so, this is kind of like a rewrite of naruto, something ive been wanting to do for a while. im not soing this cause i hate to original text, just kind of like something i thought could be interesting. dialogue is based off of a fan translation since all of my official manga is freaking gone! this is an alternate universe in the sense that ill be changing some stuff. will definitely go until the end to the land of waves arc, after that im not sure. but we will see.

Naruto grumbled to himself as he was pushed back into the classroom. He stumbled and tripped, falling on his butt in front of the rest of the students. The ropes didn't make keeping his balance easy. He had just gotten caught vandalizing the monument to the Hokages, and now he was being made to pay for it.

Not that he cared.

Iruka-sensei had lectured him the whole way back to the classroom, and now he was still talking down to him. Yelling about how graduation was the very next day and that he should be more focused on his studies.

"You don't need to be causing trouble, idiot!"

Naruto frowned and glared at the floor. "Whatever."

That must have really set Iruka-sensei off because he pulled a surprise test out of nowhere. He untied Naruto and told everyone to line up, a few students bumped and shoved Naruto as they did so. All of the students in front of him did a complete transformation into Iruka and passed. Soon it was Naruto's turn, and he had thought of the perfect way to get back at Iruka for calling him an idiot.

Naruto stood up and focused, forming his hands in the proper hand sign, and called, "Transformation Jutsu!"

In a puff of smoke, there stood a tall blonde, completely naked, with her hair in pigtails. She giggled and winked, blowing a kiss toward Iruka's way. Iruka's jaw fell open, and blood gushed out of his nose.

Naruto broke the illusion and laughed, tears forming in the corner of his eyes. "Wow, that really got you? Haha, I call the Sexy no Jutsu!"

Iruka did not think it was funny. "Instead of studying, you spend time making up stupid Jutsus?! Stop goofing off!"

xXx

After school, Iruka dragged Naruto out to the Hokage monument so that he could clean off all of the paint that he had thrown all over it. Naruto scrubbed away while Iruka watched him like a hawk.

"You can't go home until you've cleaned off every bit of paint!"

"Bah, who cares? It's not like I have anyone at home waiting for me!" He focused back on his work, pressing the scrub brush harder into the rock face.

"Hey, Naruto..."

"What?"

"If you hurry and make sure all of the paint of gone...I'll take you out for ramen tonight."

Naruto's face lite up and grinned broadly. "Okay, I'll work as hard as I can!"

A few hours later, Naruto had finished everything, and Iruka kept his promise and took Naruto out to the local ramen shop. They ordered, and Naruto dug into his food, slurping loudly.

"Naruto," Iruka started. "Why did you paint all over the Hokage Monument? That was really disrespectful, you know, don't you know who the Hokages are?"

Naruto nodded. "Of course, I know! The Hokage is the strongest shinobi in the whole village. The fourth Hokage was really powerful, he saved the village from the nine-tailed demon fox."

"Then why-"

"Because I'm gonna become Hokage, and I'll be greater than all other Hokage that came before me! Then everyone will have to respect me and acknowledge my strength!"

Iruka looked surprised by that declaration but didn't say anything.

"Oh...by the way, sensei, can I ask you for a favor?"

"Another bowl of ramen?"

Naruto shook his head. "No, I...Can I try on your headband, please?"

Iruka raised an eyebrow at him. "No, you only get one after you graduate. It's a symbol that you've finally become of age." He nudged Naruto a bit. "Maybe you'll get one tomorrow."

"Aw, man..."

"Is that why you took off your goggles," Iruka snickered.

Naruto blushed a bit and turned back to his food. "Buy me another bowl!"

"What!?"

After the dinner with Iruka, he and Naruto went their separate ways with Iruka telling Naruto to make sure he got a good night's rest. Naruto stuck his tongue out at him. The was to his apartment wasn't a long one, but Naruto liked to drag his feet. He was never in a rush to go back to his empty house.

As he walked, he noticed another student from his school. She had long pink hair tied back with a large red bow on the top of her head. She dressed in a red and white qipao dress and dark shorts. In one hand she held a plastic bag, and in the other hand, she held a book she was reading. Naruto knew her immediately, Sakura Haruno; she was another orphan whose family died a long, long time ago. He never got a chance to really talk to her, but he had always wanted to get to know her better. They were the same in certain ways, and Naruto thought that maybe...

Well, he didn't know what exactly, but he knew he would like to talk to her.

"Hey Sakura," he called to her and waved.

She looked up at him and rolled her eyes a bit. "What are you out so late? Shouldn't you be studying?"

Naruto scoffed and stuffed his hands in his pants pockets. "For what? I've got tomorrow's test in the bag."

Sakura gave him a skeptical look and tapped her book against her chin.

"Don't you believe me?"

"Well," she said, "haven't you failed twice before?"

He frowned, an embarrassed blush appearing on his cheeks. "You heard about that?"

"You're loud and obnoxious, it's hard not to hear about you."

