A/N Sorry it took so long to get back on the story. Had some issues to deal with regarding my collage. (I'm a last year so it's pretty hectic). Also this chapter has not been beta'd as I was eager to put it up as soon as I finished it.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything about and from the original Naruto story or any story, character, scenery or anything that the lawyers could and might sue my ass for.
Special thanks to Princess-Serenity-Serena for helping me by being the beta for this story and possibly others.
Previously on NotS:
Naruto turned on his heal. "Should I turn those Chuunin to your forces Hokage-sama or can I play with them a little?" Naruto smiled like Anko sending a shiver down the shinobi's spines.
Hiruzen flashed a smirk mirroring Naruto's own "Knock yourself out!" making the rest of the council pale.
"Thank you! Things are going to change from here on, that I can promise you!" the blond shouted out to everyone.
Main Story:
"But those intruders can wait for a while since we have some serious issues to discuss." the whiskered-blond scoffed.
"Such as?" asked Hiruzen.
"Some things that I was planning to present to the council after I reformed my clan, but since it happened sooner than planned I will bring them up now. Please sit down since we still have time before the official time ends." Naruto said softly while moving in position to his seat but awaiting the others and the Hokage to sit. They soon did so albeit some of them grumbling.
"You may begin!" nodded Hiruzen.
"Thank you! Honored Council I kept you here because of some … troublesome issues that came to thought." Naruto said while shooting them a glance, noticing Shikaku rolling his eyes. This brought a small smile to his face. "To keep it short the issues are: the village security is horrendous, the ninja requalification exams are deplorably subpar and the academy is the worst of all."
"What do you mean Na…, I mean Uzumaki-san?" Shikaku pondered.
"I noticed that Nara-san and I extend the same words as I offered to Aburame-san. The same for the Inuzuka, Uchiha, Akimichi and Yamanaka clans… although I don't know if your daughter's voice-attack on my eardrums during academy is considered assault Yamanaka-san. I think that she and Sakura Haruno would have reinvented the definition of 'stealth' during those years. I mean they could've functioned as Konoha's invasion alarm." Naruto rubbed his ear with his pinky earning a few snickers and a 'shut-up' look from Inoichi. "Anyway, back to the main subject. As I was saying: the village's security is absolutely subpar." he said while taking out a simple scroll and unfolding it "Chuunin guards that can be easily fooled by simple henges, easily accessible ANBU barracks, no defense from the Hokage mountain side, easily climbable walls that surround the village, the tree-line stretches until the base of those walls giving protection against projectiles and jutsu to the enemy. Basic security checks for incoming and outgoing people. All in all, the only thing that keeps us in one piece is our shinobi numbers and our position as number one in the world. But that can be easily taken away from us if say Kumo would decide to attack us. Considering the faults we have we wouldn't last a siege. It would be a massacre. Even a smaller village could outdo us if they would manage to sneak in during an event like the October 10 (Kyuubi defeat) festival." Naruto said sighing.
"Hmm… I agree with some of what you said but 'easily accessible ANBU barracks'? That is where the T&I is located and the prisoner ward. It is by far the most secure place in the village. Even more secure than the Hokage tower. How is it unguarded?" asked Hiruzen.
Naruto smirked "Remember that time when the ANBU had pink armor and cloaks?"
The council blinked in surprise. "You did that?" asked Inoichi.
"Snuck inside the laundry using the air ducts and put paint powder in the detergent boxes." the spiky-blond said with his hands behind his head towards a fuming Inoichi.
"Y-YOU!" the platinum-blond banged his hands against the table.
Naruto took a more serious expression "Yes me! You were lucky that it was me. If it had been a missing Nin he could have easily sabotaged your clothes with poison, exploding tags and whatnot." he said and the man opened his eyes wide before taking a thinking position.
The boy sighed before resuming his words "I have a few propositions to fix these issues but they need reviewing. We will better discuss this in a later meeting. Thankfully our village's intelligence-networks are the best in the world so we should still get an early warning if a major mobilization is needed. Now about the second issue: the village's shinobi should be required to partake in a very thorough psychological examination every year. Before you ask me why it is to reduce the number of missing Nin that emerge from our village. While we have the most powerful shinobi we also have the most powerful missing Nin and that is a serious cause of concern. Orochimaru, Itachi, Madara are prime examples of this. This needs to stop!" Naruto enforced his last words before resuming "This will also be discussed in the future as the most important issue right now is the academy."
