If it had been any other day, Iruka would have found himself frustrated to no end trying to get students to settle down in their seats and study for their exams. If it had been any other day, he would be going around catching students sleeping or eating in class, and he would have meted out detention to such students. If it had been any other day, Iruka would have found himself utterly exasperated by Naruto's pranks, that livened up the day and created riots at the same time. If it had been any other day, Iruka would have been wondering just why exactly Sakura and Sasuke chose to involve themselves in Naruto's tricks when Sakura was a hardworking and very intelligent student, and Sasuke was a genius ninja.
As it turned out, it wasn't any other day.
All the students were, for once, highly attentive, leaning forward to look at Iruka. None were asleep, or eating or even reading material unrelated to what Iruka was teaching. Naruto was, for once, staring at him instead of playing pranks. Sasuke and Sakura sat close to Naruto, also staring at Iruka. Iruka's eyebrow twitched. If only he could have such attentiveness on other days. Iruka knew that Naruto wasn't playing pranks simply because he was tied up, and that once the ropes were off, riots would begin. Sasuke was seated behind Naruto, not tied up, but looking apologetic. Sakura, like Sasuke, wasn't tied up, and was also looking apologetic. Naruto, however, had a defiant look pasted onto his face.
"Your exams are tomorrow, you idiot!" Iruka scolded, ramming his fist into Naruto's head. "What are you doing running around outside and defacing the Hokage monument?" Naruto grinned at him and didn't reply, which only served to make Iruka even more furious than he already was. A vein throbbed on his forehead, and he resisted the urge to slap Naruto with detention for a year. He turned around and faced the rest of the class.
"Henge test!" He yelled, and the class groaned, slumping in their seats. "Line up according to your names, and do a Henge to look like me!" The students shuffled forward, forming a line.
"I told you – painting on the Hokages' faces wasn't a good idea." Sasuke sighed as he and Naruto made their way to the back of the class. Naruto shrugged.
"Hey, you were the one who dumped an entire bucket on the old geezer's nose!"
"It was an accident, I tripped!"
"Sure you did." Sakura smiled as the two bickered all the way to the back of the class. Naruto had initially insisted that he do it alone, since he knew he was going to get into trouble anyway, and he didn't want the other two to be caught with him. They, well, just Sakura, actually, had forced him to take her along, and she had dragged Sasuke along for the ride.
"Heh heh! I can paint on the Hokage monument and you guys can't!" She recalled Naruto calling out to the stunned bystanders. "Doesn't that make me better than you?"
"Haruno Sakura!" Iruka called, and she hurried forward, doing a perfect Henge, receiving a thumbs-up from her teacher. She smiled and returned to her seat, watching as Hinata went next. She was confident that the exam tomorrow would be easy, after all, she had spent 3 solid weeks preparing for it, and she had even studied some Chuunin-level text, ensuring that any text-based test would be a piece of cake for her. She knew Sasuke would have no problems passing as well, after all, he was the top student in every possible test, save for written tests. There, he often lost to Sakura, although he didn't seem to mind. It gave his fan girls one less reason to chase after him.
Naruto would probably not have any problems too, she supposed, as he often set Sasuke as his rival and would come close to Sasuke's scores in the physical tests, except for target practice and Bunshin practice. He wasn't too bad at target practice, but he was no wonder at it either. Bunshin practice… if that were to come out for the exam, Naruto would be pretty much doomed to failure. Try as he might, he just could not create one good Bunshin.
Written tests weren't his forte, but since he knew so much about the Hokages and what they had done for the village, Sakura was certain he would be able to at least manage a pass. It was a good thing that he had Sakura and Sasuke as friends, she often told the blond haired boy, because he had started out with atrocious results in everything. It was only after the two had started tutoring him and after he had decided that he and Sasuke were lifelong rivals that he started to improve.
"Uzumaki Naruto!" Sakura watched as the mentioned ran eagerly down the stairs, an odd smile on his face. She glanced questioningly at Sasuke, but the boy shrugged, a clueless look on his face. Sakura frowned slightly. She didn't like that strange look on Naruto's face – it foretold chaos.
"Henge!" Naruto yelled, and immediately Sakura's head thudded on her desk. Instead of taking on Iruka's appearance, he had instead transformed into a tall girl with very long blond hair, very large endowments, a very slim and lithe figure and a very playful look on her face. Not to mention that she was very much naked. The entire class was stunned into silence, the guys staring and blushing heavily, and the girls looking scandalized. Iruka's jaw hung open at an almost impossible length, his eyes popped wide open. A second later, he lay twitching on the floor, his nose bleeding, all dignity lost.
