You guys are awesome! Your reviews keep pushing me forward to become a better writer.
Character/AU changes: I couldn't find information on if Kiba's or Shino's parent/parents were leaders of their clans. And as such, I am marking the fact that they are clan heirs as AU.
Mach Farcon does not own Naruto.
And without any more delay, here's Chapter 4: The Darkness of Truth
Naruto grinned as he chatted with Sakura and Hinata as they neared the Academy. Today was going to be the best day ever. He was going to graduate with Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. And they were going to be on a team together. It was going to be great.
Hinata was quiet as Naruto talked. Watching Naruto as he happily gestured to herself and Sakura during the dramatic part of his latest training session, she felt an idea form within her. As he wrapped up the story with a sudden exclamation of noise and spread arms, Hinata made her decision. "Sakura-San, may I talk to you privately for a moment?" Hinata requested during the lull in conversation, her voice firm and careful.
Sakura blinked and looked over at Hinata. The Hyuga looked serious, far more serious than normal. "Sure." Sakura answered, confusion filling her tone, "When do you want to talk?"
"Before the Academy today." Hinata answered, hoping that Naruto would get the hint. She could never bring herself to tell Naruto to leave them, so her blond friend and crush would need to leave them to talk in private out of his own volition.
Turning to Naruto, who was looking at them both in slight bewilderment, Sakura ordered, "Naruto. We'll meet you at the Academy. Hinata and I have to talk about something alone."
"Oh. Ok." Naruto's shoulders slumped ever so slightly for the briefest of seconds. And then just as quickly, a wide smile slid across his face. "Ok. I'll meet you at the Academy." He nodded, the wide grin firmly fixed. Spinning on his heel, the blond Uzumaki rushed off towards the Academy.
Both girls watched Naruto head off. As soon as he disappeared from their sight, Sakura turned to Hinata, visible anger flaring within her green eyes. "What do you want?" It was more of a demand than a question. "It better be worth it. We just made Naruto-kun sad."
"W-well, " Hinata fought back the tears at the thought of making Naruto sad. She had seen the fake grin on his face. "You know how Naruto doesn't really have anyone but the two of us as friends?" Sakura nodded, some of her fierceness vanishing. Seeing Sakura's nod, Hinata took a deep breath and continued, her voice growing more and more passionate, "We need to become friends ourselves. For Naruto-kun. He does not deserve to have to choose between us."
Brow furrowing in thought, Sakura considered Hinata's words. While the pale-eyed girl had made several good points, there was something about it that almost made Sakura protest. The pink haired girl's eyes widened as she realized what the issue was; she wanted Naruto-kun all to herself. Opening her mouth to refuse Hinata's offer of friendship, a mental replay of Hinata's words caught her attention.
"...He does not deserve to have to choose between us..."
Sakura's mouth closed with a snap. That was the point wasn't it? How could she call herself Naruto's best friend if she refused to ever think of what he wanted? And she knew what Naruto wanted. He just wanted his friends to get along. Setting her jaw, Sakura turned to Hinata.
"I'll be you friend. For Naruto-kun." Sakura paused, considering. "And you're a pretty decent person anyway. I would have eventually became your friend anyway." The comment was begrudging, but honest..
Hinata relaxed in visible relief, a small smile breaking out. "Ok. Let's go find Naruto and cheer him back up. Right Sakura-chan?"
Sakura nodded firmly, her path set. "Right. Let's go...Hinata-chan."
Naruto skidded to a stop outside of the Academy. The run had served to clear his head, and had allowed him to decide to believe that Sakura and Hinata had simply wanted to talk about something without him. They would catch up to him later. Naruto took a step forward before freezing mid-step. What if they wanted him to wait for them outside of the Academy? Placing his foot back down, the Uzumaki moved over to the wrought-iron gate of the Academy. He would wait for his best friends here.
About ten minutes later, his ears perked up at the familiar sounds of Sakura and Hinata conversing. He pushed himself off of the wall next to the gate and jogged eagerly towards the pair. As he got closer, the two girls visibly brightened as they spotted him moving towards them.
"Sakura-chan. Hinata-chan." Naruto burst out, unable to contain himself any longer, "Are you all done with your talk?"
"Yes. Hinata-chan and I are done." Sakura called back. Opening her mouth, she hesitated as guilt swamped her when Naruto joined their group. Turning to fully face Naruto, she bowed her head. "I'm sorry for sending you away Naruto-kun. I didn't do it to make you sad."
"It's all right." Naruto waved away Sakura's apology, silently wondering why she was bowing to someone like him, "I realized that sometimes you have to talk about something that I'm not supposed to hear. " Ducking his head as a secret hope welled up once again, he couldn't stop the words from tumbling out. "So it's Hinata-chan, does that mean you and Hinata-chan are friends?" Mentally chastising himself for pushing, he awaited her reply, the hope still flickering within.
Any doubts that lingered in Sakura's or Hinata's mind over their new friendship was wiped away by Naruto's poorly hidden hopeful expression. "Yes Naruto-kun. Sakura-chan and I are friends now." Hinata nodded. "So now you will never have to choose between us ever again." She added mentally.
Naruto's blindingly happy smile threatened to rival the sun in brilliance, filled the two girls with a sense of accomplishment. "Now," Naruto spun on his heel and thrust a hand towards the Academy, "Let's go kick this exam's ass!"
"Hell yeah!" Sakura pounded her right fist into her left palm. "Let's do this."
"Let's do it." Hinata forgot the proper Hyuga decorum for a moment, "Together, we can do this."
The classroom was ordered chaos. All of the students were talking amongst themselves, realizing that this could possibly be the last time they would see each other. There were several girls shouting at each other in the front center of the room, unable to decide who would have the supreme honor of sitting next to Sasuke Uchiha. Sakura recognized her former friend Ino as one of the ones that was edging closer to the seat closest to Sasuke. With a strange sense of abrupt realization, she realized that she didn't feel the need to try to sit close to Sasuke. Shrugging off the strange feeling, the pink haired girl headed to the seat next to Naruto, joining his and Hinata's speculations on what the test ahead could be comprised of.
After another few minutes, Iruka entered the classroom along with Mizuki. Iruka's shouts for quiet was all but ignored by the class. He waited for another minute before taking a deep breath. Beside him, Mizuki plugged his ears.
"ALL RIGHT! SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP!" Iruka's head grew to a massive size for the briefest moment, "IT'S TIME TO START CLASS!"
The class slowly quieted and Mizuki removed his fingers from his ears. "Now," Iruka continued his head and voice back to normal, "Here's how we are going to do the test today: First, we are going to take a written exam. After that, we are going to be testing your kunai and shuriken throwing skills. Next, we will be pitting each of you against one another graded sparring matches. Once those are completed, we will be testing your skill with the Bunshin no Jutsu, the Kawarimi no Jutsu, and the Henge no Jutsu. Mizuki-Sensei," Iruka indicated Mizuki beside him, "...will be helping me administer these exams."
And with those words, the Konoha Genin exams started. After the written test had been completed, the class headed out to the grounds behind the academy. Starting off the students off alphabetically, Iruka called the prospective Genins up one by one. As he grew closer to Sakura's name, her palms started to sweat. Naruto put his hand on her shoulder as he leaned close and whispered, "You got this Sakura-chan." Bolstered by Naruto's words, Sakura stepped forward as Iruka called, "Haruno, Sakura."
