Shinobi of the Force

Team Seven

Hokage's Office: one week later

In the Hokage's Office, a Jonin of the Leaf, had returned to the village after being on an expeditionary mission. That's a mission that while not difficult, can take years to complete, in this Jonin's case, almost nine years. She had been assigned to scout the lands west of the Land of Earth, to see if they could be viable allies and trading partners in the future. The results have been classified and not for discussion in any venue outside of a daimyo's presence.

This Jonin was a kunoichi of the same class as Naori. She had long, raven-black, frizzy hair, light skin, and crimson red-eyes, that have made more than one person confuse her for an Uchiha. She and Naori were the best of friends in school, and even if she has been gone for nearly eight years, she was looking forward to catching up with her and her team. She considered all of them to be her friends.

The Jonin wore a crimson, sleeveless shirt with matching pants, her Jonin flak-jacket, sandals, and her ninja-tool pouch on her right-thigh. Sakumo was busy welcoming her back, "yes, yes, welcome back, Kurenai Yuhi," he greeted with a smile, "the daimyo said you completed your assignment with more than satisfactory results, and I know you cannot divulge any details, even to me, so I won't ask you for a report. You'll be given the proper pay for this mission, which I have to say is quite substantial," the Hokage informed her, "and the S-ranked mission has been noted in your permanent record. Is there anything I can do to help you transition more easily, back into the village?"

Kurenai brought her hand up to her chin in thought, "well, I have been so homesick for this place, I really don't want to go on another one of these kinds of missions anytime soon, and I figure the best way to insure that would be to take on a Genin team. I think, if my calculations are correct there was a recent graduation from the Academy, right," Kurenai inquired?

Hokage had leaned back and thought about what she said, and this might be the godsend he was looking for, a newly returned ninja from a mission would fill a niche without making too many waves. He had the perfect team for her, especially since her sensei, was the mother of one of the team members. First, he had to evaluate her impartiality, "I agree with you, Kurenai," Sakumo nodded, "and I have a team that I've been having trouble placing with a Jonin-sensei. Mostly because of one member, the male shinobi, he's got a bit of a reputation, not because of something that he did, but from something that was done to him, about 12 years ago, as an infant."

"You mean… Naruto is a part of this batch of Genin," Kurenai asked hoarsely?

The Hokage nodded, "yes, and his skills with a thrown weapon are the best I've ever seen in a Genin," he informed her. Then with a hard look at her, "what's your opinion of his condition, Kurenai?"

"You mean, do I see him as the personification of the Kyubi no kitsune, and thus would use my position to inflict harm upon him, out of some misguided attempt to exact revenge upon him for the loss of my father and sensei in one night," she asked with agitation in her voice? "I learned Sealing directly from Kushina, herself," Kurenai informed her Hokage, "I'm no where near, even Jiraiya-sama's skill-level with fuinjutsu, but I know that which is Sealed, cannot become the Seal. I had always hoped to be his sensei, his mother was my sensei, and I always hoped to be able to give him some of what she gave me, when my mother died. I am ashamed to say that I kept my distance from him when he was little, because I didn't wanna get too attached to him."

Hatake looked at her hard to gauge her honesty, and must have found something that confirmed her sincerity, because he smiled and opened his desk drawer. He pulled out a file and gave it to her, and explained, "that's his file, from during the academy and before, the others on his team are fairly standard, although one of the kunoichi approaches his level of skill with shuriken and kunai, and the other is barely passable as a kunoichi. Hopefully you'll beat some sense into her, and make her act like a true shinobi," the Hokage instructed her.

She nodded, but she was barely paying attention, as she read Naruto's file. Whoa, the Hokage wasn't lying about his skill with a shuriken. I've known surgeons who were less precise with a scalpel, she thought with awe. She looked up at her Hokage sharply, "he lived up there by himself, when he was three-years old?"

