Konohamaru Sarutobi-A genin who is bitter about his life

"AAAAAH, I hate this stupid village!" I shout out loud, not caring if anyone can hear me. Both because I don't care what anyone has to say in response and nobody should be near the training ground I'm in anyways.

My name is Konohamaru Sarutobi. I am a ninja of the Genin rank, loyal to the village Konohagakure. But sadly, I'm better known because of who I'm related to. You see, I'm the grandson of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, who was called the God of Shinobi. I used to think that was awesome when I was a young kid. Who wouldn't want to be related to such an awesome ninja!? If he was alive, I would have loved to learn from him!

Sadly, he died saving the village from the Kyuubi. With his ****, he left one hell of a legacy...that landed on my shoulders. Even before I decided to be a ninja myself, people had high expectations for me. Apparently, my esteemed grandfather loved this village so much, he suggested I be named after it. Which admittedly, is kinda cool. And I wouldn't mind the high expectations for me, I'd gladly meet them and surpass them. But...

Nobody seems to care about Konohamaru Sarutobi.

I know, confusing huh? Well, I am rarely called by my own damn name, the name my grandfather gave me. People always referred to me as the 'Honorable Grandson', 'The Third's Heir', and the honestly sickening 'Hiruzen's Pride'. I didn't understand why all these people couldn't just call me by my name.

Then came the academy days where I would first be seen as a disappointment. Granted, I didn't fail a single class. I did plenty of training and studying to almost sail through classes with ease. But in the eyes of the village, that wasn't good enough. Apparently, I was supposed to be a prodigy like Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, and Minato Namikaze. I was supposed to jump whole years and be a five-year-old going on kill missions.

It didn't really get to me at first because what they were saying was so bizarre. I figured it was just crazy talk or they were messing with me. So I let it roll off my back and went on with my life.

Soon enough, I graduated from the academy. Top of my class and rookie of the year, despite steep competition from other clan children. And then I was assigned my team, Team 7 of my generation. And of course, Team 7 was historically known for great ninjas. Kakashi Hatake for example, Itachi Uchiha for another, and who could forget the Sannin, students of my Grandfather. So yeah, that's another sign that reinforced people's belief that I am destined to be some amazing ninja.

The high expectations started to unnerve me a lot more, but I did my level best to ignore them. I focused on my team. And...I was partially disappointed. I knew in my head that expecting to get on the same team as Udon and Moegi was unlikely and foolish, but I still had some hope. That hope was crushed when I instead got Hanabi Hyuuga and Mito Uzumaki. The two 'Princesses of Konoha'. And our sensei was none other than Kushina Uzumaki, wife of the Fourth Hokage and formerly known as the 'Whirlpool Princess'.

Now it was kinda weird to be surrounded by girls, two of which were annoying in their own ways, but I just went with it. But of course, with such a star-studded team came even higher expectations. But these expectations were also tainted with rumors of the... perverted kind.

Apparently, one boy surrounded by so many attractive girls would lead to a said boy becoming a pervert, according to common opinion. Granted, I'm not saying I don't have perverted thoughts or feelings. But I never let those thoughts be known. I respected my teammates and hoped to make a great, memorable team with them. But instead of a sense of camaraderie, I was met with a look of disdain and disinterest from Hanabi, and a glare with threats from Mito.

Kushina-sensei didn't give the rumors credence and just laughed them off. She assured me they'd go away in time. But they didn't, and the more training and missions we did the stronger the rumors got. And with the longer period of time not standing out and showing off as people expected, the more disappointment they showed.

Soon, it really started to get to me. Next to my teammates, I felt almost insignificant. I resorted to asking for more personal training from Kushina-sensei. But she said she didn't have time to personally train me, that the only reason Mito got any was because she was her daughter and clan member. She recommended I go to my own clan for assistance in training.

The only problem is, despite being part of a 'clan' and having one of the Hokage originate from our family, the Sarutobi clan wasn't really a ninja clan. Most were farmers and merchants, preferring a quiet and safe life. The only other ninja in the Sarutobi clan I know of is my Uncle Asuma.

Now, going to him seemed like a great idea. Not only is he a Jonin, but he was also once part of the Twelve Guardian Ninja for the Fire daimyo. That marked him as an incredibly skilled ninja, with likely plenty of skills and training he could teach me. What I didn't expect when I sought him out was how... uncaring he was about my request.

He showed absolutely zero interest or even sympathy for the pressure I was under. When I asked him for help, he'd give the excuse that he was busy training his own team. But I spied on them a couple of times, and most of the time they are just lazing in a training area! And when I'd see him without his team, he would be with his girlfriend Kurenai. I thought he'd at least agree to train me, to show off for her. But he would just blow me off, assuring me we'd talk about it later! And Kurenai would just smile, thinking nothing of his lazy disinterest in me.