Sakura stepped up to the throwing line. She took two deep breaths. Clutching the provided kunai in her hand, she took a half-step forward. Her hand snapped forward repeatedly as she threw the kunai towards the target.
"Seven out of ten." Iruka totaled up the points, "Not bad." He congratulated, "Keep it up for the shuriken portion. " Sakura grinned as she heard Naruto shout out a congratulation on her score.
"You bet." Sakura quickly took the offered shuriken and stepped towards the throwing line again. She sent the shurikens buzzing down the range towards the target.
"A solid seven point five out of ten!" Iruka proudly marked the numbers on Sakura's sheet before heading out to retrieve the thrown weapons. Behind him Sakura was welcomed back into her group by Naruto and Hinata, all three celebrating Sakura's skillful performance.
"Hyuga, Hinata."
Hinata toed the throwing line after accepting the offered kunai. Naruto's unending confidence had rubbed off on her, and her hand moved forward gracefully as she threw the kunai before she lost the temporarily gained confidence. The kunai sped down the range towards the target one by one.
"Seven out of ten. Well done." Iruka congratulated, making sure to let the young Hyuga know that she had done well. He couldn't do anything about her home life, but here, he would do what he could. Confidence in herself bubbled up, ever so slightly, as Hinata heard her teacher's words along with Naruto's shouted encouragement, daring to believe them for a moment. She took the offered shuriken. The young Hyuga was almost graceful as she sent the shuriken buzzing towards the targets.
"Seven out of ten once again. Good job Hinata-San." Iruka smiled down at his student, proud of the immense strides she had made in the last three years. He watched her joined her group of friends amidst their congratulations. It was times like this that made all of the late nights grading papers and the early mornings worth it.
"You guys did really good." Naruto couldn't help but beam at his friends' success. She and Sakura had grown strong since the time he had first met them, and he couldn't be happier.
Sakura grinned. "Well, Naruto-kun, make sure you don't do something stupid like drop the kunai." The teasing lilt struck all three as the three attempted to keep straight faces as they thought of the nigh-impossible chance that Naruto would screw up a physical test. They lasted four heartbeats before breaking down into stifled giggles.
"Uchiha, Sasuke."
The black-haired boy stalked to the throwing line, grabbing the kunai as he stepped up to the line. He threw several kunai at one time, hitting the target each time.
"Nine-point-seven-five out of ten." Mizuki noted, taking care to raise his voice just enough to carry over to the demon child. There was a chance that it would demoralize the fox, which would make things easier. The Uchiha had grouped his Kunai slightly too far apart, missing the inner target with the final weapon by a scant inch.
Sasuke grunted, the sound almost bored. "But it is not good enough. Brother would have done better. I have to do better." He swiped the shuriken from Mizuki and quickly threw them, once again unleashing several at a time.
"Nine-point-five out of ten." Mizuki congratulated, subtly casting a glance over at Naruto. The blond demon didn't even seem to be concerned. It was comforting, to watch Sasuke smirk at Naruto as he passed the blond. It wasn't hard to stoke the fires of dislike when it came to the Uchiha. Driven by the desire to grow strong enough to kill his brother, Sasuke was ridiculously easy to manipulate. All it took was a few well-placed words, and the seed of hate flourished on its own.
"Uzumaki, Naruto."
"Good luck Naruto-kun." Hinata whispered.
"Yeah. Good luck Naruto-kun." Sakura nodded, ready to see her best friend show everyone how strong he was.
Naruto grinned and strode up to the throwing line, snagging the kunai as he went. As soon as his foot touched the line, his hands blurred. The ten kunai rocketed down range, slamming into the target.
"Ten out of ten!" Iruka blinked in shock. He knew Naruto was good, but he didn't know that Naruto was this good. Naruto chuckled warmly as he heard Sakura shout congratulations and Hinata's softly spoken words of encouragement. He snagged the shuriken while stepping towards the line. This time before he even reached the throwing line, his hands blurred once again. The sharp thuds of the shuriken hitting the target reached their ears a moment later.
"Ten out of ten!" Iruka announced amidst the whispers of the class. Naruto was welcomed back to his group, all three celebrating their successes.
Sasuke scowled fiercely. How dare the lowly clan-less loser do better than him? He was an Uchiha! The last Uchiha. An emotion, both familiar and painful, edged at his mind as he watched the three friends laugh together. An idea began to form in Sasuke's mind. He knew how he would get back at the Uzumaki…
Soon the throwing portion finished, and it was time for the sparing matches. "All right." Iruka began, "It's time for the sparring matches. I'm going to lay down a few ground rules. First, no killing blows. Second, it's taijutsu only. So no non-hand-to-hand-combat techniques. This also means that no weapons are allowed." He took a breath before continuing, "To win the match you must either knock your opponent out of the ring," He pointed to the painted white ring surrounding the forty foot sparring circle, "...or you force them to submit. You may challenge someone, but you do not have to. If you do challenge someone, they do not have to accept." Sasuke's voice rang out the moment Iruka finished.
"I will fight the Uzumaki."
A hush fell on the class. This was more than just a simple challenge. Sasuke was the top student. Naruto was the student with the worst grades. But no one could deny the blond's effectiveness in combat. Sakura froze. She remembered what Ino had said to her just over six months ago…
Sakura entered the classroom to see Sasuke lean back with a satisfied smirk on his face. In contrast, Naruto had a slightly depressed air about him. Three seconds later, the depressed air disappeared as he hid his feelings deep within with unconscious ease. Turning from one boy to another, Sakura hesitated, unsure where to go or how to feel. Confused anger washed through her with the knowledge that someone had made fun of Naruto, but that someone was Sasuke. Torn, she didn't notice Ino walk up to her until the blonde girl spoke.
"You're going to have to choose." Ino pointed out.
"Huh?" Sakura blinked in confusion. "What are you talking about?"
Ino snorted and rolled her eyes. "For as big as your forehead is, you don't get it do you, do?" Blue eyes pierced Sakura's confused green eyes. "You're going to have to choose between Sasuke-kun and Naruto-Baka. They believe different philosophies, and are going to eventually fight over them."
"I accept." Naruto's voice rang out, as he strode towards the marked off sparing ring. Sasuke quickly followed. When he stepped into the ring, his fangirls practically deafened those near them. After both both students entered the ring, they made their way to the opposite sides of the ring.
It was like he was watching a building on fire, helpless to stop the carnage about to happen, but unable to look away. Iruka swallowed, wetting his suddenly dry throat before starting the match. "All right. Keep it clean you two. Are both fighters ready?" When both boys gave their assent, the teacher took a deep breath. "Ready? Hajime!"
Neither boy moved. "Do you hear that dobe?" Sasuke smirked, "Do you hear them cheering my name? Calling for me to beat you down?" He moved for the verbal kill. "And who is cheering for you? Just two pathetic girls that are pretending to kunoich-" Any further taunts that Sasuke had planned were shoved back down his throat as a heavy, oppressive presence cloaked the ring. It was as if the very air itself gained twenty pounds heavier which pressed down on the last Uchiha, grinding away at his mind and will.
