Monday came all too soon for Naruto, she had enjoyed the week with her jiji, and between ridicoulous over use of the shadow clones, which her jiji felt was at the level of actual cheating even for a ninja, and a dedicated teacher, her taijutsu and kenjutsu were at a level where it was combat ready. The fact that she had special permission to use training ground 100 at any time was a boon, as it allowed her to train while being unobserved. Still, she couldn't make hundreds of shadow clones, as the old hokage also used the field daily, to get back in shape, a sight to behold.
This was the first day of her new life, Naruto was a ninja now, and with that came a new wardrobe, all the orange had to go, and she had left a mass shadow clone to do the deed, she really didn't want the memories of her orange going up in flames.
To replace the lost orange she had bought sets of standard black ninja pants, black ninja boots, black sleeveless turtle necks, and dark orange flak jackets with black stripes. For a long time Naruto had considered a trench coat like the one she had seen on a few jonin, they both looked awesome, but unless they gave her permission, she wouldn't just copy their look, but she did need something.
Strapping her wakizashi to her back, something she had liberated from the Uchiha clan compound after the fall, she had really gotten quite the haul that night, since then the sword and scabbard had been cleaned of markings, and was now just a simple looking black thing. Even then, it was a chakra conductive sword, something that was bloody expensive, and Naruto knew she'd never afford one unless she made jonin, and even then it wasn't likely.
Throwing on her orange windbreaker for one last time, Naruto walked out the door, and took to the roof tops.
Landing in front of the academy, Naruto walked into her class for one last time, taking a seat next to Shikamaru. He was one of the few classmates she could call a friend, and she was certain he knew she was faking being the class dunce. "So, finally done playing the idiot?"
"For your information, Shikamaru, I wasn't playing anything, it was hard work to pretend you are idiot, something I'm sure you are wholly unfamiliar with." Shikamaru snorted slightly, seeing through the mask had been hard, as he hadn't expected a mask. However, when he did, he found the blonde intriguing, and then one day they were friends. "I am familiar with hard work, I just run in the other direction when I see it coming. Also, congrats on passing, I know you worked hard for it."
"I cheated, actually." At this, Shikamaru sat up straight, it wasn't unexpected for ninja to cheat, his father did it all the time when they were playing shogi, but he hadn't thought that Naruto would do so. More importantly he wanted to know, "how?"
"Different bunshin, faked the hand seals, subvocalized part of the name." Shikamaru gave a low whistle of appreciation, it was quite an impressive feat in its own right. "Well, I say it wasn't cheating, they asked for three clones, not any specific clones. It's a pass in my book, Rookie of the Year…"
"Geh. Blargh! Don't call me with that disgusting title, broody can have it. Oh, and Hokage-jiji finally told me of my tenant, so now you can officially know too." Naruto watched as the lazy boy nodded off into dreamland, but before she could do the same, she was interrupted, by Kiba slamming down his paw on the desk in front of her. "You, me, outside."
"Aw, come on… I was just about to nap. Can it wait?" She knew it couldn't, Kiba hadn't per say seen through her act, he just had the instincts to tell it was an act, and as such he needed an alpha spar against her, to set the pecking order, even if it was in private. "No, I let you stall long enough, and I am just about this close to losing it. Also, drop the jacket, it obstructs the view."
"Perv! Horn dog!" Kiba nodded with a self-satisfied smirk. "And proud of it! Now, please…"
"Fine, it's disturbing when you use the Puppy Dog Eyes no Jutsu." Naruto smirked as she took the jacket off, Kiba had been hounding her for a fight, but as long as she played the clown he wouldn't force the issue, now that she wasn't. Well, Kiba probably knew that he was going to lose, badly. The dog boy gave an appreciative whistle. "Did you raid the ANBU armory?"
"If I said 'yes' would you believe me?" The Inuzuka wasn't actually sure, his usually good instincts couldn't tell if Naruto was joking or not. It was terrifying though, to think that it was possible that the girl had raided one of the most secure locations in the village for a new wardrobe. Naruto, not knowing or caring about Kiba's little panic attack, just dragged the boy off to one of the sparing halls in the academy, they only had fifteen minutes until Iruka showed, and she didn't want to be late on her last day.
"Taijutsu only, wouldn't want you to lose anything you are really attached to…" Kiba huffed at her joke but still nodded. It wasn't like it mattered, his instincts told well enough that the blonde was out of his league, about the level of his sister, and that was just terrifying. "Should Akamaru start us off?"
