Chapter 2: Trouble in paradise

"You're such a loser" Kiba snickered at Naruto, who refused to look at the other boy.

"Shut-up Dog Boy" Naruto growled in annoyance as he stuffed his hands in his pockets.

"Seriously" Kiba said with a snort "you almost got the girl you like to kiss you and you run away?"

Naruto had a plan that he had formed the minute he saw Sasuke through the window. It involved him, Sasuke, rope, a gag and Sakura. At least he got the first four right, but the last one is where he messed up.

For you see Naruto had tried to score a kiss from Sakura, as well as see what she thought about him. What he didn't count on was the milk he had had that morning to come and bite him in the ass (almost literally).

It appears that the milk Naruto had consumed that morning was way past its expiration date and that same milk choose to do the tango and the tap dance when he was about to kiss the girl of his dreams.

So as to not embarrass himself in front of Sakura the boy kindly excused himself to go to the toilet.

When he was safe the Uzumaki went back to where Sakura was to try the lines that he tried on her as Sasuke, it seemed like Sakura enjoyed hearing them. Unfortunately the girl was gone by the time he got back.

So he cut his loses short and went back to class, since the time that was allocated for the break was over. Along the way he caught up with his team-mates.

So here Naruto was, on the receiving end of Kiba's teasing. It didn't help that his other team-mate was glaring at him like he was the scorn of the earth…he got enough of that from people when he walked down the street.

The three entered the classroom and noticed that it was only them, Team Ten and a bearded Jounin.

"Team Seven?" the Jounin asked when he saw the three enter.

The Jounin wore the standard Jounin outfit with the sleeves rolled up and bangles on his wrists. He wore a sash around his waist with the kanji for fire on it. He had spikey hair that led into a beard. In his mouth was a lit cigarette.

The three Genin nodded their heads to the man's question. Asuma nodded his head and took the cigarette out of his mouth and exhaled smoke.

"Follow me" he said before walking towards the door where the Genin were standing. The three made way when he got close to them before following after the Jounin.

The three Genin sat down in front of the Jounin, who remained standing, with his hands in his pockets.

"So…" Asuma scratched the back of his head well he closed his eyes "I guess I'm your Jounin sensei" he opened his eyes to look off to the side "…for now I guess"

The Genin looked between each other with confused looks; of course they heard the bearded Jounin mumble that last part. Before they could question him on that last part Asuma continued talking.

"Why don't we get to know one another?" he leaned against the tree behind him "I'll go first" Asuma wanted to start so that they wouldn't be able to question him on his last statement.

"My names Asuma Sarutobi" he started "my likes are a good smoke…" that got him disapproving looks from Ino and Kiba, but he ignored the looks "a game of Shogi and sometimes just enjoying a little downtime. My dislikes are being told that my smoking is bad for my health" as if to prove his point Asuma blew out a puff of smoke "those that purposely harm the weak and traitors. My hobby is playing Shogi" Asuma tapped some of the ash off his cigarette "my dream is to one day find someone to give me a challenge in Shogi and have a family"

Asuma looked towards the Genin and gave them a grin "that's all for me. So why don't you go next" he pointed to Ino "ladies first after all" Ino rolled her eyes.

"What a gentleman" she mumbled before clearing her throat "My name's Ino Yamanaka. My likes include flower arrangement, hanging out with my friends and Sasuke-kun" she sighed dreamily, Kiba and Naruto sighed in annoyance at that part "my dislikes are people that call me Pig and since we're on that note I especially can't stand Billboard Brow, I also dislike those who pick on others for no reason. My hobby is shopping. My dream is to become Sasuke-kun's bride and a respectable Kunoichi"

'At least she's not completely Sasuke crazy' the three males thought with a sweat drop.

"Next up is the one with the puppy" Kiba nodded his head and petted Akamaru, who was sitting in front of him.

