Okay, this was more idea I've had for a while. What if, by some certain circumstances, Naruto made it on Team 9? Review about the idea and the setup. If I leave something out or mess up, well, whoops, I'll fix it. Jutsu will be in English, 'cept for a few like Chidori and Rasengan. Naruto will be smarter and stronger, but not godlike or anything like that. There will be Naruto humor though, or at least I'll try to be funny. Here's the beloved disclaimer: ME NO OWN NARUTO!

Chapter One

Naruto

"Try the Clone Jutsu, Naruto," said a man with a scar running the bridge of his nose. A blue-eyed, blonde-haired child of about ten looked up and grinned. He had already successfully performed the Transformation and Substitution Jutsu, but here came the real challenge, but he still had to face it like with any challenge. The other two monitors gazed at him coldly, like many of the villagers, for a reason Naruto did not know. Iruka was the only looking at him with a kind of hope.

"Hai, Iruka-sensei!" He formed his hands into the right handsign, and focused chakra into the jutsu. 'C'mon, this has to work!' He gave a shout, and the air around him swirled as chakra, invisible to the naked eye, circled him. There was a loud poof and a large puff of smoke, large enough to blanket the entire room. The monitors coughed as the smoke cleared and looked over to the blonde standing next to…several poor excuses for clones. An immediate fail, even with the lenient Iruka.

Naruto knew this, and sighed as his 'clones' puffed out of existence. 'Well damn, but this is my first Genin Exam, maybe I'll get it right next time. But, still, all that training for nothing,' he thought forlornly, looking back at the monitors. Iruka smiled sadly at the blonde, and the monitors shook their heads. Naruto read their expressions, which told him their thoughts: You failed.

"I'm sorry, Naruto, we can't pass you with you being able to perform the three Academy jutsu. You…fail," said Iruka, trying to smile reassuringly at Naruto, who wouldn't meet his eyes. The blonde nodded, and slowly walked out of the room. He ignored the teasings of other students as he exited the Academy and headed to his apartment. About halfway there, he came to a small park with a bench on the edge. He sat down in it, sighing.

"There's always next year, I guess," he said, crossing his arms and gazing up at the clouds. Always next year, but would he be able to master that Clone Jutsu? It was so hard, and even though he had put in countless hours of work into perfecting it, the jutsu was still just out of his reach. He never seemed to gain any progress. It was like he had stagnated just a inch away from actually summoning a clone. It was frustrating and depressing, especially if he thought too much about like he was now.

He shook his head after a while; he needed to prank someone to get his mind off things. Naruto smiled slightly as he thought of the possibilities. Hmm, would he paint the sides of buildings? Release the dogs from the pound? Throw water balloons? As he sat there, thinking, a small dog wearing a vest with a seal resembling a frowning face ran by, carrying something orange in its mouth. Naruto was broke from his thoughts as the dog seemed tomumble though its load.

"Damn Kakashi. Always forgets this thing. I really need to bite his ankle someday…" the mumbling faded away as the dog began to get farther away. Naruto frowned and then grinned. This could be entertaining. He raced after the dog, who was heading toward one of the training fields. He kept a discreet distance, or so he thought.

The dog finally stopped at a training field with a large stone set in the front of it. Naruto had seen the stone before but had never really thought about why it was there. He decided to hide in one of the trees surrounding the small clearing as the dog approached a man standing in front of the stone. The man wore a mask and had gravity-defying, white hair. He was a shinobi and looked high-ranking because of the flak jacket he wore.

The dog spat out the item as if it were poison which turned out to be a book,. "There you go, Kakashi. There's that damned book you wanted," muttered the dog gruffly before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Naruto's eyes widened; where the hell did that dog go?

The man's eyes turned into upturned U's when he picked up the book, and he began to read. What was in that book? Military secrets? Powerful jutsu? What could it be? As the blonde crossed his arms and thought about it, the man, Kakashi, opened the book and started to giggle strangely as he read. The giggling broke Naruto's concentration, and he glared in the direction of Kakashi.

"Why the hell can't he shut up?" he whispered irately. Kakashi easily heard it with his attuned senses. He made an unfamiliar handsign, and a perfect replica of himself puffed into existence right next to him. Naruto felt a surge of envy. 'DAMMIT! How can everyone do the Clone Jutsu but me!?'The clone seemed to be annoyed about something to Naruto, and the original shook it off and nodded in the blonde's direction. 'Huh..wait…OH, SHI-!'The clone vanished and reappeared right behind Naruto.

