Didn't expect an update so quick, did ya? Haha! Well, this is the end of the Beginning arc. I like to call it that, since it's the setup to the actual start of the action. Hopefully you guys will enjoy this chapter, since it actually has a fight scene and all. As I said before I would skip the year since you've probably seen most of it in the Naruto cannon anyway so I might as well just get down to business. Without further ado, let's get to it!
Chapter 6: The test
The next year saw a Sasuke determined to get the highest grade possible. Though he continued to spar with Naruto and train with Anko in the Forest of Death, his class teammates saw a boy with perfect grades and a concentrated attitude. Iruka had been impressed, and he couldn't help but feel relieved that he didn't take to Naruto in classes with how closely bonded they were.
Naruto, of course, had barely attended to class. Every time Iruka sat him down at Ichiraku's for a talk, the boy would complain about how he had already taken the classes. The chunin instructor saw no way to convince the boy to pay attention, but he also knew of his and Sasuke's sparring matches. The blond's taijutsu was visibly improving, and Iruka already saw the fruits of the experience gained; the boy knew how to use his stamina, and his opponents never won without bruises if they even won at all.
The first time the two boys met on the taijutsu arena, their grins showed just how eager they both were to fight at front of the class. Of course, Sasuke's fan group lead by a blonde and a pinkette cheered at him furiously while crickets could be heard on Naruto's side. If the Uchiha cared about it, he didn't show it. Naruto had gotten used to it, and neither one would take his eyes off the other at that point anyway.
The fight had been fierce. Sasuke pumped all his strength and speed to brutalize Naruto right out of the bat, to the point Iruka would had stopped it if Naruto hadn't gotten a few good hits. The blond proved to take every advantage he got though, especially Sasuke's blindfolds. The Uchiha was already a good sensor, but every now and then Naruto made a point of distracting him with rocks that his sensing couldn't alert him quick enough, throwing him off-balance and making him pay for it.
Still, Naruto wasn't the only one with endurance and Sasuke handily won the match. Sakura's jibes at the blond earned her a glare from the Uchiha, however, something that left both her and Ino puzzled. It took them a few days to accept the fact that Naruto and Sasuke were friends. They learned to be actually jealous of the blond when the Uchiha often chose to hang out with him instead of with the fangirls. Naruto's fixation on asking Sakura for a date didn't give him points with the fan group either.
Sasuke let out a sigh as his fan club cheered him on. He had just been called to perform the Bunshin jutsu, part of the final exam of the Academy. His taijutsu match had ended in his complete victory against one Shino Aburame, who was deceptively adequate at taijutsu but still not nearly good enough. His Bunshin was flawless, but he grimaced as Naruto came next and completely flunked his. Again.
The Uchiha had flinched when Naruto had come out of the Academy and sat on the swing at the yard. He knew this was Naruto's last chance. The blond tried to smile and wave at him when the Uchiha saw him, but he knew what he was feeling. Sasuke stared at the boy and put a hand on his shoulder, and Naruto knew better than to keep his facade.
They both looked down at the same time, knowing exactly what was going on the other's mind. Sasuke was the first one to break the silence, offering a trip to Ichiraku's that the blond surprisingly refused. Naruto stood up and walked away after that, ignoring Sasuke's narrowed eyes and being completely oblivious to Iruka's worried gaze over him.
Nightfall saw Sasuke looking at himself in the mirror, his hitaite covering his forehead and a storage scroll folded on his hands. A poof later a ninja-to rested on his hands, one that Sasuke held with reverence. Fixing a holster to the back of his blue shirt, he sheathed it and looked out at the door. Naruto hadn't come in to the usual sparring match, and Sasuke was already worried. Giving himself one last look, trying to supress his self-loathing at the sight, the Uchiha raced out of the compound with Itachi's sword on his back.
He didn't see the blond boy anywhere, and Sasuke was already getting annoyed. The raven-haired boy knew Naruto was a prankster, something that required great skill and would make him want to be untraceable. At least, until the prank had been done. Sasuke had actually helped him with his pranks a few times, and he knew how the blond actually enjoyed letting his persecutors know where he was just to get chased around.