"Sure." They both took up a stance, and the puppy got ready to start the fight. Three tense seconds passed, and then the there was a bark, indicating the start of the fight. Kiba rushed in, channeling chakra to his hands to grow claws, and bending forward to move more like a dog. Naruto let the first swipe glide past her face, bending backwards, then smacking the arm to add more rotation, a week of sparing with her jiji was paying off.
With his back to his opponent, Kiba was defenseless against Naruto's follow-up attack, a kick to his back that sent him flying into the wall. Akamaru let out another bark to indicate the end of the match. "Damn, that fucking hurt! It felt like when mom kicks me during spars."
"Sorry, you know I've always been strong, and I'm not used to modulating my strength yet." Kiba huffed from his place on the floor, his, everything, hurting. "Yeah… well, work on that. Now be a good winner and carry me back."
"Sure." Grabbing the boy, Naruto slung him over her shoulder like a sack of rice and walked back towards the class. "I really hope we end up on the same team, I'm man enough to admit that I'd feel safe with you around. Even if you stink of fox."
"Yeah, and I'm woman enough to admit that I feel creeped out with you staring at my butt. You also stink of wet dog." Naruto dropped her friend in an open seat, the class still only half full, before sitting back down next to Shikamaru, laughing. "Done with the pissing contest?"
"Yes, dog boy is drenched." For a brief moment Naruto could swear that Shikamaru was blushing, but he returned his head to the desk before she could be certain. It really was one of her problems, she didn't have any female friends, besides Ayame, and the older girl didn't have that much time for her, only giving her a few tips and telling her about the biggest things girls should be aware off.
Naruto was woken from her nap at the sound of approaching thunder, sitting up she looked past Shikamaru to glimpse at the sky, but it was clear, and the rumbling was coming from the hallway, not outside. With a sigh, she watched as the leaders of the Sasuke fan club, entered the classroom. "Take that Ino-pig, I win!"
The sound of Sasuke fan number one's voice echoed through the classroom. The idiocy of the two girls made Naruto wish she had been born a boy, it was demeaning that those two girls, particularly the pink haired one, were part of her gender. Sakura was really bad, at least Ino had a life outside of worshipping the broody emo. "No way Forehead! My toe was at least a quarter inch ahead of yours!"
"In your dreams Ino-pig." Naruto thumped her head back onto the desk as the two girls continued to argue while storming towards the seat next to Sasuke. In the background she could hear Kiba and Akamaru whine over the volume level that was put out, and she too joined in. "Shikamaru, what are the chances that I don't end up on a team with them?"
"Low. I do believe I get the better one, you'll probably get pinky and brooder." Naruto let out another whine at Shikamaru's confirmation, it really wasn't fair, why couldn't she have Chouji and Shikamaru, let the other blonde hang out with pinky and broody. Maybe no one would notice if they swapped places, they'd both want to… She dropped the idea, knowing full well that it would never work, and went back to napping.
"…now for team seven." Naruto blinked awake, and looked around the classroom, she must have slept a while since it was nearing lunch, and Iruka was talking. "Uzumaki Naruto," now she was fully awake, "Haruno Sakura," she groaned, "and Uchiha Sasuke."
"TRUE LOVE CONQUERS ALL! TAKE THAT INO-PIG!" Naruto just groaned louder, wincing at the volume pinky produced, she really didn't have the energy for that shit. She could feel that she was nearing the breaking point, soon she would snap at her teammates, and it wouldn't be pretty. In the background Iruka continued, but she didn't bother paying attention, Shikamaru had already deduced the teams, and would tell her if they were completely off.
"Come on you two, lunch break." Chouji stood behind them, it was nice that he included her, but she had to give one last try to her teammates. "Just a second, I'll try and invite my team for lunch…"
Walking over to her two teammates, Naruto wondered what she should say, she liked neither of them. "So, Sakura-san, Sasuke-san, want to have lunch, since we're a team and all?"
"No. Just stay out of my way, loser." In her heart she knew that she shouldn't have expected anything, but it still stung to be rejected, even if she didn't like his broody ass. "Shut up Naruto-baka. See now Sasuke-kun is gone, this is your fault!"
Sakura took a swing at her, and Naruto just stepped out of the way letting the girl topple over, and walked back to Shikamaru and Chouji. "I tried, now let's have lunch."
