Hey guys! Its been a while I apologize been trying to get this whole full-time job thing down, but here it is!
Had one big set-back being that 3000 words were deleted earlier today while I was writing so I was pretty bummed about that.
In other news... ITS OVER, AFTER 15 YEARS ITS OVER! I've updated my profile to reflect how I truly feel about some revelations, I ain't spoiling for those anime only guys n gals.
Thanks for the continue support its always appreciated. If you have any questions don't hesitate to PM me, I love interacting with my readers. I write for both of us and your continued support helps me know that its not in vain.
Reviews:
NaggotFigger: I won't be confirming pairings probably until part 2, for right now they're kids ya know. We all had our crushes but we got over them as me grew up
LordTicky: ;) They're gunna be a sexy team for sure
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Thanks again to all of you who Reviewed/Followed/Favorited your support is what motivates me to put out these chapters!
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any characters of the Naruto-verse. Maybe I'll slap bet Kishi on the next Super Bowl champions and find that his weakness is being slapped and he'll grow so afraid of the inevitable slap that he'll give me the rights to Naruto... hey a man can dream can't he?
Year 1 - Naruto
Academy
As the year progressed Naruto excelled in his studies. With all the new changes to the school system and the Sandaime in charge, there was minimal chance that he would receive poor instruction.
He was currently sitting in the middle of one of Iruka-sensei's history classes.
Naruto found history to be extremely boring. The only interesting part was when they talked about the all the Hokage and how they helped in the wars, other than that he just didn't really care.
He usually just fell asleep like Shikamaru but that just ended with him getting yelled at by Iruka-sensei. It didn't help that when he wasn't napping in history class he was trying to pull some sort of prank on his friends.
There was one time he was even able to sneak a frog into Ino's bag without her knowing.
When it was time for lunch she reached down and screamed so loud the Sandaime appeared. Naruto and all the guys were roaring with laughter in the back. It was worth the beating he got when they got outside to lunch.
He sighed as Iruka continued droning on about the importance of proper equipment care, or something like that.
Bored, Naruto thought forward to their upcoming taijutsu spars.
Naruto found that he was ahead of most of his class in taijutsu thanks to his father's training during his younger years. He introduced him to the basic katas of the style he personally created to work with this speed. The style mainly took advantage of speed and the use of kicks as the primary form of non-weapon combat.
Currently he was only behind Hinata and Sasuke in terms of taijutsu, but that was due to their doujutsu
Whenever he would spar against Hinata her byakugan wouldn't allow for him to take advantage of his speed to get into her blind spots. Not too mention she could easily disable him with the quick jyuuken strkes of the Gentle Fist style when he was exposed.
It was a similar result against Sasuke.
He could read every single move he made because of his sharingan.
There was a time when Naruto would beat Sasuke using sheer speed, but once Sasuke's speed increased enough to predict and block his strikes, naruto was at a complete disadvantage in a straight taijutsu fight.
The most creative way he found to beat him was to kick up dust and use it to mask his movements, but Naruto felt cheap using a trick instead of pure skill. All in all they were even in their total match ups, but Sasuke was pulling slightly ahead.
Once again he started drifting into playground memories until Iruka-sensei mentioned chakra.
The minute he heard the word chakra he bolted upright like a cat, taking in everyone of his sensei's words.
"That's right kids, since we're in the last third of our semester its time to begin Chakra control training. Now before I explain the exercises we will be learning, could someone please explain to the class what Chakra is?"
15 different hands went up at once, but no one's hand beat the speed of one Haruno Sakura.
Naruto's eyes turned towards Sakura.
Sakura was from a civilian family, who didn't have much exposure to the "shinobi" way of life. Even still she was incredibly book smart, if a little self-conscious about her forehead.
If it wasn't for Ino she would still probably be shy, although she couldn't beat the fangirl tendencies out of her, even when she met Tsunade. She would go bat shit crazy over Sasuke and would find herself butting heads with Ino when she would spend too much time training with "her" Sasuke-kun.
Unfortunately, she was also his secret crush.
Her hair vaguely reminded him of the picture of his mother and her, at times, boisterous attitude kept him on his toes. He would always have to dodge an angry fist whenever he pulled a prank on her or her friends. With all his speed he rarely escaped unscathed.
Of course this didn't go unnoticed by Ino in all their time together and she would mercilessly tease him for his crush, but he didn't really care.
He was brought out of his musings as Iruka called on her.
