NARUTO
Destiny Breaker
Failure?
Twelve Years later…
Late Morning…
In the time since the Kyuubi's attack on the village, Konohagakure had become a pillar of strength and courage throughout the Land of Fire; an example that all other villages and allied nations wanted to follow. The smaller nations neighboring the country had often looked towards the Village Hidden in the Leaves for support in times of dire stress and great hardship. This balance held between Konoha and its smaller allies helps to maintain a stable and steady economic flow between them, and allows them to resolve disputes quickly without quarrels.
However, accompanying these years of peace and prosperity, Konoha has still been plagued by a different, constant, natural disaster.
"GET BACK HERE!" a ninja shouted angrily as he rushed past startled civilians down a random dirt road in pursuit of his highly elusive quarry. "YOU'RE GONNA PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE, NARUTO!"
"Haha! You will have to catch me first!" the spiky haired blonde in question replied, quickly making a sharp turn and sprinting down a narrow alleyway to evade his pursuers. The paint bucket he was holding tightly at his side thrashed about as a result of his wild movements, creating a bright and colorful trail of contemporary patterns over the ground that he covered.
Though it wasn't inconvenient for him, it did leave an incredibly obvious path for his pursuers to follow.
The shinobi chasing the child violently pushed passed several civilians, accidentally knocking someone carrying groceries over to make the hard corner necessary for him to keep pace with his fleeing mark. Of course, in this village, civilians seeing or encountering shinobi running around wasn't a rare sight at all. In fact, it was such a common sight that people could go about their daily lives without the fear of being assassinated.
But seeing ANBU out, in broad daylight, and using the roads like a normal person, was actually quite a spectacle to the villagers.
There is one, absolute prerequisite that all ANBU units had to follow above all others, saying that they are 'not to be seen in the eyes of the public or by regular shinobi forces unless orders dictated this law'. However, the particular target this ANBU was currently in pursuit of was forcing him to break all his rules in order to bring him in.
As soon as he had skidded to a halt at the entrance to the alleyway, the Elite Jonin with brown hair and wearing a cat mask continued his hunt, intent on capturing the little troublemaker and ending this God-awful chase around town.
Meanwhile, overhead, the ninja's partner followed and observed the pursuit closely from the rooftops, jumping from tree to tree and balcony to balcony, all in an effort to keep a lock on the nuisance boy causing them so many problems.
"Dammit Naruto! I'm not going to say it again! STOP!" the man in the mask yelled as he sprinted down the alley.
Naruto grinned back over his shoulder and stuck his tongue out. "You're an idiot if you think you can follow me!" Spinning around in mid-run, the blonde knocked several trashcans over.
The racket blocked the route of the ANBU with annoying clutter that bought the boy probably several seconds, with the noise of the cascading cylinders also startling a cat, who leapt across the way and up over the fence.
Upon obstructing his pursuer's path with whatever he could, Naruto leapt back around and continued his sprint, unhampered by his brief task. He took a sharp right and continued running down a random road out of sight.
The ANBU chasing him leapt over the trashcans with little effort and broke back into a hard sprint with no wasted movement, all in an effort to keep an eye on his swift prey.
"You'll have to do better then that, gaki!" the man barked.
However, just as he was within reach of the exit, his foot suddenly caught onto something invisible and he tripped. Though he managed to catch himself in his fall to the muddy ground, he failed to notice the series of paint buckets lined up on the windowsill high above, which the wire he had disturbed was fixed to topple. The cans of red, green, pink and yellow fell rhythmically from their established point, and bombarded the ANBU with all the fruitiest colors you could imagine.
The man's back and head ended up a splattered, colorful mess. Within moments of the domino affect ending, his dark uniform found itself decorated in a stunning parrot pattern, which would surely turn some heads back at HQ. However, his new look didn't appeal to him that much, nor did he get much of a chance to get a first impression of himself when the pink paint bucket landed on his head.
When the last of the pails fell, the ANBU was seeing red.
But it wasn't in the tone given to him by the unexpected shower.
Clenching his fists and trembling angrily the man leapt to his feet and unleashed a primal roar. Ripping the paint can off of his head, he chucked it at the wall.
"GOD DAMMIT!"
Naruto laughed when he heard the man's cry.
"Sucker."
His renewed run down another of the main roads of Konohagakure went on unheeded from that point onwards, as he boldly dodged traffic and stalls left and right. Despite the complexity of his path the route seemed to come naturally to him, with villagers watching from the sidelines as he slid right under a pane of glass being moved across the road, hurdled a wagon of barrels, ducked below a man moving a crate and leapt over a wide puddle.
It was a sporting wonder. But it was not to last.
His run hit no potholes in his successful navigation of all the other obstacles, right up to the point when his path was predictably blocked by the other participant of the merry marathon.
Naruto looked ahead to see his other ANBU pursuer leap down from the rooftops and land directly in the middle of his course. Arms folded, the woman with the purple hair, wielding a katana and wearing a different cat mask to her partner, smirked from behind her porcelain face at the youngster approaching her.
"Give it up, kid," the woman exclaimed. "You can't get past me!"
Naruto smirked in response to his adversary's statement and, as if it were as normal as breathing, he instinctively chucked the paint can he was holding at the woman full-pelt, with his throw backed up by the momentum of his run.
"Catch!"
The tin of white paint spiraled through the air towards the ANBU unit it was aimed for. However, just before it hit her, the masked woman swiftly raised her hand and caught it, a feat that would have been quite impossible for a normal person at the distance.
"Nice try, but-!"
SPLAT!
The top of the pail suddenly went off and painted her entire mask with white sludge. The exploding, thick liquid managed to get through the holes punched into her porcelain visor, and the woman got the shock of her life when she found her whole world clouded by white.
Yugao dropped the now half a paint can and staggered backwards, trying to clear her eyes out but couldn't due to her accursed face wear.
"Shit… argh! You… YOU! Damn you, you annoying brat!" Yugao roared, flailing her arms out aimlessly to try and catch the boy, only for the spiky haired jinchuriki to slip right between her legs and carry on running passed her. "He put a piece of an exploding tag inside the can and rigged it to blow when it mixed with the contents! DAMMIT!"
Once again, Naruto had effortlessly evaded the 'elite' of Konohagakure.
"Naruto: Fifty! ANBU Chumps: NAUGHT! Dattebayo!" Naruto exclaimed, and after a brief glance back at the stumbling shinobi, sprinted down the road at full speed.
Nothing would stop him now!
