Author's Notes

Hey everyone, welcome back to another chapter of Rewrite! I have not much else to say except thank you for the support as usual! Anyways, we are now slowly going to get into the canon side of things! So hope you enjoy it!

"Human Speech"

'Human Thoughts'

"Otherworldly Being Speech/Bijuu Speech"

'Otherworldly Being Thoughts/Bijuu Thoughts'

Flashbacks/Transition

Jutsu/Techniques/Abilities/Powers

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or Diablo; they belong to their respective owners!

Act Null – Prologue

Chapter III – The Final Hurdle

Sunrise, Temple of the Ancients

Naruto stood inside the hall of heroes, his eyes wondering around and taking in the bloodied mess from yesterday's battle. Especially the small circular pool, that was completely covered in crimson, with an unrecognisable body floating casually undisturbed. It made him cringe in disgust slightly at this scene, a realisation striking in the blonde that he has a lot of cleaning and purifying to do. It was not going to be fun; and decided to elicit the help of some of his fellow clones without using any hand seals.

The first clone looked around inside the temple and sighed in disgust "Do we really have to do this boss?"

"Yeah, like come on man! It's like the most icky thing to do! Especially if it has to be cleaning blood and guts!" An exuberant clone shivered at the prospect. It seemed this one had a light case of hemophobia.

The rest of the group of fifty clones nodded with agreement and mumbled to each other, before the real Naruto calmly interjected with a cough, making everyone silent before speaking "If we want to keep our ancestor's history alive, then we have to do this no matter what even if it has to get our hands dirty… However, to be fair to everyone, those who wish to sit this part out can join me in purifying duty, and perimeter clearing. To those who wish to stay for cleaning duty, I commend your bravery".

The clones spoke amongst themselves for quite some time at the generosity of their creator, before half of them moved over towards the real Naruto, and the rest of the clones prepared to go into their given areas to clean up.

"Heh, you would be a natural leader one of those days Naruto-kun, good leadership is a natural skill that a hokage should have" Kurama complimented with a nod.

'Thanks nii-san, I try my best' The blonde smiled happily at his big brother's compliments.

"Oh my god, is that what I think it is? Naruto, a monk of Ivgorod, being happy?" Kurama said with fake shock, before laughing at his little brother's deadpan expression.

'Oi, just to let you know, you have seen me smile plenty of times before!' Naruto pouted at the fox's banter.

Kurama then grinned "I know, and I feel incredibly special because of that".

The young nephalem hmphed at that, before lightly smiling again. It's fun to crack jokes once in a while. Sometimes he feels like his big brother is doing that on purpose, but knowing him, it's all for the goodwill of his mental health. He just makes sure that the blonde doesn't stay a serious monk forever. Which would be no fun at all now, would it?

On the other hand, as Kurama watched his little brother do the chores to keep his inheritance and ancestry clean, he can't help but feel happy that his old and slightly more hyperactive personality is starting to come through again. The fox misses the small blonde bundle of energy that he used to travel the world with and train so his little brother would be able to protect himself easier from people that would potentially try to bring harm to him. It is also important that he trained in his ancestor's ways as well, in order to control Naruto's continuously increasing strength.

One hour later and the temple was completely clean and purified from any and all remaining blood and residual dark energy that permeated the holy grounds of the ancients. All the clones slowly dispelled and brought the memories back to the original, with him cringing even more at the gruesome damage the cultists managed to accomplish before arriving to this location. However, there was one thing the blonde was sensing that he couldn't understand, some form of new energy other than chakra. Clearing out the last of the annoying fallen imps, he decided to follow the call of this new source. Naruto felt within his mind that Kurama was grinning like mad at this, before ignoring it in order to follow this faint trail. The temple disappeared behind the green foliage as he went further along the dirt path, before coming across something that made his eyes widen in complete surprise at the potency of this 'living' energy he was feeling.

Standing before Naruto were residual Shinto shrines with statues representing five different animals; Toad, Slug, Snake, Fox, and Dragon. It seemed to him that some of the population that resided here worshipped them.

"So, you have discovered the summoning realm shrines, Naruto-kun?" Kurama suddenly responded with a foxy grin plastered on his maw, breaking the young nephalem out of his trance.

'Huh, what was it you just said?' Naruto suddenly jolted and remembered where he was.

His big brother couldn't help but chuckle inside his mind, before calming down and telling him a short story that his own father told him and his siblings once "The ancients were the first to discover the uses of nature chakra, also known as sage chakra before the first hokage. Bul-Kathos, part of the first generation of nephalem, and leader of the Barbarian tribes, discovered the summoning technique along with his trusted brother Fiacla-Gear, whom was a druid as well as a nephalem".

The blonde widened his eyes at this information, before a sad smile came across his face 'So, there were more of my kind back then…'

"Yes, it is very unfortunate… I would've loved to fight Bul-Kathos" Kurama smiled mischievously, making the blonde sigh with a deadpan expression.

"Anyways, here comes the funny part… as they have completed the necessary procedure for the technique, they were both teleported to the realms of the animal that they have a greater affinity with! Their expressions were priceless when they discovered talking wolves and bears in their respective realms!" Kurama laughed haughtily, while the blonde just chuckled in amusement that his great ancestors would be freaked out by talking animals.

'To be honest Kurama-nii, back then those kinds of things were quite unnatural since chakra was just being discovered among humankind, as where today we have this as a common occurrence' Naruto defended his ancestors, making the fox stop and nod his head in approval.

"Yes, of course Naruto-kun, I understand completely, though it is unnatural today to have the supernatural beings such as angels and demons running around the mortal realm" Kurama countered with his own claim with a weary sigh at that fact, and then suddenly became quiet as his little brother went back to automatically trek towards a summoning shrine.

The blonde was now standing right in front of the crimson tori gate, before bowing respectfully and entering the shrine. It is an important step, as you do not want to anger the spirits of the celestial plane. There stood two kitsune statues with multiple tails. At the offering table, laid many gifts of the past that people left for respect of the summoning animals. He thought that he should do the same. It was lucky that he actually brought something that was of no use to him anymore; in his hand were three crystal see-through orbs that were suspended just above the surface they were on, and their slight ethereal glow was dimming, signifying that their usefulness was starting to decay. Naruto sighed at the three little triads; the good memories… remembering the time he found them in a small chest that was hidden beneath some floorboards of the Yshari Sanctum back at the training trip. After that, since finding out their properties, he and Kurama used them to their full potential in order to simultaneously learn how to control his chakra, as well as his spiritual and arcane energies. No time was wasted with them. It was a major improvement overall.

