Ch-1: Sensei

The twelve-year-old boy glared at himself in his bedroom mirror. He wore a simple, white, long-sleeved shirt with red lines going down the sleeves along his arms, blue shorts, and a kunai holster on his right leg. His bright-red hair was a tangled mess, and his brown eyes glinted with wild determination. He tied his Leaf Village headband around his forehead. He smiled at himself. He looked good with that headband on.

He had graduated from the Academy the day before, and he was to be assigned to a three-man squad and get a jonin sensei. Needless to say, he was pumped.

"Show time," he said to himself. His name was Tai Yamada. And he was determined to become Hokage and find his missing father.

-o-

Arashi Jigoku was just waking up. He quickly got dressed in his usual black t-shirt, which had a flame-like symbol sewn into the right shoulder, and pulled on a pair of dark red pants. He combed out his jet black hair, which was nicely complimented by his steely, gray eyes. As he left the house, he looked to his older brother's room. Arashi was determined to become a shinobi, if only in the sheer hope that, in his travels, he would find a cure for his brother's condition.

"Brother," Arashi said, as if he were actually talking to his only living family. "I will become a great ninja. For both of us." He left the house, tying his headband onto his forehead.

-o-

Finally. The day has come. She would finally be an official ninja of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. She would've been even more excited if yesterday had gone better. Once again, her father, the head of the clan, simply berated her for not doing as well as her older brother.

But that didn't matter. Today, all that was going to change. Soon enough, she would have her father's respect and admiration. Today, Asa Mizuhana will become a powerful kunoichi. Just like her idol, Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage.

She put on her favorite yellow t-shirt and black pants that went surprisingly well with her silver hair and golden eyes. She strapped on her ninja gear and tied her headband around her neck. She looked in her mirror and put on a serious face. Then she left for the Academy.

Deep down, however, she was afraid.

-o-

"All right, everyone, settle down," a twenty-five-year-old Shikamaru said as his students just kept getting louder and louder. It was a total drag, but it was his job. And secretly, he loved it.

All the students were chattering away, obviously excited about today's meaning for them. Shikamaru understood how they felt, but it was getting annoying. He sighed and quickly made some hand signs. His shadow suddenly lengthened out and split apart, catching all of the students and holding them in place.

"All right," Shikamaru said somewhat innocently. "Now that I have your attention, I would like to get this over with so I can go home." He held up clipboard and began reading through it. He smirked and chuckled to himself. Three of these students were about to be put through hell. "All right, Team One..."

Shikamaru went through the list in that lazy way of his. Tai simply glared at him. He hated it when Shikamaru-sensei used that Shadow Possession Jutsu on him. He loathed being constrained and spent a lot of his time in the Academy being held down by that damn jutsu. He sighed in frustration. He had no choice but to sit and wait until...

"Team Nine will be..." Shikamaru said lazily. "Tai Yamada..."

Tai would've perked up at the mention of name. It's about time, he thought.

"Asa Mizuhana..."

Asa blushed when she realized she would be on the same team as Tai. It was like a dream come true for her. Who am I kidding? she thought sadly. There's no way a guy like him would ever go for a girl like me.

"And..." Shikamaru paused for suspense. Both Tai and Asa leaned in curiously. "Arashi Jigoku."

Tai's face fell. He and Arashi never got along. Tai believed that the direct approach would always win over Arashi's method of stealth. The two of them glared over at each other. The whole room fell silent. Everyone knew of Tai and Arashi's rivalry. Some had even taken bets on which one would win in a fight. Shikamaru sighed and simply read off the last team.

"Tai, Asa, Arashi," Shikamaru said flatly. "The jonin assigned to your team will meet you at the Hokage Tower. You three should get going. He doesn't like people being late."

"Yes, sensei," the three of them said in unison. Tai and Arashi glared at each other. Asa was busy trying to figure out a way to get to the tower with a minimal level of bloodshed between her teammates.

-o-

They sat on the roof of the Hokage Tower, waiting for their new sensei. Asa looked between her two teammates, who were sitting on opposite sides of her with their backs turnedto each other. She sighed, and tried to come up with something to break the uncomfortable silence.

"What do you think our new sensei is going to be like?" she said finally.

"Hopefully, he won't be a stuck-up jackass like Arashi," Tai muttered.

"And hopefully, he will not be an idiotic fool like Tai," Arashi countered.

"What was that, flamer?"

"Just what I said, fool."

"Guys!" Asa said desperately. "Please, both of you, stop arguing! What if our sensei finds us fighting like this? Don't you want to make a good impression?"

"To hell with good impressions!" Tai shouted. He turned towards Arashi. "This guy's gonna get us flattened!"

"And your barbaric method of attacking head-on would certainly get us killed," Arashi replied calmly, though there was some level of venom in his words. "Our sensei would be wise to have you removed immediately."

"And why exactly would I do that?" said a fourth voice. The three genin looked to the source of the voice. Standing on top of one of the six spires atop the Hokage Tower was a tall, blonde and spiky-haired man wearing a white coat that had an orange flame design along the bottom of it. He leaped off the spire and landed right in front of them, smiling. His sharp, blue eyes were wild and filled with pride. On each cheek, he had three, whisker-like marks, almost like tattoos, or birthmarks. His outfit beneath his coat was a mostly black jumpsuit that was made up of a jacket that had a bright orange line running down along the zipper and black pants. His Leaf headband glinted in the sunlight.