By now the Civilian Council was just breaking out of their stupor but were still having trouble voicing their opinions. Thankfully Choza asked their question for them "What is wrong with the academy?"
Naruto smirked "Nothing is wrong with it."
Tsume raised an eyebrow "But you said there is an important issue regarding it!"
"Like I said nothing is wrong with it, if you consider a 66% rate of failure acceptable. I mean take a look at this year's 'crop'. Teams one to six failed and only seven to ten passed. All of those who passed come from families with military background, even Sakura Haruno who comes from a family of retired shinobi, ain't that right Councilor Haruno?" the boy peeked from his document and noticed the scowling but nodding woman. "And those who have only the basic academy training and pass the test have a 97 percent chance of dying on their first mission outside the village, should they encounter a situation that exceeds facing more than a poorly armed and trained bandit."
Shitake slapped the table "Nonsense! The academy was founded by the Niidaime Hokage Tobirama Senju. It has given us good shinobi since then! You can't dare to say that…"
"I dare Mushroom!" Naruto responded with a glare "The teachings of the academy have fallen drastically! The only notable teams that have survived the wars wholly are Sandaime-sama's and InoChikaCho combo. Most of the rest have at least a member or sensei that have died or have been incapacitated. Actually even Niidaime-sama fell to the enemy in the Second Ninja World War." the boy snapped at the man while Hiruzen and surprisingly Danzo showed a bit of sadness and remorse. Naruto sighed "Look I'm not saying the academy is faulty, it's the academics that are presented. It is too focused on mental academics and too little on shinobi training. I mean take Iruka Umino, the guy is a superb shinobi all-rounder and a born sensei but he puts everyone to sleep before he can actually get to something useful in his lectures." Naruto said with a smile and most of the Shinobi Council and the Hokage chuckled a bit. "There are also many facts that are painfully wrong placed like separation of male and female shinobi training and sparring."
"That was necessary as there is no way the girls can compete with guys!" Haruno belched and a certain cat-masked ANBU guard growled silently.
Naruto looked at her surprised before blowing into a crazy-like laugh "Ahahaha! That's a good one councilor. Do you know that one with three shinobi and a kunai… wait you're serious? Then tell me, why are the teams formed usually with one girl and two guys. If your logic was valid then the female member would jeopardize the other's safety. Not only that, do you think that on missions that are not conducted inside the village the enemy would care if they were girls or not? But considering that your statement is a step short of stupid I will tell you this: the reason the girls can't usually compete with the guys is because of a disease." the blond crossed his hands and looked deathly serious while everybody leaned in a curious fashion. "That disease is called 'Acute Fangirl Syndrome'" Naruto flashed his foxy grin and everybody was blown back by this statement "It manifests in 98 percent of the female academy students and it's symptoms are: dieting, a phobia of everything that comes close to dirt, prolonged time spent in front of a mirror dolling-up for their 'crush'." the boy said the last words signaling quotation marks with his fingers "The results of this disease is the lack of muscle and subsequently stamina required by decent shinobi, refusal to get 'down-and-dirty' or in normal language, to train which leads to more complications." he finished in a 'matter-of-factly' way.
"That is not even the tip of the ice-jutsu: academy taijutsu is absolutely useless against specialized styles. Actually nothing short of a bandit would fall to those moves. Yes it is a building block for the students to advance into a preferable style but when they graduate they are expected to hold their own. The worrisome factor is the near or absolute lack of useful shinobi material like international politics, teambuilding, assassination tactics, espionage tactics, seduction, interrogation methods and the list goes on. Of those dandelions you call students nine out of ten would freeze during their first kill leaving them and their team in a vulnerable situation. You leave too much to their Jounin sensei to correct when you could mold the proverbial iron while it's hot."
"Wait a minute!" Shitake yelled "Those so called classed would turn them into mindless killing machines!"
"Are you serious councilor?" Naruto asked with a puzzled face "Those are standard shinobi clan teaching and you don't see them as mindless."
"Is that true?" Haruno asked the rest of the shinobi council.
"Indeed." answered Hiashi
"Those are necessary skills for a ninja." answered Shibi "Our clans teach them these as soon as they are able to walk. Not only that, the environment nurtures this type of development."
