Yo! Williamgbirkin here to give you the third chapter of A Taste Of The Desert! I'm sorry that this took so long, but I've had almost no chance to write for a while. I hope you enjoy!
Am I bashing the council, or am I just making them gigantic douchebags? I'm not really certain.
Question...would my version of chop hanging palm be considered nintaijutsu, or just regular taijutsu?
I'd like to say that I really like A Taste Of The Desert so far, so after I make the first chapter of A Fox And A Cat Make What?, I'm going to focus on this story.
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The poll for the pairing of A Taste Of The Desert is complete and here are the results;
Add Tenten to the pairing: 91
Don't add Tenten to the pairing: 32
Give Tenten a threesome, but don't make it permanent: 17
Those are the results, but guess what? I never planned on adding Tenten anyways! That's right, I just trolled you! Don't you feel violated? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!
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jamnaz79: I agree, there aren't enough one on one pairings that isn't yaoi or Hinata (I fucking HATE Naru/Hina. If you like it, that's fine, everyone has different tastes, I just can't stand that pairing! I don't really feel strongly about her character one way or another, however).
KingLoitl: That would probably be best, but I don't know if I can 'allow' myself to do that. What I mean, is that I love reading these stories on this site, but I get pissed off if the chapters are too short, or the story simply cuts off. I want to read as much as possible. I think that I 'transferred' that want into my chapters. Can you understand where I'm coming from, because I kinda do, and I kinda don't.
AjGuardian: Thank you for being the first to guess a quote for this story!
Pheonixblade: My bad.
whiteabyss89: Never really thought about it, but yes...yes I did.
Lucky Me: That's Fan-Fucking-Tastic! But seriously...congratulations?
the foxy wolf: IKR?
Falcon800: He didn't really catch Tora, Naruto simply offered the cat a place to stay for the night.
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The Haneru beti (Bouncing betty) seal tag is mine.
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"Jutsu": Human Speech
'Jutsu': Human Thought
"Jutsu": Demon/Summon Speech
'Jutsu': Demon/Summon Thought
"Jutsu": Jutsu
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With that Naruto left the room, much to the astonishment of the others, went home, and celebrated with Temari, Hiruzen, and the Ichiraku's (but not Inu, as he was on a mission and not expected to return for a couple of months).
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"THIS IS AN OUTRAGE!" Screamed a rather fat merchant, as the rest of the civilian council members shouted their agreement.
"And what exactly, pray tell, is an outrage?" asked a bored Hiruzen.
"There is no way that DEMON could have passed in a single year! It must have influenced the instructors in some way! I demand you revoke it's license and forbid it from being a shinobi!" Shouted a woman who was in charge of a very wealthy set of hotels in the village.
"I will do no such thing. Naruto took the same test as everybody else and passed. Therefore he has become a shinobi for Konoha."
But before anyone else could make an opposing statement, a rather quiet voice spoke out.
"Hokage-sama, may I offer a suggestion?" asked someone none were expecting, Uchiha Itachi.
"Very well, Itachi-san. What is it?" enquired Hiruzen, ignoring Fugaku's scandalized face (1), and thinking that this was going to be interesting.
"Why not have Naruto-kun retake the test, with and Uchiha and/or a Hyuga watching to assure that there is no form of cheating." proposed Itachi, getting interested looks from the council, and an approving nod from the Hokage.
"That is a very good idea, Itachi-san, and since you were the one to propose it, you may be the Uchiha to moniter the test. Hiashi-san, who would you have watch over Naruto-kun?" Hiruzen said to the stunned Uchiha heir, before turning to the Hyuga clan head.
"I will be more than enough, Hokage-sama." replied the white eyed man, knowing that he couldn't really know if the test would be fair or not if it wasn't him (2).
"Very well. In two days time, Naruto will retake the genin test, with Itachi-san and Hiashi-san attending to make sure that Naruto neither cheats nor is hampered during the test to show that he did in fact not influence the exam taker." Hiruzen told the assembled people, getting nods from most, scowls from several, and uncaring looks from the rest.
