I DO NOT OWN NARUTO/Naruto Shippuden
Chapter 6
The village gates were in sight, the large wood walls and massive green doors which hid amongst the similar shades of the tree lines. The hiragana for 'retreat' decorated the two imposing doors.
It was always a welcoming sight for the young boy, the sight of his home. It was late at night, he would go and see everyone tomorrow, after being on the road for a week and a half, he was rightly tired, mentally tired, Jiraiya had been up to his usual antics the entire trip.
He felt as if he was cheating, not attending the academy then just being able to take the Genin test, yes, he had trained with one of the legendary Sanin. But even with all of that it still felt unfair, but when do ninjas fight fair.
He would turn up to the academy, he would pass, he would be assigned a team everything would go swell.
Reaching his house, he put his gear away, got his clothes ready for the next day and lie down.
~ The Next Day ~
The light of morning pierced through the blinds, Naruto groaned, he had not got enough sleep. Even if that was the case, he was not getting back to sleep, looking at the clock it read seven in the morning, he had an hour before he had to be at the academy. Throwing his legs over the edge of the bed, before he could think he heard a thud and felt a light pain in his feet. In his confusion he leant forward.
His feet had hit the ground.
Now to anyone this would be normal, but for Naruto this was weird, this had never happened. He guessed that he would have grown but this seemed ridiculous. Pushing himself off the bed he walked to his mirror, he had definitely grown.
Finding the clothes, he lay out for himself the day before, he got changed. In waterfall he had taken to carrying his Chokuto with him, he almost strapped it to his back. He had to remind himself, he would hold himself until he was a ninja and carrying that sword would make people suspicious.
Laying it back down on the top of the dresser, he took a deep breath and left his home, house this was not his home, when he became a ninja then he would be able to move into his home.
Walking out of his mother's house, through the gates, he was met with the sight he adored, the light dusting of clouds in the deep blue sky, contrasted by the ring of greenery that surrounded the village. Leaping on top of the nearest light post he threw a softened gaze to the village he loved, it was good to be back as beautiful as Waterfall and Fuu were it was good to be back.
He decided to take the long way to the academy, instant travel was great but there was so much you would miss, the soft brush of the air against his face, the light chill that still remained in the air even after sunrise. An hour was a long time, what would he do?
A familiar scent wafted through the air, it was just like the time in waterfall except this smell was complete, it wasn't a close second it was the Ichiraku ramen! That was better than familiarising himself with the village once more. With a spring in his step he made his way to the ramen stand.
Setting his sights on the iconic blinds of the shop immediately put him in a good mood. It would be a cold day in hell before ramen didn't cheer him up at least a little bit.
Pushing the cream coloured cloth aside he peeped into the ramen stand, there was his surrogate sister, stirring whatever was in the massive pot. He gave a light sniff, Miso broth, it was the perfect morning.
"Hey Nee-chan" Naruto began in a composed manner.
Obviously, she was still in quite a daze, her head slowly tilted upwards before whipping sideways to meet his gaze. There was Naruto, he had definitely grown, he was well and truly taller than her even if she was five years older than him.
"Naruto-kun, it's so good to see you! When did you get back?"
"It good to be back, I got in late last night and I was tired from the trip"
"Well I'm guessing you're here for a reason and this is almost ready, how would you like a bowl?" Naruto's eyes lit up, it had been half a year since he had had the 'food of the gods', while he toned down his intake of the dish, it was still far in away his favourite meal.
"That sounds great Nee-chan"
"Well have a seat, it'll be here in a few minutes" The blond nodded sliding onto the stool he looked over the counter.
"Sure thing, where's Oji-san?" Naruto had wanted to see both of the ramen chefs, but he could wait.
"He'll be away for today, expect him tomorrow evening if you want to stop by again" Ayame said whilst placing the bowl of steaming ramen in front of the young boy.
The two spent their time talking, close to forty minutes later Naruto had to leave. He had actually lost track of time, he would likely be a few minutes late to the academy, but he didn't mind too much. While thinking of the academy he realised something, his time away had guaranteed his position as the dead last.
