The Golden King: Academy
After the third Shinobi war, Konoha stood as the sole winner, defeating all its enemies and being hailed as the strongest Hidden Village. They won thanks to many sacrifices, tactical genius, heroes like Yondaime Hokage, the Sannin or Kakashi Hatake, and powerful allies, Uzushio foremost amongst them.
With the other Hidden Villages exhausted after the war and with powerful allies, Konoha could conquer the world, yet it didn't. The reasons were the peaceful policies of the Sandaime Hokage, who wished for peace in the elemental nations.
The same policies were the reason for Konoha's power decay. The Academy curriculum was changed to fit more for the civilians and the entry age was raised in hopes of giving the children more time to enjoy life.
Currently, unlike the other Villages, where the entry was at six years old, in Konoha the youngest one could enter was ten. Previously to the Uchiha massacre, it has been eight, but the fears of another child like Itachi raising through the rank too quickly forced the academy to change once again.
Academy students would spend six years in the academy, learning the basics of Shinobi Arts from Chunins. However, most Clan Children already started their training at the age of seven, giving them a rather large advantage over the civilians.
While Iruka was a teacher only for few years, he could confidently say he never felt nervous at work, well, not counting the first two weeks as a teacher. He was nervous when he was told to become an assistant teacher for the class with the Hyuga prodigy. Even when he got his own class, full of Clan heirs, the future of the Village he wasn't as nervous as now.
The scarred Chunin just left the Hokage office, being informed about two students being transferred into his class. The aged Hokage didn't say much about the two, just to listen carefully to their introduction and believe every word they say. Already this put Iruka on the edge, but it was the next statement that made Iruka truly nervous.
"No matter what, don't let anyone, no matter who, anger the boy otherwise you will have at least once fewer students in your class" That made Iruka really nervous, but he would have to make a good impression. The Chunin entered the classroom, not seeing yet anyone new and with a sigh, he didn't know he held, he started preparing for class.
Few minutes passed before the class started to quieten down and the first lesson was about to start. The scarred Chunin was about to start the roll call but was rudely interrupted by a loud sound of the door being slammed open.
Everyone's attention turned to the door, looking at a pair of blondes, one wearing revealing clothes while the other looked like he just came from a photo shoot. "This is Iruka's class, I presume?" Naruto asked, a smirk sprouting on his face upon seeing the surprised faces of his... future classmates.
The Chunin looked at the two and nodded. "Yes, I am Umino Iruka, everyone, those two are new students who will be joining our class for the remaining four years," This, as expected from the Chunin, made many of the students shout in an uproar.
"What! Why are they allowed to skip two years!"
"Who the hell are they!"
Iruka was about to bring the class to order before the blond girl scowled. "Shut the hell up, you morons!" She roared, her voice shutting everyone in the classroom. She smirked upon seeing their reaction, that is until a particularly arrogant civilian stood up.
"Sensei, who the hell does this guy think he is? Even me, a councilors son wasn't allowed to skip the first year and he just comes here and is accepted after skipping two years?!" The boy shouted, pointing an accusatory finger at the red-eyed blond.
Iruka saw a scowl form on Naruto's face and reminded himself of the Hokage's words. His eyes widened but before he could do anything, the blond opened his mouth.
"Who I think I am? Hmph, it seems no even one of you, mongrels, realizes who is standing in front of you!" he shouted, his voice thunderous, daring anyone to interrupt him. Even Iruka was not willing to step in now.
"However, I shall forgive your lack of knowledge. Hear me, as I shall not repeat myself! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! Son of Uzumaki Kushina and Namikaze Minato! The glorious King of Uzushio!" The blond stated, his arms spread wide, smirking at the student's astonished faces. Their shock was interrupted when the other blond walked up, her hands on her hips, a confident grin on her face, showing her elongated canines.
"My name is Mordred Pendragon, one of the Knights of the Round Table and my King's retainer," Iruka looked with wide eyes at the two, recognizing their names and titles instantly. His heart hammered in his chest as he finally realized what task he had been given by the Hokage.
The Chunin broke out from his stupor when Naruto's bloody cat-like eyes focused on him and bowed to the blond. "It's an honor, your majesty,"
"Of course, it is, but you have duties to attend," Without sparing a glance to the Chunin, Naruto and Mordred walked to the furthest bench in the class, which just happened to be by the window. Iruka swallowed the lump in his throat before starting the roll call.
It was going to be stressful the next four years, the Chunin thought observing how everyone was looking at the two blondes. Some with amazement, disbelief, and others with jealousity and envy.
After the rollcall Iruka began his lecture, going on about the first Shinobi war, describing the Nidaime Hokage's sacrifice to save his squad and deliver vital intel to the Village. Naruto could have carried less, the past couldn't be changed and what mattered was only present and future. And while the death of a hero was maybe something new for the others in the class, Naruto had met with this on more than one occasion during his two-years rule. In this short timespan, Uzushio lost many people, all of who will be remembered as heroes, even if only by Naruto.
