AN:
Alright! This should be the last chapter of the Academy Arc! Stay tuned for the AN at the end to find out what the next Arc is going to be!
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Due to illness and commitments to family, Nine Tails Incarnate will be taking a short, one week break after this chapter! Sorry to inconvenience anyone, but the next Arc will begin on 12th December 2016!
Please Review and I hope you enjoy!
XOXOXOX
THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE
ARC 01: ACADEMY
CHAPTER 7: TEAM 7 IS BORN
XOXOXOX
LAST TIME ON THE NINE TAILS INCARNATE:
"Lastly, will move on to Team 7. Since they are the last team, they will be the Four Genin Team, and will also have a second Jonin instructor to help keep up with them. Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Sai. Naruto, you are assigned to the Seal Masters Office. Sakura, you are assigned to the Medical Corps. Sasuke, you are assigned to the Reformed Military Police. Sai, you are assigned to the ANBU Hunter Division. Your senseis will be Kakashi Hatake and Yamato." Iruka finished.
There was a pregnant pause in the room as everyone waited for the inevitable explosion, but yet again it didn't come. Iruka and the rest of the room gave a collective sigh of relief before Naruto shot to his feet, smashed his fist into the desk and roared.
"WHAT THE HELL!?"
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Iruka could practically feel his heart leap out his mouth as he looked at the furious face of the Leaf's Resident Tailed Beast. It was rare to see Naruto like this, but he seemed to genuinely be struggling to keep his Human Form, as his slitted eyes, fox ears and nine tails had all appeared, and his nails had sharpened to claws.
"N-Now Naruto, you know that I don't get to decide the teams. They are decided by the Hokage and the members of the Jonin and Elder Councils." Iruka explained, trying to placate Naruto, whom was giving off enough Killing Intent to make even the stoic Shino and Sai sweat.
Without another word, Naruto turned full Fox Form and dashed out of the room at a speed that left him as nothing more than a gold blur. The Genin in the room finally dared to breathe again, with Sasuke adding a sigh. "Well, it looks like we won't be seeing him for a while."
Sakura scowled. "But Sasuke-kun, don't we need to meet our Senseis? They'll be angry if that idiot isn't here!"
"Pfft, Naruto could be three hours late and he'd still get here before Kakashi. Word of advice if you want to survive on this team, Sakura. Get used to waiting a long time for our sensei and be sure not to upset Naruto." Sasuke said evenly.
"What happens if I upset the monster? Will he try to kill me!?" Sakura asked fearfully.
"No, you'll be the victim of every single one of his pranks. Oh, and keep calling him a Monster and Naruto will be the least of your concerns." Sasuke glared.
"O-Okay, Sasuke-kun."
Sai just stared at his teammates. On the inside, even he was wondering why Danzo-sama would allow the Haruno Girl onto the Tailed Beast's team. Danzo-sama had gone out of his way to make sure that the Fox was happy and loyal, so why put him on a team with somebody that despised him? He'd have to ask him later.
(Meanwhile, in the Leaf Council Chamber)
Hiruzen was about ready to smack his head against the desk. If had to listen to one more damned Civilian try to have an older Training Ground demolished and turned into one of his infernal businesses, then the Old Hokage was sure he was going to kill somebody. The Ninja Councils were in a similar position, though Jonin Haruno seemed to be waiting for something with a mildly concerned expression. Hiruzen knew why the normally cold man looked nervous, as the Hokage had been an unwilling participant in the man's scheme. Still, maybe Naruto wouldn't be too upset?
"OLD MAN!"
Okay, nevermind. Naruto was pissed.
Naruto charged into the Council Chamber in full Fox Form, startling the Civilians and making the Ninjas wince as they prepared for the consequences of the Team Selections. "Ah, Naruto-kun. How nice to see you! You know I like to spend time with you boy, but now isn't really the time. We're having a Council meeting here." Hiruzen said, smiling diplomatically.
"I don't care, you've got some explaining to do Old Man! Why the hell was I put on a team with Sakura Haruno instead of Hinata Hyuga!?" Naruto demanded.
"Do you have a problem with me niece, Genin Uzumaki." Kisuke Haruno scowled, narrowing his eyes at the boy.
"Actually, she's the one with a problem with me! She's the only one in the class who not only despises me, but isn't afraid to call me a monster and insult me! Not to mention she's a total fan girl for Sasuke! Besides, she shouldn't be on my team; the Top Shinobi and Top Kunoichi are always paired together, along with the Dead-Last, so why the hell was Hinata-chan substituted for Sakura? And why was Hinata placed with Kiba and Shino?" Naruto asked, his whisker marks starting to look wilder.
Danzo stood up and approached the boy, before putting a calming hand on his head. "Naruto, there are multiple reasons for our decision, but you must be calm. You are a Ninja, not an animal, so please restrain yourself."
