88A/N: A small pet project of mine that I wanted to write and get out of my head. Hope you enjoy all the same. Reviews and feedback appreciated as always.
Big thanks to Kenchi Narukami as Beta reader.
Note: Konoha Rookies are approximately 15 years of age.
Chapter one: Prologue.
Hiruzen Sarutobi could be seen sitting quietly in his office. A bottle of sake in one hand as he stared out the window towards the village he had worked tirelessly to protect, even before he became Hokage… a position that he had been forced to take up again after the recent passing of the Yondaime, Minato.
A great number of people had died during the Kyuubi attack, both Ninjas and Civilians alike, some of which were people he knew personally. And so to help numb the pain, he decided to crack open a bottle of booze to help come to grips with the recent happenings.
Hiruzen couldn't help but wonder what could have caused Kushina's seal to shatter, but he strongly suspected outside interference. Unfortunately there was nothing he could do about what had happened in the recent past, he had more troubling concerns.
Namely, Minato and Kushina's child, Naruto, who was now the newest host for the Kyuubi no Kitsune. Both of the child's parents had numerous enemies, both inside and outside Konoha. And on top of it all, now the boy would have enemies of his own since there would be people that would seek vengeance against the Kyuubi, and would undoubtedly seek a scapegoat for their pain and anger since it was found out that he was the newest Jinchuuriki.
His musing was cut short when there was a knock on his door. The aging Hokage wanted to shout 'go away' since he wasn't in the mood to continue running damage control, but he was the Hokage for a reason and his village needed him. So he would continue to do his job and be there for his people. "Come in." He halfheartedly called out, prompting the visitor to enter inside revealing a woman he had never seen in the village before.
She wore a rather… revealing outfit showing off an almost inappropriate amount of skin, and there seemed to be whimsical aura about her. "Greetings Sandaime-sama. My name is Merlin, a pleasure to meet you at long last. Although I wish it were under more pleasant topics." She greeted him in a polite manner.
"Indeed. Though please save the niceties. What brings you here?" He asked bluntly, not wishing to beat around the bush since there would soon be others seeking aid or to ask questions he had no answers to.
She smirked a little bit and responded "Straight to business then? Well, I suppose you have precious little time to waste. Very well then… I am here to take custody of Minato and Kushina's child." Her statement causing the Hokage to raise an eyebrow warily.
There weren't many people who were aware that those two had actually had a child together since Minato tried to keep his personal relationships a secret. Merlin giggled and flicked her wrist, causing an envelope to appear between her fingers. "My Apologies for any confusion. This letter of introduction should help clear things up." She spoke and offered the envelope to the Sandaime.
He accepted it and found that it was sealed by the Hokage's official stamp. A stamp that cannot be easily faked or forged since there was only one in existence and was kept locked within the office. After breaking the wax seal he pulled the letter out and began reading its contents.
He instantly recognized the handwriting belonging to Kushina, according to the letter, Merlin is a longtime friend of hers that travels the nations and one of her best kept secrets. It is her wish that should anything happen to her and/or her husband, that Merlin was to take immediate custody of her son and that her child was to never be in contact with Jiraiya under any circumstances whatsoever… the rest of the letter contained highly graphic threats and promises of torture that would even make Ibiki violently ill.
Hiruzen slowly nodded in acceptance and spoke "I see. I am pleased that the boy will be properly cared for. I shall try to prepare accommodations for you and Naruto as quickly as possible." He promised her since the boy would need a decent home to live in.
"That won't be necessary." She responded with a small smile, her words slightly confusing the Sandaime.
"You already have a place of residence?" He asked to clear up his own confusion. However, Merlin slowly shook her head.
"No. I will not be cooped up here in Konoha. Naruto-kun will be traveling the Nations with me." She answered, causing the Sandaime to blink his eyes dumbly. He broke out of his own stupor and cleared his throat a little.
"Mmm. I am not sure if it would be ideal for the boy to travel around. Having a home in Konoha would provide a sense of stability for him." He spoke, expressing his personal and Professional opinion.
"Perhaps. But I firmly believe that it will benefit him the most if he were to learn from across the Nations and experience what they all have to offer. Perhaps more importantly, he will also be protected from any animosity from your own villagers." She explained as a cup of tea mysteriously materialized in her hand making the Hokage wonder where it came from.
"If there's any trouble from the Civilians, I can most certainly protect him from harm." The Hokage promised, anyone who would dare harm an innocent child should be destroyed with the utmost prejudice.
"Physical harm? Maybe so. But then, one doesn't really need to physically harm someone to inflict immense suffering." She countered knowingly, making Hiruzen bite the inside of his cheek thoughtfully since she made an excellent point.
Even if he could protect him against any physical threats… there were other factors to consider just as well, most prominently those who would seek to manipulate Naruto for their own personal gain. "Very well then. I suppose if Kushina trusted you to look after her son, then I'll respect yours and her wishes. Nevertheless, the gates of Konoha will be open to you both. I have only two stipulations." He spoke in a professional tone.
"And they are?" Merlin asked, although she could make an educated guess as to what they are.
"Firstly, I want to take a blood sample from Naruto-kun to create a Blood clone to serve as a stand-in for Village security purposes. Secondly, I request that Naruto-kun return in fifteen years time to graduate from the Academy and officially join Konoha's Shinobi corps." The Hokage spoke, prompting the black haired woman to nod in agreement.
"Done and done." Merlin answered with a sly smile, knowing full well that he would make such requests. Not that she really cared since it didn't interfere with her plans. Merlin was genuinely looking forward to raising young Naruto and seeing how he develops in her care. Call it a long-term experiment of hers, and fulfilling a promise she made to a dear friend. Two birds with one stone.
If Naruto possessed the keen intellect of his father, and the unmatchable fighting prowess and ferocity of his mother, then there would be no limit to what he could accomplish. And there was no way in hell that she would let anyone diminish his potential. Most especially that Jiraiya character that Kushina had warned her about. "Now that is all out of the way, I would very much like to see Naruto-kun." Merlin announced and happily clapped her hands, the Sandaime smiling a little as he set aside the bottle of booze.
He would be able to rest much easier at night now that he knew the boy would be cared for. To be honest, he didn't feel comfortable with the idea of leaving Naruto with Jiraiya. Something about the way the Toad Sannin talked about that whole prophecy business was… unsettling. Like it had become something of an obsession for Jiraiya. In any case, he would now entrust Naruto's care and tutelage to Merlin and see what would become of it.
If nothing else, he was certain that Naruto would be a strong candidate for Hokage in the not-so-distant future if he was like his parents.
Fifteen years later.
Hiruzen smiled proudly as he walked down the hall of the Academy. It had been fifteen years since the Kyuubi attack and the birth of Naruto Uzumaki. Since his reinstatement, Hiruzen tried his best to return Konoha to some form of stability and trying to rebuild its strength from the grievous losses from that fateful night.
Fortunately, he had managed to maintain some form of relative peace within the village and with the other Nations… though such peace came with its own price. But that was something for later. For fifteen years he had seen the Blood Clone of Naruto Uzumaki grow and develop… the results being less than impressive. As he had originally feared, the people of Konoha would try anything to sabotage the clone's social life by keeping their children away, overcharging him at stores and other things in the hopes of gaining some kind of petty revenge against the Kyuubi, regardless of the fact that a Bijuu and its host are two separate entities.
