Chapter 2: A Rival Emerges

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by 3D Master (tdmasterjg@hotmail.nl)

Naruta slowly woke up and looked around her small and sparse bedroom.  The memories of the night before, of Mizuki’s attack, of killing him, and then spending the rest of the night with Iruka and talking.  They had gone from the forest to the Hokage tower to report in, and then had sat in her apartment and talked more.  About her training with Gai, about her abilities . . . and about killing: about possible scenarios if she hadn’t done what she’d done, about different scenarios where she might have to kill, and whether or not she should.  She remained lying in her bed a little longer, pained.

“Be cold and ruthless when you need to be when you’re facing an opponent.  It is not evil stopping someone out to kill you or your team mates.  Grieve, feel, love, laugh, care later. Always remain human,” Iruka had told her; she’d heard something similar in class once, but it hadn’t really registered.

She forced herself to smile and jump out of bed.  Standing in only a pair of panties, she stretched into the first light of dawn, letting it warm her face and upper body.  She’d dealt with worse pain by seeking humor and laughter, even in the situation that created the pain. She wasn’t going to let a kill get her down.  It was a good day!  The sun was bound to shine, and she’d graduated!  She was going to eat breakfast, and then head over to morning training with Gai-sensei and Lee-niisan, and show off her forehead protector to them!

*****

Much later that day

“Are you certain about this?” the photographer asked a little shocked.

“Yes, take the picture,” Naruta answered with a smile.

“Are you really certain?” the photographer asked again.

“Just take the picture already,” she told him a little annoyed.

The photographer sighed, and took the picture.

*****

The hall somewhere in Hokage Tower was nearly empty.  The Hokage was standing and several aids were sitting behind a table, and Naruta sat on a chair with satisfaction.  Her legs were stretched out leisurely in front of her, and she sported a light smile.  She was imagining everyone’s look when they looked at her ID picture.  The Hokage looked at the registry file he was holding, which included the picture.  He let out a puff of smoke alongside his pipe, and said, “Retake it.”

“What!?” Naruta exclaimed in shock, sitting up straight.  “Why?”

“This is a registry of all Konoha ninja and any exceptional abilities they have, Naruta,” the Hokage said a little annoyed, and turned the registry paper over, showing it to Naruta.  The picture had her sexily baring a shoulder pointed straight at the camera, and then give kiss-mouth with a suggestive twinkle in her eyes.  “This looks like the first picture in a set for a porn shoot!” the Hokage exclaimed loudly, almost yelling.

“And how would you know that, grandpa!” Naruta exclaimed back just as loud.

“Ah, well . . . uh . . . that is . . .” the Hokage stumbled over his words.  He was only a man after all, not a saint.  And his wife had been dead for quite a while - truth be told . . . ack.   The Hokage cleared his throat and brought himself back under control.  “Retake it,” he said calmly and sternly.

For a moment the two stared at each other in a battle of wills.  Naruta was no match for multiple decades of patience.  She jumped from the chair, and made the seal, “Sexy no Jutsu - Girl Version!”  The naked, dark brunette girl covered only by dispersing wisps of smoke stood in all her glory.  The Hokage’s eyes - and all the eyes of the male aids popped like saucers.   The one female aid as well, but for completely different reasons.  “Oooi, Hokage-sama,” the naked girl cooed playfully, trailing one hand through her hair.  She moved her hands to ‘modestly’ cover up as the smoke finally disappeared, and bent forward lightly, showing off the cleavage - the breasts forming it wiggling suggestively. “Not even if I finish the shoot?”   She finished her little suggestion with blistering hot wink.

Three geysers of blood erupted from three noses, three males shot back and slammed into the wall, the Hokage one of them.  The female remained sitting with a dropped jaw.  “You vulgar hussy,” she said as the naked girl turned back into Naruta.

“Hm,” Naruta told the female haughtily and sat back down with annoyance.

The sliding door to Naruta’s left suddenly slid open, and a young boy charged in, screaming, “This is it old man!  I will kill you and take the title of Hokage from you!”  The boy, in green shorts, yellow shirt, a cape and some weird type of cone-shaped helmet - open at the ears, and a tuft of hair bound through the cone sticking out the top - ran forward yelling, a kunai in his right hand.  Naruta mildly looked at him, the Hokage sighed as he worked to stand back up, and other downed men were just trying to get back into their seats.  Suddenly the boy stumbled and slammed face first into the ground.  He sat up, grabbing his head, and gave yips of pain.  “Somebody laid out a trap for me!” he claimed out loud suddenly.  He looked around, and pointed at Naruta, “It’s you, isn’t it!?”

