Two days after Naruko disappeared, the fresh graduates were waiting in the classroom for their instructors to come and tell them about whatever came next. The students were a bit surprised when only Iruka showed up and he looked saddened. After the last few minutes passed before they closed the doors, Sasuke said aloud, “Ha! I knew that Idiot blonde girl wouldn't pass.”
Iruka gave him a look and then said, “The truth is she did pass. We found out her original test grades were hampered with after they were collected. However, due to extenuating circumstances, she won’t be joining the normal shinobi forces. Anymore details on the matter are to be shared only on a need to know basis. Anyways, I'm here to give you one last lecture before you are divided into your teams.”
He was about to continue when Sakura interrupted him. “Excuse me Iruka-sensei, but where is Mizuki-sensei?” The rest of the class gave him interested looks since they also wanted to know.
Iruka looked them over for a few moments before proceeding. He was told to be careful of saying anything about it to others, but since these Genin would be taking their team tests and he felt it would benefit Konoha. He decided to teach them one last lesson.
He took a deep breath before starting. “Usually I spend my last day with you going over what it means to be a ninja and how important the missions you take are, no matter how minuscule they seem. Instead I am going to teach you a valuable lesson every ninja learns once they are with their team. As ninja, we need to be aware of our surroundings at all times. We don’t need to get all overly paranoid, but we should learn to be aware and to see what is underneath what we see.”
The students looked as he took a breath, “I say this because this village as a whole has forgotten this lesson with our power and position in the elemental countries. Had we not, we would have easily figured out Mizuki was in fact a traitor before it was almost too late.”
There were several gasps of surprise from the students, even Sasuke didn't keep his usual cool exterior. Iruka continued, “We lucked out in that the same reason he was over looked led to his exposure. He wasn't always the brightest of Chunins, but he was good enough to teach our students. That was before we found out he was a traitor.”
The Hokage watched from his crystal ball. At first, he wasn't happy with Iruka’s choice, but now he realized it was the best choice for this situation. They had relied on their strength and the fact they had the strongest Jinchuriki for too long. He wasn't going to cause the civilians to go into panic nor his own forces, but they would need to be careful now.
They didn't know where Naruko vanished to. Maybe had they treated her better, she wouldn't have thought to figure out and use the Ultimate Escape Jutsu. For now, Konoha was safe because only a few knew she was gone. However, eventually others would catch on to this, and outside forces might see this as an opportunity to move against Konoha.
In fact other than Kakashi, Sarutobi asked each Jonin-sensei to still test the new Genin, but to focus more on if there was potential in them that only needed a little prodding to bring out. Usually they were very picky about who they let pass their test. There were even a few teams that were actually crossed out before they had the real test. However, Sarutobi knew there was a definite possibility they would never see Naruko again because of that jutsu. He, being the wise ruler he was, already started making preparations for what was to come.
{-} {-} {-}
The day they learned Naruko passed the test, but wouldn't be teamed with anyone, was a day that would stick with one Kunoichi for the rest of her life. It wasn't because Naruko was gone though. It was what Iruka said to the class.
Hearing Mizuki-sensei was a traitor made things finally real for Sakura. She had spent time with him alone to get help on lessons or ask a question. She never realized he could have easily killed her then and there if he wanted without a second’s thought, since he was an enemy to the village. She listened as Iruka called out each team and Jonin sensei.
Sakura was on team seven with Sasuke and a guy she didn't know very well named Sai. Their sensei was three hours late to pick them up. She would have yelled at him for being late, but she was too determined to be the best Kunoichi she could be. She decided if he made this a habit she would simply find ways to train before he arrived each day.
As she and her two teammates got up and walked up to the roof like he asked, they were mostly silent. Sasuke glared at him. Sai seemed like he was trying hard to seem friendly and Sakura merely said quietly, “I hope you eventually see us as worth teaching, sensei.” Kakashi was a little surprised by this reaction. He was always extremely late so that his potential team would get angry and be easier to simply fail later.
The next day Kakashi was in for even more of a surprise when it came to the test. He always did the bell test to pit them against each other, and teach them the hard way to look underneath the underneath as he always put it. However, he didn't know about Iruka’s lesson from the day before. He was shocked when they actually quickly put it together and when their time was up, Sai smiled his fake smile and said, “So Kakashi-sensei. Did we pass?”
Kakashi gave them a teasing look and asked, “What makes you think you did? None of you three got a bell though two of you came close to getting one.”
Sakura answered, “It wasn't about getting the bell. It was about working together as a team and not abandoning each other.” She seemed to have a look of anger at the thought of betrayal in her eyes. Sai did as well. Sasuke didn't, but Kakashi seemed to figure that was him just keeping his ‘cool’ like always.
