A/N: I don't own Naruto in any fashion. It would seem rather absurd to me if someone actually believed I own a manga franchise. This chapter though we get a look into some of the team building/psyche-evaluations/training of Team 0.
Underground- Tobirama's Secret Training Ground
Time was hard to guess for the genin as Kakashi awoke them. Soreness and fatigue clung to them as they rolled from under their blankets and stood from the bedrolls. Sasuke was rubbing sleep from his eyes as he trudged to the edge of the earthen walls that blocked the sleeping area from the training grounds. "Kakashi-sensei, where are the bathrooms?"
Kakashi looked up from the large oaken table he had taken a seat at. "The restroom is up on the next flight of stairs and is set up a lot like the ANBU operatives locker rooms. One room half dedicated to toilets and half to showers. Only problem is that you boys and Sakura have to share that one bathroom. Have fun with that. You four also have ten minutes to use the restroom and change with the clothes that were brought in this morning before training." Sakura's face easily went from an already pale shade to a paste white as she overheard Kakashi's declaration. All four went sprinting to the restroom to try to wrest control of it before any inconvenience could happen. Kakashi laughed to himself and continued writing on a sheet of paper.
A yell of frustration from Sakura alerted Kakashi as well as Danzo to the outcome of the footrace. Danzo came down the last few steps and meandered over to the far wall of the training room. Shadows started to gather around the man as several minutes went by and Naruto appeared from the stairwell. He walked over to Kakashi and stood off to the side of the table. "What are you writing Kakashi-sensei?"
"It's something I'd be glad to tutor you in young Naruto. It's my humble apologies to the mighty log for sacrificing one of its own on my behalf yesterday with the team's testing. I can give you a more thorough breakdown of it on the days you train with me in ninjutsu. Hokage-sama should be here soon so that we can start our daily training and mission." Kakashi stood as Danzo pushed himself off the wall and they were joined by the rest of the team.
Sakura was a bright shade of red as she followed a ways behind Sasuke and Chiisai. "Um, Danzo-sensei, are we going to be training again so soon?"
Danzo smirked as he took a step from the wall and another shadow took the place he had just vacated. "Oh, yes, we are going to be training again. The schedule will be the same as any ANBU recruit would be going through to be accepted. Nine hour training, two hour break, five hours training, and then six hours sleep. Today we start with any specialization and behavioral management training needed for the four of you. Sakura, you will follow this operative to meet with the hospital's head med-nin. Chiisai, you will head with this operative to one of the top levels of this training facility where Hokage-sama is waiting on you. Naruto, you will go to training with Kakashi today. Sasuke, you're with me." The two mentioned operatives moved forward, going towards the stairs with Chiisai and Sakura following closely behind them. Naruto and Sasuke were witnesses to five more operatives appearing from various hiding spaces as they all used the Henge technique to look like Team 7. Kakashi then put his hand on Naruto's shoulder and shunshined to another level while Danzo stood next to Sasuke and readied the shunshin to travel for behavioral modification.
Sakura- Approaching Konoha Hospital
The Ne ANBU pulled up just short of the park area surrounding the hospital. He handed Sakura her mask and a ninja suit with hood to cover her regular clothes. "From here on out you will wear this when we leave the training grounds. If your teacher here at the hospital asks, your name is Ni. You will not be divulging any personal information. If you are around anyone that might recognize you, you are to end contact with them as soon as possible and make sure that they cannot identify you. Serve the leaf well, genin."
He shunshined out of sight and Sakura started to shrug the black ensemble on. The sunlight reflected off of her mask. The devilish smirk played off of the burnt brown outline and cream coloration of teeth. The mask was so unlike anything that she had ever seen in her shinobi training. "I have no idea what this could all lead to." She settled the mask over her face and continued on into the park. The hospital stood as the sole thing taking up the skyline in front of her. She trudged slowly up to the building and approached the entry desk. "Hello, I am here to see the head medic-nin. I believe he is expecting me."
The nurse attendant looked up at her and took in the appearance of Sakura in her guise. She shrugged her shoulders to herself and said, "He should be on the top floor in his office. You can ask the attendant up there which one it is. Stairs are to your left." Sakura quickly thanked the nurse before heading towards the stairs and the beginning of her medic training for the day.
