8 Rebirth of the Uchiha Chapter 8

A twelve (and a half) year old Naruto groaned and slumped in his seat as Iruka-sensei announced the final exam. "Stupid Bunshin Jutsu. It sucks so damn much." he huffed to himself as one by one, the class walked to the front of the class and created between one and three illusionary clones. He gave a half-hearted thumbs-up as his best friend passed him and strolled down towards the expectant teacher.

Despite his calm demeanour, Sasuke was worried. Naruto, despite his best efforts, was completely unable to create even a single functional Bunshin. Thanks to the changes in the grading system, it had gotten damn near impossible to pass without it. If their practice hadn't worked out the blond's issues in the last few weeks, all their planning would be for nothing.

(Flashback)

"I got it, Sasuke! I figured it out!" beamed the Uzumaki, waving around what appeared to be an official report. Sasuke pinched the bridge of his nose, a habit he'd developed over time, which had not been helped by the blond's antics. The last time Naruto had 'figured something out', he'd used the Henge to... no, not thinking of that right now.

"What is it this time, Naruto?" he grunted, moving into a basic kata to burn off his... frustration. Yes, frustration, nothing else. The grin on his retainer's face grew even wider, threatening to split his face in two.

"I know how we can get on the same team! See, if the team isn't put together for anythin' specific, like tracking or capturing or stuff like that, they put them together based on their scores. Since you're obviously gonna be the top student, all I have to do is drop down to last place an' then they'll put us on the same team!" beamed the boy, happy that he'd found a way to rig the placements. Sasuke was less than elated.

"You're going to completely waste all the effort you've been putting in this year? Why? You're finally starting to pass consistently. Besides, Iruka-sensei isn't gonna be happy about you going back to being the dead-last." The blond's face fell and he sighed.

"I know that, but... this is the only way I can think of to be guaranteed a chance to help you someday, the way you guys helped me. Besides, I'll just have to make it up to him once I'm Hokage, 'ttebayo!" he smirked before realising his verbal tic. "Damn, I thought I'd got over that..."

(Flashback over)

Sasuke came back to reality as Naruto's attempt produced a small swarm of stumbling, barely-there clones, which dispelled almost instantly. Sad as it was to admit, that was a sustantial improvement on the Uzumaki's original tries at the technique. For one thing, these ones were in colour. The improvement was mostly a result of the shy, pale-eyed girl sitting to his left. Using her bloodline, she had discovered that Naruto, the supposed dead-last, had more chakra at his disposal than the rest of the students in their year combined. Sasuke would have been jealous, but considering the trade-off in control... not worth it. At least they'd got something useful out of the attempts to improve on that issue.

Both of them, as well as Hinata, could by now be considered proficient with the tree-walking technique, though not even the Hyuuga had completed the next step, walking on water, at least not yet, he amended. Once Naruto had learnt of the girl's confidence issues, he had taken it as his personal mission to bouy her self-esteem, not to mention somehow getting the kids in on it.

Speaking of the blond, he had endured Iruka's I'm-not-angry-just disappointed-and-frustrated lecture in silence, unnerving most of the class who knew the guy only by his larger than life Prankster King persona. Enough was enough, however, and failing the genin test -just barely- was obviously Naruto's breaking point. Instead of returning to his seat, he turned tail and ran, fleeing the academy. Iruka stood up, ready to go after his wayward student, but Mizuki placed a hand on his shoulder and readied himself to leave. Curious, Sasuke flicked the Sharingan on with practiced ease, reading his teacher's lips.

'You stay here, Iruka. After that, he mightn't want to talk to you. Don't worry, I can handle it.' he had said, before disappearing in a Shunshin.

SCENE BREAK

Sasuke, though he would vigorously deny it if asked, was worried about Naruto. Normally, the blond would meet Sasuke and the rest of the clan outside the academy at the end of the day, prattle on about various subjects and then follow them back to the compound, where he had eventually been given a room of his own, even if he still went back to his apartment every other day. The kids were worried too, even Megumi-chan, who was looking around from her position on Neko's shoulder for any sign of 'Naru-nii'. Sasuke said all the right things; it's been a tough few days, he just needs a little while, yadda yadda. By the end, the kids felt a bit better, and Sasuke felt like a complete heel for lying to his family. Fan-tucking-fastic.

Hinata was even more worried. She'd met with Kiba-kun outside and they'd tried to find Naruto-kun, to no avail. The trail had already gone cold by the time lessons were over and Naruto's incredibly bright chakra was nowhere in sight. She'd led Kiba on a search of all the blond's usual haunts, from Ichiraku's to the Hokage monument. As dusk fell and she returned home from her search, she gazed out towards the forest on the village border. "Naruto-kun, please... be safe."

