Yo!
Back again! Been busy these days.
Now many guys stated that Sakumo saving his teammates was correct and my viewpoint is wrong and that even shinobis have feelings as well as visions.
My answer: even our soldiers protecting us on borders have the same feelings, longing for their loved ones yet they sacrifice because their love for the country and its people is bigger.
Soldiers know what they are signing up for. Do they not die for the country? We hear news everyday of their sacrifices.
This is our real world. Now imagine it in a world where killing is a profession and a small mistake could lead to a war and loss of hundred shinobis.
If every individual started thinking for his own, relationships would have no meaning. Love means sacrifice.
Parents sacrifice a lot for their children, do they not? Because they love them.
Kishimoto created a world based on assassins but with naive characters. Maybe Sakumo's failed mission led to third war and loss of hundreds of shinobis where it would have been just his teammates?
Another point raised was the lack of conflict. It will come when it is unavoidable, that is in the chunin exam finals, for sometimes your hand is forced by the situation.
Besides I have given an additional chapter compared to canon where battles occur. Wave mission, Orientation mission and Chunin exams.
Canon did not have Haku's orientation mission.
Reviews:
Guest: Thanks for your review.
Austin: Thanks and action will come.
The God Soul: Jiraiya has not been in the village even before the attack so he doesn't know Naruto's Minato's kid.
Wireless down (Guest): First of all thanks for writing a chapter's worth of reviews. Now, much of your reviews are aimed at pointing out flaws in canon. I agree with you on most points.
Regarding, questions raised by you in my story: My answers are as follows:
I got the idea of adding Mito because it's fanfiction. Here authors make Naruto fuck Kyubi which is a construct of Chakra.
I did not explain yet how Mito got Namikaze name, nor did I explain why Naruto got Uzumaki surname. That was just Hokage bulshitting his way to avoid questions from Mito.
Regarding four man team, it is already explained that Hiruzen did that purposely so that Naruto and Mito would have a sort of bond before the big reveal - it's as simple as that.
I have not explained yet why Mikoto survived.
I said taijutsu is used as a last resort because the very essence of shinobi is to be clandestine. And taijutsu directly translates to battle in open. In case of Might Guy or The Raikage - they are fast enough to give trouble to even Sharingan users.
Regarding Jiraiya not qualifying for a spy - sometimes the best option is to hide in plain. We know Jiraiya has a spy network but it could be a closely guarded secret.
Then, shinobis, for leisure, would not choose a pub etc. frequented by other shinobis but go for one with civilians.
Jiraiya frequents those places and can get information. Nobody would suspect such a carefree, well known man to be a spy.
Now, off to chapter.
Silence.
Absolute, mind boggling, pin drop silence.
Every single shinobi was stunned. Vivid wonder and awe colored their visages. Jaws were hanging, eyes were wide.
Those having felt accomplished in life so far, were visibly beginning to feel inadequate — mostly jonins.
All the genin present though, displayed wariness, even fear to motivation as well. Naruto also found himself nurturing the feeling of inspiration.
Here was someone around his age unable to mold chakra yet had just now outshone most shinobis present. The level of precision in execution, the technique, the speed — it was simply sublime.
A goofy looking, loudmouth with the weirdest antics – only dwarfed by his jonin sensei – yet possessing a tremendous ferocity and prowess— truly, the genin was a green beast.
Though Rock Lee lost, even got his leg crushed but it would go down in history, that a dead last, by defying all odds, had stood against a… monster.
Naruto's mood immediately dipped a bit at his line of thought.
True, Rock Lee's efforts would be recorded as gallant, but at the same time, sadly, Gaara would be remembered as a monster — a ruthless one, unable to control himself.
Well, unless the redhead had a personality shift somewhere along the future.
Still, it was the first time he came across a fellow jinchuuriki but who was poles apart in behavior.
Naruto couldn't help but imagine if he would have become the same had it not been for Haru-san as well as the owls.
It was a dreadful prospect — losing your humanity just for the sake of survival. But could it be held against the redhead?
