Naruto: Path of Uchiha

Chapter 10: Academy Unfolds

Today is not a normal day for six-year-old Naruto. In fact, today is very special, as it will be the first day of his academy.

Naruto, being an early riser, wakes up at 6 sharp.

He looks over to the bed next to his, and strangely, Sasuke is nowhere to be seen.

This is a rare occurrence, as it has happened only once in Naruto's life, which was when Naruto had mastered the substitution and transformation jutsu while Sasuke had not. Eager to be on par with his brother that day, Sasuke had woken up early to train.

'Naruto! Are you up yet?' A voice comes from outside of Naruto's room, which Naruto immediately recognizes to be Shikamaru's.

Strange, he thinks. First of all, Sasuke had woken up early. Secondly, Shikamaru's here.

Not bothering to answer Shikamaru, Naruto gets up from his bed and gets ready for the day.

On his way out, he looks at himself in the mirror. He's wearing his classic black training suit with stripes of orange, along with some black shoes.

'Are you trying to impress someone?' Kurama, who, when he first met him, did not expect him to be so nosy, asks.

'No, Kurama. I am just trying to look good since it's my first day. I want to leave a good impression', Naruto deadpans.

'Whatever you say, Naruto'

Naruto steps out of his room and into the hallway, where he finds Shikamaru leaning against the wall, looking bored as usual. Beside him is Sasuke, who looks annoyed.

'Finally, it took you long enough', Sasuke says as he spots Naruto.

'Yeah, waiting for you is very troublesome', Shikamaru agrees.

'Uh what? What are you doing here, Shikamaru? Why are you both unexpectedly up so early? I woke up at my usual time', Naruto says, clearly confused.

'Don't know. I was sleeping peacefully when suddenly Shikamaru woke me up, saying he wanted to discuss something with us', Sasuke explains.

Hearing this, Naruto perked up. Shikamaru wasn't the type of person to bother doing all this. So it must be something important. He turned towards Shikamaru and asked, 'Why didn't you wake me up as well?'

'I saw you training till late yesterday; I figured waking you up would be troublesome', Shikamaru says without looking at Naruto.

'Glad to see you care, Shikamaru, but you know I wouldn't mind,' Naruto assures.

Shikamaru didn't bother answering.

'You both already had your breakfast, I assume?' Naruto questions the two.

'Yeah, I already did, and so did Shikamaru before coming here', Sasuke replies.

'Alright then. You guys go ahead to Hinata's house. I'll catch up', Naruto says, heading towards the kitchen.

'He must be hungry, as he is dismissing us so quickly', Sasuke says, watching Naruto leave.

'Mhm, he must be. Let's go; it's already getting late.'

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Naruto's POV

Heading towards the kitchen, I see Mama come out and say, 'You're awake, Naruto! Good Morning. Are you ready for your first day at the academy?' Mama smiles warmly at me.

'Good morning to you too, Mama, and yes, I am as ready as I can be' I answer, returning the smile with the same warmth.

'Come on, have breakfast; Itachi is having some as well', she offers.

'Yeah, I'll have some', I answered.

                                        ***

'Good morning, Itachi Nii-san' I say, sitting in the chair, ready to have some breakfast.

'Good morning, Naruto. You will be joining the academy today?'

'Yeah. I was excited before, but not anymore. Through training over the past year, I have learned basically everything. Now I just want to graduate and be a ninja', I say honestly.

Itachi Nii-san scrunched his eyebrows in response.

'I've no doubt you know everything, Naruto. Still, the academy teaches you a lot of things. You'll know it when you get there',

I wanted to point out the fact that Itachi Nii-san himself graduated in one year, but I said nothing.

'Alright then, I'll be off', I bid farewell as I take the last bite of my toast.

'Bye Mama! Bye Papa!' I rushed, as I was already late. Sasuke will be even more annoyed if I arrive late.

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At the Hyuuga Compound

I enter through the gates, getting greeted by the guards; they know me as I come here often.

I look up, feeling someone coming towards me. 'Oh, hello, Naruto!' Hiashi-san greets me as soon as he notices me.

'Good to see you, Hiashi-san' I say, bowing in return.

I remember when I first came here, Hiashi-san despised me. He didn't want his daughter hanging around me. I don't know why, but me saving Hinata from getting bullied changed his mind, turning me into one of the few who have successfully befriended the Hyuuga clan head.

