A.N. – In my (updated) story, ninjas don't start their careers until they are fifteen. It seems more plausible for me, as well as a better building block for romances than being at eleven/twelve years of age.
At orientation:
Naruto – 15 years
Kurenai - 22 years
Haku – 17 years
Yugito – 18 years
Story starts
For the next three years, Naruto perfected his taijutsu style and focused on building strength in his attacks. He also perfected Mokuton to a degree better than the Shodaime. He practiced all the moves of Eilen Mangekyō Sharingan. He also built up a greater repertoire of jutsu and perfected those that he already knew. He also gained more understanding in the Rinnegan. He also gained a little experience by completing bandit missions. All in all, he was becoming a fearsome shinobi.
Orientation Day – Hokage's OfficeNaruto stood there, a genjutsu in place to look like the White Zetsu used to look like. He seemed to have short spiky blond hair, and was clad in an orange jumsiut. He was standing in front of Hokage-jiji. He wanted to tell him today of what was the truth. Or at least partially. He leaned forward and said, "Jiji, would you mind sending out Cat and Boar out. This is kind of important."
Hiruzen Sarutobi had seen very surprising things. But this took the cake. His eyes widened as to how a mere genin could identify the ANBU in his office. He asked them out, and put on silencing seals. "Yes, Naruto, I don't know how you identify them. But I guess that can wait till you tell me what is so important."
Naruto dropped the genjutsu and showed him to be a splitting image of Madara Uchiha with blond hair. Madara had gifted him with many sets of armor in his own style, in various sizes. He had worn the one which best suited him. It was black with faint streaks of yellow, orange and red. His hair reached his waist, and in his eyes, Hiruzen could see his maturity. Standing tall at 5'7", he replied, "Jiji, I had been training away from the village for these seven years." Putting up a hand to stop further questions, he asked his Jōnin sensei to be brought here as he would like to tell it only once. Kakashi soon appeared and saw a strange blond man in armor standing before the Hokage.
"Hokage-sama, you called me?" The Hokage just pointed to the strange man.
"I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, and yes I know of my heritage and reasons for keeping it from me. I understand them and have no ill will towards you. Although, after I have finished, you may want to make the knowledge public and let me have my inheritance. You both must have seen some strange black flames and charred bodies ten years ago." Both men nodded. "That was Madara Uchiha's doing. He saved me from the mob, and took me as his disciple and trained in various arts. He had no ill will and has allowed me to pursue whatever I wish." His eyes changed to his Sharingan, Mangekeyo form and then to his Rinnegan. They were back to his original blue orbs. "He said if I didn't use Sage Mode and Kyuubi's chakra, and my expertise at Uzumaki sealing, in a few years, I would be at his level when he was at his peak. With those, I would surpass him. He died three years ago. I can also perform Mokuton." With that, several small trees grew from the office. "The one you thought was Naruto was just a …. clone, which was ordered to remain idiotic. Deception is important. So, that's why. Anyway, I need to go. Ja ne." With that, he vanished in a spark of yellow.
Hiruzen fainted. After a while, he revived. "I had a strange dream that Naruto was taught by Madara Uchiha." Kakashi just mumbled, "It wasn't a dream, Hokage-sama." Hiruzen again fainted.
Kakashi splashed some water upon Hiruzen. Hiruzen sighed. "He has mastered even that jutsu. This is too much to take. But, if all he said was true, I'm glad he told us and is still a member of Konoha. Kakashi, train your squad well. I have an inkling Naruto won't use his powers just yet." Kakashi just nodded. This was even more interesting than reading Icha Icha. 'I should have taken teaching up at an earlier age.' Thinking this, he took his leave from the office.
Jumping from rooftop to rooftop to get to the Memorial Stone, he found the 'new' Naruto at Ichiraku's Ramen stand. 'Guess some things never change.'
Soon, Naruto finished twenty bowls of miso ramen. Teuchi, not having seen for a while, put it on the house. Naruto walked leisurely to the academy. The Naruto they knew was a dead-last, a failure two times. That was soon going to change. He entered the classroom and saw that no one was present yet. He went to the back of the class, and fell asleep.
