(Timeskip- 3 years later, Naruto age 13, nearing 14)

Today was the day, Naruto would finally become a shinobi of Konoha. A prepared Naruto was ready for the genin exam today. It had been a journey that started with him crying into the Hokage's robes when he was six up to this very moment now. And boy Naruto was feeling good.

Naruto had grown to a nice height of 5 foot 4 inches tall. He even changed his wardrobe due to him becoming an actual shinobi today. Naruto wore a black, unzipped tracksuit with three orange stripes on each sleeve with a mesh shirt on underneath. To finish his outfit, he wore black pants and black sandals. His hair was still identical to the Yondaime's and his face matured more to show his age.

Naruto had many good things going for him at this point. He was handsome, smart, and quite powerful for his age. His training was still progressing at a great rate. Naruto yielded incredible results over the years under the tutelage of Tora, his Anbu sensei. Naruto felt on top of the world and was ready for whatever the shinobi world had in store for him.

Naruto's chakra reserves only increased at this point. He could easily throw around jutsu after jutsu without feeling the usual effects of exhaustion like other ninjas. Naruto was a chakra monster and it didn't help that his chakra control had only gotten better. It wasn't high enough to use something like Iryo Ninjutsu (Medical Ninja Techniques), which require precise chakra control, but it wasn't far off from it either.

Naruto also found time to delve into Fuinjutsu (Sealing Techniques). The Sandaime was messing around with Naruto after Naruto claimed to want to surpass the Yondaime. Hiruzen told him that since the Yondaime was a sealing master and if Naruto wanted to truly surpass him, he'd have to become one as well. He didn't expect Naruto to ask him for lessons right after but was sort of happy he did. They met twice a month since the Hokage was a busy man, but Naruto had done well. His handwriting had become perfect, well at least good enough by Fuinjutsu standards. There were ten levels of Fuinjutsu and Naruto was on level two, which dealt with storage seals and the efficiency of making them as storage seals were one of the simplest seals. He had gotten it down to 45 seconds when making one and couldn't progress to the next level until he got it below 30 seconds.

Due to his sensei's training regimen, Naruto honed the shinobi basics until he got them down to near perfection. His accuracy with using and throwing shuriken/kunai became second nature to him. He was now just as accurate on the run, blindfolded, or in midair as he was standing still. It was a perfect 10 of 10 on the bulls-eye.

Naruto's Taijutsu blossomed well along with his shuriken skills. Despite still only using his modified Academy style, he was still formidable in it. His speed nearly doubled with all the exercises he did and the heavier training weights he was now using. Naruto learned to even add chakra to his strikes to make them slightly more powerful. Now it wasn't to the extreme of one of the famed Tsunade Senju punches but it definitely bolstered his attack strength. Tora had said that in a flat-out Taijutsu fight, Naruto could best most chunin at his current level.

Genjutsu progressed nicely for Naruto as well. He finally got down the two Genjutsu his sensei taught him. One of those being Magen: Jigoku Koka no Jutsu (Demonic Illusion: Descending Hell Technique), which creates the illusion of a huge fireball falling from the sky toward the target. It is only a C rank and pretty easy to spot and dispel. His second Genjutsu was definitely more effective than his first one, the Nehan Shoja no Jutsu (Temple of Nirvana Technique) which generates sleep-inducing, imaginary white feathers that upon being seen make the target fall into a tranquil state of slumber. When it comes to spotting Genjutsu, Naruto had gotten better and his ability to break them had moved up to a few A ranks. He was fine with that at the moment.

Like always, Naruto's ninjutsu progressed the most, so much so that he seemed like a specialist. Yet and still, Naruto managed to add a lot of new ninjutsu to his arsenal, though most were for his, still hidden, Mokuton.

Naruto finally got his Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) battle ready. There were no leaves or smoke that normally signals a shunshin, just a simple after image. It couldn't catch keen-eyed or chunin level opponents off guard but it was still something at least.

On to his element progression, for Doton, Naruto added only one new jutsu to his list. That jutsu being the powerful Doton: Doryuudan (Earth Style: Earth Dragon Bullet) which creates a mud dragon, which proceeds to rapid fire mud bullets at a target. Naruto still favored Doton over Suiton and Futon and as such, used them the most.

