A year later, decked out in fresh, crisp clothes to commemorate their starting of the ninja academy, the three friends grinned at each other as they sat, side by side, all throughout the orientation. "This is so boring," Naruto whispered. "Doesn't it make you..make you wanna spice things up?" He grinned an evil grin and rubbed his hands together.

Sasuke smirked. A prank sounded perfect. He respected the Third, but seriously? Talking for an hour to six year olds? It was bound to get old soon.

Sakura looked a bit affronted, but after an extremely persuasive puppy eyes look from Naruto, she gave in. "Oh alright. What are we doing?"

"Come closer." Naruto motioned them together, only slightly huddled, so that no one would notice them plotting. "What do you have on you?"

"I have paper and ink. I brought them for school," Sakura whispered. "You?"

"I have notebooks, ink, pencils, erasers..." Sasuke ticked his fingers off. "...Scissors, some kunai, shuriken, and lunch."

"You sure are prepared," Naruto muttered. "Well, I have paintballs, superglue, paper, ink, feathers, hot sauce, rubber bands, smelly socks.."

"Wait, smelly socks and paintballs?" Sasuke furrowed his brow. "You came for the sole purpose of creating a big mess, didn't you?"

Naruto cackled. "Why else would I come to boring orientation? Life Lesson #1, orientations are always boring."

"Since when were you so wise?" Sakura laughed and patted Naruto on the back. "You're only five!"

"So what's the plan?" Sasuke impatiently nudged his two friends. "I hope we don't have to rip out pages from my notebook. They're all brand new."

"Nah, we have plenty of paper. At least I do," Naruto reached into his backpack and pulled out a sealing scroll. "I've been researching ways to carry lots of things at once! Isn't it cool? I'll teach you guys later. For now, we'll just need your ink. All of it."

Sasuke grumbled. There went his good ink. He pulled it out and handed it over. "Now what?"

"We combine our superglue, our feathers, our ink and paper, and with a little bit of ninjutsu, give this room a complete makeover!"

"Hmm," Sakura and Sasuke exchanged predatory glances. "Any ideas how to do this without any of the Jounin, or the Hokage for that matter, from noticing?"

"Simple," Naruto folded his hands in his lap, looking straight at the still speaking Hokage, the very image of an innocent bystander, giving no hint that he was actually plotting with his friends. "you two are going to make a distraction."

...

"OH DEAR HELP ME GOD! MY HAAAAAAAAAIIRR!" Ino shrieked. Her long blonde hair was now drenched in superglue and stuck fast to the chair. A few moments ago, Ino thought she had been feeling something cold sliding down her ponytail, but dismissed it as cold air conditioning. Until now, when she lifted a hand to run it through her hair, and come in contact with a sticky substance that refused to let her hand go, she did not realize what had been done to her head. So she had done the next best thing she could. She screamed.

"HEEEEEEEEEEEELP!" She opened her mouth wide and screeched in horror. Two rows away, Sakura and Sasuke high fived under the chairs. Naruto gave a discreet thumbs up as his other hand was busy working at a bundle of paper.

"Done yet?" Sasuke muttered quietly as he slid back into his seat. The many eyes in the stadium were now focused on Ino, and with the way how Ino's mother was also screaming in shock, no one was going to notice them anytime soon. The Hokage himself had paused in his speech to come take a look. Moments later, Sakura slid into her seat next to the Uchiha. "Hurry up!" She hissed. "Ino's a loudmouth and she's going to keep people occupied, but only for so long." Another high pitched scream ensued as Ino's mother futilely tried pulling her daughter's hair loose.

"I'm nearly ready," Naruto huffed, his hands a blur with brushes and pieces of paper. "Just need to get this seal array... Perfect!" He now held up a big bundle of squashed up paper, covered with tiny black words.

Sasuke was confused. "Sealing?" he asked. "Isn't that really advanced? How are you doing that?"

Naruto shrugged. "Picked it up from places. It's just really natural for me. I'll teach you all later. Remember what I said about storage scrolls? This is a variation of that. It's just set up to unseal everything all at once when the sensor picks up high level velocity."

"So we just have to throw it?" Sakura, the natural brain, took the wad of paper in her hands. Sasuke just shook his head in wonder. If he hadn't been hanging around Sakura so much, he wouldn't have understood half of what Naruto just said. Of course, that applied to Naruto too.

