Will of Fire

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Notice: Hey everyone I'm back with a new story, this a new premise I've been intrigued of heading into as of late. I plan on starting a few other stories to keep me motivated and interested in writing but worry not I plan on finishing my past stories eventually. After all The Rise of the Rokudaime Hokage is pretty much my baby at this point. But yeah speaking of The Rise of the Rokudaime Hokage, I'd like to thank everyone who helped me reach the 1000 favorites and follows milestone, please keep up the support it is much appreciated. Please also check out the latest updates for some of my old stories and the first chapters of other of my new stories. I hope you guys support my new stories as much as my old ones. Speaking of the Rise of the Rokudaime Hokage I just released the latest chapter of my story and I would greatly appreciate it if you guys gave it a wee read.

The premise of this story is about Naruto's promotion to Chunin during the original Chunin exams, it baffles me how he didn't get promoted when he not only defeated Gaara, but he defeated Kiba and Neji while pretty much owning the first test. It irked me further how Naruto stayed a genin all throughout the story until he was Hokage pretty much, I think if Naruto was actually promoted there would have been so much more potential for the story.

Anyway as stated earlier other than this I released two other stories and the latest chapter of TRRH, the two others stories are named Inari and The Legendary Three, please give them a read. I put a lot of time and effort into them and I sincerely hope you guys enjoy them and support them like you've done so far for my other stories you bunch of amazing legends. Also keep an eye out folks because I plan on releasing a few more Naruto stories, and even a One Piece story soon. For those who don't know One Piece is actually my favorite manga/anime despite all my Naruto stories and I hope you guys tune in for when they're released. I'm really excited about the One Piece project especially and I hope you guys check them out when they're released as well.

Also for this story as you all guessed this will be yet another NaruSaku story and no sorry but nothing will change my mind. But yeah here is the first chapter of my new story and I hope you guys like it. As per usual if you have any questions, inquiries or suggestions feel free to hit me up via review or private message, I'll try to reply to everything. Also, please follow and favorite this and my other story, I love the support and I'm thankful for it, please keep it up.

Chapter 1: The Promotion

The newly named Godaime Hokage sat in her very first council meeting, she had just returned to Konoha two days ago and now she was ruling the village as its fifth Hokage. It had been an understandably busy few days for Tsunade recently of course, there were a lot of problems that needed fixing with the death of the Sandaime and the damage left by the combined attack of Oto and Suna.

Tsunade sighed in frustration, for the past few hours her and the council had been discussing the new budgeting plans of Konoha and what to do with their former ally, Suna. She instantly regretted taking up the mantle of Hokage but it was too late to back out now, she wished her perverted teammate would have taken this job instead of her. She could barely handle all these boring politics, but that didn't even include the endless amount of paperwork she had to deal with, along with mission assignments.

Few more hours pass and eventually the council agreed on a conclusion towards the current budget crisis, although Konoha was generally a wealthy village the damages sustained by the village was tremendous. Buildings needed to be rebuilt while others had to be repaired, hundreds of lives were lost, and the village's defenses were weakened significantly.

But as soon as the budgeting segment of the meeting reached a halt, they finally arrived at the topic of the Chunin Exams, Tsunade's ears perked up out of curiosity. She hadn't been there during the Chunin Exams but she had heard interesting stories from Jiraiya.

Before going into the discussion of the Chunin Exams, the three proctors of the exams: Ibiki, Anko and Genma all arrived handing Tsunade folders of what they saw and found during their respective stages of the Chunin Exams. Tsunade gladly grabbed them and gave them a quick yet detailed read. She had also already seen reports of the attack so she had further knowledge of what had transpired during the attack. After reading through the reports she turned to the council members.

"I've read through these files, and from what I've seen there are only two people worthy of a promotion. But before that I wish to hear your opinions as to who should be promoted" she ordered out of pure curiosity.

