I don't own Naruto or One Piece. Those belong to Masashi Kishimoto and Eiichiro Oda.

Chapter 5: The First Day

All good things come to an end. It's that time of year, the start of Konohagakure's Ninja Academy. The Namikaze are currently eating breakfast. Nawaki and Mina fight for the last egg while Kushina combs Mito's hair. Minato has already left to prepare the entrance speech for the new students.

Once they were all prepared, they left for the academy. They never noticed Naruto left an hour early.

Academy

Families had arrived to see their children and the Hokage in the entrance ceremony. It's traditional for Hokage to give a speech about the academy and what it means to be a ninja to the new academy students. Families are talking with their children, giving them advice for the beginning of their journey. Everyone was smiling and having a great time, except for three people. These were Naruto, Shizuka, and Tayaka.

Naruto was leaning against a tree with a swing. He was looking at the sky with no expression on his face. He has to put up with four years at the academy and stupid lectures. Last week, Zoro suggested keeping all his scores in the academy to a minimum. He won't be the best in the class and wouldn't be the lowest ranking student. Naruto didn't plan on showing his true potential if it was not necessary. He knew that Minato doesn't check the students' progress throughout the years until the three-day break before team assignments.

He didn't want Minato to hear about his progress in school from any of the teachers. He knows that Minato might wonder if Naruto is a genius or if he is receiving help from someone. The worst thing that could happen is Minato ordering an ANBU to spy on him.

"I feel like I'm going on a mission of deception."

"Why didn't you bring the sword to school?"

"Because I don't want to risk attention until graduation. My academy instructor is in charge of seeing and grading my scores. They will be the ones to know my choice to show none of my true potentials and will be able to see through the deception if I'm not careful. The only problem for them will be not knowing my true abilities. That's the overall goal for my time in the academy." responded Naruto.

"If you didn't tell me to jump into you, I would have made the sword appear by your side. I told you that I must either be in the sword or by your side, even if I have to appear in my soul or physical form. Remember, you thought it was creepy not to use my ghost form while training you to the dirt."

Naruto made a face at that. Having a black orb following and instructing you was weird.

A few feet away from him was the Uchiha family. They are a family Naruto holds with little respect. The clan head Fugaku and his wife Mikoto are with their two children. Itachi is smiling at Sasuke because today is the first day his brother attends the academy. He bent down and poked his forehead. Mikoto laughs lightly at them while Fugaku is looking at Sasuke in thought.

A bit to the side of them is Uchiha Shisui. He came to see his little imouto start the academy. She had a rough life and wanted to become a ninja like him. She is the outcast of the Uchiha clan due to problems that are out of her control.

She has long flowing black hair that reaches her lower back. She wore grey shinobi pants with a high-collared black shirt has the Uchiha crest on her back. Her eyes kept shut. She also wore black fingerless gloves and grey shinobi sandals.

She turned her head towards her brother. "Shisui-nii, do you think it's a good idea for me to become a ninja? With my special problems, should I represent the clan?"

Shisui smiles at his sister.

His sister is strong. She has endured the disappointment and repressing that the clan forced upon her. Because of this, he knew that his sister was a born fighter.

The truth, she has more talent than he did at her age. If she didn't have to watch her back because of paranoia, she could be herself and could've become the prodigy of the Uchiha. Hell, she could beat Sasuke around for days. He did not doubt that her future would shine bright if it weren't for Danzo and the clan.

He had to thank Naruto for being her first friend and slapping some sense into her.

"Though if he touches her again.." he thought ominously.

"Don't worry, Tayaka. I know you will do great. You also have a friend to help you."

Tayaka smiled at that. She hates to act differently because her clan forces her. She wants to be able to be herself, but the Uchiha clan forces her to be meek and obedient. Shisui assures her that she will be able to be herself and keep her eyes open in the future. She only needs to wait for the day Danzo and ROOT die. For now, she had to play her part. She had trained her whole life to deceive. One day it will pay off.

"I feel the wind of change coming sooner than expected."

On the far right of the academy, Shizuka is with her mother, Tokiwa. She knew that her time with Tokiwa was short, but she promised to make the best of it. Tokiwa is confirmed to be dying. While traveling to Konoha, Tokiwa became poisoned by an assassin hired to hunt them down. He wore a headband with a song note on it. It's verified that he was a poison expert.

