Sister!

by AlmineGoneWild

A stranger arrives in Konoha claiming to be Sasuke Uchiha's older sister. After settling in with her husband, not only does she take in her younger brother but she adopts Naruto Uzumaki as well. Now together as a family, they must struggle through the hardships of the ninja world and become stronger as a dark force begins to take form and threatens their bonds.

3. The Truth

Chapter two

(The Truth)

Twelve years ago, when it was least expected, a giant beast known only as the nine tailed fox spirit appeared within the village of Konahagakure. No one knew how or why but it suddenly went on a rampage causing mass destruction and costing many lives. The many ninjas of the leaf rose up to defend their beloved home from the terrible beast many not returning afterwards.

But just when all hope seemed lost, a figure appeared upon one of the heads of the great hokage monument calling the beast's attention to him. The beast immediately wished to destroy him but even as it let loose its massive attack that could flatten the entire village, the great figure stepped forward and used his special jutsu to transport the massive ball of dense chakra far away from the village and then the next time, he was able to transport the fox spirit with him outside of the village.

From the points of views of the villagers and ninjas who bore witness, they did not know where the beast had been taken nor did they expect too much later find the dead forms of the figure along with his wife in a faraway clearing.

The names of these two unsung heroes were Minato Namikaze the fourth hokage and his wife Kushina Uzumaki. However, their sacrifice became greatly known throughout the village and upon finding the bodies, the ninjas had also found the form of a newborn baby boy with soft blonde hair like his father's and the signature three whisker birthmarks acquired from being born of the previous nine tails jinchuriki.

After having retrieved the bodies and naming the two as heroes, the villagers tried to go back to their ordinary lives although for some "ordinary", would never come. The baby boy of the two heroes had been named Naruto and was under the care of the village elders and the reinstated third hokage however, though life went on, the truth behind the nine tail's attack was never discovered.

Jinchuriki is the name given to those who possess a tailed beast within their being. Kushina Uzumaki, the female hero and wife to the fourth hokage Minato Namikaze, had been the previous nine tails jinchuriki. She possessed a unique chakra only known to her clan and she was an exceptional kunoich. However, the seal that held the nine tails within her was known to weaken during the nine months of pregnancy up until child birth. With the seal weakened it would be opportune for the nine tails to try and escape. So it was decided that for the safety of the villagers, she would give birth to her child in a secure location outside of the village with the help of her husband and the some village elders.

However, upon the night the child was to be born, a dark man with dark intent and wearing a mask took advantage of the situation and once the child had been born and the seal was at its weakest, he distracted the hokage by threatening their child's life and then proceeded to rip the demon spirit from the jinchuriki's body. After taking their newborn son to a safer location, Minato the fourth hokage returned to rescue his wife and take her there as well.

Meanwhile, the masked man had taken control of the nine tail's mind and sent it on a rampage to attack the village. Minato returned to defend his home from the man and the two engaged in an intense battle through which he learned something vital. The man possessed the sharingan.

"The sharingan?! But that means he must've been an Uchiha!" Sasuke suddenly shouted, interrupting his sister's story. Naruto too was wide eyed.

"Isn't that the Uchiha clan's special jutsu?" he queried. "How'd he get a hold of that?" Sarah sighed slightly annoyed at the interruption and thought of a way to explain.

"I'm not sure whether the man was an Uchiha or if he'd just stolen the jutsu and had implanted it within himself but I do know that he was strong enough to control the nine tails and Minato had a lot of problems dealing with him." she said.

"But who…" Sasuke started again but Sarah raised a hand to silence him.

"Might I finish the story first before any more questions?" she asked of them. The Uchiha shut his mouth and waited for her to continue and she eyed Naruto to make sure he too got the message. He nodded and she picked up where she left off.

The masked man possessed the Uchiha's unique kekei genkai trait, the sharingan, a very powerful jutsu and it could do more than just see and copy other ninja's techniques. This man could use his unique abilities to control the nine tails and when attacked by other physical attacks, he could phase through them by making his body like that of a spirit's. It took a while but Minato was finally able to land a direct hit using his wit and his own unique jutsu.

The man claimed that he'd be back and in time he'd destroy the leaf before disappearing without a trace. Meanwhile, the nine tails still rampaged but was later stopped by the fourth hokage. Kushina tried with all of her might to re-seal the fox spirit within her own body but she was on the edge of her life. Minato then made the hardest decision he'd ever made in his life and decided to entrust the suppressing of the nine tail's power to his only son whom he believed would be stronger than him and light the way for a better future for all shinobi kind.

First he performed the reappear death seal, a technique that took one's own life whilst sealing another. Minato then sealed half of the nine tails within his own body and then prepared to do the same to his child. The nine tails sought to stop him and attempted to slay the child where he slept. However, both Minato and Kushina together stopped the blow from nine tails by jumping in the way of its paws and were both impaled upon one claw. Before they died, they left their son with their goodbyes and their love as the nine tails was sealed inside him and soon after, they departed from this world, the fourth hokage taking half of the nine tails with him.

"And that's how the story goes," Sarah finished finally leaning back into the sofa and crossing her arms over her chest. The boys remained awe struck by the story and Kisuke meanwhile just let out a long whistle while holding a cup of coffee, admiring his wife's story telling feats.

"And so you see Naruto, the nine tails wasn't sealed inside of you because it was convenient, it was because your father and mother believed that one day you'd be able to tame and control it." Sarah watched the boy's reactions. Naruto was the first to shake himself from his stupor and once he had, he began grinning like no tomorrow. His happiness at the news of his parent's undying love had made him giddy.

"Wow, so they really think I can become that strong?" he asked again, a goofy tone to his voice trying to hear more good news. Sarah chortled.

"Didn't I just say that ya goofball? Anyway yes, they thought, no they knew that someday you'd surpass them both and become an exceptional shinobi."

"But how do you know all of this when you weren't even here?" queried Sasuke. "I mean you were off training and even so, that same night, you said that Kushina erected a barrier so no one could interrupt them." Sarah now held her blood brother in her gaze.

"Well the reason for that is simple. Right before he died, Minato had summoned one of the toads from Mt. Myoboku to send me a message relaying everything that'd happened through sharing his memories with him and then the toad shared those same memories with me. Minato had promised to keep me informed with everything that was going on in the village as much as mother and father would and that's why he did that. He and Kushina had also promised me that they would let me know when Naruto was born then send me some pictures much like mother and father had done with you while I was away all those years."

"I see," Sasuke said, accepting her answer. Then he leaned forward again. "But I still wonder about that guy with the sharingan you mentioned earlier. If he were an Uchiha then why would he do something like that?" He held his chin between his index finger and thumb with an intent thinking expression upon his face. Kisuke then leaned forward, setting his coffee down on the coffee table.

"Well Sasuke, it's like Sarah said, he might not have been an Uchiha," he stated. Sasuke nodded. "But regardless…Uchiha is only a name and nothing else that's unique to your family. Just because someone is called Uchiha does not make them either honorable or dishonorable. Those feats and characteristics depend souly on the character himself and if said character chooses to walk the wrong path, regardless of his name, he is a person on the wrong path." Sasuke became cross and started glaring at Kisuke.

"Yeah well you don't know the Uchiha," he pointed out. Sarah sighed and looked towards the ceiling.

"Yes but neither do you Sasuke, not really," she said. Sasuke flared up.

"And what don't I know about it!" he snapped.

"Many, many things," Sarah declared. "It's like what Kisuke said. You can't judge someone souly by appearances or souly by a name. Despite what you think now, back then you were only eight years old, both young and innocent so anything major would've been kept from you. For example, my own identity as your elder sister at the request of the elders of Mt. Nekozawa."

"But that was because you said your identity had to be kept secret because of the sacred oath of the cats. The two situations are totally different." Sarah brought her head back down to Sasuke's eye level with a serious look on her face.

"Well not precisely. You see…believe it or not our clan has a history of betrayal and has had struggles against government authority. While our clan was very powerful, back in those days when shinobi villages didn't exist, our clan was always hired to fight against very powerful adversaries hired by other nations, almost always adversaries of the same opposing clan. It wasn't until much later when one of those adversaries decided to put an end to it all and eventually founded this very village. The leader of that clan was Hashirama Senju and he was the leaf's very first hokage."

"Wow, he sounds amazing. Was his clan really that strong?" Naruto asked in admiration. Sasuke just scoffed crossing his arms over one another and turning away slightly peeved.

"Who cares, they couldn't have been that strong!" he pouted.

"Actually, quite the contrary," Sarah continued. "The Senju clan was pretty much the only clan that could openly oppose the Uchiha and eventually Hashirama became the head of his clan and the head of the Uchiha at that time was someone name Madara Uchiha. As boys the two were rumored to be friends despite their clan's rivalry but nevertheless, somehow, Madara grew to hate Hashirama and the Senju more and more each day. However, after having lost one battle, Madara's clan wished to accept the peace offering from the Senju to end the ceaseless fighting and Madara had no choice but to agree.

"Technically Madara helped Hashirama erect and found this village but eventually Madara's hatred grew to overwhelm him and he sought to destroy it when the two couldn't agree on how to achieve an era of peace. Eventually he tried to do so by using the power of the nine tailed fox back when it had no host but unfortunately his plans were soiled and after a long heated battle with Hashirama a bit of ways from the village, he lay utterly defeated on the ground. Everyone believes that he died right then and there but since the cats of Mt. Nekozawa know the life lines of every Uchiha they know he didn't die until much later. Nevertheless he's still dead."

Sasuke had come out of his pouting to listen intently just as Naruto was listening intently from the get go. He'd been interested in the story and now held onto his knees as he sat with his feet up on the couch. Sasuke was still trying to wrap his head around it.

