Ok, heres the second chapter. Don't know if anyone's reading this yet so i'll just keep forging on. Again i don't own Naruto, you knew that, i know that...yeah.
Twelve Years Later...
Trees had grown, rocks had been weathered, and people had grown and aged in the twelve years since the Fourth's death had stopped the rampaging Nine Tails Fox. Konoha had rebuilt after its partial destruction and had even managed a nice boom in population since then. Many ninja had risen in rank and fallen in battle during that time. Students at the academy had also come and gone. And memories had changed or forgotten. The people of Konoha knew, or thought they knew, the history of their glorious village. But like much of history, it had been influenced by those in power. In the case of the Fourth's death and the events surrounding it, it happened to be a good change.
The Third Hokage had sworn the ninja that had survived the battle or that knew of it's end to silence. He had spread the story that the Fourth had sealed the beast away inside himself then died to make sure the beast didn't come back. The public was satisfied with the story and let it stand, thinking that it was the truth. Soon even most of the ninja who actually knew the truth had begun to forget it and accept the alternate story.
Even the great Hokage himself began to put the truth to the back of his mind. Duties called for more and more of his time. To prevent himself from putting it completely from his mind he placed a picture of the Fourth opposite his desk. This supplemented his almost daily trip to the monument. But even this became almost nothing more then habit after twelve years. So when he received a note from Jiriaya it took him a few moments to think of why his old student might be writing to him.
He had been signing off on a trade delegation paper that would hopefully solve the local merchant's problems with their overabundance of ramen when his aid came in with the mid-day mail. He put the legal paper aside and received the small stack of letters and scrolls with a smile, happy to get away at least for a moment, from those big words and money matters. He was a ninja after all.
A letter or two from a friend, some official notices from the local lord, and, at the very back of the pile, a small beaten scroll. After running through the notices the Third picked up the scroll and looked at it. It was a small dirty little thing and looked very out of place among the other mail. He turned it over and saw a familiar mark pressed into the wax seal the held the scroll closed. (the same symbol/word as on Jiriaya's head protector)
The old man smiled as he recognized Jiriaya's mark and began opening the scroll. As he did a little warning bell started ringing in his brain. Why would Jiriaya be writing to him? He never wrote. The warning didn't register until he read the first line of the short letter.
*Both Naruto and I are of the belief that he is ready to return to Konoha.*
The old ninja froze and his eyes back tracked across the line and read it again. The warning bell finally struck the right note. He blinked his eyes then continued to read.
*Therefore we will be returning to town a week before the Fall Chuunin exam. Present circumstances prevent us from returning for Genin graduation and team assignments so please prepare for the addition of one additional Genin on a team for the exam. Both of us are confident he could pass without a team but better to be prepared. We both look forward to it.*
Jiriaya's signature was scratched at the bottom. The Third rolled the little scroll back up and placed it back on his desk. He looked at the calender on his wall and saw that the Genin graduation would be held in less then a week. He had to act fast if he was going to get Naruto a position on one of the teams.
With a quick motion that didn't match his age, the Hokage stood and strode from his office. "I am going to the academy for a while." he said as he passed his aid working at the front desk.
The academy was a five minute walk from the ninja administration but he made it in three. The Hokage knew exactly what teacher to go to. He had been watching the roster of children in this years class and had been surprised to find that the Uchiha boy was among the students. The prodigy child of the dead Uchiha clan was some what of a legend already. His skill at both jutsu and attracting females were already the talk of the town.
When the Hokage walked into Iruka's classroom the noise died down and a shushed silence fell on the children. Iruka had been in the middle of a lecture he knew almost no one was listening to, so the Hokage's interruption was actually a welcome break for both teacher and students.
"Ah good afternoon Hokage-sama." The children echoed his hello in an unruly chorus that made the teacher blush and the Hokage laugh. Iruka spoke up. "Perfect timing Hokage-sama. Would you be willing to help me explain why chakra control is so important to a ninja? I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer."
The Leader of the Leaf smiled but shook his head. "Not at the moment no." he said. He turned and addressed the children. "I'm afraid I have to steal Iruka-sensei away for a few moments. Please take this time to read up on chakra control. That would be page eighty-four in your books I believe." Groans from several of the students followed the Hokage and the teacher out into the hall.
Once the door was shut Iruka stiffened to attention. "What do you wish to ask of me Hokage-sama?"