Soon the students who had passed came in. Everyone was confused as to the identity of the long-haired blond boy at the back. They could see he had a great physique, rippled muscles and a black armor on his body. The girls squealed when they saw him. Only Sakura, a die-hard fan girl of Sasuke didn't. "Look, he's hotter than Sasuke." "I wish I'm on his team." "I wonder what his name is."
Shikamaru looked as if he couldn't care less, but his mind was in full gear. Naruto had not come yet. He knew he had passed. He had blond hair, but it was short, much shorter than his boy's. It couldn't be Naruto, so who was he?
Iruka soon came in, and didn't spot the boy as all the other seats were occupied. Soon, he began taking the attendance. When he reached the end of the list, he called out, "Naruto Uzumaki?"
"Present, Iruka-sensei." Everybody turned around to the blond-haired boy. Everyone, including Iruka, gasped. How could this person be Naruto? "Well, by the looks of your faces, you are thinking about my new looks. Don't worry, everyone has a secret. Maybe, if we were better friends, I might have told you." With that, he sat down.
Whispers went around the classroom. How could this boy be Naruto? His demeanor seemed very different. He seemed warm but calculating, carefree but not careless and not above making others feel a little ashamed.
Naruto went back to sleeping on his desk.
'There expressions were priceless. Hey, kit, when will you show your real colors?' Kurama asked through its mental link.
'You know, there's probably going to be a test today or tomorrow. Kakashi already knows about my abilities. It wouldn't hurt for my teammates to know, would it?' They both chuckled as Naruto cut off the mental link, just in time to hear Iruka announce his team.
"Team 7 : Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake…"
Naruto dozed back to sleep knowing his sensei's tardiness. Two hours later, he woke up due to a shout from Sakura. "HE'S LATE." Nodding to himself, he analyzed his team's behavior. Sakura was a fan girl. Anything not to do with Sasuke didn't demand her attention. She could be a capable kunoichi if she trained, but she didn't. Sasuke always seemed to be brooding, and nothing much could be said about him.
Naruto had sent a hundred clones the library and Hokage Tower to gather, read and practice as many new jutsus as they could. He yawned. 'Waiting for the famous Kakashi was turning about to be …. troublesome.' Shikamaru, who was with Asuma, sneezed.
Just then their Jōnin sensei entered. He was a fairly tall man. He had silver hair that seemed to defy gravity. Naruto mused if he should use his gravity manipulation thanks to Rinnegan, but let it pass. The only visible part of his face was his right eye. The rest of his face was covered by a mask, his left eye being covered by hitai-ate He wore standard Konoha shinobi uniform – he had his Jōnin flak jacket, blue shirt and pants, and shinobi sandals.
"YOU ARE LATE." Sakura shouted pointing her finger at Kakashi. Kakashi just looked bored. He looked around the room to find Sasuke grunting and Naruto just laying his head on the desk.
"Meet me on the roof in five minutes." Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto disappeared behind them in a small whirlpool of fire. Sasuke was stunned how the former 'dead-last' did it. It was even better than Kakashi's. He would have to know him better. Perhaps, being an orphan himself, he could finally be his friend. Sakura wasn't paying attention to anything other than Sasuke. So, she didn't notice. Soon, they made their way to the roof.
Kakashi appeared on the roof, to see a small whirlpool of black flames. From within it, Naruto stepped outside. 'I have got to learn that. Though, if what Naruto says is true, and strangely I believe it is, I have a lot to learn.' Soon, they were sizing each other up, when the other two genin arrived. Kakashi coughed to get their attention, before they sat down. "Why don't we introduce ourselves? Name, hobby, Dislikes, Likes, Dreams…?"
Sakura was the first to speak, "Why don't you show us, sensei?"
Kakashi mumbled "Fine. My name is Kakashi Hatake. My likes… dislikes… dreams … you don't need to know them." The three genin sweat-dropped at this. Sakura and Sasuke thought, 'All he said was his name.' Naruto mentally smirked, 'Just like Zetsu reported.' After the death of Madara, Zetsu had become a spy for Naruto. He was always on the lookout for increasing his network. Kakashi continued, "Why don't you go first, pinky?"
Sakura just huffed in annoyance at her nickname. "My name is Sakura Haruno. I like…," and she looked at Sasuke. "My hobby is …," and she blushed. "My dream is ….," and she squealed. "I dislike Naruto-baka and Ino-pig." Her last remark didn't have the effect she expected. Naruto just smirked as if he had hoped she would say that.
