First off, many thanks to 19maria9 and dbzgtfan2004 for giving me my first two reviews, and to the 90+ people who read that short prologue. This one is just over 6,000 words without the A/Ns, so it should provide some more sustenance.
I had a tough time figuring out how to start the beginning of this chapter, considering this is one of around 4 total time skips in this story. Now there are three more taking place. A little more information: Kyuubi will play more of a comedic character in Purge, as you will soon find out in this chapter. Also, he will remain a GUY. No female Kyuubi. Period. Second, as I have already mentioned, this story will be Naru/Saku. Once again, period. No Naru/Saku/Sasu or Naru/Saku/Hina, or Saku/anyothercharacteryoucanthinkof. Side pairings will probably be Kiba/Hina and Shika/Tem, though they probably won't be covered that much. As of now, this will be a long fic, spanning well into (and probably past) Shippuden. Also, this story is pretty much one big spoiler for anyone who hasn't read up to 467. Reviews are welcome as always. Please feel free to give any constructive criticism on how I might advance my writing prowess in the future.
Now that's that done, onwards with the story! (Hint, hint: second A/N at the bottom.)
But what's this? A Disclaimer! :O : I may not own Naruto, but I can say that I own a guy with a badass scythe.
Purge
Chapter 1: An Idiot Among Geniuses
12 Years Later...
Naruto scanned the village for any signs of enemy ninja. Well... technically speaking, they weren't enemies, but all ninja are hostile when you're painting Hokage Mountain. Finding no signs of any trouble, Naruto went back to scribbling on the Yondaime's face with bright blue paint.
Almost... done! He thought, pridefully surveying his artwork. This should get their attention for sure! Sure enough, within fifteen seconds of finishing his masterpieces a crowd had gathered below. The angry villagers were soon accompanied by a handful of chuunin, several jounin, and even three ANBU.
"You're in for it now, Uzumaki!" one of the chuunin yelled. His shouting was enforced by the villagers' cries of approval. Naruto merely gave a big, goofy grin before jumping down onto a building.
"Not if you can't catch me!" He half-yelled, half-laughed. The blond then raced off across the rooftops, followed by the other Konoha-nin. They chased Naruto into an alleyway, effectively cornering him. Or, at least they thought. Naruto suddenly jumped onto the wall, hopped over their heads, and ran back into the street. They just stood there, dumbfounded. An Academy student shouldn't have been able to do that.
"It seems like we've lost them," came a familiar voice from inside Naruto's head.
Did you see the look on their faces? Naruto thought, smiling. Priceless! He bounded up onto the rooftops once again. The 12 year old looked back and saw that the three ANBU had gotten out of their stupor quick enough to restart the chase. They followed him around Konoha for about ten minutes. Every time the elite shinobi thought they had the prankster, he would get away by some inconceivable means. One time early on in the chase, for example, Naruto had actually jumped into a watermelon stand, much to the anger of the owner. In the chaos he had managed to pull a sneaky getaway, effectively losing the ANBU for a full two minutes. They eventually found him though, leading up to the current situation: Naruto was slowly losing his lead. On top of that, the ANBU were following him into the Academy, the last place they thought he would go.
They chased Naruto through the halls, until he pulled a cheap move and used a smoke bomb. The diversionary tactic gave him long enough to enter his own classroom.
Iruka really thought the world was ending. Naruto was at his desk, paying attention, and actually taking notes. This was a once in a lifetime occurrence, and he was not going to miss it. Even the class itself thought it was too good to be true, but the blond had thus far ignored any questions asked about his peculiar behavior. Sure, he would look at the person asking, but then he would just give them a goofy grin and turn back to face Iruka.
Imagine their surprise when another Naruto came bursting into the classroom.
"Sorrygottahidecan'ttalk," he vocalized in a hardly understandable sentence. The other Naruto, who was still at the desk, immediately made eye contact with his counterpart and got up out of his seat. Naruto-2 pulled the seat out, before doing a simple henge. He took the form of the seat he had just moved. Naruto-1 then sat down on the henged Naruto-2 just in time for the three ANBU to run into the room. Their entrance really peaked the class's attention. Whatever Naruto had done, it was big. None of his uncountable number of pranks had actually gotten ANBU's attention before.
