Despite it All

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Naruto laughed meekly at his mother, knowing anything he said would likely not gel well with the angry mom. She frowned at this before sighing and letting him down.

"You're lucky I'm excited to hear the news, ya know? Well?! Did my boy pass?!" She asked excitedly. Naruto continued chuckling, still feeling a bit down.

"I did, but I have to pass the Remedial Exam." He said meekly.

"Ahhh, that makes sense; you still haven't got the clone jutsu." His mother remarked. "I thought maybe you could find a way around it, son, but you might be just like your mother." She said sweetly.

"What does that mean?" Naruto asked, unsure what she meant.

"Well, let's just say Uzumaki have problems performing jutsu like that. I thought you may be able to brute force it, but that was never realistic, I suppose. See, jutsu, like the clone jutsu, are low-intensive but require fine chakra control. But we have trouble with finer chakra control in cases of Shinobi like you and me with high chakra levels. It's like using a hose to fill a bottle cap; it simply overflows." She lectured. The blonde listened raptly; his mother was a Jounin; she knew her stuff.

"So what should I do?" Naruto asked, wracking his brain to find a solution. His mother chuckled as she made a hand sign Naruto had never seen before.

"We'll simply use a different kind of clone." As she said so, smoke popped beside her, a perfect clone of his mother. She had the same red hair, blue eyes, and apron for working at home.

"That isn't a normal clone." Naruto accused.

"You're right," Kushina playfully agreed, her clone mimicking her. "It's better." The clone then dashes forward and locks Naruto into a headlock. As the blonde struggled against the clone, Kushina opened a cabinet to her right. And nodded to the clone to dissipate. Naruto sighed, annoyed, but looked at the scroll with undeniable interest. Kushina smiled at his attention as she released the contents. First was a blade that Naruto had to restrain himself from grabbing. The sheath the blade was covered with was a simple black handle with red waves. He looked at his mother; she nodded, and the blonde picked it up. It was simple, even with the sheath. He slowly drew the blade, seeing a simple yet elegant steel blade nearly flawless except for the right side, where the kanji for Uzumaki was stamped upon it. Naruto marveled at the tanto. He had always considered getting himself a blade but had never pulled the trigger. Now he had one, and something about the blade made the blonde know it was a quality blade. He then sees that the scroll also has a note allowing him to learn the knowledge needed for the shadow clone jutsu.

"Thank you, ma, for the awesome tanto and jutsu!" He thanked her earnestly.

"No problem, son, it was mine when I became a shinobi. This blade represents my belief in you, ya know?" Kushina said, smiling.

"Can I name it?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Actually, it's called the blade of whirlpools."

"So it came from our clan?" The blonde asked curiously.

"Yes, it's an Uzumaki tradition that they receive a blade on the day one becomes a ninja." His mom answered happily. Naruto stared at the blade intently. It was a cool sword. But more than that, it was a gift, a family tradition, his family's tradition. For the first time, he had an actual connection to his clan. To the extended family, he would never know.

His mother had recounted that they had been crushed in the Third Great Ninja War due to the Cloud, Mist, and Stone launching a joint conquest. Unfortunately, they were crushed. Meanwhile, the Uzumaki were well-defended, and the Shinobi were powerful against such a united front. They had never truly stood a chance. They desperately called the Leaf, but their allies were too late.

Naruto grabbed the note to escape the somber thought. On the note, it went over hand signs, chakra flow, the amount of chakra needed, and various tips and tricks to learn it. Unlike the standard clone jutsu, these were solid clones that could affect the world. Furthermore, it stated that this was great for espionage because he received the clones' memories.

"But if I'm so bad at chakra control, wouldn't learning this be the same problem?" The blonde asked curiously.

"No, because this technique requires much more chakra. You may be able to do it even with your poor control." Kushina explained. "That being said, you are doubling your chakra control exercises, mister."

"Yes, mam!" Naruto said happily, attempting to rush off to start training.

"Naruto!" She yelled, stopping him in his tracks.

"Yes?"

"Dishes."

"Damnit."

