Here's another chapter! It's a little shorted then the couple prior, but I wanted to get started with wave in the next chapter.
TheBeauty, Unfortunately it is in her mission, though there are currently suspicions going around the Rookie 9, and now team Gai know here true colours.
Jewelie-chan , Thanks for the lovely reviews :)
Naruto looked at the height of the sun and guessed it was only a couple minutes till noon. Noticing the two prepared boxed lunches by the memorial site; she headed over and waited for Kakashi arrived. It wasn't even a second later when the man appeared next to her. "Are you done terrorizing them yet?" She asked, not looking at the one eyed man. "Well almost. But I do have to tie you to a post now. We can't have you spoiling the test now can we?" Kakashi asked, a mischievous glint in his only visible eye. She glared at him, but didn't verbally protest as she was tied to the middle post.
The alarm rang out; signalling that it was now noon and both Sasuke and Sakura came out from the forest to see their third teammate already tied to a post. The two who just arrived sat on either side of Naruto and waited for Kakashi to them the verdict.
"Uh oh. Stomachs growling huh? That's too bad. Oh by the way, about this exercise, well I've decided. I won't send any of you back to the academy." The man announced, surprising everyone, including Naruto. "I passed? All I did was feint and fall over. Do you get points for that?" Sakura asked causing Naruto to roll his eyes ever so slightly. "So that means all three of us…?" Naruto started before being interrupted by Kakashi. "Yes all three of you are being dropped from the programme, permanently."
Naruto's eyes widened as Sakura stopped mid cheer and Sasuke glared at the Jounin. "You don't think like Ninja, you think like brats." Kakashi added, stirring the Uchiha who in turn charged Kakashi, not listening to the concerns of his supposed teammates. The result of the attack had Sasuke pinned under the white haired Jounin as Sakura raged about letting her Sasuke go.
"You don't know what it means to be a ninja. You think it's a game huh? Why do you think we put you on squads? Did you consider that question for one moment? You never realised what this exercise was about did you. Not even close it determines if you pass or fail. Use your head. Three people on a squad, why do you think we would do that? It's so basic. Teamwork. It's too late now, but if all three of you had worked together then maybe you would have been able to get the bells." Kakashi lectured, a dark look in his eyes.
"But wait a minute. You set it up with three people but only two bells. If we'd worked together and got the bells, then only two of us could keep them and that would lead to group conflict and the squad would break up." Sakura countered.
"Exactly, I purposely pitted you against each other. I wanted to see if you could over come that and put the squad ahead of yourselves. A Genin should have a natural feel for teamwork. But you, it never even crossed your mind." The man simply replied.
"Sakura. You obsessed about Sasuke who was gone; while Naruto, who was right in front of you, and you wouldn't lift a finger to help him. Naruto. You do everything on your own. Everything. And you Sasuke, thought that the others were so far beneath you that you thought that they ere worthless. Arrogance. Ninja missions are carried out in squads. Of course you need individual skills, but teamwork is the most essential element. Every ninja understands this. When individuals put themselves above the squad, missions can lead to failure and death. For example, kill Naruto now or Sasuke dies. That's what happens on a mission. The enemy's got a hostage and you've got an impossible choice and someone ends up dead. On every mission your life is on the line." Kakashi lectured once more, trying to get the message of being a ninja to the two. When the man got off of Sasuke, he walked over to the stone before looking once more at the children in front of him.
"Have you looked at this stone? The names engraved on it? They are ninja who are honoured as heroes in our village." The man spoke, grief thick in his voice. Naruto wanted to make a remark about wanting to be on the stone as well, however she knew that Kakashi's old teammates are on there and didn't want to be disrespectful so she bowed her head in respect.
"These are a special are a special kind of hero… They are all… K.I.A., killed in action" Kakashi explained, looking sombrely at the three. A moment of silence was shared between the four before the man spoke up again. "This is a memorial stone. The names of my closest friends are engraved here." Kakashi looked over at the stone once more as another silence was shared.
"Okay I'm going to give you one more chance, but I'm going to make it much harder on you. You'll have three hours to get a bell. Eat lunch now to build up strength. But, Naruto Doesn't gets any. It's punishment for breaking the rules and trying to eat early." Kakashi warned, making the blond growl as the man lied about her trying to eat. "And if anyone tries to feed her, that person will immediately fail. I make the rules, you follow them. Got it?" The man added, attempting to scare the other two off.
