-Konoha Shinobi Academy, classroom of the final-year advanced class-

"Uchiha Sasuke!" With a confident smirk, the younger son of Lady Mikoto Uchiha strode down from his seat towards the instructor who had called his name.

The 4 classes of final year students were taking their graduation exams. In the advanced class the written exam, projectiles exam, and taijutsu exam were all completed. The ninjutsu exam was in progress, with only a few students left to go.

Next will be Daisuke, thought Naruto as he glanced at the red-headed boy on his left. Like Tenten, Daisuke had been an orphan that had been adopted by an Uzumaki and who had successfully undergone the clan's adoption ritual. Though where as Tenten was a year older than Karin and Naruto, Daisuke was the same age.

Then Karin. The only Uzumaki in the room to have actually been a full-blooded Uzumaki at birth, and for all intents and purposes Naruto's sister. After his parents death Naruto had not been formally adopted by any clan member, but had been raised by Regent Yoshide and his wife. Making Karin and her two younger brothers essentially Naruto's siblings.

Then me, and then last but not least will be Ino-chan.

The door opened, and Sasuke strolled back into the room, a Konoha headband around his head.

Mizuki, the class' assistant instructor appeared at the door, clipboard in hand, and bellowed out "Uzumaki Daisuke."

As Daisuke stood, Naruto extended a fist, prompting the boy to bump his own fist with Naruto's.

"You've got this, Daisuke." "I'll do my best, my lord."

As Karin approached and offered her own motivation to her clansmen, a voice from the row below them spoke up.

"You better pass, Daisuke, wouldn't want to disappoint lord Uzumaki-sama."

"Really Ino? What a drag. I thought taunting the Uzumaki for stuff like that stopped being funny when we were 10."

"* munch munch* I don't think she's trying to get a rise out of Daisuke Shika, she knows the whole 'Oh the Uzumaki never actually refer to Naruto casually' thing stopped being funny a few years ago. *munch* I think she's working the 'Naruto doesn't like being addressed formally and freaks out when anyone other than his own clan does it because he's surrendered to the fact that the Uzumaki will refer to him as such whether he likes it or not and that's funny' angle."

In the row below where the three Uzumaki had chosen to sit sat another notable trio.

Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino, heir of the Akimichi clan, heir of the Nara clan, and heiress of the Yamanaka clan respectively, and the next generation of the famed 'Ino-Shika-Cho' trio.

Raise as siblings in all but blood, they regularly bickered with each other, Ino and Shikamaru especially, but it was obvious to all that it those arguments came from a deep bond of love that the three had, just as it had been with their fathers.

Outside of his fellow Uzumaki, the Ino-Shika-Cho were Naruto's closest friends. One of Naruto's first excursions outside of the Uzumaki Clan Compound had been to attend Shikamaru's birthday party. It was common practice for clan heads, heirs, and their immediate family to be invited to the birthday parties of young clan heirs. It was there that Naruto had met the trio.

"Ino was definitely going after me." Naruto said, acknowledging Choji's earlier statement.

"You wish I'd give you the time of day, Naruto." Ino scoffed in mock protest.

Their gazes met, and for the briefest of moments a dusting of red lit up the faces of both Naruto and Ino, with Naruto's blush almost matching the trademark shade of Uzumaki red that his hair was.

Yes, Naruto and Ino liked each other, and every adult who had seen the two interact had instantly known it. They'd been like this since they first met, but sadly it wasn't to be. One's destiny was to lead the Uzumaki and the other was destined to lead the Yamanaka, a union between them would have been impossible. Yoshide had expressed as such to Naruto as soon as the 12 year old started to actually show signs of hitting puberty.

Again the door opened, revealing that Daisuke now sported a Konoha headband around his red locks.

"Uzumaki Karin" called Mizuki.

Karin left to the well-wishes of her friends, and Daisuke returned to the hearty congratulations of his.

After thanking the Ino-Shika-Cho, Naruto, and taking his seat, Daisuke was congratulated by the final member of Naruto's immediate group of friends. Turning his head around to view the solitary figure sitting in the row above them, Shino Aburame.

