Disclaimer: I do not in ANY WAY own Naruto or Naruto: Shippuden.
A/N: There is no excuse for no updated in a year and four months. I apologize. I've barely written anything since the last update, but I finally think I'm back and able to write again. And with that, I hope you guys enjoy this chapter!
Also, please review!
"Well, that's all I had planned for today. I'm truly happy we all shared those secrets with each other. I know it'll be awkward the first week or so knowing that we shared all this, but believe me, it'll all be worthwhile in the end. Tomorrow, we'll meet here at 8:00 AM to begin our first training session." Kurenai-sensei tells us.
To Be a Ninja (Chapter 3)-The Test
Well, to keep up with my promise of being a new Naruto, I'm actually here at our meeting spot a little early at 7:45 AM. I am not surprised to not be the only one there, but I am a bit surprised that the only other one there is Kurenai-sensei.
"Good morning, Naruto." Kurenai-sensei waves to me when she sees me.
"Good morning, sensei." I greet and politely wave back. She's sitting where she was yesterday, calmly reading a book. I sit where I was sitting yesterday and wait for my teammates. "Whatcha reading?" I ask her, and she looks over her book to me.
"Don't tell him yet, but I'm learning how to play Shogi. My partner loves the game, and when I told him Shikamaru played, he gave me this book to start learning. I thought that if he ever wanted to play but his father was busy due to his shinobi duties, he might want to play with me sometime." Kurenai-sensei says, and this already brightens up my day!
"That's awesome, Kurenai-sensei! I won't tell him. But that's so nice of you!" I say, and she smiles at me before going back to the book, which I assume is either a rule book or a book with strategies or something.
We sit in silence after that. She reads, occasionally flipping the page and I just play with my kunai and shuriken in my pouches, just to pass the time. I am pretty bored. Maybe I should start bringing some sort of backpack to keep a book or two and some spare weapons and stuff. Medicine wouldn't hurt, either. Ohh…some instant ramen would be good, too. All we would need to do is boil some water and-
"Naruto! Kurenai-sensei!" I turn my head and see that Hinata has shown up.
"Oh, Hinata, am I glad to see you! Kurenai-sensei here keeps terrible conversation!" I say, and Hinata laughs and sits next to me while Kurenai-sensei doesn't respond to my joke. "Anyway, Hinata, I have a dilemma and I think you'll be able to help." I say, and her face…gets a bit red in her cheeks. What?
"O-Oh! Sure! What is it?" She asks me, apparently a bit nervous. She's always nervous, it seems. I just don't understand girls, I guess…
"I was thinking of things to bring with me on a travelling and training bag. When I got to my instant ramen, I thought it would be perfect except for the fact that I wouldn't be able to boil water. I mean, a match wouldn't be strong enough to actually create a large enough fire, and an actual fire would give our location away to any possible enemy ninja, and I can't think of what else to do!" I explain my dilemma.
"I can solve that issue." Kurenai-sensei says, looking above her book right at us.
"How so, sensei?" Hinata asks. I'm kind of glad she's as clueless as I am…
"That's for tomorrow's first training lesson. Don't worry about it yet." Kurenai-sensei tells us, closing both eyes and smiling gently. Why do I get the feeling she's going to just be putting our questions off like that a lot?
"Don't worry about what?" I suddenly hear the voice of our up-to-now missing teammate.
"Shikamaru! We just trying to figure out how to make ramen while on missions, but Kurenai-sensei'll tell us tomorrow during training!" I say excited that the whole Team Eight is here now and that we can soon get started on our original test thing.
"…What a drag. Why do you always put everything off, sensei? It's a simple answer, isn't it? Why wait to tell us?" Shikamaru asks, and I'm glad he agrees with me about her putting everything off.
"It's actually quite complicated. The reason I put things off like you say is because telling you guys this will distract you from the test. I understand curiosity can be distracting, but not telling you anything is a bit less distracting then mentioning it and then leaving you unfulfilled. Trust me, tomorrow. And, with that in mind, it's time to start." Kurenai-sensei explains, and gets up off the ground after putting her Shogi book away in her bag.
"What was the test you had planned for us yesterday, sensei?" Hinata asks.
"Well, pretty much, you guys have to beat me in a three-on-one spar. Now, I'm a Jonin, so I will obviously not be going my full strength physically, but I won't be going too easy in strategy and otherwise. And you guys will have the advantage: I will give you guys five minutes to plan out a strategy and I give you my word that I will not eavesdrop. The reason for this is because a team should know each other's strengths and weaknesses, and in this case I am an enemy and I want you to treat me as such and to surprise me like you would a real enemy." Kurenai-sensei explains the test, and it's making sense so far.
"And i-if we don't beat you, w-what happens?" Hinata asks, nervous. We all know the original consequence of failing this test.
"Nothing. Like I said, you guys passed the real graduation test and I have already notified the Hokage that you guys passed. But I want you guys to take this as if you would be sent back to the Academy if you lost. And with that in mind, come at me as if I was a real enemy ninja, come at me with the intent to kill. Now, I leave you guys for those five minutes so you can plan. Good luck, guys." Kurenai-sensei says and suddenly body flickers out of here.
