The Truth of Bonds and Friendship

by Gadman85

Naruko’s Tale Begins

Fires and explosions could be seen all across Konoha as a giant nine tailed fox attacked the ninjas, who were bravely defending their home from the tailed beast. Far from the ruckus, a blonde haired new born girl was fast asleep, as only a new born could be after finally coming into the world. A red haired woman lay down next to the baby girl exhausted, and angry at herself for not being able to keep the masked man from extracting the nine tailed beast from its seal.

“I will always love you Naruko, even if it must be from another plane of existence. Please forgive me. Your mother couldn't do anything to keep this from happening.” The red haired woman then hugged her baby girl tightly; hoping things would somehow work out for the best despite evidence to the contrary as tears rolled down her face.

A masked man was just defeated badly by a young blonde haired Hokage. The masked man called himself Madara and he wasn't dead; in fact he was far from dead. However even with his plan having mostly worked, he wasn't in the position he wished for at the moment.

Madara glared at Minato Namikaze, though the Hokage couldn't see it due to the mask the man wore. “Well it seems you are actually decently talented… Hokage…” The masked man said with obvious spite as he stood up and faced the young ninja leader.

Minato was ready to make his move. The fox had already done more than enough damage to his village and loyal ninjas. Minato didn’t say a word as he quickly rushed towards the masked man, only for the man to once again phase through him.

Minato was ready for this. The blonde man was just about to activate his jutsu to catch the man unaware when suddenly the man disappeared completely. Minato stared for only a couple of seconds at the man’s last position.

He then used his Flying Thunder God technique to teleport directly to the man. Minato would have sighed in relief, but this wasn't the time. Minato charged the surprised masked man and used a seal to sever the man’s connection to the Kyuubi.

Madara disappeared again once the connection was broken.

Minato would have chased him, but he now had to face a pissed off being with the power of a deity. Minato knew he only had one option now. The blonde man was frowning at the nine tailed fox as he summoned the Shinigami, so he could use the ultimate seal to save his village, while also condemning his new born daughter to a tough life. Before he could finish his deed, the masked man once again appeared in front of him holding the girl in his arms.

“Let’s see how you handle this.” The masked man said in a calm voice, which nevertheless conveyed his contempt for the blonde man, who defeated him with seemingly little effort. Madara threw the child in front of the raging beast.

The fox wanted to kill anything human, he could. The beast lost in its rage, didn't even care if the human was a new born baby or not.

Minato quickly got in front of the beast to protect his daughter. However to his and the masked man’s surprise, he wasn't the only one.

They have said many times before never to underestimate what a mother will do for her child. Kushina, the red haired woman from before, despite her condition found the strength and speed to help shelter her child from certain death as the fox made to stab the infant with a claw tip. This allowed Minato the opportunity to finish the seal as more ninja appeared next to them.

Madara left right then and there. He was an Uchiha and strong, but even he knew he couldn't take on the entire remaining Konoha ninja force, especially in his current condition.

Sarutobi, the third Hokage stared as he barely heard Minato say to him. “I want Naruko to be seen as a hero that saves the village every day she lives.”

As the light of life slowly faded from the fourth Hokage’s eyes, the third could only say to himself, “I will do what I can to meet your wish.”

As soon as the old man muttered those words to himself, the beast howled in pain as it was sucked into the seal Minato made. An identical seal appeared on the infant’s stomach. Her two parents mentally promised they would always love her, and watch over her the best they could from the other side as they died. The girl would be clueless as to what all her parents did for the village that day for a very long time.

{-} {-} {-}

If only things had turned out better, then maybe Konoha would have lived up to the Fourth Hokage’s last wish. However, once one dies their will no longer matters much anymore. Those that had lost loved ones and seen the destruction to their village chose to take out their anger on the little girl, who wouldn't even know her parents growing up.

Fortunately the Hokage placed a law that said those who speak of the incident in public would suffer death, as would any who actually harmed her. After all, if she died before the seal was finalized it would only unleash the Kyuubi once more he was pretty sure. The old man hoped that they would never have to actually kill her, but you never know and it was his job to place the village’s safety above all else.

