Ninja of the Void

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters associated with it.

"Talking"

Thoughts

Go Team . . . . What?

~ Konoha Ninja Academy ~

"And I was like wam! Pow! Kablam! And he was beaten on the ground in no time" Naruto smiled with glee as he reenacted the fight he had with Mizuki.

Hinata giggled at the blonds' story. "Wow Naruto-kun. You actually have beaten a chunin".

Naruto folded his arm behind his head as he continued to smile. "Well yeah because I rock obviously".

The pale girl giggled again at her friend's enthusiasm. She then placed her hand to her cheek as if deep in thought. "But Naruto-kun, you mentioned that Mizuki-sensei said something to you. What was it?"

Naruto almost choked at the question. "Wha . . . . Why do you ask?"

"Well you mentioned it was something big, so I was wondering what it was".

The blond jinchuriki turned away temporarily. He then shifted slightly giving his pale friend a nervous smile. "I'll . . . . I'll tell you about it later OK".

"But Naruto-kun . . . ."

"Besides today is the day we get placed on teams right? Let's go! I can't wait to see who we end up with. I hope we end up on the same team!" as he soon raced off towards their class.

Hinata watched as he ran off. She knew he was hiding something and it had to be pretty important if he would wave her off like that. Naruto was the kind of guy who liked to share everything with her. So whatever it was, it must have been pretty significant if her friend didn't want to tell her. However, "He'll tell me when he is ready" as she soon ran after him.

~ Naruto's apartment ~

"So what do you think Kakashi?" asked the third Hokage. "Think you're up to taking him as your student?"

The silver haired jounin examined the room blankly before looking back at his superior. "We'll see during the testing about that".

Hiruzen closed his eyes in thought before reopening them. "But concerning Naruto, there is a very special circumstance that you should know about him".

"Yes Hokage-sama, I'm well aware of his special circumstance of him being the jinchuriki of the Kyubi. You do not need to worry of me mistreating him".

"No . . . . that's not quite it. You see Naruto . . . . Is a lot more special then you believed".

Kakashi gave him a questioning look. "How so?"

The Sandaime opened his mouth but then closed it as a smirk appeared. "That . . . . I will allow you to see for yourself when the time comes".

". . . . Hokage-sama?"

"Fu fu fu, until then Kakashi" as Hiruzen disappeared in a puff of smoke.

The silver haired ninja stood there in silence. ". . . . What did he mean by that?"

~ Konoha Ninja Academy ~

"Wow, Naruto actually beat Mizuki-sensei?"

"You mean that goof ball? There's no way he could have done it".

"I don't know he does seem to have a lot of potential even for someone like him".

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"I don't know. I always get this feeling he always hiding what he can really do".

"Ehh, whatever . . . ."

In the period of time when Mizuki was placed in prison, news quickly spread of the chunin teacher's betrayal and attempted theft of the sacred scroll of sealing. But to everyone's surprise, the supposed superior ninja was not only caught and beaten by a child, but also by someone who didn't even count as a genin at the time. Some believed that Iruka was just trying to portray the boy in a better light. But with the Hokage personally thanking him for his work, any doubts were pushed aside.

Although some of the information was censored to protect Naruto's secret, too many people in Konoha had loose lips as it was quickly known how Naruto had beaten a chunnin. This news quickly spread to Konoha Academy.

Before the arrival of Naruto and Hinata, much buzz was going around the classroom. Most of the conversation delved whether or not it was fact or fiction that a genin could actually beat a chunnin.

But for the people that mattered . . . .

"Why do these people have to make a troublesome deal of this?" thought Shikamaru.

"Umm, pork" thought Chouji as he ate his chips.

". . . ." thought Shino.

"Wow, Naruto is actually becoming more badass then I thought. I should really pick up my training regime" thought Kiba.

