What it takes to be Hokage

Chapter 21

Naruto stood near Iruka, watching Sasuke as he got into the standard shuriken jutsu stance. He held three shuriken in each hand, features focused on the targets in front of them.

"Now, Uchiha-san was at the top of his class, so pay attention everyone." Iruka stated proudly, always happy at a student's success. Iruka wasn't on guard at all, clearly not concerned with having to dodge shuriken when Sasuke was throwing them.

Sasuke's arms blurred as they whipped the shuriken through the air. The shuriken hit the post and carried on going straight through, landing in the trees behind the Academy. The students oooed and ahhhhed as normal and Naruto rolled his eyes, muttering "Showoff." Under his breath.

"So who would like to give it a go? Shi-chan?" Iruka smiled at the Uchiha who huffed and pouted at being called upon. Naruto grinned at that. Looked like she took after Itachi in not wanting too much attention. So then why the dramatic show and tell performance? Yet, she came over to where Sasuke was standing. He handed her six shuriken, looking far too large in her tiny hands. She flicked her hands and Naruto sensed the chakra she placed within the shuriken, enabling them to hit the target with enough force to blow away chunks of the wooden post.

Uchiha . . . didn't know when enough was perfectly fine. However that level of chakra mastery showed the benefits of having two doting older brothers. Could Shi be suited for medical nin-jutsu or becoming a powerhouse kunoichi?

Naruto watched as a few eager volunteers jumped around, desperate to be chosen so they too could show off their prowess. Iruka grew guarded and watchful as each student stepped up to throw their six shuriken. Only a handful really hit the post, but there were the odd few that were just as terrible as Naruto had been.

Tatsumaki, however, did not volunteer prompting Iruka to call on him. The boy had to throw. It was a progress check. Was this his usual demeanour? Or was this a result of the Trials? Even if it was, Uzumaki usually bounced back fairly quickly, so what was wrong?

Tatsumaki stepped up to receive his six shuriken. He stood carefully, double checking his stance before raising his hands to throw the shuriken. Just by the angle alone Naruto knew they wouldn't even come close to hitting the post. Not to mention the fact that he was holding the shuriken incorrectly, which would result in something closer to a wild barge of projectiles that were better suited to wide spread dispersal rather than focused target hitting.

He disappeared from Iruka's side and snatched Tastsumaki's shuriken from the air just as the boy let go. "What the?!" the pink haired boy exclaimed with a wide gaze as he stepped backwards in surprise.

"What's up with you?" Naruto asked pointedly, not caring for beating around the bush. "You've been in a mood. Besides, your shuriken wouldn't have hit. They'd have hit Iruka-sensei more than the post. I did that once or twice so he should be used to it, but still." Naruto flicked a shuriken into the air, catching it and throwing it again as he spoke. "I mean you're supposed to be at least standing with your feet slightly wider, your centre of gravity closer to the ground. Or you could copy Sasuke-teme and throw it like you just don't care but that takes a level of practise he'd never admit to." He continued to flick the shuriken, watching Tatsumaki as he grew more agitated, chakra growing angry.

"Yeah? What do you know? You're the dobe of the Academy! The Fifth's failure of a son! So what the hell do you know!?" Tatsumaki yelled pushing Naruto backwards. Naruto didn't respond right away. He wanted to find out what was bugging the kid, really bugging the kid. He tossed the shuriken into the barrel, placing his hands on his hips. "So what if I'm the Academy baka, I still managed to beat the Trials when all the Uzumaki combined couldn't." Iruka gasped, knowing that was a low blow, especially for Naruto. He wanted to step in but a glare from Naruto made him step back. "Yeah I didn't technically finish from the Academy. I got out on an apprenticeship and I didn't have a team for three years. I sat around waiting for solo genin missions while having nothing better to do than study and train. What's your excuse?" Naruto continued. "I'm an Uzumaki by nature so I don't pretend otherwise when I'm training. You on the other hand, you're not even trying the Academy style."