Timeskip 2 years: Naruto, Sasuke, Mira, Ino, and Sakura have gotten closer over the years. They all train together, eat together, and play together. Mira, while still having a tough exterior, has loosened up a bit around Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino. She is still a bit reserved around Sakura as she doesn't know Sakura too well. Sakura did not particularly like Mira's blunt attitude and toughness, but she put up with it for the sake of her friends. Sakura during this time also started developing a crush on Naruto, as she admired his looks, radiant smile, and cool demeanor. So, she decided to tell Ino about her crush.
"Ino hey!" Sakura yelled from a distance, seeing her friend in a flower field.
"Hey Sakura, what's up?" Ino asked, excited to see her best friend looking all confident and more sure of herself. "That bowtie really suits you, you know? It shows off your best features!"
"Thanks Ino, you look great too!" Sakura could not help but acknowledge Ino's beauty. Over time, she grew out her hair to the point where she tied it in a ponytail and a part of her hair hanging over her face on the right side. All of this made Ino pretty much eye candy to many of the boys in the academy, but she had her eyes on one man. One man who noticed her before any of them.
"So anything new with you? Any boys you like?" Ino asked, hoping to spark some girl talk with Sakura. She couldn't do such things with Mira as Mira was a tough girl who thought girl talk about boys was a waste of time.
"Well, there is one." Sakura said, blushing while thinking about Naruto.
Ino got excited and jumped up "Tell me, Tell me, Tell me, Tell me, Tell me EVERYTHING! Who is it? What do you like about them? Are you going to ask them out anytime soon?"
"I'll give you one hint, it's someone from our friend group." Sakura said.
"Is it Sasuke?"
"Nope"
"MIRA?!?"
"No! I don't swing that way, what made you think that I did?"
"Wait... Is it Naruto?"
"Yes. He is just so hot! Plus his smile makes me melt every time he does it, plus his cool demeanor is just perfect!"
"Well, I also like Naruto. But just because we like the same guy doesn't mean we can't be friends still." Ino was holding onto a sliver of hope that Sakura wouldn't use this as an excuse to end their friendship. She saw Sakura as her best friend, and having that end over a guy was the last thing she wanted. But at the same time, she was in a relationship with Naruto, and she made a decision that if Sakura didn't want to be her friend even though they liked the same person, then she wasn't a true friend to begin with.
Unfortunately, the latter came true, as Sakura crushed Ino by saying: "We both like the same boy, that makes us rivals. I'm sorry, but I cannot be friends with a rival."
Even though she saw it coming, Ino could not help but feel crushed by Sakura's words. The one who she considered her best friend really ended their friendship over a petty crush. Hell, Sakura didn't even know the hardships Naruto went through, she just sees his exterior, and not the man he truly is on the inside. She broke down in tears after losing her friend. She did the only thing she could think of to calm down, she went to Naruto.
Meanwhile in the Hokage office:
"Do you understand the mission parameters Itachi?" Obito asked his most trusted Anbu member.
"Yes sir." Itachi responded.
"The Akatsuki are posing a danger to everyone. I need you to monitor their activity. I will allow you to see your girlfriend as I am not cruel, but please remember that aside from us and Izumi, no one else can know about this mission. Not even Sasuke." Kakashi told Itachi, knowing full well that Itachi might not survive this mission if he was ever found out.
"Yes Kakashi, I am fully aware of the risk I am taking. But I will do it without hesitation if it means protecting Konoha, my family, and Sasuke from them."
"Good. Meet me at the gates tonight. Then we will leave for the mission." Obito told Itachi.
Unfortunately for them, there was another person listening in. "Hmmm... So Itachi leaves the village tonight. This will be the perfect opportunity for me to add to my collection. I already have Shisui Uchiha's eye, so I can influence the actions of the elders and bend them to my will. I need to make more weapons on my side if I want Konoha to bend their will to me."
Danzo Shimura was a ruthless man who would stop at no lengths to get what he wanted, even if it was killing a whole clan to gain their dojutsus. He was the one who made Mira the 5-tails jinchuriki when she was a child, and he was the one who leaked the information about Naruto being the 9-tails jinchuriki in hopes that the villagers turning on him would get him to join his foundation, and make him into a weapon for his future revolution against Konoha. He was pissed that he was passed over for Hokage at every turn. First by his sensei for choosing Hiruzen Sarutobi as the third hokage, then at his friend for choosing Minato Namikaze as the fourth hokage, and now at Konoha for electing Obito Uchiha as the fifth hokage over Danzo. As such, Danzo did everything to ensure that Obito's reign would be marked with tragedy for them to side with him during his revolution. But before he could revolt, he needed to take care of the most loyal clan to the 5th hokage, the Uchiha clan.
