Densetsu No Yonnin
Hiruzen Sarutobi looked down at the 4 files that were littered on his desk. As had the Second Hokage – Tobirama Senju – had trained a Genin team, it was now his turn as the Hokage to train a team of Genin and Hiruzen had chosen 4 with the most potential. All of them were 6 years old and had just graduated from the Academy today.
Jiraiya was an orphan and his rank in the Academy had been dead last; yet Hiruzen saw a potential in the boy that if nurtured, could turn him into a very powerful ninja. Hiruzen admired the boy's positive personality no matter what happened to him and so had chosen him to be one of the 4 members of the team.
The next one was Tsunade Senju. Granddaughter of Hashirama Senju – the First Hokage – and grandniece of Tobirama Senju – the Second Hokage – there was none inside the Village Hidden in the Leaves that didn't know her name. She had graduated the Academy as Top Kunoichi of the Year with near perfect scores, her only deductions being in ninjutsu. Hiruzen had chosen her to be part of the team partly due to his connections with her now deceased family but also due to the immense potential that she had. Now if only she did not have the same gambling addiction as the First Hokage at that young age…
The third boy was named Orochimaru and he was also an orphan. With pale white skin and unusual purple markings on his face he was often picked on by the other children but he had not let that deter him and had instead graduated at the top of the class as Rookie of the Year. The boy was a genius and had a thirst for knowledge that made Hiruzen want to teach the boy everything and thus had chosen him to be part of the 4 Genin.
The last one was an enigma for Hiruzen. Shunsui Nakata was a genius that surpassed even the likes of Orochimaru and if Hiruzen was honest with himself, while Orochimaru was a genius that appears once every generation than Shunsui was a genius that only came once per century; much like the First Hokage. The boy had a mutation in his DNA that allowed him to turn his whole body, its actual structure, into that of earth itself. This had caused uproar in the council with the civilian members and Danzo demanding that he be experimented on to find a way to replicate his effects, but Hiruzen had stopped this train of action by taking the boy under his wing.
One thing that all 4 of the Genin held in common was their talent for taijutsu. Tsunade had overwhelming strength, Orochimaru unseen agility, Jiraiya perfect technique and Shunsui unparalleled speed.
Turning away from the desk and looking out the window at Konoha under his Hokage's hat, Hiruzen couldn't help but look forward to meeting his team tomorrow; he had a feeling that they would change his life for the better for the duration of his teaching.
Next morning
Orochimaru was the first to arrive at Training ground 7, where he took out a scroll on elemental ninjutsu and read through it while pondering on his team. Orochimaru was happy with the fact that Shunsui and Tsunade were in his team, they held immense potential much like himself and Orochimaru respected their strengths. What he did have a problem with was Jiraiya. That fool had no skill whatsoever and his only minor redeeming quality was that his taijutsu techniques were perfect. Orochimaru could only hope that he did not hold the rest of them back.
The next to arrive was Tsunade who sat down on one of the three stumps and fiddled with the necklace her grandfather had given her; bored out of her mind. All she wanted to do was to go back home and hang out with Nawaki or gamble a bit but she had been required to attend their first meeting. Tsunade didn't care much about who was on her team, but even she recognised that Jiraiya would only hold them back while Orochimaru was a bit too composed and expressionless for her tastes. Shunsui however she had a rivalry with; or at least in her mind she did. When her grandfather and granduncle had been alive, she had often caught the two talking about the boy and his limitless potential as a ninja and Tsunade had been eager to prove them wrong and best Shunsui in a match. Suffice to say, in the Academy he had successfully avoided all her requests to spar but now he would not be able to and Tsunade cackled in her mind.
Shunsui was next and he slowly ambled to the nearest tree and lay beneath it, dozing off. Shunsui did not care who was on his team as long as they weren't too annoying and he hoped that his sensei was also a laid back type of person so that he would not have to do stuff too tiring. All he cared about was dozing off comfortably and not being bothered for the whole day.
Jiraiya was the last to arrive, huffing and puffing. Seeing that he was last, he glared at his 2 self-acclaimed rivals. Jiraiya did not like Orochimaru as he was the Rookie of the Year and Jiraiya felt that he was 10 times better than Orochimaru, he just had not had the chance to show off his skills yet. As for Shunsui, Jiraiya didn't like him because with his long raven locks held in a ponytail and striking hazel eyes with golden flecks, he had attracted a large amount of fan-girls and his fan-club was the largest one in Konoha so far. Jiraiya had always had a healthy appreciation of the opposite sex but not many females liked Jiraiya and thus it made him dislike Shunsui even more. The only person he liked on the team was Tsunade, because she was pretty; even if she was a bit flat chested though. Jiraiya wouldn't say that though, since she had already garnered attention as being exuberant and violent. He hoped that his sensei would recognise his skill and pay more attention to him than Orochimaru or Shunsui, than maybe Tsunade would start liking him. Jiraiya giggled in a perverted manner that caused the other 3 to raise their eyebrows at him; making him flush.
