Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. I own only Nero, Inari, and any weapons I come up with.
Not much to say here, so enjoy!
Naruto was sitting at the table, eating his breakfast.
'Wonder whose team I'll be on…' he mused. Little did he know, that very conversation was going on right now…
Hokage Tower
"So, what teams do you request?" Sarutobi asked
A bearded man who looked like he was related to Sarutobi stepped forward. "I'll take the new Ino- Shika- Cho team." he said. Sarutobi nodded and wrote it down. Kurenai stepped forward.
"I would like to create a tracker team." She stated. Sarutobi nodded again and wrote it down.
"And Kakashi…" a man with silver hair, a face mask, and his headband pulled over his left eye stepped forward.
"Yes, Hokage-sama?"
"I have decided that, given your skill and your previous teacher, you should teach Naruto Uzumaki- Namikaze, Sakura Haruno, and-"
"Sasuke Uchiha." Nero finished for him. All of the Jonin turned to face him, though Kurenai was the only one smiling.
"But Sasuke wasn't the dead- last." One of the Jonin stated.
"True, but judging on the way that your system works, pairing my son with the dead last of the academy would not work. None of my son's abilities can be taught to a human child, and he will not work with the Haruno girl, given that she is, for lack of a better word, useless. It would make more sense to have at least one person on Naruto's team that will back him up, and he and Sasuke work extremely well together."
"How do you know that?" Another asked.
"Sasuke trains often at Naruto's house, and I drilled them in group combat strategies myself. Trust me, the two of them work better together than the Shodai and Nidaime Hokages."
"Really?" Sarutobi asked.
"Yes." Nero said.
"Very well. Team 7 will consist of Naruto Uzumaki- Namikaze, Sasuke Uchiha, and Sakura Haruno, sensei'd by Kakashi Hatake. I will put the other team requests into consideration. Dismissed." The Jonin quickly filed out of the room. Nero and Kurenai left together. Kurenai had been happy all day, most likely because Nero had taken Kurenai as his mate the night before.
"Hey Nero!" Kakashi called after them. Nero stopped and turned around.
"Yes?"
"What did you mean by Naruto's abilities can't be taught to a human? Isn't he human?" Kakashi asked.
"Technically, no. His mother is like me." he replied.
"Kushina was a Kitsune?" he asked.
"Not was. Is." Nero said.
"She's still alive? Where is she?" he asked.
"It is not my secret to tell. If you want to know, ask Naruto. And don't tell anyone. If you do…" he trailed off. Kakashi nodded.
"Also, if you wish to keep all of your limbs, I suggest you don't show up late. My son isn't as patient as I am." Nero said, walking away, holding hands with Kurenai.
Namikaze Compound
Naruto tied Kaminari Arashi to his waist, ready to head out to the academy, when Nero and Kurenai walked in.
"Hey, Gaki." Nero said.
"Hey, Tou-san, Kurenai." he said, "I was about to head to the academy."
"Try not to kill any of your classmates or teammates." Kurenai said. She had taken to saying that whenever Naruto went to the academy, as she knew he inherited Nero's love of severing limbs.
"I'll try." He said, smirking.
"Remember: An ally today is an enemy tomorrow, and…"
"Teamwork is integral to survival." Naruto finished. Nero nodded. Naruto headed toward the door.
"Later." He said.
Konoha Academy
Naruto walked into the classroom. He took his usual seat next to Sasuke.
"Hey." Sasuke greeted.
"Yo." Naruto replied.
"New sword?" Sasuke asked, noticing the different handle.
"Yeah. I'll show it to you later." Naruto said. Sasuke nodded, and leaned back, Naruto already doing the same.
"3, 2, 1..." they counted off at the same time. And thus begun the usual battle for the seat next to Sasuke.
It ended as usual, with Ino taking her seat upon seeing that Naruto was sitting there, knowing better than to mess with the blonde Namikaze. Sakura however?
