It was the aftermath of the Kyuubi's vicious assualt on Konoha. The ninja of Konoha where working to rebuild their broken village. Little did any of them know that this would be a day that would mark a chain of many important events in the future.

"Man, what a mess." A silver haired ninja was looking at the chaos surrounding him.

"Well, there would have been less of a mess if you had actually showed up early for once, Kakashi." A brown-haired man was staring at him with a frown. Kakashi could deal with the mouth, but the blank eyes really freaked him out.

"Ah, well, you see, I was on my here when this black cat walked acr-"

"Kakashi? Do you take me for a fool?" The man looked at Kakashi with contempt. "I'm the head of the Hyuuga clan, and it is not without reason. I'm not foolish enough to fall for something as pathetic as that?"

"Well, can't blame a guy for trying, eh Hiashi?" Kakashi gave a small shrug, while Hiashi sighed.

"Kakashi, can't you be serious for once? You are always too... careless."

"Listen, Hiashi. I'm not trying to start any problems. How about we just get to work?" The silver-haired Jounin reached down and started picking up peices of wood. Hiashi sighed. Kakashi was always late for everything. However, Hiashi held no grudge against Hatake Kakashi. Although no one could call them friends, they still got along well, and would spar on occasion. The two had a good respect for each other, even if they did irritate each other on occasion.

Kakashi and Hiashi continued to work for what seemed like hours. The sun was starting to head towards the horizon. Hiashi removed his hitai-ate to wipe sweat from his forehead. Then, as if from nowhere, a wolf walked into the clearing. It stared at Hiashi for a moment, as if trying to decide something. Suddenly, with startling speed, it rushed at Hiashi. Hiashi raised his arm to defend himself, but he wasn't the wolf's target. The wolf instead grabbed Hiashi's hitai-ate in it's mouth, and then ran off.

"Hey, get back here!" Hiashi shouted as he ran after the wolf.

"You say something Hiashi?" Kakashi said, emerging from a pile of wood, just in time to see Hiashi chasing after the wolf and sighed. Before returning to work, Kakashi muttered, "Slacker."

Hiashi wasn't paying attention to where he was going. All that seemed to matter was the wolf. It seemed to stop occasionally, as if it was trying to keep Hiashi from losing sight of it.

Finally it was starting to get dark when Hiashi saw the wolf stop. It dropped his hitai-ate in front of a demolished home and run off. Hiashi walked up to the headband and scowled. It was covered in all sorts of scartch marks. Hiashi decided to work really hard to remove the damage when he returned home. Hiashi turned to leave when he heard something. It sounded like a baby crying. Hiashi hesitated, then entered what remained of the house.

Hiashi stared at the room. The floor was covered in splintered wood and shattered glass. Hiashi carefully sidestepped these and continued towards the sound of the crying. He walked on, and found himself in a hallway. The door at the far end was ajar. Cautious, Hiashi walked towards the door. Once he reached it, he entered slowly. The room was empty, save for one thing. Lying in the center of the room was a bundle of blankets, from which the crying was coming from. Hiashi reached down and picked up the blankets and pulled back the topmost one. In the blankets was a baby, crying. Hiashi stroked the child's forehead.

"Sh, its okay. You're going to be okay." The child seemed to stop crying at these words and smiled up at Hiashi. Hiashi couldn't help it: He was smiling so widely that it probably wouldn't allow him to leave the room.

"Wow, Hiashi. I've never seen this side of you." Hiashi nearly jumped through the ceiling. Turning around, he saw Kakashi smiling at him.

"Kakashi, if you do that again, I swear that I will do things so horrible that I dare not speak of them!" This earned a smirk from Kakashi.

"You know, I always knew you were a sucker for children, Hiashi." Kakashi said jokingly. Hiashi only glared at him. "What? A guy can't take a joke?"

Hiashi sighed. "Well, we might as well find this child's family, right Kakashi?"

"Yeah, your right Hiashi." Kakashi moved from the doorway, allowing Hiashi to pass through. The two then proceeded towards the Hokage's office.

-----------------------------------------------------------

It was proving a very hard task indeed. Konoha was in ruin, and the Sandaime had agreed to take up position of Hokage once more. With the Yondaime's death, the people of Konoha needed a strong leader. The Sandaime sat down and began to go through the stack of paperwork he had set in front of him. He was interupted, however, by the opening of his office door.

Sarutobi looked up. "What is it, Hayate?"

Hayate looked somewhat nervous. "Um, Lord Hokage. Hatake Kakashi and Hyuuga Hiashi have arrived and wish to speak with you. Shall I permit them?"

Sarutobi smiled. "Yes, I'm sure I can spare some time for whatever they may want." Hayate nodded, and left the room. A few minutes later, Kakashi and Hiashi both entered the room.

"You two wished to see me, is that correct?" The Sandiame looked at Haishi and Kakashi with interest.

"Well, Lord Hokage," Hiashi began. "While doing our cleaning duties, we came across a baby. We thought that perhaps we could ask for your help in finding this child's parents."

Sarutobi sighed. "Do you think that the child is the only lost child we have found? Several children have already been brought here."

Hiashi looked nervous, then spoke up again. "But Lord Hokage, there is something you should know. There was a wolf that led me to this child."

Sarutobi seemed to perk up at this. "Wolf, did you say?"

Hiashi stared at the Hokage. "You know the identity of the child?"

"Indeed." Sarutobi stood up and looked out the window. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the Gekido clan?"

Hiashi frowned. "I can't say I have."

"I have, Lord Hokage." Kakashi stepped forward. "The Gekido clan kept many of their techniques a secret, although they were heavily affiliated with wolves."

Sarutobi smiled. "Yes. I believe that this child may be the last member of his clan."

Hiashi looked shocked. "What do you mean, the last member of his clan?"

Sarutobi sighed. "Among the bodies found after the Kyuubi's rampage, we found those of Gekido Kaji and his wife, Hikari."

"So, you mean that this child's parents are dead?" Hiashi looked down at the baby sleeping in his arms.

"Sadly yes. We will try to find a suitable family to raise the child, of course, so you-"

"I don't think you need to search, Lord Hokage." Hiashi cut off the Sandaime. "I'll care for the child."

Sarutobi stared at Hiashi. "Are you sure you wish to take this responsibility?"

Hiashi nodded. "Yes."

Sarutobi smiled. "Very well. I put the child in your care, Hiashi."

"Thank you, Lord Hokage." Hiashi bowed and left the room with Kakashi.

Once out of earshot, Kakashi clamped an arm on Hiashi's shoulder. "You big softie!"

"Stop it, Hatake!" Hiashi almost shouted. Kakashi grinned. Hiashi only refered to him as Hatake when he was ina particularly good mood.

"So, why did you do it?" Kakashi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hiashi smiled and looked up at the night sky. "Do you believe in fate, Kakashi?" Kakashi looked thoughtful for a moment, then shook his head.

"I think that the wolf led me to this child for a reason. I think that I was meant to take care of this child. This probably sounds odd, doesn't it?"

"More like fortune telling to me. But hey, whatever floats your boat." Kakashi was quite for a moment, then asked Hiashi, "So, what will you name him?"

Hiashi looked thoughtful for a minute, then said, "I'll name him Gekido Yoro."

Kakashi smiled. "Yoro, huh? I think this kid will grow up to be pretty strong, don't you?"

Hiashi smiled. "Oh, you needn't worry about that. I'll make sure he does."

Hiashi bid Kakashi farewell, and headed toward his home with the child he was now in charge of. "Yes, Gekido Yoro, The last of his clan. You will be strong one day, I know it."

