Chapter 4: Graduation

The sun shone brightly in the morning sky. Birds chirped happily, squirrels flitted from tree to tree, and people went about their morning routines. Shop owners were opening their doors, putting goods out for display while the smell of fresh warm food wafted across the streets from Konoha's variety of morning eateries and food stands. At the Sannin home, however, things were slightly different.

"That can't be comfortable. How does he sleep like that?" the woman asked, staring at the strange sight. In front of her, Naruto lay sprawled across his futon, head hanging off a bottom corner, one foot under his pillow with the other tucked somewhere beneath him. The boy was completely tangled in his sheets and sound asleep.

"I gave up trying to figure that out years ago" her companion stated flatly, walking over to where he lay. He knelt down next to the blond, watching his peaceful sleep. "Get up, gaki!"

The bed exploded in a flurry of sheets, pillow and twelve-year-old boy as Naruto jolted into consciousness. "Who, wha… huh?" Blearily he focused on the source of his rude wakeup call. "Ojii-sennin, what the heck?"

Jiraiya just waved him off, acting disinterested. "And here I was trying to do you a favor. Fine, fine, go back to bed. I guess being a ninja doesn't matter that much to you, does it?"

Naruto was confused. "Ninja? What do you... oh crap!" The old hermit's meaning quickly caught up with him as Naruto looked at his alarm clock: in a flash he was out the door headed for the bathhouse. "Thanks Ojiisan, Neechan!"

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Naruto sped through the streets of Konoha, a veritable blur dodging in and out of the morning traffic. How could he have overslept? This was one of the milestones in his life and if he didn't hurry he'd miss the whole thing! Rounding a final corner he spotted his destination several blocks ahead: never had the Academy looked as good to his eyes as it did today. Today was the day he graduated; today, he became a real Ninja.

Skidding to a steady walk he merged with the steady flow of students milling through the halls toward their respective classrooms. Most were younger students going through the normal morning routine, but a few stood out from the crowd. Akimichi Chouji leaned against the wall outside of their classroom, munching on a bag of chips. Iruka-sensei had told him last semester if he kept eating in class the portly boy would quickly find himself on a diet and exercise regimen overseen by Ino's mother: that had scared him into compliance, though it didn't stop him from eating whenever sensei wasn't around to see.

"Ohayo, Naruto-kuuuun!" a very girlish voice sounded from behind him. He didn't even have to turn around to know the source, though to be polite he did anyway. Sure enough, not a foot from him, stood a child barely half his height with rose-red cheeks crowned with twin puffs of flame-red hair.

Naruto frowned. "Moegi, how many times have I told you to quit that? Why don't you go flirt with Udon or Konohamaru?"

"Cause they're not as dreamy as you." Moegi pouted slightly. "You never pay attention to me" she whispered, grabbing onto his waist.

Naruto sighed as he tried prying the girl off of him. "I do pay attention, just not how you want me to." Finally, he managed to separate himself and push her off to class, only to hear chuckling coming from his own room.

"Still haven't gotten rid of your fangirls Naruto?" Chouji grinned knowingly.

The blond scowled. "Funny, Chouji, really funny. Maybe you should quit the whole Ninja thing and be a comedian instead."

The bigger boy just laughed.

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Iruka-sensei spared little time starting their tests, at least from Naruto's perspective. He gave a lecture on what the Gennin exams consisted of, the margins of error, and what would happen if they failed. The last seemed a little pointless: Naruto knew two who had failed last time and, when they were assigned a new class, told their new classmates all about it. There were very few students in the Ninja Academy who didn't have at least some idea of what the exams were, thanks to each test's failures spreading the word. No, he was more interested in what would happen after passing. He only knew one person that made Gennin, but Neji-teme wasn't too interested in acknowledging Naruto's existence, let alone telling him anything about being a real Ninja. Since Neji graduated, every time they saw each other the elder boy's 'I'm-better-than-you' attitude seemed to get worse. The few words they'd exchanged left Naruto wanting to punch the smug grin off the Hyuuga's face. He'd show Neji... by the end of the day Naruto would make Gennin, and then he'd show that stuck-up ass how real ninja acted.

