The clearing slowly quieted down.
Chunin tied Mizuki up and hauled him away. They bowed to Iruka, glanced suspiciously at Naruto, then disappeared into the forest shadows one by one.
Soon it was just the three of them: Naruto, Iruka, and the Third Hokage standing at the edge of the trees, his pipe tucked away, eyes soft and tired.
Naruto shifted on his feet, suddenly aware of how small the clearing felt.
The ghostly number floated in front of his eyes, steady and soft.
1500
He hadn't moved much since Iruka tied the forehead protector on him. Just stood there, breathing, feeling the cool metal against his skin.
The Hokage stepped closer, cane tapping the ground lightly.
"You caused quite a commotion tonight, Naruto," he said.
Naruto flinched. "Uh… sorry, old man. I just… Mizuki said… and the scroll… and the test… and—"
Hiruzen raised a hand, stopping the words like a jutsu.
"I know," he said. "Iruka told me what happened. Mizuki will be punished. The Scroll of Seals has been returned. And you…"
He looked Naruto up and down—the bruises, the dirt, the too-big grin trying very hard not to wobble.
"You learned a forbidden jutsu in one night," he finished. "That is… impressive."
Naruto blinked.
"R-really?" he asked.
The Hokage nodded. "Yes. Reckless. But impressive."
Naruto puffed his chest out despite himself.
The number in his vision twitched.
1600
Iruka shifted and winced. "Hokage-sama, Naruto shouldn't be punished. Mizuki tricked him. He… he risked himself to protect me."
Hiruzen smiled faintly. "I saw."
He looked between the two of them—the teacher with the bandaged side, the student with wide, unsure eyes.
"Uzumaki Naruto," the Hokage said. "Today, you've caused trouble… and you've shown great courage. You learned a powerful technique, and you used it to protect a comrade. That is what a shinobi should do."
Naruto swallowed.
"You also stole the Scroll of Seals," Hiruzen added mildly.
Naruto flinched again. "S-sorry…"
The old man's gaze softened even more.
"For that, you will receive a punishment," he said. "Iruka will be responsible for making you scrub every inch of the Academy's windows for a week."
"Eeeeh?!" Naruto yelped.
Iruka coughed into his hand, trying not to smile. "That sounds fair, Hokage-sama."
"However," Hiruzen went on, "as Iruka has already decided…"
He looked at the headband gleaming on Naruto's forehead.
"…You are a genin of Konoha now," he said. "Congratulations."
The words sank slowly into Naruto's mind, like ink into paper.
Genin.
Ninja.
His throat felt tight. "T-thanks, old man…"
A hand landed lightly on his shoulder. Iruka.
"Come on," Iruka said. "You need rest. Tomorrow you'll be assigned to a squad."
"Squad…" Naruto repeated, eyes lighting up again.
The Hokage chuckled. "Yes. Go home, Naruto. Sleep. And from now on, if you're curious about something… come ask me, rather than stealing from me."
Naruto scratched his cheek. "Hehehe… I'll… try…"
Hiruzen turned away, cane tapping softly as he left the clearing. Iruka watched him go, then looked back at Naruto.
They walked together for a while in silence, the trees giving way to familiar streets and rooftops. The village looked strange in the moonlight—quieter, softer.
Naruto risked a sideways glance at Iruka's bandaged side.
"Does it hurt?" he asked.
Iruka shrugged one shoulder. "Of course it does. But I'm still alive."
Naruto stared at the ground.
"…Sorry," he muttered. "If I was stronger… if I had more of this…"
He flicked his eyes at the chakra number.
1700
"…you wouldn't have gotten hit," he finished.
Iruka sighed. "Naruto."
He stopped walking. Naruto did too, turning to face him.
"Being a ninja isn't about never getting hurt," Iruka said. "It's about protecting what's important, even when you do."
He poked Naruto lightly in the forehead protector.
"You did that tonight," he said. "Don't forget it."
Naruto frowned, then looked away, ears going red.
"…Yeah," he mumbled. "I guess I'm… kinda cool…"
Iruka snorted. "Don't let it go to your head."
They walked the rest of the way to Naruto's apartment building. At the bottom of the stairs, Iruka paused.
