Chapter 7
Morning came quicker than Naruto expected. He didn't know why either, it wasn't as if he was exhausted, tired yes, but exhausted, no. Maybe he was excited, in all honesty he should have been excited, he was getting a mission personally from the Hokage and it even involved being undercover for a unwritten amount of time.
He decided to not think about it anymore as he got out of bed and put on his usual attire. Just as he got ready Jiraiya entered his room.
"Huh, nice to see your ready brat, this might be the first time you have ever been awake without me having to wake you up." Said Jiraiya as he smirked. Naruto just scowled at the man. He was too smug for his liking.
"Shut up pervy sage, you're not one to talk. I have had to forcefully remove you from different hot springs just so that we could begin training." Said Naruto. He was proud as he saw a vein form on Jiraiya's forehead. He hmphed and turned his back leaving the room. Naruto smirked smugly at his victory and finished his morning ritual by brushing his teeth.
He left the hotel room throwing the key to Jiraiya as the two then began their walk to the Hokage tower. Today was the day where Naruto would finally be given his mission brief. He knew nothing about what he had to do so he was a bit nervous. He hoped it was at least something worth his time, it would suck if he got a boring mission.
He shivered at the idea. Jiraiya returned the keys to the receptionist as the kind woman thanked them for their stay. The two then exited the building. Before Naruto could even realize what had happened, Jiraiya had shunshined both of them outside of the office. They entered through the doors and were met with the faces of Danzo Shimura, Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado.
Hiruzen was the first to acknowledge the entry of the two men.
"Goodmorning Jiraiya, Kenzo-san. Hope you're stay in the village was good?" Asked Hiruzen as Jiraiya nodded. Naruto began to play his role as Kenzo Kurama.
"Yes Hokage-sama, your hotel was very satisfactory. I am looking forward to my debriefing today." Said Naruto a Hiruzen nodded. The elders looked confused and Danzo was the first to voice his feelings.
"Excuse me Hiruzen, Jiraiya, but who is this kid? I was never informed about a mercenary coming to the village." Said Danzo as the other two council members agreed with him waiting on an answer from their hokage, Hiruzen sighed knowing this would happen but he did not expect it to happen today.
"Well, Kenzo here is Jiraiya's new apprentice and i have brought him over here for him to join the village. He is much stronger than the average gennin and so i will be putting him undercover in the academy for this year. He will act as a spy for me and report directly to me. His main mission will be to watch over and protect Sasuke Uchiha. We have deemed Sasuke to be a flight risk and due to that i will have Naruto monitor him. I am sure Naruto will be more than able to incapacitate Sasuke if Sasuke decides to retaliate against the village." Explained Hiruzen as the three elders were looking at Kenzo or Naruto examining him. Danzo seemed to be lost in thought but quickly snapped out of it and turned back to Hiruzen.
"With all due respect Hiruzen, you are the Hokage and all but a decision such as this demands for a meeting, right?" Asked Danzo. It is not that he didn't trust Hiruzen, in fact he respected and acknowledged Hiruzen as a very capable and strong Hokage but he just smelled something fishy about this boy, he just could not place it. He was also very paranoid about undercover shinobi who would try and infiltrate Konoha. After the loss of their Jinchuriki Danzo had increased the surveillance of his secret ANBU division, ROOT to check for other shinobi or spies.
"Sorry Danzo, but i had the power to do this and due to the fact this boy is the apprentice of Jiraiya, a loyal Sannin, we did not need any assistance from the Council to make this decision." Said Hiruzen as Danzo nodded. If Hiruzen trusted this boy then Danzo would also.
"As you saw Hokage-sama." Was Danzo's last words before exciting the room, the two other elders bowing and following behind. Hiruzen sighed when the three had left. He waved away his ANBU and put up the silence barriers again and this time his face softened.
"Naruto, good morning. As you heard from before you mission will be to monitor and take care of Sasuke Uchiha. This is a long-term S-Rank mission which should be carried out with the utmost secrecy. I want you to not tell anyone about this mission if you don't have to. If you deem someone trustworthy enough to know then you may tell them." Said Hiruzen as Naruto nodded.
"Now, i want you to rush to the Academy. The final exam should be beginning soon. We wouldn't want you to miss the only way to get promoted right?" Asked Hiruzen as Naruto nodded once again bowed and jumped out of the window.
"Now Jiraiya, i have some business to discuss with you." Said Hiruzen as Jiraiya peaked out from behind his notebook.
"What is it sensei?" Asked Jiraiya.
"I have enough evidence to be sure that Danzo is still operating his ROOT ANBU. I had told him to disband it when i came back to power and even though he 'disbanded' it i am almost certain he continues to operate in the shadows." Said Hiruzen as Jiraiya's face soured.