The Uzumaki pondered over it for a bit before coming to a decision.
Subako No Gaara did not choose to become Jinchuuriki.
"Next Match," The proctor's voice cut in. "Haruno Sakura versus Yamanaka Ino."
An eyebrow inadvertently lifting, Naruto glanced at the pink-haired girl beside him. Her face displayed surprise as was wont to happen.
It was not a hidden fact that both the girls were rivals — mostly for Sasuke though — but he recalled their duels from the academy; there had definitely been some desire to one up each other.
"Good luck, Sakura-chan," Mito wished the girl, with a smile.
"Thank you," Sakura replied, attempting a smile but failing to conceal her inner turmoil. Then, she turned around, receiving an eye-smile from the jonin.
"You can do it, Sakura," Naruto nodded towards the girl. Fortunately, Sasuke wasn't here. He was sure the Uchiha's 'hn' would not have done any good for her confidence.
Nodding towards the sensei as well as the Uzumaki, Sakura walked towards the stairs.
"Ready to lose, forehead?!" Ino taunted, smirking, her posture the usual — hip jutted out and a hand placed on that.
Face morphing into annoyance, a shout of 'Ino pig!' arose from Sakura's throat and almost escaped her mouth, when their team lessons came upfront to her mind.
Uzumaki Naruto's face flashed before her eyes. The boy never reacted to any of Sasuke's taunts, and always displayed calmness and clarity.
And that always irked the Uchiha.
Taking a lesson from his book, Sakura composed herself and leveled a neutral — as much as she could — look at the blonde girl.
"What? Not gonna say anything?" The blonde girl suddenly pointed a finger at her. "Ha! You already know who's gonna win the match as well as Sasuke-kun's heart!"
Her instincts flared violently as a retort but Sakura suppressed them and stayed with the composed expressions.
Ino maintained the look for some moments, then narrowed her eyes before huffing and looking towards the proctor. "Start the match, proctor-san."
Hayate simply raised his hand before bringing it down. "Hajime!"
Sakura quickly threw three kunai in succession. The weapons were successfully parried by Ino's own, the blonde already in run towards her.
The pink haired girl felt a bit of anxiety crawl up her skin. From academy days, Ino had been better and faster due to being forced to spar with clan members – the blonde had always ranted about that.
Sakura felt doubtful about her chances. It would be the same this time also.
But she had already stepped up to it, didn't she? There was no escape now.
A punch came and Sakura's eyes immediately widened. The hit was successful, making her stagger towards the right.
Another hit – a kick, she recognised – and she almost went to the floor. She braced for another hit and impact with the ground but nothing happened.
"Wow. You've become even more pathetic," Ino's voice was full of cockiness. Then, she audibly smirked. "Give up and I will spare you the humiliation."
The pink-haired girl slowly straightened. "... No," And replied.
"No?" Parroting, the Yamanaka heiress cocked her head a bit.
"No," Sakura confirmed with a lot of confidence stemming from the giddiness she was feeling.
As far as she could recall, she hadn't ever been able to react properly to Ino's attacks – the fact always caused her anxiety.
The blonde girl had always been faster in execution.
Till now.
"These beatings–" Kakashi patted her hair while helping the girl to stand up. "-may seem unnecessary but trust me, they are helping you."
She hadn't understood then but now everything was clear. Getting repeatedly crushed by her stronger teammates had helped her. She had just taken two hits from Ino without having much effect.
But what was better was that she was able to easily see both the attacks! Never had that happened in the past! A ripple of confidence spread through her body.
She fixed the blonde heiress with an assured gaze. "I can see your attacks."
As expected, Ino immediately grasped the words and narrowed her eyes.
Without waiting for her retort, Sakura rushed towards the blonde girl.
Reaching near, she pushed off her right foot, going with a left knee attack towards the other girl's face.
Ino hit the outside of the knee joint with her palm while sidestepping in the same direction.
The attack missing, Sakura's right foot touched the floor and she skidded a bit parallel to the Yamanaka.
