Chapter 6: Ninja Academy Entrance Exam

Thump. Thump. Thump. Naruto's heart beat at a relaxed pace as he slept calmly his late night before he entered the Ninja Academy. As the sun peaked its head over the horizon, shining its golden rays upon the Uzumaki Manor, Naruto's heartbeat sped up. Thump, thump. Thump. Thump, thump. Thump. Opening his eyes with a deep yawn, Naruto woke stretching. His vision scaled the walls of his room and noted the clock upon the outside wall. Blinking a few times, Naruto's vision cleared up and he was able to read the clock. 6:50.

Bolting out of bed, he rushed to his closet. Flipping through his outfits that his father got for him, he hesitated on the third one. Its bright orange coloring a stark contrast to the other outfits in his possession. Shaking his head, Naruto flipped to the next one and smiled. 'This'll do,' he thought to himself with a smile.

Now properly dressed, Naruto headed downstairs to see his father cooking some breakfast. Sniffing, his mouth began to water from the unfamiliar smell. Excited for breakfast, Naruto headed into the kitchen. "'Tou-chan...? What's that? Smells delicious."

Groaning in grief, Minato said, "I should have known, this was your mother's favorite food." Setting a bowl down for the two of them, Minato sat across from his son. "Listen Naruto. This is Miso Pork ramen and it was your mother's absolute favorite meal." Glancing at the Narutomaki food topping, he added, "And to some extent your namesake."

Only half-listening, Naruto nodded his head at his father's words as he pried apart his chopsticks. "Itadakimasu." Slurping up the noodles, Naruto's eyes widened in surprise. "This is really good."

All traces of Naruto's table manners disappeared as he practically inhaled the ramen noodles. Lifting up the bowl, Naruto quickly drank the broth. "Seconds?" he asked, eager to feast upon the most holy of foods once again.

Chuckling at his son, Minato said, "Maybe later. For now, we need to take you to the Academy, it's going to start soon."

Grumbling in disappointment, Naruto quickly ran upstairs to take care of last-minute preparations.

Looking at the list of students, Iruka was surprised to see just who was on it. Members of all four of Konoha's noble clans: Uchiha, Hyuuga, Aburame, and Akimichi. Not to mention Nara and Yamanaka compliments. The sole Uzumaki heir, and one of the few Senju survivors. Looking more closely at the list, he noticed that they were almost all heirs of their respective clans, too. "This can't be by chance...can it?" he asked himself, dazed into a stupor.

A few seconds later, the door to the classroom slid open, revealing his friend, and one of the other sensei in charge of this class. "Iruka?" Mizuki said, unintentionally bring Iruka out of his dazed bewilderment.

Almost dropping the clipboard, Iruka glanced at his lifelong friend. "Mizuki?" Noticing the clock, he realized the students should be arriving shortly. "Right. I'll be there in a moment, Mizuki."

Nodding, Mizuki slid the door shut and headed for the entrance, ready to greet those wishing to join the Academy.

"'Tou-chan? What's the Academy's entrance exam like?" Naruto asked his father.

Considering what to share, Minato paused in deliberated thought. "Mm. There are two parts to it. The first, for you, and most that come from clans, is mostly just a formality. A check to see if you have the capability to mold chakra. The second is a more comprehensive test. It checks your current chakra capacity, your control. Any jutsus you may know, there is a spar between the examinees and the examiners, to figure out if you already know any Taijutsu, and if not, to give them a feel of which style would likely fit you best. It also figures out whether you're a ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu type of shinobi. You can't fail the second part of the test, exactly. Pass the first test and you're in. The second is just to give your sensei an idea of where you're at in relation to the rest of the class, to create the correct curriculum for their batch of students."

Nodding his head, Naruto said, "So the first part is to see if we can become shinobi, and the second checks how awesome we are?"

Chuckling, Minato affectionately stroked his son's head. "Come on. Let's hurry. We're running a little late, Naruto."

Taking his dad's rough, calloused hand he ran with him towards the academy, laughing in mirth.

Iruka looked over the many students desiring to enter the Ninja Academy, wishing to become shinobi. Nodding lightly at Mizuki, he stepped forward. "Welcome, students. This is the Ninja Academy entrance exams. If you would please form up quietly in front of Mizuki, so that he can check your capability to mold chakra." He paused, and indicated with a wave of his hand who Mizuki was. "After you do that, and if are indeed capable of molding chakra, head inside, several examiners are inside to test your level of competence."

