Twelve-year-old Naruto counted the remaining days till graduation on his calendar. Three weeks left, three weeks until he would become a Genin and start his new life. Once he got his Hitai-ate things would change for him. People would have to acknowledge him then. After all what was more respectable than being a Shinobi.
He had no doubts that he was going to pass this time. After all what were the chances that they would test them on the Clone Technique again. That had been the one thing that had tripped him up on his previous attempts to graduate. If it had been any other technique he would've passed easily. Now that he was twelve though there was no way he could fail.
About the only thing he would miss about the Academy would be his pranks. They had been a lot of fun especially when he had been chased. He grinned as he thought about how many times he had gotten away. Well that was until Iruka would track him down. That man had a knack for finding him. He was going to miss all that.
Leaving his apartment he had a thought. Why not pull something big off, something that the entire village would notice and remember. That wasn't going to be easy though. Most of the time people forgot about the stuff he did quickly. Although, there were still a few little kids who seem to remember the fountain incident.
In the middle of Memorial Park there was a large fountain. He had poured a lot of liquid soap in it when it had been running. The fountain had mixed it up and the bubbles had poured out. It had been like some weird white frothing wall that had slowly taken over the park. Kids had come from all over to play with the bubbles. He hadn't intended for that to happen but, it had been nice to have a little company while he had cleaned it up. Getting rid of soap bubbles was virtually impossible especially when he just had a shovel to swat them with. He probably would still be at it if it hadn't rained.
Yes, his last prank had to be something big, something the entire village would see and remember. Something that shouted Naruto Uzumaki was here. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything. He was better at making things up as he went along then planning them out.
Giving up on the idea for now, he indulged in one of his favorite pastimes fantasizing about the future. Gazing up at the Hokage Monument he imagined his face up there for all to see. With more than a little satisfaction he remembered that the next face carved up there would be slightly higher than all the rest and of course that would be his. He would love to see some people's expression as they saw that every morning.
A thought occurred to him, as he pictured himself up there. Could he do something to the monument or more specifically should he?
That was a conundrum that he didn't spent much time on. One day he'd be greater than all of them combined and then everyone would know who he was, but what should he do to it? It
couldn't be anything permanent but, it would have to be something everyone could see. Maybe he could paint it but, where would he get the paint?
Fortunately, at that moment he passed by a garbage bin that had several paint cans in front of it. Considering it was garbage day in this part of Konoha it, wasn't exactly an exciting site for normal people. Naruto on the other hand was not normal and he practically saw this as an endorsement of his future art project. He barely had enough time to run them back home before class started.
Later that day he inspected his slightly stolen materials. Prying the lids off with a kenai he was disappointed to find that all six cans were bone dry with the exception of one and that only had about an inch of white paint left in it. He was disappointed but, he had learned a valuable lesson check before taking.
For the next several days there was a mysterious figure creeping through the streets of Konoha in the early morning hours. Its prey was discarded paint cans. Spotting one he would pounce and rip off the lid. If pleased with the contents he would take it but, most were empty.
After a weekend half of the early-morning prowls he wasn't exactly pleased with his haul. He had a lot of green for some odd reason along with some blue and red but, it didn't seem like enough. Sighing he took out his wallet and apologized to the frog before removing several bills. He didn't like spending money on pranks but, this was a special occasion.
The only hardware store he knew about was halfway across town. As luck would have it they were selling their mistakes that day and he was able to pick up two cans of paint cheap along with two brushes. The man gave him one of those looks that he hated but, he didn't say anything and Naruto beat a hasty retreat. Upset he tried to hurry home but, his good luck ran out for the day.
"Naruto," a familiar voice called out. Under any normal circumstances Naruto would be happy to run into Iruka because free ramen was always a possibility but, right now he had some rather incriminating materials on him.
"Hi Sensei… what are you doing here?" He plastered on a smile and tried to look innocent.
"Shopping," Iruka held up a shopping bag from one of those nearby stores. "What do you have there?" He asked suspiciously nodding to Naruto's brown paper bag.
"Paint, I'm going to paint my room. Bright yellow with a white ceiling," he silently congratulated himself on his quick thinking. After all he was allowed to paint the inside of his apartment if he wanted too.
"You're painting," Iruka asked suspiciously. "You know you should be concentrating on graduating. The test is only a few days away."
"Yeah, I know. I'm going to do it after I graduate as a present to myself. I'm sick of the white walls the store had a sale today though." He surprised himself with how easily he was able to cover his tracks but, he felt guilty when he saw what looked like a pitying look in his Sensei eyes.
"We'll tell me when you're going to do it and I'll see if I can help you."
Naruto nodded as they parted ways. The unexpected meeting had killed some of his enthusiasm for the project but, he was so close and it was going to be so much fun. The last thing he needs to get was ropes and that was as simple as borrowing them from the Academy without anyone noticing of course.
'P day' arrived and he got up early hardly able to contain his excitement. Making several trips from the apartment to the top of the monument he was almost ready to go. The classes at the Academy were just starting but, he wouldn't be missed for at least twenty minutes. Besides he wanted an audience.
With a methodicalness that would have surprised anyone he knew he prepared the set up. The first thing he did was divide the white can of paint among the empty cans making sure there was at least an inch in each one. After that he tied ropes to the handles and moved them to the edge. With an unusual forethought he removed his coat and tied it around his waist before he got the rest of the cans ready. The second he started painting he knew people would notice.
To hit all four faces he would have to be careful. Pre-lowering the cans he secured a rope around himself just like the Academy had taught him and went over the edge. Starting with the First he moved under his nose and poured the contents of the white bucket down making it look like he had a runny nose. Tugging firmly on the rope it released from above and the bucket dropped to the ground with a plunk. From there he moved quickly from spot to spot making it up as he went along. One looked like he was wearing bad makeup while another one had a tick tack toe game on his forehead.
He saved the Third for last. It wasn't for any special reason he simply had to climb up to do him. By this time there was a crowd from down below and somebody shouted at him to stop. Pausing in his work he turned and waved for a brief second then went to apply the bright yellow paint to the Third's eyes. Before he could put the brush to stone somebody shouted from above there were two unfamiliar Chunin racing down towards him.
Grinning he repelled down the side quickly dropping the last ten feet to get a head start. Shouting a taunt over his shoulder he began to run with the yellow bucket still in hand. The chase after all was half the fun.
You know the story from here.
Author's Note: Thanks to everyone who read and reviewed. Warning shameless self promotion begins here. Judging by some of the reviews a lot of you here read the uprising. Well I'm going to post the beginning of the sequel after next week. It will be called Shadow Alliance. Shameless self promotion ends here.