Chapter Seven – Realisations And Examinations

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Naruto pretended to pay attention to what Iruka was saying, but it was hard. His mind kept leaping back to three months prior when the Hokage had confirmed his heritage, explained how he had ended up with the Kyuubi sealed inside him (as if he didn't already know from his discussions with the Biju in question) and had taken Naruto to see his family home and claim the Jutsu scrolls stored there.

That was when things had started to go horribly wrong.

The first sign was when instead of reacting correctly to Naruto's blood and dispelling, the seal on the main gate had shattered, causing the gate to crack. Kakashi had gone pale at that and, at Naruto's query, explained that the seal had been tampered with.

Someone had broken into the mansion.

The mansion itself had been hidden by some trees, which may have explained why no-one had seen it burn down. Under Kakashi's direction, Naruto had unearthed the entrance to the Jutsu vault and found that the seal to the vault had been broken as well.

Hiruzen had gone white upon discovering that.

Inside the vault, however, it became obvious that the last of the security seals had done their job. The scrolls that had been stored there had been reduced to piles of ash, the only recognisable parts being the metal end-caps. The end-caps of the scrolls containing the Rasengan and Hiraishin had been identified by Kakashi, so whoever had managed to break through had not been able to actually secure any of the Jutsu.

Hiruzen's guess was that the thief, whoever he or she was, had burned down the mansion after realising that the Jutsu of the Yondaime had, quite literally, gone up in smoke. However, the main problem was that with the mansion and its contents destroyed, Naruto was unable to access the Namikaze/Uzumaki wealth, even with the Hokage's backing.

Whoever the thief was, he or she had destroyed Naruto's inheritance. And since Jiraiya of the Sannin had, at Hiruzen's request, placed Naruto's birth certificate and other documents in the house since he was one of the few the Seal was set to recognise, the paperwork proving Naruto's lineage was gone.

And the Civilian Council had pounced on that opportunity, officially denying that he was the Yondaime's son, quoting the total lack of paperwork in his favour, a move supported by none of the Clan Heads, but by the three Advisors, over-ruling Hiruzen.

For some reason, Hinata had been incredibly upset over the Council's decision to officially disinherit him. Naruto himself had been almost incandescent with rage, as was the Kyuubi. However, it had been Hinata who had talked him out of going directly after the Council, she had proven herself a true friend and valued comrade.

If only she could stop turning red. Naruto was getting worried about what could be wrong with her to cause such a thing.

No-one ever discovered who painted whiskers on the Yondaime's face, thus showing the resemblance between Naruto and Minato. At the time it was done, Naruto was facing the Council, trying to argue his case.

Naruto had, however, been the one to single-handedly (literally) demolish the new plaque celebrating the most recent (and not-so-recent) members of the Civilian Council. He had been let off by the Hokage with a verbal warning.

As much as 'Try not to get caught next time' could be considered a warning, anyway.

After that incident, Naruto stopped trying at the Academy, often skipping class for a week at a time and taking out his frustrations on the wildlife in the Forest of Death. In a bizarre coincidence, the councillors who had voted to deny Naruto his heritage had discovered that almost none of the village's ninja would take missions for them any more, and the missions that were taken invariably ended up failing in a very expensive way, usually one that was humiliating to the councillor or their family. Already, several councillors had resigned and fled Konoha with their families. The message to the other councillors from the ninja was clear. Mess with one of ours, and you will live to regret it.

Unfortunately, since the council's decision had been countersigned by the Daimyo, Hiruzen couldn't reverse it even after the councillors had fled.

On the plus side, Naruto had gained a few pets and was trying to train them. The Inuzuka had their ninken, Naruto was trying to train the giant white tigers.

Much to his shock, they had learned from him how to tree-walk and water-walk. He hadn't actually been trying to teach them that at the time and was now somewhat leery of using Jutsu around them just in case they managed to copy it. They were definitely far more intelligent than anyone had given them credit for.

Plus, they were so much fun to wrestle with. While he still had to hold back, he could work up a sweat against them.

"…and that wraps up this lesson." Iruka said, glancing at Shikamaru, who was half-asleep on his desk and Naruto, who was glaring out of the window. "The test is on monday, so all of you are reminded to show up on time."

Naruto snorted and Iruka sighed.

"…all except Naruto, who is being taken on as an apprentice and as such will be given a conditional pass anyway." He said resignedly.

"Sensei, did the exam requirements change since last year?" Sakura asked giving Naruto a slightly scared look. She still remembered the time that she had mentioned the Council's decision about Naruto's family status as relayed to her by her mother, and Naruto had proceeded to smash a boulder into gravel with repeated punches, threatening to do the same to her and her mother should Sakura ever bring up that subject again.

Sakura had believed him, and had warned her mother that it would be… unwise to make any other move against Naruto.

And that she would rather not be on the same team as him.

"…There has been no change since last year." Iruka confirmed, giving Naruto a concerned glance. Naruto shrugged.

