Naruto: The Blazing Chronicles

Chapter 1: Graduation

~~~X~~~X~~~

I do not own Naruto, nor any of it's various spin-offs. Please continue to read/watch Naruto and support it and it's owner, Masashi Kishimoto. Neither do I claim any ownership for Takeru Hiroshi (owned by BetaGunslinger), Harumi Hyuga (owned by Kiyumi Arashi), Isao Aburame (owned by fenrirthesilverwolf), or Jūzen Senju (owned by BladeOfTheEclipse)

~~~X~~~X~~~

Kazuo finally put down his pencil, his test filled out completely. He stared over the sheet, feeling rather sure about his answers. Placing his paper down, he looked around at his peers. A good number of his peers seemed finished with their tests, while a few more were still writing in some answers or checking over their papers. Kazuo decided to look over his answers once more before he was out of time.

Ten minutes later, Yuno said, "All right, everyone. Time's up. Please put you papers and pencils down, then proceed to the first floor for you final test."

All of the students complied, placing their tests down and standing up, heading towards the doors to the hallway. Kazuo smiled as he walked next to Takeru, feeling pretty sure about himself. He turned to Takeru and asked, "So, how do you think you did on the test?"

Takeru turned to Kazuo and said, "I don't know, to be honest. I've never been good when it came to written tests. It's just not something I've been good at. I'm much better when it comes to applying knowledge than writing it out."

Kazuo frowned and said, "Don't be so negative, Takeru. I'm sure you'll do great. Or, at least, I'm sure the jutsu part will be easy enough for you to handle."

Takeru stared at Kazuo for a few moments, making Kazuo feel uncomfortable. After a moment, he said, "Yeah, no doubt about it. I've already come this far, I don't intend to fail."

Kazuo smiled and said, "That's the spirit! There's absolu... is that... Takeru, is that who I think it is?"

Takeru looked up and smiled, noticing the easily recognizable short, spiky blue hair and blank white eyes of Jiraiya Uzumaki. Jiraiya was leaning against the wall of the doors to the examination room, a serious look crossing his face. He looked around at the gathered students and said, "Good. You're all here. Let's all proceed to the examination room, so we can begin as soon as possible."

"You will do no such thing, Jiraiya, until we are all prepared." The students turned around, noticing Yuno standing behind them, her arms crossed and an angry look on her face. She continued, "I haven't even given an explanation of the finals. Please, do not interfere the examination process."

Jiraiya shrugged and turned to the students. He said, his voice as calm as ever, "I was wrong. Yuno will handle the proceedings. I'll wait in the examination room to watch your tests." He turned to Yuno and bowed slightly before opening the door to the examination room and disappearing inside.

