Disclaimer: I own nothing, that said carry on and enjoy!

Little note, this chapter will be the last chapter with a big time skip (multi-year) just to get out of the Academy and into their ninja careers and so on. I decided that while yeah I could try to make the academy interesting there just wasn't enough there unless I wanted to turn the story away from the Naruto storyline and make it a mostly character heavy fic with little else in there.

Hopefully, this will be the last major time skip until we move into Shippuden (assuming we get there of course). With that said let's get into the chapter shall we!

"NARUTO WAKE THE HELL UP!" Iruka shouted tossing a piece of chalk at the sleeping boys head with a level of pinpoint accuracy that could only have come from years of practice.

"I wasn't sleeping! I was just...resting my eyes..." The sleepy blond countered weakly his face slumped into his folded arms as he tried and failed to look alert.

"Sure you were, need I remind you the graduation exam is tomorrow," The scared chunin lectured, "You could at least try and stay awake for this final lesson."

"Yes, Sensei whatever you say..." The whiskered blond replied sitting up with a small stretch and a yawn as he readjusted himself in his seat.

Iruka rolled his eyes, having long since grown used to the boy's habits he knew lecturing him any further would be pointless so with a huff he turned back to resume his instruction.

Naruto gave another small yawn and leaned back into his chair tuning the man out as his mind wandered to more pressing matters.

His graduation exam.

It really had been five years, five long years since he first entered the gates of the Academy and started a new chapter in his life filled with new people and experiences.

A lot had changed in those five years he reflected, the most obvious being he'd grown quite a bit standing now at about five foot tall a little over average for his age which in his mind was a lot better than being a midget like he had as a young child.

His outfit now consisted of a black hoodie with dark orange bands running along the length of the arms and the famous orange swirl marking that was found throughout the village printed on the back. He wore standard Anbu style black shinobi pants as well finished off with black open-toed shinobi sandals.

Simple but efficient and also pretty comfy if you asked him.

His personality had also changed somewhat, he was a lot calmer now than he'd ever been, not to say he couldn't still be pretty rowdy when he was excited or training but he was nowhere near as hyper as before.

He wasn't the only one to have changed however most of his classmates had grown up a bit, some more than others.

Looking to his left his eyes caught sight of arguably his closest friend

Hinata.

Hinata hadn't changed much personality wise, she still maintained her kind and gentle demeanor as she had in their youth even earning the nickname 'The Pale Saint' due to her eye color and patient disposition garnering the admiration of both teachers and students alike.

Of course, those who knew her personally were very much aware that when provoked the young heiress was actually downright terrifying, much more demon than a saint.

Hinata now stood at about four foot eight, just a little bit shorter than him and now wore a white kimono-like shirt decorated with the Hyuga clan symbol on her shoulders and light pink flower petals ran up and down the sleeves. For pants, she went with standard issue dark blue shinobi pants and blue sandals to finish off her outfit.

To his right was his second closest friend, Kira Inuzuka.

Kira hadn't changed all that much, she had managed to calm down a little bit but overall was the same rough and tumble kind of girl she had been as a child, she still loved to fight and was always down for a challenge often badgering the older students for fights as well.

Much to Iruka's annoyance, he might add.

Overall though she was also pretty fun to just hang out with as well and the two would wander around outside the village and just talk about whatever was going on in their lives.

Granted those talks usually ended up with them competing in some fashion but it was the intent that mattered.

Kira was still taller than him much to his annoyance and her unending satisfaction standing at a proud five foot two which she often like to lord over him, often resting herself against him in a display of what she called 'Alpha dominance'.

This of course often led to even more childish fights between them.

Kira, like himself, went for rather simple attire wearing a grey-furred hooded jacket with black pants and sandals. She wasn't big on clothing and since she often got dirty anyway she saw no reason to spend lots of time worrying about what she was wearing.

Next to her sat Shino.

The two weren't super close, the Aburame tendency to keep their distances from others was strong in him but they got along well enough and occasionally the two would have little chats about insects since he would sometimes spot interesting looking critters during his training and bring them to the boy's attention.

An odd friendship sure but they made it work just fine.

Shino hadn't changed much in appearance other than in height standing at the same height as himself at an even five foot tall. He had ditched his hooded coat a few years back and instead wore a high collard trench coat that hid the bottom of his face but reveals his hair and eyes.

