4 Academy Curriculum, Friends & Sneaking Around

Naruto had now started his studies in the academy. The academy starts at the age of seven to eight years old for anyone who wishes to become a shinobi of Konoha. The curriculum lasts for six years and those who managed to graduate at the end of the academy and becomes Genin would be between 13-14 years old. When Naruto looked at the academy curriculum, he was shocked to discover how easy and simplistic it was.

"With an academy curriculum like this, it makes me wonder how Konoha can produce strong shibobi's," said Naruto when he appeared in front of Kurama in his mindscape.

"The talented shinobi's blossomed during war," said Kurama. "But I know what you mean. Many also died during the wars."

"Well, it's not like I should care about it," said Naruto, shrugging his shoulders.

This years class was a special one as there were many clan heirs. There was the loud mouth brown haired Kiba, the heir of Inuzuka clan who were famous for their collaboration Jutsus with their dog partners.

Then there was the big boned Chouji from the Akamichi clan who were famous for their techniques that need a massive amount of calories that resulted in them always eating. He hated being called fat.

Next was the pretty and blonde Ino from the Yamanaka clan who specialised in mind techniques. Naruto found them extremely interesting as they could get into their oponent's mind and find out all their thoughts and even turn them against each other.

Naruto instantly bonded with the lazy but highly intelligent Nara clan heir, Shikamaru. Despite being a genius, he was a lazy bum who always complained about things being troublesome. Naruto found his pineapple styled hair really funny. The Nara clan became famous for producing the smartest shinobis of Konoha and were highly valued for their strategic minds.

Next in line was the shy Huga princess, Hinata. The Hyuga clan were famous for two things; their Byakugan and their gentle fist taijutsu style. Their taijutsu style perfectly complemented their Byakugan since they could clearly see the chakra network and chakra points. They could also see almost 360° and a vast distance away depending on the strength of the users.

There was another girl with pink hair whom Naruto instantly disliked, Sakura Haruno. She was not from any clan, however, her mother was from the civilian council.

The next guy in the class was the sunglass wearing Shino, heir of the Aburame clan. He was a quiet guy and Naruto didn't really have an opinion of him since he appeared to be the polar opposite of Kiba. The Aburame clan housed insects in their bodies from birth and used them as their main source of attack.

"That pink haired girl must have been put in this class by her mother in the hope of getting it together with one of the clan heirs," said Kurama.

"I don't see that happening," said Naruto. "There's nothing special about that pink banshee. Just look at her pathetic attempts at fawning over Sasuke Uchiha."

Last but not least was the black haired Sasuke from the Uchiha clan. They were not only known for their high affinity for fire jutsus and their bloodline that gave them their eye technique, Sharingan. Since Naruto was also an Uchiha from his father's side, he had also inherited these traits.

"Kid, I think it would be best if you laid low in the academy," said Kurama. "As you're already aware, there's a lot of people in the village who wants you gone."

"Hmph, ignorant fools," snorted Naruto. "They know nothing. Allowing their fears take control of them."

"Be that as it may, you still need to be careful until you're strong enough to protect yourself from them," warned Kurama.

"Don't worry, Kurama," said Naruto with a small smile. "By the time I finish from the academy, there won't be anyone below high level Jonins who would be able to match me."

"That is if you can finish from the academy," growled Kurama.

"Relax, Kurama," said Naruto reassuringly. "Being placed with all these clan heir will actually work in my advantage. As long as I form a connection with these clan heirs, who would dare to make trouble for me."

"Not all of the clans will like you becoming friends with their heirs," said Kurama.

"I know," said Naruto. "That is why I'll test the waters out in the next couple of years. After all, I'll be here for six long years. That's long enough to know which clan I can rely on and which one I can't."

"The Uchiha clan is out since Sasuke and you are the only ones left aside from Itachi Uchiha," said Kurama. "You've already met the Hyuga clan head. What do you think of him?"

"Oh he's long out," said Naruto without any hesitation. "I clearly saw the contempt in his eyes when I saw him at Ichiraku's ramen stand. But that doesn't mean I don't want to be friends with Hinata."

"That leaves the Nara, Yamanaka, Aburame and Akimachi clans," said Kurama. "Good luck, kid. You know I have your back."

"For sure, fur-ball," said Naruto, him smile growing. "For sure."

***** 3 Years Later *****

In the last three years, Naruto grew a lot. Due to his intense daily training session, Naruto's sharingan had finally fully matured.

He had developed a close friendship with Shikamaru, Chouji, Shino and Hinata. His friendship with Hinata was a no brainer since she had a good impression of him of him when he had saved her from those bullies a couple of years ago.

Shikamaru had been an easy one to become friends with as well ever since he had found out how smart Naruto was. They often played Shogi with each other and Naruto had finally managed to win enough times against him to turn their winnings to a draw.

Shikamaru had also been an easy person to befriend as both Chouji and Naruto had deep love for Ramen.

