Author's Note: Hello guys! Sorry it took me nearly 3 months to come up with this things. Reasons were already laid down in my latest chapter of The Orange Hokage, so read that if you feel like it. One thing I've noticed over the last 6 months since I started writing these fanfics is that the easier it gets to write TGoAT, the harder it gets to write TOH and vice-verse. Maybe it's because of the fact that they're very opposite in terms of maturity and realistic approach. But as long as I'm able to think about the various possibilities for both stories, I'm able to write them, so that's always a good thing.
So with that cleared up, the chapter is here! Enjoy it.
DISCLAIMER: Masashi Kishimoto owns Naruto. Which includes rights to kill him, if the last two chapters are any indication of whatever's gonna happen... Oh, screw you Kishimoto-sensei! I want to see the guy back on its feet by tomorrow, you hear me? I'll be watching you very carefully...
[Naruto Shippuuden OST: Jinchuuriki]
*huff* *huff* *huff* *gasp*
Dead end...
Dammit.
Oh well... at least I drew the enemy away from the village. The people should be safe now...
It wasn't supposed to be like this... All because of petty revenges and old grudges, the nephew of a once great shinobi was leading a whole group of rogues. Just because one of our village's shinobi killed his uncle over 15 years ago, and one of his assassination orders pointed him directly to us. He just so happened to start his little vendetta now...
He calls it justice... I call it revenge.
He calls it retribution... I call it hatred.
He calls it punishment... I call it curse.
All I can do for now... is hide behind this tree and distract him long enough so I can defeat him.
Let's see... I'm spent. All there is left is a single kunai and one, two... yup, only two kemuridama*.
Good. This should be enough.
"It's over now!" I finally hear his voice. It seems he was able to keep up with my speed. He's far better than I first thought...
"We've played for too long now... If you want to give up, you better do it now." he says.
I have to agree with him. Playtime is over. And everything's going as planned. I should use the kemuridama... right... NOW!
*POOF* *POOF*
Bingo.
Now for the surprise attack.
*KLING* *KLANG* *KLING KLING*
It didn't work so well... dammit. He broke my kunai.
*pant pant* *weez*
"Hn... Give up."
Never... I still have strength left. Besides, he fell to my trap, at last.
"Can I say a few last words?"
"As if!" he shouts, stabbing me and pushing me to the tree trunk... or so he thinks. "I don't care for what you have to say. Just die!"
Well, time to activate my trap...
"You should give up..."
[End OST]
*POOF*
Gotta love Kage Bunshin...
"On making ME give up!"
[Naruto Shippuuden OST: Shippuuden]
A simple chop on the back and he's out. Victory for the good guys, as usual. I'm ready to take my leave and... Wait a minute, he's not unconscious. Persistent, aren't we...?
"Even if I end up to be defeated..." he says. "It will not stop another assassin to come and attack the village, you know that."
He slowly raises his head from the tree branch. Well, he's not fighting anymore, but I'll listen to what he has to say anyway.
"*chuckle* As long... as we live in this world... cursed by the existence of shinobi such as you and me... You can be sure that peace... will never truly exist."
In a way, he might be right... It was this 'curse' that killed my parents' life years ago... They died protecting those they held dear to their hearts, believing in a world of peace. Sadly, their sacrifice didn't mean much for whoever engineers these wars and spreads hatred into this world.
But I know better... They never killed anyone without a damn good reason. They hoped to avoid unnecessary deaths and always seemed to find alternate ways to solve problems, not only for our village, but also across our allies and even our enemies.
They didn't believe in all that 'if you're from village X, we're automatically enemies' crap everyone's familiar with. And they taught me that there is another way to solve things. Understanding how the pain and hatred work their way on peoples' hearts, one can reach out to them with kindness and care. That's how we start it...
And I'll see to it that the sacrifice of these two heroes will never be in vain. I'll finish their job.
"If that's what you believe..." I say. "Then I'll find a way to break this curse. As long as if there's a faint light pointing towards the path to true peace, I'll grasp it and make it true."
"I will never give up!"
That did it. He's looking at me with those eyes. The eyes of someone who's acknowledge the other's own true strength and resolve.
"W-who... who are you...?"
I extend my hand to him. I'll start my journey towards peace. I'll save this world from this curse. Because...
[End OST]
"My name is..."
Shinobi Academy, Room 701 – March 3, 3:49 PM
"NARUTO!" shouted a VERY irritated Haruno Sakura. Seriously, the guy's been trapped by the book! For the nearly last 3 hours since they've been in this room, he's been experimenting on a bunch of curious seals, and after that he just picked this book and didn't stop reading ever since.
Sakura's been quietly observing Naruto ever since they entered the room. He entered the room accompanying Team Eight, and they've been having a lively chat until the designated Jounin Yuuhi Kurenai came in, taking them away.
Then the blond-haired Uzumaki was approached by Chouji, who offered him some potato chips as a friendly gesture, as well as an invitation for a conversation with Shikamaru and him. Ino decided to stay her distance just like Sakura, for two reasons:
One, she wasn't feeling very well after what they discussed less than an hour ago.
Two, Sasuke was in the same room, and even with Naruto on the mix, the Uchiha still had some priority.
Then Sarutobi Asuma came. And the room instantly fell silent ever since. Sasuke actually irked to ask Naruto about the Kage Bunshin that gave him hell close to lunch time. But being the proud Uchiha survivor he was, he'd rather keep quiet than swallow his pride and open his mouth before the supposed dead-last, who turned out not to be that much of a dead-last anymore.
Even when Naruto fixed his stare on the Uchiha, he only got a 'Hn' out of it.
Sakura noticed Sasuke's hard glare on the Jinchuuriki. She wasn't sure if something happened between them, or if it was just the usual 'boys being boys' thing. They were rivals for quite a while, right?
Other than that, Naruto was just way too quiet. What happened, in Kami's name? It wasn't the same guy who annoyed the shit out of her for years, nor the knucklehead who called out Sasuke to fight every ten minutes...
And he was READING! She actually called him out a few times until this last outburst, which made him fall out from his chair and bump his head on the ground.
Right now, recovered from that dizzying screech, Naruto finally answered back to his teammate. "Yes? How can I help you, Sakura-chan? I was enjoying my book, you know..."
"Yeah, I noticed." she said. "I mean... you're even tearing up a bit. I've never seen you cry before. This must be quite the book, huh?"
"Wha...?" he touched his cheeks to confirm her statement. Indeed, he shed a few tears while reading. But he's not to blame, really, the book was really damn great.
It might have a bunch of cheesy lines, but it was a beautiful book nonetheless. But most of all, the thing that really moved Naruto was the main character.
The story featured a brave shinobi, son of two famed heroes. He wanted to find the path towards true peace, and he was determined to endure anything. He would never give up on his quest. And his name was...
…Naruto…
[Naruto Shippuuden OST: Nakama]
"Tou-chan named me after this hero... not only that, he and Kaa-chan sacrificed themselves to save Konoha, just like the two heroes that came before Naruto..." he thought, not being able to hold back his tears. "Which means that I'm supposed to follow up their legacy and bring peace to this world... And stop crying, dammit! Sakura-chan and Sasuke-teme are right in front of you!"
"Um... Naruto?" Sakura asked, worried about her teammate, who was wiping his tears away. It was the first time Naruto ever cried in front of anyone, as far as she knew. And seeing this guy, who was supposed to be a blonde ball of pure joy and cheerfulness, crying...
It almost made HER cry right now. Specially when she remembered everything Team Ten said about Naruto and the pain he masked so handily well.
"I don't think now is the best time I should be saying this, but… …I'm sorry." said statement earned a raised eyebrow from Sasuke and a 'hm?' from Naruto. She kept talking, of course. "I... I was unnecessarily mean to you for all these years... and you've been alone ever since you were born. Not having friends suck terribly, I know how that feels. And even so, I was stupid enough to stay away from you and make things worse."
"I just went with the flow and labeled you as the official ass-clown of the village, not caring if you were hurt by what me and everyone else did and said to you. And underneath it all, you were mostly masking away any pain you were feeling, and carrying on with that smile of yours. And even so, I've just ignored and mistreated you simply because. I never got to know the real you, and everything else I did can't be described by words."
"And I... I hope that, someday, you might forgive me. It doesn't have to be today, though..."
Sakura had her face turned away from her teammate. She figured that looking at him in the eye and try not to cry when saying those words would be too difficult. Naruto, though, knew all too well she would try and do that. He was already expecting that, from the memories he received from one of his Kage Bunshin. He knew about the discussion Sakura and Team Ten had, and he was happy with how everything turned out.
And being the nice guy that he is, he decided to let things go towards the smooth path.
"It's not a big deal, Sakura-chan." he said, getting Sakura to turn her head to face him, surprised at how easy he forgave her. "We're Genin now. Everything that happened before is just water under the bridge. Let's just make up for the lost time as best as we can by working together as a proper shinobi team, -Dattebayo!" he answered, flashing off his usual fox-grin.
Sakura could barely believe it. Here was a boy who's probably been through hell and back, mostly because of her actions towards him, and he was so lenient on forgiving her. She just didn't feel like deserving it. It just begged the question: where, when and how did he get such a beautiful heart to begin with? Her eyes, watered with unshed tears, looked at the blonde Jinchuuriki in front of her.
He was just too kind and goodhearted to be true.
And she felt even more awful for being so mean to him for all these years. But if he could make it work out, she definitely could. She wiped her eyes and simply bowed her head towards the young Uzumaki. "H-hai... arigatou, Naruto." she said, her voice a bit raspy with the emotions flowing over her mind.
"Anytime, Sakura-chan." he said back, smile still going. He was happy for how things were getting smoother now. Even if he never got to go out with her, they might still become good friends, and that was always great for a guy like Naruto.
[End OST]
Sasuke just watched the other two people in the room with the same brooding look he's famous for. Seriously though, what would they gain from that? Friendship, working together... that was for the weak and worthless. That man, though, that was a powerful one. He always acted alone and worked alone to improve himself. It explained quite easily how come he was powerful enough to single-handily... do what he did.
Having people around only dragged him down. And he wasn't happy at all with how things were turning out to be.
First, he was paired up with Sakura of all people. The unofficial president of his fanclub. How she graduated at the Academy was beyond his knowledge. All those stupid girls, just worried about trivial stuff such as diet, hair, romance... They were a total disgrace to kunoichi worldwide. It annoyed him by a whole lot, and being stuck with her only added fuel to the fire.
But even so, there was still another thing he was clearly pissed off about. One, because it was annoying and orange. Two, because he had just become one heck of a riddle, and not just for him, but for mostly everyone in general, really...
Uzumaki Naruto. The dead-last. The annoying loser. The talentless clown.
...Or was he?
He couldn't be able to answer that question now if he wanted to anymore. First, because he unexpectedly was here, amongst the graduates. Second, because he was different. And it wasn't just about the personality, or the clothes. He felt very different. And third and most important: He got stronger.
And not just a tiny bit stronger, mind you. He just became quite a threat, if that Kage Bunshin stunt he just displayed earlier was any indication. If he could use a B-rank kinjutsu like it was a simple Academy jutsu, it was fair to say that he became quite stronger...
Or did he now...?
It irked Sasuke at this moment. In the span of only two weeks, the Jinchuuriki actually managed to give him a true run for his money. He had to work his way out of the Kage Bunshins, even when they were distracted by simply being a bunch of idiots. But that made his head spin around with questions surrounding Naruto.
Was he holding back all this time? Or did he find a tool to increase his power overnight?
If he found something to become powerful, he would definitely have to drink from the same fountain. Power was what Sasuke was after, for his own personal goals. That meant he would have to get to know Naruto to a more personal level, gain his trust and then take that power for himself.
Or simply copy it, once his Sharingan awakened. But that wasn't certain right now.
However, if Naruto was holding back somehow... He was no different from him, and that enraged him. Now he would at stop at nothing to see just how much was the young Jinchuuriki hiding from him. And he would test his own strength against him.
And that hurt his pride. He was an Uchiha. He was the elite amongst elites and that was final. For him to be fooled and surpassed by a no-name clanless orphan... it was nothing short of unacceptable. He would show Naruto where he truly belonged.
