Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. I do however own the direction I take my crazy ideas. Now, if only I had a good compass to show me how to get there…oh well, back to the story!


Chapter 3 – Ramen and the Scroll

Kakashi was mildly happy with the turnout of this test, all things considered. They'd passed, which was a new one for him, and were apparently celebrating as a team. Watching them brought up many memories, both good and bad, but he was more than capable of just allowing them to revel in their success.

As he watched them though, he allowed himself to review the last bit of what had transpired. Not just the confrontation with Naruto; he'd expected Naruto to fight him kicking and screaming all the way. No, what he was focused on was the death of the clones.

He knew what it meant – any Jonin worth their salt knew what it meant. For a clone to die in such a violent manner before dispelling it had to have more than just chakra holding it together. It needed a consciousness; a personality of its own and a desire for independent thought that actively resisted being dispelled. But, at the same time, he now had another issue.

Two clones had died in that manner.

He'd expected Naruto to have one 'splinter' personality based on the reports. Iruka had mentioned the clone acting strange and had raised the red flag regarding the subject, but that didn't mean he'd seen everything. Which left Kakashi with less information than he liked, and more questions then he needed. However, he also had a secret weapon to get Naruto to open up a bit more as well.

"Alright, alright, settle down." Kakashi said, finally getting Naruto to stop whooping and cheering to high heaven while the other two fell back and watched. Sakura looked close to tears from how relieved she was, while Sasuke…was Sasuke. No one could make him react if he didn't want to it seemed.

Naruto slowly came down from his excitement, though he still bounced on the balls of his feet. "Sorry Kakashi-sensei! I'm just….ah! I'm just so excited! I finally did it!"

"Oh~ he's going to be a ball of fun to work with in the future." Kakashi idly thought, a small grin on his face behind his facemask. "Well, I figured that, since it is before noon still, that we might as well save the bentos for later and go out to eat somewhere. My treat."

That caught everyone's attention; mainly due to the loud stomach growling that Naruto's made. The others certainly weren't against it either, seeing how they'd not eaten either – Sakura even more so due to her 'diet', but were less willing to show it. They were…'professionals' now. They had to act it.

Naruto had no such qualms about letting his quirks out for all to see. "Ooh, ooh! Where are we going to eat Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi made a mock thinking pose. "Well, seeing how we're a new team, and I don't care what we eat…and you're the only one who got a bell…how about you pick Naruto?"

To say Naruto's eyes grew even brighter would be like comparing night and day. With a loud whoop of excitement, he quickly turned and pointed the way towards his intended destination. "I know just the place! Haha, Ichiraku's here we come~!"

Sakura was the only one who seemed less than enthusiastic about the choice, muttering about her diet being ruined and the like. Sasuke just took it in stride, walking after Naruto calmly. As long as he got some kind of food, he'd be fine.

Kakashi silently watched the three of them, evaluating and sizing each of them up as he watched them go. They'd each have their own trials, and their own barriers they'd need to overcome if they were going to become a truly competent and well-oiled machine, but…they could do it. Maybe.

-x-

Naruto was ecstatic. After all the hard work, time, and bullheaded tenacity, he'd finally done it. He was now one step closer to his dream of becoming Hokage. Now, if only he had some super-secret way of amazing everyone to the point that he could just become Hokage. That would certainly be something.

~Don't get ahead of yourself. ~ A now familiar voice said in his mind. ~You still have to be able to beat Kakashi-sensei before you can jump into the Hokage's chair. ~

"Oh yeah? Well I got a bell didn't I? That just proves that I'm awesome!" Naruto thought back defiantly, his grin stuck in place for all to see, and wasn't going to fade that easily.

"Oi, wasn't it me who grabbed that?"

The second voice however, did manage to break that a bit. Pouting a bit, he shook his head. "No way! You guys are both me right? So that means that it was me!"

~I'd hate to break it to you, but as much as we are 'you'…you know what, let's talk later. In person. Maybe then we'll be able to straighten this all out. ~

Naruto almost tripped over his own feet at that, not expecting such a flat response. "Later? What do you mean? You and the other guy are going to talk to me? Why can't you talk now?"

*Ooh look ramen*

Ignoring the fact that this voice – though heard before – was new to this conversation, Naruto's head snapped at high speed towards Ichiraku. "Haha! There it is! Come on guys!"

"N-Naruto wait up!" Sakura said, grimacing as her stomach growled. She'd sworn she had more than enough energy for the test, yet despite not doing much during their exam, she'd quickly found that the lack of two meals was hitting her fairly hard. Seeing where Naruto was taking them though, she found she had more than enough strength to deadpan at the ludicrously that was Naruto. "A ramen place? Really?"

"Oi! Oji-san!" Naruto shouted as he entered, waving brightly to Ayume as he entered.

"Oh hey Naruto!" Teuchi, the owner of Ramen Ichiraku, replied with a friendly grin as he paused in his cooking to greet their number one customer. "How'd your exams go?"

Naruto gripped his headband proudly, shifting it repeatedly. "This baby's here to stay! I'm one hundred percent officially a Konoha shinobi!"

"That's wonderful Naruto!" Ayume exuberantly clapped her hands together upon hearing that he'd passed, then paused upon seeing the other three who followed in after Naruto. With a sly smile, she quickly began grabbing some bowls. "Then, I'm guessing you're here to beat the lunch rush for some victory ramen?"

"You bet!" Naruto said as he hopped up into a seat. "Hm, but which flavor to eat…hm…"

"Jeez Naruto," Sakura said with a roll of her eyes. "If you know this place so well then just order your favorite."

"It's not that simple!" Naruto berated, looking horrified and offended. "One does not just dive in and order 'whatever' or 'your favorite', especially when ordering a victory bowl! It has to have a statement! A feeling! It –"

"He's going to be a while," Ayume said apologetically as Naruto rambled on. "What can I get for you?"

"…hm, miso ramen for me please." Sasuke said after a while, not really caring what he got.

"Oh um…" Sakura looked over the menu for a second before finding one that she hoped would suit her diet. "Shoyu ramen please."

Ayume raised an eyebrow at that, but said nothing. Teuchi, realizing Naruto was rambling, laughed uproariously from back in the kitchen. "Ah Naruto, you always find a way to prove you're our number one customer!"

Cut off from his tirade, Naruto blushed and scratched behind his head sheepishly. "Sorry, I guess I was getting carried away there. Um…" Naruto stared up at the menu before slamming his hand down. "I've decided! A proper victory bowl should be something awesome, and I think a bowl of tonkotsu ramen is perfect!"

