–Heading notes–

Hello! Back with another chapter! It has been quite a while, but I was very busy with school. I'm still working on the "bell test" part and I hope to finish it soon, in order to finally go to the "Land of Waves", so we can all have a bit of action.

About Asuka: some of you have told me they found her behavior strange. I understood the critics, and I will try to fix that in the upcomings chapters. However, it might take a moment for you to notice the changes, as I had already written the three first chapters when I was told about Asuka's behavior, and I don't plan to rewrite the whole thing for now. Writing in a langue that is not my mother tongue isn't easy, so I won't rewrite the chapters for now. Also, you have to know that some of the comments I received were rude, and almost made me want to stop writing this fic. I know Asuka is not perfect, but you can say what is wrong with her politely; it will be much better. Also, I would be glad if you pointed out things you liked, rather than just saying what was not good. Critics are made to show what is wrong AND good, so please, don't write only what you did not like but also write what you have appreciated. And if you don't like Asuka or this fic, all that I have to say is deal with it or just don't read.

Also, Guest, as I can't answer you by PM, thanks for your comment. As I don't want Asuka to be another Sasuke, I want her to show her feelings a little more than her brother, like Mikoto or Itachi showed their affection to Sasuke. And as I said, I'll try to change her personality for the next chapters.

Now that this thing about comments has been dealt with, I'll let you enjoy the chapter. Of course, I don't own Naruto and don't receive any money from this fan fiction. The goal is just to entertain the Naruto fans.

Chapter Two – My name is Konohamaru!

I did not tell my brother what had happened on that night. It was a secret between Naruto, Iruka-sensei and I. I did not even know how he would react, and nobody was supposed to know about Naruto's true identity. Sasuke had not woken up yet when I had come back home, so I had quickly done the washing-up, because I had left before doing it, and I did not want my twin to be suspicious about anything. Then I had put my pajamas on and I had slipped into my bed, as if nothing had happened. As soon as my head had gently touched the pillow, I had fallen asleep, only to wake up hours later, around midday. I hurried to get dress and meet my brother in the living-room.

"I was starting to get worried," he said when I greeted him. "It's not like you to get up so late."

I yawned. I had not slept from the night at all, with what had occurred with Naruto and our teacher. I was still very sleepy. If you knew the truth, big brother… Sorry I can't tell you about it for now.

"I know, but I didn't sleep very well," I explained.

"Let me guess. It is because of Naruto?"

I stretched. "Amongst other things. I also had a nightmare about that night…"

Sasuke's body tensed and I sank into a chair. I had hoped I would sleep well, but the memories of what had happened during the massacre had flashed in my mind. Usually, it would happen when I had been stressed or if I have lived an emotional situation, so there was no need to wonder why I had dreamed of that with the recent events. Sometimes, Sasuke and I were so connected that we had our nightmares at the same time.

I closed my eyes and sighed. I had not wanted to darken the mood, but we could not decide just not to talk about it, as my brother wanted to. I had already talked several times to him about trying to look happier or just lighten up, but it had not really changed anything. I always had that feeling Sasuke was holding some grudge about me for not wanting to kill Itachi, even if he might not be aware of it or refused to recognize it. But it's like that. There's no way I can kill Itachi with my own hands. I would just be a murderer in the end. I was not the type to think you fix an unfairness by a bigger unfairness, even if killing people was far beyond just an unfairness. Sasuke, on the other hand… He did not bother with all that. He was just living for the day he could finally kill our brother, but I did not really know what he was expecting after that. Was not it better to let the jōnin or the ANBU forces take care of that? Plus, my big brother is too young to defeat Itachi right now. I shook my head. If only things had gone differently…

"… Well," Sasuke said, "Now that you're awake, you want to go to train with me?"

"Can't we skip the training session for today?" I pleaded him. "It's Sunday, and we had just been promoted as genin… We should relax and enjoy."

"Suits yourself. But I'm not going to stay here and let Itach– that man become stronger than us."

He began to step out of the room.