Naruto continued "Like it or not councilor the academy does not produce heroes, it produces assassins with a conscious, even Yondaime-sama. We may love him as a hero but think of Iwa. He practically butchered them and they hate him with a passion. We say that he was a great man but they only see the hundreds of graves that they had to dig in his wake. THAT is the world that we live in and this is a shinobi village. Once you put on this headband…" Naruto used his thumb to point at his own headband "…you swear your life to this job. You become the instrument of salvation for your home and the avatar of destruction to your enemies and only the one with the strongest will survives. And I aim to burn the Will of Fire into the souls of the younger generation." the blond said rising from his seat and the shinobi side nodded in approval. Naruto closed his eyes and continued "I know you don't trust me, scratch that, you down right resent my existence. The feeling is mutual I assure you but let me make some things clear to you: I could destroy this village anytime I desire." the boy opened his eyes and the civilians took a mental step back , burying themselves into the couching of their seats. Naruto pointed to the crater left by his Void Wave "I didn't even break a sweat. Imagine one a thousand times more powerful than that and you will know my limit." he said and they lost color. The blond sighed again and turned to Hiruzen "Hokage-sama will you assist me in a small demonstration?"
Hiruzen for his part looked puzzled for a while but then smiled and nodded before joining the boy who had made his way to the other end of the table. There Naruto unrolled a small scroll.
"This is a standard low powered sealing scroll. Think about it as the polar opposite to the Yondaime's 'Hakke no Fūin Shiki' which is one of the most powerful seals that have ever existed. It can contain any normal inanimate objects." Naruto said before taking out a kunai and grabbing an ordinary piece of paper and letting it fall on the said knife. The paper split in two as it reached the edge of the kunai. "As you can see this kunai is the real deal." he continued before placing it above the unrolled scroll and with a half-seal, the kunai disappeared and new marks appeared on the scroll. Naruto then rolled up the scroll and held it up. "The kunai has been sealed inside the scroll." he then threw it to Shikaku "Please verify."
Shikaku muttered troublesome before he unsealed the kunai and then resealed it. "Verified." the man said tossing the scroll back to Naruto. By now everybody was curious about the purpose of this. Naruto smirked before proceeding to slash at the Hokage's body with the scroll. It turns out that Sarutobi Hiruzen was … ticklish. The boy then switched to poking the old man with the scroll. When the aged Kage laughed harder Naruto threw the scroll at his head and as expected it bounced off after an audible 'bonk'.
"I'll admit that I haven't laughed that hard in a while but was there any other reason for this exhibition Naruto?" Hiruzen said between chuckles since the scroll just deflected off his ever present armor helmet.
"That's strange..." Naruto said while analyzing the scroll "I mean I sealed the kunai into the scroll shouldn't that turn the scroll into the kunai?" the boy asked the Council who were starting to get the gist of it. "I mean if a Shinigami enforced seal developed by the greatest of all Seal Masters would turn a boy into a demon then shouldn't a cheap store-bought seal scroll become the kunai when I sealed it? Right councilors?"
Naruto then did a one eighty and started walking towards his seat and was cursing himself for not having his camera on him. The council's faces were priceless.
After a few moments of chuckling Hiruzen once again turned to speak "I think that we should conclude our meeting here. Any objections?" he asked the council but they were still petrified for different reasons. "Then this meeting is adjourned!"
Later that day …
Hiruzen was enjoying a pleasant evening with his surrogate grandson. He puffed from his pipe as his clones handled the not-so-dreaded-anymore paperwork. Naruto was chuckling a bit about how the man took his advice to heart about the clones.
"Now…" the man began "… would you mind telling me what you have in mind for the academy?"
Naruto smirked "Told you, I am going to shovel the Will of Fire into our future shinobi or die trying and that's a promise!"
Hiruzen smiled "But how?"
"With a little help from you of course." the blond answered.
"My help?"
"Yes…" the boy answered "… I need you to make me an academy instructor." Naruto answered seriously.
"But will you be able to manage it together with your other 'assignments'?" the Hokage asked referring to his normal shinobi activities as well as his ANBU duties.
"There will always be a Body Clone on standby to fill in for me when I will be 'indisposed'. They may have only 10 percent of my power but that is more than enough to handle a standard Jounin. I don't think that academy students will be any trouble for it. And I will take over from time to time."
"So be it…" Hiruzen nodded and wrote the permission slip "Give this to Iruka Umino when you go to the academy. While you are there he will be your assistant. He may be a Chuunin and you a Gennin but this is not wartime."
"Thank you Jijii!" Naruto smiled and then flashed out of the office after taking the document with him.
Sarutobi chuckled a bit before turning to the Yondaime's portrait and scowling "You damn idiot…" he began softly "Why didn't you let me take your place? You would have been so damn proud of him, her as well. So stubborn that you make mules seem like obedient children, that's what you both were…" he 'accused' the picture "Guess it runs in the family?" he pondered a bit before shrugging and taking out his porn. "I should have Jiraya return to the village again. Maybe this time Naruto will…" before he could finish his words he shuddered at the memory.