"My names Kiba Inuzuka" the boy grinned "My likes include Akamaru, dogs and learning about new breeds of dogs" Naruto and Ino made an amused snort "my dislikes are those that abuse dogs and those that abandon their friends. My hobby is taking walks with Akamaru and my dream is to become the next head of the Inuzuka clan"

Asuma nodded his head. This one had his head in the right place, but he obviously had a problem with his team-mates and vice-versa, but Asuma would make sure that they learn the true essence of teamwork.

"Finally we have our resident prankster" he grinned at Naruto, who looked very surprised.

"How do you know about me?!" he shouted, forgetting that he wasn't very subtle about his pranks. Even Kiba and Ino had to laugh at the blond boy's forgetfulness.

"Besides the constant people complaining?" asked Asuma with a joking tone making Naruto blush slightly "There's also the fact that pops always talks about you" Naruto looked at the Jounin with a confused look.

"Pops?" he asked but Asuma waved him off.

"Later" he said snuffing out the cigarette and reaching for a new one that he lit up the minute it replaced the position of its fallen comrade "let's finish introductions" Naruto looked like he wanted to push his questioning but decided against it.

"Okay. My names Naruto Uzumaki" he grinned at Asuma and readjusted his headband "My likes include Ramen, trying new types of ramen and training. My dislikes are the three minutes I have to wait for Ramen to warm up and Sasuke-teme" Ino's eye twitched but she didn't say anything because her sensei gave her a look not to interrupt "my hobbies are pulling pranks and…er…I'd rather keep the other one to myself for now thanks" the blond boy readjusted his headband with a sheepish grin.

Kiba and Ino looked at Naruto with surprised looks. Ever since they knew the blond boy he would always say what was on his mind, so it was weird to hear that he didn't want to tell them something about himself.

Asuma nodded his head in understanding "I understand, tell us whenever you're ready" Naruto grinned at the Jounin. He liked this guy, he was cool, just like the old man…

"Before I say what my dream is can I ask you a question?" Naruto scratched the back of his head "Please?"

Asuma raised a brow. He was sure that he said all questions had to wait till afterwards, but the pleading look Naruto gave him made Asuma sigh "Sure, go ahead"

"Are you the Old Man's son?" Naruto asked, confusing Kiba and Ino and slightly shocking Asuma.

"Old Man?" Ino asked in confusion looking to Kiba to see if he knew, but the brown haired boy shrugged, showing that he had no idea.

"I'm surprised you figured that out Naruto" Asuma gave a short chuckle "not many know of pop's relationship, because many only know him by his titles"

"You're just like him, ya know?" Naruto grinned "Oh yeah, let me get back to my introduction...ummm, where was I? Oh yeah! My dream…" the boy's grin got even bigger and his team-mate's got annoyed looks on their faces "My dream is to become the best Hokage there is, so that everyone can finally respect me!"

Kiba and Ino were about to shut down Naruto's dream but Asuma could see their plan and quickly shut it down.

"Alright" he clapped his hands making Kiba and Ino shut their mouths "I'm gonna destroy your hopes right now. You're not officially Genin"

Asuma counted in his head how long it would take for his students to react to the news bomb that he had just dropped on them.

"WHAT?!" the three yelled actually shocking Asuma at the intensity that their voices together created.

'Huh, I might have just gone partially deaf…' Asuma dug his pinkie into his ear "What I mean is that the exam the three of you took was to weed out those that aren't fit to become Genin" the Jounin knocked some ash off his cigarette "this test that I'm talking about is one that will decide if you three have what it takes to proudly wear those headbands and survive in the outside world" he sighed "the way this works is I give you a test of my choosing and if you pass my expectations I can say that Team 7 is an official team and will begin missions. Fail my expectations and I have every right to take those headbands away from you and send you back to the academy to try again"

All three Genin grabbed their headbands out of reflex, like Asuma was going to take them away now.

"Statistically speaking only 30% of the passing Genin become full-fledged Genin" Asuma blew out some smoke "that means only 3 teams can pass" he looked at the scared faces of Team 7 "now I have one question for you three. Do you want to have your test now or do you want to have the test tomorrow morning?"

The three Genin looked between each other trying to figure out if taking the test now would be better than taking the test tomorrow. It was a gamble that was based upon one question:

Were they ready for this test?