"I am sorry about Forehead, Naruto. That isn't how teams are supposed to work." Ino looked apologetic, and Naruto was rather surprised, she didn't mind Ino, the girl had never said or done anything mean towards her, at least not with any malicious intent. "It isn't your fault Ino, I'll stick it out until the chunin exams, then I'm off the team, or if I'm lucky I might find a jonin in need of an apprentice."
"Still, I get why Sasuke is an ass, he should get therapy, but at least he has an excuse, as thin as it is after all these years, but Sakura really shouldn't act like that. She should know better." Naruto smiled at the words from her fellow blonde, she had been very jealous of Ino and Sakura's friendship, they had been very close, and then one day they broke up. "Do you really like Sasuke? I mean, yes I get that he is attractive, but do you really like him, as in kissing and marriage?"
Ino gave a long sigh. "You know, you're the first one to ever ask me that Naruto, no one asked, ever. No, I don't, I want to help him, fix him, but not marry him. More importantly, Sakura needed a rival, someone she could fight against, overcome, to boost her ego, so I became vapid fangirl number two… because that would help both of them."
Naruto, Shikamaru and Chouji, all sat in stunned silence, they had not seen this coming. "Well, she won, didn't she, she is on Sasuke's team. Now I need a new goal, Sakura doesn't need my competition anymore, and Sasuke hasn't improved one bit even though I tried getting him some human interaction, even forcefully."
"What about…" Naruto paused, she wasn't sure how to deal with a depressed friend, but Ino would need a goal to strive for, something that was her own. "…a goal that is for you, become a jonin, at record speed, I'll train with you, if you need a training partner."
"That isn't bad, Yamanaka Ino-jonin… kick ass kunoichi of the leaf! The Femme Fatale of Flowers!" Naruto sighed in relief at seeing her fellow blonde all fired up, she enjoyed her enthusiasm. While Ino was sprouting nonsense nicknames, she turned to Chouji, to whisper. "Hey Chouji, I need you to do me a favor, help Shikamaru get moving, he can too easily start slacking off, and I fear he might die before getting a proper wake-up call."
"Sure Naruto, Ino and I will light a fire under his ass, he's my friend too, and I don't want that either…" Chouji's reply was a great relief to Naruto, she knew that the chubby boy was the only one capable of getting the lazy ass in gear, securing his help would be beneficial. For the rest of lunch, she just enjoyed the friendly atmosphere, as Ino tried to bicker with Shikamaru, and the lazy boy tried to deflect the arguments. 'This is what a team is supposed to be like.' The thought made her sad, Naruto knew that her own team would never have such close bonds.
Three hours, Naruto wasn't exactly the most patient person in the world, but she could wait for a while before exploding. Even then, three hours was far more than she liked. Still, she had her book on intermediary fuinjutsu to spend time with, and it helped. On the remote chance that their teacher was on actual business, maybe an emergency mission, she didn't booby-trap the hell out of the door, but then the Hokage would have sent a messenger if that was the case.
Just as she was contemplating whether boil or lava release would be more painful, the door slid open to reveal a head with a mop of gravity defying gray hair, slovenly face covered by a mask, with the forehead protector slanted to cover the left eye. "My first impression of you guys… I hate you. Meet me on the roof."
As the head disappeared, Naruto sighed, sitting in the back of classroom, she just did a quick shunshin to the rooftop arriving shortly after the teacher. Her teacher did a slow look over her outfit, clearly surprised, and raised an eyebrow. "Did you raid the ANBU armory?"
Naruto snorted. "Yes."
"How's owl?" Naruto shrugged, the quartermaster had been less than pleased at finding her stealing all their shrimp sized uniforms. "Getting old, he only scolded me, and gave a requisition form to fill out."
"The orange?" While Naruto didn't know who her teacher was, she could tell the man had spent time with the shadow ops, it was obvious when you knew what to look for. "Stain dye, quite permanent."
"Looks good, like a little tiger cub." Naruto smiled, she liked the comparison. "Thanks!"
A few minutes of silence passed and the remaining two members of her team arrived, both looking annoyed at seeing her there, ahead of them. Before either of the late arrivals could say anything their teacher took charge. "Now that we are all here, why don't you take a seat, and introduce yourself."