Kakasgi just said, "You next, broody." Sasuke put his hands under his chin and said, "My name is Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like particularly anything and I dislike a lot of things. I don't have any hobbies. I don't have a dream, but an ambition – to kill a certain someone. I will make it a reality and restore my clan."
Kakashi was about to call Naruto "blondie" but stopped. If the kid was even anywhere close to Madara Uchiha, he should better respect him. And he was his sensei's son, after all. "Why don't you go on, Naruto?" Kakashi said with an eye smile. Sasuke raised an eyebrow, silently asking how Kakashi knew Naruto. Sakura was still having fantasies about Sasuke.
Naruto smiled and continued, "I'm Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze. I like training, my sensei, and playing with my eyes. I also like ramen and Kurama and gardening. I dislike people who don't have reasons to grow stronger or whose reasons are based on false theories." He looked at Sakura and glanced at Sasuke. "My dream is to become Hokage, and surpass my father and mother, Minato Namikaze and Kushina Uzumaki." There was a dead silence after that. Sakura's jaw dropped after hearing whose child Naruto was. Sasuke glanced at him. Maybe he could truly be his friend. Losing his parents, and such great ones, and living a hard life without anyone knowing, was even greater than what he experienced. Kakashi knew this would be coming.
Sakura reacted first, "Sensei? Did Naruto say –"
Kakashi said in a firm tone of authority, "What Naruto said is absolutely true and an S-ranked secret unspeakable by everyone except himself. Although, I guess Hokage-sama will announce it tomorrow. He was a great man and my sensei. She was a bit like Naruto, but one of the greatest kunoichi of his era. Anyway, before we get going about his parents, we have a test tomorrow."
"What kind of test? Aren't we already genin and fit to do missions?" Sakura stated.
"No, you aren't genin yet. Tomorrow, we'll do a survival test. Out of the twenty seven that passed this year, only nine would go on to be genins. The rest are sent back to academy." Sakura paled at being separated from Sasuke, Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Naruto smirked. He knew whatever he threw at him, he would manage. "Meet me tomorrow at 5 in the morning at training field seven. A piece of advice – don't have breakfast. Ja ne." With that, he went away.
Naruto turned to his teammates. "Look, guys, I want to be friends with you. To tell you the truth, this is the first time in seven years, I'm meeting anyone except my sensei. Oh! I know Kakashi's habits. He won't arrive at least till nine. Do yourselves a favor and don't arrive before eight or nine. Ja ne." With that, there were black flames and he was gone. Sakura and Sasuke were bewildered by Naruto's statement. But they had always met at the academy, hadn't they? With that thought, Sasuke trudged back to the Uchiha compound, Sakura pestering him to go out with her.
Next day – Training field at Nine
Naruto came to the training ground to find Sasuke and Sakura waiting by the training dummies. They seem to have been waiting for a long time. As Naruto came into view, Sakura shouted, "YOU ARE LATE!"
Naruto just shrugged and went to sit by them. Naruto had sealed some bento for breakfast and lunch, weapons, his Uzumaki swords and some Hirashin kunai and brought all of them with him. He, himself, had a fulfilling breakfast of ramen. Madara may have changed many things about Naruto. But ramen was one thing that nobody could change about Naruto. He suddenly asked the two of them, "Hey! Did you have any breakfast?" Sasuke just shook his head, too hungry to think about his pride, while Sakura mumbled, "Sensei asked us not to…"
Naruto sighed and brought out the scroll which he had brought for breakfast. He channeled some chakra and there was a poof of smoke. When the smoke cleared, it revealed two plates of bento. He continued, "If we are going to pass the test, we need to have our strength. Eat up, you two."
The other two said their thanks and began to eat hungrily. Sasuke found out it was quite good and when Naruto said he had cooked it himself, he made a mental note to get to know the boy better. Sakura didn't eat much as she was on a diet. While they were eating, Kakashi came to the clearing, visible angry. "I thought I told you not to eat! Fine!" He showed them two bells. "You have to get these bells from me before noon. The ones who don't will be taken off the roster for not following orders."
Naruto just shrugged and continued, "Sensei, you can't fool me. The 'advice' was to see if we accept any and every decision on your part, even if it is foolish. We were supposed to look underneath the underneath. Besides, Konoha always has four man teams. Therefore, you are using two bells to see if we all work together. Teamwork is the real test."
