Chapter 13

Many Years Later

Konoha

Seafoam eyes opened upon the ringing of an alarm. An arm immediately shot out to cease the noise, the body sitting up moments later. It didn't show on his face, but he was excited.

Today, he took the first step toward realizing his dream.

Today is the day he will become a true Shinobi of the Leaf.

Jumping out of bed, he immediately went to his closet. On a hanger was his get-up—what would be his everyday look from this point onward. It was nothing special, definitely nothing that could rival any of the clan kids in class, yet it was his. Taking it off the hanger, he was dressed in seconds and observing himself in the mirror.

An orange, sleeveless zip-up vest with a long-sleeved green turtle neck underneath adorned his top, while orange cargo pants covered the bottom. A pouch was safely secured to his leg via white tape, along with a bigger one strapped behind him.

And now, tied around his head was the silver plate of his success in becoming a Shinobi of the Leaf. The green custom Hitai-ate matched well with his getup, a complete contrast to the orange jumpsuit he'd seen a year ago. Unfortunately, Suzuki-san and even his friend insisted it clashed with his eyes and he parted ways with the garment in deep regret.

Speaking of Suzuki-san.

Naruto sniffed the air, the smell of breakfast hitting his nose. Making sure he had everything one last time, he exited the room to be greeted by the caretaker at the stove, cooking something that smelled divine. Upon his entrance, the woman turned to him in surprise.

"Oh? I wasn't expecting you to wake for another hour. Give me a moment. The breakfast is almost done." She said, her hands never stopping in their ministrations on the stove.

"That's fine, Suzuki-san." Naruto replied, moving to sit at the dining table. As she said, his wait wasn't long, and before he knew it, breakfast was being served. He waited for the woman to sit before mimicking her in clapping her hands together.

"Itadakimasu~." They said in unison before digging in. Randomly, pieces of food would lift into the air and vanish like an old school magic trick, but thankfully, Suzuki never commented on it. Smiling up at the boy as another piece of bacon vanished, she spoke, "This is your big day, isn't it?"

"Un." He grunted in reply, taking a bite out of the toast before going for the eggs.

"I have no doubt you will pass, Naruto-sama. This village will definitely need someone like you protecting it."

"Un."

"Do you have everything you'll need for the test?"

"Un."

"Have you studied properly for the test?"

"Un."

"Anything you would like to ask before you go?"

"Nothing that I can think of."

Suzuki nodded and said no more. Instead of conversation, they both say companionable silence as they finished the rest of their food. Some may look ok the outside and think it weird, but this was how their relationship simply was. Neither had anything further to say on the matter, and Naruto knew the woman was more of a woman of action and not words. It was how they were, and Naruto did not wish to change it.

"UZUMAKI NARUTO!" A shout interrupted the peaceful atmosphere, garnering the duo's attention to the front door. "I HAVE ARRIVED FOR OUR MORNING JOG AS REQUESTED! ON THIS DAY, LET OUR YOUTH SHINE BRIGHTER THAN ANY OTHER, FOR TODAY WE SHALL NO LONGER BE STUDENTS, BUT GENIN IN SERVICE TO THE LEAF!"

"Your friend is as exuberant as always." Suzuki smiled as the blonde stood to his feet, plate in hand. "Ah, do not worry about the dishes. I shall take care of them." Blinking at the woman, Naruto sat the plate back down before moving to the door. Following the boy, Suzuki witnessed the boy strapping a pouch to his leg before covering both feet in blue sandals. She waited for him to stand before speaking once more, "Good luck, Naruto-sama. I shall have the celebration cake ready upon your return."

The words caused the boy pause. Turning to the woman fully, his face showed indifference, but she could see his true feelings through the bright green of his eyes. His hand suddenly came up, a thumb aimed her way. She also could have sworn she saw the boy's lips twitch ever so slightly. The boy, 12 years now, graduating a year earlier than his peers and ready to take on the world by storm.

