AN: Hey readers, It's Jcrowe here, well, well, well, I'm sure that none of you were expecting another chapter release so soon after my previous one. But the fact is that the sheer number of adds and positive responses pushed/inspired me to finish this chapter ahead of schedule. Hell to be honest this chapter almost seemed to write itself with the words coming one after another and before I knew it the word count for the story was pushed to 54,467 words total making it just under 'The Blood Ruling Hero' in length, but anyways... I know what you really came here for so without further adue... I do not own Naruto or RWBY, they are owned by their creators and the studios that payed to animate them.
Chapter 6: Becoming Genin and Dealing with a Traitor
Konohagakure no Sato, Uzumaki Clan Compound, Day of Graduation Exam:
Naruto woke slowly while grumbling from the sunlight that had managed to somehow break through his thick curtains hitting him directly in the eyes. Blinking out the spots from his vision, Naruto sat up and stretched his joints in his shoulders and neck popping in relief. Looking around his room the blond Grimm summoner took in his surroundings quickly while his brain finished waking up. Unlike the room he had stayed in while training in the Grimm Lands, his rooms within the Uzumaki Clan compound were, while luxurious, styled more traditionally. Just within the main clan house, the large building held a total of twelve bedrooms, not counting the masters suite, a large dining hall and kitchen, a huge library/study, as well as two private hot springs. The real treasures though were hidden beneath the home; another library containing a complete copy of the Uzumaki clan jutsu library from the fallen land of Uzushio, a self-contained underground training ground and sealing room and finally the family armory which held his families strongest or personal weapons.
Grumbling then standing from the bed, Naruto began to make his way to his ensuite bathroom to begin getting ready for his introduction to the Shinobi Academy before the final exams. After finishing his morning routine the young Jinchuriki quickly dressed in his hunter's attire then walked towards the kitchen to prepare a light breakfast for both Raven and himself. Fifteen minutes later had a stumbling and sleepy Raven Branwen stumbling into the kitchen dressed in a loose black and crimson morning yukata that only just made it to her upper thigh showing off not just her womanly curves, but the small scars and muscles born from her previous life as a huntress and bandit queen.
Naruto who hadn't noticed Raven's state of dress due to him finishing preparations for their breakfast almost choked when he turned to give his summons and friend a good morning. Eyes now wide and a heavy red blush sported on his cheeks, Naruto had to fight through a combination of teenage hormones and embarrassment to pull his gaze away from the expanse of pale flesh now on display. Luckly the young teen was able to get himself under control before the dark haired woman-turned-Grimm noticed and proceeded to plate out a breakfast made up of eggs, sausage, fruit and black coffee to the now slowly more cognizant Raven. Smiling down at the woman as she began to eat, Naruto quickly made his own plate before sitting down next to the former bandit at the breakfast bar that separated the dining room from the kitchen.
Clearing his throat, Naruto spoke with a happy tone.
"Morning Raven, how did you sleep last night?" Raven didn't answer right away and proceeded to take a large sip from her coffee. Looking to her summoner and placing her cup down, Raven seemed to stare through Naruto sending a slight shiver through the young teen.
"I slept well Naruto, but shouldn't you be heading out now?" Seeing the confusion on her summoners face, Raven just rose a brow and continued, "I believe that the Genin Tests were supposed to begin at nine-"
Looking up at the clock in the dining room, Naruto's eyes widened seeing that the clock read eight-thirty. Swearing out loud, the young man quickly placed his dishes in the sink and created a sealess Kage Bunshin to clean up. Giving his summoned companion a quick bye and peck on the cheek, Naruto ran out the door before jumping to the roof tops with a burst of chakra and aura enhancement. It wouldn't be until he made it to the entrance to the academy that Naruto would realize what he had done causing him to begin freaking out at what Raven would likely do when he returned today…
"Ahh shit, Rae-chan is gonna kill me…"
-Line Break-
While Naruto was freaking out while rushing on his way towards the academy, Raven was still sitting at the breakfast bar still coming to terms with what Naruto had done. A part of the Grimm woman was wanting nothing more than to chase after the partial blond and beat him black and blue for his action, but another, smaller part, that the former bandit queen would adamantly deny… liked it.
Deciding that she would have to confront Naruto when he returned and depending on his results from the Genin tests, would decide how his punishment would go.
-Line Break-
Shaking off his worry at his likely doom when he met with his partner next, Naruto proceeded to the classroom that he was directed to via the message that was sent to him by the Hokage. Naruto remembered how the Hokage had explained that the class he would be joining for the graduation exam was primarily made up of the heirs to almost all of the primary and larger clans in the village along with a few exceptional civilian born prospects. The Hokage had also told Naruto how the changes that the older shinobi along with his new advisors made to the academy after the ousting of Danzo had led to the quality of the shinobi and kunoichi forces rising exponentially. Naruto had also had to fight back a chuckle at how Hiruzen had muttered about how happy he was that the numbers of fangirls/boys had been almost completely wiped out leading to a steady decrease in fan-club related damage due to riots and fights when the object of their affections either A) died or B) gained a significant other that wasn't them.
Finally arriving at the noted classroom and clearing his thoughts about the horrors of Fan-people, (the mostly blond remembering horror stories that had been told to him by his summons about the hated fanatics) Naruto raised his hand and proceeded to knock on the sliding door. Hearing a male voice calling for him to come in, Naruto took a quick breath and put on a small smile before opening the door and walking in. The classroom was decently large with what looked to be six tiers of long desks broken up by stairs leading to each tier. Taking a quick count of the number of students, Naruto was surprised to only see around twenty students remembering how when he had started his first year there had been closer to thirty five students in his class alone. Realizing that this was what Hokage Jiji had meant about the changes in the academy, Naruto turned towards the front of the class to see the Chunin instructor about to speak.