Unfortunately for the Hokage’s Law, humans are clever when they wish to be. The citizens of Konoha found other ways to make the girl’s life horrible. They only tried to attack the girl a couple of times, but quickly discovered she had guards from ANBU following her around secretly.

The ANBU (ninja black ops group), never directly involved their selves in the girl’s life. They too had a small amount of hatred towards her, but they were professionals, and knew the Hokage’s wish was their command. The Ninjas would stay hidden until someone showed signs of being violent towards the girl, but that was the only time they would interfere.

The citizens would instead of attacking her directly, harm her indirectly. They would sneer, whisper about her, call her names, and make her life as miserable as they could without crossing the line. As a result of their actions, Naruko Uzumaki grew up alone and hated by others without even knowing why they hated her.

Naruko's life as a young child was horrible. She was kicked out of the orphanage at the age of six, and forced to live on the streets alone. She survived on what she could find in the garbage, which wasn't much. She was friendless, and either hated or feared by the children her age.

One night shortly after she was kicked out, Naruko found herself starving to death slowly. She kept asking herself, “Why me? What did I do to anger them so much…?”

The ninja watching her were very strict to their orders. They just let her starve in the streets. They were told to keep the citizens from attacking her, not to actually take care of her. They knew they would get in trouble, but they felt, a certain sick joy as the girl starved before their eyes.

The girl laid there in the street, her eyes barely seeing what was going on around her. She wondered why those masked ninjas, who would jump out to save her from the villagers, just sat there as she starved. Her vision started to blacken on the edges as she felt herself slipping away.

As Naruko faded into darkness, she found herself in what looked like a sewer. She looked around curiously before standing and walking forward.

After she walked for what felt like hours, she found herself in front of a giant cage. She starred at the cage wondering what it meant, and what was behind it. She heard a snarl from the cage, and saw steam furrow from between the bars.

“Pathetic! My host is this weak? She lets something as simple as hunger, end her life?!” A deep, almost demonic voice said from behind the bars.

Naruko backed up a few steps and said in defense, “There isn't anything I can do about it… Scraps from trash can only take you so far.” She saw a giant crimson eye stare at her from behind the bars with something akin to interest. It was as if the thing saw past her, and knew what she could become.

“Foolish humans… Not teaching their young how to hunt anymore. Your kind has grown too accustomed to the easy life it seems.”

The being came into view. Naruko gasped as she saw the fox fully stand before her, hundreds of questions were running through her mind.

The fox gave a low chuckle. “Well aren't you full of questions? I can tell by the look in your eyes. However… now is not the time for questions. I refuse to let my host die like this.” The fox grinned and a warm rush of wind blasted forward at the unsuspecting girl.

Naruko then felt something cover her body. She awoke to see a red chakra surrounding her. She looked around scared, but felt her hunger leave her and life energy return to her.

The ninjas watching her quickly sent someone to get the Hokage. Sooner than expected, the aged leader appeared in front of the girl as the chakra receded and she collapsed to the ground.

Sarutobi was glad to see the chakra leave the girl. He figured Minato’s seal did its job. The man then looked to the guards and gave them a glare.

The two ninja knew they were in trouble and immediately started working on their defense. Sarutobi then took the girl to the hospital to have her examined, and to make sure nothing happened to the important seal.

{-} {-} {-}

After that night, Naruko was given a rundown apartment and a stipend to live off until she could earn her own way. The stipend wasn't great, nor was it small, truthfully it was more than enough for a child to live off of and grow up more or less healthy though.

Once she had money, the store owners quickly caught on and either refused her service, or would jack up the price on whatever she purchased for her alone. Most times they gave the lamest of excuses, and didn’t even try to hide they were made up and pointless. To them, it was another way to let her know what they thought of her, and how she was powerless to do anything about it.

The girl would have no choice but to wear her clothing until it was in tatters because of this, and even then she would salvage the fabric to use for repairs on new clothing whenever she got some. The only time she ever received any small kindness was from merchants passing through on business. They would give her good deals on items they knew would never sale. Considering it was their living at stake, this was more or less saintly compared to what she received from her own village, and she did get the best deals ever from them in her mind.