Kakashi simply smiled and said, “You guys take all the fun out of this little test you know. I have no choice but to pass you three.” They cheered at that or at least Sakura did, while Sai kept smiling like he always did and Sasuke grinned at becoming a ninja officially. “But tell me why was it you three caught on so quickly?”
Sasuke’s eyes darkened here. The boy’s anger wasn't hidden now. “We found out about Mizuki in class yesterday, and Iruka-sensei told us we need to learn to look at what lies underneath.” Sasuke was angry at the traitor for being a traitor like his brother, though nowhere near as strong as his brother clearly, and the fact he, an Uchiha, didn’t notice it sooner.
Kakashi’s eye smile disappeared. He sighed mentally as he realized he might actually have to start teaching them seriously. He hated those who abandon their comrades. Those who were traitors to their village counted as abandoning their comrades. He would see if their drive stayed first though.
The Hokage had told the Jonins what happened that night, and the ninja realized they were now going to be seen as weakened once word got out of their village. The one eyed Jonin wasn't happy about the news at all, but he wouldn't ignore it either.
{-} {-} {-}
Their drive had stayed even after all of the D-rank missions they went on. Kakashi also noticed how each student trained harder and changed in surprising ways for the most part. Sakura got stronger and quickly lost her fan girl persona. She still had a crush on Sasuke, but she knew this wasn't about impressing him now. It showed in her training and during their missions, even the simple ones.
Sai had started to open up more and even started to smile for real from time to time. He eventually stopped hiding some of his true skills. Kakashi knew he was much more advanced still than he let on, but he also appreciated how the boy started to help out in training Sakura, while he spent time with Sasuke. However, Sai never dared to become like a rival to the Uchiha and so Sasuke didn't change as much.
Sasuke stayed his normal brooding self, and his thirst for power never really subsided in the smallest bit. The Uchiha also kept his superior disposition, but not as a way to annoy someone. Instead he actually felt he was above them all. Sai never really cared to try and challenge him, so Sasuke took this as a sign that his male teammate knew he was better than the rest of them.
Sasuke continued to be a problem. Even their trip to wave, where Sasuke was shown he wasn't as amazing as he thought himself, did little to bring his ego down. Even when he was close to dying and Sai had only gotten them out alive because of one of his ink jutsus, the avenger didn't change. Sasuke just once again felt he was only weak because he was being held back by the others who were jealous of him.
Kakashi was glad they managed to complete the mission, and all come back in one piece after encountering Zabuza and that Haku kid. He had confidence they were ready to take on what was to come next. They had become stronger and knew how to work together despite their differences.
He decided he would submit them for the Chunin exams. He had a feeling Konoha would make a decently strong showing this year, to if nothing else, reaffirm their strength to the other nations.
{-} {-} {-}
The Chunin exams turned out to be a disaster in the end. Orochimaru invaded Konoha with his sound village aided by Suna. The invasion wasn't the worst part really. It was Suna’s Jinchuriki showing up and unleashing his power in the middle of the invasion that made it the worst exam they had been through before.
In the end Konoha took a heavy beating, but with a combined effort of several ninjas they were able to kill Gaara, the Jinchuriki. This ended up dispersing the one tailed beast’s energy to be reformed again later.
Fortunately Sarutobi survived, though barely and only because Orochimaru’s diversion proved to go all to right. Suna suffered heavy losses, they had sent most of their strongest to help with the invasion, to Gaara’s insatiable rage and blood lust before Konoha shinobi could end him. Orochimaru was also discovered to have taken their Kazekage’s spot as well when they were finally ordered to get ready for the invasion.
Orochimaru had tried to end Sarutobi but couldn't because he got sloppy, since Gaara worked all too well. Even the snake of a man’s barrier he had worked so hard on, couldn't withstand Gaara’s assault for long. Orochimaru was forced to retreat in the chaos caused by the one tail’s container.
He had also lost his arms to the Shinigami, but fortunately for his sake the jutsu was interrupted by Gaara. Orochimaru had wanted to have his old teacher fight the first and second Hokage at once, but he soon had to order them to instead try and maintain the barrier.
Orochimaru did take some solace in how he had actually achieved one of his objectives though. He had laid the seed that would lead to Sasuke’s defection from Konoha to Sound Village. He was surprised how easy it was actually, the boy had hardly any bonds to the village as it was. A simple promise of power and it was hook, line and sinker. Orochimaru would have those eyes in no time he thought.
