Disclaimer: Naruto is owned and was created by a man called Kishimoto. I hereby disavow any need to profit, gain, or otherwise benefit from this piece of fan fiction other then for the sheer amusement of being bored.
Chapter One: The Root of It All
A:N: There are a lot of fics similiar to the war theme and rearranging the teams. I was inspired to try my own hand it and this is a something along the lines of that plot result... Considering I've got more then three of these fics in writing on notebook, let's see what happens. I hope I didn't come across as ripping off anyone else's work and if I have, please let me know. I'll try and fix it.
War was too many different things. It was wasteful and beneficial. Men and women died only to be replaced by those still young enough to dream of glory and romance. For the older generations, they fought a double war of molding impressionable minds into lethal soldiers and trying to keep them children. Many of them failed, some never stood a chance, still others managed to adapt, and in the end, a select few managed to become the exact opposite.
Four shinobi now kneeled before their leader, each lost in thought over the grim news they had brought the elderly man. Smoke spiraled over the man's head as he looked out over the village he led and protected. Dire news indeed had been brought to his attention by these four loyal soldiers, each masked and guarded against detection by outside forces. Alone in the shadows stood another man, his own face dark with concern and worry for yet another set of reasons. All of which now tied in together.
Three of these shinobi would be departing with the scarred man in the shadows while the single female member would be departing with a new partner to begin dealing with the arising issues at hand. Clasping his hands behind him, the elderly man turned his head ever so slightly to glance down at the kneeling soldiers.
"Sparrow, I am assigning you to Viper to deal with this." he ordered softly, trying to dull the disappointment his words would have on the young female behind him. A softly hushed breath greeted his news and he could only let out a puff smoke as Sparrow jerked her head down once in acknowledgement.
There was nothing more for him to say to the young ANBU in disguise and with a flick of his wrist, she vanished to carry out her orders. His attention now turned to the worried male in the corner of his office. "Umino Iruka, you know the Genin graduates the best. How might Yuhi Kurenai's team be reassigned?"
Looking down at the papers in his hands, the Academy Instructor swallowed back a nervous lump in his throat. "Team eight was originally designed to serve as a track and rescue team. However, without Yuhi-san to direct them, that would be a rather pointless assignment. It might be more beneficial to assign the three Genin to other squads and still maintain the intended line of training."
The Hokage nodded once at his reasoning. "You mean to turn three teams into four man cells rather then the normal three. Am I correct, Umino-san?"
"You are, Hokage-sama." Iruka answered with a short bow of his head.
"And how would you assign the teams?"
He paused here as he looked at the men still in kneeling positions on the floor, easily taking in their body language. Curiosity was piqued. It was these three men he'd had in mind from the moment he had first constructed the plan to balance out Yuhi Kurenai's absence and keep her intentions alive.
Iruka snapped his eyes back to the Hokage as he waited on the answers Iruka was constructing. "I realize that Team Gai is an already active team, just waiting on the next step in their training to become full Chuunin. However, I believe that by assigning Inuzuka Kiba and his partner Akamaru to that team, it would not upset the team balance and might just benefit it. Abarume's in the past have worked well with members of the Ino-Shika-Cho pairing, so assigning Abarume Shino to those three it would not be to out of place. Shino has worked well with each of the three in class assignments. Hyuuga Hinata is the one that concerns me most. Her standing with her clan and family isn't what it should be. She lacks a great deal of self confidence however that doesn't mean she isn't capable."
He paused to catch his breath when he spotted the Hokage's amused expression. "Sir?" he questioned.
"What is the real reason you wish to assign Hinata to Team Seven, Iruka?" the older man prodded, much to Iruka's embarrassment.
"She was the only student that willingly worked with Naruto." he confessed. "Though, that just might be the crush."
A snort of amused laughter choked up two very different throats. One oddly muffled by an ANBU mask and the other from the Hokage himself. Gathering their equilibrium, the two men finally nodded at one another. "You know what you need to do. I'll make an appearance later this morning at the Academy. As of now, I have a report to collect from these ANBU and then they too must rest."
"Understood, Hokage-sama. Good evening." Iruka answered before vanishing in a swirl of leaves and chakra laced wind.
Shaking his head at the King of Pranksters newest antic, he leveled a gaze at the kneeling men. "Remove the masks and report." he ordered dryly. One by one, the men revealed three very different faces. It was Hatake Kakashi's amused eye that caught the Kage's own.
"What is it, Hatake?" he asked.
"If I might be so frank, Hokage-sama, does Umino Iruka know who we are?" The silver haired Nin wasn't disappointed when the Hokage's sour expression turned into a mischievous smirk. "Ah. What do you suppose I do about Lord Hyuuga's manner when he learns of this new development?"
"The matter will be resolved by then. All Clan and Civilian affairs take a secondary state while Konohagakure no Sato is in a state of war." Sarutobi answered. "Perhaps we should continue on with more important matters. What is Danzo up to?"
"As I was saying…" Kakashi began, turning his attention back to the matters on hand. Questions about his possible future students would wait until he was finished here. He would have all his answers by the end of the day anyway.