Naruto grumbled to himself and kicked at the dirt. "Yeah, well...whatever. I'll be fine, just you wait and see."

Sakura looked him up and down before she shrugged a shoulder. "Whatever you say, Naruto. I'll see you later." Then she headed off, reading her book once more.

Naruto scratched the back of his head and went home. He thought that went well, all things considered, usually, people would simply glare at him while he walked by or parents would pull their kids away. He smiled to himself and then ran the rest of the way home so that he could get some sleep.

The next day back at the academy, Naruto sat at the back of the classroom, waiting for the final exam to start. Iruka walked into the class a clipboard in hand and addressed the students.

"Alright, everyone," he said, "Today's final exam will be on whether or not you can successfully perform a Clone Jutsu. When I call your name, go into the room down the hall so that you may be evaluated."

Naruto gulped. 'That's my worse skill!' He cursed his bad luck, but that didn't deter him. When his name was called, he made his way into the examination room. He faced Iruka and another sensei named Mizuki. Determination crossed his face, and he did the Clone Jutsu hand sign.

After the cloud of smoke disappeared on the ground next to him laid a pale and pathetic clone. Naruto was horrified.

"You fail, Naruto," Iruka said, "again."

"Iruka-sensei," Mizuki spoke up, "We could let him pass. He did create a clone after all, which was the exam, and this is his third time take the test."

Whatever hope Naruto had at those words was quickly squashed by Iruka.

"No, I can't pass him when he creates a clone like that," he said. "The other students created at least two clones, and none of them were useless. I'm sorry, Naruto, but I can't pass you like this."

Naruto stormed out of the exam room and left the academy. He didn't think it was fair; sure, he goofed off a lot and caused trouble, but he still tried his hardest when it came to his ninja techniques. How was he supposed to become Hokage at this rate?

Naruto roamed around the village, not wanting to be around to hear all of those parents congratulating their kids or any snide comments they would have for him. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It was not fair!

"Naruto!"

He stopped. "Mizuki-sensei?"

The man motioned him over, and Naruto followed after him.

"You know," he started slowly, "Iruka is a serious kind of guy. Since his parents...passed when he was a kid, he had to take care of things by himself."

"What's that got to do with him always picking on me?"

Mizuki looked over at him and smiled. "It's probably because he sees a lot of himself in you, you know? He probably pushes you because he knows you have real potential. He wants you to become strong in a real way. Try to understand how he's feeling."

"I just..." he sighed, "I just wished I graduated..."

Mizuki paused a moment, eyeing Naruto closely before taking a deep breath. "Well then...let me tell you a special secret that could help with that."

xXx

Later that night, Naturo snuck through the village while everyone else was asleep. He felt giddy, butterflies fluttered all around inside his stomach as he crept into the Hokage's place. He couldn't believe that there was still hope for him to graduate after all and once he learned that new jutsu Iruka would be so surprised with him.

Naruto made his way inside of the Hokage's place and crept along quietly. So far so good and Naruto thought he was getting close-

"What are you doing here," the Third Hokage asked.

Naruto nearly jumped and whirled around, his hands flying quicking in front of him. "Sexy no Jutsu!"

The shock and surprise must have been too much for him because he passed out, his nose gushing blood.

Naruto quickly scampered off and found what he was looking for; a large scroll. Naruto took it and strapped it to his back and then hurried off before the Third woke up and scolded him. He dashed off into the night, toward a clearing in the woods so that he could get to reading. Once there, Naruto sat down and opened the scroll.

"Alright, let's see," he mumbled as he read. "What!? The first Jutsu is a Shadow Clone Jutsu? Seriously, the thing I'm already bad at?" Naruto groaned and flopped back onto the forest floor. "Well...no one got to be the Hokage without some great skills. Yeah...that'll be nothing, I'll learn this jutsu and then see what else I can learn and then Iruka-sensei will pass me!"

Naruto stood up and got to work. He spent hours going over the jutsu, practicing the hand signs, and working up his stamina. It took a long time and a lot of trial and error, but eventually, he succeeded. Naruto stood there looking at a clone of himself. He and his shadow clone grinned broadly before his clone vanished an in a puff of smoke.

"Naruto..."

He looked over and grinned when he saw it was Iruka. "Sensei! I found you!"

"I'm the one who found you!"

"Oh right," he laughed. "And before I could learn anything else..."

Iruka paused and glanced over Naruto. "What have you been doing out here? You look worn out."

"Bah," Naruto brushed it off. "Listen, Iruka-sensei, I've gotta show this amazing jutsu I learned, alright. Then, you can let me graduate!"

"...Where did you get that scroll, Naruto?"

"Hm?" He looked back for a moment. "Oh, Mizuki-sensei told me about it, and he told me about this place. He said if I learned jutsu from this scroll, then you'll let me graduate!"

Naruto was then pushed hard, far back and away, when a flurry of kunai came flying at the duo. Naruto landed on the ground, and Iruka ended up taking a bunch of hits. He glared up in the direction the kunai had come from.