The ninja academy of Konoha had always been a place where young children would go to learn important ninja techniques. Throughout time, the academy had produced many powerful shinobi, including the Fourth Hokage. Today, however, a new teacher was being introduced to the facility.

~*~

A tall man was walking down the hallway of the ninja academy. He had brown hair, which was tied up on the top, and black eyes. Running across the bridge of his nose was a scar. Like many shinobi, he wore his hitai-ate on his forehead. Along with that, he wore a green chuunin vest, under which was a blue shirt that matched his blue sweatpants. In his hand was a clipboard.

Eventually, the man stopped at a door in the hallway. Well, this must be it, the man thought, as he pulled open the door.

Stepping through, he found himself in a large classroom. At the front of the room was a desk, behind which was a blackboard. In front of the desk were several smaller desks, about thirty in number.

The man walked over to the main desk and placed his clipboard on it, then looked around the room. He smiled to himself as he recalled how he had come to be in the room in the first place.

~*~

The Sandaime sat at his desk, taking a short break from paperwork to observe te village of Konohagakure. He heard a knock at the door.

"Enter," he said, turning around. The door opened, revealing Gekkou Hayate.

"Hokage-sama," Gekkou began. "Umino Iruka has arrived, as you requested."

"Excellent," The Hokage replied, smiling. "Send him in."

Gekkou nodded, and vanished back into the hallway. A few seconds later, he returned, Umino Iruka walking behind him.

"You wanted to see me, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked as Gekkou walked out of the room.

The Hokage nodded. "Yes. Recently, you applied for a teaching position at the shinobi academy. Is that correct?"

"Hai, Hokage-sama," Iruka replied.

The Sandaime smiled. "Well, I am pleased to say that you have recieved the position."

Iruka beamed. He had always wanted to help mold the future shinobi of Konoha.

"However," The Hokage continued, his smile fading. "There are a few things I must discuss with you first."

Iruka's smile faltered.

"First, unlike most academy classes, you will be teaching twenty-eight students, rather than the standard twenty-seven. This is alright with you, I hope?"

Iruka nodded, smiling. Sarutobi continued. "Second, two of your students will be from the Hyuuga household. They will be entering this last year at the academy late, as the were home-schooled by Hiashi up until this point. He has only allowed them to attend this year because they need to experience this year at the academy in order to take the graduation exams in order to become shinobi."

"How is that a problem, Hokage-sama?" Iruka asked curiously.

The Hokage smiled. "Well, they haven't been exposed to culture their entire lives, due to Hiashi's overprotective nature. As a result, it is rather predictable that their people skills will be quite.... poor, for lack of a better term. If they have a hard time working with the others, then don't be too hard on them."

Iruka smiled, and nodded his head to show that he understood. "Is that all, Hokage-sama?"

The Sandaime's smile vanished. "No, that isn't. There is one more matter that I must dicuss with you...... The most important of all. You see, one of your students will be Uzumaki Naruto."

The smile on Iruka's face disappeared as well. This was rather unexpected.

"Please, Iruka, I know what the fox did to your parents, but I beg you, don't take out your hatred on the boy. Although I know I can't stop you from treating the boy however you want in the classroom, please, treat him as you would the other students."

~*~

Iruka frowned as he looked back on that day. Personally, he didn't hold a grudge against Naruto, but it was understandable as to why the Sandaime would get that idea. Uzumaki Naruto was treated like trash by everyone in the village. Obviously, the Hokage assumed that Iruka would behave in a similar manner. With this thought, Iruka chuckled to himself softly.

Iruka's thoughts were halted by the ringing of a bell. And so it begins... Iruka thought to himself, seating himself at the desk.

Soon, the doors into the classroom opened, and several children walked in. They all filed into the room and took a seat at the other, smaller desks. the all watched Iruka carefully, as if sizing him up.

As soon as everyone had sat down, Iruka stood up and glanced around the room.

"Ohayo, students. Welcome to a new year at the shinobi academy. For this year, I shall be teaching. My name is Umino Iruka.

"Now, before we begin, I want to make you aware of a few ground rules I've set. First, I will not tolerate any trouble caused by any of you. Second, I will treat you all with respect, so I ask that you treat me the same. Finally, I want you all to be polite with each other. You don't all have to get along, but you must at the very least learn to be civil with each other.

"Now, I will take role call. I hope to learn a bit about all of you, so when I call your name, stand up, introduce yourself to the class, and tell us something about yourself.

"First, Nara Shikamaru." Iruka looked up and waited for Shikamaru to stand, but no one stood up. Out of the corner of his eye, Iruka saw a boy whose hair was rather similar to his own lying face-down on his desk.

"You, are you Nara Shikamaru?" Iruka asked, walking over to the boy. The boy gave no response.

"Are you listening to me? I'll repeat, are you Nara Shikamaru?" Iruka asked, starting to get a little irritated.

The boy didn't move, but instead gave a loud snore. Iruka slapped his hand to his forehead. He then placed the hand onto the boy's shoulder and shook him. The boy's eyes opened slowly and he looked up at Iruka, straining his eyes against the light.

"Are you Nara Shikamaru?" Iruka asked, his mouth pulled into a thin line.

The boy blinked, then yawned. "Mendokse.... Yeah, it is. Who are you?"

"I am your new teacher, Shikamaru, and I'm going to warn you now, I don't exactly like it when students fall asleep in class, so I would be more alert if I were you." And with that, Iruka walked back over to his desk.

"Mendokse..." Shikamaru muttered, stretching his arms over his head.

Iruka went on calling out the other students. He tried to remember what he learned about them.

Inuzuka Kiba. Has a very boastful personality.

Yamanaka Ino. Rather agressive, but otherwise easy to get along with.

Uchiha Sasuke. Doesn't speak much, but I wouldn't either if my clan was slaughtered by my older brother.

Iruka continued down the list until he spotted one name he was very familiar with.

"Uzumaki Naruto?" Iruka asked, looking up.

"I'm here..." came the reply. Following the sound of the voice, Iruka saw a boy standing up in the corner. He was wearing a tan shirt with a red spiral on it, along with a pair of light blue shorts. His face didn't show any emotion, but Iruka couldn't help but notice that Naruto's eyes were filled with sadness. He also couldn't help and notice that no one was sitting anywhere near Naruto.

Iruka didn't say anything for a few seconds, staring at Naruto. He then returned to the list. there were only two more names on it.

"Hyuuga Hinata?" Iruka said, looking around the room. No one stood up. Iruka waited another minute, then went on.

"Gekido Yoro?" Iruka continued, looking up again. Once more, no one stood up. Iruka waited a little longer, then set the list down.

"Alright then, that takes care of attendance. Now, I thought I'd start today with a lesson on-"

Iruka was cut off, however, in the form of the classroom door bursting open.

"Shit, looks like we're late. Come on, Imoutosan!" A boy of about eleven burst into the room.

The boy's hair was shoulder length, and black in color. His skin was rather pale, making it seem like he was shining in the light of the room. His eyes were grey. In terms of clothing, the boy was rather heavyily clad in black. He wore black sweatpants that seemed little baggy on him, but that didn't matter much due to the fact that they were held up by a white belt. He also wore a black shirt, with a white crescent moon on the front. The left sleeve of the shirt went down to his wrist, while the other reached his elbow. On the left arm, the boy wore a white armband, with a red crescent moon on it. The boy's right arm had a black wristband, and the revealed part of the arm's skin was covered in fishnets.