Tense silence filled the morning classroom as Umino Iruka watched each new Genin file in slowly. The news of war being declared had already reached the civilians of the village so it wasn't too surprising when the Genin revealed how nervous they were feeling as well. Well most of them. His eyes shot up to Uzumaki Naruto, the blond graduate sitting one seat from his main rival, the stoic Uchiha Sasuke. A fading set of bruises marred his face from where his unknown pink haired teammate and her momentary allies had beaten into Naruto for some mishap. Soon though, he let his assessing eyes trail up to the single Hyuuga in the room and sighed. She was definitely concerned for her crush and was unable to act on it.
Shaking off his wondering thoughts, he coughed lightly into his hand before speaking up over trailing conversations. "Congratulations class, on succeeding to the beginning road of becoming Ninja of this village. Normally, these things would be done differently. Some things have been changed for the sake of the war we now bear witness to. Three teams have been amended to make room for a fourth member. One of these teams has already been in the field for a year." Glancing to his left, he nodded to Maito Gai and his three Genin. Hyuuga Neji had a pale eyed glare on his face for his cousin. Tenten was busy making the various boys in the room nervous while another former student of his was now officially scaring him. Rock Lee had done the impossible and become a clone of his Sensei.
"Inuzuka Kiba," he began, breaking off his stare of the odd team and finding the feral boy and his partner near the back of the room. "You've been assigned to Team Twelve." The young male swallowed nervously as his new sensei suddenly appeared at his elbow startling a growled yelp from the belly of his jacket.
"Ah, another guy!" Tenten murmured as she found herself walking towards her new teammate. "We should be leaving, Gai-sensei. The other teams need to find out that they'll be assigned to and we need to get to know Kiba here."
"What the hell?!" Kiba was growling to himself as he suddenly found his things deposited in the arms of his sensei's clone and himself being hauled from his seat by the brunette haired girl.
"Good luck, Kiba. Akamaru." Iruka called after him as Team Gai officially abducted their new teammate from the room.
"Shall we move on? Team Nine was amended to fit in Abarume Shino. Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akamichi Chouji your sensei will be here before lunch. Until then, the four of you are dismissed." A squeal of protest shot up from the only other blonde in the room as she shot a glare at her teacher.
"But Iruka-sensei!" Ino cried out, "Why can't I be on Sasuke's team?"
The brown haired teacher shook his head. "You'll need to take that up with your team leader, Ino-chan." he explained. "I only had some say in the team arrangements. Your jounin sensei was the one who arranged the original team."
"But…"
Abarume Shino had already stood and begun to gather his things. Glancing at the other male teammates with approval he raised dispassionate eyes towards Ino. "It is ill suited to argue with our former teacher now that we've advanced outside the Academy. Perhaps it is something based on skill rather then personal desires."
Nara merely shook his head as he tossed his arms behind his head. "I dunno about you two, but we were dismissed. Coming Chouji?"
"Right behind you." his friend answered, following behind the departing shadow manipulator. A reluctant Ino followed shortly behind Shino after her best rival shot her a grin.
Shaking his head, Iruka gestured for silence once more. "Team Seven has also undergone some changes. Uzumaki Naruto, Haruno Sakura, Uchiha Sasuke, and Hyuuga Hinata. Your sensei will arrive sometime after lunch. "He waved his hand at the clock. "Until then, you're dismissed."
Naruto's head had shot up at the team announcements. It was then that his brain absorbed the information about his teammate. "Iruka-sensei," he shouted, "Why the hell am I assigned to the same team as Sasuke?"
Oh for the love of…. Iruka's eyes locked onto the other blonde loudmouth before attempting to explain his team. "Because of group dynamics. In this scenario, Naruto, you're the worst student in the class while Sasuke is at the top of the class. Understand?"
"No." his answer came from a growling blonde.
"Then discuss it with your sensei." Iruka said for the second time that morning. "As I told Ino, I've had very little say in the team construction. You were assigned to Team Seven because your sensei wanted you there. That is all I can say about it."
"Be quiet Naruto!" Sakura growled from beside her unlucky teammate and glared up at the smaller Genin. "You're embarrassing Sasuke-kun."
Face flushing with unspent fury, the blond jumped up from behind his desk and nearly bowled over several others in his path to leave his classmates behind. Only Hinata seemed to be concerned by the blonde's manner of exit as she stood to follow him. Iruka watched as her brows drew together in a silent scowl that was eerily similar to her mother's once formidable temper as she glanced in Sakura's direction only once.
The pink haired Genin froze in place as she silently turned her head to glance in the direction of subtle killer intent that swept in her direction. While she was otherwise occupied, Sasuke Uchiha stood and quickly followed the other two from the room. It did not escape Iruka's notice that he took the hall in the opposite direction of his blond teammate. Watching silently as Sakura likewise disappeared from the room, he turned back to the other watching children. The ones who would become fodder so the others had a chance to become something greater. It was time to give out the final bit of instruction he had for these remaining teams.