AN: So, I'm back again, and this time, with an explanation! That you will be getting in the story. Most of what I'm going to be covering in this chapter is Naruto/Kurama talking to the Hokage, and team selections. Maybe the bell test too, if I feel like it. If you can't tell, I write these things before I start writing the chapter, so anything written after this, unless planned beforehand (not likely), is a surprise to me too, or made up on the fly.

Kurama: And that's what makes you a horrible writer.

Me: Like you could do any better. Anywho, I'm kinda on the fence about whether to have him go by Naruto, or Kurama. He will be keeping Uzumaki as his last name, but I'm not sure what to do about his first name. Suggestions? Now, before I forget, I would like to remind you that I own nothing but the plot here. Now, BEGIN!

Hiruzen looked up from his desk as the two people he was most interested in seeing stepped into his office. "Ah, good, Iruka, and… Naruto. Just the people I wanted to see."

"Old man. I'm guessing you saw what happened in that crystal ball of yours."

"I did, and I'm hoping you can give me an explanation…"

"Naruto, my name is still Naruto. For now anyway. I haven't decided which name to use yet, my old one or my new one, but I'm still the same boy you've known for the past 12 years. All that's changed is that now I have all my old memories and powers back."

"Well, I would still like to know what happened 12 years ago, and Iruka-sensei too, I think."

"Very well. The official story is that on the night of October 10th, 12 years ago, the Kyubi appeared out of nowhere and attacked the village, before being killed by the Yondaime, Minato Namikaze. Few people know that his wife, Kushina Uzumaki, was the previous jinchuriki, and fewer still knew that she was pregnant at the time. What almost nobody knew, was that when a female jinchuriki is giving birth, the seal on the biju weakens, and it takes a huge amount of control to keep the biju from escaping.

That night, while Kushina was in labor, a masked man appeared, claiming to be Madara Uchiha. He broke Kushina's concentration, and after freeing me, took control of my body, forcing me to go on a rampage. Unfortunately, in the chaos that followed, the newborn child died from a lack of medical attention. The Yondaime and his wife quickly joined the fight against me, but soon realized that defeating me would be impossible, as I can't be killed, and Kushina was too weak to have me sealed inside of her again. But, both of them being masters of sealing jutsu, came up with an idea that would both contain me, and, in a way, give their child a second chance to live.

Returning to where the corpse of the child was, they sealed me inside, using a seal that caused my essence to be bonded with the child's DNA, effectively making us one. And since I was still alive, that meant he was alive too. Both of them lost their lives in the process, Kushina while protecting Minato so he could finish the seal, and Minato in the actual sealing process. Due to the extreme nature of the seal, my memories and powers were locked away, so as to keep myself from accidentally destroying my new form, but my underlying personality never changed. The boy you two have grown to love these past years was me when I was his age, before I was consumed with loneliness and hatred. Having relived those feelings, I have lost my hate, except towards anyone who would threaten my new family, which, despite being ostracized, includes the entire village."

Finishing his speech, Naruto looked at the two men before him, and stated "I still have the dream of becoming Hokage, but now, instead of wanting the title in order to be recognized by the village, I want it so that I might better protect it, from anything, both from the outside, and from within." He said the last part looking directly at Hiruzen, making sure the Hokage knew what he was talking about. Now that he had regained his memories and powers, he wasn't going to let Danzo do whatever he wanted.

Hiruzen sighed. "That's quite a tale, but, knowing Minato, it sounds like something he would do. I always wondered how a newborn was able to survive on a battlefield. Also, you keep mentioning your powers, can we get an idea of what those are?"

