Hey guys, kudos for all of you who review consistently and keep giving me great ideas. I sincerely apologise for taking so long to update, but I'm about to start exams soon, and I've been neglecting you guys as a consequence! (Nooo!) I appreciate everyone who waited for me, you guys rock. Gah, because of my semi-absence, I have to read through all the reviews and work out which I haven't seen yet. My life is so hard, but you guys help! (I'm talking to the constructive feed backers and positive reviewers, not those who fan my Youthful flame. They just make me feel annoyed and competitive.) Thanks for making life more interesting guys!

Plums: Yeah, I'm sorry about that, but loads of people reviewed, and I wanted to answer all of the questions that I could without spoilers. I don't really want to rely on PM's because of the awesome guest viewers out there, and there are some questions that everyone wants an answer to, not just the one who asked it. I did try to put a fair amount of content to balance out the responses though.

Riddle-Snape: Yeah, I loved the idea of Naruto being able to sneak past the Byakugan, and the clan relies heavily on it, so they'd hate to lose it. The Nara are in for a sorry time too. Mizuki is indeed an idiot, even in canon, but Iruka won't really know what to think. There are some jutsu that are really flashy, and the ropes could have been sealed away, because he has been learning Fuinjutsu. And still, there is still one spell that, while morally questionable, will remove all suspicion on Naruto.

Genuka: Yeah, the site was being an ass, but it's over now, so let's just enjoy the fanfics. I do hate that Naruto was so un-inventive as a prankster, so I try to make interesting scenarios that Naruto can use the skills of the Marauders to the fullest extent. Mizuki deserves more than a kick to the balls though, and I'm sure Ibiki and Anko agree with me.

Akayuki Novak: Yeah, It makes way more sense when you actually think about it, and it's all canon too. Mizuki will be interrogated, so it's safe to assume that people will find out about what happened. It's all up to how Naruto reacts, isn't it? And magic is an impossibility to the people here, so they won't turn to that first thing. But they do have an explanation for the unusual. And yes, Genin!

ThomasNealy: Thanks. I did mention that Naruto was learning a new clone jutsu, but that's spoilers if I divulge too much. Summons are a different matter, because he won't encounter them for a while anyway. Dragon, snake, wolf and fox summons are very common, so if I do one of them it'll have to be good and unusual. I saw a great spider summoning idea, but that was the wrong type of summon for my Naruto. Toads won't be necessary, as Naruto has proven that the seal can be broken, and besides, Gamatora isn't the only one with the key. The seal is built off of willpower after all. Multiple summons is a bad idea in my opinion, because the summons would have to work together, and Manda has proven that summons don't often like other clans of summoning animals. I do have an idea, but I want to keep it a secret for now. Let's hope that I can do it well.

Jeffery: Hey! Thanks for the compliment, it means a lot. I have to admit though, I have had my share of mistakes and idiotic ideas with fanfics in the past. Anyway, Mizuki in canon was really weak in the beginning, and he only got better after being imprisoned. An Omake is coming down below, but it isn't exactly on Harry's parents. It sort of is, but not really. And I'm guessing Merodeos means Marauders. The Engrish is strong in this one, lol. Moldy-shorts' demise will be covered eventually, but it won't be very important to the plot. I didn't really lose my muse, it just got side-tracked and tried to jump off Mount Myoboku, but I caught it and I'm holding it captive with the power of determination. And thank you again, I appreciate it.

PrinceLarkin: Well, House Elves aren't really going to die if they don't have a master. They aren't really dependant on wizards, but like brownies, they have a subliminal need to clean and take care of people. Like said by the canon wizards, the bond is completely mutual, but it is permanent until the elf is freed. In Dobby's case, he probably thought Lucius was a good man before he made the bond, and was taken advantage of. Think of it like the testing 'itch' from Portal. Robots like GLaDOS can ignore and control themselves, but Wheatley was weak, and became dependant on the testing euphoria, and felt as though he needed to constantly quench the itch. That's sort of like Winky, who became a wreck after being released.

Luna-tic4590: Well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you? Sorry, but I don't want do give away any really important spoilers. It will come up soon though.