"Yeah," Sakumo answered with a bowed head, "he went missing from his orphanage about a month before his fourth birthday. At that time anonymity was his greatest defense, and orphans do runaway a lot, we didn't even know he'd gone missing for three months, until Hiruzen paid him a visit, as he was wont to do from time to time. They said he had disappeared one night with all of his belongings," Sakumo told her with distaste, "and yes, I am aware of how the village treats him, ignoring his very existence like he isn't even there. There's nothing I can do about that, I cannot order people to notice him. As I said, his greatest defense back-then was anonymity and the law preventing them from even talking about the Kyubi prevented them from mentioning his status, and kept him safe. I deployed my forces quietly to look for him. We found him at exactly the same time he found your friend, Naori Uchiha, and her team, who have sort of adopted him as their little brother. All except, Izumi-Chan, of course," he added with a smile.

"The betrothal," Kurenai asked with a smile?

"Yeah, which is only necessary from a legal standpoint," Sakumo confirmed with a nod, "if I'm any sort of a judge, Izumi is completely smitten with Naruto, and that was evident before he single-handedly saved her clan from annihilation, and killed the one ultimately responsible," he concluded his statement by pointing at the file, for her to read further.

Kurenai did as instructed, and continued to read, and her eyes began to widen, they were practically falling from their sockets. "No way, he severely wounded a Jonin from Kumo with a pair of shuriken when he was five, which was over a year after he disappeared from his orphanage? Skill acquired as he and several witnesses have claimed from hunting and killing rabbits and deer, while he survived in the wilderness? He acquired his shuriken and kunai from scavenging training grounds for discarded specimens of both, he taught himself to repair and sharpen them, including reforging them into better weapons? It doesn't say what he used for tools or how he learned his skills as a smith."

"Yes," the Hokage agreed, "and he probably won't say, until he trusts you. I'm willing to bet Izumi, and his kichona ane know, they won't tell me though, it's not a threat to village security so I don't try to butt in with that."

"He saved the heiress of the Hyuga by wounding the Jonin, and saved Konoha from a serious breach," Kurenai continued absently, "which aided us, in securing a superior negotiating power with Kumo in their treaty with us."

"Yes, I am going to award him an A-rank reward for that, as soon as he comes for his photo. The Hyuga have practically adopted him for his actions in that incident, and he trained Hinata and Neji, and is beginning to train Hanabi in throwing techniques and survival." Kurenai looked at him in bewilderment, but he answered her silent question, "to Naruto throwing and survival are linked, it's how he survived on his own for so long."

Kurenai continued forward in the file, until she came to the details of the Uchiha incident, and her mouth just fell open. She turned to look at her Hokage with astonishment written on her face. "I don't believe it, he really saved the Uchiha clan from massacre, and killed Uchiha Shisui in open combat," she practically shouted?

"I can hardly believe it either," the wielder of the White Fang blade, agreed with her assessment, "until Izumi and I saw the evidence of it, with our own two eyes, we even performed a genjutsu check just to be sure we weren't being made to see what we were told to see. You, more than anyone, should know how cunning, the illusionist art can be," the Hokage reminded her, "but we found nothing within ourselves to suggest genjutsu. And the evidence is quite compelling," he announced, "a recording of video footage, showing how he stole the civilian population of the Uchiha clan, out from under their noses; an audio recording, with Shisui's voice and Naruto's before and after their battle; not to mention, the most conclusive evidence of all, Shisui's own Mangekyo Sharingan, duly recorded in Village and clan archives, we even performed, genetic testing on them, just to be sure. There is no doubt in my mind that those are Shisui's eyes," he replied heatedly, "and I cannot do anything to reward him publicly, because he has refused to take credit for it. I've still added it to his permanent record as an S-class mission, but I don't know how to reward him for his service to the village. Even as recently as last week, he aided a member of the ninja corps in the rescue of his fiancée, from a traitor to the Leaf, who was holding her hostage to force him to steal our Sacred Scroll."

"Why has he just now, graduated from the Academy," Kurenai wondered aloud, "with this level of skill, he could have rivaled Itachi and Izumi in skill and power?"

Sakumo just smirked, "because he didn't want to graduate without his best-friend, and he never displayed his skills at the Academy. He deliberately allowed himself to be dead last and he adopted a deceptive persona while at the Academy, he and Hinata Hyuga were completely different people around their fellow students and the Academy instructors. Hinata became as timid as a mouse, while Naruto played the part of an unpredictable fool, and they maintained those personalities flawlessly, until the Genin Graduation Exam. Their own instructors had no clue what was going on, right under their noses. It was such an embarrassing deception, I'm having Hiruzen do an overhaul of the curriculum for the Spring Leaf Academy, and even take a look at the caliber of our Chunin to be sure they are competent shinobi."

