Disclaimer: i don't own the story! It belongs to Hamp24 from fanfiction!

-------------------------------------------

(Timeskip- 4 years later, Naruto Age 10, nearing 11)

A young, blonde haired boy could be seen walking through the streets of Konoha. This young man was of good height for his age, 4 feet 8 inches tall. He was wearing a sleeveless orange hoodie with a blue t-shirt underneath and matching blue shorts. He also wore a blue wristband on each wrist and had on blue shinobi sandals to complete his outfit. On his face were six whisker marks, three on each cheek, that adorned his tanned skin. He had blonde hair that rivaled his hero, the Yondaime Hokage's, complete with the two bangs framing his face. All in All, he looked like a carbon copy of the Yondaime except he had violet eyes that he unknowingly got from his mother.

It had been four years since Naruto began his journey to becoming the best ninja he could be. His training was going great. Due to his sensei's training methods, Naruto had progressed well for his age. How could Naruto not be? He has had a personal Anbu teacher since the age of 6. When asked what he wanted to specialize in, Naruto told his sensei that being a well-rounded shinobi with abilities not lacking in any of the major categories was his goal. Being the best shinobi possible was the true goal and Tora knew deep down that Ninjutsu would become his favorite and the shinobi skill Naruto would be best at.

Naruto had learned that he had enormous chakra reserves for a boy his age and frankly for anyone of any age. Mostly due to the fox in his belly and the intricate seal placed on him that slowly siphoned off the Kyubi's chakra to mix into his own. Normally, when a person has a large chakra reserve, they would have terrible control over it due to the amount of chakra they have. Naruto was weird in that his control over his chakra was impressive, way too impressive for someone with his chakra level. It seemed he had luck on his side for both sides of the coin being dealt his way without any of their drawbacks.

Naruto's sensei had, from day one, drilled into him how to better use shuriken and kunai. Tora taught Naruto how to throw them, how to throw them accurately, and how to throw them with speed and power. Even though he wasn't the most precise of shinobi, he could still hit a bulls-eye 8 out of 10 times with relative ease.

After Naruto's seventh birthday, his sensei started to put him through physical exercises, still nothing that would halt the growth of his body. He had been given a workout to do and training weights to put on to build up his body. Naruto focused on speed as his main physical attribute. Naruto remembered reading in a book that "The fastest shinobi is usually the winning shinobi." Plus the Yondaime was one of the fastest ninjas in history and he wanted to surpass him. So Naruto mainly worked on being quicker than his opponents. That's not to say his attacks lacked any power behind them.

Naruto's progress in Taijutsu was minimal. That being due to his teacher not being proficient in it since Tora was a Ninjutsu specialist. So Naruto had only learned the katas for the basic academy style taught in the Academy. Despite that though, Naruto found ways to stress his abilities better and added his own mix to the style. That's what the academy style is for, just a basic set of katas which are malleable enough to change and suit one person better. Naruto could keep up with nearly any, if not all, Genin at this point if it came down to a Taijutsu fight and he still had three more years until he became one.

Naruto's progress in Genjutsu was kind of so-so. Naruto hadn't been able to use any of the Genjutsu taught to him by his sensei, yet. He is able to detect them pretty easily up to most B-ranks. Naruto could even break them with ease due to the enormity and potency of his chakra. Because Naruto's chakra had a presence alone. They discovered it when he first unlocked it. As the chakra came bursting out, Naruto created a small circle of spiderweb cracks in the ground beneath him. Naruto did not have any Genjutsu in his repertoire yet, but he was certain by the time he graduated, he'd be able to use the few he got tasked with learning.

Naruto truly shined in Ninjutsu. He was a genius in the art. And with his 3 chakra natures, it was easy for him to use most elemental Ninjutsu. Naruto first learned how to do the basic Academy three, even the Bunshin No Jutsu (Clone Technique). Though it did take a few chakra control lessons to get it down to the required three. Naruto had gotten so good at the Kawarimi no Jutsu (Body-replacement Technique) that he didn't need to use hand seals anymore. Tora even taught Naruto the Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) and it was by far his favorite. Naruto was even trying to find a way to make it battle available by improving the speed of it. He hadn't gotten it there yet but he would keep trying.