'I take it you're here to see Hinata?' He questions me regarding my appearance here.

'Yeah, Sasuke and Shikamaru are as well'

Hiashi-san disliked Sasuke from the beginning, the only reason being that he was an Uchiha. There's still some hot water between the two, but they're on better terms than before.

'You can find them in Hinata's room'

                                        ***

I make my way to Hinata's room, getting sternly greeted by Neji, Hinata's older cousin, on the way.

He's a year older than us, already in the academy. As for his personality, I hate it. I hate it so much that I am willing to do more than enough to change it.

'I was about to ask why you are so late, but now I'm more curious about what caused you to make a face like that?' Sasuke asks as I enter the room.

'Huh?' I ask, then realize that I must be showing something unpleasant on my face. 'Its Neji', I answer, sitting on the floor next to Sasuke.

'That makes sense', Shikamaru says, and Hinata protests, 'He's not that bad guys; he's just...'

'Whatever he is, he has no right to treat you like that', I say, expressing my anger towards him.

'Let's just get on with it. Shikamaru, what did you want to discuss?' Sasuke says to change the topic.

'Right. I overheard something. Something very troublesome. I have no clue why, but one of our sensei's this year is planning to sabotage Naruto during his time at the academy', Shikamaru says with a hint of worry on his face.

'That's fine. This happening is no surprise, as many of the villagers hold resentment against me. I will deal with it', I say, and as expected, everyone starts to protest.

Hinata and Shikamaru don't know about my heritage or about Kurama inside me; I plan to tell them soon. Just not now.

'This is so wrong; we should tell Papa about it', Sasuke says. 'Yes Naruto! This is totally unfair', Hinata agrees.

'We don't have proof yet', Shikamaru says, depicting my thoughts.

'He's right. You guys know that I can defend myself. If anything happens, I'll tell you guys, so there's no need to worry. Besides, I'm thinking of graduating early so it won't be a problem' I state, hoping it will ease their worries.

'If you're graduating early, then we are as well,' Hinata decides. 'I'm in too', Shikamaru agrees.

'I don't think you know that, but to graduate early like this guy plans to over here, we have to pass the graduation test first' Sasuke says, pointing towards me.

'Naruto will be able to; he already knows the jutsus, and as for the written test, he will be able to clear that too, thanks to his obsession with books', Hinata says.

'Yes, she's right. Now that's settled, let's head on to the academy. We don't want to be late on our first day', I say, standing up, and they all follow me reluctantly.

'Someone's being confident', Kurama, who's surprisingly been silent the entire time, says.

'I'm not. I just want them to stop worrying about me', I reply.

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At the academy

As the four comrades enter the academy, many prying eyes go towards them, wondering why they have all come together.

They all take their seats. Naruto and Sasuke are beside each other, next to a pink-haired girl. While Hinata and Shikamaru take their seat besides Choji, who they all know as part of the Ino-Shika-Cho generation,

Naruto also noticed Ino, whom he has met a few times due to both of their fathers friendship. Seeing Naruto, Ino passes a smile at him, and he nods in acknowledgment.

When everyone seems to have settled down, a man who everyone assumes is their sensei enters the classroom.

He is a man with black hair that he keeps in a ponytail, dark eyes, and a scar that runs across the bridge of his nose.

'Good morning, everyone. I am Iruka Umino, your sensei for the duration of your time here. I am hoping we get along well', Iruka, who is trying his best not to look nervous as it is his first class ever, states.

Iruka took his time looking over his class, his gaze lingering on Naruto, which the boy obviously noticed.

'Shall we make introductions?' Iruka instructs the class.

Everyone took turns introducing themselves. The most prominent ones in Naruto's mind were Kiba Inuzuka, who sat behind Hinata with a pup at his side and was louder than Naruto's liking, and Shino Aburame, who seemed very quiet.

'Alright, I take it; introductions are done. I am hoping you all get along well as a class. Let's start with the teaching now', Iruka says, making most of the students grunt in response.

The lessons went smoothly. Naruto knew most of the stuff about the history of Konoha thanks to his liking for archives. Although, just like Itachi said, there were also some facts that were new to Naruto.

Expectedly, Shikamaru was dozing off. The only thing keeping him from actually falling asleep was Hinata's constant nudging.

