A/N: Another chapter in the story. I have to admit that, after reading Naruto My Way again as well as the back-ups of Naruto Revised, Prodigy, and Elemental I've realized that the quality of my writing has improved immensely. My sentence structure is better, my descriptions are better, and I hate to say it but my imagination had gotten better as well. This story is just … better. Which is why I keep asking for reviews! I notice that it's better but I want to know if you, the reader, think that this story is good! I am fueled by reviews! I've stayed up until dawn writing and proofreading a chapter before for this story, so show me how much my work has paid off with a "good job" comment or something?

Anyways, story time.

(Present time, 1 mile out of Konoha)

"I'm finally back…after 6 years of training I'm finally home…"Naruto said to himself, pushing the thoughts of the past away as he looked over the village from a nearby hilltop. Adjusting the large scroll he had on his back the now 12 year old boy walked toward the home that had occupied his thoughts for 6 years.

(1 hour later, in the Hokage's office)

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked out the window as he took a long draw on his pipe. Blowing the smoke out, he sighed deeply. There aren't many days like this, with a beautiful clear sky, and the old leader didn't even have the freedom or the time to enjoy it. The Hokage position was a full time job, and frankly he shouldn't even be taking a smoke break. Another sigh escaped his lips as he got up and opened his window to let some fresh air in before he sat down to do his work. That was his plan at least, until he felt his hat fly off his head only to look up and see a blonde preteen wearing it.

"Glad to see you didn't smudge it, Hokage-sama" Naruto said cheekily through the traditional flaps of the Hokage hat. He took it off and tossed it at Hiruzen before following it up with his body in a powerful hug. Sarutobi smiled, he had missed the boy too and had forgotten that it was today that he was supposed to come back. The Hokage had lost contact with Naruto when Jiraiya dragged the boy away from their training ground after the failed attempt to capture Orochimaru. The two ninja broke apart and Sarutobi motioned for him to sit down.

"I had forgotten that it was today that you planned to come back. I'm glad to see that Jiraiya didn't hold you up. Did you manage to find Orochimaru?"

"No, but Jiraiya had a pretty solid lead before I left, so he might be getting close"

"I see, I see… that's good. So your training is all done?"

"Unfortunately not, and it never will be. I won't rest until I'm the strongest, you know that. But Jiraiya said he got all the foundations laid out for me to 'grow into something special' as he put it" Naruto said, using air quotes.

"I'm glad, and glad that you're back. I see that the trip did wonders for your manners"

"But the time didn't do anything wonderful to those liver spots, is that hair I see?" Naruto joked, laughing at Sarutobi's offended expression.

"I'm kidding, Hokage-dono. I learned to mind my manners but that doesn't mean I'm not the stupid little kid that would get into trouble that was way over his head. I can just do it in a flashier manner"

"You're a wiseass, just like your father"

"Of course, though it might be the hair. Am I all set to move into my dad's estate?"

"It's been cleaned up a bit, and all the paperwork is through. The test is tomorrow so do not forget. 8 A.M. sharp."

"I won't, Jii-san. And thank you for all of this" Naruto said sincerely as he shook Hiruzen's hand. He was glad that he had kept in contact with the Hokage so that he could be informed of his inheritance. The young Uzumaki had just inherited a small estate on the far end of Konohagakure and was primed to move in. He wanted to get it done and see his village, it had been so long he didn't know if he remembered all the twists and turns. As he stepped out of the tower the blonde took a deep breath and smiled. It was a very nice day and he was glad that he had the freedom and time to enjoy it.

(10 minutes later, east side of Konohagakure)

The house was pretty spacious with 3 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a full kitchen, and a separate building that was a dojo. Naruto grinned as he unloaded his weapons into the dojo's storage room, though disappointed that the wall didn't have quite the spread that Jiraiya's had, that would need to be fixed soon, and moved his futon and other odds and ends into the master bedroom. He would certainly need to get some furniture for his house in the meantime. Once he was done unpacking, Naruto stretched lackadaisically (favorite word) before stepping outside and locking his door. He took another deep breath and decided that he needed some food to celebrate his homecoming, and he knew just the thing. He would set out and find a ramen shop. With the thought of God's broth in his mind, Naruto walked down the streets. He had his hands behind his head as had become the habit of the young blonde. Browsing over the various shops, Naruto noticed one thing in particular. It seemed like no one remembered him. Not a soul seemed to equate him to the 6 year old demon child that had disappeared 6 years ago. Naruto smiled at this thought, and thought about the chances this could bring to have a fresh start getting people to accept him. These thoughts followed him into the establishment of the first ramen shop he came to, a place named Ichiraku's Ramen.