Naruto also learned the first chakra nature manipulations for all three of his chakra natures, turning the leaf into dirt, soaking it, and finally splitting it in half. Naruto hadn't accomplished the next step for either as they were much more difficult and would take more time to do. His first elemental jutsu learned was the ever versatile and defensive Doton: Doryuuheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall). It was a technique that allowed the user to create a wall of mud to use as a defense, either spitting the mud out of his mouth or using pre-existing earth. Naruto also learned another versatile earth jutsu called Doton: Moruragakure no Jutsu (Earth Style: Hiding like a mole Technique)which allowed him to travel underground to avoid attacks. Naruto could even attack whilst underground as well. Earth was easily his favorite element so far and his go-to element.

For Suiton, Naruto also learned two jutsus, both offensive. The first being Suiton: Hahronyu (Water Style: Tearing Torrent) which allows the user to create water that spirals in the user's hand. The water then fires at a high-speed towards the enemy. The other jutsu Naruto had learned was the basic Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water style: Water Bullet Jutsu). It's a basic water technique where the user spews forth water from his mouth in the form of a bullet like fashion. It's comparable to the Katon: Endan (Fire Style: Flame Bullet).

Naruto hadn't learned any wind style jutsu yet, electing to just use it to add a deadly edge to his weapons. Adding wind chakra flow, Naruto's weapons gained an increase in their cutting power. His kunai and shuriken became all the deadlier, although, since he hadn't mastered the elemental manipulation for wind fully, they weren't as deadly as they could be. It was still better than not having anything.

Naruto was happy with his progress in Ninjutsu. He may not have over 1000 jutsu like Konoha's Copy Ninja, but he did master the ones he had. So much so, that with his chakra control and the continual practice of his ninjutsu, he had shortened the hand seals down to one for his Shunshin (one-handed ram seal), mud wall and water bullet, to none for his others. This increased his speed in battle as he didn't have to waste movement on all those hand seals like others may have to.

At one point, about two years ago, Naruto received the shock of his young life.

(Flashback: 2 years ago, Naruto Age 8)

Naruto was on the training ground he'd been using since he was 6 and was nearing the end of his training for the day. He was finishing up with his Suiton jutsus. Naruto was training on top of the water while practicing so he could also further his chakra control. He was training topless on the water as to not get all of his clothes wet.

A little while later, Naruto began to run low on chakra from staying longer than normal. Normally, Naruto would notice when he was running low and stop as to not get Chakra exhaustion. But he was too into trying to master his jutsu that he didn't notice. So when Naruto went to draw more chakra, what he got terrified him.

Instead of his normal, calm chakra, it seemed Naruto pulled from another chakra source. A source that contained powerful, vile chakra that was extremely too much to handle for the blonde academy student. Naruto immediately stopped upon feeling the chakra and decided to end his training. As he looked down, he noticed black markings on his stomach that slowly began to fade away. Was that a seal? Why was there a seal on him? Did it hold his second chakra? Why does he have a second chakra anyway? Questions like that began to flutter through Naruto's mind and he definitely was going to figure out the answers.

After a month of researching, Naruto headed towards the Hokage Tower to speak with the Hokage, someone who could truly answer his questions. Since reading about some stuff, Naruto decided to test his theory to the one man who should know the most about it.

"Hey Jjii, thanks for seeing me. I have a few questions that I think only you can answer," said Naruto as he entered the Hokage's office after being let in by the secretary.

"Ah yes, it is great to see you, my dear boy. What can I do for you Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage with a smile after hugging Naruto.

With the greeting out-of-the-way, Naruto took a deep breath, held a serious face and said, "Am I the jinchuriki of the Kyubi?"

The smile on Hiruzen's aged face dropped immediately at the words, Jinchuriki and Kyubi. The Hokage immediately put on a serious face and questioned Naruto about how he came of knowledge about something like this.

