A Tale of Two Transmigrants

Chapter 3: Dream Work

Soon after Iruka exited the room, two jо̄nin introduced themselves as Kurenai and Asuma and left with their teams.

Naruto was stuck with the two irate girls in the classroom, which got progressively worse as it became clear that their sensei would be incredibly tardy. By the first hour, Sayuri was already thinking of roasting this "Kakashi" with one of her fireballs. Sakura looked ready to scream at somebody, and it was going to be Naruto if Kakashi wasn't in sight in the next three minutes.

"Where is Kakashi-sensei?!" Sakura yelled out in frustration.

Naruto shrugged, equally annoyed. "How would I know? I'm just as irritated as you are."

Sayuri clicked her tongue in impatience.

By the second hour, they were pissed off.

Where the hell is this dude? Naruto thought. Rarely was he this angry at someone, but to be stood up for two hours was just bordering on the realm of the absurd. Looking to his right, he saw that Sayuri was similarly at her rope's end.

"You know what, why don't we go out as a team for lunch? Our sensei made us wait and so we will make him wait," Naruto offered, although he fully expected his teammates to decline given their typical disapproval of his behaviour. Unlike them, he was, admittedly, not a model student.

To his surprise, Sayuri nodded after a moment of consideration. She must've been more irritated at the fact that their sensei had wasted their time. Sakura, predictably, followed her idol's decision.

Naruto grinned, already knowing where he would bring them. "Alright then, let's go!"

"Oji-san, the usual please!" called Naruto cheerfully as he pushed aside the curtains of his favourite ramen stand.

"Ah, Naruto-kun! One bowl, coming right up!" Teuchi repeated the order, before signalling to his daughter. "What about your two friends?"

"What would you like, Sayuri, Sakura?" Naruto asked. Sayuri blinked, surprised that he didn't address her as teme. She supposed it was a truce for going along with his plans.

Glancing at the menu briefly, she replied, "A bowl of miso ramen with a slice of chashu, please."

Sakura said, "I'll have the same as Sayuri-san!"

Naruto's jaw dropped just slightly. Unwittingly, the Uchiha had ordered the same dish as he did. It appeared that they did have similar tastes in ramen after all.

"Itadakimasu!" the three chorused as Ayame served their lunch shortly after, albeit softly in Sayuri's case. Breaking their chopsticks, they dug in with in with no time to waste.

"This… This is delicious!" said Sakura, her face instantly brightened in stark contrast to her mood in the classroom.

"Thank you," Ayame replied with a grin and a bow.

"And who's that, Naruto-kun, your girlfriend?" Ayame teased, looking pointedly at Sayuri who was silently enjoying her food.

At that moment, the two nearly choked on the strands in their mouths. "No!" both denied simultaneously, one blushing and the other sputtering.

"See, you're so compatible!" teased Ayame further.

"No seriously, we're not," the two growled out in unison before continuing with their lunch.

They were poles apart in personality.

While Naruto was friendly and cheery, Sayuri was permanently scowling—and when she didn't she smirked. This would've not been the case five years ago, but the Uchiha clan massacre had changed her in many ways. She was kind as a child, but now… all she did was glare. It was a sad reality that Naruto hoped would change.

Sayuri was out with her mother at the playground in Konoha's park. She had met a new friend and was hopping up and down at the chance to play with him.

"Naruto-kun, do you want to build a sandcastle with me?" the girl asked.

"Sure!" the boy replied with a broad grin, ecstatic about the first time he got to play with a friend.

Typically, parents would pull their child away upon finding out. However, Uchiha Mikoto was both a woman of compassion, and a friend of Uzumaki Kushina when she was alive. She was sad to see her friend's son all alone and by a stroke of luck, they had met him at the park.

Her husband Fugaku would have disapproved—for fear of fuelling accusations that their clan had manipulated the Kyūbi in its rampage—but as he was absent, she let her daughter befriend the jinchūriki anyway.

