The Chains of Youth

by Ignis18

Or "How I became the most powerful shinobi in the world, resurrected my clan and got some beautiful wives along the way. Oh, and became Hokage too, I guess."

Hey all! Remember that idea I mentioned in the AN at the end of chapter 2 of Green Dragon? Well, this is it!

Just as AGDH, this whole idea was actually born from a joke we made in PV's server a couple of weeks ago.

Thanks to PV, Sinful, Kairomaru, Salante, E-LuckArcher, Codenamevalkyrie and Sleep over at PV's Discord server for betaing this.

I want to clarify something before the fic starts. Look inside your memory. See everything about Naruto's canon? Yes? Well, get ready to throw a lot of it out the window!

Honestly, I have a lot of problems with how... out of left field, the end of Naruto Shippuden was, so I'm outright disregarding a lot of it. You'll see as we go. But seriously, don't trust your knowledge about canon while reading this.

I'll see you at the end!

---

'What's going on?' She shook her head, clearing away the cobwebs. The last thing she remembered was Kushina giving birth, and then-

'Oh shit, no.' She looked around frantically, seeing the ruined village not too far away from her and Kushina's golden chains wrapped around her, a multitude of seals on her fur.

"It's good to see you back in your senses, Kurama." A soft, feeble voice reached her ears from below.

Looking down, she saw them. Kushina and Minato speared through by one of her own claws, their baby in front of them, and the Shinigami some paces away, waiting for the deal to be made.

She leaned her massive head down, her snout as tall as their bodies, "Kushina, Minato, I'm so sorry." A tear left her eye.

"It's not your fault, big girl," Kushina painfully said, the rasping sound wrong in Kurama's ears, "That masked bastard better hope he doesn't die soon."

"Kurama," Minato's own dying voice got her attention, "I want to ask a favor of you."

"Anything, Minato."

"Watch over our little maelstrom for us, okay?" He grinned at her, looking into her eyes, "I'll put part of myself and Kushina inside the seal with you, but it will be too little to watch over him as you could."

"I promise Minato," the gigantic fox said, closing her eyes, "I'll watch over him as if he was my own."

Minato nodded at her, unnoticed, before turning towards the Grim Reaper in front of him, "Shinigami, in exchange for my soul, Seal the Nine-Tailed Fox, Kyūbi, inside my son! Shiki Fūjin!"

She felt the familiar tug of being sealed, just as she felt a little of her friends go beside her.

'Don't worry, little Naruto,' she thought, 'I'll protect you.'

And her world went black.

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Yahoo!" Little five-year-old Uzumaki Naruto ran through Konoha's snowy streets, his eyes and smile gleeful.

There was just something about winter in Konoha. He didn't know if it was how the forests looked after the snowing, the snow itself, the air…

It could also be the fact there were a lot less people on the streets during winter.

He wasn't stupid; he knew the village's civilians didn't like him for some reason. The shinobi in general didn't have a problem with him, but he noticed the strange looks he got in the streets.

Not like he cared much, but sometimes he wondered what he had done to make them dislike him? Even the orphanage's matron had kicked him out last year!

He was lucky his jiji had been there to get him a place to live, and some of those masked ninja to look over him.

Come to think of it, he hadn't seen the orphanage's matron anywhere since he told jiji what happened; he wondered where she went?

A soft little voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"P-Please, leave me alone." It said, it came from the alley on his left!

Peeking in, he saw three bigger boys picking on a girl smaller than him! Who did these poo-heads think they were?!

"Aw, what are you gonna do, monster eyes? Go cry to your clan?" The biggest of the group said, prompting laughs from his friends. They couldn't be very smart, if they knew they were picking on someone from a clan, and kept on doing it...

Naruto had enough. Quickly looking around, he picked up a trashcan's lid and silently moved until he stood behind the boy. Raising his arms, he brought the metal lid down as hard as he could onto the boy's head, impacting with a resounding CLANG!

"OW, what the-?!" Before he could finish, a second blow from Naruto put him on the ground down cold.

"Either of you want some?" The blond said, putting himself between the girl and the other two bullies.

The bigger boys, showing the natural cowardice of your average bully, ran away seeing someone actually fight back against them.

Naruto turned around to face the girl, dropping his improvised weapon on the downed boy's head in the process. "Are you okay?" He asked, quickly looking the girl over.

She had short, dark blue-ish hair, pale skin, and pure white eyes. Eyes that were watering right now. She nodded mutely before flinging herself at him, crying into his chest.

Naruto was freaking out right now. He was five! He didn't know what to do with crying girls! Unsure, he awkwardly patted her head. "T-There, there," he said, blushing heavily, "They can't hurt you now." He put his hands on her shoulder and gently pushed her away, enough to look her in the eye, "Are you alright now?"

The girl nodded. "T-Thank you." She muttered, shivering, something that didn't go unnoticed by Naruto.

Now, Naruto was not an idiot… but he was still a five-year-old boy, and they were surrounded by snow, so obviously, his first thought was…

"Are you cold?" He asked, removing his red scarf and putting it around her hands, "Here, you can have it. Be seeing you!" He beamed at her before turning around and making his way towards the Hokage Tower; wait until jiji found out what he did!

He failed to notice the girl he had just protected blushing like a tomato before running towards her own home.

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

Sarutobi Hiruzen loved young Naruto as if he was his own blood, he really did. The little six-year-old was friendly and well-behaved… most of the time.

"C'mon jiji! Just one Jutsu!"

But it was at times like these that he remembered that he was his parents' son, and it seemed he had their energy combined, and all of it stored in a still small and compact package.

To be fair, it was partly his own fault for telling the boy stories about the past Hokage and other powerful ninja, and the stories about both his sensei and his succe-predecessor, not to mention his own students, were filled with stuff that you wouldn't believe if you hadn't seen it with your own eyes. Or you were a kid, they still had that sense of wonder about the world that surrounded them after all.

"-iji, jiji!" His honorary grandson's voice brought him out of his thoughts.

"I'm sorry, Naruto-kun, what were you asking?"

The boy pouted up at him. "Can you teach me a Jutsu?"

The Hokage hummed thoughtfully, "Yes," The boy beamed up at him, "And no, Naruto-kun," And the smile went back to a pout, "I know your chakra is already active, but you still have to learn how to mould it to actually make the Jutsu," The boy's pout was joined by wide eyes, "but, what I can teach you is the seal sequence, and give you chakra moulding exercises to study and practice." And the smile was back.

"Thank you, jiji!"

Hiruzen simply smiled kindly at the young boy, "Now, Naruto-kun, pay attention, this is a simple Jutsu called Henge, and it's normally taught during the Academy as one of the requisites for graduation," The Hokage slipped into his sensei persona. He may not have taken any students since the Sannin, but he still liked to teach, "At its weakest it creates an illusion over your body as a disguise, and with enough chakra poured into it, it can become a solid illusion," Naruto's eyes were shining. It may not be a flashy Jutsu like the ones he truly wanted to learn, but it was still impressive enough, even if simple. "Now, the seals are Dog, Boar and Ram," he consciously slowed down his sealing speed so Naruto could see them, before repeating the sequence, this time pouring chakra into it, "Henge no Jutsu!" A cloud of chakra smoke enveloped his body, and where once stood Sarutobi Hiruzen, now was Senju Hashirama, the First Hokage. He allowed the transformation to linger enough for Naruto to gush over the Jutsu before dispelling it, "I will send some scrolls with chakra moulding exercises with ANBU Neko for you later today, okay Naruto-kun?"

Naruto nodded eagerly, grinning, "Jiji, that was so cool! And you said it was easy?"

"Simple, Naruto-kun, not easy," Hiruzen gently corrected, "You will see that getting the illusion to look perfect takes a great deal of concentration before casting the Jutsu."

A voice from the window behind the Hokage interrupted their little lesson, calling their attention, "Yo, sensei!"

Turning around, Hiruzen came face to face with the grinning speaker. He was a tall man, with spiky white hair that reached his waist and two red marks going from his eyes to his jaw. He was wearing a red haori over a short green kimono and the matching pants, all of this covering his mesh armor, and on the small of his back he carried a large scroll.

"Ah, Jiraiya-kun, you couldn't arrive at a more perfect moment," Hiruzen smiled at his once student, gently pushing young Naruto forward and turning his head towards him, "Naruto-kun, this man is one of my old students, Jiraiya the Toad Sannin."

