I'm back! And now it's summer, so I have LOTS of spare time on my hands! I will now be able to update MUCH mor frequently than I have been.
Poll results from my profile:
Gaara 8
Sasuke 4
Matatabi 4
Shikamaru 3
Other 2
Kakashi 1
Total 22
Aww... So close and yet so far. If I didn't know better, I'd think that y'all WANTED it to be a complete surprise. I know I don't want that, though. I get a sadistic pleasure at watching y'all blindly guess in the dark. None f you could be right and the pairing could be something completely unexpected. Or ALL of you could be right and it could be a reverse harem centered around Naruko. Y'all will never know. Well at least not until it's glaringly obvious who I'm pairing Naruko with. It might take several chapters until I get to that point, just so I can have my fun with this.
My friend CianaTheRabbit thinks that the reviewers here are kissing my ass- her words, not mine- and is preparng to sink her cynical claws into my story. This is going to be interesting, to say the least. And quite possibly humorous.
Itachi's POV
Sasuke and I start off towards training ground 7 to find Sakura waiting for us right outside the compound. She tackled him, but he didn't seem too bothered. In fact, he seemed to be in an unusually pleasant mood today. Sakura continued chattering at him cheerfully, completely ignoring the fact that he didn't care.
I smile contentedly I'd always wanted to be a jounin sensei, but I was always too busy on ANBU missions to have the time. In a way, this was a gift from the Hokage. What could be better than being Sasuke's sensei?
Suddenly, I notice that Sakura has stopped chattering. I look around. We've arrived at the training ground, and we're not alone. Naruko has already arrived at the training ground and has finished warming up. Or rather, she's about to finish her warm up. I signal at Sasuke and Sakura to wait quietly.
Naruko has now completed her little warm up routine. She hasn't appeared to notice us yet and sits down in the middle of the clearing. Is she meditating or something?
To Sasuke's and Sakura's apparent shock, she rises a foot above the ground. A FOOT ABOVE THE GROUND! I activate my Sharingan and watch.
The secret to the trick is that she's using her chakra to push her off the ground. What Naruko is doing is just a simple chakra control exercise, albeit a highly exhausting and impractical one. Her mobility is limited, as it would take a lot of chakra control to be able to change positions without falling to the ground.
Which appears to be exactly what Naruko is trying to do. Except she didn't fall. Or even waver slightly. Naruko laughs gleefully and spins around. The smile freezes on her face when she spots us.
"So you saw that, then?" Naruko asks in a small voice. I nod. Upon my doing so, she visibly deflates. Or rather, she slowly lowers herself to the ground.
"So now that we're all here for team training-" Naruko cuts in before I even have a chance to finish.
"There was training today?" Naruko looks really confused.
"Yes, there was. I sent Sasuke to tell you." Naruko slightly cocks her head to the side.
"That's weird because I never saw him." We all turn to Sasuke. He glowers at us.
"I was going to tell her, but the moment I caught up with her she jumped onto a roof and vanished. I didn't know what happened to her, so I was unable to relay the news to her." Naruko nods in acceptance.
"It's a good thing I got up early to train, then. I might have missed training. But what was it you were saying Itachi-sensei? I kind of interrupted." Naruko grins sheepishly.
"Alright, then. As I was saying. Today the main point of training is to determine your strengths and weaknesses so that we know where to start from. Do any of you know any of your strengths and weaknesses?" Naruko raises her hand.
"I know what my abilities are, and I've watched the others in the Academy, so I know what their basic stats." Sasuke looks over at Naruko critically.
"And what if we held back?" It was a fair point. I mentally applauded Sasuke for pointing it out.
"Good point. But neither of you did. And before you ask how I know, I'll tell you. You are too proud to even consider holding back in class and you often show off to prove to the other students your superiority as rookie of the year. And it probably never occurred to Sakura to do anything less than her best. I will now begin my analysis."
"Uchiha Sasuke. Strengths: Ninjutsu and taijutsu. Has genjutsu potential, but doesn't see what genjutsu has to do with strength and believes it useless. Pretty stupid, considering his older brother is a genjutsu master. Has good chakra control, but it isn't perfect. Has large chakra reserves for a fresh Academy student, no doubt due to frequent training with his jounin brother. Has not yet unlocked the Sharingan, but he should work on speed and reflex training so his body can keep up with his eyes. He's fast, but not fast enough. If I were to hazard a guess on his elemental nature, I would say a primary nature of lightning and secondary nature of fire." So Sasuke thought genjutsu was useless. I'll have to change that. Maybe torture him. Extensively. Until he changes his mind. But Naruko's analysis seemed fairly accurate. I'll have to test his lightning affinity, to see if Naruko is right or not.
"Haruno Sakura. Strengths: Book smarts and genjutsu. Has high chakra control and would excel under the fields of medical ninjutsu if given proper tutelage. Weaknesses: Extremely weak in taijutsu because has wasted time dieting and has spent more time using beauty products than training. As a result is physically weak and has lower than average chakra reserves. Also unsuited to ninjutsu due to aforementioned conditions. Most probable elemental affinities are a primary nature of fire and a secondary earth nature." Good to know. I need to test her current genjutsu abilities just to be sure, though. Not that I don't doubt Naruko.
"Namikaze Naruko. Strengths: Taijutsu, ninjutsu, and Fuinjutsu. Extremely large chakra reserves. Very high speed and stamina. Jounin level sealing skills. Low genjutsu potential because chakra reserves are too high and make basic chakra control exercises, such as the bunshin next to impossible. Primary nature of wind with a secondary of water." She could be exaggerating, but I have a feeling she's understating herself. Sakura looks indignantly at Naruko.
"Why are you making it sound like you're better than Sasuke-kun?" Sakura screeches at Naruko. Naruko meets her gaze and replies evenly.
"The reason I sounded to you like I was better than Sasuke is because I am better than Sasuke." This comeback enrages both Sakura and Sasuke.
"Hn. A dobe like you thinks you're better than me. How about a spar, to put you in your place, like we did in the Academy?" Naruko smirks. Sasuke wouldn't know this expression, but I have heard of it. It's the same expression the Yellow Flash wore before entering a battle field and defeating thousands of high ranked enemy ninja. I'm tempted to warn Sasuke, but I really want to see how this will play out.
"You're on, Teme."
Hiruzen's POV
I am working on the usual mountain of paperwork when I hear a knock at the door. I look up expectantly. Minato walks in with a determined look on his face, and there is a new strength in his eyes. I rub my eyes to make sure I'm not dreaming. He's still there. So I'm not dreaming, after all. Since this is reality, I send a quick prayer to Kami, thanking him fervently and asking that Minato ask what I desperately hope he will ask.
"I would like to resume the role of Hokage. Is it still open?" I chuckle softly. He certainly got straight to the point.
"Yes, the job is still open. You can start right now. Your first task? Paperwork." I grin evilly up at him. Let him do the paperwork for once! I am never doing paperwork again. I'll finally retire and take care of my grandson, never doing so much as one form again! Finally!
Just then, a messenger comes into the room, panting.
"Hokage-sama! The Dem-I mean Namikaze Naruko has stolen the scroll of sealing!"
I've just realized how much I LOVE leaving my chapters off at a dramatic point. It's really fun, actually.
