I do not own Naruto
Two days later, Konoha's ninja academy
Risu had spent an entire day thinking of a suitable punishment for his team. He went to the Hokage, requesting they be demoted back to academy students and barred from any future chunin exam, but as Risu had suspected, Hiruzen had laughed and all but dismissed their actions, suggesting that their abilities as infiltrator and future Konoha spies should be praised instead, especially by someone as skilled in the arts of espionage as Risu. The Hyuuga was pretty sure Hiruzen hadn't realized that it was Naruto at the meeting, but the old monkey sure had been acting like he had simply chosen to indulge the genins.
Whether he had actually recognized the ruse or not, the Hokage took advantage of the situation and was very happy about the fact that team 7 had joined the exams without the need to use any of his plans to coerce Risu into signing up. So, despite Risu's vehement protests, the genin trio got a commendation from the Hokage for 'taking a great personal risk to promote village interest', rather than the punishment Risu had requested.
Much to his dismay, any form of punishment would need to be both unofficial and exclusively from a now very displeased Risu.
He couldn't even punish them too hard, since he needed to prepare them to make sure they wouldn't die in the exams like countless genins before them. Not to mention, his team being punished for receiving a commendation would not be a good look if words got out to spies from other villages.
So… he had to resort to a roundabout way to punish them by pushing the trio to the limits and beyond. He asked Gai for his training schedule, doubled it and forced his team to follow it. No lunch break, just a soldier pill while running away from his fastest centipedes. If they needed to take a break, they would practice fuinjutsu while hanging upside down on the ceiling. During sparring, he pulled all the stops and went at full power, forcing them to resort to Sakura's Shosen jutsu on multiple occasions. The first evening, he had offered a battered and tired team a thermos full of coffee and announced, with a glint of sadism in his eyes, that they would continue training until dawn.
When dawn came, they were dragging themselves, barely awake and covered in sweat: the perfect conditions to learn how to make Hikaridama. After the Funyu Fuin, the fuinjutsu array to make the Hikaridama was laughably easy, but in their sleepless state the three inevitably made a lot of mistakes, causing the flash bombs to go off in a blinding display of light mere centimeters away from their faces. After a very filling lunch consisting of a single soldier pill each, Risu dragged them over the river to practice kenjutsu kata while water walking. The three fell into the frozen water far too many times to count, and by the time evening came and Risu dismissed them to their houses, the three simply fell on the ground and slept on the training ground.
Risu wasn't satisfied with their punishment, but for the time being that would have to suffice. He would request a mission outside of Konoha after the exams and he would get the three their real punishment there.
Naruto frowned, shouting at the kids to stop talking and be quiet. He was seriously tempted to cover the room with a Fubaku Hojin and force the students to stand still for a moment. Perhaps if they couldn't move, they would pay attention to the lecture. To his right, Iruka couldn't help but smile in sweet revenge. Not six months before Naruto was the one on the other side of the desk causing this ruckus. Sweet, sweet revenge.
In the courtyard outside, Sasuke was helping Suzume-sensei teach shurikenjutsu to the new students, including a particularly loud and brash nephew of the Sandaime Hokage.
Sakura was working her way into the backrooms, organizing the records under the watchful eye of the various teachers. She had immediately found the room with the chunin exam paper, the only room she wasn't allowed to enter. Their plan was simple: once their mission was over, a Naruto clone would hide in one of the bathrooms and wait until the academy was empty. During the night, he would copy the questions into a scroll and hand it to one of Sasuke's summons. It was a simple plan, and Risu-sensei had commented that their strategy lacked any form of fallback plan, safe for dispelling the clone and trying again, but the man hadn't offered any suggestion on how to improve the plan. If they wanted to pass this exam by cheating, he said, they better become good at cheating.
Sasuke's summons had already completely mapped training ground 44 and the group had come up with multiple plans, including entering the forest themselves in order to build a safehouse or two.