For Suiton, Naruto added another B rank like his earth dragon. The Suiton: Suigadan (Water Fang Bullet),which creates a powerful liquid mass brought forth from the water as it becomes compacted and adds a spinning motion to increase damage. It was a great jutsu and one that attacked an opponent in a 360 around them with multiple rising fang-like water attacks.

In Futon, Naruto finally learned a jutsu for his third element. It was simple but a great technique that would grow as Naruto grew. Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough) was a technique that created a sudden gust of wind that with enough skill, could become more than just a C rank jutsu. It's power depended entirely on the user.

Since awakening his Mokuton, Naruto spent the most time getting better at it as it easily became his favorite element. Mokuton had the strength of Earth and water's fluidity. It was the perfect element in Naruto's opinion. And Naruto soaked up as much on it as he could from his sensei as possible in the last three years.

Naruto already knew the Moku Bunshin no Jutsu (Wood Clone Technique) and had finally perfected it. After the clone technique, Naruto learned the ever-versatile Mokuton: Daijurin no Jutsu (Wood Style: Great Forest Technique) which changes one's arms into branches. It could be used to either capture an enemy or sharp stakes could be added to the end of the branches to add a deadly edge. Another jutsu Naruto had mastered was Mokuton: Mokujoheki (Wood Style: Wood Locking Wall), which creates a powerful, domed wall made of interlocking wooden pillars. And finally, Tora taught Naruto his favorite jutsu thus far, Mokuton: Jukai Kotan (Wood Style: Nativity of a Sea of Trees), that creates a forest in mere moments. And he was only getting better.

Naruto also learned his Sensei's name, Tenzo. Naruto also figured out Tenzo could use Mokuton as well. Upon asking if he and Tenzo had any relation to one another, Naruto learned that Tenzo was a product of an experiment done by Orochimaru that gave him the ability. Despite his ability to use Mokuton, since it is injected into him, he couldn't use it on the same scale as Hashirama. Naruto didn't have that problem, his Mokuton was genetically passed down and it showed when his Mokuton was noticeably stronger than his sensei's despite just learning it. Naruto definitely had room to grow and his power could match Hashirama's in Mokuton, given enough time.

After Naruto's 12th birthday, Tenzo decided it was time for the meeting to take place between Jinchuriki and Bijuu.

(Flashback: almost two years ago, Naruto Age 12)

"You want me to meet the Kyubi?" asked an anxious Naruto. He was not scared or anything, more like excited to finally meet his Bijuu.

Tenzo smiled at Naruto's eagerness and said, "Yes Naruto, I think it's time you set up a relationship with the Kyubi. There's no point in having all that ability and not using it."

Naruto was ready. There was silence for a moment, "How do I meet the Kyubi?" asked a sheepish looking Naruto.

Tenzo couldn't keep from chuckling at Naruto's expense, "It's been said that when a Jinchuriki mediates, they can consciously enter their mindscape to interact with their Bijuu, so that's what you're going to do. Have at it."

So Naruto did as instructed and sat in the lotus position and clasped his hands together in a ram seal. After about 10 minutes of steady breathing, Naruto felt a tug in his mind. When he opened his eyes, Naruto noticed he was in a tunnel. Looking behind him, he saw a wall, so Naruto went down the only path, which was forward.

After what seemed like an hour, which wasn't a whole second in the real world, Naruto met a cage. A huge cage. After not noticing another presence or any movement behind it. Naruto began to wonder if he went the correct way.

"Hello?" After no response, Naruto thought he did something wrong and was about to leave until a red-eye opened. A giant, red, slitted eye. Then another opened. And finally, the shadows covering a massive fox with nine tails lifted.

"So this is my jinchuriki. Finally, come to meet me I see." said the Kyubi after staring at Naruto.

"Yes I am, my name is Naruto Senju and I am happy to finally meet you," said Naruto with a smile.

"Hmmm. Normally I'd tear you to shreds just because but your chakra is very calming and it's soothing. Not to mention this cage and seal keeping me from doing so. So in the meantime, I'll humor you." replied the Kyubi as it placed its head on its crossed arms.