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Naruto's Home
Thirty Minutes Later
It was a peaceful afternoon in the Uzumaki house-hold, now that Bacchus wasn't drunkenly snoring on the couch, or doing some other activity that only an alcoholic would necessarily partake in, and the two blondes were once again taking full advantage of the fact, and were simply sitting in the living room, Naruto reading a book on fuinjutsu, and Temari reading a jutsu scroll. As they were sitting there, an Anbu member tapped on the window, shocking the two, before Naruto got up and answered.
"Does Jiji want something, Anbu-san?" asked Naruto, getting a sweatdrop from both the Anbu member and Temari, who still couldn't really believe how Naruto addressed the Hokage.
"Yes, Hokage-sama wishes me to inform you that you are required to appear at the academy the day after tomorrow at noon to retake the genin test." Said the Anbu, before disappearing in a cloud of smoke, sparing themself from hearing Temari's outraged outburst.
"WHAT! How could they make you retake the test? Do they think you cheated? I bet this is because you're a Jinchuriki!" Expressed the outraged Temari, hating the prejudice that Naruto and Gaara had to suffer through.
"Temari-chan, it's okay, I'll just show up, re-take the test, and stay a genin. Simple as that." Replied Naruto, trying to calm the irate blonde girl.
"Fine Naruto-kun, but you know it's not fair." She told him, getting a nod for an answer, effectively ending the conversation, before they both went back to what they were doing.
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Academy
Day Of Retest
"Hello, Naruto-kun." Said Itachi, as Naruto walked into the classroom, to see Itachi, Hiashi, Hiruzen, Iruka, and some civilians who looked like they just took a whiff of crap.
"Hello?" responded Naruto, not knowing who this person actually was.
"Bow down to Uchiha-sama, Demon!" shouted one of the civilians, before shutting up at the glare from the Hokage.
"The only reason I'm doing this is due to your bitching. Naruto, I'd like you to meet Uchiha Itachi. He is Sasuke's older brother. Now, Iruka-san, please begin the test. Itachi-kun, Hiashi-san, please activate your dojutsu." Said the elderly man, before everything started.
When Naruto was finished, the boy was to fight Daikoku again, but it was at this point, that Itachi spoke up.
"Pardon me, Hokage-sama, but I don't want to use my Sharingan here without permission from both Naruto-kun and Daikoku-san."
"I don't mind Itachi-kun. I'm just using the standard style taught in the academy." Daikoku told Itachi getting a nod, before the shinobi turned to Naruto, who thought about it for a second, the class having been taught about all of Konoha's kekkei genkai, before he shook his head.
"I'm sorry, but I don't feel comfortable with Itachi-san learning the Chop Hanging Palm." Said Naruto.
"Very well, Naruto-kun, Hiashi-san's Byakugan should be more than enough for this part of the exam." Said Itachi, making the other shinobi nod, while the civilians were grumbling something along the lines of 'who cares if Uchiha-sama copy's the demons moves(?)'.
Itachi then went back inside with a few civilians in order to supervise Iruka grading Naruto's test, and to 'make sure the demon didn't influence the man'.
At the start of the match, Daikoku rushed Naruto at low chunin speeds, and threw a punch at Naruto's chest, which Naruto slapped aside and responded with a right palm thrust aimed at the man's stomach, which was dodged. The man then grabbed Naruto's wrist with his left hand and attempted to punch the boy with his other hand, which Naruto dodged by tilting his head to the left. Naruto then used thrust his left palm, aiming once more for the larger person's stomach. Daikoku immediately released the boy, and jumped back, dodging the blow.
The two then closed upon one another again and began to attack each other, dodging, blocking, and parrying the other's blows.
After trading blows for a bit, the two broke apart, and began to circle each other, looking for an opening. Finally, at an unknown signal, Daikoku closed the distance again, this time beginning his offensive with a roundhouse left, which Naruto ducked under, before the boy attempted to strike the man's left knee. Seeing what Naruto was doing, his opponent jumped out of the way. But because he was only standing on one leg at the time, he landed rather awkwardly. As the man was trying to regain his balance, Naruto rushed his opponent, and, again, attempted to hit him in the knee while he was off balance.
Seeing this, Daikoku tried to dodge again, but was unable to keep his balance, and fell onto his back. When he hit the ground, he closed his eyes and prepared himself for the blow. As he felt a small breeze cross his face, he realized that Naruto must have stopped his attack close to his face, as the hokage declared Naruto the winner. (3)
"Four minutes and twelve seconds, ten seconds better than last time. Good job, Naruto." Daikoku told the red-headed boy, getting a smile.