"Okay, but wouldn't Hashirama being hokage have ticked him off, he would've thought the Uchiha were merely underneath the Senju's control. Wasn't he just doing what he thought was right?" Sarah nodded gravely.

"Yes but that still didn't give him an excuse for what he did. Even his own clan didn't wish to follow in his footsteps which was why he left the village to find a way to seize control. He believed that true peace couldn't be obtained unless everyone followed his way of thinking, if they were slaves to it so they couldn't have free will or rebel. True there would be no more fights but at what price? Everyone would lose their humanity and become little more than puppets. And while it's true the Uchiha didn't side with Madara's beliefs back then, as time went on, they found themselves beginning to think like him. I believe that even father began thinking like that too."

"No way!" Sasuke shouted, now on his feet. "Father wasn't like that he was the head of police! He said himself that there was no greater honor!" Everyone's eyes were now on the youngest Uchiha.

"Woah, hey calm down Sasuke," Naruto tried to reason. Sasuke turned on him.

"Shut-up, it's none of your business!" Sasuke countered.

"Calm down Sasuke," Sarah stated in a serious tone. The young Uchiha was shaking with rage as he glared angrily at his sister. She let out an exasperated sigh as she flopped backwards on the couch.

"Look, I'm not saying father was the bad guy, he could've just been influenced by the others. But even I know how the Uchiha could be. After all, I saw a side of them that neither you nor even Itatchi could see." Her words hung in the air as silence followed. Sasuke finally sat back down on the couch and scoffed at them.

"Yeah and what side did you see?" he asked. Sarah took a while to answer.

"Do you remember when I said that I too held a power like Naruto's that frightened the village enough to earn their scorn and hatred?" Both boys nodded. Sarah sat back up again and held them both in a serious gaze. Then it softened.

"Well that was the truth," she stated. "And it was this power that eventually led to my leaving the village in the first place. You see, out of all of the Uchiha, I was born prematurely and with a unique and special fire chakra nature that was in a way…unstable and very, very dangerous. I was unable to control it when I was young and it was so powerful that it awoke when I was merely a baby. With this chakra nature, I wound up setting fires almost everywhere and not just ordinary ones either. In fact I nearly burnt down the estate and the entire village more times than one could count and…I ended up hurting those around me by accident, especially mother because no one but her and father wanted to hold me." The boys now gave her their full attention as they listened. Sarah turned a soft gaze upon Naruto.

"You see that's one of the reasons I adopted you Naruto," she explained. "Back then as my power was unstable from birth and was quickly growing, everyone in the village, even those within my own clan began to fear and resent me. When I was a toddler I had already scared the villagers enough to earn those looks of scorn, distrust and hatred. Whenever I would walk the streets, I would hear them whispering about me behind my back and saying that I was a demon, a monster that shouldn't be allowed to live. When I went to mother and father with the same question every time, "Why?" they didn't have an answer. Mother more oft than naught just broke down into tears and held me in her arms while father would try and avoid the subject while growing more and more resentful of the villagers because of how they treated me.

"But it wasn't just the villagers, there were many members of our own clan too who wished I would just leave or drop dead. And those who began following Madara's way of thinking…I overheard them speaking of using me as a weapon; a means to an end. And so, I was much like you growing up Naruto." She now held him in her gaze which was somewhat distant as she remembered her past. Then she gazed up at the ceiling again.

"Things got worse when I unlocked my sharingan. Since every one's sharingan is different based on the person, it held greater risk since my sharingan was new and completely uncontrollable as well as an amplifier to my chakra. That's when the cat elders came down from Mr. Nekozawa to choose their next cat sage candidate as was custom for the Uchiha clan. They came to mother and father and said they wished to see my power. I nearly burnt down our home again but nevertheless, they still chose me. They said they could train me in a way the leaf village never could in order to control my powers and that I possessed an ancient sharingan that had to be nurtured a certain way.

"I was a genin when this happened, Itatchi was only half way through the academy and you had only just been born. I had also made friends with Kushina and Minato as Kushina understood my pain and she had helped me thus far to control my power. I wasn't sure if I wanted to go. However, I eventually decided to do so in order to better protect my home and my loved and cherished ones from my own destructive force. The cat elders then said that it would be best if my departure was kept a secret as many Uchiha would try and take my role from me as it was considered a great honor anyone would wish to have to become the next cat sage. They might also try to keep me as a weapon too and it was customary that all cat sages trained in the utmost secrecy.

"So I left knowing that you wouldn't come to know me until after I returned home and that only Kushina, Minato, mother, father, Aunt Uruchi, Uncle Teyaki, lord third and Itatchi would know where I had gone. And so as you know I spent a great deal of time training to be the next Uchiha cat sage and after hearing of the massacre, I cut that training short and returned home in better control of my power though still slightly unstable and I took you two in. I had also been married to a wonderful man." Kisuke smiled warmly at her at this and she turned back to the boys.

"Okay, I get it," Sasuke said with a huff. "Not every Uchiha is good. But I'm not one of the bad ones that's for sure." Sarah smiled. There was silence for a while then…

"But why…" Sasuke spoke in a shaking tone. "Why would Itatchi choose to be one of the bad ones? Why would he do that to his own clan, his own family? He told me that night that it was to test his skills but how can I just accept that?!" Naruto watched his adopted brother as his body shook with emotion but didn't say anything as he already knew that bringing up his past was painful. Sarah seemed to be staring off into space for a while then she spoke.

"Well, if there's one thing I know for sure…" She started. "It's that Itatchi was never one for violence. He was a kind and gentle soul who saw the world in a different light and couldn't bear to watch others fight and in truth in the beginning he didn't wish to become a shinobi and his gifts allowed him not to be weighed down by the clan. However, I also know that he doesn't do things without a really good reason and that if the reason he gave you was as simple and straightforward as that then he was probably only putting on a show. He's a master spy which makes him a master liar. I don't know what drove him to do it but if you're truly unhappy with his answer, I suppose you'll have to find him and get the truth from him yourself." And she left it hanging there.

Sasuke finally stood calmly and decided to leave. He began exiting the room.

"Hey, where are you going?" Naruto asked. Sasuke paused in the doorway of the living room. He glanced over his shoulder, a softer look than before on his features.

"I'm going to go practice with shuriken in the back yard," he stated. "Wanna come?" Naruto took a moment to respond but he did so by jumping off of the couch and following the Uchiha to the back door. Sarah and Kisuke did the same. Once by the back door of the kitchen, Sarah leaned against the island counter and watched as the boys got their shuriken and kunai pouches and sandals on.

"You know…I probably haven't told you everything," she said. The boys kept getting ready. "But I feel if I give you too much information at this point in time then you'll only be concerned with dwelling in the past and that can be dangerous. Just know there's more I need to tell you but only when you're ready and I promise I will not lie." The boys stood up, Naruto adjusting his green goggles on his head as usual. He glanced back with a grin on his face.

"Don't worry Sarah if that's the case then I'll just wait until then. Then I'll listen to every word good or bad." Sarah nodded then glanced over at her blood brother.

"I don't want to know any more," stated the raven haired boy tiredly. "If you do, it'll only make my head explode. But don't worry…I'll be mindful of your advice." With that, Sarah gave a smile.

"Well…I suppose that's all I can ask of you." She paused a moment in thought then thought of something. "Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I have a little something for the two of you," she stated. Sasuke and Naruto glanced her way, curious looks on their faces as Sarah brought up her hand into a fist breathing on it as if to clean off something then rubbing it on her shirt. Then before the boys could react, her fist came down upon both their heads with a mighty whack.

"Agh!" the two yelled out in unison, their hands flying to the new sore spots. Sarah brought her fist back and blew on it as if getting rid of dust obtained from contact. Naruto turned on her with an angry fire in his eyes.

"What the heck was that for?!" he demanded.

"Why'd you hit us?!" Sasuke complained. Sarah just scoffed.

"Heh, it's what you get for vandalizing the monument the other day. You didn't think you'd get away with it without my knowing didjya!" A devilish grin had formed on the older Uchiha's lips. The boys shrunk in shame and fear from their sister as the memory was brought up, realizing that this was only the beginning of their punishment.

"Since you two were ballsy enough to pull a stunt like that, I suppose you'll be ballsy enough to clean a few training fields until you go back to the academy to be sorted as ninja. It's already been arranged with lord third so don't think you'll be getting out of it." The boys nodded quickly.

"Yes ma'am!" they shouted in agreement. They knew better than to go against what she'd said or to complain. Whenever they pulled pranks, she usually brought out heavy punishments but this recent one seemed less threatening than the last few. They quickly finished getting ready and headed outside.

Sarah sighed and sat down on an island stool and watched the two begin to practice with the shuriken and kunai. She smiled as she watched Naruto hit every target almost dead on. When she'd adopted him, he hadn't been able to hit the target whatsoever but since Sasuke started hanging with him more, he'd taken it upon himself to help Naruto practice. Since then, the boy's grades in school had somewhat risen higher than where they'd been.

Kisuke came up behind her and began to massage her sore shoulders. She placed her head down on the counter and let him take away her stress from the day with his gentle yet firm carpenter's hands. He chuckled some as he watched the two practice outside.

"Well…that certainly went better than you thought it would," he stated calmly. Sarah nodded and kept watching them from her position.

"Sometimes I have to wonder if I'm out my mind to try and raise them," she admitted softly. "Yet…I don't regret taking them in. But I wish I knew how to do this better and to give them the life they deserve. I mean…I'm not their mother."