"Tell me, exactly why I should get rid of guy just because he's got spunk?" the man asked.

"He is a fool who only graduated through sheer luck," Arashi replied simply, as if it should be plainly obvious.

"Hey!" Tai yelled out indignantly. "If anybody should be kicked of this team, it's you!"

The man simply chuckled, thinking, Just like old times. "Both of you, shut the hell up. I would like to get started already, if you don't mind."

"What do you mean?" Asa asked.

"Well," the man said. "We're going to get to know each other. Tell me about yourself. Your name, likes, dislikes, dreams for the future. That kind of stuff."

"Why don't you go first?" Tai asked. "I mean, like, just to demonstrate?"

"Well," the blonde said. He walked over to the railing along the roof. On the back of his coat was a red spiral between his shoulder blades. Beneath that was the kanji for...

Fox? Asa thought. That's a little… random. The man turned back to the three genin and leaned against the railing.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki," he said with a smirk. "I like ramen, this village, my friends, and love my wife. I hate people who use their power to hurt others, regardless of their reasons. And my dream for the future..." He looked up to the Hokage Monument above the tower, smiling once again. "Is to become the greatest Hokage this village has ever seen."

Tai raised an eyebrow at that. Asa gave the blonde a curious glance. Arashi simply stared at the man. How could he hope to become Hokage when he obviously didn't even take being a jonin seriously? That made no sense to the young Jigoku.

"Now you try it," Naruto said with a grin. "Lady's first."

Asa gulped nervously and said, "I'm Asa Mizuhana. I like all my friends from the Academy. I hate know-it-alls and liars. My dream for the future is to become the best kunoichi in the whole Leaf Village."

"Very admirable," Naruto said. "Next-" Tai stood up before Naruto could finish.

"The name's Tai Yamada!" he blurted out with a confident smile. "I like my mom and hanging out with my friends. I hate guys who think they're all that just because they get good marks on tests! And my dream for the future is to beat everyone and become Hokage! So get in line, Goldilocks!"

Deja vu, Naruto thought, remembering his last group of genin. "Thank you, Tai." He looked over at Arashi. "Now you, cool guy."

"I am Arashi, of the Jigoku Clan. The only thing in this world I actually care for is my elder brother, Sora. I dislike arrogant fools who rush into dangerous situations without careful thought. My dream for the future… is none of your business. That is all I have to say."

He reminds me of Sasuke, Naruto thought. "All right. Now that we all know each other a little better, I suppose it's time for me to tell you about the final test."

"Final test?" Asa asked.

"Yes," Naruto replied. "Your final test to become official shinobi of the Village Hidden in the Leaves."

"But we already had a test yesterday!" Tai complained.

"That was just to make sure that you're actually competent enough to be ninja," Naruto stated with a serious expression. "The test you three are about to go through is going to be far more intense. It's even got a 66% rate of failure. Of the thirty students who were awarded Leaf headbands, at the most, at most only nine of you will be able to actually become ninja. The rest will have to go back to the Academy for remedial instruction."

"What!?" all three shouted at once. Asa continued, "But that's not fair! You can't do that!"

"I've done it four times already," Naruto said flatly. "All tests depend on the actual teacher. It can be whatever I say it is." Just then, a bird-like sound was heard. Next to Naruto landed a dark blue-feathered raven with something tied to its leg. Naruto picked up the bird and untied the object, which was a small piece of paper. He read the paper, smiled, and tucked it away. He pulled out a strange-looking kunai, which the bird picked up in its feet. The raven then flew off at lightning speeds.

"Well, the wife beckons," Naruto said contently. "Anyway, I want you three to meet me at Training Ground 3 at five in the morning. Oh, and don't bother eating breakfast."

"Why not?" Arashi asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because," Naruto said with a disturbingly happy and mischievous smile on his face. "If you do, odds are that you'll end up puking your guts out." Then he suddenly vanished in an instantaneous flash of yellow. No puff of smoke. Just a yellow flash.

"Dude!" Tai shouted. "How did he do that!?"

"I don't know," Asa said in wonder. Then she shuddered. "I just hope he was kidding about that puking thing." Regardless of her hopes, she decided she would not eat breakfast the next day.

-o-

Naruto arrived at his house out of thin air. There was that raven again, still holding his kunai. The bird disappeared with a loud pop and a puff of smoke. Naruto picked up his kunai, put it back into his pouch, and walked into his home.

"You called, Hinata?" he asked. Out of the kitchen walked a pregnant Hinata, holding their one-year-old son, Minato. She smiled brightly at her husband.

"We just wanted to see you, Naruto," Hinata said happily. "So, what are your new students like?"

"Just like the others, with a few minor differences," Naruto sighed. He walked over to his wife, knelt down and put a hand on her stomach. "I can't wait for our new family member to come out. Just a few more months."

"Six-and-a-half, to be specific," Hinata corrected. "I'm eager to meet our new child, too. With any luck, our second child will be as strong and brave as you, Naruto."

"Yeah," Naruto said with his trademark grin. "And hopefully the kid will be as kindhearted as you are." He looked to his one-year-old son. He held out his finger, which Minato happily took hold of. "Hey, little guy. Did you miss your old man?" The small family spent the rest of their day together, while Naruto's students barely had any sleep, terrified about what he planned to put them through.