Chapter 019

His creativeness, unpredictability and experience in pulling fast ones over his hometown really bled well into his potential talent as a shinobi. This was saying something.

Though the bunshin no jutsu was indeed a core topic that ninja definitely needed to learn in order to graduate, Iruka remembered that there were a few exceptions to this rule. This allowed him to come to a suitable conclusion he hoped would not only cheer the jinchuriki up from his sulking, but also satisfy both parties when the day finally arrived where they all inevitably had to move on.

The man cleared his throat to draw Naruto's attention to him again. "Of course the skills you take in from the academy are definitely important and necessary in order for you to graduate and become a Genin. It would be awfully irresponsible of me to let students without the proper training or skills needed to survive to simply waltz out of the academy with a headband over the heads. That would make me a terrible teacher." He saw the jinchuriki's intent expression drop, which had him chuckle. He placed his hand on the boy's shoulder and got him to look at him again. "But if I am able to see that they do possess the right qualities and abilities to survive out there in the real world, than it would be terribly irresponsible of me to not allow them to graduate."

Naruto's eyes widened, "Y-You mean…?"

Iruka grinned and squeezed the boy's arm reassuringly. "You have shown me a lot today, Naruto. You showed me that you could fight and think outside of the box, that you could muster incredible strength and speed whenever you wanted to, and that you could defeat an opponent several times more experienced than yourself. On top of that, you did this all without use of the bunshin no jutsu." He removed his hand from his shoulder and folded his arms. "I tell you what, in order to make up for your poor test results and inability to use the bunshin no jutsu, if you can master another jutsu by the time of your final exams, than I will forgo the bunshin test and allow you to graduate. How does that sound?"

His expression lighting up, Naruto leapt at the opportunity presented to him and cheered excitedly. "Seriously, Iruka-sensei?"

"It's my way of saying 'good job', Naruto," the man replied with a short laugh. "I am your homeroom teacher after all. I don't have to be strict and firm with you all the time like some grumpy old drill sergeant. I can be fair and supportive too, you know."

The boy let out a laugh and held his fist out to the man in declaration. "I promise you, sensei, I won't let you down! I will master the best, most awesome jutsu I can and show it to you before my final exams at the academy, dattebayo!"

Iruka grinned when the boy suddenly tackled him with a hug, which he returned with the same enthusiasm. He then looked up towards the battlefield and glanced around, inspecting the damage and coming up with a rough mental picture of what must have happened out here. Though he was sure to get more detail about this from his student, what he was really looking forward to was how this child was going to impress him later in the future.

As troublesome as he was at times, there was no doubt in the man's mind that Naruto was going to be a big name one day in the world of shinobi. He could see it now.

"I wonder how things will go from here," Iruka thought quietly to himself, before proceeding to lead his student out of the woods and back toward the village. Making sure to stop for his basket of goodies, Naruto was then led back to the academy so that the Chunin could reassess his student's performance officially.

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