Naruto didn't even give her time to yell. "Shut up Sakura." She would've yelled then, but Naruto's sword was now at her throat, blade seemingly shimmering with bloodlust. "Shut up." He repeated, now glaring at her. She gulped, then nodded. Naruto sheathed his sword and returned to his previous sitting position. Sakura shakily sat in her seat. Iruka walked in 5 minutes later.
"Hello, everyone." He said with a smile, "Today you'll find out which teams you will be on, as well as who your teammates are."
He began announcing the teams "Team 1 will be…" Naruto mostly drowned them out until he heard his name. "Team 7 will be Naruto Uzumaki- Namikaze, Sakura Haruno," a "Crap" was heard from Naruto, "and Sasuke Uchiha." a "YEAH!" was heard from Sakura. Naruto looked towards Sasuke.
"Well, at least there's ONE person on my team who won't drive me nuts." He said. Sasuke smirked
"Same here." he replied.
"Their sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. Team 8 will be Hinata Hyuuga, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Their sensei will be Kurenai Yuuhi. Team 9 is still in circulation, so team 10 will be Shikamaru Nara, Ino Yamanaka, and Choji Akimichi. Their sensei will be Asuma Sarutobi. Your Jonin sensei's will pick you up from this room when they arrive." not five minutes after he said that, Asuma and Kurenai walked in the room and retrieved their teams.
Roughly ten minutes after that, Kakashi walked into the room.
"Kakashi! You're early! Well, for you, anyway…" Iruka said surprised.
"Yeah, well, I heard from Nero that Naruto isn't very patient." Kakashi whispered to Iruka, who nodded.
"Team 7, meet me on the roof." He said, before disappearing via leaf Shunshin. Sasuke followed suit, while Naruto teleported to the roof. Sakura was forced to walk (HA!).
Academy Rooftop
Kakashi arrived at the rooftop in seconds. He was surprised, however, to find Naruto already there, with Sasuke appearing not 3 seconds later.
"How'd you get here before me Naruto?" Kakashi asked.
"Teleportation. It's instant movement, opposed to very fast movement like the Shunshin." Naruto explained.
"Like the Hiraishin?" Kakashi asked.
"No. It's faster, though mine's less precise. I can't use it in battle yet, though Tou-san has shown me how it's used in battle. In short, you don't want to be on the receiving end of it." Naruto said. Surprised, Kakashi could only nod in understanding.
Eventually, Sakura showed up.
"Now that we're all here, why don't we introduce ourselves?"
"You first. As our future sensei, we, specifically I, have to know if we can trust you." Naruto said.
"You sound as if you expect me to betray you."
"A friend today is an enemy tomorrow." Kakashi nodded.
"All right. My name is Kakashi Hatake. I like Icha Icha, I dislike people who hate Icha Icha and fan girls. My Hobbies are reading Icha Icha, and a lot of other stuff that isn't really important right now. My dream, well, I never really thought about it much. My specialties are ninjutsu and my Sharingan eye." He said, lifting up his headband briefly so they could see it.
"Where did you get that?" Sasuke asked.
"My dear, dear friend gave it to me to save our other teammate." Kakashi said, pulling his headband back down. Naruto nodded.
"Okay, I'll trust you, for now at least." he said.
"Thanks. Okay, you first pinkie." Kakashi said, pointing to Sakura.
"I'm Sakura Haruno, and I like…(Looks at Sasuke) my hobbies…(Looks at Sasuke) my dream…(Looks at Sasuke and squeals)."
"And what about dislikes and specialties?" Kakashi asked.
"I hate Naruto-baka and Ino-pig! My specialties? Well, I have good chakra control…" she said.
'Great, a fan girl… maybe I can get Kurenai or Anko to help me get rid of that.' Kakashi thought.
"Uchiha, you're next." Kakashi said, pointing to Sasuke.
"I'm Sasuke Uchiha. I like my Nii-san and my Kaa-chan, my friends, and hanging out with Naruto. I dislike fan girls, sweet things, and my Tou-san, for reasons I'd rather not discuss. My hobbies are training, mostly. My dream is to make my clan proud of me, and help my brother lead it to greatness. My specialties lie in my clan's jutsu and my Sharingan."