"Hello there. Don't remember inviting a brat like you," drawled the clone lazily. Naruto's eyes bugged, and he struggled as the clone grabbed him by the waist and disappeared. As they reappeared in center of the village, the clone dropped the blonde unceremoniously to the ground, and Naruto stood shakily. Whatever that guy had done had left him dizzy, and Naruto soon fell back on his rear. The clone eye-smiled at him and made the same sign the original had to create it. It disappeared, and left Naruto still dizzy and very annoyed. He got back up, stumbling slightly, and frowned at the spot that the clone had been.

That had certainly hurt, and he certainly wanted to get back at the white-haired guy. Several ideas popped into his head, and he filed away the better ones for later. Right now he wanted Ichiraku. When he arrived to the small ramen shop, Iruka was there, chatting with Ayame, the pretty waitress. Naruto grinned and sat beside his teacher.

"Whatcha talkin' about, you two?" he asked innocently, the impish grin still on his face. Iruka reddened and sputtered, but Ayame laughed lightly and took their orders. Naruto teased Iruka a few more times before stopping, and then he rested his head in his hands. "Man, I wish I'd passed."

"There's always next year," Iruka reassured.

"Yeah. I've been telling that to myself all day, and it doesn't get any better." He looked sideways at Iruka. "I just wish my clones could stand or pick up a pebble or do something besides just wobble like a bunch of ramen."

Iruka frowned. "A clone can't pick a pebble anyway. They're intangible."

"In-what?"

"They're nothing but air. Actually, they're not real at all. It's genjutsu. Where'd you get the idea a clone could pick something up?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Well, I was kinda sneakin' around this one ninja guy, but I was caught by his clone which took me back to middle of the city. It dropped me hard too."

"You probably deserved it," said Iruka, chuckling. "But I think he wasn't using the Clone Jutsu like what you're learning. He was using the Shadow Clone Jutsu. The clones from that are completely solid."

"When can I learn it?" asked Naruto enthusiastically.

"Only Jonin can learn it, and, besides, the scroll it's in is always locked up in Hokage Tower."

Naruto's face fell, and a cloud of disappointment formed over him. "Aw, man. I thought I had a shot."

Iruka ruffled his hair playfully. "And you still do. I know you'll think of some way to use the Clone Jutsu." Their food came then, and the rest of conversation was cut off by the slurping of noodles. However, in the back of Naruto's mind, a plan started to form.

Naruto peaked around a corner, the shinobi library just a block ahead. There had to be some mention of the Shadow Clone Jutsu in the library for shinobi even if it was locked in Hokage Tower. He was willing to try to sneak into the library, but there was no way he'd ever be convinced to sneak in the Tower. And this was his last chance. He was desperate.

He had a basic plan: transform and go into the library and ask for the Shadow Clone Jutsu. If the library didn't have it, he'd walk out. If it did...well, he would improvise. That was his plan. He pondered on who to transform into before he settled on that Kakashi guy. In a puff of smoke, he was Kakashi and was striding purposefully toward the library.

When Naruto neared the front desk, the librarian noticed him and smiled. "Kakashi-san, it's been a while since you've came. How's it been?" Naruto almost didn't answer, not quite realizing he was transformed, but the librarian said Kakashi's name again. Then he realized she was talking to him.

"Hm? Oh! It's been fine...uh..."

"Yuri."

"It's been fine, Yuri. How about you?" Naruto didn't know what else to say, but the librarian didn't think anything of it.

"Fine. The kids are in the Academy, Shiro is off on a mission. I wanted to work somewhere, and there was a position open here. The hours are great, the pay decent, the people sometimes irritating-oh, I've gone and rambled again. What do you need, Kakashi-san?" Naruto, who had tuned out somewhere at 'the Academy', jerked his head up and cleared his throat awkwardly.

"Uh, do you have the Shadow Clone Jutsu in here by any chance?"

Yuri frowned and looked him in squarely in the eye. "You know full well that it's locked in the Hokage Tower. Don't you know it already, anyway? You learned it when you were twelve or something!"

Naruto was stumped for a response. He was silent for a moment before stammering, "Uh-uh, yeah, but, uh, I need to see something, uh, about the jutsu. Something very important."

