Disclaimer: not mine

Chapter 4

Three black clad figures made their way through the quiet village, they moved fast but silently, spread out but following the leader. They easily avoided the various patrols, remaining unseen as they dropped into the well-hidden entrance. They had memorised everything Yamato and Sai knew of the tunnels and various bases years ago and had been doing their own reconnaissance as part of their training.

As they moved through the tunnels seals were placed strategically to ensure they wouldn't be interrupted. They weren't looking for a fight or anything after all. He plan was for Danzō's death to appear either natural or accidental. They couldn't risk any suspicion, not that they had any known reason to go after the man. They had their hair covered and wore masks as well, with illusions under the masks in case they were dislodged, just in case they were spotted. They moved along the ceilings to stay out of sight, for all of the mans' paranoia, he was still human and even shinobi often forgot to look up.

Naruto had managed to place a tracking seal on the man by literally bumping into him in the Hokage's office to celebrate a good test result. So they knew he was in the base and Sakura had several poisons secreted about herself. They were slow acting and would break down in the body fast, they wanted him to drop dead in public, for people to try to assist him and for his secrets to be revealed. They didn't want his crimes to be brushed under the rug, the sight of the Sharingan and Hashirama cells in his arm should get the clans attention and help begin to clear Itachi.

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Sakura perched over the doorway, barely breathing, grateful for the seal that was helping conceal her presence. She was very good at hiding her own presence but better safe than sorry, especially with someone like Danzō. They'd been waiting for hours for the right moment and it was amusing to think of Naruto managing to do so at this age the first time. He'd have given them away a million times by now but this Naruto could sit still and wait for days.

And then her chance came and she dropped the poison into the passing coffee cup. They waited long enough to ensure Danzō had drunk the contents and then they vanished. They had a big day ahead of them after all.

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Iruka glanced around the classroom, he knew most of the students would be back in a few days or settling into the family business. The majority of graduates would be the clan children and the few others who had shinobi in their family. Only one team he was utterly positive of, especially after the fuss they had caused last year in order to keep Sakura at the Academy.

He was proud of Sasuke for reaching out so much for a friend that he had dug through his family archives to find the law that had kept her in Iruka's class. He knew they would all pass his exam and he knew they would pass their new sensei's since the Council would not allow anything else for Sasuke. Back then, he wouldn't have had high hopes for Naruto graduating but now he knew the blond would pass. He was so proud of the improvements Naruto had made and how Sakura and Sasuke had helped him. He was ashamed of himself for never realising just how much Naruto struggled with the academic side of things, for not realising why he messed around so much in class. Why bother paying attention when he couldn't read the books or the board, not properly? He was very proud of Sasuke and Sakura for the way they had helped Naruto overcome his previous lack of education.

The other teams would partially depend on their scores, partially on his recommendations, on the kind of team the various jōnin were trying to form, and the Hokage's agreement. The only other obvious team was the Ino-Shika-Chō team since that was an unbroken tradition older even than the Village. He felt a bit sorry for the boys, Ino would drive them crazy, though she had quieted down a bit since Sakura had stopped competing with her over Sasuke.

The three becoming friends had impacted the whole class; the majority of boys had taken their training more seriously to compete against Sasuke and Naruto while the girls had backed off a bit with Sakura acting as a block between them and Sasuke. Iruka knew they would be an excellent team.

He began passing the written exam out as the bell rang, whishing the class good luck.

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Hiruzen sat back, inhaling the smoke of his pipe as another argument broke out. It was frustrating and far worse than usual. There was always some fighting over the best students or clan heirs but this…this was something more. He didn't like it but he always sought the input of the sensei's. There was no point putting students with a teacher who would be unable to help their skills improve, it was not only a waste of everyone's time but potentially lethal. It took a while but he noticed Danzō subtly needling at the group, pushing them towards certain students and he frowned around his pipe, it was not his place. Considering Naruto and Sasuke were graduating…they had to be the reason for his old friends' interest. Danzō had wanted both of them for training, Naruto from the start and Sasuke after the massacre but Hiruzen would not allow that, not after Root.

