Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto
AN: I finally bought a new charger for my laptop yesterday so I now have my baby back 3, at least until something else wrong with it happens. My laptops a survivor, it's been through viruses, sporadic overheating, and a faulty charger. It shows just how much I use and abuse it, I feel bad about it but I love it too much to give it a break sometimes. Well onto the story...
"This is the break you were talking about?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrow twitching in irritation as he looked at all the other genin of Konoha. Kakashi eye smiled at his team.
"Don't you remember Naruto recommending that we train with other genin teams so you could get used to working with ninja you might be working with in the future?" Sasuke glared at his sensei.
"I think that was before we realized we were at jonin level and started doing c-rank missions and higher!" Sasuke hissed at him under his breath as the other teams approached them.
"Sasuke-kun~!" Sasuke immediately stepped aside, making Ino fall to the ground, flat on her stomach. Both Sasuke and Ino were surprised when Sakura didn't join in on the attempted hug tackle.
"Looks like you lost one of your fangirls, eh, Sasuke?" The genin all looked at the blond questioningly, wondering who he was when they noticed the whisker marks on his cheeks. Everyone gaped at him, Shikamaru only sighing as he ambled up to Naruto, slouching with his hands in his pockets. Sasuke scowled.
"I wish I could lose them all. They're irritating."
"Decided to drop the act, Naruto?" Naruto grinned at the pineapple haired genin.
"Yep." The Nara just sighed.
"Troublesome blonds."
"Naruto, is that really you?" The feral looking boy with a puppy on his head asked. "What happened to the orange wearing idiot from academy?" He asked loudly.
"The Naruto you knew never existed, fleabag." Kiba turned to Sasuke with a growl.
"What was that, you emo bastard?!" Shino grabbed his teammate's arm, stopping him from attacking.
"I do not think it would be wise to attack him, Kiba." He adjusted his glasses with his other hand. "According to my kikaichu, his chakra level and control is at high jonin level, possibly anbu." Kiba gaped while a mini-Guy suddenly spoke up.
"YOSH! Sasuke-san's flames of youth are burning brightly! I challenge you Uchiha Sasuke, to a match!" Sasuke grimaced at the green spandex clad boy in a bowl haircut.
"That's it. I'm out of here."
"Sasuke, wait!" Naruto's shout came too late as Sasuke had already left in a shun shin. Naruto sighed.
"I'm sorry, Lee-kun. I've heard a lot about you from Guy-sensei. It was nice meeting you, but I have to go and talk to Sasuke about his temper tantrums..."
"Before you go, Naruto..." Naruto looked to Shikamaru questioningly. "Why don't you and Sasuke come over sometimes to play shogi, if it's not too troublesome for you guys." Naruto's eyes widened at the invitation, it being the first time since Sasuke that someone has invited him to their house. He smiled warmly at the Nara.
"Sure, Shikamaru, we'll send a kage bunshin ahead if we plan on coming." Shikamaru nodded, giving him a lazy wave before Naruto shunshin'ed away as well.
"Did Naruto just do a shunshin? When could that idiot do such an advanced technique? He can't even do a simple clone!" Ino shouted in denial.
"I believe it should be fairly obvious at this point that Naruto hid his true self from us and the village during our academy days." Shino stated calmly.
"Shut it, bug boy! No one asked your opinion!" Ino yelled.
"Shino's right, Ino." Ino turned to her pink haired rival in shock. "What do we really know about Naruto or Sasuke for that matter, that they didn't choose to show us. It's not like we ever made an effort to get to know them better. All we did was put Naruto down and pester Sasuke for dates." Sakura said guiltily.
"Wha-?! If this is some kind of trick to get me to give up on Sasuke, it isn't going to work!" Sakura shook her head.
"No, Ino. I really just don't like Sasuke that way anymore. Kurenai-sensei and her friend Anko-sensei really gave me a stern talking to about my behavior and my reasons to wanting to become a kunoichi. The only reason I liked Sasuke is because I thought he was cool and mysterious and all the other girls liked him too. That's not a real reason to like someone. After realizing how much time I wasted going after an infatuation and neglecting my training, I decided to start taking my training seriously. I may never have as much chakra as other ninja but I have really good chakra control and I'm good at memorizing things so I decided to start studying medical ninjutsu." She turned to her ex-friend.