Papers were passed out for the written exam, the likes of which Naruto loathed. Writing wasn't necessarily a problem, in fact his penmanship was excellent. Ojiisan had shown him what poor writing could cause when drawing out seals, and that was enough to convince the boy to strive for perfection when he wrote. Being blown up by a bad seal was not something he wanted to experience. As a handy side effect, he was pretty good at forging documents in other peoples' handwriting, something Shizune-neechan didn't appreciate whenever she'd find notes all over the house from 'Tsunade.' Once she found out they were fakes neechan had been nice enough to introduce him to poisons; after waiting an hour for the paralysis to wear off, never again did Naruto forge baachan's writing.

Next came practical skills like kunai- and shuriken-throwing, knot-tying, negotiating an obstacle course, taijutsu and other tests of a ninja's agility and physical skill. Chouji managed the obstacle course in time, which made Naruto happy, but the most entertaining part was watching Shikamaru run through it: never had Naruto seen the young Nara run so fast. Who knew the threat of his mother was such a powerful motivator for the otherwise lethargic boy? As for Naruto, it wasn't much harder than what they covered in class the past few years. His aim was in the upper level of his class, and negotiating the obstacles was only slightly harder than what they'd been trained for already. He figured it was meant to be hard as a first step toward weeding out the students who couldn't push themselves beyond their known limits. Taijutsu, well... toad-tag made for some interesting improvisations on the standard styles they were taught. Watching his classmates take their turns, he couldn't help but grimace when Sakura and Ino both managed to pass: they'd not grown any less obsessed with Sasuke and he could only hope he didn't end up on their team.

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"Alright class the last phase of this exam will consist of two parts, ninjutsu and genjutsu" Iruka informed them. "Given the difficult nature of genjutsu, it's not required that you pass that part in order to become a Gennin. However, if either Mizuki-sensei or myself feel you haven't even tried to pass the genjutsu, you'll be failed immediately. We'll start in alphabetical order: Aburame Shino, please follow me."

Sparing a glance Hinata had to suppress a giggle at the look of relief on Naruto's face: her poor best friend couldn't find his way out of a genjutsu if someone gave him a map and set up flashing lights. For as long as she'd known Naruto he'd never been any good at genjutsu: he could barely dispel an E-rank, if he knew it was there of course. He couldn't detect or create genjutsu at all. Her smile faded at the thought.

These exams were serious: it was the true beginning of their ninja careers. Going to the Academy was no guarantee of becoming a ninja, just as studying under a baker or carpenter didn't mean success in the trade as well. The exams reflected that harsh truth. The written exam was comprehensive, covering all six years of schooling, without any in-class review, and even some things they had not necessarily been taught in school. It was a common understanding, almost to the point of being expected, that Academy students would be taught certain things outside of class by their families. Ninja clans raised their children to carry on their clan's legacy, teaching clan-secret techniques, history, politics and many common ninja skills.

Her own was no different. As soon as she started walking Hinata began receiving instruction in the ways of the Hyuuga clan. She learned their place in the village, the history of her clan and how it related to several others. She was taught to use the clan's bloodline doujutsu, Byakugan, to see great distances, look at the chakra networks of others, and to find Tenketsu points to attack with Jyuuken, her family's private taijutsu style. In a way, Hinata found she preferred Jyuuken to other methods of combat, because it didn't damage the body in a visible manner. It wasn't that she was a cold-blooded killer who wanted to cover her tracks, although the ability to do so was valued in the ninja world. No, she merely didn't like seeing people in pain or any evidence that they had been. She was a kind person and hated when things resorted to violence. To her, a person who died by Jyuuken appeared merely to be sleeping, which her mother had said helped many Hyuuga avoid the mental breakdown that often came with a ninja's first few kills. And for that, Hinata was thankful: whenever she thought about the inevitable deaths she'd have to cause it made her queasy.

Silently admonishing her wandering thoughts, the blue-haired kunoichi-hopeful thought back to the topic at hand: Naruto and genjutsu. She prayed that they would figure out why he struggled with it so much, otherwise he'd be at a serious disadvantage on any mission he was assigned.