The best bargain she ever received was an orange jumpsuit. The thing was very durable and had many pockets on it. The fact it was a very bright and annoying orange to others made it a plus.

She had taken to acting out as a means of calling for attention. After all, you couldn't just ignore a ‘demon brat’ that wore a bright orange outfit with one of the loudest voices you could find now could you?

Despite what others thought, she was actually clever and intelligent over all, but still barely got by at first in her life. Fortunately at night, she would meet with the fox inside of her mindscape.

She was scared at first of the beast, but soon the two found a way to coexist with each other. They were stuck with one another, so they decided they might as well make the best of it.

Kyuubi would teach her how to hunt and defend herself during these nightly meetings. She of course had to make some modifications to his teachings, since she was human and not a fox herself. However, the lessons were always insightful despite this small disconnect.

She also ‘liberated’ some clothing she could use for hunting in the forested areas around Konoha. She liked orange as a color, but she knew it wasn't the best camouflage unless she went for deer. Since the only deer in the area belonged to the Nara clan, they were out of the question. She may be hated and she may sometimes scavenge clothing and such, but she wasn't a criminal and she refused to give in and become one.

{-} {-} {-}

As Naruko grew older, she enrolled in the ninja academy. She learned lots of new and exciting things, but many of the teachers would try to hinder her growth. Naruko noticed this and soon started acting as the dumb blonde girl that only cared about pranking and sleeping in classes.

She did this for two reasons. The first was because she knew how important it was for the future ninjas, her classmates, to learn what they could. This was something she quickly picked up on when she sometimes visited the old Hokage in his office. She decided she would act like nothing got through to her in class.

As a result of this, her classmates wouldn't be hindered along with her. It worked, so the teachers would just label her as an “idiot demon brat, that would die quickly after becoming a ninja.” She even started a rivalry with the so called "Elite Uchiha" in her class. This would provide further proof she was just some dumb kid that didn't know what she was doing in the eyes of the instructors.

The second reason she did this was to learn without the teachers knowing she was learning. She had quickly become very good at fooling others. It was due to circumstance really. If they just saw her idiot side, the citizens wouldn't glare at her as much. This allowed her a small amount of freedom and comfort. She used her acting skills in class by pretending to be asleep during lessons.

A few people saw through this trick of her's but not many. The main person seeing the truth was one of her instructors, Iruka.

The two started off on bad terms, like she did with all the teachers. Unlike the others, Iruka eventually saw her as a kid that wanted attention. Having been through a similar situation himself when he was younger, he understood her to a certain extent.

He could empathize with her on some level because of his past. Plus having the Hokage tell him, in person this was the case, made it even clearer to him.

Naruko still kept up her act in his classes purely to keep face. If she acted different in his class, the others might figure something out and adjust accordingly.

Another person was a fellow instructor named Mizuki. He didn't really bring much attention to it though, and usually seemed a bit strained as he tried to act nice towards her. She knew he didn't really mean it, but she was thankful he at least tried to make an effort to treat her as another ‘little brat’ he had to teach, instead of the ‘Demon Brat’.

The blonde girl's life wasn't great. In fact, it was pretty horrible, but she was always optimistic that as she grew up, the villagers would see her as Naruko Uzumaki, a Konoha Kunoichi. If they didn't… Well once she became Hokage they wouldn't have a choice, and would have to accept her anyways, so it wouldn't matter.

One surprising plus in her life, was the nine tailed fox had trusted her with his true name, Kurama. Over the years as he kept training her, he came to have a slight fondness for her, and he shared his real name with her. Naruko knew how important of a gesture it was to be trusted with a tailed beasts’ true name, so the two of them grew closer because of this.

{-} {-} {-}

Her life wasn't great, but it also could have been much worse she knew. Her life wasn't without incident though. She had many close shaves with the villagers. She guessed her ‘guards’ decided, because she was in the academy they didn't need to pay much attention to her anymore. She was being trained after all. As a result, she had to actually fight a time or two to save her own life.

For the most part, Naruko usually made it through life rather well. However, the worst incident happened shortly after her twelfth birthday.

