Promise of a Lifetime

by narutotime4ever

Naruto had lots of chakra, there was no doubt about that. Iruka felt that with a little bit of training, Naruto could become one of the greatest shinobi known to man. Sadly, things never work out for the scarred man.

3. The Bell Test

Thanks for the review Rachit, Ryuazen, Kevin, and UNKNOWN!

Thanks for being my first French reader Demenciae, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

Tempest86: Wow, thanks for the review, honestly it's these kinds of reviews that keep me going and make me want to write more. I don't plan on letting you down with the bell test, the chunin exams and the wave mission. Wow, Promise of a Lifetime has one hell of a ring to it, I appreciate the title!

Disclaimer – I don't own Naruto.

XxX

Naruto awoke to the blaring of his alarm clock. He got up and shook his head, feeling incredibly dizzy he decided to take a seat for a moment. 'God damn, the last time I was this tired was the first time I did this training… This'll be a tough training regiment to keep up…' He thought to himself, shaking his head.

He turned his head towards the clock, "9:15? Oh shit, I'm over 3 hours late!" He yelled as he scrambled out the door. 'Crap, no time to eat or get ready. I'll go over what I read about sensei later, but for right now I just need to focus on getting to training ground…' He lost track of his thoughts for a moment, but quickly regained them, '37, that's it!' He rushed his way towards the area as fast as he could with his tired limbs and weights, hoping he wasn't too late.

When he arrived, he saw something he didn't expect. His two teammates were just sleeping there. Doing nothing else, just sleeping. Curiously, he shook Sasuke awake and asked him, "What the hell? Why are you two sleeping? Where's sensei?"

"That piece of crap called us here at 6 in the morning and decided to leave us here. He hasn't shown up yet. Where the hell have you been?" Sasuke asked, his eyes threatening to drop back into the land of sleep.

"Me? I…" Not wanting to embarrassed, Naruto completely lied, "got lost… Yeah, I got lost on my way here."

Sasuke suddenly smiled. "Huh, why are you smiling?" Naruto asked, but before he could receive an answer, Sakura had pummeled him into the ground, a vein throbbing in her head.

"You piece of crap, you left me with the bill last night? Do you know how much money 53 bowls of ramen costs? It costs a LOT, OKAY?" Sakura yelled, repeatedly punching Naruto's skull into the ground, no doubt in her mind that she was murdering the boy's brain cells.

"Well, actually I do know how much it costs, to be precise it costs," he was cut off by the sound of her fist colliding with his face.

"That was rhetorical you smart ass!" Sakura yelled, not calming down the least bit.

It was the perfect time for him to appear. He walked onto the training grounds reading a small orange book that Naruto recognized immediately, "Icha Icha Paradise? Really?" He asked, almost disappointed by his sensei's choice in literature.

"I'm not even going to ask why you know about these books Naruto…" Kakashi said, curious at the boy's upbringing.

Sakura turned to him with an amount of killing intent he hadn't felt in years. He laughed nervously and tried to play it off, "Haha, hey Sakura, so how was dinner?" Hoping that she wasn't angry, he soon realized that he was in for a world of hurt.

"Oh you know… Expensive, but I'm glad that I had three nice men with me who were willing to help pay the bill, and not leave it all on one thirteen year old girl." She said sarcastically with an evil grin on her face.

"That's good to know…" He started talking, while slowly backing away, hoping he could out run the girl. Deciding that it was time he made a move, he broke away and started running, only to be seen by another Sakura, panic taking over him he stumbled backwards before realizing that it was only a basic Bunshin, but by the time he had realized this it had been too late.

A fist descended upon his unprotected skull, smashing it into the ground. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to fight his way out of this one, he used a Kawarimi and switched himself with a log. As he looked down from the tree, he saw the log shatter as the girl thrust her arm into the ground another time.

'God damn, I sense another Tsunade coming around… Now if I can just get her to focus on training, she could really become a powerhouse…' Kakashi mused as he watched the onslaught on the poor log.

He performed the hand seals to a genjutsu that would, if all went well, put her into a deep sleep. He got the technique off and saw Sakura stare into his eyes from over 100 feet away, and it felt as though she were staring into his soul.

