Sarutobi Asuma walked the streets of Konoha, silently being followed by what could be called his genin team, cursing his father all the way.
The truth was he did not want a team. He had returned to active jounin duty a couple of years back and he did not feel quite in place in the village of his birth. The lingering tension in his family did not help matters.
But still, orders were orders. Can't argue with the Hokage, even if he does happen to be your dad. He'd test the brats and if they did well, he'd pass them. If not... well too bad for them.
He fished out another cigarette and looked at the kids behind him. They were all silent visibly lost in thought. He'd red their files, of course, but when it came to people he preferred to make his own observations.
The Uchiha kid looked as withdrawn and stoic as his psychological profile made him out to be. He was wearing white shorts and a dark blue t-shirt which bore the Uchiha fan, which was expected - he was the last of the clan after all. He also wore some sort of arm warmers, god knows why. He'd have to make him change them to forearm guards, they were at least practical. Asuma just hoped he was not hopelessly obsessed with getting revenge - that was a goal that could lead to many complications.
The Haruno girl wore her forehead protector as a hairband, which was somewhat strange in his opinion. On the other hand, she was civilian born, no doubt not ready for what the world was. He'd have to quickly open her eyes if she was ever going to get anywhere. Reportedly she was extremely intelligent, but if you looked at her clothes and the occasional look of adoration she sent Sasuke's way, one could not tell. She wore leggings that went up to her knees and a red dress, which was entirely too long. It probably made moving difficult. All in all she gave the impression of a normal girl, not a shinobi. That could be an advantage sometimes, but definitely not in this team.
Lastly, the Uzumaki. He knew his father was close to him, hell he was there when he gave him the ninjato that now rested on his small back. The boy was a walking paradox - his outfit was the most serious of the three and yet he wore a small smile that did not fall off his face. If Naruto's conversation with his father was any indication, he had a lighthearted attitude towards the world. And yet, he gave the impression of a born shinobi - black pants, wrapped in bandages at the ankles, a mesh shirt with a vest on top of it, his forehead protector, used as a bandana to hide his bright blonde hair and fingerless gloves with metal plates on the back, probably to provide better grip on his sword. Asuma really couldn't read the boy, which was ... unexpected.
Oh, yes and you couldn't forget that he was the jailor for the most powerful of the Bijū. Simply lovely.
Sometimes, he thought that his father enjoyed taking him through the grinder simply out of spite.
Just as Asuma finished his next cigarette, they reached the grassy clearing they were going to use today. He abruptly stopped and turned to his students.
"Alright, we're here"
XXXXX
Naruto stopped before his teacher to be, waiting for further instructions. The walk to here was tense, at least for them - they did not what to expect and the silence did not help with relieving their nerves. He was seriously considering doing something stupid, simply to relieve the tension, but decided against it. After all, it simply would not do to make a bad first impression.
"Usually at this point the team has a little heart to heart chat about their likes, dislikes dreams and so forth." Asuma said "But to be honest, I really don't care."
Without waiting to see their reaction, he continued "The truth is that there is an exam I am supposed to give you, to see if you have any promise as a team. If you don't, then well... too bad, you're going back to the Academy."
An outraged cry came from Sakura. He could send them back to the Academy? But why? They had passed the exam, they had their forehead protectors, weren't they shinobi? Naruto and Sasuke's reactions were not so extreme, but similar thoughts slam through their minds. The blonde was inwardly fuming at the Hokage for not telling him. Then he remembered how he had said that he was still technically not a genin and mentally slammed his head in a wall. Damn old men and their riddles...
Sasuke only narrowed his eyes at the jounin. He could not allow himself to be stopped here. He knew that he was still weak, but his brother waited and he could not spend another year in the Academy.
"Besides, I don't think you will pass." Asuma continued "In fact, I think you will fail miserably. So what's the point in learning thing about you?"