"Hello there young man, what can I help you with?" The Chunin, a young man in his mid-twenties with brown hair tied in a spiked ponytail with his Konoha Hitai-ate worn proudly on his forehead, tanned skin and a large scar running across his face, asked with an inquisitive look on his face. Next to the man was another Chunin that looked to be the same age with shoulder length pale grey hair covered by his Konoha Hitai-ate like a bandana looked at Naruto with a gleam in his eyes that instantly put the young man on edge seeing the shrewd look.
Shaking off his discomfort, Naruto strode forward and handed the instructor a paper holding the seal of the Hokage. Eyes widening at the sight of the seal, the Chunin took the paper and proceeded to read it quickly before looking up at the young man in front of him with a look of acceptance and small smile that caught the young Jinchuriki off guard. The shinobi then turned to the class and began to speak up in a voice loud enough to be heard over the whispers among the group.
"Alright students, we will be having a student joining us for the examination today-"
Before he could continue with the introduction, the teacher was cut off when one of the students, a young man wearing a baggy jacket with a black fur lined hood, brown shaggy hair, sharp eyes, red fang markings on his cheeks and a small puppy on his head spoke up in an indignant tone.
"Oi! Why does this guy get to skip the academy and just take the graduation exam?!" Some of the other students around the room began to mumble in agreement with the boy's exclamation and slowly grew into shouts of agreement. The only ones who seemed to not react to the chaos were four individuals; three boys, one sleeping, one staring silently through dark glasses and the last eating potato chips, the final silent figure was a girl that looked to be from the Hyuga clan if the white-lavender pupilless eyes were anything to go by.
The instructor, a tic mark appearing on his forehead due to being interrupted, sealessly activated a small genjutsu creating the image that his head grew to large, almost comical, proportions and yelled out at the students.
"SHUT IT YOU BRATS!"
The silence that followed was almost deafening for Naruto after the cacophony that filled the room before the teacher's outburst. Ending the genjutsu without another word, the instructor cleared his throat while covering his mouth with his fist. Standing up straight the man then spoke out at the students with a look that could cut through steel, daring anyone else to interrupt him again.
"Like I was saying before I was interrupted-" The Chunin's glare intensified for a moment as he stared at the wild boy, cowing said boy then continuing, "We have a new student, now this young man had actually attended here four years ago but left the village on a private training trip at an undisclosed location with the permission of the Sandaime Hokage."
The instructor then turned to Naruto and gestured him forward to stand next to the teachers podium in the center of the room. Moving to the spot and turning towards the class, Naruto gave his hopefully soon to be comrades a bright smile, bringing a blush to many of the kunoichi hopefuls especially the young Hyuga girl. Giving the class a friendly wave, Naruto began his greeting.
"Yo, my name is Naruto Uzumaki, my likes are; ramen, training, my summons, and my precious people."
The class along with the teachers were surprised that this kid had a summons. One of the students, a boy with black eyes and hair in the shape of a ducks ass and a constipated emo's expression seemed to be brought out of his brooding staring into the distance at the fact that someone in this class had something that he didn't. not seeming to notice the reaction he was receiving, Naruto continued with his introduction as if nothing was happening even though he could feel some reactions from his 'Negative Emotion Sensing' coming from both the broody boy in the back of the class and the silver haired instructor to the other side of Iruka.
"My dislikes are traitors, assholes, rapists, those who do not take the life of a shinobi seriously, and those who can't tell the difference between a scroll and a sealed kunai."
When Naruto began to speak about his dislikes the students and Chunin had to fight back a sudden shiver when the blond released a jab of KI when he mentioned traitors and rapists. Any discomfort from Naruto's KI was smothered when he released a warm wave of energy that seemed to soothe the room's frayed nerves.
"And my dream for the future is to make my family proud, bring back my clan, and if I'm able, to become the greatest Hokage in the history of Konohagakure. Thank you and please take care of me in the future."
Without another word, Naruto proceeded to walk up the walkway towards the back of the classroom before taking a seat next to the now nervously shifting form of the young female Hyuga, who was having a hard time not fainting due to the close proximity of the boy she had thought had disappeared four years ago. As the young girl was about to muster up the strength to speak to the changed blond, she was stopped by the teacher speaking marking the start of the final class.
"Alright now that everyone is here we can begin the final examination." Nodding to the silvered haired Chunin, the teacher continued, "Mizuki Sensei will come to each of your desks and place the written exam. Once you begin you will have one hour to complete the test then we will head outside to conduct the physical portion of the exam. Now are there any questions?"
Looking around the room and not seeing any hands raised, the teacher was about to begin the test when he noticed a raised hand in the back of the class. Looking up the teacher was surprised to see that it was the Uzumaki boy, confused at why the boy was raising his hand the teacher pointed to him and the boy gave a small grin and scratched the back of his head bashfully.
"Sorry to interrupt sensei, but I realized that I never got your name."
Raising his brow at this, the teacher responded, "And why does that matter?" Naruto just crossed his arms and answered nonchalantly.
"Well even though I am only going to be a student of yours for one day, that still doesn't change the fact that you are my sensei for now. So for that reason alone I should know your name so I can properly address you ya'know."
Holding back a smirk at the way his short term student stated his argument and impressed by his respect, the teacher made a note to send whoever trained this boy a gift basket for instilling such respect for teachers. Unknown to this teacher though was that Naruto was only this respectful to his teachers due to the tor-training, yeah training… he had gone through with Salem.
"Very well, my name is Iruka Umino, Chunin of Konohagakure and head instructor for history, ninjutsu theory, and chakra theory. Now if there aren't any more questions your time for the written exam begins… now."
The next forty five minutes passed in silence as students worked on their exams. Thirty minutes in the first few students finished their exams, these students looked to be the Aburame and Nara heirs, a pink haired civilian and the emo who Naruto finally identified as an Uchiha from the fan emblem on the back. For Naruto himself the test had been a cake walk with the materials he had been given to study in the Grimm Lands, though he was a bit put off by the basic genjutsu that had been placed on his paper to make it look more like a Jonin level exam paper. Frowning at the poor attempt at sabotage, Naruto stealthily disengaged the jutsu and proceeded to finish the exam but made it look as if he was struggling to give his saboteur a false sense of accomplishment. In the end he flipped his paper over with five minutes to spare just ahead of the loud boy, who Naruto was sure was an Inuzuka from his research on the clans of Konoha.