"You've unlocked the Sharingan?" Kakashi asked, surprised.
"Yeah. I unlocked it during a spar with Naruto. He nearly cut my arm off."
"You tried to set me on fire. I retaliated." Naruto responded.
"Wow. So, how strong are you two?" Kakashi asked.
"I'm roughly high Chunin, according to my brother." Sasuke replied.
"I'm High Jonin in taijutsu and kenjutsu. I'm high Chunin in everything else." Naruto replied, tapping the handle of his Nodachi.
"Impressive. Oh, Naruto, your turn."
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki- Namikaze. I like my Tou-san, my Kaa-chan, Inari-san, Kurenai, and my friends. I dislike arrogant people, fan girls, and people who can't see past their own beliefs. My hobbies are training, pranking, and hanging out with Sasuke. My dream is to resurrect my clans, and succeed my Tou-san."
"Which Tou-san?"
"Both, I guess. Being Hokage would be cool, and taking Tou-san's place could take thousands of years."
"Okay. Specialties?"
"Kenjutsu, Taijutsu, and I plan on also specializing in ninjutsu as soon as my Nature manipulation gets better."
"Alright. Meet me at training ground 7 at 10 tomorrow for the Genin test."
"But sensei, we already passed the test!" Sakura said, confused.
"That was just a way to weed out the ones that wouldn't stand a chance at passing. Oh, and I'd advise you not eat, unless you like throwing up." he said, leaving in a Shunshin.
"So a final exam, huh? Sounds fun." Naruto said, grinning.
"Yeah. I hope we'll get to fight him." Sasuke said
"Yeah, that would be really fun."
"Are you nuts? He's a Jonin!" Sakura said.
"So? I've survived spars with my Tou-san, who is stronger than my birth Tou-san, the Yondaime Hokage. Rank does not equal strength. If it did, I'd be a Jonin already." Naruto said.
"Besides," Sasuke said, "It's not likely he'd fight us at full strength. Well, he might if he was facing you." He pointed at Naruto, who only grinned in response.
"True. Well," He said, standing up, "I'm going to Ichiraku's, you coming?" Naruto asked, looking towards Sasuke.
"Sure, got nothing better to do." they both disappeared, leaving Sakura alone on the roof.
Ichiraku's Ramen Bar
Naruto and Sasuke appeared in front of Ichiraku's. Sasuke wobbled.
"Dammit Naruto! I told you, if you're going to teleport me with you, warn me first!" He shouted. Naruto chuckled.
"But it's funnier this way." He said. Sasuke grumbled. They walked inside.
"Hey, Teuchi-oji, Ayame-nee, your favorite customer is here!" Naruto shouted.
"Hey, Naruto! Oh, you brought Sasuke with you this time?" Ayame asked. Naruto often brought Sasuke with him when he went to get Ichiraku's, so she wasn't surprised to se him.
"Yup. The usual please." Naruto said, sitting down on his barstool.
"Same." Sasuke said, sitting next to him. Ayame told the orders to her dad, who was in the kitchen. She leaned her elbows on the counter.
"So, you two on the same team?" she asked.
"Yeah, actually." Naruto says.
"It makes things a lot simpler." Sasuke adds.
"Good for you guys!" she says.
"Ayame, Pickup!" Teuchi Shouts from the kitchen.
"Be right back." She says dashing into the kitchen. She comes back out with their ramen, which Naruto practically inhales the second it's put in front of him. Sasuke eats slower, while Naruto orders seconds.
"Your paying for this." Sasuke says to Naruto, who was already on his fifth bowl.
"Sure." Naruto says between bowls.
After 10 bowls for Naruto, and 4 for Sasuke, they said goodbye to Ayame and Teuchi.
"That was good!" Naruto says, patting his stomach.
"Yeah, it was. You're still a glutton, though." Sasuke says.
"Ass." Naruto replies.
"What do you think the Genin test will be?" Sasuke wonders aloud.