He was in the clear and he could see it. The West Gates of Konohagakure hung wide open, and from where he was to it, there was absolutely zero traffic. The blonde hollered out a triumphant yell and ran on, kicking up a cloud of dust at the speed he achieved. Then, finally, after making a record-breaking 800 meter dash to freedom, the spiky haired academy student leapt through the air and spun around. His heels slammed into the ground and he slid to a stop all cool-style, just millimeters from crossing the threshold leading to the world beyond Konoha's walls.
"Aaaa-nd…"
Grinning widely, the blonde threw his arms up and laughed out loud.
"SAAAAAFE! HAHA!" Naruto bellowed.
Kotetsu and Izumo, the two Chunins who were on gate duty that morning, smiled when they saw the kid arrive.
There morning had been pretty much routine, boring and peaceful, with little to no civilians entering and exiting the village.
It had been relatively quiet, until the walking energy tank arrived.
However, unlike other arrivals, this arrival had been anticipated by the two slackers, and after watching the runner touch the white line Kotetsu clicked on the stopwatch he was holding at his side and looked down at it. Izumo meanwhile, was gazing intently over the counter to where the boy's feet were touching.
The man with the bandana slapped his hand on the desk in front of him.
"It's a goal! His feet didn't touch the line! No penalties!" His hands swept out in both directions, like a ref calling a goal.
The jinchuriki, clad in orange trousers, a dark blue shirt, sandals, an orange flak jacket tied around his waist and with goggles slapped across his forehead, turned towards the border post after his victory yell and grinned at the two Chunin.
"So… how did I do today?" Naruto asked eagerly.
Kotetsu whistled, scratching his head. "It was close, but you broke your previous record," the Chunin exclaimed, taking out a folded up piece of paper from his pocket and as soon as he had opened it began scribbling over it. "From when the whistle blew to the finish line, your previous time was forty-five minutes and fifty-five seconds. Today, you got forty-three minutes and twenty one seconds. Congratulations!"
"YATTA!" Naruto leapt in the air, pumping a fist in the air at the same time. "I'm getting stronger."
"Ah! Don't go jumping around just yet. Your overall score also depends on the participants of this prestigious event," Izumo informed, taking the paper Kotetsu was holding and getting a closer look at it.
Apparently, the 'Chase Naruto across the entire village by random shinobi' had become an almost Olympic-like sport to the two Chunin. Not only were they keeping tabs on the boy's score, but they were also running a betting pool with several of their companions back at HQ. Most of these other patrons were additional border guards and shinobi who have heard of the daily event.
Izumo smiled at the sheet he held.
"The time you got before was an hour-something and you were chased by two Chunin. The day after, you were pursued by three Chunin for fifty-seven minutes and forty six seconds, after that, seven Chunin and you got… an hour, ten minutes and forty-two seconds… mostly due to more participants."
"Not to mention an old man who got in my way!" Naruto stated proudly, giving them the thumbs-up. "Boy, I got him good!"
"Yeah, now that was good craftsmanship," Kotetsu grinned widely after his amused exclamation and shook his head. "I've never seen a pallet of eggs used so artistically before."
"Moving on," Izumo cleared his throat. "Later, you were chased by a dozen Chunin… after that two Jonin… and… let's see… ah! The latest chase involved two Chunin and an ANBU," Izumo marked it. "That ANBU had a bird mask, so I'm guessing it was Kisuke. What were the masks you saw today?"
Naruto rubbed his chin in thought and looked away, scrunching his face up in concentration.
"Umm… let's see… there were three Chunin at first, but I lost them in the flash-bomb route… and… two ANBU!" Naruto said, holding up five to indicate the total number. "One had a cat mask with three whiskers on each side, and another had a feral cat mask, with one line on each cheek and one on the forehead!" Naruto drew the invisible definitions over his face in his description of his pursuers.
"Wow… you got two good ones," Izumo affirmed, scribbling down the names. "Today, it was Tenzo and Yugao. Man, is she going to be pissed." He glanced over at his partner with a grin. The man with the bandage over his nose smirked back.
"So… who won the pot today?" Kotetsu asked curiously, pulling up another sheet and looking at the polls provided. "I had two-thousand on fifty minutes with three ANBU…"
"And I had three-thousand on forty-five with one ANBU and two Jonin…"
"Hmm… I'm not sure. I think Genma came the closest with a bid of four for forty-something with two ANBU and three Chunin," Kotetsu informed, going over the secondary piece of paper several times. After confirming his 'report', he then looked back up at the jinchuriki and smiled. "Good on yah today, kid. You should be proud of yourself."
The boy in question grinned back and gave the two gate guards the thumbs up.
Naruto enjoyed causing mayhem and mischief around the village because of the amount of attention it got him. It didn't just consist of bad impressions that came of infuriating the entire populace; it also got him some recognition and respect, even if it was in small amounts. To him, these miniscule doses of ego boosters felt like great gifts to him, ones that he took to heart and helped him get through the days of loneliness back at home.
Among the few appraisers that existed in the village, there were Kotetsu and Izumo, both of who were some of the only people Naruto genuinely liked. The young jinchuriki viewed these two Chunin as senseis, both of whom returned this respect likewise, viewing him as a boy with great potential. To them, he wasn't an outcast. They viewed him as a promising shinobi candidate from the academy and a good friend; who spends most of his time slacking off and pulling wool over the village's eyes.
"So… what did you trash this time to piss off the local guard?" Izumo asked curiously.
Naruto grinned and pointed straight down the road and up a little.
The two Chunin leaned over the counter to take a look at what his focus for today was, and got the shock of a lifetime when they saw what the youngster had actually done.
Just several inches up from where they could see the Hokage Mansion on the horizon, the Kage faces carved into the side of Konoha's Mountain, were painted in a whole new light this morning. A lather of contemporary patterns of white, yellow, pink and red covered their once serious expressions, making them an almost satire image of what they once were. I mean, how could you not laugh at the Third with a nosebleed and a streak of pink across his cheeks?
It fitted his personality perfectly!
"I'm not cleaning that up," Kotetsu murmured, before smirking seconds later.
"Very funny," Izumo choked back a laugh and craned his head ever so slightly, as he analyzed the four faces individually. "Your composition is okay, but you may want to work in the soft brush into the more definitive areas of curvatures. It stands out more from this distance."
Naruto laughed and placed his hands on his hips, standing dead-center of the road and grinning proudly up at his creation. All across the village, the three of them could hear the cries of anguish and despair, as well as the calls from random civilians of 'who could have done such a thing?' The morning quickly descended into a whirlpool of chaos, and Naruto was certain that old-man Hiruzen Sarutobi was already up on the roof of his mansion, intent on assessing the situation and finding the culprit.
