An alarm rings, filling the empty apartment with the signature ringing noise that could wake anyone up. A blonde boy slowly sat up from bed, his eyes barely open. He turned the alarm off and yawned. He quickly went to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. Today, he needed to be awake, because today was his first step to becoming the strongest ninja. Today was the first day of the academy.
Naruto looked at the time and his eyes went comically wide as he realized he had 30 minutes until class started. It was a 25 minute run to get there. He quickly put on his orange jumpsuit and dashed out the door with a packet of ramen in hand. He jumped across rooftops, eating the ramen while on the run. He got angry shouts and curses from the streets below, but he paid them no mind as he hurried there. He jumped down into an alleyway and cut onto the street where the academy was. He now stood in front of the small building and sighed happily, he was super excited.
All around him, he heard whispers and gasps as the parents realized who he was and told nearby children not to even look at him. He heard whispers of "demon" and "murderer" and "killer", which really brought his mood down. His smile dropped as his face went neutral. He walked inside anyways and arrived in class just as the bell rung. He took a seat in the back of the class, but only one boy sat next to him. He had black hair with black eyes and a secluded look on his face with the Uchiha clan logo on his back. Naruto paid him no mind as the teacher walked in and introduced himself as Iruka Umino. One by one, kids introduced themselves until it came to Naruto.
"My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like ramen and training. My goal is to be the strongest shinobi in the elemental nations." His declaration got condescending stares and even boos from some kids. All of them looked at him with a mixture of fear, anger, or annoyance. It felt like he was subhuman. Only one kid didn't give him those looks, and that was Sasuke Uchiha, the boy next to him. He only looked at him blankly. Naruto quickly sat back down after a glare from both sensei.
"Well students, we will start the year with basic evaluation of all your skills outside. Follow me." Iruka lead all the students outside as they all lined up on a white line. Some were nervous, other were cocky. Naruto had a good feeling he would do good, as he was training before the academy a bit.
"First test is shurikenjutsu. Pick up these kunai and throw them at the targets." Each kid went up and threw the kunai, most of them not hitting the board at all. Noticeable exceptions were Kiba, Shikamaru, Ino, Choji, Hinata, and Shino. Next up was Sasuke, who hit 9 kunai out of 10 on the bullseye, gaining gaps of shock and swooning from the female students. He looked at Naruto with a smirk, already challenging him. Naruto went up and threw Kunai, and he managed to land 7 out of 10, gaining more whispers. Sasuke looked at him interested that someone was close to his score, but them arrogantly smirked that he did better.
With the next test, it was speed. In this test, Naruto got first, Sasuke got second, and Kiba got third. Sasuke looked annoyed that someone was faster than him, but did a good job in hiding it. He still knew that the "Naruto" kid was weaker than him. He lost a bit of composure when Naruto gave the same smirk that he gave right back at him, making him tsk.
In endurance, Sasuke surprisingly beat Naruto. Sasuke had good stamina and Naruto put too much energy into running at the start and got tired quickly. Thus, Sasuke took the victory.
In agility, Naruto won again with Sasuke barely behind him. Naruto was very agile and limber because of him sneaking around the village and needing to run from mobs of people more frequently. Sasuke was getting more annoyed, but this last test would prove his superiority over the blonde. Iruka spoke up, "The last test is a taijutsu spar, find someone to spar with."
Sasuke and Naruto both walked to each other, surprising the other one. "You want to fight?" Both said in unison, making them both annoyed at the other. Both kids wanted to fight to prove they were better.
"First up, let's have Sasuke and Naruto." Both of the kids stepped in the ring, tensing up. Naruto was staring dead into Sasuke's eyes, showing him he meant business and wouldn't back down. Sasuke returned the stare. Both walked close and made the unison sign, then jumped back quickly. "Begin!"
Naruto jumped forward and threw a left hook that Sasuke dodged. Naruto followed up with a kick to Sasuke's side, but it was blocked by Sasuke with one arm. Sasuke then bent down and sweeped Naruto's other leg, causing Naruto to fall. He quickly rolled out of it and jumped in the air. Sasuke jumped backward and did a quick spin kick that nailed Naruto in the temple. Naruto was knocked sideways, but got back up quick enough not to be disqualified.