Black Sun: Hah, thanks. I'm guessing you're talking about the characters in the fic as a whole rather than just the last chapter. I tried to re-create the personalities as much as possible, Sasuke is easy, just mix brooding and an emo and you have him. Shikamaru is more complex, with the laziness hiding his vast intellect. Gai is interesting, and after writing him I get urges to shout about youth to the world. But I'm looking forward to fleshing out the characters a bit more, and I'm glad that you like what I've done so far.

BBWulf: It's not Yaoi yet, I haven't decided.

Horcrux for Tommy Lad: Yeah, I'm not exactly nice to Mizuki. At all. He's the reason for the trigger warnings. And the Hyuga prank will have to be saved for an Omake, it won't fit into the story as it stands.

Have a Little Feith: Whatever you're into, that's fine, but I think I should explain the difference between that and Naruto. Naruto doesn't hate the jutsu because he turns into a girl, he hates it because of it's original purpose. This Naruto isn't a perv in the sense that he willingly uses a jutsu to make men blush by making himself into a naked female. He hasn't got a problem with being a girl.

Twisted Pxl: Yeah, I am interested in doing that too, but if I do that it won't be for a while. I just prefer it this way because in the Naruto verse there are loads of powerful enemies, whereas in HP, there's only Mouldyshorts, maybe Bellatrix too. Besides, Naruto doesn't die in Cannon, and Harry does. That's the main reason I'm using Harry Potter. That, and he's awesome when he's not being a self-sacrificing idiot.

Akabane Kazawhat?: Hey, thanks for reviewing. I thought that no-one would guess the cameos, although that's probably because no-one cared about reviewing about it. Yugioh and Fullmetal were two of the three that I was honestly considering, excluding Naruto, but I'm sorry that I haven't read or watched HunterxHunter, so I'll have to do loads of research if that gets picked. And I won't explain it again, so everyone else should read the previous review responses, but it isn't Slash. I haven't decided pairings, and if I do choose slash, i'll tell you. But he's only a kid right now, even if he's 17 or something in terms of mental age. When the plot develops to the point that I can pair him, I'll tell you, k people?

Summary: When a life ends, they expect to move on to the next great adventure, right? Well, maybe Dumbledore was right for once, Harry may not get a do-over, but this time, he'll get the story right. And die trying.

Disclaimer: I'm not J. . How you could mix me up with her is questionable, but I really can't take credit for her work. And I ain't Shonen (Shouen?) Jump either.

"Petrificus Tomato" – Spells

"Bring me all the llamas" – Demon/Summoning Speech

~All your mice belong to us~ - Parseltounge

WARNING: Ibiki and Anko. That means Torture and possible trigger warnings if you didn't know.

Naruto sighed as he stopped and sat in a tree overlooking the training grounds that was used by Gai often. Shikamaru had interrupted him while he'd been trying to look at his rewards, and it was a little annoying to have to read through everything again just to see the rewards.

'Quest Complete: Become a Genin!'

Pass the Genin exam and become a full-fledged ninja!

Objectives:

-Pass three of the four exams *Complete*

-Stop Mizuki from failing you *Complete*

Bonus Objectives:

-Get full marks on the written portion. *Complete*

-Get full marks in Taijutsu. *Failed*

-Get full marks in Shurikenjutsu *Complete*

-Get full marks in the Clone Jutsu. *Failed*

Rewards:

- 5 Skill points

- Konoha ninja headband *Already Obtained*

- Advanced Cloning technique *To be Obtained*

Bonus Rewards:

- Jonin level Konoha Bingo Book

- Chakra Paper

- Basic Genin Weapon set

- 1 Perk Point

Wait, all that for passing the Shurikenjutsu and written exams? Reaching into his Inventory, he grabbed the Bingo Book and exited, immediately opening it to see the image of a missing-nin from Iwa. Quickly flipping through, he saw the pictures of missing-nin and ninja that were still in service from each village, all of them with bounties and a description sheet displaying their abilities. Frowning, he noted that some of the ninja with the highest bounties were missing-nin such as Orochimaru or Itachi Uchiha, who had caused large scale damage to the village's before leaving. Flipping to the back, he noted a map of the land of fire that displayed the various bounty collector sites, places where the corpses of ninja with a bounty could be redeemed for money. Kurama spoke up. "Kid, keep this safe. This is an easy way to make cash, and from the state of the apartment, you need it."

