Reincarnation of Asura

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto…sadly.

Chapter 4: Academy Exam & Graduation

'Thinking'

"Talking"

"Bijū / Summons Talking"

"Jutsu (Technique)"

- 4 Years Later -

BOOM!

A massive crash shook the Senju Compound's training area as rubble flew into the sky. The massive tree's leaves shook as multiple impacts continued to rain down on the ground by its roots.

The cause of the impacts was an older blonde-haired woman sparring with an eleven-year-old blond boy. The woman was fighting with a finger that shook the very ground with each dodged strike, while the boy fought with his fists, causing smaller impacts that dealt less damage than the woman's.

"Kongōken: Shō (Adamantine Fist: Impact)!" The boy called out, slamming his fist into the ground as the woman raced towards him. The moment his fist impacted with the ground, it began to shake as a small crater formed around him. The crater altered the terrain enough to force her to disengage her attack, allowing the boy a moment to catch his breath as they grinned at each other.

Had someone not known who they were, the pair could have easily been mistaken for mother and son with how similar they looked and dressed.

Naruto, having shot up like a weed thanks to the healthier diet Tsunade and Shizune forced him to have, stood proudly at a respectable 5'2; making him tied with Shino Aburame for the tallest in his class.

He was dressed in a sleeveless forest-green kimono top tied with a black obi, similar to Tsunade's grey one, and a pair of long black pants that ended with black open-toed sandals. His spiky blonde hair was cut shorter, with two bangs allowed to hang down on either side of his face that he wrapped with white cloth (*Note: Asura's hairstyle without the cloth around his forehead*).

Naruto chose to mimic his shishō's clothing style to show his respect for the woman, though he kept his kimono closed up to the neck while Tsunade left hers open enough to reveal a generous portion of her massive cleavage.

The years of training had done wonders in helping him focus his boundless energy, repeated exercise and chakra control had calmed down his chakra enough that Naruto was eventually able to sit still through his lessons without issue. Because of it, his grades had shot up dramatically until he sat quite comfortably near the top of the rankings.

While he could have gone for Rookie of the Year, Tsunade reminded him that a shinobi never reveals everything they can do, and that those who attained that title usually received more scrutiny than others.

So instead, he kept his grades right where he wanted them. And because the top two scorers of the year always got drafted into the same Genin team together, Hinata had followed in his footsteps and scored herself just below a civilian girl named Sakura Haruno.

As if Sakura had any chance of being better than Hinata; the pink-haired girl couldn't even through a proper punch, all she had going for her was a complete memorization of their textbooks that the other students knew would be useless once they left the Academy.

That wasn't to say Naruto and Hinata had vastly outgrown their classmates…even with 4 years of training and sparring together, they had only reached mid-Genin level in terms of strength. But the foundations they had build for their futures were far more solid than the others, who gave only mediocre attempts at training and relied solely on the weakest of their clans' techniques.

"Alright gaki, that's enough taijutsu practice." Tsunade called out, calling an end to their spar as Naruto walked over to stand next to her. Before, his blond hair used to only reach her waist. Now, he was already up to the bottom of her chest.

Granted, Tsunade was taller than the average kunoichi at 5'7, but Naruto's growth showed that he would easily overtake that as he got older, until he reached somewhere near 6'0.

"Now, show me the three Academy jutsu." She ordered, wanting to make sure he had everything down before he headed over to the Academy. "Go!"

"Henge (Transformation)!" Naruto replied, weaving a quick few handsigns before ending on ram. With a quick puff of smoke, his appearance changed into an exact replica of Tsunade's, including her pigtails and diamond seal. This technique, despite being taught in the Academy, was actually the very same technique Tsunade used constantly to appear younger than she was.

Walking around him in a circle to make sure everything was in order, she nodded once before ordering him to continue, "Next!" As she did, her fist went sailing through the air towards his face, humming with the strength of Kongōriki (Adamantine Power).