Putting them on an empty pedestal that sat conveniently on his right, he bowed once more in a respectful manner. Naruto looked around at the others; it seems most of the shrines were worshipped almost equally. Except, there was one thing bothering him; the fact that the snake shrine had less offerings then he expected.

"It is because snakes are considered a bad omen, the spies of the burning hells, and untrustworthy liars. The only ones that are capable of dealing with them and their trickery are the necromancers, who understand them and the feeling of oppressiveness" Kurama answered with a sad smile, knowing that when his little brother was younger, he was also isolated and oppressed by his entire village. Even if people still try to, although at a much lesser scale than before, the blonde doesn't care of what they think of him anymore and does his own thing in order to get the support of the people and change their opinions of him. He is proud of how far his otouto has come since then.

Naruto then responded with his own, before a confused expression overcame him 'The necromancers? Aren't they the ones who deal with the balance of the world's unnatural energies? As well as experiment with dark magic and the dead?'

"Exactly the reason that they are discriminated against" Kurama responded, which made the blonde shake his head at the misguided hatred against them. Even if it is disgusting what they do, they do it with good intentions in mind.

However, any thought process was interrupted when Naruto suddenly bit his finger until it bled, before immediately going through the necessary hand signs for the summoning technique. It was like he knew from the heart of how to achieve such thing; memories from his ancestors suddenly flooding his mind, prior to slamming his hand on the ground "Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning Technique)!"

And the blonde was suddenly nowhere to be found within sanctuary.

Summoning Realm: Kitsune

It was as if with a sudden flash of light, Naruto appeared in plain sight. His vision blurred by the unexpected intense speed he travelled. For sure, he was going to be dizzy for quite some time after all of this. Once his eyes were cleared from the fog of the harsh illumination that came with interdimensional travel, the blonde was in complete awe at the intimidating sight of sky-high trees. They were the giants of the forest, and he was standing there in the middle, feeling smaller than ever. The first time he felt like this. Though he'll get used to it if he comes back here again.

Studying his surroundings, he noted of many paths he could take in order to escape any trouble he might come across. However, that was an almost fatal mistake since the blonde dropped his guard; a wave of unrepented and wild flames came at him full force in the shape of a ginormous fox head that reminded him of his big brother. The young nephalem reacted quickly, with Heiwa no Jōtai planted firmly on the soft earth, before casting a half ram hand sign, making an invisible shield of arcane energy around him. The massive chakra flames suddenly just wove around him completely, before it dissipated, leaving behind black smoke and ashes in its wake, showing just how powerful it was. During some experimentation with the different types of energy that Naruto carried, he found out that the arcane was like a chakra repellent, it's complete opposite. And so, waking up as early as he could before team assignments since he had a lot to do, started experimenting with his vitality first thing after his morning rituals, in the process creating a new technique that is able to repel ninjutsu. The stronger the technique is, the more arcane energy it will take up to hold up the defensive matrix.

He called it; the Nankaina Gijutsu: Seishin-Zai (Arcane Technique: Spiritual Repellent). This technique also surprisingly does not require as many hand signs, the only help needed is from his trusted daibo, which sacrifices the potential for needing as many hand signs as Kurama said it would.

As the intensity of the smoke died down, Naruto was sweating from the exertion of arcane usage. This fire jutsu was extremely powerful for just one person to use it, so his thought was that it was a combination attack from a wind technique that expanded the flames to that level. However, this time the blonde was on complete alert as he saw two shadows with glowing slitted crimson eyes circling him within the remaining smoky soot that hanged in the air. They did not show any sort of emotion, their only mission to eliminate the intruder that suddenly appeared in their realm quickly.

"WHO ARE YOU?!" Naruto shouted threateningly at his two hidden enemies, trying to stand tall and be as intimidating as possible.

A deadly chuckle responded from within the smoke, taking its sweet time to dissipate. The creature's voice seemed to come from everywhere "For you to know our names is not on our agenda at this very moment, since you are not worthy, human". The last word was said with disdain in their voice.

"However, it is very impressive that you managed to avoid one of our strongest techniques, though with a heavy toll I see. It's not every day that someone survives the Enjō Kitsune (Flaming Fox)" The other continued with a laugh at the blonde's unfortunate circumstances.

"Can't we just talk this out and avoid resorting to violence?" Naruto asked hopefully, as calmly as possible, though on the inside was slightly nervous.

"Heh, whatever it is you are trying to pull, intruder, will not work on us" One of the voices spoke up with clear venom.

'I guess I have no choice but to fight them, in order to bring them to their senses. At least they don't know that I have other sources of energy to pull from' The blonde thought to himself before setting himself into a stance that he has been practicing for quite some time; the Odoru Tora (Dancing Tiger). Two fighting styles combined into one, balancing speed, strength, and flexibility. His goal is to disable the two unknowns as quickly as possible before too much damage could be done. Naruto could tell that these two were powerful in their own rights, and not to be taken lightly. Firmly clipping his staff to its usual place on his back, he took deep calming breaths, before fully concentrating on his targets. Squashing his fears in the process like tiny little insects.

The great bijuu watched everything in silence, without responding to any of his thoughts, and was just curious of how his little brother would handle his brethren's attitudes. As usual, he sighed at the recognition of the two kitsune that are trying to get rid of his ward. He taught them a long time ago to not be overconfident show-offs, and it seems that these lessons are going to have to be drilled into them the hard way. Just like how his little brother was one time when he discovered his awesome new powers for the first time, thinking that he was 'unbeatable!' Let's just say that didn't go well when he was beaten into the ground by yours truly, making his foxy smirk crack up just a bit. Now however, he takes these lessons to heart, and he'll do the same thing to those two kitsune in a heartbeat. Because when Naruto is serious, that is when you should be scared for your life.

"Look at him, thinking he can beat us! The superior species to humankind!" The two unknown kitsune laughed in the cover of the black smoke.

"Then come at me! Let us see who is superior to whom, and stop hiding behind the smokescreen, you cowards!" The young nephalem declared the challenge, making the two snarl wildly at him, before lashing out in a frenzy preparing to bite him in vital areas at a speed that slightly surprised the blonde, though not for long as he was faster.

Naruto flowed through them like water, taking a good look at the structure of the two before him as they crashed into each other; The two kitsune both sported two tails, and their colours are complete opposites of each other. The first one's fur was a deep shadow, while the other's fur was the colour of pristine quartz. Both of their eyes remained the same shade of red, their teeth were sharpened and glinted in the sunlight showing how painful the bites could be if they landed. On their foreheads, was drawn the symbol of balance, also known as the Ying and Yang.