'Yeah, I know fuzz ball. I'm not the stupid idiot I was a month ago." Ignoring the echoing growl that rang through his mind, he stored the book away in his inventory as he heard the noticeable arrival of Gai, the green-clad man shouting at the top of his lungs and proclaiming youth to the village. Jumping down, he took in Gai's brighter than usual smile at the sight of his headband, and prepared himself for a hug that would probably break his pelvis. "Naruto! It seems that your youth has prevailed and you are now a ninja! I am so moved by this that I will not stop showing my absolute pride in you for a week! Why it is so uplifting, I might cry!"

Naruto squirmed uncomfortably in the large man's arms. "Well Gai-sensei, if you do that, you'll miss out on training, and that would dishearten Lee. Maybe you should just calm down."

Gai seemed to burst into tears, not that Naruto could see with his head being pushed into the Jonin's chest. "You are right Naruto-kun! I must not let my other students down, but I must keep on expressing my pride in my students! Maybe I should run laps around the village with you sitting on my head?"

Naruto franticly pushed himself out of Gai's grip. "No Gai-sensei! That would really be too strange, and I really don't want you to do it. How about you get that Jonin to teach me a clone jutsu though? You said before that you would get a friend of yours to teach me a jutsu, right?"

Gai's horrible memory finally brought up the promise, and he realised that the only decent clone jutsu he could have Naruto taught without knowing the boy's affinity was the one that Kakashi used. It was supposedly useful for training intensively. "Why Naruto, I had almost forgotten! I must get my Eternal rival! He will know the perfect jutsu, and together, we will show off our powerful flames of youth!"

Not having a clue what the man meant, Naruto gave in, letting Gai pull him across the village in order to find the supposed rival. Naruto really felt sorry for the man.

-The Darkness Begins. Warning.-

Mizuki's eyes watered in tears at the sound of Tsubaki's screams. The damn bastard in front of him was grinning at the sound of the agony the woman he loved was most likely going through. The scarred man leaned in further. "You know Mizuki, all you have to do is admit your reasons for attacking the fox-boy and trying to fail him. Then we can let you go. You won't have to listen to your dear fiancée's screaming any longer."

Mizuki spat at the man, leaving saliva to drip off of Ibiki's exposed scalp. "I tried to kill him because he's the bloody demon that destroyed the village! He didn't deserve to live, so I took it upon myself to deal with him. There, are you happy?"

Ibiki's eyes narrowed. "Normally, that would be enough, but I'm not letting you go yet. Besides, you announced the S-Rank secret to the boy, and even though he already knew, it's still high treason. They're going to execute you anyway, so I'll be sure to get every drop of information out of you. Besides, your girlfriend said something very interesting about a very special traitor. You know Orochimaru personally, and we're going to find out everything he told you."

Mizuki thrashed against his shackles, and refused to open his mouth. As much as he loved Tsubaki, he wouldn't give up anything about Orochimaru. The thrashing stopped as Ibiki got up and walked over to the giant sealing scroll in the corner. Unrolling a few feet, Ibiki placed his hand on one of the symbols and drew out a large scalpel that looked as though it had come straight from the medical division. As Ibiki made his way back at a slow pace, Mizuki started thrashing again, and he started cursing Ibiki with his foul mouth.

"Temper temper." Mizuki stilled again, this time quivering in fear. Ibiki was renowned for being brutal and violent, and that calm look wasn't right. That was the look of someone who could kill and do the most disgusting things imaginable without batting an eye, and it was terrifying. Yanking his leg out of the man's grip, he was rewarded with a fist to the face, rendering him dizzy. "Now now, don't make it worse for yourself. I'm only going to be performing a little surgery."

During the next hour, there was nothing but screaming and cheerful humming emanating from torture chamber #3, and the interns who walked past shuddered at the thought of what was happening. No-one knew what Ibiki did during his sessions, but that was something that was better left unknown.

!-!-!-CHEESE-!-!-!