Finally when the time was up Iruka called the students to line up and place their papers on his desk as they left to follow Mizuki to the academy field to conduct the physical examination. Seemingly unnoticed by all of the students and Iruka, Mizuki was gritting his teeth in anger seeing that the thought to be gone demon brat had seen through his attempt at having him fail via genjutsu on his test paper. Even after the Sandaime had explained the mechanics behind the sealing method that had been used to imprison the Kyūbi after the defeat of Danzo, Mizuki couldn't let go of his hate towards the young Jinchuriki. To the silver haired man, it didn't matter if the boy was the fox or not, as soon as Yondaime-sama placed that demon within that brat he had become the proxy that those who had lost loved ones could vent their anger on. That was why Mizuki had been one of the most prolific instigators of the 'fox hunts,' even though the brat had only been caught twice before leaving it had been worth it.
Now though, the man had other plans for the thing that had seen fit to return to this weak village. As the Chunin made his way towards the field behind the students, plans were put in place to ensure that by tonight the boy would be dead by his hand and Mizuki would finally have his revenge. Unknown to the mad Chunin instructor there was one student that had noticed, even with his plans in place. Naruto could feel the man's negative emotions growing as time moved on, the young man made a note to bring this up with his Jiji when he met with him after the Genin exams.
The next hour and a half was spent testing various physical requirements that were deemed necessary to become a shinobi of Konoha. From kunai and shuriken throwing to a stealth and obstacle course. Through all of these tests the students did relatively well, averaging at least seven out of ten hits in the kunai and shuriken tests and the worst of the class being spotted twice and finishing the obstacle course in less than five minutes. These results were much higher than the classes before the reforms made by the Sandaime where passing shinobi and kunoichi hopefuls would pass with just a throwing accuracy rate of five out of ten and the bare minimum of jutsu knowledge as long as they had book knowledge.
Naruto himself had gone above and beyond throughout the tests getting ten out of ten on the throwing tests and finishing the stealth course in a record breaking time of two minutes flat with no spotters seeing him, beating the last years 'Rookie of the Year' Neji Hyuga by almost forty five seconds who had been considered a genius in all fields of shinobi life like Itachi Uchiha before he had betrayed the village. Almost all of the students were amazed by the new students skills, the only exceptions being the brooding boy, Sasuke Uchiha, the Inuzuka, named Kiba, and the majority of the Uchiha boy's remaining fan-club except for the blond, likely a Yamanaka considering how closely she stuck to the Nara and Akimichi boys.
The only reason none of these people made trouble for the Uzumaki heir was, once again, due to the changes made to the academy. Sarutobi, Jiraiya and Tsunade had finally had it with the blatant favoritism shown towards clan members who were at the top of their respective years raising a stink just because someone showed them up during the final exam, and their rabid fans backing them up to try and badmouth the person who showed up their respective obsession. So to counteract this, the teacher and student duo had placed a stipulation that if allegations of 'cheating' were made towards a student and they were proven false, the accusing parties would then receive punishment. This punishment could range from loss of standing in the final rankings up to expulsion from the Shinobi Program altogether, and then to prevent these students from attempting to leave the village their memories of their training would be erased, and their chakra sealed to civilian levels.
While harsh, this system had led to a drop in the Hokage's overall paperwork due to complaints from the academy… so obviously a win-win in his book.
The final physical exam was the taijutsu exam, full contact spars, no jutsu or deadly force allowed, though dulled weapons would be provided for those hoping to become ken- or bukijutsu users.
During the following matches, Naruto noticed that even though the standards for the academy had risen and all of the students were solidly within the Genin ranks, the only exception being the clan children that were showing, at least, an adept level of proficiency with their various family taijutsu styles… well except for the Nara who just quit after dodging his civilian opponents attacks for five minutes stating that it was too 'troublesome' to put in the effort…
Well other than that most of the matches were at least interesting to watch from a beginners standpoint. Finally it was Naruto's turn and suspiciously he was pitted against Kiba, who whooped in excitement proclaiming that he would beat the blond punk and put him in his place as the low born omega of the village. Irked by the boy's nonchalance and insulting behavior, Naruto made his way to the dirt arena and stood facing Kiba while channeling his inner Raven, resulting in a glare hard enough to cause most to flinch at the sheer menace of it. Kiba of course just laughed off his sudden discomfort and began to speak out at the mostly blond.
"Aww, what's the matter loser, did I hurt your poor little feelings?" Kiba's grin turned nearly feral, and he continued his trash talking, not noticing the growing aura of menace around his opponent as Naruto's eyes narrowed further, the blonds' eyes gaining a slight slit in the pupil and the color draining more towards sterling silver in color.
"Hey, I just remembered that some people mentioned that you were living with some babe, why don't you tell that wench to come to my place so I can show her what a real man can do-"
Before the teen could continue with what he was about to say, he was cut off when Naruto's fist smashed across his face almost knocking him from the ring. Landing on his back and holding his face, Kiba quickly made his way back to his feet and was about to shout at the bastard in front of him, only to have to dodge to the side from a rushing Naruto who leaped towards the brash Inuzuka with a dropping axe kick, which the boy dodged out of the way. Kiba along with the rest of the class and teachers in the area looked on in wide-eyed shock when Naruto's kick cratered the ground Kiba had been standing on. Realizing that he may have royally fucked up, Kiba attempted to speak up again only to be cut off by the cold voice of Naruto.
"No, you don't get to just talk like that about one of my precious people and not get a beating for it-" Almost unnoticed except for a few in the crowd, mainly the clan kids, Naruto's hair was slowly lightening from his normal sunny blond hair to almost ash blond bordering white, the red tips seeming to darken to crimson instead of red. "So are you going to take this beating like a man or are you going to slink off like a cowardly mut with its tail between its legs." Kiba could only grit his teeth at the insult to his pride but didn't speak up again.