The old man waved the younger teacher out of his ramrod stance. "I have a bit of a dilemma." he said. "A young man will be returning to the village after a very long time away. He has an education of sorts and has been well trained. I believe you know Jiriaya."
Iruka's eyes widened a bit. "No sir, I don't know him personally but I know his reputation as one of the three Sennin."
"Well he has been the boy's mentor and teacher for most of his life. They have finally decided to return and the boy needs to be put on a team. The one problem is they won't be returning till a week or so before the fall Chuunin exam."
The teacher stiffened as he thought about the wrench that the Hokage had just thrown into his plans. It was going to be very difficult to get any group put together that close to a Chuunin exam. They would have almost no time to learn team work or even get to know each other. He doubted they would make it very far if they tried for the exam. "I see what you mean Hokage-sama." Iruka said quietly.
The Hokage sighed. He knew what he was asking of Iruka. It was a tough problem that he was laying on the young man's shoulders. After several moments of thinking Iruka looked back up at his Hokage. "I think I may have a solution to the problem. There are several very good students in the class that stand out as loners or high achievers. If the boy in question has been trained by Jiriaya-sama then he must be fairly good. I can think of two students that might be able to handle this type of situation and still be able to be ready for the Chuunin exam."
Iruka slid the door part way open and pointed to two students. "Haruna Sakura is an A student and has decent fighting skills." He pointed to a pink haired girl who was busily studying her book. She was one of the few who was. But both men noticed her occasional glances towards a young man sitting a row down from her. Iruka pointed to him as the second student.
"Uchiha Sasuke is already well known to you I'm sure." Iruka said. The Third nodded. "He is the best fighter in the class and has a great mind as well. His bloodline also helps. He is the loner but I believe he can be molded into a good team player over time."
The Third nodded. Iruka had chosen well. Now he just needed to find a Jounin that would be able to mold them into a good team in short order. He smiled as he thought of the perfect person for the job.
"Very well. Make sure those two are on the same team. I have just the teacher for them. I'll have him brief them on the situation at their first meeting after the team assignments. With less then a full squad they won't be doing normal missions very often so that means lots of time for training. Thank you very much Iruka. Now I think you asked for help teaching your students about Chakra control didn't you?"
Iruka smiled, glad to have been a help and even happier to have the best ninja in Konoha helping him out for a while.
Twelve Years Later...
Trees had grown, rocks had been weathered, and people had grown and aged in the twelve years since the Fourth's death had stopped the rampaging Nine Tails Fox. Konoha had rebuilt after its partial destruction and had even managed a nice boom in population since then. Many ninja had risen in rank and fallen in battle during that time. Students at the academy had also come and gone. And memories had changed or forgotten. The people of Konoha knew, or thought they knew, the history of their glorious village. But like much of history, it had been influenced by those in power. In the case of the Fourth's death and the events surrounding it, it happened to be a good change.
The Third Hokage had sworn the ninja that had survived the battle or that knew of it's end to silence. He had spread the story that the Fourth had sealed the beast away inside himself then died to make sure the beast didn't come back. The public was satisfied with the story and let it stand, thinking that it was the truth. Soon even most of the ninja who actually knew the truth had begun to forget it and accept the alternate story.
Even the great Hokage himself began to put the truth to the back of his mind. Duties called for more and more of his time. To prevent himself from putting it completely from his mind he placed a picture of the Fourth opposite his desk. This supplemented his almost daily trip to the monument. But even this became almost nothing more then habit after twelve years. So when he received a note from Jiriaya it took him a few moments to think of why his old student might be writing to him.
He had been signing off on a trade delegation paper that would hopefully solve the local merchant's problems with their overabundance of ramen when his aid came in with the mid-day mail. He put the legal paper aside and received the small stack of letters and scrolls with a smile, happy to get away at least for a moment, from those big words and money matters. He was a ninja after all.
A letter or two from a friend, some official notices from the local lord, and, at the very back of the pile, a small beaten scroll. After running through the notices the Third picked up the scroll and looked at it. It was a small dirty little thing and looked very out of place among the other mail. He turned it over and saw a familiar mark pressed into the wax seal the held the scroll closed. (the same symbol/word as on Jiriaya's head protector)
The old man smiled as he recognized Jiriaya's mark and began opening the scroll. As he did a little warning bell started ringing in his brain. Why would Jiriaya be writing to him? He never wrote. The warning didn't register until he read the first line of the short letter.
