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Disclaimer: All aspects of Naruto from musings to keychains are owned by Masashi Kishimoto. Please support the official release
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"All right." stated Instructor Iruka to this year's class of potential Genin. "To graduate from the Academy, and go on your way to be exceptional ninja, you must perform a Clone Jutsu of three or more of yourself. Understood?" Save for one groan, the class all answered back with a "Yes Sensei!" and he continued.
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"When your name is called, please follow me into the next room..." Iruka looked through all the applicants, and stated "Inazuka, Kiba and Akamaru."
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Everyone watched as the feral looking child in a blue Eskimo coat walked down from the back row to the door, with his little puppy, panting and slobbering on his head.
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"What do you think?" whispered Hinata to the girl closest to her. "Do you think everyone will pass?"
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The girl she spoke to was a cute girl with above average intellect, though coupled with an above average forehead, and compared to the rest of the kunoichi in the class, wasn't well "equipped" for certain "aspects" of her job.
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"I'm sure you'll do great Hinata. You trained really hard for this." On her flowing blonde head she wore an orange bow, which matched her darker orange qiqao, and tight dark blue leggings which went well with her sky blue eyes.
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"Well I didn't mean myself." Without meaning to, the timid Hyuga's clear silver eyes looked to a young male ninja in the back row, who was groaning his head and covering his face. "We have several friends here, I want everyone to pass."
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"Well, I'm sure Sasuke will pass." said Sakura with a blush. "I hope that Ino and that thick headed Naruto can go up a creek." she whispered, unnoticing Hinata's fidget.
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"You think Naruto-kun-
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"The way he acts, you'd think he doesn't have any parents. All he ever does is cause pranks, dishonor his clan and his weakest subject is Jutsu!"
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'But, so is mine' thought Sakura as she stopped speaking. While the brightest in the class with the highest GPA on paper, when it came to applying the theory, she always came up short. Practicing hand signs until her fingers threatened to break, she only figured that her chakra takes more time to charge than others, which caused her a twinge of sadness.
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"Haruno-Uzumaki, Naruto." Hinata quickly looked again as the visibly upset ninja walked down to the bottom of the row.
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"Stinky Pinky!" hissed one of the graduatees, laughing as Naruto turned around fists clenched.
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"MY FATHER'S HAIR IS PINK AND THERE'S NO SHAME IN IT!"
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"Naruto!" Iruka's stern face seemed to project into Naruto's head, and quickly Naruto headed out of the classroom which erupted into laughter, save Hinata, and Sakura who was becoming quite worried.
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'I can't fail. If I do, I may never see Sasuke again! I am miles beyond Naruto!'
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"Namikaze, Sakura!" Iruka's voice loudly boomed, and Sakura stood up, slowly.
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"Good luck." whispered Hinata as Sakura headed down the steps and slowly followed Iruka out of the classroom, and then into another classroom in the other hall. Her heartbeats bounced off the corridors, and echoed deep in her ears.
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"Honorable Fourth's Daughter!" stood up Mizuki quickly, bowing his head and didn't notice the vein popping in Sakura's head.
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"H-hello, Mizuki-Sensei." As Sakura slowly walked out in front of Iruka and Mizuki with the table of Leaf Headbands between them, Sakura couldn't be sure about anything, except the sweat forming on her brow.
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"Please start when ready. Take all the time that you need." Sakura nodded to the instructor's and closed her eyes, widened her stance, put her hands into position, and started performing the mental energy exercises as hard as she could and as fast as she could. It all seemed to elude her, as just gathering chakra almost seemed to make her sick in her belly.
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'Why...' she thought to herself with a tear in her eye, straining under the pressure, ignoring the whispers between the worried two instructors, 'Why is it so hard for me when it matters the most?'
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"Ninja Art: Clone Jutsu!" A giant puff of smoke then appeared out of Sakura, enveloping the entire room clouding Iruka's and Mizuki's eyes. When the smoke finally disappeared, there were three perfect clones of Sakura, kneeling near the real one, checking if she was alright; She was breathing heavy on all fours, sweat soaking through the wooden floor boards.
