Chapter Six: Finally Genin
Naruto flexed his shoulders, staring at Iruka as he stood before the scarred Chunnin. They were in an empty exam room, having decided to show off the skills of each Genin-hopeful privately so that they could save face to their classmates if anyone somehow failed.
"Alright Naruto." Iruka said. "You know the drill. Show me the Henge first."
"Got it Sensei." Naruto formed the necessary hand seals, flashing through them with practiced ease due. "Henge!" He shouted just as a puff of smoke surrounded him.
The smoke quickly cleared, and Iruka blinked as he stared directly into the face of another Iruka. "Well, that's impressive. I can't find any faults with the degree of detail." He admitted after a bit of scanning the transformation. "Alright, Kawarimi next."
Naruto dismissed his transformation, turning back to normal. The blond had grown in height, standing at near the five-foot mark. His face was adorned with his usual, and easily recognizable, whisker marks as the only betrayal of what he happened to be. Blue eyes were showing great warmth and confidence as he grinned at Iruka. He was wearing a pair of black ANBU style pants, along with a long sleeved gray mesh-undershirt, along with a white sleeveless shirt over it. "Got it."
Iruka held his clipboard, watching as Naruto formed two hand seals. Hmm? He only used the Dog and Snake seals?!
With a poof of smoke, Iruka gasped as he stared at Itachi, who looked around in surprise while having moved to block a sword strike.
"GAH!" Naruto quickly ducked under Shisui, who redirected the slash from his tanto away from the blond. "Are you insane Shisui-nii?!"
"Well... Why did you replace with Itachi?" He started to ask, but Naruto had already used the Technique again and Itachi reappeared.
"So... That was unexpected." Itachi stated smoothly, looking towards his friend. He readied his own tanto. "Back to where we were?"
Naruto appeared back in the Academy classroom, and let out a nervous laugh when he saw Iruka's baffled expression. "Sorry Iruka-sensei. I tried to switch with Itachi, but didn't think he'd be training."
"Right..." Iruka shook his head slowly, frowning slightly. "Well.. With that... I say you succeeded." He muttered as he checked off the substitution jutsu from his checklist. "Finally the Bunshin."
"Umm... About that." Naruto started. "I can't do the regular Bunshin."
Iruka blinked slowly. "You can't?"
"Nope, still haven't managed to despite training for... Years."
"Well I'm afraid I cannot pass you unless-"
"But, I learned something from the Sandaime Hokage who gave me the knowledge of a different jutsu I could use."
"You... Did?"
"Yep, he let me read and study the Kage Bunshin. Would that work?"
"I..." Iruka looked startled, but nodded. "I suppose that would work... Show me."
"Right!" Naruto grinned again, and formed the unique hand seal that was the crossed fingers. "Kage Bunshin!" He shouted, and with a poof of smoke a complete clone appeared next to him.
"So what do you say Iruka sensei" Both Naruto's spoke at the same time. "Do we pass?"
"Yeah, I suppose I can pass you." Iruka admitted, and checked off on the clipboard.
Mori looked up as Naruto left the exam room, and nodded. "Alright, Sasuke Uchiha." She called out, letting the next student enter the exam room.
Sasuke walked past Naruto, glaring. "I will see you on the Taijutsu ring after this."
"Sure, sure." Naruto waved dismissively. I don't understand his grudge. Naruto thought as he went to sit down in his usual spot near the back of the class.
"So how'd it go?" Akane asked with a smile.
"Eh, I think I did well enough." Naruto admitted.
Ryouken shrugged. "It is hard to fail such a test... Three E-Rank Jutsu is all it takes."
Akane rolled her eyes before turning back to Naruto. "Well, did you manage the Bunshin at all? I remember you complaining you still couldn't manage it last week as graduation was coming close."
Naruto looked over at the redhead, before shrugging. "Yeah, I couldn't do it. Thankfully I found a different way to pass."
Akane and Ryouken both looked at each other in surprise, before back to Naruto as if he grew a second head.
"What?"
(An hour later)
"Alright class." Iruka said as he stood with Mori outside. "Once again, we'll be doing Taijutsu Exams. You'll have three minutes to either ring out or force each other to forfeit. If I see a risk of anything going wrong, I will step in and separate the fight."
"Yes Iruka-sensei!" The class called out as one.
Mori smiled at Iruka, before taking his clipboard. "First up, Naruto Uzumaki versus Sasuke Uchiha. Please step into the ring."
Naruto walked forward to stand in his chosen spot, smiling somewhat. "Alright. Ready to fight Sasuke?"
"Ready to lose?" Sasuke asked while he moved into the opposite corner, taking a battle ready stance.
