Chapter 9 Manipulator

I don't own Cote, Naruto or Bsd. All right belongs to respectful owner. Also Bsd won't have much influence except for influencing Kiyo into becoming (very little) good. Btw I have started the habit of writing power level of one character shown in story, at the end of the chapter, do check it out.

"Ah! I am so tired. But I feel very strong now. I bet that I even surpassed Sasuke in doing this technique," a young blonde boy spoke as he panted. And yes, he is none other than Uzumaki Naruto.

"HEY! NARUTO," screamed Iruka from behind, glancing seriously at him, pondering, 'He looks all beat up. Did he train up until now? But why would he steal it?' "Tehehehe! You already found me, huh? But I learned just only one technique from this scroll. After all, the one who learns the Jutsu from this scroll easily graduates, right?" said Naruto in an excited tone.

"Who told you that, Naruto?" asked Iruka, thinking this might be another of his pranks, but what Naruto said surprised him. "Huh? It was Seiji-sensei. He told me about this place and the scroll."

'WHAT???' thought Iruka, completely surprised, as a cold image of the individual known as Seiji came to his mind.

Then he sensed something and pushed Naruto away with his hand. Soon a barrage of kunai and shurikens hit him. "I see now... how it is," said Iruka. "You fooled Naruto so that you could acquire the scroll, didn't you?" he continued in a serious tone.

Seiji smirked as he continued, "Well yes. It's an order, you see. From him. Also, Naruto, don't you want to know why everyone calls you a demon?" Although scared, Naruto asked him, "Why? Why does everyone call me a demon? What have I done wrong?"

Seiji answered, "That's because you are the demon fox, Naruto. The one who killed the Fourth Hokage." Hearing that, Naruto lost all sense of this world. Tears almost started falling from his eyes. After all, it seemed the one who killed his idol was none other than him.

Then he picked up the scroll and ran away. Seeing the tears in Naruto's eyes, Iruka realized, 'Out of all the Hokages, he did use to admire the Fourth Hokage the most.' Then Iruka saw a big shuriken coming, dodged it, and threw it. But Seiji too dodged it and went after Naruto.

'Damn it. Everything is messed up now. But I too have been wrong, it seems. After all, there's a difference between a kunai and a seal in which the kunai is sealed.' Realizing this, determined to save Naruto, Iruka too moved forward.

"Hey Naruto, quickly give me that scroll. Together we can defeat Seiji if we team up—" As Iruka spoke, Naruto suddenly tackled him. "How? How did you know it was me? Not Iruka," said Seiji aggressively, who transformed back from Iruka to his usual self.

"Because I am Iruka," said Iruka as he also used the Transformation Jutsu to transform back. "Hmph, why even bother helping him? After all, he is the one who killed your parents, Iruka," said Seiji.

'What? Not only the Fourth Hokage, but Iruka-sensei's parents too. No, if I remember correctly, the Nine-Tails demon fox killed some part of... Which means I...' Naruto pondered.

"No. You are just an idiot who doesn't know the difference between a kunai and a scroll in which the kunai is sealed. Naruto. He. He is a proud academy student of the Village Hidden in the Leaves," Iruka literally shouted, denying everything Seiji had just said.

And now behind the rock, where Naruto was hiding, he just heard everything. He was relieved to know that he too is a proud member of the Village Hidden in the Leaves. And most importantly, Iruka doesn't see him as a demon. But he was a little confused about the kunai and scroll part.

As Seiji was about to even touch Iruka, Naruto suddenly appeared at a very high speed compared to his usual self and declared with a scary face, "Try to even touch him, and you are so dead."

"Hmph. You really are an idiot. How can you say that to an enemy who is a hundred times stronger than you?" Seiji replied arrogantly as he started molding some chakra to finish his mission. But...

Naruto put his hands together and started molding a huge amount of chakra, so much that gusts of wind started swirling around him due to its sheer power. Then Naruto shouted his soon-to-be signature technique: the...

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu."

"Now, how's this? I bet I am at least a thousand times stronger than you. Haha!" 1000 Narutos said simultaneously, each with a smile that definitely didn't have kind intentions.

"Haha. Naruto, um, do you remember my lessons?" Seiji said, knowing he messed up big this time. And obviously, Naruto beat the life out of Seiji this time. Iruka, who witnessed this scene, was definitely feeling very satisfied.

"Hehe! Maybe I went a little overboard? By the way, Iruka-sensei, are you alright?" Naruto asked Iruka as he ran towards him. "Hey Naruto, close your eyes for a while."

"Hmm? Uh-huh." Naruto nodded as he closed his eyes. Then Iruka said, "Alright, it's okay now." As Naruto opened his eyes, he saw a smiling Iruka before hearing, "Congratulations on graduating from the academy, Naruto."