"How is he doing all of this," Kurenai asked in exasperation, "and what could I possibly teach him? His skills are already approaching Jonin-level," Kurenai stated.

"Read his basic makeup at the back of the file," the Hokage suggested, "I am sure something will jump out at you. As for what you can teach him, not much, as far as ninja skill goes," Sakumo Hatake agreed, "but as a man, a person, as a Konoha-nin there are always lessons to be learnt. There's more to being a shinobi than skill with a shuriken," he reminded her, "impress upon him the Will of Fire. Show him, there is still something within Konohagakure that is worth protecting, even if most of her citizens treat him like he doesn't matter."

Kurenai looked up from her reading with a puzzled expression on her face, "What's the Force?"

Team Formation

The next day, Naruto walked into the Academy in his now normal shinobi-fuku, which as of today included his hitai-ate, tied around his waist as a belt. Naruto's clothes, consisted of a navy-blue jumpsuit, on the back of which was an expanded version of the Uzumaki spiral, with multiple arms meeting in the center, it is the sigil of the royal branch of the Uzumaki clan, over steel-mesh under-armor, gray knee and elbow pads, and flexible, combat boots. He wore fingerless gloves with special storage-seals sewn on the palms, it was a secondary supply of shuriken and kunai, if ever his main supply, in the holster on his right-thigh, ran out. The ginunting were his ever present companions now, settling at home on his left hip, and his kitsune-mask hung over his chest, ready to be raised at a moment's notice.

As he entered, standing in the foyer was the Hokage, but he was not in his robes of office at the moment. His attire was just ordinary Jonin garb, and he was smirking as Naruto entered the school. As soon as, Naruto entered Sakumo bowed, "Hokage-sama," Naruto asked in bewilderment?

Sakumo peeked up at him from his bow, "while dressed like this, Naruto, you may address me by name."

"Understood, Hatake-san," Naruto said while returning the bow.

"I'm here, Naruto, to fulfill a promise I made to your mother before she passed," Sakumo began, before bringing an arm up and opening a hand. There was a puff of smoke in that hand, and when it cleared, a scarlet-red hitai-ate appeared there. In his mind his mother began cheering, thank the Redeemer, now I can give you my blade, baby!

Your blade, mom, Naruto asked her in his mind?

Akai-shi, baby, Kushina answered in his mind, I thought she had been lost when I died, but apparently I lingered just a little bit longer, after your father sealed part of my soul into Kurama, and bequeathed my headband to you through Sakumo-sensei. I always Sealed Akai-shi away, when I wasn't on duty. Naruto reached out and took the strip of cloth from his mother's sensei, and bowed his gratitude in return. Sakumo raised momentarily, then returned to his bowed position, and opened his other hand. Another puff of smoke and a key appeared, "I am also the executor of your parents wills, and this key is to their house, wherein you will also find the keys to their fortune," he looked up into Naruto's eyes, "they were very successful ninja, and shrewd business people. It's not as big as even the Hyuga Estate, but there's definitely room to grow a substantial family, when you and Izumi-chan are ready, and the coffers are quite deep. I used some of your parents' fortune, to buy your mountain, Naruto, it is now part of your clan holdings, and the fortune is still quite large. Do you have a name picked out for it," Sakumo asked?

Naruto just nodded, "I have dubbed it, Uzumaki Caldera, Sakumo-san."

Sakumo nodded with a smile, as he finally raised to his full height, "as executor of your parent's estate, I have fully discharged my duties. Have a nice day, Naruto-san," Sakumo explained, before bowing one more time.

Naruto returned the bow formally, "you have performed your duties as executor, and I now formally, discharge you of your obligation." Then returning to his proper height, he smiled, "I hope we can become as close to each other as you and my dad, Sako-san, Minato always cherished his time with you, he almost thought of you as his father in-law, and my mother considered you as close to a father as her own after the fall of Uzu."