Naruta, her right elbow leaning on the back of her chair, and her face in that hand, looked, at him, going, “Huh?  There’s no trap, you fell over your own feet, you dumbass.”

The kid ran up to her, “Don’t lie to me, you put up a trap to trick the great Konohamaru! You will be punished for it.”

That was it, Naruta stood up, grabbing the kid by the collar and yanked him to eye-level. “Stop accusing me of stuff that didn’t happen, you vermin, or I’ll beat you into the ground,” Naruta told him angrily, the kid annoying her to no end.

The door opened again, and a jounin with an angular face, black hair under a bandana, and a pair of small, dark, round glasses stepped into view.  “Young Master, what . . . ack!” the jounin noticed Naruta holding Konohamaru by his collar, “What do you think you’re doing with the grandson of the third!?  Put the Young Master down right now!”

“Oh, the grandson of the third, huh?” Naruta said sweetly, while Konohamaru nodded haughtily, knowingly, and folded his hands across his chest - this is where the apologies came. “Too bad for you, I’m the /next/ Hokage!”  And she slammed her fist on his head - not that hard - and he slammed down on the ground, yelling out in pain and cradling his aching head.

The jounin yelled out in shock,“How can you do that to the Third’s grandson!  Have you no shame!” The man’s cold, cold, hateful eyes were trained on her.

Naruta felt a chill from that look wrapping around her heart.  She didn’t bother answering, just stalked out of the room.  The Hokage silently watched the proceedings.

The jounin watched her go, and then watched Konohamaru stand back up.  “Young Master,” the jounin started, making a cough as he stood straight, “I, Ebisu, elite trainer, am your best shortcut to Hokage.  Do as I say, train hard, and I will make you, Hokage.  Mark my words, Konohamaru . . .”  Ebisu opened his eyes and looked at Konohamaru again - except there was no Konohamaru.  “Eh, what?  Young Master?”

The Hokage gave an annoyed grumble, and said, “He already left, I think he went after Naruta.”

“AAAH!” Ebisu exclaimed and then sprinted out the room, “Young Master!  You must stay away from her!  She’ll ruin your training!”

The Hokage gave another grumbling sigh.

*****

“Stupid Old Man, having to redo the stupid picture,” Naruta muttered as she walked along the street, a wooden fence next to her.  She stopped, and looked to her left.  Fingers clearly visible over a piece of paper, including feet underneath.  The paper was made to look like the fence - but the kid - obviously a kid - was holding it the wrong way, the lines were horizontal instead of vertical.  Also, no chakra was applied to fake the depth difference.  “What the hell are you doing?”

The paper lowered, revealing Konohamaru, and he blustered, “Ah, you saw through my masterful hiding-”

*Masterful my lovely ass, a three-year-old could do better,* Naruta thought irritated to herself.

“- as only my girlfriend can . . .”

Naruta’s eyes widened, and her left eye twitched, the rest of Konohamaru’s speech lost to her.  She slowly turned her head towards him, killer intent growing.  Finally Konohamaru froze, noticing something wrong.  “Uh, girlfriend?” he asked nervously.

He never even saw the twisted back hand coming.  Pain blossomed across his face and he was launched off to his left, to come to a standstill after several painful fumbles.  “I’M /NOT/ YOUR GIRLFRIEND!” Naruta screeched, rather a little surprised by her own behavior - she’d promised herself she’d never be like that - then again, this was several orders of a magnitude worse than any so-called ‘punishable offense’ any boy had ever committed.  Naruta finished stalking over to the boy who had slowly righted himself, and she yelled at him, “I’m not a piece of cattle for you to claim and brand, you bastard!  You want a girlfriend you buy flowers and chocolates proclaim her beauty and politely ask her out on a date!  And you keep respecting her as a /human/ being even after she deigns to be your girlfriend!”

