Chapter 4: Genin Test
7 years later, Konoha's ninja academy.
Naruto was sitting in his class after passing the genin test. It was a day as any other. Everyone was talking to each other about how cool and famous they will be. Girls were talking about attracting boys… And stuff… Girls talk about. Naruto was sitting at the end of the classroom, near the window. Quietly writing in his notebook, where he kept all his puppet ideas and sketches.
During the years Naruto grew out his hair and now it fell on his eyes and covered his ears. He wore a short, gray kimono top with long loose sleeves. It was tucked into his black plain pants. He wore black combat boots that came up to his knees and he kept his kunai holster on his right leg. His right arm was taped up with bandages from the elbow down to his fingertips. On the back of his waist there was a small, brown bag which held his other stuff and scrolls. To finish it up Naruto tied his hitaite to his left bicep.
During the 7 years Naruto read through the book Kotarou gave him a couple of times. He improved his chakra control almost to perfection and he didn't slack in taijutsu training. Using the book he studied various poisons and seals, though his knowledge of seals was very limited for now and even to this day he hasn't figured out what the seal on the back of his head was. His puppetry improved by leaps and bounds after he could train with regular puppets, he also used the trap and weapon ideas from the book to create his own unique puppets. Naruto took advice Kotarou wrote in the book and started anonymously selling poison to the black market, that gave him a lot of freedom with money, so he moved to a different house and had no problem getting materials for his studies and training. Naruto's control over his emotions also improved but as he was still only 12 it was far from perfect or Kotarou's level of control, but he slowly understood the usefulness emotion control gives in practice.
Naruto's social life though didn't move an inch from where it was previously. No one dared to associate with him and he didn't bother talking to anyone else. There were people who thought they could bully him but slowly over time the number of people that actually had the ability to do so decreased until no one dared to try to harm him. Because of that, Naruto gained a reputation in Konoha for being hard to get along with.
Iruka, Naruto's class teacher, came into the classroom, where the kids were jumping around energetically. He took one look through the class with a smile on his face, then sighed with a face that said "Gonna miss this." "Alright brats, sit down and shut up!" He yelled with his infamous Big Head no jutsu. Everyone quickly sat down in their seats and looked at their teacher. He smiled, "Good, I already said my speech about how proud I am of you guys and what it means to be a ninja. There is nothing else I have to say. I will now announce the teams and your teachers. After I'm done everyone will wait here in class until your senseis' will come to pick you up. Now, team 1..."
Some time later
"Team 7: Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha and Naruto Uzumaki. Your sensei will be Kakashi Hatake." Naruto looked up with a bored gaze and glanced at both of his teammates. His eyes met Iruka's for a second until he decided to go back to his small book, where he keeps his puppet ideas and sketches. He glanced down to his book and frowned a little, "Too unbalanced, won't work." He said barely above a whisper with a sigh and wrote in the top corner of his book, "Failure." He glanced around the classroom again until his eyes landed on a pink haired girl, "Sasuke's follower, theoretical knowledge is good, but ninja abilities are zero." He thought in his head. Then, he glanced towards a guy with black hair, "Ninja abilities are good, mostly aggressive close-combat type… Cocky." Naruto quietly sighed in annoyance, "What did the old man have in mind when he put together this group?" Naruto thought in his head as he looked through the window with a bored look on his face.
After all of the team were announce Iruka left the classroom and left the kids to talk for a while. As time went by team after team left the classroom together with their senseis. After an hour the only team left in the classroom was team 7. Sasuke was sitting in the front, Sakura was near him trying to get his attention and Naruto was in the back quietly thinking about various puppet ideas. He glanced up towards the clock, "What a waste of time." He quietly said. Naruto stood up and started walking towards the door. Sakura looked up, "Hey, uh, Naruto. We are supposed to wait for our sensei."
Naruto grabbed the door handle and started pulling the door to the side, "This is a waste of time. I'm not going to wait for somebody who doesn't have any interest in being here." Just as Naruto opened the door he saw a man standing on the other side. The man, wore the basic Konoha's ninja attire and had a black facemask covering his face up to his nose and his hitaite covered his left eye, "Sorry I'm late, I had some business elsewhere. Now, meet me on the roof in 5 minutes." With a lazy eye smile the jounin said and disappeared in a puff.