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Hinata was smiling as she walked past the classroom door, hitai-ite tied loosely around her neck. While succeeding in stifling a loud 'woo-hoo, way to go Hinata-chan!', Naruto didn't stop the face-splitting grin directed at her. She'd had doubts about passing the exams which he knew came from an underrated view of herself and her abilities. Hinata tried her hardest at everything, but nothing she ever did in anything ninja-related held a candle to what Neji-teme could do. Naruto may not have liked the stuck-up jerk, but he couldn't deny that Hyuuga Neji was an impressive shinobi. Many were calling him the 'prodigy of the Hyuuga' and putting him on the same bar as Sasuke. This, in turn, had led Neji to insult and deride Hinata at any chance he got. She hated the Caged Bird Seal and he knew she'd never use it on him, so there was nothing to stop him as long as Hiashi wasn't around. Whenever he was, Neji was the polite and respectful servant boy he was supposed to be, so either Hiashi wasn't aware of how he acted, or he wasn't doing anything about it.

Either way, it pissed Naruto off.

He was always there to boost his friend's spirits after Neji would so effortlessly demolish them, and he never compared her to him. If her cousin was a genius, fine, he was a genius. Hinata wasn't, and it wasn't right that Neji thought everyone should be as good as him. It was just one more strike against that prick that Naruto was going to make him answer for one day. He never doubted Hinata's abilities, never considered that she might not pass the exams, and never, ever, thought she was weak. That seemed to be Neji's favorite insult: calling her weak.

Interrupting his internal tirade against the older shinobi, Shikamaru walked back in, also with a headband, though tied around his arm, and Mizuki called him over. "Naruto, you're up. Come on." With a nod, the boy directed a smile toward his friend before going out the door.

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Umino Iruka had been teaching long enough to understand how children were influenced by their peers, and the exam room reflected that: except for a table of hitai-ite the room was completely empty. It was supposed to make things easier for students who were afraid of ridicule if they failed, or those who simply didn't perform well in the spotlight. It also was a safeguard in case one of them lost control during their ninjutsu test: at least no other children would be hurt.

He looked back at his current Gennin-hopeful, Naruto. He was a fairly average student ranking in the upper half of his class, despite the semi-occasional prank and his fairly laid-back attitude. Iruka supposed that was probably to be expected, given his family ties. Tsunade-sama and Jiraiya-sama were very powerful ninja, so it was little wonder that Tsunade's son would follow in their footsteps; if anything, it was a wonder that Naruto wasn't more powerful. To come from origins such as his and only be slightly above average... the Chuunin just shrugged it off. 'Probably didn't want to push him too hard.'

"Alright Naruto, which test do you want to do first" Iruka asked, "genjutsu or ninjutsu?"

Naruto put on a thoughtful face. "Uh... let's go with genjutsu since I suck at it."

'Well that's a surprise' Iruka thought. He knew Naruto's record with genjutsu was abysmal. Most kids would want to avoid something they weren't good at, especially when being judged on their performance. But this boy not only acknowledged that he was bad at it, he chose to face it first. He made a mental note to make sure Naruto was placed with a Jounin that would further foster that attitude of gracious understanding of one's limits.

"Alright then, I'll explain the rules then" Mizuki stated. "Since you know you're being put under the jutsu it's pointless to test if you can detect it; you're sensei will work on that with you if you pass this exam. We won't test you on creating one because as Iruka-sensei said earlier, genjutsu is difficult, more so than most D-rank Gennin skills. All you have to do here is get out of the jutsu we put you under." He glanced over to Iruka before looking back to Naruto. "You'll have five minutes to release yourself. If you don't make it out in time, you'll fail this part of the exam. If you don't make any effort to get out, you'll fail the entire exam without further consideration."

"Ninja don't have the luxury of simply giving up when they can't do something" Iruka finished. "You have to keep trying until you can't try anymore. Understand?" The boy nodded. "Alright, you have five minutes starting... now."

With that, Naruto's world went black.

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Five minutes later the illusion faded and Naruto was back in the exam room. When the blackness lifted he found the genjutsu wasn't anything special: they'd simply put him inside a big room with no doors, windows or any way out. And as expected, he couldn't break free. So it wasn't any disappointment to him when his teachers informed him he'd failed.

"Told you" he quipped smartly.

Mizuki poorly stifled a chuckle while Iruka half-glared at him.

"Alright, ninjutsu. Compared to the genjutsu portion this should be pretty easy" the elder Chuunin informed him. "First, show is the most complex Henge you can perform."

"Uh, okay." Naruto ran through the hand seals and when the puff of smoke cleared, Naruto was nowhere to be found.

