The God of Wind:

Hey everyone, hope you're doing good. Welcome to the third chapter of this story! Hope you enjoy. This chapter we get to see team assignments, as well as a glimpse at Naruto's past. As always feel free to leave a review and tell me what you think. It always helps to get reader input. And if you really feel like follow and favorite.

If you want to read more of this story, Chapter 4 and 5 are already out on my pa treon. You can find it by entering the pat reon web address and adding /rinnetaicho or by going to my AO3 profile of the same name (RinneTaicho) and using the copiable link in my bio. Tiers start at $1.

Anyways, on with the story!

Arc I: Beginnings:

Chapter 3: Don't celebrate too soon

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December 21st, 991 A.S. –

Water dripped from a pipe into a shallow pool coating a smooth stone floor. Drip…drip… drip. It was a calming sound, almost hypnotic. Naruto stood at a narrow doorway filled with light. He could feel a terrifying presence. An aura of malice and hate as deep as the ocean. It made him feel tiny. The young boy shivered.

Every fiber of his being wanted him to run. To get away as fast as possible Yet, he couldn't. After all, he was here for a reason.

'Grampa Hiru said I needed to contact the Nine-Tails.' Naruto reminded himself. He had to move forward. With a shaky breath, he took the plunge and walked through the arch of light.

A giant chamber lay beyond. Dim yellow-gold light emanated from the walls and floor. Stone walls climbed into darkness. There was a massive, gilded cage with on the opposite wall. Intricate swirling marks were carved into the frame. Behind them lurked the creature he came to see. Within the semi-darkness of the cage, a pair of glowing scarlet eyes leered at him above a gaping maw of gleaming fangs. Straining his eyes, he could just make out the form of an enormous fox with blazing orange fur. Nine titanic tails twitched behind it in agitation. Naruto approached the cage hesitantly."Um … hey. I'm here to talk to you about our situation." He said loudly. His voice echoed all around him. The fox growled. It came out as a low rumble that shook the ground.

"So you've come to strike a deal have you?" It asked. Naruto nodded slowly.

"Y-yeah. I want to work together, so we're not just butting heads all the time if I need to borrow your power." He said. The fox sneered and perched it's chin in a human-like hand.

"Why should I believe a word you say whelp?" The fox asked rhetorically. All the hatred Naruto had felt lay within it's words. It was palpable. "You humans are all the same, you pretend to be moral and good, yet I've been locked away for over a century for simply existing. Your own mother kept me staked to a giant rock for decades of torture. Yet now you want me to just give you my power?"

Naruto hesitated. He didn't quite know how to respond. The Nine-Tailed Fox was a creature of terror for kids. When he was in the orphanage he'd heard terrible stories from the older kids about its rampage one night six years ago. Stories raging fire and terrible roars. Of people being crushed under crumbling buildings. So many had died the night, the very night Naruto was born. His parents were among them. Part of him wanted to dismiss it's words. And yet ... he couldn't help but sympathize with the fox. The way it talked about being locked away reminded him of how he used to be. He didn't really feel comfortable just demanding he get the beasts chakra in exchange for not getting tortured.

Suddenly, an idea came to mind. He wouldn't demand it. Naruto would earn it.

"Hey, listen up!" He said. The fox looked at him dangerously. "I'm not going to ask for your chakra now. Instead I'm going to grow stronger on my own, and when you're ready, we can work together."

A resounding silence met his words. Then, a deep chuckle rumbled in the foxes chest. It's booming laughs shook the air.

"Oho, this should be amusing! Very well brat, let's see what you can do to try and impress me!" It growled.

He paid the mocking no mind. Naruto didn't expect to earn the respect instantly. But he would earn it. One way or another.

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Present Day, Shinobi Academy Entrance –

Warm afternoon light poured into the main courtyard of the academy. Naruto stood with Shikako and Choji in the shade of a large oak tree, it's branches swaying and creaking in the wind. All three wore their new fore-head protectors proudly, though in their own unique ways. Shikako had opted to tie hers around her upper arm, while Choji wore his more traditionally as a bandana that let his bushy hair flow from the sides. Naruto wore his around his forehead. The new weight felt odd. It would take some getting used to.

They were waiting for Ino to join them before they went out to celebrate.

"So, you think she'll be out soon?" Shikako asked. Naruto nodded.

"Yep. She should've been just a couple spots behind me." He said.

A few moments later, the large red double doors swung inwards and Ino came skipping out with a grin. Her navy-blue clothed headband was tied around her waist tightly, silver plate gleaming in the light. She made a beeline for them as soon as she saw them.

"Hey Ino, good job!" Choji called enthusiastically.

