Chapter 1: Idiot with Deception

So I've decided to rewrite this story in a different way, I originally started this story when I was 15, I promised I wouldn't abandon it and I had plans for a huge story. To 15 year old me that was the truth, but I'm currently 24, 9 years later, and obviously I never actually got far in this story. I did have the general idea of the story planned, and I didn't wanna abandon it, but real life as an adult got in the way. So I've decided to rewrite the story and hopefully actually get it to be a well liked fanfic that's entertaining and long, but I wanted to change one thing, that being the fact that I had Naruto learn 10 Jutsu from the scroll of seals. I no longer like the idea of him gaining those right off the bat without training, this story was called Shadow Masters because the whole goal was for him to use my created "Into The Shadows" Jutsu as one of his main 3 Jutsu, the other 2 being Shadow Clones, and Rasengan. I've not been a huge fan of OP Naruto fics ever, I'm not gonna say I haven't read them, nor that I haven't favorited them, but I prefer a steady growth pace. So for this rewrite, Naruto only learns "Into The Shadows" as a second Jutsu on top of the Shadow Clones from the Scroll of Seals, for the most part I'm gonna copy/paste Shadow Masters til what I have written, and change it where it needs to be changed, then free write the rest.

I will absolutely take user feedback for anything after I eventually get to Chapter 18, because I'm currently working 60 hour weeks IRL, so I have no intention of changing anything (except the 2 or 3 things not mentioned here that I already know I'm changing) until I'm free writing again. (I will take grammar mistake corrections, because those are easy edits.)

For those that have been hoping I'd update the original and came here, I really hope you enjoy these changes, I know despite my original story not getting anywhere it had mostly positive reviews, and I still occasionally get a message about whether I'll continue it.

Posted 3/21/21

Naruto is still the village idiot. The only difference is that he learned more than the shadow clone jutsu from the scroll of seals. This is a rewrite with a twist of my first fanfic.

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, or anything Naruto related.

It was another peaceful day in Konohagakure. Well it was, that of course was before sun started to rise and the villagers found that Naruto painted the Hokage Monument. "NA-RU-TOOO" came a shout from behind the blond haired academy student.

Naruto darted away, he saw that his Academy Sensei, Iruka Umino, was chasing right behind him. He ran through the village that he had memorized like the back of his hand, trying his best to avoid his sensei. He just couldn't understand why he could flee every other Ninja in the village except Iruka. Even when he thought he gave his Sensei the slip, he'd find him right on his tail.

"Awh, why is it you're always the one to catch me? Huh? Why is that Iruka-sensei." He said after he eventually got caught up with, smiling and scratching the back of his head.

"Naruto that's not the point… Now would you like to tell me…" He stopped, then his whole calm figure changed and his face grew larger and turned red and he yelled "WHY AREN'T YOU AT THE ACADEMY RIGHT NOW?"

"Uhm… Uh… right… About that…" Naruto's face paled, after a few seconds he turned around away from Iruka and said "I'll be right there" and he ran off, running in the wrong direction.

…

(Academy)

Iruka walked back to the academy, and when he got there he found Naruto in his seat, grinning. 'How is he here? He ran the opposite way and if he went back the right way I would have seen him' Iruka thought bewildered, but decided that was a thought for another time. "Sorry I'm late to class" Iruka apologized "There was an incident."

"I bet it was Naruto!" A pink haired girl named Sakura shouted out. "That Baka!"

Naruto got a lot of looks of disgust from his classmates, mostly the civilians. They never really seemed to like him, but at least he was okay with a few people.

"For now I'm giving you all 30 minutes training time for tomorrow's graduation exam" Iruka then looked at Naruto "Naruto can you stay back for a few minutes? I need to talk to you."

Naruto gulped, not knowing what was going to happen. Everyone then left the class leaving Naruto alone in the class with Iruka, who Naruto knew was probably going to scold him.

Iruka decided to start when he saw the slight fear in the orange wearing blondes face "So Naruto…"

"You got no proof it was me that painted the monument" Naruto interrupted.

Iruka gave Naruto a kind smile then continued to say what he had to say "Naruto this isn't about that, but after class today, me and you are going to visit Hokage-sama." he then added "about a few things."

Confused Naruto asks "Uhm then what are we here for?" He couldn't quite grasp what Iruka-Sensei wanted to talk about if it wasn't for the fact that he was caught after his prank.

"Well I'd just like to ask how it is you are capable of hiding from ANBU in bright clothes, and also how are you able to outrun them?"