"Huh? Did you say tonkatsu?" Teuchi peaked out from the kitchen to give Naruto a bemused smile. "We don't serve any of that!"

"No! Tonkotsu! Naruto shouted, once more looking offended. "Of course you don't even serve tonkatsu here you serve ramen here, how did you even –"

"I'm just messing with you Naruto." Teuchi said with a bark of a laugh. "One tonkotsu, miso, and shoyu ramen coming up!"

"Oh, and what about you sir?" Ayume asked, noticing Kakashi had entered as well.

"Hm? Oh well…I think I'll be fine for now." Kakashi replied. "I'm just here to pay for the ramen as a treat."

Ayume blinked in surprise at that, but seemed fine with that response. "Oh, well then you're more than welcome to stay and –"

"Get him to buy a bowl!" Teuchi called from the kitchen. "It's the least he can do if he's sticking around!"

"Dad! He's they're sensei!" Ayume called back.

There was a momentary pause as Teuchi was apparently processing that. Then finally, "Is he paying?"

"Yes dad."

"Tell him he can stay then."

While Ayume tried to profusely apologize for her father's behavior, Kakashi just laughed and waved it off. He understood the mindset of the business man. He was just enjoying the little bit of 'downtime' he had before he had to go report to the Hokage. Speaking of, what would he say to him when he got there besides 'team 7 passed'? Surely he'd have to give more in private, to go over his observations on Naruto.

Glancing to Naruto, he idly wondered if he could find a way to get Naruto to tell what exactly happened that night. The reports he'd read by Iruka weren't much help, seeing how he'd been separated from Naruto when he'd first used the shadow clone technique, and had been separated from Naruto for a bit of the chase. And Naruto's wasn't much help seeing how he hadn't been forced to give a report on that particular incident yet, seeing how he technically had still been a civilian at the time. He'd still written a report, but it was currently a mess to read. But…maybe…maybe there was more to it than he'd initially looked through.

However, before he could act on that thought, the ramen came out and the three of them began digging into their ramen. Sasuke and Sakura weren't giving it quite as much gusto, but they definitely weren't slowing down seeing how they were hungry too. Naruto though, was on another level of enjoying ramen at hyper speed. The noodles practically vanished shortly upon hitting his mouth, and yet he took precious seconds to ensure that he savored each and every bite carefully before taking his next bite.

Thinking back on it, it was amazing how much Naruto understood his ramen and the shop. While his meal wasn't considered the most top of the line, tonkotsu took quite a long time to make as the boiling of the pork to make the broth 'just right' could take hours. The fact that it was ready when he ordered it showed that he knew – or suspected – that there was some ready to go, and was rewarded handsomely with delicious, gloriously delicious tasting ramen.

Glancing between his new teammates, Naruto idly thought about that for a moment. Teammates… with Sakura! But also with Sasuke. Was this a good situation or a bad one? Shrugging noncommittedly, he took another bite and let himself be content. Good or bad, it didn't matter; he had ramen, and that's all he needed for the time being.

That being said, Naruto found himself feeling…strange. Not a bad way, but more like everything suddenly switched to stereo for his taste and delighted thoughts. Each pleased sigh of content after every bite was amplified, and he swore he was taking extra time to chew over each piece before remembering to swallow and take another bite. There was only one explanation for this…

Teuchi had made the best tonkotsu ramen he'd ever tasted.

"My compliments to the chef!" Naruto shouted, waving his chopsticks happily as he dug in again. "This has gotta be some of the best ramen ever~"

Ayume had to stifle a laugh at Naruto's shout. The ramen wasn't fully ready for their shops standards and had a milkier broth than normal, but apparently Naruto was thoroughly enjoying it. Why should she spoil his belief that it was the best ramen ever?

"Hm…" Kakashi glanced back at the clock, a thought coming to mind. When was he supposed to meet with the Hokage and the other Jonin again? Well, seeing how it was noon, and travel time…in perhaps a half hour or so? But to be late or to be on time, that was the question. He could use the time to read up on Naruto's report, which might allow him to understand Naruto better. Coming to a decision, he nodded to himself as he stood up. "Well, I'd hate to drop you all here and head away, but I've got something I need to do."

"Aw, you're leaving sensei?" Naruto asked, a noodle still hanging out the corner of his mouth. "But you said this was on you."

"Oh? Well that I did. How about…here." Kakashi placed the money needed in Naruto's hand, curling his fingers around it. "This should be enough for you all to get a second bowl if you want. Don't worry, I don't go back on what I say. Whelp, see you kids tomorrow; same time, same place."

Sasuke and Sakura didn't seem the least bit put off by the sudden departure and simply waved him off, watching him disappear in a swirl of leaves. Naruto on the other hand was silent. Were one to watch closely, one might almost think he became someone else for a second; calculating and distant as he looked at the money in his hand.

Then, as though nothing had happened, he slammed the money on the counter. "Well then, you heard the man! Send two bowls my way!"

-x-

Kakashi made his way towards the record room, putting his book away when he arrived in the Hokage's Tower. While it was getting some of his favorite sections, it was best to be alert and aware. Encountering people who'd come off their missions often could give vital information about the world around, and missing an opportunity to speak to them could cause him to be unaware of details the next time he was on a mission.

However, despite being alert and aware of those he passed, none were returning from missions. He did pause when he saw Might Gai and his team, but they were just completing their run at their standard few D rank missions that came through. There was plenty of small time jobs for the Genin to perform, however their Jonin sensei's still needed to call a time slot in which they could take their 'share' of said missions. There was only so many people in the village requiring assistance at any given time, and it was remarkable how effective genin teams could be at completing those mundane tasks.

As he reached the records room, he headed over to the desk to sign out the reports. As he idly looked over the list, he paused as he noted the name above his own; Umino Iruka. Raising a brow at that, he headed into the room and was unsurprised to find Iruka sitting in the room. However, he was surprised to find that the Hokage was with him as well.

Pausing as he entered the room, he gave the Hokage a slight bow as he headed over to them. "Hokage-sama. Iruka-san."

"Ah, Kakashi." The Hokage said, giving the masked Jonin a nod. "I was actually going to see if I could have some of your time once you were done with your testing. I see you're done early…"

There was an unspoken question there, but Kakashi didn't answer it just yet. Iruka looked…disturbed as he saw Kakashi. For a moment he didn't understand why since he'd never even interacted with the man before, but as he sat down he saw the file for his 'other' Genin teams that'd he'd received. Most people who saw his 'impeccable' record and didn't understand the point of his methods tended to look like that the first time they met him. Then again, he also didn't bother to tell them because he didn't trust that they wouldn't tell others just in case they tried to give others hints…which might be redundant now since he finally had a team.