"And that is?"

'Man, she's nosy.' "Uh," stuttered Naruto, grasping at straws now. What could he say? He didn't know anything about the jutsu, and so he couldn't lie about and risk getting something wrong! That'd give him away instantly. He was silent again for a longer time, and then he hit upon something. "I want to see how it's different from the Clone Jutsu the Genin learn."

"Why?"

"To compare the two in case, uh, I ever have a student that asks me about it."

"You're pulling my leg, Kakashi. You've never passed a single team placed under you."

'Passed? What does she mean by that?' "But I have a feeling that in next few years that I'll get one. You never know about me."

Yuri laughed. "That's certainly true." She looked thoughtful for a second. "Well...I do have a copy of the Shadow Clone Jutsu. It's in the locked archives. I could let you take a look, but you can't take it out now!"

Naruto bowed his head, relieved that he had persuaded the woman. "That's fine. I just need ten minutes." As she led him to the giant, circular door that led to the archives, Naruto silently cheered in victory.

Lee

A boy with shaggy black hair and round eyes with extremely large eyebrows above them slammed his bloody fist against the log he had been punching and kicking for the past four hours. He was panting and counting each punch. "One thousand, two hundred and one! One thousand, two hundred and two! One thousand, two hundred and three!" He faltered, and he fell back. He looked at the log, and rose slowly due to exhaustion the strenuous training he went through everyday. "If I cannot do two thousand punches, then I will do two thousand kicks!" He started again, now kicking the log repetitively. "Twenty! Twenty-one! Twenty-two!"

As he counted, the boy was reminded of the bullying he received at the hands of the other students of the Academy. They called him names, shoved him, and did everything they possibly could to make his life miserable. Even the teachers told him to give up, that he would never make to be a shinobi. As he counted, tears started to flow. It wasn't his fault he couldn't mold chakra! Maybe, just maybe, he could make it on just taijutsu. The tears hit the ground, along with some drops of blood. He would train, train until the day he died, no matter the conditions.

He shouted and kicked at the log with all his strength, or what was left of it. The kick knocked him off balance, and he tumbled to the ground. He lay there, staring up at the log. The bullying came to forefront again, and he curled up into a ball, crying pitfully. "Maybe they are right. Maybe I am some hopeless reject. Maybe I will-will never-" He choked.

Unknown to him, a man wearing a green jumpsuit and the same large eyebrows was watching from a distance. The man had seen the boy at the Academy whenever he and Kakashi had stopped by. Kakashi had said that this particular boy couldn't mold chakra, and the man had felt sympathy for the boy. He himself was lousy at ninjutsu, but he didn't have it as bad as the boy. He had accidentally disrupted the boy's lesson before, and was awed by his fierce determination. Now his brow was furrowed as he heard the boy moan and whine softly, that will slowly draining from him.

He jumped over to the boy was laying, and put his hand on his shoulder. "C'mon, now, show them they're wrong! You've got to stick with it!" he encouraged, squeezing his shoulder. The boy shrugged him off.

"But they are right. I will never be a shinobi. I cannot even mold chakra!" argued the boy pessimistically, curling further into a ball.

The man frowned, and replied, "Then prove them wrong. Become a special shinobi, one that only uses taijutsu!"

"Do you not think I have already tried that? It does not work that easily. I cannot even get someone to teach me! No one would teach me anyway, look at-,"

"I'll teach you." The boy looked up at the man, who smiled. "I'll become your sensei, your inspiration."

The boy wiped his eyes, and looked sadly at the ground. "You do not have to do that. I can manage-,"

"Look at what just happened. You nearly just lost that unstoppable determination of yours, determination that I look for in my students."

"R-Really?"

"Yes." The man offered the boy his hand, and he helped him up.

"Thank you, uhh-,"

"Might Guy, at your service." The man smiled largely at him and gave him a thumbs-up.

The boy wiped his eyes again, and replied, "Rock Lee, Guy-sensei."

"OK, Lee. Now, I have a question for you: Do you know what the Power of Youth is?"

"No, sir." Guy smiled at him, and began to explain.

"Well, it's the…"

Yakumo

A girl with light brown hair glared up at an older man, her uncle. He was standing next to the Third Hokage, an old war veteran and leader of Konoha. He was conversing lowly with Hokage about the girl in front of him, making sure she couldn't hear him. They were in the Hokage's office, evening sunlight streaming through the window.

