Written by Comfy Cushion and betaed by Juicy Phoenician and Dr. Fabulous.

A Genin is the lowest rank of a ninja. They are usually sent on D-Rank missions, and rarely on C-Rank. Every ninja must start as one in their teams of three looked after by a Jounin, the second highest ranking a ninja can get. Only graduates from a Ninja Academy can become a Genin, however not all of them are able to. Every year, any number of people can graduate from the Academy, however only 9 of these are graduates become Genin every year and all the others are sent back to the Academy. This brief moment between the Academy and ninja is where the not yet Genin meet their Jounin, and get tested on their ability.

Naruto Uzumaki sat among 27 graduates in a classroom. He had blond sparkly hair with blue eyes. He was wearing an orange jacket with orange pants. He was slumped on the table with a battered face. To his left sat Sakura Haruno his crush who he had asked out frequently and was also the cause of Naruto's injuries. Sakura has bright pink hair, large green eyes, and fair skin. She wore a red dress with tight green pants. To her left was the highest ranked graduate Sasuke Uchiha whose first kiss was just stolen by Naruto. Sasuke has dark eyes and dark hair, which some would say match his personality. He wore a blue short-sleeved shirt with a high collar and white arm warmers.

"Next Team 7…" The man standing in the front of the classroom had the undivided attention of the 27 others in the room. This man was Iruka Umino, a Chunin who serves as an instructor at the Academy. It was his job to announce the three man teams that they will complete their final test in. "Sakura Haruno, Naruto Uzumaki, and Sasuke Uchiha".

Just as soon as he finished Naruto's voice boomed through the classroom. "Iruka-sensei! Why does an outstanding ninja like me have to be on the same team as that bum?" Naruto had managed to anger all bar one kunoichi in the room and the killing intent could be felt.

"Sasuke's grades were first among the 27 graduates. You were dead last so we had to balance the teams. Understand?" Most of the room roared with laughter. Naruto was the joke of the academy and everyone knew his name. Be it for his failure as a student or annoying antics; Naruto was the butt of every joke.

"Bah. Just don't get in my way. Dead Last." Sasuke calmly whispered.

"Okay… This afternoon we'll introduce the Jounin-senseis. Until then take a break."

XXX

'Why? Why is it always me?'Naruto sat atop one of the Academy's buildings thinking. All his life Naruto had been subject to unjust hatred by the village around him. No one ever looked at him and saw Naruto Uzumaki; they saw the Nine Tails who attacked Konoha. Naruto learned about this from Mizuki who tried to kill Naruto.

'Am I really a monster? Is there a point to me being alive? When I become the Hokage I will make people regret the way they treated me. I will become Naruto Uzumaki The Five Hokage.'A grin appeared on his face. Anyone who saw it would be able to tell that it is forced. He thought back to a conversation he had with the The Third Hokage a few years ago.

"Hey Old man, I'm going to become the next Hokage."Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but laugh. "Hey I'm serious here."

Calming himself Hiruzen smiled. "Are you sure Naruto? Being the Hokage is hard work. Not just anyone can become the Hokage. The whole village has to recognise your strength."

"Then I'll get stronger."

"You also have to be smart so you can't become the Hokage." Hiruzen started laughing again.

"Hey…" Naruto pouted knowing that he had already failed his first year at the Academy. "I'll still do it. I'll become the smartest and strongest in the village then I'll have to be Hokage. Because that is my dream."

"Naruto. Becoming the Hokage means that you give up your life for the village. It means that you will protect everyone in the village no matter when, and no matter what. It is a long and tiresome life to lead but it is worth it. Do you think you'll be able to stay to your dream no matter what? Do you think you'll be able to protect the village that will not do the same thing for you? Do you think you'll be able to handle the mountains of paperwork that pile up endlessly?"

'Will I be able to protect the village? A village that doesn't care for me.' Gruuuuuuu . Naruto's stomach interrupted his thoughts. "Oh no. I hate diarrhoea. Maybe it was bad milk or something."

XXX

"Okay let's begin with some introductions." The tall white haired ninja who claimed to be their Jounin-sensei had taken them outside to talk. His forehead protector covers his left eye while a mask covers his mouth leaving only a portion of his face visible.

"What do you want to know?"

"How about… Your likes, your dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."

"Hey hey why don't you introduce yourself first?" Naruto questioned.

"Yeah. You look suspicious…" Sakura nodded furiously.

"Ohh… Me? My name is Kakashi Hatake. I have no desire to tell you my likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm… Well I have lots of hobbies… Now it's your turn."

