Roar of the Dragon: A lot of people mentioned that Sakura could be Naruto and Sasuke's teammate, but this is an AU and I have someone else in mind. So sorry for you Sakura fans, you won't be seeing much of her. This means she can be stronger in the Chunin Exam, since she isn't focusing on Sasuke every day.
Review Responses:
Cobra-100: I'm trying to keep to the basics of the original storyline, but the Genin Exam for Team 7 will be changed a lot. Naruto and Hinata are only 12, they aren't going to be doing any naughty stuff on long missions, they're only at the cuddling stage. The future mate thing just means they know they want to get married when they are old enough.
Dragon and Sword Master: Yes, another Naruto convert! Search for Naruto Chuusin and you should be all set to read scans of the manga.
Story Weaver1: Just wait till you see the gifts in action! Some more humor in this chapter, as well as some action.
Black Knife: I hope the week long wait wasn't to long for you. You'll find out the teams in this chapter.
Mrasdfghj: Yeah, Jiraiya will be in the story, he'll show up a little earlier than in the original story.
PersonaJXT: I've already resolved the issue of the Shuriken Kage Bushin no Jutsu issue and name issue. Put yourself in Sasuke's position: a bunch of girls you have no interest in rapes you. You'd feel violated to.
God in a Box: I actually have a plan for Neji. After the attempt on Hinata, he trains as hard as he can to become strong enough to protect her in the future. He also wishes to challenge Naruto, so he knows he has to work hard and will have researched youkai so he can create a jutsu to try to take advantage of Naruto's kitsune blood.
The sun dawned on Konoha the next day without a cloud in the sky. A beam of sunlight slipped through the blinds of Naruto's room and hit him in the eye. Naruto whined, not wanting to get up, and buried his head under his pillow. Thus the scene that Kyuubi saw when she opened the door to her son's room was a giant lump in the middle of the bed and a blond tail sticking out from beneath the covers. Gishou was curled up in the sunbeam on top of the lump and gave a sleepy yip to greet Kyuubi. A low snore from beneath the covers signaled that Naruto was in need of awakening. Kyuubi grinned and shifted into her fox form, though keeping herself at the size of a large dog, and darted under the covers to lick her son's face. Naruto started giggling and finally opened his eyes to see his mother's fox face staring at him. "Morning Oka-san!" said Naruto as he blinked the sand from his eyes. Kyuubi grinned and hopped off the bed to resume her human form and open the blinds covering the window. Naruto managed to stumble out of his bed and make it to the bathroom for his morning shower and grooming. Sasuke had apparently beaten Naruto to the shower since his towel and toothbrush were wet. Naruto quickly showered and groomed himself before running to the stairs. Opting to take the fast route down, Naruto slid down the banister to the bottom floor with Gishou on his back. Unfortuneatly, Naruto crashed right into his father as he came in the door from getting the daily Konoha newspaper. Father and son ended up in a pile on the floor of the front hall of the house.
Ken sighed as he stared at his son, who was doing a handstand on his stomach. "Naruto, what have we told you about sliding down the banisters?" growled Ken, doing a remarkable imitation of an angry youkai. Naruto gulped and rolled so he was sitting on his father's chest.
"Ummm, not to do it?" guessed Naruto as he put on his most innocent smile. Ken smirked and grabbed his son by the tails as he stood up and raised Naruto so they were eye to eye.
"Then why did you slide down the banister this morning?" asked Ken. His tone was pleasant, but Naruto could see the anger at his disregard for safety shining clearly.
Naruto gulped and said, "I was anxious to get to the Academy with Sasuke so we can find out our genin teams!"
"Koibito, we can forgive him this once, Sasuke is already in here waiting for breakfast and Naruto must be hungry," called Kyuubi from the kitchen as she placed a plate of pancakes in front of Ken's seat. Sasuke was patiently sitting at the table and staring at his omelet, waiting to devour the morsel and dash out the door to the Academy. The Hitai-ate that he had received the previous evening rested proudly on his forehead, and Naruto had to check to make sure he had remembered to put his on instead of his goggles, which he had.
