Konoha Academy

Naruto walked sighed as he walked through the door of the academy. It was his first day to the school in order for him to make his mother proud and become a shinobi. He had made his friends prior to the academy so this would be the first time that he would be seeing them all.

"I guess I'll get a move on," Naruto said as he came up to his room. Naruto opened the door, but he was surprised when he saw no one was there. He was probably the first to arrive to the class so the blonde chose a seat near the window and stayed there as he waited for other people to arrive.

It had been over 45 minutes for Naruto making the blonde narrow his eyes, but then the door opened making Naruto jump. He turned to see Sasuke come through the door. Naruto was more than happy to have someone in the room with him and grinned.

"Hey teme how are you today?" Naruto asked in a smug way while Sasuke grinned at his rival. He'd been training with him mother a lot before the academy just so he could kick Naruto's ass one day and prove he was the best between them.

"Hey loser. So it looks like we're the first to arrive," Sasuke said making Naruto nod in agreement with him. Sasuke sat in a seat row below Naruto and took out a book about shuriken techniques. Naruto seemed vaguely interested in the book, but he pulled out his own book which was entitled 'Chunin Chakra Control Exercises'. The two boys spent their time waiting for everyone to arrive and simply sat in silence as they read through their books.

With Kurenai

Inside the mission room was Kurenai, Asuma and Genma. The three were standing in front of their Hokage waiting for their mission to be given to them. Kurenai had taken a small leave to watch Naruto the past year so now she wanted to earn more experience so she could start becoming a jonin.

"Alright I'm glad you could all make it. You're mission is to guard supplies that are being shipped to our Daiymo's location. It might be targeted by thieves. You're to leave in the next fifteen minutes," Sarutobi said and everyone nodded with their individual bows.

"Yes Hokage-sama," they all said as they started to leave.

"Ahh Kurenai-san. Please stay behind," Sarutobi said making Kurenai raise and eyebrow, but she nodded and closed the door.

"Yes Sarutobi-sama?" Kurenai asked making it known that she would only say that when they were alone which Sarutobi didn't mind at all. He really rather welcomed it to say the least.

"Well Kurenai-san I know you had Naruto-kun start the academy and I just what you to know that until today I had made the council swear not to talk about Naruto-kun's adoption. I figured your life and his life would be made easier like that, but now it will be public knowledge. I just want to know if you're prepared for that," Sarutobi said and Kurenai smiled.

"It's alright Sarutobi-sama. I have Anko watching the place when she's not busy and we haven't been idle with Naruto-kun either. Granted he's only about genin level at the moment he can still be quite the shinobi when he wants to. I know he can. He's my son after all," Kurenai said as she knew that Sarutobi had stopped the spread of rumors about her and Naruto and while she was grateful for it she didn't really think it was necessary. She knew it would be public knowledge about this time and most people would be surprised, but that was alright she figured.

"Well if that's all Hokage-sama I'm gonna go," Kurenai said and Sarutobi nodded with smile on his face as he saw Kurenai leave.

Back at the Academy

"Okay I am happy to see some new faces in the room. I know we will have a good year as we prepare you for your first step to becoming shinobi," Iruka said making all the kids smile and slightly cheer.

It had been a while, but Naruto and Sasuke had seen everyone else come in and calmly waited for the teachers. Seeing most of his friends, Naruto gestured for them over to his seat which came to be Shikamaru sitting next to Naruto while Kiba was next to Shikamaru. Above Naruto was Shino, Chouji, and Hinata. Right below the blonde was Sasuke and a new face that the blonde had never seen before which was, Ino Yamanaka. Right next to her was a pink haired girl who was seethed at the Yamanaka heir for some odd reason to which made Sasuke sigh.

"Hey Sasuke what's up with those two?" Naruto asked and Sasuke rolled his eyes while glaring at the two girls in question.

"Who knows. I'm trying to ignore them at the moment," The Uchiha said and Naruto chuckled at him for sounding like that. He wondered if those girls had a small infatuation with Sasuke, but then he turned back to the front to listen to Iruka speak.

"Now then before we begin the lesson let's tell everyone our names," Iruka said making everyone nod as the first person stood to their feet and announced their name.

"I'm Kaoru Ukyo," the small girl said making Iruka nod. This happened to everyone as it slowly came down through the list of academy students. It slowly got through to the the group in the corner while Iruka told everyone to begin.

"I-I'm Hinata Hyuuga. Nice t-to meet everyone," She said with a bow and sat down. Next to her was Shino as he stood to his feet.

"I'm Shino Aburame. Please treat me well," Shino said and sat down.

"I'm Chouji Akimichi. It's great to be here," Chouji said rubbing his head as he sat back down while munching on some chips which he passed to Naruto, Kiba and Shikamaru a few times.

"I'm Kiba Inuzuka and I'm gonna be the best in this class," Kiba said while the little dog on his head, Akamaru, yipped in agreement. Next was Shikamaru who lazily looked up from his desk.