"Me, me… My name is Naruto Uzumaki. I like cup ramen and restaurant ramen. I dislike the time it takes for cup ramen to cook. My dream…" Naruto stopped. He wasn't sure about his dream for the future anymore. With a quick thought he answered. "My dream is to have the village acknowledge my existence. Hobbies… Pranks I guess."

"Next"

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha. There are tons of things I dislike but I don't really like anything. And I don't want to use the word dream but I have an ambition. That is to resurrect my clan and to kill a certain man."

"Hey Kakashi-sensei. Can I change my dislikes? I dislike Sasuke's attitude." Naruto couldn't help but speak. He knew what happened to the Uchiha clan but he still didn't think that, that gave Sasuke a reason to why he was so depressing.

The Uchiha clan was massacred with only a single survivor, Sasuke, leaving him alone for the rest of his Academy days. Naruto understood the sadness of being alone in the world but Sasuke had no right to keep himself depressed. The monster that the village saw as Naruto Uzumaki was alone and mistreated his whole life yet he still managed to smile. Sasuke was denying Naruto's façade and Naruto didn't like it.

"Hmmm… If you say so. And lastly."

"My name is Sakura Haruno the thing I like is… Well… The person I like is… Should I say my dreams for the future? OH MY. The thing I dislike it Naruto. My hobby is…" Throughout her speech Sakura glanced at Sasuke except when stating her apparent dislike for Naruto.

Kakashi couldn't help but sigh. He knew that this group will be a troublesome one. After telling the three about the survival training which may send them back to the academy, and gave them a handout. Kakashi left to visit the Hokage's Office. He had something to discuss with The Third. When he arrived he was escorted straight in.

"So… how was your team Kakashi?" Hiruzen asked. He was anticipating Kakashi's arrival.

"The team is full of problems. They probably won't pass my test but there was something that concerned me."

Hiruzen sat up in his chair preparing for the news. "Oh…? And what might that be?"

"Naruto Uzumaki. I got them to tell me their dreams for the future. You told me that he wanted to become the Hokage, but that is not what he said. He hesitated and had to think about his dream before giving an answer. And his answer was to be acknowledged by the village." Hiruzen's eyes widened. This was a surprise. He still remembered those words the boy told him.

"I'll still do it. I'll become the smartest and strongest in the village then I'll have to be Hokage. Because that is my dream."

"What could make him rethink his dream like this? Was the truth that Mizuki told him bad enough for him to change? No that boy is strong. He won't give up on Hokage just yet." Hiruzen held his chin thinking.

Kakashi shrugged his shoulders "It won't matter since he doesn't work well with his team. They'll fail my test and be sent back. That should give him enough time to rethink the change."

X The next day X

"YOU'RE LATE" Sakura and Naruto screamed in unison as their Jounin-sensei gave them a friendly good morning. Kakashi just brushed it off as he set a timer for noon. He pulled out two bells from his pocket.

"Here are two bells. Your task is to take these bells off me before noon. Those who cannot get this bell off me before noon don't get lunch. I'll not only tie you up to one of those stumps but I'll eat it in front of you. You only need to get one bell. There are two, so one of you will definitely be tied to a stump. And the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the academy. You can even use your shuriken; you won't succeed unless you come at me with the intent to kill."

"But, you'll be in danger." Saukra cried with concern.

"Yeah you're so slow you couldn't even avoid that blackboard eraser. We'll kill you." Naruto grinned. He believed that Kakashi was seriously underestimating them.

"In the real would those with no talent often have the loudest bark. Let's ignore Mr. Dead Last and start."

Naruto clenched his teeth in anger. Why does everyone look down on him? Does Kakashi also only see him as a monster? He quickly pulled out a kunai and got ready to throw it, but before he could Kakashi appeared behind Naruto grabbing his hand.

"Slow down. I haven't said start yet. Well it seems like you're prepared to come at me with the intent to kill. So you've finally acknowledged me? It's a shame because I don't think you will make me acknowledge you guys." This comment was clearly directed at Naruto. "Start".

Sakura and Sasuke instantly disappeared as they went into hiding, but Naruto didn't move, but rather he stared at the ground.

"Hey Naruto. I said start." Still no movement. "Naaaarrruuuutttooooo. Anybody home? In case you didn't learn at the academy the basic of a ninja is to hide well. You probably should do that." Naruto still didn't move, and he didn't even look up. Kakashi leaned in closer to see Naruto's hidden face. On it was a wide grin.

