Chapter One

Identities Revealed

Naruto Uzumaki knew that the world consisted of two types of people: the patient and the inpatient. Fully aware of his personality, he knew his place among the latter category and accepted it gladly. Action always trumped inaction. Taking the initiative often determined who won on the battlefield, according to Iruka during one of the few academy lessons he had actually paid attention to. He doubted that Iruka meant for him to take the lesson to heart, but that single principle shaped him into the person he was today.

"This is taking forever," he whined to no one in particular. "When will I get to fight? At this rate, I'll be as old as the Old Man!"

"Careful using such lax terms about Lord Hokage in front of foreigners, Naruto." Kakashi glanced up from his book with one of his signature eye-smiles. "We need to appear prim and proper at all times in front of the guests of our village."

"Says the pervert reading his dirty book!"

"And how would you know that my book is 'dirty' without ever peeking?" Kakashi snapped the book shut to give Naruto his full attention. "I must say, I never took you to be a reader."

"I'm not!" Naruto threw both hands up and backed away from his teacher. "It…uh…I saw…" He felt a rush of blood going straight to his face at the exposed truth of his 'research' for his Sexy Jutsu.

Kakashi leaned forward with, Naruto assumed, a smile. "You know…I'm beginning to really like you a lot."

Naruto gasped, stumbling backwards with frantic speed. He held up his hand. "Don't say things like that! You're my teacher!"

"I didn't mean it like that." The man's amusement grew larger by the second as the student's cheeks turned a deeper shade of red. "Oh come here! Give me a hug!"

"Stay away from me, ya' creep!" Naruto lashed out to keep his sensei away but stopped after a few seconds of hitting nothing but air.

Kakashi remained rooted in spot with a grin large enough to be told through his trademark mask. He reached into his back pocket for his book but stopped midway. A sudden sadness came across his lone eye that a sad joy replaced moments later. His hand slipped into his pouch and came back with a single photograph.

"You remind me of someone I care for deeply." Kakashi knew this was walking on thin ice given the Third's decree, but rules were meant to guide people, not strangle them. He waved Naruto forward, and the boy came forward out of sheer curiosity.

The photograph was that of a redheaded woman in a pale green dress. She stood in the middle of a nice kitchen with a bowl in her hands. Her face, round and bright, held the biggest smile either of them had ever seen. Violet eyes radiated a love of life seldom seen.

"Her name was Kushina Uzumaki. She had to be one of the greatest people I've met. Fiery in temperament but with a heart large enough to fit anyone. Truth be told, she is one of the people who made me 'me'." Kakashi placed the photograph in Naruto's hand.

Naruto stared at the photo with wide eyes on the verge of tears. He did not know the woman but something deep within him told of a deep connection with her that he hadn't felt with anyone else, including Iruka. Her name, likewise, gave him a bolt of energy as if some great weight had fallen from his shoulders. If his thoughts were correct, this photograph was proof that he came from somewhere instead of magically appearing on that cursed October day. Heavy tears threatened to spill from crystal blue eyes as he examined every detail of the woman, memorizing them as not to forget them for the rest of his life.

"Is this…?"

Kakashi did not say a word but simply nodded. He held a finger to his mask until Naruto gave a weak nod. Satisfied, he pulled his book out and returned to reading.

Naruto folded the photograph before stuffing it into his back pocket. He had a thousand questions to barrage Kakashi with but knew it wasn't the place or time to ask. Once at home, he would find a picture frame for it and place it on his nightstand to serve as a nighttime guardian.

"Shikamaru has her now," exclaimed Sakura. "She is under his control." She pointed down at the arena floor towards the shadows stretching out from their former classmate. Both her and Naruto winched as Shikamaru forced the Sound ninja to slam backwards into the wall for a quick knockout.

"She'll feel that one in the morning," muttered Naruto, rubbing the back of his head as if feeling the pain.

Sakura shuddered. "Yeah. Who knew that Shikamaru was that strong? I mean, I thought his laziness came from, like, a place of fear or something. Guess he just doesn't want to be bothered."