"Naruto?" Jiraiya turned a wide-eyed, questioning stare at his sensei, getting a subtle nod in response, "Holy crap, you've grown, kid!" He grinned, crouching down to be eye-level with the boy, "I haven't seen you since you were a baby!" He noticed the boy's eyes widen. 'Take away the whiskers, and he could pass off as a younger Minato,' He thought.

"You know who I am, mister?" The boy's voice was disbelieving. How did a Sannin know who he was?

Jiraiya looked at his sensei, who softly sighed with a small, sad smile on his face. "It's your decision, Jiraiya," the old man said, "But you know which parts are off limits for now."

The Sannin nodded, sighing, and turned his eyes back towards Naruto, "Of course I do kid, I'm your godfather," He raised his hand at Naruto's gasp, staving off the obvious question, "I'm sorry I haven't been here to raise you as I should, Naruto. But the truth of the matter is that I can't," he looked at Naruto's confused eyes, "Naruto, has Sarutobi-sensei told you what a spymaster is?" The boy shook his head in the negative, "A village's spymaster is the person in charge of gathering information from all over the Elemental Nations about possible threats to their home, and as such, they need to be constantly in the move from place to place, and I'm Konoha's spymaster." He saw the boy still didn't understand, "Naruto, you're the safest here in the village. Taking you with me would be way too dangerous, between nukenin and ninja hired by different villages to put me down for good, and staying here in the village is impossible for me with my duties," Naruto nodded, looking at the ground, his eyes watering. He understood what Jiraiya was telling him, it didn't mean he had to like it.

"Now, I will promise you something." the boy's head shot upwards, "I'll try to come back to Konoha at least once a month from now on, okay?" Naruto shot towards him in a hug, nodding against his chest. They stayed like that for a while, Naruto hugging the stuffing out of Jiraiya while the man chuckled and ruffled the boy's hair, until he gently pried the boy from the hug, an eager glint in Jiraiya's eyes, "Naruto, don't take this question the wrong way but, do you know how to read?" The boy's frantic nodding brought a smile to the Sannin's face, who pulled a book from his back pocket and handed it to him. Originally he was gonna sneak into Naruto's apartment and leave it there for him, like he did with that toad wallet, but now he could deliver it in person, "Okay, kid, this is a book on Fūinjutsu, a pretty difficult ninja art that I have no doubt you could master." Naruto looked down at the book in awe, "Now, I'll make you a deal. If you read that book from cover to cover, and are able to make working storage seals by the time I'm back in the village again, I will give you the next volume, okay?"

"Alright!" The boy grinned up at the two men in the room, "You better have that book ready, Jiraiya! I'll have this down in no time, dattebayo!" He turned towards the office's door and ran off, "Bye jiji, bye Jiraiya!" He called back as he left.

"You think he's ready to learn sealing already, Jiraiya-kun?" Hiruzen turned towards his student, smiling, "He's barely six after all."

Jiraiya waved off his concerns, a grin stretching over his face, "Eh, Don't worry sensei, he's an Uzumaki, it's in his veins," he turned towards the man, a chuckle escaping his lips, "I would be more worried at the fact you taught him the Henge. Between that and his penchant for pranks…"

Sarutobi's face paled, much to Jiraiya's amusement, 'Oh, Kami, what have I done?!'

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

A seven-year-old Naruto ran into the Hokage's office, his eyes wide and his breathing heavy. He arrived in the middle of a meeting between Hiruzen and Jiraiya, but this was more important in his opinion.

"Naruto-kun?" The old Hokage quickly stood up and walked towards the out-of-breath boy, Jiraiya right behind him, "What's wrong?"

"Seal the room." Naruto whispered, looking up at his grandfather figure.

The two men exchanged a glance before Jiraiya pressed something on the inner side of the Hokage's desk, making the window close and every entry into the office glow a soft blue for a moment.

"It's done, Naruto-kun; nothing is getting in or out of this room," Hiruzen was looking worriedly at the boy, what could have had him this shaken? "Now, could you tell us what's wrong?"

Instead of answering, Naruto closed his eyes and breathed in deeply, before four small, golden chains appeared out of his back. "I was practicing using chakra to write a Sealing Formula by touch," He said, opening his eyes, the chains still floating behind him, "When suddenly these things appeared and one pressed its tip against one of my practice scrolls and wrote the seal with my chakra."

"The Kongō Fūsa," Jiraiya breathed out, turning his widened eyes towards the Hokage, "You'll have to tell him now sensei, he needs to know about them."

The old man nodded, "I agree, Jiraiya-kun," Hiruzen said, a small smile on his lips, "Now, Naruto-kun, I want you to pay the utmost attention to what I'm about to tell you, and promise me that you won't tell a living soul, other than Jiraiya and me, about it." When the boy promised, the Hokage nodded and walked towards one of the office's walls, opening a secret vault and pulling out a couple of books and a series of scrolls. "Very well, Naruto-kun, it's about time I told you about your parents," he turned around, noticing Naruto's eyes widen, "I was originally going to wait until you were at least a Chūnin, since your parents were two very powerful Shinobi and heroes of our village, but that also means they made many powerful enemies outside of our borders. Your awakening of your mother's Kekkei Genkai, however, has made that point moot, you will need to know everything about this to be able to master them after all."

And so, between Hiruzen and Jiraiya, they told him all he needed to know about his parents' abilities and achievements, only leaving out a certain fox's whereabouts. They told him their identities, the Yondaime Hokage and Konoha's Yellow Flash, Namikaze Minato, and the Red Death, Uzumaki Kushina. They told him how they both had been Fūinjutsu masters, apart from their own abilities in other branches of Shinobi techniques, Minato being a Jutsu creator while Kushina mastered Battle Fūinjutsu and was a Kenjutsu mistress. They told him of how his father had won a war for Konoha by himself using only two techniques he himself created, of how his mother had earned her moniker by decapitating every shinobi in an enemy stronghold by herself, taking their heads to cash in their bounties.

"And these, Naruto-kun," Sarutobi said once they were done, signalling towards some of the things he had taken out of the vault, "Are their journals and note scrolls. I'm also adding Senju Mito's notes on Fūinjutsu to them," he signalled towards a set of scrolls with a spiral symbol on their ends, "She was your mother's great aunt and had access to the chains as well, so her writings could prove useful to you."

Naruto didn't say a word, numbly walking forward and picking up the books, one in red and with Kushina's name engraved in gold on its cover. The other yellow with the kanji for Storm engraved in black. Pocketing them, he turned towards the two men in the room with him, moving so fast towards them they wondered if he had learnt the Shunshin from someone already, and hugged them with all his might.

"Thank you," he said, tears of joy falling from his eyes, "I will keep my promise and won't tell anyone about it. I'll become the best shinobi I can and make them proud, dattebayo!"

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Okay, you lot, settle down!" Iruka looked over the latest batch of first years, noticing an empty seat near the end of the classroom. 'Seems someone is ru-'

"Sorry for the delay, sensei!" A voice from the door called his attention, "Hokage-jiji wanted to give me something before class started, but we started talking and lost track of time."

'Ah, right, Naruto,' Iruka nodded, signalling for the blond to come in, "Don't worry, you're only a couple of seconds late, just don't make a habit out of it, okay?" At the boy's nod, he pointed him forward, "There's a seat beside Hinata, over there. Hinata, could you raise your hand?"

Naruto nodded and walked towards his seat, studying the girl he would be sitting with, 'She looks kind of familiar. Isn't she...?' His eyes widened in realization, "You haven't changed much, have you?" He whispered to her as he sat down, giving her a smile.

'He recognized me!' Hinata gushed inwardly 'Okay Hinata, this is your chance, Don't ruin it!' Outside, her cheeks simply went scarlet, "H-Hello."

Naruto's smile widened a bit before he turned forwards again, mentally taking note of who was in his class. Luckily, the Hokage had given him a crash course on the 'who's who' of Konoha. 'Okay, there's an Akamichi, hard to miss that body shape. Shades, big coat, hiding half of his face and neutral expression, obviously an Abarume. The sleepy one can't be anything but a Nara, he looks like a mini Shikaku-san. The blonde is a Yamanaka, of course. Wonder if Dad was related to them, they're the only other blonds in the village other than us. Blue coat with the Uchiha clan symbol on his back, no doubts about him… wow, his hair looks just like a duck's butt! Long dark hair, no clan symbol visible anywhere, I'll have to wait until I can see his face to check if he's a Hyūga… or a boy, for that matter. Boy with puppy, Inuzuka, no doubt about it. Pink hair… wait, pink? Is that even possible?!... Okay, I got nothing. I have no clue what clan she comes from. Maybe a civilian? Brown hair, up in buns, no clan symbol visible, probably a civilian too.'