"You won't acknowledge me?" Naruto still had his kunai in hand and swung at the leaned in Kakashi. Kakashi easily dodged by standing straight again. "I'll make you acknowledge me." Naruto put his kunai away and took a rather impractical version of the Academy's Taijutsu stance.

Kakashi sighed. "To think you'd start like this." Putting his hand in his side pouch Kakashi pulled out a book. "Ninja Fighting Lesson #1 Taijutsu. I'll teach you about it. Taijutsu is hand to hand combat. A necessity for a ninja when they have to fight." Opening the book Kakashi started reading.

Naruto stood dumbfounded. Was he being underestimated? He couldn't tell.

"If you don't come at me you won't get a bell. Do you not want to eat?" He was being underestimated. This made him angry. Naruto charged straight at the reading Jounin and sent a flying elbow into his left blind spot. That place was covered by his forehead protector. He shouldn't be able to block. But he did. Kakashi used his left hand to hold the book and his right to block the attack. Not stopping, Naruto kicked and hit nothing but air. The Jounin was underneath the kick giving Naruto the chance to retreat. Hitting the ground Naruto jumped forward again sending another volley of attacks.

This cycle repeated a few more times before someone spoke. "Charging at your enemy like this is going to get you killed. If this wasn't training you'd be dead." Kakashi stopped and appeared behind the landing Naruto.

Kakashi's hands were in the Tiger seal form, the middle and pointer finger held against each other while the others were intertwined. These four fingers are commonly used in seals because they are the easiest to build up chakra with. These fingers are called the chakra fingers and can make a majority of seals with these along. This specific seal was used for high level fire jutsu.

"Hidden Leaf Ancient Taijutsu Supreme Technique A Thousand Years of Pain" Kakashi yelled as he inserted this ninjutsu seal into Naruto's ass, sending him airborne. Naruto landed in the nearby lake.

'Dammit.' He thought 'He's not even trying. At this rate I'll be sent back to the Academy for the fourth time. Or worse I won't get to eat lunch.' He pulled out two shuriken and throwing them from under the water.

XXX

Seeing two shuriken fly out of the water was not surprising for the highly experienced Jounin. He caught them with ease. He walked towards the lake to see Naruto pull himself out of the water.

"Hey, what's wrong? If you don't get a bell by noon you won't be able to eat." He mocked. None of these three had understood the meaning behind this test yet. His Jounin-sensei had taught him that this exercise was meant to build teamwork and they didn't work together similarly. Ever since that day soon, after did he say that he'd use it as a survival test.

"I know which is why I'm not holding back anymore." Naruto made a cross out of his chakra fingers and screamed out "Shadow Clone Jutsu". As he said this twenty Naruto's appeared around Kakashi.

Kakashi looked all around him as each Naruto pulled out a kunai. "Ohh… Ninja Fighting Lesson #2 Ninjutsu. To know an A-Rank jutsu just out of the Academy. This is impressive. But I guess it's okay if I use my own jutsu." All but one Naruto charged simultaneously. Kakashi jumped into the air. Making hand signs "Water Bullets Jutsu." Kakashi opened his mouth spitting out multiple water bullets at the army of Naruto's turning them all into a puff of smoke.

"HEY, WHAT IF I WAS REALLY THERE?" Naruto screamed.

"Only one remained behind. That makes it obvious where the real one is." Kakashi landed and moved towards Naruto getting ready to give his shuriken back. Before he could react the two shuriken turned into Naruto's grabbing his arms and holding him back. The real Naruto smiled as he made more clones. This time he made thirty each with their own kunai that charged at the bound Kakashi. Naruto almost had him until, he flowed into the ground.

"Hey! Where did you go?" Naruto said as a hand appeared under the ground dragging Naruto down so nothing but his head visible.

"Impressive but not enough. It was a good plan but that won't work with your level of skill and chakra. You have more chakra than most but you waste too much. See you're about to pass out."

Naruto's eyelids became heavy forcing them to a close. Kakashi couldn't help but stare as a figure of his past overlapped with Naruto's sleeping face. "Ha. They're nothing alike." A volley of shuriken flew out of the trees hitting the unfocused Jounin. Except it was a log rather than the said Jounin. He used a Kawarimi.

X At noon X

'"I want to be the Hokage..." That is what I always thought, but is that really what I want to do now?' Naruto opened his eyes to see an unfamiliar ceiling covered with pipes. He was lying flat in the water that covered the floor. Naruto got up and looked around to see to see a basement looking hallway with pipes along the walls and multiple rooms. "Was there a place like this in Konoha?"

"Does this look like Konoha to you, brat?" A booming voice echoed along the hallways.