Naruto tries to think of a way to say it, then scratches his head. "Uh well… When you have mobs of villagers and ninja trying to catch you for as long as you can remember, you learn to be fast."

Iruka felt bad for the kid in front of him, whom he used to hate and blame for his parents death. If he was anything near as bad as the demon fox he'd have taken action to all the crap he's taken over the years. He truly believed that if anyone took the time to actually get to know Naruto they'd see he has a pure soul.

"Naruto what I came to talk to you about is your stealth, and speed." He pauses "which is better than the average Jonin." Iruka didn't quite know that Naruto's speed wasn't at the level of Jonin, and that it was just the routing the kid in front him would take.

Naruto shocked asks "U… How is it possible for someone that's not even a Genin be better than a Jonin at something?"

"That's the ninja world for you" Iruka replied with a smile. "Well Naruto, after class, me and you are going to have a meeting with Hokage-sama."

Iruka waved Naruto off to go and join his class, and found himself in deep thought wondering about the wonders Naruto could do if he were to actually harness his skills at stealth. 'Sadly if he doesn't mature it'll be a waste.'

…...

(At the Hokage Office)

"Ah Naruto-kun, Iruka-kun, I've been expecting you two" Came a voice behind a large chair.

"Greetings Hokage-sama." Iruka said with a bow.

"Hey Jiji, that chair will be mine sooner than I thought after what Iruka-sensei told me."

"Naruto, that's no way to greet Hokage-sama."

"Ah but Iruka it's fine" The aged Hokage said, blowing smoke out of his pipe.

"Yes Hokage-sama." Iruka said with a bow.

"So Iruka what brings you here?" asked the Hokage

"Well Hokage-sama, Naruto has speed and stealth skills higher than the average Jonin." While under normal circumstances Iruka would give out a detailed report, he knew the Hokage loved Naruto like a grandson and wouldn't want a report and would just like to hear it how it was.

"Is that so?" Iruka nodded "Fine then we'll test him right away… So long as that's fine with you Naruto"

Naruto's eyes widened "A test I can actually pass?" he replied happily, then he remembered he couldn't even pass the Genin test, so even if he did good on this test, he still couldn't become a Genin so he frowned then said "but it won' even matter… It won't help me get the stupid Clone Jutsu, so I can't pass the genin test" Naruto didn't understand why he couldn't learn the Clone Jutsu, it was meant to be the easiest of the 3 Jutsu they test you on. He got the Kawarimi and Transformation Jutsu down, and they were meant to be harder.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, the third Hokage saw where Naruto was struggling, and knew why he was, so he decided he'd do something he shouldn't do, teach Naruto the shadow clone jutsu. While normally this would kill someone Naruto's age due to Chakra Exhaustion, Naruto was a special case, and it was due to that special case that he couldn't perform a simple Clone Jutsu, and while the aging Hokage wasn't a fan of paperwork, and knew by doing this the Council would erupt once they found out, he didn't care that it would increase his work load.

"Naruto I am going to do you a favor. I'm gonna teach you the Shadow Clone Jutsu…" Iruka cut off the Hokage before he could continue, because he knows that very few people can use the Shadow Clone because of how much chakra it takes. "With all due respect Hokage-sama, but Naruto can't even do the clone jutsu, so how do you expect him to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu, a Jutsu that most Jonin can't do more than one of."

Hiruzen smiled at Iruka, he was one of the only people that cared about Naruto. He was glad he could trust Iruka with Naruto. "Iruka I appreciate your concern for Naruto-Kun, but the reason why Naruto can't perform the Clone Jutsu is because his reserves are larger than mine, and his control sucks."

Iruka was shocked, he said, stuttering, "la… lar… ger th… than yours?"

"Yes Iruka" The Hokage confirmed

Iruka back standing tall in front of his Hokage then asked "But if his reserves are so large, why can't he do the clone jutsu?"

"That's likely because he was born with those reserves, which explains his horrible control" He wondered why Iruka didn't put 2 and 2 together right away, Iruka was one of his most talented Academy Instructors.

"Hey I'm right here" Naruto interjected, not paying attention to most of what was going on, but he heard the horrible control part.

"Yes Naruto, I know, I wouldn't have said it that way if you weren't" Hokage responded

Naruto looked confused and the Hokage saw that, so he said "You see Naruto I'm telling you this so you can improve your control" He then explained a little more about what he was saying to Naruto, and when Naruto finally understood he got back on topic.