"I'm gonna pass, dattebayo," was his last reassurance before leaving the apartment to the caretaker, a smile of her own spreading across her face.

...

"Ah, if it isn't Naruto! I have been waiting eagerly to challenge you once more!"

Naruto blinked at the teen before him. He'd like to believe it was simply his eyes playing tricks on him this early in the morning, but the teen had definitely gone through a drastic change in both looks and attire in the last 24 hours since he'd last seen him.

For one, the tang suit he once wore had been replaced with a short-sleeved yukata and black, baggy pants. His eyes were still as bushy as ever, but the braided ponytail he once wore had been cut short to allow his hair to fall freely over the silver plate that was the headband strapped around his forehead. It seems he wasn't the only one pushing for change in themselves today.

"We doing the usually?" Naruto asked, already stretching his limbs in preparation for their daily routine.

"Yosh! To the gate and to the academy! Your determination rivals my own, but I'm sure today will be my-o-oi, I wasn't ready! Naruto-san, it is unyouthful to cheat-ah! Wait for me!"

Hokage Tower

Sarutobi Hiruzen let out another sigh as he took a drag from his pipe. On his desk, a certain blonde was zooming through the streets of Konoha with another blur not far behind.

If it were normal circumstances, he would be happy to see his surrogate grandson enjoying what little activities that seemed to genially excite him, but the times were not as joyous as he would have liked. Even years later, he still had to acknowledge the abnormality of his growth and everything that came with it.

The boy had gone from the bottom of the class to the top in what was no doubt the quickest turnaround anyone had ever seen. From matching even the best in his year at Taijutsu, delving into the art of Fuinjutsu, and finally passing the Academy with no Jinchuuriki incidents, one could be forgiven if they were a little unsettled. Hell, the discovery of his Kekkai Genkai, one that made him completely immune to Genjutsu, was already a point of discussion. It would explain his eyes, seeing that he definitely did not inherit the blue or lavender of his parents, but it would not explain the main dilemma that had brought him so much anxiety over the past few years.

The Nine-Tailed Fox—and whether or not it was even still living within their resident Jinchuuriki.

After Kagero's observations, he'd had his ANBU observe his chakra on a daily basis as a precaution—the fear only added after receiving multiple reports of the boy seemingly speaking to someone none of them could see. He remembered the heart attack he nearly suffered knowing that the beast could seemingly speak to the boy anytime it wished and nearly called Jiraiya back to the village. Thankfully, he had sense enough to wait for his ANBU to report before he'd done anything rash.

Only for what the Hyuga ANBU reported to have him messaging Jiraiya that same day.

It was a revelation that not even his old bones were prepared for.

Not only did the boy show no signs of the beast within him, but he had the chakra reserves of his mother before she had become a Jinchuriki.

That was absurd.

Completely and utterly absurd.

No Jinchuriki before the boy had such reserves. It was the Nine-Tails, for Kami's sake! The beast that gave Kushina the reserves of three Hashirama! The boy should have been that by now, if not bigger!

But what frightened him the most was the implications of what this could mean for not only him but the Shinobi world as a whole.

If the Nine-Tails wasn't within the Uzumaki Natuto, then where exactly had it gone? It was a fear that not even Jiraiya could relieve him of.

The seal was still in place and undamaged from what the man had observed upon his return. The boy, at Jiraiya's request, had been sedated upon his arrival, giving them full access to the seal in case the boy or the fox somehow found a way to alter the seal while he was awake. Hiruzen knew the real reason why his student wished to take such an action, but did not question it considering the severity of the matter at hand.

To his disappointment, Jiraiya found nothing.

There was no break in the seal, no alteration, and no chakra signature from the fox. There was nothing, and Hiruzen didn't know if that was a good or bad thing. Whether the fox was still in the boy or roaming somewhere in the Nations was a thought that had him lose sleep for many nights.

