The Beginnings of Change: Hengesai Naruto
Summary: In a world were Mizuki wasn't evil, and he and Iruka had been training Naruto in secret during his time at the academy, Naruto will realize his true potential, and become the true Henge Master! (Note: I am not that good at summaries.) Warnings: Sasuke bashin, Sakura bashing, slight Kakashi bashing, possible Harem for Naruto, good Orochimaru (not pedophile!), possible non-Yondaime father. Possible Soul Caliber Crossover
Pairings: tentative (Subject to change w/o warning)
Anko/Iruka
Mizuki/Wife
Naruto/Harem?
Sasuke/Naruto(onesided)
Lee/Sakura(onesided:If Sakura is redeemed, she will return his feelings)
Shikamaru/Temari
Gaara/Matsuri
Chapter Two: Many Meetings
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Naruto looked at himself in the mirror as he prepared for his picture for the shinobi file that would be entered into the Konoha archives. He thought he looked like a serious ninja, but he couldn't help worrying that no one would accept his change from his orange jumpsuit.
Hokage-jii-san would accept his explanation about Iruka-sensei forcing the change, but there was no way around explaining his new eye adornments. Hopefully, his newly acquired summon ability would not be too out of character for him.
Looking down at his short dark blue tank top that revealed his fishnet covered abdomen and arms, he couldn't help but feel slightly exposed. After all the years of wearing an orange jumpsuit, his long-sleeve fishnet midriff-bearing tank combo seemed so revealing. Fortunately, he had the black bandages on his forearms to prevent anyone from seeing his new summoning tattoo. His dark blue pants were bound at the ankles with more black bandages in order to prevent anyone from commenting on the ones on his forearms. Not that he actually expected comments, he thought as he wrapped the wide black cloth belt around his waist, partly to hold up his pants, and partly to hold his equipment pouch on the right side of his back. His shuriken holster was on his left thigh, bound on top of some bandages. His blue sandals were already on his feet, and his hitai-ate was tied upon his forehead properly, the way all six of his wonderful sensei wore theirs.
Putting all of it together, you saw a reasonably capable new shinobi, dressed appropriately for their new job instead of wearing some unreasonably eye-catching color that was guaranteed to get them caught and killed on their first mission outside the village.
He almost considered putting the orange jumpsuit on over it, since he knew that there would be many boring as hell D-rank missions before he ever got to leave the gates of Konoha to go on a C-ranked mission, but decided against it. While it would camouflage his personality and the truly toned state of his body, it wouldn't help him in the least as far as getting respect from those he would work with for the rest of their lives as his peers.
Not to mention the trouble he could cause for his teammates on a mission if they didn't have some idea of what he could actually do.
Still...there was his long standing reputation of being a completely useless dobe, who's only ability seemed to be his loudness. And his sheer bloody minded stubbornness when it came to being Hokage was known by everyone in the village, as he proclaimed many times.
Therefore the change in his cloths may not actually be that strange, especially if he claimed that Iruka-sensei had helped him choose his new cloths, some more in keeping with his new rank.
Yeah, that really would work. Looks like his strategy and intelligence training sessions really were paying off. Naruto smiled in a slightly sinister way.
He'd have to tell Ibiki-sensei the good news. Perhaps he'd be given permission to make use of his skills now that he was officially a ninja. That would give him something interesting to use in proving he wasn't just a prankster...
Naruto shook himself out of his musings when he noticed that he only had ten minutes to get to his photo session for the ninja yearbook. As he ran out the door and locked it behind him, he couldn't help but feel grateful that he had already geared up completely before he stood before the mirror.
If he hadn't, he would of had to go back to his apartment after the photo session, and he would have been late meeting with Ibiki-sensei.
He didn't want to be late for Ibiki-sensei's session. Bad things happened to people who were late when meeting Ibiki-sensei.
Doing his best to control the shivers that racked his form at the thought of Ibiki-sensei's "punishments" for being late to training. As he said:
"It is better that you learn not to be late now, then when it actually matters later."
