A/N: Sorry for the delay, had some troubles with the laptop not wanting to work with me and then my sister's dog chewing the charging cord after I had drained the battery and was trying to charge it. I also have been extremely lazy with writing because of trying to find a steady job while also catching up on One Piece in my down time. This chapter is going to have some good old-fashioned team rivalries develop. About two months have gone by since last chapter and they will have started to settle into their team roles and skills. I won't really show all of their skills until the Chunin Exam arc. I don't own anything Naruto related so no worries there.
Chapter 4 Forest around Konoha
Four shadows dashed through the forests surrounding the outskirts of the village. The sun started to cast the long shadows as the afternoon started to close. A white ball of fur dashed for dear life in front of the shadows in a magical game of cat-and-mouse. The white fur-ball ducked into the dense floor foliage that littered underneath the treetops.
"Ichi in position."
"San is in position."
"Ni now in position."
"Yon is on target."
The four statements were fired off with a smooth clip to the delivery of the four shadows. The compass points around where the fur-ball had disappeared were covered and a larger fifth shadow came down from the top of the tree canopy to just above where the first four were located. "Commence the retrieval so we can return to the tower. Remember, no damage that is noticeable is to be left on the target."
The shadows all answered in the affirmative before they continued down the trees. One readied a small net from their equipment pouch and signaled the others. The plan was quickly forming as two of the shadows quickly descended and touched the ground before the others. Hand-signs were quickly being performed and the net was being spread above the foliage as the fur-ball poked its head out. It looked in between the two operatives before it as a confused mewling escaped it. "Magen: Narakumi no Jutsu." (Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique) The cat seized up and seemed to drop unconscious as the net quickly descended and enwrapped it.
"Don't wake it up until we get it back and finish this mission."
"Sounds like a good idea, San. This demon doesn't deserve the joy it would get from tormenting us from inside the net. Yon, you get to carry it."
"But, Ni, that thing keeps attacking me no matter what. I don't want to do it."
"Do it, Yon-baka."
"Shut up, Ichi-teme."
The fifth shadow dropped down to the forest floor and continued on into town while motioning over his shoulder for the four to follow him. The four quickly started to follow and San threw the net over to Yon as he and the others started to laugh. "Sensei, what do we get to learn about this afternoon?"
"Well, we will have another team training session in tactics this afternoon and then the four of you will be testing the progression of yourselves against Teams 8 and 10. Ichi and Yon are going up against Team 8, and the other two will face Team 10. Remember the cover stories that you are independent, Daimyo-sponsored shinobi and cannot remove the masks because of contracts signed between yourselves and the Daimyo. If any of the other senseis try to say something I will be in the wings watching and try to make your explanations as believable as possible as the Daimyo-appointed sensei for you."
"Hai, sensei." They all chorused as they walked closer to the tower before Sasuke paused in mid-stride to look up at Kakashi.
"Won't it be a little risky participating with Team 8 for Yon and me? They have a Hyuga, Aburame, and Inuzuka on the team. Those three alone should be able to determine who we are inside of a minute and blow our covers."
"Hahaha, well, it was right of you to think of the danger, Ichi, you have failed in doubting your senseis. The masks that you are given are the same handed to ANBU that do not let Byakugan look through them because of the chakra passed through the makings of it. The Aburame's bugs will not be able to tell who you are because seals within the suits dampen the feel of chakra and suppress any personal natures of it. You will essentially appear to be using generic chakra for any technique as though it was the bunshin or kawarimi jutsu. Your scent is also altered by the bodysuits and thus any Inuzuka ninken and shinobi will not be able to readily identify you outside of those bodysuits."
"Hai, sensei, as long as the bases are covered." The squad continued its march down the last alley before the tower. Silence pervaded the atmosphere as the genin thought on the challenges that were about to be approached as soon as the afternoon got closer. The doors to the tower silently loomed in front of them with the specters of the hidden ANBU watchers that they were to be avoiding as much as possible so connections to the team's real identities could not be established.
"Team Zero, right on time." The secretary's voice was easily able to carry throughout the silent room. "The Hokage and his assistant are available to take your reports and see about another mission."