Thankfully, Tsunade had trained him in using the next technique until he only needed one handsign. Which probably just saved his life as he quickly formed the snake hand seal. "Kawarimi (Body Replacement)!"

In another poof of smoke, he was replaced with a single log that met a quick end as Tsunade's fist obliterated it, sending pieces of wood flying off in the distance.

Walking out from behind one of the thicker roots he had hidden behind, Naruto wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead at how close he came to being hit. Seeing her approving nod, he smiled before quickly rushing over to his original location for the final jutsu.

"Alright, that's two of three gaki. You've done well so far, but let's see if you can go all the way."

With a determined nod, Naruto prepared to use his most challenging jutsu; one that Tsunade had come up with a unique workaround to solve his problems with it. "Bunshin (Clone)!"

Unlike the previous times, instead of a small puff of smoke, a large cloud filled the area before clearing away to reveal over a dozen afterimages of Naruto.

Because his chakra reverses were so massive, and his control hadn't yet come close to reaching Tsunade's level, he still couldn't create a single Bunshin like the Academy test called for. Instead, he needed to create at least a dozen of them in order for it to work. Which, thankfully, would still count as a passing mark since the test called for 1 or more Bunshin, without any limitation on the total amount.

"Good." Tsunade replied with satisfaction, pleased to see that her godson was ready to pass the Graduation Exams.

They had originally talked about having him take the exams early, but Naruto refused to leave Hinata behind, and the girl's clan thought she was incapable of graduating early due to her perceived lack of skill.

While the Hyūga Clan still looked down on Hinata for being softer and kinder than her younger sister, their opinions had slowly begun changing after she began sparring with Naruto. Her skill with the Jūken was improving rapidly, and there were even whispers about whether or not she'd reach the same level of skill as her prodigious cousin Neji.

Hinata's father Hiashi apparently approved of her spending time with Naruto now that the results of their time together were starting to show.

She had confided with Naruto that her father struggled with being tough on her because clan laws dictated either she or her little sister Hanabi would one day be given the Juinjutsu: Kago no Tori (Cursed Mark: Caged Bird), forcing one of them into a life of servitude as a member of the branch family.

For some reason, that neither of them understood but Tsunade apparently did -if the gleam in her eye meant anything-, Hiashi became relieved after learning about her close friendship with Naruto.

At the very least, her clan's attitude towards her had slowly started to change in a similar manner to how the civilian population of Konoha began changing their opinions about Naruto.

Over the last few years, Konoha's population finally started -excuse the pun- turning over a new leaf.

While there were a few die-hard haters that glared at Naruto whenever he walked by, everyone else came to the realization that he wasn't the Kyūbi, and was actually just a boy like any other. His induction into the Senju Clan had been the initial catalyst for their change in thoughts, but his ending of pranks and general calmer attitude finally began to endear him to the population.

'I wonder what they'll think of him once everyone finds out about his Mokuton.' Tsunade pondered to herself.

Until now, the only ones who knew that Naruto had awaked the Shodaime's Kekkei Genkai were the Council, and they were all ordered -under pain of death by S-Rank secret- not to reveal the information until after Naruto made Genin.

Brushing off those thoughts, she focused back on Naruto as he waited patiently for her next order. 'Naruto-kun really has grown calmer than he used to be.' While she usually called him gaki (brat) to his face, Tsunade was much kinder to him in her thoughts and when they weren't acting as master and apprentice.

"Very good! Now, show me a jutsu that isn't from the Academy!"

"Hai!" Naruto replied, quickly moving his hands to form a different handsign. "Mokuton: Moku Bunshin (Wood Release: Wood Clone)!" From his back, wood started to rapidly grow out of his flesh before changing into an exact replica of him. Glancing at his perfect clone, Naruto smiled happily at what was one of his favorite jutsu.

