Heart of Gold: A Naruto Story
Chapter II: The Power of Probability
"Team 10," said Iruka from his place in the front of the classroom, "Naruto Uzumaki, Yamanaka Ino, and Nara Shikamaru." It was the day of the genin placements. Every student who had passed the genin exam was there, awaiting their team assignments. At the announcement of his squad, Naruto looked up surprised. Shikamaru and Ino both looked confused as well.
"Iruka-sensei," asked Ino, "Shouldn't Chouji be on our team, instead of Naruto? My father said-"
"Ino," spoke Iruka, "The team placements are decided by the Hokage directly, so please don't argue. The decisions are final." Ino nodded, unwilling to argue further. She wasn't terribly displeased; Naruto was the rookie of the year, after all. She still felt a little miffed though. She, Chouji, and Shikamaru had all practiced teamwork together for years, counting on the fact that they would be placed in a genin team together. While she ruminated, Iruka finished calling out the team assignments.
"Your Jounin senseis will be here shortly. I wish you all good luck on completing the Konoha Ninja Academy." With that the teacher who had taught them for three years left.
Naruto looked up from his place at his desk. His appearance had changed dramatically over the years. He was now the tallest student in class, at 158cm, or around 5 feet two inches. His muscles were very defined, and he had let his spiky blond hair grow long and wild; it reached almost to the small of his back, and covered his shoulders. It was held away from his face by a metal quarter-helm with a Konoha symbol etched into it, much like the Nidaime Hokage wore. He had found it, somewhat rusty and covered in grime, in an old trunk in the house he had started using all those years ago. He had shined it up and scoured off the rust spots, and now it looked as good as new. Before he graduated, he had worn a simple black headband to tie back his hair.
His clothes were made of simple yet durable fabrics. He had learned several years ago that few of the clothing merchants in Konoha would allow him to shop at their stores, and the rest overcharged him, so Naruto was forced to learn to sow and make his own clothing. Caravans came through Konoha often enough that he was able to purchase all of the fabric he needed to make his copies of his preferred outfit. His everyday-wear consisted of a black pair of pants with a triple-reinforced rear, shins, and knees, a black long-sleeved shirt with reinforced elbows and upper arms, and a pair of brown leather fingerless gloves that he had made out of deer hide. He had sewn a thin metal plate onto the back of each glove, to air in blocking attacks. For footwear, he wore a pair of black ninja sandals which were a gift from the Sandaime Hokage. Over his outfit, he wore a set of blue samurai-like armor which he had found in the same trunk as his helmet. It covered his torso, groin, shoulders, and backside. It was made out of some unknown material which looked like wood from a distance but felt almost like a sea shell to the touch. It was incredibly durable; Naruto couldn't score it with a kunai when he tried.
When Naruto started wearing the armor last year (that's when it finally fit him, though it was still quite large on his frame) several people had gaped at him, though no one said anything. He didn't yet realize that his outfit was a near-copy of the Nidaime Hokage's. He wouldn't have cared even if someone told him; it was what he had, and he thought it made him look awesome. Besides, it was incredibly practical. Since he started wearing the armor he hadn't even received a bruise in any of his spars at the academy.
Naruto also carried a weapon. Strapped across his back (when he stood) or leaning against his chair (when he sat) was a traditional Japanese polearm called a naginata. He had found the two foot long katana-like blade amongst much clutter in the attic crawlspace of his house, and had restored it using steel wool, metal polish and elbow grease. He had fashioned the six foot long handle himself, out of seasoned hardwood from a tree he felled. He had paid one of the ninja weaponsmiths in town over half a year's pay from his orphan's stipend to engrave seals on it which made both the blade and the pole nearly unbreakable, and the blade ever-sharp and rustproof. He had spied on the weaponsmith as he engraved the seals, and he had laboriously reproduced them on all of his kunai and shuriken. There were already seals on his armor and helmet that he suspected might account for their incredible durability, so he didn't mess with them. He had no understanding of what the fuuinjutsu meant or how it functioned, but that didn't seem to stop it from working.
The blond jinchurikki had practiced every day for two years with his naginata, which he affectionately named Maru-chan, developing his own style. Most ninjas didn't carry polearms, preferring short agile weapons that allowed them to move quickly. Being a user of water techniques, which were mainly defensive or support techniques, Naruto knew that he was at his best the further he kept his enemies from his body, so a long weapon suited him well. Besides, he always had his kunai as backup.
The young teenagers waited for their teachers, mostly in silence, and after a short while many of them started showing up. Among the first was the jounin-sensei for Team 10, Sarutobi Asuma. The bearded man quickly introduced himself, and then asked the students to follow him so they could get acquainted.
Shortly, Asuma led them to a family style restaurant, which was open-air, taking advantage of Konoha's warm year-round climate. Asuma offered to pay for their lunch, so the four ordered food and drinks.