"Yakumo's powers are out of control, and I don't know the problem exactly, though I have a theory. But anyway we need to do something. Her parents are dead because of her powers." The uncle leaned in and whispered in the old man's ear, and the Hokage's eyes widened as he heard.

"Are you sure, Unkai-sama?"

"Not positive. I wanted you to check," answered Unkai, and the Hokage nodded. He walked over to the girl, who turned her glare towards him.

"I know you're talking about me. I don't want to be here, and I'd rather be at home…doing things," she was quiet toward the end, remembering the fire, and her parents screaming. Why had Unkai-oji rescued her instead of her parents? She was just a kid! The Hokage smiled gently, grandfatherly at her.

"You can't do that now. I need to see something. It won't take long and won't hurt." She looked at him mistrustfully, but slowly relaxed. "Good, now close your eyes." She did so, and the old man placed his hand on her head. At this, she tensed slightly, but Hokage softly reassured her. He focused chakra to his hand, and slowly pushed his way into her psyche.

Once there, he looked around. It was dark, for one, and extremely offsetting. Something was just not right. He scanned the area that was visible, and slowly began to feel something that hadn't visited him since the last Shinobi War War: fear.

He slowly turned, and glimpsed a shady figure standing five feet away. The Hokage leapt back surprisingly fast for a man his age, and lowered himself into a fighting stance. "Who are you?" The figure chuckled darkly, and stepped into the light. The Hokage couldn't help but gasp; this…thing appeared to be some gross culmination of the girl's dark emotions. It had the same hair, except it was shaggy and greasy; the same clothes, except for the poor condition they were in; and the same hair clip in the exact position Yakumo had it. He took a step back, and demanded, "What are you?"

"I," rumbled the demon, "am the destruction of Konoha. I am the reaper of vengeance for this little girl who lost her parents." It chuckled. "Because of me."

"Unkai-sama told me that something unnatural started that fire, and he sent me here to investigate."

"Unkai? That old fart? If he really thinks that you can stop me, he might want to rethink his plan." It laughed lowly. "Actually, nothing can stop me. Nothing mortal anyway. You might as well release me and get things over with." It laughed again, and lunged for the old man without warning, who quickly exited Yakumo's psyche. He stood, panting, as he recovered from the near-death experience. The girl had paled and begun shivering. Unkai knelt by her and tried to console her, but she jerked at his touch.

"Don't touch me!" A sad expression settled on the older man's face, and he looked down. The Hokage put a hand on Yakumo's shoulder. She tried to shake it off, but he held her firmly.

"It's alright, child. Nothing to be afraid of," he assured. She stopped crying after a few minutes of consoling, and looked at the Hokage with watery eyes.

"I-I saw and heard everything, Hokage-sama. That-that thing…it killed my parents. It-it looked like me…" She looked down. "I killed my parents."

"Now, Yakumo, don't say that," said Unkai, kneeling in front of her. She glared at him.

"I may have killed my parents, but you didn't try to rescue them! And you knew about the demon! Why!?" She choked, and repeated weakly, "Why?"

Unkai sighed gloomily. "I didn't rescue your parents because they loved you." Yakumo shot him a puzzled yet angry look. "They would've wanted me to rescue you instead of them because you are the hope of the clan and their beloved child. If I had saved them, though, and you have died, they would've been furious." He smiled slightly. "Your mother was terrifying when angry, and your father, my brother, would've never forgiven me." He bowed lowly. "Can you forgive me, Yakumo-hime?" The girl stared at him for a while, and eventually smiled softly.

"C'mon Uncle. No need to bow. I forgive you." She sighed. "I see the reasons why you saved me, and thank you." The Hokage smiled at the girl. 'She's wise beyond her years. She'll make a great clan leader,' he thought. She looked up at him. "What do we do about the monster inside my mind?" she asked bluntly. 'Not to mention direct as well. A definite leader,' added the Hokage.

"I have a student that is a master at sealing techniques. He could possibly help…,"

Timeskip: Next Genin Exams

Naruto had chosen to wake up earlier than usual that morning, nervousness getting the better of him. He looked in the dresser and pulled out his orange jacket and pants. He frowned at them; the color orange had sort of faded on him. He'd taken to darker colors, but knowing himself, he kept the orange clothes thinking that he'd return to that bright fashion later.

