Twelve years ago, a nine tailed fox (or Kyuubi no Kitsune, depending on the dub) suddenly appeared.

Its tails lashed out, smashing mountains and sending tidal waves crashing to the shores.

The ninja rose up to defend their villages.

One shinobi faced the Kyuubi in mortal combat, he sacrificed his life to capture the beast and seal it in a human body.

This ninja was known as the 4th Hokage.

With the 4th gone, the 3rd Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was forced to retake the Hokage position and look after the boy in which the Kyuubi had been sealed.

That boy known as Naruto Uzumaki.

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7 years after the Kyuubi's attack, one of the founding clans of the Hidden Leaf, the Uchiha clan was wiped out almost entirely in a single night.

The one responsible was fellow clansmen, Itachi Uchiha.

The only survivor was Itachi's younger brother, Sasuke Uchiha.

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However, more than just Uchiha had been slain that night.

Kazuma Kamikaze, heir to the Kamikaze clan and Itachi's partner and lifelong best friend, had died at his hands as well.

This left Kazuma's younger brother Tatsu Kamikaze alone.

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3 boys, all orphaned and alone, all striving toward goals.

This is their story.

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(12 years after attack)

"Lord Hokage, it's an emergency!"

Sarutobi looked up and sighed "I hope you're not bothering me with some trivia. And don't tell me it's Naruto again."

"It's Naruto again! He climbed onto the great stone faces and put graffiti all over them!"

'Why am I not surprised? Alright, bring me Tatsu."

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Naruto had evaded the ninja pursuing him with relative ease "That was too easy."

"Was it now?"

Naruto yelped when he saw Tatsu (blue martial arts gi, brown eyes, brown hair and a set off glasses) standing behind him "Come on Tatsu, I thought you promised you wouldn't scare me like that anymore! What are you doing here?"

"I should be asking the two of you that." Iruka made himself known "You're both supposed to be in class."

"I was asked by the Hokage to come get him." Tatsu pointed out "The little runt on the sugar high here has no excuse."

Naruto responded to that by giving him the finger.

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"Come on, it was just a prank!" Naruto protested "And why am I tied up?"

"So you don't try and sneak out again." Iruka let out a heavy sigh "I'm at the end of my rope Naruto, you failed the graduation test last time and the time before that. Tomorrow, you've got another chance and you're messing up again. You're giving me the finger behind your back again aren't you?"

"...Maybe."

"Fine! Because you missed it Naruto, everyone will review the transformation jutsu!"

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"Alright, Sakura here. Let's do it." Sakura went first and transformed into Iruka himself.

Iruka nodded in approval "You transformed into me. Good."

"Yes, I did it! I did it! CHA! Sasuke, did you see that?"

"Yeah yeah." Sasuke waved her off.

"Next, Sasuke Uchiha." Iruka called.

"Right." Sasuke transformed into Iruka.

"Good. Next, Tatsu Kamikaze."

"On it." Tatsu transformed.

"...Who's that supposed to be?"

"Kakashi unmasked, what else?"

"That's not what Kakashi looks like unmasked!"

"How would you know? You've never seen him unmasked."

"...Just go. Next, Naruto Uzumaki."

"This is a waste of time Naruto, we always pay for your screw-ups." Kiba brumbled.

"Lay off him dog breath." Ino snapped "We need the extra practice."

"Like I care what you think dog breath." Naruto stepped up and transformed. Into a naked woman.

"Huh?" then Iruka got sent flying with a nose bleed.

"Gotcha! That's my patented Sexy Justu!"

"CUT THE STUPID TRICKS! THIS IS YOUR LAST WARNING!"

"Alright alright." Naruto went to the back of the line.

Tatsu raised an eyebrow "You had that jutsu patented?"

"It's good for catching guys off guard."

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After class, Tatsu met up with Ebisu at the hospital "Alright pervert, let's get the real training started."

Ebisu sighed and pushed his sunglasses "I wish you wouldn't call me that."

"I call them like I see them. You're pervert, Kakashi is scarecrow, Kurenai is feminist, Izumo and Kotetsu are the Eternal Chunin, Anko is sadist, Guy is… well, Guy, and Asuma is chain smoker. There only one I didn't give a nickname is the one man who I feel is worthy of being called sensei. Hayate Gekko. He's a great jonin and a good man."

"I agree. He's also a good friend of mine, which is why I agreed to train you for him. Now then, if you're still doubtful of my skills then let's get started. Tatsu, try and run away from me. I want you to try running as fast as you can. If you can get away from me, you pass and I'll give you 50% of my pay for the next month."

"Seriously?"

"Of course, an elite Jonin never goes back on his word."

"You're on. Later!" and he ran off.

'Oh this is going to be fun.'

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Tatsu quickly took to the streets and then to the rooftops "No way I lost him already, I guess he hasn't realized that he's dealing with awesomeness incarnate."

"Oh really, and who would that be?" a voice called out.

Tatsu looked and found Ebisu on top of a building behind him "Okay, not bad."

"If that's the best you can do, you might as well stop now and give up."

"Not so fast, you haven't seen anything yet! I'm just getting started!" he threw down a smoke bomb and disappeared.

"Well now, this is fun."

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Tatsu took a moment to catch his breath "Pervert or not, he's a jonin after all. I shouldn't have underestimated him." then he saw a Make-Out Series poster behind him "Light bulb."

By the time Ebisu showed up, he could find Tatsu anywhere 'So he's given up running and decided to hide, has he?' he looked and saw the poster and quickly composed himself 'Control yourself Ebisu, use your eyes. Just what do you think you're doing, Tatsu?"