"Tch, as if I'd fail such an easy test." She replied haughtily. "Anyways, so are we gonna go celebrate or what?"

Naruto grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "Of course! The Yakiniku Q like usual?" He asked. It was their go-to hangout spot. They let you cook your meat yourself at grills on the table. Choji was a big fan because of the buffet options.

His friends quickly agreed, and they set off. The restaurant was in the Markit District, just a few districts away from the Academy. They cut through a couple of the clan districts to save time. There weren't as many people out as had been that morning. Most would be at work or school still. The Leaf Village was heavily involved in trade, though, so the streets were still alive with energy. Suddenly, among the crowd Naruto spotted a familiar head of back-swept spiky black hair. He tried not to draw too much attention to it. Didn't want Ino to get excited.

In the end, his effort was pointless. Ino spotted Sasuke herself. She let out an excited squeal and dragged them over to him. Naruto scowled as they stood before his rival, who looked rather grumpy.

"Hey Sasuke, congratulations on graduating! You look so handsome in that headband." Ino exclaimed. His eyes narrowed.

"Thanks … I guess. Is that all?" He drawled.

"Actually, we were just heading to a restaurant to celebrate, wanna join us?" She asked.

Naruto looked at her askance. He didn't want to have Sasuke at the celebration! Just the thought of it got on his nerves. The entire mood would surely be ruined. Still … neither Choji nor Shikako objected, so he bit his tongue. If he had to suffer Sasuke's presence he would.

"Tch, as if. I have better things to do." Sasuke replied hotly. He glared at Naruto. "Unlike him I don't waste time on such frivolous things."

He said it acidly. There was a hint of anger and jealousy that Naruto was just as good as him if not better while wasting his time on what Sasuke viewed as childish. A part of Naruto relished in knowing it got under Sasuke's skin. Sasuke turned on his heel and stormed away. Despite the fact he didn't want him at the meal, Naruto couldn't help but feel angry at the dismissive way Sasuke treated Ino. She had a dejected look in her eyes. He clapped Ino on the shoulder.

"Come on, ignore that jackass." He said as he pulled her along.

She nodded hesitantly, and the group continued on their walk to the restaurant. Along the way, she worked her way out of the funk and was back to her usual self when they arrived in front of a newer two-story building. It's paint was still gleaming white, with bright orange awnings and gleaming glass windows. A heavy sign hung from the side, with "Yakiniku Q" in bold red lettering.

A bell chimed as they entered, and a slender man with dull brown hair came to greet them wearing black apron with a bright smile on his face. His name was Hideki, the host, and they'd run into him quite a few times here.

"Welcome to Yakinuku Q, will it be the usual seat?" He asked. Naruto nodded quickly, and the host ducked behind his stand to grab several menus.

He guided them to their usual booth in the back corner. Naruto sighed in contentment as he slid into the familiar cushioned seat. Shikako slid into the spot beside him, with Choji on the other side and Ino at the other end. The waiter quickly came over and took their order. Choji was the one to take charge. He went here the most, and he knew the most when it came to food.

"We'll have four all you can eats, start with the spicy pork and marinated brisket!" He said.

"And some vegetables too." Ino cut in quickly. She looked at Choji pointedly, as if daring him to disagree. He had the good sense not to say anything.

"Of course, we'll have that right out." The Waiter said with a smile.

Minutes later, their waiter returned with a giant platter filled with raw meatsand a second with several mushrooms, cucumbers, and lettuce covered in an orange sauce. Behind him another employee carefully carried a tabletop grill filled with white-hot coals. The grill was placed carefully on the table, and then the waiters left them to their meal.

The air was soon filled with the delicious smell of grilling meats and aromatic vegetables. You could almost taste the sweet tang of the barbecue on the brisket. Naruto's stomach growled in anticipation. He salivated at the thought of the meat. His last meal had been that morning, and it wasn't very heavy. It felt like his stomach wanted to eat itself. When the first round of meat was finally ready he and Choji rapidly snatched the biggest slices of meat for themselves. Meanwhile, the girls simply took a few smaller slices and the majority of the vegetables. The first bite of meat was divine. It practically melted in his mouth and felt hot going down.

Thus, their celebration began. They had a great time talking about their memories of the academy. There was some melancholy to it. They'd spent a long time learning how to be shinobi together, and now that was at an end. At the same time he felt excited. Eventually they got to the subject of what came next.

"Any idea what that meeting Iruka-sensei mentioned was about?" Choji asked.

Naruto shrugged. "It's probably about separating us into teams." He answered.

"Ooh, do you think I'll get on the same team as Sasuke?" Ino exclaimed excitedly. Her hope was quickly dashed by Shikako.

"Ino, you know we're being placed on the same team. It's tradition." She said.

It was a mark of how good he was feeling from the celebration that Naruto chose not to ruin the mood. In the privacy of his mind, though, he had to wonder why anyonewould want to be on Sasuke's team. He'd scored terribly in cooperation for a reason. Being on a team with him would be a constant headache.

'That wretch has the personality of hot garbage steeped in sewage.' Kurama growled inside his mind.

His snort of amusement almost caused Naruto to choke on his sip of water.

"What's so funny?" Shikako asked.

"Oh, nothing, just something popped into my head. It's not important." He muttered.

To more rounds of grilling, a change of coals, and nearly an hour and a half later they'd finally eaten their fill. With bellies full of barbecue, Naruto parted ways with his friends at the entrance to the restaurant. The other three had to head to their own clan areas, and Naruto was heading in the opposite direction to the Hokage Residence.

"See you in a couple days." He said with a wave.

"Sure thing. We'll have to finish that game of shogi when we get the chance." Shikako replied.

Naruto waived until his friends turned the corner. When they were gone, he let out a pleasant sigh. He looked up at the sky and noticed the sun was starting to dip low. It was probably a good idea that he get going soon. No doubt Konohamaru would be waiting to pester him. 'Gramps probably wants to celebrate too.' He thought.

He turned and made his way down the cobbled streets to the section of the village. The light was already fading, the sky painted orange with vibrant pink clouds. Naruto hummed a tune as he walked. Occasionally, someone passing by would offer him a congratulations. He smiled and nodded each time. Others simply ignored him and that was fine. Finally, he reached his destinations, a pair of cylindrical buildings that towered over the street. A crimson-painted wall separated it from the village. He ducked inside a gated entrance and walked across a short path to a set of grand oak doors. It swung open on silent hinges, and he came into lit hallway with a gleaming wooden floor. Several doors lined it.

At the sound of the front door opening, a woman poked her head out of one of the doorways. Her full face lit up with a smile at the sight of him. She was the maid of the house, and often looked after Konohamaru when nobody else was around.

"Welcome back Naruto. Your grandfather is in his study if you want to see him." She said

"Thanks, Sayako. I'll do that." He replied with a nod.

Naruto moved down the hall swiftly and into the second connected building. There he took a spiral staircase up to the top floor and came out into a dark hall.

Yellow light poured into the darkened hallway from a partially open door. The house was still and silent. Naruto stepped softly on the wooden floor. He didn't want to wake Konohamaru or any of the servants. As he drew near to the doorway, he could hear the tell-tale sound of pencil scratching on paper. Tabaco smoke wafted from the room beyond. He wrinkled his nose in distaste of the acrid scent. Even now he wasn't used to it.

He pushed the sliding door open all the way and stepped into a well-lit study. Bookshelves lined three of the four walls, teaming with old tomes and yellowed scrolls. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, sat at a large oak desk. He was hunched over with his wrinkled and liver-spotted face screwed up in concentration while a cooling dish of takeout noodles sat on the desk. The elderly man had already changed out of his ceremonial white robes into a simpler black kimono top. Naruto smiled slightly. Over the years he'd grown used to finding his grandfather like this. It wasn't really a surprise he hadn't made it home in time for dinner. Being Hokage was a busy job, and it often kept his grandfather late.

Sarutobi wasn't really his grandfather. He'd adopted Naruto when he was young. Still, Naruto didn't care. As far as he was concerned the man was his grandfather.

Clack

The door shut with a soft knock and drew his grandfather's attention. Hiruzen looked up and smiled. "Ah, Naruto, it's good to see you my boy. I hear congratulations are in order. Though I guess that's no surprise. Sorry I missed your celebration." He said.

"Eh, it's no problem." Naruto replied dismissively. He tried to take a peek at what Hiruzen was working on. Curiously, he was quick to cover the document up. 'Must be top secret'. "Sooo, any idea what team I'll be on?" His grandfather smirked in amusement.

"Come now Naruto, you know it wouldn't be fair to tell you that." He replied.

Naruto pouted childishly. He knew it was a bit of a long shot, but he figured he'd give it a whirl. A sigh escaped his lips. There wasn't much point staying up any longer. There were things he needed to do tomorrow like getting his registration complete.

"Fine then, keep your little secrets. Have a good night gramps." He said.

"Good night Naruto." Hiruzen replied.

He smiled and turned on his heel. There was a soft bed awaiting him. Naruto just couldn't help but wonder what the future held.

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Naruto bounced his leg impatiently. The three days had flown by. Between the bustle of completing his registrations and training, before he knew it the day arrived when he would be assigned to a team. Though now it felt like time was turning just as slow. It was already five minutes past when they were supposed to be there. What was taking Iruka so long?

"You know that's not going to make him show up any quicker, right?" Shikako asked. "At this rate you're going to wear a hole in the floor."

"Hehehe, she's right ya know." Choji said with a laugh.

"I can't help it, I'm excited." He muttered.

They were right of course. Not that he'd ever let them know it. He'd learned from his mistake on the day of the exam and gotten here early. Since then he'd been utterly bored. The most exciting thing had been when Sakura and Ino had their daily race to see who would sit next to Sasuke. His lips twitched as he remembered Ino sullenly taking a seat in the row above them when Sakura had beaten her.

Shhft

His head snapped up at the sound of the door opening. A grin broke out when Iruka-sensei stepped through the doorway. In one hand he carried a clipboard, and with the other he gave them a polite man. The scarred man walked to the front of the room and stood behind his podium. Iruka waited for the excitement to die down. When it was finally quiet, he cleared his throat.

"First of all, I want to congratulate you all on graduating," Said Iruka. "You've all worked hard to hone your skills, but your journey has just begun. Right now you're just Genin, low level ninja. To help you expand your skills and further your training, we'll be dividing you into teams of three, and assigning a Jonin to guide you in your training moving forward."

A restless murmur of surprised exclamations filled the air. It was almost like a group of snakes hissing all at once.

Beside him, Shikako shifted in annoyance. "Tch, I don't get what the big deal is,"

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at his friend's words. She'd always found it tedious to deal with others that weren't as quick on the uptake as her. Which, to be fair, was basically everyone their age besides himself.

"Seriously, don't tell me any of them thought that they'd let ninja fresh out of the Academy take any kind of missions alone?" She said. He shrugged in response.

"I don't know, I can think of at least a few people who would probably prefer to work on their own," He motioned over to where Sasuke Uchiha was sitting; his signature scowl in place.

With his miserable cooperation grades, being on a team was probably the worst case scenario for Sasuke. A vindictive part of Naruto relished at his rivals annoyance. It would be funny to see the poor fools he was stuck with put up with his attitude.

"I guess you have a point." Shikako giggled slightly.

It was rather obvious that Iruka had done this before because he paid the interruptions no mind and continued with his announcement. He steadfastly lifted the clipboard and began to read from it.

"We've structured the teams so they would have a balance of talents and ability. Now, I'll announce the squads, starting with Team 1 . . ."

To Naruto, it seemed like it took forever for his name to be called. He listened as names were called one by one and new teams formed. The first five teams were filled with a lot of the civilian students in the class. Naruto waited impatiently for it to finally be his turn.

Despite his annoyance at the fact it was taking so long for his name to be called, he took comfort in the fact that with each team that was announced that didn't include him or Shikako, the chances of them being on the same team increases. In the back of his mind he knew it was a long shot. As she'd pointed out at the celebration dinner, the Yamanaka, Nara, and Akimichi clans had a tradition of being on the same team when the heirs were the same age. Part of a pact between them and the Sarutobi Clan since before the founding of the village. A Sarutobi would teach the three to strengthen the bonds of the clans. Still, a guy could hope.

"… Next up is Team 7. First is Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki–" Iruka said. Naruto smiled ruefully. So much for that hope. Still, it wasn't a terrible outcome. Sure, Sakura had a lot of deficiencies when it came to practical skills, but she also had a lot of potential with chakra control and her sharp mind. With a bit of help she'd be a great teammate. He felt fairly optimistic. As long as their third teammate wasn't him. A chill went down Naruto's spine. Why did he feel like he just cursed himself? "… and Sasuke Uchiha. Your jonin instructor is Kakashi Hatake."

"Fuck." He swore.

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Well, what did you think? As you can see, I went with the cannon team. In the original Naruto was on an original team with Yakumo and Sai, but for this version it just felt like the best to have him on the team with Sasuke. The dynamic will be a bit different due to Naruto being the top of the class in this. So there's a bit more substance and an even footing in the rivalry.

In other news, the next chapter may be a couple days late this time. I'll be going on a camping trip that will last past the 1st so it's possible I won't have a chance to update to this site before I get back.

Last but not least, I also want to give a shoutout to my patrons, who are helping me to make this my job.

⸻ Patron Shoutout Wall ⸻

Odin Darkfeather, Neil Tucker, Chillz90, Kit Arashi, CrusaderMoya, MK3Kratos, Kevin Lopez, MASTERCHEIF1229.

Until Next Time,

RinneTaicho, Signing Off!