'They're brothers alright' The young nephalem confirmed as he dodged swipe after swipe from the kitsune, waiting for a perfect opening to strike them down.

An overextended claw strike from the dark kitsune left almost his entire torso open, with Naruto taking advantage and sliding to his right, before punching him hard in the gut, his eyes widening in astonishment before being launched far and hard on to the soil. Another swipe came at the blonde from behind, responding by ducking underneath and grabbing his overextended paw, slamming the white kitsune into the ground painfully on his back. It made Naruto wince at the damage because he really doesn't like hurting animals, considering it a crime.

The two brothers barely managed to stand on their fours, shaking from the impact that they experienced. It was not very pleasant, and also damaging to their pride. Snarling angrily at the intruder that dared to cross them and being defeated by said human intruder irritated them even further to no end. That human was a damn child! They refuse to be defeated by a damn petulant and arrogant brat!

The white kitsune snarled slightly and looked at his brother "I think that it is time to unleash our full-strength brother, what do you think?"

"I believe we have no choice; this is our only hope to protect home!" The black kitsune responded to his brother, though with slightly more desperation. Fear evident in his eyes at this… inhuman child.

The two kitsune brothers closed their eyes and concentrated, focusing on releasing their full spiritual and physical potential. The mark of balance on their foreheads started to glow a foreboding viridescent, spinning like a counter-clockwise gear, unlocking the safe of their stored chakra. The colour of the mark quickly spread around their animalistic bodies, before surrounding them both in a coat of this new light.

When the two kitsune opened their eyes, they were the same shade of green, with a hint of natural red piercing through. They were smirking like mad at the human who dared to cross them, before charging at an unimaginable speed never before seen.

Naruto stood there in shock as he watched them power up their chakra to a level never seen before. It was a menacing green glow. The intensity of the nature chakra has increased exponentially, overflowing his senses, making him tone them down a notch just to function properly. It was becoming clearly visible on the kitsune's bodies as well, like a protective layer of plasma. The young nephalem started sweating slightly at its potency, before calming down and getting a hold of himself. His enemies' power has skyrocketed to an exponential amount. However, going over through many of the scenarios, he came up with one where he will be able to stop this overflow. The natural energy is basically a different type of chakra, so he had to find a way to overpower it with arcane energy, and the only way to do this would be to utilise a technique that would target the chakra points of the two kitsune standing before him. Yes, he did (was forced by his big brother) study the anatomy of the human and animal bodies, making this knowledge useful in the critical moment.

The kitsune suddenly opened their eyes, revealing that shade of green again, but this time more potent with a tinge of natural red. The young nephalem tensed, before they vanished from his sight in a speed not seen before.

'What kind of technique is this?!' Naruto thought in shock before barely managing to twist out of a nature-enhanced claw strike. However, he wasn't as lucky when the dark kitsune came at him from behind and managed to scratch at his lower left side, leaving three red gashes that started to smoke from the blonde's healing factor.

Naruto hissed at the pain, but pulled through and continued his round of twisting and turning, occasionally getting scratched by a claw around his chest and midsection. These two were aiming at his vital areas, and he had to act fast.

'Those fools are using their last resort on my little brother; they shouldn't use it carelessly!' Kurama thought with straight up anger and disappointment while watching everything through his otouto's eyes. On the other hand, it should be a marvellous feet to corner the two brothers of taijitsu, though now, this is going a step too far.

The young nephalem's speed suddenly increased as he used his big brother's chakra to augment his legs, before casting a technique that he never used before. Memories of a past life before him, started to surface, and he doesn't know why "Hijutsu: Yukkuri Jikan (Secret Technique: Slow Time)!"

A bubble of distorted space appeared before him, managing to trap the two brothers mid lunge, becoming as slow and frail as a snail. This was his moment; it was the time for him to finish the pointless battle once and for all!

A combination of arcane and spiritual energy started to encase around the blonde's index and middle fingers, creating a beautiful and deadly dance around each other. Naruto breathed, accelerating with the help of chakra, before charging full speed into the large bubble and finding out that it does not indeed affect him. Making him sigh in relief mentally, before focusing back on the situation at hand, and casting his planned technique "Hijutsu: Shichimenchō (Seven-Sided Strike)!"

It was a rough landing for the blonde, skidding to the ground and slowly sitting up. He turned his attention to the two kitsune that suddenly fell towards the soft earth as the distorted bubble of space dissipated. The brothers were twitching violently as the natural energy tried to fight off the arcane energy within their bodies to no avail, before deciding to retreat back into the seal on their foreheads to recover what was lost.

Naruto was feeling extremely nauseous after using the technique for the first time. It was a very lucky shot that he managed to actually succeed. A lot of training was going to be needed in order to properly utilize his new abilities. However, his eyes widened when dragging earth was heard to his right. Carefully turning his head to the source, noticing the banged-up body of the white kitsune slowly trudging towards him with an evil smirk on his face "I will not, be defeated… by a dastardly… human!"

He gathered his strength to raise his claws, before falling back down on the soft green soil from the extreme pain. This made the blonde relieve a breath that he did not know he was holding for so long, though too soon as an extremely powerful wind blew away the remaining soot surrounding them. Of course, someone must have sensed the entire commotion by now and probably on their way to finish the job!

"I've had just about enough of this! Kuro, Shiro… what in the world were you both thinking?!" A serene but deadly voice shouted as out of the shadows came a beautiful diamond coloured kitsune, sporting nine white tipped tails, swaying menacingly in the rays of the sunlight.

A few others came as well wearing dark green jonin vests fit for animals, their fur sporting many different variations of colours, like a rainbow. Naruto counted at least six in total, concluding that they were her escort team. However, the dark brother whispered a few curses to himself for forgetting to put up a barrier before the fight, so no one would come to the human's aid; it would not be this time as he simply responded with some fake innocence "We were just trying to get rid of an intruder for you, my lady".

"Don't you mean visitor…?" She growled out, making Kuro gulp, fear evident in his eyes. Arguing with the kitsune queen is not a very good idea.

The nine-tailed vixen then turned her emotions a one hundred and eighty degrees, walking over to the injured young man on the floor and looking him over. One of her tails then glowed a calm sea green, while the others helped the blonde to sit up "I am extremely sorry about those two, they are always like this when they sense a human presence enter our realm. Their past with your species has not been pleasant".

"It's alright, my lady, I don't really mind a challenge every now and then. At least I taught them a lesson for underestimating me" Naruto chuckled, making her smile.

