"I hope you know what you're doing," Yuko said as she stepped into the seal array.
"Trust me, if there's one thing I'm good at, it's breaking the rules of reality and creating my own. Create a stable parallel dimension to store something in? Simple. Add a synchronization and then stasis seal on top of that? Complicated, but doable," Kenji retorted, fake hurt in his eyes.
"I'm going to miss you, Kenji," Yuko muttered as she spread her arms for a hug.
"And I you, Yuko. However, it warms my heart to know that at least you will survive."
Yuko laughed mirthlessly. "That's assuming everything goes right."
"Of course it will, Yuko! How could you possibly doubt my seals?" Kenji asked, enveloping her in his arms.
"It's not that I doubt your seals, sensei. I'm simply questioning your ability to completely rewrite the rules of reality as you see fit. Nothing more, nothing less."
Yuko quickly found herself extremely bored with her classes. The only topic that she didn't already understand was history, and that was simply because she had been in a seal for the past three decades, give or take a few years. As such, she took to sleeping in most of the theoretical classes.
Most of it was wrong anyways. At least, it was from the perspective of an Uzumaki.
She focused instead on getting to know the classmates that interested her. Sasuke could go die in a hole for all she cared. Shino was a calm intellectual who she could always go to for a game of shogi. Shikamaru was a lazy intellectual that she had fun debating with. Sometimes, it even actually seemed like he was interested in them.
Sakura and Ino were far too interested in Sasuke for their own good, along with far too many of the other prospective kunoichi. They'd probably either drop out or die in their first B-Rank if they maintained that attitude. Hinata was a quiet girl with severe self-esteem issues. Yuko tried to help her with that when she could, but whatever progress she made was quickly stamped out when the poor girl went home.
Choji was a gentle boy - a commendable attitude, but not one that suited a career as a shinobi. When he was angry, though… his attitude was actually very similar to many of the Uzumaki. Kind natured, but deadly if angered. Kiba was much too arrogant to survive long - hopefully that'd be beaten out of him on his first few C-Ranks. His tendency to chase any female was a more concerning matter, simply because it was incredibly frustrating to deal with.
Naruto, though. Now he was an interesting kid. Loud, abrasive, obnoxious on the exterior. It was a good mask. A damned good one. However, all one needed to do was look a little bit deeper to realize it was a mask hiding a ridiculously depressing reality. The kid had self-esteem issues that dwarfed the Hyuuga girl's. He was so lonely, all he wanted was someone to pay attention to him. It very nearly broke her heart when Yuko saw his mask for what it was.
It was fortunate then, that she arrived when she did. Even more fortunate that they shared a name, giving her an excuse to talk to him.
She didn't have to do anything, though. Naruto had come to her, utterly incapable of keeping his thoughts from spewing out of his mouth. While initially endearing, his babbling quickly crossed the line to obnoxious when question after question poured out, without giving him time to answer.
In retrospect, it made sense. She was the first person his age who would answer his questions. Everyone else, with the exception of Choji, refused to give Naruto the time, let alone answer his questions.
"What's your favorite color? What's your favorite food? Do you like Ramen? Do you have any family? What's it like outside Konoha? Do you know if we're related? If you do, do you know who my parents are? When did you get here?"
It was utterly suffocating. Yuko tried to answer as many questions as she could to the best of her ability without giving away any secrets, but it was a challenge given just how many questions he had. Eventually he ran out of things to ask, and she started getting in her own questions. The answers were, unfortunately, less than satisfactory. Expected, but still, unsatisfactory.
She became his first real friend - not father figure, because that was Iruka. Not uncle figure, because that was Teuchi. Maybe sister figure, but that first went to Ayame. His grandfather figure was Hiruzen who, despite his age and workload, still managed to set aside time for the boy. It was those four figures who kept the boy from going completely insane.
It was her self-appointed task to fix the cracks that they couldn't stop.
She took one of the apartments next to his, and taught him how to keep a house. She, instead of him, went shopping, because his stipend went much farther that way. It sickened her to realize just exactly how much the villagers had screwed him over in the past. It disgusted her how they could show one face to her, then look right next to her and show a completely different face.
But it wasn't her task to fix the village - it was her task to fix her family, which include Naruto, and Naruto alone. He may have been her grand-nephew, but he became her brother. They ate together, they trained together - his taijutsu was absolutely atrocious. It quickly became evident to her that several of the academy instructors had deliberately sabotaged his learning, and it swiftly became imperative that she correct the physical aspects.
