Hey there, everyone, Kurien here!
I'm abusing this time I have before exam study to pump out a slightly longer than normal chapter to tide you lot over until I can write freely again. It's 1:15am, and I'm hyped on cookies and milk. Real hardcore, yo.
Anyway, as I'm doubtlessly going to enrage a few people with the revelations in this chapter, I'll apologise now!
Another thing I'd like to clarify is that this will NEVER be a NaruHina story. The pairing is overused to the point of montony and wanting to burn things. More often than not, it's poorly written, cheesy as fuck or just plain in bad taste. However, if you want to suggest an alernate pairing for either of our eligible Uzumaki bachelors, go ahead in the reviews that you lot would love to write me, hey, hey?
Thanks again to everyone for reading, and I hope you like this chapter, because there won't be one for a while, due to my university exams coming up, but I'll write in my off time I suppose. Enjoy!
Naruto made sure to turn up early to the Academy. Well, if he was to be completely honest, he would tell you that Rikuto-nii dragged him downstairs by his foot and demanded he get ready.
But that's beside the point. He edged his way into the classroom, narrowly avoiding two fangirls squabbling over who got to sit next to their heartthrob, Uchiha Sasuke.
Scoffing at their behaviour, Naruto sidled over and plonked himself down next to Sasuke, who only deigned to glance in his direction to acknowledge his presence.
'Such chakra… I'd be a fool not to acknowledge that!' Sasuke snuck another furtive glance at the redhead next to him.
Suddenly, Sasuke was broken out of his reverie by the sound of Haruno Sakura slamming her fist down onto the desk in front of whom he knew to be Uzumaki Naruto.
"Oi, Naruto-baka, who the hell do you think you are, sitting next to my Sasuke-kun?!" She screeched, making anyone in the near vicinity wince in pain.
Naruto simply reached up and patted her on the arm. "Sakura-san, you're being noisy again. Be quiet."
Sakura obviously went to retort, but found that she could no longer move her mouth. Veins bulging in her head, she attempted to hit the smug redhead only to find searing pain shoot through the offending limb.
Sasuke was simply stunned. He of course knew about fūinjutsu, but to see a real Uzumaki? And by real, one wielding the same ability as the Uzumaki in his clan's archives?
'To apply a seal by touch!' He gazed at the seal, a pulsating blue on Sakura's arm, where Naruto had 'patted' it earlier.
"You have no right to say where I sit, Sakura-san. I sat here first. There's heaps of other places to sit, now go away." Naruto sighed, tapping the seal once more to dispel it. Sakura rubbed her arm but spared Naruto a growl as she stalked away, defeated once more.
Naruto turned back around, to find Sasuke giving him a new look of appraisal.
"Uchiha Sasuke." He said, abruptly holding out his hand. Naruto took a look at it and then studied the Uchiha in front of him, surprised that only now did he formally introduce himself shaking his head, he took the hand regardless.
"Name's Uzumaki Naruto, don't wear it out." He stuck his tongue out, but stiffened suddenly, and whipped around to face the front of the room as their homeroom sensei, Umino Iruka, used his Big Head Technique to forcefully get his class' attention.
"I hope you've all prepared for today! Here's a brief overview of how we're going to test you: first off we'll have the theoretical exam, followed by a 15 minute break, then onto the marksmanship section, and the taijutsu examination, followed by a 45 minute break. After that, there'll be the ninjutsu portion of the exam, where you will also be offered the option of a fourth technique to gain credit. After that, you'll be notified straight away if you've passed or not, and if you have, you must return here in a week's time for team placements. Mizuki-san, would you please hand out the exams?"
And with that, the Genin Exams had begun.
- Hokage's Office -
Hiruzen was enjoying a nice cup of tea, staring out over the village that he loved so much. A quirky smile tugged at a corner of his mouth when he recalled that today was the Genin Exams, and where his young Uzumaki was bound to graduate.
Enjoying the silence and a rare break from the latest strain of the Paperworkius Suckius virus, his peace was interrupted by a flash of red that briefly illuminated the day-lit room even further, the subsequent calm only interrupted by the swaying of a seal tag attached to the roof by a tri-pronged kunai.