Observing the other contestants, on the other hand, had been extremely frustrating. The various villages seemed to work as a single unit: of the thirty Suna shinobi, only three left the hotel: a blonde girl with a giant folding fan, a boy carrying around something large and wrapped in bandages on his back, which Sakura heavily suspected was a puppet, and a redhead boy carrying a gourd on his back.
When Naruto had seen the redhead, he jumped down, greeting him with a huge smile, Uzumaki to Uzumaki. The boy had stared at Naruto for what felt like an eternity until he finally replied that he wasn't an Uzumaki but a Sabaku, and Naruto apologized profusely until the redhead left in a sand Shunshin without uttering another word. Back with his team, Naruto explained to them that the Sabaku clan was the house that all the Kazekages hailed from and were famous for their Jiton Kekkei Genkai, which allowed them to manipulate magnetic forces. They had stocked up on toothpicks which could have been used as wooden senbons against the boy. It wasn't exactly the perfect counter to Jiton, but they didn't have the time, the knowledge or the experience necessary to carve functional weapons out of stone like Sasuke suggested.
While they had managed to get at least some information from the Suna teams, the other villages were even worse. Oto, Kusa and Taki refused to leave the hotel, while the Ame teams wore identical uniforms that made them indistinguishable from one another. They had prepared a disguise for the Ame uniforms and sealed it away, but that was all they could gather on the foreign nins.
That evening, Risu-sensei was talking to his genin, hands crossed behind his back. "Allright, you morons. I still think your punishment was lacking, but I don't have the luxury to properly punish you at the moment. We'll revisit the situation once you're done with the exams. Speaking of the exams… I don't have any flashy technique to impress the Daimyos for you to master in a week, but I do have a rather useful trick that might help you not die horribly. It'll probably only work once, so be careful when using it. Naruto, make a clone and have him counter my jutsu."
With a puff of smoke, a clone of Naruto appeared, standing in front of him.
Risu looked at him, slowly uncrossing his hands and starting to deliberately follow the hand signs for the Shinkiro no jutsu. With a confused expression, the clone prepared himself to flare his chakra to counter the genjutsu, like they had been taught to do at the academy. The his sensei opened his mouth.
Katon: Gokakyu no jutsu
A giant ball of fire engulfed the unprepared clone, destroying him in the process. Risu turned to his students
"Can anyone tell me what I did?"
"You used the hand signs for the Shinkiro no jutsu to perform the Gokakyu no jutsu!" shouted Naruto.
"No… you used a trick to disguise your Gokakyu no jutsu to make it appear like another jutsu." said Sasuke, his Sharingar activated.
"Correct, Sasuke. I performed the hand signs of the Gokakyu no jutsu with my hands behind my back, where you couldn't see them, kept the jutsu ready to be used and performed the hand signs of another jutsu to distract Naruto's clone and catch him by surprise." Risu nodded "Like I said, it's a trick that will most likely only work once, but it might confuse your target long enough for you to disengage, take out a sealing scroll or maybe even prevent them from properly dodge the jutsu. Similarly, if you use a given jutsu multiple times, you can add a dozen or so hand signs to trick your enemy. If they think they can get away with it, most enemies will try to engage in close quarter combat as you're weaving hand signs to stop you from using jutsu. If you can trick your enemy to think it takes you five seconds to use a jutsu while in reality it only takes two, they might decide to rush at you in that sweet spot when they believe they can get to you before your jutsu is ready. At that point, just drop the useless hand signs and you'll be able to catch them by surprise in a position where they will have next to no chance to dodge. I call this trick False casting"
The trio nodded.
"Excellent. That was the only move I'll be teaching you for a while. Now, let me see your flashiest move and let's work on how to make it even flashier."
First day of the chunin exams, Konoha's academy
Team 7 stood at the entrance of Konoha's academy, watching the various teams entering the building.
"Well, morons, what are you waiting for? Don't tell me that after all the trouble you caused me to get here you're getting cold feet." asked Risu, his joke still tainted with some degree of bitterness.