Naruto wiggled out of his father's grip and ran into the kitchen to breathe in the aroma of his pancakes and omelet. Gishou was already eating his breakfast from the bowl Kyuubi placed on the floor for him, not having to put up with the silly human custom of manners. Naruto sighed, he was half tempted to use Henge to become a fox and scarf his meal before running to the academy, but he knew his mom would kill him if he did that. Finally, everyone was seated and the meal began. Ken and Kyuubi watched with smiles on their faces as Sasuke and Naruto ate as fast as they could without choking, eager to get to the Academy. No sooner had the two boys finished than their dishes were in the sink and two blurs had zipped upstairs to brush their teeth before coming downstairs to kiss their mother good bye and let their father ruffle their hair before they ran off towards the academy with Gishou chasing after them, yelling for Naruto to stop and pick him up.
Naruto grinned as he watched his fellow graduates gather in groups to talk from his seat next to Hinata. Sasuke was in 'enter my personal space and die' mode, so the couple had put themselves in between Sasuke and any fan girls that would lose their lives by trying to talk to Sasuke. Kiba walked over with Akamaru in his jacket and raised an eyebrow as his gaze fell on Naruto. "Huh? Naruto, what the hell are you doing here? I heard a rumor that you failed the exam…" said Kiba, not wanting to lose his friend and sparring partner. Naruto grinned and pointed to his Hitai-ate.
"Does it look like I failed? I just had a bit of an imbalance in my chakra system that Oka-san fixed, so I passed the test later," said Naruto, not wanting to reveal he had mastered a Jounin level jutsu in a few hours. Kiba grinned and gave Naruto a high five, while Gishou and Akamaru had both hopped to the floor and were conversing in growls, barks, and yips. Naruto looked around and saw all his friends had passed the exam, not that he doubted them.
A sudden growl beside Kiba was all the warning anyone had before Kiba and Akamaru started wrestling. The two pets were quickly concealed by a cloud of dust and slammed into Naruto's chair as he turned to look at them. The fox boy fell towards Hinata and his head landed in her lap. The sudden impact caused Naruto's fox features to appear. Hinata blushed and reached down to pet Naruto's fox ears. "I could get to like this," said Naruto with a grin, not minding all the stares he was getting. Sure, people knew his mother was a kitsune, but seeing fox ears and tails suddenly appear on him had driven that fact home for many of the kids. Behind everyone's backs, Akamaru and Gishou smacked paws to congratulate each other on successfully getting Naruto into his current position.
Iruka cleared his throat loudly to turn the class's attention from Naruto and Hinata onto himself. "Beginning today you are all real ninjas…but you are still merely rookie genin. The hard part has just started. Now you will soon be assigned duties by the village. So today, we will be creating three man teams and each team will have a Jounin sensei. You will follow that sensei's instructions as you complete the assigned duties," said the Chunin. Instantly, all the girls but Hinata fixed their eyes on Sasuke and thought 'I have to be with Sasuke-kun!'
Sasuke shuddered, not daring to open his eyes and see the lustful look aimed at him. 'Kami-sama, please put me with Naruto and Hinata and not two rabid fan girls like Sakura and Ino. Heck, I'd even settle for being stuck with two gay guys!' Sasuke ranted inside his head. Iruka's next words calmed Sasuke down a little, though.
"We tried to balance each team's strength," said Iruka as he held up a clipboard and ignored the loud yell of "What?" that all the students uttered. Naruto listened with half an ear, only giving Iruka his full attention when the teacher said, "Next, Team 7… Hyuga Hinata, Uzumaki Naruto," here Iruka was interrupted by a loud squeal of happiness from Hinata, who immediately hugged Naruto's tails in delight while Naruto glanced around the room to make sure none of the other boys had looks of disappointment, since Hinata was one of the most popular girls in the class. Iruka smiled inside his head as he announced the last member of Team 7, "and Uchiha Sasuke!" Naruto and Sasuke grinned at each other and leaned back in their seats with huge foxy grins on their faces. All the girls in the class had slumped down on their desks in disappointment at not being with the class heart throb. Iruka sighed and grinned as he saw the next team. "Team 8, Inuzuka Kiba & Akamaru, Aburame Shino, and Haruno Sakura," said Iruka. Kiba gave a small howl of woe that he was with one of the loudest girls in the class. Sakura on the other hand moaned as she felt a headache coming on. Naruto didn't care about the next team, but the next one caught his attention. Iruka raised his voice a little to be heard above Sakura's moans and said, "Team 10, Akimichi Chouji, Nara Shikamaru, Yamanaka Ino." Chouji just stuffed chips into his mouth with more speed, happy to have his lazy friend on the same team.
