Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

"Windows to the Soul"
by Chronos Astral

Chapter 10:

'To Prove Oneself'


"Alright, next one up... Haruno Sakura."

"Hai, sensei."

Today was physical examination day. It was a day where student's were to be tested on their prowess in the ninja arts. An inspection on each student's taijutsu and jutsu mastery, as well as their physical health and condition. It was actually supposed to have been yesterday, but Umino Iruka seemed to have been far too distracted with the new student to remember.

Iruka was excited with these examinations for a good number of his students never failed to impress him. It moved him with pride that his own pupils were a gifted bunch that he had the honor of teaching himself.

Up next on the list was the pinkette, Haruno Sakura, who had just passed with somewhat satisfactory taijutsu. It was her strong intent to make up for that with this jutsu test. With a determined face, she stepped up to the small clearing, facing the lone practice log that had been recently used to replace the last one.

It was a simple test: use whatever jutsu in your arsenal to strike at the log. The student will be graded according to his/her level of chakra control, speed of the hand sealing (if any), chakra capacity, and jutsu effectiveness.

Sakura's fingers twitched in anticipation, green eyes rapt with focus, waiting anxiously for her sensei's cue to begin.

"Begin!"

The girl went through the necessary hand seals for her jutsu with perfect precision. To a trained eye, it looked to be the seals for the Chakra no Mesu (Chakra Scalpel), but the final few seals were changed.

With the last seal, she announced her jutsu. "Chakra no Yaiba (Chakra Blade)!"

A glowing intense blue stream of chakra erupted from the base of her forefinger, up to its tip, and extending further a ruler long, taking the form of a short laser like beam blade on the digit.

It was a brilliant little something that Sakura had thought up on one visit to a medic-nin. She had taken the basic principles of the Chakra Scalpel and experimented with it to form an original jutsu of her own; the Chakra Blade. It still needed a bit more adjusting to have it perfected, but it was nonetheless effective during a fight. This was a much more concentrated form of chakra, perfectly capable of cutting through nearly any kind of matter not imbued or made of chakra. Its few drawbacks are that it consumes quite a bit of chakra depending on its size and how many fingers or hands are used, which is why she can only do a smaller form with only one finger. It also takes an exceptional amount of control to use, for without control, it will easily dissipate and one will need to do the hand seals all over again.

After taking a moment to proudly examine the crackling column of energy on her finger, Sakura geared up to attack the target. She jumped at the log, finger extended, and made a clean swipe at its base, followed by another diagonal slash. An impressive display and the results were evident, as the wood separated into small segments, carved cleanly with no dust or residue left.

Iruka and many of her fellow students applauded her efforts. "Very good, Sakura. Your jutsu is as impressive as always. A 100 on your score." The tanned instructor scribbled on his clipboard with a fond smile. "You're tied with Hinata now. Just a little more and you could be Kunoichi of the Year."

Sakura smirked, and dispelled her jutsu, feeling somewhat winded. She was given a congratulatory pat by both Hinata and Ino who walked with her back to the crowd.

Iruka knew that those three would make good kunoichi. He had an eye for that sort of thing. He flipped through the papers for the next student and cleared his throat. "Alright. Next up is..."

As the chuunin's eyes caught up to the name, a lump came upon his throat. "U-Uzumaki Naruto..."

"Hai, sensei." Said pony-tailed blond walked into the clearing, his gentle smile ever-present with each step he took. There was something odd in the way he strode, making little to no sound at all as his feat padded on the ground. He turned to the log, staring at it through lidded eyes. He looked quite confident with himself, standing tall with the wind blowing against his hair and kataginu, making them bellow in response. It gave him a rather dauntless bearing, one that many of the females in the batch noticed.

Iruka took a deep breathe, silently consoling himself. 'Alright, Iruka... Breath... breath... It's only a boy... Not the Kyuubi itself...'

"Begin!"

No sooner than he had announced those words that an enormous gale erupted from Naruto's mouth, sending a massive upheaval of wind coursing through the clearing, sending hair and clothes flapping. The large air-based projectile that had burst from the blond's mouth rocketed towards the log, made impact, and ultimately shattered it into tiny splinters. The air mass continued its course, going at an angle upwards, and after a few moments of flight, exploded in a shockwave of wind, splitting the very clouds in its wake.

'... Son of a...'

It wasn't surprising to note that the chuunin had his mouth hanging open. Majority of the other students had the same expression, and if not, they'd have their eyebrows shot up in surprise and awe.