"And that's fine," Kisuke reassured her. "They may cause trouble every now and then but at least they're happier that way. It's a lot better than where they were. I have no doubt in my mind that those two are going to help shape the shinobi world for the better. Just give it time and you'll see. Now that they're ninja…they'll be making their own paths to follow and the only thing we can do is help them; guide them towards whatever dreams they may have. They'll be just fine." Sarah nodded, feeling there was some truth to her husband's words but she still couldn't shake the feeling that soon something that she couldn't control would start. However for now, she just allowed herself to be relieved as her husband continued to massage her shoulders.

Meanwhile outside, Naruto and Sasuke threw their shuriken and kunai at the wooden posts that Kisuke had made for them a while ago for practice. They were littered with holes and chipped away wood as a sign from the past practices they'd had. They continued practicing in silence for a while, the only sounds being the clunk of shuriken and kunai hitting wood.

"Naruto," Sasuke began, breaking the silence. Naruto, finishing with the throw of another kunai, turned to face his brother.

"Yeah, what is it Sasuke?" he queried.

"What do you think about it?" he inquired of the blonde. Naruto raised a questioning eyebrow. "I mean about everything that Sarah just told us."

"What, about your clan and all?" he questioned. Sasuke gave a curt nod. Naruto turned back to face his post. "I…don't really know, I mean…it's a lot to take in all at once." Sasuke nodded, understanding. "But I'm kind of glad ya know," Naruto Continued. Sasuke seemed shocked but Naruto quickly explained. "Not that they're dead or anything it's just that…before Sarah and Kisuke came back and before we become brothers…I was…all alone and well…with you guys…I don't feel so alone anymore. It's a nice feeling ya know?" Sasuke smiled and turned back to his own post.

"Yeah, I get what you're saying," he stated. "I'm kind of glad things are this way too. Even though my own parents and clan were taken away…it feels great to at least have this much peace of mind and I have to admit..." he said as he threw another kunai at the log. "It's not so bad having a brother like you…heh even if you are a loser." Naruto suddenly developed a mischievous grin across his face.

"Oh, a loser am I?" he chuckled. "We'll just see about that!" Sasuke grinned back.

"First one to make a nearly perfect outline of the leaf symbol with either shuriken or kunai wins!" he stated. Naruto laughed out loud.

"Hah, bring it on!" And with that the two began trying to form village leaf symbols on their logs with as many kunai and shuriken as possible allowing the previous conversation with their elder sister to slip away for the time being.

---

"Listen kid," spoke the photographer. "You sure you want me to take your picture like that?" The blonde haired kid sitting across from him just got excited and began waving his arms in the air.

"Just do it!" exclaimed the kid. "Come on already, c'mon, c'mon!" The photographer sighed as he realized the kid wouldn't be swayed so he just stuck his head under the black cloth at the other end of the camera.

"Don't blame me later," he muttered then in a sarcastic tone, "Say cheese!" And with that, Naruto Uzumaki posed for his ninja picture and it was taken. A while later, Naruto sat in the Hokage's office as he looked over the photo, a questioning eyebrow raise accompanying his features.

In Naruto's photo his skin was painted pale white with face paint and he had many red markings not only on his face but on his hands as well. Meanwhile he still wore his orange jumpsuit and his blonde hair sticking out everywhere from pale skin stuck out even more like a sore thumb. As the hokage looked it over, Naruto was laughing lightly, obviously proud of his work on the other end of the room.

"At first ya know, I didn't exactly know how to do it," he explained his photo. "It took me like three hours to work it out and stuff and Sasuke was no help but finally…I got it…like an art project on my face only cooler." He continued chuckling to himself as the hokage continued staring at it.

"Take it again," he said plaintively catching Naruto by Surprise.

"Huh no way!" he shouted. The hokage meanwhile tried to maintain a calm and steady face.

"We can't accept this photo," he continued just as emotionless. Naruto however was bent on being really stubborn while meanwhile out in the hall, Sasuke who was waiting for Naruto so they could go and clean one of the waiting training fields, just sighed. I told him they weren't going to take it like that, he thought to himself as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, well I'm not doing it again!" Naruto stubbornly retorted. The hokage sighed knowing that he wasn't going to get him to cooperate that easily. The third and Naruto then entered a slightly momentary glaring contest until Naruto became frustrated then formed a hand sign for a transformation.

"Transform!" he yelled. There was a poofing sound accompanied by raised dust in the room and smoke and then suddenly standing in the middle of this smoke was a naked young blonde woman with huge breasts. Most of her more private areas were shrouded in smoke but it still had the desired effect as she said,

"Pretty please lord hokage?" she pleaded. After a momentary pause from the third, he fell backwards as a fountain of blood erupted from his nose and propelled him backwards until he landed on his side still in a stupor.

That…that jutsu… he stammered in his thoughts. So that's where Sasuke learned it from and what's more…I fell for it again. Once again on the outside of the room Sasuke groaned and brought a hand up and pinched the bridge of his nose in slight annoyance.

Stupid loser, he mentally berated of his brother. Suddenly though, Sasuke sensed a presence near him and while the third hokage was picking himself up off the ground, a little boy who wasn't even paying attention to the raven haired preteen was standing by the slightly cracked open door with a shuriken in one hand. Sasuke looked at him with surprise. Who is this kid? He wondered.

Meanwhile, back in the room, the third hokage had made his way back to his seat and was wiping his nose with a tissue. He was sweating profusely from his recent embarrassment.

"That's the sexy jutsu, is that right?" he queried of Naruto. "Very tricky, much too tricky, don't do it again." Naruto meanwhile chuckled lightly whilst scratching the back of his head. "And where is your headband Naruto? You're supposed to be wearing it!" Naruto then reached up and adjusted his green goggles upon his head.

"Oh I'm not putting it on till the orientation, I don't wanna mess it up and Sasuke's doing the same," explained the blonde. The third sighed heavily once more then held Naruto within a firm gaze.

"So you want your headband nice," he started. "But your photo which is supposed to identify you makes you look like a clown! It's for ninja training and missions which is the key to your future." He held up the papers with Naruto's identity photograph upon it. "Look at this photo, you can't even tell who it is," he stated plainly.

"Well fine!" Naruto finally agreed. "How am I supposed to know all this complicated stuff anyway," he complained. Sasuke meanwhile outside was vaguely listening to the conversation as he watched the little boy beside him who still hadn't acknowledged his presence. Suddenly he brought up the shuriken in his hand and it caught the light of the sun, ultimately catching the attention of the occupants in the room.

Sasuke then watched with slight amusement and surprise as the kid swung open the sliding door with a loud bang and shouted inside.

"Old man!" he yelled, running inside towards the third. "I challenge you! I'm going to defeat you and become the fifth hokage!" he declared boldly. Sasuke had stepped into the doorway to watch as Naruto watched from where he was sitting and the third hokage watched as well. Yes they all watched…as the kid then suddenly tripped over practically nothing, though surprisingly not his ridiculously long scarf, and hit the floor hard face first. Both Naruto and Sasuke deadpanned wondering just what the hell was going on with this kid.

Meanwhile, the kid curled up on the floor holding his face and began to whimper in pain. The hokage just sighed heavily and pulled his hokage's hat further down over his eyes as he glanced the boy.

My grandson, he thought to himself. Another headache! Suddenly another man came running to stand within the doorframe of the room. Sasuke had already entered and was leaning against the wall his hands shoved in his pockets. He glanced up innocently curious at the new comer. He was breathing heavily. Meanwhile the child stood up and now Naruto and Sasuke could get a better view of him.

He was scrawny, a preschooler no doubt, with wild, short spiky brown hair that stuck out of the back of a grey helmet on his head with a few stickers on it. He wore gray shorts with patches in the knee and a bright yellow shirt that had a red leaf village symbol on the front. Around his neck was draped a rather long blue scarf and on his feet, average blue sandals. Finally he had black eyes and a small chip in one of his teeth. Now as he got up, he groaned heavily and grumbled.

"Doh, something tripped me!" he complained blaming something else for his problems yet again. He began looking around the room as the newcomer spoke up.

"Are you okay, honorable grandson?" he asked worriedly. "And by the way, there's nothing here for you to trip on. It's pretty flat!" he commented. He adjusted his sunglasses on his face and Sasuke wondered to himself why he would wear them indoors. He wore the usual jonin outfit minus the flak jacket and had short dark brown hair. All in all to the boys he just seemed like a weirdo upon first sight.

Naruto just remained fixated on the boy in front of him getting off the floor. Who is this shrimp, he wondered to himself. The boy slowly turned around and noticed Naruto sitting in a chair across from the hokage and the Jonin in the doorway followed his gaze. Suddenly his eyes fell upon Naruto as well.

It's that kid! He realized. Then an almost evil smirk seemed to crawl across his features. Humph, the nine tailed fox. Of course, he's the worst kind of troublemaker. He watched as the honorable grandson approached the blonde with the whisker birthmarks on either cheek and pointed an accusatory finger at him

"Alright," he said. "You're the one who tripped me aren't you!?" he demanded. Naruto immediately became enraged and his eye twitched. He stood up almost instantly, grabbing the kid by his scarf and shirt collar, nearly hauling him up off the ground.

"You tripped over your own feet dork!" Naruto yelled. The Jonin suddenly yelled at Naruto.

"Hey you, take your hands off of him now! He's the honorable grandson of the honorable third hokage!" Naruto looked up from the kid to hold the jonin in his gaze. Meanwhile Sasuke came forward with a scoff.

"Honorable? This little runt?" he taunted. "He stormed in here acting all tough only to flat out kiss the floor with his entire face!" The jonin turned, suddenly realizing that Sasuke was there as he nonchalantly took a stance near Naruto.

It's the Uchiha prodigy and younger brother to the legendary cat sage, Sarah Uchiha., he thought in wonderment.