He glanced at his old friend again and found himself concerned for another reason; he could see sweat beading on his face but his skin was pale. He had been in ill health for years but this was becoming very obvious. He signalled one of the hidden Anbu to send for a medic, better safe than sorry. Before the medic could arrive, Danzō clutched at his arm, breathing harshly.

They quickly got him lying on the office couch, his clothing loosened even as Kurenai moved in, hands lit green with chakra. By the time the medic arrived it was obvious Danzō would die, still the young man tried. Needing full access to his chest, telling them his suspected a heart attack, he cut through the bandages causing him to recoil.

"What is it?" Hiruzen asked.

Kakashi stepped in and even he seemed to pale. "You need to see this Hokage-sama," he stated.

Hiruzen stood and approached only to stare in shock and horror at Danzō's arm. Before anything else could happen, he died. The medic tried to revive him but failed so the body was covered and taken away to autopsy. Despite appearing to be natural causes, they had to be certain, especially with someone of his rank.

He collapsed back into his chair, shocked. He had always suspected Danzō wanted the Uchiha dealt with for his own reasons but that…how far had he fallen? Only know did he truly accept that he should have done more to curtail Danzō's ambitions.

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Naruto walked in for the practical section of his exam, Sasuke and Sakura had already done it and passed. Iruka-sensei smiled slightly at him, another of the Academy's teachers with him to have someone impartial there.

No one had ever replaced Mizuki with their class since Iruka-sensei had proven able to handle them all alone. The man had been caught trying to steal a certain scroll, the three of them had worked hard and had a lot of fun pushing him into making an attempt on it a lot earlier. He had been quickly caught and dealt with by Anbu which meant Iruka got to miss out on taking a giant shuriken to the back. He'd never shown it, but Naruto now knew it had pained him to an extent for the rest of his life. As a chūnin Academy teacher it hadn't affected his day-to-day life but it had slowed him for field work and in the war… but not this time.

As he Henged into Iruka-sensei's appearance he bit back a smile, feeling as Danzō's chakra faded inside the Hokage's office. Perfect place since he knew the jōnin would be meeting to begin discussing possible teams. He had no reason to know the Kage Bunshin sadly, but he had finally managed to learn another clone, sort of. He'd been trying to do the normal Bunshin and had ended up doing something that looked the same, it was an illusion, but it definitely wasn't what the Academy taught. They all just assumed it was something he could do now because of what he was, just like how he shapeshifted to look fully human.

He couldn't help grinning as a smiling Iruka-sensei handed him his brand new hitai-ate, even if he was a little sad to have one with no meaning behind it like last time. He rushed from the room, seeing the relief in Sakura and Sasuke that he'd passed. Even with the changes they'd made, how much they knew, it was still easy to worry.

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Sakura walked into the house, proudly wearing her hitai-ate, seeing her Mother's face immediately fall. She knew they'd been hoping she'd fail, which would end Sasuke's sponsorship and allow them to pull her out. "I passed; team assignments are tomorrow."

She headed upstairs before her Mother could say anything, after all, she had a lot of packing to do. Her room had changed a over the last year and a bit, becoming less childish, but there was still a lot she didn't plan to take with her since it was stuff that her Mother had chosen for her. With Naruto's storage seals she had all of two scrolls to carry in the end. All the girly things were left, they just weren't her, and she left out clothes for the next two days since she shouldn't move until Kakashi-sensei officially declared them a team.

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Kakashi had no desire at all to take on a genin team but he was being pushed too due to who was on the team. He hid himself and watched the class, at least the brats were already sitting together even before being announced as a team, hopefully that would mean they had some form of teamwork ability. He'd been part of Naruto's guard when the boy was small but it had been a few years since he'd seen him in more than passing around the Village. He'd read their files, knew that the three had begun becoming friends almost a year and a half ago. Apparently that had been a big relief since before then Sasuke had been completely closed off to everyone.

The girl, Sakura, was nothing like her earlier file and apparently it was all down to a run in with some genin who had teased her but then offered advice. Perhaps the Academy should have older girls talk to the students, he could see quite a few in the class who looked ridiculous, far too skinny, no muscle tone, and what were they wearing?! Thankfully the clan girls looked far more like shinobi in training but several still weren't to standards.