"Hokage-sama, you summoned me?" Uzumaki Rikuto knelt in a pose eerily reminiscent of that of ANBU.
Sighing, Hiruzen turned to address his subordinate. "Rise, Rikuto-kun. Yes, I wanted to inform you about your requested additional blood test. The results have been given to me."
Rikuto cocked his head to the side. 'Now why on Earth would they do that..?'
Hiruzen studied the redhead closely. "You're probably wondering why I had to handle it, when you could have easily been summoned by the hospital staff and the results delivered to you directly. However, that would involve several people having access to what the Director deemed to be highly classified information on a military asset, i.e., you. Sit down, Rikuto-kun. We have much to discuss, and so very little time. We will also be joined by two other individuals, towards the end of our discussion." Hiruzen gestured towards the guest seat, which Rikuto took with no small amount of apprehension.
On the other hand back at the Academy, Naruto was having no such troubles. The exam in front of him was initially shrouded in a genjutsu, the chakra used to power it Naruto had no qualms about sensing, and traced it back to Mizuki.
Shrugging it off as nothing, he dispelled the genjutsu with a burst of chakra, alerting Iruka, but continued on as if nothing had happened, after a while Iruka also dismissed it.
Now that he had a clear chance of reading it, he slumped in defeat. 'Rikuto-nii will kill me if I don't ace the shit out of this! How could I not though?! He has me studying this stuff as much as he does fūinjutsu.' He thought, getting to printing his answers out, nearly as neat as the printed words, due to his hours poured into fūinjutsu training.
Mizuki inwardly snarled as he felt the Kyūbi brat dispel his carefully placed genjutsu. How on earth he'd known it was there was beyond the man, but he resolved to find another way to get his goal, or to just cut out the middle-man and do it himself.
You could only ensure a job was done properly by doing it yourself, of course.
After being dismissed for the short break, which most of his peers used to commiserate on how badly they'd done on the exam, Naruto took a different route and decided to get to know his chakra better under a tree outside.
Rikuto-nii had said that because his chakra felt dense, he should in theory, be able to use his mother's chakra chains ability, like he could.
He sat down in the lotus position, but only got as far as calming himself before feeling another presence nearby. Cracking open one eye to peer at the intruder, he saw the raven from earlier.
Nodding to him, he muttered, "Uchiha-san. What brings you here?"
"I didn't really feel like talking to anyone else, and besides, you seem like you know what you're doing. A change from our peers." Sasuke trailed off after a while, obviously uncomfortable this far into a social interaction.
Sighing at his classmate's inadequacy, he gestured to the ground next to him.
"Sit, so I won't hit you with the seals." Naruto brusquely pointed to the ground now, and after a confused Sasuke had taken his seat, Naruto took out a seal tag from earlier, placed it on the ground and held a half-Tiger handseal to activate it.
Streams of spidery fūinjutsu spread out from the tag, forming a pentagon, and from there, a light grey barrier shimmered, indicating the seal had been fully activated, and not a moment too soon; Ino and Sakura had then face-planted into the barrier, and due to it being the Gyaku Kekkai (Reverse Barrier) they were then sent sailing away, with the force from their own faces.
Naruto sat back against the tree, and took a breath. "How's the serenity?" He mumbled, stretching his neck. "Using that seal tag was worth the result, I think."
Sasuke could only close his mouth by sheer force of will. His Uchiha pride demanded it, of course, and proved enough to restrain the laughter, this time. Uzumaki Naruto would prove a pain in the ass if he wanted to preserve his image, he decided.
However, after hearing Iruka's call for the next portion, Naruto simply picked up the now useless seal tag, dispelling the barrier.
He then ambled over to where Iruka was calling the students over to the range, to test their weapons usage, followed by a suddenly mute Uchiha.
"Alright everyone, line up in alphabetical order! You should know this well enough, we've been at it for years!" Iruka called, making hurrying motions with his free hand, the other occupied by a loaded clipboard.
Soon enough, it came to be Naruto's turn. With a nervous grin at Sasuke who cracked a semblance of a smile in return, he threw his lot of shuriken with easy flicks of his wrists, scoring a modest 8/10. He then took out tri-pronged kunai much to the shock of Iruka, but proved to be a false alarm as Naruto simply threw them, getting a perfect score of 10/10.