Naruto jumped with surprise at the sound of the voice. "Where is this then?"

"This place is…" Naruto's senses messed up. His eyes blurred and faded into darkness.

Naruto half-opened his eyes for real this time. He felt his back up against a tree or something. What was he doing? Then he remembered his fight.

"Yup, all three of you should quit as ninja." Naruto completely opened his eyes this time. In front of him was his Jounin Kakashi who just said something outrageous. "Oh… Dead Last is finally awake."

"What do you mean quit as ninja?" Naruto was dumbfounded. He wanted to know why a Jounin would say that to his students.

"Did I stutter? I said you are all just punks who don't deserve to be ninja." Naruto got angry and he wasn't the only one. "Are you guys underestimating ninja?" Naruto glanced to his left to see Sakura in panic. He looked to his right and saw Sasuke glancing at him. They both shared a nod and got up in unison. The two of them ran towards Kakashi, Naruto pulled out a kunai and threw it towards Kakashi. This was followed by one of Sasuke's shuriken. The Jounin grabbed the kunai in mid-air and used it to hit away the shuriken, and when he did that he saw the second shuriken hiding behind the first. This was a Shadow Shuriken Technique where one shuriken is hiding in the blind spot of another. Kakashi jumped up avoiding the hidden shuriken.

"Shadow Clone Jutsu" Five Naruto's appeared and quickly ran underneath the airborne Jounin. Kakashi threw Naruto's kunai towards one of the clones bursting it and creating a space for him to land. As soon as he landed he was swarmed with the remaining Naruto clones, but these quickly dispersed with basic Taijutsu.

"Great Fireball Jutsu." Kakashi was met with a fireball. When the fire sizzled out only a log remained. Kakashi walked out of the nearby tree.

"It seems you guys seriously underestimate ninja. But it does seem like you are getting the point of this test. Thought this is why you are punks, you should have let me finish sp…" Kakashi's words were drowned out by the charging duo of Sasuke and Naruto. Naruto leapt into the air sending a kick towards the Jounin's face, at the same time Sasuke launched a punch towards his gut. Kakashi blocked both with ease. The two continued to attack the Jounin as fast as their bodies would let them. But every attack was parried. This continued for a while, the two tried to break through his guard but with a Jounin level Taijutsu nothing would break through. And he was holding back.

"Okay that's enough." Kakashi said as he grabbed both of their legs and dangled them upside down. "Will you listen to what I say?" Kakashi threw the two towards the stumps. Sasuke landed on his feet and Naruto landed face first into the middle stump. As he slid to the ground, Sakura ran to him checking to see if he's alright. "I had a whole speech planned and everything."

"It seems like you guys have accidently figured out the answer to this test, even though it's past noon. The answer was teamwork. If all three of you worked together you may have gotten the bells."

"What do you mean by teamwork? There are only two bells!" Sakura shouted. How were three people supposed to split two bells? "Even if we work together and get the bells, one of us will still fail. What teamwork? That just makes us fight among ourselves."

"The purpose of this test is to see whether you can forget about your own interests and successfully work together under these designed circumstances. Yet… You guys. Sakura instead of Naruto who was right next to you, you were only thinking about Sasuke who was far away. Naruto, you were just running around by yourself. Sasuke, you just assumed the others would get in your way and tried to do everything yourself. Well until the end there where you worked together. You should notice that there are some things that you cannot do alone."

"Some things can't be done alone" Naruto repeated. Those words had a bigger impact on him than Kakashi anticipated. If some things cannot be done alone, then why is the Hokage the one who protects the village? Can one person really do that alone?

"The duties are done by the team. Of course superior individual ability is important for a ninja. But what's even more important for a ninja is teamwork. Individual play that disrupts the team can put your comrades in danger, and even get you killed. You will be risking your lives in these duties. Look at the numerous names carved on this stone. These are ninjas who are recognised as heroes of the village. But, they aren't just normal heroes."

Naruto, who was paying more attention than ever before, couldn't help but become eager at the stone. Anyone on that stone was acknowledged by the village. That stone may be Naruto's dream except… "What type of heroes are they?"

Kakashi remained silent for a few seconds. "They are heroes who died in the line of duty. This is a memorial." The three students face dropped. They had no idea that they were in front of a memorial site. "My best friends name is also carved here. This is why teamwork is necessary not only for the competition of the missions you receive but if you work as a team your chance of survival is higher. But for now congratulations you pass."

"Yeah!" Naruto jumped up in a cheer. Both Sakura and Sasuke smiled at his cheer.