Naruto rushed in again and threw a right uppercut that was parried by Sasuke. But Naruto quickly threw a left jab that stunned Sasuke enough for Naruto to kick him in the gut. Sasuke hurled over a bit, but returned surprisingly fast and delivered a square punch to Naruto's jaw.
Naruto stumbled back, rubbing his jaw. Both rushed forward and met in the middle, exchanging a slight taijutsu battle. Sasuke kept dodging or parring Naruto's strikes but couldn't get many in. Naruto had a hard time blocking hits so he tired to attack fast enough that Sasuke couldn't hit him.
Then, Sasuke caught one of Naruto's arms, trapping it. He grabbed the other one and locked one leg around Naruto's leg. He used Naruto's weight to invert his body and land a devastating overhead kick that sent Naruto to the ground on his butt. "Naruto has lost the battle, Sasuke wins. Now make the unison sign."
Naruto was mad, and only grew more mad when Sasuke smirked at his victory. He begrudgingly got up and made the unison sign while talking quiet enough so only Sasuke could hear. "I'll kick your ass hard next time. So be ready." Sasuke's smirk turned to an arrogant grin as he replied, "Then we'll just have a repeat of this little match here."
He walked away as a crowd of fangirls welcomed his victory like returning from a war, while some laughed and taunted Naruto. Naruto didn't care, but he needed to get stronger. How could he be the strongest if he couldn't beat Sasuke. The rest of the day carried on as Naruto left the academy going home.
Over the next year, Naruto has been training his body the hardest he possibly could. He works out daily in his strength and speed, and practiced his taijutsu every morning and afternoon. He did a training routine that would make Guy proud.
He also made immense progress with his scorch release, creating a single jutsu. At each night and meal, he would read scrolls on jutsu creation and chakra theory to try to understand how to make a jutsu. He now understood the nature transformation each hand sign made and what combinations could create what. He found out that the combination Bird, Ox, Bird would create scorch release chakra, so his technique would be based around that.
His jutsu was called "Scorch Release: Scorch Body." It enveloped his body from the head down in a small layer of scorch chakra that could give light burns upon contact. It had five hand signs and Hiruzen classified it as a C Rank Jutsu. The drawback was it constantly drained chakra while active, but Naruto found he had unbelievable amounts of chakra. He could have the technique on for hours before needing to recharge chakra. After he made the jutsu, he has been trying to think of a jutsu to use at a range, but the nature manipulation was hard. He was still working on it.
Naruto also came upon an interesting discovery. He was trying to use his Scorch Jutsu to burn a tree branch he was standing on when he suddenly lost balance and fell forward. But instead of falling all the way, he stood stuck to the tree for a second, before falling afterwards and landing on his face. He got up and tried to replicate the effect and found out that chakra can stick you to surfaces. He practiced it for a month and figured out how to stick to surfaces with chakra. This, he found, improved his chakra control greatly and made it easier to do the Scorch Body.
Sasuke had noticed Naruto training hard and boosted his training to the next level under his father, Fugaku. Unfortunately, half way in the year, the Uchiha Massacre took place and destroyed Sasuke's mental stability. But this only made him train harder, so he could surpass Naruto and Itachi. During the Uchiha Massacre, however, his Sharingan awakened and he discovered it's one tomoe variant in the wake of the incident. He found his vision to be leagues better and his reaction time improved. Now, he could read the Uchiha Tablet, but he only found methods of training his eyes farther. Still, 2/3 of it was unreadable to even his eyes.
Even after the massacre, Sasuke and Naruto still shared a rivalry of constantly surpassing the other. In fact, at the age of 9, both of them had the skills of most academy graduates and were only improving faster. They both envied the other one for their talents, but also felt they were better than the opposite.
And now, it all boils down to the same incident again. A year later, the annual spar was taking place once more. And both were eager to challenge each other in a contest for their prowess as a shinobi in training. Sasuke stood on the left with his Sharingan blazing. His eyes had a piercing stare to them. Naruto stood on the right, his fists balled up and ready to fight. Iruka stood back and yelled, "Begin!"