"So," I said while looking down, "You still had not changed your mind about giving up on your revenge?"

What had not I said here! I saw my brother clenched his fists and then turn around to face me. After that, he slammed his hands on the table between us, and I believed I was going to fall of my chair. He had gritted his teeth and furrowed his brows. He had always been like that when Itachi's name was mentioned or when he was suggested to forget the idea of taking revenge on him. It never lasted long though, and as soon as he saw how he was behaving, he took a deep breath and apologized.

"Sorry, sis. I know you've suffered just as much as I have. I did not mean to scare you. It's just… I want to destroy Itachi after all he had done to us, and no one will prevent me to kill him."

Big brother… If only I knew how to alleviate his sorrow, maybe I could make him see what he was missing by dwelling on the past. After the massacre, each night, we have been crying together for months. Having Naruto by my side had helped me overcoming the pain I had felt from losing all my family, but Sasuke never really had had somebody to help him. Of course, I had been there to support him as much as I could, but apart from me, nobody had really paid attention to him, and the behavior of our classmates had not been really helpful either. Sasuke's fanclub had never really understood him. So Sasuke had somehow felt lonely and still was probably feeling that way. According to him, nobody in the village had ever known what we had been through. I had resisted the urge to tell him Naruto did, but then I had thought better of it: Naruto never had had parents, so it was not the same thing; at least it was what Sasuke would have snapped back if I had ever told him that.

"Hey," he said when he saw my face. "Don't worry. It'll be fine, okay?" With that, he poked my forehead.

My eyes widened and filled with stars. It was one of those rare times he would touch my forehead this way. Before slaughtering our clan, Itachi used to do it to the both of us, when we asked him to train us. When he had left, Sasuke had not done it to me for a long time, because it reminded him too much of our eldest brother, but then, when I really was in low spirits or something of the kind, he would poke my forehead to cheer me up, as I kind of like this gesture. I felt like Itachi was with us, somewhere, and we were still the family we used to be before all of this happened. So, Sasuke doing that meant a lot, at least for me. Maybe he's right, on the end. I should not worry too much about him. He won't do anything stupid; he's way too rational for that. So I smiled at him, and say I would meet him at the training ground after I prepared bentōs. I had not eaten much since lunch, yesterday afternoon, and my stomach was growling. That being done, I trained all the afternoon with my brother at throwing shuriken and using jutsu.

When the day finally came to an end, I let Sasuke go back home alone and meet Iruka-sensei and Naruto at Ichiraku's noodle shop, as it had been planned last night. I had never felt so fine for a long time, and we talked for a good part of the night. Naruto still had his goggles, as he did not want his forehead protector to be scratched. It did not really surprise me, as Naruto was quite clumsy and far from being the most careful person on earth. When I returned to my bedroom, Sasuke was not sleeping yet, so we talked a little before going to bed, but I did not have the strength to tell him about Naruto's graduation yet. It was maybe better for him to learn it later, as they were not the best of friends yet. I hoped their relationship would change soon.

The morning after, all the freshly promoted genin were expected at the plateau overhanging the Hokage Rock. A photo of each young ninja had to be taken for our Ninja Registration Form. All of us had to wear our headbands for this occasion, and have to come at a precise time slot. I was one of the first to pass, with my brother, in the morning, while some other would have to come this afternoon. Rumors had it that Naruto had painted his face and his hands in white with red symbols on it. The only thing he had agreed to tell to the photograph and all the people who questioned him about his look was that it was a work of art and he had thought of how he was going to look for three hours. Well, it was just another way for him to stand out. I was not sure the Hokage would like the idea, though. In any case, the photographer was just doing his job and by the end of the day he would have taken a picture of everybody. Since the orientation ceremony was tomorrow, class had been dismissed for the day, so we were free until tomorrow.

On the afternoon, after we had lunched at our compound, Sasuke and I had decided to go for a walk in the village, since we did not have anything to do. My brother wanted to see the new weapons they had in store, and I was not against the idea of doing some shopping either. While Sasuke was trying to find what he was looking for in one of those stores, I had been to the jeweler in order to be given back a bracelet I had asked them to repair a few days ago. I was just quietly walking out the store when I heard someone call my name. It made me jumped.