Ibiki stopped the act as he stood up, admiring the blood-stained room. Mizuki was lying unconscious against the wall, his body stinking of copper, salt, and the distinct odour of urine. Ibiki hadn't had to hold back, so Mizuki was currently little more than a disgusting living art piece. His legs had been skinned cleanly, and the skin was hung up to be used for something else later. The muscle on the legs was missing in clean even chunks, and the blood slowly trickling out of the wounds was being stemmed by expert cauterization from a fire jutsu. Mizuki's left arm was mangled by acid, and his right was impaled with large spikes that left the limb looking like a pincushion, the fingernails pulled out too. His cheeks had a large jagged tear carved into them reaching from lip to eye, and his nose had been cut off. One of his eyes had been plucked out of its socket, and the socket was filled with salt to increase the already unbearable pain. The man's intestines had also been pulled out of his body via small slits in his torso, and the organs had somehow been tied in a bow around Mizuki's neck while still intact, finishing off the macabre scene. The entire floor was coated in thick blood, and the only reason Mizuki was still alive was due to copious amounts of blood pills and medical jutsu. "Wow, nice work."

He turned at the sound of a voice coming from the room's door, and scowled at the voice of his fellow torture specialist. While good at her job, she was a pain outside of the torture chamber. "Shit, you really did a number on him. What did this poor sob do, try to kill the Hokage? Oh and thanks for the extra skin. I've been wanting a new dango bag."

-No more Torture for a while-

Ibiki turned away from his companion to stare at Mizuki again. "Anko. He was working with Orochimaru, to steal the scroll of seals, and he nearly killed the fox-brat."

Anko's almost permanent grin turned into a scowl of rage. "This idiot is Orochimaru's spy? Well he'd better be glad you got him, because I would've done much worse. Tell me everything, and I'll inform the Hokage."

Ibiki sighed. She would get her personal snake summons to bite him if he refused, and they used an annoying venom that gave people hallucinations. "It seems he met Orochimaru on the mission where his injured comrade died mysteriously. He was kept from being a Jonin because of suspicion, which it turns out was correct. He was given a tattoo that works like a rudimentary version of the cursed seal when combined with a potion, and he's been sending information to the snake ever since. He was also responsible for the abduction of several children that have been reported missing. He was until recently an instructor at the academy, but was brought in under some strange jutsu when he attacked the Kyuubi vessel out of spite when his attempt to fail the kid was discovered. The kid made some strange flashes of light that split his weapon in two and bound him in ropes, along with locking him in some strange version of rigor mortis that only un-did itself when I disrupted his chakra. He couldn't do it himself, so it must have taken control of his chakra away from him too. He also broke the S-rank secret of not speaking about the fox, but the kid seemed to already know. No matter what happens, he's on death row, so I went full out on him. His fiancée is next-door, and she was an accomplice, but didn't commit any other crimes. All she did was try to keep this guy safe, so she can go. She'll probably get community service since she wouldn't do it for anyone but him, and he's going to die, so it won't happen again. That's about it"

Anko's glare turned into a dutiful stare that let no emotion escape. "Got it. On my way." With that, she stalked out of the room, and there was a distinct sound of a window breaking. Ibiki groaned. There was a whole folder dedicated to Anko's window expenses, and while other eccentric ninja at least opened the window before entering or exiting, Anko made it a game to smash through as many windows as she could when entering or leaving a building. Even in her anger, she couldn't resist it. Well, at least it was better than reading porn in front of the Hokage, that was for sure. Then again, the old man was just as perverted as the man who read the damn books in public.

At the main gate, a masked ninja sneezed suddenly, before blanching at the sight of a man in a green running amok. Bracing himself, he gave a passing wave to Kotetsu and Izumo before running over to stop the man from destroying the entire village in his enthusiasm.

-[REDACTED]-

Naruto sighed as he was pulled around yet another corner. His sensei was getting more and more determined to find he mysterious person, and he'd already passed the Academy three times already. As they got close to the main gate, he felt Gai speed up again, only to be pulled into the air as Gai leapt at a man who had been walking down the road. "Dynamic! Entry!"

The unknown male quickly grabbed Gai's foot and put the two people down carefully. "Gai. What a surprise. I didn't think that I'd have to stop you from causing chaos so early after getting back. You need to stop using that entrance move when people have already noticed you by the way. As spontaneous as it is, it only really works when someone is distracted or they have no idea that you're there. Now, what is it that you wanted?"

