For a thousand years (just one, actually) I've slumbered. But now, I have returned!

A big thank you to everyone who favourited, followed and Reviewed this story! You are all my heroes.

I do not own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be living off of crackers and water.

The village of Konoha has had its fair share of triumphs and tragedies over the years, on every street corner; there was a tale to be told, either happy or sad. However, every person who lived there, shinobi or otherwise, would tell you that the good always outweighed the bad. That is the case for Iruka Umino, who had spent the last several years of his life teaching the next generation of ninja; it had so far been a rewarding experience.

Even now, as he surveyed the classroom filled with students he had been teaching for over four years now, he couldn't help but smile as he addressed them. "Okay class, it's your favourite time of the day. It's time to review ninjutsu."

The excited murmur that began to spread through the classroom was all Iruka needed to hear.

"Now now, settle down. We still have a lot to cover today, as always, so let's get started quickly. Can anyone tell me the basic three ninjutsu?"

A forest of hands rose up. He noticed with fondness that Naruto was straining to make his hand higher than the others, but he also noticed that there was one or two who hadn't bothered to raise theirs. "Shikamaru, do you not know what they are, or shall I just write you in for detention for lack of participation? How about you Ami? Perhaps you were looking for the answer in that compact mirror of yours?"

Upon hearing his name, Shikamaru sighed loudly and limply raised his arm. Similarly, when Ami's name was called out she squeaked in surprise before putting away her mirror and raising her hand. There were a few who laughed at their classmates' antics, but a swift glare from Iruka stifled them. Seeing that the whole class was silent and that they all had their hands raised, he resumed the lesson.

"It seems everyone knows, by this point I would be worried if you didn't. But just to be sure… Sakura, could you tell us?"

Sat in the front row, Sakura Haruno beamed at being her teacher's pick. She lowered her hand and responded primly. "The three basic ninjutsu are the transformation jutsu, the replacement jutsu, and the clone jutsu."

Iruka nodded. "Excellent. Over the week we shall go over all three at least once, but today I'm going to test you on the transformation jutsu. Please form an orderly que in front of me."

Many of the students scrambled out of their seats, eager to be the first one in line. However, there were a few others who were a lot slower to form up. Either because they hadn't practiced as often as they should have and knew their technique would be bad, or, like Shikamaru, they just didn't care.

The two boys at the very front didn't pay any attention to the people who were dragging behind them though; they were too busy trying to beat the other. As soon as Iruka had given the order, Naruto and Sasuke shot out of their seats, determined to be the very first in line. Over the years, the two Academy students had developed a fierce, though mostly good-natured, rivalry. It didn't matter what the task was, if it could be conceived as competitive then they would fight over who was better at it. More often than not, they would be split down the middle, with Naruto winning in most physical challenges, and Sasuke dominating in the theoretical subjects (except for geography, in which Naruto had a surprising interest in).

Sasuke was always the faster of the two, and smirked as he pushed ahead of Naruto, who had crashed into Kiba, much to the other boy's chagrin. It seemed he would win this round. However, just as he was about to make it to Iruka, he felt a weight on his head, causing him to stumble backwards. Then his vision was filled with orange.

Iruka looked on in disbelief, as he saw his favourite student leap from Kiba's prone form on the stairs and literally use Sasuke's head as a vaulting platform. A voice in his head told him that he should punish the boys for barging forward, but seeing Naruto grasp Sasuke's hair and push himself off of it rendered him speechless, but only for a moment.

"Naruto, what the hell are you doing? You can't use other students as jumping aides! Apologise to Sasuke, and don't forget to see me for detention after class."

Naruto scratched the back of his head in embarrassment before turning to face Sasuke, who had collapsed on the floor. "Sorry Sasuke, I win."

Iruka smacked him over the head. "A more sincere apology would have been nicer."

Sasuke grumbled, ignoring the antics of his teacher and his rival. He ran a hand through his hair. "Whatever, I'll get you back for this." Suddenly he felt arms being wrapped around his shoulders, before he was pulled into a light embrace. The Uchiha turned to see who it was, but he really didn't need to. "Sakura, what are you doing?"

Sakura gave Sasuke a sly smile. "I couldn't just let a fellow student be injured without offering comfort and support, could I?"

The Uchiha merely rolled his eyes.

Naruto turned back to face his teacher, pointing at Sasuke as he did so. "See? He's fine; he's even got Sakura draped over him, what more could he want?"

Iruka gave the two students on the ground an unamused look, before noticing Ino and Ami going red in the face at seeing their 'rival in love' scoring points. He put a hand over his eyes. "Give me strength."

Thankfully for Iruka's temper, order was regained quickly, and the class could resume. Iruka had considered sending Naruto to the back of the line, but ultimately decided against it. Initiative should never be discouraged, even if it was misguided at times. He indicated to Naruto. "Alright, Naruto, since you're first in line you get to start. Let's see how well you do. Transform into me."

Offering Iruka a grin, Naruto placed his hands together into the appropriate hand seal and focussed his chakra. His face scrunched up in concentration, Naruto called out his jutsu. "Transform!"

There was a large plume of smoke, and when it cleared, Iruka was faced with his exact double, well, almost. The Academy instructor tilted his head to one side, and then the other. "Well done, Naruto, very well done. There are only a few criticisms I could make."

Naruto smiled, pleased at his teacher's praise. "What are they?" He said in Iruka's voice.

"Good voice change. Anyway, number one, you produce far too much smoke; anyone with a brain would know that there was a ninja using the transformation jutsu in the area. I know it's hard, but try to put less chakra into it. And number two…" Iruka pinched his almost double's cheek. "Your whiskers are still visible! Concentrate on your cheeks when you transform next time."

Naruto groaned as the class laughed at his mistake. For some reason it was always hard to disguise his birthmarks, he had no idea why. Thankfully, he had another year of practice before graduation.

At Iruka's behest, Naruto stepped to one side, allowing the next person in the line, Sasuke, to take his turn at the test. Iruka spoke. "Okay Sasuke, you heard what I said to Naruto, transform in to me."

Sasuke turned to look at Naruto as he put his hands together; he smirked as he called out the jutsu's name. "Transformation!"

There was a light puff of smoke, and when that quickly dissipated Sasuke was revealed to have changed into a perfect copy of Iruka. Their teacher gave him a good look over, before declaring Sasuke's transformation as perfect.

A small smile fixed on his face, the Uchiha deactivated the technique before walking over to stand by his rival. As they watched as the third in line, Sakura, performed the test, Sasuke leaned over to speak in the Uzumaki's ear. "It looks like I won after all."