Sasuke- Undisclosed Root Hideout
Sasuke sat in a chair that was bolted to the floor with a table, also bolted, in front of him. Danzo sat there with his lone visible eye closed shut in concentration. Sasuke wasn't sure what was happening but it was an odd way to be spending time when he could be training. A man with auburn hair and light green eyes walked in and took the seat next to Danzo. "Danzo-sama, we are ready to begin."
"Ah, Fu, you may begin young Sasuke's behavioral synopsis and augmentation." Sasuke's eyes opened wide as he looked at Danzo and the man now known as Fu. Fu nodded to Danzo and his hands wove through the signs for a Yamanaka technique. Sasuke tried to move from his seat but black descended before his eyes and his head bounced off of the table.
"I'm in Danzo-sama. I'll start with the memories around the time of the Uchiha massacre. What are your instructions for behavioral alteration?"
"Don't change anything yet. Just look into why he is behaving the way he is. I want to know what Itachi said to him at the time of the massacre. If anything interesting comes up just say something and we will make a decision for the best of the village from there." It was always odd to hear Fu's speaking mannerisms from another person for Danzo, but sometimes you had to take the odd to get the best results. "Oh, and after this session is over, contact Torune so that the two of you can run young Sasuke here through Root training course beta. I will be watching and expecting the best."
"Hai, Danzo-sama."
Chiisai- Hokage Tower
The mask itched against the skin of his face, but Chiisai just grit his teeth and continued to stand at attention next to the cat-masked ANBU in front of the Hokage as he finished debriefing one of the other genin teams as they had come in to pick up their first D-ranked mission. The genin kept cutting their glances towards the towering ANBU operative and, to them, the midget with a grimacing oni-mask that had gleaming fangs protruding from the slim lips.
It was a weird feeling for Chiisai to see classmates from the academy and them not being able to recognize him. The thought that ANBU would only be like this turned up to a factor of a thousand because while on duty his mask was to never leave his face flickered across his mind. He smiled underneath the mask and, for kicks, tried to take his best pose for trying to intimidate Team 10. The jounin in charge of the team noticed this, and Chiisai almost bowed his head in embarrassment when he noticed the lop-sided grin grow on the jounin's face as the genin in front of him grouped together just a slight bit more. The Hokage finished the brief and dismissed Team 10 to their regular duties of back to back D-rank missions. "Step forward, San. I have a lot to discuss with you this morning before we leave for training."
"Hai, Sandaime-sama." Chiisai was quick to snap to attention. The cat-masked ANBU still stood vigil just over his left shoulder, but he wasn't worried. The view of the Sandaime Hokage sitting behind his large wooden desk was slowly being ingrained to his brain as the sun streamed from the large windows in front of him leaving Sarutobi as the only thing he could fully make out in his vision.
"Now, San, what do you know of your parents?" The Hokage watched for any body language that would give away whatever Chiisai might try to hide.
"I know that we were last of our family because of some of the tribal shinobi clan disputes in the northwest of Fire Country. They had been warring with a couple of the cross border clans when it, I mean the attack, happened. My father brought my mother to Konoha after the rest of the family was killed and she was poisoned while they escaped. He traded their services of becoming Konoha ninja in return of safe haven, medical treatment, and the promise of diplomatic immunity if any of the bordering clans sought retribution while they were out. I don't really remember anything else because I was three when they went out on a mission and never came back."
"Very impressive. I can now tell you a bit about what happened on that mission that they never came back from since you are of age now. Your parents were serving as forward scouts to an ANBU mission into Earth Country. They were selected because of their knowledge of the area that was to be traveled. They were killed after the mission was complete and the ANBU squad was escaping back here. They held off several pursuing squads after handing off their Konoha headbands and once again donned the family crest. Your father left one copy of the crest with me for you when it was the proper time. I am glad to say it is now time for me to give it over." The Hokage handed over a dark, ashen grey armband that had a stylized bear-print that seemed to be made of a purple flame. "You may wear this as either San or your normal identity but not both."
"Thank you, Hokage-sama. I live to serve the will of my Hokage for the betterment of the village." Chiisai bowed as he received the armband. He looked down and ran his thumb over the outline of the crest before testing the band's strength in his hands. His thoughts were jumbled in his mind but one thing was clear. His clan had been a shinobi clan. His dream was to be the best shinobi he could be. He tied band to the left arm of the black jumpsuit he wore as San and bowed to Sarutobi one final time.