The boy was followed by a girl. The girl's skin was pale as well, although perhaps not to the same degree as the boy's. She had black hair as well, only it was much shorter in length. Her eyes were pale rather than grey. She also wore black sweatpants, only they fit her, and she didn't need a belt to hold them up. She also wore a black shirt, unadorned with any type of decoration.

Both walked up to Iruka and bowed before. The boy spoke.

"I apologize for being late, sensei, but our father was busy speaking with us about this year at the academy." The boy raised his head and gestured to himself and the girl. "My name is Gekido Yoro, and this is my sister, Hyuuga Hinata."

Iruka was about to lecture the two for their lateness, but recalled the Hokage's words. So, instead, he smiled softly, and nodded. "Alright, you two may take you seats. However, I would like to ask that you two try not to be late again."

The two bowed once more, and went among the other students. Hinata didn't recieve as much attention as Yoro, however. As he walked past the other students, Iruka could very audibly hear them muttering.

"So that's the guy adopted by the Hyuuga, huh?"

"He doesn't look so tough."

"I bet he thinks he's special or something."

"Probably just another rich, spoiled kid Sasuke."

"Actually, I think he's kind of cute."

"Looks aren't everything, remember. He's probably a real jerk."

Yoro didn't seem to notice the chatter of the students, and he walked to the very back of the room. He grabbed a chair and sat down. Everyone's faces became blank of emotion.

Gekido Yoro had just sat down next to the least popular person in all of Konoha. Yoro had sat down next to Uzumaki Naruto.

~*~

Uzumaki Naruto had entered the classroom that day witht he same attitude as normal. He had woken up, eaten a bowl of ramen, then went out the door to go to the academy.

As usual, he had walked to the building, with several people giving him cruel looks. He didn't know why, but no one in the village seemed to like him. More than that, everyone seemed to hate him. Naruto never did understand why. He had grown used to the treatment over the past few years. Of course, that still didn't mean that it didn't hurt.

People also seemed to fear the fact of Naruto becoming a shinobi. It was not uncommon for people to try and slow him down whenever he was traveling to the academy. One time, someone went as far as to break his right leg. He had gone to the hospital to see if he could get it fixed, but the workers there refused to heal him. Distraught, Naruto had missed about a month of the academy, and, as a result, had fallen far behind the rest of the class.

That morning had been as bad as usual. People trying to trip him, "accidently" knocking him to the ground, and "dropping" sharp objects over top of him from windows.

However, years of torment had not only made Naruto resilient to pain, but also agile. Therefore, he had been able to reach the academy that morning without too much damage done to his body.

As per usual, he had sat outside the academy, taking his usual perch in a swing underneath a large oak tree. Naruto had sighed. It was going to be his third year at the academy. This would also be his last year, provided he could pass the exams. Of course, he had failed once before, so his hopes weren't high.

When the bell rang, Naruto had entered the building along with everyone else, traversing the halls until he had reached his classroom. Once he had entered, he had taken a seat in the very back of the classroom. He was not surprised when no one sat with him, but it was still painful when he realized that he would be going through yet another year without anyone to talk to.

As the teacher, Iruka, took role call, Naruto looked around at the people in his class. There were a few new faces, and a few old faces. He recognized Nara Shikamaru, Akamichi Chouji, and Uchiha Sasuke, but other than those three, he didn't have a clue as to who else was in the class.

Not that it matters, of course, Naruto thought bitterly. It's not like anyone is ever going to talk to me.

When Iruka called Naruto's name, Naruto noticed that the man looked at him longer than he did anyone else. It was long enough to get a good look at the man's face as well. His face didn't show any emotion, but.... Was that possibly sadness in his eyes?

There was then a distraction in the form of the door slamming open.

A boy with dark hair came running into the room, followed by a rather pale girl with slightly lighter hair. Naruto raised his head slightly. He had never seen either of them before.

"Shit, looks like we're late! Come on, Imoutosan!" The boy shouted, rushing to Iruka's desk. After excusing himself with Iruka, the boy and his sister both turned to join the class.

Naruto put his head back down on his desk. Then, he heard the sound of a chair scraping the floor next to him. He looked up to see the boy, sitting down. The boy glanced at Naruto.

"Oh, I'm sorry. You don't mind if I sit here, do you?" He asked Naruto, cocking his head to the side.

Naruto shook his head, trying to contain his excitement. Never had anyone decided to sit anywhere near him. And yet, this boy had chosen to sit next to Naruto. Maybe, just maybe....

Suddenly, Naruto had noticed that the room had gone very quiet. He looked out towards the room and noticed that everyone was staring at him and the boy.

"What!?" The boy asked. "Did I do something"

The class turned their attention away from the two, although this action seemed rather forced. Naruto was about to put his head back down on his desk again when he felt a tapping on his shoulder. He turned to see the boy looking at him.

"Hey, you have any idea what that was about?" The boy asked, jerking his head towards the rest of the class. Naruto looked at his desk.

"It's probably because you sat next to me," Naruto said sadly, avoiding Yoro's gaze.

The boy gave a small laugh. "What, you got a disease or something? I doubt sitting next to you will kill me."

Naruto looked up to see the boy smiling at him. Naruto gave a weak smile of his own.

"Oh, I'm being rather rude. I haven't introduced myself yet!" Yoro said, frowning, as though the idea of such an act was punishable.

"My name is Gekido Yoro," the boy said, extending his hand.

Naruto stared at the hand. He glanced at Yoro's face to see that the boy was still smilng.

Does he really want to be friends with me? Naruto thought to himself. Naruto began to reach out for Yoro's hand, then hesitated. It had to be some kind of trick. No one would ever be so friendly towards him.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Yoro asked, his smile faltering.

Naruto sighed. "Well, it's just that no one has ever been so polite with me before," Naruto said, staring intently at the floor.

Yoro was quiet for a minute. Then, he said, "Well, maybe the people you know are just pricks."

Naruto looked up to see Yoro smiling again. He then glanced at the extended hand again.

"Oh, what? It's not going to jump up and bite you," Yoro said, raising an eyebrow.

Naruto hesitated again, but only for a second. He then grasped Yoro's hand and shook it. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto," The boy stated, smiling.

Yoro smiled, then looked towards the front of the class as the teacher began his introduction to the lesson.

"Now, I know that you have already worked with the Transformation Technique and the Basic Cloning Technique," Iruka said, standing up. "But today, I figured we'd do something more practical. If you all will line up, we'll be heading outside."

Everyone stood up, muttering. Naruto glanced at Yoro who was groaning.

"Man, thig had better not be what I think it is...." Yoro muttered, frowning.

~*~

Outside, the students stood in a line against the southern wall of the academy. Yoro stood next to Naruto, muttering darkly.

"Man, if this is what I think it is, then I'm leaving," Yoro stated to himself, frowning. "I've already done this loads of times, I don't see why I'll have to do it again."

Yoro continued on in this vein for a while when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Glancing around, Yoro saw Naruto staring at him.

"Um, what are you so pissed off about?" Naruto asked, frowning.

Yoro shook his head. "Sorry, It's just that-"

Yoro was interuppted by another, slightly stronger tap on his shoulder. He turned to see a raven haired boy standing in fornt of him, with black eyes and a blue shirt on. He wore a pair of tan shorts, and his feet were adoorned with sandals.

"Why are you talking to this loser?" The boy asked, smirking. "You shouldn't be wasting your time on him."

Yoro glanced at Naruto to see him staring at the ground. His face wasn't visible, but Yoro was sure that the boy was close to crying.

"If you want to get to know the really important people, I can be of some help there. I'm Uchiha Sasuke. And here I am offering my hand in friendship." Sasuke thust his hand out, waiting for Yoro to take it.