Seeing the gates to the familiar building he walked through, the doors of the academy were still open, a few others students appeared to be late as well. Looking to the small training field on the left he saw a younger class doing projectile training, he gave a nostalgic smile. He couldn't wait to get out of the academy, the mere thought of putting on the leaf head protector gave him hope but that did not take away from his time in the academy.
Strolling through the halls he heard the faint murmuring of each class as he passed their doors, trudging up the stairs he kept getting more and more excited about being back, he hadn't seen his friends in half a year and was going to make up time.
Reaching the room marked '205', he took a deep breath, slowly sliding the door open he was met with a sight he had become so accustomed to. Iruka, having his daily lecture to the class about shinobi history, Mizuki, surveying the class for who was and wasn't paying attention.
Looking to his classmates as they all slowly looked over him, the feeling of scrutinising stares no longer had any hold over him, so he just gave a bored stare back. Meanwhile the thoughts going through the thoughts of everyone else in the room was of whether this was the same boy that had left six months ago. Well, minus two, one who just didn't care and the other of displeasure.
Naruto's focus on training had done wonders for his physique, he still had the wiry frame, but thanks to his overall growth the definition of his muscle was clearly visible. Poor Hinata couldn't handle it, she simply ducked under her desk before she passed out, that would not leave a good impression. His hair was still in the short ponytail, with the shorter sides showing their spiky nature by surround his head.
Shikamaru was asleep so he was none the wiser, Shino just raised an intrigued eyebrow. Ino had a light dusting of pink on her cheeks before shaking herself out of her reverie, Choji smiled and waved before putting his hand back in his pack of chips. Kiba scoffed, he could've waited a bit longer, now him and his sister would be back at it and finally Sakura just looked confused, the boy looked familiar.
"Ah! Welcome back Naruto" Iruka brought everyone out of their thoughts, it was good to see the boy back in the village, he'd been sorely missed.
"Thanks Iruka-sensei!"
"Now that you're here, go take a seat" Naruto just nodded before seating himself next to the sleeping Nara. Said boy was woken by the commotion, lifting his head just to comment on the fact that Naruto's arrival was a drag then putting his head back down.
"Aww, you know you don't mean that Shika, you're always happy to see me" Giving an exaggerated smile he received a few light chuckles.
"Now that we are all in attendance, we can continue" Naruto Uzumaki was back.
~ End of Class, Six Hours Later ~
Naruto was still quite energetic; he was still really happy about being back. Now he had to go see the Hokage, it would be good to see him again, he was a constant in his short life, so a six-month deficiency was odd. Once again walking through the village, he took in the scent, the view, the sounds. No matter what happened this village was his home.
Trudging through the market, he saw a particular Dango stand, seated on one of the outside tables was the infamous mop of purple hair. Oh, how he wanted to go and say hi, to clear anything up, but her clear showing of wanting to do nothing with him. He was still furious with himself; this emotion was clear as it was plastered across his features. Why did he screw up with the person who he loved? he still wasn't sure what love it was or if it was even love, he knew he still cared about Anko.
Unfortunately, it was at this time that the Snake Mistress decided to roam her eyes over the markets. That was when a bright gold took stole her attention, where had she last seen it? Slowly lowering her hazelnut eyes, she immediately knew where she remembered it from. The three whisker marks, deep blue eyes, without thinking she smiled, Anko still loved him. But something was different, his features were set in a scowl.
She couldn't take it, she the face of the boy she loved directing anger towards her was just too much. Body flickering away before she could let out any emotions, she still had a reputation as an Ice queen to keep, she still had dignity.
While Anko was having a self-righteous inner debate, Naruto had just realised what he had done, not only had he not made an attempt to fix anything between them, he had screwed up again. God, why couldn't he do anything right.
Heaving a deep sigh, he picked his head up and continued his walk to the Hokage tower. Looking upon the red building, he felt the fire of his dreams to be Hokage burn at new heights.
