A/N: Chapter 7 is here! Sorry that it has been taking a minute for me to write this. I was not able to get onto the computer for a few days. But everything is working well now, and I will try to start updating much faster from now on.
Chapter 7: Return of the Dreaded Survival Exercise!
The sun had long set on the campsite of the group. The sky was now colored black, decorated with thousands of white stars and a large half moon. Everyone was laying out their sleeping bags around a roaring campfire. It was close to 9pm yet, despite their long day, no one had dozed off yet. Tazuna was sitting on top of his dark green sleeping bag, eating a little more of the inarizushi. Sasuke was lying on top of his dark blue sleeping bag, with his arms behind his head, looking up at the stars. Naruto was digging through his bag, trying to find something to entertain himself while Kakashi sat on the ground, with his legs crossed, reading his favorite little book. Hinata was the only one who was distanced from the camp. She had offered to take the first watch, even though no one was asleep yet. She was about 40 feet away, leaning against one of the trees, staring up at the sky, replaying her memories of everything that had taken place that day.
So this wasn't just a simple C-ranked mission after all. Even though we said we'd stay…would we really be able to fight off another enemy ninja? What if they send someone stronger next time? Hinata remembered how powerful the two chunin who attacked her were. She even remembered the two chunin who had attacked Hanabi at the festival. Although the genin had taken out one, the other nearly killed her and everyone else. If Kakashi sensei and the other jonin hadn't been there, they'd all be dead. Hinata remembered the fear she felt as the life was choked out of her body while her sister was about to be kidnapped. And again she remembered how she had temporarily became frozen with fear when the two ninja brothers had first attacked Tazuna and seemingly killed Kakashi. To think that we're going to be fighting more people like that… Hinata began to tremble a little as she felt a terrible pit of fear arise from her stomach. I don't think I can do this... It was at this point that Hinata recalled the words of a seemingly cold-hearted teammate of hers.
"Getting over emotional never helped anyone…"
Hinata stopped her trembling as she recalled her conversation with Sasuke. That's right…I can't let anyone down. I'm a ninja now…I can't let fear get in my way! If the enemy is strong…then I'll just have to become stronger…and train harder! The Hyuga girl became filled with determination.
"Hinata." Kakashi called.
Hinata turned around to face her jonin who was waving his hand, motioning for her to rejoin the rest of the group. She hurried over towards the camp.
"What is it?" She inquired.
"I was planning to talk to you all in the morning, but since no one can sleep, I guess now is better than never." Kakashi said, standing up.
"What's going on?" Naruto asked.
"As you are all aware, the nature of our mission has changed. This no longer a C-ranked mission, but an A-ranked one, where death is highly probable." He paused for a moment to observe the tensed faces of his genin team. "However, we won't abandon the bridge builder now. We will continue this mission, but we won't just be defending him from 2nd rate robbers. We'll be defending him from Chunin and Jonin, elite ninjas with deadly skills. Though I realize that all of you are genin, and new ones at that, I do believe that you are all more than capable of getting through this alive. Though it will NOT be easy. So I've decided to give you a little training while we're here, to help you all improve your fighting skills and work better as a team."
"Training?" Naruto's face lost all tension, as he grinned, becoming suddenly excited.
"What kind of training?" Sasuke inquired.
"Your favorite kind." Kakashi said cryptically as he let out a dark chuckle, causing the three genin to tense up again. The last time their sensei laughed like that, it meant bad news. "We're going to do a survival exercise."
"W-We're going t-to have to try and…t-take something from you again?" Hinata spoke nervously as she and her teammates all shivered, thinking about the painful beat-down they had received while trying to steal those bells from Kakashi during their first survival exercise.
"No, no. I won't be fighting you." Kakashi closed his eye, in a smiling manner.
The three of them released a huge sigh in relief, perhaps too soon.
"You will be fighting each other." He stated bluntly.
"!" All of their eyes widened at this.
"Wait, what?! But didn't you say that we needed to work better as a TEAM?!" Naruto shouted.
"I did."
"But then why…?"