Yuno turned around and said, "So, here is the basic run-down. We will ask you to perform one of two of the basic jutsus, the Clone Jutsu or the Transformation Jutsu. You will judged based on how many clones you can form or how well the transformation is pulled off. If you do well, you will pass and be given a hitai-ate as a symbol of becoming a Genin." Holding up a clipboard, she looked at the names written and said, "Iaso Aburame, please follow me into the examination room."

~~~X~~~

Takeru strolled out of the examination room, a calm smile stretched across his face. Kazuo looked and noticed his friend had his hitae-ate worn around his forehead, with his blonde hair carefully combed so that it did not get covered by the headband nor that it would cover the Leaf Village symbol.

Noticing Kazuo sitting down by himself, he plopped himself in the seat next to him, while Yuno called out for Harumi Hyuga to proceed to the examination room. Takeru stared at Kazuo and, after a few moments, Kazuo began to sweat under Takeru's stare. Eventually, Kazuo blurted out, "Congratulations, Takeru! The hitae-ate looks very nice on you!"

Takeru blinked, surprised by Kazuo's outburst. He said, "You okay, Kazuo? I'm glad you congratulated me and everything, but that was a bit random. Especially from someone like you."

Kazuo looked away, a blush covering his face. He quickly undid the band that held his hair in a ponytail, allowing the curtain of brown to cover his face. He said, "I... I'm just happy for you... it seemed like you were expecting me to say it, so..."

Takeru frowned and said "I wasn't expecting you to say anything, really. Though, you're normally the one who starts the conversation between us, right?"

Kazuo paused, thinking on Takeru's words. After a moment, he sighed. "Okay, got it. Sorry about that. But, that's Jiraiya Uzumaki in there! What if I mess up with my final exam? I'd be the ridicule of the village, and in front of one of Naruto's children as well! I could never show my face in this village again!"

Takeru shook his head. "Look, Kazuo, get over it. I passed just fine. You'll do fine, too, if you just relax. Getting worked up won't solve everything. You just need to-"

"Next: Kazuo Imegawa!" Kazuo looked up, and saw that Harumi Hyuga was leaving the examination room, a hitae-ate worn so that her forehead was showing. Kazuo stood up and gave a weak smile to Harumi before leaving to enter through the door Yuno was holding open.

Entering the examination room, Kazuo looked around, sweating bullets as soon as he spotted Jiraiya Uzumaki sitting in one of the two examination seats. Yuno sat down next to Jiraiya and opened up a clipboard, running her eyes down it. After a moment, she said, "Kazuo Imegawa. You scored pretty well on the written part of this test. As for this portion, you must perform the Clone Jutsu. In order to pass this part of the exam, you must create a total of three clones. You are given a total of three tries to succeed. Failure to do so will result in you failing this exam and repeating this year in the academy. Are we clear?" Kazuo nodded, and Yuno gave an approving smile. "Please, begin when you are ready."

Kazuo placed his hands together, weaving the hand seals for the Clone Jutsu. He felt chakra surge through himself, and he focused on forming the clone. However, at the last second, he glanced at Jiraiya and began to panic.

What if I can't succeed? And in front of Naruto's son?

Kazuo didn't hesitate anymore, and unleashed the jutsu. A burst of smoke occurred next to him and, when it cleared, Kazuo saw a rather pathetic-looking clone lying on the ground. Kazuo felt himself sweat as he looked back at Yuno and Jiraiya. Yuno looked at the clone for a moment, then looked back up at Kazuo, frowning slightly. She shook her head and said, "That won't be good enough to pass. Try again."

Kazuo slapped his hands together, focusing his chakra once more. He felt the chakra flow once more, and he readied himself to perform the jutsu.

I already failed once. There's no way I'll ever live this down.

Kazuo felt his chakra droop just as he unleashed his jutsu. When the smoke from the jutsu cleared, he saw a single clone standing next to him, before vanishing in a puff of smoke a few moments later. Kazuo turned to Yuno, who sighed and said, "That was better, Kazuo, but definitely not enough to pass. One last chance."

Kazuo sighed, placing his hands together and began weaving the hand signs once more. Before he could use the jutsu, he heard Jiraiya clear his throat rather loudly. Kazuo looked up at him, noticing Jiraiya was staring at him. Jiraiya said, "You must be rather stressed. Relax, don't be your own obstacle. If what your record says is true, then you should have no problem performing this jutsu."

Kazuo still felt nervous, but at the same time, hearing praise from Naruto's eldest son made him feel calmer. He breathed out calmly, placing his hands together. After a few seconds of focusing his chakra, he weaved the hand signs. With a puff of smoke, five clones formed next to himself.

Yuno smiled and said, "I think that I can call that passing. Took you more tries than I would have expected, but at least you passed. Congratulations." Her expression becoming one of annoyance, she turned to Jiraiya and said, "You need to stop helping these kids, Jiraiya. It's not helping."

Jiraiya sighed, shaking his head. With a slightly smug grin, he held up a book and said, "I think you're the one who doesn't understand, Yuno. This book states that it is best to always encourage others into performing their best. I remember dad telling me about a friend of his who used books like these in his life."

Yuno looked increasingly exasperated as she read the title of the book. She rested her hand against her face and said, "Jiraiya... that book is for people who are trying to learn how to interact with others on a social level. And this is a test of personal skills, so you shouldn't help them anyway!"

Jiraiya blinked and, confused, asked, "But aren't ninjas supposed to rely on teamwork and help their fellows when they need assistance?"

Yuno stared blankly at Jiraiya, then turned away from him, looking at Kazuo with a rather forced smile. She held up a hitai-ate and said, "I'm sorry you had to hear all of that. You passed. Just... please, leave the room. I'm gonna need a minute to handle Jiraiya here..."

Kazuo quickly grabbed the hitai-ate from Yuno's hand and walked out of the room, closing the door behind himself. As he did, he barely heard the sound of Yuno's voice chastising Jiraiya's actions. He shook his attention away from the voices as he stared at the hitai-ate in his hands.

Kazuo slowly pushed his brown hair back out of his face, slipping the hitai-ate against his forehead. He then tied the straps behind head so that his shoulder-length hair was covering the straps. He walked over to Takeru and said, "Hey, guess who just graduated!"

Takeru looked up and smiled. He chuckled and said, "You did great, Kazuo. I told you that you'd do just fine. Guess I was right after all."

Kazuo chuckled and sat down next to Takeru, a smile crossing his face. He said, "Yeah, no kidding. Guess I should have had more faith in myself all along. So, listen, listen! You'll never guess what happened..."