"I was just coming to look over the records again." Kakashi said, glancing down at the Hokage's side. As he'd expected from whatever conversation they were having, the file he needed was in the Hokage's hands. "Some things happened during the test that didn't fully make sense to me, and I wanted to reread what happened to see if it might shed some light."

Iruka visibly perked up and Kakashi inwardly sighed. Iruka was a good man, but he was more than likely not going to become a Jonin. He was simply to kind, and to expressive. While one might say that of some of the sensei's (such as Might Gai), Kakashi knew better. Gai was kind to a fault, but he'd learned how to channel that kindness into an intense fire that would mold their students into the soldiers they needed to be.

Iruka simply wasn't as powerful a flame. Oh he burned with his kindness and passion, but it was a heat that was more the kind that would begin to mold them. He'd simply not learned to be hard enough to get his students to learn their own lessons, even if it meant they had to go through trials and difficulties.

That being said, he did have good protective instincts. "Actually, I'd like to hear your account as well Umino-san. The more information I have, the better I'll understand what I saw."

"What you…" Iruka said before clenching his teeth. "I see. So they showed up?"

"…they?" Kakashi said with a frown. So there was more than one. "So Hokage-sama briefed you as to what happened?"

"He just told me he has something called fractured clone syndrome." Iruka glanced back to the file in the Hokage's hand, his frown becoming more pronounced. "But, there's something about it that's…different."

"It's true Kakashi." The Hokage suddenly put in, getting Kakashi's attention. "I was not able to see all of it, but I did see enough to know exactly what has occurred. Even Naruto's report has left me with more questions than answers."

"…that's fair. I've never seen anything like it myself." Kakashi rubbed his chin, slowly glancing to Iruka. "So, would it be alright if I heard the account again?"

"Of course Kakashi-san." Iruka folded his arms, frowning as he tried to think. "I think…no, the exam itself was fairly basic. Naruto has always struggled with the average Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) and as such we – Mizuki and I – knew that due to his failed written exam and failure to produce a proper clone, we had to fail him. However, according to Naruto's report, Mizuki had…other plans…"

-x-

The Night of the Genin Exam

"Alright! Time to see what this super awesome scroll has!" Naruto said cheerily as he finally found a secluded place to relax in. Sneaking in and acquiring the Scroll of Sealing had been remarkably easy for him. It seemed that years of pranking had allowed his stealth to be more than enough to outfox most people and had given him a good idea of the village's layout which had helped him slip away.

As he opened the scroll and eagerly began reading over the first technique, he found himself groaning in exasperation. "Another clone jutsu? Aw man, why'd it have to be that one?" Groaning, he stared at it and began reading over the technique, trying to make sense of it all. "But…if I can master my weakest jutsu first, then maybe the rest of these will be easier! Alright…"

Nodding to himself, he reread it again. It wasn't that much different from the normal clone technique, except that there was a different handseal. Frowning, he looked it over again. No, that couldn't be right. Wasn't there more to it? More that he needed to know or do? Well, if it was such a simple jutsu then he'd be able to do it in no time!

Grinning, he glanced at the handseal again, mimicking the drawing on the scroll. With a large grin, he began channeling his chakra and shouted. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Technique)!"

…but nothing happened.

Naruto frowned. This was going to take a bit.

In fact, before he made his first clones, it took over an hour; maybe over two, he didn't exactly bring a clock with him to check the time. Mainly the issue was because he hadn't paid attention to how he was supposed to mold his chakra to make a clone in the first place. Once he'd figured that out, the handseal threw him off as it was helping molding the clone differently the normal clone. But, through bullheaded determination and shoving an absolutely absurd amount of chakra into it to make it work, he finally did it.

"Alright…one more time…Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

With another puff of smoke, Naruto grimaced as he felt his head begin to throb painfully. Apparently he'd been thinking too much, since he only seemed to get headaches when he was getting frustrated and was trying to solve something. He didn't really care though, because as soon as he saw the smoke fade his head cleared and he grinned brightly.

Around him, five clones stood around. They all looked just like him, but more confused and in awe of everything around them. One of them was clearly as impressed with the others as he was as it touched the others face, causing the one they touched to jump in surprise.

"Ha…haha!" Naruto said, falling back on his butt. The five clones jumped and took defensive postures for a second, then saw Naruto and seemed…confused. What, had they never seen him before? That was dumb, they were literally standing next to clones of each other right now! "I…I did it! Haha, now I can pass the test! I'm going to be a Genin now."

The clones blinked at that, then looked at one another. Slowly, one of them began laughing. After a couple of seconds, another joined in. Then another. Soon, all of the clones were laughing and hanging off of one another as though they'd heard the best joke ever. Naruto didn't laugh though, as he had noticed something else about his clones; something he'd never seen, or would have expected to see himself do.

They were crying.

It wasn't like sobbing, or falling to the floor in tears. It was more, they were so happy and laughing so hard they couldn't help themselves. The tears just rolled down their cheeks, and eventually they all came over and sat around Naruto. Two of them leaned on him as they laughed, wrapping their arms around his shoulder. The feeling of their arms around his shoulders, with them being physically present, being really there, caught him off guard. He'd read that the clones would be solid, that they'd be really there, but feeling their arms wrapped around his shoulders just seemed to make him relax.

"Naruto!?"

The clones suddenly stopped laughing, staring up at the trees with wide eyes before suddenly they darted into the underbrush. They didn't dispel like he'd thought. They just, ran off. Naruto frowned at that, very confused, but didn't have a lot of time to think that over before Iruka crashed through the clearing.

"There you are!" Iruka said, grimacing as he saw the scroll near Naruto's feet. "Do you even know how much trouble you're in?!"

"Oh hey Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, slowly getting to his feet. "Heh, I did it. I learned a jutsu from the scroll. Now I can pass the secret exam and become a Genin, right?"

Iruka's eyes widened and looked at Naruto with confusion. But, why would he be confused? Didn't he know about the exam? "Naruto, who told you that?"

"Huh? Mizuki-sensei told me about it."

Naruto froze as he heard something rustling in the trees. Were his clones coming back? Well it'd be an easier way of explaining his jutsu success. Maybe –

"Naruto get down!"