"Oh please, just call me Umi… I do not enjoy formalities. Although, it is highly impressive that an out of academy graduate genin like yourself managed to subdue the taijitsu brothers. I have not seen anyone fight like you do since a millennia ago". She reminisced, patching up the blonde's injuries in the process.

"I see, I am Naruto Uzumaki… it is a pleasure to meet you, Umi-sama" The young nephalem recovered and slowly stood, before bowing slowly and respectfully.

"It is mine as well! Anyways, how did you get into our realm?" She might've already knew the answer from past experiences, though wanted to double check in case it was an accident. However, the other kitsune clearing the field from the damage were curious, especially the twin brothers that were getting healed by two medics, who were also struggling slightly to get rid of the paralysis. That arcane and spiritual ki is very stubborn, and the medics nodded to each other to make sure to work out a way to build a resistance around it or conjure up some sort of cure. Filing those notes away for later in their heads.

Naruto was in his thinking pose, before answering truthfully "I entered your realm through the kitsune summoning shrine just to the west of the temple. What, is there a problem?"

Umi and the rest of the kitsune then suddenly froze at the mention of the structure, their gazes of sudden awe and admiration evident on everyone's faces.

"I can't believe it, so the prophecy came true after all…" Umi felt like crying, as it was thousands of years since she has heard anything from her compatriots. All the foxes suddenly gathered around the blonde, making him sweat drop at the scene before him.

"Heh, Heh, I forgot to mention that all across the summoning realm, the summons worship the nephalem like gods" Kurama warned a bit too late in his mind and tried his hardest not to laugh at the fear in his little brother's eyes, though instantly became pale when he saw who he was speaking to.

'WHAT?!' Naruto responded with clear shock and discomfort, though the next words from his big brother made him mentally grin at a revenge prank/blackmail.

"And um… please do not tell her that I'm sealed within you, because she's going to kill me for going missing for over one hundred years…" His voice became suddenly super quiet at feeling Naruto's emotions.

On the outside of the mental conversation that's going on between the two, Umi finally screamed out in joy, making the others cheer, even the two twins smiled at that fact. It's been a while since the kitsune queen herself has been happy, ever since her husband's/king's disappearance "The nephalem has returned to us! It has been such a long time since the day of the massacre issued by Imperius".

Naruto was distracted so much lately, because of everything happening all at once. He also had to later come to the hokage about his discoveries within the unfinished scroll of sanctuary. Should he also tell his grandfather figure about the summoning shrines? Nah, he'll keep that a secret. He doesn't want anyone just coming here trying to utilize this potential for themselves, that would upset the summoning animals.

The young nephalem then responded with just a meek "Okay…?"

Umi then calmed everybody down with the cheers, before sighing apologetically "You should know how long we waited for the day to finally come… we consider the ancient civilisation as our family, since they have taught us a lot. They were very kind people".

"I understand, though, to be honest, I just want to be treated like a normal person… and not some celebrity of a village or realm. It is too much pressure for me at this moment in time" Naruto responded softly while reaching out a hand to pet her head, on instinct making the queen sigh in content, leaning into the soft touch. It made the other kitsune slightly jealous, though they understand that not everybody can get what they want, and plus there are so many of them in this particular realm that it is just impossible to pet them all… yet.

Umi nodded her head in agreement to his statement, before regretfully letting go of the petting session "I get what you mean…"

Her attention then spun to the taijitsu brothers that were laying on simple carry stretchers, ready to be taken to the infirmary "And don't think that I have forgotten about you two for a moment!"

The two brothers suddenly managed to find the energy to jump in fear of her sudden focus. The two looked at each other, before Shiro decided to respond with a nervous chuckle "What is it that you need from us, my lady…?"

Her eye twitched at the formality and the attempt at playing it off like they just have not made a mistake "You know what you two did… and from trying to kill our first nephalem summoner since ages… you two deserve a punishment".

'Yikes, she's scary when she wants to be' Naruto thought to his big brother with a mischievous glint in his right eye.

Kurama then responded; never thought he would have to plea for his little brother to spare him "Please Naruto-kun, I BEG of you, do not tell her that I am sealed within you… otherwise Umi-chan will kill me if she finds out that I've been under her nose this entire time!"

'Oh, and what exactly is your offer to me? The almighty Naruto to spare you from getting whipped?' The blonde cheerfully asked, very happy that he finally managed to corner his big brother for once.

"A month's binge of all your favourite ramen from Ichiraku! No healthy diets at all, I will fulfil that promise to you!" Kurama was now sweating bullets.

'Hmm, that is a very generous offer coming from a strict brotherly teacher… I will have a think about it' Naruto mentally grinned at the mind games, feeling the nervousness from his big brother in waves.

The great bijuu never thought that karma could be this much of a bitch, avoiding the wrath of the blonde for many years and finally this is the one that breaks him. Sometimes, he thinks that his otouto was waiting for a perfect moment for the best comeback in the world that would take him a while to recover from. Yes, his only weakness is staring him right in the face; and it seems that thanks to Naruto's superior intelligence, he figured it out quite quickly of their relationship.

Back in reality, the twin brothers were shaking in fear as lightning struck behind Umi, who held a malicious grin, before responding calmly with a clap of her hands with the storm instantly dissipating "You two will be taking care of the kits in the kindergarten for over a month".

And that was when the taijitsu brothers succumbed to the pressure and fell unconscious, with their final thoughts of 'Not the kits!'. This made every kitsune witness feel sorry for them, though not sorry at the same time. Everyone knows the reputation of those kits… and in the words of a certain pineapple haired lazy genius; they were troublesome.

Overall, the entirety of the morning was chaotic in the Kitsune realm, also with the queen of the kitsune eventually finding out that her husband is sealed within Naruto, she asked him kindly to summon him out in a durable as possible shadow clone body. Of course, the blonde knew exactly what was going to happen within those next few seconds and could not be happier to comply. He was beaten harshly and chased around the entirety of the forest and kitsune village for leaving her for all those years.

Naruto was satisfied for the loud pleas for forgiveness as he was shown around the entire village. Kurama should've known this from the very beginning; never deny an Uzumaki their ramen!

Early Morning, Academy

Sasuke tapped an idle rhythm on his desk, while looking out into the window and pretended to be the usual brooder everyone knew. It was a sort of tick whenever he was nervous, wondering about where his best friend was. It was not like Naruto to come late as he was always punctual, even showing up before the entire class does sometimes. However, most of the students were already here and waiting for the sensei to arrive, which would be within the span of at least fifteen minutes if his long-term observations were correct. The absence of the two fangirls were nothing new, as they always held up because of some stupid competitions, potentially fighting over him.