Which is why when he reached the photo area five minutes before his appointment, he let out a relieved breath. Ibiki-sensei's aversion therapy was more effective then almost anything. Although, Iruka-sensei's lectures and Anko-sensei's punishments were equally memorable, Ibiki-sensei was much better at making the lesson stick the way he wanted it to.
Thank the Kami that none of his other sensei had thought to ask how to make something stick in the same way, or he might have gone utterly mad. Managing to hide exactly how frightening that idea actually was, he went out to sit for his photo when the camera-man called his name. Setting himself on the stool, he looked forward and waited for his picture to be taken.
"Hey, you sure you want that make-up on your face for this? It is the only one you get until next year after all." the grumpy looking man next to the camera said as he moved about fiddling with the machine. Naruto smirked lightly before sending his face back to neutral.
"Yeah, I'm sure. Let's just get this over with already." The man said something under his breath along the lines of "all right, its your choice..." then the flash went off, which made him want to close his eyes or throw a senbon, but thankfully he had much better self control then that.
Now he just had to meet with the Hokage over whether or not he needed to do a retake of his picture or not...
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Naruto sat in front of the Hokage as he stared at the photo intently, most likely making some kind of connection his mind between his new outfit and his new eye adornments. Now, whether or not he managed to connect his different colored and shaped adornments to his old student's was the question that Naruto did not look forward to learning the answer to at the moment.
Unfortunately, he knew that it was not his decision whether or not Hokage-ojii-san made the connection, and thus he would just have to deal with the consequences of his actions.
"Naruto..." the quiet tone in the Hokage's voice was not helping Naruto's paranoia at all.
"Yes, ojii-san?" He grinned at the Hokage with his eyes closed, sure signs to anyone that knew him that he was hiding something.
"When did you get those marks on your eyes?" Taking a deep breath and remembering what Anko-sensei said about the Hokage being allowed to know about what was going on, Naruto divulged what had happened yesterday.
Sarutobi's eyebrow rose as he listened to the extraordinary tale of what one ostracized young ninja had done to help someone even more hated then she was.
"Let me see if I have this straight," the Hokage started slowly as he continued to process what Naruto had revealed about training with the former apprentice of one of his favorite students. "You were permitted to sign the Serpent Contract, and decided to take the test to prove your worth to the Boss Summon Manda rather then be forced to offer sacrifices every time you find it necessary to call upon hid aid?"
Naruto nodded, expression slightly guarded as he warily watched his expression for signs of how he was taking this. Sarutobi continued as if he didn't notice exactly how deeply Naruto had been hurt by the actions and behavior of the villagers toward the young Jinchuuriki.
"And you succeeded in completing the challenge, so Manda gave you a summoning tattoo on your arm, as well as the eye-markings and change to your pupils." Naruto nodded again, newly serpentine eyes watching him with slightly less wariness at the lack of overt bad reaction to the changes in his adoptive grandson.
"Why didn't I learn of this yesterday?" Naruto shifted uneasily in his seat, for reasons Sarutobi couldn't detect yet.
"Because the test ended at sundown, and I was too tired to explain then. Anko-sensei said she would leave a report on your desk explaining what had occurred." Slightly alarmed that he might have lost some of his paperwork, Sarutobi dismissed Naruto, promising that they would discuss this more later.
Once he was outside Hokage-jii-san's office, Naruto let out the breath he was holding. At least the old man had accepted his brief explanation of what had happened without too many questions. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Naruto took off at a dead run towards the training ground most favored by Morino Ibiki.
He only had three minutes to get there before Ibiki-sensei decided he was late and needed to go through another round of "dodge the question."
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Morino Ibiki is a name not well known by anyone under the rank of Jounin within Konohagakure, and mentioned only in the most hushed of whispers outside of it. His methods were considered the stuff of nightmares, because he could break almost anyone in the elemental nations, it was said.
Even nukenin feared to attack Konoha because of the chance they might end up in his hands.
However, one of the little known things about Morino Ibiki is his soft spot for children. Another is his tendency to do his best to make sure any child that happens to come under his wing is safe, and trained well enough to keep themselves that way.