Pushing the door open he had less than a second before he was caught in a bone-crushing hug. "Naruto-kun! It so good to see you again!"
Relaxing into the hug and then wrapping his arms around the girl. "It's great to see you too Nee-chan" he spoke softly. "Hokage-sama will be ready in fifteen minutes, please tell me how your trip was"
"Sure thing!"
Two talked about the trip, signing the toad contract, Fuu and everything in between.
As his sister figure looked towards the clock, she remembered something. "With how close you are to this Fuu, you might make Hana jealous"
Naruto let out a heavy sigh, he knew that he would have to tell people about this and that it would be awkward. "As you know I am of Uzumaki heritage and as our blood carried special abilities, massive chakra pools and enhanced longevity of life. I've been told that certain members of the clan could mould chakra so dense that it could form chains, these chains were very effective in containing Tailed beasts" She was aware of the boys knowledge about his tenant, but she still didn't get the picture.
"So? What does that have to do with this?"
"Certain people in this village are interested in restarting my clan and as there are laws that give them the right to do so. I'll likely have to take on multiple wives, Hana has voiced her discomfort but will come to a decision. And no, I'm not pursuing anyone else until it is confirmed that I must take them on."
She was happy, she didn't want her younger brother to be forced into relationships and be forced to produced children just for the benefit of the village. She was also happy that he wasn't just going around attempting to bed other females, especially at his age.
"Well, you'll have to cross that bridge when you come to it but right now you should go and see Hokage-sama"
"Yeah, you're right. It was good to see you again" Naruto waved over his shoulder as he made his way towards the Hokage's office. The path that he had travelled so often, the steps up to the office.
Nearing the door, soon, he promised himself, soon he would always be looking at door from the inside. Pushing the door open his eyes met those of the aged Sarutobi, the latter's face immediately brightened up, it was clear that he had had a long day. His age was more pronounced due to the exaggeration of his wrinkles.
"Naruto-kun, welcome back!"
"Thank you, Hokage-sama, while Waterfall was good, the Leaf is my home" Initially the old man was disheartened by the name, it was clear Naruto still didn't fully trust him. But it was always a wonderful feeling whenever he claimed the Leaf as his home.
"Now Jiraiya has given me an idea of what you have gotten up to, would you mind filling in some blanks?"
"Of course, Hokage-sama" As Naruto recounted their trip, he talked about becoming a summoner of the toads, perfecting his father's Taijutsu style, Fuu, when they got to the topic of Fuu Hiruzen sighed.
"Naruto" Said boy stood at attention, the loss of the affectionate suffix was not lost on him. "I assume you have read the Clan and Village Laws Charter?"
"Yes sir"
"Then I can believe that you know what I will say now" Hiruzen at this point was hanging his head, it was a horrid thing to force a child into sexual encounters, it is even worse when the aim is not their benefit. Naruto gave the man a stiff nod.
"I will tell the council of your heritage when you become a shinobi of this village, while most will not have known, I firmly believe that an associate of mine will push for it. And if two of my elder's council agree to it, they have the power to enforce this."
This was exactly what he did not want to hear. "Thank you for telling me Hokage-sama"
"Once again Naruto-kun, I'm sorry" Naruto was aware of the Hokage's want to look after him, he was happy it made him feel wanted. But due to the fact that the man still had a village to run that he still couldn't fully trust him. One child, Jinchuuriki or not, could never outweigh the village.
"That is fine Hokage-sama. If that is all I will take my leave" Hiruzen just let his head dip further. Nothing was helping his relationship with the young blond. The figure of the boy turned the corner after exiting the room, closing the door behind him.
~ Day of the Exam ~
Light flooded the bedroom, the sun-kissed blond groaned as he pulled the sheets back over his head. This was until he remembered what today was, sitting up, throwing his legs to his side he began his day. This would be the most important day of his life, he would finally be recognised as a ninja, he would hint to his ability during the exams, where he did not know.