She was growing up faster than usual for one her age, especially one as physically active as she was. Kurama had told her it was a side effect from when he used his chakra to save her from starvation. She knew she would grow to be a beautiful Kunoichi, but so did a rather unsavory few individuals. One of them was actually rather strong, and while not a ninja, he was trained in how to fight.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko sighed as she walked back from an academy training ground at night alone like always. It wasn't something she was happy about, but it also didn't really scare her like it should. Naruko walked along the lonely night streets like usual, and felt a little relieved. In the day when the streets were busy, she could feel the glares and hatred from everyone. At night, she didn't feel any such things.

The young blonde girl, lost in her own thoughts, failed to notice the man following her from a safe distance. She also failed to notice he was slowly closing in on her. When she finally noticed someone following her, she had just turned into an alley wanting them to follow her.

She was quickly ready for him, and attacked first as he appeared in the back alley in front of her. She figured this was a rather stupid civilian to try and take her on alone. She was surprised when he managed to counter her attack. Civilians had fought back before with little result, but this man knew what he was doing.

She threw a fist again, which he once again countered. She wasn't so sure of herself now, but she knew the guards would soon step in to help her. They just had to do it. She didn't think they would let this man have his way with her, and make her a ‘woman’ here in a back public alley.

She realized too late how wrong she was. That night the guards watching over her were part of the select few, which still truly held something against her left in the shinobi forces. Most had come to respect her a little bit and realized she might very well end up being a comrade, but the guards tonight decided they really didn't care what the pervert did to her. They would do their duty and keep her alive if needed, but that was about it.

Her eyes widened as the muscular man soon over powered her. Usually Kurama would step in and help at this point, but they had made a pact he would keep his help to a minimum. The two made this pact because they didn't want her turning into a Jinchuriki that relied on his power alone.

Naruko continued to struggle under the man’s hold and mentally cried, knowing it was just her luck this had to happen when she was as vulnerable as she could be. The man gave a twisted lecherous smile and said softly in her ears, “You may fight now but you will come to enjoy it. I promise you.”

He ripped off her top exposing her chest, and was working on her pants when her fingers found something she could use to defend herself. She grabbed a hard sharp piece of metal and slit his throat. The man stared in disbelief as his fingers uselessly tried to stop the bleeding. His blood poured on to her face and upper body as life finally left him, and his body slumped lifelessly on top of her.

She shoved his body off and stood up with a wild look in her eyes as she breathed heavily. It was then that Kurama spoke to her in her mind, “Sorry kid but you insisted on using the blood pact, claiming I might otherwise be tempted to help you, and thus defeat the purpose of this stage of training. I couldn’t do anything about it until you were actually on the brink of death.”

“It isn’t your fault, Kurama…” she thought to him in reply. She sent a glare at the two guards, who just watched with uncaring eyes as the scene played out in front of them. However the condition she was in, and the fact she knew exactly where they were, made the aftermath one of the most unsettling sights they had seen in a while.

The guards while protecting her would let her train in peace in her training ground. They instead kept an eye on the perimeter in case someone got smart, because of this she developed her powers and abilities without them knowing what she was capable of doing.

Her eyes grew wilder as her hatred coursed through her, and she was about to attack when the Hokage appeared on the scene. He gave a sad face as he tossed the girl his cloak. “I’m sorry, Naruko. I was in an important meeting. I couldn't check up on you like I do when I feel something’s amiss.” The wild look, left her eyes as her grandfather figure gave her a slight hug. She didn't cry. She had run out of tears long ago in her life. She instead simply soaked in the small comfort offered her.

Four ninjas appeared behind him with the two guards secured and cuffed. “Send those two to Ibiki. I want to hear their lousy reasons for their actions tonight as well as the truth.” He ordered in his gruff voice. The four ninjas nodded, and all six disappeared in a pile of leaves.

The aged leader offered his hand to the blonde girl, and escorted her home where she cleaned up and changed clothes. Once she was cleaned and changed, he took her to Ichiraku’s and treated her to her favorite meal of ramen. He was hoping to ease her mind and apologize to her for the night. He did all of this in the hopes of keeping her trust in their relationship.