"Huh? This..." As he touched his forehead, he could feel it. He now had the Hidden Leaf Headband. "I'm sorry, Naruto, for not treating you fairly until now. But let me explain about the thing inside you."

As Iruka finished explaining, Naruto finally understood. "I see. So, I am this Jinchuriki thing and I am not the Nine-Tails, but I have the Nine-Tails sealed inside me. I got it, and it's a great relief." Naruto said.

"What's a great relief, Naruto?" Iruka asked curiously as he applied bandages to his wounds. Then Naruto said, "Ah. I meant that it's a great relief to know that I didn't kill your parents, the Fourth Hokage, and others twelve years ago."

"Yeah, don't ever blame yourself for it, Naruto." Iruka said. But then suddenly, Iruka took out his kunai, which startled Naruto. He deflected the kunai and shurikens thrown at them.

"Now, who are you guys? Show yourselves," Iruka declared against the new enemies. "We have no business with you. The one we're after is the Jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails, Chunin Umino Iruka."

At the Hokage's office.

"Explain yourselves right away. Uchiha Sasuke, and especially you, Hinata. How much of our time do you two intend to waste?" said one of the elders of the Hyuga clan.

Currently at the Hokage's Office, some important people of the village were discussing the rumors of Sasuke and Hinata being involved in a romantic relationship.

"Could you please calm down, Lord Hyuga? They're young, so it's okay to make such mistakes. Besides, they don't know—" as Hiruzen tried to reason with the elder, the elder retorted with a well-formed argument.

Currently, Hiruzen, Shikaku, and Kakashi were dealing with a major headache. Beyond their knowledge, Sasuke and Hinata had liked each other, and now the elders of the Hyuga clan and Danzo had forced Hiruzen to set up this meeting to settle the matter with Sasuke and Hinata.

'It's about time.' Sasuke signaled to Hinata. Hinata nodded. Sasuke then began to speak, "Cough! If I may, respected Elders of the Hyuga and Lord Hokage."

"Now, what do you want, you damn brat?" spoke one of the elders. "Um, well, to be honest, Hinata and I weren't aware of the so-called rivalry between the Hyuga and Uchiha clans. Also, since our relationship hasn't progressed much, I'm willing to break up with her if she agrees. I'm sorry, Hinata," he replied.

Hinata then said, "It's fine." Hiruzen sighed. But another dilemma awaited him. "However, due to the village's problems, we can't further develop our relationship. The village must compensate us for it. Both of us," Sasuke stated.

"You?" one of the elders raged, but the Hokage calmed him down and asked, "What do you want us to compensate you with, young Sasuke?"

"Nothing major. For me, being the Uchiha clan head as a Genin only. Since I was able to hold my own against you and him in our practice match. I want Lord Hiashi and Lord Hokage to support me in this. The same goes for Hinata. She should become the next Hyuga clan head if she defeats her so-called genius younger sister in a rematch," Sasuke proposed, not asking for much.

"Approved," said both Hiruzen hesitantly and Hiashi as well, thinking, 'Indeed, Hinata has been training with him. But is she really stronger than Hanabi? I can't imagine it. But let's go along with the flow.'

'Let's see if you fall into my second and third traps or not, Danzo Shimura,' Sasuke thought. Soon, a shadow clone of him dispersed. He understood what was happening there. 'I see. You seem to have fallen for my first and second traps, Danzo. But you won't escape my trap before the Chunin Exams.'

And now he spoke, "Lord Hokage?"

"Is there a problem, Sasuke?" Hiruzen replied, wondering what Sasuke had in store for him. "Yes, a big one. My shadow clone just disappeared. It seems some guys are trying to kidnap that idiot, calling him something I didn't expect," Sasuke explained.

"What? Do you know what they called him and where they are?" asked Hiruzen in a panic. "Jinchuriki. Near the Forest of Death. Iruka-sensei is with him for now, so the situation isn't serious yet, but it might become so if we or anyone else doesn't help them."

"I see. Kakashi," Hiruzen ordered, conveying a message through just one word. Before he left, Sasuke requested that he may accompany Kakashi. Hiruzen initially declined, but after Sasuke put up a strong argument, he was allowed to go.

In the forest...

"Dammit. Iruka-sensei, we can't get rid of them at all. What should we do? I seem to be out of chakra," asked Naruto of Iruka. But all Iruka said was, "Deal with it using Taijutsu, Naruto."

'I don't know who these guys are, but they seem to be jonin level. Heck, all of them have at least two chakra elements. It's a good thing Naruto can produce a thousand clones somehow.

But right now, it's not enough. They are easily defeating the clones. Also, Naruto's basics are almost perfect, and he seems to have a reaction speed akin to his father's. Smirk! It's probably due to all the spars with Sasuke.' Iruka pondered.

