Chapter eight- Part one

4 Year time skip

It was a new morning in Konoha as the sun started to rise over the village walls and in through the windows of the Uzumaki brothers, in Kenta's apartment, a mess of dark red hair can be seen at the top of the bedcovers with the bed sheets covering everything else. At the base of the bed lay a large black dog with wolf-like features.

As the sunlight fills the apartment the large canine opens its eyes slowly before opening its jaw letting out a yawn just as the alarm clock on the bedside table goes off getting a groan from beneath the covers.

The large dog gets up off the bed and stretches out as the alarm continues to go off, after several moments of stretching the dog starts to nudge the form under the covers in an attempt to wake his master from his sleep, after several nudged a final groan is heard from under the covers, "Alright Midnight, I'm up." was the response as a hand reaches out silencing the alarm.

Midnight stepped back as the bed covers were thrown back as the occupant slings his legs out of the bed, Kenta sat on the edge of his bed with a groan rubbing his sore neck as Midnight came to his side and he reached out petting his partner, "Who needs that thing when I've got you eh." Kenta said in a joking tone as he went to stand up fully.

The past four years showed on Kenta's body as he stood up, now sixteen years of age, the many years of hard rigorous training had refined Kenta's already toned form, as he stood at 5 foot 11 inches tall wearing a pair of skin-tight boxer shorts that went down to his mid-thighs, the evidence of his training was well seen as he now sported an extremely chiselled physique and eight pack abs, showed the extent of his training since he started six years ago.

His red hair had darkened slightly and now flowed to the base of his neck at the back, while the front was trimmed to chin length, his hair was spiked with a wild feel to it, but the strands were thin and varied instead of messy clumps, as the sides of his hair went just above his shoulders framing his face and clashing with his blue eyes making them stand out even more than they had in the past.

As Kenta stood up he rotated his neck as a series of loud pops were heard as Kenta groaned starting to walk to the kitchen, as more pops were heard from his joints as he walked, 'Ow, that's the last time I train for ninety-six hours straight, my body just can't hack that.' Kenta mentally winces as he made it to the kitchen worktop.

Reaching up into one of the cupboards he took down a large bag of dog food and started scooping several cupfull's into a metal dish before filling the second one with water and placing both on the ground as Midnight started to eat.

Kenta then started to move over to his closet and started pulling on a black tracksuit with red stripes down the sides of them, before going to the kitchen sink and filling a bottle of water, as he did so he looked to see Midnight was finished with his breakfast, "You mind getting Naruto up? He��ll want to be up early to this morning." Kenta said with a smirk.

Midnight nodded in response to the request as he trotted over to the door between the two apartments and used jumped up putting its paw on the door handle and letting his weight push it down and opening the door before trotting inside.

Kenta came around the front of the kitchen counter and leant on the front of them as he took a drink of his water as he listen for the sounds that soon followed, the sound of silence followed by Midnight's loud barking and the cries of shock from the now awake Naruto before the sound of the blond crashing out of his bed.

Seconds later Midnight came trotting in through the door once again and sat by his master's side as Naruto made it to the doorway leaning on it as he panted trying to get his breath back after it was scared out of him in the sudden wake up call, "Why do you do that every time Nii-chan?" Naruto said as he finally got his breathing under control.

Kenta shrugged as he stood up, "Because it's fun and it's the only one hundred percent method to make sure you actually get you up where I don't have to do anything." he said as he walked to the door out and opened it as Midnight walked through, "I'm heading out on my run. I'm sure you've got morning plans as well, seeing as we're graduating today. So I'll see you at the academy Otōto." Kenta said with a smirk as he walked out closing the door behind him as he missed the large smirk on Naruto's face as he did so.

Scene break

Kenta and Midnight were both running down the empty street, it was still early and no one was out of bed yet aside from those few who were going to bed. Both teen and dog were heading to the gate to start their real morning run, when a sound behind them caught their attention making them look behind them to see a familiar green blur approaching them at high speed while trailing a large dust cloud behind it as the sound of the figure yelling "Yoooooooouth!" could be heard before it slowed rapidly as it met with Kenta and Midnight as the dust cloud blew past them.

As the dust cloud settled the green figure was now running alongside Kenta and Midnight, he was dressed in an all green body suit with black shinobi sandals with a dark red belt around his waist, with the Hitai-ate around the middle of his waist, both his legs had bright orange leg warmers up to his knees and both his hands were wrapped tightly in bandages, his hair was black and in a bowl cut with thick black bushy eyebrows matching it as he gave Kenta a nice guy grin which seemed to sparkle ever so slightly.

"Yosh! Good morning Kenta-san, what a glorious morning for a run is it not!" the green-clad-boy declared with a fire in his eyes

Kenta chuckled strangely at the boy, "Yeah it sure is Lee. So how's your training been going?" he asked as the three of them kept running at a steady pace.

Lee pumped his fist in the air as they ran, "It has been going most excellent Kenta-san I've recently increased my weights. Gai-sensei says my flames of youth are burning brighter every day." Lee said with a passion as his eyes burst into symbolic flames before looking at Kenta as they ran, "What of yours Kenta-san how goes your endeavours?"

Kenta shrugged, "As good as always. Sensei says I'm not to increase my weights until I've gotten through the final level of the gravity and restriction levels before I do so again. Though I feel like I could easily, sensei says it is too soon, so I'm just adding an extra lap to make the most of it." Kenta said with a grin, "I would have added five but then I'd be late for class and I can't be late for graduation."

Lee pumped his arm high into the air in support of Kenta's extra training, "Yosh, you're fire burns even brighter than my own Kenta-san, you will succeed with little difficulty. And from what Gai-sensei has told me of your sensei, it would be wise to listen to him. Though I do not know who he is, Gai-sensei says he is both wise and respected, you are lucky to have someone like that to take you as their student like Gai-sensei has done for me." Lee praised as the flames in his eyes grew in size, "Come let us explode with the power of youth in honour of our great sensei's my rival, let us show what the fruits of our training have brought!" Lee cried out before taking off at insane speeds leaving Kenta and Midnight running at their regular speed, watching on as Lee disappeared from sight into the distance.

Kenta looked to Midnight and Midnight to Kenta, "Don't look at me like that," Kenta said as he shivered a little, "I find him just as strange as you do." he said before they continued on their run.

Scene break

Getting back to his apartment, Kenta walked in with Midnight by his side both were panting heavily as they went to the kitchen. Kenta filled Midnight's water bowl setting it down on the ground before he went and stuck his head under the tap as both teen and dog drank as much as they could, exhausted from their run.