Naruto frowned but nodded. He knew Danzo had ulterior motives for treating him well, but he never outright lied to him or tried to trick him, nor was he unreasonable in his requests, so Naruto had come to respect the man as a sort of Great Uncle figure. Heeding Danzo's words; Naruto paused and took several deep breathes, which allowed him to restrain himself back into a calm and controlled Human Form. "Okay, I'm calm now." the boy said, absent-mindedly adjusting the headband on his forehead.
"Good. Now, Sakura was put forward as a candidate for your team by Jonin Haruno. He wanted Sakura to be close to Sasuke Uchiha. We normally would have refused such a request on grounds of it being unprofessional, but Jonin Haruno gave good reasons." Danzo explained.
"What were these reasons?" Naruto asked, glaring at the Haruno man.
"As you said, Sakura Haruno hates you and views you as a monster." Danzo saw the pain flash in the boy's eyes, but continued. "So we thought that if she was forced to spend time with you on a team, then she would come to see your true nature and her hatred would fade away and be replaced by friendship, just as it did for Sasuke Uchiha five years ago. In addition, we've been wanting to create a specialised Hunting and Tracking Team for years and have been testing combinations of skills and clan abilities in each of the previous classes Genin Teams. Since we needed to move Hinata to another team, we placed her with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka in the hopes that this combination will be more successful. Given their skills, I believe they will be."
Naruto nodded. He had to admit, aside from Jonin Haruno's pointless request, all the reasons he'd been given were good ones. "I suppose I can understand all that. It isn't like I hate Sakura, it's just that she refuses every time I try to make friends with her. By the way, is the Jonin Council different today?"
Naruto had finally calmed down enough to realise that two of the usual faces on the Jonin Council weren't there. "Of course Naruto." Hiruzen said. "We relieved Kakashi Hatake and Asuma Sarutobi of their council duties so that they could pay full attention to their new teams. Speaking of which, shouldn't you be meeting with Kakashi now?"
The Fox boy looked at the old Hokage with a blank expression. "Uh, it's only been like 10 minutes since we were supposed to meet. We won't see him for another hour at least. And that's only if he doesn't go to the Memorial Stone..."
The Shinobi of the Council all nodded solemnly. They knew of the dark and tragic past that the Copy Cat Ninja had suffered. Now, Kakashi only lived to serve the Village, protect Naruto and pray that Minato and Kushina would one day wake up. Naruto briefly considered going to meet Kakashi at the stone, but decided not to, as he felt wrong being there, as he had never truly lost anyone he loved.
"Well, I suppose I should go back to the classroom and wait with my team. Even if Sakura and I don't get along, I like Sasuke and Sai well enough. Oh, and Danzo, could you tell Sai to stop holding back now? Its getting annoying." Naruto smiled his foxy smile.
Danzo chuckled and nodded. "I will be sure to pass along that message. Remember Naruto, Sai is only there to protect you and Sasuke. He is your link to me at all times, so do not be afraid to ask him for aid."
Naruto nodded and bowed to the Ninja Council before running off, leaving the Leaf Council to get back to the much more boring business of dealing with Civilian affairs. Since it was almost noon and Kakashi was still not likely to be there for a while, Naruto stopped by Ichirakus and ordered some take out Ramen for the team before high-tailing it back to the classroom.
When the boy entered, he found Sasuke and Sai playing Shogi while Sakura watched. "Hey guys, I'm back." Naruto announced, coming in with four steaming bowls of Ramen. "And I bought lunch?"
"Oh, so you resolved you issue from earlier?" Sai asked in a monotone.
"Yep. Your boss, Danzo, told me all about it. Also, he said you can stop holding back now."
Sai's eyebrow twitched and looked to Sasuke and Sakura. The Pinkette looked confused, but Sasuke didn't. "So, you both knew already?"
"Yep! Well, it was more of a hunch. I made a gamble when I talked to Danzo and he confirmed it. Now, I wasn't sure what kind of Ramen you and Sakura like, so I went for the Miso Ramen! Here you go!" Naruto smiled, handing the bowls to his team mates. "And Sasuke, I got the Tomato Ramen for you."
Sasuke smirked and happily accepted the Ramen. He would never admit it to the Fox Boy, but Teuchi's Tomato Ramen, made especially for Sasuke, was possibly his favourite food. "Thanks Foxy."
Sasuke and Sai tucked into their food while Sakura looked at hers suspiciously. "This isn't poisoned or got some kind of laxative in it, does it?"
Naruto gasped backed away from Sakura with a look of mortification. Sasuke just laughed. "Relax Sakura, Naruto would never dare add anything bad to Ramen. He claims its like defiling a sacred temple… or something like that."
"Oh, well, um..." Sakura was struggling to find something to say. "I appreciate the thought, but I'm on a diet, so..."
Sasuke rolled his eyes as Sai and Naruto looked at her blankly. "Sakura, you are already dangerously underweight for a Kunoichi. Diets are for Civilians that are overly concerned with their looks. Real Kunoichi eat as much as they can and work off the excess. You are a real Kunoichi, right?" the Uchiha asked.
