I DO NOT OWN NARUTO.
I OWN ALL THE OCs in this story.
This work is my own work and cannot be published by someone else without my consent.
CHAPTER 8
THE GRADUATION
Today was the day...
Today was the day Naruto would officially become a ninja. He had no problems with the exam and was completely confident that he would pass, but there was a competition between him, Minato and Fugaku over who would be the rookie of the year. So, he did put in some effort in the preparations for the exam, not that he needed to.
Among the aspiring kunoichis, Kushina was sure to be the top one, after years of following a training regimen that was far beyond their years, Kushina along with him and Minato were way ahead of their peers, except Fugaku and surprisingly Mikoto, who had awakened her sharingan.
It was during last year when there was a training accident, and Mikoto found hundreds of kunais thrown towards her, the reason being a misplaced trap. The fear of death and the adrenaline rush was enough to awaken her sharingan, something Fugaku was extremely jealous of.
Speaking of Fugaku, Naruto noted that he was a genjutsu prodigy, even without the sharingan. All he needed was a feel of his opponents chakra and he could craft a C-rank genjutsu within a minute. Naruto could not deny that he was excited at the prospect of Fugaku's visual prowess when he would awaken his sharingan. Perhaps, there was a sharingan induced genjutsu that even his seals couldn't break...
Breaking out of his thoughts, Naruto noticed that he and Kushina had reached the classroom and found Minato waiting for them at the last bench.
Naruto, feeling a bit nostalgic, gently took Kushina's hand and led her upwards, just like their first day in the academy.
Kushina, seeing this, had a momentary blush on her face but was then replaced by a bright smile as she remembered what her brother had done for her at his first day of the academy.
—X—X—X—
Seeing 'the trio' in the class sent some of the students into hushed whispers as they talked about the three 'popular kids' of the academy.
The trio of prodigies had changed their looks from the young kids they once were.
Naruto's hair grew to shoulder length, and seemed even brighter and full of life than they had been three years ago. His face was perfectly structured, with a sharp jawline and a piercing look in his eyes that seemed to cut through people's existence, rinnegan or not.
He now wore a light red yukata, exposing his chest a little. All his clothing had a prominent Uzumaki swirl on them, signifying that the Uzumakis are still a clan. He now rarely smiled in public and maintained an indifferent demeanor, not too welcoming but not at all repulsive. This, however, attracted even more female attention on him, annoying him even more.
Kushina had also grown up nicely, she was much taller than before, around the same height as Naruto. Her shiny red hair accompanied with her bright violet eyes, made his little sister all the more adorable in Naruto's eyes. Kushina seemed to attract some male attention in the beginning, however all the boys just seemed to disappear for a few months, and later returned completely afraid of talking to her, much to her utmost confusion.
Not that she minded this strange occurrence, no one ever gave a damn to her in the beginning, so why should she care for them, 'ttebane!
Yes, the verbal tick was still present, much to her annoyance.
Her clothes were well.... whatever she felt like wearing from her HUGE collection.
Minato, on the other side, did not change much. His blonde hair still had two chin length side bangs framing his face with his azure blue eyes having the same shine as before. In clothing, Minato tended towards the bluer side of things as he wore a blue jacket and black trousers.
Noticing that they were still the center of attention, Naruto cast a sharp look at each of the students making them return to their business.
Soon, Kenchi-sensei arrived with a rather sizeable stack of papers.
—X—X—X—
The first part was a written test, it was a large questionnaire asking questions about the various subjects a ninja needs to know about, ranging from geography of the elemental nations to all the allies and enemies of the village. Questions included everything from different scenarios to escape from to how to handle being interrogated.
Naruto was glad that he actually studied last week as the test was surprisingly tough, harder than most class tests. Looks like Konoha makes sure that each of its shinobi is ready for each and every circumstance they face.
Naruto was casually speeding through the paper, just like Minato and Fugaku. The last thing they wanted was the reason for their loss being a stupid error in the written portion.
Kushina was calmly solving each and every question, taking her time. In front of her, Mikoto had her sharingan activated and was probably copying the answers from Inoichi, who was completely oblivious to the fact.
