chapter 4
team time
As Inuzuka Kiba made his way toward training ground three at 7:30 in the morning, he felt confident and excited about the upcoming test. He had slept well the night before and woken up a bit early to fit in a decent breakfast (because eating just before something that would likely involve strenuous physical activity was something only an idiot would do). The dog-nin's current plan was to arrive at the training field a bit early and use the time to warm up while waiting for the test to start.
"Arf rff woof! /Just last week, I would never have dreamed about being happy to spend time with the infamous Uzumaki Naruto and a member of the Uchiha's fan club/" his white-furred partner spoke up from inside his jacket.
"I know, Akamaru. Crazy, isn't it? I mean, who would have thought that a loud idiot like Naruto would be so fun to hang with. And Ino's really pretty neat too, as long as she and the baka aren't at each other's throats," he answered.
The evening meeting had gone pretty well, except for his having to step in five different times to stop his teammates from killing each other. They had started off speculating as to just what the test might be and, combining stuff Hana-neesan and his mom had told him, a few things Ino had overheard her dad talking about over the years, and several minor details Naruto remembered from Iruka-sensei's lectures (seriously, though, the boy's memory was just plain freaky when it came to Sensei, especially considering that he had slept through more than half the stuff he remembered), they concluded that it would most likely pit the three of them together against Asuma-sensei in some form of combat.
Once they figured that out, the genin of team seven made the obvious choice of figuring out where each of them stood in terms of ninja abilities, so they could plan more effectively. His blonde teammates had really managed to surprise him. When they did one-on-one taijutsu spars, Ino had kicked both boys' asses with her superior technique, until she started getting tired, anyway. And that Shintenshin no Jutsu of hers had been just plain creepy. When she had gone to demonstrate it, Naruto had refused point-blank to be a target. Somehow, that had gotten the kunoichi angry at him and led to their third shouting match. It also resulted in Kiba being on the receiving end of the jutsu. Feeling his body responding to someone else's commands and not his own was the weirdest thing he had ever experienced.
Then there was Naruto. He had always thought of the short blonde as nothing more than a weak, noisy loser who liked to exaggerate his own skills, boast about how he'd become Hokage, and pull pranks. Now though... It had started with his speech at Iruka-sensei's funeral. Something in the way he talked made it impossible not to realize just how true the words were, and he just sort of drew you in. After they had been put on the same team, when the three of them went to the roof for lunch, he had started really paying attention to the other shinobi for the first time. It was impossible not to notice the blonde (his clothes alone made sure of that), but there was a big difference between noticing someone and paying attention to them. What Kiba had realized during that half hour together was that Naruto was a pretty fun person to be around. With how he was always so open about his emotions and thoughts, and that big grin that was usually on his face, you just couldn't help but like him.
His ninja skills were nothing to scoff at, either. His taijutsu was really sloppy, sure, but he made up for it by just not staying down. The first time Kiba had landed a punch, the blonde had just shrugged it off like it was nothing and told him to stop holding back. The first time Naruto had landed a punch, the Inuzuka was on his back for five seconds before he was able to stand again. He had hated to admit it, but the smaller boy had him beat in terms of raw strength. Of course, he hadn't really had any other choice when his opponent, without seeming to really exert himself, had him held so tightly he couldn't even wiggle. That had been in their second match. Kiba had won the first thanks to his superior speed, but the second dragged on so long he had started to wear out. Of course Naruto, being the stamina freak he was, wasn't even winded. And after sparring, when they had shown each other their jutsu, the dog-boy couldn't help but be amazed by the Kage Bunshin. The only thing more insane than the jutsu itself was the amount of chakra it required and the way Naruto could dish it out like it was nothing. No wonder he was always so energetic.
"Arf! /I smell something interesting up ahead/" His companion's message interrupted his musing on his teammates.
"Really? What?"
"Rff. /Wait and find out for yourself/" Something amusing, if Akamaru's tone was anything to go by. A minute later, he caught the scent as well. Ramen, fox, and... sweat? Naruto was training? Now? Kiba decided to run the rest of the way and give the idiot a piece of his mind when he got there. Did he forget they all needed to be in top shape for the test even after he had been the one to force Ino to promise to eat something substantial for breakfast?