"Thank you, sensei." Responded Naruto.
The group of the Hyuga, the hokage, the child, and the civilians then went back inside for the final part of the exam.
"Alright Naruto, I want you to know that you scored the same as you did last time. Now, I want you to do the academy three jutsu, Naruto. If you do, you'll be an official genin." Iruka told the boy, getting a nod.
Naruto then placed his hands in the Ram symbol, before shouting, "Henge (Transformation)!" He then exploded in a cloud of smoke that cleared to reveal a perfect copy of Inu, as Naruto last remembered seeing him, before he poofed back into Naruto.
Naruto then put his hands in the snake symbol. He was then once again disappeared in a cloud of smoke, before he was replaced by a chair showing a successful kawarimi (substitution), before reappearing and putting it back.
"That's good Naruto, now, make three clones, and you'll pass."
At this point, Naruto was, again, rather nervous, as this was his worst technique, and the civilians would look for any excuse to deny him his hitai-ate.
Placing his hands in the tiger seal, he shouted, "Bunshin No Jutsu (Clone technique)!" before he was enveloped in smoke, and when it cleared, there were, once again, five Narutos.
"HA! Look at that, the demon can't even make a clone right!" Shouted a civilian, to which the others laughed, and though Naruto expected something like that, it still hurt.
The group then waited for five minutes as Iruka tallied Naruto's total score.
"Well Naruto, you did do better than last time, but it wasn't enough to go up in rankings, so you're still tenth in the class." Said the scarred chunin, getting smiles from Naruto and the hokage, and frowns from the civilians.
"That being said, you may take your hitai-ate back, and you are to meet up with your team in four days in class-room 110 (4)."
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Team Placement
"Did you hear? There's a kid who graduated after a single year."
"Who do you think it is?"
"I bet it's an Uchiha, or a Hyuga."
"They probably think they're better than us."
"Teme."
Naruto stood there, outside of the room, just listening to the conversations inside. He then took a deep breath and stepped inside.
Silence. Silence reigned supreme within the room as immediately, every eye in the room locked onto him, judging him. Nervously, he smiled, and waved, to which some smiled back, some frowned, but most simply continued their conversations.
"Settle down, settle down." Iruka told the class as he walked in too. Sitting down at his desk, he opened his mouth, no doubt to make a speech that all academy teachers give, but he then closed it. Frowning a little, he began to speak.
"Normally, I'm supposed to tell you that you've done a job well done, and that I'm proud of you, but I won't. Know this, most of you are going to die within the next ten years, a lot as a genin. For you kunoichi, I recommend suicide if captured, as you might be used for 'entertainment' if you don't. Some of you will not be able to cope with the lifestyle and quit, maybe even commit suicide, and a few will simply fade into obscurity. But for those who truly excel, you will become the elite, and your name will go down in history."
With that, Iruka began reading off the team placements, which Naruto mostly ignored until he heard his name.
"Team fourteen will be Muneo, Inuzuka Hana, and Uzumaki Naruto, your sensei will be...*blink, rub eyes, blink again*...Uchiha Mikoto." said Iruka, getting a shocked look from the three. "Team fifteen will be..."
After the assignments had been announced, team fourteen got up and moved together to introduce themselves.
"So you're the gaki that passed early, huh?" asked Hana, a girl who was around five feet tall, with long, straight brown hair, elongated canines, a red tattoo on each cheek, and large, black eyes, who had a rather feral grin, as Muneo, a boy who was much taller than any of the other genin hopefuls (five foot eight), incredibly skinny, and who had a rather round face, dark blue hair that was so short it was almost non-existent, and a circular scar on his left temple, began to eat a bento.
"Y-yeah. Do you-" started Naruto, before he was glomped by a trio of grey blurs, revealing themselves to be three small dogs, all of whom were licking his face, getting a surprised look from Hana.
"Wow, you must be really good with animals, they've never liked someone who wasn't an Inuzuka so quickly before." She commented, before asking, "were you going to ask something?"
