Shattered Demon I: Oni Seppan

Special thanks to Kray-kun and those who've beta'd. With their help, I'll be able to rule the world!!

Diclaimer: I really want to own Naruto, but I don't :( NOW ON WITH THIS CHAPTER!!

Chapter 4: Genin Exam

The walls seemed to echo with his footsteps, as Naruto walked through the tunnel. He'd just finished close combat, target practice, and several other weapon based exercises. Three years ago, he'd be on the ground exhausted, but he'd long since grown accustomed to stressful conditions. And the funny part was, he'd just been doing light taijutsu exercises.

After several moments past, he came to a halt. The path he was on had broken into six paths. After slowly considering each of them, he decided to go down the middle path. It was time he did some revisions to some of his, previous works.

A small smile crossed his face as he entered the room. There was a little dust, from not using it for a while, but he had time to fix that. This room in particular, was the one place where everything was right.

He glanced around at several of the unlit lanterns and sighed. He was almost engulfed by the dark, which wasn't a good thing. After all, how was he supposed to get anything done in his library without much light?

After making his way around the room, he relit a couple lanterns before walking over to one of the shelf. "Let's see…Jutsu's for Idiots, Chakra Control for Beginners, Advanced Control, All About ANBU...Ah! Here it is; Uzumaki Fighting Style: Edition 1!"

He quickly pulled the book from the shelf, and walked over to the desk. As he set it on the table, a fine layer of dust rose around him. He sighed. I really need to dust more. He thought, as he opened the book.

Inside were his personal writings. Granted, he'd written them when he was nine and ten, they were still good. He slowly glanced over the different parts of is, silently scoffing at several parts. "I'm surprised that I've made it this far. There are at least seventeen different errors in my first versions." He let out a small sigh. "I'd better get to work. I've got a long night ahead of me."

x X x

Iruka glanced at the class. There was a loud murmur throughout the class, as many of them were discussing what had gone on that night. Some were saying that it was a conspiracy, while others thought it was an accident. But they all agreed on one thing; Mizuki was a part of it.

Iruka silently thanked whatever Kami had gifted him that night. Not only had he gotten away before the fighting began, but he'd actually gotten back without a problem. That and he didn't have to go to see Ibiki and Anko. Anko in particular scared him

In the back of his mind however, an internal dispute was raging. A part of him wished to apologize to Naruto, seeing as he'd seen him in the forest. But another part kept telling him that he was paranoid, and that he shouldn't tell him that he was apart of the Chunnin who hated him.

"Silence!" A voice called out, startling Iruka. Standing in the front of the classroom, was Naruto. He had his hands up, a look of shock in his eyes. The entire class had gone silent, as they stared at Naruto. After a moment, Naruto broke the silence, scratching the back of his head. "Wow, I wasn't sure if that would work."

Iruka face-faulted at the statement. He was the one who was supposed to call the class to attention. But he'd been so caught up in his thoughts, that he completely missed Naruto entering.

"Um, thank you Naruto. Would you please sit down now?" Iruka said, picking himself up. Naruto shrugged and walked up to his seat. Iruka quickly straightened up. "All right class today is the Genin exams. The first part is…a written exam. You will have an hour to complete it, so get ready."

There were several out cries at this, as most of the kids hadn't taken the time to study 'useless information'. Sasuke was smug, and Sakura was relaxed. They were both smart enough to get this done, and were certain that they would pass with the highest grades.

After passing out the sheets, Iruka told them to begin. Sasuke and Sakura were flying by on their papers. Naruto just turned his paper over and set his head down. He'd been up all night making revisions, and he was to tired to do this part of the exam. Besides, it was only thirty percent of his grade. The minimum requirement was at least sixty points. Fifty points were made up by the three academy jutsu's, so he wasn't really worried.

After forty-five minutes, Iruka finally noticed Naruto sleeping. Quickly getting besides him, he yelled in his ear. "Naruto, wake up! You've got to take the exam!"

Several of the nearby kids snickered. It had taken him a long time to realize that Naruto was asleep. And not only that, but Naruto was really slow to wake up, taking his sweet time to do so. After taking several moments to stretch out, he turned to Iruka. "Good morning Iruka-sensei. Um, why are you in my house again?"