"I wanted to tell you that I regret ending our friendship over a boy...and when you get over him and start taking your training seriously too...I hope we can become friends again." Kurenai smiled proudly at her female student, Ino gaping openly at her in shock. Asuma took a drag of his cigarette.
"That's some good advice," the bearded man commented idly, "I'd consider following it."
"Yeah!" Kiba shouted. "I'm gonna train way harder than before and catch up to those two! There's no way I'm falling behind!" Kiba shouted excitedly. Ten Ten grinned at their juniors, Neji snorting at their behavior. Kakashi eye smiled at the scene, Hinata giggling at them beside him.
"Looks like the next generation is going to surpass us, huh?"
"Well said, my youthful rival!" Guy shouted, his teeth gleaming as he grinned.
"The will of fire is definitely strong in them. Naruto especially. I knew that kid was special."
"I can't believe that he fooled the entire village into thinking he was an idiot." Kurenai said.
"You included?" Hinata asked, a little icily. Kurenai had the decency to look ashamed and flushed slightly. Kakashi just chuckled.
"Everyone seems to forget the ninja saying 'look underneath the underneath', don't they?" Asuma puffed out some smoke as he looked at the sky.
"It's not that they didn't look underneath the underneath. It's that they didn't bother to look at all," Asuma stated sadly. The mood around the jonin, and Hinata, saddened at that, all of them knowing what he meant. Shikamaru and Neji had heard as well, not having been focusing on the rambunctious activities of their fellow genin and both wondered exactly what they meant by that comment.
Naruto clicked his tongue in irritation as he walked through the village, ignoring the looks of confusion, shock, and general disbelief he was getting from the villagers. 'Sasuke's hiding from me on purpose because he knows I'm going to reprimand him about his behavior and now the villagers are either looking at me like they just saw a ghost or like they can't believe it's really me...Damn otouto, I'm sooo going to dish out some punishment when I find him...' Naruto's brow began to twitch when the square rock that had been following him for a while, still hadn't stopped following him.
"Ok, that's it!" He whirled to face the poor disguise, pointing accusingly at it. "What kind of rock is square with two holes?! Anyone could see through that!" Three kids crawled out from under the box, making Naruto sweat drop.
"That's the man I view as my rival!" The boy in the center exclaimed, his arms crossed. Naruto just sighed.
"Oh, Konohamaru, it's you..." the blond noticed the three wearing matching goggles, much like the ones he used to wear. "What's with the goggles?" The boy gave a toothy grin, grabbing the accessory and adjusting it on his head.
"Hehe, we're copying the old you, aniki!" Naruto flushed a little, slightly happy that the kid held him in such high admiration and thinking that it was cute. He was about to answer when Sasuke decided to make an appearance.
"Hey, what are you doing with these kids? I thought you were looking for me." Sasuke stated in irritation. Naruto raised a brow at the Uchiha.
"Isn't it strange that you decide to stop hiding from me when Konohamaru captures my attention and calls me aniki? If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were jealous?" Sasuke flushed and sputtered, struggling to respond when Konohamaru glared at the Uchiha.
"Yeah! You're just jealous I'm a cuter brother than you!" Sasuke turned to glare at the kid.
"What?! That's ridiculous. Why would I wanna look like some snot-nosed brat!" Lightning crackled between the two while the pig-tailed girl approached Naruto.
"Um, leader, are you free?" Naruto shrugged after thinking about it.
"I suppose so. Sasuke's decided to show himself and I didn't really have anything planned." It was true. Kakashi had told them to clear their schedule so that they could have a 'break' from their training and missions today, but that plan was kind of shot when it turned out to be meeting up with the other genin teams. Sasuke isn't exactly social and Naruto wasn't entirely comfortable with it either, despite it being his idea to begin with, since his graduating class still hadn't seen the real him.
He hadn't exactly been looking forward to confronting them so they could ask him a bunch of questions and call him names. Sasuke especially would not like them bugging Naruto and disrespecting him in general with their ignorance. It's the reason he 'stormed off' angrily. For one, Sasuke was actually irritated at Kakashi for having sprung it on them and his sudden exit gave Naruto a chance to leave early as well so it was a win win situation for the two.
"Does that mean you can play ninja with us?" Naruto smiled at the girl and ruffled her hair, making her giggle and blush.
"Yeah, I guess I can." Konohamaru quit his glaring contest to jump up in celebration.
