Hello there, DelTheAUO here!

Happy New Year to all you readers…although it's the 10th. Let this be the start of beginnings for my fellow readers and writers. More motivation for writers, more content for readers! (a little motivation for readers to write wouldn't hurt though…)

Anyway, let's continue with this story!

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"So…today is finally the day of your graduation exam. How do you feel? You've almost become a ninja for this village." came Mei's voice as Naruto made his way to the academy, while ignoring the looks that he was receiving. Both towards himself, as well as his unusual clothing.

'I don't feel any different. I chose to become a ninja out of respect for the old man and all he has done for me. It's a path for me to protect the ones who I care about. Do I feel the obligation to put the rest of the village over my own personal goals? Of course not. Why should I give up my life for people who would rather want me dead? I would only give them protection if there is another Honkai Eruption…although that seems very unlikely after what Kiana-san did…' he replied.

"Fair enough. I'll stay out of your head now. Don't hesitate to call if needed." said Mei as she cut the link between them. Noticing the academy in sight, the boy couldn't help but smirk a bit. His position in the academy was just as he planned, and today was the last day he would have to deal with the academy staff, all of whom had something against him. They showed it by simply ignoring him, or by attempting to sabotage his 'training'.

Making his way into the classroom he was assigned to, he walked all the way to the back, where he saw an empty seat. Truth be told, he rarely interacted with his classmates, since most of their parents told them to stay away from him. Honestly, he didn't mind that. The fewer people that he interacted with, the better it was for him.

He put his head down and began analysing the people around him. The only ones noteworthy to him were the clan heirs. The others were not worth his time…at least, as far as combat prowess was concerned. But then again, in this world of kill or be killed, your combat skills mattered more than knowing the identity of the founder of this village was. Unfortunately, the academy seemed to have prioritized the latter, resulting in numerous civilians applying to be a ninja, completely clueless of the world they were about to enter.

(AN: I'm not including character descriptions, since I'm pretty sure you know all of them.)

A few moments later, the two instructors came in and began to maintain silence in the room. One of them stepped forward. "Alright class, today is the day of your graduation exam. I hope that you have all studied well for this day!" said the instructor, and judging from his flak jacket, a chuunin level ninja.

"Yes Iruka-sensei!" yelled the enthusiastic civilian students, while the clan students kept silent. "Okay. The first part is the written test, so maintain a gap between each other. Mizuki, come here and take this half." said Iruka, while motioning towards Mizuki to come over.

After receiving his paper, he detected a disturbance on his paper, and noticed Mizuki's faint smirk. Taking this as a sign, his pupils turned into slits and saw a blue layer over the paper. Sighing at the poor attempt at Genjutsu, Naruto returned his eyes to normal and devoured the chakra using a small layer of Honkai energy on his finger. Revealing the real questions, he was about to answer them, before he got an idea as he noticed the instructors supervising the students. Pointing a finger at Mizuki, a small bolt of violet lightning shot out with…uhh…lightning-fast speed and struck the Chuunin's rear end, causing him to jump up in pain. The entire class burst into laughter, until a glare from Iruka silenced them. Satisfied with the result, he began to write.

(A few hours later)

"The next part of your exam is the Taijutsu test. You will be made to fight each other tournament-style. We have the matchups right here, so we will call them out. First, we have…" Iruka went on, as the civilian students were pitted against each other first, while being evaluated. The clan heirs dominated the entire exam, with the exception of Ino Yamanaka, who looked like she had barely done any training in her life. Eventually, it ended up being a battle of the clan heirs against each other.

"Next up, Inuzuka Kiba and Uzumaki Naruto! Take your positions!" yelled Iruka, as both boys stepped forward and took their stances. Kiba was in a crouched position, as he intended to pounce on his opponent, whereas Naruto took his own stance, which confused a lot of people. His left foot was placed forward, knees bent, with his right hand in a fist at his side and his left hand in a fist right in front of him. It was an unusual stance that none of the people there recognized, even the teachers, but they brushed it aside.

"Heh, ready to lose?" said Kiba with an arrogant grin. Naruto was about to give tell him to keep quiet, but Iruka beat him to it. "Kiba, in a real battle, nobody will care about how 'strong' you are. I suggest you keep quiet." he ordered, making the boy lose his grin. "Ugh…fine." he groaned as he focused on the battle.

