Uzumaki Naruto; 4 Years Later

Age 16

-Issues of Consolidation-

I woke up as early as I could that morning. Today was the day I was supposed to expect to be called by the Hokage to get promoted to the Chuunin level.

I got dressed and jumped up to the roof so I'd be able to see a ninja coming from a mile away.

I squinted about.

That's when I saw a ninja! Coming right towards me!

I sprung to my feet and waved my arms.

"RIGHT HERE!!!" I yelled so he wouldn't think I was in my house or something.

He landed on the roof, bounded off the ground and then leapt to the next house.

I stood there in shock for a moment, then spun around to see him getting further and further away.

"HEY!!" I yelled. "Get back here!!"

But he didn't listen to me. No one ever really did.

So I sat back on the roof and rocked back and forth, figuring that another ninja would be here at any minute.

That's when I saw that 'other ninja' walking slowly towards my house.

I leaned over the roof and watched.

It was a female ninja.

As she got closer, I realized that it was Tenten; the girl on Lee's team.

She had beaten me in the Chuunin exam tournament.

It was a fluke though.

Apparently not…

She was wearing a chuunin vest.

"Hey Tenten!!" I yelled.

She looked around for the source of the voice that had called out to her and then up.

From where I was, she looked like she had been crying, but when are girls NOT crying?

"Hi Naruto!" she said, waving to me and trying to pretend as though she hadn't been crying even though she so obviously had been.

"Hi!" I said. "Hey, did the Hokage say anything about forgetting to send a ninja to my house? Are you coming by to tell me about it?"

I couldn't really see her facial expression to well, but I was pretty sure she was looking pretty skeptical.

"No…" she said. "The Hokage said I was the only one who passed this year."

"Yeah." I said. "Only one. Except me."

"No…I was the only one."

I hung there and watched her.

What was she going to do now?

What was she going to say?

What was I going to say?

I guess she decided there was nothing more to do or say because she didn't do either. She just walked away without uttering any other words. I was left there on the roof as the wind swept by me like a plan, like it had decided to be ominous at that exact moment.

My head fell and hit the rooftop.

"Ow." I said.

Was I going to have to be Consolidated? No Hokage had ever been Consolidated before. Of course…there had really only been a few Hokages… but still.

No! I couldn't look at it that way! I still had a year left to go until Consolidation! In the next year I had to train harder than ever before! But if I didn't succeed then I'd just become the first Hokage to ever be Consolidated to give hope to future ninjas with the same dream as mine but by some constant twists of fate, ended up on the Consolidation team!!

Oh! It's Sakura!

"SAKURA!!!" I yelled, trying to get her attention. "SAKURA!! OVER HERE!! LOOK!! I'M UP HERE!!!"

I suddenly lost my balance. I was falling! Falling!!!

Thankfully, I landed on my head so I wasn't hurt too bad.

"Oh." Said Sakura. "Hi Naruto." She said.

I looked at her. She looked like she had been crying. No surprise there.

"Hey Sakura, are you all right?" I asked, standing up and brushing myself off.

"Yes…" she said, wiping her tears away but it was pointless since it was obvious she had been crying. It was also obvious that she wanted me to ask her why she had been crying even though she was going to pretend as though she hadn't been.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "Were you crying?"

"No!" she said.

Girls are SO predictable, but especially Sakura.

"Yes you were, Sakura!" I said, trying not to sound insensitive. "Come on, tell me what's wrong!"

She sighed. Girls couldn't hold out on secrets, especially when boys noticed that they had been crying about that secret. "I didn't get promoted to a chuunin…" she said.

"Oh." I said. "Neither did I. But I didn't know that mattered to you so much cause I thought you were kinda… planning on stopping."

"That's why I'm upset!" Sakura said. "I promised myself that if I didn't become a chuunin then I'd stop being a ninja right here and now! And I'm not a chuunin! So I'm going to stop! Obviously that's not what Sasuke's looking for!"

I had always felt that if she was working at something only for someone else then she was doomed to failure anyway. If she had ever decided that she wanted to become a great ninja for the sake of her own feelings then maybe she would have succeeded.

Maybe she should know this.

"Well Sakura…" I started. Then I stopped and reevaluated my thinking. Was it really that great of an idea to say what I thought? I knew Sakura wouldn't want to hear it.

She noticed I sort of trailed off.

I guess anyone would notice.

"'Well Sakura…'?" she led.

"Nothing!" I said with a smile.