Not that it actually matters since the Clone isn't a real person anyway. The Blood clone had also developed an obsession with pranks, ramen, and always seemed to be shouting something like 'Dattebayo' or 'Hokage' every five minutes. Although the clone did show one promising thing… it was somehow capable of outrunning most Chunin after a pranking spree even without intensive training. He could only surmise that the real Naruto would be easily capable of outrunning Jonin and even Anbu then. Additionally, the clone had unwittingly provided the real deal the false reputation of being a hapless moron, which in itself could be a potential advantage.
He ended his musing when he came upon a particular classroom and opened the door. The forms of the Chunin teachers Iruka and Mizuki turned towards his direction and then saluted with the former speaking "Hokage-sama! What a pleasant surprise. If we had known you were coming, we would have prepared a more formal welcome."
The blood clone of Naruto jumped up in his seat and shouted "Hey Jiji! Good to see ya here! Did you come to finally watch me graduate?" The Hokage chuckled a little under his breath while stroking his beard and responded "In a sense, yes. I actually have an important announcement to make before the Genin exams begin."
At the Sandaime's announcement many of the Students and even the Chunin exchanged looks as they wondered what the announcement was, but they could only guess it must have been important since the Hokage himself had shown up. Hiruzen cleared his throat and then began his speech "Firstly, allow me to say congratulations to you all for making it this far. For those of you who graduate, I will not lie. You will face many hardships, but for those who overcome these challenges you will only grow stronger. To be a ninja is to persevere and to not only serve the Hokage, but most importantly its people.
With that piece said, I must now announce that a certain Genin hopeful will be joining in on the exam. He has been travelling and training abroad and has finally come to graduate with this class." At the end of his announcement, a number of the students grumbled in discontent since they found it somewhat unfair that someone that hadn't attended the Academy was now joining with them out of the blue, but they all knew there was nothing anyone could do about it if the Hokage had decided upon it.
"Heh. Whoever it is they're nothing compared to me! Cuz I'm gonna be Hokage Dattebayo!" The blood clone shouted, earning some collective groans from the other students… and a small chuckle from the aged Hokage.
"Is there even a comparison, friend?" Spoke as a smooth voice from just beyond the classroom's entrance, although everyone in the room could almost swear it sounded familiar. Two figures entered the classroom, one was a young teenage girl that seemed to be fifteen or so with Amber eyes and indigo blue hair with an origami flower in her hair and a piercing on her lower lip, while the other was a boy wearing a black bomber jacket with a katana strapped to his back and a pair of jeans. However… he also had spiky blonde hair and a set of whisker-like markings on his face.
"Greetings to you. The name's Naruto Uzumaki. And this lovely specimen next to me is my dear friend Konan." The whiskered teen happily greeted with a smile, while the bluenette next to him stared impassively at the classroom. All of the students and the two Chunin repeatedly shifted their gazes between the two Naruto's with some even rubbing their eyes to make sure they weren't seeing things.
The blood clone blinked his eyes and shock before laughing nervously as he asked "Hey, old man… is this some kind of weird prank? Cuz… it's not very funny." At his statement, the new Naruto chuckled as he slowly walked over to the clone's desk with his blue haired companion following close behind.
"No pranks here, friend. Truth be told, you're not even a real person. You're a stunt double. A stand-in. A cheap fabrication to be brutally honest. And your services are no longer required." The real Naruto explained bluntly before making a small hand-sign, causing the blood clone to start melting into a puddle of goo while everyone looked on in shock.
"This can't be real! I'm gonna be Hokage! Datte…" The clone tried to protest, until finally it had melted away into nothing but a puddle of blood and pink sludge.
"That's nasty." Naruto grumbled in disgust, since the sludge was all over the desk and chair now. "I'll clean it for you Senpai." The girl known as Konan offered and then performed a hand-sign, causing two swirls of paper to appear and then take her form as Clones. The paper clones then began to clean up the muck left behind by the Blood clone's remains.
"Erm, Naruto-kun? Who is this young lady? I wasn't aware that you had an extra with you." Hiruzen asked out of simple curiosity since he hadn't been told of this girl's presence.
"Thought I sent you a letter about her before I arrived. Guess you never got around to reading it or maybe it's late. In any case, Konan is a friend of mine I made in Ame. Hope you don't mind her joining me in the exams and the same team. I'll entrust you to make the needed arrangements." The Jinchuuriki explained with the Sandaime accepting his explanation.
"Understood. If it is her wish, then I see no real reason to not include her. She seems rather dedicated to you." Hiruzen pointed out with a small smile, wondering if there was something between Naruto and the blunette.
"Wait a second! What's going on here?!" Demanded the form of Iruka who had finally snapped out of whatever stupor he was in.
"It is as you have seen Iruka-san. The 'Naruto' that has been in your class for the past three years was little more than a Blood Clone. A perfect body double that can exist indefinitely until it is killed or dispelled. The real Naruto has been traveling and training abroad under his guardian, who promised to bring him back to Konoha for graduation. If you have any issues… I would be very happy to hear them." The Sandaime explained and then added an edge to the last part, subtly warning the Chunin to keep his mouth shut if he knew what was good for him.
"Wait, this guy has been studying abroad? Can a student even do such a thing?" Asked the form of a certain pinkett who had some mild confusion on her face, her question made Naruto smile a bit.
"Technically speaking, there's no law against it. Though to be fair, my circumstances were a little unique to begin with. I've studied in Kumo, Kiri, Iwa, Suna, Ame, spent a few years learning swordsmanship from the Samurai, you name it, chances are I've been there." The whiskered teen announced with a grin, earning some impressed looks from a number of the students.
"Your seat is ready Senpai." Konan announced and pointed out that her paper clones had cleaned his designated seat to a mirror shine. "Thank you Konan." The blonde spoke and then took his seat with a relaxed sigh, the blunette nodding as she gracefully slid her form into his lap while a number of male and female students looked on in jealousy. The former because they would kill to have a cute girl in their lap, and the latter because this new Naruto seemed like a real catch.
"I believe it is time I took my leave. Naruto-kun, if there's any problems whatsoever, don't hesitate to inform me." The Sandaime offered with a kind smile before shifting his gaze to the Chunin teachers and sending them a warning glare to not try any funny business since he knew full well of Iruka's grudge since the scarred man's parents died during the Kyuubi attack.
"Sure thing old timer. I'll be seeing you later." Naruto responded and then gave a lazy two-fingered salute as the Sandaime departed from the class. Once that was done, the Chunin quietly fumed as they processed what had happened and began passing out the needed sheets for all the students… plus the extra.
Sakura glanced over at the forms of Naruto and Konan, a deep jealousy burning in her since she wished she could be in Sasuke's lap. The Jinchuuriki took notice of the looks the pinkette was sending him and asked "If you want, I'm sure I can find room for one more on my lap." His words earned a deep blush from Haruno as she tried to stare down at her desk to avoid looking at the blonde again.
"It's… it's not like that! I was just thinking about being on Sasuke-kun's lap! Don't say weird things like that Baka!" She blurted out to defend herself, and then found a kunai planted between her fingers and a slender hand around her throat. The form of Konan glared harshly at the pinkette and whispered coldly "Don't ever insult Senpai. I will punish anyone who speaks badly of him."
"Konan? Behave yourself. She's just a teenager that hasn't quite sorted out the differences between love and infatuation." The Jinchuuriki pointed out, making the amber eyed girl nod in understanding and release the pinkette from her grip, and yanking her paper kunai from the wood of the desk before resuming a more relaxed posture in the blonde's lap.
