CHAPTER 6: TEAM 7

A week had passed by since Mizuki's arrest. During the week, Naruto had his photo taken with the Kabuki painting on him. He also had run into the Sandaime's grandson, Konohamaru, who became Naruto's biggest fan. Naruto used his Oiroke no Jutsu on the Sandaime Hokage, taught the Jutsu to Konohamaru and then combined it with his Taju Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu to create his Harem no Jutsu and flatten Ebisu. Itane during his time with the Sandaime often saw Konohamaru, but he decided to leave it to Naruto to straighten the brat. It often reminded him of his little protégé, who learnt not only the Oiroke no Jutsu, but also the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu, the Rasengan and the Odama Rasengan from him. It also reminded him of the Oiroke no Jutsu challenges they had with one another, Konohamaru never managed to beat him even once.

Today was the day the Genin teams were meeting their Jounin sensei. Itane didn't want to miss Naruto's meeting with Kakashi, so he went to the Hokage's office to watch the proceedings through the old man's crystal ball.

As Itane entered the Hokage's office, Hiruzen said, "You know, I thought you would have stopped him from using the Oiroke no Jutsu. It is a silly little Jutsu. He is still too childish. His ninja photo had him with Kabuki make-up."

Itan smiled, "I said I would train him, not end his childhood. If you call his photo with the Kabuki make-up childish, what do you call Jiraiya's introduction speech with the Kabuki dance? Also don't diss my Oiroke no Jutsu. It works well on you and it helped me a lot in getting Jiraiya to train me back in the day."

Hiruzen cringed at the bitter truth that it worked on him, "But still, he used his Oiroke no Jutsu, combined it with the Kage-Bunshin to create Harem no Jutsu to defeat Ebisu. What is worse is that now Konohamaru has begun following him. Yesterday, Konohamaru used his Oiroke no Jutsu against me."

Itane simply laughed, "Ofcourse he did. After I taught him that, we had so many contests over the years with our Oiroke no Jutsu. He never managed to beat me even once. In fact my day as Hokage began with an Oiroke no Jutsu contest with Konohamaru. Also if you think that Naruto's current version is something, I think I should show you mine. Right now, Naruto is an amateur at Oiroke no Jutsu compared to me."

Hiruzen looked at Itane in disbelief, "Oh no, please don't! I don't think I can lose more blood over this. I can see how it helped you with Jiraiya. But it is totally inappropriate of a Hokage to be using such Jutsu."

Itane smirked, "Oh! And it isn't inappropriate of a Hokage to hide porn in his desk?"

Hiruzen's eyes widened in shock, "Wh…Wha…at? How did you know?"

"Oh please, I've known since I was six, when I was brought to your office for a prank, that you hid Jiraiya's Icha-Icha books in the second draw on the right side of your table. I saw you slowly take one out as soon as I left with the Anbu who brought me in here. And I know that since you have your clones do all the paper work for you, you spend more time reading those books these days." Itane calmly replied.

Seeing that the conversation wasn't going the way in his way, the Sandaime Hokage decided to change the topic, "Does Naruto know that Kakashi is going to be his Jounin sensei and that Sakura and Sasuke are going to be his teammates?"

"I hinted last night that they usually place the dead-last of the year in the same team as the Rookie of the year and the Kunoichi of the year. For the rest of the night, he was sulking. He'll probably ask me about Kakashi today. I'll just give him a little information. It won't help him with the Bell test, but it will help him with torture Kakashi." Itane said.

"He was sulking? I thought he had a crush on the Kunoichi of the year and followed her around asking for dates? It should've made him happy to know that he was in her team and would get to spend more time with her, right?" Hiruzen asked Itane.

"It would have. Except that he no longer has a crush on her." Itane replied calmly

"Why? What happened?"

Flashback (italics)

It was about five in the evening. At the Forest of Death, Itane was sparring with Naruto, who was using Kage-Bunshins in the spar, when all of a sudden, all of Naruto's Kage-Bunshins dispelled at once. Itane fearing the worst, looked at the original Naruto, who was sitting on the ground, with his legs folded at the knees in the most acute angle possible and with his head on his knees.

Itane asked him worriedly, "What happened Naruto? Why did all your Kage-Bunshins dispel at once? Why are sitting there like that? Are you suffering from any headache because of the dispelling of the Kage-Bunshins?"

Naruto slowly raised his head from his knees and looked towards Itane. There were tears in his eyes as he said, "My Kage-Bunshin shouted at Sakura-chan. She got mad at my Kage-Bunshin for sitting next to her and so she tried to punch me. So as to not get dispelled, my Kage-Bunshin tried dodging her punch and managed to just succeed. After that he got angry and shouted at Sakura-chan."

While Naruto was in tears, Itane felt relieved at the problem. It wasn't a serious problem but he knew it had to be solved. Itane had decided that he wouldn't mess with Naruto's love life in any way, but this little problem, he knew, would only create more pain for Naruto eventually and had to be solved immediately. Itane simply asked, "So What? She shouldn't have tried to hit you in the first place."

"So she'll hate me. She'll never look at me again. She'll reject me if the next time I ask her out." Naruto yelled with as the tears kept rolling down his cheeks.

Itane smiled as he said, "As far as I know, she already hates you. She keeps trying to hit you whenever she sees you and she has always rejected you even before you could ask her out. Trust me when I see, she isn't worth it."

Back in his time, Sakura had become like a sister to him, but getting over his crush was one of the hardest things he ever had to do, especially since it had only grown over the years.

Naruto wiped his tears as he said, "I was hoping to show her my new skills and beat Sasuke with them and have her fall for me instead of Sasuke."

Itane stopped him then and there, "I thought you were learning all these things to be Hokage, not beat the Uchiha. Besides what you're saying won't happen. Trust me. She worships the Uchiha kid and will continue to do so. She is what we call fan-girl. She is an insult to all those serious Kunoichi out there. Even if you become Hokage, she'll continue to follow the Uchiha kid. She wants be a ninja only to be able to spend more time following the Uchiha kid. She'll continue to berate you and hit you. It is better if she doesn't look at you at all instead. Don't worry someday, I'm sure you'll find a girl who is serious about what she does and will love you with all her heart. If you still doubt what I said, just henge into the Uchiha and ask her why she wants to be a ninja and why she hates you?"

"After that Naruto did what I said. He henged into Sasuke and approached Sakura and she told him that she wanted to be a ninja to marry her 'Sasuke-kun' and she hated him because he did all those pranks and had no parents. Since then, he has had nothing but contempt for her. So he hates both Sasuke and Sakura." Itane said.

"But wouldn't that be bad for the team? If Naruto hates both Sasuke and Sakura, it'll hurt their teamwork. Then they would fail the Bell test. Are you trying to get Kakashi to fail the team?" Hiruzen asked Itane.

Itane just smiled, "On the contrary, I think that team 7 passing is necessary for things to go the way they are supposed to."

"Then why did you make Naruto hate Sakura?"

"Because it is so much easier for him to move on at this stage of his life than later on. I've taught Naruto to look 'underneath the underneath'. It was one of the first few things that I taught him. Back in my time, it was only after a lot of experience, I learnt how to look 'underneath the underneath'. But that was one of the first few things that I taught Naruto after I began teaching him. I trust him to be able to look past his grudges. He is me afterall. Besides, I've taught him a little about teamwork and its necessity. But that was regarding teamwork between his clones. However I did say that teamwork is very important for ninjas. Anyways, if they fail the Bell test on the first attempt because of anyone, it would be because of Sakura's or Sasuke's unwillingness to work with Naruto. Back in my time, they wouldn't have worked with me either. In both the timelines, Sasuke thinks that he is better than the rest and don't need them while Sakura believes that Sasuke will save her every single time. Back then, I thought I could do everything by myself. I've taught Naruto to be better than what I used to be and as a sensei, I've faith that my student will pass the test." Itane said to the Sandaime Hokage.

Hiruzen looked at Itane and he couldn't help but respect the man and his faith in his student. The words he said and the conviction with which he said them reminded Hiruzen of his predecessors and his successor.

'Even after my death the Will of Fire lived on. They chose the right man to be the Hokage. Minato, you would be proud of what your son would turn out to be.' Hiruzen thought.

Line Break

At the academy, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto were waiting for the Jounin sensei to come. After waiting for two hours, Naruto who had gotten bored set up some pranks for his sensei.

An hour later, Hatake Kakashi started standing at the corridors and was about to enter the class. He noticed a duster on top of the door, waiting to hit the person who walks under it. He decided to simply walk into the harmless prank.

As he entered the classroom, the duster hit on the face. Naruto simply just looked on as he said, "Sensei, I kind of expected you to dodge that one."

