Chapter 3
The trip to Uzushio had been worth it, Naruto truly felt at home looking at the red sunsets and blue waters. The whole city was built like a spiral, high buildings, and ancient architecture. Sasuke had been in awe and Naruto remembered it was his first time visiting. The village was destroyed but still breathtaking. Some roads were filled with rubble and most houses were filled with rotting furniture. Both of them spent a day to gather all bodies, or remails of them, they could find and burnt them in a pyre with proper Uzumaki customs.
They really did discover a treasure. Most valuable artifacts had been stolen, but the truly valuable things, their teachings, their scrolls, their history, everything was there. Sasuke had felt he was intruding, it wasn't his right to see and know all of it, but Naruto held his hand as they walked through the enormous underground tunnels, and these thoughts left his mind as soon as they came.
By the end of their short but enlightening trip, they had storage seals worth of scrolls with them. Naruto had looked at the place, at the waters and the skies, his mother's home, and promised he would come back for it. And both of them knew Naruto never broke his promises.
Coming back was fairly easy, their clones had done their jobs perfectly. Nothing was out of the ordinary. One night, Sasuke had poisoned Mizuki, while Naruto had found about the proof of his connection to Orochimaru and lay it out somewhere that any ninja would fight during an investigation. It had gone as they predicted, in the morning when he didn't come for the academy exams another teacher went to find him and found his body instead.
Everyone found out about the traitor, they all thought that he must've betrayed Orochimaru, or wasn't useful anymore, and was hence killed in order to be silenced. Sasuke was a student of the said man, and had killed him using the snake poison which only Orochimaru and Anko had access to during this time.
Sasuke had all but moved into Naruto's apartment, even though they stayed apart during school. Today was the day of the graduation exam and both of them woke up a bit excited since it was now they could start planning ahead.
"Dobe, get out of the bathroom, I won't be late because of you" Sasuke grumbled from outside the door, having half a mind just to barge in. A minute later the door opened and Naruto walked out in a towel wrapped around his hips, and Sasuke wished he wasn't standing right there. His cheeks couldn't help but warm up, and he shook his head because Naruto was a child , at least in flesh. He hurried inside and locked the door. Distantly he could hear him mutter "Rude people who are cranky in the morning."
Once both of them had showered and eaten, they made way for the exam hall. Sasuke had passed brilliantly as he did the last time and now it was Naruto's turn.
"Right, Naruto make three clones" This time Iruka sensei was alone during marking them as Mizuki had been dead already.
Naruto couldn't do clones unless they were large in number, but he could make any number of shadow clones.
"Iruka sensei, I can't make clones! But I can make these so I'll show you my new technique" He said with a bright grin and made the necessary seals. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" three shadow clones appeared next to him, all perfectly identical. He left like laughing a little at the surprise on his old sensei's face. He felt a little warm inside when it mixed with pride.
"H-How did you do that? This is supposed to be a high ranked Jutsu" He exclaimed.
"Sensei, I have to become strong enough to be a leader, obviously I can learn these jutsus!" He replied. He didn't say Hokage because it simply wasn't true anymore. Iruka was quiet for a moment before he gave Naruto his hitai-ate and ruffled his hair. "I'm proud of you, good work" hearing this made Naruto tear up even if he was actually an adult and he hugged his teacher and grinned before leaving for the next student to come in.
Sasuke was waiting outside for him and both of them parted from the crowd and made way home. They didn't want to see other parents congratulating their children, or fawning over the last Uchiha, nor whispering about the demon brat passing. They simply celebrated with some tomato ramen and a spar.
"Don't ya think we should've talked to Sakura a little? I mean, since she's gonna be our teammate and all that" Naruto said lying on the bed while Sasuke worked at a B- rank seal on the ground. He had already unlocked his Sharingan again and it had two tomoe as of now. He wanted to unlock all three stages before he used it so his eyes at least looked symmetrical.
"I don't think I can hear her insult you or hit you without hitting her back" Sasuke mumbled distractedly. Naruto broke out into a small smile and jumped off the bed. "Aww, I always knew you cared"
"Of course I do, and no matter what you say I'm not going to let her do that, she's going to have to actually train this time around" he said without missing a beat. Naruto sighed but didn't say anything. Sasuke and Sakura's relationship had been scarred ever since they tried killing each other. He knew he couldn't push him on this.
After some more talking both of them fell asleep.
-----
" Sorry Sasuke, this is the last time" his aniki's kind and gentle face was in front of him. Blood dripping from his mouth as he felt his breaths shorten. He reached out and poked his forehead one last time, before falling against the wall and eventually on the ground. Right at his feet. Below the Uchiha symbol that was plastered on the wall. Tears escaped Sasuke's eyes and all he could feel was pain. pain. pain. It was hard to breathe, his elder brother, he killed him. He didn't mean to-
"Sasuke! Wake up, you're okay, I'm here, we're in Konoha, we have our genin inauguration today, you remember, yeah?" A kind voice spoke from above him and Sasuke could recognize that warm and bright chakra anywhere. He nodded and accepted the glass of water in front of him, drinking in small sips. "Thanks" he whispered and sat up straight.