[Naruto OST: Afternoon In Konoha]
But that would have to wait. Because right now, Naruto was walking towards the door, holding a blackboard eraser in his hand. "What are you doing, dobe?" he asked. The Uzumaki smiled.
"Now that," he said. "will be my special welcoming gift to our dear sensei, who's 3 hours late." He picked a chair, climbed it and put the eraser between the wall and the closing door. Basically, the sensei simply had to open the door and the small item would fall on his head.
"Honestly..." said Sakura, giggling. "I thought you were done pranking, Naruto. You know you're gonna get caught, right? Although I have to admit, I friggin' love these things, Shannarou!" her inner self screamed.
"Hn... our sensei is a Jounin. You're delusional if you think he's gonna fall for that." said Sasuke. Naruto just snickered. He had the memory of the Uchiha struggling against his clones. The memory of Sasuke pissed off brought him a smile to his face, and hearing what he said just made his day better.
"Okay then. But I bet 100 ryo he'll fall for it. And I'll put the blame on you." Hearing that made Sasuke's ear perk up a bit. So the loser wanted to make a bet? He'd just have to put a nice wager.
"Make it 200. And you'll show me the handsigns for the Kage Bunshin no Jutsu, got it?"
Now both Sakura and Naruto had their ears perked up. Naruto looked at him with a small scowl. Figures that the Uchiha would demand a jutsu. Power-hungry bastards... But then again, he did taunt him today using and abusing of the infamous kinjutsu, so it kinda was his fault to begin with. And Sakura was just flabbergast to find out that the dead-last who couldn't even create a Bunshin to save his life was capable of using the super powered and dangerous version.
Naruto thought about it for a while. Even if Sasuke eventually developed the chakra to use it, he would never be able to create as many clones as he did. And he also had the physical advantages of having vital force and stamina to go with it. Basically, Sasuke would only use the Kage Bunshin for battle. Training was virtually impossible, so he would never have the same skyrocket training Naruto was having.
To put it shortly, Sasuke learning the Kage Bunshin was just for the jealousy. He finally managed to surpass him in something other than stealth, chakra and good looks. Okay, maybe good looks would have to wait, but nevertheless...
So what the hell... what would he have to lose, anyway? "Deal." he said, extending his hand to Sasuke. The raven-haired boy just looked at him with a 'whats to it?' look. "C'mon, man. We close the deal shaking hands. That's how men are supposed to do."
Sasuke thought about it for a while. A few seconds later, he just tapped Naruto's hand as if he was handing a low-five. "Meh... close enough." Naruto thought.
That's when it happened.
[End OST]
The door slid open, revealing a silver-haired Jounin with a mask covering his lower face, and his hitaiate was slightly turned sideways, covering his left eye. He wore the basic blue Jounin best underneath the dark green jacket with the red Uzumaki swirl, as well as blue gauntlets with steel parts covering the back of his hands.
And the blackboard eraser dropped on top of his head, covering his already grayish hair with white powder.
"Win," thought Naruto, with a sly grin on his face. No one wins a bet against Naruto. "Today's score: 2 to 0." He took his time to look at his new sensei.
He had this very lazy look on him. But at the same time, his eyes didn't let anyone through. Damn, that was some pretty good poker face there.
Although having a mask like that helped a lot, too.
Naruto had this very strange feeling of seeing someone precious after a long time. Did they ever meet? He certainly couldn't remember right now. He didn't get to see any pictures of Hatake Kakashi on his father's old possessions, so he wasn't sure what the guy was like... And not many people had that strange gravity-defying silver hair, anyway. What was up with that thing, anyway? It looked like a mix of a broom and a scarecrow... The last person he met who had a hair like this one was-
Now wait a minute.
"No way..." he thought.
"It's him! He's been watching for me all this time, and now he's my sensei? That's it. Hokage-ojiichan, I'm so hugging you the next time we meet, -Dattebayo!" and he meant it. He was that happy for having yet another person in whom he trusted looking out for his growth as a shinobi.
But now it was time to go back to reality with a humorous bang.
"Oh dear Kami!" he exclaimed, getting everyone's attention. "I'm so sorry, Inu-niichan! Sasuke-teme was so eager to test his skills against you that I couldn't stop him. I swear this must be an Uchiha thingy..." Sasuke just glared at him, like they never made that bet. Maybe it was the insult to his family...
Sakura just looked at the powder-covered sensei in front of her. Did he really fall for that? "That went better than I though! Shannarou!" her inner self shouted. Her real self was worried, though. "If this is our Jounin sensei... Then we're in trouble. Big. Trouble." she thought. If a Jounin couldn't dodge a chalkboard, then they wouldn't get proper training.
No proper training means no strong Sakura, no strong Sakura means Ino kicking her ass, and Ino kicking her ass means Sasuke choosing Ino over Sakura, since she didn't believe Ino would be going after Naruto of all people, even if he was on his way to become a 10/10 guy in her books. And she would be damned before that ever happened.
Sasuke was pissed, once again. He lost the bet and the opportunity to have the Kage Bunshin in his grasp... All because of that stupid Jounin who was too useless to even dodge a damned eraser... Well, that's what the Sharingan was for anyway. But what Naruto just said got his curiosity. "Did he just call our Jounin sensei... Inu-niichan? If I recall correctly, that's a-"
Before he could think of anything else though, the silver-haired Jounin just picked the eraser that fell on the floor with his left hand and glanced at it, putting his right hand to his chin, in a thinking position. "Hmmm... How should I put this..." he said. "My first impression about you kids is..."
"Well, I hate you. Meet me in the roof in five minutes." he finished, disappearing in a swirl of leaves.
Sakura grimaced, while Sasuke just glared at Naruto again. After all, he was directly responsible for all this situation. Naruto had a huge grin on his face. "Today was a great day so far..." he thought. "And now for the coup de grace... Oi Sasuke!" he said, getting the attention of his teammate, extending his hand to him. "A bet is a bet. Pay up."
Sasuke tried to burn a hole into Naruto's head with his glare, but to no avail. So he did the second best thing he could do right now: actually pay up the damn bet and head over to the roof. This was a day he wanted to end as soon as possible. Naruto quickly rushed, taking the lead.
Sakura sighed seeing those two. So far, she seemed to be the only one among them to have a balanced mind. She saw herself as the mediator. Whenever the boys would do something like they just did, it was her duty to calm them down.
"For some reason... I think this is going to be the time of my life... That is, if I actually live to talk about it... *sigh* Shannarou..." she thought, as she followed them towards the roof.
Naruto: The Gutsiest Of All Tales
Chapter 4: Pass Or Fail... Do I Have To Choose?!
Academy Rooftop – March 3, 4:05 PM
The sun was still burning brightly as Naruto, Sakura and Sasuke sat down on the small steps at the rooftop. Their Jounin sensei sat on the rails in front of them. "Well now," he said. "Now that you're here, I think we should all get acquainted with each other. C'mon now, make your introductions."
"Ano..." Sakura mumbled. "Sensei, how should we introduce ourselves? What can we talk about?"
"Well, for starters, your name. Then you fill in the blanks. You know, likes, dislikes, dreams, hobbies..."
"Anosa, anosa..." said Naruto. "Why don't you go ahead, Inu-niichan? You're the sensei, right? Teach us."
Right now, Hatake Kakashi felt a deep sympathy for his new student. Uzumaki Naruto, son of his late sensei, Namikaze Minato. For the young Jinchuuriki to remember him so fondly brought him a warm smile. Not that anyone could see it behind the mask, thought, but it was there. The way he acted cheerfully and the smile he had on his face reminded him of his mother Kushina. The round shape of his face and the natural talent for pranks was there too...
But he definitely inherited some nice traits of his father. His hair and eyes, for starters. But mostly, his talent towards the shinobi arts. Many people thought that Naruto was talentless because he didn't follow the usual method of rapid absorption for learning jutsus and others, but rather the massive trial-and-error system that it was somehow frowned upon. Shinobi should be able to understand how things work easily, and Naruto had a trouble getting that. He rather preferred to try hours, days, maybe even weeks, training one single aspect until he got it absolutely, flawlessly right.
Although learning the Kage Bunshin in the time span of two hours was nothing short of miraculous, and this was just another testament to the diamond in the rough that he was.
But other than that, this method consumed too much of his time, and the Academy teachers would mostly not give him such pleasure of time and advices for his improvement. But he would still get it somehow. Kakashi was sure of that, after all, he had faith in his sensei's little boy. The pranks were a good example of his true talent. Painting the Hokage Monument in broad daylight wearing orange and still outmaneuvering the ANBU required not only balls of steel, but incredible skill. That kid had a golden future, and Kakashi would make sure of it.
He remembered the times he acted as Naruto's guardian. Even if the villagers never went on a direct violent approach against him, he was still shunned and looked down upon. Or just downright ignored, and that was, in fact, much worse, because it made Naruto feel as if his existence was nil. Kakashi was there, supporting him. Not always directly, but sometimes he did stay around for Naruto to call him out. His thoughts drifted towards earlier days, when things were smoother. It reminded him of the reason he wanted to teach Naruto in the first place...
Flashback – October 10, Naruto's 6th birthday...
"Anosa, anosa! Inu-niichan!" called out a small blond-haired child, running towards an ANBU-nin who was on guard duty today. The usual S-rank mission: protect the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, Uzumaki Naruto. The specific ANBU-nin today was said Inu. He was designated with such codename simply because of the fact he could summon dogs for tracking, investigation and even battle.
Hatake Kakashi, the man behind the dog mask, looked at the young boy with longing in his eyes. He was the spitting face of his father. Of course he knew the truth. Namikaze Minato was his sensei, after all. He wanted to adopt the boy once he heard about his circumstances, but two issues came up: one, at the time he was still merely 4 months in ANBU. And second, he was still 15 years old, so he just couldn't just take care of a child right there. He was barely living his teenagehood, after all he prematurely became Genin at 5, Chuunin at 6, Jounin at 13 and then ANBU at 15. Taking care of Naruto was simply out of the question, and that made him really sad.
But thanks to his rank and the Sandaime, who treated Naruto as a grandson, he would still keep an eye on his surrogate otouto. It was the least he could do in memory of Minato-sensei, right?
"Yes?" he asked, taking Naruto's hand as they headed for the boy's apartment. It was already getting late, as the Kitsune Festival was about to begin, and he wanted to keep Naruto safe in case something went horribly wrong. The poor kid wasn't very loved amongst the villagers. "Is there something you want to talk about?"
"Can you teach me how to fight?" he asked. Kakashi raised his hidden eyebrows. As far as he knew, Hiruzen would put him in the Academy next year. He was already on his way to learn how to become a shinobi. Then why would he need the ANBU to help him?
[Naruto Unreleased OST: Grief & Sorrow (Anime version)/ Sadness And Sorrow (Piano) also fits]
Before he could ask anything about it, he felt Naruto's hand squeeze tighten. The boy had his head facing the ground before he spoke again.
"Last week I got beaten by a bunch of older kids... They were bullying this pretty girl and the best I could do was try and give them another target to bully on... I need to become stronger, and now. I have to. How can I become Hokage if all I do is get beaten around... unable to protect those who can't protect themselves...?"
"Please, Inu-niichan... Teach me how to fight. I want everyone to acknowledge that they can rely on me once I become Hokage, -Dattebayo!"
Kakashi listened to everything quietly. He heard about that incident. It had something to do with the Hyuuga heiress, whom Naruto tried to protect by beating the bullies. Ryuu* was there and told the whole story to the Hokage and the rest of ANBU headquarters. Neko* thought it was the cutest thing ever, despite Naruto being beaten and all. Kakashi thought it looked very much alike the love story of a certain couple...
His heart couldn't help but feel weighted by seeing the mini Yondaime describing so fondly the true nature of a Hokage. Someone who fought for others unconditionally. Naruto didn't look like, but he was very smart on the matters of the heart, as well as combat-wise. That punch he gave the other kid because of the moment of distraction given by the failed attempt of a Bunshin was a proof of that. Maybe he could help him out even if just a bit. The kid showed talent after all. Unfortunately...