"How ya like that?" Naruto whooped, "I call it Oiroke no Jutsu!"
"Don't create stupid jutsus like that, you idiot!" Iruka screamed, plugging his nose and smacking Naruto on his head.
-----
"Hey, Sakura, what do you think is going to come out for the exam?" Naruto asked as the trio walked down the streets to the academy. Sakura shrugged. Even though she had one heck of a brain didn't mean she could read the minds of the teachers! "Sakura!" Naruto whined, poking his face in front of hers, causing Sakura to sigh and shove him away irritably.
"I don't know… Bunshin, maybe?" She grinned evilly as Naruto's face paled considerably. Sasuke himself couldn't resist smirking as Naruto started flailing wildly and tried out his Bunshin no Jutsu, to no avail. A few minutes later – after creating a whole bunch of defective and useless Bunshins – Sasuke and Sakura had dragged Naruto away from the curious townspeople, who were starting to wonder just exactly who the blond haired boy was, and what he was doing swearing loudly every time he created a Bunshin. As the group approached the academy, Sakura caught sight of Naruto's rather… despondent expression, and decided that she ought to cheer him up.
"Cheer up, Naruto! Think of it this way – Bunshins are supposed to distract and confuse the enemy, and yours are so awful that they serve that very purpose!"
Whoops.
Sasuke massaged his temples as Naruto's mood worsened and Sakura realized that she had said the wrong thing. Had the girl… somehow… inherited Naruto's tactlessness? He watched as Naruto slumped to the ground, pouting, and as Sakura quickly tried to make up. He sighed, grabbed hold of Naruto and began to drag him to the school.
"Come on, the exam is starting." He said as Naruto regained his balance and wriggled out of Sasuke's grip.
"But… Bunshin!" Naruto murmured helplessly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure it won't come out for the exam, it was tested in the previous year's exam already anyway." Naruto's face brightened.
"Really?"
"Yeah!" Sakura added, "It'll all be okay, Naruto!"
"Alright! Today I'll pass, get my forehead protector and become an official ninja!" Naruto cheered, his depression vanishing in record time, and he charged into the school in excitement. The other two followed after exchanging exasperated looks, and caught up just as Naruto flung the classroom doors open, announcing his arrival loudly, much to Iruka's annoyance.
"As I was saying, before Naruto so… graciously… interrupted me, today's exam will involve the Bunshin no Jutsu." He paused and glanced around at the class, which was strangely silent. He noted that all of them were staring at the same thing. Naruto. He turned and examined the boy, who was standing smack in the middle of the doorway, eyes shut and mouth drawn in a thin straight line. Sakura and Sasuke, who had been standing behind Naruto, started inching away cautiously.
Naruto's eyes flared open.
"WHAT?!"
-----
The sun was setting, wrapping the sky in a glorious blaze of crimson and molten gold. A gentle breeze swept across the massive city of Konoha, lightly plucking leaves from trees and tossing them into the air, and from there they slowly fluttered down towards the ground. Naruto sat on top of the Hokage monument forlornly, his eyes glazed over, the usual grin absent from his face. He could hear the sounds of children excitedly telling their parents that they had successfully passed the examination in the distance, and he grimaced, lowering his head into his clothes, trying to block out the noise.
Both Sakura and Sasuke had gone before him, and had passed the exam easily. He had watched as they put on their forehead protectors proudly, broad smiles on their faces. He remembered them encouraging him as he nervously entered the examination hall, and he remembered them saying that he would definitely pass. He remembered seeing two unfamiliar Chuunins glare down at him with those same unfriendly, cold gazes the townspeople often gave him. Iruka stood at the back of the examination hall and gave Naruto an encouraging smile as the blond stepped forward.
He had tried his best, he really did, but it just wasn't enough. The Bunshin he created was, as usual, defective. As the examiner announced that he had failed – Naruto hadn't missed the gleeful look on his face, too – Naruto slowly trudged over to the exit dejectedly. Iruka and another Chuunin tried speaking up for Naruto, but to no avail. Mizuki, the other Chuunin was called. Naruto appreciated his kindness, but inwardly flinched as the two examiners glared at him and said: "Such a brat doesn't deserve to pass. His Bunshin is utterly useless, not to mention that he is…" He silenced himself as his partner elbowed him, but that same condescending smirk remained fixed on his face.