Sakura eeped and then immediately dived into the Ramen, devouring it at a speed that would rival Naruto. Based on the expression on her face, she was enjoying it. Naruto smirked and leaned in to whisper to his friend. "Good job Sasuke. We'll make a ninja out of her yet!"
"Its easy once you get the trick down. Leave Sakura to me; I'll get her to see reason." Sasuke responded.
And so, the four Genin of Team 7 finished their lunch and went back to waiting patiently (or impatiently) for their two Senseis to arrive. Naruto had just assumed that Yamato would be arriving with Kakashi, but he wondered who the man was. He didn't know any Ninja named Yamato, and he knew most of the noteworthy ninja in the village…
Two hours after they'd eaten, Naruto's ears twitched and he looked towards the door of the classroom. "They're finally here. The guy with Kakashi smells strange… like wood and something familiar. I think I know him!" Naruto said, getting to his feet and running to the door. Just as he got there, it opened and two men in Jonin Garb entered the room. Once was the familiar masked man with Silver Hair; Kakashi Hatake, while the other was a man with strange eyes and a headband that stretched down to cover his cheeks.
"I knew I recognised that smell, it's Tenzo!" Naruto grinned as he leapt to hug his former ANBU bodyguard.
Tenzo, now dubbed Yamato, grinned and ruffled the boy's hair. "Hello Naruto. I apologise for not being around as much, but the Hokage has had me on mission after mission for the last few months. I've been clearing the forests of threats in preparation for the Chunin Exams being held here this year." he explained.
The rest of Team 7 approached their hyperactive teammate and their new senseis. Sai nodded at his teachers (and secretly, his Senpais within the ANBU) while Sasuke waved at Kakashi.
"Hey Kakashi. Whose your partner? Naruto seems to know him." Sasuke asked.
"Yo Sasuke. This is Yamato. That's only a Codename though and Naruto knows him by his previous one; Tenzo. He is was once of Naruto's ANBU guards until last year when he was no longer needed." Kakashi explained.
Sakura looked at the strange Jonin whom was still chatting quietly to Naruto. "Why would that monster need ANBU to guard him? Can't he just eat anyone who bugs him?"
"He hasn't eaten you yet, has he?" Sai commented, making Sakura go pale and hide behind Sasuke.
Kakashi, ignoring Sakura's insult, just chuckled. "Yamato didn't just protect Naruto, he was also in charge of reigning him in if he got too excited. You see, due to the actions of a wanted criminal, Yamato ended up with the Wood Style Bloodline. Wood Style is capable of restraining the Chakra of Tailed Beasts, so Yamato was assigned to Naruto in case he got out of control."
"Oh! So that's why we haven't heard about him killing anyone since the big attack twelve years ago." Sakura commented, not realising how much she was pissing off her new senseis.
"Actually, Naruto has never needed me to control him. He gets angry just like any other kid, but he doesn't use violence to solve his problems. He prefers Pranks." Yamato said, gently pulling on Naruto's cheeks.
"Well, we should get to the proper introductions and everything. Meet us on the roof in 30 seconds!" Kakashi said with an eye smile before vanishing in a flicker. Yamato and Sai followed him, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to charge out the door as fast as they could, with Sakura trailing behind.
They only barely made it to the roof before the 30 seconds were up, and poor Sakura was panting desperately as she tried to get air back in her burning lungs. Naruto and Sasuke didn't even look fazed, and they had gone even faster than she had! Once the four Genin sat down around their two senseis, Kakashi gave another eye smile. "All right Genin, we are going to be doing introductions! I will go first. My name is Kakashi Hatake, my Likes and Hobbies are not for the ears of children, my dislikes are nothing worth mentioning and my Dream… is to see two certain people finally return home."
Naruto gave a sad smile of agreement while Sasuke and Yamato exchanged knowing looks. Either way, Yamato was next. "My codename is Yamato. My real name is classified. My likes are gardening, especially bonsai trees. My dislikes are Traitors and Enemy Ninja. My Hobbies are gardening and reading. My Dream is to keep the Leaf Village at peace."
The Genin nodded along. Minus his name, Yamato was pretty standard as a Leaf Ninja. Sasuke was next; "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. My likes are Tomatoes and my friends. My dislikes are those that seek to hurt my comrades or my clan. My hobbies are training and playing the occasional prank with Naruto. My Dream is to one day bring my clan's murderer to justice."
Kakashi and Yamato nodded. They'd been briefed on Sasuke plenty of times and knew his lust for revenge had been cleared by Naruto. Sai continued the introductions. "My codename is Sai. I have no real name. My likes are drawing. My dislikes are traitors and enemy ninja. My hobbies are drawing. My dream is to serve the village."
Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura gave him blank looks. Since he no longer needed to keep his cover as a weakling Genin, he seemed to have even less personality than before… They'd need to work on that. Sakura went next. "I'm Sakura Haruno! My likes, hobbies and dreams are..." she looked at Sasuke with a blush and giggled. "and my dislikes are evil monsters that hurt my village!" she declared, suddenly becoming hateful as she glared at Naruto.
Kakashi and Yamato were a little worried that Naruto would react badly, but he kept his features trained in a blank expression, though he couldn't hide the sadness in his eyes. Still, with it now being Naruto's turn, he snapped back to his cheerful self.
"Hiya, I'm Naruto Uzumaki! My likes are Ramen and all my buddies here in the Leaf! My dislikes are those who call me a monster without getting to know me! Oh, and the three minutes it takes to be able to eat instant Ramen! My hobbies are pulling pranks and training, and my dream is to rebuild my family, restore my old clan; the Uzumaki, and prove to everyone in the world that Tailed Beasts are not monsters!"
The boys of the team all smiled, knowing Naruto's dreams very well after so long knowing him, but Sakura looked...conflicted. Kakashi spotted this and signalled to Yamato to follow him after the meeting. "Okay, with that out of the way, we will be doing the Real Genin Test tomorrow. Meet at Training Ground 7 at 6am tomorrow morning. Oh, and don't eat breakfast or you'll puke. See ya!" Kakashi said before vanishing with Yamato.
The four Genin just looked dumbfounded before deciding to just go home. Sakura ran off to her Uncle's home while Sai reported to Danzo, leaving Naruto and Sasuke to head to the Hyuga compound to wait for Hinata to be done with Kurenai. Kakashi and Yamato watched them from a nearby watch tower, both with matching frowns.
"The Hokage's hunch was right. There was definitely something up with Sakura. Her body language and tone of voice made it seem like she was actively trying to hate Naruto. It was not natural behaviour..." Kakashi said, trying to ignore the circumstantial resemblance between the pink haired girl and his own former teammate.
Yamato just nodded. "It wasn't only her hatred for Naruto that was unnatural. She seemed to be forcing her love for Sasuke as well, though it was much less obvious than with the hate."
"Hmm, that's probably because deep down, she really does love Sasuke, so those feelings have a foundation to build off while the hatred for Naruto doesn't. We're going to have to keep an eye on her. We should also tell the Hokage to keep an eye on Jonin Haruno; he's been a vocal opponent of Naruto for years, so he's almost certainly involved here." Kakashi said, his frown growing. If Kisuke Haruno was poisoning his niece with hatred and forced love, then Kakashi would be sure to make him regret it…
The next day, at five minutes before 6AM, Sakura arrived at the meeting point on Training Ground 7, hungry and tired from both lack of sleep and lack of dinner or breakfast. She thought that by showing up early, she could prove herself as an eager student and someone who was serious about her training, which had the double benefit of making Sasuke like her more.
Of course, she hadn't been informed off Kakashi's notorious lateness and hadn't learned from yesterday. Sai turned up at 6 AM on the dot, only because he didn't have it in him to disobey an order, but it wouldn't be until 8:55 AM that Naruto and Sasuke turned up, chatting quietly.
"Hey, how come you two are so late? Did Naruto drag you around the village Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked. Sasuke rolled his eyes and ignored her in favour of greeting Sai, while Naruto frowned.
"Stop blaming me for everything. We're late because Kakashi-sensei always turns up at least two hours late, and Yamato-sensei won't show up without him." Naruto explained, his eye twitching a bit.
"Hmph, we should still obey our sensei's orders! You're leading Sasuke-kun astray! And besides, how did you know Kakashi-sensei wouldn't show up earlier?" Sakura growled.
Naruto just sighed and rubbed his temples. This girl was really making it hard to be his usual cheerful self… "First, Kakashi-sensei won't care unless we get here after him. Second, Sasuke does what he wants and doesn't need me to tell him what to do. And third, I have a Familiar Clone watching him to let me know where he is." Naruto explained, making his tails appear and revealing that he only had eight of his usual nine. "We left when Kakashi began to make his way here. He tends to take the long way around, so we beat him here."
Sakura was about to argue, but she was cut off when her stomach suddenly growled, making her blush furiously. Sai didn't react while Sasuke chuckled a bit. Naruto sighed again. "Don't tell me you actually skipped Breakfast."
"Uh, and Dinner too. I was scared of throwing up in front of Sasuke-kun." Sakura squeaked, barely above a whisper.
Naruto scowled and activated a seal on his jacket, causing a still-steaming bowl of Ramen to appear. "Here, this is my emergency Ramen. Eat it so you'll have strength for the test."
"But Kakashi-sensei said-"
"Forget what he said. Look, Kakashi-sensei is basically my big brother, so I know his quirks. One of them is the being late thing, and the other is one of his favourite sayings; look underneath the underneath. Things are never what they seem in the Ninja World. Him telling you not to have breakfast is a way of making this test harder. Now eat, you will need it." Naruto said, not leaving room for argument.
