Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto. It is owned by Masashi Kishimoto (hope the spelling is correct and I don't know his last name)

Answers to Reviews:

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marquis shax: Actually, Kishimoto never said that Asuma didn't know the truth. He is the son of the hokage, so doesn't it make sense that he should know. Besides, it's a fanfic, anything is possible :P And actually, he has told the hokage about the shadow clones.

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"Blah" – Normal speech

'Blah' – Thoughts

"Blah"- Kurama and other tailed beasts talking

'Blah' – Kurama and other tailed beasts' thoughts

Shadow Clone Jutsu- Jutsus

Okay guys, without further delay, here is the story

FLASHBACK:

Sasuke took a deep breath before saying, "I have finally decided. I won't be an avenger. I will walk beside my friends and with my friends. I will find my brother, bring him to justice and find out the truth about what actually happened".

Chouji smiled at this while Naruto and Shikamaru sighed before smiling. Naruto then held out his fist for a fist bump for everyone, "If so, we will all help you achieve your goal Sasuke, dattebayo".

Each one of them nodded and bumped fist with the blonde inspirational jinchuriki and all of them headed home.

Three Months Later:

Three months had passes since the Uchiha massacre and Sasuke's change of heart. Snowfall had begun and it was finally time for both Naruto and Shikamaru to join the academy. Naruto was really nervous at the prospect of seeing his friends once again. But, Shikamaru had already warned him not to go running around proclaiming them to be his friends, as they didn't know him yet. This brought down Naruto's mood a little but he resolved to himself that he would overcome the obstacle like he did numerous times.

Finally, he was making his way towards the academy to enroll his name. He was wearing a red scarf over his coat and also, he had bandaged his right hand up to the wrist. When he neared the academy, he heard a commotion. Naruto, wanting to find out what it was went there. What he saw there boiled his blood and he immediately ran towards the commotion.

"Byakugan monster, Byakugan monster", a fat boy teased Hinata as two others were laughing.

Hinata was about to cry when suddenly, Naruto shouted as he ran towards them, "Hey, stay away from her. Or else, you will have to face me".

The boys stopped for a while and as soon as Naruto arrived there, started laughing again.

Seeing them laugh, Naruto asked angrily, "Why are you laughing?"

The fat boy said, "You think you can take us on? Your hand itself is bandaged, and you think you can beat us? One nobody is trying to save another" and started laughing.

It was then that the shy Hyuuga noticed the bandaged hand of Naruto. Here was a boy whom she barely knew and he was standing up for her even though his hand was bandaged, she thought. She had heard people telling her to stay away from him. But, now, she felt that they were all wrong and that the blonde boy was a nice boy, and a cute one too. She blushed a little as she thought so. She didn't want the boy to get hurt and so was about to stop him when suddenly, a fight broke out between the boy and the bullies. But, it was over in an instant.

Naruto, unable to tolerate the bullies insulting Hinata, delivered a right uppercut to the fat boy sending him flying backwards and knocking him out in an instant. He then delivered a hook to the boy on the left knocking him out too. Finally, the boy to the right was sent rolling back with a well-placed side kick to the chest. The fight was over in three seconds. The third boy, who hadn't been knocked out, woke up his companions and all three of them scampered away.

Hinata was surprised by the speed with which the blonde had beaten the bullies. She then noticed that the scarf that the boy was wearing was now laying on the ground, stepped on at some point during the fight even though it took only three seconds. She sat down and picked it up.

Naruto, noticing her pick up the scarf, also sat down. Hinata held the scarf to him so that he may take it.

Naruto just shook his head and said, "Keep it. I don't need it. Think of it as a gift. Though, it would have had been nice if it was in a better condition".

Hinata was surprised. Not many had treated her kindly or given her a gift or even stood up for her. She was really happy and said, "Th…Thank y...you".

Naruto smiled at her, got up and said, "Well, I will get going then. By the way, I am Naruto Uzumaki and I will be the hokage one day, dattebayo" and ran towards the academy.

