Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto.

Rivers of Hades

Chapter 4

The week had passed quickly. Aside from a little awkwardness when Hinata was around, there weren't many problems for Naruto. He still wasn't sure what to do about Hinata had said, so he decided that he wouldn't mention it to anyone, and spend more time around her to see how he felt. What he was sure of was that Hinata was nice to be around, if a little too shy.

Once the other instructors saw that Iruka's advice was good, they warmed up to Naruto. Apparently, either Inu or the Hokage had told Kurenai about the Uzumaki exercises. When she talked to Naruto about it, she commented about how even Jounin would have trouble with something like that, and asked how an academy student could even attempt it. Naruto responded that until he had enough control to do the water walking exercise, the point was to hold yourself in place without touching the ground, and then push yourself out of the water. That left Kurenai and the other instructors, who had listened in, wondering if they could benefit from the exercise any.

Naruto's private sessions with Inu-san had changed slightly. Instead of focusing only on the control exercises, the ANBU had also begun helping with the other aspects of being a ninja. Some of it, like a mini-lecture on the meanings of all the hand seals and their effect on a jutsu, went completely over his head, but Inu-san said he would understand it eventually. He was also given basic training in the use of weaponry beyond kunai and shuriken, although Inu-san had helped him with those as well.

After a discussion between Naruto, Inu-san, and the Hokage, Naruto was being given a chance to learn one of the two advanced bunshin techniques Inu had told him about. Initially, Sarutobi had been against it, asking why Naruto should learn an advanced technique before he could use the basic version. Inu replied that Naruto already had better control than most of the other students but still couldn't perform a basic Bunshin. After Naruto discovered he could now properly perform the leaf control exercise, Inu had him begin a new exercise, tree-climbing, in addition to continuing the whirlpool one. He was nowhere near done with it, but it still put him slightly ahead of his classmates.

After hearing that, Sarutobi thought about it for a second, wondering aloud what the problem could be, although Naruto was the only person in the room who was unaware of the real reason. Finally, Sarutobi relented and asked whether Naruto should try Mizu Bunshin or Tsuchi Bunshin. It was a tough call. Mizu would work with his affinity, while Tsuchi would work well just about anywhere he went. Eventually, it was decided to try and teach him Tsuchi Bunshin, as his eventual teacher would probably know the more common Mizu Bunshin.

Now the three of them were in Naruto's usual training spot, so he could learn the jutsu in secret. Sarutobi, despite his faith in Naruto's potential, still felt that he needed the basic Bunshin before he could move on. He had to admit, though, this did stand a chance of working. He was well aware that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing endlessly, expecting different results. Regardless of how Naruto performed, he would still have a new jutsu to work on.

He was never so glad to be wrong. After maybe five or six minutes of Inu showing him the sequence of seals and Naruto duplicating them, Naruto was ready to try. With a cry of "Tsuchi bunshin no jutsu," his first attempt was underway. It was a remarkable attempt from an academy student.

A large amount of earth gathered near Naruto, and an arm extended from the mound, flailed around, and dissolved back into mud. With a little coaching, he was able to manifest the entire upper half of his body for a second try. Five tries later, he had the technique down.

"Well, I'll be. Congratulations, Naruto-kun. You proved me wrong. That is a proper Tsuchi Bunshin. Now, you just need to work on forming them faster and in greater numbers."

"Alright! A new technique, just in time for that assessment! That reminds me, how come last year's class didn't do this?"

"For several years, I have been arguing with the council over the academy standards and curriculum. I feel that the academy standards have relaxed too much lately. The focus on book work doesn't help, either. This year, for some reason, the council gave in, and agreed to an assessment of a class halfway through the academy. A set of standards was created for what should and should not be possible of those students. Should the majority of your class not meet those standards, the curriculum will be changed for the next year, in an attempt to fix the problems."

"I don't know, oji-san. I'm guessing they did it so the Uchiha could show off. As if his ego wasn't already the size of the Hokage monument."

"Perhaps he is a bit arrogant, but hasn't he earned that right?" Naruto could tell there was something important behind that question.

"How has he earned it? He's treated nice because he's the 'last Uchiha'. The teachers always try to help him, even though he won't accept it. Then, when I ask for help, they throw stuff at me and tell me to go away. The way I see it, the only thing he's really earned is his class ranking."

Sarutobi cracked a small grin at that.

"Once again, the Uzumaki mindset surfaces. A determination to earn what you have, rather than have it given to you. You might be right. Sasuke is treated very well, but he has earned very little of it. Some of it stems from the fact that he watched his family die in front of him at the hands of his brother, and is acceptable, to a point. Much more, however, may come because he is as a result of that, the 'last Uchiha'. One of Konoha's greatest weaknesses is the very issue we spoke of before I gave you the Uzumaki scroll."

"Then, when I become Hokage, I'm going to change it. I don't know how, but I'll do it."

"I wish you luck. The clans have grown used to their privileges. They will not give them up easily."

"Um, Naruto-kun, I have a question for you." Inu spoke up.

"What is it, Inu-san?"

"You are listed as the dead last at the academy, and are generally viewed as a smiling idiot. Right now, however, you aren't acting like either. What is going on?"

Naruto cracked a grin.

"That's easy. Isn't one the of the points of being a good ninja to be under-estimated by your target? And isn't another point not showing what you're really capable of?"

He got nods from both shinobi.

"Well, isn't the best way to do both to be seen as an idiot? The rookie of the year is expected to be the best out of his year. The dobe is supposed to be the worst, and is under-estimated. This makes it easier to surprise your opponent."

"So, just how much of your performance at the academy is this... act?"

