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Naruto: Legacy of the Rasengan 1 rep to anyone who comments

terriq

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[spoiler=What started it All] The annoying buzz of a sleeper’s worst foe was ringing loudly in his ears. With a frustrated growl, the mop of blonde hair tired to crawl deeper inside of his stiff pillow. As his groggy mind unwillingly returned to the land of the living, he lashed out blindly at the noise.

 

Any relief he may have felt at striking the object was squashed when it fell from the bedside table and clattered loudly on the floor. Succumbing to anger, Naruto climbed out from his mattress to pummel the enemy of his sleep.

 

He couldn’t wait to become Hokage. Then he’d have the village’s respect. He could walk proudly down the streets. People would smile and wave. Everyone would be happy and get a good night’s sleep. Maybe he could pass a law that outlawed evil clocks—

 

A glare at the aforementioned instrument made all thoughts vanish when what it was showing clicked in his befuddled brain. Six o'clock in the morning, and the academy started at six-thirty. That would mean...

 

“I’m gonna be late!” he screamed as he jumped and tried to do a million things at once.

 

He was trying to pull on a too-large orange vest while holding a cup of instant ramen in one hand. The other hand was attempting to slip on a sandal that was obviously too large for his small feet as he rushed out his door. Despite how much of a hurry that he was in, he did take the time to pause long enough to lock his door. Then he sprinted as fast as his short legs could carry him.

Dressed in a simple white kimono, a quiet, little girl stood outside the gate to Konohagakure's most prestigious clan. One would think that being the heir to the clan and a user of an advanced bloodline would have the girl carrying herself like some kind of royalty. But her face was down and her shoulders were slumped, suggesting a timid nature.

 

She was waiting for a Chuunin to arrive and escort her to the Konoha Shinobi Academy. In a small bag in her hands was a bento and several writing utensils and accessories. The white-lavender eyed girl kept glancing from side to side, looking for the Chuunin lady.

 

Sighing, Hinata began wondering if she should journey to the academy by herself. But this train of thought ended when she spotted a dust cloud and a rapidly growing orange figure approaching. A blonde-haired boy, probably close to her age, was running as fast as he could in clothes that barely fit him.

 

As he was almost to her, he suddenly dropped a small package. He tried to stop and dash back for it, but he stumbled on his sandals and went tumbling in a heap to land at the startled Hinata's feet.

 

Dropping her bag reflexively, she watched as the boy righted himself. Sitting up, he rubbed his sore head and aching chest, panting quite heavily. Peeking an eye open, he saw a pair of small feet and a bag beside them in front of him.

 

Hinata had just worked up the courage to speak when the strange boy looked up. His face, though slightly tanned, was red as he tried to catch his breath. He tilted his face slightly to the side as he gazed at her with the brightest set of blue eyes she'd ever seen. Her cheeks instantaneously reddened slightly at his piercing yet gentle gaze.

 

Chuckling loudly, he put on a large, toothy grin as he started rubbing the back of his neck. "Just my luck to trip, eh?"

 

Glancing around he spotted his ramen only a few feet away. Looking back up at the dark blue-haired girl, he tried to decide which he should do: make a friend or get to the academy? He chose the former, after all he didn't exactly know where the academy was.

 

"What's your name?" A very large grin and eager eyes stared up at her as he continued, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, future Hokage of Konoha."

 

He was talking…he was talking to her…he was talking to her and waiting for a reply. She knew that she had to answer. Her slightly red cheeks seemed to brighten as words twisted and tangled in her throat, never quite escaping. Finally, after much strain on her part, she managed to stutter out, "H-Hyuuga…Hi-Hina…ta."

 

"Hyuuga Hinata?" he repeated, testing the name.

 

"H-hai."

 

Naruto's grin widened, but it seemed different than before. She didn't knew exactly why, but this time it seemed to reach his eyes.

 

"Okay," he said happily. "Um…do you know the way to the Shinobi Academy, Hinata-chan?"

 

This time her whole face turned a very bright sakura. The only person to have called her Hinata-chan before was her mother. Hinata was spared from having to answer the question, however, when another female spoke up. "She was just leaving for the academy, Uzumaki-san."

 

Both children visibly jumped when they heard the voice. They faced the pretty, red-eyed Chuunin with varying degrees of surprise, fear, and embarrassment. Hinata felt ready to faint at getting caught by surprise with this boy, her already deep blush could easily decipher the degree of her embarrassment. Naruto could only look at the woman with fear that she might make him leave his new friend.

 

Yuuhi Kurenai watched the two children thoughtfully for a moment. She would have to be blind, deaf, and dumb to not see the beginnings of a crush in her young charge. And not a person in Konoha had no heard of the 'demon boy's' dream of one day becoming Hokage. It took little imagination to see why the two were together.

 

Picking up Naruto's forgotten cup of instant ramen, she handed it to him as he climbed to his feet. Glancing from one child to the next, she let a small smile out. These two would make an adorable couple in the future.

 

"Come on, Hyuuga-sama, Uzumaki-san," she said as her smile widened slightly. "We don't want you late for your first class."

 

The statement earned her another blush from Hinata and a surprised, but fast growing smile from Naruto.

 

[spoiler= First day at the Academy] As the classroom began to fill, Umino Iruka was able to identify a fair number of children from the more prominent of the Konoha clans. There was an Aburame boy who was as silent as a majority of his clan, an Akimichi boy who was looking around with uncertainty at the other children, a loud Inuzuka boy who was trying to impress several other students, an unusually quiet Hyuuga girl, the Nara boy seemed to be falling asleep where he sat as the Yamanaka girl beside him was trying to talk to him, and of course an Uchiha boy who was sitting quietly in seat. And last, but not least, there was one annoying blonde that he wished that he didn’t have to deal with right now.

 

Upon his entry into the classroom, the blonde had yelled out, “I’m Uzumaki Naruto! I’m gonna kick all your butts one day!”

 

This loud announcement had everyone’s attention on him. Yet it might have been more impressive if he hadn’t tripped on his hand-me-down sandals for the second time that day. Now burning with shame, Naruto was sitting crouched over in his seat.

 

“Alright, everyone,” Iruka called out. “Please sit down and be quiet, class will be starting shortly.”

