Disclaimer: Naruto is a Japanese manga created by Masashi Kishimoto. All characters in this story are copyrights of Masashi Kishimoto, Shonen Jump and Studio Pierrot.
The Lazy Uchiha

By Bud

Chapter 6: Failure


Itachi stared lazily at the three genin in front of him. Naruto was tied up against the middle log, Sasuke sitting to his right and Sakura on the opposite side. A pair of boxed lunches sat in front of them. He shook his head in disappointment disbelieving that the three children, who are only five years younger than he is, could me so incompetent.

He heard three stomachs collectively signal their dissatisfaction.

"Oh, hungry?" Itachi rose an eyebrow. "Before two of you dig in, I'll give you the results of this training exercise." They looked at him. "None of you need to return to the Academy, that's for sure."

Naruto had an excited look.

Sakura was confused though. "What? But all I did was faint. Was that okay?" Itachi nodded. "Yay!!" She cheered.

Sasuke didn't look pleased to hear that, though. But he excepted what his brother said, for now.

Naruto squirmed in his bindings. "Does that mean we three...?"

A kunai suddenly planted itself in front of each of them, startling the genin. They each collectively looked at Itachi, suddenly worried at seeing his cold visage.

"You three are better off dead."

"W-what?!" Sasuke stuttered, staring at his brother in disbelief. "What do you mean...?"

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "You should quit being ninja."

"Quit being ninjas? What do you mean?" Naruto protested loudly. "We couldn't get a bell, but why do you have to say we should quit?!"

"Because you three are just children that do not have what it takes to be ninja. Those forehead protectors are wasted on you three."

Sasuke gritted his teeth. He dashed at his brother with a look that could kill. But just as he got within striking distance, Itachi disappeared from his vision and a hand grabbed him by the back of the neck in a vice-grip. He suddenly found himself hauled up into the air and slammed into the ground face first. He cried out as a knee landed on his lower back and his left arm was pulled behind him in a hammer-lock.

"See? And the child throws a tantrum." Itachi stated. "I believe I told you that shinobi do not allow feelings such as anger and hate to control them, Ototo." he said directly to Sasuke.

"Don't treat Sasuke-kun like that!!" Sakura yelled angrily.

Itachi's eyes focused on her. "And who are you to tell me how to treat my brother, little girl?" Sakura immediately shrunk back in fear. He then spoke to all three of them. "Do you think being a ninja is easy?"

Sasuke gritted his teeth, closing his eyes in shame.

"Why do you think we're training by breaking up into groups?" he asked. No answer. "I see. By your silence, you're too afraid to answer. Or you three idiots don't know the answer of this test."

"The answer?" Naruto asked, somewhat confused, and scared.

"That is correct. The answer to this test that would of passed or failed you."

"But what kind of answer to this test could we come up with besides that you are stronger than us?" Sakura said, flinching at having Itachi's gaze on her again.

Itachi snorted. "Geez, is Sasuke the only thing that runs through the huge forehead of yours? Are you three that stupid that I have to point this out to you? Do you not understand why you are placed in a group?"

"So what about three people being in a group?" Naruto asked.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Teamwork."

Sasuke's eyes snapped open at hearing that.

"You mean, cooperate with each other?" Sakura questioned.

"Oh, so there is something in that empty head of yours. But it's too late even if you notice now. If all three of you came at me at once, maybe you could of gotten a bell." He let that sink in. "Oh well, then."

Sakura started questioning him further. "Why do you want use to use teamwork when there are only two bells? If three people work hard to get one, then one person has to take the fall. A group conflict will occur instead of teamwork."

"Of course. That is exactly what I was hoping for. This test tries to put you three against each other. As I said before, I would be making this test hard for you three."

Sasuke struggled against Itachi hold. I knew it! He was using psychological warfare!

"In this situation, we select those who can prioritize teamwork before themselves. That was the purpose of this test... but all of you were pathetic!!" he shouted the last few words. "Especially, you!!" he jerked Sasuke's arm, making the boy grit his teeth so he couldn't cry out.

"Sakura!" Itachi's gaze moved to the pink-haired girl. "You cared more about Sasuke than Naruto, even though Naruto was in front of you and you didn't know where Sasuke was. To top that off, you fainted from two obvious illusions that other genin would of saw as fake. I expected more from someone as smart as your grades describe, but I see I over-estimated your brains compared to your obsession with my brother."