"Ready... Begin!" Iruka called out. The Chunnin watched as Naruto remained passive, his hands in his pockets, while Sasuke took up the stance all Uchiha Clan members know for their Taijutsu.
Sasuke was the first to move, rushing forward with a burst of speed and closing the distance of 20 feet in less than a second, attempting to punch Naruto in the face. He began a series of kicks and punches, trying to pin the blond down. But the blond was turning his body, moving his feet in sweeping motions and patterns as he dodged around.
Naruto then moved to step around behind the Uchiha, when Sasuke threw a punch with too much behind it and overcompensated his position. He moved to thrust his knee forward into Sasuke's back.
Sasuke grimaced after rolling out of the way, having barely recovered. He isn't using his hands? He snarled, and spun low in order to try to sweep Naruto's legs out from under him.
Naruto grunted as he felt his leg that wasn't in mid attack get swept out, but turned his body and planted both hands onto the ground to lash out with a kick that Sasuke barely dodged away from.
Both of the students quickly returned to their feet. Sasuke returned to his family stance, while Naruto took a position of defense. Naruto stood with his legs spread, left toes pointing towards his opponent while his other foot was positioned at a different angle.
Sasuke rushed towards Naruto again, moving as if to leap again at the blond who crossed his arms to defend. Smirking, Sasuke instead slid down and tagged Naruto with a sweeping kick that sent the blond sprawling, before moving into a roll himself to bring his elbow bearing down upon Naruto's head.
But Naruto managed to get free, breaking away and flipping back to his feet. "Phew..."
"Damnit, stay still!" Sasuke snarled, about to charge Naruto again.
"Howbout nah?" Naruto verbally countered, meeting Sasuke in order to connect their fists together, which parried both blows simultaneously. Naruto then attempted to throw his other fist out, but Sasuke deflected it with a palm strike.
Sasuke attempted to throw a jab at Naruto's exposed side, but he was parried when the blond swept his arm downwards and to the side, throwing Sasuke off balance as Naruto landed a strike to Sasuke's chest.
Naruto moved to punch towards Sasuke's face, but his opponent had the same idea. They struck each other in the cheek, and both wore nearly identical grimaces at the situation.
"Okay kids, that's enough." Iruka said when the timer chose that moment to ring. "Let's move on to the others."
(The Next Day)
Iruka stood before the class, smiling as they all wore their new and shiny Konoha headbands showing off their success in graduating. "Alright, you are all now proud Genin. Congratulations are in order for you all for becoming Shinobi. However, I have here the teams you will be assigned into. Listen up."
Naruto rested his face on his palm while he just barely listened to the teams that were being assigned, only perking up when he heard his name.
"Team Seven will consist of Naruto Uzumaki, Akane Koga, and Ryouken Tatsujin." Iruka said. "Your Jonin Instructor will be Kakashi Hatake."
"Woo, we're a team guys!" Akane exclaimed, giggling while pumping her fist into the air.
Ryouken let out a sigh. "Joy..."
"Ahem."
"Eheheh... Sorry Iruka-sensei." Akane said with another weak giggle.
"Anyways... Team eight will consist of Kiba Inuzaka, Hinata Hyuuga, and Shino Aburame. They will be under Jonin Kurenai Yuhi. Team nine is still active from last year... Team ten is Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Chōji Akimichi are going to be with Asuma Sarutobi. Lastly, Team Eleven shall be Sasuke Uchiha, Kaida Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno will be with Aoba Yamashiro." Iruka closed his book, smiling. "Welcome to the forces of Konoha kids. Your jonin instructors will be by to pick you up."
The door opened right afterwards, and Kakashi Hatake walked into the room. "Ah, this seems to be it." He said to himself. "Team seven... Meet me on the roof." He then vanished.
Naruto sat down first across from Kakashi up on the roof, grinning. "Hello again Kakashi-san."
"Hello again to you Naruto-kun." Kakashi greeted, his eyesmile present.
"You know our sensei?" Akane asked with surprise, looking at Naruto.
"Hmm..." Was all Ryouken replied with, and sat away from the others somewhat to stare at Kakashi.
"Yeah, I met him just after joining the academy. He's a pretty cool guy, y'know?" Naruto grinned.
"So... You're my team." Kakashi turned away from Naruto. I can understand some of the things Naruto can do from what I have watched of his training. He heavily favors Taijutsu at the moment, since Shisui and Itachi decided to hold off on teaching him any Ninjutsu. I don't think he will be a Genjutsu user though. He glanced at Akane next, who waved with a smile. She's... Friendly I suppose. Can't really tell much about her at all, but she was almost the best kunoichi. He finally turned his attention to Ryouken, who just simply stared at him. If I remember right, he is a Tatsujin. They're the secretive Clan native to Nazo, and I believe he has a Dojutsu if rumors are true. Maybe I'll see it. I recognize that gaze... He has no purpose. "So, tell me about yourselves. Dreams, likes, dislikes, and hobbies. You first Naruto."