But this wasn't an attack from a shinobi nation, a rogue ninja, or anything of the sort; it was an attack from a bored child with an axe to grind.
"Those suckers. It can't get much better than this."
"No, it can't." Naruto nearly jumped out of his skin when he heard that familiar voice speak up from behind him. A terrified look crossing his face and sweat breaking out like a waterfall, the blonde slowly turned his head about and gulped.
Glancing up ever so slightly, the young teen saw none other then Iruka Umino standing directly behind him, arms folded, finger tapping impatiently against his bicep, and quite literally with smoke rising from his head as he scowled down at his student. Despite his impatient expression though, he was far beyond the point of annoyed.
This didn't sit too well with Naruto.
This time… he was certain he was going to get the 'death penalty.'
"Thought you could get away with it, huh you little runt?"
Naruto grinned sheepishly as he desperately thought of a way out of his predicament. Running wasn't an option and fighting was out of the question. Iruka was able to floor him in light sparring during outdoor sessions and didn't even have to try, and right now, when he was this pissed, coaxing a little duel out of the academy teacher would inevitably mean he would end up face down in the mud. Naruto wasn't that stupid.
Looking over at Kotetsu and Izumo and hoping for some assistance, the blonde inexplicably saw that the pair had resumed going about their 'usual' business. They were nonchalantly filing their nails and whistling random, tone-deaf tunes as they aimlessly looked around their safe little box on the side of the road for something to do.
At this point, Naruto's confidence and respect for the two just plummeted.
He took back everything nice he said about them. They were absolutely useless, particularly when he was in a crisis and needed bailing out and they weren't.
"Cowards…"
Naruto turned back to face his teacher with a nervous grin. "G-Good morning, Iruka-sensei! I… I umm… have no idea what you could be talking about."
"Oh, I think you do know what I'm talking about."
"Uhh…"
"You'd better have a damn good explanation for missing today's morning lectures and revision classes, Naruto," Iruka breathed, before jabbing his finger in the direction of the Hokage Monument and the miserable state it was in. "And it better not be anything to do with that!"
"Oh, well… sensei, I… I wasn't skipping class on purpose. No. Not at all. There were… umm… extenuating circumstances that I had to… uhh… attend to… desperately attend to!" Naruto exclaimed, before turning to the two Chunin sitting back in the guard box. "Isn't that right, Kotetsu-sensei? Izumo-sensei?"
The shinobi inside the gate station stopped doing what they were doing and looked over at Naruto with subtle, sly grins on their faces. They shrugged back indignantly at the stares the two individuals in front of them were throwing them, hoping to throw off any blame or involvement.
"Nope…"
"Have no idea what you're talkin' about, Naruto," Kotetsu replied, picking his ear.
Iruka furrowed his brow and looked down at Naruto to see the boy grinning up at him and fidgeting nervously. The Chunin studied the jinchuriki's expression several times, raising an eyebrow before gazing back up at his fellow shinobi companions sitting lazily in their booth. He repeated this action several times, his annoyance growing all the more. If none of them were going to fess up willingly, then his only choice left was to wheedle the evidence necessary for him to make the rational decision out of them.
Either of them would do.
"So… what was the bid I made on the run for Naruto this morning?" Iruka asked.
"I don't think you made a bid, Iru-FUCK!" Kotetsu dropped the paper he brought up and clamped his mouth shut, while Izumo sighed and slapped his forehead.
Caught.
"You blew it mate… thanks a bunch…"
Iruka scowled at them and jabbed a finger in their direction.
In class, his single digit was a force to be reckoned with. He could use it to exile a person from the room or make their life a living hell. For the two Chunin, it was most likely the latter.
"I'm going to have a word with the Hokage about this… ALL of this," Iruka said with a dangerous tone lacing his voice, before wheeling back around on Naruto, who was still grinning nervously up at him, but looking even more worried then before. His arms still folded, the Chunin pursed his lips angrily and furrowed his brow even more, his scar wrinkling up as a result. "And as for you…"
Minutes later…
Back at the academy…
"WHAT A RIP-OFF!" Naruto shouted, kicking away on the hardwood floor at the front of the classroom with his whole body except for his legs bound by rope. "FALSE ARREST, SENSEI! YOU GOT THE WRONG MAN!"
"Hmph. I'm sure I can recognize your handiwork, Naruto, even from a long way away," Iruka replied, while smirking down at the tied-up troublemaker propped down on the floor like a show-and-tell item. "After all, I grade your tests on a weekly basis."
Naruto huffed and looked away, his actions earning a round of laughs from all of the students in the classroom sitting up in the rows of desks. Though it didn't discourage the blonde one bit, it did irk him something fierce, and he just stuck his tongue up at both his sensei and the students that laughed.
The scar-faced Chunin sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, before glaring down at the kid again and pointing at him accusingly.
"Tomorrow is the Shinobi Academy's Graduation Exam, and you've failed it the past two times, Naruto!" Iruka stated in a loud voice, silencing anymore laughter and wiping any grins off of the on looking students' faces. "This isn't the time to be playing around or causing trouble!"
Naruto scoffed. "Bleh. Whatever."
Steaming with frustration, Iruka snapped. He slammed his foot into the floor and rounded on the students up in the stands, pointing at the empty space to his left. "It's your lucky day cadets… PRACTICAL HENGE NO JUTSU TEST! EVERYONE LINE UP! I expect you all to transform into perfect versions of me!" The Chunin's shouting startled everyone, even the more docile students. The uncomfortable whine from Akamaru sitting atop of Kiba's head could be heard around the classroom.
The feral looking boy wearing the jacket and with the signature red markings under his eyes petted his companion to comfort him. "Shh… it's okay boy. It's just the teacher."
The students wasted no time scurrying down the stairways to the front of the class. Once Naruto had been unbound and had taken his place somewhere at the middle-end of the line, Iruka then began systematically testing each potential graduate that came up. Clipboard in hand, he methodically ticked off and marked the quality of each individual Henge transformation, making note of the slightest details, right down to the position of the scar on his mirror-image's nose.
Most of the students did well, with the more adept ones earning a smile from the desk grown teacher.
Meanwhile, as the line up proceeded round one person at a time, Naruto stood somewhere in the middle, hands on his hips and looking disgruntled. The same could be said about a couple of the other students standing behind and in front of him.
Ino Yamanaka, one of the other well-renowned blondes of the class, stood behind him, and was looking just as displeased as everybody else.
She roughly nudged the one responsible for their predicament in the shoulder, causing him to stumble a bit.
"This whole thing is your fault you know, Naruto," the girl jabbed disapprovingly.
