"Naruto." — Direct speech.
"Naruto." — Thoughts.
*Slurp* - Sounds.
Ninja Registration Day. Konoha Forest.
A completely healthy Naruto stood in the center of a clearing, looking at a thousand of his clones. His usual orange jacket and pants were clean, as if straight from the store.
"Jiji is right!" Turning 90 degrees and placing his hands behind his back, he began pacing in front of the clones. "Now that we are Leaf Genin, we are one step closer to the title of Hokage. We can't waste time daydreaming!"
A chorus of "Hai, Boss!" echoed, disturbing any creature that had thought of entering the clearing.
"Today, we need to elevate our chakra control to a new level! All of you will try to keep a leaf on your forehead for as long as possible. Anyone who thinks this is a boring and useless exercise—doubts the decision of the Hokage and must perform seppuku!" Naruto stopped and looked at his clones with an intent stare. "You can start the exercise!"
Another "Hai, Boss!" this time seemed even louder. All the Naruto scattered around the clearing, picking up leaves from trees and the ground.
Meanwhile, Sergeant Naruto headed to take a photo for his file. Although he initially planned to make an incredibly cool war paint for it and even practiced facial expressions, he eventually decided to take a regular photo of his most photogenic face.
About an hour later. Streets of Konoha.
"Haha, Jiji seemed more surprised that I didn't pull any pranks than when I actually did…" Naruto walked calmly through the streets of Konoha towards the forest, until he began to notice that someone was following him.
"Hm?" Turning around, he saw a boy with a long scarf around his neck and a helmet on his head trying to hide behind a pole but failing miserably.
Naruto walked another street before turning around with a shout, "Stop following me! What the hell is that?" Right in front of his eyes, the boy tried to use the Cloak of Invisibility Jutsu but failed. Miserably. "You aren't fooling anyone, idiot!"
"He-he… Impressive, seeing through my technique…" the boy said, somewhat smug, dropping the Cloak of Invisibility.
With a big drop of sweat on his face, Naruto waved his hand in denial. "No-no, it was quite obvious…"
"Hey, I'll let you be my boss!" The boy shouted.
"Huh?"
"In exchange… Teach me that Sexy no Jutsu you defeated grandpa with! Please!"
"… I think the clones will manage the training without my supervision."
An hour of Bon Kyu Bon later. Konoha Forest.
On a small clearing, three people stood. A man in dark clothing, a naked woman, and Naruto.
"Take this! Sexy no Jutsu!" The voice of the exhibitionist beauty posing provocatively with her hands in her hair echoed for the man in the dark. The man (Ebisu) watched the woman with a dropped jaw until she disappeared in a poof of smoke. In her place appeared Konohamaru. "Huh? It didn't work?"
Ebisu blushed and with embarrassment on his cheeks exclaimed, "Wh-wha-what kind of vulgar technique is this?! It's not fit for gentleman's eyes! And I won't fall for it! Honourable Grandson! If you lower yourself to consort with creatures of this sort, you will descend to his level!" The boy with the helmet tried to escape, but Ebisu grabbed him by the scarf and pulled him back. "Only by following my teaching will you ever merit the name of Hokage!"
"Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" A loud shout interrupted their argument. Looking in the direction where Naruto had stood, they saw no less than a hundred of his clones.
"Wow! That's incredible!"
"Heh… How foolish, I am an elite tutor. I am not Mizuki." Immediately after his words, all the clones exclaimed:
"Transform!"
Hundreds of naked blondes with whisker marks on their faces and hair tied in two high ponytails appeared in front of Ebisu. Some hung on his arms, legs, back, and neck, while others just posed from a distance. Within a minute, Ebisu flew back five meters with a fountain of blood pouring from his nose.
"I call that one Harem no Jutsu!" Naruto wore a self-satisfied smile until it changed to a thoughtful expression. "Maybe I can improve this technique? I'll have to make clones start the research..."
After another emotional speech and the declaration of rivalry.
Naruto walked to the clearing where he left his clones, pondering. "Maybe I could improve the Cloak of Invisibility? But where can I get so many cloaks..." When he reached the spot where he left his clones, Naruto was greeted by the sight of thousands of sleeping Naruto lying on the ground, on trees, and simply piled on top of each other.