Iruka face-faulted yet again. He'd been so into his sleep that he'd forgotten about the test? This was almost too much for him. "Naruto, you're in the middle of the Genin Exam! You only have ten minutes to complete it, so get working!"

"Alright, alright. Don't get your underwear in a twist." Naruto said, turning his paper over and starting on it. He barely got through ten questions when Iruka told them to turn their papers over. "Well, that was a waste of time, wasn't it?"

Iruka held in his anger, as he directed them to go outside for shuriken practice. Several moments later there was chaos running around. Most of the kids were randomly throwing their shuriken before he'd told them too. After finally getting them to stop, he told them to line up, and to start throwing.

Sasuke was as he knew he'd be, perfect. Almost of his shuriken were within the bull's-eye, if not directly in the bull's-eye, with a few others lying close, but not within it.. Some of the kids did really well, while others weren't even able to hit the targets. And, towards the end, Naruto stepped up.

Naruto took a deep breath, and threw his first shuriken. It hit really close to the center, but not entirely dead on. Taking it into rhythm, he threw kunai after kunai, with most of them getting close to the center, with two that actually made it in. Naruto grinned on the outside. I really hate missing like this. I mean, these targets aren't even moving! He thought, as he walked back inside.

Iruka frowned. As he watched Naruto's throwing, he'd noticed two things. One, the way he was throwing should've made it hit dead on every time. And two, he was looking away from the target, almost as if he didn't want to hit the bull's-eye. He didn't understand why, but he knew that if Naruto had tried, he might've gotten a much higher score. He'd have to talk with him later.

Naruto mentally banged his head against the nearest wall. Waiting for his turn was probably worse than anything he'd ever done before. He almost wished he could be like Shikamaru, and not really care about it so that he wouldn't get a headache. And it wasn't that he didn't trust his abilities, he just was having a hard time waiting for two hours. The most he'd ever waited for something was an hour, and that was because Ichiraku didn't have any noodles at the time.

Finally, he heard his name called. Almost running into the room, he all but flung himself into the room.

Iruka glanced at him. "Alright Naruto, let me quickly explain the test. You will have to do the Henge, Kawarimi, and make three Bunshin's. Got it?"

Naruto nodded. "Um, Iruka-sensei, do I have to do them, in that order?"

Iruka blinked for a moment, before shrugging. "There's no rule against doing in your own order, so go ahead."

Naruto nodded, and grinned. "Bunshin no Jutsu!"

Iruka held his breath. This was Naruto's worst jutsu, having been the main reason for his past three failures. He watched, somewhat amazed, as Naruto finally pulled it off. All of the different Naruto's looked pretty happy, just like the original, who was scratching the back of his head.

Naruto dismissed the clones. "Alright, now that I've got that off my chest: Henge!"

A small puff of smoke filled the area, temporarily obscuring Iruka's sight. When the smoke cleared however, he silently wished that Naruto had picked anyone, anyone but him to transform into.

Standing before him, was a perfect replica of Mizuki. Right down to his smug look, and Chunnin vest. 'Mizuki' glanced over at him. A small chill ran down his spine. He really didn't want to remember what had almost happened last night.

In Naruto's head, his thoughts were somewhere on the same lines. Well, well, well. It appears that Iruka knew about what happened last night. But was he apart of it? Uh, stop thinking…just get on with the test!

"Kawarimi!" Naruto shouted out, switching places with Iruka. While Iruka tried to figure out what happened, Naruto was looking over his previous scores. After mentally adding them up, he grinned. "Well, it appears as though I graduate, finally!"

Iruka walked behind Naruto with a small grin. He'd finally passed the test, after three years of failure. As he watched Naruto put the headband on, an idea came to him. "Well done Naruto. Hey, how about we celebrate tonight? What do you say to Ichiraku at six?"

Naruto released the Henge, and grinned at Iruka. He quickly gave him a flying hug, while shouting, "Thanks Iruka-sensei!"

Iruka just sat there, dazed. "You're welcome Naruto, you're welcome."

x X x

Iruka glanced over the seat next to him. Surprisingly enough, Naruto was late for ramen. He'd usually be there, yelling at Iruka for being late and not being able to get his 'glorious ramen'. It would be fine, if he were only a few minutes late. But when he was half an hour late, he was definitely pushing it.

