A/N: Hi! I finally stumbled upon the world of Naruto fanfiction, entering it with trepidation. However, I admit to need a beta. If anyone is interested, let me know!

Summary: Uzumaki Naruto's world changed when he was befriended by the often silent and introspective Aburame Shino. With new mentors, a great best friend backed by family and clan, and a whirlwind of chakra, allies and enemies, Uzumaki Naruto will leave behind a legacy of great renown. Uzumaki Naruto will become the greatest ninja assassin, also known as Jorōgumo! (W: OOC, MxM, OC)

Rating: AT+ to M (dependent on chapter, however, there will be no sexual scenes on , if they are ever included in the story they will appear on my AO3 account under the same name.)

Warnings: This story will include several things that can be considered explicit to sensitive readers. It will include OOC, OC, slash and het. It will be canonical in some manners, however drastically AU in others. If you are looking for a general fanfiction, I would not consider this one. Quite frankly, I approve of the darker reality of the Ninja world and enjoy slapping sense into characters. There is minor bashing, as well what I like to call 'recalibrating' of idiots. Flames will be donated to Will of Fire and Kurama, the Kyuubi.

Disclaimer: I do not own any part of the Naruto franchise, it belongs solely to the author and his manga/anime affiliates. This is a free service to other fans of the work, it is not intended or allowed for any type of sale or bartering. I, the fanfiction writer of this piece, declare no intended purpose outside of the enjoyment of working with this world.

Jorōgumo

Chapter 1:

Enter, Ninja of Hard Work and Genius, Uzumaki Naruto!

I'll prove I'm a Ninja!

Aburame Shino watched the blond in interest as he spaced out once more. He didn't really stand out that much, his small form hunched next to a bed of weedy flowers. The blond sat stilly as he watched a butterfly flutter gently between the different blooms before tentatively holding a finger out, his face serious. Shino watched in amazement as the bug landed on the boy's finger and the formerly somber face broke out in a wide encompassing grin. It painfully reminded him of his former adoptive brother Torune, the slightly older boy having left Shino to join ROOT in his place. Maybe it was this familiarity that led him to forge one of the strongest bonds of his life with one of the truly best people he'd ever know, especially after watching Naruto's simple act of kindness, something that the Aburame heir approved of mightily.

It was this friendship that dramatically altered the life of Konohagakure's greatest reject and hero as well as saved the greatest failure of the Yondaime Hokage's short fatherhood, Uzumaki Naruto.

Uzumaki Naruto was a very quiet boy due to years of heavy reprimand from the orphanage matron and other villagers whether he was good or bad. While he didn't understand why he was treated so, he suspected there was something about him that people just didn't like. There were some that just avoided him on principle, but did that with all children under a certain age, and others who avoided him while glaring from a distance. Most children were dragged away from the blond by their parents or encouraged to pick on him, though he couldn't guess the reason, having never talked to them or hurt them in anyway. It, however, seeded a bit of rebelliousness and resentment in him. The only real things that didn't seem to be bothered by him were bugs; he found spiders to be particularly interesting with their webs.

Gently shooing the butterfly off, he watched it flutter around, eventually being joined by a few of its fellows, before looking down at the beetles and other crawling insects with interest. The ants caught his eye and he followed their tidy little line back to a small mound. Studying it for a moment he almost missed the sudden charge of another boy playing tag towards the mound. Throwing himself carefully over the little pile of dirt he allowed the boy to slam into him and fall over away from the anthill, saving it.

"Ouch!" The boy said his blue-black hair falling over his face. "What was that for?!" He shouted at the blond as he merely glared at him silently. He blinked in surprise, however, when a shadow of another person appeared between them.

"Why?" the shadow's voice cut in, "because you were about to hit an ant mound. Thus you were about to kill them. He then decided that his hurt was less than the loss of the mound and the lives of innocent insects you were about to hurt." Naruto glanced up at his surprising defendant and recognized the boy from his school, and more specifically in his class, Aburame or something like that, the only boy quieter than him. The offended boy huffed and merely got up and left. Naruto leaned back and carefully backed away from the mound making sure not to interfere with the little line of ants as they headed back to the small hole.

"Thanks," Naruto said awkwardly after a few minutes of awkward silence, neither used to talking or interacting with others their age. Both were very used to silence, one out of general necessity and dispositioin, the other due to enforced training from rather belligerent caretakers.

"No thanks needed." The boy said monotonously. Naruto cocked his head to the side to study the other boy. He wore a loose, long sleeve, dark gray shirt, the sleeve hems could be seen under his jacket, and black pants with similar colored sandals. He had dark brown hair that stuck up a bit though not as spikey as Naruto's and was covered by the hood of the tan jacket he wore. The boy stared at him behind black, oval shaped lenses and Naruto, curious and unashamed, stared back.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he offered, giving the taller boy his hand.

"Aburame Shino," he replied taking it and shaking it firmly.

"Want to join me in finding beetles?" Naruto asked, a bright grin forming on his face when the other boy nodded. The other boy helped him up and led him into the grass naming the bugs they found with precision. Feeling a spot in his chest squeeze, Naruto wondered if this was what having friends was like.

Aburame Shibi wasn't exactly sure how his son and heir became friends with the social outcast and universally (at least in most of Konoha) despised jinchuriki but he was pleasantly surprised nonetheless. The blond, unlike his mother (although he had her stamina and energy), was rather quiet, if a bit spacey at times. He was a bit shy as well and unused to adults, as well as skittish around them. That part of his personality worried him and his wife, though they never brought it up with either of the children giving them positive attention. Like a feral cat, Naruto had slowly come to accept them, and even allowed his wife to hug him on the odd occasion now.