After a full minute of drinking from the tap Kenta pulled his head out from under it taking a much-needed breath, 'Damn I needed that.' he thought as he moved to the bathroom as he pulled off his tracksuit heading to shower.

After a much-needed shower Kenta came out with a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hands he was using to dry his hair as he made his way over to his wardrobe taking a scroll from the top of it and opening it on the bed as he touched the sealing array within before the room was filled with smoke that faded to reveal his newly bought attire that he'd gotten a few weeks ahead of time with Sayaka's help in preparation for his graduation.

After a further few minutes of drying and dressing Kenta was finally set for his day. His new attire consisted of a new black flak jacket; this one having short sleeves and hood both with the custom red fur trims and lining. Underneath it was a long sleeved mesh shirt that covered the rest of his arms with loops at the end of both sleeves that were around his middle fingers holding the sleeves in place. He had two metal backed gauntlets and gloves on his hands over the mesh sleeves. His new ANBU pants had been modified with metal exterior kneepads with modified latches attached around his waist designed to hold his whip sword easier. Hanging from the middle of his front waist now was a long dark brown sash that went to his right side and was attached to the back of his waist which had several loops in it, each holding in place a small storage scroll with red bindings on each with various Kanji labelling each scroll's contents. On his left hip was the standard black Kunai pouch with three Senbon needles horizontally across its body below the opening latch.

Securing his gauntlets to his wrists Kenta nodded in approval of his new attire before he pulled up his hood covering his hair as he turned his head making sure his vision wasn't impaired taking notes of anything that needed modifications made later. Satisfied he nodded looking down as he felt Midnight nudge him in the leg.

Smirking knowing what his partner wanted, Kenta reached to the underside of his right gauntlet and touched the small sealing tag as three dog treats appeared out of a small cloud of smoke before he tossed them to Midnight who took them in one bite making Kenta smirk as he knelt down rubbing Midnight's head, "Come on let's get going, can't let them start without us." he said getting a confident bark in response before he knelt to Midnights side as they both vanished in a larger swirl of red feathers.

Academy grounds

As the wind died down outside of the academy Kenta and Midnight appeared. Kenta stood up from his crouched position, patting Midnight's head as he did so. The pair could see that others were still arriving and Kenta smirked, 'Perfect right on time.' Kenta thought before he and Midnight started to the front door to join the masses.

Entering through the lower classroom door Kenta couldn't help but smirk as he looked up the rows up seats and saw a sight that made him proud. Naruto had arrived before him and his new wardrobe had drawn the attention of some of the civilian girls in the class, as they were all currently crowding around Naruto talking to the blushing blond who was rubbing his head sheepishly.

His new outfit was something that both Sayaka and Kenta had input on to make him look much more professional. Gone was the orange monstrosity; it was replaced with a dark brown hooded jacket with a red swirl on the back and a dark navy shirt underneath. He wore black ANBU style pants and black shinobi boots. Across the base of his back was a slightly larger than normal sealing scroll for storage with a nineteen inch Ninjatō in a black lacquer sheath resting above it. Something that he'd been practicing with over the past two years after Kenta had got him it as a birthday present.

Kenta catching Naruto's eye nodded in approval of his brother's new popularity with the girls in the class as he walked up to take his own seat. As he did so he let his gaze wander to the back of the room to one blushing girl in particular, Hinata Hyūga who at the moment was blushing more than she normally would have been while eyeing up Naruto from behind. Kenta couldn't help but stifle a chuckle; in the four years at the academy his Otōto was still completely oblivious to her not-so-secret crush on him, he was betting the entire academy knew about it but Naruto. But he had decided to leave it be and enjoy watching her dance around him over the years, he was looking forward to the day that Naruto finally noticed for himself and he could tease him relentlessly for not noticing sooner.

Kenta sat down in his usual spot as Midnight took his spot under the desk at his master's feet. Kenta looked down at the desk below him and smirked seeing a regular sight of a sleeping Shikamaru and chuckled slightly, "As lazy as always, 'ay Shika. So are you up for continuing our last game after we're done with the first test? The sooner you get it done the sooner we can play." he asked openly as Shika stirred from his position.

Keeping his head down on the table with his left arm as a pillow, Shikamaru simply raised his right hand and gave a single wave back to him, "Yeah sure thing." he yawned before putting his hand back down.

Kenta smirked at Shikamaru's laziness, he could never get more than five words out of the guy in a single sentence, it was only when it came to shogi that he was actually paying attention enough that they were able to have a full conversation. Hence why the two had a running game of shogi every week and given how good both of them were the game lasted anywhere up to two days to a full week. Given the could only play for an hour at lunch and then a couple of hours after class, the two of them had sparked a friendly rivalry over the board game that had formed a good friendship over the years.

"Hey Kenta." Chōji asked as he turned in his seat looking up at the red head, "You and Naruto up for some BBQ after all of us pass? My Tou-san says he'll hook us all up."

And with that friendship came the same from Chōji. Both he and Naruto had been friends with the pleasantly plump teen for about the same amount of time, although Naruto more than him, ever since Naruto had actually beaten Chōji in a ramen eating contest after the first month in class. The Uzumaki brothers had had the Akimichi heirs respect and friendship.

Kenta smirked, "Sure thing, sounds like a great way to celebrate graduating."

"Mind if I tag along also?" came Sayaka's voice from behind them, Kenta looked and found himself gulping slightly at Sayaka's new clothing, over the years her figure had filled in more and she now packed a pair of perky C-cup breasts and a slender 5 foot 5 in figure to match.

Her hair had darkened and grown down to her waist, which she kept swept to one side, her onyx eyes still filled with the fire and passion that she's had since the first day Kenta had met her.

She was wearing the new outfit that Anko had helped her to pick out a few weeks prior, consisting of a shortened version of a Cheongsam dress with bluish-purple rims and detailing that hugged her growing curves nicely. Underneath which she had a pair of skin tight grey shorts that came to her mid right thigh, where she had her kunai pouch strapped to, while the left side was all mesh and went just to below her left knee.

Her arms and hands were covered down to her mid-upper arms with black gloves with no fingertips and mesh at the upper arm areas with bluish-purple rims.

The top of the dress was modified and made of mesh connected to a black choker around her neck leaving her back and shoulders bare. On her feet, she had black shinobi sandals that are cut open at the heels, her clan symbol present at the base of her dress.