"Dunno. I heard that it differs from Jonin to Jonin. We'll know when he tells us what it is. One thing, though," Naruto says, "eat breakfast. You'll need your strength." Sasuke nods.
"See you, Naruto." Sasuke says, starting to head towards the Uchiha clan compound.
"Later." Naruto says, and heads toward his own house.
Namikaze Compound
Naruto made his way to the kitchen, only to see Nero and Kurenai sitting at the table.
"Hey, Tou-san, Kurenai." he said.
"Hey." They said.
"I met my team today." Naruto said.
"Who's on it?" Nero asked.
"Well, sadly, Sakura's on it. But on the plus side, Sasuke is too. Our sensei is some guy named Kakashi Hatake."
"Do you trust them?" Nero asked.
"I trust Sasuke. I don't trust Sakura. It's too soon to tell about Kakashi." Naruto said.
"Smart. Though, give Kakashi a chance. He was Minato's student, and I'm sure that, given your relation, he at least wouldn't betray you." Nero said. Naruto nodded.
"Hey, Tou-san, do you know anything about the Genin test that the sensei's give their future teams?" Naruto asked.
"Somewhat, though if you're trying to find out what Kakashi will be doing, stop now. I don't know, and if I did, you know I wouldn't tell you."
"I'm not trying to find out what he's gonna do. I was hoping for more background information."
"Better ask Kurenai-chan, then. She's a Jonin, too, Naruto. She'll know more than me." Nero said, looking at Kurenai.
"Okay. Kurenai, what exactly is the purpose of it?" Naruto asked, now also looking at Kurenai.
"Well, Naruto-kun, it's a mix of things. One, it's an exam, as I'm sure Kakashi told you." Seeing Naruto nod, she continued, "Two, it's so that the sensei's know what you're capable of. We need to know what you can do to be able to train you, as well as what you need to improve upon, and what you've already mastered." Kurenai explained. Naruto nodded.
"Alright. Can you tell me any thing about Kakashi?" Naruto inquired.
"Only that he's one of the villages strongest Jonin. I honestly don't know that much about him." Kurenai said with a shrug.
"Thanks." Naruto said. He walked into the kitchen, coming out a few minutes later with a ramen cup. He walked into the living room and sat on the sofa, eating out of the cup.
'What will the test be tomorrow?' he thought.
Uchiha Compound
"Kaa-chan, Nii-san, I'm home." Sasuke said, walking into his house. He didn't get a response.
'That's unusual…' he thought. He always got a response from his mother when he came home. He walked through the house, looking to find his mother, brother, or even his father. He walked towards his parent's room, and heard shouting.
"You'd betray the clan!" he heard his father shout.
"No. You betrayed the clan when you decided to betray Konoha, father." Sasuke heard his brother say calmly.
"Please, Fugaku, don't do this." his mother pleaded.
"SHUT UP YOU BITCH!" he heard a slap, which he guessed was Fugaku hitting Mikoto. He then heard the sound of a bone cracking, and he looked into the room and saw his father on the ground and his brother standing over him with his arm extended out. Itachi saw Sasuke.
"Hello Otouto." Itachi said in his usual tone. He gestured towards their mother.
"Tend to her, Sasuke." he said. Sasuke rushed over to his downed mother and helped her up.
"Are you alright, Kaa-chan?" He asked. She nodded.
"I'm fine, Sochi." She said, standing up. Sasuke held onto her. Fugaku stood up as well, fury evident on his face
"How dare you! I am the head of the Uchiha clan and your Tou-san!" he shouted, Sharingan blazing. Itachi activated his Sharingan as well.
"I no longer consider you my Tou-san, and as for the clan head, the Sandaime has known about your planned betrayal for years. He has given me permission to end you at any time, and I would become the new clan head." Fugaku's eyes widened. He had known?
"How?" Fugaku said.
"The Sandaime is not as blind as you think. Nero appearing in the village changed everything. Naruto is powerful, Sasuke has friends, and the Uchiha have lost some of our arrogance."
