Disclaimer:  I don’t own Naruto or any of the characters; this is purely for enjoyment, so deal with it already.

“Musashi-sama, are you sure you want to use your own son for this? He could die!” asked the Third Hokage of his successor.

“As Fourth Hokage I cannot ask another family to give their child for something so dangerous.”

“But you already lost your wife this afternoon during child birth, and now to risk you son? Not to mention the fact that this could kill you too.”

“I know, don’t try to talk me out of this, it is for the good of the village. The Kyubi must be stopped.”

“I understand that but . . .” the Third Hokage began to protest, but a fierce glare from the Fourth Hokage told him to stop.

“I want you to do one thing for me. If I die, take care of my son. I don’t want anyone to know who he really is. It must be a secret what he will soon carry.”

“I will do as you wish but you shouldn’t bother telling me this, I know you’re going to live” the old man Third Hokage said.

The Fourth smiled at the old man before he rushed out of his office to have what would hopefully be the final battle.

He ran at full speed toward the battleground. Luckily the battle had been held outside of the village. And yet the death toll was still enormous.

He stopped a good distance from the Kyubi. His shinobi were still doing a fair job occupying the beast.

He bit into his thumb, “Gamabunta my old friend, I think I’m going to need your help tonight.” He then began a familiar sequence of hand seals, “Kuchiyose no Jutsu!” he called out and his hand struck the ground, calling forth the great toad boss, Gamabunta.

He stood atop the giant toad’s head now, he was standing well above the treetops as a result. “Good to see you, old friend.”

The giant toad below him puffed on his pipe a little, “What the hell is that thing?”

“That would be the Kyubi, and I need your help. I want to seal that beast up.”

“Very well, I’ll do what I can to keep it occupied,” said the toad boss as he leapt into the air, drawing his toad blade.

Musashi was having trouble staying on top of the toad’s head because of the battle, but in order for his seal to work he’d have to be close to the Kyubi. He held in his hand only a single scroll and using his blood he drew a line down the center. He then did some intricate movements with it before rolling it up and beginning a long series of hand seals.

The boss toad was losing to the Kyubi. He now had a very nasty gash running through his eyebrow and down his cheek. He also had several new cuts and scratches.  Where as the Kyubi didn’t look as though it had been scratched yet. It did appear pissed off though. 

Musashi had finally finished his work. He had to do over one thousand-hand seals that were required. Musashi leapt off the toad’s head and landed on top of the Kyubi’s head. He slammed the scroll down between the Kyubi’s eyes. It was as though a giant vortex had opened up beneath the scroll and it was sucking in the Kyubi entirely and quickly.

Once the Kyubi had vanished and the vortex closed he began to fall to the ground, scroll still in hand. Luckily the boss toad caught him.

“Hurry, get me back to the Hokage tower Gamabunta!” Musashi ordered. “This scroll won’t hold it for long, we’ve got to hurry.”

Gamabunta, though injured, turned and leapt toward the village. It only took him about ten leaps for him to arrive.

Musashi tiredly leapt off of Gamabunta’s head and ran into the holy room that had been prepared for him. He stood before his son, “Naruto, I hope you live through this, and I hope someday you can forgive me for the terrible burden I am giving you to carry.”

He then painted several seals on Naruto’s stomach with his own blood. He once again began the hand seals but in reverse order.  He ended by pressing the scroll on top of his son’s stomach. The blood painted on Naruto’s stomach took on a bright red glow and seemed to open in the center into blackness. The scroll began to spit the Kyubi back out again but this time right into Naruto’s body. Once the Kyubi was all the way in, the red blood swirled over the black void creating an impenetrable cage. The Kyubi howled in rage a few times and bashed against the cage attempting to escape, but it was no good.  The skin started to close around the Kyubi.  The red glowing blood stayed on top of the skin and then turned black as it burned itself in.   The baby boy scream and wailed in pain. But calmed soon enough.

Musashi sat back from the boy, he was breathing heavily, but he succeeded. His son had survived, but now carried a great burden. He also survived, which meant that his son wouldn’t have to grow up without a father.

“Naruto, wake up you lazy ass,” a loud booming voice called.

Naruto just rolled over and pulled a pillow over his head.

The voice called again, this time closer, “Naruto, if you don’t get your ass out of bed right this instant your going to regret it.”

Naruto groaned, “Go away!”

“Boy if you don’t get out of bed I’m going to have to teach you a lesson,” the voice said from right next to Naruto’s head.

“Ah damn it dad, can’t I get any freaking sleep around here?” asked Naruto as he rolled to face his father.

“You’re going to wake your ass up now, you have your genin exams today and you’re going to pass!” said the man next the Naruto.

Naruto suddenly perked up, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot.”

“Now hurry up and we’ll go get some ramen for breakfast.” said the man with a big smile. He was proud of his son this day.

Naruto jumped up off his futon and began to dress himself. He put on simple black Shinobi pants and an orange t-shirt, over which he put on an orange and black jacket with the Uzumaki clan symbol on the back.