Hiruzen smiled at Chiisai and stood from the desk. He gestured for the cat-masked ANBU to depart and stepped closer to the window. "Today, we will begin training in the art of bojutsu. I, myself, am an avid practitioner of the style. Follow me to the top of the Hokage Monument and we will begin training up there at Training Ground 79." Chiisai nodded his ascent and quickly followed after Sarutobi through the office window that had been left open.
Naruto- Tobirama's Training Ground
Naruto sat cross-legged as he listened to Kakashi lecture on the importance of the basics and honoring the sacredness of the substitution technique and the log involved. He was mesmerized by the lecture and for once didn't have a problem sitting still through the explanation. As Kakashi finished, Naruto raised his hand, and at Kakashi's nod asked a question. "Kakashi-sensei, why can't all lectures at the academy be as good as this?"
"Well, not all deal with such an important topic. Now remember what I said about holding the henge and kawarimi in high regard. Those two techniques have toppled more leaders than other shinobi would like to think. Also, respect the log and the log will protect you. I also believe it is time for you to start the part of training that we are scheduled to handle this fine morning. First, we will head up to the equipment room about half-way up. I will give you a run-down about what is important to wear as a ninja in Team 0. Also, you will begin wearing the mask anytime you train with me and the others and go by the codename Yon. Sasuke will be Ichi, Sakura will be Ni, and Chiisai will be San. These names are to be used from this point on whenever you guys are training or on missions. Around the village, however, you are strictly only allowed to use your given names and not allude to the codename at any time. We will finish today's session off with some blade techniques for your knives and taijutsu refining." Naruto nodded along and quickly fetched his mask off his bunk as Kakashi finished.
They quickly ascended the stairs to the equipment room and Kakashi noticed the way that Naruto had the dual sheaths placed along his back. One had the handle of the kukri knife on his right shoulder for quick access on his right hand. When he drew it, it would have the blade facing up. The other was placed just to the left of his spine with the handle pointed towards the left hip. "Ok, first off, the orange jumpsuit has to go. It's fine for around the village, but training and missions require something more shinobi like. Head in and grab the things you'll think you need. I'll be right here if you have any questions."
"I actually have one to start, Kakashi-sensei. Can I have other weapons then just kunai, shuriken, and the kukri knives?"
"Yeah, you can, it would be highly irregular but if you see something other than the standard kunai and shuriken on one of the racks go ahead and grab it. I'll give you a yes or no on whether they would work with the training you are already doing or not."
Naruto rushed into the equipment room and started searching high and low through everything available. Kakashi watched from the doorway as Naruto started to collect several types of clothing and weapons. He ducked down at the doorway to try to get a better look at some of the piled equipment but everything was a congealed mess. A second later the orange jumpsuit was thrown towards the door from behind a rack of clothing Naruto had just gone behind. "Keep that safe, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi chuckled as he decided to throw a joke in his student's direction. "If by safe, you mean torch it with a highly effective Katon technique, I will." Kakashi heard a thump and a mumbled curse as Naruto heard what was said. He laughed harder as Naruto came stumbling out from behind the rack. He took a good look at his student, though, and was struck silent while taking in the sight of the new Naruto. He stood in the regular shinobi sandals but they were a heavy smoke grey instead of the usual blue. His pants were now regular ANBU style with bandages binding them from the knee down. Two larger than normal black kunai pouches sat on each leg while the usual rucksack attached to the belt was set askew so that it hung lower and to the left while another belt held the pants up with the rucksack sitting normally on the right side. His shirt was a muscle shirt with long-sleeved mesh armor underneath. Over that he had a set of chest armor that closely resembled a vest but had samurai-like shoulder guards and the neck was higher so that it ended just beneath Naruto's chin, also armored so that it would take more to aim for the vital areas in his neck. His arms had three-quarter length gauntlets that were banded twice on the forearms. Finally his mask was on his face and a small hood attached to the neck of his armor so that he could quickly pull it over his hair. The mask itself was black with the lenses tinted a menacing orange, a bloodied sneer was adorned for the mouth, and the tongue was stuck out of the mask between the two lower fangs also bloodied.
"How do you like it, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto's upbeat voice came out muffled and slightly distorted from the mask. This served to snap Kakashi back to the present as he had been seeing phantoms of past ANBU, Hokage, and high jounin overlap Naruto. Kakashi shook his head and then ruffled Naruto's hair.