Naruto began helping Sayuri build the sandcastle, making it a very elaborate sand construct. When bits of sand flew away due to a passing wind, the boy pouted as he had to rebuild one of the turrets. The girl giggled, finding his expression cute.

"Sayuri-chan, I'll get you some drinks, be back in five minutes! Don't misbehave!" Mikoto called, getting up from the bench.

Sayuri nodded obediently, too busy enjoying her time with her new friend to notice.

"Heh, it's finished!" Naruto cried happily, doing a sort of victory dance.

The young Uchiha girl burst out in peals of laughter at his antics. Naruto paused, for that laugh was the most melodious sound he had ever heard. He smiled, happy to see his friend so happy.

That smile would not last long as a group of three boys came into the playground. Seeing the sandcastle, they ran towards the sandpit and kicked it hard, destroying the children's masterpiece.

Sayuri teared up a bit, before bursting into tears. The leader of the three boys sneered in contempt. "Crybaby," he taunted.

Naruto stood in front of the Uchiha protectively, glaring at the boy towering over them. "Teme, take that back," he growled.

"What did you say, brat?" the leader mocked.

"I said. Take. It. Back," Naruto gritted out.

"Haha, I can crush you with a single fist. Why the hell would I take back my words?" the leader asked, before swinging a fist at Naruto.

It was a clumsy punch, one that Naruto evaded easily. Weaving under his arm, Naruto slammed his fist into the boy's stomach with all his might.

The boy flew back into the arms of his friends who caught him. Wincing, he cried out in excruciating pain, sure something inside had broken.

"You… You're that child!" the leader cried out in fear, before scrambling away with his two friends.

Once they were gone, he turned around to check on Sayuri, afraid that she would be scared of him after what she had just seen. However, in the midst of sobbing, it seemed she had not been paying attention.

"Sayuri-chan, it's okay… They're gone now. We can always build it again, no?" Naruto said, hugging her and trying to console the girl.

Nodding, she wiped away her tears and managed a smile. Uchihas are strong, and that means no crying, she told herself.

But before they could rebuild the sandcastle, Mikoto was back with the drinks and had to bring Sayuri home. Reluctantly, the two friends parted ways.

After finishing their lunch, Team 7 returned to their classroom for another half-hour of waiting before Kakashi finally arrived.

"Yo, I'm your sensei—"

"KAKASHI-SENSEI, YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura screamed. Fortunately, the other two had seen this coming and plugged their ears beforehand, leaving their sensei the only one to face the blast as they thought he deserved.

The man did not so much as wince, instead raising an eyebrow as he inspected the three of them.

"I got lost on the road of life. Meet me on the roof in one minute tops." The jо̄nin then vanished in a Body Flicker, a flurry of leaves in his wake.

Naruto was the first to arrive, followed shortly by Sayuri and lastly, Sakura who barely made it within the timeframe.

"Looks like you guys are in decent physical condition. Now let's begin by introducing ourselves."

Sakura asked, "Why don't you start with yourself, Kakashi-sensei?"

The bottom of his face was obscured by a mask, and his headband was slanted to cover his left eye such that only his right eye was visible. Based on his eyebrow and right eye's expression, they could discern that he was smiling, though in what sense they did not know.

"My name is Hatake Kakashi. I like some things, and dislike others; my hobbies and dreams are none of your business," said Kakashi.

"We don't know anything except your name," Naruto dead-panned. Again, the mysterious man that was their sensei smiled with his eyes.

"You go first, pinkie," Kakashi urged.

Sakura grumbled and started, "I'm Haruno Sakura. I like strong kunoichi like Sayuri-san, dislike people who don't put in effort in learning, perverts and late people," pausing to look pointedly at Kakashi, "My hobbies are playing trivia games and memorising new material for my studies. My dream is to befriend Sayuri-san and to become a powerful kunoichi."

"Blondie, you're next."

