Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or any of the characters created by Kishimoto-sensei.
"Are we there yet?" complained Naruto. They had been traveling slowly toward Konoha for the last three months and he was starting to get impatient.
"We'll be there in a few days," said Tsunade, "We're going to stop at an Onsen (hot spring) jus a day out of town to completely rejuvenate ourselves."
"But Kaasan, I thought you didn't like Onsen because that stupid perverted bastard is always peeking at them," said Naruto quoting her.
"Just where did you hear that?"
"You and Shizune were talking about it one night while I was trying to sleep," said Naruto, "So who is the pervert?"
"Jaraiya, he's another Sannin like me," explained Tsunade, "But he's a perverted hermit."
"Ero-Sennin shall be his name from now on then," said Naruto proudly causing his Kaasan and Nechan to both fall down laughing. Naruto soon joined them.
This particular Onsen trip was pervert free thankfully and they were once again back on the road towards Konoha.
BREAK
"I can see the gates," shouted Naruto excitedly, "We're almost there."
Tsunade smiled warmly at her exuberant son.
"Come on, hurry up," shouted Naruto as he tried to push Tsunade and Shizune forward towards the gate. Tsunade purposely tried to slow down.
Naruto's solution to the problem was not what she expected. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," he shouted created a dozen clones. Next thing Tsunade and Shizune knew they were being carried by half a dozen Naruto clones each and moving rapidly towards the gates.
"To think, we could have him doing this all along," said Shizune with a laugh.
Tsunade joined in her laugh. When they were about a hundred yards from the gate Tsunade destroyed all his clones.
"What did you do that for Kaasan?" asked Naruto.
"We're about to enter a shinobi village," began Tsunade, "you have to be very careful to hide your techniques. Don't use any of your skills without having Kirameki no Jutsu activated and don't activate Kirameki no Jutsu unless you can do it without hand seals. There are some shinobi in this village that can steal a Jutsu by just seeing it once. Understand?"
"Yes Kaasan," said Naruto seriously. He'd heard in his lessons from Shizune about shinobi that could do that but never though he'd have to worry about them, especially if they were supposed to an ally.
"You have to protect the secrets that Yondaime left to you. Pass them only within your family," said Tsunade, "always be cautious to check the surrounding area before you train."
"Yes Kaasan," said Naruto again. He knew how serious Tsunade was being about this and as such he was giving her due attention.
"Okay, ready to go home?" asked Tsunade finally.
"Yes Kaasan," shouted Naruto happily.
The three approached the gate guard slowly so as not to arise suspicion, not that they were at all suspicious looking.
"Halt, state your name and purpose," ordered a Leaf Shinobi that couldn't be scene. That didn't stop Naruto from looking to exactly where the shinobi was hiding despite the thrown voice.
"Tsunade, I'm returning home with my assistant Shizune and son Naruto."
"Tsunade-sama," said the shinobi as he appeared before her and bowed deeply.
"So, can we enter?" asked Naruto excitedly.
"Hush Naruto-kun," chided Shizune.
"The Hokage left instruction that if you ever came you were to report directly to his office," said the shinobi. It was easy to sense the little bit of fear coming from the man.
Tsunade, Shizune, and Naruto slowly walked through the town toward the Hokage tower. It was easy to see that Naruto was super excited to be there. He head was turning every which direction trying to take in the sights and the sounds of his home.
Naruto's lack of paying attention caused him to be introduced to his first new friends. Naruto was walking not really looking at where he was going when he walked right into a girl that was slightly smaller than him.
"Sorry," said Naruto instantly apologizing as he stood up after knocking both of them down.
"S . s . sorry," replied a very soft shy voice.
Naruto looked at the girl now for the first time. She had dark blue hair that was almost purple in the light. Her eyes were clear except for a hint of lavender coloring. She was very petite but Naruto knew that she was almost the same age as him. "Are you okay?" he finally asked.
"Sorry," she stuttered again not looking him in the face.
"It was my fault, I wasn't looking where I was going," said Naruto, "You don't have to say sorry."
"Sorry," she stammered yet again.
"I'm Naruto," he introduced himself to the girl, "What's your name?"
"Hinata," she stuttered barely audible.
"Nice to meet you Hinata," said Naruto.
"Naruto-kun," called Shizune, "Hurry along now."
"Coming Shizune-nechan," called Naruto in return. He looked back at the very shy girl, "Well, I'll see you later maybe." With that he ran off to catch up to his sister and mother.
Not too much later all three were waiting their turn to see the Hokage.
"You may enter," said the nasally voice of the secretary.
The three entered the office and were greeted by an old man standing in front of his desk.
"Tsunade," he greeted warmly, "So nice to see you again."
"Sarutobi-sensei," returned the greeting.
"Shizune, you've grown into a fine young woman," said the lecherous old man.
"Nice to see you again," replied Shizune stiffly.