"...Well it was worth a shot." he transformed back.

"It was a good idea actually, using your surroundings to your advantage."

"Alright then, let's multiply this little charade. Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he summoned up to 20 clones of himself "You can thank Kakashi for this one. Scatter!" and they all spread out.

"Not bad. However, you're not the only one who can perform the Shadow Clone Jutsu my friend." he then summoned 2 clones "You can't get away!" he and his clones split up and quickly subdued each of the clones within a span of 20 minutes, before the real Ebisu tracked the real Tatsu down at the bridge "Well, had enough?"

Tatsu managed to stop panting "Yeah, I think I'll call it quits."

"Sorry Tatsu, this game is over. Though I must say, you did well for the first time around. I can see how skilled you truly are. Another few weeks of training, and I'm sure you'll be ready for the next Chunin Exam."

"Hope so. Alright, gonna head to Ichiraku, later." and he disappeared.

"Another Shadow Clone? Kuroga-sensei, your son really does surpass all expectations. I just know he'll go far.'

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After having him clean the Hokage Monument, Iruka treated Naruto to ramen at Ichiraku, when he finally brought something up "Naruto, why would you do that to the Hokage faces? I mean you know who the Hokage are don't you?"

"Of course I do." Naruto stopped slurping down ramen "Everybody knows, they were the greatest shinobi of their time right? The best of the best, undefeated ninja champs, and the 4th Hokage is the one who saved the village from the Kyuubi. He was the most amazing."

"Then why did you-?"

"Because I'm going to be greater than any of them. Me, Naruto, the next Hokage, a ninja legend. Then everyone will have to stop disrespecting me and look up to me, believe it!"

"You know something Naruto, I don't doubt that for a second."

Naruto looked to his left and saw Tatsu sitting beside him "Tatsu!"

"I'm serious, I have faith in you. I know you'll make something great of yourself someday, as soon as you ditch the pranks, the Sexy Jutsu and that annoying catchphrase."

"Hey, my catchphrase is awesome! Believe it!"

"It makes people want to throttle you, just like the jumpsuit. If you want a good catchphrase, try something like these: tell me who to punch, come back when you're not a bitch, or you can just kick someone in the nuts."

"Kind of crude, isn't it?"

"Says the kid who transforms into naked women."

"...Shut up." then he turned back to Iruka "By the way, I kind of want to ask a little favor sensei."

"You want another bowl?" Iruka guessed.

"...Make that 2 favors."

"Then what's the first?"

"I want to try on your headband. Come on, please?"

"What, this? No way. You can only wear the leaf headband when you finally graduate from the academy and become a ninja. You've gotta pass the test tomorrow."

"That is so uncool!"

"Hey, is that why you took off your goggles?"

"...I want another bowl."

Iruka just laughed.

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"We will now start the final exam." Iruka announced "When your name is called, proceed to the testing room. The final test will be on the Clone Jutsu."

Naruto was internally freaking out 'That's my worst technique! I'm never gonna pass!' he soon found his name called and stepped up 'Alright, get it together Naruto. You can do this, believe it! Clone Jutsu!" he produced one crappy clone.

Iruka didn't look amused "YOU FAIL!"

"Iruka-sensei." Mizuki spoke up "He's off, but his moves weren't bad and he did hang in there and replicate. This is his third try, so you know he really wants to become a ninja. We could cut him a break and pass him."

"Mizuki-sensei, the other students created at least 3 effective replications, but Naruto could only create one and look at it. It's pitiful. I can't pass him."

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What's worse was that people were gossiping about him later.

"There, you see him?"

"It's that boy. I heard he's the only one who failed."

"Well it serves him right."

"Just imagine what would happen if he became a ninja. I mean, he's the boy who-"

"Hey." Tatsu suddenly appeared, clearly pissed "You know you're not supposed to talk about that. More importantly, it's not nice to gossip about people."

"Oh yeah, well what are you gonna do about it?"

"This." he formed a hand seal, and a gust of wind blew up their skirts as he walked away nonchalantly.

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Naruto was later sulking "Why?"

"He's tough, but he's not against you." a voice told him "He wants you to be strong, with all his heart, but that will never happen if he goes easy on you. He's like you you know, no parents, no family. Mizuki is the same."

Naruto looked to see a jonin with brown hair and glasses beside him "Aizen-sensei. But this time I really wanted to graduate."

"Well then, I suppose I'll have to tell you. It's a secret, but I'm going to let you in on it."

'A secret?'

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Mizuki was taking Iruka out for a drink, discussing the exam "I know how you feel Iruka, you grew up just like Naruto. You didn't know the love of your parents. I lost my mother to that sickness about 3 years ago, and chances are Hayate will die of the same thing soon."

Iruka sighed "I know, but-"

"Sorry to bother you two." Aizen suddenly appeared next to them "There's an emergency."

"What is it?"

"You both need to come to Lord Hokage's right away. It's Naruto. He stole the sacred scroll."

Mizuki froze "You mean the Scroll of Sealing?"

"Yes, let's go."

"Right!" Iruka followed him.

Mizuki hesitated, but followed a second later 'Aizen… that look in your eyes… it's too good, even in my opinion… what're you up to?'

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Naruto hid in the forest as he checked out the Scroll of Sealing "Let's see here, the first one is called Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu. Not this again, it's my worst jutsu!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

Naruto looked to see Tatsu in front of him "Oh hey Tatsu. Aizen-sensei told me about this secret test that will let me graduate. I've just gotta master the jutsu in this scroll."

"...Aizen told you?"

"Yeah, why?"

