I Alone Am The Exception!

Chapter 10: The Land of Waves

I sighed as I stood in front of the old man with my hands in my pockets. Sasuke and Hinata were growing annoyed and frankly, so was I.

See, for the past week since we passed Kakashi's test, we've been doing nothing but D-rank missions. Mainly because it was a necessity but also partly for another reason.

The fact that my name was in the Bingo Book. In other words, there was a bounty on my head. And, despite my age, I was given the rank of S. Itachi was likely the one to have put it in, if I'm being honest. He's the only one who has come and gone from the village who could've given me such a ranking.

Because of this, Kakashi and the old man were incredibly hesitant to let me leave the village. My status is a well known fact throughout the Elemental Nations, so much so that only a few brave souls have tried and failed to assassinate me. With me living within the Hyuga Compound, it wasn't exactly surprising as to why either.

But my ranking wasn't something that was unfounded, either. I could fight off against two S-Class shinobi at the same time. So I could take on people like Itachi and Hiashi at the same time and still come out on top.

Hiruzen scanned my group before sighing as he stared right into my eyes with narrowed eyes, "Naruto." He declared, getting me to look right back at the old man. "How strong are you right now?" He questioned.

I sighed and scratched the back of my head, "I'm stronger than all of your Anbu members and I'm strong enough to beat Kakashi-sensei and Hiashi-sama at the same time. I think I can reliably state that I could fight side by side with you in your prime without too much difficulty." I declared.

My team didn't look very surprised with such a statement and neither did the old man. The ledgers that were helping the old man sort out the paperwork and Iruka-sensei were.

"What sort of arrogant- How could you possibly state such arrogance in front of Lord Third!" Shouted out one of the ledgers.

Hiruzen held up a hand, "He's not wrong. I've seen his strength for myself. As of right now, he is just barely stronger than I. His statement is accurate, more or less." Hiruzen stated, causing the others to quiet down.

The old man sighed and said, "Then I believe it's time your team tackles something a bit more challenging. A C-rank mission should be fine. Knowing that Hinata and Sasuke were not only trained by Kakashi and Hiashi but also by you, I think I can rest assured." The Hokage said as he stamped a paper. "Sir Tazuna, you may enter now."

The door behind us swung open and I looked over at the man, my eyes glowing with untold power.

Tazuna, the drunk bridge builder, stumbled in. He looked at the three of us and smiled, "Although they're brats, they look strong enough."

Unlike in canon Naruto, since I was actually eating properly, I stood out amongst my two friends as the tallest one there.

I smirked, "We're the strongest ones out there. Now lead the way, we'll keep you safe."

...

Out in a dark room stood an old fat man as he sat nervously in his chair. Despite his greedy nature, he was smart enough to know of Naruto's reputation. The boy who, at the age of four, defeated a jonin and saved the Hyuga heiress. At the age of seven, he stood up against the powerful Uchiha Itachi and repelled him, saving the last two loyal Uchihas.

Before this fat old man, Gato was his name, stood five individuals of incredible power. Three of which belonged to the shady organization of the Akatsuki.

Itachi Uchiha, child prodigy and one with the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan. He stood in his Akatsuki robes with his sword at his side, his glowing red eyes revealing a pair of matured Sharingan.