"Heh, no kidding," Naruto chuckled dryly. The kid in his grip squirmed and squirmed. He turned to glare at Sasuke.

"Oh yeah and who asked you?" he retorted. "No one that's who and you know what, now that I think of it, it was probably you who tripped me. This guy's a loser!"

"Loser," Naruto roared. He pulled the kid closer to his face. "Listen here brat, there's only one person I'll tolerate calling me a loser and that's Sasuke you got it!? Otherwise you'd better watch out before you cross a line you wish you hadn't!" The Jonin was getting more anxious with every second.

"Now listen here you two, this is the honorable grandson of lord third hokage and beating on him with such a show of disrespect in front of his grandfather is not the wisest action you could take!" Sasuke turned to the jonin an amused eyebrow raised. Naruto was paying attention to him too.

Heh, that stopped em, thought the kid. Just like all the rest. Hah! Now that they know who I am, they won't dare lay a finger on me. The kid turned to Naruto an evil grin on his face.

"Hah, what's the matter huh?" he taunted. "I thought you two were tough guys! Who's acting out of line now huh? Come on; are you two turning chicken because my grandfather's the third hokage? Well ya cowards?" He grinned thinking he'd won but the boy had only managed to touch both Naruto's and Sasuke's nerves. The third hokage just sat behind his desk knowing this wasn't going to end well.

"Naruto…" Sasuke started but Naruto was already one step ahead of his brother.

"We don't care if he's your grandmother! So believe it ya runt!" And with those words, Naruto's already readied fist was brought down upon the young boy's head hard. The boy felt it and began falling towards the floor slightly dizzy. These guys are different! He thought as he hit the floorboards.

Meanwhile the jonin who was obviously the boy's mentor was freaking out, not believing what he'd just seen. The demon child with his partner in crime had stomped on the pride of the honorable grandson with their words and their fists. The Jonin master stood there twitching with shock as the hokage just stared upon the scene as though it were a boring everyday occurrence.

Not too soon after, Naruto and Sasuke had departed and were heading towards their first cleanup task on one of the shinobi training fields. As they walked towards it, Naruto had his hands behind his head in a stretching sort of pose as he walked, grumbling about the kid he'd pounded to the ground with one fist.

"Stupid brat," he grumbled. "Who's he to call me a loser?" Sasuke smirked beside him.

"Well it doesn't exactly help your case that it's true. You are a loser Naruto," he shrugged. Naruto then wheeled around on him.

"Hey knock it off with the "loser" already! It's starting to get annoying!" he growled back. Sasuke just laughed lightly.

"Oh come on Naruto, didn't you just finish telling that kid you didn't mind me calling you a loser? You said I was the only one you'd let do so." Naruto brought up a threatening looking fist.

"I said that you were the only one I'd tolerate!" he protested. "Besides, when you do it, you don't mean it the way the others do." He crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. Sasuke smirked and kept walking alongside his brother down the street. About halfway to their destination however, they felt someone's presence behind them. After a while they turned around to find an odd lump protruding from the ground with two sandaled feet sticking out at the bottoms. The two deadpanned.

"So…what do you think he wants to prove?" questioned Sasuke with a whisper that only Naruto could hear. Naruto just remained impassively unimpressed.

"I don't know but whatever it is, I get the feeling it'll be real annoying," he replied.

"Ignorance?" Sasuke queried.

"Ignorance," Naruto confirmed. They then turned back around as if they hadn't seen anything and continued on their way. However, the little kid from before was persistent and continued following them from afar or rather, almost up close. Finally Naruto decided he'd had enough and turned with a scowl on his face whilst pointing a finger.

"We know that you're following us so just give it up okay!" Naruto declared. Sasuke nudged him.

"What happened to ignorance?" he hissed. Naruto ignored him as he once again deadpanned seeing a sheet being held up, painted like a fence and showing not just feet but some familiar brown hair that stuck up and two hands holding the top of the sheet. Naruto's eye twitched.

"That's so obvious, it's pathetic," he stated. A small chuckle emanated from behind the sheet. Suddenly the sheet was lowered as the kid from the hokage's office appeared again and he grinned showing his chipped tooth.

"Saw through my disguise huh?" he stated. "The rumors about you are true then, you're good."

"Huh?" Naruto and Sasuke questioned in unison. The kid approached them and pointed a dramatic finger at them.

"Alright, I'll be your apprentice and you'll be my trainers!" he stated. They gave each other a questioning glance, seeing if the other knew what was going on but when it appeared neither did, they just turned back to the kid in front of them. "And afterwards," he continued. "You've gotta show me how to do that sexy jutsu thing you did on Grandpa Hokage!"

At this Naruto turned away. "This is some kind of joke isn't it?" he accused. The kid shook his head vigorously.

"No, I need a new trainer!" he complained. "Please boss!" Naruto seemed to perk up at this.

"Huh, boss?" he questioned curiously wondering if he'd heard right.

"Yeah, you guys are the boss!" the kid shouted. "Boss, boss, boss!" Naruto then blushed slightly and rubbed the under tip of his nose with his index finger. He chuckled.

"Well, how can we refuse?" he reached back and scratched his head while Sasuke gave him an incredulous look.

"Wait, who said anything about we?" he demanded. Naruto grinned goofily.

"Aww c'mon Sasuke, what can it hurt? Just one technique each, it'll be kind of fun don'tcha think?"

"What I think is that you're letting this whole idea of playing teacher go to your head and that it's gonna cause us trouble. We already have to clean a training ground for messing with the hokage faces," Sasuke pointed out. The kid perked up at this.

"Oh so you guys are already headed to a training ground? Then that'll be perfect! You can train me there!" Sasuke started trying to think of a way to ditch the kid and make Naruto come down from cloud nine. However, he came up short as Naruto decided to add to the dilemma.

"Yeah, that's a great idea and I can teach you the technique you want to know. Trust me kid, you're gonna be able to do a whole lot of embarrassing damage with this one. Why I've even taught Sasuke the technique so I guess that makes me master of masters!" Sasuke deadpanned as he realized what Naruto had just said.

"Wait, how the hell did you find out about that!?" he demanded. Naruto grinned wider, if it was even possible, and wagged a finger back and forth in front of Sasuke.

"Ah, ah, ah. That's for the master to know and the student to find out!" Sasuke flared up then smirked.

"Heh, fine then. I'll play along. But I won't be teaching him something like that, no. I'll teach him one of my own styles direct from the Uchiha clan fire style arsenal!" The kid's eyes grew to twice there size as he realized he was going to learn two new jutsu's from two awesome seeming ninja. Meanwhile Naruto and Sasuke wore smirks on their faces as they faced off already beginning to turn the whole thing into yet another competition. In their minds, it was on.

The first one up to teach the kid was Naruto. Sasuke headed towards the training field they were supposed to train in and clean with a shadow clone of Naruto while Naruto began to show the kid to where they'd need to go to start learning his technique.

"Listen," he started as they walked the crowded streets of Konoha. "You wanna be a master ninja then believe it! You've gotta learn how to control your catra!" The kid went into deep thought as he tried to figure out what Naruto meant.

Catra? He thought to himself. A cat? A sudden image of a cat entered the kid's mind but Naruto interrupted his thought train.

"I said your Chatra!" Naruto confirmed. The kid seemed to finally catch on. He turned to his supposed new teacher.

"Boss…I uh…think you're talking about chakra," he stated. Naruto turned red as he realized he'd done it again. When he'd been younger, he'd gotten himself believing that the word was pronounced catra and even though he knew it was chakra, he still sometimes slipped up and said catra instead. He turned nervously to the little preschooler before him.

"Heh, heh, of course! I knew that already! I was just testing you that's all. In fact this is the exact same way I taught it to Sasuke" the preschooler's eyes lit up brighter than before.

"Wow really? You're amazing boss!" Naruto seemed taken aback by this. Jeez, he believes anything I say, he thought to himself. He shook himself from his daze.

"Listen, I'll explain what chakra is now," he stated. However the kid beat him to the punch.

"Chakra is the elemental life energy that is used to perform jutsu!" Stated the kid, showing off what he already knew.

"Eh?" Naruto said shocked.

"The ninja arts combine physical energy from each cell in the body with mystical energy which is intensified through training and experience. When these two chakra mix, special hand signs allow the ninja to focus this combined energy for advanced jutsu," the kid finished reading from a scroll he'd pulled out halfway through. Naruto's eyebrow twitched.

"Know it all brat!" Naruto bellowed. "You were just reading that whole thing!" he shouted. A little ways later, Naruto finally got over his little fit and got back down to business.

"Yo, you can blab all you want about how to do ninja techniques but it really comes down to one thing," Naruto explained. The kid grew a serious expression as he wanted to learn what that one thing was.

"What is it?" he wondered. Naruto smirked.

"Just plain hard work and guts," Naruto finished.

"That's two things but okay I'm with you!" the kid declared proudly. An impressed Naruto gave a softer smile.

"Alright, I'm going to throw some really big challenges at you, are you ready?" The kid nodded excitedly.

"Good, then let's do it!" Naruto Exclaimed. "Show me a transformation!" the kid froze for a moment unsure of himself for a minute.

"Eh?" he questioned.

"Believe it! Show me what you can do and I'll take you to the next level," Naruto confirmed. The kid seemed to get most of it.

"Oh, right, sure but um…what do I transform into?" asked the preschooler. Naruto was taken aback for a split second by the question but then started to look around for a suitable candidate. He finally came across a young woman buying groceries from a stand a little ways away. He pointed with an index finger.

"There, yeah right you can transform into her," he suggested. The kid already pumped up and determined turned to face the woman.

