5:50.
12-year-old Naruto Uzumaki groaned as he groggily rubbed his eyes.
"Damned alarm clock! I don't have to be at the exam until 8:30." He shoved his sheets off and stumbled into the kitchen, falling into the single chair. He quickly created a Kage Bunshin - something he'd learned from Jiji-sama when they found he had too much chakra for normal clones - and lay his head on the table. The clone set about making breakfast, a simple egg and toast affair. Naruto had never really been an exceptional cook, and his clones were no different. When his meal was placed in front of him, Naruto dispelled his clone and ate quickly. There was no reason to waste the morning not training when he'd already woken up this early. When he was finished he dumped his dish in the sink, changed into his training clothes and ran out the door.
He quickly made his way to Training Ground 17, the one Jiji-sama had reserved for him. Once there, he set down his small bag and began his morning workout. After the twentieth lap around the training ground, he dropped down for 75 push-ups and 75 sit-ups. He then did a short set of stretches, and practiced some Taijutsu kata. Feeling exhausted, he sat down, legs crossed, and began to absently spin a leaf around on his finger. He focused on the soothing blue chakra flowing through his fingers, commanding it with his will. He loved the soft swirl of it moving, the warmth it gave, and the feeling of energy and power it gave him. Slowly adding more leaves, Naruto began moving them in a slow, twirling dance on his finger tips. Experimentally, he tried pushing the leaves away from him, and found them blown across the clearing. Excited by this new discovery, he tried it with a small pebble, pulsing his chakra to blow it away. It flew, but not as far. Feeling disappointed, he picked up another pebble, this time channeling more chakra. The pebble flew across the clearing and embedded itself deep in a tree on the other side. Naruto smirked proudly, pulling out a kunai. He gathered his chakra in his fist and sent it out, letting the kunai go as he did so. The kunai shot through the tree it was aimed at and stuck in the one behind it. Satisfied, Naruto returned to his meditation. Not long after, he panicked, remembering the test he had later that day. He hopped up and sprinted towards the Academy, forgetting his small, navy blue school bag in his rush. He arrived at the Academy four minutes before the beginning of the test, grabbing the closest empty seat, right next to a grumpy-looking black-haired boy. Slumping in relief, Naruto let out a small smile. 'I've gotten faster!' he thought happily.
At 8:29, two girls burst through the door, trying to shove each-other out of the way.
"Yes! I won! Take that Ino-pig!" the one with pink hair screamed.
"No you didn't, forehead! I was here a half-second before you!" the blonde retorted. Naruto sighed loudly, placing his head on his desk. The two girls turned towards him.
"What was tha…Wait! What are you doing sitting next to Sasuke-kun? That's my seat!" said the pink-haired girl, suddenly right next to him.
"Yeah! Wait! No you don't! It's my spot!" the blonde cried, also suddenly standing next him.
"I don't see a name-tag," Naruto retorted coolly, forgetting his manners for a moment. To fix his mistake, he immediately added, "besides, if I sit here you two don't have to fight over it."
"That's not the point! I want to be next to Sasuke-kun!" shouted Blondie.
"Yeah! Me too!" Pinkie added.
"Yeah, who are you, anyway?" Blondie asked.
"Ah, right, sorry. Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto. And you are?" Naruto replied, fidgeting nervously. Blondie huffed.
"Yamanaka Ino."
"And Pinkie?"
"Sakura. Haruno Sakura. Not Pinkie."
"Nice to meet you both. So, why do want to sit here so bad?"
"Sasuke-kun," they sighed, as if that explained everything.
"Is that the name of the guy next to me?" Naruto asked, shooting the boy a glance. He was studiously ignored. Naruto turned back to the girls, "He seems kinda grumpy, if you asked me," Naruto replied obliviously. Their faces darkened.
"Don't insult Sasuke-kun! Who do you think you are anyway?" Sakura yelled.
"Sorry, sorry. It wasn't an insult, anyway, I merely pointing out his mood, I know nothing about his personality."
"Oh, okay. Still, be nicer to him! So why are you here, anyway?" Sakura asked, calming down.
"I'm taking the Genin Exams. You?" Sakura was about to answer when the dark-haired boy - Sasuke - cut in.
"The Genin Exams? But you weren't in the Academy."
"I guess you could call me a special case. I trained outside of the Academy but am allowed to take the Exam."
"Hn."
"I take it you aren't the most talkative," Naruto responded sarcastically.
"Hn."
"So, do you want me to move and let Sakura-san and Ino-san sit?"
"No."
"Huh? Why on earth not?"
"I don't need drooling fangirls holding me back. At least you have some sense." The girls looked ashamed, staring resolutely at the ground with dark blushes on their cheeks.
"Man, Sasuke-san, that's cold," Naruto responded.
"Hn."