Hyuuga Hiashi had his Byakugan activated and was copying all the answers from different students, except Naruto. He had learned his lesson when Naruto made a seal that showed him all the wrong answers while he confidently copied them all...
...he will never forget his 2-week 'deadlast' phase in the academy.
Nara Shikaku seemed to be snoring all his worries away, greatly annoying everyone around him. From what Naruto has noticed, Shikaku seemed to be an extremely smart person, but was very lazy to utilize his potential. He must have answered up to the passing grade, but probably found it to be too much of a 'drag' to continue. He knew he had to be wary of him, for if the Nara ever took a serious interest in him, it could potentially ruin all his plans.
And he will NOT let that happen.
—X—X—X—
The next portion was a basic taijutsu portion, where they were to face off against Kenchi-sensei, who would observe your reflexes and responses and grade you according to that. Needless to say, the trio dominated that round, with not even a single opening being exposed in their fighting style.
To make things more interesting, Naruto and Minato placed high powered gravity seals on them, and Minato also refused to use his kekkai genkai. Even then, they passed the exam effortlessly, with Kushina at the side shaking her head at the stupidity of the boys who would risk their graduation just for competitiveness.
The others performed passably, but in the end, Naruto was not impressed by most of them. Only Hiashi, Fugaku, Mikoto and somewhat Chouza were the only ones who Naruto considered worth his time sparring with.
—X—X—X—
The third part of the exam was a basic genjutsu exam. You would be asked to explain the complete genjutsu theory to the proctors before casting a genjutsu on them. You would then be placed in a genjutsu yourself which you had to break out of in under 15 seconds and identify the caster among the proctors.
Mikoto and Fugaku barely raised a finger during the whole exam, while Minato, having the advantage of excellent chakra control by Seikakuna Kanpeki, easily passed the exam.
Kushina, surprisingly made Naruto temporarily disable the genjutsu seal on her, her reason being that she wanted to pass the exam on her own merit, not by a seal that wasn't even her own creation. Naruto merely accepted the fact, being completely confident in Kushina's ability. And even if she could not dispel the illusion, the next exam would easily compensate for it.
When it was Naruto's turn, he calmly explained the complete genjutsu theory to the proctors, who then asked him to cast a genjutsu.
"I apologize, but my high chakra reserves make it impossible for me to be able to cast a genjustu. Hence my incompetence in this field."
"Its fine Naruto-kun, we know of your issue, so you must be taking the next portion of the exam, I assume."
"Obviously." Naruto scoffed, and soon sensed his chakra network in an attempted invasion. The key word being attempted, as his seal made it impossible for him to be put in a genjutsu, as long as he had sufficient chakra in his body.
Seeing the frustrated and shocked face on Kenchi-sensei's face, Naruto decided to help him out and spoke in an emotionless tone, "Sensei, it is clear as day that you are trying to put me in a genjutsu. But I assure you, that a genjustu of this level does not even affect me."
Kenchi just shook his head, 'This redhead is just too much sometimes...'
"That's alright, your task was to evade a D-ranked genjutsu and point out the caster. So, you're fine." Kenchi spoke, with a small smile on his face.
Naruto merely nodded and left the room.
—X—X—X—
The fourth part was a ninjutsu exam, where the aspirant had to show three basic academy ninjutsu to the proctor: the henge, kawarimi and a bunshin. This portion was taught by the teachers all year long, so many students passed easily.
And, as expected, Kushina decided to show off her shadow clones, making Naruto annoyed by the large number of Kushinas. He promptly glared at Minato, who originally taught her the technique. Minato just gave him a sheepish grin in return.
Naruto was next, he started by quickly henging himself into the Uzukage, with his demeanor and posture screaming authority. He undid his henge and seallessly substituted himself with the proctor, earning him an annoyed but highly impressed look.
He decided to end things up by creating a Raiton Bunshin, yet another thing which surprised the teachers, who did not expect Genin aspirants to start working on nature transformations.
Safe to say, his little 'show' was enough to earn him full points.