Standing she began,
"Chakra is the mixture of spiritual and physical energy channeled through the chakra pathway to create the techniques used by shinobi," she explained, "The body contains 361 points that directly link to the chakra coils, or pathways, in the body which can be closed or opened using various techniques."
Having finished she sat down with a satisfied grin on her face as she saw Iruka-sensei's shocked face.
Naruto snickered in his corner.
"T-that was perfect thank you Sakura," praised Iruka.
Controlling his emotions he continued.
"Now class the exercise we will be learning today is the leaf clinging exercise. You will all be given 1 leaf each. The objective is to make the leaf cling to your forehead only using your chakra for about 30 seconds like this."
Having finished Iruka placed the leaf on his forehead and removed his hands. The leaf stuck to the surface of his forehead cleanly.
After 30 seconds Iruka stopped the flow of chakra and allowed the leaf to fall back into his hand.
For most of the civilian students this was the coolest thing in the world. The clan kids however had already seen and done the leaf clinging exercise so it put them at a somewhat unfair advantage.
Having foreseen this issue however Iruka continued,
"For those of you have already learned this technique from your families and friends, we will move to a more advanced technique. Once you've shown me you can hold it for a full 30 seconds I will give you 5 leaves each and expect you to stick them onto each of your fingers on a single hand for 30 seconds. To advance from this technique you must make each leaf rotate clockwise and/or counterclockwise for 30 seconds."
Seeing the confused looks on the faces of all his kids gave him a sense of satisfaction. It was always nice to teach something new to his students. One of the civilian students looked disgruntled with the whole exercise seeing it as pointless as he began voicing his displeasure.
"But whats the point of this stupid leaf exercise. I want to blow stuff up with fireballs not make stupid leaves stick to my forehead or spin," said the boy.
Iruka answered,
"The point is to be able to control your chakra so that you can "blow stuff up with fireballs." If you can't control your chakra how are you going to control the fireball. If you put too much chakra then you'll just pass out from exhaustion. If you put too little chakra then the technique won't even work. This is why we train to control the chakra within our bodies," he chastised.
"Now lets begin."
Konoha Outskirts
After class had finished Naruto found himself walking down a familiar path towards his favorite spot, a lake on the outskirts of the village with a nice pier where you could watch a perfect setting sun.
Sasuke had left the academy to apparently go train on his own and Ino had gone to her family's shop to help her mom tend to the flowers.
As he walked down the street, he took in the peaceful ambience of Konoha. There was a calming factor that the village instilled on him and gave him peace.
His only issues came with the villagers. They were still cold towards him and treated him with disdain. There were times when Naruto feared for his life whenever he was walking alone at night and some of the more violent villagers would gather in the dark, dim corners waiting for him.
It was harder now that the seal on his neck had been removed.
The villagers saw him as a 'mockery' of their beloved Yondaime Hokage. Naruto would always hear mutterings of 'demon imposter' when he would walk through some of the civilian districts.
Scowling as he walked down the street, he wished he could reveal his heritage to the villagers and make them see that he wasn't a monster. He probably would have done it if he hadn't been forbidden by the Hokage on the night his life changed...
Flashback
Within the Hokage's Office stood a young red-haired boy, specks of blood could be seen on his clothes. Dried tear lines could be seen on his face as he tightly clutched what seemed to be a framed photograph, to his chest. Confusion marred his expression, mingled with a bit of anger and overwhelmed with a sadness that would break the hearts of any who looked upon the boy.
In the room with him was the Sandaime, who was currently standing, dressed in a white garb with a green vest and a mesh shirt visible underneath. Seated next to him was the current Hokage, Senju Tsunade. She was dressed in her traditional grey kimono tied with a blue-gray ob, a green haori with the kanji for 'gamble' was visible on her back covered her kimono.
Also within the room was a twenty year-old Kakashi, newly maid ANBU-Captain. He was dressed in traditional ANBU gear, black pants/shirt covered with the standard silver breast/shin/arm guards. His shoulders were bare showing his ANBU tattoo and his face was covered with a mask depicting a dog. His gravity defying silver hair was the only giveaway of his identity, his normally care-free attitude replaced with the professionalism that only ANBU could convey.
"Naruto," called the older kage, "look at me."
He shifted his gaze towards the Sandaime without a word, clutching his photo tighter.
Hiruzen's face tightened upon seeing the pain in the boy's eyes, but he steeled his resolve.