"Sorry, Sakura-san, Ino-san. Sasuke-san doesn't seem to want you to sit here, and there's only one seat anyway, so you can't both sit. Good luck with the Exam, though," Naruto said politely, before returning his attention to the front of the classroom, where a dark-haired Chuunin was attempting to gain the attention of the rest of the students. Sakura and Ino sighed but turned and took seats in the next row up.
"Excuse me!" shouted the Chuunin. All the heads snapped towards him. He smiled slightly and continued speaking. "Today is the day you have all been working towards, the day of your Genin Exams! I wish you all luck. Now if you would all follow me outside, we will begin the Taijutsu portion of the Exam." The kids all jumped from their desks and followed after the Chuunin, leaving Naruto and Sasuke walking slowly behind them. They arrived at a rather large training ground behind the Academy and were told to line up, which they did. The first thing they were told to do was throw weapons and hit the targets. They were given 10 kunai and 10 shuriken, and had to hit 6 of each to pass. Most people barely got the required 6, while others got eight or nine. No one stood out to Naruto as he watched them all. He was near the end, as they were going in alphabetical order, and he got to see most of them. Sakura had gotten 7, and Ino hadn't gone yet, as her name was after his. The last person to go before him was Sasuke.
"Uchiha Sasuke," the instructor called. Naruto's eyes widened a fraction before they narrowed again. So that was the so-called generational prodigy and last of the Uchiha clan. It also explained the fangirls. Stepping up confidently, Sasuke grabbed 5 kunai in each hand and threw them simultaneously, landing 10 perfect hits. The girls swooned. He did the same with the shuriken and the girls cheered loudly. Sasuke simply smirked and returned to the line. Naruto scoffed, not that impressed by Sasuke. When you trained with the Hokage, things like that weren't impressive.
"Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto stepped forward and grabbed his kunai and shuriken. Jumping up in the air, he let fly six of the kunai, then performed a full spin, twirling the other 4 kunai before letting them go. He landed evenly on the ground, smirking as he surveyed the 10 perfect hits. He'd been practicing that combination for a few months and was very proud to have pulled it off. The instructors' jaws were on the ground.
"Just who is this kid?"
"How'd he get so good?"
"I don't know if I could have pulled that off perfectly when I wasn't even a Genin!"
Naruto swiftly pulled out his shuriken, reminding them that he wasn't done, and let them all go at once. They all hit perfectly. The instructors were very impressed. The other Genin hopefuls were jealous. And Sasuke, he was angry. As Naruto turned to rejoin the line, he noticed the dark-haired boy scowling at him and raised an eyebrow. Why was Sasuke angry with him?
"Yamanaka Ino, you're next," the instructor said. Ino stepped up, a little nervous after seeing the two people before her. She managed an 8.
The class then made their way to a chalked off circle in the middle of a small clearing to complete the Taijutsu section of their test. The students would be facing off against their instructors, having to last 5 minutes to pass. The names were once again called in alphabetical order, and once again the majority of students barely got their required 5 minutes; some even failed. Naruto was beginning to grow extremely bored, not feeling at all impressed with any of his fellow aspiring Genin. Jiji-sama had told him there would be tough competition, but he was beginning to seriously doubt it. The only person he thought might actually stand a chance against him was Sasuke-san, and even that was a maybe. He knew he was being arrogant, but he also knew it was probably true, however disappointing. He also knew, however, that no one was invincible and that underestimating your opponents was sure to get you killed. And so he continued to observe the other Genin hopefuls, looking for any skills that stood out. Besides a timid Hyuuga who barely lasted enough time because she was afraid to be aggressive, a lazy Nara (no surprise there) who forfeit after exactly 5 minutes, and a loud-mouthed Inuzuka who got himself in a lot of bad situations, no one really stood out. Actually, if he thought about it, the three who stood out didn't necessarily stand out for good reasons. He was a bit disappointed in Sakura's Taijutsu, and had yet to see Sasuke's or Ino's. He sighed, Jiji-sama had greatly overestimated the skills of this class. Sure, some of them had a lot potential, but they were nowhere near fulfilling it yet, and that frustrated him. There were all these young ninja with potential, and yet they seemed to teach them absolutely nothing at the Academy. All of the test-takers without clans were somewhat pathetic, and that made Naruto both angry and sad. Was the world really that divided, that biased? And his frustration, anger, and sadness strengthened his resolve to do the best he could. He would prove to them that a clanless orphan could be just as good as any pampered clan kid. And then…
"…maki Naruto, this is the last we're going to call." The instructor sounded annoyed. Naruto jumped and rushed forward, apologizing over and over. The instructor waved him off and told him to begin. He quickly took stock of his opponent-a slim, young Chuunin with white hair-and began to run in circles around him, fast enough to be impressive but slow enough that a Chuunin could easily keep track of him. As he expected, the Chuunin's eyes kept pace with him, measuring his speed and comparing it with his own. He saw the beginning of a smirk on the Chuunin's face as he figured out that he was faster than him. He saw the other would-be Genin trying to follow him and looking lost. He saw the Chuunin's stance begin to shift into an offensive one, and the moment there was a hole in his guard, Naruto was there with a swift punch. The Chuunin's eyes widened as he realized that Naruto had lulled him into a false sense of security and made him lower his guard before coming in to strike. Before he fully realized what was happening, the Chuunin was falling to his knees, doubled over.
