Rookie of the Year

Sasuke sneered:

"Pathetic idiot. He doesn't even know what he's doing."

The other students in the class laughed as well.

Looks like Naruto is going to have some fun for a while, Hinata thought, unable to stop herself from giggling.

Iruka said, "Begin!"

Mizuki immediately rushed forward, trying to punch Naruto. Naruto lightly turned aside and dodged. As Mizuki stumbled forward, Naruto lightly tapped Mizuki's shoulder, striking an acupoint.

"What did you do to me?" Mizuki asked angrily, unable to feel his left arm.

"I struck the main chakra point in your left shoulder. It's over. You can't win."

"B-but how is that possible? You don't have the Byakugan," Iruka said.

"You bastard, you'll pay for this," Mizuki said as he blindly charged forward. Naruto merely smiled.

"Two Palms."

"Four Palms."

"Eight Palms."

"Sixteen Palms."

"Thirty-Two Palms."

"Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms." Naruto finished his attack, sending Mizuki flying into the wall and knocking him unconscious.

Everyone stared at him. He had just used the Hyuga Clan's secret technique.

"Cheater!" the girls screamed.

How is that possible? How can an idiot defeat a chunin? That kind of power should belong to me, Sasuke thought deeply.

Iruka gave everyone thirty minutes to rest while he took Mizuki to the infirmary.

"The students will fight one-on-one, and I'll observe," Iruka explained.

"Hinata Hyuga versus Ino Yamanaka," Iruka called.

"Poor girl, don't get hurt," Ino mocked, while Hinata rolled her eyes. It was time to show them her true strength.

Iruka said, "Begin."

Ino rushed toward Hinata. Hinata merely raised her right hand toward Ino, gathering chakra in her palm, then said:

"Eight Trigrams: Vacuum Palm." A blast of air shot forth, striking Ino in the chest and sending her flying out of the ring. She hit the ground unconscious.

"You cheated! This is a taijutsu match!" Sakura screamed, making everyone cover their ears.

"Sorry, but this is taijutsu," Hinata explained.

What's going on? Hinata has never been this skilled at taijutsu, Iruka thought.

Iruka helped Ino up and leaned her against the wall, waiting for her to wake up so she could continue sparring with the others. After all, he had not seen much of what she could do yet.

After the taijutsu exam ended, everyone entered the classroom for the ninjutsu portion of the test.

"Naruto Uzumaki!" Iruka called. Naruto stood, walked down the stairs, and faced Iruka at the front of the classroom.

"Good luck, idiot," Sasuke mocked.

"Alright, Naruto, demonstrate the Transformation Jutsu," Iruka said. A cloud of smoke appeared, and a man stood before Iruka. Even though Iruka knew it was a transformation, the sight of those eyes still sent a chill down his spine. Those glowing eyes were the Sharingan—it was Madara Uchiha.

"Interesting," Iruka said, shaking off that instant of fear and continuing the exam.

"Prepare to perform the Substitution Jutsu," Iruka said, picking up a blunt kunai and throwing it at Naruto. Naruto immediately switched places with a nearby chair.

"Well done, Naruto. Now make at least two Shadow Clones," Iruka said.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Naruto said. With a puff of smoke, ten perfect Naruto clones appeared before Iruka.

Iruka's jaw nearly dropped when he saw Naruto use the Shadow Clone Technique, a B-rank forbidden jutsu.

"Wow, Naruto. Shadow Clones are a jonin-level cloning technique. Congratulations, you passed," Iruka said.

Hinata completed her exam right afterward as well.

"Alright, students, the exam is over. Congratulations to everyone who passed. The Rookie of the Year is Naruto Uzumaki, and the best female ninja is Hinata Hyuga," Iruka said happily.

"What?" Kiba Inuzuka shouted. "The worst student gets to be Rookie of the Year?" he asked.

"He's nothing but trash. I'm an Uchiha, and I refuse to accept this. I demand a duel with him for that title," Sasuke said.

"It's up to you, Naruto," Iruka said.

"We'll fight outside, idiot," Naruto said. Sasuke sneered, thinking he could easily defeat him.

Everyone left the classroom and headed to the dueling ground. Naruto and Sasuke stepped into the circle, standing face-to-face and taking their fighting stances.

"This is a duel for the Rookie of the Year title. You may use any means you wish. However, crippling or lethal attacks are forbidden. Understood?" Iruka said.

The two nodded, and he said, "Begin!"

Determined to display his superiority and end the match quickly, Sasuke charged forward and threw a punch at Naruto. Naruto easily dodged it, raised his knee into Sasuke's abdomen, and made him double over. Naruto seized the chance to chop the back of his neck, knocking him unconscious on the ground.

"It's over," Naruto said. Naturally, the girls began screaming that Naruto had cheated.

"Congratulations, Naruto. You and Hinata are this year's Rookies of the Year," Iruka said. Naruto and Hinata left the academy together, with her holding his arm.

Naruto and Hinata walked together, preparing to go out for dinner to celebrate their graduation.

As they headed toward the Ichiraku Ramen Shop, Naruto sensed someone running through the woods.

Mizuki ran through the woods carrying a large scroll on his back, unaware that he was being followed. Stopping near a small shack, he sat on the ground, opened the scroll, and began reading it.

"With this Scroll of Seals, Lord Orochimaru will give me the power I've always dreamed of," Mizuki muttered to himself. Naruto and Hinata were about to jump out and take back the scroll when Iruka suddenly appeared before Mizuki.

"Mizuki, how could you do this? You betrayed Konoha," Iruka said. He could not understand how his best friend could betray the village and steal the Scroll of Seals.

"It's simple, Iruka. I want power. When I give this scroll to Lord Orochimaru, he'll give me power beyond anything you can imagine," Mizuki said.

He took out several shuriken and threw them at Iruka while shouting:

"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique."

The shuriken multiplied into twenty. Iruka hesitated for a moment, and they pinned him to a tree.

Mizuki took out a Fuma Shuriken and charged at Iruka, intending to end it all.