"What did you say?" Naruto inquired, his voice a deadly calm. His eyes betrayed the furious anger barely kept in check. "Did you just call Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan weak?" Sasuke paled, but stood his ground, if only by the barest margins.
"Y-Yes. I said that they are weak." He panted, attempting to steel himself against the oppressive atmosphere. It was almost like the time when he had faced Itachi...
Naruto shot forward, his fist burying itself into Sasuke's stomach. The Uchiha wheezed out a choked gasp as all of the air in his lungs was forcibly pushed out. He had no have time to react as Naruto reached forward with his other hand and grabbed his shirt, bodily tossing the shocked Uchiha into the center of the ring before leaping after the falling him.
Slamming into the ground with a groan, Sasuke looked up as a human-sized shadow descended. Rolling to the left, he dodged Naruto's stomp, the force behind the attack raising a cloud of dust which obscured the two fighters. The dirt burned and clogged Sasuke's eyes as he spun around, looking for the Uzumaki he had once looked down upon. A savage jab to his jaw sent him stumbling back, arms waving as he tried to keep his balance. Planting his foot, the last Uchiha swung, hoping to connect with something, anything.
Naruto hammered Sasuke's swing out of the way and once again buried his fist in Sasuke's stomach. The black-haired youth heaved. Grabbing the back of the Uchiha's descending head, Naruto brought it to meet his rising knee. Sasuke's head snapped back, his ears ringing and his eyes aching. He stumbled backwards, and out of the dust cloud. The agony behind his eyes bloomed. Unable to catch himself, Sasuke dropped to one knee.
"Go Naruto-kun!" Sakura's voice snapped Naruto out of his angry, focused instincts. Turning towards the voice, he spotted Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan. Both girls were cheering for him. It was...baffling, but...nice. Riding on the warmth that bubbled up at their words, he let a grin surface. Movement from Sasuke drew him back to the fight.
Sasuke staggered to his feet. Despite having been hit several times, there was energy pulsing inside him. Even though every part of him ached, it was a good ache. This time...the last Uchiha decided, he would not be thrown aside like a child. Never again. "I am an Uchiha." The burning in his eyes had decreased to a mild irritation. "I must win this." Oddly enough, the world seemed to be moving slower. "I will defeat you, and then Brother." He flexed his hands.
Naruto surged towards his opponent. As he got closer, he noticed that Sasuke's eyes had changed. The last Uchiha's iris had changed to a bright red color, and a single black tomoe rotated the pupils slowly. And when Naruto swung, Sasuke dodged.
Both of the fighters leapt back, assessing the each other, before charging once again. A quick exchange of fists and kicks occurred before they broke apart. Naruto's dark blue eyes met Sasuke's bright red ones. Then he blurred.
Sasuke was wholly unprepared as Naruto seemed to appear in front of him, the Uzumaki's right hand drawn back. A split second later, his palm slammed into the Uchiha's chest, catapulting Sasuke back over two dozen feet. Sasuke rolled to his feet, ready to defeat his foe. As he prepared to take a step forward, the stunned silence brought him up short.
His eyes were drawn to the line four feet in front of him. "I-I lost?" Sasuke stared at the line. Distantly he heard Naruto be declared the winner of the match by a shocked Iruka. Something dark took root in the Uchiha's heart. Hate began to grow and fester in Sasuke's soul towards the Uzumaki. "I'll take you down you...you...worthless, clan-less, brainless, talentless loser!" Sasuke vowed, his eyes flashing as he glared at the bright-eyed blonde who had the gall to turn his back to him.
An invisible weight lifted off Sakura's shoulders as Naruto walked towards her and Hinata. She understood now. "Well, Ino-pig, I made my choice. And I don't regret it for a second. My Naruto-kun didn't need to try to demoralize his opponent to win." Tossing a glance over at the shocked and distraught blonde Yamanaka, Sakura shook her head. "You can keep Sasuke."
Relief flooded Hinata as Naruto walked towards them. While she had never doubted that he would win, Sasuke awakening the Sharingan, the fabled Copy Wheel Eye, had caused a spike of worry to shoot through her. But the her favorite blond had easily won. The small vicious portion of her was glad that the Uchiha had lost so badly. Perhaps now he would leave Naruto alone...
The rest of the matches seemed dull in comparison to the first exciting match; much to the disappointment of the gathered students. It is worthy for note, however, that both Hinata and Sakura were able to easily force a submission from their opponents. The other potentially interesting matches of note were the separate matches of Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. Kiba had simply beat down his opponent in an all-out slugfest, while Shino had used his family's signature style to use his opponent's strength against them. The rest of the mostly unremarkable matches ended quickly. Soon, it was time to head back inside the classroom for the final test.
After the students filed back into the classroom, Iruka once again called for order. Having learned , the students reluctantly quieted. "Welcome to the third part of the exam. Mizuki and I will be splitting you all into two separate groups for ease of testing. Each student will be called by one by myself or Mizuki to one of the examination rooms to be tested alone. Mizuki would be starting at the bottom of the list while I would be starting at the top."
"Ashida, Isin."
"Hinata-chan." Sakura whispered, turning to the girl behind her, "I just realized something." They had both been assigned to Iruka's line, while Naruto had been assigned to Mizuki. Both Sakura and Hinata knew that Mizuki-Menba wouldn't grade Naruto fairly, but with the scores that Naruto had gotten during the second exam, the teacher couldn't just fail Naruto because he didn't like him...right?
Seeing that she had Hinata's attention, the pink haired girl continued, working hard to keep her voice quiet. "The three jutsus we are being tested on are the Body Replacement Jutsu, the Transformation Jutsu, and the Clone Jutsu." Hinata paled, her already light skin whitening as she realized what the issue was. Naruto was simply incapable of performing the Clone Jutsu. No matter how much or how little he poured into the technique, the clones looked sickly and weak at best. At the worst, his clones simply fell over and "died" right then and there. Sakura turned towards the line at the other end of the classroom, intent on warning Naruto. But it was too late.
"Uzumaki, Naruto." Mizuki silently congratulated himself on not letting his hate for the demon fox bleed into his voice when he called its human name. As the demon happily walked into the exam room, the teacher barely managed to hide the glee at the thought of its depressed face when it failed. Not, of course, that it would be having that expression for long. Or any expression for that matter...
Naruto grinned to himself as he canceled the transformation jutsu. He had always wondered why people always had issues with that technique. All you had to do was charge your chakra and concentrate on who you wanted to become...
His happy wonderings were abruptly shattered by Mizuki-Sensei's next words. "Now perform the Bunshin no Jutsu. " Naruto carefully performed each hands sign, double checking that his fingers were exactly in the right position before moving on to the next one. "Please work this time. Just this once." Squeezing his eyes shut as he channeled chakra to complete the technique, he held his breath.
After a minute, he carefully peeked his left eye open. What he saw filled him with despair. He was surrounded by ten corpses. Despite the fact that the clone jutsu only created illusionary copies, he had somehow created dead illusionary copies of himself. No two clones were alike. One had been stabbed, while another burned. Still another was still, almost peaceful in death. On and one it went, each clone a different monument to his failure. Naruto's head dropped, hanging in shame.