"I'm Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen and training. I dislike traitors, people who take things for granted and people who judge others for things beyond their control. My hobbies are training, learning new jutsu and bonding with people precious to me. My dream is to be Hokage, and bring peace to the Elemental Nations."

"Admirable goal," Kakashi remarked, before moving on. "Raven, you're next."

Sayuri scowled. "I'm Uchiha Sayuri. I like nothing and dislike everything. My hobbies are training and my dream is not a dream, but a life goal: to kill Uchiha Itachi and restore the honour of the Uchiha clan."

While Sakura and Kakashi sweated uncomfortably, Naruto frowned. Sayuri had a sad past and Naruto felt obliged to help her move past it. Unknown to everyone including himself, his fists were tightly clenched. He only released them when he realised how much he was tensing over the Uchiha.

"Well… interesting team we have here. Tomorrow, we're going to have a survival test which will determine whether you stay a genin or get sent back to the Academy. Report to Training Ground 7 by 0700 hours, and don't eat breakfast or you'll taste it twice," Kakashi announced, "Dismissed."

Sakura and Sayuri arrived at seven and did not eat breakfast as instructed; Naruto on the other hand, was late.

He arrived at nine, much to Sakura's ire. "NARUTO, YOU'RE LATE!"

The boy shrugged. "I'm not late, Kakashi-sensei isn't here yet."

Opening a bento, he began savouring breakfast. "Kakashi-sensei told us not to eat breakfast, Naruto!" Sakura scolded once again.

"We're having survival training, we'll need energy for this. Trust me," replied Naruto between mouthfuls of rice.

Sayuri and Sakura's stomachs began growling in hunger. The two kunoichi blushed and Sayuri looked away.

Nonetheless, Naruto took notice and offered his bento to Sayuri. "Here. You can have it."

Sayuri tried to resist but her stomach was seemingly stronger than her mind in this case. Reluctantly, she accepted the offer. "Thank you," she muttered.

"What was that?" Naruto replied, genuinely not hearing what she said.

"I said thank you! Are you deaf?" she said in embarrassment, as she cursed herself internally.

Why is Naruto still so nice to me? All I've ever done was push him away, thought Sayuri as she dug into his bento with his chopsticks.

Deciding that any retort would be counter-productive to the goodwill he had just forged, Naruto ignored her last remark and turned to his other teammate instead. "Sakura, I'm sorry I didn't bring extras, I'll go and get one for you alright?"

Sakura sighed. "Thank you, Naruto."

Kakashi stood up from the Memorial Stone, where he had been for the past three hours. "I will honour your legacy, Obito. Who knows, this team might even pass."

He disappeared in a Body Flicker to where Team 7 was waiting.

"KAKASHI-SENSEI, YOU'RE LATE AGAIN!" Sakura screamed.

"I saw a black cat on the road and had to take the long way around just to get here. Well anyways, I've two bells here with me. You have two hours to get them from me. If you don't have a bell, you'll be disqualified and sent back to the Academy. Also, you'll be tied to those posts and watch as the other two eat their lunches."

So that's why he didn't want us to eat breakfast, thought the genin. A sense of relief took hold in their hearts for heeding Naruto's advice.

"Questions…? No? Begin!" Kakashi yelled.

At once, the genin scattered into the forests. Naruto was analysing Kakashi's instructions, as was Sayuri. Quickly, both came to the same conclusion.

The aim of this test is teamwork.

Soon, the two found each other. "Sayuri—" "Naruto—" both started simultaneously, before pausing. "You go first," they followed up at the same time.

Naruto sighed. "There's no way we'll get him alone. We need to work together to beat Kakashi-sensei."

"Agreed," Sayuri replied, her eyes frantically scanning the forest around them for any sign of their sensei.

"What's this, my cute little genin?" Kakashi asked cheerfully, squatting beside them on the tree. Shocked, both leapt out of the tree, with Sayuri tossing a kunai with an attached explosive tag.