"Thank you, ma'am. We appreciate it." Kakashi stepped forward and lead the team through the doors and into the mission control room. The Hokage sat behind a large oaken table in an ornate chair while Iruka and a couple of other chunin were busy reading through various written reports and request and stacking them as appropriate.
"Hokage-sama, Team Zero is reporting to you that the mission is complete as asked. Are there any other orders for us before we continue with bonding exercises between this team from the capital and a few of the younger genin squads?" Kakashi's voice, though concealed, still sent off a feeling of apathy to the situation while the rest of Team Zero took silent joy in the fact that no sooner had the net been passed to an assistant than the feline assassin was freed into the arms of its eagerly waiting owner. The whimpers of doom were solace rightly deserved for the team as they awaited the Hokage's words.
The Hokage just smiled in silent pride of his team's growth over the month of D-ranks. "No, no. I believe Team 8 should be awaiting the first contingent of your team at the area of Training Ground 3. The other contingent should head for Training Ground 11 and await the arrival of Team 10. It shouldn't be too much longer before Team 10 completes its daily D-rank, but the team itself seems to lack a certain drive so you may want to grab a lunch to eat while you wait." The genin of Team Zero quickly nodded and split into the two groups that were destined for different grounds that day with Kakashi making a simple mud-clone to follow after the team of Sakura and Chiisai.
Training Ground 3- Team 8, Ichi, Yon, and Kakashi
The introductions had been quick between the two teams especially with two of them going by just numbers. They had then started to stretch and loosen themselves for the match while Kakashi, under his guise, and Kurenai had hashed out a deal on what the rules would be. The genin of Team 8 had quickly settled into their own discussion while readying a few of the weapons they possessed for the upcoming match. Kiba's voice carried over the breeze to Sasuke and Naruto as he traded insults about them to his team and the bravado quickly seemed repulsive to the two. Sasuke started to make for the small scroll that held his chokuto, but Naruto stayed his hand and shook his head to convey that it could wait for the actual match to draw it.
Kurenai approached the two teams before gesturing for them to quiet down. "Team, we will be conducting a type of points-based spar. Solid hits are worth three points, glancing blows are worth one and any traps or jutsu used constitute two points. The first of the two teams to reach a total of thirty points will be declared the winner and the daimyo's retinue team will retire for the afternoon." Naruto looked over to Kakashi as he and Sasuke eagerly awaited the signal of the level of danger they would be allowed to broach today. Kakashi's nod and a signal of three allowed the two to understand and Naruto lifted his hand in question for Kurenai.
"Yes, Yon, what is your question?"
"Will substituting wooden training weapons instead of the actual weapon lead to a diminishing of points allotted for the strike?" Sasuke nodded as well at the end of the question and Kurenai shook her head in the negative. Both boys then reached for small green scrolls and unsealed the wooden kukri knives and chokuto held within. The two then spun to face Team 8 and lowered themselves into some of the basic ready stances that they had been learning.
Kakashi looked over them and nodded while thinking to him, 'They've grown. The night training on top of missions and regular training has brought out the leadership qualities in these two. Sasuke seems to be getting a little bull-headed though, and Naruto is still all brawns and no brain outside of battle. Wonder if they've taken well to their forms when they're not getting kicked around a training field for six hours at a time?'
Sasuke stood in a loose Interceptor Fist stance, but it was also blended with some of the Iron Fist style that Kakashi had known the best. Naruto on the other hand was constantly moving his lower body as if to a rhythm while his hands weaved through basic patterns with the kukri knives to keep up a semblance of heavy defense up front. Kiba stood in front of Shino and Hinata. The showdown was on for the two teams and a tense atmosphere had settled as Kiba's back foot settled firmly into the ground and Akamaru had hopped off his head and stood between his feet.
Sasuke's hands moved in a bastardized version ANBU sign language. 'Dog-boy goes first. He and the dog are too dangerous for us to leave for him to attack from angles." Naruto nodded his agreement as Kurenai looked on in shock at the interaction.