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Iruka had no exact words, but knew that even though Sakura is in top in studies and is able to create the minimum graduated assessment of clones, her lack of chakra control wipes her out each time, and could be a major liability if she goes out on the field.
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"Sakura-chan, I have to-"
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Mizuki, knowing what Iruka was to say, grabbed his shoulder, and brought his face close and whispered.
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"Iruka, I implore you to stop."
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"Mizuki, we already-
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"This isn't Haruno-Uzumaki!" He said this a little bit louder, that even Sakura heard it. She looked to the instructors, and noticed Iruka's eyes weren't as stern as he was speaking before. "I know you believe that you're making them strong by holding students back, but this is the 4th's legacy. There will be repurcussions if you go through with this, especially with her grades!"
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Mizuki than looked to Sakura. "Honorable Fourth's Daughter, are nerves getting the best of you?" Sakura immedietely nodded, anxious to leave as her clones dissapeared. Iruka looked away, and placed his note pad down.
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"Namikaze, Sakura. Passed." He tried not to show his dissapointment, but was failing at hiding at hiding it. At this, Sakura quickly grabbed the headband, noticed how light it was, and walked out of the room, feeling quite sick.
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"Not all of us can pass SP!" laughed Kiba as himself, Akamaru, Choji, and Shikamaru crowded around him. Akamaru yelped at Naruto, which caused Kiba to laugh harder.
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"Hear that? Akamaru can't make clones either!"
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"I'm not a household pet!" muttered Naruto as he started picking his fingers. "And why do you keep calling me SP?"
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"You still haven't figured it out?" laughed Kiba, causing Shikamaru to nudge him to quit and be a bit more empathic. Sakura stood away from them, walking towards the school swing set alone. With Hyuga having straight training after classes, Sakura truly felt alone, not even sure if Hinata was even a friend or just someone who she just spoke to.
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"Congratulations Honorable Fourth's Daughter!" Sakura turned to find a young boy wearing his headband, along with two other women, bowing their heads to her. Sakura thanked them, and when she bowed, they left, and she felt a pain grow even worse inside of her.
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Sometimes she wished she was a nobody. No one ever looks her in the eye, and rarely is she ever called Sakura. She can even feel the disdain in their voices, but it's likely nothing. Still, she hated being known as the Honorable Fourth's Daughter, even if he is-or was-the greatest hero in the village.
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She looked out to Naruto, who seems to be heading over to the ramen shop, and Sakura felt guilty. Even though he always bothered her, and snored in class and walked around like he's the greatest ninja on the planet, she was sad to know he was the only one to fall behind for creating a single clone, though it was fully functionable in every way, while she took more time, and even blacked out, but because she was the Fourth's, she passed anyways. Feeling a bit hungry, and saddened as everyone else's parent's went and got their children, Sakura headed off to the sweets shop.
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"You don't say." said an older female ninja to Sakura as she was sipping her Earl Grey tea. "Well, if you don't want to wear it..." She held her left hand out, waiting for the gift.
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"I do want it Anko!" said Sakura as she held the leaf headband to her body. "It's just-
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"Nerves kid." Anko grabbed a small dumpling off her plate and downed it. "And even if it wasn't, just keep training. Have determination, or you'll never make it. You'll be in a position one day when everything counts on you, and if you fail, everyone dies. That's me most days of the week."
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Sakura sipped her tea silently, listening to Anko's advice. Ever since a year back when Sakura came here when it was raining, she always latched on to Anko, mostly because she never bowed to her, and treated her like any other kid, and not a fragile object.
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"So I got a special mission later in the year." worded Anko in between chomps. If you're lucky, you'll see me in action."
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"Really? Can you tell me?"