Well, not his eyes so much as his glasses that he refused to take off no matter how much Naruto had begged.

One day he'll see under those shades...

Moving on and tilting his head back Naruto looked above him and caught sight of none other than Choji Akimichi.

Choji had changed quite a bit from his youth, having grown more confident in himself after their friend group had solidified and he realized they weren't going to mock his weight. He was still a gentle soul but he was more than capable of taking care of himself now, something that was well known throughout the Academy after he'd flattened a few older boys who had called him a fatty.

The F-word was now strictly forbidden in any conversation involving the boy.

The two of them got along well, he'd taken the boy to Ichiraku's shortly after they met and immediately the portly Akimichi had made the ramen stand a frequent stop when he went out to eat. The two of them would regularly have ramen eating contests with their current score being 15-14 in his favor.

Choji stood at a slightly average, four foot ten and was...well built so to speak. He wore a green, short-sleeved haori with a long, white scarf over a light-green shirt and he also wore black shorts and bandages around his legs and forearms.

Next to him sat their resident genius, Shikari Nara

Shikari like Kira hadn't changed much, probably because it would be too troublesome in her opinion to do so, she like most Nara clan members enjoyed spending her days doing as little as humanly possible and often tried to weasel out of their group hangouts to spend the day resting or cloud watching.

To the surprise of almost everyone the two actually got along very well despite being near complete opposites in regards to personality. Where he was talkative, hyper, and friendly, she was quiet, lazy, and could be rather rude when dealing with people.

To their credit, it had only been due to his knowledge of the Nara clans love of shogi that the girl had even given him a chance. He'd challenged her to a game after she blew off his previous attempts at friendship and the two had spent nearly an hour playing a single match before she'd finally beaten him. She'd been impressed and invited him to play again the following day, now the two played often sometimes betting small favors or snacks in little wager matches.

She also had a habit of teasing him similar to her library bound relative much to his horror and embarrassment.

Shikari stood at a little over four foot eight though she always complained that her ponytail should count to make her taller. She joined him and Kira in the simple clothes club wearing a short-sleeved grey jacket with green-edged sleeves with her clan symbol on its back and a mesh undershirt with bandage wrapping underneath.

Turning his attention back to the front of the class he turned to face the twin fangirls of the Academy.

First up was Sakura, the pink haired Haruno had remained fairly consistent over the years, she had grown more confident but that may have mostly been because of her rivalry with the Yamanaka heiress.

Sakura measured out at four foot eight and was garbed in a red qipao dress with short sleeves and with slits along the sides and white circular designs towards the bottom under she wore a pair tight dark green bike shorts and blue sandals.

She wasn't awful, she was just loud and as Kira described her, was about as weak as a starving newborn pup. The girl was book smart but didn't apply herself much coasting by on high test scores rather than putting any real effort to train sadly.

Following her up with Ino Yamanaka,

Ino was slightly better, the two having briefly interacted since she was close with Shikari and Choji but they weren't really friends. The girl was a true gossip at heart and despite being only a little stronger than Sakura due to her clan techniques she was rather adept at getting ahold of information.

He'd chalked it up to clan talent since the Yamanaka clan specialized in information gathering.

Ino, similar to Shika and Sakura stood at an even four foot eight and wore a purple outfit consisting of a high-collared blouse and matching apron skirt along with bandages around her stomach and legs.

She was considered one of the prettiest girls in the academy something she took way too much pride in if you asked him.

Lastly, his gaze turned to a brooding figure sitting at the end of the bottom room gazing darkly out of a nearby window.

Satsuki Uchiha...

Of everyone in their class she had probably changed the most, not that he could fully blame her of course. It was hard to imagine someone not changing after having their entire family killed, by their own brother no less.

The Uchiha massacre had taken place late into their second year of the Academy and shook the village to its core. One of the founding members of the village being almost completely eradicated barring its sole survivor and the clan's executioner caused quite a stir in the village populus.

More importantly, it had deeply affected the raven-haired girl and not for the better.

Before the incident, the two had come to understand one another a bit better and while they would never admit it, both of them had too much pride to do so, they had come to view the other as friends and not just rivals. Satsuki was never the most open person to begin with, generally only letting her guard down when they were alone training did she seem to relax.