{-} {-} {-}
When Sasuke defected from Konoha, Sakura was surprised how little it shocked her. Having spent time focusing on actually being a ninja, she had shed her rose tinted Sasuke glasses, and her crush had slowly died away. She knew he was going to leave, but she also knew they wouldn't be able to stop him from going. Orochimaru made sure of that.
She had instead started studying him, figuring him out the best she could to end him once she had the strength to do so. She wasn't the top Kunoichi in their class for nothing. She knew she needed knowledge and strength to kill the traitor, but she didn't have either right now.
She would have told someone. However, she knew her warnings would mostly be ignored by the council, who seemed to love everything about Sasuke. Their support of the dark haired boy would have shocked even the Sasuke fan club girls. Sakura shook her head realizing she would probably be just like them if she hadn't finally awoken.
Sai wasn't an option either she knew. It seemed he couldn't do anything and literally wasn't capable of doing anything to stop Sasuke. Almost as if something was placed on him that refused to let him harm the Uchiha.
Sakura asked her true teammate about this, but he physically couldn't say anything on the matter. Instead the two had come to an unofficial agreement that he would do what he could to help her be capable of finishing Sasuke when she was strong enough to do so.
As for their sensei, he seemed to be obsessed with Sasuke in a different way. He acted as if he had to help the youngest Uchiha as a way to make up for some old promise or oath of some kind.
The truth was Kakashi saw what was happening, but he felt if he did end the Uchiha he would be letting Obito down. He also believed Sasuke was just like he was at the time when he was teamed with Obito. Kakashi had hoped that if he saved Sasuke he would also save himself somehow.
The only good thing that seemed to have happened lately for Konoha was the new Hokage named Tsunade. Sarutobi knew his time was even shorter after the invasion. He had Jiraiya, his most loyal student, retrieve her anyway he could.
They made a deal with her. She would spend some time learning from Sarutobi as well as training a few gifted medics with the help of her niece before taking the hat. As payment, Konoha would pay off all of her debts she had built up. For the next few years, things would go on like business as usual for Konoha.
{-} {-} {-}
It was now two years since Naruko came to Equestria, and she couldn’t be happier. She was now Fourteen years old and Twilight Sparkle was fifteen. The two had become the best of friends to each other. This was great for the both of them but also not so great. The two hadn't made any other friends despite plenty of chances to do so. The two unicorns spent almost all of their time studying or hanging out with each other. They also now had classes together with Celestia.
Naruko had taken to unicorn magic like a fish to water. She loved it. She could do so many amazing things with it. She even found ways to use her jutsus she had learned as Unicorn magic. However, despite her awesomeness it was still nothing compared to Twilight Sparkle.
Naruko heard Twilight's tale of how she got her cutie mark and Celestia said no pony had the raw power the lavender unicorn did. Kyuubi had even confirmed that he could sense the power the purple unicorn kept hidden away, and said if she ever learned to control that power she would be close to being their equal if they were at full power with little effort.
Had Naruko still been in Konoha around someone talented like this she would have been extremely jealous of them. But she wasn't in that place anymore and had gotten over things like that. It was as Celestia said, “Everypony is special and gifted in their own way. Everypony is genuinely unique. Letting jealousy get the best of you only leads to sadness.”
Naruko had to admit she fully understood why Celestia had ruled for so long without anyone wanting to take her throne. The Princess was not only very wise and powerful, but she was also just and friendly to her subjects. She was the kind of ruler that everypony just wanted to follow.
Thinking of her time in Equestria Naruko thought of her favorite days here. One of Naruko’s favorite days was when Twilight first invited her over to visit her family. Twilight was just as excited on that day as well.
Naruko enjoyed meeting her best friend’s parents. The two were what she thought parents should be like. They loved and cared for their young ones. They were also very friendly and had warmly welcomed Naruko into their home.
The blonde unicorn also met Twilight’s older brother, Shining Armor. He was every bit what a stallion should be, and he was in the royal guard. He too greeted Naruko warmly. The two got along really well with each other, and though she knew it wasn't the case, she had come to see him as an older brother.
She told Twilight of course, and was glad her friend seemed happy about this. Though the purple pony did put her hoof down and said, “He can only be my BBBFF though, Naruko. Sorry…” She looked a little sheepish at how she behaved when she said that to Naruko.
Naruko just laughed and said, “I’m not going to try and steal him away from you Twilight don’t worry. I know he isn't really my big brother. It's just that he's the closest I have to one is all. No need to be sorry either. I know if I had a brother and somepony told me the same I would act that way as well.”