"And here I am, rejecting it," Yoro growled, glaring at the boy. Sasuke's face became blank.

"You remind me way too much of someone I know, Uchiha. Some one I hate," Yoro said, glaring at Sasuke. "Perhaps you don't think he matters, but I do. So how about you shut the hell up and get out of here?"

Sasuke glared at Yoro. "In time, you'll come to regret that choice," He said scathingly.

Yoro snorted. "Hey, guess what? I don't regret it now!"

"Whatever," Sasuke muttered, turning around and walking towards the other end of the line. "I'll be seeing you around, loser."

Yoro glared at Sasuke's back as it became more distant. Yoro whistled.

"Man, what an ass! I'll be shocked if he has any friends! I mean, I haven't seen anyone with his foot shoved so far up his ass since my cousin Neji!" Yoro ranted. His mood lightened when he heard a chuckling behind him. He turned to see Naruto with his hands at his mouth, trying to stifle his laughter.

Yoro grinned. "I see that we seem to have similar ideas about Sasuke-teme," Yoro said, jerking his head towards the Uchiha.

Naruto returned the grinned. "I never thought I'd see someone who disliked Sasuke as much as I do."

Yoro frowned. "Why not? The guys an ass! There should be loads of people who hate him!"

Naruto shrugged. "Hey, you can't control other people's opinions of each other."

Their conversation was interuppted by Iruka clearing his throat. The class turned to face him.

"Alright class, today, I'm going to teach you about chakra control."

The class began to mutter amongst themselves excitedly. All of them, that is, save for Yoro.

"God damn it! I knew it," Yoro sputtered angrily.

"Now, what I want you to do is try and use your chakra to climb these trees," Iruka said, indicating the forest behind him.

"Now, with the techniques you have learned in the past, you had to distibute chakra evenyl throughout your body to the best of your ability. With this exercise, you need to focus your chakra into your feet. Then, push your feet against the tree and climb up it, without using your hands, as far as you can go.

"Now, the idea of this exercise is meant to help you control your chakra more efficiently. Of course, I don't expect any of you to pull this off right away, but I will admit that I won't be surprised if one or two of you can pull ot off as well.

"Now, how about you all get started?" Iruka, said, indicating the trees. The students walked towards the forest, each boasting about how quickly they would be able to pull off the exercise. Yoro walked up to one tree in the forest. Naruto stood next to him, muttering to himself.

"Hey, Naruto, you gonna need any help?" Yoro asked, glancing at him.

Naruto shook his head. "Nah, I'll do this on my own. I won't become a strong ninja if I don't do anything on my own."

Yoro shrugged. "Fair enough. I'll see you later, then."

Naruto nodded and walked off to another tree. Yoro glanced at his tree. You've gotta be kidding me, he thought to himself. Hiashi no Danna said that this place would probably be challenging, but I already know how to climb trees using my chakra.

Yoro gave a sigh and walked towards the tree. He raised his leg and placed his foot against the trunk. He then raised his other leg, bringing his other foot to rest on the trunk. He then, very calmly, very slowly, walked up the tree, not pausing for even a second. As soon as he reached the top, he turned around and surveyed his classmates. Many of them were looking at him with envious looks on their faces. Yoro noticed that Sasuke Uchiha was glaring at him, as if he thought that Yoro had cheated somehow.

Yoro walked back down the tree and stared at Iruka. "Got anything harder?"

Iruka smiled. "Well, I'm afraid not. How about you just sit out the rest of the class? Or, if you want, you can help out everyone else."

Yoro glanced at the rest of the class and saw, with a wmall jolt of pleasure, that Uchiha Sasuke was struggling with the exercise. Naruto, on the other hand, wasn't doing too badly: he was able to make it up the tree a couple of paces, but that was as far as he could go.

"No thanks, Iruka-sensei," Yoro said, smiling. "Im sure that they can figure it out without me."

Iruka smiled. "Alright, you can go ahead and sit over there. Haruno Sakura has completed the exercise as well, so you'll at elast have somebody to talk to."

Yoro thanked Iruka and walked over to the bench he had indicated. Sitting on the bench was a pink-haired girl with a red ribbon in her hair. She wore a red dress, adorned with white lining band had a large slit on either side. Visible through the slits, she wore a pair of blue shorts. She looked up as Yoro approached.

"Oh, hi," She said, smiling slightly. "You finish too?"

Yoro nodded. "Yep. You don't mind if I sit down, do you?" Yoro asked, indicating the seat next to Sakura. She shook her head.

Yoro sat down. Well, it would be polite to talk about something... Yoro poked around for a subject, and finally settled on one.

"So, have you worked with chakra control before?" Yoro asked, looking at Sakura.

Sakura nodded. "Yeah. I'm the first person in my family to become a shinobi, so I decided to do a bit of studying to help me better prepare for the academy. I also trained my chakra control so that I could better handle the techniques we would learn, so that's why I'm done with this exercise already."

Yoro smiled. "Well, I'm sure you haven't had any trouble mastering any of those techniques, then."

"Oh, not too much, although I was stuck on the Clone Technique for a while. But, I got the handle of it eventually. So, what about you? Where did you learn chakra control?" Sakura asked curiously.

"My father," Yoro stated, rolling his eyes. "He's totally obsessed with making sure the clan is full of powerful shinobi, so he started training my sister and I since we were six. Mind you, he wasn't always so strict."

"Well, what happened?" Sakura asked.

"It's.... A long story, one that I don't want to delve too much into right now." Yoro stated.

Sakura nodded. "Hey, if your sister has as much experience as you do in chakra control, why isn't she done yet?"

Yoro frowned. "Well, she has a problem in front of large groups of people. Hinata can do pretty well with her training on her own or with a couple of other people, but she has trouble when it comes to large groups of people."

Sakura nodded. She looked out at the rest of the class. "So, what's the deal with you and Naruto?"

Yoro shrugged. "I mainly sat down next to him due to the fact that he was the only person in the class I could see who wasn't muttering about me."

Sakura laughed. "Well, he's not always so quiet, really. Normally, you can't get him to shut up. I'm not sure what's with him today."

Yoro shrugged. "Well, I'm sure it's his business. It wouldn't be polite to intrude."

"That's true...." Sakura said. The two sat there for a while, chatting with each other.

Apparently, Sakura was the most intelligent person in the class. Unfortunatly, she was always too focused on studying to get any work done on physical training.

Yoro also learned that her parents weren't often home, as they both were often busy. As a result, they were often very protective of Sakura.

Soon, the bell rang again, signaling lunch. Iruka called everyone over to him.

"Alright class, today went better than I thought. Know, I'm sure you're all tired, so go ahead and get some lunch in you. We'll meet back in the classroom in an hour." And with that, Iruka dismissed the class with a wave of his hand.

Naruto walked up to Yoro, grinning. "Well, I didn't make it all the way up, but I think I did pretty well," Naruto boasted, grinning.

"You seem to be in a better mood," Yoro said, smiling.

Naruto's grin widened. "Yeah, training usually help distract me."

Yoro shrugged. "Hey, let's go find something to eat, shall we?"

Naruto grinned. "Alright! I'm feeling like getting some ramen!"

Yoro frowned. "I've never had that. Is it any good?"

Naruto gaped at Yoro. "You've enver had ramen!? What do they feed you at your place?"

Yoro put his hand to his chin in thought. "Well, I usually drink tea, but we often eat several types of cooked meats, breads, and other such things."

Naruto continued to stare at Yoro. "Alright, we have to get you some ramen. I'm just glad I packed an extra container!"