"Hey, Asuka!"

I looked around. "Naruto!" I said with a smile when I spotted him. "What's up? Did the Hokage accept your photo?"

Naruto had really looked strange, this morning. The photograph had decided to talk about it to the Third, and so the blonde had been ordered to meet him at his office after noon. Naruto, you really are somebody, you know that? So many things had happened to him in so little time!

"Of course he did, believe it! I just used my secret technique! By the way, isn't it the scarf I gave you the first time we met? You still have it?"

"Sure I have!" I grinned. "You know I put that scarf every winter or when it's cold."

That was not the first time Naruto was seeing me with his scarf, since I have always kept it and used it when I was too cold. My mother had been able to fix it, and I had always treasured this scarf afterwards. All that reminds me of the people I love is precious to me. The wind was blowing quite hard today, so when I had come back home earlier for lunch, I had taken the scarf with me when Sasuke and I had gone for a walk.

"And it really fits you!" he stated, flashing a smile. "So, you were at the jewelry?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I had something to get back."

"Huh? What was it?" he tilted.

"This."

I showed him my wrist. Around him was a golden chain bracelet, with my first name and my last name in hiragana and katakana engraved on the first side, and my birth date engraved in kanji on the other side. It read:

うちは アスカ

1989年7月24日

A sunray reflected on the chain bracelet and made it shine for a second. As Sasuke and I were twins, our clan had decided to make special jewels for the both of us. We had those since our birth, but the clasp of my chain bracelet had broken some days ago, so I had had to have it fixed. Otherwise, he had never left my wrist, and Sasuke was always wearing his too. It was a reminder of when we were younger, and how nothing would be able to separate us. It was true I had never talked of this jewel to Naruto. He had probably already seen it at my wrist, but he had never asked questions about it, now that I came to think of it.

"It's a gift I had from my clan. Sasuke has the same. Mine broke and so they repaired it."

While the blonde was looking at it, amazed, I noticed something off not so far from where we were standing.

"Naruto?" He looked up in surprise and I pointed at the suspect spot in the street. "Why is somebody hiding himself behind a brown sheet?"

There was a fence, at some miles away from us, and a young person was holding a light brown sheet, seemingly trying to blend into the background, but you could see his hands holding the sheet and his dark brown spiky hair stick out from said sheet. On top of that, the stripes of the fence were vertical and the ones of the sheet were horizontal. What is that supposed to mean? I wondered, blinking. Is that person spying on us or something? Well, if that was the case, maybe we had to tell this person we had seen her, so she could stop using this disguise, now.

Naruto gritted his teeth and sweat dropped. His eyes twitched. "Don't tell me he had come all the way here?!" He then turned around and pointed at the sheet. "I know that you're following me, so just give it up, believe it!"

Since the person was not willing to comply, Naruto's eyes twitched once more. "That's so obvious it's pathetic."

I can't say I don't agree here. This person should learn to disguise at least a little better…

There was silent for a few seconds, before we heard some snigger. Then, the person lowered the sheet enough to let his face be seen.

"You saw through my disguise, huh? The rumors about you are true, you're good!"

He then dropped the sheet, and came towards us. It was actually an eight-year-old boy, with black eyes and messy dark brown hair tied up into a ponytail, or maybe it was the steel helmet he was wearing that gave this impression. With that, he was wearing a yellow tee-shirt with the symbol of Konoha on it, and a blue scarf was around his neck. He also was wearing grey pants and the usual blue ninja sandals.

"All right! I'll be your apprentice, and you'll be my trainer!" he said, pointing his forefinger at Naruto. "And afterward, you got to show me that Sexy Jutsu thing you did on Grandpa Hokage!"

I stepped back. Wow, that's a lot of information, all of a sudden.

"This is some kind of joke, isn't it? Besides, I'm with my best friend, right now!" the blonde replied.