"Yeah, do-Ah! That tickles-do you know someone named Kiba?" He enquired, still getting 'mauled' by the three dogs.
"Yeah I do, he's my little brother. Do you know the runt?" She responded, getting a nod from Naruto.
"He was a part of my class. Can you get them off of me?"
"Sure. *sharp whistle* Down." She said firmly, to which they all got off of Naruto and sat at Hana's feet. "These are the Haimaru brothers, Kegawa, Ashi, and Juko (6). What's he like in class?"
"He wouldn't shut up about something about an alpha." Naruto told the girl, getting a snort of derision.
"That sounds about right. I'm Hana by the way." Said the Inuzuka.
"I'm Naruto."
"I'm Muneo." said the almost forgotten boy, getting sheepish looks from the other two.
"So what can you guys do? I can use a few elemental jutsu, a special type of taijutsu, fuinjutsu, and I have low jonin chakra levels as well as a kekkei genkai. I cannot use genjustu, but I can dispel up to B level ones (5)." Naruto told them, getting shocked looks from his team-mates.
"Wow, no wonder you graduated early." Remarked Hana, getting an agreeing nod from Muneo.
"To be honest, I wouldn't be even close to this, if I hadn't gone to Suna with Jiji." Naruto told the two of them, to which they responded with a confused look. "Hokage-jiji." he clarified.
"Hokage-sama is your Jiji?" Asked Muneo, who had to actively force himself not to shout.
"Not really, but he's been like one to me for as long as I can remember, and he doesn't mind, so I call him Jiji." explained the red-head.
"Wow, that's...wow. Said the blunette to himself, before he shook himself out of it. "I can use the basic academy three and the academy taijustsu, but I'm also pretty good with a sword."
"Academy three, and clan techniques." Said Hana, before the three began comparing techniques.
Finally, after half an hour, during which half of the teams were collected, a rather pretty woman with long, straight black hair, black eyes, baggy black pants, a long sleeved dark blue shirt, and the standard jonin flak jacket walked into the room, and called to the three of them, "Team fourteen? I'm Uchiha Mikoto, please follow me up to the roof." Before leaving.
On the roof, Mikoto spent a minute just staring at the three of them, especially Naruto, just thinking back to when she got the team.
Flashback No Jutsu
"Thank you all for coming. It is time once again for genin team placements. Before we start, is there anyone who wishes for a specific team, or to have an apprentice?" asked the Hokage to the room filled with jonin who wished to be sensei's, some of which were surprising, none more so than the first person to speak.
"I would like whichever team Uzumaki Naruto is on, Hokage-sama." Said Uchiha Mikoto, whispers breaking out after she did so.
The wife of the clan head wanted to teach the demon? Was nothing sacred anymore?
"I'm sorry Mikoto-san, but are you sure that you can be a jonin-sensei? You have been off the active duty rosters for over ten years. Would you be able to protect the children should something untoward should happen?" Enquired the hokage, bringing up a good point, to which she couldn't really fault him.
"I am certain, Hokage-sama. I haven't just been standing at a stove for the last decade."
"Forgive me, Hokage-sama, but are you really considering allowing the demon spawn to be taught by Uchiha-sama?" enquired one of the new jonin, getting a glare from Hiruzen.
"If Mikoto-san wishes to teach and she is able, then she may teach whoever she wishes." the aged man told the jonin.
"Yes, Hokage-sama." said the man.
"Hmm...anyways, if you are certain. Uchiha Mikoto, you are now jonin-sensei to genin team fourteen. I do wish to speak with you after the meeting, however."
"Understood, Hokage-sama."
After The Meeting
"What is it you wished to speak of, Hokage-sama?" enquired Mikoto after the last person left.
"I was just wondering why you wished to be a sensei after so long off the duty roster."
"Kushina."
With that one simple word, Hiruzen completely understood. the two women had been nigh inseparable during their academy years, and had remained good friends afterwards. Mikoto remembered going ballistic after she got back from a mission to find out that Kumo had tried to kidnap Kushina. The Uchiha matriarch had even gone so far as to terrify Minato the worst he had ever been in his life when he and the red-head had started dating, it had been so bad that until the day he died, asking what was said was enough to make the blonde hokage assume the fetal position. In fact, Kushina had actually been the god-mother to Itachi and Sasuke, and while Mikoto was supposed to be Naruto's god-mother, they hadn't been able to complete the paperwork as well as the fact that Fugaku wasn't really the biggest fan of either of Naruto's parents. To become the sensei to the son of the person she still considered her best friend was the least that Mikoto could do.