"Teamwork IS important. Allied ninja must be able to cooperate with one another while on the battle field. However…teamwork is only half the battle. It is equally important that you all hold your own individual skills. Not only that, it's much easier for you to come up with team strategies if you know what your teammates are capable of." Kakashi explained.
"But shouldn't we save our supplies and energy in case of enemy attack?" Sasuke stated.
"That's why I'm here."
"B-But what if one of us gets…seriously hurt?! W-What are we going to do if…if one of us accidently takes a kunai somewhere deadly?" Hinata added, her voice a little shaky.
"Don't worry, you won't be using weapons. This exercise is strictly ninjutsu and taijutsu." Kakashi said.
"Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, huh?" Sasuke smirked. No doubt he was confident that he'd be able to best both of his teammates in either category.
"I was barely paying attention when I fought you all during the bell test, mostly because I doubted that you three would even pass, so I'm not entirely sure of all of your abilities myself." Kakashi confessed. "This free-for-all battle will not only serve as a way for you all to understand each other better, but also for me to confirm everything that I do know about you and for me to learn new things about you: your battle habits, your weaknesses, your strengths and battle range, and most importantly; your ability to control your chakra under harsh conditions."
Naruto scratched his head. "Control our chakra?"
"Chakra control is the ability of a ninja to maintain a certain level of chakra while using any jutsu." He explained. "To perform a jutsu, a certain amount of chakra is required. For example, to create a shadow clone, roughly 5 percent of your chakra is required. Five percent is exactly how much energy is needed for the jutsu to be done correctly. However, many people, even advanced ninja, are incapable of using ONLY 5 percent of their chakra to perform this jutsu. Do you know why?"
"Um…"
"It's because…many ninja lack the ability to properly concentrate chakra. They lack chakra control." Hinata answered.
"Correct."
"I don't get it…" Naruto moaned.
"You will, sooner or later. Don't think about it too hard for now. This battle is just to see where you all stand. While I expect you to do your best, I don't want you to kill each other. Once you run out of chakra, that's it for you. So try to conserve as much energy as possible while you're fighting."
"But…what about mister Tazuna?" Hinata asked, weakly hoping that she could stay behind and avoid getting involved in this type of training.
"I will stay here with Tazuna, while I have a clone of mine examine you all."
Hinata lowered her head slightly as her last effort to avoid this fight had failed.
Noticing Hinata's nervous state, Kakashi placed his hand lightly on the top of her head. "Don't worry, Hinata." He began to speak in a comforting-fatherly tone. "I know that Sasuke and Naruto are weak and that you don't want to hurt them…but they'll have to man up sooner or later." He finished jokingly.
"Kakashi-sensei!" She raised her voice as the jonin simply chuckled.
Hesitantly, she glanced over at her two male teammates who were all of sudden looking at her with killing intent.
Their man-hood had just been challenged.
A drop of sweat trickled down the side of the pale-colored Hyuga's face. Now they're really determined to fight…thanks a lot sensei!
Kakashi closed his eye in a smiling manner. "Now…hand over your weapons and we'll head to a different clearing."
A few moments later in a large forest clearing, not too far from the camp…
The three members of team 7 all stood in a perfect triangle in the center of the clearing, each of them were an equal distance from one another. Kakashi-clone was leaning up against a tree on the sidelines, observing his students as they all silently examined each other.
I really don't want to hurt anyone. Hinata thought as she looked over at Naruto. But…I can't afford to hesitate when it comes to a fight anymore. Especially while we're on THIS type of mission. I have to get stronger. I have to give it my all! The Hyuga girl shifted her eyes from one teammate to another. Naruto will probably attack Sasuke first. I could join him…then again…Sasuke is pretty strong. Hinata reflected back on their battles. She was the only person on team 7 to have witnessed both of her teammates' fight Kakashi with her Byakugan during their bell test. Sasuke knows how to use advanced fire-style jutsu. He was even able to touch a bell during that test when fighting against Kakashi Sensei. He doesn't hesitate in battle. Even against those chunin brothers… The more she thought about it, the more she hestitated. Now that I think about it…Naruto might be easier to fight. But…Hinata continued to go back and forth in her mind. Unable to decide on a first target.