He arrived just in time to see four of the blonde boy charge at each other, before three of them dispersed in puffs of smoke. The remaining version of his teammate noticed his presence and turned to face him, wiping the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. "Hey, Kiba, morning! I was just doing a bit of training while I waited for you and Ino to show up."
The dog-boy was about to answer when, out of nowhere, a fist impacted powerfully with the smaller boy's cheek, sending him flying before he burst into smoke.
"Are you the real you, then?" he asked, after seeing his teammate punch himself.
"Yeah. Anyway, Asuma-sensei should be here in about twenty minutes. I'm gonna go relax over by the stone for a bit." By 'the stone,' he meant the memorial stone, with all the names carved into it. The genin had noticed it last night when they were getting ready to leave.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
"Hey, Ino, Kiba. Come look at this." The blonde boy was standing in front of the large, oddly-shaped rock near the trees. They both took notice of his somber tone of voice.
"What about it?" Ino asked.
"It has a bunch of names carved into it. The last one is Iruka sensei's." The other two members of team seven had come to a silent agreement to not ask Naruto about what had happened that night. The pain was still obvious in his face and voice whenever the man came up.
"Hey, you're right," Kiba said, now standing next to the other boy. He could barely make it out in the fading light, but the final name on the stone was indeed Umino Iruka.
"Sensei's name was just carved in recently." It was the quietest either of the other two had ever heard Naruto speak.
"Really? How can you tell?" Ino asked.
He turned to her, blue eyes full of sadness in the dim light. "The stone is rougher. It hasn't had time to smooth out any."
Kiba spent a moment thinking about this before responding. "You can see that kind of detail in this light? Wow, you must have good night vision."
"Still, I wonder what this stone is for. A memorial to all the fallen Konoha ninjas, maybe?" Ino voiced the thought they were all thinking.
Her answer came from behind the three genin. "Close. Anyone who gives their life protecting the village has their name put on this stone." The solemn voice caught them completely by surprise.
"Ahh!" They spun around to find a tall, silver-haired man in jonin garb. His forehead protector was slanted down to cover up a presumably missing left eye, and a mask covered the lower half of his face.
Naruto elected himself to speak for the group. "Who the hell are you, and what are you sneaking up on us like that for?"
"I'm Hatake Kakashi. And just so you know, I wasn't sneaking up on you."
"Whaddaya mean, not snea-"
Ino interrupted the much louder blonde. "Kakashi? You're the sensei for Sasuke-kun's team, then? Forehead girl was telling me all about you and how you were three hours late for meeting them."
The man's eyelid lowered exactly halfway, giving the erie effect that his eye was smiling at them. "What can I say? I got lost on the road of life." After giving the genin a moment to glare at him for the sheer lameness of his excuse, he continued. "As far as being a sensei, well, it depends on wether my cute new genin are able to survive my test tomorrow. There's no need for me to ask who you are, though."
The strange and sudden use of a comment that would have made much more sense earlier in the conversation confused Ino and Kiba to no end. The team knucklehead, though, seemed to take offense at something, if the abrupt shift in his posture and tone were any indication. "And just what the hell is that supposed to mean?"
The tall man just did that creepy eye-smile again. "You're obviously Asuma's own trio of cute potential genin, of course. Anyway, I believe you three were looking at the Memorial Stone earlier. Please don't let me interrupt you."
Their attention returned once more to the engraved, polished hunk of rock before them. Knowing just what it stood for and seeing the countless names that had been carved in over the years was truly a humbling feeling. "This bunch right here," Naruto gestured to a group of about four hundred names, separated by a small amount of blank space from the ones before and after it. "This is everyone who died in the Kyuubi attack, right? I see the Yondaime, and two people who must have been Iruka-sensei's parents." Hearing the blonde speak so solemnly was something his teammates still weren't used to.