Kenta paused for a moment longer as he took in the sight, only to get nudged under the table by Midnight snapping him out of it, "Um, yeah sure, the more the merrier." Kenta responded fighting down an embarrassed blush hoping she hadn't noticed him staring.

Only to prove she had when she smirked slightly as she continued down the stairs to their aisle before stopping and giving a slow twirl as she saw Kenta looking at her making sure to let him have a good look before stopping with her hand on her hip facing him, "Well what do you think Kenta-Kun, Anko-chan helped me pick it out for my graduation. Pretty professional looking don't you think?" she asked smirking seeing him looking at her with a slight blush.

"U-Um yea looks great Sayaka-chan, very professional looking." Kenta commented desperately trying to fight down his blush after the agonisingly slow three-sixty rotation. Sayaka smiled at the compliment.

Although the mood was soon ruined as Sasuke pushed past her heading down to his seat before stopping and glancing back an arrogant look on his face, "Hm, if you take fashion advice from sluts and whores, you'll become one." He said as he turned back to his seat, "But then again hanging around with the trash will do the same thing." he scoffed and was about to continue on his way only for his eyes to widen when he heard a low growl moments before he felt something sink its teeth into his ass, as he cried out, looking back the next second to find the black form of Midnight biting into his backside letting out a deep throated growl aimed at him.

Kenta suppressed a chuckle in his throat at the sight, "Midnight let that go you don't know where it's been."

Midnight hearing his master's command gave a final growl and a squeeze before releasing the boy's backside and moving back. Sasuke, of course took offence to the attack and his hand instantly going for his kunai pouch intending on paying Midnight back for the insult. But as his hand reached his kunai pouch before he even got it open he felt a jab of pain shot through his hand and up his arm. He looked to it and his eye's widened seeing two Senbon needles protruding from his hand, but not reacting was his mistake as the next second he felt his entire body go stiff and himself unable to move before he heard, someone approach him from the back, looking to see Kenta shaking his head at him.

"You've got to work on those reflexes Teme, those Senbon were coated with a paralytic agent that I made myself. It works almost instantaneously as soon as it enters the targets body as you're no doubt feeling the effects of right now." Kenta said as he approached Sasuke shaking his head, "But don't worry the effects aren't permanent. In fact the effects should wear off in the next few minutes since I gave you a watered down dose, but it's just long enough so you won't try anything while I give you a warning." Kenta said as his hand went to his sword belt pulling it free and straight as he pointed the tip at Sasuke's face glaring at the Uchiha male, "I will tell you this only once so listen up. If you ever insult Sayaka-chan or Anko-chan like that again and even attempt to harm my partner" Kenta said as he lowered his sword to let it rest just in front of Sasuke's crotch, "And I'll make sure that only Sayaka can carry on the next Uchiha generation, which if I'm not mistaken would take away your right to be clan heir also, so it would be in your best interests to keep your temper and mouth in check," Kenta said before he removed his sword and reattached it to his waist with a smirk, "Besides, Midnight was just trying to help you out by pulling that twenty foot pole you've seemed to somehow got shoved up your ass, it's not his fault you've got it wedged up their good and tight" Kenta joked instantly defusing the tension in the scene that had made the whole room go deafly silent, as everyone bar a few burst out in laughter.

However as Kenta turned to head back to his seat, what he had said rolled over in his mind the second that he say Sayaka, as she stopped giggling realising the exact same as Kenta sported a slight blush while Sayaka slowly grew redder by the second.

'What the hell! Where did that come from! Gahhh, I'm such an idiot, Baka, baka, baka!' Kenta berated himself for running his mouth; he'd been spending way too much time watching Anko work.

'Carrying on the line, he doesn't mean he wants to, oh no, does he, nonononononono, I'm the only one who thinks that he couldn't have meant that no, we're just friends, just friends' Sayaka thought to herself, trying to keep from going any redder from her thoughts.

Kenta quickly returned to his seat as Midnight retook his spot by his feet, Sayaka sat next to him, neither of them looking at each other both with light blushes, both praying that the other wouldn't notice, praying for something to distract them, and thanked Kami when something did.

"Hey Kenta, Sayaka!" Kiba called as he came in with a waist high Akamaru beside him, "You two ready to pass this today?" he said before he stopped blinking at the stiff Sasuke in the middle of the stairs up, they both looked him up and down as they passed, before Kiba took his seat on the other side of Sayaka still looking at Sasuke, "Ok someone want to fill me in on why there's an Emo statue in the middle of the room?" He asked which Sayaka giggled at.

"Oh just Sasuke-Nii being arrogant as always and Kenta-Kun getting him to shut up before he embarrassed himself and the clan further." she said covering her mouth to stop from giggling.

Kenta smirked, "Yeah and the effects should be wearing off right about now."

As Kenta finished speaking Sasuke actually did get the control of his limbs back again and he immediately acted his hand going right to his kunai. He was furious, how dare that Uzumaki threatens him and make him look like such a fool, he'd show him what happens when you threaten an Uchiha elite. But just as his hand gripped his kunai and he went to step forward to lunge for Kenta the classroom door opened and the voice of Iruka filled the room making him snarl before closing his pouch and going to his seat, he'd get him yet.

Iruka walked to the middle of the front of the room with a pleased smile next to him as Mizuki took his place to Iruka's right just behind him with a very subtle limp in his step after never properly recovered from Kenta's finally humiliation that day and always having to use a cushion any time he sat down.

The second Mizuki had entered Kenta had been watching him with a narrowed gaze, he had never liked the silver-haired Teme and he knew he had it out for both him and Naruto from day one of the academy. Although ever since he returned from his extended stay at the hospital his attempts to screw up his and Naruto's education and marks had been much more subtle; stuff like out-dated textbooks, wrong test papers, faulty equipment in training sessions, things that could easily be explained away. And it was because of that Hiruzen hadn't been able to give a solid reason to remove him as an academy assistant. But that hadn't stopped Kenta from making his time as one a living hell, with weekly if not daily revenge pranks that even Naruto marvelled at, as someone so versed in Fūinjutsu it was literal child's play for him, and with the vast array of possibilities Fūinjutsu made available the outcome was always a sight to behold. For example a small explosive seal with a paint filler instead of shrapnel made for a great paint bomb, and when connected to a motion detecting seal and positioned above a door frame or hidden on a seat with Genjutsu, just before a certain silver haired instructor walked in or went to sit down, made for a hilarious outcome normally in neon pink or lime green, or for the seats a thicker mix of dark brown with a combined stink bomb made a rather convincing scene of the fool messing himself.