Naruto didn't show outwardly a reaction to the prospect of being torn to shreds, but he did gulp on the inside. "Well, I just wanted to get to know you better. You've been in here for 12 years and I still know nothing about you besides what legends say." said Naruto as he continued with, "Well when I was researching the Bijuu, I found out there are 8 other like you in the world. And one thing I noticed was that the Ichibi has a name, Shukaku. So it made me wonder, do all of you have names, if so, what's yours?"

The Kyubi became shocked. It had been able to hear what the boy's sensei had said this visit would be for and thought his Jinchuriki would just come in here demanding power. So when the Kyubi heard Naruto's question, you could hear the surprise in its voice.

"You, a kid, are the first human to ask if I have a name for as long as I have existed in this world, for that I thank you." said the Kyubi as he became more interested in his container. "Kurama, my name is Kurama."

Naruto couldn't keep the smile off his face, this had started better than expected. "Well Kurama, if I may, why did you attack Konoha?" said Naruto as he held a stern face. He had always wanted to know since it never added up to him, that the Kyubi would just attack out of nowhere.

"To be honest, a man with a Sharingan manipulated me. Just because I'm near omnipotent, I don't go around destroying places just because I can. So while hypnotized by this masked man, He set me upon your village until your Yondaime managed to seal me into you."

"Well, it's good to know that you didn't attack Konoha of your own volition or that you're not a homicidal Bijuu hellbent on destruction. Can you explain why this place looks like this? I'd thought it'd be more complex like the seal on me." said Naruto as he thought it looked like a sewer.

"It is not a sewer kit," said Kurama as Naruto looked shocked but then remembered, he was in his mind. So obviously his thoughts could be heard here. "And for why it looks like this I can not say. Though it is cozier in here with your Mokuton infused chakra circulating throughout this place, permeating the air here."

"Well as long as you're comfortable then I'm okay with it. Now, down to the nitty-gritty of why I'm here. My sensei sent me in here to somehow find a way to gain access to your chakra. I figured we could become partners."

"You do realize that with your kekkai genkai, you could just steal my chakra at will, right? Yet you still ask me to use it?" asked a confused Kurama.

"I wouldn't like it if someone just stole my chakra. I'd want them to ask permission and you know the golden rule. "Do unto others as you would have others do unto you." So I decided to ask you if you'd lend it to me."

"What a surprising kid, from what I've seen of his life and his thoughts, I can tell he's different from the rest. Maybe I'll give this kid a chance. But mainly because it would be foolish for a jinchuriki to not have access to his Bijuu's chakra." Thought Kurama before he said, "Sure kit. But first, there are risks when using my chakra. My chakra is extremely powerful, too powerful for you to wield a lot of it at your current level. At most you may only be able to use a tail of it while still being able to control it without harming the wrong people. It wouldn't matter even if you could use more, the seal is so tight that only a tail of my chakra is accessible to you at this moment, you'd have to find a way to loosen it somehow. Even then, you'll have to earn my trust to gain further access to my chakra."

"Well can't I just rip that seal tag off?" said Naruto.

"It's not that simple. This piece of paper means nothing unless you loosen the seal itself. Plus I wasn't going to give you more than one tail in the first place, so don't worry about it for now." said Kurama.

Naruto agreed with what his Bijuu said and decided he would do all he could to earn Kurama's trust. I mean if Kurama was there, why shouldn't they be friends. He was just glad that he had been given access to his Bijuu's power in the first place. After an exchange of goodbye, Naruto left his mindscape.

When Naruto returned to the physical world, he noticed Tenzo still standing there looking at him expectantly. Catching the hint, Naruto channeled some of Kurama's chakra and entered his Jinchuriki state. "Well what do you think?" asked Naruto as he was now covered in a shroud of reddish-orange chakra.

Tenzo became impressed. He didn't believe Naruto would be able to get access to his Bijuu's chakra but nonetheless, "Looks great Naruto, I can feel the oppressive chakra bearing down on me. But is that as far as you can go? If not, go as far as possible and then tell me how you feel."