The Moku Bunshin, unlike the regular Academy-taught Bunshin, was a solid clone that could take multiple hits before it was dispelled, and could merge with plants or trees for scouting. Even better, it could travel long distances away from him while still being able to communicate with him.

From what Tsunade had said when she first gave him the scroll containing the information on how to do the jutsu (one of over a dozen scrolls in the Senju Clan's library that Hashirama himself had written down, in the hopes that one of his descendants would awaken the Mokuton), the Nidaime Hokage Tobirama had created the Kage Bunshin (Shadow Clone) as an imitation of his older brother's Moku Bunshin.

Personally, Naruto preferred his Bunshin over the Nidaime's, though the transfer of experience that the Kage Bunshin gave was definitely interesting. But Tsunade had forbidden him from learning the technique until he was Chūnin and had the necessary experience to practice it.

After all, the Kage Bunshin was a Kinjutsu (Forbidden Technique) that had killed others who tried to use it without preparing themselves properly.

"Excellent job, gaki!" Tsunade smiled, dropping her mentor-like façade as she pulled him into a squeezing hug while cheering. "You've got this Exam in the bag!"

Seeing that his face was turning blue from the strength behind her hug, she laughed loudly before letting him go. "That's it for training today. You should start making your way over to the Academy, unless you plan on being late?" She asked, raising a single blonde eyebrow as he quickly shook his head.

"I'm going, I'm going! Thanks again, Shishō!" Naruto called out, turning away from the older woman as he sprinted through the forest around their home towards the Academy.

- Academy -

Waiting patiently outside the Academy gates, an 11-year-old Hinata scanned the crowd of incoming students, hoping to spot the familiar blond hair of her best friend.

She had grown from the tiny little thing she used to be in the first year at the Academy. Now, Hinata stood at 4'11, the tallest girl in their class. She had kept the long navy-blue pants and sandals, but had removed the sleeves of her cream-colored hooded-jacket to allow for easier movements. While the rest of her clan preferred long billowing sleeves, she didn't like how they slid up and down her arms with each movement.

The fact that her bestfriend went sleeveless as well had nothing to do with her decision…not at all.

Nope.

…okay, maybe. But if anyone asked, she would deny it by saying that she was actually emulating Tsunade-sama.

Besides her apparent disliking of sleeves, Hinata had also grown out her hair slightly, letting it go from a pixie-cut to around her chin. A Hyūga was only allowed to grow out their hair after they graduated the Academy, and then it was considered a status symbol amongst the clan to have the longest and smoothest hair.

Naruto had commented to her how the long hair made all of the men in her clan look too feminine, but agreed that the long hair did look good on Hyūga women.

"Oi, Hinata!"

Speaking of her bestfriend, she watched with a happy smile as he came running up to her. As he stopped, her white eyes glanced at his toned arms that flexed when he brought a hand up to comb through his shorter hair.

Trailing her gaze over his appearance, Hinata admired how much he had grown since they became friends. While she wasn't comfortable with getting into a relationship yet, wanting to wait until she became a Chūnin and had furthered her career, she would freely admit that Naruto fit every quality she was looking for in a potential partner.

"Are you ready for the Exam?" He asked, his voice breaking through her thoughts as she nodded.

They had practiced together plenty of times in preparation for the Graduation Exam, and she was confident they would both pass with flying colors.

"H-Hai!" She replied, a barely noticeable stutter that she had been working on getting rid of with Naruto's help. With less pressure being put on her by the clan, and her father finally showing a kinder attitude, Hinata was slowly breaking out of her shell and into the young woman she was always meant to be.

Taking his hand, Hinata led the way into the Academy, bypassing the other students as she directed them to their usual seats in the back of the classroom.

"Quiet down everyone! It's time for the written portion of your Graduation Exam!" Iruka shouted over the loud conversations the students were having.