"Hum, Naruto, could you explain me what's going on?"

He let out a cry of surprise and nervously rubbed the back of his head. Then he asked the boy to wait for him here and he began to explain everything to me.

Apparently, this boy – whose name Naruto did not know – was the Third Hokage's grandson, and was studying with a teacher called Ebisu. Naruto was discussing with the Hokage about his photo from this morning; he had just used the Sexy Jutsu Technique to make him accept his photo when the boy had tried to attack the Hokage by surprise… and had miserably failed and fallen on the floor. He seemed to believe that nobody would dare to touch him, but Naruto had knocked him on the head, and ever since, he had been following Naruto in the streets of Konoha, trying to disguise in order not to be seen. And now he was here, and the jinchūriki did not know how to get rid of him once and for all.

Naruto… It looks like you've been messing up again. I did not know the Hokage had a grandson – well, he was sure old enough to have one – and I did not think he would appreciate the bad influence the blonde had on him. What's more, Naruto mentioned he had a sensei who was watching over him. He should be looking for the boy, right now. Should not we bring him back to his teacher? He must be really worried, now! But I guess it was up to Naruto to make the final choice. I just did not want him to get in trouble.

"I need a new trainer!" the boy begged us when we came back to him. "Please, boss!"

Naruto, who was going to refuse, and I, stared at each other in disbelief. "Boss?" the blonde repeated hesitantly.

"Yeah!" the brown-haired boy nodded. "You're the boss! Boss, boss, boss!"

I gazed at him with wide eyes, faced with so much determination and adulation. Wow, he's not joking around. I don't know what happened when you were with the Hokage, Naruto, but you definitely have a fan, here. And I did not think this young admirer was going to leave just like that. If one day we had been told Naruto would be that much admired by someone so young in the village, it might have been hard for me to believe it. First me, then Iruka-sensei, now this boy… Looks like your friend list is getting bigger every day, Naruto! I was really happy for him, he was beginning to create bounds with the other inhabitants of the Hidden Leaf Village and maybe one day, everyone would finally acknowledge him. It was only a matter of time. And I knew he had enough determination for anything that he would have to face.

"Listen, you wanna be a master ninja? Then believe it, you gotta learn to control your cattra!"

It was still early in the afternoon. Naruto had decided to train the young boy who had followed us, and had asked me – or should I say begged – to come with him, so I had told Sasuke I was going for a walk with Naruto and would come back to the house later on. I did not really know why the blonde needed my help so much, but giving a hand was not a bad idea. I was afraid of the tricks he might learn to the Hokage's grandson, and I did not want him to get in big troubles. There were not as much people as I had expected, on the streets; we were quietly walking and Naruto was beginning to give the eight-year-old boy his first lessons.

"Your cattra…?" the young child repeated dubiously.

"I said your cattra," Naruto nodded.

I sighed. Naruto, that's a great idea to teach techniques to your new fan, but… you should just start by spelling the words correctly. We had been taught about chakra for years now. Had he really forgotten how to say it properly? He might be acting, but it looks too natural to be the case. Maybe it was a good thing I came along, after all.

It looked like Naruto's apprentice did not need my help to see something was strange, though.

"Boss, I… think you're talking about chakra," he said, looking at him.

Naruto suddenly jumped and immediately tried to make his mistake look like it was not one by lying, in order to save face: "Don't question me! Real ninjas say cattra!"

"Really? I didn't know that! That's cool!" the brown haired boy said excitedly.

And here I thought he didn't need my help… If this boy started to believe all he was told, then he needed somebody to tell him to be careful about what he learnt. I shook my head. I could not let him believe what Naruto – who was now wiping his forehead – had just said as if there was no problem. On top of that, this boy looked old enough go to the Academy, so he must have learnt there was only one way to say chakra and it was… well, chakra. On the other hand, he seemed to have a hard time with disguising, so… he probably still needed some time to learn all what he had to learn. Eight years old… I shivered. This was how old I was going to be when my parents had been killed by Itachi.