Sakumo's mouth fell open, Naruto tapped his forehead, "who do you think taught me, Uzumaki kenjutsu, taijutsu, and fuinjutsu, not to mention, my Wind manipulation?" When he saw Sakumo was about to ask how, it was possible, Naruto beat him to it, "dad left part of her within my tenant, as well as a piece of himself, within the seal," he explained, "I will go more in depth when we're behind private walls. Only my kichona-ane know, which includes, Hinata-chan, and I'm telling you now, because you're like family, Sakumo-san."

"Thank you, Naruto," Hatake returned with a bow, "for including me in your circle of trust, I promise to never abuse it, unless it is for the sake of the Village," then rose and shun-shinned away.

…In the Classroom

Only 45 people out of a class of 63 remained, most of them were clan heirs, or members of prominent families within their clans. Sasuke sat quietly in his seat mulling over what was revealed to him last week, when he officially became an adult. The least of which, was learning Naruto, would someday become his brother in-law.

Itachi was forced to go on his murderous rampage by another one of my heroes within the clan. Naruto, not only prevented most of the clan from perishing, but he is also the one that killed Shisui, so there is nobody to get revenge from. As soon as we can find my brother, we're going to offer him amnesty to return to the Village.

Izumi showed Sasuke, the video his parents made before Itachi killed them. She has already had their father's eyes implanted into hers, as his mother bequeathed, giving her the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. Thus making her the most powerful Uchiha, since Madara, and she is still, only nineteen years old. The dispensation of Shisui's eyes are a clan secret, and only known to the clan head and her closest advisor, who is the current commissioner of the newly re-organized Konoha Military Police Force.

The genjutsu, my brother forced upon me, is nothing more than the perceptions of a mind that in itself, was already compromised by a genjutsu. Therefore, instead of seeing it as a torture that my brother inflicted upon me, Sasuke was forced to conclude, maybe, it was his cry for help, he was trying to tell me what Shisui had done to him. Father saw it, there was something about Itachi that night that told him, his eldest son was in trouble. He knew something was wrong, he and mom could have stopped him, they were both sure of that in their last video. They could have raised their hand against their son and stopped him from murdering so many people, but they chose not to, they chose to allow Itachi to kill all of those people. I may only be twelve years old, but even I recognize their responsibility in that. By standing aside, and allowing him to kill everybody, they were just as responsible for those deaths as Shisui-katto (cur), because they didn't do anything to stop it.

Itachi was no different than a kunai or a sword that night. He was just the weapon used to do the job, and one doesn't hold the weapon responsible for the atrocities it performed, only the hand that wielded it is brought to justice for its crimes. Sasuke remembered a trickle of moisture running down his left cheek, as he watched the video of his parents talk about their hypocrisy. He watched his sister's eyes as she saw it, for perhaps the hundredth time, and noticed the steel in them that had to have reflected, how she felt about their parents actions the night of the attempted massacre. There was no difference, between her eyes and the feelings that began to well up within me. Izumi felt the same way regarding our parents' lack of action as I did, but then maybe we would feel different if we were parents? I don't know, and I pray to Kami-sama that I am never placed in that position. How does the Hokage handle it, everyone knows who his son is, how does he feel whenever he needs to send his own son into danger?

Naruto opened the door and walked in, the forehead protector on his waist, had been replaced with a red one. On his back, perpendicular to a shorter curved-blade, and rising over his left-shoulder, was something new, the scarlet-red hilt of a totsuka-no-tsurugi.

"Hey, Dead-Last, where'd you get that sword," the Inuzuka sneered, obviously looking to try positioning himself as the Alpha of his Genin class, "I don't think anyone would leave one of those laying around a training-field?"

Naruto smiled proudly, "it was from my mother, she left it with her sensei before she passed away. I am an adult now, and may now, come into my inheritance. I have even added my father's name to mine," he stated proudly, "on my official shinobi license and all legal documents."

"How can a clanless, orphan loser, inherit anything," the Inuzuka threw back, not realizing how stupid he sounded? Everyone in the class looked at Kiba as if he was an idiot, when it dawned on him what he said, he grumbled, "fine, you're not an orphan, but you're still a clanless loser."