"You would keep the clan under the thumb of the Senju?" Fugaku asked. Itachi shook his head.
"Tou-san. This village was built by the Uchiha and the Senju. We are just as important as the Senju were. The only difference is that the Uchiha were bitter about the Shodai not being an Uchiha." Fugaku's scowl deepens.
"The Uchiha are the most powerful clan in the world!" Fugaku shouts.
"Such arrogance. I see now that there is no hope for you, Tou-san. Farewell." Itachi says. Fugaku rushes him. Itachi meets him halfway there, and they meet, fist to fist. Fugaku tries to hit him with his other fist, but Itachi ducks down and performs a leg sweep, knocking him off of his feet. Fugaku rolls backwards and begins making hand signs. Itachi doesn't even give him the chance. He quickly dashes forward and throws a kunai he kept on him. Fugaku dodged, only to be hit in the head by a roundhouse kick, which sent him through the door. Fugaku looked up to see Itachi standing over him.
"Still think you're an elite?" Itachi asked. Fugaku snarled and charged again. Itachi quickly knocked him back down. Fugaku moved to get back up while Itachi grabbed the kunai he had thrown.
"DIE!" Fugaku shouted, once again running towards Itachi. When his fist made contact, however, "Itachi" poofed out of existence.
"A Kage Bunshin? How?" Fugaku felt a pain in his back.
"You need to pay more attention, Tou-san." Itachi said behind him, stabbing the kunai into Fugaku's spinal column. He then twisted the kunai, breaking Fugaku's spine. Fugaku fell to the floor, screaming. Itachi walked so that he was facing his father.
"Pathetic." Was all that he said before he stabbed his father in the heart, killing him. He left the kunai embedded into Fugaku's corpse. He walked back into the room, where Sasuke and Mikoto still were.
"Is he…" Sasuke asked, getting a nod from his brother.
"Yes. It is done. He is dead." Itachi said. Sasuke sighed in relief.
"So that makes you the clan head, right, Nii-san?" Sasuke asked.
"Technically, Kaa-chan is in charge until Sandaime-sama makes thee decree official. To do that, I have to report to him. Can you take care of things here, Otouto?" Itachi asked, getting a nod from Sasuke. Itachi shunshined to the Hokage tower to tell the Sandaime what happened. Sasuke, meanwhile, tended to his mother.
"I'm fine, Sochi. It was only a slap. I AM a Jonin, remember?" she said. Sasuke nodded and let go of her. She summoned a few ANBU from the clan that were loyal to the village and they began to clean up the site while her and Sasuke went to the living room to await Itachi.
Hokage Tower
Itachi was currently standing before the Hokage, relaying the details of everything that had happened tonight. After he finished, Sarutobi stood up and began to walk out of his office, motioning for Itachi to follow him. Sarutobi summoned two ANBU.
"I want one of you to bring Mikoto Uchiha to the council chamber, and the other to bring Nero and Naruto. Dismissed." the ANBU shunshined to their respective destinations.
Council Chamber
The entire council, both shinobi and civilian, were gathered in the chamber.
"Why have you called us here, Hokage-sama?" one civilian council member asked.
"I have called you here to announce two important changes. First, Fugaku Uchiha is dead." There were gasps coming from the civilian council, and looks of surprise from the Shinobi council.
"How did he die, Hokage-sama?" another council member asked.
"Itachi killed him." Nero said, arriving with Naruto, Kurenai, Mikoto, and Itachi behind him. There were more gasps and more looks.
"Why are you here, Nero-san?" Shibi Aburame asked.
"Ask the old man." was all he said. Seeing the looks, Sarutobi responded to the question.
"He is here because this is an important announcement. Though not a clan head, he does have a great deal of importance to Konoha. Naruto is here because he is a clan head, though still young. As for Kurenai…" the old man trailed off.
"She's here because, as far as my people are concerned, she's my wife." that got looks of shock from everyone, including Sarutobi.
"How… When…?" Was all he could say.