 

Once the raucous had settled down somewhat, he said, “My name is Umino Iruka. While you train here, you are to call me Iruka-sensei.”

 

Even as Iruka began his welcoming speech, he noticed several students’ attentions wondering already. The one person who seemed to be the most interested was Naruto. But as all six-years-olds did, he grew bored of Iruka’s droning voice quickly enough.

 

When the students began introducing themselves, the blonde could hardly wait. People would notice him, if for only a moment. This excitement was enough to squash his earlier embarrassment. He waited impatiently for the others to have their turns.

 

But when it came for his turn, Iruka called the girl that was after him. Instantly Naruto was on his feet, cutting off Yamanaka Ino’s introduction before it even began. “Iruka-sensei, it’s my turn!”

 

“No,” the scarred teacher said. “It would’ve been your turn if you hadn’t felt the need to introduce yourself early.” This got scattered snickers and giggles from the other students.

 

Sputtering for a second, he threw a fierce glare at Iruka. “That’s not fair!”

 

“Life is never fair, Naruto,” Iruka said gruffly, trying to suppress memories of his deceased parents. “Now sit down. Yamanaka-san, please continue.”

 

Very angry, Naruto spent the remainder of the morning sulking. Thanks to his inattention, he was spared having to notice a withering glare from the blonde girl that would’ve had him trembling in unconditional fear.

 

When Iruka called a break between classes, Naruto was the only one to remain in the class. From his obvious frown and angry glare, he was still sulking. So Iruka let him be and left the room.

 

Once class resumed, Iruka had the students get out their history books. He sat behind his desk as he lectured the beginning of their village and the importance of the shinobi clans. During the whole lecture, Naruto was staring at him with a peculiar look in his eye.

 

It unnerved him enough to stand up to ask him what the problem was—or try to stand up. Upon a quick inspection, he found that the chair was apparently super-glued to him. But he only figured this out after he stood up. The chair legs hit loudly against the wall behind him, attracting the attention of the rest of the class.

 

As they watched Iruka try to figure out what possessed the seat to stick to him, the class broke out in loud snickers and giggles. But when Naruto finally lost control and fell out of his seat laughing, the rest of class quickly followed suit.

 

“NARUTO!” Iruka’s angry yell cut through the academy walls like a knife through butter. “Detention tonight!”

He scrubbed. He swept. He mopped. And scrubbed some more. After what seemed like days, Naruto finally was able to put the cleaning supplies away. Iruka had watched over him like a hawk the entire time, making sure he did every inch. Now the blonde boy stood in the center of a very clean floor.

 

As he was walking for the door, Naruto’s stomach let out a very loud grumble. Glancing down sadly at his empty belly, he could only pout. Iruka-sensei hadn’t even let him stop to have dinner!

 

“Naruto,” the young teacher said, not the least bit sympathetic.

 

“Yes, sensei?” The strain in the boy’s voice to not start being verbally disrespectful was apparent from the glare he shot towards the chuunin.

 

“It’s late, so…” he paused, trying to think of a way to word his thoughts. “I’ll take you to a little restaurant for dinner, my treat. What do you say?” He wasn't doing this because he liked the boy. But because, as a teacher, he needed to make sure the boy got at least a fair meal before going home.

 

There was a moment of silence as Naruto’s brain processed what it just heard. Then a slow smile broke out across his face. The next thing Iruka knew, he had an orange bundle hugging him fiercely while thanking him over and over again.

 

The restaurant turned out to be a little ramen stand called Ichiraku. After only one bowl of miso ramen, Naruto yelled out at the top of his lungs that this was the best ramen he’d ever tasted and that Ichiraku had just become his newest, most favorite restaurant in Konoha. He ended up having nine more bowls.

 

Iruka was glancing at him with mixed feelings of surprise and disappointment. How could he eat so much ramen and not get sick? But because of the boy’s surprising appetite, a considerable portion of his salary now lined the old man’s pockets.

 

“My lord,” Teuchi said as he cleaned a table nearby. “It hasn’t been this cheerful around here since the Yondaime was last here.”

 

“Really?” Iruka asked, facing the man. “I didn’t know he came here.”

 

“Oh yes,” Teuchi said off-handedly. “Quite often, actually.”

 

“Who’s Yondaime?” Naruto asked innocently.

 

“You don’t know?” both men asked simultaneously.

 

“Yondaime Hokage is the one who defeated Kyuubi no Kitsune six years ago,” Iruka said, switching into lecture-mode automatically. “He was a great man who loved this village and was a very, very strong shinobi.”

 

Teuchi nodded. “He was a genius with crafting seals and I heard he even created his own attack jutsu; the Rasengan, I believe.”

 

Completely awed, Naruto practically yelled out his questions in quick succession. “WOW!! What did it do? Can anyone teach me? Is it really powerful? I want another bowl!”

 

Chuckling, Teuchi left to make the boy’s eleventh bowl. Iruka stared down at the boy’s hopeful face. The eagerness in his eyes was almost a palpable thing. The boy was going to hate what he was about to say. “Sorry, Naruto, but no one knows anything about it. Yondaime was the only person who knew how to perform it; at least that’s what I’ve been told.”

 

Naruto visibly deflated at that information. He had hoped to learn an awesome, ultra-super strong jutsu that proved he was destined to be Hokage. If being strong meant having strong techniques, and no one could teach him any, then…

 

His head snapped up and a foxy grin spread across his face. The grin was infectious due to his pure sincerity. Then he said in a loud voice filled with determination four words that would change history.

 

“Then I’ll make one!”

 

[spoiler=Crafting his identity] Chakra: the mental and physical energies a shinobi wields to create, activate, and maintain jutsus.

 

Handseals: the different symbols of the hands that chakra can be molded into to form jutsus. Different combinations of handseals unleash different jutsus.

 

Naruto sat in his apartment, reading by the moonlight. The stove in his small home was the only source of heat, and that heat was scarce at best. If his window wasn’t broken, the cramped home could’ve contained the warmth a little easier.