Of course all the regular pranking had made the silver-haired instructor weary, there had been a full week where he had come in using the window and didn't sit down for fear of traps, of course Kenta had fixed that by placing very low-powered explosive seals all over the room hidden by Genjutsu that he could trigger remotely meaning anywhere Mizuki stood he would suddenly jump in shock as a small bang made him jump, and to fix the window problem. Kenta had placed a very powerful stink bomb seal there, so the last time Mizuki had used the window to enter the classroom he was greeted by the most unpleasant smell imaginable before falling backwards out of the window, and hitting the ground two stories up. This had led to another stay in the hospital to recover.

And regardless of the Chūnin's attempts to get Kenta in trouble for the pranks, nothing had ever stuck given that the seals had disappeared in a blur of speed after they had gone off, so with no evidence all of Mizuki's claims had gone out the window with him.

Iruka of course, had his suspicions it was Kenta doing all the pranks on Mizuki over the years and approached him in private to ask that they stop. But the two had come to an arrangement, that as long as the pranks didn't disrupt the class and the class's marks didn't suffer for them they could continue, he quite enjoyed seeing the creativity that the older Uzumaki put into the pranks.

Clearing his throat as the class settled down into their seats, Iruka took a step forward, "First of all I would like to congratulate all of you for making it this far. The past four years have been challenging for most of you and that was for a reason to prove that each of had the potential to become shinobi and now you have all earned the right to take the next step in becoming just that a Genin of Konoha, as each of you know the test today will test the skills you have all learned throughout your time at the academy, your knowledge will be tested on a written paper, after which you will be taken out to test your skills with throwing weapons, before a Taijutsu spar to test your hand to hand combat, after which you will be required to perform each of the three academy Jutsu for the final portion, extra credit will be given to those who had put their own time into learning additional Jutsu and can demonstrate one in the final exam, now are there any questions?" Iruka asked as he looked around the room to see no hands raised, "Excellent, now let's…" Iruka started to say before multiple cries were heard from outside the school in the village, drawing everyone's attention.

Looking out the window's everyone's eyes widened at what they were seeing, the Hokage monument that stood over the whole village had been covered in multi-coloured graffiti from top to bottom in the most comical ways imaginable. But before anyone could say anything about it, more cries were heard from the village as everyone looked as multiple multicolours smoke explosions went off in chain reactions throughout the whole village as the smoke rose high into the air as cries and panicking screams could still be heard throughout.

The next second the door to the front of the classroom opened and a Chūnin stood in the doorway gasping for breath as his eyes dotted all over the room before finally settling on Naruto, who just smiled and gave him a little wave, as his mouth gaped open in confusion, "B-But how…" he muttered like the sight before him shouldn't have been possible.

Iruka blinked at the reaction before speaking, "Um can I help you with something?"

The Chūnin looked to Iruka, before pointing to Naruto, "Has he been here the whole time?" he asked in disbelief.

Not sure what the other Chūnin meant Iruka asked, "The whole time of what?"

"The pranking spree, nearly the whole village has been hit by it; half of the main street in the market district has been painted orange and the other half in bright green, several businesses have had smoke bombs go off in them along with an assortment of paint bombs, trees have been lined with underwear from multiple residents, and multiple homes have been swarmed with mice, and to top it all off the Hokage monument was vandalised with graffiti." The Chūnin listed off in horror.

Hearing the list of the pranks Naruto was barely suppressing his laughter with everyone else, Kiba was just laughing his ass off while Kenta was clutching his gut trying to hold it in and Sayaka was giggling with her hand over her mouth trying to hold back the worst of it.

"Well, I can't say we didn't see this coming." Sayaka whispered to Kenta through her giggles.

"At least he's making good use of his Kage Bunshin's," Kenta commented back whipping a tear from his eye, "he must have been planning this for weeks." Kenta said before he remembered something from a few years prior.

Flashback

Naruto instantly cheered up, "Sure Nii-chan, you're still going to teach me how to do that Bunshin thing right?"

Kenta chuckled, "Of course Otōto what kind of Nii-chan would I be if I didn't help my Otōto." he laughed, "But only when we're in the last year of the academy, as much as I'd love to teach it to you now I don't think the villagers or Sarutobi-sensei would thank me for releasing a horde of pranking blonds on the village. With the chaos, just one of you can cause, imagine what a hundred of you would be able to do." Kenta explained only for both him and Naruto to shiver with excitement and slight pity for the villagers in the following months after Naruto learns that Jutsu.

Kenta turned to go back into his apartment leaving Naruto chuckling evilly with a wicked look in his eye, already scheming for his future pranking spree.

Flashback end

"Or years." Kenta chuckled as he realised just when his Otōto had started planning this day.

Iruka sweat dropped as he heard the list before shaking himself out of it, "Sorry but, he's been here the whole time."

The Chūnin then looked to Naruto and back to Iruka, "You're sure?"

Iruka nodded, "Very, now if you don't mind we're trying to start the Genin exams here." he said in a formal tone.

The Chūnin nodded in apology before closing the door and taking off likely to report his findings and to help with the village clean up.

Iruka sighed before moving to his desk and lifting a stack of papers, "Sorry about that everyone, now let's get back to the exam." he said before handing half the papers to Mizuki as both instructors proceeded to start handing them out.

When Kenta finally got his paper he let out a low growl at what he felt. It was subtle but it was there, a low powered Genjutsu over the exam paper, which changed key elements of the questions. Kenta had to give the sneaky bastard credit; the Genjutsu was good if his chakra control was a little better he might not have felt it. He was had certainly done his best to sabotage the exam on him, but Kenta wasn't going to fall for it. And glancing over to Naruto, Kenta could see Naruto had also felt the Genjutsu over the exam paper, as both brothers nodded to each other and quickly dispelled the Genjutsu before getting to work.

Kenta already planning his revenge as he got to work, first he'd prank the hell out of the Teme for this last attempt, and then as the next chance he got he'd report this to the Hokage and get the idiotic fool put on permanent border patrol, this Genjutsu would be the last straw.

Ten minutes later Kenta had finished the exam paper that was set to take an hour for most students. Before he got up and headed to the front of the classroom with Midnight following close behind as he handed his paper over to Iruka with a nod and a glare at Mizuki who returned it, before walking out of the room his hand pulling one of the scrolls from its slot on his hip sash, if Mizuki wanted to mess with him he'd mess right back and it would be fun.

