Chapter 3: The Journey Begins

"GET HIM! DONT LET HIM GET AWAY!"

Naruto laughed as he jumped from rooftop to rooftop. He was fleeing the scene of his latest prank, and he was currently being pursued by four chuunin of the Konoha police force.

'im really going to miss this' Naruto thought to himself as he flipped off of the roof and slipped into a side alley. After ensuring that he had evaded his pursuers he walked casually into the busy streets and made his way towards training ground nine. It was still early, so he decided he would take his time walking through the village. Naruto glanced down at his clothes, making sure he did not get any paint on them. He was wearing dark blue shinobi pants with a thick orange stripe down each leg, and a rusty orange jacket over a black muscle tee, and mesh armor. His signature goggles fixed atop is head and weapons holster strapped to his left leg made completed his 'ninja look'.

Today was the day he would become an official genin of the Hidden Leaf, so he had decided to abandon his old orange jumpsuit in an attempt to look more professional. However he could not completely abandon his favorite color, he felt orange was just right for him.

As he walked downtown he thought back to how far he had come to reach this point.

It had been four years since he had met Gai-sensei, and just like he had promised Naruto that day, he had trained Naruto unlike he had ever believed possible. Alongside Gai's apprentice Rock Lee, he had been trained to be 'A Genius of Hard Work!'. It was a concept that Gai-sensei explained would help them overcome adversaries that were born to clans. In the Ninja World it was commonly believed that the most powerful ninja were those born to clans and bloodline powers. Gai however, believed that most ninja that had such abilities relied so heavily on them that they did not reach their potential. That is why he taught Naruto and Lee to push themselves to their limits and beyond.

It was this rigorous training that brought Lee and Naruto closer. They had a bond that only they could understand, a kinship that helped them get through the roughest times during their training.

Rock Lee was a year older than Naruto and was already a genin, although he had been born with abnormally small chakra reserves, he had still trained hard to become a taijutsu master just like his idol and sensei. Although Naruto and Lee had trained side by side for years, Naruto knew that in a straight taijutsu fight, Lee would certainly win. After Lee had joined Team 9, along with a girl named TenTen Higurashi and a boy named Neji Hyuuga. Even though Naruto was not a part of their team, he still joined them for their training and D-rank missions. It wasn't conventional for anyone outside of a squad to work with the team on missions, but Naruto was anything but conventional.

Naruto really enjoyed being with team 9. He respected Gai-sensei and owed him a great deal for his teachings. Lee had become a good friend and rival, TenTen was by far the best girl friend he had that was a ninja, she had shown him the finer points of Kenjutsu, and Neji...well..

Neji was a prick.

Naruto and Neji were often butting heads. Neji was renowned as 'The Genius of the Hyuuga'. Although he had been born to the Branch Family of the Hyuuga Clan, he had been gifted with the most developed Byakugan in 3 generations. Naruto knew full well that Neji had a grudge against his family, he hated that he was forced to be subservient to his once loved cousins. Neji had adopted a philosophy of a dark, all powerful fate that controlled the lives of men and would put down Naruto and Lee for their belief that with enough hard work they could surpass those gifted from birth. It was this underlying argument that caused most of their arguments, they were not truly hostile towards each other, they were practically teammates, but they definitely had an aggressive rivalry.

He would be getting his own team today, and he would really miss them all, even Neji.

As he entered the plain training ground used by team 9, he reached into his pouch withdrew a kunai and whipped it across in front of him, deflecting the two shuriken that would have blasted into him.

"Aw! Come on Tenten! Do you have to ambush me today? It's my last day with you guys!" He quickly rolled out of the way as an overwhelming number of shuriken came from behind him.

Just as he rose to his feet with his kunai still in hand, he had to raise it to block a strike from the taller girl's katana.

"You know you enjoy this as much as I do Naruto-kun" Tenten said with a seductive voice. Naruto blinked in surprise, not expecting the seductive tone. The moment was exactly what Tenten was hoping for because she swept Naruto's legs out from under him and leveled her blade in front of the teen's face as he lay sprawled on the ground.

"Hehehe! I finally got you! YES! It took a whole year but I finally brought you down! See, Neji? I told you I would get him today!" Tenten bragged excitedly as she sealed her katana away.