"-uto, NARUTO!" His sensei's shout brought him out of his thoughts, how long had he been thinking?

"Sorry, sensei, did you say something?"

"Just going to start roll-call Naruto," Iruka shook his head, 'With that answer, I wouldn't be surprised if he's met Kakashi.' "Please pay attention."

"Yes sensei, sorry sensei." He looked down sheepishly, then pulled out a notebook and pen to jot down some of the names, the first on the list being his dark-haired benchmate, Hinata Hyūga.

"Aburame Shino?" The expressionless boy raised his hand, "Akimichi Chōji?" The big boned boy (never call an Akimichi fat) raised his hand.

A couple of names went by before Iruka reached another few that got his interest.

"Haruno Sakura?" The pink-haired girl raised her hand, "Higurashi Tenten?" The girl with the buns raised her hand, "Hyūga Hinata?" His benchmate raised her hand, "Hyūga Neji?" The long-haired boy raised his hand.

'So he is a Hyūga!' Naruto thought as he wrote the boy's name down, idly noting that he was right about the pink-haired girl being a civilian.

"Inuzuka Kiba?" The boy with the puppy on his head raised his hand, "Nara Shikamaru?" The mini Shikaku raised his hand, On and on Iruka went, until he reached his name.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" The name brought whispers from some of the civilian students.

'And the weird stares continue,' he thought as he raised his hand, 'What did I even do to the civilians?!'

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

Inside a cage hidden in a cistern, Kurama sneezed.

'Huh, someone must be talking about me,' she thought, before her mind went back to thinking about her host, 'I swear, the first thing I'm gonna do once the kid makes it here, other than hug the stuffing out of him, is get him to change this place. Why the fuck does it look like a sewer?!'

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Please settle down!" Iruka said, ending the whispering, "Thank you, now, where was I? Oh, right. Uchiha Sasuke?" Duck-butt raised his hand, "Yamanaka Ino?" the blonde girl raised her hand, "Sai?"

The missing family name caught Naruto's attention, 'An orphan?' He thought, looking around for this 'Sai,' until his eyes landed on a pale, black-haired boy with his hand raised. 'Why is he so pale?' Naruto wondered, 'Maybe he's sick?' He shook his head, now wasn't the time to get lost in thought again.

"Okay you all, my name is Umino Iruka, you can call me Iruka-sensei," he smiled, looking at his students, "Now, follow me, we're going outside so we can check what you know of Taijutsu and Shurikenjutsu."

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

Once they were outside, Iruka had them quickly go through the shuriken range five at a time. The highest scores had been Sasuke, Shikamaru, and surprisingly Tenten, each of them managing to land all ten shuriken in a vital spot. After them came Shino and Kiba, with eight and seven strikes respectively. Naruto himself had ended up tied with Kiba.

Then, they had moved on to sparring matches, Iruka had placed them facing each other in the same order as the roll-call.

Chōji and Shino's fight had been quick. The Akimichi clan had a focus on Taijutsu for their techniques after all, so it wasn't that surprising. And Sakura and Tenten had surprisingly both ended up out of breath before one of them could win, though Tenten explained that she was more used to weapons than Taijutsu while Sakura didn't seem to have much practice.

Naruto hadn't really paid attention to the other fights. The one coming up, though, had him interested.

"Hinata, Neji, step into the circle!"

His jiji had told him about the Hyūga's Jūken, and how it made it a very bad idea to piss off a trained Hyūga, so it was understandable that he would be very interested in seeing someone fight with it, even if they were his age.

Iruka looked between the two Hyūga, "Now, you two, I know the Jūken only works to its fullest if you're using your Byakūgan, so you will be allowed to activate it, but," he looked at both with a stern frown, "I don't want to see you use chakra on your strikes, am I clear?"

"Yes sensei." Hinata said softly, while Neji limited himself to a curt nod.

"Very well, do the Seal of Confrontation," the kids raised their index and middle fingers of one hand, "Hajime!"

"Byakūgan!" Came the twin cries, the veins around the kids' eyes bulging as they sunk into their battle stances, Neji quickly launching himself at Hinata.

Naruto's eyes widened at the ability on display. You didn't need to be an expert to know these two had had their family's Taijutsu style hammered into their heads and bodies. Neji's motions were vicious and precise, every single hit seeming to have all his strength behind it, while Hinata's were soft and graceful, and she seemed to hold back, scared of actually hurting him. When it came to their dodging though, their roles seemed to inverse, Neji was stiff and would prefer to take a body hit to get one of his own in, while Hinata seemed to dance around her relative's jabs.

But in a Taijutsu match, no matter how well you dodge, if your strikes lack strength behind them, you have no chance. And Hinata was quickly made an example of this, being taken down to one knee by her cousin's powerful jabs.

"Hinata-sama," The boy spat out, the honorific dripping with venom, "This is the unalterable difference in strength, the distinction that separates the elite from the failure," he smirked down at her, seeing her struggle to stand up.

"Neji, stop, Hinata is down." Iruka called out to him.

The boy didn't seem to listen, too busy gloating over his downed cousin, "This is the unchangeable reality. From the moment you were put against me, your defeat was inevitable," So focused he was on speaking down to the girl, he didn't notice Iruka still calling at him to stop, nor the blond behind him starting to drill holes on his head with his glare, "The only possible outcome was your present despair. Such a disgraceful heiress, to become a kunichi isn't your destiny." He pulled his arm back and charged chakra on the tip of his fingers, "Now, stay still, will you?" And with that, still ignoring his sensei's cries for him to stop, he launched his arm forward. Just as four thick, golden chains shot towards him and wrapped around his limbs, lifting him off the ground. "What?!" He ground out, looking at his restrained extremities, the rest of the class staring in awe.

"I'm pretty sure Iruka-sensei told you to stop, a lot of times, actually." Same a voice from the chains' source, "So you better stop, dattebayo!."

"Thank you, Naruto," Iruka breathed out, walking forward and taking a hold of Neji, "I can take it from here."

"Protection for the Main House, I see." Neji said, a scowl on his face.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Naruto retracted his chains, keeping them at the ready floating behind him, just in case, "I'm just protecting a friend from someone that doesn't know how to follow orders."

"Naruto is right, Neji," Iruka frowned at the long-haired boy, "You'll be having detention with me after classes are over," he turned an inquisitive stare towards the blond boy behind him, "Now, Naruto, could you tell me, what in the world are those?" He signalled towards the floating chains.

"These, sensei," Naruto had one of the chains move from his back towards his arm, wrapping around it, "Are the Kongō Fūsa, my family's Kekkei Genkai, according to Hokage-jiji."

"Good to know," Iruka smiled at the boy, he may just like teaching him, "Maybe you can show us some more after the matches are done?"

Naruto grinned back and nodded, retracting his chains and walking forward to help Hinata stand up. "Are you alright?" He asked her, passing one of her arms over his shoulder and helping her walk back towards the rest of the class.

"I-It hurts," she almost cried out as Naruto helped her move, "Thank you, Naruto-kun, for saving me again." She said softly, blushing heavily while internally squealing at the close contact with her personal hero

He chuckled a bit, "Any time, Hinata, it's what I do," he smiled at her, noticing out of the corner of his eye Ino and Sakura walking towards them, so he passed Hinata to them once they were near enough, "Look after her?"

"Definitely, Naruto," Ino nodded at him as she and Sakura moved to help Hinata stay upright, "What you did was nice, and those chains of yours look so cool!" She gushed, looking him in the eye while Sakura and a blushing Hinata nodded beside her, "Say, want to meet me and Sakura in the park to play after class? You too if you're feeling better Hinata!"

"Sure!" Naruto beamed at them, his eyes quickly moving towards the hurt girl, "Will you be okay, Hinata?"

"Y-yes, don't worry, Naruto-kun," she said, her voice coming a bit stronger now, "And thanks for the invitation, Ino-san, I'd like to very much." She shot the blonde a small, shy smile.

"Kiba, Shikamaru, it's your turn!"

The group of four had started talking among themselves, not paying much attention to the matches going on.

"Seriously, Hinata," Ino was looking at the white-eyed girl, confused, "What's that guy's problem with you? Aren't you two related?"

"Neji-nii-san's my cousin, but…" Hinata went silent for a bit after that, conflicting emotions flying through her face. "He thinks I'm a failure," she said at last, pinpricks of tears appearing at the corners of her eyes, "I'm the Hyūga heiress, but I'm the weakest Hyūga. Even the younger kids are better at the Jūken than I am. He's a prodigy, a-and compared to him I'm-" A sob wracked through her, the tears starting to flow.