"My mother was Kushina Uzumaki, also known as, the Red Death," Naruto informed him, "ask any serious kunoichi in the village who she was, and they'll tell you how much like her, they wish to be." Naruto fanned out his hand toward the kunoichi in the class, and most of them had blushes on their cheeks, they had them ever since he walked through the door. Even Sakura and Ino were looking at Naruto in admiration, and were not as loud today as normal.

Naruto turned back to look at Kiba, who was looking uneasy, "she and my father, died the night I was born, protecting me from the Kyubi, who had been about to step on me." He was not ready to tell them about his jinchuriki status, unless one of them figured it out, he would stay quiet about his condition, "all-in-all that's a pretty noble way to die, the might of Iwa and Kumo were no match for my father and mother respectively, being killed by the most powerful biju in existence, the legend sort of rights itself. Don't you think, Mutt," Naruto growled that last bit, in a frequency only Kiba and Akamaru could hear?

"As for being Dead-Last," Naruto barked, "didn't last week's demonstration of my skills tell you anything. You, Inuzuka are supposed to be the best trackers in Konoha, yet you completely missed the trail that I was laying in front of you. The rankings of the Spring Leaf Academy, don't mean jack-shit after we leave here. They definitely don't determine what kind of career you'll have when you leave here," Naruto calmly reminded the Inuzuka, "and since Iruka-sensei, threw away his grade book, the averages for my school career are not a factor in determining class-rankings. The only factors that matter are the numbers you got in the exam, and it's straight addition for the test, no averaging. I got perfect scores in all aspects of the test, as you saw," Naruto reminded Kiba and the class at large, "the written exam is the only unknown factor, but I feel confident about my grade there too. Can you say the same, Mutt," again, that last part was said in the canine language? Which was why Kiba, has yet to respond, because Naruto was using the language of alphas. Kiba was most definitely not the Alpha of his clan, and he was psychologically incapable of talking back to his superiors when they used that language.

"Kiba Inuzuka, I am not only your superior in skill as a shinobi," Naruto said in normal human frequency, to address the whole class, even if he was still displaying Alpha-dominance characteristics toward Kiba, "but also within the village as a whole. I outrank every Genin in this room, including Clan-Heirs like Hinata, Shikamaru, Choji, Ino, and Shino, because as the last member of not one, but two clans here in Konoha – the Uzumaki and my father's clan – I am a nidan, or second-degree Clan-Head. That means Kiba, as I'm sure you're aware, that if I were a Jonin, I would outrank your mother, and every other Clan-Head in Konoha. Now, you're only going to get one warning," Naruto declared to the class as a whole, "and this is your warning, insult me again, insult my clans, or anybody else I consider to be family, and I will seek restitution from you and your clan, to within the limits of the law. Is that understood, Genin Kiba no Inuzuka-omega," Naruto demanded, this time for all of the class to hear?

Kiba prostrated himself before Naruto, with his forehead on the floor, "Hai, Genin-Alpha Naruto no Uzumaki-," then he stopped, "I apologize, Naruto-sama, but may this unworthy omega, be honored with your father's clan name?"

Naruto looked at the rest of the class, and for everyone except Hinata, whom he kept no secrets from, it looked as if a paper-bomb had been set off among them. He smirked and chuckled, "I'm surprised nobody here has figured it out," then turned to the Nara in their midst, "surely the Nara must have reasoned it out?"

Shikamaru had actually been awakened by all the rank measuring, and had watched the proceedings with only mild interest. When Shikamaru was forced to participate, in the ongoing discussion by the troublesome blonde, something clicked in his mind. His eyes grew wide, as he took in Naruto's facial features, then began reducing them in his mind. The first to go were the whiskers, then the chin and jawline, followed by the nose, and the set of the eyes, until only his pigmentation remained. In the entire history of the Village, there has only been one other person with sun-yellow hair, and sky-blue eyes, he was called the Yellow Flash. Before he died, the night of the Kyubi attack, he was being groomed to be the next Hokage, according to Shika's father.

He had been one of Shikaku's best friends, outside of the rest of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, and Minato Namikaze was said to be as humble and full of the Will of Fire, as he was a skillful and powerful shinobi. Then another thing Naruto himself said, just today, clicked in Shikamaru's mind, his parents were killed when the Kyubi was about to step on him, on the date of his birth.