Naruto nodded his head as he channeled a little more of Kurama's chakra and entered a one tail state. Instead of just a flame-like shroud, Naruto's cloak morphed into a bubbly, red chakra that took on a fox's shape, complete with a tail of chakra swishing behind him.

"I feel incredible. I feel faster and a lot stronger. This chakra. It's full of energy. Life energy, it feels like." Naruto performed the snake hand seal and thought "Mokuton: Jukai Kotan (Wood Style: Nativity of a Sea of Trees)." Instantly trees sprouted from the ground all around Naruto at a much quicker pace than before and were even taller as well. Seemed Kurama's chakra has its perks.

"My Mokuton is stronger when using this chakra. I love it," said Naruto as he moved around a little to test out how he felt using it.

"Hmm. Seems we should spar so you begin getting used to using your Bijuu's chakra. This will help so you're not attacking your teammates" said Tenzo as he readied for Naruto's assault.

"LET'S GO WILD!"

(Flashback End)

"Good Times," said Kurama in Naruto's head. Naruto and Kurama were now on good terms throughout the course of nearly two years of knowing each other. It was a weird relationship. But then again, what wasn't weird about a 13-year-old human boy and a fox-shaped collection of energy that was given consciousness being friends.

As Naruto was heading to the Academy, a kind woman outside her shop greeted him.

"Hello, Senju-san. It is good to see you this morning. Today's the day of the Genin exam correct?" After a smile and nod from Naruto, she continued, "Well good luck and do your best, I'll be rooting for you." said the woman as she waved goodbye with a smile.

Naruto smiled and waved back as he continued toward the academy. Things definitely changed since he became a Senju. Though it did take a month, a few blood test results, and the verbal promise of authenticity from their longest-tenured Hokage for the Konoha populace to finally accept Naruto's stature as a Senju. Even still, he still wasn't the most popular person in Konoha. A name meant nothing, even the Senju clan name because he was still perceived as the Kyubi that attacked on his birth. But a few people, such as the woman just now, had begun to open up to him.

So into his thoughts about his training, Kurama, and Konoha, Naruto didn't realize he was stepping into his classroom. Once he noticed it, he immediately headed toward the open seat next to Sasuke.

Sasuke had definitely opened up to Naruto after that beat down he received that day three years ago. Sasuke had asked if he could train with Naruto and even thanked him for helping him awaken his Sharingan, even though it was accidental. After a few times of training with Naruto and getting to know him, Naruto and Sasuke had become good friends, best friends.

Sasuke improved greatly while training with Naruto. The first thing Naruto taught Sasuke was how to tree and water walk. Naruto claimed that his ninjutsu increased immediately after doing those chakra control exercises. Sasuke knew Naruto was right when he performed a Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire style: Grand Fireball Technique) and saw how much bigger and hotter it became.

When Sasuke had reawakened his Sharingan, he still only had one tomoe in each eye but after spars with Naruto and since Naruto didn't pull any punches against him, it evolved into its two tomoe state. Sasuke had eventually started to hit Naruto in their spars. Though there was still a gap between their skill levels, Naruto was far stronger and Sasuke wasn't afraid to admit it. But they were rivals, Sasuke had to catch up.

So as Naruto came to sit down. The two shared a fist bump as they talked about the coming exam.

"This is the day we start our journey as Konoha ninja, eh Sasuke?" said Naruto to his friend

"Hn." Came the perfect response to anything from the Uchiha.

"You ready? You won't freeze up again from having flashbacks?" asked Naruto as Sasuke had told him about the massacre. He was actually the first person who Sasuke shared his view of the story with since it happened.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'll be good. Can't have you trying to outshine me here. I'm the rookie of the year, can't let that stop me from becoming a genin." said Sasuke with a confident smirk.

"Psssh, I could still kick your "Rookie of the Year" ass you know? Titles like that mean nothing in the real world." said Naruto in a challenging tone.

Sasuke turned his Sharingan on as he stared at Naruto, "You want to test that theory now?" said Sasuke.

"Ooh, so you got pink eye with a pretty eye pattern. That doesn't scare me at all. Your body can't keep up with your eyes. I find that hilarious, to see a punch coming in super slow-mo and still know there's nothing you can do about stopping it."