"Hey, hey," Naruto approached her, he dare not hug her in case it could hurt her more, "I don't know who was the idiot that told you you were weak, but you don't need to be a Taijutsu expert to see you were holding back," Hinata's wide eyes shot towards his own, "You don't like hurting people, do you?" He asked, getting a shaky nod in return, "So you hold back to not hurt people, you knew he was better at fighting than you, and still went in with your head up? If that's not strength, I don't know what is!" Sakura and Ino nodded beside her, agreeing with him and startling Hinata even more.

"Y-You think I'm strong?"

"Of course!" Naruto beamed at her, "I mean, yes you're shy, and your hits may not be that strong yet, but inside you're stronger than a lot of people! You just need to let that strength come out!" Hinata's eyes started to water once again, her tears conflicting with the blush on her cheeks, "And I don't know about Ino and Sakura, but I sure will help you do it!"

"Of course we will help!" Sakura chimed in, Ino grinning on Hinata's other side, "I hate how much he insulted you, and I definitely want to see him eat his words!"

"There you have it Hinata!" Naruto nodded at the other two girls, "We'll help each other become strong, dattebayo!"

"Naruto, Sasuke! Step into the circle!"

"Seems it's my turn!" He grinned at his three new friends before making his way towards the circle, "Wish me luck!"

"Okay you two, Seal of Confrontation," Iruka nodded as the two boys made the half-Ram seal, "Very well, hajime!"

In a blink, Sasuke was upon Naruto, a quick punch towards the blond's right shoulder almost making him lose balance. The retaliation came quickly as a blow towards the Uchiha's face. Leaning his head to the side, he quickly moved his hands to grab hold of Naruto's overextended arm, landing a swift and strong palm strike on the elbow. A sickening crack resounded in the silent schoolyard as Sasuke crouched down and unleashed a sweeping kick, dropping Naruto off his feet.

"Sasuke, stop!"

He didn't listen to his sensei's instruction and was on top of Naruto in an instant, landing a blow on the boy's face and busting his lip, but before he could land a second punch, a strong hand took hold of his tensed arm.

"I said stop, Sasuke." Iruka said, taking Sasuke off of Naruto as Hinata, Ino and Sakura moved to help the whiskered boy stand up again, "Girls, take Naruto to the infirmary, we're done for today," he shook his head, letting out a tired sigh, "First day and already two incidents."

"Yes sensei!" The threesome said as Naruto's chains wrapped around his limp arm as an improvised splint.

They quickly reached the academy's nurse's office, who quickly had Naruto sit down. "What happened?" She asked as she passed the closest girl a wet towel to put against the boy's bleeding mouth

"One of the boys in our class did this to him in a spar just now," Hinata pressed the towel on Naruto's lip, seeing it quickly stain red, "Uchiha Sasuke."

"Uchiha, of course," the nurse muttered, "And your Chūnin sensei? Did they do nothing about it?"

"Iruka-sensei told Sasuke to stop, but he didn't listen," Sakura explained as she sat down beside Naruto, "He held him back before he hit Naruto again and sent us with him, he said we were done for the day."

She checked Naruto's arm and signaled for Hinata to remove the towel for a bit, "Well, the lip is almost healed already, though it may be sore for a while, but this arm… Hokage-sama is going to be very angry about this, I can already tell." She sighed.

"Why would Hokage-sama be angry?" Ino asked, looking between the nurse and her new friend.

"He's Uzumaki-san's sponsor," she explained simply, looking at the girl for a moment before focusing on Naruto again, "Could you be a dear and hand me those wraps, please? Thank you," she quickly wrapped the cloth around Naruto's broken arm and stood back, "Now, if you four will excuse me, I have to go call Hokage-sama's office about this."

"That won't be necessary, Nurse-san," a voice from the window startled them, "Hokage-sama has already been notified.

"Thank you, Neko-san!" Naruto said, his lip's injury having disappeared without leaving even a trace.

"You're welcome, Naruto-kun."

As this little exchange took place, Sakura and Ino were having a little, whispered conversation.

"How could Sasuke be so…" Ino trailed off, the shock off what she witnessed finally catching up to her and making her shiver.

"...Brutal? Scary? Ruthless?" Sakura finished her friend's thoughts, her mind going to a similar place.

They would never admit it out loud, but when they had just entered the classroom and seen the Uchiha boy, they had thought him cute. That had crashed and burned after he broke Naruto's arm and then kept attacking him. What they witnessed had made sure that, in their minds, Sasuke Uchiha had been marked as 'Do not approach.'

They didn't care if Sasuke was cute anymore. When you compared what he did, to Naruto saving Hinata from her own cousin, the choice was easy. They would stay at Naruto and Hinata's side, and Hell would freeze over before they became friends with someone like Sasuke.

"Is Naruto-kun going to be okay?" Hinata's voice got their minds off the Uchiha boy, refocusing them on their new friend's pain.

"Don't worry Hinata," Naruto smiled at her before the nurse could answer, "I have always healed fast!".

The nurse nodded, "Naruto is right, Hyūga-san," she gave the girl a small smile, "Even as I checked him, his lip's injury was closing up, and I wouldn't be surprised if his elbow was knitting itself back together too. At this rate, by tomorrow morning, he should be right as rain!"

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"Okay, who do I believe more, Mito-obāsan or Ero-se- Who am I kidding? Of course Mito-obāsan!"

Whoever entered the room right now, would be either amazed, or scared shitless, depending on if they understood what the hell was going on or not.

Naruto was sitting in the middle of the floor, books and scrolls surrounding him, splotches of ink over his body, a brush in his right hand, his left touching a blank scroll and about eight chains coming out of his back and touching different points of the walls, floor, ceiling and even giant scrolls.

He quickly looked towards one of Senju Mito's scrolls to check something, before writing down a small sequence of symbols, adding his own small alterations here and there, just to see if it worked.

"Yo, kid!" He looked towards the door, where his godfather was standing, grinning at him, "Sensei told me I could find you here, and, gotta say, I love what you're doing with the place!" He walked towards one of the chains touching the walls, "Is this one of Mito-sama's Reinforcement Seals?" He asked his godson.

"Yup, the chains on the walls and ceiling are doing Reinforcement, and the ones touching scrolls are making me some storage," he looked at Jiraiya's back, seemingly contemplating something, "Say, Ero-sennin, think this will work?"

"Brat." The Sannin grumbled, "Callin me such an uncool name." He walked towards him, dodging a chain on the way, and leaned down to look at the scroll Naruto was writing in, "A gravity alteration seal?"

"Kinda," the boy nodded, "I want to try and make some kind of chakra weight for clothes. The metal ones are too expensive, and the seals used in them don't work on cloth. The seals use too much chakra and just-."

"Destroy the cloth." Jiraiya finished, humming thoughtfully. He looked at the books and scrolls Naruto had around. It was a good idea, not to mention it could make Naruto rich if he sold them to the different armories around Konoha, "Check in master Migakima's book. He has some ideas for chakra drainage that may help."

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"Naruto, come forward, it's your turn." Iruka waved his hand, motioning for Naruto to approach.

The blond sighed as he stood up. Since Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's older brother, had gone wacko and killed all of his clan bar Sasuke himself during their first year, their classes at the academy had become a lot more demanding, to the point that they had already started them on the so-called 'Academy Three,' three Jutsu that they would need to be able to use to graduate. Considering they were normally taught during third year, after dedicating a lot of first and second year to chakra moulding and control, it was definitely hard for most everyone in their year.

"Okay Naruto, do the three jutsu in this order. Kawarimi, Henge, and then the Bunshin."

"Don't worry sensei, I got it." He quickly went through the hand seals, "Kawarimi no Jutsu!" He substituted himself with his desk, leaving behind a cloud of chakra smoke, before repeating and ending back in front of Iruka.

"Very good, though you have to work a bit on your chakra control, there had to be a lot of chakra wasted for that amount of smoke. Now Henge."

Naruto nodded at the small critique, before repeating the seals his jiji had shown him a couple of years ago, picturing the image of who he wanted to turn into as he went.

Another puff of chakra smoke, this time the cloud being thick enough to hide Naruto from view, and where once stood Uzumaki Naruto, now was a man that his classmates had only seen in pictures in their history books. The silver hair, red eyes, red marks on his cheeks and chin, a head protector with Konoha's symbol on the forehead and blue body armor made it clear who this man was.

"Chūnin Umino, I trust this is enough?" The man looked at the scarred ninja seriously, even his voice had become deeper to match his disguise.

