Disclaimer: All characters belong to Masashi Kishimoto.
'I hate that guy! If it weren't for him, I wouldn't have accidentally kissed Sasuke and been pummeled by his fangirls. My mouth is ruined!'
Naruto thought as he glared intensely into the back of Tobio's head. Tobio was sweating from the heated glare he felt directed at him. He had apologized when he bumped into Naruto. How was it his fault he didn't know he was behind him, squatting in front of Sasuke? Tobio really hoped he wouldn't get pranked for what happened. He was saved from his thoughts when Iruka-sensei came in and addressed the class.
"From this day forward, you are no longer merely students of ninjutsu; you are now full-fledged shinobi. Among the ranks of the shinobi, you are but novices, the lowest of the low. Your greatest challenges all lie ahead," Iruka said. "The next step is the assignment of official duties to each of you, on behalf of our village. We will begin by dividing you into three-man cells. Each cell will be mentored by a jonin, a more senior ninja who will guide and coach you as you become familiar with your various assignments."
Naruto looked to his left at Sakura, who had a determined look on her face. Looking at her, Naruto couldn't help but sigh with longing.
'Her hair is so unique - pink like cotton candy or sakura blossoms. Her eyes are vividly green like jade stones. The cutest smile with the cutest forehead. She's a total babe!'
Naruto used to hope he could win her over one day. She was perfect in his eyes, except for her fangirl behavior towards Sasuke. He used to dream about holding hands with her and having a future together, with him being Hokage and her serving him ramen in his office. With a dozen kids so his children will never be lonely.
He used to ask her out on dates often, until the Hokage told him about her parents filing a complaint about him doing that. For a couple of hours, the Hokage sat down with him and talked about women and love. Naruto learned to respect Sakura's rejection and is still trying to move on from his first crush. The Hokage helped him understand boundaries that day. One of the few times the old man helped him learn something important.
Speaking of adults, Naruto glanced back at Iruka-sensei, who was still talking to the class. He was glad he had recovered from the Scroll of Seals incident. That night was very emotional for him; he hadn't cried for years until that incident. In the end, Naruto gained a lot that night.
He had his first kill. Naruto never thought it would be his former teacher, but it was fun beating him up. He just didn't think getting beaten down by a thousand solid clones was that fatal. Mizuki died from internal bleeding as he lay on the ground. He was going to die anyway since he broke the Hokage's law about Naruto's jinchuriki status. That was a sore spot for Naruto, as his trust with the Hokage disappeared. They were never that close anyway; the closest they got was when they first met in the woods outside of Konoha while Naruto was cooking fish he caught in the river and making mushroom soup.
Naruto also finally won somebody over. He thought it was almost impossible, but he was glad he never gave up. He hoped good things were finally starting to happen to him. Hearing Iruka apologize to him and call him one of his most excellent, hardworking students was enlightening. After receiving his headband from Iruka, they both went back into the village to give the Hokage the scroll, give their incident report, head to the hospital to get some treatment, and get some food from Ramen Ichiraku. While they were eating, Iruka asked him what exactly he learned from the Scroll of Seals.
"Well, Iruka-sensei, you know how bad I am with the clone techniques and genjutsu. I've learned the Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu and Genjutsu: Infinite Darkness Jutsu. Also, I have memorized the Hiraishin. You know how much I looked up to the Fourth Hokage," Naruto happily answered after slurping some noodles.
"Naruto, those techniques are forbidden for a reason. Besides the kage-level amount of chakra needed to use them, each one has a side effect. The Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu can lead to memory loss or worse, end up in a vegetative state if you dispel all the clones; if used for learning, at the same time. The Infinite Darkness Jutsu blinds not just your enemies, but anyone who isn't a sensor. Making you a potential hazard for your own teammates. The Hiraishin needs you to have a deep understanding of yourself and to tweak the characters in the seal to fit your unique chakra signature. That requires a level of understanding with fuinjutsu at the level of the Fourth Hokage to even decipher the seal and reverse engineer it."
"Ugh!? Why you gotta ruin my celebration, Iruka-sensei! How did you even know about that?" Naruto pouted at Iruka, who laughed in return.
"Well, I couldn't resist looking at the techniques. Almost all of them I can't do, but if you look at the bottom, it has a warning for each of them. Also, I said I should have been a better teacher and person for you, Naruto. Since team placements won't happen for another two weeks, we'll use your new clone jutsu to cram everything from the Academy. And, we'll use this time to test the limits of your new jutsus."