Sakura swallowed dryly and tried to scooch her seat away to distance herself from the bluenette… and by a happy coincidence get closer to her Sasuke-kun. The written exams were finally passed out amongst the students, and they had ten minutes on the clock to finish the written exam. As the other students began scribbling down on their sheets of paper, Sakura glanced over towards both the newcomers… and found they were making origami figures out of their exam papers.
"Something like this?" Naruto asked as he held up a small dragon and gently pulled on the tail which made the wings flap. "Much better, You're improving immensely senpai." Konan complimented him as she showed her own figure which seemed to be a peacock, the Blunette gently pushing the head up and down to make the tail feathers fan out and fall back.
A number of the other students took notice and were actually pretty impressed by the display. In the background both Iruka and Mizuki were puzzled by how lax the two were, although the former was fuming about how he had been bamboozled. He had been trying to keep the Kyuubi brat a prisoner in his class, failing him year after year, and now this was happening. Three whole years of pretending to be big brother to the little brat, wasted!
"Uhh, you do know that if you play around like that, you're gonna fail, right?" Sakura pointed out, not that she was concerned about them failing, but it seemed as if they were in a world of their own.
"Not true. According to Konoha Academy's grading system, the written exam only makes up ten percent of the grade. The requirement for passing the Academy exam is at least sixty percent or higher." Konan stated in a matter-of-fact tone, making the students within earshot felt their hearts sink a little since that made the written exam sound like a total waste of time.
After the time expired, the Chunin gathered up the exam papers from the students… including the two origami figures much to their chagrin. Afterwards, came the Ninjutsu portion of the test which was the single-most-important aspect of the exam. One by one, each student was called up and asked to perform a set of three basic jutsu, and optionally a fourth jutsu for extra credit.
As each student took their turns, both Naruto and Konan observed the performances of each one. As the students waited for their turns, some of them were exchanging words about the blonde and blunette. Some of the boys thought that the blue haired girl was cute, even with her icy demeanor. While the girls whispered about the new Naruto and found him to be much more attractive, both physically and in personality than the one they were familiar with.
Naruto chuckled at the idle gossip while his companion didn't show any interest whatsoever. The only signs of emotion that could be seen on her face was the occasional sneer of disgust from observing a lackluster performance from a Fangirl type of student. After a few more minutes, Konan's name was called, prompting her to leave the lap of her blonde friend and stand in front of the whole class.
"Okay Konan-san. Start with a Henge please." Iruka requested, prompting the bluenette to sigh in boredom before a cloud of smoke surrounded her. When the smoke cleared an older version of herself was seen wearing a black cloak with crimson clouds. After a few seconds, the Henge was dispelled and she resumed her teenage form.
"Good. Next, please perform a Substitution." Mizuki requested with an expectant smile, the blue haired girl feeling her skin crawl from how disgustingly fake the silver haired man was. He was so transparent he might as well be made of glass. She crossed her arms and vanished in a puff of smoke, being replaced by a strange practice dummy with an orange spiral mask before reappearing again.
"All right. Now perform a Clone Jutsu." Iruka groaned, already knowing she could perform one as demonstrated earlier, but still had to go through the motions as per protocol. Resisting the urge to roll her eyes, the Blunette summoned a trio of Paper clones and promptly dispelled them. "Any additional jutsu you'd like to demonstrate?" Iruka asked with a raised eyebrow, the only response he received was the amber eyed girl turning on her heel and walking back to Naruto's side.
"Okaaaaay. Naruto Uzumaki. You're up." The scarred Chunin called out, making the blonde smirk as he slowly rose up from his seat and cracked his knuckles a bit.
"Konan? Be a dear and keep my seat warm for me. I won't be too long." The whiskered teen requested, causing Konan to reply with a curt 'Yes Senpai' as she took his seat for him while he marched towards the front of the class. Once he reached the front, he began stretching out his limbs, making the joints pop a little.
Groaning in annoyance, Iruka spoke gruffly "Perform a Henge." Naruto smirked a little bit and snapped his fingers causing a puff of smoke to surround him and be replaced by the form of the Nidaime Hokage… and then replaced himself with the nearby teachers desk and created five clones which now stood atop the desk. "Can we skip the dog and pony show already?" The blonde asked as he dropped the henge and dispelled the clones.
"You're supposed to do what I say, when I say." Iruka growled out, further irritated by the boy, his mood worsening by the minute as he stared at the brat's cocky looking face. "Well if we have a problem, I'm sure the Hokage wouldn't mind listening to your complaints." Naruto pointed out with a sly grin, the veiled threat making the Chunin's face burn with anger.
"Whatever. You pass, now go back to your seat." Iruka grumbled, trying to get the Jinchuuriki out of his face as quickly as possible. The boy in question giving a mocking salute before marching back to his seat with Konan sliding out to allow him entry. Once he was back in his seat, she resumed sitting in his lap once again.
Once the other students had taken their turns, the Chunin gave the passing students their headbands, with both Naruto and Konan tying their headbands around their arms, the latter seeming more reluctant to donning the signature headband. Afterwards, it was announced that passing students were to return at ten o' clock in the morning for team assignments and that they were free to go home for the rest of the day.
The students began to shuffle out of their seats and head back home, although the two newcomers didn't seem to be in a big hurry to leave at the moment. "What would you like for dinner Senpai?" Konan asked as she pulled out a pen and notepad from seemingly thin air to write down potential dinner requests and/or needed ingredients?
"Can I have you?" The blonde asked with a lewd grin, although the bluenette seemed to ignore his question and spoke more to herself "Steak it is then. Excellent choice. With mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn-on-the-cob, for dessert you'll be having a lemon pound cake with cream cheese icing." She listed off causing the whiskered teen to chuckle a bit, feeling a little spoiled.
In the background, Sakura hadn't left yet and overheard their conversation and asked "You cook for him too? Is there anything you don't do for him?" At her question the blue haired girl turned towards the pinkette with an almost unseen smile tugging at her lips.
"I do anything and everything that Senpai requires of me. Cooking, cleaning, training, sewing, and so on." The origami expert answered in a blunt manner, making the pink haired girl sweat-drop at Konan's intense dedication.
"She'll literally do anything I tell her to. No questions asked." Naruto chimed in, adding his two cents which earned a nod of confirmation from his companion. The two then got up from their seat as the whiskered teen continued to speak "It was nice meeting you for real Sakura-san. And thank you for not trying to pummel me. If you had tried, Konan would have killed you. And I hate to see harm brought to a member of the fairer sex." The blonde spoke since he received the memories of his blood clone.
He certainly wasn't impressed by how dimwitted his doppelganger was… though he suspected that Merlin deliberately sabotaged its development to ensure its incompetence. However she might have done the job a little too well. If nothing else, at least he had some basic information about a large number of Persons of interest and a surprisingly detailed layout of Konoha.
Before Sakura could utter any fork of reply, both the blonde and his companion had already vanished out of sight, making her wonder how they had disappeared so quickly. Sighing, she turned towards Sasuke's seat to try and ask him on a date only to find that he was gone too and that she was now the only one left in the classroom. Groaning in defeat, she decided the best thing to do would be to return home and break the good news of her passing the exam to her parents.
Outside.
"That went better than I anticipated. I half-expected those two Chunin to try and pull a fast one on me." Naruto spoke with his hands stuffed in his pockets, his blue haired friend stiffly nodding.