Scene break

It was forty-five minutes later, outside on the academy steps where Kenta, Naruto, Sayaka, Chōji, Kiba and Shikamaru had all gathered after finishing their exam, Midnight and Akamaru lay at their individual master's feet as Shikamaru and Kenta wrapped up their last game of shogi.

The Nara had finished his exam five minutes after Kenta but that had only been because he'd decided to sleep on an extra few minutes before starting the exam, before following the Uzumaki's lead out of the classroom to continue their game. The other's had followed shortly after in the following twenty minutes, leaving the rest of the class inside to continue their exams.

"And with that Victory is mine." Kenta said as he moved his final piece into place putting Shikamaru in checkmate.

Shikamaru's eyes darted over the board for a moment as he looked over the tiles to make sure before groaning as he fell backwards, only to lie down with his arms spread, "Damn, you're good, I never saw that coming and I was thinking seven moves ahead." Shikamaru said in disbelief.

Kenta smirked, "that's why I think with eight, all it takes is one step." Kenta said as he touched the scroll under the board and in a puff of smoke the board and pieces were sealed away before he slipped the scroll back onto his sash.

Naruto chuckled at the scene, "It's funny how this is the only time when you can actually be bothered to do anything Shika, the rest of the time you're asleep."

Shikamaru shrugged from the ground, "What can I say games with a good opponent are worth getting up for. Shame there'll be less of them after today with us graduating and all." he said sounding a little depressed.

Kenta smirked, "Yeah but we can always play them when we meet up. We still live in the same village, just got to time it is all."

No sooner had Kenta spoke a yell of "Shit!!" was heard from the main entrance hall of the academy, before the sounds of multiple small explosions rang out as the doors of the academy building rattled slightly.

The teens all quickly moved to the doors opening them only to be met by a wall of multi colours smoke for flow out of them, and standing at the main desk of the hall was the slumped form of Mizuki covered in splatters of multicoloured paint and glitter with lifeless eyes, unable to comprehend what had just happened to him.

The doors of the main hall closed as all the teens fell back laughing at what they had just seen as they clutched their guts in laughter.

"Oh man! That was priceless Nii-chan! Best one yet!" Naruto said through fits of laughter.

"That was brilliant, serves the dumbass right." Kiba barked in laughter.

"Indeed, he certainly had that one coming." Sayaka giggled

"He was definitely sparkly." Chōji bellowed

"Speaking of timing." Shikamaru laughed in agreement.

Kenta just laughed as his seal combination had worked to perfection, "That worked brilliantly. I think that's what I'm going to miss most after graduating, using him as a guinea pig for my prank seals."

"More like Lab rat." Kiba barked in laughter

Scene break

Five minutes later the rest of the class started to exit the building for the target portion of the exam, all were lining up for the explanation when everyone started laughing heavily as Mizuki came out, he had managed to change his clothes and wash off the paint, but this time Kenta had added something more to the mix, the paint was missed with an extra strength hair dye, so now the former silver-haired Chūnin was now sporting over several different hair colours at once, and the glitter was treated with high strength, water resistant glue, so he was still very sparkly.

Ignoring the laughing as he carried the box full of equipment Mizuki walked over to the target area setting the box down as he tried to keep his anger in check as he clenched his fists.

Iruka cleared his throat as he stifled his laughing, "Ok then, next is the target portion of the exam, you will each have five Kunai and five shuriken, and your targets are at varying distances down the range, the further the target is away the higher your score, the closer to the bull's-eye the higher your score, you will also be judged on your penetration the more targets you hit and the deeper you hit the better." Iruka explained, "Now as your names are called come up and take your throws, good luck to all of you."

Kenta stood with his hands behind his back in silence as he watched the other students throw and winced slightly at the civilian side of things, they could barely hit the targets half way down the range and they were barely having any penetration at all, they obviously hadn't been practicing and none of them was putting chakra into their throws for distance or penetration power. He'd have thought that at least one of them would have studied ahead but it appeared he was wrong.

Watching as the clan heirs took their throws was a bit more impressive, they hit the mid-range targets with ease and got good penetration, and some even managed to get a little further with good power, but none had managed to get the farthest targets yet.

Kenta watched as Sasuke took his position on the target line with an arrogant smirk on his face as he moved with average skill as he threw his weapons with speed down the range as he hit each target with near pinpoint accuracy, but the last kunai and shuriken veered wide and lodged just left and right of the final targets bull's-eyes, he had been the best in the class so far and turned around thinking he was perfect shooting a smug and superior glance at Kenta before he returned to his spot on the line.

Sayaka rolled her eyes at her brother's actions and moved to take her shots next, her projectiles already lined up in front of her, as she moved with speed and launched them down the range, three hitting each of the long range targets with power each piercing the dead centre of the targets, as the last one sailed through the air and slammed into the middle of the farthest target with force to spare.

The rest of the class clapped in appreciation for her skill as Iruka marked down her score, Sasuke seething in rage as he watched her go back to stand beside Kenta not even glancing his way. In his eye's she was saying he wasn't even worth her glance, while in actual fact she didn't want to look at him knowing he was likely glaring at her which he was.

Next was Naruto's turn and walking up to the line he checked over his tool nodding seeing that they weren't damaged or wrongly weighted like they had been in the past due to "poor management", before taking his throws, Kenta had been sure to train him well in all aspects of the academy classes outside of their time in class, and the practice was showing results as his projectiles threw through the air with power behind them as each of them actually demolished the targets they hit, going clean through them at the point of entry, they may not have been hitting the dead centre but it was clear the targets were very much dead.

Kenta smirked at the sight. He knew his Otōto had never been much for accuracy, but what he fails at in accuracy in his throws he more than makes up for with speed and power. Even if the weapon didn't hit his opponent's centre, it was very likely to go right through them he had trained him well.

Naruto walked back to his position with a victorious smirk on his face seeing the look of disbelief on most of their peer's faces at his shots, clearly not expecting such a powerful display, he'd always followed his Nii-chan's example never to draw attention to yourself unless you can help it. Not as if he had to try given how he had been wearing kill me now orange right up until that morning, so he never had to try for attention.

With his turn finally, Kenta walked up to take his shot smirking at Mizuki who had been glaring at him the whole time and decided to mess with him once more.

"You know Mizuki-san, you could just hide your new hair colour with Genjutsu until go can re-dye it. After all being a Chūnin I'm sure you're skilful at subtle forms of Genjutsu for all purposes." Kenta said as he narrowed his eyes on the multi-coloured Chūnin.