—X—X—X—
The final part was the most exciting one. It consists of an additional ninja art that you can showcase if you are lacking in any one of the three main arts. This was conducted to compromise for the students who are inept in a particular field but talented in the other.
Naruto and Kushina had to take this portion as they could not ace the genjutsu exam.
Naruto, already being a recognized seals grandmaster of Konoha, had no need to give the exam, as his certificate was enough of a testament of his sealing genius. But, why would he turn down a challenge?
So, Naruto instead picked kenjutsu, while Kushina opted fuinjutsu.
The real reason why Naruto picked kenjutsu was that he needed to spar with someone else with his sword besides Kushina and Sakumo.
Sufficient to say, a redhead with a crazy grin on his face had A LOT OF FUN with a now probably mentally scarred chunin, who was supposedly his proctor for the kenjutsu exam.
'R-r-red-h-head... P-psychop-path.... U-Uzumaki... AAAHHH, GET AWAY' were the only thoughts of the proctor, as he sat in the corner of the field, with dark clouds all over his head.
—X—X—X—
As expected, Kushina passed her test with flying colours and a confused proctor who couldn't even understand the complexity of her seal. Seriously, compared to Uzu, Konoha shinobi are mere pathetic worms when it comes into the art of sealing. Only the Sandaime and his student Jiraiya were good enough at the sacred art.
After the whole class settled down, it was finally time for the results. Minato, Naruto and Fugaku were eagerly waiting for the one who will receive the 'Rookie of the year' title, with none of them wanting to lose at the last chance at competition in the academy.
Soon, Kenchi-sensei arrived with a clipboard in his hand and a fond smile on his face.
"Alright class, your results have been calculated and finalized. And I am proud to announce that all 21 of you have passed! This makes us the first and only graduating class in Konoha history to achieve a 100% graduation rate."
The whole class burst into cheers with Kushina and Minato openly expressing their happiness with blinding grins.
Even Naruto allowed himself a small smile on his face as he was relieved that none of his peers had to be held back. Considering that Kushina's bullies had to miss a year because of some 'physical and mental injuries', he had no problem with all the 'remaining' ones passing with him. He was, in fact, glad that they passed, as he himself was interested in the growth of quite a few of them...
....except Tsume.... she just looked at him in a weird way that made him want to flee the scene as soon as possible.
"Yeah, yeah. Settle down guys. So, you know what this means?"
"That we are the best generation of ninjas in Konoha history!" Mikoto remarked with a fist pumped in the air.
"NO! This means that I am THE BEST sensei in Konoha history, thank you very much." Kenchi sensei said in a formal manner, posing like a prince at the end, annoying the class even more.
It took 10 minutes and 11 Kushinas to get Mikoto off Kenchi's back...
"Right, now the time you all have been waiting for! The rookie of the year!"
The whole class leaned ahead of their seats, eager to know who took the crown. Even Naruto could not deny the faint thumping of his heart that was pounding in his ears.
"So, the Rookie of the Year is.....
.....NONE OF YOU BRATS!"
"Yeah, thats right, apparently, all your scores were in fact very close, with the first place tied by 4 students! Honestly, the best generation having no top guy.... you guys are really unlucky." Kenchi explained, while laughing hysterically all the way at the dumb looks on the faces of all his students.
"GET HIM!"
The cry of war was enough to bring everyone back to life as the teacher was chased around the whole academy, with kunais and shurikens passing way too close to his groin.
—X—X—X—
Hitai-ate...
Naruto did not know why, but he felt really uneasy holding a Konoha hitai-ate in his hand. And in his mind, he couldn't bring himself to tie the headband around his forehead.
How could he pledge allegiance for another village when his heart still belonged to the land of the whirling tides?
He could not.
Seeing Kushina happily displaying her headband, Naruto felt a small pang of jealousy. Kushina already saw Konoha as her home and was happy to receive acknowledgement of said home. But..... he just could not accept Konoha as his home the same way Kushina did.
Uzu will always be his home, and all the redheads his family.
He could not disrespect his family by putting on another village's branding on him.
HE WILL NOT.
After a while of pondering for a possible solution, he arrived at the best one yet.