Sakura didn't know what to do and turned to Sasuke, whom gave her a nod of approval, which motivated her instantly. "O-okay. Thanks for the food." she said as she began to eat.
Naruto then turned to Sai. "Sasuke and I ate together with Hinata-chan this morning. Did you eat breakfast?"
"I cannot disobey orders from my superiors." Sai stated simply, meaning he hadn't eaten. Naruto scowled and activated the same seal as before to summon another bowl of Ramen.
"Eat. That's an order from a concerned teammate." Naruto said.
'Danzo technically gave Naruto and Sasuke the right to give me orders, so I suppose they are my superiors on this team.' Sai thought. "Very well. Thank you for the meal." he stated simply before taking the food and beginning to eat.
Ten minutes later, Naruto sealed the two empty bowls back into the seal on his jacket, making Sasuke chuckle. "How much Ramen do you have stored in there?"
"It's not a storage seal." Naruto smirked. "It's a short-range transport seal. Teuchi puts a piping hot bowl on one end of the seal at his shop and I transport it! It only works on inanimate objects and doesn't work if you go too far from the village, but it makes for great food on demand. I just need to settle my tab with him when I next stop by."
Sasuke laughed again. "Only you would use your Uzumaki genius to make a Ramen delivery seal!"
Meanwhile, watching from a tree not far away, Kakashi and Yamato were smirking at their student's actions. "Well, Naruto certainly knows how to work with a team." Yamato commented.
"Like he told Sakura, I'm basically his big brother. Teamwork was one of the first things I taught him and it was the first thing he passed onto Sasuke. Those two should pass fine." Kakashi replied. He had given Naruto's Familiar Clone the slip by using a Shadow Clone. It was hard to do, since Kakashi needed to somehow "transfer" his scent to the clone while hiding his chakra, but the Elite Jonin wasn't Elite for nothing.
"Now we just need to make sure Sai and Sakura will play along. Sai should be fine, since he was briefed by Danzo about you and your methods, but Sakura could be a problem if she refuses to work with Naruto." Yamato added his two cents to the mix.
"Welp, only one way to find out!" Kakashi smiled as he flickered over to the waiting Genin.
"Yo!" Kakashi greeted as Yamato landed behind him.
"You're late!" Sakura yelled, making Naruto wince at the volume.
"I got lost on the path of life." the silver haired jonin responded.
Naruto snorted. "No you didn't! You've been watching us from that tree since Sasuke and I got here!"
Kakashi sweatdropped as a Fox Familiar jumped out of the same tree that he and Yamato had been chatting in. Guess he didn't give Naruto the slip after all. "Heh, very good little brother, but now we're going to be doing the real test. Be warned, at least half of all Genin Teams each year fail and are sent back to the Academy, and I have never passed a single team."
Sakura's eyes widened, but when she saw none of the boys reacting, she reigned in her emotions. 'She's learning. Good." Kakashi thought as he produced three small bells. Two of the bells were silver and one was gold.
"The test is fairly simple; you have until noon to retrieve one of these bells. At the end of the test, anyone without a bell will fail and be sent back to the Academy! But not before being tied to one of those posts and forced to watch while the rest of us eat lunch while you get none." Kakashi smirked beneath his mask. Understanding flashed across the Genins' faces as they realised why their sensei had tried to make them skip Breakfast. "But that's not all! As you can see, I have two silver bells and a gold bell. Naruto, since you're a Tailed Beast, your test will be a bit tougher. You'll need to get this gold bell from Yamato." Kakashi explained as he tossed the bell to Yamato.
"So I need to get the Gold Bell while the others need the Silver ones? But that guarantees at least one of us will fail, even if we get all the bells." Naruto frowned.
"Yep. The world of the Ninja is pretty cut throat, so get used to it. Also, if anyone other than Naruto manages to get the Gold Bell AND a Silver Bell, they will get the rank of Elite Genin and be allowed to order around all the other Genin in the village, not just the ones on your team. Getting just the Gold Bell or both Silver Bells is still a pass, but it won't get you a special rank."
Sakura grinned. 'If I can get that Gold Bell, while making sure Sasuke-kun and I get Silver ones, then Sasuke-kun and I will be alone together AND I can kick Naruto back to the Academy! That'll make Uncle Kisuke happy, and if I give the Gold Bell to Sasuke-kun and get him promoted, he'll love me for sure! CHA!' she thought.
Naruto felt a shudder go up his spine. He didn't know what Sakura was planning, but he knew it would be bad for him. Still, he had a test to pass! He waited patiently for Kakashi to set the little alarm clock and put it on one of the posts before finally declaring "Begin!"
Instantly, Naruto ordered his Familiar Clone to attack Kakashi and Yamato, giving him and his team an opening to flee for the forest. As soon as they were in the trees, Naruto made three more Familiar Clones and had them go and act as communication devices for his teammates. Unlike Shadow Clones, the Familiar Clones couldn't be dispelled, so the one he'd left to fight his senseis was now hog tied in Fox Form; it's single tail held against its body by Yamato's Wood Style.