Meanwhile, Sakura and Ino amongst many other fan girls were too busy fawning over their pretty boy elite Uchiha. At this time, Sasuke was being surrounded by his posse who made it a daily habit to annoy and praise him about his superb abilities. Naturally he would ignore them as their pointless flattering didn't make him feel any better. But after hearing the news of the hyperactive blond he couldn't help but allow his mind to wander on the topic. "Could that dobe really be that strong?" In knowing him all these years, Naruto was not exactly someone anyone would take seriously due to the kind of personality he had. But after meeting that Hyuga girl, his performance both physically and academically improved. Just like what someone in the class had stated before, he seemed to have been hiding something as it was apparent at times he was holding back. Of course he waved this off as just talk, but after hearing the news that Naruto had actually beaten Mizuki, "I better keep an eye on him . . . . "

Just as Naruto and Hinata walked in, Iruka entered as well to begin the class.

"Congratulations to everyone in becoming a genin. As you should all know today, you'll all be assigned to elite ninjas the jounins. From there, they'll continue your training until you're ready to become chunin. So work hard and become great ninjas everybody. So as I call your name, you'll be assigned to your group and teacher".

Naruto crossed his fingers as he prayed mentally. "Please let Hinata-chan be on my team. Please let Hinata-chan be on my team".

Similarly to his pale friend, "please let Naruto-kun be on my team. Please let Naruto-kun be on my team".

One by one, students began filtering out as they were assigned to their group and teacher.

"For team seven under Kakashi-sensei will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, . . . ." which caused many girls to groan, "and Naruto Uzumaki" which caused the young blond to groan as well.

"Ahh man . . . ." he then thought.

"For team eight under Kurenai-sensei will be Shino Aburame, Hinata Hyuga, and Kiba Inuzuka".

Naruto then slammed his head on the desk in slight depression in how things turned out.

"It's OK Naruto-kun, we can still meet other times" as the Hyuga heiress patted him on the back.

"But I wanted to be on the same team as you" he then whined still keeping his head to the desk.

Hinata gave a slight frown to this.

Naruto immediately popped back up with a sunny smile. "Then I'll have to make it up to you every chance I get when we're home then".

The Hyuga heiress blinked several times at this before settling into a soft smile. "OK then, but please try using the door as much as possible because father usually gets really angry when you use my window".

" . . . . why?"

~ academy classroom ~

"Ahh what the hell is going on?" Naruto complained.

At this time everyone had already left leaving only team seven behind for their teacher to come get them. To be blunt about it, their opinion on their sensei was growing dimmer by the minute.

"Would you be quiet already!" stated Sakura. "Why can't you be more like Sasuke!" to which the Uchiha was sitting like a statue minding to his own business.

"Whatever . . . ."

Naruto then sat back at his desk watching his other two teammates at they attempted to cope with the current circumstance.

As he thought about it, he had known his two teammates since he first entered the academy.

Sakura wasn't exactly anything extraordinary. But she was indeed very smart and had the ability to learn and adapt easily to any circumstance she faced off against. Although years back he did have a crush on her. However her loud and violent personality quickly made him rethink what kind of interaction he had with her. Not to mention Hinata usually got sad when he mentioned her to which he never quite understood why. But still he tries to be friendly towards her.

Sasuke was a working progress with very little of it actually occurring. The two would usually duke it out at least once a week which seemed to be the only way the two could communicate. Although Sasuke use to beat him all the time in taijutsu, it usually now ends in ties to which the emo boy now begrudgingly acknowledges his existence. But trying to get any further then that seems to be almost a lost cause as even now he still refuses to open up to anyone.

Finally after what seemed like forever. "Sorry I'm late; I had to escort an old lady across the street".

The three genins looked to their sensei in complete disgust as they shared one unanimous thought. "That is such a disgustingly obvious lie".

"Now please follow me".

~ academy's rooftops ~

"Well let's begin with introducing ourselves" said Kakashi.

"What do you want to know?" asked Sakura.

"How about your likes, dislike, your dreams for the future and things like that".

"Isn't it usually proper to introduce yourself first?" asked Naruto to which Sakura nodded too.