Ino pivoted and followed with a kick. The pink haired girl blocked it with her left forearm, crouching a bit while lobbing a punch towards the blonde's midriff.
Ino literally pushed down the punch, stopping it. Sakura immediately dived forward towards the blonde's legs who instead dived over.
Both girls, after rolling, came to a standstill.
Ino, for once, was silent, her eyes narrowed and affixed at her opponent.
After another bout of silence, Sakura felt satisfied of having made an impact – even if little – on the clan heiress.
A couple of Kunai quickly flew towards her.
The pink-haired girl withdrew her own kunai and threw them, effectively parrying the projectiles.
Following that, she made to rush towards her opponent but Naruto's face again resurfaced.
She halted.
Quickly withdrawing some shuriken, she threw them towards her opponent.
The projectiles buying her time, Sakura began thinking of Naruto's working style: Deception.
If the Uzumaki were in her place, he would not confront his opponent directly but employ underhanded tactics using basic three mostly.
Admittedly, his brand of 'basic three' was unique but the thought counted that he always behaved like a shinobi was supposed to.
Besides, anything underhanded would definitely be better than a direct confrontation on her part.
Ino's assumptions of her would only help in the matter.
Decision made, she reviewed her arsenal and knew the first step to take. Pushing aside the worry of planning and execution while on the go, she withdrew smoke bombs and threw one at her feet.
With a huff, Ino parried the last of the shuriken only to witness smoke rapidly emerging before enveloping Sakura and around.
Next moment, the pink haired girl exited from the left side of the smoke, running in an arc.
The blonde withdrew a shuriken to throw but Sakura, already having added some distance, threw another smoke bomb.
The smoke rose and spread quickly, even merging with the previously created.
Ino followed the other girl as she once again exitted and ran around, literally leaving a trail of thick smoke in her wake.
No later, a blackish gray wall of smoke closely came to surround the Yamanaka heiress in a circle.
Ino sighed.
Did Sakura think these tricks could intimidate her? True, the girl's taijutsu became better but that was a direct perk of being in Sasuke-kun and Mito-chan's team!
Both of them would have taken pity on the civilian girl or decided to make her a bit useful instead of a burden.
No way though, even by working hard, Haruno Sakura could learn to become a shinobi in just two months — that was a negligible amount of time.
If anything—
The smoke parted a bit and out came the pink-haired girl, running.
A simple glance and Ino knew this was a bunshin. The effect of parting smoke couldn't score upto the lack of shadow.
The bunshin neared and Ino simply swiped her arm through the genjutsu. It dispelled into smoke.
She smirked and decided to go with a taunt. "Finally admitting that your huge forehead is ugly!" And gave a laugh. "No need to hide; I am sure I can look past that no matter how difficult it would be!"
Again laughing, Ino slowly turned around in a circle, if forehead decided to attack from behind and—
The smoke again parted from two opposite sides and two Sakura's appeared in a dash.
Ino simply threw two shuriken and the bunshins were dispelled. A smirk again appearing on face, she taunted. "What now, forehead? Your clone count was always three!"
"... clone count was always three!"
Concealed amidst the thick smoke, Sakura frowned at Ino's taunt. The words were mostly true – only flaw that, after two months of training, she could now make four clones.
However, one more was not going to have any impact. She needed to do something else otherwise it would all be finished.
But what?
She had nothing unique in her arsenal; no jutsus, no special taijutsu techniques, no weapons… a sigh escaping, her head dropped down.
Strands of pink hair fell in her vision. Another sigh escaped; the only thing unique to her were… hair… Sakura blinked.
An idea began to take roots and she knew what to do next.
The smoke was beginning to wane.
Seconds to a minute at best, the smoke would thin down enough to observe any movement.
She just had to wait. Sakura had always been a one-trick pony after all.
A smirk finding its way on her face, Ino positioned her hands ready to cast her family's signature—
Smoke parted again and Sakura dived towards her.
Ino quickly raised her hands, aiming at the girl's forehead – really hard to miss – while molding chakra. "Shintenshin no jutsu!
Nothing happened.