"What the hell!" Naruto quickly dispelled the sleeping clones and absorbed their memories. The clones could hold the leaf on their forehead for no more than five minutes before losing concentration. After an hour of repetitions, the clones started dozing off one by one.
Naruto let out a heavy sigh and shook his head in denial. "What did I expect? Anyways..." Folding his hands into a clone seal, Naruto created three clones. "Let's practice in a two-on-two battle. You can create an additional clone. If it gets dispelled, you can make another one. I don't think this counts as a full-scale war that Hokage-jiji forbade. Try not to kill me..." The clones bashfully rubbed the back of their heads, making Naruto sweatdrop.
"Well, let's begin!" With these words, two clones standing to the left of Naruto leaped away from the original and another clone, throwing shurikens in their direction. The team with the original scattered, grabbing their own shurikens and throwing them at the clone team. The clones easily dodged the shurikens and ran towards Naruto on the right, throwing three shurikens each at him, making him dodging further away from his teammate under their attack. Naruto, on the left side of the clone team, pulled out a kunai and started running towards the clones. Immediately after this, the clone team initiated taijutsu, which, obviously, they were winning by sheer numbers. After a couple of blocked strikes from the clones, Naruto received a kick to the ribs from one clone, allowing another clone to land a hit on his jaw. After the second hit, this Naruto disappeared in a puff of smoke, and a log appeared in his place. Behind them, two pairs of fast steps were immediately heard. The Original Team tried to hit the clones with kunai strikes from behind. The kunai passed through the smoke created after the strikes to show another pair of logs.
The two Naruto retrieved kunais from the logs and heard behind them, "It seems we can perform Kawarimi faster now." Turning around, they saw only one clone. Deciding not to search for another one but to quickly dispel the clone in front of them, they began to attack. The clone, without wasting time, formed a clone seal, thus creating a clone, before attacking the closer Naruto. The newly created clone immediately grabbed a kunai and clashed with second one of the attacking Naruto.
For a minute, they exchanged kunai strikes that never hit the mark until behind the attacking side, a loud battle cry was heard, allowing the Original Team to timely leap away from the sneak attack.
"Why did you yell before the attack?!" Regrouping, the defending clone jumped to another. "You almost had both of them!"
With a mix of embarrassment and a slight flush on his cheeks, the other Naruto replied, "I-I don't know." A second later, he frowned and pointed at his literal copy. "Wait, why are you yelling at me?! You're me, so if I did it, you would have done the same!"
"I'm not dumb enough to do something so idiotic!" The first Naruto also raised a finger at his literally identical copy.
"You're me, idiot! If I'm an idiot, then you're an idiot too!"
After this statement, the original Naruto dispelled the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, and with a face red from embarrassment, muttered, "Stupid Kage Bunshins..."
Sighing, Naruto checked the position of the sun. "I still have an about hour before lunch..." Inhaling deeply, he formed a clone seal and exclaimed, "Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" After the smoke from the technique cleared, he began assigning tasks to his clones.
"All right... Half of you practice the Leaf Concentration Exercise. If you start to doze off, create another clone, and disperse yourselves. The other half will attempt the regular Bunshin." The clones walked away to perform their tasks, while the original Naruto shouted, "No, scratch that. Three hundred and ninety-eight clones will perform the Bunshin. Two will assist me in training, and the last hundred clones will be responsible for our most powerful weapon! Sexy Jutsu!" Immediately after, the half responsible for the Bunshin started arguing about their placement in the lucky hundred. Naruto stopped the dispute, dividing the clones into five groups. He selected one hundred, and they lit up with bright smiles on their faces. "Harem no Jutsu is an incredible technique, but it doesn't limit our abilities!"
Looking at all his clones, he shouted, "Good luck, everyone!" The clones responded in unison, "Thanks, Boss!" Although the lucky hundred was smaller than the remaining nine hundred, their cheer was much louder.
Stepping away from the practicing clones with two clones by his side, Naruto explained the training plan to them. "The two of you will fight against me. Kunai and shuriken are prohibited. Clones too. One clone is not enough to truly make me go all out, so..." He was interrupted by a clone raising an eyebrow.
"You do realize that we're you? You don't need to explain everything in such detail."
"Oh, right. My bad. Let's get started!" With a loud cry, he attacked the clone, initiating the training.
An hour and a half later. Ichiraku Ramen.