Underneath Konoha…
"The Jinchuriki is getting more and more insolent." said the female member of the covert meeting.
"Indeed, it is getting out of control." confirmed her former teammate and fellow elder. "We should do something about this, if we still want to have some influence in the council. Hiruzen trusts it more than he does us and that is something that should not be for a weapon. Do you have any suggestions Danzo?"
The mummy stood there silent still locked in thinking since he left the council chamber.
"Homura, Koharu…" he began and they stood in attention "While I agree with your opinions, you are to leave young Uzumaki alone." he said softly but with a lot of authority.
"But…" Koharu began but Danzo raised his one visible arm.
"I understand your positions but so far … the kid has proven more of an asset than a threat. What he said about … sensei and the others is true." he expressed and the others dropped their shoulders in sadness thinking about the second Hokage "And let's not forget Homura, the Jinchuriki is smarter and more powerful than his age dictates. We would do best not to antagonize him for now. I will keep a closer eye on him but you are not to stand in his way, am I clear?"
They both nodded.
"Actually, I am also curious about his plans for the younger generation. So far Uzumaki has proven that he values this village with all his heart and will die protecting it. Don't misunderstand me, I will fight for this village until my last breath left my body but it will eventually happen when we will die. If he truly loves this village I will let him have his way and choose somebody else to stay in the shadows that the root lives in. However should the opportunity present itself we will not hesitate to strike, do you agree?
Once again they both confirmed.
With Naruto…
Our favorite blond Senkaipo'd right outside of Iruka's classroom (considering the fact that it was in the same building as the Hokage office it would seem like it was pointless to do so but it's still cool). He was still in his coat and vest attire so he looked pretty imposing. He focused a bit to judge the student's level in the class and found it to be average. Only a few were worth more than words. He shrugged and knocked on the door before entering.
When they saw him the male student body gasped at how cool he looked and the girls had hearts in their eyes.
Scanning the classroom he found someone that he didn't expect… Konohamaru Sarutobi, the old-man's grandson who looked equally stunned.
"Boss!" the kid yelled.
"Hey Konohamaru!" Naruto responded back with a smile that had many girls faint. He still remembered the day he met the squirt.
*FLASHBACK*
Our hero was talking with the Sandaime in his office right after he took his registration photo when Maru entered the office with a shuriken in hand aiming for the Kage and screaming about defeating him. But after three steps he tripped on his exaggeratedly long scarf. He was about to fall on his face when Naruto appeared out of nowhere and caught him.
"You okay squirt?" the blond asked.
Maru looked at him with curious eyes before becoming hostile "HEY! What's the big deal with you?"
"Huh?" Naruto answered.
"Fess-up! You tripped me to act like a hero!" Maru screamed.
"Why would I do that?" asked Naruto who was starting to get a little irritated.
Just then a man with Mobius-style round sunglasses entered the room "Hey you! Unhand the Hokage's honorable grandson!" the man screamed.
Naruto noticed that Maru's expressions seemed to sadden when the man referred to him like that.
"Yeah! There's your reason mister hero! You just want to get it good with my granddad!"
The blond looked at him surprised before breaking out in a light laugh.
"What's so funny?" asked Maru, now thinking that Naruto was making fun of him.
"It's funny because your best lie is that I needed to 'get it good' with Jijii. For your information I have such a relation with him that I am practically one blood test away from being your big brother squirt." Naruto answered with tears in his eyes from laughing before setting Maru on his own feet.
Brushing himself off the kid growled "Stop calling me squirt!"
"Nope!" Naruto smiled "Because that's what you are! You are a squirt, a gaki plain and simple. You charge in here with a shuriken in hand and aim it at your loving grandfather for some selfish reasons. Don't think I didn't see how you cringed when four-eyes here called you 'honorable grandson'. Let me guess, you hate that and the fact that you can't climb out of Jijii's shadow…"
Maru's eyes widened in surprise.