'These kids are serious. Most teams don't try to communicate through sign language unless they have serious experience under their belts. My kids are in trouble.' Kurenai almost moved to interrupt the match before it could get started, but Kakashi intervened. He held his hand up to stop her and shook his head silently in disagreement to her actions. He then signed in Konoha's actual sign language that it was too late to turn back now as the boys from his team had already moved in action.
Naruto had seen Kurenai start to move and his boisterous nature would not allow for the match to be taken away before it could even start. Sasuke was quick on his tail and the boys shot forward as quickly as they could and Kiba was almost caught flat-footed by their instantaneous targeting of him. He smirked as they neared him and Shino moved to try to strike from the flank of the charge. Naruto went into a sliding kick purely aimed at Akamaru and Sasuke through a shuriken to intercept Shino. Shino dodged back out of the blade's way, but could only look on with Hinata as they saw Akamaru rocket off the foot of one of the assailants with Kiba stuck gob-smacked in the air.
Sasuke then pushed off of Naruto's cupped hands to fly at Kiba. Kiba tried to defend as best he could but the wooden chokuto found its mark in his midsection. He went off balance and the chokuto in Sasuke's hand struck off of him as he was sent plummeting to the awaiting Naruto. Naruto quickly spun full circle and launched two kunai at Shino and Hinata apiece to keep them at a distance from him. Kiba was head-down towards the ground when Naruto struck out with a forearm and launched him towards the staggering Akamaru and they crashed into each other. This served as a double knockout strike for the two Inuzuka combatants. Sasuke landed with his back to Naruto and Naruto said, "Two combatants down with a final score of twelve points for us and none earned for them. The Hyuga and Aburame are the only remaining competitors in this if we finish quick. Three solid hits are required per combatant."
"Understood, Yon. I'll take the Hyuga; you have the more suitable stances for the Aburame."
"Pierced kunai formation?"
"Yeah, rotate to gamma procedure every fifth strike attempt."
"Sounds appropriate to me."
The two then quickly took off with Naruto quickly drawing his kukri knives across each other which somehow caused a small flash of light to be triggered. Shino's shades helped account for that surprise but the sudden flash still brought a little bit of disorientation to the position of Naruto. He surged forward after the flash and was able to strike Shino along the ribs with one of the kukri knives before having to dodge back from a retaliatory backhand. The kikaichu insects flowed from the folds of Shino's sleeve and formed a defensive ring around him. "Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Style: Great Breakthrough)". A blast of wind took off from Naruto's lips after a quick flip through the hand-signs. A small but heavy wind blew out in front of him and scattered some of the ring of insects and a kunai ring first flew forward behind the wind and hit Shino in the shoulder.
A grunt escaped Shino's mouth and he threw down a smoke bomb to obscure his position. He hid in some of the underbrush a few meters from where he had been standing and he looked over to the other shinobi battle taking place with his teammate. Hinata was barely managing to knock aside sword strikes with two kunai and was starting to sweat. A bead of perspiration made its way from Shino's afro down the side of his face. 'We need to come together on this one. They have us outclassed in single combat while Hinata and I are better suited for combination techniques with Kiba involved.' He made to move from his position towards Hinata when a voice echoed out above him.
"Ichi, go to formation beta. My opponent went to ground." Naruto, unknowingly, jumped right over Shino and made a beeline for the existing fight. Sasuke nodded o Naruto's call and jumped back a few feet. His free hand quickly scooped up a brace of shuriken and sent them flying towards Hinata. She jumped back to dodge only to get kicked back forward from Naruto approaching from behind. The chokuto's wooden hilt caught her across the diaphragm and Hinata dropped into blissful unconsciousness. "I got two on the Aburame. How many did you get with the Hyuga?"
"The Hyuga was pretty smooth with dodging. Those were the only two solid hits that were able to land. Had two glancing blows though so we need four points to win out the duel." Sasuke was gritting his teeth behind his mask before Naruto nudged him.
"You can finish it with the Aburame. I'll keep watch and lookout for any surprises in case the Inuzuka or Hyuga wake up." Naruto was smirking and backed up so to allow Sasuke to work out some of his aggressions that was slowly building up from throughout the match. "Ichi, just remember, leave him in one piece."