Naruto replied, "It's the only explanation I could come up with after doing some research. It all makes sense from my whisker marks to the fact that many people in Konoha ignore me and tell others to stay away from the 'fox' brat. Not to mention the seal that appeared on my stomach when I was training with my shirt off. It appeared only after I had accidentally channeled some of the extremely powerful chakra. That's why I began researching on how a person could contain two chakras and the word that showed up was 'Jinchuriki'. A title for those who house a tailed beast and the only tailed beast that has been around Konoha since I was born is the Nine-Tailed Fox. It was the only logical explanation. And even now based on your reaction, I'm assuming I am correct." said Naruto sadly as he realized that he was the Kyubi, the same Kyubi that attacked Konoha eight years ago and the people of Konoha's treatment held true.

Hiruzen was heartbroken that Naruto had come to find out his status as Konoha's jinchuriki without anyone telling him. He hadn't wanted to tell him until he was at least a Chunin but it seemed that was too much to hope for. "Now Naruto-kun, yes you do house the Kyubi, but do not mistake that as being the fox itself. You are Naruto, not the Kyubi. It's no different from a sealing scroll and a kunai. Just because you seal a kunai into a scroll, that doesn't make the scroll a kunai. It's just a scroll with a kunai in it. The same as you although it's a very deadly kunai, with nine tails. Do you understand?"

Naruto, who had become saddened, cheered up slightly upon hearing that. Though he still had a few more questions, "Yeah I got it, but why was I chosen as the one that housed the Kyubi?"

"Because you were the only one the Yondaime could trust the village's safety to. You were a hero ever since birth as you protect Konoha more than any other person, including me, with being our jinchuriki."

"Who were my parents? Did they just hand me over to the Yondaime for that purpose and leave me alone to handle this by myself? Can you tell me about them yet?" questioned Naruto with a teary and hopeful face.

"Naruto-kun, do not think like that. I know personally that your parents were great ninjas and even better people. Whether they handed you over to the Yondaime to become the Jinchuriki of the Kyubi, I cannot say as it's an S-rank secret just like the knowledge of your parents. You are a precious jinchuriki and knowledge of your heritage could be harmful to Konoha in the long run. So it's being kept secret from everyone, even you. However, I can tell you that they fought valiantly in keeping the Fox from assaulting the village in that they gave their lives protecting it. They were both exemplary shinobi and even better friends. And like I said before, I can't give you information about them. Your parents had a lot of enemies and it would be unwise to have it somehow get out. Other villages may find out and want to attack Konoha just to get rid of you." said the Hokage with a stern face that left no room for argument. "But I promise, when you're strong enough, you'll definitely find out their names. Is that a deal?"

"Aw, they must have been awesome to have that many enemies and to give birth to the future greatest ninja ever! I can't wait for the day I get to find out who they are, I'm gonna hold you to your promise old man." said a now motivated Naruto. "One last question, can we go see the sunset from the top of the Hokage Mountain?" asked a now puppy-eyed Naruto.

The Hokage said nothing as a smile came to his face. He placed one hand on Naruto's shoulder and they were off in a shunshin to the top of the Yondaime's head. As they were watching the sunset, they couldn't help but notice how beautiful the village looked at the moment. They sat in relative silence until Naruto spoke up suddenly.

"I want to protect this peace," said Naruto in a low tone. So low, that the Hokage barely heard him.

"You want to do what Naruto-kun?"

"I want to protect this peace, this beautiful moment and how happy I can sense the village is. I want to protect it. I want to do everything in my power to keep this place like this. That's why I will be the Hokage, to keep this village safe. No matter what, I will protect my home and anyone who tries to harm it, whether they are my comrade, friend, or even my parent, I will show no mercy to them in defending it. Then I'll be able to show everyone that I'm Naruto, not the Kyubi. Then everyone will have to acknowledge me and start treating me like somebody, somebody important. I will become the Hokage and that's a promise. And I never go back on my word, that's my nindo (ninja way)." spoke a highly passionate Naruto.

The Hokage couldn't speak as he saw the face of the Shodai appear in Naruto's place during his speech. Naruto had just invoked in him the same amount of passion he had when Hashirama told him what it was to become the Hokage. It was incredible to see, the "Will of Fire" burned brightest in this eight-year-old child and he couldn't keep the smile off his aged face.

"Indeed you will Naruto, Indeed you will," thought Hiruzen to himself and he finished watching the sunset with Naruto.