Naruto snorted. "Ah, get lost Sasuke. I'll beat you for sure next time."

Sasuke grunted in kind. "Whatever."

The rest of the lesson went rather well. A few others in the class also performed their transformations perfectly, such as Sakura, and surprisingly Shikamaru, but most had some error or another. Such as Kiba whose impression of Iruka had elongated fangs (which Naruto thought looked kind of cool), or Ino, whose version of Iruka lacked the distinctive scarring on the nose. When questioned on this, she stated that his scar would have looked 'icky' on her, and so she did away with it. Unimpressed by this, Iruka gave her a detention.

Eventually, everyone had performed the test and Iruka had given everyone individual pointers on what to work on. The students had all gone back to their seats, and their teacher was ready to broach the next topic of study, when there was a knock on the door.

Iruka's brows furrowed in confusion, he wasn't expecting anyone. He called out to the person behind the door. "Come in."

The door slid open, and a man with white hair poked his head through the door. It was Instructor Mizuki, a man of Iruka's age who had joined the Academy as an instructor last year. "Iruka, there's something important we need to discuss. Can we talk outside?"

Iruka frowned, but nodded his head in acknowledgement. "That's no problem, Mizuki." He turned to the class. "Class, turn your textbooks to page ninety-four. We'll be looking at the Second Hokage's theory on kunai trajectories, read up on the subject and I'll tell you just why this is important as soon as I come back."

A few members of the class groaned. The Second Hokage had some really boring ideas on almost every subject. Hopefully Iruka would be able to make it interesting, but they weren't holding their breath.

Not wanting to leave his class alone for long, Iruka rushed out the door to face his fellow instructor and friend. "Mizuki, what's wrong? What was so important that it couldn't wait until lunch?"

Mizuki played with a strand of his hair nervously. "There's a problem for your class tomorrow. The kunoichi instructor, Suzume, has taken a leave of absence for a few days; apparently her father is ill. When I heard about it I rushed over to your class; I thought you should know so we could arrange a replacement quickly."

Iruka's eyes widened in alarm, he could teach almost any subject the Academy required, save one. Every kunoichi received specialist training in infiltration, ranging from simple things like flower arranging to full on song and dance routines. Iruka could teach the basics of infiltration, but the in-depth kunoichi class was beyond him.

"We need to find a replacement, fast. How about Kurenai Yūhi? I hear she returned from a mission recently, she has the training."

Mizuki looked distinctly uncomfortable. "I actually asked about Kurenai already, apparently she returned from her mission injured, and will be spending tomorrow recovering. There is one other person who's free, but I don't know if you would like it."

Iruka cocked his head to one side in confusion. "Why would I not like it? I'll accept anyone at this point; the student's education can't be delayed."

Mizuki sighed. "Okay, okay. The only person I know who's qualified and free tomorrow is Anko Mitarashi."

Iruka raised an eyebrow. "Anko? I know the name, send a message to her. Promise her teacher's rates for the day, I don't know anyone who could resist that."

It was Mizuki's turn to look surprised. "You're okay with it? I thought you'd be more wary about her… reputation."

Iruka shrugged. "I've learnt that reputation isn't everything. Besides, we don't really have much of a choice, do we? Anyway, could you possibly set up a meeting between me and her after the Academy hours? I'll discuss the curriculum with her for tomorrow."

At hearing Iruka's reasoning, Mizuki nodded. "Fair enough, I'll send a message through the Hokage's office, that'll guarantee she gets it,"

Iruka smiled. "Thanks Mizuki, we still on for drinks this weekend?"

Mizuki grinned as he walked off. "You can count on it."

With that deed done, Iruka returned to his class to see that his students had continued to read the textbooks diligently. He was so pleasantly surprised that he decided to ignore the fact that Kiba and Naruto both looked like they got into a fight rather recently. He clapped his hands together, startling a few who hadn't noticed his return. "Alright class, let's go over what you've read. I hope you have read it because I will be asking questions. Anyway, the Second Hokage's reasoning was multifaceted…"

The lesson was over, and it was time for lunch, something that Naruto had been waiting for. Despite Iruka's best efforts, there was no way he could make anything the Second Hokage wrote interesting. The man was the freaking Hokage, how could he be so boring? Why couldn't he have written about something cool, like teleportation, or reviving the dead?

Shaking his head to clear those thoughts, Naruto turned to his friends. Over the years, the group had grown a bit to include Shino Aburame and (very, very occasionally) Sasuke. As it was, the group of boys had gathered in their usual spot beneath a big tree in the courtyard. Shikamaru had already gone to sleep in the shade, and Chōji who was sat next to him, was virtually inhaling the contents of a massive lunch box. Shino was stood to one side, looking almost as still as the tree he was standing next to. Sasuke had decided to 'grace' them with his presence today, and was sitting in a low hanging tree branch. And then there was Kiba, who seemed eager to resume what they had started in class before Iruka showed back up.

The Inuzuka boy roared. "Naruto, you'll pay for running into me!"

Naruto grinned as he put his fists up. "Come on then, dog boy!"

Kiba charged into the Uzumaki. There was no adherence to any fighting style, and it wasn't long before the two boys were grappling on the ground. Naruto seemed to be having the better of it, but then Akamaru leapt off of his perch on Kiba's head and began biting into one of his ears.

"Ah! Get it off me!" Cried Naruto. He tried to swat the puppy away, but Kiba kept him restrained.

Kiba was jubilant. "Hah! Good job buddy, chew his ear off! That'll teach him to mess with me."

Growling in response, Naruto kicked his legs out, disturbing Kiba's grip, which allowed him to push Akamaru away and give Kiba a head-butt. As the Inuzuka boy grasped his nose in pain, Akamaru began biting into Naruto's hand causing him to yelp.

Opening one eye, Shikamaru sighed. "Can you two keep it down? I'm trying to have a nap here."

Chōji nodded vigorously. "Yeah, watching you guys beat the snot out of each other is fun and all, but hearing you scream is putting me off my meal."

Seeing that their fight wasn't getting them anywhere, both boys broke away from each other. Akamaru felt the need to keep his teeth in the Uzumaki's hand for a moment or two longer, however, just to prove that it was he who had won the fight. After finally shaking the puppy off, Naruto turned towards Shino, who had been silent the whole time.

"What's up Shino?"

The Aburame heir turned his head to stare at his friend. He pointed upwards, and answered succinctly. "Sasuke is 'up'. As for my wellbeing, I am fine. Thank you for asking."