Anyway, I did not want to think about that. "Don't listen to him. He's teasing you," I said, stepping ahead of them. I then turned around to face them. "Real ninjas said chakra, like anyone else."

"What? I knew it!" the boy exclaimed pointing angrily at Naruto.

Well, he would have believed what Naruto had said to him if I had not said anything. The latter scratched the back of his head, and I sighed. Sorry Naruto, I had to tell him. You're supposed to be his trainer; you can't tell him what's coming into your mind just like that. His blue eyes begged for my help and I understood he wanted me to change the subject, which I did. We were here to learn, weren't we?

"Anyway, what do you know about chakra?"

The boy closed his eyes and left his right forefinger. "Chakra is the element of life energy that is used to perform jutsu!"

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise and I clasped my hands. It was a good start; he should really be paying attention in class.

That was what I thought, until he took out a scroll and began to read: "The ninja arts combine physical energy from each cell in the body with mystical energy which is intensified through training and experience. When these two chakra mix, special hand signs allow the ninja to focus this combined energy for advanced jutsu."

"Know-it-all! You were just reading that whole thing!" Naruto exclaimed. Well, you must admit it works well, I thought.

Then, the two of them burst out laughing. Deep down inside, I was starting to like this boy.

It was the middle of the afternoon when we finally ended up in that very same forest where our confrontation with Mizuki had happened.

Naruto had been trying to learn his Sexy Jutsu technique to the young boy but the results had not been up to the efforts the two boys had made until there. To begin with, Naruto had asked his apprentice to transform into a twenty-year-old woman with long brown hair tied in a ponytail. Unfortunately, he had actually transformed into a fatter version of said woman, and she had not appreciated it. She would nearly have beaten Naruto up if I had not asked her to calm down. After that, they had tried to do some "research on female beauty", according to their own words; they had been kicked out of the book store a few seconds after having entered. And after that, icing on the cake, both Naruto and the brown-haired boy had tried to transform into women and gone at the onsen in order to spy on the girls while they were getting changed. The latter had immediately recognized Naruto and kicked him off and so the boys had been forced to leave.

And now we were here. The boy and I were fine; however Naruto had his whole faced puffed up and he had a shiner, to the point where he could hardly open his eyes. He was groaning in pain, and I winced. They really got you, this time… Maybe Naruto should not have agreed to show his Sexy Jutsu technique to his young apprentice. Maybe the latter was not ready to master it yet.

"Why do they only whack at me?" the blonde complained.

I'm sorry, Naruto. Maybe I should have done something so they would not have beaten you up like that…

"I'm sorry," the eight-year-old boy said in turn, and we stared at him in surprise. "It's cause I'm the grandson of the Hokage."

There was a silence. I smiled and put a hand on the boy's shoulder. Come on, now was not the time to be in low spirits, we had to keep our heads up. The apprentice needed to have more confidence in himself.

"Don't worry about it," I said. "I think you trainer has prepared you enough so you're ready to learn the Sexy Jutsu. You're just need practice, am I wrong, Naruto?"

The latter smiled and gave a thumb up. "I couldn't have put it better! Now the trick is to get all the curves in the right places. You ready?"

"I'm ready, Boss!" he shouted back, on fire.

And so, he transformed, and under Naruto's supervision, tried to improve this new technique. His first shot was not really good: he had transformed into a fat woman with spiky brown hair, big orange lips and pink underwear, and it was not attractive at all. Naruto ordered him to try again, and to make the woman skinnier. But then again, when the boy tried once more, the result was not more attractive, and Naruto told his apprentice to make the woman curvier. At the third shot, it was still far from perfect; Naruto groaned in frustration and gave other advice for the Hokage's grandson to follow, while I was cheering on the latter. It reminds me of how Naruto used to train to master this jutsu when he was younger… I had a feeling that this technique would turn out to be very useful in the future. I could not help but wonder if the Hokage would be pleased with his grandson learning what was considered as a devious jutsu. Naruto had told me the technique had worked on him, so it was clearly a way for the brown haired boy to beat his grandfather. I just hoped he would not abuse of this jutsu when he would have mastered it, though.