"But there is one thing I want you to remember. Those who break the rules and codes of the ninja world are called trash. But those who don't take care of their comrades are lower than trash. That ends the training. All of you pass! Starting tomorrow Team 7 will begin its active duties."

XXX

Once again Naruto opened his eyes to see the unfamiliar ceiling he saw earlier. This time he was a little calmer and got a better look. He had never seen this place before but was able to recognise its feel. It was flooded with chakra. His own chakra. But that was not the unusual part, there was another chakra mixed in with his.

"Oh… you're back brat?" The loud booming voice from before rang out. "Come over here I'd like to see you." Naruto heard the voice in the distance. Following the sound he realised that the unfamiliar chakra was getting stronger the further he went. "Hurry up. You'll leave again if you don't." Naruto finally found the room where the voice was coming from. Walking into that room, he saw a giant metal gate held together by a piece of paper with 'Seal' written on it. But that wasn't the surprise. There was a giant shadow hiding behind the gate. "Come closer" the shadow demanded. Naruto couldn't help but edge forward. A giant claw tried to break through the gate and attack the unaware boy. "I want to eat you, but this damn seal."

Finally realising the situation Naruto's eyes opened in fear "You are… The Nine Tails …" This was the monster that was sealed within him. This thing was the reason for all of his problems. The hatred from the village, his lack of friends, the fact that he had no family.

"For you to come here. What do you want?" Naruto had thought for a long time since Mizuki told him about the Nine Tails within him but what did he want?

"I… have…. a question, if that's okay." Naruto mumbled. His voice got softer as he spoke.

"Question? What could you possibly ask?" The Nine Tails leaned in closer out of curiosity.

Naruto awkwardly glanced at the Nine Tails while looking down. "You… You don't want to be sealed within me?"

The Nine Tails stood back up screaming "OF COURSE I DON'T. Why would I want to be sealed in a baby? Will you hurry up and die so I can revive after five years? Or will you continue to live your pointless life as my jailor?"

"Do you think I want you here? My life has sucked because you are here, and here you are asking me to die? If you didn't attack my village then I wouldn't have you inside me, and I would have a family. Yet you think you have the right to get angry at me?"

"I didn't attack your village. There were… circumstances behind that. But that is where we see differently. You are my prison which I hate, and I am your prisoner which you hate. We both hate the other and cause each other strife yet we are stuck in this position. I doubt that was your question so ask your real one."

"Um… first of all. I don't hate you, I hate that I'm your jailor. Ever since I was told about you I've been thinking, you didn't choose to be stuck here and so it shouldn't be your fault. So it isn't you that I should hate but The Fourth Hokage who sealed you inside me."

"I'm impressed to think that you'd think that way. But that is wrong. The Fourth had a reason for why he sealed me inside of you. If I were in his position I would have done the same. There was a lot more going on during your birth date than you realise. You are still too young to need to know, well it doesn't really matter, you'll be dead and I'll be free before long."

"Of course he had a reason. He sealed you inside me because you were destroying the village. But that doesn't matter anymore, nothing will change it. My question is do you see everything that I see? My daily life, do you know what I do?"

"Unfortunately, it is the only thing that I am able to look at even though it holds no interest to me. Although, I do agree with your decision to become a ninja, you'll be putting your life on the line meaning there is a higher chance of you dying and me being freed."

"If you see everything I see, then do you also know what my dream was?"

"You're not turning this into some shitty counselling session are you?"

"You see I've always thought that if I became the Hokage people would finally realise who I am."

"Oh no… I'm not listening." The Nine Tails covered his ears with his paws.

"I thought that I was unwanted so I pulled pranks so people will at least acknowledge that Naruto Uzumaki exists. But then I found out about you so I realised that people hated me not for me, but for you. They didn't even see me. I wasn't even there. And then I continued to think, if they hated you so much why was I the one being mistreated? What did I do to them? And then I actually started to hate them. All the sadness that they forced onto me, I wanted to return it to them. Is it wrong for me to think like that?"

"That explains how you got here. You started to hate making it easier for the two of us to synch. The answer is no. Your hatred is not misplaced, even the most righteous can get corrupted. You want people to see you as a Naruto Uzumaki, but so far only that Academy teacher, your Jounin and your own generation see you as that. The rest of the village hate you so there is nothing wrong with hating them. Your dream is no longer to become the Hokage, but to be acknowledged by the village. You don't have to be a part of the village to be acknowledged. You can become an acknowledged murderer. That's always an option."

"No, I hate the way they treated me but I don't hate the village. I can't hate my home."