"How am I supposed to grow strong now?" His slow, sad walk halted as Mizuki's compassionate voice stopped his thoughts.
"I'm sorry Naruto. I know how much you wanted to pass. Graduating would have meant so much to you. But I think I can still help you." Mizuki's tone was nothing but pure sincerity. "There's a second secret test to become genin. I can tell you about that if you still want to graduate with your friends."
Hope can be a powerful drug, dulling common sense and caution.
Sakura and Hinata had finished their tests quickly. While they had not gotten a perfect score, they had easily passed the final exam to become genin. However, as more and more time passed they grew ever more worried as they watched the closed door Naruto had disappeared into to take his test. After what seemed like an eternity, the door opened.
Mizuki stepped out, his expression properly schooled in an expression of sadness. He walked to the teacher's desk and announced, being careful to keep the utter satisfaction out of his tone, "I regret to inform you all that Naruto Uzumaki had failed the Ninjutsu portion of the test. He utterly failed the test. He has gone home in shame."
The mocking laughter of the class warmed Mizuki's heart. Basking in the noise while also maintaining his mask of false sorrow, the man far too distracted to notice the veins surrounding Hinata's eyes bulge out as she activated her Byakugan, anger threatening to fracture her Hyuga mask. Nor did he notice Sakura shaking with barely suppressed rage.
Hinata trembled with the effort of suppressing her emotions. Several strong emotions warred within her. As anger was slowly winning, her eyes suddenly caught sight of a note within Mizuki's pocket. All anger left her. The note was simply addressed "To Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan" in Naruto's messy scrawl. Hinata elbowed Sakura and leaned close to whisper in her ear.
Hinata's whisper broke though Sakura's mental angry rants and fantasies of charging down and decking Mizuki for his words. "Sakura-chan. There's a note to us from Naruto-kun in Mizuki's pocket." Sakura stopped shaking. She glanced at Hinata. All it took was one glance for them to form the basis of a plan. The plan was simple: Follow Mizuki and take Naruto's letter. It was rightfully theirs, after all…
Mizuki chuckled to himself as he made his way to the forest. His plan was brilliant. He had directed the demon to steal the Scroll of Seals from the Hokage's office. He hadn't expected the little fox to actually succeed, but as the alarms wailed in the village, it was apparent to that the demon had succeed somehow. Perhaps some sort of demon magic? Mizuki allowed himself a malicious laugh as he mentally prepared for the second, and most enjoyable, part of his plan. It was time to find the demon fox and...relieve it of its burden…
"Whew." Naruto wiped the sweat of off his brow, "It's tough learning a new jutsu." He grinned. But it had paid off. He had done it. Tilting his head down again to study the bright red label on the outside of the Scroll of Seals, he couldn't help but wonder. "Why does it say that these are forbidden?" He had learned the Shadow Clone Jutsu, and it wasn't that hard to learn. There had been some kind of warning on the technique, but he was feeling fine. Now to wait for a teacher so he could graduate and be on a team with Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan.
Life was good.
Iruka sprinted towards the forest. He had to find Naruto before the ANBU found him. "Why did you steal the Scroll of Sealing Naruto? Why would you do that? What were you thinking?"
Iruka pushed more chakra into his legs and became a blur to the untrained eye. After a few moments of sprinting and jumping, he reached the edge of the forest. As he looked over the vast extent of the forest laid out before him, he felt his heart sink. How could he find Naruto in all of this mess?
Iruka heaved out a heavy sigh before straightening. "Well, it looks like I'll just have to search the entire thing then." Iruka nodded to himself. "I can't let one of my students down." The thought echoed in his mind as he pushed even more chakra into his legs to increase his speed as he sped off.
Naruto was startled from his studying of the next technique by Iruka's angered shout. "Naruto! There you are." Iruka skidded to a halt after he landed in the small clearing Naruto had taken refuge in. As Iruka opened his mouth to explain to Naruto how badly had had messed up, the excited Uzumaki bounded up to his sensei.
"I did it Iruka-Sensei. I passed the test." The blond boy grinned. "I learned the technique just like the secret secondary genin test required." Naruto scooped up the Scroll of Seals. "I suppose you'll want this back now, huh?" Now that he was a Genin, he would be getting on the same team as Hinata-chan and Sakura-chan for sure.
"Wha-what?" Iruka stammered, "What are you talking about? What test?"
Naruto tilted his head to the side. "You know Iruka-Sensei. The secret genin test that requires you to steal the big scroll from the Hokage's office and learn a technique before you are caught?"
Iruka was stunned. Why did Naruto think this was some kind of test? He then went cold as he heard Mizuki's voice. "Very good. Now just pass over the Scroll of Sealing so you can get your headband."
Like the final piece to a puzzle, it all fell into place for Iruka. Mizuki was one of the people that hated Naruto. And he must have failed Naruto on purpose to get him desperate enough to steal the scroll. Hearing Naruto take a step forward Iruka spun to face his student. "Naruto. Don't give the scroll to Mizuki. He just wants the scroll. There isn't a secret Genin test!"
Naruto stopped, confused. He just didn't understand. Why would Mizuki-Sensei give him a fake test?
"Why should he believe you Iruka? After all, you hate him too. I mean, he is what killed your parents after all." Mizuki then turned to look at the shocked blond. "Don't you want to know why everyone hates you?"
Iruka's eyes widened as Mizuki's words registered. "No. Don't tell him." He knew what that knowledge would do to young Naruto. "It's forbidden by the Hokage." Mizuki's mocking laughter was the only answer to Iruka's plea.
"Guess what?" Mizuki began, satisfaction practically oozing off each word, "The Kyuubi that attacked twelve years ago didn't die." As he spoke, he carefully reached behind his back and began pushing a slow trickle of chakra into the storage seal built into his jacket. "Instead, it was sealed. And you know what it was sealed into?" He paused, savoring the moment. "The shape of a baby. You are the Kyuubi. You're the murderous demon fox."
Naruto froze, his mind repeating Mizuki's words over and over. He really was a demon then? He had killed all those people didn't he?
Mizuki, seeing that his words had their intended effect, unsealed a massive shuriken from the storage seal. Hefting it, he sent it spinning towards the stunned Uzumaki. Iruka, spotting the danger, tackled his sunny-haired student out of the lethal projectile's path. The impact knocked Naruto out of his shocked stupor.
"I-I-I'm the K-K-Kyubi?" Naruto's small, endlessly sad voice echoed in the clearing. Iruka's heart wrenched as he watched the small boy stare down at his trembling hands. He didn't hear any of the malicious terrible power from Naruto. All he heard was a small boy who now thought he knew why he was hated. He watched as Naruto slowly stood up.
Naruto's heart was heavy, so heavy. He was a monster. A demon. He was a killer. As Mizuki readied another giant shuriken, he didn't move. It was better this way. Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan didn't deserve to be associated with a demon. Mizuki hurled the shuriken.
The sound of the shuriken piercing flesh sounded out in the clearing. Naruto's eyes flew open. Why didn't it hurt?