"Iruka-sensei!" Iruka turned around to see Naruto running down the path. "Sorry I'm late." Iruka just sighed. He could easily guess that he'd taken a longer path to avoid some angry citizens, and possibly shinobi. They wouldn't be very happy to see he'd become a Genin.

Iruka resisted the urge to rub his head. He'd expected that this might happen, he just didn't expect it so soon. "Well, at least you're here now. Sit down, have as much ramen as you can eat."

"Really?" Naruto's eyes widened with a small sparkle in them. As Iruka nodded, Naruto jumped into the air. "Yatta! Thanks Iruka-sensei! Teuchi-san! One of everything!"

Iruka glanced into his pocked book. Seeing that he would almost be broke by buying that amount of ramen, he had anime tears running down his face. But then, he had promised Naruto he'd pay. It didn't make him feel any better.

After another couple of seconds, Iruka glanced over at Naruto. He really hadn't wanted to talk about this, but he wanted to make sure that his conscious to eat at him.

"N-Naruto." Iruka said, putting his bowl down. Naruto glanced over. "I want to tell you something, but I'm not quite sure how I should say this."

Naruto slurped the rest of his ramen. "Um, what is it Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka took a deep breath. His heart was pounding, and telling him to keep his mouth shut. But at the same time, he really didn't want to leave it laying on his mind. "Um, Naruto. I have a small…confession to make."

Naruto cocked his head. "What do you mean Iruka-sensei?"

Iruka took a deep breath. Why was this so hard? "Naruto, a lot of Chunnin's planned on killing you yesterday."

Naruto smiled. "I know."

"I mean, I was – Wait, what do you mean you know?!" Iruka said, turning to Naruto.

Naruto grinned. "Hokage-jiji knew all about it! He hid me in his room, and told an Anbu member to go in my place."

Iruka felt his mind shut down. Naruto was never there. Which meant that he hadn't been imagining it, the 'Naruto' had seen him. And if the Hokage got his report, there was no doubt that he'd be in a lot of trouble. "Oh boy, I'm in trouble." He slowly rubbed his face, trying to get rid of the incoming headache.

Naruto glanced over at him. "Um, what do you mean?"

Iruka glanced over at him, before putting his hands back on his face. "If you weren't there, then I was seen by Anbu. And since they'll ID me, I won't really last long for attacking a citizen, and if I don't, relieved of my duties, I'd have to testify against my fellow Chunnin. Either way, I don't have much of a happy ending." Iruka noticed Naruto scratched his chin thoughtfully. "What?"

"Well, I'm not really happy about this. I mean, you were with them, so you were a part of this." Naruto rubbed his head. It would be a lot to take in, if he hadn't already been informed of Iruka's presence earlier by several Anbu. He'd been told how Iruka had told Mizuki he didn't want any part in it, and ran off. Now, Naruto felt that it was time to return the favor. "You know, I know some people who could help you. All you'd have to do would be to give some information, and they wouldn't ask questions, or be able to say it was you." Naruto gave him his fox-like grin. "It would be totally off the record. And you would be safe from further investigation, I promise."

Iruka glanced over at him. "You know, I think I might take you up on that offer. It's pretty reasonable, but do you really know people who could help me? And why are you helping me?"

Naruto grin widened further. "Well, I'm pretty sure that the Hokage is a pretty good person to be acquainted with. That, and several Anbu told me about your involvement, and how you left before anything started. So that means you didn't really want to hurt me. Just consider us even for now."

Iruka could only stare at Naruto for several minutes, until finally, he too began smiling. After another moments silence, Naruto and Iruka started laughing. It was almost enlightening. It continued for several minutes before Ayame put another bowl of ramen in front of Naruto.

As soon as he'd finished eating that bowl, he looked over at the clock. "Oh crap! I'm going to be late!"

Iruka laughed again. "Where're you going? I didn't think you had anywhere to go today. Why are you leaving?"