Now though she was closed off, distant to everyone including him. She would still spar with him but their bouts held a ferocity that wasn't there previously, she took her losses harder and harshly declined his invitations to join their little group.

Satsuki stood just a few inches shorter than him at four foot nine and wore a plain navy blue shirt with the Uchiha fan crest on the back on her arms were a pair of white armbands that ran the length of her forearms, she wore a pair of white shorts and standard blue sandals

They weren't really on speaking terms nowadays but he held out some small hope that maybe she'd come around one day since she didn't cut him out completely like she had her other acquaintances.

That was a small positive at least, right?

He was broken out of his thoughts by the now familiar sensation of someone lightly brushing their hand against his whisker marks, seems like he had spaced out again as Iruka was no longer talking and was instead making his way out of the classroom.

"You know you could just tap my shoulder Hina-chan." He pointed out, he was not a cat damn it he was almost a full-fledged ninja, you don't pet ninja.

"But then I wouldn't get the chance to hear that little purr you do." She replied a teasing smile on her face as she started packing away her supplies ignoring his flushed face.

"Oi! I don't purr that's slander!" He barked out, there was no way he purred he was a man and men don't purr!

"You totally do purr blondie." Shikari's sleepy voice pointed out an amused grin situated on her face at his look of sheer betrayal.

That's what you get for being so troublesome.

"You guys suck." He huffed, "I swear I'm gonna go buy a face mask then we'll see who purrs!"

Kira gave him a light push barking with laughter "It'll still be you, whiskers."

Hinata offered him a gentle pat on the shoulder, her lithe form shaking as she tried to suppress her own laughter.

"Ah, I'm sorry Naruto-kun, if it makes you feel better I think its rather cute." she said while hiding her mouth behind her sleeve.

He gave them all a deadpan stare before packing his things doing his best to ignore their laughter as he grumbled to himself about a lack of respect.

"Hey, Whiskers are you planning on hitting the training grounds today?" Kira asked as she stood up, grabbing her faithful puppy companion and placing him in her hood.

"Nah not today, think I'll just rest up and do some light review for the exam, don't wanna go overboard and risk pulling a muscle or something, why?" He answered shaking his head.

"Damn, I was gonna ask you to spar with me again, nothing like a good fight to calm my nerves before the big day." The feral girl said, shoulders slumping at his answer.

"You should probably actually study Kira, you are aware there is a written portion to the exam and we all know you have the lowest test scores in our group." He replied giving her a knowing look as she rubbed the back of her head with a slight blush.

"S-Shut up!" She roared, "It's not my fault its all so damn boring, besides the physical tests should matter more anyway, what good does being super smart do if you go down with one punch?"

"Was that a jab at me?" Shikari asked, narrowing her eyes at the Inuzuka.

"Maybe." The feral girl answered with absolutely no shame in her voice as she stared defiantly back at the irritated Nara.

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose and sighed as the two began to bicker back and forth if there was one thing Kira excelled at it was starting random fights. Hopefully, this didn't get out of hand...

"Kagemane no Jutsu!"

Why Kami, why?!

After barely managing to stop Shikari from murdering Kira the group had gone their separate ways, either heading home or out into the village to waste time until it got late.

He had decided to skip training and just relax, he had made some stops along the way grabbing a bite to eat at Ichirakus before wandering aimlessly around the village.

Now he stood on top of the Hokage Monument, a rocky mountain that towered above the village and carved in stone on the side were the faces of all past and present Hokages.

The Shodai Hokage, and one of the founders of Konoha, Hashirama Senju was known as one of the most powerful shinobi to walk the nations his mere presence could force weaker ninja to flee in terror. Despite his reputation, he was also known to be a kind man who dreamed of creating a more peaceful world.

The Nidaime Hokage, Tobirama Senju was the younger brother to the Hashirama but no less infamous than his older sibling. The man had a mastery of water style jutsu that put Kiri shinobi to shame, it was rumored that shinobi from Kiri sought him out on the battlefield for that reason. He was a stricter man than his brother but was brilliant both off and on the battlefield.

