Chapter 6

\:/ Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any IP affiliated with it. \:/

Konoha had seen a very uneventful day. The streets weren't overly crowded, and the people that were out were mostly getting groceries or just random shopping. The Hokage's office had been slightly lighter as well, less important matters at hand, and more importantly, a lighter load on paperwork. All was quiet, and all was peaceful.

"DAMN YOU FURBALL!"

Huh, well, most was quiet. This thought was followed by a loud crash, followed by screams and shouts, followed by more sounds of things being broken.

"Kami, give me patience and give me strength." Sighed Hiruzen.

Naruto could be found near the source of those sounds. Considering, he was the source.

"Owwwww….." groaned the wincing blonde.

|I know I said this would take a lot of time to get used to, but the gravity seal should not be this difficult of an issue.| The fire-red inhabitant deadpanned.

|Again, this is my first genuine strength-training. I'm not exactly coordinated physically yet. So maybe… GIVE ME TIME YOU IMPATIENT FOX!| Naruto mentally shouted in frustration. He was simply trying to commute back to the training field, yet jumping across rooftops of varying height and distance with a level-two gravity seal had become quite difficult.

|Hmph.| The fox gruffed. Muttering something about disrespectful brats.

The struggling blonde had finally returned to the field, where his Kage-Bunshin were still working diligently, The clones seemed to only be doing a majority of two things, Sparring with each other practicing different styles in the Taijutsu book, and practicing writing down different seals, some had skipped out on that and focused on reading different chapters of these books.

"ALRIGHT EVERYONE!" The original yelled, capturing the attention of the clones. "TRAINING IS DONE AT THIS FIELD. PACK EVERYTHING UP, WERE DONE FOR TODAY!"

"AY-AY BOSS!" Responded the clones, and in creepy fashion, in unison.

|Kami, I feel like I have my very own military.| Thought the irked blonde

After spending some time helping his clones clean up the area and pack up the books, paper, ink, and everything used, into some boxes, Naruto requested that some help carry them with him to his apartment, while the rest of the clones just stay here and wait to be dispelled. After around 10 or 15 minutes of speedwalking through alleyways and through shopping centers, he ended up at his own, small, but his place. He walked inside leaving the supplies by the door on his way in and soon threw himself onto the chair. He dispelled the clones and felt the experience flow into him. The sensation never changed, a sudden pop is what it felt like, and it was almost like he felt all of the physical aspects at once, but not causing harm, it was like if he had felt something in memory, and remembering how that felt.

|So, what do we got?| Asked the Kyuubi, In a business-like demeanor.

"And you mean that in…"

|Taijutsu and seals, what can we do now?|

Naruto rummaged through his memories, thinking about what he knew at that moment.

"Well in terms of seals, Chakra Draining, Barrier, Storage seals, and Privacy barriers. In Taijutsu, well, that's a bit more complicated. I think I know what style I'll choose, but it'll take some time to practice."

|And what style is that?| The fox questioned curiously.

"Headsman's ax, it's a style that heavily relies on hard kicks powered by speed, occasionally using throws and grabs."

|Hmmm… I think you should use it as a Primary style, but I'm worried about what happens if those kicks don't work, or if your not in a viable position to kick, I'd recommend practicing standard hand-to-hand combat, although for now, it's not a worry.|

Naruto considered those words, and they made sense, if an opponent was faster, he'd be helpless with wide kicks, they took time from the start of the attack to when it connected, compared to just a normal jab. Thankfully, it wasn't the priority right away, just something in the back of his mind. The sun had finally started to set, as evident by the ray of orange-yellow light seeping through the window. Tomorrow was going to be an exciting day, Teams were finally becoming selected, and he would finally see who his teammates were, and more importantly, his sensei. He soon started to drift to sleep on the chair, tiredly dreaming about being in the coolest, and most awesome team imaginable, and more importantly, him, being the star.

\:/

|HEY BRAT! GET UP ALREADY!|

"Wha-?" mumbled a very groggy and still sleepy Naruto.

|Kami you slept like, 11 hours.|

"Whaaat? Ohhh... " groaned the blonde, slowly waking up, he rose from the uncomfortable chair and yawned, cracking his neck and back.

|Naruto, you need to get to the academy in an hour.| Ordered the whiskered demon.

Naruto took time to prepare a shower, fully waking up once the water hit him, cold at first, but reaching as hot as it could get soon throughout. He planned what to do for the day, but he realized it wouldn't matter if meeting his team and sensei took most of the day. He soon finished and got dressed, occupying his outfit he had bought from the "Library" underneath the Hokage's office.

|I'd recommend you get moving, bring an energy bar first though.|

"Yup, no problem" Naruto stated, quickly picking up a small energy bar as he ran out the door. Soon hopping across rooftops and ducking through alleyways to get where he needed.

|So who do you want on your team?| The fox questioned curiously.

|Hmmm… If I had to pick, I'd go with Shikamaru, and possibly Shino.| Naruto thought carefully. |They're both really smart, but nothing is better than the intelligence of a Nara, Shino is reserved and calculated, not only that but he's the perfect scout in enemy territory. And they both know pretty strong jutsu.| Naruto could only hope for a calm and strategic team. He soon landed at the academy and walked in.