"But Asuma-san, Sasuke-kun and I had the highest scores in the Academy!" Sakura said.
Asuma looked at her for a moment, and then started laughing. The laugh was so long, that at one point Naruto was trying to remember if lungs can collapse from excessive mirth.
The jounin gradually stopped laughing, wiping a tear from his eye in the process. He straightened up and then he moved.
Before the genin could react he was behind Sakura with a like looking trench knife at her throat.
"And this, pinkie, is the amount of care anyone on the field will have for your scores." he said, his voice barely a whisper "If you don't realize that soon, you will die and there is nothing anyone can do about it."
Asuma removed his knife from her throat and resumed his position in front of them. He casually drew a new cigarette, lighting it, his potential pupils tracing his every move like cats chasing a light. He took a long draw, exhaled a huge puff of smoke and suddenly smiled. All 3 of the kids flinched.
This was not a smile you'd want to see on someone who was testing you.
"Okay, brats, here's how we'll do this. Each of you will fight me. Let's see how good your skills are." he seemed to think for a moment and then pointed at Sasuke "Let's see how the rookie of the year will do."
The Uchiha started moving to the center of the clearing, when Asuma, as if he just remembered it added "By the way, don't hold back. Aim to kill. God knows you're not going to touch me, but at least make a good show out of it, eh?"
Sasuke did not answer, but his look visibly darkened. He knew that there was absolutely no way of winning - a jounin was so far beyond his skills it was not even funny. But still he refused to just give up. Dropping in a combat stance, he carefully considered his options.
Taijutsu? Not a great idea on its own. He was proficient in his family style, mostly thanks to Naruto's help, but close quarter fights were not really his thing.
Genjutsu? Not his thing - he could somewhat escape and detect them, but he didn't know any techniques.
That left ninjutsu. He knew that it was his best field, but he'd have to do this carefully...
Sasuke palmed 5 shuriken and threw them at Asuma without any warning. The moment they left his hand he was on the move, sprinting in a circle around the still immobile Asuma.
The jounin, at the last possible moment, drew a kunai of his own and reflected the shuriken to the side with sickening ease. He turned to follow the boy, still refusing to move from his spot, noting that the boy had decent speed.
Sasuke was not pushing himself, testing out the reactions of his future sensei with the shuriken throws. When he saw him not moving he threw another 5 shuriken, much to the same result. That meant that Asuma would probably stay there until he had to.
Well, now was a good time to make him have to.
While on the move, Sasuke started making hand seals, abruptly stopping just before his jutsu was complete.
Asuma looked on with interest, curious what the little genin would do. His eyes suddenly widened when he recognized the seal sequence and prepared to jump back.
"Fire release: Grand Fireball!" the Uchiha yelled out, taking a deep breath and spraying fire out of his mouth.
Sasuke noticed that his teacher was going to dodge, quickly threw a wide spray of kunai, hoping to at least hit him, all the while trying to think what to do next.
Asuma noticed that the jutsu was cut and the sound of kunai flying through the air and flashed through his own hand seals.
"Wind release: Wind Gale!"
A sudden wave of air pushed the kunai away and made Sasuke take a step back to keep his balance. The two shinobi stared at each other, a circle of burned grass between them.
Sasuke rushed Asuma going into an elaborate taijutsu combination, but without much hope for success. He was hoping for an opening.
The jounin blocked the boy's attempts with amusement. The Uchiha wasn't bad, but his style was obvious and telegraphed, not to mention that he seemed to keep his right hand free for whatever reason. It was obvious the Uchiha was looking for an opening, so Asuma humored him, leaving his ribs open for a moment, curious what he had under his sleeve.
Sasuke lashed out with his right hand, surprisingly with an open palm. The moment he connected he jumped back as far as he could, creating distance.
A moment later a huge explosion bloomed where the jounin stood. Sasuke smirked. He knew that the opening was intentional, but he couldn't have expected him to have hidden a tag in his right hand.