Naruto then proceeded to take a stance, his hands held in fists in a light guard while his legs took on a wider stance with his right leg forward and standing on the pads of his feet. Not recognizing the stance, no one knew what to expect from the now snow haired teen in front of them, then the next moment Naruto struck. In a seeming blink of movement, that even the Chunin couldn't catch to the two's shock, Naruto seemed to appear right in Kiba's guard. The Inuzuka, in a blind panic, attempted to swipe with his right hand in a clawing position only to be stopped dead by Naruto's left guard. Then in a single movement Naruto struck out with his hand in a forward straight punch to Kiba's solar plexus, the force was so great that Kiba's feet were lifted from the ground, said boy fighting the need to empty his stomach and gain his lost breath. Naruto then followed up with two more quick jabs to the Kiba's body keeping him suspended before finally hooking a blow to his face driving the now unconscious boy to the ground and imbedding him at least five inches into the ground.
It was this scene that Iruka, finally finished grading the written exams walked out to and called out to the group.
"What the hell is going on here! Someone explain what happened here now!" Everyone was silent for a moment until the stoic voice of Shino Aburame broke through the silence.
"Iruka-sensei, Kiba-san and Uzumaki-san were selected to have their bout during the taijutsu exam, before the fight was to begin Kiba-san began to berate Uzumaki-san then made an uncouth proposition towards one of Uzumaki-sans precious people. In retaliation to said proposition, Uzumaki-san proceeded to attack Kiba-san with little restraint, leading to the situation as it is now."
Most of the class was stunned at the amount that their quiet classmate had spoken, likely the most anyone had heard the boy speak since he had started the academy for sure. Iruka took in the information and couldn't help but think that the Inuzuka had brought this on himself believing that just because someone hadn't trained in the academy he wouldn't stand a chance against one of the better clan taijutsu users. This honestly impressed the head instructor considering he knew for a fact that Kiba's raw combat ability without ninjutsu was at least low Chunin level and only the Uchiha could beat the boy in straight Taijutsu. Sighing out in exasperation, Iruka spoke up while looking towards a silently fuming Mizuki.
"Mizuki, can you go and call the medics to come and get Kiba-san so he can get patched up for the next exam? I'll stay here and oversee the rest of the matches before we begin the ninjutsu exam." Mumbling under his breath, Mizuki slunk off to the academies medical office. The last few matches proceeded after Kiba was eventually pulled out of the crater that Naruto, who's hair and eyes had returned to normal after the fight, had put him in. In the end the only standouts for the tests were Naruto, Hinata Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha. Kiba finally returned just as the last match was finished up his chest and jaw wrapped in bandages, the only reason he was conscious being due to Tsunade's medical reforms in the last few years pushing for excellence in the medic core.
Now came the final and most important part of the graduation exam, the ninjutsu proficiency test. before the reforms all that was necessary for students to pass this portion was to use two supplementary techniques; the transformation and substitution techniques, and a cloning technique; primarily the basic illusionary clone technique. Now while these techniques are staples used by shinobi of any rank, these standards were made after the end of the third shinobi war at the behest of the still active civilian council, with the help of Danzo, to bolster Konoha's shinobi ranks in case of attacks from Kumo or Iwa. Unfortunately this led to quantity over quality in the shinobi ranks, after the fall of Danzo and the replacement of the Civilian Council the standards were raised.
While the three core jutsu were used for the majority of the test's score, students are also required to learn at least one attacking/defending jutsu or one support type technique such as Genjutsu or Iryōjutsu(Medical Techniques). Naruto looked on as the students demonstrated various techniques, most of the civilian born students used either basic genjutsu techniques or low level katon and doton jutsu. Then came the clan born children who breezed through this test, the only standouts being the Uchiha who used a C-rank katon jutsu and the shy Hyuga, who Naruto now knew was named Hinata, who used a ranged variant of her family's Gentle Fist combat style called the Eight Trigrams: Air Palm technique. Finally it was Naruto's turn once again, stepping forward the blond looked to his teacher for the call to begin his techniques.
"Alright Naruto, you are the last one to demonstrate your jutsu, now please preform the three core techniques then your extra technique and you will have passed."
Naruto nodded to Iruka and proceeded to the center of the empty training field. Taking a deep breath, Naruto's form was covered in a plume of smoke hiding him from view, when the smoke cleared it showed someone else in its place. The figure was male, tall at one hundred seventy nine centimeters with a slim build. The man's features, while very similar to Naruto's own, are sharper and lack the partial blonds' iconic whisker marks. He has spikey and shaggy blond hair that is kept in place by his Konoha hitai-ate except for two bangs that frame his face. The man's attire consists of a standard Konoha Jonin uniform with two bands on both sleeves, a green flak jacket, and blue sandals. The final piece of his wardrobe was a white short-sleeved haori that went down to just above his heels decorated with red and orange flame patterns on the edges. Written down the center of the haori was the kanji for 'Yondaime Hokage.'
There wasn't a single person in the area who didn't recognize the man standing in front of them. This was none other than Minato Namikaze, the Yondaime Hokage, recognized as the strongest Hokage in the history of Konoha and known as the Kiiroi Senkō, the only shinobi to receive a flee on sight in the bingo book from every nation that stood against Konoha in the third shinobi world war. The boys in the class looked on in shock as the girls blushed at the looks of their previous leader. Iruka and the other teachers on the other hand were more than surprised, looking at the henge in front of them and comparing the illusion's looks to the boy who made it… it took every iota of self-control that the adult shinobi's had to not slap themselves on the forehead to not notice the obvious resemblance between the student and Kage.
Naruto, still in the shape of his father, fought back the grin that threatened to grow at the looks he was receiving from the teachers and students and proceeded onto the next jutsu, once again without using either hand signs or intoning the technique, the transformed partial blond was gone and in his place was… the giggling form of the Gama Sennin, Jiraiya, who was writing in a little booklet while a blush was prominent on his lined cheeks. Around his neck hung a pair of binoculars that surely made it obvious what the famed super pervert had been up to. It was only after another moment and the sudden killing intent that was risen by the female student body that knocked the white-haired sennin from his writings and forced him to look up.