"Right, here I go boss!" he exclaimed loudly as he brought his hands up to form the transformation jutsu sign. "Transform!" In a puff of smoke, there stood a larger, pudgier rendition of the woman at the stand. Naruto deadpanned as the kid placed a hand on his hip and jutted it outwards whilst placing a hand at the back of his head.

"Well…do I look like her?" asked the uglier version of the woman. Naruto remained stoic.

"Uh…the clothes…kinda look like her," he admitted. Suddenly Naruto's danger senses started tingling and he slowly turned around to see the same woman they were trying to imitate holding a threatening fist up and clearly looking peeved.

"That…looks like me?" she growled. Then before Naruto could do anything about it, he was at the receiving end of the blow from the clearly pissed off woman. Afterwards she put on a somewhat genuine smile as she turned to the preschooler who was quaking in his sandals.

"Now, now honorable grandson," she started. "Next time you transform into me, make me a little cuter okay?" and with that she waved goodbye and strode away. The kid remained paralyzed.

"She's…scary," he stammered. Meanwhile Naruto groaned from down on the ground and started trying to pick himself up.

"You did it," he complained. "Why am I the one that gets whacked around." A little while later, after having recovered from the recent beating and scare, Naruto decide to teach the kid the next step to his ultimate technique. He turned to him as they stood outside a magazine store.

"Alright, next we do some research on some female beauty," he declared. The kid was once again pumped and ready to go.

"Female beauty! Right boss!" the kid agreed. Next they quietly opened the door to the front of the store where the clerk was snoozing behind the counter and they snuck in and found the adults section. Naruto found and picked out the perfect magazine with swimsuit models and the boys began to peruse the many pages all the while, the two started giggling immaturely as they saw every partially naked woman.

Soon however, Naruto's danger senses went off again as he heard the whapping of a mop stick behind him. The store clerk growled down at him.

"This is not a library…Naruto!" The two boys froze in utmost terror as the sound of the thwapping broomstick brought forth a sense of dread. Once again before he could do anything, while the kid shielded himself from the wrath of the man with the mop, Naruto wound up being beaten again for the second time that day. Once again the kid found himself quaking in his sandals as they were kicked out of the store, Naruto more literally.

Finally they found themselves outside of the bath house. Naruto was chuckling despite his newly acquired black eye.

"Just a minor setback," he stated with a light laugh. "Now this is the last stop so give it everything you've got okay?" Once again pumped the boy jumped around to face the bath house.

"Everything, right boss!" he declared. Then the two brought up the appropriate hand signs for the transformation jutsu and in unison hollered, "Transform!" Disappearing in a puff of smoke two new figures appeared. One was a female with reddish brown hair; still chunky and was wearing the kid's clothes while the other was a female with bright blonde hair held back in two pigtails on the side with the three on each side whisker birthmarks and wearing Naruto's clothes.

Next the two gave each other a confirmative nod and then proceeded to try and enter the women's bath. Unfortunately for them, the kid's disguise was pretty much a dead give-away and there were some experienced chunin within the bath house as well who saw right through the guises not to mention some of Naruto's classmates who already knew his tricks. The girls screamed almost as soon as they entered and then proceeded to pummel Naruto , leaving a frightened little boy trembling in a corner since his guise wore off quicker.

Even later, Naruto and the kid approached the training arena with Naruto now having a big black eye and several new scratches and bruises all over his body.

"Why…do they only whack me?" he questioned no one in particular. Meanwhile a high pitched whistle sounded from the trees. Naruto and the kid looked up to see Sasuke resting on a tree branch, a wide grin on his face.

"So I assume training went well?" he questioned mockingly. "Of course the so called master of masters looks more like a loser than before with those new beauty marks in place." Naruto grumbled.

"Shut up! We haven't even gotten started yet so just you wait. It doesn't matter if I've been beaten. That's part of being a shinobi ya know!" he shouted back.

"Sorry," the kid suddenly said next him, causing both Sasuke and Naruto to look down at the little preschooler with questioning eyes. "It's cuz I'm the grandson of a hokage!" he stated bitterly. Naruto was slightly taken aback by his statement but his kinder tender gaze came through the somewhat beaten face.

"Hey, don't worry about it," he reassured him. "I've prepared you so now you're ready to learn the sexy jutsu. Believe it, you're just gonna need to practice ya know!" The kid held him with some awe then a grin jumped on his face.

"Practice, right boss!" And with that, the training for the sexy jutsu began. Sasuke meanwhile watched from his tree branch, already having decided which move he would teach the runt next when it was his turn. Now, all he needed to do was to watch and wait.

---

"Naruto," Ebisu, Konohamaru's sensei grumbled to himself atop a building's roof. He was still trying to find the little troublemaker. What has he done with the honorable grandson? I ought to report this to Sarah or even Kisuke if he's around. He thought to himself. He looked about as birds sounded off in the sky above.

"What's his evil plan; where did they go?" He wondered irritably. I am a Jonin; the highest ninja level and I'm an elite trainer of future hokage. Any parasite that leeches onto my student…will be squashed. He nodded his own confirmation before taking off again to search for the troublesome brat he believed to have taken his student hostage and the Uchiha kid who had been an unfortunate pawn in his game. At least that's what Ebisu believed.

Meanwhile, Sasuke had just finished trying to teach the kid how to do a simple fire jutsu technique that took a lot of practice but not as much chakra, one that Sarah had taught him in her first two years back in Konoha. It was known as the fire style, ribbon whip jutsu. So far, Konohamaru had been able to work his way through it as his natural chakra affinity was fire and he'd also been able to get better at the sexy jutsu Naruto had been teaching him. Finally, they'd not only taught Konohamaru two techniques but they'd also managed to somehow clean the whole training ground in no time as Naruto had decided to use his shadow clones to help.

Now finished with their work, they'd made their way to a small row of vending machines and had each gotten something refreshing to drink. They now sat on a log like bench across from the machines. Naruto took one big slurp of his soda, a burning question for the kid on his lips, ready to spill and spill it did.

"So…what's up with this obsession you've got with your grandfather?" he asked.

"Actually, I've been wondering the same thing," Sasuke confirmed as they turned to the kid. The kid looked down at his feet and started kicking them as he spoke up.

"My grandfather named me Konohamaru," he started, "After the ancient name of the village….so it should be easy to remember. But no one calls me that name…not one person in the whole village. That's cuz when they look at me they don't really see me. All they see is the 'Honorable Grandson' of the Lord Hokage." No one knows who I am." He hung his head lower and Naruto and Sasuke gave each other a look then glanced back at him. They knew how it felt too.

Before Sarah had come…Naruto had always…always been alone and nobody noticed him. They just saw him as the nine tailed fox that had destroyed their village all those years ago. As for Sasuke, he'd just been the youngest of the Uchiha clan, a powerful clan and with big shoes to fill since his father had been head of the clan and his older brother before going rogue that night had been an outstanding prodigy whom everyone would bring up whenever Sasuke was around. Now it was somewhat the same with Sarah too as she was the new head of the clan and she was also a legendary cat sage but at least now he could finally breathe more without every eye on him, criticizing him and expecting him to become great. Naruto and Sarah had helped out with that.

"I can't stand it anymore," Konohamaru continued. "It's like I'm invisible; like I don't exist…I hate that. That's the reason…I've got to become a hokage now so people know who I am!" Silence fell upon the three for some time then Naruto laughed some.

"Heh, get real. You think people are going to accept a squirt like you?" Konohamaru and Sasuke looked up at him with surprise. "A kid can't just turn into a hokage after a day or two."

"What!?" Konohamaru demanded angrily getting on his feet. Sasuke just continued drinking his drink.

"It's not that simple," Naruto explained. "You keep saying hokage, hokage. To really be a hokage, you know what you'll have to do?" Konohamaru glared at Naruto the way any kid would demanding an answer.

"What…what is it?" he wanted to know. A smile grew on Naruto's features as he turned to face Konohamaru, his eyes full of determination.

"You're gonna have to defeat me in battle!" he stated simply. Sasuke smirked and continued to calmly sip his drink. Konohamaru seemed stunned by this but then a smile grew on his features too.

"Heh, if that's how it's gonna be…then I'll face you…and I'll win!" Naruto chuckled.

"Not if you don't start working hard ya runt!"

"Who're you calling a runt?" Konohamaru jabbed back poking Naruto in the side.

"What, you of course. You're puny," he retorted. The two kept exchanging back and forth for quite some time and Sasuke had to roll his eyes at their simplicity. Eventually this led to a wrestling contest on the ground between the three, laughing and having a good time about themselves. Suddenly a crisp voice snapped out at them.

"I found you!" it exclaimed. The three boys stopped in the middle of their scuffle with Naruto on the ground holding firmly onto Konohamaru's leg while Sasuke sat on top of Naruto holding Konohamaru in a headlock and his foot pushing against Naruto's cheek. They were covered with dirt all over. Ebisu had arrived and was standing atop a tree branch glaring down at them…well….glaring down at Naruto…directing a cold icy stare upon him. Sasuke noticed and tensed, not liking the stare at all and neither did Naruto. The boys exited their wrestling hold and started to stand up defensively.

That icy stare, Naruto thought to himself. They all look at me that way!

It really pisses me off, Sasuke thought as he started sending a similar stare back at Ebisu. Ebisu paid no heed to the Uchiha's stare. He simply leapt down on the ground and approached them. He turned his gaze upon Konohamaru.

"So honorable grandson," he started. "Time to go home." He adjusted his glasses.

"No way!" Konohamaru yelled back. "I'm learning how to beat my grandfather so I can get the title hokage! Now don't get in my way!" Ebisu scoffed as he walked towards the trio.