And with that, Naruto pulled a container out of the bag on his back and handed it to Yoro. "It won't be as good cold, but it's still good."

Yoro eyed the container. "This thing is past it's experation date, Naruto."

"Yeah, well, the taste tends to become stronger if you age it." Naruto said, grinning.

Yoro eyed the container suspiciously. "Alright, I'll give it a shot, but I won't guaruntee that I'll like."

"As long as you at least try it!" Naruto exclaimed.

"Alright, well, let's go find a place to sit." Yoro turned and motioned for Naruto to follow him. The two walked off when Yoro spotted Sakura.

"Hey, Sakura-san!" Yoro shouted. Sakura turned towards him. "You wanna come eat with us?"

Sakura smiled, and shouted back, "Sorry, but I promised I'd eat with Ino. Maybe some other time."

"Alright, see you later then!" Yoro shouted back as Sakura walked up to a blonde haired girl.

Naruto stared at Yoro. "How do you know Sakura-chan?" He asked.

"Oh, yeah, I'll tell you about it while we walk." And with that, Yoro walked towards the front wall of the academy, talking to Naruto.

~*~

"So, you two just talked?" Naruto asked as the two took their seats in the classroom.

"For the umpteenth time, yes, Naruto," Yoro said, his eye starting to twitch.

"You two didn't make out or anything?" Naruto asked.

Yoro's eye twitched. "Naruto, please stop asking such questions."

Naruto shrugged. "I'm only curious."

"Well, nothing happened, aside from a conversation, okay?" Yoro said, staring intently at Naruto.

"Alright, don't get snappy." Naruto said, raising his arms up in defense.

The door at the front of the class opened, signaling the arrival of Iruka. He strode over to his desk, and faced the class.

"Alright, I'm going to give you all a quick review of what you've learned in past years. First, I'll be giving a quick review of the Transformation Technique. Naruto, you can go first."

Naruto shrugged and walked forward. He stood in front of Iruka.

"Alright, Naruto, I want you to take on the appearance of our Hokage."

Naruto formed his hands together into a seal.

"HENGE!" Naruto shouted, vanishing a a puff of smoke. When the smoke cleared, it was plain to see that whoever Naruto had turned into, it was not the Hokage.

Naruto broke the jutsu and placed his hand on the back of his head in embarassment. "Hold on, I was just kidding! I'll do it right this time, I swear!"

And with that, Naruto placed his hands together again.

"HENGE!" Once again, Naruto vanished into a cloud of smoke. And once again, it was plain to see that he was unsuccessful.

"Naruto," Iruka began frowning. "This is your third year at the academy. If you truly want to become a ninja, then I suggest you take your studies seriously."

Suddenly, there was a loud laugh from across the room. Yoro turned to see a boy with red markings on his cheeks and unkempt red hair laughing.

"You mean to tell me that this loser is in his third year at the academy and he still can't do a proper henge? Man, I've never seen anyone so pathetic." The boy continued to laugh, and was soon joined by most everyone else in the room. Naruto glared at the boy.

"Keep laughing, Kiba, because I don't need to pretend! Someday, I'm going to become the real Hokage!" Naruto shouted, a defiant look on his face.

Kiba laughed harder. "Oh man, that is just rich! You, Hokage? I'll tell you something, if you can become Hokage, then it'll be a cinch for me!" Kiba laughed even harder.

"You know," Yoro shouted, standing up. The room quieted. "Everyone has their weak points. It can't be helped. Naruto just sin't that great with henge, so what? It's not like it's that big a deal."

Kiba glared at Yoro. "Hey, who asked your opinion?"

Yoro cracked his neck. "Well, the way I see it, you have no right to mock anyone in this class."

Kiba growled and glared down at his desk.

"Oh, and by the way," Yoro said, causing Kiba to look back up at him. "You should really take a bath. You smell like wet dog."

There was silence in the room. Then, Kiba jumped up. "You bastard! You're gonna wish you hadn't said that!"

"ENOUGH!" Iruka shouted, cauing everyone to jump. "Kiba, Yoro both of you sit down now. I don't want any further disruptions from either of you!"

Kiba glared at Yoro as he sat down. Naruto walked back up to his seat.

"Hey, thanks for that," Naruto said, smiling softly.

"Hey, no problem," Yoro said, smiling back. "What are friends for?"

"Friends....." Naruto said quietly smiling to himself. This year at the academy was going to be better than he thought it would.

~*~

Y: And we are done with this chapter, the official chapter two. Next is chapter three!

N: Here's a look at what's going down next time!

Yoro jumped to his feet, loooking for the source of the blow. There was no one in sight, or so it seemed....

"Naruto, this is genjutsu!" Yoro shouted, running over to him. "Use your chakra to get out of here!"

Naruto, however, was not moving, lying face down on the ground.

"Naruto?" Yoro said hesitantly, rolling Naruto onto his back. He gasped.

Naruto's face wasn't there. Instead, there was a black void, filled only with a single, red eye, which had a slit for a pupil.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the whelp isn't here right now." A deep voice echoed throughout the woods.

"You're not Naruto...." Yoro said, shaking. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am...." The voice began, but it trailed off as the area went hazy. Yoro blinked, and saw that he was back in the field. Naruto and Mizuki were no where in sight. Standing next to Yoro, however, was Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei, where's Naruto!?" Yoro asked, his eyes wide.

Iruka grabbed Yoro's shoulder firmly. "Yoro, you need to get out of here, it's way too dangerous for you."

"No way, not until I know Naruto is okay!" Yoro shouted, running for the trees.

"Yoro, wait!" Iruka shouted after him, but Yoro ignored him. All that mattered was saving Naruto.

Y: Interesting stuff indeed.

N: Please, read and review, dattebayo!

Y: We look forward to your ideas!

"Well, that was probably the most boring lesson ever," Yoro stated as he walked out of the academy with Naruto.

"Hey, it could have been worse. We could've had a pop quiz or something." Naruto said, grinning.

Yoro shot Naruto a nasty look. "Um, we did, you baka. All because of your little escapades at the Hokage monument."

Naruto grinned. "Hey, it was worth it! I don't care if I have to clean it up!"

Yoro's eye twitched. "Well, you didn't make the situation any better for yourself with the display of your new 'jutsu'."

Naruto frowned. "Hey, what's wrong with my Orioke no jutsu?"

Yoro sighed. "Man, I can't believe you haven't gotten thrown out of here yet."

Naruto laughed. "Hey, come on, the graduation exams are tomorrow. There's no way I'd miss those!"

Yoro tilted his head, frowning. "I guess, but that's no reason to mess around and cause such a ruckus."

Naruto grinned, pumping his fist in the air. "Yeah, but as of tomorrow, Iruka-sensei wont' be able to push me around any more!"

Yoro shook his head. "Whatever."

It had been several months since the academy had begun. Time had passed quickly for Naruto and Yoro. After the first day at the academy, Naruto and Yoro continued to converse with each other, helping each other out with their studies and doing other things. The two shortly became good friends.

Of course, Naruto wasn't the only person whom Yoro befriended. He also kept contact with Sakura, who was far more intelligent than Naruto and therefore was far more interesting to talk to about certain subjects. She also came to get along with Naruto, and the two soon befriended each other as well.

Naruto also met Hinata after a short while, an experience which still made Yoro laugh. Naruto had mistaken Hinata for a boy right away on the occasion, which had upset Hinata greatly. He did, however, eventually redeem himself by treating both her and Yoro to ramen later that day.

Hinata also had become rather taken with Naruto, and it was not uncommon for her to be seen staring fondly at him from a distance. Naruto, however, was completely oblivious to her feelings at all times, resulting in many rather entertaining situations (At least, they were in Yoro's opinion).