"We'll take it tomorrow morning" said Ino before either of her team-mates could say anything "yeah, tomorrow morning. At least let us prepare a little"

Asuma raised a brow but nodded his head "Alright. Just make sure you three are here tomorrow morning at 9 A.M sharp. Don't be late and be sure to have a hearty breakfast"

With that Asuma bid them farewell and walked towards the entrance of the training ground they had been sitting in.

The three sat in the empty field trying to process the information they were left with. The fact that they could potentially fail didn't sit well with them, none more than Naruto.

'If I'm sent back to the academy I might not ever become Hokage, even with the Shadow Clone Jutsu' he grabbed his hair 'who would want a Hokage that can't even become a Genin and after beating a Chunin?!' he sighed after a minute and let his arms drop 'If I'm gonna stand up to Asuma-sensei's standards I gotta train enough to prepare for tomorrow'

He lifted his head to see his two team-mates walking towards the entrance of the training ground where their sensei had just gone. A panicked feeling overcame Naruto, because his training needed to involve a partner.

"Hey guys, wait up!" he called out jumping to his feet and racing over to the two, who stopped when he called to them.

"What is it Dobe?" Kiba asked in an impatient tone "I gotta go get ready so I can beat Asuma-sensei's test" Ino nodded her head.

"Yeah" she said "I plan on actually passing. Sasuke-kun won't want to be with someone who didn't even pass a test to become a Genin"

"That's what I wanted to talk about" Naruto grinned at them "I was thinking we could train together and come up with ways to beat Asuma-sensei" he held his fist out "what do you say?"

"No" the two flat-out said, throwing Naruto for a loop and making him drop his fist.

"What, why?" he asked. The two looked at him like he was crazy.

"Why would we waste our time training with you?" Kiba frowned "I have a whole clan that can help me train. So I ask again, why would I train with you?" he motioned to Ino "even this Hussy has a clan to train her"

Ino frowned at Kiba but let the comment slide, he was kind of making their point. She turned back to Naruto and flipped her hair.

"Why would we want to train with the Dobe of the class that can't even make a single decent clone when we have tons of other people to train us and actually help us improve" now it was Naruto's turn to frown.

"Oi, I can make clones now!" he jabbed a thumb into his chest "in fact I can make a whole bunch of them. Thanks to this awesome new Jutsu I learnt last night"

"So what?" Kiba scoffed well crossing his arms "you can know all the Jutsus in the whole damn village, it won't change the fact that you're the Dead-last loser"

Tick marks appeared on Naruto's head. Why were they being so stubborn about this? All he wanted to do was train as a team, even HE knew that a Genin alone can't stand up to a Jounin, no matter how perverted they may be (*Cough* Ebisu *Cough*).

"Fine! I don't need your help!" he shouted at them and turned around "I'll just train on my own and you'll see tomorrow how I beat Asuma-sensei all by myself!"

"Yeah" Ino rolled her eyes "keep deluding yourself there Naruto-Baka" she turned around and continued on her trek to exit the training ground.

"I bet you'll be the first one to get his ass kicked tomorrow anyway" was Kiba's parting words as he left the training ground.

When it was only Naruto left in the training ground the boy huffed in annoyance.

"I don't need them…" he said making a cross hand seal.

Shadow Clone Jutsu

The blond was now surrounded by twelve clones of himself. He pulled out a kunai, which his clones copied.

"…I'm perfectly fine on my own…" he mumbled "always have been always will be"

With that the Genin took off towards one of his clones, who ran at him as well.

As the blond boy fought, he failed to notice the person standing on a branch watching him fight.

The person blew out some smoke with a sigh before he vanished into smoke and leaves.

The next morning Kiba and Ino caught each other at the village entrance. They had come from their respective homes after some well-deserved training from their parents. They had also had a good night's rest and were now ready to face the test their Sensei was planning to give them today.

The two didn't even acknowledge each-others presence and walked out of the gate towards the same training ground that they were in yesterday.

The two Genin didn't think that they were as well prepared as their parents had told them they were last night, but the encouragement was still nice. The only problem the two had was Naruto.