Moving quickly to collect his kunai, he scurried out of the way, and opted to sit back and tune out, idly watching the other students try their aim.
However when it came to Sasuke's turn, Naruto perked up and craned his neck up to see his somewhat friend try, getting 9/10 with his shuriken and 10/10 with his kunai.
After lying down next to Nara Shikamaru and watching the clouds for some time, he jumped up excitedly as his name was called, presumably for the taijutsu portion.
Upon seeing that he was to face off against Inuzuka Kiba, the second ranked in taijutsu, he paled a little, but steeled himself upon imagining Rikuto-nii's glowing fist if he chickened out.
Sliding his right foot to the left and bending his knee slightly, bringing his arms up to float easily at his sides, Naruto steadied his breathing and chakra, ready to strike.
Iruka looked at Naruto closely. 'So he's using the Uzuken, huh? I've only ever seen it used once, by his guardian, Uzumaki Rikuto. Poor Ebisu got up his nose… One hospital trip later and I got his point. Regardless, it's a devastating style if used by a master.'
Naruto first offered the Symbol of Confrontation, and Kiba readily returned it.
"Ready, set… Go!" Iruka called, stepping out of the ring to observe the spar, as Kiba shot forward with a straight hook, not thinking the modest boy could do much against his onslaught; he hadn't beforehand.
Although much to his surprise, Naruto ducked under, spun, and lashed out with a brutal spinning kick to Kiba's exposed midsection, sending him sailing and rolling out of the ring.
Naruto simply spent the rest of his momentum to spin back to standing, and making the Sign of Reconciliation, he walked over to Kiba to make sure he was okay, and after lending him an arm to move away, the next fight began, but not before Iruka ran another cursory glance over the redhead helping his classmate.
'Wow. Rikuto-san must be a competent teacher; he's got Naruto to not only use his stature to his advantage, but must have trained his physical strength too. That was a smoothly executed kick, and it was definitely a mastered Uzuken move.'
- Hokage's Office -
After setting up his strongest privacy seal, the Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Kokuangyo no Jutsu (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Bringer of Darkness Technique), Rikuto took his seat across the desk from Hiruzen, his pulse quickening.
"What is it, Hokage-sama? What did they reveal?" Rikuto asked, glancing at the sealed manila envelope on the desk.
Sighing, Hiruzen opened it and laid out the contents for Rikuto to see, which elicited a stifled gasp from the redhead.
"Forgive my morbid humour, but I think my target is growing beyond the size of my back."
Hiruzen allowed himself a chuckle. "You remind me of Tobirama-sensei, sometimes. But, yes, this is accurate. I was there when I demanded that the results be re-calculated. Like you, I was incredulous. Look over them again."
Rikuto peered at the sheets again.
Name: Uzumaki Rikuto
Age: 24
Rank: Jōnin
[LIMITED RESULTS DUE TO INSUFFICIENT RECORDS]
Great Grandparents: Uzumaki Mito; Senju Hashirama
Maternal Grandparents: Uzumaki Katsurou; Uzumaki Mitsuko
Parents: Uzumaki Naoki, Uzumaki Emi
Bloodline Limits: Mind's Eye of the Kagura, Yin Release
Latent Bloodline Limits: Wood Release
Rikuto's eyes widened.
Suddenly feeling the usage of chakra, the duo abruptly split; jabbing chakra-laced feet to the ground to rapidly vacate the clearing, which was then filled with spreading seals, some of which shot out wood, others fire, lightning and one a jet of hissing water.
"How did I miss that..? I knew about my In'yōton (Yin Release), but… I'm… The reason I was so prized back in Uzu, and even at the Fire Temple… This can't be right. But it's right here…" He trailed off, looking the Hokage dead in the eye. "Mokuton (Wood Release), of all things?"
Hiruzen scrunched his eyes in resignation. "That was why I demanded the tests be re-run, on different equipment and everything. This puts you in a very, very difficult situation. Should you be seen using it, you'd never be able to leave the village without being hunted. Not to mention our own village's reaction. You're already a target for the CRA as it is."