"No way, Risu-sensei. We're the best and we're going to prove it! 'ttebayo!" shouted Naruto.
"That's more like it." He looked around, spotting Asuma waving at him near the other Konoha sensei.
"Let's see if you graduate from morons to something a bit more dignified." He said, taking a step away from them.
Sasuke snorted "Like what? Minions? Interns?" committed Sasuke, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
"Watch it, Uchiha. I'm still pissed at you three for that stunt." Shot back Risu, before appearing next to Asuma with a Shunshin.
Team 7 headed into the building. They followed the other participants, before coming to a halt, noticing someone blocking the door.
Naruto frowned, muttering something about stupid people blocking the corridors, before turning to his teammates. "Since the way is blocked, how about we just enter through the window?"
Sakura smiled, turning around to leave the building. "I guess that's one way to bypass the genjutsu."
"Genjutsu?" asked Naruto, confused.
"You didn't notice the genjutsu over the room number?" asked Sasuke.
"I didn't even look at the room number. I saw too many people in the way and opted to go around." declared the blonde.
Sasuke rolled his eyes, while Sakura couldn't contain a giggle.
"Only you can bypass a genjutsu without even noticing it" said Sakura, now walking on the outside wall of the building.
"That's what we get for having him as team leader." mumbled Sasuke, knocking on a window. A surprised trio of Konoha ninja looked at them, while Sasuke gestured to slide the window open.
"Hello, this is room 301, right?" asked Naruto.
The genin nodded and team 7 jumped in, sitting down on the closest desk, ignoring the stares from the other participants.
"You know, it's not smart for three rookies to attract so much attention." said a gray-haired ninja with glasses and a leaf hitai-ate.
"Hello, Kabuto-senpai. I didn't know you were participating." said Sakura.
"It'd be weird if I didn't participate. This is my seventh exam, I'm basically as much a part of the exam as the proctors" said the man with a light chuckle.
"How do you two know each other?" asked Naruto, curious.
"My work at the hospital. Kabuto-senpai is a very talented medic. I'm shocked you're still a genin."
"Unfortunately, medicine is the only field where I do ok. The rest of my skills tend to drag me down quite a bit."
Sasuke narrowed his eyes. This guy had participated seven times, meaning he'd been a genin for at least four years, probably more if one accounted for the time he'd have spent as a genin before participating for the first time. Plus, he apparently was a skilled medic that had never received a field promotion? After all these years, even if his other skills were below academy standard, he should have become a chunin and work full time at the hospital. Was he a mole planted by the proctors to give the leaf shinobi a boost?
"You must know a lot about this exam, then." He asked, trying to test his theory.
The man laughed, pushing his glasses up. "I'll share some info with my kohai with my nin-info cards" he said, while pulling out what appeared to be a set of cards.
That was all the proof Sasuke needed. The guy had been planted there to assist Konoha shinobi. He would do well to keep track of his position during the test.
"I have four years worth of info here. They may look blank, but if I add my chakra…"
The white card showed a map of the elemental nation, containing a graph with the number of ninjas each nation had sent. Useful information, but nothing team 7 hadn't already gathered.
Naruto frowned. Those cards seemed really cool. Why didn't sensei teach them how to make them?
"Got anything you want to know?" asked Kabuto.
Naruto looked around, looking for the other rookies, when he saw it.
"What about that kunoichi over there? the one with red hair." said Naruto, pointing at the Kusa team in the opposite corner of the room.
"Naruto… not every redhead is an Uzumaki. Do you want another awkward situation like that Sabaku guy?" asked.
Kabuto flipped through his cards, finding the one he needed.
"Actually, she is an Uzumaki. Karin Uzumaki from Kusa. She's the same age as you are. Her teammates are Fuzaku and Ryuzetsu. She has some form of healing Kekkei Genkai and has completed… Wow, over 1000 D-rank missions and almost 100 C-rank? That's incredible."