Kakashi was baffled and couldn't keep out the surprise in his tone, "How do you know?"
Naruto just shrugged and said, "My sensei had me learn everything from manners, politics, traditions, strategy besides the intense training." He said it like it was no big matter.
Sasuke was growing curios as to the identity of Naruto's sensei. He talked about the man so much, but he never mentioned his name. "Who is your sensei?"
Naruto suddenly became sad. "He was my sensei. He's dead, now."
Kakashi was thinking what to do. 'They all know the real test now. I guess I can let them pass and see what each of them can do.' "Alright, guys, you pass. But, before we depart, we shall show some of our skills to the team." He looked especially at Naruto.
Sakura squealed. Inner Sakura screamed, "No one can separate me from my Sasuke-kun."
Sasuke grunted, "Hm." Naruto just smiled.
Kakashi nodded and looked at Sakura, "Why don't you go first?" Sakura visibly paled. 'I have to show Sasuke-kun what I'm capable of! Then, I'll go on a date with him…." She was again daydreaming. Kakashi snapped her out of it.
'Here I go. Time to show the skills of the top kunoichi.' First, she went to spar with Kakashi in a pure taijutsu match. She went first, and completely missed the target. When Kakashi made a move, she was able to block, albeit she became unconscious.
Kakashi sighed and pointed to Sasuke. Before Sasuke was able to strike, Kakashi put his hands into his pouch. From inside, he brought out an orange book and began to read. Sasuke smirked, thinking he would soon dispose of his sensei and be strong enough to kill Itachi. He used the Uchiha Interceptor Style. He landed quite a few solid blows, which were all blocked. Kakashi had to put away his book and focus seriously before winning against Sasuke. "Your taijutsu is high chunin to low Jōnin. I'll give you that." Sasuke smirked.
Naruto stepped up. "Kakashi-sensei, I would like to dance." Then he settled into an unfamiliar stance. Madara had taught him to work on his own things. Therefore, he had learnt Dragon Fist, Goken, Uchiha Interceptor Style (from Madara) and Hebi Style from scrolls. He had combined all the good points – blows of the Dragon Fist, powerful punches and kicks of Goken, grace of the Uchiha and agility of the Hebi – and had created his own Taijutsu style. Sakura had woke up sometime during Sasuke's spar. They stared expectantly at Naruto and Kakashi. In a blur of speed, Naruto was in front of Kakashi and kicked him. 'So fast. He would give Guy a run for his money.' He was pushed back a bit. Soon, they were exchanging blows, punches and kicks. Naruto dodged most of them effortlessly and blocked the rest of them. Kakashi, though, was having trouble keeping up with Naruto. Most of his blows were blocked, but the few that landed were causing much damage. Within five minutes, the spar was over. Kakashi was lying at Naruto's feet, who had a foxy grin on his face. "Sorry about that. My taijutsu needs some work. I have become rusty." Everyone except Naruto gaped at that. He had just defeated the best jounin in the village and said his taijutsu had become rusty. Sasuke made a mental note to get to know Naruto better. Sakura began thinking – 'Sasuke-kun doesn't return my advances. Maybe I could get Naruto. He doesn't look bad. He sure is strong….' Kakashi just grunted and stood up.
"Naruto, your taijutsu is well above high Jōnin, maybe even Kage level. I don't like to say it, but I guess I believe who your sensei was." Kakashi said with an eye smile. Naruto just rubbed the back of his head. "Team 7, meet me at Training Ground 7 at eight tomorrow morning. Ja ne!" With that he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.
Sakura was the first now to speak up, "Well, can we get lunch together? What do you say, Sasuke-kun, Naruto-kun?"
Naruto mentally noted that she just add –kun to his name. He certainly didn't need fangirls. He poured chakra into the other sealing scroll, and there was a puff of smoke. Inside it was some sushi, chicken and rice and ramen. "I thought we could use some variety. Do tell me how I cook!" Madara had taught him the importance of knowing how to cook. He had to cook meals for both of them while they were training. After their meal, he quickly said he had some things to do and disappeared in black flames. Sasuke and Sakura began thinking – 'There's a lot more than meets the eye with Naruto.'