"Hey, Teuchi-ojisan, I really need a large serving of miso ramen with roasted pork fillet!" Naruto entered the restaurant with a wide smile on his face.
"You've been frequenting us lately, Naruto," Ayame said with a smile on her face, which turned into a frown when she saw a bump under Naruto's right eye.
"So many good things have been happening lately; I constantly feel like celebrating something." Noticing Ayame's frown, Naruto quickly reassured her. "Hey, it's just a bump! The clones went a bit overboard again... It'll heal by tomorrow anyway." Ayame's narrowed eyes made Naruto sweat a bit.
"Baka."
Suddenly, Teuchi approached the counter with a ready bowl of ramen. "Don't worry, Ayame. How can he dream of becoming Hokage if he's afraid of a scratch?" Teuchi said, placing the ramen bowl in front of Naruto. "The shinobi craft is dangerous; you can't avoid a scratch. But still, be careful, Naruto."
"Hai, Teuchi-ojisan!" Naruto, with a joyful face, began devouring the ramen at a rapid pace.
A moment later, Iruka entered the restaurant and smiled upon seeing Naruto behind the counter. "Hi, Naruto."
Naruto quickly swallowed the ramen in his mouth and turned to the familiar voice. "Iruka-sensei! How's your back?"
"Not bad. Iryo Ninjutsu is doing its job. What about your eye?"
"Oh, just training." At that moment, memories from the dispelled clone flooded Naruto's mind, making him widen his eyes at Iruka. "Woo-hoo!"
"W-What?"
"I did it! Iruka-sensei, you were right, I did it!" Naruto jumped off his stool and began bouncing around Iruka in a cheerful state.
Iruka, growing irritated, lightly bopped Naruto on the head, calming him down. "Now explain what happened."
"Well..." Naruto said with a pout, "I had memories from a clone that managed to perform Bunshin no Jutsu, and in joy, it hit its head on a branch, dispersing." Iruka's eyes widened slightly after hearing these words. "Oh, right, let me try now." Forming the necessary hand seals, Naruto exclaimed, "Bunshin no Jutsu!"
Immediately, a copy of Naruto appeared next to him, smiling. The clone reached its hand through the wall and back, demonstrating that the wall remained intact. After that, the clone disappeared, and Iruka looked at Naruto with wide eyes.
"Just yesterday, he couldn't create a clone that could even stand! He said he received memories from a clone. Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"
"Nice going, Naruto! Today's ramen is on me," said Teuchi, who witnessed the entire demonstration.
"Yatta!" Naruto jumped into the air again, fist raised. "Thank you, Teuchi-ojisan!"
Gathering his thoughts, Iruka asked, "So, you're practicing with Kage Bunshin no Jutsu?"
Naruto, who had already sat back down on his stool and resumed eating ramen, smiled even wider. He nodded in response. "Yeah!"
"You're making great progress! So, what else are you training with the clones?" Iruka sat next to Naruto, ordering his ramen from Teuchi.
"Yesterday, I mainly trained Kawarimi and Bunshin; today, it's Bunshin and the Leaf Concentration that Hokage-jiji recommended. And, of course, Sexy Jutsu. Don't tell Ayame." Naruto said the last part quietly and with a cold sweat, as a loud sound echoed through the entire restaurant when Ayame pressed down hard on a knife while slicing ingredients.
Iruka smiled as he listened to Naruto. "You have a lot of reliance on our Hokage; that's good. Although it wouldn't hurt to have a bit more respect..."
"Of course! Jiji is Hokage. How can I not trust the Hokage?" Naruto responded, completely ignoring the second part of Iruka's words.
They spent the rest of the lunch talking about various things and parted ways when Teuchi said that the free ramen had ended, and only the non-expired one remained.
Naruto decided to take a stroll through Konoha before continuing his training.
Meanwhile, at Konoha's hot springs.
Not far from the women's side of the hot springs, one Naruto Uzumaki stood with a serious expression. "The next stage of research for Sexy Jutsu." Forming the necessary hand seals for Henge, Naruto transformed into his female version without changing his clothes.
Taking a deep breath, Naruto entered the dressing room of the women's side of the hot springs. Immediately, his eyes fell on an incredible sight: a woman with black with a blue tint hair, removing a dark orange mini-skirt. Underneath, there was only a thin metal mesh that fit the the lines of her body, covering her from neck to thigh. And nothing else.