That is when he remembered of some rumours spreading about demon attacks occurring within the span of two days; the first being at the outskirts of the village, while the other at some old ruins deep in the forest. It doesn't bode well though with the young surviving Uchiha, as he knows that the epitome of all these disasters are happening around his only precious person. One thing is for certain; getting stronger to protect him was his goal and getting answers from his older brother on the massacre second. His sole purpose in life was vengeance, though Naruto made him see the light of the matter that it brings nothing but more pain and sorrow. If his friend could do this with him, then he could do the same with Itachi… bring him home and find answers. This was his new goal.

Back to the rumour topic, people of the village think that those demons appearing out of nowhere was because of the 'kyuubi brat'. He completely disagrees of his friend's treatment completely as it was out of order, though there is something more to Naruto then meets the eye… that strange new teleportation ability from yesterday morning and telekinesis. Reading more on the blonde's powers in the shinobi library would be required. It might be slightly prying, even so, he really wants to get to know his friend better! Hiding all of these awesome abilities is just not cool! It is however understandable the reason to keep it secret; Sasuke bets that it is an issue of trusting someone completely.

Screeching brought Sasuke out of his musings, sighing at the pathetic display of two in-training kunoichi; Ino and Sakura. Those two are a handful. Naruto was always there to save his ass from the biggest fangirls; this was not to be the time. Paling at the two approaching catfighting girls, he hoped to not be noticed. Alas, his wishes did not come to pass with them calling a truce, both smiling at their beloved last survivor innocently; eyes betrayed by lingering lust.

"Hello Sasuke-kun" Sakura started off, quietly.

Which is unnatural for everyone in the class.

"Is it alright if we sit close to you?" Ino continued, trying to allure him by putting a certain charm in her voice.

That made Sasuke's spine shiver in fear, albeit not showing it in the slightest.

The raven-haired boy then responded with a quiet whisper, without even looking at them "I apologise, though the seat is reserved for a close friend of mine".

"You do mean us, right?" Ino replied, stretching her syllables to try and sound seductive.

His saviour came in the form of Iruka-sensei, whom was much earlier than the raven-haired boy had predicted, sighing in relief, and giving a silent 'thank you' to whatever deity took pity upon his situation. However, that did not mean it gave Sasuke comfort knowing that a speck of blonde hair did not come through the sliding door.

The two fangirls were now playing rock, paper, scissors to decide who gets to sit next to the last Uchiha, always ending up drawing; which made everyone think what kind of luck someone must have in order to do that.

"Alright class, please, settle down" Iruka calmly and politely asked of his students.

'This is bad, what is taking Naruto so long? And on an important day as well!' Sasuke internally panicked, a bit of sweat forming on his brow.

As all of the students quieted down and took their seats, still giddy about finally becoming true shinobi, the raven-haired boy's attention was taken by a look from his sensei. The question was clear; where the hell is Naruto? Since even Iruka noticed the lack of blonde hair and calm aura around the class.

At this, Sasuke shrugged his shoulders in denial, a silent conversation going between them. He will deal with it later, as of right now, the teacher had to announce an important matter at hand "As you all know…"

Was all Iruka could say before a heaving blonde appeared in the doorway "Sorry about that Iruka-sensei! Am I late?"

The scarred chunin smiled, before shaking his head negatively, and replying warmly "That's alright Naruto, you're right on time, actually, just about to start".

"Thanks, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto bowed gratefully for his forgiveness, before going over to sit next to his Uchiha friend. This made the fangirls glare as usual at him, but the pathetic attempt at killing intent never affected him at all.

"What took you so long?! I was mentally breaking down because of worrying about you constantly!" Sasuke whisper-shouted.

Naruto then answered his question by placing a calming hand on his shoulder "I will explain later".

The raven-haired boy decided to accept the answer for now with a slight nod, before bringing their attention back towards their homeroom teacher, continuing with his speech as if he was not just interrupted "Anyways, as you all know, thanks to your hard work and dedication, being one step closer to your goals must be satisfying. However, do not go lax just yet, even if you are now genin, the lowest rank in the shinobi forces, this is where the true challenges of a ninja begin".

Iruka looked at his class for one last time, teaching these kids for who knows how long with a proud smile on his face, especially the blonde and his friend. Those two have come far in their own regards; their friendship to a greater degree than before. He sighed, listening to his class's excited chatter, before continuing in a reminiscing voice "Many have died in your position from not taking this life seriously. So, as a fellow experienced shinobi of the leaf, I would like you all to be careful on your journeys, listen to your instructors, and take your training more seriously. You must be strong mentally and physically as a shinobi, in order to not hold each other back. Be a unit, a team that complements one another. And maybe, you just might succeed in your careers; whether it is for money, fame, keeping a stable lifestyle or protecting the village as a whole".

This made everyone smile and nod in determination. Naruto and Sasuke looked at each other with big grins on their faces, before fist bumping each other like long time bros.

Iruka smiled, satisfied with his monologue, reading off the notepad, and started to address the exciting part; the team placement process "Now then, I shall call your names and your team number, as well as your jonin instructor. From this point on, that is the squad you are going to be in for the rest of your time together".

The fangirls were of course wishing and hoping to be on their beloved Uchiha's team, especially Sakura and Ino, who were glaring at each other from across the tables. This made Naruto and Sasuke hope for the best "To the same team?"

"To the same team, with no fangirls" The raven-haired boy replied in a praying position of his own, while peeking at his friend to see how he does it.

The scarred chunin started listing off the teams, the suspense killing them. Tuning out the disappointing cries or happy cheers, uncaring, until their names were heard "Team Seven will be Uzumaki Naruto".

Naruto peaked from his praying, hiding his tension.

"Uchiha Sasuke"

The two high fived each other, cheering at being together on a team, although Naruto's was more subdued.

It was no surprise though that nearly all the fangirls tried their best not to shout and scream, Sakura and Ino specifically, when they heard the last name being said by Iruka "And Hyuuga Hinata".

Instead, all the girls just opted to openly glare at the poor shy princess, who just instead decided to hide into her hooded jacket even further. However, in her mind, she was an extremely different personality 'I'm on a team with Naruto-kun! I'm on a team with Naruto-kun!'

At the manners of the disappointed kunoichi, it was the young nephalem that stood up for the shy Hyuuga heiress; in other words angry, tapping his staff on the ground, the golden glow of the two tips intense as the hue spread across the room, making every fangirl in the class instantly turn their attention away in shame at their own actions and the blonde's killing intent.

