Our Sensei is a Teenager
Chapter 1- Prologue: Jounin
"Are there any objections?" the chief advisor finished, his voice even despite the frustration that nearly made his head pound.
What a drag.
"With all due respect," the hawkeyed woman droned, facing the Hokage without any indication of having heard his warning, "while the Daimyo does not doubt the capabilities of this year's candidates as shinobi, he would like to remind you that the rank of jounin carries with it significantly more weight than just a measurement of combat prowess. Indeed, in this time of peace, jounin represent Konohagakure in the eyes of the other nations; as such, they must possess the level of maturity diplomacy requires."
"Get to the point already," the yellow-haired man growled, and Shikamaru Nara couldn't help but smirk; after all these years, subtlety was still not his strong suit.
"Despite her satisfactory examination scores, Candidate Four is but sixteen years of age. We would ask you to reconsider her appointment for the time being," the Daimyo's representative finished.
Satisfactory? She's the best this year, Shikamaru thought.
"Konoha has never held an age requirement for jounin," a councilman countered. "Before the war, it was not uncommon for talented shinobi as young as fourteen to attain the rank. Besides, the candidate will turn seventeen in half a year; she's hardly a child."
The woman's eyes narrowed slightly before retorting.
"The pressure of such a high rank on one so young has caused problems for Konoha in the past. The case of Itachi Uchiha, for one-"
"Enough."
The angry whispers at the woman's veiled threat gave way to silence as all eyes turned to the Hokage.
"With the powers granted to me, I, Naruto Uzumaki, Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure, hereby appoint all the selected candidates for the rank of jounin," he finished, slamming the list on the table for all to see.
Shikamaru could not help but turn his eye to the fourth name on the list, though he knew full well already who the controversial candidate was.
Sarada Uchiha
"Naruto, I don't like it any more than you do, but you can't just shut out the Daimyo's representative like that," Shikamaru sighed. After the council had left, Naruto had shut himself in his office while he was left to handle the furious diplomat.
"So what should I have done, let her talk me into not giving Sarada the rank she deserves?"
"No, I'm glad you stuck up for the candidates. The power to appoint jounin is yours as Hokage and ours as a village, not the daimyo's. But while I don't like Nagano-san either, she has a point."
"Itachi did what he had to do; he was a hero. And besides, Sarada isn't Itachi, or Sasuke either. She's not some kind of time bomb, damnit!" Naruto exclaimed.
"We know that, but the other nations and Hidden Villages have plenty of reasons to be apprehensive. The Fourth War was started by an Uchiha who almost destroyed the world, and Sasuke and Itachi made their fair share of enemies before that. We're lucky that Darui fought alongside us and respects you; any other Raikage wouldn't have accepted any peace treaty that didn't involve keeping Sasuke under lock and key after what he did in Kumo," Shikamaru finished.
"So the other nations fear Sara-chan just because she's an Uchiha," Naruto grumbled.
"She's also a powerful Sharingan user and a prodigy on the level of Itachi," he added. "She probably could have made jounin a full year ago."
"More like two," Naruto shot back with a grin, to which Shikamaru couldn't help but roll his eyes. Naruto did have a huge soft spot where his mentee was concerned.
"As I was saying, the elders of the other villages know enough about the curse of hatred to be wary of her. You and I know better, but it's not unreasonable from their view of things."
"I'm not naïve enough to think that we got rid of fear and hate for good, but I'd hoped that at least people would be willing to give the Uchiha clan another chance, ya know," Naruto sighed. "What do we do now?"
"You're not going to like my suggestion," Shikamaru warned.
"I'm all ears."
"Keep her inside Fire Country at all times, Konoha if possible. Let the Daimyo know that as long as other jounin are available- which they will be- Sarada won't be taking solo missions to other countries. The old codger won't like it, but he can't override your decision so it's the best he's going to get. Ought to keep him off all of our backs for now. And we'd also be protecting Sarada from enemies who want her dead or her Sharingan in their possession."