He would not perform any physically demanding exercises before the exam as he needed to be in peak physical form to perform to certain standards.
Naruto was taking his time getting ready, he would make sure that everything went the way it was planned, he would just pass while showing his skill, he had finally decided on how to do that. Removing his trousers, shirt and jacket he checked himself in the mirror as he put his hair into the short ponytail.
Sliding on his sandals by the door, he was ready for the exam, hopefully there wasn't a Genjutsu component or he would fail if he didn't increase his other scores. If that were to happen, it would draw suspicion.
Leaving the house, he mentally prepared himself for the exam.
The walk to the academy was long and arduous, much more than it should have been. He was so giddy about the fact that he would be a ninja by the end of the day.
Arriving at the academy had happened as If it was any other day, younger students brushed past him. It was likely they were just as eager to be in his position as he is.
He was the third to arrive to his classroom, he was after the Uchiha and Hyuga heirs. As they shuffled into the classroom, he assessed the likelihood of each's passing of the graduation exam, he guessed close to twenty students would pass. Though another thought that crossed his mind was that the strain on the numbers of Jonin who were on duty.
Sasuke Uchiha, he would definitely pass, it would be sacrilege for the golden child not to. People would be up in arms if he was to fail. Realistically he would take the rookie of the year title, when he compared Sasuke to the stories Pervy-sage told him of his father the Uchiha 'genius' was nothing short of underwhelming.
His father had graduated at the age of ten, that was during times of peace, there was no need for a student to pass so early, but he did because of his raw skill and incredible mind. Sasuke's older brother, the very same that murdered his clan was the definition of genius, even during times of war to graduate at the age of seven was preposterous. Finally, the most ridiculous was Kakashi Hatake, his father's student, he also graduated during times of war, but he graduated before the completion of his first year in the academy. He was five years old when he graduated, and less than a year later he was promoted to Chunnin. Chunnin at freaking six!
While Naruto was not blind to his skill, he knew that even with the Flying Raijin, he would not compare to those three. He knew that the three of them also worked much harder than him from a much earlier age, he likely compares closest to his father ironically. With a pursuit in creating and perfecting a smaller array of techniques.
Sasuke could not compare to those three in the slightest, the term genius had lost significant value since then. Naruto guessed that since they were in a time of relative piece the expectations and standards had dropped.
Shino Aburame, he would not take the rookie of the year title as his overdependence on his clan's use of their insects had led to a detrimental deficiency in his uses of projectiles and taijutsu. He would ace the theoretical side, his mind was the sharpest, both in the collection and maintenance of knowledge but his tactical wit was prodigal, just like those of his clan he was the epitome of pragmatism. If something was illogical or had a high risk of failure it would not be done.
Shikamaru was similar in a way to Naruto, he would only just pass, not because he was only just good enough, but because he would put in the least amount of effort possible for him to pass. Knowledge wise, he was not like Shino, tactically there was only one person who would ever compare, Shikaku Nara, Shikamaru's father. No matter what his opponent would do he would a plan for it, he would always be more than fifty steps ahead of them.
Choji Akimichi, would pass easily, he was intelligent, not to the level of the three previously mentioned, but still unquestionably smart. He was too kind so he would likely fail the Taijutsu portion, but with everything else he should perform admirably.
Kiba Inuzuka, brash, overconfident, blunt and often quite ignorant. He would pass, his performances in the physical attributes would carry his likely pitiful output in the theoretical portions. After spending the time with the Inuzuka heir he could honestly say that he had more respect for him than others. Inuzuka's were naturally loyal, Kiba was no exception, even if he had a relationship with his sister, he could fully trust in the fact that as a fellow leaf citizen he would step in if there were any issues.
Hinata Hyuga, crippling self-confidence issues, they would lead to lacklustre performances. When there was less pressure and the performance was not publicly viewed, he believed that she would undoubtedly be the strongest kunoichi in the class. She would succeed in the theoretical portions so he believed that she would likely pass.