"I didn't expect you to be able to. It is a shame that you care so much for something that doesn't care for you. Try being a little bit selfish."

"Thank you Nine Tails for listening."

"I didn't have a choice you little brat. I am stuck here."

"Thanks anyway. Do you have a name? Or are you just known as the Nine Tails?"

"A name?"

"Yes, something your parents named you? Oh do you also not know your parents? Wait are there more giant foxes running around?"

"No I know my parent but I'm the only fox. My father named me Kurama."

"Okay, thanks Kurama. Tell me about your father sometime alright."

"I don't want to talk to you again. Just die already." Naruo turned away and disappeared. 'He wanted to know my name. This kid is an Uzumaki yet he asked me for my name. Interesting kid, if only Kushina could see him now. She'd tell him off. Hahahaha."

XXX

Naruto woke up in a cold sweat. He just had a conversation with the Nine Tails that attacked the village, killed his family, and ruined his life. And its name was Kurama. Looking at the clock by his bed he saw that it was 5 in the morning. He was meeting up with his newly former Team 7 at 10 so he had time to waste. His room was a mess, clothes were everywhere and they were all the same orange shirt and pants. With another quick look around he saw the photo that his team took yesterday next to his alarm clock. He quickly grabbed his outfit and put them on.

"Damn Kurama, making me get up so early." Naruto lazily got up and rummaged through his kitchen trying to find some sort of food. The only thing he could find was cup ramen. Grumbling Naruto begun making one and ate it furiously. With so much extra time there was only one thing that Naruto could think of doing. He had finally become a ninja but he was only a Genin. Kakashi was a Jounin and was on another level entirely. Naruto knew that it was time to train.

Quickly leaving his house making sure it was locked up, Naruto ran to the closest training field. The clock just as the time hit 5:30. The training field was empty which was of no surprise; they may be a hidden village but no one wants to wake up for 5:30 training alone, and teams usually had their own training area, but Naruto just became a Genin so his team didn't have a training area yet. Looking around Naruto noticed three training logs stuck into the ground to train Taijutsu, but he needed to work on his shuriken throwing so he walked over to the trees where targets were posted everywhere.

Naruto aligned himself at a fair distance from his target and pulled out a shuriken. Naruto mentally prepared himself and carefully took aim. He stood there for another 30 seconds trying to get into the right mood. Until a voice yelled at him from the trees. "THROW IT ALREADY." The girl's voice startled Naruto into throwing his weapon missing the target completely.

"HEY!" Naruto screamed "I WAS CONCENTRATING."

"No you were wasting time. If you were on a mission you would have been killed by then."

"Bah… This isn't a mission though." Naruto grabbed another shuriken and threw it at the target. The shuriken hit the edge of the target.

"You missed again… you're bad at this aren't you?" The girl sighed. "How did you pass the Academy with this level of skill?" A girl wearing a pink sleeveless blouse and dark green pants jumped down from the tree. Her hair was in two buns on either side of her head.

Naruto pointed at the now visible girl. "AAAAHH. You're from the Academy. You became a Genin last year." Naruto failed twice before so he was familiar with some of the other older students. He remembered this girl because she was always practicing her shuriken and she never missed.

"You remembered me. My name is Tenten and I know who you are Naruto Uzumaki. Everyone in the Academy knew your name."

Naruto rubbed his nose. "Hehe. So I'm famous."

"Yeah you were the annoying prankster." Naruto's face fell. "I'm guessing that you're officially a Genin now? You have the forehead protector. Who's your Jounin?"

"Yeah, we became Genin yesterday. Our Team 7 has Kakashi-sensei." Naruto said proudly. He knew how strong his teacher was.

"Eh… Guy-sensei's rival Kakashi-sensei? Oh I heard he's an excellent ninja. So why don't you train with him?"

"We are meeting up later so until then I'm going to train."

"Can I join you? I'm always here at this time."

X A week later X

Team 7 walked towards the Hokage's Office with a cat in hand. The cats name was Tora; he has a ribbon in his left ear and was owned by the Feudal Lords wife. To find and capture Tora was a mission given to Team 7. Naruto was taking the lead as he though how annoying it was to continue with little mission like this. They weren't hard just long and worthless. Naruto had been training every morning with Tenten. They practised throwing weapons and Taijutsu every morning. Naruto had greatly improved his accuracy now hitting the centre of the target 9 times out of 10, while Tenten had a sparring partner who wasn't completely out of her league. She told Naruto that her two Genin teammates and Jounin-sensei were Taijutsu specialists. Also, Naruto hasn't spoken to Kurama since that night. He wasn't sure how to contact the fox nor did he think the fox wanted to speak with him. Naruto wasn't worried by this. It wasn't like Kurama could go anywhere.