She taught him the Tempest Fist style, along with proper nutrition and conditioning exercises. She taught him control exercises to try to tame his chakra reserves that were, even by Uzumaki standards, astounding for his age. She had to start him with tree-walking, because no matter how much he tried, leaf balancing was beyond him. She quickly became the center of his life. Whenever he came across a problem, she was the first person he turned to.
And so, two and a half months later, two weeks before the graduation test, he was in a complete panic. He knew there was absolutely no way that Yuko would fail, and he still couldn't create a clone. He could create a thousand clones and they would all turn out perfectly, but he couldn't for the life of him compress it down to the necessary two. So it befell Yuko to solve the problem.
"Too much chakra," Yuko said to Hiruzen. "Naruto just has far too much chakra to be able to control it well enough to create two clones. I've tried to get his control down to the point that he could create them, but it's like trying to stop a flood with your hands. The chakra just slips through."
Hiruzen steepled his fingers in front of his face. "So you want my suggestion for the type of clone to teach him."
Yuko nodded. "That's right. Earth would make the most sense, because you can almost always find enough dirt to make one, but earth clones are so dull. They're almost as useless as normal illusory clones."
"Tell me," Hiruzen said after a moment of thinking. "Relative to me, how much chakra does he have?"
"I would say at least twice as much, and that's without tapping the Kyuubi's supply. I've taken a look at his seal when he's not paying attention, and it truly is a marvel of work. The Kyuubi's chakra strains his coils to very near their breaking limit before returning to the seal, tricking his body into thinking that he's trained until he's emptied his coils. The entire process takes around a week, and as far as I can tell it's been happening since birth."
The Hokage's eyes widened at the prospect as Yuko continued. "It's actually amazing just how fine tuned the seal is. Your successor clearly knew his seals. He didn't just use the Reaper Death Seal - he modified it. Do you understand what that means?"
"I feel like I do, but I also get the feeling that you're going to tell me something that makes it clear to me just how much I don't understand," Hiruzen said with a twitch of his lips.
"The Reaper Death Seal is like a summoning contract, Hiruzen. It summons the Shinigami. He MODIFIED the clauses of the summoning. That is something that is practically impossible. I think, if he had enough time, he could've modified the seal in such a way that the Shinigami didn't consume his soul. It's a damned shame he didn't have the time," Yuko explained, a hint of awe in her voice.
"Regardless," she continued, "we've strayed off topic. We were discussing Naruto's need for a clone technique that he can pump as much chakra into as he wants to."
The Hokage sighed. "There is a forbidden technique that I would, under normal circumstances, never suggest. But these are no ordinary circumstances, are they?"
"No, no they are not," Yuko agreed as she shook her head.
"I assume you know of the Shadow Clone technique?" Hiruzen asked as he stood up.
"Know of it? Hell, I know how to use shadow clones. Remember my tip for paperwork? How's that working for you, by the way?"
"It's working wonderfully, by the way, thank you very much," he answered with a look of barely contained glee. A lull in the conversation followed as Yuko rubbed her temples.
"So I take it you want me to teach him to make shadow clones. Shouldn't be too hard… I hope."
"Let's hope you're right. I don't want to know what it would do to Naruto if he failed the exams this time around."
"I think it would destroy him, especially because there's no way to justify myself failing alongside him if he did. He would see it as him holding me back, which would hurt him just as much as if I betrayed him."
She stood up and started walking towards the door before she paused. "Do you want me to tell him about the memory transfer aspect? Or should we wait until he's more developed?"
There was another silence as Hiruzen debated which action to take. "Don't tell him. Not yet, otherwise he'll likely go overboard with it."
A smirk found its way onto Yuko's face. "That he would, Hiruzen. That he would."
It was quite astonishing, really, just how fast Naruto learned when someone took the time to actually teach him. At least, the physical aspects. Not the mental work, like history and theoretical concepts. By the time the exams rolled around, Naruto had practically mastered the shadow clone technique. Within a single week, he had gotten it from five handsigns down to one.
And so it was that the graduation exams began with a writing portion. A portion that Yuko surprised herself by doing fairly decently in. She definitely didn't get top marks, but she definitely knew the majority of the answers. It was Naruto she was concerned about. She could see him struggling to answer the questions, and a quick glance at his paper made it clear why.
