Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Chapter 6: Academy Finale

With Obito and Itachi:

It had been over 5 years since the massacre of the clan happened, and Itachi still couldn't get that night out of his head. The screams, the horrors on everyone's faces moments before he ended their lives, the look on his brother's face when Itachi had to do what he did. All of that continued to haunt his nightmares. Countless times he had thought of just putting an end to his misery once and for all, but every single time he just could not go through with it. What use would it be if he killed himself right now? He had a mission to do, no matter how much the guilt haunted him. All of a sudden, he heard a signal emitting from his ring, they needed him back.

"Obito-sensei, it's time. The leader has called for us." Itachi relayed the information to Obito.

"Fuck, just when I was actually about to get some action, Pain really has the worst timing imaginable." Obito cursed at the leader before putting on his mask and voice modulator to make him sound like a 13 year old dumbass. He was now in his Tobi persona.

Obito and Itachi made their presence known in the Akatsuki meeting, with their holograms lined up perfectly in terms of their location on the hierarchy. In the middle stood a spiky-haired man with two purple eyes completely surrounded by circles. The Rinnegan.

"Ah Tobi, Itachi. So nice to finally grace us with your presence. Please don't be late next time or I will personally make you Orochimaru's new toy to play with." The leader of the Akatsuki stated, eyes piercing right into the souls of Obito and Itachi.

"Sorry leader-sama, won't happen again." Itachi apologized to the leader, who looked to continue on with the meeting. Obito on the other hand, was not so agreeing.

"Ooooooo Leader-sama is getting mad, hopefully he doesn't take it out on Tobi." Obito said in his joking dumbass voice, which seemed to piss off the leader even more. He was never the biggest fan of the Tobi persona, but if it wasn't for his own boss, he would have already had Obito killed long ago.

"Tobi, if you don't shut the fuck up right now, your ass is kicked out of the Akatsuki. Nobody wants a dumbass like you on the council anyways, but the only reason you're here right now is because we don't have any more members. Now before I was so rudely interrupted by an ungrateful bitch, I was saying that it's finally time to move onto phase 2 of the plan. Now that everyone has been recruited, we can assign the teams accordingly. Now I have passed out these scrolls, you write the name of the person you wish to be partnered with, and if two people match, they shall be partners. Otherwise, they shall be paired up with someone of my choosing." The leader explained.

"But leader-sama, why do we need to partner up? If I work alone, I can truly show the world what true art looks like without having to kill someone in the process." A blonde-haired man said.

"Shut up Deidara, you will do as I command. Being partnered up will ensure that none of you fuckers step out of line and betray the akatsuki. And if one of you does, then just remember, I know everything that happens, no matter what." The leader said, piercing his eyes into Deidara's soul.

This made nearly everyone in the akatsuki shudder. Their leader had this uncanny ability to instill fear into even the strongest of opponents, and with a gaze like that, even Madara Uchiha himself would think twice of ever crossing their leader.

Obito however, was not fazed. He knew what his mission was, his life goal. To bring down anyone who had any chance of hurting Naruto, the last surviving legacy of the man he looked up to as a father. Nothing would stop him from seeing Naruto reach his goals, absolutely nothing.

He thought back to his time as a genin, when he, Rin, and Kakashi used to hang out every day, without the threat of war on the horizon, completing missions to the best of their abilities, and training nonstop to become the best they could possibly be. How he wished more than anything that he could go back to those times, when his best friend and his rock were still alive, the man who challenged him to be better than everyone else, the man who no matter what, always had his back. His best friend. Taken from him in one simple move, one simple kunai to the chest, by the woman he loved nonetheless.

From there, nearly all feeling in his heart was stripped away. If it wasn't for Minato getting there on time, there was no telling what Obito would do. Minato had saved him from the darkness, brought him back from the pain of losing the one person he could always count on, and gave him a new purpose in life. Obito owed his life to Minato, and protecting his son from any danger was the best way he knew how to repay the man that gave him his life again.

Nothing would harm Naruto, nobody would ever lay their fucking hands on him. I will make sure of that. Obito thought to himself.

Obito was zapped back to reality by the shrilling sound of their leader's voice.