They finally arrived at the Hokage's Office with cat in hand. The Feudal Lord wife was overjoyed to have her cat back but that didn't really concern Naruto. He knew what he wanted and he was going to get it.

"Now… Kakashi's Team 7 your next duty is babysitting an elder's grandson, shopping in a neighbouring village, and helping with the potato digging." The Third Hokage was giving the next orders for their team.

Naruto crossed his arms in front of his body yelling "NONONO Thank you! I want to do a more incredible mission! Find us a better one!" Naruto had planned that and his message got across when Sasuke's silent agreement met his ears.

Iruka who was helping Hiruzen today slammed his hands on the table, stood up and yelled back "You idiot! You are just a rookie! Everyone starts off with simple duties and works their way up!"

"But we keep getting the crappiest possible duties!" Naruto would not back down until Kakashi punched the top of his head.

"Be quiet you." Kakashi demanded.

"Naruto, it seems like I have to explain to you what these duties are all about." Hiruzen took his pipe that he'd been smoking up until now out of his mouth. This is important information for Naruto to know for if he becomes the Hokage. "Listen every day in the village we receive numerous requests from babysitting to assassination. Each request is written down in these lists and divided into an A, B, C, D rank based on difficulty. The village is also divided based on skill, starting with me to the Jonin, Chunin, Genin, and lastly Academy students. The missions are then handed out by us to the ninja based in their level of skill. And if that duty is successfully completed we receive a payment from the client. You guys just became Genin so a D-Rank mission is perfect for you."

During that lecture, Naruto had somehow managed to slump onto the floor and dose off. After a quick kick from Kakashi, Naruto jumped up and wiped the drool off his face. Taking a quick breath Naruto prepared to yell again but stopped himself. Instead he calmly spoke "I know all that stuff old man. I also know that there is a higher rank of mission than that, the S-Rank mission only given to the elite." The Chunin and above looked surprised. Naruto knew about the secret S-Rank mission after only being a Genin for a week. "I know we can handle at least B-Rank." Naruto stood back proudly. He made a mental note to thank Tenten for telling him about the S-Rank missions.

"Okay. If you think you can, I'll give you a C-Rank mission. It's a mission to protect a certain individual." Everyone in the room except Naruto looked at The Third in astonishment. He willingly gave them a C-Rank mission because of Naruto's words. "Hey, come in here." The Hokage called in their client for the mission.

"What's this?" An old man walked through the door with a bottle of sake in hand. He wore a typical builder outfit "They're all just a bunch of super brats. The shortest one with the stupid looking face, are you really a ninja?"

After a quick glance to both sides Naruto realised that he was the shortest. "Tch… This bastard hates me already." Naruto muttered to himself. The person who he had to protect already judged him on his appearance.

"I am the expert bridge builder Tazuna. I expect you to provide me super protection until I get back to my country and complete the bridge."

XXX

Team 7 was walking down the road with Tazuna the bridge builder, on their first C-Rank Mission. Sakura was talking to Kakashi about the world and Kage's but this didn't really interest Naruto. He was too busy hating Tazuna's attitude.

'Oh… hating enough to visit me again? I guess you really don't like this Tazuna. Just kill him already.'

"KURAMA?" Naruto screamed earning him a weird look from his companions.

'Don't scream. Think it to me. Don't speak out loud or else others will hear you. If you direct your thoughts towards me then we can talk like this.'

'Kurama. What do you mean hating enough? Do I have to be angry at something to speak with you?'

'It is the way this seal works it's made to let our chakra mix. The stronger you become the more we can interact but for now you are only strong enough for a conversation when you're either angry or have enough hatred. Eventually we won't have to wait for you to be angry. When you get stronger we should be able to talk at will.'

'Why would you tell me this? Wait did you actually want to speak with me?' Naruto continued to walk with a giant grin on his face. To anyone else he looked like a giant idiot laughing at his own jokes.

'Oh shut up brat. I have nothing to do being stuck in here and all. I may be old but being trapped in a pre-pubescent kid and watch him fail miserably at courting the alleged love of his life is hardly what I'd call entertaining. Though I do admit seeing it from a guy's perspective is an improvement.'

Naruto frowned causing Kakashi to eye him weirdly 'Well sorry that I'm not entertaining for you. You know I am just trying to live my life here. But yeah it was boring, that's why I asked for a higher ranked mission. So now it should be less boring.'

