Naruto: Archer and Loner
Disclaimer: I own nothing. Neither Naruto nor Bleach belongs to me.
Chapter 8: The woes of Naruto Uzumaki part 1
'It's been four years,' Naruto thinks to himself as he makes his way to the ninja academy. 'Four years of dealing with the looks, the sneers, the sabotage. Four years of dealing with the Uchiha. Once I got the basics of the Uzumaki Clan Taijutsu down and beat Sasuke, he's been demanding I fight him every day. It's been a chore to ignore the Uchiha. At least when team placements occur, I shouldn't be on the Uchiha's team. I've made sure I'm in the middle of the class just so I'm not placed on his team.'
Naruto is pulled out of his musings as he arrives at the ninja academy. He sees Iruka Umino standing outside.
"Good morning, Iruka-sensei," Naruto says as he walks up to Iruka.
"Good morning, Naruto. Ready to graduate and be on a team," Iruka asks.
"Yeah, I've been ready with all the training Kiski-sensei puts me through," Naruto says with a smile.
'Naruto has grown so much over the last 4 years,' Iruka thinks to himself. 'I'm amazed that he doesn't let his burden slow him down any. He'll make a great ninja.'
"Well, sensei, I'm going to head in to the class and wait for everyone," Naruto says.
"Ok, Naruto. I'll meet you in there in a while," Iruka replies.
Academy room 128
Naruto walks into the classroom and sees that he's the first one there. He goes and sits in his normal seat at the back of the room. He now stands at 5'3, one of the tallest in the class. He weighs 107lbs. He still has a sleek runner's body. Four years of good food and training helped him grow strong.
'Kiski-sensei was a slave driver the last four years. He made sure I'd be prepared for ninja life. Learning the basics of sealing so I can make my own storage scrolls has been invaluable to me. And teaching me to harness my Quincy powers will be a major trump card in a fight. Learning to manifest arrows along with the bow took me over a year. At least now I'm able to shoot on the run,' Naruto thinks to himself. 'Learning the speed technique, Hirenkayaku, took me the longest. 2 ½ years on that one technique, and learning to fire arrows accurately while using Blunt took a lot of effort. But, for now, I can only use Hirenkayaku for short bursts. What was surprising to me is the fact that low level jutsu are out of my range. Too much chakra and not enough control. Kiski-sensei actually had to beg Hokage-Jiji to be able to teach me the Shadow Clone jutsu. It'll allow me to pass and give me a trump card where numbers are needed.' Naruto pulls out a beginners sealing book from his hip pouch and begins to read it. He's soon engrossed into the book and doesn't notice it when the other academy students start walking in.
"Hello, Naruto-san," Shino Aubrame says as he sits down next to Naruto. Shino stands at 5'2 and wears a long grey coat with a high collar over black ninja pants and black ninja sandals. You can't see much of his face due to the high collar and the black sunglasses he wears all the time.
"Hello, Shino-san," Naruto says in reply. "Are you ready to graduate?"
"Yes. And I have a logical idea of team placements for the Clan heirs," Shino says.
"Really," Naruto asks. "Do tell."
"Well, we'll start with me. I think that I will be placed on a team with Kiba Inuzuka and Hinata Hyuga to make a tracking team," Shino says.
"That would make sense," Naruto calmly replies.
"Next we have Ino Yamanaka, Choji Akimichi and Shikimaru Nara for a capture and interrogation squad," Shino says.
"Again, that makes sense. That would leave Sasuke Uchiha, me and I'd assume a civilian," Naruto states.
"Yes. To make a heavy hitter squad. It does make the most sense, Naruto-san," Shino says.
"It'll suck, but I can make that work," Naruto replies. "I'll be dealing with the Uchiha trying to learn techniques from me. Makes me glad that Kiski-sensei put a seal on me to stop the Sharingan from copying any techniques I do.
"That is quite an ace to have, Naruto-san," says Shikimaru as he sits on the other side of Naruto. "Do you think Kiski-san would find it troublesome to apply the seal to me?"
"No. I don't think he'd mind doing that for my friends, Shikimaru," Naruto replies. Before the three friends can continue talking, they hear a loud rumbling. 'Oh, dear, here come the fangirls,' they think at the same time. They watch with amusement as a horde of civilian academy girls all try to cram through the narrow opening of the door to the classroom.