Kakashi stood where he was wondering, 'Then why did he set the trap?' before suddenly some red paint fell on him. All of a sudden Naruto started laughing. Sakura was trying to hold her laughter and failing. Sasuke, on the other hand wasn't laughing but only because he was pinching himself really hard to stop himself from laughing. Meanwhile Itane and Hiruzen who were looking at the scene through the crystal ball were laughing their asses off.

Kakashi was a little pissed but didn't show it. While he was pissed, he also couldn't help but praise Naruto's little plan when he realized it.

"My plan was to keep the duster on the door so that you would see it. You'd then open the door but wait outside instead of walking in. Once the duster falls, you'd step inside and then the paint would fall on you. I didn't think you'd let both, the duster and the paint to fall on you. HAHAHA." Naruto laughed.

Hiruzen too couldn't help but praise the plan. 'To use a plan that involves misdirection at such a young age is a remarkable feat indeed. Itane has taught him well.'

Itane was laughing and so was Kurama in his mindscape, "PAYBACK IS A BITCH. AND IT HAS JUST BEGUN! HAHAHAHA!"

In the classroom, Kakashi wanted to check his hair in a mirror desperately, but that had to wait, so he simply said, "My first impression of you guys is…I hate you. Come to the rooftop in 5 minutes."

When they reached the rooftop, Kakashi noticed that Naruto wasn't wearing his orange jumpsuit. He had seen the blond prankster several times in the village. At times, he even had to track him down. But he always wore orange. Today however, he was wearing grey and black clothes.

Kakashi then said, "Now that you're all here, why don't you introduce yourselves?"

Sakura who was staring at Sasuke the entire time, turned her head towards the grey haired man who was now red haired as she asked, "Why don't you show us how it is done, Sensei?"

Kakashi inwardly thought, 'Is this supposed to be the Kunoichi of the year, someone who doesn't even know how to introduce herself?' before saying, "My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no intention to tell you my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future, eh? Hmmm...Well I have a lot of hobbies…Now it's your turn."

Inside Itane, Kurama was yelling, "LET ME AT HIM NOW. I'M GOING TO MAKE HIM INTRODUCE HIMSELF PROPERLY, IF IT IS THE LAST THING I DO!"

Itane meanwhile was trying to pacify Kurama in his mindscape, 'Relax Kurama. My chibi version will take care of it. He'll get back at the scarecrow for both of us. Don't worry.'

This seemed to have Kurama down who was waiting in anticipation for little Naruto's introduction.

Sakura was the one who went first. "I'm Haruno Sakura. What I like is…well…The person I like is…And my hobbies are…Well my dream for the future is….Kyaaaah." she said while looking at Sasuke the entire time. Naruto meanwhile held his ears at the screech.

"And what do you dislike?" Kakashi asked unimpressed.

"It is Naruto." She said with a scowl. Naruto simply ignored it while Kakashi thought, 'Girls of this age are more interested in love than in Ninjutsu.' before saying, "Next."

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike but I don't really like anything. And…I don't want to use the word 'dream', but…I have an ambition. The resurrection of my clan and to kill a certain a man."

Upon hearing Sasuke's introduction, everyone was lost in their thoughts. Naruto was thinking, 'He'd better not mean me'. Sakura was thinking, 'Sasuke-kun is so cool!'

Kakashi was thinking, 'I thought so'. Meanwhile Hiruzen was thinking, 'The boy does feel like a lost cause'.

In Itane's mindscape, Kurama was saying, "STUPID UCHIHA AND THEIR REVENGE. IDIOT WANTS TO KILL THE GUY WHO SACRIFICED EVERYTHING TO KEEP HIM SAFE."

Itane too was thinking about Sasuke as he said, "So far since my return, I've focused on Naruto. At some point, we'll have to tell Sasuke the truth before he goes down the same dark path again. The question is when. If told at the wrong time, his hate could be redirected towards the village. Right now, he is not ready. But first, something has to be done about his brooding."

Hiruzen smiled at Itane as he said, "Even after all that he has done, you can't stop thinking of him as a friend. Can you?"

Itane turned to Hiruzen, "The Sasuke from my timeline is a dead man who committed so many crimes. This Sasuke is someone I can stop from committing all those crimes. If I can keep him loyal to Konoha, I might have saved many lives already even though he was the one who killed Danzo, whom I hated. That's another problem we'll have to deal with eventually."

Hiruzen simply nodded as his respect for the man continued to rise.

Meanwhile it was Naruto's turn to introduce himself as Kakashi turned to him and said, "And the last one?"

Naruto recalled one of Itane's advices, 'Don't give away anything to someone who gives you nothing' before saying in a bored tone, "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes…well if you don't know by now, you'll probably never know. My dislikes…well if you don't know that, try guessing. My hobbies…everyone should know by now, but if you don't try finding them out yourself. As for my dreams for the future…well if you don't know that by now, you're a deaf person."

Kakashi, Sasuke and Sakura turned towards Naruto with shocked expressions on their faces. None of them saw that coming. Sakura tried to punch Naruto for the ridiculous introduction, but he caught her punch without even looking at her.

Meanwhile Hiruzen and Itane were laughing uncontrollably. In Itane's mindscape, Kurama was laughing hard, "SERVES THAT KAKASHI BRAT RIGHT. RED PAINT ON HIS HAIR AND CLOTHES AND AN INTRODUCTION THAT TOPS HIS HAHAHAHA! JUST PERFECT! GREAT WORK KIT!"

Kakashi decided thatnow would be as good a time as any to scare the young graduates, "We'll start our missions tomorrow."

"What kind of mission is it going to be?" Naruto asked the Jounin who replied, "First we are going to do something we can do with just the four of us…Survival training!"

"Why is training our mission? We did enough training at the Academy." Sakura yelled frustrated at having to train. As a girl who preferred studying and reading over actual training since it involved her sweating a lot and her make-up being ruined, Sakura was outraged.

'Does she really think that the Academy training is real training? The academy training and the basic three Jutsus won't help me kill Itachi. I need more training and more Jutsus to deal with him.' Sasuke thought while hiding his anger.

'Did she say that we did enough training at the academy? Compared to what Itane-sensei can do, that was less than nothing. I know that she is a Sasuke fan-girl, but does she really think that now that she has graduated, she won't ever have to train again?' Naruto thought while training not to snort and laugh at her statement.

'Does she seriously think that she no longer needs training?' Kakashi thought as he said, "This isn't normal training."

Kakashi then started laughing, which frustrated Sakura who was getting impatient, "Hey, what's so funny, Sensei?"

Kakashi tried to speak while still laughing, "It's just that when you guys hear this, you're definitely gonna flip."

Kakashi's expression then changed into a serious one as he said, "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. So basically this training is a highly difficult test with a failure rate of over 66 percent."

He was pleased to see Sakura scared and Sasuke hiding his fear. But Naruto looked at him with a frown not showing even a little bit of fear. So far Naruto was puzzling him. 'He is not wearing orange. He doesn't seem loud. His prank was rather complicated. He gave me nothing and he doesn't seem scared. He hasn't shouted even once about being Hokage. Is this Naruto at all? He was supposed to be the opposite of all this.' He thought as he sniffed in the air to confirm that it was indeed Naruto. He had too many questions. He decided to go to the Hokage after the Bell test.

Kakashi didn't show the surprise on his face as he instructed, "Anyway, tomorrow you will be graded on the training field. Bring all your Shinobi equipment and assemble at five in the morning!"

Lastly he told his students, "Okay, dismissed. Oh, and skip breakfast. You'll puke!"

Sakura and Sasuke had made up their minds to not breakfast while Naruto thought, 'Itane-sensei has always told me to eat breakfast every morning no matter what. I trust Itane-sensei more than this guy who didn't tell us anything but his name. I'll have breakfast tomorrow morning and I'll also ask Itane-sensei about this Hatake Kakashi.'

Line Break

Later that night, Itane was having dinner that he cooked himself when he heard someone knock on his door. Itane who was expecting this opened the door, "Naruto, what brings you here? Come in, I was just about to have dinner. Why don't you join me?"

Naruto walked in and sat at the table. He had a thoughtful expression on his face as he said, "I learnt who are going to be my teammates today. It turned out just as you said Itane-sensei. They put me with the Rookie of the year, Sasuke-teme and the Kunoichi of the year, Haruno Sakura."

Itane started laughing at Naruto's misery, "Sorry kiddo, can't do anything about that. It was the Hokage's decision. He knows that you're stronger than your peers and that you're no dead-last, but that's precisely why he wants to create a hard-core fighting unit with the best graduates of the academy."

"I can understand Sasuke-teme then, but Sakura. She is just book-smart. She thought of the dumb academy training as serious training and even said that we don't need any more training, since we did enough training in the academy. She is as you said that day, 'a fan-girl'." Naruto complained.