Hinata sat there seeing the boy run towards the academy. After some time, a smile lit up her face as she held the scarf tighter in her hands. She also got up and started walking towards the academy to enroll her name.

Hokage's Office (That evening):

Naruto and Shikamaru were waiting outside the hokage's office and were waiting to enter. Naruto would've had rushed in, but Shikamaru just held him back for once. The reason was that the hokage was in a meeting with the elders. After waiting for some minutes, which seemed like hours for the blonde boy, they were called inside after the elders left.

The two boys entered the hokage's office and took their seats. The hokage then dismissed the ANBU's in the room and sealed it. He then finally spoke, "Naruto, what is it that I hear. Is it true that you got into a fight?"

Naruto just gave a foxy grin and answered while he rubbed the back of his head with his hand, "Well, the bullies were insulting Hinata. I couldn't control myself".

The hokage chuckled at this while Shikamaru grinned. The hokage then said, "Well, someone sure is passionate about someone".

Naruto blushed deep red at this. The hokage continued, "Make sure that the feelings stay away from your judgement, Naruto. By the way, why is your right hand bandaged? Were you hurt somewhere?" The hokage's voice took a more concerned tone as he asked his surrogate grandson.

Naruto answered, "No jiji, I am not hurt. The reason I bandaged my hand is because the great old jiji's powers are awakening. Well, that is what Kurama says. Anyway, see it for yourself".

The hokage and Shikamaru understood that by great old jiji, Naruto meant the Sage of Six Paths.

Naruto then proceeded to remove the bandages from his hand. When he removed all the bandages from his hand, the hokage and Shikamaru noticed a sun like marking on the palm of his hand. Shikamaru asked him, "What is that mark, Naruto?"

Naruto answered, "According to the great old jiji and Kurama, that mark is half of the sealing formula for sealing the jubi jinchuriki. The other half will be inherited by the bearer of the yin half of his chakra. It is for the same seal as the one that made the moon".

Pride swelled up inside the third hokage's heart as he came to know that his surrogate grandson held such power with him. Shikamaru also felt proud that his friend wielded such a strong power and yet was very modest and goofy. They both smiled at this.

The third hokage then asked, "So, you can access the powers of the sage of six paths now, Naruto?"

Naruto shook his head and said, "No. According to Kurama, only a part of it has awakened. The rest will awaken gradually. He says that I might have access to the healing powers and some of the basic seals. That is all. I am not yet able to support all the powers that was given to me".

The hokage nodded and then said, "If that is all, Naruto, we can go and get you supplies for your academy now, shall we?"

Naruto replied, "Yeah, that's all jiji. Let's go".

With that, the hokage made a couple of shadow clones to work on the paperwork while he left with the two boys.

A Few Days Later:

Shikamaru was anxious. So were Chouji and Sasuke. It was the first day of the academy and Naruto had not arrived yet. They had all agreed to meet along with their parents and go to the academy together. At least, those who had one that is. But, even after the three boys had arrived at the academy and were waiting outside the academy, Naruto was still missing. They had started to think that thought of not having his parents had brought his spirits down enough to skip the academy that day.

Finally, just as the academy teachers were about to address the parents who had arrived, Naruto walked inside the gates with the hokage. The three boys let out a sigh of relief over the fact that Naruto had not skipped the class altogether. The hokage, after leaving Naruto there, waved goodbye and left.

The four boys grouped together immediately, much to the surprise of their parents. Shikamaru had arrived with his father Shikaku Nara and mother Yoshino Nara. Chouji had arrived with his father Choza Akimichi and his mother. Sasuke had arrived with his mother Mikoto Uchiha.

All of these parents along with Inoichi Yamanaka and his wife grouped together as soon as the boys grouped together elsewhere. The topic of their discussion – Naruto Uzumaki. Inoichi's wife was the first to question, "Is it good to allow your children to be with that boy? I mean, he is the, you know".

Inoichi also voiced his opinion, "Yes, even I intended to ask the same question. Do you think you are doing the right thing?"

Chouji's mother was the first to answer, "Of course it is. He is in fact a very nice boy, if you get to know him".