Currently, the boy was with Shino looking over the first of Shino's many insect colonies. While members of the Aburame clan were immediately given to the kikaichu upon birth, extra insects were kept either as a back up if a colony was killed off partially or totally and for specific breeding and strengthening purposes. Stepping into the doorway he watched for a moment, observing as Naruto handed his son a requested item and joined him in watching the bugs in their special mounds. After a year of bonding the two was nigh inseparable and regularly sought out the other when they were parted for more than an hour. For a man who hadn't made close ties until his genin teammates, it pleased the Aburame head enormously, even more than others could have possible known or suspected. After the loss of Torune to Danzo, he still had to repay the bastard somehow, both he and his wife were relieved Shino was making friends.

"Dinner," Shibi said gaining their attention. The blond blinked in surprise and offered a slight bow of thanks before following his friend out the door. The clan head watched the blond and felt a bit of pity well up. The son of their fourth Hokage looked more like a street rat than a well-cared for orphan. Just what were those orphanage attendants doing? He followed however, and joined them in the family dining room. His wife came in carrying food and smiled at the blond who offered to take them from her. Shino asked if it was fine for Naruto to stay the night and she glanced at him in question earning a nod of approval before she looked at Naruto who'd been shooed into a spot next to Shino.

"You won't be missed?" Shibi's wife, Sacchi, asked as she set a plate before him. The blond shook his head.

"I don't live at the orphanage anymore and there's no one at home to mind. My apartment only has me after all." The adults blinked before turning to glance at each in silent communication. They were both a bit stunned. A six year old living alone? How? Why? Shino seemed surprised by this tidbit as well and stared at his friend.

"When?" He asked bluntly.

"Yesterday," Naruto answered easily as the adults' gazes passed back and forth between them narrowly. 'The first day of school,' Shibi thought.

"That's why you were not able to play after class?" Shino reasoned forehead wrinkling.

"Yes." Naruto glanced at both of the adults as they stared at him in a funny manner before scrunching down and shifting closer to Shino in an attempt for comfort. Shibi's son noticed and glanced at his parents as well before shuffling a bit closer in a silent bid to put him at ease.

"How are you paying?" Shibi asked abruptly. His wife's gaze was trained on the orphan in a growing mix of disbelief and horror.

"Hokage-jii-sama has a fund that he pays out to me around the middle of the month," was the quiet reply and Shibi felt the uncharacteristic need to curse.

"Ah. What are you doing for food?" Sacchi asked as she took her place after dragging Shibi down next to her, her mind a whirl. As a housewife and mother she felt morally and emotionally offended by what she was learning.

"Teuchi-ossan and Ayame-nee," Naruto replied.

"You can't eat ramen every meal of your life." Shino said sternly. Both parents felt a moment of humor lighten their growing dismay and anger. The 'Ramen Debate' between the pair was rather infamous amongst the household and Aburame clan. Shino was determined to get his friend to expand his horizons, and Naruto just wanted to eat his favorite food in peace. The argument was currently on hold since Shino didn't want all of his sunglasses stolen and hidden again.

"I don't, sometimes I eat onigiri." The boy defended. The trio felt a bit of momentary disbelief and Shino resisted the urge to groan. That would be unseemly.

"That's not healthy." Sacchi said. "What are you doing for groceries?" She could help fix him some simple meals, and teach him some easier sides to make if he was determined to live on his own but the next answer stopped her cold.

"Nothing really, the market isn't open to me."

"Why?" Shibi asked his hand closing tightly around his chopsticks.

"They're jerks." The bug users all blinked, stared at Naruto to confirm who said it, and blinked again. Naruto, who never said anything bad about anyone unless it was unavoidable, had said an insult, even as mild it was, as bluntly as any Aburame. The boy was painfully polite and proper in his usual conversation, never even thinking of offending someone with a negative comment and even most of his sentences ending in desu. To do so was paramount to stating the person, or group of people, were dirt beneath his feet and deserved to die a grisly end.

"Ah." Shibi said smoothing his hand flat out and letting his angry tense muscles forcibly relax, "care to give me a description?" Looking into the sky blue eyes, Shibi knew he wasn't going to like what the small blond said next.

He didn't.

Naruto had the best friend in the world.

But the Academy still sucked majorly.

Nothing could make it better, not even ramen, and that was saying a lot. This was their second year and it wasn't getting any better, and if the trend continued it would just get worse, a thought that made Naruto grimace mildly. So while Shino was able to help him, and both of the boy's parents were great, the instructors hated him and were determined to ruin his life and education.

Already he was struggling to keep from being placed at the bottom and Shino and he both knew it wasn't their fault. The same homework and answers that they would both submit would earn a nearly perfect grade for Shino but would be marked all over in red for Naruto. More so, he was constantly harassed by the other children who seemed to decide that hanging out with the bug user made him a 'weirdo' like their parents told them he was.

Shino had been quite offended by that and Naruto even more so.

Currently the duo were sitting at the back of the class, with the rest of the 'slackers' or 'good-for-nothings,' never mind that all of them, with the exception of Naruto (who was actually one and didn't know it), were to be the next clan head or the closest thing shinobi got to nobility. All of them, in Naruto's soft and almost-never mentioned opinion, were nicer and better than the other riffraff that plagued them while at school. In a class of around thirty children, only eight were from shinobi clans, while another two were from active shinobi families. The other twenty or so students, however, were civilian born.