Naruto frowned but still followed his instructions and went to the roof. Sakura and Sasuke followed behind him.
On the roof
All 3 genin went to the roof and sat in front of their sensei. Sasuke kept ignoring his surroundings, Sakura kept sending him glances and Naruto continued writing in his book. Kakashi looked up from his own book, "Alright, let's start shall we. I guess we can begin with simple introductions. You, pinky, go." He said in a bored tone as he pointed his finger at Sakura, who frowned, "Why don't you begin, sensei. To show us an example."
Kakashi looked like he was considering the idea, "Fair enough. My name is Kakashi Hatake, my likes and dislikes are none of you business and my hobbies… You are too young for that. My dreams for the future? Never thought about them."
Sakura and Sasuke sat the dumbfounded, Naruto completely ignored his introduction, "Ok, pinky, your turn." Sakura looked like she wanted to say something about the nickname he gave her but stayed quiet, "My name is Sakura Haruno. What I like, or rather, who I like is...*stupid squeal after looking at Sasuke*… My dislikes are arrogant people. My hobbies are...*squeal*… My dreams for the fut-" She turned red and stopped talking. Kakashi sat quietly processing the introduction then pointed his finger at Sasuke, "Your turn, broody."
Sasuke frowned at the comment, "Sasuke Uchiha, my likes and dislikes are none of your business and what I have is not a dream but an ambition, to restore my clan and to kill a certain someone." Kakashi sighed, "Alright, last one." He said as he looked at Naruto.
Naruto simply talked his part with no interest in his voice, "Naruto Uzumaki, no particular likes or dislikes… Or hobbies for that matter. My dream? For now, I just want to become strong. If possible, the strongest." Kakashi eye smiled at them, "I have a fangirl, an avenger and… I don't even know how to call the last one." "I guess this will do. Now that we are done we will start your real genin test."
Sakura's eyes looked like they were about to pop out, "Genin test? Didn't we just pass it?", "What you passed was the official genin test. It's meant to separate those who have the ability to become shinobi from those who don't. Your real genin test, to see if you are good enough to become a part of the shinobi force of Konoha, will be conducted right now. So, I want all of you to head to training ground 7." He said and disappeared after he was done.
Training ground 7
Kakashi looked up from his book when the genin came into view. Everyone came up to Kakashi and looked at him, expecting an explanation. Kakashi cleared his throat, "Alright, lets start the test, shall we? Your test is simple, you have to take these bells from me before the alarm clock on that post rings. If you can do that, its your win, if you can't, you will be sent back to the academy. Oh, and if one of you doesn't get a bell, he will be sent back either way." Kakashi took out a pair of bells and tied them to his belt. Sakura tilted her head, "But there are only two bells." Kakashi eye smiled, "Well, you will figure something out. All you have to do is take these bells from me. Now… Get ready, set, go" He said with a bored tone.
Sasuke and Naruto immediately disappeared, Sakura looked around confused and also disappeared. Kakashi glanced around, "Well, it seems they listened in class." He said as he took out a small orange book and started reading.
Sasuke's POV
Sasuke was watching Kakashi from the trees, waiting for a chance. For some time there were no opportunities for Sasuke to strike. There was nothing but the sound of rustling leaves and birds in he clearing, but no matter what Sasuke didn't take his eyes off Kakashi even for a second. Sasuke's eyes widened a bit and in a flash he threw a couple of shuriken at Kakashi with a small shout "Chance"
As soon as the shuriken were about to hit Kakashi they passed through him. Sasuke's eyes widened, "A clone." Sasuke barely managed to jump back from the branch he was standing on as Kakashi landed on it with a rough kick, breaking it and landing on a branch below. Kakashi lazily looked at Sasuke, "Hmm, you have some good reflexes." Sasuke threw a couple more shuriken and dashed backwards.
Kakashi dodged them with no effort and disappeared. Sasuke turned around and brought his arms into an X, blocking another one of Kakashi's kicks, "If you only run away it will be boring, no?" Even though Sasuke blocked the attack it was still too much for him and he was blown back into a clearing. In the air he flipped and landed on the ground, Kakashi was already standing there, reading his book, "Genin always show what they are truly capable when they are backed into a corner, I guess I should have some fun."