"I'm Shikamaru Nara. This is such a drag, but since I'm here I guess I'll just deal with it," Shikamaru said before closing his eyes for a bit. Naruto chuckled at his friend and shook his head. As expected of the Naras. Great geniuses, but terribly lazy. It also dawned on Naruto that all Nara had some type of hot headed woman. It must've been a Nara preference Naruto figured.

Realizing it was his turn the blonde sighed and stood to his feet. He saw most of the kids glaring at him, but Naruto knew why. He knew that parents told their children to stay away from him since he was a 'bad' influence, but it was amazing that all the clan heirs found no problem with and neither did their parents. He wondered why that was, but he could think it over later.

"I'm Naruto Yuhi-Uzumaki. I hope to learn a lot from all of you dattebayo," Naruto said making most of the children widen their eyes.

"Yuhi? By any chance are you related to the famous Genjutsu Mistress, Kurenai Yuhi-sama?" a girl said and Naruto nodded his head.

"Yeah I'm her son," Naruto said making the entire class except for those who knew Naruto gasp out loud.

"Wait a minute. Your blonde and she isn't. You have blue eyes and hers are red. Plus the last part of your name. She's not an Uzumaki. Why don't you stop lying?" one of the boys said while the other children nodded. Naruto rolled his eyes while the others came to his aid.

"It's true. We've heard Kurenai call him her son and he called her Kaa-san. You guys should get your facts straight before you accuse someone," Shikamaru said while Naruto shrugged his shoulders.

"I said what I wanted to. That's all," Naruto said sitting down while Iruka rubbed his temples and told for the next person to announce their name.

"I'm Sakura Haruno. Nice to meet everyone," she said smiling and next to her was Ino.

"I'm Ino Yamanaka. Hello," she said with her quick introduction and sat back down next was the person who made most of the girls giggle and smile.

"I'm Sasuke Uchiha," the brunette said simply and sat down. He just wanted to get things over with so he didn't both with the pleasant greeting. Iruka nodded with the last person announcing his name and smiled.

"Alright now that we have all announced ourselves. We will start learning about the history of the village," Iruka said effectively making all the students groan while Iruka chuckled before he started writing on the board.

It was a long time, but the bell rang and Iruka stopped talking.

"Alright everyone. We will know have lunch and after that I will be teaching you what a kunai and shuriken is then we will try a little target practice," Iruka said and everyone nodded while getting up from their seats.

Naruto had left the room and out into the yard. He sat on a simple bench and leaned back. He had never been so bored in his life with that little lecture. Sure history was important, but damn it could be boring. The blonde sighed one more time and pulled out his lunch which consisted of some rice balls, chicken and some cooked rice.

"Thank you for the food Kaa-san," Naruto said and started eating his mother's cooking which was always good to him.

"Hey Naruto so this is where you ran off to," Kiba said interrupting the blonde as he swallowed his food. Naruto also saw Shino, Shikamaru, and Chouji coming along with him.

"Hey guys. Just wanted some quiet I guess," Naruto said as he placed some chicken in his mouth.

"Where are Hinata, Sakura, and Ino?" The blonde asked and Shino slightly adjusted his glasses.

"They went to have lunch together. We offered for them to join us, but Ino said that girls should spend time together so they took off," Shino said while Naruto wondered what that was all about, but he didn't care. By then he noticed Kiba looking around.

"Where's Sasuke?" Kiba asked and Naruto pointed up making the four see Sasuke eating his lunch while he leaned on a tree.

"He's been there for about five minutes I guess," Naruto said as he continued eating. Kiba and Shikamaru sweatdropped, but they all stopped talking and continued on with their lunch break which was relatively quiet.

Behind the Academy

It had been five minutes since everyone had finished their lunch break and they were all in the back with a new face along side Iruka.

"Alright everyone. This is my partner, Mizuki. Now then we'll begin the lesson. Can any of you tell me what a kunai is?" Iruka asked and someone raised their hand.

"A tiny knife that shinobi use to pull of awesome attacks?" someone asked making Iruka and Mizuki chuckle.

"That's the generally idea. A kunai is a shinobi's main weapon of choice. There are many things you can learn to do with kunai. You can throw them, use them for traps and fight with them. The possibilities for kunai are endless. Now then, we will practice throwing them. Who would like to go first?" Iruka asked. No one seemed that eager since they never held a kunai before in their life, but someone had to go so Iruka sighed.

"Alright then I'll pick. Naruto why don't you give it a try?" Iruka asked and the blonde stood to his feet. Sasuke paid special attention to this one as a small grin appeared on his face. Iruka gave Naruto the kunai and pointed towards a target. Naruto nodded, but also didn't miss the small glare he was getting for Mizuki. It made Naruto sigh that even the teachers hated him.

"Hit the target as best you can Naruto," Iruka told him. Naruto nodded and mentally thanked Anko for teaching him about kunai and what you could do with them. Of course she taught him to be creative with them also which earned her a small smack on the head from Kurenai at the time.