Rikuto slunk back further into his chair. "This is bad. Wait a minute. I don't have an Earth affinity. Not that my elemental seal showed, anyway. Huh. Oh, it only shows up to four, I forgot in my state of mind…" Rikuto buried his face in his hands.
"It's not like I don't know any more of Konoha's abilities now, huh? Hiraishin, Mokuton, Kage Bunshin, amongst others. Still, this gives me something to try my best towards, in addition to Hiraishin. I wonder, a style that combined Mokuton and Hiraishin…" He cackled softly.
Hiruzen watched on as Rikuto babbled before him, obviously in a state of shock.
"You know, Rikuto-kun. The Scroll of Seals now has something else that rightfully belongs to you, also via blood-relation."
Rikuto's snapped up, and delivered an intelligent reply, "Huh?"
Hiruzen simply disappeared in a Shunshin, only to return moments later with the same majestic Scroll of Seals.
Taking a moment to peruse through it, he retrieved a smaller fat scroll and passed it across the desk.
"That scroll is full of Mokuton jutsu that Hashirama-sensei documented in case any of his heirs managed to activate the bloodline. Although yours may be dormant, but the sheet says 'latent' so it just means you have the ability to use it, but you haven't been aware of it up until now. Start with the Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique) to get a feel for using Mokuton chakra, then go from there. Two of Hashirama-sensei's most devastating techniques, Mokuton Hijitsu: Jukai Kōtan (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a Sea of Trees), and Mokuton: is in there, along with the technique that made him widely feared… Mokuton: Hokage-Shiki Jijun Jutsu: Kakuan Nitten Suishu (Wood Release: Hokage-Style Sixty-Year-Old Technique: Enclosed Hermitage Entering Society with Bliss-Bringing Hands) or in other words, the jutsu used to subdue Bijū."
Rikuto looked at the Hokage in awe, and then gazed at the scroll in his hands. Taking off his upper body garments, confusing the Hokage until he saw a complex storage sealing array over his heart.
"I take it you know what this seal does should I die." Rikuto said gravely, not looking up, instead nicking his thumb on one of his slightly prominent canines and swiping it over the seal, activating it.
Then, pressing the scroll against the seal, it was slowly sucked into it, leaving nothing behind, and as there was nothing else to seal, the matrix faded away, leaving Rikuto's moderately scarred chest behind.
He quickly redressed, and bowed to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, I thank you for your time in personally discussing this with me. I will ensure that I only train this in absolute secrecy, in my clan's compound."
"See that you do, Rikuto-kun. In a week, show me your progress. If you are able to use Mokuton with reliability, I have someone that you would benefit greatly from meeting."
- Konoha Academy Building -
Naruto sat slumped at his desk, trying to sleep for all he was worth. Having a surname so far back in the alphabet was beginning to wear on his nerves, Sasuke next to him feeling much the same way but refusing to show it.
The Ninjutsu Section was currently underway, and after waiting a total of an hour including the break, Naruto was simply fed up.
"Calm down. It won't get you anywhere losing your cool." Sasuke mumbled, casting a glance at his somewhat friend.
Naruto stopped tapping his foot and sighed. "I know, Sasuke. It's just-"
"Uchiha Sasuke! Off you go!" A nondescript Academy instructor called out, pointing to the examination room door.
Naruto just let his face hit the desk in resignation as the raven left. Not before long, however, he was jolted awake with a loud voice.
"Uzumaki Naruto! You're up! Quick into the room! Good luck!"
Sasuke, now returned, just sat back with a smug look under his hitae-ate, which Naruto wanted nothing more than to shove down his throat, but had no time, after all, he was about to graduate!
Naruto quietly closed the doors, turning to the three instructors behind a long table; Umino Iruka, Sasaki Mizuki, and a newly hired examiner, Yamada Tarou.
Naruto bowed as he stood before them.
"So, Naruto. Are you ready? In this section, you need to perform the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Henge no Jutsu, but also an optional fourth technique. Proceed." Yamada explained.
Naruto raised his hand timidly. "Uhh, Yamada-sensei, can I use Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique) and an Uzumaki sealing technique?"