"When? Last night. How? Simple, I'm back to full power." That made the civilians almost piss themselves.
"How did that happen?" Sarutobi asked.
"None of your business." Nero replied. Sarutobi decided not to press.
"Very well, then. We are getting off track. Now then, as was previously stated, Itachi indeed killed Fugaku. However, given certain evidence, I have decided that Itachi is not guilty of any crime. It appears that Fugaku was planning to overthrow me, and Itachi killed him to prevent it. Now, Itachi had suspected that Fugaku was planning this for quite some time, and had told me of his suspicions. I and he had reached an agreement that, should this very thing happen, that he would be made clan head upon his father's death. This is the second reason I called you here. Itachi Uchiha is now the clan head of the Uchiha clan." the shinobi council merely nodded at this revelation. They had never liked Fugaku, and it was normal for the child to succeed the parent. The civilians, well, most of them had fainted upon hearing that Nero was back to full power.
"Anything else, Hokage-sama?" Shikaku Nara asked.
"No. Dismissed." The shinobi half left, save Nero, Naruto, Kurenai, Mikoto, and Itachi. The civilians left immediately, not wanting to be near Nero at this moment.
"So, how's Sasuke taking all this?" Naruto asked Itachi.
"Fairly well. He seems more concerned for Kaa-san than anything else."
"I'm not surprised. He never liked Fugaku." Naruto replied. Itachi nodded.
"So you and Nero are married?" Mikoto asked Kurenai, who blushed, then nodded.
"Kind of. We're his equivalent of married. I'm his mate. I'll live as long as he does, and I'm like him now." Kurenai answered.
"So you're a Kitsune now?"
"Yes. He turned me into one last night." Kurenai's eyes glazed over, remembering the events of last night, and how Nero marked her.
"ooh! Looks like someone had fun last night!" Mikoto said. Kurenai blushed even more.
"*Ahem* Ladies." Nero said, dragging them out of their conversation.
"Now then, Mikoto, you are fine with letting Itachi become the clan head?" Sarutobi asked.
"Yes."
"Nero? What are your thoughts on this matter?" Sarutobi questioned.
"Well, killing Fugaku was a step in the right direction, but he wasn't the only Uchiha planning the coup, was he, Itachi?" Nero looked towards Itachi, who nodded.
"You are correct in assuming that. No, there were others. My father was just the leader. What are you suggesting we do?" Itachi asked.
"Simple. Deal with the traitors." Nero replied.
"Are you suggesting we wipe out the Uchiha clan?" Sarutobi asked, surprised.
"Not the whole clan. Just the conspirators. Do any of you seriously think that, just by killing Fugaku, the coup won't happen? It might be slowed down a bit, but you haven't prevented it. There just isn't a leader. To successfully prevent it from ever happening, all of the conspirators must be killed."
"Do you think we could reason with them?" Sarutobi asked.
"Not likely, but with Fugaku dead, they may be willing to. It all depends on how good you are at negotiations. Try it if you feel you should, but if negotiations fail, alert myself and Itachi." Nero said.
"Thank you, Nero."
"No problem, old man. Can I go now?"
"Yes, you and Naruto may leave." Nero, Naruto, and Kurenai headed for the door.
"Tell Sasuke I'll see him tomorrow." Naruto said as they were leaving. Itachi nodded his head.
"Mikoto-san, Itachi-kun, I need you to bring the Uchiha elders here, along with anyone of your clan who played a big part in organizing the coup." Itachi and Mikoto nodded, then shunshined to the Uchiha compound.
"I'm too old for this shit." Sarutobi said, sitting back in his chair.
And done! Finally! Sorry it's so short, though. I tried to make it longer, but I couldn't.
Anyway, I know I promised that I would start the wave arc, but I'm starting to lose my muse for this story. So, sorry to say, I'm putting this story on a brief hiatus. Probably for about a month. During this hiatus, I'm gonna focus more on my Shinigami ninja story. I WILL come back to this, though, I promise.
Forever in the Sky,
The Red Star