Naruto smirked and continued "And now you want his job so that others can see you for that and not for your grandfather's job, a squirt's reasons." Now the blond's expression turned serious "And when things go sour you blame somebody else for your own incompetence, just like a brat. Let me ask you, what would you truly fight for? If it's for recognition then you will forever be a gaki in my eyes, not the 'honorable gaki' just selfish scum. Find the true answer to that question deep within your heart and earn my respect." the Gennin explained and released the paralysis seal that kept Ebisu quiet and still before heading towards the door. However he stopped midway "Oh and I almost forgot, only cowards and idiots act like heroes…" Naruto said looking over his shoulder before lazily throwing Maru's shuriken (which he removed stealthily from his hand) in front of his feet "…but only true heroes act! For what? Well that's what you have to find the answer to… Bye squirt!" he waved before teleporting without a visual effect out of the room.
Ebisu was too shaken up to react but Maru's thoughts were 'This guy's different…"
Later that very same day, Naruto was walking towards his apartment since he just came from the hospital where Mamoru-sensei gave him his Medical License: First Class certificate. He was walking past a wooden fence when he noticed someone trying to hide behind an image of the same edifice only that it was perpendicular to the design.
"You're holding the curtain wrong squirt, come out!" he ordered.
Maru stepped out of his hiding place and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "Ehehe, sorry 'bout that boss!"
"Boss?" the blond looked at him curious.
"Yeah, I thought about what you said but I just couldn't get a decent answer so I thought that maybe following you I would get it eventually. So you are my Aniki (Boss/Big brother) now!" Maru answered "Also, can you teach me anything useful? Ebisu keeps making me read stuff and do physical training but he barely taught me how to use chakra and chakra control but he refuses to teach me any jutsu." the boy mumbled.
"Have you ever thought that maybe they are truly useful squirt?" Naruto crossed his hands.
"What do you mean boss?" asked a baffled Konohamaru.
Naruto sighed "Look, the basics are the most important thing to a shinobi. Sure you can have cool jutsu that make things go boom but to truly master them you have to know the basics. I for one only know about ten or so techniques but because of my mastery over them, well let's just put it this way, if Jijii and I were to fight each other seriously, I'm not sure which of us would survive."
Maru's eyes became big as plates. "Really?" the boy asked.
The blond smiled and walked to him. He put a hand on his shoulder and Hiraishined to the training ground of team 7. The poor kid puked his lunch from the experience.
"What was that?!" asked a startled and somewhat queasy Maru.
"That squirt was the Hiraishin no Jutsu, the jutsu that made the fourth famous in the war."
The boy now had stars in his eyes. "Teach me! Teach me! Teach me!" he jumped up and down.
Naruto smirked and took out a scroll "Sure!" He unrolled it above Maru and unsealed its contents. A pile of books about the same height as Naruto buried poor Maru under it.
Digging himself out of the pile the boy gasped and looked angrily at our hero but before he had a chance to shout Naruto intervened.
"Those books are all about the basics of Fuuinjutsu, Chakra Control and my notes about Jikuukan Ninjutsu. Read them all and then come find me and I'll give you the advanced portion which is three times more. Also you have to practice what those books say. After that I will show you how to perform this technique."
"Whaaat?" Maru practically screamed "Why can't you just show me how to do the technique without them?"
"Basics." Answered Naruto with a serious face "If you don't know what is written in those books and you try to perform this technique without them the best case would be that your head would end up at your intended destination and your ass would appear on Jijii's desk, at the same time."
That was all that was needed to make the boy pale.
"Understand now squirt? The more powerful the Jutsu the more complicated it usually is, and the more risk it has to the user or the more work is needed to use it, usually both. Take one of the village's most powerful shinobi, Kakashi Hatake my sensei. He created an A-class Raiton Jab Jutsu but if you use it recklessly you can lose your arm… or your life since it's very draining. Not only that but it also requires a lot of speed and good perception so hence this is also the basics area." Naruto explained.
Maru was locked in thinking.
"Then did you practice them too boss?"
"I have nearly a thousand years of practice squirt. Besides that even walking is practice for me."
"A THOUSAND YEARS?" yelled a skeptical Konohamaru.
"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu…" began Naruto "It's a very dangerous Kinjutsu that can create a physical clone that can train in mental tasks like chakra control and calligraphy in your place. So if you create a clone and practice with it you have twice the practice time."
"It is dangerous because you need to have enough chakra to power the clone and your body or you could die. It's a Jounin level jutsu." continued a clone who was created seal-lessly by Naruto who then poofed out of existence.
"I can make a thousand of them and still train all day." finished Naruto.
"Whoa!" Maru managed to say.
Naruto then smiled "But I won't be stingy. I'll actually teach you something useful and relatively safe…" he said before resealing the books "Tree-climbing with no hands."
"No hands? How?" Maru asked.
