Just to clarify, Sumire will not be extremely overpowered. She doesn't have anyone to teach her jutsu yet, so she's around the power of Sasuke just with a lot more chakra.


Four years later

It was the day before the graduation exams and the clan heirs along with Sai and Sakura were all studying their butts off, all except, you guessed it, Naruto. He was currently slurping down ramen as fast as he could for an afternoon "snack". They were all in a study session that Ino had created years earlier. She had gotten the idea from the shinobi orphanage classes and decided to form a study group with all of them. They told her it was a wonderful idea, and went along. They met before all the test, exams, and quizzes to study, and if there weren't any of those, they met every Wednesday at the park. Usually, they studied for two or three hours, until going home for dinner. Chouji once suggested they go to a training ground, but sadly those were only open to genin and above. Right now, they were studying for the graduation exams.

"Naruto, if you don't study, you'll fail again!" Sakura told him. Naruto had tried to take the mock exams earlier in the year, but he had failed every single one of them.

"No I won't, don't be so nervous. The only thing I can't do is Bunshin no jutsu, so it's fine. I bet they won't even test us on that." he said confidently.

"N-naruto, I think you should study with us." Hinata advised. Spending years of time with the rowdy group had pretty much taken away her fainting and stuttering habits, except when she said "Naruto".

"Naruto! Get over here!" Ino screeched. Unlike Hinata, years of spending time with the group had not lowered her voice, and Naruto and Kiba's loudness didn't help.

Naruto continued to ignore them. Sasuke sighed, he was never going to become genin.

"Fishcake. I think you should study." Sai followed after the girls, hoping that Naruto would listen to him.

"You'll never make Hokage if you can't even make genin!" Kiba taunted.

"Yes I will!" Naruto retorted, forgetting his ramen for an instant.

"No you won't. You can't be the Hokage if you're not even a genin." Kiba told him smugly.

"Well then, I'll pass the graduation exams!" he declared.

"How? How are you going to do that. To pass, you can only get a failing grade in one area. The rest of us can pass. Sasuke and Sai, will probably pass with the highest scores in total for the boys, and Hinata the highest scores in the girls. I doubt they'll fail anything. Shino, Sakura, Ino and I are next up. We might fail in the Taijutsu portion, but our other skills will cover it up. Chouji and Shikamaru, on the other hand will just barely scrape by the academics. Chouji because he just isn't cut out for that kind of stuff, and Shikamaru because he's too lazy to try and do better. Kiba will most likely fail the Academics, but he'll do well on the other subjects. But you? You'll fail the Academics, Genjutsu, and probably, the Ninjutsu. That's three areas in a total of five! The only two things you're alright at are taijutsu and stealth. Unlike the rest of us, you can't sense a genjutsu, or break it. Bottom line is, you'll fail if you don't start studying big time! You're lucky we impressed the teachers last week with that fancy kunai trick, otherwise you would have to take the weapons test as well. "' Sumire said, pointing out each of their weaknesses.

She was no longer the polite, timid, little girl she once was. She was fierce and protective of her friends, but she was still polite. They had all grown up. And Naruto no longer wore a orange jumpsuit like he did at the beginning of the Academy, but he still played pranks, not even Iruka could stop him from doing that.

"Well then, fine! Teach me how to break out of a genjutsu!" he relented. They smiled. Finally!

"Well, if you notice tiny things that aren't right, like an extra eraser or an open window that wasn't there at first, you know you're in a genjutsu. To break out of one, you just have to stop the chakra flow in your body. We learnt this all in class, maybe if you and Kiba weren't so busy pulling pranks, then you would have known." Ino said.

"Hey! My pranks are pretty cool! Everyone laughs at them!" Naruto protested.

"Actually, Naruto, I know a different way for you to break out of a genjutsu. It's easier for you to do it this way because of your huge chakra capacity. Just force all of the chakra in your body out with one big push. It works for me." Sumire told him.