Sakura Haruno, her book smarts were unquestionably the best in the class, even passing that of Shino. She had an uncanny ability to retain information. She would perform mediocrely in the physical portions, due to her likely perfect theoretical work she would likely be a competitor for kunoichi of the year, deserved or not. With the state of female ninja right now, that title meant nothing, comparing her to his old sensei's and Fuu, she would be effectively swept under the rug and forgotten about.
Finally, Ino Yamanaka, had Ino not taken to her training seriously she would have at best managed second place, be that to Hinata or Sakura. Now with the effort she has been putting in after the intervention of Naruto she was the main competitor of the top kunoichi. While she may lose to Hinata in Taijutsu, projectiles and Ninjutsu would have her name written all over it. Physically as well she was the most developed, she had dropped her diet when Naruto reminded her of the kunoichi of the village eat quite large, fulfilling meals and that leads to an even more desirable body. Needless to say, it was dropped quicker than Naruto could flash.
His friends were an interesting group, but he had high expectations for their future as ninja.
Eventually Iruka and Mizuki strolled into the classroom. "Welcome to what might be your final day with us, the graduation exam!"
Everyone was barely managing to remain in their seats, it felt like they had waited their entire lives for this moment. Even the ever apathetic Uchiha was visibly excited.
"For the exams today, we will begin with a written exam" Que the multiple groans. "Then we will move to the Taijutsu portion competition" The children perked back up at this statement. "Finally, we will have the ninjutsu portion, this will be the exams, you will need a grade above eighty percent overall. You can completely fail on portion but still pass due to success in other portions." While the general thoughts of the students were along the lines of how they expected to perform in each test respectively, a portion of their minds were taken by the three quiet students in the class. Sasuke and Shikamaru were no surprise, one was overly serious, and the other, well… he was asleep.
The third one was what confused them, the prospect of a written exam and the basic clone jutsu were alien to the like of Naruto. Even with his improved chakra control he couldn't create a single clone and he hadn't shown any ability in written examinations. He showed no outwards reaction to the exams given, he was normally quite vocal and if there were any exams that he could not perform well in many would expect an outburst of some sort.
"As we are all here, we will begin with the written exam." Mizuki stated, he had a mischievous smirk hidden by his long grey hair. Should everything go right, he would have the power he deserves.
Naruto saw no need to fake anything in the written exam, he had never been good at it so a genuine attempt would always be the most believable. As their sensei handed out the papers, he looked at the questions, somewhere quite basic. To provide a judgement on Shinobi rule '4' and became gradually more difficult.
It was a long hour, as sure as he was, he could pass it definitely mean he did not enjoy it. Mizuki and Iruka passed by the students collecting their papers, as Iruka passed Naruto he collected his paper, with a clear smile Iruka read over the young blonds exam. What no one say was Mizuki gaging the other sensei's response, the obvious joy caused Mizuki to give a scowl, he quickly returned to smiling to not raise any suspicion.
After all the papers had been collected, they filed out of the door to the training ground. The Taijutsu competition would be the hardest to limit himself in, he very easily slipped into a state where he relied on muscle memory.
There were two brackets, the boys and the girls, it was a knockout competition to determine rankings of Taijutsu proficiency. The girls were assembled first, the matches were lacking in physical and technical quality. That was aside form the final match, Hinata and Ino both showed skill in their families respective Taijutsu styles, Ino only managed to win due to Hinata's consistent hesitancy.
The important matches for the boys competition luckily had more interesting fights. Sasuke had beaten a civilian child quite brutally, it was not overly physical, but it was quick, less than ten seconds. Kiba too had been matched up against, though his match had taken longer, it was a much more painful loss for his opponent. Naruto had been paired against Shino, the match took close to four minutes, due to Shino's inadequate Taijutsu and Naruto not wanting to show his skill it appeared to be quite a poor match, in the end Naruto had won. Choji had been matched up against Shikamaru, Choji had forfeited as he did not want to injure his friend and the Nara heir had shown a clear lack of interest in fighting him.