As the saying goes, talk about the devil, and the devil arrives. Suddenly, two people arrived there. "Huh? Kakashi-senpai..." spoke Iruka as his serious face turned into a smile.

"Listen up, you peasants. I am Uchiha Sasuke, the new clan head of the Uchiha clan. If you want to go home in one piece, you better leave Naruto alone.

Otherwise, I'm going to test the new Jutsus I've been creating and annihilate you." Sasuke declared as he kicked an enemy in the face, causing him to fly away and hit a tree with a thud.

"Arrogant brat!" one of the enemies said, and he, along with his four companions, rushed towards Sasuke. Just as a guy was about to slash Sasuke's neck from his right, Sasuke dodged it by bending down slightly.

And he immediately landed a jab with his left. "Gah!..." the guy screamed in pain. Then Sasuke moved a little to his right, grabbed his hand, and with a full 180-degree rotation, he threw him towards the two enemies who were about to attack him.

Then the two of them attempted to stab Sasuke, but Sasuke easily dodged at the crucial moment, surprising them. Then they immediately used a combination Jutsu.

"Fire Style: Fire Dragon."

"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough."

Sasuke quickly took out a kunai and coated it with lightning chakra, then effortlessly deflected the Jutsu thrown at him, resulting in a massive blast. The smoke made them assume Sasuke was dead, but...

Suddenly, at very high speed, a kunai stabbed one of them in the leg. Observing this, most of the other Ninjas gathered to defeat Sasuke. They hurled Kunais and Shurikens at Sasuke initially, which yielded no results.

Then a kunoichi dashed and threw a punch, but Sasuke easily countered with a punch of his own. He followed up with a front kick. "Gah!" she screamed in pain, but Sasuke simply stepped back. Shortly after, that kunoichi was blasted away.

Of course, Sasuke hadn't sustained any damage. "Explosive Shadow clones, I see." He muttered. Suddenly, a guy rushed at him, engaging in a taijutsu match. The guy threw two jabs which Sasuke dodged.

Then he attempted a kick towards Sasuke's head, but it was a feint, and he altered the trajectory to aim for Sasuke's chin. Seeing the opportunity, Sasuke muttered, "Rock Style: Rock Fist," and punched him.

The guy managed to block it with one hand and retorted, "Don't compare me to ordinary Shinobi. I am an elite." 'I see. He's definitely slightly stronger than the others, but it's no big deal.' Sasuke thought as he began to mold chakra.

Then both of them charged at each other again. Sasuke delivered a right hook and a right kick simultaneously, but the guy evaded with some difficulty. He retaliated with a powerful punch that would have knocked out a jonin, but Sasuke twisted back and delivered a back kick.

After that exchange, they rushed at each other once more. Sasuke threw two consecutive kicks that the guy managed to block, then the guy attempted a punch, which Sasuke evaded by bending down, allowing him to aim a low kick.

The guy jumped to avoid it, then Sasuke reappeared and slashed him horizontally with his kunai. But it only left a minor scratch. He retrieved his chokuto, threw it up, and initiated a Jutsu, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu."

"Truly weak," Sasuke muttered as he infused a small amount of chakra into his hands, punched the fireball, resulting in a massive explosion that destroyed three trees nearby. 'What?' all the enemy ninjas thought, surprised. They all decided to attack him together.

Nearly thirty of them rushed at Sasuke together. Seeing this, the other three became worried. "Don't interfere," Sasuke said as he activated his Sharingan and charged forward at a speed he had never displayed before. He was incredibly fast.

He stabbed a guy in the stomach with a kunai, kicked another one away, and moved ahead. A loud blast was heard as the kunai exploded, sending the first ninja flying. He kicked another ninja in the face and punched him in the stomach. "Gah!" the ninja groaned, dropping to the ground in pain.

Sasuke kicked him like a ball, then struck another guy in the neck and threw some shurikens. Using his Shuriken Jutsu, he changed the trajectories, completely confusing the enemies about the shurikens' origin. Making matters worse for the enemies, he employed the Shuriken Shadow Clone Jutsu.

Then, from Sasuke's back, fireballs, lightning balls, and great wind breakthroughs were launched. Sasuke sidestepped them to evade. 'No way,' the enemies thought. Sasuke began forming hand signs and executed...

"Lightning Style: Multiple Thunder Attack."

Numerous lightning attacks emerged from Sasuke's hands, causing extensive destruction as they hit one person, then the next, and so on for five times. There were tens of these attacks, making dodging nearly impossible. This Jutsu achieved what his Shadow Shuriken Jutsu couldn't. Sasuke annihilated the enemy ninjas, approximately thirty in number.

At the Hokage's office...