Iruka shook his head to get rid of the shock of having the Nidaime standing before him and walked around his disguised student, poking at the hair and body, "Very well done, Naruto! A solid Henge takes quite a bit of chakra, and I see no differences with the real thing!" The scarred Chūnin praised his student.

Naruto quickly dispelled the jutsu, chuckling, "Thanks, sensei!" The blond could see Sasuke's eye twitching out of the corner of his eye.

"Okay, now the hard one, the Bunshin!"

The boy nodded, focusing and quickly went through the needed seals, "Bunshin no Jutsu!" This time the cloud of chakra smoke was big enough to cover the whole room.

"Someone open the windows please!" Iruka managed to cough out, waving his hand in front of his face to clear some of the smoke away.

Once they had gotten rid of the smoke cloud, Iruka directed his eyes towards where Naruto was, his jaw falling to the ground at the result of the blond's jutsu. Two ill-looking clones were laying on the ground beside Naruto, twitching every few moments. The whiskered blond and the scarred Chūnin exchanged a look, one sheepish, one disbelieving.

"Too much chakra?"

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Okay, this is the last time I have ramen as a midnight snack!" The nine-year-old blond looked around him, bewildered, "Where the hell am I?!" Wherever it was, it looked like a sewer, and since there wasn't any other path except a hallway in front of him, Naruto shrugged and started to walk towards wherever that hallway led.

After a while, he reached what looked like the sewer's cistern, but didn't have time to look around before a cry of "YOU'RE HERE!" reached his ears, and then his face was covered in breasts.

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"Okay, so let me get this straight!" Jiraiya was massaging his temples while his sensei stared at nothing, still processing what they had been told.

About an hour ago, just as he had been coming through the window to talk with the old man, Naruto had come in at a run and asked the Hokage to seal the room, that he had something extremely important to discuss with them, and that it involved his parents.

Hiruzen, of course, had quickly done as Naruto asked, just in time for a very small Kyūbi to pop up on the kid's shoulder and ask that they heard what it had to say. From there, it had quickly devolved into Kurama, as she had said she was actually called, explaining what had actually happened the night Naruto was born and she had been sealed inside him. There had been tears, shock, anger, and then thoughtful numbness as she told her tale.

"You," he pointed at Kurama, "Were taking a nap while still sealed inside Kushina when she was giving birth to Naruto, then you were basically ripped out from your... bed and put under a genjutsu by a masked man with a Sharingan," the fox nodded, "then, through that genjutsu, this man ordered you to attack Konoha, against your will," she nodded again, "After a while, you came back to your senses, thanks to Kushina's chains putting enough Seals on you to disrupt your chakra and break the genjutsu, and promised Minato and Kushina to watch over Naruto?" Kurama nodded yet again, "Do you understand how crazy that sounds?!"

"I believe her," Hiruzen said, much to Jiraiya's shock. At his student's sputters, he decided to elaborate, "Mito-sama always told Hashirama-sensei that the Kyūbi wasn't evil, just mischievous, and Kushina confirmed the same to me and Minato during her teen years," He could see Jiraiya was still a bit disbelieving, "It also fits with what Minato told us in his last moments, how a man identifying himself as Uchiha Madara had attacked them and ripped Kyūbi out of Kushina."

"I don't know if he was actually an Uchiha, all things considered," Kurama spoke up, getting their attention back, "I know how you humans can swap your eyes for someone else's without much problem," Hiruzen nodded at that, she wasn't wrong, "If I recall correctly, one of Minato's students had one of his eyes replaced for a Sharingan, didn't he?"

"Yes, Hatake Kakashi," Hiruzen confirmed for her, "His Sharingan was gifted to him by a dying comrade, Obito Uchiha."

"That doesn't matter much right now," Jiraiya butted in, looking directly at his godson, "The question is, how did you two end up meeting, Naruto?!"

"Oh, I just had some ramen as a midnight snack and woke up in what Kurama-obasan called my mindscape," he shrugged, before turning towards Hiruzen, "Jiji, do you know why my mind looks like a sewer?"

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Are you sure this is a good idea, Naruto-kun?" A worried nine-year-old Hinata asked her blond friend. Her eyes quickly drifted towards the man standing beside him and the girl sitting on a corner of the room.

"Absolutely, Hinata-chan!" Naruto smiled back at her, calling upon his chains, "Thank you for allowing us to try this in your family's dojo, Hyūga-sama." He bowed towards the adult with them.

"There's no need to thank me, Uzumaki-san," Hiashi nodded at the boy, walking forward and looking at the chains with his Byakūgan to confirm Naruto's words.

A couple of days ago, Hinata and Naruto had approached him with an idea to help with her training. They said that the boy's Kekkei Genkai seemed to have a chakra network that was connected to his own. Now, he could see with his own eyes that their words were true, his own Byakūgan allowing him to see the chakra paths going through the chains coming out of the boy's back.

He knew his daughter was shy, and too caring for her own good sometimes, very similar to her late mother. He also knew that this was more than likely holding her back in her training, so he honestly hoped Naruto was right and this would help her become stronger.

He shook his head, focusing again on the task at hand, "And if this can help with my daughter's training, it's me who should be thankful."

"It's no problem, sir, I'm just helping a friend," Naruto nodded at him with a small smile, "I'm just sorry I can't make enough chains for every tenketsu, but fifteen is my maximum before I start losing control over them."

"Do you know what happens to your chains after she strikes them, Uzumaki-san?" He asked the boy.

"No sir," He answered him with a small frown, "I mean, we haven't really done this before, we came to you the moment Hinata noticed it, and haven't actually tried to have Hinata strike my chains yet," He looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think they will either retract or stay there since they are made of chakra, though."

"We will have to wait and see, then." He looked back at the boy, "Uzumaki-san, I want you to use your chains to retaliate at random against Hinata," Naruto blinked and tilted his head in curiosity, but nodded nonetheless, before Hiashi turned towards his daughter, "Hinata, I want you to practice the Eight Palms at first. If Uzumaki-san is able to reform his chains between your strikes, or they remain intact, we can progress to Sixteen and then, depending on how you do, start your training on the Thirty-Two, understood?"

"Yes, father." She dropped down into her Jūken stance, "Byakūgan!"

"Begin!"

Hiashi's eyes quickly widened at the scene unfolding before him. He had never seen Hinata this focused. Every single strike she launched landed true, he could see the tenketsu at the chains' tips dim for a moment when she struck before glowing again as they were recharged of chakra. Her jabs were strong and decisive, and whenever Naruto moved his chains to attack she almost flowed between them, sometimes retaliating mid-dodge. He could see her start raising her speed, until she was comfortably doing a continuous, picture-perfect Sixteen Palms without even breaking a sweat. Where had this Hinata been hiding? From what he was seeing now, he would definitely start her training for the Sixty-Four Palms soon, it would be ridiculous not to!

"Stop!" He called out, Hinata halting with her arms still extended, the glowing tip of her fingers touching one of the chains. He looked from Naruto to his daughter back and forth, nodding all the while, "Hinata," she retracted her arm and turned towards him, shaking slightly, "If you had shown this kind of drive and focus since you started your training, I can assure you, you would already be mastering the Thirty-Two Palms, and training for the Sixty-Four," he noticed her eyes widen, "I hope to see you start training like this more often."

Her jaw dropped before her lips stretched in the largest smile she had ever worn, pinpricks of tears in the corners of her eyes, overjoyed at finally making her dad proud of her abilities, "Yes father, thank you father."

"Now, Hinata, we have to break that habit of yours of holding back during a spar," Hiashi saw his daughter wince at that, "I know that you don't like hurting people, but you're studying to become a kunoichi. There will come the time when you will have to hurt someone, or you and your friends will die, or worse, in a kunoichi's case." Hinata paled and nodded shakily.

Naruto was frowning thoughtfully, he knew Hinata's dad was right, but at the same time it was obvious that sparring wasn't enough to break her out of it yet. Though maybe… yes, that could work, couldn't it? "Hyūga-sama, if I may?" He got the Hyūga clan head's attention again, a glint in his eyes, "I don't know if you know this, but I've been learning Fūinjutsu for a couple of years now, with Jiraiya-sama of the Sannin as my sponsor and teacher, I think between the two of us we can try and make a training dummy or something along those lines, to help Hinata-chan train," he was already going through the Seals in his mind, "We would just need her help to tell us if the chakra network looks fine."