Gai's face lifted into an even brighter smile that left a staring civilian momentarily blinded. "Kakashi! Oh my, what fortune is this to find my eternal rival returning from a mission? Oh, joy is me! It must have been due to my passionate Flames of Youth! It must be a…Ouch." Gai's monologue was ended pre-emptively by a quick elbow to the ribs from Naruto, causing Gai to rub his chest lightly with the hand that had until recently been dragging the new Genin through the air. Kakashi's visible eye crinkled into an upside-down U shape, somehow conveying a smile despite the mask obscuring the man's mouth. Gai's memory kicked in, and the excitable man finally reigned his thoughts in. "Right. Kakashi, I'd like to introduce my temporary student, Naruto Uzumaki!"

Kakashi's posture seemed to freeze as he opened his eye to look at the boy who had seen him loose composure while on ANBU duty. He was dressed strangely, wearing multi-coloured robes that were subdued enough to be worn during a stealth mission, yet still loose enough to be a hazard if any hooked weapons became involved. It was obviously handmade, since no-one else in Konoha would have made a piece of clothing so out of style, but it was almost seamless, and he couldn't believe that a young child could be so adept with a needle and thread. The rest of the outfit was in black, with a slip of orange peeking out from under the long sleeves of the robe proving that the kid hadn't managed to escape being influenced by the green giant entirely. The kid had a tired expression, probably from being pulled over the city. "So, you've been teaching little Naruto here? He must be strong to… uh… withstand your 'Youthfulness'"

Gai grinned, seemingly unaware of the fat that Kakashi hadn't been talking about the man's strength or stamina. "Well, I promised little Naruto here a new clone jutsu, but I have realised that I don't know that special one that can be used without knowing chakra nature like you do. So, can you please teach him everything that I can't in my stead?"

Gai looked as if he was about to cry, and Kakashi leant back and held his hands in front of him. "Hey, wait a se…"

"Great! I'll see you tomorrow Naruto! Keep training with the mighty power of Youth!"

With that, Gai pushed Naruto into Kakashi's outstretched hands before running off in a sprint, leaving the two ninja to stare at the retreating green figure. Kakashi sighed, before rubbing his hair with one hand. "Well, I might as well. Come to training area number 32 in about 15 minutes, ok?" With a nod from Naruto, the silver haired ninja put his hands together in a hand sign and disappeared in a Shunshin.

Naruto sighed. The village was just full of these…Unique characters. At least he knew Inu, or rather, Kakashi. He didn't think he would be able to forgive Gai if he'd been shunted off to a person he'd never met before. A deep rumbling groan echoed through his mind, and he gave a small smile at Kurama's misfortune. "Kid… never let that happen again! At least put some handles or something in here so I'm not sent banging 'round the seal like a hamster. That fucking hurt."Sending an apologetic stream of thought to the giant fox, and smoothing the ruffled edges of his robes, he turned on the spot and started walking to the mentioned training grounds, intent on making some changes to his hidden mind world.

-thepriest'smotherisablanket-

Hiruzen Sarutobi watched the sun shine low in the sky as he mulled over what Anko had told him. He hadn't heard anything about Orochimaru in over a year, the thought that he had sleeper agents embedded that deep into their village was a disturbing thought. Hearing a knocking on his door, he turned back to his desk and picked up his pipe, taking a puff before walking to the door. He opened it to see the Instructor in charge of a third of the graduating students, including Naruto. "Ah, Iruka. Coming to check the placements of Genin are you? How are you doing?"

Iruka blushed, he'd been caught out before he even said anything. "I'm alright Lord Hokage. Have the children been assigned?"

Hiruzen took the time to have another puff of smoke before exhaling it in Iruka's face, reminiscent of a habit of his son's. "No, not yet. I was about to go to the assigning now, would you like to join me? The input of one of their teachers would be greatly appreciated."

Struggling not to cough and possibly insult the Hokage's choice of relaxant, Iruka held his breath for a moment before the smoke cleared. "I would be glad to assist you Lord Hokage."