The next round comprised of Naruto against Sasuke, all but one of the females presents were cheering for the raven-haired boy. Naruto had to fight the urge to not smirk, he knew he was better than Sasuke, going of what he showed in competitions like this and Naruto's training with Jiraiya, the latter was aware of the gap in their skills.
He couldn't falter now, he had three more days before he was recognised as a ninja. It would be tough, oh how he wanted to wipe that smug grin of the face of the Uchiha, but he knew that it would be so much sweeter should he wait just a few more days.
Naruto just like he told himself had held back, this was not unnoticed by Iruka, Shino and Shikamaru. Choji assumed that Naruto was better, he couldn't confirm it though as he was not as perceptive. Their match had lasted slightly longer than Sasuke's previous match, it had taken two whole minutes, Naruto had stuck to mainly evasive manoeuvres.
If one had keens eyes you would see that Naruto's movements were deliberate. He was not aiming for damaging blows whilst making it look like it was due to a deficiency in skill.
Kiba had been quite vocal in Naruto's loss, he stated that he wanted to be the one to embarrass him, likely due to his relationship with Hana. Sasuke himself had shown his distaste in what he believed to be a poor performance, reminding him of the gap in their skills. Naruto once again had fought the urge to keel over in laughter.
Kiba had beaten Shikamaru, the Nara heir couldn't care less, he forfeited just like Choji had in the previous match.
The final was the best match for one who was looking for a show in skill. Both were regarded as the fastest in the class, Kiba was stronger but Sasuke was clearly more adept in his use of the Uchiha Taijutsu style. Kiba would have been much more likely to succeed if he was permitted to have help from his ninja hound, Akamaru.
Once the rankings had been recorded the student were once again escorted away. This time they were going to the classroom, they had been told of individual testing where they would be called into the exam room.
As soon as they reached the classroom, they began to go through the class roll alphabetically.
"Can Shino Aburame please make his way to the final exam room"
And with that the final stage of the exams was underway.
~ Some Time Later ~
"Good work Sasuke. Now, Will Naruto Uzumaki make his way to the final exam room" Sasuke Uchiha was seen entering the classroom with a blue clothed headband strapped to his forehead. All but one female were screaming about how they knew he would pass and that he was guaranteed rookie of the year
Naruto simply stood up, walking from his seat to the door, he gave silent nods to the Akimichi, Aburame and Nara heirs. Strolling out of the classroom and into the exam room he was met by the two comforting smiles of his sensei's.
"Hello Naruto" Iruka would not show his usual affection as he did not want to come across as favouring the young blond.
"Hello Iruka-sensei, Mizuki-sensei"
"As you are aware the three jutsu for this year are the transformation, replacement and the standard clone. We will start with the transformation"
Seallessly Naruto transformed into his mother, Kushina Uzumaki. He would of transformed into his father, but that may have raised a few flags.
"Great work, successful transformation, even without the use of seals!" Iruka was happy to see his surrogate brother showing glimpses of skill. Mizuki on the other hand was inwardly seething, this brat couldn't do this before, what had changed?
"Now onto the Replacement, please use the scroll on the desk next to you"
Once again, without seals Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, in his position was the scroll from the desk. Mizuki realised what was happening, if the boy successfully completed the clone jutsu, which he was no longer so sure was out of his reach he would pass.
"Naruto the final jutsu will be the clone jutsu" Iruka was worried, he knew for sure that Naruto could not perform this technique, hopefully he would do something about this.
"You will be required to create four clones"
Naruto gave the two an assuring nod, unnerving one while making the other calm down. Four perfect recreations of Naruto appeared out of thin air, surrounded by smoke. If Mizuki had been more knowledgeable of this then he would have gotten a glimpse into what Naruto was hiding.
Iruka picked up on the fact that they were shadow clones, he could hear their steps on the wooden floor.
"Fantastic, you have passed this section with flying colours, do you have any separate jutsu for extra credit?"