"If they had tried, they would not have survived my wrath." Konan spoke in an icy voice. Her posture softened a little as she spoke more calmly "Do you know what team we will be assigned with Naruto-sama?"
The Jinchuuriki sent a warning glare to the bluenette as he replied "Don't call me 'Sama' here. It's 'Senpai'. We don't want people asking too many questions."
"My Apologies. It was a small slip of the tongue. I shall not make the same mistake again." She apologized, the Jinchuuriki nodding in acceptance.
"See that you don't. As for your previous question, the old man wants us on Team Seven with Sasuke Uchiha and Sakura Haruno. And I think that our Jounin Sensei will be Kakashi Hatake." Naruto answered her, mentioning the name 'Uchiha' earning a sickened look from the amber eyed girl.
"Why them specifically? I have heard of Kakashi Hatake, he is known as the Copy ninja thanks to a transplanted Sharingan eye. So it makes sense for him to teach this 'Sasuke' I suppose." Konan asked, although she wouldn't say it aloud, Naruto could tell that the thought of breathing the same air as an Uchiha absolutely disgusted her.
The whiskered teen smirked a bit and spoke "Kakashi's a Sharingan user, yes, but he was also part of the previous carnation of Team 7, and a close friend of both my parents. Sakura's the daughter of Kizashi Haruno, a disgraced Ex-shinobi turned head of the Civilian council who is suspected of corruption. And Sasuke being the only living Uchiha left in Konoha makes him both valuable and dangerous to a number of people. Our job is to keep an eye on the duckbutt and make sure he doesn't go running into the arms of saaaay, Orochimaru. Though if that were to happen, I certainly wouldn't hesitate to kill the little smug bastard."
"I see. I shall make all attempts to hide my displeasure, but do not expect me to stay silent should Sasuke provoke me." Konan replied bitterly. With that said and done, they decided to head home to the apartment that the Sandaime had arranged for them.
"How long are we to continue this Senpai?" The blue haired girl asked with a small frown as she looked out towards the village, her face unreadable. "Till I say we're done. Now come on, I'm getting hungry." The Jinchuuriki answered with a yawn, and then they both vanished in a swirl of leaves.
The next day.
As Naruto had predicted, he, Konan, Sakura, and Sasuke were all assigned to Team Seven. And now they had to wait for their Jonin sensei to arrive, though if Kakashi's reputation were anything to go by… the man would likely be late to his own funeral. Off to the side, Sakura couldn't help but notice that her new teammate Naruto had his head resting in the amber eyed girl's lap while she ran her fingers through his hair.
The pinkette thought of trying to do something similar with her crush and asked "Hey Sasuke-kun, if you want, you can rest your head in my lap." At that, the Uchiha's head jerked in her direction as he sneered at her in disgust before letting out a dismissive scoff.
"You're wasting your affections on him, Sakura. He'll never acknowledge you as a woman. Guys like him don't care about anything except themselves." Naruto pointed out in a blunt manner, earning a hard glare from Haruno. Her first instinct was to leap from her seat and clock him on the head, but a warning look from the blue haired girl discouraged that idea so she kept quiet and stayed in her seat.
"Teenagers." Konan whispered beneath her breath in mild annoyance, a large part of her questioning how Konoha remained the number one Shinobi village if its Academy was producing fangirls and other half-baked students seeking to be Ninjas. If she had to guess, it seemed that peacetime had made this village rather lax and lazy.
In the background, Sakura sighed since she couldn't stand the silence and asked "So… how long have you two known each other?" At her question, the Jinchuuriki smirked and replied to her in a curt manner "A few years."
"How did you two meet exactly?" The Haruno asked out of curiosity, she remembered that it was mentioned that Konan was from Ame, but the only thing she knew about that village was the constant rainfall which earned it its name.
"Well, I spent about a year or so in Ame when I met Konan. I saved her life by discouraging her from making a series of self-destructive choices and she's been almost attached to me at the hip ever since." Naruto explained with a grin, with the bluenette nodding her head in confirmation that it was indeed true. Before they could continue their conversation, the classroom door opened revealing a silver haired man wearing a mask, a small orange book in his hand that he was reading from.
The man snapped his book shut and spoke "Well now, nice to meet you all. Would you please meet me on the roof? The scenery is much better up there." The masked man said with a chuckle and then vanished in a swirl of leaves, with both Naruto and Konan following suit. A few minutes later, Sasuke and Sakura had made it to the roof and found the blonde once again resting his head in the paper user's lap while the silver haired man was reading from his book.
"Ah, great. We're all here now. That's good. Please make yourselves comfortable." The jonin spoke as he made an 'eye-smile' and snapped his book shut. The Uchiha grunted as he sat on the ground with Sakura a short distance away.
"Well, now that we're gathered, how about we start with introductions? You're Kakashi right? Since you're the Jonin-sensei, how about you start us off?" Naruto suggested as he pointed at the masked man. The cyclops smirked beneath his mask in amusement, he had been surprised that he would be taking on four students. Although he was pleased that both the son of his late sensei and the Uchiha were under his tutelage, he was less excited at the prospect of having Kizashi Haruno's daughter aboard, who was also a fangirl. It would be hard to break her of that mindset. However, the other girl was something of a mystery to him, so he would have to size her up as he went along. But for a first impression, she seemed to be the quiet type.
"I guess that's fair. I'm Kakashi Hatake. I have a number of likes and dislikes. As for hobbies… I have lots of them. And my dreams for the future… I haven't really thought about that." The masked Jonin spoke introducing himself, causing both Sakura and Sasuke to sweat-drop since he had only given them his name.
"Very well then. I shall proceed next. I am called Konan. My likes are Origami, Naruto-senpai and cooking. My dislikes are bullies, people who kill only for pleasure, and Uchihas. My hobbies are creating Origami, cooking and serving Senpai. My goal for the future… is to kill a man that hides his face behind a mask." The amber eyed girl spoke the last part in an icy tone that put the others on edge, excluding Naruto. In the background, Kakashi seemed to be paling beneath his mask.
"Not you Kakashi-san." She clarified, making the Jonin sigh in relief. From the chilly nature of her voice, he could only guess she was the kind of person you didn't want to make an enemy of.
Hoping to move things along, Naruto piped in "Guess I'll go next. The names Naruto Uzumaki. My likes are my Godmother Merlin, Konan, my friends, ramen, Konan's cooking, traveling, meeting new people, fighting, and learning new jutsu. My dislikes are liars and cheats, people who don't appreciate what they have, and people that take shortcuts to accomplish their goals. My hobbies are training, searching for and fighting worthy opponents, and helping my godmother's research. I have two goals. One I share with Konan in hunting down a man wearing a spiral mask and killing him in the most brutal and inhumane method possible, and the other… well that's a secret for now."
The other members wondered why they hated this 'masked man' so much, though no one could bring themselves to ask about it. Sasuke scoffed since he decided to get his turn over and done with and began to speak "I am Sasuke Uchiha. I don't like that many things, except for power and jutsu techniques. I can't even begin to list off my many dislikes. My hobby is to train and grow stronger. My goal for the future is to kill a certain man."
"Stop trying to act all mysterious Sasuke. Everyone knows you wanna kill your big brother Itachi." Naruto pointed out with a scoff, the mentioning of Itachi causing Sasuke's cheeks to burn a dark crimson in anger.