Naruto stopped at the entrance to the dressing room, drawing the attention of the woman. Placing the dark orange mini-skirt next to her tan overcoat, she looked at Naruto with a calculating gaze that turned into the widest and most terrifying smile Naruto had ever seen on a person. Adding an extra sway to her hips, she slowly approached him and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Hey there. I'm Anko. What's your name?"
"H-hi, I'm Naru...ko," said Naruto, cursing himself for the slip.
"Nice to meet you. I couldn't help but notice how you were looking me over. Are you a lesbian?" Anko began lowering her hands down Naruto's body. Her words and actions made Naruto blush even more. "Or just Henge no Jutsu?" With these words, she quickly pulled a kunai from the holster on Naruto's leg and pressed it against his neck, never losing her smile. "Now, drop Henge or die."
Naruto's face quickly lost all the blood it had until now, turning pale. "Damn, a shinobi!" Out of fear or surprise, Naruto dispelled the Henge. "I-I apologize."
Anko approached Naruto even more, touching his body with hers, causing Naruto to blush even more. "Hm... What to do." Anko ran her hand down his back while her breasts touched Naruto's chest. "I could forgive you." Anko traced the kunai from his neck to his cheek. "But perverts like you simply call punishment upon themselves." With a swift motion, she cut his cheek, and in an alluring manner, licked the blood that started flowing from his cheek.
No second later, the clone dispersed in a puff of smoke, leaving a flabbergasted Anko alone in the room. "A clone?" Anko looked at the hand where the kunai lay just a second ago, surprised not to find it. "How did he not disappear immediately after being cut?" This thought lingered with her for no more than a minute, it was easily forgotten when she immersed herself in the hot water.
At the same time, Naruto in the middle of the street.
Naruto walked down the street with a cheerful smile on his face. His day had been great so far, and there was nothing that could ruin it. Suddenly, he received memories from the clone. Right in the middle of the street, Naruto fell to his knees, clutching his crotch. "Metal mesh, how sexy!" Gathering his thoughts, Naruto stood up and headed towards the forest. However, after a moment, his face paled. "She saw my face! I'm dead! Log, give me protection!" With these thoughts, he ran into the forest.
Konoha Forest.
Arriving at the familiar clearing, he noticed that all his clones also had slightly pale faces but continued training. Seeing him, they all stopped, and he quickly looked around, realizing that there were a hundred clones missing. He swiftly dispelled all the clones and received their memories.
The clones training Bunshin had all completed the task after the first one who managed to disperse, and they obtained his memories. Still, they continued to practice Bunshin, increasing their numbers, appearance, and so on.
The clones practicing the Leaf Concentration Exercise miraculously never fell asleep and continued the exercise until they received memories from the perverted clone and their control slipped.
The hundred clones improving Sexy Jutsu initially tried to enhance the technique by staying in the clearing and evaluating each other's performance. However, after half an hour, they realized that they lacked creativity and decided to find it somewhere else, mainly in the library with various magazines. Soon, one of the clones wanted more. That's the life story of the perverted clone.
Feeling tired from training and the memories of the clones, Naruto decided to rest. Sitting in a comfortable sitting position on the ground, Naruto picked up a leaf nearby and placed it on his forehead. "Well, I'll try it myself..."
10 minutes later, Naruto sleepily said, "Ha-ah, it's not as difficult as it seemed."
Hokage's office. Half an hour later.
The Hokage placed a stack of signed documents next to him, exhaling a puff of smoke. "I need to see how Naruto is doing. I hope he won't start another war with clones. Kyubi's chakra may increase his natural regeneration, but I doubt it will regrow lost limbs..." With these thoughts, Hiruzen activated Crystal Ball no Jutsu and began searching for Naruto's chakra, expecting to see Clone Wars. What he did not expect was to find a sleeping Naruto in the lotus position with a leaf on his forehead. "Is he maintaining the chakra flow necessary to keep the leaf on his forehead while sleeping?"