Iruka stood facing him with his arms outstretched. Naruto saw a pained grimace cross his teacher's face, before it smoothed, all traces of the pain vanishing. Iruka let a gentle smile enter his face as he looked down at his student. "Naruto," Iruka reached out and placed a hand on the blond's shoulder, "You aren't the Kyubi. You're a Jinchuriki. Not the Fox Demon. Just its jailor." He paused for a moment, letting the truth sink into Naruto's desperate ears. "Now go. Mizuki is a traitor to the village and can't get the Scroll of Sealing." Iruka, seeing Naruto's hesitation, urged him again, "Go. I'll be fine." Naruto sprinted off, pausing at the tree line before continuing out of sight.
"I'm surprised." Mizuki commented, "I thought that you hated the demon too."
"I do." Iruka replied, as he carefully pulled the massive shuriken out of his back, "But Naruto isn't the demon fox." Iruka let a proud smile cross his face as he continued, "Naruto is a hero. And I look forward to seeing him grow into the powerful ninja that I know he can be."
Mizuki scowled. This wasn't going to plan. "Well then, " He snarled, anger and hate twisting his features into something familiar yet unrecognizable, "I guess I'll just have to kill you and track down the fox myself." He launched himself at the hurt Academy teacher. "If you like the Kyuubi so much, you can die for it."
Iruka barely dodged Mizuki's charge. Pain spiked through his back from the wound caused by the giant shuriken. Staggering, the teacher fell to one knee. His head snapped to the side from Mizuki's follow-up kick. The knee almost lifted Iruka back onto his feet. A thrust kick slammed him against a tree ten feet away.
Iruka wasn't able to hold in his cry of pain as his lacerated back slammed into the unforgiving tree trunk. His vision blurred as he looked up at the man he thought was his friend. Mizuki readied another giant shuriken. Iruka closed his eyes. "I'm sorry Tsubaki-chan. Mizuki isn't the man either of us thought he was. I wish I could go back and try harder to win your hand. May you find peace, Tsubaki-chan."
The sound of metal clanging on metal brought him out of his thoughts. There was no pain. Iruka's eyes shot open to behold the most amazing sight. Naruto stood in front of him. His student's arm was outstretched, clutching a kunai, having just deflected the shuriken away from his Sensei. Dark blue eyes glared at Mizuki.
"You know, " Naruto's voice was a dark, deadly calm, "I should thank you, Mizuki." He paused before continuing, "Without you, I would be still wondering why they all hated me. I know now, thanks to you But..." His eyes and tone hardened. "You tried to kill one of my friends. You tried to kill someone precious to me." The crushing presence of Naruto's killing intent crashed down on Mizuki. "And I won't allowthat."
Flaring his own chakra as much as he could, Mizuki managed to force out a chuckle. "And what are you going to do exactly? I'm a Chunin. And you're nothing but a failure." Naruto's noise of amusement turned his veins to ice.
"You're right. But that's just one me. What if there was two. Five? Ten? One-hundred?" The Jinuchuriki brought his hands up into a cross symbol. "Taju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." The name of the technique rang out like a death knell.
For solitary moment, nothing changed. Then...everything changed.
White smoke enveloped the trees and ground. When the smoke faded a moment later, it was awe-inspiring. Clones of Naruto covered every inch of the surrounding area, and they all wore the same deadly calm expression. The Uzumaki simply pointed at Mizuki. The army charged.
Mizuki blocked the first attack out of pure reflex, despite knowing that the clone technique was nothing more than an illusion. Shock flooded his mind when he felt the impact of the clone's fist on his arm. These weren't illusions. They were solid clones. Mizuki steeled himself. Even if there was more of the demon, it didn't change the fact that the demon was not even a genin.
The traitor counterattacked, his fist slamming into the clone's stomach. After receiving the hit, it burst into smoke. Confidence built within. It took was one blow to take the clone out. He could do this. He would survive and kill the demon.
Taking another two shadow clones out with three kunai, Mizuki wove through a dozen handsigns and then spat out a half dozen water bullets. The wouldn't do much damage, but they didn't need to. Spinning on his heel, he took out the clone sneaking behind him with a slash from his kunai.
Iruka watched the battle with undisguised amazement. Had known that Naruto was good, but he didn't think Naruto was capable of this. He wondered how much the chakra Naruto had, considering high-ranking Jonin had trouble making more than ten shadow clones. His attention was drawn to, what he assumed was, the original Naruto. The Uzumaki was simply watching Mizuki as he fought his clones. Whenever the number of shadow clones ran low, there would be a puff of smoke, and more would charge towards their target.
Mizuki was reaping a mighty toll on the clones, but with each new wave, it became less and less of a one-sided battle. With each new wave, the clones learned.
Mizuki swung a fist at another of the blasted shadow clones, fully expecting it to die like the others. The clone ducked, the traitor's fist grazing its spiky hair. A palm slammed into the former teacher's chest, hurling him back. The follow up punch shattered the log that replaced the teacher.
Mizuki gasped for air as he crouched in the shadows. That had been a close call. Had it not been for his split-second decision to swap places with a log, he would have caught the second attack and been severely injured, if not killed outright. A sudden throw hurled him back into the original clearing.
As Mizuki tumbled to his feet, he spun around, looking around for his attacker. The demon emerged from the forest, a dark smirk on fixed on its face. "Why so surprised, sen-..." A terrible smile exposed sharpened teeth, "...-sei?" Naruto questioned, his dark amusement fading after a moment. Killing intent almost crushed Mizuki into the ground. The Jinchuriki's blue eyes darkened, hints of glowing red burning like embers.
"You're not going to hurt anyone ever again." Naruto's voice grew deeper; more monstrous. "If I must become a demon…"His hands flexed and he stalked towards Mizuki. "...If I must become a monster."Blond locks partially hid glowing eyes. "...If I must become a killer, I gladly accept that price to protect all of my precious people." Naruto blurred.
Mizuki snapped a kick towards the charging Jinchuuriki. Naruto slid to the side of the kick, and his right palm smashed into the leg's knee, snapping it with a crack. The Uzumaki's left fist slammed into Mizuki's ribs, cracking them with a meaty thud. Mizuki fell to his good knee, coughing blood. The traitor's eyes watered and blurred.
Naruto stepped behind Mizuki, his blood thundering in his ears. Even though the adrenaline was making clear thoughts difficult, he knew that Mizuki wouldn't stop until he hurt Iruka-Sensei. And what if he decided to hurt Sakura-chan or Hinata-chan? Never.Naruto vowed, Not while I still breathe. Naruto gripped Mizuki's head, fingers digging into the man's skull. And with a savage jerk, twisted.
The wet snap of Mizuki's neck snapping echoed through the forest. The thud of the lifeless body hitting the ground seemed to go on forever.
Iruka stared. Had that just happened? Had Naruto, innocent, naive Naruto just killed? The teacher blinked several times. The scene in front of him never changed. So it was true then. One of his best students had just taken their first kill. Shaking his shock away, Iruka called out to his student. "N-Naruto?" He cursed the the hesitance in his voice. "Are you alright?"
Naruto snapped his head to look over in Iruka's direction with a fluid grace reminiscent of a predator. Iruka swallowed at the sight. The Chunin had seen such expressions before. He had seen them on elite Jonin who enjoyed killing too much. The teacher prayed with all his heart that Naruto hadn't succumbed to that darker part of himself.