Kakashi moved and kneeled down to look straight into his crystal-blue eyes. "Yes. They are the people who lost their lives fighting the monster during that terrible tragedy." He stood again, and everyone was silent for several minutes in respect for the dead. Then, as if by some unspoken signal, team seven departed all at once, each heading in a different direction. Kakashi stayed where he was.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Ino came into the clearing about five minutes before the test was scheduled to begin. She had walked the whole way from home, knowing that she needed to conserve her energy. Last night had shown quite clearly just how lacking she was in terms of stamina, especially when compared to the boys.
Speaking of the boys, they were currently sitting down on the grass by the training posts, leaning up against the hard wood. "You two need to be more alert! What would Asuma-sensei think if he saw you dozing off like that when he got here?"
Her fellow blonde leapt to his feet with an indignant shout. "Oi! I was alert!"
"Yeah right, idiot! Your eyes were half-closed!" she shouted right back. Ever since she had gotten teamed up with the knucklehead, he had taken the definition of 'annoying' to a whole new level. The blue-eyed boy was about to retort, but he was silenced before even starting by the sudden arrival of Asuma-sensei.
"What's this? Are you three fighting already? While I'm glad you're all so excited, wouldn't it be better to save it for the test?" The young ninjas turned to face him, standing at attention and ready to find out just what they would be doing. It looked like he had forgone the cigarette today, probably out of courtesy to Naruto after the comment he had made during introductions. "Much better. Now, like I said yesterday, this will be a very difficult test, and anyone who doesn't pass will be sent back to the Academy." Repeating himself? Why? Surely he didn't think they would forget something so important so quickly.
"Hurry it up then! The three of us are ready for anything you throw our way!"
"Yeah! We're gonna ace this test of yours, whatever it is! Right Akamaru?"
"Arf!"
Boys. Always so quick to be ready to fight, especially loud ones like those two... Oh! So that was it! Best play along then. Was she ever glad her dad had started teaching her psychology earlier that year.
Ino moved to stand in between the two of them. "Bring it on, Asuma-sensei!"
She could detect the faintest hint of triumph in the jonin's chuckle. "Gotchya. Now if only I knew just why you want us all riled up."
"Okay. For this test, the three of you will be up against me in combat." Well, it seemed their guess was correct. All those traps Naruto had set up would probably come in pretty handy soon. The three genin sank into combat stances instantly. "Hold on a minute; I haven't finished explaining the rules." They returned to normal. "You see, to pass this test, you have to land a hit on me, or something equivalent, in one fashion or another. Doesn't matter if it's taijutsu, kunai or shuriken, ninjutsu, whatever. You just have to land it or get me into a situation where a hit would be inevitable. There's a catch, though." Their heads perked up. "Two catches, actually. First, you only have until 8:30. And second, only the first two of you to hit me will pass."
"WHAAAAT?"
"Hey, that's not fair!"
"Grr rff!"
Ino figured it out but decided not to let anyone know for the time being. "Yeah! What happened to us being a team?"
"Sorry. One of you's got to go back. That's the rules." He didn't look sorry.
Naruto was angry. "Grr... Stupid rules! When I become Hokage, that'll be the first thing to go!"
Kiba and Akamaru stayed silent, but were clearly just as upset.
"All right," Asuma-sensei said after a moment. "Ready... Set... START!"
The boys would have leapt off in opposite directions then and there had it not been for Ino grabbing tightly onto each of their forearms. "And just where do you two think you're going?"
"Ino, let go! You're wasting time!" Kiba was a bit nervous.
"Hehe... Sorry. It looks like we won't be working together for this after all."
She smirked at Asuma-sensei. "You idiots!" the kunoichi shouted, removing her hands from their arms to bonk them on the heads. "Pay a bit more attention, would you?"
"Huh?"
"Wah?"
"Arf?"
She sighed. "Yesterday, Asuma-sensei said that every two out of three teams fail this test. Now he's saying that one out of three genin fails it."
"So?" the boys asked as one.