He did tell him to go for the kill, right?
The explosion slowly set, leaving a crater where the jounin used to be. A piece of burned wood fell flew next to Sasuke's face, making his eyes widen in understanding.
He felt a kunai at his neck and a puff of smoke surrounded his head.
"I'd say that was a good try, but I'd be lying. And you're supposed to be the rookie of the year? The standards must have really plummeted since I left, this is embarrassing." Asuma said loud enough for the other two to hear.
Sakura instantly bristled at the jab at her Sasuke-kun. She heard Naruto snickering and turned to throw a venom filled look at him. Both reactions were expected.
The unexpected reaction came from Sasuke himself. Instead of instantly trying to wash out, he simply nodded, careful not to hurt himself on the kunai, making Asuma smirk. The brat could be taught.
He removed the kunai from his neck, motioning for him to go to his teammates. The Uchiha sat down next to Naruto, pointedly ignoring the congratulations coming from the only girl in the clearing. The two started talking about the fight and where Sasuke had made mistakes, further surprising the jounin. Hell, this team might actually work.
"Haruno, you're up next. Let's see what the top kunoichi of the year can do, eh?"
Sakura brightened at the reminder of her score in the Academy - it was something she was very proud of. She shot up and went to the middle of the clearing, where the Uchiha had started his battle.
She really hoped she would make a good impression, especially after what Sasuke-kun had done.
Luckily for her self-confidence, she did not see the look that the two boys on the team exchanged. The disregard for her skill was more than obvious. The moment passed in a second, but Asuma noticed it. He really hoped that Sakura surprised him too.
The Haruno stood in front of the jounin. When he motioned for her to start, she ran straight for him, throwing two shuriken at the man. While he dodged both of them, she started making hand seals, which Asuma recognized as the Bunshin no Jutsu.
Two Sakura's materialized besides her and started changing places. Asuma simply raised an eyebrow, surprised that the girl actually thought that could work. Maybe if she had used more clones it could have worked against someone else, but really? Against a jounin?
Sakura attacked him, using the standard Academy taijutsu, which Asuma easily dealt with. Finally he decided to end the spar and threw a kick at her midsection. The girl saw the move coming and managed to use Kawarimi in time, switching with a log behind the jounin. She tried throwing more shuriken at him, grabbing a kunai in her right hand to use in close combat, charging him again.
Asuma, who was sure that had seen what she was capable of, simply dodged the assault and hit the girl on the chin with enough power to knock her out for a short while. Sakura few to the ground instantly, but woke up about 5 seconds later. She was mortified that she had lost so easily. The jounin was sure to return her to the Academy, away from Sasuke. And what would Ino think?
Simply put, this was quickly turning in the most horrible day in the girl's life.
She slowly made her way to her teammates, sitting on a log, clearly depressed.
All in all, it was what Asuma expected. The girl had good chakra control and a normal for a civilian reserve. Her taijutsu wasn't anything spectacular, her weapon skill weren't either, which was expected, since she didn't belong to a clan. That was actually a good thing - she was a clear state and could be shaped in whatever was needed for the team and if the reports for her intelligence were true, that would make her a valuable asset.
Simply put, he was pleased with his team so far.
That left only Naruto. He had tried asking his father about his skills, but he had simply smiled his infuriating knowing smile and told him to see for himself. His Academy reports were nothing all that great - he seemed to do very good on practicals and decently on written examinations. And his personal files were largely classified, since he was the Kyuubi Jinchūriki. Combine that with how impossible he found it to read him and only one thing became clear.
The boy was something of a mystery.
Naruto made his way to the center of the clearing, not waiting for the obvious call. He pulled out his ninjato of its sheath, making Asuma come out of his mussing.
"Okay, Uzumaki, your last. I can't say much about the performance of your teammates, so to be honest I'm not expecting much from you either. But, hey, go wild." the jounin said after, seeing the naked blade, pulled out his own trench knifes and put them on his knuckles.