Why would his mother be in the vicinity of the Kyubi attack, one of the few things to be completely unscathed from that night was the area around the hospital? Why would she not be at the hospital, giving birth to Naruto? I don't have enough information to answer questions about his mother while in labor, but if Naruto really is a Namikaze, and the Yellow Flash just happened to have an infant handy… Shikamaru suddenly looked wide-eyed at the blonde in front of him. Shikamaru knew one thing about biju to be fact, they cannot be killed, not indefinitely at least. They are beings made entirely from chakra, they can be discorporated for a time, but they will always regenerate, the only way to remove them as a threat is to Seal them into a vessel. However, anything inanimate is too fragile to contain one, so they need to be Sealed into a person, and the Kyubi, the most powerful of all the biju, his power is too potent to be Sealed into just anyone, it would need to be Sealed into an infant.

…he would use one that he had ready access to, and from what my dad believed of his friend's character… he wouldn't have asked a parent to give up their child if he wasn't ready to do the same."

"You're the son of Minato Namikaze, aka the Kiroi Senko, who died the night of the Kyubi attack, your mother, Kushina Uzumaki also died that night," Shikamaru said aloud, his eyes were as wide as dinner plates. "You're the jinchuriki of the Kyubi no kitsune." Shikamaru suddenly moved and knelt to the floor, "on behalf of the Nara clan, I'm so sorry for any slight, or disparagement we may have caused you as you were growing up, and I ask you to forgive us for any transgression I or the Nara clan, may have enacted against you."

The next one to speak was Kiba, as he continued his earlier act of submission, "Genin-Alpha, Naruto no Uzumaki-Namikaze, I apologize for my insults to you today, and in the time leading up to now. I am not in a position to ask you to forgive my clan," Kiba followed up, "but please accept my apology as an Inuzuka."

Naruto was quiet for a pregnant moment, when he closed his eyes and took a long meditative breath. He opened his eyes and looked at Kiba, then in low frequency said, "just remember your place from now on omega. I am outside of your clan structure so I don't adhere to it, but when we work together, or are in each other's company, consider me your Alpha, when nobody of higher rank is present. Unless, of course, you outrank, or are put in charge of me at some point, such is the rank structure of the Leaf."

Naruto turned to Shikamaru, and found Choji and Ino kneeling beside him. He decided to accept both of them with the Nara, since one clan was pretty much a mirror image of the other two. "I have no enmity toward any member of your clans, nor toward either of you personally. The only rebuke I have to offer is to the Yamanaka," Naruto admitted, he saw Ino stiffen as if ready to be hit, "you and Sakura, have harassed and pursued Sasuke Uchiha like two dogs chasing after a bone. That is disgraceful behavior for a kunoichi, especially since as a clan heiress yourself, you know he doesn't have very much say in whom he is allowed to date, let alone be married to, those things as you very well know, since it's part of the education all clan-heirs are required to have before they can be proclaimed as such."

"What," Sakura asked in anger?

Naruto looked at the rosette kunoichi, "that's right, Sakura-san, clan heirs and heiresses, have very little, if any say in whom they choose as a partner. I, myself was betrothed before I was even born, to the heiress, and now head of the Uchiha," Naruto informed her, "and it was still a valid agreement, even before I knew anything about the laws of clan succession." He looked at Ino, who was still tense and directed his voice at her, "even when I was nothing but a clanless orphan."

"Still the lies shouldn't have been a factor in how you trained, Sakura," he admonished her, "a true kunoichi cares only for strength, she trains to get strong and never needs to diet. The attractiveness of a kunoichi is a byproduct of her training," Naruto declared to her, "they don't where perfume, they don't where more make up than is necessary to help them amplify their natural assets, or distract their opponents in a fight. To a true kunoichi, their physical attraction is merely another tool they use to fulfill their missions, and it can be just as deadly as the kunai in your hand."

"What would a boy know about what it takes to be a kunoichi," Sakura scoffed reticently, as a Genin Clan-Head he definitely outranks her?