"I have always hated that man sensei. He had been suspicious from the first day he became part of the elder council" began Jiraiya. "What do you suggest we do?"
"The right move would be to play it off for now, we should not draw any attention to ourselves and we should definitely not let him catch on to the fact that we are on to him. But when the time comes we shall dispose of him, one way or another. Even though he has not done anything towards Konoha, not listening to my commands is a sign of untrustworthiness and a sign that he could become a traitor." Said Hiruzen as Jiraiya nodded.
"Just stay alert Jiraiya." Said Hiruzen as he smiled warmly at his student. Jiraiya smiled back.
"You too sensei." Jiraiya answered back. Hiruzen just waved him off and went back to signing papers that magically appeared on his desk.
"Damn paperwork." He looked up and saw that Jiraiya was nowhere to be found. He removed the silencing barrier in the room and called back the ANBU which went to their respective spots and hid themselves.
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - -୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
Hinata Hyuga had woken up early today. She couldn't sleep well at all the night before. She had stayed up thinking. Who was that boy. The only other person she had ever seen at that spot except herself was Naruto. But he was gone... right? It couldn't have been him. No, no way, it didn't even look like him for God's sake!
'Calm yourself Hinata, today is the day. You have tried your best in the academy for years just for this day! Go in there and be the best kunoichi of the year. For Naruto-kun.' She thought to herself. She blushed and smiled thinking of the blonde that stole her heart. She was heartbroken when she learned from her father that he was banished but that did not stop her feelings for the blonde.
Ever since he had saved her from those bullies Hinata had dedicated her heart to the boy and she would never give up until she found him and confessed.
After finding out the devastating news, she had not shown up for school for 3 days. She had locked herself in her room in a depressed state. The reason she managed to escape the sadness and return to the academy was when she thought about Naruto and about how he would have tried to become stronger to bring back the person he loved instead of mourning them. That was when she had decided that she would become stronger and train harder to be able to one day find and bring back her love.
From that day, she had taken extra training with her father and had begun progressing with the gentle Fist much faster than before. Her father had asked where her newfound determination had come from, but she had calmly brushed off the question just saying that she wants to live up to the reputation the clan had to uphold. He had frowned at that knowing she was keeping something from him but he did not press her for any information.
She exited her room after finishing her morning rituals. She entered the dining area as she saw her father and her little sister Hanabi already eating breakfast.
Her father looked up from his food and smiled slightly, he was an emotionless man but he still loved his daughter dearly.
"Good morning Hinata, did you sleep well?" He asked his daughter as she was sitting down on the table.
"Yes father." She replied curtly opting to eat instead of talking, she was short on time.
After quickly finishing her food and thanking the chef who nodded gratefully to her, she took her schoolbag and left the compound saying a goodbye to her father who wished her luck.
She was deep in thought all the way to school, her thoughts mostly revolving around a certain blonde boy. She barely even realized she had arrived at the academy until she heard the voices of other kids who were chatting with their friends' outside. She entered the building and then followed that by going in her classroom. It was empty except for a few quiet kids' reading some books. She took her seat in a corner in the back and pulled out a sketch book as she began to draw.
Hinata had always used drawing as her way to escape the stress of reality, she found that it was very calming to draw her dream reality, which usually contained her and Naruto together. Right now she had been working on a drawing of her and Naruto on their wedding day. She was smiling while thinking of that day in her head not missing a single detail, from the flowers, to the dress, to the makeup to what Naruto would be wearing. She blushed while thinking of what her love would be wearing as she thought he would look very handsome in a formal Kimono.
She was snapped out of her musings when Iruka had begun to talk.
"Okay so class! As you know today is the final exam for passing the academy. Other than that fact i have some other big news for you students. Even though it is extremely late in the year we have a new student joining us today. He has been under the tutelage of a ninja privately before this and has come to join our shinobi forces today." Said Iruka as someone knocked on the door.
Iruka rushed to the door and opened it discussing some words with the receptionist and then talking with someone else before walking back to his place in the class.
"Class please welcome our newest student!" Said Iruka with a big smile as a boy with blood red hair walked into the class. All of the class seemed shocked at the boys appearance, he was easily the tallest in the class and looked by far the most imposing and mysterious.
"Hello, i am Kenzo Kurama, i am glad to be joining your class even if it is for such a short time." He said while bowing politely. Sasuke Uchiha the loner had raised an eyebrow at this new addition to the class, he seemed to be strong and Sasuke could not help but feel a few shivers when staring in his lifeless grey eyes. He quickly removed his fear though and revived his smug smirk of superiority.