The spokesperson of the Civilian council was the first to stand, "Hokage-sama we from the civilian council believe that Neji Hyuga, and Sasuke Uchiha are ready for a promotion to Chunin" he said.

Tsunade raised a single eyebrow, "Neji Hyuga? You do know he lost to Naruto Uzumaki and in his fight versus Hinata Hyuga he failed to show any restraint or control, he allowed himself to be taken over by his emotions" she explained, "As for Sasuke Uchiha his fight with the Kazekage's child had no result at first but according to the reports of the attack he stood no chance against that Gaara kid"

"But Tsunade-sama those two have shown a power far advanced for their age, surely they are ready for promotion" Koharu the Hokage's advisor added on.

Tsunade nodded, "Yes they may be advanced in terms of their skill and strength but being a Chunin has much more to do than being physically strong. They are not ready emotionally or mentally for this role, you are only promoting them due to their status as so-called prodigies of their age but their pasts in the academy should have no role in deciding their status as potential Chunin, being a former Rookie of the Year has no say in the matter. Their performance in the Chunin Exams were subpar when you take their reputation in mind. They are not ready for these roles" she replied swiftly and decisively.

"Well then who do you think should be promoted then Hokage-sama?" Koharu asked rather challengingly.

Tsunade smirked at the question, "Upon reading the files only two genin jump up at me for being worthy of a promotion to Chunin. They are Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara" she answered confidently. The council was rather silent at first out of pure disbelief, they couldn't believe that their Hokage would rather promote two dead lasts than two of the best prodigies Konoha has had in the past few years.

"You cannot be serious Hokage-sama. Those two cannot compare to Neji Hyuga and Sasuke Uchiha, whatever that Naruto did to win was pure luck. Those two had some of the worst scores in the academy while Neji and Sasuke had two of the best in a long time, they have been compared to geniuses such as Kakashi Hatake and Itachi Uchiha. Their potential is through the roof, and instead of them you want to promote two ninjas who barely passed their genin exams?" the civilian spokesperson claimed.

"Your academy grades should not be taken into consideration for Chunin promotions, those two have progressed tremendously since their academy days, hell Naruto even defeated Neji a former Rookie of the Year during the finals and he did so in a convincing manner as did Shikamaru versus that kunoichi from Suna" Tsunade answered with a sense of authority.

"Tsunade-sama we could understand the choice of Shikamaru Nara, he may appear lazy and unmotivated but he did have an impressive showing during the Chunin Exams. He was methodical and tactical in his approach, he is a very intelligent genin with a lot of potential, best shown during both of his fights. Even if Shikamaru is ready, Naruto is by no means ready for that position" Koharu boldly claimed with much of the council's agreement.

"Pray do tell Koharu, why is that exactly?" Tsunade asked.

"Naruto has shown himself to be impatient and far too reckless in his fights, he goes in gung-ho hoping for the best and honestly he only comes away with the victory due to sheer luck and his tremendous chakra reserve attributed to his status as a Jinchuuriki" she answered.

Not everyone agreed with Koharu's judgement, Shikaku Nara, Inoichi Yamanaka, Choza Akimichi, Hiashi Hyuga, and Tsume Inuzuka were some of the few that agreed with Tsunade. The clan heads of the council watched the matches thoroughly and from what they saw Naruto was unorthodox in his approach but he did manage to get the job done in the end, and he showed a level of suitable of a Chunin. Yes, he may have been unpredictable and unorthodox but that in a way gave him an advantage, it was difficult for an opponent to anticipate the blonde's next series of moves, one would believe that the energetic genin was merely winging his fights but if you knew Naruto well enough you'd know there was some thought upon his actions. Despite how strange they may be at times.

"With all due respect Koharu-san but Tsunade-sama has a point, Naruto managed to defeat Tsume's son Kiba, his tactics may have been unique to say the least but at the end of the day he still did manage to win. He managed to outthink and defeat Neji Hyuga, not only that but according to the reports he managed to singlehandedly stop Gaara no Subaka as well. Kakashi Hatake his sensei vouches for him and you of all people know how difficult it is to gain Kakashi's approval. Naruto has proven himself time and time again, he is ready to be a Chunin" Shikaku argued.