"Did Minato tell you anything before he passed?"
Willing himself to speak, he only muttered one, barely audible, word.
"Yes"
"What did he say?" replied Hiruzen
At this point Naruto was no longer looking at the people in the room, his blank stare just saw out into the distance as his thought over the dying words of his father.
He spoke, but his words came out with a monotony they identified only with ROOT agents.
"He told me, he was my father"
Shock was evident on their faces as Naruto extended his arms and showed them the picture he held in his clutches, revealing a picture of a smiling Minato and Kushina, her belly large with pregnancy and Minato holding her, not like a friend, but like a lover.
'Minato...' thought the Sandaime, ' I knew you were keeping something hidden about the boy, but I could have never guessed it was this.'
The pindrop silence in the room was broken by a single word coming from the young Uzumaki,
"Why?"
Sharing a look with each other Hiruzen and Tsunade came to a silent agreement,
'It's time we tell him about the Kyuubi,' thought Tsunade.
She began by explaining what his father did in the 3rd World War. Both she and the Sandaime speculated that with the amount of enemies his father had it must have been dangerous to father a son and did anything he could to keep that information out of the enemies hands.
Then they began to explain what happened on the night the Kyuubi attacked. Telling him how it was impossible for a beast that great to be killed by his mother and how she sacrificed her life to save the village by placing the burden of their protection on the shoulders of a baby not even a day old.
They finished by forbidding him from revealing his heritage to anybody until he was strong enough to take care of himself.
Having finished both kages were now waiting for the boy to reply, to say anything about the entire exchange, but it seemed that it would not be so. He spoke no words.
As troubling as this was there was nothing they could do except send Kakashi with him to escort him home and guard him while he slept.
Through this entire exchange Naruto was silent.
He didn't speak a word the rest of the night
Flashback End
Remembering that night brought phantom pains to his heart.
From that night he had sworn, to himself, on the way home that he would make the village acknowledge him for what he was, a person, not a demon. He would make his parents proud of him by protecting their home, but he would never be able to let go of the fire of hate that burned within him when he thought of how the villagers shunned and hated him.
That fire always grew stronger whenever he would think of his father's murderer.
Having continued to walk aimlessly towards his destination, he failed to recognize that there was someone already at his usual spot on the pier. His anger having clouded his spacial perception.
Taking a closer look he noticed a familiar duck end haircut.
It seemed as though Sasuke had not yet noticed him, but what Naruto did notice as he got closer was the glint of a reflection of light on the young Uchiha's face...
Year 1 - Sasuke
The Lake
Sasuke had left the academy and headed directly to a lake on the outskirts of the village near the Uchiha clan compound. It was his favorite spot ever since the massacre, he used it to escape the rest of the world. It was also where he went to practice one of his more favored skills.
It had been a few weeks since the last time he practiced his fireball technique.
The lake was where he first learned the technique with his father. It was the first time that Sasuke's father had given him any attention, and he couldn't have been more grateful for the opportunity to prove to his father that he could surpass his older brother.
Flashback
It was mid-morning on a beautiful summer day, when a middle-aged, black haired man stepped forward onto a wooden pier situated on a lake just on the outskirts of the village. Directly behind him trailed an eager 7 year old boy, a grin from ear to ear plastered on his face at the thought that his father was giving him private training.
This lake was a fair distance away from the clan compound, but it provided a good area for practice on what would be a special day for young Uchiha Sasuke.
Stepping forward onto the pier, looking out towards the horizon, the elder of the two began to weave his hand seals. When he fnished he brought his hands up to his mouth,
Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu( Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"
A large red fireball about the size of a small house was emitted from the man's mouth.
Behind him stood the young Uchiha, his eyes widened in awe as he watched his father emit the ball of flame using his chakra. The boy shook with barely contained anticipation. It took all his will-power to shout in amazement.
Having stopped the flow of chakra, the elder Uchiha slowly turned towards his son, his face impassive as he spoke,
"Sasuke, today you will be learning our clan's most basic ninjutsu. Mastery of it and the katon(fire) element is proof you are worthy of being an Uchiha Shinobi. The seals are how I showed you. Gather your chakra and stop it in your chest. Then, release it all at once.
"Hai!" responded the young Uchiha
Running forward,
'I must make tou-san proud!'
He began his own set of seals,
Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu( Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"
From his mouth came a ball of fire no larger than a soccer ball. His father's face impassive and his watched his youngest son cut off his chakra flow, stopping the technique.