'I'll just have to show him who is strongest later...' He thought to himself.
Hinata on the other hand could not be more surprised. She never expected Kenzo to be here today. She remembered their moment yesterday and blushed lightly before shaking it off and looking back at her notebook.
Before she could though Kenzo noticed her and smiled widely as he walked up and sat down next to her. He turned to face her and smiled even wider.
"Hey Hinata! Nice to see you again." He said with a kind smile. She returned the smile and nodded.
"Indeed, it is Kenzo." She said politely as she returned to listening to Iruka.
"So, now I will be passing out the written test papers. Everyone who gets a paper may begin immediately." Said Iruka as the whole class went silent to concentrate. Naruto got his paper from Iruka and began writing immediately. Most of the questions were basic things about some history and battle tactics. The tactics section was quite easy for the boy since he had been hailed a genius of battle from Jiraiya who was surprised about how quickly Naruto could think up tactics in and outside of battle.
The history section and other general knowledge took a bit more time and thinking mixed with some common sense. Even though he had not been a part of the academy he had read a lot of books in his youth and so he knew most of the required questions.
He put his pen down after around twenty minutes that Hinata, Sasuke and another boy with pineapple hair were also done. He flashed a smile to Hinata sitting next to him who returned the smile, albeit a bit smaller. He then put his head on the table and dozed off until Iruka began talking again.
"Time is now up, good job to everyone. Now you can all take a 10-minute break before moving over to the throwing range so that we can test shuriken and kunai throwing." Finished Iruka as the student all began filing out of the classroom. As Naruto was walking down the steps he caught Sasuke giving him a suspicious, but still superior stare. Naruto looked him up and down and then continued his walking his face neutral. Sasuke scowled at this.
'That nobody! I'll show him...' was Sasuke's thoughts while staring holes into Naruto's back. Hinata noticed the little stare off and approached Naruto
"Have you and Sasuke-san met? He seemed to have some hatred or something towards you." She whispered, Naruto chuckled and turned to look at her.
"I don't know. Never met the guy until today." Naruto said while shrugging as Hinata laughed quietly at her new friend.
"Well, be careful of him Kenzo, ever since his family was wiped out, he has not been the same person." Hinata said sadly, Naruto's face also softened a bit as he turned to look at Hinata.
"Hinata, i understand that, that experience must be tough on someone, but there are many people who go through the same things and even worse and still keep themselves on the bright side. My sensei i had before this, he lost his student, his best friend the love of his life and his family. He still is one of the most positive and fun people to be around. Sasuke on the other hand chose to embrace the darkness of the situation and instead of trying to move past it by the use of friends and love he decided that he must kill his older brother. The path of revenge is a dark one and it usually ends by leaving people feeling incomplete." Said Naruto wisely as Hinata was shocked hearing the words of this boy.
He talked like a shinobi who has seen war and death. His voice was full of wisdom and life experiences that she knew he couldn't have.
'Who are you Kenzo Kurama?' She thought to herself. She decided to save those thoughts and just nodded at his words. His face seemed to change immediately into the old smiling and happy-go-lucky version.
"Anyways Hinata! We should get going now, i think that the second part of the exam is going to start soon." Said Naruto as the two students reached the area outside with targets and dummies, countless of discarded kunai and shuriken lining the grass.
"Okay so now that everyone is here, we may begin with the second part of the examinations. You will all get to throw 5 shuriken and 5 kunai, you must hit a minimum of 3 shuriken and 2 kunai to pass this exam part. I wish you all the best of luck." After Iruka was done explaining the test Mizuki, Iruka's helper called out names and marked down each person's scores.
"Sasuke Uchiha" 5/5 Shuriken 4/5 Kunai, he got a bit angry from not getting a perfect score but then sent a smirk to Naruto's direction, the red head just shrugged it off.
"Hinata Hyuga" 4/5 Shuriken 4/5 Kunai, Naruto smiled at her when she was done and pumped his fist in the air.
"Good job Hinata!" he shouted causing some of the students to snicker while she just blushed out of embarrassment deciding to just hide herself in her oversized jacket.
"Shikamaru Nara" 3/5 Shuriken 2/5 kunai, Naruto could tell the boy did not care about the exams and even though he could have done much better he was too lazy to even try. He just decided to get the minimum score recquired to pass while rambling that the exam was way too troublesome.
'Ha! Classic Nara behaviour, lazy bastards...' Was what Kurama said causing Naruto to silently snicker.
'Getting annoyed, are we?' He teased back his reply being a growl and the Kyubi closing off their telepathic connection.
"Sakura Haruno" 4/5 Shuriken 3/5 Kunai. Naruto noticed that she could become a talented Kunoichi, if she tried, that is. She seemed much more content with fangirling over Sasuke Uchiha.