That made life hellish no doubt.

All of the civilian kids seemed to take their parents teachings to heart and were fully backed by the teachers. During spars they would do dirty things to Naruto, pulling illegal moves or not listening to the teacher when they ordered them to stop, and never, not once, did they ever get reprimanded afterward. More than one fellow student, if they were civilian born that is, had blamed Naruto for something when he wasn't even in the room and the blond would get in trouble for it.

This meant subtle payback.

Thus, more than one teacher and student had run afoul with something rather mildly annoying or irritating. One girl's lunch got covered in ants regularly, however they blamed it on her cubby being so close to the window. While other bullies suffered mild pranks with itching powder, paint, and even chalkboard erasers, nothing overt of course, but common and general enough that the victims were only angry for a few moments. After all, everyone got pranked some times. If they were intelligent, however, they would have realized that neither Shino nor Naruto ever got pranked and the clan heirs and members much less in comparison to them.

Nobody ever said they were intelligent however.

The teachers were a problem as well, but they suffered carefully planned setbacks as well. The meaner teachers would lose their wallets or passes to different government or shinobi things and have to hunt them down only to find them later in a different pocket or somewhere in their desks where they knew they'd looked before. These cases, however, were something neither Shino nor Naruto ever got caught doing and served as practice in their stealth and trap abilities. The only teacher who didn't get hit by this was Umino Iruka, who sometimes actively assisted them in their payback, once a prankster always a prankster and all that.

It didn't make life easier, but it kept them both sane.

The recess and lunch bell rang and Naruto glanced at Shino in question and earned a subtle nod. Both seven year olds unearthed the lunches Shino's mom packed for them and headed for the small grassy clearing near the training area at the back, quickly leaving the classroom through the backdoor as they were dismissed. Getting to their favorite spot both boys took their usual seats in the cool shade and relaxed.

"I hate it here," Naruto finally sighed after a few minutes. "If it wasn't required of a ninja to pass the Academy I would try a different way." Shino grimaced behind his new high-necked jacked and nodded in understanding. He hated it as well. He couldn't believe his best friend was being hurt in such a manner. After learning Naruto was living alone and what the villagers were doing to him at the market and at his apartment, barely a day and he was already being tortured by the building manager!, his parents had pretty much forced him to live with them. Naruto now 'rented' a small two bedroom guest house near Shino's house in the Aburame compound and 'paid' for his meals from Sacchi.

"Just five more years," Shino said trying to be comforting. "It's almost four actually. We are half way through this year." Naruto nodded and dug into his rice quietly eating the food with a soft smile. Sacchi had made his second favorite food, beef and mushroom stir-fry, and he was grateful. Class this morning had been dreadful with all the taijutsu they were practicing and this afternoon would get no better what with shuriken and kunai lessons. Shino catching the growing depression quickly diverted his best friend's attention.

"Have you found a style you like yet?" Shino asked referencing the different scrolls and styles of fighting Naruto had been studying over the past few months. After realizing that the boy wasn't going to learn anything effectively or correctly at the Academy they were being trained back at home in chakra control, stamina, and some basic forms of all jutsu. Furthermore, his mother had taken him under her wing even more, leading Shino to suspect that they'd have another assassin in the Aburame clan. (Naruto was an unofficial member and pretty much his brother, so he had to be an Aburame secretly was Shino's train of thought.) So while Shino and most of his clan didn't use taijutsu extensively, they did collect and hoard scrolls containing all sorts of bug related jutsu and allowed Naruto to go through them to assist in his own learning and development.

"I was thinking since the clan is more into spying I'd handle trapping and combat. Ways to protect you or someone similar if we needed it." Naruto answered. "I have the strength and dexterity to handle wire, and Shibi-ojii-san said I have a budding talent with fuinjutsu. That means plenty of different tags and storage for use." Shino nodded.

"You would do well." Shino said before he returned to eating. Naruto smiled at him in pleasure.

"Thanks, Shino."

"Ouch," Naruto muttered as his finger cut on the more advanced and sharper ninja wire he was acquiring. Now at the age of eleven, he'd been training with the sharp threads for nearly four years. His insane healing quickly fixed it and he picked out the next few rolls of spools he needed and some senbon and a new fukiya1. Shino was a few aisles away picking out some kunai. He glanced up at Naruto and cocked a brow as his best friend moved closer.

Nearly six years of being best friends with an Aburame had changed the blond forever. He was still short but growing, his chakra preventing the early malnutrition from affecting his body too much and totally protecting his learning and thought capabilities.

The blond boy was slender in an almost feminine manner, his spikey hair grown long and carefully braided and then pinned up before being effectively covered by a black bandana. His blue eyes were soft and fond when they rested on his best friend or anyone in the Aburame clan, and he dressed in a similar fashion to all the Aburame but without the high collar. Instead, he substituted it for a face mask that covered his nose and distinct whisker marks, no doubt to help protect his sense of smell which was comparable to an Inuzuka's, even though it also hid his identity. Shino also knew Naruto wore a mesh, long-sleeve shirt of black over a sleeveless black muscle shirt though neither could be seen under the thigh length dark gray jacket with black trim on the pockets and hems and a dark-red Uzumaki swirl decorating the back and where the shoulders met each sleeve. His legs were covered in pants that had a number of pockets and were wrapped down from the calf to his ankle in dark gray tape before he pulled on a similar pair of black nin-sandals as Shino's. In the end, Naruto was pretty much looked and dressed as a shadow.