Before Sasuke could turn his father spoke,
"As I thought, you can't do it as well as Itachi." He turned to walk away and gave him his final words, "perhaps it was still to early..."
As he watched his fatehr walk away Sasuke's heart dropped to his stomach.
"Tou-sama isn't proud of me... I'll never be as good as Itachi..." he thought. As he watched his disappointed father walked away, he came to the conclusion that if his dad would never be proud of him unless he made him proud of him.
Over the next week Sasuke spent all his time at the lake practicing until he could no longer stand under his own power,burn marks from the fire evident around his mouth.
He used his fathers words as his motivation to continue day after day, night after night. He wouldn't rest until he would make his father proud of him.
Having mastered the technique he convinced him father to join him at the lake one last time to prove to him that he could make him proud. Arriving at the wooden pier one last time he stepped forward and began his seals,
Tiger → Ram → Monkey → Boar → Horse → Tiger
"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu( Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique)!"
This time instead of a soccer ball-sized fireball he emitted a fireball comparable to his father's, a fear that was unheard of for one so young. His father's face remained impassive, a hint of shock evident in his eyes that could only be seen by those who knew the stoic Uchiha best.
Having watched his son finish his technique he turned, walking away from his youngest son, his sandals clacking upon the wooden planks.
Sasuke watched as his father walked away from him, his efforts wasted as he hung his head.
Hearing the clacking of sandals on wood stop Sasuke lifted his head slightly as his father spoke,
"Indeed, you are my son," he said as he continued to walk away..
Flashback Ended
Sasuke was always proud of that day, but remembering the family he lost, the future he no longer had with them always brought up an unwanted pain and agony that gripped his heart and never let go.
Taking notice that someone was behind him Sasuke quickly wiped his face before turning and put on his usual cold, brooder persona.
Anger began to take place of the shock he was feeling, this was where he went to be alone and let loose. Where he could openly mourn his family and get away from all of the people, who would look down on him with pity. How dare they come and invade his privacy once again. It would never stop.
True, his whole clan wasn't gone,but it didn't stop the other clan members or villagers from putting him on a pedestal.
The clan saw him as a the road to redemption for their clan, their last great 'prodigy' and the villagers saw him as a lost little boy who needed to be protected at all time.
Everybody saw him as someone to protect, and pamper.
Everybody was wrong.
All he ever needed was his family's acknowledgement. A word of praise from his father, and his mother's love and care was what he desired most. They were things from his childhood that he would never receive again.
The only thing that was left from his childhood was the insatiable need to surpass his older brother. He held on to this final piece of his childhood and would not let go.
His goal was set.
He would surpass his brother, and grow stronger. He would get revenge for his mother and father, and retrieve the life that was indiscriminately stolen from cutting out the last vestige of his past, he would move on to a better future. That was why he clung to his revenge. He focused so dearly on it. Without his revenge...
He was nothing
Turning to face the newcomer, Sasuke quickly identified the blonde shock of hair that could only belong to one Uzumaki Naruto.
His anger faded, slightly.
In Sasuke's mind, Naruto, was the only person who identified with his pain. He grew up not knowing the love of his parents. Only having his uncle, the Yondaime, to raise him and then having him taken away by the same man that took away Sasuke's family.
In a way it seemed as though their fates were connected.
As loath as he was to admit it, Sasuke was envious of the blond, not for his strength, but for his courage. No matter what he would always keep a smile on his face and try to please those around him. He knew it was a fake smile. He could see underneath it, but that was the point. If you acted like everything was fine then the village would be none the wiser.
He just wished he could do the same, but he didn't have the strength of mind to put himself into the situation to create those bonds once more.
He had convinced himself that those bonds would make him weak, there was a time before the death of his family that he believed in those bonds.
Realizing that Naruto had sat down next to him he grunted and looked away, but said nothing to blond as he sat down without a word.
Staring out at the setting sun he was enjoying the silence until Naruto spoke,
"You know, you dont have to be alone,I can help you" he began slowly. "I understand what the pain you're feeling, the anger in your heart."
Sasuke continued to stare out into the horizon as he listened to Naruto's words.
Naruto let out a terse laugh,
"If you think about it, in a way we're kinda like brothers, dattebayo"
Sasuke's breath hitched slightly.
Brothers?