Over the past year, Naruto had been training nonstop, his notorious pranking spree coming to an end which relieved many of the village's citizens. He'd had also grown over the past year and was tall enough to look Shino in the eye, the tallest in his class,. He could easily take down civilian students and few of the shinobi ones. Except for that damned arrogant Sasuke. They had drawn a few times, but Naruto had never squeezed a defeat from him.

He wore dark blue pants much like those worn by the Chunin and Jonin of Konoha with a weapon holster sewed onto the right and a dark jacket over a black shirt. His bright clothes lie forlornly in the dresser. "I'll wear them when I'm off-duty inside the village," Naruto told himself. He opened a window, looked around, and jumped out.

At the Academy, the blonde wasn't surprised when he was the first there; even Iruka hadn't arrived. With his nervous energy getting the better of him again, he opened a window and tried to land gracefully on the floor. What he actually did was fall on his face and knocked over a chair that landed on his head. He groaned and rubbed his head morosely. He fixed the chair, feeling the knot on his head rising.

The first to arrive was predictably Iruka about five minutes later. As he entered, he started at the sight of Naruto, but an amused look came onto his face as he saw the open window. "Got in through the window, Naruto? Seems like I forgot to lock them," he chuckled. Naruto grinned, and then Iruka saw the knot. "What'd you do? Knock your head while you were coming in?"

"When I fell outta the window, I knocked over a chair, and it fell on me. I kinda feel dumb."

Iruka chuckled a bit more and went to organize his chaotic mess of a desk. He then realized another detail. "Uh, Naruto? Where's your classic jumpsuit? Did you forget or something?"

The blonde shrugged. "I really don't like bright colors anymore, but I kept it just in case I ever change back. Which is gonna happen sooner or later." Iruka nodded, liking the forward thinking.

"Confident that you're gonna pass today, Naruto?" asked Iruka.

Naruto grinned wickedly. "Absolutely." Iruka shook his head and chuckled some more, and went back to organizing his desk.

The second to arrive a half-hour later was Shino, a tall, creepy boy with dark sunglasses and a high-collared jacket that covered most of his lower face. The boy raised an eyebrow at the blonde, who grinned back. Shino seemed to narrow his eyes, and head toward the back of the room.

Next was Sasuke, who glared at Naruto who glared back. The two of them were rivals, and Naruto always wanted to just go all out with him and use his new technique, but he was saving it for the Genin Exams. The draws were good enough for Naruto, not to mention they showed him that he was Sasuke's equal.

"Hey, dobe, ready to fail the next Exam? You seem ready to go," said Sasuke, sliding into a desk in the middle row.

"To hell I'm failing. I'm going to become a ninja before you and be the greatest shinobi ever! And then I will become the Hokage!" retorted Naruto, putting his hands behind his head. He still hadn't given up on his Hokage dream, but knew he needed to become a talented shinobi first. And that was going to take blood, sweat, and tears. And more sweat.

Sasuke snorted and sulked moodily. Naruto rolled his eyes. 'Always in the dumps. If he'd cheer up a bit more, he'd be great.' Kiba was next, and all he did was give the blonde a grin before sitting next to Shino, who he whispered to.

After that were Shikamaru, the lazy genius, and Choji, the gentle giant except when called fat or ate his food. Then that person needed to run very fast and very far. Shikamaru had done the same as Shino, lazily lifting an eyebrow, and then mumbling something about troublesome blondes. Choji had smiled and quickly followed his friend as he munched on chips.

The next pair to enter was the loudest girls of the class, Sakura and Ino. They were arguing, again, and Naruto could catches of Sasuke's name. He plugged his ears with his fingers, hoping they would quit, but when they started to sit next to him, he snapped.

"Go sit somewhere else for Christ's sake!" he shouted at them. "I don't wanna deal with your crap when there's seats next to Sasuke! Go sit there and annoy him!" The two girls regarded him in surprise for a moment before sitting next Sasuke who threw a malevolent glance at him. "Ah, shaddup, Sasuke."

Geez, sometimes he wondered why he had liked Sakura in the first place. He had had a crush on her during the first year of the Academy, but quickly realized that she couldn't see anyone but Sasuke and had a particularly violent personality. Definitely not girlfriend material, but if she lightened up Sakura would be a great friend.