"Tobi and Itachi Uchiha, you will be one pair. Kisame Hoshigaki and Orochimaru will be another, Sasori of the Red Sand and Deidara, Hidan and Kakuzu, and finally, Konan and I will be a pair. If you have any problems, well tough titties because those are the partners that I decided. Your mission to gather the jinchurikis begins now, and the moment you fail will be the moment you see what these eyes can really do, so DO NOT FAIL ME." The leader bellowed.

Agreeing to their assigned positions, everyone left the meeting except for Konan.

"Nagato, are you sure those were the pairings you wanted to make? I'm getting a weird energy from both Tobi and Itachi, like they're plotting something." Konan expressed her concern to her friend.

"Relax Konan, they're both members of the same clan, the clan that is known throughout the world as the most feared and the most dangerous clan of all time, and those two were able to wipe the entire clan out in one night. Imagine what they could do to us if they really tried. Plus, we all have the same goals, to create a world free of conflict and warfare. I don't see a reason to engage in hostility with two of our strongest members, especially two members who could probably wipe out the entire akatsuki if they so wanted to." The man now identified as Nagato claimed. While Nagato was arrogant, he wasn't stupid. Knowing Tobi as the legendary Madara Uchiha, he knew that he would be incredibly stupid to try and challenge him to a fight, especially if he looked to continue serving as the god that he intended on being after his friend's death.

"I'm also getting an uneasy feeling about this mission as a whole. We created the akatsuki to be the bridge between nations in order to stop conflict, but with what our mission seems to be, we might only be adding fuel to the fire, while also putting a shitload of innocent lives at risk. You know this isn't what Yahiko would have wanted, it just feels like a cheap way to consolidate all the power in our possession." Konan iterated. She was never a fan of the methods Nagato had employed recently, but she also knew that whatever happened, his end goal was something that they all strived for, so she usually just shut up and let him do his thing.

This time was different though. In the past, Nagato only put out hits on people who were deemed to be too dangerous to be left out on the loose, those with high bounties that could be collected. This time it was different. Innocent lives were at risk, people who would eventually be killed by them in an attempt to get them to their ultimate goal. Unfortunately for her, there was no use in arguing her point of view right now, considering Nagato himself was so dead set on becoming the ruler of the world, and once he put his mind on something, he would not waver from it whatsoever.

"Nagato, I hope you know what exactly you're getting into, and that the people you kill don't die in vain." Konan stated before leaving Nagato all alone to his thoughts.

Is this really the right way? No, it has to be. If not this, then how the fuck would it be done? These sacrifices will be made for the greater good of humanity, I will make sure of it. We will reach our goals Yahiko, and soon enough, we shall create a world that you can be proud of, my old friend. Nagato thought before retreating back into the darkness.

Back with Obito and Itachi

"It has been 5 years since we left Konoha, I think it's time we return and give Lord 3rd the message of the Akatsuki's new plans." Obito said to Itachi.

Hearing the words 'Return to Konoha' sparked Itachi's interest. It has been 5 years since he last saw him, his younger brother, and the man he had given up his entire life and soul to protect. Hopefully he was doing much better now, and if everything was going according to plan, he should be graduating from the academy soon enough.

Soon, Sasuke, I'll be back to check on you. I hope you've been taking good care of yourself and you're honoring our family in the best way possible. Itachi thought.

So, Sasuke and Naruto. Hopefully you'll be graduating soon, can't wait to see how you boys turn out. And don't worry, your big brother will be there to cheer you on. Obito thought to himself before making the journey back to Konoha with Itachi.

Back in Konoha, after the 5 year timeskip. At the academy.