Naruto then started lecturing them all, while at the same time reflecting on their mistakes "You are now all kunoichi of the leaf! How dare you continue this kind of behaviour?! Especially trying to ostracise one of our own shinobi! We are supposed to be the next generation, where our instructors are going to train us to surpass them! It was also predicted by the late fourth hokage that this generation is supposed to be the golden one! Take this job seriously for Ytar's sake!"

'There he goes, this is the last time otouto would be reminding those mindless women of the dangers outside the safety of the walls' A certain fox in his mind grinned.

"What makes you think you could control us in what we do?!" A random fangirl dared to counter his words of wisdom.

The blonde then replied with a serious frown "I am only trying to warn you, this is your last time to change".

Sakura and Ino were heavily considering punching the blonde idiot of the class, or so that is what they call him. In reality, they are the ones who are idiots; completely underprepared for shinobi life, though that is for their jonin sensei to decided their fate. Most of the boys in the class however were on the monk's side either way, because his word was always true. Heck, he was the most talented genin out of all of them, except for say the last Uchiha whom was a close second. Nobody would mess with those that bore and radiated experience.

Hinata on the other hand, was completely blushing up a storm that someone would come to her aid and even defend her honour as a true kunoichi; dare say that she even developed a huge crush on the blonde monk, starting to plot ways of trying to gain his attention, maybe start off by helping her on the gentle fist. Can monks even find love? Is it allowed? Those were the main questions that needed to be answered. She was afraid to speak to her father about it, in case he would disapprove, which would be likely. He was an extremely strict man, almost to a point of cold even, and wouldn't react kindly that she was placed on her favourite person's team. Instead, Hinata would ask their new sensei, whoever it is, if they know about the Sahptev religion. If not, then the library would be her next stop.

"Alright everyone, calm down, let us continue with the team placements" Iruka stepped in suddenly and diffused the situation, albeit slightly nervously, with the blonde nodding his head and sitting back down, while the random girl reluctantly took her seat; glaring at her sworn enemy that tried to deny her own choices in life. This brought many out of their thoughts.

When the academy sensei was satisfied, he continued with the announcements "Alright Team 7, your jonin instructor shall be Hatake Kakashi".

'We will be waiting here for a while' Naruto sighed in resignation.

"Hey, good job on dealing with those fangirls, wish I was as brave as you" Sasuke decided to break the silence with a teasing nudge, since he noticed that the lavender-haired girl had a crush on him.

"When you have Ytar on your side, nothing can stop your unbreakable will" The blonde said confidently with a smirk.

"Of course" The last Uchiha agreed with a sweat drop, since knowing him, it's probably true.

"Remember what I said about overconfidence, Naruto-kun" Kurama reminded his little brother in the mind.

'You're so strict and overprotective sometimes, Kurama-nii' Naruto shook his head mentally at that.

It made the fox smile at something that he was in deep thought about recently 'That is because I view you more than just a brother now; but as my own kit, think of me more as a father figure until he returns'.

After all the teams were announced, Iruka decided to call a one-hour break to give them time to prepare for the arrival of the jonin. It was also the day that the group known as the rookie nine was formed; with team eight being led by Kurenai Yuhi and her students Inuzuka Kiba, Aburame Shino and Haruno Sakura, who was openly annoyed and terrified at the same time of being placed with the mutt boy and the bug user. Since team nine was still in circulation during the graduation, team ten was formed under the lead of Sarutobi Asuma and the new generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio; consisting of Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru and Akimichi Choji. Ino complained within herself for being put with the lazy bum and a fatty. And of course, team seven; led under Hatake Kakashi and his students Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke and Hyuuga Hinata. There were no complaints of course, just mutual respect for each other. The shy princess was mentally cheering at her luck to be on a team with her secret crush; Naruto. It will take some time getting used to being together all the time from now on, though they'll get used to it eventually.

"So, you two want to come outside and hang out?" Naruto was the first to break the awkward silence, eliciting a calmness that made the other two sigh in relief at the comforting aura.

At The Same Time In The Hokage's Office

The hokage was surrounded by jonin, to whom were all occupied by a crystal ball, looking into the academy class with a smile "I would like to hear your opinions on the potential students you all shall be teaching".

"Hmm, to be honest, the synchronisation between the new Ino-Shika-Cho trio needs work, though it will do for now" Asuma was the first to reply, with a cigarette in his mouth.

"I see, a very honest answer, Asuma-kun" Hiruzen nodded his head in approval.

"A full-on tracking team would have been great if Hinata-chan was one of my students, though I guess Sakura will have to do. She needs a lot of work, and I plan on having her be the next genjutsu mistress, since my observations, noticing the girl's extremely good chakra control" Kurenai started.

"Very observant, Kurenai. Though what of her attitude?" The aged professor asked out of curiosity, before shivering as the response came from her.

"I will beat it out of her… and if Asuma-kun is too lazy to handle that other girl, I shall take it upon myself to rid of that fangirl personality once and for all" Kurenai declared with the most serious looking eyes anyone had seen on her, making the males of the room slightly back away.

Hiruzen coughed to get everyone's attention "Anyways, what of you, Kakashi? You seemed to be out of it lately".

"Oh? Me? Well, I believe my cute little genin definitely have what it takes to be great shinobi, those three definitely complement each other well" Kakashi snapped out of his thoughts and stated confidently.

"What makes you say that? Does something stand out in your future students compared to ours?" Asuma questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Nope, just a gut feeling" Was the one-eyed jonin's simple lax answer, making everyone face fault at that. However, Kakashi knew in his mind he would also be training the future legendary demon hunters of the elemental nations… yeah, that has a nice ring to it.

"I thank everyone for giving me honest answers about your newly assigned students, specifically signed by me. Honestly thought that the combinations would receive negatives, though was honestly surprised to see you all agree. I can't wait to hear the results of your… tests" Hiruzen said with a small smile as he puffed out more smoke from his pipe.

"Hai, hokage-sama!" Everyone synced.

However, Asuma's comment was what made everyone chuckle "Of course, nobody could deny the professor's predictions, gramps".

3 Hours Later, Academy Classroom

The newly formed team 7 were the only ones left in the barren classroom, doing a round of ice breaker and introduced themselves to each other as well as discussing each other's skills and abilities, with the two genin hoping that their blonde monk friend would reveal his strange new powers to them, although were disappointed that he only described his chakra techniques, surprised by the fact he knows the summoning technique, and has a kitsune contract none the less "Aren't the sannin the only ones who hold the current contracts of the toads, snakes and slugs? I didn't know there were others" Sasuke stroked his chin idly.