"...Never mind, let me see." he looked over it "Already know, not my chakra nature, not my chakra nature, not my chakra nature, saving for later, boring, lame, just downright asinine, ooh here's a good one. Leaf Dragon God."

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Several chunin and a couple jonin had gathered.

"Lord Hokage, this is not just a prank! This is a serious crime!"

"That scroll contains secrets that were sealed by the First Hokage, secrets known only to our village!"

"If it falls into the wrong hands, they could destroy our entire way of life."

"Alright, bring Naruto here at once." Sarutobi ordered.

"Sir!" and they scattered.

Mizuki and Iruka stayed behind for a moment "Lord Hokage-"

"I know, but please find him."

"Right." and they left.

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Aizen made his way through the streets, a calm smirk plastered onto his face 'Now that I've told everyone what Naruto had done, I can eliminate him with ease. They'll be glad he's gone, and I'll keep the scroll for myself.'

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Tatsu was panting heavily, covered in various cuts and bruises "How you making out over there?"

Naruto was panting just as much "I think I've got it." then he looked up "Oh, hey."

A pissed off Iruka stood before him, with Mizuki right behind him "It's all over."

"Got me already, not bad. You guys are quick, I only had time to learn one technique. Tatus was way faster though, he found me before I even started."

'They've been out here practicing. I can tell how hard they've been working.'

"Listen guys, I'm going to show you this amazing jutsu and you're gonna let me graduate and then everything will be okay! That's the way it works right, anyone who learns a jutsu from this scroll passes!"

"What? Where'd you get that idea?"

"Naruto." Mizuki spoke up, deadly serious "Was it Aizen-sensei?"

Naruto blinked "Yeah, believe it! He told me where to find the scroll, and this place…"

'Aizen?' Iruka wondered "Mizuki, do you know-"

"GET DOWN!" Mizuki suddenly pushed Iruka out of the way while Tatsu grabbed Naruto, and was suddenly hit by a barrage of kunai out of nowhere.

"I see you found our little hideaway."

"So that's the way, I knew there was something off about you Aizen."

Sure enough, Aizen stood atop a high branch "Naruto, give me the scroll now."

"Wait a minute, what's going on here?" Naruto stammered.

"Naruto, don't let Aizen get the scroll!" Mizuki forcefully pulled a kunai out of his leg "It contains forbidden jutsu that could put the village in grave danger. Aizen must've used you to get the scroll for himself, so he could use it for his own power."

Aizen retained his calm smirk "Naruto, Mizuki is just trying to scare you because he and Iruka don't want you to have the scroll."

"Stop lying Aizen." Iruka spat "Naruto, don't let him trick you."

"Oh, allow me to tell you who's really lying."

"No Aizen!"

"They've been lying to you your whole life Naruto, since the decree 12 years ago."

"What decree?" asked Naruto.

"Everyone knows except you. Even Tatsu knows. Iruka, Mizuki and even Tatsu have been trying to hide it from you even now. They'd do anything to try and silence me."

"What is this decree? Why does everyone else know about it?"

"Well-"

"Don't tell him, it's forbidden." Mizuki coughed up some blood.

"The decree is no one can tell you the Kyuubi is inside you."

Naruto froze 'What?'

"The fox spirit that killed Iruka's parents, Mizuki's father, Tatsu's parents, and destroyed our village has taken over your body. You are the Kyuubi."

"STOP IT!" Iruka screamed.

"They've all been sneaking around, hiding things from you your whole life. Didn't you think it was strange how they treated you? Like dirt, like they hated you for just being alive."

"No!" chakra began radiating from him "No no no no!"

"That's why you will never be accepted in this village. Even your beloved sensei's despise you, and so does Tatsu."

Iruka froze and thought about his conversation with Sarutobi.

"Die Naruto." Aizen summoned a massive shuriken and hurled it.

Naruto ducked his head and heard the shuriken make impact with something, then slowly looked and froze at the sight "Tatsu… why?"

"Because you're my friend." Tatsu sheathed his sword, looked back and grinned "You're like the little brother I never had and I'll be damned if I allow anyone I care about to die on my watch."

"B-Brother?"

"Like me…" Iruka spoke up "We're the same, Naruto. When I lost my parents, no one seemed to care. They didn't have time for me. They just forgot I was there. My grades dropped, I became the class clown. I just wanted them to see me and know my name. My schoolwork wasn't good enough to get their attention, so I did crazy things and then I had to pay for it. It was hard. I know that's how you feel Naruto." tears began streaming down his face "You feel lonely and it hurts inside, and I could've been there for you more like Tatsu or Mizuki were. I let you down, and I'm sorry. No one should have to suffer that much. No one should be alone like that."

Aizen smirked "Don't make me laugh. They always hated you. Tatsu and Iruka were orphaned because the Kyuubi killed their parents, and that beast is now inside you. They'd say anything to get the scroll from you-"

"You never know when to shut up do you?" Tatsu threw a kunai with a paper bomb into the tree next to him, detonating it.

Aizen suddenly appeared on the ground in front of him "A worthy sneak attack, but you only damaged my shadow clone-" he was cut off by a vicious fist to the face.

"If you ever go near my friend or sensei's, I'll kill you." Naruto snarled, his eyes glowing crimson with rage "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he suddenly summoned hundreds of clones.

"Interesting, it's impressive that you could master such a jutsu in a mere few hours."

"Get ready to pay bastard!" all 1,000 of him charged in.

Despite taking a lot of hits, Aizen eventually destroyed about 700 clones "Impressive, but not good enough."

"Then how about this!" Tatsu suddenly blitzed forward and spun, creating a tornado around his body "Leaf Dragon God!" he initiated the technique.