Inuzuka Kiba also came to befriend Yoro, although this act wound up taking a while. For a long time, the two constantly fought each other. Kiba would often ambush Yoro whenever he was walking to the academy with Hinata. After many defeats at the hands of each other, the two gained a small respect for each other, and eventually became friends. Kiba also became more civil towards Naruto, which seemed to bring the boy out of his shell even further.

Uchiha Sasuke, on the other hand, had remained adamant in his attitude towards Yoro over the past several months. The Uchiha had tried several times to get Yoro in trouble or kicked out of the academy, all of which failed. Sasuke was holding true to his word, and Yoro was slowly growing worried that the Uchiha would succeed eventually.

All in all, it had been an interesting year at the academy. Now, the graduation exams were only a day away, and all of the students were looking forward to the chance to become genin.

"Well, I better get off to work, then. See ya later, Yoro!" Naruto said, waving his hand as he walked off. Yoro chuckled to himself.

"Yeah, good luck, baka!" Yoro shouted in return, smiling. He slowly walked up the path towards the Hyuuga compound. Hinata had remained home that day for training purposes, so Yoro was not burdened with the trouble of waiting for her.

Yoro continued forward until he stopped. "Oi, Kiba, how long are you gonna keep following me in those bushes?"

There was a small rustling noise, followed by a short series of barks, and then Kiba came bursting out of the bushes, his ninken Akamaru perched on his head.

"How'd you know this time, Yoro?" Kiba asked, grinning as he scratched his cheek.

"Well, I heard Akamaru yawning a little earlier, so it didn't take much to figure out you were following me." Yoro stated, shrugging. "Hey, why were you following me, anyway? I thought we were done fighting?"

"Oh, we are," Kiba said. "I'm just practicing my stealth abilites. "With the exams tomorrow, I need to make sure I'm in top condition!"

Yoro blinked. "Um, you are aware that it's just a review of past techniques, right?"

Kiba shrugged. "Hey, you never know. They might surprise us with some kind of new segment."

Yoro shrugged. "Well, I suppose it isn't too bad an idea to stay in condition, then."

Kiba grinned. "Hey, wanna come over to my place for dinner tonight? My mom got some extra pay from a mission, and she kinda went a little overboard in shopping."

"Sure, just let me notify tousan of where I am." Yoro turned to head back to the Hyuuga residence when Kiba stopped him.

"Ah, don't worry about it, Hana has three ninken, so I can probably persuade her to use one of them as a messenger."

Yoro grinned. "Hey, thanks."

Kiba grinned. "So, how deep in is Naruto?"

Yoro laughed." Oh, it's a lot lighter than it could have been. He just has to clean the Hokage monument."

Kiba smirked. "Well, that actually isn't too light, considering the size of that thing."

"Well, I suppose, but it's Iruka-sensei up there with him. You know he has a bit of a soft spot for Naruto."

Kiba nodded. "Yeah. Sure, he's hard on the brat now and again, but he's like a father to Naruto, really. Anyway, let's head over to my place, shall we?"

Yoro smiled as he followed Kiba, then stopped and sneezed. Kiba smirked. "Hey, looks like some pretty girl is talking about you."


Yoro glared at Kiba, who jumped backing waving his arms. "I'm joking. JOKING. Geez, man, you can't take a joke, can you?"

Yoro sighed. "Sorry, I'm just still a little uncomfortable with that subject."

"Hey, that's cool," Kiba said. Then, a sly smille appeared on his face. "So, you gonna ask out Sakura?"

Yoro smiled, and stared intently at Kiba. "Inuzuka, you are now on a very thin line. If you continue to speak, then I will go into detail about how you will die, and the detail shall be so intricate that you'll be wishing that you were dead."

Kiba sighed. "Man, you really need to lighten up."

~*~


Yoro awoke the next morning to find himself being shaken awake by Kiba's older sister Hana.

"Oi, wake up, your exams are in a couple of hours." She said, before going onto her brother, whom she awoke in a far more violent fashion by stomping on his head.

Yoro yawned. What had originally been dinner had wound up being a stay for the night. Kiba had wound up forgetting to send Hiashi a message saying Yoro would be late, resulting in the Hyuuga manor being completely locked up when Yoro approached it after eating. Since Naruto was not home when he checked and that sleeping at Sakura's would wind up causing way too many rumoors, Yoro returned to the Inuzuka residence, where he was greeted with open arms.

They're pretty nice, Kiba's family, Yoro thought to himself as he picked up his outfit from the day before, now freshly laundered. He had borrowed one of Kiba's spare outfits to sleep in, as they were luckily the same size.

Yoro walked out into the Inuzuka's kitchen, followed by a rather irrate Kiba. As the two entered, Inuzuka Tsume looked up from the kitchen table she was currently situated.

"Ah, good to see that you're both up," She said as the two sat down.

"Yes. Thank you for taking me in, Inuzuka-sama." Yoro said, bowing. Kiba merely grunted.

"Oh, you needn't be so formal with me, Yoro. You know that you're always welcome here. Anyway, you two make sure to eat a big breakfast." Tsume said, motioning to the food on the table.

"Not to be rude," Yoro said, looking up. "But why should we eat so much? I've heard that the exams are relatively short."

Tsume nodded. "That's true, but trust me, the stress beforehand is incredible. Oh, Kiba, don't chew with your mouth closed. Just because we fight with our partners in battle doesn't mean we have to lack manners."

Kiba growled softly, at which he recieved a sharp blow to the head from his sister. "Baka! Don't you growl at our mother!"

Yoro chuckled, then glanced at Hana. "Hana-san, you are a Chuunin, right?"

Hana nodded. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well, I know how one becomes a genin, but how does one go onto becoming a chuunin?" Yoro inquired.

Hana smiled."Oh, that would be a Chuunin Exam. They hodl them twice a year, so if you get through the graduation okay, you should be able to enter one pretty quickly provided your sensei allows you to."

Yoro looked thoughtful. "Hmm, that sounds interesting. What do they entail?"

Hana shrugged. "They always change the first and second exams, cause I had to take the exam twice, and the first two parts were different both times. The third part is always a tournament meant for displaying your skills."

Yoro smiled. "Hmm. Sounds like becoming a chuunin should be interesting, them."

Yoro turned his attention to the food in front of him and began to eat. After a quick breakfast, Yoro and Kiba left for the academy.

"So, Yoro, you think you're up to being a ninja?" Kiba asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, definitely. So, what teams do you think we'll be placed on?" Yoro inquired.

"Well, I know that they're based off individual skills, and that the teams are formed to balance out it's members abilities. I'd say that since you're good with genjutsu, you'll probably be paired with someone like me, Naruto, or Sasuke." Kiba said.

Yoro face darkened. "I don't care, so long as it isn't Uchiha-teme. I wouldn't mind being on a team with you or Naruto, but Sasuke..."

"Hey, I know, I'm only listing possibilites," Kiba said, frowning.

Soon, the two found each themselves at the academy, where already a group of the students were standing out front, admiring their headbands.

"Oi, Naruto!" Yoro shouted, spotting the blonde sitting undeneath the tree in the academy's courtyard. "How'd it go?"

Naruto looked at Yoro. Yoro's expression changed form happiness to sadness to see his friend's eyes filled with tears. Naruto stood up and walked away.

"Hey, Naruto, what's wrong!?" Yoro shouted, but Naruto ignored him.

"Come on, I'm sure he'll explain later," Kiba said, putting a hand on Yoro's shoulder. "Let's just get the exams out of the way first."