It had been 5 years since Naruto and Sasuke entered the academy. Throughout their time, their paths divulged in many different ways. Sasuke was still the biggest loner imaginable, only really holding up a conversation with Naruto without really caring for anyone else. He had built up some good relationships with the other clan heads, namely Shikamaru and Shino, two people who also found it boring to talk about shit that didn't matter in life, while building up at least a talking relationship with people like Ino, Sakura, and Hinata, the only three girls in his class who didn't seem to simp for him. He was still being hounded by his hoard of fangirls nearly every day, despite him giving zero indications of ever wanting to even learn their names. Sasuke had also consistently ranked at the top of the academy in nearly every facet of the school; placing at the top in academics, second in strength behind Naruto, and at the top in shinobi skills. His days were usually spent either at home reading, training, or going to the cemetery to talk to his parents. He was considered by many to be this year's great prodigy and was even compared to a younger version of Itachi throughout his time. Sasuke didn't understand what the villagers meant by this, but he took it to mean as though he was on the track to greatness, just like Itachi was before he was forced to kill the entire clan and go rogue. At that time, all he wanted was for Itachi to pay once and for all for what he had done, but slowly, with Obito telling him more and more about the Uchiha clan and their misgivings, he now wanted nothing more than to clear his brother's name. Clear the name of the greatest man Konoha had ever been blessed with, and become someone worthy of carrying Itachi's name.

Naruto on the other hand was a lot more friendly than Sasuke. Easily being able to make friends despite the prejudice seen against him by most of the students at the academy. Besides Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke, Naruto would forge a nearly unbreakable bond with Shikamaru Nara and Choji Akimichi, two people who either didn't care about Naruto's burden and chose to look at him like a normal person, or didn't know about Naruto's burden altogether. However, unlike Sasuke, Naruto was never great in school. Consistently ranking dead last in all written tests and shinobi skills contests, but he would place atop the class in terms of strength. Sometimes, Naruto felt that the teachers in the academy were out to get him, especially because there was no way he could actually be that stupid. He frequently complained to his mother about his thoughts, but she would always tell him the same thing, to suck it up and make them respect his work. Nobody became someone without going through hardships, and if he wanted his name known throughout the land, his mother made sure he would never be one to quit in the face of adversity.

Throughout their five years at the academy, Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Ino would become nearly inseparable. Spending their days training with each other, hanging out, pulling pranks, and dreaming about the future. Sakura even approached Kushina to try and get some help in becoming a shinobi, to which Kushina was more than eager to help out. Her training methods were extremely strict, often putting Sakura through intense physical pain and regimens, but it was all worth it in the end, as Sakura became one of the strongest people in the academy, and a seal master in her own right. She and Naruto grew to the point where people often mistook them for boyfriend and girlfriend, as she took a great interest in learning about Naruto's life, the pain he had to go through, and just how much he strived to overcome the hateful glares of the villagers. Sakura now wanted more than ever to be someone that could stand by Naruto's side and someone who Naruto could trust and come to love more than anyone. She would make sure her love for Naruto was not in vain, and that one day, he would return the feelings for her. However, she needed to get as strong as she could, if not to be there when Naruto or anyone needed her.

Ino on the other hand showcased immense improvement in her skills over the past five years, especially in her use of her clan's main jutsu. Finally taking an interest in shinobi skills, she was also able to build up a much better relationship with her father, who had always prodded for his pride and joy to take up the family style, and her natural talent for the mind techniques her family uses was second to none. Ino Yamanaka was destined for great things in the family, and her parents could not be more proud. She and Naruto forged an extremely strong friendship over the past 5 years, basically becoming his best friend overnight as their loud and outgoing personalities matched like two peas in a pod. Ino was always the one cheering the loudest for Naruto when he won and always the first one by his side when he fell. It was thanks to Ino that Naruto found hope once again. Hope that he could trust people once more without having to get burned or heartbroken.

But before any of that could take hold, they still needed to pass the academy, which for Naruto was looking even more unlikely than before.

"Failed, again." Iruka said as he delivered Naruto his test paper.

"But sensei, how? I know I answered the questions correctly, if you want I could bring up the test for you to see." Naruto tried to protest, but it was to no avail.

"I'm sorry Naruto, but I wasn't the one who marked your paper. Mizuki sensei insisted that he be the one to mark yours on his own, so if you have any questions, please direct them to him." Iruka stated.

Mizuki inwardly smirked as he looked directly at Naruto. There's no way your sorry ass passes now, fucking demon. I will make you pay for all the damage you caused Konoha. You should have been killed along with Lord 4th, not living among the people whose lives you ruined. I will be the great savior of Konoha by finally getting rid of the fucking demon that plagued it for the last 12 years.