"Hmmm..." Inu mumbled, looking at the child, who was doing a poor attempt at using the Koinu Shisen no Jutsu*. Considering that he was already used to have his ninken using that, the ANBU-nin was virtually immune to its effects. "As much as I'd love to, I'm sorry. Being an ANBU demands too much of my time..."
Naruto groaned in disappointment. He hoped he could at least have someone to teach him the basics. If only he had parents to help him out... Well, he just had to wait. "It's okay then, Inu-niichan. It's not like I'm gonna force you to quit ANBU and become my instructor or anything like that. Well, at least I know I'll have a very reliable ANBU-nin available once I become Hokage, -Dattebayo!"
Kakashi couldn't help but smile behind both masks he was wearing. The young Jinchuuriki was so innocent and cheerful that it almost felt contagious. His comment about the older shinobi somehow still being able to work inside the force by the time he got the hat was amusing, to say the least, but it made him happy to know that Naruto considered him to be strong and trustworthy. He definitely hoped more people could see the true Naruto. The one who was suffering and craving for acknowledgment. The one who wanted to be loved above anything else.
There was something he said, though, that piqued his attention. He could just leave the ANBU and adopt him as his apprentice. Of course, he would still retain his position of Jounin and he would still be a busy guy. Not as nearly as busy as he was in ANBU, but still... The only problem was exactly that. Time to take care of him. He wanted to have a pretty active role on helping out his surrogate otouto... But how could he do that...?
Unless...
"That's it..." thought the ANBU-nin. "I can wait until he graduates and becomes a Genin. That way I'll have the proper time to teach him as best as I can. Thanks for the tip, Naruto." They arrived at his apartment, and the young Uzumaki quickly unlocked the door, making his way in. Inu would stay in the shadows, protecting him. But in the meantime... "Here. This is for you, Naruto." Inu said, handing over a few paper slips from his pouch and a couple small items.
Bonus coupons for free ramen at Ichiraku's and a Pakkun plush toy, as well as a Pakkun shaped key-chain to strap it on the apartment keys. The young Jinchuuriki looked at them with a stunned look. He barely got any birthday gifts, so it was understandable.
"Happy birthday, Naruto." he said, before the young Uzumaki jumped at him, hugging the ANBU-nin, a few tears of joy running down his face. "Arigatou, Inu-niichan... You're the best, -Dattebayo!" he said, his voice a bit raspy. Kakashi could only return the hug, before he returned to his duty. But not before he made a vow, right there and right now. It was the least he could do to remind him of his duty towards the young Uzumaki.
"I swear I'll help you, Naruto. For your parents, for my deceased teammates, but mostly... for your own sake. I'll make sure you'll become a strong shinobi, and a respectable Hokage."
[End OST]
Back at present time
[Naruto OST: Kakashi's Theme]
"OI! INU-NIICHAN!" Naruto shouted, taking Kakashi off his reminiscing. He was dwelling so much in the past that he almost forgot the present. There he was, with Naruto finally being a Genin, ready to teach him as best as he could. He couldn't ignore his two teammates either, since one was the last Uchiha and the other, a promising civilian.
"Oh... I'm sorry. I was a little distracted." he said. "Anyway, I'll start, so you guys know what to do. Well, my name is Hatake Kakashi. As Blondie so fondly called me, I was formerly an ANBU by the codename of Inu." this statement earned a jaw drop from Sakura, a hard glare from Sasuke and a smile from Naruto.
"I like and dislike many sorts of things, but I don't feel like sharing them with you. As for my dream... Hmm, yes... Well, I also have a few hobbies. I guess that's it for now."
… … …
After that, he talked no more.
"What the hell? All we got was his name. What a hypocrite bastard!" Sakura thought. Seriously, it's like the guy was all talk. Yeah, he might have been an ANBU, but he sure ain't acting like one, if his attitude was any indication... Naruto and Sasuke had similar thoughts, although not so insulting.
"Now then," said Kakashi. "It's your turn. Let's start with... Pinky." Sakura rolled her eyes with the nickname given, but she decided to go on.
"Hai. My name is Haruno Sakura. The things I like... or rather, the person I like..." she said, sparing a second to glance at the young Uchiha. "Ano... well, my hobbies and dreams... mou... *squeal*!"
"Anything you hate...?" Kakashi asked, bored by the lame kunoichi-in-lameass-love-fantasies introduction.
"Nothing in particular, although I dislike Ino-buta. A lot."
"Hm... maybe I could ask Kurenai or Anko to help me out with this poor girl lost in fantasy land..." Kakashi thought. "Oh, well... let's get a move on... Blondie, front and center."
"Hai!" the Uzumaki chirped. "Uzumaki Naruto is my name, and awesomeness is my game. I like ramen and training, but I really love the ramen from Ichiraku, as well as many things, including Konohagakure itself. I dislike the three minutes it takes to boil the cup noodles after pouring water, as well as bullies, traitors and all sorts of attitudes that give humans a bad name." Sakura bit her lower lip, fully aware of the way Naruto was treated, and how she actually was part of it. Once again, she felt grateful for being forgiven.
"My hobbies... training, gardening, housekeeping, messing around with fuuinjutsu and pranking. And for the last 9 years, my dream has been one and one alone: to surpass all Hokages, -Dattebayo!" Kakashi, for a split second, thought he was done, but Naruto's body language told him that he still had something to talk about.
[End OST]
"But that dream... is a bit different now." Both Sakura and Sasuke raised their eyebrow in surprise. The guy's been talking on, and on, and on about his dream. To say it changed was at least curious. Most of all, Naruto's eyes... they had a different shade to it right now. What in the world could that be...?
"Until a few weeks ago, I only thought about becoming Hokage and being acknowledged by everyone. I was wrong. The recognition comes before. In time, people will acknowledge me. They will see me for who I truly am, and I'll make sure everyone can trust me to protect the village until my last breath. For that is the duty of a true Hokage... I'll surpass all of them, including the Yondaime, otherwise I'm not called Uzumaki Naruto, -Dattebayo!"
Kakashi looked at the young Jinchuuriki in front of him. His eyes were beaming in determination. A look he saw many times before in the eyes of both Minato and Kushina. "Hmm... even better than I thought." thought Kakashi. He would have a good time training this one...
Now for the last person in the team. "Last, but not least... Mr. Sunshine. Show's all yours." Sasuke shrugged a bit. Even his sensei was one of those guys who thought they had some sense of humor.
"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are many things that I dislike, and nearly zero things I like. I don't have a dream, as you would call it, but rather an ambition. One that I will see to it that will become reality. I'm set to restore my clan along its lost honor... as well as to find a certain man..."
"...and kill him."
The way Sasuke tightened the grip in his own hands as he said those words, the cold chill that could be felt in his eyes and the tone of his voice... It made the temperature in the rooftop decrease by a few degrees, to say the least. Everyone had their reactions and thoughts towards the Uchiha's introduction.
"Sasuke-kun... That was so cool, but at the same time, it felt so... eerie..."
"Man, that was creepy, -Dattebayo..."
"As I expected... Alright!" said Kakashi. "You all have different personalities and traits. That's a pretty good thing, too. I might actually consider having a mission with you guys tomorrow." hearing that made Naruto's mood go back to normal. "Yatta, -ttebayo! What kind of mission, sensei?"
"Hmmm..." Kakashi mumbled. "Well, for now I think we should do a mission fit for only the four of us, and then I believe we might take off, I think... I hope." he answered, hoping to have soothed the curiosity of the young Jinchuuriki... "Aw, c'mon. What is it, what is it, what is it?!"
…Or maybe not. "*sigh* Might as well tell them and begin the test right away..." he thought, before he gave Team Seven the answer. "We're doing a small survival exam."
[Naruto Unreleased OST: Taiji – few instruments version]
All three teenagers raised their eyebrows, curious about the supposed survival exam proclaimed by their one-eyed Jounin sensei. "But sensei..." said Sakura, raising her hand. "Didn't we have enough exams already? We had three of these back at the Academy, there's no need to do more of them. And why would you consider it a mission anyway?"
"Obviously because it's not just a normal drill." Kakashi answered. Naruto raised his hand, which the Jounin quickly motioned to talk whatever was on the Jinchuuriki's mind. "If it's not a normal training, what could it possibly be, sensei?" he asked.
"Oh, poor kids. They're in for a treat..." Kakashi thought, chuckling like a madman. Sakura twitched an eye, seeing her sensei chucking like that. "Oi, oi... what are you laughing for, huh?"
"Oh, ha ha ha..." Kakashi said. "It's just that... pfft... *chuckle* I'm just imagining your faces when I tell you about this test. You're not going to like it."
Sasuke finally raised his voice again. "Try us." Kakashi took a deep breath and put his hand over his face, in a 'prepare for doom' fashion.
"Out of the 27 Academy students who graduated this year, only 9 will effectively become Genin and join the main forces of Konohagakure. All the others will be sent back for revaluation and even then, they might not pass the next year. It's a very difficult test, with a fail rate bigger than 60%..." he stopped talking to see what kind of face his kawaii Genin* were making.
Sasuke's glare was intensified, Sakura's face was blue and Naruto had this 'you son of a...' look in his eyes. It was exactly the scenery he imagined in his head.
Oh, the wonders of being a former ANBU and installing the fear into the hearts of men... He still had it good.
"Hah! See? I knew you guys would make these faces!" he said, chuckling a bit more. "I wasn't kidding when I said you were not going to like it."
[End OST]
"No shit..." Naruto deadpanned. "Then what was the Academy test for anyway? I failed three times just so I could realize it was all bogus?"
"Oh no, far from it." Kakashi answered. "The Genin Shiken from the Academy does have its usefulness, you see? It helps us to see potential candidates alright... But it is up to the Jounin themselves to determine who is truly worthy passing."
"*groan* That still doesn't help, sensei..."
"Oh, trust me. If everything goes alright, then you'll be Genin. Think positive, Naruto. Isn't that how you got this far to begin with?" Kakashi asked. Naruto groaned again in a 'hai, hai' fashion. Further discussions were pointless, so he just wanted to go through with it. The one-eyed Jounin stepped away from the rail and went on to hand over a sheet of paper to each one of the Genin.
[Naruto OST: Bad Situation]
"Hm? Sensei, what's this?" asked Sakura.
"Now this..." he said. "Is a document explaining how our little drill is going to work. But I'll go over it really quick just so you guys can go home and prepare, alright?" As everyone nodded their heads, Kakashi cleared his throat and began the explanation.
"You will all meet me at Training Ground 7, at 5 AM. Now, I don't want anybody getting late, otherwise we'll definitely call it off and you guys will return to the Academy, okay?" Everyone gulped. That meant waking up at most 3:45 for preparations and breakfast. What was up with that guy? Was he serious about this?
"And after that, we'll just follow up the survival exam I'll prepare you in all of its glory, with zero complaints and the least amount of rest possible. It's imperative you guys should learn how shinobi life truly is. I will not accept slouches and pushovers on my team. My rules are the law of Kami-sama himself, understand?" Again, everyone gulped.
"Tou-chan gave him hell when he was a Genin, I'm sure of it..." Naruto thought. "And now he'll torture me as a payback! Hokage-ojiichan, I'm so punching you in the face the next time we meet, -Dattebayo!" and once again, he meant it. He was that pissed for being stuck with one of the most sadistic Jounin sensei in Konoha.
"And don't forget to bring your proper shinobi equipment. Before you even wonder why, I'll just outright tell you: they will be used, and you will get hurt. Maybe you won't even make it back to the Academy, depending on how things go... *giggle*"
If it weren't for the giggle the Jounin just gave them, the warning would just go on deaf ears. But the son of a bitch just had to giggle like a Yamanaka torturer on a field day to once again drop the temperature of the roof by a few degrees, with every one of the Genin having their own thoughts.
"So you're going full throttle on me, is that right, Kakashi-sensei?" Naruto thought. "Well then... I'll just have to show you what I've come up with these last weeks checking my parents' studies. I hope you're ready for my drill, Inu-niichan..."
"This guy..." Sakura thought. "Is creepy as hell. My ass he's gonna make me go through this! Shannarou! But... if I fail... that means I'll most likely be away from Sasuke-kun! Let me at'em! Shannarou!"
Sasuke just clenched his fists a bit tighter. He would pass this, anyway. He had to.