Shino shivered under his jacket at the statement. Kurenai's face showed complete shock in the ease with which a statement like that was said. Kakashi was grinning from ear to ear under his mask and started chuckling at the devious, meaner side of Naruto's humor and how it was only growing under his training.
Sasuke jumped directly for the brush that Shino had been hiding in while weaving through hand signs. "Katon: Gokakyu (Fire Style: Great Fireball)". The fireball tore through the bush and Shino was quickly up on a branch slightly behind Sasuke. Sasuke turned and caught the kick that had been aimed for his back and delivered a quick glancing blow along Shino's knee before throwing him away. Shino stumbled and turned back to facing Sasuke with a kunai raised. Chokuto and kunai met in a clash as both fighters fought for dominance. Shino started to leverage Sasuke with his greater height and strength. Sasuke looked up at Shino and quickly dropped the chokuto and as Shino stumbled forward. A jackhammer fist was swiftly delivered to Shino's shoulder and Sasuke sprung back out of range. "That's thirty points and the match. Thank you for the honorable battle, Aburame-san." Sasuke and Naruto then bowed to Shino and then Kurenai as they followed Kakashi out of the training grounds.
Training Ground 11- Team 10, Chiisai, Sakura, and Kakashi
Chiisai stood in front of Sakura as Ino tried to badger them both with questions about their true identities behind the mask. Shikamaru sat against a tree trunk a couple of yards away with his eyes closed. Choji was posted dutifully at a right angle on the trunk from his childhood friend and looked between Ino and the mystery team. "C'mon, just tell me your real names! I'm not really supposed to believe that your names are Ni and San do you?"
"If I told you my name or my partner's name, I would then have to slaughter you and your team. Even though you are clan heirs there are still things that would require your death if you delved too far." Chiisai's crossed arms and the mask glaring finally got Ino to take a step back from him and stop trying to poke at him. Sakura took a step back from Chiisai and looked at him with a small smile under her mask. She nodded to him and Chiisai took it to mean 'Thank you'.
"Ino, just leave them alone. They answer solely to the Daimyo. That technically puts them on par with high jounin/specialized ninja in the village that only answer to the Hokage. They will probably be making a report to the Daimyo anyway. Would you want your pushiness to be the type of character trait that precedes you if you ever have to meet the Daimyo for a mission?" Shikamaru's eyes were still heavily shut with arms cradling his head but a tic mark was easily seen on his forehead. Choji was snickering loudly and small flakes of chips fell from his lips to the grass beneath him.
"What about how you look? Do you two have to wear the masks all the time? That's got to suck. Not being able to know if your teammate is hot or anything." Stars started to appear before her eyes as her imagination started to run away on her. "I bet I could even tell if it was Sasuke-kun behind a mask. He's so handsome that he would just exude his presence while having his face covered."
Sakura huffed under her breath and moved her fingers in the bastardized version of the ANBU sign language they knew. 'He would be puking right now if he could hear Ino-pig. Do we have to wait for the match to beat her senseless?'
Chiisai quickly signed back to Sakura, 'Yeah, we have to wait for the rules to be agreed upon; otherwise we risk a village incident. It could technically create tension with Asuma Sarutobi and Hiruzen-sensei. Sensei would have to act somewhat upset but couldn't really push anything. We are his students but the story goes that we belong to the Daimyo's personal court of protectors that replaced the Ninja Guardians that Asuma was once a part of." He got a nod in response as a rustling came from where the senseis of Team Zero and Team Ten had gone off in.
Kakashi stood next to Asuma as they walked towards their students. Naruto and Sasuke still in their battle attire followed sharply on Kakashi's heel. Sakura stood a little straighter as she spotted Sasuke approaching her position. Ino looked at the two younger approaching shinobi and smirked to herself. She approached the nearer of the two and decided to try flirting with him. Sakura went from disbelief to bemusement once she realized exactly who was under the mask that Ino was unashamedly throwing herself at. "Yon, what are you and Ichi doing here? I thought you guys had a match with Team 8?"