"All right, we know you're here- gotcha!" they swiftly approached Naruto-1, grabbed him by his orange jacket, and pulled him out into the hallway after quickly apologizing to Iruka. Once they were outside, Naruto-2 dropped the henge and sat down on the desk. He started whistling, counting down with his fingers.
3... 2... 1...
There was a barely audible 'poof' from the hallway, followed by a string of curses that made everyone blush.
"Damn it!" one of the ANBU shouted, "It was a Kage Bunshin! How did- never mind, just search the other classrooms!" The sound of their feet slowly subsided, until there was no sound at all. Everyone immediately looked at the still whistling Naruto. Iruka glared at him menacingly and leaking out a small amount of killer intent before speaking.
"Naruto, I'm going to ask you two questions. You are going to answer completely and truthfully. Got that?" Naruto nodded in response.
"Good. Number One: what exactly did you do this time?" Naruto pointed to the window. The chuunin looked out, and immediately spotted the prank. "Oh Kami. You're so screwed." Iruka's wide-eyed reaction made everyone get out of their seats and go see what had their teacher so pissed. They burst into laughter upon seeing the paint covering the Hokage faces. Even Sasuke managed a small smirk.
"A-alright," Iruka continued, "Number Two: how did you manage to get out without us knowing, and, more importantly, how the hell do you know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?" At this Naruto just shrugged.
"I learned it."
Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Where, when, and from whom?"
"Here in the village. About three years ago. It's a secret."
The chuunin sighed. "Alright, I guess that's the best I'm going to get." He turned to the class, still standing near the window, "All of you get back to your seats! Class has resumed!" The students walked back to their respective seats, all smirking at Naruto as they passed. The prankster never disappointed.
Once everyone was seated, Iruka turned once again to face the students. "As you all know, graduation is tomorrow. If you pass, you will earn the rank of genin and leave this building as Konoha shinobi. If you fail, you will have the decision to either drop out, repeat this year's course, or become administrative genin. Hopefully I won't be having that talk with any of you. Before we commence, however, we must decide who will earn the title of 'Top Shinobi' and 'Top Kunoichi' for this year. Everyone will have a chance to gain the title, even Naruto." The class broke out into quiet snickers, while Naruto just fumed and glared at his sensei. Even the Kyuubi was chuckling.
Okay, I probably deserved that, the blond thought.
"Yes. Yes you did," the Kyuubi replied, still snickering.
Hey! Even you thought it was a good idea at the time!
"That's because I knew I wouldn't be the one getting in trouble. I'm 'dead', remember?"
A swirl of leaves in the middle of the classroom interrupted Naruto's conversation with the demon. Najime Yoshirou stepped out of the mini-tornado, causing multiple whispers to spread among the students. "Hey! It's Yuushi no Yoshirou! What's he doing here?" one kid with a dog in his jacket whispered. Several of the kunoichi blushed. Yoshirou was an idol in the ninja community, even though he was 34 years old. That age was unheard of for a shinobi, most ninja died before they reached 25.
"Alright gaki, what did you do this time?" Yoshirou asked, immediately making eye contact with Naruto. "Hokage-sama seemed pretty pissed when he called me to his office."
Everyone was looking between Naruto and Yoshirou, all wondering the exact same thing. "Wait, you two know each other?" Iruka asked, effectively voicing everyone's question.
"Onii-san, you have to pay for my ramen! I did it!" Naruto shouted, dramatically pointing a finger at the brown haired man.
Yoshirou glanced at Iruka, who was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. "Yes, and Hokage-sama isn't too happy about it. You might want to go talk to him..." In a second he had appeared besides the blond; he grabbed his shoulder, before making a single hand sign and disappearing in another swirl of leaves.