'Is there a more annoying thing in this world than fangirls?' Naruto asked as the Kyubi just snorted.
'I don't think so. Maybe that damn Shukaku is but it is close.' Said Kurama as Naruto was confused.
'Who the damn is Shukaku?'
'My annoying and completely bat-shit crazy brother.' Kurama stated matter-of-factly. Naruto just shook his head and continued to pay attention at the test.
"Choji Akimichi" 3/5 Shuriken 2/5 Kunai. Choji was Shikamaru's best friend and the son of Choza Akimichi, one third of the legendary Ino-Shika-Cho trio. Shikamaru's father being another third. Choji is a chubby boy who seems to be very self-conscious of his weight. He is not as lazy as Shikamaru and seems to have a good heart. A good Comrade indeed.
'He is the kind of person i would trust with my life. If i had one, that is.'
'I agree.' Was Naruto's curt reply.
"Ino Yamanaka" 3/5 Shuriken 3/5 Kunai. Ino is another loyal fangirl of the one and only Emo Revenger of Konoha, even though, she seems to be a bit more well trained and serious than Sakura. It only makes sense; she does come from a ninja clan. She is the daughter of the third and final part of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio. He guessed the Hokage would pair them up together.
'It would be foolish to not recreate a team that worked so well together the past times. Even though, it will be interesting to see how those three will deal with each other. Choji and Shikamaru would work well together, being best friends and all but Ino seems to dislike both of them.' The Kyubi stayed silent this time as he had neither a snarky remark or anything to add to the red heads statement.
"Shino Aburame" 4/5 Shuriken 4/5 Kunai. A very silent boy, he rarely talks, and when he does, he has a very "Special" way of forming sentences. It is more like he makes a question and then answers his own question with a very logical answer. If you look past his quirk he is a very capable young shinobi and another comrade you could trust.
'Hmm, those bugs of the Aburame clan always freaked me out. No wonder they are one of the less popular Konoha clans.' Said Kurama as Naruto frowned slightly.
'Reminds me a bit of myself.' Kurama snarled at this.
'Don't you dare compare me to some lowly and disgusting insects! If you dare disrespect me again i will rip you to pieces!' Naruto just smirked.
'I'd like to see you try, last time i checked I'm the one in control here." he said with a victorious smirk painted on his lips. Kurama just stayed silent deciding not to continue this pointless discussion, it would only end up feeding the boys ego even more.
"Kiba Inuzuka" 4/5 Shuriken 3/5 Kunai. Kiba was the son of the Head of the Inuzuka clan. It surprised Naruto when Kiba got a relatively high score on the aim test because Inuzukas usually preferred to get more "up close and personal" during their fights. The used their ninja animal companions to further enhance their hand-to-hand combat skills. Kiba seemed to be a very brash kind of ninja, someone who wouldn't take a long time to think of a plan and instead would prefer to rush in.
'Could be an interesting opponent when he is older. If he works on his tactical mind and becomes even more adept at his family techniques he could become a formidable opponent.' Said Naruto as the Kyubi hummed in agreement in his mind.
"Kenzo Kurama" It was his turn now. He put on a beaming smile as he walked up to Mizuki-Sensei who handed him 5 shuriken first.
He fanned all the 5 Shuriken on his one hand in between all his fingers and threw them all at the same time. They all flew in a curved path and slammed bullseye in every single target. He didn't notice the hanging jaws of all People in the area... Well almost everyone, one Sasuke Uchiha was seething in anger at the skills displayed by the newcomer.
Naruto, or Kenzo then picked up the Kunai opting to throw these ones, one by one all of them again hitting bullseye on each of the targets.
"Good job Kenzo! Perfect score!" Said Iruka as Mizuki wrote down on his scoresheet.
Naruto just smiled and walked back to his place next to Hinata. He didn't really pay attention to the people who went after him as they were all civilian's with only a few of them having the skills to actually become Shinobi.
He snapped back to reality again when Hinata shook him awake.
"Good you're awake finally Kenzo! Iruka-Sensei and the rest of the class is already moving on to the Taijutsu ring so that we can do the Taijutsu portion of the test." She said as she stood up. Naruto also stood and brushed his pants clean from the grass and dirt that had accumulated on his clothes.
"Thank you for waking me up, Hinata." He said thanked her as she just smiled and waved him off.
"It was nothing Kenzo, now let's go, we don't want to miss the Taijutsu portion." She said as he followed behind her to the ring the rest of the class was standing at.