Shortly after, Kakashi disappeared, but Naruto could still feel his presence and Chakra in a tree not too far off. She watched as Sasuke and Sakura began to eat their boxed lunches before a growl from her stomach erupted. "This is no big deal, I can go with out eating for days, for weeks. No big deal." She growled irritably due to the lack of food and sleep. Though another growl discouraged her and she hung her head.
"Here." Sasuke offered and Naruto had to look up before noticing the boxed lunch he offered. "What no Sasuke. You can't do that. You heard what he said." Sakura suspiciously said, looking around for the missing teacher. "Kakashi's gone. We need to get those bells as a team. If Naruto's hungry, then she'll be weak and ineffective. That hurts the team and jeopardies the mission." The Uchiha explained, causing Naruto to inwardly growl at the comment.
It was then that Sakura offered her lunch saying that she was on a diet before quickly lying about not needing as much food. "I can't move my hands, you'll have to feed me." Naruto admitted, causing Sakura's eye to twitch in frustration. With a little encouragement, if it could be called that, Sakura used her chopsticks to feed Naruto while muttering under her breath that she was glad Naruto wasn't a boy.
"You! You broke the rules. Now I hope your ready for punishment." A seemingly pissed off Kakashi warned before quickly going through some hand signs. Some dark thunderclouds seemed to appear out of nowhere and if Naruto had to guess, it was a Genjutsu. "Now. Any last words?" The man demanded.
"But you… Said that there were three of us, and that's why…" Sakura quickly interrupted, quickly being unable to find the right words as to why she did what she did. Naruto was having a hard time keeping her mouth shut, but was glad Sakura said what the blond had wanted to say. "We're all on this squad and we're all in it together." Sasuke finished for Sakura. "Yea that's why they gave their lunch to me. Because the three of us are one." Naruto added, unable to stay silent. "The three of you are one? Is that your excuse?" Kakashi asked darkly. "Then… You pass." The man added after no one interrupted him. When the three looked at him dumbly, he repeated that they passed.
"You're the first squad to succeed. The others did exactly what I said and fell into every trap. They couldn't think for themselves. A ninja must see through deception. In the ninja, those who break the rules are scum. That's true, but those who abandon their friends are worse then scum." Kakashi explained, glad that at least one team was able to pass his test. "The exercise is over. Everyone passes. Squad Seven starts its first mission tomorrow." The man announced, posing similarly to the green beast of Konohana, a probable side effect of the eternal rivalry that they shared.
While Sasuke and Sakura walked off with Kakashi, Naruto struggled to free herself from the post she was tied to. "I knew they'd do this! It happens every time! You guys forgot to untie me!" Naruto screamed at Kakashi and the others. With a growl of frustration, she pulled a Kunai out of her hip pouch and managed to cut the ropes to set her self-free. "Kakashi is going to pay for this." She grumbled, trying to think of a good way to get the message across. The idea of attaching his furniture to the ceiling came to mind and Naruto smirked at the thought.
Upon arriving at the Hatake household, she let herself in by picking the lock. Looking around and sparse furniture, she smirked. This'll be easier than I thought she told herself before getting to work, starting with the little furniture he had by the entrance to his home.
After a few hours, Kakashi had still to return home and Naruto was glad considering that she'd just finished. Now it looked like Kakashi was crazy. She knew he'd end up being lazy and just use Chakra to walk on the ceiling, how ever, not everyone had as much Chakra as her, nor did most people have a demon in side them but that was besides the point. There was just no way that Kakashi would be able to live completely on the ceiling, especially when it came to sleeping.
Now bored considering that she'd turned Kakashi's upside down, Naruto decided to head to the library to see if there were any new books on Fuuninjutsu. Upon arriving, she noted that very few people were around and the librarians seemed distracted. Good she thought to herself as she headed towards the Jutsu book, more specifically, the books on sealing.
Ever since she'd discovered the complex seal on her stomach, Naruto had become fascinated by the sheer beauty of the seal; not knowing at the time that it was holding back something deadly. She sighed at the few books she saw on her favoured subject, but picked out a newer looking one and headed to one of the tables. As she sat, she heard whispering. Straining her ears, Naruto listened in on the almost silent conversation going on behind her.