The Sandaime Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen was the current and acting Kage having retaken the position after the Kyuubi incident and the untimely death of his successor. Like the Nidaime before him, the third was well known for his intelligence, earning the title 'Professor' for his knowledge as well as mastery and understanding of almost all ninja arts. It was actually not commonly known that in his prime he was actually considered the strongest Hokage beating out both the first and second.

The last and most recent was none other than the Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

The Fourth was almost deified within the village and not without good reason either, the man had almost singlehandedly ended the Third Great Shinobi War and managed to defeat the Kyuubi on his own. He was also the youngest person to be appointed Hokage which spoke volumes of his skill and ability.

Sitting upon the stone heads of the villages greatest heroes he couldn't help but feel so small in comparison and it wasn't just the obvious size difference between him and the massive stone faces either.

Each of these men had shaped the face of the elemental nations in some way and yet here he was claiming that one day he'd be stronger than even them, shinobi who were without questions the greatest of their time.

If he was honest with himself when he read through all their achievements, their trials, and their victories he couldn't help but feel...

Inadequate.

He wasn't a prodigy, he didn't have any special bloodlines, he didn't come from a well-respected or powerful clan he was just another face in a crowd but yet he dared to stand in front of them and proclaim that he would surpass them.

There was a fine line between confidence and arrogance and sometimes he wasn't sure where he fell on that line.

He looked out from his seat upon the Fourths head and saw the lights of the village, a beacon in the night as the shopkeepers began to close their stores and the remaining children ran home with stories of their daily adventures.

He allowed a soft smile to grace his face as he watched the village from above, the people may have been jerks that much he wouldn't deny but, all the same, he still truly loved his home no matter its faults there was nothing quite like it.

He wondered if that's what drove them, the desire to protect their home to defend whatever the village had meant to them.

"I swear I'll surpass all of you, and I promise that I'll keep them safe." He whispered to the stone carvings.

Naruto swiftly got up and dusted off his pants, he really should get home before it got too late he had a test tomorrow after all.

He gave one last look out towards the orange glow of the village lights before making his way down, his resolve strengthened.

Hiruzen sat tiredly in his chair as he poured over piles of seemingly endless paperwork. Various mission briefings, fund requests, trade disputes, and treaties littered his workspace all demanding his attention. He often

considered why he'd accepted the kage position in the first place...

Then again declining the final wish of his Sensei would have been dishonorable to the man and insult to the faith he had placed in him but he could do with just a little less paperwork.

He leaned back in his chair taking a brief moment for himself allowing his aching hands to rest and turned his chair outward towards the village, he lamented that in his youth he never truly took the time to admire his home he was always running about either training with Tobirama or out on missions that he rarely got to just look at the village and take it all in.

That had changed after his appointment and he had quickly discovered why the Hokage Tower was built to overlook the village.

It was a reminder of what he and every shinobi and kunoichi fought to protect, what they risked their health, their sanity, and their lives every day to keep safe. It was humbling and terrifying even now to think every choice he made could either maintain their fragile peace or plunge them all back into the fires of war.

Hiruzen was a man of peace but he knew he had more blood on his hands then every ninja in his command, the village was his family and every day he sent his family to die far from home in the name of protecting it.

Few truly understood just what it really meant to be a kage, to be a kage was to sacrifice all of oneself in service to their home at any cost.

And there was always a cost.

He turned to his left and grabbed another file, the academy records detailing the upcoming list of potential ninja candidates. He scanned through them making mental notes on interesting or unique profiles before stopping on an image of a familiar blond.

Naruto Uzumaki...

His heart ached at the sight of the boy, Kami how long had it been since he'd last seen him? He wouldn't be surprised if the lad hardly remembered him after all this time.

He felt shame at his lack of involvement in the boy's life, he just never seem to have the time for him, the Kyuubi attack had almost decimated the village, they had lost their kage the man who had single-handedly crippled Iwa and forced Kumo to surrender. The recent Uchiha massacre had only further weakened the village and it took all he had to maintain an image of strength to prevent their rivals from trying to capitalize on their weakness.

He hated to say it but there were more pressing matters than one orphaned child, even if that child was the hidden son of one of their greatest heroes.

The problem was that it wasn't just he who had left the boy, Hirzuen was not ignorant of the general populous's distaste for the lad, his decree that none shall speak of the boy's status as the container was probably all that held them from shouting it from the rooftops.