"Hmmm... yep, that's everything." Kakashi said, turning around, ready to make his leave. "So I'll just see you guys at 5 tomorrow. Late~~r." He was about to make half a Ram seal with his right hand when something hit him. "Oh, right, I almost forgot... Maybe you shouldn't have breakfast before the drill."
[End OST]
"Unless you want to puke it all."
… … …
Well, so much for that special extra-energized cup noodles. Time for Plan B...
Training Ground 7 – March 4, 4:59 AM
"*yaaaaaaawn* Ohayo..." said a very sleepy Uzumaki Naruto, as he walked to meet his two teammates at the center of the training ground, where three big logs were located.
Sakura merely groaned in response.
Sasuke didn't respond at all.
Naruto took his time to look around for a few seconds. By the time he believed to be 5:01, he just sighed and sat down on the ground. "He's gonna be late again, isn't he...?"
"Hn..." Sasuke answered. In a way.
"Yeah, me too, buddy."
"Hn..."
"What do you mean, 'I'm not your buddy'? We're in the same team, we stick together, -Dattebayo."
"Hn..."
"Ooh, right. Because your hair is so difficult to comb, you distance yourself from society. It actually makes a whole lot of sense, if you ask me..."
"You're hopeless, usura tonkachi... Will you stop making up lines for me?"
"At least I'm talking. You just grunt like an old man. That's bad for your health."
"Hn..."
"TEME!"
"Will you two stop already?" Sakura asked, already grumpy by the fact that she had to wake up at 4:15. The last thing she needed was two boys fighting in the break of dawn. Even if one of them was her crush.
And where the hell was Kakashi-sensei this time around? He said very strictly, 5 AM pronto! Kami-damned lazy Jounin sensei, pulling a fast one on them. Again.
Oh well, one time or another, he would appear. So why bother complaining, right? Team Seven just decided to wait for their sensei. Patiently...
5 hours later...
"Well then... Ohayo, mina-san.*" said a very lazy Hatake Kakashi, walking across the training field like he owned the shit.
"OSOI!*" shouted Naruto and Sakura at the same time, absolutely stupefied by how damn lazy their sensei was. 5 hours late? Seriously?
"Yaaaa, I kinda got myself lost on the road of life, you see? Ah ha ha ha..." he said, with what was probably the stupidest excuse ever invented by a human being... ever. Whoever came up with that shit is most likely an evil bastard who takes pleasure in making people suffer and agonize.
Meanwhile, in a dark cave, secluded from all known shinobi world, a masked man sneezed violently. He had to take off the mask and clean it, as a matter of fact. A most disgusting scenery, really...
"*ahem* Well now..." Kakashi said, getting the attention from his kawaii Genin, as he put a very large alarm clock on top of one of the three logs. "Alarm set for... midday. Good."
"You had an alarm clock all this time...?" Naruto asked, his left eye twitching a bit. Kakashi just put his hand behind his head, scratching it a bit. "Ah, ha ha ha ha... We'll talk about that later, alright? Right now, let's just start the drill..." he asked, getting a grunting nod from Naruto and the other Genin. The lazy Jounin picked a couple bells from his pouch, their tingling noise fully audible for everyone.
"I have here in my hand two bells. And it's your job to get them from me before the alarm sets off."
"But sensei-" Sakura said. "There are two bells and three of us. Does that mean...?"
"Yup. It is as you think. One of you will not get the bell. Whoever is unfortunate enough to end up without a bell will be tied up to this post. Not only that, he or she won't be allowed to have lunch."
"Eh?"
"And to top it all off, I'll force him or her to watch us all eat, right in front of the poor bastard."
"So that's why..." everyone thought, stomachs growling like giant nine-tailed foxes.
"Oh, I forgot to mention..." said Kakashi. "Failing to get a bell means failing the mission, and therefore I will send the one who fails the mission back to the Academy. Got it?" he asked, making everyone gulp. He wasn't kidding when he said the test had a high failure rate.
"And I advise you to use your weapons. Unless you come at me with true killing intent, you'll never be able to get them, understand?"
"Says the one who couldn't even dodge a freaking blackboard eraser..." Naruto mumbled.
"Says the dead last who can't even make a Bunshin to save his skin." Kakashi answered, making Naruto pop a couple veins from his forehead. Getting called by that name by his father's student was not nice at all.
That's when it happened.
A second Naruto came out of its hiding, kunai in hand, quickly advancing towards the Jounin. Everyone was impressed by the fact that there was another Naruto. Not only that, he actually wanted to use that kunai. Now that was quite a scene.
But then...
Before anyone could make heads or tails of the situation, Kakashi was already behind the clone, grabbing his hand and putting the kunai at the back of the clone's head.
The Genin didn't even have time to blink. It was that fast.
"No way..." Sakura thought. "One second ago he was here, the other second he is there... No freaking way! And did Naruto just use a Kage Bunshin? That's just... Wow!"
"So that's a Jounin..." Sasuke thought. "Hn... now things are interesting..."
"Kage Bunshin..." Kakashi thought. "Quite an interesting kid you had there, Minato-sensei. I almost didn't sense this one... Almost. And not only that..." he looked behind, seeing a second clone behind him, holding a kunai pointed directly at his back. Point blank range.
"Two weeks studying over yours and Kushina-san's scrolls and practicing coordinate attacks with his Kage Bunshins already did this to him... Just give him a couple more years and he might actually give any Jounin worth his jacket a run for their money..." He looked over at the young Uzumaki boy sitting down close to his stunned teammates. He had his usual foxy-grin.
"Nicely done, Naruto. You're definitely better than what the records pointed out. But I do feel that I have the obligation to tell you your greatest weakness... and that is being overeager, or too anxious, whichever is your favorite term."
"Anxious...?"
"Yeah. If you haven't noticed yet... I didn't even get to say 'start'..."
"Oh..." Naruto mumbled, in a quick span of realization. Kakashi simply gave him an eye-smile. "Although I do have to admit... seeing you come at me with killing intent actually helped a lot to take off the pressure of the environment and making your teammates more relaxed. Now we can have a proper drill. I might actually like you guys for a change..." he said, rubbing off some of the first clone's hair like a good aniki* teasing his kawaiiotouto*. The otouto in question just smiled.
"Yosh..." said Kakashi in a higher tone, so everyone could hear. "How about we get the moping around done with... and start!" he shouted, disappearing in a puff of smoke. Needless to say, everyone wondered when the hell did he Kawarimi'ed himself with a Kage Bunshin in the time span of two minutes since he arrived.
"Must have been during the intermission of Naruto's first clone..." Sasuke thought. "The little stunt that the usura-tonkachi pulled made us lose sight of Kakashi, leaving him free to pull off his own moves." He quickly leaped towards the trees to hide and check for any remaining signs of the Jounin. Whatever the others would do was none of his business.
Sakura decided to do the same and hide among the trees. Naruto called out his two clones. They whispered a thing or two amongst themselves, and soon enough, the two clones dispelled.
"Huh? He dispelled them?" Sakura thought, as she saw Naruto running on the open field. "Why would he do that? They were working so well together, he could use them to try and trick Kakashi-sensei again and-"
"Wait a minute, working together...? Could it be that...?" She decided to think no further for now. She had to find Sasuke, after all he was after Kakashi as well. That, and Naruto was too far away to reach him before the Uchiha anyway.
Some time later, in another spot of Training Ground 7, Kakashi was waiting patiently for his kawaii Genin to make the first move, as he picked a strange orange book and started reading it. "Good, Sasuke's here already. It's important for a shinobi to use the environment to his advantage and conceal himself from the enemy. So far, he seems to be doing a nice job... for a Genin, that is." he thought.
"Knowing Naruto, he's probably running around. He should find me any second now...I wonder what kind of neat trick he will try to pull on me this time around... hmmm?" he heard steps coming from the southwest.
He turned his head around to see Naruto, in all of his glory, snapping his fingers and neck. "Yosha! It's time to prove your worth, Kakashi-sensei!" he shouted. Sasuke, who was standing above a few branches, had this incredible urge to facepalm, but to keep out of sight, decided not to. "Damn it, usura-tonkachi! Stop being a show-off already." he thought.
Not that he could say much about it, but charging the enemy head on like that was still really stupid, even for a guy like Naruto.
"Anosa..." Kakashi said, sweat-dropping a bit. "Now you got my curiosity. What worth should I prove here? You're the one who's being tested, just so you know..."
"Well... you know, being student of the Yondaime and all is pretty remarkable..." he said. "but since I'm just gonna surpass him anyway, I thought I'd give you a chance to do the right thing." he extended his right hand, as if he was expecting to get a treat.
Sakura, who had just arrived, tried to approach Sasuke at first, but saw Naruto and Kakashi and decided, just like the Uchiha, to lay low for now. "The heck are you doing now, Naruto...?"
"C'mon, sensei. Just hand me over one of the bells and let's get this over with, -Dattebayo." Kakashi tried not to laugh at the Jinchuuriki's antics. He really was an unpredictable one, just like his mother.
"And why would I do that?"
"Well, eto... The Yondaime was this super awesome guy who sought peace and understanding above all else, right?" Kakashi nodded. So far, so good. Even if he actually knew that Minato-sensei wanted to live a happy life with his family and Konohagakure above anything, peace was necessary for it, so yeah.
"So I said to myself: 'Hey. Maybe his students also seek for peace. Let's try and make the nice guy approach.' I mean... would it really hurt to sit down and negotiate for a change, instead of tearing our heads off? It took us three wars to get to an agreement and settle down for a change. Talk about a cruel world we live in, huh?"
"So I'll just go with the peaceful approach and ask nicely for the bells, -Dattebayo. How about it?"
Sakura didn't even try to conceal the loud sound of her facepalm. "Honestly, he's such a goofy!" she thought at first. "But... he's actually right for a change. Why can't we all just get along? Is there so much hatred and death in out line of work? And Kakashi-sensei should have mentioned his relationship with Yondaime-sama. Now it just makes me wonder how strong he really is..."
"Hn... typical of the dobe to go all talk and no action..." Sasuke thought. "He thinks things are that simple to work out among individuals. My family's fate is a fine example of how that line of thought is flawed. Though right now I'm more interested in Naruto's little remark. Who'd have thought that a simple-looking laid back kind of guy like Kakashi was actually taught by the Yondaime himself..."
Now Sasuke was actually feeling slightly more lenient to respect and 'learn' from the lazy-looking Jounin. If his past experience with what was considered by many the greatest of all Hokages was any indication of his skills, that meant that he totally had the capacity to become stronger and fulfill his objectives. He just hoped that, for the sake of all that was worth, Naruto and Sakura did their job and stood out of his way.
Which right now, for his displeasure, Naruto was making it difficult, with that stupid approach of his and all that jazz...
Kakashi couldn't help but chuckle. This kid was just too great to be true. "That's it. Screw Jiraiya-sama and his godfather status, if they somehow blow it, I'm making Naruto my apprentice." he thought. Of course they wouldn't fail such a simple test. It was just a matter of looking underneath the underneath and there you have it, you pass!
Well, that's what he thought to himself the last 4 times, anyway...
But enough reminiscing, it was time to face the young Genin. "As much as I loved your argument and really considered passing you just for the sake of Minato-sensei's memory..." he said. "You have to fight for it. This bell test is a tradition passed down by generations, and I'd rather stick with tradition, you know...?"
"I understand." Naruto answered. "Okay, then... what shall be today's first lesson, sensei?"
[Naruto OST: Bad Situation]
"Glad you asked, Naruto." he said, snapping his neck and resuming his reading. "Shinobi Combat Tactics... Lesson One: Taijutsu."
"This is not 'Shinobi Combat Tactics' you're reading, you know..." Naruto said, grimacing at the sight of the infamous 'Icha-Icha Paradise' written by none other than Jiraiya, his father's master. The same guy who wrote that exceptional 'Tales of a Gutsy Ninja'... wrote this smut?
"Hmmmm... nope, it's not. I just want to see how this chapter ends. Besides, you're the student here, not me. So... hop to it. Chop chop!"
Great. He had a masochist laid back pervert as a teacher. Now he was a little bit more motivated to actually punch him in the face as hard as he could. Which was what he was about to do right now, by the way.