He didn't see it coming. One second he was on his feet, and the next he was shoved to the side. There was a sound of cutting flesh, of metal striking someone. Staring back, he shivered as he saw his sensei peppered with kunai that struck where he'd been standing a moment before. "I-Iruka-sensei?"

"So, you found him too Iruka?"

"Mizuki-sensei?"

Iruka pulled the fuma shuriken from his back, grunting as he glanced back towards Mizuki. "So, that's what you were doing. Mizuki, how could you?"

"This would have been so much easier if you hadn't butt in Iruka." Mizuki said, shaking his head. "Naruto, you did well. Now, just hand over the forbidden scroll and we'll get you graduated."

"Naruto, don't listen to him." Iruka growled, moving over towards Mizuki. "He's deceiving you. That scroll…it's filled with dangerous forbidden ninjutsu! Mizuki just used you to get hishands on it!"

"Oh? Am I deceiving him Iruka? So you've told him about the Sandaime's law?" Mizuki's face turned into a vicious smirk, clearly enjoying having information that he could hold over them both.

Naruto flinched, not understanding what they were talking about. "What law? Iruka-sensei?"

"Naruto, don't listen to him! Mizuki, you know better! That's forbidden!"

A small part of Naruto wanted to smack his head at that. He'd apparently stolen a forbidden scroll; would he be in any less trouble for knowing this secret?

"12 years ago, you know about the Kyuubi being sealed, right?" Mizuki seemed to revel in the power he had, entrancing Naruto's attention with his words as he tried to understand the immense amounts of information being given to him. "On that day, a rule was made, a rule that could never be told to you."

"What? Wait, why couldn't it be told to me?!" Naruto yelled, feeling a knot forming in his gut. "What rule?"

"The rule is that nobody is allowed to tell you about that fact that you…are the Kyuubi no Kitsune!"

The forest went deadly silent, with practically no sound other than wind in the trees and the tired breathing of the three there. Naruto was trying so hard to process it, Mizuki was smug, and Iruka couldn't believe what Mizuki had done. How would Naruto react to this? What would –

"THE FUCK?"

All eyes widened and looked around in confusion. Iruka was the first to look back to Naruto, confusion evident in his eyes. The voice had definitely been Naruto's, but it had come from the forest around them. Mizuki just smirked at Naruto, pleased to see that his works had such an effect on him.

"Yes, that's right! You are the demon fox! The one that hurt so many people, and even killed Iruka's parents!" Mizuki was lording the information over him now, loving the power he had over Naruto and Iruka. "That's why they hate you, because in reality, you are the Kyuubi!"

"Well, you're full of shit."

And once again, the three in the clearing were confused. A second voice, once again Naruto's, resounded from the clearing. However, the tone was…more passive than the first. Or perhaps not passive, but rather…emotionless? Like they didn't actually care that Mizuki was full of shit, it was simply a statement of fact.

"What…" Mizuki looked around, slowly becoming uncertain. Naruto couldn't perform the clone technique, and he doubted he knew how to throw his voice. And yet Naruto was trying to fool him. Grinning, he straightened as he pulled off a fuma shuriken from the holster on his back. "Well, seems you're trying to play tricks on us. Well it won't work!"

Mizuki drew back his arm, murder in his eyes as he spun the oversized shuriken faster and faster. Iruka grit his teeth as he prepared to intercept it, only to freeze at the sight of something. Were Mizuki paying attention to both of them, he'd have noticed and realized that he was no longer the only one on the tree branch.

With a roar, one of Naruto's clones dropped down and slammed a leg down on Mizuki's arm. As he cried out in pain, the clone grabbed the spinning shuriken by its inner ring, shoving it off into the forest. Seeing Mikuzi clutching his arm, the clone whipped his leg around and slammed it into Mizuki's chest in an attempt to knock him off the branch.

Mizuki was far from just being completely useless though, and was able to grab the clone by its leg and threw it towards the clearing. Growling, he reached back to pull the second fuma shuriken that he kept on his back, only for his hand to grip air. Glancing back, his eyes widened as the shuriken was missing, and in the hands of a second clone who was whipping it around to throw at him.

With a growl, Mizuki threw himself from the tree, just barely dodging the shuriken. Scowling, he returned his gaze to the clone he'd thrown. "So, you're the real one!"

The original Naruto was very, very confused by this. A second ago he was begin told what was probably the biggest secret in the village, and the most world altering in his life, and yet his clones…his clones were clearly not as startled by this as he was. Well, they were less surprised at least. One of them was likely feeling like Naruto was, and at least another was very vocal about their disagreement with Mizuki's words.

But, how was that possible? The clones he'd made were supposed to be copies of him, which didn't seem to be what he was seeing since his clones were acting rather different than him. Incredibly different. But, they were also fighting Mizuki. Mizuki, his sensei, the teacher that had tried to help him pass the test, the –

He'd been about to kill him.

Naruto took a sharp breath, eyes narrowing as he pushed himself up and launched himself towards his clone and Mizuki. He could hear Iruka yelling at him, but Naruto didn't care. This clone, these clones, were protecting him. So why shouldn't he do the same?

Slamming into Mizuki, he grunted as he struck against the chunin flak jacket and Mizuki's larger body mass. But it did what he intended, shoving him just out of the reach from grabbing the clone. Unfortunately, he was now in Mizuki's reach himself, and felt the brunt of it as Mizuki slammed a hand down on him.

"What the hell?" Mizuki tried to hit him again but they slammed into the ground and tumbled away from one another. While Naruto tried to scramble back to his feet, Mizuki stormed over and slammed his foot into Naruto's side. "You brat! You damn demon brat!"

"A demon…"

Mizuki froze at the voice, turning back to the clone that he'd thrown with him, noticing a dark, near malevolent look in his eyes. "What…what the hell…"

The clone slowly gripped his head, staring up at Mizuki as his lips curled back in a sneer. "You know, I kinda like that. Demon. It sounds…scary."

"Monster."

Mizuki snapped his head back, the clone who'd thrown the fuma shuriken standing on the branch having picked up the first shuriken he'd been forced to drop. Slowly, Mizuki realized that there were three, tangible Naruto's in the clearing.

"How many people have called us that?" The clone in the trees continued, spinning the shuriken almost casually. "Because you know, after hearing it so often, I think I'm okay with that."

"But not for you." Another Naruto said, stepping out of the brush. Their voice was the emotionless one that had called Mizuki out earlier.