"Uhh, any plans, guys?" I ask after a few moments of us just staring at each other.
"Yes. I started planning as soon as she said we had to spar. And luckily you guys discussed some of your jutsu during the meeting yesterday. We're going to need Naruto's Shadow Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu, Hinata's Byakugan and Gentle Fist, and my Shadow possession Jutsu. Now, here's what we'll do…" Shikamaru starts explaining his plan.
"You guys got it?" Shikamaru asks us after explaining his awesome plan. Man, even if we didn't pass yesterday, I still wouldn't be worried about this because this guy is smart!
"Believe it!" I say, and Hinata also says she understands.
"Alright, guys! It's time to start!" Kurenai-sensei shouts at us from quite a-ways down the field from us. "Come at me!" She shouts, immediately going into her battle stance.
"Byakugan!" Hinata activates her kekkei-genkai and takes a breath before charging in at our sensei with us following.
"Multi-Shadow Clone Jutsu!" I shout as we run and make a hundred clones. As soon as Hinata engages Kurenai-sensei in a Taijutsu battle, my clones start jumping in and attacking all around our sensei, making her struggle and barely able to keep up.
My eyes can barely keep up at the speed Kurenai-sensei and Hinata are going at. All I can really make out are rapid flashes of chakra from when Kurenai-sensei blocks Hinata's Gentle Fist attacks. To make things even harder for Kurenai-sensei, my clones and I start throwing shuriken and kunai at her, and…it becomes too much to her. She slips, and she gets hit with a kunai and then Hinata hits her again with her Gentle Fist.
"Eight Trigrams, Two Palm! Four Palm! Eight Palm! Sixteen Palm! Thirty-Two Palm! Sixty-Four Palm!" Hinata shouts, hitting more and more of our sensei's chakra points to seal off her chakra network. Once Hinata is done, Kurenai-sensei falls to the floor…and suddenly poofs away and is replaced by a log.
"Substitution Jutsu! Damn it!" Shikamaru shouts, about to go in for his diversion.
"I wasn't expecting that. Your clones really can overpower someone, Naruto. And Hinata, great job of taking advantage of the tiniest opening already. And Shikamaru, I know what the coup de grace was supposed to be as you're a long-distance fighter, so we need to develop your close-range skills because you were basically a spectator and a sitting duck – you were too distracted waiting for our opening that you weren't checking for any clones I might have made or any possible enemy ninja if we were out on a mission." Kurenai-sensei says, noticeably breathing slightly heavier.
Hinata looks over to me and I nod…
I look over to Shikamaru and he nods…
Time to really put our plan in action!
For this to work, I call up even more clones and most of them charge at Kurenai-sensei. Hinata charges at her as well. They go around from behind her, making Kurenai-sensei turn away from me. The rest of my clones join me and Shikamaru. This is it, the distraction that we need!
We both make our handsigns and perform the Jutsu. We look over each other and we're perfect!
He has used the transformation jutsu and turned into me, and I used the shadow clone jutsu and transformation jutsu to make a clone that turned into him. As Kurenai wasn't looking at us, she won't know who we actually are.
Shikamaru (as me), myself, and the rest of my clones except the Shikamaru-clone charge at her as well. Meanwhile, my Shika-clone gets into position to pretend to do Shikamaru's shadow possession jutsu. Shika-clone makes the correct handsign and run towards Kurenai where she can barely see him out of her peripheral vision, making her think he doesn't think she can see him. Where he's standing is inside a huge shadow cast by the tree she is in fighting my clones; so he doesn't even have to pretend to make a shadow because she knows she is caught.
"Shunshin!" Kurenai shouts and I can see my clone jump when he feels a hand on his shoulder and a knife to his neck. "I told, Shikamaru. You don't leave yourself a sitting duck. This time, it would've gotten you killed. If-" Kurenai stops talking and freezes. Her face is one of surprise and momentary fear before it switches to a smile.
YES!
"We win, Sensei." I hear in my voice. Shikamaru as me walks forward, hands still in the handsign. "Call them off, Naruto." He says to me.
It's really bizarre to hear commands to me in my own voice, but I do what he says and I dispel all my shadow clones, including the one that Kurenai-sensei has trapped.
Ugh…
My head starts to hurt and I feel like I'm going to puke. The feeling only lasts for a few seconds, and as the feeling passes Shikamaru releases Kurenai from the shadow possession and also transforms back into himself. Hinata walks up beside Shikamaru, and Kurenai-sensei rises to her feet and smirks at all of us.
"Nicely done, team. I'm not going to lie, I didn't see that plan coming. However, Imust let you know that I did see the whole thing but I did play along to your plan. Because I know your skills, I was able to figure out what you were trying to do as we went along. And I must say that I am quite impressed with your plans. Especially because you came up with that in only five minutes – fantastic!" Kurenai-sensei says.