"That's not a bad idea, actually…Team 7 did get attacked by rogue ninja a lot over the last few years, and Boruto did say that sometimes they targeted Sarada first," Naruto muttered. "So what, do with her, just pile her with D-ranks? Sara-chan's going to kill me if she gets a cat hunt mission," Naruto moaned.
"I don't know, this is a real drag," Shikamaru sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Maybe you can promote her to a full-time medical-nin? The hospital's undermanned as is and Sakura hasn't been screening potential staffers."
"She's too busy with Satoru on her hands. When Boruto and Himawari were at that age, Hinata and I were total slouches, too," Naruto chuckled with a wistful smile.
"Implying that you're not usually?"
"Says the laziest man in the village," Naruto shot back. "Good thing Shikadai got Temari's genes."
"Troublesome woman," Shikamaru grumbled before clearing his throat. "Back to the topic at hand…"
"Sakura might be away from the hospital most of the time, but she's still Head Medical-Nin and you know I really don't want to make her appoint her own daughter against her will."
"I was under the impression that Sarada wanted the position," Shikamaru replied, his eyebrows raised in surprise as Naruto shook his head.
"She's more than willing to volunteer part-time, especially when it comes to emergencies, but she's not going to accept a medical career in her physical prime."
The two spent another ten minutes in silent thought before Naruto exclaimed, "I've got it!"
Shikamaru blinked before his curiosity kicked in. "Care to share?"
"Here's the plan…"
If there's an upside to being woken up every morning by her wailing little brother, Sarada thought, it was the fact that she was no longer solely responsible for carrying on the Uchiha clan.
If babies are all this loud and annoying, I'm never having any, she grumpily thought to herself. Satoru makes hanging out with Lee and his dad look like a meditation session.
She quickly donned her shirt and flak jacket before doubling back to her parents' room.
She smiled as she quietly opened the door, noticing that her mother was indeed awake and sitting upright on the big bed. The other half of it was empty, a sight she was no longer used to seeing; it was the first time her father had spent a night away from home since Satoru's birth.
"Good morning, sweetie," Sakura mumbled, rubbing the exhaustion from her beautiful green eyes. A small, childish part of Sarada still wished that she had inherited her mother's gorgeous coloring instead, though she knew that the dominant Uchiha eyes were dark-brown, nearly black.
"Morning, 'ka-san," Sarada whispered in return as she looked over to the crib, where Satoru slept like, well, a baby. He looked like a perfect angel when he wasn't crying, soft pink hair and closed eyes that she knew were the same color as hers and their father's.
Eyes that could one day house the doujutsu of their clan.
"Oh!" her mother exclaimed as she got out of bed. "Today's the day, isn't it? You're a jounin now, I'm so proud! Let me get dressed and then we'll head out."
"Who's going to look after Satoru, or are we bringing him?"
"I'll do it, you might need the chakra more than I do," Sakura replied, stifling a yawn as she quickly performed the hand signs.
The pink-haired shadow clone gave them a cheery salute as Sarada and Sakura made their way out of the house and eventually onto the bustling main street, where plenty of cheerful Konoha citizens decked in warm winter clothes gave the pair greetings, congratulations, and more than a couple appreciative stares.
"Congratulations, Sara-chan! We're proud of you," a voice called out from a distance, and Sarada couldn't help but smile as she turned to wave hello at Ichiraku Ramen's longtime owner; friendly old Teuchi with his wrinkled smile was a welcome sight at any time of the day (but particularly when she was hungry).
By the time they arrived at the Jounin Station, the lounge was already packed; the majority of the village's fifty-odd established jounin had shown up, and all eyes turned to the mother-daughter pair as they entered the room. Sakura had chosen to forego her combat attire, catching glances in her simple red blouse and the white overcoat that signified her standing as the head of Konoha Hospital. Sarada, on the other hand, wore the full shinobi uniform, her clan's trademark uchiwa nowhere to be seen underneath the flak jacket.
Sarada shifted uncomfortably as the murmurs began, and she didn't need her Sharingan to notice that most of the stares were directed toward here, along with a few reassuring smiles from the older jounin.
"Ah, Sakura-chan, Sara-chan!" a cheerful voice erupted behind them, silencing the murmurs. Sarada broke out into a huge grin as she turned to find the tall figure of the Seventh Hokage, the man who was virtually her uncle.