His eyes moved to the tied up blonde. "Naruto. All you did was work on your own. Unlike these two, you came the closest to gaining both bells. I commend you on the use of senjutsu to flank me." Naruto's eyes lit up, but the cold look Itachi was giving took it right away. "But you did not capitalize on your advantage! You were too angered by a little kick to the ass that you allowed anger to take over and wished to extract revenge, while your main objective was dangling from my waist just inches from your hands. We call people like you an idiot."

Itachi shoved Sasuke's face harder against the ground. "And you assumed these two were only going to burden you and did everything yourself. You, of all people, should of realized the purpose of this training from the beginning when you discovered your opponent would be your own brother. You knew the true strength of the opponent before hand and did not take advantage of that. You looked at those two as extra weight, instead of seeing them as pieces of a battle plan." He snorted. "You used your eyes instead of your mind, forgetting everything that I have told you, and that is why you failed, little brother."

Sasuke shut his eyes, tears of shame coming out of his eyes. Damn it, he's right...

"It is true that Jounin out-class genin level ninja. But, it is also true that a group of three genin that work together, that use teamwork, have a good chance of defeating a Jounin." Itachi allowed that to sink in. "If today's exercise was a real battle, all three of you would be dead." He stated firmly, then his voice softened. "...and I would be getting a letter from the Hokage telling me my brother had died in action."

Itachi stood, releasing Sasuke, and moved towards the onyx monument. "Look at this.. the numerous names carved into this stone. All these names are those praised as hero's in this village."

"I like that! I like that!" said Naruto. "I've decided that I'm going to have my name carved into that! A hero! A hero! I'm not going to die a useless death!" he exclaimed, while Sasuke moved to join back with them.

"They were not your normal hero's."

"So, what kind of hero's were they?" Naruto asked. Itachi didn't answer. "So, tell me."

"Men and women who were K.I.A."

Naruto had a confused look. "K.I.A.?"

Sakura looked at him sadly. "People who were killed in action." she said in a low voice. Naruto's face dropped to a sad look.

"This is a cenotaph." He looked down at the monument with respect, and a look of sadness. "The names of some of my friends are etched into this onyx stone, along with others that I have served with or had the honor of serving under." He paused and sighed out loud, looking up at the sky as if looking beyond the clouds.

What would you do, father? Itachi gazed into the sky, as if looking into heaven. He closed his eyes and listened to the wind, as if the words of his father were carried within it's gentle breeze. After a few moments of silence, he once again opened his eyes and turned his head to the genin.

"Since you three are my first assignment, I'll be generous and give you a second chance." He saw their faces perk up slightly. "In the world of Ninja, it is rare to ever get a second chance at anything." He paused. "However, the battle for the bell will be much harsher after lunch, and I will not hesitate to severely injure anyone of you three. Eat your lunch if you are up to the challenge." He turned to leave.

"But! Don't let Naruto eat." Naruto looked upset and Itachi turned back around and narrowed his eyes at him. "That is your punishment for breaking my rules and trying to eat lunch early." He moved his gaze over Sasuke and Sakura. "If anyone tries to feed him, the person will immediately fail."

He ignored Sasuke's attempt at a glare.

-----

Itachi watched from his perch on a tree a good distance away, resting his head on a pillow he kept in his traveling pack. His position was perfectly concealed from the three genin in a way that he could see them, but they couldn't see him unless they were under the tree. His mind furthermore processed today's exercise.

His eyes first moved to Naruto. The boy has a massive amount of chakra for someone his age. To be able to use the Shadow Replication, a Jounin-level technique, he astounding. He shows that he can use his brain from the way he tried to flank me, but he's has to concentrate on what is more important besides showing ones strength. According to what he read on Uzumaki Naruto's file, his grades showed that he was the dead-last student in the whole graduating class, but what he saw today was someone totally different.

Next he watched Sakura. He shook his head just thinking about her. She is a disappointment. If she used that strong mind of hers for being a kunoichi instead of drooling over Sasuke, she would have the potential to be the best ninja in her class. What a waste of a good mind on an ignorant female. Haruno Sakura's record showed she achieved high academic scores but low physical scores. He assumed he would be dealing with a genin that was near the intelligence he had when he graduate. He was sorely mistaken. He would have been better off with Sakura's rival, Yamanaka Ino, but the Academy staff wanted to put together another Ino-Shika-Cho team using the offspring of the original members. What a waste...