"Very well. As the both of you saw, I am able to manifest my chakra such that it can actually affect someone without forming it into a jutsu. I can use my natural chakra to form Yokai no Bunshin, or demon clones. They are similar to shadow clones, except they can take more than one hit, and once formed, begin to produce their own chakra, thus eliminating any strain on me. I still gain all fatigue and memories from them, but they can last for months, or even years on their own, and thus can be the perfect cover for an undercover agent. I can control the hatred of others, either, increasing it, directing it, or removing it entirely. I can create hatred as well, but there are few reasons I would need to, usually it's only a matter of redirecting pre-existing hate. Also, as a result of my seal, I have two chakra pools, a human one, and a biju one. Surprisingly, they are of similar sizes, with the human one being nearly twice as big as yours, Old Man. I have sensory abilities that would put a Hyuga to shame, and combat abilities that put me on par with, well, a biju. Also, being human, I can use normal jutsu, and even sign a summoning contract. Basically, I am the perfect jinchuriki."

Hiruzen sat back, thinking over the implications this had. "Well, I'm going to have to rethink this year's teams. Naruto, Iruka, you two are dismissed."

They bowed. "As you wish, Hokage-sama. C'mon, Naruto, let's go to Ichiraku's."

"Awesome! You're paying, right Iruka-sensei?" The two men just smiled at his excitement. With that outburst, they knew that, no matter how he may act or talk now, he really was the same excitable, loving child he was before. Chuckling to himself, Hiruzen turned back to his paperwork, as Naruto and Iruka left, with Naruto going on about how ramen was the food of the gods.

A few days later, Naruto walked into The Academy, ready to get his team assignment. Many people were surprised to see him there, as they were sure he had failed. But what surprised them more was his new clothes. Instead of his normal orange jumpsuit, Naruto was wearing dark pants, and a blood red shirt. Over it, was a dark orange cloak, which split at the bottom into nine sections. On the back of the cloak was a fox decal with nine tails, each one flowing down into one of the sections. Another fox decorated the front of his shirt. Both foxes were wrapped protectively around a litter of kits, lying on a bed of leaves. All in all, he looked much different than he did before, more confident, and, as all the girls in his class could attest, much more attractive.

He smiled as he thought of all the changes in his life that had happened over the past few days.

*(Flashback)*

The day after his revelation, Hiruzen summoned Naruto to his office. As he walked in, Naruto asked "What gives, Jiji? I wanted to train the entire time before my team assignment." As he finished, he saw that there were two other ninja, both of whom wore masks, in the room, waiting for him, judging from their stance watching the door. When they saw him, they both turned around and started yelling at the Hokage.

The man was saying "Naruto, are you kidding me!? He only just graduated from The Academy, he's not ready for the kind of work ANBU do!"

The woman, on the other hand, was yelling "A brat! This is who you pair us with!? What are we, babysitters?"

Naruto sighed, immediately grasping the situation. Well, if they were going to work together, it would be better for there to be no secrets. Gathering his biju chakra, he created a pair of chakra arms that he used to quickly grab the two masked ninja and lift them into the air, turning them around so that they faced him. Hiruzen raised an eyebrow at this, but let Naruto continue.

"Now," Naruto said, "I don't know how you know me," pointing at the male ninja, "but I'm no brat, as I'm hoping I've just proven. But, just in case…" With that, he caused a tendril of chakra to lift away from each arm, and impale them both in the forehead. A second later, he removed the tendril, and dropped them to the ground. "Now that you're up to speed, how about someone tell me what my role on this team will be?"

Hiruzen smiled as he watched the two older ninja in front of him stagger to their feet. He had tried to warn them. "Well, Naruto-"

"Not Naruto. Kurama." Hiruzen raised an eyebrow. "Naruto is a fresh genin, not suited for ANBU work. Let him have his genin team. Kurama will handle the tough stuff."

Hiruzen nodded once, then continued. "Kurama then. Same last name?" Kurama shook his head. "His, then?" He nodded. "Okay then. You two, remove your masks and introduce yourselves."

They nodded, and removed their masks at the same time. The man had gravity defying white hair, and had his forehead protector pulled down over his left eye. He also wore a mask over his mouth and nose, so all that was visible was his right eye. The woman, on the other hand, had dark purple hair, and kept her face completely uncovered. She had also pulled a dango out from somewhere as soon as she had her mask off, and had started eating it.