Sasuke was staring at Naruto who was glaring right back. Knowing Naruto, he'll charge at me head on. I probably won't even need to use ninjutsu to beat this idiot. The only thing I have to worry about is those clones of his. Sasuke remembered how his teammate had once caught him off guard and temporarily overpowered him(Naruto episode 3). He had told himself that he would never allow that to happen again. His gaze then shifted towards his female teammate. And then there's her. She'll also probably attack me since she likes Naruto so much. I don't know much about her. She's pretty sharp with a senbon…but I'm not sure if I've ever really seen her do anything other than that.
First, I'll beat up Sasuke! Then I'll go after Hinata. Naruto thought simply, as he cracked his knuckles showcasing his trademark grin.
They're examining each other. Kakashi observed his three students as they all competed in what appeared to be the ultimate stare-down. Although we have been on several D-ranked missions… before today, they've hardly had to lift a kunai. They've only worked together in battle once during the bell test, but they really didn't get to see each other's jutsu…other than Naruto's shadow clones, that is. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he noticed Hinata settling into a gentle fist stance. I wonder if it was really okay to have her fighting them too. It'll be difficult to see how much chakra they have if their tenketsu(chakra points) get blocked. Then again…it's a chance for her to improve her skills as well.
"CHAAARRGGEE!" Naruto shouted as he rushed towards Sasuke.
He's so obvious. Sasuke prepared himself.
Naruto charged with his left hand wound back, preparing to thrust it forward once he was close enough. He threw his first punch, aimed at Sasuke face, but of course the simple attack was easily blocked. Sasuke caught Naruto's fist with his left hand before countering with a punch to the blonde boy's face. He staggered backwards at the sheer power of Sasuke's steel jab, but he would not be deterred. He charged Sasuke again, throwing more punches. The black-haired Uchiha responded by simply dodging and blocking his attacks, occasionally throwing back a few punches himself. Naruto throws another punch, which leaves him wide open as Sasuke dodges, crouching down to the ground. The Uchiha smirks as he proceeds to counter by upper-cutting the blonde haired ninja, sending him flying back into the air.
Too easy…The Uchiha thought, but he had relaxed too soon as Naruto disappeared in a cloud of smoke. A SHADOW CLONE! The real Naruto was descending from above, preparing to drop kick the Uchiha boy. Having learned from observing his sensei, Sasuke grabbed Naruto's leg with one hand, before spinning him around and releasing his grip, sending Naruto flying back 10 feet. That was close. Once again the Uchiha boy let his guard down too quickly. Hearing the light pat of delicate footsteps, he quickly turned around in time to see Hinata charge at him. She thrust her palm forward, aiming at his abdomen, Sasuke quickly moved his body backwards. She missed him, physically, by an inch. However Sasuke felt as if he had been lightly poked.
Well isn't Sasuke the popular target? Kakashi thought as he continued to observe them.
Sasuke began to raise his leg as he performed a swift round house kick, aimed directly at Hinata's head. But the Hyuga girl was too fast, she threw her upper body backwards, almost bending back into a bridge position as she felt the wind of his kick whistle past her cheeks. Hinata quickly sat back up, having pulled her left palm back, she aimed again at Sasuke's chest. As he turned to face her, she thrust her palm forward, Sasuke raised his forearm to block her hand.
Not a good idea, Sasuke…you want to dodge that attack, not block it. Kakashi shook his head as he mentally noted his student's mistake.
Suddenly what felt like a wisp of air, blew through Sasuke's right forearm. The Uchiha boy's eyes widened as he took a large step backwards, leaping a few yards away from the Hyuga girl.
I hit him! Hinata had resumed her gentle fist position, with her eyes fixated on Sasuke, who was standing up right, beginning to reassess his opponent.