"But Asuma-san, if you don't expect much, surely you don't have to use those things? After all, I am far below the great Rookie of the Year." Naruto said, throwing a mocking look at the Uchiha. Sasuke simply glared at the jab. Sometimes the blond was simply put, annoying.
"Now, now, Uzumaki let me have my fun. There aren't that many people who use weapons around here after all."
The boy broke into a grin, nodding at the point. He stood sideways, his left hand in front of him, his right holding the blade behind him. He crouched down slightly.
And then his face lost all expression and it was like a dam breaking.
Sakura actually fell down, Sasuke, despite having regularly fought with the boy flinched and Asuma gaped.
He had faced much stronger killing intent of course, but for this level of bloodlust to come from a simple child? It was unheard of.
Without giving him time to think, the blond dashed forward, his blade still trailing behind him. Reaching the jounin, he started a quick succession of slashes with his sword, which were all dodged by the older man.
Naruto continued the barrage, using only his weapon. Finally a sideways slash had a chance to hit the jounin, but the attack was blocked by his right trench knife. The moment Naruto felt the steel clashing, he let Asuma push his blade away, going with the motion, adding the momentum to a side kick aimed at the opponents ribs.
The move caught Asuma by surprise, making him block with his other hand. Naruto pressed his attack, now mixing slashes with the ninjato with the occasional kick and punch from his free hand. None of the hits were very powerful, but the speed was definitely good and whenever there was even the slightest opening Naruto went for killing blows with the blade.
Asuma caught the ninjato between his trench knifes and pushed Naruto away. The blond used the space to make a Kawarimi switching with a log behind Asuma. As quickly as he could, he made a hand seal and switched his ninjato to his left hand. The blade blurred out of view and an identical copy could be seen in his right hand. The illusion was far from perfect - a slight shimmer could be seen whenever his real blade moved and he had no doubt it wasn't going to work, but he felt obliged to try.
Naruto quickly rushed the jounin again, making for an exaggerated slashing motion with his right hand, hoping to catch the attention of his opponent. When Asuma went to block the blade, he made his move with his right hand aiming between the ribs of the jounin.
Asuma noticed the slight shimmer that the blade left in its bath and far quicker than the boy could react blocked it and kicked him away. Following the boy he pinned him to the ground with a trench knife on his throat and his other hand holding his right hand down.
Naruto saw his situation and his expression instantly returned to the pleasant smile he always wore. Asuma frowned slightly and stood up, giving a hand to the blond.
He was surprised all right.
His sword skills weren't bad and the style he used was something he hadn't seen many times. He was obviously ambidextrous, or had at least trained himself to use his left hand as well as his right. And that genjutsu was decent, especially considering that he had to have worked it out alone. But by far the most interesting was his killing intent. It was completely unexpected and out of character for the always smiling and easy going boy. Strangely enough it was completely appropriate for his other face - the emotionless mask he wore when fighting.
He needed to talk with his father after this.
But that was a concern for later. Right now, he had work to do. The jounin turned to the children who were sitting near each other again. Sasuke and Naruto were staring at him expectedly, one with a stoic expression, the other with a smile. Sakura on the other hand was looking at the blond, obviously still shaken from the killing intent.
"You lost brats. You lost bad." Asuma said, extinguishing his cigarette "And in our world to lose means death. Shinobi walk the line between life and death every day, in every battle, in every mission. And if you ever want to be shinobi you must learn that."
"All posturing aside, you did well. Better than most actually. And it wasn't enough. Now, after we've fought, how do you think you'd be able to defeat me?"
Asuma looked at the children, looking grave.
They looked back and quickly ducked their heads. All three of the genin started thinking of an answer, instinctively understanding that this was the real question. The first to raise her head was Sakura.
"A better strategy?" she asked timidly.