Five minutes before class started (or for Naruto, the Genin Exams), the Hyuuga heiress Hinata walked in meekly. Naruto grinned as he saw her. He remembered the day he had saved her from the bullies.

"Hey! Stop that! Stop being mean to her!"

"Yeah? What are you going to do about it?" Naruto quickly made a handsign, and the group of boys quickly stepped away from the small form of Hinata.

"H-he's going to use a jutsu!"

"Hell yeah I am!" A puff of smoke erupted from several spots behind the blonde, and several ghosts of clones appeared. At first the group was stunned, but quickly the shock gave into laughter.

"Diversion!" shouted Naruto, jumping down from a tree above the boys and landing on the back of one. As soon as the boy's head hit the ground, he was unconscious. The other two tried to tackle Naruto, but he had rolled to the side. He grabbed one as they lunged and pulled him behind himself and punched the other in the face as he sailed straight for him. Naruto quickly turned to finish the other one, but found he had escaped; he could hear him howling and crying for his mommy.

The blonde grinned and walked over to Hinata, who was slowly getting up. He offered a hand, "Need help?" She raised her head and looked at it, and slowly took it. Her hand was small and soft, and he pulled her up. "You okay?" She nodded, raising her lavender eyes to his. 'She has really pretty eyes. Prettier than Sakura-chan's…Sakura's.'

"Th-thank y-you. W-what's your n-name?" she asked. Naruto grinned, but it quickly faded as he heard another pair of footsteps coming in their direction, and by the sound of it, the person was running.

"Uh, gotta go!" said Naruto quickly, scurrying. As he ran, however, he shouted over his shoulder, "By the way, it's Naruto Uzumaki!"

Naruto smiled. His crush had moved from Sakura to Hinata now, and at least this time it wasn't one-sided. But she was very shy and blushed every time Naruto came close, and Naruto was actually a little hesitant to ask her on a date for the first time in his life. Not a real date, more like a 'date' at Ichiraku's or something. So he had to wait, something he never enjoyed.

"Hello, Hinata," he greeted, waving at her. She blushed and waved timidly back.

"H-Hello, Naruto-kun," she replied, and then she noticed what he wore. "Wh-what happened t-to those o-orange clothes?"

"Huh? Oh, they're at home. I'm wearing this until I get tired of it."

Hinata nodded and took her seat, and then Iruka rose from his desk. "Good morning, class. As you know, the Genin Exams are today, and before we start class, I want to know if any of you are willing to try to enter them?" There was silence, and slowly one raised his hand: Naruto. Sasuke rolled his eyes, and Hinata smiled slightly. "Naruto, are you sure?"

"Positive."

"Alright. Go to Room 252. I'm sure you can find it."

"Aren't you going to be a monitor?" asked Naruto.

"No, not this year. Sorry." Naruto felt his stomach drop. Iruka had always been a comforting presence during the Genin Exam. Naruto would miss him. Wrestling his own nervousness again, Naruto nodded to let Iruka know he understood, and exited the classroom.

In the waiting room, Naruto paced anxiously. He wasn't the only one to do so. Another boy with a bowl haircut and a green jumpsuit also paced, but would randomly stopped and did a blindingly fast set of pushups and sit-ups. 'Why's he doing that? Won't he get tired for the taijutsu part?' When the boy took off and did a set of laps around the room, Naruto shrugged and looked around the room.

Another student was leaning in the corner, arms crossed and an unreadable expression on his face. He was very tall, about six feet, and looked to be the oldest in the room, maybe about fourteen. He wore a grey battle kimono with a white waist sash, a katana strapped to it. He had shoulder-length shaggy black hair and dark blue eyes. His face was angular and handsome, but surprisingly there were no fangirls around; he seemed to have an intimidating aura. A scar ran from underneath his left eye and curved inward and back out, giving a grotesque impression of a tear streak.

Naruto immediately thought this guy was the equivalent of Sasuke, but was proven wrong when another student approached him. The teen did not grunt or leer at the other, but instead made polite conversation. The conversation didn't last long as the tall boy didn't try to prolong it, but he still answered every question respectfully. Naruto frowned. "Hey, who's that guy over there?" he asked a girl, pointing at him.

"That's Tomitsu," she answered simply. "Don't you know?"

"No, I'm from the younger class."