"I...see what's going on now..."

Mizuki scoffed, "Nice job finding the little idiot." He turned to Naruto. "Quick, give me the scroll."

Naruto looked between his two teachers.

"Naruto," Iruka said, coughing up some blood. "Don't you let go of that scroll. It has some dangerous and forbidden jutsu inside of it. He just used you to get his hands on it."

"What? Is that true, Mizuki-sensei?"

Mizuki rolled his eyes, "You're really going to listen to him? After all, he's put you through? After all of the lies?"

"Wha..."

"Naruto!" Iruka shouted. "Don't listen to him! Just hurry up and get out of here with the scroll!"

"You want to know the big secret he and everyone else in the village have been keeping from you this whole time?"

"Mizuki, enough!"

"What secret," Naruto demanded.

Mizuki cackled, "You know about the giant nin-tailed fox demon that had attacked the village and killed hundreds, including the Fourth Hokage?"

Naruto remained silent.

"The truth is that you, Naruto Uzumaki, are that very demon!"

"Stop it!"

"You were the one who attacked the village and killed all of those people, including Iruka's parents," Mizuki yelled. "Didn't you think it was odd how everyone hated you and shunned you. It's because you're a monster stuck in a human form, sealed up by the very Hokage you so desperately want to be!"

Naruto felt like the world had fallen out from under his feet. It made sense, no one would be happy trying to tolerate a beast who had attacked their house and killed their family and friends. No one would want someone like around. Images of adults gossiping about him and the kids being pulled away from him, leaving him all alone filled his mine.

"That's right," Mizuki continued. "Everyone hated and lied to you. Even Iruka, he's no different!"

Naruto felt something well up inside of him, hurt and anger over everything Mizuki had just told him. Just when things felt like he was about to overflow, he was knocked to the ground again. When he focused again, Naruto saw Iruka kneeling over him, a giant shuriken buried in his back.

"Sen...sensei?"

"When my parents died...I was all alone. There was no there to comfort me, or acknowledge me, everyone just moved on with their own lives and families...I just...I wasn't good at school, so I acted out because I wanted someone to pay attention to me. Even if it was to scold me, it was better than nothing. I was so alone, and it was so painful.

Naruto...you must have been feeling the same way. I'm sorry I didn't do a better job of looking after you. In making sure you were okay..."

Naruto could see the tears falling from Iruka's eyes while blood fell out of his mouth. He swallowed, this was all too much for him, but...he looked Iruka in the eyes and saw a lot of pain and sadness. Naruto took the scroll and ran as fast as he could.

Images of what Mizuki and told him and what Iruka had said and done were running through his head. He didn't know if what Mizuki had said about Iruka hating him was true. Still, then, he knew that all of Iruka's actions could have just been about not letting Mizuki get the scroll.

Naruto stopped, collapsing behind a large tree. He had trained too hard, and he couldn't go any further at the moment.

He wasn't alone for too long because not too far away, Mizuki and Iruka had confronted each other again. Naruto listened as Mizuki taunted Iruka, claiming that Naruto would use the scroll for his own gain.

"Of course, that kind of demon would use the scroll to take power for himself!"

Iruka coughed. "Yeah...you're right..."

Those words from Iruka felt like a kunai through the heart. 'So Mizuki was right...even Iruka-sensei hates me...I should just get out of here.'

"A demon would use the power for himself. But Naruto isn't like that."

Naruto stopped.

"He's a pain in class, and he's clumsy...but he's still one of my hard-working students. He's a proud member of the leaf village, not some demon fox!"

Naruto felt tears well up in his eyes; he had never heard someone say such things about him before. It looked like Mizuki was up and ready to finally kill Iruka when Naruto jumped out, kicking him away.

"Naruto! I thought I told you to run away!"

Naruto didn't listen; he stood tall between Iruka and Mizuki. "Don't you dare touch Iruka-sensei!"

"Hah, I'll take you both out at once!"

"I'd like to see you try it," Naruto yelled and did a quick hand symbol, "Shadow Clone Jutsu!"

In a large puff of smoke, over a thousand shadow clones of Naruto stood around Mizuki. Both teachers looked shocked.

"What's wrong? Weren't you gonna get us all at once?"

Mizuki looked around, horrified before the Naruto clone army beat the crap out of him. Once that was taken care of, Naruto went over to help Iruka-sensei up.

"Maybe I went overboard on him..."

"Nevermind that," Iruka said with a small smile. "Come, I've got something I want to give you. Close your eyes."

Naruto looked at him but did as he was told. He waited and felt Iruka doing something weird to his head.

"Okay, open your eyes."

He did, and he looked at his teacher. Iruka stood in front of him without his headband holding Naruto's goggles. He reached up slowly and touched his new forehead protector.

"Congratulations on graduating Naruto," Iruka smiled. "To celebrate, I'll take you out for ramen."

For once Naruto was at a loss for words, he surged forward and hugged Iruka. He was so happy, and now his path to becoming Hokage had truly begun!