Kakashi raised his free hand and taunted Sasuke, who gritted his teeth in response and took a taijutsu stance, "There is on way I can run from him, then I will beat him here." Sasuke thought in his head. With a quick burst of speed Sasuke dashed towards Kakashi. When he was a few steps from him Sasuke jumped into the air and threw a couple of shuriken at Kakashi, "Interesting, I guess I will play along, for now." Kakashi thought in his head and jumped back.
Sasuke quickly went through a couple of hand seals and put his arms to his mouth, "Fire Release: Great Fireball" Kakashi didn't even land as the big fireball made its way to him. In a second the fireball engulfed Kakashi and the area around him, burning everything. Sasuke landed on the ground and started looking around.
"For a genin to know such a jutsu, not bad. But, it won't be enough." Kakashi said from behind Sasuke, his eyes widened and he turned around with a punch. Kakashi blocked the punch with his forearm and kicked Sasuke in the gut, sending him tumbling on the floor. Sasuke finally got in a crouch after a few rolls and slid on the ground, after he stopped he quickly stood up and threw a couple of kunai at Kakashi.
Kakashi lazily extended his free hand and caught one kunai by the loop and used it to block the rest. He glanced up just as Sasuke was near him, charging him with all of his speed. Sasuke grabbed Kakashi's free hand roughly and pulled it to the side, then with a jump tried to land a knee in his face. Kakashi simply moved his head to the side and with the hand Sasuke grabbed, used his superior strength, grabbed Sasuke by his collar and smashed him into the ground.
Sasuke hit the ground and coughed a few times, but still didn't let go of Kakashi's arm, he quickly moved his legs around his arm and put all of his strength into breaking the arm. Kakashi's eye widened, "Ohh, I guess I shouldn't be so careless." Sasuke smirked, "Too late." He applied more force and the arm bent the other way. Kakashi stood there with a lazy, but surprised face and after a second did an eye smile.
But as soon as he did that Sasuke's eyes widened because Kakashi disappeared in a cloud of smoke. Confused, Sasuke quickly got on his legs and took a few steps back. His eyes widened again when a hand emerged from the ground and caught him by his ankle and pulled him into the ground, only Sasuke's head remained above ground. After a few seconds Kakashi emerged from the ground, he turned around to Sasuke with an eye smile, "Well, as fun as it was, I can't spend all of my time here. I have other genin to test." Kakashi said and disappeared from the clearing.
Sakura's POV
"Ohh, even Sasuke was defeated, what do I do?" Sakura thought in her head as she watched the battle from the bushes near the clearing. She looked around and slowly got into a crouch, "First, I will rescue Sasuke." She quietly said and took another look around the clearing to make sure Kakashi was gone.
From behind Kakashi sighed, "She is… I don't even know anymore. How can someone be so clueless."Kakashi said in his head as he stood right behind Sakura, "I have to make sure sensei doesn't spot me, then I will rush in and get Sasuke out of the ground. Then, together we will take those bells." Sakura said quietly with determination in her eyes.
Kakashi eye smiled, "Well, I guess that's one thing you don't have to worry about." Sakura nodded her head, then froze. She slowly turned around and saw Kakashi standing there, "KYAAH." With a scream she jumped back. Quickly, she took out a kunai and took a stance.
Kakashi sighed again, "That… Is supposed to be our next generation of ninja? Honestly, what did she expect? That I would come crashing through the woods, knocking down every tree and shout like an idiot?" Kakashi looked at Sakura with no motivation in his eyes, "How do I even test her? Her academy records said her knowledge was good, but her combat potential…" Another sigh. Kakashi put his book away and started going through handseals.
The wind picked up and leaves started swirling around. Sakura put up her guard, then after a few moments she heard some rustling from the bush near her. She slowly turned around and screamed some intangible sentence when a massive, brown bear jumped out and charged at her at full speed. Sakura immediately turned around and ran out of the cover from the trees. When she ran out she immediately saw Sasuke's head, the bear didn't waste any time and jumped out of the trees and was about to maul her. She looked between Sasuke's head and the bear, eventually with another scream she passed out.