"What- How-?" Aizen found himself engulfed in the attack.

The mouth of the tornado dragon swallowed him, landing deep uncontrollable cuts all across his body as Tatsu increased the speed of the rotating, hurting himself in the process "Naruto, finish it!"

"Right!" Naruto created a few more Shadow Clones and launched himself into the air, then landed a kick to Aizen's torso, slamming him to the ground and leaving him a bloody mess left in a crater.

"Nice work Naruto."

"Tatsu…" his voice was quiet "Am I really the Kyuubi?"

"No, you're not. Sure a beast would go on a rampage and kill innocent people without a care, but you're nothing like that. You're one of a kind, work hard, put your whole heart into everything you do. Sure you mess up sometimes and everyone jumps on you, but your suffering only makes you stronger. That's what separates you from being a demon. Aizen's wrong, you're nothing like the Kyuubi. You're Naruto Uzumaki of the Hidden Leaf."

Naruto suddenly teared up and hugged him.

"And I know for a fact that Mizuki and Iruka both agree with that 100%."

"Yeah…" then he looked at Mizuki "Hey Mizuki-sensei, you alright?"

Mizuki coughed up blood "I'll be fine, just a little rest."

Iruka slung Mizuki's arm over his shoulder "I've got you." then he looked at Naruto 'He really is amazing, he wants to surpass all the Hokage and I'm starting to believe he might do it. Naruto, come over here for a minute. I've got something I wanna give you."

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Having watched the whole situation through his crystal ball, Sarutobi gave a small smile and quickly called off the search "There's no longer any need to worry, the scroll's safe and Naruto will be back soon."

The ninja were confused.

They had no idea that Naruto had saved the village from potential disaster.

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"Sensei, how much longer?" asked Naruto.

"Okay, you can open your eyes now." Iruka told him.

Naruto opened his eyes and noticed Iruka's headband on his (Naruto's) head "Wha-?"

"Congratulations, you graduate. And to celebrate I have a surprise, we're going out for ramen tonight."

Naruto suddenly teared up and tackled him "Iruka-sensei!"

"Hey, that hurts!"

Tatsu watched the little scene as he supported Mizuki's injured form 'Naruto, this is only the beginning. The road's gonna get a hell of a lot tougher now that you're a ninja. But if I told you that then I would just ruin the moment. I'll tell you later, over ramen.'

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Later at Ichiraku, Tatsu explained to Hayate the situation "And that's what happened."

Hayate was taken by surprise "Wow, all that happened while I was gone?"

"And now Aizen's locked up for treason and Mizuki's recovering in the hospital. Poor guy, he's gonna miss Genin team assignments."

"And what interesting assignments they should be." Ebisu came in and sat down beside them.

"So you get a good view of Naruto's personality?"

"Let's just say I have a new view of him."

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The day came, and the genin assembled at the academy.

Kiba shot Naruto a look of disdain "What're you doing here loser? This isn't for dropouts, you can't be here unless you graduate."

"That doesn't explain why you're here." Tatsu pointed to Naruto's headband "In case you haven't noticed fleas for brains he's got the headband, that means he graduated like the rest of you. I can vouch, I was there."

Kiba let out an arrogant scoff "Yeah right, they must let anybody graduate."

"That's the only explanation I can think of for why you're here, even Akamaru is smarter than you are."

This was interrupted when Ino and Sakura burst in at the same time "I'm first."

"Ino was first." Tatsu called without looking from his book "Hey Ino."

"Hey Tatsu." Ino waved with a bright smile.

Then Tatsu turned to Sasuke and gave a stoic nod "Sasuke."

"Tatsu." Sasuke returned the gesture.

"Sasuke!" Sakura shoved Naruto out of the way and made her way to Sasuke "Good morning Sasuke, mind if I sit next to you?"

"Tatsu's already sitting there."

"Oh who cares about him?"

"Anyone who cares about being a ninja. You should follow his example." then he looked and saw Naruto right in his face "If you're gonna do that, wait until it's cool, or at least ditch the jacket."

Naruto did. And threw it over Sasuke's face "Happy?"

"Very funny, you think this monstrosity will hurt me."

"Don't dis the orange!"

This was interrupted when Iruka came in "As of today, you are all ninjas. To get to this point, you've all faced difficult trials and hardships. But that means little, what comes next will be far more difficult. Now you're only genin, first level shinobi. All genin will be grouped into 3-man squads."

"Iruka-sensei." Ino raised her hand "Where's Mizuki-sensei?"

"Mizuki-sensei was injured while capturing and arresting a traitor alongside Naruto, Tatsu and myself. Now as I was saying, each squad will be led by a jonin, an elite ninja. Teams 1-6 (Blah blah bla nobody cares). Team 7. Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha. Next, team 8. Hinata Hyuga, Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame. Team 9 (Nobody cares). Now, team 10. Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Choji Akimichi."

"Iruka-sensei." Ino raised her hand "How come Tatsu isn't on a team?"

"Well Ino, considering Tatsu's role in stopping Aizen after he turned traitor, we examined his skills and the tests revealed that his skill is far beyond that of the average genin, so therefore he is an elite genin and is going to be a one-man team."

"WHAT?!" Sakura screeched "Why don't you give Sasuke that title, he deserves it more than-"

"Sakura, shut up!" Sasuke did everyone a favor and got her to stop talking "I know for a fact that Tatsu has earned that title more than anyone through years of effort, if you've got a problem with it then take it up with someone who cares about your opinion."