"Hai, but I don't want this publicised" This intrigued Mizuki, he might not be able to trick him with passing should he fail, maybe rookie of the year would be more enticing?
"Are you sure, you will receive the marks without the detailing of the jutsu, is that what you want?" Shaking his head Naruto replied. "No, I don't want any extra marks, I just want to show you two"
Going through the familiar hand signs: Boar, Dog, Bird, Monkey and Ram.
"Summoning Jutsu!" the stunned sensei's were greeted with a small toad, Gamakichi. "Heya Naruto!"
"Good to see you 'Kichi"
The two older inhabitants of the room were dumbstruck. How did Naruto become a toad summoner? While Mizuki was in shock he caught wind of what Naruto meant, he trusted them, this would make it easier, a lot easier.
Naruto on the hand had given it as a ploy, he did not trust Mizuki as far as he could throw him and by the fact, they had never had physical contact ever. That was not at all. The man came across as overly affectionate, offering extra training. Naruto had turned this down under the guise of the fact that it was considered unfair to focus on one student, but he was appreciative of the gesture.
Iruka was aware of the level of Naruto's skill and the calibre of people he was training with. It was hard to hide, the amount of time they spent together and when he would be picked up by the toad sage, he could guess the kind of training he went through.
"Naruto! This is amazing!"
"I know right, Pervy-sage let me sign the contract!" This is where Mizuki voiced his thoughts. "Who is this 'Pervy-sage'?"
"Jiraiya of the Sanin"
"You shouldn't call him that! He demands respect he's one of the Legendary Sanin, and how come he let you sign it?" Mizuki's voice was filled with disbelief, there was no anger in the scolding Naruto was on top of this he had thought about it to keep his skill level. "I call them how I see them, what would you call someone you found perving on women at the hot springs. He said to take me on as his apprentice I'd have to sign it! I'm gonna start training with him soon!" He did not want to say he had trained with him for over a year.
"That's Incredible Naruto, Good luck! Now could you please take a headband, you've more than earned it. We have the black and blue cloth for the headband."
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" Naruto had lost all signs of maturity, he was running in circles, clearly ecstatic with passing. In all the excitement Naruto scooped up a headband, black cloth, before bolting out of the classroom.
Running back into the classroom he was met with a lot of wide-eyed stares. Kiba was the first to voice his thoughts.
"You… you passed? How?"
"Congratulations Kiba, you have functioning eyes. I passed because I completed every technique required, did you not do the same?" There was some snickering directed towards Kiba for stating the blatantly obvious. The boy in question merely scowled. "At least you're not being left behind, dead-last" Our favourite Jinchuuriki would normally rise to such an insult but this time he just walked back to his seat and sat down.
Once again eyebrows were raised the usually enigmatic boy had been must more restrained ever since the return from the trip. Seating himself next to the Aburame heir, their conversation began.
"You have an amphibian scent on you"
"Don't bring attention to it" Naruto whispered back. "I was not, just making an observation" Naruto just let out a relieved sigh, Shino could have his moments.
"How did you pass? I was not aware you could perform the clone jutsu"
"I can't, Shadow clones" The last part was whispered but it was picked up by the other boy. "That would be appropriate, you reserve are tremendous"
Naruto nodded, he spent the next twenty minutes watching students return, headband or no headband. After the final student had returned Iruka and Mizuki returned as well.
"Congratulations to those who passed, you will return in two days' time for team assignments. Until then, train or recuperate, these will be the last few moments you have to yourselves. Once you are assigned a team you will serve Hokage-sama without question."
"I have really enjoyed being your sensei for this last year. I can only wish you luck, and please know this. Live with no regrets as everyday might be your last, you will be required to live for, kill for and die for the Hokage and the village. Make me, your family and everyone you care about proud. I will see you all in two days" Iruka and Mizuki waved as they walked out of the classroom leaving a conflicted group of students. Not all were fully aware of what would be demanded of them so to hear the expectations.