"Finally, someone understands me," groaned Shikamaru returning to Asuma and the rest of Team Ten. "This whole thing is too troublesome." Like sharks drawn to fresh blood, Ino and Sakura began a long series of grievances at the Nara's lack of ambition.

Hayate, wishing this whole thing would come to an end, coughed his way towards the center of the arena once more. "Please look to the screen for the next pair of combatants."

The names of the remaining Genin began flicker across the screen. Those who had yet to fight watched with eagerness, while the few winners of the previous rounds looked on with boredom and a desire to be released back into the village to celebrate their victory. The Sensei, on the other hand, looked on with excitement to see if their students' moment to shine had arrived. No one spoke as the first named appeared: Kiba Inuzuka.

Seconds later, the second name appeared below the first.

Naruto Uzumaki.

"A piece of cake, believe it!" Naruto jumped over the balcony railing onto the floor of the arena. Any weariness from the previous phase of the exam disappeared in a surge of excitement at the thought of battle. While he wanted to face off against one of the foreign shinobi, Kiba seemed like a strong enough opponent to give him some fame. That, and he remembered all the bullying dished out by the dog lover. This seemed like the perfect opportunity for some retribution.

"That's my line," cried Kiba with a sinister snarl that promised no mercy. "We got this, Akamaru!"

"Whatever! We'll see who you have to say at the end of the match, dog-boy!" Naruto flashed one of his trademark smiles before glancing down at the dog standing next to his opponent. "Hey! Wait a moment! What's the puppy doing here? Isn't that, like, against the rules or something?"

Hayate sighed deeply and rubbed his forehead. "No. Like Shino's bugs, they are considered a part of him."

"So, if I find a random animal to fight with me, I could use it?"

"That is indeed correct." Hayate glared at the boy, daring him to ask another question.

A sudden image of himself riding an elephant into battle appeared into Naruto's mind. "Eh! Whatever. He needs all the help he can get against me."

"Shut up! Frankly, I feel sorry for you, so I'll end this fight with one shot. Can't have you suffering too long in front of everybody."

Naruto's smirk turned into a full-on grin as Kiba's temper began to rise. While he never considered himself to be smart like Shikamaru or Sakura, enough pranks told him that an upset foe was far easier to evade (or beat) that one that maintained collected thought. Memories of Kiba getting angry at the slightest insult gave him plenty of fuel to work with. Insulting dogs and Kiba's appearance seemed like the best options.

Hayate closed his eyes. "You may begin!"

"Oh man! I hope you don't have to get too close to knock me out," Naruto whined. "I can already smell you from all the way over here."

Kiba lowered himself onto all fours with Akamaru growling in response to the attack. He nodded to the dog before launching himself forward.

It took a single blink before Naruto felt a sharp jab to the stomach from Kiba's elbow that sent him flying backwards. He knew the other boy was fast but never imagined such speed or aggression was possible from one of his classmates. A sweet mixture of saliva and blood began to fill his mouth and trickle down his chin. His tactic of making Kiba mad worked, but he needed to survive long enough to capitalize on it.

"Call the match. He isn't getting up from that." Kiba began to walk back towards Team Eight with a smug look plastered on his face.

Naruto climbed to his feet despite the dull pain gnawing in his stomach. None of his wildest dreams of this match compared to the reality of being able to knock one of his old bullies off their pedestal. He wanted his tale of becoming Hokage to be the one history remembered, and Kiba was the perfect villain for this battle. No one, except maybe Sasuke, could have done better.

"Don't underestimate me!"

"What?" Kiba spun around with a surprised sneer twisting his face.

"You hit like a little girl. You have a better shot of winning if you sent your puppy in to fight for you," taunted Naruto. He summoned a pair of shadow clones to prepare for the next onslaught of man and beast. Everyone came here looking for a good show, and this was going to become something great.

Kiba and Akamaru charged forward under the cover of a smoke bomb to begin the battle anew. Whatever pleasantry existed between them dissolved under the pressure of combat and desire of victory. Neither of them was considered promising students in the academy but had grown tremendously once assigned to their squad. Their respective styles, while different in appearance and technique, show off a shared aggressiveness and love of close-quarter combat. Kiba held a definite advantage when it came to speed and strength, yet Naruto's endurance and resilience blunted all attacks.