As much as he wished otherwise he couldn't change how the village felt, for all his skill and power it was beyond him to control their thoughts and so the boy suffered not physically but the aged man had no doubts the boy carried mental scars, wounds harder to heal than any cut or gash.

Once again he sighed for what felt like the hundredth time and returned the file, tomorrow a fresh crop of genin would make their way out into the cruel world he could only hope they proved strong enough to survive the oncoming challenges.

Naruto sat anxiously in his seat as he watched his fellow students get called one by one into the examination room and returning minutes later either proudly displaying their newly acquired headbands or heads shamefully hung signaling a less than stellar outcome.

Already Shino, Choji, Sakura, Hinata, Kira, and Shikari had been called up, each returned with their headbands wrapped somewhere on their bodies.

Shino, Kira, and Choji had gone for the traditional headband style, though Choji had added his own unique touch turning his into a sort of cap with two openings for his hair at the top.

Hinata decided to wear hers around her neck, Shikari preferred to wrap it around her arm, and Sakura wore her's like a hairband.

"Satsuki Uchiha!"

He watched as the brooding girl made her way into the examination room, completely ignoring her cheering fans wishing her luck.

"Eh, Naruto you shouldn't stress yourself so much, you'll ruin your appetite," Choji said to his friend as he watched the blond tap nervously on his desk.

"Yeah Whiskers, you're like the top student here tied with little miss emo what do you have to worry about?" Kira added shaking her head at the boy's behavior.

"I can't help it I'm just nervous, I don't want all my work to be for nothing you know?" He replied his gaze locked onto the exam room door.

"Troublesome blond, as if you could actually fail with your insane training." Shakari scoffed as she leaned back into her chair "Now quit your twitching I can't sleep with you shaking the table."

Naruto was going to respond but was cut off by the sound of his name being called.

"Naruto Uzumaki!"

"Good luck Naruto-kun!" Hinata gave him a soft cheer as she watched him make his way towards the exam room the rest of his friends following suit offering words or gestures of encouragement.

He acknowledged them with a nod before stepping into the room and taking his place at the center.

Across from him sat Iruka and a mysterious white-haired chunin he'd never seen before though he didn't like the look in the man's eyes, it reminded him of the villagers which set him slightly on edge.

Iruka noticing the boys gaze quickly introduced the stranger.

"Ah, Naruto this is my assistant Mizuki." He said gesturing towards the now revealed Mizuki, "He normally teaches the younger students but since they have the day off he asked to watch your group."

"I see, hello Mizuki-sensei pleased to meet you." He said giving a small bow, he might not like the man but he would be polite for now seeing as it wouldn't help him to rude at the moment.

"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Naruto-kun, best of luck with your test." The man replied returning the bow though Naruto did catch the slight twitch in lips as he said his name.

He didn't like this man at all.

Turning his attention back to Iruka he awaited his instructions.

"You've done well in all the previous tests you scored almost perfectly on the written exam and your skill in taijutsu is impressive as always. For your last test, you'll need to demonstrate proficiency in the three basic Academy techniques the transformation, replacement, and clone techniques.

Naruto frowned slightly at the mention of the clone technique he had always struggled to pull that one off due to his large reserves but he had a workaround he just hopped it didn't disqualify him.

Running through hand signs he gathered his chakra and envisioning the Third Hokage called out his technique.

"Henge no Jutsu!"

A cloud of smoke enveloped him before quickly dispersing leaving in his place a replica of the aged Hokage, pipe and all standing before his instructor.

"Very good, and I see you were paying attention when I mentioned the Third enjoys smoking it seems you don't sleep through all my lessons" The scared man joked.

In another cloud of smoke, the whiskered blond reappeared dropping the technique while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Next, the replacement technique if you would." Iruka prompted him to the tool to his left, "please switch places with the stool."

Naruto nodded and once again ran through the proper seals before calling out the second jutsu.

"Kawarimi no Jutsu!"

Naruto felt the similar tugging sensation of the technique as his body swapped places with the stool before casting it once again and swapping back.

"Perfect, now just perform the clone technique and summon at least three clones and you'll pass." Iruka said.

Naruto took a deep breath and performed the hand signs and called out the last jutsu.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Immediately smoke filled the room as ten copies of the blond crowded the examination room each one offering a sheepish grin at the deadpan look on their sensei's face.

