AN: Back to Naruto's viewpoint...


"You're strange," Sasuke said.

Naruto blushed and rubbed the back of his head. He hadn't sounded cool, and he wanted to sound cool in order for everyone else to fall under his control so he could rise to the top and take over the-

Naruto noticed there were no people around him. He looked around in shock... he couldn't hear a thing, either.

'Kurama! What is this?' Naruto asked.

A few seconds later, Naruto was back among the kids waiting next to the burning tripwire, his hearing back to normal.

'A Genjutsu?' Naruto asked, raising an eyebrow.

Kurama sighed. 'Yes, brat, it is. Since we have separate minds, whenever you fall under a Genjutsu I can easily pull you out of it.'

Naruto nodded. 'I see. Does that mean I am immune to Genjutsu?'

'Maybe, but there could be some very powerful Genjutsu out there that could affect both of us at the same time. I wouldn't expect mere children like all of you to be able to use those kinds of jutsu any time soon, though.'

Naruto sat down on the ground and looked up at the blazing sun. 'Well, let's get going, then.' Naruto released chakra chains from beneath his feet and shot high into the sky, feeling exhilaration as the air raced past him. Smoke from the flames below clouded his vision for a few seconds, until he zoomed past the tripwire maze and flew over the path beyond.

As Naruto severed the chakra chains and fell down to the ground, softening the landing with chakra, he was surprised to see red flags just a few dozen meters ahead. There were a few people standing there, wearing Leaf Village headbands. Iruka was one of them. Naruto strolled down to the flags, smirking softly.

As he passed the flags, Kurama said, 'you really need to show off? I doubt you're actually first place anyways.'

'If I look cool and controlled in front of the teachers, it's all the better for me.' Naruto responded.

"Naruto Uzumaki, second place," A young woman with a clipboard said.

"You go behind us, Naruto. And good job!" Iruka said with a thumbs up.

Naruto nodded and walked past the various academy staff, eager to talk to the kid who had dared to defeat him.

Low and behold, it was the intangible kid from before. Naruto had assumed that had been a Genjutsu or something of the sort. The kid glared at Naruto.

"What's you're problem?" Naruto asked, sitting down. He wanted to first test the waters, see what the kid was like. He noticed the kid wasn't wearing the purple scarf.

The kid didn't respond, and instead started meditating.

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "A quiet kid, huh? Social skills are important anywhere, and it would be best for you to learn that quickly."

The kid grumbled and glared at Naruto once more. "My name is Tsukasa. I come from a land far away, and that's all you need to know about me."

Naruto nodded. 'He seems pretty edgy to me. What do you think?'

'I agree. It might be possible for you to befriend him. Sasuke was pretty edgy as well.' Kurama responded.

'Well, the Sasuke friendship thing is currently a failure; he thinks I'm a weirdo after all. That's not important anymore, though. I've lost interest in him. This Tsukasa seems stronger, so yes, I'll try to befriend him.'

Naruto looked at Tsukasa, who was still glaring at him with his red eyes. "I'm interested in your intangibility justu. Is it a clan secret, perhaps?"

Tsukasa furrowed his eyebrows. "I'm not obliged to tell you."

Naruto smiled. "Very well then. Want to be friends? The two of us are the top two in our grade."

Tsukasa huffed. "Your skills are way below mine." He then went back to meditating.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. 'What do you think, should I still be friends with him?'

'Ah, brat, you are still too immature. You let your emotions control you too much.'

'W-What emotions!' Naruto blushed.

'You have a large ego. You expect that just because you've trained with Orochimaru, just because you are supported by the great Kurama - don't make that expression, he'll think you're constipated - and just because you're from the Uzumaki clan, you can easily rise to the top of the ninja world.'

'Now isn't the time to debate the validity of my goals! First impressions are important, and I need your help in deciding what to do with him!'

'You don't seem like the indecisive type. Why ask me for help?'

Naruto frowned. He had been trying to further his relationship with Kurama by displaying a way he depended upon the nine tails. It seemed such shallow tactics wouldn't work anymore. 'Fine, I'll decide for myself.'

Naruto was about to speak to Tsukasa when he noticed Sasuke and the Hyuga girl from earlier run past the red flags at the exact same time. Naruto raised an eyebrow. He would have to network with the girl as well, if she was that competent. But then again, the race wasn't a good measure of ninja ability. After all, Naruto hadn't finished first.

The two new finishers walked to where Naruto and Tsukasa were sitting without even looking at each other.

Naruto noticed the Hyuga girl look at Sasuke and blush, then hide her face in her arms. A devilish grin spread across his face.

Naruto had once read a romance novel at the insistence of a prisoner named Karin a few years earlier. From that, he had learned that love could severly affect the human mind, and being able to manipulate others using it could prove advantageous. Naruto had mentioned this to Orochimaru, who had said that was a great idea and patted Naruto on the head.

"Hey, Hyuga girl, what's your name?" Naruto asked.

The Hyuga girl looked at Naruto shyly. "U-um, my name is Hinata Hyuga..."

Naruto nodded. "I am Naruto Uzumaki. Yesterday, Sasuke Uchiha told me he had a secret crush on you."