Kakashi stood there dumbfounded on the trees, "I… Was told…. That she was the best when it came to detecting and dispelling genjutsu." Another sigh, "Oh well, I guess I will go test the last one."
Naruto's location
Naruto was quietly sitting in the trees, with his book in his hand. Kakashi landed on the branch behind him. For a few minutes there was complete silence, only the birds and the sound of Kakashi flipping pages could be heard, "He should have heard the sound from me flipping the pages now. Is he ignoring me?"
"You know, its rude to ignore people when they come to you." Silence, "If you don't attack me then you will be sent back to the academy." Absolute silence, not even a motion that showed he was listening to Kakashi, "What did I do to receive such a bunch of weirdos? An avenger, well I can make something out of him. The fangirl, I honestly doubt about her and then there is this. Completely ignoring the enemy..."
Kakashi jumped and quickly closed the gap and with one smooth move kicked Naruto, sending him crashing through a branch, "He won't die from just that, and I'm curious what the little troublemaker of Konoha can do." Naruto was laying on the branch, not a move from him. After a few seconds and not a sound came out from Naruto, Kakashi got a little worried he used too much strength. He jumped closer to inspect Naruto.
As soon as he bent down he moved Naruto's hair from his eyes, Kakashi's eyes widened. Glass eyes, a broken smile on his face, "What the hell? This I-" Kakashi was interrupted when he heard a strange sound coming from the corpse. He didn't have time to jump back because the Naruto started shinning and a massive explosion occurred. An explosion so big it broke several trees. Kakashi appeared on a branch with some small burns on his body, "That was without a doubt, puppetry. Right, Naruto?"
Kakashi glanced back and saw Naruto standing there with his hands in his pockets, one blue eye staring at him from behind his hair, "But, it was a mistake to reveal yourself." Kakashi was about to attack Naruto when another one landed some distance away, after that another few jumped down, until around 10 naruto's stood around Kakashi, their hands in their pockets, with bored gazes they looked at Kakashi, "Those aren't clones, those are most likely the same puppets he used just now." Kakashi started looking around but he couldn't distinguish between them and he couldn't sense anybody around him, "He hid himself very well. I take it back, this guy is good, he has a lot of potential." He thought inside his head.
Kakashi was looking between the puppets waiting for something to happen, but no matter how long he waited nothing happened, "You know, you are the one running out of time. If you don't attack me, you will fail this test." A bored sighed came from all directions, "I honestly don't care. I am only interested in winning against my opponents. I have as much time as I need." Kakashi's eyes widened, "Don't care?" he repeated Naruto's words in his head, "Is this a bluff? No, he sounded serious and in our introduction he said he was only interested in getting stronger. So, does he really not care? Is this a bluff or no?" Kakashi kept on asking the same question as he was looking around.
There were no movements from anyone, the puppets and Kakashi simply stared at each other. Kakashi looked at one of the puppet's eyes and was a little disturbed by the glassy, lifeless look it was giving him. It felt like staring at a corpse.
One by one the Naruto's raised one of their hands, with open palms towards Kakashi, who quickly put up his guard on maximum alert, "The fact that only a few at a time raised their hands means that he can't control all ten puppets at the same time." Kakashi was about to Kawarimi but to his surprise, nothing happened. They raised their hands and stood there, nothing else, "This guy… He is trying to break me. So much psychological pressure, if it was a less experienced opponent it would have broken him. You always have to look over you shoulder, those raised hands, the fact that he is hidden so well, his lies are confusing, you even have to worry that no other puppet will attack you will you are standing here wasting time. Its taxing on the mind, my left eye is itching, I want to use my sharingan and end it." Kakashi was looking around without stop.
Suddenly, small hatches started opening up in each of the puppet's palms. Kakashi's experience reacted and he jumped into the air, nothing happened, no fire, gas, nothing, "What the hell?" Kakashi landed on a branch, upside down. He heard a small sound coming from below him, well in this case above, from the other side of the branch. Another massive explosion sent Kakashi flying back down, he flipped in the air and landed in the circle again.