'Yeah you have a higher chance of dying which is perfect for me.'

'I won't die. This is only a C-Rank mission. We'll only be fighting bandits and stuff. No ninja, I can easily take those guys.'

'You say that but you might want to pay more attention.'

"But don't worry there won't be any ninja combat in a C-Rank mission." Kakashi pat Sakura on the head.

"Then we won't come into contact with any foreign ninja?" Sakura jumped gleefully.

"Of course not! Hahahahaha" Tazuna looked down with a gloomy face. Naruto could tell something was wrong. What did Kurama see? Naruto noticed a puddle of water on the side of the road. When was the last time it rained? Continuing to look back Naruto saw two unfamiliar ninja appear out of the puddle on the side of the road. The two ninja each had a metal claw wrapped around their hand, one on his left, the other on his right. These claws were attached by a chain with sharp edges. One threw the other towards Kakashi. The chain wrapped around him.

"One down" The two spoke just before they both pulled on their side of the chain. Kakashi was cut into multiple pieces by the chain leaving little left of their Jounin. The three Genin didn't have enough time to react before the two appeared behind Naruto.

"Two down." They said in unison. Naruto's eyes widened in fear, he knew he wouldn't be fast enough to dodge. Just before the chain hit Naruto, a shuriken slammed it into a tree. This was quickly followed by a kunai which further jammed the chain into the tree. The two ninja couldn't get free. Sasuke landed on top of the claws surprising the foreign ninja. Supporting himself with his hands, Sasuke kicked both immobile ninja in the head causing them to stagger. Almost instantly the two detached the chain from their claws and charged towards their targets. The left claw ninja targeted Naruto while the right claw ninja targeted Tazuna.

'They underestimate you brat. Rule number one of assassins, kill the weaker target first. They think you're weak. FIGHT!' Kurama encouraged Naruto to move. He jumped backwards pulling out a kunai and quickly threw in between the right clawed ninja and Tazuna, who was now covered by Sakura, forcing him to stop. This gave Sasuke enough time to get in between the right clawed ninja and Tazuna. The left clawed continued to charge at Naruto who had landed on all fours. Using all his limbs, Naruto launched himself towards the left clawed ninja at an alarming speed. It was impossible for Naruto to block the claw at such a speed. Naruto stayed as low on the ground as possible narrowly ducking under the left claw. Planting both hands into the ground Naruto used a double upper kick into the ninja's jaw sending him airborne. Tenten had taught him this move. It was used by one of her teammates.

"Sasuke, I'll take this one, you take that one." Naruto said while glancing towards Sasuke who just nodded to say that he understood. Sasuke had adopted a defensive stance to not only fight but protect the two behind him. All he could do was hope Naruto could defeat his opponent then help him protect them. The right claw ran towards Sasuke who parried his attack with a kunai. As soon as he regained his stance the right clawed ninja attacked again which was also parried. This bombardment of attacks was hard for Sasuke to parry but it was impossible for him to dodge because Sakura would get hit instead.

Meanwhile, Naruto was standing off against his opponent. The left clawed ninja clearly outclassed Naruto in both speed and strength, but Naruto still had his trump card, his unpredictability. From the corner of his eye, he could see Sasuke struggling to hold off his opponent, but if Naruto moved to help him he would be attacked. What could he do? 'Did you not hear what I said? They are underestimating you. They attacked you first because they thought you were weak. They don't even think that they need to attack you together. They don't acknowledge you so you have every right to hate them. HATE THEM.' A wave of killing intent flowed out of Naruto. This cold chill made the foreign ninja's hesitate. This gave Naruto an opening. He charged towards the left clawed ninja. Sasuke also would have attacked if not for the surprise of Naruto's killing intent. The right claw gained awareness first attacking Sasuke again. The left claw followed shortly after attacking the oncoming Genin. Naruto realised his blunder, there was an opening but he was not fast enough. Naruto closed his eyes awaiting his fate.

A blur dashed past Tazuna and Sakura clashing with the right clawed ninja and continued until it hit the left clawed ninja. Naruto opened his eyes to see a Jounin standing in front of him with a ninja under each arm. Kakashi had used a Kawarimi at the very first attack. The three Genin and Tazuna all relaxed with the sudden appearance of their saviour.

"Tazuna-san. We need to talk."

A/N

Thank you for reading this first chapter of the Tale of the Broken Fox. This will be an interesting spin on canon if Naruto was just a little bit less of his Canon self. Other characters you see may act differently towards the Naruto in this because people usually respond. Look forward to more chapters whenever.

Signing out Comfy Cushion