Hiruzen nodded, gesturing with his hand for the instructor to follow as he made his way down the hallway and to the Jonin mission hall in silence. His secretary tried to get his attention as he passed her, but he shushed her and continued walking forwards. The two eventually came to a small door that when opened, revealed a hidden auditorium that was filled with Jonin of all different skill sets and power levels. Renowned village powerhouses like Maito Gai and Asuma Sarutobi were scattered around the room, alongside people such as Kurenai Yuhi and Anko Miterashi, the Kunoichi duo who both struck fear into the hearts of men, although for different reasons and with different techniques. Even Kakashi Hatake, the copy-ninja who was renowned for being late to anything non- life threatening was here on time, leaning against the wall at the back with his nose stuck in one of his dirty porn books.

Feeling slightly nervous, Iruka stood to the side as the Hokage stood up front and clapped his hands together, instantly getting the attention of every Jonin in the room. "Well now. I think we all know why we're here, so I'll skip the introductions and ask the prospective Jonin sensei to stand forward."

Straight away, Kurenai and Asuma stepped forward, as expected. Asuma's last team had recently become Chunin, and they felt that they had no need for prolonged contact with their former teacher, leaving him behind in their vanity. Kurenai however had recently finished dealing with her failure on the issue of addressing her previous student's problems, and had declared that she wanted to try teaching a full team. Ebisu was also quick to step forward, being an elite trainer it was expected of him to want to teach a Genin team of his own. Two ninja from the medical core walked ahead, getting a few whispers, and the faces of two Akimichi and an Inuzuka raised a few eyebrows, but were left alone. An older member of the Hyuga walked forward after a short time, and that seemed to be it until there was a sigh coming from the back of the room, the crowd parting in shock as Kakashi walked forward with his porn held limply in his hand.

Even Gai seemed shocked, although that was to be expected, Gai was so bad at remembering things that there were few things that didn't surprise him. Still, there hadn't been word about his retirement from ANBU as of yet, so it was to be expected that no-one had been expecting the man to volunteer. Ebisu in particular didn't take it well. "Why are you up here Hatake? You're an ANBU, the children would die after less than a minute if we let you have a team. Also, you have your missions! You can't drag fresh Genin out on S-ranked missions! Lord Hokage, you must see reason!"

There was baited breath in the room as the Hokage shook his head. "Then it's probably a good thing that Kakashi isn't an ANBU anymore, isn't it Ebisu?"

Shocked murmurs broke out, with many Jonin craning their necks to stare at the man whose only reaction was to give a small smile, despite only one eye and no mouth being visible. Ebisu withered, the man looking pathetic amongst the strong ninja in the room. Iruka chose that moment to step in. "If I may Lord Hokage, shouldn't we select which students make up the teams first?"

Hiruzen sighed. "Yes yes, all right. Who were the top male and female, and the bottom last? It's customary to put them together so that the one lagging behind can learn from the advanced students."

Iruka sighed. He'd probably make some of the Jonin angry with the report. "On top for the male students is Sasuke Uchiha." There were approving murmurs, so he continued. "Sakura Haruno was the top female student, although only by a narrow margin." There was a bit of tension in the clan ninja, but there was nothing stopping him, so he finished. "And Hinata Hyuga came last, probably due to nerves, she has a real problem in self-confidence."

There was a derivative snort from the Hyuga standing out the front. "The Lady Hinata is too soft. She is weak and has too much compassion. Her younger sister should be the heir."

Hiruzen narrowed his eyes at the man. "Well, we certainly know who won't be leading her squad, won't we?" The man had the sense to look chastised, and the Hokage turned back to Iruka again. "Well Iruka. I would much appreciate your input on who to team up with whom, if you don't mind."

Iruka sighed. He could only help so much. "Well, I'll mostly be able to only judge my own class, but I think that the child from Mizuki's class called Sai would better be placed with someone who isn't easily aggravated, and he shows signs of being trained even though he's an orphan." A few of the Jonin who were also ANBU stiffened, and Hiruzen made sure to keep a note of them. "Now, for my class, placing either Sakura Haruno or Ino Yamanaka with Sasuke Uchiha is a bad idea. They act like regular civilian girls, and need to get over their respective crushes on him. Choji Akimichi is rather gentle when he wants to be, and me works best with his friend Shikamaru. Kiba Inuzuka."