"I think it's a record," Naruto states in amusement.
"It may be, Naruto-san. They are all so troublesome," Shikamaru says as he places his head down on the desk.
"There they go. This has to be a record fan-girl pileup," Naruto says laughing as the horde of fan-girls all tumble forward in a huge pile of shrieks and screams. Iruka walks in after them and just shakes his head at the spectacle.
"Everyone get into your seats," Iruka says quietly. The whole class scrambles for seats afraid of the mild-mannered teacher. Iruka's "Big-Head jutsu" was famous for getting even the most unruly class to settle down. "Ok, welcome to the last day of class everyone. Here soon, we will be going through the graduating exams. Those that pass will move on to be ninja. Those that fail, I wish you all good luck next time and don't give up."
Everyone hangs on his words drawing inspiration from them.
"Please don't start until I tell you to," Iruka states as he passes out the written exam. Once done, he goes back to the front of the class. "You all have 30 minutes to complete the exam. You may begin," Iruka says. With a rustle of paper, the students begin the exam. Iruka keeps a keen eye out for anyone cheating.
30 minutes later
"Time is up. Leave your exam on your desk and follow me outside for the physical part of the exam," Iruka says. The class gets up and heads out of the classroom. Iruka follows after them, giving a subtle nod to the back corner of the room. As he closes the door behind him, an anbu appears from the corner of the room and gathers up the test papers. The anbu sits at Iruka's desk and starts grading the papers. 'What did I do to deserve this,' the anbu thinks to himself. 'Hokage-sama gave me this mission and now I have to grade academy papers.'
Outside training ground
Iruka started the civilian students on the throwing and accuracy portion of the exam. None of them are noteworthy until Sakura Haruno steps up.
'Sakura stands at 4'7 and weighs 70lbs. Nothing has changed in the last four years. She doesn't take ninja training seriously,' Naruto thinks to himself as Sakura takes aim.
She throws the kunai and shuriken hitting 7 out of 10 with the kunai and 8 out of 10 with the shuriken.
"Did you see that, Sasuke-kun," she asks squealing. Sasuke doesn't even look in her direction.
"Very good, Sakura," Iruka says as he marks her score down. "Ino Yamanaka, you're next."
'Ino Yamanaka. Another fangirl. She stands at 4'8 and weighs 72lbs. Is constantly fighting with Sakura for Sasuke's attention. She doesn't take training seriously either,' Naruto thinks as Ino Yamanaka steps forward and throws the shuriken and kunai. She hits 8 out of 10 with each.
"Yes! I did better than you Forehead. Now Sasuke will love me," Ino says triumphantly. She runs back to the group of students and stands next to Sasuke.
"Did you see that, Sasuke-kun," she asks. Sasuke looks at her, raising her hopes. He huffs and turns his back to her. 'He's sooooo cool,' Ino thinks to herself.
"Next is Hinata Hyuga," Iruka says loudly.
'This will be interesting. Hinata has come a long way in four years. Still quiet and shy, but shows a lot of skill. She stands at 5'0 and weighs 85lbs. She is quite strong in tai-jutsu. Able to hold her own against even Sasuke,' Naruto thinks as Hinata steps forward and throws the kunai and shuriken hitting 9 out of 10 targets with them both.
"Very good, Hinata," Iruka says proudly. "Next up is Shikamaru Nara"
"Good job, Hinata," Naruto says as Hinata joins the crowd of students.
"Tha- thank you, Naruto-kun," Hinata says shyly as a blush forms on her face.
'Shikamaru Nara. Stands 5'1 and weighs 98lbs. Still as lazy as his father, but probably the smartest person in the whole academy and a great friend,' Naruto thinks to himself.
"Troublesome," Shikamaru says as he steps forward. He throws the kunai and shuriken hitting 7 out of 10 with both. 'Just enough to pass. Less troublesome that way,' he thinks to himself.
"Thank you, Shikamaru," Iruka says. "Next is, Choji Akimichi."
'Choji Akimichi. Stands in at 5'0 and weighs 130lbs. A gentle soul and a fun person to hang out with,' Naruto thinks as Choji steps forward. He throws the shuriken and kunai hitting 8 out of 10 targets with both.
"Good job, Choji," Iruka says. "Next is Kiba Inuzuka."