His train of thought was interrupted when his left palm was talked from under his chin. Cat-like eyes shot open and narrowed on the only possible person to do this. "Mordred," He growled and his eyebrow twitched when she stuck out her tongue.
"No sleeping, goldie, we are going out for Taijustsu training," She said with a grin. Naruto raised an amused eyebrow and smirked.
"Ho? What do I see, the great Mordred is excited to fight against academy students?" He teased causing her to punch his arm and cross her arms.
"Hmph! As if! I am not excited, merely wanting to put some of them in their places. They have been glaring at us for some time. Now come, it is unbefitting of a King to be last,"
"A king is never late, it is merely the mongrels who are early," The blond stated confidently, following his retainer who sighed with a defeated expression.
Soon the two were standing on the academy's training ground and in the middle was a circle acting for a ring. The class surrounded it and Iruka briefly reminded everyone of the rules of the spars. He then proceeded to pit civilians against one another, noting the results and giving his insight on the fight.
As went through the class and the time came for the Clan children to fight, Mordred stepped forward. "Oi! Sensei, I want to fight this one," She demanded pointing at Inuzuka Kiba whose surprise quickly turned into a confident smirk.
"A-Ah, are you sure, Mordred-san?" When the girl just entered the ring with a large smirk the Chunin turned to Kiba, who followed her, telling his Ninken to stay away. "Please remember no killing, crippling blows or-"
"Yes, yes I got it, leave the mutt able to attend the next lessons," Mordred cut off before cracking her knuckles. "Come on, at least make it a bit entertaining," Kiba growled and prepared himself to lunge at the blonde.
"It seems someone needs to be shown their place!" With this, the brown-haired boy rushed forward, for some civilians simply appearing out of nowhere in front of Mordred before lashing out without his power, wanting to end it in one punch.
A punch that has been stopped effortlessly by the girl. The Inuzuka's eyes widened when he saw this. "Is this all? Really? I know you are slow, but I at least hoped you would have some strength," The girl muttered before kicking him away. Kiba gasped as his back hit the ground before rolling to a stop. He stood up shakily, clutching his left ribs and breathing heavily.
"The winner-"
"Not yet!" The boy shouted and rushed once again, putting all the power he could muster. But even his fellow students noticed how much slower he became. His initial swing missed when the blond tilted her head a tad back. He tried again, this time, however, his punch hit its mark.
A small smile formed on his face when he felt his fist meet flesh, but as soon as he looked up it turned into a look of horror. Mordred took his punch, letting it hit, yet it didn't even make her head turn. A wicked grin formed on her face and she prepared her punch. "My turn," Her attack was so fast, no one besides Naruto and Iruka saw it travel, the power behind it creating a big gust of wind.
Her fist stopped inches in front of the boy's widened eyes, his hair ruffled by the punch pressure. Mordred clicked her tongue and walked away. "Be thankful I can't cause any permanent harm on you,"
During the whole fight, which didn't last longer than a minute, no one's attention turned away from the ring. From Naruto's amused smirk, through Choji's and Shikamaru's concerned looks to Sasuke's narrowed eyes, everyone witnessed Mordred humiliate the second-best in Taijustsu without so much as effort. Even Sasuke, with all his confidence, wasn't sure if he could take her on and win.
The other spars went quickly, Naruto was supposed to fight Shikamaru, but the black-haired boy instantly forfeits, saying how big of a drag it would to fight him. After all the spars were finished the class went back to the classroom where after another few hours of lectures and theory lessons Naruto and Mordred were allowed to finally leave.
On their way home, which is the late Yondiame's house, Mordred sighed heavily. The blond looked at her with a quirked eyebrow. "What is it? Sad you didn't get to beat more people?" He asked teasingly.
"No, I just realized how much I hate lectures and that we will have to listen to them for the next four years," She groaned and dark clouds started to hover over her head.
"Maybe you will learn something useful like you know, how to plan ahead of battle instead of always rushing headstrong in and hoping for the best,"
"What was that? Do I gotta remind you about how you never plan anything when it comes to battle?"
"No, but you know very well why I do not need plans. No matter who I fight against, they stand no chance, you should know this very well," He said with a small smirk, causing Mordred to narrower her eyes on him.
"Is this a challenge?"
"While I would gladly show you again the difference between us, there are more important matters to attend,"
"For example?"
"Seriously?" He asked, looking at her with a deadpan expression. "I have a whole Kingdom to rule,"
"Eh, you can do this later, first we fight!" The green-eyed girl said with excitement, which vanished when the other blond shook his head.
"No, during our class, I had a vision and I have new orders for the Round Table. As soon as we are back, send for a messenger, hard times are coming for Uzushio and we need to prepare,"
Yo!
The next chapter is out and I hope you enjoy it.
For people wondering, yes, Narut will have characteristics of Gilgamesh, the most glaring one is their appearance, arrogance/ confidence, and strength. However, Naruto is not completely like him, with other qualities that will be shown in time.
thanks for reading
See ya!