It took some hours for the young child to obtain the results he had wished for: a thin and curvaceous woman, with long brown hair tied into a ponytail, with big breasts and voluptuous lips. It was just breathtaking how the technique had evolved under Naruto's tutelage. In all honesty, it would be hard for men to resist the Hokage's grandson new technique. You improved you transformation a lot! To celebrate this, Naruto bought the three of us some drinks at a dispenser nearby: he decided to take canned soup; I chose an orange juice, and the boy decided to have grenadine. We then sat down on a tree trunk and started to drink. The boy sat down on the middle of the three, I sat down on his left and Naruto on his right.

"So, what's up with this obsession you've got with your grandfather?" the blonde finally asked.

That's right. He somehow seems to hold a grudge against the Third, but I can't know why… You would think he's proud of having such a reputation, but I think there's more going on here.

"My grandfather named me Konohamaru, after the ancient name of the village. So it should be easy to remember. But no one calls me that name, not one person in the whole village. That's 'cause when they look at me, they don't see me. All they see is the 'honorable grandson of the Third Hokage'. No one knows who I am. I can't stand it anymore. It's like I'm invisible, like I don't exist. I hate that. That's the reason I've got to become Hokage now so people know who I am!"

Naruto looked down thoughtfully. I see… So this is what it is all about… I didn't know. You just have the same dream as Naruto, then. Both of you want to be recognized for what truly you are, and not for what people see you as. I smiled. It was no surprise why the two boys were getting along so well. They had more in common than they thought.

"You know, Konohamaru," I said, looking at him in the eyes. "Everybody has to deal with fame. Whether it is since your birth or comes later, and whether you want it or not… It's like this. You're known as the Hokage's grandson, but everyone in this village owns his own title he is known as. So don't take it too personally."

Konohamaru blinked at me in surprise, and I looked down sadly. Naruto was known to be the Nine-Tailed Fox; I was known to be a survivor of the massacre of the prestigious Uchiha clan, like my twin brother. Obviously, I was not going to tell this to Konohamaru, because it was too personal, but every person I could think of had something she was known for. Sometimes, the villagers did not see how it hurt people to see them for something they were not. They considered Konohamaru as the Hokage's grandson, and it was their way to show him respect, but it just had the opposite effect in the end. If they can't even remember his name, it's normal he is upset. It was still better than being considered as a brat like Naruto, or be to be pitied like me and Sasuke.

"Get real! You think people are gonna accept a squirt like you?"

We both jumped and stared at Naruto. "A kid can't just turn into a Hokage after a day or two," he explained.

"What?" Konohamaru stood up defiantly, cut to the quick.

He's quite right. It's not because you want to be Hokage that you'll necessarily become one. Especially as…

"It's not that simple! You keep saying 'Hokage'! 'Hokage'! To really be a Hokage, you know what you'll have to do?"

… Naruto and Konohamaru have the same dream.

"You're gonna have to defeat me in battle!"

As Naruto was widely smirking saying that, Konoharamu was facing him with strong determination and a bit of awe for the new rival he had just made. Things were going to be interesting.

We were still sitting on the same tree trunk when somebody shouted as us: "I found you!"

We all jumped and turned around to see a man about twenty-eight standing at some distance from us, on a tree branch, with his left hand on his hip. He was wearing dark clothes: his roll-neck sweater as well as his pants were navy blue colored. You could not see his eyes for they were hidden behind the sunglasses on his nose. A large bandana was covering his head so you could not see his hair either. I blinked. What's wrong with him? He really scared me! He looked to be a ninja, and it did not took me long to have an idea about who we was. Hadn't Naruto mentioned that Konohamaru has a sensei who was watching over him?