And what an idiot, he frowned, watching Sasuke. Graduated with the highest overall score, appointed number one rookie in his class. The only thing that moron lacks is a mind to realize that trying to surpass me is impossible unless you find and surpass yourself. All the lessons that I've taught him when we were younger. The advice a had to force onto him during our troubled times. All thrown out the window in a span of one hour, fifty-seven minutes and thirty-two seconds.

It was like looking into a mirror. He didn't see Sasuke offering his boxed lunched to Naruto, but saw himself in the exact same position when he was younger. He also failed along with his three genin teammates during this bell training many years ago, except he tried to get them to work together. When they wouldn't cooperate, he did like Naruto and went off on his own and retrieved a bell. Yet, he still failed.

They all failed as a team.

He watched Sakura feeding Naruto, noticing the disgusted look on her face of doing such a chore. It was time to act.

-----

Sasuke suddenly felt a cold shiver run up his spine. What is this feeling? Oh no!

"YOU THREE!!!" came a booming voice.

Sasuke suddenly found himself wrapped in rope and tied against the log next to Naruto. On the other side, Sakura was also in a similar state, though she was shocked with fear of seeing Itachi standing in front of them with a katana drawn out.

"YOU THREE...." Itachi's form disappeared along with the rope binding them to the logs.

"..Pass." Itachi finished from on top of the middle log. "I see that you understand now."

Sasuke shook himself, shivering slightly at seeing Itachi with a katana. He managed to nod. "We're a three man team, right? If Naruto is hungry we can't perform at our best for the next test!"

"Yes, that's right!" added in Sakura.

"Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!" shouted Naruto. "That's right!"

Itachi cracked a smile. "That is what I like to hear." He sighed. "I originally come from ANBU, and if there is anything that we stress and take seriously in the ANBU... is teamwork."

He continued. "Ninja need to think beyond the normal. In the world of Ninja, those who break the rules are scum. But to those like myself and my brothers and sisters within ANBU, those who do not take care of their friends, their family, are even worse scum. And sometimes to help your family, your team, you have to break a few rules."

He crossed his arms and smirked at them. "Congratulations, you all have passed the first of many test. Tomorrow, we'll start the real training."

Naruto looked up to him with a happy-sad type of look. "He's... kinda cool."

"Yes, sir!" cheered Sakura.

Aniki... Sasuke nodded, smiling at his brother. I think.. I'll like having you as my teacher, Sensei.

-----

The next day...

Team Seven stood at the red walking bridge that extended one of the many canals in Konoha. It was located a few city blocks away from the Academy and distanced almost evenly between each of their homes. The three of them were standing there with various expressions. One of boredom, one of annoyance and one was just upset.

"Didn't you wake your brother up this morning, Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked the boy who was sitting on the bridge railing.

Sasuke shook his head. "I was up since 6AM and he wasn't in his room. I have no idea were that jerk went." He crossed his arms and grumbled evil things about Itachi.

Naruto stood and started pacing. "Where is Itachi-sensei?? I wanna start training or doing missions! Waiting for him his boring!"

"Stupid, Naruto! We can't do any of those until he shows up." scold Sakura.

Zzzz....Zzzz....

Sasuke slapped his forehead. Flipping back off the railing, he caught his hands on the bridge and hanged there for a moment. He had an annoyed and sour look on his face at seeing Itachi sleeping under the bridge on a hammock.

"Oi, Aniki." he called, kicking Itachi's hanging bed.

"Huh?" Itachi asked, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes. He saw Sasuke hanging from the bridge along with Naruto and Sakura sending him annoyed glares from the embankment. "Oh, you three. Is it 8AM already?"

"IT'S 9:30AM!!!" Naruto and Sakura chorused.

"Oh." was all he said. He turned back to Sasuke with a lazy look, yawning. "You like hanging, huh? What are you, some sort of monkey now?"

Sasuke kicked Itachi, only to cry out as his foot connected with a log. Stupid kawarimi! he thought. He felt a pair of hands grabbing his own and he allowed himself to be hauled up by his brother. "Thanks," he mumbled.