'... So powerful... And with no hand seals... That had to be at least B or A rank!'

"Iruka-sensei." Naruto called out to him.

Still dumbstruck, the scarred chuunin could only gradually will his head to tilt sideways to face the boy, who was still smiling at him with that oddly comforting smile.

"How did I do?" He asked.

Iruka was at a loss for words, so he chose to give him a simple stuttered answer. "O-one h-hundred..."

"Great!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air, grinning victoriously all the while.

Afterwards, he hazed away from sight.

"Wha-!? Naruto!?" Iruka was then pulled from marvel, to confusion, seeing that his new student had vanished in plain sight. "Is this a genjutsu!?"

"Actually, it's a Seirei Bunshin (Spirit Clone)." Naruto corrected from behind the chuunin, making him jump in alarm. This also surprised his classmates, seeing as they were wide-eyed in confusion. Noticing this, he decided to clarify. "I made a Seirei Bunshin to use Fuuton: Renkuudan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Projectile) on the log. Because it's a spirit clone, it needed no hand seals to do the jutsu."

What the boy just said only left more questions to be asked.

'This guy...' A certain raven-haired Uchiha thought to himself, still marveling at the boy's strength. While he had seen potential and strength in a few of the aspiring ninja in the class, this boy could top them all. He could feel it.

This boy. This 'Uzumaki Naruto'. He could be useful.


Naruto ate his lunch quietly, taking in the various conversations taking place all around him. His class was a noisy bunch, from what he could sense, with the exception of maybe four or five of them. It saddened him to a degree that they didn't have their minds truly set on becoming a ninja or realizing a respectable goal. Though, their innocence and otherwise healthy spirits made most of the a collection of healthy souls, who could possibly achieve better things in other lighter lines of work.

He had noted many interesting things about his class, like how majority of the females were infatuated with the broody Uchiha Sasuke, the most probable candidate for Rookie of the Year. Unfortunate that Naruto himself couldn't become Rookie of the Year considering that he had joined quite late and can't beat the Uchiha's impressive grades within the small span of time between now and the final academy examinations. The only three he sensed that were not interested in the Uchiha were Sakura, Ino, and Hinata, his three good friends. That fact brought a smile to his face.

Another thing worthy of notice was one of his more silent classmates, Aburame Shino. Naruto had sensed the presence of life actually thriving within the stoic boy, confirming it to be a large hive of insects. At first, Naruto was worried, but his worries were lost as he sensed that the Aburame was at no discomfort and found that he had an actual fondness and sense of close companionship with the bugs residing within him.

Inuzuka Kiba was an interesting guy, especially with regards to his canine companion he called Akamaru. He was loud and brash, traits that reminded Naruto of himself in his earlier childhood. He could tell there was a strong connection between him and his dog, as if they'd trust each other with their own lives. Clearly something far above that of a man and his pet, more like that of friends and comrades.

His sensei, Umino Iruka, seemed rather reluctant and a bit agitated around him. Understandable, it would take a while for the chuunin to be comfortable in his presence. With his bloodline, he could speed up that process.

That boy with a rather unique hairstyle, Nara Shikamaru. Naruto was aware of his subtle suspicion ever since his first day in class. The boy had been cautious around him, but was otherwise either to unsure or apathetic to approach him. His 'big-boned' friend, Akamichi Chouji, seemed like a nice guy. Strangely, though, Naruto had noticed that the stout boy was perpetually hungry.

What drew most of his concern was the Uchiha, who drew upon sadness, hate, and apathy. He beheld a fire in his eyes, one of a dark determination. It gripped him, drove him, sustained him, like it was his very essence, his very being. The Uchiha boy dwelled in this darkness, lusting for power, and driven by anger. It was sickening to Naruto, almost pitiful.

But he knew that part of the boy cried out to him, longing for something. Naruto couldn't tell what, but it felt like a desperate desire for something. It seemed so... familiar?

His thoughts were interrupted by the drawing advance of said Uchiha, whom Naruto had noticed had been silently contemplating on whether or not to approach him for quite some time. He was unsure, yet at the same time determined.

Naruto smiled as he stopped eating his onigiri while the raven-haired boy came closer from behind. The blond had decided a long time ago that a constant diet of ramen could not be healthy despite his incredible love for it. It would be best if he didn't ingest the stuff all the time.