Mizuki's eyes widened as he heard the words and realised the message behind them, he'd seen through the Genjutsu he'd put on the exam before, his scowl deepening in anger at being discovered.

But Kenta just ignored the Chūnin as he turned to the target range and in under two seconds moved with speed that the others in the class couldn't follow, while Mizuki and Iruka barely did, as he launched all of his projectiles with speed, precision and power down the range each hitting the farthest targets down range starting from the furthest back and working their way forward as each projectile lodged itself three inches deep in the dead centre mass with force to make each target swing on their hooks showing how fast they'd been thrown.

The stunned silence from most of the class was expected as well as the cheers from Naruto, Sayaka and Kiba at the absolutely perfect scoring as Iruka marked it down while Kenta returned to his spot, fist bumping both Naruto and Kiba as he did so.

Iruka cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, "Alright, next we move on to the Taijutsu part of the exam, the class will be divided in two and with divide amongst the two sparring rings where you will either face Mizuki or me in a three-minute sparring session, Taijutsu only, you will be judged on your counters, dodges, blocks and overall combat style and strategies in those three minutes, bonus marks will be awarded for any strikes that hit their mark and for lasting the full three minutes without being knocked out of the ring, now move to the left and right as I call out your names…."

After a further three minutes the class was divided up and lined up in front of either sparring ring, Sayaka and Naruto were in front of Iruka's ring while Kenta and Sasuke were in front of Mizuki's ring as one by one the students were called up to spar for the three minutes.

Kenta had ignored the civilian sparring for the most part, none of them lasted past the halfway point of the fight before being forced out of the ring, and Mizuki wasn't really giving them it light, and looked to actually be enjoying himself as he knocked the last student out of the ring in under forty seconds.

Kenta scowled while he knew the exams weren't meant to be easy he knew that Mizuki had his own agenda in fighting with speed, he wanted to fight him and get some payback for the extra strength paint bomb just before the throwing portion of the exam, Kenta smirked to himself, it was a good thing he wanted a piece of him as well.

But while he hadn't paid attention to the civilian matches he had been watching the other ring as Sayaka and Naruto had their matches with Iruka, Sayaka had been training with Anko more over the years and had incorporated her snake style into her own Taijutsu style that required her to be much more flexible, as such she moved with speed and precision as she weaved and dodged each of Iruka's strikes with near expert timing as she threw her own attacks back in the small openings that Iruka had left, lasting the full three minutes of the spar, Kenta knew she had the skill that if she wanted to she could easily have knocked Iruka out of the ring, and win the match in a shorter time, but she was doing what a shinobi does best and hide their skills till the opportune moment to strike.

In Naruto's spar Kenta watched as Naruto took on Iruka with power and defence, Kenta knew his style well, Naruto had never been one for speed when it comes to hand to hand fighting, no Naruto was a tank and a brawler, going in with his guard up and his limbs reinforced with chakra to blunt the impacts as he threw his own powerful blows back and replacing his guard not giving his opponent a chance at landing a damaging blow, all his and Sayaka's training on keeping his guard up had paid off as Naruto lasted the full three minutes also with Iruka rubbing his arm afterwards wincing at the impact of Naruto's last punch.

Turning back to his own ring Kenta watched the last couple of seconds of Sasuke's fight, as the Male Uchiha evaded an overhead swing from Mizuki and threw his own back only for Mizuki to dodge the kidney shots as the bell went. Kenta frowned at that, he could see that the punch was meant to go wide, it was well hidden but with his training he could see, Mizuki was only putting on the act of fighting with the last Uchiha, putting nowhere near the strength and speed that he had into fighting the civilian students, but making sure that Sasuke never landed any hits of his own, like he was baiting the Uchiha the entire fight like it was some hoaxed dance between them.

As the bell rang Sasuke walked off the ring with a scowl as Kenta walked on, he was the last and everyone was watching as some were hoping for a repeat of the first day as Mizuki and Kenta turned to face each other in the ring and the timer at the side re-set for three minutes.

The second the bell went Mizuki lunged for Kenta with a fierce right hook, Kenta narrowed his glare and moved accordingly as he moved his head to the side dodging the swing and stepping into Mizuki's reach as he drove his chakra laced fist into the Chūnin's gut hard. The impact was heard by all as Mizuki spluttered from the counter, but before he even had a chance to move to get out of range or guard Kenta brought his right elbow up into Mizuki's jaw line with force napping the Chūnin's head back as his left arm grabbed Mizuki's still outstretched right as Kenta's fist balled up and he pushed forward while pulling Mizuki back, his right fist impacting Mizuki's face with force twice over before Kenta released Mizuki's arm and spun on his right heal bringing his left foot up and around just as Mizuki was recovering from the slugs to the face before the next thing he knew Kenta's boot heel met with the side of his head and send him off his feet and out of the ring hitting the ground with a groan.

The crowd was silent as they looked from the ring to the timer just as the timer hit two fifty, ten seconds was all it had taken for Kenta to beat an adult Chūnin without taking any hits and delivering a knockout blow, needless to say, Iruka marked down full points as Mizuki was currently in no position to do so.

Scene break

After Iruka had managed to rouse Mizuki from his unconscious state which Kenta had put him into, everyone had returned back inside for the final part of the exam, Ninjutsu, everyone was lined up outside of the classroom door along the wall and down the hall as each student was called in one at a time to take the final test, this had went by rather quickly as the numbers slowly dwindled down as a student went in one minute and came out the next either with a Hitai-ate or without, all depending on their exam results and their Jutsu capabilities.

Sasuke had just gone into the room and after a few minute Kenta, Sayaka and Naruto all heard the window of the classroom open and the roar of flames as Sayaka held her head in disbelief.

"Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Style: Grand Fireball Technique), I'd know the sounds of it anywhere." Sayaka said with a sigh.

Kenta shook his head, "Well it is his go to Jutsu, but you would have thought he'd have learned something more for his extra credit, a C-rank may be impressive got a Genin, but the Gōkakyū is a common Katon Jutsu, not very unique."

No sooner had Kenta spoken, the door to the classroom opened and Sasuke came out holding his Hitai-ate and shot Kenta a smirk of superiority before turning and heading for the exit.

Sayaka rolled her eyes at her brother's action before she started to walk to the classroom for her turn waving over her shoulder to Kenta, "Wish me luck." she said with a confident smile.

Kenta rolled his eyes in amusement, "Don't need to, you don't need It." he said with a laugh.