"Oh. You look older. Not to mention you look like you train nonstop like Lee over there." She jerked a thumb toward the boy in the jumpsuit. She grinned. "He's always funny."

Naruto grinned with her. "I bet he is. Anyway, back to my question. How does this Tomitsu act?"

The girl shrugged. "He's polite and kind, if a bit distant. Also very humble. Not to mention a looker." She gazed longingly at Tomitsu, but then shook her head. "He never flirts though. Some think he swings for the other team, though I doubt it."

'In that regard, he and Sasuke are alike,' thought Naruto. "Thanks."

"No problem."

Naruto returned his gaze to the teen. He noted the katana. 'Huh. Wonder if he's any good with it or not. I wonder if he'll be on my team or not.' Tomitsu looked strong, and if the girl wasn't lying, he wouldn't be hard to get along with. As long as he passed, Naruto hoped he would be placed with the tall boy. Another name was called, and his nervous energy returned. He started to pace again.

He stopped when he saw a Hyuuga, a boy with long brown pulled back with a headband. 'Huh. Another Hyuuga. Wonder what he's-HOLY SHIT!' Naruto ducked and narrowly dodged a kunai that hit with a loud thunk right where his head would've been. "Goddammit! What was that about!" he shouted.

"Sorry! It slipped from my finger!" apologized a girl with her hair in buns. She came over and picked up the kunai. She wore a sleeveless pink Chinese shirt and dark green pants.

Naruto frowned at her. "What do you mean it slipped from your finger?"

She smiled sheepishly. "Well, I usually twirl a kunai on my index finger, like this."

She did so, and Naruto carefully watched it as he said, "Be careful that darn thing. Nearly took my eye out." He looked at the Hyuuga boy again. "Hey, what's his name? I'm new here, and I think you repay me for nearly murdering me."

"Oh, Neji? Well, I hate to say it, but he's a bit of an ass sometimes. Going on about fate this and fate that and how the Hyuuga are superior. He does have a few good points, but he'd be less arrogant he'd be nice enough. He's also good-looking, at least to me." She paused. "Don't know why I told you that. Not unless you go that way."

Naruto made a face. "Ech. No, I don't, thank you."

"Just teasing. But please don't tell him, alright?" she pleaded.

The blonde waved it away. "No. I just hope I don't get placed on a team with him." He smiled. "It's been nice talking. What's your name?"

"TenTen Jinta. And yours?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." She frowned, but then her name was called, and she went into the testing room.

Pacing again, Naruto spotted a girl with long brown hair wearing an orange kimono sitting quietly on a bench next to the wall. She had the insignia of a clan on the front of her kimono. Before he could talk to her, her name was called.

His name was always at the bottom of the list, and so there were only a few people left in the room when Naruto's name was called. A monitor waited on the other side of the door and explained, "Welcome to the Genin Exams. First, you take the written part of the Exam and then move onto the taijutsu. The last part is ninjutsu. If you make a passing grade overall, you earn one of these." He tapped his headband. "Got it?"

"Got it."

The written portion went poorly for the blonde, who expected nothing less. He hoped he could do well enough on the other two parts to make up for it. For taijutsu,he was led to a small room with a sparring ring. A Chunin stood at the center, and when the Chunin saw the blonde, he took up a basic stance. Naruto stepped into the small sparring ring, and he said, "Are you ready, Uzumaki?"

Mouth too dry to speak, Naruto nodded. The Chunin threw a punch directly at the blonde's gut, and Naruto sidestepped and jabbed at his opponent's face. The man bent his head back, but it still grazed him on the chin. The Chunin sweep his leg under Naruto, causing him to fall. Naruto caught himself by standing on his hands, however, and delivered a kick under the man's chin.

The man grinned slightly after recovering, and the two traded blows for about a minute, neither gaining the upper hand. This changed, however, when the man feinted with a punch. Naruto fell for it and dodged, only to get his legs swept out from under him again. His opponent tried to follow up with a stomp, but Naruto rolled and crouched. The man turned to face the blonde, and Naruto jumped up and landed a hard uppercut on his jaw, the full power of his legs and arms behind it.

The man swayed for a moment, but recovered. He shook his head, and charged the blonde, who waited anticipatorily. 'Wait…NOW!' As the man reached him, Naruto jumped straight up, and kicked the man on the top of his head, causing him to fall unconscious. The blonde was worried for a second. 'Hope I didn't kill him.' He was relieved when the man stirred and slowly rose. They met each other's eyes, and the man started to laugh.