"Tch." Sasuke sucked his teeth, a little annoyed that she actually managed to hit him. She's faster than I thought…and more agile. Guess I won't have time to play around with this one. Sasuke raised his right hand, attempting to gather chakra in order to perform another jutsu. However, he quickly noticed that something was not quite right. I can't feel any chakra in my right arm! It feels entirely hollow. Sasuke remembered the strange sensation he felt when her palm had connected with his arm. She didn't hit me all that hard. Barely hit me at all! His eyes shifted from her fighting stance to her face. Sasuke eyes narrowed as he spotted a somewhat familiar sight. Veins were protruding from either side of Hinata's face, into her eyes, giving her an intense, somewhat frightening glare. He had seen those eyes once before(chapter 2). Sasuke suddenly remembered a few words that Kakashi sensei had mentioned before.
"The Hyuga clan is one of the most prestigious and powerful clans of the hidden leaf village…but they're mostly known for their powerful kekkei genkai, their dojutsu: The Byakugan…the Sharingan was said to have been derived from the Byakugan."
So that must be what he was talking about earlier…the Byakugan. But what does it do? Did she do something to me with those eyes while we were fighting? Sasuke was deep in thought.
Hinata met her teammate's glare with one of her own. She had made up her mind that she wasn't backing down from this fight. He hasn't made any movements. I wonder if he's planning something? In that case, should I attack first? I already know what he can do…and as long as we're mostly focusing on taijutsu here…I may be able to win after all! Hinata took one step forward, something that did not go unnoticed by Sasuke who quickly raised both of his arms up in a defensive position.
Here she comes! Sasuke thought, completely unaware of a certain orange figure lounging towards him in the background.
"GOTCHA!" Naruto yelled as he managed to tackle Sasuke from behind, causing them both to fumble onto the ground. "Uzumaki Dog Pile!" Naruto shouted as he poofed up 10 other clones, each of them adding to the body slam.
I can't believe I let this loser get me! Sasuke cursed himself for not paying attention.
"Ha ha! I got you!" Naruto taunted, as the real him made his way to the top of the dog pile. "Now it's payback time for callin' me a scaredy cat! SHADOW CLONE JUTSU!" The hyperactive ninja shouted as he formed his hand sign, summoning more and more clones onto the dog pile. It was raining Narutos!
Naruto…Hinata giggled a little at the sight of her teammate's unique jutsu.
Off on the sidelines, the Kakashi-clone chuckled a bit himself, as he witnessed the proud Uchiha get piled on by what looked like a growing, orange mountain. He may not be the most skilled ninja. But he's definitely the most unpredictable. The Jonin then narrowed his eye as he became somewhat serious again. Still…Naruto has such poor chakra control. He uses even more when he's all riled up like that. I'm willing to bet that all those clones will disappear, along with his remaining chakra, in less than the next…2 minutes.
Hinata stood there admiring her orange clad hero for a few moments before she suddenly noticed a surge of Sasuke's chakra beginning to rise from the bottom of the dog pile.
All of the Naruto clones began to sweat. "Hey, is it hot in here, or what?"
A ball of flame shoots up from Sasuke's mouth, consuming the Narutos. All of the clones each disappear within milliseconds of each other, in a large cloud of smoke. Lucky for the real Naruto, his last clone took most of the burn damage, though the he still ended up getting launched a couple yards away from Sasuke. The Uchiha boy slowly rose from the ground. He was a bit scratched up now, and had begun to sweat, his breathing was starting to become heavy, though he tried his best to hide it.
That fireball jutsu again. Kakashi narrowed his eyes as he began to examine Sasuke's condition. It still amazes me how such a young genin could be so advanced. Still…even with his clan's affinity for fire, that technique still consumed most of his chakra. It should only take 30 percent of his energy to perform that jutsu, but he undoubtedly used 50 percent or more there. His chakra concentration is a little off. Sasuke seemed to have better chakra control during the bell test. He must be the type that places more energy than necessary in a jutsu when placed under pressure.
The jonin's gaze shifted over towards Naruto, who was laying face up and unconscious, on the ground, appearently the poor boy had landed head first on a small pillow-sized stone after being launched into the air. His orange jacket had a large, gaping hole in the abdomen area, revealing his black t-shirt underneath. The rest of Naruto's clothes were covered in dirt and was scratched up.
Looks like he's done for now. Kakashi concluded.