"Get some sleep," he said. "Tomorrow's a big day. And don't be late."
Naruto grinned. "Hehehe… I won't!"
He turned and bounded up the stairs, waving over his shoulder.
"Night, Iruka-sensei!"
Iruka watched him until he disappeared into the building, then smiled to himself and limped away.
Naruto burst into his apartment, kicked the door shut, and stood there for a second, just breathing.
His tiny room hadn't changed—old mattress, clutter, ramen cups. But with the headband on his forehead, everything felt a little different.
He flopped onto the bed, boots and all, and stared at the ceiling.
The chakra number hovered above him.
1800 → 2000 → 2500
As he calmed down, it kept climbing. He watched it until his eyes drooped and sleep finally dragged him under.
"I'm Uzumaki Naruto," he mumbled to the dark. "I'm me…"
The number kept ticking upward through the night.
---
By the time the sun started poking at his face again through the curtains, Naruto was drooling into his pillow.
He snorted awake, wiped his mouth, and blinked blearily at the floating digits.
10000
He grinned.
"Heh. Full power," he said. "Perfect."
He yanked his jacket on properly, tightened his headband, and barreled out the door.
The village was already awake—shopkeepers opening doors, shinobi moving across rooftops, kids walking with their parents. Some eyes followed Naruto as he ran: curious, wary, surprised at the headband on his forehead.
He pretended not to notice the whispers.
He noticed all of them.
"I'll make you say my name one day," he muttered. "And not 'demon brat.'"
The number floated calmly with him, full and quiet.
At the Academy, the classroom was half full already. Genin sat in little clusters, comparing headbands, gossiping about rumored jounin instructors.
Naruto kicked the door open.
"YO! The future Hokage is here, dattebayo!" he yelled.
Groans. Sighs. A couple of impressed looks he pretended not to see.
He spotted Sakura and made a beeline.
"Sakura-chan! Look!" He leaned in, pointing proudly at his headband. "Told you I'd pass!"
She gave him a quick once-over, eyes lingering on the metal plate. A tiny smile tugged at her mouth before she forced it away.
"Y-yeah, yeah," she said. "Just… don't embarrass our team, okay?"
"Our team…"
Naruto's grin got wider. "Hehehe… you said 'our'!"
She flushed. "Shut up!"
Before he could say something stupid, Iruka walked in, bandages peeking under his vest, but standing solid.
Naruto straightened up automatically.
Iruka's eyes swept the room. "Alright, everyone. You're now official genin. Today you'll learn your teams and meet your jounin instructors."
Naruto bounced on his toes.
Names were called. Teams formed and left. The room got emptier and emptier until finally—
"Team Seven," Iruka said. "Sasuke Uchiha…"
Soft squeals and sighs from the girls.
"…Sakura Haruno…"
Sakura clenched her fists in silent victory.
"…and Naruto Uzumaki."
Naruto exploded out of his seat.
"YES!" he yelled. "I get to be with Sakura-chan and the teme?!"
"Don't call Sasuke-kun that!" Sakura snapped, smacking him on the back of the head.
Sasuke just clicked his tongue.
Iruka rubbed his temples. "Team Seven, your jounin instructor will be here after lunch. Don't go too far."
The rest of the teams filed out. Eventually, only three genin remained in the classroom.
Sakura sat as close to Sasuke as she dared. Sasuke stared out the window like the clouds were the only things worth his time. Naruto laid backwards over his chair, legs hooked over the back, watching the ceiling.
The number drifted in his vision.
10000 → 9900
Doing nothing always made it wiggle a little. He didn't fully get why, but as long as it stayed big, he didn't care.
After what felt like forever, Naruto groaned.
"Why is our sensei so laaaate…" he complained. "If he's even lazier than Iruka-sensei, we're doomed…"
Sakura huffed. "He's a jounin. He probably has important things to do. Unlike you."
Naruto made a face at her, then flopped flat again.
Right when he was about to start carving something into his desk out of boredom, the door slid open.
A tall man with gravity-defying gray hair, a face mask, and a hitai-ate slanted over one eye stepped in. He looked them over.