"Go on Tenten. I'm sure she's not being serious about the book but rather youthful. You should go over and ask." A young, yet some how matured voice whispered. How a voice could be both young and mature sounding was a mystery to even her. Maybe I could ask a Nara or something She thought to herself before being interrupted by a girl, barely older than herself.
"Um. Hi, I'm Tenten and I was wondering if you were using that book on Fuuninjutsu." A rather feminine voice came from beside her. Naruto cocked her head and looked at the girl. She had brown hair in two buns, brown eyes, and slightly tanned skin. With another over all glance at the girl, Naruto guessed that Tenten had a civilian back ground, as no notable features of any clan were visible.
"I'm sorry, but I'm learning Fuuninjutsu currently. There other books, so I hope you don't mind me using this one." Naruto replied politely, guessing it would be best to stay on the girl's good side for now. Tenten looked at her in confusion, noting the advanced level of sealing the book was on. "It's alright. I just wanted to see if there was a way to increase the capacity of the seals in my scrolls." Tenten admitted and Naruto smiled.
"I might be able to help you with that." Naruto offered after a moment's thought. Befriending ninja her age would be beneficial for the future, and it was a bonus that they didn't know about the nine-tails inside her. Tenten smiled before pulling out several concealed scrolls and sitting down next to Naruto.
Examining the seals, Naruto realised that they were rather basic. "Would you mind getting me some ink and a brush?" She asked Tenten, who eagerly nodded before getting up to look for the required tools. Upon returning, Tenten handed a new set of ink and brushes, making Naruto smile. She'd never really had the chance to work with new tool considering everything she buys is second had.
By the time Naruto had finished recreating the seals, Tenten seemed to have lost the ability to speak. "Finished." Naruto confirmed in an attempt to pull her new friend from a trance. "I've never seen seals like these before." Tenten admitted sheepishly. "It's because I redesigned the storage seal for my own purposes. These should increase carrying capacity by up to 60 per cent while reducing Chakra costs by 20 per cent." The blond explained scratching the back of her head.
"What are these Tenten?" A polite voice asked and Naruto looked up to see a boy about the same age as Tenten but with the Byakugan meaning that he was apart of the Hyūga clan. "Well their better storage seals made by Naruto here." Tenten explained to the boy. The Hyūga boy took one quick look at the seals before turning to the blond. "I am Neji Hyūga, a member of the Hyūga branch family." The boy introduced himself and Naruto's eyes widened by a fraction, knowing of the birdcage seal that was placed on all branch members.
"What's this youthful gathering going on over here?" Another boy, though dressed in hideous green spandex one piece, interrupted. "Oh Lee, this is Naruto and she's helped me with my seals." Tenten admitted. Naruto smiled at the boy and ignored the look of admiration in Lee's eyes. "This is great and all, but Tenten, do you mind doing me a favour?" Naruto asked, turning to the brunette sitting next to her. "Sure, what do you need?" The girl asked.
"Well you see the librarians don't really like me and don't let me borrow books. Could you borrow this one and a few others for me?" The blond asked, hoping her new friend would agree. While Neji looked at her with suspicion, Tenten nodded her head and Naruto smiled with relief.
After picking out some other books on Fuuninjutsu, Tenten borrowed the books and gave them to Naruto. "I can't thank you enough for borrowing the books for me." The blond thanked to which Tenten replied by saying that it was nothing. When Team Gai, as she learnt the team was called, she turned and headed to her apartment in order to learn more advanced seals.
By the time night fell, Naruto was well on her way to creating a new seal that could transfer one's life energy to create an infant. How ever, it can only be used on someone who was mortally wounded or close to death. By mixing the DNA of the user and the recipient, it created an infant that could then be given to some one who wanted a baby. She was at least 85 per cent done with it. The seal could in theory be used in its current state, how ever, it would require lots of Chakra from the user and the seal would appear on the child. Not something a child wants to grow up with, knowing from experience.
Heading to bed, she decided that she was done for today and could finish the seal tomorrow before briefing the Hokage on it's creation before it'll inevitably be listed as a forbidden Jutsu. Before sleep full took hold of her, she briefly wondered if it would ever be used in the future by some one. She wondered if this seal had already been created, could she have had a sibling?