Shikamaru groaned and stared out the window as he sighed, "Troublesome."
Iruka finished announcing the teams and looked around the classroom. He already had a pretty good idea which of the groups would pass the genin exam that their Jounin instructor would give them. "Ok, this afternoon we'll introduce the Jounin senseis. Take a break until then," said Iruka with a smile.
Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke were all perched on the branch of the tree outside the academy eating their lunch. Naruto had a thermos next to him holding hot water for his ramen while Hinata enjoyed a sushi bento and Sasuke munched on a batch of onigirii Kyuubi had made the previous day. Gishou was enjoying his can of ground hamburger between Naruto and Hinata while Naruto was enjoying the way Hinata was petting his tails as she ate and Sasuke could hear a low purr coming from his brother.
"Hey Dobe, since when do foxes purr?" asked Sasuke. Naruto stopped purring and glared at Sasuke.
"It isn't purring it is happy growling!" exclaimed Naruto. Sasuke smirked, but before he could offer a retort, his 'danger' sense started tingling. Sasuke looked at the ground and sure enough, there were Sakura and Ino.
"Sasuke-kun, I made this bento for you. You must be hungry after just having those onigirii!" exclaimed both the girls at the same time as they each held up a wrapped bento box. Both of the girls then glared at their 'rival' for Sasuke's heart and made Hinata glad she didn't have a rival. When both girls looked up to see if Sasuke was prepared to except their bento and love, they found a sign saying 'leave me alone' where Sasuke had been sitting while Naruto and Hinata struggled to contain their laughter at Sasuke's blunt denial of the girls beneath them.
"I'm so glad I don't have to worry about anyone stealing my Naruto-kun," said Hinata with a smile as she hugged Naruto's tails. Sakura and Ino looked jealous at the love the two shared and ran off to look for Sasuke. As soon as they were gone, the sign disappeared with a poof on smoke and became Sasuke.
"Idiots, they were looking right at you and didn't realize it!" said Naruto with a chuckle as he lightly punched Sasuke on the shoulder. A bell rang, indicating the lunch break was over and the new genin trooped back into the classroom for the assignment of their Jounin sensei.
Naruto, Gishou, Sasuke, and Hinata sat waiting as all the other teams sensei's entered the room and left with their team. A pretty female Jounin named Kurenai led Kiba, Akamaru, Shino, and Sakura away while the chain smoker Asuma took Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino too a Korean barbeque place. Finally, Iruka and Team 7 were the only ones left in the room.
"Where the hell is our instructor?" yelled Naruto. It had been three hours since lunch and the blond was bored.
"Maybe they were on a mission and just got back and had to speak with your father?" suggested Hinata.
Naruto scowled and was about to make some rude comment about tardy teachers when he froze. "Sasuke, could our Jounin sensei possibly be him? No one else I know is this late." asked the blond.
Sasuke looked surprised for a minute, but then his eyes narrowed and he nodded. "It makes sense, father was his Jounin sensei and he has a Sharingan surgically placed in his left eye so he could teach me how to use mine when I finally activate it…"
Hinata was confused, obviously her teammates knew or guessed who their instructor was and were familiar with him. "Ano, but who are you talking about?" she asked.
Naruto sighed and said, "Our sensei is most likely Hatake Kakashi. He's one of Konoha's most famous Jounin, known throughout the Five Shinobi countries as Sharingan Kakashi the Copy Ninja. He's supposedly copied over 1000 jutsu, hence the name Copy Ninja. But he's also a pervert, he reads this dirty book series called Icha Icha Paradise in public and is always giggling as he reads it." While Naruto was speaking, he had started digging through his supply pouch and pulled out a small scroll.
Sasuke groaned and said, "Dobe, do you really think that stupid prank scroll you made will work on Kakashi?" Naruto just grinned as he used a chair to place the scroll at the top of the sliding doors so it couldn't be seen but when the doors were opened the scroll would be torn apart.