Neji walked over to Naruto and smirked condescendingly at him. "If you don't get a handle on that, won't make it through one real mission as a genin..Naruto-kun" he mocked.

"That was so not fair! You can't just mess with a guy like that! It's..it's..." Naruto complained.

"Hey! A kunoichi must make use of all her assets." Tenten teased.

"Yeah, well, you won't get me again like that." Naruto said determined.

It was then that Lee came running into the clearing, clad in the same spandex workout suit that was Gai-sensei's signature. He noticed Naruto and stopped dead.

"Oh no" Naruto groaned.

"NARUTO! I CHALLENGE YOU TO A BATTLE OF RIVALS! WE SHALL DECIDE WHICH OF US IS STRONGEST BEFORE YOU JOIN YOUR NEW TEAM!" Lee declared as he got into his Goken stance. Neji and Tenten immediately stopped laughing and backed away from Naruto.

Naruto thought for a moment. "You know what? You're on Lee, let's settle this now, but our weights stay on, agreed? Only taijutsu." Naruto got into an identical Goken stance.

"Agreed!". With that, Lee rushed at him at a high speed. But Naruto was ready for him a quick kick to lee's chin sent him into the air. Naruto appearing over him in a burst of speed prepared for an axe kick but Lee had caught his leg and flung him into the dirt. Naruto rolled easily out of the throw and charged Lee.

The taijutsu battled continued for nearly forty minutes before Gai interrupted them.

"That's enough you two. Naruto, you need to be at the academy by noon. Before you go I have one last lesson for you." He said this with his signature 'nice guy' pose.

The four teens gathered around Gai all taking seats on the ground and giving him their undivided attention.

"You have learned much over the years Naruto, and I am proud of how far you have come." At this Naruto grinned sheepishly, a little embarrassed.

"I have given you the tools you need to continue your training, as long as you remember the lessons I have taught you, you become a truly powerful shinobi. Remember, Those techniques are only to be used only under those specific conditions, do you understand?" Naruto nodded seriously, he knew that some of the techniques he had learned from Gai were dangerous, some even acted as a doubled edge to the user; he would be careful using them.

Tenten and Neji both had a slight frown, They had known that Naruto and Lee had been training for years with Gai-sensei, but didn't have any idea what kind of techniques he was referring to.

"Remember to continue the regiment I have given you and add it to what your new sensei will teach you. Your Goken is strong, use it. Save your other style as a trump card. It could make the difference when fighting an opponent beyond your capabilities."

Again, Tenten and Neji were surprised by this information. 'How much of their strength are those two hiding?' They both thought.

Neji was glaring suspiciously at Naruto, He prided himself on being able to read people, it was a gift granted through use of the Byakugan, he did not like to think that Naruto nor Lee were able to hide any significant power from him.

"In addition to your new sensei's instruction, and maintaining your training regiment, I have asked a close friend of mine to begin instructing you in the use of your wind affinity."

This shocked all four of the young shinobi.

"You will meet him and his genin team at training ground 10 tomorrow afternoon, there he will decide what to do with you.".Gai concluded with a grin.

"You are welcome to join us whenever you please, but do not skip out on your training. Now GO!". Gai exclaimed as he turned his back on Naruto, his eye's tearing up almost comically.

Naruto rose to his feet and bowed deeply. "Thank you for all you have taught me Gai-sensei, I promise I will not let you down! and I'll see you guys around, later!". With those parting words and a salute to team 9 he took off towards the academy.

Naruto barged into the academy twenty minutes late for class. Iruka looked both relieved and frustrated at his appearance. He did not like it when Naruto interrupted his lectures.

"Naruto! Your late! Do you realize that you missed the taijutsu exam? That means you FAIL that exam!" Iruka ranted.

Naruto paled at this information, but then covered his concern with a foxy grin. "Don't worry Iruka-sensei, I will more than make up those points on the other tests, Believe it!"

At this most of the class began to snicker. "What?!" Naruto said indignantly.

It was Ino who spoke first as she brushed the blond strands of long hair out of her eyes. "Puh-Lease! I would have been surprised if you could pass at all! You're the dead last in class!" She pointed at the class ranking board for emphasis.