"Good?" Naruto asked as he held out the basket and Shino placed his own selection in.

"Good." Naruto nodded and they carried it to the counter. Shino pulled out their 'joint' wallet and Naruto put the basket down. Both stared at the cashier silently as he rang up the items, Naruto musing at the benefit of hiding his identity from the general populace. No more being jilted at the register with increased pricing! Though he'd changed his get up to better suit his fighting style and training, he wasn't an overt offensive fighter, though he excelled at taijutsu, his specialty being covert operations, he appreciated the secrecy now afforded him. A few moments later, he was knocked out of his thoughts when Shino paid the man and took one of the three bags. Naruto grabbed the others, since they were primarily his purchases and they left the shop at a relaxed gait ignoring how the civilians and fellow shinobi edged away from when they realized Shino was an Aburame.

"What do you think about the final exam coming up? We have the chance to take it." Naruto asked since you were able to take the genin test when you turned eleven and/or entered your second to last year of Academy. When that happened you had the option to testing out early. If you decided to wait you could take it beginning of the following year, and if you decided to wait further you could take it at the very end of your schooling and if you failed less than three times you were submitted to a retake until you hit three fails. You had three different chances to take the exam and could take it only three times. If you failed one you were not able to take the test again for a whole month if it was the first two, if you failed all three chances you were forced to become a civilian. Some students took it only once and passed ahead of everyone else, while others tried and failed all three attempts.

"I would prefer to wait," Shino admitted, "If only to get an idea of the level of difficulty and prepare ahead of time." Naruto nodded.

"We will do well though. We are too good to have a problem." Naruto said firmly in a rare show of confidence for his eyes crinkled in a clear smile. Shino's eyebrow twitched in humor and he nodded.

"Of course."

Naruto took a deep breath as he slowly relaxed into his next stance. His hands moving through the different sharp angles with pure concentration and dedication, dancing through the katas under the watchful eyes of one of the best taijutsu masters the Aburame clan had. Finishing through his final movements the woman's lips quirked in pleasure, "Good," she said congratulating him. Naruto straightened out of his stance and bowed to his teacher flushing in pleasure.

"Thank you Aburame-sensei," he said. The woman smiled at him and ruffled his hair, a rare sign of affection for the normally stoic Aburame. Then again she married into the family after catching the eye of one of their members so she got away with it.

"Ma, you've come far, Naru-chan," she said teasing gently as she handed him a towel. The blond relaxed further and gave her a bright smile.

"Thank you, Sacchi-obaa-san," he said wiping his face. "I am glad you approve."

"Your hojojutsu2 has gotten better as well," she said motioning him to seat as she took her own place. Naruto smiled shyly and settled in front of her. "Your skill with your wires is something to be envied and your training with Kumo no Kobushi3 is becoming quite advanced." Naruto turned an even bright red.

"To hear that from the infamous Jorōgumo4 is an honor," Naruto said with a bow. Sacchi laughed in pleasure at her former Bingo book label.

"I am sure you'll be even better, little spider." She said warmly at the boy she considered her second son. "Now, I have a gift for you," she stated, pulling out a small bag from where it was tucked secretly inside her obi. Naruto accepted it with a bow and opened it curiously. His eyes widened and he glanced up at her in shock, surprise, and gratitude. A series of deceptively simple silver, clear heavy glass, and black iron rings lay in his palm. If it was for the sharp spikes and hooks on the bottom they could have been considered regular rings, perhaps even the ones poor peasants bought and wore once they were wed.

"Kakute5…?" Naruto asked. They were a useful weapon for fighters like him, however quite rare for anyone who wasn't a kunoichi in the seduction or assassination corps. The ones handed to him were of clearly made of high quality and expensive metal in the case of the silver and iron ones, not to mention the glass, something the orphan had never thought to own until he was well into jounin ranks. Already his mind was whirling to the poisons he could learn and further equip the weapons with. He'd have to start a series of… His mind whirled in excitement. Sacchi smiled as she took in his excited and overjoyed expression. He hid his expression as well as any Aburame, she thought with an amused mental snort.

"They were mine," she admitted and shook her head when he made to hand them back, obviously thinking she was merely showing them to him as a demonstration. "They're yours now, Naru-chan, my gift and hope to ensure your success and survival. They were my mother's and someday they may be your child's or disciple's. I know you'll use them well." She slipped one onto his finger and watched him adjust to the weight. "This is a sign of your advancement. I'm sure you'll do well, little spider." She smiled in approval when he slipped a few on and tested them out, getting used to how they weighed so one day they could be of assistance.

Naruto's face could have blinded any Aburame the next few months; his smile was so bright and happy. Shino more than once shook his head as his best friend trapped and wrapped up more than one unsuspecting Aburame in practice, his ropes and ties growing in intricacy. Even his father didn't escape the chaos and the Aburame heir had laughed in a rare show of verbal amusement when he saw his father's put out expression as his best friend happily hummed while looping slim hemp ropes in a diamond pattern around the captured shinobi's chest. Now, however, he observed his best friend building one of his more intricate and secret 'webs.'

