True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 1//Prologue: A Legend Is Born

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto sat unusually still at his seat in the Konohagakure Shinobi Academy, quietly listening to his instructor's lesson. Umino Iruka forced himself to keep his eyes on the boy, making sure that he was not planning some type of prank.

On a normal day, the young student would not be paying attention to any of the lectures in the Academy. To him, lectures were often boring and he had better things to do with his time.

Today, however, was not a normal day. The subject of Iruka's lecture was one of the few things that Naruto was genuinely interested in; the former Hokage and the responsibilities related to the position.

"Now, who here can tell me the names of all the Hokage?" Iruka asked.

As the instructor began to eye different students, looking amongst the group of kids who raised their hands to answer the question, a snort escaped Naruto's lips.

"Heh, that's an easy question, Iruka-sensei!" Naruto said, crossing his arms. "The Shodai Hokage was Senju Hashirama and his brother, Senju Tobirama, was the Nidaime. The old man is the Sandaime and the Yondaime was Namikaze Minato."

"Naruto, you're supposed to wait until I call on you to answer a question! Don't just talk like that unless you have permission!" Iruka shouted, crossing his arms, which cause Naruto to stick his tongue out in defiance. A second passed before the chūnin dropped the serious look on his face and smiled at his student, nodding his head. "However, you are correct. Although you should give Sandaime-sama the proper respect he deserves and call him by his real name – Sarutobi Hiruzen – instead of 'old man', you are right. Those are the names of the Hokage!"

Naruto rubbed the back of his head, beaming at his teacher's praise.

"Wow, Naruto actually knew an answer to something." Ino said with a chuckle.

"It's the end of the world! Our village must be getting invaded or something!" Kiba exclaimed loudly.

The class laughed in response to the Inuzuka's joke, which caused Naruto to cross his arms, the grin on his face dropping almost immediately.

"Hey, I know I don't get the best grades here, but if there's one subject I know, it's the Hokage, dammit!" He shouted. "I have to know about my predecessors, after all!"

"Alright, no fooling around, everyone. We got more to get into with the lesson!" Iruka shouted loudly.

The academy students quieted down, looking sheepishly at their instructor. The chūnin's eyes wandered the classroom, making sure that all students had settled down, before he started to continue.

"Anyway, as you all heard, those are the names of our former leaders. Some of their clan names might be names you heard, if you remember what we've talked about in our history classes." Iruka stated, bringing his hand to his chin. "Senju Hashirama and his clan helped found Konoha, after all. And the Sarutobi Clan was also instrumental in helping establish our village in the early days after the Warring Clans Period!"

"So basically, the Hokage are all from famous historical ninja clans, huh?" One of the students, a brown-haired boy with glasses, said with a frown. "So does that mean you have to have the right family history to be a successful ninja?"

"That's not necessarily true, Ken." Iruka said, frowning at the question. "Being from a shinobi clan does help, yes, but-"

"The Yondaime wasn't from a clan." Naruto spoke-up, interrupting his instructor. "Namikaze Minato's parents were just normal civilians, yet he ended up becoming the Hokage!"