"Yeah, No offense Naruto, but I think the Taijutsu test was the only one you had any chance of passing" It was Shikamaru who spoke this time.

Naruto's smile faltered slightly. They were mostly right of course, he was the deadlast of their year, and Gai-sensei had forbidden him from revealing his abilities while in the academy, Gai could not afford for people to find out that he had been training Naruto all these years. Naruto understood this and never revealed his taijutsu training to any of his classmates, no matter how much he wanted to.

Outside of that, Naruto had not exactly been a scholar. Often sleeping through lectures or skipping class entirely, he had easily made a firm place for himself as the deadlast of the class.

"Just you watch, I'll pass this test no prob! Right Hinata?" Naruto looked over to the shy girl foxy grin back at full force. He knew he could always rely on Hinata for an affirmative at some level. and he was not disappointed.

She eeped in surprise, as a light blush spread across her pale cheeks and nodded, not able to look directly at him.

"That's enough Naruto get to your seat."

It was late, having failed his graduation exam several hours prior, Naruto now found himself on a 'secret graduation test'. Mizuki, the assistant of Iruka-sensei, had sent him on a mock-up mission to steal a scroll from the Hokage Library. It had been easy enough to steal, stealth was his specialty after all. A skill he had rigorously developed over these last four years.

Naruto shook his head of the encroaching memories. He did not like to think about the darker aspects that had become vital to his survival over the last years. He would be a ninja, and he would not need to live that lifestyle any longer...

Naruto came to a stop in a clearing just outside one of the larger training grounds. This was the place Mizuki had told him to rendezvous at.

'I better get to work on learning one of these jutsu' He thought to himself. Opening the massive scroll, he examined the first three techniques listed.

'These jutsu are incredible! I don't think I can learn any of these in time to pass the test..Hm.'

Naruto seemed to drift into his own thoughts for a long time before he made a decision. Standing, he reached into his backpack and withdrew a scroll. After unfurling it he proceeded to copy down as many jutsu as he could, being careful to write the exact instructions for each. After nearly an hour of copying, he decided he should get to work on one of the jutsu.

'This thing is a goldmine for powerful techniques..I can't let this opportunity pass' Deciding on just taking the first jutsu on the list, he started his training.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk his hands clasped in front of his lower face as he gazed at a very battered Naruto. He had witnessed the entire evenings events through his viewing globe. It had been difficult to watch, but this lesson was good for Naruto, he needed to get an idea of what how dangerous ninja life was, not only that... but Hiruzen believed it was truly time for Naruto learn of the Kyuubi.

Naruto's reaction to Mizuki's taunts and revelations were to be expected, however extreme they were. Hiruzen had spent several hours this night with Naruto, explaining to him his status as a Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tailed Fox. It was exhausting for him and Naruto both, but it was necessary for him to understand his place in the world, and to know why his life had been so difficult all these years.

"Jiji...I know you said I'm not the demon...but is it possible that he could be influencing me?" Naruto said this with a bit of worry and uncertainty. "I mean.. I killed Mizuki-sensei! I killed him! and it was so easy, I didn't even hesitate, once I had gotten angry, I just couldn't stop.."

"I am positive that the Kyuubi is not influencing you Naruto, however you did draw on a very small amount of its power, that little bit was enough for your strikes to become lethal." At this he paused to think what he should say next. "We are shinobi Naruto-kun, it is our job to fight and sometimes kill others. When an enemy threatens those you care for, you should always fight to protect them, and if necessary, kill to protect them. As for Mizuki, He was a traitor to this village. A traitor who was working for the most wanted missing-nin from this village. It would have been beneficial to have him alive to interrogate, but his fate would have been the same regardless. He deserved what he got."

Naruto flinched at the last part of the Sandaime's speech. It still did not sit with him well that he had actually killed someone. but he accepted the words with a nod.

"As for the Kyuubi's powers, I think it would be wise for you to learn to control the power that could leak from your seal. You must learn to control that power, or it could cause harm to your friends and comrades. Do not fear the power, Naruto-kun, seize it as your own."

The words hit Naruto with a resonance. Leveling Hiruzen with a determined expression, he promised,

"I will do my best, Jiji. I promise I will be the best Jinchuuriki in all the Hidden Villages!" Naruto exclaimed with a bit of his old enery returning.