After all, he had something that could give him an Uzumaki headband...
So, he decided to have a little chat with the Sandaime about wearing the Uzu hitai-ate while being a Konoha shinobi. He knew he could easily sway the Sandaime his way because Uzumaki Mito herself wore the Uzu hitai-ate even after moving into Konoha.
Kushina, seeing her brother heading out, went to follow him. Naruto was such a loner that she knew she needed to watch out for him constantly, she was about to head out but was interrupted, by Minato.
"Uu-h, h-hey Kushina, c-can we talk, like, in private?" Minato stuttered out, while blushing all the way.
"Huh? What do you wanna talk about, can't you say it right here?" the redhead replied, with a frown on her features.
"Oh, you know, I just wanna tell you a couple things, but can we please talk privately?" Minato replied, finally regaining his 'calm and cool guy' attitude.
Kushina was about to protest, but she noticed that Naruto has already left the place. So with a resigned sigh, she agreed to the blonde's request as they made their way to a secluded spot out of the academy.
—X—X—X—
Hiruzen had watched the complete graduation exams on his crystal ball. Today was a slow day so he had nothing better to do. Plus, the year's graduates were really promising so he himself was interested in them.
Needless to say, the Professor was shocked out of his mind when ALL 21 of them managed to graduate. Never in history had every student managed to graduate from the academy. He was delighted at the prospect of the growth of this generation's young shinobi.
He was particularly interested in the redhead who had not too long ago, immigrated to Konoha.
Uzumaki Naruto...
The kid was an enigma, a prodigy, but most of all...
..he was a true shinobi.
He was just like the ideal shinobi Tobirama sensei had described: cool, calculative, indifferent, and ready for any course of action.
To be able to kill a group of Jonins at a young age, and doing it without the hesitation, all for the sake of protecting his sister... a truly impressive feat.
Truth be told, Naruto could have graduated then and there if Hiruzen wanted to, but he was afraid that Naruto was not fully loyal to Konoha yet. Even now, he still has his doubts, as at the night of the incident 3 years ago, he did not fail to notice the content smile Naruto was wearing on his face, like....
....like he was glad to have killed them.
This lead to the possibility of him being driven by revenge. And to be honest, that was the worst possible case for them. Not only would they lose such a powerful asset, but he was afraid that it may lead to some international incidents or god forbid, even war.
And then there was the fact that HOW exactly did Naruto kill those jonins, Naruto reported that he used fuinjutsu and the element of surprise to clear them out. He had no doubt that Naruto, being the highly accomplished sealing master that he is, could have done it. But the HUGE traces of chakra around the scene made him really wary. In the end, he came to a single conclusion...
The redhead was hiding something from him...
Something big...
He knew he could not directly approach the Uzumaki, lest he lose all his trust. So, he decided on a safer approach. It would help the boy make bonds in the village and the ninja he had in mind could have some fun.
So, he chose Hatake Sakumo.
Sakumo would get close to the boy, probably help him out in a few things. That would make the boy a bit more trusting of Konoha shinobi and Sakumo could also scope out any abnormal abilities the boy showed.
So far, nothing strange had been detected from the boy. Sakumo's report stated that he, Minato and Kushina are all once in a generation prodigies who had the potential of reaching S-rank by their twenties. On Naruto's behavior, he reported that the redhead had grown even more closed off to others but was opening up more to his friends and family. He had even taken a liking to the White Fang himself.
Since then, Hiruzen had personally monitored the progress of the three academy students and was highly impressed by their growth, particularly in Minato's Seikakuna Kanpeki.
Seeing how well they augmented each others growth, he knew he had no other choice, but to have those three in the same team.
And Jiraiya was really missing the brats he left behind in Ame. Perhaps it would get his mind off of things.
Yeah, that would work.
His thoughts were cut off when a sharp knock resounded through his room, and he sensed an extremely dense source of chakra.
Well, speak of the devil...
"Come in."
Yo guys! Extremely sorry for the delay. I got sick and my workload just kept on increasing. It has been a busy week for me and maybe the next week too. Then I have 2 weeks of holidays, so expect new chapters as per the time.
See ya!