(Flashback end)

Ever since that day, Naruto's training seemed to amplify due to the effort he put into becoming better. He took things more seriously and trained harder every day. Despite that, he still made time for his friends. Mainly through the Academy since they all entered at the age of 6.

In the academy though, Naruto decided that he didn't need to show all of his abilities. Thus he established himself as one of the middle students in his class. He didn't feel it necessary to become the Rookie of the year or anything for that matter as it meant nothing to him. Plus he had read that information was one of the most powerful tools a shinobi could use, so he hid his power to not show too much.

Naruto knew that he was by far the strongest of his age group even if no one else did. He was far more advanced than his fellow classmates, even Sasuke. But Naruto knew that if Sasuke ever awoke his Sharingan, he could catch up to Naruto quickly. But what Naruto didn't know was that he had his own trump card revealed that afternoon.

After finishing his day at the Academy, Naruto made his way to the training ground he had frequented since 6. Upon noticing that he was early, Naruto decided he'd get started anyway. After placing on his training weights, he began to go through a few physical exercises before his sensei arrived. After about an hour of just training, Naruto sensed his sensei approaching. He immediately stopped what he was doing to see what was on the agenda for the week.

"Hello Naruto, how are you today," said Tora upon arriving. After Naruto greeted back in kind, he continued with "Now Naruto, your training has come out fantastic and as your sensei, I couldn't be prouder. With that being said, I have a new jutsu for you to learn and I think you'll be able to use it."

Naruto began to immediately get excited at the prospect of learning a new jutsu. He would have another Jutsu to add to his arsenal and it would further increase his battle capabilities.

"Are you ready? Good, here we go. This jutsu is an advanced version of the Bunshin no Jutsu (Clone Technique) where you'll be making a clone of yourself. Although unlike the standard clone, this will be a physical clone. With that in mind, the hand seals for the jutsu are tiger, dog, snake. Now you'll have to channel a bit of chakra into it as it does have a higher cost. Go ahead, try it until you get it." said Tora as he held an anxious air about him awaiting the results.

Naruto remembered the hand seals easily and did them slowly one at a time. When he finished, he channeled a lot of chakra into the jutsu while thinking of making a clone of himself. When nothing occurred, Naruto looked confused for a moment and thought he did it wrong until his sensei told him to try again as it was difficult to do. With a few pointers here and there from his sensei and an hour of steady attempts of the jutsu, Naruto finally got a result.

An exhausted Naruto, for the hundredth time in the past hour, flew through the hand seals for the jutsu and channeled a bit of chakra into it. Unlike other times, Naruto felt a pull at the back of his neck but it went away as soon as it came. Thinking he should tell his sensei, Naruto looked up to his sensei but his sensei was pointing behind him.

Turning around, Naruto looked to see what his sensei was pointing at. He gasped at the sight of another him that had turned around at the same moment and gasped as well. It was him and they seemed to mask each other perfectly. As if he was staring at a mirror.

"It's Me!" shouted both Narutos at the same time. "You look awesome. This is sooo cool!" said both Narutos at the same time. They both then proceeded to get to know one another and found out they liked the same things ironically.

An amused Tora looked at the sight of Naruto and his interaction with his clone but when they started talking about ramen, he thought it had gone far enough.

"Naruto...Naruto...Naruto!", both Narutos got scared at the sight of their Sensei having that creepy ghost teller light cast upon him. They were wondering where he pulled that flashlight from to get such lighting. "Now Naruto, you don't realize that what you have just done has only been accomplished by two people in the history of Konoha."

"Making a clone of myself? I've seen other people make clones of themselves all the time, how could only two people have done it?" questioned one of the Narutos since he thought it was a bunch of bull.

Tora chuckled a little as he said, "Naruto, that clone jutsu you used is the Moku Bunshin No Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique). It's a solid clone of oneself made of wood. It can only be accomplished by those that have the Kekkai Genkai made famous by the Shodaime Hokage, Mokuton." At this, both Narutos' jaws hit the floor. This news surprised them since they knew all about the bloodline having seen it in many books. The ability to converts one's chakra into life. Naruto was truly happy that he was connected to someone in some way. And a Hokage to boot.

