More Than A Name (Naruto Fanfiction)

The First Exam

Naruto was awakened by a ray of sunlight scanning his face. His sudden leap into consciousness flooded his body with excitement and anticipation. He jumped out of bed and straight into the air, yelling, "Let's do this!"

Naruto was knocked off balance and fell to the ground after Sakura threw a pillow at his head. Sakura glared at Naruto and then lay back down to get a brief respite of sleep. However, as her head hit the mattress, she realized she had just thrown away her only pillow.

She then groaned and sat up.

"Who screams when they first get up in the morning like that?" Sakura asked, grouchy as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Naruto sat up and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry, Sakura, I'm not used to waking up around other people."

Sasuke's voice reverberated through the room. "Both of you should get ready and prepare yourselves for today. We're not here on vacation,"

Naruto and Sakura searched for Sasuke's voice and found him meditating on the ceiling.

"How long you've been up," asked Naruto

"Since 5:00 a.m., I've already completed my morning exercises, taken a bath, and was just about finished with my meditations before your outburst," Sasuke said, his tone carrying a hint of annoyance."

"What's got you so serious."

Sasuke sighed and dropped down off the ceiling and onto the floor.

"We can't afford to get caught up in the environment we are in; we are here for the exams and nothing else," Sasuke said

"I understand, but it wouldn't hurt if we enjoyed the Land of Hot Water while we were here; we only saw a little of it yesterday, but I can already tell that this is one of the most beautiful places in the world," said Sakura finding the prospect of exploring the land exciting

Sasuke furrowed his eyes.

"Prancing around and smelling flowers may be enough for you two, but I didn't come here to waste playing around like a bunch of grade schoolers."

Sakura was shocked at Sasuke's harsh words.

Naruto glared at Sasuke,

"What's up yours this morning? You haven't been this much of a jerk in months."

Sorrow filled Saskue's eyes as he felt guilt rise within him,

"Sorry, it's just..." Sasuke sighed and sat down on his bed

Sakura and Naruto waited for Sasuke to continue. Over the past year, they had learned that Sasuke often lashed out when he needed to express his emotions. However, he would later apologize and explain himself after collecting his thoughts.

Sasuke looked down at the floor and spoke.

"I put so much effort into getting stronger. I've always said that I didn't need or want recognition. Still, I think I was just telling myself that just to make myself feel better, I wanted to be recognized for my strength and ability, to have my hard work be evident. That's why I despise being called a prodigy or talented. It makes it seem like all the hard work I've done doesn't exist."

"I used to train constantly with no breaks, eating to sustain my energy and sleeping only out of exhaustion. I practiced fire just until my throat was raw. I felt like I would die from Chakra exhaustion. I'm not good-gifted just because I'm an Uchiha or just a natural genius; I'm good at being a ninja because I worked my ass off."

Sasuke looked up at his teammates.

"I feel the same about this team, the hours we have spent training together, the times when we have been so exhausted that we have to be carried back home, The hundreds of hours of spars. I want people to see and acknowledge the work we've put in; I don't want all of it to be for nothing," Sasuke expressed, his eyes filled with determination and a hint of vulnerability.