"Okay class, now we will begin the taijutsu portion. I will pick two of you from the class randomly from this basket of little paper notes which contain your names. When the two names are picked the two of you shall enter the ring and have a spar. The spars shall go on for max 5 minutes. You can win by either knocking your opponent out of the ring, knockout or if the time runs out me and Mizuki will count up the points each of you got which are the amount of hits you got during your match. The person with the most points wins. Now, without further ado, let's begin!" Iruka said as he picked two names from the basket. Naruto only had paid attention to the interesting matches.
Match #1 Seiichiro Kato VS Shino Aburame.
Almost everyone in the crows knew who was going to win this match. From the beginning it was clear that Shino had been dominating and it made sense, since Shino was the son of a clan head and Seiichiro was just the son of a rich businessman. Shino had used his logical mind and tired Seiichiro out by blocking and dodging his relentless and sloppy attacks and then retaliated at the end with a quick elbow to the ribs and then a chop to the neck. Since Seiichiro was already tired those two hits where enough to knock him out and Shino claimed an easy win.
"Winner Shino Aburame by Knockout." Said Iruka as Shino walked back to his place after receiving a few congratulations.
Match #2 Tatsue Okano VS Sakura Haruno
This match was... Interesting... To say the least. Both of the girls were not skilled at all in hand-to-hand combat as both of their attacks were sloppy, Sakura's less sloppy than Tatsue. The girls seemed to dedicate their match to Sasuke who seemed to want to disappear in that moment, Naruto and Kurama had joked a lot about the emo at that moment as it looked like he finally showed an emotion other than hatred and coldness. Sakura after a tiringly long match ended the fight with a sloppy sucker punch to Tatsue's face knocking her out. Iruka sighed in relief when the match ended as he called the winner.
"Winner, Sakura Haruno." He said as she began screeching to Sasuke about how she won for him. He ignored her completely which seemingly spurred her on more as she went on a rant about how he was so cool and mysterious.
'Seriously, how can girls like that emo.' Naruto thought to himself.
'I really have no idea kit.'
Match #3 Kiba Inuzuka VS Kin Taketa
An interesting match again. This time it was because Kiba finally proved to Naruto that the boy was in fact a strong Taijutsu user with his ninken but could also hold his own without his partner. What was even more surprising for the red head was the fact that the civilian boy Kin was actually a pretty talented fighter himself. He wasn't close to Kiba's level but he could easily be the best civilian in the academy. It was just unlucky for the kid to have to face Kiba of all people. Kiba had ended the match pretty quickly by using a combo move with his partner dog Akamaru. He faked a punch at Kin's head as the boy blocked, he ducked down and swept the kid's legs knocking him up in the air and off his balance. Akamaru then came and preformed a dive attack propelling Kin out of the ring. Iruka called the match when Kin landed on the area outside.
"Winner! Kiba Inuzuka." He said as Kiba then went and gave his hand to Kin who was struggling to stand up. The boy looked at him for a few seconds before accepting the help and standing up with the help of Kiba.
"Good fight man." Was Kiba's words as Kin smirked lightly and patted his Kiba's shoulder.
"You too, man you pack a helluva punch." Kin said as they both moved to their places.
Match #4 Shikamaru Nara VS Choji Akimichi
Naruto was very surprised to hear this draw and apparently so was Shikamaru and Choji who were standing next to each other. Shikamaru and Choji both walked into the middle of the ring as Iruka was about to start the match Shikamaru spoke.
"Sensei, i do not wish to fight my best friend. Can i quit?"Asked Shikamaru as Iruka paused out of surprise.
"No Shikamaru, you cannot quit since this is a test." Said Iruka as Shikamaru just sighed. He wasn't a Nara for nothing though as he had already thought of a backup plan.
He waited until Iruka started the match and then proceeded to exit the ring. Iruka faceplanted at the action as he just sighed.
"Winner, Choji Akimichi." Iruka stated as the whole class booed Shikamaru but Choji just walked up to his best friend and patted him on his back offering one of his chips. Shikamaru smiled, took one and the two went back to their places resuming their chatting like before.
Match #5 Fuku Nakane VS Hinata Hyuga
This match was one Naruto paid close attention to. He wanted to see the famed Hyuga Taijutsu skills and he was pleased when Hinata displayed just that. Usually, the Gentle Fist Taijutsu style of the Hyuga clan relies greatly on Chakra, but since this test allows no chakra usage Hinata had to adapt to the situation. With the help of her Byakugan she found out where several nerves on her opponents body were and then used a modified version of the 8 trigrams: 32 palms technique. Instead of striking tenketsu points in the body she instead struck the nerves and caused her opponents body to go limp and for her to be unable to continue.
"Winner! Hinata Hyuga!" Exclaimed Iruka as Naruto cheered for her.