"Anyway, usually teams would start missions immediately, but I don't believe this team is ready for that, yet." he stated, shoving his hands in his pockets and leaning against the bridge railing.

"Huh?! What do you mean, not ready?" Naruto asked. "I'm ready to take on any mission."

"That is what you believe, not me." His eyes moved to Sakura for a moment, making the girl fidget under his glare. "You three follow me. We're going to another location."

-----

Three genin and a Jounin stood in one of the older and less used training areas with Konoha's walls. Though it wasn't used as much as it use to during it's time, the props and equipment remained intact and was still usable for anyone wishing to improve themselves. In the center of are was a large tower made up of four tall wooden post and had ten levels of height. At the top of the tower was a thick mesh wire that was used to get back down to ground level. Surrounding the tower was a long stretch of physical training courses and a course that consisted of many short post on the ground that varied in height, the maximum being four foot high.

"This is where the Konoha Military Police Corps use to train." Noted Sasuke. "Why are we here?"

"I'm glad you noticed this place, Sasuke. Since the force doesn't use this place anymore, it is open to all who wish to training their bodies. A type of public training facility." he walked over to the training area with the short post, his team following him. "But this place is where you three will learn teamwork."

"Teamwork? But, we already have agreed to work with each other." said Sakura.

Itachi shook his head. "Saying you're going to work together is different from actually doing it. Like with your techniques and body, practicing and training is a good way to learn the techniques faster, become stronger, and so on. By working on your teamwork, you build a bond with each other. A bond of trust that grows as you each learn your strengths and weaknesses."

Itachi waved his hand out to the course. "You'll start working on your teamwork starting today."

"This is the scenario of this course. You are on a D-rank mission transporting a crate of goods from client to client. You have come across river which you are not able to cross using any other means such as bridges or raft. Not even techniques can help you. Your only resources are four planks of various lengths, natural rock formations that protrude from the river surface and whatever you are carrying in your person."

He looked at them. "The river is calm and slow moving, but it is fill with various forms of life including piranha. Since there is no actual river, the sand and ground around the post are littered with various non-lethal traps. The post represent the rocks protruding from the surface. Imaging the scenario and scenery as if you were actually there. The ONLY way you are allowed the cross is by walking on these planks. The use of any type of ninjutsu or genjutsu is forbidden." he smirked. "You are allowed five minutes to figure out a plan before this timer goes off, signaling your start. You are allowed to begin early."

"What about you?" Sasuke asked.

"I will be over there." he pointed to hammock hung up on the fifth level of the large tower. "I will observe the way you three work as a team from up there." He paused. "Also, if anyone of you sets off the trap, all traps will be disabled and you will have to start over again in five minutes. If anything happens to the package, you will have to start over. The ONLY way you will pass this course is to get all three of you two the other side along with the package."

"You have a 20 meter wide river to cross, so get moving."

-----

This is hilarious and sad at the same time, thought Itachi. One hour later, they team was still trying to cross the river teamwork course. He was having a blast seeing each of the three foul up in some way and setting off the minor traps. Seeing Sasuke get blasted by a high-pressure water trap was the big kicker. But he was sort of disappointed that it took them over one hour of arguing and screwing up to get 3/4th of the way across. Idiots.

When the team finished the course and were smiling from finally getting across, Itachi decided to get them working on the next obstacle.

"Hey." he said from behind them.

"AHH!!" Naruto jumped after being startled, falling off the platform and setting off an electricity trap.

Itachi sniffed the air. "Smells like fox. But since Naruto seems to be slightly injured, you'll be starting on the next teamwork development course." He jerked his thumb at the tower.

"That?" asked Sakura, a little worried about the high wooden tower.

"Hmph. All we have to do is get to the top. That's simple." smirked Sasuke.

"Yet, it took almost an hour for you three to negotiate this course. A course that only take a total of fifteen minutes to complete at the maximum." Itachi grumbled.

Naruto crawled back up onto the platform. "But, but, you didn't say the smallest post would be slippery!" That earn him a smack on the head.

"Idiot! I told you three to imagine as if this was a real scenario and if you were in the actual location. Other surfaces that are level with the river level will obviously be covered with slippery moss or wet from the river itself." He rubbed his temples. All three of them are idiots. "Come on. Sakura, help Naruto walk over to the next course."

