A/N - Kishimoto still hold sway over Naruto, I have nothing to do with it.

Thanks for all the requests for an update... and so without further waiting here it is... now...

What exactly has Naruto forgotten? His cousin, Karin Uzumaki

This will be mostly more background information. Look for this to change soon though, it's nearly time for graduation!

T72ndC - The Forgotten Past Part 2 aka Cousins not forgotten

'Another Uzumaki exists?'

The news startled Hiruzen when Naruto revealed the existence of the girl. Even more important, the fact that Karin would eventually be found by Orochimaru and used as one of his tools of control could not be allowed. A messenger bird was sent out to Kakashi's squad and he was tasked with finding the girl and any of her surviving family. Since she was only slightly older than Naruto and Sasuke it was likely Kusagakure would be unaware of her being of the Uzumaki bloodline.

A report came in two days later from Kakashi which indicated Karin was in an orphanage in Kusa territory. Kakashi and a female ANBU posed as locals and were able to secure the girl as 'prospective young parents' and were on their way back to Konoha. When the news of Karin's lineage reached Kushina, she had already decided since Karin was an Uzumaki she should come and live with her and Naruto. "She'll be like a big sister to you!" Kushina beamed at Naruto, rubbing his blond hair. Naruto wasn't too sure about this "big sister" thing never having had a sibling before.

Two months had passed since Naruto's revelation about Karin. When she had arrived from Kusa, initially it was a shock until she found out she had living relatives. Her own parents having died years before she had grown up in Kusa's version of a war orphanage. To say she bonded with Kushina was an understatement, especially since they shared the same hair. For the two it was like they were a long lost mother/daughter combination. However the same couldn't be said for her relationship with her cousin Naruto.

The girl was already going through her growth spurt and she was taller than him and had started discovering her sensor power. His chakra was irresistible to Karin and she took every opportunity to glomp onto the blond she could. When the blond wasn't available she found Sasuke's chakra to be almost as irresistible. It wasn't long before the two boys found all kinds of excuses to be absent from Karin's presence, the problem was her sensor power didn't allow them to escape for long.

She was enrolled in the Academy in quick order and excelled after remedial tutoring. It wasn't long before she was added to the class that contained Neji, Tenten, and Rock Lee. Having the Uzumaki penchant for strong chakra reserves she excelled in the strengthen exercises and was testing above the average students in her class. Thankfully this gave Naruto and Sasuke a break from Karin's stalking except when they were around the Uzumaki household.

Within the Academy the next few years passed with remarkable speed and each graduating class was stronger and more capable in their ninja abilities. The one problem Hiruzen still had was the failure rate of new prospective Genin. One of the reasons for a high failure rate of course was a failure of prospects to understand the idea of teamwork. Of course there would always be a percentage of failures due to psychological issues, those who were either incapable or unwilling to think of others before themselves. These failures would never become Genin because they couldn't be depended on by Konoha to perform their duties.

On the other hand there seemed to be a percentage of Genin candidates that just didn't 'Get it' until after they had been failed by their prospective Jonin team leaders. Kakashi's recollections from the past-future teams he had failed put a finger on the problem and the solution. Teamwork and dependency on others was never stressed enough during the Academy normal courses, thus requiring a Jonin to put the prospects through their own specific tests to prove the Genin prospects understood a ninja's life wasn't about being a lone wolf. These failures were run through remedial Academy classes for another year and that class saw a graduation rate of 50%.

Kakashi suggested each current class regardless of year enrollment be required to split into teams and run simulated missions once a month with the team makeup being rotated so students would get to learn their own weaknesses and strengths and those of their classmates. By the end of the 5th year of Academy the successful graduation rate had doubled to 66%. The result was unexpected and required the rotation of Jonin sensai to be increased. Even Anko Mitarashi and Ibiki Morino were put into the rotation as prospective Sensai.

The high graduation rate infused new life into the ranks of Konoha ninja and began influencing the Chunin ranks to better themselves and seek to improve their own abilities. With influence from Kakashi and Hiruzen a new era of stronger Konoha ninja began to form. And rumors began to spread through other countries that perhaps Konoha was preparing for war. This was a worrisome thing for Hiruzen until Naruto suggested it might be an opportunity.

A/N - And that's it - Next time Rookie Graduation!