It was layered in genjutsus. At least three, probably more. Enough to confuse a genin, at the very least. Definitely active sabotage. She noted her observation and filed it away for later. She would mention it to Iruka when she turned in her test.
Half an hour later, Iruka stood up. "Alright guys, pencils down. Mizuki, would you please collect the tests?" he announced. The silver haired assistant instructor started walking down the aisles and collecting the tests. When he reached Naruto's, he had a decidedly predatory smirk on his face. Yuko decided to speak up then.
"Iruka-sensei, why does Naruto's test have a genjutsu on it?"
Mizuki's smirk instantly vanished, replaced with an infuriated scowl as Iruka's sharp eyes turned to the test. He frowned when he recognized at least two of the genjutsus on the test, one for hiding the contents and another for confusing the reader.
"That's a wonderful question. Mizuki, you passed out the tests, right? Why is there a genjutsu on Naruto's?" Iruka asked.
Mizuki pulled Iruka aside for a little privacy. "Well, there's a very simple reason for that," Mizuki awkwardly deflected, "one that I'll explain in private later." Iruka groaned.
"Mizuki, why don't you just go home? I can handle the rest of the exam from here, especially if you're not going to be impartial," Iruka suggested with a look of exasperation. Mizuki placed the tests on Iruka's desk and vanished in a swirl of leaves.
"Alright. Everyone, take a half hour break," Iruka said as he dismissed everyone. "Naruto, Yuko, stay for a minute please."
Everyone quickly filed out, several of the more snobbish snickering at the two Uzumaki's. Yuko scowled as she heard Sasuke mutter several choice insults under his breath. "Dobe couldn't even recognize a genjutsu. Hn."
When Shikamaru, the last to leave the room left, Iruka spoke. "Naruto, since your test was tampered with, you can take the real test over the break and during the first portion of the physical section of the exam." He pulled out a fresh test and set it on the desk in front of Naruto.
"Yuko," he continued, "thank you for bringing this to my attention. I must ask, though. When did you notice the genjutsu, and why?"
"I wasn't cheating, if that's what you're thinking," Yuko started. "I sensed the chakra about half an hour before the time limit and I got curious, so I decided to look. I would have mentioned it sooner, but I didn't want to interrupt the rest of the class, and I trusted you enough to provide a viable solution."
Iruka nodded as he looked at the first paper. "It's probably for the best," he muttered to himself. "If Mizuki refused to be an impartial examiner, then his evaluations can't really be trusted."
"If that's all, Iruka, may I go? I'd like to pick up some ramen for Naruto and myself during the break."
Iruka waved his hand distractedly in a dismissive manner in response to her question. "By all means. Just make sure you're back by the time we start the taijutsu portion."
The rest of the test went by normally. No one tried to sabotage Naruto's tests, and Iruka finished the exams on his own. Naruto, for his part, did extremely well on the ninjutsu and taijutsu portions of the exams, a direct result of Yuko correcting his form and improving his chakra control. By the end of the day, Iruka was extremely exhausted, but he considered it a fair trade so long as all the exams were impartially conducted.
"Alright everyone, congratulations. Make sure to come back tomorrow to see the results at around noon. I'll have them posted by then.
Two days later, everyone who had passed was gathered in a room while they awaited team assignments. There were ten students in this group - Aburame Shino, Akamichi Choji, Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, Nara Shikamaru, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Yuko, and Yamanaka Ino. Iruka stood behind his desk at the front of the classroom.
"Alright everyone, congratulations once more for passing. In short order, I will announce the teams that you have been placed on. Teams one through six are being assigned in different rooms, so we'll be starting with team seven here. Before I start, though, keep in mind that you are now genin, and these teams have been determined by the Hokage himself. There will be no alterations to these teams except in extenuating circumstances. Do I make myself clear?" he announced in a tone that brooked no arguments.
Non-verbal nods of affirmation greeted his words. "Very well," he continued. "Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto, Uzumaki Yuko, and Aburame Shino." Everyone flinched as a loud whoop from Naruto pierced their ears.
"Yeah!" the blonde shouted ecstatically.
"Team Eight will be Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuuga Hinata, and Haruno Sakura," Iruka proceeded, ignoring Naruto's outburst, which surprisingly was matched with a similarly painful outburst from Sakura.
"NO!" she screeched. "How could they refuse to place me with my Sasuke-kun?!"
Yuko rolled her eyes. "Probably because of your fangirl tendencies," she muttered under her breath.