"Um…it was-it was all Shikamaru, sensei. He came up with the plan. Naruto and I didn't know what to do." Hinata speaks up, and she is very much correct.
"That is true, sensei. All Hinata and I did was follow his plan. He gets the credit." I say, giving credit where credit is due.
"I understand. But you guys are incorrect." Kurenai-sensei says, making all three of us look at her, confused.
"What do you mean, sensei?" I ask, and I see Hinata and Shikamaru nodding slightly to my question.
"I mean that no single person takes credit for a success; likewise, no single person takes blame for a failure. In a team, it's all or nothing. You are a team; you all deserve the credit for pulling it off. If you hadn't done your jutsus correctly, you would have failed, right? Shikamaru only had one part of the plan. You all contributed equally. Remember this. A team is not just a group of people; a team is a whole made of parts who need the other to fully function. " Kurenai-sensei says, and that makes me happy. To know that the four of us, Kurenai-sensei included, need each other makes me feel special.
"Thank you, Sensei." I say, and they all look at me. "What you said proves that we're a family. Like…we're all important. So, thank you." I say, and Shikamaru and Hinata walk toward me. The put their hands on my shoulder reassuringly – I think they understand that I haven't really been made to feel special that much in my life. I also put my hand on Hinata's shoulder, because I get the feeling she feels the same way because of what she told us yesterday about her and her family.
"Part of our training will not just include ninja-training. I want to instill in you all what I feel to be the most important aspects of relationships in life. Trust, friendship, comradery. What you do later in your ninja careers could be anything, but if you ever have teams of Genin of your own, I wish for these to also be passed down. I don't mean to sound conceited, but my sensei when I was a Genin was very wise, and I believe his views are truly beneficial to the team dynamic." Kurenai-sensei explains.
"Yeah, that makes sense, sensei. You said that the Lord Third changed the teams last-minute, correct? And that it might have been because of our friendships? Well if that's true then what you're saying makes perfect sense. People who are closer and are friends will do much better working together than two people who dislike each other. And the whole thing when a whole team either succeeds or fails is good because it doesn't cast anyone out. I like that." Shikamaru speaks up.
"Yeah, that's a really good philosophy, Kurenai-sensei. Thank you for teaching it to us." Hinata says.
"Yeah, thanks!" I say, expressing my appreciation for the lesson.
During the academy, I never really payed attention to or cared so much about this kind of stuff. I only cared about technique and power and jutsu, never the stuff on politics and village dynamics or history and all that kind of stuff. But hearing that I am on this team because we're friends and hearing Kurenai-sensei's explanation makes this resonate with me. I'm going to have a more open mind to all this stuff!
"Hey, sensei! Did we pass?" Shikamaru asks suddenly, and I remember what the original purpose was this for!
"If this was the test, I would say you all still would have passed. Congratulations!" Kurenai-sensei says, giving us a thumbs-up! "And for today, we're done. You guys have the rest of the day to yourselves. Tomorrow we begin our training. See you all tomorrow!" Kurenai-sensei says before waving goodbye and Body-Flickering somewhere else.
"Well then, what do you guys wanna do?" Hinata asks, and I have an idea!
"How about we go cloud-watching with Shikamaru?" I suggest, and Shikamaru and Hinata smile.
"I would love some company cloud-watching!" Shikamaru says, really excited!
"All right then! Let's go!" Hinata says, and we all head off to the Nara compound.
A/N: Like I said at the beginning A/N, there really is no excuse for my lack of writing. Of course school was a factor, but it should not have prevented me from writing for 1.33 years. I think I am back though, and I can update at (relatively) regular intervals.
Now, with regards to this chapter, I could not remember at all what my original plan for the fight was that I came up with over a year ago. I had only the very first part of it already written, so I hope that what I came up with was decent.
Also, I feel that I am making this story really cheesy and stuff. To be honest, I'm not sure whether I like it or not. But that's what Naruto is, isn't it? It's full of this cheesy teamwork stuff and I like it in the show, but reading/writing it? I'm not sure, tell me what you think!
I feel like I also rushed the fight scene; I have a feeling fight scenes are not going to be the best coming from me. I am more of a story kind of writer, not action. Still, fights will be important but don't expect long masterpieces if/when it ever comes to that.
Over the past 1.33 years, I still have not come up with an end goal for this story in mind. I have thought of several individual plot elements and character stuff (which I have written down!), but I highly doubt this will span all the way to the Obito stuff and whatnot like the full story goes. If I had to give a rough estimate, this story will most likely have a maximum of material up to where Part I ended.
Another question: Is there anything you guys specifically want to see in this story? Any suggestions or predictions? I appreciate all feedback and reviews, and I believe they will help a lot with this story especially.
One last thing, happy holidays! I tried really hard to get this chapter finished before the holidays, and I did it! I really hope you all have a great holiday and stay safe. 3
Thank you all for reading this chapter! Hope you all liked it! And, remember, don't forget to review!