He was one of the reasons that made them worry about today. Not that he may fail, for all they cared the boy could go back to the Academy, but if he got in their way he would drag them down with him.

The two entered the training grounds and noticed that there was someone lying on the ground in the middle of the training ground. It was their third team-mate.

Naruto was snoring well he lay sprawled out on the floor. He had some dirt marks on his clothes, but this wasn't the first time that the two saw the Uzumaki looking so dishevelled. There were times that he would come into class late and looking like he did now.

"Oi" Ino toed Naruto with her foot with a disgusted look on her face "get up Naruto-baka"

The boy groaned and opened his eyes. He sat up and rubbed his eyes to get the sand out of his eyes. When his eyes were free from the sand that the Sandman had doused him with last night the Uzumaki stretched with a yawn. He looked up at the person that woke him up and yawned again.

"Morning Ino, Kiba" he said in a tired tone "what are you doing in my room?" his two team-mates looked at him like he lost his mind.

"You're in the training ground, idiot" Kiba said. Naruto look around and finally noticed that he was, in fact, in the training ground.

"Oh…I knew that" he said grinning at the two well he got up and stretched his back "Where's Asuma-sensei?"

As if summoned the bearded Jounin appeared on Naruto's other side in a burst of smoke and leaves. The Jounin exhaled some smoke before he greeted the three.

"Morning" he said "I see that the three of you follow orders to the T" Asuma nodded his head "Good. I wouldn't want students like a certain silver haired Jounin I know" he reached into his pocket and withdrew a clock that he placed on a stump, which was next to him.

"Now" he stretched his arms "let's get to the test" the Jounin reached into his pocket and withdrew a packet of cigarette "Your test is simple: All you have to do is retrieve this pack of cigarettes from me before the timer goes off, which will go off after 12" he tucked the packet into the front pocket of his Jounin vest "failure to retrieve the packet will mean that I will take your headbands and send you back to the academy"

The three gulped and got into ready stances. All of them had their reasons not to lose here and one of those reasons is: not wanting to be sent back to the academy.

"On the count of 3 you can come at me however you want, use whatever trick is at your disposal to try and retrieve the packet" Asuma kept his eyes on the Genin

"1…" some sweat dropped down Ino's forehead.

"2…" Kiba tightened his fists and Naruto gulped.

"3!" the Genin all scattered to hide in the surrounding foliage.

Asuma looked around at the empty area and saw that the three were fairly good at concealing their presence.

'Let's see what they can do' the bearded Jounin thought as he snuffed out the rest of his finished cigarette and light a new one.

Asuma stood in the middle of the training ground waiting for some form of attack from the Genin team he was tasked to test.

"Stealth" he spoke loud enough for the hidden Genin to hear him. Yes, he knew where they were hiding "it's a ninja's most treasured tool in this world. A Ninja that cannot master stealth is as good as dead. At least you three understand that about being a Genin"

Asuma raised a brow when he heard the sound of someone exiting a bush. He wasn't that surprised to see the person that was stand in front of him was Naruto, looking very confident with himself.

"You…just basically spat on what I just said, you know that?" Asuma said with a sweat drop. Naruto put his fists on his hips and grinning so wide he was squinting.

"Sensei" he said pointing at Asuma "I'm here to prove to you that I'm worthy to wear this headband!" he pointed at the headband around his forehead.

"Oh?" Asuma blew out some smoke "well come on then. Show me what you got"

Naruto's grin turned into a smirk as put his hands into the seal he had used yesterday to train. The blond boy's team-mates were repeatedly telling themselves not to sigh at their team-mates stupidity.

Shadow Clone Jutsu!

Now the two were telling themselves not to gasp at what they saw. Naruto Uzumaki, the dead-last drop out of their graduating class who couldn't even produce a decent clone, had created a whole bunch of copies of himself and none looked like they were dying.

"Well this is a surprise" said Asuma blowing out some smoke "I heard that you had actually failed your test because you failed at making a single clone. Yet here you are with a whole bunch of clones" the Jounin had an unimpressed look on his face "but what good are illusions if the user can't fight?"