*Both Naruto and I are of the belief that he is ready to return to Konoha.*
The old ninja froze and his eyes back tracked across the line and read it again. The warning bell finally struck the right note. He blinked his eyes then continued to read.
*Therefore we will be returning to town a week before the Fall Chuunin exam. Present circumstances prevent us from returning for Genin graduation and team assignments so please prepare for the addition of one additional Genin on a team for the exam. Both of us are confident he could pass without a team but better to be prepared. We both look forward to it.*
Jiriaya's signature was scratched at the bottom. The Third rolled the little scroll back up and placed it back on his desk. He looked at the calender on his wall and saw that the Genin graduation would be held in less then a week. He had to act fast if he was going to get Naruto a position on one of the teams.
With a quick motion that didn't match his age, the Hokage stood and strode from his office. "I am going to the academy for a while." he said as he passed his aid working at the front desk.
The academy was a five minute walk from the ninja administration but he made it in three. The Hokage knew exactly what teacher to go to. He had been watching the roster of children in this years class and had been surprised to find that the Uchiha boy was among the students. The prodigy child of the dead Uchiha clan was some what of a legend already. His skill at both jutsu and attracting females were already the talk of the town.
When the Hokage walked into Iruka's classroom the noise died down and a shushed silence fell on the children. Iruka had been in the middle of a lecture he knew almost no one was listening to, so the Hokage's interruption was actually a welcome break for both teacher and students.
"Ah good afternoon Hokage-sama." The children echoed his hello in an unruly chorus that made the teacher blush and the Hokage laugh. Iruka spoke up. "Perfect timing Hokage-sama. Would you be willing to help me explain why chakra control is so important to a ninja? I would greatly appreciate any help you could offer."
The Leader of the Leaf smiled but shook his head. "Not at the moment no." he said. He turned and addressed the children. "I'm afraid I have to steal Iruka-sensei away for a few moments. Please take this time to read up on chakra control. That would be page eighty-four in your books I believe." Groans from several of the students followed the Hokage and the teacher out into the hall.
Once the door was shut Iruka stiffened to attention. "What do you wish to ask of me Hokage-sama?"
The old man waved the younger teacher out of his ramrod stance. "I have a bit of a dilemma." he said. "A young man will be returning to the village after a very long time away. He has an education of sorts and has been well trained. I believe you know Jiriaya."
Iruka's eyes widened a bit. "No sir, I don't know him personally but I know his reputation as one of the three Sennin."
"Well he has been the boy's mentor and teacher for most of his life. They have finally decided to return and the boy needs to be put on a team. The one problem is they won't be returning till a week or so before the fall Chuunin exam."
The teacher stiffened as he thought about the wrench that the Hokage had just thrown into his plans. It was going to be very difficult to get any group put together that close to a Chuunin exam. They would have almost no time to learn team work or even get to know each other. He doubted they would make it very far if they tried for the exam. "I see what you mean Hokage-sama." Iruka said quietly.
The Hokage sighed. He knew what he was asking of Iruka. It was a tough problem that he was laying on the young man's shoulders. After several moments of thinking Iruka looked back up at his Hokage. "I think I may have a solution to the problem. There are several very good students in the class that stand out as loners or high achievers. If the boy in question has been trained by Jiriaya-sama then he must be fairly good. I can think of two students that might be able to handle this type of situation and still be able to be ready for the Chuunin exam."
Iruka slid the door part way open and pointed to two students. "Haruna Sakura is an A student and has decent fighting skills." He pointed to a pink haired girl who was busily studying her book. She was one of the few who was. But both men noticed her occasional glances towards a young man sitting a row down from her. Iruka pointed to him as the second student.
"Uchiha Sasuke is already well known to you I'm sure." Iruka said. The Third nodded. "He is the best fighter in the class and has a great mind as well. His bloodline also helps. He is the loner but I believe he can be molded into a good team player over time."
The Third nodded. Iruka had chosen well. Now he just needed to find a Jounin that would be able to mold them into a good team in short order. He smiled as he thought of the perfect person for the job.
"Very well. Make sure those two are on the same team. I have just the teacher for them. I'll have him brief them on the situation at their first meeting after the team assignments. With less then a full squad they won't be doing normal missions very often so that means lots of time for training. Thank you very much Iruka. Now I think you asked for help teaching your students about Chakra control didn't you?"
Iruka smiled, glad to have been a help and even happier to have the best ninja in Konoha helping him out for a while.