"Okay!" Naruto grinned. "I am Naruto Uzumaki. My dream is to become the Hokage someday. My likes include Ramen, and hanging out with my precious people. I dislike seeing Shinobi treat people unfairly just because of who they might be. And my hobbies are cooking, and training."
The ramen thing does not surprise me... Kakashi thought, nodding. "You next Red."
"Ahem, I am Akane Koga." The redhead correct firmly. "My dream is to become a strong ninja, like the great Lady Tsunade, and to become the first female Hokage. I like to study and read medical documents. My dislikes are stuck up pricks, and perverts. And my hobby is learning what I am able to get my hands on."
… Just my luck to get a student who hates perverts. "Alright, thank you Red. Okay mister brood, tell us about yourself."
"Ryouken Tatsujin, that is who I am. My dream isn't your business. My likes aren't needed to be paraded, and my dislikes even less so. My hobby... Becoming stronger."
I suppose it could be worse. I could've gotten an idiotic loud mouth, a fan girl, and a kid with an avenger complex. Kakashi thought. "Alright, so we seem to have some time left in the day. We will reconvene at training ground seven. Meet me there in one hour."
Kakashi sighed as he stood before the memorial stone, his hand placed upon the cool black surface. Minato-sensei... He looks so much like you. He seems as level headed as you are, but I can tell he takes after Kushina-chan as well. How much, I don't know yet. He looked at his watch before letting out another sigh. I'd stay longer... But I don't feel like tempting fate. Shisui has already warned me to not give Naruto a reason to complain about me or I'll experience that again. The silver-haired jonin shuddered. Just the memory of the nightmare fuel he was exposed to was enough of a motivator in order to depart and get to training ground seven... As fast as he could. So he jumped over the rooftops with as much speed as he could muster.
"YOSH!"
"Not now Guy!" Kakashi exclaimed, throwing a smoke bomb and vanishing.
"Curse you Kakashi!"
Kakashi snapped his book shut promptly as his Team approached the training ground seven. "You made it." He said, slipping the orange book into his pocket, hesitating slightly at the glare Akane sent him. Something is scary about her... He thought, immediately remembering how Kushina could get when she saw him reading such a book while she was around during his stint as her bodyguard.
"Yeah, you said to meet you here in an hour." Naruto pointed out.
"Just following orders." Ryouken shrugged.
"So what are we going to be doing?" Akane asked.
Kakashi held up his hand, dangling two bells from his fingers. "A test. To see if you can remain as Genin."
"WHAT?" Akane and Naruto both exclaimed, while Ryouken adjusted his sunglasses.
"Here's the deal. You are to come at me and try to take these bells by force. You have three hours to manage to do so. But the catch is, only two of you can stay. Whoever doesn't get a bell is sent back to the Academy for another year." He smiled, his eye reflecting the expression as he twirled the bells around on his finger before attaching them to his belt. "So come at me with intention to kill, or you won't succeed."
He watched as Akane rushed towards him first, shouting in anger while pulling her fist back.
Kakashi caught it casually, before turning and throwing her towards the trees near the edge of the training ground seven. He then ducked under Ryouken's charge, lashing out with a punch to send him flying in the opposite direction into a bunch of bushes. Turning, he frowned somewhat when he noticed Naruto hadn't moved from his spot, a thoughtful look on his face. Hmm... What are you thinking Naruto?
Naruto pulled out a smokebomb, and tossed it onto the ground between himself and the Jonin, making Kakashi dodge back as Naruto rushed through and started punching at Kakashi with quick and fast jabs. Each one was strong, and after blocking the first five the experienced Jonin quickly realized that wasn't the best option.
Each punch from him feels like its coming from steel piston. He's much stronger than I am in terms of muscle, but he doesn't look bulky at all. Kakashi realized as he twisted his body and moved away to put some distance. "Very good Naruto-kun, I didn't realize you were so skilled in Taijutsu."
"Heh, comes with the territory. Shisui-nii is such a slave driver, you should give it a try some time." Naruto quipped, settling back and taking a stance to charge towards Kakashi, who quickly formed the seals Snake and Rat as he made eye contact with Naruto.
"Magen: Narakumi." (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique)
Naruto found himself stopping as Kakashi seemed to vanish in a swirling of tree leaves. He blinked in confusion. Where did he go, that wasn't a shunshin... He wondered, before he saw a very very very familiar image that made him scream.