"What is that scroll for Naruto-kun?" asked Hinata.
Naruto rubbed the side of his nose and smirked. "You'll see Hinata-chan, that's what he gets for being late!" said the blond as he jumped down from the chair and sat down beside Hinata and wrapped his tails around her, using the ends to tickle her. Hinata giggled and scratched Naruto's ears as he hugged her.
The sound of foot steps outside the door alerted the room's occupants that someone was coming towards the room. All three genin stopped talking and grabbed a kunai incase this was some kind of test of their reflexes. The door opened and Naruto's scroll ripped, releasing a small waterfall that soaked the silver haired Jounin standing in the doorway. The Jounin looked up at the top of the doors, only to find there was nothing there since the scroll had disappeared back into Naruto's pouch. "Okay, how did you do that Naruto?" asked the Jounin as he fixed his single eye on the hanyou.
Naruto grinned and said, "I used a special scroll tag that has a bunch of water sealed inside it. When the scroll is ripped it releases the water and returns to my pouch." Kakashi nodded, he had seen Kyuubi use similar scrolls to amuse the children in the hospital, only those held small stuffed animals or candy for the little kids. Kakashi could easily see the skill being used to carry an emergency supply of fresh water.
"Well, given that I had no clue that was going to happen, I'd say you got me good," said Kakashi as his visible eye became an upside down U and a faint crinkle in his face mask were the only indications that he was smiling. "It looks like you three will be an interesting team. Meet me on the roof top in five minutes." After he finished speaking, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke. Naruto shrugged and led his team mates to the roof.
Kakashi stared at his three charges, Sasuke was leaning against a tree while Naruto had Hinata in his tails' embrace again and Gishou perched on his head. "Okay, I already know Naruto and Sasuke, but we'll all introduce ourselves," said the Jounin.
"Ano, what do you mean Kakashi-sensei?" asked Hinata.
Kakashi shrugged and closed his eye as he said, "How about your likes, dislikes, dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that. I'll go first. My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you my likes or dislikes. Dreams for the future? Hmm, well I have lots of hobbies."
Hinata stared at Kakashi as if expecting more. 'All I learned was his name,' she thought.
"Chigau (Just a moment) Kakashi-sensei, you forgot to mention you like reading dirty books, hate having people try to see what is under you mask, your goal in life is to memorize the entire Icha Icha Paradise series, and your hobbies are being late for everything that isn't a mission or a life or death matter," said Naruto with a grin. Kakashi's visible eye snapped open and he glared at Naruto.
"Me next!" yelled the blond, not even flinching at the look Kakashi was sending his way. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I like Hinata-chan, my parents, playing tricks on people, and ramen. I hate the three minute wait for ramen to cook, people who just view me as the Hokage's son or a hanyou instead of for who I am, and people who try to hurt my friends. My dreams are to marry Hinata-chan, when we are old enough, and surpass my father and the previous Hokage and become the Godaime, or Rokudaime if dad retires before I'm old enough to take over and appoints a successor and make all the villagers recognize me for my accomplishments instead of my family name. My hobbies are cuddling with Hinata-chan, playing pranks, and training!" Kakashi smiled, he had been like an uncle to Naruto and had watched him in the past when Ken and Kyuubi wanted a night alone, so he knew most of the stuff that Naruto said already. He didn't know how close Naruto and Hinata were though, and was slightly worried that they might distract each other during a mission.
"Very good, next," said Kakashi as he looked at Hinata.
The Hyuga girl smiled and said, "My name is Hyuga Hinata. I like making medical creams, training with my cousin Neji, and Naruto-kun. I hate Kumo shinobi, the Hyuga curse seal, and people who are mean to others for no reason. My dreams are to marry Naruto-kun and become the Hyuga clan head. My hobbies are making medical creams, spending time with my little sister, and reading." Kakashi smiled, Hinata was not what he had expected. He had been expecting a girl who cared more about her looks than being a kunoichi and Hinata was the opposite. Her dedication to her family and Naruto were good signs, they insured she wouldn't abandon a team member during a mission.