Well, I could not see this eyes but I could guess he was glaring at Naruto through his sunglasses. And Naruto seemed to have felt it too, for he was growling under his breath and his fists were shaking in anger. I looked up at Konohamaru's teacher again, with my hands on my chest, and I bit my lips when I saw he was staring at me too. Don't tell me that's the whole "Nine-Tailed Demon Fox" thing and the "cursed Uchiha clan" again? Could not they stop with that?

He jumped down to the ground across from the three of us, then said to Konohamaru it was time to go home. So, it is indeed his teacher…

"No way!" his student replied, shaking his head. "I'm learning how to beat my grandfather so I can get the title Hokage! Now don't get in my way!"

His teacher walked towards him, smirking at the same time, and I stepped back. "Hokage is more than just a fighter. He must know virtue, honor, wisdom, and he must be skilled at a thousand jutsu. You don't even know one jutsu."

Konohamaru growled at those words, and made the ram hand sign. You're really going to use it, Konohamaru, huh? This man had been wrong when he had believed his pupil did not master at least one technique. The number of techniques did not suffice to make a good Hokage. There was much more than just that behind this title.

Chakra covered Konohamaru, and we all looked at him in surprise; his sensei even stopped. Smoke soon engulfed him, and then disappeared a little. In place of Konohamaru was now a young and cute naked woman, who had her hand behind her head and winked at the sensei. Konohamaru teacher's jaw dropped as he let out a cry of surprise; a vein popped on his head; I must say we were all somehow taken aback, this time. If someone still doubted it, well Konohamaru had mastered the Sexy Jutsu once and for all. It was not sufficient enough to defeat his sensei though. But I would never have believed Konohamaru to make such progress. Maybe one day he would be able to defeat his grandfather, surpass the ninjas of his generation and make his dream come true… Well, he still had to fight Naruto for that one.

The teacher then grabbed the end of Konohamaru's blue scarf and tried to pull him. However, the Hokage's grandson was not willing to budge. He was trying to escape his sensei, moving his arms as if he was swimming.

"Honorable Grandson, stop this! Right now! Naruto's turning you into a delinquent! Only my special training can put you on the fast track to becoming the Hokage!"

"Just leave me alone!" Konohamaru yelled back.

"Hey!" I exclaimed. "Let him go! You're going to torn his scarf away!"

I went to help him, but before I can give the boy a hand, Naruto used his Shadow Clone Jutsu. With that, the man finally stopped pulling on his student's scarf, and the latter looked at all the clones in awe. We were all surrounded by many Naruto's clones. I gasped. Wow. I've already seen that before but… I think this technique will never stop impressing me. I understood better why the techniques the scroll contained had been forbidden to use, and why Mizuki-sensei wanted the scroll so much. It could have put the entire village in big danger for sure.

Konohamaru's sensei was not a man to give up that easily, though. He pushed up his glasses with a smirk when he saw all the clones and took up the challenge. Thinking it was just about fighting some clones, he put himself into a defensive stance, ready for the battle to begin, boasting on the exceptional jōnin he was, and how this confrontation was going to be a piece of cake. I could hear Konohamaru cheering on Naruto, and I cheered on him too. It did not seem to bother Konohamaru's teacher, who was so confident about his victory.

He just had not thought of what came next.

Instead of attacking him head-on, the blonde used his Sexy Jutsu technique on his clones; said clones transformed into blue-eyed women with golden pigtails and whiskers, that is to say a feminine version of Naruto. Then all the clones rushed to the stunned Jōnin and began to hug him and touch him, putting their arms around his neck and his legs. They sent the adult ninja flying into the air. He landed on the ground at some distance from us, twitching. Naruto transformed back just after, shouting that he had finally gotten the ninja with Harem Jutsu. You've combined the Shadow Clone Technique and the Sexy Jutsu… That was quite… unpredictable, but it did work! I think I would never have been able to create such a technique.

Konohamaru's sensei left us alone soon after his defeat. The day was coming to an end, as the sun was slowing setting down, giving the sky beautiful orange colors. The Hokage's grandson was still amazed and excited by Naruto's new technique, and could not stop talking about it.