Naruto laughed. "I knew there was a funny side to you somewhere."

Shino nodded, and above them on the tree branch, Sasuke grunted, the only indication that he was paying attention.

The Aburame had been a loner when the class was first formed, and when Naruto noticed this, he was determined to include him in his circle of friends. At first, Shino resisted the Uzumaki's overly exuberant attempts to get to know him, but Naruto could never be denied for long. So instead of spending his free time alone or collecting insects, he now spent them hanging out with the strange collection of trainee-ninja that Naruto had befriended.

Shino's father, Shibi Aburame, had brought up this burgeoning friendship with Naruto only once. Concerns were expressed about the Uzumaki's wild behaviour, but were quickly waved away when Shino began to display a more positive attitude after he spent time with the boy and his friends. This attitude change wasn't very apparent to most, but it was all too visible to the members of his clan. It did not stop a few detractors from decrying the friendship, however.

But, as usual, Naruto cared little whether he was accepted by the families of his friends or not. As long as his friends stuck with him, that was all that mattered. Seeing that the quiet Aburame was enjoying himself in his own way, he looked up. "Oy, Sasuke. Wanna come down from there and join us regular folks?"

In response, Sasuke grunted, which was the norm for him. "I like the view from up here; it gives me a good view of the village. It especially helps that I can look down on you while I'm doing it."

Wiping the dirt from his coat, Kiba smirked. "It seems the high and mighty Uchiha is enjoying looking down on us mere mortals, huh?" He gave Naruto a sly look. "Do you think we should do something about that?"

Naruto grinned, and the malevolent look in his eye when he turned his gaze on Sasuke caused a bead of sweat to form on the Uchiha's face.

From their own regular spot in the Academy courtyard, the girls of the third year Academy class watched as Naruto and Kiba forcibly dragged Sasuke out his treetop perch, and rolled him into the dirt. A few of the girls were fuming at seeing their idol being treated so roughly, but others noticed that the Uchiha was genuinely enjoying fighting both boys at once.

As the fight became a three-way brawl in the dirt, the girls lost interest and resumed their own conversations. Even if most of them did fancy the Uchiha, none of them were interested in seeing the boys beat the stuffing out of each other.

Sitting together on a grassy knoll, Sakura and Ino were happily chatting to one another over whatever topic they could think of. Both girls had been feuding over Sasuke's affections for quite some time now, but after spending a year intentionally avoiding each other, they both came to the conclusion that they were happier together than apart. They were still 'rivals in love' of course, but that didn't stop them from remaining friends.

During their conversation, Ino was busy trying to fix her ponytail, which had somehow become crooked. "So, have you heard we're having a replacement teacher for the kunoichi only class tomorrow?"

Seeing that her friend was having a hard time of it, Sakura moved over to sit behind Ino, and set about fixing her hair. "No I hadn't. How did you hear about that?"

Although she couldn't see it, Sakura knew Ino was smirking. "Oh come on forehead, you know I have my sources."

Sakura sighed. "Do you want me to fix your hair or not?"

Realising that her hair was being put to ransom, Ino huffed. "Oh fine. One of the girls in Instructor Mizuki's class heard him talk about it."

Sakura raised an eyebrow. "Your 'sources' are the girls from one year below us?"

"And the year above," said Ino.

The pink haired girl shook her head in amusement. "Oh? So who do you know from the year above? Is it that Tenten girl? They say she's the best kunoichi in the group set to graduate." As she was saying this, Sakura finished straightening Ino's ponytail. "There, done."

With her head free, Ino turned to face Sakura again. "Thanks. Anyway, the answer is no, it's not Tenten. She's a bit of a social outcast, actually, because of her friendship with that crazy guy with the bowl cut."

But before Ino could reveal her source, another person stepped up to talk to them. Upon seeing her, both girls offered her a smile. "Hey Hinata," said Ino.

The heiress of the Hyūga clan gave a polite bow in greeting before smiling herself. "Hello Ino, Sakura. How are you today?"

The other two girls couldn't help but roll their eyes at the heiress's overly polite greeting. Since birth, Hinata Hyūga had been raised to exemplify the dignity of the Hyūga clan, one of the more aristocratic clans in the village. This formal training, along with a natural shyness, has caused her interactions with her classmates to become a bit stiff at times. Thankfully, the girl warmed up quickly, and the formality would always bleed out of the conversation not long after it begins.

It was Sakura who answered her. "We're fine, thanks Hinata. There's no need to stand up on ceremony, sit down with us."

The shy smile on Hinata's face grew just a little bit wider, and she knelt down next to her two friends in a seiza position. "Thank you. I heard you were talking about the 'boy with the bowl cut'. My cousin knows him, after a fashion, but he doesn't have very nice things to say about him."

"Your cousin is going to be the rookie of the year, right? From what I hear, he doesn't have nice things to say about anybody," said Ino.

Hinata managed to restrain a grimace. "It is impolite to speak ill of one's family, but I won't disagree with you either."

Not wanting to steer the conversation towards Hinata's stuffy family, Sakura brought up the topic that always broke Hinata out of her formal shell. "So, have you been practicing your surveillance skills on Naruto recently?"

It took a moment for the words to sink in, but when they did, Hinata's cheeks became dusted with a pink blush, and her pale lilac eyes darted from side to side. "I-I have no idea what you mean. I certainly do not have one my classmates under s-surveillance. The very idea is j-just stupid."

When she was a little girl, Hinata developed a slight stutter. Her father, Hiashi Hyūga, not willing to have a stuttering daughter represent their family, paid an exorbitant amount of money for a speech therapist to correct the issue. The therapist was very good at his job, and now the only time her stutter returned was when her crush on Naruto Uzumaki was spoken about in front of her.

Ino and Sakura couldn't help but be amused at their friend's antics. Her little crush on Naruto was so cute. It was also a bit of a relief, while the two girls were friends; their rivalry over Sasuke's affections occasionally overshadowed it. It was nice to have a friend who wasn't interested in their crush.

Hinata was no fool; she knew the girls brought up Naruto in order to shake her up. It was a little irritating, actually, she had spent years training in decorum and courtly manners, but the mere mention of her blond haired crush caused it all to fall away. Thankfully, Hinata had her own weapon in the war on teasing. Her smile turned sly as she pulled out her lunchbox.