Hiruzen had no doubt in Naruto, his old face shone with pride in the young genin.

"Before you go, I need to talk to you about the Jutsu you learned tonight..".

Naruto gave him a slightly apprehensive look, knowing full well that stealing secret or forbidden jutsu was not something to take lightly.

"I must caution you that if you intend to use it for training or study purposes, to use it in moderation."

Naruto was floored all panic vanishing instantly. He did not expect anything like this.

"What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Well, the memories of each shadow clone are transferred to the user when it is dispelled. Which makes it a very useful tool for learning. With your chakra capacity, you should be able to use the technique to its optimal potential. That being said, if you are using several clones for this purpose you should dispel them in intervals so that your brain isn't overloaded." Hiruzen explained. Gaining a pained expression he added, "I can tell you, that kind of sensory overload is very painful, you don't want to overdo it."

Naruto's mind was spinning with the possibilities.

"Thats amazing jiji! With this I can become Hokage even faster! I can learn the boring stuff while I train!" Naruto exclaimed, his grin slightly feral.

After thanking the Sandaime for the advice he sped out the door. Hiruzen watched him go, he could not help but think that he had just witnessed an important moment in the young ninja's career.

Naruto found himself waiting at training ground seven the next morning. He had arrived two hours prior in order to prepare for what he was sure was going to be a combat test of some sort.

As the hour of their test was approaching he saw his pinkette teammate enter the training ground. He realized that their previous encounters had been less than pleasant. Mainly because he had hit on her so bluntly, which usually resulted in a violent reaction from the girl. As happy as he was that his crush was now on his team, and they would likely be working together for the foreseeable future, he decided that he should at least try to be her friend, and try to be professional. Thus, putting a smile on his face he called out to her.

"Hey Sakura, You ready for the survival training?"

The skinny pinkette merely nodded a slight smile as greeting. She didn't want to deal with Naruto's flirting today, she had finally gotten a chance to win the affection of her crush, and she didn't want Naruto to spoil it.

The clearing for training ground seven had three target posts, as Naruto was current sitting with his back against the center post, Sakura decided to perch herself atop the left post to wait for their third team mate and sensei.

Naruto was fine to sit in a comfortable silence with the girl. He was still thinking about his conversation with the sandaime from the night before. He had learned the reason for the hate he had been receiving his entire life. The sandaime explained that the children of his generation were not aware of his involvement with the Kyuubi, but the feelings of their parents had bled into them. He knew that those of the shinobi clans did not outright hate him but still had treated him with indifference. Thinking back, Naruto preffered it that way, he would be able to show them all what he was capable of. He realized that he did not know much of anything about clans or how they worked. Remembering Gai-sensei's words about shinobi clan's producing the most powerful shinobi, he decided that if he was going to surpass the shinobi born to clans, he would need to know what he was up against.

Taking the Sandaime's advice he deployed two shadow clones disguised as non-descript chuunin into the shinobi library to learn everything they can about the shinobi clans of Konoha.

It was early this morning that the memories of his clones had returned to him. Incredibly he had perfect and precise memory of the book his clones had read. He had realized something important though. There were shinobi clans not only in Konoha, but in every elemental nation, and even some that were independent from the Five Great Nations. So, he deployed four shadow clones with the same mission. Learn everything they can about shinobi clans.

As Naruto sat against the post, he decided he needed to know what things were important for him to learn. He resolved to visit the sandaime tonight after training to ask for advice.

Sakura sat in silence atop her post, she was watching Naruto closely. The blonde genin was just sitting against the target post, staring off into space. Idly she noticed he had changed his outfit, He was no longer wearing his orange jumpsuit. Thinking back to the day before, she realized he had been wearing this outfit since he arrived to take the graduation test, she had to admit - he looked much better this way...

The young kunoichi's thoughts were broken by the appearance of Sasuke Uchiha, who had just leapt off a tree brach nearby and landed nearby.

"Where have you been, bastard?" Naruto asked with a grin

"Hn, Training, Like you should be, deadlast" Sasuke retorted.

This was how it was with Sasuke, they had a fierce rivalry that at times felt like a close friendship and at others felt hostile. Gai-sensei had often told him that sasuke was his 'eternal rival' and as sasuke was an Uchiha, was a perfect rival for Naruto to have. He had often said the same to Lee about Neji, they too had a fierce rivalry.