No words were exchanged between the legendary shinobi and the students or teachers. Then in another puff of smoke Jiraiya was gone and replaced by a now blushing Naruto who was bashfully rubbing the back of his head.
"Sorry about that, I honestly didn't know what the old lech was up to otherwise I would have probably switched out with the old man or Tsunade-Obasan." This statement seemed to knock everyone out of their surprise only for Iruka to speak up while rubbing the bridge of his nose while fighting off a growing headache.
"It's fine Naruto, just finish the clone and two extra jutsu so we can all get out of here." Nodding to his teacher, Naruto wasted no time and disappeared in yet another puff of smoke that dispersed quickly to show the results of his attempt.
There standing in the training ground was a total of nine Naruto clones all standing at attention behind the original who gave a smug grin. Iruka was about to speak up and congratulate the young man on yet another mastered jutsu only to be caught off guard when a leaf that had been blown in on a sudden breeze was caught in one of the clones blond/crimson spiked locks. Eyes widening in recognition Iruka couldn't help but speak out in surprise.
"Naruto are those clones solid copies?" without missing a beat Naruto responded with a wide grin.
"That's right Sensei, when I was younger it was determined I would never be able to use the illusionary clone technique due to both an imbalance in my chakra that pushed it more towards yang nature than the yin necessary for the art of Genjutsu, as well as the sheer size of my reserves making fine control near impossible normally. Hokage-Jiji decided to give me a supplementary clone jutsu to replace the basic clone called Kage Bunshin."
Nodding in understanding to Naruto's explanation due to his specialization in chakra theory, Iruka marked the boy down as a pass for the clone jutsu before gesturing the teen to continue with the final techniques. Smiling in excitement, Naruto began his final technique. Deciding to be a bit showy for his last showing, Naruto slapped his palms together and began to gather a massive amount of chakra causing a golden-silver shroud of chakra to begin surrounding him. Before anyone could comment on the sheer size of Naruto's reserves, the blond then spoke out in a dominating voice that sent shivers down most of the kunoichi's spines.
"Uzumaki Secret Art: Adamantine Sealing Chains!!!" From Naruto's back six massive chains burst from his back and speared forward to a nearby training post. The post stood no chance and was quickly skewered then shredded before all that was left was a pile of broken wood shavings. Behind the young Uzumaki, the students and teachers looked on at the technique in awe, due to the changes to the clan histories in the academy being undone most if not all the students that there had only been one clan that had been known to be able to shape their raw chakra into tangible constructs to this effect. This could only mean that the boy in front of them was in fact a true born Uzumaki, and to those who had heard stories, there was only one person that could have been Naruto's mother if that was the case. Of course before anything could be said or speculated further about the origins of the blond in front of them, Iruka gave Naruto a quick applause and congratulated him on going above and beyond with his techniques. Iruka then called out to the rest of the class telling them that the exam was now over and that they would be returning to the classroom to begin handing out the headbands to the students, as well as determining who would be named as Rookie of the Year, Kunoichi of the Year, etc.
While the class followed behind Iruka while still thinking on what they had seen, no one noticed when one more person remained on the training field staring at the destroyed remains of what had once been a training log. Mizuki clenched his fist so hard that a small trickle of blood could be seen dripping from his grip.
'That damn brat… it doesn't matter now, while I can't use the Kyūbi brat to steal the scroll that was only a last minute possibility, I'll just have to go back to my original plan and let master Orochimaru know about the threat that beast poses to his future plans…' Unknown to the Chunin, while he was making his plans a dark shape was watching him from the trees, its glowing crimson eyes trained on the foolish man that had become a thorn in its master's side.
-Line Break-
Back within the classroom, the students were once again seated, Iruka standing at the front of the class turned and placed a medium sized scroll before unrolling it and injecting a small amount of chakra. In a poof of smoke, there laying on the opened scroll was a collection of twenty one Konoha Hitai-ates with each metal plate attached to various colored cloths ranging from primarily blue to black, even red and brown. Looking up at his class, Iruka gave the class a proud smile that most of the class returned without hesitation.
"Well I am happy to say that all of you have passed this year's Genin graduation exam. It brings joy, and a little sadness, to my heart knowing that you will be going on from here to become splendid shinobi for our home and country." More of the students smiled at these kind words from their teacher who had worked so hard to prepare them for this moment. Iruka, ready to move on continued with the next portion.
"Now I will be calling you up to the front to pick your respective Hitai-ate, but first I will be announcing the Rookie and Kunoichi of the year…" The class waited in suspense wondering which students would be chosen.
"First, the Rookie of the Year, will Sasuke Uchiha please come down and pick your Hitai-ate."
Without wasting a moment, Sasuke stood from his seat and approached the front of the class. The boy made his way to the front and grabbed a simple blue Hitai-ate before returning to his seat without even a thank you to Iruka. Naruto had to fight down a frown at the way the boy had just dismissed the scarred Chunin before putting it out of his mind and facing the front again as Iruka was going to continue with the Kunoichi of the Year.
"Now, next for Kunoichi of the Year we have Sakura Haruno, please come forward and claim your Hitai-ate." The young girl with pink hair then stood up and quickly made her way to the front. Stopping in front of Iruka-sensei, the pinkette bowed politely to Iruka and thanked him for his teachings before choosing a red banded Hitai-ate.
Naruto could honestly say that he was surprised that someone like Sakura, who was a civilian born kunoichi, had beaten out two well-known clan heiresses to become the top of the classes female students. It showed a dedication and talent that impressed the young Jinchuriki, then the girl almost completely ruined said impression when she turned to the once again brooding Uchiha and gained a love sick expression that is only found in those who have been either drugged or were diehard fangirls/boys. Shaking his head in disappointment, Naruto waited his turn as more students were called forward one by one to each grab the symbol of their service to Konoha.