Hiashi was nodding along as the boy spoke. During his talks with the Hokage, the boy's abilities on Fūinjutsu had been mentioned more than once by a proud Hiruzen. And this explained why Jiraiya of the Sannin had also sung his praises too, the few times he had been there, "If you are able to make such a device, Uzumaki-san, I would be most thankful."

"A training dummy, father?" Hinata asked softly, confused. How would something like that help?

"Yes, a human-looking training dummy would help you quite a bit," Hiashi's lips twitched upwards for just a second, "Since it can't feel pain, you wouldn't feel the need to hold back." 'Not to mention its shape will slowly desensitize you to the point that you should be able to stop holding back in spars.' He added in his mind, internally hitting himself for not thinking of something like this sooner. It would be a great training tool going forward, even for the next Hyūga generations. Why hadn't they invested on something like this sooner? 'The Elders, of course.' Those old men were so stubborn when it came to tradition, they couldn't see the harm those same traditions were doing to their clan as a whole.

As they were speaking, they didn't notice the younger girl in the room with them quickly darting her way towards Hinata until she was right next to the older girl, wrapping her arms around her legs and burrowing her head on her midsection.

"Nēchan, that was so cool!" The little four-year-old gushed quietly, looking up at her big sister's face, "How come I have never seen you like that?"

Hinata smiled down at her sister's sparkling eyes, when was the last time she had felt so at ease around her own family? "Because every time you have seen me train, Hanabi-chan, it's been against either you or father, and I care too much about you to hurt you, even a little, and yes father, I know I couldn't even approach you if we were fighting seriously." She giggled at the man's raised eyebrow.

Hanabi simply hugged her sister tighter at that, "I care about you too, Hinata-nee!" She burrowed her face into Hinata's tummy again, almost snuggling her like a teddy bear and releasing a soft little yawn, "You're so warm, nēchan."

Hinata giggled softly, prying her sleepy little away and taking her hand in hers, walking towards the dojo's door and into the house, "Come on, Hanabi-chan, I think it's time for your nap."

The small girl nodded tiredly, rubbing her eye with her free hand, "Okay, nēchan."

Hiashi looked at his daughters leaving the room before turning towards the boy still with him in the dojo, "See why I said I would be the one being thankful, Uzumaki-san?" He softly shook his head, "I haven't seen my eldest daughter this happy since before my wife's death."

"Yes, well," Hiashi picked up on the boy's unsure tone, "I think I may know why, and it has a bit to do with her training…"

"Explain." His voice came harsher than he wanted, but right now he didn't care.

"Look, Hyūga-sama, since our first day at the academy, Sakura-chan, Ino-chan and me have been trying to help Hinata-chan get more confident and helping her train," Naruto scowled at the ground, before turning back towards Hiashi, a serious frown on his face, "But every time we seem to be getting her out of her shell, Neji comes and puts her down, spews out some stuff about fate and her never improving in her life and we have to start from scratch again!"

Hiashi let out a deep sigh. His nephew was considered a genius by the clan, but he had noticed the boy's hatred and resentment, and now hearing that he was part of the reason for Hinata's confidence issues… "Thank you for bringing that to my attention, Uzumaki-san. I will see what I can do."

Naruto bowed down, "Alright Hyūga-sama, I'll get going now. I have to see if Jiraiya-sama is in the village to get started on that training dummy."

Hiashi nodded at the boy, "Very well, Uzumaki-san, and in the name of the Hyūga clan, I thank you for the help you have provided my daughter with, and what I'm sure you will continue to provide."

"I told you already, Hyūga-sama, I am just helping a friend, dattebayo!" Naruto grinned at the man before running out of the dojo. Hopefully Ero-sennin would be with his jiji.

Hiashi shook his head, a small chuckle escaping his lips now that he was alone and could let his stoic mask fall for a bit, "He's definitely his parents' son."

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

A ten-year-old Naruto was once again standing in the Hyūga head's private dojo, only this time he was alone with Hiashi.

The older man had decided that, as thanks for helping Hinata with her training to the point she no longer shied away during a spar, he would instruct the blond boy in taijutsu as well as he could.

He may only be able to teach him the basics of the Jūken, and he wouldn't be able to use any of the actual techniques to block the tenketsu, but having known the boy's parents, he was more than sure that would be enough for Naruto to build from.

"So you fire chakra from your fingertips?" The boy asked, looking at the man's glowing hands.

"An oversimplification but yes. Don't try it, Naruto-san. With how spotty your chakra control is, and the sheer amount you have available, I don't doubt you could end up blowing off one of your fingers."

"I know, Hiashi-sama, but what if I did this?" Naruto pulled his arm back, preparing himself to launch a punch at the basic training dummy in front of them.

Closing his fist, Naruto channeled what for him was a small amount of chakra, and what most Chūnin would call about half of their overall reserves, getting a bright blue glow on his hand, before launching his punch forward.

Hiashi's eyes widened while Naruto's lips stretched on a wide grin. He had launched that chakra-charged punch from the same distance you would normally throw a kunai, and it had been enough to completely obliterate the dummy and leave a pretty well-sized dent in the wall behind it.

'Oh, by the Hokage's ancient family jewels, that's all Kushina!' "Naruto-san, I think I would be better off training you to strike without using your chakra."

"Umm, about the training dummy…"

Hiashi waved him off, "Don't worry, it wasn't one of yours, these can be easily replaced," he took the standard Jūken stance and motioned for the boy to do the same, "Now, try and mimic my movements."

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Iruka sighed, he still wasn't sure this was a good idea, but he honestly hoped it wouldn't be a repeat of last time, "Naruto, Sasuke, step into the ring."

He hadn't put the two boys against each other since their first spar two years ago, worried that Sasuke would just repeat his actions, but he hoped time and experience had dulled the brutality he had shown that day, at least a bit.

Noticing the two eleven-year-olds standing and waiting for instructions already, he shook his head and got his mind on the moment again, "Okay, Seal of Confrontation, Hajime!"

Just like last time, Sasuke launched himself towards Naruto in less time than it took to blink. But that's where all similarities to that fight ended.

The moment Iruka had cried the start of the spar, Naruto had quickly moved his arms into a stance he had perfected with Hiashi's help. Left arm in front of him, bent upwards at the elbow and with his hand extended, his right hand resting on his left bicep and his body standing straight. To most eyes, he looked wide open for a hit. They would soon learn their mistake.

Sasuke opened up with a high kick, Naruto simply flowed around it. His following right hook was quickly and efficiently parried to the side. Left kick to the ribs? Naruto tilted his body aside. Right punch to the neck? Naruto parried it without even trying. That's how their whole spar went, every attack Sasuke launched, Naruto easily dodged or parried, never sending a hit of his own, seemingly waiting for something.

And then that something happened.

Sasuke's irritation at being unable to land a hit boiled over, sending an overextending right towards Naruto, who leaned to the side to dodge and grabbed a hold of his forearm and pulled, forcing Sasuke forward right as he trust his right palm out, right at Sasuke's chest. Letting go with his left arm, he watched as the Uchiha was launched backwards and landed on his butt on the ground, the breath knocked out of his lungs.

Hinata's eyes widened in shock as Neji's narrowed in annoyance through the fight. They may not have known the stance Naruto started in, but the way he parried and dodged had looked familiar, and Hinata could swear she had seen her father do some of those same moves before while teaching her, but that hit? That was extremely familiar to them.

'Did… Did Naruto-kun just out-Uchiha an Uchiha?' Hinata wondered, 'How did he learn to do that?!'

"Okay, you two, good match!" Iruka called, a small grin on his lips, "The victor is Naruto," he looked towards the Uchiha, seeing him still struggling to regain his breath, "Naruto, could you help Sasuke stand up so you two can do the Seal of Reconciliation?"

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"Oof!" Ino hit the mat with a thud, her body giving up under her.

"Hinata-chan wins, again." Sakura shook her head with a grin from the sidelines, sitting against one of the walls.

The three girls were in the Hyūga head's private dojo once again. Normally, a certain blonde-haired boy would be with them, but that week, Jiraiya would be in the village and as such, Naruto had to make the most of his presence for help with his Fūinjutsu practice.

"You lasted longer this time, Ino-chan," Hinata giggled sheepishly as she deactivated her Byakūgan, looking down at the blonde girl.

Ino grinned back, trying and failing to raise her head up, "Yeah, but not all of us have a clan that specialises in taijutsu. Now, could you help me move? I can't feel my body again yet." She chuckled, embarrassed.

The blue-haired girl's giggles increased as she leant down and passed her friend's arm over her shoulder, helping her 'stand.'

"Seriously Hinata-chan, what happened to the shy girl that wouldn't hurt a fly?" Sakura laughed, walking towards the other two and helping the Hyūga move the downed blonde towards the wall.