The next day after Sarutobi heard the captives’ excuses, he had them executed for their lack of oversight at what might actually happen if she hadn't killed the man herself, and he went through with his plans. ‘She wants to be Kunoichi and will most likely be raped in the future. So we thought it good that she go through it now when she won’t actually die, and learn to deal with it.’ They claimed.

This flawed logic wasn't a good enough reason to leave a young twelve year old at the mercy of a pedophile. Let alone risk the village’s safety in case she lost control and unleashed the Kyuubi on them all, or willingly did this as a result of her suffering.

The child was amazing to have put up with all she had from the village as it was. This was part of the reason Sarutobi half believed she may make her dreams of being Hokage come true one day. She did have the will power and determination needed down already.

{-} {-} {-}

It was a few months after that night and Naruko sat by herself on top of the Hokage monument like she usually did. She liked the view from up here. It always soothed her to look at the night sky. She was currently excited about the upcoming exams, for graduation.

She had failed the last two times because of the stupid clone jutsu. Her clones always came out looking like something someone stepped in. She knew why this happened, but it still disgusted her.

The fox told her it was because she had too much chakra due to his presence. He told her there were other clones she could probably use with no problem, but he didn't know how to do them. He never needed to make any before in his long life, and he wasn't human so he didn't have the knowledge for such techniques.

Naruko, ever hopeful, just knew this would be the time she could pass and join a ninja team finally. She didn't know why it would work out this time. She just knew it had to work out this time. The twelve year old girl would then start her journey to becoming Hokage, and forcing acceptance from those around her. She started day dreaming about being Hokage like she usually did when she thought about this.

It wasn't too long into her day dream when she felt a presence in the back of her mind, and heard a low rumbling chuckle. “You really want to be accepted by these foolish beings that badly?” The beast said to her through their connection.

“I will protect them and this village so they have to acknowledge me. Kurama you know this.” Naruko said back to him in her mind. Though he had trusted her with his true name she only used it when needed, or if she was serious. She was serious this time, and didn't like him laughing at her dream like that. She had trained hard for it during her free time, and she would continue to do so until she was Hokage. Not even that night would keep her down or change her mind.

She could tell the fox had narrowed his eyes at her as he next mentally spoke, “Why do you care for these idiots? They show no regard for you or your life. They aren't worth saving. And don’t even think about saying your classmates do care and you will stand by them. You know as well as I do they wouldn't want anything to do with you outside of missions. Even on missions they would only do what was minimally necessary.”

Naurko’s blue eyes turned a little darker at his words. She knew he was right deep down. She also knew with time they might see her and respect her as a fellow ninja though. “With time they will come around. I will just have to prove myself to them. It’s only normal that you have to prove yourself to others before they see you as a friend, or care the slightest for you.” She answered him.

The fox sighed. “It is not normal… But you are right about that with time statement, I suppose. Still they don’t deserve any thought from you.” Knowing their discussion wouldn't go anywhere, the fox broke their connection as the two bid each other goodnight. It was late and she needed to get up early tomorrow for the graduation exam, so she headed home for bed.

She looked back at the monument as she made her way home in thought. She had toyed with the idea of doing one last prank using the Hokage monument, but she had lost interest in such things recently. No one appreciated the humor, and the other ninjas she had to avoid afterward were all too easy to evade now. Even then she knew Iruka would find her somehow, and she would have to clean up after herself.

Naruko decided she would let up on the pranking for now at least. She was that sure she would pass her test, even if she couldn't do the clones correctly. Also she would rather start off on a better foot, than she would if she had done a master prank involving the Hokage monument before her exams.

{-} {-} {-}

The next day Naruko made it to class on time for the first time in her life it seemed. Her look of determination caught several students off guard as she entered through the open window. She heard a scoff from a dark haired boy nearby, “Even the idiot blonde girl made it on time for once. Not sure why. You won’t pass.” The boy smirked at her, “Unless maybe they let you pass out of pity, and let nature take its course while you're on a mission.”

“Shut up Sasuke. I don’t have time to argue with your brooding ass. I will pass this test! You better believe it!” Naruko said to him before finding a seat as far away from him as possible. She knew the fan girl duo would arrive soon, and nothing good ever came of that in the near vicinity of Sasuke.