And asking the boy himself?

"I've never talked to a fox, Hokage-jiji."

Another puff of smoke left the old man, his pipe being placed back on his desk. All he could truly do was wait. With his graduation, the time for the boy to use the Fox was quickly approaching, and the truth would reveal itself whether the boy wished to or not.

*Knock Knock*

A knock on his door had him looking up. His secretary introduced another problem he didn't wish to deal with at the moment.

"Hokage-sama, Councilor Shimura Danzo is here to speak with you."

Hiruzen let out another puff in place of a sigh as he called out, "Let him in." His secretary opened the door and right behind her walked a heavily bandaged man who wore a black cloak over his white yukata that hid his completely bandaged right arm. The right side of his face was also bandaged, covering his right eye, while wrinkles showed his forehead and a scar in the shape of an 'X" covered his chin. He walked in past the secretary with his only free arm holding a wooden cane that clattered every time it hit the floor. He stopped before the Hokage's desk and stared down intensely at the old man who stared back at him with equal intensity.

A pregnant silence covered the room before Danzo was the one to 'break the ice' as the young ones would say. "…From the look in your eyes, you're finally taking my concerns seriously." Hiruzen sighed for the umpteenth time that day, causing the old Warhawk to sit in the nearby chair to the Hokage's desk.

"…To be honest, I still haven't a clue what we've found." The Warhawk raised his only visible brow, expecting Hiruzen to elaborate.

And Hiruzen did. He told his old friend everything his ANBU had discovered recently and the conclusions they'd drawn. All the while, Danzo sat there, unmoved and listening to every word.

"…I see." Danzo muttered upon the conclusion. "And Jiraiya?"

"Nothing," Hiruzen reported. "No signs of the fox or any new Jinchuriki. The only thing he's discovered recently was a lead on Orochimaru and a possible base near the land of Kusa." The look on Danzo's face told the Hokage he didn't believe that for a minute (how he could read a man with no discernible features other than a twitch of the eye being beyond the ANBU in the rooms' minds).

"I see... Regardless, things cannot remain as they are. Though I may not have agreed on all of Namikaze's decisions," Understatement of the century. "I cannot see him as someone who would foolishly throw away power he and his wife no doubt had the tools and skills to contain. Namikaze was many things in my eyes, a fool being one of them, but lacking in intelligence he did not."

"…For once, I agree with you, old friend." Hiruzen reluctantly concurred. "This would be a lot easier if Minato clued me in on the project he was working on, but alas, he took his research to the grave." There was a period of silence between the two before Hiruzen spoke almost accusingly, "I'm guessing the reason you're here is because you've found a solution to this problem." Not showing even a hint of emotion after the accusation, the Warhawk nodded and got a puff of smoke, thankfully not in his direction, in response. "Then let's hear it. At this point, there aren't any bad ideas that can be put forward if the worst comes to pass."

"...Usually, I would admonish such thoughts being spoken, but for once, I share the sentiment." A rare chuckle left the Hokage's lips in the presence of his former teammate. Danzo suddenly reached into his robes, putting the ANBU around them on edge. A folder was pulled out and placed before Hiruzen. The Hokage glanced down at the file before looking back at the Warhawk quizzically. "The boy has recently graduated. This gives us opportunity. Opportunity not presented before. On the field, a Jinchuriki thrives. The opportunity for him to use the fox's chakra rises, more so in matters of life and death." Hiruzen eyes narrowed, understanding where the man was going with this.

"Is this what you were after all along? To have one of yours closer to the boy at all times."

The Warhawk shook his head. "You and I both know if I wish for the boy to be watched, there are better ways for me to do so without the need to risk one of my agents. No, this is to put both of our worries to rest once and for all." Danzo gestured towards the file, "The one I present before you is my Clan's best, one I raised since she was old enough to hold a kunai. She is special, more so than any in our compound. I will even go as far to say she is possibly the only one in this village capable of finding the truth, even if she must resort to more 'unsavory' means."