 

Growling in frustration, Naruto slammed the book shut. It was as close to useless as it could get; only the theory and definitions of the use of chakra and hand seals. It didn’t tell how to mold the chakra into the handseals. Maybe he shouldn’t have rushed off to buy the first book on chakra he saw…

 

A wide yawn escaped him as he stood. Stretching, he felt relief surge through his sore limbs. Another yawn and he trudged over to shut off the stove. His small body was tired from all the stress it had gone through earlier. Even with his unusually high stamina, he was bone weary. As soon as his head hit the pillow, he was asleep.

“Deception is an essential ability that all shinobi must have,” Iruka said to the class. “To pretend you are weaker than you truly are can cause an overconfident opponent to underestimate you. That could allow you to either win a battle against an enemy of equal strength or to escape safely.”

 

The class seemed to be lulled into a trance by Iruka’s speech. While several keywords did survive, most of the lecture fell on weak ears. It was understandable: kids want to practice, train, or do something physical. Trapped in an uncomfortable chair of a hot classroom for a boring lecture was more than they could stand. But while their bodies couldn’t leave, their minds wandered.

 

Taking a brief pause, Iruka glanced up and saw that many eyes were glazing over in drowsiness and heads were drooping. Sighing, he walked to his desk and slammed the book down loudly on top of it. Instantly, all eyes were open and on him. Letting a small smirk cross his face, he called out, “Naruto?”

 

The blonde lifted his slouched head off his arm at the sound of his name. Looking up at his sensei, he said, “Hai, Iruka-sensei?”

 

“What would be another use of deception that you could use in your everyday life?” he asked, watching the blonde expectantly.

 

“Ah…” Desperately, Naruto tried to understand the word ‘deception’ but he had rarely ever heard such a weird word used before. Well, if he couldn’t answer the question right, then he could at least try to get a laugh out of it. “I’d use it to add more flavor to my miso ramen!”

 

Iruka gave a rather heated glare at the blonde. The uncertain laughter Naruto was trying to spread to the other students died as he noticed no one had even paid attention to him.

 

“Sakura-san,” Iruka said in a kind, if strained, voice. He was certain that if the kids weren’t going to listen to him, then listening to their friends and classmates would aid them in remembering. “Same question.”

 

Sakura stared at Iruka for a moment with wide eyes. Her cheeks reddened as she felt the stares of the class heavily on her shoulders. Thinking for a moment, she tentatively answered. “Ano, Iruka-sensei. I-If a shinobi wanted to hide a secret about himself or what he could do, he could act certain ways. He could do things that would make people think less of him.”

 

Smiling kindly, Iruka said, “Very good, Sakura-san. That is exactly what many shinobi do.” Speaking louder, Iruka drew their attentions again. “Now it is time for your split training. All boys come with me. Girls, you shall remain here until your other sensei arrives in a few minutes.”

 

As the boys were filing out, Naruto heard a very faint gasp that sounded like ‘Naruto-kun.’ Glancing at the girl he’d just passed, he saw white eyes and red cheeks. He smiled brightly at her for a moment. However, in doing so, he had paused right in the middle of the aisle and in front of a rather impatient Inuzuka.

 

Kiba growled as he shoved Naruto out of his way. Ignoring the blonde, he continued forward. Thus he didn’t see Naruto land in Sakura’s lap. Sakura, having her back to him when it happened, retaliated with far more aggression than anyone had ever seen from her.

 

“Get off me, Uzumaki!!” she yelled angrily in his face as he futilely tried to apologize. Grabbing a handful of his hair, she pulled her free arm back. The next instant, Naruto was once again in front of Kiba but with a rapidly swelling eye.

 

Sitting up, Naruto put on his favorite foxy grin. Ignoring the pain, he called out in a voice filled with awe. “That was an awesome punch, Sakura-chan!”

 

“Don’t call me that!” Sakura snapped, a throbbing vein just barely visible under her long pink bangs.

 

“Why?” he asked innocently.

 

“Because I’m not your friend, baka!” she growled.

 

“Oh, okay,” he said, sounding sad. Then, in the blink of an eye, his face changed back into its usual happy mask. “Bye, Sakura-chan!”

 

As the pink-haired kunoichi-in-training fumed, Hinata felt a tight knot tie itself around her. Rapidly growing depressed, she couldn’t help but ask to herself: did Naruto-kun like Sakura-san? Did he still want to be her friend? Was she even worthy of being his friend?

 

But through her depression, she found that she probably wouldn’t have the courage to talk to him for a little while.

The walk home for him was a particularly peaceful one for him. The villagers didn’t spare him a second glance. It seemed as though they were taking a short break from tormenting him. That alone put him into a good mood. But he’d also finally learned how to tap into his chakra today!

 

It was a lot harder than he thought it would’ve been; requiring intense concentration. The goal Iruka had given the class was to channel chakra throughout every part of his body. It took him much longer than any of the other students, but he’d been able to get it after a while.

 

Racing through Konoha as fast as he could go, he made a beeline for his apartment. After a small meal of five instant ramen packages, he propped himself on his bed to practice the chakra molding again. He knew if he could master this ability quickly, he’d be another step closer to his ultimate goal.

 

Replaying the lecture through his mind, he focused. As he felt the chakra rising and being channeled, a fragment of the lecture floated through his mind. It, specifically, was Sakura’s speech on what current shinobi do to hide things.

 

“—if a shinobi wanted to hide a secret about himself or what he could do, he could act certain ways. He could do things that would make people think less of him.”

 

Yes, that’s what I’ll do. He thought as he let the chakra slip away. A devious grin broke across his face as he imagined what was to come in the future. I’ll act, nobody will know or even guess what I’m doing.

 

 

[spoiler= The Ultimate Jutsu]Amost six years have passed since Uzumaki Naruto, unofficial demon of the Leaf village, entered the Shinobi Academy. The village has had a number of pranksters in the past but none would probably ever be as infamous as Naruto. He pulled pranks as a means of petty vengeance, to relieve boredom, or to brighten an occasionally bad day. In short, almost everyone has been a victim of his.