'Kiba Inuzuka. Stands in at 5'2 and weighs 100 lbs. Still brash and hard to get along with, but is a great friend. Got his nin-dog when he was 10, Akamaru. If he graduates, he'll get the Inuzuka tattoos signifying his first step into adulthood,' Naruto thinks to himself as Kiba rushes forward and throws the shuriken and kunai without taking aim. He gets 6 out of 10 with the shuriken and 8 out of 10 with the kunai.
"Very good, Kiba," Iruka, states surprised. "Next is Shino Aburame."
Shino steps up to the line quietly and throws the kunai and shuriken getting 9 out of 10 with each.
"Nice job, Shino," Iruka says. "Next is Sasuke Uchiha."
"Thank you, sensei," Shino says quietly as he walks back to the rest of the students.
"Watch this dobe," Sasuke says arrogantly to Naruto as he steps up to the throwing line. He throws all the kunai at once hitting 9 out of 10 targets. He then throws the shuriken and hits all 10 targets.
"Very well done, Sasuke," Iruka says. "Naruto Uzumaki, you are next."
"Beat that, dobe," Sasuke says as Naruto steps forward.
"I will, teme," Naruto says with a smile. He scoops up the kunai and while looking at Sasuke, starts throwing them one at a time hitting every target. He then throws the shuriken and hits all the targets again. Naruto smiles at Sasuke. "There you go. I beat your score."
Sasuke grinds his teeth and glares at Naruto.
"Great job, Naruto," Iruka says proudly. "Next up will be the taijutsu portion of the exam."
The class made their way to the sparing area of the training grounds. Iruka quickly paired up civilian student with civilian student. Needless to say, those fights were boring.
"Next we'll have Hinata Hyuga versus basic civilian girl cannon fodder #1,*" Iruka says. The two girls step into the sparing circle.
"Begin," Iruka says. It's over before anyone can turn away. Basic civilian girl cannon fodder #1 ran at Hinata with a cry of, "Sasuke-kun." Hinata sidestepped the girl and tapped her on the back of the neck knocking her out.
"Winner, Hinata Hyuga," Iruka says. "Next will be Ino Yamanaka vs Sakura Haruno."
The two girls step into the ring and after Iruka says begin, they charge at each other. They abandon any form of taijutsu and just resort to pulling hair, scratching and biting. After a few minutes of this, Iruka steps forward and separates them.
"Both of you stop and go to the nurse. I'm ashamed of you both," Iruka shouts at the two girls. They walk away with their heads down. "Next, we'll have Sasuke Uchiha vs Choji Akimichi."
The two boys step into the ring and wait for Iruka's signal to start. Once he gives the signal, Sasuke rushes forward throwing punches and kicks in the Uchiha Interceptor Fist*(1). Choji tries his best to block and dodge what he can. This goes on for 3 minutes before Choji trips on a rock and lands outside the ring.
"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha," Iruka says. "Good job, Choji. You lasted 3 minutes and 15 seconds against Sasuke. Next up, we'll have Shino Aburame against Shikamaru Nara."
The two boys walk into the ring. Before Iruka has a chance to say begin, Shino raises his hand.
"Yes, Shino," Iruka asks.
"Sensei, it would be unwise for me to fight Shikamaru. At this time I am integrating a new hive and taking any damage would possibly damage the delicate tunnels used by the insects of my clan," Shino says.
"Very well," Iruka says. "Shikamaru wins."
"Troublesome," Shikamaru says as he goes and sits at the base of a tree.
"Next is Kiba Inuzuka and Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka says. Kiba rushes forward after setting Akamaru down. Naruto steps into the ring.
"Stay out of this, buddy. This is my fight for now. I'll take you for a long walk after this," Kiba tells Akamaru. He gets a happy bark in response.
"Begin," Iruka says.
Kiba rushes forward using the Inuzuka Clan Taijutsu, the Swift Claw. Naruto sets himself into his taijutsu stance, the Dance of the Tides. Naruto dodges the right kick Kiba throws his way. Everyone watches in amazement as Naruto is all of a sudden behind Kiba throwing a punch. Kiba darts to the side barley dodging.
"This is going to be good, right Naruto," Kiba asks with a feral grin on his face.
"Yes. Out of everyone here, I think you're one of the few that can push me," Naruto replies, his grin just as wide as Kiba's.