Yoro frowned, then walked into the academy. As the two approached their old classroom, a chuunin walked out of the room.

"Hey, Mizuki-sensei," Yoro called. The chuunin glanced at Yoro and smiled.

"Ah, hello, Yoro-san. You two are rather late." Mizuki said, indicating a nearby clock.

Yoro laughed sheepishly. "Sorry about that. Kiba and I overslept a bit."

Mizuki shrugged, walking past Yoro and Kiba. "Well, I hope it won't affect your performance. Good luck witht he exam."

Kiba frowned. "Oi, Mizuki-sensei, aren't you going to be there?"

"No, I have other business to attend to. Something that is far more important." And with that, the chuunin was gone.

"Wonder what he's up to?" Kiba asked, jerking his thumb towards the spot where the chuunin had formerly stood.

"I don't know, but it's none of our business," Yoro said. "Come on, let's get this over with."

The two entered the classroom to see Iruka standing at his desk.

"Ah, good, you two came. I was going to pack up if you two hadn't shown up just now. We're a little low on time, however, so how about you two both take the exam at once." Iruka indicated the stretch of floor in front of the desk.

Kiba and Yoro walked forward, and stood in front of Iruka. Iruka cleared his throat.

"Alright, first I want to see a replacement jutsu."

Kiba and Yoro rolled their eyes. Both formed the seals in unison and shouted, "Kawarimi no jutsu!"

Both vanished in a puff of smoke to be replaced by chairs in the classroom. After walking back down and returning the chairs to their normal positions.

"Alright, now I want you two to demonstrate the use of the cloning technique."

Yoro and Kiba complied, both shouting, "Bunshin no jutsu!" Kiba was surrounded by four copies of himself, while Yoro created seven clones.

Iruka nodded. "Alright, that's good. Come over here."

Kiba and Yoro walked over to the desk, exchanging nervous glances. Iruka reached into a box in front of him.

"I'm taking great pleasure in giving you these," Iruka said, pulling out a pair of hitai-ate.

Kiba and Yoro both grinned, taking their respective headbands. Kiba tied his to his forehead, while Yoro tied his loosely around his neck.

"Alright, you two are now officially shinobi. Congratulations." Iruka said, smiling.

Yoro grinned, a feeling of pride in his chest. Then, he remembered something.

"Iruka-sensei, how did Naruto do on his exam?" Yoro asked hesitantly.

Iruka's smile vanished, being replaced with a sad look on his face. "I'm sorry to say that Naruto... Well... Naruto... Didn't pass the exam."

Yoro's eyes widened. A sad look appeared on Kiba's face as well.

"I'm sorry, but he didn't do well enough on the exam to pass." Iruka said, shaking his head.

Suddenly, shouting could be heard. "Iruka! Iruka!"

Another chuunin ran into the room, out of breath.

"Izumo, what is it?" Iruka asked.

"It's... Naruto. He broke into the Hokage's office and stole a scroll full of forbidden jutsu!"

Kiba, Yoro, and Iruka all froze. The room became filled with silence, which wasn't broken until Iruka spoke up.

"I understand. I'll go look for him. Yoro, Kiba, I want you two to return home."

Yoro frowned while Kiba left the room. "But, Iruka-sensei, I want to help! I want to find out why Naruto stole that scroll!"

Iruka sighed. "Alright, fine, but you have to stay with me at all times, you got me?"

Yoro nodded. Iruka turned to Izumo. "Alright, you go and search around here. I'll go check the woods."

Izumo nodded. Yoro turned to Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, you know where Naruto is, don't you?"

Iruka smiled. "Yes. Yes I do."

~*~


"Iruka-sensei, are you sure we're heading towards the right place?" Yoro asked half an hour later. The pair had set out from the academy for the woods in backmost section of Konoha. Iruka had taken the lead while Yoro followed closely behind.

"Don't worry, I've got a feeling that Naruto will be there." Iruka replied, not glancing back at Yoro.

The two continued on for a while in silence. Yoro kept glancing around, expecting to see Naruto's dead body lying around in a surrounding tree, while a jounin or chuunin walked forward with the scroll in tow.

I hope we find Naruto before anyone else does. Yoro thought to himself.

~*~


Not far from where Yoro and Iruka were searching for Naruto, two other shinobi were also discussing their plans.

"Are you sure you can trust the boy to play his part, Mizuki?" A tall, slim figure asked from an outcropping rock, staring down at the chuunin. The figure in particular was difficult to make out clearly, as he was garbed in a large, black cloud adorned with red clouds. His face was obscured by a large hat with several ribbons trailing off.

"You needn't worry so much. The boy is rather easily used. You'd be surprised at what he'd do to become a shinobi." Mizuki stated, grinning.

The other nodded. "Alright, I'll leave the rest of this in your hands. But I warn you... If you should fail me, I will not step in to save your pathetic life."

Mizuki snorted. "As if I'll need any help considering my opponents, Kiseichuu-sama."

Kiseichuu turned his back to Mizuki. "Hn. You are too overconfident, Mizuki. The shinobi of Konohagakure are far more powerful than you believe. That overconfidence of yours will likely lead to your downfall."

And with that, he was gone. Mizuki also turned and left, heading in the direction of Naruto.

~*~


Yoro gave a yawn. It was starting to get late, and Naruto still had yet to be found. Just as Yoro contemplated turning back, Iruka stopped.

"Found him," Iruka said, grinning. Iruka turned left and jumped through a thicket of bushes into a nearby clearing. There, sitting by a small shrine at the back of the clearing, was Naruto.

Iruka walked up to Naruto, frowning. Naruto glanced up at Iruka, his face devoid of any emotion, then let out a laugh.

"Heh, I figured you'd find me, Iruka-sensei." Naruto said, grinning. Iruka fumed, while Yoro looked Naruto over.

Hmm, that's interesting. His body seems to be rather worn out, and I can detect that his chakra levels are rather low. Was he trying to learn a technique from the scroll, I wonder? Yoro shook his head, attempting to return to the situation at hand.

"Naruto, you baka," Yoro began, glaring at the blonde. "What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how worried I was? I figured I'd find you dead! In fact, you're gonna wish you were dead when I'm through with you!"

Naruto laughed. "Hey, that's no way to talk to your fellow shinobi, Yoro!"

"Naruto," Iruka began. "What are you talking about?"

Naruto frowned. "Well, I learned a new technique from this scroll. Mizuki-sensei told me that if I did, I'd become a shinobi."

Yoro and Iruka froze. All was silent. Mizuki's words echoed through Yoro's head.

No, I have other business to attend to. Something that is far more important.

Suddenly, a sharp blow fell upon Yoro's head, knocking him to the ground. Yoro saw Iruka and Naruto fall in a similar fashion, although he did not see what delivered the blow. Damn, he was probably planning this all along! Yoro thought angrily.

Yoro jumped to his feet, looking for the source of the blow. There was no one in sight, or so it seemed....

"Naruto, this is genjutsu!" Yoro shouted, running over to him. "Use your chakra to get out of here!"

Naruto, however, was not moving, lying face down on the ground.

"Naruto?" Yoro said hesitantly, rolling Naruto onto his back. He gasped.

Naruto's face wasn't there. Instead, there was a black void, filled only with a single, red eye, which had a slit for a pupil.

"I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the whelp isn't here right now." A deep voice echoed throughout the woods.

"You're not Naruto...." Yoro said, shaking. "Who the hell are you?"

"I am...." The voice began, but it trailed off as the area went hazy. Yoro blinked, and saw that he was back in the field. Naruto and Mizuki were no where in sight. Standing next to Yoro, however, was Iruka.