 

Today, the terrible prankster stood in the middle of a wooded area. Carefully checking that he was alone, he smiled. Years of pulling pranks in village dominated by large numbers of shinobi had forced him to adapt and develop skills that he probably wouldn't have acquired for some time. Like to sense when a person was nearby, even though their hidden, and to notice in the slightest change of wind any new scents it carried. In all, he was gifted with sensory abilities of such thoroughness that they put most Jounins to shame.

 

Going through the necessary handseals, he engaged his first attempt at creating his own jutsu. His original inspiration for it came from a simple henge. If shinobi were meant to be spies, then he should create a super-cool henge that would be the ultimate spying ability. So he spent some time observing older shinobi and what he found disgusted him. Most shinobi were males, and near all of them were perverts! That ruled out the choice of what sex the henge would appear as.

 

He started practicing with normal henges. The first ones merely gave him more feminine features and a pair of pigtails. That was the easy part. Then he tried to make the henge a bit more scantily clad, wearing only her undergarments. For some reason, he could tell it was far from perfect.

 

Dropping the henge after another failed attempt, he sat down to ponder what was wrong. He knew what the ultimate goal of this jutsu was to be, perverted as it was. He knew it had to be completely perfect for it to work successfully. So far he could get the shape of the arms, legs, and face. But because he didn't knew what a truly nude girl looked like--

 

"That's it!" he cried out, jumping to his feet.

 

He left his training area behind in a blur. It took only a short run before he was back in Konoha. His destination was the nearest bookstore, since he wouldn't demean himself to peep like a pervert. Silently slipping past the drowsy man, Naruto found his needed 'research material.'

 

Chuckles broke out of his throat as he mesmerized the shapes, curves, and angles of the women in the magazine. Oh, he hated perverts but it would be so much fun to see their reactions to this jutsu.

 

“Get out of my store, Naruto,” a voice filled with menace growled from behind and above him. Flinching at getting caught, the boy glanced nervously behind him. The expression on the once-sleepy man’s face promised immediate and painful retaliation should he not comply with the demands.

I need a sparring partner, he thought moodily.

 

He had just spent the last three hours honing his accuracy with kunai and shuriken, then alternating between his taijutsu and ninjutsu. While his form was nearly perfect, the lack of a decent or superior partner was preventing him from reaching new heights.

 

The only thing he wanted was to kill his—no, he wouldn’t even consider that man any relation to himself—that man who had so easily destroyed his life and clan. For his vengeance, he needed far more power. For that, he needed a partner.

 

Having grown irritated with his solo practice, Uchiha Sasuke left his training field. At first he merely walked through the streets of Konoha, looking for something that could ‘entertain’ him enough to get his inspiration to train back up while avoiding that ridiculous ‘fan-club’ he’d somehow acquired.

 

He almost wished that blonde baka would make a random appearance. What that dobe seemed to possess was an uncanny ability to both piss him off while giving his ego a good boost.

 

As if Sasuke had performed Kuchiyose no Jutsu, the blonde appeared on the street at his feet after having been thrown out of the door of a bookstore. Naruto had what looked like a growing bruise on his right eye.

 

“Don’t let me catch you in my store again, Uzumaki!” a man growled dangerously from inside the store that Naruto had made a rather ungraceful exit from. Not waiting for a reply, the man slammed the door shut.

 

“When I become Hokage, I’m gonna cook your ass over a slow fire, teme,” the blonde growled moodily, more to himself than anyone else.

 

“Hn,” Sasuke smirked conceitedly, which drew Naruto’s attention. “The day you become a Kage will be a sad day indeed.”

 

“Shut up, Sasuke-teme!” Naruto yelled as he bounced to his feet.

 

“A dobe will never be anything other than a dobe, baka,” Sasuke said as he started to walk away. He knew he was pushing Naruto’s buttons, but he was bored.

 

Clenching his jaw and fists tightly, Naruto tried to think up a comeback but as usual Sasuke seemed to be leaving him in the dust. If there was one thing that he truly couldn’t stand, it was Sasuke’s superiority complex with him. Perverts, the unyielding villagers’ hatred of him, and his frustration at not completing his own jutsu all took the backseat when the last Uchiha was involved.

 

As the Uchiha was strutting away, Naruto lost his temper. Dashing for the unprotected boy’s back with all the speed he could muster, he let an angry roar of “I’M GONNA CRUSH YOU, TEME!”

 

Sasuke hardly moved until Naruto was nearly on top of him. Then, faster than Naruto could react, Sasuke ducked under the punch as he swept his leg back. This resulted in Naruto being tripped and, with his momentum built up to its maximum, was sent tumbling down the street a short ways.

 

After reorienting himself for a second, Naruto was charging Sasuke again. His fist nearly touched the dark-haired boy as he sailed in again. Merely shifting his weight, his knee came up and into the blonde’s gut. Withdrawing, Sasuke spun on his anchored heel and he sent Naruto flying through the air with a sweeping kick.

 

This kick sent the blonde crashing through the window of a store. The stoic mask slipped slightly as he heard the surprised, then furious yells of the customers and employees inside as Naruto futilely tried to apologize and escape.

 

Deciding he had sufficiently inflated his pride for the moment, he walked away. Behind him, he heard Naruto get thrown back out into the street; across from the store he’d made a similar exit from with a growing bruise around the other eye as well.

He was in a very foul mood, so he spared no prisoners on his little battlefield. Slurping up the remainder of the ramen, he placed the bowl on the rather high stack of the dozen already consumed bowls. The pile promised to continue climbing as he hollered for another.

 

As he waited for his miso ramen to arrive, he took up a slightly disheveled scroll from the side. On it were the instructions for the different uses of chakra and how to manipulate it. Scribbled along the edges of the scroll were notes he’d written.

 

After finally completing his first jutsu, he started on plans for his second. It took him many hours of secretive researching, stress, and one dumb cat chasing a ball for him to finally get an idea.

 

What he needed was a much more detailed description for chakra usage and control. But the academy just didn’t have what he was looking for. Even though he’d begged and pleaded until he was blue in the face, he couldn’t wrestle the information out of Iruka-sensei who’d finally started to treat him a bit more humanely. Iruka claimed that if Naruto couldn’t get the basics of the basics completely, then he most certainly couldn’t do the more advanced practices.