"I'll show you what I'm made of" said one of the clones.

"I'll take that packet from you…" said another clone.

"And you'll have no choice but to pass me!" said one more clone punching his left hand with is right "Get him!" with that all the clones descended upon Asuma in an effort to take the pack cigarettes from him.

Naruto's team-mates watched in amazement as the clones he had produced were actually trading blows with Asuma which meant that they were real!

'How did the Dobe do that?!' the two thought in amazement watching their team-mate and his clones fight their sensei, who didn't even look like he was breaking a sweat.

Asuma dodged a punch from one clone and grabbed the out stretched arm. The Jounin then proceeded to fling the clone at a few clones that were running at him from behind, hoping to surprise attack him.

The clones turned into smoke from the impact. The sudden smoke screen allowed 5 clones to try and surprise Asuma. However the Jounin was ready for the attack and grabbed one of the clones, who tried to cut his pocket with a kunai. Asuma spun around and threw that clone into another clone well he also threw the kunai at the one next to it.

The three clones turned into smoke and their brethren didn't allow the sacrifice to be in vain. The two clones remaining of the five tried to attack Asuma from either side.

The Jounin jumped up at the last minute and grabbed both clones on top of their heads. He then proceeded to push the two into one another making them head-butt one another.

A smoke cloud surrounded Asuma obscuring him from sight. The Jounin walked out of the cloud with a bored look on his face. The minute he left the cover that the cloud provided he was faced with a flying Naruto heading towards him head first.

Asuma dodged the flying clone by ducking but he didn't count on another clone sliding along the ground and kicking Asuma in the gut. The Jounin grunted at the pain and winced. But he recovered quickly enough to catch the punch thrown at him from the same clone.

The bearded Jounin lifted the clone up by the fist and slammed him on the ground behind him. The clone gasped in pain but didn't turn into smoke. It was the real Naruto. The area was quiet save for the laboured panting from Naruto on the ground. Asuma had defeated all of his clones and he didn't look like he broke a sweat.

"I gotta admit" Asuma blew some smoke into Naruto's face making the blond boy wave his hand to blow the smoke away "to have mastered that Jutsu in a night is very impressive, but like I said what good is a clone if the original is subpar in their fighting ability?"

Naruto could barely form any words at the moment so he settled on glaring hot daggers at his sensei.

Fang over Fang

Two blurs shot out of the bushes toward Asuma, who grabbed Naruto and dodged to the side. The two tornados slammed into the area where Asuma had been standing. The tornados kicked up dust as they dug into the ground.

When the dust settled Kiba and Akamaru stood there with Kiba in his family's Taijutsu style and Akamaru bearing his teeth at Asuma.

The Jounin placed a worn out looking Naruto against a tree and turned to face his second Genin with as much enthusiasm as when he fought Naruto.

"Do you think that you're going to do better than your team-mate who, might I add, actually was able to land a solid blow on me" Kiba growled at Asuma.

"Don't compare me to him" he pointed to the blond under the shade of the tree "I'm much better than him!"

Asuma raised a brow and knocked some ash off his cigarette "then tell me, did you know that if it wasn't for Naruto you would be the dead-last?" Kiba's winced and his stance faulted slightly.

That was all it took for Asuma to use a Kawarimi and exchange places with the dog lover. It was good thing too because Ino had used her family's famous Mind Transfer Jutsu to take over Asuma's body.

Ino's soul slammed into Kiba's unaware body and took over confusing the soul of the blond girl inhabiting Kiba's body now. A fist was buried in Kiba's gut and that caused Ino's soul to eject itself from the new host and return to its original one.

Ino winced at the phantom pain of having Asuma punch the body her soul had inhabited. A side effect of her family's Jutsu.

Ino didn't have very long to get her bearings because Asuma appeared next to her and placed his hand on back. That was all it took for Ino to feel like her body suddenly weighed a ton.

Asuma stood in front of the Genin of Team Seven with a disappointed look on his face. You could tell how disappointed he was because he wasn't smoking.