Kakashi jumped away to safety, avoiding the explosion obliterating the tree they were previously on.

The jо̄nin chuckled. It appeared that there was a spark between the two, and it was up to him to ignite the flames of love. Guy, you're rubbing off on me more than I'd like, Kakashi thought, first amused then shuddering at the thought of his "eternal rival".

Sayuri and Naruto tumbled onto the grass floor, recovering quickly. "We have to find Sakura, now," Sayuri said.

"I've got this," Naruto assured, closing his eyes. He felt a small chakra presence, undoubtedly the chakra signature of Sakura.

"That way, let's go," said Naruto, taking off with Sayuri close behind.

Kakashi smiled. Interesting… so Naruto's a sensor, he thought, My shadow clone got her already, so let's see what they'll come up with.

They found her lying prone on the floor and Naruto turned her over, checking her pulse. "She's alright… no signs of any physical injury, so it must've been genjutsu."

"Kai," Sayuri uttered, snapping her out of it. Wasting no time, she continued, "Sakura, we need to work together as a team to defeat Kakashi."

She shook herself out of her daze, nodding in agreement.

What now? Kakashi thought, spotting Naruto approaching him at genin-level speed. Just as he neared, he accelerated to low-jо̄nin speed, surprising the jо̄nin as he blitzed him with a punch that he barely had time to block.

Kakashi clutched his stomach as that heavy blow, coupled with Naruto's momentum, made him sure something inside had taken a hit. So this was the enhanced vigour the Sandaime had spoken of.

He was never underestimating him again. Naruto swung his next fist; however, this time Kakashi was on guard and knocked his arm away, sweeping him with a leg which Naruto flipped over. Naruto then approached from behind and threw a punch at his back.

He wasn't a jо̄nin for nothing, however, and spun around rapidly, striking Naruto with a roundhouse kick that sent him crashing into the floor.

That is, until "Naruto" dispelled in a burst of smoke.

A Kage Bunshin?! Kakashi thought in suppressed shock. How is he able to perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu? Did he… pick that up from the Scroll of Seals? Clearly, either the Sandaime had left it out of his briefing or Naruto did from his report.

The ground erupted, giving way to Naruto who emerged from it with an outstretched fist. Kakashi avoided it in time by flipping away.

"Great tactics, but still not enough to beat me, Naruto," Kakashi remarked.

"Who said I was doing it alone?" Naruto asked with a grin.

"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sayuri called from behind Kakashi. A huge orb of flames rolled out of her mouth and flew towards the jonin.

Turning round and seeing the hurtling fireball, Kakashi jumped out of the way, exploiting the jutsu's weakness—linear movement. However, his eyes widened when he realised that Naruto was still in the path of the fireball. Before he could rescue him, the flames engulfed Naruto, forcing the jо̄nin to shield his eyes from the radiance of the ensuing fiery explosion.

"Naruto!" Kakashi rushed to where Naruto once stood, seeing only a charred body which he knelt over.

Seeing him hunched over the body, Sakura appeared and lunged for the bells in vain as Kakashi evaded her grasp.

He glared at her. "This is not a game, Sakura! Your teammate is potentially dead, could you at least show concern?"

"Sakura" laughed and somersaulted into the air, before a burst of smoke revealed her to actually be Naruto. "Nice to know you care, sensei, but did you think I was actually that easy to kill?"

The corpse dispersed in a plume of smoke as well, revealing itself to be a transformed shadow clone. So, Naruto had outmanoeuvred the fireball with speed alone and left behind a transformed shadow clone while transforming himself?

Kakashi scowled. If he wasn't so angry, he would've been impressed. Though he did it to pass the test, Naruto may have crossed the line in playing dirty for this one. After losing a teammate, Kakashi wasn't keen on losing a genin under his charge.

"Let's put an end to this! Sakura!" Naruto called. From a nearby tree, Sakura threw four kunai which landed in a square formation around Kakashi.

