty between our villages." The Water Daimyo spoke, motioning to the Earth and Lightning Daimyo. "Our villages feared the Uzumaki entering the war on Konoha's side and made a preemptive strike, killing everyone in the village. That little endeavor cost all of us an ally and the genocide of one clan."

"Konoha also had a hand in it." The Fire Daimyo grunted, grimacing at a memory. "I got a report on the war, and some documents mentioned how Hiruzen ignored intelligence, yours Jiraiya, I believe, that mentioned the destruction of Uzushiogakure. To think that the Uzumaki were betrayed by their own kin village."

"I heard some escaped, though." The Wind Daimyo mentioned, "Scattered throughout the Nations. I wouldn't be surprised if one turns up now and then, or if Orochimaru is keeping them for experiments. Uzumaki are known for not dying easily."

"Before we get to him," Inoue interrupted, "We should go over the other teammate, Ryota Shizuka. Male, born August 14 of 2127, seven years old. He is born of Takara Shizuka and an unnamed father, with a younger sister going as heiress. He has excellent agility and superb strength for his age, also above-average reflexes. His mind is keener than most his age, and seems more receptive to a leading female, but that isn't a shock coming from a matriarch family. We can expect an Oedipus Complex of sorts."

Jiraiya chuckled at that and simply shook his head. "And finally, our little blonde."

"Naruto Uzumaki; male, born October 13 of 2127, seven years old. He is the current holder of the Nine-Tails and has shown an acceptance of his status. Despite the incident a week ago, he is still happy and positive to everyone around him. We have given him the prototype Image Inducer so he wouldn't be seen by his peers. His Uzumaki spirit that was in his mother is as much alive in him, and the healing ability that we believe came from Kyuubi has proven as much of a curse as a gift."

"Why do you say that?" Asked Mifune.

"Naruto has been attacked and starved countless more times before this. However, because of the healing ability, he only experiences intense pain when starved or dehydrated. When we were able to look into his mind, we found seven other attacks that left scars on his body, only to be healed the next night. This has allowed himself to be tortured for hours before passing out from so much pain, and even then his recessors are as much alive."

The Daimyo were horrified by the act taken on a child. The life of a Jinchuriki was naturally painful and alone, but for the village to not take any action to try and protect the child angered them so. One thing the Daimyo shared in common were the protection and love of children. The Fire Daimyo was already thinking of cutting back on the funding he gives the village as well as missions.

"However, he still stays positive." Inoue continued, her voice soft. "We believe that if not for Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuga he would have gone insane. He might have even unleashed the Kyuubi on the village in spite of those that hurt him. He fears nothing like a usual kid, but instead only fears the loneliness he has felt in the world. He cares not if he's annoying or childish, as long as someone gives him attention he will be happy."

It was eerily quiet as Inoue finished speaking. After a minute, Danzo coughed in his hand. "Let's move on to the others."

R&R