At that moment, the leaf fell from Naruto's forehead, and loud snores echoed across the clearing, causing the old Hokage to release a few quiet chuckles. "I'm glad he listened to me and at least tried to train his chakra control. Although the Leaf Concentration Exercise helps improve chakra control, its true purpose is to hone the individual's concentration. That's what Naruto lacks at the moment." Taking a deep drag, Hiruzen released a large cloud of smoke. "Maybe Naruto will become one of the genin who get promoted this year..." Looking at the Crystal Ball again, he released a few more chuckles when he saw Naruto, with a runny nose, curled up on the ground. "Well… We'll see."
Graduation Day. On one of the rooftops near the shinobi academy. 5 minutes after Iruka dismissed everyone.
Naruto sat on the rooftop, eating a sandwich he bought and washing it down with soda. "Man, Sasuke is such a jerk!"
"And Sakura... This sucks!" Quickly finishing his sandwich and soda, he jumped down from the rooftop and walked through the streets at a leisurely pace. "What could I do..."
Ahead, he saw a girl with white eyes and dark blue hair. She was talking to a dark-haired woman dressed in something resembling bandages with a pattern that resembled rose thorns.
Throughout his time at the academy, Naruto couldn't recall many times he had spoken to the girl with white eyes. Or rather, he couldn't remember at all, which was strange because he thought he had tried to be friends with all his classmates. He didn't even remember her name!
Deciding to rectify this mistake immediately, he approached the conversing pair. "Ano..." They stopped their conversation and turned to him. The girl with white eyes blushed deeply upon seeing him and made a strange sound 'Eep!'. "Sorry to interrupt, but..." Whatever he wanted to say got stuck in his throat when he saw who was coming down the street towards him.
Anko! All color instantly drained from his face, and he turned to make a quick escape. Within a second, he was no longer visible.
The dark-haired woman turned back to where Naruto was looking and saw Anko. "Oh, hello Anko."
"Hey, Kurenai-chan! Are you here to pick up your adorable genins?" Anko asked, examining Hinata, which made the girl blush. "And this is?"
"Hinata, this is Anko Mitarashi. Anko, this is Hinata Hyuga."
The shy girl murmured, "It is nice to meet you."
Anko, embracing the girl with a wide grin, said, "Nice to meetcha too, girl!"
Nodding, Kurenai looked at Anko with a questioning expression. "Did you do something to Uzumaki Naruto?"
The question made Anko make a thoughtful face for a second before her smile returned. "Ah, what's about brat?"
"He was just here. He saw you and fled at a speed that Chuunin would envy," Kurenai explained.
"Ahahahah, how unfortunate. After our last meeting, I wanted to taste his blood," Said Anko while thinking. "The clone's blood had a strange taste. Maybe the original's taste is different?"
"Where did you last meet him?" Kurenai asked, ignoring Anko's quirks.
Anko's smirk turned into a smile. "Why, in the women's side of hot springs, of course."
Afternoon. One of the classrooms in the academy.
Naruto sat next to Sakura, nervously scanning the room. Seeing Hinata, he noticed that she was looking at him. Her gaze... Well, it is not hate, that he could tell, but he can't understand what it means. "Nice, now she will hate me... And I just wanted to know her name."
Five minutes later, Jonin started coming into the classroom to retrieve their cells. When Kurenai Yuhi entered the room, she looked particularly at Naruto and narrowed her eyes. "Great! Jonin on the enemy list on my first day as a ninja!"
An hour later.
"Why are we the only cell..." Naruto began in a calm voice. "...whose teacher hasn't shown up yet!" Naruto yelled and jumped off his chair.
"Cut it out, Naruto!" Sakura shouted.
Taking an eraser from the board, he climbed onto a chair near the door and placed it between the door and the wall. A classic prank, doors open – eraser on the head.
While Naruto was doing his thing, Sakura yelled at him, "Hey, what are you up to?!"
"Heh heh heh, it's what he gets for making us wait!" Naruto replied.
"Grow up!" Sakura screamed again.
"Hmph. There is no way a superior shinobi could be caught by such a simple booby trap." Sasuke added his two cents.
The doors to the classroom opened, and an eraser fell on the silver-haired man's head.
"Hahahaha! Gotcha!"
"I'm sorry, sensei. I tried to stop him, but Naruto..."
"..."
The man who entered the classroom put his hand on his chin and struck a thoughtful pose. "Hmm, how should I put this? Based on my first impression, I'd have to say... I hate you."
Naruto nearly fell over. "Two Jonins hating me, and all in one day? Good going, Naruto!"
On the roof of the academy.