She looked at Naruto then at Itachi. "But, Sensei, Naruto can--"

"Are you hesitating to help your own teammate?" Itachi asked, his voice turning cold. "It is obvious that Naruto can barely stand after being electrocuted by five different traps. You will help that boy stand and walk to the next course. If not, then lay your forehead protector and ninja gear on the ground and go home."

Sasuke was getting annoyed. "Forget it, I'll carry him." Stupid girl.

"No you won't." Itachi locked eyes with Sasuke and tipped his head towards the course. Sasuke caught onto the signal and grumbled to himself while walking away. "The decision is yours, Sakura. Turn in your gear and quit being a kunoichi, or actually take your status seriously and help the boy." He turned to her and narrowed his eyes. "I would prefer that you quit. I'd rather have that Yamanaka girl on my team instead of you." Itachi ignored Sakura's enraged look. "She seems to be full of spirit all the time... when she's not fawning over Sasuke."

"Sakura-chan! I can walk on my own!" complained Naruto.

"Awww shut up." mutter the pink-haired girl, helping the blonde-haired genin along.

Itachi watched the two of them with a frown. "Sakura." he called out.

"What?!" she snapped, obviously upset at hearing he preferred Ino over her. Damn it!! I'll show him that I'm better than Ino-pig!! thought Inner Sakura.

"Turn in your waist pack, shuriken holster and forehead protector." he instructed, ignoring the shocked look on all three genin's faces. "You have failed."

Sakura let go of Naruto, staring at him with wide-eyed. "W-why? Failed?"

"Teamwork is not just about working together. It is also helping each other." He started ticking off everything he observed so far today. "During the river course, I have counted five times that Naruto has fell into the traps, four of which was caused by you for your lack of attention. Even knowing Naruto would lose balance, you still favored helping Sasuke first even though you knew he could stabilize himself. And then you blame Naruto for making you three start over, when it was actually your fault because of your favoritism."

"Then there is what happened right now. You hesitated in helping your own teammate out when he was injured and then thought of it as more of a chore than anything else. Helping your teammates is never a chore." He narrowed his eyes at her. "Ninja who break the rules are scum, but those that do not take care of their friends are even worse scum. Do you remember that quote, Haruno?" He didn't wait for an answer.

"Drop your gear and leave."

Sakura stared at Itachi with begging eyes. Her mouth moved to speak, but the cold gaze Itachi directed at her was the only answer she knew she would receive from him. With shaking hands, she removed her waist pack and kunai holster, setting the items at her feet. Her hands moved over the metallic plate of her forehead protector. For a brief moment she hesitated.

"Don't, Sakura-chan!!" Eyes moved to Naruto. "Don't quit, Sakura-chan!!"

Naruto turned his attention to Itachi, standing shakily on his two feet. "Itachi-sensei, why does Sakura have to quit now? Why does she have to give up being a ninja when she worked so hard for it? I know Sakura-chan may not be much, but she's part of our team! If we don't have her on it, how can we work properly?! Please, Itachi-sensei! Don't make Sakura-chan quit being a ninja! We need her!!"

Naruto.. Sakura looked at him with tears in her eyes.

Sasuke was equally surprised. That guy.. He looked at Itachi. He's.. smiling?

"That was a lame speech, Naruto." he rolled his eyes at the loud boy, unable to hold in a little laugher. "But, it was convincing enough. Haruno, you have one more chance. If you don't take being a ninja seriously and properly work together with both Sasuke and Naruto, your going back to the Academy."

Sakura looked at Naruto. Naruto... thank you. She removed her forehead protector and held it in her hands, staring at it for a few moments. Looking up at Itachi, she nodded her head firmly and tired the article around her head in it's proper place. Ino-chan, I have to take my status of a kunoichi seriously. I hope you do the same...

That ought to set the girl straight, thought Itachi, glad that his plan was working out. "Your next course is to negotiate up this tower. Your only resources you will have are your bodies, your brain and each other. Like the other course, ninjutsu techniques are forbidden but for this course, your shinobi tools will not be used. You can only move up only after all of your team is on the same level. You may begin at any time."