The silver haired ninja stared blankly at them. ". . . . Me? Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi and I have no desire to tell you my likes, dislikes, or dreams for the future, and I do have lots of hobbies".

The three genins blinked at this as they then looked at each other. "So . . . . he only just told us his name".

"Now it's your turn, let's start from the right".

"Alright!" said Naruto excitedly. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like cup ramen, but I like Hinata-chan's cooking more which is mostly ramen and I really hate when someone wastes a good ramen meal . . . ."

" . . . . Is ramen the only thing this kid thinks about?"

"And my dream is to someday surpass all the Hokages so that everyone in Konoha would acknowledge my existence".

Kakashi blinked at this. "Hmm . . . . like father and son I suppose . . . ."

"And as for hobbies . . . . well I guess I have a few".

Kakashi scratched the back of head. "Alright, next".

Sasuke then spoke up as he still kept his sitting position ever since he arrived. "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are lots of things I dislike and very few things I like, and I can't really call it a dream but . . . ." as his demeanor then grew darker. "I have an ambition to resurrect my clan and kill a certain man".

The last statement immediately got everyone's attention. Sakura being the adolescent fan girl that she was thought it was cool. Naruto being the first time he heard of this was now wondering if this was the thing eating away at him. Kakashi could only frown as he had a feeling that was what he was going to say.

"OK, and lastly the girl".

Sakura shivered in excitement as she giggled a bit. "My name is Sakura Haruno. The thing is like is . . . . Actually the person I like is . . . . But really my dream is . . . ." The boys then gave sigh as the pink kunoichi became an awful jittery mess. "Oh yeah! What I dislike is Naruto".

"Oh come on!" the blond then rebuttal. "Can't you take a joke?" as he recalled the prank he pulled on her many years ago.

"And my hobby is . . . ."

Kakashi gave a deep sigh as he so desperately wanted to face palm himself or least duct tape her mouth for the moment. "Girls at this age are more interested in love then ninjustu . . . ."

After introductions, the silver haired ninja gave his first assignment of survival training. Upon announcement his genin team was thoroughly freaked out. According to their sensei, only nine out of all the graduates get onto official teams while everyone else is sent back to the academy to try again. With this much pressure on them anxiety built up rather quickly. So with instructions to come back prepared the next morning at the training fields to undergo the test, the three genins then departed to make their preparations.

"Ahh crap I can't fail here. I worked too hard to lose now!" as Naruto was freaking out as he paced around the forest to calm himself in order to think straight. "So I need to make sure I'm ready to fight Kakashi-sensei with everything I've got". He then turned to exit the forest but then stopped. "I better not bother Hinata-chan. I bet she has her own test to worry about". He then took out his watch looking intently at it. "Kakashi-sensei definitely feels a lot stronger then Mizuki-sensei was. If I plan to beat a jounin, I better make sure I bring everything"

And so that night for many hours, Naruto got to work to make sure he was ready for the trials of the next day.

~ Konoha forest (training grounds) ~ (morning)

"Hey guys! Good morning!" called Kakashi somewhat enthusiastically.

"You're late!" called Naruto and Sakura angrily and Sasuke just simply nodded.

The silver haired ninja then placed a clock on a wood stump as he set it. "OK, it's set for noon".

The three genin watched in confusion to the time limit.

"Here are two bells, your task is to take these from me before the time is up. Those who don't get a bell don't get lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps but I'll eat it in front of you too".

Naruto at this point was zoning out as he smiled in glee at how easy the test was. If he only needed to retrieve the bells then it should be an easy enough task. For this test, he had just the right technique to do it.

" . . . . back to the academy. If you want to use shurikens and kunais you may because you won't succeed unless you come at me to kill. So begin when I say . . . ."

"Do you mean these bells Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah those bells . . . . wait, what?"

"What the hell?" thought Sasuke as he looked in bewilderment in how the blond managed to capture both bells.

"How did he do that?" thought Sakura as she could only stare in awe at how Naruto managed to steal from a jonin from right under his nose.