Sensing the hostility in the air, Sakura blurted out "M-my name is Sakura Haruno! And um… My likes are Sasuke-kun and…" She was interrupted when Sasuke rose to his feet and stomped over towards the blonde, the self-proclaimed Avenger's hands stuffed in his pockets as he glared down at the blonde boy.
"Don't you ever say that name again. Or I'll kill you." The Uchiha threatened, the blue haired girl seemed ready to pounce on Sasuke and beat him within an inch of his life but she was stopped when her Senpai raised a hand and chuckled a little.
"I'll take your complaint under consideration Uke-chan. But allow me to impart a piece of healthy advice for your benefit since I'm a nice guy. You won't get far in life if you treat everybody like shit." The whiskered teen spoke in a snarky manner, the Avenger's eyes bulging out to the point they almost seemed ready to pop out of his skull.
In the background Kakashi was thinking to himself 'Naruto is an Uzumaki through and through. No doubt he has mostly taken after his mother. And Sasuke has largely taken after Fugaku. Those two together are a powder keg waiting to explode at the strike of a match. Konan seemed like a fairly level-headed type with a fierce dedication to Naruto, and Sakura is known to have an obsession with Sasuke. As far as teams go, I never expected mine to be filled with complete and total opposites… I kinda feel like I'm in over my head now.'
Deciding to cut through the tension, Kakashi announced "Well, you're all certainly unique in your own ways. And I am glad we got this chance to get to know each other. Now that that's out of the way, we can move on to your Genin test."
At his statement, both Haruno and Uchiha seemed to be confused with the former asking "But Kakashi-sensei, didn't we already pass the exam?" Her question earned a snort from the whiskered teen as he lifted himself up from the ground and started stretching his limbs.
"You really think that such a basic exam automatically made us Genin? Nah, not by a longshot. Academy exams are meant to sort out who does and doesn't have the potential of becoming Genin. Although the intensity of the exams vary depending on the Village, with Kiri being amongst the most infamous since an entire class was slaughtered. At any rate, Kakashi will likely be testing us to see how we function as a team." Naruto explained with a cheeky grin, earning an impressed look from the copy ninja.
"Glad to see someone's been paying attention. Naruto here is absolutely right. Tomorrow morning, you're to meet me at Training ground Seven at 10:00 AM sharp. I recommend that you don't eat breakfast, or you might puke it up. We'll see then if you can make the final cut to become Genin." Kakashi announced and gave his signature eye-smile, however there seemed to be a small edge to it as a cold breeze blew past them.
"Be seeing you later then." The copy ninja spoke cheerfully and then vanished in a swirl of leaves. Once he was gone, Konan turned towards the Jinchuuriki and asked him "Senpai, what would you like for dinner tonight?"
"Pizza. All the meats." Naruto bluntly replied causing the blue haired girl to answer "Superb choice." They then departed as Sakura watched their retreating forms, and a deep sense of jealousy bubbling in her heart. Konan seemed like a very capable girl, not only could she cook, but she also seemed smart and skilled in a fight, and she was ready to do anything that Naruto asked of her.
Sakura only knew basic cooking, and while she had plenty of booksmarts, she couldn't help but admit to herself that she had no actual skills to apply her intelligence with. She knew she had to toughen up as quickly as possible to be a better Kunoichi and woman, maybe then her crush would finally acknowledge her and she could be someone he could rely on. In any event, there was nothing left to do but return home and prepare for tomorrow.
Next day. Training ground Seven.
Sakura groaned as she felt her stomach rumble. It had been three hours since 10:00 AM and they were still waiting for Kakashi, meaning that not only had she skipped breakfast, but had also missed lunch and had no idea where their Sensei was.. Sasuke seemed to be in a similar situation as his own stomach made rumbling noises as he quietly brooded. Though for some reason, both Konan and Naruto hadn't arrived either.
"In Kumo, I once killed a mountain lion and had to drag it all the way back to the village. The poor thing was the sorriest thing I'd ever seen. You two are the second and third sorriest." Spoke the familiar voice of Naruto in a snarky manner with his constant companion silently following him.
"Please stop. I don't have the energy to be mad at you right now." Sakura pleaded with a groan as she rubbed her temples. A headache formed in her skull due to her hunger. Her apparent suffering earned a chuckle from the Jinchuuriki as he replied "Don't tell me you skipped breakfast? Kakashi never actually ordered you to, he said he 'recommended it'. Additionally, He's known to be chronically late to everything except when the Hokage is involved. Still, you are quite fortunate. Konan here cooks exceptionally large meals for me due to my dietary needs. I happen to have some extra with me if you want it."
Sakura's head snapped over in his direction and saw that he was indeed carrying a sealing scroll marked 'food' on his person. The prospect of a meal caused the Pinkette's stomach to roar angrily for sustenance making her yelp "Give it here! I'm starving!" She attempted to snatch the scroll away, but Naruto kept it just out of her reach and flicked her hard on the forehead making her stumble back as she rubbed the stinging mark to ease the pain.
"Now that's not any way to ask a teammate for something? You want it? Try asking nicely for a change." The whiskered teen spoke as he temptingly shook the scroll in his hand, almost as if he were offering a treat to a hungry dog.
The pinkette inwardly groaned, but her need for food made her swallow her pride as she responded "I'm sorry. Can you please share some of that with me? I don't know how much longer I can last without food."
"Now was that so hard? Definitely an improvement." The Jinchuuriki replied as he handed the scroll over to the pinkette. Without wasting any time, she snatched it out of his hand and unsealed it, causing an excessively large number of bentos to appear in existence. Each one marked with a sticky note showing what kind of food each bento contained. She paid little attention to them and grabbed the first one in reach and popped it open muttering a brief 'itadakimasu' as she began gobbling the contents of the first bento down with gusto.
"Plenty to go around if you want some too Sasuke. You just have to ask nicely." Naruto spoke as he pointed towards the pile of bentos. The Uchiha scoffed and turned his back to them, his stomach still rumbling, though the blonde suspected that the duck-butt's pride as an Uchiha wouldn't let him sink to begging for food. Not that the Uzumaki genuinely cared for the wellbeing of the Avenger, but at least it couldn't be said he didn't at least make the attempt at being a good teammate.
After a few minutes had passed, Sakura patted her belly in contentment with several empty containers surrounding her. "That was the most delicious food I have ever eaten! Konan-san, you would make a killing if you became a professional chef." Sakura praised with a beaming smile, proving that perhaps the easiest way to someone's heart is through their stomach.
"I appreciate the praise. However I could never leave Senpai's side. Not for anything. My skills and talents are only reserved for two people in this world, and Senpai is one of them." The paper user explained, though now she seemed significantly less hostile to the pinkette. Likely because she had been ordered to behave herself.
"Huh… I kinda wish I had something similar to whatever you and Naruto have." Sakura openly admitted, earning a sympathetic look from the Ame girl.
"You'll find the right person. It's just a matter of patience, taking initiative when needed, and always striving to not only maintain but improve yourself for the one you wish to forever hold in your heart." Konan spoke in an almost sage-like manner, causing Haruno to smile in appreciation.
"Well, it seems you're all getting along much better than yesterday." Spoke the unmistakable voice of the Copy ninja as he seemingly stepped out of thin air. His hands in his pockets as he approached the group.
"You weren't hiding somewhere nearby, observing how we act when you're not around?" Naruto asked with a knowing look, his question making the Jonin sheepishly rub the back of his head since the blonde had already seen through him.