Several of them were bragging about how they would become Chūnin within their first month as a Genin, and others were dreaming about saving princesses, defeating armies, and overthrowing tyrannical governments single-handedly. Granted, most of the students saying such things were those who didn't belong to a clan, so their misunderstanding of a shinobi's life could be forgiven.

The fact that Kiba Inuzuka, Heir of the Inuzuka Clan, was the loudest of them all despite sitting at the very bottom of the class rankings, was probably the most embarrassing.

The Inuzuka Clan had always been known for their brash attitudes and confrontational personalities, but his comments were starting to push the boundary of what was considered acceptable behavior for an Heir.

Thankfully, he was saved from further embarrassment by Iruka quieting everyone down and passing out the tests alongside his part Mizuki.

Naruto never liked Mizuki, the Chūnin was obviously one of his few die-hard haters who tried to make his life miserable. Whether it was "losing" his exams, going harder on him in Taijutsu exams than on any of the other students, or just plain glaring at Naruto whenever the man thought no-one was looking.

As the teachers passed out the exams, he was grateful when it was Iruka who handed it to them. Despite Iruka's earlier dislike of Naruto, the man seemed to grow out of it around the same time as the rest of the village, eventually overcoming his hatred towards the Kyūbi and finally noticing the young boy he was unjustly taking his anger out on.

Returning the smile Iruka gave him, Naruto took the Exam before he started reading through the questions.

'Question 1: What is the name of the Shodaime Hokage?' Feeling a sweatdrop forming, Naruto realized that the written portion was going to be far easier than he originally feared.

After breezing through the Written Exam, Naruto waited alongside Hinata (who had finished just as quickly) for the rest of the class to get done before they all headed outside for the Taijutsu Exam.

- Academy Sparring Grounds -

"Sasuke Uchiha!" Iruka read off the next name on the list.

As the "Last Loyal Uchiha" walked into the taijutsu sparring ring, all of the girls in the class (except for Hinata) squealed with excitement as they watched the brooding Sasuke get into the Uchiha Clan's fighting stance.

From what Naruto could recall, much of the style required the user to actually have the Sharingan activated, using its predictive abilities to counter the opponent's movements before they could even follow through with their attacks. Without it, many of the styles' moves were fairly useless to an untrained user.

Something which Sasuke seemed to think he was the exception to as he took the stance without any concern. "Begin!"

As Mizuki ran at him with a very telegraphed punch, Sasuke dodged it quickly before sending two jabs at the chūnin's unguarded stomach, not even holding back his strength as the hits caused Mizuki to hunch over.

Using the opportunity, Sasuke kicked at the back of his knee, forcing Mizuki to kneel before doing an unnecessarily fancy spin to kick at his side, sending him sliding across the ground until he stopped just outside of the ring.

"Winner, Sasuke!" Iruka announced, his words acting as a catalyst that had all of the Uchiha fan-girls screams and cheering in applause. "Next up, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Stepping into the sparring ring as Mizuki brushed off the dust from Sasuke's kick, Naruto frowned at the cruel gleam in the Chūnin's eyes. Getting into the initial stance for Kongōken, he watched as Mizuki shifted into an advanced taijutsu stance that was taught to those without a clan. Already, Naruto knew that the man was going to take this far too seriously.

"Begin!"

Before Naruto could even move, Mizuki was already within a foot of him, sending a fast punch straight to the face. Wide-eyed at the speed, it was only thanks to his years of training under Tsunade that he was able to dodge it.

Though the move left him open to a fast knee to the face, knocking his head back as he took two quick backwards steps. Feeling his heels touch the edge of the sparing right, Naruto frowned at the man's obvious attempt to make him fail this Exam.

'Fine…if that's how he wants to fight, so be it.' Naruto thought, watching as Mizuki once again raced towards him with another punch. Waiting until he swung, Naruto ducked underneath the punch as he sent his own towards the chūnin's unguarded stomach. Channeling chakra into his fist like Tsunade taught him, he called out, "Kongōken: Shō (Adamantine Fist: Impact)!"