Naruto grinned. "I need to get you out of your court date of course! Thanks Ayame-nee-chan! Thanks Teuchi-san! I'll see you soon!"

x X x

Anko glanced around. So many Chunnin had been captured, over one boy! Of course, being Naruto, she'd come to expect those sort of things. She was handsomely paid from all the idiots who she'd get because of him. Mentally, she hoped he'd stick around for a long time. He was like some kind of cash crop, and she didn't want to lose that extra pay.

As she walked through the ranks, she began to fell a small chill run down the back of her neck. Something was wrong, very wrong. For a while, she just shrugged it off. But the feeling got stronger, and was quickly making feel uncomfortable.

As she rounded the corner, she quickly noticed something. All of the chains, which she knew had been filled, were now empty. No one was there. Feeling a growing sense of dread, she opened the back door.

Just within her vision were at least eight Chunnin running as fast as they could. She was about to go after them, when she heard a groan from nearby. Turning towards the sound, she saw that Ibiki was injured. He was really torn up, with a small gash near his heart.

"Anko, they got out." He slowly breathed out. Anko knelt next to him, as he continued. "Mizuki and the people with him are going after Naruto. They won't stop until he's dead."

Anko rubbed her head. There were times when she hated her job, and this was one of them. "I'm going to get you medical attention right now."

Ibiki looked like he was about to refuse, but thought better of it. He did need it, and who was he to think he could talk Anko into leaving him?

x X x

It was seven at night, as Naruto bounced along towards the Hokage tower. He'd taken a little longer than needed to chat with Iruka, but it was worth it. He'd had the time of his life, feeling like never before. But as much as he wanted to put on his headband, he also wanted to wait till he could seal his goggles away safely.

After a moment, he was just outside of the tower. But instead of going in, he turned around. "Alright then. Whoever has been following me, come out!"

After a short pause, a small amount of laughter filled the area. "Hello, demon brat." Naruto's ears perked up. He knew that voice. "We're here to finish what we never started."

Naruto cocked his head. "Mizuki?"

There was a small hiss. Naruto barely had time to react, as a giant shuriken flew out from the bushes, and straight at him. He jumped over it, with barely enough room to spare. Of course, that was what the Chunnin had expected him to do.

All Naruto could do was watch, as one powerhouse of a man came flying from behind a building. The man threw a large fist at him, hitting him squarely in the gut. Naruto was sent flying back, crashing through the front door. While the man laughed, Naruto picked himself up. "Wow, I thought he'd hit me harder. Oh well."

The large Chunnin glared at him. He hadn't expected him to get up, but planned on making sure that he wouldn't.

Naruto's eyes widened, as seven other Chunnin joined the first, along with Mizuki. Mizuki grinned. "Surprised? You shouldn't be. We promised ourselves that you wouldn't be able to become a ninja, and were just here to keep that promise."

Naruto grimaced. "You know, I really think that you've forgotten something important."

One of the other nearby Chunnin laughed. "Oh, really? And what could we have possibly forgotten."

Naruto grinned. "This isn't my home, it's the Hokage tower."

They all blinked, looking up at the tower. As it finally clicked in their heads, a small sense of dread filled them. They could easily be caught. But this was quickly replaced by anger.

Naruto's grin widened as they looked back at him. "You know, there's only one thing left to do." Naruto do a deep breath, and let out a shrill whistle. They all looked somewhat confused, until they all felt a hand on their shoulders.

Standing behind them, were the Anbu that had taken them out the previous night. And just like the previous night, all Mizuki could say before they were all knocked unconscious was, "What…?"

Naruto grin returned, as he glanced at the Anbu. "Thanks, you guys saved my skin…again."

One of them just brushed it off. "You whistled for us, and we entered the fight. Of course, if you passed the Genin exams, we won't be able to do this any more."

Naruto nodded. "I'll just be glad when these guys are properly put behind bars. I mean, two times? Don't you think they should've gotten it the first time?"

The Anbu shrugged. "I don't think we should really discuss that right now. Anyways, you should probably go tell the Hokage the good news. After all that's been happening, he'll want some."

Naruto nodded, and quickly ran towards the Hokage's room.

Sarutobi rubbed his head. It was one thing to badger him, and verbally assault him, but when half of their Chunnin were in the torture unit for an obvious assassination plot, it took quite the chunk from them.