"The Civilian Council don't want to let me become a ninja." He said harshly. "They've already stolen my family and my money, they want to steal my dreams as well. That's why they insist on a normal Bunshin, they know I'm too damned powerful to do one."

Sakura looked away guiltily as Iruka nooded with an expression of pained agreement. Naruto stood up and slid the window open.

"I'll be back for the team assignments, but right now, I need to find one of my cats and get some fuzz-therapy and relaxation."

Everyone blinked a few times, then Hinata spoke up.

"Did anyone else know that he has a cat? I didn't."

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Kakashi stared in shock at the sight before him. Iruka had told him that Naruto had skipped lessons (again), so he had used his skill as a tracker and followed his ward into the Forest of Death. Given Naruto's insane strength and skills (which were, as Kakashi admitted to himself, pretty close to Jonin level), he didn't think that much in the forest would be a danger.

He had not been prepared for what he had found.

In a clearing, Naruto was relaxing, leaning against one of the giant tigers of the forest. That in itself would have been enough to stop most ninja in their tracks, but there were over a dozen adult tigers surrounding Naruto and his purring back-rest and several… kittens, for lack of a better term.

And Naruto had one of the kittens in his lap, purring happily as he stroked it, as the mother watched placidly.

As if that wasn't enough, one of the tigers that was moving round had walked across the stream. Not through it, across it.

The damn things knew how to use Chakra!

And Naruto was petting one of them! No, two of them now.

Kakashi idly wondered if he would survive the test that he had been planning to give Naruto and the other two on the team he was being assigned.

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"All right class, when I call your name, come through for the final part of the test." Iruka said. "Aburame Shino, You're first."

The bug user rose from his seat and followed Iruka into the testing room. The others watched him go, then Sakura spoke up.

"I… I'm not sure I should try to pass. I might end up on Naruto's team, and after what my mother did to him… I'm not sure I'd survive."

Kiba snorted. "I wouldn't worry so much. He holds grudges, but only against those who actually set out to hurt him. You're safe. Your mom, not so much."

Sakura winced and Hinata glared at Kiba. "Stop worrying her like that. Sakura, just ignore him and stop worrying. N…Naruto isn't here today, so just do your best."

"Akamichi Choji."

The large boy swallowed as he left the room, passing Shino who was wearing a Hitai-ate.

"You passed, well done, Shino." Hinata said. Shino inclined his head in acknowledgement, then moved to the corner of the room.

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"Are you bloody nuts?!" Kakashi half-yelled, glaring at Homura. "You know the rules, I can only have one apprentice, and I already have one! I can't have the Uchiha assigned to me as my apprentice!"

"The council has decided otherwise." Homara said, trying not to sweat under the killing intent that Kakashi was leaking despite his self-control. "As the only other Sharingan wielder in Konoha, you are vital to the development of the Uchiha and the eventual re-establishment of his clan. Therefore, Uchiha Sasuke is your new apprentice, irrespective of him passing the second Genin test."

"And Naruto?" Kakashi ground out through clenched teeth.

"As he did not show up at the test last week, he has been marked as having failed. Furthermore, his absence and previous failure means that he will not be allowed to retake his test."

Kakashi closed his eyes as he concentrated on not cutting the throat of the elder in front of him. His muscles tensed for a few minutes, then he opened his eye again.

"You have just made a big mistake." He said quietly. "Deny him the right to be a ninja and he will have no reason to stay."

"If he leaves, he will be charged with treason." Homara half-whispered and Kakashi laughed sarcastically.

"You declared that he has failed, that makes him a civilian and thus he can leave whenever he wishes. The Council declared him to be clanless, so you cannot use the clan laws to keep him here. And should you try to use force to restrain him… I have seen him at full strength. Even Maito Gai is not willing to go against him when he gets angry and what you have just done… I have taught him. He is at least upper-chunin level, possibly Jonin, and that's before he gets experience."

Homura stared at him, going white as Kakashi continued.

"You have two days before Naruto is meant to meet me for his first official genin meeting. Two days before I have no choice but to tell him that the council has screwed him over again. Oh, did I mention that I recently taught him the Rasengan? At the time, he was still his father's son, and thus it was his heritage. Or that he can create over a thousand Kage Bunshin? I leave you to combine those two facts. Oh, one more thing you might find interesting. You know those giant tigers in the Forest of Death? Seems he's tamed them to his will, and they can use chakra. Puts the Inuzuka in the shade, doesn't it? I wonder which village will want him and his pets to start a new clan for them. Kumo perhaps?"

Kakashi stormed out of the room, leaving a shocked elder who was frantically trying to come up with a way of staving off the destruction that was looming.

"Danzo, what the hell did you think you were doing? This plan you came up with to claim him as a weapon for Konoha… you've doomed us all!"

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"You're shitting me, right?"

"Not at all." Hiruzen smiled. "The council pushed for and signed off on your promotion to full Jonin ten minutes ago."