"So, he's trying to trick us! Remember how last night we guessed it would probably be a test to see how we work together? Well we were right, just not the way we thought. Instead of seeing how we fight together, he's trying to how willing we are to fight together. Are we ready to keep working as a team, even knowing one of us won't be around much longer? Can we stay true to each other even when our dreams are on the line? That's what this test is really about, right Asuma-sensei?"
The other two looked at her, then at their sensei, then back to her, then back to him again, waiting angrily for confirmation. "She's right. Well, I gave it a try." Then he mumbled, but not so quietly that they couldn't make it out, "I told Kakashi it wouldn't work on these three."
"Anyways, you all pass. Good work, Ino, Naruto, Kiba, Akamaru."
"WOOHOO! We did it! We passed! We're ninjas! Ino, that was awesome!" Naruto did some sort of strange, excited victory dance. Then he hugged her, taking the girl completely by surprise. She was about to shout at him with what little air she had left in her lungs, when he just as suddenly let go, running over to Kiba.
The dog-boy backed up frantically. "Naruto, I'm excited and all too, but I really don't want you to hug me." That seemed to calm the orange blob of energy down a little.
Asuma-sensei spoke up again. "Now while you have passed, I'll still need to evaluate your combat skills. I'm supposed to be your sensei, but I need to know where you stand before I can decide what to teach you." The genin of team seven listened intently. "Now, I want you to start by coming at me individually, and yes, Kiba, you can use Akamaru. Then all of you at once, so I can see your teamwork. Now, who wants to go first?"
"I will, Asuma-sensei," Ino volunteered. It made the most sense, after all. She had the least stamina, so going first would give her the most time to recover before the three-on-one fight. She stepped forward and shifted into the basic taijutsu stance taught at the Academy as the boys moved back, giving her space.
"Don't hold back," he advised. She wasn't planning on it. Channeling chakra to her legs, she dashed forward, striking out with a quick right jab. It was blocked, of course, but the blonde swiftly followed it up by planting her left foot forward and transfering to a chakra-enhanced spin kick with the right. The jonin leapt backwards slightly to avoid it. Ino, however, had thought a step ahead. During her spin, her left hand had grabbed a kunai, and she threw it at point blank range.
For an instant, she panicked, thinking the weapon would actually hit, only for Asuma-sensei to suddenly be deflecting it with a trench knife in his right hand. Amazing; she hadn't even seen a trace of movement he was so fast.
This time, the jonin came at her, apparently wanting to test her defense, but Ino was having none of it. Dropping low, she went to sweep out his legs. The blonde didn't bother adding chakra to this one, as she hadn't planned for it to hit, just to get him in the air again. Of course, realistically, none of these blows had any chance of hitting unless Asuma-sensei let them, but never mind. Before his feet touched the ground, she tried for a straight punch to the stomach. Blocked again. Immediately, she followed up with a knife-hand to the neck. The man punished her for leaving herself open like that with a swift knee to the side.
Things continued in this fashion for about ten minutes, her attacking, him blocking or dodging and giving her 'reminders' whenever she left too wide of an opening, with the occasional kunai or shuriken thrown in to mix things up. Then he called a stop. "Good work, Ino. You're quick and accurate, and you think ahead in combat. You need to not be quite so aggressive, though, as it tends to leave large gaps in your defense. Also, your stamina definitely needs some work, as does your overall speed. Go rest for a bit."
The praise felt nice, and Asuma-sensei was definitely more helpful than Mizuki had ever been. She sat down on the grass next to her fellow blonde as their other teammate and his dog took her place.
"You looked really good out there, Ino." She doubted the boy even realized his words could be taken two different ways.
"Thanks, Naruto." she responded in between deep breaths. Then she turned to watch the Inuzuka and his partner.
She hadn't really liked Kba very much back in the Academy. He was always too loud and never seemed to pay attention in classes. Unlike Sasuke-kun, so quiet and strong, watching everything around him with his captivating black eyes...
Enough about Sasuke-kun for now though. There would be plenty of time to reminisce about her days in the presence of the Uchiha later. Right now she had a teammate to support.