Naturally, the Jounin just dodged it. Both the backside punch, the two spinning kicks, the haymaker and even the incredibly flexible high kick, which he blocked with his free hand. In a moment of annoyance, Naruto did the stupidest thing he could do right now: a punch dead-set on the solar plexus.
Which made the scarecrow vanish without making a sound.
"Are*?" Naruto mumbled, as he didn't notice Kakashi right behind him, book closed and making a hand sign with both hands. "Oh crap..." Sakura though, watching the fight from the trees. "That handseal is..."
"Tora*..." Sasuke completed the thought. "A handseal for using Katon jutsu... So Kakashi decided to stop the silly defending. Too bad, usura-tonkachi. You just weren't cut out for this job."
"A shinobi never lets the enemy get behind him... baka." Kakashi said, an evil glint in his eyes, ready to cast whatever fierce force of nature was reserved for Naruto right now. He hoped the young Jinchuuriki survived the attack, or else he'd be facing the wrath of a lot of people.
Oh well, it was worth a try.
"Konoha Hiden Taijutsu Ougi!" he shouted, backing off for a moment, as he leaped forward his hands for his ultimate attack.
[End OST]
A motherfucking Kancho*.
"Sennen Goroshi!*" that was the dreadful technique that made poor Naruto scream in endless pain, while flying quite a large distance through the air.
"That wasn't any secret Ninjutsu nor Taijutsu at all, it was a freaking Kancho!" Sakura thought. "Great. Now our sensei showed his true colors: he's a pervert, a laid back, a bully... what else is there left?"
"Oh Kami..." Sasuke thought, a scowl on his face. "My team has not one, but two usura-tonkachis."
"Although I have to admit... he didn't even give Naruto time to think. Kakashi's actually making justice to his privileged position as Yondaime's student..." And he meant it. Even being such a stupid move he pulled there, he had to admit that it was really strong. He actually made Naruto jump far enough to fall in the small river. It would be the most amusing part of the day yet...
If the Uzumaki hadn't dispelled in a puff of smoke first, that is.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" was the combined thought of everyone in the vicinity. Apparently the guy who stood 5 hours waiting for Kakashi to arrive and go through all those antics was a clone. Which led to two questions for everyone:
One: Where in the world is Naruto Sandiego?
Two: If the Kage Bunshin was this devilish, what could be said from the original once he arrived?
Meanwhile, 20 miles away from Training Ground 7...
Uzumaki Naruto was hopping from tree to tree, hoping to arrive at his destination as quickly as possible. Just a few minutes ago, two clones dispelled, transferring their memories to the Jinchuuriki. It took him 5 bloody hours, but Kakashi-sensei finally arrived and started the test, so he had to hurry.
Thinking about it, his morning was quite an interesting one.
It all started at 4 AM, when he decided to wake up, take a shower and send three enhanced clones to meet up with his teammates. One was the main decoy while the other two were simply for support and/or dispelling.
After all, the original had the obligation to show up some time or another, right?
Once these preparations were taken care of, he decided to read a few diary logs left by his father. He needed to find out any possible information about either Kakashi's M.O, or the test, or maybe both. Whatever helped him out in the end would be nice.
And, easily enough, he found a very brief mention of a certain bell test. Given by his master Jiraiya, whom in turn was tested by the Sandaime with this same drill. Apparently it became some sort of tradition amongst all generations of Team Seven to follow.
Great, now he had to take part in those traditionalist rituals and try to keep things still. Fuck.
Three Genin, two bells, one team. The cryptic message was very clear, and the true meaning of the test was a really simple, yet strong concept, which was the very foundation of Konoha's shinobi cells system:
Teamwork.
It was a test to ensure their loyalty to Konohagakure. If you couldn't sacrifice your personal goals in benefit of the mission and safety of your comrades, then you were classified as a potential traitor of this village, and was forced to go through remedial work to have another chance.
If you still had hope, that is. Otherwise you were just done for.
It was a neat trick. By doing a simple psychological game, the Genin were forced to think that they couldn't trust each other to catch a bell. After all, 'one of us will fail, and it's not gonna be me' was the main thought in their minds. And the responsible Jounin just had to do his or her job to ensure that the team would either pass or fail, depending on the circumstances.
In Naruto's case, he was almost like a surrogate otouto to Kakashi. He could very well fail the test and get Kakashi to be his tutor, much like Ebisu and Konohamaru... But he found himself worried about Sakura, who was a diamond in the rough, much like him. Sasuke couldn't be forgotten either. Yeah, he might be an asshole and all, but he was still a quick learner, with a truly gifted brain worthy of his Uchiha name.
So passing the test was the best option. The only option, as a matter of fact.
He was about to leave for the training ground when his stomach growled loudly. He was way too hungry, and that wasn't nice. Too bad Kakashi ordered-
Now wait a minute...
He didn't order anything. His words were 'maybe you shouldn't have breakfast'. Oh, that sly bastard... He got them good. He made them think that breakfast would hinder them. What a load of bullshit. Since when does food ever gets in the way? Look at the Akimichis, their punches are the heaviest in all of Konoha. And that's not only literally speaking, mind you...
So... yeah, of course he would have breakfast. Well, good thing that he kept that special extra-energized cup noodles. He was going to need it, along a few other juicy treats. Kami almighty, getting the Kage Bunshin to learn how to cook, even if not at Teuchi's level, was the greatest thing he ever did!
And he always had that giddy feeling every time he looked at his parents' pictures at the table, so that helped too.
But that was five hours ago, and all was well. Now was a different thing, though. After waiting so much time for Kakashi to appear, he nearly forgot about it and let the morning flow naturally, until the time came and he had to run like his life depended on it.
Oh wait, it did.
"Maybe I should start working on my speed..." he thought. "Tou-chan said that a slow shinobi was basically a dead shinobi. If it took him a friggin' Shiki Fuujin* to take him away, then there must be some truth to this statement." And it was true, after all. The guy single-handily annihilated Iwa during the last war by using and abusing of Jikuukan Ninjutsu* like Hiraishin no Jutsu* to float like a Kirikiri Mai* and sting like a senbon to the knee.
But for now, he should just be worried about making it to the training ground and actually become a Genin. It wouldn't help much being badass without a hitaiate to back it up, right?
Back with Kakashi and the others...
"Sa te*..." Kakashi thought. "Since Naruto's not nearby, I'm gonna play a bit with Sasuke and Sakura... Now, where could they be...?" he resumed his reading, creating around four openings just so at least one of the two Genin fell on his trap.
As soon as he put a hand over his mask and giggled, it worked.
"An opening!" Sasuke thought, his eyes gleaming and ready to strike. He threw a volley of weapons towards Kakashi, who seemed so trapped by his reading that couldn't possibly pay attention to his surroundings. That and because, honestly... dealing with Naruto was a simple task. He was the dead last anyway, Kage Bunshin or not. So how could his move possibly fail, right?
Well, that's what he first thought before the heavily impaled Kakashi disappeared and became a round piece of log laying on the ground. Because, you know... the Log rocks.
Yep, the Number One Rookie just fell to the oldest trick in the book. And he knew that. "Dammit, how could I have not seen this?" he thought, skipping from tree to tree as fast as his legs could carry him. "I gave away my position and now he's gonna catch me. I have to get out of here now!"
Sakura, seeing everything that happened, decided to go the other way around. "I have to get Sasuke-kun fast, or else everything will be for naught." she thought. "Ever since I saw Naruto using his Kage Bunshin to pull off those moves, I've been wondering about something... I just hope this works, or else we'll fail this exam." However, before she could have made farther than a single mile, she stopped abruptly, due to a certain Jounin standing on the middle of another section in the open field. It scared the shit out of her.
"Whew, that was really close..." she thought, sighing as lowly as possible to make sure Kakashi couldn't hear her. "I just hope he didn't hear-"
"I'm right behind you, Sakura."
"Eh?"
As she turned around, Sakura saw the bored visage of Kakashi, who just performed a Rat handseal, making a whole bunch of leaves swirl like a whirlpool and make Sakura's vision blurry for a few seconds.
[Naruto Unreleased OST: Taiji Naruto vs. Neji version / if at all necessary, either put it on repeat mode or find an extended version]
She found herself standing in the place Kakashi was, and the air felt very eerie. "What the?" she asked, a bit shaken and hyperventilating. "Where's Kakashi-sensei? And what is this feeling?"
"...Sa...kura..." a faint voice said behind a few bushes, sounding a bit desperate in a way. Sakura immediately identified whose voice it was. After all, she was really fond of the boy. She turned around to greet Sasuke, as well as try to talk to him about the small hunch she had during the test...
Only to find a heavily impaled Sasuke, bleeding through many different holes and death hanging around his very being. "H-help... me... Sakura..." he said, barely being able to speak fluently.
To say that Sakura was shocked by the scene was merely an understatement. She was downright horrified by what she saw. The one person who she always admired and hoped to have her existence and love recognized, dying right in front of her eyes. Her eyes filled themselves with tears and she was slowly opening her mouth, to probably scream in despair and hopelessness. "Sa... Sasuke... kun... no... NO..."
However, one split millisecond before she lost her mind, Chouji's words from the previous day echoed in her mind.
"Shinobi may leak a lot of information through the way their eyes react to certain stuff. Say, for instance, you see a dead body. What are your first reactions?"
"Fear. Disgust. A bit of despair too. Why?"
"There you have. Now the enemy can use a genjutsu to create a dead body of one of your friends, and all the primal reactions you mentioned will take over your thoughts, making you easy to kill."
"All because of your eyes..."
"My eyes..." she thought. "My eyes gave away my fears, and Kakashi-sensei took advantage of that. It should be obvious. Genjutsu!" She brought her hands together to make a Ram seal. "Kai!" she shouted, making the image of Sasuke disappear in thin air and bringing her back to the normal, chirpy environment of the training ground.
"Whew, I made it... through..." she thought, slowly losing her strength and falling on the ground. "What the... why am I... feeling so... weak?" her answer came in the form of a loud growl. Her stomach ached badly.
"Maybe... I shouldn't have skipped dinner... last night... Dammit." was Sakura's last thoughts before her mind drifted into unconsciousness. She was out of the game for now due to reckless malnourishment. Kakashi just sighed as he snapped his neck once again and took a few steps to lay beside a tree, making the bells ring.
"Shinobi Combat Tactics... Lesson Two: Genjutsu. Sakura wasted all her remaining strength to cast it away, even being a pretty basic one. Yare yare..." he said, his voice loud enough for young Sasuke to know that the Jounin was right behind him.
"Genjutsu... the art of illusions and hallucinations. Sakura is indeed capable of dispelling one, although her own weaknesses overwhelmed her. To pass out with such a basic genjutsu... shameful." he thought. What was up with his teammates, really? Sakura passes out after dispelling a basic genjutsu, and Naruto's gone missing ever since the Kage Bunshins were taken care of, like a coward. Kakashi was just walking all over them.
Weaklings. Both of them. But not him. Not the 'Number One Rookie'.
"I'm not like them, just so you know..." he said, wind blowing hard and leaves dancing on the air.
"Tell that after you get the bells if you so please... Sasuke-kun." Kakashi answered. Sasuke merely scowled a bit. He never liked being called by affectionate suffixes by anybody, except one person. And that person was long gone. All because of...
No. He shouldn't think about that. He wouldn't. All that mattered was passing this test, improving himself, so that one day he could kill that man and restore his clan to its full glory. And to do that, he would have to fight the man now standing in front of him.
Hatake Kakashi, the Yondaime's student. This should be fun.
"I'm waiting patiently, Sasuke." said Kakashi. "Show me the power of the Uchiha clan." hearing these words made Sasuke raise his eyebrows. So the supposedly powerful Kakashi was trying to make him prove himself worthy of wearing the fan behind his back? Yeah, right. He was gonna make him eat those words. There was only one adult man he wanted to make proud, and Kakashi was definitely not him.
He decided to take action.
[End OST – Now playing 'Raikiri']
The Uchiha started by throwing three separate shuriken in Kakashi's general direction. The Jounin thought it was pretty unimpressive for the 'Number One Rookie' to use such basic moves, so he just skipped to the left side to avoid them. Easy enough. Sasuke decided to throw a kunai this time, making Kakashi skip to the right side this time.