Itane chucked, "Oh, so you seem happy about having the Uchiha kid in your team now? I thought he was the one person you hated the most in the academy."

"I still hate him. He has a 10m pole stuck up his ass and answers every question with nothing but 'Hn'. What sort of a reply is that?" Naruto yelled while standing from his chair.

Kurama agreed with Naruto as he said in Itane's mindscape, "EVERY UCHIHA IS BORN WITH A 10M POLE STUCK UP HIS ASS. IT IS NOTHING NEW. AN UCHIHA WHO IS NOT A DICK IS BORN ONLY ONCE A BLUE MOON. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WAS OBITO WHO ENDED UP BEING A DICK AS WELL THANKS TO MADARA."

'Hey Itachi wasn't a dick.' Itane argued with Kurama in his mindscape.

"ITACHI WASN'T A DICK. BUT EVEN HE SEEMED TO HAVE A STICK UP HIS ASS WHENEVER WE SAW HIM THOUGH THAT MAY HAVE BEEN BECAUSE HE HAD TO PLAY HIS ACT FOR SPYING ON THE AKATSUKI." Kurama said and Itane had to agree with him.

Meanwhile outside the mindscape, Naruto stopped bad mouthing his teammates as he turned to Itachi, "I hate the idea of being stuck in the same team as Sasuke-teme and Sakura, and they probably hate the idea of being stuck with me too, but that's not why I'm here."

"You're here to know more about Hatake Kakashi and the real Genin exam." Itane completed for Naruto.

Naruto nodded before saying, "You expected me?"

Itane had a proud smile on his face as he said, "Who taught you the importance of information gathering now? Ofcourse, I expected you to come here and ask me about Kakashi-san. I'm afterall one of the only Jounin you know and I'm a former spy so I should obviously have the information you need. I'll tell you certain things, but not everything. But be specific. What exactly do you want to know?"

"Tell me who Hatake Kakashi is? What is his history? Have you done missions with him? What are his abilities? What sort of a person is he? And what is the purpose of the true Genin exam? How do we pass?" Naruto asked in rapid succession

Itane began, "Hatake Kakashi is a Jounin of Konohagakure, who is the son of the late Shiroi Kiba, Hatake Sakumo. He is also the only living student of the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. He is an A-ranked ninja who was a former Anbu captain and is known all over the world by the moniker, 'Copy-ninja Kakashi' since he has copied over a 1000 Jutsus. He was a child prodigy who became a Jounin by the time he was thirteen. Yes, I have done several missions with him over the last one year. His abilities, I won't tell you. It would be wrong on my part to leak confidential information about a fellow Jounin."

Naruto nodded his head while thinking, 'He is an A-ranked shinobi who copied over a 1000 Jutsus! How the hell did I get the paint to drop on him? He should've atleast avoided the duster. Itane-sensei makes him sound like an amazing ninja! Was he trying to get me to underestimate him? Why?'

Itane continued seeing Naruto nod his head, "As a person, he pretends to be very laidback. He often reads porn in public. He is someone who always looks 'underneath the underneath'. He is always atleast three hours late for anything less than an A-rank mission and always comes with a ridiculous excuse to explain his lateness. So never expect him to be on time."

Naruto smiled at the information thinking, 'So that's what he was doing. He was looking 'underneath the underneath'. He intentionally got pranked. He could've easily avoided the duster and maybe the paint, but didn't. He is also never on time. He called us tomorrow morning at five and told us to not eat breakfast. He'll probably come hours later and have us perform the training exercise while we're hungry. Glad, I came to Itane-sensei. Now, I'm definitely going to have breakfast tomorrow. I'll also prepare a bit. I'll send a Kage-Bunshin to tell Sakura and Sasuke before having a decent breakfast.'

Itane seeing Naruto's smile thought happily, 'I've trained him well. He has already begun looking at the 'underneath the underneath' of Kakashi's tricks. Tomorrow will be entertaining.' Kurama silently agreed with Itane as Itane continued from where he had left off, "I can't tell you the purpose of the true Genin exam or how to pass it. That's for you to figure out. Remember that most graduates do not pass the exam. As Kakashi said, only 9 out of the 27 graduates pass the exam. There is a good reason for that. Besides, I've given you all the help you need to pass. The rest is up to you and your teammates."

Naruto nodded at Itane's answer as he finished his dinner. Naruto thanked Itane for the information before wishing him, "Goodnight Itane-sensei, I'll see you tomorrow. Also can you give me some breakfast early tomorrow, say around 7." When Itane agreed, Naruto said, "Thanks sensei. I'll see you tomorrow then." as he walked out of the door.

After Naruto left, Kurama asked Itane, "HOW WELL DO YOU THINK YOUR CHIBI WILL FARE NOW THAT HE HAS ALL THE INFORMATION HE NEEDS?"

Itane had a smile on his face as he said, 'I think he'll do well. He atleast won't be hungry during the exam. Hope he figures out the true meaning of the test. He has become really good at seeing 'underneath the underneath'. Either way, it's going to be fun and we'll get to see it through the Hokage's crystal ball. His clones can deal with all the visitors who'll come and go. Even he wouldn't want to miss this.'

Kurama agreed, " I CAN'T WAIT."

Line Break

It was five o'clock in the morning, the sun hadn't risen yet. There was not a soul on the streets. It was quiet, it was dark, as a weary Haruno Sakura, a Kage-Bunshin of Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke dragged themselves to Training ground 7.

When they reached the training ground, Naruto's Kage-Bunshin spoke to them, "Hey Sasuke-teme, Sakura, listen up."

Sakura despite her weariness yelled out, "Hey don't call Sasuke-kun that!"

Naruto ignored her and continued, "I did some snooping yesterday regarding our sensei. The man is apparently always atleast three hours late for everything less than an A-rank mission. I think he just wants us to be hungry during our survival test. That's probably why he told us not to eat anything."

Sasuke frowned at the bit of information, "Just because he was late yesterday doesn't mean he'll be late all the time. Besides something like that would be very improper of a Jounin."

Sakura as usual agreed with Sasuke, "Yeah, you just want us to go back home and disobey our new sensei so that he likes you. Well you can forget it."

Naruto wanted to bang his head on a tree when he heard Sakura's words. Naruto's Kage-Bunshin then said, "Fine. I tried. I'm going to go back home and sleep. I'll also have a nice breakfast before I come." before dispelling.

As Naruto's Kage-Bunshin dispelled, Sakura and Sasuke stared at the place where Naruto had been standing. 'Was that a solid Bunshin. I thought he couldn't even create one. Also while it is true that the man was late yesterday and also fell for the dobe's silly prank, he can't be as bad as the dobe said he was. He is a Jounin for a reason and the council won't put me in some idiot's team even though they did stick me with a fan-girl and the dobe.' Sasuke thought

'Naruto couldn't even create a Bunshin in the academy. Did he just create a solid Bunshin. Still even if he did, he is nothing compared to Sasuke-kun. Now that the dobe is gone, I can make a move on my Sasuke-kun!CHA!' Sakura thought happily.

Line Break

An hour and a half later, Naruto woke up in his apartment, took a shower and went to his neighbor's apartment to have breakfast. After having his breakfast, he decided to go and check on his teammates, Sasuke and Sakura who were still at Training ground 7. He wanted to ignore them and let them starve for insulting him, but deciding against it, he took some energy bars that Itane had bought for him and went to the training ground.

When Naruto left, Itane began getting ready. He wanted to see how the exam would go through the Hokage's crystal ball. When Itane reached the building, he was surprised to see Iruka standing outside.

"Iruka-san, what are you doing here this early in the morning?" Itane asked Iruka who turned around to see the red-haired Jounin.

Iruka nervously began asking, "Are you here because you're scared for Naruto yourself, Itane-san? Kakashi-san is his sensei afterall. I heard that Kakashi-san never passed a single team."

Having understood why Iruka was going to see the Hokage, Itane smiled, 'I always knew that Iruka thought of me as his younger brother, but I didn't know that he actually feared that Kakashi would have failed our team. It strangely makes me happy to see him so nervous.'

Kurama having heard his thoughts chose the moment to take a cheap shot on Itane, "HE DOES HAVE A GOOD REASON TO BE NERVOUS. YOU AND YOUR TEAMMATES CAME SO AWEFULLY CLOSE TO FAILING."

'But my chibi version is quite good. I made sure that I trained him to see 'underneath the underneath'.' Itane argued with Kurama in his mindscape.

"SURE YOU DID. BUT IRUKA DOESN'T KNOW THAT. HE THINKS NARUTO IS THE SAME BOY YOU USED TO BE WHEN YOU WERE AT HIS AGE." Kurama finished his argument.