Behind him, one of the Anbu whispered something in his ear. After a brief pause, he let out a long sigh. "Yes, I understand. Make sure that it can't happen again."

As the Anbu used the Shunshin to leave, Naruto entered the room. He glanced at the floating leaves, before turning back to the Hokage. "Um, do I really want to know what you plan on doing with Mizuki?"

Sarutobi shook his head, quickly ending that conversation.

Naruto grinned grew again. "Hey, do you think you could get Iruka-sensei to give you information, without letting everyone know who told you?"

Sarutobi scratched his chin. "Well, I might be able to do that. But what would he be offering?"

Naruto shrugged. "I don't know, just a little information about who might've been leading the Chunnin's who attacked me."

Sarutobi perked up. That was good information. "Well, I guess we will do that. Just tell him to come in, tomorrow after he's told all the graduated students who their new senseis are." There was a defining silence, as Sarutobi realized what he'd said. He gave a quick cough, before smiling sheepishly at Naruto. "So Naruto, did you pass the Genin Exam?"

Naruto grinned and pulled out his new Konoha headband. Almost immediately, the eight Anbu in the room reveled themselves to congratulate him. A small amount of pride filled him, as each of them gave him their complements. For a moment, it almost felt like he was in a family, a small, lethal family. And when the feeling didn't pass, he decided to have a little fun for the moment.

Four of them promised that, whenever they had the chance, they'd teach him some cool stuff. The other four, just gave little gifts. One of them gave him a pair of chakra enhanced knives. They apparently had seals on them that let them channel chakra. The second gift was an Anbu discount for all stores. He was really grateful for this, as all the stores heavily overpriced him, and Anbu got most stuff half off. It would definitely make his life easier. The third gift was a bracelet covered in seals. The bracelet was basically a 'hand-held' storage device. The final gift…was a kiss from one of the kunochi. He would later say, that overall, while the others would be more useful in the future, that the kiss was by far his favorite gift.

Of course, when she did kiss him, all of the guys tried to give him the Icha Icha Paradise book to, 'explain what was happening'. This of course, gave them a one way trip to the fetal position, as the kunochi kicked them, 'where the sun don't shine'. Naruto took a mental note of this, to make sure that he wouldn't be hit there. If it looks painful, it is painful.

After another couple of moments of messing around, Sarutobi gave a quick cough. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked over at him. "Well, Naruto, I'm not sure what to say. You're a Genin now, and will report under a Jonin sensei until you get a higher rank. As such, I hope you become strong enough to do so." He held out a small glass of sake. "To Uzumaki Naruto, Genin of Konoha!"

The Anbu made the same gesture, and drank down their glasses as well. Naruto found the ceiling to suddenly be entertaining, as he tried not to laugh. It just sounded so corny.

He glanced over at each of the Anbu. He'd known them for the past four years, and they'd grown into what might've been considered a family. Giving him tips whenever he needed them; helping support him when he was beat on. They were his best friends, and the only people who'd glimpsed, the real him.

Naruto, ignoring everyone in the room, walked over to the window behind the Hokage's desk. He looked over all the Hokage's, a small grin crossing his face. He raised his fist in the air, like he had, five years ago. "Hokage's, I promised that I'd become a strong ninja, and then the best Hokage ever. Now, watch over me, as I've finally reached the first step to my goal." Naruto's smile widened, as he put his hand down.

"Hey, Naruto!" Naruto snapped his head around to Sarutobi, who was standing at the door. All of the Anbu had left the room, leaving him looking out the window. "If you don't come now, you'll miss all the cake and other goodies!"

Naruto's eyes widened. "CAKE?!" Without a second word, he flew off to the cake, laughing as he did so.

A/N: Yes, I'm a sugar nut, and made Naruto one to. SO SUE ME! (please don't I'm limited on money :P)

Main reason for doing this, pocky. In several different stories, Naruto is a pocky nut, and it's pretty funny! That, and when I wrote this chapter, I was busy eating cake. :)

If you have any questions about my sanity, please review! I might just answer your questions... :P

FINAL NOTE: My goal is for over 50 reviews after this chapter. The only way to achieve it...is if you people review! So please, don't sit back and laugh at this silly plea, help me! Besides, is it really to much to ask?

Thank you. Ja ne!