Yoshino added her bit too, "Yes he is. Poor boy, he doesn't have many friends though. So, let him have some friends to be with".

Inoichi's wife asked once again, "But, he could be influenced by the thing inside of him".

Sasuke's mother, Mikoto Uchiha, replied, "No, I don't think so. He has strong will of fire. He is the boy who brought my son out of his path of self-destruction. I am grateful for that. Even the new clan head, Shisui has taken a liking to the boy. We are behind him, from here on".

Everyone were surprised by the fact that two important members of the Uchiha clan were supporting the village jinchuriki.

Choza was the next to speak, "My son does not have many friends. Because, most of them pick on him for his size. But, Naruto was one of the first to accept him and become friend with him. Chouji has high regards for the boy and he has good influence over him, making him work harder on clan jutsus and taijutsu. I am thankful for the boy too. We of the Akimichi clan are behind him too".

Shikaku spoke last, "Now that you mention it, Shikamaru has been friend with the boy for over two years now. They are as inseparable as Chouji and he are. He has also put his laziness aside to train thanks to the boy. I have hardly seen my son speak of anyone with respect or praise, but he has only respect and praise for Naruto whenever we speak of him. It is as if he knows something about the boy that none of us knows. And it also looks like he has figured out Naruto's secret as well, by the way he speaks".

Everyone were surprised by Shikaku saying that his son had put aside the legendary Nara laziness aside to train and also by the fact that he respects the boy. So, Inoichi asked, "What do you mean Shikaku? How can someone respect someone so young?"

Shikaku sighed and answered, "That is a mystery even for me. But one thing is for certain, my son's growth in strength and skill is definitely due to Naruto's influence and I owe him for that. And also, my son trusts him, so do I. We of the Nara clan are also behind him".

After hearing all of this, Inoichi's wife spoke, "Well, that's for you. I will still advice my daughter to stay away from him just in case. We will know what happens soon enough".

With that, the conversation between the parents ended.

With the Boys:

Shikamaru asked, "Why were you late Naruto? Were you intending to skip the academy today?"

Naruto's mood fell a little, which everyone noticed. He answered, "I don't have parents you know".

All three boys flinched at that and Sasuke finally asked, "Then where were you?"

Naruto answered, "I was at my parents' graves till jiji came to bring me here. Well, at least I have some grandfather figure". Naruto's mood picked up as he said this.

Chouji, wanting to brighten up the mood of his friend, said, "Hey guys, why don't you come over to our clan compound today. We will have a feast because I am entering the academy. Shikamaru's family has already been invited. Sasuke, why don't you bring your mom too? Naruto, you should also come too. We will have lots of ramen".

Naruto's mood did a U-turn as soon as he heard the word ramen and said, "Ramen…. I will be there Chouji, dattebayo".

Everyone laughed at Naruto's obsession over ramen and the mood around the group brightened up a lot.

Chouji then said, "Has anyone else noticed that we have been training together a lot less?"

Sasuke nodded and said, "Yes, you are right. So, why don't we train together every day from here on?"

Shikamaru and Naruto had already thought about this during their daily training. They knew that someday, their two friends would ask them to be allowed to train with them. So, they had already formed a plan to overcome it. Naruto and Shikamaru would train alone at their private training ground in the morning while they would train with the other two in one of the three clan compounds during the evening.

So, Shikamaru answered, "It is a good idea. We can train together in the evening while we can utilise the morning for our private training. We can train at our clan compounds alternatively. How about it?"

Both Sasuke and Chouji nodded and replied at the same time, "Yes, that is a good idea. We will talk with our parents for permission to use the clan grounds for training".

Shikamaru nodded and said, "If so, then we can begin today. Let us begin with my clan's grounds, then tomorrow Chouji's and then Sasuke's. After that, the cycle repeats".

Everyone nodded as they made their way back to the academy.

The Academy (Classroom):

The newly enrolled students were already sitting in the classroom waiting for their instructor to enter. Many of them were from civilian families while some were heir to the ninja clans. That included Shino Aburame of the Aburame clan, Kiba Inuzuka of the Inuzuka clan, Hinata Hyuuga of the Hyuuga clan and finally Ino Yamanaka of the Yamanaka clan.