"My first impression…" he said, after a second. "I hate you."
Naruto shot upright. "HUH?!"
Sakura sweatdropped. Sasuke's eyebrow twitched.
The man shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Come up to the roof," he said. "We'll talk there."
He turned and walked out again.
Naruto scowled. "What's with this guy?!"
Still grumbling, he followed Sakura and Sasuke up the stairs.
---
On the roof, the breeze tugged at their clothes.
The man leaned against the railing like he owned it.
"Okay," he said. "Time for introductions. Name, likes, dislikes, dreams. Usual stuff."
He jerked a thumb at himself.
"I'm Hatake Kakashi," he said. "I like and dislike lots of things. My dreams… I won't tell you."
Naruto made a face. "That's the lamest intro ever!"
Kakashi's visible eye crinkled. "You first, blondie."
Naruto stomped forward, planting his fists on his hips.
"Fine!" he said. "I'm Uzumaki Naruto! I like ramen—especially miso ramen from Ichiraku's! I hate waiting three minutes for it to cook, people who look down on me, and that stupid chakra number when it gets tiny—"
He froze.
Sakura blinked. "Chakra… what?"
Sasuke turned his head a fraction.
Kakashi's eye narrowed just a little.
Naruto's brain did a full-body panic flip.
"—I MEAN!" he yelled, waving his arms so hard he almost fell over. "I mean when my sensei is late! I meant that! When my sensei is late—like, REALLY late—that's what I hate! Yeah! That's what I said!"
He laughed way too loudly. "Ha ha ha… ha…"
Sakura stared. "…You didn't say that."
"I DID IN MY HEART!" Naruto shot back.
She groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. "You're such an idiot…"
Sasuke "hn"'d quietly and looked away again.
Kakashi watched Naruto for a beat longer than necessary, then let it go.
"Mm. Sure," he said lazily. "Continue."
Naruto coughed, trying to regain his cool.
"A-anyway," he said. "My dream is to become Hokage! I'll make everyone in this village acknowledge me, believe it!"
Kakashi's eye creased again, like he'd filed away both the dream and the weird slip for later.
Sakura went next, then Sasuke, talking about restoring his clan and killing a certain someone, voice flat and eyes dark.
Naruto listened, arms folded, glancing between them both.
He didn't really get everything, but he understood one thing: all three of them had something they were chasing.
Kakashi straightened.
"Okay," he said. "We'll do a survival exercise tomorrow. Your real genin test."
Naruto jerked. "Eeeeh?! We already did the exam!"
Sakura frowned. "What do you mean, 'real'?"
Sasuke's eyes narrowed.
Kakashi waved a hand. "Out of the graduates, only nine are actually chosen as genin. The rest get sent back to the Academy."
Naruto's jaw dropped. "WHAAAT?!"
Sakura paled. "S-so we could still fail…?"
Kakashi's eye curved like he was smiling under the mask.
"Meet at Training Ground Three tomorrow at five in the morning," he said. "Oh, and don't eat breakfast."
He turned away.
"You'll just throw it up," he added, and vanished in a puff of leaves.
Naruto stared at the empty spot.
"WHAT KIND OF SENSEI IS THAT?!" he yelled.
Sakura sagged. "This is gonna be a nightmare…"
Sasuke just shoved his hands in his pockets and headed for the stairs.
Naruto watched them go, then looked up at the sky. The sun was sliding down again, orange light washing over the rooftops.
The chakra number hovered in front of his eyes.
10000
He grinned slowly.
"A survival test, huh…" he muttered. "Fine. I'll pass it. I've got crazy chakra, a super awesome jutsu, and a secret world-stop thingy."
He thought briefly about freezing time and just grabbing whatever Kakashi was using for the test. Bells, probably. It sounded like a bell guy thing.
Then he remembered how awful it felt at 1000. How his legs had turned to jelly. How Iruka would've died if he'd relied only on that.
He scratched his cheek.
"…Maybe I won't cheat right away," he decided. "If I win using just my own moves, it'll feel way cooler."
The number glowed, quiet and full.
He stretched, shoved his hands behind his head, and headed down the stairs toward home.