Teuchi, who owned the shop smiled as his first customer of the day sat down at the bar. It was a new face, but that didn't matter. Money was money. And apparently it was no object to the young kid as he ordered a bowl of miso pork ramen with the comment to keep them coming.

Naruto looked down at the flawlessly prepared ramen. The noodles looked properly cooked, the ingredients were where they should be, and the smell was fantastic.

"Itadakimasu" he said proudly as he snapped the chopsticks and took a bite.

"Oh… Oh wow… this is amazing" Naruto said, before promptly slurping up the noodles at an ungodly rate. Teuchi stared wide-eyed as the boy devoured the next bowl he made, as well as the next 9 bowls. This set a new record for the store, beating the old one by 3 bowls. The owner just shook his head.

"What's your name kid?" he asked, and once he heard it he took out a slip of paper and wrote down Naruto's name and number of bowls before replacing the slip already up on the wall.

"Congratulations, you beat the old record uh… Naruto" Ayame said, looking at the sign to read his name. Naruto just grinned and stood up, grabbing more than a few bills and handing them off before waving and leaving the shop that had served him such amazing ramen and promising himself to visit often. One good thing about not having Jiraiya over his shoulder would be the amount of ramen that he could eat as the toad sage had always made it more of a treat meal rather than a regular thing.

The blonde walked down the street with a smile on his face, having eaten his fill. He wanted to find the academy before he went to his house, so that he wouldn't be lost tomorrow. Naruto turned the corner of the next street and found it. It was pretty hard to miss, since it had a track and a small field exclusively for it. He would definitely be able to find it again later. Since it had been easy to find, Naruto decided to walk around Konoha for a few hours before going to his home and sleeping. That trip had been a pretty rough walk, since they had been in Iwa, dodging patrols and avoiding most towns at the time.

(Next day, 7:20 A.M., at the Namikaze estate)

Naruto smiled as he put on his clothes. Today was the day. He would get to take the test today and become a Genin. It was his first official step on the path to becoming Hokage. Slipping on the black chain necklace he had gotten from one of his birthdays, Naruto left his house and locked up before stretching. The day was pretty cloudy but still beautiful. He put his hands behind his head and started walking, getting lost in thought as he made his way to the Academy.

(7:55, in the classroom of Iruka Umino)

"We're going to be having a new student take the test with us this year. His name is Naruto Uzumaki. He used to live here but got taken into an apprenticeship with an instructor. I expect everyone in the class to be nice to him" Iruka said to his class, who was only half paying attention. He sighed just as the classroom door slid open, which got the attention of the class. Naruto stepped in and smiled shyly.

"Uhhh, is this classroom 3? I'm supposed to be taking the graduation test today" he said sheepishly, hoping he got it right. Iruka and the class were shocked into silence though as they looked at the blonde. The boy was wearing white, sleeve-less, unzipped flak jacket with hood and seals on the bottom border with a black undershirt that had an orange fox on it, over mesh armor that had sleeves going halfway down his bicep as well as a black chain necklace around his neck. He also had white cargo sweat pants with a shuriken holster on each side, black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back, and bright blonde hair. His really distinguishing feature was the tattoos coving his arms. He had the kanji for Spring on his left wrist, armament on his right forearm, and knife on each bicep as well as what looked like a sleeve tattoo all the way up both arms made of odd symbols. Iruka recovered from the shock first.

"Yes, this is the classroom. You must be Naruto, please take a seat." He said, watching as the boy strolled in and sat at the only free desk next to Chouji and Kiba. Naruto noticed the looks that were being shot at him. Most of the guys seemed to be sizing him up, seeing if he was a threat whereas a lot of the girls seemed to be checking him out. The blonde's eyes scanned the room as he sat down, widening a fraction as they met familiar lavender eyes for the second time in his life. He looked at Hinata for a second before realizing who it was and waving, turning back around in his seat to face the front as Iruka cleared his throat, which caused him to miss some of the glares that the girls sent Hinata for knowing the new cutie. Hinata blushed and shrank in her seat. She had not been expecting to see Naruto again, least of all in her classroom.

"Okay, class, this test is a 2 part test, a written and a physical exam. I will now pass out the written part of the exam. Please stay quiet and don't look at other people's papers."

Naruto eyed the questions on his paper and sighed, written exams were unfair as there was no way to plan out EVERYTHING nor to react to how other factors might intervene. Despite this, he knew he would pass without breaking a sweat.