"HUH?!"

The newly-found genin looked at the door in confusion, and some in distaste.

"This class is for people who passed, Naruto!" a random student shouted. Many other students saying something similar. Some were talking about his new clothes, and how they had improved his look, slightly.

"OH CAN IT! CAN'T YOU SEE THE HITAI-ATE!" The peeved blonde shouted back in response.

"Alright! Alright, everybody pay attention, today we're organizing you all into three-man cells, you'll be assisted with a jonin sensei who will train you along the way." Instructed the still recovering teacher, otherwise known as Iruka.

He started to run through some names, most Naruto didn't care for, at least, until he heard his name.

"Team 7 will consist of, Naruto Uzumaki -" Naruto was giddy with excitement at this point, praying for someone good. "- Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno."

|What. The. Fuck.|

|... Sorry |

There were mixed reactions from the group, both Naruto and Sasuke looked like they just lost a loved one. Sakura, however, was jumping up and down for being paired with the brooding, raven-haired teen. While Naruto continued to stare in disbelief, Iruka continued organizing teams. Team 8 consisted of Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, Team 10 was Choji, Ino, and Shikamaru. He quickly ran through some more names before ending the class and informing the students that their senseis will be coming by to pick them up shortly.

|Ugggghhhhh….| Groaned the exasperated blonde.

Group after group, a jonin would come and pick up three students, this lasted for an hour to three. Team 7 eventually became the last ones still there. During this time Naruto had worked on some storage, barrier, and chakra draining seals from the supplies stored in his belt.

\:/

"UGGGGHHHH! WHERE IS OUR SENSEI!"

Both of the current males in the room slightly twitched at the loud disturbance. Sakura had been trying her hardest to get with Sasuke and catch his attention for the past 3 hours. Naruto ended up running out of paper and just ended up meditating.

"Kami, can you be any louder?" Said Naruto, in a frustrated tone.

"Oh, You're one to talk!" The pink-headed girl responded.

|Oh boy this is gonna suck.|

|Oh shut it, once the chunin exams roll around you can request to work more independently, or be placed in different squads depending on the mission. You're not stuck with pinkie and emo for the rest of your life.|

|Hopefully sooner rather than later.|

By this time the door to the classroom slowly opened, everyone paused their current activities to look at who had walked through the door. It slowly creaked open and revealed a tall man with bleached white hair, he wore standard-issue Jonin attire, apart from the mask that covered his nose and mouth, and that his Hitai-ate was covering his left eye. His one eye seemed to be analyzing each of them down, almost as if he was sizing them up.

"YOU'RE LATE! DON'T YOU KNOW HOW TO TREAT ME AND MY SASUKE-KUN!" Screamed Sakura.

The mystery man simply sweatdropped at the display in front of him. A pink fangirl who really only seemed to be obsessed with a boy. The boy in question was a brooding and reserved person who seemed arrogant, as evident by the way he was practically sneering at him. A blonde who seemed to be tuning all of it out, anxiously tapping his foot, like he couldn't sit still.

"Well, my first impression of you all… Boring!" The man said, with an eye-smile, he quickly shifted his demeanor into a strict and more official one. "Rooftop. Two minutes. Don't be late."

He quickly vanished, using his Shunshin, disappearing in a blur.

|So, what do you make of him?|

|I believe I know who he is, that's Hatake Kakashi, on power terms I reckon he's still a lot stronger than you, you'd lose very quickly if you were in a one-on-one.|

|Well, maybe currently, not forever though.| Thought Naruto with a smirk, excited at the thought of fighting a jonin.

The trio quickly made it out up to the rooftop, Naruto would've used the shunshin, yet he still needed to perfect his clumsiness. So he opted for just using the stairs, unfortunately. When they had all made their way up there, the now-known Kakashi was sitting there in a squat position with his arms on his knees, waiting for their attention. They quickly sat down with Sakura on the left side facing the Jonin, while Naruto was on the right. Sasuke sat neatly in between.

"Alright, how about we get to know each other?" Suggested the masked Shinobi.

"How so?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, you know… Names, likes, dislikes, hobbies, dreams, the general."

"Well my name is Sakura, my likes… *giggle*, my hobbies, I don't have very many hobbies, my dreams… *Giggle*"

Kakashi sweatdropped at the display, he would need to set her straight for her to be any type of shinobi, "Well, any dislikes?"