Seeing no comeback, Itane decided to ignore Kurama and calm Iruka, "Don't worry Iruka-san. I've worked with Kakashi-san on several missions and I know that he is a fair man. I've trained Naruto well. He knows a lot more than just Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu. In fact Kage-Bunshin was actually the first thing I taught him on his first day of training. He also has the Rookie of the year and the Kunoichi of the year in his team. Together they should be able ace Kakashi-san's test. Just trust him like I do."

Itane's words seemed to calm Iruka down as his nervous face slowly changed into a smile. Iruka thanked Itane and left as Itane walked into the building.

Line Break

At the training ground, Naruto arrived to see Sasuke and Sakura in the exact same positions his Kage-Bunshin had left them at.

"Didn't I tell you that he'd be late? I brought some energy bars if you want." Naruto said with a smile as he offered two energy bars to both of them.

Both of them wanted to lash out at Naruto, but just then their stomachs started grumbling. Both of them grabbed the energy bars from Naruto's hands and quickly ate them.

After they ate the energy bars, Sakura turned to Naruto and said in a low voice, "Thanks!"

Sasuke turned away from Naruto and grunted "Hn!" Naruto simply assumed that grunt meant 'Thank you and don't expect anything more than that from me.'

Naruto looked at Sakura a little surprised at being thanked, "You're Welcome!"

What Naruto didn't know was that earlier when Sasuke and Sakura were alone she told him how she felt about Naruto being in the team and her reasons for hating him. Sasuke knowing the loneliness that Naruto went through called her annoying.

Since there was no sign of Kakashi, Naruto decided to give his teammates some of the information he had on Kakashi, "Hey guys, listen up. Our sensei, Hatake Kakashi is a former Anbu captain and A-rank ninja who is famously known all over the world as 'Copy-ninja Kakashi' because he has copied over a 1000 Jutsus."

Both, Sakura and Sasuke turned towards Naruto wide-eyed and in shock. Both of them had waited for nearly four hours for their sensei to arrive and were starting to doubt the credibility and quality of their sensei. Naruto's bit of information threw them into shock. They didn't want to believe it but they had already ignored Naruto's earlier information and paid the price for it by waiting for four hours. It would be foolish to doubt him a second time.

'No way! He is a former Anbu captain. But he fell for Naruto's prank. Naruto must be lying. But Naruto did say that he would be atleast three hours late and its pushing four now. Can it all be true? I hope Sasuke-kun and I don't get separated.' Sakura thought.

'An A-rank ninja and former Anbu captain, he had the same rank as Itachi. Is he as strong as him? He also has over 1000 Jutsus. 'Copy ninja Kakashi', how did he copy 1000 Jutsus? Can he make me strong enough to kill him?' Sasuke thought.

Seeing how his teammates didn't berate him this time, Naruto smiled thinking, 'Maybe we can be a good team. Itane-sensei did tell me that teamwork is very important for ninjas. Hopefully we'll be able to achieve good teamwork.' Naruto thought.

The trio continued waiting in silence till at 11:10, six hours and ten minutes past the scheduled time, they heard Kakashi say in a dull voice, "Good morning, everyone!"

"YOU'RE LATE!" Sakura and Naruto yelled, while Sasuke scowled hard at the man. Kakashi put both his hands up to apologize, "Maa maa, you see I had to remove Naruto's red paint and then a black cat crossed my path…" seeing the anger on the young graduates' faces, Kakashi stopped.

Naruto was thinking, 'I know Itane-sensei did say ridiculous excuse, but a black cat crossed his path…seriously…I can understand my paint though. He really seems to want us to underestimate him.'

Kakashi then walked to a rock on the training ground, placed an alarm clock on the rock and tapped a button on the alarm clock before announcing, "Okay, it's set to noon."

'If he had an alarm clock the entire time, why the hell couldn't he set an alarm for himself' Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura thought in unison.

Suddenly their thoughts were broken by a clink. Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura looked up to see Kakashi holding two bells as he announced, "Your task for today is to take these bells from me before noon. Those who do not get the bell by noon get no lunch! I'll not only tie you to one of those posts, but I'll eat right in front of you."

Kakashi expected to hear some grumbling stomachs but was surprised to hear none.

'Did someone see through my bluff? That has never happened before. All of them ate. It's unlikely that all three of them saw through it. Hmm…Interesting!' Kakashi thought.

'So that's why he told us not to eat anything. Good thing that Naruto got us those energy bars.' Sakura and Sasuke thought in unison.

'I knew it!' Naruto thought triumphantly.

Line Break

Meanwhile Itane and Hiruzen were watching the entire show through the crystal ball.

"The Bell test has been used by me, Jiraiya, Minato and Kakashi but Kakashi is the only one, who tells his students to come early and suggests them to not eat breakfast and this is the first time any team has come without a growling stomach and I suppose Naruto is the reason for that." Hiruzen said to Itane.

Itane smiled, "Yup. Dealing with Kakashi's test is all about catching his bluffs. I focused a lot of my training time, dealing with Naruto's mental training. I had to convince him that no matter how strong a shinobi, if he is stupid, he is a horrible ninja. Making Naruto strong wasn't too hard. Knowing myself, it was actually pretty easy. The hard part was making him smart."

Hiruzen nodded along understanding where Itane came from. The Naruto he knew a year back had absolutely no intelligence compared to the current Naruto, whose pranks were of better quality, who went to seek information and who managed to see through Kakashi's advice.

Line Break

Sakura seeing just two bells on Kakashi's hip asked, "Sensei, how come there are only two bells?"

Kakashi eye-smiled as he said, "Because there are only two bells, one of you will definitely be tied to a post and that person will fail the test. So atleast one of you'll be sent back to the academy. It might be just one, but it could be all three. You can even use your shurikens. You won't be able to get it unless you come at me with killer intent."

Sakura screamed fearing for Kakashi, "But you'll be under danger, Sensei!"

Naruto, Kakashi, Itane and Hiruzen sweat-dropped at Sakura's words. Kakashi was a Jounin afterall and one of the best in the village at that and no matter how strong a Genin, he or she can never be a threat to a Jounin.

"I'll manage. When I say start, we'll begin." Kakashi said. After waiting for some time to see their reactions, he announced, "Okay, let's get going. Ready…START!"

As soon as he announced start, all the three graduates jumped away. Soon Kakashi was standing all alone in the middle of the training ground. After giving them a few seconds he thought, 'The basics of being a shinobi are erasing your presence and hiding yourself well'. Kakashi then began sensing his surroundings to find the graduates. Being an experienced sensor, it wasn't too hard for him. He sensed Sasuke on top of a tree while Sakura was on the ground behind some bushes. 'Good they're all concealed well', he thought before looking for Naruto. He then turned around to see Naruto sitting on a rock just behind him. It looked like Naruto was thinking. Kakashi asked in a dull voice, "Aren't you a little bit off?"

Naruto stood up from where he was sitting and said, "The only one who is off here is you. You first tell us to not eat anything and come at five. You then come here over six hours late and tell us to take two bells from you in less than an hour while also telling us that one of us will go back to the academy no matter what. What are you playing at?"

Naruto then charged towards Kakashi at speeds way above Genin level and tried to kick him. Kakashi was surprised at the speed Naruto displayed, but managed to bend his back to avoid the kick on time. Naruto then tried to punch Kakashi but he blocked it using his superior skills and then when Naruto went for a kick again, Kakashi used both his legs to deflect Naruto's kick and jump backwards at the same time, thereby creating a little distance between them before announcing, "Let me teach you Ninja fighting lesson number one: Taijutsu!"

Naruto while focusing on the fight was thinking backwards through everything he had learnt to figure out the meaning of the test. He thought back.

Flashback (multiple flashbacks)

Flashback #1: Naruto was training at the Forest of Death with Itane who advised Naruto, "Teamwork is very important for a ninja. Never forget that some of the best ninjas in the world can be taken down if average ninjas work together. That's what your clones need to do. If they work well with you, you'll be able to destroy opponents who're much stronger than you."

Flashback #2: Naruto was sitting with Iruka at Ichirakus wearing Iruka's Konoha hitai-ate after Mizuki had been apprehended. Iruka spoke while Naruto was slurping through his ramen, "Now you'll be placed in a team along with two other graduates and a Jounin sensei. You'll be doing several missions with your team till you become a Chunin."

Flashback #3: Naruto was sitting with his teammates at the roof of the academy with Kakashi in front of them saying with a serious expression, "Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin."

Flashback #4: Naruto was sitting at the dining table in Itane's house. He had just asked about Kakashi. Itane was eating some food himself as he said, "He is someone who always looks 'underneath the underneath'."