Naruto could feel the killer intent being placed upon him by the silver-haired chunin instructor. He knew Mizuki had tampered with his work somehow, but he couldn't bring forth such an accusation without undeniable and irrefutable proof of tampering in the academy. The goddamn teacher's union had made sure of that. Not only that, but they also forbade any discussion of test scores and answers during or after writing the test, so there was no way for Naruto to confirm with his friends either. All they got was a sheet of paper that told them their grade and their score on the test, nothing which showed the correct answers nor the reason why the mark was what it was. Even with everything going against him, he approached Mizuki with an innocent look on his face.

"Mizuki sensei?" Naruto asked.

"What is it, Naruto-boy?" Mizuki plastered a fake smile on his face to make him seem more open and welcoming to the young boy.

"I don't understand how I got such a low mark on the test. I mean I checked my answers with my books the second I got home, and I know for sure I got them right. Is it possible that you just got my test score mixed up with someone else in the class? Maybe someone like Tamaki Ushimaraki? Because I know for sure I got at least 75% of them correct, not the 25% that I received here." Naruto protested.

"Well Naruto, it is true that you did get most of the answers correct, but you did not show your work in the method taught in class. So legally, I cannot give you the marks for the question because I did not see how you came to your answer." Mizuki lied. There was no such requirement to show the work on the test, but Naruto didn't know that.

"I'm sorry, but what kind of bullshit excuse is that? 'I didn't show my work.' There was nowhere that I was required to show my work on the test, not to mention nowhere did it say that I would lose marks if I didn't show my work. Plus, if I'm out there in a fight with some shinobi, you think they're going to give a shit about how I got to my jutsu that I will use? Or will they be more interested in coming up with a counter-attack to my moves?" Naruto retorted.

"Well I'm sorry Naruto, but rules are rules. Now go sit down, Iruka Sensei has something to tell you all." Mizuki stated, letting out a smirk as Naruto walked back to his seat.

Naruto made his way back to his seat, muttering something about how Mizuki cheated him out of a high grade on the test as he sat down.

"What's wrong, Naruto-kun?" Sakura asked him.

"That bastard Mizuki fucked me out of a good grade on the test. Then when I asked him why I got a low grade, he responded with 'Well you needed to show your work.'" Naruto complained. "I swear the only reason he screwed me over on that test was because he has some vendetta against Kurama or something."

"Well Naruto-kun, you were required to show your work on the test. The questions even said 'If you don't show your work, you won't get the full points.'" Sakura retorted.

"Really? Cuz my paper didn't have shit like that. I can't wait until we get out of here and finally become genin, I swear to god these people will be the death of me otherwise." Naruto said before slumping back into his seat.

That's weird, everyone should have had the same paper. Why did Naruto-kun have something different? I need to go check this out on my own time. Sakura thought. She turned her head to her best friend and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Ino, I need your help with something." Sakura said.

"What is it, Sakura?"

"Tonight, you and I are going to sneak into the teacher's lounge and get the tests written. Naruto-kun said something to me that I don't like. I think his test has been tampered with." Sakura whispered.

"HUH?!" Ino said loudly before getting smacked upside the head.

"Keep it down now will you? But yeah, as I said, I think someone messed with Naruto-kun's test. He told me that there was nowhere written in the questions that he had to show his work, and if there is one thing we can count on, Naruto-kun would never lie about something like that. We also both know his memory is some of the best in the world, so it would be highly unlikely that if he was asked to on his test, he would show his work. Someone gave him the wrong test so that he gets a bad mark on purpose." Sakura concluded.

"But who and why would do something like that?" Ino asked before it hit her. "Kurama. Of course, Naruto has the nine-tails inside of him so someone here is trying to prevent Naruto from being a shinobi."

"Exactly, so it's entirely possible that Naruto-kun has been sabotaged to get him to fail here and force him to go back to being a civilian." Sakura responded.

"So what's the plan?" Ino whispered back.

"We will need to sneak into the academy at night…" Sakura explained her plan, getting a nod and a confirmation from Ino before her attention was snapped back to the front of the room by Iruka's big head jutsu.