"The academy? Not much. I honestly suck at paper tests."

"So parts of your personality are just an act. What about the orange?"

Naruto's smile dimmed a little.

"Sort of. It gets me attention, and I know it looks stupid. It's also my favorite color, and it's all any store in the village will sell me."

That got the attention of the two adults. The elder of the two spoke.

"I wish you had told me sooner, Naruto-kun. I could have told you where you could buy something else."

"I've been to every store. Most chase me out, calling me demon and threatening to kill me."

"Hmm... Well, I could have arranged to order you some clothing and other supplies from outside the village."

Naruto perked up at that.

"Really? Could you do that for me, then? Just what you think would work?"

"Certainly. Since part of your monthly stipend is meant to cover clothing and supplies, I'll just take the money from there."

"Thanks, oji-san. You're the greatest."

"I try."

--

The assessment had come, and was now almost over. Naruto had done well, better than just about everyone else. He guessed that most of the judges had wanted to fail him on everything, judging from their glares. Unfortunately for them, with the Hokage serving as another judge, they were forced to grade honestly. The last section was today, and it was the jutsu test. What they had to do was perform their best jutsu.

Some would only be able to perform one of the academy jutsu, but some would attempt one of their clan techniques. The Uchiha had just pulled off a Katon technique of some kind, and everyone started clapping, some louder than others. Next was Naruto, and finally Yamanaka Ino.

When Naruto's name was called, the audience began muttering. Naruto was planning on doing the Tsuchi Bunshin, as it was one of his most reliable techniques at the moment. His second best was Futon: Daitoppa, which he had found in his mother's jutsu library from the scroll. After that came the other two academy jutsu.

What got on his nerves most were the comments from his classmates.

"The dobe's gonna make a fool out of himself in front of the Hokage!"

"Naruto sucks, doesn't he Sasuke-kun?"

"Hn. Dobe."

Naruto's fists clenched as he tried to block the voices out and calm down. Unknown to anyone, one of the seals on Naruto's back began to glow. The kanji for ice.

Naruto was about to start yelling like a little kid, shouting at his classmates to shut up, when he felt a strange feeling come over him. A cold, almost frigid, sensation ran through his veins. Acting on instinct, he extended his arms and called out the technique's name.

"Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Cocytus!"

From his hands spouted streams of water. Whatever the water came into contact with was instantly covered in an inch of solid ice.

The entire audience was silent. Calmly, the Hokage stood, and made his way down to where Naruto stood, avoiding the spots of ice in his path. He walked over to an object that had been caught by the jutsu. It was a kunai, thrown by someone in the audience. Caught by the jutsu in mid-flight, it was now frozen to the ground. Examining it, he had one thought.

'What idiot tries to kill someone in front of the Hokage, and with a kunai that has the owner's name engraved in it?'

His attempts to free the kunai manually failed. Resorting to Katon jutsu, he noticed that the ice was rather stubborn, requiring more heat to melt it than normal ice would. To melt the patch of ice, he had to resort to Katon: Karyuu Endan, an act which seemed like overkill, both to him and to everyone watching. Breaking the kunai free, he hands it to an ANBU for further investigation. Turning to Naruto, Sarutobi speaks to him in a voice only the two could hear.

"Naruto-kun, first off, that was very impressive. Second, you really shouldn't be practicing those jutsu unsupervised."

"Oji-san, I haven't even tried to do one before. All I know is that I was trying to calm down for this, and this weird feeling came over me. Then, I just called out he name, and well, this happened."

"Hmm... I see. Well, I'll ask you not to try any of the other five for a while, at least not without my knowledge."

"Deal."

Sarutobi turned around to face the audience, who were currently either bracing for an attack or scared speechless.

"Is there a problem?"

Sheepishly, the audience sat down, and Sarutobi walked back to his seat.

'Activating a jutsu like that through sheer will power. Impressive. And the River jutsu seem to require much higher-level jutsu to counter-act them. Good to know.'

Naruto turned around to return to the rest of the class, whose jaws were wide open. The exception was Sasuke-teme, whose teeth were grinding together hard enough to cause sparks.

"Dobe... Where did you learn that jutsu?"

"Didn't you hear me, teme? Uzumaki Hijutsu. It's a clan technique."

"You don't have any parents. How could you have any clan techniques?" piped up a random Sasuke fangirl.

"Obviously, I had some at some point. The Hokage just gave me my mother's clan scroll a couple weeks ago."

That slightly abated the looks. He sat down, and due to a sudden seating swap by his classmates, he found himself next to Hinata, who was imitating a turtle, trying to hide in her jacket.

"C-Congr-gratulations, N-Naruto-kun."

"Thanks, Hinata-chan."

'You know, Hinata's really not so bad. That stuttering, though. I wonder if that stuttering is an actual speech problem, or if she's just really shy and nervous all the time. I just need to get to know her better.'

When everyone had calmed down, the Hokage cleared his throat and called out, "Will Yamanaka Ino please come down?"

Ino stood up, walked over to Shikamaru, and drug him down to the platform. She then performed her clan's Shintenshin no jutsu. It was nowhere near what it was supposed to be, but for a ten-year old, it was still rather impressive.

Sarutobi stood, thanking the students for their performance, and the audience for coming. The students were dismissed for the rest of the day.

-- -

AN: Next chapter is after a two year time-skip. It picks up after the graduation exam. Also, this is not going to be a Genius- or Super- Naruto fic. He's just going to be better than he is in canon.

Next time: Graduation

-- -

Jutsu List:

Uzumaki Hijutsu: Yomi no Ookawa: Cocytus -- Uzumaki Secret Technique: River of Hell: Cocytus