Iruka blinked. "Where did he go?" Suddenly he felt weight resting on his head, and reaching up he pulled off a large orange and blue toad, several times larger than any he had seen in Konoha in over a decade. The toad just stared back at him, until it's mouth dropped open mimicking a very familiar grin. With a flick of his wrist, the scarred man tossed the creature away where it reverted back to his student. "Smart-alek. Not bad though, I thought you'd try for someone like your grandfather, or Mizuki-sensei here."

Naruto mock-pouted. "Where's the fun in that? Besides, you wanted the hardest Henge I can do and that's it. Transforming into other people is hard enough, but changing into a whole different animal is way harder."

His teachers looked somewhat stunned, but Naruto didn't care. "So what's next?"

"Using the Bunshin no Jutsu, give us three clones copied as perfectly as you can get them" Mizuki recovered. "With someone of your creative skill that shouldn't be too hard" he added wryly.

Naruto frowned. He hated the Bunshin no Jutsu. The clones were little more than an illusion: they couldn't actually do anything. What was the point of a jutsu that didn't actually do anything? Now, material clones, like Water- and Mud-clones, those were something useful. Sure, a ninja couldn't create a lot of them at one time, but at least each clone was solid, could hold a weapon and actually hurt the enemy. Besides, bunshin were hard to make. "Ugh, okay."

He began gathering chakra, running through the necessary hand signs to mold it into shape. That's when the pain started. It began as a subtle pressure in his abdomen, quickly building to an all-consuming push that felt as though his body would explode if he let it go on any longer. 'Crap, gotta let it go, now!' Finishing the final seal, he released the chakra and eighteen perfect replicas of the blond-haired powerhouse appeared around the room. Said blond clutched his throbbing belly, but grinned at his success.

His sensei, however, stood silent and examined each clone. "You only needed three Naruto" Mizuki dryly reminded him, "trying to impress us by making more won't get you any extra credit you know."

"Oh come on, give me a break sensei." Naruto scowled. "That's as few as I can do."

Iruka finished his scrutiny of a nearby clone and faced his student. "What do you mean Naruto? Molding chakra is a lot harder than drawing it out and you made all of these clones perfectly. You should have more than enough control to make just three."

Naruto straightened up, his abdomen having finally stopped feeling like something was trying to claw it's way out. "You're right sensei, molding chakra is easier than drawing it out. But getting chakra out isn't the problem: keeping it in is."

The two teachers glanced at each other, neither understanding what the boy was getting at. "Explain."

The young blond frowned again, trying to think of a way to explain what he meant. Finally, the answer came to him. "It's like when you were teaching us about chakra control, sensei. 'Everybody's got a 'faucet' on their chakra reserve which they turn on in order to get chakra for jutsu. Whenever you turn on the faucet, a slow stream of chakra comes out to be used'." The older Chuunin nodded, recalling the lecture. "Me, well... I don't really have a faucet: it's more like a fire hose. Every time I try to get chakra for a jutsu I don't get a stream: I get a flood. Holding it back's hard, and if I hold back too long it actually hurts. Then I lose my concentration and botch the technique. I guess eighteen is as long as I can hold it back, at least for this jutsu." He finished the explanation and waited for his teachers' response, since neither man looked like he could speak at the moment.

Both had been stunned silent. Never before in his years of teaching had Iruka heard of a ninja with a chakra reserve so great he couldn't control it. Not once, not even among powerful ninja like the boy's grandparents, or the various Hokage of the village. It was literally unheard of.

Finally Iruka returned to the present, though Mizuki still fixed Naruto with a thoughtful, appraising eye. "Does Lady Tsunade know about this Naruto, or Master Jiraiya?"

He nodded. "Sure. It started as soon as we started practicing jutsu so I told baachan about it. Oji-sennin said it's just a control issue that I'll work out in time, kind of like how you build up a tolerance for pain with taijutsu. He said with enough practice I'll be able to tolerate this too." The boy shrugged, then donned a megawatt grin.

"So, do I pass?"

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Naruto sauntered out of the Academy, hitai-ite proudly affixed to his forehead, and Hinata couldn't help but smile; he passed. She never doubted he would: he was just so strong and confident it seemed that nothing really bothered him. The heiress had had reservations about passing the exams, even with the kind words from her father and the unyielding support of her best friend. But it had buoyed her spirits well enough and she was so excited when Iruka-sensei handed her her headband, which she promptly tied about her neck.