Which is why he was currently standing in the middle of a training field, eyes on his watch as he waited with utmost calm for his secret student to arrive.
Uzumaki Naruto had come to his attention when he noticed the strange behavior exhibited by his good friend Mitarashi Anko and her former teammates. He had investigated what was going on, and after a while followed her to one of the training sessions between the two of them. He had been rather astonished to see his rude and abrasive friend doing her best to instruct the child in the movements of the taijutsu she had learned from her hated sensei. After watching her lead the exhausted child to a fallen log to sit down and rest, solely to make sure he didn't hurt himself, Ibiki came to a decision.
Once the boy had left, he had confronted Anko about her activities. Once he had proven his trustworthiness and had the whole thing explained to him, he offered his services in teaching the boy things that ninja needed to know.
These sessions had been ongoing ever since.
One minute before the deadline he'd set for this meeting, Naruto entered the clearing, coming to a stop in front of him, short of breath but quickly normalizing after the strain of running from the Hokage tower to the training ground.
Ibiki took in his student's new look with an unchanging expression, and his student waited in stoic silence that had been trained into him by this very ninja to be acknowledged by his sensei before he tried to speak. Ibiki could only feel pride as he witnessed the full effect of their training on the boy.
He'd once thought Naruto to be a security risk, after all, the kid had a legitimate reason to despise the village in its entirety, and he'd never met Naruto in person. He'd decided to offer to train the child, in order to discover his personality and ascertain his threat level to Konoha. For the first three months he managed to hold on to his suspicions, telling himself that all this could be another mask, another trick used to hide his real character. And yet, in the end, he came to realize that Naruto was doing his best to open up for his sensei. That Naruto was truly loyal to the ideal of Konoha, to the principles of the Will of Fire.
That's why Ibiki knew, as all his sensei did, and would, that he would one day be the greatest ninja Konoha had ever produced. That he would defend this village against every foe.
Even if the council decided not to let him become Hokage.
Ibiki pulled himself out of his mental train of thought to find Naruto looking up at him with slight suspicion, glancing around the clearing with newly slitted eyes. Ibiki would have taken him for an imposter if Anko hadn't warned him and the others of Naruto's encounter with the Serpent Boss Manda, and the impression he managed to make on the ancient and sadistic creature.
Though the being certainly knew its stuff when it came to psychology, just as all snakes seem to.
Ibiki had to wonder at the different color and shape of the eye markings though, was it always like that, did the serpent mark according to some template that showed up different for different chakra types and ages, or was it that Naruto lasted the whole trial without screaming and Manda acknowledged that.
Orochimaru had been older and more experienced, which is why his marks are larger and of a lighter color then Naruto's. It wasn't something that changed over time either, meaning that everyone would know that Naruto had passed the Serpent's Trial at a young age, and with little to know actual combat experience.
Might be why they had such different eye markings, their age and skill level were very different at the times they took the trial.
Ibiki shook himself mentally, not needing to be distracted when his student was present. That would be a bad example to set for a young and impressionable genin.
Even if it would annoy the heck out of the prospective Jounin sensei that had been chosen for the cell said genin was part of.
Not to mention the entertainment value of watching said jounin yell at someone for ignoring him or being late. That would be entertaining from the sheer hypocrisy that would be involved in such an undertaking.
"Good. I see that your new rank hasn't made you relax your level of discipline." Naruto continued to hold his stoic expression, though Ibiki detected the faint redness that meant that the compliments were heard, and still effective. That was good, it meant that Naruto still valued Ibiki's opinion, which meant that he still had influence in his life and choices.
The Second Advent of Orochimaru was still preventable.
Now if only the Sandaime would let him take Naruto as an apprentice, or put him on a team other then the one that he'd decided to put him on. That team was almost guaranteed to make the Second Advent occur.
Just like how Konohamaru had decided to be seventh Hokage, because Naruto was to strong not to be the Sixth. Thus, it was obvious that the team that Naruto would be joining, would be called 7.