“Ha, ha, ha, sorry, boss lady-”

The underside of a fist slammed on top his head - and it hurt despite his helmet, dammit! “DO I LOOK LIKE AN OLD HAG TO YOU!!!” Naruta screamed - the total disrespect earlier still agitating her.  “You dim wit!  First treating me like cattle, and now insulting me!  I’m twelve years old!  I’m a girl.”  Naruta turned half around, twisting her upper body bak, showing off all of her figure, her side tails fluttering about with the motion cutely, and then told him, “A very cute, young girl!”

“S-sorry, boss-girl, forgive me, I’m still a little kid,” Konohamaru said and prostrated himself in front of her.  “It’s just that, I just wanted to . . . please teach me the jutsu that defeated my grandfather!”

The most pained, pleading, tears-forming, puppy-dog eyes Naruta had every seen - apart from her own in the mirror - looked up to her from the Hokage’s grandson.  Naruta looked into them, attempted to erect all the walls and emotional fortifications, and found them crumbling like paper.  Finally she let out the breath she’d been holding, and slumped, sighing.   She was weak and pathetic, she used that look all the time, and now she was falling for it herself.  Of course, she knew for certain Konohamaru’s eyes were genuine as apposed to the fake version she used with impunity, but still.  “Why do you want it anyway?” she asked gently.

Konohamaru looked down, and bit his lip, obviously deciding if he should tell.  He looked up to Naruta, and answered hopefully, “I want to be Hokage, because-”

“And you think defeating the Hokage is going to make you the next one!?” Naruta exclaimed in disbelief.  Konohamaru looked stricken.  “Dumbass.  Come on, I’ll teach you, you moron.  But only if you promise not to try and kill the Old Man ever again.  He’s your grandfather, isn’t he?”

Konohamaru looked down with some shame, nodding.

“I won’t teach to those who will slaughter for their selfish reasons, Konohamaru,” Naruta said sternly, wagging her right index finger at him.

“Didn’t really mean it, mostly just wanted to defeat him,” he told her with a nervous smile.

Naruta nodded, turned to where she was headed, and started walking.  Konohamaru following behind her.  When they reached a shopping district a little further on, Naruta started to lecture, “The basics.  In order to do a jutsu, you must know how to mold chakra.  Chakra is-”

Konohamaru took over, “Chakra is energy that is mixed from bodily energy, from the cells, and spiritual energy which is gained through experiences.  Then by forming the proper hand seals, the jutsu can be activated.”

Naruta looked at the boy through lowered eyelids - the kids was reading from a scroll.   She slammed a hand palm on his head, and as the boy rubbed the painful spot, she yelled at him, “Don’t act all high and mighty and then read from a scroll!”

“Ah,” he offered up his embarrassment.

“So can you do that already?” Naruta asked him with curious eyes.  The boy nodded, made a seal and let some chakra flow.  He looked up half-expectantly, half-hopefully, and Naruta studied him.  “Hmm, it seems good enough.  Do you know the jutsu to transform yourself?”

The boy laughed embarrassingly, “A little.”

Naruta nodded, and motioned the boy to follow, and told him, “Well, you seem to know enough, but there’s still one thing your missing.  To learn a jutsu properly, you need hard work and guts!”  The boy paused as Naruta did, her right index finger pointing upward next to her head.  “I’m going to work you to your bone, today, Konohamaru, and then we shall see if you have what it takes.  It’s time you show me what you can do.  Do a Henge!”

“What should I transform into?” Konohamaru asked.

Naruta looked around, so several people walking around or checking out wears at a stall, or shop.  Finally she settled on a rather fetching young woman with a brunette ponytail and a blue kimono, with a darker blue sash around her waste talking with a vendor of sowing materials.  “Yosh!  Transform into her!” Naruta said, pointing at the woman.

“Hai, boss-girl!” Konohamaru exclaimed and made the seals.  “Henge!”  A big fat, rotund woman, with the same hair and hairdo and clothes of the lovely slim young woman appeared.  The mouth was forced into a permanent pout slash kissing lips.  It - for it sure wasn’t really a woman - looked horrible.  “Well, do I look like her?” a muffled sound came from ‘Konohamaru’s’ mouth, not able to fully open the mouth.