"Because I happen to be quite familiar with four of the most powerful kunoichi in the Village," Naruto declared, then quite proudly proclaimed, "one of whom happens to be my fiancée. I spar with all of them regularly, and I have never seen a single one of them abstain from food when it comes time to eat. I may be biased because I love them, but I'd say all of them are quite beautiful women. Izumi Uchiha is one of the most beautiful women I have seen, even compared to photos I've seen of my mother," sorry mom, sorry Mara, he entreated in his mind, as he morphed into the shape of his girlfriend, "and when we eat, I've seen her polish off, tray after tray of dango. Does that sound like a woman worried about her figure to you," he asked, as he returned to his original form?

[A/N: in my imagination Izumi looks like Megan Fox, if she went through special operations, military training.]

"I hope your Jonin-sensei is a serious kunoichi, Sakura," Naruto told her with a grave voice, "because if she's not, and she doesn't beat your civilian thinking out of your head. You're going to die, the first time you get sent to fight in a war, or even on a simple bandit extermination mission," he told her with all seriousness, "and they're not going to care that you're a girl, unless they capture you alive. If that happens, they will literally rape you to death," Naruto said severely, "if your so called best friend had bothered to properly indoctrinate you into the life of a shinobi. Instead of deliberately pushing your buttons," Naruto scolded the Yamanaka, who was still face down on the floor, shaking like a leaf, "or do you think it's a coincidence she always calls you, Zengaku-chan, right before you start competing with her for Sasuke-kun's attention? Yamanaka are taught psychology and psychoanalysis almost from the cradle," Naruto revealed to the class, "and as soon as they start at the Academy, they're taught how to employ psychological warfare. So my condition for my forgiveness of you, Yamanaka is simple, if Sakura survives until her first Chunin exam then all is forgiven," Naruto declared before walking over to sit next to Hinata, while saying over his shoulder, "if she dies before that point in her career, then you're dead to me."

Team Placement

It was a somber atmosphere that day, when their Academy instructors walked into the classroom for the last time. Naruto was sitting and leaning against Hinata, his ginunting were laying on the table, and he wore a sword on his back.

Sasuke was staring out of the window with his head in his palm. Sakura was sitting next to Naruto and Hinata, as close to the exterior window as possible. While Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji, sat as far from that group as possible, with Ino casting glances at Sakura on occasion, who did not so much as glance in Ino's direction. Kiba was sitting in almost the center of the room, and Shino remained in his usual seat.

The instructors shared a look, but shrugged, it was not what they were there for anyway. So they put smiles on their faces and walked to the middle of the class. "Well, good morning, Genin," Iruka greeted them, "and welcome to your first day as true shinobi."

"Good morning, Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei," the Genin responded dutifully.

"Now, first Mizuki is going to announce the class rankings, and as Naruto mentioned last week they don't really matter as far as your ninja career is concerned, they give you a good place to start to see how much you have to grow. They also are a good measure of how soon, you should be eligible to take the Chunin Exams," he explained, then added, "the ultimate decision is up to your Jonin-sensei, of course, but it should give you an idea of your potential."

The students remained quiet but attentive, as they awaited the results of the Exam. Mizuki stepped forward with a puzzled expression on his face, he had it since learning of the results of the written test. He looked up at Naruto with the same puzzled expression, how did Naruto get a perfect score on that part of the exam? Those were questions that only a Jonin should have a complete grasp of, Mizuki thought in consternation.

He ultimately shrugged his shoulders, I monitored him closely during the examination, so I could catch him if he tried to cheat. It would have given me a legitimate excuse to see a higher authority. I never saw him cheat, not a single foreign object, or jutsu was used, unless he used the Force, which I have never seen or felt him use here in the room. Not until he floated that rock to him but still couldn't detect him using it. If he cheated he's the best at it I've ever seen, Mizuki shook his head and looked at the rest of the class with a bland smile.

"Starting from 45th place: Sakura Haruno," Mizuki began, a few students later, "30th place: Choji Akamichi," then, "25th place: Kiba Inuzuka, 24th place: Ino Yamanaka, 23rd place: Shikamaru Nara," several more later, "4th place: Shino Aburame, 3rd place: Sasuke Uchiha, 2nd place and Kunoichi of the Year: Hinata Hyuga, First place and Rookie of the Year: Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze." That name change took everyone by surprise in the teacher's office.