"Thank you, Shikaku-san. Not only that but he was there with Jiraiya to help retrieve me and I saw him fight firsthand and despite his flaws he was still very tactical but in a very unpredictable sense. If you're basing a promotion on potential then I can make an argument that Naruto has far more potential than Sasuke and Neji" Tsunade added on.

"But there is that Tsunade-sama, he isn't ready for Chunin. He is much too irrational, impatient, and emotional. A Chunin must be decisive and controlled, and Naruto is nowhere near that stage just yet" argued Koharu.

"Yes, that may be true he is irrational, impatient and very emotional at times. But despite all those in the end he has used them to his strength. His unpredictability has been one of his biggest strengths" she said as her temper began to flare "What else does Naruto have to do to prove himself to all of you? The young man has fought all his life and he nearly died to protect Konoha. He is a hero, had he not stopped Gaara then the Ichibi would have been unleashed onto Konoha, you all know but you all deny that fact. Despite popular belief the reports claim that the Uchiha had little to do with that battle and I'm sure most of you already know that. You all continue to discredit Naruto and I think we all know why. You're all afraid of what's inside of him, you all want to contain him" she replied while growing in frustration.

"I can make an argument right now that Naruto has already surpassed Sasuke Uchiha and Neji Hyuga in strength. He possesses the ability of shadow clones, an A-Rank jutsu last time I checked and although he is gifted with tremendous chakra reserves he obviously uses it to his advantage the same way the Uchiha use the Sharingan or how the Hyuga use the Byakugan. Under Jiraiya's training you all know that Naruto has even managed to learn how to summon, a skill even Jonin lack, and not only that but he already managed to summon Gamabunta, a chief summon for toads. During his mission to retrieve me alongside Jiraiya, he also managed to learn the Rasengan in a month"

Silence engulfed the room, the Rasengan was one of the most powerful jutsus in Konoha history a jutsu known only by three other men, the Yondaime Hokage Minato Namikaze, the Legendary Toad Sage and Sannin Jiraiya, and the famed Copy-Nin Kakashi Hatake all of which are high-ranking and reputable ninjas not just in Konoha but around the world. For a genin to learn such a powerful jutsu was unheard of, in a way it did show the promise in the boy. Not only for learning the jutsu but doing so in the span of a month.

Tsunade inwardly smiled as she examined the bafflement in the council, 'Maybe now they'd acknowledge the little brat's strength and ability' she thought to herself.

"Is this true Hokage-sama?" asked one of the civilian council memebrs.

The Godaime nodded, "Hai I saw it with my own two eyes and that little brat saved my life during the mission he showed determination, courage and guts dare I say it, worthy of a Hokage and honestly I don't care what you all think I myself am promoting Naruto Uzumaki to the rank of Chunin regardless" she boldly claimed.

The advisors sighed in defeat, "I see I still disagree with you Hokage-sama but your words seem set in stone. It would be pointless arguing further concerning this matter" admitted Koharu.

Tsunade smiled to herself, 'Well looks like you'll be one step closer to your dream gaki' she thought to herself. Naruto reminded her so much of Dan and Nawaki, and the Hokage could only hope that he fulfills the dream those two couldn't.

With Naruto

The blonde was eating at his usual joint, Ichiraku's Ramen. He was indulging himself in his favorite dish and he was happily spending a fortune in the restaurant. He had just gotten paid recently for his mission to retrieve Tsunade, he wasn't meant to go on it but Jiraiya brought him along nonetheless. He managed to train and learn a cool new jutsu, he brought back the woman who would go on to replace the deceased Sandaime Hokage, and he was paid S-Rank mission money for his role in the retrieval. All in all, it had been a good few days since his return to Konoha.