"I think this will do you well, Yon. Now you fit in with all the other scary ANBU killers that wonder the mythology of Konoha. Now what other weapons were you going to add to your collection?"
Naruto unsnapped one of the kunai pouches on each leg and drew out a long knife that heavily resembled the regular kunai, but were bulkier and had more weight to them. "I find these in the back stack of kunai but they aren't normal you know. I also grabbed a few of the collapsing fuma shuriken with three and four blades apiece." He then paused in his recounting as reached down into the equipment pile he had left before and shuffled aside many of the mesh armor tops and cloaks to drag one more piece of weaponry off of the ground. "I also like these, but I haven't been able to find out what they would classify as though, Kakashi-sensei."
Kakashi took the proffered weapon and started to analyze it. It was double-edged but there was an additional curved blade sticking off from just above the hilt. A long garland of rope was attached to the base of the pommel. "Ah, a Kyoketsu-shoge. They are used much like a kusarigama, but you can only use them for pulling slashes or straight stabs though. If you want to use this, you can train in off time, but remember to only use it as a last resort because they are better used as an aid for climbing taller buildings now."
Naruto nodded and took it back before tucking it into the right rucksack on his person. Naruto then moved to grab a backpack off the wall and throw in the combined pile of equipment while collecting a few scrolls and a few boxes of explosive notes. "Ok, Kakashi-sensei, I'm ready to go." Kakashi nodded and led him back down to the base floor of the training grounds.
"Yon, we will go forward with taijutsu and the kukri knives, but first we need to spar so I can begin to gauge what style would best be suited for you." At that declaration, Naruto cast aside his backpack and quickly moved to in front of Kakashi and took the Academy style stance. "Let's begin."
Hiruzen, Danzo, Kakashi- Top floor of Tobirama Training Ground
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-san, I believe that they are well worn out from the day. What is going to be the directive for tomorrow?" Kakashi was casually leaning against the stone wall that led out of the tunnel with the last vestiges of an afternoon sun casting light down upon him. Danzo stood further down into the room so that the light was less around him while Hiruzen stood between the two.
"Tomorrow, Naruto will be coming with me. Sasuke has started his behavioral modification, but we cannot push it more than once or twice a week. I will start toning down some of that over-enthusiasm that young Uzumaki has so that he will make a credible operative for the village. After the morning session, I will have him running the beginning of Futon technique so that he won't kill himself with Futon: Shinkuha." Danzo's lone eye was squinted in concentration as his mind wandered over what had been taking place that day.
"Sakura-san and Chiisai-kun will be spending the day with you tomorrow, Kakashi. I instructed Chiisai in bojutsu, and Sakura can only meet with the head medic three days out of the week. Focus on equipping them like you did Naruto today. Refine some taijutsu maneuvers for Chiisai and stamina training for Sakura. I will have Sasuke and I will educate him on how to weave his attacks together so that he can begin to understand how all of the Katon techniques interweave. That should also start the basics for when it would be optimal for him to have genjutsu cast during a fight." Hiruzen had his head bowed as he spoke.
Kakashi noticed a scroll in his hand that was obviously holding the majority of the Hokage's attention. "A border report, Hokage-sama?"
"No, no, nothing from any of the border patrols. It is Jiraiya-san. He has been starting to report some troubling information about Orochimaru, a rebellion in Amegakure, and a general unease in the Five Great Nations. These things started to contribute why we built the teams we did this year, but it seems that it might be getting even worse than we originally thought. We will have to send a fake Team 7 into the Chunin Exams this year at this rate. Team 0 will have to pose as an unaligned ninja team that was given exemption to the three person team buildup because of the high entry fees for freelance shinobi. The fake Team 7 will just have bunshin of some sort composing the three boys and we will give the impression that Sakura renounced her attempt this year so that she could do remedial medic training." Kakashi and Danzo nodded along as Hiruzen stated these things. It wouldn't be the first time that some freelance shinobi had tried to partake in the Chunin Exams to boost their fame and attract worthwhile clientele.
"When will they start taking actual missions?" Kakashi's eye showed a lazy attitude, but even with that the two veterans knew better.
"They will do a few D-ranks in a couple weeks after training hard. I think a Tora mission or two will help with team-building outside of the night training sessions that will focus primarily on that topic. A C-rank should open up for them in about two months' time. By then they should be ready for it. The Chunin Exam is still six months away. They'll have the prerequisite by then." Hiruzen laid out the facts in an even tone for the two fellow senseis. Danzo moved closer to the other two while Hiruzen had been talking of missions.