Flashback #5: Naruto was again at the dining table in Itane's house, listening carefully as Itane said, "I can't tell you the purpose of the true Genin exam or how to pass it. That's for you to figure out. Remember that most graduates do not pass the exam. As Kakashi said, only 9 out of the 27 graduates pass the exam. There is a good reason for that. Besides, I've given you all the help you need to pass. The rest is up to you and your teammates."

'Nine graduates means three full teams. No team can have just two graduates. That was the clue. He is trying to split us up with just two bells. The real test is 'Teamwork'.' Naruto's eyes widened as he realized it. Just then he noticed that Kakashi had disappeared from his view. He was thinking so hard that he wasn't focusing on the fight. He suddenly heard a voice behind him, "A ninja isn't supposed to get caught from behind, baka!"

Sasuke seeing the tiger hand seal that Kakashi had formed while sitting on his knees thought, 'A tiger hand seal. Is he going to use Katon Jutsu on Naruto? That bastard isn't just fooling around.'

Sakura yelled from her hiding position, "Naruto, get out of there! You're going to get killed!"

Kakashi from where he was shouted, "Too late! Konohagakure Hidden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennin Goroshi!" as he poked Naruto's ass with the hand seal. Naruto's face turned into a smug smile which confused Kakashi. Naruto suddenly exploded and Kakashi was covered in orange paint.

'What just happened?' Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and even Hiruzen who saw it through the crystal ball wondered at the same time.

Hiruzen looked to his side and saw Itane laughing his ass off. Seeing Hiruzen's shocked expression, Itane explained, "The Naruto that took on Kakashi was a Kage-Bunshin the entire time. Naruto created a Kage-Bunshin and had it sit just behind Kakashi so that he could buy himself some time to think through things, while having the Kage-Bunshin prod Kakashi for answers. Seeing the Kage-Bunshin behind him Kakashi didn't bother sensing any further for Naruto whose location is still unknown to him."

Hiruzen smiled at the tactic but he still had questions, "But what about the orange paint?"

Itane chucked, "Naruto put a paint ball in the Kage-Bunshin's pocket before sending him to the rock. The paint ball is a special paint ball that was created for a prank. It is a paint ball that has a weak explosive note stuffed inside it. It explodes upon a hand sign and hence can be activated from a distance. When Naruto saw his Kage-Bunshin get his ass poked, he activated the paint ball which exploded on Kakashi the moment, the Kage-Bunshin dispelled."

When they heard the explanation, both Hiruzen and Kurama started laughing all over the floor. Kurama had tears in his eyes as he said, "WHOEVER SAID THAT REVENGE IS SWEET KNEW WHAT HE SAID! HAHAHAHA!"

Seeing Kakashi covered in orange paint, Sakura started laughing while Sasuke was biting his tongue to not laugh and give away his location. Both were thinking, 'Is this what a Jounin is? Not cool at all. But what did Naruto do? How did he explode and turn into orange paint? Was that a solid Bunshin like the one we saw in the morning?'

'Great! Sensei's son has pranked me twice already. This is ruining my reputation. But that said, how did he do it? It was a Kage-Bunshin that I fought the entire time, but how did he get the paint on me. Naruto seems nothing like what I heard. His speed was easily high-Chunin. His Taijutsu was quite decent too. It's nothing like it was mentioned in the reports. He also seems to have seen through my bluffs. There is no doubt that he is the reason why no one's stomach was grumbling. Will he figure out the true meaning of the test? Part of me wants him to but part of me doesn't want him to figure it out especially if he keeps pranking me like this forever. I want to know what happened. I'll ask Naruto about it later when we're alone. I just hope Gai doesn't see me like this.' Kakashi thought sighing at the last part.

Meanwhile the original Naruto who had hidden himself in the shadows and gotten rid of his smell, before triggering the explosion of the paint ball as soon as he saw his clone being ass-poked got all the memories and thoughts of the clone. He wanted to laugh at his Sensei's predicament, but that would reveal his location which he had gone to great lengths to cover up. Having learnt the true meaning of the test, he had to find his teammates and tell them what they were supposed to do. He could only hope to find them before they make their move or before Kakashi decides to hunt them down.

Seeing Kakashi look around for Naruto, Sasuke decided to act. He threw several kunai and shuriken at Kakashi whose back was turned towards him. All of the weapons hit Kakashi. But just as Kakashi fell, he dissipated into a cloud of smoke out of which, a log appeared with all the weapons revealing a Kawarimi no Jutsu.

Sasuke realizing that he had revealed his location ran away from his location. Little did he know that he was also running away from Naruto who was looking for him. Sakura also ran away from her location in the same direction as Sasuke thereby creating more distance between her and Naruto as well. Sakura suddenly found herself not too far away from Kakashi and thought, 'Safe! He didn't notice me.'

Suddenly she heard a voice, "Sakura, behind you!"

She turned around to see Kakashi and in her surprise screamed out loud. Little did she know that Kakashi had put her in a Genjutsu.

Sakura suddenly found herself in the middle of the training ground all alone. She started looking around while wondering, "Huh? What was that? Hey! What's going on? Where's Sensei? Huh? Huh? What's going on? Huh? What's that?"

Suddenly she heard a voice she recognized behind her, "Sakura." She turned around to see her beloved 'Sasuke-kun' with several kunai piercing his body bleeding to death. Sakura screamed out loudly before collapsing never realizing that she was in a Genjutsu all along.

Kakashi who was sitting on a tree took out his Icha Icha Paradise and started reading it while thinking, 'Did I go too far? Seemed like she could've figured it out.'

Both Naruto and Sasuke recognized the scream as Sakura's as Kakashi muttered, "Ninja fighting lesson number two: Genjutsu. Sakura easily fell for it."

Naruto realized that he had to find her as soon as possible. He started running in the direction of the scream. Sasuke meanwhile showed himself to Kakashi saying, "I'm not the same as them."

Kakashi continued reading his book as he said, "Say that kind of stuff after you get the bell, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke threw some weapons at Kakashi who dodged them. He then activated a trap he had set when Kakashi went for Sakura, which launched some more weapons at Kakashi who dodged them. Sasuke then appeared behind Kakashi and attacked him with a heel kick to the face, which was blocked and caught by Kakashi's left hand. From his awkward position, Sasuke threw a punch to the face which was caught by Kakashi's right hand. From the same awkward position, Sasuke twisted his body to be held upside down and tried kicking Kakashi on the head, but Kakashi swiftly moved his hand that had caught Sasuke's punch and blocked the kick. Seeing the opening, Sasuke went for the bells with his free hand. Kakashi realizing this released Sasuke's body and created some distance between him and the last loyal Uchiha.

Sakura woke up and remembered what she had seen and yelled, "Sasuke-kun, don't die and leave me alone! Where are you?"

Naruto found Sakura at that moment and told her, "There you are, Sakura. Come, we need to find Sasuke. I found out the true meaning of the test."

Sakura just scoffed and said, "Yeah right, you just want Sasuke-kun to fail."

Naruto tired of Sakura's antics yelled, "You stupid fan-girl, we don't have time for this. We need to find Sasuke NOW!"

Seeing Naruto yell Sakura meekly followed also since she too wanted to find Sasuke.

Sasuke meanwhile seeing that his initial plan had failed started doing hand seals at a fast pace before finishing with a horse seal and a tiger seal and yelled, "Katon: Gokakyou no Jutsu!" as a large fireball.

Kakashi was shocked to see a Genin try to perform the Jutsu. As the fireball disappeared, Kakashi was nowhere to be seen. Sasuke started looking all around him before he suddenly heard, "Below you!"

A hand appeared from the ground and grabbed Sasuke's leg before yelling, "Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" and dragged Sasuke's body neck deep into the ground.

Seeing Sasuke's entire body buried under the ground except for his head, Kakashi said, "Ninja fighting lesson number three: Ninjutsu!" Kakashi then opened his book and started walking away while reading it.

Naruto and Sakura meanwhile had heard Sasuke's scream and approached the location. When they approached the area, they found Sasuke's head being the only thing above the ground. Sakura seeing Sasuke screamed, "Now his severed head!" and collapsed.

Naruto pulled Sasuke out of the ground and woke up Sakura and told them, "The true purpose of the test is teamwork. We're supposed to work together to get the bells from Sensei."

"Yeah right! You're just saying that because you know that you can't get them on your own." Sakura said with a scoff.

"Last time I touched the bells. This time I'm taking them. You both will only be in my way." Sasuke said deciding against teamwork.

Naruto, tired of their antics yelled at both of them, "YOU STUPID MORONS, Kakashi said that only nine graduates will pass. How can you have nine graduates when a team has only two graduates? It means that three teams are going to pass."