In mere seconds, Hinata had slipped behind Sasuke, preparing to thrust her palm into his back. However, Sasuke wasn't going to go out so easily. The Uchiha boy jumped into the air to avoid her strike. Then in midair, he turned his body around as he lifted his right leg, preparing to bring it down with all the strength he could muster. Hinata stepped backwards, allowing his heel to strike the ground a couple of inches away from her feet as he lands in a crouched position. Before she could even think about attacking, Sasuke uses his outstretched leg to support his next attack as he swings his other leg, attempting to strike her head with another round house kick. Hinata pulls back her head to dodge the attack, but Sasuke isn't done yet. He then turns around and uses his other hand to throw a quick punch.
He's moving a lot faster than before! Hinata noted as she tilted her head to avoid his fist. She then grabs his arm with one hand. But I can still end this! Hinata prepares to palm her teammate in the chest with her free hand. He smirks at her. At the last second, as Hinata is about to strike, Sasuke rips his arm from her delicate grip, ducking out of the way. She misses, and is left wide open, allowing Sasuke to round house kick her, with his lower leg hitting her stomach. The force of the kick nearly knocks her off of her feet as she slides a few feet backwards, but she is able to stabilize herself within a few moments. Sasuke dashes in front of her, his fist wound back, preparing to uppercut her. But Hinata won't go so easily. She throws her upper body back as Sasuke's fist rises, missing her chin by a mere inch. She then proceeds to flip backwards, creating a bit of distance between her and the aggressive Uchiha.
He's very good at taijutsu…I can't afford to hold anything back. Hinata resumes her gentle fist position.
Sasuke stands up straight. She's harder to hit than Naruto, but she's not untouchable. Sasuke cracks his knuckles. I don't have much chakra left…not enough to do another fireball. It's probably better to finish this using taijutsu.
He's going to try and fight Hinata in hand-to-hand combat. Not a good idea. Kakashi knew how this was going to end.
Sasuke attacks first, confident that he can overpower the Hyuga girl. He attacks aggressively, throwing punches and kicks of all kinds and at different angles. Yet, not one of his attacks connect as Hinata manages to dodge all of them, while countering with her own light-handed strikes. Sasuke gets palmed lightly in his abdomen, upper right thigh and his left shoulder. Each blow felt like he was getting hit by a pillow which carried a light gust of wind. Hinata's light handed strikes barely fazed the Uchiha boy, who simply brushes them off at first. But then suddenly, Sasuke feels his body failing him as his strength begins to deteriorate slowly.
What is going on with me? She is barely even hitting me, yet why does it feel like something's not quite right here? Sasuke was now just barely dodging Hinata's attacks. He was completely on the defense, as he had lost all of his attacking energy. He was steadily being pushed back by Hinata's relentless strikes. Sasuke began to take the Hyuga's strikes more seriously he went out of his way to dodge his teammate's open handed attacks. Something's not right here… He thought to himself as he wondered about her unique fighting style. However, during his thought process, the Uchiha had let his guard down for one moment.
I see an opening! Hinata narrowed her eyes as she aimed her palm towards Sasuke's head.
Crap! Was all the Uchiha boy could think as he saw Hinata's hand getting closer and closer to his face with each passing millisecond.
*Grip*
An inch from Sasuke's face, Hinata's palm was halted as her wrist was being held in place by Kakashi.
"I think that's enough for now." He said.
"Kakashi sensei…" Sasuke stared at him wide eyed, still amazed by the Jonin's speed.
Kakashi dropped Hinata's wrist. "I'm sure you all have a better understanding of each other's fighting abilities now, and so do I."
"The fight's over then…" Hinata sighed in relief as the veins around her eyes faded.
"But…I thought you said we'd fight until we were out of chakra!" Sasuke protested, his pride a little hurt that he actually had to get saved by his sensei.
"You ARE out of chakra." Kakashi replied. "See for yourself."
"I can't be…" Sasuke attempted to gather his chakra with a hand sign, only to discover that what the jonin said was true. His eyes widened. "What? But…that doesn't make any sense! I didn't use all of my chakra! I'm sure of it!"