"Hn." said the Uchiha as he began to get mentally prepared for the exam. Meanwhile, Naruto could hear Kurama chuckling in his mind with "pink eye" being said repeatedly between laughs.

Out of nowhere, a red and purple blur came bursting into the room at roughly the same time.

"I win" came the shout of one Sakura Haruno as she stepped through the doorway with Ino by her side.

"You wish, the only hope you had in winning was because your forehead gave you a reach advantage." came the snappy reply from Ino.

"You're just mad because Sasuke wouldn't date pigs like you." rebutted Sakura.

Before Ino could reply, one of the other civilian girls shouted, "Why would we want Sasuke when Naruto-kun is way cuter. Have you seen those adorable whisker marks." As Ino mentally agreed and was glad that she didn't say the same thing. Ino had wanted Sakura to become better and she knew competition would help so that's why she kept going along with this whole Sasuke feud, even though Ino really crushed on Naruto.

Ino liked Naruto ever since she was 9. One day, Naruto handed her the brightest purple lilac she had ever seen and upon seeing it, noticed his eyes matched the lilac which was her favorite color. She had found out that Naruto liked flowers and anything dealing with plants. She also got to spend time with him when he'd volunteer at her family's flower shop. The flowers always seemed to look better when he came by. Plus he had the prettiest eyes ever and they were her favorite color.

"Did I already think that?" thought Ino as she looked at Naruto, chatting with Sasuke. Her thoughts ended the moment Iruka-sensei entered and ordered everyone to take a seat. After a long, arduous speech from him, the exam started.

Iruka and his assistant, Mizuki, began handing out the written exams. Mizuki was a man of average height and build, similar to Iruka. He had white, neck length hair and wore the standard chunin outfit of Konoha. To complete his outfit, he wore his forehead protector bandana style around his head.

Naruto had always been able to sense the bad vibes coming from Mizuki. Naruto never told anyone about it due to him just believing he was prejudice about his jinchuriki status. So Naruto just let Mizuki hate on him, Naruto loves his haters anyway.

After the simple written exam that Naruto did the bare minimum to pass, It was time for the practical exam which consisted of a taijutsu spar with an instructor and demonstration of the three basic techniques.

Many of the students did well in this part of the exam. Sasuke had even managed to get a few nice hits on Iruka and got a 9 out of 10 for his efforts. Kiba finished with an 8 out of 10 and so did Hinata due to her gentle fist style. Choji received a 7 with his clan's techniques. Shino got a 6. Ino, Sakura, and Shikamaru all got a 4, though Shikamaru forfeited once he got his 4th point, which was just enough to pass.

Then we had Naruto's turn, who somehow got the ironic luck to get paired with Mizuki. Naruto could already tell that Mizuki would try to harm him but Naruto wasn't worried in the slightest. He welcomed the challenge.

What occurred became known as the greatest ass whooping ever given by an Academy student to a Chunin instructor in history. Mizuki never got to move, Naruto was on him too quick and the match ended as quickly as it started.

After Iruka said Hajime, not a second later and a surprise shunshin that Mizuki could have countered had he not been overconfident, Mizuki felt pain. Left jab to the face, right cross, followed by a roundhouse kick, but before Mizuki could go to the ground, Naruto planted another kick that sent Mizuki careening pass Iruka.

10. Definitely a 10.

Since Mizuki was out cold, Iruka just continued to the Ninjutsu portion alone. Shino Aburame. Pass. Choji Akimichi. Pass. Sakura Haruno. Pass. Hinata Hyuga. Pass. Kiba Inuzaka. Pass. Shikamaru Nara. Pass. Naruto Senju. Pass. Sasuke Uchiha. Pass. Ino Yamanaka. Pass. There were also another 18 civilian children who passed the exams as well.

After Iruka gave another speech on how proud he was of his students and what life would be like now that they were shinobis of the leaf, he let his students leave. The Academy was over with and now it was time to meet their senseis, which was tomorrow

"We made it!" said Naruto with a smile on his face as he tied his black forehead protector around his forehead. A smile that everyone in the group of nine reciprocated. Well with Shino, you couldn't see but Naruto could sense he was happy.

