A/N: Sixth chapter up today. Hey, when anyone else got the alerts for the new chapter, did it skip out on the fourth chapter alert for them, too? Cause it did that for me. Chapter 2, Chapter 3, Chapter 5 - wait, what? I'm not kidding. It's really weird.

Disclaimer: If at first you don't succeed, erase all evidence that you tried. Why are you saying that I failed to get the ownership rights from Masashi Kishimoto? I haven't tried anything yet!

About twenty minutes later Naruto was standing by the same shed he had trained at last time. It had been remarkably easy to get in…well, maybe not for anyone that couldn't use the time-space teleportation powers of Hiraishin, or his own Orioke no jutsu (though he hadn't had to use the latter this time). He'd had to actually set the alarm off to make sure they knew the scroll was gone!

Really, when he was Hokage here again (or maybe when Tsunade-baachan was) the security would definitely be beefed up around the Forbidden Scroll and other such valuable works. Though why exactly the entire Icha Icha series was there was rather odd. Well, Jiraiya was one of the Sandaime's students…Just because they were in a time of peace didn't mean they should be so relaxed.

"Sasuke!" Naruto called, unrolling the scroll completely. "Look at this with your Sharingan, would you?"

Sasuke nodded and glanced down at the scroll, instantly memorizing everything on it.

"Haven't you already looked at this?" he asked blandly.

Naruto scowled. "By the time I finally got through all the paper work baa-chan left me, there wasn't any time. I had just opened it when Madara decided to attack."

"Did you choose to not use Kagebunshin?" asked Sasuke.

"I think you underestimate how good Tsunade is at not doing paperwork," Naruto sighed irritably. "Hell if she's doing that again! I'll personally supervise her to make sure she actually does it!"

Sasuke gave a small smile.

"Thanks Kami it survived," said Naruto, gazing at it. "If it hadn't…we wouldn't be here right now."

Sasuke nodded.

Naruto heaved a sigh. "Well, I'd best 'train' to get this jutsu under control…want to spar with me?"

The ANBU Commander hesitated.

"Academy stuff only," said Naruto, raising his hands. "No Hiraishin or Kagebunshin."

"Sparring it is, then," said Sasuke, immediately throwing a blunted kunai at his Hokage.

"You're on," said Naruto enthusiastically, reaching into his own pouch.


A couple hours later the two nins felt a chakra signal approaching. Sasuke quickly hid (he didn't want to have to explain why he was there), while Naruto grabbed the scroll and slung it over his back, then bent over, pretending to pant like he was exhausted, just as Iruka burst into the clearing.

"Naruto!" the Chuunin growled. "Why did you—"

"Hey Iruka-sensei!" Naruto greeted him cheerfully. "It didn't take you long to find me. I only mastered one jutsu!"

Iruka blinked. Huh? "What are you talking about, Naruto?"

The blond gave a fake grin, then proclaimed, "Mizuki-sensei said that if I learned one jutsu from this scroll I could pass the Genin Ex – get down!"

Iruka automatically ducked just as a Fuuma shuriken soared over his head. "What the – Mizuki! What have you done?"

Mizuki gave a jeering laugh. "You had that little monster protect you, Iruka? Your senses aren't as sharp as before…"

Iruka growled. "He's not a monster!"

"What are you talking about?" asked Naruto, eyes wide in fake confusion. Inside, he was burning with rage at Mizuki. I can't wait to beat that traitor to a pulp again.

Mizuki laughed again. "You want to know the truth, brat? You want to know why the villagers all look down on you, why everyone hates you? It's because –"

"No, Mizuki!" Iruka yelled. "That's an S-class secret!"

The silver-haired man completely ignored the other man and carried on. "—because 12 years ago, the Yondaime sealed the Kyuubi in a human form. You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

This is a lot less traumatizing the second time around, thought Naruto idly.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" he said out loud, taking a very vindictive pleasure in the expression on Mizuki's face.

"Y-you're a monster!" declared Mizuki, unnerved by the total lack of reaction on Naruto's part and then the insult. Iruka, too, was shocked – Naruto wasn't one that usually reacted well to surprises, especially ones of this magnitude…although insulting the surprise was spot on.

"And you're an idiot," repeated Naruto, shrugging. "Look, if you seal a kunai in a scroll, does that make the scroll a kunai? I don't think so. As for my lack of surprise, I'm not deaf you know. I've heard people call me 'Kyuubi brat' as I pass them in the streets, and I accidentally talked to him once when I was meditating." The last part was a half-lie – he'd actually been thrown off a cliff by Jiraiya because he wasn't able to access enough chakra for the Toad summon…meh, details.

Both Chuunin just stared at the blond boy. Mizuki was the first to regain his composure. "I'm going to kill you and take the scroll!"

"Are you?" asked Naruto coolly, raising one eyebrow. "I'd like to see you try."

"Naruto!" shouted Iruka, finally getting back on his feet. "Run! I'll hold him off, but you mustn't let him get that scroll!"

Naruto completely ignored this in favor of having a staring contest with Mizuki. He slipped the scroll off his back and formed a cross sign with his pointer and middle fingers. "D'you want to see what I learned today, Mizuki-sensei?" he grinned. Killing intent filled the clearing, making both men shudder. Mizuki took a step back. "Kagebunshin no Jutsu."