The blonde didn't offer any other explanation after his declaration. He continued to look out as the sky transformed into an array of reds and oranges. In the end Sasuke's curiosity got the better of him. He found the words flowing from his mouth before he could stop himself,
"What do you mean?"
Naruto turned to look at the black-haired Uchiha, a fire burned behind his eyes as he spoke,
"We share the same pain... the same hope...the same ambition..." he said his voice growing more determined.
Taking in his words Sasuke took a closer look at the blonde. The look of determination on his face reminded him of simpler times.
He thought back to before the massacre when Naruto, Shikamaru and him would play games and train together. He was reminded of their silly arguments over nonsensical things. Then he was reminded of the massacre itself and all that he lost.
Sasuke gave a small smirk before replying to the easily excitable blonde,
"Hn"
Upon hearing his response an ear-splitting grin appeared on his face as he turned back to watch the setting sun.
Perhaps it was possible for Sasuke to create bonds again...
Year 2
Classes at the academy had progressed well. Having entered their second year of studies most of the students were excited to finally be learning what they considered to be the "cool stuff."
The second year mainly focused on finding a pertinent path for the students while giving them knowledge about the various basic aspects of the ninja arts. The Sandaime's training program centered around knowledge of all the arts.
Being known throughout the elemental nations as "The Professor" could attest to the power behind such knowledge.
They would progress through basic ninjutsu and ninjutsu theory as well as finding the element with which they are attuned. Along with the Ninjutsu(Ninja Techniques) would be be genjutsu theory, identifying and dispelling Genjutsu(Illusionary Techniques) and of course finding the students to which the art appealed the most too.
Along the second half of the semester the class would be split giving focus to learning each craft all the while fine tuning their Bukijutsu(Weapons Techniques) and Taijutsu(Body Techniques).
Having just started the school year they were currently training to complete the three shinobi basics:
Kawarimi no Jutsu(Substitution Technique)
Henge no Jutsu(Transformation Technique)
Bunshin no Jutsu(Clone Technique)
These weren't the flashiest techniques, nor were they the strongest techniques, but if you did not have some sort of mastery over them you were as good as dead in the shinobi world.
Without the use of the kawarimi the strongest shinobi would fall to any debilitating attack they could not avoid.
Likewise with a strong henge, a weaker shinobi could sneak up on and get an advantage over a stronger opponent.
Because of this reason the students had been practicing now on these techniques for about 3 weeks after having studied the theory for a good week and a half. The beginning of the training came in non-threatening situations.
Everyone would be standing around the training ground at the academy as chunin instructors would pass by giving them tips and pointers as to how to replace themselves of transform themselves into other objects. Usually they would use a log or a rock. As the weeks progressed so did the training methods...
Academy - Training Ground 1
Multiple kunai were whizzing past at high speeds as a blond haired boy bobbed and weaved past them. In front of him were a series of trip wire traps hiding nasty surprises along with numerous low-grade explosive tags lined along the trunks of trees. About 500 meters ahead of him blocked by a trail of death was his objective.
A white flag with a painted smiley face.
He landed with a crouch, noticing a rustling in the bush to his left, too late as the volley of kunai had already arrived at his position making contact.
Out of the bush jumped another blonde, this one female, shouting with glee,
"Got'em!"
in her haste she had failed to notice the puff of smoke that signaled a perfect kawarimi, she was left staring a log embedded with her kunai as she shouted in frustration,
"Damn it!"
A short distance away the boy chuckled under his breath at having duped Ino once again. He stole a quick glance at the clock by the fence
10 minutes left.
Carefully maneuvering his way past the trip wire traps,he made care to avoid the explosive traps set on the trees. Having arrived in a clearing he quickly noticed the presence of two of his classmates as an explosive tag went off near his feet. He dodged by leaping into the sky as two more volley's of weaponry came spiraling towards him.
Walking out of the foliage came his two classmates Kiba and Shino, confident in their victory as they watched their weapons approach the blonde.
As they watched the weaponry phased through the blonde, dissipating the illusion. Kiba's frustration was evident,
"Damn it! Where is he?!"
Having brought his two classmates out of hiding he quickly snuck around them and made his way towards his objective, he had this gut feeling he knew who would be waiting for him at the end. Speeding through the final treck, he noticed the chunin examiners keeping watch through the branches. With a smile he sped up excited to see what awaited him at the end of the exam.
Arriving near the flag pole he walked forward to grab the flag until he heard the familiar sound of an exploing tag near his feet, leaping backwards he flipped through the air landing gracefully as he faced his opponent.