"EVERYONE WOULD YOU LISTEN UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR MISERABLE LIVES!" Iruka yelled, causing the entire class to shudder in fear at the old man.

"The graduation ceremony will happen this Friday. Anyone who wishes to sign up to take the exam must do so by the end of the day today, or else you are forbidden to take the exam. This exam will decide your future as a shinobi or as a normal civilian, so please try to take this seriously, because it will be on me if you all choose to slack off during the process. Just so everyone is aware, the test will consist of four main parts. The first part will be conducted by Tenchi sensei, and will be a kunai and shuriken throwing competition, followed then by a sparring session hosted by Mizuki sensei, a written portion hosted by me, and finally, a shinobi skills portion which lord 3rd will be in attendance for." Iruka explained the format of the final exam.

Hearing the words "Written Test" immediately shook Naruto. Why, just why did it have to be a written test? Why couldn't it be something where it wasn't so easy for him to get fucked over by a broken-ass system? Now he had to hope and pray that Iruka, not Mizuki would be the one marking his work, and knowing how that slimy bastard worked, Mizuki would do everything he could to ensure he was the one marking Naruto's work. Not only that, but the goddamn shinobi skills were also on the test. To pass that, Naruto needed to perform a successful transformation, substitution, and clone jutsu. Throughout his time practicing, he grasped the substitution and transformation jutsu's pretty easily, but it was always that damn clone jutsu that screwed him over. For whatever reason, he just could never get it to work. His mom was pretty much completely drained of chakra, only having enough to perform miniscule jutsus that would essentially be useless in fights, Kurama essentially refused to work with him at that moment, not having fully gained his respect, and he just didn't know how to contact his father for help. For all he knew, he was about to fail the academy because of some stupid ass jutsu that would be basically irrelevant in a real battle. Naruto wanted nothing more than to be able to do that goddamn jutsu.

Despite this, he wasn't going to be one to miss out on the opportunity of a damn lifetime, and all he had to do was master one measly jutsu by the time the exam rolled around. How hard could it really be?

"Yo dumbass, you signing up for this?" Sasuke took a jab at Naruto.

"You really think I'd miss out on the opportunity of a lifetime? I thought you knew me better than that, asshole. Did running away from all those fangirls turn your brain into mush or sum? Cuz the last time I checked, Sasuke Uchiha would be the last person to ask me something so obvious." Naruto retorted.

"Oh really, I thought for sure you'd have pissed your pants the second you heard the words 'written part.' Or are you banking on being the dead last loser once this shit's all said and done?" Sasuke clapped back.

"Shut up bastard, I'd love to see the look on your face when I'm named rookie of the year and your ass is stuck with Kiba and Hinata as teammates." Naruto responded.

"Well maybe if you spent more time studying rather than getting your dick sucked by Sakura and Ino, you'd be much closer to me in the rankings because last I checked, you were only 2 points ahead of the lowest amount of points needed to even qualify for this exam." Sasuke jabbed, which caused both Sakura and Ino to blush mad red and pass out from embarrassment.

"Oh really, let's check in with your fanbase once more." Naruto said before turning to the class, "HEY EVERYONE! SASUKE SAID HE —" Sasuke quickly covered Naruto's mouth before he could finish his sentence.

"Not another word out of you dipshit, you've said enough."

"Awwww, Susgay doesn't want to admit his little tiny weiner misses the attention it gets from all the females in the academy whoring themselves out for him?" Naruto taunted.

Sasuke just chose to ignore Naruto's taunts at this moment. Nothing good would come from the constant back-and-forth between the two, probably the only thing that would come out of it would be an ass-whooping from Kushina, if they were that lucky. Instead, he focused his attention back to the front of the class, and to Iruka sensei as he gave out the final lecture of his time as a teacher for this class.

"I just want to say one more thing before you all head home for today. I can't be more proud to call you all my students. Every single one of you gave it your all this semester and I hope you can continue your success as shinobi in the future. So far, you all have been some of the strongest candidates for shinobi that I've had the pleasure of teaching. I wish you all the best of luck, and hopefully you all don't forget about your Iruka sensei as you all go on to progress in your careers." Iruka said, wiping a tear off his face. "You're all free to leave now and don't forget to sign up for the final exam if you wish to graduate this year."