He saw her mouth 'You will die.' He shuddered, hoping that day would never come. They stared into each other's eyes for three more seconds before she passed out.

He made his way down from the tree, carefully avoiding the girl so that he wouldn't wake her up. Once he had made some distance between the girl and himself, he decided that it was time to start the test.

"Where have you been Sensei?" Naruto asked quietly, hoping not to disturb the sleeping beast.

"I was stuck helping an old lady cross the road Naruto." He whispered back. Naruto nodded, as though that was a sufficient answer. Sasuke could only watch in confusion as these two knuckle heads exchanged excuses for being late.

"Well, now that that's over with, let's get to the test. Whoever wakes up Sakura gets extra points!" Kakashi exclaimed enthusiastically, hoping one of his students would take the bait.

They both just looked at him, "Look, you can poke her with a shuriken or something, just get her awake, okay!" He barked at them.

The two looked at each others, held their fists up as though to signify the beginning of a fight, then perfectly synchronized, "Jan, Ken, Pon!" Naruto threw out the sign for rock and Sasuke threw out the sign for scissors.

"God damn it…" Sasuke sighed.

"Hehe, you earned it! Good luck, you're going to need it!" Naruto said happily, and turned around and then proceeded to high five Kakashi.

Sasuke walked up to the girl and walked around her for a bit, and as much as it pained him to say it, he thought of the perfect way to wake her up without taking a beating. He bent down towards her and whispered in her ear, "Sakura-chan, if you wake up and don't hurt any of us, I'll give you a big hug." Wincing as he shuddered at the thought of it, he saw the girl's eyes shoot open.

Her arms latched around him like a baby monkey latching to its mother. She waited for his response and when she realized it wasn't going to come she released waves of killing intent, sensing this and realizing he was the closest thing to her he held her like a baby. 'I hate those two, after Itachi I think I'll have to get my revenge on them.' He thought angrily to himself as he picked the girl up and started walking back to the group with a look of pure hatred on his face.

'You two will die.' He mouthed to them as the two arrived back in the group.

Kakashi had a nervous smile on his face, "Well, now that that's out of the way, let's get down to the real test!"

"So what kind of test are we talking about?" Naruto asked, wondering what the scarecrow had in store for his new team.

"Well, we're going to be performing a basic field drill, your goal for today will be to take a bell from me. Whoever gets a bell will pass and those who don't will fail. The catch is that there are three of you and only two bells. This means that one of you will fail no matter what. The test will run until noon." He said with an emotionless look on his face. Whatever sense of humor he had before was gone now, this was the real deal.

The three members of the team looked at each other with looks of confusion. It was every man for himself out here, or at least that's what they believed at the time.

'That's weird; don't we usually have to operate in squads of three? There's probably another catch to all this somewhere…' Naruto thought to himself, but he dismissed these thoughts and paid attention to his teacher.

"You must come at me with the intent to kill if you want to even come close to passing this exam, okay? Everyone understand the rules?" The three of them nodded, "alright then, let's start NOW!"

Sasuke and Sakura had dashed for the cover of the trees, trying to scout their sensei and see his skills. Naruto however stayed behind. He decided the best way to gauge someone was in direct combat.

"Not your best move Naruto, I was hoping you would be a little bit more… subtle. Kakashi stated, looking at the boy curiously.

"The Hokage's got to be able to take down the strongest person in any given room, not kill him silently in his sleep!" Naruto said back to the man.

"I understand that, but don't you think that when you're outgunned you should try to change the situation to your advantage?" Kakashi said, questioning the boy's logic.

"True, but when you plan to be the very best I can never be outgunned!" Naruto retorted.

Kakashi just looked at him, "I… I guess you're right, but right now you are outgunned, so what are you going to do?" He asked wondering how the boy would go about it. 'There's absolutely no way he's going to just fight me, I mean come on… really?' Kakashi thought to himself hoping that he was wrong and that the boy would go hiding in the trees.

"So, you're dead set on fighting me? Really? Darn, I was beginning to like you; I guess I have to fight you then." Kakashi said, opening his book to a certain page and giggling. "Oh Jiraiya-sama, you never let me down!"

'God damn, first Iruka now Kakashi? I wonder if I'll ever get a sensei that isn't a complete pervert.' Naruto thought to himself as he decided that if he was going to charge that he would do it now.