"Like I care," the boy rebutted, glancing over his shoulder in displeasure. "You hardly see me around the classroom anyway. Why do you care if you get to take some of the heat once a month?"
"Because it's mainly you or Kiba that gets us into trouble, you idiot," Ino hissed back, placing a hand on his head and trying to squeeze his brains out. The jinchuriki squirmed unnervingly. "Somebody needs to take the blame."
"Yeah… well," Naruto picked the hand up off of his skull and glared back at her. "It's not like I can do anything you guys can do? You're all soooo special…" The youngster said this with quite a bit of spite and jealousy dripping off of his tongue.
Ino smirked and folded her arms. "Because the rest of us listen in class, while you're an idiot and a slacker. What else can we expect?"
Naruto chose to ignore her following that remark.
After several more students were called up and marked off, it was then Naruto's turn on the grandstand. Iruka watched as the boy stepped forward and assumed both the necessary stance and the hand seal required for him to execute the jutsu.
Frowning, the boy closed his eyes and concentrated.
He knew the process well. The steps required him to gather chakra and expand it to encompass his entire body in order for the transformation to take place. He also had to keep it at a constant emission state to maintain the form of the person he was supposed to be imitating, in this case; Iruka Umino. The man wasn't that hard to copy after all, the blonde knew him from back to front.
It was easy.
As soon as he formed the seal, Naruto began putting his knowledge of the most basic academy technique into practice.
He gathered the chakra at the center of his body like he was taught…
…
…
…
…and that was about as far as he got.
Sweat broke out on his face as he pushed harder and harder.
However, the chakra in his system refused to move, mold or take any shape or form.
It was as if it was being restrained.
The boy gritted his teeth as he tried to force his chakra out, but all he got was white noise. After a few seconds however, his efforts to bring about a proper Henge was accompanied by the sounds of the other students snickering in the background at his obvious turmoil.
"You wuss! It's not that difficult to do a simple Henge!" Kiba exclaimed, with Akamaru barking lightly from his perch atop of his master's head. At that statement, more laughter made its way out into the open, as the students continued to watch Naruto struggle. "What a loser."
Iruka watched on, growing steadily impatient at Naruto's inability to bring about a transformation. That impatience grew even more over the next minute, and after that minute ticked by, the blonde still hadn't attained any results.
Letting out a breath of air, the teacher clicked his pen and marked Naruto off, at the same time putting a big fat 'F' right next to his name.
"Sorry Naruto," Iruka stated, looking up at the kid to see him still fighting with the technique. "If you're going to continue messing around, then you won't get anywhere even with the simplest of techni-"
"But I'm trying Iruka-sensei!" Naruto shouted, finally throwing in the towel and turning towards the scarred Chunin with a distressed look on his face. "I've seen the technique done a thousand times and I've listened to what you've said in class! But I just can't do it myself! I know what to do! I know what I have to do! I just can't do it!"
Iruka frowned at the distraught kid and lowered both his pad and pen.
"You should be able to do the technique, Naruto," the Chunin informed, hands on his hips. "Look, you've had your chakra balance checked over at the hospital dozens of times. I've read the reports from the doctors myself. You're fine. There's absolutely no reason why you can't do it."
"But I can't! That's the problem, sensei," Naruto almost cried out, gesturing to the spot he was standing in before, at the same time he stepped towards his instructor. "It's not just the Henge Technique, but I can't even do any of the escape jutsu or clone techniques that you taught me! It's just… not fair!" The whole prospect of being unable to perform a single jutsu was digging in deep, and it was really showing on his expression, posture and by how his voice was climbing in both volume and tone.
Iruka observed tears brimming at Naruto's eyes and sighed heavily, shaking his head.
"Look, I'm sorry, Naruto. But if you can't do any of the required jutsu by tomorrow's exam… then I'm afraid… I'm going to have to fail you," Iruka replied, shrugging in disappointment. As much as it pained him to let his student down, he had no choice. "You may have passed your physical fitness with flying colors, and barely scraped by on your stealth and taijutsu basics, but you've still done poorly in your final shurikenjutsu test and most of your theory work. Being unable to complete your basics in academy jutsu practices, your final score will ultimately fall behind in the academy aggregate required for graduation by ten points."
Naruto was a good kid when he wanted to be. He worked just as hard as everybody else when he wasn't skipping class, and he was competent in some areas. His taijutsu was fair, his stealth was pretty good during the formative tests, but he was always fooling about and acting flamboyant during the actual exams, and his physical fitness was far above any of the other students'. Nevertheless, throughout all his years of schooling, the blonde has been unable to perform any ninjutsu.
Even gathering chakra proved to be too much for him.
If he couldn't perform a technique when his body could, then failing him was the best option.
Hearing what Iruka had to say, what little hope and encouragement Naruto had in him just disappeared. The boy frowned deeply in a combination of both aggravation and displeasure.
With an angry growl, he turned heel and just legged it out of the classroom. He left a concerned Iruka and an amused room of students behind as he took to the hallways, and then to the outside world as soon as he was out the doors of the academy.
Later that day…
Hokage's Office…
"… he's a good student, Hokage-sama, but I just… (Sigh). If he can't perform the Clone Jutsu by tomorrow, then I can't pass him," Iruka explained, his eyes falling on the back of the Third Hokage's seat while the village leader was staring out the window. "I don't see how he can possibly survive out there in the real world when he can't even perform a single jutsu successfully or focus long enough to ensure good team competence or results on missions. Even though I've explained the concepts to him over a hundred times, he may understand the processes, but he can't follow-through with them."
Hiruzen Sarutobi remained quiet after the Chunin finished his report on his most well recognized student. Even though it wasn't a student who was a genius or the most talented, it was still a student everyone knew very well; someone whom Iruka had taken so much time out of his busy schedule to approach the esteemed village leader about. From the way he described the situation and what his ultimate decision was in regards to the boy's progression, he sounded incredibly concerned.
The Third pulled his pipe out from his pocket and plopped the tip in his mouth. Lighting it and breathing in deeply, the elder took more time to contemplate the entire story as he filled the air with the smell of tobacco, while Iruka waited behind the desk patiently for his greatest mentor to deliberate on his words.
All the units in the shinobi forces expected Hiruzen to make immediate, calculated decisions on resolving issues, particularly on the more minor of matters. Nevertheless, despite having had this job for far longer than any of his predecessors, the old man liked to take his time mulling over information in his head. He had learned from experience that in the most stressful of times, even when those times were narrowed down to a last minute reflection, still required a certain amount of time to think about.
And unlike Iruka with his rather brash conclusion on the subject, the Third still felt he was overlooking something.