Teammate. It was weird, she would never have thought the dog-boy would be so likable, in his own strange way. All that boasting and bragging he did was really just to cover for how insecure he really was. And no surprise either, since for the most part he had only had one parental figure, who wasn't even home very often and acted much more like a father than the mother she was supposed to be. His sister probably helped, but a sibling just couldn't fill the same role. Damn her father for making her learn psychology. Now she was being all analytical.
The mind wasn't meant to be analyzed like that, it was far more complex to just be described. It had to be experienced. And as a matter of fact, she had experienced Kiba's mind briefly last night. It turned out there was much more to the dog-boy than met the eye, especially when it came to his bond with Akamaru.
And he was someone she felt she could trust as well. As a friend, he would be faithful, loyal, and supportive, helping her when she needed it and just being there to talk to in a way she wished she still had with Sakura. And in return, she would be a good friend to him as well.
"Okay, stop." Asuma-sensei's voice brought her out of her thoughts. She had completely lost track of time "The two of you work together very well, and you're perfectly fine in terms of your physical condition. Also, your knowledge and use of your clan jutsus is extremely advanced for a fresh genin. On the downside, though, you're much too straightforward in your attacks. Anyone fast enough would be very hard for you to fight well against. You also seem to be a little too dependent on Akamaru at times. While I know that the two of you are supposed to be together all the time, unexpected things happen fairly often on missions, and you need to be prepared. Okay, go have a seat. Naruto! You're up."
The overly-energetic boy leapt to his feet in excitement. "Yes! Finally I get a chance to show you just what I can do! Ready, Sensei? Here I come!"
"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu"
Orange filled her vision, and in fact the entire clearing and some of the nearby trees. In fact, the only things she could see that weren't Naruto (excluding herself, of course) were Kiba and Akamaru. Then her blonde teammate started throwing himselves at their sensei, sometimes quite literally picking himself up and throwing himself through the air.
Last night, after returning home Ino had spent the remainder of her time before bed thinking about the mystery that was the blue-eyed, orange-loving, yellow-haired, black hole of ramen of a teammate and come to a simple conclusion. Uzumaki Naruto was someone that made no sense. Or more like there were things about him that didn't make any sense. For one, he was, without a doubt, the most open person she had ever met. Whenever he talked or thought, his emotions would play out across his face and in his eyes and voice clear as day. Yet at the same time, there was an entire side of him she hadn't even known existed until she heard his speech at Iruka-sensei's funeral.
When she had gone back over all the memories of him in the Academy, something else odd had stood out. The constant boasting and bragging. Unlike with Kiba, this wasn't to cover up some kind of insecurity. Naruto being insecure was about as likely as the grass being blue and the sky green. So she had started to consider what other reasons he might have had, using everything she knew about him and the new side of himself he had first revealed at the funeral. And she had figured it out. Oh God she had figured it out, even though part of her wished she hadn't. Because Naruto was so lonely. So painfully lonely, every day, all the time, for his entire life. So alone, and now she could see it. That loneliness in his eyes, always there, always so perfectly hidden unless you were looking for it. Even just remembering the way he had been at the Academy it was there, in everything he did, in every word he spoke.
Now, though, he had the beginnings of friendship, and sometimes, like when he had smiled at her on the roof the day before, that insufferable loneliness would just melt away, and it was like the sun coming out from behind a cloud, spreading its light and warmth throughout the world. Just as the loneliness pierced straight to her heart, so did the happiness, that brilliant joy of his.
And she knew, too, who it was that had saved the boy from his loneliness and given him that first taste of joy. She knew, because every time he mentioned Iruka-sensei, she could see it there beneath the sadness at his death. That same happiness.
As confusing (and at the same time simplistic) as Naruto was though, as contradictory as he was, there was one thing Ino knew without a doubt. He needed a friend. A real friend, who would always be there for him no matter what, despite his idiocy, and his annoyingness, and his contradictory nature. And she had chosen to make it a goal to be that friend, because she had seen his smile, and it really did make the world a brighter place.