Swallowing the lump in his throat, he lowered his voice and smiled at the boy, hiding his real emotions behind a mask. "Naruto, it's all right. Mizuki isn't going to hurt anyone anymore. You don't have to fight anymore." Seeing Naruto's normal sky-blue eye color start to bleed back into the young Uzumaki's eyes, Iruka carefully levered himself to his knees with an inaudible grunt. "It's all right. I'm fine. I'm not going to die. You're fine. You don't need to fight." Naruto blinked, sky blue fully returning.
Now that the excitement had passed, Iruka wondered how he could help his student. Naruto had failed the Genin test. How could he be with his friends now? Suddenly, with a flash of insight, Iruka knew what to do.
"Naruto come over here." Iruka requested. Naruto quickly ran over to Iruka, his eyes checking over Iruka to make sure that he was fine. Iruka's voice sharpened, his back straightening as the ingrained years of being a soldier took over."As the de facto-leader of this mission to stop a traitor of the village of Konoha, I bestow upon Naruto Uzumaki the title of Genin as a battlefield promotion."
"R-Really?" Naruto tilted his head, confused. He had failed the test, hadn't he? The knowledge of what he had done edged at his mind, but the Uzumaki stubbornly ignored it. Iruka-Sensei was what was important.
"Yes." Iruka made no effort to hide the proud smile on his face. "I always knew you would become Genin. I'm proud of you. I look forward to seeing what you do in the future."
Someone was proud of him? The thought seemed almost foreign. Why was Iruka proud of him?
Any further explanation was cut short by the Hokage's words as he arrived in a swirl of leaves. "Indeed. I am quite proud of you Naruto." Hiruzen paused, letting his words sink in before continuing, "But am curious of how one of my ninja ended up dead." His words, although holding a hidden question, did not allow for any refusals.
"Well," Iruka began carefully, deciding to not include Naruto's dark words or his dark demeanor, "It all started when I reached the clearing in the forest..."
"...And then you, Hokage-Sama, showed up." Iruka winced as he shifted, reopening the wound on his back. Glanced over at Naruto, he assessed his student. The young Uzumaki seemed to be dealing with his first kill, but the instructor knew that it could easily be just a mask, hiding the true feelings frothing inside. His attention was drawn back to the Hokage as he spoke.
"Now I understand. It is tragic that a fine ninja such as Mizuki has lost his way." Hiruzen sighed, looking for a moment as old as his age, then the Hokage straightened and continued. "But he failed in his mission to harm our village. And for that, young Naruto you have my thanks." He inclined his head slightly in the young Genin's direction.
Naruto nodded, his mask firmly in place. "Thank-you Hokage-Dono." Hiruzen seemed to be somehow disappointed by Naruto's professional answer.
"Genin Uzumaki, I have new orders for you." The Hokage ordered, "You are to ensure Iruka-San makes it to the hospital to be checked out. You will then report tomorrow to the Shinobi Academy classroom for team assignment."
Naruto bowed, acknowledging his orders. It helped that he was going to do those things anyway. He leaned down to help Iruka stand, and then the two slowly made their way towards Konoha. As the Hokage watched them go, he sighed, the sound heavy. One of the ANBU stepped out from behind the shadows of the nearby tree. "What is wrong, Hokage-Sama?"
Hiruzen shook his head before replying, his tone saddened, "It's nothing important. Just the idle wishes of an old man." The Hokage then turned away from the view. "But now we must get back to the tower. Have Kakashi Hatake and Kurenai Yuhi come to my office. There has been some changes in team placement."
It was with some confusion that Kurenai Yuhi entered the Hokage's tower. As she walked up the stairs towards the Hokage's floor, she wondered what had happened to prompt a change in team placement. She had been given Kiba Inuzuka, the heir to the Inuzuka clan, Hinata Hyuga, daughter of the Hyuga clan's leader, and Shino Aburame, the future successor to the Aburame clan. As she entered the Hokage's office, she spied Kakashi Hatake in the room, reading his thrice-damned orange smut book. After the door closed, the Hokage began to speak, gaining both Jonins' attention.
"Ah, Kurenai, I'm glad you arrived. We have much to discuss." He paused for a moment before continuing. "This evening a traitor conspired to steal the Scroll of Sealing. He would have succeeded if it were not for the brave actions of one genin: Naruto Uzumaki." The pair of Jonin stiffened in shock. They both knew about the Uzumaki, and more specifically the rumors surrounding him. "Unfortunately the young Uzumaki had to take the life of the traitor in self defense. With the updated knowledge of Naruto's fighting skills, I am changing your two teams around."
He faced Kakashi, the grey haired man putting his book away as the Hokage turned to him. "Kakashi, I am removing Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno from Team Seven. You will be gaining Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame in their place." Kakashi opened his mouth to protest, but the Hiruzen had already turned to Kurenai. "Kurenai, you will be losing Kiba Inuzuka and Shino Aburame. You will be gaining Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno in their place."
The Hokage faced both of the flabbergasted ninja and steepled his fingers. "With Iruka's reevaluation of Geinin Uzumaki's skills, it has become apparent to me that his skills are much higher than originally reported. And because of this, I have the opportunity to make two multi-purpose squads. Team Seven can both be a front-line squad and a tracking squad. Team Eight can also now serve both roles. In addition, with all of Team Seven being clan heirs, they will also be a political team. I have decided to test out a new idea. Team Seven and Team Eight will be training together at least once a week. In addition, they will be each other's back-up team." He then gestured to the Jonin in front of him. "Thoughts? You may speak freely."
It only took a few seconds for Kakashi to burst out, "Why my team? You know why I wanted Naruto."
"It's simple." the Hokage began, "You have the Sharingan. You are the only one able to teach Sasuke Uchiha. In addition, you are, from a political standpoint, well known."
"But I thought that a growing rivalry between Sasuke and Naruto would benefit them both." Kakashi argued. "As well as…" He hesitated, "That other reason."
"They can still have their rivalry. Your teams are going to be training together after all." Sarutobi pointed out. Kakashi leaned back, mollified for the moment.
The Hokage turned to Kurenai. "With Naruto's combat prowess, Hinata's Byakungan, and Sakura's intelligence, they will be a great asset to the village, able to perform in many different roles. " Kurenai nodded, understanding the logic behind the Hokage's decision. But she didn't understand why they needed to interact with Team Seven so often. Her eyes widened as a thought occurred to her.
Kurenai spoke a moment later, her voice a mix of confusion and slight accusation, "Why are you really having our teams work together?"
The Hokage sighed, before smiling slightly. "Ah Kurenai, you were always one to pick up on the subtle details." His tone then hardened, "What I'm about to tell you is an S-Class secret, breaking it is punishable by death. " He let his words linger in the air before continuing. "Naruto Uzumaki is the jinchuriki of the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox. And while he has shown no signs of giving into the demon's influence, we cannot afford for it to rampage across our village again. The Sharingan has been known to be able to control the Biju to a certain extent, so that is one of the reasons why your teams are training together."