At that point Naruto had stopped listening and was marching straight toward the Kusa trio, his own team following behind. As they got close, the only boy of the group, a rather large ninja with broad shoulders wearing his hitai-ate like a bandana stood in front of Naruto, towering thanks to his massive frame.
Naruto ignored the man, leaning to the side and waving at the redhead.
"Hello! You are Karin, right? Karin Uzumaki?"
Karin sat up, assuming a defensive stance. The third member of their group, a woman with pure white hair and eyes only half a shade darker, reached for her sword, standing next to Karin.
"Who's asking?" demanded the boy.
"Sorry, I should have probably started with the introduction. We are Konoha's team seven: I'm Naruto Uzumaki and these are my teammates Sakura and Sasuke."
At the word Uzumaki, Karin dropped her stance. He couldn't be, right? Uzu was destroyed a long time ago, there were no Uzumaki left. She was the last of her clan, right? The other Kusa nin saw Karin's shocked face and relaxed, realizing what was going on.
"We are Kusa's team four. I am Ryuzetsu, the big one is Fuzaku and this is Karin." said the white-haired kunoichi. She put her hand on Karin's shoulder, snapping her out of her daze.
Naruto scratched his head, nervous. "Sorry, it's just that…I'm the only Uzumakin in Konoha and after learning what happened to Uzu and visiting the ruins… I thought I was the last of my clan. Or rather…our clan, I guess."
Fuzaku moved to the side, still a bit on edge, but allowing Naruto to approach the other Uzumaki. Before they could say anything else, the group heard the sound of a fight. As the six genin turned their heads, trying to figure out what was happening, a booming voice echoed through the room, accompanied by a massive explosion of smoke.
"Quiet down, you worthless bastards!"
The team of proctors led by Ibiki Morino had made their entrance.
Naruto got closer to Karin, leaning towards her ear. Ryuzetsu leaned forward herself, listening in to Naruto's whispering.
"The first exam is a written test with 10 questions, the first one is cryptogram and the solution is 'Beneath the light of a lunar eclipse'. Me and my team have all the answers, but the others are too long to explain. I'll try to contact you during the second test in training ground 44."
The eyes of the Kusa kunoichis bulged in surprise, before the proctor's instruction dragged them back to the present. They exchanged a knowing look, before following Morino-san's instruction and took their assigned places to start the first test.
Team 7 was calm. They had received the answers days before and had spent an entire afternoon solving them and memorizing the answers. Passing this exam would be a joke.
In the meantime, jonin lounge
"You know Risu, I still have a hard time believing you let them participate after that speech at the barbecue." said Asuma.
The Hyuuga frowned. "Couldn't do anything about it. Three little morons backed me in a corner."
Kurenai raised an eyebrow "What do you mean?"
"Oh, you two haven't heard how my team got to participate? The Hokage was laughing his ass off when he learned, I thought news would have spread already."
Gai leaned forward. "That sounds like a most youthful tale, Risu-san! Please, enlighten us."
Risu looked around, noticing how everyone's eyes were on him.
"It's not youthful in the slightest. And I'd rather not." said Risu, reaching for a newspaper.
"Maa, maa, don't be like that. You should be proud of these three." Commented Kakashi, casually flipping through his book.
"You and the Hokage trying to convince me that what they did was ok will not change my opinion about it." shot back Risu.
"I beg to differ. If the Hokage says it's ok, it means it's ok. He even gave them a commendation." replied the cyclops in a cheerful tone.
"Are the two of you actually going to tell us what happened or not?" Asked Anko.
Risu glared at Kakashi, before sighing deeply.
"Before beginning the story I have to comment on how your attention to details leaves a lot to be desired." Risu lowered his head, casually dodging Anko's kunai.
"And why would that be, Risu-san?" asked the snake lady in a voice far too sweet to be genuine.
"Maybe because none of you noticed that I never participated in the jonin meeting when the exams were announced."
That gave pause to everyone.
"Turns out, the three little morons I have for students decided that if I wasn't going to nominate them for the exams, they would nominate themselves. Sasuke popped my clone and Naruto disguised himself as me. Taught them too well."