“Apart from the clothes and hairdo . . . no,” Naruta said with a sigh, she didn’t think she ever turned out that bad a transformation, at least she hoped she didn’t.  Maybe the young woman was secretly a ninja, or had had the training but somehow she had managed to sneak up on the blonde girl, and slammed a powerful fist to the back of her head.  “Ah!” Naruta exclaimed in pain as she went to the floor.

The young woman continued to rain punches and kicks on the helpless Naruta, while a scared Konohamaru puffed back to his own self, and looked on scared.  “You bitch!  Don’t insult me like that!” the young woman finished her insults and angry shouts - the punches and kicks stopping as well.

Then the girl turned to Konohamaru, and said sweetly, “Now, Young Master, if you want to transform into me again, make sure it’s much slimmer and cuter, okay?  Bye.”  Then the lovely young woman sweetly walked off, leaving a scared stupid Konohamaru and a beaten and bruised Naruta.

Shaking, the young boy muttered, “S-scary.”

Naruta grumbled and slowly forced herself to stand, muttering, “I know they hate me, but this is ridiculous.  She could have given the runt at least one punch as well.  Ugh.”  She dusted herself off some, and looked at a still scared Konohamaru.

“Let’s go, runt, we’ve got some place to test this out some.  Practice on the way!” Naruta told him, and started walking,

*****

A few minutes later the two stood in front a shop.  “Book store?” Konohamaru read.

Naruta nodded.  “It has many study materials, Konohamaru,” Naruta told him with a grin and a pointed finger.  They walked toward the entrance, and Naruta held Konohamaru back for a moment.  She looked around the corner and saw the owner asleep behind the cash register.  She beckoned and the boy and girl snuck inside, under guidance of Naruta - straight to the men’s magazines containing scantily clad girls, not to mention naked ones.

Naruta pulled one magazine out, and pulled it open to the centerfold showing the naked babe.  “Ah,” Konohamaru said interested.

“Look closely,” Naruta whispered clinically, “notice the curves of the hips, and the size and softness of the breasts.  You’ll have to recreate that.”  Konohamaru nodded.

“Naruta!” Naruta and Konohamaru stiffened, and slowly turned around, seeing the owner looking mightily angry and holding a whip over his shoulders.  “I told you no browsing in my store!”

A not so soft exit later, and Naruta sporting a black eye and Konohamaru, untouched, were back outside.  Naruta grumbled annoyed, and Konohamaru looked nervous.  “Oh, well, we got one more place to go, keep practicing,” Naruta told him with a smile.

*****

“The women’s bath!?” Konohamaru looked shocked at the wide entrance and the sign above it proudly proclaiming the building’s function.

“Yup,” Naruta said with a grin.  Konohamaru looked at her in disbelief.  Naruta sighed, and said, “It’s to see if you can pass for a real girl.  The women have got an impressive knack for spotting transformed peeping tom male ninjas.  This isn’t just the look, Konohamaru, it’s time to add in the smell and all the other little things that make women women.”

“Huh, okay,” Konohamaru muttered nervously.  “Henge!”  The women he transformed into no longer had a compressed face, but she was still way too fat.  But, it might still pass off enough to last a bit.

“All right, let’s go, and remember, keep your eyes and nose peeled,” Naruta said, pointing to the entrance.

With sudden wide eyes, the fat woman turned to Naruta and asked, “You actually want me to look at naked and near naked women?”

Naruta turned to him, and said tone to lecture an idiot, “Of course, everything you learn in there you will need to perfect the jutsu.  So look carefully, don’t stare though - that’ll give you away.  Now let’s go.”   ‘Konohamaru’ nodded, and the two walked into the baths.

Less than a minute later amongst screeching women a heavily beaten Naruta was flung out of the front entrance, while the ‘Young Master’ (once again himself) was gently ushered out.  “But I /am/ a girl!” Naruta screamed in protest before landing face first into the sand.

Konohamaru deflated as he watched a painful and annoyed Naruta slowly turned around to sit, glaring at the entrance and the retreating women behind it.  “Sorry,” Konohamaru apologized.

Naruta sighed and stood up, looking up at the sky in annoyance.  “Say, Naruta-sama, do you think the men are as good at spotting transformed ninjas as the women are?” Konohamaru wondered.

“Yes,” Naruta answered without hesitation, “Well, not quite as good, but up there.”