As if on cue, Ino Yamanaka (loud mouth blonde according to Sasuke) and Sakura Haruno (pink haired banshee according to most) arrived in their usual fashion, and as always argued over who got the seat next to Sasuke. Naruko began to have doubts about the future of Konoha if these two girls became Kunoichi. She had tried to straighten them out, but they accused her of trying to steal Sasuke from them by distracting them with less important matters, like being a real Kunoichi.

Finally everyone calmed down as Iruka and Mizuki walked into the room and prepared to start the graduation exam. The first portion was the written portion. Naruko hated these written exams. They were always oddly worded and twisted in some fashion as a means to try and trick the students.

She did manage to answer them eventually. Kurama even helped from time to time. Since he was a fox he was a master of deception and cunning, so he saw through to the real question. The fox didn't have to help much truthfully, and only did so because he wouldn't stand for his Host to fail her ninja test a third time.

Next the students trooped outside for the hand to hand combat test. Naruko had to face Mizuki and managed to surprise everyone with her ability. It wasn't really the best in their class or anything, but it was very decent and she usually wasn't anywhere near this good with martial arts in lessons. Iruka smiled at Naruko as she finished and went to wait with the others.

Shikamaru, a classmate of her's with black hair tied to look like a pineapple, lazily walked over to her. He leaned against the wall next to her and raised an eyebrow at her. “Finally shedding the idiot act, Naruko? This will be troublesome.”

Naruko just looked at him surprised. She didn't know how he figured it out. She then remembered he had the highest IQ in their class. He was just a lazy bum most of the time. Okay maybe all of the time... unless his mother pressed him on something.

Naruko shook her head to clear it before saying, “Maybe just a little bit. After all I really want to pass this time.”

Shikamaru just turned back and continued waiting for his turn. He was thinking over things in his head as he waited. He knew the only reason he saw through her act was because she, Choji, Kiba, and him used to skip class together. He knew her just a little bit more than the others did. She was still a big mystery though. One he couldn't figure out right away like he did most of everything else. This annoyed and intrigued him to no end.

{-} {-} {-}

Finally, the students waited in the classroom as the final portion of the exam began. They were called into a separate room one at a time where they would have to preform three jutsus.

There were a total of four possible techniques they might have to perform. The transformation, where they would cast an illusion to look like someone else. The replacement, where they replaced their self with an item of some kind. The clone, Which required them to cast three illusions of their self. Finally there was the Rope Escape.

The instructors would draw three slips of paper from a box once the student entered. Naruko could do three no problem. So as long as she wasn't asked to do the clone jutsu she would be good. She also hoped maybe she did well enough on the other portions, they would settle for a best two out of three in the jutsu portion if she had to do the clone.

Naruko watched as several hopefuls entered the room and fewer came back out. Those who failed were told they could try again next year, unless it was their third failure, or if they wanted they could stop the program, and find a civilian job to their liking. After hearing their options they were asked to leave through a different door. Naruko gulped as her name drew nearer to being called.

After what seemed like forever, she was finally called. She was nervous, but also relieved. She didn't have to listen to Sakura and a couple of other girls going on and on about how they passed their test. They made a show of their success trying to get Sasuke’s attention.

The whole scene sickened Naruko. She understood they were interested in boys, she was even a little bit curious herself, but there was a time and place for such things, and being a ninja required that you know this. All of the other girls didn't seem to understand this as they constantly chased after Sasuke, despite his lack of interest in them.

She stepped inside and Iruka spoke to her, “Alright Naruko you know how this works. Mizuki-sensei will be drawing for you.” She nodded and waited her fate.

“Alright your first one is the transformation jutsu. Use Iruka’s image here.” Mizuki said to her as Iruka stood up.

Naruko made the hand signs and said, “Transformation jutsu!” There was a puff of smoke, and where the blonde girl with long twin tails and deep blue eyes once stood; there was now a perfect copy of Iruka. It was an exact match to the man. She even got the spiky parts of his brown ponytail correct.

“Good.” Said both instructors together. Next she had to do the rope escape jutsu. Mizuki said he had to tie her up so he would be sure the rope was tied correctly. She escaped in a puff of smoke using the jutsu with no problem. Again both instructors said, “Good.”