Kakashi used the moment that was Naruto held frozen in fear, attempting to appear behind the blond and forming his fingers into a very unique hand seal. 1000 Years of... Wait! Kakashi then quickly dodged, as Naruto thrashed around, whose demeanor became that of a being horrified and fighting for their life.
Then Kakashi frowned as Naruto started to scream. What is it that Naruto just experienced? He wondered from where he moved to, having avoided the very unintentional backlash Naruto was unleashing against whatever he saw. Then he saw a flash of metal as blood flowed to the ground from Naruto's hand. He used pain to escape it, why didn't he just dismiss the Genjutsu the normal way?
"So not fucking cool Kakashi!" Naruto exclaimed, vanishing in a burst of speed so powerful his feet created sharp cracks in the ground from the pressure of his dense chakra erupting from each foot.
He's fast! Kakashi barely managed to dodge a vicious roundhouse, replacing with another log and moving back into Naruto's view.
"I'm going to make you suffer for making me see that again!" Naruto exclaimed, his fingernails extending slightly while his whisker marks seemed to become more pronounced.
Kakashi hummed, raising his right hand up to shift his headband and revealing his Sharingan eye. "I suppose with you I cannot hold back, now can I?" Whatever he saw... Must've been horrifying.
"Nope." Naruto then crouched, on all fours with his fingers splayed out like a beast. He has a Sharingan too? But why is it only one?
Almost... Like a fox. Kakashi realized, finding similarities to how a fox would stalk its prey. Is it influence from his tenant? He wondered, before reacting to the warning his Sharingan gave him and ducked under the sudden attack that was Naruto attempting to claw out his throat.
Naruto kept attacking, using sweeping claw-like strikes and knife-jabs in order to keep the pressure up on Kakashi. His actions were fueled by anger, but Naruto wasn't leaving openings in his style.
"Impressive, you became faster." Kakashi observed, leaning back as he dodged a powerful jab from sharp claws that was aimed for his face. Incredible!
"Nope. This is my real speed." Naruto rolled forward into a handstand, spinning in order to land a kick into Kakashi's chest.
What the hell? I couldn't see that one coming. Kakashi replaced himself with a log at the last moment though, appearing in a tree to observe as Naruto looked around. Interesting... But where are the others? Kakashi created a Shadow Clone, and sent it down, hoping to distract Naruto.
"There you are." Naruto exclaimed, and rushed towards the Clone in order to assault it with a set of fierce and fast motions while the Kakashi replicant could only hope to dodge in order to acquire new information for his 'boss'.
Okay, I can see he is using a unique Taijutsu style... Based on the movements, he aims for the vulnerable spots of the solar plexus, nose, and groin. Each would cause crippling damage against an untrained enemy, and even a shinobi would quickly be felled depending on how strong they were from acclimated attacks. It's somewhat hard for me to predict his movements with the Sharingan up close. But why can't I see it... Kakashi realized as his clone vanished, but smiled a bit. Ah, from this angle, well done. He's using bursts of chakra in order to accelerate the muscle-twitches to be able to perform the move he wants to do instantly. He isn't that good, so I can see he is wasting a lot of chakra in order to do so-
"There you are!" A female voice from below said, causing Kakashi to look down. Only to get hit from above by a fist to the back of his head.
Kakashi cursed as he landed on the ground and rolled back onto his feet, staring at Akane where she was standing on the tree that was previously his perch. "You found me pretty fast Red."
"I'm a Sensor." Akane answered with a grin, hanging by her feet from the branch above Kakashi's former location. "Oh yeah, look out behind you."
"I won't fall for tha-" Kakashi grunted as he rolled forward with the strike to his back, turning around to face Ryouken who had just erupted from the ground behind him in a rising punch.
Naruto moved to stand with Ryouken, smirking. "I think we all need to work together to take him, don't you guys agree?"
"Definitely." Akane jumped from the tree, pulling out a pair of kunai and taking a stance.
"I suppose we'll have to." Ryouken took a stance, staring through his sunglasses at Kakashi who resisted the urge to grin.
Excellent, they are going to work together! This is so much better than I could hope for.
Kakashi didn't have a whole lot of time to even mentally praise his team, as Akane threw both of her kunai at Kakashi. He saw the notes wrapped around the handles thanks to the perception of his Sharingan, pulling out a kunai of his own to deflect them into the air where the exploding tags attached detonated with a small conflagration. Ryouken and Naruto rushed him at the same time, matching up and throwing strong punches that Kakashi was forced to use a Substitution in order to avoid the attack.