The other two girls laid their eyes on Hinata's lunch. Being a high ranking member of a noble clan had its benefits, one of which was some rather extravagant lunches. With the grace of someone who had been forced to practice courtly manners her entire life, Hinata opened her lunch to reveal some of the finest cuisine Ino and Sakura had ever seen outside of a restaurant. Hinata fished out some chopsticks from her jacket and began to eat, and the other two girls were certain that the noble girl was over-exaggerating her sounds of culinary pleasure.

Ino and Sakura had been restricting their food intake to a specific calorie regime, just enough food to build muscle, but not enough that it would ruin their trim figures. But seeing their friend dine on expensive food tempted them in a way they couldn't easily ignore.

"Hey Hinata, would you like to swap and share lunches with us?" Said Sakura, a wheedling tone in her voice.

Hinata pretended not to notice for a moment, opting to eat another mouthful of her lunch instead. When she finished eating, she responded. "Oh, I'm sorry Sakura. While I was taught it was good manners to share, I'm still in such a tizzy over N-Naruto's name being brought up. I think I'll need to eat all my lunch in order to feel calm again."

Sakura pouted and Ino couldn't help but giggle. "Oh Hinata, you can keep your lunch. Just give me the name of your chef, I'm sure I can get daddy to arrange something for myself."

"I'm afraid that won't be possible Ino," said Hinata.

Ino cocked her head to one side. "Why's that?"

An uncharacteristic smugness flashed across Hinata's face, before it was wiped away by her regular polite expression. "A woman of the Hyūga clan must be self-sufficient. I have made my own lunches since I was ten."

It was something the noble girl was quite proud of. While she was lacking compared to her cousin in their family's martial art, even her father had to admit that her skills in more diplomatic endeavours were worth merit. There was more to being clan head than martial skill, after all.

Surprise coloured Sakura's expression, before she giggled. "Oh wow. If you ever decide that the life of a ninja isn't for you, you could open your own restaurant, people would que around the block."

Ino smirked. "If home economics was worth points, I think she could unseat you as the top scoring student, forehead."

Still amused by Hinata's revelation, she waved off Ino's jibe good naturedly. "Oh put a sock in it."

After lunch, the day went on with afternoon lectures and study. It had been a pretty average day, but Iruka would be glad to see it end. Indeed, he would be home already, drinking tea and marking test papers were it not for the troublemakers sat in front of him. Naruto, Kiba and Sasuke sat in the front row, all three of them showing signs of wear and tear from their fight earlier.

Iruka ran a hand over his face. "What is it with you three? It's every week with you lot. We have taijutsu practice for this sort of nonsense."

The three looked at each other, before looking back at their teacher. "There was no taijutsu practice today, Instructor," said Sasuke.

The anger in Iruka's eyes told Sasuke that he really should have kept his mouth shut. "You think I don't know that, Mr Uchiha? Of course I do! I wrote the timetable you study by. As a matter of fact, we have taijutsu practice tomorrow, where you three could have sought permission from me in order to beat each other into the ground. But you couldn't wait a single day!"

The teacher took a steadying breath. "I would like to keep you here for a few hours and hash this entire mess out, but I have an appointment straight after this. Therefore, by the end of the week I want to see a two page essay on the usefulness of patience in a shinobi."

Naruto and Kiba groaned, while Sasuke merely glowered. "No arguments!" said Iruka, "I don't want to hear it."

Iruka would have continued, but there was a knock on the classroom door. The teacher gave his students a final glance. "That will be my next appointment. If you want, you can work on the essays together, as long as I get individual pieces from each of you by the end. Dismissed."

The boys acknowledged their teacher's small mercy with a bow before rushing out of the door, Naruto lingered for a second longer to get a good look at Iruka's 'next appointment' and was surprised by what he saw. It was a kunoichi wearing a mesh bodysuit and a tan overcoat, she had purple hair and the amusement in her expression betrayed the fact that she had been listening in on the Uzumaki's dressing down.

Although his danger sense was going off, Naruto couldn't help but blurt out his question. "Are you Iruka's girlfriend?"

The amusement never left the kunoichi's face, but now it was tempered by something darker. "Excuse me? You wanna repeat that, brat?"

Thankfully, before anything regrettable could be done, Iruka intervened. "Naruto! I said you were dismissed. To answer your question, Ms Mitarashi is here because of shinobi business. Now get out of here, if you want additional lessons we can have some tomorrow."

Taking the out his teacher had offered him, Naruto nodded hurriedly before rushing off. Whoever that lady was, she had problems.

Now that Naruto was gone, Iruka gestured towards the classroom. "Sorry about that Ms Mitarashi, Naruto can forget his manners sometimes."

Seeing that the little annoyance had scampered off like a good little boy, Anko Mitarashi smirked. "Please, call me Anko, nobody calls me Ms Mitarashi." She stepped inside the classroom, and then proceeded to walk straight past Iruka and lean against his desk. "So, I was told that there was a gig in the Academy tomorrow, for teacher's pay, no less. What's the job?"

It was a little known fact in Konoha that Academy and Jōnin instructors were well paid for their time and efforts. A ninja's wage traditionally came from missions, and an instructor could not afford to leave the village to perform these missions while busy teaching students. The solution was simple; pay the instructors a steady wage with a high salary. After all, one of the tenants that Konoha was built on was the passing of will down to the next generation. And while people like Iruka taught because they enjoyed it, others needed an incentive.

Iruka rubbed his hands together. "Due to a family matter, the Instructor for the kunoichi only class cannot take her class tomorrow, we need someone to fill in quickly, and your name was recommended."

Anko raised an eyebrow. "I was recommended? It sounds more like I was the only one available."

The Academy teacher scratched his head in embarrassment. "That was also a factor, yes." He then spoke quickly. "Not that that was an issue, or anything. I didn't even know you were qualified until a fellow Instructor brought it up. I've heard about your… interesting reputation, but I have learnt from experience not to put much stock in that sort of thing."

After hearing the teacher's rapid explanation, Anko nodded, giving him the benefit of the doubt. "Okay then, I'll accept that. So, one kunoichi class in infiltration, huh? Sure, I can manage that. What have they learnt so far?"

Iruka returned to his desk, pulling a notebook from one of its many drawers. He flipped through it until he found the page he was looking for. "According to the notes left by Instructor Suzume, the class had been practicing manners in a noble's court. I believe they've been learning how to use traditional musical instruments, but we often throw in a different topic from the norm in order to keep the students on their toes."

Anko put a hand to her chin in thought. "Alrighty then, as long as it's around the subject of infiltrating a noble's court, the topic is fair game, right?"