Iruka blinked once, twice, before saying, "O-okay... I guess we should call it a day, then. The contest will be postponed until tomorrow. Class dismissed!" The Academy students filed out of the class, all wondering what just happened and how the dead-last knew one of Konoha's most famous shinobi.
Sarutobi Hiruzen looked out at the defiled Hokage Mountain, before frowning and shaking his head. It wasn't really the matter of Naruto doing it in the first place. After all, it would be easy enough to clean it up. The problem was the fact that the jinchuuriki was able to scribble all over the faces without drawing the attention of any Konoha shinobi until after he finished the prank. How the hell did that happen? Alarms should have been going up left and right after he drew the first line on the Shodai's face. As if reading Hiruzen's mind, Yoshirou appeared with Naruto by his side.
"I've brought the little prankster, Hokage-sama," Yoshirou said, trying to be as respectful as possible, considering the Hokage's present mood.
Naruto, however, did not have the same thoughts, "Hey Sarutobi-jii-san!" he said, giving Hiruzen his famous goofy smile. For some reason, Naruto had the power to cheer everyone up, including the Sandaime.
"Ah, Naruto. I see you completed your little prank out there," the Hokage responded.
"Yep! I tried to make yours the prettiest! The ANBU found me though, so I had to return to class," the blond chuckled, nervously rubbing the back of his head. That gave Hiruzen the opening he was looking for to begin the real conversation.
"Yes, about that. I called you here to ask you exactly how you pulled that off without alerting the other ninja."
Naruto frowned, before speaking again. "Genjutsu!"
An awkward silence filled the room. G-G-Genjutsu?!? How the- what? Yoshirou thought. He can't do genjutsu! He said it himself! Hiruzen was thinking the exact same thing, except his jaw had comically hit the floor in an anime-style way. He put his pinky finger in his ear, trying to clear out the mucus he swore was impeding his hearing.
Satisfied that he could now hear clearly, the Hokage leaned forward in his chair before asking, "Come again?"
Naruto grinned, "Simple! I used a genjutsu on Hokage Mountain that showed them exactly as they were before I painted all over them. That way, no ninja would know what was happening before I finished! I know I said that genjutsu is impossible for me, but the Kyuubi told me that-"
"You can talk to the Kyuubi?!" Hiruzen interrupted, "How? Why? What is he saying?"
Naruto shrugged, "He's always been talking to me. I don't know why, and right now he's saying 'Hi'. So... like I was saying, the Kyuubi told me that the reason I can't do genjutsu is because it requires a precise amount of chakra, while my amounts are, supposedly, through the roof. The Hokage Mountain is huge, though, so it had to take a huge amount of chakra to do the genjutsu. That's why I could do it." There was a pause, "It was fun!"
Hiruzen sat back in his chair and rubbed his temples. How could a kid be such a genius and such an idiot at the same exact time? This had to be a first. "Well Naruto," Hiruzen sighed, "I think you just broke your own record for largest prank of all time. Alright, you're dismissed." Naruto grinned happily before running out of the office, shouting, "See you later, Onii-san!" Once he was gone, Hiruzen focused some killer intent in Yoshirou's general direction, causing the green-eyed man to flinch slightly. "We need to talk."
May Kami save my soul, Yoshirou thought, going to close the doors.
Naruto hopped across the rooftops, going to no general destination. Sometimes, he just like to jump around. He got exercise and it was just fun in general. He originally was going to go to Ichiraku's, but on second thought he remembered that Yoshirou was supposed to pay for his dinner. He did win the bet, after all. He could eat ramen all day if he wanted, but if he held off until Yoshirou finished his meeting he could rub it in, saying he was slowly starving to death while he waited. The blond's musings were interrupted, though, by a familiar head of pink hair.
Hey, it's Sakura-chan! Maybe she'll finally say yes to a date! Naruto thought with glee.
Kyuubi suddenly perked up, "Wait, wait! Hold on, let me go get my popcorn!"
Not entirely sure what the demon meant, Naruto jumped down about three feet behind Sakura. She was walking into the market, probably going to get food for dinner. "Hey, Sakura-chan!" Naruto shouted. Sakura flinched, before walking away as if she hadn't heard anything. Undeterred, Naruto continued to follow her, picking up the pace so he was standing next to the pinkette.