The match became a battle of attrition, and Naruto noticed Kiba had begun slow down. The first few attacks almost knocked him out clean, yet the following blows were becoming easier to shrug off. All he needed was a single opening to turn the tables on the Inuzuka. His clones kept Akamaru busy, and the rage boiling inside his opponent prevented any sort of coordination between the pair. Each fighter landed hard blows on each other but failed to find an opening to end the match.

Naruto's opportunity came after Kiba missed a kick towards his head. He lunged forward and grappled the boy in hopes of being able to slam him against the ground as if this was a wrestling match. They began to exchange frequent blows as he felt his grip began to weaken on Kiba. Summoning all the energy he could, Naruto tightened his grip and began to pull. The ripping sound of fabric told him that the gambit had almost worked.

"Get the hell off of me," Kiba roared while trying to claw at Naruto's face. "Akamaru! Do something!" The puppy, however, found himself busy with a pair of clones that kept just out of reach of his maw but still able to deliver glancing blows. Any attempt to break away to aid his owner meant certain defeat. A single bark told Kiba that he was pinned and unable to come to the rescue.

With a final tug, the jacket tore open to reveal a net shirt covering exposed skin. Naruto, panicked that he had lost his grip on the other boy, reached forward to find anything to grab. His hands managed to close around a raised piece of flesh on Kiba's chest and began to squeeze. This earned a new, unique squeal from the boy that Naruto hadn't expected. He glanced down to examine what had caused so much pain and froze at the sight.

"Wait…" Soft, pale skin bulged between his fingers. The gears within Naruto's head began to twirl to figure out what he had managed to grab ahold of. His eyes narrowed at Kiba's chest while also noticing that the other boy had stopped struggling. None of this made sense to him but something nagged at the dark corners of his mind. He looked at Kiba expecting some type of answer but found the Inuzuka's face a bright red shade that reminded him of a tomato.

Why?

Anger? Nope. Wrong shade.

Why else would someone turn red? He turned red whenever Sakura complimented him because of embarrassment.

Why would Kiba be embarrassed? They had fought before and pinned each other many times. The situation wasn't exactly new. It had to be where Naruto had grabbed.

Why would Kiba be embarrassed over a touch to the exposed chest? Boys didn't have anything there that was considered 'private'.

Everything became clear in a sudden rush of intellect and understanding. The world seemed to slow down as his brain discovered the fact and began to understand everything going on. His mouth tried to form the right words, but nothing came from the struggling, stunned brain that had found reality suddenly changed.

Kiba had breasts. Small and developing but still undeniably breasts. He had done enough research for his Sexy Jutsu to understand what women kept hidden under their shirts. Boys didn't have breasts that feel squishy unless they were fat like Choji. The other 'boy' had a leaner frame than Naruto, almost rivaling Sakura.

"I touched a boob."

Naruto's eyes widened at the sudden realization of what had happened. He released Kiba quickly and looked at his hand as if it been covered in acid. A mixture of joy and disgust swelled in his chest at this turn of events, banishing any thought of the exam or match. The road to manhood had many parts, and he had passed one in the most unexpected way. It hadn't been traditional but that did not matter.

"I. Touched. A. Boob." Naruto stared into Kiba's face for any sort of confirmation. "That means…you…aren't…"

"Naruto." Kiba's voice became low and deep as she sunk to new depths of anger. "I'm going to kill you."

"You're a girl!" Naruto stumbled backwards, releasing his grip on Kiba with shaking hands. Every single memory of Kiba flashed before him in attempt to find any sort of clue hinting at this revelation.

Kiba's eyes narrowed. "Of course, I'm a girl! What else would I be?"

"A boy?" Naruto looked into the eyes of his former classmates to see if he was the only who hadn't realized this. Their shocked expressions mirrored his own. "How long were you a…girl?"

Kiba's mouth dropped at the sheer stupidity of the question. She knew Naruto wasn't the brightest crayon in the box, but this had shown her a new side of his cluelessness.