And while would call him the Jiraiya of the Team, he was clearly the Orochimaru. The snake contract aside, he was too curious, too smart, and too good at learning, using, redeveloping, and mastering jutsu.
Look what the kid did to the Henge, for example. He'd turned an E-rank illusion technique into an S-class physical transformation ninjutsu. They had yet to discover the full uses for the thing beyond infiltration undetectable by chakra sensing.
He knew that Naruto would find even more uses for his unique jutsu, especially once he had mastered it to the point of doing it seallessly and without any signs, such as smoke. Once he'd managed to get it to that point, he most likely come up with even more uses for his unique shape-shifting ability.
Hopefully, he'd manage it before Kakashi or the remaining Uchiha tried to copy his reworked jutsu.
That would be bad, no one wanted to have a homicidal Uchiha capable of completely disguising himself in the village.
He wondered if he would be able to continue training Naruto like this, now that he was going to be training with a team and going on missions.
The training session had continued on as normal, with Naruto learning more about being a ninja in the service of a hidden village. Ibiki was teaching him all the political aspects of being a Konoha-nin, psychology, and of course torture. He had already taught him the basics of genjutsu torture, which basically makes them think its been going on for hours.
He smirked as he remembered the practical exam in interrogation he'd given Naruto, with the traitor as his test subject. It turned out that Ibiki was a really good teacher if you judged by how well Naruto had done at performing that particular job.
Ibiki called a halt to the review training session when the sun began to set, leaving Naruto with one message as he used the shunshin to go back to work.
"Give them hell tomorrow, gaki."
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Naruto couldn't hold back the gleeful smirk as he headed to the Academy building to meet up with his new team. Each of his sensei had given him permission to reveal the effects of their secret training, since he was no longer able to be kkicked out of the academy for being to strong. Now that he was a ninja for real, the Council couldn't throw him out of the program without the Hokage's approval.
And Hokage-jiisan would never do that to him for any excuse the Council could concoct.
Sometimes, he really loved being a prankster on the inside. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to fully appreciate the opportunities offered by such occassions as the one he currently found himself in.
No one in his class knew what he could really do, which meant that no matter what team he ended up on, he could enjoy the looks of shock that would cover their faces when he revealed what he could really do.
The only team he wouldn't actually enjoy being on would be one containing the "last" Uchiha, or one of the Uchiha's fangirls. Sure, he'd once had a crush on Sakura, but training with hhis sensei, especially Anko and Ibiki had taught him a lot about healthy relationships, and the one he had had with her was bordering on abusive.
Not to mention the fanaticism she had for the Number One Rookie of the Year, A-class self-centered jerk, Uchiha Sasuke. No way he was going near the pink haired harpy with the possibility of romance until she had a major priority and personality adjustment.
He felt sorry for whoever ended up with either them, relationship or team wise. It was obvious to him that neither of them was stable enough to have a healthy relationship, though he may be slightly biased...
"Hey, what are you doing here? This is only for people who passed the test?" Instead of giving a verbal answer, the pensive blonde merely pointed at his hitai-ate, preferring to continue musing about the possible combinations of ninja for teams, and the likely hood of himself ending up happy with the result.
He'd had a foreboding feeling in his gut ever since he entered the classroom.
Unfortunately, he wasn't far enough out of it to miss the squealing banshee demanding she move so that she could sit next to Sasuke-kun, as she called him. Thankfully, he managed to get out of the seat before she smacked him for denying her. Unfortunately, that left him sitting next to her, as the other seats had filled up while he was busy thinking.
'No wonder Ibiki-sensei told me to be more aware of my surroundings...'
Then Iruka-sensei came in, and began calling out the teams. Teams One through Six were teams that Naruto knew would not make it past the final exam that he'd heard Anko talk about. Then came team seven.
"Team seven will consist of Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura..." both Naruto and Sakura slumped in depression, "...and Uchiha Sasuke." Naruto slumped even further, while Sakura shot up and cheered, before holding up a victory sign toward Ino.
Naruto then raised his face toward the heavens, begging in his mind to know what he had done to deserve this.