"I see. But, for me to be completely convinced you're up to standards, I want you to retake the jonin qualification exam before the first C-rank you take with your team."
"Very well, Hokage-sama."
"Dismissed."
Flashback No Jutsu Kai
Returning from her trip down memory lane, Mikoto blinked a few times, before introducing herself.
"Hello. My name is Uchiha Mikoto. You may know me as the Uchiha clan head's wife. You, however, will call me 'Mikoto-sensei'. Now, I am aware that two of you are clan heir's?" She asked, getting nods from Naruto and Hana, while Muneo simply looked bored.
"Hai, Mikoto-sensei. I'm Inuzuka Hana, and these are the Haimaru siblings, Kegawa, Ashi, and Juko." the tattooed girl introduced, while the three grey and brown pups stared at the Uchiha, sizing the woman up.
"Hello, Mikoto-sensei. Nice to meet you, I'm Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto told her, to which she had to suppress a smile for
"Hi. I'm Muneo." Said the bluenette, Mikoto nodding.
"Now, while you may think you're genin, you haven't yet earned the right. My job is to test you one last time in order to see whether you should go back to the academy or not. Meet me at training ground twenty seven tomorrow at nine A.M. Just so you know, this test has a sixty-six percent rate of failure. Dismissed." With that, the Uchiha left in a shunshin, ignoring the shocked looks on the three's faces.
"Wait...did that just happen?" asked Muneo, getting a nod from Naruto, as the brunette female fumed where she sat until she just couldn't hold it anymore.
"DAMN IT!" she screamed, prompting Naruto, Muneo, and the three pups to try and hide behind one another, resulting in a rather hilarious loop, where the one in the front of the line ran to the back.
"Come on! We're going to train until we know each other's moves!" shouted Hana, the five males nodding, not wanting to further enrage the Inuzuka.
After a full day of training, the new team was sitting at Ichiraku's ramen, all three bruised and scuffed from trying to figure out how to work together to pass whatever test they had tomorrow (or work against one another should the test call for it).
"Ne, Naruto-san, would you mind my asking why it is that you passed so early instead of with people your own age?" asked Muneo, as this had been bothering him most of the day.
"Are you trying to call me incompetent?" asked Naruto, misunderstanding the question.
"Of course not! I asked why, not how." Muneo clarified, clearing Naruto's confusion. "If you waited, you would no doubt be even better than you are now, and therefore make Rookie Of The Year. Then there's the fact that now that you've graduated, you wont spend enough time with people your own age, and that might make things difficult in some way latter on in life. I'm wondering, why go through all the trouble and hassle to become a ninja so soon? Are you trying to prove something? Are you saying that you're better than us? Are your reasons your own? Why not slow down and enjoy life while it lasts?" wondered the tall boy, Hana, Teuchi, and Ayame listened intently in, wanting to know his answer.
But what was his answer? Did he want to prove his heritage? Did he simply want to be the best? Was it money? Was he just trying to get on the fast-track to the Hokage seat? Or was there another reason? Did his reasons involve blonde hair and a metal fan, or did they have something to do with a cradle, a young one who he would eventually teach all his secrets to? Why didn't he simply graduate with people his own age? He would have been a shoo-in for Rookie Of The Year, and he would have spent more time with Temari. But then again, nothing that happened the past two years wouldn't have been so much as the demented writings of a madman had he not gone to Suna with Hiruzen. Finally reaching his decision, he looked back at his new team-mate, before recoiling slightly seeing that everyone, even the dogs, was staring at him intently.
"Can I help you?" he asked irritably, seemingly snapping the rest of them out of their own trances, before he gave his answer.
"I-I don't really know. I'm not trying to prove anything...I think...I think I just want to become strong to protect those I care about. Temari-chan, Jiji, even Teuchi-oji-san, and Ayame-nee-chan." Naruto told them softly, the four of them smiling at his response.
"What about you two?"