Naruto threw the kunai at the dummy target and the it amazed Iruka and even Mizuki that the blonde had such a good execution. The kunai embedded itself in the exact center of the target while Naruto smiled.

"How is that Iruka-sensei?" Naruto asked and Iruka nodded. Everyone widened their eyes at Naruto's accomplishment as the blonde sat back down. Kiba leaned next to him and whispered.

"Where do you learn to do that?" Kiba asked and Naruto grinned.

"I learned how to throw them a year ago," Naruto said and Kiba pouted which followed a small mutter of 'show-off' making Naruto smirk. Sasuke then rose his hand that he would like to try and Iruka allowed it.

"You can do it Sasuke-kun!" Sakura yelled before Iruka shushed her so that Sasuke could concentrate. The Uchiha thanked his sensei before looking back at the target. He had been training with his mother and he knew he had improved. He wouldn't fall behind Naruto at all.

Sasuke threw the kunai at the target and it came to the center also. Most of the girls cheered for the Uchiha as he sat down. The entire period when on like this as Sasuke and Naruto tried to one-up each in just about everything. They were rather amusing to watch for everyone else. Before anyone knew it, the day at the academy was over for everyone with Mizuki asking one last question.

"So does everyone know what today is?" Mizuki asked and all the students raised their eyebrows before someone stood to their feet.

"It's the festival day right? When the Yondaime took down the Kyuubi and saved the village," one of the kids said making Naruto narrow his eyes. He had known about Kyuubi as when he asked Kurenai and Anko had told him the entire thing. Naruto had been quite depressed that last year, but Kurenai kept telling him that he was nothing like Kyuubi and that he would always be her son so Naruto eventually got out of it. Today was his birthday and while no one really appreciated it there was something good about it.

"That's right. So enjoy the festival for all it's worth," Mizuki said as he left laughing, but Iruka could hear the disdain in that talk. He sighed and rubbed his head. He'd have to have a talk with Mizuki when he had the chance.

"Well on that note, class is over everyone. Enjoy the festival and someone's birthday," Iruka said making all the kids nod as they ran out the door as they couldn't wait to wear there kimonos and go to the festival. Meanwhile Naruto got up to his feet and turned to Kiba.

"Hey guys wanna get something to eat?" Naruto asked, but Kiba shook his head.

"Sorry Naruto I've umm got practice today," Kiba said as he walked out. Everyone followed him leaving Naruto in the room. The blonde sighed and rubbed the back of his head.

"Yeah I was going home anyway," Naruto said to himself as he walked out the room. As he exited the door, Naruto saw Iruka behind the doorway smiling at him.

"Hey Naruto are you going home?" Iruka asked and Naruto nodded. He gave a small sigh, but Iruka continued to smile.

"Hey why don't I treat you to some ramen? I'd like to get to know some of my students," Iruka said mainly because he was afraid of Naruto getting attacked on his way home while Kurenai was gone, but the blonde didn't seem to pick up on that.

"Umm alright Iruka-sensei I guess we can go," Naruto said as the two walked towards Ichiraku Ramen, Naruto's number 1 spot to eat other than what his mother cooked. It was obvious to the two that they were being glared at, mostly Naruto, more than usual. It was a lot more anger filled than before, but Naruto knew why. Trying to change the mood in the air, Iruka decided to speak.

"So Naruto, how are you so good with a kunai? You really surprised me," Iruka said and Naruto slightly smiled.

"Kaa-san taught me. She and Anko-nee have been training me for a year now so I know a bit," Naruto said and Iruka widened his eyes. He didn't know that Naruto was being trained by Anko or Kurenai. He did know that Kurenai adopted Naruto, but didn't think she would train him. No wonder he hit the target with that kunai so easily.

"Wow well I can't slack off on you. Sasuke's getting trained by his mother and you're getting trained by your mother. I must say that you're amazing," Iruka said and Naruto thanked him. After walking for a bit longer the two came up to the shop and settled inside.

"Hey Teuchi-ojisan can you get me some ramen?" Naruto asked and the old man behind the counter smiled at his favorite customer.

"Sure kid whatever you want today I'll make it for ya," Teuchi said making the blonde's face light up like a small light. Iruka chuckled at him as Teuchi brought them three bowls of ramen. Two for Naruto and one for Iruka.

"Eat up," He said and the two dug in. Naruto instantly slurped up his noodles since he could never do it if his mother was with him. Heck, she wasn't afraid to hit him on the head for slurping his food. Iruka merely chuckled at him and he continued to his own bowl while he watched Naruto eat his food. The two ate in relative silence and simply enjoyed their food. They didn't talk about much except for being glad to know that the other would be teaching. When all was said and done, Iruka left Naruto alone and the blonde walked off.

He had nothing to do since his mother was gone so he decided to head home and get some rest before Anko came home. The walk was sort of short for Naruto walked up the stairs and came up to his mother's apartment. He had been given a key and the blonde was about to open the door, but then he felt a hand wrap over his shoulder.