He was impressed by how easily Umino got the class settled and then he began calling out the teams. Kakashi hadn't been there for the meeting after Danzō collapsed, he'd been sent to investigate the mans' home with a team, searching for any signs of foul play. So far, it looked like natural causes, they were just waiting on the final report from the medics. Kakashi doubted many people would mourn the man, except the Hokage and his advisors.

Only someone familiar with the Uchiha would recognise the relief in Sasuke's expression as Team 7 was read out, the three of their names called together. Naruto's grin could be used to power the Village it was so wide and bright and Sakura's smile was smaller but also relieved. Now to test their patience so he headed for the Memorial Stone to tell Sensei and Obito about their family members.

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Sasuke stretched out in his chair, leaning back a little, relaxing since they were alone. They had all sensed Kakashi-sensei's presence during the team announcements but now he was gone…ah, the Memorial Stone. None of them had seen the man since returning to the past and Sasuke wasn't sure how he felt about meeting him again. He wasn't the same Kakashi that they'd lost, whose death had finished breaking Obito.

They all knew Kakashi hadn't wanted a team, that they'd been forced on him because of Sasuke's eyes and Kurama. Of all the available Sensei's, Kakashi had been the best bet should the Seal have trouble since he had a Sharingan.

"How long do you think?" Sakura asked, leaning against his side.

"It might not be as long thanks to yesterday's drama," Naruto offered even as he set up the eraser over the door.

"Really?" Sasuke asked, shaking his head slightly.

"What? He deserves it for making us wait so long," Naruto pouted.

"Want to go get lunch?" Sakura suggested, but Sasuke shook his head.

"Too chancy, we need to be here when he arrives." It was tempting but better to be safe than sorry. Who knew what Kakashi would do if he returned to find them gone.

Naruto walked over and slumped down beside him, their knees touching under the table but nothing that would be noticed unless a Hyūga looked. Surprisingly, it was only an hour and a half before the door began to open and Kakashi got an eraser full of chalk dust dumped in his hair. He stared at them and Sasuke smirked even as Naruto held his hand across his body so that he could high five Sakura who rolled her eyes but did so, obviously trying not to laugh.

"My first impression is...I hate you. Meet me on the roof," and with that he was gone.

Naruto burst out laughing at the exact repeat of their first meeting but then they got up to leave, Sakura hesitating.

"What is it?" Sasuke asked.

"Should we impress him," she motioned to the window.

It was very tempting and…maybe if he saw how seriously they'd been training, Kakashi would put more effort in? The man was said to have over a thousand jutsu after all, yes they had been very good, the new sannin, but their jutsu repertoire had been very small and specialised. Sakura's had been the worst as she'd ended up focusing on healing and learning Tsunade's strength techniques.

So he nodded and they took off out the window, walking up the side of the Academy to meet Kakashi.

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Kakashi lounged on the roof after dusting off his hair, book in hand as he considered their first official meeting. He'd let the eraser hit him to see how the kids reacted. They had been sitting together and while he couldn't confirm it, Sasuke and Naruto had been sitting close enough for them to be in some kind of bodily contact under the table while Sakura had visibly been leaning against the last loyal Uchiha. And then she'd high fived Naruto too even if she had rolled her eyes. But was that enough to get them through his test?

And then he felt them approaching…up the side of the building?! Sure enough three heads soon appeared as they flipped up and over the end of the wall to land on the roof, as if they had casually strolled up the stairs. Who had taught them that? It definitely was not part of the Academy curriculum. But he didn't let his surprise show, instead waving at them to sit down.

"Well, first you should introduce yourselves."

"What should we say?" Sakura asked him.

"Maybe you should go first sensei!" Naruto grinned, and Kakashi slouched more but decided to humour them.

I'm Kakashi Hatake. Things I like and things I hate… I don't feel like telling you that. My dreams for the future… never really thought about it. As for my hobbies… I have lots of hobbies. Your turn pinkie."