"You're right. You didn't USE all of your chakra. But you did LOSE all of your chakra." Kakashi said cryptically.
Sasuke looked at his sensei with a puzzled look on his face, an eye brow raised, clearly not understanding his words.
"Well, anyway." Ignoring Sasuke's stare, Kakashi closed his eye, in a smiling manner, and placed his hand on top of Hinata's head, patting her lightly. "Good job Hinata. You performed excellently."
"I…did?" She blinked, not used to people complimenting her on her fighting skills.
"You maintained your chakra control the entire time while you were fighting, and even now you still have more than half of your chakra left. That kind of control is far above the average genin and even Chunin. If you keep training, you may even surpass me one day."
"T-Thank you...Sensei." Hinata's cheeks blushed red in embarrassment. She wasn't used to such kind words coming from anyone other than her sister. Hinata was so used to her father criticizing her every mistake when she fought, compliments were completely foreign to her.
Meanwhile Sasuke is starting to become upset, his irritation was becoming visible on his face. He wasn't used to losing, and he wasn't used to not understanding HOW he lost. It annoyed him even more that Kakashi was not explaining himself after saying such cryptic words earlier. If he were Naruto, he'd be yelling and throwing a tantrum right now. But he's not and refuses to do anything like that loser. Instead he shoves his hands into his pockets, attempting to salvage what's left of his broken pride, and begins walking back towards the camp alone.
Hinata tilts her head slightly, caught off guard by his sudden movement. "Sasuke?" She said softly.
"Going for a walk." He replied bluntly as he continued to walk away without facing anyone.
Somebody's upset. Oh well…he's got to get used to losing some times. Kakashi shrugged to himself. Although…he walked off before I could explain anything to him. I guess I'll have to talk to him about it tomorrow's. And Naruto too…The jonin's gaze then shifted down towards the unconscious Uzumaki who looked as if he was just sleeping. Kakashi grabbed Naruto with one arm, carrying him like a suitcase. "Alright, Hinata, let's head back to the camp, shall we?"
With Sasuke…
Sasuke had been walking around the dark forest for about ten minutes on his own. While the quaint silence was usually comforting to him, it failed to distract the young ninja from what was really bothering him.
"You're right. You didn't USE all of your chakra. But you did LOSE all of your chakra"
"You maintained your chakra control the entire time while you were fighting, and even now you still have more than half of your chakra left."
Kakashi's words echoes through Sasuke's head. I know for a fact that I didn't use all of my chakra. I should have had plenty left over and yet… He froze in place as he looked down at his hand. My arm still feels numb…so does most of my body. Sasuke touches his hand to his left shoulder, where Hinata had hit him. He remembered her strikes, how lightly she had touched him, yet each strike carried a gust of wind that felt like it blew right through his body. Kakashi said that she had a little over half of her chakra left over. So she must have been using her chakra when she attacked me. But why? The Uchiha boy was starting to become frustrated as he couldn't figure this girl out. Why does she fight in that strange stance? What is the Byakugan and how does it work? Is she able to drain chakra and if so, how? I never knew that much about Hinata to begin with. But even still…it's frustrating when someone over powers me like that and I can't even figure out how she did it! Was she always this strong? She never stood out at the academy, her grades were decent and class performance was good...but nothing extraordinary. The Uchiha clenched his fists so tightly, they turned white. He hated not understanding anything. He hated being clueless.
The Uchiha boy was used to being the strongest and the best. He did not want to admit that either of his teammates might be catching up with him or may even be stronger than him. Sasuke had already made it up in his mind that both of his teammates…and all the other genin graduates, were beneath him in every way. And yet, even though it was only for a moment, Naruto managed to overpower Sasuke, and Hinata would have likely defeated him if that fight had continued. Each second he thought about it, he grew angrier and angrier. I refuse to accept this! I am Sasuke Uchiha, and I don't lose. It was a stupid training exercise, that's all it was. I wasn't even taking it seriously. Having pacified his pride with denial, Sasuke forced his hands back into his pockets, before deciding to head back to camp.