Hiruzen stared down his old friend, trying to catch any hint of a lie or deceit. He couldn't, and opted to take a look at the file presented to him.

His eyes widened at who he saw, unable to hide his confusion as he looked back at the cripple. "Why take such a direct approach? With her, no less? What changed?"

"...Though my views on Shinobi have not changed, watching the Uzumaki has opened my eyes over the years to... exceptions. Any of my teachings would be a detriment to an already promising talent, even if his current loyalties are in question."

Hiruzen didn't have a word to say to that. He knew Danzo, and he knew the man wasn't one for praise, especially the one he thought to be nothing more than a weapon for years. What exactly the blonde did to get on his good side, only Danzo himself would know.

"...I will allow this." Hiruzen finally relented, taking the file and placing it in a nearby drawer. "I will brief the appointed Jonin of his relief and put your agent in."

Danzo nodded, Hiruzen catching a brief moment of satisfaction on the man's features. "That is satisfactory."

"...One more thing," Hiruzen spoke once more before his friend could prepare to depart. Taking in another puff from his pipe, he stared into the eyes of his friend, making sure to put a bit of killing intent into his next words. "For the first time in years, I am putting my trust in you, Danzo. For your sake, I pray you do not break that trust, for not even your network will be able to save you from my wrath. Are we clear?"

A smile appeared on the Shimura's face.

"I would expect nothing less from you, Hiruzen."

Ninja Academy

Yamada Juri stared down at the two heaving kids that had stopped her from closing the sliding door. Blonde and raven-haired, both were heaving heavily while drenched head to toe in sweat. It wasn't the first time the duo had nearly been late. In fact, it was a reoccurring act that she had nearly sent the two home for on multiple occasions.

Yet they do this today of all days?

She had every right to send them home. She had a zero-tolerance policy for tardiness, and the two had shown just that on multiple occasions. Her position as sensei demanded that she follow the rules.

Looking at the desperation in both their eyes made her think otherwise...

"...I'm not even going to ask. Just get to your seats."

"H-Hai, Juri-sensei! Thank you, Juri-sensei!" Both boys gasped in unison before hurrying to their respective seats.

Making it to their seats at the top right of the class, Naruto sat down and leaned back in his seat. The air from the window was a Godsend the Uzumaki was all too eager to take advantage of. The wind blew through his clothes, cooling him down and bringing his body back to life.

"It would have been quite vexing if you had missed this day due to your own ego." A voice echoed in his head, yet the blonde was too tired to even defend himself. "Got nothing to say? No quip? Or do you understand for once the error of your ways?"

"...Too tired. Can't think. Defend myself later." Was his reply, getting a chuckle from the voice.

"Talking to yourself ago, Uzumaki-kun?" A different voice interjected, getting him to tilt his head in its direction. The smiling face of a double-bun-haired girl looked back at him, leaning on an elbow and smiling smugly at him. Why the girl had opted to sit next to him of all people this year still remained a mystery to him to this day, but he and Lee weren't sitting alone for once, so he simply never questioned the gift horse. "Got nothing to say? You know it's not nice leaving a girl waiting."

The blonde's reply was to turn his head back up and say, "Too tired. Can't think. Defend myself later." The repetition of words garnered a chuckle from the girl before she turned to pay attention to the sensei gathering their attention.

"Alright, everyone. First and foremost, congratulations on officially becoming Shinobi of the Leaf. Through your hard work, you've shown you are ready to push yourselves to greatness and truly reach your full potential. It has been an honor being your sensei through this journey, and I want every single one of you to know that, as your sensei, I am proud of every single one of you." The usually stoic face of their sensei suddenly morphed into a smile that brightened her features considerably. If someone were to walk in now, they'd be hard-pressed to find even one student who did not share the smile of their sensei's joy. "That being said, I must warn you all that from now on, life will only get harder. You will need to be even more vigilant on the field, for a mistake here may get you a bad grade, but a mistake on the field could cost you or your comrades their lives. Remember this one lesson, and I promise you will all become great shinobi. Does everyone understand?"