One by one, the eager students got tested for their ability to mold chakra and the crowd slowly began to diminish as some students entered the building, whereas some were turned away. With careful eyes, Iruka noted that more students than usual were showing the capability to mold chakra. Whether that was mere coincidence, or a sign of things to come, he was unaware.

As the last of the students finished the first test, Iruka stepped forward once again. "Parents, I thank you for coming. Now that all students have either been accepted into the exam, or denied entrance, I ask that you take your leave."

As the failed children and parents began to leave, Iruka turned and entered the building, eager to see how much potential this group had.

"Examinees, you'll be given a card shortly. You are to pour as much chakra into the card as you can at a steady rate. This will determine your capacity, control, and type." The first examiner said, holding up a card to exemplify his words. With a little concentration, the examiner's hand glowed a deep blue with rough edges as detail began to surface. "Fuwatari Mizuki. Rank C chakra capacity. Rank D control. Taijutsu type." he said, reading off the card, slightly miffed at the results.

"Aburame Shino, you're up."

Nodding, the silent boy took his card and channeled chakra into it. "Aburame Shino. Rank D chakra capacity. Rank D control. Potential in all three areas." Nodding wordlessly, the silent boy handed his card to the appropriate examiner and headed to the next one.

"Akimichi Chouji."

Eating the rest of the chips in a rush, Chouji emptied the bag before stepping forward. "Akimichi Chouji. Rank C Level chakra capacity. Rank E control. Ninjutsu-Taijutsu type." Smiling at the expected results, Chouji followed Shino's example and headed to the next examiner immediately.

"Haruno Sakura,"

Stepping forward nervously, the pink-haired examinee grasped the card with a tremble. Taking a few deep breaths to calm herself, she closed her eyes and channeled chakra into the card. "Haruno Sakura. Rank E Level chakra capacity. Rank B control. Genjutsu type." Handing over her card nervously, she shuffled forward.

"Hyuuga Hinata."

"Hai!" she exclaimed as she stepped forward. "Hyuuga Hinata. Rank D Level chakra capacity. Rank C control. Taijutsu-Genjutsu type." Nodding with a soft smile, she gently handed the examiner her card before rushing off to the next one.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

"Alright! Our turn now," the wild boy said to his trusted dog companion. Barking in response, the duo stepped forward. "Inuzuka Kiba. Rank C Level chakra capacity. Rank E control. Ninjutsu-Taijutsu type."

"Namikaze Naruto."

With a wide-grin, Naruto stepped forward eager to show off his results. Channeling the chakra into the card, his blue chakra formed around the entire boy, its sheer pressure giving off slight wind. "Namikaze Naruto. Rank S Level chakra capacity. Rank E control. Ninjutsu-Taijutsu type." Smirking at the shocked examiner's, he tossed his card toward them before running ahead.

Recovering from his shock, if only just, Mizuki continued to call out the students. "Nara Shikamaru."

Muttering his troublesome phrase, Shikamaru stepped forward and grasped the card, putting little effort into channeling his chakra. "Nara Shikamaru. Rank E chakra capacity. Rank E control. Ninjutsu-Genjutsu type." Slowly, the lazy boy shuffled onwards after handing his card to the examiner with a bored sigh.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Stepping forward, the young Uchiha channeled his chakra into his card precisely. "Uchiha Sasuke. Rank C chakra capacity. Rank D control. Potential in all three areas."

"Yamanaka Ino,"

Channeling her chakra, she mustered up the best results she could get. "Yamanaka Ino. Rank D Level chakra capacity. Rank D control. Ninjutsu-Genjutsu type."

With a heavy sigh, Mizuki leaned back in his chair, glad to be finished with that. "That Namikaze boy...he surprised me."

As the students went through the numerous tests the shock of the first test started to lose its weight as the class standings began to make themselves clear. Uchiha Sasuke leading the boys in performance, Hyuuga Hinata leading the girls. And behind everyone, Namikaze Naruto.

With a raised eyebrow, Mizuki turned to Iruka. "What do you make of these results?"

Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Iruka said, "As expected of the Hyuuga and Uchiha clans, they distinguish themselves above the rest. This group has a lot of potential. Two in the group, Aburame and Uchiha, show unexpected prowess, able to be proficient in all three areas. And Namikaze...he has a lot of untapped potential. If he can just harness it, he'll be an amazing shinobi. But that's a big if, these results aren't exactly favorable towards him. He'll need a lot of work just to get to Academy standards, let alone the levels he'll need to make a name for himself."

"Yeah...I wonder."

Mingling, the students found themselves headed to the dojo, as an internal contest for weapon throwing skills.

With a characteristic smirk, Naruto boasted, "I bet I can throw better than you can."

Not one to back down from a challenge, and eager to show off as well, Sasuke accepted his challenge. Looking at the rest of the examinees, Sasuke said, "Any of you who wish to join and attempt to beat me is welcome to try."

A crowd formed, and every student was participating, from those like Inuzuka Kiba who were eager to take him down to those like Haruno Sakura who didn't want to be isolated from the group. Taking out a pair of shuriken, Sasuke started it off, hitting the bulls-eye once, with the second shuriken embedding itself just outside the bulls-eye.

Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Sasuke removed his shuriken. "Beat that." he challenged them all with a smirk.

One by one the competitors attempted, but as the numbers dwindled his dominance remained clear as no others got a bulls-eye, and many missed the target altogether. "Who's next?" Sasuke asked, seeing the remaining three participants.

"I'll go."

Stepping forward, the Aburame heir grasped his shuriken. Tossing the first with an expert wrist toss he landed the second bulls-eye of the group.

"Not bad, Shino." Sasuke praised, not so far drowned in Uchiha pride as to be unable to recognize the skill of others.

Nodding at the praise, Shino tossed his second shuriken. True to course, it seemed as if he was going to get a second bulls-eye, and seal his standing above the Uchiha.

But that was not to be, a gust of wind, uncharacteristic to Konoha, blew throughout the dojo, changing the shuriken's course just enough for it to narrowly miss the bulls-eye.

Conceding his misfortune, Shino made no complaints, accepting it as is. "Your victory, Uchiha."

Smirking, Sasuke looked over towards Naruto. "Gonna take your turn already? Or are you waiting for something to interrupt us so you don't make a fool of yourself?" he asked the boy, knowing it would agitate him.

"You'll eat those words, Sasuke." Naruto said as he glared at the boy.

Taking out a pair of shuriken, he stepped forward. Tossing them one after the other, he amazed every single student there. He managed to miss the target not only once, but twice.

Sasuke chuckled quietly, "Looks like I'm the victor,"

"Mm? What are you talking about Sasuke, we still have one more participant." Naruto said, not showing any embarrassment at his results.

"Eh? Like she could do any better." Sasuke said, not even glancing at the girl.

Grinning despite himself, Naruto said, "Hinata can beat you. You're not the only one in a famous clan."

Reddened cheeks, unused to praise and baseless confidence in her, Hinata took out her shuriken, hoping to prove him right. Choosing not to speak, otherwise have her voice betray her she stepped forward and threw them expertly and one after the other she nailed two bulls-eyes. The two shuriken nestled closely together with almost no space between them.

Happy to please her Naruto-kun, she went to retrieve the shuriken before pausing. Her blush flared up as she wondered where that thought came from.

Grinning as if he had trumped the Uchiha himself, Naruto said, "See? What'd I tell you?"

Smiling confidently, Sasuke said, "That was just luck. I'll allow her this one victory, because after today, it's all me."

Glaring at the Uchiha, he prepared to retort in anger when Hinata spoke up.

"Thank you...Naruto-kun." she said shyly.

Retort and anger forgotten, he turned to the Hyuuga heiress. "Anytime." he said with a wide smile. "So, how'd you throw them so well? And what was that awesome Taijutsu you used earlier?" he asked her as he forgot the presence of others, intrigued by what she could do and unable to do the same with the Uchiha, for reasons unknown to himself.

With a timid smile, Hinata patiently answered his questions.

A/N: Just to state a few things, Hinata's change of character is due to a few things, the kidnap attempt never happened, thus Hizashi is still around. Neji doesn't harbor hate for the main family. Additionally, her mother is alive, so Hiashi didn't drown himself in clan duties to cope with her loss, and thus neglect his duties as a father. Hitomi's enduring presence did wonders on Hinata, and her personality is one of confidence. She doesn't always doubt herself. She's still somewhat timid and shy though. Additionally, this is the first time Naruto and Hinata met.