Even with the Wood Style bindings messing with his clone's chakra, Naruto could still feel a strange energy from it. Naruto, being a creature of pure chakra, had an instinctual understanding of any and all chakra he came in contact with, even via clone, and something about this chakra felt strange. 'It's made of Water and Earth Chakra blending together to make Wood Chakra… but it feels kind of Artificial. Maybe it's because he got the Wood Style from an experiment and not naturally? But still, this chakra seems similar to…' Naruto was suddenly snapped from his thoughts when he got mental messages from his clones. They'd found his teammates and were bringing them to a location at the edge of the Training Ground.
Naruto pushed his earlier thoughts to the back of his head and ran off to join them, using his Fox Form to get their quicker. The place that the clones had picked to meet was an old burrow, used by bears to hibernate years ago. When Naruto arrived, he saw no one, but after whistling a little tune, the Clones appeared along with his teammates, whom had been hidden as foliage thanks to the Fox Charm: Leaf Transformation.
"Okay Naruto, give us the info." Sasuke stated.
"In Taijutsu, they have us beat, no questions asked. Kakashi-sensei has over a thousand jutsu at his disposal including ones for each of the five core elements. Yamato-sensei only has standard Ninja Arts and Wood Style, as well as a few ANBU tricks. His chakra is also weird and feels artificial, but its nothing we can exploit. Both of them are wearing the bells on their belt on the left side. They are also notably NOT working together. My captured Familiar can still send me fuzzy images and it seems like the sensei are searching for us separately." Naruto reported.
"Wait, what was that? Since when were you smart?" Sakura asked.
Naruto grinned. "I'm not book smart like you, but I'm observant. When Sasuke and I pull pranks, I analyse while Sasuke plans. I think we should do the same on missions."
Sasuke nodded. "Right, I'll make us a plan. We need to work together if we're going to stand a chance. Sai, you are the stealthiest of us and the best at hiding your intentions, so you are going to be the one to go for the bells. Sakura, you and I will be attacking from range with our jutsu to keep Kakashi occupied. Naruto, you're going to be the one to attack with Taijutsu and keep Yamato occupied, as well as making sure neither of them leave the open area. Can you do it?"
Naruto nodded. "If it weren't for the wood bindings on my Familiar, I could just substitute with it, but my link with it is do fuzzy now. Plus, the wood is pumping Chakra into my familiar and draining it back out; I can't substitute anything with Chakra that isn't purely my own. But if you could get one of my shadow clones in there, it'll be able to swap with that without losing any more power."
"Making those Familiars weakens you?" Sakura asked, looking between her teammate and the fox at her feet.
"Yeah, each one costs a Tail's worth of chakra. With four familiars out, my main body is running on about five/ninths of my usual strength." Naruto emphasised this by wagging his five remaining tails.
"Okay then… you're pretty handy for a monster. Regardless, I'm ready to go along with the plan, Sasuke-kun." Sakura replied.
"As am I." Sai added.
Sasuke nodded. "Right. First thing we need to do is corral them back into the open. Naruto, unleash your Shadow Clones."
"Hehe, you got it!" Naruto formed his new favourite handsign.
Seconds later, the entire forest was filled from top to bottom with Golden Foxes, each with five tails waving about. Kakashi and Yamato both sweatdropped as they were forced to evade thousands of sets of gnashing teeth and a thousand more sets of razor sharp claws. With Naruto's incredible vitality and chakra, as both a Tailed Beast and as an Uzumaki, he could make thousands of Shadow Clones without even using a full tail's worth of power, and each was able to take a couple of blows without dispelling. Each clone was only as strong as the average bandit or civilian guard, but with the sheer numbers and the senseis reluctance to use high-power techniques on a Genin, they had no choice but to retreat to the posts, where they had tied up Naruto's familiar. As soon as they were both out of the forest, all the clones dispelled and shrouded the area in smoke.
Kakashi and Yamato both sighed and relaxed, but were immediately forced to act when thousands of shuriken came out of the trees. Yamato immediately but up a wood shield, but since he wasn't supposed to help Kakashi, he left the Copy Ninja to his own defence. Kakashi made five shadow clones of his own and began to block and bat away the shuriken with his kunai. That was until one of the shuriken burst into smoke.
"What the hell? This is the Sarutobi Clan's Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu! I can't believe Hokage-sama thought it was a good idea to give it to Naruto of all people!" Kakashi complained as he resorted to putting up a Mud Wall to protect himself.
"Behind us!" Yamato yelled, forgetting not to help Kakashi as he sensed two people gathering chakra in the trees behind them.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
"Ninja Art: Scattered Sakura!"