"Hey Otouto, how are you doing?" Anko asked surprising him.

"Hey Anko-nee. I was just finished with my first day at the academy so I thought I'd get some rest before practicing," Naruto said and Anko grinned like she always did.

"Well sorry, but you're practicing now with Nee-chan. You can rest all day, but training is forever," Anko said as she dragged Naruto away. The blonde sighed as he couldn't go home, but he knew Anko was right. What he didn't know was that he saw Anko wipe her brow as she took him to the training field.

Training Field

Anko plopped Naruto on the ground and grinned while the blonde rubbed his head.

"Anko-nee don't you have anything to do with Ibiki-oji?" Naruto asked and Anko's smirk only widened.

"He's not in today so I'm got the day off. Unless you don't want to learn a new jutsu from your Onee-chan," Anko said and immediately Naruto shot up and grabbed Anko into a hug.

"Anko-chan have I told you how much I love you dattebayo," Naruto said and Anko rolled her eyes while she ruffled the blonde's hair. She could always get his attention with something like this any time of the day.

"Alright Naruto I'll show you a new justu and we'll work on it into the night alright?" Anko asked and Naruto smiled with a nod. He could hardly wait for it.

"Alright I know Nai-chan attempted to teach you the bunshin technique right?" Anko asked and Naruto nodded. He had tried it before, but not matter how fine tuned his chakra control was he just couldn't deal with that jutsu.

"Alright then I'll teach this to you. I learned it a few days ago and realized it would be perfect for a chakra house like you. Now watch me," Anko said as she crossed her fingers. Naruto raised an eyebrow as she yelled.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Anko said and immediately a clone came next to her. Naruto figured it was an illusion, but he was shocked when he saw the clone move and it patted him on the head.

"Anko-nee there's two of you?" Naruto asked and the two Ankos smiled at Naruto's confusion.

"That's the Kage Bunshin jutsu Naruto-kun. This is a step above the original. It can move, talk, fight, and do all the things that you can do. Obviously they require a lot more chakra, but for someone like you they are the perfect jutsu," Anko said and Naruto's eyes gleamed. He immediately got to his feet and tried it.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto yelled and allowed his chakra to flow for a while. Soon three clones appeared next to him and Naruto jumped up and down while Anko's eyebrow twitched. She worked on that technique for three hours when she found out about the technique and just seeing her handsigns Naruto got it in under ten.

"Kami you are so not fair," Anko said in thought while Naruto and his clones conversed, but then Anko brought them all to attention.

"Well since you...seemingly have that down we'll go on with one more jutsu that I'll teach you," Anko said and she touched the ground. She held up a single handsign and yelled.

"Ninpo: Shin no Otoshiana( Ninja Art: Pitfall of Death)," Anko yelled as the ground in front of her split into a hole that Naruto tried to see the bottom, but he couldn't.

"Don't be fooled Naruto. You might not see anything, but down there are thousands of kunai that will really cause you some pain. Do you want to jump inside?" Anko asked and as she did she saw Naruto whistling all the way next to a tree quite a few ways from her.

"Oh come on. I wouldn't really push you down there. Nai-chan would kill me," Anko said and Naruto warily walked over.

"In all honesty this is probably a mid C-rank jutsu since it doesn't really use that much chakra, but that depends," Anko said and Naruto raised an eyebrow.

"On what Anko-nee?" Naruto asked and the Snake Mistress chuckled.

"Well it depends on how much chakra you put into it and how deep you want the pit to be. It works like a charm though," Anko said and Naruto stood in a space a bit further.

"So can I try it now?" Naruto asked and Anko nodded as she watched him go for it.

Naruto had practiced the two new jutsu that Anko taught him and while the Kage Bunshin was a piece of cake for him the death trap that he tried to keep making wasn't. It was either to short or rough. Anko told him that the solid part was to make it long and steep so the person trapped inside wouldn't be able to use chakra to cling to the walls of the trap. The two had stayed out in the field for at least four hours and the sun was starting to go down for them while Konoha's lights went up and the small fireworks went up around the village which made Anko smile.

"Anko-nee! I got it! Is this steep enough and long enough?" Naruto asked and Anko looked down the hole. She whistled at it and made a kage bunshin and ordered it to go down the hole which the clone refused, but Anko pushed it down there and it was quite a drop down only for Anko to receive a painful memory filled with kunai spikes embedded in her back which made her shiver slightly.

"Nice job Naruto. That's the ideal pit. Now keep practicing it and I'll teach you the next step to it," Anko said and Naruto nodded. By the time the blonde noticed it was dark and sighed. He really didn't have anything planned for his birthday, but that was alright.

"Well Naruto shall we go home? I'm sure Nai-chan is back and wondering where you are," Anko snickered which made Naruto nod though he glared at her wondering what was so funny, but Anko didn't say anything as they almost left the field.