"Hey, you want to go on a date sometime? It'll be my treat!" He said quite loudly, grinning like an idiot.
Sakura slowed down until she wasn't walking at all. Suddenly, she whirled around to face Naruto, fire in her eyes and fist raised menacingly. "Absolutely not, you dead-last halfwit! Hell will freeze over before I go on a date with you!" Her fist met Naruto's face, sending him flying back several feet. Naruto slowly sat up, dizzy, but still conscious enough to hear Sakura shout, "My heart belongs to Sasuke-kun!" before stomping off in her original direction. All was quiet for a second until Naruto heard the Kyuubi howling in laughter.
"BAHAHAHAHA! That was better than the last time, HAHAHA! Swear to Kami, Kit, I'll teach you Hakuboton if you ever get her to fall for you!"
Y'know, you never really did explain Hakuboton, Naruto thought, his mind already off the dramatic event that had taken place only seconds before.
He heard Kyuubi sigh, "Hakuboton is the style of the demons. It doesn't use any hand signs, considering most bijuu don't have hands, myself included. All it requires you to do is channel chakra into the form or attack you want it to take. Technically, jinchuuriki can perform Hakuboton, since they have demons inside them. It has never been done before, though. The bijuu themselves never really used it, because it was just so damn powerful. One attack could level a village. I was actually about to use a Hakuboton attack, but Minato sealed me inside you before I could. Good thing too, since I couldn't think straight. Damn Madara... anyway, if I had used it, Konoha would no longer be in existence."
Naruto absorbed all of this information like a sponge, before shrugging and running off towards home. His brain hurt from all of this stuff on destruction and bijuu, and Yoshirou still apparently hadn't gotten out of his discussion with the Hokage. On top of that, tomorrow was his graduation test and the contest for "Top Shinobi" and "Top Kunoichi". He just knew he was going to go up against that prick, Sasuke. Maybe, if he beat him, Sakura would finally see the truth and accept a date! That in itself would be wonderful, but now he had the added prize of learning Hakuboton. Naruto smiled, this was going to be exciting.
He reached his apartment, and unlocked the front door. He quickly looked around, finding that his stuff wasn't trashed like it sometimes was. Stupid villagers were stupid. Right as he looked at his kitchen, Naruto's stomach growled. Curse Yoshirou and his long meeting! Too lazy to go back out to Ichiraku's, Naruto opened his cabinet and retrieved a miso ramen container. After some quick preparation, he sat down on his bed and started feasting. He finished, looked outside, and checked the position of the sun for the time. In all the excitement of the day, Naruto never realized just how late it was. The sun was already below the horizon! Naruto undressed, put on his pajamas, and plopped down on his bed.
"G'night, Sakura-chan," he whispered, before drifting off to sweet bliss.
Naruto woke up laying on one of the roads in Konoha. Funny, he didn't remember leaving his apartment. He must've been sleepwalking or something. Standing up, he looked around and immediately noticed that he was across the street from Ichiraku's. He grinned, deciding to go greet the best chefs in the world.
He entered through the curtain blocking the little restaurant from the outside world and sat in his usual seat. Teuchi noticed his arrival and greeted him, "Hey, kid! You want the usual?" Naruto vigorously nodded his head, there was no way he was going to deny Teuchi's ramen. He heard a noise, though. It sounded like... noodles slurping? He looked over to his left, and what he saw shocked him.
"S-Sakura-chan?!" Sakura looked over and smiled sweetly.
"Oh, hi Naruto-kun!" Naruto's eyebrows shot up at the honorific. She looked older, like she was fifteen or sixteen. Her hair was much shorter, only reaching down to about her lower neck. Curious, he looked at himself, and realized he was taller, as well as wearing different clothes. Instead of his orange jumpsuit, he was wearing a black and orange jacket, with orange pants. His musings were interrupted, though, when he felt a strange weight on his shoulder. He slowly glanced over, and... wait, what was Sakura doing?