Sasuke was finally giving up on finding the boy when he saw a ninja rushing to the Hokage Tower. Curiosity peaked him when he recognized Iruka, and when the chuunin teacher came out of the tower at even faster speeds the Uchiha decided to intercept him.
"Sensei!" Sasuke shouted while doing his best to keep up with the chuunin. Uchiha or not, Sasuke was barely a genin and Iruka had to slow down slightly just for the boy to keep up with him.
"Sasuke! Do you know where Naruto is?" Iruka questioned immediately, which took the boy by surprise.
"I planned to ask the same thing sensei. Did something happen?" Sasuke replied, his gaze showing a concern Iruka couldn't deny to the boy.
"Yes. We have evidence he took the Forbidden Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's office. I have to get to him Sasuke, so if you know where he is..." Iruka said, eyeing the boy as they leaped from roof to roof. Sasuke understood the implication. 'Are you hiding him?' was the implied question, but the Uchiha shook his head.
"I don't, but I can help find him sensei." Sasuke declared, staring at the chuunin with a pleading look.
"I don't know Sasuke, this is a mission directly from the Hokage..." Iruka said, visibly struggling with the decision. Sasuke saw it as a chance to convince him and didn't let it pass up.
"I can help sense him! He's not at his usual places either, but-" Sasuke spoke but was cut off by Iruka shaking his head.
"Sorry Sasuke, rules are rules. Keep looking for him on the usual places, I'll find you if I can't find him on my own. Sorry, but as a ninja you must understand." Iruka stated with finality, then continued at full speed. Sasuke could only trail behind, seething at being dismissed so easily. He knew he was a ninja now, but the feeling of powerlessness was frustrating him beyond reason.
'Calm down Sasuke.' he thought and then chanted on his mind, forcing himself to pace his breathing as Anko had taught him once. 'Think. If he's not in the usual places, where could he be? How can I find him? Searching the whole village would be like finding a needle in a haystack even with my sensing… Guess I'll just have to follow Iruka-sensei for now and hope he knows better,' concluded the Uchiha and followed after the teacher, going so fast his muscles strained and threatened to break if he kept it up.
As they went into a forest, Sasuke finally caught a breather when he felt Iruka stop next to where he now sensed Naruto as well. He didn't feel them fighting, so the boy decided to wait and see what would happen when a third chakra signature appeared as if out of thin air at front of them. He couldn't see it, but Mizuki had sneaked up on Iruka and forced him to hastily block a handful of kunais, some of which slipped through his defense and now stuck on the chuunin's arms.
Sasuke had no idea what was going on. Iruka's voice echoed on his mind, repeating rules were rules over and over again. He knew he shouldn't intervene in an active mission even if Naruto was involved. He heard what Iruka had said, that Naruto had stolen a scroll from the Hokage's office. Sasuke couldn't help but think that maybe the blond was capable of it. He knew Naruto would have his reasons, but Sasuke knew he was a shinobi now. A punch of frustration met the bark of the tree he stood on and he resolved himself.
When he sensed Iruka hurt and all three signatures dashing away, he gave pursuit. Sasuke knew they were still a bit too far for him to reach, but he'd gotten himself involved, somehow. When he saw 'Naruto' punch 'Iruka into a clearing, his eyes widen and his feet glued to the tree he was about to jump off from. His look of horror only lasted for a second, however, as 'Iruka' turned into Mizuki who glared at 'Naruto', who in turn flopped with his back to a tree and turned into Iruka.
"Why would you defend the Kyuubi?! Why would you protect the monster that killed your parents, Iruka?" Mizuki raged at the nearly unconscious chuunin, who looked at him gravely from his seat at the base of the tree.
"I wouldn't." Iruka stated, and kept speaking after Mizuki looked at him in confusion. "But Naruto is not the Kyuubi! Naruto is a member of Konohagakure, and more than that, he's my student!" the chuunin shouted, earning him a growl of frustration from the traitorous instructor.