"Iruka-sensei, where's Naruto!?" Yoro asked, his eyes wide.

Iruka grabbed Yoro's shoulder firmly. "Yoro, you need to get out of here, it's way too dangerous for you."

"No way, not until I know Naruto is okay!" Yoro shouted, running for the trees.

"Yoro, wait!" Iruka shouted after him, but Yoro ignored him. All that mattered was saving Naruto.

Yoro went crashing through the trees until he came across another clearing.

"Damn! Why would Mizuki-sensei do this?" Yoro shouted.

"Well, that's a rthaer easy question," came the reply from Yoro. Yoro whirled around, and found himself face to face with Mizuki.

"Well now, Yoro, there's no need to look so scared. I have no desire to kill you." Mizuki said, smiling. "There's no way I'd let my hands become filthy with the blood of an academy brat like you, so why don't you put on that headband of yours and fight me as a true shinobi?"

Dammit, Yoro growled. There's no way I can beat him. I don't know any special techniques, and I have no idea what Mizuki is capable of! How can I beat him?

"Oh," Mizuki said, as though remembering something. "I almost forgot, thanks to Iruka, you missed my information about Naruto."

Yoro glared at Mizuki. "What the hell would you know about Naruto, you bastard?"

Mizuki took a step forward, a smile playing on his lips. "Oh, Yoro, for someone who was raised by the Hyuuga, it's obvious that you didn't pick up their perceptive abilities. Haven't you ever wondered why everyone in this village has loathed and detested Naruto? Have you never once been curious why he was left seperated from the rest of the village? It's because monsters aren't allowed to be shinobi. It's because Naruto has been a monster since the day he was born. After all, no one who is human has the Kyuubi sealed within their body, now do they?"

Yoro froze. Mizuki's smile widened. "Yes, that's right. The same Naruto you've been friends with for the past year, the same Naruto who aspires to become Hokage, the same Naruto who hopes gain the respect of the entire village, is also the vessel for the Nine-tailed fox. So, tell me, are you really so keen to come to his defense now? I know what you're probably thinking. You're probably wondering why he isn't dead yet? Well, you needn't worry about that much longer. I'm the one who's going to take care of that."

Yoro looked up at Mizuki, his eyes cold. "How about you do yourself a favor and shut the fuck up, you bastard."

Mizui froze. "What did you just say, you little brat!?"

"You heard me." Yoro sneered. "All these years, Naruto has been hated by the village. Why? Because he has the damn fox sealed away in his body. But you know who the real monster is? It's the people who see Naruto as such. They're too blinded by hate to see past the fact that Naruto is the container for the Kyuubi, and pay no attention to the kind of person Naruto is. I'm probably the only person aside from Iruka-sensei who seems him for who he really is. He's my friend."

Mizuki stared blankly at Yoro for a minute, then grinned. "Well, perhaps I'll let you live, after all. I think it'll be rather entertaining to see the village execute you for betraying them!"

Mizuki rushed at Yoro. Yoro raised his arms to dodge.

"Oi, Yoro, you don't have to do that." Came a voice from up in the trees. In the next instant, an orange blur came flying from the canopy and struck Mizuki in the fae, propelling him backwards.

"Hey, bastard," Naruto said, staring at Mizuki. "Let me clue you in on something. If you so much as touch my friend again, you're dead."

Mizuki pulled himself to his feet, grinning like a maniac. "Looks like you've decided to save me the trouble of hunting you down myself, demon."

Yoro walked towards Naruto, embarassed. "Um... Did you hear every word of what I just said?"

Naruto nodded, grinning. "Every single word of it."

Yoro walked backwards, blushing. "Alright, just wanted to know."

Naruto returned his attention to Mizuki, and placed his hands together. "Come at me, then. I'll return everything you can throw at me a thousand-fold."

"Bring it on, demon!" Mizuki shouted, running towards Naruto.

Naruto grinned. "Hey, Yoro, looks like you'll be the first to see my new technique."

Naruto's face became focused as he concentrated his chakra. "KAGE BUNSHIN NO JUTSU!"

Where once there stood one Naruto, the clearing was now full of hundreds of Naruto replicas.

Yoro glanced around in shock. So many clones... And this jutsu is even more advanced than the standard cloning jutsu, which had Naruto couldn't even perform properly. I mean, it's jounin level! And I thought there was a limit of twenty clones to this jutsu?

Naruto turned to Yoro and grinned. "So, you wanna go find Iruka-sensei while these guys clean up here."

Yoro, who was still in shock from the performance of the jutsu, merely nodded.

"Oh, you two needn't bother, I'm already here," came a voice, and Umino Iruka walked into the clearing.

"Well, Naruto, I must say I'm impressed," Iruka said, watchng as the clones all jumped upon Mizuki at once.

"Hey, I told you I was gonna become Hokage, right?" Naruto said, grinning, clearly ignoring Mizuki's screams of pain.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid that I'll have to cut this short." Iruka said, pulling out a kunai and throwing it at Mizuki. "Since Mizuki is a traitor to the Leaf village, I'm afraid that he can't be kept alive."

Yoro and Naruto nodded, watching as the kunai hit it's target.

"Now, on a much brighter subject," Iruka said, reaching for his forehead. "I think that, with the successful completion of a cloning jutsu, that you've managed to pull off a successful graduation exam, don't you agree, Yoro?"

Yoro grinned at Iruka, elbowing Naruto. "I told you he has a soft spot for you."

Naruto stared at Iruka, dumbfounded, as he removed his hitai-ate and placed it on Naruto's forehead. "Congratulations, Naruto. You are now a full-fledged shinobi of Konohagakure."

Naruto stood still for a minute, then let out a loud whoop. He ran forward, hugging Iruka. "Iruka-sensei, you're the best!"

Iruka smiled. "Well, I think you two have had a long night. Wait for me here, I have to go give a report to the Hokage and get ANBU to clean up here. After that, I'll go ahead and treat you two to some ramen."

Yoro covered his ears as Naruto shouted, "Iruka-sensei, you really are the best!"

~*~

"So, Mizuki failed after all." Kiseichuu stated, watching the scene from a distance. "Well, I did warn him, after all."

"Yeah, you did," Said another figure next to him, wearing a matching outfit. "But, personally, I'm glad he's dead. He was pretty damn annoying. Not sure I've ever known anyone else so annoying since Zetsu dragged Tobi back to HQ a couple years back."

"Well, he wasn't much of an asset anyway. Still, I would've been surprised if he had succeeded." Kiseichuu reached for his hat, grabbing it with hand that was completely blood-red, ending in pincers. "Well, we should get out of here, Datenshi, ANBU will probably be getting here soon."

"Shame, too." The one called Datenshi stated, turning to leave. "I was hoping for a little family renunion."

The two leaped away from the scene, and soon vanished into the shadows.

~*~

Yoro: Well, with one thing or another, you're a shinobi now, Naruto.

Naruto: You bet I am! I'd wish Iruka-sensei would get back here soon, I'm starving!

Y: Is ramen all you ever think about?

N: Hey, it's good!

Y: Well, let's just take a look at what's going on next chapter, shall we?

Kakashi stared at the genin before him. "Well, this is the biggest team of misfits I've ever seen. Let's see if we can't whip you into shape."

N: Hey, why was it so short?

Y: Because saying anything more would spoil too much from the next chapter.

N: I guess you're right.

Y: Anyway, we hope you read and review!

N: We'll be looking forward to reading you reviews, Dattebayo!

Y: And, maybe we'll take time in the enxt chapter to answer any questions you might have, too!