The Next Morning…
"WHAT?!" Naruto screamed in his jonin's face. "What do you mean I got knocked out?!"
Despite being the first person to "fall asleep" the night before, Naruto was almost the last person to wake up in the morning. Of course Naruto was clueless about what had happened and how he lost consciousness so, to avoid playing 20 questions with Naruto later, Kakashi decided to tell him everything that happened during their exercise the night before. However, the jonin was beginning to regret his decision.
"Ay, kid!" Tazuna groaned as he rolled out of his sleeping bag. "Do you have to be so loud in the morning?!"
"How could I let myself get knocked out by Sasuke?!" Naruto ignored the older man's words as he continued to throw his tantrum.
"Technically…you were knocked out by a rock." Kakashi corrected.
"THAT'S EVEN WORSE!"
"Even if that rock wasn't there you would have still lost, loser." Sasuke said cooly as he stood with his hands in his pockets.
For once, Naruto decided not to lash out at Sasuke, for he now had the perfect come-back to Sasuke's insult. "Well look at you talkin' all big. But weren't you the one that had to have Kakashi sensei SAVE you from Hinata?"
The troublemaking genin grinned as he saw Sasuke's eye begin to twitch in irritation. "He intervened on his own because I was out of chakra…" the Uchiha spat through his teeth. "…I would have finished the fight if he would have let me."
"Oh whatever…you're just mad cause you got beat by a girl!" Naruto taunted.
"At least I stayed conscious til the end!"
"Was that before or after Hinata kicked your butt?"
"Shut up, you loser!"
Kakashi clapped his hands together twice as he appeared in between Naruto and Sasuke, preventing what would have been an inevitable fight. "Girls, girls…you're both pretty. Now cut it out."
Sasuke and Naruto glared at their sensei, and then at each other, both of them holding their tongue.
"Now Naruto...I told you all of that so that you could learn more about both Sasuke AND Hinata's fighting styles, in order to work better with them as a team." Kakashi said, looking down at the blonde-haired terror.
"Speaking of which...I have something I want to say to you all about what I observed last night. Hinata!" Kakashi called out to his female student, who helping Tazuna fit his sleeping bag back into his pack.
"Yes sensei?" She responded.
"Come over here for a minute."
Leaving Tazuna away for a moment, Hinata wandered over towards the rest of her squad, noting Sasuke's obvious glare towards her.
"Now from what my clone has witnessed...you all have varying levels of chakra control and you all have troublesome battle habits that don't help. Naruto. You have the worst chakra control out of everyone in this group. And you have absolutely NONE when you get riled up. You shouldn't allow yourself to ever get cocky to the point where you feel it's alright to go all out just because you obtained the upper hand in a fight. You weren't just knocked out by the rock, your body was almost completely devoid of chakra and all because of a simple shadow clone jutsu. You also have a bad habit of rushing into battle without thinking. That could certainly get you killed one day."
Kakashi turned his head towards the Uchiha. "Sasuke, your chakra control is about what I'd expect for an average genin, but you still need work. Like Naruto, you allow yourself to become over confident in battle. You think so little of your opponents that you prematurely lower your guard, giving your enemy a possible opening. Unless you know everything about your opponent, never assume that you can wipe them out with just a few blows. Also, you seem to have a habit of using more chakra than necessary whenever you're in a bind. You all of people should know how important it is, to keep your cool in battle."
And lastly..."Hinata. Your chakra control is the best of this group. You were able to use and maintain your chakra effectively and you were the only one to come out of this training with most of your chakra left over. However, you do have some flaws. Your problems are the opposite of Naruto and Sasuke's. You lack confidence in yourself and therefore you hesitate and hold yourself back in battle. You need to learn to be more aggressive, or that hesitation may kill you one day. Having no restraint is problem, but so is having too much restraint. Remember that you all."
The three genin nodded as they somewhat accepted their sensei's criticisms with mixed feelings.
"Now that you all have witnessed each other in battle and are more in-tune with each other's abilities, it will be easier for you all to work together as a team the next time we face an enemy."