Naruto looked from Ino, who was practically hanging off of him, to Sakura and back a couple of times. "Well, we already won the match. We came here with sensei to watch you guys."
Sasuke grunted and Chiisai gave the two a thumbs up. He then turned to look at Shikamaru and Choji. The two were now paying close attention to what was being said and Shikamaru had started to focus his thoughts and was no longer seeing the clouds that floated by overhead. Asuma was smirking slightly as he saw his male students start to take the potential showdown seriously.
Kakashi then explained the rules to his team as Asuma told Ino how Team 10 would win in the hopes that she would push the team to try harder. The duo of Sakura and Chiisai were quickly conversing on what should be done. "Nara clan members are known to be extremely versatile with the jutsus they use and the knowledge they possess is known to be scary accurate. Akimichi are bruisers like Yon and I. They can take and deal a lot of damage sometimes in the same instant. Yamanaka are good just not for frontline battle. She seems to be the backbone and motivation of the team though." Chiisai was listing facts as he and Sakura were formulating a plan.
"I plan on the Yamanaka should be the first to go. Then the Nara should go. The Akimichi is the only threat to the plan though. He could rack a lot of points up for them if we aren't careful."
Chiisai looked up and motioned for Yon and Ichi to come closer. "What was the margin of victory for you two?"
Sasuke looked to Naruto and Naruto was looking right back before the both shrugged and looked at Kakashi, simultaneously. "Should we tell them?"
Kakashi was quick to motion that they could go ahead and say if they so desired. Asuma and Ino were attentive to the coming answer since Asuma had agreed to the same terms for the match as Kurenai. Shikamaru and Choji were listening but unaware of the significance this could place on the map. Naruto stepped back and motioned for Sasuke to go ahead with the gloating. "We beat Team 8 with a final team score of thirty points for us and no points earned by Team 8. The match lasted about five, maybe ten, minutes." The obvious gloating could be discerned as both boys then high-fived each other. "You two have to win with at least a margin of thirty points to their four otherwise you guys get the night training exercise for the week and the two of us get to sleep." Another high-five was exchanged as Sakura huffed and crossed her arms.
Chiisai and Sakura quickly settled into their stances as Team 10 warily lined up across from them. Asuma quickly called a beginning to the match as both teams scattered. Chiisai motioned for Sakura to cast a genjutsu over the field as he dipped his hand into the ground and brought rock boxing gloves on his fist. He leaped into the field and started to look to the trees across from him. He knew Sakura would head through the canopy to try to flank Ino and take her rival out points-wise.
A shadow shot out of the underbrush towards Chiisai was able to narrowly dodge the tendril. As he spun back to the direction that the shadow came from, he picked up on the fast approaching figure of Choji in his Ninkudan Sensha (Human Bullet: Tank) form. Another narrow dodge was quickly followed by a shadow ensnaring him. Choji went to attack the prone Chiisai when a quick burst of chakra to everyone's left was followed with the clatter of Ino's unconscious body bouncing several times towards Choji. Choji stopped and sprung towards Ino while the shadow recedes from Chiisai.
Chiisai then sprung up into the canopy himself and threw a smoke bomb down into the clearing. "Damn, Shikamaru has to go now." Chiisai sprinted through canopy and Sakura joined him in seconds. Her hands flew through more handsigns, and as she stopped and held the last, a high pitched whistling broke out and Choji looked to be trying to dodge many giant sized shuriken to Chiisai's eyes. He stopped and whispered "Kai," to himself and continued on towards his destination. He then slung his rock gloves towards the brush with a solid impact noise coming from it. Shikamaru stumbled out of the bush with a new bruise adorning his forehead. "That was lucky."
Sakura then landed behind Shikamaru and struck out at the same time with both tonfa to his back. Shikamaru went flying towards Chiisai in the tree-tops. As Chiisai struck him with a folded over bo-staff, Shikamaru struck out with a fist and solidly connected with Chiisai's jaw. "Even though we will probably lose, at least I'll be sleeping all night this week. Have fun. Five points scored by Team Ten." That declaration was quickly followed by Chiisai slinging Shikamaru as fast as he could into Choji and knocking both unconscious.