There was muffled laughter from the Inuzuka who had stepped forward, and a number of others as well. "Is I was saying, Kiba is a physical learner, so he would need a hands on teacher. He used to not work well with Sasuke or Naruto, although the problem he had with the latter has almost disappeared overnight. Shino Aburame…" Iruka sighed, and many of the Jonin nodded in sympathy, excluding the Aburame themselves. "He is very isolated from the rest of the group, but his type of thinking would help him to get along with Shikamaru if they were paired together. Now, Naruto…" Iruka grimaced as he heard several snide remarks and comments, which were quickly snuffed out by the iron glare of the Hokage. "Naruto is an unknown as of now. He's shown significant progress in almost every area this past week, and the only students he has a problem with are Sasuke, Sakura and Ino, one of which actually attacked him with a jutsu."

That made the crowd be silent. Academy students attacking each other with chakra wasn't a good sign, and even if Naruto housed the fox, being attacked would make a difference in his placement. One idiot near the back of the hall let out a cheer for the Uchiha, and Iruka corrected him swiftly before the Hokage could use his Katon jutsu. "Actually, it was the Yamanaka girl. She took it upon herself to invade his mind, and both were unconscious for the rest of the day because of it." The entire hall was silent. Most of those who knew Inoichi knew that his daughter was a spoilt child that was treated like a princess, so for a girl like that to attack another child using her family jutsu was unusual at best. A few of them resolved to keep away from the girl.

Iruka cleared his throat. "If I had to comprise three teams from my class, I would place Sasuke, Shino and Kiba on one team. Sakura and Naruto could possibly work together with Hinata, and Choji would be paired with Ino and Shikamaru, which so happens to be an InoShikaCho formation. That's all I have."

Hiruzen frowned. Those placements made one of the traditions of Konoha null and void, and it was an effective tradition. "Well, I have made my decision. The new team Seven, will be Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Hinata Hyuga. Who would like to train this team?" The reaction was instant. Ebisu, Kurenai, the Inuzuka and one of the medical core all stepped forward even further. Hiruzen frowned. He was putting two Dojutsu users on the same team, and that would need a lot of patience if they started fighting. Also, Sasuke would need training in Genjutsu if he wanted to use his eyes to his full potential. The Haruno girl was top of her gender too, so she might also be a good Genjutsu type. And there was the Hyuga girl. They were all born with innate chakra control, so "Kurenai Yuhi, do you accept this team?"

The other Jonin all made a face, but reluctantly moved back to the group of possible instructors. Kurenai smiled. "Of course Lord Hokage, I will do my best to bring them to their full potential."

Hiruzen smiled back. Kurenai was always a calming person to be around. "Next, the new InoShikaCho, Who will take them?" Not many this time, only Ebisu and his son, although Asuma was looking up at him with an upset expression. Hmn. Knowing Asuma, he would probably be well suited to train a gentle Akimichi and a Nara. He might even be able to control the Yamanaka girl. "Asuma, I assume you know what a chore it is to get a Nara to do anything?"

Asuma looked up as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, and Hiruzen smiled. Yes, he wouldn't hold this from his son after doing so many wrongs. "Asuma Sarutobi, you are now the new InoShikaCho's team leader." Asuma bowed low and mumbled out a thanks, clearly stunned that his father wasn't making him jump through hoops to get what he wanted as usual.

For the next team, Hiruzen was uncertain. He could bring in a student from another class and mix it up, but there wouldn't be as much of a connection as there was between those who had spent years learning together. Shaking off his doubts, he announced the final team from the clan children class. "Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Naruto Uzumaki. Who will take that team?"

Silence. Not one person stepped forward. Iruka felt his heart lurch. Was Naruto going to be sent back to the academy because no-one wanted to teach him? And would Shino and Kiba be sent back too? They couldn't do this, could they? His panicking was interrupted by the shuffling of pages echoing through the silent hall. Kakashi looked up from the porn he'd started to read who knows when and looked around. When he saw no-one, all he said was, "Oh, does that mean I get to teach them?" Rows of heads snapped towards the ninja, and Iruka saw more than a few mouths drop in surprise. Hell, his was one of them. The only people who didn't seem shocked by the announcement were the Hokage and Gai, although, that was probably because Gai was already crying and shouting about Naruto having the most hip Jonin sensei in Konoha.