"Are you both ready? Then begin!" said Iruka as Kiba lunged at Naruto with fist outstretched, intent on delivering a punch. While the civilians might not have reacted in time, he was too slow as Naruto evaded every single one of Kiba's attacks with no problem. Eventually, he got bored and made his move. Controlling his strength, he landed three quick punches on Kiba's chest, and leapt into the air when the boy was dazed from the strikes. He then planted his outstretched fist on the boy's back, planting him face first into the ground.

'Good. I think I got the form down.' he thought as he returned to his original stance, recollecting a memory.

(Flashback)

'It should be here right?' asked a 10-year-old Naruto as he walked through another door. Honestly, with a base this big, it was a surprise that it was kept hidden for so long. But he wasn't here to question such things.

"Yes…we have arrived." said Mei as the room lit up, revealing numerous books, and what appeared to be…cubes and sheets of metal? Probably some strange technology from the past that he was starting to get used to.

"In the same condition as we built it. Good to see this base hold its structure so well. Now, go where I direct you." commanded Mei as she led Naruto through the immense library, until they reached a stand, with a single cube on it.

"Now you see there is a circle on top of the cube, right? I want you to tap it. Then we can finally begin." she said. Doing as instructed, Naruto noticed a white light engulfing him as he lost consciousness.

(Unknown location)

Opening his eyes, he took in the incredible scenery in front of him. A vast array of greenery filled his vision, tall trees surrounded the clearing in front of him, with a mountain being visible in the distance. The sound of running water and chirping birds filled his ears, giving a very pleasant sense of tranquillity.

"Beautiful, isn't it? Everyone who has visited Mount Tai Xuan had the same expression." came a voice behind him. Turning around to face the stranger, he took in their features. Long white hair with streaks of red tied in a loose ponytail, bright red eyes that felt like the embodiment of fire itself, long red gloves with a bright green gem embedded in it, and a white battle dress, with flame patterns and armor on the right shoulder and four red 'tails', reminiscent of the tail feathers of a bird.

"I didn't mean to disturb you. Take it in. It will help clear your mind." she said, as she sat down next to him and closed her eyes, while maintaining a constant breathing rate. The pair stayed in silence for a few minutes before standing up.

"I see that this device that Mei created manage to successfully imitate the abilities of Fenghuang Down. Impressive." said the unknown person.

"It sure did, Fu Hua." came Mei's voice as Mei and Hikari walked into the clearing. "Wow, this place is just as beautiful as the last time" said Mei, remembering the first time this device was tested.

"Mei! What are you doing inside this boy's mind? And what is your Herrscher core doing here as well?" asked the now named Fu Hua with a serious tone and taking a stance. Fenghuang Down brought the mind of the one it was used on into a dream world. And as far as she knew, only the one who activated the device can have their mind brought here. The Herrscher core worried her as well, even though she knew that her former classmate had formed a partnership with it.

"Uhh…it's a long story." said Mei, while motioning Fu Hua to stand down. "Want the full story or a summarized one?"

"We have time. There is no resistance from his mind after all." said the immortal, as she entered a more relaxed position. Mei then began to tell her the entire incident, meanwhile Hikari was dashing around the area in a violet streak, analyzing the layout of the area.

"I see…so that's why you want him to be trained." said Fu Hua, with a thoughtful expression. It was then replaced by a determined look. "Okay. I will do it, since you see the potential in him." Both of them smiled and took a glance at the boy, who was still seated in the same position, savouring the clean atmosphere of the area.

"Naruto! Come here!" called out Mei, as he was broken from his trance and quickly ran up to them. "This is Fu Hua. She will be teaching you the art known as the Six Fists, a very powerful martial art from our time that she elevated to an entirely different level. Make sure you take in her teachings okay?" He nodded in response.

"Good, in that case, we shall leave you alone." She said, as both she and Hikari vanished from the area, leaving the boy and his new sensei behind, in order to begin their first lesson…

(Present)

"W-Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" stuttered Iruka, with wide eyes at the display of the boy's skill. The way he evaded Kiba's attacks and that final attack that knocked the other boy face first into the ground…that was definitely something new.

"Uhh…Kiba? You can get up now." he said as he tapped Kiba's back, in order to make him get up, but received no response. Turning the boy over, he saw that the boy had been knocked unconscious. He called some of the other students, and told them to take him to the Academy Infirmary.

Meanwhile, Naruto scratched his head 'Damn, looks like I used too much force, even though I held back. Now I have a lot of attention on me.' he sighed and noticed all the stares from the other students. Ignoring them, he went to a nearby tree and sat underneath it in a lotus position, taking deep breaths and calming his mind, which was a basic exercise in his Six Fists training. While the air in Konoha was clean enough, it would never compare to the sense of absolute tranquillity of Mount Tai Xuan.