 

Next Naruto took his complaints to the old man, but Sandaime seemed to agree with Iruka. Naruto’s frustration at getting denied by the people he most respected was taking him to a breaking point and the only other alternative that he really didn’t want to do.

 

Just as he seemed ready to commit theft, the scroll appeared. He’d opened his apartment door one morning as he was rushing to the academy and slipped on it. Though there was no one in sight, he could faintly smell the lingering scent of lilacs. Naruto was so happy that the scroll held all the information that he needed that he made no attempt to pay attention in class that day, instead focusing on reading the scroll.

 

Now that he had it, what kind of jutsu would he make? Of the basic elements that most jutsus were derived from, he couldn’t make up his mind between fire or electricity. As he pondered this dilemma, he began to absentmindedly start stirring his ramen slowly.

 

What he wanted was a jutsu that could do a lot of damage in an instant. Now he reasoned that a stabbing jutsu could easily live up to that condition, but the though of shoving his arm through a person’s body didn’t sit too well with his stomach.

 

Sighing in defeat, he glanced down at his bowl. The noodles were tangled around his chopsticks in a spiral pattern while the soup swirled around, giving the ramen a distinctive spinning motion. Swirling…spinning…drilling!

 

An excited cry of victory tore itself from Naruto. The answer was simple. A drilling jutsu could do the most damage, especially if it spread out once inside enemy’s body! Now he just needed to find a technique that would teach him how to spin chakra. As this thought was forming in his mind, he discovered the answer to it almost simultaneously.

 

Ramen had all answers.

 

WATER! With water he could feel the chakra moving and feel how well it was working. But he couldn’t hold water, obviously, so he’d need a water balloon to get started. First, he’d need to learn how to spin the water inside the balloon at great speeds. Then, because it was an expanding ‘drill’ so to say, he’d need to somehow destroy the balloon. As to how he could do this, he wasn’t sure but he decided to cross that bridge when he came to it.

 

Quickly finishing and paying for his meal, he left. Stuffing the scroll into the pouch he wore on his belt on his new orange jumpsuit, he raced off to the nearest store he could find. Ignoring the icy glares the adults shot him, he grabbed a whole handful of balloons from the jar by the cash register. As usual, he was forced to pay a horrendously inflated price, even for balloons!

 

Racing out of the door, Naruto had every intention of running off to his secret training area. But he ran face-first into an unyielding wall of muscle. From his new position on the ground, surrounded by his new balloons, he glared hotly up into two pairs of cold white eyes.

Cold eyes watched the confrontation between the Hyuuga clan members and the bane of Konoha. The man wore merely a simple chuunin flak jacket and the normal shinobi accessories. His face was bland with no distinguishing features.

 

He watched disdainfully as the Hyuuga snarled at the boy. As they got into a heated battle of wits and words, the man couldn’t help but question the level of intelligence of the villagers. Why couldn’t they see that there was a large and rather obvious difference between a loud, attention-starved, child and the incomprehensible, bloodthirsty Kyuubi? Oh well, at least this dark life had the potential to make him stronger.

 

That would make his job more interesting in the long run.

 

Smirking, the man left the scene as one of the Hyuuga used the Hakke Rokujuuyon Sho on the loud blonde as it seemed he’d gotten the better of the two verbally. The boy’s loud and rather colorful curses escorted him out of the village. The man’s smirk didn’t fade, not even after he dropped the three-layered henge. His blood-red eyes seemed to glow in anticipation.

 

Only a little while longer, he thought relatively gleefully. Then, we’ll be ready.

He’d only come into this section of town twice that he could remember. The first had been when he’d gotten lost on his way to the Shinobi Academy on his first day oh so long ago. The second had been only a few days afterward, when he’d tried to come and play with Hinata-chan. But he’d been more than unpleasantly threatened (or as they said, promised) many gruesome and painful experiences should he return to their area again.

 

Since then, he’d avoided the section like the plague. Those white-eyed bastards were all over the place here. That was because their clan compound seemed to be located here. He disliked them very much because of the look of superiority all of them seemed to share.

 

All of them were uptight, arrogant bastards who really needed to be brought back down to earth. So he now considered it his sworn duty to do just that. It was high time that they learned that they weren’t all-powerful. That was the reason why he was here now in the dead of night, revenge: Naruto style.

 

After the Hyuuga closed his tenketsu points, he had hurried off to his apartment to rest. For some reason that he couldn’t understand when he tried to do his chakra molding exercises, he couldn’t bring it out. It was like it was being blocked off or something. As he futilely tried to access his chakra, a brilliant idea had formed in his mind.

 

Using his considerable stealth to the absolute best of his ability, he snuck inside the Hyuuga compound. Then, from one building to another, he raided their homes. Though he was extremely careful what he took, only the most humiliating of things that he could. He had once heard of the abilities of the legendary Byakugan; to see through things, to see people’s inner chakra coils, and nearly three-sixty degrees of vision. So if he made even the slightest noise (a board creak, a sneeze, even breathing too loud) he knew he’d be in a world of pain.

 

He would immediately henge into a section of the floor or a rug if he heard the slightest sound or smelled something out of place. This paranoia proved invaluable as he almost was caught by a drowsy guard who was making his hourly routine.

 

It took him more than three hours to finish his goal, but it was worth it in his eyes. One of the last rooms he slipped into his nose was embraced by a familiar and comforting scent. It was the smell of flowers, or more specifically lilacs. A smell he’d come to associate with only one person.

 

Hinata-chan? He could see her sleeping on her bed, wrapped up snugly in her bed covers. Her face was relaxed and peaceful. It held not trace of a blush he’d always seen on her or the timid persona she possessed. Though he had always kind of thought of her as a weird, dark, and shy girl, this new Hinata seemed…

 

Shaking his head to get his mind back on the plan, he took a deep breath and sighed. One last glance at the sleeping girl stole his resolve. He couldn’t do it to her. She was just too kind to him and everyone else to have something like what he had in mind to happen to her.

 

He shot her a rueful grin s he backed out of the room.

Only one word could be used to describe the Village Hidden in the Leaves the next morning: chaotic. Scattered throughout the Leaf village was the nearly the entire Hyuuga clan’s clothing and undergarments. They were thrown about the streets, in alleyways, on top of buildings, and even hanging mockingly in trees.