They managed to get away at the time, but Tokiwa was starting to feel strange on the rest of their journey. It took seven days longer to reach the village because of her wounds. The poison was taken from her body when they arrived in Konoha. However, Tsunade told Tokiwa that she couldn't remove all the toxins. She only has a few years to live until the poison kills her.

It horrified Shizuka to discover the inevitability of Tokiwa's death. Then she became angry at the perverted man who suggested she seek comfort by hugging the blonde idiot named Nawaki. It earned him a kick to the groin as she stormed out of the tower in tears.

Currently, she was scouting the area for a similar boy with a black bandana. Tokiwa noticed this and couldn't help but smirk. She knew all about the interaction Shizuka had with the gentleman. Tokiwa had been watching them from a distance the entire time. In reality, she already approved of the boy. He gives off an intimidating and wise aura. "No doubt, he'll be powerful in the future. Now let's see how the princess reacts."

"Shizuka, are you looking for the strong purple-eyed boy with a bandana?" she questioned.

Shizuka had a slight blush on her cheek. Tokiwa grinned at her reaction.

"Oh, look! He's leaning up on that tree with his arms crossed. Look at his jawline and that face. He looks much more like a man on a mission than anything."

Shizuka was looking intensely at him. She looked like she was analyzing a painting made by god. Tokiwa couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Pffff-hahaha!"

Shizuka turned and glared at the women. She's acting more like an aniki than a kaa-san.

"She was the perfect example of a ninja in our old village, but now that she's no longer a kunoichi, she's a completely different person."

"It's not funny!"

Tokiwa calmed herself down. She was about to apologize when she heard someone asking for everyone's attention.

Everyone gathered around as the Hokage was about to speak.

"Good morning, everyone! I hope you're enjoying yourself with your kids, who will enter the academy soon," said Minato, "As the Fourth Hokage, it's my honor to see kids leave and enter our shinobi academy to become protectors of our village. Being a ninja of Konohagakure-"

Naruto was paying attention to Minato until he heard him say what it means to be a family. Naruto thought the rest of the speech was pure bullshit after that. He agreed with what it means to be a ninja, but that was all.

"Now, I will read off the three academy instructors for this year's students!" Minato announced while pulling out an envelope. "This year's chunin instructors will be Funeni Daikoku, Umino Iruka, and Morino Ren. Please listen to your name and say goodbye to your parents. Thank you for your time."

With that said, he left in a flash.

"Alright, now that we have the stage, please listen for your name."

Naruto ended up in the same group as his siblings under Iruka. He noticed that he had a lot of clan heirs in his class. The Nara is the most interesting.

With everyone in the class here, they headed inside. The classroom had desks in rows of three. Each one had enough room for three people. Iruka instructed them to pick out seats, so Naruto started to look for the farthest one. Naruto decided to sit in the back of the classroom. He chose to sit in the second chair available and leaned back.

"I see you made yourself comfortable with the chair."

Naruto couldn't help but smile when he saw Tayaka take the seat next to him. She was next to the window looking outside.

"I see you're still keeping up the charade."

They heard the other chair slide open and turned to see Shizuka sitting beside Naruto.

"It's nice to see you again, Naru-san."

Naruto made a small smile. They only talked once, but he knows they'll be close friends.

"Ah, Shizuka-san. I didn't know you'd be attending the academy." said Naruto while gesturing to Tayaka, "This is my other friend Uchiha Tayaka."

Shizuka smiled and nodded towards the Uchiha. Tayaka just threw her a peace sign. It was very out of character, but she felt like she could trust the girl a little since she's friends with Naruto.

Shizuka smiled at her antics. She never had any friends. She was still trying to get comfortable with her new civilian life.

"Alright, class, my name is Iruka, and welcome to your first day at the ninja academy. Today, we'll learn our routines and lesson plans for the year."

By the time he finished explaining everything, lunch was about to start. He dismissed everyone early to get acquainted with their classmates.

Naruto, Tayaka, and Shizuka are the last to leave the classroom.