"Hmm...If I had to say, I just want to be a strong clan head and have a family." Reflected Hana.
"I want to be the best swordsman in the village," Said Muneo simply.
After that, the three of them continued to talk, ranging from family, to hobbies, to food, to training. Finally, as the sun finally went down, the three said goodbyes, and went home to prepare for next day's test, unaware of the smiling woman sitting on the top of the stand.
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Next Morning
"Ohayo, Hana-chan, Muneo-san." Shouted Naruto to his team, the two of them responding in kind.
"You guys ready?" asked Hana, to which the males both nodded.
After waiting ten minutes, Mikoto eventually showed up, the three genin hopeful's eye immediately zeroing in on her.
"Hello there. I bet the three of you are wondering what this little test of ours is. It's very simple. All you have to do is find me, fight me, and capture me. And since I'm a nice person, I'll give you until noon to do so."
"Is this unfair for you, or us?" asked a nervous Muneo, who was carrying a long, slightly curved wrapped package that was almost as tall as he was, prompting a savage grin on the Uchiha's face that hadn't appeared in years.
"Oh, trust me, It's unfair for you." Mikoto told them, before disappearing.
"Well, that's interesting." remarked Muneo, the other two nodding.
"Okay, I'm an Inuzuka, so I'm probably the best tracker," Started Hana, before pausing to see if either of the males wanted to try, "When we find her, Muneo and I'll be close rang assault, and you, Naruto, will provide long range support. I remember yesterday that you said you could use fuinjutsu, do you have anything that could restrain someone?" She finished.
"Um, yeah. I've got several types. I've got ones that you place on the body that restricts movements, one that you place on the body that restricts chakra use-I haven't learned the combined tag yet-and one that you place on a kunai or on a surface that makes a barrier." Naruto told them, handing Hana and Muneo a few of each tag, before hesitating and pulling out a fourth kind of tag. "Here, you should plant these as you go. They're kind of like explosive tags, but, in my opinion, deadlier. Trust me, if you get hit by this, you will die. The only reason that I'm willing to use them on Mikoto sensei is due to her being a jonin."
Nodding, Hana went off with her dogs, Muneo following close behind, with Naruto further back. For one hour, Mikoto led the six of them on a merry chase around the forest, until she deemed it long enough to let them catch up.
The three genin and the dogs finally landed in a clearing where the Jonin stood, the three genin breathing rather heavily, the dogs panting.
"Well? What are you waiting for?" asked their new sensei.
At this, Hana immediately growled, and got on all fours, before shouting, "Shikyaku no Jutsu (Four legs technique)! Let's go you guys!" Hana then ran towards Mikoto along with the Haimaru Brothers, before shoving off the ground and rolling faster and faster before all four looked like buzz-saws, shooting towards the woman. "Gatenga (Fang rotating fang)." which was easily dodged. When Hana finally stopped, she landed on her hands, before shooting back at the woman feet first and face down, trying to kick her, which was also dodged. However, as soon as Mikoto landed, she was forced to duck, lest she get decapitated from behind by Muneo, who was wielding an odachi that was three feet long, with another twelve inches of hilt, revealing what had been in the package.
Mikoto was then forced to jump away as a red-orange orb occupied the space she was just in, ending up in a three point stance (7) a few yards away. When she looked up, she quickly went through a few quick hand-signs, and with a thought of 'Suiton: Suidon no jutsu (Water style: Water bullet technique)', expelled several large globes of water at the dozen or so of the red-orange globes, dissipating them.
"Are you trying to kill me, Naruto?" She asked with an avid grin on her face.
'I haven't had this much fun in years.'
"You're a jonin, you're used to it." Replied the youngest human there, the same exact grin on his face.
"True, but I-" she started, before she was once again forced to dodge the pack of living buzz-saws, and the odachi wielding bean-pole.
Mikoto continued to dodge the genin's attacks, until, at one point, both Hana and Muneo attacked her from either side. The Uchiha matriarch simply flipped onto her hands, and performed a perfect split kick which sent both genin impacting a tree, the triplets breaking formation to check on their master, before the woman shot off several more bursts of water to dispel all of Naruto's orbs.
"Is that all? I was hoping this would be more of a challenge." She taunted, getting a rise out of most of her opponents, "Maybe I should go ahead and fail you right now?"