"You're dumb." Another Naruto said, stepping out from behind the tree. This one had somehow gotten his jacket turned around in such a way than his arms were stuck in the sleeves, but he didn't seem to mind.

"Oh come on guys." Another Naruto said, swinging down onto a lower branch with a playful smirk. "Don't drag this out. He's not work it. Besides, he'll just call us 'brat' and curse at us. Ha! He's really terrible at insults."

"You're right." The 'demon' Naruto said. "If Naruto's a demon, then I'll take that from him. I'll be the demon."

"I'll be the monster." The 'monster' Naruto said, the shuriken now spinning at high speeds as he prepared to leap down on Mizuki.

"And we'll –"

"Show you why –"

"Naruto shouldn't be looked down on!"

Iruka stared between the five Naruto clones, eyes wide with awe and confusion. It was a clone technique, an advanced clone technique to be sure, and something he could be proud of. But, something was off, something was different. The clones were individuals, with the appearance of Naruto, and apparently they were very protective of Naruto.

"You brats!" Mizuki spat out, reaching back to grab two handfuls of shuriken to throw at them. "I'll just cut you all down then!"

"Oi!" Naruto – the original – grit his teeth with a grimace. The clones seemed to be confused by him, but soon their confusion became grins as Naruto continued, arms crossed in the handseal for his new technique. "Don't look down on them either! You said that if I learnt a jutsu from the scroll I'd pass right? Well, Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"

The field was covered in puffs of smoke, and hundreds of clones suddenly stood surrounding Mizuki. They all cracked their knuckles, glaring down at Mizuki. "What's the matter Mizuki-sensei? Weren't you going to cut us all down? Well, if you won't come to us, we'll come to you!"

"Whelp, guess I don't need this now." The 'monster' Naruto said, dropping the shuriken dejectedly before punching his fist into his palm. "Let's get crazy!"

"Haha, damn straight!" 'Demon' Naruto shouted, the other four unique clones all grinning as well. "Come on then!"

With a loud whoop, the Naruto's fell on Mizuki. He fought valiantly (but not really, more flailing around pathetically) but was ultimately buried beneath the fists and kicks of the hundred Naruto's. By the end of it, Mizuki was simply a huge bruised stain laid out on the ground before them. Dispelling the clones, Naruto turned back to Iruka with a sheepish grin.

"Hehe, I guess I overdid it." Naruto said, laughing in amusement.

"Y-yeah…" Iruka glanced down at Mizuki, not sure what to say about it. Mizuki had been his friend, his ally, his teaching companion. And now he was a traitor to Konoha, and his enemy. He didn't –

"Oi! Let me go!"

Iruka and Naruto turned in confusion at the sound of 'Naruto' struggling. To their shock, 'demon' Naruto was being held by another of the unique clones. He had picked up a kunai, likely one of those that had hit Iruka from before, and looked like he'd been advancing on Mizuki with it.

"He deserves it!" 'Demon' Naruto said, his teeth bared as he tried to yank out of their grip.

"Get ahold of yourself!" The clone who'd gotten ahold of 'demon' Naruto from behind shouted. "Killing Mizuki won't help, it'll only put blood on Naruto's hands!"

"He deserves it! He used him!" He let loose a feral scream as he worked on of his arms free. Before he could completely break free, the 'emotionless' clone stepped forward and placed his hands on his shoulders.

"Let him go. He's not worth it."

Something about the deadpanned, unimpressed tone seemed to get through to him. Taking deep breaths, he held up his hands and dropped the kunai. "Fine. Whatever. I'll let him go…but if they don't do anything with him –"

"That's not for us to decide." 'Emotionless' Naruto said. Glancing back to Iruka, he bowed slightly to him. "Sorry about that. He's…well, we're still figuring things out. This is all…new to us."

"I…I see." Iruka said, unsure what to think of this close. None of them were quite the hyperactive kid he'd grown to know. None of his mannerisms seemed present despite them looking exactly like their original. They truly were their own individual people.

"Alright guys." 'Monster' Naruto punched a fist into his palm, taking a deep breath. "Time for the difficult part of all this…"

The clones all looked at each other worriedly, each of them shuffling and shifting around nervously. Then, with a groan of exasperation, they all held their hands in the ram seal and suddenly dispelled themselves like regular clones. Naruto's eyes widened and he began looking around wildly. After a moment, his eyes widened and he began rubbing his head. Iruka, despite not knowing exactly what was going on, had more than a decent idea as to what had happened.

"They're all in his head now?" Iruka thought to himself, wincing at the thought of having five other people in one's head. That wasn't even including however the Kyuubi interacted with Naruto; something he was fairly certain no one but Naruto could know about…though hopefully it was something he didn't know about currently.

Staring at Naruto, he idly realized that Naruto had, in a way, performed the last requirement for the Genin exam that he'd needed to do to become a Genin. It wasn't the usual manner in which one might become a Genin, but it certainly qualified. With a small smile, he motioned Naruto over. "Hey Naruto, come here."

Naruto hesitated, shuffling in place as though unsure if he should come closer. Seeing the look on Naruto's face, Iruka frowned. What was the matter? Iruka hadn't done anything – then he remembered. He flinched almost as much as Naruto did at that. Naruto had heard what Mizuki had said, and likely thought that Iruka truly felt that he was his family's killer; the Kyuubi no Kitsune.

Moving over to kneel in front of Naruto, he gently placed his hands on Naruto's shoulders. "Hey Naruto, close your eyes."

He was hesitant, but slowly he closed his eyes. Iruka gently removed his goggles and set them down on the ground by Naruto's feet. Pulling off his own hiate, he tied it around Naruto's head and nodded to himself. Naruto reached his hand up to his forehead, prodding the hiate with confusion before his hand brushed against the metal and across the symbol engraved in the center of it. As he realized what it was, his eyes snapped open and he stared at Iruka in confusion.

"Why…"

"You aren't the Kyuubi…" Iruka placed both hands on his shoulders and gave Naruto his best smile. "You're a proud shinobi of Konoha!"

-x-

Back in the Present

Kakashi nodded slowly as he tried to understand the details of what had been said. Thus far he'd learned a few new things; there were five fractured entities within Naruto's mind, two of them believed themselves to be a demon and a monster respectively, and they were clever enough to hide and move without Naruto's direction. While a startling thought, it was expected from fractured clone syndrome. However…

"So you're saying that none of them attacked him?" Kakashi said slowly, idly reviewing the information he'd been presented with. None of their accounts contradicted that point, which was one of the biggest points that he'd worried about. "But, what about the two more violent ones? Do you think they could be a problem?"