Naruto charged at speeds that surprised Kakashi, but not so fast that he couldn't react. 'Hm, not bad, he has some potential after all…'

Naruto threw a roundhouse punch at the man; it was quickly dodged with a back step. "You'll have to do better than that if you want to impress me Naruto." Kakashi said.

In an instant, Kakashi was behind Naruto, crouched down he used one of his most devastating jutsu, "1000 Years of PAIN!"

Kakashi was about to poke Naruto before he was caught in what seemed like a full Nelson.

"What the hell?" Kakashi asked before being punched in the face by Naruto.

"No kawarimi for you! I have your hands so you're not going anywhere!" Naruto yelled happily.

'Shit, I underestimated this little punk… he's not bad…' Kakashi thought before doing a front flip, hitting Naruto with Naruto. They both dispersed in a cloud of smoke. 'So he really is just observing my skills, not bad Naruto, but you'll have to do better than that.' Feeling as though he had been challenged by his student, he decided a little spar wouldn't hurt him… too much.

Kakashi threw a number of shuriken at the spot Naruto had been hiding, only for them to hit a log. His voice flew out from the trees surrounding him, "I'm watching you Kakashi." Then from another area altogether, "You don't know where I am."

"So, you're using clones to try to distract me while the real you goes for the bell?" Kakashi asked, performing a high jump. A curious act to most, but to a shinobi a wise move. Two hands shot out of the ground, grasping at thin air.

" Doton Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu, eh? Not bad, but you need to remember, I am a jonin, these simple tricks won't work on me Naruto!" Kakashi stated, almost stepping on Naruto's hands as he made his way back down. 'Why the hell does an academy student know that? Something's not right…' Kakashi thought to himself.

Sasuke and Sakura watched from their hiding positions wondering what had happened. 'Since when could Naruto do something like that?' They both thought to themselves.

"Not bad Kakashi, but if you think that's all I have for you then you're sorely mistaken!" The eerie voice echoed out across the clearing.

Kakashi looked around and saw Naruto charging him. They exchanged blows for a while, Kakashi still reading his beloved Icha Icha Paradise. 'He is really good! This is not your usual academy student; something has got to be up!' Kakashi thought to himself while fending off the blows of a blood thirsty thirteen year old. Deciding that he didn't want to fight with a clone, he quickly made a kick for Naruto's shins. When they collided he felt as though he had kicked a rock, and the Naruto didn't disperse, he just smiled.

"Not bad at all Naruto!" Kakashi said, noticing a number of Naruto clones appear on the outskirts of the training ground, but not making any direct movements. At that very moment a pair of hands shot up out of the ground and latched onto his ankles.

"Gotcha sensei!" Naruto exclaimed happily, and he jumped away into the trees. A few of the clones started performing hand seals at a rapid speed. 'The kid thinks he has me, eh? I'll let him keep believing that…' Kakashi thought with a smile on his face.

"Katon: Goukakkyu No Jutsu!" One clone yelled. A large burst of flames shot out of his mouth approaching the scarecrow at alarming speeds.

"Raiton: Raikou Tama!" Another shouted. A ball of lightning crackled and sizzled as it made its way towards him.

"Fuuton: Kaze Katta!" A blade of wind roared towards the middle of the clearing.

The three attacks met in the middle where Kakashi stood nonchalantly; as they collided an immense explosion occurred. Sasuke and Sakura couldn't believe what they had just witnessed; the dead last of their class had just captured and killed their sensei. They stared in the cover of the trees just waiting to see what would be left standing once the smoke cleared.

Absolutely nothing. There was no trace of anything having been there whatsoever. Naruto walked into the clearing like nothing had happened. He looked down into the hole and saw a log. "God damn Kawarimi, I always freaking fall for it! Next time I'm having a clone hold him down so he can't perform any seals… "Come on out, we know you're still alive." Naruto yelled at the trees.

'Okay, a few jutsu here and there was acceptable, he had been training on his own, but those three techniques were B rank moves. No genin, hell few chunin know moves of that caliber. I'm talking to the kid after this is all over… I have to know where he got his training.' He shook his head. That was a matter for another time because right now he had a student who wanted to fight.