"Yes, a better strategy could have helped, but more than likely, against me, it would not have helped. Right now we're on a completely different scale."
His words made the girl deflate instantly and Asuma knew that he'd have to take special care for her to find her place in the world. The blond was the next to raise his head.
"Information." Naruto said instantly. He knew that information revealed weaknesses, weaknesses that could be exploited.
"Again, yes it would help, and no, it probably wouldn't be enough."
Sasuke was still thinking. His first instinct was to answer power - he knew that he could become powerful, his training with Naruto had shown him that, but that required time and the question was about how he would defeat the jounin now.
After a minute of complete silence, everyone in the clearing was staring at him, waiting for his answer.
His mind drifted through his memories, desperately looking for an answer. He remembered the first day at the Academy and the speech and how ridiculous it sounded to him. He remembered meeting and training with Naruto. He remembered how the two helped each other when they were struggling with something. And suddenly it all clicked.
"Teamwork." he said slowly rising his head. When no answer came, he continued his explanation "If the three of us came at you together Naruto could have possibly slipped a strike at you. It's not certain, but it could have worked."
At this Asuma eased into a genuine smile. "Exactly. Information and strategy are both important. But what makes victory possible is having someone to keep your back safe."
"Do you know why shinobi villages were created?" he asked. Without waiting for an answer he continued "It was because a shinobi lived a life of deception. You couldn't trust anyone. Everyone could turn in an enemy in a blink of the eye. The world is largely the same - todays allies could be tomorrow's foe. The only exception is the village and the shinobi in it."
"The truth is the moment you become shinobi, you start living in another world. And your only friends in that world are the other shinobi of your village."
The three were slowly nodding at his world, each finding a different meaning in them and relating them to their lives.
"That is the reason why you are placed in teams. So that when you fail, there is someone to pick you up." Asuma continued "Remember that and live it."
Asuma stopped talking, waiting for the children to assimilate the information. He pulled out another cigarette, took a deep drag and exhaled.
"This is especially important for the three of you." the jounin continued "This year there are 3 teams that are expected to pass. Team 8 is one of them, team 10 is another and you, team 7."
"Each of the teams is constructed with a purpose. Team 8 is expected to participate in tracking, retrieval and information gathering missions. Team 10 will specialize in in infiltration, capture and assassination. And the three of you are expected to participate in heavy combat missions."
"You will be the first to fight, trust in the middle of the enemy forces. You will be the last to retreat, covering your comrades' escape. In many ways, you will be the the ones who will be the most responsible for the safety of the village. You will face more death than any of your classmates. And it is my job to ensure you survive it."
The reactions in the genin were different. Sasuke looked simply giddy. This was exactly what he wanted, what he needed. Here he would become strong, strong enough to fulfill his goals. Naruto looked impassive, having expected something like that when he and Sasuke were put on the same team. Sakura looked simply scared. Today, looking at the two boys and Asuma, she had realized that she was weak and she didn't like the feeling. But she didn't know what to do about it.
"I have only one more question for you." Asuma said after a lengthy silence "Do you think you are ready?"
Sasuke and Naruto instantly nodded with fire in their eyes. After looking at the two boys and the jounin, Sakura's face shifted from fear to determination. She also nodded.
Asuma smiled at the three.
They were good kids.
And they would become strong.
"Well then." Asuma said "Stand up."
The three stood, tension evident in their bodies.
"You pass."
"Now let's quit it with the dreary stuff and grab something to eat, eh?" the jounin said with a wink.
The three fell flat on their face, tripping in their own feet, the impromptu change in attitude in their sensei, being a bit too much for them.
Author's Notes:
Hello and welcome to the next installment in my story, same , relatively the same time.
Has4uall: Now that would be telling won't it? Next chapter I will show where the three of them are aiming, skill wise, so there's that. Other than that, no, Naruto is not getting into seals; I have different plans for him. Sakura will be using seals, but this is much later in the story.