A chorus of 'Yes, Juri-sensei' echoed, getting a smile from the woman before she reached to retrieve a piece of paper on her desk.

"Good. If there is nothing else, then I will begin calling your assigned teams. Each Shinobi squad is a pair of four, including the sensei. The sensei you will be assigned to will be your sensei till you are Chunin, so give them the respect that they deserve." With another chorus of agreement, the Chunin began calling names. Groans, mumbles, and cheers spread as each team was called, most having no problem with the selections.

Then there was the last group.

"And lastly, on Team 4 under Shimura Kagero will be Hyuga Neji, Higurashi Tenten, and Uzumaki Naruto."

You could hear a pen drop in the silence that followed. Everyone was looking at one of the three team members, each taking the attention in their own way (that is, being unbothered at all).

"Hey, isn't that team stacked?" Someone whispered in the background, followed by a variety of speculations and complaints from other students. Despite the sudden chatter, Juri talked over it.

"These are the teams chosen and there will be no changes. Your Jonin Sensei will be here shortly to pick up each team, so take this time to get to know your new team. If there is nothing else, I thank you all for the 7 years we've spent together and wish you all the best of luck as Shinobi of the Leaf.

...

After waiting an hour, it did not take long for their high to settle down to annoyance. The first 20 minutes after every other student had vacated the room with their sensei was excusable. The next 20 was inexcusable, and the last was just unprofessional. Mixed with the frustration of waiting for an hour and being in the room with two of the most anti-sociable people in her year, Tenten decided to speak her mind.

"What the hell is taking her so long?" She snarled, looking to the only other occupants in the room to see their reactions. Neji was still sitting in front of her with his arms crossed and a leg over the other in what a lot of her classmates dubbed his 'holier than thou pose'. She couldn't see his face from where she stood, but she was sure his eyes were closed, increasing the image tenfold.

And next to her, Naruto had, at some point, pulled out a book to start reading while gesturing a finger and looking up to something over his shoulder... Ah, he was talking to himself again... Not weird at all...

"How are you guys so calm? Don't you at least think this is a little unprofessional? I mean, it's been an hour! How much longer is she gonna make us wait?"

Neji and the blonde glanced over to the kunoichi for but a moment before returning to their own devices, forcing a tick mark to grow on the girl's face before she crossed her arms in frustration. "I swear, 'patience' better not be some kind of hidden test."

"I highly doubt that to be the case." Surprisingly, the Hyuga spoke. "It will be the job of our team leader to lead by example. It would be shortsighted of her to give us a test we were not given notice of—even if vaguely."

"Oh, is that what's happening?" Naruto also piped in, getting the attention of both his team members. "The waiting, I mean. It would make a lot more sense if this was all some kind of test she's giving us."

"Did I not just state how unlikely that was?" Neji retorted, irritated at having to repeat himself. "No self-respecting Jonin would have us complete such a vaguely impossible test as newly graduated Genin. We know not who she is, what she looks like, or even any of her affiliations, yet you think she expects us to find her? Such a test is unreasonable."

Naruto blinked slowly at the Hyuga, as if not comprehending before looking at the less hotheaded Tenten. "Then, is this a test of patience?"

The girl raised a brow at the blonde and said, "Uh, I was joking, y'know? You can't really mean you believed that, right?" The slow blink he gave in reply was very telling. A sweat drop appearing as her opinion of the boy dropped slightly.

Turning from the girl, he pointed at the corner closest to the entrance of the room. "Then why has she been watching us for so long?"

A moment passed with his teammates staring him down. A moment that lasted about a fraction of a second before to head turned to find...

Nothing.

There was no one there.