"And you must be Naruto-kun," said the old man, "I've been looking forward to seeing you for some time now. I can see that you've grown up quite nicely. Has Tsunade and Shizune been treating you well? How about your education? Did you enjoy traveling?"
"Kaasan is wonderful and so is Shizune-nechan," answered Naruto excitedly, "Shizune is an excellent teacher and she's so smart. I loved traveling very much but I'm glad to have come home at last."
Sarutobi was very surprised when Naruto answered all of his questions so rapidly but pleased all the same.
"Is he ready for the Genin exam?" asked Sarutobi to Tsunade.
"Yes," said Tsunade lightly. She didn't want to build Naruto up to be more than he really was nor did she want to put him down.
"So tell me Naruto-kun, how much have you learned?" said Sarutobi looking to Naruto.
"Well," Naruto paused and looked to Tsunade for permission. She nodded and he began to barrel through what he'd learned, "I've almost master Kirameki no Jutsu and about 75 of the time I can activate it without hand seals. I've learned the first three stages of the Kirameki Taijutsu pretty well but I can always improve on that. My Kirameki Shuriken and Kunai are okay but they'll be much better once I've completely master the Kirameki no Jutsu. I just started to get the hang of the Kirameki Tsuki, but it really, really difficult. I know three basic healing Jutsu though Kaasan wishes I would learn more. I know the first four Katon Jutsu, three Doton Jutsu, four Mizu Jutsu, two Rai Jutsu and the Kinjutsu Kage Bunshin."
"Well, that's quite good," said Sarutobi, "Do you know Kawarimi yet?"
"What?" asked Naruto.
"Well, what about the regular Bunshin technique?"
"No," said Naruto, "Should I have?"
"No, I suppose not," said Sarutobi with a chuckle, "It is a good thing that you have a few months still before the Genin exam. You can join the class and learn both of those in that time as they are the most basic techniques of any Leaf Shinobi."
"That's great, more techniques," shouted Naruto excitedly.
"He really does love to learn doesn't he?" asked Sarutobi to the two women.
"Yes and no," answered Tsunade, "He probably could have learned a lot more techniques than he has but he seems to prefer to nearly perfect a technique and be able to use it well rather than just learn a lot. He is probably excited about those techniques because you said they were the most basic to Leaf Shinobi, which he would translate into essential."
"I see, then he is just like him," said Sarutobi reminiscing.
"It is shocking how much they are alike," said Tsunade softly.
"Well, the only question left is whether or not you will be staying," said Sarutobi.
"Kaasan is leaving?" asked Naruto suddenly keying in on that detail. He was instantly clinging to Tsunade as though his life depended on it.
"No Naruto-kun, you Kaasan isn't going anywhere," said Tsunade rubbing the back of his head.
Sarutobi smiled warmly, "I will have a house prepared for the three of you. Will you be resuming your duties as a medic-nin?"
"I will to an extent," said Tsunade, "I will work in the hospital but I will not take any missions."
"Excellent, we've been in need of a new chief of staff," said Sarutobi, "congratulations."
Tsunade's eyebrow twitched as she knew she was set up from the start.
"I will also work in the hospital but I would be willing to take the occasional mission," said Shizune.
"You're a Jounin correct?" asked Sarutobi.
"Yes," answered Shizune.
"How would you like to train future medic-nin from the academy? It wouldn't be a full time Jounin instructor position but I think that maybe two days a week you could train Genin that have the potential to be medic-nin," suggested Sarutobi.
"I would enjoy that very much," said Shizune with a smile.
"Well then, I will have a Chuunin show you to the house I arranged for you," said Sarutobi pushing a button on his desk.
A young Chuunin with a bandage across his nose entered, "Hokage-sama."
"Hagane-san, would you please escort Tsunade to the house that you arranged last week?"
"Yes Hokage-sama," replied the man Hagane. He turned to the three, "Please follow me Tsunade-sama."
The house was very nice. It was a two story with three bedrooms. Shizune and Tsunade's bedrooms were on the second floor and Naruto's was on the first. The house had all the regular amenities such as kitchen, dining room, bathroom, and living room. It was unfurnished but Hagane explained that there was an account set up at a few furniture stores so they could get furniture that day. He also informed them that Naruto would be starting at the Academy the next day.
That afternoon they spent familiarizing themselves with the village and purchasing furniture. Somehow Naruto ended up having to carry the furniture across the village to the house as part of his training. Naruto honestly believed that Tsunade was just too cheap to pay for delivery.
BREAK
The next morning Shizune woke Naruto early so he could be to the academy on time. He was still late despite her best efforts.
Naruto rushed into the classroom that was already in session.
"Can I help you with something young man?" asked the instructor.
"Sorry, I'm late," said Naruto with a polite bow.
"And you are?"
"Uzumaki Naruto, I'm supposed to start today," explained Naruto.
"Class has already started so you'll have to introduce yourself to the students later," said the man.
