End of the Year Assessment :-
Naruto stood along with his classmates, as the two chunin instructors and all the parents stood before them, waiting to see the year end assessment test. And similar to the last time, the Sandaime Hokage was also present.
" Unlike the competition at the start of the year, this will be a all round proficiency test, where you will all be required to fight against each other and also various tests, to determine your proficiency in all shinobi fields and determine your overall rankings for the year", Iruka announced as he handed out the first portion of the test which was a written test.
As they all took their seats, Naruto had immediately sensed a subtle Genjutsu on his paper, which he immediately dispelled, and then proceeded to rocket through the easy test and five minutes later he handed in his test to Iruka, who scowled in frustration at seeing his Genjutsu ploy fail pathetically, and he couldn't even try to downmark the demon brat's test, as the Sandaime Hokage was looking at him with a disapproving scrutinizing look, as it seems that he had detected the Genjutsu ploy of Iruka, and he felt a shiver down his spine as he looked at the murderous glare from Tsunade sama. Though he couldn't understand why they seemed to be fond of the demon brat.
" Naruto seems to take after Minato in the smarts department. I was never fond of bookwork and neither is Hiruko ", Kushina commented as she looked at how fast Naruto had completed his written test and saw her daughter struggling to find the answers.
" Yeah! his temperament is more similar to Minato. But he is more similar to Sarutobi sensei and Orochimaru, than anyone else I know! " Tsunade said.
" Really! that is high praise indeed, Tsunade chan! Why do you think so? " Sarutobi asked curiously.
" Well, the brat is never satisfied with anything he learns. He perfects it till it satisfies his high standards. He tweaks every justu till it satisfies him ".
" For example, he has mastered every jutsu he knows, to the level that he can do them all seallesly. His command over the Kawarimi jutsu, is especially impressive. He can link together twenty five instantaneous sealless Kawarimi, before it takes a toll on him. He can use an elemental jutsu of all five elements and that too seallessly. He can also use the Mystic Palm Jutsu to a very good level".
"He even modified the Earth Wall jutsu and the Water Bullet Jutsu. Creating an Earth jutsu which also protects his flanks and a more lethal version of the Water Bullet Jutsu. He believes that having a few perfectly mastered jutsu is much better than learning a thousand jutsu. That perfectionist attitude is something which reminds me of sensei and also he wants to apparently learn to use a Naginata to increase his short reach. And also he learnt all the jutsu on his own.The only thing I help him with is Taijutsu practice and chakra control practice. ", Tsunade said, making Hiruzen hum in thought and Kushina smile softly as heard the praise for herbaby boy.
Kushina thought about how she could teach her son about using a Naginata, like her father used to use. She still had the scroll containing his Naginata wielding style, though his famous double headed Naginata had been lost. Though she suspected that it was taken by Iwa some other enemy nation, though ahe knew that not just anyone could use it even if they got hold of it.
After another hour, Iruka called for a halt to the written test and started them on the Bukijutsu test, where Naruto scored full marks again, making the Chunin instructor grit his teeth, as he had taught Naruto the wrong throwing technique in hopes of sabotaging him, but it seemed as if his hopes were in vain.
Next came the Ninjutsu section where everyone was asked to showcase the use of any jutsu they knew and all the civilian born students backed off and all the clan shinobi demonstrated basic clan techniques and Sasuke demonstrated a very basic version of the Grand Fireball jutsu.
And while Naruto had initially not wanted to tip his hand about his knowledge of elemental jutsu he had learned from Tsunade, that only the students who were the top of their years, were given the option of early graduation, and so Naruto decided to show just a bit of his skillset.
So, Naruto flashed through handseals and softly intoned,
Katon : Great Fireball Jutsu,
and exhaled a much bigger fireball than Sasuke, and seeing the expression on Iruka's face, Naruto knew that he had won this round as well. And though Naruto didn't need to use the handseals, he didn't wish to give away that piece of knowledge unnecessarily.
" A no name orphan using a fire jutsu, better than an Uchiha. What a shame! ", Fugaku muttered out bitterly, as he saw his youngest son lose handily to a civilian orphan, who had no one to train him.