"Team Nine is still in circulation, so Team Ten will be Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino." Ino, for her part, maintained a somewhat calm countenance, but she still shot a few wistful glances over at Sasuke.
"Finally," Iruka started after a few quiet murmurs of conversation died down, "Uchiha Sasuke will be apprenticed alone to his sensei as a request by the Coun-"
A shattering window interrupted him as something flew threw the window, showering him in pieces of broken glass. The object unfurled to reveal a woman who threw two kunai at the corners of the object, pinning it to the ceiling, revealing it as a banner. Written in bold red lettering on the banner was 'PRESENTING THE SEXY AND SINGLE MITARASHI ANKO.'
The woman had purple hair and was dressed in a mesh shirt and wearing an open trench coat that left very little of her impressive physique to the imagination. "Right then!" she announced in a brash voice. "Which of the brats are mine, Iruka?"
He released a sigh. "You're early, Anko. Team Seven, meet your Jounin-sensei."
Anko ignored the kids, turning to focus on Iruka. "I'm not early, you're just slow," she said in a more subdued voice, though it carried a hint of petulance. Turning back to the class, she addressed the three students who had stood up. "Right, brats. Meet me on the roof. You've got three seconds before I release the snakes on ya."
Naruto and Shino immediately ran out the door while the redhead walked calmly. "You might want to hurry, kid," Anko taunted. "As a general rule of thumb, the smaller the snake, the more potent the poison."
Yuko turned to directly face Anko. "I'm not worried about myself, as I doubt your snakes will catch me. I'm merely buying time for my teammates to reach the roof," she said with a smirk. Anko narrowed her eyes at the challenge, before flying through a set of seals, biting her thumb, and slamming her hand on the ground. There was a puff of smoke, and three small snakes appeared.
To Anko's surprise, the redhead vanished with a splash of water. She masked it well, though, as her snakes slithered out the door. "Hmm… Already team-oriented that one. She'll go far with that kind of attitude," she murmured to herself as she strode out the door at a sedate pace, before she too vanished in a swirl of leaves.
Shino and Naruto reached the roof second and third, surprised to find Yuko already there. "How'd you get here so fast?" Naruto demanded. "We left before you!"
"Body flicker," Yuko answered. "I'll teach it to you guys later, maybe."
"Well, aren't you a surprising one," Anko announced as she arrived in similar fashion. "It's not everyday you meet a genin who can use the shunshin." She leaned against the railing as she addressed her team. "Why don't we start with an ice breaker? Y'know, a kind of get to know you thing? I'll start first."
"I'm Mitarashi Anko, and I like dango. I was apprenticed to Orochimaru of the Sannin before he turned traitor, and he took me with him when he was ousted from the village. I 'escaped' when he discarded me and came back here. I summon snakes. My goal is to kill Orochimaru for what he did to me."
She pointed at Shino. "You next, brat."
He responded in a surprisingly deep voice. "My name is Aburame Shino. I like my family, and I enjoy breeding new breeds of Kikai. I dislike people who kill insects for no reason. My goal is to develop a breed of airborne Kikai that are as capable of draining chakra as the grounded strain."
Anko nodded, before turning to Naruto. "What about you?" she prompted.
"My name's Uzumaki Naruto! I like Ramen, Ayame-nee, Teuchi-san, Jiji, and Yuko! I dislike the three minutes it takes to cook cup ramen, people who can't see past their prejudices, as well as Sasuke-teme." He grumbled the very last part of that sentence, dislike evident in his voice. "My dream is to surpass all the previous Hokage!"
Anko smirked at his dislikes. "Alright. Finally, the redhead."
"My name is Uzumaki Yuko. I like Naruto, seals, and studying the theory behind seals. I dislike Iwa, Kumo, and Kiri for their role in the destruction of Uzushiogakure. My goal is to ensure the continuation of the Uzumaki line, as well as safeguarding the knowledge of the Uzumaki."
Anko frowned. Of all three of them, Shino's was probably the most realistic, Naruto's was the most idealistic, and Yuko's was the most unexpected. Not many people knew of Uzushiogakure these days. Especially not among twelve year olds. Though, she admitted, Yuko wasn't your average twelve year old.
"Well then!" she announced cheerily. "Why don't you brats go home? We'll be meeting tomorrow at training ground seven at eight, so make sure to be there bright and early! You don't want to miss the second genin exam! Yuko, I'd like to speak with you later - I'll find you. Bye!" She disappeared in a puff of smoke before the inevitable torrent of questions could follow. She didn't go too far - just to a branch on a nearby tree so she could keep an eye on the brats.