"...so that's all. All the enemy ninjas are annihilated, except the chunin instructor Seiji, whom we have successfully captured. And this concludes my report, Lord Third," Kakashi reported.

"Sigh! And now, do you have anything to add?" Hiruzen asked Sasuke.

"Nothing, I'm just happy that they weren't hurt," Sasuke said. At this, Hiruzen, Kakashi, and Shikaku all had deadpan expressions. "Alright, you're excused, Sasuke. But before you go, tell me, how much did you plan this time?" asked Hiruzen.

"What do you mean? How can you be so sure?" Sasuke acted clueless. "Well, it's hard to believe that your shadow clone just happened to know about that incident before this meeting. This is not a mere coincidence, right?" He asked.

"Coincidences can be scary, right?" Sasuke simply replied. "Well even if that was a coincidence, how was your shadow clone so sure that Seiji would do that?" Shikaku spoke this time.

"Who knows?" Sasuke said.

"Let me guess. A few times ago when rumors started to spread that you and Hinata were dating, you told him that you liked Hinata, didn't you? And he, or should I say Seiji, helped you start dating, and then he spread the rumors. That's how you knew that Seiji definitely didn't have good intentions," spoke Shikaku.

"And do you have any proof, Shikaku-san?" Sasuke asked. "No, I don't," he replied. "Haha! Then I too don't have proof, but I can say for sure that this isn't over yet. Plus, the culprit behind this incident is either Orochimaru or..."

"Or?" All of them were very eager to hear Sasuke's words.

"I don't know." He said. Then Hiruzen scolded, "LISTEN! SASUKE YOU ARE BECOMING MORE AND MORE LIKE A MISCHIE—..." To Sasuke, which Sasuke replied, "No! I just don't know that bastard's name. I am just sure of it that it's either Orochimaru or him."

"Oh!" Everyone told. "On what basis are you telling this, Uchiha Sasuke?" Shikaku asked. "Because I investigated it beforehand." He replied. "That explains how you tried to test Seiji. But why the need to investigate it before? No more like how did you know it?" Shikaku asked.

"Ah. It's because Orochimaru or he is involved in the incident of Uchiha Massacre. So it was in my list to do things." Sasuke said. 'What? How does he know?' Hiruzen was surprised. "So~, shall I be excused?" Sasuke said in a playful tone and leave after he was excused.

"I see. Their romantic relationship was a total lie." Shikaku spoke. "Yeah, to think he would manipulate us that well and get what he wants. He truly is a fearsome Shinobi." Kakashi spoke.

"Yeah by his well planned actions he was able to save Naruto, plus gain the position of clan head at such a young age. What a great manipulator he is. Kakashi make sure to guide him well. I leave him to you." Hiruzen spoke.

"Yes. Lord Third." Kakashi replied thinking about his upcoming days. As in a way he and Sasuke were very similar. And it seems Sasuke seems to be more of a genius than him.

At Danzo's place...

"Haha! Danzo, because of you, I lost many important pieces before I could even use them to their full potential. Even in that battle. So be sure to hold your promise. In return, I shall hold mine too during the Chunin Exams by killing him. Sarutobi Hiruzen," said Orochimaru in a playful tone, as he was getting his most desired thing, albeit in a different way.

"Fine, but during the Chunin Exams. We must succeed no matter what. That old man must die," Danzo said.

"Yeah, no need to worry about that part. Since after your small gift, I might even be stronger than the Hiruzen from ten years ago," said Orochimaru.

"Hmph. Here you go. A two-tomoe Sharingan," said Danzo as he threw a jar of bottle to Orochimaru with the name Izumi written on it.

"Oh! Interesting. If I remember correctly, she was the lover of the poor child, wasn't she?" Orochimaru spoke as he vanished.

"Uchiha Sasuke, this time, I definitely won't let things go your way. Because of you, I had to lose ten of my elite members. Since I placed multiple other suspects in the academy, you used that trick, huh. You totally outsmarted me," Danzo spoke.

(AN Yo! How was the chapter? Hope it lived up to your expectations.

And now it's gonna be more and more difficult for Sasuke to face his future enemies because this time if he hadn't used his multiple thunder attack and his high intellect, his chakra wouldn't last as much as those enemies as their strategy was that too. To exhaust him and finish him at last.

Yes they weren't elite for no reason. But of course they are no match against Sasuke's MS. But without Sharingan, high intellect or his cheat ninjutsus even Sasuke would have a rough time with them. Remember canon Sasuke was chunin or about to reach jonin level during waves. While here this Sasuke is elite jonin or even low Kage.

Lastly in today's chapter Naruto's power level is 21000 ( chunin level ) slightly above his canon self due to practicing spars and also basic exercise with Sasuke and others played a huge role too.)