The four boys made their way to the classroom and as soon as Sasuke opened the door, everyone's gaze fell on them as one by one they entered. A loud squeal was heard from somewhere and suddenly, as soon as he heard that, Sasuke paled. Fan girls, all four of them thought, as Sasuke dashed to a seat at the end of a table and reserved the seat next to him and the ones in front of him for his friends.

Then Chouji entered and made way for the seat that Sasuke had reserved. After that Naruto entered and everyone's gaze fell on him. As soon as that happened, he froze at the spot. Shikamaru's hand on his shoulder brought him back to conscious world.

With that, the two boys went to the seats and sat. Naruto and Sasuke sat next to each other while Shikamaru and Chouji did the same in front of them.

Most of the class' eyes were on either Naruto or Sasuke. Though, for the latter, it was the fan girls. The rest of the class waited for the instructor while talking among themselves.

After waiting for some time, a chunnin with a scar running across his nose entered the classroom. Both Naruto and Shikamaru smiled at seeing their old academy instructor, Iruka-sensei, once again.

The class, even after Iruka arrived, did not go silent. So, Iruka used the jutsu famous among the academy instructors, Big-Headed Jutsu, and shouted, "QUIET DOWN CLASS".

Everyone quietened as soon as they heard the frightful voice. Seeing that the class had finally quietened down, Iruka said, "Good, now, let me introduce myself. I am Iruka Umino. I am a chunnin of our village, Konohagakure and I am going to be your academy instructor for the next three years. Now, why don't you guys introduce yourselves? Tell the class your name, your likes and dislikes and finally your goals and ambitions".

With that, one by one, everyone introduced themselves. Finally, it came to Sasuke's turn. He got up and said, "I am Sasuke Uchiha of the Uchiha clan. I like my friends and training with them. I dislike traitors. My goal in life is to bring someone to justice and help my friends to achieve their goals".

Most of the girls in the room squealed at this introduction. All of them thought that Sasuke was cool and that his goals were either admiring or mysterious. The four boys and Iruka sighed at this.

Next was Chouji's turn, who got up and said, "I am Chouji Akimichi of the Akimichi clan. I like my friends, training with them and food. I dislike anyone who takes the last bite, those who call me fat and those who hurt my friends. My goal is to become a strong jonin, a strong clan leader and to help my friends achieve their goal".

Most of the students in the room chuckled at his introduction as he sat down.

Next, Shikamaru got up and said, "I am Shikamaru Nara of the Nara clan. I like watching clouds, game of shogi and my friends. I dislike people who can't see beyond the first layer of anything, people who judge others without knowing them and people who kill others for fun. My goal is to become a strong ninja, succeed my father as the clan head…" he gave a pause, grinned and continued, "and become the advisor of the orange hokage, I guess".

None of the students were able to make heads or tails of his introduction, so they stayed silent while Naruto also grinned at his introduction. Sasuke and Chouji just smiled at their friend's introduction. Iruka looked surprised at the boy's maturity.

Finally, Naruto stood up and said, "I am Naruto Uzumaki. I like Ichiraku's ramen, cup ramen, my friends, training, jiji, pervy sage, Kurama ("I am touched" said Kurama sarcastically), Konoha and The Tales of a Gutsy Ninja and many other things. I dislike cold ramen, people who try to take over the world, people who hurt my friends and some other things. My goal is to make sure that every ninja can trust every other ninja, to break the cycle of hatred and to become the greatest hokage, dattebayo".

Again, none of them were able to make any sense of it and stayed silent, while Iruka was flabbergasted. The three boys smiled at is introduction.

Iruka was now questioning himself. He had known about the condition of the boy and had also known that he was quite a prankster. He expected the boy to say something preposterous, but when he said things that were truly noble, he was question himself on his decision to ignore the boy. He thought that he would observe the boy more carefully before making his choice whether to ignore him like the other instructors had decided to do or not.

Finally, after composing himself, Iruka spoke up, "Okay, now that the introductions are over, let us begin with the classes".