He was so deep in misery that he only barely heard the announcements of Team Eight and Team Ten, which consisted of Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, Aburame Shino, and Nara Shikamaru, Akimichi Chouji, and Yamanaka Ino respectively.
"Your Jounin-sensei will come to retrieve you after lunch. You have one hour until then." Naruto drew himself up from his seat and went up to the roof, wondering what he could possibly do to get out of this. Unfortunately, most of the plans he could come up with in his panicked and depressed state would have made him a nukenin, or would disappoint the old man.
He would admit that his thoughts might also disappoint the old man, but human beings have their limits on what they can be called upon to bear with. Until he saw evidence that this wasn't as bad as he thought it was, he was going to work on contingency plans for when either he or his teammates snapped.
He was betting on it being Sasuke who snapped first, with all of the angst that guy generated on a daily basis.
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While Naruto spent his hour on the roof, and then more time in the classroom contemplating the latest complication in his life, the Hokkage was introducing Hatake Kakashi to the living conditions of one of his new subordinates.
Kakashi was not very impressed with the place. The walls were covered with spray paint and cracks, the floor creaked, the water didn't run hot, and the furniture was crappy.
What did the kid do, eat so much ramen that he couldn't afford to pay for new things?
Noting the time in the slightly beat up alarm clock, Kakashi decided that he had made the newest genin team assigned to him wait long enough. After all, hhe might actually be keeping this one.
He did owe it to Obito to give his cousin's team a chance, after all.
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Naruto was getting angry. This guy had made them wait for three hours already, and there was still no sign of him. Part of him wanted to make a deadly trap and see if it worked on lazy jounin, but he managed to curb the impulse...
"Hey!! What are you up to, Naruto?!"
... for the most part.
Instead of one of the nigh inescapable kunai traps that he'd learned from Iruka-sensei, Naruto had decided to leave an eraser in the top of the door, which would fall when the door was opened wider. Hopefully, the Jounin would dodge this trap, which would show significant environmental awareness, instead of merely an awareness of possible dangerous objects in the vicinity.
There was no way that they were going to fall for this simple prank...
Naruto got down off the chair and headed back to his seat under the berating of the pink-haired banshee more commonly known as Haruno Sakura. The Uchiha was doing his thing by being a silent asshole...
"No way could a superior shinobi be caught by such a simple booby trap." Naruto stood corrected, the Uchiha felt he must assert his superior intelligence over the class dobe. It was just another example of the unpredictability of people. Ibiki-sensei had always warned him that no behavior prediction was ever completely accurate or perfect.
Naruto decided not to respond to the Uchiha or the fangirl of the Uchiha, as he could hear the faint sound of someone walking down the hall. There's no way this was the sensei, unless he was completely confident in his ability to handle a possible ambush, there was no way he let himself make even that much noise...
A hand appeared in the crack in the door, and a messy head of silver hair appeared in the opened doorway just in time for the eraser to hit it. Naruto took in his appearance as best he could from the faintly surprised personage before them.
Cloth face mask, tilted hitai-ate covering one eye, fairly tall, wearing the jounin vest of the leaf, Konoha symbol on the hitai-ate, lazy looking right eye...
The man stood up with an eye-smile, looking rather as if he enjoyed the prank for a moment, while Sakura made excuses of trying to stop him from pulling his prank.
"I'm sorry sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto..." Sakura looked so nervous and apologetic that Naruto almost felt bad for trying to do a semi-accurate test for their teacher's awareness of the environment. Almost.
"Hmmm...How shall I put this?" he said while chuckling faintly. Naruto felt the sense of unease from earlier amplifying.
"Based on my first impression, I'd have to say...I hate you!"
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Well, here's the chapter. Konohamaru had a brief mention(and might get more time later), and Ibiki was mostly his own introspection, but Team 7 has been introduced to one another.
Next Chapter: Introductions, and the Final Exam to become Genin! What will have changed, what will remain the same? And why am I asking you all these questions?
Please, if you have questions, suggestions, or comments, review.
Tenshi