Asuma spoke, "Well, I've got some good news, and some bad news for you kids." The three genin looked at him intently. "The good news is that you're all officially genin, and unless you screw up really badly, or are physco or something, you're going to be ninjas after this. The bad news is that only about three to fifteen students a year get to be placed on teams under a jounin like me. All of the graduates get to be tested, but most of us jounin are needed for high-ranking missions and stuff, so only a limited number can be committed teachers. The genin that don't pass the tests given to them by their prospective teachers will go on to be placed in either an administrative post, a specialist position like medic or espionage, or on the reserve list depending on their skills and talents. Most of these ninjas will never rise beyond chunin, and unless they luck out and get placed in ANBU or with the hunter-nins, they will have little chance to learn new techniques or grow in strength unless they're part of a clan or something."
The genin in Team 10 were all flabbergasted. Shikamaru looked surprised, no mean feat. Ino went pale. Naruto just looked angry. "Why the hell weren't we told this earlier on?!" asked the jinchurikki, "I know a lot of people who would have trained harder back at the academy if they knew they were going to be tested like this. All of us just assumed we would have a jounin to show us the ropes."
Asuma nodded, "That is an excellent question. The reason why you were all unaware of this fact is that it was intentionally kept from you. We fostered an environment in the academy which allowed the strongest to rise to the top and the weakest to sink to the bottom. The ones who studied just enough to get by would be mediocre ninjas anyway, so they belong in the rank-and-file. The strong ones and the smart ones are the people we want to get the best training. The test I'm going to give you tomorrow will tell me if you have what it takes to be ninjas worthy of the tutelage of a jounin, or if you belong with the average ninjas. You have already proven you have the necessary skills to be able to take my test, that's part of what the academy exam was for. Now, I get to find out if you have that special extra something which separates you from those of average abilities."
"Troublesome," said Shikamaru. Ino nodded in agreement.
Naruto thought quietly for several minutes. While he was lost in thought, their food arrived. He had ordered pork buns, one of his favorites. To drink, he had green tea, a luxury for him, as grocers were as liable to sell to him as to beat him with a broomstick, and tea leaves did not grow wild in Fire Country.
Asuma took a bite of cheeseburger, then spoke, forcing his brooding students out of their thoughts. "Well, we'll be together for a day longer, no matter what. I'd like to get to know you three a little better. Why don't you introduce yourselves to me by telling me your names, some of your favorite things, something unique about yourself, and your specialty in the ninja arts. I'll go first." The older man cleared his throat. "My name is Sarutobi Asuma. My favorite thing is to eat a leisurely meal in the company of friends, though I also enjoy playing shoji and go. One unique thing about me is that I served as a guardian for the daimyo for a time. My specialty is close combat using my trench knives." He smiled at his students. "You next," he said, pointing at Ino.
"Well, my name is Yamanaka Ino, and my favorite things in the world are flowers, though I do like Sasuke-kun quite a bit. One thing that makes me unique is my dashing good looks and flawless skin. Information gathering and infiltration is my specialty."
Naruto spoke next, without prompting. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, and my absolute favorite thing is to relax in a hot bath for as long as I'm able to. I also like to learn new things. I supposed the thing that makes me unique is that I passed the academy with the highest scores they've ever seen, in every category except genjutsu. I would definitely say that suiton ninjutsu is my specialty, as those comprise most of my techniques."
Asuma looked interested. "It's pretty impressive for someone who's not even a genin to know elemental techniques. How many do you know, if I might ask?"
Naruto hesitated for a moment. "I know fifteen different water-element techniques, twelve that I learned from scrolls and three that I created myself. I also created one non-elemental technique."
Asuma looked delighted. "Creating techniques at your age? I'd say you're going to go far, if they even remotely good. Most ninja leave this life without creating a single technique, but the greats always make at least one. I hope you can pass tomorrow, kid." He paused to take a drink of his cola, then pointed at Shikamaru. "Now, you, shy kid, tell us about yourself.
"Mendosuke … My name is Nara Shikamaru. I prefer watching the clouds in the sky more than anything else in this troublesome existence. I'm unique because I'm apparently the only person in Konoha under twenty who understands how crazy and dangerous being a ninja actually is. And before you ask, the reason I chose to become a ninja is because it's the least troublesome job I could think of. My specialty is planning tactics and strategy either in advance or on the fly, and using my family techniques to implement them."
Asuma nodded. "As expected from a Nara." Shikamaru sighed, and reached for another piece of the watermelon he had ordered. Apparently he was quite fond of the stuff.
The four quickly finished their meal. Near the end, Asuma gave them the details on where and when to meet him for the test the next day. They were each to bring their full gear, and to arrive at training field 22 at 9am precisely. Asuma warned them that being even a minute late, or more than fifteen minutes early would disqualify them from taking his test. He explained to them that in the course of their duties they would be expected to adhere to this rule, as punctuality was extremely important to ninja, especially as they rose in rank. After he said that, the four of them heard an extremely loud sneeze, coming from the general vicinity of the Ninja Academy. Asuma didn't seem surprised.
The four broke their meeting after that, returning to their homes to await their judgment on the morrow.
&~&~&~&~&~&
Author's Note: I think it went pretty well, though there is no action yet. I'm still in the "set-up" stages at this point. Expect some awesomeness next chapter. I have great plans for Naruto's team mates. In cannon, Ino and Shikamaru are somewhat weak as well as completely specialized, despite the advantages they've had due to their clans. This Naruto is not going to let them be weak. Please read and review. Reviews are like candy to me, and I definitely have a sweet tooth.'