"Okay, you got me. But let's move things along now that we're all gathered. Your test is relatively simple…" The copy ninja began to explain and then paused to reach into his pocket and retrieved two bells. "Your goal is to use whatever means necessary to take these bells from me within the hour time limit. Anyone who doesn't have a bell will be sent back to the Academy."
"If anyone's going back to the Academy. It's those two." Sasuke commented as he directed his gaze towards the Jinchuuriki and Origami expert. The former smirking playfully before flipping the bird to the Uchiha.
"We'll see about that." Kakashi muttered as he pulled out a small alarm clock and put it atop one of the training grounds signature posts before saying "All right. Your time starts… NOW!" As soon as he clicked the alarm button, the Genin hopefuls scattered and hid amongst the trees while Kakashi stood in the middle of the clearing, waiting for one of them to make the first move.
He noticed Sasuke hidden amongst the branches of a nearby tree while Sakura was laying flat on the ground beneath some large bushes. But he couldn't sense the chakra of Naruto or Konan.
'Hokage-sama warned me to not underestimate Naruto under any circumstances, and to ignore anything I may have heard about him from the Academy. He definitely has his mother's personality… and I am kind of excited to see if he has his parents skills and talent.' The masked Jonin quietly mused until he noticed a nearby presence. He turned around and saw the distinctive form of Konan staring impassively at him.
"Out of the entire group, you were the one I least expected to try and fight me in the open." Kakashi commented in a deadpan tone, though he suspected that she wouldn't confront him without some kind of plan or ace up her sleeve.
"True. However, Senpai gave me his orders. And his orders are absolute. Soru." She muttered at the end and vanished in a blur of motion. Kakashi's lone eye widened in surprise as he immediately assumed a Taijutsu stance to prepare himself, he began to focus his Chakra sensory skills to the best of his ability to sense any incoming threats… and then he felt it. A presence to his left, he brought his arms up instinctively and felt a powerful impact against his arms, the blow almost shattering his limbs as he was sent flying away from the attack.
Kakashi skidded across the ground before coming to a halt, his arms shaking a bit since he wasn't expecting such a ferocious attack early on. He looked up and saw Konan lowering one leg which she had used to kick him, a ghost of a smile on her face as she spoke "I should warn you… to underestimate me or Senpai shall result in death."
Kakashi felt a pit form in his stomach. He had encountered numerous Ninjas in his career, of all different ranks and villages of origin. Some are more competent than others. But most often it was the ones who could freely boast of their skills and back up their word that were the most dangerous. He also noticed that her eyes were vastly different than most Genin he knew. They didn't have that shin of optimism and naivete like all Academy Genin usually possess… this girl had seen things and it had definitely hardened her heart and steeled her resolve.
"Understood. I guess I'll have to get a bit more serious then. Though I'm curious, where's your precious Senpai?" The masked Jonin asked with a knowing smirk beneath his mask since he could take an educated guess where the boy was at this moment.
"Doing what needs to be done." The Bluenette answered in an even tone before her form started to unravel revealing that she was nothing more than a paper clone that was meant to distract him.
"So, she was just stalling me. Not bad at all. Too bad for them I still have the home field advantage." The Copy Ninja spoke, only to pause as the paper from the clone started spinning in the air and then flew in his general direction before landing on the ground around him. Jonin gulped when he noticed that these weren't ordinary pieces of paper, but paper bombs that had now turned the area into a minefield. One wrong step and he could be blown to pieces. "Okay… this might complicate things a little."
Meanwhile. With Sakura.
The form of Sakura could be seen running through the woods, her eyes darting back and forth as she sought out her crush. She had to find him and do what she could to support him to gain his acknowledgement. She wanted to prove that she could be useful to her Sasuke-kun like how Konan was useful to Naruto.
She saw movement to her left, and looked in that direction to see if it was Sasuke, but she failed to take notice of an obstacle in her way and slammed into it full force, causing her to fall on her rear end. "Here's a small piece of advice. Always be mindful of where you're going when running at full speed, and try not to get distracted. Even something as simple as tripping over a rock or tree root has been the end of many Ninja." Spoke the form of Naruto, the object of which she had slammed into.
"Naruto? How'd you find me so fast?" Sakura asked out of curiosity, the whiskered teen smirked and extended a hand towards her, offering to help her up. Blushing a little, she took his hand and felt how strong yet tender his grip was as he helped her back to her feet.
"I smelled the musk of your perfume and tracked it. Rose oil. A pretty expensive brand too. Plus your pink hair is exceptionally distinctive. Word of advice? It's often recommended that a Kunoichi's hair be kept short. Makes it harder to grab or tangled up in something if it's kept short." The blonde spoke and then winked at her, causing her blush to deepen a bit.
"Um. Sure… I'll keep that in mind. Is there something you want?" She asked, wondering why the blonde would seek her out. A large part of her hoped he wasn't going to ask her out now of all times, though he seemingly had almost nothing in common with that obnoxiously loud clone that served as his stand-in. So she doubted that was the case.
"Got a little riddle for you. What's the standard Shinobi team dynamics?" The whiskered teen asked with another wink as he leaned against a nearby tree with his hands in the pockets of his bomber jacket.
Sakura looked at him as though he'd grown a second head, she wondered if he was being serious since that was one of the most basic lessons taught in the Academy… but the way he was looking at her suggested he knew the answer, but still wanted to hear her say it. So she decided to humor him and replied "The standard team dynamics for a Shinobi squad is One Jonin Sensei, and three students. The only exceptions are apprenticeships, with One Jonin and one personal student, or if one or more team members are killed or go missing in action."
"Very good. Standard textbook answer. However, in this instance, there's four of us. And we are trying to gain two bells. Why is that?" The whiskered teen asked as he flicked his wrist and made a Kunai appear out of thin air and began to balance it on the tip of his finger.
"Because the two who don't get bells go back to the Academy! What the hell is your point?" She demanded impatiently, no longer wishing to beat around the bush since he was wasting her time at this point.
Naruto clicked his tongue and spoke in a semi-mocking voice "Aww. You were doing so well. Think about it like this, Standard team? Three students. There's four of us, and two bells. Come on, just connect the dots. You can do it."
At his words the pinkette cocked an eyebrow and then something clicked in her mind as she came to a realization "Wait a second… only two bells. If Kakashi was aiming for the standard Three student set, he'd have offered a third bell. He only has two! He wants us to fight amongst ourselves for them!"
At her realization, the blonde snapped his fingers and pointed towards her with a 'you got it!' expression and said "Now you're finally catching on."
"So then… what's the point? How are we supposed to pass then?" She asked in confusion, earning a sigh from the whiskered teen as he twirled his kunai between his fingers.
"Annnnnd you missed again. But since we're on the clock, I won't drag this out any longer. The point of this whole test is to see if we can work together as a team to get the bells. The bells by themselves aren't really the point. Kakashi's testing us to see how well we can work together. He's probably been sizing us up since the first minute he met us. So, here's the deal. You can join up with me and we can start working together towards success. Oooooooor, you can go it alone and see how far you can get." Naruto spoke, giving the pinkette an ultimatum. Not that she had any real choice to begin with.
"Okay. I'll work with you. For the team's sake." Sakura responded, knowing it was her only chance to stay on the team and stay with her Sasuke-kun.
"Good choice. Now, you're going to do what I say, when I say. No half-assing, no bitching, no highway option." The Jinchuuriki spoke with an edge to his voice. The pinkette wanted to protest and ask who put him in charge, but something about the hard stare she was receiving silenced her into submission. So she only nodded in agreement since she didn't have much other choice in the matter.