Kiba on the other had was a bit difficult to become friends with as both him and Naruto were on the brash side. However, after sparring with each other a few times, they had both become good friends. Naturally, Naruto had always gone easy on Kiba as he want to make friends with. However, this did not mean that Naruto would let Kiba win. He always made sure their sparring ended in a draw.

Naruto had decided to leave Ino be for the time being since she was always chasing after Sasuke with Sakura.

Two years ago when Naruto was going to the training grounds for his usual intensive daily training, Naruto had found Hinata crying on a swing. When he had approached her and asked her why she was crying, she had told him that her father was so disappointed in her training, he had revoked her status as the Heiress of the Hyuga clan and had instead made her younger sister, Hanabi the new Heiress. Hinata was now left completely ignored by her father.

This revelation had greatly angered Naruto as he believed this was not the way a parent should treat their child. Naruto had then invited Hinata to train with him so they could grow stronger together. This had made Hinata immensely happy.

While training together, Naruto's confidence had slowly rubbed off on the shy Hinata and she had grown into a very confident girl. Naruto had told her to keep their training a secret and continue acting as a shy girl and then give her arrogant father a shock for his life. She had instantly agreed to it.

Ever since Naruto had found out about his Namikazi heritage and the jutsus and training plans his father had left behind, he had been diligently doing his all to master them.

Now, six years later, Naruto had finally managed to complete it. Since he was also a member of the Uchiha clan, Naruto had decided to also sneak into the Uchiha clan and learn all of their techniques.

On his tenth birthday, while the entire Konoha was celebrating the Kyubi's defeat and after making sure Sasuke was not around, Naruto had sneaked into the Uchiha compound. He quickly found his way into the library section and was greatly surprised at its size. Calling the library huge was an understatement.

"Wow, as expected of a power hungry clan," whistled Naruto. "This is probably the biggest library in the entire village."

The library was decided into Clan History, Records and Diaries and Ninja Arts. Naruto was extremely happy and glad that the sections had been further divided into Taijutsu, Genjutsu and Ninjutsu. This was further decided into Earth, Fire, Lightning, Water and Wind Elements. This was then further broken down into the jutsus respective ranks. This made copying down extremely easy for Naruto as he didn't have to blindly search for them.

Activating his Sharingan and creating a massive number of Shadow Clones, Naruto quickly copied everything in mere hours. He had made sure to bring a huge stack of scrolls to copy everything down.

Five hours later, Naruto quickly sneaked back out of the Uchiha compound with a big smile on his face.

***** Next Day - Hokage Tower *****

"Naruto-kun, it's been a long time," said the Hokage, smiling at Naruto. "How's your training going?"

"It's going good, gramps," said Naruto. "What's wrong? You look stressed out."

"Sigh ... it's the sad life of a Hokage, Naruto-kun," sighed the Hokage. "Dealing with a Hokage's biggest nightmare: paperwork."

"Hmm ... it does look like a never ending battle," said Naruto, looking at the big pile of papers on the Hokage's desk.

"Sadly this is something that every Hokage has to deal with," said the Hokage with a depressed look. "One man is never enough to deal with all this."

"If one isn't enough, then how about ten?" asked Naruto with a foxy grin.

"Naruto-kun, how can there be ten Hokage?" asked the Hokage with a quizzical look.

"Sigh ... how did you become the Hokage, gramps?" sighed Naruto. "Hello! Shadow Clone? Ring any bell?"

The Hokage looked at Naruto dumbfounded. "Stupid! Stupid! Stupid! Why didn't I think of that?"

"Seriously, old man, how DID you become Hokage?" asked Naruto.

"Cough ... cough ... What can I do for you today, Naruto-kun?" asked the Hokage, coughing.

"Gramps, I wanted to ask about my mother" said Naruto nervously. "Can you tell me about her?"

"She was a very strong kunoichi," said the Hokage. "When she first came to Konoha, sh was always running around shouting about becoming the first female Hokage. She had the Uzumaki signature red hair and everyone was teasing her about it. But she would always beat them up. She ended up getting the nickname Red Hot Blooded Habanero."

"She sounds like she had a very hot temper, hahaha," laughed Naruto.

"Yes, that she did, hahaha," said the Hokage, laughing as well. "But she was a very kind and loving woman. I deeply regret her dead."

"Do you know about the person who attacked her and my father the day I was born?" asked Naruto.

"I'm afraid not," said the Hokage with a sigh.

"Kurama told me he was controlled by the Sharingan," said Naruto. "It must have either been an Uchiha or someone else with the Sharingan."

"We all suspected the Uchiha to be the attacker that day," said the Hokage in a grim tone. "So it really was them."

"Kid, the Uchiha who controlled me that day had a familiar chakra signature, but I couldn't put my finger on it," said Kurama. "It was familiar but also alien."

"Who did it remind you of?" asked Naruto.

"His Chakra signature reminded me of one of your father's students," said Kurama. "I don't remember his name. But your mother was fond of him."

"Gramps, can someone's chakra signature change?" asked Naruto. "Kurama said the chakra signature of the man who controled him the night I was born felt familiar to one of my dad's students. Do you know who it could be?"