Yamada looked up, and assessed the redhead. 'It wouldn't surprise me if he was forced to use it due to his chakra composition.'
"Go ahead, Uzumaki-san, however do note that we do not usually condone such high-rank jutsu without prior notice from your parent or guardian, which Uzumaki-sama has already provided."
Naruto nodded his understanding.
Seallessly, Naruto sent three Kage Bunshin in three separate directions behind him, switched with one, transformed the other into his cousin, Uzumaki Rikuto, who crossed his arms and stared imperially at the examiners, making even Yamada draw a breath.
Then, shocking the examiners, the transformed 'Rikuto' slammed a seal tag on the ground and called, "Uzumaki Fūinjutsu-Ryū: Gyaku Kekkai! (Uzumaki Sealing Style: Reverse Barrier)" as the real Naruto pegged a kunai at the newly-erected barrier, only for it to bounce off and embed itself into the other side of the room with a heavy 'thunk'.
"Well then, Naruto-kun, you've done extremely well! I can only see to award you full points for this section, having used no handseals at all, even for a B-rank kinjutsu. Well done, come and collect your forehead protector." Iruka beamed, passing a forehead protector with a black cloth to the exuberant redhead. "Go on, head outside!"
"Hai, Iruka-sensei! Thank you." He said, bowing once to his teacher and once again to the examiners.
After Naruto had run out, of course leaving the doors wide open in his excitement, Yamada sighed.
"This is just the beginning, isn't it?"
Iruka could only chuckle. "He's going to wear us out, I'm absolutely certain."
The blinding light finally faded from Naruto's eyes as he'd dashed out of the room, leaving a solemn Sasuke behind looking after him.
Suddenly he'd felt a pair of arms wrap around him, followed by the wave of what felt to be bright, warm green chakra, and Naruto instinctively returned the hug, knowing instantly who it was by the chakra alone, a chakra he could distinguish from many kilometres away.
"See? I knew you'd ace it! Now, why don't you come along, Sasuke? We're going to Ichiraku Ramen. Oh no you don't." Rikuto grinned, a wicked gleam in his eye that made Sasuke edge away even faster, only to be stopped as Rikuto grabbed his arm, having already contact with Naruto, vanished in a high-powered Shunshin, leaving no trace of them being there.
Seconds later, Rikuto landed from the Shunshin, and dove through the flaps, only to be beaten by a mere millisecond by a hungry Genin.
Sasuke, however, was on the ground outside, dazed by the Shunshin, suddenly grabbed, propped up against a wall and left to recover as Naruto retook his seat, and gazed at Teuchi's back.
"Oi, old man, what gives!? You're taking too long!" Naruto brashly called, wiping the drool from his mouth, then whining as Rikuto whacked him over the back of the head.
"Be nice to the man who serves us ramen worthy of the Uzumaki, you little shit!" Rikuto scolded, turning to the ramen chef with a grin stretching from ear to ear.
"Now, I put my preorder in this morning, but we've got a tagalong." Rikuto explained, patting Sasuke on the cheek without looking away from a bemused Teuchi.
"That's no problem, I'd accounted for you lot so we have the normal amount of supplies on top of that. Oh, looks like your Uchiha friend is awake. I wonder what happened to him." Teuchi wondered, turning back to tend to the cooking ramen.
"What the hell..?" Sasuke grumbled, coming to, and looking around him confusedly. "Where am I?"
Rikuto waved without breaking his staring competition with the awaiting bowl. "Ichiraku Ramen. You started to run away so I brought you along with one of my Shunshins. I figured it'd knock you for a six long enough for the ramen to cook and you not being able to refuse." Rikuto mumbled, also wiping the drool from his face.
Sasuke deadpanned. 'So THIS is the Second Red Death? The only one to surpass Shisui's skill with the Shunshin no Jutsu? And he's drooling? Oh God, don't look!'
"Ready!" Teuchi called, and as soon as the bowls had hit the bench, the two Uzumaki had already called "Itadakimasu!" and hoed into their bowls, as Sasuke looked on in morbid fascination, then looking in between his bowl and the two redheads scarfing down the dishes.