She walked back to her spot next to Naruto and he turned to her.
"Nice improvisation there Hinata! I knew that the attack is usually meant to strike tenketsu so i am surprised you managed to make that small tweak in the ability." She blushed from the praise but explained to the boy how she did it.
"Well i learned a bit of medical Ninjutsu and read some medical scrolls when i was younger from my mother before she died. That was why i knew how to take advantage of the nerves in Fuku's body. I just used my Byakugan for help to find them so that i could accurately target them." She said as Naruto's smile grew.
"You're really smart Hinata! I am sure you'd make a kickass Kunoichi and even a battle medic if you choose to be one!" He said to her as she blushed and thanked the red head. She turned her attention to the other matches after that so that she could escape the praise.
'She is a smart one kit. She will grow up to be very strong, i can sense it.' Said the Kyubi to Naruto who nodded.
'I know. She is much smarted and stronger than people give her credit for. She just needs to grow her self-confidence a little bit. But that won't be a problem i can't help with.' Thought Naruto with smugness.
'Maybe you should consider not involving yourself in others businesses so much. You know, curiosity did kill the cat, and your curiosity cannot be contained. It's annoying.' Said Kurama as Naruto began sulking and an imaginary dark cloud even appeared over his head as it began storming over him.
Match #6 Sasuke Uchiha VS Kenzo Kurama
Kenzo heard his name and walked towards the ring. he was surprised he was draw against Sasuke, but that's luck for you. Or unluck, maybe. Sasuke on the other hand had a predatory smirk on his face excited that he would finally be able to beat the newcomer that had begun to overtake him in power. He needed to show him just who was the superior one in this village. Sasuke, since a young age, has been taught that only an Uchiha can defeat an Uchiha, and since his clan's wipeout his superiority complex has just gotten worse and worse. He became hellbent to kill his older brother and expect everything he wanted to be handed to him in a silver spoon. Naruto would teach the overconfident boy a lesson.
"You ready to get your ass beat?" Taunted Sasuke as he entered the Uchiha Interceptor Fist Taijutsu style. Naruto scoffed at that, he saw the multiple openings in his style and also knew that to use the interceptor fist to it's full potential an Uchiha must unluck his Sharingan. Something Naruto knew Sasuke did not have.
"As much as the others seem to praise you Sasuke-San, i know that you cannot win this battle. The Uchiha Taijutsu style needs the Sharingan to work optimally. Something you don't have." Stated Naruto.
Sasuke scowled trying to kill him with just his look.
'Heh! Look at that depressing attempt at being scary! Show him what a person who is truly fearsome looks like.'
Naruto narrowed his eyes and his face became colder than ice, impassive and dangerous. He overall looked like someone you would not want to mess with.
Sasuke faltered a bit, the new look on that idiot's face made him consider the fact that this kid might not be a clan less idiot after all. He quickly dispelled the doubts in his mind and the two rushed at each other.
Sasuke was the one to strike first, he sent an open-palmed strike towards Naruto's chest. Naruto though, calmly slapped away the oncoming strike and sent a downwards chop down towards Sasuke's skull. Sasuke sensed the strike and without thinking crossed his arms in a X formation above his head.
He was so caught up in his little block there that he did not notice the knee that was headed directly for his midsection. He was too late to react and the knee slammed directly in the dark-haired boy's gut. Sasuke bent over a few splatters of spit flying out of his mouth, but the pain was not over there. Sasuke had no time to react as Naruto did an axe kick over the top of Sasuke's head slamming him down on the ground.
Naruto stood over him glaring down icily.
"Is that the might of the last loyal Uchiha? How pathetic." Sasuke growled as he heard Naruto make fun of him. He quickly moved preforming a 360-sweep kick, aiming to knock Naruto off of his feet. After the kick was finished Sasuke gave himself some distance and looked up again.
He saw Naruto standing on one of his hands as he dusted himself off. He hopped off his hand and stood on his feet again and looked at Sasuke smirking.
"I wasn't expecting that Sasuke, it seems that you may have some life after all. Too bad you are still too weak to properly dance with me." He said as he smiled crazily. Sasuke got shivers at the way he spoke and looked. He steeled himself and ran at the boy again this time much slower. Naruto simply sighed as he sidestepped the punch Sasuke had sent and tripped him over causing him to tumble and end up outside the ring.
A very embarrassing defeat overall.
"Winner Kenzo Kurama!" Shouted Iruka as Naruto dusted his pants off and walked back to his place next to Hinata. She had a smile plastered on her face but on the inside her brain was going at one thousand kilometres per hour trying to figure out the puzzle called Kenzo Kurama.