"NARUTO!"

Naruto simply sighed in annoyance.

"Alright, emo you're next."

"Hmph. My name is Sasuke. I don't believe I have any likes, nor do I have any dislikes, and as for my dreams, it's not a dream. It's a singular goal I have. To kill someone." The raven-haired genin said in a venomous tone, not from the distaste of the emo remark.

|Oh boy.| |Oh boy.| Naruto and the Kyuubi thought in unison.

Kakashi expected this response, figuring that someone was the missing-nin he was thinking about. "Alright, Blondy your up."

"I'm Naruto! My likes consist of Ramen and Seals, I dislike people who are arrogant or loud, one of my dreams is to become the Hokage! And as for my hobbies, I like to train often." The blonde said.

That interested the Jonin, considering he was the actual one to even mention training.

"Hey!" shouted the pink-haired shinobi. "What about yourself, shouldn't you tell us about you?"

"Well I suppose I should, My likes and dislikes I don't feel like sharing. My hobbies aren't necessary. As for my dreams, well I have one."

|Well, h,e has a lot to hide.|

|For all I know he can just be eccentric.|

"Ok, that now we are all best friends, I want you three by the third training field, be there by 6 am. We're gonna have a little survival exercise, so make sure you don't eat breakfast unless you want it coming back up."

This seemed to make two of the three students slightly worried about what was occurring, Naruto only stared at him incredulously. "Wait, why do we need more survival exercises, we ran through all of that during the academy, we should be able to take part in real missions now!" Asked the girl of the trio.

"Hehehe… This exercise is a bit different from the ones you were used to, this determines whether you become a true genin or not."

Naruto and Sakura's eyes widened while Sasuke's only narrowed.

"Did you believe that passing the academy is what constituted you as a genin? We then have the personally designed tests that we put you, newbies, through, the academy was simply to see who even had a chance. So you know... Sixty-six percent of all genin fail, and are sent back to the academy for more training." Kakashi explained.

|Fuck, if I get pulled down by these two, I'm personally fighting Ji-Ji.|

|Calm down brat, it's not like you can't just talk to the old geezer.|

The team's reactions varied, Naruto was simply frustrated and mildly concerned, Sasuke grit his teeth, determined to become a shinobi, no matter the cost, Sakura, was completely worried about passing, nervous if she could stay with Sasuke.

"Remember, training field three, six am." He soon promptly vanished afterward of reminding them.

The team stayed sitting down for a second or two longer, taking in all the info. Naruto was the first to rise.

"Alright, I'm saying this so you two have a chance to pass, EAT BREAKFAST! Our sensei may have said not to, but there's never been a shinobi who's preached on skipping out on literally the most needed meal in the day. Just guys, I know you don't like me, but please be smart tomorrow."

The raven-haired glared daggers at Naruto, seemingly almost challenging him. "Tch." was all he had to say. Sakura, however, was a different story.

"DON'T TALK LIKE YOUR BETTER THAN ME, AND ESPECIALLY NOT SASUKE-KUN!"

He simply groaned in frustration, shaking his head. Before she could continue her verbal assault, Naruto had jumped across several rooftops, already returning to his apartment. He had one thing he needed to do before tomorrow. Perfect the Shunshin. Hating to admit it, he did think it was pretty cool to do what Kakashi did. He would've gone inside, but he still had some time left in the day, and there was a good way to practice from his roof. Directly to the left, maybe a few hundred feet, he had an excellent opportunity to practice, his goal was to make it just relatively in the center.

|Alright, about time we finally finish this, Eh fuzzball?|

|I swear when you die, it'll be my hand.|

\:/

The Uchiha compound was almost always empty, save for the random cat or mouse, and one person. This person was staring at a training dummy, holding a kunai, slightly shaking, as his mind ran a thousand miles an hour. However, one thing was at the centerpiece currently, Naruto. Judging from how he looked earlier, he got a lot stronger a lot faster than what should've happened. Something was up, and he needed to know. He breathed slowly, calming his shaking, and threw the kunai at the training dummy, it was a clean hit, right in the forehead, it fits neatly with the 19 others planted around on various targets on the dummy. All of them being a bullseye. He soon relaxed, and slowly relieved himself of the tension in his muscles, it took a lot of time to get used to being around or using a kunai again, but it was necessary, to become the hero he needed to be to avenge his clan. As he slowly cleaned up, he had one thought in the back of his mind, the way to truly become strong, to avenge his clan, and become a savior for the famed Uchiha.

He muttered only a few words, but with enough passion to make it difficult to breathe.

"Naruto… What is your secret."

\:/ Thank you everyone for being understanding about the long wait period. I plan on making at least a chapter a week, with 3000 words, give or take some hundred words. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! NarutoFanatic15 Out. \:/