Naruto suddenly stopped as he looked at the ground for a second. It seems to move for a bit as he looked down. Anko followed his eyes and saw an injured snake on the ground. Anko raised an eyebrow while Naruto gazed at it. It was probably a mild wound, but he still felt a bit of sympathy for it.

"Don't get too close Naruto-kun. It's poisonous," Anko said and Naruto chuckled. He knew she didn't mean that, but he saw the small irony in it. The snake turned to Naruto and forked its tongue at him as a warning. The blonde didn't seem intimidated by it and let out his hand which made the snake hiss. He waved his hand left and right while the snake watched him, but Naruto could see it was still injured as it hissed a him. Anko simply continued to watch the blonde do...whatever he was doing and watched as he snaked his other hand around the snake's head and gently petted it. Anko was about to warn Naruto, but she was amazed when the snake didn't strike the blonde and simply took in his scent with its tongue.

The snake slowly stopped hissing as Naruto rubbed the back of its head. On a closer inspection Naruto could see that the snake had black, scaly skin with a red diamond pattern going down its back. It really looked beautiful when brought to the light. It was rather an average sized snake Anko figured and it was about the entire length of Naruto's arm.

"Anko-nee, think you can heal a snake?" Naruto asked and Anko narrowed her eyes at the blonde.

"You think that just cause I'm called the Snake Mistress I can heal a snake?" Anko asked and Naruto gulped. She smiled as she looked through her trench coat for a bandage and some disinfectant. The snake watched Anko cautiously as she sprayed the disinfectant over the snake's wound. The snake hissed a bit and forked its tongue at her. Anko stuck her tongue back at it and placed a bandage over the snake's wound.

"There he should be fine. Snakes can regenerate fast when they want to," Anko said and Naruto nodded. It was then that the snake slid up Naruto's arm surprising the blonde and Anko as it snaked around his neck. It didn't try to strangle him, but just kept firm on it.

"It seems he likes you," Anko said and Naruto turned to the snake. The snake forked its tongue at him as it started to slither around his arm for a bit.

"I think so too. What should call him?" Naruto asked and Anko chuckled, but remembered to take Naruto home.

As they walked home, both Naruto and Anko tried to come up with a name for the snake that had taken a small liking to Naruto as they appeared in front of Kurenai's apartment.

"I think Kurai is a good name," Naruto said as he opened the door with his key. Anko was grinning like mad when he opened the door. It was completely dark as Naruto walked inside as Anko closed the door.

"Surprise and happy birthday Naruto!" people yelled shocking Naruto who really jumped out of his skin. Kiba, Shino, Shikamaru, Chouji, Sasuke and Hinata in the room along with Kurenai, Sarutobi, Teuchi, Ayame, Ibiki, and Mikoto.

"Happy Birthday Naruto-kun," Kurenai said giving Naruto a hug. She had noticed the snake around his arm and admitted she was sort of worried, but the snake didn't do anything as it flicked its tongue at her. She had been around Anko all the time so being around a snake was almost no surprise to her.

"Where'd you get the snake Naru-kun?" Kurenai asked and Naruto softly petted the snake's head making everyone else glare at it.

"I found it in the forest. Anko-nee helped it and it likes me. Think I could keep it?" Naruto asked and Kurenai raised an eyebrow. Sasuke, Shino and Shikamaru gazed at the snake for a bit longer.

"Well it is your birthday so I guess you can," Kurenai said and Naruto thanked his mother. It was then that Naruto turned to his friends.

"When did you guys get here?" Naruto asked while Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"Please loser, Kaa-san made me come. She said rivals go to each other's birthday for some reason," Sasuke said and Naruto grinned when he saw Mikoto wink at him. She, of course, knew about Sasuke's rivalry to Naruto and thought that her son could use the good competition. It would be great for Sasuke to forget that night.

"We got here about half an hour ago. Kurenai-san had us put up these decorations. Kiba had been a little obvious back at the academy, but we pulled it off," Shikamaru said rubbing the back of his head. Naruto smiled with a nod as Ayame and Teuchi brought a chocolate cake in front of the blonde. It might have been the day of the festival for Kyuubi's defeat and that was good reason to celebrate, but for everyone else a birthday was just as good to them.

"Happy birthday Naruto-kun," Ayame said and everyone gathered around Naruto. There were eight candles and the blonde smile again.

"Blow them out Naruto so I can have some of that cake," Chouji said drooling and just as easily the blonde blew the candles out and everyone clapped for him.

"Now that he's eight I think I'll start with my present," Anko said as she bit her thumb. Everyone watched as she went through her handsigns and hit the ground. Immediately there was a poof on the ground which brought out a large scroll in front of Naruto.

"Naru-kun this is a big gift that Nai-chan and I talked about it a year and a half ago. I told her that you should sign this like your Nee-chan. So Naruto-kun wanna be a snake summoner?" Anko asked while Sarutobi grinned. He could only imagine if Minato and Kushina could see Naruto now.