"Ah yes Naruto, I'll give you a scroll to get the shadow clone technique down, then when you graduate the academy I'll tell you it's secret, which will help you with Ninjutsu, and Chakra control"

Naruto took the scroll, then left after saying his good-byes, and he was very happy for once about the genin exams because he had a chance to pass for the first time.

…...

(Next day graduation exam)

Naruto walked into the academy happy. His classmates didn't understand his smile, because they KNEW he was going to fail, so his classmate Shikamaru decided to go up to him "Why are you so happy Naruto? You do know today is the graduation exam right?"

"Yeah I know Shika, but I just got the Shadow Clone Jutsu down, and when I first tried it I got well over 200 made"

Shikamaru just froze out of shock, because he knew Naruto wouldn't lie to him, and he knew what the Shadow Clone Jutsu was. His father was the villages chief tactician after all.

"Hey Shika you there?" Naruto waved his hand in front of Shikamaru's face.

"Two… Two hundred?" Still shocked he asked.

"Yeah" Naruto smiled.

back to his senses he asked "How? My dad can only perform a few"

"I have bigger reserves than almost everyone in this village, if not all" Naruto said remembering last night's conversation with the Hokage.

Shikamaru couldn't believe what he was hearing so he just went back to his seat to sleep and hoped this was just a dream.

Iruka 5 minutes later started class and called people up to do their jutsu test "Uzumaki, Naruto" He called last " I want you to perform the Transformation, then the Substitution, and lastly the Clone, or in your case the Shadow Clone." Some people in the class that were in clans got shocked at the last remark and some were asking 'How can the dobe be able to do the Shadow Clone Jutsu?' and then there was Sasuke who was shocked, but all he said was "hnn"

Kiba being arrogant asked "Why does the dobe get to use a Jonin only technique, while we have to make a regular clone?"

Before Iruka could answer Sakura shouted out "If Naruto-baka can do it, then Sasuke-kun can easily do it." Then came shouts of "yeah" From Sasuke's fangirls.

Iruka then cut in and said "Well most of you could die from making one Shadow Clone, because of small Chakra reserves, but Naruto has a larger reserve than Hokage-sama, and actually anyone in this village. He actually has a larger reserve then everyone in this class combined, including Mizuki-sensei and me."

No one interrupted anymore, but there were a lot of murmurs about it being a lie, and Naruto decided to start. He performed the first two without a problem, then it came time for the shadow clone. "Okay Naruto, perform as many clones as you can with doing at least 3 to pass"

Naruto with a smirk did the seals then said "Multi- Shadow Clone Jutsu" and over 4000 Shadow Clones came into existence, most of which were outside of the academy, because of how crammed up the space was in the classroom.

Iruka was so shocked he almost fainted and then asked "Naruto how can you do so many? Hokage-sama in his prime could only make about a hundred!"

Scratching the back of his head he said "Well you told me to make as many as I could, so I used almost all my Chakra, and this is how many came about"

"Well congratulations Naruto, you are now a genin of Konoha" He then smiles at Naruto then said "Now everyone that passed, report back here tomorrow for the team arrangements, he turned to Naruto "oh and Naruto Hokage-Sama requested I escort you to his office for the Shadow Clone Jutsu's secret."

Mizuki then appeared out of nowhere and said "Let me take Naruto to the Hokages office. It'll help me get to know a fellow leaf comrade more."

"Very Well" Iruka agreed because he wanted Mizuki to see Naruto for Naruto, and not the prisoner inside him.

On the walk to the Hokage's office, Mizuki stopped Naruto and said "Naruto there's a special mission which will let you become a Chunin right after"

Interested Naruto asked "What is it? Huh Mizuki-sensei? What is it?" He couldn't believe how much has changed in just a day, first he got way to make the Clone Jutsu work, then he finally passed the Genin Exams, and now Mizuki-Sensei was telling him he could become Chunin.

"Calm down Naruto, you have to get the Scroll of Seals and meet me at this place" Mizuki said pointing to a place on a map.

Naruto didn't know what the Scroll of Seals was, or where to get it, he voiced this to Mizuki who spent a few minutes explaining where it was, but making Naruto believe it's nothing special

"Will do."

They then continued to the Hokage's Office where they eventually got to.

Naruto got to the office and found out the Shadow Clone secret, and could see how it would help him.

…

Okay last thing is Naruto won't be overpowered in this fic, but he will be powerful and deadly later on, just not overpowered

Well thanks for reading, adel9111 out!