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"Nope!" smiled Anko widely. "Top Secret, S Rank. But if you do well this year in your three man cell, you'll come my way." Sakura blushed, wondering if she'll be working closely with Anko, of all people.
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"So tell me, is there any boys you're hoping to get into a three man cell with?" Sakura smiled sheepishly.
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"No..."
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"Sure there is. Let me guess, all Jonin are supposed to know all up and coming Genin." Sakura started to blush, and almost to start laugh as she remembered Anko's not terribly good with names.
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"You have the hots for Dog Boy!"
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"Kiba? Not at all." At this, Anko placed the dumpling closest to her mouth down.
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"I bet that lazy boy, the Nara clan!"
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"Not Shikamaru!" Suddenly Anko smiled real big, knowing she got it right now.
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"I didn't think of you as a chubby chaser!" she teased and snagged another dumpling.
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"I'm not into Choji, gawd!" At this, Anko went silent, very very surprised.
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"I see, now. You're such a clean person Sakura, I wouldn't have thought you would have an affinity for insect-
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"Sasuke!" bellowed Sakura, causing everyone in the sweet shop to turn. Sakura face went a contrasting beet red against her blonde hair, and whispered: "Sasuke."
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Anko exhaled slowly, muttering about cute bright girls and brooding dark boys. "Sakura, there's only one thing boys like that are interested in: Making their legacy stronger, and they'll only look for kunoichi who can provide the strongest and greatest children.
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"B-But I'm the top kunoichi in the Academy!"
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"But not not the top Genin Kunoichi." stated Anko. "And there's hundreds of Chunin Kunoichi beyond that, and hundreds of Jonin Kunoichi beyond that. And a genius like Uchiha? He can be a Hokage pretty soon, and then he could take the pick of any one he wants." At this, Sakura looked down, heartbroken.
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"Oh don't worry your giant forehead! You just started. Just remember what I said!" At this Anko finished her meal and walked off, leaving Sakura. "Have to go now. I'll see you later!" Without even a wave, Anko was gone, leaving Sakura in thoughts in her head and butterflies in her stomach.
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"Maybe I should do some training before I go to bed." She said to herself. "Maybe there's something in the Third's library that can help with chakra control!" Seeing as it was getting darker by the second, Sakura went to a quick sprint, though the stars were out by the time she got to the Third's house.
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"Darn, maybe I'll come back to-" Suddenly there was a loud elderly scream which caused Sakura's hairs to stand on end. Sakura immediately jumped into a window, and found the Hokage, face down in a pool of blood.
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"Lord Hokage?" Sakura knelt down to him to check, but the Hokage seemed to be fine. He was unconscious, and had the goofiest look on his face and was chuckling deeply. Suddenly, Sakura heard a noise in the library, and when she ran down that way, she saw a pink flash jumping out of the window!
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"Naruto!" Sakura shouted, and immedietely gave chase. Though Naruto was faster, Sakura knew the ins and outs of the village alot better. Each time Naruto thought he lost her, Sakura was always behind him a few minutes later. Eventually they landed on top of the highest skyscraper in all of Konoha, ready to face off.
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"Naruto, you don't just take things without permission, especially from the Hokage. You're in deep trouble!"
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Naruto held the giant ninja scroll close to his chest, and tried to inch away. "Sakura-
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"Honorable Fourth's Daughter to you!" Sakura shouted, quite disgusted. "How can you cause your mother and father so much dishonor!"
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"I'm doing this so I can honor them!" He shouted back. "If I learn from this scroll, I can become a ninja! I can't go home as a failure!"
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"Give me the scroll!" Sakura bared her teeth, and balled her fists to a clinch. "I may be just a Genin, but I can still beat a Washout like you!" She jumped at Naruto, who at the moment, threw the scroll into the air, and performed a variation of his only perfect Jutsu:
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"Ninja Art: Sexy Boy Jutsu!" Not wanting to take a chance, Naruto went for a sure thing since he's the only thing girls talk about these days: An older, slightly buffer look of Sasuke Uchiha, wearing only his birthday suit, and a pair of ankle high wool socks.