Unable to stand it any longer, Naruto fled from the room, taking extra care to make sure that Sasuke and Sakura did not spot him.
He heard the sound of a footstep behind him, and he glanced up in surprise, and took in the face of Mizuki. The Chuunin had an apologetic look on his face as he came closer, though Naruto didn't know what he was sorry for.
"I'm sorry I couldn't help you back there, Naruto." Mizuki said with a tiny, sad smile.
"It's okay… they were right, my Bunshin was useless anyway." Naruto muttered, returning his gaze to the landscape of Konoha. He curled up into a tight ball, and buried his face into his lap. Mizuki continued to stare at him, a thoughtful look on his face. Had Naruto looked up at that exact moment, he would have caught the faintest glimmer of a sly smirk flashing across Mizuki's face. But Naruto didn't look up, not until Mizuki spoke again.
"You know… there is another way you can pass the exam… would you like me to tell you?"
-----
"Hey, Sasuke! Did you see Naruto anywhere?" Sakura called as the raven-haired boy emerged from the academy. She sighed as Sasuke shook his head. Naruto had been missing for almost an hour now, and the two of them had been searching for him ever since they overheard some students say that Naruto had failed the academy examination. Not that they were particularly successful, Naruto had never lost a game of hide-and-seek with them. Ever. They were worried for the boy, they knew that he had been looking forward to passing the exam much more than any of them did, and now that he was missing and news had it he failed the exam, they weren't sure what Naruto would be doing.
"Hey, isn't that him?" Sasuke pointed, and Sakura whirled around, only to see Naruto charging past the academy, an eager look on his face. Huffing in righteous anger, she drew in her breath and screamed Naruto's name, and the boy glanced over.
"What are you doing?" She asked, bordering on going ballistic on Naruto. Sasuke quickly moved away. "We've been looking for you for one hour!" The Uchiha marveled at how fearsome the girl could be when she wanted to, watching bemusedly as she jabbed her finger into Naruto's chest over and over, while Naruto backed away nervously.
"Err… I kinda… failed the exam, but Mizuki-sensei said that I could pass if I sneak into the Hokage-geezer's home, find some scroll and master the skills written in it!" Sakura fell silent, taking in the new information. Almost immediately, she frowned. She had never heard of such a test before, but then again Chuunins were given the freedom to set any sort of test they wanted for the academy exam. However, stealing from the Hokage… test or no, it was still a very serious offense.
"Are you sure he said that, Naruto?" It seemed that Sasuke had his suspicions as well. Naruto nodded energetically.
"Yeah! And I have to hurry, Mizuki-sensei said that I had only till twelve tonight!" He turned and started to run, but Sasuke grabbed hold of his shirt.
"Wait, I'll go too." Both Naruto and Sakura were surprised.
"Eh? But you already passed!" Naruto said in confusion.
"Doesn't mean I can't help you pass too." Sasuke smirked. "Stealing from the Hokage is no easy feat, you know. Besides, Mizuki-sensei never said anything about getting help from others, did he?" Naruto grinned.
"I'm coming too!" Sakura chirped, not wanting to be left out of all the action. The two of them were her best friends, too, so that was even more reason for her to go!
"Thanks… you guys are awesome!" Naruto laughed, and Sakura flashed him a thumbs-up.
-----
The trio crept silently down the corridor to the Hokage's study, where Mizuki had told Naruto the scroll would be kept. They knew that the Hokage's home wasn't guarded by elite ninja, because the Hokage was supposed to be the strongest of all the Konoha ninjas, and this worked to their advantage, since having to do battle with a Jounin or even an ANBU would spell their end. They were just about to open the door to a room, when suddenly…
"What are the three of you doing in my house so late at night?" Sarutobi asked gruffly, smoking his pipe. He sighed. The things kids do to kill time these days!
Sasuke whirled around, mentally cursing himself for not paying attention to his surroundings, for not being able to notice the Hokage sneaking up on them. Not that his skills would do them any good, he knew, after all, the Hokage was far stronger than any of them, even if he was a perverted old geezer, as Naruto often said. He wasn't sure what to do, what to say to get them out of this mess. He hadn't counted on them being caught by the Hokage!
"We… er… we…" Sakura was at an equal loss for words.
"Well, get along now, I have work to do, you know." Sarutobi said, shooing them away. Then he frowned. Naruto was doing some pretty suspicious hand seals…
"Oiroke no Jutsu!"