"When in the hell did he do that?" as Kakashi was wracking his brain for a logical answer to how the blond ninja could have gotten a one up over him. "He just bypassed the entire point of the test!" He then did a self-diagnostic of himself and the area around him. "I'm definitely not under any form of genjutsu". As he confirmed the bells Naruto was holding were real. "And he definitely didn't use any seals to create any ninjutsu, hmm . . . . could this be another type of ninjutsu?" So not wanting to lose face, he body flickered next to the blond and retook the bells before body flickering back. "I need to understand this quickly before this gets out of hand", "Sorry, but you're going to have to wait till I say go".

"That's fine by me" smirked Naruto as he was now brimming with over-confidence.

Sasuke still couldn't believe what he saw.

Sakura still hadn't quite snapped out of her stupor yet to react to Naruto's over-confident remark.

"Alright, and . . . . go!" Just as Sasuke and Sakura were about to jump away . . . .

"I got them!" cheered Naruto once again as he held up the two bells. He smirked at the success of his prototype time jutsu 'fast forward'. "Ehh, I'll think of a cooler name later". Simply this new technique functioned much differently than his usual time jutsus. First, it required far less chakra then time stopping and even less then Hiraishins teleportation. Rather than slowing everything down, he was speeding himself up to the point of moving faster than anything he could imagine. However, "I better keep my bursts as short as possible or else end up like that tree" as he recalled how the tree he practiced on aged to death in a matter of seconds. "Yeah, definitely better in short bursts . . . . So that gives me about five seconds to do what I need while in fast forward".

Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi could only stare wide eyed once again at the blonds' achievement.

But without another thought, the silver haired jonin stole them back.

"Hey that's cheating! Stealing them back weren't part of the rules!" fumed Naruto.

"Well I make the rules. So you're going to have to hold onto them until the ringer goes off before I acknowledge that you pass", "that should give me enough time to figure out his trick".

"Fine you cheating jerk then I'll just steal them back!" Just like that, the feud began as the blond ninja and the silver haired jounin played keep away as they stole the bells back and forth from each other.

Meanwhile, "Do you get this feeling that we've been forgotten?" asked Sakura as she watched the tradeoff between her teammate and teacher.

Sasuke simply nodded as it was just mind boggling to him to how Naruto was able to keep up with a jonin elite of all people in a contest of speed. He then squeezed his fist in irritation as he gritted his teeth. "How can this possibly be?" as all he can think about now was how he couldn't keep up with what was going on.

"You'll pay for that!"

"What was that?" as Kakashi heard a clicking sound again just before Naruto retook the bells. "Could that be the secret?" He then quickly analyzed everything he knew thus far. "Why doesn't he just disappear when I try to retake them . . . .? He's definitely not physically that fast if he couldn't hold onto them for long. So it must be some sort of ninjutsu or genjustu to how he is doing it". But then he saw it again as Naruto reached into his pocket and only for that brief moment saw something shine at him. "Is that it?"

"Ha ha, I've got it!" only for it to be stolen back again. "Dam it!" as he reached into his pocket only to find it empty. "What?"

Kakashi smiled cockily to him as he showed that not only did he hold the two bells but also his pocket watch.

"Hey! That's mine!" Naruto stated angrily.

The silver haired jonin simply smirked as he looked to the watch. ". . . . Hmm, how many years has it been since I've seen this . . . . Minato-sensei . . . ."

"I said give it back!" as Naruto charged in like a rabid animal. But then was quickly taken down by his teacher's superior skills.

"I see, so it was the watch which allowed you to match me so far. But without it you're just another snot nosed brat who is all bark and no bite".

"You son of a . . . ."

But the conversation was quickly interrupted as a giant fire ball came flying right at them to which Kakashi immediately jumped out of the way. He then looked up to see Sasuke poised ready to attack with Sakura standing right behind him. "Ho ho ho, so you two are ready to have a go huh?" He then ducked his head avoiding Naruto's fist.

"Give me back my watch!"

"Make me" he simply smirked before body flickering away.