'How did he defeat Sasuke so easily? It was clear that he was strong, much stronger than most students in this academy. Even with my knowledge on Taijutsu Sasuke was by far the strongest in Taijutsu compared to all the students in this class. To beat him is no small feat, but to beat him as easily and quickly as Kenzo did is outright crazy. And on top of that it is clear that he was not even trying! I need to figure out this boy...2' Thought Hinata as Kenzo just smiled at her.
"I see my fight has brought a lot of unwanted attention to me." He chuckled nervously while looking around. Most of the boys were looking at him with fear, respect and jealousy. The girls on the other hand had completely different reactions. Most of them were looking at him with the intent to kill while a few others were looking at him while sporting blushes.
"It seems that you have kenzo." Before Hinata could continue talking Iruka interrupted them.
"Okay then kids! That was everyone. Let's go back inside and continue the last portion of the exams. The jutsu portion." Iruka began walking back and everyone was following. Naruto sighed a sigh of relief, Hinata chuckled.
"Saved by Iruka-sensei it seems. You should thank him later." She said while smiling cheekily. Naruto laughed slightly and smiled.
"Of course, i am! If Iruka did not do that i am sure that i either would have been attacked by a mob of angry girls, or chased by a mob of fangirls." He spoke. His tenant was petrified when he felt how the girls were looking at his partner.
This time it was Hinata who laughed and she noticed Naruto quiet down and just stare at her with wide eyes. She quickly blushed and turned away from him.
"W-What's wrong K-K-Kenzo? Did i do something wrong? I-If I d-d-did i am very sorry!" She said embarrassedly. Naruto just waved his hands in front of his face.
"No! Of course, not Hinata, you did nothing wrong. It's just, your laugh is very beautiful. You should laugh and smile more. It suits you." He said while smiling but this time he was looking at the sky instead of her. She blushed a dark crimson and nearly passed out but she stopped herself and instead just looked away from the boy hyperventilating.
'Hahaha kid! You made her as red as a tomato! A true master with the ladies.' Kurama said as he snickered.
'Shut up! Damn idiot fox...' Naruto answered back as the Kyubi just snickered louder in his head. Deciding to block the overgrown foxes laugh out he continued their walk in silence finally being the last to enter the classroom. All eyes were on them and Naruto suddenly felt uncomfortable. He quickly grabbed Hinata's arm and dashed to the back of the classroom sitting down and burying his face in a scroll.
He found himself sighing once again in relief when he spotted most of the girl's sigh and turn back to their friends. He had started reading a scroll because it showed that he did not want to talk to anyone.
He watched as person after person went in the other classroom with Iruka and Mizuki and then either return happy with a headband or sad without one. He saw Sasuke return to the class with his Konoha headband and flashed Naruto a smug grin as if telling him "Do better idiot."
"Alright Kenzo Kurama you're up next." Iruka said as he looked up to the red-head who already seemed to be in front of him. He nodded to himself and turned around.
The red-head followed and the two entered a different classroom. Iruka sat down behind a table next to his helper Mizuki.
"Ok Kenzo, we need you to perform the bunshin, kawarimi and henge to pass." Said Iruka as he took out a notebook. Naruto nodded and made a half ram seal.
"Kage Bunshin no jutsu! (Shadow clone technique)" Shouted Naruto as a perfect replica of himself popped out of thin air next to him. Iruka nodded but Mizuki decided to speak up.
"Not trying to be biased but Iruka do we really allow the students to pass by preforming the Kage Bunshin? We asked for the normal Bunshin." Asked Mizuki as Iruka turned to listen to him.
"Yes Mizuki, the academy requires the students to know at least the Bunshin, but if they know a version that is of a higher grade they still pass and get a few extra points." Explained Iruka as Mizuki nodded.
"Okay, good job Kenzo. Now the kawarimi." Said Iruka as Naruto without any seals changed places with a book on Iruka's desk.
"Okay! Great, now finally the henge."
Naruto turned himself to the 4th Hokage and Iruka was wide eyed.
"How do you know what Lord 4th looks like?!"
"Well, it really is not hard. There are lots of paintings and pictures of him in the Hokage's office." Shrugged Naruto as if it was no big deal.
Iruka was very impressed with the skills the boy showed.
"Well done, Kenzo! You have earned yourself this leaf headband. Would you like black or blue?" Iruka asked with a smile. Naruto smiled back.
"I'd like black Iruka-Sensei!" Naruto then received his new black Konoha headband. Naruto took it with a polite bow and tied it around his bicep looking at it and trying to see if he could tie it in a better way.
"Well, Kenzo, it is time you leave the classroom; we still have other students to test." Kenzo blushed embarrassedly at that and rushed out of the room. Iruka went to stand up but Mizuki put a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry Iruka, I'll get the next one." He said as the man smiled gratefully.