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Naruto stood in his backyard, observing the mess he kept it in. There were targets throughout the field, peppered with shuriken, kunai, and chef knives. A training post stood in the center of the yard, wrapped in a rope that was frayed and obviously towards its end. There was also a small pond with a bench where Naruto would relax when stressed and meditate whenever his mother could convince him to do so. He scratched his head, wondering how to go about this. He only had a few hours before the exam but felt he needed to gain an edge over it. Naruto held up the note for the new technique and his new blade. It was likely that either would give him a significant tool in his arsenal, but he didn't have much time. The tanto was tempting, but Naruto already knew its basics and doubted it would improve his power in one day.

On the other hand, the shadow clones were flexible and would surely give him some much-needed offensive pressure. Naruto did consider if he could get a technique down in the short time he had, but, with a smile, he threw up his hands and activated his chakra. He could feel the energy as he finished the hand sign. It felt like there was a pull, and with a poof, smoke appeared next to him. Naruto tensed, waiting to see what he had been able to do on his first try. When it cleared, Naruto was lying on the ground with only one leg. He had a sickly sheen and merely groaned pitifully. Naruto felt a blush hit his cheeks as Kushina laughed from the back porch.

"You need a bit more chakra for it than that son." She called playfully. Naruto growled but did as suggested, making the hand sign and channel a bit more chakra… another poof, and this time, there was no show, merely a bang as Naruto flew back. He groaned as he crawled to his feet. "A bit less!"

Naruto merely deadpanned at her."This is gonna be hard, huh?" He asked dryly.

"Don't forget funny." Yep, no doubt the urge had struck her on this day.

The blonde walked back into his home some hours later. Covered in dirt and sweat but smiling brightly. Kushina looked at the boy, sighed, and tossed him a new outfit. Before she wordlessly pointed to the shower. Naruto, knowing better than to argue, did so. Taking time before the shower to examine his new attire. He had a new black headband. As well as an orange top worn over, it would be a thick black button-up jacket with orange buttons. Finished with orange utility pants and black sandals. It was less orange than he would usually like, but his mother bought it for him and clearly had compromised some with the orange. So once he was clean and refreshed, gear up. He glanced at the mirror and smirked at his reflection. He felt badass.

"NARUTO, IF YOU FAILED BECAUSE YOU WERE LATE YOU'LL PAY!" Kushina warned from outside his room.

Naruto frowned as he lost that feeling. He marched forward towards the designated training field Mizuki had told them to meet at. It was time to show them what Naruto Uzumaki was made of.

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Naruto approached the training field where the exam would be held. He saw the two others waiting. One was Choji, just as the portly man had told Naruto earlier; the other was someone Naruto did not recognize. He was doing upside-down push-ups, which allowed the blonde to come to grips with his look. He had a shining bowl cut perfectly trimmed with no imperfections, a green skin-tight jumpsuit, and orange leg and arm warmers. As Naruto got close, Choji spotted him and tapped the strange man, who flipped to see who had arrived. But the man only got a stranger with thick eyebrows that framed simple black eyes. Naruto needed to figure out what his deal was. But before Naruto could say hello, the strange man flashed forward at a speed that surprised the blonde before a nice guy posing dramatically.

"Why hello there, my name is Rock Lee." He said politely. "I'm assuming you also are here for the exam. From what Choji said, you sound most youthful. Come!" He yelled excitedly, "We're in the prime of our youth and shall conquer this exam!" Naruto smiled at his energy.

"Hell yeah, we're gonna kick ass," Naruto replied, throwing his arm around the bushy brow man.

"Yes, if we do not, I'll walk a thousand miles!" Lee said as he similarly threw his arm around the blonde.

"Believe it! I'll do it backward!" Naruto cheered in agreement. The positivity was somehow infectious.

"Yosh, that is youth~! We'll do it with only our hands." Lee said.

"Um," Naruto interjected but could not get through to the man who excitedly listed punishments he would endure. He leaned towards Choji with a whisper. "Is bushy brows ok?"

Choji laughed happily. "Pretty much; believe it or not, though, he is super reliable." Naruto admittedly felt some level of doubt, but he could use all the help he could get, so instead, he merely started to stretch. Choji chose to sit and eat chips, and Lee went back to upside-down push-ups at incredible speed. They waited for Mizuki for five minutes before the Chunin arrived geared in combat gear.