Naruto squeezed his fist in anger as he watched his jonin teacher just escape.

"What the hell was that all about?" asked Sakura. "Do you mind telling us what you just did a moment ago?"

"Who cares" then said Sasuke indifferently. "It's his own dam fault for losing. So if you'll excuse me I have a bell to claim". Although a part of him was interested in what Naruto did, claiming a bell for himself was his top priority.

"Wait . . . ."

Sakura and Sasuke then turned to look at him.

"Please help me get back my watch. It means everything to me! If anything happens to it then I wouldn't . . . . know what to do" as Naruto slightly shivered at that thought.

"Then why would you bring something so important with you to a test?" asked Sakura slightly agitated. "That is just so dumb!"

" . . . . because . . . . it's the only thing I have of my dad and I always want to keep it close to me . . . ."

Sakura immediately fell silent to this statement. " . . . . Is Naruto an orphan too?" as she then looked to Sasuke.

The young Uchiha looked slightly troubled before settling down. Somewhere deep down, a small part of him understood the frustration he was having. He then closed his eyes in thought to which a moment later he smirked. "Fine dobe, I'll help you get back your stupid watch so long as you make yourself useful and help me get one of the bells".

"But Sasuke-kun the bells are . . . ." said Sakura.

"Fine!" Naruto interjected as his hype was up again while pumping one of his arms. "I don't care about getting one of those shitty bells so long as I get my watch back".

Sasuke smirked at this. "Fine, we'll work together for now".

Sakura then gave a sigh. "Well as long as I get a bell . . . .", "if this is how it's going to be then I'll help also. But please keep in mind we're up against a jonin so we'll need to pool our resources together if we plan to win. So first off let's show what we have for tools and make a list of what techniques we got at our disposal. At least then we'll be a stronger fighting force".

The two boys looked to their third teammate in surprise.

" . . . . impressive" thought Sasuke.

"Wow, I knew she was smart but I didn't think she was that smart" thought Naruto.

"OK, so these are the tools we have and what about jutsus?"

"I can use several different fire element jutsus plus the basics" said Sasuke.

"I can do basics too" then said Naruto. "I can also use kage bunshin plus a cool derivative of it although . . . . I have other jutsus but I can't use them right now" as he whispered the last part.

"That's like running before you even walk. How can you use kage bunshin if you can't even manage a simple bushin?" criticized the young Uchiha.

"Oh shut up! Just take it on the word I can do it!"

"Tsk, whatever . . . ."

The two boys then looked to the pink kunoichi, "and you?"

Sakura felt kind of small now as her two teammates had some good jutsus yet she didn't really have anything to contribute. "I only know basics" she sadly said. She immediately shook this off. "OK, now that I have a good understanding, let's create our trap".

~ Konoha forest (training grounds) ~ (near 12 o' clock)

"I guess they must have given up after seeing the exchange between me and Naruto" said Kakashi. "I guess I shouldn't have expected much" as he was about to walk away.

"Hey a**hole! I want what's mine!"

". . . . and that obviously must be . . . ." as he then turned to see Naruto pointing at him. "Yeah I thought so".

"Prepare yourself because I'm reclaiming it now!" as Naruto ran right at him but was soon stopped as Kakashi pinned him to the ground.

"Is that all you got?"

"Nope" he smirked

Kakashi then felt a strange feeling from him as he immediately jumped and backed off as far as he could and just in time as Naruto had exploded taking out a chunk of Earth with him. "What the hell was that?" he then exclaimed.

"How did you like my kage bunshin no jutsu or its offensive derivative bakuretsu bunshin no jutsu?"

"It was a real blast wasn't it?" as another Naruto appeared.

"Surrender or else" then said another Naruto.

"This kid is just full of surprises" as Kakashi stared in wide eye. "First the time-space jutsu and now this? What now?" He immediately jumped back as he saw a giant fire ball flying right at him.

"Katon, great fire ball no jutsu" as Sasuke appeared behind the Naruto army.