He started quickly looking around and waiting for the attack to come from the puppets, but even now, nothing came. Kakashi was looking around without stop, "Damn this kid, no one told me he was so damn good at psychological warfare." Kakashi was looking around and he noticed something, "Hey, is it just me, or did the circle get smaller?"Kakashi looked around trying to make sure if the puppets moved closer or not but he couldn't remember the branches they were previously on so he didn't know, "Is he trying to come closer with all of those puppets and to explode them all at the same time? Or, is this the effect of his psychological pressure?"
A small rustle on the branch near him, Kakashi quickly turned around, the puppets were standing there without any evidence of movement, another rustle from behind, he turned around and saw that the same again. From all sides, one by one as he turned around as the sound was coming, "Damn, I feel like I'm gonna lose my mind, who taught this kid?"
Naruto's POV
Naruto sat in the branches quietly looking at Kakashi, "Black Hand special warfare tactics number 1, psychological warfare. Apply as much pressure as possible to the targets mind. In a group, if one target's mind breaks, panic will ensue. Due to pressure, enemy is easier to fool and it become easier to control his movements without him noticing it. The very first thing I read when I opened the chapters on battle techniques." Naruto quietly thought in his head while watching Kakashi.
Kakashi's POV
Kakashi clenched his teeth behind the mask, "Enough." He said as he jumped in to the air, and went through some handseals, "Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique." A volley of fireballs flew towards the puppets, but as they hit the puppets on by one they started disappearing and reappearing some distance to the side. Kakashi's eyes widened, "Genjutsu: Displacement" One puppet jumped into the air and near Kakashi, it lit up and with a sound a massive explosion sent Kakashi crashing through the trees, after a few jumps Kakashi changed into a log.
Another puppet jumped and exploded near him, then another and another… A series of massive explosions sent tremors throughout the training ground. Kakashi started dashing through the tress and into a clearing. He jumped out from the trees, his flack jacket burnt in some places, covered in ashes and some blood coming out from different parts of his body, "Damn, this kid is seriously dangerous."
Another puppet jumped out from the trees, "This should be the last one." It jumped near Kakashi and exploded again, sending Kakashi sliding on the ground backwards. Kakashi didn't get to release a single breath when the ground around him started moving, wooden parts revealed themselves from the ground, chakra threads attached themselves to them and the wooden parts were pulled together, showing it to be an Iron Maiden, though this time it was a wooden one. The Maiden closed with a loud sound, small traces of blood came out from within.
Kakashi landed some distance away, he grabbed his shoulder and panted a little "Don't tell me this kid already predicted I would come into this clearing. Damn, so while I was messing with those other two he was making some serious preparations."
Kakashi noticed some seals on the Maiden, he saw a small pulse in the chakra threads attached to them, the seals activated and Kakashi looked down when he saw something shinning on him. The Maiden disappeared and with a cloud of smoke emerged from the seals on Kakashi, the chakra strings moved again and the Maiden closed itself with a loud sound again.
Kakashi emerged from the ground, even more blood on him. The seals started shinning on him again, he quickly took off his flack jacket and threw it to the side, The Maiden appearing around the jacket again and closing itself, shredding the jacket. Kakashi stood on the ground, panting, "Is this really a kid? Such advanced techniques." Kakashi looked carefully at the Maiden when he saw a different set of seals start shinning, the Maiden started slowly fading until it disappeared, "Camouflage? Where the hell did the kid learn such advanced seals?"
"Copied, not learned." Naruto corrected in his mind, "Its already obvious what he is thinking. But, as expected of a jounin, he isn't an easy target."
Kakashi put up his guard, expecting for the maiden to appear again. The ground started moving again, massive spikes started emerging from the ground. Kakashi started jumping around in zigzags, "Damn, he is leading me. I have to break away." Kakashi jumped forward and barely dodged the spikes coming from the ground and quickly made his way through the ones that were already out of the ground.
Just when he thought he was in the clear another spike emerged, "What the hell? How many does he have?" Just then the ground started moving around behind Kakashi and a massive centipede emerged. Intent on cutting Kakashi in half with its massive jaw. Kakashi turned around and placed his one hand on its head and used all of his strength to vault over it, barely making past it.