Standing before him was one Uchiha Sasuke. One arm in his pocket as he gave him his usual superior smirk.
"Hn, give it up dobe. You can't get past me."
Naruto could barely suppress his grin.
"Heh, I've been waiting for this all day teme. Bring it!"
Having finished their banter Naruto quickly took another look at the timer, taking stock of his time. He had 7 minutes left. Sasuke had finished in 4 minutes 37 seconds. He had a good 2 and a half minutes to play with if he wanted to beat him.
Rushing forward Naruto threw the first punch aiming towards Sasuke's mid-section, but found he was easily blocked and swept aside as Sasuke aimed a kick towards his ribs. Ducking underneath the kick Naruto quickly retaliated with a leg sweep. Even with his Sharingan activated Sasuke found it difficult to keep up with the blonde's speed. Barely avoiding his leg sweep by leaping over.
He descended with an axe kick, his eyes blazing red, as Naruto struggled to get a cross-block up in time, taking a glancing blow, but managing to latch on to Sasuke's leg, using his momentum to throw him hard onto his back. Using a sweeping motion with his legs Sasuke was able to get Naruto to let go of his leg and off-balance. Coming up he waited for Naruto to come and attack him once again, relying on his Sharingan to predict his opponents movements and countering approriately.
Knowing Sasuke's motive was to stall him Naruto had begun to fomulate his plan, looking over at the timer he realized they had been fighting for a good 2 minutes. He had less than 30 seconds left. The smirk on the Uchiha's Face was insufferable...
Just like that genius had struck. Bringing his hands together he made a single seal,
Ram
"Orioke no Jutsu!(Sexy Technique!)"
In an puff of smoke Naruto was replaced by a beautiful blonde with twin pig-tails. She had 3 whisker marks on each cheek and beautiful blue eyes that screamed sin, the clouds of smoke that had appeared from the initial henge had covered her modesty.
"Ooooo Sasuke-kuuun," she said seductively.
Instantly the entire male population including the Uchiha flew backwards as all the blood rushed to their heads.
Having sufficiently distracted everyone, Naruto quickly dropped his henge and ran up to the pole grabbing the flag with a second to spare as the timer read 4 minutes 38 seconds.
Before he could enjoy his victory over the Uchiha, Naruto was struck with a killing intent the likes of which he hadn't encountered since the time one perverted white-haired man attempted a B&E at the Senju estate to peek on Tsunade. The amount of Killer Intent that was released was enough to mobilize an entire ANBU platoon and freeze everyone within a half-mile radius.
Turning he notice the entire female population was focusing their killing intent on Naruto, including one Hyuuga Hinata, who was normally kind, and cool. Though no one's killing intent was higher than a certain pink-haired banshee, whom both Naruto and Sasuke were wary. The latter because of her undettered fan-girl tendencies and the former because of her unnatural strength when angered.
"NARUUUTOOO!"
Before he could even react he received a mammoth right hook to the face and was launched backwards into a tree partially knocking him out.
In the meantime the males were recovering from their blood loss, the first to recover was Iruka who was a bit embarrassed to have been taken unaware by such a technique.
'That kid has to be the most unpredictable ninja Konoha has ever produced.'
He was currently wiping the blood of his face as he jotted down notes on the blonde's performance. He had easily passed with flying colors and honorable mentions, having had the best time. He had a clear understanding of the basic 3 techniques and could easily be labeled a prodigy along with the Uchiha heir. it seemed that the Sandaime's new teaching methods were proving effective. At first Iruka was skeptical about putting kids into dangerous situations, but after talking to the former kage he realized that a shinobi can only grow when put into difficult positions.
Having finished cleaning himself up he gathered his students and began one of his trademark speeches,
"Alright kids, this concludes our exams for the day. Moving on from today we will be moving forward to more advance techniques. For those of you who didn't pass today's examination you have 1 week to prepare for the re-take. If you fail the remedial exam you risk being dropped form the sinobi program complete," his tone serious.
"To those of you who passed I only have one word for you and that is congratulations. You have only just begun your journey as shinobi and it will only get more difficult from here. The test scores will be posted on my door tomorrow. You're dismissed."
Upon hearing the dismissal all the students began breaking off into their cliques, some downtrodden at having failed others flashing grins at having passed.