Kakashi glanced at Sasuke, who sighed and said, "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I like living with my foster family the Uzumaki's, onigirii, Katon jutsu, and training. I hate fan girls and my bastard of a brother Itachi. My hobbies are training with Naruto and our father and my dream…no my ambition is to kill Itachi and resurrect the Uchiha clan." Kakashi stared at Sasuke for a minute and sighed.
'I knew it, he is after all an avenger. I'll have to keep an eye on him' thought Kakashi before he said, "Okay, that's enough. Starting tomorrow we'll begin our duties."
"What kind of duties? Do we have to kick some bandit ass, hunt down wolves, or maybe rescue a hostage?" demanded Naruto.
Kakashi chuckled and said, "First we are going to do a little exercise with just the four of us." Seeing the eager look on Naruto's face, Kakashi continued, "Before you ask, its survival training."
"Why are we doing survival training, we've done that in the Academy?" asked Sasuke.
"I'm your opponent, but this isn't normal survival training," said Kakashi before he started to chuckle.
"What's so funny Kakashi no Hentai?" demended Naruto, who promptly got smacked on the head by Kakashi.
"It's just that when I tell you guys this, you're going to freak out," said Kakashi as his eye showed he was smiling.
"Freak out?" asked Hinata, not feeling very confident.
Kakashi's face lost all traces of happiness as he said, "Of the twenty seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as Genin. The rest will be sent back to the Academy. This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over sixty six percent!"
Naruto's yell of "NANI?" could be heard throughout the village for several minutes.
"What the hell? But we worked so hard… we could have been killed by that traitor when he fooled me and almost got the scroll if we didn't work together to beat him! What was the point of graduating?" yelled Naruto.
Kakashi grinned and said, "Oh that? That's just to select those that have the ability to become genin. Anyway, tomorrow you'll be graded on the training field. Bring all your shinobi tools. Oh, and don't eat breakfast, you'll throw up! The details can be found on this printout. Don't be late tomorrow." With that, Kakashi disappeared in a puff of smoke.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all shared looks of fear and outrage as they left to go eat at Ichiraku for what might be their last meal as a team.
The next morning found Team 7 enjoying a picnic breakfast in training ground number three while they waited for their sensei. Naruto had brought a large basket containing eggs, bacon, and sausage to eat with several thermoses of hot chocolate.
"Ano, are you sure we should be eating?" asked Hinata as she accepted a cup of hot chocolate from Naruto.
"Kakashi is always late, so he'll be here around lunch time. We need all the strength we can get, and I'm not sitting around doing nothing and letting you guys sabotage your chance at passing this exam," said Naruto as Sasuke tossed a sausage to Gishou. "Besides, we have to enjoy every minute we have together as a team if the exam is as tough as Kakashi no Hentai says!"
Across Konoha, Kakashi woke up with a sneeze. "Someone must be gossiping about me!" he said before glancing to the side and seeing he still had two hours before his alarm rang. Kakashi promptly lay down and went back to sleep.
Two hours later, Kakashi walked into the training grounds. "Hey guys, good morning!" he exclaimed.
One hundred Naruto Kage Bushins appeared and yelled, "YOU'RE LATE!" Kakashi looked around and noticed Sasuke and Hinata glaring at him also. All the Bushins disappeared and left the original Naruto standing with Sasuke and Hinata with Gishou on his head.
Kakashi grinned and placed an alarm clock on a stump and turned to face his students. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon get no lunch." Kakashi then pointed to three large stumps, "I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps but I'll eat my lunch right in front of you!" Kakashi then noticed that none of his subordinates looked upset by this development. Kakashi cleared his throat before continuing, "You only need to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to a stump. And the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So at least one of you will be sent back to the Academy. You can even use your shurikens and kunai. You won't win unless you come at me with killing intent." At this part, Naruto, Hinata, and Sasuke all grinned widely. This made Kakashi slightly worried.
Seeing that his students had no objections, Kakashi grinned and said, "Start!" all four shinobi disappeared, though Hinata, Sasuke, and Naruto all met up almost immediately. All three friends nodded and darted silently through the forest, with Naruto and Gishou in the front of a triangle formation.