{-} {-} {-}
Sakura was now sixteen. She and the rest of the Konoha eleven apart, from Neji and Sai, were all Chunin now. Neji was a Jonin and Sai was only officially a Chunin. Sai had told her, Kakashi, and their new teammate Yakumo Kurama, he was a part of Root, but he couldn't say much else than that.
Yakumo Kurama was a girl very strongly gifted in Genjutsu because of her clan’s bloodline limit ability. She could literally kill with just illusions. The girl had caused a big problem when they were younger, and she used her illusions for misguided revenge. However with some difficulty, they eventually subdued her and found out the cause of her revenge was because of a monster inside her own mind she created.
Once the monster was defeated, Yakumo had remembered what really happened in her past that led to her revenge. She then tried to kill herself, but was stopped by Kurenia-sensei who had been her instructor at one time. Once the girl had calmed down, she wished to redeem herself by using her powers to help Konoha and others.
They took her to Tsunade who did a thorough exam of the girl and found a way to help her out. She had Jiraiya, the seal master, place a limiter seal on the girl that Yakumo could control herself.
This seal would help her learn to control her power eventually, while also keeping the power from overtaking her again. Truth be told the only reason why Tsunade allowed this was because she knew they would need all the help they could get for what was to come.
There was a group called Akatsuki that was working in the shadows for something big. They were just now starting to make their moves because it had taken this long for the one tailed beast to reform in the wild. The Konoha ninja ranked Chunin and above knew what the group’s goal was. The group was hunting all of the Jinchuriki for their power.
She had even told them Naruko was the nine tailed fox’s Jinchuriki. She had told them that Naruko had been keeping them alive by keeping the beast locked away, and also because her existence and allegiance to Konoha brought fear to the other nations. She told them with Akatsuki making moves it would only be a matter of time before they realized Naruko was missing.
“Thankfully the other Ninja Villages will be too busy keeping their own Jinchuriki out of Akatsuki’s hands, so they won’t declare full on war to try and dethrone Konoha as the strongest of the five great ninja nations. But they still will test us, and with Akatsuki’s plans affecting the whole of our world we will have to also deal with them as well,” Tsunade said gravely to the gathered ninja in her office.
The words had chilled most of the new Chunins. It also made a few of the Konoha eleven rethink how they had treated the girl, and they realized how mean they had been to her for such stupid reasons. It just went to show them how true the old adage of "Everything’s twenty/twenty in hindsight" was.
{-} {-} {-}
In a large forested clearing far away from Canterlot, a huge red orange furred fox with 6 tails bounded around attacking a replica of itself. The two titans sparred for a good while before a light blue cutting wind dispersed the clone in a puff of smoke.
The remaining fox frowned a little before saying in a deep booming voice, “I was starting to have fun, Naruko.”
A pony with a peach tanned colored coat and a blonde loose flowing mane, shrugged her shoulders before answering the beast casually, “You had been sparring for three hours now. We need to try that spell I think.”
The fox raised an eyebrow, “While I enjoy being able to use more of my power. I have to wonder why you wish to practice that spell. I really don’t see any reason we would need it here in this world. I don’t think any of those powers I mentioned before will be waking anytime soon nor be threatening.”
Naruko gave him a look, “We should always be prepared for the worst case scenarios even here. Twilight has had something on her mind lately that she is scared of. She has been researching like a mad pony… or well a madder than her usual mad ponyself at any rate. Something is coming I can tell. Even Celestia has been showing small signs of worry that I, her perceptive student, am only able to see.”
The fox could tell he wasn't going to win this fight, “Very well.” He then leaned down and the pony climbed on top of his head quickly.
The two partners then focused together as Naruko’s horn glowed a light blue, and the fox gathered chakra before making hand signs. They then both shouted, “Inferno Wind Jutsu!” A series of three decent fiery tornadoes appeared and Naruko concentrated on their movements, causing them to twist around each other and move together in a well-orchestrated dance. The fiery tornadoes didn't harm anything unless the Guardian Unicorn wished them to as long as she had control of them.
After some time, Naruko dismissed them and collapsed on top of Kyuubi’s head. The fox grinned and said, “Most impressive! That is quiet the improvement from our first time, when we burned down the forest clearing.”
Naruko gave a little chuckle as she remembered that day, “Fortunately Twilight knew a spell that put the fires out. No water required. I'm just glad Celestia didn't stay angry at us.” The fox only nodded in agreement.
"Still I don't see how Twilight does some of the magic she does. I may be better at combat magic than her, but that is only because I have the training while she doesn't. I wish I could do more of the things she could do," Naruko said with a dreamy expression.