"Alright! Aniki's gonna play with us!" He grinned and pointed at Sasuke rudely. "Take that you stupid duck butt Uchiha!" A tick mark appeared on Sasuke's head, a dark aura appearing around him.
"Uh, Konohamaru?" Naruto stage whispered to the boy.
"Y-yeah, aniki?" Kono, whispered back nervously.
"I think you should run now!" He shouted, an order which the children took to heart, running away quickly and making Naruto laugh out loud. He looked to Sasuke, who hadn't moved from where he was standing, looking satisfied with himself. "That was a little mean, don't you think?" The Uchiha only smirked.
"The little brat deserves it." Before Naruto could reply, both their heads snapped up when they heard Kono's scream in the distance. Both vanished in a flash of speed, reappearing in front of the corner Kono and his friends had disappeared behind, revealing two Suna ninja standing in the middle of the empty path, the black-clad boy holding Konohamaru up by his scarf.
"That hurt you little piece of shit." Naruto looked reproachfully at the Suna shinobi.
"Watch your mouth around kids, catboy, they're already impressionable enough." The Suna shinobi only gave the blond a cursory glance, not dropping Konohamaru.
"Let's play a little before the boss comes." He tightened his grip on Konohamaru, making the poor boy grunt in pain. Naruto was about to move when the Suna-nin sent chakra strings to stop him, however Sasuke deflected them by drawing his blade, lacing it with chakra so he could cut the invisible strings.
"Aniue, allow me to handle this. This guy's not worth your attention." Sasuke smirked when the nin actually looked angry at this, but Sasuke spoke before he could. "I suggest you put down Hokage-sama's grandson, unless you want to start a war between allied villages?" The nin paled and immediately dropped the boy as if he were an activate explosion seal.
Konohamaru immediately ran to safety, standing behind Naruto like his two friends. "The Uchiha isn't such a bad guy if he respects aniki so much." The Suna shinobi grit his teeth in anger and frustration at the Uchiha's smug face, the Suna kunoichi's blush obvious infatuation with Sasuke not helping his temper.
"I hate show-offs like you the most," he stated as he started to pull off the wrapped bundle on his back.
"Kankuro, stop it." Everyone's attention turned to the red head that was hanging upside down on the nearby tree. "You're an embarrassment to our village." The two Suna-nin froze, Kankuro giving the boy a nervous grin.
"Ga...Gaara."
'Hey, kit. That Gaara kid has the Ichibi in him. That stupid tanuki's probably been driving his container crazy. He doesn't know when to shut up.' Naruto's eyes widened.
'Kurama! Where the hell have you been? You haven't talked in weeks.' The fox only scoffed.
'No offense, kit, but your life is boring as shit. Study, train, missions, study, train, sleep, and repeat. Seriously even your hobbies are boring. Meditation, gardening, and painting? Seriously, kit, rob a bank, destroy a country, or even fuck someone for Kami's sake. Do SOMETHING interesting! Kurama complained loudly. Naruto mentally rolled his eyes at the fox.
"Losing yourself in a fight, how pathetic...Why do you think we came to Konoha?" The red head questioned, though Naruto was only half paying attention.
'I don't care if you think my life is boring. I don't exist to keep you entertained, besides, you've been doing just fine the past few weeks haven't you? You haven't exactly complained before. Especially after I changed the scenery in there.'
"Listen, Gaara, they started it and-" Kankuro tried to defend, pointing an accusatory finger at their group.
'True, this little forest simulation you concocted has served to please me, the game you keep re-spawning is also rather fun, but it gets old rather quickly.'
"Shut up..." Gaara said coldly, "or I'll kill you." He finished mercilessly, making Kankuro flinch and shake.
'It's not my fault you get bored easily then. For someone as old as you, you certainly have very little patience and maturity.'
"Ok, I'm sorry," Kankuro replied shakily.
"I'm also really sorry," the kunoichi added, despite her not really having been involved in any way.
'Shut up, gaki, or I'll kill you!'Naruto mentally scoffed when Kurama repeated the vassal of the Ichibi.
'Like you could, fuzzbucket. You know I could just use my chakra to lull you to sleep. you look so cute curled up in a ball, your tails acting like a blanket.' Kurama growled, but said nothing more. Naruto knew it was because the bijuu was embarrassed. The red head looked at Sasuke.