Academy Roof

The girls followed Naruto to the roof of the academy. Naruto knew they'd be spending a lot of time here since they all discussed how they enjoy staring at the sky and the clouds.

Somewhere in the cafeteria, someone sneezed.

"Troublesome."

Naruto leaned against a railing while the girls started to chatter with each other.

"I didn't know Naruto had another friend. He's so antisocial that he usually spends time with himself. I don't even see him spending time with his family."

"I moved here with my mother. I wanted to become a ninja. Konohagakure is the village that came to mind. After all, Kumo and Suna were the least likely to accept outsiders. Kirigakure has a political dispute. Iwagakure acted like pricks. Konoha sounded like a great village. Plus, it snows here. She likes the snow. So, I'm not complaining," stated Shizuka. Shizuka wanted to tell the truth, but she didn't trust Tayaka.

Naruto is thinking around the same lines. She had more than just that story. Naruto heard his father talk about Nadeshiko Village years ago but didn't want to jump to conclusions until he was sure. Shizuka came out when she felt it was time to be truthful.

Tayaka also felt the same as Naruto, but she dismissed it. Tayaka is quite observant of her age. She knew that Shizuka didn't trust her, and Tayaka couldn't blame her. They just met today. She also noticed that Naruto also held information back. He was very secretive. Tayaka knew that the group needed to trust each other before they could be open about their scars. With these things in mind, she decided to get things started.

"You guys wanna hang out after class. I heard of this cool bar near Ichiraku's with some great sushi. They obviously won't give us sake, but many people go for the food anyways."

Naruto nodded at this. Anko is on a mission, and Naruto needs to spend time outside the cave, so he decided he wouldn't venture through it this week. Plus, he might get to know his two friends better.

Maybe he would let them join his plan for the academy.

"Maybe these girls could be good teammates," stated Zoro.

"I'll come, but I suggest going to Kumiko's instead. Trust me, the food there is fantastic."

Shizuka just glanced at Naruto. It turns out that the bakery was only a few stores away from Kumiko's. Every time she goes for the daily muffin, she catches him eating vegetables and meat. "At least he doesn't go daily."

"I'll go too."

"Great! It will be like a celebration of entering the academy. I'm sure it will be lots of fun."

Naruto smiled a little when Tayaka pumped a fist in the air. He can already tell she's going to be a handful. When it's just Naruto and Shisui, Tayaka acts like a bomb ready to explode. Unlike Nawaki, who has no control over his emotions, Tayaka can be energetic one minute and stern the next. In some ways, she reminded him of Anko.

For the remaining time, the three discussed their likes and dislikes.

Naruto was surprised to discover that they shared a common interest. They all loved training above anything else. Naruto and Tayaka had told Shizuka that they trained every day.

Shizuka had asked them if they like to read about anything in the library, which excited Naruto. Tayaka, on the other hand, only groaned.

When Naruto mentioned weight lifting as his favorite activity, Shizuka started blushing.

"This baka is clueless when it comes to girls! I wasn't a romance type of guy when I was still alive, but at least I can get a clue!" thought Zoro in disbelief.

They heard Iruka yell to the kids outside that class would start in two minutes, so they headed to Iruka's classroom.

Village Streets

They were finally let out of the academy.

Tayaka told Shisui she would be with Naruto and Shizuka. Shisui was more than happy to let her go. He thought that Naruto was a good influence on her. She can be herself with him. Plus, she made another friend. He didn't see why she couldn't go. "If things work out as I hope, maybe I can be their sensei."

Walking back to her group, they started walking to Kumiko. People were crowding the streets. Men and Women were acting lively and interacting with one another. In general, the village looked lively.

On their way to Kumiko, Shizuka stopped. Her new friends turn to look at her.

"I forgot I needed to get food for my Kaa-san. She wanted for me to bring takeout from Ichiraku's ramen."

Naruto tensed for a small moment before returning to normal. Shizuka and Tayaka noticed his behavior.

"I can just make her something from Kumiko's." offered Shizuka.

Naruto shook his head. "It's fine. Let's get the ramen and then drop it off at your place."

Naruto started to walk to Ichiraku's while the girls followed him worriedly.

Ichiraku's Ramen

Mina was having her bowl of miso ramen.