" Don't worry Fugaku, he is still only a boy! " Mikoto said, as she tried to calm down her husband's ire, as Itachi too agreed with his mother, though he did admit to himself that young Naruto kun was indeed very impressive and in fact reminded him of himself at that age, and he still had the support and training of the Uchiha clan, while the young boy didn't even have that.
" That was an impressive Jaton jutsu, for someone his age, who learned the jutsu on his own! ", Hiruzen commented.
" Is Katon, his affinity? " Kushina asked as she saw the impressive Katon jutsu her son used.
" No! Infact Katon is his weakest element. His strongest jutsu are either Suiton or Fuuton, though I haven't tested his elemental affinity yet ", Tsunade responded.
" From what I have seen, he is more than ready to graduate! " Hiruzen said.
" Yeah! I know, but the brat is adamant that he complete the elemental affinity training for atleast one element, before graduating. I guess that he will graduate after another year at maximum, and anyway I see no need for any hurry, as we are in peace time", Tsunade responded.
" I have no doubt that he will complete the elemental manipulation for atleast two elements, if his learning speed is really as prodigious as you say. It is like looking at a younger version of myself to be honest. We may have a fine Hokage candidate in nearly a decade's time, if he keeps progressing at the same rate ", Hiruzen commented.
" I don't mind if my baby boy takes his time to graduate, as I want him to preserve his innocence for as long as possible", Kushina commented, as she was in no hurry to have her son face the harsh real world of shinobi.
All the other Clan heads were also very impressed at Naruto's performance, as they gave him a nod of appreciation as they clapped politely.
And Sasuke was burning with envy at being upstaged again in front of his father and again failing to live upto his father's expectations.
" Now for the finals, which is a Taijutsu competition. You will compete in rounds. And the rules are the same as before. You will win by knockout or by making sure your opponent is out of bounds ", Iruka announced.
As Hiruzen watched, he was mighty disappointed with the performance of the majority of students, as there was not much improvement from when he had been here nearly an year ago.
Only the clan heirs showed any improvement, and that too was not much. There was almost no improvement in the performance of the Nara, Akimichi and Yamanaka heirs. The Inuzuka heir had improved considerably, but he was still too straightforward and brash.
Sasuke Uchiha had improved much, but Hiruzen wanted to see how he would fare against Naruto. The girl Hinata Hyuga was good, but Hiruzen sensed that she was clearly holding herself back as if not wanting to harm her opponents.
And Naruto had improved the most, and that was just with the Academy style, which he was clearly uncomfortable using. But his speed and strength had improved by leaps and bounds. He was physically far superior to all his classmates. He had easily dispatched his first two opponents, who were some civilian born students whom he easily kicked out of the ring.
And as for Naruto, he was bored out of his mind, as he watched the different bouts. They were pathetic. But he did enjoy watching Hinata beat the stuffing out of Sakura, all the while looking extremely apologetic. It was hilarious. And he made it a point to congratulate Hinata, as she was one of the only serious shinobi in the class, and he genuinely liked her, and was sad to see her be defeated by that dumbass Kiba, mostly due to her confidence issues, than any superior skill by Kiba.
" Next match! Naruto vs Ino Yamanaka! "
And Naruto stretched his body, as he entered the arena, and hearing Ino's idiotic fangirling, he decided to knock her out as soon as possible.
" Just you wait Naruto, I will knock you out and then I can have Sasuke kun to myself! " Ino fangirled.
And Naruto felt a slow stirring of long suppressed rage, at the thought that this idiotic fangirl had nearly destroyed his psyche to score points with her egomaniac crush. And had gotten away with it , with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, due to being from a clan and the Hokage being a wimp. Naruto had to admit that his opinion of the Yondaime Hokage had gone down a lot after learning about his spineless pacifist ways, like letting the Yamanaka heiress get away with nearly killing a classmate or letting Kumo get away with their attempted kidnapping of Hinata. Naruto had learnt about both the incidents from Tsunade sensei who it seemed was also not much of a fan of the current Hokage. It seemed that he would do anything to avoid war, and that included sacrificing loyal shinobi like Hizashi Hyuga, instead of having the spine of saying " fuck off! " to Konoha's enemies.