"If your tactic involves me dancing, you're doing it right, mighty Uchiha." he said in a mocking tone, making Sasuke raise a faint smirk. The kunai he threw went through the bushes and snapped a hidden rope in half. It actually made the one-eyed Jounin widen his eye, if only for just a bit. He also heard the faint 'woosh' of not one, not two, but sixteen knives and other pointy thingies flying right towards him.
"Oh, so he has a few tricks under his sleeve..." he thought, jumping to the other side of the field to dodge all the sharp projectiles. As soon as he landed, he saw a faint black and blue blur approaching him. He turned his head to see Sasuke aiming for a very acrobatic left kick to the left side of his face.
"That's flexibility for you..." Kakashi thought, as he blocked the kick with his arm, and soon after grabbing it with his right hand. Which was the right thing to do, because he would use the left hand the block the young Uchiha's nasty-looking right cross to his face.
"Okay, now what? A drop kick with his right foot? Oh look, there it goes!" he thought, making the right thing to do with what remained of his left arm to use so he could defend himself from the expected drop kick. One thing was certain, though:
"So far, he's way better than I expected." the Jounin thought. "Stronger, faster and better than Naruto, I dare say... Well, at least for now, that is."And then Sasuke did something the Jounin definitely did not expect. He smirked. And he still had a free hand to use. "Okay, now what-"
As soon as he heard the bells jingling and the way Sasuke's hand was positioned, he quickly put two and two together. "That son of a..." he let go of Sasuke's limbs and immediately dashed backwards to put himself in a safe distance. He watched as Sasuke landed flawlessly on his feet, although the right one had to kneel a bit to avoid an ugly landing.
"And here I was, thinking I could read Icha-Icha Paradise at peace..." Kakashi thought. "Anyway, I think it's enough. Let's end this... Yosh!" he said, getting the Uchiha's attention. "I stand corrected. You're not like the other two, Sasuke... Still have a long way to go, but I think you're getting the hang of it. As expected from an Uchiha..."
Something inside Sasuke clicked as he heard the words coming out of Kakashi's mouth. The way the Jounin said 'still have a long way to go' sounded as if he was below the expectations set by whatever twisted quality standard Kakashi had. He dared to think lowly of an Uchiha like him.
For now, you're not even worth killing... Orokanaru otouto yo...*
Those words haunted Sasuke even to this day... and the guy in front of him made him recall that dreadful and painful memory.
He would pay.
Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger. A jutsu taught to him by his own father, as a rite of passage. It was probably his favorite technique. "Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu!*" Kakashi looked at the young Uchiha and could not believe his eyes. A 12-year old Genin who graduated yesterday performing a C-rank jutsu. "A fresh Genin using elemental jutsu? How much chakra does he have, for Kami's sake?" he thought. "Wait... scratch that. Naruto has 4 times more chakra than I do, and Sasuke's an Uchiha. I'm going overboard here. Anyway, let's dodge this big-ass fireball coming towards me..."
Since the fireball was really big, Sasuke failed to notice Kakashi putting his hands on the ground and mutter something. After he finished spitting the fireball, he waited a while for the flame do wear down, and reveal...
Nothing. Zippo. Zilch. Nada.
"Where the hell is he?" Sasuke thought. "Left? Right? Behind? No, wait... above! No, nothing. Where-"
"Below!" a voice echoed through the field. Sasuke couldn't even say 'what' before a hand suddenly came out from the ground and grabbed his left feet. "Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu!*" It was Kakashi, and he was just about finished with Sasuke, burying him to the ground, leaving only the head on the surface.
[End OST]
As he was done with the jutsu, he just stood in front of Sasuke, the bells jingling loudly again. "And that was Shinobi Combat Tactics, Lesson Three: Ninjutsu." he said. "As I suspected, you're certainly a step a-head of the other two..." Sasuke scowled at the blatant mocking the Jounin was making of his current situation. Does he really need to have the same bad taste for jokes the usura-tonkachi has? He didn't need that in his life! The worst of all?
Kakashi wasn't done with the jokes by a long shot, if he and Naruto had that in common.
"Though I'm disappointed... You didn't nail it just right." the Jounin joked again, making the Uchiha roll his eyes yet again. Yup, he still got it. Good thing he memorized Minato-sensei's chirpy attitude whenever he and Kushina-san had a good date the day before every important assignment Team Seven had back then. He'd use it many times more this year, that was certain.
"But... oh well. After we're done with this drill, I'll make sure to show you how to do it... even if it means to hammer it all down on this lovely feathery head of yours." he said, leaving Sasuke alone with a chuckle. The Uchiha in question just grunted. "Kuso...* this guy is just like Naruto. Bad jokes and all!" he thought. "...And yet, he's definitely in a whole different league. Taking a bell from him will be harder than I thought..."
Meanwhile, in the spot Sakura laid down in the ground, the kunoichi in question slowly stirred awake, and in a matter of seconds, she found herself regaining just a tiny bit of her strength. She looked around to ensure it was safe to get up and did it so. "I feel like shit..." she thought, her belly growling loudly. "I'm soooo hungry. If only I could eat something... anything..." however, as she stood there, a swift blur made it just a few meters to her right. She grabbed a kunai from her pouch as quickly as she could to face...
Uzumaki Naruto, wearing a leaf-green jacket and a trunk-brown shirt and pants. He also wore black sandals and the jacked had a knitted white swirl on the left shoulder, as well as a red one on the back, although that was a feature present in almost every shinobi clothing in Konoha, really. Nice wardrobe choice for a wooded environment, that was certain. Way better than that orange monstrosity he used to wear, anyway. Just how he still managed to sneak away from ANBU wearing that in broad daylight was a mystery yet to be solved.
"Sakura-chan!" he chirped, apparently happy to have found her. "I was hoping to find you. Sorry about those Kage Bunshins, I had to check on a few things before actually taking my part on the exam. Now I won't be leaving your side, okay?" he asked, for which the young girl just nodded. "Great. Now... have you seen Teme around? I need to talk to him as well."
"Ano... no." she said. "But I think I saw Kakashi-sensei heading over to that direction-" she pointed out with her finger. "-before I fell on his genjutsu. So maybe Sasuke-kun might be there. Do you thing we should go there?" she asked, getting a 'Hai' from Naruto. Before she could start running though, she saw Naruto picking a white pill from his pouch and handing over to her. "What's this?" she asked.
"This is a concentrated calories pill." Naruto answered. "I got it a few days ago... It's supposed to replace the usual shinobi ration when things go ugly. You're so blue that I'm just gonna save the speech and let you eat it now before you faint, okay?" Sakura just shrugged and wolfed the pill down. Easy enough, her stomach felt like it ate a full healthy meal, and she felt some of her strength returning to her body. "Wow!" she exclaimed. "I feel... renewed! I'm still hungry, but I'm good to go. Thanks for that, Naruto. I really needed the energy."
"Think nothing of it, Sakura-chan." he said. "Just remember that now that we're shinobi, diet is very frowned upon. It makes you weak and might end up killing you early, got it?" she gulped at hearing that. Yeah, maybe it was time to stop dieting... it's not like Sasuke-kun would care, and Ino would probably kick her butt easily if she kept weakening herself with that approach... "Okay, I got it. So... shall we find Sasuke-kun, then?" she asked Naruto, who just nodded and joined her as they jumped across the field.
Easily enough, a few minutes later, they found Sasuke, buried on the ground, his head exposed for everyone to see. Sakura held the urge to giggle, because that did look quite a amusing scenery. Naruto, differently from his female teammate, did not have the luxury to hold his loud laughter. Sasuke just stood there, trying to burn a hole in Naruto's head with his glare.
Quite a paradox, considering his glare was too cold to burn a hole...
"Okay... *pfft* *chuckle* let's get him out of there... *chuckle*" Naruto said. Sasuke could have just said he could do it by himself, but he actually stayed 15 minutes trying effortlessly to do it. Besides, he also enjoyed the time to brainstorm to himself the circumstances of the drill. He actually felt the need to find the other two 'teammates' of his. So he would just let Naruto and Sakura help him out this time.
[Naruto OST: Glued State]
"Alright..." said Naruto, after getting the Uchiha out of the ground. "During the last few hours, I looked over a few things concerning Kakashi-sensei. And the result is that I found out the secret about his test." He took a second to watch the reaction of his teammates...
Good, they were listening, and they had a strangely positive look in their eyes. Maybe they reached the same conclusion. He decided to continue.
"Apparently this test is a tradition among every generation's Team Seven. From Sandaime-ojiichan to Sannin no Jiraiya*, from Jiraiya to Namikaze Minato, from Minato to Kakashi-sensei, and now it's out turn to pass it. And it all comes down to one word, one concept, one trait all Konoha shinobi must have..."
"Teamwork."
Sakura raised her finger to voice her opinion. Naruto conceded. "I think I got it down when I saw those Kage Bunshins of yours. They worked so well together that I actually thought you could stand a chance against an experienced Jounin like Kakashi-sensei, as long as they kept that going. Then something clicked in my head. What's the point of having two bells for three students?"
"I reached the conclusion that the bells were meant to keep us thinking more about ourselves than the rest of our companions. It's so obvious! I mean... who'd be crazy enough to stand against a former ANBU-nin, who just so happened to the Yondaime's former student, all by himself?"
"Aside from the usura-tonkachi?" Sasuke asked. Naruto popped a vein from his forehead. "Knock it off, you bastard! You faced him off by himself too!"
"Boys, let's keep focus here!" Sakura said, getting them to grunt a 'Hai' as response. "So, anyway... I also got the feeling that if we should treat this drill as a mission, like Kakashi-sensei said, then we should perform the mission just like every other unit in Konoha does, which is..."
"Like an actual team." Sasuke concluded it. "Because even when there's three of us and two bells, we're still, in essence, one team. And combining the power of three into one is what we should do. With my skills, your bookworm knowledge and Naruto's..." he thought for a while. "distractions..." Naruto just rolled his eyes. If that was the best compliment he could get from the Uchiha, then so be it. "we can actually make this work."
"Not only that," said Naruto. "this exam also tests our capacity in sacrificing our personal goals for the sake of Konohagakure. Let's pick Teme's ambitions, for instance. Sasuke, you told us you wanted to restore your clan and kill a certain man, right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Let's say that we ended up being ambushed by someone who knows this guy you're after. You can either get some info on him in exchange of your teammates' lives, or stay ignorant for our safety. What would you do?"
Sasuke thought about it. Why would he care about getting them to safety in the first place? These so called... 'teammates', they're just something that dragged him down. He would let them die a thousand different ways if that would allow him to get closer to fulfilling his goals. That's all he ever cared about, and that was final.
And yet... What he just said about combining the power of three into one had him thinking. If he couldn't get a freaking bell from Kakashi on a basic drill without help, how could he ever hope to kill him without help? He just found himself stuck between Iwa* and a hard place.
Not only that... Naruto got stronger in a pace unheard of. If somehow Sakura got that kind of growth as well, maybe the three working together and growing stronger together would actually benefit him more than if he just did things by himself. It was worth risking a shot, after all...
He made his decision.
"Alright, alright, I'll keep you safe and wait for another opportunity. As long as you're alive and able to help, I'll keep you safe no matter what happens. Happy?"
"Very much." Naruto answered, with his usual fox-grin. Sakura also smiled happily. "Yosha! So let's just get those bells and be done with this drill, -Dattebayo!"
*BEEEEEEEEEP*
...Or maybe not.
[End OST]
"Why hello there, my kawaii Genin..." said a too much cheerful Hatake Kakashi, who just appeared behind them in an instant, startling the three Genin. The former ANBU captain still had it. "I'm afraid to tell you that you've ran out of time. You know what that means..."
"Aw, c'mon sensei!" said Naruto. "Now that we decided to work together? You're mean, you know that?"
"Hmmm? Work together, you say...?" he asked, pretending to be unaware. Of course he kept listening to their conversation. What would you take him for, an amateur? While these kids were struggling to become proper Genin, this guy was already on his way to get a field promotion to Jounin. That's skill right there, man!