With this bloodline, it meant Naruto's lineage stemmed from the First Hokage. He was a Senju. He had a clan. A family. Naruto and his clone then proceeded to start celebrating together, completely forgetting their earlier exhaustion. "Does that mean I'm a Senju sensei? It's the only way right, bloodlines can only be passed down to those only with the same blood right?"

After receiving a nod from his sensei, Naruto continued in his moment of euphoria with dances and the whistling of a tune. He was Naruto Senju. He was going to put the Senju Clan crest on his back and wear it proud. Throughout Naruto's jumps for joy, he didn't notice the garden of flowers that would spring up underneath him every time he landed as they were responding to his happiness.

Even though Tora was happy for the new Senju, he still noticed a few flaws in Naruto's jutsu and as a sort of perfectionist, he pointed them out. "Naruto, you did make a wood clone of yourself but it's not perfect." After seeing both Narutos' confused looks, Tora elaborated, "Well first off, your clone looks like a puppet, that's not supposed to happen. Secondly, his arm is reminiscent of tree bark, definitely not supposed to happen. And thirdly, he's not even the same height as you. The clone must be the same, he should look like a perfect copy of you down to every detail. Just like a transformation, if it's not done properly the enemy will immediately see through the rouse and use that to their advantage."

After a nod of agreement from Naruto, Tora began to say his goodbye for the week, "Now that you have a new jutsu, I want you to practice making it perfect for the week along with the other exercises you normally do. When you complete the jutsu, I'll show you another Mokuton jutsu to add to your list. Now I'm off to have a chat with Hokage-sama so I will see you later. Oh and Naruto, the Senju clan is a feared clan on equal par with the Uchiha clan. Especially Hashirama because of his Mokuton abilities. So for now, refrain from telling or showing anyone your Mokuton as it could lead to dire consequences. Got it?" After another nod from Naruto. Tora bid him farewell and whisked away to meet with the Hokage.

(Hokage Tower)

The Hokage had been spying on Naruto the entire time through his crystal ball and as Tora came out of his floorboard said, "So Naruto-kun has the Mokuton I see?" said the Hokage with a knowing smile.

"You don't seem at all surprised by that news Hokage-sama, did you know he had it all along even before you asked me to test it?"

Hiruzen ended watching Naruto as he took a drag from his pipe. After blowing out the smoke, he stated, "I've had my suspicions for a while. When Naruto was six years old, I noticed that when he was sad, the vegetation around Konoha would dim slightly and when he was happy, it would be abuzz with life and grow exponentially more vibrant. I had only seen that in one other person, that person being Hashirama-sensei. And that was only because of his connection to nature via his Mokuton. So I had always believed he would be able to use it, I just wanted to wait till he was mature enough to know not to blab it out for the world to know. Why do you think I chose you to train him? There's no one better to help him learn how to harness his bloodline better than you."

"Of course Hokage-sama, that seemed like the best option and I am the most inclined to teach Naruto about his Mokuton. I will teach him all I can about it in the coming years before his graduation and team placement under his sensei. Also, Naruto has decided he wants to use the Senju surname to honor his connection to Hashirama. He reasoned that being able to use Hashirama's abilities must make him apart of his family so he wanted to use his clan's name as his own."

"Of course he can, I'm sure Tsunade-chan would want to hear of this since she used to be the last remaining Senju, though it is hard to get in touch with her these days ever since she left the village," replied Hiruzen.

"Yes indeed, I'm sure she would enjoy knowing that she has family left. Maybe it'd be enough to get her to return. We can only hope though, if that is all Hokage-sama?" asked Tora as he began to sink back into the floor.

"Yes yes of course, until next week," said Hiruzen as he took another drag from his pipe. "Things are looking up around here. I hope it's not bad, allowing Naruto usage of that last name. I'll be able to handle anything. Today has been good." thought the old Hokage but he immediately regretted that thought as he saw his secretary come in with a huge stack of paperwork. "I just had to think that huh, bring it on Paperwork."