As Naruto weaved several hand seals, lines of fūinjutsu script extended from all four kunai, creating a barrier which prevented Kakashi from escaping. The corners lit up, imbued with the firepower of explosive tags.

"Kakashi-sensei, I wouldn't suggest moving unless you want the explosives to go off."

Said jо̄nin laughed, before dispelling in smoke.

"You're not the only one who can make a shadow clone, Naruto," said Kakashi from afar.

Sayuri started to rush at him, but he held up a hand with the bells.

"Nonetheless, you've all gotten the point. This exercise was about teamwork."

"Team 7… you pass," he said with an eye-smile.

With their plan foiled, the freshly graduated genin were in no mood to cheer and simply responded with an unenthusiastic "yay".

"You know, you guys should be proud to be in Team 7. You're only the fifth Team 7 since Konoha's founding, you know?" said Kakashi, "Some of the best shinobi in Konoha were in their generation's Team 7: the Nidaime, Sandaime and Yondaime; the Legendary Sannin, and myself, Kakashi of the Sharingan."

"Sharingan?" repeated Sayuri, her own eyes narrowing at the jо̄nin. "How did you get it?"

Kakashi sighed. "It's a long and tragic story, but I think y'all have earned the right to know at least this much about me. My teammate gave me his left eye before he died on a mission."

So that's what's under his headband, thought Naruto. He had earlier been perturbed by the mixed signals he had received from Kakashi's chakra signature.

"Anyway, you guys are now in Team 7, and who knows? Maybe one day you'll grow up to be powerful shinobi," Kakashi said, "But as with all powerful shinobi, they start small. Tomorrow is your first mission, so report directly to the Mission Assignment Desk in the Academy at six—"

"You mean nine," Naruto dead-panned.

Kakashi smiled in response. "—at six in the morning. Well, that's all for today."

"He means nine."

Kakashi arrived at the Hokage's office along with the other jо̄nin sensei, Asuma and Kurenai.

"So, what are the results of the tests?" Hiruzen asked, smoking a pipe.

Asuma replied, "Team 10—pass."

Kurenai said, "Team 8 passed my test."

Kakashi smiled and declared, "Team 7… pass."

The other two sensei gasped in surprise, as Kakashi had never passed a team in all his years as a jо̄nin. "Kakashi, could you explain why they passed?" the Sandaime inquired.

"Well, the moment it began, Naruto and Sayuri figured out the test's objective and found each other. Naruto, with his sensory skills, located Sakura whom I had already placed a genjutsu on with my shadow clone. They came together after releasing the illusion and presumably came up with a plan."

"Naruto approached me at—get this—low-jо̄nin speed. We had a brief taijutsu scuffle before he revealed himself to be a shadow clone. The original attacked from the ground but I evaded it, of course. Sayuri threw a fireball at me from behind and I got out of the way, but Naruto was caught in it."

Everyone in the room was glued to his next few words. "He secretly outmanoeuvred it and replaced himself with a shadow clone transformed as a burnt corpse. When I went to check on him, he ambushed me after taking the form of Sakura. The real Sakura was able to set up a sealing trap with kunai, though by this time I had replaced myself with a shadow clone. With those kunai, Naruto activated a barrier and layered it with an explosive trap. Although they had not managed to corner me, I was satisfied with their teamwork and believe the team has displayed enough potential for me to work with."

Interesting, thought the elder Sarutobi, so even now he still has the increased vigour he reported that day.

The other two jо̄nin in the room were shocked to the core. His tactical mind aside, how did Naruto possess such speed, as well as fūinjutsu? That was an art completely out of a genin's league. Then again, he was an Uzumaki, whose clan was renowned for its prowess in the Sealing Arts. Still, it did not explain his abnormal physical capabilities.

"Well, I expect that tomorrow, you will all be assigning D-ranks for your respective teams?" asked the Hokage, interrupting the sensei from their thoughts.

