Naruto: Wolf of the Hidden Leaf

'Umbra, for this combo to work, you'll first create an illusion of your body. At the exact same time, you'll transform to my shadow. At that time, I'll try to distract the enemy and when you see them exposing their blind spot, you'll attack.' I said to Umbra on my training ground, 'When you'll attack, try to aim for vital spots like the neck.'

'You don't have to explain how to hunt for me. I've hunted for food by myself most of my life. I know what I'm doing.'

'I know that already. But humans are different. Most shinobi will always have a trump card on their hand that they'll use to turn the tides of the battle in moments.'

'Okay, okay. I get it, I'll be careful.'

'Good.'

Our conversation was cut short as I sensed someone coming towards the training ground. I recognized Kaho's smell immediately.

Kaho has wild, dark brown hair with reddish streaks, cut short and spiky. Her sharp amber eyes and the red fang-like clan markings on her cheeks give her a fierce, wolfish look. A few years older than me, she's lean, athletic and tall. She was dressed in a dark-grey flak vest over a green shirt with black pants and boots. Her forehead protector is tied around her upper arm for style. With her was Kuroha, a sleek black dog who mirrored her intense persona.

I debated whether I should tell her about the traps at the entrance. But seeing how she just evaded three of them without even flinching, I decided against it. If she dies it'll be for her stupidity not because of her senses.

"What the hell are you practicing here, Rei? Seriously, are you trying to level the forest or do you just have a thing for explosions now?" Kaho said in her usual jovial tone.

I just rolled my eyes as her comment. She sees something unusual and her first thoughts go towards me having a kink. She is such a child.

"What do you want Kaho? Also, what the hell are you doing here? Don't you have your chunin exams next month?"

"Yeah. I'm already more than capable of passing it. You know how strong I am, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But there's also a written portion of the exam. And considering how much brain you use on a daily basis..."

Before I could finish, Kaho barked up,

"Shut up! Do you want me to beat you up like when you were little?"

"Sheesh, I was just joking. Can't you take a joke? Besides, you haven't answered my question."

"Dad sent me to tell you that the council wants to see you. It's regarding your early graduation."

I sighed in relief hearing that, "Finally! It's already been a week since I gave them the proposal."

Kaho stayed silent for a moment, which was not at all like her.

"Something on your mind?"

"You've changed." Kaho replied.

I was a bit surprised by her sudden honesty. We didn't exactly have that kind of honest relationship. Most of the time we spent together, we just joked around.

She continued,

"Since that night, you've become more reserved, more focused. You laugh around like before but I can see that your smile doesn't reach your eyes. I know that seeing the nine tailed fox rampaging around must've been traumatic, but you don't have to deal with it by yourself. We are here, you know. You can talk to us. You can talk to me if you want."

"No, it's not that." I replied. Kaho has shown her honesty to me and it was only fair that I did the same.

"It's not that I'm traumatized or anything like that. I really am fine. But, you're right. I've changed. When I saw the nine tailed that night, I saw how power truly looked like. Power so intoxicating that my body felt light. It was pure, unfiltered power." I said as I clenched my fist. "I want that kind of power. I want to be stronger than a tailed beast. I want to be powerful enough to do whatever I want, protect whomever want and live how I want. It's not that I'm traumatized or anything, it's just that I have a clear goal now. Nothing more, nothing less."

I felt really stupid as I said those words. My ugly insecurities came up to the surface and my thoughts ran wild.

She's going to think that I'm weird, isn't she? Then things will be awkward between us. And I don't want that. Kaho was one of the very few people in this world that I actually cared about. I needed to take it back before she starts imagining things.

Before I cover up saying that I was joking or something, Kaho laughed lightly. Surprised I looked at her wanting an explanation.

"Thank god it's just that. I thought that you've become messed up from the inside or something. I don't want another braindead family member."

I wanted to ask if she was speaking about herself or not, but stopped myself.

"That's actually really normal, Rei. It's actually better than normal really. Having a clear goal will be good for you. Otherwise, that smart mind of yours would've gone to waste. You're going to do great things in the future and I hope that you'll become as powerful as you dream to be. Now, let's go. The council won't wait for you forever."

I couldn't exactly express in words about how I felt hearing that from her. She really loved me. And somehow that felt like it was a foreign emotion to me.

In my previous life, I was diagnosed with a terminal muscular dystrophy when I was only four. Most love I received were more of an obligation for my family rather than real. I've forgotten how that felt.

Real love.

It was nice. That's all I would say about that.

Kaho and I started towards our destination. When we reached the destination, we found our father and Fugaku talking to each other. They seemed... friendly. More like my father being overly friendly and Fugaku just nodding and being polite.

Seeing us arrive, father gave me his usual 'pat on the back'.

"Here's my little genius! Today you're going to be the youngest shinobi to graduate from the academy! You should feel proud!"

"Thanks dad." I said meekly. Dad was being too loud and I was feeling kind of embarrassed. The staffs were looking weirdly at us. Thankfully Fugaku stopped my dad's shenanigans.

"You can coddle your son later, Taiga. Itachi is already inside and the council doesn't have all day for a couple of kids."

Suddenly, an evil plan came to my head. It was a bit juvenile but it would be useful for me if done right. I think that it will be.

I quickly instructed Umbra to create a distraction. Umbra followed my words as he tried to jump towards an administrative official and she screamed.

Seeing that everyone was distracted, my hands moved quicker than my eyes could follow. I quickly performed there jutsus at once.

Sound suppression jutsu.

Shadow clone jutsu.

False surrounding jutsu.

Instantly, a shadow clone was formed without a sound and I became invisible to the naked eyes.

My shadow clone took my duties as he made something up about how Umbra was seeking too much attention now a days. And after a minute of pretending, they entered the council room and I followed.

The room was far larger than I remembered. It was filled with different files and documents. But the more important part was the four people sitting at the front.

Hiruzen and Danzo looked younger than usual but not that much. It was apparent that they were going to enter their sixties any day now. Koharu and Homura, the other two elders looked exactly like they always did.

Itachi was already there, apathetic as always. My clone and Umbra took their place beside Itachi while I roamed around the room without any sound.

My plan was actually really logical. This was a test of how strong my abilities are. If I can fool Hiruzen himself, then that by itself will be an enormous achievement.

And even if I get caught, it won't be bad. Rather it would be a greater testimony to how good I am and I might even get better resources as a result.

It was a foolproof plan and not at all related to the fact that I felt enormous ecstasy by successfully using my genjutsu to confuse other strong people.

Nope, this was purely because my plan is foolproof.