Shino was a bit odd. Usually quiet to the point that it was easy to forget that he was even present, but he had been a loyal friend to the Uzumaki and the Ino-Shika-Cho for several years at this point, having made friends with them after his father encouraged him to be more social.

So on this, the most stressful day of Naruto's life so far, he was surrounded by friends. Only Tenten was missing.

"Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto was pulled from his thoughts to see that Karin was almost halfway back to her seat, and sporting a Konoha headband, so far everyone in their group had passed.

He stood, accepted the positive vibes from his friends, congratulated Karin, and walked through the door.

On the other side he was faced with a panel of three. The Headmaster of the Shinobi Academy sat on the left, Iruka Umino, the class' primary instructor, sat in the center. On the right, the aforementioned Mizuki.

Naruto easily performed the substitution jutsu, as well as the henge jutsu, where he changed into the shape of his 'Uncle' Yoshide.

When prompted for a clone technique, Naruto called on his Uzumaki heritage to make a water clone, prompting the headmaster to mutter that it was the same technique that Karin and Daisuke used.

"Well they might be more well known for Fuinjutsu and Kenjutsu, but let's not forget that the Uzumaki are well known for their water element as well, much like the Sarutobi and Uchiha are for Fire style." Iruka responded, before turning to the red-headed Uzumaki clan heir.

"Congratulations Naruto, you've passed." He said, handing Naruto his headband."

After accepting the congratulations of the three judges, Naruto waited for Mizuki to open the door before walking through it as the instructor called out, "and last but not least is Yamanaka Ino."

Naruto and Ino met in the middle of the stairs, and even though the entire classroom's eyes were on them, it was like no one else was there. "Congratulations, Naruto." "Thanks, Ino. I know you'll do great too." "I'd say we should celebrate by going on a date tonight, but the other day daddy explained to me why that wasn't possible."

"Wait...you like me, Ino?" "...Yeah." "I like you too...but you're right. Uncle Yoshide already walked me through why we can't be together."

"We're friends though, right?" Ino looked at Naruto with a set of puppy-dog eyes that no male figure in Ino's life, be it her father, her quasi-brothers, or Naruto, had ever been able to say no to.

"Of course we are," he smiled, hugging her as he spoke. "We're great friends Ino. Now go on, show Iruka sensei what a kick-ass kunoichi you are."

-1 Week Later-

Back in the same classroom, Naruto was surrounded by familiar faces, flanked by Daisuke and Karin, with the Ino-Shika-Cho trio in front of him and Shino behind. The septet chatted amicably as they waited for Iruka to enter the room and announce the newly formed genin teams. The fact that this was likely the last they they would be gathered together like this was not lost on them, or at least some of them. An era was ending, they were going to be Shinobi of Konoha, adults in the eyes of the Leaf. Able to drink, marry, and yes, kill.

As Choza had predicted several weeks prior, every member of the top class had graduated and received a headband, so the room was just as crowded and lively as normal when Iruka entered, giving the class a fond farewell and some sage words, before jumping into the team assignments.

If Naruto were to be honest with himself, he could barely contain his excitement. However, Yoshide had given him a talk of sorts the day after he passed the graduation exam. Naruto was going to be a genin now. No longer a child, combine that with his role as the future head and greatest hope of his clan, and there were going to be lots of eyes on him.

So Naruto did his best to stay calm as he waited to hear his name, though more observant members of the class may have noticed that he was unable to stop twiddling his thumbs.

"Team 7, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto's first reaction was to frown, he was not particularly close with either member of his squad, and would have preferred to be with friends. Still, trying to keep his composure and act as a clan heir, Naruto offered a small smile and a nod of his head to both of his new teammates.

"Team 8, Aburame Shino, Inuzuka Kiba, Uzumaki Karin."

Naruto grinned, at least some of his friends would be on the same team.

Karin offered a smile and a fist bump to Shino, who surprisingly raised his fist to meet hers, before both of them mimicked Naruto's actions: a smile and a nod of acknowledgment to Kiba.

"Team 9 is still in use, consisting of Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Uzumaki Tenten under the leadership of Might Gai. They are one year older than you. Team 10 will be Akimichi Choji, Nara Shikamaru, and Yamanaka Ino."