One group, however, seemed to be indifferent as they walked of towards their favorite spot. Most of the group members seemed to be glaring daggers at a certain blonde. They were known by the civilians as "The Clan Heirs." In the coming years they would be known throughout the elemental nations as "The Rookie Nine."
The group consisted of some of the more prominent clan heirs:
Aburame Shino, clan heir of the Aburame Clan.
Notorious for their use of bugs, the Aburame were skilled scouts and trackers. They were live hosts for colonies of insects and acted almost like a "hive mind" for the bugs that they used, allowing the bugs to feed off their chakra in a symbiiotic relationship. Because of their close-knit relationship with their insect compatriots they tended to favor logical solutions and tried to keep emotions away from any actions they took. The Aburame clan were feared throughout the elemental nations for their tactical minds and ruthless methods of take down. Aburame clan heads were said to be able to control up to two or three different colonies at the same time, using each colony to defend, scout or even devour their opponents, sometimes leaving no trace of them behind.
Shino himself had black hair with fair skin. Most of his skin was usually covered with a beige overcoat that covered his hair and mouth. He typically wore round sunglasses that covered his dark eyes. His voice was fairly monotonous which he modeled after his father, Aburame Shibi. His goal was to catalog every species of insect in the known world as well as breed his very own strain of insect.
Akimichi Choji, clan heir of the Akimichi Clan.
The Akimichi clan were known in Konoha as the "Gentle Giants." A fairly rotund clan they speciallized in body expansion techniques and were experts in nutrition. They were the leaders in Chakra Supplement pills, Food Pills and Ration Bars that could be found supplementing forces throughout the elemental nations. They were also one of the wealthiest families in Konoha as they owned most of the hospitality sector within the city walls. In the warring era the Akimichi clan was a known ally and benefactor of the Nara clan. They both worked together and supplied each other with medicine and food supplies, often finding each other on joint operations in order to take advantage of the uncanny synergy between their clan techniques. Akimichi clan heads were feared for their bulking physique and battlefield presence, usually standing between 20 and 30 feet tall on the battlefield taking out hordes of opponents.
Choji himself was a very gently boy with brown hair, fair skin and chubby cheeks that were marked with red swirl patterns. He typically wore a green shirt with his clan symbol emblazoned on the front and always carried a bag of chips with him wherever he went. Choji wanted a fairly simple life with good food and good friends. He wanted to be a fair and wise clan head, but was afraid he was to kind to rule his clan effectively.
Inuzuka Kiba, clan heir of the Inuzuka Clan.
The Inuzuka Clan were one of the most fiercely loyal clans in Konoha. They viewed loyalty to their pack as the highest priority while putting a high value on strength as well. They had a heightened sense of smell and hearing as they often fought alongside ninken, or ninja dogs. From the moment a ninken was partnered with the Inuzuka it was a union for life. To this day there was no Inuzuka to ever return without their ninken, else they be shunned by the pack. An Inuzuka and their ninken were paired at the age of 10 and from then on were inseparable. Since their induction to Konoha the Inuzuka were often paired with the Aburame, working in tandem they created one of the most powerful tracking teams. Their most distinguished characteristics were enlarged canines similar to their ninken and red triangular birth-marks on either cheek. The Inuzuka Clan heads were most famous for their perfect synergy with their ninken partners executing flawless combination attacks with a brutality that would tear their opponents to pieces in a matter of seconds. There are very few shinobi who can escape the nose of an Inuzuka pack.
Kiba was a cocky, brown-haired boy with tanned skin and the typical Inuzuka birth mark's on his cheeks. He dreamed of becoming the greatest Inuzuka clan heir and tracking down his deadbeat of a father and bringing him to justice for abandoning his family. He always aimed to be the alpha of the group but often found himself shut down by either Naruto or Sasuke, and found them to be the obstacles that he should overcome.
Hyuuga Hinata, clan heir of the Hyuuga Clan.
The Hyuuga Clan are most known for their infamous Doutjusu(Eye Technique) the Byakuugan. The Byakuugan allows the Hyuuga a near 360 degree vision along with a view of their surroundings, that when meticulously trained, could reach several kilometers. Their special fighting style, the Jyuuken(Gentle Fist), allowed them to shut down the chakra pathways of their targets by shutting down their tenketsu, or chakra points, by forcing their own chakra into their opponents. The Hyuuga were the only clan that actively practiced a form of slavery by binding the "side" family, cousins, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, those not of the main branch blood to a seal that bent them to the will of the main branch family, citing the main branch were the stronger warriors and therefore were the future of the clan. The side family were there to serve the main family and those who disobey could have pain inflicted upon through use of the seal. The justifications of this seal were the protection of the Byakuugan. The Hyuuga Clan heads were known to be masters of the Jyuuken and were capable of killing shinobi with a single strike. They were some of the most feared men on the battle field, said to not have a single blind spot.