"And nothing sexual," said Iruka, "the oldest girl in this class would be twelve, far too young to learn anything like that."

The kunoichi waved off his concerns. "Obviously, I know the rules. Sexual training is for volunteers after they reach the legal adult age, yadda yadda. I wouldn't teach them that stuff anyway."

Iruka nodded. "I thought so; I just wanted to clarify the point."

She shrugged. "Fair enough, I get it. You don't want me teaching them anything they shouldn't be learning."

"Exactly," said Iruka, "so with that cleared up, what will you be teaching the students tomorrow?"

With that, Anko offered Iruka sly smile, followed by a wink. "That's a secret, Mr Academy Man. Rest easy knowing the great Anko has it all covered."

As she walked out of the classroom, Iruka called after her. "My name is Iruka, Iruka Umino, if you must know."

She raised her hand in acknowledgment, but said nothing else as she walked away. A smile was on Anko's face as she considered the possibilities. She had never given being a teacher much thought before; her shady reputation had put a dampener on the prospect. But who knows? Perhaps she would enjoy it, and maybe she would ask Mr Academy Man how he got such an interesting scar.

The next day had come, and Iruka was fretting. He had sworn to never again judge someone by their reputation after years of teaching Naruto. However, after several of his colleagues had got wind of him hiring Anko for the day, he was besieged by protests of concern.

Sure, she had been trained by Orochimaru, and yes, Orochimaru was a traitor to the village and an overall horrible person. But while her teacher was morally reprehensible, he had no reason to believe Anko was anything like him. Indeed, she seemed genuinely eager to teach the class.

No, the reason he was fretting was because she hadn't shown up yet. The class was due in about an hour, and while he could just include the girls into the boy's review class, it cast the Academy in a bad light. Teaching the next generation was an important factor of Konoha's success, being unable to provide a replacement teacher at short notice would be shameful.

Currently, it was lunchtime, and Iruka was having lunch with Mizuki in the classroom. Mizuki had allowed this brief alone time to relax, sitting down on a student's desk as he munched on a sandwich; Iruka was standing, looking out of the window and keeping an eye on his students as they relaxed in the courtyard. Thankfully, it seemed that the boys had blown off some steam in the morning taijutsu class, and were resting under their usual spot. Sasuke wasn't with them today, but he sometimes chose to have lunch alone, and after talking to the boy Iruka had learned not to be too worried about it.

Watching his friend nervously chew on his instant ramen, Mizuki spoke up. "Hey, I'm sorry Anko doesn't seem to be working out. If I knew she would be a no-show I wouldn't have suggested her."

Iruka waved Mizuki's words away, a stray noodle falling of his chopsticks as he did so. "It's not your fault Mizuki; you were only trying to help. Besides she might still get here before the lesson begins."

Since Iruka's head was turned, he couldn't see Mizuki's smirking face. Mizuki suspected something like this would happen if Anko was involved, and such a blunder would make Iruka look foolish in the eyes of their colleagues. For years Mizuki had been performing these bad-natured pranks on his friend, but he always reasoned with himself that he was only doing them to toughen Iruka up. The fact he got pleasure from watching his friend squirm was inconsequential. It wasn't anything malicious; it was just a bit of fun. Iruka would thank him in the end. That was how Mizuki rationalised it anyway.

Unaware of his friend's sinister musings, Iruka turned away from the window and strolled back to his desk, throwing his empty ramen cup in the bin on the way. He sighed. "Oh who am I kidding? I don't think she's coming Mizuki."

Mizuki looked apologetic. "I'm sorry about this Iruka. Do you want any help reorganising your lesson plan for today?"

But before Iruka could reply, the doors to the classroom were pulled open, and both men were shocked by what they saw.

Standing in the doorway was Anko, but not as the two teachers knew her. She had traded her mesh bodysuit and overcoat for a tan kimono with purple highlights. Her spiky ponytail had been redone to look a bit less wild than usual, and was being held in place with an ornamental hairpin that was decorated with flowers. She had even added a light touch of makeup.

She looked at the two stunned Academy teachers in amusement, before speaking. "What? If I'm going to be teaching a lesson on kunoichi infiltration in a noble's court, I might as well look the part." She clapped her hands. "Now, hurry up and help me with this equipment. I could carry it all, but it would mess up the kimono, and I have to return it to the store by seven."

The two men tilted their heads to look behind her, and saw a dozen or so sealing scrolls in a box near Anko's feet. Next to them was a sweating Instructor Daikoku, who had obviously been carrying the box for a while now judging by the strain being shown on his face.

As Daikoku seemed to be struggling, Iruka immediately rushed over and took the box out of his hands. After thanking him, Daikoku rushed off, not wanting to hang around. The box was surprisingly heavy, but the Academy teacher was not a Chūnin for nothing, and carried it with little trouble, placing it gently on his desk. He turned to look at Anko, not quite restraining the urge to stare at her new attire. "What are in these scrolls, Ms Mitarashi?"

The kunoichi rolled her eyes. "I told you before, Academy Man, my name is Anko." She stepped into the room, brushed past Iruka and pulled out one of the scrolls. "As for these…" She placed the scroll onto one of the Academy desks and unrolled it. She placed her hands onto the sealing matrix within, and after a quick application of chakra and a light puff of smoke, Iruka was treated to the sight of a traditional tea set.

Anko turned to face him. "I have a few sets and other equipment in each scroll; there should be enough for at least at least one for each pair."

Iruka looked at the tea set, and then back to Anko. "Alright, the tea ceremony is a good topic. But I'm surprised you have so many tea sets, is it a hobby of yours?"

She shrugged. "Not what people expect, huh? Yeah, I like performing the tea ceremony. After cracking skulls on a mission, sitting down with some tea and dango is a great way to unwind."

"It's not particularly strange to me," said Iruka, "everyone has their interests. Anyway, I take it you would like help setting up?"

Anko nodded. "Yup, since it took me so long to rent this kimono, I don't have time to set out all this stuff myself." She then gave him and Mizuki a withering stare. "But if either of you two break anything, I'll start cutting things off of you. Some of this stuff is expensive you know."

The two teachers set out to work, and it wasn't long before every desk had a set placed on it. As they were setting up, however, Mizuki was plagued with dark thoughts. It seemed that Anko was less flaky than he imagined. But that was alright, sometimes a joke doesn't go as you expected it to. There would be other times to toughen Iruka up.

As it was a kunoichi training day, the students did not immediately rush into class when lunch was over. Instead, they waited outside until Iruka called for them. After he did so, the boys went into a spare classroom, while the girls went inside as normal.