"Yes sir," said Naruto.
"You can sit anywhere there is an open seat," offered the man.
Naruto surveyed the room. There was a seat open next to a pink haired girl with a big forehead and there was a seat open next to the blue haired girl he met the previous day. He chose the later.
"Hi Hinata-chan," he whispered to her when he sat next to her. He completely failed to notice the intense blush on her face.
Naruto later learned the instructor was Umino Iruka. He was a nice man but fairly strict with the students. His lecture was a bit boring as it history that Naruto had learned a few years ago from Shizune. He continued on until they broke for lunch.
After lunch, Naruto was once again sitting patiently in the classroom. He sat with Hinata for lunch as she was the only one he'd met so far and most of the other students seemed a bit standoffish for his tastes.
"Now, we'll be practicing our Bunshin no Jutsu today," said Iruka-sensei as he resumed class. It also managed to earn him a lot of groans of displeasure from the students. Naruto however was interested to learn it.
"Naruto-san, why don't you come down and try it first?" asked Iruka with a smile.
Naruto jumped up excitedly and rushed to the front of the class.
"When ever you're ready," said Iruka.
"Um . . . Iruka-sensei, I don't know how to do Bunshin," said Naruto with a slight grimace, "Could you show me?"
Iruka didn't seem very happy though. He'd been expecting great thing from Naruto from what Sarutobi boasted about the boy. Iruka showed him the seals as patiently as he could and even took a moment to explain the way he needed to mold the chakra.
"I see," said Naruto after he finished his explanation, "It is one less seal than Kage Bunshin causing a minor alteration in the chakra mold that prevents the copy from taking a physical presence."
Iruka was floored by the technical and analytical comment Naruto made. He was shocked even further to find Naruto compared it to the Kage Bunshin, which was not only a Jounin technique but also a Kinjutsu.
"Bunshin no Jutsu," said Naruto creating eight perfect clones, "Oops, I used a bit too much chakra." Naruto released the eight clones and then concentrated a bit more, "Bunshin no Jutsu," he said again but this time he created only one perfect clone. "There, much better," said Naruto and the clone together.
"How many clones do you think you could create?" asked Iruka curiously.
"I don't know," said Naruto thoughtfully, "I'll have to try later."
"Thank you Naruto-san, you may be seated," said Iruka with a friendly smile. His disappointment quickly evaporated towards his new student and was replaced instead by pride that he could learn so quickly.
The other students though were a mix between being impressed and being jealous, especially so with a certain black hair boy in the class.
After class that day Iruka stopped Naruto from leaving. "Naruto-san, how did you like your first day of class?"
"I enjoyed it very much sir but the history lesson this morning was a bit boring," he answered honestly.
"History may be a bit boring but it is important to understand," said Iruka with a friendly smile.
"Oh, I know that. It was boring because Shizune-nechan already taught me all of that," explained Naruto.
"I see, what else has Shizune-san taught you about history?" asked Iruka curious.
Naruto was about to answer when his stomach growled, "Sorry, it has a mind of its own."
"That's alright," said Iruka, "I'm hungry myself, how about I treat you to some ramen as a welcoming gift?"
"Sure," said Naruto with his fox-like grin he'd recently begun to use.
Iruka and Naruto ate ramen at Ichiraku, which Naruto quickly decided was his favorite restaurant in all of Konoha. While they ate Naruto and Iruka talked a bit about history.
"Well, since you know so much already, I'll tell you what," said Iruka, "You can sleep during the history lesson. I'll yell at you for it after the lesson but I won't really mean it. Okay?"
"Great," said Naruto with a grin, "Thank you Iruka-sensei."
"You're welcome Naruto," said Iruka.
"I should go now or Kaasan will be angry with me for being out so late," said Naruto as he checked the wall clock.
Naruto and Iruka said their goodbyes and Naruto rushed back home. When he got home Tsunade interrogated him to no end about his first day at the academy and then about why he was so late getting home.
"Sounds like you had a very nice first day," said Tsunade afterward. She and Naruto were sitting on the couch. She had an arm wrapped around him and he rested his head on her shoulder.
"It was, I even learned Bunshin in one day," said Naruto, "I accidentally made eight of them on my first try, too much chakra as usual."
Tsunade chuckled, "That isn't necessarily bad Naruto. Just watch yourself in the future okay."
"Okay Kaasan," said Naruto, "oh, I made a friend too. Her name is Hinata and she's really quiet and shy but very nice."
"Oh really?" asked Tsunade, "Already got a girlfriend and you've only been in town for a day."
"Kaasan," shouted Naruto angrily but he calmed once he noticed she was smiling and laughing a bit.
BREAK
The next several weeks passed by quickly enough. Naruto learned the Kawarimi technique really quickly just as he had with the Bunshin technique. Naruto slowly met the other students though he didn't care for most of them as they were loud and quite obnoxious. He did get along really well with Hinata though as she rarely said anything but was very friendly all the same. Naruto even helped her with classes a bit.