(An hour later)

After his fight, it was just a matter of time before all the clan heirs, who had received specialized training to become actual shinobi, had wiped out all the civilians in the tournament. Out of these clan heirs, only two of them actually had proper skill in Taijutsu. One was the Hyuuga heiress, whose clan specialized in their very particular Taijutsu style, while the other was the Uchiha heir, who had been training in his own style. There was the Inuzuka heir too, but…well, he was out already.

Unfortunately, he couldn't fight the Hyuuga heiress, because the tournament separated students by their genders. He didn't understand the logic behind that. That girl could easily defeat some male clan heirs, such as the Nara, who was too lazy. The Akimichi, since he relied too much on his body weight and brute force. The Aburame, who hailed from a clan that wasn't very specialized in Taijutsu. Unfortunately, the girl was starting to lose the kindness and the gentle nature that she once had. A shame really, since she was being moulded forcibly by her clan to maintain their image, and that interfering in clan matters could result in poor consequences for him.

Eventually, the final battle of his side of the tournament had arrived. It was him versus the Uchiha heir. Both of them took their places on the field, with a fair amount of distance between them. Facing each other, the Uchiha had a smirk on his face, anticipating the battle.

'Hmm, I do not trust him to stick to Taijutsu. He might pull a dirty move from somewhere such as kunai or maybe a jutsu. And knowing how the village treats him, he might be able to get away with it. I'll have to be ready at any moment.'

"Uzumaki Naruto vs Uchiha Sasuke, begin!" declared Iruka as Sasuke rushed at his opponent with a punch, which was easily blocked by the blond boy's hand, with the glove taking the brunt of the damage. He quickly responded to the defensive move with a kick with his left leg, only to be responded with a defensive kick of Naruto's own.

'Now, keep on attacking. Let's test how you can handle a battle of attrition.' thought Naruto with a feeling of superiority. Looks like Hikari had rubbed off more than he thought.

As expected, Sasuke could only last so long while attacking before getting exhausted, with sweat dripping intensely and breathing very heavily. His opponent, meanwhile had been standing there, parrying his attacks with quick strikes to the right places at the right moments, completely negating any damage inflicted upon him. In fact, the only sign of any disturbance was the signs of dust on those gloves of his.

"Tired already?" asked the young Herrscher with a bored tone, as he got into a more relaxed stance as compared to his original one. Not showing any signs of direct aggression, but willing to strike at a moment's notice.

"You…*pant*…you wish I was, Dobe…" wheezed out his opponent, gasping for air, while wondering how he was not exhausted from the fight. Rushing at the blond with all the speed that he could, he cocked his fist back for a punch, but was interrupted by a palm strike to his chest, which was enough to knock him to the ground, too tired to move.

Deciding that the boy would not get up anytime soon, Iruka decided it was time to end this fight. As he stepped in, Sasuke saw the look in his opponent's eyes. Those eyes that were the colour of bright amethysts. He could feel them digging into him, solidifying his existence as the weaker one between the two. His pride and arrogance weren't going to let him have any of it. Mustering all of his strength and chakra into a familiar pattern he managed to get himself up and made some hand signs.

"Sasuke? You're up? It's alright, you don't have to… No, stop!" started off Iruka, until he recognized those hand signs.

"Katon: Goukakyu no Jutsu!" shouted the boy, with all his strength as he released a moderately sized fireball at his opponent, who had noticed the attack as well. As the fireball made contact, it kicked up a pile of dust that surrounded the impact point.

"Naruto!" Yelled Iruka, as he looked for the boy. Unlike most of the teachers who had a dislike for the boy, this teacher was indifferent to him and treated him just like any other student. So, in this case, seeing a fireball swallow up one of his students was definitely a matter of concern.

As the dust started to clear, wisps of flame could be seen flickering around the impact point. Once it had completely cleared, to everyone's shock, the ex-Jinchuuriki was completely unharmed, with the exception of a slightly burned cape. What caught the attention of everyone was the fact that he was dispersing away the flame with his hands, which had some strange new gloves…or rather, gauntlets on them. They were elbow length, with a black underside and the top being made of accents of orange and white. The part near the elbows had 3 red spikes with black tips on them. Now that they had achieved that purpose, they dispersed in a flash of light.

"Na-Naruto, are you alright?" asked Iruka in concern, completely ignoring those gauntlets that he witnessed earlier. The boy looked at the now collapsed Sasuke, who was completely surrounded by his fangirls, worrying about him and making dirty glances at the perfectly fine 'Dobe'.

