True Potential By DryBonesKing

Part 1//Prologue: A Legend Is Born

"NARUTO! WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT INTERRUPTING AND SPEAKING OUT OF TURN?" Iruka shouted.

"Uhhh..." Naruto sunk back into his chair, rubbing the back of his head as he laughed quietly. "Y-You may need to r-repeat that lesson again, Iruka-sensei."

"Wasn't the Namikaze Clan a shinobi clan, though?" Kiba asked, turning in his desk to face Naruto. "Didn't we just learn something about a Namikuni clan or something a few days ago?"

"You're thinking of Nami no Kuni. And that's a country, not a shinobi clan." Sakura noted, frowning. "Geez, Naruto even knew that and you didn't. You sure you aren't the dead last of the class, Kiba?"

"Ah, who asked you?" Kiba snorted in response.

Iruka grit his teeth as his class busted into another round of laughter. He was about to blow-up on his students once more when he noticed a student raise his hand.

"Iruka-sensei?" Ken spoke-up.

The class almost in unison stopped laughing, giving the normally-quiet student a chance to speak. A sigh of contentment escaped Iruka, enjoying the silence once again, as he acknowledged his student.

"Yes?"

"I'm just curious... but since the Yondaime was basically a nobody until he started his shinobi career... do you think any of us stand a chance of becoming Hokage?" Ken asked. "It would be really cool to know that I could become the Hokage or say that I graduated from the same class as the Hokage!"

'Off-topic question.' Iruka bit his lip, resisting the urge to ignore the question. 'But still... if this class is going to get off-topic with jokes, might as well let it get off-topic in a way that could do everyone some good.'

The chūnin took a moment to look at all of the students in the room, examining each of them for a moment. He then gave a smile as he turned back to Ken.

"There is a lot of potential in this year's class. You are all good students and I've seen some remarkable skills in all of you. If you all keep up with your determination and improve on the skills you all have, I could see any of you becoming the Hokage!" Iruka told his students proudly.

Most of the students in the room looked at their sensei and smiled back, gratefully accepting the compliment. Naruto had a large smirk on his face.

"Don't worry Iruka-sensei." The blonde spoke confidently. "I intend on getting better each and every day. You'll be seeing me as the Hokage in no time!"

The wholesome silence vanished as quickly as it had appeared, as a few scoffs were heard after Naruto finished his statement.

"Just because you know some basic facts about the Hokage doesn't mean you stand a chance at becoming one yourself, Naruto!" Sakura stated, crossing her arms.

"She's right. If anyone here is going to be Hokage, it's going to be Sasuke-Kun!" Ino exclaimed before turning her attention away from Naruto and to the dark-haired boy sitting by the window. "Isn't that right Sasuke-kun?"

Sasuke gave no response to the blonde-haired girl, seemingly deep in thought. He was either unaware of what his class was talking about or he simply did not care.

"What's so great about him? Sasuke doesn't even care about being Hokage." Naruto grumbled, crossing his arms. "He's nothing special, anyway."

The Uzumaki's comment sparked an outrage from the self-proclaimed 'Sasuke' fan club. Nearly every girl in the class was now glaring at Naruto with small-traces of killing intent.

"He's more special than you ever will be!" One of the girls shouted.

'Whatever.' Naruto rolled his eyes, biting his tongue to avoid speaking more of his thoughts aloud. 'There's no point in arguing more about this. They're not gonna listen to me and I got no one here who will back me up. Might as well shut up and let them finish 'defending' their precious Sasuke.'