Naruto was a little over twelve now and one of the more popular kids at school, mostly because of who his father was. But it did help that he was one of the stronger students at the school, even if he was one of the shortest. 

Naruto sometimes wondered about his height because his father was much taller than many of the men in the village. Naruto’s father had always told him that he was a late bloomer in the height category. ‘Why, I didn’t grow until I was 17, and then in two weeks I grew almost 8 inches to be the fine height you see me at today.’ his father would always say. Naruto was counting on that to be true otherwise he’d always be the shortest.

Naruto was walking with his father. Most of the town pleasantly waved hello to them. Naruto never told his father about this, but sometimes if he was walking by himself he would get some dirty glances from some of the adults. Naruto never understood or really cared, it didn’t bother him that much because he was happy with his life.

Naruto’s father always wore the same thing everyday. He had a black Jounin uniform with his Hokage’s robes over it. And he was never seen wearing his official Hokage’s headdress.

He and his father sat together at Ichiraku eating ramen quickly. When Naruto was younger and didn’t want to eat, his father and him would make a game of it. It was a simple game to see who could eat the most. And now almost every time they ate ramen that would be the game, if Naruto won his father would teach him something new that the school didn’t teach. Naruto couldn’t really out-eat his father so sometimes his father would let him win. Secretly though his father was worried about what would happen when Naruto really could out-eat him.

After eating and winning, Naruto was extremely excited and feeling very confident, “So what are you going to teach me this time?”

“I don’t know. I’ll tell you what, pass your exam today and I’ll teach you something extra special. Fail, and I will teach you something boring.”

“Deal!” said Naruto jumping up and down as he and his father walked down the street toward the Shinobi Academy.

“Well Kiddo, good luck and I’ll see you here after school. And remember, no matter what, I love you.”

Naruto looked embarrassed for a moment, “Dad, don’t say that kind of thing around here, you don’t know who might be listening.” Naruto’s eyes scanned his surroundings for spies.

Naruto’s father imitated his son’s action, “Right, sorry I forget that sometimes.”

“It’s alright dad, it happens, even to me,” Naruto said happily and the he leaned in close to his father and whispered in his ear, “I love you too dad.” He then promptly turned and ran into his school.

Naruto entered the classroom with his usual flare for dramatics. “Good morning!  The future Hokage, has arrived, please hold your applause.”

A few students laughed at Naruto’s joke, some just shook their heads in disbelief. 

Then Naruto saw the girl of his dreams, tall with flowing pink hair and emerald green eyes that just captured you. And then he saw her fawning over Sasuke, his one and only rival.

“Hi Sakura-chan,” said Naruto in a high-pitched happy voice as he took his seat next to Sakura.

Sakura only briefly looked at Naruto and then looked back to Sasuke without saying anything.

And then to Naruto’s annoyance Ino had to arrive, “Naruto-kun, good morning!”  She then rushed over to start jabbering in his ear about things he didn’t really want to hear anyway.

Irony is a funny and terrible thing sometimes, especially for Naruto. Naruto likes Sakura and doesn’t care for Ino.  Sasuke likes Ino, though he never shows it, and doesn’t care for Sakura. Naruto and Sasuke are rivals and as such they drive each other crazy by not letting the other have the one they really want.

It also didn’t help that Sasuke’s and Naruto’s rivalry was intensified when Naruto’s father had been force to kill Sasuke’s brother after his brother went nuts and killed a few of Sasuke’s relatives. Sasuke wasn’t angry so much that his brother was dead, he was more angry that he didn’t get to kill Itachi himself.

When Iruka-sensei finally entered the classroom all the students were in their seats. “Okay, everybody ready? Today is the Genin exams. You’ll be tested on your basics of being a shinobi. This includes but is not limited to, weapons skill, Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu. Your tests will be conducted on an individual basis. There are three different examiners for this test: Ibisu-sensei, Yumi-sensei, and myself. Each examiner will be testing different areas. I will be testing your Ninjutsu and Genjutsu.  Ibisu-sensei will be testing your weapons skills, including basic trap construction. And Yumi-sensei will be testing your Taijutsu. Any questions before we begin?”

Not one student raised their hand in the air.

“Very well then lets begin,” said Iruka as held up a sheet of paper, “This is the time table for each section of the exam. You will only have sixty minutes to complete each section of the exam. Good luck!” He then posted the exam schedule to the wall.

Naruto knew it would be a long day for him, because so many students were taking the exam. There were nine different one-hour slots for the different teachers. And each teacher would be grading two students at once.

Naruto’s schedule was either going to be a relief or a nightmare. He had two exams in the first two hours, both of which he was paired with Sasuke. His first exam was Ninjutsu and Genjutsu with Iruka-sensei, probably his most difficult area. His second exam was with Ibisu-sensei doing weapons and traps, maybe his second strongest area.  He then had a two-hour break, which he would need because his third exam was Taijutsu and he was paired with Akemichi Choji.