"Sasuke-san..." Sasuke nearly jumped at the mention of his name. Had the blond already sensed his presence?

"Uzumaki." Sasuke continued to walk up to him, waiting for Naruto to turn and face him.

Eventually, Naruto did turn around, despite not needing to since he could already regard him with his back to him. He gave a pleasant smile to calm his raven-haired classmate. "Can I help you?"

The pleasantness in the blond's voice abated some of the Uchiha's anxiety. Sasuke had wanted to test the new student's strength, seeing as he had performed a rather impressive display (though he would never admit that he thought it was impressive). If he played his cards right, he might have him teach that jutsu from the exams.

There was something odd about the blond. He had a very calm tranquil air about him, so much that Sasuke himself could feel it just being in his presence. He wasn't sure if the others have noticed, but it was like you could tell he was looking into your very soul without having to actually open his eyes. And the way he dressed and carried himself was like a laidback lord of sorts. And what was up with the whiskers? Were they tattoos?

In any case, it was too late to back out now, it would seem. "Spar with me, Uzumaki."

"Oh?" It would seem that their little exchange was beginning to attract quite a bit of attention, seeing as Naruto could sense the curiosity piquing in many of the other students. After all, it wasn't everyday that the 'stuck-up Uchiha prick', as most of the male batch would call him, would actually 'talk' to anyone much less ask to spar with them, with the 'new kid' no less. Naruto's smile grew wider quite a bit. "Why would you want a spar, Sasuke-san?"

"I just want to." Sasuke gruffly replied. At that moment a small crowd gathered around them.

"Is that so?" The Uchiha's irritation spiked at that point. Naruto noticed that and grinned a little. The crowd around them grew in size. "To what do I owe this honor, Sasuke-san?"

If one had looked closely enough, they would have noticed Sasuke's eye twitch by a margin of a second. He didn't know why, but somehow the Uzumaki was easily getting on his nerves. "You're performance at the examination was... decent," He would never admit that it actually amazed him. "I want to see your full strength and compare it with mine."

"Quite straightforward aren't we?" Naruto commented jokingly, having Sasuke react with another twitch of his eye. The blond finished eating the rest of his lunch and stood up to face his soon-to-be foe. "Alright then. What are your terms?"

"Taijutsu only. Battle goes on until one gives up or is too tired to continue." Sasuke stated simply and promptly went into his offensive stance. The crowd took this as cue to back away and give them space.

"I accept your terms." With that said, Naruto eased his kataginu off his shoulders, neatly folded it, and placed it on the table he had been eating lunch in. He took that moment to survey the curious faces of his schoolmates.

It seemed that many had already set up a betting pool of sorts with the odds a fair even, and the betting going slightly more towards his opponent. An ample amount of his female schoolmates were cheering the raven-haired boy on, though he appeared to be more annoyed with them than enthused. Naruto's closest friends at the academy, Hinata, Sakura, and Ino were watching intently, albeit a bit worriedly at the upcoming match. It warmed his heart, though, that inwardly they were cheering for him.

Umino Iruka went outside to the grounds to gather the students from their lunch break. He spotted the clamoring assembly from afar, and discerned the telltale signs of an imminent fight. Fearful of the consequences and results, he resolved to stop them, but an aged hand firmly gripped him on the shoulder, holding him in place.

"Hokage-sama!?" Iruka exclaimed in surprise upon seeing the wizened face of the old village head, watching over the two young boy's about to engage in combat.

"Let them be, Iruka. This should be an interesting fight." Sarutobi smiled in anticipation. He had been expecting something like this to happen, especially since it did involve Uchiha Sasuke, a boy too proud and too vengeance-driven for his own good. Though his crystal ball had been returned to him, Naruto had somehow eluded his gaze for the majority of the years he had spent training. The Toomegane no Jutsu (Telescope Technique)was being resisted somehow, every time he tried to observe what Naruto was doing at the time, so he had little knowledge of the boy's skills.

'Show me what you can do, Uzumaki Naruto...'


A/N

I find this chapter short... Meh...

The fight will be written next chapter. Don't expect too much, since I'm not all that good with fight scenes, but I'll do my best to make it entertaining and unique.

For those of you who don't know, the Toomegane no Jutsu is the jutsu the Hokage uses with his crystal ball to observe all the things happening in his village (you can only imagine the things he could do with that... perverted old coot).

Harem listing is closed. All girls will be revealed as the story goes.

I find the lack of reviews disturbing...