"Thank you Iruka Sensei!" Everyone said as the class made their way outside, eager to be the first ones to sign their name on the page.

After signing their names, the class went their separate ways.

As Naruto, Sakura, Ino, and Sasuke made their way outside, Naruto caught wind of a heated conversation that he knew he didn't like.

"But father, I'm already one of the top students in the class, the top kunoichi as well. Why can't you let me sign up for the final exam?" The child spoke.

"Because Hinata, all you have shown me is that you are clearly not ready to be a shinobi yet. I cannot have your destined failure stain the name of the Hyuga clan. In over 12 years, you still have not shown me enough mastery of the gentle fist to be deemed worthy of carrying on the Hyuga name. Your damn cousin Neji can at least do the secret Hyuga techniques while you can't even perform a simple gentle fist strike. You're a failure in the eyes of the elders and if I was to continue supporting such failure, how do you think it would look in front of the rest of Konoha?" Hiashi sneered.

"I'm trying to get better every day, why can't you see that?" Hinata was on the verge of crying. Even scoring among the top students in the class wasn't enough to please him. What more could he want?

"Hanabi could do all of this and more by the time she was 5 years old. There is no other way to put it, you are nothing but a failure. I cannot believe I ever held out hope for you ever becoming someone respectable in the clan." Hiashi said, as Hinata began to cry on the floor.

By then, the rest of the clan heads had caught up to Naruto and the gang.

"Why the fuck is Hinata crying over there? Did you do something to her Naruto? If you did, I swear to god this will be your last day on earth." Kiba yelled.

"Relax dog-breath, I didn't do anything. It was her father calling her a failure and saying that she would never amount to anything in this world. You wanna blame someone, there's your fucking target." Naruto said. He didn't have the greatest bond with Kiba nor Hinata, but even he didn't want to see Hinata go out like this.

Kiba was about to go up to Hiashi and give him a piece of his mind when Shikamaru and Sasuke grabbed his shoulder.

"Kiba, your negative IQ is showing. You do realize you're about to walk up to Hiashi Hyuga, also known as the leader of the Hyuga clan, completely unarmed and with no plan on what to do?" Sasuke jabbed.

"Yeah man, at least think about what you're going to do before walking up to a man like that. I know it's a drag but it would be an even bigger drag to have to explain to my parents why you couldn't make it to the graduation exam." Shikamaru explained to the hot-headed member of their elite clique.

However, Kiba was having none of it. To him, all he could see was a member of his pack being mistreated by someone who wasn't in his pack, and if there was one thing he valued more than anything, it was complete and utter loyalty to the people he deemed worthy.

"All of you should be fucking ashamed of yourselves. Your classmate is out there crying and all you do is sit here and act like it's none of your goddamn business. I would have expected this from the civilian born people but you? You all were born with some kind of superpower that those civilian kids don't have, not to mention you all have a connection with Hinata. The fact that you can just sit here and do nothing because of one man being stronger than you shows me nothing but the fact that all of you are fucking weak. I'm an Inuzuka. We don't run from protecting our family and we will do whatever it takes for the pack to stay together, so quite frankly, I don't give a fuck what you have to say. Hinata is our family, and those who stay here and don't help are not part of my family." Kiba said before taking off.

"Holy hell, how stupid can he be?" Ino asked.

"He wasn't stupid, Ino-chan. In fact, Kiba's right. We're about to be ninja, meaning we will all have to protect Konoha in some way. If we can't even protect one of our own, how can we protect the rest of Konoha? I for one am going to help Hinata out, and I hope you all are with me." Naruto said, following Kiba towards Hiashi and Hinata.

Unable to logically come up with a counterargument, the rest of the graduating class followed suit, with the girls going to help Hinata and the guys going to give Hiashi a piece of their minds.

"Excuse me Lord Hyuga." Shikamaru began as Kiba cut him off.

"WHAT THE HELL DID YOU SAY TO MAKE HINATA CRY LIKE SHE DID? YOU ARE NO FATHER IF YOU ARE OK WITH SEEING YOUR DAUGHTER IN THIS STATE!" Kiba started to yell, causing a faceplant from Shikamaru and Shino.