Minutes ticked by and Iruka was given no answer, not even a murmur or indication that his existence was recognized by the most esteemed village elder. However, after giving the subject in question further reflection, with some more window gazing as a focal point, the old Hokage eventually did come up with something he noticed that Iruka had missed.
It was a crucial detail that even he felt needed evaluation.
"How did young Naruto paint the entire Hokage Monument without anybody noticing till he had finished?"
"P-Pardon…?"
"And how did he manage to get over the side of that mountain without expending any chakra whatsoever for assistance? An elevation like that would require a rather complex mechanism that would surely have been noticed. Obviously, the cleaning platform hadn't been lowered or tampered with in the slightest during his little escapade, and the stone faces certainly weren't damaged by any grappling equipment. So… how was he able to accomplish such a feat, without any help and while the sun was peaking over the horizon?"
"Uhh…" Iruka blinked, a little bit dumbfounded.
Hiruzen chuckled, blowing smoke rings into the air at the same time.
"Furthermore, he was able to give some of my best shinobi the chase of a lifetime around the entire village for over half an hour, ample time for even an adept Chunin to have bagged a regular Genin in a similar situation. Heck, he even managed to evade all attempts made by the ANBU to capture him, to the point where he would have cleared the village gates and defenses without getting caught, and would have been out of the country by… saa-ay… midday," the Third stated, removing the pipe from his mouth and tapping it on the side, sending excess ash flying. "Such agility, energy, speed and skill should not be overlooked."
"But… Hokage-sama…" the Chunin stood, a little bit baffled.
After seeing their most treasured and well recognized monument vandalized by an academy student, Iruka thought that the Hokage would have been far more furious then he was.
However, he wasn't furious at all. The Hokage was in fact laughing at the idea. Also, to have seen the results personally after the fiasco; the images didn't shake him in the least.
He was pleased?
What kind of madness was this?
"These skills more then make up for what he lacks in talent for ninjutsu and genjutsu, Iruka," Hiruzen spun around in his chair and looked up at the young man, who stood to attention the moment the village leader turned to face him. "You say he does poorly in school, and that his jutsu skills aren't all that up to scratch for some… unknown reason. Yet you also say he tries his hardest and that he is extremely passionate about becoming a shinobi. From what he has shown to be capable of… even if they were merely fun and games, don't you think that has earned him enough credit to pass your expectations for a Genin?"
Iruka sighed and scratched his head, taking a bit more time to look about in contemplation of this added information.
True, he overlooked Naruto's many adventures of mischief around Konohagakure, mostly due to the fact that they had been catastrophic to the village and to those around him. He had even completely overshot the debacle from months ago when Naruto was chased down by three enemy kunoichi, who were after an intelligence piece on a kunai he had found in the forest. Though he had managed to stall them using a vast assortment of material from his box of tricks till reinforcements arrived, those tricks and maneuvers wouldn't have been considered as legitimate, or standard, shinobi material and tactics in a school grading system.
Nevertheless, it was a success in its own right and he was able to get away with it.
Not to mention all of his other escapes he had made from the clutches of skilled Chunin and Jonin sent after him on a day-to-day basis after he'd vandalized and rigged up several iconic areas of importance around the village. Looking back on it, all those accomplishments were admittedly quite impressive.
"He's a little, slippery troublemaker that high class shinobi all too often underestimate… I'll give him that," Iruka had to smile a bit and looked back up at the Hokage. "He definitely has the potential to cause the enemy quite a bit of grief. Although… I'm still a bit worried that his eccentric behavior might compromise a mission."
"Why not give him another chance, Iruka?" Hiruzen suggested, shrugging his shoulders. "I'm not asking you to pass him on the knowledge of his past antics, but just to test him on different grounds. He's obviously a smart student that isn't as disciplined like the others in following standard procedures. Maybe approaching him in a different way will help you reach a more reasonable verdict."
Iruka nodded. The Third always knew what to say to ease his mind and troubled conscience.
Dealing with children at the academy day in and day out really stressed him out. He needed to clear his head.
"Sounds fair," the Chunin agreed with a smile. "Thank you for your time, Hokage-sama." The man bowed to the elder and turned to leave.
Just as Iruka was reaching for the door of the room, he heard the elder clear his throat.
Hiruzen quickly followed this up with more words; words that were intended for Iruka's ears alone.
"Remember Iruka," the Hokage began, his expression falling back onto its usual, stern look to convey his seriousness of the situation. "Two years ago, you also passed a student who couldn't use ninjutsu or genjutsu at all. I believe his name was…" Hiruzen added to this with a tap of his pipe against his chin and a shy-away glance of thought, "Rock…Lee…?"
Iruka blinked, remembering the name of that particular student.
If memory served him well, that boy was just as eccentric and determined as Naruto.
"I recall that his sensei was exactly the same as he was years ago… only he underestimated his abilities more to the point he stuck to only one form of shinobi conduct and discipline," the village leader continued, and allowed a smile to drift over his lips again. "Food for thought…"
Iruka looked at his feet temporarily, pondering over this new information given, before he eventually stepped out of the office.
After school hours…
Behind the Academy…
Following the locking up of the classrooms he had attended during the day, Iruka took some more time off to wander about to think. His conversation with the Third had given him a bit more of an insight as to what Naruto could actually accomplish outside of the academy. Even though theoretical and practical work in the academy counted significantly towards graduation, he still had a slightly open window to accept out-of-school work.
Naruto was definitely a special candidate when it came to practical work outside of the margins of the schooling system.
The Chunin concluded that he had to look away from the boy's various test sheets and marks taken during classes, in order to gain a better understanding the youngster's potential.
Strolling around on the grounds outside of the academy, Iruka allowed his thoughts to wander on Naruto's past behavior and accomplishments, as this was his main focus and concern for the day.
The boy's personality and antics pretty much outweighed everything else, even some of his most notable accomplishments, such as his continued increase in taijutsu prowess and excessive use of energy, in addition to his above high-standard physical fitness. He was a student who put matter before mind in an appropriate manner, but put the mind aspect a little too far behind him. Obviously, Naruto's attention span during lessons was as low as Shikamaru's, except Shikamaru didn't do too well in practical work aside from having an appropriate aim, but had terrible timing consistency in that respect. Naruto more then made up for that in consistency, speed and strength.
There was just so much for Iruka to take in that he was having trouble coming up with a suitable verdict that would satisfy both him and Naruto.
He wasn't going to pass Naruto without good reason; that much was made clear to him in his conversation with the Third.
