Just Smile: A Naruto Fanfiction

Chapter 6: Slash

To live was to be in pain. To be in pain meant that you were alive. 

Naruto Namikaze was very much alive. The pain in his chest and stomach proved this to be true as he panted, his body aching, begging for relief. 

But this was an everyday occurrence, and he covered it with a smile, as his father had instructed him to do. It was nice, to see the relieved smiles on people's faces as they saw him. They thought he was happy.

They thought that he wasn't internally screaming at all times, wailing like a child. 

But he had to be strong. 

He was Naruto Namikaze, the son of the Yellow Flash and the Red Habanero. 

He had to be strong. 

Or else peace would never be acquired. 

"Itachi Uchiha," A Kumo Chunin announced loudly as the raven-haired boy stood up at attention, knowing what was going to happen to him. 

The test was a simple one: See if you're chakra is strong enough. Kumo prided themselves on being able to sense strong chakra, so they have a test to see how strong one's chakra really is by using their best sensor, which happened to be an Elite Jounin, to help. 

If you failed to prove your chakra was strong enough, you failed. If you had strong chakra, you passed, it was quite an easy concept. 

"I guess Kumo doesn't really like to waste time on flashy Exams, huh?" Izumi whispered to Naruto, who nodded in return, a tiny smile on his face. 

"It would seem so," They didn't hear the words that were exchanged between the Jounin and Itachi, but Itachi made a single hand sign and his chakra flared impressively, making all the Chunin-hopefuls look at him with amazement. 

It didn't help that he was still nine-years-old. 

"Izumi Uchiha!" Izumi grinned at Naruto.

"Good luck," He said with a grin. "You'll ace this thing, no problem!" She blushed a little as she stood up and walked from under the canopy that was acting as the Genin's shade, walking onto the dirt as she greeted the Jounin and Chunin, once again, Naruto was unable to hear them. 

"I still can't believe they let brats that are too young to be in the academy in the Chunin Exams in the first place," A Stone Ninja from Iwa stated strongly. 

"Yeah, they probably just sent them out because they wanted them gone and dead." His teammate said, sounding utterly sure of herself. 

"Why don't we just put the smallest one out of his misery?" Oh yeah, Naruto, despite being one year older than Itachi and Izumi, was still shorter than both of them. It was slightly irking, but he came up with an excuse. 

He would be harder to hit. 

"This won't get us disqualified will it Horo?" The girl stated nervously. The boy named Horo shook his head. 

"Of course not, Kumo will probably thank us for doing it, remember we teamed up with them just to get rid of those tree huggers!" Horo said. "Now quit worry Aiza, we can do it quietly without anyone noticing." 

"You do realize that we heard you, including the boy you're plotting to kill, right?" A girl said as she stepped in between Naruto and the boy named Horo. 

"What're you doing? You're Kumo shinobi! Quit trying to save that kid! You should be siding with us!" Horo protested. 

"Let's not, okay?" Naruto spoke up as he looked at the girl who saved him and the boy who conspired to kill him. "We have no need for useless conflict as of yet, so why to resort to such measures when we can just wait until the Third Exam, which is held like a tournament, we'll be fighting each other sooner or later, so why not kill me then?"