"Sorry to you guys." He shunshin'ed in a whirl of sand, reappearing between the other two Suna-nin. "It looks like we got here too early, but...we didn't come here to play around." He turned to Sasuke. "You, what is your name?" The Uchiha smirked, re-sheathing his blade.
"Sasuke Uchiha." His smirk turned into a frown and he tensed when the red head turned to his aniue.
"You...are strange. Mother finds your chakra very soothing." The boy's nonexistent brows furrowed before they smoothed and he turned. "Let's go," he said, signaling to the other two Suna-nin. Naruto chuckled when they were out of view, Sasuke's frown still prominent.
"Shukaku probably doesn't even realize who I hold." The Uchiha's frown deepened.
"Number one? What is a container doing entering the chunin exams, especially one being held at an allied village? I would understand them wanting to flaunt their power at other villages, but bringing him here..." Sasuke stopped when Naruto minutely shook his head. Konohamaru tugged at Naruto's jacket.
"Neh, aniki, what are you guys talking about?" Kono asked innocently. The blond kneeled and gave the boy a warm smile, patting his head.
"Nothing, Kono, just some boring politics. Why don't you and your friends go home for now. Also try to stay indoors for the next few days, the streets are going to get a lot more dangerous with so many foreign nin walking around, got it?" The three saluted Naruto.
"Understood, aniki/leader!" The three ran off in high spirits, as expected of kids their age. The blond's smile turned into a serious frown when they disappeared from sight.
"Suna is up to something." Sasuke glanced at the blond.
"Looks like this year's chunin exams are going to be interesting. I wonder when Kakashi-sensei's going to tell us about it." Naruto shrugged, his serious demeanor returning to its more relaxed one.
"Knowing him probably tomorrow after he comes to the team meeting three hours late with a lame excuse like always." Sasuke snorted at that.
"Yeah, probably."
"About damn time." The Uchiha stated as he snatched away the chunin exam application from Kakashi's outstretched hand. The jonin eye smiled at him while his other two genin took their applications much more slowly.
"My someone was impatient for these." Sasuke glared at the jonin...who expertly ignored it. "If you want to take it then sign those and turn them in at Room 301 by 4pm tomorrow. That's all." He said before he suddenly shunshin'ed away. Hinata huffed at the dismissal.
"He could have at least said goodbye." Naruto pat Hinata's shoulder in comfort.
"You know he's too socially awkward for that, Hinata." The Hyuga lightened up and giggled at that.
"That's true. Well, I'll see you two tomorrow. I'm going to train with Hanabi at home." Naruto nodded and waved as she left. He turned to Sasuke.
"Are you going to sleep over at the Uzumaki compound again today?" The Uchiha smiled.
"Yeah, I already told my vassals at home. Today's 'family night' after all. Why would I miss a chance to watch you interact with an effeminate ice user, a crazy ex-swordsman of the mist, and the future hokage?" Naruto laughed out loud at that.
"Well, if you put it that way."
"Kotetsu and Izumo? What are they doing here?" Hinata asked quietly as they examined the second floor.
"The gate guards?" Sasuke questioned. Naruto smiled when he noticed the genjutsu they were casting.
"They're also a part of the T&I team. Looks like they're weeding out the weaker teams already." Sasuke scoffed.
"So those two are examiners? This exam is going to be cakewalk." Sasuke half joked as they passed by the group to move up to the third floor.
"Don't be so sure, otouto, I have a feeling that something big is going to happen."
"Sasuke Uchiha!" The three looked up to see Lee on the balcony above. Sasuke half turned, his hands in his pockets.
"What is it?"
"Will you...fight me right here?" He asked with a serious expression.
"A fight...right now?"
"Yes." Lee jumped down from the second floor and got into a ready stance. "I want to fight you. I want to test my techniques...against the offspring of the genius ninja clan." Hinata glanced at the clock on the wall.
"Ah, Sasuke, don't. There are only thirty minutes until the meeting," she informed worriedly. She didn't want her team to be late. Sasuke only smirked as he prepared to charge Lee.
"I'll be done in less than five minutes."
"Sasuke." The Uchiha froze at the commanding tone of the blond. "Listen to Hinata." He barked in anger. "We do not fight fellow Konoha nin." Cold sweat ran down Sasuke's neck.
'Shit, I made him angry...I can't believe I forgot about Naruto's dislike for internal disputes...' He straightened. "Sorry, Lee, looks like we won't be fighting after all." He turned slowly to Naruto who had his arms crossed as he looked at the Uchiha with a deep frown. Sasuke swallowed loudly, bowing his head slightly in shame at having disappointed the blond.