"The second reason is both much simpler and more...harsh. Out of everyone on your new team, none of them will gain any high-rank in their clan or they aren't part of a major clan at all. Hinata Hyuga is far too timid to ever be made clan head or even co-clan head. Sakura Haruno has no real clan to speak of, the few members have no political clout. Naruto Uzumaki is the village's Jinchuriki." The Hokage did not elaborate. He did not need to. A Jinchuriki was a weapon. It was the trump card that kept the wolves at bay. Still, given what else was true, it was necessary to explain farther, least Kurenai dig deeper in the mystery that was the Last Uzumaki.
"Sadly, some in the village dislike him, and as such, any political efforts he would make would be stymied. But…" Hiruzen smiled, the expression half fabrication and half genuine, "Their skills are a great asset to the village, so they will be able to help Team Seven achieve greatness and prestige for the village. Team Eight will live comfortably and perhaps even rise to the ranks of elite Jonin."
Kurenai went cold at the Hokage's words. Her eyes narrowed slightly as she realized the truth about her Genin team; as far as the village was concerned, they existed to help other ninjas become great. The Hokage had prettied it up, but in the end, he never expected them to become great, just like the village.
Unfortunately for them, Kurenai took the role of teacher very seriously. In that instant she vowed that she would help her team become great, even if she was the only one who would help them achieve it.
Kurenai cast a subtle glance at her fellow Jonin. Hatake seemed to be accepting of the fact that three Genin were going to be nothing more than a springboard for his team's greatness. She turned back the Hokage, her eyes searching his for any regrets for the decision he just made. She couldn't find even one.
The Hokage waited a few more minutes to see if there would be any more questions. When there was none, he dismissed the two Jonin.
As the door closed behind the Jonin, Hiruzen let out a deep sigh, his heart heavy. He hated the fact that he was putting Naruto into a squad that wouldn't succeed like the young Uzumaki deserved, but it was for the best. The Hokage knew that any ninja couldn't be more important than the village, but Hiruzen knew that when he died, he would have much to answer for what he had done to the young blond from Naruto's parents.
He honestly dreaded the day that he died, for he knew the answers that he could give about his decisions concerning Naruto wouldn't matter to them. For they were family first, village second. Hiruzen heaved another sigh. He doubted that Naruto would ever forgive him if he ever learned of all the secrets that were purposely kept from him. In the end, you had to choose: Family and friends or the village. The Hokage reached for another piece of paperwork to sign.
Sakura hurried through her morning routine, needing to go meet Naruto as soon as possible. His note, the one that they had acquired from the alley Mizuki had thrown it into, had told them about a secret secondary Genin test. The pinkette had, after not being about to find Naruto, searched the library for books about secondary tests for Genin. The fact that she didn't find even one reference made her worry all the more. She quickly ate her breakfast, grabbed the breakfast and lunch prepared by her mother - and an additional sandwich for Naruto - and sprinted off in the direction of Naruto's apartment.
Hinata breezed her early morning rituals. She had hardly gotten any sleep last night after she and Sakura had parted ways. Naruto's note had concerned her greatly, so great in fact, that she had dared to approach her father in order to ask him if he knew any information about the secret Genin test. His words had been condescending at best, and cold and hurtful at the worst. She grabbed a quick breakfast from one of the servants before heading to Naruto's home.
Naruto awoke with a cry of terror. Panting, he struggled to keep the memories at bay. After he had dropped off Iruka-Sensei at the hospital, he had slowly walked back to his apartment. When he had reached it, he had practically collapsed onto his bed, the day's events finally setting in.
He had come to the slow realization that while he didn't like killing, he didn't regret killing Mizuki. Mizuki had tried to kill Iruka, and somehow he knew that Mizuki would threaten some of his other precious people someday. That was unacceptable. And though he tried to ignore it, the Jinchuriki couldn't shake the small voice that whispered how easy it had been to destroy his enemy.
When he had finally fallen into a restless sleep, he was plagued with nightmares of all the awful times he had been hurt by vengeful crowds. Now that he knew why he was hated, all of the villager's taunts made so much more terrible sense.
Naruto closed his eyes, slowly pushing the memories back into the dark place in his mind, before slamming the vault shut on the memories. It seemed like just as he was opening his eyes once again, that several loud pounding knocks on his front door echoed through his small apartment. Tilting his head to the side, the Uzumaki listened. His eyes widened happily as he recognized the voices outside. It was Sakura-chan and Hinata-chan.
Sakura raised her hand to 'knock' on Naruto's door again when it opened. Naruto stood there safe. Instant relief coursed through her as she took in her best friend's unharmed form. Beside her, Hinata did the same. A few moments later, her brain stuttered to a stop for a moment as she registered a very important detail: Naruto wasn't wearing a shirt. Naruto's happy grin combined with his shirtless chest brought a heavy flush to her face, as she turned away.
"Naruto-Baka. We were worried about you." The pinkette forcefully stepped closer, being careful to not let Naruto see her face, "Where were you yesterday?" It wouldn't do for Naruto to read something into her flushed face that she didn't know about. They were only best friends after all.
Hinata was struck dumb. Naruto was fine. And perhaps more importantly, he was shirtless. As she raked his half-clothed form with her eyes, her face grew more and more heated. Soon she feared she might faint from all of the blood rushing to her face. But even still, she couldn't look away.
Naruto was puzzled. Why were Sakura-chan's and Hinata-chan's faces red? Had they run all the way to his apartment? If so, they needed a drink. Hydration was important. "Sakura-chan. Hinata-chan. Come in. I'll get you guys a drink of water. " He opened the front door wider before heading to his kitchen.
When he came out with two glasses of cold water, he was surprised to see Sakura-chan's and Hinata-chan's faces were still red. They really needed to be careful on how hard they pushed themselves. As he set the glasses of water down in front of them, he felt a cool breeze waft from the open nearby window. The sensation of goosebumps pebbling his chest prompted him to look down. He wasn't wearing a shirt. "I'll be right back." Naruto called as he headed towards his bedroom, inadvertently giving both girls a whole new view to...admire. Sakura promptly chugged the ice-cold water.
When Naruto came back out of his room a few moments later, he was wearing a shirt; much to the girls' simultaneous relief and disappointment. As he sat down, Sakura blurtered out with the question she had been nearly bursting to ask. "Where were you yesterday? Does the secret Genin test really exist?" It was more of a demand than a question.
"Well..." Naruto began the story, leaving nothing out. There were no secrets between friends after all. "It all started when I entered the exam room at the Academy..."
Sakura stared at Naruto; anger, pity, and sadness warring within her. Anger at Mizuki for what he did to her Naruto-kun. Pity for Naruto having to go through such an ordeal, and sadness at the fact that Naruto had to take a life. But the anger was quickly winning as she continued to consider all that had happened to her friend. How dare Mizuki, or anyone for that matter, try to hurt Naruto. How dare they!
If he wasn't already dead, she would have beat him down herself. Naruto's status at a Jinchuriki was a shock at first, but looking back, it was the final piece she needed to figure out why everyone seemed to hate him. She scowled. As if anyone could believe that Naruto was some kind of demon in human form. He was Naruto-kun.