Her eyes widened and she quickly glanced at the lack of shadow. Four clones?! But the girl always—
A small pillar of smoke began protruding in her peripheral vision towards the right upper edge of the cloud.
The blonde simply disregarded the clone and fully turned just in time to see a kunai emerge from the pillar of smoke.
The dark smoke was rising behind in the rough shape of a cone – its width easily able to conceal a human within and—
Tufts of pink hair briefly flew out of the smoke and that was the confirmation. Ino shouted. "Shintenshi—ah!"
A hit at her legs and Ino found her vision shifting. Her feet had just been swept off the floor!
A yelp escaped her mouth and she fell face down first. A weight – she recognised a knee – was pressed on her shoulder blade.
A kunai then nearly pricked her neck making her hiss.
"Yield, Ino."
Still processing the happening, Ino glanced towards the smoke from where she had clearly been fooled.
Only to have her eyes widened.
The weapon was now beginning to limply cascade in an arc. It was tied — at an arm's distance — with a string tied to four ends of a white cloth — Sakura's handkerchief, she realized.
But the long hair attached around the white cloth truly left her stunned.
The hair were pink!
"A thrown kunai," Sakura began, not taking her eyes off the blonde beneath her knee. "Is naturally faster than a hand held one so, I tied it to my hanky to reduce the speed by friction."
"The half- balloon-like shape of hanky also pulled smoke alongwith, making a rough appearance of a human jumping from the smoke."
"And the… hair?" The Yamanaka whispered, though having an inkling while totally floored at the happening of something believed to be impossible so far.
"I cut them off."
"Wha—" Ino hissed again as the kunai was stuck a bit deeper.
"Yield now, Ino."
The Yamanaka clenched her fists. Who would have thought the forehead would actually start working to be a shinobi?
It was definitely a wake up call. She huffed. "Fine. I yield."
"Winner of the match: Haruno—"
"I also withdraw."
Hayate halted and raised an eyebrow at the pink-haired girl.
"B-but you won!" The Yamanaka stated in confusion, craning her neck upwards and taking in the now shoulder length pink hair.
"I did my best and it won't be enough in the finals."
Naruto gave a nod as Sakura came to halt near them.
The girl responded in kind before flinching a bit as her hair were being rubbed. Then, the hand was withdrawn.
She followed it to Kakashi's who eye-smiled. Sakura also smiled slightly seeing the approval in the sensei's eyes.
"That was really interesting, Sakura-chan," Mito complimented, a genuine smile on her face too.
"Thanks," Replying, Sakura again nodded.
"Next match: Uzumaki Naruto versus Inuzuka Kiba!"
"Ha! We got it easy, Akamaru!"
Ignoring the shout as well as the following bark, Naruto took a breath and amidst wishes from the girls and a thumbs up from the jonin, walked down the stairs.
He came to halt on the floor. At the same time, Kiba jumped down with a whoop.
Standing up, the Inuzuka heir pointed a finger at the Uzumaki. "Give it up dead-last! Your face shows you're pissing your pants!" And gave a wild laugh.
Naruto simply continued with the frozen look.
The proctor brought his hand down. "Hajime!"
"Stay here, Akamaru!" Kiba placed the puppy onto the ground which gave a bark. "It won't take long."
Again facing Naruto, the wild boy formed a hand-seal. "Get ready, dead-last," With a puff of smoke, Kiba's body morphed into slight beasty appearance.
The wild boy dropped onto all fours. "Here I come!" Growling, he moved.
Naruto threw a kunai, making his face a bit frantic. It was dodged and Kiba slammed into him.
"This match is already over," Kurenai stated as a matter of factly, tone devoid of any smugness or even joy, as the Uzumaki took the brunt of the hit.
And dispelled into smoke.
Her eyes widened. Kage bunshin?!
The shock was only augmented as the dodged kunai landed near Akamaru and was also replaced by smoke.
From it pounced, too quickly, Naruto in a diving motion towards the puppy – standing at an arm's length – which growled but was grabbed mid-bark.