"Good. Now that that's settled. We should get to Konan and Sasuke." The whiskered teen spoke as he held out his hand towards the pinkette. She raised an eyebrow but hesitantly took it, and with a snap of the blonde's fingers, they vanished in a flash of golden light.
Two minutes earlier.
Konan was NOT happy right now. Most people who knew her would immediately describe her as a level-headed and patient individual. However, her patience was being pushed to its limits since her Senpai had asked her to convince Sasuke Uchiha to work with them to fulfill the real goal of this test… but the damned brat was more stubborn than an angry mule.
She had explained in clear detail that the point of this exercise wasn't the bells themselves, but still the Uchiha refused to listen, claiming she was trying to distract him so the 'Dobe' could have a chance to get at the bells for himself and for her. The bluenette had to suppress a growl for how self-centered and selfish the Uchiha was, a large part of her deeply desiring to punch his lights out and force him to see reason, but her Senpai had told her to keep her temper in check no matter what.
For once… she was actually concerned she wouldn't be able to follow Naruto's orders. She then remembered that Sasuke was very well-known to be obsessed with his mission for revenge. She mentally kicked herself for not using that against him sooner. She had to suppress any emotion of disdain for the Uchiha and spoke "Sasuke Uchiha… do you know what will happen if you fail this test because of your selfish stubbornness?" She asked him, earning a scoff from the duck-butt haired boy.
"An Uchiha never fails. If you would stop distracting me, I would have gotten a bell already." He spoke in an arrogant voice, glaring at the paper user as though he wanted to set her ablaze with his eyes.
"No. You wouldn't have. So let me ask you this instead, are you willing to risk your chance at revenge because of your own pride? If you do not cooperate with Senpai, you will be set back an entire year at the Academy. Itachi Uchiha will be able to continue walking free, and training in powerful techniques. Whereas you will be trapped in school again, unable to learn more advanced Jutsu to overcome your brother. So I'll ask again, are you willing to risk your revenge?" She asked at the end, her words seemed to finally break through to the Uchiha as he gained a thoughtful expression.
Sasuke hated working with others. Other people would always slow him down and he had no time to waste. Although, statistically speaking, on the slight chance he did fail, he would be at the Academy for a whole year. Which was too much time for his liking. He supposed that he could indulge the Dobe and his little servant for a bit.
"Fine. I'm listening. You said something about how Kakashi's testing to see if we can work together earlier, right?" The Uchiha asked with a sigh since now he had no option but to listen and take her words more seriously. The paper user had to suppress a sigh of relief that she had finally made the Uchiha see reason, at least for now.
"That is correct. The bells are but a prop to distract us and trick us into fighting each other over them." She explained in a curt manner causing Sasuke to hum in thought as he adopted a thinking pose. If this test was all about teamwork as she claimed, then that did make sense.
Before he could speak further on the subject, a flash of golden light temporarily blinded him. Sasuke blinked his eyes several times and saw the forms of both Sakura and Naruto had appeared out of nowhere… and then the former puked the meal she had consumed earlier all over the ground. "All things considered, you did pretty well for a first timer Sakura-san. It's pretty common for people to puke on the first few tries. Hiraishin isn't for everyone." Naruto commented as he gently patted the pinkette's back.
"You good there Sakura?" The whiskered teen asked out of some concern, his question causing the pinkette to give a shaky thumbs up signaling she would be fine. "So… has Konan-chan brought you up to speed Sasuke?" The blonde asked as he turned towards the self-proclaimed avenger.
"I decided to go along with what she's saying for now. If only to avoid being back at that damned Academy. So what's your plan? Assuming you even have one." The Uchiha asked as he crossed his arms. He was hoping that the Dobe at least had some kind of plan since he obviously worked so hard to get them all to work together.
"Kinda-sorta. I know both my own and Konan's capabilities. What can you and Sakura do?" The blonde asked in a casual manner to learn more of his teammates' strengths in case they had any tricks they didn't show off at the Academy.
"I know my Clan's Taijutsu and some Fire style techniques from the Uchiha library." Sasuke answered first. Naruto clasped his hands behind his head and closed his eyes in thought.
"Mmm. Your clan's Taijutsu isn't as effective without an active Sharingan, that aside, you wouldn't stand a chance in a fistfight with the likes of Kakashi. The fire style Jutsu could be helpful." Naruto mused and then took notice that Sakura had her hand raised. "Something you wanna say Sakura?" He asked since it seemed like she wanted to say her piece, but was hesitant to do so.
"My mom did teach me one Jutsu technique but… I've always been a little reluctant about using it." The Haruno responded as she began pushing her fingers together nervously.
"That so? What's the Jutsu? How's it work?" The Jincuuriki asked with a raised eyebrow. After a brief explanation from the pinkette, the blonde beamed as he spoke "That's a pretty useful technique. It might just be what we need to get the victory. Kakashi will be expecting us, and he won't be holding back against me or Konan… but I have a plan in mind that might just work." With that said, the blonde began to explain his plan in attacking Kakashi and getting the bells, all the while the others listened intently and occasionally bobbing their heads up and down in understanding.
"That's a pretty good plan. It might just work." Sakura spoke with a confident smile, Sasuke for his part crossed his arms and scoffed, but he did silently agree that seemed to be a decent enough plan. So he decided to follow along if it meant victory.
"Of course it is a good plan. I cannot ever think of a time when Senpai made a bad one." Konan piped in earning a small laugh from the Jinchuuriki.
"We're all in agreement then. Let's go then. If my count is right, we have about twenty-three minutes left on the clock." Naruto spoke, causing both Haruno and Uchiha to look inquisitively at the blonde… was he really managing to keep track of time in his head? At any rate, they decided not to question it since they were running on a time limit. And now, every minute was too precious to waste.
A few minutes later.
"Ah. Finally. Cleared." Kakashi spoke to himself as he finally got past the minefield… by digging under it with the help of his Ninja hounds. It took a little time since he wanted to dig deep beneath the bombs so they wouldn't be triggered but it was better than tiptoeing his way through and risk getting a limb blown off. He'd seen many ninjas make that fatal mistake back in the previous war.
"Hey there Sensei. Have fun playing minesweeper?" Spoke the sarcastic voice of a certain Uzumaki. The small joke earned a twitching eyebrow from the Copy ninja, but he kept his cool and looked in the direction of the voice, and saw the forms of all four Genin hopefuls standing side-by-side.
"So then, you all decided to work together as a team then? That's interesting. Though this time, I'm not going to underestimate any of you, least of all Naruto and Konan. I had heard you two had trained abroad, now I see that you have some real battle experience. I won't be holding back this time." The silver haired Jonin spoke as he lifted up his headband, revealing his infamous Sharingan eye. He was now prepared for anything the students would throw at him.
Sasuke grit his teeth a bit, he had heard from earlier thanks to the dobe, that Kakashi had a Sharingan eye. How he had gotten it the Uchiha wanted to know since the man wasn't from his clan, but that was to be saved for later. "Don't worry. Even with his Sharingan in play, it still puts a strain on him. And we know how to counter it. Sasuke? You're up first." Naruto spoke and shoved the self-proclaimed avenger forward.
The Uchiha growled in annoyance as he went through a series of hand-signs and shouted "Fire style: Fire ball jutsu!" He exhaled a large torrent of flames from his mouth and swept the flames over the ground, causing the grass to catch fire and putting a wall of flames between the Genin hopefuls and the Jonin.