" Hajime", Iruka announced.
And Naruto didn't let Ino even react, as he dashed towards her at full speed and smashed a chakra enhanced punch into her jaw, knocking her out instantly.
And not even bothering to see how she was, Naruto walked out of the ring, as Iruka announced " Shousa Naruto ".
" Seems like the brat does hold a grudge! " Tsunade commented as she saw Naruto knockout the fangirl Yamanaka.
" Well, serves her right! I just wish that Minato had not let her get away with nothing more than a slap on the wrist, for nearly killing our son! All because of that moron Jiraiya's ridiculous ideas about peace. Atleast Naruto managed to get her back for her deeds! " Kushina commented softly, with a vindictive smile on her face.
" I also believe in peace, but even I have to admit that Minato was too soft on the girl. Well, now lets see how Hiruko chan fights against Sasuke! " Hiruzen commented.
And what followed was a drawn out fight, but Sasuke managed to edge out Hiruko by pushing her out of the ring. And he was pleased to see the smile on his father's face at his son defeating the Hokage's daughter.
" Naruto vs Kiba Inuzuka , Hajime ", Iruka announced.
And Naruto immediately swayed out of the way of a flying kick to his face, and taking advantage of it, he grabbed Kiba's outstretched leg and slammed him onto the ground, face first, breaking his nose and making it spurt out blood and then Naruto chopped him on the back of his neck, knocking him out.
" That was very rash. From the other fights, Kiba should have seen that Naruto was much faster than him. So using such a straightforward move like that was very unwise, especially against someone like Naruto who doesn't let even a single opening given by his opponent, go unpunished ", Tsunade commented.
" Yeah, my brat is still brash despite how much I myself or Hana, try to beat it out of him", said Tsume, who had siddled up to sit besides them.
" His brutal Taijutsu reminds me of you Kushina! ", Tsume said with a sly smirk on her face.
" I don't know what you are talking about Tsume! " Kushina spluttered as she tried to deflect attention.
" pfft, oh please! You are my teammate. I clearly remember you using such moves as that leg slam and also that supplex move that Naruto used in the fight at the starting of the year, and combine them with his red hair and purple eyes, and he is your son, isn't he? Though he clearly takes after Minato in the brains department, which is clearly not your forte! " Tsume commented.
" What are you saying? That I am dumb! Ttebane! " Kushina exclaimed with a head full of steam, making both Tsunade and Tsume chuckle at her verbal tic, making her blush in embarrassment as she had again used her embarrassing verbal tic in public despite all her efforts to vean off it.
" But you didn't deny that he is your son, did you? ", Tsume asked while chuckling, making Kushina slap herself on the back of her head at giving away the ruse, but then again Tsume had always known her too well.
" Don't worry, I won't tell anyone. And I also know that he isn't the Kyubi Jinchuriki, as he doesn't smell anything like a fox, like your daughter Hiruko does. He smells more like an upcoming storm", Tsume muttered.
And the topic of discussion was dropped as Tsunade got up to heal Kiba's injuries, and Tsume proceeded to twist his ear and berated him for his rash fighting.
And then came the final fight between Naruto and Sasuke, who had defeated Choji, to get to the finals.
" Naruto vs Sasuke Uchiha! Hajime! " Iruka announced.
" Get ready for a beating, dobe. You won't get lucky today, like you did in the previous competition ", Sasuke boasted.
" Oh shut your mouth! You overgrown buffoon. I have defeated you many more times during the class spars, so please keep your gob shut and fight! " Naruto snapped irritably, as he was not interested in trading words with this insecure egomaniac brat.
" How dare you insult the Uchiha clan. You no name orphan! " Sasuke raged.
" I didn't insult the Uchiha clan, you deaf idiot. And I wouldn't call myself an Uchiha if I were you. You couldn't even use a proper Fireball jutsu, even with all the training from your clan, and you think you can beat me, who learnt the jutsu on his own without anyone's help. Now stop talking before you humiliate yourself even more, and start fighting! " Naruto sneered and got ready to defend himself as he knew that Sasuke would throw everything he had at him, now.