Tsunade settled into her position as chief of staff at the hospital rather easily but was quite annoyed by how poorly it had been run since her original departure so many years ago.
Shizune loved her work now more than ever. She worked minimal hours in the hospital and spent the majority of her time training medic-nins. She only had two students to start with from all the current Genin level students but she really enjoyed having them.
On an off weekend Naruto left early to train. He'd found a place that he could train in private just on the outskirts of the village. It was near a small waterfall which was perfect for Naruto's needs. There was water to practice his Mizu Jutsu and rock to practice his Doton Jutsu and again water to practice his Katon Jutsu over.
Tsunade was left at home while Shizune was at the hospital. She wasn't expecting any visitors so she was surprised when someone knocked on her door.
She answered the door, "Hello, can I help you with something?"
"Excuse me," said the man politely, "I'm Naruto's teacher from school. Umino Iruka."
"Pleased to meet you Iruka-sensei," said Tsunade, "were you looking for Naruto?"
"No, I was hoping for a chance to speak with you," said Iruka politely.
"Please come in then," said Tsunade motioning him in, "I was about to have some tea, would you like some as well?"
"Thank you," said Iruka, "I usually try to speak with all of the parents of my students on occasion, hence the visit."
"I see, then Naruto hasn't been causing trouble?"
"Not at all," said Iruka, "Naruto is an excellent student. Tell me, have you given him an IQ test?"
"Yes," said Tsunade, "He scored in the high hundreds but not genius level."
"Really?" asked Iruka, "I was amazed at how easily he dissected the Bunshin technique and then compared it to the Kage Bunshin."
"Well, Naruto has been learning about Chakra manipulation since he was very young to compensate for his tendency to use far too much chakra. He has a slight problem with his chakra system and because of that he had to work very hard to gain the control he has now. At the time it helped him tremendously to be able to analyze how chakra was manipulated," explained Tsunade.
"I see," said Iruka, "That makes sense. In most techniques he uses far too much chakra, at least now I understand why. Have you tried to teach him tree climbing yet?"
"He learned that long ago and it helped him a lot at the time," said Tsunade.
"What about water walking?"
"Not yet but now that you mention it, I don't think it would be a bad idea to teach him. Anything to help him improve his control would be very useful," said Tsunade, "The one thing that has come out of his poor chakra control is that it has force his chakra capacity to expand rapidly to compensate."
"He does seem to never run out of energy," said Iruka, "but then at that age all of them seem to have limitless energy."
Tsunade smiled and laughed lightly at that comment, "Indeed Iruka-sensei, but I think you'll find my little Naruto-kun exceeds them all for an over abundance of energy. Tell me, how is he getting on with the other children his age? Growing up the way he did, we never stayed in one place long enough for him to make many friends."
"He and young Hyuga Hinata seem to get on very well, which makes me very happy to see. Hinata needed a friend like Naruto as she is extremely shy. Already she has improved quite a bit just from his encouragement. Naruto tends to shy away from the other students though. I think they are a bit much for Naruto to handle, which honestly surprises me because he is so energetic," explained Iruka.
"Give him time and he will warm up to the others," said Tsunade, "I would ask though that when it comes time to select teams try to pair Naruto away from Hinata. Their friendship is great but Naruto needs to befriend others as well."
"I can understand that. In all honest I think Naruto and Hinata would team up quite well but I can understand your concern and will do my best to accommodate," said Iruka politely.
"Thank you," said Tsunade.
"Well, thank you for your time today Tsunade-sama, but I do have other parents to drop in on before my day is done. Please tell Naruto that I said hello," said Iruka making his polite excuses to leave.
"Good luck with the other parents," said Tsunade as she escorted Iruka to the door.
BREAK
Finally the day of the Genin exam had arrived and Naruto couldn't have been more excited that he was that day.
"After today my journey to become Hokage begins," said Naruto happily.
"Remember Naruto, don't do anymore than is necessary to pass the exam," said Tsunade, "You don't want to give anyone too much knowledge to hold over your head."
"Yes Kaasan," said Naruto knowing well enough to do that anyway. She'd recently begun to pound it into his head how important it was to protect his secrets and his techniques. After learning that the last Uchiha was in his class made him even wearier of that as the Uchiha were known for the Sharingan eye. Luckily this Uchiha hadn't activated his Sharingan eyes yet, but he didn't want to risk it all the same, especially not with the Yondaime's techniques.
"Okay, the first part of the exam requires that you all create at least five perfect Bunshin," instructed Iruka-sensei.
Naruto created his Bunshin flawless just like eight other students in the class. The other eight were Hinata (which he was very proud of), Shino (who was a weird bug guy that 'creeped him out'), Ino (who was loud and scary), Choji (who was really nice and loved to eat), Shikamaru (who was really lazy), Sakura (who was also loud and scary like Ino), Kiba (who was an obnoxious dog boy), and Sasuke (who just rubbed Naruto the wrong way).