Their coordination is scary for a few kids. But in reality Naruto just followed Ryouken's lead and matched his attack, while Akane served as the distraction to allow them to get close enough to pull it off. Still, bravo. Kakashi was about to form another Clone before he remembered Akane was still active as his danger sense alerted him, and promptly jumped away from the his position just as Akane sent a Fire Jutsu towards him which instantly ignited a massive swathe of grass.
She can use Katon? I didn't see any hand seals, nor did I hear her command them... Kakashi directed his movement to stand over the water.
"You are doing well, but time for a new lesson: Ninjutsu." Kakashi started forming a long string hand seals. "Suiton: Suiryuudan!" (Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu)
"Oh come on, that's overboard sensei!" Naruto shouted, pulling out a large metal object with a long curved blade. Flinging it open, the Fuuma Shuriken took its true form and he flung it in a wide arc around the charging water dragon as Ryouken and Akane scattered.
I hope you dodge that Naruto-kun, I would rather not explain to Sensei at the Memorial Stone that you died to my attack. Kakashi turned to face the incoming projectile as it circumvented the water jutsu as it tore into the ground, lifting up his hand to move to catch it by the circular ring.
Only for the Fuuma Shuriken to poof into a different form, and Kakashi felt the stinging punch of Naruto's fist connecting with his face and sending him flying. His eyes widened slightly as he heard the gentle jingling of bells, and then he fell into the water. Naruto got the bells? He asked to himself, shocked, as he let himself drift below for a little bit. Then he moved to swim back to the surface, climbing out of the water and standing on the surface using Chakra. "Excellent work Naruto, who will you give the other bell to?" He inquired.
Naruto just stood where he was near the river, turning to face Ryouken and Akane when they approached him. "I have decided..." He began, and then tossed a bell to each of his team. "That your test was easy to see through Kakashi-sensei. You won't send anyone back to the Academy, but for the sake of your test with my 'fall', the others will be able to continue their mission. That was the whole purpose of the exercise, yeah?"
Kakashi blinked a few times, before he started to chuckle. "Quite observant Naruto, I'm quite surprised you guessed the intentions of the test. How did you get the other two to work together with you?"
Naruto just grinned. "My little secret."
(Flashback Start)
[Akane]
Clone Naruto stood before Akane after helping her up from where she landed.
"Oww oww oww... That fucking smarts." Akane complained. "Thanks Naruto."
"Don't thank me, I'm just a Clone." The replicant said. "Anyways, the boss believes that we cannot win this alone. We all have to work together."
"Huh... But..."
"Deception is the Shinobi's way. And have you ever heard of a three-man cell for Konoha? Yeah won't happen."
Akane grunted as she rubbed her backside. "Alright, what's the plan?"
"Here's what I think you should do..."
[Ryouken]
Ryouken grunted as he got up out of his hole, looking towards where Kakashi had thrown him from.
"Sup Ryouken." Clone Naruto said with a grin. "Yo, we should work together in order to win this."
"But the orders were to take a bell for ourselves." Ryouken argued.
The Clone shook his head. "That's not how it works in Konoha. Teams are always composed of four to promote unity and teamwork. There are never teams of two or three unless the ANBU need to prioritize stealth."
"You're drawing conjectures."
"Perhaps, but the boss thinks that the test isn't about who can get and keep a bell, but how well we can work as a team.
(End Flashback)
Still don't know why I remember that. Naruto thought, but shrugged. Something to think about later. "I told them what I thought of while distracting you sensei."
So he can use Kage Bunshin? I see. That's the only other way he managed to inform the others. "Very good, you are correct. Alright Team. We'll meet here again tomorrow at ten o'clock sharp. Don't be late." And then he vanished in a leaf Shunshin.
Alright everyone, I hope you enjoy this Chapter. Yes I understand it is a bit of a skip from where the last Chapter left off, but I couldn't think of a way to write out the progression of things.
Novrier: Thanks for your Reviews once again. I am actually glad you got a laugh out of the whole stiff joints causing Danzō to decide to assassinate the Third, but he was planning on using Kakashi to do so for the whole time anyways. Oppurtunities found shouldn't be wasted after all.
AkashimaUchiha: Yeah, I draw inspiration from and twist the filler arcs to what I think would be more reasonable for the turn of events. Danzō would've assassinated Kakashi anyways since he wasn't as malleable (especially without a Shisui Mangekyou to utilize) as a youngster of say 6 years.
Unwanted Writer: I have done the Concepts of up to the Chunnin Exams and beyond, its only a matter of inspiration now and time to continue writing and preparing.
Okay guys, peace.
~Veloran-Darkfyre.