"Yeah. Since Sakura had the pleasure of doing Ino in, would you like to do the honors, Sasuke?" Naruto took the ball from Sakura and handed it to Sasuke.

Sasuke just blinked. Sure, he was guilty by associate, but to actually initiate the prank? What would his father think? His mother? His brother?

Then he realized, with a darker emotion than he ever thought capable of possessing, that he didn't care what they thought. He would live his life the way he wants to live it. With his friends.

With a great burst of strength, Sasuke threw the ball high up in the air just as another drawn out scream from Ino ground the air. He could see it in slow motion, the wad pirouetting, turning, until the black words started to glow bright silver and he felt a hand at the scruff of his neck.

"Get down Sasuke!"

It was Naruto. The three of them ducked beneath the chairs just as the ball released spurts of ink and paintballs and droplets of superglue in all directions. When all of them finally looked up, the world was a burst of color.

Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, and each of his Anbu who had burst out from their hiding places at the commotion, was dotted in polka dot rainbow colors. The old man looked half amused, half angry. How had he not noticed this? On instinct his gaze immediately trailed over to Naruto, the resident prankster, and found him clean. Ha, he'd thought so. Wait. Was that Sasuke and Sakura there too?

The entire room was in uproar. The shinobi were flitting in and out, trying to find the source of the prank. The Anbu had their swords out, trying to protect the Hokage from more paintballs. They didn't seem to realize the pattern paint and ink made together on their masks. Civilian parents screamed and hollered if this was the way of the shinobi. Many carted their children out of the stadium and back home. The once full stadium filled with hundreds of aspiring ninja students dropped to a mere thirty. Well, at least now they wouldn't have to weed the weak out of the group. The ninja families looked less upset, but clearly unhappy. Ino and her mother continued to scream. Inoichi looked positively unsure what to do. Ibiki's eyes narrowed now that his favorite headband bandana was freshly tye-dyed.

Sarutobi got up from his seat, but the snickers aimed at him told him something was off, and looking behind him, he found that his seat was stuck fast to his butt.

Naruto, taking advantage of the situation, quickly shoved his empty sealing scroll into a nearby unsuspecting Jounin's pouch. There. Evidence gone. Who'd think a five year old would be capable of making storage scrolls? No one would be able to trace back to him. Then, as he dusted his hands and stood back to admire his handiwork, he saw the Hokage glaring at him.

Shoot.

...

Next moment, all three of them were inside the Hokage's office.

Sarutobi, too distressed to even light his pipe, massaged his temples with his fingers. "Pray tell, what possessed you to mess up today's orientation? Do you wish to be expelled from the Academy before you even enter?"

Sakura peered at him with innocent green eyes. "What do you mean by that sir? We didn't do anything. I don't understand what you're accusing us of."

Sasuke stared blankly at the aged leader. "Hokage-sama, I am the last of the Uchiha. Surely you don't think I'd desecrate my ancestors' names with pathetic tricks..."

"Old man! We didn't do anything I swear! Gimme proof that we're the ones behind it! HA, got you there!" Naruto bellowed with laughter.
Sarutobi smiled. "First, compared with the rest of the people back in the stadium, including myself and my esteemed shinobi, why is it that you three are completely free of stains?"

To his pleasure, the three miscreants' faces went pale. Naruto cursed under his breath and muttered something like, "crap, I overlooked that," but instantly took on an expression of the most incredulity. "Old man," he gasped. "Just because your shinobi happens to be more incompetent than a group of five-six year olds, you can't blame us! Is it our fault that Sakura happened to be staring at the ceiling during that time and notified us right before the assault?"

Sarutobi narrowed his eyes. "Where did you learn to speak like that?" What a shock. Naruto was usually lacking in the vocabulary area. It came with living alone without any parents, but for a five year old? That was impressive.

"Sakura-chan taught me!" Sakura blushed cutely.

Sarutobi was very impressed. "You must be very smart Sakura. Good for you."

"Thank you sir." Sakura's green eyes shone with light. Behind her, Sasuke and Naruto crossed their fingers and hoped to veneer off topic. However, just then a ninja came in, carrying a large wad of paper.