"I'm alright sensei. The test is over, now right?" he replied, ready to leave the place. He didn't want to deal with the fangirls any longer. "Yes, it is. The jutsu test will be in 2 hours, so you can go wherever you wish, but be back here by then." replied the Chuunin instructor.

"Alright then. I'll see you later." he said, as he left the field.

(Time skip)

Walking out with the Konoha headband in his hand, he completely ignored the looks of fear and whispers by the parents of the other academy students.

"They let him graduate?"

"What is Hokage-sama thinking?"

"Now it will get access to more power…"

Naruto, meanwhile was speaking to Mei and Kiana mentally. 'And then, I don't know what possessed him to do it, but he used a fireball jutsu during the Taijutsu test. I'm surprised that they didn't disqualify him for it.'

"Chances are, that they brushed it under the rug. Those pathetic fangirls and villagers would do anything for their Oh-so-precious Uchiha after all. That pathetic worm's arrogance took over his ability to think." Said Hikari, to receive a bonk on the head from Kiana.

"Hikari, don't be rude. But yes, he is spoiled by the villagers, which in turn strokes his ego…and the extent of the damage is too much." she said. She could somewhat relate, after the numerous stories her father had told about the Kaslana being a very powerful warrior family. She had developed that superiority complex about her inheriting the same power, and that she was on a higher level than her peers. That was until Himeko, bless her soul, had beaten it out of her.

'Precisely. Anyway, back to what happened, I guess it was a good thing I'm allowed access to the mass-produced weapons in the base. The CAS-X really did a good job there.' he thought…until he paused in his thoughts. 'Wait…now that I've graduated, can I…'

"I know what you want, and yes you can." Kiana said with a grin, causing the new Herrscher to cheer mentally, only to be interrupted. "Only after you get some practice with them. Soulium weapons and the more advanced ones in the base are not your typical weapons that you're used to." came the teacher-like voice of Mei.

'Okay, I got it.' he mentally said. "Now, about the third test…" inquired Kiana, curious as to what happened.

'Oh, nothing special. They asked for the basic academy three. There was a weird disturbance during the test though, like someone tried to actively disrupt my Chakra control by injecting their own Chakra into my system, but I was able to burn it off with Honkai energy. The only jutsu that would usually be a problem is the Bunshin. Good thing we saw that Jonin practice that Kage Bunshin Jutsu right?' he said with a chuckle, receiving a similar one from his residents.

'What's funnier is that they didn't even notice the difference. It was- 'he was interrupted as he saw Mizuki approach him with a smile. 'Wait, what's he doing here? I thought I was done with him forever.'

"Hey Naruto! Congrats on your graduation! I knew you could pull it off" he said, while his thoughts were…more sinister 'Damn it! The Genjutsu plan failed, the Taijutsu matchups failed, and the jutsu test failed! This is my last chance!'

"Thanks sensei, now why have you come here?" the newly graduated shinobi replied, with a serious look on his face.

"Now, now, can't a sensei come congratulate his student? It's- "the silver haired man was interrupted by a kunai at his throat.

"If you wanted to say something, you could have done so inside. Why now? Why away from the academy?" he replied, the kunai not moving at all.

"Okay fine, I'll tell. Just, please move the kunai." he said in apparent defeat. The kunai did not move. "Tell me first, then I'll move it." said the blond boy. Knowing he had no way out of this he spoke.

"I know of a secret test that will directly promote you to Chuunin. I thought you would be interested, seeing as you want to become Hokage after all." Oh yes. That. He had been stating that he wanted to be Hokage just to avert the eyes of suspicion towards his loyalty. Looks like it was working against him this time.

"See what this 'test' is about. If it benefits us, take it and then kill him if it comes down to it. If it doesn't, then find a way to kill him anyway. I'm really starting to hate this guy. He feels like some humans of our civilization. Corrupted to the core." said Hikari with a voice filled with disgust.

'Honestly, I'm in agreement. Maybe not kill, but some maiming wouldn't hurt now would it?' he said with a similar sadistic voice, making Hikari release a chuckle. Kiana sighed." We need to limit your contact with Hikari from now on." she said, making Hikari pout.

'C'mon Kiana-san, Hikari-nee is not that bad.' he said, as he brought his attention back to the Chuunin instructor and gave him a smirk.

"So…what do I have to do?"

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Longest chapter until now!

Review Please! Positive feedback is very much welcome, constructive criticism will be accepted, but flames will be ignored.

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Thanks for reading this chapter!

DelTheAUO, Out.