Naruto and Sasuke were looking at each other before a quick high-five was followed by an exultant Naruto rolling around on the ground and laughter emanating from his mask. Kakashi went over and gave him a swift, yet soft, kick to the ribs that got him to spring back to his feet. Chiisai and Sakura then trudged to their position as Kakashi gave thanks and dismissal for Team Zero and they took some of the hidden Training Ground routes to their underground lair.
Hokage's Office- Kakashi, Hiruzen, Danzo, Asuma, Kurenai, and Gai
Kakashi stood in front of the Hokage and his advisor as the other jounin lined the office just slightly behind him. A shadow clone of himself was also dressed in the guise of the Daimyo's shinobi sensei. Hiruzen cleared his throat and all of the jounin all snapped to attention even straighter. Danzo had a barely veiled smirk on his face as he awaited the Hokage's dressing down of four of the top jounin in Konoha. Three had been a little lackluster in the training while the last would still get a dressing down to keep up appearances.
"I want to start in by saying that this is obviously a serious let down on my part as Hokage. No offense to you, shinobi-san, but we did not expect that the training of our teams had slipped to such low levels." At this point the kage bunshin nodded while the other jounin looked to the floor in anger and disappointment. "You may be excused shinobi-san so that I may address my jounin privately." The bunshin nodded again and quickly left the office of the Hokage and dispelled in the stairwell.
"Hokage-sama, I must offer up my dearest, youthful apologies." Gai started to speak and would have gone on longer when an upraised hand from the Hokage froze him in place.
"I do not know how a team of beginners can beat out the three approved teams from this year as well as nearly defeat a team of one year veteran genin. Has the village not made it a prerogative to improve this upcoming generation?!" Hiruzen's hand smacked the solid surface of the desk caused Kurenai and Gai to flinch while Kakashi and Asuma weathered it due to backgrounds with harsh taskmasters. "Team Gai is supposed to be a frontline squad Gai. How were they brought to a draw in the match suited to their strength? One of the Daimyo's team even sat out of the match!"
Gai looked to the floor then back up to the desk of his superior. "I confess Hokage-sama that bravado got the better of my team. Lee-kun was nullified by genjutsu after being picked out as a taijutsu-reliant fighter and his teammates did not offer back-up when they should have. My weapon's specialist, TenTen, allowed herself to be lured into close quarters with Neji-kun when the numbers were against them when she should have kept the overlooking position to tactically take out members of the opposing team. Neji-kun also showed heavy reliance on his clan taijutsu and had overconfidence settle in. This lead to him being caught by two cross-firing jutsu that wounded him and brought the match to a draw since the two remaining in the opposing side ran out of chakra and collapsed."
Hiruzen steeped the hands in front of his mouth as a cloud of smoke wafted out between them. "Your team is being busted down to not having the requirement for the Chunin exams in four months. They must train, show improvement, and get the required missions within three months or they will miss out again. Am I understood?"
"Hai, Hokage-sama."
"Asuma, why might your team be lacking?" Hiruzen stared hard at his son and watched as Asuma's indifferent façade finally started to crack and caused a smirk to appear behind his hands.
"Team 10 is lacking in motivation. I can't find the trigger for them that will get them to excel. I try hard to train them, but I have failed them to the point that they were humiliated by the Daimyo's team. I request that the clan heads be present at the next week of training so that they may see that the children need more than clan techniques to survive on and get a spark to burn underneath them."
"I accept that request. Ino will also be required to cross train with Kurenai to be able to recognize, conjure, and dispel genjutsus for the team. The same punishment for Team Gai will also be imposed on Team Asuma. Understood?"
"Hai."
"Team Kakashi?"
"I have failed to impose a supreme leadership in the team make-up. Two of my students are leader material for the team and butt heads with each other constantly. The other two backs one or the other in the leadership realm. The division has started to affect teamwork and that was the downfall of my team currently. They also lack the drive to go beyond the basics in everything but the desired field they want and not where their talents would blossom."