One thing Hinata was determined to do was not let any of her friends stay behind. Even if it meant keeping an eye on Shikamaru and his habit of sleeping,

                                       ***

The day went on without any mishaps, and it was time for their last lesson of the day.

The only thing that was unusual was Mizuki, an instructor at the academy, side-eyeing Naruto way too often for it to be called a coincidence.

'It's time for the taijutsu lesson; you will be sparring against each other so I can see where's everyone at', Iruka says as the students form a group around the sparring area.

'So first against each other will be Naruto Uzumaki and Kiba Inuzuka.'

Naruto, who was lost in his thoughts, or maybe lost in talking to Kurama, was nudged by Sasuke to pay attention.

'You're up. Against Kiba', Sasuke whispered to Naruto, who in return smiled at him apologetically.

Both Naruto and Kiba step ahead, taking their positions.

Instructed by Iruka, they make the seal of confrontation and then begin.

Kiba, with his usual cocky grin, charges at Naruto.

He shouts, 'Naruto, you're going down!'. Naruto, though initially surprised by Kiba's aggression, quickly regains his composure. He leaps back, dodging Kiba's initial attack, and calls out, 'You're on, Kiba. Let's see what you've got.'

The two ninjas clash, their movements blurring as they exchange blows. Kiba, whom Naruto suspects has been trained in sparring, relies on his speed and agility and tries to overwhelm Naruto with a flurry of attacks. Naruto, who clearly has the disadvantage of having much less training in taijustu, uses his superior chakra control and strength to counter Kiba's every move.

He dodges, blocks, and counters with attacks he has seen his brothers use while sparring each other.

That's clearly not enough, as Kiba is much more experienced in this field of jutsu than Naruto.

Naruto quickly comes up with a plan. He forms a series of shadow clones, confusing Kiba and forcing him to spread his attacks. Gaining the advantage of surprise, Naruto ends the battle with a powerful punch infused with chakra, sending Kiba flying back and landing hard on the ground. Kiba, stunned and defeated, can only watch as Naruto stands victorious.

'You are stronger than I expected', Kiba admits, standing up.

'You shouldn't have underestimated me', Naruto says, offering a hand, which Kiba accepts.

The match ends with a seal of reconciliation.

Iruka, who's stunned at the match that took place, goes towards Naruto and says, 'You know the clone jutsu already? I never said you could use jutsus during the match', Iruka, who holds some resentment towards Naruto, states this with a frown on his face.

'You didn't say we couldn't either. I just took the benefit of doubt', Naruto, who doesn't know the reason for Iruka's resentment, states blankly as he joins his friends who are ready to congratulate him.

'You did well'
'Thanks Kurama'

                                         ***

The next match was Shikamaru versus Choji, which ended before it even started as Choji did not want to fight his friend.

With that, the day came to an end. The four best friends were on their way back to their respective homes.

'Ugh, why didn't I get to spar?' Sasuke grunts, not happy with today's lesson.

'You will get a chance next time, Sasuke', Hinata, being the optimist she is, states with a smile.

'Yeah, I guess', Sasuke replies. 'What did you all think of our peers?' he questions.

'Kiba looks strong. I've only seen his taijutsu yet, so I can't be sure. Shino looks very secretive, I guess it comes with being part of the Aburame clan', Naruto answers.

'That was good for your first time sparring', Shikamaru remarks, and Naruto mumbles thanks to him, thinking much work has to be done.

'As for our peers, Choji and Ino are bound to be on the same team with me, so I don't have any particular opinion', he adds.

'That's right. As for me, the pink-haired girl, Sakura, was looking at me constantly. It weirds me out, honestly.'

'Ooh, someone's got a crush' Naruto begins but is immediately stopped by Sasuke.

'NO'.

'Honestly, I think this day was not that bad', 'I am looking forward to spending many more days here', Hinata says, and the boys hum in agreement.

It would not be wrong to say that all four of them were looking forward to enjoying their time at the academy. Naruto, who's opened up a bit more, Sasuke, who's gotten more considerate. Shikamaru, who's not that lazy anymore, and Hinata, who's much more confident. They all have each other's backs.

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Author: Thank you so much for 200+ reads! This chapter is one of the longer ones of the bunch, so I hope you enjoy it!