"What the . . . . ?" but before he could question it the Naruto army began their rush as they raced towards him. Kakashi dodged one after another yet dared not to touch one of them in fear of them exploding in his face. He then saw an opening as he attempted to run out of the pincer attack. However he was immediately dissuaded from doing so by a giant ball of flame. "What are they planning?" By simple observation, Naruto was engaging in close range battle as Sasuke provided fire support from a distance. "Not bad, they're keeping me on edge making it very difficult for me to counter". He couldn't use taijutsu against Naruto in fear of exploding or escape without being caught up in Sasuke's flames. "What could they be planning? But just as interestingly . . . . Where is Sakura?" But unknown to him he was going exactly where he was supposed to go as he was forced to retreat into the forest.

After what seemed like forever, Kakashi found himself backed into a tree surrounded by the specialized bushins with Sasuke in the trees some distance away. "What could it be?" as he then took one more step back.

"Now!"

Kakashi was immediately surprised as his arms and legs were soon bounded by wire traps as he couldn't move now from the tree. "Did these kids really think these wires could hold me? How naive". But that's when the final trap came into motion as Sakura jumped down from the tree creating a seal Kakashi instantly recognized, "genjutsu!" The next thing he realized everything went a little crazy which he immediately shook off before breaking out of his bindings and checking himself for the bells only to look up to see his students smiling at him triumphantly.

Sasuke smirked as he held up his bell.

"I got one!" cheered Sakura with her bell.

"My watch!" as Naruto hugged his device.

The silver haired jounin coughed in disbelief. "After all these years . . . . I never thought I could be bested by my genin students" He then gave a solemn expression. "I validate my defeat. Let's all proceed back to the training grounds".

~ Konoha forest (training grounds) ~ (past noon)

"Congratulations all of you, you have passed my test as you are all now officially my students".

"How is that possible?" asked Sakura. "You said only the ones with the bells will pass".

"Wait . . . . what?" asked Naruto as he checked his ears to make sure he just heard wrong.

Kakashi shook his head. "That wasn't the point of the test. You see the point was to develop team work amongst your peers because if you can't trust each other now then how can you trust each other when the time really demands that you need too. Although it's good to develop individual skill, it's also very important to know how to work with others". He then looked to Naruto. "Very noble of you Naruto, you gave up your place for a bell even with the belief of failing".

"Uhh . . . . right . . . ." as Naruto gave a strained laugh while scratching his cheek to which Sakura and Sasuke stared at him giving him the obvious liar look.

"So congratulations team seven as you are now official genins".

~ Hyuga compound ~ (early evening)

"What? You've got to be kidding me! That was your test" Naruto exclaimed as his mouth gaped in disbelief.

Hinata nodded. "It wasn't so bad. Shino-kun and Kiba-kun were really helpful as we passed Kurenai-sensei's test without too much trouble".

Naruto breathed out a deep sigh. "I must be extremely unlucky to get situations like this".

The Hyuga heiress patted his back in comfort. "It's OK, so would you like me to make you something while you're here?"

The blond jinchuriki brightened at the offer, "well I . . . ."

"You used my daughter's window again didn't you!"

"Oh crap!" as Naruto jumped off Hinata's bed "I better get out of here now!"

Hinata immediately opened the window to allow her blond friend to escape. "Hurry Naruto-kun or father might actually try to kill you this time".

Naruto then jumped on the window sill as he then turned to smile at his pale friend. "OK, see you tomorrow Hinata-chan". Her door was then slammed open which caused Naruto to fall out. However that didn't really stop him as he picked himself off the flower bushes and began to run away laughing.

Although he couldn't really hear it, Hiashi was definitely yelling at him about something as he was half way out the window waving a fist. All the while Hinata and the surrounding guards couldn't help but giggle at this entire event.

To be continued . . . .

Author's notes: I would like to thank my reviewers for the constructive criticism as it helps me become a better writer and also helps me better develop the story as I go along, so thank you.

So I thank everyone for taking the time in reading this fic and further extend my gratitude if you can review it as well.