"Naruto," Shino said mildly as he stood on the porch watching his friend delicately make an encirclement of wires around a group of wooden and straw people. The blond merely held up a single finger and twitched forward three times in an unspoken request of silence for a specific amount of time. A minute and thirty seconds later the blond raced up a thick tree before dropping down on the opposite side yanking his hands back as he landed onto the ground skidding back in a defensible position. The wires carefully stretched and placed, instantly pulled collapsing in from different directions. Their instant retraction sliced through the 'enemies,' disposing of them with a vicious precision, that made Shino's eyebrow shoot up in acknowledgement and surprise. Every single cut alone would have been fatal and if there had been blood, the liquid would have coated the woody arena.

"Golden Web: Bloody Encirclement," Naruto murmured and quickly gathered his spools of wire.

"Impressive," Shino commented, "Dinner is about to start now." Naruto smiled and followed silently, the wire returning to their places and the rings freed from their work.

Sitting down to eat they murmured the traditional saying and quickly dove in, the food served out easily and the bowls of rice and soup refilled often.

"The test is tomorrow," Shibi said finally. Both boys had decided to wait until the third test and anticipated passing easily. While neither boy was at the top or the bottom, they had followed the plan and stuck to the middle. It had frustrated the worse and meaner teachers immensely that the blond had done so 'well' and suited Shino's needs to stay with his best friend and properly assess their competition and future colleagues.

"Yes," Naruto said politely handing the beef dish around.

"We will pass." Shino commented. "Why? Because we have all the skills we need and those that the teacher doesn't know of." Both Aburame adults smiled slightly at them.

"I don't doubt you will. You have the main three down?" Sacchi asked.

"Substitution, Clone, and Henge," Naruto said with a wry grin. "I am appreciative to all your care towards teaching me control otherwise I'd never be able to use such a weak jutsu without overpowering it, Aburame-sensei." Shibi nodded and Sacchi smiled at the compliment.

"If you pass you'll each be taught a new jutsu. A special clan one for Shino and Kage Bushin no Jutsu for Naruto-kun," Shibi said with a slight smile as both boys' attention instantly intensified. Naruto was blinking at him owlishly and Shino's kikaichu buzzed in excitement. Both boys exchanged a glance and a particularly evil look crossed over Naruto's reminding the adults why he was the unspoken king of pranks in Konoha.

'Sometime soon it shall be interesting,' Shibi thought with a slight smirk. 'Why? Because the teachers will surely suffer some humiliating encounter but it is no less than they deserve. Why? Because they spent seven years trying to crush my boys and tomorrow they will prove they are far better than anyone anticipated. The pranks that come after will be mere sauce on this dango.'

Content in his knowledge, Shibi ignored Naruto as he politely excused himself to make his final preparations, Shino joining moments afterward. Smirk growing into a look just as evil as Naruto's Shibi silently wondered if they would hear the screams all the way in the compound. It would be good if they did.

Umino Iruka glanced up and ignored all of Mizuki's ill-tempered muttering as the Aburame boy finished his test. The insect clone had been impressive, as well as his henge into the Hokage, making it easy for Iruka to pass him. Shuffling his papers around the scarred chunin felt his lips twitch a bit in humor as he read the next name. Uzumaki Naruto, eh? The blond had been the silent pranking king for the past six years. While few of the teachers and students in the school had suffered from very few 'big-ticket' pranks, the bullies of Naruto's year had been victim to more than a few 'mild but highly irritating' ones. Nothing less than they deserved in his opinion, completely unbiased surprisingly. When Naruto and Shino had entered his class for their final year he'd seen how dedicated and hardworking the boys were, something that had belied earlier write ups.

In actuality Naruto and Shino could probably match, and quite easily surpass if they wanted to, the current 'Rookie of the Year.' In his own personal opinion, the duo belonged on a team together because while they were efficient alone, they were devastating standing together against a common force or enemy. Remembering how often one of the worst and bigoted girls in the class suffered from continued hijinks with all sorts of irritating insects "Maybe it's your perfume," he'd offered mildly when queried why bees kept chasing her, Iruka muffled a snicker. Calling out the name, Iruka smiled mildly at Naruto as he took his place before them.

"You've done well on the taijutsu and written portions of the exam," Iruka said firmly, squashing any bias down, the boy would and could pass even if he didn't get a perfect score on this portion, though Iruka didn't doubt he would, "you now have to perform all three of the standard ninjutsu techniques: Henge, Substution, and Clone. When you're ready please transform into one of the proctors, swap with something in the room, and then form three clones." Naruto nodded and quietly gathered himself. A quick series of hand signals later and soft poof of smoke and Iruka stared at a perfect copy of himself, clipboard and all. His copy smiled gently at him before rubbing his scar in embarrassment. The instructor paused in the middle of doing it himself and laughed.

"Good," Iruka said marking off on the test. Another soft pop and the boy changed back to his original shape. He flipped through a series of seals and a plant stood in his place as he took the potted tree's place in the corner. Iruka fought the need to crow in joy and calmly said, "Bushin now." Another series of quick hand seals and three other Narutos stood there with a slight smirk appearing on their faces. Glancing at the infuriated look on Mizuki's face, the boy's previous instructor, Iruka couldn't help but feel a little smug as well.

He'd told him, Naruto was a better shinobi, but Mizuki hadn't listened and wasn't that a kick in the ass?

Naruto came out with his hitai-ate6 tied over his head, his bandana stuffed in a pocket of his jacket. The fact that his hair was uncovered had many of his classmates blinking in surprise at the bright blond strands having forgotten the actual color after four years of not seeing it.

"Passed." Naruto said stopping by his equally quiet friend.

"Home?" Shino said.

"Yeah. We report at the end of the week for team placement. Let's go." Naruto replied, "Want to stop and get some dango?"