"I think all three of us know the answer to that, Sakura-chan," Hinata smiled wistfully, similar smiles making their way to the other two's faces, "Naruto-kun has been good to us, hasn't he?"

"Yup," Ino nodded emphatically, "I mean, he's so nice, and caring, and his hugs feel great, and those whiskers of his are just so cute!" She gushed, prompting giggles and blushes from her friends.

It wasn't a secret among the three girls that they all shared a crush on their blond-haired friend. It wasn't surprising, considering they spent a lot of time with him, either training, sparring, or just being eleven-year-old kids.

They didn't let the fact that they all liked the same boy come between them though, they cared too much for each other to let that happen.

"He's also the only one of us that can win against Hinata-chan," Sakura grinned, "Seriously, that Uzudo of his is so cool! Wonder where he found out about it?"

Both girls saw Hinata blush and look at the ground, poking her fingers together. They recognized this as a tic of Hinata's that she had mostly outgrown as her confidence grew, but it still came out now and then when she was nervous or embarrassed.

"Ok, Hinata-chan, spill!" The girl looked up at Sakura, her eyes widening, "Don't give me that look, you know more than you're telling us!"

"Umm, w-well…" Hinata stammered, "Naruto-kun kinda… createdthatstylewithfather'shelp!"

"Excuse me, what?!" Ino's jaw dropped in shock, "Did I hear you right? Naruto-kun created an entirely new style?!"

"N-Not from scratch, Ino-chan," Hinata shook her head, "Father taught Naruto-kun the basics of the Jūken and helped him modify the stance into the one he uses, then sparred with him to help him create strikes and blocks," she started poking her fingers together again, "Father says that the Uzudo is still too rough to be called a style, and for now they are treating it as a variant of the Jūken, until Naruto-kun can get a taijutsu master's help to finish it."

"And just when I thought Naruto-kun couldn't get any cooler," Sakura shook her head, her blush coming back full-force., "He really is one of a kind isn't he?"

"Yeah," Hinata sighed out dreamily, before her smile melted into a frown, "I'm not sure how we can get him to notice us in that way though."

"Ditch the jacket next year and you're done," Ino smirked at the dark-haired girl, "Seriously Hinata-chan, we're eleven and you already need a bra!"

"Ino-chan!" The Hyūga heiress whined, her cheeks going scarlet and her arms waving up and down in embarrassment, much to her friends' amusement.

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Okay you lot, settle down!" Iruka looked over his class, a smile on his face, "Today is the first day of what hopefully will be your last year in the academy!" He chuckled at the cheers that got from most of the class, "Now, let's see if you remember what you will need to graduate come the end of year. Any volunteers?" He grinned, noticing one of his favorite students raise his hand, "That's the spirit! Come down here, Naruto!"

The whiskered blond decided to show off a bit, and substituted himself with one of the logs Iruka had prepared for the lesson.

"Okay, I see you remember the Kawarimi, at least," Iruka chuckled, turning back to look at his student, just to come face to face with the Yondaime Hokage, "And the Henge, too. And both with no seals and silently, you have been practicing!"

Naruto grinned as he dispelled the disguise, before giving Iruka a curious look, "Say, Iruka-sensei, does the last Jutsu have to be the Bunshin or a Bunshin?"

Iruka hummed thoughtfully, "Officially, it has to be the basic Bunshin, but between you and me," he playfully looked around, like he was checking no one was listening in, drawing chuckles from the class, "If any of you is able to do one of the more advanced variants, I'm passing you with extra points. They are both more complex and take more chakra, so I would see no reason to fail you."

Naruto sighed in relief, "Perfect! I had to ask, since jiji wasn't sure if the other Bunshin variants were still accepted," he grinned widely then, putting the index and middle fingers of both his hands in cross in front of him, Iruka's eyes widening as he realized what Naruto was about to do, "I think I there's enough space here for about twenty, Tajū Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

In puffs of smoke, two Narutos appeared beside the original, then another two, and so on until there were twenty one Narutos standing in front of a gaping Iruka.

"Wha- Naruto, do you know what you just did?!" Iruka was looking from clone to clone and pinching himself to make sure he wasn't dreaming.

"Yup. From what jiji said, my chakra reserves are around low-Jōnin right now, and my chakra is denser than normal. I can even make more than a hundred at a time!" Naruto grinned up at Iruka.

"And I'm guessing Hokage-sama taught it to you?" Iruka shook off his shock. He should know better than to expect Naruto to do things the normal way by now.

"Kind of," the twelve-year-old shrugged, "He gave me a scroll with the Jutsu and showed me how to do it a couple of times and told me to ask him or the ANBU watching me if I had any questions about it."

- Flashback start -

"I just don't get it, jiji," Naruto groaned as Teuchi put his bowl of ramen in front of him, "Thanks, Teuchi-ossan."

"And you say that even the least amount of chakra you can control is still too much for the Bunshin?" The Hokage asked back as he nodded his thanks to Teuchi for his own bowl.

Naruto nodded as he almost inhaled the noodles, "Mhm, and no matter how much I train with it, I still end up with dying clones and filling a room with chakra smoke," he sighed as Teuchi put another bowl in front of him, "I don't even know why we have to learn the Bunshin, you have to be a moron to not notice its fake!"

Hiruzen could only agree with Naruto on that. The standard Bunshin the academy students were taught didn't project a shadow, nor could it interact with the world around it. It was at best a glorified, minor genjutsu. Even more so, to his knowledge, only genjutsu specialists used it after the academy, and even then it was layered with other, more powerful genjutsu to hide its short-comings.

"I may have an idea to help you, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen shook his head to get out of his thoughts, while Naruto turned towards him with hopeful eyes, some noodles hanging between his lips, "I will have a jutsu scroll ready for you tomorrow. Since the academy is on summer break right now, you should have more than enough time to learn it."

"Yatta! Thanks jiji!" Naruto cheered, eating his ramen with renewed vigor.

The next day, boy and grandfather figure met in Naruto's practice room inside the Hokage Tower. By now, it also served to train rookie Seal Breakers with the amount of Defensive Fūinjutsu Naruto had layered on it over the last six years, it was a competition of sorts the blond boy had with the trainees.

The fact it was so protected meant that it was also the perfect place for Naruto to learn new techniques, since, if something went wrong, it would all be contained within the room.

"Okay, Naruto-kun," Hiruzen handed the boy a scroll with the kanji for fire branded on its sides, "The technique I'm about to show you, and that's written inside that scroll, is classified as a Kinjutsu, and is normally only taught to Jōnin-level ninja, so no teaching it to someone without running it through me first, understood?"

"No teaching it to anyone without your permission, got it!" Naruto saluted, opening the scroll.

"Very well. First, a little history lesson," he chuckled at the groan Naruto let out, "Now, now, Naruto-kun, you need to know about the jutsu before you'll be able to use it to its full potential. The technique is called the Kage Bunshin, and it was created by one of my sensei, the Nidaime Hokage, as an espionage tool, since the moment the clone is dispelled, everything it learnt and saw is sent to the original, with me so far?" Naruto nodded at him, "Good. Now, this is only possible because the clones are perfect replicas of the caster, down to their chakra network. As such, a Kage Bunshin takes much more chakra than any other of the Bunshin variants."

He could see Naruto starting to get antsy to start practicing, so decided to skip ahead to showing the boy the jutsu, "Okay, Naruto-kun, the Kage Bunshin uses only one seal, fittingly called by Tobirama-sensei, the Clone Seal," Hiruzen demonstrated, putting his fingers in cross, "Then, it's identical to performing the standard Bunshin, just with much more chakra poured into it," he performed the jutsu for Naruto a couple of times, not that it was really needed, it was pretty simple after all, "The scroll is a copy of Tobirama-sensei's original explanation, with a couple notes of my own and some of my own notes on deconstructing the jutsu, plus an extra technique for when you master the Kage Bunshin itself," here he let a small grin appear on his lips, Naruto's sparkling eyes shooting towards him, "I added a technique of my own creation, the Shuriken Kage Bunshin, it takes even more chakra than the Kage Bunshin itself, but it can be very useful in battle."

"Thanks jji!" Naruto beamed up at the old Hokage, "Just you wait! I'll have them down by the time I graduate, dattebayo!"

- Flashback ends -

"So, have you?" Iruka asked the blond as he finished recounting the story.

Naruto simply shrugged, "I haven't mastered the Kage Bunshin yet, and I have barely managed five or ten copies with the Shuriken Kage Bunshin, but I still have the whole year!" He grinned, his eyes sparkling.