Her bullshit sense was about to go off, and Naruto quickly stepped up to prevent her teammate from saying something utterly stupid. "Okay. My name is Uzumaki Naruto, I like my friends, my jiji, and ramen. I dislike idiocy, bigotry, and particularly willful ignorance. My hobby, well I stopped doing it, but it was deception. My dream for the future, to make a name for myself, and maybe start a family…"
The last part was barely a whisper, and neither of her teammates heard her. "That was a very nice introduction Tiger-chan, now why don't you go Pinky-chan."
"Um, my name is Haruno Sakura, and I like… I mean the one I like…" The girl looked to the side where the brooding emo sat, blushing. "My hobbies are…" Again Sakura looked towards Sasuke, stifling a giggle. "My dream for the future…" She looked at the very uninterested boy and let a loud squeal of delight.
"And you dislikes?" Their teacher asked, and even Naruto could detect the hidden exasperation in the voice. "Ino-pig!"
"Now you, Broody-kun." The nickname garnered their teacher a glare from Sakura, which almost made Naruto laugh, but she kept it in to let the brooder speak. "My name is Uchiha Sasuke. I don't like much and dislike most, my hobby is training… I don't have a dream, but rather an ambition, because I will make it come true, to kill a certain man… and restore my clan."
Naruto wasn't sure how to feel about it, to her Itachi was a hero, the Uchiha clan had been some of her more vocal dissenters in the village, and their ninja often leading the physical attacks on her when drunk. This was why she felt happy looting their compound, they had made life hell for her, they owed her restitution. The civilians would talk about her behind her back or kick her out of stores, most ninja ignored her, either deliberately or not, but the Uchiha was worse, they attacked her directly.
'Heh, they were traitors anyway, good riddance.' She hadn't known explicitly about the coup, but leading up to the extermination they had been following her closely, putting her on edge. Hokage-jiji had confirmed that the clan had been planning coup, she had pieced enough together to make an educated guess anyway, and the confirmation just meant she was now under oath to not spread the information.
"…ame is Hatake Kakashi. I have few likes and dislikes. Dreams for the future, hmm… I have lots of hobbies. Now, tomorrow we will begin duties as Team 7, and the first thing is…" Naruto realized she hadn't been paying full attention to the teacher, though she had at least caught his name, Hatake Kakashi. It was in a few of the discarded bingo books she had salvaged from the Intelligence Departments dumpster, Sharingan no Kakashi, Copycat Kakashi, and The Man Who Has Copied a Thousand Jutsus. He was certainly impressive on paper, and with an implanted sharingan, to boot, an A-rank ninja.
"…oh you're going to lose your shit when you hear this…" As far as jonin go, he was one of the best the hidden leaf had to offer, though honestly, Naruto could easily name five others she'd feel more comfortable with, and two of those worked in T&I, as heads of the department.
"…sixty-six percent failure rate…" Naruto would have loved to have 'biki as a teacher, the man was tough as nails, and took no shit. Then there was his beautiful second, she was just crazy hot, and would likely be just as good a teacher.
"…training ground three, tomorrow at six in the morning for your final test." With that their teacher vanished in a puff of smoke and Naruto yawned.
"Hey guys…" Sasuke was already at the stairwell before Naruto could even finish the sentence, and Sakura was close behind him, not paying attention to anything else. "This is going to suck, so badly."
NONON
'It's official, this sucks, big hairy balls.' It was nearing ten and their teacher had yet to show. Naruto had decided to show up in person, and as such she had missed out on four hours of training time, four hours of her life she would never have back, honestly she wanted to find the T&I jonin kunoichi, and beg her for an apprenticeship. She'd even buy her all the dirty magazines and all the dango in the world.
At five to eleven their teacher deigned to show up, and was instantly met with a loud shout from pinky, much to Naruto's pain. She'd go deaf on this team. "…well you see, a black cat crossed my path and I had to take the long way around." Or possibly insane.
"LIAR!" The loud and pink one again lost control of the volume, and Naruto sighed. Deaf and insane, she really hated this team. "Now your objective for today is to acquire these bells,"
"But sensei, there are only two bells and three of us." Naruto just couldn't be bothered to stop the girl from saying stupid shit anymore, if Sakura wanted a gold star in stating the obvious, then she wouldn't stand in the way, as long as it didn't get her killed. "Yes, I was getting to that, the ones without a bell will be tied to that tree stump and watch as I eat lunch in front of them."