"Anko-nee are you sure I can?" Naruto asked and Anko turned to the snake that was still wrapped around his arm while it forked its tongue out.

"Oh I'm sure. You seem to have a real gift with snakes. I think your friend there can agree," Anko said making everyone smile while Kurenai patted Naruto's shoulder.

"Go on Naruto. It would also mean much to Anko if you did," Kurenai said to her son and the blonde saw Anko stutter while she insisted that it wasn't true, but to her it'd be nice if she wasn't the only one who had this contract with them besides her and 'him'.

"Alright where do I sign Anko-nee?" Naruto asked and Anko unfurled the scroll.

"Right here. Just bite your thumb then trace your name into the paper," Anko said and Naruto nodded. He knelt down and bit his thumb then wrote his name over the scroll. It glowed for a bit then faded. Soon a snake came out in a dark green hexagonal pattern.

"SSSo you're our newest ssssummoner right? How niceeeee," the female sounding snake said and Naruto blinked.

"Nice to meet you. I hope to do good with the snakes," Naruto said and the snake smiled while she looked at the snake around Naruto's arm.

"Well the girl on your arm likesssss you enough. SSSShe says that wants to thank you for helping her," the snake said and Naruto widened his eyes. So this was a girl he had on his arm. How cool was that?

"Well thank you. Anything I should know?" Naruto asked and the snake woman shook her head.

"No not really. Jussst be kind to ussss and we'll be kind to you," the snake said as she bowed and disappeared. Naruto then looked back at the snake on his arm and smiled.

"I got it. Your name will be Mikata," Naruto said and the snake forked her tongue at him. Everyone thought over the word and found that it meant 'Ally' in kanji. Mikoto giggled at the idea while Mikata slithered into Naruto's jacket and the blonde giggled when he felt her ball up and rest near his body.

"Well that's my gift Naruto-kun. Now then anyone else?" Anko asked and soon everyone stepped forward. Kiba gave Naruto a scroll about taijutsu while Sasuke gave Naruto a demon wind shuriken that was special to his clan. It was made of a special metal that made it almost unbreakable to any type of attack. There were only ten in the whole clan so Sasuke gave one away to Naruto.

"Enjoy if loser. I'll be sure to fight you with one so don't hold back," Sasuke said with a small grin and Naruto nodded at him. Hinata and Shino had gotten Naruto a book and some ointment which both were said to be best sellers. Chouji and Shikamaru gave Naruto, with their parents help, an exclusive kunai and shuriken set with some high grade metals.

"Hope you like them. It's not hard to know what you like," Shikamaru said rubbing the back of his head with a yawn while Naruto shook his head.

Next was Ibiki who had given Naruto some jonin wire. It was used mainly for trapping someone, but it was still a great gift from the head of Interrogation. After him was Teuchi and Ayame who gave Naruto a small coupon for a month of free ramen to which Naruto would take extreme advantage of. Second to last was Sarutobi and the old Hokage smiled as he gave Naruto a single kunai. It was three-pronged making everyone look at the kunai funny, but Mikoto widened her eyes and simply turned to Sarutobi.

"Are you sure about this?" Mikoto asked and Sarutobi nodded.

"One piece of his heritage Mikoto-san. A few years at a time," Sarutobi said and Mikoto shrugged. She wouldn't tell her Hokage what to do.

When Naruto was done with his gifts, Kurenai came up to the blonde and gently smiled. She gave him a piece of clothe and the blonde unfurled it. He widened his eyes at what was inside. They were two short blades. Each about the half the length of his arm. They were Kodachi and Naruto loved them.

"Lots of genjutsu users and ninjutsu users have these. Most prefer kunai to these, but this is the standard," Kurenai said and Naruto hugged his mother.

"Thank you Kaa-san I love them," Naruto said and soon enough the blonde and everyone else saw a small fire in the village. Everyone looked while Sarutobi, Naruto, Anko and Kurenai widened their eyes. It was Naruto's old apartment that was on fire and Naruto frowned.

"You don't live there. You live with me Naruto. I promise they won't hurt you. Not that they could," Kurenai said and Naruto's face brightened.

"Well we're going to go now. Enjoy your birthday Naruto," Shikamaru said and people started to leave. Anko also left leaving Naruto, Kurenai and Mikata in the room.

"Never imagined this Kaa-san," Naruto said and Kurenai nodded with she drank some water. Naruto was drinking some juice. He could feel Mikata's coils against his body and chuckled. He really did like snakes after all.

"So Kaa-san are you going to be a jonin now?" Naruto asked and Kurenai set her cup down.

"That's right Naruto-kun. I'm going to be a jonin. I'll be busy a lot more, but Anko stays pretty close to the village so you'll be fine with her right?" Kurenai asked and Naruto nodded.

"That's right Kaa-san. Now then I'm going to take Mikata to bed. See you tomorrow," Naruto said and Kurenai nodded. She smiled at seeing her son leave the room while she looked out the window. She gazed and saw the village in an uproar for the celebration while Kurenai's gaze turned cold.