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Sakura, who dodged when the smoke cleared only was able to get one tiny glance, and that was all she could take. Her eyesight immediately turned rose red, her body involuntarily fell into shakes, and she heard herself giggling hysterically moments before everything turned infra-black.
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When Sakura awoke, she found Naruto was gone, and she was in a puddle of her own blood.
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"That pervert!" she shouted, focusing her anger so she wouldn't think of the image she saw which would only make her pass out again. "I'll kill him!" Knowing she had no choice, she had to use that ability.
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Very sensitive about the fact she could probably smell better than most dogs, Sakura closed her eyes, and like a poor awkward puppy, snorted the air, trying to sift her blood from Naruto's odor. After a third snort that almost made her gag, she smelled him; West, in the forest. Eyes still closed, she jumped off the top of the sky scraper, and headed that way, unnoticing that all the blood was causing something inside of her to head off faster.
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When she got to the sight, she no longer noticed the scent of her blood, but now the scent of Naruto's and Iruka's blood, and worse, a killing intent that came from...
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"Mizuki-Sensei?" Sakura, slowly crept towards an open area, remembering her field training manuals, and made not a single sound. Peering out, she noticed Naruto with the scroll, in front of a badly injured Iruka, and a blood thirsty Mizuki with a Windmill Shuriken in his hand.
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"If you EVER come near my sensei again, I'll KILL YOU!" The words shook Sakura silently to the core, and put two and two together: Whatever just happened today, because Mizuki is currently trying to kill Naruto and Iruka, Mizuki must be a traitor, and most likely had a hand in convincing Naruto to steal The Third's Scroll!
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"It was so cute how big your eyes were, when I told you that you had one more chance to be somebody. One more chance to show that failure Haruno you're better-
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"SHUT THE HELL UP! My father's an exceptional ninja!"
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"Who almost died becoming a chunin, before you was even born! Who spent so much time in the Academy, and spent years before he became a chunin failing the exams! If he's so exceptional, then why do you tell everyone to call you Uzumaki and not Haruno-Uzumaki, or better yet, Haruno!"
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"Because my mother died fighting the demon fox!" shouted Naruto as loud as he could. "I was only a day old, and my father wasn't as strong as her! Someone had to stay with me, and I will never forget that as long as my body draws breath!"
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Iruka looked towards Naruto, surprised at how far he was going, to protect him like this. "Run, Naruto." He however, ignored him.
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"My hair is pink to honor my father, and my name is Naruto Uzumaki to honor my mother! They're both my greatest heroes!" dropping the scroll, Naruto gathered up his chakra, ready to perform his newest Jutsu on the fly:
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"NINJA ART: SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!"
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Alas, because of Naruto's fatigue, and his lack of a nigh infinite power source, the pink haired trouble maker only made one clone, causing Mizuki to laugh horribly. With gritted teeth, Iruka strained to stand, and took out all of his shuriken. Naruto and his clone started straining to gather more chakra.
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"No." said Sakura to herself. "This isn't fair? How will Naruto defeat him? He'll need my help, but I will only get in the way!" The scent of blood was exciting her nose, causing her to lose focus. She looked around the site, and noticed all the leaves around, and had an idea. She closed her eyes and started straining for chakra, unnoticing her skin turning a tinge of brown, or suddenly whiskers were appearing on her face, OR that she was offputting more chakra than ever before.
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"Have you ever seen my Sexy Jutsu?" muttered Naruto to Mizuki, not caring if it gives him a thought to counterattack.
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"It's time to give you more to look at!" shouted the other clone, and Naruto started an eruption of clumsy handsigns.
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"C'mon you failure, show us how it's done!" called Mizuki as Iruka fell back down, too exhausted to help. Sakura, in tune with Naruto's thought process, hoped she can do what she possibly can, and also broke into an eruption of handsigns, and then at the same time:
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"SECRET ART: SHADOW HAREM JUTSU!"