There were two growling stomachs, and Naruto sighed, again. She had offered them ration bars when she arrived, but they didn't want them. Ration bars were better than no breakfast, even if they tasted like soggy cardboard. "Also, those without a bell will be sent back to the academy for another year."
Naruto sighed, for what felt like the hundredth time that day, the two morons on her team wouldn't understand the test even if they were smacked in the head with the answer. The worst part, she realized, Kakashi wasn't allowed to fail them, which had been her one saving thought. Her ticket out of this shitty team, she had been hoping and praying that it would work. "…ready… Start!"
Moron one and two both leapt to the tree line, effectively destroying any chance of teamwork and coordination, and Naruto sighed. She sighed again as she realized that she would be sighing a lot these days. Then she followed their example and leapt into the trees, at least she watch her teammates suffer. It was the only joy she would have for the foreseeable future.
Kakashi was not a happy man, no he never was, he hadn't been happy since he was five and came home to find his dad had committed seppuku. It didn't help that Obito died saving his life, or that Rin sacrificed herself by jumping onto to his chidori. It most certainly didn't help that his teacher, and older brother figure died to seal away the Nine-Tailed Fox. No, Kakashi was not a happy man, he hadn't been in over two decades.
Somehow he had thought that this team would be like his own. Recreate some of that lost joy, but Sasuke was nothing like himself, he had been anti-social and by-the-book, but not hateful. Sakura was nothing like Rin, certainly his lost teammate had been a fangirl, but she could turn it off on a dime, the pink haired one couldn't. Then there was Naruto. Which was just awful. Had she been the same as she had portrayed in the academy, he might have felt that the team could be salvaged, but no, it turned out that the happy little girl he thought he knew had been a lie. A deep cover to hide she was approaching tokujo levels.
'Absolutely nothing like Obito.'
He left a shadow clone in the clearing, and shunshined to the Hokage's office, he needed a proper ringer, an actual chunin to take Naruto's spot, while she was apprenticed to someone else, she could join in for the chunin exams, but he could tell that the team would fall apart if she stayed. Sasuke would try something, and eventually he would do something stupid and Naruto would be forced to maim or kill him.
"Hokage-sama… Shimura-sama." Kakashi had almost overlooked the other man, which would be a fatal mistake, always. He didn't miss the glint in the mummy-man's eye, or that Danzo held out his hand to the hokage, and was handed fifty ryo. "What can I do for you, Kakashi-kun?"
"It is about the team, it's pointless to even try, they will never work together, Naruto rightfully doesn't trust her teammates, Sasuke hates everything, and Sakura couldn't even fight of a geriatric bandit, no offence Shimura-sama." The two elderly men looked at Kakashi, with something he would almost describe as mirth in their eyes. Another fifty ryo shifted hands. "And what, pray tell, should we do about it?"
"Naruto should be apprenticed to a jonin, and I will need a ringer to replace her. She can rejoin for chunin exams and C-rank missions, but she wouldn't play down her abilities, the whole tower is too unstable for her there." Kakashi sighed, it had pained him to admit this, and he really wanted Naruto as his apprentice, but he was enough of a realist to know that that had less chance than a snowball in hell. Fifty ryo shifted from Danzo to the Hokage.
"I am proud of you, Kakashi-kun, not many would admit to being out of their depth, and would try to force it. It just so happens that Danzo-kun…" A shiver went down Kakashi's spine at the honorific. "…and I were talking about Team 7. He already has a ringer lined up for you, as he expected this to happen, somehow…"
"Well, Hiruzen-kun…" Another shiver went down Kakashi's spine, it was terrifying to hear such powerful men mentioned as if they were academy boys. "…I already know Naruto-chan has informed you how she acquired her study materials, what she doesn't know is that I seeded some of the dumpsters, especially my own. I had my agents keep watch for others, the materials were meant solely for her after all."
"You did say you wanted to teach her, and even when I said no, you still got your way." Danzo just smirked, and Kakashi was left feeling a distinct sense of dread. Danzo had helped form Naruto, now that was a scary thought. "Nothing untoward was done, had you given me permission to train her, it would have been the same education, and she would have had a home as well, though she has formed a small attachment to me, as the kind old man that lives alone, she thinks of me as a mentor by chance. She will be great, and she will take the hat from you Hiruzen-kun, I've seen to that."