"Now that's a pretty interesting line of thought there... before I decide on who's gonna be tied up and have his or her stomach deprived of lunch, why don't you guys amuse me and elaborate? Depending on your answer, I may have mercy on you on the afternoon drill." he said, motioning the three kids to voice their opinions.
[Naruto Unreleased OST: Naruto Main Theme Slow Version / extended or repeat mode, by all means]
"Well, ano..." Naruto started. "We reached the conclusion that this test was meant to separate us at first. With three separate Genin thinking about their own selfish reasons and goals, a time limit and a crazy Jounin much like yourself, we would lose focus of the main priority of this exam, which was working like a proper shinobi team to complete the mission. You yourself gave us a tip about it at the very beginning."
"I'm not crazy, just so you know..." Kakashi deadpanned.
"Oh no, far from it." Naruto said sarcastically. "You're just an open pervert who plays Kancho with children, of all things considered, the perfect example of a normal shinobi. If I hadn't promised Hokage-ojiichan not to prank anymore, you'd definitely be my next target, -Dattebayo!" Sakura and Sasuke just shook their heads in amusement, from both Naruto's antics and Kakashi's eye smile.
"Anyway, back to the main topic, -Dattebayo... Oh yes. With all those factors, but specially the time limit, it pretty much blows away any chance of having the Genin just sitting down and talking this through. Which is what happened today, after all we spent the last 10 minutes of the test actually making sense of it."
"And we learned that," Sakura continued. "It's not truly about the bells that we're here having this exercise to begin with, but rather the meaning of the fact that we have three Genin working together. Even if we're three and there are only two bells, we're still one team. If we could manage to get at the very least one bell as long as we combined our strengths, that would only help us pass this test."
"And if we did have the two bells," Sasuke said. "We would be put in a test of self-sacrifice. Out of the three of us, who would give up their selfishness for the sake of the other person's dreams and goals? I'm pretty sure that the usura-tonkachi wouldn't consider himself worthy of becoming Hokage if he stepped on us and let his teammates fail just for his own sake, so he would just sacrifice himself for us, being the nice guy he is and all that jazz..."
"Why, I feel flattered, Sasuke! Thanks for calling me a nice guy, that means a lot coming from you." Naruto said in a mocking tone, making Sasuke roll his eyes and Sakura giggle. Kakashi couldn't help but smile at the amusing scenery provided by the two rivals. And they absolutely and flawlessly nailed the test despite all the small quirks they showed over the last 24 hours.
It was pretty much useless to keep up with the charade, so he decided to call for the final act of the day.
"Well, if that's the conclusion you reached, I'm afraid I have no alternative..." he said, in what sounded like a depressed voice tone, which actually made the Genin tense for a bit. The wonders of deception were from out of this world, really... maybe he should go back to ANBU after all and-
Okay, that was enough already. "You pass! Congratulations, my kawaii Genin."
Naruto and Sakura jumped and cheered in overjoy. Sasuke just smirked, although most people could assume that he wished he could leap in joy like his other teammates. Kakashi cleared his throat to get their attention, so he could say a few more things. "Well, I'm certainly proud of your bunch. After all, you're the fifth team to take this test over this generation... and the only one who actually passed."
"Eehhh?" Naruto grimaced. "You mean that you tested other people before and they all sucked that bad?"
"Well, they didn't 'suck', when you pit it that way..." Kakashi answered. "but they were just a bunch of gakis* who did what they were told to do, and never bothered to 'look underneath the underneath', like a real shinobi does. They didn't think through the concept of teamwork and never sacrificed their own selfish needs for the well-being of their comrades and their village. Here, let me show you something."
Kakashi walked a bit towards a strange large blue rock. It had a pentagonal shape, and was carved over a big platform of the same blue color. Despite being near the three eldest logs, in a somewhat secluded spot on the training ground, it still stood proudly. The banner flapping on top of it was visible throughout the whole field so anyone could find it. Neither Kakashi nor the Genin could see it now, but on the backside of the big stone, carved on the surface, there were countless names written. All sorts of names, in a very precise order, from the very first, until the very last. And taking a better look to the way the stone itself was carved, it looked like it had grown quite a few sizes over the nearly 100 years since Konoha's foundation.
And by the faint presence of old flower petals and the time frame the last name was written, it just indicated that it would grow some more, given its due time.
"This is the KIA memorial stone." said Kakashi. Sakura gasped, Sasuke narrowed his eyebrows and Naruto... he just had this very distant, heavy look in his eyes. "Yes, that is the memorial dedicated to the brave shinobi who died for the sake of their friends, as well as the accomplishment of the mission and Konoha's future. The names of those shinobi are carved on the back of the stone, so they can always be remembered as heroes who gave their lives for something more than just themselves."
"And my best friend's name is carved in here."
Silence took place for a few minutes. No one could find any words to talk or even think about. It was a pretty heavy subject to talk about, since they haven't nearly grasped it back at the Academy in a satisfactory manner for their sake. It was something that not even Iruka, the best Academy sensei, would ever feel comfortable to talk about.
After all, who would discuss with children about dealing with the death of family, friends and loved ones?
The answer was pretty simple: no one.
Firstly, because it was something that would affect their own mental conditioning during the Academy. While the kids impaled training dummies with their shuriken, it was best to keep them from thinking about anyone who could stand there instead of the dummy.
Secondly, because their experiences would always differ every time. Someone could lose a friend during a mission gone wrong, while another person would commit a mistake that would affect, either directly or not a friend's death, or even in a dreadful betrayal scenario, where you didn't have other choice but to actually kill a traitorous friend. It was all very relative, and dealing with these possible scenarios with 10 and 11-year old children was not the best educational approach. The amount of resources spent to have proper psychological treatment for these kids was just not worth investing.
Specially when incidents such as the slaughter of the Uchiha clan already had its effects on both Konoha and a certain raven-haired avenger.
But thirdly and most importantly... because only a true field veteran, such as a Jounin, could really give these kids a proper lesson about the effects of death on a shinobi's mind, for either sides of the battlefield. And, for Team Seven's sheer luck (or tough luck), they picked a shinobi well aware of the heavy burden of the dead...
"Not only my best friend... but my other teammate and Minato-sensei have their names carved in here too." Kakashi said. Naruto's gaze lingered on the surrogate aniki, who merely looked back for a second before his gaze returned to the memorial in front of them. "The test you've just been through had one main focus, which was to see if you were ready to work together as a team, even if it costs you a few things."
"Don't be mistaken, those who break the rules of the shinobi code are considered scum. This is an undeniable truth of the world we live in, where we're expected to go through life-or-death situations to accomplish some of the greatest tasks assigned to any human being ever."
"Kedo na*..."
"Those who abandon their companions... are even worse than scum. I hope you always remember that as we work together through the next months, maybe even years."
Sasuke smirked for a brief moment. If working together, befriending people and completing missions for the benefit of the village would grant him the strength to make his ambitions come true someday, he'd just have to get used to it. It's not like he could just train by himself and chase his dreams the next day, so as much as it hurt to admit, he needed to learn this new 'teamwork' concept, so by Rikudou's grace, he would learn it.
Sakura thought it was a pretty wonderful thing the words spoken by Kakashi-sensei. True enough, protecting your friends was almost as important as the mission itself. Maybe, just maybe, it could work as some sort of trigger to awaken the true strength within the young girl. She just needed to find her niche and things should go smooth from that point on. Maybe it would be nice to have a Jounin sensei like Kakashi, for a change...
Naruto couldn't stop thinking about how freaking cool and awesome was the phrase Kakashi-sensei just said. It basically said everything. The shinobi system needed changes, and it all started with the way people would interact with each other. Building bonds of friendship and love, sticking together through thick and thin, not choosing between the lesser of two evils... it was everything his parents stood for, and he'd gladly follow in their footsteps for a better world. And having Kakashi-sensei as instructor was nothing short of awesome.
He would most certainly enjoy his time as a Genin. But first...
"Okay, then..." said Kakashi. "Your test is over, and you passed. I'll see you here tomorrow, 7 AM sharp. And don't be late." he got a furious glare from Sakura and Naruto as he said that. He saw Naruto interacting with Sasuke and Sakura, asking them to have lunch at Ichiraku's, and couldn't help but smile at seeing them agree to join him. He was glad to have helped the young Jinchuuriki to build new bonds, he deserved it. He needed it. Before he could even 'report' his day to his dearly departed, however, he felt a light tap on his forearm.
"Hmmm...? What is it, Naruto? Are you gonna invite me to join you guys for lunch?" he asked. It was simply obvious that would be the answer, really. Even if he did have to report the completion of the true Genin exam to the Sandaime, that could wait... just like everything else, including the communal lunch with all his fellow Jounin. He always got late for those too.
"Actually..." Naruto said, making Kakashi raise his only visible eyebrow. "There was one place I wanted you to go with me, if that was okay with you..."
[End OST]
Konohagakure Graveyard – March 4, 3:10 PM
"Thanks for coming, Kakashi-sensei. This means a lot to me..." said Naruto, holding in his hands two lilacs, each one amusingly matching the monikers for which his parents were known to the world. Good for him to ask about the language of flowers for a Yamanaka such as Ino, who just so happened to be in the counter this afternoon. Apparently her test was over way before lunch, and since then she's been charged by her father Inoichi to greet customers. Something around the lines of 'Now that you're a shinobi, it's your responsibility to offer yourself to serve the clan head and Hokage-sama in a more direct way. First lesson: tend the shop on your own. Your okaa-san and I will be back for dinner to see how well you performed.'
What a nice, caring father... Definitely worthy of being second-in-command of the T&I department.
"Not at all..." Kakashi answered, standing by Naruto's side with his hand in his pockets. "I actually haven't been here for quite a while. I should be the one thanking you, Naruto. So, whose grave will you visit first?"
"Kaa-chan's grave." he answered. "Unlike Tou-chan, she didn't have that many people visiting her. She must be depressed by now and... hmm?" he saw a couple familiar figures on the distance, as well as an unknown person. As a matter of fact, these three were standing near a grave that stood right alongside Kushina's. As student and teacher closed the distance, they were able to identify the people in front of them.
Hyuuga Hinata, Yuuhi Kurenai, and a small girl with pale white eyes, which marked her as another Hyuuga.
"Hinata?" Naruto asked, making the young girl 'eep' and get behind Kurenai. For a moment, the Jinchuuriki felt strangely hurt by that action, but it couldn't be helped. If her Byakugan saw anything related to the Bijuu inside him, it was only natural. He only hoped to make amends in the future if at all necessary.
"N-Naruto-kun..." Hinata said, in a internal wreck. How was she supposed to expect her crush to appear right behind her in a place like this? "A... are you... v-visiting someone's grave too?" she asked, actually surprising Naruto. Probably by the fact that she managed to say more than 2 words that weren't 'Naruto-kun'. Or maybe because she was visiting someone there too. She suffered the loss of someone precious, just like him.
The young Hyuuga girl by Hinata's side kept trading glances between the two newly-graduated shinobi. She seemed curious about something. She slightly tugged the side of Hinata's jacket, like she was saying 'I wanna ask you something'. "Ne, onee-san*..." the small girl said. "Is this the 'Naruto-kun' you always talk about? I don't see what's so incredible about him..." she said, getting the attention of everyone in the vicinity. Kurenai and Kakashi seemed amused, Naruto had his jaw open wide, and Hinata was as red as a tomato.
"I-I-I... Hanabi! T-that... that's no place to talk about these things!" she said, red from embarrassment, as well as a bit of anger. The small girl, now identified as Hanabi, looked at her elder sister a bit worried. Maybe she should have kept her mouth shut... "A-ano..." Hinata mumbled. "G-gomen*, Naruto-kun... H-Hanabi... didn't mean to insult you... I just... I said some... *gulp* some positive things about you, and she... ano..."
"It's... alright." Naruto said, making Hinata stop looking at the ground and face him. She saw in his eyes two different feelings: the first was that of surprise. The second was one that made her heart skip a beat or two.
It was bliss.
He seemed really happy about something. Maybe it was the 'positive things' remark. Hinata was fully aware of the amount of pain and loneliness the young Uzumaki swallowed for all these years. For someone to say a positive thing about him, it was unthinkable. Hinata just realized at that brief moment: she managed to make Naruto happy! A small smile formed around her as she noticed that the blond-haired Jinchuuriki was smiling as well.