Her head was on his shoulder, and she sighed contently. Oh Kami, oh Kami! My prayers have been answered! Naruto thought, internally leaping for joy.
Suddenly, though, everthing went dark. Naruto reappeared in the forest outside Konoha, burnt branches all around him. There was a noise behind him, and he spun around, kunai in hand. What he saw scared the living hell out of him. Standing before him was a giant beast; so huge, in fact, that Naruto could only make out the shadow of the creature. It had one eye, with four Rinnegan circles, nine Sharingan tomoe in the three closest to the pupil. The eye had a glowing gold-like color. What was even scarier, though, was the fact that the beast could talk.
"You shall become the epitomy of power. Your allies will trust you with the safety of their villages, your enemies will flee in terror before your might. You shall become a legend among legends. The Age of Purging must either bring peace or ultimate destruction. You shall decide which path it takes. The world will forever know the name of the one who wields the power. Everything will fall into place with the Destiny."
Naruto was awestruck at the beast's words. Him? Become a legend? What the hell was going on? Before he had time to ponder the riddle, however, the demon spoke again. And the six words that came out of its mouth would forever haunt Naruto's mind.
"Long live the Being of Purge."
Naruto awoke with a start, blond hair sticking to his forehead from sweat. That was definitely the freakiest dream he had ever had. Sure, it started off fine. Sakura was leaning on his shoulder, for Kami's sake! What was unusual was the demon and its words. It was unlike any of the other bijuu he had learned about. They had covered the topic in the Academy and Naruto had actually payed attention, being a jinchuuriki himself. Of course, the books said that the Kyuubi was dead, but that was another story for another time. And what was with its words? The Being of Purge.... Mentally slapping himself, Naruto just shook it off as a weird dream and got ready for class.
The young shinobi took a quick shower before putting on his famous orange jumpsuit. He hit the rooftops after eating an instant ramen cup and bee-lined for the Academy, already shaking in his sandals for the day's class. Sasuke would be beaten, that was a promise!
The students were already gathered outside the building as Naruto landed. He walked up to his longtime friend, Shikamaru, who was currently talking with the dog-boy, Kiba. "Hey guys," the blond muttered.
"Wow, you're here early," Shikamaru commented, knowing his friend was not a morning person.
Naruto grunted, "I had a freaky-ass dream last night."
Kiba smirked, taking the opportunity to diss the dead-last of the graduating class. "Aw, what's the matter? Is little ol' Naruto afraid of the big, bad dream?" he cooed. The blond just glared at him.
"I'd like you to see the demon that was in that dream. That eye-" Naruto shivered, "I never want to see that eye again."
Kiba and Shikamaru took an involuntary step back. "Was it the... Kyuubi?" Kiba asked warily. Naruto shook his head negatively, causing the other two boys to let out a breath they didn't know they were holding.
"The Kyuubi's dead, remember?" Naruto said. The others nodded.
"I call bull!"
Shut up.
The ringing of the Academy bell interrupted the conversation. All of the students began entering the classroom, anxiety and anticipation clearly written on most of their faces. This would be the day that decided their future careers. Everyone entered idol chat while they waited for Iruka. The classroom went quiet as Naruto entered and slowly made his way to his seat, muttering a quick "Hi, Sakura-chan," as he passed her desk. She shot him a quick, evil glance before returning to dreamily staring at Sasuke. Talking soon resumed, with everyone shooting occasional glances at Naruto. Top among these was Sasuke. On more than one instance, Naruto found himself in a staredown with the Uchiha, neither blinking until it was out of necessity.
Iruka finally entered the room and cleared his throat, gaining the students' attention. He looked around the room, mentally noting that all were accounted for. Satisfied, he went back to his desk and sorted through some papers, before saying, "I'm glad that you all could show up. Today is one of the most important days of your young lives. You shall either be made a shinobi or have your dreams crushed." Everyone gulped. "Now then, before you take the graduation exams, we must decide who will become 'Top Shinobi' and 'Top Kunoichi'. Due to an unexpected interruption-" the scarred man shot a look at Naruto, who just smiled and rubbed the back of his head, "-we were unable to decide the winners yesterday. If you would all proceed to the outside training grounds..." The students made their way outside, where they stretched and prepared for the spars.