"But why can't he use ninjutsu… I don't understand," Iruka shook his head, deeply troubled by this note. "His medical results show that he has chakra there, which means it can be harnessed somehow. But why can't it be manifested? Could he really be like Lee?"
He gritted his teeth as he thought harder. "He's young, he's childish, and he doesn't fully understand how the world works. How can he survive out there on his own when the situation calls for it and how will he fair when he's placed on a team for that matter? He's just… too difficult."
The man looked up as his thoughts raged away inside of his head. He began to think a bit more logically and seriously, and also started exploring deeper into the other aspects about the character in question.
"But… then again… there are kids his age that go out there all the time; some of them I consider to be equal to his level or even far less competent in comparison. Tsk…" Iruka chuckled briefly. "Despite his childishness and his failings, he was able to run rings around our best shinobi. He's also lived on his own for most of his life as a jinchuriki; hated, taunted and ridiculed by everyone… with no one to look after him or teach him these important things about life and fighting. He doesn't even know who he is, and yet he's survived with only a handful of useful skills. Heh."
While Iruka worked over the debate in his head, he suddenly became aware of the sounds of distant yelling and loud thumping noises. Blinking as he was stirred from his world of contemplation, he set his sights on the wooded area beside the playground.
Looking around briefly and keeping an ear open for the clamor, the Chunin then began making his way towards the source of the sounds. Stepping off of the footpath, he pushed his way through the brush he encountered around the wooded area, which quickly led him to an open space.
Peering round a tree standing in his way, Iruka sprouted a look of surprise when he spotted Naruto sparring away against a large tree stump situated in the middle of the clearing. Making sure he kept out of sight, the older shinobi decided to stay and watch his student for a bit.
"So this is where he goes after he runs off?" Iruka blinked, recalling some of the other times Naruto had fled the classroom out of either frustration or distress.
Naruto was working his fists and kicks into the sides of the large log like it was a training dummy, yelling out with every blow he landed. The style he used wasn't an academy approach, but more of a mixture between it and an unusual form of combat Iruka recognized, which best suited his build. He struck with power hits that were swift and consistent, and visibly cracked and shook the large stump with the amount of force put behind every swing. He also compensated for the wider hits with quick strikes and jabs that also acted as a defense for his center, which he mixed in with his more accentuated attacks.
His style then became more elaborate, as he began moving around the object of his attention, jumping high to land kicks and punches in the upper parts of the log. He danced rings around the stump, before eventually stopping with his right fist barely hovering over the surface of the trunk. His last punch looked strong, but he stopped at the last second.
Iruka became puzzled by why he ceased, but found out soon enough when he saw Naruto's fist begin to tremble and his calm expression held from when he was fighting suddenly transform into one of anger.
Naruto glared at his fist for a full minute, before bringing it back and begin ruthlessly laying it into the tree. He jabbed and punched at the log with all his might, literally plowing a hole right through to the center, shattering the wood. When it collapsed, he then focused attention on another buffer, this time a fully grown tree standing away from the middle of the clearing, and began slamming his fists into that one as well.
"WHY… AM I… A… FAILURE?" Naruto shouted between each punch, bringing the whole trunk down shortly after and moving on to another. "WHY… DO… I… SUCK?"
Bringing down two more trees, the jinchuriki then turned to another one and, bringing his right fist around, sent it straight across in a wide hook.
"WHY CAN'T I DO IT!"
His cry was added with a loud crash as his hook went straight through the tree, sending chunks of wood and splinters flying through the air. That mighty blow sent the tree collapsing right on top of another, just as all the others had after suffering the youngster's wrath.
The boy sobbed out in both hurt and anger as he stumbled around. He turned his attention back to the collapsed stump he had been working on before. Approaching it, he picked it up and literally hurled it into the tree tops, moments before falling to the ground himself.
There he stayed and wept, ignoring the fact that his fists were cut up and bleeding badly.
Iruka was at first shocked; shocked that the boy was able to bring down six trees on his own with his bare hands successively. He was then shocked in a different way when he saw the boy begin to cry and stepped back a little as he watched.
In all the years he had known the boy, Iruka had always considered Naruto as a steel pillar; one that was not so easily broken or damaged. Sure he would be swayed by the bellowing wind once or twice, but the boy quite frequently if not always came off as bright, cheerful, happy, and childish. However, what Iruka failed to realize up till that moment was that all he had been seeing on the young boy's face was a mask.
Bringing down most of a wooded clearing out of sheer, pent up anger and frustration was proof enough that the boy was hurting deeply on the inside.
Unable to stand watching anymore, Iruka came around from his hiding place and approached the boy. When Naruto heard the footsteps of somebody nearby, he looked up to see none other than his teacher step out of the shadows of the brush and stride over to him. At first, the blonde hurried to wipe the tears away from his eyes and stand up in a vain attempt to convey that there was nothing wrong with him, but the Chunin quickly swooped down and placed a hand on his shoulder before he could proceed any further.
"Sensei?"
"Wait a moment, Naruto…"
Reaching into the back of his pouch, the scarred shinobi pulled out some bandages from his kit. Unfurling them, he then started wrapping Naruto's hands up. Though he didn't break any bones they were still worse for wear, so the man made sure to cover them up properly and firmly.
The young jinchuriki watched the teacher wrap up his hands cautiously for the better part of the five minutes that passed them by, but then looked away with a defiant expression on his face.
"Thanks."
"You're welcome," Iruka smirked. Clasping both gauze wraps, he then propped himself back into his kneeling position and looked proudly at his work. "There. That should do it."
Naruto flexed his fingers, finding them to be a bit numb from his workout. But that buzzing feeling went away moments later, leaving him with just the white gauze gloves covering up his self-inflicted injuries. The spiky haired youngster then glanced at his teacher for a second time, a puzzled expression on his face.
"Why are you here, sensei?"
"Well… I was just out for a little afternoon stroll, thinking about what students I'm going to pass in tomorrow's Graduation Exam," he began his sincere reply with a thoughtful look on his face, before smiling and shrugging. "Then I heard a racket all the way out here, so I came to investigate."
"And…?" Naruto furrowed his brow, knowing there was more to the story.
"That's it," Iruka said assertively, nodding his head.
Naruto frowned and stood up.
Defiant as usual, he then turned back to what he was doing. Picking out a random tree that he hadn't destroyed, he walked over to it and began working against it with palm strikes and kicks. He went about it in a similar manner to how he had been before with his fists, only this time he was sure to keep this one upright for a longer period.
Though his actions rallied further concern from Iruka, upon closer inspection of his fighting condition, the man saw that it wasn't bothering him.