Naruko was excited now, but even more nervous. She only had one more to go and she would be a ninja! When she heard Mizuki call out the last one she frowned before collecting herself, and doing what she could. Hoping beyond hope she would somehow do it correctly this one time.

“Clone Jutsu!” She shouted after using the right signs. Three poofs were made next to her. The instructors frowned. There were three washed out sagging clones next to Naruko.

“That isn't good enough. Try again.” Mizuki told her. She tried again three more times; each group came out worse than the previous. Mizuki shook his head. “You fail Naruko…”

Naruko’s head sunk. She then asked, “But didn't I do well enough on the rest of the test? I got two of them right, and I can do the replacement….”

“Sorry Naruko… But even with your decent test scores, your grades from the rest of the year matter, and you needed to pass this portion to get it.” Mizuki said not really sounding sorry at all.

Iruka frowned and was about to say something when she interrupted him, “I can do another jutsu that isn't one of the four!” She didn't want to show them this jutsu yet, because they would wonder how she was able to already use wind nature chakra jutsus. She had learned them from her lessons with Kurama along with fire nature jutsus.

She knew there would be many questions and concerns about this if they found out. But at this moment she wasn't thinking about the repercussions it would have. All she cared about was finally passing the exams and graduating. Besides, if she failed it would be her third strike and she wasn't sure what she would do then.

Iruka frowned deeper at her, “Naruko, if we allowed that then those from ninja families would have an unfair advantage. They already have some of one as it is. There is a reason these four are selected.” He said to her.

“If we let academy students pick which three techniques they want, then it would defeat the purpose of this exam. Ninjas need to be able to adapt and show they can use the most basic moves.” Mizuki added.

“Okay…” she said as she left out the side door with her head hanging. Kurama left her to herself. He knew she needed time to figure things out, and he was still in need of some deep rest after her last training session. It wasn't easy for him to keep the ramen eating machine in tip top shape with all she put herself through while training.

{-} {-} {-}

Naruko was now sitting in the woods at the spot she needed to for finishing the secret test Mizuki told her about after everyone left for the day. She would have normally been suspicious of this whole set up, but she was so eager and excited to find out she still had a chance.

Kurama finally stopped resting and he found her reading an important looking scroll. He didn't know what was going on, but chose to stay silent and see how things played out. Besides if anything got too bad he would step up and help her.

She looked through the scroll and easily learned the first jutsu listed. It was called the Shadow Clone Jutsu. This clone actually required a lot of chakra, and the more you put in the better it was. It was so easy compared to the others, she wondered why it was forbidden. She tried it and cheered when she saw a copy of herself that she could actually touch and feel.

She then looked down to the next jutsu on the list. It was called the Ultimate Escape Jutsu. It had a little warning next to it saying while it could escape anything. It only worked on this planet and the user couldn't pick where they were sent. The jutsu seemed to send the user to some place that was random but still safe. She thought the bit about only working on this planet was a stupid joke some bored Hokage came up with for the hell of it.

She had been waiting for a really long time now and decided to give it a try herself, thinking it would probably only take her someplace nearby. She did the signs after practicing them and then shouted, “Ultimate Escape Jutsu!” And then she vanished not noticing the Hokage’s eyes as he watched her disappear after using the jutsu.

The third Hokage was on his way to tell her she had actually passed the exams after all. They discovered Mizuki hanging around the Hokage tower and one of his ANBU heard the man say to himself in disbelief, “That little demon bitch did it! I’m glad I fixed her results from her test to make sure she would have to complete the jutsu portion, and made sure she got her worst jutsu last. Master Orochimaru will be glad I got him that scroll, and I’m sure he’ll love to have a new toy to experiment on that’s more durable than the others.”

After the ANBU recovered from his shock at the man’s idiocy, he quickly captured the man and turned him over to a very happy Ibiki. He still couldn't believe the man talked to himself without making sure he was alone first. Once Sarutobi heard of this news he asked for her test, and had it graded correctly in front of him. She had passed just barely, even with her failure at the clone jutsu.