"You sure? How would that work? It's the complete opposite of Ino's way." Naruto said suspiciously.

"It disrupts the chakra that the genjutsu user sends to your brain." Sasuke said. He understood how it works, after all, it was the only way he could break out of one of his aniki's genjutsus and they were the simplest his aniki could use.

"Right. That makes sense. Here goes! Kai!" Naruto commanded, sending off a wave of chakra from his body. The wave was so strong that the ANBU assigned to protect Naruto jumped down to investigate what happened. Seeing that it was nothing, they sighed and left. It happened often, every time Naruto screamed, or got angry and let out chakra, they had to jump out and make sure nothing went wrong. Nothing ever was.

"Perfect! That will break you out of any genjutsu the instructors can come up with. Just look for small details, they always purposely leave something as a clue and remember that you only have five minutes to break out of the Genjutsu." Sakura reminded him. Sumire nodded along.

"Now as for the clone jutsu, I have no idea what you should do." Ino said, lamely. Truth to be told, she didn't know why he couldn't do it. All the heads turned to Sumire. She was the only one there that had a chakra capacity anywhere close to Naruto's.

"I don't know, don't look at me! Naruto's control isn't good enough for a Bunshin no jutsu. Besides, I don't have as much chakra as him. I can't fix it in an hour. I'd need days! Or months to fix it to a reasonable level." Sumire told them helplessly.

"Well then, if you can't do a clone jutsu, too bad. You'll just have to fail Ninjutsu and we'll have to pound the Academy history lessons into your head!" Kiba announced, grinning widely and Akamaru yipped beside him. The small whit puppy hadn't gotten much bigger and was sitting on Kiba's head.

"That won't work. That's because Naruto is a baka." Shino said with a small rising of his mouth underneath his coat.

"I agree, we must think of a way to teach it so that Naruto can't forget it. Textbooks won't help." Sai commented.

" So a song?" Ino asked.

"No, Naruto would never remember a song." Sasuke vetoed.

" A poem?" Sakura suggested.

"No way Naruto would ever remember a poem." Chouji commented while munching on his chips. Shikamaru slept beside him, facing the sky.

"Why can't Naruto just get a better brain?! The history lessons have been the same since the second year at the Academy!" Sumire exclaimed.

"Hey! Hey! Naruto's right here you know! Don't talk about me like I'm not here!" Naruto exclaimed.

The children ignored him, preferring instead to argue among themselves. Naruto pouted before going back to eating his ramen.

Half an hour later, they still hadn't reached an agreement. Finally, Shikamaru decided to comment.

"Troublesome. Sumire aren't you supposed to be smart? Just ask those ANBU that follow Naruto everywhere to teach him a clone jutsu that requires more chakra... Troublesome." Shikamaru yawned. Sumire's eyes widened and Shino's eyebrow raised. Why didn't they think of that earlier?

"Hey Naruto!" Kiba called. Looking up from his ramen, Naruto gave them a what look. He was busy eating ramen here!

"Stop eating and let out a burst of chakra." Sasuke commanded. Shrugging, Naruto listened and did just want Sasuke said. A second later, the ANBU arrived a little ways away from them, just like Shikamaru predicted.

"ANBU-sama!" Sakura called. They ANBU headed towards them cautiously.

"What do you want?" the leader asked. He had a mask shaped like a tiger.

"Ano, Tora-sama, could you help Naruto?" Sai asked, politely.

"What is it, gaki?" the ANBU asked Naruto.

"He wants you to teach him another type of Bunshin no jutsu that requires more chakra." Sasuke answered for him.

"..." the ANBU remained silent for a while as the children waited for his response in anticipation. Even Naruto had put down his ramen and was silently begging the ANBU to teach him. One second, two seconds, three seconds, four seconds, ...

"... Alright, just this once. What I'm going to teach you is the Kage Bunshin no jutsu." the ANBU told him.

"Taichou!" One of the other ANBU with a cat mask protested.

"Don't worry, he has enough chakra." the captain assured her.