"Were ten clones necessary Naruto?" the scar-faced man questioned waving the remaining smoke out of his face.

"Sorry Sensei, I have too much chakra to make less than that but I promise I'm still working on my chakra control!" He explained and it was true he practiced daily, it was the only reason he could make them at all!

"Well, there are no rules about overachieving so congratulations Naruto it is my honor to present you with you official Konoha forehead protector." Iruka smiled at his student and handed him a standard blue headband, "May you wear it with pride!"

Naruto accepted the item with a large grin and bowed to his sensei in thanks.

"Congratulations Naruto-kun, I wish you luck in your shinobi career." Mizuki added offering a kind smile to the whiskered boy

Naruto offered the man a small thank you and a smaller bow before making his way out of the testing room while wrapping the symbol of his village around his left arm.

Iruka had gone on to give them a small speech saying how proud he was of them and how he looked forward to hearing of their future achievements as adults and fellow ninja of Konoha.

It was a pretty heartfelt moment and he had to admit he would miss the Academy a little bit but he was more excited to finally begin his life as a fully fledged shinobi.

Iruka also told them to meet back there tomorrow for team assignments where they would learn who they would be forming squads with and meeting their assigned jounin instructors.

He idly wondered who he would be paired up with he hoped he got at least one of his friends that would be nice.

"Naruto-kun!" A voice called out to him interrupting his thoughts and causing him to turn around to see who was calling him.

"Mizuki-sensei? What did you need?" He asked watching the white-haired chunin make his way up to him.

"I wanted to talk with you again and praise your performance, you did well and you chakra reserves are very impressive for your age." The man praised offering him a smile.

"Ah, thank you sensei Iruka-sensei is a good teacher and I like the extra energy but it's really hard to control I'm just happy he allowed me to pass." He replied politely though he wondered what exactly the man wanted.

"He really is, he cares a lot about his students I don't think anyone puts quite as much effort into teaching as he does." Mizuki chuckled.

"Was that all sensei? I have some preparations for tomorrow I need to make if that's all you wanted." Naruto wanted very little to do with the man, he understood that in the exam room Mizuki had to put up with him so why would he go the extra mile to seek him out just to wish him well?

Mizuki offered a kind smile "Well you see Naruto-kun I wanted to offer you an opportunity I thought you might be interested in."

"An opportunity? What kind exactly?" He asked his eyes narrowing at the instructor.

Mizuki quickly put his hands up seeing the suspicious look the boy was sending him and moved to explain.

"Ah you see Naruto-kun I had a second reason for being present for your classes test. While my job was to just observe I also had a second assignment from the Hokage." He explained catching the blonds attention.

"You see I was supposed to look out for talented graduates who are further ahead than their classmates and offer them a test. If they pass they are put on a fast track through the shinobi ranks to bring out the best the village has to offer." Mizuki explained.

"And I assume you wish to offer me this test?" The blond questioned

Mizuki nodded "I think you have what it takes, so what do you say will you at least hear me out?" he asked.

Naruto weighed the pros and cons of hearing the man out, it sounded plausible if somewhat convenient. What would be the harm of at least listening to what the man had to say?

"Alright, Mizuki-sensei what exactly is the test?" He asked.

Mizuki offered the boy a wide smile

"I need you to retrieve a certain scroll for me..." He began as he launched into an explanation of his little 'test'.

All according to plan.

AN. Chapter fix

(I fixed the issues with Satsuki's height, I had planned to make her taller but changed it on reflection but forgot to adjust the line for it so that's fixed and I was going to address it in the next chapter but since it really seems to stand out to people I figured it was better to just go back in and edit this chapter. I just wanted to do height for this one chapter to give people an idea of how and what these characters look like this not going to be common or anything)

This was a bit longer than usual though people still tell me the chapters are short lol. I like writing but I can only write so much at a time people! That isn't to say I'm not happy at the criticism, it tells me people want more to read them more often which is always nice.

I did a lot this chapter so I'm sorry if things seem less focused I just want to get into the real meat of the story so I tried to cram a lot of time into one chapter.

I hope you all enjoyed and are looking forward to the next update, please leave me your thoughts and I'll see you all next time!