"A hokage is more than just a fighter," Ebisu explained. "He must know virtue, honor, wisdom and he must be skilled at a thousand jutsu. You don't even know one jutsu." Konohamaru's eye twitched and then without warning he brought his hands up to form a hand sign sending a bunch of chakra into his new jutsu.

"Transform!" he yelled. Ebisu stopped in his tracks as he watched and his eyes widened considerably under his glasses when he saw what was now before him. A young and beautiful woman who was naked. She held her hands behind her brown hair and gave Ebisu a smug smile.

"Hi there, like my jutsu?" she asked. Ebisu's jaw nearly hit the ground as he yelled out in surprise. Konohamaru decided then, coming up with the idea on his own, to kick it up a notch.

"Well then…how do you like this?" the girl asked. She performed the hand signs for the jutsu Sasuke had taught her and produced a near perfect fire ribbon whip which she whipped out, making a crack in the air spinning and twirling it around near her naked body like a ribbon dancer. Ebisu's nose began to bleed as Konohamaru finally reverted into his former self. Sasuke face palmed.

"Damn it! How is it that my jutsu made that one more effective?" he groaned. Naruto Chuckled.

"I dunno but that was awesome. Extra points for improv," he stated giving Konohamaru a thumbs up and wide grin. Konohamaru accepted the gesture and turned back to Ebisu.

"Hey, how come he's not defeated?" he complained. Sasuke and Naruto too turned back to see Ebisu twitching then…

"What…what…what kind of scandalous technique is that!" he demanded to know dramatically. Sasuke grinned at his overall reaction and almost lost himself laughing at how simple grown men could be. Naruto was still paying attention to Ebisu though.

"Such tasteless vulgarity could never influence me!" he declared. "I am far above it!" Then, trying to get a grip on himself he attempted to take Konohamaru by force by tugging on him but this just led to a tug of war with Konohamaru pulling as hard as he could back against Ebisu pulling on his scarf.

"Honorable grandson, stop this right now!" he shouted. Naruto and Sasuke could only watch the spectacle with mild amusement. "Naruto's turning you into a delinquent like he did to that poor Uchiha over there. Only my special training can put you on the fast track to becoming a hokage!"

"Just leave…me…alone!" Konohamaru retorted. The other boys continued to watch.

"He's losing against a kid," Sasuke stated deadpanning.

"Well I'm not surprised," Naruto agreed. "He's weak and he's a closet pervert…I mean…his nose bled when the flames came out…" Naruto stopped midsentence as he got a devious idea then turned to Sasuke. "So he thinks he's above our tricks does he?" Sasuke gave his brother a wary look.

"What are you planning?" he asked skeptically. Naruto rubbed his hands together.

"Oh nothing too fancy but you'll see. I just need your help with one thing K? You don't have to like doing it but the results will be hilarious," he assured. Sasuke sighed knowing he'd be hearing it either way.

"Alright let's hear it." Naruto grinned.

"It's quite simple really…how does one get to a closet pervert?" Sasuke didn't answer. "You simple overload their closet." Sasuke's eyes widened. Naruto continued grinning. Sasuke was about to protest but Konohamaru was starting to yell louder. He sighed, turning to his brother.

"Nobody hears about this!" he ordered Naruto. Naruto saluted.

"Yes sir!" Afterwards he turned back to the two tug of war contestants.

"Let…go…of me!" Konohamaru commanded.

"No! I will save you from that hooligan!" Ebisu promised.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" Naruto suddenly yelled, calling their attention. Ebisu and Konohamaru turned to see that now in the clearing was at least a dozen or more Naruto's standing before them. The shock made Ebisu let go of Konohamaru's scarf who was gawking at Naruto's newest technique.

"Woah! This is…unreal!" Ebisu just scoffed. He pushed his glasses up on his face.

"I'm not impressed," he declared. "I'm a Jonin an elite ninja warrior. I'm not some lightweight like Mizuki. Watch how a real ninja defeats an upstart." He then walked right into the middle of the shadow clones of Naruto. Naruto grinned but Ebisu ignored it. Konohamaru watched too, a little worried.

"C'mon boss," he whispered. He then looked around, noticing that Sasuke was no longer in the clearing. "Hey where'd Sasuke go?" he wondered to himself. His attention was brought back to Naruto as the blonde and all of his clones brought their hands up to form a hand sign.

"Transform!" they all shouted. Suddenly several clouds of smoke appeared as every Naruto was transformed to reveal…a naked harem of sexy girls in their place. Once again Ebisu's jaw almost hit the ground and he began twitching some as all of the naked female Naruto's converged on him. Each one tried to touch him and if that wasn't enough, suddenly someone from the trees shouted out,

"Fire Style: Ribbon Whip Jutsu!" and suddenly every one of the girls was seemingly dancing through strings of fire as if they were harmless, the fire ribbons curving with the girl's curves. Ebisu couldn't contain himself this time as he let out a loud yell and flew backwards through the air via nose bleed, spinning some in the air and coming down to land hard on the ground. He twitched some like a dead fish before passing out from sheer amount of lost blood. Naruto transformed back and dispersed all of his clones while Sasuke came out of his hiding spot to stand by his brother.

"Heh, looks like we got im with our new Harem fire dance Jutsu!" Naruto proclaimed. Sasuke groaned.

"Please don't give what we just did a name. It feels weirder that way." Naruto just giggled. Konohamaru looked down and kicked a stone. By this time, the sun was beginning to go down. Suddenly Konohamaru clenched his fists in frustration.

"Oh man!" he complained. "I couldn't even beat that snobby trainer of mine. I wanna be hokage so bad but I keep messing up. Why can't I do it?!" Naruto turned towards Konohamaru while Sasuke, being bored, picked up a stick and started poking the now unconscious teacher.

"Quit whining kid," he sighed as he continued to poke the Jonin.

"You really think it's that easy?" Naruto asked him. Konohamaru exchanged glances between the two.

"Huh?"

"To be hokage, you have to be the greatest of all ninja; you have to prove yourself so everyone believes in you." Konohamaru relaxed his fists a little. "Look at me n' Sasuke…we've been through a lot already. I've been ignored, pushed away and treated like I have the plague or something and Sasuke…he lost most of his family in one night. But even after all of that…we've found people even if only a few who believe in us. To find them…we had to get knocked down a lot." At this Naruto stuffed his hands in his pockets and turned to play with the dirt at his feet.

"So you'd better make sure that you're ready!" he stated.

"For what," Konohamaru asked curiously. Naruto turned away again to stare at a tree.

"For lots of sweat…and tears…while you're learning to be a ninja." With that silence overtook the field.

"Ya know," started a voice. Naruto, Sasuke and Konohamaru whirled around. "That's why it's a good thing to be young," said Kisuke as he came into the clearing, hands in his pockets.

"Kisuke," Sasuke exclaimed surprised.

"What're you doing here?" Naruto asked. Kisuke chuckled.

"I decided to come get you boys after Sarah examined the training field. You did a good job. But back to what I was saying before." he turned towards Konohamaru smiling. "It's a good thing to be young when you start chasing your dreams. That way when you face those sweat n' tears along the way, you still have time to keep going and push forward even after being knocked down. It's what makes the goal worth it in the end, especially…when you look back at where you used to be or where you started from and realize…you did it. Young and a dreamer….it's a good place to be." Konohamaru gazed at Kisuke in wonder as he approached and messed with his helmet some like someone trying to ruffle his hair. Sasuke had decided to quit poking Ebisu with a stick as Kisuke had arrived.

Naruto smiled as he turned around fully now to face Konohamaru, placing his hands behind his head while grinning.

"Yeah, that's right n' by the way…there is no easy way to becoming hokage…believe it ya know." Some wind came to blow through the trees. Sasuke shivered finding it somewhat chilly since he was wearing a t-shirt and shorts. Konohamaru meanwhile reflected upon what he'd learned that day. His eyes were opened wide now and he now understood. He then held a serious face.

"Hah, who do you think you are anyway giving me a big lecture like that!" he huffed turning away. "That's it…I'm not going to be your apprentice anymore." He turned back half way to face Naruto.

"From now on…we're rivals." He grinned then, showing his one chipped tooth. Naruto smiled back.

"Well I can't be your trainer anyway because tomorrow…Sasuke and I start our advanced ninja studies." Sasuke scoffed as he too grew a small smile on his face.

"Humph, not that I was gonna continue anyway. One day babysitting was enough for me," He yawned and stretched towards the sky. The other two chuckled.

"Yeah but anyways, I accept your challenge and someday…we'll fight for the title…Lord Hokage." Konohamaru looked at Naruto with admiration. "So let's both look forward for that day…Konohamaru." Konohamaru seemed shocked that somebody had actually called him by his name for the first time ever other than his grandfather. Kisuke chuckled.

"Well then…it seems you three have had an eventful day. Why don't you head home now…Naruto…Sasuke. I'll walk home Konohamaru here and take Ebisu to the hospital. Sarah will be waiting for you with dinner when you get there." The two boys smiled.

"Okay, sounds good to me!" Naruto exclaimed. He gave a wave to Konohamaru. "See ya round kid!" he called as he ran off in the direction of home. Sasuke managed to wave too before running after his brother.

"Hey slow down loser! We don't have to rush!" Meanwhile, as they slowed to a walking pace and walked away, Konohamaru stood behind them for quite some time, saluting them and thanking them silently for what they'd done for him. After which Kisuke, hefted Ebisu over his shoulder and began dragging him through the streets with Konohamaru right beside him, sharing stories of his best day ever.

---

The next day started with the sun rising as usual. Naruto rested peacefully in his bed, somewhat exhausted from the cleaning he'd had to do the day before added onto teaching Konohamaru new tricks and then showing the closet pervert sensei of his why he shouldn't mess with Naruto or Sasuke.