They had been informed earlier in the day that Instructor Suzume had taken a leave of absence, but were still surprised at seeing their replacement teacher had gone to the trouble of dressing up for the class.

Most of the class didn't recognise the woman, they not being full ninja yet. However, Ino did a double take when she saw who was standing in front of the class. Wasn't that Anko, the woman that worked with her dad in the interrogation department? What the heck was she doing teaching a class?

However, any other thoughts she or any other girl in class thought were quickly put aside when Anko spoke. "Alright brats, everybody sit down in pairs. We don't have a lot of time. My name is Anko Mitarashi, and I'll be teaching you the basics of the tea ceremony at court."

After the girls did as she ordered, Anko continued. "An hour is nowhere near enough time to cover the tea ceremony. A noble's tea ceremony can be up to four hours long, so we can't really do a full demonstration either. Luckily for you little girls, someone your age wouldn't be expected to perform one. At best you would assist a more experienced kunoichi by acting as their apprentice while they performed the ceremony. So that's what we will be practicing today. Now, who here has performed or attended a formal ceremony before?"

Many of the girls raised their hands.

Anko nodded. "That's about right. Clans such as the Hyūga and Yamanaka probably perform these ceremonies a few times a year. The rest of you have most likely attended a fancy event featuring a tea ceremony at least once in your lives. That's good, as long as you know the barebones requirements we can save some time. Now, I'm going to show you what you're supposed to do as an assistant, and then you're going to copy me, okay? Good, let's get started."

It was a popular complaint from outside observers that it was unfair that the Academy split the boys and girls up a few times a week to study different things. Many saw the girls practicing flower arranging, while the boys performed kata or reviewed textbooks and complained of inequality.

However, this was a rather ignorant assumption. A ninja village like Konoha, which was dependent on having as many successful missions as possible, had entire departments whose only task was to calculate the success rate of missions. These departments, after much research, unanimously agreed that kunoichi have a much, much easier time at infiltrating civilian locations than their male counterparts.

As such, kunoichi were given much more extensive training than shinobi on the art of infiltration. Shinobi are also given infiltration training, of course, but it was to a lesser degree, and only those who request it, or chose to specialise in it, get more. Instead, prospective shinobi spend the hour away from the girls reviewing what they learnt during the week. Sometimes that would be taijutsu drills, but quite often it was re-reading chapters from the textbook, with the Instructor asking a different range of questions. These were often boring, and while Iruka did his best make it more engaging for his class, he tended to deliver mixed results on that score.

As such, while the girls were having one of the most interesting infiltration classes they'd had all year (in part due to the novelty of having a different teacher), the boys were busy reviewing the histories of the Second Great Ninja War.

Unlike years prior, Naruto paid close attention to Iruka's lecture. While he still didn't find the subject very interesting, the Uzumaki had to admit that actually taking notes on what his teacher was saying every now and again led to much better grades.

And upon noticing that Shikamaru had fallen asleep, and Kiba was doodling on his notebook, Naruto couldn't help but smirk. The notes could also be a very effective bribe before test day. Still, he could also understand why they weren't paying attention; they had covered this stuff before. Thankfully, however, Iruka's lecture was beginning to wind down, and there were more than a few boys who let out a sigh of relief. The Second ninja war was definitely interesting at times, but it seemed that the Second Hokage was doomed to make any subject he was even mentioned in boring, despite Iruka's best efforts.

"… And after the stalemate in the Country of Rain was broken by the withdrawal of Hanzō the Salamander, many nations involved in the war began entering peace talks. These talks would eventually lead to an armistice, which would later be replaced by the Second Treaty of Peace. Unfortunately, this treaty would not last. We shall discuss the reasons why the second treaty failed on Friday, and I hope you will have all at least skimmed the relevant pages on it beforehand. Now take five everyone, I'll be back to inform you when it is time to re-enter the main classroom."

Now that Iruka was finished and leaving the room, Naruto dropped his pen and leaned back in his seat lacing his fingers behind his head as he did so. "Well, that wasn't so bad."

Yawning, Shikamaru raised his head from the desk to look in Naruto's direction. "That's because he was talking about the later part of the war. Where all mentions of the Second Hokage stop appearing. For some reason no one can understand, history got more interesting when the Third Hokage takes over."

Kiba shrugged. "Eh, I don't care. What's the point in learning this stuff anyway? It's not like it'll be useful when we're ninja."

Naruto frowned. "Well… I'm not so sure about that anymore."

"Oh? Want to expand on that?" said Shikamaru.

"Uh… sure. You know Iruka always says that we should learn about history, or we're doomed to repeat it?"

Kiba raised an eyebrow in interest. "Yeah, so?"

The Uzumaki scratched his chin. "Well, what if you're on a mission and something similar to what happened in a historical event was happening to you? If you paid attention in history class, you would know how a ninja from the past dealt with it, and how well it worked out. If what they did worked, you could just repeat what that guy did. If it didn't, you know what not to do."

Kiba drummed his fingers on the desk, processing what his friend had said. "Alright, I think I get it. But, that isn't exactly going to happen often on a mission is it? Most of the problems I'll ever get on a mission will be either entirely new, not covered in Iruka's history book, or something that could be solved by me kicking its ass." On his head, Akamaru barked in agreement.

From the desk behind theirs, Shino spoke up, startling the three Academy students. "You both make good points. However, there is something else that Naruto forgot to mention."

Shikamaru was just interested enough in the conversation to be fully awake now. "And that is?"

"Mistakes of the past," said Shino, "the Instructor has time and time again told us to analyse the mistakes of our predecessors. Knowing their mistakes ensures that we will not repeat them. Every lesson from history we learn ensures that that mistake does not happen again."

Naruto nodded. "Yeah, that's right! Shino said it better than me. Our ancestors are cool and all, but they made mistakes too. If we can keep the good stuff, while fixing the bad stuff, we'll be even better than they were."

Kiba raised his hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. You got me, history is useful."

With that resolved, Shikamaru turned to talk to Chōji, who was sitting next to Shino. The Akimichi had been too busy to take part in the conversation as he spent most of his time warding Shino's insects away from his bag of snacks.

"You okay back there?"

Nudging away another insect with his lunchtime chopsticks, Chōji nodded. "Yeah, I will be. I just wish these guys would stop coming after my food!"

As soon as Chōji said this, the insects immediately retreated back into the sleeves of Shino's jacket. The Akimichi glared. "You could have done that this entire time, couldn't you?"