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"NINJA ART: OBJECT MASS TRANSFORMATION JUTSU!"
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The entire forest seemed to almost crack from the huge onset of wind, and when it all cleared, there was an entire field of pink long haired full endowed seductressess. Mizuki jumped back, and turned, and found they weren't wearing a single thing!
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Mizuki knew they weren't real. Holding the his giant shuriken to his finger to focus, he started to rationalize the situation.
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1. Naruto's only a kid, a weak failure at that.
2. Naruto is exhausted.
3. Not even a Kage can create a thousand-
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Then Mizuki's train of thought stopped as he felt hands all over his inner thighs! Looking down, he saw six young nubiles staring at him!
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"Mizuki-kun what's wrong?" exclaimed one of the girls, as Mizuki's felt himself going faint. "Do you need to lie down?" The other clones all started to inch towards Mizuki slowly.
"no-no I'm fine!" Mizuki squeaked, couldn't help but notice that he couldn't even move, and that now all six female Naruto's were standing, with very sensual looks. He tried to step back, but his body, it won't listen!
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"Don't worry Mizuki-kun, we'll get you down!" laughed the clones. "In more ways than one!" All the solid female Naruto's jumped the pathetic excuse for a ninja, and Mizuki, seeing nothing but naked women wherever he looked, passed out from the strain, his own blood soaking his uniform.
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"I can't believe I had a hand in that!" whispered Sakura as she released her jutsu, causing Naruto to freak out and drop his.
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"The heck?" Iruka smiled, and called out:
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"Namikaze, come here!" frightening both Naruto and Sakura. Naruto watched as Sakura sheepishly came out of the green.
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"Sakura!" Naruto looked to Mizuki, then back at Sakura. "I had no choice! He would've killed Iruka-sensei and stole the scroll!" His hands started to wave as hard as he could to make her understand.
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"Naruto, Sakura helped." Iruka said, laughing though the pain. "She performed a high level genjutsu on the fly and saved us." Naruto and Sakura turned to him. "I noticed you when you were gathering chakra when I fell back down. The leaves you were in were shaking violently." Iruka sat up, with a smile. "Thank you so much."
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Naruto looked to Sakura, and thanked her as well. Sakura rubbed the back of her head smiling, and then noticed something.
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"Iruka sensei, did you say "High Level Genjutsu?"
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"Sakura-chan, to camoflauge an object into another object is an exceptional technique, but to turn that object into a person, and cause it to move, breathe, and act like one, that's an ability only our highest Genjutsu specialist can perform. Sakura, you earned your graduation headband."
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Sakura's eyes almost started to water, and she covered her head.
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"And Naruto? Close your eyes."
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Sakura watched as Iruka slowly took off his own band, and placed it on Naruto.
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When he was finally able to open them, Naruto's eyes did in fact water. "Father, I did it!" He tackled Iruka in a hug, which knocked the wind out of them, but he was fine. Sakura started to tear, and then found herself in a hug of her own with Naruto, who was hugging, real tightly.
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"Naruto, okay, I'm happy too." Silence
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"Okay, Naruto, you can let go of me." More silence.
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"GET OFF ME BAKA!" One pound to the face later, and dawn has finally appeared.
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To be continued
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Chorpe's notes: Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed it somewhat, and I want to go over one thing:
Honorifics and Japanese phrases: I personally don't care whether it's one or the other when others write it, but for me, I'll use japanese if the word is the same meaning in english, but is stronger in tone. ie
Idiot=baka: same, but if Sakura's really angry, she'll say baka instead
(Insert Name Here)=(Insert Name Here)Sensei/kun/chan:
Sensei just sounds cooler than mister or teacher.
Only females(and female Naruto) will use kun, and if they do, it's likely as a form of strong romantic feeling(Hinata) or as a form of seduction.(Naruko)
Chan is just being more formal, like calling a female miss.