But upon his return he hadn't met up with any of his teammates just yet, Sasuke was still recovering with the help of Tsunade, Kakashi was away in a small mission to help Konoha's reconstruction, and Sakura was keeping to herself.

The orange-clad genin was already five bowls deep with a sixth on the way when an ANBU operative appeared from a plume of smoke.

Ayame looked on in curiosity at their newly arrived guest, Naruto had to cease his eating and storytelling to look at the ANBU operative that just entered the establishment. The masked ANBU then eyed the young genin and approached the pair.

"Naruto Uzumaki you are being summoned to the Hokage's office this instant by the Hokage herself"

"Do you know why I'm being summoned?" asked the blonde.

The ANBU operative shook his head, "I apologize but I am not allowed to divulge this information" he replied.

Naruto sighed, "Dammit I was just about to get to the good parts of my story, and I'm still hungry" exclaimed the energetic genin.

"That's alright Naruto-kun I'll save this ramen for you and when you get back we'll continue from where you left off. Sound good Naruto-kun? It's probably not ideal keeping the Hokage waiting" said Ayame.

Naruto smiled brightly at Ayame, "Really? Thanks a bunch Ayame-neechan I'll definitely stop by later today for dinner or something" he said before turning and walking over to the ANBU operative, "This better be good Baachan, I was in the middle of some delicious ramen" he softly muttered to himself.

The ANBU operative held Naruto by the shoulder before using Shunshin to transport them to the Hokage's office within seconds, and there Naruto stood in front of the Hokage's desk with Tsunade herself looking over at him. He then turned to his left and he saw Shikamaru also standing there beside him in front of the desk. Other than them there was no one else in the room, the ANBU operative was quick to vanish the second he brought Naruto to the room.

"What's the meaning of this Baachan I was in the middle of some amazing ramen" complained Naruto.

Tsunade scowled while Shikamaru shook his head and rolled his eyes, "Shut up gaki I called you here for something important so you better shut up and listen if you know what's good for you" she warned.

Naruto felt the intense killer intent radiating from Tsunade so he decided to shut up for now at least, Tsunade waited for a few seconds and she was relieved when there was no talking back from the usual smartass blonde.

"Well then now that you're both here I'd like to be the first to congratulate you two for the good news, as you both know there was a very important council meeting yesterday and one of the main topics to come up from that meeting was regarding the Chunin exams, to be more specific Chunin promotions" she said with a smile as she watched the bewildered looks on both Naruto and Shikamaru's faces.

"Wait what was that?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Let me finish and you'll find out" Tsunade replied, "Well after much discussion it has been decided that out of all of Konoha's participants you two are ready to be promoted to the rank of Chunin".

Naruto's eyes widened in shock he couldn't believe that he had just been promoted, "Wait you're not playing some prank on me are you Baachan? Because if you are…"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and interjected, "No I'm not baka, I'm not like you to pull pranks. This is real brat and from your whole batch you two are the first to gain this promotion so there it is, congratulations. I stuck my neck out for you two so you two better not let me down you understand"

"So, you're actually serious? Is it just me and Shikamaru here? What about Sasuke, Neji, Shino, Lee and the others?" Naruto asked.

"Well it was decided that although they all showed promise they were far from ready to be Chunin, you two on the other hand displayed the right skill, decisiveness, tactics and intangibles to garner the promotion" Tsunade replied.

Naruto suddenly had a smug grin adorn his face, "Well what can I say? That's to be expected of a future Hokage after all" he exclaimed confidently before breaking out into a loud and played out laugh.

Both Tsunade and Shikamaru sweatdropped at the display, it was clear that Naruto's ego was already growing at an exponential rate. But they couldn't really blame him he did just get promoted and he beat his rival to it as well.

"Excuse me Hokage-sama if I may, why was I promoted as well? If I recall correctly I surrendered and lost my battle against Temari" asked Shikamaru.