He jumped down into the clearing and stood face to face with Naruto. The kid rushed at him once more and was punched in the face immediately, Kakashi deciding that he was through playing around with Naruto. It disappeared, 'Why am I not surprised?' Kakashi thought.

"Thanks sensei, I have just about all the information I need now! Next up, Sasuke! He's been itching to fight you for a while now, and who am I to stop him?" Naruto said as though he were an announcer at some major sporting event.

Sasuke deciding that this was his time to show Kakashi that he was strong too stepped out into the clearing. "You ready for this Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, hoping that he could get a decent fight out of the boy.

Sasuke just nodded. He charged at the man, intent on at least touching one of the bells around the man's waist. He had good form for an academy student, and his speed was incredible for a thirteen year old, but still he wasn't nearly as much of a fighter as Naruto. Sasuke kept up his onslaught throwing kicks and punches towards the man's head.

"C'mon, is this all you got Sasuke? I was hoping for more!" Kakashi said, toying with the boy. He realized that his underestimating the boy would prove to be a mistake. As he stepped back giving Sasuke more ground he stepped over a trip wire. It activated and sent 20 shurikens at him, causing him to jump back, activating another trip wire. As he deftly dodged all the shurikens he thought to himself, 'So, if Naruto is the guy who charges into the wall with his fist outstretched trying to break it, Sasuke is the guy who plants C4 beforehand. I can't say I'm particularly surprised, Naruto does take after his mother.' Kakashi thought to himself, reminiscing about the old times before being shocked back into reality.

"Seriously Sasuke, too many traps man, too many!" Kakashi said, deciding that it was about time that he immobilized Sasuke.

"Katon: Housenka" Sasuke yelled as multiple bursts of fire erupted from his mouth in a blazing glory. Kakashi decided that it was now or never and enacted his plan. After the fireballs hit their mark Sasuke watched as the smoke cleared, keeping his guard up for any signs of his sensei. 'Nothing, but knowing sensei, he definitely isn't dead. He probably found some way to escape, and as he examined the clearing he felt two hands wrap around his ankles. Realizing what had happened a second too late; he was pulled under, his head the only part of his body that was showing.

'Jeez, that's impressive. I can't pull anything under, I can only hold them. I need to learn how to do that!' Naruto thought to himself as he observed Sasuke struggling to escape.

Sakura rushed out onto the field to help, and Naruto couldn't help but feel sorry for her. He saw it coming from a mile away, she didn't. Kakashi had put a genjutsu on her that made her feel as though Sasuke had had his arms severed from his body. She fell onto the ground in a massive heap. Naruto deciding that this was too pitiful to watch, stepped onto the field and scooped the girl up and took her back to the cover of the trees. He went back for Sasuke and wrenched him out of the ground, much to his discomfort.

"Thanks." Sasuke muttered, following him back to the trees while caring for his wounded pride. Naruto had done much better than he had. It was something that needed to change soon, but for right now he accepted that fact and knew that he would have to work with Naruto if either of them wanted a bell.

Naruto cast a dispel jutsu on Sakura and lulled her back to her senses. "Alright guys, you both saw how that went down, right? We got our asses handed to us. There's no way we can do this alone, and every genin team functions in threes, which means there has to be some sort of catch to this. There has never been a genin team without 3 members and a sensei, which means he is lying right? He must want us to act like a team and work together, regardless of the fact that one of us 'won't pass'." Naruto stated, confident in his own critical thinking skills. During his time training with Iruka, the older man made sure that Naruto wasn't just a good shinobi, and that he was well read also. The more Naruto read, the more Naruto grew as an intellectual.

Sasuke, impressed by Naruto's logic just nodded and asked, "So, got any plans Naruto?"

"Well, there is just this one thing I think might work."

XxX

(Thirty minutes later)

Kakashi sat alone on the tree stump reading his book. 'Jeez, they only have an hour left; I wonder what they're doing.' He thought distracted from his book. He shook his head and started reading again, only to be interrupted by his favorite little blue haired avenger.

"Let's go." Was the only thing Sasuke uttered before charging the man, kunai in hand. Kakashi sighed and decided to play along.