"Gotta admit, brat, you're the first to knock me out. You definitely pass this with flying colors," he said, and Naruto beamed. "But don't let get to your head. That boy in the jumpsuit was a monster. He made me look like fool." The man cricked his neck. "Anyway, get back into that room. The last part will begin shortly." He saw the blonde pale, and chuckled. "Guess ninjutsu isn't your strong suite." Naruto shook his head and exited the room, sighing a breath mixed with relief and dread.

'C'mon, I know I can use the Transformation and Substitution, and I pretty much have the Shadow Clone Jutsu down. Still can't help being nervous though,' he thought, sitting down on the ground in one of the corners of the room. There were a few students that had taken longer on the taijutsu portion, and so there was a bit of a wait.

He tried to calm his nervousness and succeeded, but then the exhaustion from fighting and the lack of sleep he's gotten crashed into him. Naruto leaned his head back against the wall and fell asleep. His dream was unsettling. In it, he was wandering in darkness, not knowing what direction he was facing. All there was was darkness. Then something made itself known, something big, something dangerous, something feral-

"Uzumaki, Naruto! Your turn!"

Naruto jerked awake with a snort and stumbled up. He looked around and saw that all the other students had left or had Konoha headbands. "Uzumaki!" The blonde shook his head, and entered the testing room. Inside there were three monitors sitting at a table, their faces blank. He stood in front of the monitors, and one ordered, "Use the Transformation Jutsu. Transform into anything you like, as long as it's appropriate." Naruto smirked, made a handsign, and changed into the Third Hokage. It was perfect. "Alright. Perfect," said the man.

Another one, a woman, said, "Now use Substitution." The blonde nodded, and quickly replaced himself with a log and back again. She nodded. 'Alright, two down, one to go,' mused Naruto, gulping.

"The final one: the Clone Jutsu," ordered the last one. Naruto obliged, and soon five clones appeared in a puff of smoke. The monitors scrutinized them for moment before nodding. "You pass this part. And we have the results from the other portions as well."

The woman picked up a paper from the table and read, "You received a 70 on the written part." 'Really!? Sheesh, did better than I thought.' "A 95 on the taijutsu, and a 100 on this. So your final score is 88. You pass." She stood and took a headband from a table in the corner. "Congrats, you are now ninja." She tossed it, and the blonde caught it. He stared down at it until one of the monitors cleared his throat.

"That'll be all. We have to wrap this thing up." Naruto nodded furiously and thanked them and rushed out the door. 'HELL YEAH!' He whooped and jumped in joy, exiting the Academy. He had just accomplished his first major goal and nobodywas going to ruin it. Not even a snide comment from Sasuke or anyone.

"Hey, Naruto!" The blonde turned to find Iruka behind him. "Well, did you make it?" he asked. Naruto grinned and lifted the headband as an answer. Iruka grinned back. "I thought you would've put it on by now. Do you need help?" he teased good-naturedly. The blonde rolled his eyes and tied it to his forehead, the Konoha symbol glinting in the sunlight.

"Hey, Iruka-sensei, do you think you could treat me at Ichiraku's? You know, in celebration?" asked Naruto. Iruka acted like he was considering it, though he had been going to even if the blonde had failed. Naruto was like a son or little brother to him, even if he housed that...thing. The energetic kid wasn't like that monster.

"Sure," agreed Iruka, after a nerve-wracking minute for Naruto.

"ALRIGHT! Race you there!"

"Hey, you have a headstart!"

Hmm, this turned out to be a lot longer than I thought it would be. About 6,700 words. Other chapters probably won't be this long, and updates will be random. As you can see, this is NaruHina, but the romance won't come in for a while. Next chapter is going to be placement and the actual Genin Exam. And here's an omake. There won't be many of these, but the few that I do write will have an impact later in the story, even if it's a little splash. (Edit: Spacing and a bit of wording. Spacing was the biggie.)

EDIT: OK, rewrote Naruto's beginning and the end a bit. And the omake? Well, I sorta deleted it in editing, but there are some in later chapters. Like I said, there won't be many of them. And now that I've actually heavily edited this, I realize that I have to change a few things in the next chapters...GEEZ. Troublesome.

Anyway, please review! Toodles!