"Fine," Shino consented and they disappeared. Neither commented or paid any attention to the quiet study or glowers of other newly made genin or failed classmates. They had better things to do.

"Here is the list of genin who are now up for team selection and final testing," Umino said handing out the lists of names to the different jounin. Out of the thirty who'd attended the academy, only eighteen had actually taken the exam and passed. Out of those numbers, Iruka suspected only nine would actually make the cut.

"Ah, so Naruto-kun passed, good." the Hokage said with a smile. "I knew he'd do well."

"He and Aburame Shino are very dedicated," Iruka said with a smile. "We have a very good batch this year we may end up with at least three teams depending on the jounin and who gets teamed up with whom." The Hokage smiled at the scarred chunin and wished once again the young man wanted to be a jounin and perhaps head the Academy eventually instead of staying as an instructor. However, he respected the man's Will of Fire, and doubted he'd be able to convince Iruka before the man decided he wanted it himself.

"Any final suggestions?" The Hokage asked making the man pause. "Comments?" Iruka hesitated.

"Uchiha-kun is a bit… Unstable in his relationships, I'd advise a jounin who could focus totally on the boy and not his background. If there was a jounin who would suit and be willing to take him on as an apprentice I would suggest that but it would do nothing for his social and emotional isolation unless he was involved in numerous interactions of different sorts. If Yamanaka-san was taking a team I'd suggest him if only for psychological evaluation, otherwise Yuuhi-san would probably serve him well." The newly made, jounin-instructor blinked her red eyes at him in surprise. "I looked over all of the requirements and skills of those who were volunteered or put up as probable sensei," he said in way of explanation when he recognized the question in those ruby orbs.

"Not Hatake Kakashi?" Sarutobi asked. The aforementioned jounin cocked an eyebrow at the Academy instructor who sighed and shook his head in denial.

"Hatake-san has my greatest regards as a Jounin, however he's not knowledgeable on how to deal with the Uchiha's isolationist issues, self-inflicted negativity, and avenger mentality." Kakashi winced but agreed. He wasn't entirely able to handle his own, let alone Sasuke's, emotional burdens.

He had wanted the boy due to his connection with Obito and his own Sharingan, but it might be better to take him on as an apprentice after he made chunin. The instructor however continued, though he felt bad for the slightly defeated look on the Copy-nin's face, "While an excellent shinobi," Kakashi earned another apologetic glance, "It is my suggestion that a well-seasoned jounin instructor or Yuuhi-san get him." Iruka said firmly. "The rest of the class is mostly fine, though the kunoichi need to be firmly trained out of their fan-girl mentalities."

Sarutobi muffled a chortle; he'd heard this complaint before. "Would you like me to throw them to Mitarashi Anko or something?" He offered amused.

"If it helped yes," was the blunt reply making several of the people in the room wince. Iruka continued in a quite droll manner, "They stalk and chase Uchiha-kun around town, making it even more difficult for him to form connections and interact on a normal basis with society, never mind the damn civilian council's interference. Haruno-san is particularly violent towards anyone who puts him in any type of negative light and more than once a fight has erupted between her and Yamanaka Ino, even to the extent of having to send one or both to the nurse's office afterwards. Many of the boys don't work or want to work with him because of this or merely cannot since he's isolated both by his name and 'followers'. The only two who don't regularly pick a fight with him, his fan girls, or any others in class are Aburame and Uzumaki and that's only because they're the ones that get picked on, isolated from the rest of the class, and oftentimes are verbally and/or physically attacked by the collective rest. They've retreated from the worst of the failures during their time at the Academy, which is something I actually approve. Considering they're in the correct mind to be effective, well-rounded shinobi instead of merely pretending to be one like many of the students I taught this year, they're choice was the correct one." The Hokage nodded.

"You're evaluations are quite valuable, Umino-san," Sarutobi said gravely. "We will of course, take all of that into consideration and put it to the greatest use. Do keep up the good work. You are dismissed," the chunin bowed and left. Turning back to his other shinobi the Sandaime laced his fingers and rested his chin on top of them in silent contemplation.

"Any requests?" He asked as he watched the higher ranked jounin and shinobi go through the lists and study the different skill sets. He was fairly certain that his son would take on the new Ino-Shika-Cho group however Kurenai and Kakashi were a mystery to him. The red eyed woman studied the list her lips turned down a fraction.

"If it's alright with you I'll take on Haruno, Hyuuga, and Uchiha," she said to the silver haired jounin. "The other three, that is Aburame, Uzumaki and Inuzuka, seem to suit infiltration, espionage and tracking. Things a former ANBU would excel at." Kakashi nodded handing her the paper and whipping out his little orange book. He read a few pages before a giggle escaped. The genjutsu-mistress flinched in anger before stomping down the immediate need to castrate him and turned to the Hokage with a smile.

"Hokage-sama, here are my choices," she handed him the paper with the list of names circled, "also," she continued her lips turning up in a smirk, "Kakashi-san said he'd take all the Tora missions for the next three months with or without his genin squad."

"Did he now?" Sarutobi asked glancing at the giggling ninja as he read his little orange book. He rather doubted the man said that, but a happy kunoichi mean a happy and healthy Hokage, so he let it go. "I'll make sure to mark it down."

"Hai." She said brightly thinking, 'take that, pervert!'