"Oh man! I couldn't even beat that snobby trainer of mine! I wanna be a Hokage so bad, but I keep messing up! Why can't I do it?!"

"You really think it's that easy?" the blonde asked him, as if the boy had understood nothing.

Konohamaru stared at him in surprise.

"To be a Hokage, you have to be the greatest of all ninjas. You have to prove yourself so everyone believes in you. Look at me: I've been through a lot already. I've been ignored, pushed away, and treated like I have the plague or something; Asuka was my only true friend," he stated, giving me a meaningful glance, and my heart melted at those words, though I tried not to show it. "And after all that, I found another person who believes in me. To find that other person, I had to get knocked down a lot. So you better make sure that you're ready," he stated, with his hands on his hips.

Naruto… I looked at him sadly. He really knew what he was talking about, wasn't he? I have always believed in you, and I always will.

"For what?" Konohamaru asked, before Naruto turned his back at him.

I softly put a hand on Naruto's shoulder as I saw some tears rolling down his cheeks. Then I turned to Konohamaru.

"Learning to be a ninja means a lot of sweat and a lot of tears."

The eight-year-old boy did not say anything. Suddenly, the wind blew through the trees, gently ruffling everyone's hair. I closed my eyes for a moment. It's so pleasurable… Then I opened them again; Naruto and I smiled at each other; then the blonde looked over his shoulder at Konohamaru and just grinned.

"By the way, there is no easy way to becoming Hokage. Believe it."

At those words, Konohamaru looked at the blonde in awe before he frowned and turned his back to us in turn. He looked like he was very determined. I think he will be a serious rival for you, Naruto.

"Ha! Who do you think you are anyway? Giving me a big lecture like that! That's it, I'm not going to be your apprentice anymore," he declared, before turning back to us again. "From now on, we're rivals."

He grinned and I rolled my eyes. Don't you think it was already the case before, Konohamaru? You and Naruto were bound to be rivals from the moment you got the same dream. The one of becoming Hokage. They just did not know it until today, that is all.

Naruto smiled, a hand still on his hip. "Well, I can't be your trainer anyway. 'Cause tomorrow Asuka and I start our advanced ninja studies! But I accept your challenge and someday we'll fight for the title of Lord Hokage. So let's both look forward to that day, Konohamaru."

The latter's eyes widened in shock, and Naruto and I took our cue to leave. The blonde left his right hand in a farewell gesture. Good luck, Konohamaru, I thought. I look forward to the day you and Naruto will fight for the title too. Never give up no matter what, and you'll become a shooting star. But don't push yourself too much, alright? The boy straightened, determination flashing in his eyes, and saluted us. Wow, what an afternoon, I thought as the wind was blowing once again.

It was just the beginning of our path to become true ninjas.

–Foot notes–

I'll stop here for today.

This chapter is nothing special. It is the meeting of Naruto, Konohamaru and Asuka. As I said, I wrote this chapter before being told about Asuka's personnality, so don't feel frustrated if you still find her 'optimistic' or whatever, it'll take time to notice the changes. So no need to say it in the comments. For the bracelets, as Sasuke and Asuka are twins, I thought it was interesting to have something to symbolize that.

Feel free to say where I made grammatical mistakes, it would be very useful. I would be glad if someone wanted to be my Beta-reader; tell me in the comments or PM me if you're interested. And if you decide to review, once again, please point out things that could be improved and things that are great, not just the drawbacks, you know. It's kind of sad and discouraging otherwise. Don't hesitate to fav or to follow the story, so people know that they're writing for something. Generally, I take the time to thank personally people who do it. Thanks again to all those who follow/fav that fic, it means a lot to me.

I can't give you a date for the next publication, unfortunately. I would like at least to have written the moment squad seven finally reaches Inari's house before updating with the next chapter, which will include the formation of the teams. I remind you for those who wouldn't know it that Sakura won't be in Team Seven. Four-man cells are overused on the fandom; if you're looking for something that though, this fic is not made for you.

See you next time!