That night Naruto celebrated with his family that he passed so easily. They all had dinner at Ichiraku Ramen stand.
"Well, seeing as it only a week until your birthday I might as well give this to you now," said Tsunade passing Naruto another scroll from Yondaime and a small box.
Naruto opened the small box to find a Leaf headband like the one he was currently wearing. This one was slightly different though in that it was on a black piece of cloth instead of a blue piece.
"That was my forehead protector that my grandfather gave me when I first became a Genin. I wanted you to have it," said Tsunade as she removed the one Naruto was wearing and replaced it with the one in the box.
"Thank you Kaasan," said Naruto hugging her fiercely for such a precious gift, "I promise I will always keep it with me."
"You'd better," said Tsunade in a joking warning.
The scroll appeared to be the Fourth Stage of the Kirameki Taijutsu which Naruto was excited to begin learning. Unfortunately it would have to wait a few days until he got his team all sorted out.
The next morning Naruto wore his new Leaf Headband proudly as he walked through the village to the academy. He entered the class to see the other eight rookie Genin already waiting. Naruto took his seat next to Hinata.
"Morning Hinata-chan," he said loudly.
"Morning Naruto-kun," replied Hinata softly but with a lot less stuttering than usual.
"Attention everyone," called Iruka, "I will be assigning your teams here in a minute. After your teams are assigned you are to wait here for your Jounin instructor. So, without further ado, Team Seven is Uzumaki Naruto, Haruna Sakura, and Uchiha Sasuke. Team Eight is Hyuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Inuzuka Kiba. Team 10 is Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Choji."
"I'm not with Hinata-chan?" asked Naruto to no one in particular.
"Naruto-kun is in a different group," said Hinata softly and sadly.
"Hinata-chan, do you best with your team and I'll do my best too. We can see each other later then," said Naruto with a reassuring smile to the girl. Truthfully he was a bit saddened himself not to be paired with his only friend. He was also quite worried about being paired with the Uchiha survivor.
Slowly but surely the Jounin instructors came and collected their students. Finally it was down to just Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke.
"What is the deal with this instructor?" complained Naruto loudly after two hours of waiting.
Sakura failed to respond as she was fixated on Sasuke and Sasuke was just ignoring the world.
"This sucks, you guys are boring," said Naruto as he decided to use his time wisely. Concentrating a bit of chakra to his feet he walked calmly up the wall and continue on up to the ceiling. He simply practiced walking across the ceiling. It was extra difficult because the material the ceiling was made of wasn't extremely sturdy so he had to spread more chakra out not only to hold himself to the ceiling but also enough to prevent the ceiling from cracking a breaking loose. He failed to notice the looks of surprise from both Sasuke and Sakura.
"Naruto, how are you doing that?" asked Sakura curiously.
"Huh?" asked Naruto before he noticed they were surprised, "Oh, I'm practicing my Chakra control and manipulation by focusing it to my feet to keep me stuck to the ceiling but beyond that I have to focus chakra into the ceiling itself to support my weight."
"Why are you doing that?" asked Sakura.
"Well, I have problems with my Chakra control because of an irregularity in my chakra system. As a result I have to constantly practice my Chakra control. You've probably noticed that in class I tend to use a lot more chakra than I need," explained Naruto, "This helps a little."
"Oh," said Sakura, "Can you show me?"
"Sure," said Naruto as he walked across the ceiling and back down the wall. Sakura met him by the wall. Sasuke watched him from his seat but he wasn't about to get up and try it himself because he was above both of them. "First you need to concentrate Chakra to your feet then you simply walk up but you have to continually adjust the amount of chakra you use or you'll damage the wall. I'd suggest that you start with just the wall as it requires a large amount of chakra to stick to the ceiling because you have to reinforce and pull at the same time."
Sakura easily walked up the wall and then feeling daring she tried the ceiling only to lose her grip and fall. Lucky for her Naruto saw it coming and caught her. "I warned you," said Naruto, "Stick to the wall to build up your chakra reserves before you try the ceiling again."
Sakura nodded with a slight blush from the way Naruto caught her. After that she stuck to the wall . . . literally while Naruto resumed his ceiling walking.
The expression on their Jounin instructor's face when he entered the room would have been priceless if it weren't for the damn mask hiding his face. "Hmm, my first impression of all of you is that you confuse me. Let's go up to the roof," he said then disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Not much later Team 7 was assembled on the roof. "So why don't we start by introducing ourselves?"
"Sensei, why don't you go first," suggested Sakura.
"My name is Hatake Kakashi. What I like and dislike are none of your business. My dream hmm . . ." here he blushed slightly. "And I have hobbies," again he blushed slightly. "Now you pinky."
"I'm Haruna Sakura, I like," she looked at Sasuke and blushed. "I dislike Ino-pig. My dream is . . ." again she looked at Sasuke but blushing even more this time.