Hinata however was the opposite of most of her main branch family members, she refrained form using the seal to harm her family, and treated the side family with respect and kindness. After the Kumo incident her father had assigned her uncle and cousin to be her security detail and training instructor, it was because of the kindness her uncle showed her and his willingness to teach her that she lost her shy nature. She typically wore the traditional Hyuuga kimono along with brown sandals. Her purple hair and pale skin, which would normally stand out, seemed to be overshadowed by her pale white eyes.
Nara Shikamaru, clan heir of the Nara Clan.
The Nara were a notoriously lazy clan, full of genius shinobi. Known for their proficiency with shadow techniques, the Nara are known for their tactical and strategic brilliance on the field of battle... if you could convince them to wake up. They're also known for their medical practice and their near addictive tendencies when they find something they enjoy. Their clan heads were often sought after in times of war in which they sold their services as tacticians and strategists. Most shinobi know to sooner commit seppuku than enter a battle of wits against a Nara.
Shikamaru mainly took after his clan, he loved laying down and watching clouds or playing shogi with his father. If he wasn't doing either of these things he would be hanging out with his best friend Choji, or somehow getting into trouble during one of Naruto's pranks. He had black hair that he kept pulled back in a spiky pony tail. He usually wore grey shirt with his clan symbol displayed on the front, a bored expression usually present on his face.
Together with Naruto, Sakura, Ino and Sasuke they rounded out the the would be Rookie 9.
They were currently walking towards the park, of the 9, 4 were currently giving a certain blonde the dirtiest of looks. The first to break the silence was of course the platinum blonde herself...
"Leave it to Naruto to leave it to cheap tricks to pass an exam," started Ino.
Sakura and Hinata both 'hmphed' in agreement as they crossed their arms.
Sasuke gave a non-committal grunt, while Kiba burst out in laughter as he remembered the look on the Uchiha's face the minute he saw Naruto's henge.
"Man you shoulda seen your face Sasuke, I wish I had a camera!" he replied through in takes of breaths, earning himself glares from Sakura and Hinata.
Naruto flashed a grin, and a thumbs up as he turned around,
"That's my new signature move the Orioke no Jutsu dattebayo!" replied Naruto.
Before Sakura could say anything about corrupting 'her' Sasuke-kun, Ino stepped forward and bonked Naruto over the head.
"Stop being a pervert or do you want me to tell Tsunade-oba what you've been doing with Jiraiya-sama, neh?"
Upon hearing Tsunade's name, he paled considerably. She promised to do something somewhere that didn't sound very pleasant if he ever turned out like her perveted teammate.
"Okay, okay I was just joking -ttebayo," he replied weakly. "Anyway what do you guys wanna do today?
"I vote for cloud watching," said the lazy Nara.
"You always want to cloud watch," replied Sakura.
"We could play ninja..." slyly suggested one Uzumaki.
Everyone's ears perked up. They all remembered playing ninja when they were kids, but now they were in training so they were a bit confused what the king of pranks meant by 'playing ninja.' Finally overwhelmed with curiosity Ino carefully asked,
"What do you mean by, play 'ninja'."
There was a glint in his eye as he began to enact his evil plans. He wanted to take revenge on some of the shop owners that had turned him away form their stores a while back, what better way than to use an innocent game to do his dirty work for him.
"Well when we were kids we would divide into teams and 'kill' each other right?"
Everyone nodded.
"Well, how about we set up targets, like missions. We'll break up into teams of 3 and the first team to get back to the park wins. Sound like a plan?"
With the rest of the group in agreement, they began to discuss possible targets and the division of their teams. In the end the targets and teams were chosen.
Team 1 consisted of Naruto, Shikamaru, Sakura. Their target was Gensui Amagiri, leader of the merchant guild.
Team 2 consisted of Sasuke, Choji, Hinata. Their target was Gozu Ginji, leader of the transportation guild.
Team 3 consisted of Ino, Kiba and Shino. Their target was Yamato Kuroda, the daimyo's representative.
"Alright we have our targets let's go!"
Edit:I made a slight adjustment to the teams.
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