Naruto sat in front of him and looked into his eyes. "Your Sharingan" he said with a half-smile, which was sad and Sasuke looked in the mirror to see Eternal Mangekyou in both eyes. He changed it to see the regular Sharingan and sighed in relief when he saw three tomoe's spinning lazily in both eyes.
"I dreamt of the day Itachi nii died" he explained briefly and Naruto nodded, that explained the Mangekyou.
"C'mon, let's eat, I won't be able to fall asleep again either." The blonde got up and made way to the kitchen and Sasuke followed.
-----
Sasuke and Naruto were sitting at a table side by side as they waited for the teams to be called.
"Ugh! Get away from me, forehead, I came here first and I will sit with Sasuke-kun"
"Shut up Ino pig! I will sit with Sasuke-kun"
Naruto laid his head on the desk to avoid the screeching and Sasuke sighed.
"Actually I was here first" another girl spoke up and now everyone was fighting over who would sit next to the boy.
"Hey! Naruto baka, get away from Sasuke-kun!" right on cue, Sakura came to push him off but this time Naruto didn't even lift his head and Sasuke grabbed her hand before she could touch him.
"If you can't behave like a civilized person you shouldn't be here" he spoke lowly and the girl flinched back as if slapped.
"B-but Sasuke-kun, he's jus-"
"Leave" he said and that was it.
The rest of the class looked a mix of shock and a bit of smugness from the other girls at Sakura being brushed off by their Sasuke-kun.
Naruto only sat in attention when Iruka sensei entered the class, not sparing one glance at Sakura. She was confused and a bit embarrassed to be ignored by the boy who seemed to have a crush on her, well, he hadn't tried asking her out or talking to her in two weeks, what changed?
"Team 7, Uzumaki Naruto" there was no other reaction other than a small smile, "Haruno Sakura" the girl immediately withered in disappointment, "And Uchiha Sasuke" at this she perked up and celebrated while the other two were quiet.
Their sensei continued with calling out the other teams and Naruto leaned back and closed his eyes, he had barely slept and felt really tired. One by one the other teams went along with their newly appointed teachers and somewhere in the background, Naruto heard Kiba say something along the lines of 'a loser team getting a loser sensei' as they too left and only team 7 were in the room.
Naruto really wanted to do this again, so he got up and placed a duster in the middle of the door and the wall, giggling to himself as he came back and sat down.
"Naruto baka! Do you want to get us in trouble even before we know our sensei's name or what?!" Sakura said angrily looking at Sasuke waiting for him to agree.
"C'mon Sakura-chan! He deserves it for being late" Naruto pouted and Sasuke snorted.
"Again?" He asked and the blonde shook his head
"I put some hair dye at the base of the duster, his hair should be red" he snickered and Sasuke raised an amused eyebrow. All this while Sakura felt as if she was the outsider, when Naruto should've been the extra to her and Sasuke's perfect team. All of this was somehow his fault.
It was another hour before Kakashi entered. He deliberately let the duster fall on his head as he walked in. He didn't expect all the three to burst out laughing, he did expect this from Naruto, and maybe even the civilian girl, but not the revenge-driven Uchiha for sure. Were the academy reports correct? Well, he knew from his own experience that the reports were often influenced by their personal prejudices. Still, it was just a duster.
"Maa, my first impression of you, you're all weird" He said dismissively.
Sasuke and Naruto both looked at each other for a moment and smiled in an almost secretive way. As well as Kakashi knew they used to be rivals? Not friends? Not... whatever they were looking to be. "Meet me on the roof in five minutes" he says before using the shushin to appear there.
Sakura was hurrying towards the stairs before it was almost impossible to reach the roof in the allotted time. "Ne, Sakura-chan, slow down" Naruto said as he stood up and stretched lazily.
"Baka, sensei told us to be there within five minutes, right Sasuke-kun?" She asked, even though she was realizing that Sasuke seemed to agree with the blonde more often than not. '
"Actually, I need to go to the bathroom, you guys can go ahead if you want" He said and Sakura almost wanted to say that they'd be late for sure but she kept quiet. "Teme, of course, we'll wait for you, we're a team now" Naruto said with a snort, both of them knew Sasuke didn't actually want to go to the toilet.
"Yeah Sasuke-kun, be quick" Sakura said with a smile and he nodded at her before moving.
They waited in silence for a few minutes when Sasuke finally returned. "Thanks, let's go" he said standing at the door and they both followed him at a leisurely pace as they took their time to reach the roof. Kakashi was leaning against a pole as he watched them unimpressed. "You guys took fifteen minutes to reach" It was a statement but felt more like a question.