Going into a roll and ending in a crouch, the disguised blonde slowly stood up with Akamaru firmly held from its forelegs.
"Yeah. It's over," Shikamaru muttered with a smirk, already having an inkling of the outcome. The execution would definitely be worth-watching, though. Surprise me, Naruto.
Surprised at the deadlast dispelling into smoke, Kiba landed on the floor.
A frantic bark – of Akamaru – was heard. He whirled around and his eyes widened.
The dobe had his partner in his grasp! A hand – placed around the stomach – firmly held Akamaru.
His partner was now a hostage!
He felt incredibly foolish at his cockiness. Already, he could hear his mom's ranting. Mentally groaning, he dragged himself closer.
Naruto immediately placed a kunai closer to Akamaru's ear – now flattened.
Previous thoughts vanishing, Kiba scoffed at the sheer absurdity. Did the deadlast really think he could hold Akamaru captive?
Meeting the eyes of the Uzumaki, the Inuzuka fixed a glare. "I am taking him back, now," And flicked a pill.
Akamaru's mouth was already open.
The pill closed the gap.
Akamaru's mouth was snapped shut.
The pill struck the snout and fell down.
Kiba blinked.
Naruto's hand was now positioned under Akamaru's jaw, effectively closing it. The other hand still held the kunai.
The failure leaving him a bit shocked, Kiba couldn't help but again lament his foolishness.
Deadlast maybe, Uzumaki Naruto was obviously not dumb. As a fellow prankster, Kiba could attest to that. Directly throwing a pill had definitely been a stupid decision.
Sighing, while raking his head through his wild hair, the Inuzuka decided to be upfront. "Alright Naruto. You made your point but this match is between us."
Naruto gave a slow nod. "I know."
Kiba narrowed his eyes at the tone – it was neutral and devoid of the distinct cheeriness the boy possessed in the academy. Pushing that aside, he continued. "Let him go, then."
"I will," The Uzumaki replied. "When you surrender."
The feral boy blinked as the words registered. Did the deadlast just ask him…? A snort escaped his mouth, then a chuckle which turned into a full blown laughter.
After some moments, between the subsiding chortles, Kiba reiterated. "Surrender?!" A laugh escaped again.
A moment passed.
"Okay," He again began after composing himself. "Humour me: what if I don't?"
"I kill Akamaru."
The dark tone and the rapid assertive response dimmed his smile a bit but he shook the feeling away, and pointed a finger at the Uzumaki. "Kill Akamaru? Ha! We both know you can't and—"
"Really?"
The single word, spoken almost as a whisper, halted him. A moment later, cold started pricking against his skin.
As if he needed to acknowledge the happening, the temperature suddenly dropped down.
Anxiety erupted from his heart and a feeling of dread flooded his being. A stray glance made his eyes widen.
His hands were trembling!
A series of puffs drew his attention. In an instant, the Inuzuka found himself surrounded by several Narutos – each holding an Akamaru in their hands.
The oppressive feeling suddenly shot to unbearable levels.
Kiba gasped heavily.
Then, it all vanished.
A moment passed in silence.
"You're right," Naruto, standing to his side, broke the silence. "I won't kill Akamaru."
Still trying to compose himself, Kiba felt relieved at the statement and took a deep breath.
"But I certainly can," Voiced another Naruto – this one at the right, making the Inuzuka confused at the weird talking in turns. "So–"
"– Hokage-sama!" Continued another Naruto from Kiba's behind, looking straight at their aged leader. "I would like to make a petition."
Every eye turned towards Sarutobi Hiruzen who was in the process of taking a drag. After a moment, exhaling smoke, he nodded. "Proceed."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Another Uzumaki began. "As I already said, I will not kill Akamaru due to obvious reasons, but it cannot be denied that I am certainly in a position of doing so in a blink."
For enunciation, yet another Uzumaki slightly raised the puppy and kunai, showing the less-than-an-inch distance.
The Hokage gave a nod at the display.
"As such, I request if Inuzuka Kiba does not surrender, his partner Akamaru be deemed dead for all intents and purposes, and be reassigned to some other Inuzuka for the rest of his life."