Kakashi looked around just to make sure of something. And he was right. The sky just got bluer, and the sun seemed much brighter. Yup, Naruto was happy, and his happiness made everything look better. He would talk to Kurenai later about getting his two students to hang out together more often. That felt wonderful.
After what seemed like an awkward minute of silence, Kurenai, of all people, broke the ice. "Well... we must leave. Hinata, Hanabi, say your final prayers to Hikari-sama." she said. The two girls nodded before kneeling towards the grave, closing their eyes and putting their hands together for a few seconds. As they left the other three behind and could no longer be felt around the place, Kurenai addressed the two male shinobi in front of her. "What about you two? Have you come to visit someone as well?"
"Kushina-san and Minato-sensei." Kakashi answered, making the newly-promoted Jounin raise her eyebrows and look at the young Jinchuuriki in front of her. Before she could even wonder the reason for Naruto to visit the very one who sealed the Kyuubi inside him, as well as her own sensei, Kakashi's once more voice got her attention. "I'll visit Sensei first. Take your time with Kushina-san, Naruto." Naruto nodded in response before turning around to kneel in front of his mother's grave.
"Kurenai-sensei..." Naruto said, getting a 'hai?' as response. "Can I have some private time, please? There are some things you're not supposed to know about, -Dattebayo..." Kurenai only sighed and nodded in response, but not before paying attention to his speech twitch a little more thoroughly than before and putting two and two together. "Okay, then. I'll leave you and Kushina-sensei alone... Uzumaki Naruto." she said, making sure to point out the obvious. She could see the faint smile in Naruto's face before leaving him alone.
[Naruto Shippuuden OST – Samidare]
"How have you been, Kaa-chan...?" he asked. The wind started blowing ever so slightly, making his hair flap under the steel of the hitaiate in his forehead. "Sorry for taking so long to come here and visit you. I guess it's fair to say that I got myself lost on the road of life. Maybe Kakashi-sensei's excuses hold some truth in them, after all... Seriously, where he came up with those excuses is beyond me. *chuckle*"
"Anyway..." he tipped his thumb over the leaf symbol of the hitaiate. "I love your hitaiate. It fits great on me, and it always makes me think about you every time I wear it... I swear I'll keep it safe, clean and polished as long as I live, -Dattebayo."
"You know... I don't blame you, nor Tou-chan for handing me over the burden of being a Jinchuuriki. I heard the story about how you two sacrificed yourselves to save Konoha, the people and myself. And hearing it just made me love you guys even more..." a tear ran across his left cheek. "You're my greatest heroes. I'm proud to be born from you. I'm glad to have inherited such an important legacy, and I'm determined to make all my dreams come true, in memory of your sacrifice."
"I'm gonna be even more awesome than you, and Konoha will have the greatest Hokage ever. I'll be so much more awesome than Tou-chan that people will not address us as 'the Yondaime Hokage and his great son, the current one', but rather 'the Hokage and his father, who just so happens to be the Yondaime...' People will be amazed by what I'll be able to do." another tear, this time through his right cheek. Naruto's voice was already a bit raspy. He wiped away the tears.
"Anyway... I got this for you." he put the beautiful flower over the large stone. "It's a red lilac. According to Ino, lilacs are meant to represent love. I don't know specifically what kind of love. I don't even know if there is a difference between 'family love' and 'lovers love'. People are just supposed to hold each other dear and to hell with the rest, right? So, what I really want to say is... I love you. And I hope you're happy with my gift."
"I'll come back and talk some more about how life's treating me another time, okay? I have to visit Tou-chan now. Bye for now, Kaa-chan. Until another time, -Dattebayo!" And with that, Naruto walked towards a big flaming stone in the end of the graveyard, where the most noble and important of all graves stood.
The graves of the Hokages. Lined up in a somewhat correct order. The Sandaime was still alive, so his grave wasn't there yet. But there was an empty spot between the Nidaime's and the Yondaime's grave. Naruto heard the story about that one too. The day of Minato's burial, Hiruzen demanded this gaping space to be kept like that. He said something like 'the Yondaime's still alive in spirit. My body died a long time ago, I just forgot to bury it and had to go back to work, so we'll keep this space for the day someone does bury me.'
It was one of the coolest things he ever heard in his life, as much as he disagreed with a few things...
"Minato-sensei, someone's here to see you." Naruto heard Kakashi-sensei say as he approached his old man's grave. Once he got there, he just repeated the action of putting the lilac – a yellow one, this time around – on top of the stone. "Tou-chan..." he said. "I don't think I'll be able to cry. I already did that visiting Kaa-chan... I'll just outright say that you're the best."
"Some part of me still wants to punch you in the face for being the most reckless parent ever and using some sort of self-sacrificing kinjutsu to seal a monstrous Bijuu in your son. But as Yondaime Hokage, I couldn't be more proud of your actions, and of carrying on the auto-proclaimed S-rank mission 'Keep the fuzzball locked up, learn how to use its chakra and keep your home safe' by your order. I expect that someday, either you or Hokage-ojiichan will pay me for my services, after all long term S-rank missions cost quite a bit of money. Otherwise, who's gonna pay for my ramen?"
"Kakashi-sensei's gonna take good care of me, I think..." Kakashi just eye-smiled. "so don't worry about my training. I'm doing well enough on my own, and having him to help me just makes things even better. About my teammates, I promise I'll try to socialize with Sasuke-teme, but don't blame me if he ends up in a hospital because of his assholeness, alright?"
"Anyway... I just wanted to tell you the same thing I told Kaa-chan already... I love you. And I hope you'll be watching me as I grow up and become a Hokage far better than you were. And unlike you, I'll make good use of the pointy hat, so that's a good start on being more awesome than you, -Dattebayo."
"Right now, I have to go. Being here talking to you is great and all, but I have to train, otherwise I'll never be able to surpass you. Don't go anywhere, I'll be back here soon enough, -Dattebayo!" and with that, they left the spot, as the wind kept blowing, calm and soothing, as if it was kissing the young shinobi walking. Either him or the flower, no one could tell.
But somewhere deep inside, Naruto knew he made his parents happy for visiting them. He would definitely do that again in a more regular basis. Maybe once or twice a week...
Right now, training was more important. After all, even the gutsiest of all shinobi had to start somewhere...
[End OST]
Translations
Kemuridama – smoke bomb, an useful shinobi tool for closed and/or tricky environments.
Ryuu – Dragon. Not the handseal, which would be 'Tatsu', but rather the ANBU under this codename.
Neko – Cat. Another ANBU under this codename.
Kawaii Genin – cute little Genin.
'Mina-san' – 'you guys'
'Osoi' – late, 'too late', or in this chapter's case, 'you're late'.
Aniki & Otouto – Big brother and little brother, respectively.
'Are?' - 'Huh?'
Tora – Tiger. Both as an ANBU codename, and the handseal for using jutsu.
Kancho – The Japanese wedgie, in which people stab their middle and pointing fingers into another person's ass, for... some reason...
Jikuukan Ninjutsu – Time-Space Ninja Techniques. Special branch of jutsu that involve breaking the time-space barrier, such as the Kuchiyose no Jutsu (Summoning) and others of similar nature.
'Sa te' – 'Now then...'
'Orokanaru otouto yo...' - 'foolish little brother...' famous words uttered by Uchiha Itachi.
Kuso – Shit, crap, poop... you get it.
Sannin no Jiraiya – Jiraiya of the Sannin.
Iwa – Rock; that works for both the literal object, and the hidden village in Tsuchi no Kuni (Earth Country).
Gaki(s) – brat(s), punk(s), and the like.
'Kedo na...' – 'However...', 'Although...', and in this chapter's case, 'But... you know...'
Onee-san – Big/older sister.
'Gomen' – 'Sorry' and its variants.
Jutsu
Ninpou: Koinu Shisen no Jutsu (Ninja Art: Puppy Dog Eyes Technique) – Virtually useless during battle, but deadly on the everyday comings and goings on a shinobi's life, where a favor asked using this jutsu most likely ends up having its importance increased tenfold. Unless you're seriously trained against such a jutsu, in a matter of minutes you'll see yourself subject to whoever casts it on you. Rank: SS, if performed by children or cute females of any age. B to S, if performed by ninken and pretty boys, and E to B, if performed by any other category.
Konoha Hiden Taijutsu Ougi: Sennen Goroshi (Leaf's Hidden Taijutsu Supreme Technique: A Thousand Years of Pain/Death) – A Kancho move powered by the shinobi's strength. Pain inflicted depends on both the user's own physical strength and the victim's own sensibility towards that particular area. Despite the various circumstances, even the weakest version is labeled as a S-rank kinjustu.
Fuuinjutsu: Shiki Fuujin (Sealing Art: Dead Demon Consuming Seal) – An ancient Uzumaki seal, in which the user summoned the Shinigami (Death God) to drag away the designated target's soul. It is double-edged however, seeing that the user offers his soul as tribute to the Shinigami. With that, both souls are dragged to the entity's stomach, suffering and struggling forever. It's rumored that Jinchuuriki are not meant to use such technique, considering that they carry a second entity within (namely, a Bijuu). S-rank kinjutsu.
Jikuukan Fuuinjutsu: Hiraishin no Jutsu (Time-Space Sealing Art: Flying Thunder God Technique) – The user of this technique creates special time-space seals designed for teleportation. Unlike the original concept of the Shunshin (Body-Flicker), it's not just a fast stepping, but rather true teleportation, where the shinobi's entire body is involved in a special flashing energy embedded in the designed seals. This energy has the same effects of a Gyaku Kuchiyose (Reverse Summoning), but with its own differences. The seals never fade, and their shape and chakra molding differ to each user. The creator of this jutsu, for instance (Nidaime Hokage), didn't have in his seals the yellow blur effect that the Yondaime's seals had (Namikaze Minato enhanced it). To even begin to grasp the idea of the jutsu and start working on it, user must be at least level 9 in fuuinjutsu specialization, labeling this jutsu as S-rank.
Ninpou: Kuchiyose – Kirikiri Mai (Ninja Art: Summoning – Quick Beheading Dance) – A battle weasel is summoned by his/her user (usually a Sunagakure fanmaster), shredding the environment. It can be labeled as a Fuuton jutsu an its considered a B-rank ninjutsu.
Katon: Goukakyuu no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) – A large fireball spit from the user's mouth. It usually involves gathering chakra in the lungs and adding fire nature transformation in the throat to ignite the chakra and spit the fireball. It's one of the most basic elemental jutsu in the book. Considered to be a rite of passage for those of the Uchiha clan. C-rank.
Doton: Shinjuu Zanshu no Jutsu (Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique) – Allow the user to bury him/herself into the ground and catch the enemy by its feet. Usually meant for torture with intention of cutting the enemy's neck after it was used. D-rank.
Author's Note: Whew! Finally done with this thing. It took me quite a while to get a somehow more reliable and actually likable Kakashi who wants to teach. And not only Naruto, but his teammates as well, even being obvious that he cares more about his sensei's legacy. I'm particularly proud of the flashback, that was a truly inspirational touch that came up when I was writing TOH's chapter 8. Flashbacks are awesome, they cover a lot of writing and explanations for at least 10 chapters, so that's always cool.
Sakura is actually using her head, and will be a bit more like Rin was in the story, with that 'settle down, both of you' sweet girl. I might actually consider letting her get strong and competent enough to earn a promotion to Chuunin on the first try.
That is, if she's not set up with a one-sided battle...
And Sasuke is not getting out of that stuck-up ass attitude until Wave... like most fanfics do, really. But once he does, I'll be able to give him a lot more development (I hope) and I'll give you guys the most likable anti-hero of all time, bar none.
And of course, it's NaruHina month, so... some cute interaction for you guys to enjoy. I even included a very likable Hanabi in hope to build up a 'niisan' relationship in case my favorite couple ever gets that far... which will most likely do, because I'm just that big of a NaruHina fanboy...
With that, I close this chapter, promising you guys a much more bloody and sentimental Wave Arc for the next few chapters. But not until Team Seven gets some real training, which will be covered over the next instance of this tale. Thanks for reading this far, review and all that jazz. Bye bye!