"I'm gonna have to find out who did that. Even if he doesn't live there no one does that to my son," Kurenai said in thought as she finished her drink. She turned out the lights and went to sleep also.

With Naruto

Naruto sighed as he placed all his things down. He had a really good birthday. It was probably the first real one he had to himself. Naruto unzipped his jacket and watched Mikata slither to the bed. She then proceeded to slither around the room like she was getting a feel for it. Naruto took his jacket and curled it into a small bed for her.

"Alright Mikata-chan let's go to bed," Naruto said and Mikata slunk into Naruto's arms and the blonde put her in the center of the jacket. He at least knew that reptiles like Mikata needed warmth so he hoped the body heat from his jacket would be okay for her. Mikata didn't seem to mind it at all and went back to sleep while Naruto closed out the light. He could only imagine his life as a genin using all the things that his friends and family gave him. He would get strong and he would protect all his loved ones.

Four Years Later

"Naruto-kun come on. It's time for your genin exams. If you don't do these you'll be held back for another year," Kurenai yelled and Naruto was up and about. The blonde grinned as he came through the door. He was taller than four years ago. Naruto had been taking the academy course for four years and now would be the time that he could graduate. He would be a genin and he would love it.

"Alright Kaa-san. Hey do you know where Mikata us?" Naruto asked as put on his clothes. Kurenai chuckled as she pointed to the floor. Naruto looked down as he saw Mikata slither between his legs making the blonde smile. He knelt down and watched as Mikata slithered up his arm and slowly wrapped around it while forking her tongue multiple times. Naruto had trained with Mikata and with Anko's training she turned Mikata into quite the serpent. Mikata was a lot bigger than before, but she for some reason could still fit Naruto's arm. The blonde had called Mikata his familiar since he always had her around.

"Alright Kaa-san I guess I'll see you later. Good luck on your mission miss Jonin," Naruto said and Kurenai chuckled at him while she drank some coffee.

"Stop trying to be funny and get going. Show them something good for me," Kurenai said and Naruto nodded. He had gotten a lot stronger thanks to Anko and Kurenai. He had quite a few jutus under his belt and he had become proficient with his kodachi. Naruto strapped his kodachi to his legs and walked out.

Naruto ran for the academy and easily didn't care for the glares since he could match them with his own. The blonde had been working on his gaze and most people could agree that his was almost as cold as Kurenai's only she had the experience to back it up.

"It's a good day for the academy isn't it Mikata-chan?" Naruto asked and his female snake forked her tongue out.

"I ssssuppose it issss," Mikata said to him. Oh did Naruto forget to mention that he could talk to snakes. It seemed to be one of the benefits to being a snake summoner. He could understand all snakes just like Anko could. It was real nice to talk with Mikata like this.

You really need to work on the way you use your Ss," Naruto said and Mikata slithered her body for her head to appear near his face.

"I'm sssstill learning. Give me a break," She said and Naruto chuckled as he entered the academy. He had seen everyone in the room and he took his usual seat by the window. Naruto had been tied with Sasuke for Rookie of the Year which never could outdo the other. When it came to sparring Sasuke and Naruto always tied. Apparently Sasuke said that Mikoto was really 'creative' with her training methods so that's why he could keep up with Naruto.

"Hey teme," Naruto said sitting down behind him like always. Sasuke grinned and turned around while giving Naruto a smug look on his face.

"Hey loser. I thought you weren't going to show up. Too scared to lose," Sasuke said while Naruto rolled his eyes.

"Not on your life teme," Naruto said to him and Sasuke simply smirked. Everyone was gathered around as usual, but Sakura had stayed further away since Naruto had gotten Mikata. He remembered when how the other students reacted to seeing Mikata. It was the funniest thing he had ever seen since anything. Sasuke had personally thanked Naruto since he no longer had Sakura or Ino sitting to close to him since they were afraid of Naruto's familiar. It was like a fangirl repellant, well she was sometimes. Some girls thought the snake was cute and it got Naruto more attention than he wanted. Hell he might have had some of Sasuke's fangirls and even some hidden fangirl group.

Though speaking of Sasuke, the Uchiha had gotten stronger also. Naruto even with all he had accomplished at times still had trouble wit Sasuke's strength. When Sasuke told Naruto his training menu given by his mother. The blonde flinched and wondered what kind of mother did such things to her son, but Sasuke said it was what he wanted for training.

Soon Naruto's other friends came in and seat in their rows. After them was Iruka and Mizuki who came into the room and just like Kurenai and Anko thought, some people tried to mess with Naruto's grades, but the Iruka spotted it all and told them both which made Anko use...persuasive methods on the teachers about doing things to her little brother.

"Alright everyone. It has been a long trip and I'm glad that all of you made it. Now then we will conduct the genin exams. I'll call out everyone name and we'll test you on the Kawarimi, Bunshin, and Henge. Then we will hold spares and shuriken target practice. Now then the first person is-," Iruka began and everyone had their turn until it came down to the last two people.