(1 and a half hours later, in the track field)

"The physical part of the exam will be administered now. We will have dashes, a full mile run, an accuracy test, and a small display of your best jutsu that you learned at school. Now as I call your name please come up and get in your starting position. Chouji Akimichi" Iruka began, working his way down the list until he called "Sasuke Uchiha"

Naruto perked up, a little bit. He had been sitting in the back being bored, ignoring the stares of the students. Naruto knew about the prowess of the Uchiha clan and wanted to see one in a little action. He watched as the dark-haired Uchiha took his starting position and on the whistle blasted forward, crossing the finish line in the fastest time yet. Naruto sighed as he was called and walked up to the starting position. Sasuke just gave him a condescending smirk as he passed, obviously thinking he had set the bar too high for the new student.

'If it's a challenge he wants…' the blonde thought to himself as the whistle sounded. He had deactivated his gravity seal right before the whistle blew, and shot forward. He cleared the 50 meters before the sound had finished echoing back, beating Sasuke by a full second. Said Uchiha was glaring daggers at the new arrival that was taking his limelight. This process repeated itself, with Naruto pulling ahead in every competition until finally they were at the jutsu part. Iruka explained that they must perform a jutsu that was taught at school, but if they chose to they could perform a 2nd one right after that to show off their skills.

"These are the jutsu taught at school, Naruto. Do you know any of them?" Iruka said, as Chouji did a clone jutsu and his family's Bubun Baika no Jutsu (Partial Body Growth). Naruto perused the list and nodded before handing it back and watching the students go through their jutsu. It finally came down to Sasuke, who used the replacement jutsu and his family's signature Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu, which he kept going for an impressive 3 seconds before allowing it to go out. Naruto stepped up and thought for a moment before smiling and made a simple clone. Upon dispelling it he flipped though a few hand seals and finished it with a clap causing water to come from a nearby spout, spinning around him and shielding him from the view of the students.

"Suiton: Suishouha" he said calmly as more water came from the spout and spun tighter around him, surrounding him in a dome before breaking off at the top in the form of a wave which he sent forward at the field. The class was surprised at the overall size of the jutsu, and the fact that Naruto wasn't even winded like Sasuke was from his jutsu. With that the test was ended, and the class made their way back to the room.

(In Iruka's classroom)

"Okay class, here are the results from the test. Some of you may have noticed the Chuunin observing from afar to rate your performances. The ratings for each portion of the test are from E to S. If you got lower than a C you did not graduate, I'm sorry" Iruka explained, handing out folded slips of paper with the student's name on them.

"Now, if you did not graduate then I…" Iruka was about to explain before Naruto slammed his hand down onto the desk and stood up with a huge grin.

"YES! I GRADUATED! WOOHOO!" Naruto cheered, doing a small dance as he waved his paper around. Some of the students who had failed were glaring at him. Others were laughing and cheering with him as they had graduated too. Even Sasuke was grinning a bit as the blonde's happiness was infectious.

"Calm down Naruto-san. Now as I was saying if you did not graduate then I need you to step out of the room as I assign teams to those who have. Thank you. Okay now I know that with Naruto we have one extra person than what we intended, however, lucky for us the number still works out. Team 6 will be…" began Iruka. Working his way down the list. Naruto memorized each name as it was called out and which Jounin was to be assigned to the group so that he could add them to a new deck of chakra cards that he was organizing to collect data on ninjas that he's heard about or worked with. He wrote names down as they came up:

Team 7 under Kakashi Hatake: Sasuke Uchiha, Sakura Haruno, and Kiba Inuzuka.

Team 8 under Kurenai Yuuhi: Hinata Hyuuga, Shino Aburame, and Naruto Uzumaki.

Team 10 under Asuma Sarutobi: Ino Yamanaka, Shikamaru Nara, Chouji Akamichi.

Once the team had been called out the jounin would show up shortly thereafter and take them to one of the training grounds. At least, that's how it was for Team 10 and 8. Naruto noticed a woman open the door after his team got called. She had black, shoulder-length hair, and very unique eyes that were red in color, with an additional ring. She wore red a mesh armor blouse with only the right sleeve visible. Over this was a very broad material which resembles bandages with a pattern on it similar to those of rose thorns. Her hands and upper thighs were wrapped in bandages and she wore the Konoha forehead protector and regular shinobi sandals. All in all she was incredibly beautiful, and Naruto's only slightly perverted side agreed with her outfit tremendously. Naruto was happy that he was on the same team as Hinata, and as he left with his team he smiled at said girl which seemed to be a bad idea, since she passed out as soon as the door closed behind them.

A/N: Woo. Finally done rewriting chapter 6. It took a much different turn at the end than I had before. I hope you liked it and that you will review. I'll begin writing the next chapter very soon.