The three sensei smirked. It would be fun to see their reaction.

When Naruto returned home, he was shocked to hear Kurama's voice ring through his head while he was awake.

"Gah! Would it hurt for you to give me some warning before you talk?" asked Naruto as he shut the door behind him.

"Would it hurt for you to have some brains? You don't have to talk aloud for me to hear you," Kurama snapped. "It's like you want the whole world to know you're talking to a voice in your head."

Okay, I'm sorry! What's this about? thought Naruto in reply.

"I'm offering you a deal," said Kurama, "Make this place less drab and I'll grant you my ability to detect negative emotions."

Ehh… that doesn't seem like much, but it couldn't hurt to help him.

"I can hear you, brat!" growled the bijū. Then again, it's all part of the plan to make him use more of my power.

Deal! Naruto thought, closing his eyes and entering his mindscape. With sheer willpower, he transformed the entire waterlogged basement into a huge grassland where a mountain sat in the middle of lush forests. The cage had turned into a huge cave within the mountain, and the bars morphed into a curtain of water cascading from the summit down to a huge lake where Naruto was currently standing.

Kurama grinned—though with his teeth, it looked positively malicious. He was already liking this kid.

The three genin arrived at the Mission Assignment Desk at nine, just as their sensei walked up to the door. "Ah… good morning," Kakashi greeted sheepishly.

"See, I told you he meant nine," said Naruto.

The jо̄nin cleared his throat to save himself from further embarrassment. "Right. Team 7, here for a D-rank."

The chūnin at the desk rifled through a cabinet and found a scroll labelled "D-rank". Opening it, he announced in a monotone, "Madam Shijimi, the Fire Daimyо̄'s wife, has lost her cat Tora yet again. Your mission is to find it and return it by noon today."

The three genin baulked, having expected a mission of higher intensity befitting their skill set. "Well, now, there's no time to waste. Let's go!" Kakashi ordered.

The three genin set off to begin this crazy enterprise of D-ranks.

Author's Notes: To address reviews regarding my remarks about the inconsistency of the Gūdodama in the previous chapter's A/N, I'd like to clarify that I merely stated it in order to reflect the plot holes in canon and by extension, the flexibility with which fan material can be written. I am aware that senjutsu is the only effective way to overcome the nullifying abilities of the Gūdodama (and it will remain the case in this story), but was referring to the fact that while it was stated that they were capable of disintegrating everything they touched due to their Yin-Yang nature, there was also an instance where Sakura—with her Strength of a Hundred Seal active—was stabbed by Madara and came out unscathed, which should have been impossible as the Seal does not utilise natural energy. Even if intent was necessary to actualise the Gūdodama's full destructive capabilities, there is still no reason to think Madara would not have wanted to turn Sakura to dust.

For the sake of consistency then, in this story, after the basic abilities of shape transformation, telekinetic control and explosion seen last chapter, the Gūdodama will progressively be capable of nullifying ninjutsu, then instant obliteration, contingent on Naruto's mastery of Yin-Yang nature transformation. There will also be an aspect of intent to the utilisation of its abilities so that the destruction is not indiscriminate. Unlike the original story, however, Naruto will not be able to access the Gūdodama—something of an upper-echelon ability—much less realise their full potential, until a later stage of development where he grasps the nature of his powers. What transpired during the Mizuki incident was simply a spontaneous awakening, a brief moment of intervention. As you'll see in the coming chapters, all that Naruto has retained from the incident is the mysterious mark on his hand, and his enhanced physical traits, just as Sasuke in canon first awakened his Sharingan during the Uchiha massacre, only to be unable to activate it at will until years later. In this rewrite, there'll be a better attempt made to maintain some level of parity between Naruto and Sayuri, and they'll unlock more of their abilities as they pass through milestones, sometimes separately, sometimes together. Well then, that's enough spoilers for now!