Iruka breathed a sigh of relief "Thank you Sasuke. Now as I was saying, before I was so rudely interrupted." he shot a glare at Sakura "After lunch you'll meet your new jonin sensei's, class is dismissed until then."

Everyone left, Sasuke faster than anyone could see.

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Ino was trying to take charge with Choji and Shikamaru "Listen up guys, if we're doing this we're doing it right, got it?"

"Yeah yeah." Shikamaru waved her off 'She becomes a real pain in the neck when people try to argue with her. I guess we have to thank Tatsu for that."

"Thank me for what?"

Shikamaru looked and saw Tatsu standing beside him "You know what."

"I do."

Then Shikamaru saw Naruto trying to sneak up on Sasuke "What the hell's he doing?"

Tatsu raised an eyebrow upon seeing Naruto pounce "Well if I know Naruto, this'll probably end with Sasuke on the ground and Naruto on the toilet."

"...That's weird even for you."

"The usual bet?"

"50 ryo."

"Deal. Anyway, I'm gonna head over to the hospital and check up on Mizuki. You guys wanna come."

"I'll go." Ino offered "I'll meet you guys here later."

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Later, Sasuke met up with Sakura outside the academy "Hey Sakura, I've got something I wanna ask you. About Naruto, what do you think of him?"

Sakura scowled suddenly "He's really at home interfering and enjoys it when I make mistakes. Naruto doesn't understand one thing about me. He's just annoying, and Tatsu is just as bad if not worse. All I want… is for you to accept me, Sasuke."

"For me to accept you?"

"I'll do anything for the sake of that." she puckered up for a kiss.

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Tatsu suddenly sneezed "Oh boy."

"Something wrong?" asked Mizuki.

"My Naruto senses are going off the scale, he's about to do something really stupid. Oh well, that's what Shadow Clones are for."

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The real Sasuke found himself tied up 'I got careless, he tricked me with a Substitution and Shadow Clones. I guess I've gotta give him more credit."

"I guess you do." Tatsu's Shadow Clone knelt down beside him "I'm halfway there."

"What?"

"Just a bet?"

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Sakura still had her lips puckered "I'm desperate… so…"

Sasuke, actually Naruto in disguise, found himself with stomach problems 'Diarrhea at a time like this?!' he suddenly ran off "I-I'll be right back!"

Sakura was still blushing "Sasuke's so shy."

"Somehow, I don't think that's it."

Sakura scowled when she saw Tatsu appeared "Oh great, you. What do you want?"

"Just checking something now, and now Shikamaru owes me 50 ryo. Later." and he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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One of Tatsu's clones stopped by Naruto's apartment to check something out 'The milk is way past the expiration date, no wonder the poor kid got diarrhea.'

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Sakura was waiting when she saw the real Sasuke show up "Oh Sasuke, you're such a shy bad boy. Are you prepared? I'm raring to go!"

Sasuke just rolled his eyes, having been informed of the situation by Tatsu 'How I'm not deaf yet I'll never know. Where's Naruto?"

"Oh there you go changing the subject again. Anyway, Naruto just picks fights with you, and Tatsu is just as bad."

"Tatsu and I don't pick fights, we train, and Naruto is the same in that regard."

"Oh please. You know why those two are so annoying, because they weren't raised right. They don't have a mother or father, no one to teach them right from wrong. Think about it, they just do whatever comes into their heads."

Sasuke stopped in his tracks and slowly turned to her, a cold glare in his eyes.

"If I did things like Naruto or Tatsu, forget it! I mean, my parents would get mad and I'd get in trouble so of course I don't do it. But if you don't have parents to tell you, how would you know? They're both selfish and bratty, they're all alone."

"Enough." Sasuke "Alone, you say? It's not about your parents scolding you."

"Wh-Why are you saying that?"

"Because I can relate to them. Like Tatsu and Naruto, I don't have parents anymore either, in case you hadn't noticed. That, and you're annoying."

Sakura let out a small gasp.

"The shinobi world is a cold and cruel place, someone like you will never survive as you are now. Frankly, that'd be doing the world a favor." and with that, he walked away.

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Tatsu nearly froze at what Sasuke told him "You better not be messing with me."

"I don't mess with people." Sasuke pointed out dryly "Least of all you. Frankly speaking, you're the closest thing I have to a real friend. You were there for me after…"

"Yeah, and you were there for me when my brother died. We stick out for each other. Still, even for Sakura that's going too far. Then again, hopefully Naruto will stop following her like a lovesick puppy. Where is Naruto anyway?"

"He tried attacking me with Shadow Clones but they all got diarrhea. I'm pretty sure he's still in there."

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The real Tatsu received the memories of the Shadow Clones and breathed a sigh "For crying out loud Naruto."

"What'd he do?" asked Ino.

"He transformed into Sasuke to get close to Sakura and got diarrhea from some expired milk. Then Sasuke told off Sakura for insulting Naruto for being an orphan."

Ino looked down, sadness in her eyes "I see."

"You're wishing you hadn't given her up as a friend?" Tatsu gently put a comforting arm around her shoulder "From what I know Sasuke was actually getting through to her, so maybe there's hope."

"Yeah, hope…" Mizuki looked out the window with a downcast expression.

"Something wrong Mizuki?"

"Well, I've been thinking about Aizen. The truth is, I've had my suspicions about him for a long time now. I just feel like maybe I could've stopped him."

"Aizen was already too far gone, there was nothing you could've done. Maybe there's hope for him to reform in prison."

"I hope so. He was one of my first friends, along with your brother and Iruka."

"And while we're on that subject, thanks for being there for me when I was in a dark place."