Finally Naruto's turn came, and he approached the front, giving Iruka a happy grin, that the man returned, Naruto grabbed the second to last Hitai-ate, that just so happened to have a black cloth. Giving a slight bow to Iruka, Naruto returned to his seat while tying his headband to his forehead in the traditional style of the shinobi. This was it, the beginning of his path to become the world's strongest shinobi.
-Time Skip-
Konohagakure no Sato, Outside the Academy:
While making his way out of the Academy building, Naruto couldn't help but glance at the various students who were speaking animatedly with their families. To be honest a sight like this would have likely brought a bout of depression for the young Jinchuriki before finding out about his parents deaths. Now though, Naruto could look out at these people and saw the smiling faces of those he would protect from this day forward as a shinobi of Konoha. Of course not all was sunny and roses, Naruto's negative emotion sensing was picking up the somewhat still present weariness and dislike from some of the older civilians. Inwardly scoffing at the stubbornness of some of these people, Naruto continued his trek towards the interior of the village to celebrate his graduation only to have his attention grabbed by the sight of glowing red eyes in the shadows of a nearby park.
Realizing that this was likely the nevermore scout that he had tailing Mizuki, Naruto made his way towards the trees quickly leaving the sight of any passersby. Stopping under a large tree, Naruto leaned against the trunk of the tree and waited with his eyes closed. When the young teen heard the flapping of dark wings above him he spoke in a quiet and commanding tone.
"Report."
The nevermore alighted from its perch and landed on Naruto's shoulder, in the next moment Naruto began to see images that were memories of the Grimm bird's time following the assistant instructor. Naruto frowned as he saw the Chunin leave the academy after the final portion of the exam and make his way towards the red light district of Konoha. The blonds hackles raised when he then witnessed the silver-haired man meeting with another unknown that was hidden from the eyes of his summon. The situation became more clear when the avian Grimm then overheard a discussion between the two telling of Mizuki's plan to break into the Hokage Tower in the dead of night to steal the Forbidden Scroll of Secrets and requested the other figure to ensure that he would be welcomed by their 'master.' The figure then spoke in a neutral tone specifying that if the Chunin were to accomplish his mission that his lord would welcome him with open arms, but if he was caught there would be no second chances.
After this the two then discussed how the now confirmed traitor would break into the Hokage's office while the ANBU guards would be absent due to a distraction during the late night shift change. As the two left the area the memories then ended, and Naruto's eyes opened showing that they had become glowing silver slits with black sclera. Growling and baring his now lengthened canines, Naruto straightened his posture and changed his direction towards the Hokage tower. Just before leaving the shaded area under the canopy of the trees, Naruto spoke to the nevermore in a hushed tone.
"Go back to the compound and tell Raven that I may need her help tonight to catch a traitor and any collaborators working against the old man. Show her the memories of Mizuki's plans then have her meet me at Jiji's office when she is prepared, do you understand?" With a sharp nod in affirmation, the dark bird then launched itself from Naruto's shoulder and beat a quick path towards the Uzumaki Compound.
Not wishing to waste another moment, Naruto took a quick breath to steady himself before disappearing in a swirl of dark shadows.
-Line Break-
Hokage's Office at the Same Time:
Hiruzen Sarutobi was once again facing his greatest foe while cursing his predecessors and late successor for putting him in this damnable position. Ever since Naruto had returned from his training, civilians had been making requests and inquiries into the boy's reasons for taking residence in the Uzumaki Compound. The elderly Kage had to hold back a growl of repressed anger remembering how in the first week of his return some of the few remaining fat cats of the civilian merchants had tried to strongarm the properties from Hiruzen and Naruto while under the assumption that there were no 'legitimate' Uzumaki in the village and that the properties within should be sold to the highest bidder.
Hiruzen had been quick to put any sort of action down fast by pointing out that Naruto was indeed a true Uzumaki of the main family line and that any attempts to take the boy's clan properties would find any of the persons arrested and interrogated to see who had put them up to try and steal clan secrets from a founding shinobi clan. Sure to say that any further inquiries into the status of the Uzumaki holdings was a thing of the past.
Now though, Hiruzen was finding that he was having to face an almost endless number of requests from everyone; from merchants to even Daimyo, who wished to meet the last remaining Uzumaki Heir and to hopefully arrange marriage contracts with the young boy. It took everything in his decades of political experience to attempt to assuage these important individuals while also politely pushing any talks of arranged marriages to a later date when the young Uzumaki was ready to stand on his own.
In fact, the second longest reigning Kage was just going over a request from the Fire Daimyo himself, who was requesting that Naruto be sent to the capital city to meet with him and his family when said blond appeared in his office in a swirl of shadows. Hiruzen was about to call out to the boy in greeting while also asking why the boy had seen fit to appear in such a way when he was stopped by the look that had overtaken the usually jovial young teen. Furrowing his brows, Hiruzen leaned forward while moving the nearby stack of paperwork to clasp his hands and stare at Naruto in deliberation before asking in his 'Hokage' tone.
"Naruto, what brings you here and in such a way?" Naruto seemed to take a moment to collect himself before he moved to the elderly Kage's desk and made a series of hand signals. It only took a moment for the veteran shinobi to recognize and translate the Konoha ANBU style of hand signals usually used on high ranking espionage or assassination missions.
'Traitors found, requesting lockdown and personal debrief, partner will be arriving momentarily.'
Taking a moment to digest the implications of Naruto's information, Hiruzen decided that time couldn't be wasted. Standing from his desk, the Hokage called out to the room in a boom of authority.
"Neko, Tora, appear." From the shadows of the rooms two forms of ANBU, one man and one woman, appeared kneeling on the floor and saluting their leader.
"Yes Hokage-sama" The quiet voices of the two captain rank ANBU floated through the room. Not turning to face them, Hiruzen gave out his orders.
"Neko, Please go to the hospital and retrieve Tsunade, Tora go and find Jiraiya and bring him here, tell them that it is an A-rank emergency, and they are needed immediately."