Time to sugar coat it without specifics.

"If that's what you want to do, Sakura, you should do it! After all, it's YOUR life and you should lead it the way YOU want to, not the way anyone else wants to!"

She glared at me. Maybe I had been too specific.

"WHAT are you talking about, Naruto?" she said.

Okay…maybe not specific enough…

"Forget about it, Sakura!" I said. "If it makes you feel any better, I didn't pass the chuunin exam either!"

It pained me on the inside to say something like that so openly and freely as if it didn't bother me. But if it was going to make Sakura feel better, I was willing to sacrifice that pain!

"No, it DOESN'T make me feel any better." Sakura said, pointing her nose up in the air and stomping off.

She wasn't going to just walk off like that, especially after I had made that sacrifice for her.

I ran back up to her.

"Hey, let's go get something to eat!" I suggested.

"I can't, Naruto." Said Sakura, not even looking at me. "I have plans today."

"How about tomorrow then?" I asked with a shrug as I got in front of her to make her stop.

She gave me a dirty look with a squint in her eyes and turned around, walking in the other direction.

"No, I'm busy tomorrow too." She said, expecting that to make me go away when it was only going to make me try harder.

"Sakura, come back!" I said, running over and getting in front of her again. I started walking backwards as she continued to walk.

"Naruto, how many times to I have to tell you that you have absolutely no chance of ever getting a date with me?!" she screamed suddenly.

I wanted to point out to her that she was exactly the same way when it came to Sasuke, but the last thing I wanted was for Sakura to get mad at me. Instead, I'd have to woo her.

"Oh Sakura!" I said. "You're so cute even when you're angry!"

I saw the punch coming a mile away, but I let her hit me.

It's not like it hurt or anything, but it's the golden rule that you're always supposed to pretend that it hurts when a girl hits you. That way, she feels bad for you and apologizes and whatever you did to spark her attack suddenly doesn't matter.

"Just get OUT of my face, Naruto." She said. "And STAY out!"

I sat up and frowned at her turned back as she walked away.

Maybe Sakura wasn't as predictable as I had originally thought.

I stood up and brushed myself off…AGAIN.

I certainly fell down a lot.

As I stood there, I finally had some time to reflect about the fact that I didn't pass the chuunin exam.

One more year and it was Consolidation for me…

"Yo."

I spun around to see Kakashi standing there.

"Wow!" I said sarcastically. "That's unlike you to appear out of nowhere like that!"

"I just have a few things to talk to you about." Kakashi said, coming over up and putting an arm around me.

We started walking and he did all the talking.

"As you know…" he began. "There's the little issue of Consolidation…"

"That's all ANYONE talks about." I said, sounding annoyed as I possibly could so Kakashi would know that I didn't need to hear any more. "I know what's going on. But don't worry about it! I'm going to become a chuunin for sure next time!"

"Are you so sure, Naruto?"

"Of course I am!" I said, angry that he doubted me. Maybe if he hadn't paid so much attention to that stupid Sasuke while we were training when we were younger then I would be a jounin…or a chuunin… or even HOKAGE at this point! Yeah, it was all Kakashi's fault and he knew it.

"Have you ever stopped to consider what exactly Consolidation is?" Kakashi asked me.

"Training?" I said. It was obvious. Everyone knew what Consolidation was. It had a simple concept.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I won't be your teacher and Sasuke and Sakura will not be your partners?"

"Wait…why won't you be the teacher?"

Kakashi sighed. "I'm not allowed to be your teacher." He said. "And besides, I'm not qualified to train the Consolidated ninjas. There are only a few teachers who bother meet THOSE qualifications…"

He trailed off.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said. "You're thinking of a specific ninja. Which one?"

"Nothing, nothing." Kakashi said, waving his hand. "What you need to concentrate on is training so you can pass the Chuunin Exam next time. That way, you won't even have to worry about Consolidation."

"That's what I was GOING to do before you interrupted me!" I said.

"What?" said Kakashi. "You don't want my help? Okay, I understand."

"Wait, no!" I yelled. "You have to help me! You're my teacher!"

"I'll only help you on one condition." Kakashi said. "You have to catch me first."

"You're on!" I agreed.

I understood Kakashi's ways by now. The process of me catching him was his way of helping me. When I was younger, I wouldn't have realized that. But, after training alongside Sakura and Sasuke with their abilities when it came to deductive reasoning, I had adapted a few of their ways and it has made me a better ninja.