"We should go celebrate! Anyone want BBQ." said a happy Choji.

"Troublesome...but I'm in," said Shikamaru with a smirk.

After a chorus of agreements, the entire gang that would later one be dubbed the "Rookie Nine" headed to one of Choji's family owned restaurants. They all shared a great time at the restaurant. They knew that this would be the last time they'd all be together for a while once they separated into teams with their individual senseis.

Eventually, they all went their different ways. Choji and Shikamaru headed to Shikamaru's house. Kiba, Shino, and Sasuke went back to their respective houses. Ino and Sakura disappeared to Sakura's home. And Hinata had politely excused herself back to her clan compound.

(Several Hours Later)

A few hours had passed and Naruto began to wander around Konoha aimlessly, determining what to do. It seemed the sun was going down soon so he'd be able to watch the sunset from Hokage mountain. With a Shunshin, Naruto sat atop of the Yondaime's head.

Naruto felt at peace. He felt good and nothing would change that at all. After the sun went down, Naruto decided to head home to get some rest before tomorrow. On his way though, a shinobi went flying past him and nearly crashed into him. Naruto was turning around to say sorry when he noticed the ninja had kept going.

"Wait a minute, that's Mizuki-sensei. Wonder what he's in a rush for. Aww, well-wait is that a scroll on his back. It looks familiar, where have I seen that scroll before?" asked Naruto in his head. Then it hit him, that was the Hokage's scroll of seals. A scroll that contained many dangerous techniques that are mostly Kinjutsu (Forbidden Techniques). But why did Mizuki have it?

"Why would Mizuki be headed outside of the village with that scroll? A scroll that only the Hokage could touch? Oh, he's obviously stealing it and you're still sitting here trying to figure out what he's doing. It's obvious." said an irritated Kurama.

Naruto had the decency to look sheepish. He made sure no one was watching him as he created a Moku Bunshin (Wood Clone) and gave it instructions to alert the Hokage. After taking care of that, Naruto immediately pursued Mizuki to stop him.

(Forest Nearing Edge of Konoha)

Mizuki had never been happier in his lifetime. The forbidden scroll, he had finally gotten a hold of it. Now all Mizuki had to do was hand it to Orochimaru and he would get the power he sought. Mizuki started to get excited at how he was so close to his dreams. However, he halted when he saw the Kyubi brat appear in front of him.

"Mizuki," said Naruto with a serious face.

"This night just got better," said Mizuki with a sadistic laugh. "The gods must love me to have you, of all people, show up here right before I leave. I can finally drop the act and kill you after all these years, fox boy."

"Didn't I just thrash him earlier today? Is he crazy?"thought Naruto with a deadpan.

"It would seem so," said Kurama with a chuckle.

"Don't give me that look demon. You know why the people of this village hate you?" said Mizuki with an evil glare.

"It doesn't matter," said Naruto, whose face hadn't changed since first arriving.

"It's because you're the Kyubi! You're that piece of shit fox who assaulted Konoha years ago. And now you pathetic demon, I'm going to kill you." said Mizuki dangerously as he pulled an oversized shuriken off his back.

"Naruto I don't care how you do it, kill this guy. Who does he think he's talking about here." said an agitated Kurama, who was aggressively trying to send chakra into Naruto to get him to tear Mizuki apart.

"I can't kill him but I'm sure Jiji will know what to do with him to appease your needs," said Naruto in his head as he denied Kurama's chakra.

"Are you done?" asked Naruto in a bored tone.

"What?" asked a slightly confused Mizuki, as he thought that the boy would have a mental breakdown at the news.

"I already know what's sealed into me but I am Konoha Genin, Naruto Senju and nothing will change that. Before I curb stomp you something serious, I have to know, why did you steal the scroll? For power? Or was it to give it to someone else?" said Naruto sharply.

"It seems I have to give you a little credit, but even a fool is right some of the times. Since you'll be dead here shortly, why not tell you. Lord Orochimaru tasked me with the retrieval of this scroll and in return, I would become his right-hand man. He would give me great power and I would be able to show everyone that I'm strong!" said Mizuki madly as he threw his shuriken at Naruto.