Iruka looked around, trying to find a good pair. The first match had to be a good one, after all. Eying the competition, Iruka chose out the fighters. This would cause a lot of commotion, but it would be interesting. "Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke, please step to the field!"
The Uchiha's hand immediately shot up. "Iruka-sensei, I immediately request a change of competitors. This match will not sufficiently test my skills," he said stoically.
"Request denied," Iruka replied, shaking his head negative.
Sasuke scoffed, going to the sparring area where Naruto was already patiently waiting. They stood ten feet from each other, waiting for Iruka to begin the match.
"Ready... BEGIN!" Iruka shouted before leaping back. Sasuke smirked, this wouldn't be hard at all. He rushed forward towards Naruto in order to initiate a taijutsu match
Well? Naruto thought, I'm assuming I should just play along?
"For the time being. Don't do anything stupid, though. I'm not really in the mood to heal any broken bones from a freakin' Academy spar."
Naruto merely smirked, allowing Sasuke to close the distance between them. Once Sasuke got in range he threw a right hook towards the blond's face, which Naruto easily dodged by ducking and leaning to the left. Naruto retaliated by going for a jab to Sasuke's gut, which the raven-haired boy easily jumped over. Sasuke spun around, trying a left jab this time. His competitor dropped to the ground, placed his palms underneath himself and then rolled over onto his back, before raising his legs and delivering a punishing kick to Sasuke's abdomen. He keeled over, the air knocked out of him. Naruto took this advantage and got into a squatting position. He then jumped up, giving Sasuke a mean left-handed uppercut.
Iruka smiled over on the sidelines. There you go, Naruto.
What the hell is going on? Sasuke thought angrily, I should be wiping the floor with this dobe! Time to pull out all the stops. Sasuke recovered in mid air and flipped back, going through the familiar hand signs he had been taught so long ago.
"Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu!" he shouted, exhaling a large fireball towards the blond. All the fan girls on the sidelines cheered, the dead-last would surely lose now. Something surprising happened though. Naruto didn't appear fazed at all. Instead, he bent down and jumped, doing a split in midair. The large fireball sailed harmlessly underneath him, although dangerously close to his nether regions.
"Whew, that was a little too close," he muttered, looking back at the now-dissipating fireball. Suddenly, though, he felt a foot connect with the back of his head. The next thing Naruto knew, he was lying on the ground, slightly dazed. Sasuke's foot was still raised slightly off the ground. He had done a spin-kick when Naruto wasn't looking.
"Winner, Uchiha Sasuke!" Iruka's voice yelled out.
The fan girls leaped for joy, shouting things like "Way to go, Sasuke!" and "We love you, Sasuke!"
Iruka walked over to Naruto, who was still lying on the ground. It appeared like he was looking at the clouds. "You held back, didn't you?" he asked, squatting down next to him.
Naruto shrugged, "Yeah, and?"
"Why?"
"If I went all-out, I would've broken several of his bones, including his jaw and ribs. Some people wouldn't have liked that, so I held back." By now the class had stopped congratulating the Uchiha and were listening intently to the conversation between sensei and student.
"Is that why you also stuck with taijutsu?" Iruka asked.
"If I used the Kage Bunshins, it wouldn't have been a fair fight. Simple as that. And yes, I know that in the real world fights are never fair." Naruto added, answering Iruka's next question.
Over on the sidelines, Sakura was debating Naruto's words in her head. He... was holding back?
"CHA! And he meant us when he said 'some people'! Blondie didn't hurt our Sasuke-kun because we wouldn't gotten mad!"
He was probably just scared that I would hit him again, Sakura shrugged. Ino was standing a few feet away from her, eying her carefully.
"Hey Forehead, you alright? You're acting a little weird..."
"Oh, what, huh? I'm fine, Ino-Pig!"