"Excellent, we're all here," Mizuki said with a significant smile. "Now, the exercise in question is rather simple." As he said, the three men before him steeled themselves. They couldn't be more different, yet they all had experienced failure before and had no intention of failing again. Naruto would not allow his dream to be slowed down! "All you need to do to become shinobi is defeat me," he said, his voice taking on a gleeful tone. "You may begin now."

Even without communication, the three men's brains came to the same conclusion. They were all close-range fighters and outnumbered him three to one. It was best to try to immediately overwhelm him. Lee dashed forward with great speed, Naruto trailing close behind and Choji a few paces behind both. As Lee drew within range, he fired off a high roundhouse that Mizuki blocked but failed to see Lee throw a body uppercut. This snaked through the Chunin's guard and made him stumble back with a grunt, but before he could gain any distance, Naruto appeared behind him, kicking him in the back and knocking him back toward Lee. Even unbalanced, Mizuki dodged a spinning back fist Lee fired and landed a vicious leg sweep. Mizuki intended to press the advantage, but once again, Naruto attacked from his blind side. Mizuki, trusting his instincts, caught the kunai aimed at his shoulder and attempted to throw the blonde. But Naruto sacrificed the kunai instead, jabbing Mizuki in the face. All three paused when they heard.

"DUCK!" Choji screamed. All three men didn't even look, just dropping low, a giant hand swinging over their heads. Before Lee and Naruto could recover, Mizuki punched Lee with an overhand and hit Naruto with a backkick. The two young men rolled with the blows, and Choji, with a yell, whipped his hand around, trying for a chop. But Muzuki merely smiled as he dashed forward and jumped, smashing his knee in Choji's face before he could react. Choji dropped to the ground, stunned, and as Mizuki fell, he prepared a crushing axe kick that would likely remove the chubby man from the fight. But he heard a yell coming closer.

"Dynamic Entry," Lee named as he crashed into the unguarded back of the Chunin, sending him flying into a tree with a nasty crash. Lee thought the fight was over and posed at the two other boys, proud to have caught Muzuki flat out. Choji and Naruto matched his smile. Deep down, they know realistically, Mizuki was done and likely had been holding back some. But they had controlled the fight reasonably well, and we're confident they could wear him down.

"Not bad, not bad at all," Mizuki growled. "Let's see how you like my A GAME!" He then flew through hand signs. Then called "Firestyle: Flare Blitz Barrage!" He then spat out a ridiculous amount of head-sized fireballs that flew out in a wide range and randomly. All three men froze for a moment. Surely, he knew this would be incredibly deadly, but they had no time to think. Lee quickly weaved around fireballs, loosening and removing his weights. He wasn't sure what Mizuki was thinking, but he intended to end this soon. Naruto dodged desperately before deciding to charge to end the barrage. But Choji in the back struggled to dodge the fast-moving attacks, being clipped by one and flying back from the power of flames. Seeing this, Lee dashed towards the Akimichi, hoping to help him extinguish the flames.

Naruto ducked under a fireball and jumped another. As he rises, he lets fly a barrage of shuriken up close. Mizuki laughs at this as he removes one of the fuma shurikens from his back, swinging it to deflect the attack. As Naruto lands, he draws the Blade of the Whirlpools and slashes. Mizuki blocks this as well and tries to overpower the blonde.

"What the hell are you doing? You're gonna hurt someone." Naruto said with a growl. As he leaned forward, matching Mizuki's might.

"Don't worry; the other two can live," Mizuki answered darkly. Naruto is shocked by this, and Mizuki, with sadistic glee, takes advantage. Dropping the fuma shuriken, Mizuki allowed Naruto to stumble forward as he drew a kunai. He thrust it into the blonde's shoulder, who rolled back to escape his grasp. Mizuki laughed and fired the fuma toward Naruto to finish him off. But Lee appeared in front, catching the shuriken and throwing it back. Mizuki charged as he ducked under the attack, but to his shock, one of the training posts planted into the ground flew toward him. His eyes whipped to where it was, and a Choji with bad burns stood with a giant hand extended from the throw. Mizuki felt the post connect with his legs, knocking them from under him and almost certainly shattering their bones. His feet flew behind him as he continued his forward path, now helpless.