The trio showed no reaction. This was expected. Their fathers had been teammates, their grandparents had been teammates, all the way back to the founding of the village. Even before the three clans had joined the nascent leaf village, they had specialized in working together with each other.

Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji would actually be the 16th consecutive heads of the three clans to actively form a team together. A legendary tradition in the shinobi world. Perhaps the trio would have reacted if they weren't paired together, but breaking up the formation would likely have caused a major political crisis in the village. This team was all but pre-ordained.

"Our last team is team 11. Hyuuga Hinata, Sai, Uzumaki Daisuke."

A sympathetic look was exchanged between Naruto and his clansman, it seemed neither of them would have friends on their team. When Daisuke went to offer a smile and nod to his new teammates himself, Naruto took a moment to reflect on the placements.

Interesting, based on these teams I'd say there is almost a formula to how they assemble them Naruto thought. Top graduate: Shino, last graduate: Kiba. Ino is the top kunoichi but she's a special case because of her clan tradition, so the top girl available is Karin.

Sai, Hinata, and Daisuke are all in the middle of our class rankings.

Sasuke and I tied for 2nd behind Shino, and while Sakura was top girl on the written exam, she did poorly enough on everything else to be second lowest overall, only her book smarts let her beat Kiba.

And based on what I know of last year, Tenten was top girl, so I'm willing to guess she was placed with the top boy and the overall lowest as well.

When the class had finally calmed down from the adrenaline rush of team assignments, Iruka made the point of requiring the new teams to sit together. So after a few minutes of reshuffling, Naruto found himself sitting in the aisle seat of a new row, with Sakura next to him and Sasuke leaning against the window.

Iruka then gave the teams a few minutes to acclimate, before dismissing the new teams for lunch, but not without a strong suggestion that the new teams eat together.

What happened next was entirely predictable to anyone who understood both how obsessive and stubborn Uzumaki could be.

Each of the three Uzumaki ended up suggesting that their team go to lunch at Ichiraku Ramen, and would not take no for an answer.

In the early days of the Ramen stand this would have posed a problem, there weren't that many seats in the establishment.

However, the arrival of the Uzumaki Clan had proved a boon to Teuchi and his daughter Ayame, as their business grew exponentially with the arrival of the clan whose obsession for ramen seemed to be genetic.

The small stand located in the heart of Konoha had expanded to a 25 table restaurant. On top of that a 15 table restaurant was opened just a 5 minute walk from the Uzumaki clan compound, and two small stands closer to the original size of the business had opened elsewhere in the village. Even with 2 restaurants, there was enough demand for ramen from the Uzumaki clan alone that other customers had found it difficult to get served, necessitating the additional stands.

Almost overnight Teuchi Ichiraku had become the second wealthiest restaurateur in the city, after only the Akimichi clan.

At a table near the back of the restaurant in the center of the village, Naruto and his teammates sat down to their first meal as Team 7. Naruto, to his credit, actually slowed down from his normal blazing fast ramen consumption speed in an attempt to make casual conversation. Results were mixed.

The conversation had taken an awkward turn almost as soon as Sakura spoke up:

"Uchiha-sama, Uzumaki-sama, I'm looking forward to working with you. Even though I don't come from a clan, or even a shinobi heritage, I'll do my best not to be a burden."

Sasuke didn't seem to have a problem with this statement, but the same couldn't be said for Naruto.

"Sakura, we've been over this in the academy, but now we're teammates as well. I am uncomfortable with people from outside of my clan referring to me like that, please just call me Naruto."

"B-but now that you're a genin your status as the heir of you clan is solidified, I wouldn't want to disrespect your clan."

"Sakura, please, I'd like to be called Naruto."

"...Very well, Naruto-sama."

*sigh* well it's some progress I suppose. Naruto thought, dropping the subject and digging into his meal once more.

What followed was an awkward silence. While Sasuke had been willing to answer and respond to Naruto and Sakura, he wasn't going to be initiating conversations. Naruto poured himself into his meal because he preferred the silence to being addressed so formally by a teammate, and Sakura was still a bit confused by Naruto's stance. It conflicted everything her guild had told her about the clans, and she was worried she had made a bad first impression.