Both Chuunin stared in amazement as Naruto's filled the clearing.

Mizuki gulped and turned to run. Even if the brat didn't have very good taijutsu skills and fought like a tavern brawler, there were too many for him to fight.

"Uh-uh," said a Naruto who was standing right where he had turned to, waving his finger as though reprimanding a bad dog.

How did he get there so fast? Thought Mizuki wildly. Surely he couldn't make clones that far away from his actual body. He made to leap away, but the blond grabbed him and sent him flying into the air. A couple clones jumped into the air and bounced off each other to get higher.

"U!" shouted one, kicking Mizuki.

"Zu!" shouted another, also kicking Mizuki.

"Ma!"

"Ki!"

"Naruto Rendan!" shouted the final clone as he kicked the teacher into the ground.

Iruka watched in amazement. Not only had Naruto mastered a Jounin-level forbidden jutsu in two hours, he had also created his own technique! He had also taken the news about the Kyuubi well, and had a very mature outlook about it. A scroll most definitely was not a kunai.

The blond checked to make sure Mizuki was unconscious before dispelling his clones and grabbing the Forbidden Scroll. He handed it to his speechless teacher, grinning.

"So, do I pass?" pressed Naruto, giving Iruka puppy-dog eyes.

Iruka snapped out of his stupor and grinned back at him. "Close your eyes," he instructed his student. When Naruto did so, Iruka removed the goggles from the blond's forehead and replaced them with his hitai-ate. "Open them now," he said gently.

Naruto opened his eyes with the familiar weight of his hitai-ate on his forehead again.

"Congratulations on passing the Genin Exam," said Iruka.

"Thanks Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, barreling into the man. "C'mon, c'mon, let's go get some ramen to celebrate!"

Iruka smiled and ruffled the blond's hair. "Yeah, yeah," he said. "Let me just deliver this guy" – he shot a dirty look at Mizuki – "to the ANBU. I'll meet up with you at Ichiraku's, 'kay?"

"'Kay!" said Naruto cheerfully, already running. "See you there, Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka flared his chakra and in a few seconds there was a group of ANBU in front of him.

"Mizuki is a traitor. He convinced Naruto to steal the Forbidden Scroll and then told him about the Kyuubi before trying to kill him," he informed the ANBU. They nodded, grabbed Mizuki, and vanished.

Iruka relaxed and headed to Ichiraku's. Here goes my paycheck for the week, he thought wryly, and laughed.

On the way to Ichiraku's, Naruto met up with Sasuke, who had left right after he did.

Naruto almost rolled his eyes. "You're so overprotective," he said. "I'm not in any danger in this time; you don't have to follow me."

Sasuke frowned. "Old habits die hard," he said.

The Uchiha had been the main guard for Naruto when he was Hokage, always making sure that no one could get to him. Although it sometimes annoyed Naruto that Sasuke was always there, he knew that the Uchiha didn't want to lose any more of his precious people, so he allowed himself to be watched by the raven haired ANBU. The Rokudaime was also aware that if he died, Sasuke would probably go off the deep end. It had been worse in the future, when Itachi had been dead, but hopefully it would be better now.

The two walked in a comfortable silence the rest of the way to Ichiraku's, Naruto ignoring the stares at the two of them walking together. The Uchiha prodigy and the dead-last Kyuubi brat? Obviously the brat had done something to the poor Uchiha boy.

Sasuke glared back at the people who dared sneer at his Hokage with such venom that a few of them stepped back involuntarily.

Feeling a dangerous rise in his friend's killing intent, Naruto placed his hand on the Uchiha's shoulder and shook his head. It's not worth it.

Sasuke scowled.

"See you tomorrow!" said Naruto cheerfully as they reached Ichiraku's. "Hope we get on the same team," he added quietly.

Sasuke gave a small smile, then turned and walked towards his apartment. As Naruto watched him walk away, he took it as a good sign that the Uchiha was comfortable enough to leave him here without watching over him. He turned and entered the ramen stand. Iruka was already sitting at the bar.

"Iruka-sensei!" shouted Naruto, running over to him.

"Hey, Naruto," said the Chuunin. "What would you like to eat?"

Naruto's eyes lit up. "I'd like…"


Okay, forgot to mention this before in Shikamaru's chapter (chapter 4, right?), but this is slightly AU. Obviously. Naruto managed to convince Sasuke to come back after he killed Danzou, unlike in the manga version. Sasuke was eventually trusted again, and he became ANBU Commander as well as Naruto's main protector.

Sorry if the action was kind of weird along with the dialogue. With the action thing - I don't know the words for attacks like uppercut or backswing or anything. I mean, I know of them, just not very much, and probably not for fight scenes...I'll try my best. Seriously, I'm sorry if action scenes are awful...oh, and with the dialogue - one, I tried to make it a bit different, just because this is fanfiction, y'know. The other thing about the dialogue...heh heh, it's by memory. No Internet access, remember? I don't have the first book b/c of the Orioke no Jutsu - I'm not perverted. I'm not a lesbian. I think that's a really weird (if sometimes useful, much to my chagrin) jutsu. And I have a little brother that I don't want seeing that...

Review, please!