Sasuke rushed forward at genin speeds, Naruto matching them dead on as they met in the middle with a small shockwave of air. All the students around them were in awe of the scene that followed. Naruto and Sasuke begun a taijutsu bout, throwing and countering punches and kicks. Naruto bent down and tried to sweep Sasuke's legs, but Sasuke lifted a leg and stomped down hard on Naruto's foot. Naruto used Sasuke's imbalance to punch him in the gut, but he got a punch to the face shortly after. Both were trading blow for blow as they continued. Then, both jumped back, panting slightly.
Sasuke went through hand seals, and Naruto did the same. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" "Scorch Release: Scorch Body!" Fortunately for Naruto, no one paid attention to what he said as the fireball raced towards Naruto. Naruto dodged it and ran back at Sasuke, landing a punch that singed Sasuke's shirt and made him gasp in pain. He then grabbed Sasuke's neck as he squeezed tight, burning it enough as he let go. He delivered one last kick that sent Sasuke backward near the edge of the ring. Steam was blowing off of Naruto's body as a motioned Sasuke to continue.
Sasuke stood still for a second before he hatched a plan. Sasuke ran forward to engage in taijutsu, but he did something different. He went for a leg sweep that Naruto jumped over, but Sasuke only smiled as he went through hand seals. "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
4 tiny fireballs nailed Naruto in the chest, burning through his clothes and sending him backwards. He landed on his feet, panting heavily. Both stood still for two seconds, as both then fell down to the ground simultaneously. All present looked shocked at this, that was easily genin level combat displayed there. Iruka picked up his jaw and continued, "It's a draw." The mini crowd broke out in cheers and whispers as they talked about that fight.
From his crystal ball, Hiruzen smiled at this match. It seemed Naruto was progressing well, and he had no doubt that he could become the strongest. From a tree nearby engulfed in shadows, a figure in a black cloak with red clouds watched Sasuke with a smile. "You are improving well, Sasuke. You should be able to kill me in no time at all." He disappeared in a body flicker of crows and left.
After the events that unfolded, a council meeting was held that night. The civilians got word of the fight from children and immediately were scared at the strength that Naruto was showing toward the Last Uchiha. This meant he was closer to destroying Konaha and killing them all, that wretched demon. It isn't enough to kill their Hokage and 1/3 of the village, he has to try to kill them all. What a horrible beast he is.
Hiruzen when he heard of the meeting was annoyed, but he knew what it would be about. He made sure to scrounge up some info to defend Naruto at all means necessary. He didn't want the poor boy to face any punishment for a taijutsu spar. But, he wasn't the only one prepared. Danzo Shimura, an elder, was hoping tonight he would be able to get custody of the Kyubi Jinchuriki and mold him into Konoha's ultimate weapon. He would make sure that no one dared to even step foot in the Land of Fire with ill intentions, and this boy was the key. But first, he would need to attend this meeting and side with Hiruzen. Tomorrow night is where everything would change.
"Good evening, Shinobi and Civilian Council, may I ask why this meeting was called." Hiruzen had to be polite, he didn't want to stir up unneeded trouble right now. If he could diffuse the situation quickly, then it was all settled.
"This has gone on for too far, Lord Hokage, the demon has gotten too much power. He will surely kill us all if he lives another day. Please, Lord Hokage, give the order to execute Uzumaki Naruto." This came from a pink haired lady around the age of 50. She was the head of the civilian council and dealt with most civilian affairs. It was Mrs. Haruno, head of a wealthy merchant business. Hiruzen gave a deathly glare to the women, making her flinch slightly and close her mouth.
"There will be no order to execute Uzumaki Naruto, he is a shinobi in training and a valuable asset to the village because of his burden. Any attempted harm from you will result in death. Do I make myself clear!" Hiruzen barked out, silencing all in the room. His voice carried shockwaves that seemed to drown out all the air. Slowly, the civilians nodded at this, not wanting another take of whatever that was.
The council topic actually went away from the subject of the young blonde to other matters, and Naruto was saved from the wrath of the Konaha Council. However, his worries would not be over, as tomorrow, Danzo planned something. Tomorrow, Danzo would finally gain control over Uzumaki Naruto.
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Thanks for reading chapter 2 of the story. Hope you enjoyed it and leave feedback that you want added to the story. Have a good rest of the day.