Once again, her thoughts were interrupted by Asuma-sensei's voice. "That's enough." The remaining clones poofed away, leaving a single grinning Naruto excitedly awaiting his evaluation. "First, I have a couple questions. One, who the hell taught you that that was taijutsu?" She could hear the anger clearly in his voice, directed not at the blonde, but his incompetent instructor, who would have to be...
"Mizuki-teme." His answer was short and to the point, and it was only because he happened to be facing towards her that Ino saw it, the flash of hatred in his eyes. And just like every other emotion Naruto experienced, it was powerful and deep. It was truly frightening, and she felt pity for whomever might have that look directed at them in the future. Then it was gone.
"I see. Well, the problem is that he taught you badly, almost definitely on purpose. In truth, you likely would have been better off with no instruction at all. I know someone who will likely be more than willing to help you fix this problem, though before I introduce you to him, you must promise me you absolutely will not take any advice from him on anything except taijutsu. We'll talk more about that later, though, as there was one other thing I wanted to ask you. Naruto, why don't you use any chakra to enhance your muscles?"
Naturally, this question caused entirely different reactions for the boy's teammates than for the boy himself. For all three, the first thought was a simple "Huh?" but for Ino and Kiba it continued "What the hell?" while for Naruto it was "You can do that? Cool!" The outward reactions were vastly different as well. The orange-clad boy used words. "Huh? You can do that? Cool!" The other just twisted their faces into identical expressions of pure disbelief.
"Yes, you can," Asuma-sensei answered. "Channeling chakra into a muscle drastically increases the force it is capable of generating." The boy's expression changed from one of excitement to one of 'what the hell language did you just speak?' "In other words, you can make your muscles stronger by sending chakra to them. But you have to be careful not to overdo it or you could end up seriously damaging your body. Anyway, why don't you give it a try now? Channel some chakra to your arm and chest muscles and punch me as hard as you can."
The blonde boy did as instructed. Asuma-sensei shifted a bit when the blow connected, but that was it. "Hmm, weird."
"What? What's weird? Did I not do it right, Asuma-sensei?"
"No, no. You did it properly. It just didn't work properly. Probably something to do with an irregularity in either your chakra or muscles. I'll look over your medical records in more detail and see if I can figure it out. You don't need to worry, though, because in terms of physical strength you're already a bit above what most new genin have even with chakra enhancement.
"Now that those two questions are out of the way, I can give you a proper evaluation." Naruto looked excited. "In short, you have an incredible amount of potential but are currently able to use almost none of it. You're strong, you have more chakra than just about anyone I've ever met, you have more stamina than someone your age should be capable of having, you recover extremely quickly and have exceptionally high pain tolerance, your reflexes are definitely above average, and you're clever; using Henge no Jutsu to change into a pebble is something I don't think anyone has ever thought to do before. The problems though are your horrendous taijutsu, the worst chakra control I've ever seen, and your tendency to not think about what you're doing. And while those are all major flaws, they're all things we can work on. Since I doubt you need any time to rest, I think we'll go straight on to the full team evaluation.
"Just so you all know ahead of time, this will be completely different. I won't be staying on the defensive almost all the time, and I won't hod back quite as much. Your goal is to incapacitate me in some way. It's now 9:00; you have until 11:30. Ready? Begin!"
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Naruto had apparently decided to take the initiative in starting the fight. Two seconds after he had finished speaking, the Hokage's son found himself rained upon by countless short blonde boys for the second time that day. Unlike last time, though, he wasn't just going to stand there as they came at him. Instead, he took a more active role in thinning out the herd, all the while moving in the direction he'd seen his students retreat as soon as the orange swarm had appeared.
Asuma couldn't help it; he found himself really liking his new genin team. It wasn't the bucketloads of potential he could see in them as ninja, or the way they had bonded together so quickly despite coming from completely different places, or even the part where he could see a bit of his younger self in each of them. Those were just bonuses. What made him like them so much was the Will of Fire in each one of them. He had seen it earlier in that instant after Ino had explained the test when they had all glared at him. A glare that showed just how deeply his father's principles had been ingrained into their young minds and just how determined they were to follow those principles.
Right, this had gone on long enough. First double-checking to make sure the real genin weren't still somewhere in the crowd, the jonin went through a string of handseals.