"Gomen, aniue," he muttered softly, too quiet for Lee to hear, but loud enough for Naruto. The blond kept his frown for a moment longer before his face softened, his stance less tense, letting his arms fall back to his side.
"Don't let it happen again." Sasuke nodded sullenly before Naruto turned to address Lee. "I am sorry to stop your fight before it even begins, but I don't want us to be late for the chunin exams and I want you to be in top form for them, after all you would be a worthy opponent for Sasuke. I also believe your sensei would find your challenge very unyouthful and against his rules." Lee gasped and snapped to attention, saluting the blond.
"That is too true! Thank you my youthful friend for correcting my unyouthfulness! I will look forward to fighting Sasuke in the exam! Until then!" Lee jumped back onto the balcony of the second floor, leaving the trio.
"Aniue," Naruto only gave a soft smile to Sasuke.
"Let's just head up Sasuke, Hinata. We have an exam to take after all." The three walked in comfortable silence as they walked to room 301, their eyes widening when they saw their sensei standing in front of the doors.
"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing here?" Hinata asked, curious. The silver haired jonin eye smiled at the three.
"Oh, nothing much, just came to wish you guys good luck before you went in." Sasuke smirked.
"Do you really think we need it?" Kakashi chuckled.
"No, but it's the thought that counts. Well, don't let me keep you, go ahead and walk on in." Naruto grinned as Kakashi stepped aside.
"Thanks, Sensei." The three opened the doors and were immediately hit with the KI of most of the occupants of the room. Naruto growled low in his throat, the sound only audible to his teammates as his own KI rose enough to cancel theirs out. Hinata frowned at their welcome.
"I hate bullies."
"Sasuke-kun~." The Uchiha paled and narrowly dodged a purple and blond bullet. Ino recovered as if she hadn't just been blatantly rejected. "I see you're also taking these exams? As expected of someone as skilled as you!" Sasuke only rolled his eyes at the girl.
"Troublesome." Naruto grinned as Shikamaru and Choji ambled over to them.
"Hey, Shika, your sensei recommend you guys too?" Shikamaru gave a long suffering sigh as Choji munched on some chips, like always.
"Yeah, troublesome senseis."
"Yahoo! I found you!" A familiar loudmouth shouted. Sakura smiled politely at them all as her team joined them.
"Hello again."
"Well, well, looks like everyone has assembled again," he commented with a wild grin.
"Geez, you guys too?" Shikamaru drawled out.
"I see all 9 of this year's rookie genin are taking the exam. I wonder how far we'll get, eh Sasuke, Naruto?" Sasuke smirked at the dog boy.
"You seem confident, Kiba." 'Overconfident as always,' he thought privately.
"We did lots of training, too. We won't lose to you!" Sasuke only scoffed, obviously unconvinced.
"Hey, you guys, you should be more quiet." Naruto visibly tensed at the appearance of the white haired genin, something his teammates noticed. "You guys are rookies just out of the academy right?" Sasuke and Hinata both examined the genin more closely, wondering about Naruto's behavior towards him. "Screaming like school girls...geez...this isn't a picnic."
"Who do you think you are?" Ino asked haughtily. The genin smiled.
"I'm Kabuto, but instead of that, look behind you."
"Behind?" Sakura asked. The rookies, doing as he asked, turned to see the team from Rain glaring death at them.
"Those guys behind you are from the Hidden Rain, they have short tempers. Everyone is nervous about the exams, quiet down before you cause a scene." He reached for his pouch, making Naruto's hand inch towards his holster, Sasuke's hand touch the hilt of his blade, and Hinata's byakugan flare for a second, only for them to return to their previous postures when it seemed he didn't plan to attack.
"Well, I can't blame you. You're clueless rookies. You remind me of how I used to be." Sakura squinted her eyes suspiciously at the genin.
"Kabuto-san... right?"
"Yeah."
"So this is your second time taking the exam?"
"Nope...my seventh time." Naruto frowned at that, Sasuke and Hinata as well. There was definitely something off about this genin. "This exam is held twice a year so this is my fourth year."
"Wow, so you know a lot about this exam." He smirked.
"That's right." He chuckled and pulled out a stack of cards. "Then I'll share some info with you cute rookies...with these nin-info cards."