"How do most shinobi do cool things?" asked Naruto.
"Chakra?" the boy answered like he had a revelation.
"Exactly, now watch this!" Naruto continued before focusing some Ranpu chakra to his feet and making it glow intense blue to make it visible before mixing it with normal chakra. He then casually walked up the tree. "Now if you focus too little chakra you will slip off the tree…" Naruto reduced the flow by a small fraction and began skidding gently on the bark before correcting the flow again. "Too much and you will blast off the tree…" he did so and was propelled off it before doing a flip and landing like a cat. Looking back at Maru he continued "You have to find the right balance to keep yourself on. It's harder than it looks so don't underestimate it. Also most sensei would tell you to run up the tree and mark your top position. I say that is too costly and dangerous. Start out slow at first. Only try to stick one foot to the tree and after you think that it's good disconnect your foot and try it with the other. After that try to gently walk on it. Don't try to see how high you go but how long you can stay stuck to it and how much you have to focus. If you can do it while say throwing a ball in the air and trying to catch it then you have mastered it. This exercise, besides its obvious usefulness, can also make your chakra pools grow and make you be able to do 'cooler' jutsu easier."
"Wow!" exclaimed Maru taking his boss's words to heart. However the next second Naruto teleported in front of him and looked in his eyes.
"However, don't burn yourself out as that can be seriously dangerous. If you feel yourself out of breath then take a break. Do I make myself clear squirt?" Naruto ordered with a face that was the combination of Anko and Ibiki and a very light dose of KI which seriously scared the crap out of Maru who nodded furiously. "Good! Well what are you waiting for, an invitation? Get a move on!" the blond yelled and the boy took to the nearest tree.
Three hours later, a lot of slipups and a few pointers here and there, Maru was walking on the tree with little difficulty.
Naruto picked up a fruit from a nearby tree "Hey squirt! Catch!"
And so he did without slipping or paying attention to the fact that he was fifteen feet off the ground. But it soon hit him "Hey boss, I did it!" and walked down the tree a little exhausted but happy none the less.
"Great job squirt!" Naruto smiled and the kid beamed with pride.
Just then Ebisu shunshined in the picture "What the?" the man scowled "What are you doing honorable grandson? Consorting with trash like him would only lead to your detriment!" he yelled.
Maru scowled but was too tired to reply. Naruto noticed this and stepped between them.
"Back off four-eyes! The squirt obviously doesn't feel comfortable with you so please leave!" Naruto asked.
"The nerve! You obviously don't know your place trash! I am a Tokubetsu Jounin and you are a Gennin and will respect me!" Ebisu threatened.
"You're right, I am trash…" Naruto closed his eyes and answered softly earning a smirk from the man and a surprised look from Maru "But those who don't care about their comrades are far worse than trash! If you want to get the squirt you'll have to go through me!" Naruto answered with full confidence.
"Boss…" Maru looked with admiration at his role model before closing his eyes and stepping in front of Naruto. "That's alright boss, you don't have to do this for me…" Maru told him "Because I will handle him myself!" and with that he charged at Ebisu.
For a couple of seconds the man was stunned with confusion allowing the kid to close in on the man. However, at the last moment his shinobi instincts kicked in and he dodged the boy's fist by jumping in a tree.
"Why do you do this honorable grandson? I told you that this trash is not worth the effort to…"
"SHUT UP!" shouted Maru surprising the man once again. The boy then turned towards Naruto "Boss I… have the answer! Those who don't care about others are far worse than trash right? Then I will protect everyone I care about and who they care for as well. No matter how hard it will be or how long it will take I will become strong enough to do so, that I swear!" and with that he once again charged at Ebisu who was having conflicted feelings after listening to the boy's words. He snapped out of his dreams when he noticed Maru closing in to the base of the tree. He smirked for a minute before his mouth snapped open as he saw the boy running up the tree keeping the same momentum.
His surprise cost him as Maru reached his level and decked him square in the jaw and they both came falling down the tree. The boy closed his eyes awaiting the pain of the fall but the feeling of stopping suddenly brought him back.
Naruto was holding him with one arm while hanging upside down on the same branch that Ebisu was perched up a moment before. The man fell to the ground. However the height wasn't that much and the man quickly got up to a sitting position nursing his sore face.
'Glad to see that Konohamaru's physical workouts are working, damn that kid can pack a punch! Sometimes I hate being an elite teacher.' the man thought to himself sarcastically.
A moment later Naruto and Konohamaru landed easily on the ground.