So with adults failing me left, right, and center, all I could do was train myself. I'd push myself, wearing out my body and doing my best to search for jutsu I could learn on my own. Eventually, I did come upon one saving grace in the form of Naruto Uzumaki, my teammate's elder brother.

He sympathized with my plight of heavy expectations and false perverted assumptions. He taught me his favorite jutsu: Shadow Clones. Granted, I couldn't make as many as him, but I could make up to 5 before getting tired. That was a sign that my physical training paid off at least. I was grateful to Naruto, even calling him brother. He helped me where his mom failed.

Soon enough my team was nominated for chunin exams. We killed it, passing the first and second parts with ease despite the dissonance between us. And when it came time for the tournament, I made it all the way to the finals and faced off with my own teammate, Mito. It was a long, emotional fight. Our negative emotions towards each other fueled us as we fought like our lives depended on it. But after a long grueling battle, she had me pinned with an Uzumaki chain and a blade to my neck.

This, I thought, would be a turning point. I thought things would finally work out for me. My team would be chunin now, I had earned my teammates and uncle's respect, and I just might have met the expectations that so many had for me. I was sure my life would be getting better from then on.

Then...reality slapped me in the face.

Apparently, I hadn't met the requirements to be chunin. According to the Hokage, I should have had the wisdom to realize that I couldn't beat Mito as she had superior skills. I should have forfeited, said the father of the girl that I fought. That would have been the smart thing to do and some bullshit about how that applied to a real mission situation. It took everything I had not to curse him out then and there.

And not only did I not make chunin, nothing has changed for me around the village either. My teammates still didn't respect me, saying I should learn my place. My uncle was as distant and uncaring as ever. And people now had even more disappointed in me, as my performance in the exams was apparently mediocre and talentless.

I couldn't believe this bullshit! Every drop of blood, sweat, and tears I've shed for this village and nobody gives a damn! I have pushed myself to the limit with my training, trying my hardest every damn day! And it has meant nothing to them!

I dropped to my knees and punched the ground in frustration. "I hate my team!" Another punch. "I hate my uncle!" Another punch. "I hate that I was named after a village filled with people that don't think I'm good enough!" I rear back my fist for one more punch. "But most of all, I hate MY GRAND-"

When my fist came down this time, I felt something under them that wasn't there before. They felt small, metal, and painful. Hissing in pain and irritation at the interruption, I look to see two metal 'N' shaped earrings on the ground. Scowling in confusion, I look around to see if anyone just threw them at me. But I was still alone.

My scowl fades as I pick up the strange earrings, confusion, and curiosity temporarily overtaking my anger for the moment. They didn't really look like anything special. Sure, they were made of gold, but that wasn't overall very valuable. And ninjas didn't usually wear useless jewelry, especially something easy to identify as these. If a ninja wears jewelry, they're either sentimental items or they serve a function. But if these were worn for sentimentality, I doubt someone would carelessly leave them lying on the ground.

'But as far as I can tell, there is nothing special about these things aside from their shape.' I think to myself. 'No seals, not made of chakra metal, and aren't coated in anything. For all intents and purposes, these earrings are nothing but normal-'

On that last thought, the earrings warmed a little and vibrated. This surprised me to where I almost dropped them. Staring down at them, the wheels in my head started turning as I considered what just happened.

'Ok, whatever that was, it wasn't chakra. I may not be much of a sensor, but I could feel that much. And yet somehow, these things somehow hummed with energy. But what caused it?' I think, contemplating what exactly sparked the reaction. 'Hmmm...wait...the earrings are shaped like 'N's...and the last thought I had was the word...'

I decide to say the word out loud to see what happens. "Normal?" And just like that, the earrings hum with energy again, confirming the simple idea.

'Ok, so these earrings react to the word 'normal'...and the humming might get annoying if it keeps happening.' I think irritated. 'So using that word causes these things to use energy, but to do what? It's an odd choice of trigger word, so whatever they do has to be related to it. But what could these things do that related to that? Make anything the user wants normal?'

This time, the earrings hummed especially hard and were almost too hot to handle. 'That strong a reaction...was that a confirmation? But that's ridiculous! Surely something so powerful would be well known...or, no they wouldn't. These things could easily be forgotten and hidden by the simple use of the trigger word. But still, these can't be real. They don't even use chakra!'

I spend a chunk of time arguing with myself about whether or not these things actually worked. Every possible argument for either side had a reasonable counterargument or there wasn't enough to prove it. And soon enough, I came to one simple conclusion.

I needed to test them for proof of authenticity.

But how should I do it? And who to test it with?