He now had the perfect scapegoat to blame the massacre of the clan on. Itachi Uchiha, the clan's prodigy, and Konoha's most loyal Uchiha. He called some of his Anbu to try and frame the coup d'état that Danzo was planning on the Uchiha clan. They made fake copies of their coup plans and changed the names such that it made Fugaku Uchiha, or Sasuke and Itachi's father, the perpetrator of the coup. He brought the fake plans to the elder meeting.
"Lord Hokage, while I was monitoring the Uchiha clan, I found plans for a coup in their hideout." Danzo lied.
"Impossible. I head to their compound every day, if there were plans for a coup, I surely would have seen it." Obito was immediately calling Danzo out on his bullshit, but Danzo was not having it.
"Listen to me Lord Hokage, the Uchiha are planning to betray the village. We must kill them for the sake of Konoha."
"No. I will talk to the clan, try and see if your accusations are valid. If they are, then we will see how to proceed."
"Talking to them won't change a thing. How will we know if they're lying or not? Uchihas are well known liars." Danzo protested.
"How do I know YOU'RE not lying to frame the Uchiha clan?" Obito questioned.
"I think you need to rethink your alliances. Because I always have Konoha's best interests in mind. We need to kill the clan before their plan comes to fruition." Danzo tried to justify his claims.
"No. We will not be killing a clan. That's final. The Uchiha have the most loyalty to the village. I can attest to that myself. Ever since the reign of the second hokage, the Uchiha have felt marginalized and unimportant to the village. When I became hokage, my first order was to give the Uchiha a more prominent role in the village, so I don't think they're planning a coup, and I think you're lying." Obito accused. "One more lie out of you and I will personally banish you from the village. The elders do not have the power here as I passed a decree stating that in interests pertaining to the village and its safety, the hokage can overrule the decisions of any elder, so don't try to kotoamatsukami them into believing what you say, scum. Kotoamatsukami won't work on me either as I am an Uchiha with the most powerful mangekyo."
"Tch." Danzo left the office, now knowing what he needed to do to enact his revolution. He needed the Konoha population on his side, but before that, he needed to assassinate Obito. He needed to kill the current hokage and blame it on the Uchiha revolution. He knew the risk he was about to take. Attempting the assassination of the hokage would mean banishment from Konoha at best, but that was a risk he was willing to take.
Some time later: After Itachi left the village.
"OK boys, let's kill some Uchihas. But remember to leave Sasuke and Izumi alive. We need to make the village think Itachi did this, and killing them will put suspicion on us." Danzo told his Anbu team.
They began mass-slaughtering the entire clan, with one of them transforming into Itachi to ensure they could enact Danzo's plan. While this was happening, Danzo went to the hokage office to try and assassinate Obito. He made it in time, as Obito was finishing up for the day. He closed up his office when he heard footsteps behind him. "I didn't think you'd go as far as to frame the Uchiha for a coup that you were committing." Obito said to Danzo.
"I will do whatever I can to make sure that Konoha reigns supreme as a military state, under my rule." Danzo said.
"Let me guess, you were also the one who told the village about Naruto being the 9-tails jinchuriki. Now you're betraying the village. You are the worst scum of all Danzo." Obito said, disgusted that a man of Danzo's prestige would ever think of revolting against Konoha.
"Konoha needs the jinchuriki as its weapon. With him fully loyal to Konoha, we would be unstoppable."
"He already is loyal to Konoha. It's his home, the home is father gave his life to protect."
"You mean the same father who couldn't even stop the 9-tails? The same father who while the 9-tails was attacking the village was off fighting some rogue shinobi? He was never fit to be hokage. Not with the way he betrayed the village. I thought after that the village would make me hokage and I would lead Konoha to new heights, but no. The elders had to act on the fourth's last wish and choose Uchiha scum like you as the 5th hokage."
"Say that one more time and they will be the last words you will ever say." Obito was beyond enraged. He transported them both to the Kamui dimension so their fight would not destroy the village.
With Sasuke and Izumi, seeing the bloodshed.
"W-Why big brother?" Sasuke asked. "WHY WOULD YOU KILL OUR CLAN?!?"
"To test my limits. To see what I can accomplish with these eyes." 'Itachi' flashes his mangekyo at Sasuke, and puts him in a Tsukuyomi of his parents dying at his own hands. This unlocks Sasuke's 3-tomoe Sharingan, seeing his relatives dead on the ground in front of him.