Whatever their relationship was, Naruto knew that ever since that day, he and Sasuke had formed a bond that would last forever.

The day the Uchiha Clan was massacred.

A young Naruto and Sasuke had become fast friends early that morning. They had spent the entire day playing ninja in trees of one of the many parks in Konoha. They had been having so much fun, that Sasuke had invited Naruto to his home for dinner. Although Naruto was very nervous about meeting the clan heir's parents, he swallowed his fear of rejection and accepted.

The two young boys entered the Uchiha Clan's compound just as the sun had almost set. Naruto stared wide eyed at the obvious wealth of the Uchiha. The compound was filled with large modern houses and littered with large fountains, paved pathways along pristine grass. As they passed the center of the compound, whereall the paths intersected Sasuke stopped.

"Thats weird, I wonder where everyone is?" he asked aloud. "Normally there are tons of people out. Even the guards are gone" He added as he pointed to a small tower along the wall.

Naruto wilted slightly. "It's probably because of me... Maybe I should just go, before someone comes and takes Sasuke away".

They continued olong the path, as they passed one of the houses along the path, Sasuke stopped and ran towards an open door. Laying in a pool of blood on the doorstep was a young woman.

"Auntie! What happened? Are you okay!?" Sasuke yelled in a panic. Shaking the woman and not getting any response he began to tear up.

"Sasuke! I think something really bad has happened here! We have to get out of here, now!" Naruto exclaimed a great deal of panic in his voice.

"Mom!" Sasuke yelled in shock and took off at a full run towards what was obviously the Clan head's hourse.

Naruto easily caught up to his friend and they crashed into the large house. Together the ran from room to room checking for Sasuke's parents or family members.

As they climbed to top floor of the building they came to a halt. At the end of the narrow hallway was a man cloaked completely in black, there was a woman standing in front of him, and a man lay dead behind the cloaked figure.

They two young boys were too shocked and frightened to move, neither could speak. That is, until the woman crumpled to the floor, a katana lodged in her chest.

"MOTHER!" Sasuke screamed as he ran at the cloaked man. When the man turned Sasuke froze in his advance.

"Nii-san? ...but... wha- Why?! What are you doing Itachi!?" Sasuke screamed.

Itachi stood impassively his eyes were not the onyx black that most Uchiha possessed, Instead it was the sharingan,but this was unlike any sharingan Naruto had ever seen before.

"ITACHI! Why did you kill mother?! Wh- Wh-" Sasuke's sentences were cut off as he seemed to hyperventilate in his panic.

Itachi's payed his younger brother no attention however. All of his focus was on Naruto, who stoop at the end of the long narrow hallway now gripping an old rusty kunai.

Naruto was afraid, more afraid than he had ever been in before in his life. He could feel his death approaching, he knew that there was nothing he could do, this man was going to kill him. Briefly he thought about throwing his knife and running, but when the killer stepped towards sasuke, everything changed.

It was like he was an auto-pilot, with a single step, Naruto vanished from the hallway, and in nearly the same moment, he was in front of Sasuke, weapon poised defensively.

Itachi stopped in his advance. The blonde child had moved at a speed that even his mangekyou sharingan had barely tracked. That is not the only thing that had caused him to halt though. It was the odd energy that had appeared in that moment. It was gone nearly as fast as it had appeared, but it was the most potent energy he had ever felt before. He wondered if it had been the Kyuubi's power leaking from the seal, but his thoughts were interrupted by the blonde jinchuuriki.

"Get back! Stay away from Sasuke!" Naruto yelled fiercely.

"Or what? What can you do against my power?" Itachi asked emotionlessly.

"I know I can't beat you, but you will have to kill me first if you want to get Sasuke!"

"Why do you protect him? Why would you die for him?" Itachi questioned.

"He is my friend! I will never let you kill him! I will protect him with my life!" Naruto declared.

"So be it. You shall share his fate." Itachi intoned darkly.

Both boys could only watch in awe and horror as the strange Sharingan eyes began to spin hypnotically before they both succumbed to Tsukiyomi.

"I train plenty, bastard. In fact, I wonder if you could even make me break a sweat." Naruto declared confidently.