Iruka was silent for a moment, thinking for a moment before nodding. "Yes, but only because they're immensely protective of Naruto."

Kakashi leaned back, eye narrowing as he thought about that. Slowly he shook his head. "That shouldn't' be possible. Fractured clones have always attacked their creator upon their creation. Naruto…"

Naruto was a new case. Some strange kind of special case. For one, he had more 'fractures' than any other case that was documented. The highest most people had documented was three. However, that was then compounded by the other anomaly; Naruto's clones had defended him.

According to the few medical studies that Kakashi had read, the concept behind fractured clone syndrome was that, when people who'd undergone a tremendous amount of mental stress, creating a shadow clone could have the fragments of their mind overtake the clone's body. With the newfound sentience, they'd realize that upon the original dispelling the clone they'd 'die' and would attack the original in an attempt to keep from being 'killed'. Even though it was the equivalent of suicide for the clone, it was their first and last act of free will.

Something Naruto's clones didn't seem to care about in the same way.

Steepling his fingers, the Hokage closed his eyes and sighed. "There are some ways to heal it, but the only person who's ever had even moderate success in healing it was Tsunade. While people asked how she did it, she said it was a…private matter and wouldn't say more."

"Wait." Iruka said, perking up. "That's because it's in his mind right? Wouldn't that mean a Yamanaka might –"

"That's a common misconception." The Hokage said, smiling softly. "While they can go through one's memories, and they can take temporary control of another's body, that doesn't mean they can heal a mind. That…" He looked down at his hands, eyes distant as he sighed. "That's something only the person themselves can resolve, which can take a long time to do."

Iruka nodded, then raised a finger to get their attention. "Can I ask then? What…what caused Naruto's mind to fracture?"

Both Kakashi and the Hokage looked at one another. Iruka had seen enough various expressions from children over the years to be able to notice how people learned to cover different emotions. He'd worried upon asking that they'd give each other looks like they were hiding something. Instead, they looked at each other with worry and confusion; which, to Iruka, implied something absolutely terrifying to his mind.

They didn't know what had happened.

-x-

"Wait, seriously?"

"I just told you it. Don't make me repeat myself."

"But-but you set Kakashi-sensei on fire?"

Kakashi's new Team 7 sat together sharing their meal and had decided to review what they'd done right or wrong during the test. Other than the fact that they hadn't utilized any teamwork up until Naruto's sacrifice at the end. Still, their discussion had apparently turned up a few other new tidbits of information that they hadn't previously known.

For example, Naruto had revealed that, yes, his clones were indeed solid. He hadn't given them everything about what had happened, but he had decided to tell them about the bare bones of what had happed with his personal graduation exam. That is to say, he didn't have to say much more than the bare bones due to the fact that he embellished and made each part of his adventures sound like it was its own novel type event. While Ayume and Teuchi believed him and were apt listeners, Sasuke and Sakure were more inclined to believe that he was overly stretching the truth.

Sakura had been extremely embarrassed at first to admit her failures to Naruto. However, when Sasuke reminded her that he'd failed to get a bell and had said that he'd tell them what had happened to him if she did, she opened up. It turned out to also be quite short, since all that had really happened was that Kakashi had locked her in a genjutsu (illusionary technique) that had shown her Sasuke dying and she'd passed out until she'd eventually woken and found Sasuke and Naruto.

Sasuke though had one of the more interesting stories. He'd been able to do more than Sakura, actually touching a bell during the taijutsu (physical techniques) bout he'd had with Kakashi. He'd then startled them with the information that he'd used a fire jutsu on Kakashi and had almost set him on fire before Kakashi had revealed himself beneath him and dragged him till only his head was popping out of the ground.

Something that Naruto still couldn't help but laugh wildly about each time he remembered it.

Sakura stared at Sasuke with a look of wonder. Staring into her ramen, she slowly began forming conclusion about what was said. "So, what you're saying is that you already know a C-ranked ninjutsu?"

"Hn." Sasuke said, more because his mouth was filled with ramen than to be dismissive. He didn't necessarily want to talk to them, but then he also didn't really care what they knew at the moment.

Naruto on the other hand was perturbed. "What? You mean Sasuke's known a super awesome jutsu and he never showed us? No way, I don't believe that! If I had a super awesome technique that could set someone on fire you know I'd want to show that off all the time!"

He leaned back in his seat, envisioning himself breathing fire in front of an impressed audience. The Hokage, upon seeing such an impressive jutsu, would of course be stunned into retirement and would pass the hat onto Naruto. Despite how confident he was that, his fantasy had someone butt into it in the form of Sasuke as he breathed fire and the hat was put in between them and they had to fight over it.

Turning to Sasuke, he opened his mouth to try to assert himself when one of the voices in his head pointed out a good point. ~Wait, you mean he's not a complete show off? ~

"Wait, so you aren't a complete show off?" Naruto hadn't meant to voice the question, but it slipped out before he could think twice about it.

Sasuke glanced at him with a bemused smirk, finishing his ramen pleasantly. "Well, not all of us can be as flashy as you are Naruto."

"But-but Sasuke-kun!" Sakura said, a thought suddenly occurring to her. "If you had shown that, couldn't you have graduated early?"

Sasuke paused, slowly poking his chopsticks into his bowl. "I could've. I checked, several times. But…I didn't want everyone to look at me like that anymore. I'm not him."

"Not…him?"

"The man I need to kill."

Naruto and Sakura winced at that, clearly not enjoying the idea that Sasuke was already so dedicated to something so dark. He was fresh out of the Academy, but then he was also a 'genius' as the teachers proclaimed. Perhaps his desire to hunt someone down was what set him apart from the other students?

"Well…I'm glad you didn't." Naruto said after a bit. Getting a curious look from both of his teammates, he grinned. "If you were a Genin before us, you might've been my rival for becoming Hokage, and while I could totally beat you, I don't need more competition than oji-san!"

Sasuke and Sakura took a second to process that. Sakura reacted first, scowling at Naruto. "Naruto! Show more respect for the Sandaime!"

"Heh, dobe." Sasuke muttered, eyes distant as he began sipping on the broth.

"Huh? You say something teme?"

"At least you set your goals high."

Naruto paused at that, staring at Sasuke skeptically. What angle was he playing at? But, seeing the look on Sasuke's face, while it was difficult to read, he seemed genuine about it. Like, he actually seemed to believe that Naruto was actually doing something mildly intelligent.

