Sage's Resurrection

Chapter 1

It's time for graduation. Naruto thought absentmindedly. The academy graduation exam was beginning. Naruto wore a bright orange jacket and pants as punishment for losing a bet. He didn't really mind it, and it didn't impede him, so he kept it, much to Sasuke's horror.

"The first part is a written test. Mizuki will pass these out. Mizuki, if you will." Iruka's voice rang out sharp. The man in question wore a bandana and the standard Konoha-nin uniform, with silver-white hair. Collecting the papers on the table, he made a single clone and the two Mizukis passed out the papers.

He has the shadow clone jutsu, Naruto thought, surprised. That's suspicious. When Mizuki passed a test, he smirked knowingly, like there was some kind of trick to it.

"I have to check the paper and you to ensure you aren't doing anything funky," Mizuki said, chuckling. He tapped Naruto's shoulder, as Naruto felt an odd sensation wash over him as the world shuddered around him. 

Genjutsu, Kurama snarled. He thinks he can control you? Think again, bastard. Reality reasserted itself as Naruto blinked rapidly to end the sudden vertigo.

Mizuki nodded and left, pleased. "The test will begin now!" Iruka ordered, as a vast chorus of pencils on paper rang out. Question one: What is Chakra? Naruto tapped his pencil on his chin for a moment, then began to write. Chakra is a particle composed of both the body's energy and the energy of the soul.

As Naruto continued to move through the questions, he spotted Mizuki, who seemed very, very smug. Channelling some of Kurama's chakra, he looked at Mizuki and smirked. Mizuki spit out some coffee that he was drinking, covering it up by coughing violently.

Satisfied, Naruto continued with the test, and reached the final question. Why do we fight? Naruto blinked. Once. Twice. That was not what I expected from an academy exam, I'll admit, but okay. Naruto began to write, his strokes methodical and emotionally charged. He recalled the conversation he had had with the Hokage years ago, and smiled.

We fight for many reasons. Love, power, fame, and so on. But as shinobi of the village hidden in the leaves, we fight first and foremost to protect our village and the people who can't. Naruto placed his pencil on the table. Flipping his paper face-down, he looked next to him as Sayuri finished her test. She looked at him and smiled. Iruka quickly came and took the papers from them and placed them on his desk. Sasuke placed his pencil on the table. Mizuki took the paper, surreptitiously glaring at Naruto, who returned the gesture with twice the intensity.

Mizuki backed off, realising where he was, and gave an extraordinarily fake smile. It could not have been clearer how fake it was and Sasuke glared at him, sharingan blazing. Naruto noted that Sasuke had awakened dual tomoe in each eye over the past years. The third tomoe always eluded Sasuke, however.

Mizuki chuckled, leaving them alone. Sasuke sighed.

"That guy's been on your bad side for as long as he's been teaching this class. I swear that that guy wants your head on a pike." Sasuke shook his head in disbelief.

"He's such a condescending, arrogant guy. If he died, I don't think anyone would care," Sayuri whispered. "Aside from the Hokage, who naturally cares for everyone." Naruto gazed on, his expression blank.

"Well, whatever. After this, we don't have to deal with him anymore." Naruto slumped over onto the desk.

Forty five minutes later, everyone's paper was collected. "We will now begin the ninjutsu examination. You will go and demonstrate the three ninjutsu we have taught. We will call on you to come down and display the clone, substitution, and transformation."