"Now, I want you all to tell me a bit about yourselves."
"… Like what?"
"You know, the usual... Your favorite things, what you hate most... Dreams, ambitions, hobbies. Things like that."
"Help us out here, sensei. You go first, show us how it's done," Naruto said.
"That's right... After all, you are a complete stranger to us," Sakura added.
"Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I'm the kind of person who doesn't feel like talking about his likes and dislikes. My dreams for the future are none of your business... But anyway, I have a lot of hobbies."
"Hey... He said a lot, but all we really learned was his name," Sakura remarked.
"Alright, it's your turn. Starting with you on the right."
"Me, right? My name is Uzumaki Naruto! What I like is instant cup ramen! What I like even more is when Iruka-sensei treats me to ramen at Ichiraku's! What I hate is a three-minute wait after I pour in the boiling water in my ramen..."
"Does he have anything more on his mind than ramen?" Kakashi thought.
"... My dream is to become a better shinobi than all the Hokage there ever was and will be! And then all the villagers will have to acknowledge my existence at least!"
"Well... Hasn't he turned out interesting..."
"My hobbies are pranks and watering plants, I guess. Ah, but training with Kage Bunshin is quite funny too."
"Kage Bunshin?" "Next!"
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are plenty of things I hate, but I don't see that it matters. There is almost nothing I do like. It seems pointless to talk about dreams; that's just a word. But what I have is determination. I plan to restore my clan. And there is someone I have sworn to kill."
"He is so cool."
"Hope it's not me."
"... I suspected this much." Kakashi thought before saying. "And finally, the young lady."
"I am Haruno Sakura. My favorite thing is... Well, it's not a thing; it's a person. A boy... And that boy is..."
Sakura threw a few shy glances toward Sasuke.
"Uh... let's move on to my dream." Sakura blushed and hid her face in her hands.
"..."
"I hate..." Sakura continued. "...Naruto!" The named boy with an open mouth looked at the love of his life. "Wha..!"
"My hobbies are..." She glanced at Sasuke again. Did he just blush?
"It sounds like young girls are more interested in boys than ninjutsu..." Kakashi thought. "Enough. I believe we all understand one each other."
30 minutes later. Naruto's apartment.
Naruto sits at the table with a cup of instant ramen. "I can't go back to the academy! I've trained too hard to just go back!"
"You are right!" said another Naruto, sitting on a chair in front of the original. "But what can you do to pass this test?"
"I can train even harder!"
"But you can't overexert yourself before the test..."
The original looked at his clone as if it were not his own copy but a traitor. "When did I ever train to the point of exhaustion and felt tired the next day?"
The clone sweat-dropped. "Right. But you fell asleep yesterday after dispersing the clones. Isn't that fatigue?"
"Hmm, probably because of the boredom of Leaf Concentration Exercise. Though you're right, it's better to reduce the number of clones for training... Let's leave it at five hundred clones," Naruto said with a contemplative expression.
"Alright. What are we going to train?"
"Not sure... Kakashi-sensei is probably stronger than me."
"Hmm? How do you figure that out? He couldn't even notice and dodge an eraser..."
"Yes, but he's still a Jonin. Jiji may be old, but he's still the Hokage. He appointed this guy as our sensei, so he must be strong."
The clone looked at the original as if he were a traitor in the room. "And since when do you really make sense?"
Irritated, Naruto canceled the technique, letting the clone disperse. After that, he began eating his cup of instant ramen. "If he's stronger than me, I need to improve my avoiding skills. The Cloak of Invisibility might come in handy. I need to practice using it. A regular Bunshin can help distract him, although Kage Bunshin would handle it just as well... Kawarimi for escape. Sexy Jutsu might work on him... But Sakura will kill me right after the test. Or during it." Pausing for a second to eat ramen, a frown appeared on his face. "What if he's WAY stronger than me? I heard that Jonins are hundreds of times stronger than genin. I'm not very good at math, and I'm much stronger than a genin, but a hundred sounds like a lot. Maybe I'll have to work with Sasuke to pass this test?"
"Ugh... Gross!" Naruto looked in front of him and saw the cup of instant ramen seemingly staring at him with wide-open eyes. Realizing what he said and to whom, he quickly began to apologize, kissing the hot cup without paying attention to his burnt lips.