"Sure thing." Mizuki gave a small smile.

"Well in the meantime, I'd better get going myself, since I don't have a jonin sensei like the rest of the graduates do I'm gonna have to deal with a few others testing me to see if I'm really ninja material."

"So who are you gonna be fighting?" asked Ino.

"I've got a few ideas, nothing set in stone but I've spent at least four years training with the strongest jonin in the village so how bad could it be?" and then he took his leave as he disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Famous last words."

"He might be a little bit on the cocky side and not much for formalities, but he's shown a lot of promise and growth." Mizuki noted with a small smile "He's gonna go far."

"He's definitely ambitious, but it's pretty admirable."

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The scene of the third training ground was quiet and calm.

Tatsu stood leaning against the metal fence with his nose buried in a certain novel, but he glanced up once he sensed them arrive "I was wondering how long I was gonna wait for you guys, but at least you're not following Kakashi's example."

"He's one of a kind in that regard, and for good reason." one of the figures pointed out to him, this one being a young woman with brown hair in a ponytail, black eyes and fair skin, as well as wearing a chunin vest "It seems like time flies, I still remember you being this spunky little kid and now you're a full fledged genin."

"Not yet, you know that."

"It's why I'm here, coming out of retirement to see what you can do."

"Not the time for snark right now Ayame."

"On that we can agree." the other figure, this one being Hayate, glanced around at the training grounds with a small fond smile "You know looking back, this place brings back a lot of memories for me. It seems like just yesterday I was training your brother Kazuma and Ayame here for their first go at the Chunin exams."

"Yeah, Kazuma was a prodigy of prodigies. I still like to think about the times he took me training out here in secret." Tatsu glanced up at the wind blowing through the trees, and he quickly shook his head "No use living in the past now is there? Let's just get this started, you said you were gonna test me didn't you?"

'I guess I shouldn't be surprised, he's still sensitive about the subject of Kazuma. You're right, let's get this started. Time for you to show us just how far you've come Tatsu, after all you haven't given up on your ambition have you?"

"Not a chance in hell, why else would I put myself through four years of training from hell with you and the others for?" Tatsu pulled his sword out of its sheath "I've come too far to give up now."

"You've still got the same fire in your eyes, now let's do this. No bells or anything, and that makes it different from Lord Third's bell test. In order to pass our test, you have to perform to our satisfaction but be sure not to forget the most important rule."

"I've gotta come at you with intent to kill or I don't stand a chance, I know."

"Exactly, so show no mercy to either of us."

"A ninja has to know when to lock away their emotions to get the job done."

"Seems like your head is in the right place. Now then, shall we start your test?"

"How about less talking and more fighting."

"Sounds good to me, I have a feeling we'll have to keep on our toes. This isn't just some simple training anymore, this time around we're going to get serious." Ayame warned him.

"That's exactly what I'm counting on." Tatsu started the battle by firing off a quick volley of shuriken.

Ayame ducked and fired off a volley of her own shuriken.

Tatsu dodged them by leaping into the air, only to be confronted by another volley of shuriken while in mid air 'Dammit! Wind Style: Skybound Wind!" he blitzed through several hand seals and fired off a sharp blast of wind, cutting through the shuriken and forcing Ayame to leap out of the way.

'So that's his game, he was trapped in mid air so he used Kazuma's Wind Style jutsu to counter them rather than risk moving himself out of the way and risking falling for a trap.'

"Now for a follow up!" Tatsu attempted to slash his sword at Ayame.

That was when Hayate suddenly appeared next to him and grabbed him by the arm, and he gave a small smirk "I think that's enough of that. He's grown up so much and he still is right before me very eyes, and not only that either.' he glanced back to see a Shadow Clone holding a sword aimed at his back, as well as another one with a sword pointed at Ayame 'His strategic skills and timing with his jutsu are spot on. You've done some maturing haven't you, but you're a little bit on the brash side so you still have a ways to go. You attacked Ayame before either of us had the chance to say start."

"I'm not pulling a Naruto on you, if you wanted me to wait then you should've said so. It's not like me enemies will wait for me."

"This is also true, but let's do this the right way. Ready? Start." and so he and Ayame suddenly disappeared in puffs of smoke.

'So that's how he wants to play it then does he? Do I look like Naruto to you guys? I'm not some hotheaded jackass who lets my emotions cloud my judgement." Tatsu looked around, his mind racing 'Nothing on the right, the left or above me. That leaves two options left, but there's two of them and they're both too smart to try it from the same place, which means that one of them is below but the other is probably gonna try a sneak attack from behind. Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" he summoned two purple balls of electricity, one in each hand, and the ground with one while he thrusted the other one behind him.

Hayate suddenly materialized into view as he leapt out of the way of the lightning attack, losing his grip on his sword in the process "I didn't expect you to catch onto that so fast."
"That's just part of the package, and I'm sure Ayame is gonna agree with that."

Sure enough, Ayame emerged from underground and let out a weak cough "Okay, didn't expect you to go full on with a lightning attack."

"Hey you were on the same team as my brother and Itachi, for you to be paired with a couple of powerhouses like those two and not be a beast would raise some serious concerns."

"And Kamikaze logic strikes again."

"There's nothing finer is there?"

"No there isn't. But anyway, you've had your chance to show off a little bit, so now it's my turn." and she disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"And then there was one." Tatsu glanced over at Hayate "So are you gonna get involved in this one?"

Hayate raised an eyebrow "You really expect your enemy to let you know if they're going to double team you?"

"Expect a sneak attack it is." and so Tatsu disappeared in a puff of smoke.