"So how do you do it? Teach it to me!" Naruto shouted happily. He was sure that this was a really cool jutsu!

"This jutsu creates solid clones that can move and talk. Watch carefully." the ANBU commanded. He put his hand together in a ram seal and out popped five copies of him. Naruto walked up and tried to poke one, which swatted his hand out of the way.

"Sugoi! How'd you do it?" he asked excitedly.

" Form the ram seal and push chakra out. Depending on how much chakra you use, you can produce different amounts of clones." the ANBU told him.

"Alright! I'll perfect this technique by tomorrow! That's a promise!" Naruto swore.

Under his mask, the ANBU stifled a chuckle. Like that was possible. No one could master the Kage Bunshin no jutsu in a day. That was just plain ridiculous. Unfortunately, he had forgotten one rule regarding Naruto, Never bet against him.

"Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Naruto shouted, crossing his fingers just like the ANBU. His first try was pathetic. Three, half-dead, colored clones, slumped on the floor.

"Hey, at least he's better at this than the Bunshin no jutsu! The clones actually have colors!" Kiba remarked.

" I guess, but he can't pass like that." Chouji said worriedly.

"Troublesome." Shikamaru remarked.

" Don't worry, he'll be fine." Ino said, although the look on her face proved otherwise.

"Right. Let's go back to studying." Sumire commanded.

The ANBU stood nearby as Naruto tried to master the Kage Bunshin no jutsu. When night fell, Naruto was still practicing, even though everyone else had left to go home.

"Naruto, dinner's ready!" Sumire called. The two of them had started living together after the Hokage gave them an apartment in one of the less busy districts of Konoha.

Flashback start

"Old man! What'd you call us here for?" Naruto asked as he and Sumire entered the room. They were both still very short and Naruto's head barely reached the bottom of the Hokage's desk. He was only eight and being naturally short didn't help. Sumire was already up to his shoulder and she was only five!

"Naruto, give the Hokage some respect! Gomen, Hokage-sama. " Sumire chided, swatting Naruto on his arm.

"No worries, it's fine. Happy birthday Naruto! I've called you here to give you a birthday present." the Hokage declared.

"So why did you call Sumire here?" he asked confused, Sumire's birthday had already passed. It was on March ninth, to be exact.

"Well, for you're birthday you're getting an apartment! Since you two are friends, I thought you might want to live together. After all, Sumire doesn't know any one else in the orphanage, but you." the Hokage said., giving Naruto the keys to his new home. He was obviously trying to set them up, but neither one of them noticed. They were both too innocent like little angels.

"Wow! Arigatou old man! I'm so happy! Dattebayo!" Naruto crowed.

"Wait, I have to live with Naruto?!" Sumire asked in disbelief.

"Yes or you can stay at the orphanage." The Hokage offered.

"I guess I'll... stay with Naruto. We can still visit the orphanage right?" Sumire asked.

"Of course, any time you wish. We have a shortage of jounin and chunin who are suited to work at the orphanage, so some of the other kids will also be moving out." Hiruzen explained. Sumire nodded. That made sense. For the past year or so, only two chunin, Raido-san and Iwashi-san, had taken care of them in shifts. She had also noticed that some of the older children, those who were almost at the age of graduation were leaving.

"Now Naruto, I have another birthday gift for you." Hiruzen said, turning his attention to Naruto.

"What? What is it?" he asked eagerly.

"It's a scroll on elemental jutsu. I expect you to read it. Don't just give it to Sumire to read and ask her to summarize it for you." the Hokage told him in a joking tone.

"Ok! I'll get this down in no time! Dattebayo!" Naruto cheered. Sumire rolled her eyes, Naruto learned by doing, not reading. She doubted he would be able to understand any of it.

"Now I'll take you two to your new apartment if you're done jumping around, Naruto." the Hokage smiled. Sumire immediately ran over and pulled Naruto to the Hokage. She wanted to see where she would be living.