Hiruzen smiled. That was the reaction he'd been waiting for. "Alright, so. The other two classes will have to wait a few moments, or I'm afraid we'll have to listen to more spouting about 'youth'. Anyone care to help me escort him to a corner to calm down?"

As was expected, no-one ever wanted to help when Gai was part of the equation. No-one.

-Lemursareawesome—

Naruto sighed as he floated around his mind, dodging the lazy swings of Kurama's tails as the fox gave another growl of pleasure. He'd entered his mind and mixed up the brain with duplicates of his normal memories, before making his way into the hidden land that was his mindscape. Realising that he'd left Kurama floating in the air last time they'd talked, he'd extracted the cage out from the Chamber of Secrets and banished that part of his mind back under the castle. Taking inspiration from his 'roommate', he destroyed one side of the brain chamber and put a side of the seal's cage there, extending outwards into his real mind.

The mindscape was hidden from the sight of invaders by a shroud of darkness that was similar to the darkness that the Chamber had spread through the seal, so when invaders noticed the irregularity and went to investigate, they'd get a demon fox's welcome without having to reveal the mindscape. He'd also widened the space between the bars until Kurama could fit through them, and he'd thought up a loose chain for the fox to slip onto his paw if he ever wanted to leave the cage without leaving the seal, seeing as they didn't know whether leaving the seal would harm Naruto or not, it was a nice alternative. The big lazy fox was doing that now, laying on the great expanse of grass in front of the castle while dipping his paws into the Great Lake. Apparently Naruto's mental representation of the Giant Squid was a very good masseur.

Sighing, he looked into the water. While relaxing in a mental paradise was all well and good, he needed a way to see outside. Time was so fluid in the mental world that he never knew whether or not he'd missed anything in the waking world. Getting an idea, he imagined the water from the clouds condensing into an orb. Levitating the orb in front of his face, he had it flatten out into a liquid mirror. Willing it to see through his body's eyes, he watched the water ripple outwards into a dark view of Konoha, the sun having apparently set a while ago. Cursing, he realised he'd been stood up by Kakashi, and willed himself awake.

Groaning as he moved his stiff body, he got up and brushed the dust off of his robes before beginning to jog home, Kurama grumbling at his paw massage being interrupted.

-redliquorish-

Slamming the door of his apartment behind him, he locked it with a mumbled "Colloportus". The door emitted an odd squelching sound before going silent. Muttering under his breath, he pulled off his robe and set it over the chair before making his way to his room. Laying down on his bed, he pulled the sheet over his head and closed his eyes, ignorant of the large bloodshot eyes peering at him out of the darkness.

Omake!

Minato sighed as he flashed himself three benches over to serve the next customer. Ever since he'd sacrificed himself to the Shinigami, he'd been stuck serving a near endless swarm of men with beards and red hair some alcohol called beer. Personally, he preferred sake, but this wasn't a Konoha bar, or a type of bar that he recognised from anywhere, so it wasn't available. He sighed as another two glasses came through the conveyor belts, and he used his Hiraishin to collect them. He'd just delivered the two glasses when the conveyer belts stopped, signifying the end of a 'day'. Getting an idea, he rapped his knuckles on the dividing wall and asked for a saucer of sake. The moving about and humming stopped, and another oriental voice replied in a cheery affirmative.

Chen Stormstout hummed cheerfully as he searched his many satchels for a bottle of rice wine. He hadn't made any in ages, the only people who would appreciate it and a good man other drinks in Azeroth being his kinsfolk, but to have an enjoyer of it here was a great surprise, and he was sure he still had a bottle. The Horde had been a great crowd, but he hadn't been able to appreciate one of his favourite alcohols with them, and having another to drink with in this strange job after death was good fortune. Finding the bottle, which was dwarfed by his massive hands, he pulled out two saucers and poured a good amount in each. He pushed the saucer through the flaps, and was greeted with a happy laugh. "To sake!"

Omake End

Hey guys! Another chapter! Wow! Seriously, thanks for sticking with me, I'm not very reliable and I update whenever I get a chapter done, not on a schedule. I hope you can all forgive me for the long wait, but I have some other fic ideas that I'm exploring in my alone time, so I may post them sometime. Also, my Beta has decided that she doesn't have time for Beta-ing right now, so sorry if there are any errors I missed. Tootles!