The moment his fist made contact with Mizuki, the man's body crumpled around his fist as he was sent hurtling backwards, flying well out of the ring before skidding across the ground.

Watching as the chūnin groaned in pain, Naruto frowned at how much progress he still had to make before reaching Tsunade's level with the technique. Had it been her, Mizuki would have been sent flying off into the distance with most of his bones shattered, or perhaps even dead if she was trying hard enough. Granted, he wasn't actually trying to kill the guy, but he also hadn't been holding back very much on that hit.

"Winner, Naruto!" A worried Iruka called out, his attention focused on his friend as Mizuki struggled to get up from the hit.

Moving back to the group of wide-eyed students whose gaze followed him silently as he walked by, Naruto approached a frowning Hinata who stood a few steps apart from the crowd with her arms crossed.

"…what?" Naruto asked.

"N-Nothing." Hinata shook her head. "That was a g-good hit. You've g-gotten better at using it s-since our last spar."

It took him a moment to realize that she hadn't been frowning at him, but at Mizuki, who had just finished testing the boys and was now testing the girls in the class. Sometimes it was hard for him to make out where her white eyes were looking, and just what her expressions meant. Yes, they had been bestfriends for four years now, but he also wasn't the most observant person in the world.

"Hinata Hyūga!" Iruka's voice called out, drawing their attention towards the sparring ring where Sakura was just now vacating.

From what they had seen out of the corner of their eyes, Mizuki had gone for a slow punch to her face that anyone should have dodged. Instead, she had tripped over herself trying to get out of the way and had fallen into the teacher, sending him tumbling backwards out of the ring. Granted, it still counted as a pass…but by technicality.

Watching as Hinata moved into the ring, Naruto was surprised at the slight anger in her eyes as she waited for Iruka to signal the spar to begin. It seems she knew that Mizuki hadn't been playing fair when they fought, and was looking to get even for trying to hurt her friend.

"Begin!"

The moment the words left Iruka's mouth, Hinata was already crossing the distance between them, placing her within arm's reach of a surprised Mizuki who hadn't expected the usually soft-spoken girl to be so aggressive.

His moment of surprise cost him as Hinata struck out with a palm to his stomach, right where Naruto had hit him earlier. "Jūken: Shōtei (Gentle Fist: Palm Bottom)!"

The hit, despite looking like it wouldn't hurt, caused the chūnin to collapse like a puppet with its strings cut.

The move was one of the first and most basic techniques in the Jūken taijutsu style. But it worked surprisingly well for getting her point across as Mizuki laid there groaning in pain. Unlike with the hit Naruto gave him, Hinata's seemed to keep him down for the count. His raged breathing the only sound in the otherwise silent area before he started coughing up blood.

"Mizuki!" Iruka cried out, running to check on his friend as Hinata walked back Naruto.

Settling for raising a single eyebrow wordlessly, Naruto watched as a light dusting of pink appeared on Hinata's face as she poked her fingers together in embarrassment. Chuckling at how she could go from determined one second, back to embarrassed the next, he shook his head fondly before gently prying her hands apart to intertwine their fingers.

Waiting there quietly as Iruka helped Mizuki stand up, the two Chūnin switched places as Iruka took over being the rest of the female students' opponent while Mizuki shakily stood there jotting down the scores. There were only a few girls left after Hinata, so the rest of the Taijutsu Exam passed quickly before they were ushered back into the classroom.

"When you hear your name, please step quietly into the other room for your Ninjutsu Exam. Once you are done, you'll return to your seats and wait until everyone else has finished." Making sure there were no questions, Iruka stepped into the examination room before closing the door behind him.

After he left, the students started whispering to each other excitedly. Some were far more nervous than others after having failed the Taijutsu Exam, or having struggled with the Written Exam. There was a tension in the room coming from the noticeable vacancies in a few seats that sat empty as students who failed both Exams were already sent home.