Every strike was dodged, and every sweep avoided. Kakashi had really thought that they might have become a team. 'I guess I was wrong… Looks like I'm failing another team this year.' He thought as he exchanged hits with the young Uchiha.

He noticed a blur of orange and yellow dashing towards him and quickly made distance between him and the Uchiha boy so he could deal with Naruto. Without any time to think about what happened, he threw a full force punch at the boy and at the same time a kunai pierced his leg. The boy dispersed in a plume of smoke, and he reached down the check his leg. 'They got me there, but I still have the bells.' But as he said that, from behind him another Naruto came at even faster speeds. This was something he wouldn't be able to stop unless he really went at the boy with the intent to hurt him. 'Well, I got to maintain face and I bet the kid can take a hit.' Kakashi thought as he collided with the boy at full speeds, this time sending him back into a tree, but as all that happened Sasuke inched himself closer and closer to the bells. Then with a burst of speed he made a mad dash for the bells, grasping them in his hands before having them pulled away as the white haired man pushed him away quickly. Kakashi thought that he was out of the forest, but at that same moment a kunai had cut the string from the bells and Sakura was seen charging towards them as fast as she could which, when compared to the others was not very. He easily dispatched her by grabbing her wrist and throwing her as far as he could. She hit the ground, but was not seriously injured. Kakashi shook his head and saw 5 Naruto's charging towards him at speeds he could barely keep up with. They split up and went in five different directions, trying to confuse the man. Their attempt was unsuccessful as the man retaliated with Kage Bunshin's of his own. They each took their own man and soon all the Naruto's were gone save for one.

"Damn sensei, you are good!" Naruto exclaimed, buying as much time as he could. "How'd you get so strong? Don't leave any details out!"

Kakashi narrowed his eyes at the boy, that wasn't normal behavior, something was going on and he needed to find out what. Naruto broke out into his trademark grin and sat down.

"What? Get up, we aren't through yet, you still don't have any bells!" He looked around to make sure that Sakura and Sasuke were still face down in the ground. Naruto chuckled and just pointed behind him where the bells lay.

Two hands were sticking out of the ground, a bell in each hand. As Kakashi jumped for the hands, they pulled back into the ground. They went to Sakura and left a bell next to her and then they went to Sasuke and gave him the other bell. Naruto looked at him with the biggest, cheekiest grin that he could muster. They had beaten their sensei. They had gotten the bells. And above all they had done it with team work.

Kakashi stared at them, a mixture of emotions filling his eyes, anger at himself for letting these kids get the best of him, and joy. Joy that he could now call these three his students. There was no doubt in his mind that he would be able to call himself a sensei by the end of the day.

"… Good job!" Was all that he managed to say.

"WE DID IT!" Naruto exclaimed at the top of his lungs. His other two teammates standing up and realizing what had happen shouted exclamations of their happiness as well.

He motioned for the three of them to sit down on three logs across from him. The three of them felt as though they were in one big dream. Naruto decided to test this out and he pinched Sasuke really hard. "Ah, Naruto? What the hell was that?" Sasuke yelled at him.

"Are we dreaming? Because I'm pretty sure we might be…" Naruto told him his theory. Sasuke shook his head, he felt as though he were dreaming, but Naruto had already tried to pinch him awake so he knew that this was reality.

"No Naruto, we actually did pass." Sasuke said, a far off look in his eyes.

Kakashi looked at them, his eyes turned up indicating that a smile was hidden under his mask. "You guys are the first team to ever pass this test. You should be very proud that you got the best of a jounin, but it really was just because I underestimated you, don't expect it to happen again when we train!" He said, making sure their ego didn't grow too much.

"So which one of us goes back to the academy?" Naruto asked hoping the answer was what he thought it was.

"Good question, none of you have to go back! This was a team work exercise. Are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the sake of a mission? With this you have answered that question with a resounding YES!" Kakashi said proudly.

The three of them looked at each other, eyes brimming with happiness.

"Now, you can call yourselves true ninja!" Kakashi said happily.

"We did it… We're real shinobi now!" Naruto said. "There's only one thing we can do in a situation like this, and that is to go out for LUNCH!" Naruto said, smiling as he got up, dusting himself off.

"Alright Naruto, and this time I WILL pay for the meal!" Kakashi said, not lying this time. "You guys have earned one free meal!"