Sarutobi sighed as he watched her disappear before his eyes, “Looks like I’ll have to get Jiraiya to look into this matter along with some others if that man is involved. We can’t lose her, both because of her prisoner and her parents’ legacy.” He shook his head knowing it would be a long night. The aged Hokage had no idea just how far away the girl would travel, nor did he know what she had become.

{-} {-} {-}

In the land of Equestria far away, Princess Celestia was relaxing after a long day of court duties and some time with her student Twilight Sparkle. Of the two she very much preferred the time she spent with Twilight. The young pony was always eager to learn and very capable with unicorn magic. She had also come to see the purple unicorn as a sort of daughter over the years, despite the girl having a wonderful family that loved her already.

The Pony’s entrance exam was very surprising, despite having to hatch a dragon egg. Celestia still wondered why they actually expected her to hatch a dragon’s egg. The power to do such a thing was very rare in even the most gifted of unicorns.

Usually the panel would just use it as a test to see the potential a unicorn had. Casting the spell to hatch the egg made the magic in a unicorn visible and easy to read to the judges’ eyes. Of course the judges usually tried to psyche the hopeful out, and see how determined they were as well as the power they had. However, for some reason the three judges actually expected Twilight to hatch it this time around.

The Alicron princess sighed to herself, and was thankful it turned out the judges were new and misinformed once the investigation of the matter was completed. She still thought it should have been rather obvious what the true purpose of the test was to them.

In the end though it didn't matter, not only had Twilight hatched the egg. She also metamorphosed her parents in to plants, levitated the judges, and grew the baby dragon to full size. The princess chuckled to herself as she remembered how much of a surprise the scene caused everyone.

Hatching a dragon egg wasn't easy. If it was, there would be several unicorns with baby dragon assistants running around Canterlot. In fact, each student at Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns would have one.

Princess Celestia sighed thinking of the name once again. She still wished they would change the name of the school to something shorter.

However the most amazing thing was, Twilight still had the magical energy to do the other three things as well, all of which were just as equally difficult. The additional aura and glowing eyes, showing off the filly’s magic signature, only emphasized she needed special care and attention. The wise princess did the most logical of things by taking the young filly under her wing. The fact she was also happy and excited to have a personal student again was a bonus.

Celestia stood up and got ready for bed after she stared out into the night sky and the moon, as she did every night before she finally went to sleep. As she contemplated the moon, she felt a tremendous burst of magic coming from the old ancient castle. Celestia sighed knowing it was probably going to be a long night and an even longer day tomorrow.

“Guards.” She called. Two white male Pegasus ponies in gold armor entered the room.

“Yes. Princess?” The one on the left asked.

“I need to check on something. Make sure nothing happens while I am gone. I should be back later tonight.” The Princess said before opening her wings and jumping out the window. She wasn't sure what happened as she soared to the old castle. She just hoped it wouldn't be too troublesome.

{-} {-} {-}

Somewhere far away from Konoha, Naruko was passed out on the floor of an ancient looking castle. In the middle of the grand hall, where she lay, there was a pedestal with five stone globes surrounding a larger one raised above the others. There were vines all along the walls and columns of the hall, and in the back two thrones stood next to each other. One throne was made of white marble with an engraved sun. The other throne was made of black granite with an engraved moon.

Naruko slowly got up feeling a bit dizzy and looked around where she landed. The first and only thought that came to her mind was, “Where the heck am I?!” Little did she know a new life had just started for her. A life that would show her what friendship and bonds really meant.

Comments

[Devastor]

Minato Namikaze*

[HB_DS2013]

I’m starting to think that the Ultimate Escape Jutsu is fancy for “rage quit”.

[Magos Xenos Disathairne]

8877796
It's actually just a fancy way of boarding the Nope train.

[Blaze Song]

9163926

Or Naruko yelling in The RCV "Fk this st, I'm out.. Have fun dealing with Orochimaru without me.~ Bye~~ "

[Detsella Morningdew]

The Ultimate Escape Jutsu is hilarious. But I'm just wondering how the inventor managed to actually write it down.

I mean, it could be a "Naruko has so much chakra it overpowered the jutsu" thing, but that means the information about only being able to use it on that planet not really possible to get. Naruko would have to find that out herself.