Cramming all the Academy curriculum into two weeks was actually pretty easy when you can conjure a thousand clones. They were very cautious about dispersing. Iruka even figured out Naruto didn't really know how to read or write at the start. He solved that issue with him and was impressed by Naruto's vast improvements with calligraphy and ever-growing list of kanji characters he knew. Iruka felt a lot of guilt with the way he taught Naruto in the past. He saw the ridiculous speed with which Naruto learned if you just gave him some positive attention. Naruto has untapped potential and can be a prodigal genius if he was taught correctly. At the end, Iruka couldn't be more proud. He wished he could go back in time and rectify his past mistakes with Naruto, but he'll make it up to him from now on.
As for Naruto, it was the most boring two weeks of his life. Every time he complained about a headache after a clone dispersed, Iruka would give him a break to shift through the newfound knowledge. Calligraphy sessions were very repetitive once he perfected a character. The only good thing to come out of the cram session was Iruka spending most of the day with him and bringing food and groceries. He never had anyone cook food for him, but he was happy. Naruto was also happy showing Iruka his collection of plants he had around his apartment.
Their time together bonding did shine a light on the kind of sensei Naruto would need in the future. Iruka will talk to the Hokage about team placements and what's best for Naruto's growth. He needs the right teacher and the right teammates. He needs a positive and encouraging learning environment to thrive. He thinks about the class and who would be the best fit for Naruto. The whole class looks down at him and hates him, except for a few.
Hinata would have been the perfect teammate for him. Her eyes would provide the team with a sensor, and she's the top female taijutsu user in his class with her Gentle Fist. However, her anxiety and shyness around him would be detrimental to team success, and Kurenai already requested her. Iruka didn't want Naruto to be placed on a team with a newly promoted Jonin and someone who might hate him because of her father's death.
Sasuke would also have been a great fit. Both orphans who are both lonely in different ways. However, Iruka believes their rivalry to be toxic and he doesn't want Naruto to feel lesser than Sasuke. Although, it seems like Sasuke only responds to Naruto out of the whole class. Iruka also heard Sasuke was requested by Kakashi to be on his team and Iruka doesn't think the laid back approach would help Naruto grow. Iruka respects Kakashi's strength and genius as the strongest Jonin in Konoha, but he believes Kakashi would gravitate to someone like Sasuke more. Iruka taught Sasuke and he never got the satisfaction of teaching someone like him. The process was very boring with how fast Sasuke picked up stuff. Iruka took more enjoyment in teaching the students who struggled more. In the end, Iruka had to pick the students who hated Naruto the least and could help grow as a ninja.
After thinking about potential teammates and the type of sensei Naruto needed, Iruka went to the Hokage and shared his thoughts. After the meeting, he believed he had found the right people to be around Naruto.
"Team Three will consist of... Naruto Uzumaki... Shiho... and Sai. Your Jonin commander will be Yamato."
'The bookworm and Sasuke-lite? Ugh! I guess it could be worse.'
Naruto stood up and pointed at both Shiho and Sai in the back, completely interrupting Iruka-sensei.
"Shiho! Sai! I'm going to be the team leader for us, got it! As future Hokage, this is a great opportunity for me to develop my leadership skills! Believe it!" Naruto yelled out.
"Sure thing, Dickless." Sai responded with his usual monotone voice and creepy smile. Naruto was both creeped out and annoyed. Everyone else started laughing.
"Can't we put the position of Team Leader into a vote? I believe that's the most fair thing to do. Plus, I don't really want to follow the guy who barely passed." Shiho said. She's usually one of the more cheerful and upbeat girls in the class. However, like everyone else in their class, no one respects Naruto.
"Vote?!? What is this, a democracy?!? We're in a ninja village, there is no such thing! It's the strongest that becomes Hokage and rules everyone. And I'm the top dog!" Naruto answered her with his fist pointed towards her. His response was met with a lot of rebuttals from everyone and the classroom quickly turned into pure chaos. Iruka tried to calm everyone down so he could continue with the team assignments. However, nobody listened to him until he started yelling at them.
"Be quiet! If I hear anyone talking without asking me a question, I'll strip you of your headband and make you take another year at the Academy! Do I make myself clear?!"
"Yes, Iruka-sensei!" the class responded. Sighing, Iruka rubbed his head; a headache was coming on. He had gone through the rest of the team assignments without issue.
After he was done, he brought in the new Jonin sensei for the teams. He noticed Kakashi wasn't there, which wasn't surprising. He saw Naruto, Sai, and Shiho leave with their new sensei, and he couldn't help but smile.
'Do your best, Naruto. The road won't get any easier from here.'