With that, the academy classes began.

Later, That Afternoon:

Naruto stretched his arms as he said, "Wow, I had totally forgotten how boring academy was".

Shikamaru nodded and said, "Yep, and couple it with us already knowing everything in it, well, at least me everything and you the practical ones, it is really a drag".

Naruto replied, "It really is. I wish we could just skip the academy and become genins, but we can't. Also, we have to be dead lasts again. That is cruel, dattebayo".

Shikamaru chuckled and said, "Well, look on the bright side, we can sleep all we want without worrying. We are going to be dead lasts after all".

Naruto nodded and said, "That is the only bright side though. Guess my pranking begins this week, dattebayo".

Shikamaru grinned and said, "And this time, I will be helping quite a while even though it will be a drag".

Naruto's eyes widened as he enthusiastically said, "Really, Shikamaru? You are the best, dattebayo".

Shikamaru smiled at his antics. He then noticed the other two boys coming towards them. He turned to Naruto and said, "Now, no talking of the future or the other timeline. They are back".

Naruto nodded and sat down under a big tree with Shikamaru. Sasuke and Chouji also arrived there and sat down next to them, and all four began to eat lunch they had got in bento boxes from their parents. Well, all except Naruto, who just opened a scroll and did a couple of hand seals to unseal its contents which was unsurprisingly a kettle of hot water and cup ramen, which he began to eat.

Shikamaru noticing that asked, "I thought you had begun to eat some healthy food once in a while?"

Naruto answered after slurping some of the ramen, "I didn't pack anything as I didn't expect to come here today and before you give me some of yours, no, I am perfectly happy with my ramen for today. So, don't worry, dattebayo".

All three boys sighed at his ramen obsession and continued eating until Shikamaru asked, "Naruto, when we entered the classroom, you froze for some time. Why?"

Naruto stiffened up a bit before asking, "You know that I can sense negative emotions, right?"

Only Shikamaru nodded while both Chouji and Sasuke looked surprised and asked, "Since when?"

Naruto gave his foxy grin and scratched the back of his head with his hand as he said, "Guess I forgot to tell you, dattebayo. Being the jinchuriki of the Kyuubi has its own advantages. I can sense negative emotions all around me and even hear them. If it is strong, I can hear and sense them from as far as fifty miles".

Both Chouji and Sasuke looked impressed and they said at the same time, "That is awesome".

Naruto grinned and continued, "Today, when I entered the room, I froze because I was surprised".

All three boys looked surprised at this and asked, "Surprised?"

Naruto nodded and continued, "Yes, I was surprised by the amount of negative emotions present in the room. Most of them were directed towards me. They were doubt on why I was to be avoided, fear as to why their parents had advised them to stay away from me and even some hate. Luckily, they were all from civilian families".

Throughout Naruto's explanation, the three boys' anger had begun to rise. They were about to go and give all of those students a piece of their mind when Naruto continued without noticing their change of mood.

Naruto, oblivious to the mood of the three boys continued, "These were not the ones I was actually surprised about. It was the ones from the clan heirs".

At this, all three boys cooled down and listened intently as Shikamaru asked, "Negative feelings from them? What was it?"

Naruto answered, "I will tell you exactly what I sensed and heard. From Shino, it was, 'Will anyone become my friend after knowing about my clan's speciality?' From Kiba, 'Will I be able to meet mom's expectations? Can I really become the best?' From Ino, 'Am I good enough to be a kunoichi? Will I be able to be the best?' From Hinata, 'Am I strong enough? Will I be good enough to become a ninja?' among others".

All three boys nodded and Sasuke asked, "So, they doubt themselves, huh? Should we do something about this?"

Shikamaru thought for a while, "At the moment, not much. We will see what happens and then move from there".

All of them nodded and after finishing lunch, all of them headed back to the academy. It was going to be long three years.

That's all folks. From here on, updates will take time guys. Please bear with it. I won't abandon the story. But it will surely take time to update though.

Should I go in detail of the three academy years or should I just skip to the graduation, please tell me through reviews. Thank you