"Tough talk for someone who barely passed the graduation exam." Sasuke smirked.

Sasuke leaned against the third target post and the trio fell in silence as they waited for their sensei to arrive.

Naruto watched Kakashi from his perch in a nearby tree. Their sensei, after arriving an hour late, had quickly explained the parameters for their 'true' graduation test. Somehow they were expected to take on a jounin. However, thier objective was fairly simple - retrieve the bells.

The three shinobi had quickly seperated and hid in the forest surrounding the clearing. Naruto knew there was only one way to get the bells, luckily, he had prepared for a combat test.

Creating two shadow clones he discreetly sent them to inform his team of his plan. Taking a deep breath, Naruto jumped from his hiding place and landed a short distance from kakashi.

"Wow, you really aren't very smart are you?" Kakashi said flatly.

Naruto rushed at him a right hook ready to drive kakashi into the ground. Kakashi merely kicked him in the chest sending him back exactly where he had started his attack.

Growling, Naruto made a quick handsign and summoned six shadow clones. With a battle cry seven Naruto's charged the silver haired jounin. Without touching a single clone, he dodged every strike and caused the clones to dispel each other. When only one remained, he kicked him square in the chest.

As he rubbed his sore chest, Naruto realized he had again landed in the very same spot he had landed before.

"Wow, He's not just beating me easily but he's playing with me." Naruto realized.

Taking a deep calming breath, he made a decision.

"Sensei, I would really appreciate it if you would keep our fight as a team secret. I'd like to keep some of my moves a secret as much as I can."

This took Kakashi slightly by surprise. but he responded kindly, his one visible eye showing his sincerity.

"Of course, Naruto. Assuming you somehow pass, I promise to not reveal any of your or your teammate's secrets." Kakashi promised.

Sasuke and Sakura had both taken up their positions near the target posts hidden well behind a tree. It was Sakura who spoke first after hearing this request.

"What does he mean? What kind of secret could he have? A secret jutsu maybe?"

"I don't know, that shadow clone jutsu is new. He never knew that technique before he graduated, if he did he would have passed easily. It's an A-rank Kinjutsu. Who knows what other techniques he has" Sasuke explained scowling.

Carefully taking off his jacket, Naruto tossed it high into the air to his left. Sakura and Sasuke stared flatly at the blonde;s showoffy antics, thier eyes widened in surprise when the jacket slammed into the ground audibly and created and indention in the grass.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened in surprise when the jacket impacted the earth. 'That must have weighed fifty pounds! What the hell?!'

Naruto slid fluidly into his Goken stance and leveled Kakashi with a determined look. That was the image that finally made Kakashi sweat slightly. 'Oh shit! Gai! You didn't!?'

Kakashi didn't have time to complete his train of thought because Naruto was upon him faster than he had ever expected. With two solid hits to face and mid-section, Kakashi was unable to block the kick to his chin that had sent him flying into the air. In a burst of speed Naruto was under him.

At that moment, a flurry of weapons converged from both sides. Not expecting his other two genin's vield attack. Kakashi was forced into shifting into serious mode. 'So they are working together...good.'

Manuevering mid-air Kakashi deflected the projectiles, and then moved to counter Naruto. Kakashi had much experience against the Dancing Leaf Shadow technique. Easily anticipating the attack he countered and flung the blonde teen against a tree that caused it to splinter from the impact. Wincing Naruto dusted himself off and settled into the Goken once again.

"So, you have trained with Gai, have you" Kakashi said, it wasn't a question.

"Yes. Please do not tell anyone, It would not be good for his reputation if the villagers found out." Naruto asked pleadingly.

"Gai, would have been very disappointed in you for using that technique. I know for a fact that he puts very strict conditions for permitting that technique's use."

Naruto wilted under the reprimand. "Sometimes, A shinobi must disobey orders, sensei."

Sasuke and Sakura were confused about this. "He's been training with someone? Who's this Gai person? And why would it be bad for him to train Naruto?" Sakura asked Sasuke.

"I think most villagers hate Naruto, Sakura. You've seen how they treat him before haven't you? I bet those people would probably hate anyone who trained him too." Sasuke answered not taking his eyes off the fight. "Get ready its almost time".