Kakashi glanced up from his book as Naruto leapt out of the bushes and pointed at him with righteous indignation. "Kakashi no Hentai, Oka-san will kill you if I tell her you're our sensei and you're reading your dirty book in front of us!" said Naruto with a grin.
Kakashi waved his hand and said, "Maa ne, there is no need to be rude Naruto. Is that any way to talk to your teacher? And I think you missed the point of the exercise, you're supposed to…"
Naruto interrupted Kakashi by yelling, "Kick your ass!" and charging at the Jounin. Kakashi sighed and blocked Naruto's first punch before crouching down to avoid the blonde's follow up kick. Naruto charged forward to punch Kakashi, only to stare in shock as his teacher disappeared right in front of him. "Huh?" asked the blond, even though his nose and ears told him Kakashi was behind him.
Hiding in the bushes, Sasuke winced in anticipation as he took in Kakashi's crouched stance and the tiger seal he was forming around his book. 'Naruto was right, dad did teach Kakashi that move. I'm glad Naruto volunteered to be the decoy and not me!' thought Sasuke.
Kakashi had an evil glint in his eye before lunging forward as he yelled, "Hidden Leaf Ancient Supreme Taijutsu Technique: One Thousand Years of Pain!" and jabbed the points of his fingers up Naruto's ass. Naruto rocketed up into the air screaming in pain, only to disappear with a pop. 'Kage Bushin?' thought Kakashi, Sasuke, and Hinata, surprised they hadn't seen Naruto make clones at any time. Hinata had her Byakugan active and her mouth dropped open as she saw Naruto appear above Kakashi with his new katana drawn. The sword blade had flames etched along the edge and the Uzumaki spiral near the hilt. Naruto brought the katana down on Kakashi's head, only to watch the silver haired Jounin disappear again. Kakashi suddenly appeared standing on the water of the nearby lake, causing Naruto to grin.
"Hey Kakashi sensei, let me show you a trick!" yelled Naruto as he shifted into a weird stance where he held his sword above his head while pointing it at the ground. Blue flame suddenly covered the sword, causing Kakashi's eye to widen. Naruto yelled "Kaen-giri (Flame Slash)!" as he swung the sword down and in front of himself and sent a crescent of blue fire towards Kakashi. Kakashi's visible eye widened in surprise as the attack hit him. Kakashi suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke and left a log that was sliced in half in his place that fell into the water and extinguished the flames covering it.
Kakashi reappeared beside Naruto and whistled in surprise as the attack kept going and cut down a tree on the lake's edge before disappearing. "What was that?" asked the Jounin.
Naruto grinned as he sheathed his katana and said, "I channeled my fox fire into the sword blade and shot it out as I slashed. Dad taught me how to do that with a chakra wave, I just adapted it to use foxfire instead!" Kakashi nodded and pulled his book from the pouch on his back as he prepared to engage Naruto in Taijutsu again.
Just then, a red blur shot out of the bushes and grabbed Kakashi's book and ran across his back. Gishou leaped off the Jounin and ran across the clearing and back into the woods. Kakashi leapt away from Naruto, planning to catch the fox, only to hear "Katon Goukakyuu no Jutsu!" and see a huge fireball rushing towards him.
Kakashi made several hand seals and yelled, "Suiton: Tatsumaki (Water Style: Waterspout)!" and slammed his hands into the ground. A waterspout shot up in front of Kakashi and clashed with Sasuke's fireball, but Kakashi had to keep his hands on the ground to keep the water coming.
Sasuke's jutsu stopped abruptly and Kakashi stared for a second in surprise before he stopped his counter attack and leapt away from his position. Kakashi found himself in the middle of the clearing with none of his students in sight. 'Heh, they either planned this all out before hand or they have natural teamwork. I know Naruto is somewhere around here using Henge, Sasuke has probably moved from where he attacked me, and I have no clue about Hinata. They might actually get the bells!' thought Kakashi. Kakashi's thoughts were interrupted as he saw Hinata charging him. Knowing how dangerous Hinata's Jyuken (Gentle Fist) fighting style was, Kakashi was glad he didn't have his book to occupy one of his hands.