"Fuuton: Kaze Bakuha no Jutsu" (wind element: wind explosion jutsu)
The 360 degree blast of chakra-infused air tore all the remaining clones to shreds in an instant, leaving him alone in the clearing. He did a quick search for his students' chakra signatures and was surprised to only find two of them. Stopping to do a deeper scan, he found the third. Naruto had somehow managed to lower his chakra levels to below what was considered normal even for an Academy student. It was only because the blonde's terrible control had him constantly leaking chakra even with this small an amount that the man picked up on it. No wonder the kid had always been so good at sneaking around to do his pranks. To most chunin, as long as he stayed out of sight and kept quiet, he would be completely invisible.
Oh, now this was interesting. All three were in the woods spread out relatively far apart, but they were in a near-perfect triangle shape. Not only that, but each one had a single shadow clone with them. Brilliant. He goes after one of them, the clone with that one dispels, notifying the others, who then come at him from behind. Nice to see the supposed worst student in the history of the Academy was finding creative uses for his newest jutsu. All right, he'd go along with their expectations, for now anyway. The bearded jonin headed in Kiba and Akamaru's direction.
He arrived at his destination only to be instantly beset upon by the Inuzuka pair, already both in Juujin Bunshin forms. He really hadn't been exaggerating when he had told the dog-user he was good with his clan jutsu.
Just as he had predicted, the others came in from behind within thirty seconds of his engaging the boy. Ino struck first, trying to take him from behind with a knockout chop to the neck. It might've worked if he were deaf. As it was, though, he settled for placing his elbow firmly between her ribs, knocking her away. He had told them he wouldn't stay on the defensive, after all.
Immediately afterward, Naruto came charging at him, kunai in hand. He met the blonde with a swift punch to the stomach, only for him to disperse into smoke. The kunai he had been holding, however, didn't. And wrapped around the base was an active exploding tag. Tricky little brat. He leapt upwards and backwards, out of the explosion range.
Kiba and Akamaru saw their chance and took it. The dog-nin and his companion launched themselves at him while he was still in midair. It was a nice tactic, one that even most high-level chunin would have trouble getting out of. He let the blows connect.
The bearded jonin realized that might have been a mistake when Naruto (or was it another kage bunshin?) came out of nowhere and threw a trio of shurikens his way. He deflected the first two with a kunai. The third missed. He turned to follow its trajectory only to see it about to slice through a wire he had somehow not noticed at all. Just before it broke, he followed its path only to lose it in the tree branches. He estimated, though, that whatever it was connected to was set up to hit the spot Kiba had redirected his flight towards.
The moment he landed, a weighted net came into view falling directly on top of his position. As he took out his trench knives and began to cut his way free, he spotted Ino again. She was going through the handseals for what he recognized as the Yamanaka clan Shintenshin no Jutsu. Surely she didn't think the net would delay him long enough for it to hit? Then, directly behind him (and right in the path of the girl's jutsu if he were to move), Naruto raised his chakra level back to what it usually was. Asuma turned to see the Kyuubi container smirking at him in victory. He couldn't dodge now, or the Shintenshin would hit the boy, and who knew what kind of effect that would have? This was it.
Well, it was time his genin learned that ninjas didn't always play by the rules. He sent one of his trench knives sailing lazily in the kunoichi's direction, forcing her to dodge. But the remaining shadow clone intercepted it, using his own body as a shield.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu"
Still one more option, though. He pulled a kawarimi with Kiba.
Of course, Akamaru was on him in less than a tenth of a second, and the swift assault bought the three genin the moments they needed to recuperate from their botched plan. They didn't give up just because of one failed plan, of course, but the later attempts weren't quite as well thought-out or effective. As time wore on, Naruto started doing more of the work, giving his tired teammates a chance to recover. To be honest, the bearded man was beginning to get annoyed by all the shouting of 'Kage Bunshin no Jutsu'
It was strange, Asuma mused, how he found himself looking forward to teaching the three young ninjas. He had put himself up as a possible jonin sensei more to appease his dad than anything else. After what he had put the man through in his more rebellious phase, he had a lot of making up to do, even now, years later. He just wasn't really the teaching type, he was too laid back to be any good at watching over and guiding fresh genin. Or so he had thought. These three, though, he found himself almost excitedly looking forward to instructing. Almost.