"ANBU of all branches will also be stepping in to help train while also boosting the training regime of off duty operatives. Kakashi-san, you will be going on a daily rotation starting next week with all of them. One day will be focused on one of the genin and so on. Sakura will be attending medic training exclusively every other day throughout the week and then having the weekend and off days here to train either with Team 0, yourself, or one of the ANBU. Chiisai will circulate between the three of us and ANBU. Sasuke will circulate purely between the three of us and behavioral alteration. Naruto will have the heaviest schedule. The three of us will have a heavy hand in his training, but ANBU will also have a large amount of training sunk into him. We cannot allow him to go so heavily untrained."
Kakashi nodded to what was said and silently agreed with what was brought up. "At your pleasure then, I will be leaving to go resupply from my own personal stock for the exercise tonight. I'll be back in three hours."
"Don't be late." A cloud of smoke accompanied the directive and Hiruzen turned to Danzo as they both started to slowly advance down the tunnel. Shadows followed in their steps, but the ANBU operatives could not detect what the conversation was.
Naruto, Chiisai, Sasuke, and Sakura- Bottom Level Tobirama Training Ground
Naruto sat on his bunk as he watched the other three genin of his team carry out their activities that eluded his knowledge. Sasuke sat on the top of the dividing wall as he ran a small stone along some shuriken blades and had a spool of ninja wire close at hand. Sakura was lying on her bed with her feet kicked up into the air behind her. Two books were opened in front of her and she had a small notebook that was being scribbled in as she went about studying. Chiisai was also seated on his bunk with his gi-type shirt off and applying a medicinal cream to his upper arms and shoulders.
"How'd training go, Chiisai?" Naruto spoke up with only the intention to break the silence that had gathered over the four. Chiisai stopped applying the cream and looked over at Naruto. Naruto stopped spinning one of his kukri knives in his hand with the intent to be able to switch grips almost instantaneously.
"Hokage-sama is a hard taskmaster but fair in it. He still deserves the title of Kami no Shinobi. He beat me to a pulp in sparring without even trying."
"That's because you all are weak." Sasuke's assertion startled Sakura into looking up from her books and forced the other boys into a grimace. "I can't believe I'm getting paired with you guys. You'll only hold me back."
"Yeah right, Sasuke. If anything I'm going to be stronger than you'll ever dream of being. I'm going to be the greatest Hokage and the best ninja there ever was!" Naruto grinned widely and his eyes squinted to combat the rather sour look on Sasuke's face that was directed down at the others. His grin was interrupted when a fist impacted off the back of his head and sent him face first into the pillow of his bunk.
"Shut up, Naruto-baka! You'll never compare to Sasuke-kun." The fan-girl in Sakura had acted almost instinctively to the challenge of Sasuke's superiority, but Sakura's rational mind was trying to pick through what she had just done. 'Naruto may be stupid, but we are all stuck down here with only each other to spend time with. I can't be constantly trying to beat on anyone or they'll stop spending time around me and I'll be all alone.' She grimaced as she saw the welt start to develop on Naruto's head and Chiisai was looking slightly upset as he stood from his bunk to move to Naruto's aid. "Sasuke-kun, wouldn't you like to train with me?"
"Hn." Sasuke grunted and then rolled backwards off of the divider. The sound of his sandals touching ground preceded the sound of sprinting footsteps heading up the tunnel to one of the six levels above. Sakura looked dejected and Naruto instantly felt sorrow for his boyhood crush.
He jumped up in front of her and started waving his arms in a wide circle so that Sakura was forced to lend her attention his way. "Sakura-chan, you can always train with me." He saw the look that started to cross Sakura's face as his statement came to an end. "Oh, and Chiisai. You can train with Chiisai and me. That way we'll make an awesome team that Sasuke will have to work with." Sakura nodded her head and picked up her kunai/shuriken pouch off of her bunk and followed the two boys out into the middle of the open area. Naruto instantly created a Kage Bunshin and started to square off against Sakura and Chiisai. "I bet I'll win this spar!" With that declaration all hell broke loose as flying doppelgangers and weapons were sent around the room for the next hour or so.