"Good question Shikamaru, but if you remember it was said that you didn't have to win your battles to get a promotion. You just had to display certain skills and you did just that. From the reports, I read you displayed a tactical prowess and a strategy far beyond your years and you also showed your ability to adapt in pressure circumstances. Best shown during your fights against Kin and Temari, you may not have won the latter but if it was a fight of life and death you would have come down victorious. You have also shown yourself to be a capable leader with potential to grow in many aspects, in all honesty the only thing you need to do is stop being lazy and you could truly make something of yourself"

"What about me then Baachan?" Naruto asked curiously.

"Listen here brat you better watch yourself if you call me Baachan one more time I can revoke that promotion you hear?" Tsunade threatened.

Naruto gulped nervously before nodding, "Hai Baa….err I mean Hokage-sama" he replied with an anxious chuckle.

"That's better gaki, now the reason you were promoted was due to your amazing performance not only in the Chunin exams but in the battles, that came after the finals. You managed to display an unpredictable and unorthodox tactic in fighting Kiba and Neji but they also worked in the end. It was unique from what I've read but in all honesty, it's good for ninjas to think outside the box, but you gaki you definitely live outside the box. Other than that, you also displayed strength and power far beyond a genin when you battled Gaara no Subaku and when you came with Jiraiya to retrieve me. Ibiki also mentioned your leadership skills in the first test, you managed to instill courage and rally the other genin not to give up and I found that very impressive considering how risky the costs of failing were said to be. Kakashi and Jiraiya have also vouched for you making this an easy decision"

Naruto nodded with a great big smile on his face, he was finally gaining some recognition and he was one step closer to his dream of becoming Hokage. His genin days were over now he was a Chunin, and it was only a matter of time until he reaches the next step of becoming a Jonin.

"Alright now here grab this you two" said the Hokage as she handed each of them a storage scroll.

"What's this Hokage-sama?" asked Shikamaru.

"These are storage scrolls that hold the items given to each newly promoted Chunin. Inside you will find your Chunin vest, the latest bingo book, and a few ninja equipment such as new kunai, shuriken, makibishi, ninja wires, explosive seals and a tanto blade" she answered.

"I see well arigato Hokage-sama" replied the lazy Nara.

Shikamaru found all of this troublesome especially the promotion because he knew that meant more work, but he knew it was unwise to display such dissatisfaction on front of the Hokage who chose to promote him and Naruto.

"Now onto the vows, now that you are both Chunin you must both agree to these vows if you wish to truly be a Chunin"

Naruto and Shikamaru both nodded in understanding.

"Do you vow to risk your life and protect the mighty Konohagakure no Sato and the people of the village from any danger that may come our way?"

"Hai Hokage-sama" they replied in unison.

"Do you vow to uphold the Will of Fire, a belief held since the days of the Shodai Hokage Hashirama Senju?"

"Hai Hokage-sama"

"Do you vow to represent Konoha in honorably and courageously in any circumstances?"

"Hai Hokage-sama"

"Do you vow to remain loyal to Konoha never to reveal any of the village's secrets to any who may seek to harm it?"

"Hai Hokage-sama"

"And finally, do you vow to respect and cherish our home Konohagakure no Sato?"

"Hai Hokage-sama"

"I Tsunade Senju, the Godaime Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato promote you Naruto Uzumaki and Shikamaru Nara to the rank of Chunin. May the Will of Fire flow through your spirit and guide you"

"Arigato Hokage-sama" the two said before bowing in honor of the Hokage.

"Now that all these formalities are over I'd like to congratulate you two on becoming Chunin, this is a tremendous achievement I even remember when I first became a Chunin. You two should be proud of your accomplishments, I'll be expecting remarkable things from the both of you. Now any questions?"

Shikamaru nodded, "Hai Hokage-sama. What are the main differences between being a Chunin and being a genin?" he asked.