"Orochimaru. The same Orochimaru who is one of Konoha's biggest traitors. The same one that performed that experiment on Tenzo-sensei" thought Naruto as he sidestepped the shuriken, "That is a terrible mistake on your part Mizuki and I cannot forgive a traitor of my village." said Naruto as he performed the ram hand seal and slammed both of his palms on the ground.

"Doton: Doryuuheki (Earth Style: Mud Wall)"thought Naruto as a huge wall sprung up behind Mizuki. Mizuki briefly turned his head around and looked in awe at the jutsu used by the demon. He had no idea he could use ninjutsu of this caliber. In the short amount of time it took Mizuki to turn his head around, Naruto clapped his hands together and was ready to fire off another jutsu.

"Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu (Water Style: Water Bullet Technique)" Naruto fired off a huge bullet of water at Mizuki, who braced himself for impact as it plowed into him. Due to Naruto's mud wall behind him, Mizuki didn't travel far before impacting off the wall behind him.

As Mizuki slowly overcame the effects of the jutsu, he steadied himself with a kunai in hand and charged at Naruto. Naruto pulled out his own kunai and clashed with Mizuki's own. Mizuki, being physically stronger and taller than Naruto, had the advantage over Naruto and eventually managed to dig his kunai into Naruto's chest.

Mizuki smirked upon seeing Naruto's shocked face but that quickly disappeared as Naruto reverted to mud. Replacement. He barely had time to turn around to see Naruto coming right at him.

Mizuki felt every bit of air leave him from the Kurama powered elbow to his stomach. Mizuki fell on his hands and knees trying to regain his breath but before he could recover, he met unconsciousness as his body hit the ground from Naruto's dual handed ax punch to his back.

When Naruto noticed Mizuki stopped moving, he relaxed a little and went over to retrieve the scroll. He then stomped Mizuki one time to keep with his word of curb stomping him. Naruto tied Mizuki up and carried him and the scroll back to the Hokage Tower.

(Hokage Tower)

Hiruzen stood in his office when Naruto came in and told him about the Scroll of Seals incident and grew worried. However, he visibly relaxed when it was just a clone and the real Naruto was already in pursuit of Mizuki. He knew Naruto could easily handle Mizuki, but he did send Anbu out to make sure the scroll made it back and that Naruto was okay. Hiruzen knew that Mizuki had grown complacent and his skills had dulled so Naruto would have no trouble in defeating him. He was proven right when Naruto came into view with a Shunshin carrying both Mizuki and the Scroll of Seals.

"You know that was a pretty fast shunshin Naruto-kun," said Hiruzen with a smile as he was glad Naruto had come back unharmed and with the scroll.

"Thanks, jiji! Well, I caught Mizuki, beat him down, and brought back the scroll" said a cheery Naruto as he fist-bumped his clone who then dispelled itself. Then Naruto got serious and said, "Orochimaru is involved in Mizuki's treachery."

This news startled the aged Hokage as anything Orochimaru related was of terrible news to Konoha. His favorite student had developed into a major pain in the ass and it was his fault for not ending it all those years ago.

"I'm too old for this." thought Hiruzen with an aged sigh. Nevertheless, the scroll was back and Naruto caught the traitor so he could be interrogated for more information. He might even let Ibiki pull out all of his tricks. Hiruzen shivered at the thought, he didn't know how Ibiki become as sadistic as he is but he was glad that he was not on the other side of an Ibiki interrogation. That man was brutal.

"You didn't peek in the scroll did you?" said the Hokage with authority.

"Of course not Jiji, that scroll is for the Hokage's eyes only," said Naruto with a smile.

"Good," said Hiruzen proudly as he realized how much Naruto had grown in the past years. He was well on his way to becoming a great shinobi. "Well thank you Naruto-kun, and I say that on behalf of all of Konoha since what you just did was a great service to the village. Now get ready for your registration and team assignment. I'm so proud of you and good luck."

"Hai Hokage-Jiji-sama," said Naruto with a mock salute. After that long day, Naruto did nothing but walk in and plop down on his bed. All the while anticipating tomorrow's event.

- Hamp Out.