"Hatake Kakashi, codename Inu."

"Mitarashi Anko, code name Neko."

"Well, I'm Namikaze Kurama, codename… Hey, Old Man, what's my codename?"

Hiruzen smiled again, and picked up a mask that was laying on his desk. "Kitsune. I thought it would be appropriate. Now," He said, addressing all three of them, "You won't be getting any missions for a few weeks, so that you can get to know one another, and also so that Naruto can get to know his genin teammates. Don't worry, once you do start to get missions, I'll make sure they don't conflict. Not that that should be much of a problem," he said, with a gleam in his eye. "Now, dismissed!"

*(End Flashback)*

Kurama had spent the past couple of days training with his new ANBU team, and preparing for working with his genin team. He had only bought his new clothes the day before, because Kakashi had said he couldn't keep wearing his orange jumpsuits, no matter how stealthy he was despite them.

Now he was Naruto, and he was ready to get to know his new genin team.

Walking into the classroom, he heard the murmurs as his classmates asked each other "Who is that?" "I don't remember a hunk like him being in our class." And, from the people who did recognize him, "Isn't that Naruto?" "What happened to him?" "I thought he failed his exam?"

Naruto sat down next to Sasuke, who looked over at him. Sasuke noticed that there was something different about Naruto, besides his new clothes. He had this air about him, like he would go to any lengths to protect you if he found you worthy, and if you tried to hurt someone under his care… Sasuke didn't want to think about that. What was odd was that it seemed like everyone here was under his umbrella of protection, no matter what they had done to him, just by being in this room, by being a part of this village, they were worthy. Even him. That was a strange feeling for Sasuke. He was used to being on his own, being the strongest. So why was it so comforting to know that the deadlast was willing to protect him?

Just then, Iruka walked into the room, and, after quieting everyone down, began to announce teams.

(Teams 1-6 don't matter)

"Team 7, Naruto, Ino, and Sakura!" Both Ino and Sakura smacked their heads on their desks, while Naruto just smirked. Sasuke frowned at him. He was sure that Naruto would have been jumping for joy.

"Team 8, Shikamaru, Hinata, and Sasuke!" The only one who had any problems with this team was Shikamaru, who muttered "Troublesome."

"Team 9 is the same as last year, so. Team 10, Shino, Kiba, and Choji!" Shino nodded, while Kiba complained about being put on a weak team. Choji just happily ate his chips.

"Now," Iruka continued, "your new sensei will be here soon to pick you and your team up, so just wait for them here."

*(Time skip)*

Two hours later, Naruto and his team were still sitting in the classroom, waiting for their sensei. Sakura and Ino were still refusing to talk to one another, and so were just sitting there, either watching the door, or thinking about how Naruto had changed.

Naruto, on the other hand, had given up trying to talk to either girl, and was busing himself with a wind-chakra exercise Kakashi had shown him. Having biju chakra, he could theoretically master all the elements, but he was starting with wind because that was what his human chakra affinity was. Right now, he was attempting to cut a leaf in half with only his chakra, without manifesting it, of course.

Just then, he sensed someone at the door. Finally, he thought. The only person I know who's ever this late is… Just then, the door opened, to reveal none other than Kakashi. "Kakashi!" Naruto yelled.

Kakashi turned his head, and when he say Naruto, exclaimed "Kurama!"

As one, they asked "What are you doing here!?"

"Um," Sakura spoke up. The two turned to look at her. "Are you our new sensei?"

Remembering why he was here, Kakashi answered "Yes, I am. Why don't you two head up to the roof, that's where we'll have our first team meeting. I just need to talk to… Naruto… for a second, then we'll be right up." After the two girls left, Kakashi said "So this is what the Hokage meant when he said he was sure conflicting missions wasn't going to be a problem."

"Yeah. You hold him down, I rearrange his face?"

"Depends. What kind of team are we working with?"