Kakashi squinted his eyes as the smoke grew thicker and more difficult to see through, making him realize they were trying to limit his line of sight, and thus decrease the effectiveness of his Sharingan. He began performing hand-signs to prepare a water Jutsu to snuff out the flames and strike back, but was stunned when he saw the form of Sakura leap over the flames with her hands at her forehead "Take this! Solar Flare!" She shouted and a bright flash of light occurred, forcing the Copy Ninja to slam his eyes shut.
He furiously rubbed his eyes to clear his vision, and when he opened them all he could make out were fuzzy shapes. A blue blur was in front of him, forcing him to leap back reflexively to keep his distance from what could only be Konan. "It's too late Kakashi-san. We have already won." Spoke the voice of the bluenette followed by a jingling sound. The Sharingan user blinked his eyes a few more times to clear his vision, and found the paper user holding up the bells.
"Excellent work team. My plan worked flawlessly." Naruto praised with a broad grin that threatened to split his cheeks.
"We did all the work Dobe. You didn't have to do anything." Sasuke said in a matter-of-fact tone, causing the whiskered teen to shrug his shoulders.
"In the name of fairness, I'll give you that one. But I was fully prepared to step in, just in case things went awry. Fortunately that wasn't needed." The blonde spoke in a casual tone and held out his hand as Konan approached and placed the bells in his open palm.
"Well played. You got me good with that one. So then… who keeps the bells?" Kakashi asked as he lowered his headband to cover his Sharingan eye once again, he had to admit… he was impressed that they were able to bamboozle him like that. And from the sounds of it, that Naruto was the one who came up with that little strategy. The masked Ninja was surprised when the whiskered teen simply tossed the bells back to him, prompting the Copy Ninja to snatch the bells out of the air.
Kakashi opened his palm and stared at the two bells with his visible eye, a mixture of awe and surprise was visible as he looked towards the Genin hopefuls. "So that's your answer, is it?" Kakashi asked as he got the silent message. He now had to pass them all, or fail them all. They had left their fate in his hands now. In response to his question, the four students nodded in unison.
"I guess I have no choice then. In light of your performance… you all pass. Congratulations. You are all now officially Genin and members of Squad Seven." Kakashi announced with a hint of pride in his voice. His words earned a smirk from Naruto, a grateful nod from Konan, a sigh of relief from Sakura, and a small scoff from Sasuke.
"Starting tomorrow, we will begin meeting here. Either for training or to gather together so we can start on missions. Any questions?" The Copy ninja asked at the end, but received no response from his new students. "All right then. We'll meet back here at 11:00 AM. Be seeing you later." At that, the Jonin vanished in a swirl of leaves, leaving the new Genin to their own devices.
"Ugh. Finally. I just want to go home." Sakura muttered tiredly as she slumped forward a bit. Feeling as though she had just struggled her way through a very long day. Off to the side, Naruto grinned as he gently patted her shoulder and spoke "Way to go with that technique Sakura. That's a pretty impressive jutsu. So why were you hesitant to use it?"
The pinkette pushed her fingers together and replied "Well… I've always been self-conscious about my forehead so… I guess I wasn't comfortable with focusing Chakra to my forehead for that technique."
"Hn. What a stupid reason. If you have time to worry about silly things like that, focus more on training." Sasuke spoke with a shake of his head and began to march off to head home for the day. The pinkette felt a small sting from what the Uchiha said. Though she supposed he wasn't entirely wrong… but he didn't have to be so mean about it.
"Eh. Guys like him will never understand the feelings of girls. Trust me when I say you have nothing to be self-conscious about. You're fine just the way you are. If you're ever interested in training to toughen up and be a better fighter, I'd be happy to help you." Naruto offered and flashed a charming smile. His words earned a small blush from Haruno.
"I'll… I'll think about it. Thanks… to be honest, you're actually a lot nicer than that… other you." She mumbled, trying not to look at him so he wouldn't see her blush.
"I'll take your word for it. Of course, being the original recipe, it is only natural that I'm better than a cheap knock-off. In any case, be seeing you around." The whiskered teen spoke as he and his companion followed close behind. Asking him what he would like for dinner.
Sakura had to admit… that this Naruto was quite handsome, and he actually seemed to be a nice guy and had a pretty easy going personality. A definite improvement over the loud and obnoxious version that was constantly up in her face asking for dates or randomly shouting. To be honest… she now felt a little jealous of Konan for being with a kind and caring person like Naruto. Wait… was she really jealous because Konan had someone? Or because she wanted to be in her shoes? She was supposed to love Sasuke, right? Come to think of it, she couldn't ever remember a time when he had ever spoken a word of kindness to her. Sighing to herself, she decided to head home and sleep on the matter.
She thought back on Naruto's offer and decided to give it some careful thought… if he traveled and trained around the Nations, he likely knew all different kinds of jutsu and fighting styles. It might help her to take a few pages from his book.
In Ame.
Merlin hummed to herself as she scribbled something in a notebook, a small smirk on her face as she looked up towards a large structure that seemed to be a disturbing looking statue. "So this has been what all the fuss was about. I should have known it would be the Rabbit Goddess' prison." The mage muttered to herself.
Behind her, the form of a man with dark crimson hair wearing a black cloak with crimson clouds limped towards her. "Rabbit Goddess eh? Sounds important. The man in the spiral mask seemed to have a strong obsession with this statue."
"And for good reason Nagata-san. By the way, how are the adjustments working for you?" The Sin of Gluttony asked with a smile as she turned towards the Uzumaki.
He stretched his limbs a bit making them pop and answered "For the time being, I am simply grateful to be able to walk around with my own body and not be kept alive by crude machinery."
"Indeed. Though it will require some extra tuning before your body is combat ready again. On another note, Naruto-kun and Konan will begin their own work in Konoha. I can only imagine they have successfully become Genin of Konoha." The mage spoke as she snapped the notebook shut with a sly smirk tugging at her cheeks.
"Agreed. I was surprised by your magic when you changed Konan into a teenager. Though I suppose that would make it easier to stay by Naruto-kun's side. A fully grown woman from Ame, and a founding member of Akatsuki would have raised too much suspicion." Nagato spoke as he cracked his neck with a sigh, glad that the boy had someone reliable with him, and someone capable of keeping his more destructive antics in check… for the most part.
"Founding member of the Original Akatsuki. Don't forget that the man in the mask is still out there, gathering missing ninjas for his own agenda. At least we have the Gedo Maizo with us. Without it, he won't be able to do anything." Merlin pointed out, the mentioning of the masked man making Nagata's face scrunch up in anger and hate.
"If I ever see that man, I will destroy him for trying to take advantage of what me and my siblings worked so hard to build." The Uzumaki spoke, referring to both Yahiko and Konan as his siblings since they were the closest thing he ever had to a brother and a sister.
"You will have to get in line. Naruto-kun has his own vendetta to pursue. Several in fact. But remember this, only the living carry a grudge and feed it. There are many people in the world that carry a grudge… and in many circumstances they aren't wrong to do so. It is how they go about in carrying out their vengeance that matters." Merlin spoke in a philosophical manner, earning a nod from the Rinnegan user
The mage then placed a hand against the statue and whispered to it "Don't worry old friend. Everything will be alright."
End chapter one.
Potential updates:
Keys to the Kingdom.
Family is Forever.
Empathy.
The Throne wars.
Everyday life with Monster babes.
Sin of Wrath.