Twilight wasn't very good with combat magic, but everything else she was a master. Naruko and Kyuubi both knew only Celestia was stronger in magic than Twilight without using any kind of artifact. Twilight could make visions appear in thin air while casually sipping tea.
Twilight could even teleport among other things. Naruto desperately wanted to learn some of Twilight's magic abilities. She knew Twilight wouldn't mind teaching her, but she felt if she were to learn more from Twilight she would have to teach her best friend something in return. This was only an issue because Naruko liked having one thing over Twilight and refused to give that up.
When she mentioned this to Kyuubi, he only chuckled as he said pride was something all species shared. Secretly the fox also liked that Naruko kept it to herself. He knew the blonde unicorn would progress much further if she learned more advanced spells from Twilight, but he also feared what Twilight would be like if she learned combat magic. The lavender Unicorn might even be able to give Celestia a run for her money if she caught the princess by surprise.
Naruko finally broke from her musings and got off of Kyuubi as he reverted back to his one tail form. “I think we should head back, Naruko. No doubt somepony will have to drag Twilight to the dining hall, since she is in research mode right now.” The blonde pony nodded her agreement.
Just as Kyuubi predicted, they had to drag Twilight to dinner. The purple pony kept going on about how she just knew this upcoming year’s Summer Sun Celebration had some significance that she couldn't quiet place. She claimed to have read something about it one time a few months back. Naruko finally got her to calm down and get ready to enjoy their meal.
They had a good crowd tonight for Supper. Twilight’s Parents were there as was Shining Armor. Naruko figured they would be celebrating his recent promotion to Captain of the Guard. Celestia was also there as well as Orbit and a few other attendants that Naruko had come to know fairly well along with a few guards. They all took a place at the long table as the covered dishes were brought in for them.
Naruko was surprised when the covered dishes were uncovered and she saw glorious Ramen from the noodle food master pony at her favorite restaurant in Canterlot. She had been there several times, usually dragging Twilight with her. “What is all of this about?” Naruko asked her eyes wide in surprise.
Celestia gave an elegant laugh as she said, “Surely My Perceptive Student, wouldn't forget her own birthday. It’s October tenth, Naruko!”
Naruko just smiled as the others including Twilight, who had recovered from her study madness, shouted, “Happy sixteenth Birthday Naruko!” Naruko could only cry tears of joy. She always did when they celebrated her birthday in Equestria.
Back in Konoha, her birthday meant watching everyone else celebrate their victory over the fox, while she was ignored even more than usual. This was followed by a sleepless night as she would stay awake hoping no one tried to break into her home wanting to get back at the "Demon".
Naruko sniffed and enjoyed her birthday dinner with ponies she cared about in some manner, even if they weren't friends. They were still ponies she knew and liked. She smiled as she unwrapped the gifts she received. As always she got a book from Twilight, but her best friend knew what kind of books to get her. “Wow! The newest Daring Doo! It’s even signed! Thanks, Twilight!”
“Don’t mention it Naruko,” Twilight replied with a smile and gave her best friend a hug.
Naruko opened her other presents as well. She didn't have a lot but they were all great, and she was just so happy to see friendly faces celebrating her birthday with her. She got a new set of tail ribbons from Twilight’s parents. She got a small telescope from Orbit, and a few other meaningful gifts as well.
She next opened the present from Celestia. It was an ancient looking tome that was still in very good condition. The title read: Guide to Being a Guardian Contract Holder. Naruko noticed Twilight’s hungry eyes before she held on to it tightly and turned to Celestia. “Thank you Princess Celestia! I will put it to good use.” Naruko liked the gift it was very practical and looked to be interesting.
Celestia had told her not too long ago there were certain magics only Guardians and their familiars could use, but since she wasn't one herself she didn't know much about them. Naruko and Kyuubi had figured some of them out, but they didn't know how to proceed in their training. “Don’t mention it, Naruko. I am sorry it took me so long to find it. Also Naruko, it's just Celestia to you.”
Naruko gave a little smile. “Thanks anyways Celestia.”
The last present she got was an orange jacket from Shining Armor. She grinned at the jacket and hugged it tightly as her face lit up. It was close to the one she had back in Konoha. That jacket was one of the few things she missed from there. “Thanks Shining!” She then gave him a quick hug, which he returned, and a kiss on the cheek, which he didn't know how to respond to in the end.
After everything was over, Naruko retired to bed at last. It was yet another happy and wonderful birthday for her. She went to bed that night and had a wonderful and pleasant dream. She knew that no matter what happened in the future she would always love Equestria as her home. She knew things weren't always going to be easy and nice here, but she would do what she could for her home. It would be worth it, no matter what she had to do to protect it along with her best friend Twilight.