~~~X~~~

All 27 graduates walked out of the Ninja Academy, each one wearing a hitai-ate somewhere on their person. Gathered around were many of the families of the students. Upon seeing their families, most of the former students rushed over to their families, who went to praise them for their work.

Kazuo stood beside Takeru, smiling broadly and talking amongst each other. However, they weren't outside for more then a few seconds before Takeru's sister, Katsumi, grabbed Takeru's arm and pulled him away from Kazuo to congratulate him on graduating.

Kazuo sighed, looking around at the assembled students and family members. After a few moments, he sighed in disappointment. While he shouldn't have expected any different, he felt his heart drop from the fact that he had no one to share congratulations with. After a couple of minutes of staring at the various families all talking, he ran off towards his house, not saying a word to anyone or letting anyone see his face on the way home...

~~~X~~~

The Next Day

Kazuo sat in the Hokage's office, looking down as the 8th Hokage, Jūzen Senju, looked over the picture Kazuo had taken for his dossier. Jūzen was a man who looked to be in his mid-twenties, with spiky white hair that descended past his shoulders and red eyes. He wore the Hokage robes, as well as the Hokage hat.

Beside Jūzen stood his personal bodyguard, Yuichiro. He had a stern look that adorned his face, with short black hair, a thin goatee and his blue eyes focused were directly on Kazuo. He wore the standard Jonin outfit, including the green flak jacket, with his hitai-ate clearly worn across his head. He looked like he was approximately in his fifties.

After a few seconds, Jūzen looked up from the dossier, frowning slightly. He said, "You seem to be wearing the same outfit as in your dossier. Dark-blue shirt, black shorts, blue sandals... that dress would be just fine when going on missions. Now, here's what I don't get: you're wearing your hitai-ate now, but not in this picture. Why is that?"

Kazuo, still looking away, said, "Well... according to stories of people who knew him, Naruto apparently did that for his very first dossier picture, though his was a bit more extreme. I thought that, since Naruto did that in the past, I could try and do it, too!"

Jūzen chuckled slightly and, smiling, said, "Kind of an odd reason to do so. I mean, sure, Naruto was pretty cool, but... Oh, well... I'm sure there really aren't many issues that could arise from this. Whatever, let's just let it stay like this."

Yuichiro bowed and said, "Lord Hokage... I deeply apologize for going against your word, but I must insist you force him to retake this picture! It is deeply disrespectful for a genin be so casual about such a matter as this. As a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, he-"

Jūzen waved his left hand to silence Yuichiro, then looked at his bodyguard. "I know, I know. Goodness, I'm the Hokage, mind getting off my case a bit?" Turning back to Kazuo, he continued, "However, he does have a point... a bit aggressive of one, but a point nonetheless. Just retake with hitai-ate, okay?"

Kazuo nodded and said, "Very well, sir. I'll get right on it. Though... if you wouldn't mind me doing so..." Kazuo reached into a bag he brought along with him, producing two bento boxes. He held them out and said, "I made some food for you two... I was only planning on making one, but I felt it would be rude if I did so."

Yuichiro frowned and said, "Lord Hokage, pardon my interference, but it would be best if I were to examine the food. After all, as your bodyguard, it would be a failure if you were to get poisoned from a meal accepted from someone who-"