"Yeah, Naruto-kun, I thought it was only just those three, like Sasuke-san said" Hinata stuttered, while twirling her fingers together, still thinking that her fantasy of being on her crush's team has come true, though didn't know what kind of future has been set for the three teens.

"Of course, there are the three main contracts out there, although there are others too; like Hanzo of the Salamander, who holds the contract for the salamanders, and Hiruzen Sarutobi, our current hokage who holds the contract for the monkeys" Naruto wisely explained his knowledge, getting his new teammates to wonder out loud.

"Interesting yet true facts, blondie, though I apologise for being late; a black cat crossed my path and had to go the long way around" A man with gravity defying hair walked in through the sliding door with an eye smile and a wave, while reading a recognisable orange book.

"Hmph, that 'long way' around was probably browsing your favourite comic bookstore for any of your favourite novels that you like to read and take extra time searching for the newest issues, scarecrow" Said blondie shot back, a barely noticeable shift of his lips shown, forming a smirk. The silver haired man almost fell at the insult, though managed to catch himself.

"You two know each other?" Sasuke raised an eyebrow.

"We go back a few days… had a few interactions, but nothing really special" Naruto replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

Their new jonin teacher managed to get everyone's attention onto him, before eye smiling once more "My first impression of you lot is… that you're all very intriguing".

"Thanks, sensei… I guess?" Hinata stuttered slightly in response.

"Now then, meet me on the roof in 5 minutes" The scarecrow man blankly stated as he vanished in complete smoke, making the others cough slightly.

"Up for a race?" Sasuke looked at his best friend for confirmation.

Naruto thought for a moment, before answering "Alright then, last one to the top pays for the ramen… and I promise not to teleport".

And as they shook hands, the only thing remained was the wisps of smoke from their new sensei's jutsu. Only the shy Hyuuga heiress sighed in defeat, as she peacefully followed the two, not getting involved in their shenanigans.

Academy Roof

"So, since you're all here, I would like to for all of us to introduce ourselves; your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, and so on and so forth" The masked scarecrow briefly explained before sweat dropping at his students; Hinata was taking a seat on the concrete elevation while shyly looking aside and twirling her fingers together, while Naruto stood there calmly taking a breath of fresh air, before sitting down on the concrete with his legs crossed together with his staff on his back. And Sasuke, was holding onto his dear life while sweating profusely, seems the race went well.

"How are you… so god damn fast?" The raven-haired boy huffed out in between breaths, while grimacing at the fact that his wallet is going to go out in flames after this.

The blonde monk answered with a small smile on his face "Lots of stamina and endurance training in the mountains of Ivgorod, and it seems that since you lost; you must upkeep the promise on treating us to ramen later".

Sasuke paled at the thought of his wallet getting lighter once more, as he finally caught his breath and sat down with his teammates.

"Now then, with that out of the way, let's get started; My name is Kakashi Hatake. You don't really need to know my likes, I might have a few dislikes but not as many, and my dreams for the future are none of your concerns" The Jonin known as Kakashi Hatake introduced himself to his students, making all three genin face palm: yes, even the shy princess agreed with her teammates.

"What? Did I say something wrong? If you have any concerns, now's the time to voice them" Kakashi shrugged his shoulders and continued reading his orange book.

"Yeah, the only thing we found out about you is your name, and that's it" The last Uchiha pointed out blankly.

"Sensei, aren't introductions meant to be for us all bonding together like teacher and students? We need to know more about you" Surprisingly, it was Hinata who silently whispered out her own opinion, which made the blonde gain her attention, making her blush. Sasuke noticed the interaction and smirked, now to find a way to get those two together. Kakashi was thinking the same thing.

"You took the words straight out of my mouth, well done Hinata; I see you took a great deal of attention to my words of wisdom during the academy" Naruto praised her, making the shy lavender-haired girl smile happily.

"Alright, fine, fine… I will do it properly this time: My name is Kakashi Hatake. What I like to do most of the time is read my favourite novel series; Icha Icha Paradise, although you are all too young to read it yourselves" Kakashi started, making the genin's looks more blank then before.

"What?" The sensei asked, more irritated this time.

"Nothing, nothing… keep going, sensei" Naruto calmly said with a friendly smile, making the jonin sigh before continuing his proper introduction.

"My second likes is to usually wonder around town and helping others in need; although you guys already established that from my lateness. And my final recent interest came in the form of demon slaying, although I have not found any jobs related to that yet, as well as training of course as my main pastime" Kakashi said with a shrug while taking a sideways glance at Naruto, who was still smiling at the mention of his recent interest.

"Now then, my dislikes include those who betray the village, and do not follow the village rules. Second, I hate those that disrespect the fallen shinobi and also those who abandon the will of fire for the sake of their own pride and dignity. And finally; people who try to take away my precious comics" The one eyed jonin hugged his treasure to accentuate how important they are to him, making everyone sigh in defeat.

Kakashi coughed in his hand, distracting everyone from the embarrassing display, before doing his infamous eye smile "My dreams for the future… maybe live a quiet life and train the next generation of shinobi."

The genin started mock-clapping at their sensei's introduction, before stopping and laughed together as they saw their sensei bow, before pointing at the shy heiress "Your turn, princess."

Hinata took a deep breath as she has never had to be on the spotlight before, even if only a few times in the academy in front of the class, but this is slightly different. Looking at her two teammates, they gave reassuring looks as they've already done this in class while waiting for their sensei, she just has to repeat the same thing again. She sighed, before shyly and stuttering her piece "My name is Hinata Hyuuga. I like hanging out with my friends, and my favourite food is cinnamon buns because they're sweet. My favourite hobby is to press flowers and take care of my younger sister, Hanabi. I dislike the strictness of my family, and the caged bird seal that oppresses the branch family. My dream for the future is to become clan leader and change the ways of the Hyuuga and ban the use of the seal!" She voiced her dreams with determination in her voice, before blushing in embarrassment and hid behind her coat. The smiles from everyone reassured her confidence, before sighing in relief.

"Those are some nice goals" Kakashi complimented with a nod. "How about you, emo?" The scarecrow jonin turned his head to his raven-haired student, who glared slightly at him.

The last member of the clan started with fake grumpiness "First of all, I am not an emo. Second of all, my name is Sasuke Uchiha".

Everyone chuckled at the fact that Sasuke almost cracked, before he continued his introduction "I like to train, not just on my own… but with friends".

Kakashi's heartstrings were pulled at that 'And here I thought he was still in his avenger phase, looks like Naruto's presence really came through to him'.