"Hokage-sama, this is the ball." He handed the thing to the leader, giving the kids a pointed glare. The aged leader took it into his hands, examining the remnants of the seal array. He frowned.

"This can't be right. The seals are too advanced for any average ninja to create, let alone a bunch of five year olds."

"That's right!" Naruto shouted. "You have no evidence. Plus, how did we carry all that stuff with us to school anyway? It's not like we were hauling carts of paintballs you know!"

"Did any of the Jounin see us in the act?" Sasuke pinned the older ninja with his own Uchiha glare. "If not, I don't see why you're glaring us like we're the culprits, we didn't do anything at all."

Sakura sniffled with fake tears. "Hokage-sama, are we in trouble? We really didn't do anything, honest!"

The three of them assumed a facade of the utmost innocence. Unfazed, the ninja hatefully glared at Naruto and turned to the Hokage. "Hokage-sama, it has to be him! Maybe not Uchiha and Haruno, they're good kids, but it has to be this de-"

"Shut your mouth, Hiroto," Sarutobi cut him off sharply. "Unless you wish to go to the Interrogation Unit?"

The man turned red. "..No sir."

"Then you will stay silent. As they've rightfully said, we have no proof, nor eyewitnesses of this account. You three may go."

"But sir!"

"Enough. Naruto, Sakura, Sasuke, you three may go. Though this is simply because we do not have any evidence, nothing else. On my part, I still strongly suspect the three of you as instigators of the prank, but I will not punish you on mere speculation. Next time this happens, you will again be my prime suspects. Understood?"

The trio nodded fervently. Then, as they stood up, they grinned at each other before turning to the leader. "If it makes your job any easier Hokage-sama, the superglue we bought comes off easily with alcohol."

Then they were gone.

Sarutobi cursed.

In the next six years, the good friends did everything together. They went home together, they went to school together, they trained together, they did pranks together, they studied together. On Naruto's birthday they all hid in their secret cache in the forbidden forest, and congratulated him far from the angry voices of the mindless civilians. They shopped together, and ate together.

People wondered just where the three disappeared to after school. No one saw them anymore. Only their friends at the Academy saw them during class.

"Hey, Naruto, wanna come to my house for dinner today? My mom's inviting you for some dumplings she made yesterday." Shikamaru stretched languidly, his baggy shirt pulling up with his shoulders. "Chouji and Kiba are going to be there too."

Naruto grinned. He wanted to go, but not by himself. "Sorry, Shika. Thanks though."

But, Shikamaru wasn't your average twelve year old. He was a member of the genius Nara clan, no matter how lazy they were. "I invited Sakura and Sasuke too, just so you know."

Naruto blinked. "You did?"

"Yeah. Change your mind?"

"Sure! I'll be there!"

"It's at six, sharp. You know my mom. She's a naggy woman, so don't be late."

"No worries!" Naruto happily grinned. Mrs. Yoshino was a great cook, and Shikamaru's parents were one of those very kind people who liked him for who he was. He enjoyed their company. It was great that Shikamaru invited his best friends over too.

"Naruto! Hurry up!" From across the classroom, Sakura and Sasuke stood, waiting. They were both dressed in simple t-shirts and shorts, with their bags slung across their shoulder. Sasuke had a kunai in his hand, twirling it in the air and catching it with easy grace. "Sasuke wants to go target practicing!"

"I'm coming!" Naruto shouted and lunged for his bag. Also dressed in a sensible t-shirt and shorts, he ran down the stairs of the classroom desks and made his way over to his friends. "You guys going to Shikamaru's?"

"Yeah. He said he would ask you two too, so, I said yes." Sasuke threw his kunai into the air. "Today's my turn to pick what to do right? I say we do target practice for an hour, then do some ninjutsu practice. I want to improve my fire technique."

"And you have to improve your bunshin no jutsu, Naruto," Sakura chatised. "Otherwise you might not pass the graduation exam, and that's only in two months!"

"I got it, got it. You two are like old ladies. Always haggling over me," Naruto complained. "If I can't do a bunshin technique all I have to do is a variation of the technique. Or something."

"Or something," Sakura admonished. "See, you don't even have a plan. We wouldn't be so worried if you didn't keep flunking the tests! Why do you insist on sleeping during exams?"