Konohamaru’s jaw dropped.  That would mean Naruta had gone in-; more so others had gone in before.  “There are girls who transform and peak on the men?” he asked shocked, Naruta frowned at him.  “And not for perfecting a jutsu like my great boss-girl, Naruta-sama, of course, but to really peak.”

“Yep,” Naruta answered, and the boy’s jaw dropped again.  Naruta then bent over, and said conspiratorially, “Pray you never meet Mitarashi Anko, Konohamaru, that’s one scary and crazy girl.  And if you do, if you hear her name, run, run like hell.”

“O-okay,” Konohamaru nodded, the serious, scared, and pained tone that Naruta was giving him he would never forget.

*****

A beaten Naruta stood somewhere in one of Konoha’s many wooded areas that often functioned as a training area.  Naruta groaned and felt her painful areas, groaning more.  She looked at Konohamaru, not a scratch on me.  “Ugh, I know they like to beat me, but what’s with you not even having a bruise?” Naruta asked no one in particular.

Konohamaru looked down guiltily, and muttered, “It’s because I’m the Hokage’s grandson, I’m sorry.”

Naruta smiled, which made her beaten face look more ugly than cut, and gave a nod. “Nothing to worry about.  Okay, then, you should have everything you need to perform the Sexy no Jutsu.  Now it’s only a matter of practice!  Go!”

“Yes, boss-girl!  Here I go!  Henge!” Konohamaru transformed in a fat girl.

“No!  More slender!” Naruta exclaimed grinning.

“Yes, boss-girl!  Henge!” Konohamaru said, and transformed into a plain girl.

“No!  More cuteness!” Naruta exclaimed, grinning.

“Yes, boss-girl!  Henge!”

*****

Ebisu stood on the head of one of the Hokages of the great Hokage monument.  He peered studiously around.  “Where did that brat go?  Where did she take my Konohamaru?” he said under his breath, angry.  The he thought to himself, *I am an elite tutor that has taught many Hokage candidates.  I will stop any virus from taking root into one of my students.*

“There!”

And Ebisu was off to what he’d seen, jumping from the monument down to one of Konoha’s roofs.

*****

Naruta and Konohamaru were sitting on a bench near a vending machine, still in the wooded area.  They were taking a break, drinking from cans they had bought from the machine. Naruta turned to Konohamaru next to her.  “Say, why do you want to be Hokage anyway?” Naruta asked gently, a light smile on her face.

Konohamaru looked down for a moment, looked back up at Naruta, and then explained sadly, “My name is Konohamaru, I was named after the village.  My grandfather the Hokage was the one who named me.  But no one ever calls me by my name even though they know it, they only call me Young Master.”  Naruta looked at him, letting him speak.  Konohamaru looked up, and continued, “When they look at me, they only see the Hokage’s grandson.  They never acknowledge me for who I am.  I’m sick of that.  That’s why . . . That’s why I want the Hokage name now.”

Naruta smiled gently, and then said, “Moron.”  Konohamaru looked at her with a jerk of his head, surprised, and shocked.  “I already told you, you can’t get that name that easily.  A runt like you could never get that name.”

“What!?” Konohamaru said angrily, getting up and glaring at Naruta.

Naruta looked at him, leveling her sweetest smile at him, “Hokage, Hokage . . . if you want to get that name so much . . . defeat this sweet, little girl first.  Or do you think the Hokage could be someone who can’t kick a little, genin girl’s ass, hm?”  Konohamaru looked at her with a dropped jaw, that slowly threatened to turn into a smile.

There was a rustle, the sound of someone landing on a branch, and Ebisu’s voice calling, “Found you!”  Coldly Ebisu looked as the two got up and turned to face him. *Demon fox,* he thought with disdain, and casually dropped down.

Naruta felt the cold, freezing eyes on her as so often before.  She grimaced, she knew why they looked at her like that, and it still hurt so much.

“Young master, let’s get back to training,” Ebisu said, his right arm in his side, and came to stand still.

“NO!” Konohamaru yelled at him angrily, “I want to defeat grandpa and get the Hokage-name.”

Ebisu sighed gently, resetting his round sunglasses, “Young Master, I’m an elite tutor, who has trained many hokage candidates.  A Hokage must be well-versed in all aspects of being a ninja.  He must know a thousand jutsu and then still . . .”