Sasuke caught the glint in the man's eyes, before sighing with a roll of his eyes and continuing "I like any food that involves the ingredients of tomatoes in it; whether they are dried, boiled, broken down or cut in half. I don't care. My favourite past time is taking walks in the quieter parts of town, although it would be better to have some company sometimes" It was the last Uchiha's turn for his face to turn a shade of pink. Since when did he start to become so mellow?

Taking a look at the faces of his teammates, he knew behind those innocent gazes there was material for pranks and light-hearted blackmail, although not that it mattered anyways. He sighed and continued "I dislike anything that is sweet" looking over to Hinata in apologetic eyes, although she doesn't really mind at all. With that, Sasuke continued once more "And those that use their powers for their own selfish needs, but most of all… I hate murderers" The raven-haired boy finished the last sentence of his dislikes with spite, before being pat on the back by his best friend and sighing in thanks for the support.

'Okay, so Sasuke does need a little more work…' Kakashi changed his mind about his earlier statement.

"However…" Sasuke began, getting everyone's attention before his superior Uchiha smirk came through, which has been a while since that happened "My grand dream and ambition for the future is to bring my brother back to the village, and clear his name… find out why he murdered the clan. Because, I think that he wasn't completely at fault" Sasuke finished with conviction, getting a wide response from the shy princess and the one eyed jonin.

'Never mind, I retract my negative statement about him' Kakashi thought to himself, trying but failing to catch his own surprise.

'I believe in you, Sasuke-san' Hinata thought to herself with a smile on her face, wishing she at least had confidence like her two male teammates.

Naruto just smirked, before saying proudly "Now that's the true path to the light, Sasuke, I'm impressed, I can hear Ytar's praises of you already".

"Thanks, I guess" The last Uchiha scratched the back of his neck shyly.

"Don't forget that I would also like to surpass you one day! From now on, you are also my best friend and rival!" He suddenly shouted out and pointed to the blonde out of the blue, shocking everyone present.

Naruto spoke up "Sure, although it would be a long time before that happens".

"To a friendly rivalry" Naruto and Sasuke both shook hands, before hearing a cough from their sensei.

"Now then, I believe we have one more person to introduce themselves to us…" His eyes pan to the blonde monk sitting on the right, everyone's attention on him.

Naruto gracefully jumped off the concrete elevation and stretched his back, before starting his own introduction "Since you already know my name; Naruto Uzumaki, I'll go straight into my life. I am a monk of Ivgorod who is loosely devoted to the Sahptev Faith, meaning that I like training and routine. Gardening is also a very relaxing hobby, to me personally, while at the same time studying myths and legends of sanctuary and proving their truthfulness. My favourite food is ramen, as everybody knows, and creating new bonds of friendships with everyone I meet as much as possible; whether they are good or those that are misguided by their beliefs".

Everyone were not expecting to hear all of that, even during the ice breaker.

"My dislikes include the shifts of balance in the world, being treated like trash, the loss of my routine which would cause a spike of stress… trust me, you don't want to see me when I'm angry" Naruto continued, causing everyone to back up slightly, even their sensei who almost fell off the railing.

"Anyways" Naruto gained everyone's attention once more "I hate traitors and crime in general, and those who abandon the will of fire. Although, if anyone, messes with my ramen, hell's going to break loose, literally" Naruto finished with his dislikes, while eying everyone who would dare mess with his favourite food. Everyone definitely was shook by his killing intent before it went away instantly.

"And my dream… is to become the strongest in the world, and have my face carved into the hokage monument one day!" Naruto declared, with everyone sighing in relief that it's over before their sensei started talking once more.

"Now then, I was right about you lot being interesting. Since we are all now acquainted with each other, let us get right to business; you lot are not genin yet" Kakashi simply said with an eye smile, though failed to see the reactions he was hoping for.

"Naruto told us something was fishy from the start about this" Sasuke smirked.

Hinata just meekly nodded in agreement, although decided to ask anyways for confirmation from their teacher nervously "Does this test has anything to do with us trying to defeat you in some way?"

'Looks like they are sharper than I thought' The scarecrow thought to himself in approval, though looked at his blonde student with a slightly raised eyebrow 'Though something tells me he foresaw this coming a mile away'.

"Exactly, princess! However; my test has exactly a 66% chance of success, meaning that all the previous teams that I've had, failed miserably" Kakashi said ominously, although not working on his students, who were instead determined with fire in their eyes.

"Challenge Accepted" Naruto said simply.

"Time to get stronger!" Sasuke was fired up.

"I'll make my family proud!" Hinata's stuttering was replaced with a burning passion never before seen.

Kakashi was stunned, he had a bunch of unpredictable students!

"Anyways, now that you're all fired up, let us meet at training ground seven at seven in the morning sharp, don't be late! Also, don't eat breakfast, otherwise you might puke" was their teacher's last words before vanishing in a swirl of leaves, leaving his three genin alone to themselves.

"So, you guys want to go and get some ramen?" Asked Naruto with an evil grin that was pointed at a certain Uchiha.

Sasuke shivered, before answering "Sure, it will be a good way to discuss our plan of attack against our sensei, depending on what kind of test it is".

"What do you say, Hinata-chan?" Naruto asked calmly, adding the honorific at the end suddenly.

"Sure, I have nothing else planned for today…" Her meek personality returned, in her mind was a different story 'He called me Hinata-chan!' she repeated in a chant while turning beet red slowly.

Hokage's Office, After Team Meeting and Introductions

"So Kakashi, I see that you have met the kids" Hiruzen had a small grin on his face while puffing some smoke from his mouth after taking a pipe.

"Yes, indeed I have… and can tell they're going to be a handful" The one eyed jonin said with a sigh.

"Oh? Please tell?" The old hokage was more than curious now, although predicted what he was going to say.

"Do you perhaps have any potential demon hunting missions laying around somewhere? I don't feel like chasing cats any time soon for when they pass".

"I thought you'd never ask" Hiruzen smiled, while looking through a mass of stacks of folders in a drawer, before pulling out the mission scrolls and putting some of them into the 'reserved' box for certain teams.

However, the hokage paused for a moment, before gazing him straight into the lone eye "How do you know they will pass the test, if it hasn't even happened yet?"

"I just have a gut feeling, that's all" Was all Kakashi said with an eye smile, before vanishing in a swirl of leaves.

End of Chapter

And that's a wrap for this one! It is time to move on to the first act of the story! Also, sorry for not uploading for quite some time; life got in the way of things and couldn't do anything about that. But hopefully, I should slowly get back into writing this stuff!

Anyways, I'll see you all in the next one!