"Congratulations," Shibi said when the two boys presented their hitai-ate to the clan head. "Now, Sacchi will be teaching Naruto-kun the Kage Bushin no Jutsu while I explain the next hijutsu to Shino." The blond beamed and got up to follow Sacchi as she motioned him to follow. The special clan techniques Shino was learning could only be taught to him and it would be better to keep them a secret outside of battle, even to his best friend.

"Have fun, Shino," Naruto said softly before disappearing down the hall, heading for the dojo. Shino nodded and turned his focus completely back to his father who motioned for him to remove his jacket as he took off his own. Slowly the swarms in both of their bodies expelled themselves and buzzed around each other trading information, the next secret technique transferring that way, making genetic memories in the specialized insects saved in them from countless previous generations come to the fore. Slowly the hum died down and the kikaichu separated and slowly returned to their respective hosts. Shino slowly entered his meditative state, letting his mind communicate with his insects once more.

A few hours later he looked up and Shino's sunglasses gleamed in pleasure as he bowed to his father and sensei making the clan head smiled. "Excellent. Now is the time for practice." Shino nodded sharply and stood, his jacket going back on. Swinging his arms out, he ordered, "Hijutsu: Mushidama7." The insects immediately swirled out and enveloped the practice dummy that stood at the center of the training field, put there by an expectant Shibi earlier in the day. n a sphere before converging on it. Eyebrows going up in pleasure he smiled slightly behind his collar. 'This will be quite effective.'

Naruto easily learned the ninjutsu, his clones forming solidly next to him in a neat line. The only trouble he was having was the amount, though he was slowly getting a hand of it, which pleased both the covered up blond and his sensei.

"Good," Sacchi said with a warm smile, "You've got a good hand on it now, Naru-chan."

"Thank you," Naruto said with a sigh of relief.

"This is a very good jutsu for you," Sacchi said as they fell into their usual seated and relax mode of conversation. "While allowing for you to have multiple partners in setting up your nets and detaining prisoners, there is a special ability that you should know."

"Yes?" Naruto asked curiously.

"The clones have the ability to learn. Anything a clone does, see, or learns is passed onto you." Sacchi told him. Naruto's face blanked for a moment as the implications hit before blinking slowly. A smile slowly formed on his face and then bloomed into a grin.

"Amazing," he whispered. His sensei chuckled in agreement, secretly knowing that with this technique and the boy's prisoner he'd be a force to reckon with. Especially with the tight and advanced control he'd learned at her hands and those in the Aburame clan. He bowed to her, "thank you for teaching me something so useful, Aburame-sensei." She smiled proudly.

"You are welcome, Naru-chan," she said warmly. "You're free to go now. You've successfully learned it. I'm sure you'll want to test it out yourself." Naruto gave her another bow and scampered off to find his best friend and her son, no doubt going to drag him off to one of the off-compound training grounds to demonstrate and experiment. Getting up she stretched a bit before heading back into the family room where her husband sat, quietly proud.

"He took to it like a moth to light," she told him as she settled next to him, pulling her mending over to her.

"Ah, Shino did as well," he husband said, enjoying the evening breeze.

"They probably won't be back until late," Sacchi mused, "Naruto is going to experiment that new technique into the ground."

"It's only proper to do so," Shibi stated logically and she hummed.

"I'm glad they had dinner already and that Ichiraku's is open so late, they'll need the food later." She paused in her work and met his gaze damply. "They're growing up and doing so well."

"We raised them well," her husband replied in a comforting manner. "We've done a good job." She smiled at that.

"Good."

Naruto and Shino landed in their usual training ground excitedly.

"I wish you could learn this technique," Naruto said forlornly. "It would of great use to you as well."

"I shall endeavor to do so when I have larger chakra reserves," Shino stated. He marveled at all the information his best friend had passed along and felt a bit envious over his reserves but understood it came with its downsides. Naruto had fought a battle over the last six years to have such fine control over his chakra, something so necessary in this work and in his own personal fighting style.

"I'm glad you got a new technique," Naruto said with a smile, "It is your eighth one correct?"

"Yes, there's about more to learn," Shino replied. "They're all B and A-class so I am sure I'll learn more as I progress."

"And develop some, everyone in the Aburame clan has their own tricks," Naruto pointed out and Shino nodded in agreement. "Well, then, are you prepared to spar?" Shino's eyebrows twitched and he went into his usual stance as Naruto leaped back and joined the shadows in his own.

"Ready?" His voice wafted out softly.

"Go." Shino replied and they struck.

A few hours later both were taking a break. "Very interesting technique," Shino told Naruto as he lay out on the ground, his bandana off and blond hair mussed slightly. The long blond strands glittering golden in the moonlight.

"I think I will have to experiment some more with it, the potential currently is limitless," Naruto agreed sitting up. He frowned a bit when he realized part of his carefully done hair was loose and just sighed taking out the rest of the pins. The golden strands fell like water though and Naruto massaged his head in satisfaction. The peacefulness of the night, however, was cut short when two familiar chunin burst into the clearing.

"Mizuki!" Iruka roared, both of them battling it out. The two newly made genin separated out of the way, hiding in the surround forest. The gray haired teacher threw a series of shuriken at Iruka before he surged forward and caught the scarred chunin in a series of punishing blows. They gained some distance between them once more and Mizuki smirked.

"Hah! As if you could catch me weakling!" Mizuki taunted. Naruto narrowly watched where the teacher was moving and quickly formed his signs before calling out, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!" Ten clones appeared from above the silver haired teacher in a pummeling force he narrowly dodged.