Relaxed in his seat, Naruto ignored the tension that the others felt as he let the hum of conversation fill his ears, waiting patiently for his name to be called. The Ninjutsu Exam was going to be the easiest of the three for him; and since he already knew that he'd passed the first two, his promotion to Genin was all but guaranteed at this point.

Their final scores were to be counted after finishing the Ninjutsu Exam, and if they passed, they'd receive their Hitai-ate (Forehead Protector). If they failed, they'd be sent home to spare them the embarrassment of walking back into the classroom empty-handed.

As names were called out one by one, students disappeared into the examination room before the door shut behind them. Some would reenter the classroom with a hitai-ate proudly wrapped around their heads or arms, while others wouldn't return at all; leading to louder whispering as rumors spread over the reasoning behind someone's failing.

"Hinata Hyūga!"

As her name was called, Naruto gave a comforting squeeze to her hand before letting go as she walked into the other room. Minutes later, she returned with a hitai-ate wrapped around her neck.

Smiling brightly, he waited until she was back at their desk before pulling her into a warm hug. Leaning his mouth down to her ear, he whispered, "Congratulations Hinata-chan."

Feeling her arms wrap around him to hug back, her entire body relaxed as she sighed with relief in his ear.

While the Ninjutsu Exam was the easiest one for him, it wasn't the same for Hinata. Because the Hyūga Clan believed all types of Jutsu that weren't part of the Jūken were lesser, there was very little training she could get at home to prepare.

While the Academy Three jutsu were the exception to their beliefs, the clan still preferred to not think about them after a member had graduated. Which led to Naruto inviting her over to the Senju Compound several times to help her practice them.

Settling back down in their seats, they waited silently as the others were called until it was finally his turn. "Naruto Uzumaki!"

"G-Good luck, Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered, watching as he strode confidently into the examination room.

Stepping inside, Naruto noticed that the room was relatively empty except for a wood table that the two chūnin sat behind, with a half-empty box of hitai-ate's on it, and a simple wooden chair in the corner of the room.

Moving into the center of the room, a smiling Iruka and frowning Mizuki waited until he was facing them before they started his exam.

"Alright Naruto, it's time for your Ninjutsu Exam. Don't be nervous now, just keep calm and do it like you've practiced." Iruka encouraged, his tone genuine as he tried to offer what little assurances he could to the student he used to resent. "Now then, first one up is the Henge…whenever you're ready."

Nodding, Naruto formed the necessary handsigns before calling out, "Henge (Transformation)!"

In a small puff of smoke, instead of a young blond-haired boy, an identical copy of the scarred chūnin took his place.

Glancing over the transformation, Iruka smiled as he ticked off a box on his clipboard. "Excellent. Now, I'm going to gently toss this kunai at you, and I want you to replace it with that chair in the corner." He said, holding up a standard-issue kunai while motioning to the chair in the corner. The marks and scratches on its surface showing that the kunai had struck it multiple times already.

Waiting until the kunai was tossed, Naruto formed the single handsign he needed for the technique. "Kawarimi (Body Replacement)!"

As another puff of smoke appeared, the kunai disappeared within it. Moments later the sound of a THUNK was heard as the kunai pierced something wooden. When the smoke finally dissipated, the chūnin's saw that the chair had taken Naruto's place, and the kunai was now stuck into the backrest.

Turning their gaze to the corner of the room, they spotted a smiling Naruto waving at them happily before he walked over to pick up the chair and move it back to its original spot. Pulling the kunai out of the backrest, he handed it over to Iruka who gave a thankful smile.

"Last one…you ready?"

A single nod.

"Good, then show us the Bunshin."

Taking a deep breath, Naruto weaved the necessary handsigns. "Bunshin (Clone)!" This time, a massive cloud of smoke filled the examination room, sending the two chūnin into a coughing fit as they tried to wave the smoke out of their faces.