Sakura looked at them with an ominous look in her eyes. "If I pay again there is no doubt that someone will die tomorrow. Blood will be shed; there is no doubt about it." She said, and Kakashi felt that killing intent he had felt earlier, fear in his entire being. 'I guess that's it for me skipping out on meals.' Kakashi thought wondering what would happen if he were to leave the girl with the check, shuddering at the possibilities.

"So what kind of food are you guys up for right now?" Kakashi asked.

"You know, I'm really not in the mood for ramen right now, I'm kind of feeling like barbeque!" Naruto said enthusiastically, for once not wanting ramen.

"Well Naruto, since you DON'T want ramen, I guess we can go for barbeque, any objections?" Kakashi asked.

The other two students shook their head in disbelief at the fact that Naruto didn't want ramen for once.

"So, let's get going, I know this really good barbeque place, me and Shikamaru used to go there all the time!" Naruto said, leading them along.

"Ah, actually give me a second, you guys keep going. I have to handle some business really quick." Naruto said, walking back into the forest. The three of them just kept walking without him, taking his word that he would catch up. Naruto retraced his steps back into the forest where he had left his weights. "No 'weigh' I'm leaving you guys behind!" Naruto said, chuckling at his own pun. He picked them up and put them back into his leg warmers, grunting at the amount of strain they put on his tired body. "Definitely worth it." Naruto said to himself as he marveled at his own speed without the weights on. "Kakashi never saw it coming, and I bet he still doesn't know how I did that, but since he's my sensei I guess it is his job to find out about stuff like that. I guess I'll tell him if he asks, but I'm not going out of my way to talk to him." Naruto said to himself. He had grown into a habit of talking to his clones when he had no one else to talk to as they provided good company, but when they weren't around he would still talk to himself. It was a bad habit, he knew, but he couldn't break it.

Shaking his head he decided to regroup with his team. He quickly ran, adjusting his speed to his newly reacquired weights. He caught up to them and they made their way into the barbeque shop, and immediately upon entering they heard the gruff voice at the academy yell, "Kakashi! Get over here; come eat with my new genin team! What's this, who are these kids? You can't be serious! You've never passed anyone in the history of your being a jounin instructor!" The black haired man yelled from across the room.

Kakashi just shook his head and made his way to their table, taking a seat next to the man. He gestured for his new team to join him. Naruto came around and saw Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino sitting there. "You guys passed too!" Naruto yelled happily.

Shikamaru just looked at him and shook his head, "How the hell did you pass? Oh well, I really don't care." Shikamaru said, but decided to not pursue it any further.

Naruto just shook his head and decided that he would just sit back and enjoy the rest of the day with his friends. They ate for about an hour and the two senseis decided to split the bill. 'Hmm, I would feel bad leaving Sakura alone with the bill, but I think I can pull it off with Asuma.' He thought as he looked around, his eyes shifty.

The rest of the genin filed out of the building, clutching their stomachs as they had let loose as a celebration for their becoming shinobi. Chouji couldn't stop smiling as he thought about how often they would come here.

Ino looked at Naruto and said, "Hey Naruto, it's a wonder you passed, but I bet Sasuke-kun did all the work, right?" She asked, a smirk on her face, as though she were trying to establish her own superiority.

Naruto was about to make a witty comeback before being cutoff, "Actually, the three of us worked as a team. We wouldn't have won if we didn't work together." Sasuke bit out in annoyance.

Ino just looked at him funny, "Oh, you're just trying to be modest Sasuke-kun!" She said, smiling and reassuring herself that he hadn't stooped so low as to need the dead last's help.

Sakura was about to retaliate, feeling the need to defend her new team mate, but decided that she wouldn't listen either way. Even Sakura could barely believe that Naruto was that strong and she had seen it firsthand.

They decided to leave it at that and the six of them parted ways. The Nara clan home being in the same direction as Naruto's apartment, Shikamaru walked with Naruto.

"So, how did he test you guys?" Shikamaru asked, curious about Naruto's test.

"Well, he made us try to retrieve these bells from his hip. It was really tough, and we couldn't do it alone so we had to work as a team to do it. Kakashi, our sensei is actually really freaking strong! If he had been trying we would have all been dead within a few seconds, no doubt about it." Naruto said, shaking his head.