ANBU operatives, Hiruzen, and Danzo- Second Level (Two hours later)
Two ANBU members were kneeled in front of Hiruzen and Danzo. The two had just exited a small room off of the main chamber and night had fallen heavily outside. Torches burned bright and illuminated only the middle of the corridor that the two men had been passing through. The two operatives in front of them had piqued their interest though as they were the ones tasked with observing the genin of Team 0 while the men had been finishing last minute work for the day and enjoying a small late dinner to discuss village events.
"Hokage-sama, Danzo-sama, Team 0 has made an interesting development that we did not see coming while you were away." The masked figures were still insistently looking towards the floor with clasped fists resting on the floor and the other fists over their hearts.
"Go on with your report, Boar." Danzo ordered to the ANBU on the right. The ninja nodded their head and some of the tension in his posture was released.
"They are in the six hour resting period now, but they began it with a small convention of sorts. Uzumaki-san tried to start a conversation with Koguma-san to break the tension in the bunk area. Uchiha-san quickly intruded and berated his teammates on being weak. An argument broke out between Uzumaki and Uchiha, but the argument was interrupted by Haruno punching Uzumaki for disrespecting Uchiha. Koguma-san then stood from his bunk and was about to verbally accost Haruno. It degenerated from there to Haruno seeking a private situation with Uchiha-san. The Uchiha then abandoned the team to practice his shuriken techniques on Level 4. Uzumaki then turned the situation to team training for him, Koguma-san, and Haruno-san for the next hour so that they could better approach Uchiha-san's level and integrate better as a team." The ANBU broke off his explanation when Danzo raised a hand to silence him. Hiruzen then addressed the other ANBU.
"I'm guessing you followed Uchiha-kun then Rabbit."
"Hai, Hokage-sama. He went to Level 4 and practiced his shuriken technique, but became frustrated with his progress after about forty-five minutes. He then came down the tunnel and noticed his teammates sparring. He hid in the entrance to the final level to watch the ongoing interaction. From what I could see, his eyes portrayed jealousy, but I don't believe that he even realized that he was jealous of his teammates interacting. He retreated back up the tunnel some when they started to bring the extra training session to an end. He reintegrated himself back into the group as they ate a small meal of ration bars and ramen that Uzumaki handed out to the rest of the team. They then went to sleep as a team in the bunk section and await the awakening for night training in four hours." The ANBU finished his report to the Hokage and Danzo and they both dispersed back to their over-watch positions.
Danzo looked over at Hiruzen and took a few seconds to order his ideas. "I believe I will have to curb his behavioral modification to get rid of the Uchiha superiority complex and refine the inferiority complex he is starting to display so that it will drive him to train but not interfere with team dynamics."
"Hmm, yes that sounds appropriate. We will also have to downplay the revenge drive in him so that he will accept help from the team when it comes time to hunt down Itachi. Naruto also will have to have his exuberance toned down, but I think we should reaffirm the loyalty and compassion he is showing so that he knows that the team, and to a greater extent the village, come first. I think he is fixing himself as team captain amongst themselves while Sakura and Chiisai are embracing their support roles."
Danzo agreed to Hiruzen's statement and they started down the tunnel to Level 5 to finish the last vestiges of paperwork they had and prepare for the night training. "We will have to see how the handle failure or victory as a team when they go through one of the training bunkers over in ANBU Training Ground 1 tonight. Hopefully, we can see how young Uzumaki operates as a leader if we establish that he will be in charge tonight and that leadership will rotate throughout the night training."
"I agree. At least it will be fun sending a bunch of genin through the ringers that Hashirama and Tobirama-sensei put our teams through." Danzo chuckled slightly as Hiruzen started to laugh and shadow enveloped the two old war veterans.
A/N: Ok, here is another chapter. Just so you all know I appreciate any reviews, but I am glad with you all just reading my humble work. I know that it seems that it is starting rather slow but I still want to introduce the changes that will be happening in the next few chapters before I dive into the Chunin Exams. I believe I will hit the exams in about four or five chapters but it all depends on how long the Wave mission will take and whether I will throw in another C-rank or two for Team 0. I also posted a poll on my profile to get a read on what people would like to see as Naruto's second element that will start to be developed in the form of a jutsu taught in between the second and third rounds of the exam. Also, Jiraiya might be making an appearance a little sooner than everyone thinks and Kakashi's interaction with Zabuza is also going to have a change because we will get to see my take on an ANBU-like Kakashi that leads Team 0. Enjoy and I will try to appease you all with another chapter soon.