Shino was quiet for a long moment, before replying. "Yes, but it was just too amusing to stop."

Naruto and Kiba roared with laughter, and even Shikamaru couldn't stop a snort of amusement at his best friend's predicament. Naruto was right after all, Shino really did have a sense of humour.

Iruka opened the door to find Anko finishing her lesson, a kunai in her hand. "…and that, girls, is the best way to hide a kunai in your kimono."

It wasn't exactly what Iruka was expecting to hear when he walked in, but seeing that most of the girls looked enthusiastic he let it slide. "I take it today's lesson was a success?" He said drily.

Hearing his words, Anko preened herself. "Well, after giving a brief demonstration and some good advice on what someone their age would do in a tea ceremony, we had a bit of time left. So I gave them some sealing practice by letting them seal my stuff back into the scrolls. Then, because you still hadn't shown up yet, I showed them how to conceal a weapon in a formal dress."

Iruka nodded. "Thank you. We've covered concealing weapons before, but we've never had the opportunity to show how it's done in formal clothing."

A smile that was almost smug had settled on the kunoichi's face. "Well now you have. Anyway, since you're back here now, I assume that our lesson time is up?"

After another nod from Iruka, Anko turned to face the Academy students. "Okay girls, it's been fun, but it's time to resume your regular programming."

Quite a few of the kunoichi in training groaned in disappointment, Ino and Ami being some of the loudest. Iruka noted the amount of disappointed faces with interest.

Anko raised her hands for calm, the kunai slipping back into her sleeve as she did so. "Hey, hey. No need to complain kids, we had fun. Now enjoy the rest of the day with your Instructor." And with that, she gathered up her scrolls, and walked out of the door, presumably to rope one of the other Academy teachers into helping her carry them.

With Anko gone, the boys re-joined the classroom, and the day resumed as normal.

When the Academy ended its day, so did many other professions in the village. The streets were crowded with people on their way home from work, and parents who had come to escort their children back home.

Through these busy streets, Naruto walked alone. Most of his friends were picked up by their parents today, so there was no one to go home with. Sasuke tended to disappear after the Academy day was over, so he was out. Iruka was also too busy to do any extra lessons, so that was a bust too. Without any other options Naruto made his way to one of his favourite places in the village, the Ichiraku ramen stand.

While there were many people in the village who still gave him the cold shoulder, the father and daughter team who owned the eatery had always welcomed him with a smile and a warm greeting. The owner, Teuchi, had a policy of being friendly any customer, no matter who they were, and his daughter Ayame followed those same principles. Their friendly greetings had endeared them to Naruto, and in turn, the boy's own cheerful enthusiasm had made him a genuine friend of the family.

Although it was a rush hour, Naruto never had to wait long for a seat to be free in the ramen stand. As soon as a stool was available, the boy hopped onto it and made his order with his usual exuberance.

"Hey Ayame, is there a bowl of ramen in that pot for me?"

The young girl behind the stand giggled. "Oh Naruto. Of course there is," but then a mercenary glint shone in her eyes, "as long as you can pay, that is."

In response, Naruto crossed his arms and pouted. "What's with that attitude? You know I can pay."

Behind Ayame, the middle-aged man who was serving another customer a bowl chuckled before he spoke up. "She's just playing with you Naruto. Now, what would you like?"

The response was as immediate as it was expected. "Pork ramen please!"

Teuchi had known Naruto for years, and knew his eating habits. He had already anticipated Naruto's choice of ramen, and so it took the chef only a minute to prepare and place a steaming bowl of the stuff in front of his favourite customer.

Throwing down his Ryo as payment, the young Uzumaki split his chopsticks and dug into the special treat. It wasn't something he had as often as he would have liked. Sadly, his weekly allowance from the Konoha office of Administration was not enough to pay for freshly served ramen every day.

Still, when he could have it, he relished every morsel.

After wolfing down his dinner, Naruto placed the empty ramen bowl back onto the table. He patted his stomach contentedly for a moment, before turning to face Ayame once more.

"So, what's been happening in the village while I was at the Academy today? Anything cool?"

Ayame smiled, but shook her head in the negative. "Nope. You're in luck today Naruto, you haven't missed anything."

However, Teuchi rubbed his chin in thought. "Actually, that might not be true."

Both Naruto and Ayame turned in unison to stare at the master ramen chef. The young Uzumaki voiced the thought they both had. "Huh? So something did happen?"

A grave expression adorned Teuchi's face. "Yeah, something pretty important actually." He leaned down to stare Naruto in the face. "You see… it's for one particular customer, and for one day only." The chef's face lit up. "Since he bought one bowl of ramen, he can have another for sixty percent off!"

Naruto's eyes threatened to spill out of their sockets. "Sixty percent? Oh hell yeah! Another bowl please!"

However, while Naruto was having a great time at the ramen stand, Kurama continued to plot.

It had been only a few years since the Kyūbi had awoken behind the seal within the boy's soul, but he had not been idle. The mortal boy he was trapped within was much more presentable now, and it was all his doing. Teaching human ethics and etiquette had not been easy, Kurama's understanding of the topic was tenuous, and in the beginning there was much trial and error, but the results were worth it.

Naruto Uzumaki possessed a natural charisma that many would envy, but it had been buried by childish stubbornness and idiocy. It had taken some years, but those defects in the boy's personality had been quelled, or at least redirected. This, along with one-on-one tutelage with Iruka to develop his academic knowledge, allowed the boy to gather people to him like moths to the flame.

After all, Kurama mused, he would need allies if he wished to become a true leader of men. Everything was proceeding according to his schedule.

However, while turning the boy into something worthwhile was Kurama's main plan, this did not stop him from exploring other opportunities. Between monitoring the boy's progress, and interacting with him through his dreams, Kurama had been testing the seal that trapped him. He had discovered very early on that the gate would not yield to simple brute force, nor would it be affected by any spell or divine rite that he knew of. This did not stop him from trying though.

For the past few years, Kurama had probed the seal, and had made a rather startling discovery; the gate bound him on more than one plane of existence. It stretched beyond the confines of the boy's soul, and was connected to every higher dimension Kurama could conceivably have access to. It was, in many ways, a perfect prison. But…

The gate was designed to counter any assault he could muster against it, but thein lay the flaw. The seal must be aware of him. It could not possibly react fast enough to counter each escape attempt otherwise. If it was aware, then it could listen.