Anko started to laugh, while the rest of the jonin were stunned. Risu took a sip from his tea, before continuing.
"They got all the basic info about the tests you received during the meeting, including the nature of the first test and the one in charge of it. Hokage-sama went as far as suggesting they deserved a field promotion for that stunt. I vehemently disagree, but with the Hokage praising them I can't exactly send them back to the academy. For the past week they prepared: they got their hands on the questions for the first test a couple of days ago and prepared a few safe houses in the forest of death."
Anko was barely breathing at this point. "Oh Kami… that was…too good. I can't wait to tell Ibiki."
"That was certainly an impressive display of skill. They'll make for an excellent infiltration team if they can fool us like that." commented another sensei.
Risu frowned "What is wrong with everyone here thinking it's not a big deal?"
"They showed great prowess in both infiltration and information gathering. Konoha is in desperate need of both, we can't keep relying on Jiraiya-sama's personal spy network. It was about time some kids showed promise in that field." said a jonin, fixing his glasses.
"Aww, is that jealousy I hear, Moroshi-kun? Afraid they'll draw all the attention away from your kids?" asked Anko in a sultry voice.
"Please, stop with that tone. It's not appropriate."
Anko huffed. "You're no fun."
"And you should get ready for your grand entrance." the jonin pointed at one of the screens.
"Shit!" shouted Anko, grabbing a banner and jumping out of the window.
Notes
Yeah, for an espionage team the first test was basically a formality
Nope, Kabuto's role in the story will not change, Sasuke is just wrong. It was a pretty reasonable guess, tho
With Naruto now knowing about his heritage, he was able to recognize Karin as an Uzumaki
Karin team was a bit of a problem: in canon Kusa has a VERY limited number of characters to draw from, especially of the correct age, so I was forced to improvise. Ryuzetsu comes from Naruto the Movie: Blood Prison, but there isn't really much info on her as a genin, so I just gave her a sword. Fuzaku... he's special. Technically a canon character, even if he doesn't have a name. I wonder if anyone will catch on to who he is...
I decided to leave unclear wether Hiruzen spotted Naruto's disguise or not. Both interpretations are valid, depends on what you think of Hiruzen's abilities
Answering PM/Reviews
Boy, there's a lot to cover this time
First: you are correct. What team 7 did was pretty much treason and they should be punished for it. Reading your reply made me realize that what I had originally planned (which essentially added up to a very mild scolding) wasn't nearly sufficient, so I reworked a few dialogues and touched a couple things here and there to make everything a bit more realistic. Hiruzen choosing to praise them for their ploy was something I wrote in the first draft, so I merely elevated his role from tacitly supporting them to shielding them from the consequences. I don't believe for a second Hiruzen would have punished Naruto or his team (remember Naruto's punishment for stealing the scroll of seals in episode 1? Or Danzo's punishment for his assassination attempt? No? Well, neither do I), so I think I got him to act in character.
In retrospect, I should have a small scene with Sasuke meeting with the raptor elders, but to be honest I don't really have a good inspiration for their realm, who they are, what their specialty is... Since the scene itself would have been pretty minor, I'd rather leave myself some room for the future
The sword strike after teleportaion is HARD. Sasuke will need to train for years to actually be proficient enough to use it as intended, as of now he can just swing somewhat accurately in the enemy's general direction. He only "killed" Risu's clone because it was a clone,
I was kinda baffled when I was asked how come Kurenai and Hiruzen didn't notice the disguise. I get that Kurenai is the genjutsu specialist, but... there was no genjutsu. Naruto's disguise was make-up, masks, wig and so on. They've been practing that since chapter 8. They almost tricked the Hokage using that same trick in chapter 10
I'm not sure how the previous chapter breaks my own worldbuilding, but I hope this chapter clears things up for you.
Boruto is not canon, it's a collective fever dream that will dissapear from our reality without leaving a trace once we collectively wake up.