Once again silence ensued and with elevating interest, every spectator looked at the scenario playing down.
This was unprecedented. A match had been brought on the verge of decision with mere words.
Never had any shinobi let alone a genin made a petition in between a battle. The petition itself was a rare one – asking for an Inuzuka dog to be separated away from its owner while being alive was unheard of.
If the Hokage approved the petition, it would definitely go down as a one of a kind match.
"What?!'
Kiba's yell echoed through the hall and broke Kurenai from her trance, spurring her into action. The red eyed woman urgently looked at their leader. "I object, Hokage-sama!"
The Sandaime slowly glanced at the beautiful woman while silently taking another drag.
Silence still reigned.
"On what grounds?"
Kurenai whirled around towards the owner of the voice. Now standing straight, book nowhere to be seen, Hatake Kakashi appeared like a true shinobi.
But she could care less about that and replied. "As my genin said, this match is between him and Uzumaki Naruto."
"And, my genin acknowledged that but Kiba clearly brought Akamaru to use in the battle, did he not?"
"They are always inseparable," The raven-haired woman immediately countered.
"Indeed," Kakashi affirmed. "And, this is not a friendly spar but battle where killing is allowed. If Akamaru is allowed to attack, the reverse should also hold true."
"Also, this debate is happening because Naruto is a fellow leaf shinobi, as such willing to spare a comrade."
"If it were a foreign shinobi, we would already have an outcome: Mourn Akamaru," The copy ninja briefly glanced at his genin. "Or I can ask Naruto to proceed; it certainly cannot be held against him."
Kurenai frowned, her lips pursed. For all intents and purposes, Kakashi's logic could not be faulted in any manner but—
"Konoha charter," The Hokage interrupted, garnering the attention of everyone and effectively silencing any further conversation. "– has an agreement between the Inuzuka clan and the village."
"It declares Inuzuka clansmen and their canines as inseparable as well as necessary especially in a battle. Rarely, the canines are left out."
"Clearly, genin Inuzuka Kiba brought Akamaru to partake in battle; just because the latter is now a hostage, the genin's intentions cannot be construed differently merely out of convenience."
The aged leader again took a drag. "Further, as Kakashi stated, a foreign shinobi would not have adopted a lenient view; Rock Lee's fate is still afresh."
Kurenai's frown deepened but the Hokage's word was final. She could only drop her vision, already reaching the conclusion, while mentally apologising to Kiba.
"In view of these circumstances, in my authority as the Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato, I approve the petition."
"State your decision, Kiba."
Disbelief still written all over his face, at the things having taken an unexpected turn, Kiba heavily slumped. "I… yield."
"Winner: Uzumaki Naruto."
As the kid was being greeted by his team, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled to himself. Uzumaki Naruto was growing into a one of a kind shinobi.
Morino Ibiki rarely praised any chunin let alone a genin but recommended the disguised blonde for a promotion despite the final outcome.
This match just showed the boy deserved it. Using fear to corner your opponent – such a splendid move.
Psychological warfare was such an effective tool. Why bother to battle when it could simply be avoided?
Unfortunately though, it had been rarely used apart from genjutsu.
Till now.
Keep surprising me, Naruto-kun.
"Namikaze Mito versus Subaku no Kankuro."
Namikaze Mito took in the puppeteer from Suna. The boy was looking with a lot of confidence bordering on arrogance.
Maybe it was some inexplicable feeling, or straight paranoia after watching and working with Naruto for two months, but she did not like the look on Kankuro's face.
"Hajime!"
Kankuro popped his neck. "Daughter of Namikaze Minato? You must be strong. I need to be serious too."
Smirking, he removed and placed the bandaged gourd-like thing – attached to his back – on the ground.
Chains erupted from the floor, quickly binding both the gourd as well as Kankuro together.
"A serious shinobi does not announce his intentions," Mito calmly stated despite the fact that the boy was still smiling.
It was weird though as if his face was rendered frozen. Still, as long as he was bound in chains, his chakra was affected too.