Mercifully, it was soon time for the team to head back to the academy to await the arrival of the jonin and find out who their sensei would be.

The wait for the jonin was on, and the classroom slowly emptied as teams were picked up by their new commanding officers and teachers. Among the 4 teams Naruto and his group of friends were on, the first jonin to arrive was one Sarutobi Asuma, son of the Third Hokage, who arrived to pick up the new Ino-Shika-Cho.

Not surprising, Naruto thought, not just 3 future clan heads, but the next iteration of a legendary team, of course Lord Hokage gave this team his own son as a sensei.

As Asuma announced what team he was there to pick up, a red eyed woman entered the room. Introducing herself as Yuhi Kurenai, she announced that she was there for team 8, which put a slight frown on Naruto's face.

I've never heard of this woman and the Yuhi aren't a clan to my knowledge. Shino is a clan heir, Karin is the daughter of a current clan head, and Kiba is the son of one. Something isn't right here.

Having noticed his frown, Shino answered Naruto's unspoken question.

"The Yuhi are the Sarutobi Clan's most trusted vassals, having served Clan Sarutobi faithfully for several centuries. I am sure that Lord Hokage is familiar with her skills and am confident in Kurenai-sensei's competence."

As Asuma and his team departed, and Shino, Karin, and Kiba made their way down from their seats to follow their new sensei, a third jonin entered the room.

"Listen up kids, my name is Shiranui Genma, and I'm here for team 11."

Daisuke gets to learn from one of the Yondaime's personal bodyguards! That's so cool.

Naruto was beginning to get impatient at this point, but was still more than capable of admiring a member of the famed Hokage Guard Platoon when he saw one.

Thankfully, Naruto's wait would be over soon. Looking around the room after Genma and his team left, Naruto saw only 2 other teams besides his own still waiting. At that point, the door opened once more, and another jonin walked into the room.

Sakura recognized the jonin in question, and exclaimed in shock: "Hatake-sama! What are you doing here sir?"

"Maa...well I'm here for team 7. I'd like them to meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." Kakashi then disappeared into a poof of smoke.

Naruto could hardly contain his smile, and looking at his teammates he saw a similar expression on Sasuke's face. Hatake Kakashi was not just the head of the Hatake Clan. He was a student of the 4th Hokage and arguably the most powerful shinobi of his generation from any village. The opportunity to learn from such a well known figure was certainly enticing.

So without too much though, the 3 members of Team 7 ran out of the room, making a beeline for the stairs to the roof.

"Well, alright then, why don't we go around the group and introduce ourselves."

"What would you like us to say, Hatake-sama?"

"Sakura, was it? Do not refer to me like that, Kakashi-sensei is just fine."

Seeing an opportunity, Naruto jumped in to the conversation with a follow-up question.

"Hey, sensei, we should all be fairly informal right?"

Kakshi turned from Sakura to Naruto, and answered the question:

"I think so, we'll be working very closely together. There will be weeks and even months where you spend more time with us then you do with your own families."

Naruto then turned to Sakura. "You heard sensei, Sakura, drop the 'sama' and 'lord crap.' Not just for sensei, but for Sasuke and I as well."

Kakashi then turned to Sakura, "you refer to them as Naruto-sama and Sasuke-sama?"

"Not just them, sensei. My guild taught me that I should show the proper reverence to all the shinobi clans."

"Yeah...that's not going to work for us. From now on it's Kakashi-sensei, Naruto, and Sasuke. That's an order."

As Sakura came to grips with the new way she'd have to speak to her teammates, the introductions began.

Hatake Kakashi liked his dogs, his wife and son, fine literature, and paying tribute to his fallen comrades at the memorial stone. His goals included being a better father to his children than his father was to him and getting a certain colleague to admit defeat in various competitions.

Though it should be noted that Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke were all then hit by an incredible wave of killing intent as Kakashi went into great detail about what he would do to them if that second goal should be leaked. Naturally, the three genin quickly agreed that even know they didn't know what Kakashi was talking about, they would act as if those challenges annoyed and/or bored their sensei.

Sakura was the next to go: "My name is Haruno Sakura. I like my friends and learning new things. I dislike ninja who look down on me because of my civilian background."