The next day, we find Naruto headed to the academy. Naruto was running a little late as had a long day yesterday. From revealing his bloodline to Tora, to his name change, to even the long process of putting the Senju clan emblem on the back of his hooded jacket. He soon arrived and knocked on the door to his class. After a moment, a voice was heard saying 'Come in'. Naruto then strolled into class.

As he walked in he saw his teacher, Iruka Umino, staring at him intently. Iruka was a man of average height and build. He had black hair that he kept in a ponytail and a horizontal scar across his nose. He wore the standard chunin outfit of Konoha complete with a blue headband tied around his forehead. Iruka is a kind-heartened man, despite that though, upon first seeing Naruto treated him with indifference like most. But after a while, Iruka became more friendly towards Naruto after seeing his interactions with his friends and actually talking to him himself. Despite Naruto becoming his favorite student, Iruka still took no favoritism as he was ready to scold Naruto for his tardy.

"Naruto, why are you 15 minutes late to class today?"

"Sorry Iruka-sensei, I had a crazy day yesterday, I found out I'm from a clan," said Naruto.

Naruto was not the most popular kid in school. But everyone that got to know the gentle boy knew how amazing a person he was. They also knew that Naruto was a clan-less orphan. So when he stated that he was from a clan, everyone's attention glued on to him as to find out which one. Upon noticing the looks from everyone, Naruto decided to elaborate as he turned around to show off his clan crest before speaking, "I'm a member of the Senju clan, from now on, just call me Naruto Senju."

Normally such an announcement would be ludicrous but the sealed note from the Hokage with approval lessened the doubts to nil. Iruka read the note and told the class that the Hokage himself acknowledged Naruto's belonging to the clan. Immediately when Iruka said Naruto was a Senju, the classroom was abuzz with commotion.

"The Senju clan was the strongest in Konoha!"

"Naruto's a Senju?!"

"Damn, he just got hotter"

"Troublesome."

Amid all the commotion, Iruka fainted upon hearing the shocking news from Naruto. Sasuke becomes slightly interested in Naruto. Sasuke knows all about the history of his clan and the Senju clan and the rivalry between Hashirama and Madara. Once Iruka got up from his dazed state and settled down the class, it was time for taijutsu sparring. After a few fights and a give up from Shikamaru, It came as no surprise that Naruto would be challenged by Sasuke, which he accepted.

Thus we have it, Uchiha Vs Senju. Of course, everyone's eyes became glued to the spar. Sasuke got into the Uchiha Clan's Interceptor Fist as Naruto took up his slightly modified Academy stance. With a quick shout of Hajime, the battle was on. Despite the signal to start, neither Sasuke or Naruto moved for about a minute. That changed when a leaf landed on the mat and both fighters took that as the signal to begin and sprinted at each other.

Sasuke started off with a few quick jabs attacking Naruto in different places but grew surprised when Naruto seemed to dodge them effortlessly. Upon seeing this, Sasuke decided to kick it up a notch and throw in kicks with his punches to catch Naruto off guard. But despite all those strikes, in the end, Naruto backflipped away from a kick without taking one hit. Sasuke couldn't believe it.

(With the spectators)

Shikamaru Nara muttered a "troublesome", upon being questioned by Ino for why he said it, he decided to explain, "I knew Naruto was better than he let on. I had my suspicions since I first met him 4 years ago at the park. Plus, in all his other spars he would rarely get hit as well. It sometimes looked as if he let himself be hit. Even with that, they were only light grazes at best. He's way to good for any of us, including Sasuke at the moment."

"How can that be, I thought Sasuke was the best in our class?" asked a confused Ino.

"Naruto is stronger than what he let be known. Why is he showing us his power now? Because he has a clan to represent." spoke Shino logically.

"How can Naruto be stronger than Sasuke-kun? Sasuke-kun is the best!" yelled Sakura, who got cheers of agreement from a few fangirls nearby.

"Are you sure Naruto's that strong? He could just be getting lucky" asked a confused Kiba, who was slowly watching himself become third best in Taijutsu.

"It's too much work to explain it," said Shikamaru as he proceeded to lay down and close his eyes.

"Lazy ass," thought everyone.