"But we're a team now. We'll have to work together; I guess it's better to try to get used to it. I'll need to ask Jiji for advice." Quickly finishing the instant ramen, he washed the cup and started gathering his things to go to the forest. "Man, I still can't believe Sakura hates me..." Remembering all the times she hit him on the head, he corrected himself. "Well, maybe I can... But I thought our relationship was getting better... Maybe I can impress her during the test?"
Hokage's Office.
Naruto knocked on the door of the office and waited until a loud "Come in, Naruto" was heard from inside.
"Heya, Jiji!" Naruto greeted his surrogate grandfather cheerfully.
"Hello, Naruto. To what am I obliged by this visit? " The Hokage responded.
"We were assigned a Jonin-sensei today, and he told us about the real genin exam."
"Ah, of course. Kakashi-kun, right?"
"Yeah! That's right. Kakashi-sensei said it would be a survival exercise, and he'll be our enemy," Naruto explained in his usual energetic tone. "But he's a Jonin, right? I heard Jonins are incredibly strong compared to genin." He get an approval nod from Hokage before continuing. "So, I thought maybe we'd have to work together with Sasuke and Sakura to win."
The Hokage's eyebrows raised after these words, but he quickly regained control over his facial expressions and maintained only a warm smile. "Sounds good."
"Yeah, but Sasuke is a jackass, and Sakura straight up said today that she hates me. So how do I work with them?"
"Hmm..." The Hokage pondered for a moment, stroking his beard. "Do you remember our last conversation, Naruto? What does the Hokage expect from his shinobi?"
"Ermm..." Naruto squinted his eyes, trying to recall the conversation from a few days ago.
"Professionalism and respect. Remember, Naruto, professionalism doesn't mean being the strongest or having the most extensive ninjutsu arsenal. It means consistently achieving high standards in the work you do and the way you behave. So, even if you complete missions flawlessly, you still need to look for ways to improve. Not just in the art of shinobi, but also in your behavior." The Hokage looked at Naruto to see if he followed his train of thought. He smiled when he saw Naruto's focused gaze. "Respect, in turn, means not only addressing me only as Hokage-sama or bowing to me at certain degrees but also having respect for all your friends, colleagues, and, in some cases, enemies. Although many of them may seem unworthy of your respect, it often means you're not looking at the situation from all possible angles." At Naruto's bewildered look, the Hokage chuckled lightly. "Let's take your teammate Sasuke, for example. In your words, he's a jackass. But why does he behave that way? Or your other teammate, Sakura. Why does she hate you? You can come up with answers to these questions in your head, but often they're just empty words. If you've been trying to change your friends' opinions about you for a long time, but nothing works, you need to try a new approach. A completely new approach. An approach that won't annoy Sasuke and won't push Sakura away."
After a minute of contemplation, Naruto nodded to the old Hokage. "Okay, Jiji, I'll try to do as you said. I'll try to respect them."
5 minutes later. Konoha Forest.
Naruto pondered for the last time before forming the clone seal. In front of him, in a puff of smoke, appeared a hundred clones. "You will perform the Leaf Concentration Exercise." "Although the leaf has stopped falling from my forehead at all, I think this exercise can still be done. After all, Hokage-jiji and Iruka-sensei praised it so much."
Folding the clone seal again, another hundred clones appeared before him. "Kawarimi, bring it to an excellent level."
One more clone seal, and three hundred clones stood before Naruto. "Taijutsu. Muscles don't transfer, but their memory does; something like that was written in the Scroll of Seals. Try to fight each other. One on one, two on two, or a full-scale war – it doesn't matter. When your number drops, I'll restore you again to three hundred."
"Hmm... It will be a bit more than five hundred. Meh, what can you do." Folding the clone seal once again, five clones appeared before him. "Let's train with the Cloak of Invisibility! I don't have cloaks for a larger number of clones, so let's stick to five."
"Kakashi-sensei won't see what hits him!" Naruto thought with a villainous chuckle. Unaware that Kakashi was standing on a nearby tree, observing him.
"So, this is what he meant by 'funny training'... Training with such a number of clones would instantly kill a normal person, and he's training like this when his genin exam starts in just 14 hours. Such recovery speed was possessed only by one person I knew. Kushina-san." Glancing at Naruto's face one last time, Kakashi disappeared in the Konoha-Shunshin.