There was no chance of any retaliation. She met his gaze. "Now, surrender."
Some moments passed in silence.
"I yield."
The redhead girl raised an eyebrow as the sound came but no movement was made by the mouth. The sound was somewhat muffled too!
Weird indeed.
"Winner: Namikaze Mito!"
Mito and Naruto shared a glance, surprise blatant on the redhead's face.
"Three contestants?!" Sakura exclaimed as the battles were announced for the upcoming finals, eyes affixed on the first match that read: Namikaze Mito vs. Uzumaki Naruto vs. Hyuga Neji!
"Mah, we are a genin short and every battle has a Konoha genin in it, so, hardly surprising," Kakashi added, not taking his eyes off the book.
A chunin appeared at that moment, halting any further conversation. "Hokage-sama has called for Uzumaki Naruto. You are to accompany him, Kakashi-san."
The copy ninja lowered his book just a bit, sole eye already directed at the Uzumaki. "Let's go, my cute little genin."
Entering the room, greeting their aged leader, "Hokage-sama," Naruto and Kakashi bowed before relaxing.
The Hokage silently nodded, attention affixed to a piece of paper on the desk. The copy ninja immediately whipped out his orange book.
A moment passed.
"A complaint was filed," The Hokage began, not taking his eyes off the desk. "Just two hours after the advent of the second exam."
Naruto kept his face composed but grasped very well where the conversation was going to lead.
"A suna team accused an Oto team of sabotaging their chance in the exam. Quoting their words 'The Oto genin approached us in a life-like henge of our Kazekage's daughter, Temari-sama."
"Her pouch accidentally fell, spilling a lot of seals and as soon as we helped to pick them up, someone muttered 'gravity seal' and we were instantly immobilized. The henge dropped to reveal an Oto nin."
"So, that's how you reached the tower immaculately," Kakashi supplied, glancing from his sole eye.
Naruto took a breath while denying the copy ninja's statement by shaking his head. "True, I obtained the scroll in place of the Suna team – alone; Sakura was not involved – but it was also a heaven scroll – same as we actually got."
"Be that as it may," The Sandaime finally raised his gaze to meet the disguised blonde's. "Explain, genin Uzumaki Naruto, why should you not be held from advancing into the final exam for sabotaging another team?"
The words came as a bit unnerving. Fortunately, having already imagined a similar situation, Naruto immediately replied. "I merely worked on the principle implied during the first exam."
"Cheating or underhanded tactics were established in the written exam; I simply assumed it was allowed in other exams too."
"True," The hokage admitted, taking a drag from his pipe. "But only a clandenstine approach was permitted; genin actually caught cheating were disqualified," Finishing, he gave a knowing look.
The hokage's look clearly stated 'You cheated but were caught'. Despite that, Naruto had a hard time believing the old man's intentions.
Would the old man really disqualify him for the sake of a foreign village?
It seemed rather implausible. But who knew what treaties were in effect to ensure chunin exams continued to remain a sort of substitute for war?
Definitely, a genin's chance in exams was not worth the lives of several shinobi.
Conflicted thoughts brewing inside, the Uzumaki still replied as planned. "Forgive me, hokage-sama but your words insinuated those who qualified were actually able to cheat unnoticed?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen did not react to the answer-ending-in-a-question in any way instead kept an unblinking gaze while taking another drag.
Naruto felt a bit unnerved at the silence. The exam mattered greatly to him. Becoming a chunin meant authority and hence a step towards independency.
Though the C rank missions had already started taking him outside the village but his actions were still dictated by others.
This scenario was an example. Nevertheless, not wanting to just accept it, the Uzumaki tried again, a bit bluntly. "And, here I thought Morino Ibiki was a good shinobi."
Kakashi giggled.
Confused, Naruto glanced at the copy ninja; it was hard to tell with the man if the reaction came due to his answer or the book and—
Sarutobi Hiruzen chuckled.
The silence was broken just like that. Slightly surprised, Naruto glanced back at the Hokage to find the man leaning back in the chair, previous neutral reaction replaced by a warm one.