"What do you think she meant by second exam?" Naruto asked nervously.
"It is logical to assume that there is more to being a shinobi than the academy teaches. Therefore, it is likely that they would administer a second test to ensure that the graduates have the potential to survive. Why? Because there is no point in sending out a shinobi only for them to die on their first mission."
"There's definitely more that we need to know than just a clone technique, the transformation, and the body replacement," Yuko agreed. "We might as well get to know eachother better if we're going to be on the same team together. How about we go out to lunch?"
"Ramen?" Naruto asked.
Yuko rolled her eyes. "No. If you only eat ramen, you'll stunt your growth and you'll be a runt forever. Not that that's a bad thing, but you're far more intimidating if you're taller than the person you're trying to intimidate." Anko snickered in her tree at that statement.
"Very well. I find this proposal acceptable," Shino said.
"Excellent. Are there any suggestions for locations?" Yuko asked. "And not Ichiraku's. We've been there three times this week already, Naruto, and it's only Monday."
"Fine. I can't think of anywhere other than Ichiraku's that'll accept me," he grunted.
Oh. Right. That's an issue, Yuko thought. "I hear there's a fairly accepting dango shop that does pretty well for itself. Follow me."
Anko trailed the three genin for a bit before realizing that they were heading to her favorite dango shop. A smirk slid onto her face as an idea took root in her head, and she shunshined ahead of the brats to get there before them.
She was already seated with a plate of dango when her new team turned around the corner on their way to the shop. Hiding a smirk, she tossed a now-empty skewer on the ground at their feet. "Hey brats. What're you doing here?" she half shouted in an accusatory tone. "Are you following me?"
"No, Anko-sensei, we were merely going to eat lunch together. Why? Because as a team, it will speed up the bonding process," Shino replied evenly.
"Besides, sensei," Yuko chimed in. "You were the one following us until our location became obvious."
"She was following us?" Naruto asked, shocked. "How could you tell?"
"Queen Kikai beetles release pheromones that male Kikai smell. I placed a queen on her on the roof. Why? Because it is never a bad idea to have a way of tracking someone," Shino said.
"Okay, but how did you know, Yuko? I'm pretty sure she isn't a Kikai bug or anything," Naruto grumbled.
"I sensed her chakra," Yuko stated simply without flair.
"Oho, you're a sensor?" Anko butted in, interested.
"Yes. My range is about a mile."
The three genin joined Anko at her table and placed their orders before Yuko took the lead again. "As you know, Anko-sensei, because you were listening to us, we made plans for lunch in order to get to know eachother better. I'll start."
"Like most Uzumaki, I have massive chakra reserves. Due to certain classified conditions, mine are even larger than normal - in fact, if they were much larger, my chakra coils would rupture and I would die a painful death. Fortunately, this isn't the case. These massive reserves combined with my knowledge of jutsus makes me an ideal ninjutsu specialist. I also use the Uzumaki taijutsu style, which is called the Tempest Fist, and I've been teaching it to Naruto. My kenjutsu is rusty, and I'm waiting on a custom order of katanas before I practice that. I'm also quite adept at sealing and I can sense chakra."
Shino straightened his glasses. "Like many of the Aburame, I use my body as a hive for my Kikai beetles. My allies are capable of sensing and consuming chakra. Because of the nature of our symbiotic relationship, I am incapable of using many jutsus, as my allies feed off of my chakra. I am passable with my taijutsu, and I am skilled with my clan's techniques."
Naruto was bouncing in his seat when it came time for him to speak. "Yuko-nee says that I have massive chakra reserves even compared to most Uzumaki - she says I have twice as much as jiji, though I find that hard to believe. My taijutsu was crap because the instructor's taught me wrong, but Yuko's been helping me fix that. I also heal really fast and I can make a lot of shadow clones."
"Shadow clones already? Damn, brat," Anko said. "Looks like we're going to be a medium to close ranged specialist team, assuming we can get some medium range jutsus down."
She sucked enticingly on another stick of dango as she examined her new team. "If you don't mind, I'm just going to grab Yuko here for something real quick. See ya guys tomorrow!" She placed a hand on Yuko's shoulder and together they vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving two confused genin.
The two sat in silence before they both realized something simultaneously. "She left us the bill."
A/N: Still don't own Naruto. Imagine if I did though. Actually, don't. Somehow the story would get even more complicated.