"Never underestimate your opponent, no matter who they are," was the last thing Mizuki heard before slipping into unconsciousness. Naruto smirked just a little before picking up the defeated Chuunin and bringing him back over to the side of the circle.
"I suppose I didn't really have to knock him out…" Naruto said as an afterthought. Everyone was too busy being surprised to care. Returning to the sea of students, Naruto saw Sasuke once again glaring in his direction. Naruto shot him a confused look before looking back to where Ino was struggling against a brown-haired Chuunin.
Naruto also found the written and Ninjutsu exams very easy, and also even more boring, since he didn't get to see how his peers performed on them. The instructors were quite impressed when he performed the Kage Bunshin, as well as his perfect Henge and Kawarimi, but he was not excited. That was, not until they told him he had passed. His face instantly lit up, and he pumped his fist in the air in excitement. Sure, he figured he was good enough to pass, especially after seeing the performances of the others, but it hadn't felt real until now. He reverently picked up a black-clothed hitai-ate and gazed at it for a couple seconds before tying it tightly around his head. A small smile formed on his face as he got used to the comforting weight on his forehead. And the smile widened as he walked proudly out of the examining room.
As Naruto walked towards the classroom door, intending to leave and visit the Hokage tower, he was interrupted by Sasuke.
"Oh! Hey Sasuke-san, what's up?"
"How did you get so strong?"
"Training. Duh."
"That's not what I mean! I mean who trained you?"
"Uh, mainly myself and a lot of library books, but I got a few lessons and tips from the Hokage and some ANBU as well."
"What?!"
"What's wrong, Sasuke-san?"
"What do you mean what's wrong? How'd you get trained by the Hokage?"
"Uh, I asked? And he didn't really train me, just helped me through tough spots and pointed me in new directions. Mostly I studied books and scrolls and practiced the exercises."
"So you basically got that strong on your own?"
"I guess you could say that. I wouldn't though. Like I said, I got help from Hokage-sama, and I got some help from a nice ANBU called Inu, too."
"Hn. I suppose that's somewhat impressive."
"The same to you. That was some great accuracy."
"Hn."
"Later, Sasuke-san. I have to go."
"Hn."
Jiraiya wandered happily through a group of training grounds, heading to small stream on the opposite side, an old favorite research place. After being gone for almost a decade, he was taking his time enjoying the scenery, including a few extremely fit Kunoichi practicing in Training Ground 14. As he wound his way through the trees separating Training Ground 16 from Training Ground 17, he came across a kunai wedged into a tree. Now, this in-and-of-itself was not a strange thing, especially not in a ninja training ground. The strange part was that the kunai shouldn't have been able to be sticking into that side of the tree, due to the other tree not even a foot away, unless…Deciding to investigate further, Jiraiya approached the kunai and tree. When he drew close, he noticed the kunai-sized hole straight through the second tree. It aligned perfectly with the wedged kunai. Jiraiya's eyes widened as he followed the trajectory of the kunai backwards to a small clearing a little further into Training Ground 17. Curiosity egging him on, Jiraiya walked towards the clearing. He was somewhat confused. Although many experienced ninja could throw kunai through trees, Jonin and ANBU normally avoided Training Grounds 1-20, not wanting to endanger lower-ranking ninja. And there-in lay the problem. What Genin or Chuunin was good enough to be able to accomplish this? When he spotted a small, navy blue bag lying under a tree on the other side of the clearing, his spy-master instincts kicked in and he approached it cautiously. When he reached it without encountering a single trap, and saw none attached, he deemed it safe enough to open, which he did. Inside were a series of books on Fuinjutsu and chakra theory, a couple of blank scrolls, some pens and pencils, a set of kunai and shuriken, a spool of ninja wire, and a small white card. Everything looked exactly like the supplies required for a fourth-year Academy student, but…what Academy student could do that? He reached in and plucked out the white card, turning it over in his hand. What he saw was a small portrait of a blonde boy with whisker marks, the name 'Uzumaki Naruto', and the words 'Konoha Public Library'. So it was a library card. A library card for his godson. He froze, staring blankly at the small white card. The small white card that had just turned his world upside-down.
"Naruto…Oh Kami, Naruto, I'm so sorry. I was never there for you, but…it seems you've become a strong ninja on your own. I guess it's time for you to meet your godfather…"
A/N: Once again I am really late with the update! It seems I'm making a bad habit of that... Gomen, minna. Anyway, here is Chapter 2 of Sage's Apprentice! I hope you enjoy, and please leave a review if you have questions/comments/criticism/ideas etc!