Iruka chuckled, shaking his head, "Only you Naruto," he grinned at the whiskered boy, "But continue like that, and I have no doubt you'll graduate no problem!"

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

Naruto quickly barged into the classroom, grinning, his ensemble drawing more than one pair of eyes.

Gone were the simple shirt and pants he used to wear to class everyday. They had been replaced by a high-collared, short-sleeved black coat over a mesh shirt, the Uzumaki clan symbol sitting proudly on the coat's left shoulder, his hitai-ate tied around his head. Around his hips, an orange cloak was folded and tied up by a black rope, covering his thighs and a pair of black pants. Standard duty shinobi sandals were on his feet, while on the small of his back hung a scroll that must have been around half his size.

He quickly made his way to where his three friends were sitting, Hinata having saved him a spot beside her.

"Hi Naruto-kun!" The girls beamed at him, standing up and moving forward to give their friend/crush a hug.

Naruto grinned, returning their hugs tightly, "Hi Hinata-chan, Ino-chan, Sakura-chan!" He said as they let go, looking between each of his friends as he said their names.

Hinata had decided to follow Ino's joking advice and had switched her fluffy jacket for a well-fitted lavender, short-sleeved, short kimono with white details that reached her mid-thigh, while around her waist she had tied a wide, white sash. Black thigh-high, toeless socks covered her legs, black shinobi sandals on her feet. She had kept her midnight-blue hair short, still in her hime cut, with her hit-ate tied around her neck.

Ino had opted for a dark purple sleeveless top and a matching skirt with slits on its sides so as to not restrict her movement, her hitai-ate tied around her hips like a belt. Wrappings could be seen tied around her legs, all the way up her exposed midriff. Her blue shinobi sandals and light grey arm warmers completed her outfit. Her platinum blonde hair was kept up in a high ponytail, a long lock left free from its binding, going down the right side of her face.

Sakura, for her part, was wearing a dark red, long-sleeved, shoulderless t-shirt, her shoulders being covered by a black shoulder cape with short sleeves that just met the t-shirt's own, and went about an inch up, hugging her neck On her hands, she wore a pair of light grey, fingerless gloves. Her pants, the same shade as her gloves, hugged her legs tightly, a black pouch and white bandage was tied around her right thigh, with a pair of black shinobi boots going up her shins and over her pants, a light brown belt tied around her hips with a pouch on her left side. Her long, pink hair flowed freely down her back and past her hips, going all the way down to her knees, with two long bangs framing her face, her hitai-ate tied around her head.

"You three look great as always," he beamed at them, drawing blushes, before he got a pondering look on his face, "Although," he moved until he stood behind Sakura, taking a long strand off the rope around his hips and cutting it off with a kunai, before carefully tying his friend's hair up, in a high ponytail similar to Ino's, just a bit messier, "There,s o it doesn't brush the ground when you sit down, Sakura-chan!" He smiled gently at her.

"Thank you, Naruto-kun," She returned his smile, before leaning over and pecking his cheek, drawing a blush from both of them and giggles from the other two.

As she got her giggling under control, Ino looked curiously at the large scroll tied to her fellow blond's back, "Say, Naruto-kun, what's with the scroll?"

Naruto quickly untied it as they sat down again, showing it to the girls, "Ero-sensei said that, as a Fūinjutsu user, I should get used from the start to carrying scrolls, brushes and ink around, and recommended something like this," he opened it and showed its contents to the girls, six different seals having been drawn in it, "They are all Storage seals, and each has something different inside," he started pointing at each, "That one has inks, the next has scrolls, then brushes, the one after that has shuriken, the one beside the shurikens has kunai and the last one is for standard survival equipment; you know, a tent, a sleeping bag, some food, that kind of thing."

As they were speaking, Iruka had made his way into the classroom and was looking over the class, a small, bittersweet smile on his lips. 'Damn, I'm gonna miss these kids.' "Okay you lot, settle down!" He grinned at the class, "Let me start by saying I couldn't be any prouder of you all, and that I know you will make outstanding shinobi and kunoichi!" 'At least, if you pass your Jōnin sensei's test, that is'' "So wear your hitai-ate with pride!" He chuckled at the cheers from the class, signalling with his hands for them to pipe down, "Now, that said, the teams this year will be a little different."

He could easily pick up on his students' unease, so quickly explained his meaning, "You see, Hokage-sama thought it would be a good idea to expand the genin teams a bit, but he needed to give it a test run before making it permanent, and since this class is a bit larger than normal, he decided this one would be perfect to give it a try," he grinned at the relieved faces around the room, "Now, I'll start reading out to which team each of you was assigned. They are not up for debate, since they were especially picked by Hokage-sama, with some input from the academy's staff and the team's Jōnin sensei. Team one will be…"

Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Sakura mostly tuned him out as he read off the teams, simply letting their eyes wander over the people named. They were all middle of the pack when it came to their class, with some of them being in the poorer ends. They were also all civilian students that didn't have friends from a clan to help them train, like Sakura had, or parents that knew their way in a fight and around weapons, like Tenten's. The teams' Jōnin senseis were all pretty unknown names too. None of them recognized any, at least.

"... Team seven will be Sasuke, Chōji, Kiba and Neji," Iruka said, getting the quartet's attention completely back with that. A fully male team was pretty rare after all, the fact it was only clan members making it rarer still, "Team eight will be Shikamaru, Sai, Shino and Tenten," they could easily hear Shikamaru mumble 'troublesome' when his name was called, prompting chuckles from them, "And team nine will be Naruto, Hinata, Ino and Sakura," Iruka gave them all one last smile, "You have one hour before you have to come back here to meet your sensei. Go have lunch and make sure you're here on time. I wish you the best on your careers as Konoha shinobi, and I say with total honesty that I'm proud to have been your sensei for the last four years. Dismissed!"

"Want to go to Ichiraku's for lunch?" Naruto asked the girls as he tied his scroll on his back again, the rest of the class quickly leaving the room, "My treat."

"Sure!" The girls nodded, before Sakura gained a thoughtful look, "Though, what's Ichiraku's?"

Naruto froze at that, slowly turning his head towards his friends, "You mean to tell me, in the four years we've been friends, I've never once taken you to Ichiraku's?" The girls all shook their heads, trying to hold back giggles, "Well, let's fix that, c'mon!" He grinned at them and motioned to follow him, running out of the classroom, the girls hot on his heels.

TCOY - TCOY - TCOY - TCOY

"Okay, gotta admit, that was delicious, Naruto-kun!" Ino said blissfully as the group made their way back inside the classroom, their bellies full of Konoha's best ramen.

They absently noticed they were the first group back, the rest of the class probably wouldn't arrive until the hour was almost up anyways.

Naruto chuckled, untying his scroll as they sat down to wait, "Teuchi-ossan and Ayame-neechan make the best ramen in the world, dattebayo!"

"I'll say," Hinata sat down beside Naruto, as she always did, before quickly changing their topic of conversation, "I'm surprised you're on a team with us Ino-chan, I thought they were going to revive the Ino-Shika-Cho formation again?"

The blonde sighed, shaking her head, "The formation was retired before we were born, Hinata-chan, when the other villages and even some nukenin came up with ways to counter it," she explained, a little shiver running down her back, "Dad, Shikaku-ojisan and Chōza-ojisan were almost killed in their last mission together. Hell, Chōza-ojisan still has problems moving his right arm sometimes, a Kusa nukenin slashed it open and he was lucky he didn't lose it."

"DYNAMIC ENTRY!" The cry interrupted their chat, two green blurs kicking through the windows and landing in front of them. They were a grown man and a boy around their age, both of them clad in green spandex and with their hair in a bowl cut, and rather… pronounced eyebrows, to put it mildly.

The older of the two turned towards them with a smile, "Are you Team nine?" At their stupefied nods, his smile widened, "Yosh! My cute little students, I'm your Jōnin sensei, Maito Gai!" He gave them a 'Nice Guy' pose, teeth shine and all, before motioning towards his mini-me, "And this is my Youthful apprentice, Rock Lee! He will be helping me train you and fan your Flames of Youth! Now, come with us to Training Ground Nineteen!" And with that, the green clad pair signalled for them to follow as they made their way out of the classroom, and towards the start of their shinobi lives.

---

Yup. Who would have thought I would be writing a Naruto fic?

Before I go! Nowadays you can find me the most active at Primordial Vortex's Discord server, The Singularity, which you can join here discord .gg/3ZwnRbh, so if you want to chat, you know where to find me!