"Now you," he said pointing to Naruto.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Ramen, I hate the three minutes it takes to prepare ramen. My dream is to one day become Hokage and Yondaime Hokage proud of me."
Kakashi raised his eyebrow in slight surprise at Naruto's statement but didn't show more than that. "Now you," he said pointing to Sasuke.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like much. My dream is more of an ambition and that is to kill a certain man and rebuild my clan."
"Well then, meet me tomorrow morning on training field 7 at 5:00 am for some survival training," said Kakashi but before he could leave.
"Sensei, we did that in the Academy," said Sakura.
"This is a bit different, this is actually your final test to become real Genin," explained Kakashi before he disappeared with a puff of smoke.
"So, do you guys want to go get something to eat? I mean if we are going to be a team it might not be a bad idea to get to know each other and find out how we're going to work together," suggested Naruto.
Sasuke just snorted and walked away. Sakura looked torn between following her crush or staying with Naruto as his idea was actually really good. Finally she chose to stay with Naruto.
"It's okay Sakura if you don't want to stay," said Naruto politely.
"No, it's okay, I know where Sasuke lives so I can see him later," said Sakura lightly.
Naruto wasn't sure if he should be worried about that statement or forget he heard it. "So, what do you want to eat?"
"Hmm, how about we get some Dango?"
"Sure," said Naruto, "lead the way to the best Dango shop in the village."
Sakura led Naruto through the village pointing out a few different shops including Ino's family flower shop. "They have the best flowers in town just don't ever tell Ino-pig I said that."
Naruto bought a few Dango for himself as did Sakura. Together they talked a bit about their skills and abilities.
"I don't know much Genjutsu but I'm okay with Ninjutsu. I'm really good with Taijutsu," said Naruto.
"I'm pretty good with Genjutsu but everything else I pretty much stink because I don't have enough chakra," explained Sakura.
"That wall walking exercise is a good exercise to build your chakra," said Naruto, "but you change how you do it a bit. Find a tall tree and just run up and down it as many times as you can. It'll do to things, first it will force your chakra reserves to increase and second it will increase your strength and stamina."
"Really?" asked Sakura.
"Yep," said Naruto, "It worked really well for me. If you can try to buy a light-weight suit, maybe only 10-20 kilograms. That will also help."
"That sounds a bit extreme," said Sakura.
"10-20 Kilograms isn't that much. Right now I'm wearing a 120 Kilogram weight suit," said Naruto.
"No way," said Sakura in disbelief, "How can you still move?"
"Oh, I've been training with weighted suits since I was 7 years old. I started with ten kilograms and moved up every year after that. About two years ago I changed my pattern to where I now increase the weight every few months by a few kilograms. It might be a bit extreme but it has really helped me increase and control my chakra," explained Naruto, "My nechan trained me with it."
"I don't know if I could," said Sakura, "I'm not that strong."
"Sure you could and I bet it would impress Sasuke if you got stronger," said Naruto. He knew the type of person Sasuke was and knew that he was the type impressed by strength.
"Can you help me choose a good one?" asked Sakura determined now.
"Sure, let's go," said Naruto as he led her to the supply shop he'd scouted out earlier. It wasn't the cheapest shop in town for equipment, but it did carry the best equipment at the best price. Naruto showed her a few different styles of weight suits. He showed her the full body suit as well as just weights for the ankles or forearms to choose from.
"I like the bracelet weights," said Sakura, "They are bit more expensive because they are a little stylish but it is important to me to look good."
"Then the bracelet weights it is," said Naruto as he select two 2.5 kilo bracelets and then two 2.5 kilo anklets. "I know you're not partial to the ankle weights but it is important for you to increase speed."
Sakura nodded. She happily paid for the weights and was about to put them on when Naruto stopped her.
"I'd wait to use those until after the test tomorrow, who knows what Kakashi-sensei has in mind," said Naruto.
Sakura nodded and put the weights in a bag to carry home. While they were there Naruto looked around as he was considering changing the style of weight he was using. Now that he was going to be an active Genin he needed to be able to easily remove his weights if he needed to.
"Sakura, which style to think I should go with?" asked Naruto as he looked over the weights.
"Are you thinking about changing?" she asked.
"Well, my birthday is next week and Shizune-nechan always buys me new weights so I'm considering changing the style I use so they can easily be removed if we're in combat," explained Naruto.
"Hmm," said Sakura as she studied them, "I go with the plain black that is designed as a forearm protector and the ankle protector. You're not as concerned with style so . . ."
"Thanks Sakura-chan," said Naruto with a friendly smile. He felt that he'd made a real friend in Sakura. Now if only he could get that Uchiha bastard to lighten up. Oh well, one thing at a time.
"Thank you for helping me Naruto-kun," she replied. She also thought of him as only a friend.