Once they could see properly, they boggled at the dozen afterimages of the blond crowding the room. "W-What?" Mizuki stuttered out in confusion as Iruka blinked furiously.

When he realized it wasn't his imagination, Iruka's face broke into a wide smile as he congratulated the dozen Naruto's. "Amazing!" Glancing down at his clipboard, he quickly ticked off a few boxes before writing something down.

Once he put the pen down, he gave a soft clap as he turned his attention back to Naruto. "Congratulations Naruto, you've passed the Ninjutsu Exam with flying colors!" Motioning to the box of hitai-ate's, the Bunshins dispelled themselves, leaving a single Naruto in the middle of the room. "Come grab your hitai-ate… You've earned it."

Beaming, Naruto grabbed one at random. Staring down at the blue cloth that the metal plate was attached to, he frowned at the color, realizing he'd need to see about getting it replaced with a black one. Shrugging his shoulders, he tied it around his neck like Hinata had before making his way back into the classroom.

Quickly moving past the other students, he was enveloped in a tight hug as Hinata wrapped her arms around his neck. "C-Congratulations Naruto-kun! I k-knew you could do it!"

Pulling back from the hug, he smiled at his bestfriend before an idea struck him. "What say after this we get some cinnamon buns to celebrate?" Seeing the sparkle in her white eyes as she started drooling, he laughed. "I'll take that as a yes."

Nodding vigorously, Hinata pulled him to their seats before she quickly started daydreaming about her favorite food while Naruto watched her with an amused smile.

Her obsession with cinnamon buns even surpassed his love of ramen. Granted, he had cut back on how much ramen he could eat thanks to Tsunade and Shizune's lessons on proper dieting. But that didn't change the fact he still thought it was the best food in all the Elemental Nations.

When the last of the students had been called in to take their exam, Iruka and Mizuki walked out of the examination room to stand in front of the graduates.

As Mizuki glanced briefly in Naruto's direction with a frown, Iruka smiled happily as he congratulated the class. "I just want to say a quick Congratulations to you all on graduating from the Academy. After you leave here, some of you will be called to return here tomorrow and receive placement on a Genin Team. Those that don't, will need to make their way to the Genin Reserves Building next to the Hokage's Tower."

At the mention of the Reserves, the class began whispering to each other quietly before Iruka cleared his throat, silencing the room once again and drawing everyone's attention back on him. "For now, you should all go home and celebrate with your friends and family. As of this moment, you are all now officially Genin of Konoha!"

With a cheer, the class quickly rushed out of the classroom to see a massive crowd of parents, family, and friends waiting for the newly-graduated Genin.

Spotting a smiling Tsunade and waving Shizune standing next to the calm-faced Hiashi, Naruto gently pulled Hinata by the hand over to their families. Once they approached, the older women quickly pulled the two into bear-hugs as they expressed their congratulations.

When Shizune had let go of a blushing Hinata, she turned to look up at her father's calm expression staring down at her. Feeling her hands start to shake at the sudden tension, she gasped when Hiashi's face broke into a proud smile. "Well done, Hinata."

Wide-eyed, she almost had a heart attack when her usually stoic father pulled her into a warm -if brief- hug. As he let go, Hinata felt her lips moving before she could even process what was happened. "T-Thank you, Tou-san (Father)."

Feeling Naruto's hand grasp hers in support, she realized that a tear had fallen down her cheek as she gave a soft, heartfelt smile.

This was the best day ever…and she hadn't even gotten her cinnamon buns yet!

- END -

Author Notes:

And that's 4 Chapters.

Any ideas on what team they'll be placed in, or who their Sensei/teammate will be?

Obviously, I haven't put a lot of focus on the other students. That's because the story mainly follows Naruto and Hinata's perspectives, and they haven't been interacting with the others yet. You'll see more characters come into the story now that they're Genin.

Hope you still are liking it so far! Thanks for checking out my story.