"If you wish to fight me one day, come find me with the same eyes, because otherwise you'll miserable, pathetic life will suffer the same fate as this miserable, pathetic clan." 'Itachi' said with a smirk. "And remember, if you wish to kill me, nurture the hate you are feeling. You must kill your best friends, emotions and love are things that will hold you back. Remember, foster your hate, and when you have the same eyes, come and find me, and we'll see who can be the last Uchiha."
"I hate you Itachi, I HATE YOU!!!" Sasuke completely broke when 'Itachi' said those words. Unfortunately for him, Izumi was still knocked out from 'Itachi's punch, meaning she could not explain that it couldn't have been Itachi as he was on a mission. Sasuke then went down to the river and began to cry uncontrollably.
"Why Itachi, why did you have to test your powers on the clan? Why couldn't you have done something else? Please ANSWER ME GOD, WHY IS MY CLAN DEAD?!? WHY DID ITACHI DO THIS?!? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE ME?!? WHY DID IT HAVE TO BE MY PARENTS?!? AND WHAT HAPPENED TO MY BIG BROTHER WHO ALWAYS SMILED NO MATTER THE SITUATION?!?" Sasuke was completely broken at this, not wanting to talk to anyone. He had a new goal. To get stronger and avenge the clan by killing Itachi.
With Obito and Danzo
Back in the Kamui dimension, Obito and Danzo began to fight.
Danzo launched the first attack: "WIND STYLE, VACUUM AIR BULLETS." Thousands of invisible air bullets began shooting at Obito, struggling to dodge them. He finally made his counter when he made the signs. "FIRE STYLE, FIREBALL JUTSU." Obito launched a massive fireball at Danzo, effectively neutralizing his wind style attacks.
Danzo knew that Obito could counter his wind with fire, so he did the only thing he could think of. Even though water style was not his forte, he knew that if he didn't use water style, he would lose the fight easily. So he expended more chakra to try and catch Obito off guard with water style.
"WATER STYLE, WATER DRAGON JUTSU." Danzo screamed as a massive dragon made of water began charging at Obito. Obito knew that if he could force Danzo to keep using water style jutsus, then he would be out of chakra almost instantly. Unfortunately, what Obito didn't know was what Danzo kept bandaged up. He knew that Danzo didn't sustain many injuries in fighting due to his ruthless 'kill everyone before they become a problem' style of fighting, and that he had his Anbu do his dirty work. So he knew he needed to watch out for it, but he didn't want to play his trump card yet.
Obito jumped out of the way and made the hand signs for another jutsu. "FIRE STYLE, MAJESTIC DESTROYER FLAMES." Obito yelled out, knowing full well Danzo was about to counter with another water style jutsu.
"Power is everything in this world. The more power one has and the more control one has over that power makes him the strongest. I want Konoha to be revered by the other villages and them to bend to Konoha's will. The job of the Hokage is to put the best interests of the village in front of all else. If we had it your way, no one would respect Konoha as a power." Danzo said, trying to justify his actions.
"You truly are a despicable human being. Using your Anbu to do your dirty work so your hands don't get dirty, framing a Konoha shinobi just so you can get power, stripping away the free will of children just to you can turn them into mindless zombies. Not to mention the attempted coup against the third hokage, and the plotted coup against the fourth hokage. It's a wonder how you haven't been banished yet. And you are the main reason why I limited the power of the elder council. Because if we had your way, a perfectly nice kid would be a mindless weapon, the most loyal clan in Konoha would have a permanent scarring on their name, the name of Konoha's most loyal shinobi would be tainted with 'clan murderer', and Konoha would be a state which everyone would fear, even the citizens of Konoha. That's not what being a hokage means. Being a hokage means establishing relationships with other villages, building a brighter future for the kids of the village, and NOT SEND THEM INTO BATTLES IN WHICH THEY CAN BE SCARRED FOR LIFE!!!!!!!!!" Obito was in complete rage at Danzo at this point.
"Tch." Danzo merely scoffed at Obito's words. "WIND STYLE, GREAT LEAF TORNADO." Danzo unleashed winds of tornado speeds at Obito. who got caught in them and took a severe beating. He knew he had to end the battle fast, so he unleashed his strongest jutsu without going all the way.
"AMATERASU." Inextinguishable black flames began forming around Danzo, cancelling his hurricane and engulfing Danzo in fire. The fire was strong enough to burn the first layer of Danzo's skin as well as remove the bandages on Danzo's body. Obito could now see that Danzo was in possession of Hashirama Cells, which gave Danzo much more chakra than previously assumed, and it also gave him sped up healing. As such, Obito needed to end the fight quickly. He knocked Danzo out with one more punch and took out Shisui's Sharingan before returning them to the real world.