"Watch your tone boy, before I tell your parents how disrespectful you were to one of the heads of the village." Hiashi threatened.

"I DON'T CARE HOW RESPECTED YOU ARE BY THE VILLAGE. ANYONE WHO CAN'T RESPECT THEIR OWN FAMILY IS A LOW-LIFE IN THE EYES OF THE INUZUKA. You sit here without a care for the feelings of your daughter, completely fine with her breaking down in front of her classmates, and you choose to sit here and do nothing. If there was any less of an excuse for a father, I haven't met them and I certainly hope not to. A father's duty is to ensure the safety and happiness of their children, all of them. You may have been successful as a ninja, but you failed in the most important part of life. As a parent." Kiba finished his slander towards Hiashi, who only let out a chuckle.

"Well you insolent little brat, seems like you've taken the ways of the Inuzuka quite seriously. Family above all else. I admire the guts you have, young man, but you're still too naive and someday, your clan will finally understand why it has been a failure for so long. It is precisely because you hold family at such high value that you fail to see what is right and what is wrong. We at the Hyuga pride ourselves in individual strength and mastery of the jutsu passed down through our generations. So I challenge you to a fight. You and your family values vs me and my strength. If you win, I will personally go and apologize to Hinata for all of this. However, if I win, you will be forbidden from ever stepping foot on the Hyuga grounds ever again." Hiashi challenged. "So, do we have a deal?"

Kiba looked at Akamaru who only barked in agreement. "We do sir, and when I win, you better not put your family down ever again."

"We'll see about that, you insolent little brat." Hiashi spat before getting into position.

Kiba and Hiashi both stood at the edge of the sparring circle, getting into their preferred stances, Naruto being the referee of the fight.

"Alright, I will call the fight when one member is either incapacitated or gives up." Naruto stated. "START!"

"BEAST MIMICRY, MAN BEAST CLONE!" Kiba yelled as Akamaru morphed into an identical version of Kiba, getting ready to perform their combo attacks that made the Inuzuka family one of the most feared fighters in Konoha.

"BYAKUGAN!" Hiashi yelled, equipping the famous Hyuga dojutsu and getting into his gentle fist fighting stance. He didn't want to kill the kid and have to deal with the fallout that could cause with the Inuzuka, but he also wanted to teach him a lesson. He promised himself he wouldn't go all out.

Kiba and Akamaru began their attack by trying to encircle Hiashi and confuse him about who is who, but with the Hyuga's superior eyesight, that would only prove to be futile as Hiashi continued to follow the real Kiba at all times, waiting for them to strike first.

"This isn't working, Akamaru, we need to try something else." Kiba said, to which Akamaru barked in understanding.

"BEAST MIMICRY, DOUBLE FANG!" Kiba yelled as he and Akamaru both turned into spiraling blobs hurling at Hiashi.

"Huh, you think something as weak as that is going to stop the leader of the Hyuga? 8 TRIGRAM, PALM ROTATION!" Hiashi yelled, creating a chakra-filled taijutsu fortress around his body, something impenetrable for the young Inuzuka heir. The force of the double fang hitting the rotation wall was enough to send Kiba flying nearly 50 feet and sustain pretty damaging injuries. Regardless of that however, he still managed to will himself up to his feet, eager to prove that the love of the family is the true key to someone's strength and if they are willing to fight for someone, then they can never truly lose.

"Face it Kiba, it is your destiny to lose to me. Right now you're nothing but a weak academy student fighting for something as futile as a child's happiness. True victories come when the weakest link grows strong and is now able to fight alongside the strong, not when the strong have to constantly protect the weak. People who are weak get no respect or honor in society, only those who are strong will dictate everything." Hiashi stated as Kiba struggled to walk back into the ring.

"I. don't. Give. a. Fuck." Kiba stated. "To me, and to the entire Inuzuka clan, anyone who isn't willing to stand up for the people they claim to love is the definition of weak. You may have won this fight but I can guarantee you that one day, I will be strong enough to take you on and smack some sense into your head. If someone has something that they love, they will do whatever it takes to see them happy, no matter how much pain they themselves have to go through. One day, I will prove to you that it is the love of a family, not the strength of a person, that will win in the end."