"Good question Shikamaru, first off the main difference will be in your missions. When genin you were mostly restricted to D-Rank missions with the occasional C-Rank missions. Now as Chunin however you can choose to do D-Rank missions by yourselves whenever you want, you can also apply to go to C-Rank missions with a few other Chunin or a couple of genin as well whenever it is available. But now you are also allowed to join in B-Rank missions occasionally and if you show enough skills as Chunin then you may also be allowed to take part in a few A-Rank missions every now and then" she explained.

Naruto was getting excited just listening, he was sick and tired of the boring missions he got and now he was being allowed in some action. Higher ranking missions were now available to him.

"What about our current teams?" asked Naruto.

"Well Naruto you will still be a part of Team Seven, and you Shikamaru you will still be a part of Team Ten but from now on you do not have to join them for every single mission. You will be dispatched in other teams and missions every now and again but you can still join your usual teams in missions. It's just now you won't be with them as often because there will be times they will be doing D-Rank or C-Rank missions whereas you may be needed in a B-Rank mission or a different C-Rank mission. All in all you will still be a part of your team but you are no longer required to join them for every single mission"

The two nodded in understanding, "I see well thank you again Hokage-sama we appreciate the promotion" Shikamaru replied politely.

Naruto nodded in agreement, "Yeah thanks for everything Hokage-sama I'll make you proud. This promotion didn't go to waste I promise you" he said.

Tsunade chuckled before flashing a small smile to the two, "I know you won't let me down" she said, "Now scram you two the promotion is done and as much as I'd like for you two to stick around unfortunately I have some paperwork to do" she said.

The two nodded before walking out the door, but before they left Tsunade called out to Naruto one more time.

"Oh yeah gaki, Jiraiya and I added a few other things in your storage scroll. We decided it was best you get a new outfit, a bright orange getup is suicide for a ninja so we decided to give you an early gift by buying you a few new clothes to make up a more suitable outfit for a Chunin, let alone a ninja"

"Thanks, I'll see you later Hokage-sama" replied Naruto.

As soon as Naruto and Shikamaru left the office the two stood there in complete silence.

"So, what now?" asked Naruto.

Shikamaru shrugged not knowing what to do either, "Want to come over to mine for some dinner to celebrate the promotion, we could also chill for a bit while waiting for dinner" he replied.

"Yeah sure why not" answered Naruto.

"Cool, so Naruto ever played shogi before?"

With Naruto

Naruto was on his way back home, he had just finished eating dinner at the Nara household. It was interesting having dinner with the family, from what Naruto saw Shikamaru obviously took after his father more than he did his mother.

During his academy days Shikamaru was one of Naruto's few friends alongside Choji and Kiba because the four of them were the dead lasts of the class, and now here they were the two of them ended up being the first to get promoted to Chunin in their batch. It was a nice feeling eating dinner with the Nara family and he was happy when they told him he was welcome back any time. The dinner itself was delicious but before dinner was ready Naruto played an intriguing game known as shogi against Shikamaru. He hadn't known how to play shogi but Shikamaru taught him the rules of the game, and of the five games he and Shikamaru played he lost all of it but that was to be expected after all Shikamaru had been playing shogi for years. But that only left Naruto determined to one day try and beat the lazy Nara at his own game.

On his way, back to his apartment Naruto couldn't help but glance over at the Hokage Monument, a small yet genuine smile gracing his face as he stared over at the faces of his heroes.

"One step closer to having my face up there along with them"

Author's Note

Well here is my first chapter guys hope you all enjoyed it because I enjoyed writing it. This was tons of fun and I was really intrigued by the premise of this story. Looking back at it I still really do think Naruto should have been promoted to Chunin and the fact we never really even saw him get promoted was a major letdown. But anyway if you guys have any questions or suggestions please leave a review or pm me and I'll try my best to answer in time. Check out my other stories as well and my profile because there will be more stories and updates to come soon enough. Thanks again everyone.