Ebisu eyed them for a second before smirking and getting up to full standing position. He nodded to Naruto who smirked and nodded back. He then turned around and began walking away.
"Yeah and never come back!" Maru yelled but soon felt his boss's hand on his shoulder.
"Go with him!" Naruto spoke softly.
The boy looked at him curiously but after remembering the recent adrenaline fueled events and noticing the look in Naruto's eyes he understood.
"Okay…" Maru smiled "Thanks for everything nii chan. You are no longer my Aniki!" Maru responded with a foxy grin "From now on we are rivals! Wait for me I will definitely get Jijii's hat from you!"
"Well, you will have to prove that you are strong enough for it since that hat carries the weight of the country's people and that means that you will have to kick my ass!" Naruto responded back.
"Count on it!"
"Then I'll be waiting… Konohamaru!"
The two then fist-bumped and Maru turned around yelling "Ebisu-sensei, wait for me!"
In his office an elderly Hokage was watching the events intensely with his crystal ball. Seeing and hearing (I think) the conclusion he smiled before relaxing in his chair and taking a few puffs from his pipe.
"Might be sooner than you think squirt." the man chuckled and turned back to his duties but not before smiling at Minato's portrait.
FLASHBACK END
Naruto smirked at the memory but quickly shrugged it off as he turned towards Iruka who was getting close.
"Naruto? What are you doing here? Class is still in session."
"Official business Iruka-sensei, this is from Jijii!" said the boy with a million dollar smile as he handed the man the scroll from the Hokage.
Iruka read it and frowned a bit. "Are you sure you want this? It's harder than it looks." asked the man with genuine concern. If for his job or for the boy we will never know.
"Don't worry sensei I already had to deal with a little sister and a little brother figure so I think I can handle it. Don't worry, this is temporary but necessary so to start a newer standard."
"Okay, if you say so…" the man sighed and turned to the class "Class!" he said but they were busy chatting amongst themselves about Naruto and weren't paying attention. A tick mark appeared on Iruka's forehead. "Class!" he said with more force but again nothing. Now he was getting pissed. He was about to use his Big-head from Hell Jutsu but Naruto put a hand in front of him.
The blond stepped forward and smiled looking to the group chatting like they were no cares in the world.
Quicker than anyone can blink he released .00001% of his potent KI. The result was more than expected as they all froze in their spots, words still hanging in their mouths. Naruto turned off his KI and they all looked at him in silence and fright, even Konohamaru.
Iruka looked at the boy with wonder and a little envy 'Why didn't I think of that?' he thought.
Naruto smirked "Now that I have your undivided attention I want to present myself. I am Naruto Uzumaki, you can call me Uzumaki-sensei, Naruto-sensei, sensei, Naruto or however you wish, I don't care. For the rest of the year and maybe more I will be your sensei and Iruka Umino-sensei will be my assistant!" he said and Iruka nodded.
The silence persisted a few more seconds before one girl stuttered "W-What was t-that?"
Naruto nodded "That was KI also known as 'Killer Intent' and it is what you will feel every time I catch you not paying attention, sleeping, skipping school, chasing boys or girls during academy time or disobeying my orders!" he answered.
There was a collective 'eehhh?' coming from them but in the background a 'troublesome' was heard by the blond.
"Oh? What's this? We have a Nara in the premise? Stand up!" he ordered and a small boy with shoulder length messy hair, gray t-shirt with a visible mesh underneath and knee-length black pants stood up albeit with great reluctance. "What's your name squirt?"
"Troublesome, Shikaryu Nara! Can I sit down now?" he answered lazily.
Naruto smiled innocently. The next moment an orange shining rope-like construction wrapped itself around Shikaryu and lifted him off his feet and pulled him towards Naruto who was generating the construction out of his forearm. The rope positioned the Nara face to face with Naruto who looked positively beaming with happiness although everybody could feel the murderous aura behind him. Ryu almost pissed himself right there.
"Ara? What was that?" Naruto asked 'kindly'.
"I-I said Shikaryu Nara and i-if I can s-sit down…" answered the still suspended boy who was now at eye level with the taller Naruto.
"Oh my! This attitude and looks… How close are you related with Shikamaru squirt?" the blond asked.
"H-he's my first cousin…" he answered but Naruto's arm flinched and the rope started tightening.
"Ara? I didn't quite catch that." Naruto answered smirking at the boy's visible uncomfortable position.
"I-I said…"
"I heard what you said maggot!" Naruto yelled making the boy swallow his own words. "When you address me you add sensei and you do it like you mean it!"