"Sasuke Uchiha come forward," Iruka said and Sasuke turned to Naruto.

"Don't forget that bet loser," Sasuke said and Naruto narrowed his eyes with a smirk.

"Loser does whatever the winner wants for a month," Naruto said and Sasuke nodded with a smirk across his face as he stood in front of Iruka. Sasuke had gotten out of his family depression with Mikoto's help and Naruto's rivalry. It made him give up the revenge on his brother for what he did. Right now he didn't want to ruin his relationship with Naruto or his mother. They were really Sasuke's only way of not going to revenge. He chatted with the others, but he didn't have that strong a connection like he did with Naruto.

"Sasuke kawarimi," Iruka ordered. Sasuke switched places with a chair and grinned while Iruka continued.

"Henge," he ordered and Sasuke changed into a perfect Iruka with no flaw anywhere. He changed back making Iruka smile.

"Alright Bunshin," Iruka said and Sasuke created three good clones before dismissing them.

"Alright Sasuke Uchiha. A perfect score," Iruka said and Sasuke grinned. Sasuke's fangirls screamed their congratulations for him which included Sakura making it extremely loud. He walked back up to his seat and grinned while he passed Naruto a note that read 'beat that loser'. Naruto grinned while Mikata lowly hissed.

"He'ssss quite arrogant I think," she said still hissing her S's pronunciation, but it was alright for now.

"Yeah, but you like him anyways," Naruto said and Iruka grinned.

"Last is Naruto Yuhi-Uzumaki," Iruka said and Naruto got to his feet. He quickly walked over to Iruka and gave a small grin that was aimed at Sasuke before standing in front of Iruka.

"Alright Naruto kawarimi," Iruka said and Naruto switched places with Sasuke making the Uchiha and several other classmates laugh and gasp. The blonde then switched back while Sasuke snorted.

"I'll make you pay for that loser," Sasuke said, but Naruto waved him off.

"Very good. Now Bunshin," Iruka said and Naruto smiled. He crossed his fingers and yelled.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu," Naruto yelled making five clones appear next to him as they gave Iruka a thumbs up, but someone protested.

"Iruka that is not the bunshin technique. Tell Naruto that he should do the Bunshin or he doesn't pass. I know he wants to graduate, but we have to be fair," Mizuki said while Naruto narrowed his eyes. Iruka sighed as he shook his head.

"Mizuki, you know as well as I do that the Kage Bunshin is a better variation of the Bunshin. The fact that it's harder to do makes it all the more why Naruto should get credit. Now then let's continue Naruto. Lastly Henge," Iruka said and Naruto nodded. He gathered chakra and a poof came making Iruka raise an eyebrow before he chuckled. Naruto henged right into Ibiki in all his interrogation outfit. The resemblance was really uncanny between the two. Everyone widened their eyes while Naruto changed back.

"Very good Naruto. A perfect score," Iruka said and just like Sasuke, Naruto's fangirls screamed also saying how cool the blonde was to them. Naruto sat behind Sasuke and gave him the note which said "I can do this all day teme". Sasuke crunched the note and chuckled. He was gonna make Naruto eat those words.

"Alright that's the end of the first part. Everyone follow us to the sparring mats," Iruka said and everyone followed out.

Having gotten to their desired spot everyone gathered around while Iruka raised his hand.

"Who wants to go first?" Iruka asked though he knew what the answer to that question was so immediately Sasuke and Naruto raised their hands. The two boys grinned at each other and stood on the mat. Everyone gathered even closer while the girls had hearts in their eyes over the two boys.

"Sasuke-kun is gonna kick Naruto's butt this time. He's so hot," a girl said while another scoffed.

"Please Naruto-kun is the best. Those whisker marks make him so cute," another girl squealed. Naruto and Sasuke sighed as their fangirls continued their rants. It was so amazing how silly this could all be, but both weren't thinking about that at the moment.

"Well loser it seems that I get to really settle this with you," Sasuke said and Naruto chuckled.

"I'd like to see you try it teme," Naruto said as Mikata slithered off his arm and into the arms of a girl who wasn't afraid of her or rather found her to be cute than creepy. Iruka smiled as he raised his hand.

"As for the conditions since you both will disregard this rule anyway. You are to ONLY use D-ranked techniques if you must. The fight will last half and hour and I'll judge the entire thing. Now then are you both ready?" Iruka asked glancing at Sasuke. The Uchiha nodded with a smirk and then he turned to the blonde who nodded also.

"Alright then, sparring match begin!" Iruka yelled as the match to determine the rookie of the year began.


KG: If that time-skip bothered you then I'm sorry about that. Also I guess since Naruto's eight, then the last chapter should've been two years later. I wanted it to make it like it was his last day being seven and since he wasn't really eight yet I just went with the one year time skip till his birthday. Sorry if that was confusing. I think I manage four stories quite well.