(Back to the Spar)

Sasuke had become increasingly frustrated at not being able to touch Naruto. As a result, his style got a little sloppy and Naruto took advantage. Sasuke threw a very predictable straightforward punch at Naruto and Naruto surprised him when he grabbed his wrist. Deciding that at least he and Naruto finally touched during the spar, Sasuke decided to continue pressing forward with a high kick to Naruto's chin. Just like his punch, his kick was also caught by Naruto.

Sasuke barely caught Naruto's grin as he soon found himself on his back after a leg sweep from Naruto. Sasuke then felt a kick in the ribs from Naruto that sent him skidding across the mat a few feet.

Gasps were heard at the quick display of prowess from Naruto. Naruto handled Sasuke in their last exchange and frankly the spar. But Sasuke wasn't done. After catching his breath, he quickly got up and elected to come in with a feint left hook that disguised a knee strike to Naruto's gut. But it was all for not as he was on the receiving end of a vicious elbow to his knee from Naruto, that placed his leg right back down. Then Sasuke felt the quickest two punches he had ever received since joining the Academy.

From the pain in his knee to the momentary daze from the punches, Sasuke was left wide open for Naruto. Seeing Sasuke's stunned state, Naruto decided to end the spar with a follow-up uppercut to the stomach that doubled over Sasuke and finally with a quick elbow strike to the back of the neck to send Sasuke off into unconsciousness.

Everyone became shocked at the display because up until that point, Naruto never showed that level of skill before. He was good but it was always believed that Sasuke was the best. Not after that brutal and quick defeat. Naruto was incredible and was now being shown in a new light. It seemed there was more to the kind boy they had come to know.

What Naruto didn't know was that ass kicking he handed Sasuke just now would be the spark he needed to activate his Sharingan. Sasuke had his Sharingan since he was 6 years old from the massacre of his clan. He just needed enough of a catalyst to make them spring forth again. And that was more than enough.

Now, Sasuke would train harder than ever. Not to kill Itachi, but to get on the same level as Senju Naruto. And with his Sharingan now activated, he was going to try to close that gap.

(Later That Day)

When the Academy closed that day, since it was one of Naruto's off days for training, he decided to head to his favorite restaurant, Ichiraku's. He wanted to catch up with his first friends outside of the Hokage and devour his weekly ramen.

As Naruto pushed back the flap of the restaurant, he yelled, "Hey old man! One Large Miso Ramen please!"

"Ahh, Naruto, how is my favorite customer doing these days, you look well," said Teuchi as he began to make Naruto's dish.

"Old man, I feel great, I learned something about myself the other day. Something Big!"

As Teuchi finished Naruto's ramen, he handed it off to Ayame who asked: "And what would that be Naruto-kun?"

"First off Ayame-chan, did I ever tell you that having a beautiful girl, like yourself, bring me ramen is probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen. It's like a dream really," said Naruto as he began to slurp his noodles unaware of Ayame's blushing face.

"Hehe thank you Naruto-kun, now tell us about your big news," said Ayame as she fought down her blush.

"Oh right," said Naruto as he had somehow gotten to his second bowl of Ramen. Where did he get that second bowl from? "Yesterday, I found out that I am apart of a clan, the Senju clan. Can you believe it? Naruto Senju, Future Hokage of Konoha and Ramen Connoisseur. Believe it."

Both Ayame and Teuchi froze at Naruto's declaration. Senju, as in related to Hashirama and Tobirama Senju. The first two Hokages, Senju? Their Naruto, the same Naruto they had met only four years ago. They were so into their thoughts that they didn't register when Naruto said goodbye to them after finishing his third bowl of ramen. Wait, third bowl? When did he get 3 bowls of ramen, Ayame only brought one?

(Later That Day)

As Naruto was walking home, he happened to overhear a civilian say something that put a smile on his face.

"Did you hear, that kid is a Senju and I heard he defeated the Uchiha prodigy with ease today. Maybe that boy is not the demon fox. Maybe he really is just a kid. For him to beat the Uchiha kid, that must make him a genius as well right? To be from the famed Senju clan, he could be. I don't want to get ahead of myself so I'll just wait until I hear more about him."

Overhearing that conversation, Naruto couldn't help but be happy. The process of getting Konoha to see him as him was starting. It was only one person today but everyone had to start somewhere right?