Danzo just barely woke up when he saw himself in the hokage office in front of Obito. He tried to use Shisui's mangekyo on him but it didn't work.
"Looking for this?" Obito mocked as he flashed Shisui's Sharingan in front of Danzo, revealing to him that he knows all of his secrets.
"Give that back. It's mine!" Danzo yelled.
"Actually, it was Shisui Uchiha's before you stole it from him, you worthless piece of trash. You don't deserve to be called a Konoha shinobi anymore. Out of respect for your former status, and the third hokage, I will not kill you for planning a third coup, killing the Uchiha clan, attempted assassination of the hokage, and endangering children."
Danzo was scared at what was to come.
"But you are hereby banished from the Leaf, and forbidden to join any of the 5 great nations. I have already sent memos out to Kiri (Mist), Iwa (Stone), Suna (Sand), and Kumo (Cloud) stating that you are forbidden from living there, and that they are to contact me if you are seen entering their village. I have also attached a picture of you and sent over your chakra data, so don't try any funny stuff."
"You are also branded as a traitor to the Leaf and have been placed in the bingo book. You have until the end of the day to leave the village and never return. Otherwise, it's kill on sight, now get out of my face you worthless scum of shinobi."
With that, Danzo stormed out of the office and left the village, but not before collecting some Sharingan from some dead Uchihas. He would now make a stop with his favorite sannin.
Obito had finally gotten rid of Danzo, and now it was time to face the village regarding the Uchiha clan, but he needed to tell Itachi first. He body-flickered to Itachi's location, concealing his chakra, and stopping Itachi in his path.
"What brings you here Lord 5th?" Itachi asked.
"Well Itachi, I need to inform you about some tragic events. The Uchiha clan minus Sasuke and Izumi were killed last night. It was Danzo." Obito said, nearly tearing up.
Itachi was shocked and was on the verge of crying. "Is Sasuke OK at least?"
"Yes. He and Izumi were the only two that weren't killed, aside from me. I banished Danzo from the Leaf and forbade him from entering any other great nation, but Sasuke thinks you were the one who killed the clan." Obito choked as he said those words.
"Let him think that. It will only help him progress his Sharingan to maturation. When he has the mangekyo, I can put him under a genjutsu that allows him to see the truth. And regarding my absence, I would like you to brand me as a rogue ninja. Izumi already knows the mission, but please inform her of this fact as well. And please, while I'm gone, take care of Sasuke. If any harm comes to him, I will personally make it my mission to destroy the Leaf." Itachi told Obito.
"I completely understand, and don't worry. I will personally adopt Sasuke into my family, and I will make sure no one intentionally tries to hurt Sasuke outside missions." Obito reassured.
"Thank you Obito, now please give Izumi my farewell and I will see her again. Now can I please get some time alone to mourn the death of my family? And remember, if anyone tries to harm Sasuke, I expect you to be the first one there. If not, the Leaf village will be destroyed at my hands." Itachi warned.
"I understand. Take care Itachi, and keep tabs on the Akatsuki for me. I don't need another threat to the village. And I will also allow Izumi to accompany me whenever we meet to exchange information." With that, Obito returned to the Leaf, hoping to take Sasuke into his household.
With Naruto, Ino, and Mira, walking near the lake.
"I'm telling you Mira, if Naruto had the choice between me and Ramen, he would pick Ramen, that's how much he loves it." Ino said, teasing her boyfriend.
I forgot to mention, Naruto told Mira about his and Ino's relationship because he felt he could trust her.
"Calm down flower, you know I would give up ramen for you if I needed to."
They all let out a laugh, with Mira slightly chuckling at the interaction.
Suddenly, their laughter was stopped by a faint crying noise. They all walked to the lake where they saw Sasuke completely broken. They knew his entire clan minus Obito and him were murdered last night by an unknown shadow. They all decided to go down and comfort their friend.
"Hey Sasuke, it's ok to cry." Naruto said in a soft voice. He knew Sasuke was hurting more than anyone ever did. He had just lost his entire family, his whole clan, and his beloved older brother all in one night. Sasuke was all alone in this situation right now, and now more than ever, he needed his friends by his side.
Just when he needed them the most, they came. He could feel Naruto's hand on his shoulder, reassuring him that even if all hope seemed lost, he was not alone in the world, and his friends will always be by his side. He turned around to see Mira, Naruto, and Ino standing there, hugging him, reminding him that he is not alone. Sasuke couldn't be more thankful that he had them by his side.