"Ah?" Mizuki said skidding to a halt with his back to the woods. "That demon brat's here as well? Lucky." Iruka's eyes widened and he shot forward. "Hey, Uzumaki do you know why everyone hates you? I can tell you." Naruto narrowed his gaze and merely continued his work. Iruka however was infuriated. The silent weave of the Jorōgumo's apprentice and his clones went unnoticed however. The clones had served their purpose fully by scattering a series of super strong 'spider' wires in a complicated manner as they attacked.

"Don't speak, Mizuki! You're already in trouble for stealing the Forbidden Scroll, don't you dare reveal an S-class secret on top of it! Especially one that would hurt my students!" Iruka shouted unknowingly leading the man into Naruto's trap. The traitor shot forward to meet him and froze in surprised when he realized he had razor sharp wires wrapped around him in silent capture.

The original Naruto stepped out and the gleam of wires could be seen between his fingers and tied to kakute. "Golden Web: Ensnaring prey." He looked the teacher over and voiced his opinion plainly, "Fool." He easily noted part of his best friend's colony slowly crawling up the man's body from his prone position.

"Y-you…!" Mizuki snarled before stiffening further when he felt something moving over his body. Finally noticeable on his dark gray shirt, unlike they had been on his black pants, were kikaichu. They swirled in an angry orb around him.

"Swarm," Shino bit out as he stepped out from behind him. "Finish him quickly," he stated coldly. The bugs covered the traitor and Mizuki let out a muffled scream of terror and shock. Shino was more than a little pissed with the teacher's treachery and verbal abuse. They'd suffered under this man for seven years and were not going to put up with it now that he proved to be deceitful, especially the comments towards his best friend. Iruka, on the other hand, collapsed to his knees in relief, Naruto moving over to check on him. The glow of green chakra from his hands had the teacher smiling a bit proudly at the blond.

"Is there nothing you can't do?" He asked tiredly. "You two really should have been the Rookies of the Year." Shino shook his head and allowed his insects to return to him as the teacher went limp from chakra exhaustion, only Naruto's 'threads' holding him up.

"A shinobi does not stand out," Shino stated, "He does his work successfully until he dies with honor in battle or of old age." The Academy instructor smiled proudly before accepting a ration bar from Naruto and subsiding into a sitting position on the ground. Naruto moved over to their prisoner and pulled out some hemp rope.

"You're right," Iruka said as he watched the rather impressive hojojutsu his blond haired student demonstrated. He stared up at the sky and smiled as the flashes of ANBU appearing denoted their appearance. "Want to get some ramen to celebrate? After the Hokage debriefs us, of course."

The two boys exchanged a look and nodded, "We'd be happy to." Shino stated.

"You two have completed a B-rank?" Shibi said amazement the next morning as the two returned dead on their feet from a night of debriefing, ramen, capturing traitors, and training.

"Mizuki-sensei proved to be a traitor and came charging into the training ground Naruto and I were and we assisted Umino-sensei in capturing and detaining him until ANBU could arrive," Shino admitted tiredly. Naruto just sleepily nodded, his blond hair gathered in a plait over his left shoulder.

"We are even going to be paid," Naruto said with a yawn. The Aburame head blinked in surprise.

"I guess congratulations are in order." The man said.

"Can we celebrate it after a few hours of sleep?" Shino asked his father nodded his consent. "Good. Why? Because Naruto has already fallen asleep in his ramen bowl at Ichiraku's, we're that tired."

A/N:

And here are the things I mentioned in the story. Hopefully, the number will go down. Currently I'm torn between the decision of whether or not to make Naruto's ninjutsu in Japanese, but know I'd probably butcherit beyond repair if I did. Either way, I will try to keep it in Japanese if I can, please bear with me on the English however and on the fight scenes. They aren't always easy to write, but always fun to try. I'll try to keep this updated regularly, however, I'm having some difficulties with the work I've done so far, and would appreciate anything you might be interested in. I already have Naruto and Sasuke's pairs made, however, I won't tell you who. I will say this, Naruto's is a male and Sasuke's is a female.

May the guessing begin.

Terms/Descriptions:

1. Fukiya: Japanese blow gun, generally made of bamboo and used to shoot poison darts.

2. Hojojutsu: The art of binding and restricting movement through rope, was done by policemen in Japan up until the mid-19th century in detaining prisoners and captures.

3. Kumo no Kobushi: It means Spider Fist, as shown by Google. For those of you in the martial arts and have a better way of naming it you can suggest something, I really don't know what else to put.

4. Jorōgumo: Known in Japanese mythology as one of many youkai it can be translated as "binding bride" or "whore spider." This spider demon takes on the image of a beautiful woman to trap her prey, usually samurai or travelling men, with her hair turned web and devours them. There are other things the name can represent so if you get interested just Google or Wikipedia it!

5. Kakute: Are a type of ring that has spikes or actual little tab with a hole to hold onto ropes and assist in hojojutsu. The spikes on these rings can be used in assassinations via poison, suffocation and even jabs/cuts to the necks. They are usually worn on the middle finger and hidden as wedding rings with the spikes down against the palm. Commonly used by kunoichi.

6. Hitai-ate: Well known to all Naruto fans, this band of cloth has a strip of metal across it. In feudal and even more modern times, this was and is used as a forehead protector. Some types were made to cover the head totally, except for the face, and were also worn by samurai and regular soldiers and infantry.

: Mushidama: its rough English translation is "Secret technique: Insect Sphere." The insects form a sphere around their target before covering the person totally and sucking out all of their chakra at once.

I look forward to hearing from you all!

Amni :)