"And you always mess up on the transformation tests. Do you need more attention? Are we not giving you enough?" Sasuke balefully flipped his kunai from the air and pointed it at Naruto accusingly. "Need a hug?"

"Get that out of my face, Sasuke. And no, I don't need a hug." Naruto huffed. Can't they see that he's just making a joke? This academy style curriculum was a total farce, in his opinion. And they always say a ninja's greatest tool is deception, right? What's wrong with having fun and fooling others at the same time? It's killing two birds with one stone.

"Well come on. We have a dinner to go to at six. We don't want to waste time blocking the doorway." Sakura grabbed the boys' hands and dragged them away. Once in their old sanctuary of the forbidden forest, now set up with targets and dummies over the years, they each put their packs down into the tree house set up in the tangled knot of trunks. It was a very cool place that had taken them a good part of six years to build. Other than enforcing it from dangerous animals and insects, the friends had to waterproof the planks, make sure the rope wasn't fraying, and to stabilize the foundations.

Naruto, with his strange arsenal of seals that he developed out of nowhere, made a security system that set chakra guards and locks all around the tree house. Sasuke and Sakura, after years together with Naruto, learned enough to set up seal perimeters around their grounds. They even kept food there, sealed into a compartment of the wall. It kept the food fresh and unspoilt. Water, blankets, pillows, extra clothes, weapons, everything was there, and only accessible by one of the three of them. Occasionally they didn't even bother returning to their homes at all at night. Each of them felt safer together with their friends, not alone at home.

Sakura took out a kunai. "Don't you guys think how cool it would be if we made a name for ourselves in our Genin days? Something like the Legendary Sannin." She let the kunai fly, and it thunked soundly onto the bullseye.

Sasuke snorted. "Legendary Sannin? That's too boring. It's so generic. Legendary Three Ninja. Can't you state the obvious any more obtusely?" He let his own kunai fly. It hit the spot right next to Sakura's.

"To be honest, all the monikers are kind of stupid," Naruto commented as he took out his own knives and threw them at the targets. All five hit the targets. "I mean, the Professor? Who wants to be called that? It's basically calling you a bookworm who sees his body as a mode of transportation for their heads. And the Yellow Flash? God, I admire that man, I really do, but dude, it's totally racist. And Flash? Do you know what that sounds like?" His voice dropped to a whisper.

"Like what?" Sakura asked, confused. Sasuke slapped his palm to his face.

"Idiot," he muttered. "Don't disgrace the dead like that, Naruto."

"Hey, I'm not!" Naruto protested. "It's true! Yellow Flash is like saying Blonde Flasher!"

Sakura blinked once. Then twice. Then she screeched a scream that sent birds flying. "YOU IDIOT!" She slammed her fist into Naruto's face, sending him flying out of the treehouse and into the neighboring trees. "HOW ARE YOU EVER GOING TO BE HOKAGE IF YOU DESCECRATE THE MEMORIES OF THOSE WHO CAME BEFORE YOU!" She panted, powered with adrenaline and righteous anger. "At this rate, I'll be Hokage before you ever come close to wearing the hat!"

"What?" Naruto climbed out of the rubble. "You're kidding! I'll be the next Hokage!"

"Hmph. As if, I'll be Hokage before all of you," Sasuke smirked. He loved riling his friends up.

"What did you say?" Naruto growled. "I'll kill you!"

"Both of you shut up!" Sakura punched Sasuke off the treehouse. He too, crashed into the trees. "I swear I'm going to beat some sense into you two!"

Sasuke groaned from his pile of bark. "I wanted to do target practice...this is all your fault Naruto."

"Don't blame me!" Naruto nervously looked to and fro from the charging Sakura to his other best friend. "Hurry up! We gotta run!"

"Che," Sasuke dodged a punch from Sakura. She could seriously pack a punch. Definitely not someone to underestimate. And he'd been secretly looking forward to that dinner with the Naras.

He sighed. It didn't seem like they'd be fit to go anywhere after Sakura was done with them. Since when was she so violent? He swore she was bipolar. One moment, she could act all shy and cute, the next, evil and maniacal. The only thing he was sure of, was that he was glad she was on his side, not on the side of his fan girls.

Now that would be scary.