He walked over to a wooden bench and laid down on it. He smiled at seeing the three of them huddle together and speaking. Not long afterwards, they started climbing the tower one level at a time. Sasuke going up first, then Sakura helping Naruto up for Sasuke to pull up, then both pulling the girl up.

They're starting off on the right track, he thought. But they still have a long way to go.

Itachi closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

-----

As the sun reached it's end and began to set over the western horizon, the sky turned red and the clouds turned orange. Soon night began to replace daylight and the sky was one big canvas dotted with the many twinkling stars. And under this canvas inside the walls of Konoha, two genin were struggling to pace themselves along the inside of the main walls, while they tried to make their third member keep pace.

"Come on, Sakura! 100 more meters! Pick up your knees and move! Come on, it's not time to quit yet!" Sasuke urged on, holding Sakura by her left elbow and pulling her with him while he jogged.

"Hey, hey, Sakura-chan, keep moving. We're almost there!"

Sakura gritted her teeth, taking in huge gasps of breath as her knees pumped up and down trying to keep up with the two boy.

The three of them struggled for another thirty seconds before the reached their goal - a pair of trees with a hammock hanging between them. When they all collapsed from exhaustion, Itachi opened his eyes and watched them as they laid on the ground. Their chest were rising up and down rapidly, gulping air as if it was their last meal. Worse off was Sakura, whose body and clothes were completely drenched in sweat. He could smell the stench of a good day's workout on her.

"That will be all today. Good job." Itachi stated, moving to stand up. He moved over to the tired genin and squatted down by Sakura's head. "It is nice that you are taking being a kunoichi seriously, but that also means you should take care of your body more seriously. This diet bullshit you girls put yourselves though are for civilians. You need to eat properly to maintain a healthy body and to recover stamina faster. That is why you are dead tired instead of just tired."

"H-hai..." Sakura gasped.

"I suggest you eat more protein. A little weight never hurt anyone. Here," he held her hand and helped her up, turning and allowing her to drape her arms around his neck while picking her up into a piggy-back. "Get up you two. Let's go."

"Hey, hey, Itachi-sensei. Why did we have to run along the inside of the village walls six times when you said we'll be working only on teamwork today?" asked Naruto, putting his arms behind his head to help with his breathing.

"Good question, Uzumaki. The running you three just did was double training. You two, Sasuke and Naruto, saw that Sakura was struggling after the third lap. You both started to encourage her to keep moving, even going as far as pulling her along but making sure she was moving her feet. In some situations, you will be running from an enemy and when the pressure seems to become to high, someone will start to lag behind then try to give up. Teammates should encourage each other to never give up for any reason, unless giving up is the only choice left."

"You said.. it was double training?" gasped Sakura. "What.. else is it?"

Itachi smirked. "Your stamina is horrible, Haruno. Your body is light, but you lack muscle and stamina. This running has two benefits for everyone. Good cardiovascular workout and helps increase your chakra reserves."

"Chakra reserves?" questioned Naruto.

"Yes. Chakra is the molding of stamina, physical energy, with spiritual energy. Spiritual energy is nearly unlimited in the human body for it is our very soul and can only be extinguished through death or by natural causes. Stamina is what we use to run, walk, jump and all over everyday things. The more stamina you have, the amount of chakra you can mold increases."

"Basically, Sakura. What Itachi is saying is that your body is weak and you need to train it to keep up with other ninja besides us." said Sasuke.

"Then we should train more!" Naruto suggested.

Itachi shook his head. "There is a limit to how much you should train, Naruto. Constantly over-stressing the limits of your body day by day is actually bad for your health and will promote faster degradation of the body, meaning you'll become weaker instead of stronger."

"Oh.."

"If you are to survive as a kunoichi, Sakura, you will have to learn to train on your own while also training with your teammates. Between missions and team training, you'll have to work on your own individual training on your own." He looked at Sasuke then Naruto. "That goes for both of you."

Wow, Sensei is really smart, thought Naruto. I've learned more in one day that I ever did in the Academy. I just wonder when he'll teach me some cool jutsu. Naruto started grinning when thoughts of standing over a beaten Sasuke entered his mind. Hee hee hee!

Itachi-sensei is so cool. A sadistic taskmaster that likes to sleep alot, but he's so cool! thought Sakura.