Mizuki stepped back and Iruka stepped forward, "and now for team placements; Team One…" he began, then, "… Team Seven: Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Hinata Hyuga, and Sakura Haruno, your Jonin-sensei will be, Kurenai Yuhi; Team Eight: Sasuke Uchiha, Shino Aburame, and Kiba Inuzuka, your Jonin-sensei will be, Kakashi Hatake. Team Nine is still in rotation. Team Ten: Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akamichi, your Jonin-sensei will be, Azuma Sarutobi. This concludes your time here in the Academy, from here on out the hard stuff begins, I wish each and everyone of you good luck in the future."

Iruka stepped back and Mizuki came forward with a solemn face, "it is a great honor to have your name added to our Memorial Stone at training ground three. As great as it is to have one's name added to the stone, it is an even greater honor to live and pass on what you have learned to future generations. So, please, be sure to do everything in your power to achieve the greatest honor, and bring forth future generations to add to the strength of our village. You cannot do that with your name on a stone," Mizuki finished.

As they concluded with their remarks, the Academy instructors, gathered their belongings and filed out of the room. The class was silent for a time after they left, then as one, every Genin, except Ino, who had her hands buried in her face, weeping silently, turned to look at Naruto, who was in turn looking at Sakura. His eyes were thoughtful, as they looked at each other, and he gave her a reassuring smile, and without turning away from Sakura, spoke to Ino, "you have God's grace upon you, Yamanaka. Because Hinata and I, are now her teammates, we will do everything we can to whip Sakura into shape, and make her a formidable kunoichi," then he turned to glare at Ino, still crying into her hands, out of the corner of his eye, "but you're not home free yet, because as strong as we are we cannot always watch her back. Sakura can still die, or worse, depending upon one's beliefs about such things, be captured alive on any mission we're sent on, we're not invincible after all," he reminded them all.

"Why are you doing this for me, Naruto-san," Sakura asked with a trickle of tears running down her face, "I haven't exactly been the best person to you in the class?"

"Because you're a Konoha Genin now," Hinata answered for him, which he nodded his agreement with, "and all the leaves are important to the tree. If even one of them falls the tree will feel it, and so will we because we will lose a great friend."

"Plus, through the Force I have seen your future," Naruto informed her, "and you have the potential to become one of the strongest kunoichi in the Leaf. As well as a medic-nin without equal," Naruto told her, "but the future is always in motion, nothing is set in stone. It takes hard work to become strong, nobody is born that way," he checked his wristwatch, and looked at the clock in the room, "I'd say we have about an hour before our Jonin-sensei pick us up, would you like to join us for lunch, Sakura-san," he asked with a smile, "my treat?"

Sakura returned his smile with a pretty one of her own, "that would be nice, and you can tell me, all about how it feels to be engaged." Then her smile dimmed, "unless that's not how kunoichi behave," she asked hesitantly?

"Are you kidding," Naruto scoffed, "kunoichi are still women, and they're just as bad about girly-stuff as you ever were," Naruto informed her, "they just have a slightly different perspective about it, that's all. I mean, this one," he said, thumb-pointing to Hinata, with an annoyed face, "I have heard her, go on and on for a solid hour, with Izumi, about how to style my hair."

Sakura giggled, and turned to her kunoichi teammate, "did you two ever decide what to do with it, I mean his hair is like a stack of hay?"

Hinata following along as they made their way to the exit, began debating with the rosette about men's hairstyles. While Naruto lingered behind them to put his ginunting in place. He walked slowly to follow them, and passed by Sasuke's desk, when he spoke out, "Naruto-dobe, I have a new reason for getting stronger, now." Sasuke said while keeping his voice low and his eyes pointing out the window, when Naruto stopped, Sasuke continued, "it's so I can protect my sister, bring back my brother, and kill you if you ever hurt her outside of training." Sasuke turned to look him in the eye with two tomoed, Sharingan eyes, "that is my promise of a lifetime."

Naruto just smiled back, "that's a good reason to get strong Sasuke, but I really envy you right now." At the youngest Uchiha's curious gaze, Naruto continued, "you have three other men with you on your team," he sighed. "I've got women with me on my team, it's gonna be really difficult to maintain my sanity. Especially if I have to treat wounds," Naruto gained a thousand yard stare, "your sister is adamant that I can only see her like that, so I'm not that worried about you."

Sasuke just smiled, "sucks to be you!"