Naruto was then aware of something chilling on his back. It felt wet and was making its way up towards his face. He tried to brush it off as just a draft but then a splash of cold water in his face had him leaping out of bed and yelling in surprise. He went into a defensive pose.

"Who's attacking? Is the room on fire? Tell me did the broth get cold; did we drown?!" he shifted back and forth from stance to stance, heartbeat accelerated and sending water droplets flying everywhere.

"Geez, have you been snacking on cupped ramen before bed again or what?" Sasuke questioned.

"Huh?" Naruto spun around to see Sasuke crouched expertly on his headboard and holding a semi-empty water bottle which was dripping at the nozzle. Realizing what'd happened and waking up from his heavy dream from before, Naruto pointed an angry finger at his brother.

"You!" he yelled. "Sasuke! How many times have I told you not to sneak into my room and wake me up like that!?" he hollered. Sasuke shrugged.

"About as many times as you've told me not to sneak into your room and wake you up by other methods I suppose," he stated plainly as he hopped off the bed. Then he threw something at Naruto and Naruto caught it. "I've lost count to be honest. Here quit whining and get dressed already. We have to be at the Academy soon for orientation and I don't wanna be late this time. Today's an all new chapter." At first it took Naruto a while to process what he'd said and then he looked towards his wall calendar where he'd circled today's date with words around it saying, "Today we're Ninjas!" He grinned.

"Oh right! Today's when we finally get put into squads or something!" he began giggling as he began getting dressed in a hurry. Sasuke crossed his room to the door and called back over his shoulder.

"Breakfast in five," he said before he exited to leave the hyperactive blonde to get ready. He threw off his damp clothes, leaving them on the bed and pulled on his one of a kind orange and blue jumpsuit over a black t-shirt with the Uzumaki crest on the back, zipping it up all the way. He remembered the looks Sasuke and Sarah had given him when he'd pointed it out to them. They'd tried to talk him into something less flashy to which Kisuke had just laughed saying that his hair was flashy on its own and getting something to compliment it and his personality was something respectable. Sarah had finally given in and had also ended up buying him his green goggles in the same day. Sasuke had still tried to talk him out of it but eventually gave up, forever accepting that Orange would have to be his colour.

Now as he adjusted his jumpsuit in the mirror. He couldn't help but smile at the long ago memory. Then he instinctively reached out for his goggles but instead stopped midway as he remembered his new ninja headband. His hand hovered over the goggles for a while before changing direction and picking up his headband grinning and staring at the symbol for a bit. That's right…today we start as Genin. I've finally graduated from goggles, he thought to himself. And with that he positioned the headband around his head and tied it tight, adjusting it some in the mirror before giving a curt nod.

"Naruto…breakfast!" Sarah's soprano voice sang up to him. He looked up from the mirror and ran from the room.

"Coming!" he called back. He ran down the hall and the stairs, skidding into the kitchen. He took a big sniff and entered, stomach grumbling. "Man am I starving!" he exclaimed. Sasuke was already at the table with Sarah and Kisuke eating his breakfast of scrambled eggs and sausage. Naruto sat down next to him as Sarah placed his plate in front of him.

"So, did you boys get a good night's sleep last night?" she asked beaming. She felt so proud that her little brothers were finally going to become ninja…that was if they passed whatever test their new sensei had planned. She wasn't too worried though. After reading the results and who got paired with who with the Hokage's permission of course, she'd had to agree that their chosen teacher was actually a good match up for them. Naruto had begun stuffing his face but that didn't stop him from replying.

"Yeah you bet and I'm rearing to go!" Sarah let out a light laugh as did Kisuke.

"Well that's good to hear," Kisuke stated. "Can't have you falling asleep on your first day as ninja now can we?" He chuckled, reaching over to ruffle the blonde's hair.

"Hey, Kisuke you're messing up my headband," Naruto complained.

"Heh, no I'm not," he protested. Naruto grumbled and reached for the carton of milk on the table and a glass. In his past life he would've just drunk out of the carton but since being adopted, Sarah had had to break him of the habit. He poured himself a glass of milk and began drinking. Sasuke side glanced his brother nonchalantly then looked back at his food plate.

"So Naruto…how's the milk?" he asked.

"Mmm!" Naruto emphasized as he continued drinking.

"Interesting," Sasuke stated. "And here I thought no one liked to drink it expired." Naruto froze mid gulp and choked on his drink following up with a spit take and more coughing and spluttering. Kisuke reached over and patted his back to help him out while Sarah reached for the milk and frowned as she read the expiry date.

"Kisuke, you didn't happen to go shopping when you got back from your work the other day did you?" she questioned him. Kisuke gave a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, I had thought that you'd gone before you'd left. My bad!" He reached back and scratched the back of his head. "Heh, sorry about that Naruto," he apologized.

"Sorry!" Naruto reeled incredulously. "You could've killed me!" Sasuke snorted.

"Damn it; stop being such a drama queen. You're not gonna die," he said. Naruto whirled around on him.

"Don't you start! You could've warned me before I drank some!" Naruto protested.

"No I couldn't have. I only noticed the date when you poured it." Naruto began grumbling and Sarah sighed.

"Don't worry about it Naruto, I'll give you something to keep you from getting cramps and or getting the runs. Just finish your breakfast." Kisuke gave everyone a grin then.

"Hey it could've been worse guys." They gave Kisuke a look as he chuckled. "We could've been having cereal this morning." The boys took that into consideration and sighed.

Naruto and Sasuke finished their breakfast and before he left, Sarah gave Naruto a special food pill to help him get by. Then the two bid their elder brother and sister goodbye and started off towards the academy.

Along the way they came across a piece of cloth against a fence that was supposed to be acting as camouflage. As soon as they were close enough, Konohamaru dropped the cloth and addressed Naruto.

"You're mine Naruto!" he declared. However, before he could attack he tripped over the camouflage sheet he'd dropped and landed on his face again. Naruto and Sasuke gave him a questioning look.

"Uh…what do you think you're doing…Konohamaru?" Naruto asked deadpanned. The kid in front of the two groaned.

"That was a slick move," he moaned through the dirt. He began to get up. "That's why I respect you as a rival." Naruto raised an eyebrow and there was a long pause.

"But I didn't do anything," Naruto said plainly. Sasuke scoffed.

"Only the second day and he's switched from attacking the third hokage to attacking you," he snickered. Naruto ignored him. Konohamaru finally got up all the way and made the hand sign meant for the sexy jutsu.

"Alright, now fight me fair n' square," Konohamaru commanded. Naruto scratched the back of his head and remained cool and casual.

"Sorry," he apologized. "I've got an orientation." Konohamaru lifted his head confused.

"Orientation?" he questioned.

"At the academy," Sasuke stated. "Today's the day we officially start as ninjas." Naruto grinned at this and then jabbed a thumb towards the new blue clothed headband he was wearing.

"That's right, as of today we're both ninjas; believe it ya know!" Konohamaru gazed at their headbands with awe and admiration. Sasuke shoved his hands in his pockets and walked ahead.

"Sorry kid, but if we don't wanna be late, we've gotta get going. C'mon Naruto." Naruto who'd still been showing off his headband to Konohamaru snapped out of his own little world and ran to catch up to Sasuke.

"Right, coming!" He turned back grinning and walking backwards from Konohamaru while waving. "See ya later Konohamaru!" he called. Konohamaru waved after them.

"Yeah ok, but don't think I won't find you again. I'll get you yet Naruto and Sasuke!" Naruto chuckled as he turned to face forwards again and kept on walking. The two boys finally made it to the academy and entered the slowly filling classroom and found their seats. As the class began to fill up, they wondered just who their trainers would be. Suddenly Shikamaru walked by, noticing Naruto.

"Huh, what are you doing here Naruto? This isn't for dropouts…you can't be here unless you graduate," he stated. Sasuke scoffed.

"You're one to talk dropout!" he retorted in his brother's defense.

"Oh yeah," Naruto protested as he once again indicated his new headband to someone. "Do you see this; do ya see this? Open your eyes sleepy Shikamaru, it's a regulation headband. We're gonna be training together! How do you like that?"

"Yeah well how?" Shikamaru wondered. "I heard you failed the exam."

"He did," Sasuke confirmed. "But then he passed it. Sensei gave him another shot." Shikamaru gave a short unenthusiastic laugh.

"Heh yeah? How long did you have to beg before he let you?" Naruto growled.

"Humph, I didn't have to at all. I just asked him like a mature adult, plain and simple. Admit it though Shikamaru, I look way cooler in my headgear than a lazy guy like you. Better pick up the slack or I'll leave you behind." Shikamaru tsk'd and looked away.

"Whatever. Like I have anything better to do than to get into a pointless competition. I like life in the slow lane thank you very much. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go and find my seat." He left a baffled Naruto behind wondering how a guy as lazy as himself could've possibly made Genin. Naruto just stuck his tongue out after him. Sasuke meanwhile just leaned back in his chair, closed his eyes and patiently waited.

Meanwhile, a girl with blue hair watched from her seat from behind them and fidgeted with her fingers as she was glad that Naruto had mad Genin like her. Suddenly though, everyone's thoughts and conversations were interrupted as there came a commotion at the back door. Everyone turned heads to see two girls fighting to get into the classroom.

Finally they both made it in and were out of breath. One had pale blonde hair while the other one had light pink hair. Their names were Sakura Haruno and Ino Yamanaka and while Naruto and Sasuke were the most competitive boys in their class, those two had to be the most competitive girls. The annoying part was, in Sasuke's opinion, that they fought over who would be his girlfriend. Like he had time for that when he was training to get stronger than his older brother someday.

"I won again Sakura," Ino said between pants as she glared at her rival. Sakura glared back.