"Although," Sasuke continued, glancing to Naruto. "I think he might be as strong as any kage…maybe even stronger."

Naruto froze at that, thinking over that. Someone stronger than the Hokage? Blasphemy! Sure, he was old and fragile looking, but he was plenty strong! But, he was trying to become stronger than the Hokage, so it might be possible for someone else to get stronger than him. But the idea that Sasuke was trying to become stronger than the Hokage, if inadvertently, made Naruto's head spin.

*To be fair, he didn't specifically say the Hokage. But, if he's aiming to become stronger than him…*

Naruto perked up, thinking about something. Of course Sasuke would say that his goals seemed high; the other goal that he'd heard from Naruto was that he wanted a swimming pools worth of ramen. Or was it just a giant bowl? He couldn't remember. That didn't matter though, because he'd done something mildly impressive; he'd gotten Sasuke's attention, and perhaps a measure of respect from him as well.

"Hehe, so he wanted to be that strong? Why not make it a challenge then?"

"A challenge? What do you…oh. Oh I see. That could be interesting."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Get Sasuke to aim to be stronger than the Hokage, and you aim to be stronger than his target. That way, you can push each other to be stronger and stronger till you eventually overthrow him and claim your superiority!"

"Oh, I get it! But really, the teme?"

~Do you think there's anyone who'd be better at pushing your temper and making you stronger at the same time? I mean Kiba maybe, but do you want Kiba as your rival? ~

Naruto considered that, grimacing at the idea of Kiba being his rival. He was strong, and could be potentially a decent rival, but…he didn't believe in Naruto, and looked down on him. Sasuke at least seemed to take Naruto semi-seriously; enough that Naruto – and apparently his 'mind friends' – felt that he'd be a pretty decent rival.

Nodding to himself, Naruto pointed his chopsticks at Sasuke. "Alright! Then we'll make a deal of it! You help me get stronger than oji-san, and I'll help you get stronger than whatever teme you want to kill. Sound like a plan?"

"…what?" Sasuke stared at him, clearly not expecting that response. "You really think that you could do something like that? Feh, not likely."

Naruto stared at him, then – after some whispered encouragement – he smirked. "Fine. But if you ever lose to me, I'll just find and beat whoever they are first."

Sakura scoffed at that. "Naruto, if Sasuke still needs to get stronger then what makes you think you could? You're the deadlast!"

"Because if I get stronger than Sasuke, that means I'm closer to beating him than he is! Deadlast doesn't mean a thing now that we're shinobi."

While Sakura wasn't seeming to understand or give Naruto any kind of leniency, Sasuke was. Not much, but it was evident in the distant look on his face that he was thinking over Naruto's words. Could he get stronger than him? With his clones to aid him, maybe…just maybe. Finally coming to a decision, Sasuke turned to him. "Fine."

"Fine?" Sakura asked, perking up at hearing her crush acknowledging Naruto.

"Fine. If you could even come close to me that would mean I'm slacking off. But, on the off chance you ever do get a win, I can still rematch you to get my chance at fighting him back." Even he wasn't dumb enough to let that possibility slip past him, even for something that could 'never happen.'

"Deal!" Naruto grinned, punching his fist in the air. "Ah, this needs a celebratory ramen. Ey, Teuchi-san, give me one more bowl!"

"You already had two gaki!"

"Sakura's not eating a second bowl though!"

"She's not?" Ayame gave her a stern look. "Don't tell me you're on one of those 'diets' everyone has been going on about. They're unhealthy!"

"I need to! There's still a lot I need to work on to get my figure to look right." Sakura said with a huff, looking away. She didn't need a ramen chef trying to tell her how she needed to take care of herself.

"Well, I'm pretty sure you'd look better without looking like you're starving yourself." Ayame said, rolling her eyes at the girl's strange choices. She could give as much advice as she wanted, but at the end of the day Sakura was a shinobi, which meant – "You're an adult now, so do try and take better care of yourself."

"Oh, hey that's right!" Naruto said with a grin. Gripping his hiate, he shifted it a few times proudly. "We're adults now!"

"Of course." Sasuke said with a small smirk. "What, did you forget that part of becoming a shinobi?"

Naruto shrugged, taking another bite of ramen. "It wasn't the part I was thinking about when I became a shinobi. I'm more excited about the fact that I'll finally be getting some respect! Yeah, just imagine it; soon we'll get to fight bandits, hunt bad guys, save princesses, and more!"

"Yeah, sure." Sasuke said dismissively, finishing his own ramen before stepping away. "I don't need a second bowl, give it to Naruto."

"Eh? Aha! Thanks Sasuke!" Naruto perked up, smirking as he began ferociously eating his food. Halfway through finishing his second bowl, he paused and snapped his head to where Sasuke left. "Hey wait, he's just trying to get a head start on his training! That teme, I swear…"

Eating faster, Ayame preemptively got Naruto his third bowl before moving over to Sakura. Sakura for her part was staring into space, lost in thought. Raising a brow at the girl's expression, she leaned against the counter. "Ryo for your thoughts?"

"Huh?" Sakura blinked, head bobbing up to stare at Ayame. "Oh, well…it's nothing."

"Come on, you can tell me. Consider it waitress-customer confidentiality. Trust me, Naruto's to busy right now to listen anyways." It was true, as Naruto was eating with fervent gusto, trying to finish his food so he could race off and catch up with Sasuke.

Sakura played with her chopsticks, slowly putting them over her bowl and pushed it away from herself. "I just, I'm…concerned. They're talking about being stronger than Hokage-sama, and I'm just here…easily defeated by a genjutsu from my sensei."

"Hm, that could be a problem." Ayame said kindly. Taking her bowl, she tapped her fingers on the rim for a second before glancing back to Sakura. "What do you think of Sasuke? Really think of him?"

"What do I…" Sakura paused, thinking over her words before shaking her head. "He's got a lot he does, but he doesn't let it get to him. He's so cool and smart…he's perfect."

"Is he really?" Ayume sounded either bored or placating, neither of which Sakura took kindly to. "Well, he definitely sounds like he needed a challenge. Although –"

"Ah, that was awesome!" Naruto shouted, finishing his ramen and placing the money Kakashi had given him down. "Thanks for the meal! See you later, I gotta train!"

As Naruto jumped back and ran off, Ayame and Sakura watched him run before looking back at each other in amusement. "Well, as you can see, Naruto is going to be a physical challenge for Sasuke, but he's got a bit before he'll be the most intellectual guy, you know?"