"Thanks, Mizuki." Said man nodded and went out to call out the next student.
Naruto returned back to his classroom and took his place back next to Hinata. She smiled at him and he did the same back to her.
"You passed it seems Kenzo, good job!" She congratulated him as he waved her off with a small thanks.
"Eh, it was nothing. The exam was embarrassingly easy. It seems the standard of Konoha shinobi has steadily declined, eh?" He rhetorically asked his companion as she just hummed. In truth Hinata did not know what to say to that so she just decided to move past it. Naruto beat her to it though as he suddenly kicked his feet up onto his desk and laid back, his head resting between his hands.
"Ahh, with these troublesome exams over it is time we relax a bit ne Hinata? I mean after all this hard work we deserve it right?" He said as she warily nodded. She would not kick back like that out of respect for her classroom and teachers. But she would not say anything to Kenzo about that. The truth was, the young girl was slightly afraid of Kenzo. She would never outright ignore or stay away from him but he was a puzzle so complex and deep she could not wrap her mind around it. She had no idea if this boy next to her could be trusted or not and that unnerved her.
She decided to swallow her feelings for now and await their teachers return so that they could finally be let go.
It took around 30 more minutes for Iruka and Mizuki to finally return to the room, both teachers having wide smiles on their faces. Iruka stood in the middle of the classroom looking over all his students, quietly and patiently waiting until everyone was silent so that he could begin talking.
"I want to first begin this talk by saying congratulations to each and every one of you kids for managing to pass your exams. I have been a very lucky and proud teacher to be able to teach one of the best classes i have had the pleasure of seeing in a long time. I also wish to say that each and every one of you have the potential to become strong shinobi in your own right but you should never forget that a Shinobi's strength comes from love and the will to protect your country and comrades." He said sighing as he looked up to the roof of the class. He looked down again and then continued speaking.
"Anyways guys, I shall keep you no longer. Go and enjoy the rest of your days with your parents and families and report back to the academy tomorrow at 09:00 so that you can receive your teams and Sensei." Finished Iruka as all of the students ran out of the room except for a select few.
Shikamaru Nara was sleepily packing his things up while Choji Akimichi was waiting for him in the doorway. Kenzo Kurama had also been taking his time getting ready with Hinata Hyuga next to him. Both the Kurama and the Hyuga deep in a conversation that Iruka could not hear from his position. He was surprised when he saw the Hyuga girl talk to another boy that calmly and confidently since she usually is a very quiet and shy person.
Finally, every student had left the classroom including Mizuki as Iruka sat down on his desk looking outside the window. Seemingly deep in thought as he then abruptly stood up and walked out of the room quietly.
‿︵‿︵୨˚̣̣̣͙୧ - -୨˚̣̣̣͙୧‿︵‿︵
Naruto had just dropped Hinata off at the Hyuga compound and was now in a conversation with the Kyubi while also walking home.
'So, Kurama, who do you think i will get paired up with tomorrow?' Asked Naruto as Kurama just scoffed at the kid's apparent stupidity.
'I thought you would be smarter than that brat. Don't you remember the reason you are even in Konoha? You will obviously be partnered up with that Uchiha asshole, but for your other teammate i don't know. I am guessing that the old Hokage has an idea about what kind of team he will place you in but i would be guessing some other heavy assault/tracker shinobi.' Said Kurama as Naruto nodded.
'I just hope it is someone competent. I'd hate to have a fangirl in our team who would not focus on her training and instead would just praise Sasuke for no apparent reason.' Explained Naruto as Kurama agreed with the boy.
'Maybe you get that Hyuga girl on your team.' Added Kurama as Naruto slightly blushed.
'That would be one of the better scenarios. Hinata is a strong Kunoichi and can easily hold her own. She just needs some help with her confidence.' Finished Naruto as Kurama yawned.
'Yeah, yeah, now stop talking to me. I wish to sleep you annoying kit." Said Kurama as he blocked off their mental connection and Naruto continued his walk back to the apartment, he was given by Hiruzen.
He entered the small place and noticed that there was a box on the small wooden dinner table. He dropped the keys on the a small table in the living room, after locking the door, and then made his way to the suspicious box in his house.
'This could be a bomb.' Reasoned Naruto as he examined the box.
'I severely doubt that it is a bomb you idiot.' SaidK Kurama as Naruto just shrugged and opened the box. Naruto looked over the contents of the box and smirked to himself.
'I'll have to thank the old man later. This is some quality stuff.' Kurama agreeing with the boy.
Tomorrow would sure prove to be interesting was Naruto's last thoughts before going to bed and falling asleep.