"Team Kakashi will be imposed to D-rank missions for six months. You will not be allowed to enter your team in the Chunin exams this year. We cannot risk the two versatile shinobi on the team that are important to the village. If they were lost due to lacking teamwork, it would be a great negative to the village as well as a possible catastrophe if the seal were somehow unlocked. You will train them in what you as a sensei can pass on, and if they rebel, lock them up in minimum security cells until the two stubborn ones learn their lesson."
The jounin flinched at this declaration. Kakashi even felt bad for the non-sentient bunshin that would have to do this visible training that would have him even tired at the end of the day. "Understood, Hokage-sama. My team will be ready by this coming year."
Hiruzen then looked to Kurenai and she flinched but started her explanation started before Hiruzen could even ask. "Team 8 is good at tracking, but our frontline capabilities still seem to be lacking. Hinata is too kind to strike in any permanently debilitating way. Kiba is too brash and reckless. Shino is the only level headed one in the group and seems to be the pillar that the other two draw off of, but he can be easily overwhelmed by superior teamwork that can come against him. All three rely heavily on the clan techniques they were raised in, even if they believe they are deficient in them."
"Hinata will have to go through the kunoichi courses used to explain seduction and assassination missions then. We must harden her into a proper weapon of the village. Kiba and Shino will cross train with some jutsu specialists that will be made available to you so that they have something to rely on if they find themselves in situations where their symbiont were debilitated. Hinata will also have time to train under Gai, when Neji is not present, to improve the strikes in her taijutsu. They will receive the same punishment as Teams Gai and Asuma. Dismissed."
The four jounin filed from the room and left Danzo and Hiruzen alone in the office. "To think that our little devils are already fighting at low chunin level to compete against Gai's squad is amazing. They have all taken to the training even better than we believed. We will have to ratchet that up even more now though. They have to have the leg up on the other teams as well as any superstar competition that might swoop in during the Chunin Exams."
"Yes, Danzo, we will. I plan on taking Naruto and Chiisai out on a training trip at the end of next month. It should only be for about two weeks so that they will have time away from the slight discomfort with the village and their friendship that the populace looks down upon. You will serve as my representative for that time, but Sasuke will be left in your responsibility while Sakura will be doing a little survival course with Kakashi just outside the village."
"That sounds rather suitable. When is Jiraiya's next report due in?"
"About the time of my training trip. I plan on collecting it in person first then forwarding it to you. Jiraiya is saying that powers are gathering in the minor villages but no one has truly been able to unite any of them in a working alliance yet to attack. War still sits on the horizon, and yet the picture is still so muddied. Hopefully by then, Jiraiya will at least have a few prominent players that will be visible enough to be targeted before the exams. A strike against the minor villages' leadership wouldn't be well liked, but the message would be clear. Konoha will not tolerate plans against us."
"Agreeable again. Tobirama-sensei would be proud, Saru. Do Homura and Koharu have a handle on the upswing in responsibilities?"
"Yes. They don't like having to work so hard in retirement, but the village comes first. Team Zero is overdue for a C-rank though. What's the situation in Wave currently?"
"They are a little on the downtrodden side, but peaceful enough. None of my contacts have passed anything noteworthy from the area in the past year or so. Should be a good place to send a young team for a first C-rank, and it will provide good experience I training in the field and improve their water-walking exercises having the ocean beneath the feet and not the tranquil pool of the training ground."
"That sounds most pleasing for them then. I'll give Kakashi the heads-up later tonight and assign the mission to Team Zero in a day or two. Sake?" With that the two old friends/rivals sat across from each other and relieved old stories as they drank in remembrance of comrades lost to the struggles of protecting Konoha. Little did they know trouble awaited their new students in the lonely land of Wave.
A/N: Ok, hope you all enjoy this installment of Tails of Difference. I am not trying to overpower Team Zero, but they are a ways in front of Teams 8 and 10. They more got lucky with Team Gai by having two members being trained in what I see as the downfall of a pure taijutsu squad. I also apologize for the wait and hope you guys bear with me as I try to pump this out to you as quickly as possible. Review if you'd like or PM me with any questions you might have.