His plan had been to just keep everything normal, give them the test, go back to doing the occasional mission if they failed, or give them a few pointers here and there if they passed. But that was before meeting his new charges. He still couldn't believe he'd made himself leave his cigarettes behind just to appease the boys and their extra-sensitive noses.
"I'll have to talk to Gai as soon as possible about Naruto," he thought idly while leaning out of the way of a flying punch from said student. "Maybe he can include the kid in his early morning training sessions. But if he comes back shouting about youth..." He chose to leave the mental threat unfinished in favor of dodging a kunai Ino had thrown before it deactivated its henge and returned to being a kage bunshin.
He'd also need to see Kurenai. She could instruct them in genjutsu far better than he ever could. Maybe they could start some kind of shared-instruction program for the new genin. Kakashi probably wouldn't join in, which was a shame, especially considering all the ninjutsu the man knew, but it wasn't a big deal. He'd share the idea with the other jonins later, maybe ask for his dad's opinion on it as well.
Oops. He had gotten so lost in thought that he lost track of some of the Narutos, including the original. He wondered where they could have gone, but there just wasn't time to search for them. Besides, he would just deal with whatever they might try when they showed up.
Going back to his earlier thoughts, he'd need to teach them the tree-climbing exercise soon. All three of them would be able to get a lot out of that, especially the Kyuubi Jinchuriki. They would also need to learn the different standard team formations and tactics because, while they seemed to work together with each other remarkably well (he put it down to them all having similarly assertive personalities) they'd also need to be able to work with other teams, should the situation arise. Other than that and making sure none of them neglected improving their basic skills and abilities... Hmm... Maybe he could introduce Naruto to Go. The blonde's unusual, out-of-the-box way of thinking would make for an interesting opponent. He probably wouldn't take so well to the more structured Shogi, but Ino might enjoy it.
Suddenly, two of the Naruto clones teamed up and used Gatsuga on him. Asuma had been so lost in thought that he was caught completely by surprise and couldn't avoid the hits. They didn't actually injure him, but they were disorienting enough that he needed half a second to figure out what was going on.
"Shintenshin no Jutsu"
Just like with Kiba and Akamaru, Ino had henged into Naruto. She had somehow puled off the jutsu from just inches behind his back without his even noticing. There was no time to do anything before he felt his own will forcefully pushed to the side. Sarutobi Asuma, Konoha jonin, son of the Hokage, and former member of the Twelve Ninja Guardians could do nothing but watch as his newly-graduated students tied him up with extra-strength chakra-absorbing wire before giving him back control of his body.
Naruto was standing directly in front of him. To the blonde's left was Kiba, Akamaru poking his head out of his partner's jacket, and to his right was the team's kunoichi, still getting to her feet after releasing her jutsu. All three were smiling.
"How was that, Asuma-sensei?" the short boy asked.
He laughed. These kids would be something amazing when they were older.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
comments: (note that comments for chapters 1-16 were written well after the chapters themselves)
The opening scene of this chapter was mostly to show Kiba's current view on his new teammates. Nothing else much to say about it. The flashback immediately following serves both to reiterate just how much Iruka's death is affecting the blonde boy, and since they're at the memorial stone, Kakashi of course shows up.
The first part of the next scene sets Ino up as the most level-headed member of team seven (usually). After that, I wanted to give readers an idea of how she fights, as well as giving her a chance to reflect on the other two, plus Asuma seems like the kind of person to test his students one at a time, so they had individual fights. Then, at the end, they all discover Naruto has super-strength, a fact he was completely ignorant of. His not being able to chakra enhance his strength was put in to keep him from being overpowered.
The fight at the end of the chapter is there to show the teamwork of my trio of genin, stressing that it's above average, and to introduce the shared-instructor plan.