"Well, sorry for wasting so much time, we could've been really productive in those extra ten minutes ne? Sensei" Naruto said in such a painfully sarcastic way that both Sasuke and Sakura snorted. "But since we know you like to punctual now we'll try to always be on time"
Kakashi looked at his sensei's son in astonishment and a little bit of guilt. That was such a Kushina thing to say. Even though he didn't appreciate being called out on being several hours late.
"Ma, Naruto, I was simply helping an old lady with her baggage, no need to be so petty" he drawled out and felt just a tiny bit flustered when not even one of them reacted to it, "Anyway, introduce yourselves, likes, hobbies, dreams, etc"
"Why don't you go first sensei? To show us how it's done" Sakura said, just like last time.
"Hmm, my name is Kakashi, I have a lot of likes and dislikes... my hobbies... and no such dreams" he answered, and again, only the civilian girl looked annoyed. What the hell. Annoying people was Kakashi's main source of joy, these two looked at him as if he was the freshly made dumb genin.
"All we got out of that was his name" Sakura mumbled in frustration.
"Right, blondie, you first" he said pointing at Naruto.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like ramen, my friends, and seals, I dislike people who can't follow their own schedule" he looked at Kakashi with a pointed look at that "and as for dreams I just wanna live happily"
Now, Kakashi was confused, didn't this kid go around saying he'd become the Hokage? "Seals?" he asked tilting his head.
"It's my clan's legacy" he replied curtly, not elaborating. Kakashi stiffened, he wasn't supposed to know about this yet, did he figure it out himself?
"You don't have a clan baka! What are you saying" Sakura moved to hit his head but was stopped by Sasuke.
"He does actually, the Uzumaki was the largest clan of Uzushio, but it was destroyed by enemies a long time ago" the raven replied calmly, lowering her hand. "And stop trying to hit him, next time I'll hit you back"
"Sasuke!"
Sakura started tearing up, what was happening? What did Naruto do to Sasuke?
Kakashi himself was very surprised, both at the boy's knowledge of Uzushio and defense of Naruto, he looked serious too.
"Ah, um, pinkie you next"
"My name is Haruno Sakura, I like" she looked at Sasuke for a second before shaking her head, "I dislike Naruto!" again she looked at Sasuke to see his expression, but he wasn't even looking at her or seemed to hear her, "and my dream is to... be a kunoichi I guess" she finished quietly.
"...Right, Sasuke, you next"
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke, I like tomatoes, I dislike fangirls and people who drag me down, my hobbies are training, and... cooking, my dream is to follow my own path without anyone's manipulation." Naruto rubbed his back discreetly.
"That's nice, you guys are an interesting bunch, well, we'll do a survival exercise tomorrow, meet me at ground thirty at six "
"What?" Naruto asked dutifully, except with the fuss he threw last time.
"Ma, you see, out of academy graduates, only thirty-three percent make the cut, the rest go back to practice more for another year" Kakashi was waiting for the horror or frustration to come over there faces but Sasuke and Naruto nodded as if it made perfect sense. Only the kunoichi looked horrified. Again, what the hell . He was getting really irritated now.
"The bell test" Sasuke said looking at his teammates, and all Kakashi wanted to do was to go and smash that face into the ground, but he settled for a smile instead.
"How would you know about that?" He asked sweetly.
"From one of the teams you've failed, I thought asking reviews for out future sensei" Sasuke said with a shrug and Sakura looked impressed with him, while Naruto looked like he was going to fall asleep.
"But Sasuke-kun, how would you know I will be assigned your sensei" He asked, let's see if he had an answer to that. But to his irritation, the other boy only snorted. "I don't see anyone else with a Sharingan in the village, I'm not an idiot"
And Kakashi would like to agree because that was a very good connection to make. "Well, see you guys tomorrow, and oh, try not to eat any breakfast, you'll just end up puking" and with that, he shushined away, already annoyed at the thought of tomorrow.
"C'mon dobe, let's go home, you look ready to pass out" Sasuke said fondly and Naruto seemed to finally pay attention. He nodded and both of them began walking. Sakura only watched in shock because home?? Did they live together? Of course, their behavior made sense now. How would she fit in between them?
"Oh Sakura-chan, eat something before coming, it's better to have something light than sit hungry through the exam" Naruto called out from the road and Sasuke nodded in affirmative.
Sakura hesitantly nodded back before she made her own way home. And oh my god, she was on the same team as Sasuke-kun!!
-----
Kakashi made the way straight to the Hokage's office, jumping in through the window. The Hokage looked especially shocked to see him, what was wrong with people today, he shook his head and spoke. "You didn't tell me Naruto and Sasuke were best friends"
The Hokage's eyes widened so Kakashi assumed he didn't know either. "And Naruto knows about his clan, and Uzushio too, from what I could make out, he is good at sealing" He added casually and took great pleasure in seeing the Hokage become even more shocked.
When he didn't get any response he shrugged and was about to leave when the old man finally spoke up, "Kakashi, are you trying a new hair colour?"
Kakashi frowned and looked at the mirror on the wall to see his hair was bright red. So that's why they were laughing.
The little monsters.