At this, she looked around to see Hana scowling, the Haimaru brothers growling, Muneo with a pained look on his face, and Naruto...smiling?
"What's so funny?"
"This." Replied the Jinchuriki, holding up half the ram sign, before a tag that had been slightly buried in the dirt about an inch away from her foot went off, revealing itself to be one of the 'dangerous' tags that he had given his team.
"What?" She proclaimed, wide eyed, as another red-orange orb with a diameter of about six inches, came out of the tag, hovered about three feet off the ground, and then expanded to about ten times it's original size before disappearing, forcing the woman to once again dodge.
"Not bad, Naruto, but you'll have to do better than that."
'Damn, I am out of practice, I would never have even dreamed of getting caught in that before Itachi was born.' She thought, before her eyes once again widened in surprise as Naruto once again made the hand seals, showing a couple dozen more seals hidden throughout the clearing. 'Oh shit.'
With that, she spent the next minute or so simply trying not to be killed by her obviously psychotic team, dodging one miniature sun after another as the three genin watched. She could have easily gotten out of it, of course, but she decided to humor them. Then, it came down to the final four tags, all arranged in a square, though nothing seemed to happen.
"Awe, sorry Naru-chan, it looks like your seals are duds." taunted Mikoto, who then tried to walk out of the square, only to hit an invisible wall.
"Yeah! We did it!" Shouted Hana, jumping up and down with Naruto, while Muneo simply sat down against a tree.
Whish
As they were celebrating, a wire suddenly wrapped around the tree and Muneo, as 'Mikoto' disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
"Not bad kiddies, but I think I'm going to take of the velvet gloves now." Warned the Uchiha, before she began to completely decimate them.
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Noon
'I still got it.' thought Mikoto happily, as the three genin and dogs lay on the ground around her in various stages of 'beat the hell up' and exhaustion.
"I thought you guys wanted to be genin, but I guess not. Line up" She commanded, the three of them doing as ordered, the Haimaru brothers lining up behind Hana.
"Now, I'll say, that wasn't half bad, but there's definite room for improval. Now, I see potential here, but from that abysmal performance, I'm only going to teach two of you. You can either vote to have one of the others dropped from the program, or you can volunteer. What's it going to be?" Asked their sensei, getting scandalized looks from the three children.
"WHAT? WHAT DO YOU MEAN-" Started Hana, but before she could really get going, she was interrupted by Muneo.
"I volunteer to be dropped from the program." He said calmly, before he was smacked on the back of the head by both Hana and Naruto, though Naruto had to use chakra to strengthen his legs to do so.
"No, I volunteer, I shouldn't have graduated this year anyways." argued Naruto, then he was smacked by Hana too.
"Neither of you will be dropped. I can just 'teach' my brother how to be a proper clan head." the dog loving girl told them.
"No, you both need to be shinobi to lead your clans. I can just become a samurai or something to be a good swordsman!" shouted the bluenette, causing the three of them to starts fighting each other in a good old fashion anime dust cloud, arms, legs, and heads popping out every once in a while.
Mikoto, meanwhile, simply watched, every now and then holding out something that was grabbed by one of the combatants to hit the others with. First a chair, then a tree limb, a golf club, a fish, things like that.
When the three genin hopeful exhausted themselves, Mikoto stood above them, a disapproving expression on her face.
"You three can't even decide who to drop from the program?" She nearly shouted, making the genin flinch. "I guess that the three of you are going to have to..." Dramatic pause for genin to imagine the worst "Pass."
"Whaaaaaa...?" Came the 'intelligent' response from the bruised team.
"You pass. The highest edict of Konoha is camaraderie, the ability to place the good of one's team, or the village, before oneself. Myself, the hokage, even the two people who guard the gates, would gladly give our livees to protect the village and those who live within it's walls. By telling me to spare the others, you've each shown me that you share this edict. Congratulations, team fourteen, you are now all official genin."
"YATTA!"
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And that's that. Thank you for reading!
Naruto seems remarkably fluent for a seven year old, doesn't he?
What do you guys think of my O.C., Muneo?
Now, if you'll excuse me, I must go meet up with my friend, Albert Whisker.
Yes, I put Whisker instead of Wesker on purpose.
