The Growth of Shinobi
Chapter 1: Wanna Enter?
The crowd roared as the pincushioned shinobi fell to the ground at her feet. She smiled up into the stands at one person in particular, hoping for acknowledgement. Her mouth gaped open in surprise when the leader of the village grinned, holding up a green flak vest and pointing at her. Tears streamed from her eyes as she fell to her knees in shock. Her hard work had paid off. After all of this. She looked back at the one she had defeated, the prodigy of the Hyuuga clan.
"How...how did you..." he said between coughs.
She gave him a thumbs up and helped him up, awaiting the medical nin.
"Congratulations, Tenten," a male voice boomed behind her.
"Thank you, Gai-sensei!" she cried, turning to face him, hoping to see his proud face.
"On being the first to fall asleep during your watch!"
"Huh?" she asked.
The world spun around her, the stadium and the people morphing into different things. She found herself in a forest laying up against a tree, looking into the eyes of her squatting teacher. He was grinning, but it was more of an evil grin. He stood up and pointed down.
"Yeah, I know," she said, "A thousand pushups."
She got down and started and Gai faced his team.
"Neji! Lee!" he roared, "Wake up!"
Lee was the first to awaken, instantly springing up from the ground and smiled enthusiastically, his entire body twitching from just wanting to do something. After about five minutes of tossing, turning and groaning, Neji sat up. He yawned and scratched his neck, grabbing a brush from beside him to make his long hair straight again. By the time he was done fussing over his hair, the rest of the team were packed up.
"Even without five days of sleep, you must learn to preserve the youth inside of you!" Gai yelled, pointing a finger dramatically at Neji.
Neji raised an eyebrow at his eccentric teacher and stood up, backpack strapped on tight.
"Team, I have a special surprise for you!" Gai yelled before any of them could move, "You're being entered in the Chuunin Exams!"
Tenten's eyes sparkled, Lee's eyes were filled with excitement, and Neji's eyes were half-closed.
Gai cleared his throat. "Aren't you excited?"
Neji yawned. Gai sighed and motioned for his team to follow him back to Konohagakure, their home.
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The boy dodged the swarm of bugs to his right and motioned for his dog to continue the assault on their opponent. The opponent made a slick dodge and made a few handseals. The boy clawed and hit, but the opponent dispersed into a swarm of bugs and engulfed the boy's arm, and the dog as well.
"I give, I give!" he yelled, "Damnit, Shino, call those bugs back! You might hurt Akamaru!"
Shino stepped out quietly from behind a tree and the bugs retracted back into his coat. He pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose as he spoke.
"You should train more, Kiba."
"Ah, shaddap," Kiba said in response, taking a seat on a nearby rock to cheer on his other teammate, "Do your best, Hinata!"
Hinata dodged the strikes from their teacher and managed to return one of her own. Kiba cheered loudly as she went for another hit, but the teacher dodged and ended the fight with a sharp kick to Hinata's chest. She crashed to the ground, taking a few seconds to get up.
"Woah, Kurenai," Kiba said, "You didn't have to go all out there."
Kurenai flipped her hair back and cracked her knuckles. "It was nothing."
Kiba scoffed and faced Shino once more. "Let's go again."
Shino just shook his head in response. Kiba frowned and fiddled with a bag of soldier pills while Akamaru frolicked in the field.
"Team, I have nominated you once again for the Chuunin Exams!" Kurenai announced, "I know it's sudden, but I want you all to do your best. This year, I think that you all have the capabilities to become Chuunin."
"Aw, hell yeah!" Kiba yelled, "This will be a perfect opportunity to test out our new jutsu, Akamaru!"
Akamaru barked happily in response.
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The two men sat across from each other, their students happily munching away at the exquisite meal in front of them. The bearded man took another drag from his cigarette and inhaled deeply while the other observed the two girls arguing.
"Oi, Asuma," he said quietly, "Is this really a good idea? Ino and Sakura aren't exactly great teammates."
"On the inside, they're friends," Asuma replied, "They'll work well together. They're just lucky that Tsunade let us do this now rather than having to wait for the next batch of academy students. After all, the Chuunin Exams are important to them, Sakura especially. Ever since they left."
"But do you really think they'll be okay?" Kakashi replied worriedly.
"You just better not hold me back, Sakura!" Ino said, flipping her hair back and sticking her tongue out.
"Tch, as if, Ino-pig," Sakura replied, "It's only because of Shikamaru that you got through the second stage, and you know it."
"Chouji and I have been training, and we have both increased our powers hugely!"
"Hugely isn't a word, idiot."
"Screw you! At least I get boys."
"Calm down you two," Kakashi said, holding Sakura back from Ino, "Just try to work together, please."
"We're doomed," the boy sitting beside Ino said sadly, shoving food into his mouth as he said so.
"Ew, Chouji, could you try not and do that while we're out in the forest? You'll give away our location."
"But eating is an essential part of nights in the forest!"
Asuma placed his forehead in his hand. 'They're screwed,' he thought to himself.