"Happy to, now I'd better walk you home and then get home myself or Kaasan is going to strangle me," said Naruto scratching the back of his head with a fox-like grin.
Naruto happily walked his new friend home and then walked home himself. Once again Tsunade gave him the third degree about his team. He made sure to mention to Shizune that he was looking at the shinobi equipment, specifically the weights and the style he wanted to change to.
BREAK
"Kakashi-san, what can I do for you this evening?" asked old man Sarutobi.
"I've just been investigating my students a bit," said Kakashi.
"Oh, and what do you think?"
"Sasuke could be a problem," said Kakashi, "He is obsessed with killing his brother."
"That was to be expected," said Sarutobi, "How about the Haruna girl?"
"She has potential. She didn't impress me at first but then she and Naruto went to eat after the meeting. I expected her to chase after Sasuke. Anyway, while she was with Naruto he gave her some very good training advice and she took him quite seriously."
"I see, and what of Naruto?" asked Sarutobi. He was most interested in this appraisal though he didn't show it.
"The first time I saw him today he was standing on the ceiling practicing a level of chakra control no Genin should be capable of. Then when he told me his dream I won't lie and saw that I wasn't shocked. He said that he wanted to make Yondaime-sensei proud of him. It was actually him that approached his team about getting something to eat to build up some teamwork between them, for that alone I'm prepared to pass both him and Sakura right now. Were you aware that he's been training with weight suits since he was seven?"
Sarutobi shook his head feigning ignorance.
"He's walking around right now with a 120 kilos," said Kakashi, "I couldn't handle that much until I was seventeen."
"Impressive," said Sarutobi. He had yet to inform Kakashi about a certain resident within Naruto and honestly had no intention of doing so. "You'll have to talk to his Kaasan about that. You may have met her once, Tsunade."
"Tsunade is his Kaasan?" asked a stunned Kakashi, "Well that explains a lot. Does he know many Jutsu?"
"A fair number, not as many as the Uchiha boy but what he does know he knows to such a level that you will struggle to find someone with the same level of proficiency as him at any level," explained Sarutobi to the surprised Jounin, "but don't let that worry you. Tsunade has told me that Naruto is much more interested in being able to use what he knows rather than learning Jutsu upon Jutsu and then not be able to use them efficiently."
"I see," said Kakashi, "He should be rather easy to train then."
"I would expect so," said Sarutobi, "Oh, and be prepared for anything tomorrow."
"Do you know something?" asked Kakashi curiously.
"Maybe but you'll have to find out for yourself," said Sarutobi much to Kakashi's annoyance.
BREAK
The next morning Naruto was up early and out of the house before anyone else was even awake. Naruto went by Sakura's first as they agreed to walk together and try and get Sasuke to join them.
"Morning Sakura-chan," greeted Naruto energetically.
"Morning Naruto-kun," greeted Sakura while trying to stifle a yawn.
"Not much of a morning person, are you?" asked Naruto with a grin.
"Shut up," said Sakura, "It's too early to tease me."
"Whatever," said Naruto teasingly earning him a smack to the back of his head from Sakura.
Naruto and Sakura arrived at Sasuke's apartment building as he was just leaving.
"Morning Sasuke-kun," shouted Sakura, now effectively awake.
Sasuke snorted and started walking. Naruto and Sakura joined him walking on either side of him.
Two hours later. "What the hell is it with this guy?" demanded Naruto, "I know what my first gift I ever buy this guy is going to be, an alarm clock."
"Naruto-kun, save your energy for when he gets here," said Sakura, "Then we can pound him into the ground together."
Naruto couldn't help chuckling at that. It also helped him to relax.
"Yo," said Kakashi as he finally arrived.
"You're late," shouted Naruto and Sakura together.
"You see, I got lost on the road of life," he replied lamely.
"LIAR," the pair shouted together.
"Anyway," said Kakashi, "You have until this clock chimes to take a bell from me otherwise you will fail and be sent back to the academy."
"But sensei, there are only two bells," said Sakura.
"One of you will fail no matter what," said Kakashi, "Ready go." Then he vanished.
The three all scattered in different directions. Well, that isn't exactly accurate. Sasuke went of on his own, Naruto and Sakura went off on together.
"Naruto, why are you following me?" asked a peeved Sakura.
"It's a trick to divide us," said Naruto, "We're supposed to work together."
Sakura thought on it for only a moment before she nodded and agreed, "I should have thought of that. Iruka-sensei is always telling us to see underneath the underneath."
"Exactly," said Naruto, "Any clue how we get Sasuke to work with us?"
"Let him fail his first attempt," said Sakura, "then force him to help us."
"I never thought I'd here you say something like that," said Naruto truly surprised that she was willing to admit that Sasuke could fail anything. For the little time that he'd seen her in class she'd always fawned over the boy like every other girl in the academy. But for her to say that really caught him off guard.
"Why not?" asked a slightly offended Sakura.