"My name is Haruno Sakura. I like Sasuke-kun and Naruto-kun, I hate bigots and those who pick on people weaker than them. My dreams for the future? I'd like to be a medic-nin to rival Tsunade herself. My hobbies are reading and keeping these two from killing themselves or each other," she grinned cheekily.

"Sakura…" Naruto grumbled, pouting at her.

"Well then blondie, you next."

"Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage! I like Sakura-chan and Sasuke-kun and ramen," his tone was teasing on the kun, and Sasuke just smirked slightly. "I hate…that's kinda complicated. I'm gonna be the Hokage one day and protect everyone. I like gardening and training," he shrugged at the end.

Well...that was two introductions that weren't how he'd expected them to go. The only part that went as he'd thought it would, was Naruto's claim of being the future Hokage which neither teammate seemed to dismiss.

"That leaves you," he pointed to the Uchiha.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like Sakura and Naruto," he started.

"And tomatoes!" Sakura chimed in with a laugh.

"I hate traitors and bigots. I like training and spending time with those worth it. I plan to rebuild my clan."

"Alright then," no mention of his brother, at least not directly, was that good or bad? "The three of you are very interesting. We'll have a mission tomorrow."

"What kind of mission?" Sasuke asked.

"A survival exercise."

"That doesn't sound like a mission sensei," Sakura told him.

"This is no simple exercise," he chuckled, trying to throw them off. "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be recognised as genin. The remaining eighteen will be sent back to the Academy. In other words, this exercise is an extremely difficult test with a failure rate of 66% or higher!"

"That's stupid. To say only nine can pass no matter how good a class might be? It's just limiting the Village forces for no good reason," Sasuke scoffed and…he actually might have a point there.

"Why have the graduation exams at all?" Sakura demanded.

"Oh that? It was just to select those with the potential of becoming genin," he smirked behind his mask, even as he pondered Sasuke's words. "I'll be determining whether you pass or fail. Bring all of your shinobi tools. We meet at five in the morning at training ground three." He waited a moment but they remained silent. "Okay then, you're dismissed." He turned away but then stopped. "Oh…and you'd best skip breakfast. You don't want to throw up." And with that he left.

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Naruto packed up his apartment, making sure to pack his equipment for the test separately. He was excited but also nervous, what if they did something that made Kakashi fail them? What if he got suspicious?

He stopped and took a deep breath, no, it was no good thinking like that. They'd just do their best to get the bells without using anything from the future. They'd already shown off they knew tree walking and could use it on buildings. That, the Academy basics, and their teamwork would have to get them through.

Naruto got into his lumpy bed for the last time, looking forward to finally all living under the one roof. Sure, they'd been to the Uchiha compound, but only to visit since staying overnight would have been frowned upon, at least for Sakura. Just like they'd been to his apartment as they became more obviously friends. They'd never gone to Sakura's, though her parents had met them all, when they found out that Sasuke was sponsoring Sakura to keep her in the Academy. That…had not been fun. And would probably happen again but worse once they realised Sakura was moving out and in with the two of them. When they were old enough to let their real relationship slip…ugh.

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"How did it go?" Hiruzen asked, sensing the presence at the window.

"Not as I expected," Kakashi admitted, and Hiruzen chuckled.

"They have changed since becoming friends, for the better it seems?" he questioned, and Kakashi hummed in response.

"Sasuke doesn't seem focused on revenge against his brother, Sakura wants to be Tsunade's equal, and Naruto still wants to be Hokage."

"The next sannin?" well, that could be interesting. Though thankfully they had likely not heard of Orochimaru, Sasuke taking after him was the last thing the Village needed. And he would make sure Jiraiya did not pass on his more questionable habits to his godson when they finally met.

"Maybe," Kakashi didn't seem to believe they could do it. Only time would tell.

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They made it to the training ground to find no sign of Kakashi-sensei, as expected. So they began to prepare for the test, Naruto setting traps around the area while Sakura and Sasuke began warming up. They'd also ignored the instruction to not eat, knowing they'd need the energy. Looking back, it was obvious they were meant to occupy themselves when he was late and they'd wasted so much time just sitting around back then. Not this time.

TBC…

Sorry, no grand fight with Danzō or anything. They're trying to stay under the radar after all.