 

While the villagers and Hyuuga clan were busy trying to handle the situation, most of the shinobi populace was chasing a near-hyperventilating prankster from one side of Konoha to the other and back. If they weren’t busy from collecting their clothing, the Hyuuga would’ve most assuredly thrown a lot more than glares at the blonde as he passed them.

 

Finally with nearly four full squads of Chuunin, Jounin, and ANBU surrounding him, Naruto was cornered. He was on his hands and knees, struggling to breathe. But his short of breath didn’t come from the rigorous chase and escape he’d just been in.

 

“How could you do that to the Hyuuga clan, Naruto?” snapped an aggravated Chuunin dangerously.

 

“Because their funking bastards, baka!” he shot back. Unsteadily, he climbed to his feet with his infamous foxy grin.

 

“That maybe so,” a Jounin said to his side. “But that doesn’t justify your actions.”

 

“Uzumaki,” an ANBU said with a clear order in his voice. “You’re going to the Sandaime, now come quietly and your punishment be reduced.”

 

“NO WAY!” Naruto yelled, his foxy grin widened noticeably. It automatically put the shinobi on edge. This was the perfect time, he realized, to test his first original jutsu. “I haven’t tested my first jutsu! You’ll love it!”

 

Forming the o-hitsuji seal, his grin covered his face. Enveloped in his chakra, he cried out, “Oiroke no Jutsu!”

 

In a burst of smoke, the most beautiful blonde girl they’d ever seen appeared. She had slender limbs, a pair of long ponytails, dazzling blue eyes, and her whisker marks just added a seductiveness to her that made her seem to just be dripping with sexiness.

 

But what really caught their attentions was the fact that she was totally nude before them and didn’t seem to mind showing off her rather substantial assets.

 

They were NOT expecting this.

 

Thus, since all the shinobi were males, no one was there to stop the blonde boy when he took off again. This time, there was no mistaking the loud, irritating laughter that echoed across the village for the rest of the morning.

 

[spoiler=Pass or Fail, Genin Exams] It seems all things have a silver lining, even punishments. In Naruto’s case, it was learning the fastest routes to the summit of the Hokage Monument. That had been the punishment for the Hyuuga incident: to scrub the monument every evening for the next three months. Now to celebrate the end of his probation, he pulled easily the most infamous of all pranks ever. He put graffiti all over the past Kages’ faces.

 

As if it were a repeat from several months earlier, the blonde was once again being chased throughout Konoha. But this time it was only by a pair of Chuunin. While he was enjoying the chase, the blonde was also having an almost unholy amount of fun thanks to two of his latest jutsus.

 

When the chuunin pair first started chasing him, he inhaled deeply then blew a dense smokescreen around himself. Once they lost sight of him, he took off running. But they found him easily enough due to his ridiculously loud voice as he laughed off the simplicity of his escape.

 

Then chuunin were almost on him when he put his second jutsu to work. It surrounded his body in a haze of chakra and blurred his image. This made it extremely difficult for the pair to grab onto him.

 

“Naruto!” one of them yelled. “Get back here…! When I get my hands on you—!”

 

“You’ve crossed the line this time, Naruto!” the other yelled, purposely interrupting his partner.

 

“Give it up! You’re just bent because you don’t have the guts to do what I did, do ya? Losers! Wannabes!” Taking the chase up into the air and the taller buildings, Naruto yelled out mockingly at them as he rebounded off a building and sailed right between the pair “You’ll never catch me!”

 

Landing briefly, he dodged around a corner and vanished from sight. The chuunin were only a hair’s breath away, sailing around the corner while yelling at the energetic blonde. Once the pair disappeared over a building, a small tarp lowered from its position on the wall.

 

Chuckling once again at the simplicity of his escape, Naruto proudly proclaimed, “That was too easy.”

 

“Oh yeah, NARUTO!” a familiar, angry voice snapped in his ear.

 

Yelping in shock and reflexively jumping several feet in the air, Naruto collapsed on the ground. Facing the man who’d snuck up on him, he gave him irritated glare. “Where’d you come from, Iruka-sensei…? What are you doing here?”

 

“No, what are you doing here?” Iruka snapped, pointing his finger in Naruto’s face threateningly. “You’re supposed to be class.”

Iruka was giving him another lecture. But Naruto, as usual, wasn’t even trying to pay attention. Instead, he put on a big show of pouting like a baby in front of the class from his bound position on the floor. Apparently this didn’t sit too well with Iruka and he did the same thing that most teachers do to ‘inspire cooperation among teammates.’

 

“Fine, because you missed it, Naruto,” he said with finality in his voice. “Everyone in class shall review the Henge no Jutsu.” This got a chorus of groans and complaints from the class instantly.

 

Untying the blonde, Iruka sent back with his classmates as they gathered in the front of the classroom. Truth be told, Iruka had been planning on reviewing this jutsu with class for several days now. Naruto’s prank seemed as good of an excuse as any to use.

 

Most of the students were acceptable with the skill, but he didn’t want to send his students out into the shinobi world with only an ‘acceptable’ skill level. Of course several students were unusually talented; Sakura was the most talented it seemed thanks to her near-perfect chakra control.

 

When it came time for Naruto’s turn, he could clearly see the irritated glint in his usually bright, happy eyes. Thanks to years of teaching the blonde, Iruka saw the faint warning signs that he was going to do something. The small foxy grin on his face only reinforced this.

 

Silently watching her blonde crush as he made his way forward, Hinata timidly poked her index fingers together. A faint blush was visible as usual while she watched and silently cheered for him.

 

“Henge no Jutsu!” Naruto said, as his chakra surrounded him.

 

In a poof of smoke, a very beautiful blonde girl stood in his place. She blew a kiss at Iruka as she winked innocently. Even though he’d heard of this, Iruka was still not prepared for it and was sent flying from a massive burst of blood.

 

Dropping the henge, Naruto’s loud laughter echoed through the quiet room. “Gotcha!” he laughed. “That’s my Oiroke no Jutsu!”

 

“CUT THE STUPID TRICKS!” the young teacher yelled in his face. “THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!”