"He killed everyone! The whole clan! Everyone besides me, big sister Izumi, and lord 5th is dead!" Sasuke cried into Mira's arms. She had grown quite fond of Sasuke's hard working and cold mannerisms that seeing him this emotional and this upset truly worried her.
"And that's not even the worst part. He told me that I wasn't even worth killing. Like my life meant so little to him that he didn't care if I lived or died. That's what hurt the most." Sasuke said, and his friends continued to show their support.
After a while, Sasuke calmed down, thanking Naruto, Ino, and Mira for showing up when they did. "I was about to jump into the lake fully clothed and never look back. Thank you for reminding me that I still have people in my life who will care for me no matter what."
"Hey, that's what friends are for!" Ino playfully replied, to which Sasuke let out a small chuckle.
"Thanks again guys for being the best."
"So what are you going to do now?" Naruto asked.
"I'm going to train and get stronger. I want to kill Itachi for what he did." Sasuke replied, coldly.
"I don't think that's the best course of action." Naruto told Sasuke.
"Why not?"
"Because it just doesn't seem like Itachi would be the kind of guy to do this. Especially not without reason." Naruto said, and this rang a bell in Sasuke.
"He said the reason was for him to test his limits. He had just unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan, and he said that he wanted to see how much his new eyes could accomplish."
"I think he's lying when he's saying that. I think the real truth is much more dark, or even more plausible, it wasn't him who performed the massacre at all. A transformation ninjutsu is something an Academy student is able to perform, imagine what a full ninja could do with it, especially someone powerful enough to kill the Uchiha clan." Naruto reasoned with Sasuke. "It's a little too convenient the assassin left the people alive which he did, as if they were trying to make it look like Itachi did it. I think this is too much of a coincidence to truly be Itachi's doing. I think if it was Itachi who did it, unfortunately, Izumi would have also died."
"So what should I do then?" Sasuke asked.
"Continue training, but when you meet Itachi one day, instead of looking for revenge, look for answers. Ask him what really happened that led to the Uchiha massacre, and if his attitude is still he was testing his limits, then go ahead and kill him." Naruto said, and Sasuke agreed. "Now come, you can stay at my place as long as you like."
With that, they all went to Naruto's place and stayed the night there. They all had the academy to go to in the morning.
Next morning, at the academy.
"ALL RIGHT CLASS, TODAY WE WILL BE DOING SPARRING SESSIONS!" Iruka sensei called out. "Before we begin the actual scheduled matches, does anyone have any requests?"
"I do! I want to fight the demon!" A loud student who always carried a dog with him called out. This was Kiba Inuzuka, or the self-proclaimed "ladies man." He always hated Naruto for his natural charisma and the fact that he attracted most of the girls in the class, and he had a bigger superiority complex than anyone in the academy, consistently trying (and failing) to prove himself as the best. His cocky attitude and his big words always rubbed everyone the wrong way, as he could never back them up.
Overall, Kiba was the weakest of the boys, and possibly the weakest in the entire academy, yet he always acted as if he was the one to beat Madara Uchiha in the final valley.
"Let's go dog breath, and please don't keep trash talking unless you can back it up." Naruto taunted Kiba a lot, considering Naruto was one to back up his trash talk, and that he could possibly solo the entire academy if it wasn't for one man.
That man was Taiga Sarutobi. Grandson of the third hokage, and a ninjutsu master. Taiga was the complete opposite personality of Kiba, always remaining humble despite being one of the strongest people in the class. Naruto had always wanted to get to know him, but Taiga was one hard person to approach. He hoped he would get lucky enough to face him in sparring, to finally get to know Taiga.
But he had a fight with the loud-mouthed loser of the academy, and he had to put him in his place.
"Tell you what, I will beat you without using my arms." Naruto taunted again, which made Kiba angry. He wanted to beat up the 'demon' of the village, one who all the villagers hated, and one who for some reason, caught the eye of all the girls in the academy.
"OK, first form the Unison sign." Iruka sensei said, and the boys formed the sign (Kiba albeit grudgingly). "Now FIGHT!"
"GO NARUTO!" The fan girls and Ino screamed.
Kiba was the one to throw the first punch. He lunged at Naruto, who dodged easily.
"Kiba is done for. Naruto would regularly beat Itachi in taijutsu, and Itachi was considered the prodigy of the Uchiha clan." Sasuke said, and Mira took note.
"It seems like Kiba is one to fight based on his animal instinct rather than analyzing his opponent's strategy and attacking the weak points. This is one area where Naruto excels at, and once he connects one hit on Kiba, he's done." Mira shared the same sentiment as Sasuke.