“Take this!” Konohamaru exclaimed taking a few steps forward.  Ebisu’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.  “Sexy no Jutsu!”  With a puff of smoke, Konohamaru transformed, in an older, blisteringly hot, curvy, cute, sexy, and very naked girl.

Ebisu’s eyes widened in shock, his right index finger pointing in reflex at the girl. Konohamaru returned to his real self, and he muttered in disappointment, “It didn’t work.”

“Wh-what a vulgar jutsu!” Ebisu yelled out in angry shock.  “How could you think such a low-class jutsu would work on me!  I’m a gentleman!  I don’t react to trash jutsu like that!”   He came forward and grabbed a hold of Konohamaru who tried to get away, pulling against the tutor’s grip on his cape and getting no father.  “Young master!  Doing as I say is your best shortcut to becoming Hokage!”

“No, I’ll stay with boss-girl!” Konohamaru protested, arms swinging as if trying to swim through the air, attempting to get some extra leverage to break free that way.

“Staying with the likes of her, will only make you turn stupid!” Ebisu countered, in fact only succeeding in keeping the boy in position, not getting him closer to himself.

Naruta watched the exchange, and felt an anger and annoyance at the casual dismissal of her skills mount.  This final proclamation was the final straw.  “Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!” she exclaimed, making the seals.  There was a puff of smoke, and then some one and a half dozen more Naruta’s shimmered into existence, their skirt flaps gently flowing about with the sudden movement.

Both Ebisu and Konohamaru stopped their struggling, and turned to the Naruta clones. “A-amazing!” Konohamaru exclaimed with admiration.

Ebisu studied the event over his glasses, and gently pushed them up with disdain.  He started walking casually forward, and said, “Hm.  I must admit, Kage Bunshin is interesting for a brat like you.  But if you think a few shadow clones are going to scare off an elite tutor like me, you are sadly mistaken.”  Ebisu stopped roughly in the middle of the scattered about clones, and then put himself in a taijutsu stance.

The Naruta clones grinned, and pulled away to form a nice circle.  “Henge!” one Naruta exclaimed, and then the same call rang out from the others.  Puffs of smoke followed, and all the Narutas turned into a slightly older, and magnificently bodied versions of herself - /male/ versions.  The naked boys with magnificent, long, spiky hair that framed the face perfectly, would have fan-girls across Konoha running with drooling tongues scraping behind them - for he seemed very much like a very young Fourth Hokage, a super hot Fourth Hokage.

Ebisu’s face instantly switched to terror, his body freezing up on him.  “Oh, Ebisu, let’s consummate our male lusts!” the male Narutas said with sexy male voices, and jumped forward.

“AAAARGGH!” Ebisu screamed, jumping up into a backward somersault to avoid the lunge of the naked boys.  He turned around immediately upon landing, and ran off with arms raised in terror, screamed, “AAAAAH!!!”

Konohamaru watched shaking in fear as the male, nude Narutas disappeared, and one lone remaining one turned back into her true girl self.  “S-s-scary . . . but SO COOL!” Konohamaru screamed, pointing in acknowledgment at Naruta.

“Of course,” Naruta said with a sexy smile, making an sexy girly pose, then switching to another, “I’m the great, sexy, and cute Uzumaki Naruta-sama, and I’m unbeatable.  I call that one, Harem no Jutsu - Boy Version!”

*****

Back in the Hokage tower, a pale and shaking Hokage sat watching the scene in his crystal ball.  “Sh-she combined the Kage Bunshin with the Sexy no Jutsu,” the Hokage said to himself, shuddering in fear.  “A completely ruined reputation, everyone considering you a sick pervert of the worst sort if anyone saw them holding on to you like- like . . .”  Sarutobi shuddered again, “And then there’s the actual touch of those naked boys - a fate worse than death.  If your opponent can’t or won’t kill you and any witnesses . . . the most terrifying jutsu ever created.”

The Hokage swallowed, and thought for a moment.  “And the girl version?” the Hokage imagined it, and then smiled with satisfaction.  He shook his head and muttered, “And I’d probably fall for that one too.”

*****

Naruta casually walked over to an amazed Konohamaru.  Then the boy obviously became frustrated, and finally balled his fist, and called out, “Damn it!  I couldn’t even defeat my tutor!  And I so wanted a name that everyone would acknowledge!  Damn it!”