Class had a rather peculiar air about it today. Anxiety was so thick that it was almost visible to the naked eye. Yet an undercurrent of excitement and determination gave the atmosphere a definite charge. The only time this happened was when the class was taking a significant test. But this time it was ten times worse; their Genin exams!

 

Thus far they had been tested on taijutsu, weapon’s accuracy, basic genjutsu, and first aid. But this was after an hour long written test on shinobi laws of conduct, common courtesy, and interactions with another shinobi village.

 

Sakura aced the written test easily, with Sasuke only a few points behind. But for the more practical test, Sasuke lived up to his reputation of being the number one rookie. If he’d have wanted, he knew for a fact that he could’ve aced the written test and come near the top for the second half. But as it were, he was more content to score average. After all, it was just too troublesome to do more than that.

 

While watching clouds was far more alluring, he also decided it would prove to be worth his time to run mental estimate of who would get what grade to pass or fail. It was almost too easily to guess on almost everyone, except for Naruto.

 

Shikamaru had always been a little more observant than the others, perhaps due to his cloud-watching pastime. Due to this, he felt sure that he knew why the blonde always failed. He wasn’t focused on his studies in the academy or even all those pranks. No, he was much more interested in developing his own jutsus and abilities for some unknown but obsessive reason.

 

It wasn’t a matter of ability that held him back either for only an exceptionally skilled stealth and scouting specialist could perform so many pranks and usually escape unscathed. And due to his pranks, Shikamaru knew Naruto was smart, the ingeniousness in some of his pranks proved it.

 

Sighing in defeat at the surprisingly complex puzzle that was the ‘dead last,’ Shikamaru returned his attention to Choji. The pudgy boy was proudly detailing his exam in between chewing a bag of potato chips. Heh, too bad he didn’t share the same simple-mindedness as his lifelong friend, he mused. Or else he wouldn’t have an approaching headache.

Though he’d never admit it if the Nara boy told him his theories, Naruto’s rather poor grades came from exactly those reasons. When he was younger he’d made such an attempt at being a screw-up that it actually began to become a part of his personality as far as the academy was concerned. His true focus had been on making his own jutsus.

 

While he himself didn’t exactly know the reason for his obsessive research and creation of the techniques, he had a fair idea where it came from. He was an orphan with no clan. So no one was there to teach him jutsus that only family knew. It drove him to almost a depressed mind frame whenever he thought about the special training almost all his classmates got, but not him. So he felt an irresistible urge to create jutsus that he could proudly yell out were his and his alone.

 

Yet his lack of focus cost him to fail the last two genin exams. So far, he’d done hardly any better than last time. When Iruka announced that the final exam was the Bushin no Jutsu, Naruto almost caused an embarrassing scene.

 

He had to clamp his hands over his mouth to stop from screaming in frustration. He could not perform that simple ninjutsu if his life depended on it; like there was some cosmic deity that was preventing him from even doing it properly.

 

Now, as he stood before Iruka and the new academy sensei Mizuki, he had a deep frown on his face. It was now or never if he could get that jutsu right. His gathered chakra perfectly visible to the naked eye as he concentrated hard on pouring an excessive amount into his handseals.

 

“Bushin no Jutsu!” he called out as the chakra exploded around him and kicked up a cloud of smoke. When it cleared, there were two Naruto but the difference between them was like night and day. One was the real; while the clone was a sickly pale white and lying dead on the floor.

 

A second of silence greeted Naruto’s nervous, twitching body; he knew it was coming, especially the way that Iruka’s eyebrow was twitching. Then…

 

“YOU FAIL!”

He sat on the only swing in the academy yard, in the shade of the trees. His face was sullen and his eyes were downcast. Leaning his head against the swing’s rope, he was the perfect picture of dejection.

 

Across the yard was a large group of children who had passed their genin exams and their parents stood proudly at their sides, congratulating them while boasting to other parents. He watched them with a deepening hollow feeling in his stomach. The loneliness was getting worse these days. It wouldn’t be long before he did something that would either make him or the villagers crack.

 

All he wanted was a real friend, someone to talk and laugh with on a regular basis. Sure, Iruka seemed to being doing a good job at that, but he was still Naruto’s sensei. There was only so much time he could spare on the blonde.

 

Placing his goggles on to his forehead, he was about to get up to leave when he sensed someone suddenly appear near him. Looking up in the tree, he saw Mizuki-sensei looking down at him with what could almost be considered a calculating gaze. But it quickly vanished as a kind smile lit up the man’s face.

Mizuki watched the blonde run off, his cheerful attitude once again restored. When the boy was safely out of sight, his gaze darkened considerably as a wicked grin of anticipation appeared.

 

The blonde boy had been surprisingly easy to convince. He didn’t know whether to be relieved or worried about the ease of it. But he settled for relief; after all, he was chuunin and that demon vessel’s body probably was too weak to wield the awesome powers of the kitsune once held. This thought had his sneer turning malicious.

 

The Kyuubi seemed to have lost its memory or it was biding its time, waiting for the right time to return. Whatever the reason, Mizuki was sure that the situation was safely in his control. His plan was ingenious.

 

He hadn’t spent the last year mesmerizing the schedules of the comings and goings at the Hokage Tower, searching for the exact location of the Forbidden Scroll, and finding a plausible explanation as to how it could suddenly go missing.

 

It was Naruto’s poor grades and his loud mouth that drew Mizuki’s attention. The Kyuubi wanted to be Hokage, huh? Well, the fact that his abilities were the weakest of the academy students pretty much guaranteed that he’d fail. The kitsune must be getting desperate to become a shinobi now. What better way to gain its trust that to stand up for it during its failed attempt in the exam and then telling it of a ‘secret way to pass’?

 

Mizuki warned him not to try to retrieve the scroll until late at night, just to make it easier on his part of getting it. It would be a long few hours before he could safely make his move at getting what should’ve been his birthright. But, in the meantime, he could plan out how he would deal with the Kyuubi when the time came.

 

Nobody would miss him; he was just the human form of the demon fox.

 

Chuckling sinisterly under his breath, Mizuki turned and headed back to the academy. He may not be staying the village for much longer, but he couldn’t afford to blow his cover just yet.