Sakura huffed softly. "Got a bit? He's got a long way to go before he can match Sasuke-kun's intellect."

"Oh? Is that so? And what about you?" Ayame asked, slowly cleaning up Naruto's bowls. "Are you closer to knowing how much Sasuke does?"

"W-what?" Sakura looked absolutely horrified by that idea. "I couldn't possibly be –!"

"Okay, but are you?"

"I…well…"

Sakura thought about it for a moment, though in reality it was a moment too long. She was as smart as Sasuke, smarter even – in terms of book knowledge. She could answer any question so long as it was something that she could read up on and study. She had a better understanding of chakra, history, and basic geographical knowledge, which meant she was smarter than Sasuke. But only in those areas.

"Not completely. I still…I still have a lot I could learn."

Ayame nodded, seeming to readily accept that. "That's good. So, what are you going to learn?"

"What?"

Pausing in her cleaning, she waved her hand in a 'go on' motion. "Well, you said you have a lot you want to learn. So, where are you going to start?"

"I…I don't know." Sakura looked away sheepishly. Without the chopsticks, she found herself fiddling with her fingers nervously. Obviously this wasn't something that she'd thought of at all before, and being caught off guard wasn't a feeling she enjoyed. Of course, no one enjoyed being caught off guard.

"Don't worry, I'm not trying to make you worried." Ayame placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder comfortingly. "Naruto's enthusiasm just kind of rubs off on me sometimes, and I get excited to hear more about what people want to do. Plus, with a sensei like the one you all were talking about, it sounds like you'll have plenty of opportunity to learn a lot!"

"Y-yeah…" Sakura wasn't as sure as Ayame seemed to be.

Of the three of them, Sakura had only seen the fight against Naruto, which wasn't all that impressive as most of his motions seemed to be dodging, and then she'd been caught in a genjutsu. In fact, if anything Sasuke knew what Kakashi could do best seeing how he'd seen Naruto's fight, and then had fought him one-on-one.

That got Sakura thinking. Kakashi had gone over the three skills all shinobi know. Naruto was put through taijutsu, Sasuke's sounded like his had been ninjutsu, and Sakura…

"I…think I'll be trying to look up genjutsu." Sakura finally said, slowly nodding to herself.

Ayame paused and raised a brow at that before perking up. "Oh, are you're going to learn about it so that Kakashi-san won't be able to put you down again?"

"Mm. And I'll be able to use them against people if I learn any good jutsu." Sakura perked up at that, eyes getting a gleam to it as she thought about the possibilities. "Maybe if I get good enough Sasuke-kun will notice how much I've improved!"

"Probably." Ayame said, nodding to herself. "After all, the Uchiha were known for their skills with a lot of different techniques, but their eye-based genjutsu was legendary."

"Eye-based genjutsu?"

"You don't know? The Uchiha's Sharingan (Copy Wheel Eye) was able to copy other people's jutsu or using genjutsu, like I said."

Sakura took that in, staring at Ayame with wide eyed wonder. "So, you know about Sasuke-kun's family?"

"They were a fairly big thing, up until the Uchiha Massacre. People didn't always see them around Konoha, but there were a few who'd go on missions and such so we'd see them around."

Sakura's eyes lit up at that, though the word 'massacre' did catch her attention. "Can you tell me a bit more about them? I…Sasuke-kun isn't very open to telling me about himself, so maybe…if I know more about his clan, maybe I'll know more about stuff he'll want to talk about?"

Ayame flinched slightly, giving Sakura a sad look. "I…highly doubt that he'll want to say much about his clan. Things didn't go over so well after all."

"I didn't think so." Sakura said, trying not to look insulted. "I do understand what it means that his family was part of a massacre. But just…just to know what sort of things his family was known for, what he grew up in. Maybe that way I can at least be able to talk with Sasuke-kun and know more of the things he won't tell me himself."

"Maybe…" Ayame bit her lip. "And, it's not like most of the information isn't common knowledge." Glancing from the bowls to the clock, she sighed in annoyance. "Tell you what, come back in a couple hours. The lunch rush is about to hit, so we're going to be pretty busy. Once it dies down, we can talk, okay?"

"Alright!" Sakura said cheerily, hopping off the ramen bars stool and giving Ayame a wave. "See you later Ayame-san!"

"Later Sakura-san!"

As Sakura ran off, Teuchi slowly peaked his head out from the kitchen. "So, you're going to tell her what happened to the Uchiha?"

"No, just the little bit I know about them." Ayame started washing the bowls, keeping her eyes on her work to avoid looking at her father. "It's not like there was a lot of secret information against talking about the Uchiha."

"There isn't." Teuchi walked up beside her, washing a bowl slowly. "I just want you to be careful. You saw how that Sakura girl acted. If she becomes obsessive about the boy –"

"I know." Ayame said, hands gripping the bowl roughly. "She's…I don't know, she's like Naruto in her own way. But, maybe if she learns how to be her own person first…"

"You're worried about Naruto."

"He shouldn't have people who could get him hurt. He wants to help, but if he's always protecting her, who'll keep an eye on him?"

"He'll have his sensei, and the Uchiha doesn't seem to be too bad. Have faith in them."

"Yes tou-san."

As they returned to their work though, neither of them voiced the concern they still had for their best customer. Neither of them knew though just how many already had his back.


AN: Alright, 2 in a row, but don't get used to it! I only posted this one because I really, really wanted to get through the whole scroll bit quickly as I could. It's fun and such, but there's a lot more to go over; including what I'm really excited for: telling you their names!

That being said I also want to thank Twisted Pxl for finally helping me put words to why I'm always skeptical about harems! Along with the fact that Sasuke is often bashed in those fics, if Naruto got a harem Sasuke would/should be allowed one as well. That being said, that all depends on if Naruto does get a harem. So when voting for the harems, do keep that in mind as Sasuke would also be allowed the same. (please note, harem for me is usually 3+ people with one person, with 2 being a threesome, which I consider different)

Possible pairing

Naruto/Hina/Haku/Karin 2

Naru/Haku 4

Naru/Hina 3

Naru/Tenten

Live or Die?

Zabuza live/die: 4/2

Haku live/die: 5/1

Haku's Gender

Haku boy/girl/undetermined: 0/4/1

Harem

Yes/No: 0/0

If no one votes for it, I'll just take that as a "no", which would remove any pairing of 3 girls+Naruto or more. So keep that in mind faithful reviewers!

Until next time, thanks for reading!