Shrugging off his misgivings about a free meal, Sasuke also dug in, and couldn't help but admire how good it was. By no means falling to the allure, he did enjoy the meal.
After thanking Rikuto for the meal, he was about to leave when he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Uchiha Sasuke. You know that my home is always open to you, regardless. I will not force you often into taking me up on that offer, but do know it is open."
Sasuke closed his eyes and shrugged off the hand, before leaving without a word.
"What a butt." Naruto grumbled in between mouthfuls of his sixth bowl. Rikuto cast an eye to his finished sixth, but felt replete. After paying Teuchi and dragging Naruto away by the ear, he found a deserted alley, and performed the Hiraishin to get them home instantly.
Rikuto then sighed, knowing what he then had to do.
"Naruto, we're going downstairs, and I mean downstairs downstairs." Rikuto called, making handseals and moulding his chakra into a certain shape, and to the right frequency.
"Oooh, I love that place, let's go!" Naruto jumped over to Rikuto, clutching onto his back like a sloth on a tree, much to Rikuto's ire, but didn't last long as the duo disappeared in another red flash.
- Uzumaki Training Chamber -
"Naruto-kun, get off."
…
"Oi squirt, really, I have to show you something but I need to talk to you first."
…
"Ugh. You're a little shit sometimes." Rikuto grumbled, letting loose a torrent of chakra, sending Naruto flying with a happy squeal.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, Rikuto sighed. "Get over here squirt!"
Naruto laughed as he ran over and sat on his butt with his legs sprawled out. "What's up? It's gotta be important if we came down here!"
Rikuto nodded slowly. "Yeah, it is. Listen, I had Hokage-jiji run some extra blood tests on me to see if I could find any of my family records that may exist here in Konoha. And… he found some serious, heavy results."
Naruto cocked his head to the side. "Are you okay? What's wrong?"
"What I'm about to tell you, you CANNOT repeat unless me or the Hokage says so, do you understand?" Rikuto was deadly serious. Naruto could tell by the agitated nature of his chakra.
Nodding quickly, Rikuto eased back. "I found out that my great-grandparents are none other than Uzumaki Mito, and the Shodai Hokage, Senju Hashirama."
"Whoa… That's so cool!" Naruto was wide-eyed at his cousin that somehow became even cooler.
"There's more, though," Rikuto continued, "it also showed that I have two bloodline limits; the In'yōton (Yin Release) that I already knew about and we both have; but the second is what I came down here to test with you. Apparently I have a latent bloodline limit, one that people call Mokuton (Wood Release)." Rikuto sighed, taking off his upper clothes, confusing Naruto.
"No way…" Naruto gasped, sitting back in shock. "You can use… Shodai-sama's kekkei genkai? But… Whoa." Naruto said again, watching Rikuto whip through hand seals, draw blood and withdraw the Mokuton scroll from his heart seal.
Studying the first jutsu for a moment, Rikuto went through a variety of handseals before completing the chain with the Serpent seal.
"Mokuton: Moku Bunshin no Jutsu! (Wood Release: Wood Clone Technique)" Rikuto called, feeling a tug at the back of his neck, turned to find a partially correct clone, however the left eye was missing, the left arm was made of wood, and the right leg was malformed.
Eyes widening in realisation that he did indeed have the ability to use the Wood Release, Rikuto grinned widely, and skimming to the technique he had in mind, his Ryuuringan activated on the high of his chakra, and he perceived the chakra imprinted into the scroll by none other than Hashirama himself.
Weaving through the introductory use handseals, Rikuto clapped his hands together into the Serpent seal, letting his impressive chakra flare, rolling off of him in whipping green flames, making Naruto take a few steps back to ease the pressure of being near such potent chakra.
"Mokuton Hijitsu: Jukai Kōtan! (Wood Release Secret Technique: Nativity of a Sea of Trees)" Rikuto roared, flooding his chakra into the jutsu, which resulted in scores of trees filling the cavernous space, rushing and pushing around each other, shattering the air with leaves and branches, a testament to Rikuto's affinity to the element.
But also, leaving a collapsed, panting Rikuto on the ground, with Naruto calling out his name frantically.