Kakashi sighed from the side, "Damn, this kid is making it hard for me not to go all out. But, it was the perfect opportunity to use the Maiden, so why didn't he?" Kakashi looked at the centipede and around it, "It is already big, not to mention the parts that are still underground, most likely he can't use the centipede and the Maiden together." Kakashi deduced as he was expecting another attack. Kakashi glanced at his waist and saw that the bells were still there, "There were plenty of opportunities. Why didn't he try to take the bells?"
The centipede started moving again, it fully came out of the ground and started moving around Kakashi in circles. Kakashi was expecting it to lunge at him, but he was surprised again when it stopped and turned to Kakashi with all of its body, while Kakashi was still in the circle. Its legs started shooting out, with chains attached to them, "Shit." Kakashi started dodging the blades, as one passed him he saw it was coated in poison, his eyes widened when he coughed and felt a little sluggish, He barely dodged another blade, using the chains he started jumping out of the circle but, the centipede suddenly stopped moving and the Maiden appeared while Kakashi was in the air. It opened as if inviting Kakashi in, he took a look inside, "I knew it, even the spikes are covered in poison."Kakashi was about to do some handseals to disable the puppet, "You exposed it too early." Suddenly, the spikes shot out from inside the puppet. Kakashi did a Kawarimi just in time to dodge them.
Kakashi landed on the ground, panting, "Damn this is making it hard on my stamina." He looked at the puppets and saw that the maiden disappeared again and the centipede burrowed itself underground.
Kakashi's eyes widened when he sensed a presence behind him, a presence filled with malice and anger, "Don't tell me." He turned around and just like he guessed he saw Naruto standing there he saw Naruto moving his hand, he turned around and saw the Maiden doing something.
As soon as he turned around he felt a sharp pain in his back, "Wrong way." Kakashi turned around and saw a wooden tail coming from behind Naruto, it looked like a spiders leg more than a tail, made from a few segments, "Damn." The maiden from the distance shot a spike and nailed the bells to Naruto's second tail. The tail moved and Naruto pulled out the bells.
Kakashi pulled out the tail from his back and sighed, "Antidote." Naruto threw a vial to kakashi, who caught it and drank it all before passing it back to Naruto.
Some time later
Everyone was standing in a line and Kakashi was in front of them, a little dirty, bloody. Sakura and Sasuke were sending glances between Naruto and Kakashi, the obvious question hanging in the air. Kakashi sighed, "Alright, Naruto. You got the bells, so you get to choose who goes back to the academy." Sasuke and Sakura were both surprised and saw a red string coming from Naruto's hand.
A moment of silence, "Eh, Naruto?" Nothing, "Send both of them back." Both Sakura and Sasuke were surprised, "What?! Who do you think you are!" Sakura yelled from the side, "What a pain, both of them are useless. Sensei, you saw it yourself, I am good enough to be a one man team." Kakashi sighed, "Yes, you are… Cunning. But-" Naruto interrupted, "I'm not choosing any of them."
There was a silence in the air, "This kid surely knows how to destroy the mood." Kakashi sighed, "Alright, I guess this is it. All of you pass." He said with no energy. Sakura and Sasuke were both surprised and turned to Kakashi, "What? But we didn't get the bells and he didn't choose any of us." Sakura asked, Kakashi sighed again, "The whole point of this test was to make you understand the value of teamwork. I wouldn't have let you get the bells unless all of you worked together, but this enigma ruined my plan. I honestly underestimated him and didn't go all out, but because of that I lost the bells."Kakashi sighed again with no energy, "Whatever, all of you pass, go home."
Kakashi glanced at the alarm clock and saw that it had a spike in it. Kakashi quickly turned around and saw Naruto looking somewhere with a gaze that said 'nothing to do with me'. Kakashi took out a watch and saw that it was way past the time. Kakashi sighed, "Can't complain now."
Kakashi disappeared quickly, "Damn, the guys are not going to let me live this down. Going easy on a student isn't an excuse to lose." Kakashi sighed for what felt like a hundredth time this day, "Can my day get any worse?"
Chapter END
Hello everybody. Finally I have finished the rewrite. It took me a long time and in my opinion it came out a lot better than the original, though as I am the writer it is hard to say, so I will leave the judging to you. Anyway, I won't interrupt your reading here, at the end of chapter 8 there will be a small A/N. Please read it as I have some questions and I need your opinions. So, see you later.