"Whatever, just stay away from my Sasuke-kun!"
"Your Sasuke-kun?! He clearly prefers me over you! Don't get your hopes up, Pig!"
"I cannot believe what I'm hearing! What lying rat told you that bogus information? Sasuke-kun has always been giving me those looks. He doesn't even acknowledge your presence! Right, Sasuke-kun?"
Sasuke, however, was deep in thought. He was holding back!? Even though I was going all-out and even used one of my strongest jutsu? What the hell! I'm going to need a rematch just to see how strong that dobe is. He can't be stronger than me, I'm an Uchiha!
"SASUKE-KUN!!" Sasuke was jolted out of his thoughts by a strong tugging on his left arm. He looked up to see Sakura pouting cutely at him.
"Tell Ino-Pig she's wrong! You clearly love me, don't you?" She half-asked, half-pleaded. Over in the distance, Sasuke could hear another voice.
"Don't listen to her, Sasuke-kun! We were made for each other! We're soul-mates!!" It was the voice of Ino, who was dramatically running towards the Uchiha, arms outstretched. She enveloped Sasuke in a bear-hug. He quickly pulled away from the two girls and took several big steps back.
"Alright, let's get something straight here," he said, "There is absolutely no way that I will ever marry someone either blond or with pink hair. Never mind that both of you are completely obnoxious and crazy! You two are horrible!" he almost-shouted, but quickly regained his cool Uchiha demeanor and stomped away scoffing.
Both Sakura and Ino just sat there for a little while, awed at Sasuke's mean words.
"Wha...?" Sakura mumbled.
"It's all Ino-Pig's fault! We were about to have our first kiss with Sasuke-kun, but that witch ruined in and gave us a bad image!!" Inner Sakura shouted. Sakura couldn't agree more.
"Grrr.... THAT WAS ALL YOUR FAULT, INO-PIG!!" Sakura bellowed, accusingly pointing at Ino.
"M-MY FAULT?!" Ino replied, equally loud, "THAT WAS YOUR FAULT! SASUKE-KUN WAS LOOKING AT ME WITH LOVING EYES, BUT YOU TRIED TO HOG HIM, MAKING HIM THINK THAT I'M JUST A NUISANCE!"
The whole class watched in painful agony as the two girls started one of the longest yelling contests in Academy history. Iruka refused to break it up, saying he really didn't want to spend two years in the hospital. Eventually he just announced that Sasuke was the Top Shinobi and Ino the Top Kunoichi; reasons being that they only had one match, which Sasuke won, and while Sakura hit hard, Ino kept at it until she knew your bones were broken. The craziness died down after a while, much to Iruka's relief. Finally, they could do the exam.
"Class, it is now time to take the Genin Graduation Exam. Please reenter the classroom," he spoke. The whole class went back to their seats in deathly silence, for fear of provoking Ino and Sakura. Even Naruto stayed clear of the pinkette, not even addressing her as he quickly passed her seat. Sakura was actually disappointed by this, but shrugged it off as smoldering resentment towards Ino.
Iruka spoke up again once everyone was seated. "For the exam, you will need to be able to perform three of the basic techniques. First, the Henge no Jutsu. Second, the Kawarimi no Jutsu. Finally, the Bunshin no Jutsu." Naruto's head hit the desk. The Bunshin was a stain in his book. It used such little chakra that it was impossible for him to perform it. The Kage Bunshin was different, because it split the user's chakra in half. Maybe he could just get off the hook using that. They were, after all, both Bunshin techniques.
One by one, Iruka called the names of students in alphabetical order, and every time they came out proudly wearing the Konoha hitai-ite. Finally, after long last, "Uzumaki Naruto!" was called. The blond jumped out of his seat and made his way to a door in the front of the room. Iruka sat behind a desk inside in a small candlelit room.
"You ready Naruto?" he asked.
"Dattebayo!"
Iruka smiled. "Alright, first the henge." Naruto nodded, and performed the familiar hand signs. Dog, Boar, Tiger... poof! He took the form of the current Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. Iruka nodded quickly, checking off the box on a sheet of paper.
