A/N: Turns out I wasn't fighting a cold/flu guys, guess what I found out I have? A kidney infection! Yay~ Spending hours waiting to see a doctor in emergency care is JUST what I wanted to do in my spare time. Spending money you don't have on much needed antibiotics? Who wouldn't want to do that? Being "asked" to drink a tang looking liquid that tastes worse than straight up vodka to get my potassium levels up? Sure! Bring the drink out by the bottle!...

If you haven't noticed, I'm a bit bitter at the whole situation and myself for allowing such an infection to occur. Anyway, I had bed ridden per orders of my mother because the infection was quite...bad. Yeah, bad. Let's leave it at that. Anyway, sorry if the last chapter was crud, I felt awful doing it, though I'm doing much better now though, thank goodness, and I just had to update FSoYJ before I updated this one, so sorry for the delay!

p.s.- Yes, Weasel is Itachi Uchiha. Just putting that up for clarification if need be. Also, can't remember if I ever said Minato knew that the Weasel ANBU was really Itachi...If I said he did in fact know his true identity, forget that and pretend he doesn't. I'll go back and double check regardless and fix it to match this chapter.

Chapter 9: Minato v.s. Weasel

After Kakashi had screamed to begin, both Minato and the ANBU stared at each other for a moment, as though they were sizing each other up with their eyes before they truly began.

Though the ANBU was dressed in the entire ANBU garb, Minato could tell from his body that he was young. How young, he hadn't a clue, but he put the ANBU between a very tall, very developed thirteen year-old, to a short underdeveloped sixteen year-old. Regardless, for someone so young to be ANBU was beyond impressive. He thought of all the possible people the ANBU could be, and only one seemed likely; Itachi. He had graduated at his current age and was promoted to Chunin not long after. With the mastery of the Sharingan that came with experience filled missions, he didn't doubt that Itachi would have been recruited to ANBU rank.

Brushing all the thoughts aside, in a quick movement of his hands, Minato brought his kunais to his grip and watched as Weasel went through a series of high speed seals before pressing his fingers together at the edge of his mouth and spewed out five large fireballs in every which direction. Minato knew he wouldn't be able to dodge it by merely tuck and rolling to the side, so he chose to switch himself out with a harmless piece of log and appear a few meters behind the ANBU. Weasel had already anticipated his reaction, and proceeded to throw a small barrage of kunai his direction, racing toward him in impeccable speed as Minato diverted all the kunai that would have impaled him with his own.

When Weasel had made it to him, the two began a strictly taijutsu brawl, Minato having to redirect most of the ANBU's punches and kicks rather than defending against them because of his small size. One direct punch from Weasel, and Minato was sure he was going to break something; he already felt his bones shake whenever he pushed aside a kick from the ANBU. When things began to get a little too demanding for his small body, Minato quickly summoned forty shadow clones and had them all attack Weasel, their attacks varying from simply taijutsu, to trying to impale him with shuriken or kunai, to slicing him with wind based jutsu's he remembered.

The ANBU was a verifiable genius on the battle field. Fighting against forty dense shadow clones as though it were nothing was something to behold, even if they were clones of a physical seven year-old body. Minato couldn't help but be slightly awed at how powerful the teenager was. Kakashi had a lot of promise when he was growing up, but after Obito's death, he hadn't taken things as seriously as he had before; which was a coping mechanism so he didn't blame the kid for that. But this kid, was simply put, a powerhouse. He had used his body to it's fullest potential, bending and brushing aside the clones with practiced ease until it was only he and the original Minato left.

"Damn, the kid's gotten really good." Jiraiya muttered, bewildered at the sight of his godson. He knew the boy was strong, that was a given when considering who his parents were, but for him to be matching Itachi Uchiha, a kid who's said to be a prodigy that came only once every few generations, was truly a sight to be held. "I leave him to his own stuff for a year, and this is what happens?" he added for effect. Kakashi, after all, was not in the "loop."

"He held back a lot when Gai and I were training him it seems..." Kakashi said lowly, surprised at the sight as well.

"Indeed. But I feel he will only grow stronger with time; the boy will never give up, and will continue to prove everyone wrong." Hiruzen said with a grandfatherly voice, filled with both guilt and pride at watching Naruto. He shouldn't have been given this hand at life. The boy should have been able to live and grow up like any other child, even like one of an orphan. He would never forgive himself for allowing the atrocities committed against Naruto, but he vowed to stop them from occurring again, and if he failed at that for some reason, without the proper punishment.

Breathing heavily, Minato tried to think of ways to get a good hit in. No matter which way he tried, Weasel had managed to break his attack before he was able to complete it. The ANBU wasn't completely unharmed, however. Mostly thanks to his clones, the ANBU would be sporting numerous bruises and a few shallow cuts along his arms and legs.

Minato, on the other hand, was looking a little more than worse for wear. He was sweating profusely, and his face was beginning to darken with tell tale signs of bruising. His entire body would be painted with blacks and blues come later in the day, though he was sure they would be gone the day afterward. Naruto healed at an unnatural rate thanks to the Kyuubi, but not nearly as fast for him as he remembered. Only theory he had behind this was that somehow, the fox knew who was controlling Naruto's body, and refused to heal him as much as he had healed his son in the past.

In some ways, he thought it understandable. He didn't want the damned foxes help anymore than the demon wanted him in control.

Shaking his head a little, Minato refocused on the fight he was in; there would be no good coming from being distracted over something that wasn't a large concern at the moment. Taking in a shaky breath, Minato raced toward Weasel, both meeting head on and engaging in a fist fight once more.

This time, however, the fight was short lived. His small stature taking it's toll, Minato felt exhaustion take over his body and became more sluggish in his movements, giving Weasel the openings he needed to kick him to the ground. His back thrown onto the dirt, Minato saw his vision begin to grey, and his senses dull before everything went black.