While Kakashi continued to talk with his students, a shadowy figure watches the team of ninja converse from a distance. The figure takes note of the jonin, almost immediately recognizing him. No wonder the demon brothers failed in their mission. Kakashi of the Sharingan is with them. He thought as he readied his weapon.
Kakashi immediately tensed as he sensed a pair of murderous eyes. Killing intent?He turned around just in time to see what looked like a spinning, human-sized butcher knife hurling towards Tazuna. "Everyone! Get down!" Kakashi ordered. Everyone immediately bends down on the ground allowing the giant blade to whip by.
Shuck!
The sword finds itself partially embedded inside a nearby tree across from the group. Everyone raises their head toward the sword, just in time to witness its wielder appear, standing on the giant blade's long handle. It was a tall man wearing nothing but pants, leg and arm warmers with ninja sandles and bandages covering his face. His muscular back was bare and was facing the group, although his head was turned around just enough for the man to glare down at his opponents.
"You..." Kakashi said as he narrowed his eye. A sign that he certainly recognized this mysterious attacker.
"Another assassin?!" Sasuke thought aloud.
"What's with that sword!?" Naruto exclaimed, almost in awe of the giant decapitator.
Kakashi took a few steps forward. "Zabuza Momochi…rouge ninja of the village hidden in the mist. Am I right?" He began to speak in an unusually serious tone.
Zabuza chuckled a little. "It seems I've become quite famous if even leaf village ninja know about me. I feel all special now." He raised his head a little. "Then again…I'm not the only celebrity here. Isn't that right? Kakashi of the Sharingan Eye."
Sharingan? Sasuke's eyes widened slightly as he glanced over at his sensei's back.
"Looks like you already know what to expect then." Kakashi raised his hand, taking a hold of his headband. He slowly raised his hand, showing his left eye which was identical to his other one, only it was closed and possessed a slit-like scar running over it.
Kakashi's left eye opened, revealing the bloody red sharingan.
"Well, well…looks like I get to see the Sharingan in action." Zabuza mused, as he turned his body around, completely facing the group of ninjas.
"Everyone keeps talking about the Sharingan. But what is it?" Naruto asked no one in particular.
"Sharingan." Sasuke began to explain. "It's a rare form of dojutsu. It allows the user to see through and comprehend any form of taijutsu, genjutsu and ninjutsu, and reflect the attack back on the opponent. Though it has other powers but..." The Sharingan is a dojutsu that only appears in members of the Uchiha clan. My clan. Just how does HE have the Sharingan eye? He's not a relative, as far as I know. Or is he? Do I really know nothing about anyone on my squad?
"Those legendary eyes can also analyze an opponent's technique and copy it down to very last detail." Zabuza completed the explanation before his eyes fixated on his rival jonin. "...Kakashi Hatake, the copy ninja. The man who copied over 1000 jutsu. I've always wondered what it would be like to fight you. Ever since I saw your profile written down in the assassin guild's bingo book. Let's see if you're as good as they say."
With Zabuza's last sentence, the area became dim and foggy as a strange mist began to roll in.
"What is this? It's becoming harder to see." Hinata looked around, beginning to lose sight of her teammates.
"This mist…" Kakashi became fully alert as he immediately recognized the danger. "Naruto! Sasuke! Hinata! Surround Tazuna and protect him with your life! Leave this one to me!" Kakashi commanded.
The three genin immediately surrounded the bridge builder, each with a kunai in hand; Naruto on the left, Sasuke on the right and Hinata in front of Tazunza, a perfect triangle surrounding the elderly man.
"Looks like I'll have to cut you all down before I can get to the old man. Well then..." Zabuza crouched down while still maintaining his balance on the sword. "Let's get started shall we?"
A/N: Zabuza's here! Sorry if you were expecting the Zabuza fight this chapter. But I felt like writing this in, instead. At least there was a fight scene. The next chapter will probably be up shortly after this one. Although its results will be the same as in the original, the fight will be different from how it is in the original Naruto series.
Byakugan can see through mist so…Zabuza's not so hidden after all. Sorry…I couldn't help but make a pun. Til next time!