Sayaka shrugged her shoulders, "True it would be a bit overkill wouldn't It." she said before walking into the classroom.

Kenta leant back against the wall with Naruto by his side as he waited for his turn knowing it wouldn't take long, and less than thirty seconds later the door opened and Sayaka came out holding her own Hitai-ate smiling as she flashed it to Kenta who chuckled, "What did I say, told you ya didn't need luck."

Sayaka giggled before she turned and headed out as Kenta started towards the classroom with a confident smirk on his face, getting to the door he glances back to Naruto and gave him a wave as Naruto grinned back to him with a thumbs up, Kenta nodded and walked in while Midnight stayed by the doorway for him to return.

The classroom was empty except for the desk in front of the blackboard at the front of the class, on it there were a number of Hitai-ates each with the Konoha leaf symbol on their metal plating, behind the desk were both Iruka and Mizuki who watched Kenta come into the room and took his position in front of the two Chūnin instructors.

Iruka smiled at him, "Alright Kenta, we need you to perform the three academy Jutsu in order to pass and then one Jutsu of your own choosing should you perform them to satisfaction, start with the Henge, then Kawarimi, and then the Bunshin Jutsu."

Kenta nodded before without any hand signs at all he was covered in a plume of smoke after it disappeared moments later in Kenta's place stood a replica of Iruka who was flawlessly created with no differences between the original and the illusion.

Iruka got up and circled the Henged Kenta looking him over as he marked down details on his board before nodding in approval, "A flawless Henge Kenta and what's even more impressive is that it was done with no hand signs, very impressive." he complimented as he returned to his seat.

The Henge went up in smoke and blew away to reveal Kenta once more in his position.

Iruka nodded, "Now the Kawarimi if you would."

Kenta nodded before he once more was covered in smoke with no hand signs again, only this time when the smoke cleared it left a blinking Mizuki who was still sitting in his chair who looked around in shock at the sudden change in his location.

Iruka blinked and looked to his side where Mizuki had been moments ago, only to see Kenta leaning against the desk with his arms crossed with a small smirk on his face.

Iruka gave a single chuckle as he started to scribble down more notes, "Very impressive Kenta, performing a Kawarimi without hand signs and also replacing yourself with another person, quite a feat and demonstrates a high level of chakra control to pull it off so flawlessly, well done."

Kenta stood up from the desk and gave a small bow as he walked around Iruka and back to his spot on the floor all the time getting the stink eye from Mizuki who was walking back to his spot carrying his chair with him.

Iruka sighed, "Alright now the Bunshin Jutsu."

Kenta nodded before he smirked and formed the cross sign as he and the entire area in front of the desk went up in smoke and disappeared leaving four Kenta standing in front of the two Chūnin instructors, Iruka nodded, "Impressive clone, although I'm unfamiliar with that hand sign you used Kenta."

The Kenta's all smirked, "I would be surprised if you were Iruka-san", one said, "It is unique to this Jutsu," another spoke, "If you knew it without Hokage-Sama's permission you could get in a lot of trouble." the final finished.

Iruka blinked hearing all four Kenta speak before he looked to the ground and saw all four of them had shadows and his eyes widened, "They're solid, not illusions, the Kage Bunshin Jutsu, that's a B-rank Kinjutsu." he spoke as three of the clones went up in smoke.

Kenta nodded, "Correct Iruka-san, I learned it with Hokage-Sama's permission some years ago, it has been quite beneficial."

Iruka nodded as he jotted that information down, "Very good, all clone techniques are substitutable for that Jutsu, so you pass with full marks, all the same, now you may perform one Jutsu as your extra credit marks."

Kenta nodded before he made a half ram hand sign as his chakra formed outside of his hand and moulded into a clear liquid before he thrust his hand forward as the liquid stretched out towards the Chūnin's sitting behind the desk, both sat back at the sudden movement, but the liquid didn't reach them, instead it wrapped around one of the Hitai-ates before it pulled back taking it with it as it shot back to Kenta as he pulled his hand back and caught the Hitai-ate in the air with a smirk.

Iruka blinked before he chuckled, "Another impressive display Kenta, that was the Suiton: Suiben (water style: Water Whip) if I'm not mistaken, a C-rank Jutsu performed with only a single one handed hand sign, and with no water source to draw from as well, a very impressive display of chakra nature and shape manipulation, well done."

Kenta smirked, "I take it that mean's I can keep this then?" he said gesturing to the Hitai-ate with a chuckle.

Iruka nodded, "Of course you can, now go on and get out of here." he said with an amused chuckle.

Kenta nodded and headed out the door, Midnight rose to greet his master's return, as Kenta flashed both him and Naruto the Hitai-ate with a smirk.

Naruto grinned, "Congrats Nii-chan." Naruto called as Midnight gave a bark of agreement.

Kenta smirked, "Thanks, Otōto, no go in there and get yours and we'll catch ya outside, come on Midnight." he said as he and his partner started heading towards the exit.

Scene break

Kenta smirked as he and Midnight came out of the academy front door as he finished tying on his Hitai-ate, letting his hair go over the sides as the metal plate was positioned on his forehead when he caught the sight of Sayaka who was waiting outside for him with Mikoto and Anko.

"There they are." Anko called as she saw them coming out the door, "Looking good with that Hitai-ate there." she smirked, "It's been a long time coming."

"Congratulations on passing Kenta, not that it was really a shock." Mikoto said with a smile

Kenta smiled, "Thanks, it has certainly been a long wait but well worth it to graduate together with everyone." he said before he looked around, "Where Sasuke, thought he would have at least waited with you two."

Anko rolled her eyes, "Duckbutt said he was going to train and ditched on them here didn't even stop when he came out heading right for the gate, rude little prick."

Sayaka shook her head; "He can't ever take a break from training for one minute. He's obsessed."

Mikoto sighed, "He's becoming more and more like Fugaku all the time, he had the same thirst for power when he was younger and it only got worse as he grew up, Sasuke is just the same."

Kenta frowned, "Well maybe he'll lighten up a bit on it now, we're out of the academy now so he'll have less time for it with missions. Training is good and all but what's the point if you don't have friends and a life outside of being a shinobi."

Mikoto smiles, "Well said Kenta, I just hope Sasuke realises that like you have."

Anko smirked, "We could always beat it into him make him realise it, could be fun." she grinned.

Mikoto sighed rubbing her forehead at Anko's antics while Kenta and Sayaka chuckled nervously at the seriousness of Anko's tone and knew she'd likely do it, but before they could respond the doors of the academy opened again, and they all looked to see Naruto but something was off as he came down the steps.