Naruto entered his first exam where he would face Iruka’s gauntlet, or at least that was what his dad called it. 

First he had to use the basic Genjutsu Henge. From there he was to demonstrate as many Genjutsu as he could, each one was worth and extra half a point.  Naruto only knew about four other Genjutsu, but he knew them very well.

Second, he had to use his Ninjutsu. Specifically the one Ninjutsu that he hated, Bunshin. He performed the Bunshin, it wasn’t very good, but it passed. And then again he had to use as many Ninjutsu as he could for extra points. Luckily for Naruto, his Ninjutsu list was long thanks to his endless appetite for ramen. He did about twenty additional Ninjutsu and he did them very well.  He was smart though to hold his best techniques back, his father always told him it was good to have a few tricks saved for a rainy day.

Sasuke on the other hand was perfect, which only served to irritate Naruto. His Henge was great, but to Naruto’s relief, he only knew one other Gengutsu and it wasn’t very impressive. His Ninjutsu on the other hand was outstanding. He must have used almost every Katon no Jutsu in the book, including a few highly advanced ones. Naruto knew that he must have been hiding some others because the ones he used seemed way too easy for him. In the end he only did as many Ninjutsu as Naruto did.

The next exam with Ibisu-sensei was fairly easy. He only wanted to see the most rudimentary traps. Naruto’s father had informed him well of Ibisu’s fanaticism for the basics, ‘perfect basics will lead to perfect performance.’ Naruto breezed through the exam.

To Naruto’s pleasure, this was one place where Sasuke didn’t do so well, he made several very elaborate traps that Ibisu hated. He yelled at Sasuke for a good fifteen minutes of the exam for making something that would never be able to be used in the field of combat because it would take far too long to build.

Naruto felt at ease when he’d finished the exams that morning.  He knew that he wasn’t perfect but he did a pretty good job, at least on par with Sasuke’s scores. Naruto enjoyed his two-hour’s of rest before his final exam in Taijutsu.

The Taijutsu exam was a joke to Naruto. He and Choji had to spar against each other. Naruto was surprised by Choji’s ability in Taijutsu. The two were evenly matched in Taijutsu. Naruto’s father had taught him the family Taijutsu, it was a combination between Muay Tai Kickboxing and Shoto-kan Karate.  It wasn’t the prettiest style but it was extremely effective, especially it’s method of blocking attacks. Rather than using your hands to just move the attack out of the way, the defender would aim to injure the attacking body part. For example, if you punched, you’d block the punch by elbowing the wrist of the attacker in the hopes of breaking the wrist. Now because this was just for practice, Naruto didn’t aim to injure but simple to inflict a little pain to make Choji think twice about attacking.

Naruto finished all his exams and then returned to the main classroom to wait for the result of the exam. Only one other person had finish his exams it seemed.

“Hey Shikamaru, you finished already?”

“Yeah, exams are so troublesome.”

“Yeah, I know what you mean,” said Naruto and he took a seat next to Shikamaru.

“Whom did you spar against?”

“Choji, he’s pretty good, I was really surprised. Especially because of his ‘big bones’ you know?”

Shikamaru had always defended Choji and they were best friends for it. Naruto had always respected Shikamaru for that and so chose to use phrases like ‘big boned’ instead of ‘fat ass.’

“Yeah, his clan is famous for their Taijutsu skills. You should see him if he’s taken one of the Akemichi pills. That is really something amazing to see.”

“Really? Cool, so who did you spar?”

“Oh, stupid Sasuke, he takes this stuff way to seriously, he’s so troublesome.” said Shikamaru much to Naruto’s pleasure.

They continued to chat until the room had completely filled up.

Iruka walked in flanked by Yumi-sensei and Ibisu-sensei.

“This year we had many attempt the exam but only nine passed. Please come forward when I read your name:  Uchiha Sasuke, Yamanaka Ino, Haruno Sakura, Nara Shikamaru, Inuzuka Kiba, Hyuga Hinata, Uzimaki Naruto, and Akemichi Choji. To the rest of you, better luck next time. For those of you who passed, congratulations. You will have interviews with the Hokage in one week, after which your team will be selected.”

Naruto happily stood and walked to the front of the classroom to join his fellow graduates. He proudly received his leaf forehead protector. Then he ran out of the building to show his father who should have been waiting by then.

Naruto was very happy to see his father waiting for him in front of the school.

He ran to him shouting, “I passed! I passed!” And then he jumped into his father’s arms for a big hug.

“Congratulations, so what do you want for a celebration dinner?”

“Do you even have to ask? I want ramen of course!”

“Oh, of course you do.”

“And don’t you forget our deal! You promised to teach me a really good technique,” said Naruto, he was holding his father to his word.

“I know, in fact if you beat me tonight, I’ll teach you two techniques and I’ll tell you a story, how’s that sound?”

“You’re on!” said Naruto excitedly.