Yamato didn't hesitate to expand his wood shield into a dome to cover his back, but before Kakashi could respond to the incoming hail of fire and razor blades, he was suddenly forced to block an attack from below. One of the shuriken at his feet had been a disguised shadow clone of Naruto, whom had been substituted with the real Naruto, whom was now forcing Kakashi into taijutsu combat in his human form, right in the path of the incoming attacks. At the last second, Kakashi prioritised protecting his student over the test and threw himself on top of Naruto, forcing the boy to the ground and restraining his arms as Sasuke's and Sakura's attacks sailed overhead. They collided with the back of the Mud Wall and exploded, sending dirt and debris all over the place.
Once things had calmed, Sasuke and Sakura emerged from the trees and walked merrily up to the two senseis, while Naruto relaxed, a triumphant smirk on his face that matched that of his teammates. Yamato reappeared from his wood dome and smiled at the cheerful expressions of his new Genin.
"Judging from your expressions, I'm guess you are responsible for Kakashi's sudden lack of bells?" Yamato said as Kakashi let Naruto go.
"Yep, our plan worked perfectly." Sasuke said with a grin as Sai appeared from underground beside him and handed the Uchiha a silver bell to match the one Sai kept.
"Well done getting them. Care to tell me how you did it?" Kakashi asked with a proud look in his eye.
Sasuke nodded. "After Naruto drove you from the forest with his Shadow Clones, he used the smoke cover from their dispelling to allow us to slip behind you. He then attacked with many shuriken with the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu to create the illusion that we were all still in the forest in front of you. When you put up the defence, Sakura and I launched our attacks from your flank to force you to turn towards us. This allowed Naruto to substitute with one of his shadow clones and distract you with Taijutsu. He knew that you would prioritize protecting him over the mission of protecting the bells, so when you dived to protect him, Sai snagged the bells."
"But how? I was checking the ground with my chakra and I didn't detect him underground until AFTER he got the bells." Yamato asked.
"Simple. Sai ran directly behind my fireball to prevent you from seeing him. When Kakashi dived and the fireball went over him, Sai grabbed the bells from his belt and then dove underground; using the explosion of the Mud Wall to hide his entry into the earth." Sasuke explained.
"Ingenious, though I don't like that you used yourself as bait, Naruto. You could have been killed!" Kakashi frowned.
Naruto only grinned. "Count the tails, Kakashi-sensei!"
The one-eyed ninja did just that, and noticed only a single gold tail swaying behind the boy. "A familiar clone..."
"Yep!" Naruto smiled the real body appeared and reabsorbed his five clones to regain his nine tails.
Kakashi and Yamato smiled and looked to the clock. Five minutes left…
"Well, it looks like Sai and Sasuke pass! But I still have my gold bell, meaning either Naruto or Sakura, or even both, will fail and be sent back to the Academy." Yamato pointed out, flicking the Gold Bell still on his belt.
Sakura paled. She'd forgotten about that! She'd gotten so carried away in helping Sasuke's plan that she'd forgotten she needed a bell too! She couldn't take the one that Sasuke had and she doubted Sai would hand his over, or that she could take it with force. And with only five minutes left, only the Gold bell was left…
A ringing sound echoed across the training ground and Sakura knew it was her funeral bell. Standing just a few paces away from her was Naruto, smirking widely as he gently bounced the little, golden bell. Yamato blanched and grabbed his own bell, which with a handsign from Naruto, turned into a leaf.
"A fake? When and how did you do this!?" Yamato demanded.
"I simply disguised a leaf as a bell and then substituted it on to your belt." Naruto smiled.
"But I was channelling a little bit of chakra into it the whole time I had it! You shouldn't have been able to substitute it, and even if you did, I would have noticed!" Yamato said. "Can you really substitute things with chakra over than your own?"
Naruto grinned and rubbed the back of his head. "Nope! But I'll be able to one day, I know it."
"Then how did you switch them?" Kakashi asked.
"I switched them the instant you threw the bell to Yamato-sensei. Before the test began." Naruto replied.
Both teachers could only sweatdrop. The little prankster had got the drop on them. "Well, it looks like Team 7 will be Naruto, Sasuke and Sai! Unless you can get the bell from one of them in the next four minutes, Sakura." Kakashi said, looking to the pink haired girl.
She swallowed hard and looked at the three boys. Sakura would never be able to beat any of them in a fight and both Sasuke and Sai were guarding their bells too well for her to sneakily take them. Naruto on the other hand, just smiled.
"Here Sakura. Come here and take it; I won't stop you. In fact, Kakashi-sensei, if I or anyone else tries to stop Sakura from taking my bell, I want you to fail me." Naruto said, holding the bell out to Sakura.
Kakashi nodded solemnly while the other boys looked on with shocked expressions. "Naruto, what are you doing!? Are you really going to get sent back to the Academy for someone who hates you!?"
"Hate or not, we've been assigned to Team 7 together and that makes her my teammate. Come on Sakura, I swear I won't stop you." Naruto said, keeping his features from showing any emotion.