Naruta sighed, and gave him a light slap on top of his head.  “Idiot!  What have I been telling you, huh?  I only just managed to make genin, I had no parents, no family, I finally get someone to treat me normally, and then I had to work my cute butt off, waking up every morning at five, and starting training at six for hours.  And that was just the beginning, all so I could only just graduate the academy!”

Konohamaru was paying attention now.  Naruta pointed at him accusingly, and said, “Having the Hokage name means you are the greatest ninja in all of Konoha.  This isn’t so easily gotten.  If you want such an incredible name that everyone acknowledges, you better accept it.”

“Accept . . . ‘it’?”

Naruta bent down and looked sweetly in Konohamaru’s eyes, making his heart flutter. “There aren’t going to be any shortcuts.”

Konohamaru looked into her eyes, and remembered her earlier words, “Hokage, Hokage . . . if you want to get that name so much . . . defeat this sweet, little girl first.”

“Tseh,” Konohamaru said, and turned away from Naruta, who straightened up at the gesture.  Konohamaru took a few steps forward, and said, “Don’t talk to me like you’re so special.   You’re just another girly, no longer boss-girl.  From now on, you’re nothing but an annoying obstacle in my way.”  Then he turned around, and smiled brightly at her.

Naruta gave him a giggle, and said, “Well, tomorrow I start being an actual ninja.  But one day I’ll fight you for that Hokage name, and show you just how annoying I can be.  Look forward to it, Konohamaru.”

Konohamaru’s eyes widened.  She had called him Konohamaru, not kid, or runt, or idiot, and more importantly not ‘young master’, she had acknowledged him by his real name.  She smiled at him, and raised her right hand to her shoulder, and let her fingers move cutely down and up in a girly wave.  Then she turned around, and putting her hands behind her back linking them together over the ass she’d been boasting about, casually walked away. Konohamaru came out of his shock, straightened in a sharp pose, and saluted her goodbye.

*****

Hokage Tower

“Iruka,” Sarutobi said with a light grumble.  He puffed some smoke as he stood behind his desk, reading over the teachers team recommendations.  “These are some unorthodox recommendations.”

“The Uchiha with the Akamichi and the Yamanaka?” Sarutobi asked him intrigued.

“If Sasuke-san is as much of a genius as everyone expects him to be, he’ll function in any team.  Yamanaka Ino, I believe, has the personality that won’t allow herself to be snowed under, despite having a crush on the Uchiha, at the same time, she seems to thrive at putting herself into service for others,” Iruka explained formally, the Hokage studying him.

“Hm,” Sarutobi nodded, Iruka was probably right. “What about putting the last with the best to balance out the teams?”

Iruka sighed, and then looked at the Hokage with a smile, “If you mean Uzumaki Naruta, Hokage-same, you are mistaken, as were we all.  After last night’s . . . debacle, she and I talked some more. I already knew that she was getting taijutsu training from Maito Gai, but that’s not the only thing she’s been getting.  She’s learned several Jounin-level techniques, yet she still can’t perform the Bunshin no Jutsu.”  The Hokage looked up more than a little surprised.  “Too much chakra, Hokage-sama, she’s got a ‘fire hose at full blast’ as she put it, that she’s only slowly learning to control.  Jutsu that require very little chakra, she simply can’t do yet.”

“But she passed the test . . .” the Hokage muttered, letting out another puff of smoke.

Iruka nodded, smiling, “She could fake the Bunshin with the Kage Bunshin only if she did the Kage Bunshin before entering the examination room, and held it before releasing.”   Sarutobi’s eyes widened; he knew Iruka was right, he’d been searching any other method to fake it, and couldn’t find any that would have fooled the examiners.

“That’s another jounin-level skill,” Sarutobi muttered.

Iruka nodded - proudly, the Hokage noted - and said, “Uzumaki Naruta is far from the least accomplished, Hokage-sama, if she isn’t number one, she’s close.”

Sarutobi grumbled and went over the rest of the teams, the now weakest would indeed not be with the number 1, but they were with some of the strongest anyway.  Of course, some of them might not get to become ninja at all, they had one more test to get through.

To Be Continued . . .