"Well, you past attitude always suggested that you though Sasuke was infallible," said Naruto.
"Well maybe you've influenced me a bit already," said Sakura teasingly.
"So for now we just wait and watch," said Naruto changing the subject. He wasn't prepared for Sakura to act so differently.
"Yep," said Sakura as she took to the tree tops. Naruto followed behind her.
They both had to sit and watch as Sasuke was embarrassed and then buried up to his neck in the dirt.
"Now we talk to him," said Naruto as he hopped down to face the guy, "Hey Sasuke, having fun yet?"
"Go away, I can take care of myself," protested the angry boy.
"Sasuke-kun, be nice," said Sakura, "We have to work together if we want to pass. This is a team building exercise."
Sasuke snorted, "You two will just slow me down."
Naruto was reaching his limit with this guy's attitude. Naruto performed a few fast hands seals that neither of his teammates could track before he hit the ground and caused the dirt around Sasuke to crumble letting him free. From there Naruto grabbed the front of Sasuke's shirt and lift him into the air. "Listen up asshole, I've put up with about as much of your shit as I'm going to. We are a team and if you really want to fail this exam then keep going to the way you are. If you want to pass you can join Sakura and I in getting those bells . . . or are you afraid to work with someone else?" With that Naruto dropped Sasuke on his behind rather roughly before he turned and stalked off.
"I want you to pass Sasuke-kun but Naruto-kun is right," said Sakura as she followed after him.
Once Sakura caught up with Naruto she spoke, "is he coming?"
Naruto smirked before nodding, their ploy worked perfectly.
"So what's the plan dobe?" asked Sasuke to Naruto.
"Sakura?" asked Naruto looking to her.
BREAK
Impressive thought Kakashi as he watched Naruto and Sakura get Sasuke to work with them.
Kakashi decided that now was the time to test Naruto and Sakura. He charged into the clearing where they planning only to be shocked when he discovered they were only Bunshin.
Then from behind him Naruto and Sasuke attacked with Taijutsu. Sasuke was attacking with a fairly standard academy Taijutsu. Naruto was the one he was interested in though. He wasn't that surprised though when Naruto attacked using a Taijutsu that was common among medic-nin. But it made sense as his mother was the legendary medic-nin Tsunade. Somehow he was a bit disappointed as if he'd been expecting something more. As he studied Naruto's moves though he noticed how unnaturally he was moving and how foreign the moves seemed. Then it occurred to him that Naruto was trying to protect his true Taijutsu style. Why exactly he wasn't sure?
Kakashi was so concentrated on studying the fighting style of Sasuke and more importantly Naruto that he didn't notice Sakura going after the bells until it was almost too late. Luckily he did notice and managed to escape it and get some clearance between him and his students.
"Not bad teamwork," said Kakashi, "but I'm afraid that time is . . ." he paused for the ding of the timer, "up."
"Kuso," shouted Naruto. Sakura hung her head. Sasuke charged forward intending to attack.
Faster than the eye could see Kakashi had Sasuke on the ground on his stomach with a kunai to the back of his neck, "I could kill you now."
"Don't," said Naruto, "He just wanted to win, we all did."
Kakashi tightened his grip but then relaxed and smiled through is mask, "You all pass . . ." then he bent low next to Sasuke's ear, "but you just barely." Kakashi stood releasing the young Uchiha. "Good teamwork Naruto and Sakura. You two actually passed yesterday when you tried to build up some teamwork between you. Next time Sasuke you'll remember how important team work is."
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," said Sakura brightly. Naruto just grinned and nodded. Sasuke looked pissed.
"So, meet me tomorrow morning at 8:00 on the bridge near the north gate. We start missions and team training," said Kakashi, "Naruto, walk with me."
Naruto nodded nervously but followed his sensei. Once they were out of ear shot of his teammates Kakashi spoke.
"Naruto, is there any specific reason you used a medic-nin Taijutsu style?"
"I thought it would be useful for Sakura-chan to see it," said Naruto, "I think she'd make a great medic-nin. I already recommended her to Shizune-nechan for training. Shizune said though that she'd prefer you gave the recommendation."
"I see, then that style is not your preferred style?"
"No sir," said Naruto honestly. Sometimes the best way to hide something is to hide out in the open.
"Is there any other reason you didn't use your preferred style?"
"I was too nervous and didn't feel comfortable using that style yet," said Naruto, "I'm still learning it but I've learned medic-nin Taijutsu since I could start training. Kaasan still hopes that I'll become a medic-nin but that just not for me."
"I see," said Kakashi, "well, as long as you are proficient with that style of fighting I don't mind. You can use your other style when you feel more comfortable with it."
"Thank you Kakashi-sensei," said Naruto with a polite bow.
"Have a good afternoon then," said Kakashi dismissing Naruto. Once Naruto was gone Kakashi was left with his thoughts. He is hiding something big, thought Kakashi, but what?