"Do you know how long it took me to render all of you helpless?" the three refused to answer his question out of guilt "10 minutes. It took me 10 minutes to beat your whole team" the Jounin sighed in annoyance "let's go over why you three were unable to do anything, to so much as scrape the pocket where your goal lay.

"First of all, Kiba" the browned haired boy refused to look at his sensei "you're too easy to rile up. One sentence and you're agitated enough that your enemy will be able to take full advantage of you. Just like I did"

The Inuzuka growled in annoyance but didn't say anything.

"Next is Ino" the girl winced "You have little to no tactics when it comes to catching the enemy off guard. Do you know what the downside to your family's Jutsu is? Your body is vulnerable well it is soul-less. I could very well have held your body hostage"

The Yamanaka just kept her eyes locked onto the ground in front of her.

"Lastly is Naruto" the blond boy just glared at Asuma with tired eyes "I got only one thing to ask you" Asuma crouched so he was looking the boy in the eyes "did you eat anything since yesterday morning?" it was a sincere question but the serious look in Asuma's eyes spoke volumes.

Ino and Kiba's heads whipped towards Naruto in shock. The boy had had nothing to eat, even though their sensei told them to have something to eat that morning? What made it worse was the fact that he hadn't eaten since yesterday morning.

Asuma sighed tiredly "and I'm guessing you only got 2 hours sleep as well" he guessed.

Naruto turn his head so that he wouldn't have to look his sensei or his team-mates in the eyes. Asuma hung his head and groaned.

"You know what?" he stood up and got a cigarette from the packet that the team was supposed to retrieve from him "I'm going give you three one more shot" the three looked at him with hopeful looks on their faces "but if you don't realise what the purpose of this test is when it's over I'm not gonna hesitate to fail you" the three gulped at the threatening tone that Asuma used.

The Jounin looked towards Naruto, who looked like all hell had been on his back and closed his eyes with a sigh.

"Naruto" the blond opened his half-lidded eyes "I'm going to let you go and have something to eat. Just be back here before 12" Naruto blinked in surprise and grinned at the man.

"Thanks Asuma-sensei!" his face dropped after he had a thought "but I don't have any money on me" the jounin reached into his pocket and took out a wad of cash, which he placed in Naruto's hand.

"Here. That should cover the cost of at least 3 bowls of ramen" Naruto looked at his sensei with stars in his eyes.

"Wow! Thanks Asuma-sensei!" the blond boy got to his feet before running out of the training ground.

When Naruto was out of ear shot the man turned to the remaining members of Team 7 and a disappointed look appeared on his face. The two felt like they wanted to sink into the earth to escape the look their sensei was giving them.

"I'm not done with you two" he crossed his arms "I didn't want to say this in front of Naruto but the main thing that I have a problem with is your blatant disrespect for your team-mate" the two looked confused and that made Asuma even more disappointed.

"Do you two know how hypocritical you are being in your treatment to Naruto? Both of you talk about how you dislike people who pick on others for no reason-" Ino avoided eye contact "and those that abandon their friends" Kiba gritted his teeth at having his own words thrown into his face.

"I'm going let you two in on a little secret. Naruto actually did the right thing to reach out to you two for help. It could have helped you two to avoid having this lecture. Yet you two blew him off and shoved the one thing in his face that is sensitive to Naruto" at their confused looks Asuma blew smoke into their faces annoying them both.

"You threw the fact that you two have family to help you train, into his face" Ino's eyes widened in shock and she actually felt her heart break a little "Naruto has had to rely on himself to train or to figure out things about life with little to no guidance" Kiba clenched his fists at the what Asuma was telling him, it was all true and he knew it. Even Akamaru was depressed.

"He won't admit it because he's stubborn, but Naruto wasn't just reaching out to you two to help you guys get ready for this test. No, he actually wanted your help with his training so he wouldn't drag either of you down, because Naruto knows what it's like to be at the bottom looking up" Asuma dropped the finished cigarette on the ground and stomped on it.

"So get your act together and put some faith in someone else besides yourselves"

Next Chapter coming up!