"Mizuki!" He heard as he flew, and his eyes lazily flicked to the blonde who was now charging him, and he saw him preparing a punch from below the hip. It was sure to be a massive blow, but between pain and momentum, Mizuki was helpless as Naruto reared back, "GET OUT OF MY WAY!" The blonde screamed as he shifted his body weight, putting everything in his fist. He slammed into Chunin's face, hitting right below his right eye. Naruto felt the cracking of bone as his punch caused the Chunin's momentum to reverse and send him skidding across the ground. Naruto panted harshly as he stared. Lee and Choji approached him.

"I know it may sound unyouthful, but I believe Muzuki intended to hurt us," Lee said with a frown, seemingly seriously conflicted by this.

"I know what you mean. Mizuki was playing for keeps." Choji said, pain in his voice as he examined his left ribs where the burn was.

"He said he was gonna kill me," Naruto stated angrily.

"Oh, I will." All three boys tensed as Mizuki slowly and seemingly painfully stood up. He was bleeding from his mouth and nose. Though he stood, his legs shook. "I should've done this from the start. But how was I to guess you low scorers would be capable of this!" Mizuki monologues excitedly. "I had intended to maim you two and then kill Naruto, but since you want to play rough, you all can die!" As he said this, he pulled a syringe from his pouch on his hip and savagely stabbed into his own neck. "I had intended to use this to bust out of this pathetic village, but I suppose I'll start by killing you!" He suddenly stood up, ramrod straight, cackling wildly. The air seemed to swirl around him; the three could suddenly feel his chakra, and veins throughout his body pulsed violently, seemingly threatening to burst out his skin. There was silence as they wondered what he had just done.

He looked at them, smirking before blitzing the three and standing between them. Lee quickly attempted a spinning elbow; Naruto was a beat or two later but countered with a kunai thrust to his jugular. Mizuki chuckled as he caught both their blows and slammed them violently into each other headfirst. Then, whipping both into training posts. Choji, flinching due to the burn, stumbled back, but Muziki quickly stepped into his guard with an uppercut to his chin. Choji flew upwards, but Mizuki caught his foot, stopping his flight.

"You broke my legs." He said hatefully as he slammed Choji into the ground, nearly leaving the man buried in the rubble. He drew a kunai to finish him off before he heard several pops and was tackled by what must be twenty Naruto. He rolled through, stabbing two of the clones into nothing. Two more came from in front while four on each of his sides ran to surround him. The two in front came from high and low, unleashing dual-flying roundhouses. Mizuki smiled as he allowed both to hit, neither managing to damage him. He grabbed both and smashed them, destroying them. Two charged in from the left, and two more followed from the right, all wielding tanto. Mizuki growled at this. Naruto had never shown this before. He ducked under the thrust of one and blocked two more with his forearms. The blades cannot pierce deeply, his skin seemingly hardening since the injection. The fourth clone looked for a downward slash. Mizuki spun quickly, disarming the lot and drawing a blade as he did so, destroying the clones.

The four closest to him charged from his blind spot. Mizuki whipped around to kill them, but it had been a feint. The eight remaining clones in front instead launched a massive conjoined kick, sending Mizuki back into the remaining four, who attempted to hold him down while the rest ran forward with big slashes. Mizuki yelled angrily and managed to dispel the four simply by flexing. Charging the rest, he clotheslines two into another two, grabs two more by the faces, and slams them viscously into the ground. The last two stood guarded and defiant. "I'm gonna enjoy killing you, you monster!" Mizuki screamed as he charged the two.

"Any ideas on how we will do this, Bushy Brows?" Naruto asked as he summoned another twenty clones to surround them.

"Yes, keep him busy for just a moment. I have the most youthful technique that should work!" Lee answered as he stood, seemingly bracing for something. But Muzuki, laughing as he landed, stood before them confidently.

"Are you sure you wanna help that monster, Lee?" Mizuki asked with glee. "I don't think you know how much blood is on his hands." Lee froze for a second.

"I've never killed anyone, you ass!" Naruto countered.

"Well, of course, you did. You killed the fourth Hokage, after all. You even killed my family, didn't you nine tails!" Mizuki screamed manically. Lee looked back at Naruto, not quite believing it, but to his shock, Naruto looked panicked. Looking at Lee almost pleadingly. Lee didn't know what to say.

"Naruto?" Lee asked quietly