"How good is she?" Kakashi felt like a rabbit in a tiger den, but his concern for his sensei's daughter, for whom should have been his little sister, and now he just felt shit realizing he had abandoned his little sister for over a decade, but he needed to know that she could take care of herself. Interestingly it was Danzo that replied. "She could have graduated as Rookie of the year in our graduation cycle. I gave her my old textbooks and scrolls, along with teaching aids from that period."
Behind his mask, Kakashi gaped. He knew that the academy had lowered their standards over the years, Danzo and Hokage-sama had graduated in a time where standards were at the highest and the academy produced hundreds of what would now be chunins a year. "Really Danzo-kun? Your old textbooks? I know for a fact that there were a few scribbles in there you would never want to see the light of day."
"You drew those penises, but then again, it was five decades ago, it isn't all that important anymore." And wasn't that just disturbing to see, Kakashi decided that he needed to move the conversation on, because the current topic was fraying what remained of his tenuous hold on sanity. "So, the ringer, and a jonin for Naruto. Who and who?"
"Sai, one of my failed agents; the desensitization caused more harm than good, completely shattering his emotional development, but he is a proven chunin and holds the rank. I think that being on a team with children might help him, rebuild, his personality." Kakashi nodded, he had been part of Danzo's little goon squad for a short time, and knew that it wasn't exactly conductive to mental health, and what it took to bring out an even half-way human being afterwards, he sent a thought to Tenzo.
"Many of our jonin have stepped foreward to take on Naruto over the years, Raido, Genma, and Iwashi, all stepped up years ago." The Hokage Guard Platoon, Kakashi noted that they probably still feel terrible for fucking up their job, they were supposed to keep the Youndaime safe. "…Also Yugao," Kakashi sighed in relief, he would feel better knowing Cat took care of his sensei's daughter. "…while Ibiki doesn't have time he volunteered Anko, she needs something to focus on besides my wayward student, and she is interested." Kakashi shuddered, Ibiki and Anko should not be allowed in the same city as children, let alone teaching them.
"Jiraiya would also be an option, but I want her to stay in the village for as long as possible. Finally Inuzuka Gaku, if you recall, has repeatedly tried to adopt Naruto, he swore brotherhood with Minato, sealing it in blood, to him Naruto is pack, even if she doesn't know it." It was sobering to Kakashi, while most of these were relatively unknown outside the Konoha jonin circle, they were all at his own level, or even better. 'And they all want to help sensei's daughter.'
"I see, any of them would do a terrific job, I will head back to my team now and end the farce, Naruto will be here shortly. Is Sai here? I'll take him along." There was a nod from Danzo, and a young pale boy with black hair stepped in front of Kakashi. "Sai, this is Hatake Kakashi, he will be your commanding officer until such a time that Team 7 is disbanded or breaks up."
"Understood Danzo-sama. How should I address you, taicho?" Kakashi sighed, he really didn't want this. Not that he had a choice in the matter. "Follow the lead of your teammates, which is Kakashi-sensei, now let's talk about how you should act around them…"
Naruto sighed, she had done so more in past hour than the rest of her life combined. Kakashi wasn't even present, she had seen the swap with a shadow clone, but she played her part in the teamwork, when moron one decided to attack, she had assisted his attack with a few thrown kunai, when he had gotten himself buried, she had tossed kunai to chase off Kakashi. Then she had sent some shadow clones to dig out moron one, while sending another to wake up moron two from a genjutsu.
"Are they so horrible that you couldn't even bother to test us yourself?" The shadow clone of their teacher was perched on a different branch in the tree, and just like herself, it was also reading a book. The clone cocked an eyebrow at her. "Mah, mah, that isn't it exactly, but what about you, why don't you give it a try?"
"What's the point, your hands are tied aren't they, you have to pass the brooding emo, and I doubt you want to be stuck with only him, so you'll have to pass me to share in the misery, and for that you'll need a team, so you'll have to pinky too." Naruto smirked. "Besides, I already did the obligatory teamwork assist. I also killed you."
The shadow clone looked to where Naruto was pointing, on the cover of the book was an explosive tag, a very low yield one, but more than enough to pop a shadow clone. The clone eye-smiled. "Nice, I actually didn't see that one coming."
There was a loud clap, and the clone was gone. Naruto leaned back and turned the page in her book, still half an hour till the time ended, then she would shunshin to the Hokage's office and put in for a transfer to the genin corps, that would be far better than this shit show.