Not wasting a moment the two ANBU gave a quick 'Hai Hokage-sama' before disappearing in smokeless shunshin. Still not turning from his position staring out at the village, Hiruzen made a series of hand signals and two more ANBU appeared at the entrance of the office.
"You two will stand guard outside the office and remain hidden to make sure that no one approaches that hasn't been called here, do you understand?"
Another chorus of 'Hai' and the two vanished into the shadows once more. A minute passed in silence for the only two remaining in the office. The silence was ended when a now familiar red portal appeared in the air next to the now seated Naruto. Walking through said portal was a fully kitted out Raven with her mask in place. No words were exchanged while the former human moved to stand to the side of her summoner. Five more minutes passed like this until the silence was once more ended by the doors to the Hokage's office being slammed open by the easily recognizable duo of the only loyal Sannin. Both Tsunade and Jiraiya were wearing serious looks on their faces, even the appearance of the two others in the room did not affect their mood.
As soon as Tora and Neko bowed once more to the Hokage they closed the doors leaving only the five in the office. Hiruzen then finally turned from his position staring outside the window of his office and stepped to his desk. Placing his hand on a nondescript portion of the dark hardwood, Hiruzen then proceeded to pump a sizable amount of chakra into the wood revealing an intricate sealing array that spread to the rest of the room before fading with a subtle pop of displaced air.
Taking a deep breath, Hiruzen moved back to his seat and sat down and spoke through steepled fingers.
"Thankyou for your patience in this." Turning his gaze to his students Hiruzen addressed them.
"Today Naruto came to me in an unorthodox method and let me know through ANBU sign language that he had discovered a potential traitor in our midst. Understanding this and acceding to his request to make this meeting private I have called you two here so we can hear Naruto's news and proof of the actions of this traitor."
The two Sannin took a moment to digest the information their Sensei had shared before giving a short nod of acceptance to him. Hiruzen smiled slightly and then turned to the still sitting Naruto and his stoic summons.
"All right Naruto please tell me what happened."
Nodding Naruto proceeded to explain the situation, how Mizuki, an assistant Chunin instructor in the Academy had attempted to have Naruto fail multiple times setting off Naruto's suspicion in the first place. This along with the negative emotions he had sensed almost flowing off the man had prompted the partial blond to place a summon of his to spy on the man to ensure that he wasn't a danger to either him or one of the other students.
Jiraiya had to stop himself from making a scene when he heard that Naruto had a summons, having wanted to have the gaki sign the Toad Contract when he was older. But that was not a problem at the moment, as Naruto's story continued and he summoned the same nevermore to show the trio of S-ranked Shinobi the same images and memories he and Raven had seen, the white haired toad summoner had a sneaking suspicion who this 'lord' could be that had requested the Forbidden Scrolls theft. Glancing to either side, the hermit could see similar looks of suspicion on Tsunade's and Hiruzen's face.
After finishing his report to the older Shinobi and his leader, Naruto waited while the trio took everything in. Raven, while standing behind the Grimm summoner looked on at her partner in pride at his forethought and action towards those who would endanger his home and people. To the former Bandit Queen of the Branwen Tribe, Raven could only look on in anticipation at the path that Naruto would forge within this world of constant strife and death that shinobi ruled. She was eventually pulled from her thoughts when the trio of Kage and advisors finished their deliberations and turned to once more face the quiet poised Uzumaki and stoic masked Branwen. Staring on in obvious pride at the familiar glint within Naruto's eyes that reminded the Sandaime so much of his successor, Hiruzen leveled a serious stare at the young man and spoke out.
"After going over what you have told us Naruto, my advisors and I have come to the decision to try and get more information on whomever is working behind the scenes of this plot." Nodding in ascent to his leader, Naruto stood and gave a bow and saluted to Hiruzen in deference to his position.
"What would you have me do Hokage-sama?"
Steepling his hands once more while Tsunade and Jiraiya had to fight back grins while the trio looked on at the professionalism being shown by this young man not even a day into his shinobi career.
"Naruto this will be your first mission and will be marked down as a B bordering A-ranked mission depending on the information found. Do you accept this mission even knowing its difficulty level?"
Looking up from his bow, Naruto looked into his surrogate grandfather's eyes showing the trio of older shinobi the steely silver-blue and slit gaze that burrowed into whatever was in front of them. With no hesitation, Naruto stood straight and proud while Raven's posture straightened behind him.
"Hai Hokage-sama, I accept the mission!"
-Line Break-
Forests outside Konohagakure, En Route To Ta no Kuni, Midnight:
Everything had gone to plan for Mizuki. Just as he had planned with his lord's contact, the distraction pulled almost all of the ANBU and Jonin forces away from the Hokage Tower. It had been almost to easy then for the soon to be former Chunin to sneak his way within the hidden storage area that housed the Forbidden Scroll.
That had been just an hour and a half ago, now the silver-haired traitor was quickly making his way to the rendezvous point that his contact had given him at the northern border of Hi no Kuni to Ta no Kuni, the large scroll secured to his back over his primary weapon of giant shuriken. Said man, now high off the feeling of his successful theft was busy speaking to himself with more and more fervor the closer he got to the border.
"Hehe, soon I'll be in the clear and then Lord Orochimaru will reward me greatly with the power I deserve!" It was while he was talking to himself in that moment that Mizuki only barely noticed the danger approaching him from his side.
Executing a basic evasion maneuver using the surrounding forest, Mizuki had to hold back a sudden grunt of pain as multiple projectiles suddenly sliced through the air around him, around five leaving shallow cuts on his shoulder and legs. Using chakra to anchor himself to the nearest large branch, Mizuki moved flush with the large trunk covering his blind side while he looked around trying to sense where his attacker(s) could be hiding. Reaching behind, Mizuki wasted no time in pulling one of the oversized shuriken out of its holster and having it at the ready to either throw or block any more incoming attacks.
After a time of silence that seemed to drag on alongside the pain of his still bleeding wounds, Mizuki's patience finally frayed, causing the traitor to call out to the woods around him.
"WHOEVERS OUT THERE SHOW YOURSELF NOW!!" For a silent moment there was no sound, even the wind and sounds of the wildlife, then as if coming from everywhere at once a familiar voice spoke out startling and angering the former Chunin.
"What's the matter Mizuki-sensei? You know you shouldn't be out here right now," Before the man could speak up the voice continued, "Of course you know that don't you Mizuki-teme considering that you and your accomplice had worked so hard to ensure that everything would be in place for you to steal that scroll on your back for a certain snake-eyed Pedomaru right?"
Hearing the words spoken had caused the traitor to freeze for a moment at the fact this person had known about his plan and accomplice, but as soon as the brat had insulted his lord and master, Mizuki wasted no time yelling back at his now apparent pursuer.
"What would a demon like you know about the greatness of Orochimaru-sama! It doesn't matter either way, I will find and kill you then I will continue my mission for my master and receive an even greater reward from him for getting rid of the last vestige of his greatest misjustice from that cesspool of a village!" without another word, Mizuki pumped a large amount of his chakra to his chest compressing it then released it in a wave into his surroundings.
This was a bastardized technique developed by the Shinobi Core to replicate the ability of natural senser shinobi by releasing a radar of chakra into the surroundings. It wasn't very efficient or low key and costed the same amount of chakra as two or three C-rank jutsus but was useful for finding the location of hidden high powered opponents.
It only took a moment for the wave of chakra to ping off of a large source of dense energy to Mizuki's left that almost made said man stagger at the pure force it was rebuffed from it. Undaunted by the reading though just chocking the brat's power up to the beast contained within him rather than his own reserves, Mizuki wasted no time. Spinning the oversized shuriken in his hand to the point it seemed to blur in speed, the silver-haired shinobi spun and threw the shuriken aiming for the place he had felt the colossal energy from. The shuriken flew straight and true at the hidden figure and Mizuki gave a wide grin, sure of the death that would follow his attack.
Unfortunately this wasn't the case, in a flash of golden light the figure was enshrouded in a dome of glowing golden chains revealing the grinning form of Uzumaki Naruto standing with his arms crossed in the dim golden glow of his clans iconic hidden ninjutsu. Gritting his teeth in anger when he saw that his attack only bounced off the energy dome of the barrier, Mizuki began to slightly panic.
The traitor knew that there was almost nothing in his personal arsenal that could stand up to someone who likely had access to clan specific teachings, especially if said clan was the Uzumaki clan. Cursing to himself at this bout of misfortune, Mizuki was attempting to come up with a plan, whether to fight or run was up for debate, when the voice of the blond called out to him.
"You know Mizuki, when Hokage-sama gave me the mission to bring you in, I thought it might just be a bit of a challenge you know." The blond then gave the silver-haired man a grin showing off his larger than normal fangs. " But all I can see now is that a pathetic piece of human garbage got a big head just because he was being helped by a gay pedophile obsessed with little boys and living forever… yeah its just sad-" The smile that then grew on his face was damn near feral as small veins of blackness began to spread across his paling skin. Naruto then proceeded to place his hand down on the ground while staring directly into Mizuki's eyes who flinched when he saw the changed orbs of glowing slitted blue-silver on a field of black.
"In fact, I decided that I'm not the one who is going to finish you off… they will." A dark liquid then began to spread from the changed teen's hands covering the trunk of the tree he kneeled upon then spread further around him. At first Mizuki had no idea what this demon brat was up to then froze as something stared out at him from the darkness. Within the mass of darkness eyes, a dark and malevolent red, began to appear throughout the surface the liquid touched, fear began to grow within Mizuki's heart then the voice of the blond, now ash white, haired teen called out in a disturbing echoing voice.
"Kuchiyose no Jutsu: Creatures of Grimm," Then as if a signal was given the liquid erupted, from the fluid climbed what could only be monsters from the most twisted and darkest nightmares.
Their forms varied; from bipedal wolves to giant ravens and bears, while different in form, these beasts all held some features in common. They all had skin, fur and feathers that were the darkest of black with plates of what looked like bone decorated in glowing red patterns. All in all these beings sent a feeling of dread and death just with their verry presence, and the center of their hunger filled gaze was centered directly on the now shivering Mizuki.
Standing from his crouch in a fluid motion, Naruto raised a clawed hand to his face while concentrating for a moment then in a swipe from one moment to the next there was a full face mask covering his face with similar marking to the creatures around him. Naruto then rose the same hand up to shoulder level and pointed out towards Mizuki and spoke in that same demonic tone with an ungodly amount of Killing Intent mixed in.
"Go and bring me that trash's head my Grimm… oh and be sure to not damage the scroll on his back, am I understood?"
Without another word, the wave of dark bodies and crimson eyes pounced towards Mizuki. The last thought the soon to be finished man being of how this shouldn't have happened and that he didn't deserve to die like this.
Now standing above the carnage taking place in front of him, Naruto couldn't help but look down in disinterest as the traitor was torn limb from limb by the Grimm that he had summoned. To his side a shadow materialized showing the form of Raven holding onto the dismembered torso of the cloaked individual from that afternoon. Looking over to his partner Naruto looked to the Grimm woman with a raised brow hidden by his still present mask. Not even seeming to notice the look of inquiry in her summoner's eyes, Raven just stood silent for a moment while watching over the feasting lower Grimm. The silent woman then spoke in answer to the unasked question from Naruto.
"They aren't dead yet, I thought that the Hokage would appreciate a possible source of information on his wayward students activities and/or future plans… also I heard that the former student of said snake was a sadist of the highest caliber and had a hatred for her former teacher."
Chuckling at her reasoning, Naruto only looked up to the now full moon that was high in the cloudless sky. No matter what may come in the future, the blond knew that things were only beginning, and the young man would be damned if he would allow some hopped up garden worm ruin his plans for the future of Konoha.
'If you stand in my way I will not hesitate to end you and any allies you raise to stand with you… and that's a promise Orochimaru.'
AN2: Next release will be for 'A Hero's Destiny' chao!