The boys rush at each other throwing punches and kicks. Punches are blocked and the kicks are dodged. They back away for a breather. This continues for 5 minutes. Finally, just as Iruka is going to call a tie, Naruto finds an opening in Kiba's defenses. He sends a punch forward and catches Kiba on the stomach.
"Oofh," Kiba says as all the air rushes out of his lungs. Naruto capitalizes on this and gets behind Kiba placing him in a chokehold. A few moments are all it takes and Kiba is unconscious.
"Winner, Naruto," Iruka says. "Now, let's go back inside and do the jutsu portion of the exam."
Classroom 128
Naruto sits in the classroom alone. Everyone else has already been called by Iruka for the jutsu portion of the exam. 'This sucks. They just go in random order. They should've gone in alphabetic order,' Naruto thinks to himself. 'Then I wouldn't be the last one called. Oh, well. I'll pass and go have some ramen afterwards.'
"Naruto Uzumaki," Iruka calls from the door of the classroom. Naruto gets up and follows Iruka into another room.
"Naruto, in order for you to pass, you have to successfully do the Clone Jutsu, the Transformation Jutsu and the Substitution Jutsu," Iruka tells him.
"Ok, Iruka-sensei," Naruto replies.
"Let's start with the Transformation Jutsu, Naruto," Iruka says.
"Henge no Jutsu (Transformation Jutsu)," Naruto shouts. A cloud of smoke envelops him. When it clears, Iruka becomes wide-eyed. Naruto transformed into a copy of Kiski.
"Very good, Naruto. It looks like you have that down pat," Iruka says. "Now do the Substitution Jutsu."
Iruka throws a wooden kunai at Naruto. Naruto shouts "Kawarimi no Jutsu (Substitution Jutsu)." Again, Naruto is surrounded by a plume of smoke. When it clears, the log that was in the corner of the room is where Naruto once stood.
"Very good, Naruto," Iruka says. "Now do the Clone Jutsu."
"I can't, Iruka-sensei. I have too much chakra to do the Clone Jutsu," Naruto says. "It's because of my burden. I do know another Clone Jutsu that I can do."
"Very well, Naruto. If you know another Clone Jutsu and are successful, you'll pass," Iruka says.
With a shout of "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu (Shadow Clone Jutsu)," another plume of smoke erupts around Naruto. When it clears, Iruka sees 4 Naruto's standing there.
"Great job, Naruto," Iruka shouts. "Here is your Hitai-ate."
"Can I have one without a cloth, Iruka-sensei," Naruto asks. "Kiski-sensei has a cloth for it at home for me."
"Here you go, Naruto. Come back in a week for team placements," Iruka says.
Naruto takes the Hitai-ate from Iruka and runs out of the school. He makes a fast bee-line for Ichiraku Ramen. Running into the stand, Naruto shouts, "Old man, I'll have 3 bowls of beef ramen and keep them coming for Kohona's newest ninja."
Teuchi Ichiraku peaks through the divider from the kitchen and sees Naruto.
"Coming right up Naruto," he says joyfully.
Three hours later, Naruto leaves the ramen stand with a full belly. He makes it back to the Uzumaki compound fairly quickly. 'I can't believe I ate 23 bowls. Kiski-sensei will have me work this all off tomorrow,' Naruto thinks to himself as he crawls into bed. 'Team placements are in a week and I'll see just how correct Shino was. I hope he was wrong about where I'll be placed. I can make it work, but it'll be hard with the Uchiha.' With that last thought floating in his head, Naruto drifts off to sleep.
Soon. Soon the boy will be in situations that will cause him to call on my power. Then the fun will begin. I'll be able to slowly influence him without him realizing it, the Kyuubi thinks to itself.
Whew! It took me a good long while to write this chapter. Every time I started, I stumbled. Some parts just didn't feel right to me. But, I'm happy with this. Next chapter we'll see the team placements and the "Test." As for notations: * for the basic girl academy cannon fodder. I couldn't think of a name for someone to fight Hinata, so my GF suggested it and I went with it laughing along the way. *(1) The Uchiha taijutsu style. I have seen that used in a lot of fanfics. It fits and I couldn't think of a name for myself. Therefore if you are the one who came up with that taijutsu style, let me know and I'll make sure you get the credit for it. As far as I know, the Inuzuka Clan style I made up. It just fit. Same with the Uzumaki Clan style. Anyways, let me know what you all think so far and thank you for the reviews, follows and favs!