A few minutes later, after a staff member of the academy had to restrain Sasuke from slitting Naruto's throat, and after Hinata had stopped running around and screaming, the fifth place student arrived. It was a kid with dark shades and a strangely large coat. He walked past the academy staff and sat down a distance away from Naruto and the others, all without saying a word.

"Honestly, do all strong people have to be anti-social?" Naruto complained.

"Could you shut up?" Tsukasa said harshly, his eyes his closed.

Naruto looked at Tsukasa. 'Hey Kurama, I'm not really good at dealing well with kids my age. Got any pointers?'

'Yeah, ask a thousand year old manifestation of hatred how to befriend adolescents.'

'You're not a manifestation of hatred in my eyes.'

'You make it sound like it's just an opinion of yours.'

'Fine, You are definitely not a manifestation of hatred. Oh, I've been meaning to ask, how were you born?' Naruto asked. During his conversation with Kurama, a few more kids were trickling in.

'You should probably socialize with the kids, not me.' Kurama huffed.

'What, touchy subject?'

Kurama didn't respond.

Naruto shrugged and looked around for a friendly face. There were only eight people who had finished, including himself.

"Seventh place... I am ashamed of myself..." A girl nearby muttered

Naruto looked at her. She was wearing an elegant navy blue dress, the same color as her hair. "Hi," he said.

The girl didn't acknowledge him, so Naruto tried again. "Hello?" he said, a little louder.

The girl still didn't turn to see him, so Naruto shrugged and got up as another kid finished the race. He walked over to Sasuke, who was sitting alone, like a few other kids.

Sasuke regarded Naruto with a neutral expression. "What?"

"Are we still friends?" Naruto asked. He had envisioned befriending everyone easily, but he was left with at max one friend.

"Nope. You're weird, and you'll slow me down from my goals."

Naruto sighed. That made zero friends in the academy. "Even after I told you about your brother..."

Sasuke averted his gaze.

Naruto put his hands in his pocket and decided to go to Hinata. After all, she was strong, and she had a powerful emotion he could exploit.

'Can I tell you something, brat? No, no need to ask. You must hear something from me.' Kurama said.

Naruto sighed and sat down, a few meters from where Hinata was staring at Sasuke. 'What is it?'

'I actually have some advice for you. On making friends. You're only thinking of others as tools you can use to better yourself. Not actual people.'

'You mean a change in mindset would be beneficial? I'd be better off not befriending anyone, in that case, if it means I have to change my beautiful mind.'

Kurama sighed, a deep, long noise that bounced around Naruto's skull. 'I was impressed by your aggressiveness and understanding of the world, but now you are acting like an immature brat.'

Naruto frowned. "Everyone here is a stupid idiot," he spat.

'Don't know why you said that aloud, brat.'

Naruto facepalmed as every kid turned to stare at him... and even some of the academy staff. Including Iruka.

"Oh yeah! You look pretty dumb yourself!" A boy yelled. There was a small white dog next to him, who barked in agreement.

"I'm afraid I'm much smarter than you," Naruto said, entering a staring contest with the kid.

"Hey blondie, no one likes you," the pink haired girl said.

Naruto turned to look at her. "You're one to talk, screaming like a banshee during the race."

'Careful, brat,' Kurama warned. 'You're picking a fight with everyone.'

Naruto ignored Kurama. "You also have a big forehead."

The girl blushed furiously. "You... you're stupid!" She then stomped off.

"Well, here's a kid we should all avoid," A kid said, yawning. It was Shikamaru. "What a drag."

Naruto sighed and walked over to an area away from the rest of the kids, and sat down. 'I'm sorry, Kurama.'

'Idiot.'

Naruto nodded, feeling stupid. He hadn't failed in a long time, and it hurt to not have things go his way. It hurt.

Naruto sulked alone for another hour, when a gray haired man with a few warts on his face walked out of the staff group to face the fifteen children who had passed.

"Everyone else has failed or given up. You fifteen are the only ones who will pass."

Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"WHAT! Only fifteen!" The dog-kid shouted.

"That is how it is, sadly. It seems our tripwire booby trap was too difficult to pass. Also, many tried breaking rules. That's why there are only fifteen who have passed. Now follow me, we will be heading to the academy right now. After all, there's no need for another test or anything."

Naruto stared in shock as everyone started running into the forest behind the old warty man. 'Wait... so the test is over? That was boring.'

'Kid, you better learn something good at the academy. I hate having to be stuck inside a child all over again.'

Naruto shook his head. 'Whatever.' he then started tree-branch-hopping alongside the others.


AN: Here's a list of the 15 who passed the academy entrance test, in order of when they finished the test:

1st - Tsukasa Genji

2nd - Naruto Uzumaki

3rd (tied) - Hinata Hyuga

3rd (tied) - Sasuke Uchiha

5th - Shino Aburame

6th - Shikamaru Nara

7th - Sokudo Ranna

8th - Sakura Haruno

9th (tied) - Satsuki Otsaimu

9th (tied) - Katsuri Otsaimu

11th - Kiba Inuzuka

12th - Choji Akimichi

13th - Saraba Yuno

14th - Ino Yamanaka

15th - Ishoni Tomoda

-.-

I apologize for the lack of action in this chapter, but I felt some proper character development was needed for our main character, in addition to some brief introductions of a few of his classmates.

Again, I love knowing what all of you are thinking about the story, so please leave a review or PM me!