For the past year, Kurama had been whispering to the seal matrix attached to the gate. The self-aware seal was forced to listen as the Kyūbi whispered dark knowledge to it. He informed the mortal-made gate of terrible secrets that only a god could know, and each time he did so gate recoiled. Every time another black secret was confessed, the gate shook a little, as if in silent horror. It was only a small weakness, but it was enough for the god fragment.

As the gate shuddered from hearing another divine truth, Kurama reached out with spiritual claws towards the afterlife, grasping for any resource that he could use to further his plans. Most of the time the gate restored itself fast enough that the god fragment was forced to retreat without finding anything, but not this time. For the first time in many months, Kurama touched something divine that was not his own.

Snatching his claws back before the spiritual rent he had torn in the gate closed off, Kurama examined what he had discovered. He peered down at the glowing object hanging off of a single claw. It was the scraps of a holy robe.

A fanged maw spread outward in pleasure. Finally, he had found another piece to the puzzle.

However, such manipulation into the spiritual plane had its own breed of consequences.

Hundreds of miles away from the Country of Fire, there resided the Country of Demons. It was a rather poor choice of names for a nation, but the rulers of this land cared little, it was an accurate title.

At the very heart of this nation stood a temple. This holy site was almost palatial in scope, and the nobility of the land paid more attention to the comings and goings of the temple than they did their Daimyo's own court. And in this temple, guarded day and night by ninja, and warded with every holy seal known to man, the high priestess tossed and turned in her bed. Her name was Miroku, and she did not have long to live.

Every high priestess of her line has had the power of foresight, and she was no different. In many ways it was a blessing, her predictions had steered the country she helped lead from disaster several times throughout her tenure as high priestess. However, this supernatural foresight could also be a curse, as the only thing she had dreamt of these last few nights has been her own death.

The spiritual malaise that had been eating away at her for some time now, the sealing of the demon Mōryō had exacted a cost upon her that even she had not anticipated. Even now as she lie in her bed, her skeletal hand being held tightly by her weeping daughter-

With an effort of will, the high priestess forced the vision away. She had seen it too many times now, she had no wish to see it again. But the gift of foresight cared little for the desires of its owner, and it would not be long before she was plunged into yet another vision. Desperately Miroku begged the spirits to show her something else, something actually useful if not for herself, then for her daughter, for the nation.

She expected his plea to fail, just like it had so many times before, but tonight would be different. Tonight, the veil was torn by an overeager being of great power, and a new future was glimpsed for the first time.

A man walked on broken ground. He was tall and strong, with piercing blue eyes and a head of bright blonde hair. He wore the robes of a noble but underneath them was the armour of a warrior. The chakra radiating from his body revealed his status as a shinobi, and the sheer volume of it seemed to envelop him, making his whole body glow with ethereal light. This was a man who was used to power and authority.

But the world around him did not fit his own image. No matter where he turned his eyes, all he could see was devastation. Ninja of all nations and creeds were strewn about the ruined battlefield, many of them dead or dying. Those who were alive and capable of fighting had already rallied behind him. These ninja were also very powerful, but their faces were cast in the shadow of their leader's glow.

Just beyond the horizon, an aura of unspeakable darkness twisted into the sky.

"Lord Naruto," said one of the ninja "the enemy is too powerful, we must fall back to the city."

The newly named Naruto shook his head. "No, this has to be stopped now. Otherwise it will mean the end to everything we believe in." He turned towards the warriors that were closest to him. "I shall go forward, alone. The rest of you retreat to a safe distance and prepare countermeasures for if I fail."

There was a collective groan among the ninja. A feminine voice spoke up in protest. "No! If you die here, then everything you have built will die with you. I cannot allow it."

Naruto narrowed his eyes and focused his gaze on the woman who protested. The vision turned with him, and Miroku was shocked to discover it was her own daughter. She was a grown woman, wearing a more practical version of her own holy robes, the crown of the high priestess rested on her head, and her face was covered in the intricate war paint of Demon Country's Jōnin.

Heedless of her shock, Naruto continued to speak. "Shion, you of all people know why I must go alone." The shinobi turned his gaze once again, and Miroku felt a stab of fear when she realised this Naruto was staring straight at her. "After all, wasn't it you who told me that your mother saw this very event?"

Miroku shot bolt upright in her bed, shock and fear dominating her expression. She must have cried out, as a shinobi of her nation burst into the room, kunai ready to face an intruder.

The shinobi rushed to her bedside and knelt. "My lady, are you safe?"

Miroku stared at him with wide eyes, but the chaotic emotions borne from her vision was slowly fading, and she found that she knew exactly what to say next. "The restriction on my daughter learning the shinobi arts is rescinded. You are to teach her everything you know, and beyond."

If any surprise was felt at this sudden change in commands, the shinobi did not show it. Whatever had caused the high priestess to change her adamant decree that the lady Shion not learn shinobi arts was not for him to comment on. "It is as you command, High Priestess."

The adrenalin from her shock fading, Miroku rubbed her eyes. With a grimace she forced the tiredness away, this new vision must be addressed now while she remembered it all. "Also, send for my daughter, now. I have urgent words for only her ears."

The shinobi bowed his head, and turned to leave, but something caught his eye. "My lady… your arm."

Miroku frowned at her ninja's words, before turning her gaze down to her arms. A sleeve of her robe had been torn away, almost like it had been slashed by a beast.

Wow, this chapter took some time to write. Has it really been over year?

I don't really have an excuse, I have remarkably less time to write nowadays, and when I do have the time, I usually work on my original stuff instead. Anyways, back to the chapter.

This chapter serves to introduce more of the main cast of the story, and Anko, because Anko is a great character that was underused in the canon. I also wanted to explore the 'friendship' between Iruka and Mizuki a little, as it's often forgotten about in most fanfiction. Mizuki will have a slightly larger role in this fic than he did in canon. Like I've said before, every villain will get more time in the spotlight, even Mizuki.

I haven't really thought about the relationship side of the story too much. It will certainly be a part of the story, but so many fanfics overly focus on romance in their stories, and I'm trying to avoid that pitfall.

The Demon Country section was a last minute inspiration. I had grown restless from writing child Naruto and wanted everyone to catch a brief glimpse of who he may become.

I was a bit disappointed I couldn't break a clean one hundred reviews last chapter. I thought people liked claiming milestones like that. Remember people, I reply to every review, so feel free to tell me what you thought of this chapter. Unfortunately, this fanfic is near the bottom of my priority list at the moment, but the more reviews I get, the more inspired I am to write the next chapter, and the sooner it can be released.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Next time: Graduation, and it won't be like canon.