"Kawarimi no Jutsu." Naruto nodded again. Ram, Boar, Ox, Dog, Snake. He found his target. There was a poof, and Naruto switched places with a stray chair located in the right side of the room. Iruka again checked off another box.
"Lastly, the Bunshin no Jutsu." Oh boy. Naruto took a deep breath in an attempt to calm his nerves. He slowly formed the hand signs. Ram, Snake, Tiger. He concentrated his chakra on making an exact replica of himself. Poof. The clone looked okay, except for one problem.
It was missing its left eye.
Iruka sighed, "Well, I'm sorry to say that you didn't pass the Bunshin no Jutsu. Technically, that means you don't pass the exam." Naruto's shoulders visibly slumped. "But," Iruka continued, a smile forming on his face, "you do know the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, which more than compensates for your inability to peform the standard technique." Naruto's eyes shot open, a look of surprise etched on his face.
Iruka got out of his seat, a Konoha hitai-ite firmly in his right hand. He slowly walked up towards his student, and he had to admit that he was proud.
"Congratulations, Naruto. You are officially a Konoha genin."
Yoshirou slumped down on the top of Hokage Mountain. He had finally finished cleaning the paint off of the faces. Hiruzen had given him a strict punishment for "corrupting an Academy student to pull a prank". He had to run three laps around Konoha with Maito Gai, and then wash the Hokage Mountain. With no jutsu. And no breaks. Oh, Naruto was going to get it.
His plots of revenge were interrupted by the appearance of a swirl of dust. The spiral subsided, revealing a cloaked man with a large scythe on his back.
"Yo," the man said, before promptly sitting down besides Yoshirou.
"What's up, Akio?"
"Nothing, really. Leader-sama wanted me to check in, so here I am!" Akio replied, shrugging.
"Huh. Does he want a status report or something?"
"Actually, he wanted me to join you in watching over the jinchuuriki." There was a pause. "You do know you've been disobeying orders, right?"
Yoshirou frowned, he knew this was coming. "It doesn't matter, does it? None of them know. They're not even suspicious! I've lived here for twelve frickin' years! I think I've earned the right to watch over the gaki. He even calls me onii-san..."
"Woah, woah! I never said I didn't agree with you! The boss is just a little curious!" Akio quickly said, raising his hands in self-defense. "To be honest, I've been a little interested in the kid, myself. What's his name, Naruto? I've been wanted to meet him, so I volunteered to stay here from now on. Y'know, just in case 'you know who' makes a move."
"They're active already?"
Akio nodded grimly, "The best we can do is train him for the time when they do show up and hope for the best. There's the spy, but we're not really Konoha shinobi so there's no telling if he'll trust us or not."
A silence gripped the area for a full five minutes before Akio spoke again, "It's almost time."
"Yes indeed."
And there's the first chapter! The next update may be a little late, since MW2 COMES OUT TODAY YEAAAAAAAH.
...
Aaanyway... I decided to post some questions as a second A/N. They shouldn't be hard to figure out, but I can't say that since I'm the author and already know the answers. :D
1.) How did Naruto really get out of class unnoticed?
2.) Who taught Naruto the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?
3.) How can the Kyuubi mind-chat with Naruto, and why is he so damn nice?
4.) What the F*CK was that thing in Naruto's dream?
Those are the questions, there'll be more every chapter. Every chapter I will post the person who answers the previous chapter's question(s) correct (you can answer more than one), or, in a case that no one gets the answer, the person with the closest answer. You can either give me your answers in a review or send them via PM. For the winners, I will PM you a picture of a medal or a cookie, AND I will explain the answers. That's plot revealing, just to let you know. Which means you know something that others don't.
Questions two and three relate the most to each other.
Question four is probably the easiest and most revealing plot-wise.
Question one was already hinted at during the chapter, and is not the answer some of you will probably give me.
Those are your hints, good luck! Remember, you don't have to answer the questions if you don't want to. Just some things to think about, and some possible plot points exploited.