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Soon enough, Tatsu was making his way through the dense forest area, and with his sensory abilities he quickly detected Ayame hiding nearby 'There she is. One of the first skills for a shinobi to learn is to conceal their presence and remain hidden, at least if you're not luring your enemy into a trap.' he glanced over and sensed out Hayate hiding a short distance away behind him as well 'This is completely different from the way he's been training me, if I screw up even once they won't hesitate to take me down. Failure means instant death in the world of the ninja after all. The question is, which one of them will attack me first?'

"Secret Sword: Tsukikage!" Hayate was the first one to attack him as he charged forward with a few afterimages and his sword in his hand.

Tatsu countered the sword with his own, as well as swiftly dodging a quick barrage of kunai fired off by Ayame "So we're going hand to hand and weapons first then?"

"You're referring to the first basic shinobi battle skill, taijutsu."

"Kenjutsu and weapons are more of a sub skill to that."

"You remember that far back, good." Hayate charged at him with his sword in hand.

Tatsu dodged, blocked and countered every stroke using his own sword, before dealing Hayate a swift kick to the torso and retreating back to gain some distance.

"You left yourself wide open!" Ayame charged at him with a kunai in hand, and she started slashing at him.

'She's as fast as ever, one shot and I'm done for. But at the same time, it won't do her any good if she can't hit me!' Tatsu leapt out of the way of her attacks, leaving a tree to get cut down instead of him.

"Leaf Style: Crescent Moon Dance!" Hayate summoned two Shadow Clones and they all charged at Tatsu as they drew their swords.

Tatsu slashed through one of them with his sword and dissipated the other clone with a swift kick to the side of the head, though he was unable to stop the assault of the original with his sword, receiving a gash across his shoulder in the process but he took the chance to slug him in the torso with one free hand, sending him stumbling backwards a few feet while Tatsu himself retreated to gain some distance, quickly wiping the blood from his wound 'He's not pulling any punches this time, which makes it more exciting for me.'

"Did you forget about me?" Ayame charged down at him from above with a kick aimed at his head.

Tatsu forced himself to roll out of the way, panting slightly from the exertion of energy he was feeling now, and breathed a sigh at the sight of another tree being toppled over 'I remember when they actually used to pull their punches for me, and that was when they were training me one on one. Now I'm facing both of them at once when they're fighting seriously.'

"Leaf Style: Hyper Crescent Moon Dance!" Hayate summoned a total of 10 Shadow Clones, and all of them drew their swords and charged.

'Looks like he's finally getting really serious, he almost never bother to go over two Shadow Clones in one fight.' Tatsu found himself forced to fight off the advances of several clones at the same time, slashing at them and managing to take down a few of them but still receiving a few nasty gashes in the process.

"Flower Bomber Barrage!" Ayame formed a hand seal and activated some of the various paper bombs she had spread throughout the area, detonating them in a deafening explosion.

Tatsu managed to escape from it, but he received a few minor burns across his right side as well as a few gashes 'This is starting to get interesting, finally they're really trying against me for once…'

'He's doing a lot better than I thought he would, but that's just proof of how far he's come since back then.'

'But that raises the question, what should I do next?'

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What no one else knew was that a certain figure was watching them from afar, clad in a mask and a forest green kimono with a black katana strapped to his side, and underneath his mask he smiled slightly 'You've gotten quite strong haven't you Tatsu? I just wish I could be there for you during this time.'

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Tatsu slowly made his way through the woods, his mind racing 'I could sense Hayate-sensei's chakra coming from this way the last I felt it, which means that he's probably trying to lure me into a trap. I can't forget that I'm dealing with two jonin level ninja, and while I know them they also know me, so they know what can and will get to me.'

That was when a figure suddenly materialized in front of him, having short brown hair, emerald green eyes and a pair of glasses, clad in an ANBU uniform and bleeding heavily with several weapons sticking out of his back "Tatsu… over here…"

"Kazuma… big brother… You look hurt…"

"Orochimaru… he found me… and he experimented on me… I managed to escape… I need you to help me… please…"

"Don't worry brother, I know exactly what I have to do." Tatsu promptly whipped out a kunai and threw it at Kazuma, only for it to pass through him "It's too bad he's not real, I'd give up just about anything to be able to see my brother again. Alright you guys enough screwing around with illusions, I can sense you guys hiding close by. Fire Style: Crimson Dragon!" he blitzed through several hand seals and breathed out a large red fire dragon, torching several of the trees in front of him, as well as the ones Ayame and Hayate were using to hide and forcing them to reveal themselves "Well you guys, is there something else you wanted to talk about? I could taunt you about this but how about you just come out and say it already."

Ayame breathed a sigh "The second basic shinobi skill, genjutsu."

"Illusions, which I personally suck at. But then again, I have no intention of falling for the same illusion seven times."

"I guess originality is gonna have to be a key to beating you."

"You're damn right, if you wanna beat me then you'll have to come up with something entirely new. I'm not that stupid or naive anymore."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that." Ayame pointed to the Shadow Clone holding a kunai pointed directly towards Tatsu's back, only to glance back and see Tatsu's own Shadow Clone aiming his sword at her back, as well as another one doing the same to Hayate "Huh."

"You were saying?"

"Clearly nothing that actually registered, but I do give you points for creativity. But with that being said…" and then she and Hayate both suddenly disappeared.

'Trying to attack from the shadows huh? Classic ninja stuff.' Tatsu quickly dodged a barrage of kunai from within the shadows and fired off some kunai of his own "I know you're there sensei, attacking from my blind spot is too obvious a move to actually work on me."