Anko stared at the old man in near-shock. "But my past… who I was trained by… and all of a sudden they pull a turnaround and push for my promotion rather than try to have me removed from the Shinobi lists? What the hell happened?"

"It's actually quite amusing." Sarutobi said, a wide grin on his face. "The Civilian Council decided to try and undermine me, but realised too late that on this occasion I wasn't the one they should be scared of. When they realised how badly they had erred, they came to me begging for me to solve their problems for them. I managed to really put the screws on them, and your promotion was one of the results."

Anko grinned ferally. "Nice. So what's the catch?"

"Well," Hiruzen said, "You get an apprentice. He's already been trained somewhat by Kakashi and Gai, so…"

"Wait!" Anko interrupted, her grin widening. "I get promoted to Jonin and get the gaki that everyone knows is the Yondaime's son, despite what the council claims? Sweet! When do I meet him?"

"Old man! Tell me why I shouldn't rip the bloody council to shreds!"

Anko spun round and stared in shock. The reason for her surprise was not that Naruto had slammed through the doors, but that a pair of giant white tigers were behind him, rumbling with displeasure.

"Anko, meet Naruto, your apprentice in assassination and sabotage. Naruto, this is Jonin Mitarashi Anko, your new sensei."

Naruto froze, then looked at Anko, a grin forming on his face. "Assassination? Sabotage? Cool! Thanks Jiji! Oh, while I'm here, can I ask for a favour? It's about my name…"

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"So, gaki, tell me about yourself and your… pets?"

Naruto grinned down at Anko from his perch on the back of one of the tigers as they moved away from the Hokage tower down the rapidly-emptying road. "My name's Naruto. I was Uzumaki Naruto, then Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, but now I'm Kagetora Naruto, first of my clan and friend of the tigers. I'm the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune and have a Kekkai Genkai that gives me totally awesome strength and speed. I train with Team 9, know almost a hundred Jutsu and can use three taijitsu styles. My genjitsu skills suck, but Kurenai-sensei taught me a way to disrupt genjitsu. I use Shuriken and Kunai and can throw them through rocks and boulders. I don't have a close-in weapon, but I haven't needed one yet. I'm studying up on seals and can already do storage seals and explosive tags, which I sell to Tenten's dad. I live in an old bunker, Kakashi-sensei and Gai-sensei live there too. Jiji said he meant it to be temporary until I got my dad's house, but it burned down before I could, then the council fucked things up so he made it so the bunker's in my name.

Anko nodded. "I heard Gai talking about that bunker. You really let him train his team there?"

Naruto shrugged. "Sure. I helped Gai set up two of the barracks as guest areas for overnight guests and his team occasionally crashes there after one of his long training days."

"Do you have any spare rooms?" Anko asked and Naruto nodded.

"Yep! Three observation rooms, two barracks, a half-dozen storage rooms… even a cavern with a lake. Why?"

Anko shrugged. "My landlord doesn't like me and he's hiked my rent again. I was thinking…"

"Sure!" Naruto said. "Just let me handle the introductions, the tigers don't like it when people they don't know come."

Anko halted in her tracks. "Wait. The tigers live with you? I thought they lived in Training Area 44?"

"Yep, but they were losing too many cubs to the spiders. And those spiders are nasty." Naruto said. "They asked if I had a place they could be and since the bunker's in a wooded area, I said yes. Jiji's let me have all the woods around the bunker and it's really near the gate so the tigers can go out to hunt whenever they want."

"…how many tigers?" Anko asked in a faint voice. Naruto frowned.

"Ummm… I think about a hundred and fifty. More if you include the cubs. Is it important?"

Anko's eyes lit up. "Important? You have a hundred and fifty furry killing machines as your pets and you think it isn't important? That's one of the coolest things I've ever come across! This is amazing! Does the Hokage know about the tigers?"

Naruto shrugged again. "I think so. I asked if I could keep some cats, he said yes."

Anko smirked.

"Kid, this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Wait, the cats asked?"

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"…and in addition to emo-duckbutt and pink banshee, I got this ink-using pale kid who keeps going on about male genitalia, of all things." Kakashi groused to a grinning Gai as Naruto and Anko entered the main hall. "I'm telling you, I'd have handed my Hitai-ate back to the Hokage had he not told me that he's managed to get Naruto enlisted as the apprentice and sole genin of another Jonin… Naruto, you're back! Anko? What are you doing here?"

"I'm Gaki's teacher." Anko grinned. "Jonin Mitarashi Anko… heh, I'll never get tired of saying that, and my apprentice Kagetora Naruto. Hey, Gaki, introduce me to these kitties of yours so that I don't have to turn them into rugs for attacking me!"

"Sure thing. Guys, this is my new teacher, Anko! Jiji found her and she's gonna teach me loads. If you watch, you can learn too."

Anko glanced around, then something made her look up. Her eyes widened as she saw a dozen giant tigers looking down at her… from the ceiling! Naruto followed her gaze.

"I wouldn't worry, they won't fall on you. They're just practicing."

"…they can use chakra?"