Suddenly Sasuke and Sakura saw logic in everything Naruto said. Sakura asked, "Then why would sensei have only two bells?"

"That is the test. Tell me Sakura, if Sensei had three bells with him, wouldn't we have made plans together and attacked him together as a team?" Naruto asked the pink head.

Sakura nodded agreeing with Naruto. Sasuke answered for Naruto, "Sensei used two bells so that we don't think of using teamwork and attacking him together. He wanted us to see through this and go for the bells as a team. So now what?"

Line Break

Kakashi stood near the memorial stone reading his book while thinking, 'Five more minutes till noon. No sign of Naruto. Another team failed, huh? They were quite interesting too. Sasuke was good for a graduate and Naruto was far too good for a deadlast, that it doesn't even make sense.'

Suddenly Kakashi saw Naruto in front of him standing with two shadow clones. All three of them charged towards Kakashi who closed his book prepared to take them on.

Kakashi struggled to hold Naruto who had no openings what so ever and attacked at an incredibly high speed. The two Kage-Bunshin only served to make it even harder. Whenever Kakashi saw any openings in Naruto's defense and went for it, a clone would block his attack. Then he suddenly heard Sasuke from behind him yelling, "Katon: Gokakyou no Jutsu!"

Kakashi's first thought upon hearing the Jutsu was to perform a Kawarami or simply dive away, but then the Jutsu would hit Naruto. There was no water source around for him to use any Suiton Jutsu either. Kakashi kicked Naruto and created some distance between him and Naruto and his clones before turning around and yelling, "Doton: Doryuheki!" creating an Earth wall behind him to stop the fireball. Suddenly he heard Naruto's voice from Sasuke's direction, "Fuuton: Atsugai!"

That was when it hit Kakashi, 'Naruto and Sasuke are working together. Then the three Narutos behind me are all Kage-Bunshins. This is bad for me' Kakashi thought. Knowing what was coming, Kakashi tried to jump backwards but he found three kunais with explosion tags behind him. Kakashi turned around to see Sakura standing with the three Narutos.

'So they are working together, I see. Naruto probably found out the true meaning of the test and told Sakura and Sasuke.' Kakashi smiled.

Naruto's and Sasuke's Jutsus combined to create a firestorm that destroyed Kakashi's Earth wall and create a huge blast which combined with the blast from Sakura's explosion tags to increase the total area of the blast. When the dust from the blast subsided, there was no sign of Kakashi.

Suddenly the alarm rang and all three graduates thought, 'Damn time is up and no bells. Is he really going to send us back to the academy?'

Just then Kakashi without any orange paint all over his hair and clothes stepped out from the trees, "That was an impressive tactic and a powerful combination Jutsu there. It completely took out my Kage-Bunshin."

'So that's how he escaped. He has been using a Kage-Bunshin the entire time right from the beginning.' Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura thought at the same time.

Flashback

"So now what?" Sasuke asked Naruto.

"Now we make a plan as quickly as possible. I'll create some Kage-Bunshins and have them attack Sensei using just Taijutsu." Naruto began.

"What's Kage-Bunshin?" Sakura asked Naruto having never heard of them.

"They're solid Bunshins. You already saw me use them earlier." Naruto answered before asking Sasuke, "Sasuke, I thought I heard you yell Katon: Gokakyou no Jutsu. Can you use it again against Sensei?"

Seeing Sasuke nod, Naruto continued, "I'll push him away from the lake as much as possible. When he is at a fair distance from the lake, use the Jutsu. He won't be able to stop it using a Suiton Jutsu if he is away from the lake."

Sasuke then asked, "But what if he uses a Kawarami or the Doton Jutsu that he used earlier to trap me?"

Naruto smiled, "If you attack him from the opposite side I'm attacking from and as long as he thinks that the real me is mixed along with the clones, he won't avoid them. He'll have to prepare a Jutsu to block your attack from hitting both him and my clones, amongst who he thinks the real me is present."

"Say he does exactly as you say and use some Ninjutsu technique to deal with my Gokakyou no Jutsu, then what will you do?" Sasuke asked

"If he uses a Ninjutsu technique, we'll have to ensure that your technique overpowers his. I will come from behind you and make your Katon Jutsu stronger using a Fuuton: Atsugai. Then the only way for him to escape will be in the direction of my clones. If Sakura can use some kunais with explosive tags, we'll be able to trap him in the blast." Naruto said.

Both Naruto and Sasuke liked the plan. Sakura however asked, "How do you know a Fuuton Jutsu?"
Naruto simply sighed, "Does it matter? We're running short of time and I don't have the time to answer that question. For now, just accept the fact that I know the Jutsu just like I know the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu."

Sakura nodded and asked again, "But what about the bells? How do we take them? As far as I know, we'll be creating a huge blast. If he gets caught in the blast, he might even die."

Naruto looked at Sakura and said, "Sakura, he is a Jounin. He has a lot more experience than all of us. I already told you how great he really is. He has just been toying with us here. Besides, he already told us to come at him with killing intent. Stop underestimating him."

Kakashi looked at the three graduates and said, "Time is up and you don't have the bells. However you did display some excellent teamwork there. I believe Naruto is the one who figured out that the true meaning of the test is teamwork. I believe he is also the reason all of you had some breakfast and none of you were hungry today."

Seeing the graduates nod, Kakashi asked them, "If you had gotten the bells, what would you have done with them?"

Sakura looked towards Sasuke, 'I probably would've given the other bell to Sasuke-kun because I want to be in the same team as him. But I did nothing but faint. It was Naruto's plan all the way through. He thought through everything. He even seemed quite strong. He was the one who got us the information, he was the one who got us the energy bars and during the test, he was fast, he used Kage-Bunshins, his Taijutsu was also pretty good and he also used a Fuuton Jutsu. If anyone doesn't deserve to be in the team, it is me.'

Sasuke looked towards Naruto, 'I don't know what happened to him. But he is not the same old loser. He is also quite strong. Maybe he could even help me get my revenge.'

While his teammates were engrossed in their thoughts, Naruto answered without a moment of hesitation, "I would have given them to Sasuke and Sakura. This was my plan. I thought that teamwork was enough to pass this test. If it wasn't, it would be my fault because I was the one who convinced them into it and hence, it is only right that I take the blame.'

At that moment, Sasuke, Sakura, Kakashi and even Hiruzen and Itane felt a lot of respect for the young Naruto. Kakashi eye-smiled as he announced, "Then, all of you pass!"

Seeing the shocked expression on Sakura's face and the smiling expressions on Naruto's and Sasuke's face, Kakashi said, "Come with me."

They walked towards the memorial stone, where Kakashi said, "You guys are the first. The others up until now were idiots who simply fought amongst themselves and never figured out the true meaning of the test. A ninja must read underneath the underneath."

Sakura and Naruto yelled, "Yatta!" while Sasuke smiled. The graduates followed Kakashi to the Memorial stone. Kakashi looked at the stone and said, "Look at this stone. All the names carved into the stone, these are all ninjas of the village that are called heroes. Heroes, who died while serving the village. This is a memorial. My best friend's name is also carved here. He taught me something a while back that I want all of you to remember with all your heart: 'In the ninja world, those who do not follow rules are trash…But, you know…those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash!'"

Kakashi looked to see Naruto, Sasuke and Sakura stare at him with widened eyes as they took the saying to heart. Seeing their expressions, Kakashi announced, "The test is over. All of you pass! Team 7 starts its missions tomorrow. Sasuke and Sakura, you're dismissed! Naruto, you wait!"

At Hiruzen's office, both Itane and Hiruzen realized that Kakashi was going to question Naruto. Hiruzen immediately called in some Anbu and told them to call over every single Jounin who was nominated to be a Sensei. Itane meanwhile used a Hiraishin to teleport to a location close to training ground 7, where he had placed a seal. Itane then went at Jounin speed to training ground 7 to intercept Kakashi.

Kakashi asked Naruto, "I heard about the Mizuki incident and also learnt that you used the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu that you learnt from the Scroll of Seals to defeat him. But what about the Fuuton Jutsu and the paint explosion? Where did you learn those? Your progress report states one thing, but your performance states another. Were you hiding your skills at the Academy? If so why? Who taught you these techniques? What happened to your orange jumpsuit? Why is it that you no longer wear it? You have a lot to explain, Naruto."

Fortunately for Naruto, Itane appeared just in time to save him. As Itane approached, Kakashi turned around, "What are you doing here, Itane-san?"

"Kakashi-san, Hokage-sama has called you over. You need to come with me. Naruto's changes will be explained there." Itane said before turning to Naruto, "Congratulations on passing! I'll see you later."

"How did you know I passed?" Naruto asked Itane, who simply replied with a smile, "I've my ways. You go home now."