Kenta watched his Otōto coming down the steps with his head low his eyes down not meeting his older brother's gaze, something that confused Kenta and he knew something had happened as he moved to meet him.

"Otōto what's up, what's going on?" Kenta asked as he approached looking Naruto over with worry evident in his tone, but then it hit him the realisation that Naruto didn't have a Hitai-ate and confusion etched itself into his face, what was going on?

"I…. I failed." Naruto said sounding deflated and beaten, "I…I don't…" he started to say as he looked down as he tried to think about what'd just happened.

"What?" Kenta said shocked, "But how is that possible? You practiced those Jutsu for weeks on end; you could do all of those three in your sleep. Sure you can only manage a minimum of ten regular Bunshin at any one time, but with your reserves that's normal, don't tell me you failed cause of that, you could have just used the Kage Bunshin to compensate."

Naruto shook his head, "I did, it was going great all through the substitution and Henge but when I tried to do the Kage Bunshin, my chakra it just went haywire I couldn't control it and my Jutsu failed, I tried it again and it was the same thing, I just don't understand."

Kenta blinked as Naruto told him what had happened, and it wasn't adding up, he'd seen him do those Jutsu hundreds of times in training, something wasn't right, even though Naruto's chakra control was still poor for his chakra reserve size, that shouldn't have mattered, and the way Naruto described his chakra going haywire wasn't making sense also, chakra doesn't just do that, no something else was going on here.

Kenta put his hand on Naruto's shoulder, "Don't worry about it, I'll talk to Sensei. This has to be a mistake, I can fix this, there's no way I'm letting my Otōto fail before his dream even gets started." Kenta said trying to reassure him, but to his shock Naruto batted his hand away.

"No you won't." Naruto said seriously making Kenta blink as Naruto looked at him seriously, "This is my fault Nii-chan. I'm the one who screwed up the Jutsu. There's no mistake, I'm the one who messed up, and I'm the one who's going to fix this. I don't want you coming to my rescue this time, I'm not some little kid anymore."

Kenta blinked hearing his tone, "Otōto I…" he started to say only for Naruto to cut him off.

"No Nii-chan, not this time. You've always been there for me since we were little, looking out for me and protecting me all those times we were in trouble even though we never did anything wrong. You always stood up for me and protected me and you always said that's what big brothers are for, but not this time Nii-chan. This time I'm the one who screwed up, I'm the one who has to deal with the consequences and fix this myself." Naruto said as he clenched his fists, "I can't always be in you shadow, I have to look out for myself and be more than just your little brother. I have to do this on my own otherwise I never be able to say I accomplished my dream on my own. Don't forget I said I'd become Hokage and then I'm going to beat you Nii-chan."

Kenta frowned listening to his Otōto voice his plea to do this on his own and looked down for a moment as he thought, sure he'd been protective of Naruto but what older sibling didn't look out for their younger brother or sister, it was only natural to him. He'd kept him safe when they were younger protecting him from bullies, standing up for him when the matron of the orphanage yelled at him for no reason, he'd just always done it not wanting his Otōto to be hurt. Sure he'd been rough on him in training but that was only to a certain extent only using Senbon to train his stamina and always making sure to be careful not to cut too deep with Kunai in training, but that was just he wanting Naruto to be ready when he finally graduated so he'd be prepared for any mission. He always protected his Otōto, it was what he did, but he realised he was right he couldn't do it anymore; he had to stand on his own two feet.

Kenta nodded, "Ok Otōto, if this is what you want I'll step back and let you sort this yourself, but you'd better fix this or so help me I'll kick your ass so hard you'll be constipated for a month got it."

Naruto gave his patented D grin, "You got it Nii-chan. Don't you worry, I'll become a shinobi one way or another, Believe it." he said before he took off with a passion running out of the academy grounds

Kenta just stood there watching as Naruto left but as soon as he was out of sight Kenta sighed and shook his head, as Mikoto, Anko and Sayaka came up behind him.

Sayaka put her hand on his shoulder, "Kenta-Kun, are you ok?" she asked concerned.

Kenta nodded his head, "Yeah I'm fine Sayaka-chan, just worried is all. He may be able to look after himself now, but I can't help but worry about him."

Mikoto smiled, "That's what older siblings and parents are meant to do, you need to let him have his space and learn what the world's like without you there to hold him up and be there for him to help him when things get too rough for him to do it alone."

Kenta nodded, "I know, its just being there for him has always been second nature to me, guess I can't be anymore he's all grown up."

Anko smirked, "Ah quit your worrying, the Gaki will be fine, he'll sort this shit out in no time. And if he doesn't then you can fix it for him, there's nothing to worry about."

Kenta smirked, "Yeah you're right Anko-chan, thanks." he said giving her an appreciated nod.

Sayaka smiled seeing Kenta cheering up slightly and knew it was best to take his mind off this for a while as she took his hand, "Come on Kenta-Kun, we've got that celebration BBQ meal to go to with the others."

Kenta chuckled, "Alright Sayaka-chan I'm coming." he said as she practically dragged him away before they stopped at the gate and Sayaka looked back to her mother.

"I'll be home later Kaa-chan, is that ok?" Sayaka called back.

Mikoto giggled seeing her daughter drag Kenta away and nodded, "Yes that's fine, Sayaka. You two go have fun; I'll have a small celebratory meal for us to share when you get home. And both Naruto and Kenta are welcome to join us as well." she said with a smile.

Kenta smiled at the invitation, "Thanks, Mikoto-san we'll be there." he said as Sayaka dragged him away as soon as she got confirmation.

Mikoto and Anko smiled as they watched the two go, but the second they were out of sight, Anko frowned, "Something's not right here."

Mikoto nodded, "Agreed, from the sounds of it, someone was interfering with Naruto-Kun's chakra control in the exam."

Anko scowled, "But now the questions are who, how, and why? I doubt it's for simple vengeance against what he holds."

Mikoto shook her head, "Indeed, if I didn't know any better I'd say someone was planning something involving Naruto-Kun, but the question is what."

Anko crossed her arms, "I'm not sure. Do you want me to do some looking into it?"

Mikoto gave a single nod, "Yes but do so discretely. We don't want to tip off whoever is behind this, and take whatever evidence you find straight to Hokage-Sama before you come to me with it, he should know first."

Anko nodded, "Hai, Mikoto-sama." she replies before disappearing into a Shunshin as Mikoto did the same seconds after.