It was well past midnight. He was sitting on the ground in front of an old warehouse in the middle of the forest, almost a mile from Konoha. In his lap was a very large and heavy scroll. Gently, almost respectfully, he untied the ropes that held it shut and its secrets hidden from the world.

 

Unrolling it across his lap, he gazed upon it with wide eyes. The thrill of learning a powerful jutsu that no one his age could possibly know was enough to drive him ecstatic. But as he read the name of the first jutsu, his excitement died like it had been squashed by a bug.

 

“Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu,” he said quietly. Tajuu? That meant ‘mass,’ while Kage was ‘shadow,’ but bunshin could only mean…

 

Yelling out in disbelief at this ridiculous coincidence, he groaned out, “Not this again! It’s my worst jutsu!”

 

He really didn’t want to learn this technique, but Mizuki-sensei said that any technique would do. Maybe this technique was different from the one they thought in the academy. As this thought passed his mind, he grew certain of it. Why else would it be in the ‘Forbidden’ Scroll if it wasn’t different?

 

Reading the brief explanation of the jutsu that was next to its name, he stared in disbelief. Then a sly foxy grin broke across his face. If he could master this jutsu, he’d never lose to Sasuke again and the title of Hokage would most assuredly be his in a few years!

 

With a renewed determination, Naruto quickly set about learning what would soon become his early trademark jutsu.

It was nearing morning, a faint violet appearing on the eastern horizon. The blonde boy was sitting in a hunched posture and was panting heavily. The stolen scroll was strapped to his back and seemed to be weighing him down as he fought to catch his breath.

 

This was how Iruka found Naruto.

 

The blonde looked up in surprise when he heard the scarred sensei land near him. Iruka chuckled almost menacingly as he bent over the boy. “It’s all over,” he said with that voice that he always used when Naruto was about to get in serious trouble.

 

Instead of noticing his sensei’s dangerous expression, Naruto closed his eyes and chuckled good-naturedly. His legs wobbled slightly as he stood up, scratching the back of his head nervously. “Got me already?” he said, slightly disappointed. “You’re quick, sensei. I only had time to learn two techniques.”

 

Standing up, Iruka peered quizzically at his blonde student. Sweat was glistening from his face and his legs seemed just barely able to contain the strength to hold him up. He had only seen Naruto like this when he was training. He’s been out here practicing, he realized. I can tell how hard he’s been working.

 

“Listen, sensei,” Naruto said suddenly, his grin large. “I’m going to show you one of my amazing jutsus and you’re going to let me graduate. That’s how it works right? Whoever learns at least one jutsu from this scroll passes!”

 

“What?” Iruka asked, confused. “Where’d you get that idea?”

 

“Mizuki-sensei told me!” Naruto said happily, practically bouncing as he felt his strength fast returning. “He told me where to find the scroll and this place…” He trailed off as he noticed two things; Iruka’s expression as he put things together and the sudden sound of kunai rushing through the air.

 

Hearing the sound at the same time, but reacting faster, Iruka shoved Naruto out of the way of the deadly hail of daggers. The force of the multiple kunai pushed him back against the warehouse wall. It was extremely lucky for Iruka that he’d worn his chuunin flak jacket of several of the kunai would’ve buried themselves in his abdomen. As it were, only one actually pierced his body; just above his right knee.

 

“I see you’ve found our little hideaway,” a familiar voice said from the forest canopy.

Sandaime Hokage was sitting at his desk. In front of him was a crystal ball on a small cushion. He gazed steadily into its depths, watching the events in the forest commence. It had shocked him slightly to learn that Mizuki was the one really behind the theft of the Forbidden Scroll.

 

He’d been monitoring all the chuunin, jounin, and ANBU that were scouring the village in a desperate attempt to find the scroll. He’d been lucky that he was lucky that he was paying particularly close attention to Iruka, after all the man seemed to have a knack at finding Naruto when he had done something wrong.

 

He sighed in resignation as he listened to Mizuki proclamation of Naruto being the Kyuubi no Kitsune. That baka didn’t even know the difference between the blonde and fox. But, apparently, it hit Naruto harder than he thought it would.

 

When Iruka was able to trick Mizuki, he couldn’t help but smirk slightly. For all his boasts that he was superior to him, Mizuki fell for that henge quite quickly. Then, as Iruka had saved Naruto from a hail of kunai, the blonde suddenly saved Iruka for a being torn apart by the traitor’s shuriken.

 

What really caught Sandaime’s attention was the blonde forming a familiar crossed seal that was the signature of the Kage Bunshin. The old man couldn’t help but chuckle as the Kyuubi vessel filled the surrounding area with a thousand shadow clones and Mizuki’s panicked disbelief.

 

He promptly stopped watching when all Naruto charged. The outcome was obvious. But he had another matter to attend to; informing the searching nins of the scroll’s safety. His small smile didn’t fade as a stray thought crossed his mind.

 

Arashi’s legacy was certainly living up to his expectations; being the number one most surprising shinobi of his generation.

He could see the morning’s light through his closed eyelids. Even though it was covered, it was still blinding. The irritation made itself known as he let out a complaint. “Iruka-sensei, how much longer?”

 

“Okay,” the young man said quietly. “You can open your eyes now.”

 

The sight that greeted him was Iruka’s smiling face. He held Naruto’s goggles in one hand. But what caught the blonde’s attention was his forehead was clearly visible, devoid of his headband. That’s when he realized where it had disappeared to.

 

It was tied snugly onto his own forehead.

 

“Congratulations,” Iruka said, with genuine cheer in his voice. “You graduate. And to celebrate, I have a surprise…we’re going out for ramen tonight.”

 

Naruto was silent. He couldn’t believe all this was happening at last. He’d finally been allowed to graduate. He finally found someone who actually believed in him. Even though he’d stolen a highly dangerous artifact from the Hokage Tower and used it, he was still allowed to become a genin. It was too much for him to put into words to describe his joy.

 

Looking down at the blonde as the silence started to stretch, he was greeted by a loud, joyful yell. “IRUKA-SENSEI!” rang out Naruto’s happy voice in his ears as he was tackled against the tree with the boy giving him a fierce hug.

 

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