Another day dawns in Konoha, but this time it was more agitated and full of nervous tension in the air. It was the long-awaited day that would decide if the students of the ninja academy would finally be able to graduate, for that they would need 'only' to take the test in which everything they had learned during the long years of studies would be judged. In other words, it was the most awaited and feared day for all the students and their families.
Naruto, like every good young man on the eve of an important test, had been excited, but also very nervous and anxious, so he had had trouble sleeping the night before. He woke up blinking his eyes slightly sleepily, smiling as he remembered what a day it was. However, his smile vanished when he saw what time it was, which made him stumble out of bed, and even fall to the floor when he reached for his clock to check that his eyes were not deceiving him.
"Ah, damn it!" the blond man shouts in desperation and starts jumping around the room picking up clothes to get ready in a hurry. He wondered if the clock had a personal problem with him since it always failed him. Although deep down he knew that the object had been sold to him with a defect, just like every time he tried to exchange it or buy a new one. "I'm very, very late!"
He quickly eats his breakfast and rushes out of the house in an almost futile attempt to get to class on time where Iruka-sensei is waiting for everyone to start with the exam. When Naruto finally arrives, unfortunately, he was already 15 minutes late. So he has an idea: to enter the room without his sensei seeing him. However, as always in these situations, his plan went wrong and he found himself face to face with an angry Iruka with his problem student. This made him wonder if the teacher could sniff out his discomfort every time he was late.
"Ohayo, Iruka-sensei..." said Naruto smiling ungraciously at his situation.
"Ohayo, Naruto... Why are you arriving at this time today if you knew there was an exam today?" asked Iruka with a serious look on his face, but sighing disappointed that his day had already started with the boy causing trouble.
"Gomen, Iruka-sensei... I just missed the time... Hehehehe..." the younger boy replied, scratching his head.
"You always miss the time, Naruto," said Iruka, rolling his eyes, already used to the boy's excuse, which caused laughter from the other students in the class.
"It's not funny!" Naruto looks frustrated at his classmates in an attempt to get them to stop laughing. It was the damn clock's fault, not his.
"Go to your seat and wait to be called to take the exam. Until then, make sure you don't do anything foolish, you hear?" Iruka asked, more orderly than anything else, seeing that Naruto wasn't paying attention.
"Huh? Hai..." replied Naruto a bit confused that he had heard almost nothing his sensei had said. Although he had a notion of what the elder had said, that of always "not causing any more trouble" and how the test would work, which he knew because he had already taken the final test two other times.
Naruto sat down while he saw his classmates looking at him and whispering to the others. 'I don't understand why they look at me with such contempt like I'm a freak or something. But one day I will be strong and the greatest Hokage of all time, then they will have to respect me! That's right!' he thought trying to pass on his confidence, like a mantra he had created to reassure himself. After all, no one was more respected than the Hokage.
A few hours later all that remained was for him to take the test, all his colleagues had already taken it and been dismissed. As almost everyone had left with a happy and satisfied expression, confident that they had passed, the boy was sure that he would also pass, that he would also become a genin this time. He stood there imagining what his life as a ninja would be like and didn't even notice that he had been called.
"Naruto... Naruto! Uzumaki Naruto, can you hear me?" called Iruka, almost shouting at the boy distracted in his thoughts.
"Ahh," he jumped, startled. "You scared me, Iruka-sensei!" the nervous young man protested.
"Come, come. It's your turn," said Iruka as he led the young man into the examination room.
When they entered Naruto was amazed at the size of the room. His teacher led him to a table where there were two seats, one of which was occupied by an old man with red and white clothes and a triangular hat of the same colors, the Sandaime Hokage (third Hokage). Someone the boy already knew well, although it was unusual for him to appear on these occasions.
"Shall we begin the evaluation?" the Hokage asked, giving the blond a slight, encouraging smile.
"Yes ... Naruto start doing the cloning Jutsu." guided Iruka.
"Hai... Kage bunshin no Jutsu!" said Naruto.
When the clone appeared his observers soon noticed some differences between the clone and the real Naruto. The clone had evil chakra that did not belong to the young man, it had wild red eyes and the characteristic whiskers more prominent. This made the Hokage a bit worried. Then Naruto curious and confused because of the reactions of his sensei and the Hokage turns to look at his clone. 'It can't be that bad...' he thought.
"Ahhhhhhh!" he screamed as he saw the appearance of the 'copy', jumping away from it and closer to the adults. "Is he my clone?" Naruto asked, looking at the adults for help. 'No...It can't be ... I'm not like that ... I don't look like a monster, do I?' he thought desperately.
"Yes... Yes, it is..." the old man sighs, not expecting something like this to happen so soon. "Naruto, I'm afraid I need to reveal something to you." says the Hokage seriously, looking into the boy's terrified eyes.