Iruka was close to panic. Not only had Naruto vanished, but Mizuki was nowhere to be found either. If it weren't for the fact that the Hokage seemed relaxed, he'd be out searching for the blond. He felt sorry for his favourite pupil. Without the clone technique, or becoming an apprentice like Rock Lee had last year, there was no way for the kid to pass. Thinking on apprenticeships led him to a certain piece of paperwork he'd been dutifully avoiding. The plan forming in his mind was reckless, barely-formed, and less likely to work than a Konoha-Iwa alliance. Naruto would approve, he mused, as he put brush to paper.

SCENE BREAK (skimming the theft of the scroll, as it basically went as canon)

Naruto gasped for air as he fell to the grass, a wide grin plastered on his face. He'd done it! He'd mastered a technique from the Hokage's Forbidden Scroll! Now he'd be able to pass and become a real shinobi! Nothing could ruin this! He kept smiling as he sat up, unable to get rid of the childish grin.

A foot to his face rapidly cleared up that problem for him. Naruto found himself looking at the enraged face of Sasuke. Just as he was about to argue with his best friend over the proper way to begin a conversation, Sasuke opened his mouth.

"ARE YOU FUCKING RETARDED, UZUMAKI?! WHAT POSSESSED YOU TO STEAL THE LOG-DAMNED FORBIDDEN SCROLL? YOU BETTER HOPE THE ANBU KILL YOU BEFORE I DO!" he roared, now clutching his retainer by the collar and shaking him fiercely. It was at this moment that Iruka found them in the clearing, pushing them apart before the Sharingan wielder could strangle the shorter boy.

"NARUTO! Why did you steal this scroll? That could be considered an act of treason!" he barked, holding Sasuke by the scruff of his shirt. Naruto paled. With plans of running the village someday, he knew the punishment for treason usually started with execution and worked its way from there.

"B-but Mizuki-sensei said that..." he began, before his eyes widened. All three came to the same conclusion at the same time. Sasuke dropped to the ground and knocked the Uzumaki to the ground as a swarm of kunai passed overhead. Mizuki stood on a branch above, Fuma Shuriken strapped to his back. "You know, Iruka, I'm glad you're here. It'll look so much better afterwards; how two humble teachers fought valiantly to protect their students, one of them dying tragically in the process." he sneered, posture completely relaxed.

"Naruto. You and Sasuke take the scroll back to the tower. I can handle Mizuki, but you can't let him get his hands on that scroll." Iruka bit tersely, slipping into his taijutsu stance. He ducked out of the way of another barrage of kunai as the boys picked themselves up and grabbed the scroll.

"Oh, come on, Iruka. Don't you think this is a good opportunity? I mean, the boy should know why he's hated." Oh, balls. That was probably the one thing that could keep the boy present. Fuck.

"W-why? Why do they hate me?" whispered the boy, now blatantly ignoring Sasuke's attempts to drag him away. This was his chance, his chance to learn what the village had against him. Just to know why.

"Well, you see, twelve years ago, the Yondaime gave his life fighting to protect the village-" Here Mizuki casually dodged a water projectile courtesy of Iruka. "How rude. Perhaps you should take it easy. Kazuya!" At his call, a scarred, heavy-set man shimmered into view, slamming the scarred teacher face-first into the dirt. He snarled savagely at the two boys as Mizuki continued.

"As I was saying, the Yondaime sacrificed himself to beat the Kyuubi. But even he couldn't kill it. Instead, he sealed the monster away, turning it into a child. You, Naruto, are the Kyuubi, THE MONSTER WHO DESTROYED THE VILLAGE AND KILLED HUNDREDS! YOU ARE THE DEMON WHO KILLED IRUKA'S PARENTS!" he roared, throwing an oversized shuriken at the now-frozen blond.

A blur flew through the air, pinning the blade to the ground. A dirt-covered Iruka stood in front of the boys, glancing back at Naruto, who flinched before bolting, the scroll now clutched in his hands. Iruka groaned and turned towards Sasuke, though his eyes. "Uchiha-san," he began, surprising the boy with the formal tone. "You need to go after Naruto, then find the ANBU. I can hold these two off for a while." Sasuke nodded hesitantly, taking to the trees in an attempt to find the fleeing Uzumaki.

"Damnit Kazuya, you can't even hold down this guy? Why the hell did the boss even send you?" Mizuki scoffed, rolling his eyes at the other man, who was clutching at a bloody nose. The silver-haired traitor nodded after the fleeing boys. "Go fetch. I've got some stuff to work out with my old friend here." Kazuya nodded, taking off at high speed across the ground, as the two teachers squared off. "Damn. Just hold out, boys. Nobody hurts one of my students and gets away with it!" Iruka thought deperately, rushing forwards to engage his opponent.