"I changed my mind, you bastard! I'll kill you now after all!" shouted Mizuki back and threw the giant shuriken on his back, only to be blocked by Naruto.
"If you wanna kill him, you gotta go over my dead body! I won't let you touch my sensei, dattebayo!" the blond declared as he stood firmly between the two chuunin. Mizuki's roar of laughter was his answer, a mad laugh that made Sasuke narrow his eyes almost into slits.
"Just hand over the scroll, and maybe I won't kill you brat. Actually, forget that. I'll just kill you and take the scroll! But I'll kill Iruka first, so you can-" Mizuki declared while smirking at the blond, obviously not taking him seriously, before being interrupted and terrified by dozens and dozens of clones suddenly popping into existance.
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" declared Naruto as his clones covered everything Mizuki saw, turning his confidence into terror as they all cracked their knuckles and went at him. The shock at the sheer numbers made the chuunin back away, only to get punched back into the group by clones and having the rest pile on him. Desperation snapped him back into reason as he waved handsigns as fast as his terror let him.
"Fuuton: Daitoppa!" the traitor declared, as his breath blew away a whole section of the clones and popped them out of existence. The other clones attempted to take revenge, only for Mizuki to wield a kunai on each hand and engage them in taijutsu. The clones were many, but weren't experienced enough to stop the chuunin from popping a few then backing down for another Fuuton: Daitoppa.
The wind would had blown away most of Naruto's clones, had it not been for a fireball that intercepted it by the side and took it away. The blast scorched the forest next to the shinobi as Sasuke stood on the sidelines, his blindfold on but his gaze glued to the traitor chuunin.
"You too huh? You're both genin, you can't beat me!" Mizuki said, which would have had more effect on the boys had he not sounded so scared. Sasuke scoffed, then took a glimpse at Naruto.
"You okay?" Sasuke asked him, to which the many Narutos nodded or cheered at. "Good." the Uchiha stated, his gaze set at Mizuki again.
"Let's kick his ass!" Naruto's clones chorused in unison and dashed forward.
Mizuki attempted to back down, only to find Sasuke's kick nearly embedded to his nose. A frantic dive was all that saved the chuunin, but the punch from three of Naruto's clones made him sorry for it. A good minute later saw Mizuki trying to stand on a broken leg, the two genin panting at front of him but unharmed aside from a few scratches and bruises.
"Why… Why do you defend him too? He's the Kyuubi. Don't you understand?" Mizuki shouted to Sasuke, earning a growl and glare from Naruto. Sasuke looked confused for a moment, but his hands waved through signs as Mizuki attempted a last Fuuton: Daitoppa. The wave of wind was nearly upon the two when Sasuke's fireball burst right through it and exploded on Mizuki with double its force. Both boys stared as the entire area was consumed by the fire, Naruto in awe of the flashiness of the technique and Sasuke wary of Mizuki coming out of that. He didn't.
"Naruto… Come here," Iruka whispered as the fight finally ended, earning a rush from Naruto who was next to him within seconds.
"Are you okay Iruka-sensei? You'll be fine, right? You saw us? We beat him! I'm so sorry-" Naruto blabbered on until Iruka pulled him into a hug with one arm and chuckled weakly.
"I'm proud, Naruto. Here, I have something for you," Iruka said while letting a blushing Naruto sit straight again and putting his own hitaite on the blond's forehead. "You pass." the teacher declared, falling unconscious with Naruto's giant grin looming in his mind making him lay on the tree with a smile on his face.
Yes, I made Mizuki stronger than in canon. The guy gets the drop on Iruka when they're both chuunins, he deserved to have above-genin strength. Naruto won a bit too easily the first time, and though he still would had won against him in this fic I chose to have Sasuke butt in and help him out. Given that Sasuke actually cares for Naruto this time around, plus having his sensor abilities (which failed to pick Mizuki up because Mizuki was sneaking and Sasuke's sensing isn't good enough yet) would mean that Sasuke would at least get involved. Hope you guys enjoyed the read, and we'll be seeing Team 7 assembled in the next chapter! Look forward to it!