Thinking of the only person he knew to help, he pushed chakra into the seal on his side, alerting both Rikuto and the Sandaime Hokage of his plight. Being the Kyūbi jinchūriki, Naruto wanted to have a failsafe that could alert people should he be threatened.
Rikuto groaned weakly, his Ryuuringan fading, leaving his rich violet eyes, that unfocused as he lost consciousness.
In seconds, Hiruzen had managed to unlock his way through several layers of seals and barriers to reach the two, stopping dead in his tracks at the sight of the behemoth forest that stood majestically before him.
"Holy Mother of Log, that's fucking huge!" He cursed, rushing over to a sobbing Naruto and a clearly chakra exhausted Rikuto, along with a collapsed Moku Bunshin.
Sighing in exasperation, he patted Naruto on the head, drawing his attention.
"Jiji, help! He suddenly used that jutsu, and his chakra was so powerful! Then after muttering something he's sick!" Naruto babbled, pointing to his downed cousin, who was now breathing normally.
"Don't fret, Naruto-kun. He's just got chakra exhaustion, which for an Uzumaki to get, well, this is probably only the second time I've ever seen it." 'Not to mention this jutsu… Of course Rikuto had to empty his reserves to get a result like this, but for him to be even able to use it on this scale in the first place, is simply incredible. Not only that… It looks like it was his second Mokuton jutsu he's ever done. The potential within this young man is simply unheard of since Hashirama-sensei's time. No doubt little Naruto here will be too far behind either.' Hiruzen explained to the young boy, calming him greatly with a touch.
Sniffing, Naruto nodded, helping the Hokage transport Rikuto to the lounge in the main house, before the Third departed with a wave in a Shunshin.
This left Naruto to his down devices, and to anyone that knows either of the resident Uzumaki well at all, that means trouble.
As a wicked grin spread of the redhead's features, elsewhere several ANBU agents suddenly felt like they'd been washed with pins.
- 1 Week Later -
Rikuto had since learned not to pump all of his chakra into Mokuton jutsu as they required more chakra than he was used to producing for regular jutsu, save for his In'yōton jutsu, but he had very few of those as it was. Being unconscious for a whole twelve hours and having to reprimand his little cousin for the subsequent unsupervised, village-wide pranks was enough to reinforce that lesson.
As for Naruto, he'd been dropped off at the Academy by Rikuto, who then vanished after giving a two-finger salute and an eye-smile.
Shrugging off his cousin's odd behaviour, feeling that he knew something that Naruto didn't, he headed into the Academy, to find Sasuke on his own, and a couple of others, like Aburame Shino, and Hyūga Hinata.
Immediately choosing to sit next to Sasuke, who acknowledged him with a nod, Naruto began to pester him about his week, only to receive a series of "Hn" grunts of various lengths.
Eventually giving up on that, he decided to do the next best thing, sleep.
He awoke to being elbowed in the ribs from Sasuke, who gestured towards the now present and irritated Iruka.
"Now, if I have all of your attention," Iruka growled, throwing a sharp look at Naruto who blinked innocently, "I can continue with team assignments. Remember your Jōnin sensei are now your teachers and immediate superiors!"
Again, Naruto let his head fall to the desk, only to perk up when he heard his name: "Team 7 consists of Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura-" Only to be cut off by Sakura's squeal, and various other groans from fangirls and fanboys alike.
Coughing, Iruka continued, "and your Jōnin-sensei will be Hatake Kakashi."
"Oh… That's why…" Naruto groaned, realising why Rikuto-nii had acted funny that morning. "He knew all along that Kakashi-san would be my Jōnin-sensei… That traitorous bastard!" Naruto growled, flames roaring to life in his eyes as he made a fist.
Sasuke looked on, confused and eager to change the subject of the banshee being on their team. "What's that meant to mean?"
Naruto turned to face him with a groan. "Rikuto-nii often does missions with this elite Jōnin called Hatake Kakashi, or the Copy Ninja. He's really late all of the time, perverted and doesn't talk much. Seems like a pretty cool guy though, when he's been around at home."
Listening to Naruto's explanation, Sasuke held back a sigh. "So how long are we in for?"
Naruto's head falling to the desk again was enough of an answer.
"Three fucking hours."
"Language!"