Kiba kept attacking Naruto impulsively, and Naruto kept dodging. Naruto took this opportunity to taunt Kiba once more. "If you just keep attacking me like that, I will beat you without even landing a single hit."
"SHUT UP DEMON, YOU DESERVE TO DIE FOR WHAT YOU DID TO THIS VILLAGE! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAVE A LOYAL FANBASE DOES NOT EXCUSE THE FACT THAT YOU'RE AN ANNOYING, SELF-ENTITLED PIECE OF SHIT! IF IT WASN'T FOR THE HOKAGE BEING A PANZY ASS WHO CANNOT DO ANYTHING, YOU WOULD BE IN YOUR RIGHTFUL PLACE, WITH YOUR PARENTS, SIX FEET UNDERGROUND! I SHOULD BE THE ONE WITH THE FANGIRLS, NOT YOU DEMON!"
This rubbed everyone the wrong way. Ino and Sasuke were beyond livid at Kiba's words, the fan girls' cheering for Naruto got even louder, and even those who were on Kiba's side at the beginning were actively cheering for Naruto to win now.
Naruto however, was beyond enraged. "You can say stuff about me, I don't care. But as soon as you bring my family into this, I don't care if you're supposed to be my comrade, you are scum of shinobi." The soft delivery of this sent chills down everyone's spine.
"Oh no, Kiba did it again." Kiba's friend Shino said. While he was not particularly fond of Naruto and his charisma either, even he knew better than to degrade his family in front of him like that.
"Dead Last is going to make the first part of his name a reality one day. He's going to piss off the wrong guy and literally be dead." Sakura said, shaking her head while facepalming.
With one swift kick to the chin, Naruto knocked Kiba out and gave him a grade 2 concussion. "Sensei, stop the fight before I go 9-tails on his ass and kill him." Naruto advised Iruka.
"Fight is over. Naruto Namikaze wins. Can someone please take Kiba Inuzuka to the infirmary, and please someone tell him to get the memo? We do not talk that way about our classmates. They are our comrades." Iruka said.
All the fangirls started screaming and cheering, which made a certain blonde Yamanaka girl jealous as all hell. But inside, she was thanking her lucky stars that she made a move and kissed him that day. The man who everyone loved was all hers, and she could not be more happy. She did feel confident in herself that she could get any guy she wanted, and knowing that she got the man she fell in love with, got the man who she felt at home with, and got the man who will always be by her side, she could not be more proud in herself. She had always been one to go after what she wanted, and she did just that, which gave her not only a best friend and a partner, but a soulmate.
"Now on to the rest of the matches!" Iruka said while calling out the names.
Shino vs. Irrelevant: Shino wins.
Taiga vs. Irrelevant: Taiga one-shots.
Sasuke vs. Sai: Sasuke wins.
Hinata vs. Shikamaru: Hinata wins. Shikamaru forfeits because it's a drag.
Mira vs. Irrelevant: Mira fodderizes the random.
Choji vs. Irrelevant: Choji absolutely destroys.
Naruto vs. Kiba: Do I even need to say it?
"OK LAST MATCH FOR TODAY, WE HAVE INO YAMANAKA VS SAKURA HARUNO!" Iruka called.
"Get ready Ino-pig, I will win Naruto's heart by beating you in this fight!" Sakura said, blowing a kiss at Naruto, who wasn't paying attention and talking to Sasuke.
"In your dreams fivehead." Ino taunted as she waited for Sakura to strike. Ino was paying attention during Naruto's fight. She analyzed his mannerisms, his body language, and his moves and instilled them with her photographic memory. She began to perfectly copy Naruto's movements when Sakura made the first punch. Unfortunately, Ino was not as fast as Naruto, so she did get hit a few times. In the end however, Ino prevailed, using her Yamanaka clan secret technique, entering Sakura's mind and taking her over.
"I forfeit the match." Said Ino within Sakura's body.
Naruto could not help but take notice of the graceful way Ino fought. It was almost as if she was dancing on the battlefield, and he was mesmerized.
"Ino Yamanaka wins! Tomorrow, the winners of the matches will fight one another." Iruka said.
"Hey Naruto, how did I look out there?" Sakura asked her crush.
"You looked good, just too impulsive. You need to slow down, analyze the situation, analyze your opponent, and make your move from there." Naruto gave Sakura some really good advice, holding out hope that she would use that advice to train and get better.