"Late as usual, Naruto. And to think you used to yell at Kakashi for tardiness," Sakura deadpanned, earning a few snickers from the room.
"Alright, candidates for the rank of jounin, please step forward!" Naruto all but shouted, and six figures stood up and walked from their seats on the center bench- four men, two women, all roughly in their early twenties. She only knew one personally- a tall woman named Akiko, the youngest besides her at nineteen, who gave her a smile as she approached the group in front of Naruto.
"Welcome to Jounin Station! Okay, most of you have been here before, but now that you're officially jounin, you're welcome in this lounge whenever you want. News bulletins and other important pieces of information are posted every other day on that wall," Naruto paused, pointing to the board on the far side of the room. "Unclaimed solo missions will be updated twice a week, and you can come ask me questions about a mission in my office. Finally, it's that time of year again- there are eight new genin teams needing a jounin leader, so please sign up if you're willing and able. Alright, everyone, that's about it. Oh, the certificates!"
Sarada grinned as Naruto hastily pulled up an envelope and cleared his throat before beginning to read off the names, each new jounin walking forward to receive the honor and shake their Hokage's hand.
Finally, it was her turn.
"Sarada Uchiha," Naruto declared, his grin so wide his eyes were nearly closed.
She took the certificate, shaking Narutos's hand emphatically as she beamed at him in response.
The applause for her was deafening, louder than it had been for any of the other six.
"Alright, Naruto, spill," Sakura declared as the last of the assembled jounin left the room, leaving just herself, Sarada, Naruto, and Shikamaru. The latter had pulled the mother and daughter aside after the promotions, revealing little other than the fact that Naruto had something to tell them afterward.
"First of all, congratulations, Sara-chan. You've made us all proud," Naruto stated, earning a smile from Sarada before continuing. "Unfortunately, Shikamaru and I have, um, a really big request and we kinda need you to say yes."
Sakura only snorted and gave Naruto a suspicious leer while Sarada blinked before replying, "Is it a mission?"
"Technically, no. Way more of a drag, though," Shikamaru muttered.
"We need you to lead one of the new genin teams," Naruto stated.
Sarada found herself unable to speak, and a quick glance at her mother revealed equal parts surprise and annoyance from the older woman.
"Naruto, you can't be serious! What about Team 7? Even more importantly, what about her hospital work? As much as I don't like inflating my daughter's ego, Sarada's as good as most of the full-timers and we're understaffed as it is," Sakura finished with a huff.
"Thanks, mom," Sarada deadpanned at the faint praise, rolling her eyes.
"Tsunade told me she'd be willing to help you and Shizune screen new applicants. I know it's not enough, but we're gonna do what we can to help the hospital," Naruto replied, before turning to Sarada. "I'm sorry, Sara-chan, I know this is unfair to you, but it's really important and kinda out of my hands. I'm guessing Boruto already told you that Team 7 was disbanding?"
"Yep, and he told Mitsuki too. As for the hospital work, as long as my replacement isn't a total idiot, I'm fine with that," Sarada replied with a shrug. "But why pick me as a jounin-sensei? Surely there's a lot of older, more experienced jounin who would be better suited. Though I am quite a good teacher," she added with a smirk.
"Teaching Satoru to say 'onee-chan is the best' doesn't really count, honey," Sakura sighed, and Sarada stuck out her tongue and made a childish face in response, getting Naruto to snicker. "But I agree, she's too young, Naruto. Remember how insubordinate we were as genin? Kakashi was pretty experienced as a ninja and well into his twenties and we still gave him one hell of a time."
"He was always tardy, and always goofing off reading his pervy books!" Naruto exclaimed with a huff. "Sara-chan's mature for her age, and she's plenty scary enough to keep three twerps in line."
"You'll be doing us a huge favor," Shikamaru added.
"Good enough for me," Sarada answered with a smile. "I'll do it. So who's the lucky three?"
Shikamaru handed a file to Sarada, which she opened with her mother peering over her shoulder behind her.
Sarada groaned as she finished reading the contents.
"You're kidding me."