Naruto left along with the Uchiha heir, while Sasuke had experienced terror firsthand, Naruto had been told war stories from Jiraiya. They had had to understand what they would need to do, Sasuke would follow the rules set as long as it let him achieve his goal.
Naruto had been walking to Ichiraku Ramen when he spotted his sensei, Mizuki.
"Naruto, just who I had been looking for"
"Mizuki-sensei!" Naruto was immediately on guard, Mizuki had never approached him out of class time. "Hello Naruto, Iruka was really happy to be able to pass you and after the skill you showed in the Ninjutsu portion of the exams you are only just behind Sasuke. I was tasked with offering you the chance to gain the position of rookie of the year. Will you take it? After all this would make Iruka even more proud"
To discover what Mizuki was playing at he played along, pretending to be eager by rushing up to the mans side. "Of course, Mizuki-sensei! What is it?"
The grey-haired sensei was inwardly smirking, he would play this demon brat like a fiddle. "Your assessment would be to tonight 'steal' the forbidden scroll, you will then need to bring it to the small shack on the east side of the forest where you will meet me"
Naruto stared at the older male with disbelief in his eyes, luckily, he quickly replaced with large hopeful orbs glowing with conviction. The thoughts did not match the outside 'Does he really think I'm this stupid?! What an insult!'
"You got it Mizuki-sensei! I'll see you there" Mizuki gave him a warm smile and a nod before body flickering away. Naruto gave himself a mental pat on the back while releasing a heavy sigh. He would go see the Hokage about this, getting moving he made his way to the tower.
Mulling over it in his head about how he would confront the traitor as he trailed off. Once again arriving at the tower he saw the familiar receptionist. "Nee-chan!"
Glancing up from her pile of accursed paperwork she spoke "Naruto-kun, what can I do you for?"
"Is Hokage-sama available?" Naruto would prefer to talk as soon as possible.
"Yes, he is, if you go now you will have ten minutes to talk" Naruto thanked her with a bow and quickly made his way into the office, with little regard for others he swung the door open and addressed the village leader. "Hokage-sama"
"Naruto-kun, please who are you? Judging by that headband I can assume that you passed?"
"That is correct Hokage-sama, though I have some news that concerns village safety" Seeing and hearing the no-nonsense actions the boy portrayed Hiruzen immediately reverted to that of the village leader. "What would this be Naruto?"
"Mizuki Suganama has attempted to coerce me into stealing the forbidden scroll, he requested me to take it and meet him outside of the village walls" Hiruzen had not expected this of Mizuki, the academy instructor had always come across as loyal and respectable, though everyone had their price.
"I see, thank you for bringing this to my attention. I would like for you to meet with Mizuki, but take a dummy scroll" The aged Sarutobi rose from his chair and beckoned for Naruto to follow as they came a across what appeared to be a miniature library, hoisting a scroll that was similar in size to that of the toad contract he handed it to Naruto. "This scroll should suffice; it has the same pattern as the scroll of seals. It is unmarked, so there is no danger in losing it, I will make an announcement about your 'stealing' of the scroll, I will also place one ANBU operative to watch over you. They will engage Mizuki, Neko!"
"Yes Hokage-sama?"
"I assume you have been paying attention to this conversation" Receiving a 'yessir' he continued "You will be the ANBU assigned to Naruto. Once Mizuki states his intentions, if they are detrimental to the village you will subdue him and bring him to Ibiki"
"Yessir"
"Good, you will now shadow Naruto here until he is scheduled to meet with Mizuki"
Without a response the Neko masked ANBU body flickered away, likely to a safe distance.
"Now Naruto, I will Give you thirty minutes before I alert the village of the situation"
Naruto gave the man an energetic nod before flashing to his apartment.
Some might question the point of Naruto's use of the summoning Jutsu, it was not to show off for grades, it was purely to sucker possible threats in. He was not sure if Mizuki was the threat or if there was another instructor or if Mizuki was working for someone.