Minato was brought back to consciousness by Jiraiya pouring cold water over him and gently slapping his face. The last kick hit him full on and the force had knocked him out cold for what looked to be only a few minutes. With a slight groan, Minato picked himself off the ground, propping himself up on his elbows and looked at the four who stood around him.

"Soo," he began in a groggy voice, "I still made Genin, right?"

For a few moments, there was silence before it was shattered by soft chuckling coming from both Kakashi and Sarutobi and heavy laughing from Jiraiya.

"You definitely still made Genin, gaki." Jiraiya said with a wide grin that Minato was ashamed to have missed so dearly.

"You have most certainly earned the rank of Genin, Naruto, especially after this spar." Sarutobi pipped in with his soft smile before offering his hand to him. Grabbing hold of the wrinkling hand of his old friend, Minato rose back onto his two feet, only slightly wobbling as he tried to gain proper balance. "Here is your hitai-ate, wear it proudly." the old man continued, handing over a dark blue sashed Konoha headband to him. Minato grabbed hold of the headband, his hand grazing gently over the metal piece that had the symbol of Konoha engraved into it. He remembered when he had first received his headband after graduating from the Academy. It was beyond one of the happiest moments in his life, just below becoming a father and marrying his beautiful Kushina.

"Thanks Old Man." Minato said with a genuine smile. He mentally was jumping for joy, now he could finally go out and do good for the Village, changing the opinions of the civilians one mission at a time.

It was that thought which caused Minato to groan outwardly. He would be subjected to the bane of all genins.

D-ranks.

"What's the matter, Naruto?" Sarutobi asked with furrowed brows.

With a small sigh, Minato said, "Nothing much, Old Man...just...do I have to do those D-ranks Genin complain about? They aren't even real missions! They're chores!"

Hiruzen laughed outwardly, Jiraiya chuckling while the ANBU remained silent, though the amused air he was giving out was more than enough to see he sympathized with his plight.

"Yes, Naruto." the elderly man said, "All Genin are required to do D-ranks until they reach the point where C-ranks are permitted. As for your placement, we don't have any available teams to place you in, so for now, you will be accompanying a various teams and help out with D-ranks until I find a proper place to put you in. Come by my office tomorrow so we can get you settled in our system, okay?"

Minato wasn't so thrilled about that. He wasn't really expecting to be placed in a team since they had just started the Academy and existing teams wouldn't have been put out for life-threatening C-ranks as of yet.

"Hai, Old Man." Minato said, "I get will."

"Good." Sarutobi smiled happily down at the blonde. "Why don't you go rest for the rest of the day, maybe go tell Lee what happened. The Academy should be getting out soon."

"Yeah!" Minato agreed genuinely excited at the prospect. "I'll go find him now!" Without another look at Jiraiya or the ANBU, Minato rushed off to the Academy, looking forward to telling his friend that he had made Genin and was to be sent out on missions soon enough. He could probably get Lee prepared for the bane which was D-ranks, maybe they could even think of a way to make them less tedious and more productive. Because, honestly, knowing how to paint a house will not save your life in an actual battle.

Now, all he had to worry about was how to break the news to the other friends he had made...and he couldn't help but be concerned over how they would react to his making Genin...nor how their fathers would react.

"Damn...Shikaku definitely won't let this go without his "friendly" shogi match."

"Weasel, how would you feel about a new assignment?" Sarutobi asked the young ANBU before him.

"I will do whatever you ask of me, Hokage-sama." the ANBU replied in a monotone voice.

"Naruto is obviously at a much higher level than most Genin, and placing him on a Team with kids at a lower level than him will inhibit his progress rather than allow him to grow. You are still young, Weasel...take off your mask."

The ANBU, without the slightest hesitation, took off his mask and revealed the face of a thirteen year-old Itachi Uchiha, his expression indifferent in the face of his Hokage.

"You want the kid to partner up with the brat, don't you?" Jiraiya said with his arms crossed over his chest, looking thoughtful.

"Yes, I do." Sarutobi admitted easily. Placing Naruto with Itachi wouldn't just help Naruto grow as a shinobi, but help Itachi as well. As old as he might be, he wasn't blind to how recluse Itachi was becoming. He had become far more serious with missions, taking on higher risk assignments without a second glance, and it was clear to anyone how he tried to avoid the Uchiha District with every fiber of his being. There were even rumors that Fugaku had to call out one of his police force to bring his son home to him.

Despite being an ANBU of Konoha, Itachi was still a thirteen year-old kid who shouldn't have seen even half of what he's been forced into. The kid was a prodigy, and while it was true the Village shouldn't hinder such promise in a Shinobi, condemning a child who was a natural born pacifist to the atrocities of being an ANBU was, simply put, cruel.

Naruto was a seven year-old bundle of sunshine, even if it had dimmed considerably after the near-death experience only a month and some days ago, and could bring a smile onto almost everyone's face. Having the both of them, who were forced to live with different abuse, would help them heal together. Naruto helping Itachi remember he was still a child, and Itachi help Naruto grow into a stronger shinobi in order to accomplish his dreams.

"So, Itachi, will you take on this assignment?" Hiruzen asked the teenager.

Itachi blinked once before nodding and bowing slightly at his Hokage. "I will do as you ask, Hokage-sama."

"Good!" Sarutobi said with a wide grandfatherly smile before patting the ex-ANBU on the shoulder lightly. "I look forward to see how you two progress at each others side, Itachi."

Itachi couldn't help but feel slightly excited about working with Naruto. He had to admit that the spar was one of the best he had the privilege to have in months.

"Maybe this won't be so bad."

A/N: Reviews are loved!