Using this moment of reprieve for a more detailed analysis, the Chunin concentrated on the area Naruto was using for practice and looked around.
Now that he was in the middle of the clearing, Iruka saw that a great number of the trees had taken a beating. Not only had they been used as punching bags, but they also had crude targets drawn into the upper and lower levels of their trunks. Kunai and shuriken were lodged deeply into the sides of the wood surfaces, indicating strenuous, repeated practices. One tree in particular had clusters bunched up into it within the rings of the target, telling the shinobi that that particular tree had been the main object of the boy's attention.
Judging from the extent of the damage that one tree had sustained, the Chunin concluded that Naruto must have used up a lot of his time getting to that particular stage of accuracy with his blades.
Iruka blinked in surprise.
"You were out here the entire day, Naruto?"
Naruto huffed, finishing a palm strike and looking down at the grass at his feet. "Yeah…"
"I take it you were working on your taijutsu then?"
"Not just my taijutsu," Naruto replied, disheartened. A minute of pause later, he restarted his activity, slamming his palms into the sides of the tree several times, before angrily yelling out seconds later and throwing a roundhouse kick into the side of it, splitting the log where he hit. "But I also worked on the Clone Jutsu and the Henge no Jutsu!"
"And…?" Iruka asked curiously, hoping for a positive answer but expecting something less.
"AND NOTHING!" Naruto roared and slammed a side kick into the tree's base, nearly splitting it in two. Hopping away, the blonde then grabbed his hair and pulled at it. He would have ripped his hair out from its roots if he hadn't tripped and fallen back against the new tree he was taking his frustration out on. Instead of attacking it even more, he simply let go of his frustration and collapsed against it, looking down at the ground with his eyes hidden by his hair and goggles.
"I can't do it, sensei," Naruto sobbed. "I can't do any of the techniques you showed me! No matter how hard I try, no matter how much or how little chakra I use, no matter how hard I practice… I just can't get any of the techniques to work."
Iruka saw how disappointed he was.
Of course, with all of his hopes and dreams on the line, all of which were resting on tomorrow's exam, he had everything to lose. Becoming a ninja and becoming Hokage was everything Naruto had in his life. There was nothing else.
Iruka could understand that. He had been in the same position Naruto was currently in when he was a student; playing the fool to hide a warrior's pain, causing mischief to gain recognition, and doing everything possible to be acknowledged by his peers for his talents, and to overlook his faults.
But he was the teacher now and he was the one commanding the fates of the students at the academy. He was the one now dealing with the papers.
Iruka decided at that moment that he was going to test his new theory inspired by the Hokage, and if it worked, it would help him settle the debate going on in his head.
Looking around, the Chunin saw what Naruto had just accomplished on his own.
He couldn't argue anymore about the boy's physical strength. After seeing him tear down several trees that even well trained Genin found hard to do was evidence enough.
At this point, all he had to do was find out whether everything else wasn't just a fluke.
Scratching his cheek, Iruka approached the boy lying against the tree. Pulling out a kunai from his pouch, the man then shadowed the youngster and held it out to him. When Naruto saw what it was being offered to him, he glanced up at Iruka questioningly, showing the tears brimming at his eyes.
Iruka gave him a serious look.
"Throw it."
"Huh?"
"I want you to throw this Naruto," the man repeated, dropping the knife in his hand. He then stepped back, and stood about a meter in front, just enough for Naruto to see the trees about five-hundred yards behind him, the average throwing distance of a Genin. The Chunin frowned as he glared down at him like a scolding father. "At the tree. Behind me."
"Sensei?"
"You've been working hard, haven't you?" Iruka asked, earning a nod from the boy. "You've been sitting in my classes and my practical lessons. You've watched me and I've taught you. You've trained with your fellow students AND you've trained on your own in your free time. Let's see what you can do. The tree: twelve degrees to my right, forty degree elevation, the shuriken lodged in the upper branch on the left. Dislodge it!"
"Wha… but…"
"DO IT!"
Naruto, furrowing his brow and gritting his teeth, resigned to his fate. Taking aim, he then flipped the knife into a throwing grip and threw it. The knife sailed right over Iruka's right shoulder and ruffled his hair at how close it came, cutting through the wind with ease as it shot towards its mark. A second later, there was a loud clang when the kunai hit the tree branch, and knocked the shuriken in question from it. The ninja star fell from its placement and dropped to the ground, where it landed with a light thud.
Naruto blinked in surprise, which earned a smirk from Iruka.
The man then grabbed the boy by the shoulder and moved so that the jinchuriki stood in front of him. The teacher took his place behind him and folded his arms, the blonde looking at the taller man over his shoulder.
"You've still got a full pack?"
"Y-Yeah."
"Alright," Iruka frowned. "Target A: left, third tree from the center, ten degrees down!"
Naruto reacted immediately to the coordinates and reached into his pouch. Drawing a cluster of shuriken, he tossed them. The four stars cut through the air, and thudded one after the other against his poorly drawn circle at the base of the trunk, impaling the target. The blonde maintained his stance, glaring across the field.
"Target B: right, forth tree from the center, thirty degrees up!"
The jinchuriki did as instructed, reaching into his leg holster and drawing a kunai. With that quick draw, he tossed it with an upward throw, the knife slicing like a bullet through the space between the thrower and the target, before thumping hard against the tree. It hit its mark dead center, shaking a few leaves from the host.
"Target C and D: forth left and fifth right from the center, twenty degree down and up!"
Naruto flicked his left and right hands, shuriken sliding from his jacket sleeves into his hands. In a flash, he tossed them in a cross throw, the stars curving through the air and passing each other a split second before hitting their assigned targets.
"Target E: left, third tree from the center, ten degrees down!"
The blonde followed through with a shuriken. However, the star missed and hit the trunk instead.
He gritted his teeth.
"Dammit!"
"DON'T STOP! Repeat!" Iruka shouted.
Naruto did so with a second star, the weapon curving sharply and in a flash, struck the target squarely in the center.
"Target F and G: right, second from the center, five degrees down and twenty degrees up!"
The jinchuriki drew two kunai from hic pouch by the rings and threw them in an upwards throw as before. The blades broke through the air and split in a 'V' motion, the blades thumping against their marks.
"Targets H, I and J: left two, left four and right three, twenty degrees down, up and thirty degrees up! Multiple targets!"
Naruto reached back with both hands and drew clusters of shuriken between his fingers. With a yell and a swift cross throw while riding a low stance, just as he had practiced in class, he threw the metallic stars. The weapons broke through the air at random intervals, and one after the other hit their carefully assigned targets. When the thudding stopped and the trees ceased rattling, the blonde was standing in front of Iruka with his arms and hands extended, and panting heavily.