"A satisfactory answer, Naruto-kun," The hokage stated, smiling in that familiar grandfatherly manner. "I just wanted to confirm if you are aware of your actions having consequences."
"Undoubtedly," Kakashi picked up. "We will not disqualify the most promising genin on a complaint by foreign team especially when it cannot be traced back to you."
"Indeed," The Sandaime nodded. "Good work, Naruto-kun. Keep it up."
"Three of you made it to the finals," Kakashi stated, looking at the Uzumaki. "I am really proud but it also raises a problem."
Naruto simply nodded, having already thought of this scenario. Sometimes, farsightedness could be a pain in the ass too.
With three of them winning, it would be near impossible for the jonin to effectively train them all.
Fortunately, he already had a solution – at least for himself. "I was already going to train on my own."
Kakashi 'hummed', bobbing his head up and down slowly. "And, I guess I am not privy to the training regimen, right?"
"You are training my opponents."
"Sure," The copy ninja replied, sarcasm oozing out of the single word.
Naruto shrugged, not caring if the man did not buy his reason – it was a sound one even if not primary.
"Then–" Kakashi halted, memories invading his mind. "Ah. We all have been invited to a tea party by Uchiha Mikoto-san."
"Would you please apologize on my behalf?"
The Jonin only eye-smiled.
Why didn't Uchiha Itachi kill his mother? The question again resurfaced as Naruto watched Uchiha Mikoto greet them with a warm smile.
Even him.
Ignoring that, he thought about the question. Could Itachi not kill his mother? Did the Uchiha love her too much to not finish the deed?
Then, why leave her as a cripple?
Perhaps Uchiha Mikoto had been a shinobi and actually confronted her son? Most of the Uchiha had been in the police – they must be trained shinobis too.
Or, she pleaded enough to shift his mind?
Too many reasons but all imaginations in the end. Though, the clan's fate did not really matter to him.
He did not even feel himself a part of this setup – the girls chatting, even Sakura's mood was lighter after two months.
The broody Sasuke was also sitting at the chabudai table – definitely made by his mother.
And, the reason for his presence – Hatake Kakashi was here too, face still buried in the orange book.
Naruto mentally sighed at the copy ninja's antics. Firstly, the man stood up for him against Kurenai-san – thus earning his respect.
Then, tarnished the same by reminding him of the stand and made him join this tea party by the Uchiha matriarch.
He was alright with his team but socializing with them and their families was not his cup of tea.
He just wanted to get out of here.
Uchiha Mikoto watched as the kids left her house, eyes affixed at the back of Uzumaki Naruto.
The boy was not even an Uzumaki, having brown hair instead of red. Even to date, she did not buy the story that he was given the surname to honor the dead clan.
The practice was long abolished. Even in the past, it was done for smaller clans and only after the clan was totally extinct.
However, the Uzumaki clan lived through Mito; the girl even had the trademark red hair.
So, why did the Hokage give Namikaze surname to Mito despite the fact that Namikaze was not even a clan?
Also making the poor girl a target for her father's enemies? All this could have easily been avoided by giving her Uzumaki surname.
At least, as per Mito's words, the boy lived up to his given surname by being proficient in fuinjutsu.
It was a blessing in itself that Naruto turned out to be an alright kid despite the treatment at the hands of the villagers.
What had even made Hokage reveal his identity as a jinchuuriki to the council, knowing that with the likes of Danzo present, it was bound to trickle into the general populace?
After that, leaving the poor burdened kid to his fate – Mikoto shook her head as nothing made sense; just that, in the end, Hokage's word was the law.
True, Sarutobi Hiruzen would go down as the Hokage with the longest reign, but at the same time, many would also remember him as one of the poorest decision makers of all time.
The Uchiha's treatment making it top of the list.
That's that.
I hope you liked it.
Again, conflict did not happen with Naruto because he saw an opportunity and grabbed it.
Mito's quick battle was the most plausible decision according to me.
But a battle would happen in finals.
Please review and support.