Hinata started off with a series of basic jabs and open palm strikes aimed more for testing his defenses than actually hitting him. Kakashi barely managed to avoid each blow, knowing that a single glancing blow could disable his arm. Hinata's strikes started coming faster and faster, making Kakashi sweat. Hinata suddenly aimed an open palmed blow to Kakashi's chest, causing him to leap backwards. As he did so, he heard Hinata yell "Now!" before she leaped backwards
Kakashi's eye widened as he saw three Fuuma Shuriken flying towards him. His eye reached the size of dinner plates as he heard Sasuke yell "Tenka!" and all three of the weapons were surrounded in red flames. Kakashi twisted his body in ways that would leave him sore the next day to avoid the attack, only to see a fourth Fuuma Shuriken in the shadow of the third. The first two had been meant to place him in the path of the third and the shadow shuriken would get him if he hadn't seen it. Kakashi rolled to the side, only to watch in amazement as the shuriken moved to follow him. Kakashi waited till the last moment to dodge to the side and still the shuriken almost had him.
A loud poof and a cloud of smoke appeared as Naruto dropped his Henge and grabbed both the bells as he landed and rolled away from Kakashi. Kakashi then felt something hit him in the neck and he blacked out.
Kakashi regained consciousness and found himself staring at his three students. They were sitting on the ground and looking up at him. Glancing around, Kakashi was surprised to see the alarm clock was just about the reach noon and he was the one tied to the stump. He looked at his students again, evaluating their expressions and mood. Naruto sat on the ground with Gishou on his shoulder and both bells in his hand. The kitsune still clutched Kakashi's beloved Icha Icha Paradise volume 2 in his mouth and didn't seem like he would let go anytime soon. Both of the pair had their ears and noses focused on Kakashi, making sure he didn't pull a Kawarimi. Hinata was next in line, her Byakugan active as she watched for any chakra gathering in places that would signal a jutsu being performed. Sasuke was the last one he looked at, he had a Fuuma Shuriken in his hand and looked ready to throw it at a moment's notice.
Kakashi then took a look at his situation. He was tied up with a bunch of intricate knots that he couldn't reach in front, with every limb restrained so he couldn't move them at all. He was amused to see thin strands of wire around each finger, preventing the usage of hand seals by securing the hands in an open position. Finally, Kakashi found that his supply pouch, shuriken and kunai holsters, and his flak jacket were all piled behind Hinata so she could keep an eye on them with her Byakugan. Kakashi was impressed, the kids had really paid attention to Iruka's lectures on restraining captives.
Kakashi chuckled. "I'm impressed, you three should know something… you already passed the first part of the Genin Exam before you even got assigned to me!" All three of the friends stared at Kakashi and he continued, "When you worked together to fight Mizuki, Ken-sensei knew you three would make a good team. This was just to make sure everything was official and so I could evaluate your skill. I have to admit that I'm surprised. Naruto's Kage Bushin acted recklessly to make me think that it was the real Naruto, then Naruto or another Kage Bushin attacked with his katana and distracted me while Sasuke prepared to ambush me with his jutsu. Gishou stole my book and got me into a position where Sasuke could attack me. When I countered him, Naruto snuck away and joined up with Sasuke. Hinata then attacked me, forcing me to focus all of my attention on her, allowing her to maneuver me into position so Sasuke's Fuuma Shuriken could be put to use. The fire kept my attention on the three obvious shuriken and distracted me from noticing Naruto disguised as a Fuuma Shuriken in the shadow of the third flaming shuriken. As Naruto past me, he dropped his Henge and grabbed the bells. Then Hinata hit me from behind and knocked me out. I'm guessing all three of you worked together to tie me up?" Seeing all three nod, Kakashi smiled. "You three are the first three to get the bells on the first try using teamwork. But there are only two bells, so one of you will have to fail this exam."
Naruto shrugged and tossed a bell to Sasuke and Hinata each. "The Hokage must be ready to give up his life for the lives of the village and his subordinates," said the blond when his friends were about to protest.
Hinata shook her head. "No, Naruto-kun, I should go back. As the Hyuga clan heiress, I have been taught to put the good of all before personal feelings. Konoha needs both you and Sasuke as shinobi since you are so strong," said Hinata before she tossed her bell back to Naruto.