"They refuse to talk to each other over a rivalry about a boy in our class, Sasuke Uchiha. Both have strong points, Sakura, the pink-haired one, she's smart, but has low chakra reserves. Ino is a Yamanaka, and can use their mind transfer technique, but she's no good against a moving target. I can shore up both of those weaknesses, but that still leaves us with their biggest problem; they're both complete fan girls. They won't put in extra work, they're always dieting, and worst of all, if Sasuke is involved, they would slit the throats of their own parents, they're that obsessed."

"Change of plans. You hold him down." Hiruzen, watching from his crystal, blanched. How was he supposed to know about the girls' problems? Back with Naruto and Kakashi, Kakashi said. "Okay, we might be able to fix the first of these problems, but I need you to do something for me. Bring two bentos to the meeting tomorrow, and no matter what I say, make sure you eat breakfast."

"Got it. Now, let's get going, the girls will be wondering where we are before too long."

Once on the rooftop, Kakashi asked them to introduce themselves, starting with Sakura. She said "My name is Haruno Sakura. My likes are…" At this point she trailed off, getting an odd look in her eyes. "My hobbies are…" She trailed off again. "My dislikes are Ino-pig, and…" She was about to say Naruto, then remembered how much he had changed. She also remembered that he and their new sensei seemed to know each other, so saying that might be a bad idea. "And people who get in the way of my goal. My dream is to become strong for the person I like."

Next was Ino. "My name is Yamanaka Ino. My likes are…" She trailed off like Sakura had. Kakashi rolled his eyes. They really were as bad as Naruto had said. "My hobbies are…" she also trailed off again here. "My dislikes are forehead," when Kakashi sent Naruto a questioning look, he quickly glanced at Sakura, indicating who she was referring to. Kakashi inwardly sighed. He really hoped his plan for tomorrow worked. "And… People who underestimate me. My dream is to become a strong kunoichi"

Finally it was Naruto's turn. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. My likes are ramen, training, and my family." That surprised Sakura and Ino. They were certain Naruto had never trained a day in his life. Also, wasn't he an orphan? So what did he mean by his family? "My dislikes are the time it takes to cook ramen, traitors, and people who would hurt my family." Again, they were surprised. What did Naruto know of traitors? And why would people want to hurt the family of an orphan? "My hobbies are training, and eating different types of ramen. My dream is to become a great Hokage, so that I can protect everyone in the village." This threw Sakura and Ino for a loop. Before today, they would have scoffed at his dream, but now, with his new image, they believed he could do it. But they had to wonder, why would he want to protect a village that shunned him, seemingly for no reason?

"Well," Kakashi said, "Now that that's out of the way, I want you all to meet me at training ground 7 tomorrow at 9o'clock sharp! And make sure not to eat any breakfast, unless you want to throw up!" With that, he gave them an eye-smile, and shushined away, leaving the three genin to their own devices.

AN: So, I obviously decided to use both of the names, and I lied about keeping the last name Uzumaki. Do not expect an update as long as this one again, at least not as fast as I got this one up. How do people like Naruto's two teams? About halfway through writing this, I was forced to be away from my laptop, and so used the time to actually plan, which is when I came up with all four teams, as well as wrote most of the flashback scene.

Kurama: That's a surprise.

Me: Quiet you. Anyways, that's the main reason this is as long as it is, as well as the fact that I wanted to get through the introductions. Now that I have this image of Naruto during the Zabuza fight, getting incredibly mad, and Kakashi calling out "Naruto!" and Naruto just saying "Not now, Kakashi." See, because now, it has two meanings, both, he doesn't have time for Kakashi, and he's not Naruto right now. Cool, huh? Anyways, leave a review if you don't want me to steal your soul the next time I leave my crypt.

Kurama: You don't live in a crypt, idiot.

Me: I said quiet. Also, I'm on the lookout for a betareader, so if you're interested, say so in your review, or pm me. In any case, see you next time!

Edit: It had come to my attention that there were some spelling errors when it came to people's names. They have been fixed.