"Give it up," she stated. "I had to look back to see you, my toe was at least a tenth of an inch ahead."

"Have you always been this delusional?" Ino countered. Sasuke had one eyelid cracked open, barely amused when he noticed Naruto staring at Sakura with a flushed red colour on his cheeks. Sasuke sighed and closed his eye again.

"Seriously…what do you see in her?" he sighed. Naruto continued staring at the rosette with a dreamy stare.

"Oh come on…don't tell me you haven't got a crush on somebody Sasuke I mean…she's pretty and wow…whenever she smiles…it just makes me feel warm inside." Sasuke brought his feet up on the desk in front of him and leaned back more.

"Whatever you say and for the record…I don't get into stuff like that so just drop it. Besides, I have more important things to focus on." Naruto turned about to face Sasuke this time.

"Oh yeah, like what?" he challenged. Sasuke opened his eyes and stared out the window nostalgically.

"I have to find Itachi someday…remember. I have few questions I need to ask him before I take his life." Naruto deadpanned.

"Jeez, you still on about that? It's not like you're gonna die tomorrow so why rush it? You've got plenty of time for that." Sasuke scoffed again and turned away.

"You weren't there…you wouldn't understand." Naruto lowered his head to his desk as he glared at his brother.

"Humph, only cuz you won't let me," he argued. He turned his head away from Sasuke and looked back up at Sakura who'd now entered a glaring and insult contest with Ino. He sighed as he watched her long flowing pink hair and he wondered if it was actually soft like a Sakura blossom.

"You know they flock to me don't you?" Sasuke interrupted his thoughts. Naruto grumbled.

"Yeah and what's that supposed to mean? I thought you just said you don't like girls."

"Humph, I don't. I'm just saying that for some weird reason they won't leave me alone. I don't understand girls whatsoever." Naruto turned to glare at him again.

"Seriously?" he asked flabbergasted. "Ya know what you can't fool me Sasuke. One of these days, whether you like it or not…you're gonna fall for someone and one of those someone's might be from this very classroom." Sasuke humphed again in protest and turned his head away from his brother.

"I don't think so," he stated. Naruto then pointed towards Ino and Sakura well…mostly Sakura.

"Oh come on! Take a good look for once and say she's not pretty," Naruto challenged. Sasuke turned back to glare at Naruto, then not knowing what was happening next, he was following Naruto's finger to glance at Sakura who was still in her glaring contest with Ino. He stared for some time before becoming transfixed by the pink hair flowing down her back. He sighed finally and turned away.

"Fine…her hair's…kind of…pretty," he blushed. "But that's all!" Naruto grinned.

"See…all you have to do is put those other things on hold for like a fraction of a minute and you never know what you'll start to notice. Just don't get carried away with one thing k?" he patted Sasuke on the back with a big grin on his face but then it turned serious. "Oh but Sakura's still mine got it?" he stated seriously. Sasuke crossed his arms.

"Fine by me but maybe you should tell her that," he stated. Naruto puffed out his chest.

"Humph! Well then maybe I will!" he exclaimed. Then he turned around to find Sakura actually coming towards him. He smiled and got ready to go for it.

"Hey Sakura what's up?" he called out, standing up.

"Move it!" Sakura demanded as she shoved Naruto out of the way. Sasuke went back to not paying attention to much anything except the fact he'd called it with Naruto. As Naruto picked himself up into a sitting position, he heard Sakura begin to speak.

"Uh, good morning Sasuke," she spoke shyly. "Mind if I sit next to you?" However, before Sasuke could even register what was going on, Ino made her way down to the now vacant seat too.

"Back off forehead, I'm sitting next to Sasuke!" she declared, grabbing Sakura by the arm.

"I was here first!" Sakura hissed back at Ino. Ino glared at her.

"I walked into the classroom before you did, everybody saw it!" This of course started a chain reaction as more girls began to gather around the location of Naruto's old seat.

"Dream on!" Sakura retorted.

"Actually I got here before either of you," said another girl with bushy pigtails coming up.

"So did I," protested another. "I'm sitting next to Sasuke!"

"No I am!" Sasuke began to sweat in his seat. Naruto, please get back in your seat, he silently begged in his head. The last thing he wanted was to be seated next to even one squealing fangirl. Naruto meanwhile, was just marveling at the fact he'd become invisible again. Whenever it came to Sasuke and his fangirls, Naruto was nonexistent. He grumbled some.

Geez, you'd think they'd crush on somebody else for a while. He grumbled in his thoughts. The girls continued arguing as he stood up and started backing away from them. Shikamaru meanwhile had been listening to it for a while as he finally let out an audible groan.

"You all know that Naruto was sitting there first before most of you came in right? Why do all you girls have to be so damn bothersome?" he complained rubbing his temples. Ino shot a glare at Shikamaru.

"Oh yeah, well who asked you huh and why do you care?" she snapped.

"Yeah, Naruto always sits by Sasuke so why not give us a turn?" demanded another girl. Shikamaru just sighed and covered his ears.

"Because you annoy the living crap out of the poor guy and Naruto's his brother so it doesn't need to be discussed further and as to why I and all the other guys care is because your squeals and squabbles are so goddamn annoying!"

"Amen!" Naruto praised him as he finally managed to jump up on the top of the desk where he'd been sitting. He remained crouched down and Sasuke sighed with relief. Sakura pointed threateningly at Naruto.

"Naruto, you get away from Sasuke right now!" she threatened through clenched teeth. Naruto gave her a slightly hurt expression.

"What, but Sakura…" he tried. However Sakura was cracking her knuckles.

"She said get away Naruto…it's our turn to sit by Sasuke!" Ino growled. Naruto knew this was going to get bad. Most of the girls in his class didn't like him much mostly because of how their parents acted around him and because he sometimes snuck into the girl's locker room at the bath house and…well now that he thought of it, the last one was his own fault but honestly some of their rage was unjustifiable. Luckily however, Iruka sensei entered the classroom at that very minute.

"Alright everyone, if you could please take your seats," he stated as he reached the front of the room. Naruto tried to sit down back in his original seat but during the time Iruka had distracted everyone by entering, Sakura had taken this as her opportunity to jump the seat she wanted, knocking Naruto over in the process. Ino noticed.

"Hey…billboard brow!" Ino tried to get into another argument but Sakura just stuck her tongue out at her rival as she tenderly took her seat next to Sasuke. Naruto sat up again, having caught himself from falling over completely into the next row.

"Hey but Sakura that's…" he tried to speak again.

"Oh take the end if you want but don't you dare tell me to move!" she ordered. Naruto knew better than to mess with an angry Sakura and seeing as it was Sakura and that she'd told him to take the end seat…then that would mean…Sweet, I'll get to sit next to Sakura! He exclaimed in his thoughts. Ino had been planning to take the end seat even to be a little closer to Sasuke but Naruto beat her to it.

"Hey!" she protested. Iruka looked up at her and the other girls who were still drifting near the end of their isle.

"Is there a problem girls?" he questioned in his authoritative tone. The girls immediately began dispersing not wanting to get on Iruka's bad side. Ino looked about at the dispersing girls baffled.

"But I…" she tried.

"Sometime today Ms. Yamanaka," Iruka ordered. Ino then turned angry and glared at Sakura sitting peachy in the middle of Sasuke and Naruto.

"This isn't over forehead!" she glowered. Sakura responded by sticking her tongue out again with her eyes closed, her face one of triumph as she also made a two fingered peace sign, sending Ino on her way, storming back to a seat next to Shikamaru in the row behind them. Finally all the students were seated and Iruka could begin.

"As of today, you are all ninjas," Iruka began, beaming with pride for his students. "To get here you faced difficult trials and hardships. But that's nothing…what comes next will be far more difficult. Now you're only genin, first level ninjas. All the genin will be grouped into three man squads. Each squad will be led by a Jonin, an elite ninja." This caught everyone but Naruto and Sasuke by surprise as they'd looked ahead and had found this out from Sarah earlier on. It hadn't been too long since their last fight and now Sakura and Ino were glaring daggers at each other.

"Well somebody's gotta be in Sasuke's group," Ino hinted. "I wonder who." She grinned.

"I don't know," Sakura replied. They continued to stare daggers into one another. Meanwhile Sasuke was praying to god that he wasn't stuck with either Ino or Sakura. Naruto was itching to be on a team with Sasuke since they could work more on their more fine-tuned skills from home that way. He couldn't care less who the other guy was though it would be great to have Sakura on his team. Iruka continued speaking.

"We want each squad to have a balance of strengths and abilities so that's how we set them up," he explained. "I will now announce the squads starting from one through to ten, skipping over nine mind you as we already have a squad nine from last year." Not really getting how that added up, Naruto settled in to wait for his turn to be called. Please be Sakura and Sasuke, please be Sakura and Sasuke, he kept thinking in his head. Finally, what felt like an eternity to Naruto later, Iruka got to the seventh team.

"Squad seven," Iruka called out. "Naruto Uzumaki…" Naruto was all ears now as he heard his name and started sitting on the edge of his seat. "Sakura Haruno…" Iruka called next. Wow, no way, right off the bat. Of all the great luck. Now just throw Sasuke into the mix and we'll be set. Naruto began grinning from ear to ear as Sakura hung her head. I'm doomed, she thought. Iruka called the last name.

"…And Sasuke Uchiha!" Suddenly Sakura's face lit up and she forgot that Naruto was her other teammate but Naruto was just overjoyed. He shot up out of his seat with his arms thrown in the air.

"Whoo hoo…I won the lottery!" he exclaimed happily. While everyone stared at Naruto's scene, no one noticed Sasuke face palm. I'm am so doomed! He thought to himself as Sakura Haruno squealed with delight beside him.