"B-But you said that we can call you however we want!" Ryu tried to defend.
Naruto frowned "You fail." he whispered. "Are you really related to Shikamaru?"
"What?" the boy asked in surprise but the rope tightened again "I mean what do you mean sensei?" he corrected and the rope slacked enough to become comfortable again.
"I meant to call me however you wish in your own time brat! Whenever I'm we are in here I am Naruto-sensei or sensei to you, all of you, and you will respect rank, weather through fear or genuine understanding! Do I make myself clear?" Naruto yelled at him and then the whole class before turning his attention back to Ryu "Also while I'm here sleeping or giving anything else but your all is forbidden if you are not knocked unconscious and if you use that condescending tone with me I will give you a reason to sleep by making you run 100 laps around the school ground, and trust me you will run." Naruto threatened.
The Nara frowned "You can't be serious, that's cruel and uncalled for." he answered back forgoing the 'sensei' and keeping his tone. He was by no means arrogant but nobody and I mean nobody (but his mother and aunt) threatened his sleep time.
Naruto smirked and retracted his rope making him fall comically on his rear. The Nara and the blond began a starring contest but after three seconds Naruto closed his eyes and sighed. Ryu smirked thinking that he won but then Naruto gathered some chakra in his hand and slammed his hand on the floor where a very particular seal appeared before a moment later a shoelace-sized blue-eyed white cobra appeared who after looking around saw Naruto and, faster than a bullet climbed onto the blond's shoulder snuggling on the boy's cheek.
"This class is Miki, my friend and my nee-san's summon. She likes rodents, scarring enemies and apparently me and my nee-san. She hates anybody who messes with us. She is a cobra-type summon and is highly venomous. Although she can deliver non-venomous bites I have to tell you that if she envenomed someone they would beg for a painful death."
The class paled.
Naruto smirked and continued "She also loves a good chase and can follow orders to the letter." The little snake mimicked a bow which some more … sadistic of the class thought of as cute.
Ryu raised an eyebrow "You said it's your 'nee-san's' summon…" he began but was stopped cold by a stare coming from his sensei.
"She not it!" Naruto retorted.
"Um… right… anyway how can you summon… her?" Ryu asked.
"Oh, that's thanks to a modified reverse summoning seal that is placed inside her hood. Apparently she gets very cranky if I don't play with her often." Naruto answered scratching the little snake underneath her muzzle and she answered by …smiling?
"Okay? Why did you summon her?" Ryu asked while frowning.
The blond sensei's eyebrow twitched as he 'forgot' to add the proper title or honorific. And his tone was still not helping. "A very good question squirt!" Naruto beamed as he said that out loud (almost yelling) "She will make sure that I keep my promise of you running those laps, starting right now." the blond finished with a dark chuckle. "Oh and don't think about using your family's technique on her or I will personally turn you into a practice dummy for T&I techniques, got it squirt?" he told the boy with the same face he used on Hanabi during that time when she asked for training.
The boy sweated and nodded furiously while thinking 'Heh, I'll just give that spaghetti string the slip and then sleep off the rest of the day."
Naruto seemed to read this and smiled murderously "Miki-chan, would you be a dear and help me with making him run a hundred laps around the academy grounds?"
The snake looked at her friend with a confused face before looking at Ryu and sharing the blond's grin as much as a snake could. She hopped into the air and instantly grew to the size of a large anaconda and opened her hood still 'smiling' at her 'pray' while hissing. Ryu nearly shit his pants.
"Can I usssse lethal forssse?" the snake hissed the words surprising everyone except Naruto.
"No venom, permanent or severe injuries but you can turn his ass into a sprinkler if he either slows down or tries to give you the slip." The blond answered nonchalantly.
Miki curled the tip of her tail and then whipped it rapidly making a (finger) snapping noise "Sssssshuks!" before shrugging and opening her mouth to reveal a pair of three inch long sharp needle-like fangs glistening in the neon lighting of the room.
While this was going on Shikaryu was trying to stealthily crawl towards the exit. Naruto saw this and frowned. "Miki, hunt!" he said and the boy bolted out of the door followed by a very happy snake.
Naruto chuckled darkly again before turning to the rest of the class who was almost petrified at the display. "Did everyone learn from today's lesson?"
They answered almost mechanically in a chorus of 'Yes sensei!'
The blond smiled kindly "Good, welcome to hell squirts, I will be your devil for the year!" he said as he broke out laughing deviously.
'We're screwed!' thought the class.
*End Chapter*