A soft thud on the ground caused the Orochimaru, Jiraiya and Tsunade to whirl around to see the Third Hokage looking at them and smiling while Shunsui lay still under the tree. Shunsui said "So you finally came out huh Hokage-sama? You've been there for quite a while." Hiruzen raised his eyebrows in surprise and asked "How did you know I was there Shunsui?"
"I could sense your chakra signature."
"Ah…so you are a sensor than" Hiruzen looked pleasantly surprised and the rest of the 3 Genin looked a bit envious of Shunsui's talent.
It was then that Jiraiya connected the dots and shouted "Wait so you're our sensei?! Awesome we're going to become the best ninja in the world!"
Orochimaru smirked in pleasure while Tsunade grinned in excitement. Shunsui just sighed and muttered "I guess there'll be no time to laze about then"
Hiruzen let out a hearty laugh and said "Yep I'm your sensei and as students of the Hokage you'll be expected to be some of the leading ninja in the village so don't let me down. Now the 4 of you will be undergoing a test to assess your skills. I have 3 bells here, and whoever doesn't get a bell will be tied up to the stump there and not get any lunch. The test starts…NOW!"
Orochimaru and Tsunade disappeared into the bushes while Jiraiya just straight away charged at the Third Hokage. Hiruzen merely sidestepped the boy's fist and grabbed him by the arm before flipping Jiraiya over his shoulder; sending him flying into the lake. Shunsui got up and Hiruzen immediately fell back into a defensive position; he did not know his students full capabilities and was determined not to underestimate him. With speed unbefitting that of a Genin, Shunsui lunged at Hiruzen, who instinctively thrust out a fist. Hiruzen watched in worry as Shunsui made no plans to dodge; he had put enough force into that punch to break his nose! However, it was Hiruzen's turn to be shocked as he watched Shunsui's face and upper torso turn into dirt, breaking apart from his fist before reforming as his fist passed by. Orochimaru, Tsunade and Jiraiya who had pulled himself out of the lake by then at first merely thought it was an earth clone yet there eyes bulged and mouths dropped open as Shunsui reformed seconds after.
Shunsui allowed a smirk to grace his face as he grabbed a bell from the Hokage's belt as the man remained in shock.
Hiruzen was stunned at this demonstration even though he had already known about it and thought 'His potential is endless…it's kind of embarrassing how quickly he did it but I suppose I should be happy with my students progress'. He chuckled and said "Very well you pass Shunsui. The three of you should get a move on as well; there are only 2 bells left!"
Shunsui watched as Orochimaru and Tsunade teamed up to get the 2 remaining bells from their sensei, with Orochimaru relying on wind based ninjutsu and Tsunade using her taijutsu that was augmented by her natural strength. Jiraiya was left without a bell at the end of the test and was tied up to a stump as the 3 Genin and the Third Hokage made their way to lunch; leaving him to shout pleadingly after them.
2 hours later Hiruzen and the 3 Genin were back only to find Jiraiya still tied to the stump.
"You still couldn't get yourself out of the bindings?" asked Hiruzen, surprised.
"Hmph, idiot" muttered Tsunade and Orochimaru just looked at Jiraiya with disdain clearly evident in his eyes. Shunsui decided not to say anything but sighed as Jiraiya erupted "Hah as if! I just decided not to go along with you guys since it was obvious you guys would miss me too much! And I'm right, you guys are back here!"
Tsunade punched the top of Jiraiya's head shouting "Shut up idiot! Everyone knows you're not skilled enough to get out of a simple trap!"
Hiruzen cleared his throat quickly in order to prevent a major fight from breaking out and said "Ok this will be our schedule from now on. From 8am to 1pm we will be doing D to C-rank missions with a 30 minute break at 10am. After that I will be training you guys until 7pm. Everyone got that?"
They all nodded and Orochimaru asked "Sensei what about your job as Hokage then? How will you be able to be both the Hokage and our sensei at once?"
Hiruzen grinned and said "That is going to be my lesson today. This is normally a B-rank Jounin jutsu but all 4 of you have been blessed with larger than average chakra reserves so you should be able to pull it off. It's called the Kage Bunshin and it allows you to make a solid clone that will send to you all the information that it has learnt. So as you can imagine it's quite useful in training and recon missions. However use this with caution as if you use it too much you can suffer chakra exhaustion and mental damage. The hand seal is this," Hiruzen showed them the hand sign, "Now get to it"
The cries of "Yes sensei" rang across the training ground as the 4 Genin began to learn the new jutsu.
Shunsui made the hand seal and said "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu" A poof of smoke arose on his left and he turned to look at, thinking that he had it, but the clone looked unnaturally pale like it would pop anytime soon. Frowning in thought he dispelled the clone and this time, pumped 4 times the amount of chakra and was rewarded when two identical clones came out of the smoke this time. 'Sensei was right' he thought. With only 2 clones Shunsui could already feel three quarters of his chakra gone already. He was congratulated by Hiruzen who then told the clones to work on their taijutsu katas.
Orochimaru frowned as he inspected the half dead clone in front of him. He was annoyed at how Shunsui had managed to create 2 perfect clones on his second try and he was on his fourth try already. Pumping most of the remainder of his chakra Orochimaru was finally able to create a perfect clone although he fell down from tiredness after. All that was running through his head was 'I'll show them. I'll show everyone that I can be just as great as a ninja without having to come from a clan! If only…if only I had a bloodline as well I would be able to put everyone else in their place!'