"What about me?" Ino asked, hoping that he wouldn't give her some half-assed feedback and hoping that he would find faults in her fighting. When they got together, they made a promise to one another that they would always tell the truth, no matter how hurtful it may be. They would also regularly train together, and when they did, instead of the loving boyfriend that Naruto was everywhere else, he was her hard-nosed instructor who wouldn't care if she cried. That was also one of the things she loved most about him, that he respected her enough to be a hard-ass while training, and that he always wanted her to be her best.
"Your footwork improved tremendously from when we fought, but one glaring issue with your fight is that you wait too long to make your move. That can lead to you being caught off guard, and getting knocked out first punch. You must always be ready to move, and always have your guard up in a fight, because some of the punches that landed were easily avoidable." Naruto criticized Ino's taijutsu skills, and she took note.
"ALL RIGHT CLASS, NOW ON TO SHURIKEN AND KUNAI THROWING!" Iruka called out.
The class lined up and began throwing their shuriken and kunai. The results were as follows:
Choji: 5/10 Shuriken, 7/10 Kunai
Hinata: 8/10 Shuriken, 7/10 Kunai
Shino: 4/10 Shuriken, 8/10 Kunai
Taiga: 10/10 Shuriken, 9/10 Kunai
Sasuke: 9/10 Shuriken, 9/10 Kunai
Kiba: 2/10 Shuriken, 0/10 Kunai (Yes Ik, pathetic)
Mira: 10/10 Shuriken, 10/10 Kunai
Sakura: 6/10 Shuriken, 8/10 Kunai
Naruto: 10/10 Shuriken, 8/10 Kunai
Shikamaru: 3/10 Shuriken, 4/10 Kunai (He didn't even try)
Sai: 5/10 Shuriken, 5/10 Kunai
Ino: 7/10 Shuriken, 10/10 Kunai
Meanwhile, at the Hokage office:
"All right, all the adoption papers are in order." Obito said, looking at some papers with Rin and Kakashi.
"Thank god we got to Danzo before he did any permanent damage." Rin said, still holding back tears for what Danzo almost did to her husband. "But I don't understand why we can't just tell Sasuke the truth right now. He probably hates his brother more than anyone and hiding this major fact from him may end up really badly."
"I know, but this was Itachi's wish. He needed to go rogue in order to infiltrate the Akatsuki, and he said it will only make Sasuke stronger. For now, the best we can do is welcome him into our family and treat him the way he deserves to be treated." Obito said. "Now can you please bring in Izumi Uchiha?"
Kakashi left and brought in Izumi.
"Yes Lord 5th." Izumi kneeled and addressed Obito.
"Izumi, I am permanently reassigning you from the Anbu. I would like you to be a jonin leader for some teams when they're announced. You are one of the last remaining Uchihas, and I think you will be more than capable of leading a team." Obito instructed. "You can still do Anbu missions, but your first priority will be the genin team you're assigned to. And I will still take you when I meet with Itachi, but I must inform you that these missions must stay secret. Itachi has now been branded a rogue ninja accused of killing his clan, and is using that backstory to infiltrate the Akatsuki."
"I-I understand lord 5th, but what about Sasuke? Should he not know that his brother is innocent? That the man he looked up to more than anyone did not kill his clan in cold blood?"
"That was my thinking, but Itachi wanted Sasuke to use this hatred of him to become stronger, to rise to a level that even Itachi can't reach. And when Sasuke's ready, Itachi will reveal the truth to him, but it's a gamble. He will either turn on Konoha for branding Itachi as a criminal, or he may choose to protect Konoha alongside his brother. I know it's a gamble, but it's one both Itachi and I are willing to take." Obito explained, satisfying Izumi.
"I have one more question, why do you want me to be a jonin leader? I don't think I'm qualified enough to be one." Izumi pondered, why would the hokage want to make her the jonin when she was clearly the best Anbu he had?
"Lord 5th and I went over your Anbu files, and no doubt you're the best one we have after Itachi left and Shisui tragically died. But we feel your skills in leadership and enforcing teamwork would be best suited to training the new generation. This is not a slight to your might as an Anbu, but rather we think your talents would be best suited as a jonin leader." Kakashi said, and that was all she wrote.
"Yes lord 5th, I won't let you down." Izumi said.
"Good, now we have one more thing to tell you. Lord 5th, Kakashi, and I are officially adopting Sasuke into our family. You are welcome to drop by and visit anytime. Our door is always open for you." Rin told Izumi, to which Izumi graciously thanked them.
"Thank you so much Lady Rin and Lord 5th, but why would you go through all this trouble?"
"I made a promise to Itachi that I would take care of Sasuke after this, and this is the best way I can do that. I was going to do it anyways, we remaining Uchihas have to stick together." Obito exclaimed, with a smile on his face.