"I've always been a girl," Her volume began to rise as rage slipped into an insulted embarrassment. The thoughts of turning Naruto into a pile of gore slipped away at his stupidity. "What do you mean 'how long'?"

"But…but…you've always looked like a boy! Everyone thought you were a boy!" He pointed at Kiba's exposed chest. "But…you're a girl!"

Kiba looked at the balcony for anyone else that had mistakenly assumed her to be a boy instead of a strong, rough girl. Hinata's eyes were triple their size at the news with her face turning many shades of red. Shino's glasses had fallen from his face to show twitching eyes. Sakura and Ino had released Shikamaru, who looked on with interest at event below, to gawk at their newly revealed comrade.

The worse reaction came from Kurenai. Her normally stoic mask had been shattered into one of utter confusion. Red eyes examined every detail of her student's boy for some type of misunderstanding before looking at Asuma and Kakashi for backup.

"I mean…I assumed…that he was…no one ever corrected me…"

Kakashi looked down at his student with a wide eye. Even he hadn't expected the match to play out like this. This seemed like a situation lifted straight out of one of his Make-Out books. Who needed a Make-Out movie when real life had begun to play out like one? The amusement of the situation evaporated as one of the Suna shinobi began to laugh.

"That's a girl?" Kankurō's laughter echoed throughout the stadium. "That has to be the single ugliest girl I've ever seen!" His amusement died as Temari smacked him in the back of the head, but the damage had already been done.

Thick tears began to slide down Kiba's face as shame consumed her. While she never fooled herself into thinking herself like a beauty queen, never she did believe that people actually thought her a boy. Tomboy? She accepted the label gladly and allowed people to call her 'he' as if it was badge of honor. Now, however, the illusion had been broken to show the cold reality underneath it all.

Naruto Uzumaki wanted to be Hokage and all that it entailed. In his eyes, the Hokage represented honor, respect, and virtue in the highest ways. All within the village relayed on them for safety and guidance. Out of all the shinobi in the Leaf, the Hokage was the sole guardian of everyone on and off the battlefield. The faces of the past Hokage weren't only a memorial but a standard to live up. The wisdom of the First, determination of the Second, intellect of the Third, and courage of the Fourth were a call to action of all shinobi hoping to join their ranks. As he gazed into Kiba's eyes, he felt like the worse trash in the room. Victory, most likely, had been achieved over Kiba at the cost of her dignity. It had been an accident, yet the results had been the shame. His thoughts drifted towards the photograph in his back pocket and tried to imagine what she would have thought over this match. He knew it wouldn't be anything good.

Something had to be done to save whatever remained of her pride and dignity. His eyes darted around the room for any idea before landing on Kurenai. The woman gazed off into space and showed no sign of action. Kakashi, however, watched Naruto with a narrowed eye that lacked any humor. The man expected him to fix the situation.

Naruto yanked the zipper of his jacket down and pulled it off. It wouldn't properly fit Kiba but would cover her enough. The girl did not move as he approached carefully in case of a sudden attack; her eyes remained locked to the piercing faces of her peers. He placed the tattered orange jacket around shoulders as if afraid of breaking her.

"I surrender. Call the match." Naruto looked at the Hokage and Hayate with a small glare. Neither of them responded.

"I surrender. Call the damn match," Naruto's voice grew louder as anger began to build. Something in the back of his mind encouraged the anger, fueling it with dark thoughts of violence. "Answer me!"

Hayate glanced towards Hiruzen for guidance. After receiving a barely noticeable nod, the man responded. "Naruto Uzumaki has surrendered. The winner is Kiba Inuzuka."

In a rush of wind, Kurenai appeared behind Kiba Inuzuka and placed her arms around her student. She stared at Naruto with an expression he had never seen before on anyone's face.

"Thank you." Student and teacher disappeared in a flash.

Action scenes have never been my favorite thing to write, but this gave me a good chance to use a Canon fight as a basis.

Two mistakes, one by Kakashi and one by Konoha as a whole, will have some pretty distract consequences going forward. Tsume's introduction happens in the next chapter as the immediate fallout of the match takes place.