She's supposed to eat dinner with her family later but decided to have a bowl so she could focus on training.

She heard footsteps behind her and found the civilian girl in her class looking through the menu.

"I'll get the miso ramen to go, please."

The waitress Ayame went to give the order to her otosan-san. Mina took a closer look at the two people behind her. One was the Uchiha reject she heard about from Sasuke. "She's pretty."

The last person was one she didn't expect. Right next to the Uchiha was her Naruto-nii. He looked so different from what she remembered. He wore a navy blue long sleeve jacket with the word sword written down his sleeve in white. His cargo shorts are dark green. He is wearing what looks to be a black bandana on his head, preventing him from showing his yellow hair. His shinobi sandals were light grey. What confused her was that she couldn't see the Uzumaki or Namikaze symbol on him.

"Maybe it's on his back. I've been so concentrated on training that I don't even remember the last time I spent with Naruto-nii."

"Hi Naruto-nii!" she said with joy in her voice.

What surprised her was Naruto tensing at the nii part of her sentence. Naruto looked at her with empty eyes and just nodded at her. Tayaka and Shizuka were the only ones who noticed the small amount of anger and sadness in Naruto's eyes.

"Looks like I'm not the only one with clan drama." thought an amused Tayaka.

Shizuka received her order from Ayame and left the stand. None of them saw the confusion on both Ayame and Mina's faces.

"You know that kid looked like your otouto Nawaki-kun."

Mina rounded her head to her with an even more confused face. "He's my nii-san. Naruto comes here, doesn't he?"

Ayame looks confused because she thought she saw all of Kushina's kids. She didn't know that she had another son.

"He's never come here."

Kumiko's

The three academy students entered the restaurant when a brown-haired woman came to Naruto. He is tackled to the ground by a curvy woman with a red apron and curly brown hair falling gently down her lower back. She has an all-black uniform consisting of shinobi sandals, a short-sleeved shirt, and leggings. Her shirt had a v-neck that showed a round pair of c-cup breasts. The apron was helping a little to cover it up.

Tayaka is slightly blushing, while Shizuka is envious of the woman's curves. The woman was hugging the life out of Naruto while he suffocated in her cleavage. Naruto is desperately trying to shove her off.

"Naruto-kun! It's been five days since you came for a visit. I was worried you found a new place to eat. Kaa-san and I were starting to miss you."

She kept rambling to Naruto until Shizuka started to get annoyed.

"Umm, excuse me, but I think you're suffocating a client."

The woman looks down to see Naruto turning blue in the face. When she lets him go, he refills his lungs. When he finished, he looked at the woman.

"Momoko-san, can you please stop suffocating me when I come here. I came here to eat with some new friends from the academy." Momoko turned her head to see the two girls who were beside Naruto. She smiled at the fact Naruto was starting to make friends. She nodded and led them to an empty booth near the front counter.

The restaurant was small.

There was only enough room for booths on the side of the wall. In the middle, there are four tables with two chairs each. It wasn't cramped, but in general, it was small.

Before Naruto came here, they were low on customers, which meant money wasn't coming into the restaurant. When Naruto started coming here, they were shocked that he ate so much. He is the reason more people started coming here. Kumiko's has become a place with the best fish and meat in the village. Momoko's kaa-san is sure they will have money to fix the building in five years. Then they can make this a fancy restaurant and bar for meat and sushi lovers.

The three kids were seated and started to look at the menu. Once they all ordered, the girls couldn't help their dumbfounded faces at how much Naruto ate. They wondered how he could eat that much and not get some fat on his body.

"If they only knew the training you receive from Anko and me. They would completely understand why you eat so much, especially since you love meat too damn much."

"Speak for yourself, Zoro. You want me to be chunin so you can feel the saki down your throat."

They ended up talking the whole night. Eventually, Tayaka had to leave for the night. She stated that she needed to see Shisui for her new training schedule. An hour after that, Shizuka started to depart for home. Naruto decided to walk her there.

When they finally arrived, Naruto told her goodnight. She smiled and told him to stay safe.

When she walked in, she couldn't help but shiver when Tokiwa stood there with a shit-eating grin on her face. Oh, how much teasing will she receive for tonight?