Sasuke mentally cheered at seeing Sakura get comfortable on his brother's back. Yes! One less fan-girl to worry about. As long as she takes her job seriously and doesn't fawn over me, I can tolerate her.

-----

After escorting Naruto and Sakura home, the dropping Sasuke off at their home, Itachi headed over to the Hokage Tower and spend some quality time with he fellow Jounin in the Jounin Lounge.

BAM!!

Itachi eyed all the Jounin sitting or standing within the lounge after kicking the door in. He had an passive frown on his face and his eyes were narrowed down. Scanning the room, he spotted a group of Jounin sitting together in one of the corners of the room. Ignoring the greetings he got from his former ANBU brothers and sisters, he moved towards his targeted group.

"Good evening, Kakashi-san, Kurenai-san, Asuma-san." He bowed politely to the three of them.

"Yo." Kakashi greeted, waving a lazy hand. He didn't say anything since his two eyes saw Itachi seemed to be upset about something.

"Why, hello, Itachi-kun." Yuuhi Kurenai winked at him, positioning herself in a seductive pose. "Care to join us?"

Asuma grunted and nodded to Itachi, who nodded back.

"Only for a short moment." Itachi looked at Kakashi. "How did your all female team fair, Kakashi-san?"

The lazy-eyed Jounin shrugged his shoulders. "Failed."

"Ah, I see." He turned to Asuma. "Asuma-san, I have some sad news to report to you about your team's mission today."

Asuma raised an eyebrow. "Oh? And what is that, Itachi?"

Itachi pulled out a folded up list of groceries. "An item on this list was not present when I checked inventory. I have searched all over the kitchen and house and I could not find the bag of chips anywhere." He paused to let that information sink in. "Also, someone seemed to have intruded in the no-go zone within the house-hold, specifically my bedroom. So I'm sorry to tell you that the mission your team accomplished was a failure."

Before Asuma could say anything else, he found himself held by the neck and pressed up against the wall of the lounge. Around the two of them, shinobi and kunoichi seemed to have reacted and pulled our their weapons, eying Itachi carefully. Though those in ANBU, including Kakashi, were not even paying attention to it.

"Also, Asuma-san. If your team happen to come across this mission again, you will refrain from smoking inside of my apartment." he stated coldly, glaring into Asuma's eyes. "I did not appreciate coming home with my brother only to be assaulted by the smell of cigarettes. And I suggest using mouth-wash and brushing your teeth. Your breath is atrocious."

The hand holding Asuma released the man. He watched as Itachi left the lounge, rubbing his neck form being held by the boy. "Damn, that kid is strong."

"And he makes a good point," Kurenai waved her hand in front of her face. "Your breath stinks."

Asuma frowned.

Kakashi ignored them, more engrossed in reading his issue of Flirting Paradise instead of commenting on Asuma's stinky breath.

-----

Itachi stared lazily at Sasuke.

"Where did you get those chips?" he asked his brother.

Sasuke pulled his hand out of the bag and offered it to Itachi. "I took it off the counter when I came into the house. Want some?"

Oh well, at least I don't have to pay for a mission. He sat down next to Sasuke and took up his offer. "Get a good night's rest. Training will continue everyday and we'll start doing missions soon."


End of Chapter 6
Author's Notes:

Another chapter done. This one continues were the last chapter left off.

Someone pointed out that I reused the Kakashi survival training. Partially true, but I made it a little more difficult. Though similar, I also believe anyone like Kakashi, who are former ANBU, would prioritize teamwork over anything else. Besides, I wanted to display one of Itachi's skills.

The training courses Itachi put Team 7 through are real courses within the US Army basic training. The "river crossing" course is done during the Teamwork Development stage during basic. The tower course is called Victory Tower, but there are less than 10 levels.

Why was Sakura singled out by Itachi? Like Itachi told them, he's ANBU. ANBU take teamwork seriously. He wanted Sakura to throw away this favoritism of Sasuke in favor of the team. It will also force Sakura to take being a kunoichi more seriously. Personally, I believe Sakura could of been a better ninja in the series if she and Ino were not rivals for Sasuke's heart.

The last two scenes.. I just wanted to add it in. Af you haven't noticed, Kakashi doesn't have the Sharingan. I wonder why?

Mext is Chapter 7: Missions