And just as he predicted, Naruto had to put some effort into dodging and deflecting the barrage of blows and kicks aimed at him. And while Sasuke was good, Naruto could see all his blows coming from a mile away, as they were all being clearly telegraphed.
After five minutes of not being able to land a single blow on Naruto, as he danced away from all his blows, Sasuke grew red in anger as he shouted " stop dancing you idiot, and fight back if you can? ".
" As you wish", Naruto said with a smirk on his face, as he blurred into motion using his full speed, and ducking under an upper cut from Sasuke, he smashed a chakra enhanced fist into Sasuke's stomach, making him double over in agony, and taking advantage of the opening, Naruto balled up both his fists and enhancing them with chakra he smashed them simultaneously against both of Sasuke's temples, making his skull rattle as he immediately fainted from the immense pain, as Naruto softly intoned Sokutsou ( twin bones).
And Iruka immediately announced Naruto as the winner, as he rushed to check up on Sasuke who had vomitted blood from Naruto's blow to his stomach and the massive blow to his head.
And Tsunade got up onto the ring as she healed Sasuke and proclaimed two days of bed rest for him.
" Good going, brat! You got the rookie of the year position! " Tsunade said as she briefly hugged her godson after healing Sasuke.
" But that final blow was brutal! " Kushina commented as she stood beside Tsunade and congratulated her son.
Thinking that she disapproved of his actions, Naruto was about to justify himself, when Kushina laughed at his expression, and said "that was something like straight out of my fighting style and I hit many of my opponents with such moves in the academy. So, I very much approve, as you didn't waste any opening and wasted your opponent".
" Yes, that was impressive, brat. You are easily strong enough in Taijutsu atleast, to graduate now itself. And seeing your Fireball Jutsu, I know that you would have already learnt the basic Academy Jutsu ", Tsume commented making Naruto blush cutely at the praise from everyone, making the three ladies laugh at how cute he looked embarrassed.
And on the other hand, Fugaku looked on angrily as his youngest son was carried away to the hospital by a medic nin, as he had a concussion.
Sighing in disgust, he walked away from the academy, as Itachi and Mikoto looked on in sadness and slight anger at how badly Sasuke was thrashed.
" Did you have to hit my son, so badly? " Mikoto asked in slight anger, as she approached Naruto who was being teased by Tsume, Tsunade and Kushina.
Turning around to see who was talking to him, Naruto found himself facing a beautiful lady and another Uchiha with a chunin flak jacket on who was most probably Itachi Uchiha himself.
" He should have learned to keep his idiotic insults to himself then. Others may tolerate him insulting them to make himself feel better, but I don't tolerate any bullshit from that spoilt prat. If he learns to control his tongue then we won't have any problem whatsoever. And before you ask, I am not going to apologize or anything of that sort, as I don't in the slightest care about your son's injuries or his wounded pride. Maybe this will finally bring him down a peg ", Naruto said.
" Bye Tsunade san, Tsume San and Kushina san and thank you for your appreciation ", Naruto said as he walked away from the academy to continue with his daily training, as Naruto was no someone who liked to waste time when he was awake.
" You really can't blame Naruto, Mikoto. I have even heard from my son about how Sasuke insults everyone whom he assumes to be weaker than him, and he finally found someone who wont tolerate his insults", Tsume said.
" Even Hiruko has said that Sasuke's arrogance has been increasing lately and she is the only clan heir who is friends with him other than Ino Yamanaka, but that girl is a fangirl ", Kushina said.
Mikoto bowed her head in dismay, as she couldn't deny any of the truths her friends we're saying, and she could only blame Fugaku and the superiority complex he had installed in their youngest son. And that combined with his natural inferiority complex due to not measuring up to Itachi's success, was a dangerous combination.
In Mikoto's mind, Sasuke always complained about how some orphan named Naruto was overtaking him, but he never put in any extra effort to close the gap. It was as if he expected strength to be handed to him just because he was an Uchiha. She was an Elite Jounin, but Sasuke never asked her to train him.
Shaking her head in dismay, Mikoto sent Itachi to console Sasuke, as she dismissed Sasuke's topic and instead focussed on catching up with her friends.