"Perhaps, but this isn't." using his Transparency jutsu, Hayate dealt Tatsu a sharp kick to the side while he was preoccupied with the kunai, sending him stumbling backwards a short distance, only for him to suddenly disappear in a puff of smoke "So you duped me with a Shadow Clone then did you?"

"Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" the real Tatsu dove down from above with a blast of purple lightning in his hand.

'So he's aiming for an attack from above, if that even touches me then I might as well be done for!' thinking quick, Hayate leapt out of the way of the attack, leaving it to create a small but somewhat deep crater.

'So what's gonna be next then?'

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Ayame and Hayate made a quick rendezvous by the river near the training ground "Looks we'll have to step things up a little bit, just hang back and let me take this one alright?"

Tatsu appeared in front of them, sporting some significant battle damage but still raring and ready to fight "Looks like it's about time for us to go over the third and final basic shinobi battle skill, that of ninjutsu."

"You know this well, but let's see if you can back up the talk." Ayame quickly blitzed through several hand seals "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!" she breathed out a powerful fire dragon that shot forward.

Thinking quick, Tatsu leapt out of the way of the fire dragon just in time, though his foot was burnt in the process, sending him skidding across the grounds, only for his foot to be caught by a hand sticking up from underground "Crap."

"Earth Style: Headhunter Jutsu!" said hand pulled Tatsu almost completely underground with the exception of his head, and it then revealed itself to be Hayate as he rose up from the ground, only to be met with a puff of smoke "Another Shadow Clone fake out huh?"

"Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" the real Tatsu suddenly burst out from within the trees and unleashed another blast of lightning.

Hayate quickly leapt out of the way of the attack, resulting in the formation of a large crater that the river quickly flowed into and filled almost halfway.

Tatsu pulled himself back to his feet and spat out some blood "Okay… what's next?"

"Now it's my turn." Ayame quickly blitzed through some hand seals "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" she unleashed a large water dragon that quickly shot towards him.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu!" with his chakra now beginning to run low, Tatsu formed another Shadow Clone and used it to hurl himself at the water dragon "Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" he formed several hand seals and hit the water dragon dead on with a blast of lightning, both attacks cancelling each other out "Shadow Clone Jutsu!" he hurtled downwards towards Hayate and Ayame and promptly summoned 10 more Shadow Clones.

"So that's your game." Ayame and Hayate quickly dealt with 2 of the clones each, only to be caught and pulled into the water, but Ayame was able to rebound and readied herself for the next attack that was sure to come "Water Style: Ripping Torrent!" she summoned a water spiral in her hand and fired it forward "Bring it!"

"Right! Lightning Style: Purple Thunder!" using the last of his chakra, Tatsu summoned one final Purple Thunder blast and slammed it into Ayame's water jutsu, the two of them colliding with extreme force.

'You've really grown haven't you Tatsu? He'd be proud of you if he could see you now, I just know it.' and on that note, the collision subsided, and both of them were blown backwards as a result.

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A little while passed, and things had calmed down.

Tatsu quickly shook off the exhaustion he was feeling as he was pulled by Hayaye and Ayame back to dry land "Well to be honest, that was a lot more hellish than I was actually expecting it to be."

Hayate and Ayame shared a look and gave Tatsu a smile "No need to look so put out about all of that, you did far better than either of us had anticipated."

"Well that helps, but not with any of the burns or bleeding."

"Such things are trivial in one's path as a shinobi." that was when the Third Hokage revealed himself, along with Kakashi and Asuma "You certainly demonstrated a great deal of tactical skill, as well as in various skill sets that are vital for a shinobi to thrive effectively. Now then tell me Hayate, Ayame, is there anything else you would like to add?"

Hayate shook his head "Other than his resilience and spirit, not much."

"I see, then I suppose I have all that I need. Tatsu Kamikaze."

"Too tired to salute." Tatsu gave a tired wave.

"In response to your performance, and the fact that they clearly intend to pass you, I grant you the title of Elite Genin of the Hidden Leaf."

"Yay…" and then he promptly fell to one knee, but despite his exhaustion he couldn't shake his smile 'Looks like I did it, I'm finally a shinobi for real. I just wish you could've been here to see it happen, but I'll get stronger than anything they've ever seen. For your sake and for the sake of all of them. Just watch over me, brother…'

A/N:

This is the first chapter of this story I've been revising, mainly ironing out some details and expanding on a few things I sort of slacked off with, the first of which being this time I'm showing Tatsu's graduation test against the likes of Ayame and Hayate. Plus I get to showcase the fact that Ayame has shinobi training in this fic, something I'll be going into later on.

I know Mizuki was the reason Naruto found out about the Kyuubi, but him being an evil douche has been done so many times it's become stale and overdone. I couldn't think of anyone else to take his place, so I just made up an OC who's betrayal was as obvious as possible, hence why I named him Aizen. That, and I wanted to try something new that I haven't seen before: making Mizuki a good guy.

The Leaf Dragon God appeared in Shippuden episode 312. I think it has a lot of potential and wasn't used anywhere near to its fullest.

Tatsu (his name means Dragon) will be a one man team with no sensei, inspired by the Fanfiction Naruto: One Man Team. He will be paired with Ino, Lee will be awesome and not a youth-screaming douchebag that's still respectable.

Sakura will be bashed for a large part of Part I, as stated in the summary, but I do have plans for her later on, meant to fill a certain void.

Sasuke will not be a revenge-obsessed psychopath, he will not get the Curse Mark, and he will not leave the village in search of power like he did in canon/

Hayate will die in this fic, but much later, as in surviving into Part II. That's all I'm telling for now.