Kakashi looked at Itane with a serious expression, "I didn't know that you knew Naruto?"

Itane smiled at Kakashi as he said, "There are a lot of things you don't know. Don't worry, everything will be explained at the Hokage's office." as both the Jounins took off to the Hokage tower.

Line Break

When Itane and Kakashi reached the Hokage's Office, they found the entire office filled with eight other Jounins. All the Jounins in the room except Itane had been given teams. When Itane entered the room with Kakashi, Kurenai asked totally surprised, "I didn't know that you took a team, Itane-kun."

Itane simply smiled and said, "No, I didn't Nee-san. I simply went to get Kakashi-san here and also explain a few things later."

Hiruzen decided to interrupt the conversation between the Jounins, "All of you except Itane-kun had been assigned Genin teams. You all advocated tests of your own choice to determine whether they're fit to be Genin or not. State their result as I call out their team number. Team 1?"

"Fail"

"Team 2?"

"Fail"

"Team 3?"

"Fail"

"Team 4?"

"Fail"

"Team 5?"

"Fail"

"Team 6?"

"Fail"

"Team 7?"

"Pass" Kakashi announced leaving everyone shocked that Hatake Kakashi would pass a team.

"Team 8?"

"Pass" Kurenai announced as the Hokage nodded.

"Team 9 is still in circulation under Gai. So Team 10?"

"Pass" Asuma announced to his father.

"The rest of you except Itane, Kurenai, Asuma and Kakashi are dismissed." Hiruzen ordered the remaining Jounin.

"The reason I told you guys to remain is because Kakashi-kun has a lot of questions that Itane-kun and I will have to answer and I want both of you, Asuma-kun and Kurenai-chan as Jounin senseis of the other passing teams this year to hear everything as well." Hiruzen said before turning towards Kakashi, "Go on. Ask."

"Hokage-sama, my concern is regarding my Genin, Uzumaki Naruto. I read the Academy report that says that he is a dunce whose grades are pathetic. It says that his Taijutsu is below average and he has no Ninjutsu or Genjutsu skills. I myself have seen him several times on the streets and he always wore bright orange clothes, and played a lot of pranks on the village while yelling that 'I'll be a Hokage that surpasses the previous Hokages'. The Naruto, I've run into the last two days has been nothing like that. He is not a dunce. He was able to see through my bluffs. He saw underneath the underneath. He got the team to work together. He came up with a brilliant plan that Sasuke and Sakura followed. His Taijutsu skills were impressive, though it is a style I haven't seen before. He used Fuuton Ninjutsu earlier and a B-ranked one at that. He no longer wears orange. He wears grey and black clothes now. He still plays pranks though. But he seems rather secretive, he didn't even yell out his dream when I asked him to introduce himself. His introduction if anything was similar to mine. There has to be an explanation. The academy report said that Sasuke is the Rookie of the year, while Naruto is the dead-last. In my opinion, Naruto is much stronger than Sasuke. I thought he learnt only the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu from the Scroll of Seals?" Kakashi complained.

Both Kurenai and Asuma were shocked. They expected Naruto to be a dunce as well. When Kakashi announced that he passed Team 7, they thought it was because of the Uchiha. They never expected Naruto to be the sole reason for Kakashi passing Team 7.

"Allow me to explain, Hokage-sama." Itane asked Hiruzen. Seeing Hiruzen nod in approval Itane said, "Kakashi-san, the reason why Naruto is as strong as he is now is because I trained him."

Kurenai's, Asuma's and Kakashi's eyes widened in surprise before Kakashi asked, "You trained him. Why?"

Itane began his answer which he and Hiruzen had prepared together, "Kakashi-san, about two years back, when I was still operating as a Konoha spy, I intercepted some messages between Orochimaru and a contact of his who was in Konoha. This concerns not one, but two of your students, Kakashi-san. Orochimaru asked this contact of his certain regarding one of your students, Uchiha Sasuke. The contact told Orochimaru that Uchiha Sasuke was a prodigy. The contact also told Orochimaru that Sasuke hadn't awakened his Sharingan yet. The contact then expressed his intentions to leave Konoha and join Orochimaru. Orochimaru told him to leave Konoha with the Scroll of Seals. The contact asked for a year's time to prepare. He then told Orochimaru that he would use the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki for the purpose. He explained that the Kyuubi's Jinchuuriki had displayed excellent sneaking skills in his pranks. His plan was to sabotage the kid in the Academy by teaching him wrong Taijutsu moves and having him kicked out of most classes. The final portion of his plan was to have Naruto fail in the final exam and then trick him into stealing the Scroll of Seals, before killing him and escaping the village with the Scroll of Seals himself. By then I deduced that this contact of Orochimaru is a ninja in the academy, most likely a Chunin. That was when I came to the village and became a Jounin. After informing everything to Hokage-sama, we told Naruto about his burden. Since then, I've trained Naruto myself at the Forest of Death with Hokage-sama's permission. I've also been Naruto's neighbor for over a year. Me and Hokage-sama gave you the wrong address to keep Naruto's training a secret. Being his neighbor, I've been able to train Naruto very discreetly. If Hokage-sama ever needed me, he would have me reverse-summoned. We also gave Naruto a mission. We ordered him to keep hiding his skills in the Academy and fail the Graduation exam. After that, it was his duty to defeat and apprehend the traitor, Mizuki. As for the Scroll of Seals, he never had them or learnt anything from them. It was merely a Summoning Scroll to summon me once the fight was over. Naruto completed the mission successfully and also received a A-rank mission pay. The only ones who know about now are the four people in this room and Iruka-san who somehow got himself entangled with Naruto's mission."

Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma were all shocked at what Itane had just said. Both Itane and Hiruzen decided to give the three Jounin senseis a moment to go through every detail that had been said.

Kakashi was the first to recover, "I understand that you had to make him strong, but why did you have to teach him a Kinjutsu like the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu?"

"It is because Naruto has the Kyuubi within him. Due to the Kyuubi in him, Naruto's chakra coils are much denser than any average person's coils. It would be impossible for him to perform the regular Bunshin. Perfect chakra control, Iryo-Ninjutsu and Genjutsu are beyond his reach. But the Kage-Bunshin no Jutsu is tailor made for him. He can create more Kage-Bunshins than any of us here." Itane replied.

"So how strong is he?" Asuma asked Itane.

"He is about high-Chunin level. Maybe even better, but he doesn't have the experience yet." Itane replied.

"High-Chunin level! Impossible! It is impossible for a below Genin Academy student to suddenly jump to high-Chunin in just a year." Kurenai shrieked.

"I made him train with Kage-Bunshins. That's why I said that the Jutsu was tailor made for him. As you all know, when a Kage-Bunshin dispels, the original retains both the Kage-Bunshin's experience and fatigue. I had him train with an average of five Kage-Bunshins every day for a year. That is worth five years of training. The Kyuubi take care of his fatigue. He is also extremely hard working, so he trains not just one or two hours, but several hours with those Kage-Bunshins." Itane said.

Kakashi was the first to get over his shock, "I see. I suppose you were the one who taught him the B-rank Fuuton Jutsu, Fuuton: Atsugai?" Seeing Itane nod, Kakashi continued asking, "What other Ninjutsu can he use? And also what was his Taijutsu style? He used Kage-Bunshins in his Taijutsu. It was something I've never seen before."

Itane smiled as he answered, "Naruto is different from your average ninja. Most ninja find lower rank Jutsus easier and higher rank Jutsus difficult. But Naruto finds anything below C-rank extremely hard. I've taught him two C-rank, two B-rank and two A-rank Fuuton Jutsus. The C-rank Jutsus are Fuuton: Daitoppa and Fuuton: Reppuusho. The B-rank Jutsus are Fuuton: Atsugai and Fuuton: Shinkuuha and the A-rank Jutsus are Fuuton: Kaze no Yaiba and Fuuton: Fuujin no Jutsu. As far as Taijutsu is concerned, he doesn't have any style. I found out that his greatest strength is his unpredictability and the best way to use his unpredictability is with an unpredictable Taijutsu style. He uses clones to aide his unpredictability and cover his loop-holes. You could say that it is a style we came up together with. It is unique to him and only he'll be able to use it."

Asuma asked, "How did you teach him so many Fuuton Jutsus? How did you even know these many high ranked Fuuton Jutsus?"

Itane smiled as he said, "You forget Ni-san, I used to be a spy. I've spied on so many other nations and people before. Like Naruto and you, I too have a natural affinity towards Fuuton and even though I trained well enough to use the other elements, I learn Fuuton jutsus easier and faster than the others."

Asuma smiled as he said, "I see. And how many times do I have to tell you not to call me Ni-san? It makes me feel old."