Taking off again, Naruto engaged Kakashi in hand to hand combat. Kakashi had begun to taunt Naruto by complimenting his prowess, while each time he left an opening he would correct his mistake with a harsh attack. They continued until Naruto jumped away suddenly. Kakashi was confused until it was too late, the ground beneath him exploded, both scorching him slightly and sending rocks at that he was forced to block.

While Kakashi blocked the oncoming debris Naruto delivered a kick to the side of his head. Kakashi recovered easily by rolling into a crouch. Again, the ground exploded from underneath him. A little less surprised this team, he was able to avoid being burnt however he was forced to defend himself as twelve Narutos were upon him. He easily began to dispatch the clones until two grabbed to of his arms.

Not to be taken so easily he slammed his arms together, causing the clones to smash heads and dispell. The distraction was enough, because he failed to notice a fireball heading straight for him. Kakashi tried to move, but found he was tied to ninja wire. One held by Sakura, The other by Naruto.

The fireball slammed into Kakashi full force. leaving an enormous scorch mark were he once stood.

"Oh my god!" Sakura screeched. "We killed Kakashi-sensei!"

"I wish." Sasuke scoffed. Sakura gave him a horrified look. "What? I wish it would be that easy to kill a jounin." he added.

"He's right Sakura." Kakashi's voice called from behind them.

Atop the center target post, Kakashi stood mostly unharmed with an eye-smiile. In his right hand was their alarm clock.

"That was very impressive teamwork. You actually had me sweating there for a minute. Well...Kind of" he added the last part with a bit of a laugh. "Sasuke, It would be nice if jounin were that easy to kill, but you have to understand that a jounin is always going to be worlds out of your league as genin. You made a very solid attempt. But im afraid..."

The alarm went off.

"You all fail"

It was at these words that each of the teens smiled ferally.

Sasuke and Sakura reached into each of their pockets and pulled out a single silver bell.

Kakashi's eye widened in shock. He quickly checked his belt. "What the hell?! When- How did you two get the bells?" He demanded.

"Actually sensei, Naruto got both of them." Sakura said sheepishly.

"When?" He asked, alittle more calmly.

Naruto flopped to the ground. Wiping the sweat from his face, he gave a foxy grin.

"It was when I used the Dancing Leaf Shadow, sensei. Normally the technique is used to help the user perform the Lotus technique, but I used it to slip behind you and steal the bells without you noticing. You were so focused on countering what you thought was going to be the Lotus, that you didn't even notice." he explained. "The problem was, I was only able to grab one." he added.

Sakura finished, "The second bell was grabbed by a shadow clone that was disguised as a kunai. I threw it behind you before we tied you up." she explained with pride.

Kakashi looked at Naruto for a moment. "So what about when you said Shinobi must sometimes disobey orders?"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, a nervous habit he had picked up years ago. "Well, that was supposed to be apart of the deception. But it's true, right sensei?" He asked

Kakashi nodded solemnly. "That is correct. Sometimes it is necessary to disobey orders. I once believed that shinobi who disobeyed orders were trash. but after some very harsh lessons, I learned that those who abandon their comrades, even for the sake of their orders, are far worse than trash. I hope you all will remember that."

"Anyway, Naruto it looks like you are the only one without a bell. Are you sure you want to abandon becoming a genin? You were the one who got the bells after all." Kakashi asked.

"Are you sure Naruto?" Sakura asked a worriedly. "I didn't really do anything, You did most of the work, you should pass."

"As much as I hate to admit it, but it was your plan. You should pass." Sasuke added

"Nah, If it means you guys get to pass. Ill wait till next year." Naruto said resolutely.

Kakashi smiled at three genin. "Alight, well then...Congratulations, you all pass."

A/N: Thanks for reading this chapter. This closes the 'build up' arc to my story. Things are going to heat up in the next chapter as we descend into the Wave Arc. You probably noticed that Naruto had a sort of flashback into the Uchiha massacre. You will learn a bit more about what happened there later, as well as get a glimpse into the darker side of naruto's life from over the time skip. It will play an important role in the story's original plot, so I hope you like it. So far this has been pretty Canon, Things will start to stray from Canon more and more as we go along.

As always R&R. I look forward to reading your thoughts.