"Nin-info cards?" Sakura asked.
"They are basically cards which have info burned onto them with chakra. I have four years worth of info here. Over 200 cards." Ino crossed her arms.
"Do you have cards with info on individuals?" Everyone turned to her curiously. Why would she want to know that. Kabuto only chuckled.
"Someone you're worried about?...Of course, the info on all of this exam's participants isn't perfect, but I do have it. Even of you guys, say something about these guys and I'll take a look."
"Gaara of Suna." Sasuke stated.
"Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha!" Ino added. Sasuke sent a sharp glare at the girl, the others giving her strange looks as to why she was asking about an ally.
"Oh, you know their names, should be easy then." He swiped at the cards and pulled out two from the deck. "First is Gaara of Suna. Mission history: C-rank 8, B-rank 1. Wow, a B-rank as a genin...since he's a newcomer from a foreign country I don't have much info, but...it seems he's returned from all his missions without even a scratch." Sasuke frowned, unhappy that he didn't get any useful information.
"Next is Naruto Uzumaki from Konoha. Age: 12 years old. Was known as the Dead Last and failed the academy twice." The nearby nin listening in snickered at that, but they ignored the eavesdroppers. "Mission History:" Kabuto's eyes widened, "D-rank 19, C-rank 3, B-rank 1, A-rank 1, S-rank 1! Received a C turned S-rank mission with teammates Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuga Hinata when client was targeted by missing-nin Zabuza of Kirigakure! Not only did they complete their mission, Naruto got Zabuza and his apprentice to join Konoha by adopting them into the Uzumaki clan! Very little is known about his skill, but he is said to be competent in all fields of ninpo and a fuinjutsu master. It seems he also possesses a dragon summoning contract!" Team 7's eyes narrowed at Kabuto, wondering where and how he got all that information while the room gaped at them in open shock.
Kabuto was quick to get over his own shock, smirking at the group. "Konoha, Suna, Kusa, Taki, Oto... Many outstanding genin from the various hidden villages are here to take the exam. Well... Otogakure is a small village just created last year so there isn't much info, but... the rest of the hidden villages are filled with talented youngsters."
'This guy...doesn't act or talk like a genin,' Naruto thought, 'and he has information that only the hokage, Sasuke and I know. No one else but me and them know about my A-rank mission with the traitor Mizuki...well, and that Cat anbu but she's not a spy.'
'...when I activated my byakugan...his chakra reserves were on par with Kakashi's...I should tell Sasuke and Naruto as soon as I am able.' Hinata thought worriedly. It seemed Naruto had reason to be wary around this supposed genin. Team 7's eyes narrowed when they noticed the sound team about to attack Kabuto, and from what they observed of Kabuto, he knew it was coming as well...so why is he acting so surprised now that they are attacking him?
Kabuto jumped away from two thrown shuriken, quickly dodging a punch thrown by the one covered in bandages, some kind of fur on his back. Not a second later, his glasses broke to pieces and he doubled over, emptying the contents of his stomach. Sasuke's eyes narrowed at the scene.
'This attack was obviously staged...and that attack. It didn't physically hit him, but he was still injured...it wasn't wind because the effects of the wind would at least be visible somehow on his clothes...I wonder what kind of trick he pulled...' Sasuke wondered, analyzing the event that just occurred. A poof of smoke at the front of the room, along with a familiar voice, caught everyone's attention, especially team 7's.
"Quiet down, you worthless brats!"
AN: surprisingly no * notes for this chapter. I didn't feel a need to this time. Start of the chunin exams! Sorry about how little screen time the Konoha rookies get, it's just that they never bothered to get to know Sasuke or Naruto in academy so they don't have a lot to do with them right now, plus they still have the preconceived notion that Naruto's an idiot despite his new look and personality. They will be forced to completely change their perspective of him, however, after the chunin exams are over due to multiple factors that you will see soon enough. Of course, Shikamaru, Choji, and Shino, I think are the only ones who are more accepting of the fact that Naruto's different from what they had originally thought or they never thought he was an idiot in the first place. Shikamaru is a genius so he figured it out pretty early, but was lazy and didn't act on the knowledge, Choji knew about it through Shika and trusted his judgement, and Shino is the most logical of the group and his bugs informed him of Naruto and Sasuke's changing chakra throughout academy so he would know as well. Well that's all, so until next time (^v^)