Kurenai, Itane and Hiruzen chuckled at the last statement before Hiruzen said, "Atleast he doesn't call you Jiji."

Kurenai pulled Itane's ear as she yelled, "You call the Sandaime Hokage-sama, Jiji?"

Itane yelled out in pain as he answered, "Awww…Nee-san please release my ear. Blame that on Naruto. I've spend far too much time with Naruto who refers to Hokage-sama as Jiji all the time. I only do it sometimes to tick him off."

Kurama chuckled in Itane's mindscape, "ITS FUNNY HOW, WOMEN ALWAYS FIND A WAY AROUND YOU NO MATTER HOW STRONG YOU ARE. ARE YOU A MASOCHIST, KIT? COME TO THINK OF IT GIRLS WHO USE A LITTLE BIT OF VIOLENCE FIND IT VERY EASY TO TAME YOU LIKE SAKURA WHO USED TO HIT YOU ALL THE TIME, ANKO, WHO GETS YOU FLUSTERED SO EASILY AND EVEN KURENAI, WHO LATCHES ONTO YOUR EAR. EVEN YOUR WIVES FROM YOUR TIMELINE WERE ALL AGGRESSIVE WOMEN."

"Shut up Kurama!" Itane yelled in his mindscape.

"OH DOES SOMEONE HAVE AN S&M FETISH? DOES SOMEONE ENJOY GETTING WHIPPED?" Kurama continued teasing his Jinchuuriki.

"Shut up Kurama! How do you know about S&M? Never mind, don't answer that." Itane yelled at Kurama

Kurenai released Itane's ear, before Kakashi brought the group back to the topic at hand, "What about Sasuke? You mentioned Orochimaru looking for information on Sasuke, earlier. Do you think he is targeting Sasuke?"

Itane's expression turned into a grim one as he answered, "During my time as a spy, I came across a lot of information. I heard about the existence of an organization filled with only S-rank Missing-Nin. Both Orochimaru and Sasuke's older brother, Uchiha Itachi were part of the group. The organization has often been used by the Tsuchikage and the Yondaime Kazekage. Orochimaru is no longer a part of the organization. The reason is unknown. I heard a rumor that Orochimaru tried to attack Uchiha Itachi, but was defeated. The reason he attacked Itachi in the first place was to get his hands on the Sharingan. Due to the massacre, Sasuke is the only one Orochimaru can target. Orochimaru also had one more spy besides Mizuki here in Konoha whom we haven't caught yet. So we have to be very careful with our movements. I've also heard rumors that Orochimaru has found a way to be immortal."

Kakashi's, Kurenai's and Asuma's eyes widened in fear before Kakashi asked, "How?"

"I don't know but according to the rumors that I heard, he found a way to make his soul immortal but not his body. So he has to perform a soul transfer Jutsu to inhibit another body and then take control of it. I believe he wants to take control of Sasuke's body." Itane replied.

"But why does he want Sasuke's body? Orochimaru is way stronger than Sasuke? Why would he want to take over a weaker body?" Kurenai asked Itane.

"Nee-san, it is a well-known fact that Orochimaru's dream is to learn every single Ninjutsu technique. What easier way to learn every single Ninjutsu technique than copying them using a Sharingan exists? What more, Sasuke is a pure-blood Uchiha which in other words means that Sasuke has the eyes and body of an Uchiha and won't tire easily from the use of the Sharingan like Kakashi-san. I believe Orochimaru's plan is to put the cursed seal on Sasuke first, make him drunk to its power and have him voluntarily leave Konoha for his power." Itane replied.

"But why would Sasuke leave Konoha? He is treated as the prince of the Village." Asuma asked Itane.

It was Hiruzen who answered the question for him, "Sasuke has a lot of darkness within him because of the massacre. If anything, Sasuke wants more and more power to defeat Itachi. If Orochimaru promises Sasuke power, he'll probably leave the Village voluntarily. We must make sure that Sasuke doesn't get the cursed seal. If he does, Sasuke will get drunk on the power of the cursed seal. Itane-kun here has provided us some very valuable information on the cursed seal. Being one of the few Fuinjutsu experts in Konoha at the moment, he is in charge of finding a counter to it as well. How has it been progressing, Itane-kun?"

Itane answered the Sandaime just as they had planned earlier, "I'm still working on it. It is not ready for use. The problem is that if I do mess with it, chances are that Orochimaru would know about it and then, he would be able to find a way to further strengthen the seal before he uses it on Sasuke. So till I find a way around that, I'm gonna have some problems."

Flashback (italics)

Hiruzen and Itane were looking through the crystal ball at Training ground 7 where Team 7 was taking on Kakashi in the Bell Test. They were watching Sasuke attack Kakashi, when Hiruzen asked, "In case Sasuke-kun gets the cursed seal, what do you intend to do about it?"

Itane replied, "Don't worry about it Jiji. I already have a seal ready to deal with the cursed seal. Back in my timeline, I had already met a guy named Juugo. Juugo was locked up in a cage by Orochimaru till Sasuke released him. The cursed seal that Orochimaru uses is derived from Juugo's chakra. One of the first things I did after mastering Fuinjutsu, was finding a way around the cursed seal. Once I had Juugo's chakra, it wasn't too difficult."

"Then you can remove Anko's cursed seal too?" Hiruzen asked Itane.

"Sure, I can. But I won't yet. We need to trap Orochimaru in order to kill him. He is too slippery to kill otherwise. If I remove Anko's cursed seal too early, Orochimaru could realize that we're onto him. I'll get rid of Anko's and if necessary, Sasuke's cursed seals after the Chunin exams." Itane replied.

"But what do we tell the Jounins and Anko? When you remove the cursed seal, they'll ask why you didn't do it earlier." Hiruzen asked Itane.

"We'll tell them that I've some vital information on the cursed seal and I'm working on a seal to destroy it." Itane replied.

"Thank you for everything. Thank you for taking care of Naruto and also for the information and for working on the cursed seal. I think I owe you a lot already." Kakashi said to Itane in gratitude, who nodded appreciating the gesture.

"I've one more question." Asuma said looking at Itane.

"If you were Naruto's neighbor all along, how did you answer the door every time we came over to your apartment?" Asuma asked.

Itane's face once again sported a smile as he said, "I always had a monkey in the apartment. Whenever one of you rang the bell, the monkey would reverse summon me to the apartment. With my Jounin salary, paying for both the apartments to keep my cover wasn't a problem."

"So you've been fooling us all along, huh?" Kurenai asked while latching onto Itane's ear again.

"Aww…Sorry Nee-san!" Itane screamed as Asuma, Kakashi, Hiruzen and even Kurama in his mindscape started laughing at Itane's expense.

"Sorry won't cut it. You have to give us a proper House warming at your real apartment. That's your only way out of it." Kurenai bargained knowing well enough that he'll have to give in and give her what she asked for.

Kakashi and Asuma agreed with her wanting a free treat.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: 13,000+ WORDS. WHAT'S WRONG WTH ME? THIS IS MY LONGEST CHAPTER YET. I WAS DETERMINED TO FINISH OFF THE BELL TEST IN THIS CHAPTER AND DID JUST THAT. HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT. AS FOR THE PAIRINGS, IT HAS BEEN CONFIRMED. THE POLLING PERIOD IS OVER. THE FINAL RESULTS ARE:

FOR NARUTO'S PAIRING:

NARUTO X FEMALE HAKU - 16

NARUTO X KARIN - 13

NARUTO X TEMARI - 11

NARUTO X INO - 7

NARUTO X TAYUYA - 6

NARUTO X TENTEN - 5

NARUTO X SAKURA - 3

FOR ITANE'S PAIRING:

ITANE X ANKO - 21

ITANE X MEI - 20

ITANE X KONAN - 7

ITANE X SHIZUNE - 5

ITANE X MABUI - 3

ITANE X YUGITO - 3

ITANE X YUUGAO - 3

ITANE X SAMUI - 3

ITANE X HANA - 1

THE FINAL PAIRINGS ARE ITANE X ANKO AND NARUTO X FEMALE HAKU.

I FEEL SORRY FOR MEI WHO CAME SO CLOSE AND HENCE I PROMISE YOU THAT I'LL DO SOMETHING ABOUT HER AS WELL, BUT SHE WON'T BE PAIRED WITH ITANE OR NARUTO.

I ALSO CHANGED THE STORY TO M, JUST TO BE ON THE SAFE SIDE. THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL TAKE SOME TIME SINCE I'LL BE STARTING THE WAVE MISSION ARC. I ALSO HAVE TO FOCUS ON MY OTHER CROSSOVER STORY, SHINOBI AMONG PIRATES WHICH I THINK HAS FEWER WORDS THAN THIS CHAPTER ALONE.