Hinata was frozen. Several emotions frothed within her. Chiefly among them was sadness and anger. Sadness at all of the horrible things Naruto-kun had to go though, and anger at those who had did them to her Naruto-kun. Slowly, her sadness gave way to determination. No-one would harm Naruto like that ever again. Ever. She didn't care that Naruto was the Demon Fox's Jinchuriki. He was Naruto-kun.
Naruto sighed happily, finally allowing himself to relax. They didn't hate him because of his status as a Jinchuriki, and for that he was unfathomably grateful. He still wasn't sure why they didn't hate him, but he was in awe that they had not. Idly glanced up at his clock, he noted the time before freezing. Snapping his head at the clock again, he realized what time it was. "Oh crap!" The Genin leapt up from his chair, startling the girls from their ruminations. "We have to go now! Otherwise, we're going be late for team placements!" The new Genins quickly sprinted towards the Academy, dodging the human traffic as they rushed to their destination.
Iruka limped into the classroom. He felt guilty that he hadn't been there to help Naruto though his first kill, but he had been assured by the receptionist at the front desk that someone had talked to his student. It eased the guilty somewhat. He felt his face break into a proud grin as he realized that all of his students had graduated. Wincing, he made the mental note that smiling still hurt. Noting that the last of the students had arrived he started roll call. Once it had finished, the teacher started calling out team placements.
"...And for Team Seven, Sasuke Uchiha, Kiba Inuzuka, and Shino Aburame. Your Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake. For Team Eight, Hinata Hyuga, Sakura Haruno, and Naruto Uzumaki. Your Sensei will be Kurenai Yuhi. For Team Nine..." Iruka's voice was quickly tuned out as Naruto, Sakura, and Hinata quietly celebrated. Naruto grinned happily as he realized that he had completed another stage of his goal.
Ino Yamanaka turned in her seat to taunt Sakura about her team placement - or more accurately not being placed on Sasuke-kun's team - when she froze, flushing ever so slightly. Naruto's smile seemed to light up the room. And if she was being honest with herself, the rest of him wasn't that bad to look at either. Granted, he wasn't Sasuke-kun, but he wasn't terrible to look at. Turning back around, she missed Sakura's and Hinata's eyes narrow at her blush. Ironically, neither of the girls sitting next to Naruto realized that the other was glaring just as hard at Ino as they themselves were…
Soon, the team announcements were over, and the Jonin started to file in to pick up their teams. After a few teams had left, a pretty black-haired woman with red irises walked in. She scanned the room for a moment before calling out, "Team Eight. Meet me in Training Ground Five in fifteen minutes." She then turned and left the room, presumably heading to the training ground herself.
Doing a quick mental calculation, Naruto tilted his head as he roughly guessed how long it would take to make it to the training ground. He knew he could easily make it in ten minutes, but he was unsure if Sakura or Hinata could move that fast. Perking up as he realized how they could all make it on time. "Okay. Sakura-chan, hop on my back. Hinata-chan, I'll pick you up and carry you. I can make it to Training Ground Five in about ten minutes this way."
Sakura opened her mouth to protest when a sudden thought stopped her short. What if Hinata-chan took Naruto up on his offer? Then she would be left in the dust and Hinata-chan would be all alone with Naruto-kun...
Hinata's vision swam at the thought of being carried in Naruto-kun's arms. Clenching her fists, she pushed herself to not pass out. For if she did, Sakura-chan would be all alone with Naruto-kun...
"I'll do it." Sakura and Hinata said at once, blinking at the other in shock before glaring at each other for the briefest of seconds. Naruto, who had missed the exchange of glares, grinned happily. He loved it when one of his plans helped Sakura-chan or Hinata-chan, or even better when it helped both.
Kurenai waited at the edge of Training Ground Five. It had only been eight minutes since she had left the Academy building. She was eager to see how fast her students were. Suddenly, she was aware of someone heading in her direction at relatively high speeds. A moment later, all of her students burst into the Training Ground. Or rather, Naruto burst onto the training ground and Sakura and Hinata were along for the ride. Shrugging to herself, the Jonin pushed herself off the tree she had been leaning against and moved towards her team. Well, at least she knew Naruto was fast and stronger than average now...
"Welcome." Kurenai's warm smile and open demeanor put her students at ease, "My name is Kurenai Yuhi and I will be your Jonin sensei." Hiding her amusement as she watched her Genin disengage from each other, she waited until they had settled before sitting on the ground, motioning for them to follow suit. "Why don't we all share a bit about ourselves?"
"Could you go first Kurenai-Sensei? So we know how it's done." Sakura asked, unsure of what information Kurenai wanted. Perhaps it was skill level? Or maybe grades? Or it could be...
"I will gladly do that." Kurenai brushed an errant lock of hair back, happy that her students weren't too afraid to ask her questions. "My name is Kurenai Yuhi. My likes dumplings, genjutsu, and helping others. My dislikes are those who hurt others for fun, perverts, and those who hurt innocent people. My dream is for my team to succeed in becoming great ninjas, and I also want to start a family someday."
She indicated Sakura should go next. Sakura took a deep breath before starting. "My name is Sakura Haruno. My likes are my family, Naruto-kun, Hinata-chan, and books. "My dislikes are stupid people who hate others, people who hurt my friends, and dumb people who can't see what's in front of them." Her hands clenched as she remembered what Naruto had told her a few hours before. Glancing down, she considered what she wanted for the future. "My dream is to become a powerful kunoichi and someday start a family." Unable to help herself, she threw a confused glance at Naruto as she finished her introduction. She was saved from the strange feelings his presence invoked when Kurenai indicated that Hinata was next.
"My Name is Hinata Hyuga," Hinata began, her hands settled in her lap, "My likes are my clan, Naruto-kun, my Byakugan, and Sakura-chan." Her eyes narrowed. "My dislikes are those who hurt or belittle those I care about." Her fingers drifted together, poking one another continued, "My dream is to be a successful kunoichi and one day start a family." She too sent a glance over at the oblivious Naruto.
Kurenai covered her amused smile at the girls' glances and turned to Naruto expectantly. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto grinned, "My likes are Sakura-chan, Hinata-chan, ramen, and training." His hands flexed. "My dislikes are people who try to hurt my friends." Naruto's eyes lightened, the momentary darkness passing like a cloud on a sunny day, "My dream is to become the most powerful ninja ever to protect my friends."
Kurenai blinked. She had been expecting Naruto's dream to be a bit more...beneficial to himself. She gave a mental shrug. It didn't matter. Perhaps his dream would change in time. "Now that we have all introduced ourselves, " She began, drawing the attention of her team, "There is only one more thing we have to take care of. Normally a Jonin tests his prospective team to see if they are able to work together, but I can already see that you three already have good teamwork."
Spreading her arms wide, she beamed at her team. "So let me formally congratulate you on joining Team Eight."
Remastered 8/15/17
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On Sasuke: Sasuke is a mass of self hatred, PTSD, and loneliness. He had been taught all his life that he was the best, not because of anything he did, but because he was an Uchiha. Then...one night, it all fell apart. Without anyone to care for him, Sasuke resolved to do whatever it took to defeat his brother, the strongest Uchiha.But then he met Naruto, a clanless orphan. And Naruto beat him, an Uchiha.