Iruka furrowed his brow and looked down at his watch, pulling back the sleeve to check the time. He nodded his head and lowered his arm, before marching passed Naruto and walking over to the first target he had aimed for.
While Naruto remained planted where he was, just as all the students had been instructed to back during the practical sessions when on the range, the teacher went over to the tree at the far end and dropped to his knee on the grass. Quickly going through the thick brush, he then picked up the shuriken that the blonde had knocked from its position about several meters above him and looked at it. His finger ran over the chip that it had sustained when the kunai grazed it, and after collecting it, Iruka stood up and turned back around.
Covering the return distance, he stopped in front of Naruto and held the shuriken out to him. The boy took it and looked at the iron star to see the chip, and his finger gently ran over it. In spite of his bandaged hands and bruised knuckles, which should have obstructed some of the flexibility in his digits, the gauze didn't hamper him at all.
Once he had analyzed his prize, Naruto took a moment to look up at his teacher to see him smiling down at him.
"You see. You can do it," Iruka exclaimed, before turning back to the firing range behind him and taking score.
"B-But… sensei… how… I…?"
"All targets neutralized with only one miss, and…" Iruka looked down at his watch again, "All in less then fifteen seconds, I make it." The man glanced at the boy with a smirk. "All targets hit close to or dead center. You have been training, Naruto."
"But sensei," Naruto started, stepping forward. "I… I still can't do the Henge or Clone Jutsu. W-What does this have to do wi…"
"That," Iruka said, dropping to his knee in front of the boy and placing both his hands on his shoulders, "doesn't matter, Naruto. The point is… you've proven that you've been working hard throughout the entire year and that you've tried your best here… I can see that." His grip firmed and he smiled at the boy, who was still giving him a questioning look. "When you're around others, you're just too focused on what everyone else is doing and what they're thinking about. Or you're just so focused on thinking about somebody else that… you get distracted, and that you're too caught up in worrying about everything else that you can't concentrate on what you yourself are doing. But when you do focus on what you're doing, when you work hard on it… you do extremely well… you accomplish what you set out to do. That's what's important."
He ruffled the blonde's hair, earning a blink from the boy, followed by a small smile and a nod. Iruka then grinned and stood up, looking back towards the targets.
"Besides… you just passed yesterday's test… and with an A plus!" Iruka exclaimed.
"Huh? R-Really?" Naruto literally jumped, and looked up at the Chunin with renewed surprise and joy in his eyes. It was as if he had just been jumpstarted.
The scarred man nodded.
"Yeah," Iruka stated affirmatively, "you passed the preliminary tests leading up to the written exam and the Bunshin test. Let's see… recap, you've passed your taijutsu and stealth basics, though barely, and you're physically fit and fast enough to be a Genin." The man then flashed a grin down at the boy, one that he was certain the youngster deserved. "Not to mention I'm rewriting your Shurikenjutsu test."
Naruto grinned and stepped up to the man, looking as though he was about to start jumping around in excitement. "R-Really, sensei?"
"Yup," Iruka nudged him in the shoulder. "Listen, if you can pass the written exam tomorrow, then I won't have to count the Bunshin test to your final score. I'll let you pass…"
"YATTA!" Naruto exclaimed, leaping at the man and hugging him. Iruka chuckled when the boy latched onto him and ruffled his hair. However, after staggering about with his extra luggage for a moment, he managed to yank the blonde off of him and force the hopeful kid to look back up at him.
Not only did he see tears of joy this time, Iruka also saw renewed determination and delight beaming from his face like the rays of a sun.
"But don't get your hopes up too high, Naruto," the man said, his expression becoming serious again. "Not only do I need you to go home and study hard for tomorrow, but I also want you to later find out what is really wrong with your chakra network." The blonde shook off his tear filled expression of joy and instead shot a look of surprise up at Iruka. "You can use chakra like all of your other peers, but I don't think it's due to you slacking off or misplacing the steps. Just to be sure, I'll take you to see the doctor after the final exams to get you thoroughly checked. Okay."
Naruto nodded firmly. "Yes." He then pulled himself off of the man. Wiping his nose and eyes on his sleeve, he then hurriedly scampered out of the clearing, shuriken in hand. He waved back at his teacher as he left, disappearing into the trees. "I'll study hard, Iruka-sensei! I promise!"
The man smiled and waved back. Once the boy had gone, he grinned and scratched his head in relief, looking back at the clearing. He whistled when he saw the state of the trees for the third time that night.
"Still… to do all of this with his bare hands…" He looked down at his own knuckles for added emphasis, and rubbed them at the very thought of plowing them through solid wood. He winced at the idea of doing so. "Even I would second think training like that." The man sighed and pocketed his hands, smiling at the scene. "I guess Hokage-sama was right… Naruto really is something different…"
Iruka took his leave a few minutes later, not in the mood of cleaning up the field, and instead leaving it for Naruto to come back to. After all, this was his little training zone.
What Iruka was unaware of when he departed from the scene however, was that a pair of eyes had been watching him from the roof of the academy building the entire time. The elevation gave the onlooker a good view and ear to the entire area two to three stories below, and after watching what had transpired, the man with the white hair and donning the standard Konohagakure shinobi uniform cursed under his breath.
"That demon loving son of a…" the Chunin's hands tightened into fists. "Well… if he's going to pass that brat tomorrow… I'll just have to find another way to get that scroll!"
TO BE CONTINUED…
Author's Note: In this chapter, I'm just carefully esstablishing Naruto's appeal and relationships with his teachers, and with the village. I think it does his character credit that he gets about Konoha a lot, and that his true potential is reflected in his tricks and unpredictability. He is exceptionally good at deception and strategy when he wants to be, and I'm simply accentuating this fact, as well as the idea that he can be quite competent in taijutsu. Not on Rock Lee's level, but more on level with Sasuke's. I find that taijutsu is the coolest aspect of fighting in Naruto, and that I'm developing my Naruto on that basis rather than on him solely relying on just jutsu and the Kyuubi's chakra. (Honestly Kage Buunshin is used too much in the series, and when put into an actual fight, the animators put no effort into stretching out his battles like they did with Kakashi, Ino, Shikamaru and Choji against Kakuza and Hidan, or Sasuke and Orochimaru in the Chunin Exams in the Forest, or any of Kyuubi Naruto's battles. None of Naruto's battles where he solely fights under his own power are good.)
So, I'm building up Naruto's life around characters and obstacles that are meant to challenge him and develop his abilities and relationships. Stick around. It'll get good.
(Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto)