More Than He'd Have Hoped

The beautiful foliage of the Konoha forest always calmed him. Light played through the nearly limitless shades of green, casting shadows on the ground that took his breath away and left him wondering how something so beautiful could hold so much hatred.

Uzumaki Naruto had rarely felt comfortable, even in his own home. He’d always been watched like some sort of monster, the villagers of Konohagakure waiting with cold eyes for the time when he would give his true colors away.

At the age of seven he still didn’t know what they were talking about, but it was hard not to recognize hatred when that’s all you’ve seen your whole life.

Sighing, the boy jumped off the limb he sat in high up on a branch, his blond hair flying about his head in a spiky halo as he caught himself on a knee. One think that could be said about Naruto, he was good on his feet. It had always been that way with his body and the young boy didn’t realize others were any different. After all, growing up in a ninja village means you are used to seeing the abnormal.

It was mid summer after his first year in the Academy. He was doing well for the most part, though academia most definitely wasn’t his strong point. Books, mathematics, and logic? He didn’t understand what was so necessary about all these things. They seemed stupid. All he needed was his every-present drive to succeed and the strength to carry it out with.

For that reason, Naruto ran every day.

That was what he did most days, truth be told. Running was both a hobby and a necessity for a child who got accused of more wrong doings than a murderer. At least, they were always yelling it at him, hoping for others to join in.

Oddly, the ones who called him demon never seemed to be seen again, but at those times he’d always get a visit from his Jiji, so he barely noticed much of anything but blissful ramen at Ichiraku’s for the rest of the day.

Just the thought made him stop and with a quick look up he jumped nearly five feet into the air and grabbed a tree branch, hoisting himself up to the top so that he could poke his head out of the foliage.

The Hokage mountain was visible, even in the giant forests of Konoha. It overlooked the whole village –a veritable city to be completely honest and each face on it was carved to resemble one of the four Hokage.

Even if he was a bad book student, he knew all of their names by heart: Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, Sarutobi Hiruzen, and Namikaze Minato. The Sandaime Hokage was his Jiji, the man he loved in this world more than any other. He was the only person to ever care for him. He held Naruto when he cried and made everything better with a few words of wisdom. To Naruto, he truly was the Shinobi no Kami, a god among regular men and ninja.

Naruto wanted to be just like him. If only the Shinobi, Kunoichi, and civilians of the village trusted and loved him, like his hero. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen without a lot of sacrifice, something that Jiji brought up whenever they saw each other.

Turning away from the monument, he squinted into the sunset going down atop the forest behind him. He loved sitting atop his favorite Hokage’s head to watch dusk slowly draw the sunlight from the city inch by inch. It was beautiful, just like the dozens of miles of trees surrounding them in each direction that rolled with the hills as far as his eyes could see.

But tonight he knew he wouldn’t be able to make it up there in time. He’d only be halfway through the city by the time the sun was hidden behind the tree line. Instead, he’d do his best to run as far as he could through his favorite obstacle course: the forests.

Jumping from his branch, Naruto grabbed hold of this next one with an arm, swinging like a gymnast to the next branch that he caught with the top of his foot. Looping around and flipping in the air, he landed on the next, inordinately long branch and ran all the way to the end before diving off and grabbing one of the long vines that often hung down like a sturdy rope.

“Woohoo!”

Another man watched beneath a Genjutsu nearly twenty feet away. Using the Shunshin, his body disappeared in a cloud of smoke, reappearing on a branch nearly two hundred yards in front of where Naruto was moving.

The boy really was an amazing child, with more body dexterity than even himself at that age, which was a stunning feat. He’d trained his childhood away for his pride and power, but this gaki’s ability came completely natural. That’s why he always got away from those ignorant fools who blamed him for their own weakness.

He watched the boy do a nearly impossible catch, one that would have pulled the arm out of anyone else’s socket. He just kept moving along, his feet using the side of the tree as a running board despite his inability to use Tree Walking.

Yet.

Itachi’s eyes, which had previously been a soulless black, began to reform. Red bled throughout and three black markings began to spin across the surface. This was one of the ultimate Doujutsu, the Sharingan. With a burst of Chakra and intent, Naruto suddenly tripped on a branch, yelping as his mind visualized something that didn’t exist and he fell through to the hard earth over twenty feet below.

It was to the boy’s credit and a final test on Itachi’s part that he kicked off the trunk while he fell, flipping his body over and changing the momentum of his descent as he landed in a roll. Taking the time, Itachi jumped from branch to branch, silent and fluid as he took the plunge off the tip of the last, landing in a crouch behind the boy who was staring up at the tree in shock.

“Good evening, Naruto,” the boy spun around, jumping back towards the forest in his fright. Itachi just raised both hands, showing his unarmed approach, “I’m not going to hurt you. I actually want to help.” Naruto’s face went from frantic to hesitant in a fraction of a second. That’s something else he would have to fix: shinobi cannot, under any circumstances, show their emotions on their sleeves.

It took a moment for the boy to come up with a response, but when he did it surprised Itachi, “There’s no way I can trust you unless you do the same for me. What’s your name and rank?” He expected a child’s response, but clearly the boy was more logical than he appeared.

“I am Uchiha Itachi, son of Fugaku the head of Konoha Police. My rank is Chuunin, though I’m also ANBU.” Naruto frowned as he took another step back, muttering,

“They doesn’t make me feel any better.” The older boy couldn’t help but laugh, realizing that they shared a similar view of his clan, though for completely different reasons.

“My clan is weak and arrogant, Uzumaki Naruto. I want to train you to be powerful and intelligent. I can already see it within you, especially when you are moving as you do through the trees.” He could hear the steady increase in the boy’s heartbeat as he waved his hand towards the forests and he knew that he had him now. “I can make you a powerful Shinobi.”

“A Hokage?” Was the boy’s first question, which again was unusual. So, despite all the things he’d been put through, this boy somehow still wished to be Hokage.
Or maybe he wanted to be powerful enough to destroy one.

“Yes, I can put you on the path to being a powerful Kage, if only you’ll trust me.” It seemed like a light switch went on, the blond quickly shaking his head affirmatively as he responded,

“I trust you… sensei.” Itachi smiled.

(Two years later)

Naruto ducked beneath his sensei’s fist, using his own Chakra enhanced speed to roll to the right, kicking out with his legs in an impressive feat of control. After all, they were both fighting on top of the water.

Itachi jumped back, throwing a cluster of Shuriken towards his student before quickly forming hand seals.

“Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu.” His softly spoken words were clearly enough as a giant ball of fire raced across the water top towards his hastily dodging protégé, Naruto quickly releasing his constant flow of Chakra and sinking beneath the depths.

Thankfully, he’d been able to get Naruto out of that horrendous orange jumpsuit. Now dressed in nearly all black, but for the orange mesh beneath his standard Konoha ANBU gear, he could do many more things without being seen.

Jumping back just in time, Itachi dodged an explosive rush of wind that came out in a bullet of force. Four Naruto clones appeared from beneath the depths, kunai in hand as they used the top of the water as a platform to vault forward. The Uchiha tried to form hand seals, but barely got a second to think as each threw a kunai.

Ducking under three, he went to catch the fourth only to smirk when it passed right through his fingertips. He should have known they were just Bunshin, as he’d yet to see Naruto become proficient enough at the Mizu Bunshin to make four. Suiton, after all, was not his elemental affinity.

He could not say the same for Fuuton.

The boy was prodigious, which Itachi had never said about anyone but himself before. No matter what he put in the boy’s way, be it multiple Taijutsu styles, a crash course on using and recognizing Genjutsu, the fundamentals of Fuuinjutsu, or learning his elemental affinities at such a young age, it did not matter. Even if he struggled, eventually he learned what his sensei was trying to teach him and was even able to use it within combat gracefully.

That’s why it was so disturbing to him that sometimes he actually was forced to try.

It wasn’t noticeable in the beginning, but as time went on it became more and more obvious that Naruto was advancing abnormally quickly. The first time he was struck by the boy, it shattered his left elbow, though that was his own fault for sparring against a boy who was trained completely in Koppojutsu and not taking it seriously. He’d forced himself to continue the spar until he won, his pride not allowing him to stop even with a broken arm.

Then he was trapped in an ingenious Genjutsu of the boy’s making, something he thought impossible with his years of experience. Apparently, though, he taught the boy the fundamentals well as now he was forced to use his Sharingan whenever he finally realized he was in a Genjutsu. The Jutsu had subtly changed his depth perception, so that Naruto was able to back off with just a step and his follow through would come short.

He’d been more than confused when the boy started doing hand seals so close, Itachi quickly running in for the finishing blow only to miss his high kick completely and get a Reppushou no Jutsu directly in the chest. It was a C-rank Ninjutsu, something he couldn’t use more than a few times without being exhausted when he was that age. He would have hit a tree and broken ribs if not for a hasty Kawarimi with a sturdy Doton Bunshin he’d formed to ambush his student.

Naruto burst from the water in front of Itachi, breaking him from his thoughts as wind chakra forced him nearly twenty yards into the air. Itachi jumped backwards as the blond threw a kunai, starting a string of hand seals.

He cursed as the kunai changed direction, much closer now and headed directly at him. Yadama Tegoma was a rather simple E-rank Fuuton Jutsu which allowed the user to control the wind around him and areas of his choice. Naruto, one of the most surprising Ninjas Itachi had ever suffered meeting, used the Ninjutsu so ingeniously that he could do literally nothing to stop the affects. Pulling limbs closer to his feet, buffering his falls, affecting his enemy’s equilibrium, and even gliding through the air for short periods of time were all easily capable with this Jutsu.

Basically, he never had too far to jump and he never fell wrong. Ever. And he no longer needed the single hand seal it usually took to structure the technique. Add to that his natural dexterity and even Itachi had to be wary of close quarters battles and pursuit exercises. It wasn’t rare for Naruto to manipulate the tree limbs beneath his pursuer’s feet to trip them up or force them to the ground. The first time it had happened, Itachi had been a foot from falling on his face.

Flipping backwards, Itachi caught the kunai as it flew beneath him and landed on his feet. Naruto grunted in exertion as his chest expanded with air,

“Fuuton: Eagan no Jutsu.” The wind bullet rocketed towards him, twisting and writhing under the effects of Naruto’s Projectile Control Technique. It was a testament to Itachi’s skills that he twisted out of the way at the last second, though his shoulder still received a few minor cuts that shredded the light cloth of his shirt.

Both shinobi rushed each other, apparently having the same idea to bring the battle into close range. Itachi came in with a punch that he could feel being affected by the wind around him, just enough so that Naruto could slap it to the side with little force and bring his knee towards the older Chuunin.

Neither could land a decisive blow, even with Itachi’s amazing speed, though he’d yet to activate his Sharingan. Still, he was literally going all out against a ten year old without resorting to his Doujutsu and that was impressive. Finally, Naruto feigned a sweep kick, only to use that same foot’s momentum to vault upwards and land a powerful strike to Itachi’s jaw.

The ANBU quickly used Kawarimi, nursing his jaw with a green glow about his hands and feeling the tension and pain slowly disappear. Naruto had jumped backwards out of the clearing himself, pushing with the wind towards the ground with one hand as the other manipulated the air using Yadama Tegoma to push a tree branch beneath his feet.

The blond haired Academy Student smirked as he began to layer Genjutsu around his fists and the tree he was standing on. It was simple enough to make it seem like traps were set up in multiple places, causing Itachi to dodge right where Naruto wanted him to. He didn’t have the time to set them up himself, but it would hopefully give him the chance to either hit him with a Ninjutsu or come in close and land another blow.

There was a three strike rule on either side. The one to hit the other three times wins. Usually, Itachi would let Naruto hit him at least twice before getting completely serious. The boy had figured it out though and used a nasty Genjutsu to get in a three-punch combination. All of them hit and his sensei had never been so careless since.

Tensing up when he heard the whistling of kunai, Naruto used his projectile manipulation to throw them off course, sticking into the sides of the tree on both sides of him. The giant fireball that came next sent him into a spree of curses as it destroyed his Genjutsu, at the same time forcing him to jump off the side of the limb. The heat was so strong it still felt like he was burning after narrowly dodging it, but after sticking to another limb Naruto took the time to cast a low level Suiton Jutsu.

“Suiton: Funsha no Jutsu.” The jet of water was weak, as were all his water elemental Ninjutsu, but shooting it into the air above his head gave him a refreshed feel as he once again began to go through hand seals.

Itachi suddenly appeared out of the tree line, but it was just in time in Naruto’s book as he looked him directly in the eyes and cast a subtle Genjutsu. Naruto stuck a kunai in the ground at his feet, jumping back before watching in glee as Itachi began to jump away from explosion after explosion, which were all created in his own head. Gansaku Haretsu was a sneaky technique, but it was also unpredictable and hard for the user to control so it made forcing his opponent into a position difficult.

Naruto didn’t have the time to duck or move when Itachi suddenly appeared in front of him, planting a fist into his face that sent him crashing through the trees. He could hear him pursuing and with a quick look he made a branch snap underneath the teen’s feet, forcing him to stumble as Naruto got his bearings and began to move through a hasty set of hand seals.

Multiple wind bullets flew in different directions, forcing Itachi to Kawarimi. This gave Naruto his opportunity and he grabbed out a kunai, wrapping it in an explosive tag of his own creation before lighting it and waiting. As he suspected, Itachi was back on the offensive as he rushed out of the foliage with his Ninja-to in hand.

Throwing the kunai, Naruto watched him dodge and with a grunt and concentrated effort the kunai stuck into the tree that it was barely going to miss and exploded on contact. The force of the blast sent Itachi crashing into a limb, which he immediately swung around and landed on his two feet.

“This is over, Naruto.” Though the threat was ominous, especially after landing his second blow, Naruto just smirked and said,

“Weren’t you the one who told me that talking during a battle gave your opponent the chance to prepare a strategy?” Itachi’s eyes suddenly bled red and Naruto truly did gulp this time. This was going to be a Genjutsu battle for the ANBU from now on and it didn’t sound like fun.

“Yes, Naruto, I did,” he said with a trace of humor in his otherwise monotonous voice, “but that means nothing when you can’t hit-.” He didn’t get the chance to finish as four Bunshin appeared from beneath him, though he could tell that the Chakra within them was more than a regular illusion would carry. Were they Mizu? That would be odd as the river was nearly five hundred yards away. If it wasn’t, he’d yet to teach Naruto another clone technique.

Jumping towards them, Itachi surprised Naruto as he flung a brace of Shuriken that popped each of his clones in a telltale plume of smoke.

“Kage Bunshin, Naruto? Where did you learn it?’

“From you.” Was Naruto’s immediate reply as he poked at his eyes and grinned like the Cheshire cat. He continued, “The hand seals weren’t hard to figure out, though the crossed finger sign was new to me. After a few times watching you perform it, though, I had them all down.”

“Excellent.” Itachi seemed proud, which surprised the young Shinobi. He’d expected a bit of anger at basically stealing a technique. Then again, the Uchiha were known throughout the world as Copy-nin so it must be impressive to see a non-Uchiha do the same.

Naruto heard a cawing above him and with a quick glance upward he grimaced. Crows. That usually meant something bad for him and good for Itachi. Who knew what was real and what wasn’t, especially under the effects of a full powered Sharingan. As usual, Naruto did what no one expected and cut a long line into his hand.

The crows disappeared, as did the Itachi standing on the ground below him.

Jumping away, he had to use his wind manipulation to dodge out of the way of a host of kunai, though this put him in midair and away from any available limbs to land on. He used the air currents to lift his body up right before he hit the ground, setting him on his feet and in a run without any pause.

Good thing, too, because the ground below him exploded upwards as Itachi came out of the earth. Naruto was sent flying, though he was clearly in control as his fumbling limbs righted themselves and he once again landed on his feet in a sprint, sticking kunai tagged with explosive notes on trees with a chakra string for quick activation.

Naruto hid close enough to still be in sight of the trees, under a week Genjutsu: Kokohi no Jutsu. It was subtle enough that he hoped Itachi wouldn’t see through it, though he was on the other side of a tree anyways so it would be hard for him to catch on to the chakra manipulation anyways.

Now all he had to do was wait.

A few moments passed, all animal life quiet as they fled away from the shinobi battle. Naruto sent chakra to his ears, hoping to catch the sound of him approaching.

“Surrender, Naruto.” The cold metal of a kunai slipped along his throat, teasing his skin with the sharp edge as he gulped and nodded.

“Hai, sensei.” Just as the man dropped the kunai, though, Naruto turned and sent a jab and a cross to his master’s chest. Itachi disappeared in a poof of smoke, leaving Naruto vulnerable as he heard chuckling coming from all around him.

“You are surpassing my expectations, my young protégé.” Itachi was standing on the opposite end of the clearing, holding the kunai and explosive notes Naruto had prepped. The blond groaned, pulling on the chakra strings and feeling nothing on the other end. He’d been had.

“Naruto,” Itachi’s tone was deathly serious as he spoke and it sent Naruto on edge, “this is my last day as your sensei.”

“But-“

Why? Had he done something wrong? He’d do anything to fix it. He wanted to say all of these things, but the words wouldn’t come. His throat was tight as he tried to do as his sensei taught: control your emotions.

Suddenly Itachi was directly in front of him and he held out his sheathed sword, “Naruto, this is for you. Learn the art of Battojutsu well and you will be an unrivaled Shinobi in the years to come.” Naruto nodded, dropping to his knees in front of his idol and bowing his head. He felt the strong hand on his shoulder and took the man’s words to heart, “Sometimes, Naruto, we are tasked with doing things that need to be done even if no one wants to do them.”

Itachi was giving far too much away, but he felt like his student had to understand. If he didn’t, he knew the coming days would break the boy’s spirit. Without another word the ANBU Shunshin’d away, leaving his student near tears on the ground, trying to understand.

(The next day)

Word of the Uchiha Massacre spread like wildfire throughout the village. Nearly their entire police force consisted of Uchiha and the village had been safer for it. It was all over with now, though. Uchiha Itachi had murdered everyone in his clan, save his youngest brother and fled into the night.

Naruto’s world nearly collapsed.

Had this been what his sensei had been trying to tell him? Was this a mission? By who? Why? He had so many questions as he lay in his apartment and stared blankly up at the ceiling. The ninja-to was sitting beside him, newly polished and sharpened by his inexpert hands after reading a few books on the topic.

He clutched the sword tight to his chest, wondering when or if he would ever get those answers.

Beep Beep Beep.

Was it already time for Academy already? He’d not gotten any sleep last night, reminiscing about his sensei deep into the night, only to get that bomb shell from a gossiping group of women while he was out getting Ramen in the morning. He’d wandered home in a daze after watching Shinobi flock towards the Uchiha Sector, knowing that it was true.

He just wished he’d been able to stop his sensei. Then maybe they would still be together.

It was a dejected young boy that found himself dodging shoulders on his way to the academy. He’d barely noticed the stares anymore, when he’d had his sensei who taught him and cared for him. Now he was alone again and he didn’t know what he was going to do.

Sitting down in his favorite seat beside the window, Naruto barely acknowledged his teachers’ presence as they prepared for class. No one else was in the room, though a group of students from the class were milling around outside until the bell rang.

Life in the Academy had changed for Naruto since he’d met Itachi. With all of his training, the only thing he ever had to study for was history and mathematics, but after a while even that became easy for him. For that reason, Naruto was beating even Sasuke, who had been labeled as a prodigy from the moment he entered the classroom.

Still to this day, Naruto didn’t have the fan club that the other, admittedly more stereotypically attractive boy had. Most people had black hair and dark eyes, so Naruto’s blond and cerulean were a rarity. The three scars running across each cheek also apparently made his face angular. Most people called his features sharp while they called Sasuke’s smooth, something that he guessed was more attractive to girls.

Sadly, Naruto had yet to meet a female who lived up to his standard of what a Kunoichi should be, so his attraction to even girls as beautiful as Yamanaka Ino tapered off quickly when he found her to be nothing but a gossipy banshee. Still, he had his own fan club and still couldn’t look Hyuuga Hinata in the eyes without blushing after finding her peeking on him in the hot spring. She to this day didn’t realize that he had seen her, but he could never tell her without giving the shy girl a heart attack.

The bell rang and kids quickly began to pile in, taking their regular seats and chatting merrily away as Iruka and Mizuki began writing things on the board and sorting out papers to hand out. Naruto was well known for his seclusion, despite the fact that he’d help anyone who asked, so as usual no one came over and talked to him. He was more than happy with that, as it usually gave him time to prepare some strategies for his next fight with Itachi-sensei.

Now, it just gave him time to think.

Umino Iruka frowned from the front of the class, staring at the somber form of his secretly favorite student. Naruto had seemingly grown up out of nowhere, surpassing any and all expectations for an academy student, especially one with as many problems as he had. He’d yet to be beaten at kunai practice, Taijutsu spars, or chakra exercises, though Haruno Sakura continued to excel even above Naruto at memorization and academics.

Oftentimes, Iruka tried to follow Naruto to see where he went, only to be dumbfounded when the boy gave him a wave and disappeared seemingly into nothing. His pride hated being caught and outsmarted by an Academy student, but all the same he was proud of how far the boy had come. He honestly wouldn’t be surprised, after watching the way Mizuki struggled to even so much as block Naruto’s attacks, if the boy was Chuunin level already.

It was simply and utterly astounding. After a while, though, he’d gotten worried and gone to the Hokage who just smiled and replied simply, “Naruto is being taught by the best and brightest of his generation. He is also the most surprising boy I have ever met. Do not be shocked when he breaks any and all expectations you have for him.” Indeed, the boy did as foretold and dumbfounded the pair of Chuunin at every turn.

Though where Iruka had come to favor him for it, Mizuki seemed to resent the boy. Oftentimes, Iruka would have to shush his childhood friend before he became enraged and started spouting off about ‘the demon’ and ‘corrupting powers’. It sometimes made Iruka wonder, but he had seen the way Naruto had gone from wearing his emotions on his sleeves to subtly smothering them away when they became tedious. It was a shinobi tactic, something you would be taught by your Jounin sensei and clearly that’s what was happening.

The Kyuubi had nothing to do with it, despite all of Mizuki’s evidence to the contrary. Sighing and shaking his head, Iruka decided to get down to business, “Settle down, everyone! Settle down!” The class slowly fell into silence, students finally pulling their books out as the Chuunin continued,

“Now, Mizuki is going to pass back your last test. Please be quiet and seated while he does so.” Their was a general mutter of consent as the silver haired man began to sort through papers, handing them across the aisles in a neat row. If one thing could be said for the man, he was meticulous and orderly.

Naruto was unsurprised to see a near perfect score. He knew the question he’d got wrong, as he couldn’t work out the trajectory of the shuriken for the life of him. At least Kunai threw straight. Something that spins you had to calculate into the equation and that confused the hell out of the blond. He’d been close though, having eliminated three of the choices and apparently picked the wrong one of the last two.

“Perfect!” Sakura cheered from the corner, her emerald eyes lit up with happiness as she did a little dance. Naruto couldn’t help but admit she looked cute, but her voice… Oh, it grated on his nerves. He’d rather find a girl with a huskier, lower voice.

“Sakura, what did I say?” Iruka-sensei asked from the front of the class. She immediately squeaked and dropped back into her seat, not saying another word for fear of getting into trouble. Naruto had to laugh into his hand.

He noticed, when everything was over, that Mizuki still had a test in his hand. It was the sudden realization that it was Sasuke’s that made Naruto’s heart heavy once again. It seemed Iruka read his mind as he stood up in front of his desk, sitting on the edge as he let out a deep sigh.

“As some of you may have heard, last night a terrible tragedy occurred. As you can see, Uchiha Sasuke is not in class at the moment. He is currently recovering in the hospital after the death of his family.” Death, not murder. Euphemisms were funny like that. Iruka wasn’t going to tell everyone that it was the boy’s brother, either, but Naruto knew.

He would just have to go see the boy after school and try to talk to him. Sadly though, Sasuke had not taken being second place well and their healthy rivalry had become an obsession. From what Naruto had uncovered from Itachi, Sasuke felt like he had to live up to his brother’s image to get recognition from their father. It wasn’t working. ‘You and I are prodigies, Naruto. My brother hopes that if he wishes hard enough it may one day become true, but while he will be a talented ninja, only hard work will provide him with power. For you and I, though, power came easy.’

It had been an interesting lesson to learn and something that made Naruto pity the younger Uchiha boy, no matter how much Sasuke seemed to hate him. That’s why he had to go try.

The day concluded, dull and eventless, after they continued studying the Second Great Shinobi War. It was a sleepy Naruto who skipped across the rooftops, using his wind chakra to guide his feet and body towards the hospital. Once inside, Naruto stepped up to the desk and asked,

“I’m a friend of Uchiha Sasuke and I wanted to visit him.” The receptionist gave the blond a familiar cold stare, grabbing a clipboard from her side and checking it over before briskly replying,

“Uchiha-san has yet to awaken. He is not allowed visitors until he has been examined while conscious. Now leave, we are busy here in the hospital.” The young blond nodded, doing a few hand seals before placing a Genjutsu over the woman. It worked apparently, as she seemed to believe he had disappeared. Walking around the desk, Naruto bent down to the clipboard, only to find that it was a stack of flyers for some show that had nothing to do with Sasuke. How usual.

As luck would have it though, a nurse walked in carrying her own clipboard as she called out to the secretary. Naruto had just enough time to transform into a paperweight on the table as the woman said, “Terumi-san, Uchiha Sasuke has finished his first examination after awaking and is officially cleared to leave, despite signs of mental trauma. He will be heading this way within the half hour. Make a note to get some Genin over to room 328 for clean up. He threw up a few times…”

The two women gossiped and fretted over the last Uchiha between themselves for nearly ten more minutes. When the other woman finally left, Naruto appeared again in a poof of smoke, using the Shunshin to get down the hallway and into the stairwell before the woman could get a chance to turn around. Having been to the hospital more than once, Naruto knew that the three hundreds were on the third floor, which he’d need to get to without being caught.

Summoning up a mental picture of the woman he’d just seen prattling on for what seemed like forever, Naruto used a quick Henge no Jutsu and walked up the steps and passed a few other doctors with a quick smile and no problems at all. He quickly came up to room three hundred and twenty-eight, knocking as he transformed back into himself.

“Yeah.” The voice inside seemed nearly devoid of life, but Naruto was determined to try. Opening the door all the way, he was surprised when all he got from the boy was an impassive look before he went back to staring at the wall.

“Hey, Sasuke,” Naruto started lamely, wondering how he was supposed to go about saying whatever it is he wanted to say. What did he want to tell him, really? That his brother had been ordered to do it? He couldn’t say that without proof, so what could he really change? “I’m sorry about everything.”

The boy barely responded besides a penetrating gaze. The blond decided to try a more aggressive tactic. “Sasuke, your brother-“

“Don’t talk about him.” His voice was so full of hatred it caught Naruto’s words in his throat. And his eyes, which had once been driven and naïve, were now dark with emotions the ten-year-old had seen far too many times looking right at him. “I’ll kill that man next time I meet him.” He whispered those words like a mantra, as if it’s all he’s been thinking about and Naruto came to the horrible realization that he probably had been.

“He- he has been the one who trained me all these years,” as he spoke, the words just seemed to flow out in one stream of conscience, “and I can help you to find him and get answers from him. I want answers from him. Maybe if we work together, after all he’s shown me about his fighting style and take him down.” Sasuke seemed stunned for many moments as Naruto spoke, but his gaze slowly fell back into rage as he spit out,

“So it was always you... You were the reason why my brother never paid any attention to me. It’s your fault that this happened to my family!”

“Sasuke-“ Naruto began, shocked into silence.

“Get out!” He roared, jumping at the scarred boy with his fist cocked back. Ducking under the fist, Naruto was careful not to hurt his classmate as he trapped his arms and cried,

“I didn’t do anything! He just walked up to me and said he wanted to train me! How is any of this my fault?” Sasuke tried to rip himself from Naruto’s hold, but he was too strong and the Uchiha could only rage with his eyes as he yelled once again,

“Get out!” Without another look back, Naruto did as ordered.

Things changed from that point on, for both Naruto and Sasuke. The dark haired boy spent most of his Academy days either glaring at the wall or Naruto. Sasuke seemed driven to beat him at everything he did, going so far as to stalk him to try and find his secrets. The scarred ten-year-old was still the better Shinobi and made his escape every time, leaving the Uchiha more and more frustrated with himself.

Despite everything, Sasuke’s grades slipped. He stopped caring about academics, pushing himself to the brink as many nights as he could to become the best in his clan’s Taijutsu and Ninjutsu specialties, the Intercepting Fist and Katon respectively. Naruto could only watch in horror as his classmate fell into the darkest emotions of his soul, caring for nothing but his own advancement.

Everyone noticed, though they tried to ignore it and see if it would pass. Two years passed by in the blink of an eye and may teachers in the school wondered how this generation was going to fair when the best student was the least likely to succeed and their favored Uchiha Sasuke had fallen into a near psychosis.

(Two years after the Uchiha Massacre)

“Your final exams are now a day behind you and congratulations everyone, you are all going on to become Genin of Konoha. Do our forces proud and rise quickly.” Iruka smiled at them all, holding a clipboard in hand. “Maybe one day I’ll have one of you working here with me.” Most of the class snickered, though the laziest boy Naruto had ever seen muttered from between his folded arms,

“Sounds like a good plan. Maybe a bit troublesome, though. Children, ugh.” Iruka seemed to find that amusing, though if it was because he agreed or because Nara Shikamaru was the dead last and one of those problem children wasn’t clear. The boy had a tendency to sleep through just about anything.

Naruto, of course, had finished the exams with no difficulty at all. He’d even beaten Sakura with a bit of extra work for the final score in history and mathematics, something she clearly took offense to, what with the way she was glaring at him.

“Now class, pay attention. I will soon be dividing you into teams based off of predetermined qualities. And just for your information, though I doubt any of us are surprised, the Rookie of the Year is none other than Uzumaki Naruto.” He clapped, as did Mizuki and Hinata, though the rest of the class didn’t seem too excited. “Congratulations, Naruto. You are a hard worker and will become an excellent Shinobi of Konoha. Now, what you may not know is that the best Kunoichi in class, the Rookie of the year, and the dead last are commonly placed on a team.”

Naruto’s jaw dropped, hoping that wasn’t the case. Shikamaru’s eyes shot up in surprise before he shrugged and laid his head back down.

“No!” Sakura shrieked, jumping from her chair, “It’s not fair! I should be with Sasuke-kun!” She was one of the last Uchiha fan girls, even Yamanaka Ino letting go of her once powerful crush after she asked for help one time and he nearly spit in her face after calling her a commoner.

“Luckily for you, Sakura,” Iruka said with a glare towards the girl who immediately sat back down, “the Hokage agrees that this team placement is not for the best. It would cause unbalance between the team structures. For that reason, Team Seven under Hatake Kakashi will include: Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chouji, and Uchiha Sasuke. Quiet, Sakura!” The girls cheers were cut off preemptively and she meekly sat back in her chair, having only been able to get halfway up.

“Team Eight under Yuuhi Kurenai: Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino.” The team members each looked at one another, smiled and nodded (with a bark from Akamaru) before sitting back to wait.

Naruto, meanwhile, was already looking over at his inevitable teammates. There were only two left, after all. He’d honestly thought they’d continue the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, but apparently he was enough of a Ninjutsu and Taijutsu fighter to balance out the team. Ino-Shika-Naru didn’t sound too bad…

“And finally, as Team Nine is still in circulation, Team Ten under Sarutobi Asuma,” Naruto perked up at the name. Wasn’t that the son of the Sandaime? He definitely needed to go talk to his jiji. “Yamanaka Ino, Uzumaki Naruto, and Nara Shikamaru. With that said, your new Jounin sensei will arrive shortly and I will no longer be your teacher. Good luck to you all in your trials as Shinobi of the Leaf.”

Sarutobi Asuma was a good-looking man which immediately caught Ino’s eye, Naruto noticed from his corner of the room. While the other teams had gotten together in clusters, even Team Seven despite Sasuke’s asocial tendencies, Shikamaru had continued to sleep and Ino seemed hesitant to come make conversation. She’d asked for help numerous times, even allowed Naruto to correct her form without punching him for being hentai like Sakura used to try to do, but never talked to him socially before.

“Hello, my young pupils,” the man said in a gruff baritone before pulling a pack of cigarettes from his pocket and lighting one with a zippo, “meet me at Training Ground Thirteen and try to get there in the next ten minutes. Ciao.” He used Shunshin no Jutsu and disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Naruto sighed, looking at his teammates as he asked,

“Do either of you know Shunshin?” When both shook their head he walked closer and showed them the hand seal, a half-ram. “Then try it with me. It’s really more about form manipulation than anything. If you can’t visualize your destination and markers you will pass by on the way, it’s impossible to get there. As Thirteen is on the eastern side of town, it passes a few shops I’m familiar with.”

Ino seemed shocked while Shikamaru took it in stride, apparently understanding the concept as he disappeared in his own miniature tornado of foliage a few moments later. Naruto watched her make the seal, though he didn’t feel the Chakra expulsion he should have.

“Ino, as you visualize your destination and multiple markers along the way, try to come up with about the same amount of Chakra you would use for a Kawarimi. Then keep releasing that amount the entire trip and you’ll be there in no time.” She gave him a hesitant smile and softly said,

“Thanks, Naruto.” Then she disappeared and the blond smiled before doing the same. He landed on the wrong end of the clearing, but Asuma clearly felt his arrival and seemed surprised,

“Shunshin? I’m surprised you know it.” Naruto smiled before admitting,

“Sensei, I am well far past my peers. You might not know this, but … Uchiha Itachi was my sensei for nearly three years during the academy.” The man’s jaw dropped as he continued, “I could bring him to a stalemate without his Sharingan activated, though with it I was toast.”

“Elemental manipulation?” The man asked, dumbfounded at having such a proficient Genin. Naruto jumped backwards into the air, letting the wind form around him and slowly drop him onto a branch in the tall trees surrounding the clearing. Then he jumped off, forming hand seals as he sent out multiple bursts of condensed Fuuton chakra, tearing holes into the ground and slicing rocks to pieces with their power.

“I’m also proficient with Genjutsu, multiple forms of Taijutsu, a small amount of Fuuinjutsu, and Battojutsu.” His sword appeared from the containment seal on his hip and Naruto unsheathed it. Concentrating his Chakra and sliding it together along the edge of the sword, he turned to a large rock and swept his sword along the air. Nothing happened for a moment before the top half slid off and he sheathed the sword with a practiced ease.

“I-“ the man didn’t seem to know what to say, walking over and examining the rock before reaching into his pouches and pulling out a pair of trench knives. “We need to spar, Naruto. I don’t know where you are, but you are most definitely leaps and bounds above any other Genin I’ve ever met. And you just became one today…” He shook his head before suddenly disappearing in a burst of speed.

Naruto’s sword was out in an instant, parrying the man’s strikes while using his wind manipulation to force his arms off target. He was hesitant to use his Fuuton manipulation on his sword, worried about cutting the man’s hands off, only to have to quickly disengage when he realized that the man was doing the same thing!

“So you’re a wind user, too.” The man threw his trench knives upwards, quickly tossing a brace of shuriken only to be mystified when the stars completely missed his target and his trench knives were well out of reach on both sides.

Naruto smirked, disappearing in a Shunshin only to reappear behind his sensei, sword tip pressed firmly against his back and trench knives in his opposing hand. He realized not a second too early that it was a Bunshin, using his wind chakra to literally explode backwards as the explosive tag went off where his feet had just been.

Weaving a quick Genjutsu after sheathing his sword and strapping it to his back, Naruto waited patiently as multiple kunai raced across the field, using the body flicker just after catching Asuma in the eyes. The man, now without his standard means of attack and defense, was under one of Naruto’s favorite mental manipulations. It messed with depth perception, skewing when and where you were hitting until enough pain brought you out of it or you disrupted the Genjutsu with chakra.

Naruto appeared directly in front of Asuma, throwing a quick combination that turned into a fast paced Taijutsu battle. Asuma was good at whatever style he’d been taught it, but it was clearly a weapons oriented style and he was losing to Naruto’s subtle wind manipulation, Genjutsu, and prowess in Koppojutsu. He saw the Jounin wince in pain after hitting the man hard in the kidney with a powerful heel kick. Asuma was now on the defensive, slapping away another punch only to realize too late that he hadn’t properly connected with the block. Naruto’s fist stopped right in front of his nose as he didn’t want to harm the man too bad.

Backing up, Naruto pulled the two trench knives out and tossed them to his sensei. The man was rubbing his kidney, a green glow softly surrounding his fingers as he sighed in relief. His eyes trailed over and stopped on a corner of the field and for the first time Naruto realized his teammates had arrived. Both were staring at him, though they had quite different expressions.

Ino’s chin was resting nearly on her bust, or what little she had of one, though the blush on her cheeks clued Naruto in to a bit more. Shikamaru looked more confused than anything, though the blond saw how quickly his mind was moving behind those lazy eyes. He was working to figure Naruto out.

“You don’t need to be here, Naruto.” He looked up, surprised at his sensei’s words. What did he mean? “You are far beyond any Genin or hell Chuunin I’ve faced in my lifetime. I just finally realized I was under a Genjutsu that whole time and your Fuuton manipulation is … otherworldly.” Naruto bowed his head, appreciative of his compliment.

“Sensei, with all due respect I’ve thought of that before and realized that my place is with my peers. If I wanted to graduate early, I could have at age nine or ten.” The man nodded after a moment, though he still looked a little lost. Finally after a moment he sighed, rubbing a hand through his beard and said,

“Beaten by a kid. The other Jounins will never let me hear the end of it.” Naruto tried not to laugh, but it was difficult. “Alright, you three. How about you tell me a bit about yourselves and tomorrow we’ll start working on training you up as a cohesive unit. Kunoichi-san, you start.”

“My name’s Yamanaka Ino. I … uh … work at my family’s flower shop so I enjoy nature and I want to become a powerful mind walker like my daddy. What else do you want to know?” She scratched the back of her head, obviously embarrassed, which Naruto found pretty cute. She was usually so high and mighty that it was hard to talk to her.

“What techniques do you know and how would you rank your Taijutsu and Genjutsu.” She blushed again, though this time the scarred blond was embarrassed for her. He could probably guess every Ninpo she knew, except maybe her clan Jutsu.

“I know all the Academy jutsu and Shintenshin no Jutsu, one of my family techniques. I don’t know any other Ninjutsu… But I was right up there with Hinata on Taijutsu and, well I don’t really know any Genjutsu besides Henge.” Asuma nodded, unsurprised while she seemed a bit down.

“Don’t worry, Ino. You are right where I expected you to be. Just because others on your team are freaks of nature doesn’t mean you are expected to be. How about you, Nara?” The pineapple-haired boy shrugged before finally saying,

“I’m Nara Shikamaru. I like looking at the clouds and sleeping. I’m probably going to get up to Chuunin and then find a desk job somewhere to keep life from being troublesome. I know the Academy three, some family Jutsu and two C-rank Katon Ninjutsu. I’m alright at Taijutsu, but know next to nothing about Genjutsu.” Again Asuma nodded and seemed to come to a decision before saying,

“We’ve all seen Naruto’s Shinobi prowess, there’s no reason to repeat the same story. But what do you like to do outside of training?”

“Well,” Naruto said after a moment’s hesitation, “I’m a big fan of ramen so I eat at Ichiraku’s stand whenever I can. I also like to take care of a few plants I grow on my balcony, so I do that every day. Umm… I don’t do much else besides train.” Ino seemed to brighten up at the mention of plants, while Asuma seemed resigned.

“Thank you, Naruto. I’ll see you all tomorrow at nine o’clock sharp. Our first day of D-rank missions awaits.” With that the man disappeared with a Shunshin, leaving behind a cusp of leaves and three students.

“Later,” was all Shikamaru said, waving a hand at them before walking down the path. Naruto looked on in amusement before yelling,

“You’ll save energy if you Shunshin back to your house, Shikamaru.” The boy stopped, turned and nodded his thanks before forming the half-ram seal and vanishing. Ino was resting on one hip, her other leg twirling back and forth on her toe as she shyly asked,

“Want to go get some of that ramen you like so much?” The blond boy knew he was getting conned into a pseudo-date, but he still nodded and asked,

“Sure, but do you know where it is?” She shook her head, which didn’t surprise him. People walked past it all the time and never gave it a second glance. Still, Teuchi and Ayame made great money, especially with customers like Naruto who had a bottomless stomach to go with his constant energy.

“The fastest way from here is heading through the forest a mile up that way.” He pointed towards the general direction. “So follow me.” With a running leap, Naruto manipulated himself up into the limbs, smiling down at the stunned girl. “Jump and leap, I’ll do the rest.” She did so, squealing in delight as she was lifted directly up into the treetops. Both of them blushed when Naruto caught her and he quickly let her go before hoping to the next limb.

“How do you stay so stable?” She asked, catching herself on the trunk as she followed him slowly but surely. He just grinned, stepping up on the trunk and walking vertically upwards.

“Chakra, Ino. It’s tiring for someone with your Chakra supplies, but if you feed the right amount to your feet on contact with the limb, you’ll find that it becomes a stable platform. It sticks until you consciously lift your foot, but once you stick it back down you better still be applying that same amount or you’ll fall right off. Try it.” She gulped, looking down at the ground.

“Don’t worry, I’ll catch you.” She blushed, her hands clasping behind her back as she smiled prettily at him and said,

“I’ll do my best. Naruto-kun.” He nearly groaned. Here was another one on her way. Now all she needed was to peek on him in the hot springs. His face lit up in a blush at the thought, which led him to thinking of her in a hot spring. He’d never seen a girl naked before so it would be an interesting experience, to say the least. Maybe, with a bit of effort…

Completely immoral plans started to come together in his head and Naruto grinned perversely. So he was a guy. Sue him.