"Gather round." The timer had just gone off, and Kakashi had arrived in a shunshin with a boy that Naruto instantly pegged as Sasuke2. Jumping from the tree she landed in the clearing and slowly walked towards her soon to be ex-teacher. Not that she hated the man, she actually enjoyed his quiet company, but there was just no way that she was staying on this idiotic team.
"Congratulation pinky-chan, broody-kun," Naruto nearly snorted at the sarcasm, but she wouldn't ruin it for Kakashi, he was a decent guy. Both Sakura and Sasuke preened under what they thought was praise. "You two failed, and spectacularly at that."
Sakura looked crestfallen, and Sasuke looked constipated. The pink haired girl recovered and glared at Naruto. "What about Naruto-baka?"
"She passed, both the hidden teamwork portion of the test, and she even managed to land an actual kill strike on me." Both Sakura and Sasuke looked at her, the brooder gave her a derisive snort, and pinky laughed. "As if Naruto-baka could ever do that, no way is he better than Sasuke."
"Wow, I almost feel bad for you Kakashi-san, leaving you with these morons." Kakashi nodded in response, and Naruto stepped back, to let him do his job. "Okay, I don't even know where to begin with that. Never mind. Yes, Sakura, Naruto did in fact see that this was a teamwork exercise, and she provided the teamwork to both of you, waking you from a mild genjutsu, and covering Sasuke as he engaged me in combat, even providing cover while he was incapacitated."
"Lastly, Naruto managed to plant an explosive tag on me without my knowledge, it wasn't a dangerous one, but it could just as easily have killed me instead of giving me a scare." Sasuke had returned to looking constipated, but he wasn't glaring at Naruto, so she took that as a victory, her win had been flashy enough for his taste. "Now I am a fair man, and as promised, Naruto congratulations you are off the team, the Hokage wants to see you ASAP."
"Thanks Kakashi-san, see around." With that Naruto left the clearing in a shunshin, she still had a shadow clone sitting there, she wanted to know what would happen next.
"What? Why is Naruto off the team, if he really got everything right?" For the first time in the past two days Naruto heard something intelligent from Sakura. Her real self was already gone, but the clone memories gave her an exquisite view of what happened. "Because, Sakura, you and Sasuke don't want her here, and she doesn't want to be here, she doesn't like either of you, and while she was willing to work with you, both of you blew her off three times, before the test even started."
"First was yesterday in the academy, she invited both of you to lunch, and you said some rather mean things to her. Second was again yesterday, after our introductions, she called out to you, but both of you ignored her. Third time was this morning, she offered you breakfast, and you weren't particularly nice in the rejection." Kakashi paused, letting it sink in. Sakura actually looked contrite, and Naruto hoped the girl would use this to improve herself.
"Today, during the test, did either of you seek her out after she helped you?" Kakashi sighed. "No you didn't, she had clones with both of you, but you completely ignored them, even when they tried suggesting teamwork."
"Now, luckily for you two losers, it is in Konoha's best interest that the 'Last Uchiha' be paraded around as a productive little ninja, so I can't fail you no matter how much I begged the Hokage for the past half hour, and I did beg, on my knees, with tears in my eye." Kakashi turned a hard glare at his two remaining students. "You two should be ashamed of yourself, treating a comrade that way, but since I can't fail this team, and Naruto would be gone the moment the test was over, no matter what, I got us a third member."
"This is Sai, he is here to fill out the squad, he isn't here to teach you, he isn't here to hold your hand, he is a chunin, and will work with you, as a professional. This is your absolutely last chance, if either of you fuck up, then you won't be going to the academy, but rather be dropped from the force." The young boy that Naruto had previously named Sasuke2 stepped forward. "My name is Sai, I like painting."
"Be at the red bridge leading to the training ground tomorrow morning at eight." With his final words said, Kakashi shunshined away, and Naruto watched as Sasuke stormed off in huff. Sakura was about to follow him, when she turned to Sai. "A pleasure to meet you, Sai-san, I hope we can get along."
"You as well, Sakura-san." With that, the Pink haired girl left the clearing, and Naruto joined Sai the moment she was out of sight. "I am sorry that my absence from the team means that you have to put up with it, Sai-san."
"Do not worry Naruto-san, I do not blame you for this mess." With a final nod to Sai, the clone dispelled itself, sending all the memories back to the original Naruto.