Unlike most ninja in the village, Main family Hyuuga did not wear their hitai-ite over their foreheads. Branch members did so in order to hide the seal they bore, but for a Main family member to cover their unadorned brow was considered a great dishonor to the clan, as though one was ashamed of their place. She was not ashamed of her place but would have preferred wearing it in the common way as a show of equality, a display that she did not hold herself higher than others. Unfortunately, to do so would have dishonored her father as well and she could not do that to her Otou-san. So, the insignia hung comfortably from her neck.

She ran over to her friend, who promptly scooped her up into a crushing bear-hug. This, of course, resulted in the bluenette taking on a hue normally reserved for cooked crustaceans, but she didn't faint like she had occasionally in the past. She was too excited for that, and instead just hugged him back. "I knew you'd pass Naruto-kun."

Naruto released her, barely noting an odd feeling of... loss, like he'd forgotten something, or it was missing. Shaking the feeling off he smiled at his best friend. "Yep! I told you we were gonna pass today, no problem! No worries, no fear, 'cause we're too good to stay here!" Hinata couldn't suppress her giggling anymore, collapsing into a fit on right in front of the Academy. Naruto pretended to be hurt, before joining her in laughter at the silliness of his unintended rhyme.

Their mirth was cut short, however, when Iruka-sensei and Mizuki-sensei stepped through the doors, closely following a smiling Sandaime Hokage. The group quickly quieted in the presence of of their leader. "I want to congratulate you" he began, " each of you, on the culmination of your training. You have spent many years working toward this day, studying, practicing, training in the ways of the shinobi. Many of your classmates withdrew over the years, some overcome by the strain, others unwilling to put forth the effort. But you, you suffered through the necessary hardships of your schooling, bear the bruises and scars with pride, and today it has all paid off: today you have proven yourselves worthy to bear the mark of the Leaf. Wear it with pride, uphold the values it represents, and bring it honor. I welcome each of you, as the newest Shinobi of Konohagakure. May the Will of Fire be with you all."

The crowd burst into applause, proud that their Hokage recognized them as full-fledged Shinobi, not just another group of students. Many of them were starting to understand what their parents meant about how great a man the Hokage was. Iruka stepped up next to the aged leader to deliver his final speech to yet another, now former, group of his students.

"From now on, you are ninja. This group will be separated into teams of three and each team assigned a Jounin sensei. Your sensei will have much they can teach you, things the likes of which you likely have never imagined, and you would do well to listen to them just as you have listened to me, for the most part anyway, for the last six years. On occasion, your team may be called upon to execute a mission for the village. Given that you only just became Gennin this morning, you can rest assured that your missions will rarely take you out of the village." Some of the kids groaned a little at this, and Iruka frowned. "It's for your own safety. You still have a lot to learn about being a shinobi and about how the world works outside of school. Once you have enough of these simple missions behind you, your team may be considered for more... exciting missions. However" he said, cutting off the eager looks the groaners had sprouted, "make no mistake: it's a dangerous world beyond our walls. Some missions are dangerous, and people get hurt. Sometimes, they don't come back alive, if at all. So before you think about pestering your sensei for advanced missions you aren't ready for, understand that in the ninja world we live in, getting in over your head can get you killed very quickly. Are you ready to accept that? Are you ready to die?"

He let the questions hang, allowing the new ninja to think about it for a moment. Satisfied having made his point, the Chuunin teacher finished his speech. "I wish each of you the best of luck in your careers. I know the future of Konoha is bright and will be served well by the group standing in front of me. Team assignments will be announced here tomorrow at eleven. And welcome to the Leaf Shinobi Corps."

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Naruto beamed. The Hokage acknowledged them, Iruka-sensei wished them luck... all that was left was to go home and tell his family he passed. But the afternoon routine demanded something else first. "Come on Hinata-chan, let's go tell your father we passed!" The younger girl smiled, then blushed gracefully when he grabbed her hand, pulling her toward her home.

Yes, the future looked bright indeed.

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Author's Note:

Ojii-sennin translates as "grandpa-sage": Naruto doesn't know Jiraiya's a super pervert yet, so no Ero-sennin comments. I made the word up but I feel its close enough to proper Japanese to be effective.