"Now let's get home so we can surprise the boys." Rin told Obito and Kakashi. "You can come too Izumi."
They all made their way back to their house, making it just in time to surprise Naruto and Sasuke.
With Naruto and Sasuke:
"Hey Sasuke, let's go to my place." Naruto said with a smile on his face. He already knew of his family's plan to adopt Sasuke, and he could not be more excited that the man he thought of as a brother would actually become his brother.
"I'm not in the mood today Dobe, I'm just going to go visit my parents." Sasuke said, face hanging low and slight tears dropping down his face.
"Oh no you're not, Teme. No being depressed today. It's a happy day today." Naruto said, hoping to cheer Sasuke up, but the real surprise was waiting at home. Naruto and Sasuke rushed to Naruto's place and knocked on the door. Naruto told Sasuke to wait a minute before coming in, and Naruto took his place in the house.
"Is everyone ready?" Naruto asked.
"Yes, now bring him in." Rin told Naruto. She couldn't contain her excitement any longer, she couldn't wait to bring Sasuke into the family.
"Hey Sasuke, You can come in now!" Naruto called.
Sasuke hesitantly walked into the house...
"SURPRISE!!!" Everyone was in Naruto and Sasuke's place. Their classmates, Iruka, Naruto's family, and even his big sister Izumi.
"Welcome to the Family Sasuke, you are officially now my brother!" Naruto said, as he gave Sasuke a fist bump.
Sasuke couldn't hold his tears back anymore. But these weren't tears of sadness, rather tears of joy. He still wanted to get stronger and get answers out of Itachi, but he now had a family who would stick by his side no matter what, and he could not be more happy. Everything in his life had gone to pure shit. His family had been killed, his brother was the supposed perpetrator behind the massacre, and Sasuke was ready to commit suicide, but with Naruto and his friends by his side, he found the strength to keep living on. He found the strength to confront this hatred he felt, and he found the strength to become his own man. He was Sasuke Uchiha. Free to make his own choices, and free to choose his own path in life. That was all he wanted, the chance to prove himself to his family. Once that was taken from him in one night, he didn't have the strength to keep fighting. But he chose to anyways, and now he had been rewarded with a new family. One that had always accepted him for who he was, and didn't compare him to the likes of the greatest prodigy the Leaf had ever seen.
Sasuke could only let out three words at this: "Thank you, Naruto"
THAT CONCLUDES PART 4 OF THE STORY! THIS WAS DEFINITELY MY FAVORITE CHAPTER TO WRITE SO FAR, AND I HOPE YOU ENJOY IT TOO! THAT BEING SAID, PLEASE DO LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THINK OF THE STORY IN THE COMMENTS, AND IF YOU LIKE THE STORY, SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS, LEAVE A VOTE, OR JUST SHARE IT ON SOCIAL MEDIA! IT TRULY MEANS THE WORLD TO ME, AND I WOULD GREATLY APPRECIATE ANY KIND OF FEEDBACK!
OBITO VS DANZO WAS MY FIRST FIGHT SCENE ACTUALLY WRITING, SO PLEASE LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU THOUGHT OF IT! IT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT TO CAPTURE THE NUANCES OF EACH FIGHT INTO ONE CHAPTER WITHOUT MAKING IT AN HOUR LONG, BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE FIGHT NONETHELESS!
THAT BEING SAID, THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL FOCUS ON THE GENIN EXAMS AND THE MIZUKI FIGHT! IT MAY BE A SHORTER CHAPTER CONSIDERING I JUST MADE TWO CONTENT HEAVY CHAPTERS AND I KINDA NEED A BREAK, SO PLEASE BEAR WITH ME! I WILL TRY TO MAKE IT AS DETAILED AS POSSIBLE, BUT I FEEL THE GENIN EXAMS ARE SOMETHING THAT DON'T NEED TOO MUCH INFORMATION, AND WHILE NARUTO IN CANON STRUGGLED AGAINST MIZUKI, IT'S SAFE TO SAY THIS TIMELINE'S NARUTO WOULD MAKE MIZUKI LOOK FODDER, SO THAT WON'T BE AS LONG A FIGHT SCENE AS OBITO VS DANZO WAS IN THIS CHAPTER.
ALSO, REGARDING SHIPS, I HAVE DECIDED ON TWO SO FAR: NARUTO x INO AND SASUKE x MIRA. AGAIN, NO HAREM, SO DO LET ME KNOW WHAT OTHER SHIPS YOU WANT TO SEE.
I'LL CATCH YOU IN THE NEXT ONE, WALKER OUT!!!