"You have a lot of guts boy, I respect a man who can stand by their morals. However, you are still far too young to be challenging a village leader to a fight. Once you are strong enough and attain the rank of jonin, then and only then will I accept another sparring match with you. If you win, I will offer you my daughter's hand in marriage. However, if not, I will personally see to it that you and Hinata never speak again." Hiashi said with conviction. "And before you say anything trying to deny it, I know how you feel for my daughter. Don't ever forget that."

Kiba only nodded his head at the proposal, knowing there was nothing he could do to deny what Hiashi had just said. He knew all too well his feelings for the young Hyuga heiress and what he would do to ensure her happiness. After Hiashi walked away, he made his way to the young Hyuga and tapped her on the shoulder.

"Hey Hinata, don't listen to him. You're much more than what he's giving you credit for, so don't take this too personally. Anyone here would be lucky to have you as part of their team, so please, whatever you do, stay strong. If you ever need any help with him, don't hesitate to let me know and I will do anything I can to make sure you're happy." Kiba said.

It was at this point that Naruto just could not stay quiet. "You know Hinata, even though we haven't had the best relationship in the academy, I've always seen the potential you have. You can become a great ninja one day if you choose to work hard and build yourself up, so I think now it's time for us to stop crying and start working towards our goals." Naruto offered her his hand to stand up, which Hinata gladly took.

How weak am I? I needed other people to fight my battles for me. Why can I not stand up for myself? Oh my god I am so weak. Hinata kept thinking to herself. While she was eternally grateful for her friends standing up for her, it haunted her that she was so weak that she couldn't take that fight herself. She always knew she struggled immensely with confidence and seeing her friends all come to her help did not do much to ease that confidence gap.

"Everyone, thank you so much for helping me, but this is a battle I need to take on my own. I'm tired of being seen as weak, I'm tired of being seen as shy. And most of all, I'm tired of not being able to stand up for myself." Hinata stated with conviction. "Sakura, Ino, I'm sorry for how I treated you in the academy. I thought that if I could be the top female in the class then I would gain some respect from my father and finally be worthy of carrying on the Hyuga name, and I forgot that you all had feelings too. So I hope we can start over and be friends for the future."

Sakura and Ino looked at each other before looking back towards Hinata. "Look Hinata, I'm not going to lie and say what you said to us didn't hurt, because it did. But we understand where you're coming from and sure, we'd love to be friends with you." They both said simultaneously before enveloping Hinata in a bear hug that gave Naruto PTSD.

With Hinata cheered up, the class went their separate ways, getting ready to train for their final exam. They could not be any more excited.

And that does it for chapter 6! I know I said I wouldn't be trying to bash characters, but I needed Hiashi to be this way to set up Kiba and Hinata's character arcs. Kiba is trying to prove to the world that true strength comes from family values while Hinata is trying to become more confident in herself. Similar to how I needed Mebuki and Kizashi to be assholes for Sakura's character arc of finding herself and finding a true purpose in the ninja world, which she needed to cut her ties to the civilian world to begin to do so.

As of right now, Naruto still only has Sakura and Ino confirmed in his harem and my maximum limitation of 5 girls is still in play. However, remember that you can choose girls from other animes too as I could incorporate them as Naruto ninjas in the chunin exams, so long as I can easily find a way to incorporate them. I have also made the executive decision to give Sasuke a harem too, again no more than 5 girls and the same rules apply. No one older than 5 years as it makes the girls seem predatory being 18-22 going after a 12-17 year old boy, no immediate family members or cousins, and no Temari in the harem as her match with Shikamaru is just perfect imo.

With that being said, I will also need you all to help me decide the teams for the story. I could either stick with the original teams or go with something completely different, all up to you. The only difference is that Rin will be a sensei in this timeline rather than Kakashi as unfortunately, Kakashi himself is dead. So let me know the teams you want to see happen in the reviews.

Also leaving a general review of what you think of the story so far will only motivate me to write more, so don't be hesitant to post reviews of what you think. However, with that being said, I am out.

Peace!