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Omake
How The Hell Are You Doing That?
"Ne, Naruto-kun. Have you ever played Shogi?" Asked Temari, who was rather bored, as it was a Saturday afternoon, during which both children were told by their sensei's to take it easy.
"Umm...No, I haven't Temari-chan, why do you ask?" wondered Naruto, as Temari get a large grin on her face, before leaving the room, ignoring Bacchus's heavy snoring, and coming back with a board and a box of pieces.
"Now, Naruto, there are forty pieces..." She started
Two Hours Later (8)
"How are you doing that?!" Shouted Temari as she stared at the board, the pieces showing her tenth loss in a row.
At this, Naruto simply shrugged and said, "I don't really know, I just move whatever piece feels right."
"Damn it!" She screamed, before she picked up the board and all its pieces, grabbed his hand, and dragged him out of the house, Bacchus's inebriated catcalls following them as they went.
"Where are we going Temari-chan?" Asked Naruto, getting a frustrated huff from Temari, before she said, "We're going to Shikamaru's house."
Shikamaru's House
KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK
"Yeah, Yeah, I'm coming!" Shouted a voice from inside the house as Temari pounded on the front door.
"What do you need?" asked a man with a pair of scars on his face as he opened the door, before looking around confusedly, not seeing anyone, before looking down as Temari coughed.
"Hello Shikaku-san, is Shikamaru-san here?" She asked, getting a nod from the man, before he turned his head towards a set of stairs visible from the door.
"Shikamaru! You have visitors!" He shouted, startling the two blondes, before a shout of 'I'm sleeping' was heard.
"They have a Shogi board." The man yelled back, and around thirty seconds later Shikamaru came stumbling down the stairs yawning and rubbing his eyes.
"Who has a *YAWN* Shogi board?" asked the brunette boy, before he saw it was a rather annoyed looking Temari and a rather confused looking Naruto. "Hey guys, how's it going?" he asked, before Temari grabbed his wrist and dragged both boys to where the two of them usually played Shogi, and started setting up the game.
"NE, Temari-san, what are you doing?" asked the lazy boy, getting an annoyed sound from the blonde girl, who simply replied 'I want to test something'.
After she set up the board Temari set Naruto on one side, and Shikamaru on the other, and commanded them to play. Not wanting to face her female fury, they complied.
Two And A Half Hours Later
"HOW ARE YOU DOING THAT?!" Screamed Temari, as she, Shikamaru, Shikaku (who had been watching out of curiosity the whole time), and Yoshino (Shikamaru's mother, who had arrived about an hour in), stared at the board showing Shikamaru's seventh loss in a row.
"I told you, Temari-chan, I just move whichever piece I feel is right." said Naruto, who was shaking in fear and ready to bolt as soon as he saw a fan appear.
'Troublesome.' thought Shikamaru, who was also getting ready to flee.
'Amazing, I don't think I've ever seen someone beat Shikamaru so thoroughly except for Shikaku-kun' thought Shikamaru's mother.
'I wonder if he'd like to play against me?' wondered Shikaku, as he started walking over to tell the two blondes that it was time to leave, as it was getting rater late.
(9)
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1: It is commonly believed that children should not speak unless spoken to, and Itachi violated that edict during an important meeting.
2: Hiashi doesn't really care one way or another about Naruto, he simply wants the test to be fair.
3: I'm pretty sure that a chunin wouldn't actually make this mistake, but it's my story.
4: Just so that there's no confusion; The class graduated on Friday, the council meeting happened on Saturday, the re-test was Monday, and the genin meeting their sensei happens on the Friday after the original test.
5: If you think this is too much, then let me remind you that he's been training for two years to be, and by a shinobi.
6: Kegawa = Fur. Ashi = Paw. Juko = Muzzle.
7: A three point stance is where you have both feet, and one hand on the ground.
8: I don't really know how long a game of Shogi usually lasts, so I just used a random amount of time.
9: For those that were wondering about the score between Temari and Shikamaru, Temari has won six games, while Shikamaru has won thirteen.
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Quote of the day:
All those moments will be lost...in time...like tears in the rain.
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Stay tuned for the next chapter of A Taste Of The Desert: My First Mission
This concludes experiment log no. 2947