"Heh, what a pain. Our sensei is pretty laid back, like me." Shikamaru said. "We had a pretty simple test; it was just that we had to work as a team. It was pretty obvious so I got us three to work together." Shikamaru said, scratching the back of his head.

They had reached a fork in the road where the road diverged, Naruto taking the path on the left and Shikamaru taking the path on the right. "See ya Shikamaru!" Naruto shouted out as they grew further and further away.

He got to his apartment, opened the door to his small room. 'God I love this place. So small, but it still feels like home.' Naruto thought to himself with a smile as he fell down onto the couch, and was immediately assaulted by rapping on the door.

"Who is it?" He asked annoyed at someone barging in on his downtime.

"It's me Naruto." The mysterious voice said, but Naruto recognized it and got up to the door. He opened the door and was greeted by the familiar face of his white haired teacher.

"Sup sensei." Naruto said, already taking up a relaxed tone with him.

"Hey Naruto, mind if I come inside?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Be my guest." Naruto said. Kakashi nodded and made his way inside the small apartment. He looked around, much like Iruka did when he first saw Naruto's home. "It's not much, but it's home." Naruto said.

Kakashi saw scrolls littering the ground everywhere. "So, you like to read?" He asked, not expecting that from his student.

"Nah, but it's necessary." Naruto said, eyeing the scrolls cautiously. "So, I assume that this isn't just you trying to get to know your students a little better, right?" Naruto said.

'He's quick.' Kakashi thought before responding with, "Yeah, there are some things I want to ask you Naruto, mind taking a seat?" Kakashi made himself comfortable on the boy's couch. Naruto took a seat across from Kakashi wondering what the man wanted to ask him.

"So Naruto, have you been formally trained before?" Kakashi asked.

"You mean by another ninja? Other than the academy, just one person has trained me." Naruto said. The man deserved to know now that he was his new sensei. "Umino Iruka personally trained me."

Kakashi narrowed his eyes, 'Umino Iruka was a former Anbu member. Why did he train Naruto?' He decided to voice his question, "So Naruto, any idea as to why he might have trained you?"

"Well, he always said it was because I had so much chakra yet so little control, and he couldn't stand watching me struggle so much. He trained me in every aspect of being a shinobi. I'm much better rounded than I was before." Naruto said.

"I see, so, how long had he trained you?" Kakashi asked, assuming that with the level of skill Naruto had displayed, Iruka had been training him for at least two long grueling years.

"About three months. And even then, we didn't train all too much. It was more like, he would give me some things to do, make sure I could do it, and then he would give me something else to do." Naruto said.

Kakashi looked at the boy carefully, "Three months did you say Naruto? Not three years? Did you do any kind of special training to progress so quickly?" Kakashi asked, overlooking an obvious possibility.

"I used the Kage Bunshin training method 4 days a week. It took a lot out of me so I couldn't concentrate at the academy. I barely scraped by with a pass. I usually had my clones read and train at night, doing stuff like Chakra control and basic jutsu." Naruto said.

"Those techniques you displayed were anything but basic Naruto. Those were very high leveled jutsu. I assume Iruka told you that the Kyuubi is the reason that you have so much chakra?" Kakashi said, hoping he had not stepped on a landmine.

"Yeah, it was pretty shocking at first, but I got over it pretty quick. It's a blessing in disguise as some might say." Naruto said.

"Yeah, seems like you're pretty mature about it. So, now that I know about how you got so strong, if you need more material to study or train, just come to me. I'll be able to provide scrolls for you, no problem. I assume you can train yourself, but if you need help come to me." Kakashi said, making sure his student knew that he was always willing to help.

Naruto nodded, and Kakashi decided that it was his time to leave. Naruto sat down and decided that maybe his sensei wasn't so lazy after all.

"This might not be so bad…"

XxX

A/N – I hope you all enjoyed the chapter. I felt like it was a big step up from chapter 1 and is pretty good along with chapter 2. This will probably be the average chapter length from now on, around 5-8K words. Tell me what you think, tell me where I can improve and as always,

Don't forget to read and review!

Next chapter should be out in around a week as well. Currently working on it. Enjoy!