They disappeared in a whirlwind of leaves as the ANBU in the shadows sweat dropped. He's still not done with his paperwork! the ANBU thought.

When they arrived, Naruto couldn't help but feel disappointed. The building was rundown and the paint was peeling off in several places. The door's hinges were rusted and graffiti covered the walls. Noticing his sadness, the Hokage spoke up.

"Don't worry, you can patch it up later. You'll be receiving a monthly stipend from me and you too, Sumire. Spend it wisely. You should have enough money to repair this a little bit." he said, putting his hand on Naruto's shoulders.

"Well, what are you waiting for, open the door." Sumire said excitedly. Naruto inserted the key, and click!, the door creaked open. Inside there was a small table in the dining room and a kitchen. The walls were stark white like those of a hospital. Cracks ran through the sides like the web of a spider. Going in further, they found a bathroom, and two smaller bedrooms.

"We are going to need to add a little color to this place." Sumire observed. The whole house reminded her of a hospital.

"Paint balls!" Naruto screamed.

"No way! " Sumire argued. She was not going to have a multicolored room. Where was Naruto's fashion sense? Which reminded her, she would have to get him new clothes soon, the orange jumpsuit he had was horrible!

"I'll leave you two here to look around. The money's on the table." Hiruzen told them, his eyes crinkling into a smile. Youngsters were so energetic these days.

"Blue!" Sumire argued.

"Orange!" Naruto pouted.

Hiruzen left unnoticed as the two duked it out. It was the epic battle of Blue vs. Orange. In the end, the two agreed to a compromise. Naruto's room would be orange, Sumire's room would be blue, the dining room would be a light green and the kitchen would be a warm yellow color. But as for the bathroom, they would leave it white, for now. Smiling happily, Sumire and Naruto ate ramen for dinner, completely ignoring the festival outside. Well, at least Naruto was ignoring the sounds of laughter and talking.

"Why don't you go to the festival? I want to go. It sounds so fun." She said wistfully.

"The people don't like me. They keep looking at me like I'm some kind of monster." Naruto explained.

"Why?" Sumire asked, her face scrunched up in thought. Naruto was loud and liked to prank people, but that didn't mean that everyone had to hate him.

"I honestly don't know. Sometimes, I think Iruka-sensei looks at me like that, but I must be wrong. He can't be like them, none of the shinobi judge me, so he shouldn't either." Naruto answered, sadly.

"Well, I think you're nice. And I'm sure Sasuke, and Shikamaru, and Chouji, and Kiba, and Ino, and Sakura, and Hinata, and Shino all think so too." she told him confidently.

"Of course they do! I'm awesome! Sugoi!" Naruto beamed.

"How about we watch the fireworks from the window later? We might even see some of our friends!" Sumire offered.

"Good idea!" Naruto agreed.

Later that night, they watched as streaks of lights burst into a thousand drops and vanished. Blue, red, whit, gold, green, it was all there. They watched in awe as fireworks shaped like foxes and the fourth Hokage lit up the night sky and shined brighter than the stars.

Flashback end

"One more time! I almost got it down!" Naruto called back. Sumire sighed in exasperation, he was never going to finish at this rate.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" Naruto commanded. Copies of living, breathing Narutos popped up on the playground.

"I did it! I told you I could! Dattebayo!" Naruto gloated. In the trees, the masked ANBUs nearly fell off of the branch. One thought ran through all of their minds, He actually did it!

"Great! Now you'll pass the exam tomorrow no problem at all!" Sumire smiled. She was so proud of her surrogate aniki. He had mastered two elemental jutsu and finally perfected a variation of the Bunshin no Jutsu!

"So what's for dinner?" Naruto asked as the clones dispelled into clouds of smoke.

"Soup, fish, and rice. And go take a bath!" Sumire answered, pinching her nose. Naruto got sweaty too much, too often.

"Aww, no ramen?" Naruto pouted.

"No! Go take a bath!" Sumire repeated, more forcefully this time.