There was then a small pause as Sakura let out a sigh and her determination seemed to waver. Finally, she regained her composure and finished her statement: "And my goal is to help my guild achieve its goals however I can."

"Maa Sakura, based on the way you said that it seems like achieving your goal might come at a high price."

"I'd say that's probably true, sensei. But it's something I don't really want to discuss."

While assuring Sakura that that was no problem, and prompting one of his other students to go next, the head of the Hatake Clan made a mental bookmark on Sakura's introduction. Well, I can think of some clan heads who might like to hear about this little conversation

Naruto was the next to go. His likes were the Uzumaki Clan and ramen. The sole dislike he mentioned was the time it took for ramen to cook, and his goal was stated as being the best possible head of the Uzumaki Clan, and presiding over an era of growth and prosperity for his clan.

Finally, Sasuke mentioned that his likes were tomatoes and training. His dislikes were distractions and fangirls, and his dreams of clearing the Uchiha name and settling the conflict in his clan were met with looks of confusion by both Naruto and Sakura, but again Kakashi moved the conversation along, not allowing it to linger on potentially sensitive subjects.

This was just an introductory meeting after all. As the team worked together and got closer they'd feel more comfortable discussing personal matters, but this was neither the appropriate setting nor the occasion for such talks to take place.

Team 7's first ever meeting was ended by Kakashi informing his three students to meet him at their designated training grounds the next morning at 7am sharp, and by strongly suggesting that his students not eat breakfast the next morning, implying they might end up vomiting all over the training field if they did.

Immediately after that warning he disappeared via a shushin, leaving 3 very confused and concerned genin behind.

AN: Since there are some changes to the canon team assignments I'll go ahead an recap everything here:

The membership of team 7 is unchanged from canon, though clearly each of them are living very different lives at this point then they are in canon. Kakashi is married to Anko and is head of the Hatake Clan, they have a son named Obito and another child on the way.

Naruto is a read-head and did not grow up alone, but with his clan around him.

Sasuke's father is dead, but his mother and Itachi are both alive as has been mentioned. I'll clarify what is known so far about the Uchiha situation later on in this note.

Sakura's family is part of a merchant guild that is very aggressive in perusing agreements with Shinobi clans, and as we've seen there are some rumors swirling around that.

Team 8 is still led by Kurenai, and Shino and Kiba are still members. Hinata has been replaced with Karin.

Team Gai and Team 10 are unchanged.

The new team 11 is led by Genma and features Hinata, Sai, and the OC Uzumaki Clan member Daisuke.

I had to have a little Naruto - Ino moment here since it's probably my favorite pairing (Though Naruto - Tenten and Naruto - Temari are also strong contenders for that spot). But this is not a Naruto - Ino story and those two will not be acting romantically with each other any further. As both age and take on more clan responsibilities they'll get a deeper understanding for why they can't be together and accept it.

Still, Naruto-Ino is a great pairing, and I wanted to have a little moment of it even if the pairing isn't feasible for the way Konoha and the Clans work in this particular story.

As for the Uchiha, here are the changes that I've made:

They remain centrally located in the village. The plot of land on the outskirts of the village that they were forced to move to in canon was given to the Uzumaki in this story.

In part due to them still being located in the village core, the discrimination faced by the Uchia was not as bad. It still happened, but to a lesser degree. Again this is not solely due to compound location, but it played a role. It made the clan feel more present and approachable to the average villager.

As such, when the idea of a rebellion is brought up, only a small number of Uchiha are swayed, though Fugaku is among them.

Mikoto joins with Itachi and Shisui in counter-acting the coup.

Only those involved in plotting the coup are killed. Mikoto personally kills Fugaku, and Itachi is also involved, along with a small team of other Uchiha clan members personally selected by Mikoto.

In present day Mikoto is the head of the clan and Itachi is the heir, though there is a faction of the clan that wants to exile Mikoto, Itachi, and all those who took part in the killings. This faction supports bypassing Itachi and handing the clan over to Sasuke.

Again, all of that has already been revealed, I'm just clarifying it here in case my writing was not clear. Thanks for reading!