Tsunade perfected the jutsu on her first try as she had a very good grasp on chakra control and grinned as an identical clone emerged out of the smoke. She was proud that she had gotten it in less tries than Shunsui and showed it by tossing her head when they made eye contact.
Jiraiya tried and tried to create a Kage Bunshin but for some reason was not able to. As he kept trying he watched miserably as 3 different clones of his sensei went to Orochimaru and taught him a C-rank wind jutsu, Tsunade a method of increasing her strength through chakra and Shunsui more advanced kata's for the taijutsu style he was currently using
Jiraiya tried to look cheerful as the real Hiruzen approached him but failed miserably.
"What's wrong Jiraiya?"
"Nothing" he replied quickly but at Hiruzen's patient and waiting look he blurted out "I don't know why I'm the only one that can't get the jutsu. Everyone else has got it already and I feel like I-I'm…"
"Falling behind" finished Hiruzen.
"Yes" mumbled Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya do not feel overwhelmed. You have as much potential as the 3 of them. As for the reason why you are struggling to keep up, Tsunade has been trained by her grandfather and granduncle, who you know were the First and Second Hokage's and thus she has an advantage over you; but you will be able to catch up with hard work. Orochimaru is like you as well. He did not have anyone to train him but he read books in the library and paid attention all the time in the Academy which I know you did not Jiraiya. That is why you are also behind him but if you work harder than him from now on than you will be able to catch up to him soon I guarantee you. Shunsui…he has had training from a very young age since he has been hailed as a prodigy amongst prodigies; I have no doubt he will surpass me one day – as will the rest of you. Do not think badly of yourself if you cannot beat Shunsui in a spar; think of it as a motivation for you to train and truly get stronger. After all people only get stronger when they reach for something or someone above them."
Jiraiya listened attentively and silently promised himself 'I will train 10 times harder than them and eventually I will be the strongest of the four!'
Hiruzen grinned at the look Jiraiya was supporting and said "Now about that Kage Bunshin of yours…."
Next morning in the Hokage's office
Hiruzen grinned in pleasure and said "Ok team, we are going to have our first D-rank mission today. What the 4 of you need to do is catch a cat called Tora; it is the Fire Daimyo's wife's cat. Creating a shadow clone he got up and said "Let's go!"
"Hai sensei!"
6 months had passed since they had undertaken their first D-rank mission which had ended in disaster; all 4 Genin had had scratches all over and had contemplated torturing the demonic cat to death. All 4 of them, even Jiraiya, had progressed far with their each unique taijutsu styles that took advantage of their natural talent and were currently studying different fields in which they specialised; Jiraiya had started fuinjutsu and shown a remarkable talent, Tsunade has chosen to become a medic nin and was showing incredible progress, Orochimaru had started elemental ninjutsu and had possessed a real knack for wind ninjutsu and Shunsui had furthered his skill with his unnatural bloodline; he had found out that he could use earth techniques without hand seals, although a lot of practice was required – he could only perform 1 jutsu without hand seals after 6 months of non-stop training.
Today was their first C-rank mission and all 4 of them were excited, not knowing that they would regret accepting it a few hours later.
Hiruzen smiled grimly as his Genin team walked into his office, he had hoped that this day would never come but he had not been able to put it off any longer; it had to be done.
"Ok team, our C-rank mission will be to eliminate a group of bandits hanging around Konoha's borders…there can be no survivors."
Jiraiya choked at that last phrase while Tsunade turned a bit green. Orochimaru had a grim look on his face while even the ever composed and lazy Shunsui had raised his eyebrows at the mission.
"S-sensei what d-do you mean, e-eliminate?" asked Jiraiya in a shaky voice.
"Exactly what it means Jiraiya. I had hoped to never bring you into this situation but you must undergo this. You must understand that a ninja is first and foremost a tool for his village and will be required to kill for his village; sometimes it will even be innocents. But a ninja must obey the orders of a Hokage. The 4 of you without me will undertake this mission and complete it before the end of the day. Is that understood?" asked Hiruzen.
Jiraiya stuttered and everyone fell silent until –
"Understood Hokage-sama. The mission will be completed by nightfall."
"Shunsui?! shouted Jiraiya. "What the hell are you talking about? You can't just kill people because someone said so? That's not right!"
"It doesn't matter if it's right or not you fool, we ninja are meant to commit crimes in the name of our village. That's what being a ninja means. If you can't even set aside your personal morals and your job as a ninja apart then just quit now Jiraiya; otherwise you'll be nothing more than a third-rate ninja." Retorted Shunsui; hazel eyes boring harshly into Jiraiya's gaze.
"T-the mission will be completed sensei" said Tsunade, who looked nervous but ready to do what had to be done.
Orochimaru nodded in agreement with Tsunade, conveying his acceptance of what they would have to do.
Hiruzen then turned his gaze to Jiraiya, who wilted under his intense stare before weakly muttering "I'll do it"