Jūzen rested his hands against his forehead and sighed. Exasperated, he turned to Yuichiro and said, "Goodness, just stop! He's your son, and barely a genin at that! I'm Hokage, and one of the Senju clan on top of that! With my skills, he wouldn't be able to touch me, much less poison me." Turning back to Kazuo, he calmly said, "Just leave the food here. Thank you kindly for coming here, please return later with the proper photo."

Kazuo bowed and turned, leaving in silence. He barely made it fifteen steps away from the Hokage's office when he heard footsteps behind him. Turning around, he saw Yuichiro approaching him. Upon reaching him, Yuichiro hugged Kazuo tightly and said, "I'm sorry for how I acted in there. I am the Hokage's bodyguard, and be ready to protect him at all costs. You know I don't have anything against you."

Kazuo looked away from his dad and, pushing off his dad's arms. He frowned and shouted, "Wonderful way of acting like it! You're so busy with work, you don't even act fatherly! You treat me like I'm a security threat, you're never home, you can't even bother to show up when I... that is... I mean..."

Yuichiro looked down at his son and said, "So... that's it, huh? You're still sore from yesterday. I'm really, really sorry..."

Kazuo muttered, "Sorry isn't exactly the best thing to say. It doesn't change the fact you weren't there. It was a once in a lifetime thing, dad! You can't even be around for an hour just to see me graduate!"

Yuichiro hugged Kazuo once more, who didn't resist this time. Yuichiro felt his heart fall as he said, "Trust me, Kazuo, I don't want to seem like I'm ignoring you. Listen... I love you... more than you could ever understand. But... there is so much you just can't understand with my job... I owe Jūzen and Konohamaru too much to even take that opportunity. One day, you'll understand. But... how about this? I'll give you my wallet, and you can have all the ramen you can eat."

Kazuo looked away and said, "Dad... that's hardly any better than not even being there and doing nothing."

Yuichiro patted Kazuo's head and smiled. "Please, Kazuo, it's the best I can manage. I really don't want to have you hate me, and I can't think of anything else I can do for you. Please, if there's anything I can do within reason..."

Kazuo sighed and made the best smile he could manage. He hugged his dad and said, "No... I'm just being selfish. I know you love me, dad. I'll just go with ramen, it'll be enough. Sorry I made a big deal of this."

Yuichiro let go of his son and said, "Don't be sorry. We're just having an off day. Listen, though... I'm really, truly proud of you, okay? Never forget that. I'm sure you'll do great with your new team tomorrow."

Kazuo whispered, "Thanks, dad." He turned around and walked off, doing his best to feel excited about his team assignment tomorrow.

~~~X~~~X~~~

Authors Note: Sorry this took so long. This chapter, I don't know... I just didn't know how to work it. I thought I had a good idea for how it would go, at first, but then I looked it all over and just wasn't feeling it. I'm really bad at getting a story rolling. I hope you all keep reading, the story will get better, I promise!

In any case, I was kind of rushing to get this chapter out, since it took me so long and I just couldn't find the right pace for it. I hope this chapter turned out well enough, I will try extra hard for all of you readers so that the next chapter will be twice as great. Please review, and I'd appreciate constructive criticism on what I can do better for next chapter!

In the next chapter, the ninja teams are formed! With all of the teams coming together, that also means the bell test! How will Team 14 fair? Find out in the next chapter of the Blazing Chronicles!