Sasuke snorted and said, "I did barely anything dangerous. It was you two who were taking all the risks and engaging Kakashi-sensei in Taijutsu. Besides, Naruto is in need of more instruction that the Academy can offer and Hinata is needed for her medical training." Sasuke threw his bell to Hinata, after which all three of the friends started chuckling at the musical bells.
Kakashi was openly staring at his team, amazed at how carefree they were over the possibility of returning to the Academy. 'Sensei was right; they do make a great team. Their skills compliment one another and they used them to their advantage. Naruto used his familiarity with his father's training methods to guess what I would do and I played right into their hands,' thought the Jounin.
"Now that you've all decided you each want to go back to the Academy, I can tell you that you all pass! Now will you let me go!" said Kakashi.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata all looked at one another and said, "Nah, this is punishment for being late!" before grinning and running off with Gishou still carrying Kakashi's book. The silver haired Jounin tried to wiggle his way out of the ropes, desperate to catch the kids before they told Kyuubi what he had been reading. Kyuubi had always hated Jiraiya's books and warned Kakashi that if she caught him reading them in her house or in front of Naruto and Sasuke she would burn the book without warning.
Ken grinned as he looked at his former student. Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata had stopped by his office to tell him they passed and what happened to Kakashi. Ken had checked out the training ground in his crystal ball and had a good laugh at the genius Kakashi being outwitted by three Academy graduates that just became Genin before coming to talk to his former student. "Well Kakashi, I can't say I didn't warn you that Naruto was extremely mischievous and would prank you if you let your guard down. He has been itching to take down his Uncle Kakashi for along time, be glad Sasuke and Hinata convinced him to not do some of the other things he is capable of," said Ken.
Kakashi nodded, frowning slightly as an itch made itself known on his back. "Sensei, could you please untie me?" asked the silver haired Jounin. Ken bent down and quickly cut the ropes holding Kakashi to the log and undid the wires keeping his hands stiff. "Thanks Sensei, now I have to find those kids and tell them when to meet tomorrow."
Ken shook his head and grabbed Kakashi's shoulder before he could run off. "Kakashi, they showed her the book! She said that after I untied you I could warn you and then you had five minutes to hide!"
Kakashi froze for a second before disappearing in a puff of smoke. Kyuubi stepped out of the trees and scowled at her husband, a large frying pan in her hands. "You know you just gave him false hope that he can escape, no one can hide from my foxes!" exclaimed Kyuubi. Ken shrugged, already hearing distant barks and yips that showed the foxes Kyuubi had summoned were on the scent of the fleeing Jounin. Kyuubi kissed Ken's cheek before walking off and singing, "Kakashi, where are you?" in a creepy voice.
Ken disappeared and reappeared at his home, where Teams 7, 8 and 10 were having a slumber party to celebrate passing the Genin Exam. He found them eating pizza and drinking soda as they watched a movie about The Legendary Senin of Konoha. Naruto had paused the DVD on a current picture of Jiraiya and was explaining all his peeping spots that he knew about to the girls so they could be on the look out for him in the future the next time they were in the baths. Ken chuckled as Naruto did the funky dance Jiraiya used to introduce himself to people he had met for the first time. Ken's laughter brought all the new Genins' attention to him and he cleared his throat. "I'm here to congratulate all of you on passing the Genin Exam. From now on you nine are proud shinobi of Konoha and I know you will train hard and make us proud." With those inspirational words, Ken left the kids to their movie, with the warning that Kyuubi had foxes watching them and any naughty stuff would result in them being forced to do missions at the Konoha home for elderly shinobi. All the genin were suitably scared and promised to behave, though Hinata didn't move from her seat on Naruto's lap. Kyuubi soon came in with her frying pan bearing the imprint of Kakashi's head and giving Naruto a chance to tell the others about his mother's standing threat regarding Kakashi's books. All the new Genin had a fun evening and fell asleep in their sleeping bags, though one of Naruto's tails snuck out of his bag and into Hinata's for her to cuddle.
AN: well, this chapter is over. Next chapter, Team 7 gets their first big mission. Hope you liked the changes I made to the Genin exam. I figure that Naruto will be smarter since he has his parents to teach him, thus he has a better grasp of tactics and teamwork. Tail 4 will be out in a week! Ja ne!