Sakura inwardly grinned. The foolish monster was willing to just hand over the bell and send himself back to the Academy! This was the best day ever! So why did it feel so wrong… Why couldn't she move her feet, or look Naruto in the eyes. Everything she could want was being handed to her without cost to her, but it seemed hollow.
Sakura hesitated.
Naruto smiled.
In a single instant, Naruto marched toward Sakura, grabbed her hand and put the gold bell inside it. "That moment of hesitation, and the feelings of doubt I felt just now… that proves that you, or at least a part of you, sees me as a comrade. That's enough for me." Naruto smiled warmly as he took a step back and allowed Sakura to keep the bell.
Failing felt bitter-sweet to the fox. It sucked that he would be a year behind his friends now, but at least he felt like he'd made some progress!
Kakashi looked at Naruto. "There is still a few seconds left. Are you sure about this, Naruto?"
The boy nodded. "Hey, I'm technically immortal right? I can pass the Academy any time I want! Heck, I could go and be a Ramen Chef for thirty years if I wanted, and still come back and kick butt as a Ninja. But I'll wait to do that until I've helped Sasuke catch Shisui, and helped Hinata-chan become Clan Head and abolish that thrice-cursed seal! I hope you don't mind waiting another year to get Justice, Sasuke." Naruto said a bit sheepishly.
Sasuke scowled. "One day Naruto, I swear I'm going to force you to be selfish."
The Alarm rang to end the test and Kakashi sighed. "Well, until that day comes. Genin Uzumaki, in light of your performance on this test, I have no choice but to...give you a Pass!"
Naruto felt his heart stop. This wasn't a joke right? Kakashi-sensei wouldn't be that cruel, right?
"And not just you, but all of you. You all displayed the one trait I wanted to see; Teamwork! You relied on each other's skills, depending on one another and trusted each other. On top of that, Sakura, you hesitated to turn on a comrade to complete your mission, while Naruto, you were willing to sacrifice yourself and your own mission to help a friend. That shows me that the four of you are worthy of being my first, successful Genin Team! Congratulations, Team 7!" Kakashi cheered.
Naruto leapt into the air as high as he could and then bellowed "HECK YEAH! I PASSED, DATTEBAYO!"
Sasuke and Sakura smiled, and even Sai couldn't help but feel a twitching at the corner of his lips. For all of them, this victory felt special, like it was the first one of many! Kakashi and Yamato all smiled, and even gave Naruto a second headband, so that he could wear one in both Human and Fox Form. Naruto gratefully took it and tied it around the neck of his Fox Form like a collar. Afterwards, Kakashi took Yamato and his Genin to get lunch at an Akimichi Barbecue restaurant. They ate their fill and returned home with the order to report back to Training Ground 7 at 6AM the next day. All the Genin planned to arrive at 9AM instead.
As they left the restaurant, Naruto ran to catch up with Yamato. "Hey, Yamato-sensei, I wanted to ask something." he said.
"Sure Naruto, what is it?" Yamato responded.
"Well, when you tied up my Familiar Clone with your Wood Style, I was able to feel the chakra in it. And something about it was really strange. It felt Artificial, but also… similar to something else." Naruto hesitated.
"My Wood Style Chakra probably feels artificial because it isn't my natural chakra. My body was altered with the Cells of the First Hokage, so my chakra is now a version of my own that has been mutated into a pseudo-version of the First Hokage's. But what does it feel similar too?" Yamato asked.
Naruto frowned a bit. "It feels like...my other Chakra. My Human, Uzumaki Chakra."
Yamato nodded in understanding. "Well Naruto, the Uzumaki Clan are distant relatives of the Senju Clan of the First Hokage. Plus, the First Hokage's wife was Mito Uzumaki. Your mother, Kushina, is the great-granddaughter of Mito and the First Hokage and the granddaughter of Tsunade-sama's Aunt. So, you are both Uzumaki and partly Senju from your mother's side. Perhaps your Tailed Beast Chakra has evolved your Human Chakra and made it more like your ancestor's?" the wood user theorised.
Naruto looked a bit amazed that he was now technically related to three of the four past Hokages and the unofficial Grandson of the other. "I think that if I tried, I might be able to make my chakra even more like yours. Let me try!" Yamato was about to stop Naruto, in case he hurt himself or someone else, but was stopped when he looked at what was now coming from Naruto's glowing hand.
It was a small, golden chain.
XOXOXOX
AN: DUN DUN DUUUUN! So, Team 7 passes and Naruto discovers the beginning of his mother's Bloodline! I've explored a lot of the powers of his Tailed Beast Side, so now I'm going to explore some of his Human Side too, and then we can see how the two intermingle.
The Academy Arc is now over, and the next one will be… FU OF WATERFALL
Also, expect Naruto's relationship with Hinata to truly begin next chapter.
Current Pairings are:
Naruto/Hinata/?/?/?/?
Sasuke/Sakura/?/?/?/?