Frustration built in the Tenten as she turned back to scowl at the blonde for the tactless jape. However, Neji wasn't so easy to dismiss it as such. Staring intensely at the wall, he willed his chakra into its proper place before veins began spreading around his eyes. His clan's famous Dojutsu appeared, allowing him to see the world in black and white.

What, or better yet, who he saw had him shooting to his feet. Tenten jumped in surprise, looking to the back of the Hyuga before returning her gaze to the corner. There was still nothing there but a door, yet Neji's reaction put her on edge.

That's when she noticed something odd. Some kind of distortion bent the lining of the corner. With a glance, you wouldn't catch it, but now that she was staring right at it, she could clearly see the twist in reality.

"You all are more than your papers say." The Genin tensed at the feminine voice. Slowly, the distortion faded, and the once vacant corner was illuminated into a form. The hand seemed to be covered by a black gauntlet that held a curved blade along the top. "I did not expect much from you, but you seem to be more than what I've observed." If there was one thing they could say about the woman they were seeing, it was that she was definitely…unique, amongst the kunoichi he'd met in his life.

No man could deny that she was a beauty. Long brown hair in a ponytail ran down her back while bangs covered the right side of her face completely. A yellow scarf wrapped comfortably around her neck and tied in the back to run down to her thighs. She wore a revealing rouge pink tunic that hugged most of her admittedly large figure and had a long flap that covered the middle (and hopefully back) of her lower body. Over the tunic was a brown stomach guard held together by a red rope holding two curved blades. On her arms were brown forearm protectors with embedded curved blades along the arms and long pink fingerless gloves underneath that went to her mid-biceps. Thigh protectors protected her outer thighs while shin protectors went up to her knees, and to finish the look were square-toed sandals and a tanto hidden behind her.

"Please tell me that attire isn't common. I do not need your thoughts straying more than they already do."

Ignoring his inner spirit, Naruto decided to speak on behalf of his teammates. "Shimura-sensei?"

"That I am, Uzumaki." The revealed sensei confirmed, her voice firm yet weirdly practiced—as if she'd studied for this exact conversation many times before. "We shall save introductions for later. For now, you are to grab your things and meet me at Akimichi's Barbeque within 10 minutes. If you are late by even a second, I will personally make sure your Genin careers end here. Am I understood?"

The seriousness in the Jonin's tone made the three Genin nod hesitantly. Without further preamble, the Jonin suddenly blurred out of sight. The three looked to each other briefly before making their way to their assigned destination.

Their shinobi careers were about to begin.

A/N: Just want to clear up any confusion real quick.

Byleth was 7 at the time she received Kurama while Naruto was just born. Byleth's in game starting age is 21 while Naruto's is 12 in the manga. However, since Naruto graduated early, and for the sake of the story, the usual graduation age will move up to 13, which means Naruto is still currently 12.

Fun fact: Might Guy originally replaced Kagero as the sensei for Team 4. Had him in for about 2 edits...then completely scrapped the idea. Couldn't put his personality into paper and having him and Lee on the same Team turned out to be exhausting. Did research on Guy and hoped I can get his character right, but then realized I'd basically have no more need for Kagero anywhere in the story and the end of the Chunin Exam arc would have very little meaning to Naruto himself if he got a new sensei.

Sooooooooo, long story short, went with the old idea (and no, it was not because I already had saved files I could use).

Thank you all for the follows and favorites. If you like this story, consider giving my other work 'The Fate We Have Chosen' a try. Reviews, both good and bad, give me motivation to write, so please keep them coming, and I hope you all have a damn good day.

P.S. if anyone knows how to run a Discord and yoi guys are interested, let me know. Can have a server dedicated to either story and a place where people can post their ideas and just hang out. If you guys are interested in that, then let me know.

Current ages in Scene:

Naruto: 12

Neji: 13

Tenten: 13

Kagero: 19

Hiruzen: Too old for this shit

Danzo: Old enough for this shit