I really apologize for not updating for so long. Things just kept creeping up and didn't realize that I haven't put up a new chapter for quite a while. Disclaimer, I don't own Naruto.
Chapter 8
Team
"Are we all accounted for?" At the Hokage tower, Minato had scheduled a meeting in the assembly hall. In attendance were selected jonin of the village. "If so we can begin. I assume that you've looked through the reports that were given."
"Yes and I want to thank you Hokage." spoke up one of the jonin. "I appreciate the opportunity even though I was only recently promoted."
"Thanks aren't necessary. You've earned this opportunity Kurenai." Minato brushed aside. "By the reports, it's clear that we have some promising candidates." The statement was one that all of them could agree upon. "Let's begin."
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Days Later…
"What's taking so long?" At the academy the recently graduated students were in a classroom waiting. Reason being that their former instructors had yet to arrive.
"No need to get all worked up, Naruto." Hinata calmly advised. "I'm sure there's a reason why they're not here. Maybe it has something to do with what happen last night." Only a selected few knew about the incident concerning Mizuki and his apprehension. Why the attempted theft wasn't known but would likely be discovered after he was interrogated.
A few minutes later, Iruka would enter the room and he was clearly showing signs of last night's events. Paying no heed to the questioning looks from the students, he got to the matter at hand. "Sorry for wait. I needed to finalize a few things. Right off, I want to congratulate all of you for getting here. As you may already aware of, after passing the academy you are assigned to a team and given a sensei. I'll now be announcing what they are."
Iruka would list off the teams who soon left to meet whoever their sensei was. Soon only a handful of students left. "Next team is Kiba Inuzuka, Shino Aburame and Sakura Haruno."
Luckily the girl's name was announced last as she didn't react favorably. "No, it can't be. I'm not with Sasuke." Choosing to not respond, Iruka continued.
"Next are Choji Akimichi, Ino Yamanaka and Sasuke Uchiha."
Again there was an outburst as Ino let out a triumph shout. She gave her friend/rival a smug smile that only infuriated Sakura further. "Only thing that would make this better would be if I was on a team with Sasuke and Naruto." Unknown to the blonde, both Naruto and Hinata were silently giving thanks for that not happening.
"Lastly, Naruto Namikaze, Hinata Hyuga and Shikamaru, you're together." The team up was okay with the first two people mentioned but the third was unknown as he was currently asleep in his seat.
Before an attempt could be made, the door to the room burst open and in walked a woman. To say that she stood out would be an understatement as she wore a mesh netted shirt that really didn't leave much to the imagination, long brown coat and a barely legal skirt. Peering over to those there, she saw who she was looking for.
"Namikaze, Hyuga and Nara. Get your butts in gear." The woman started to walk off but poked her head back in when no one followed. "Hurry up or you'll be on the receiving end of a kunai." She followed it by throwing a kunai where it hit mere inches from where Shikamaru had been sleeping. The shock on his face when he woke up was evident. Not wanting a repeat to happen, the three of them hurried out. Silently those who remained were relieved that they didn't have to share a similar fate.
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Since being 'persuaded', the three genin followed the woman. None of them said anything to lower the risk of retaliation from her. This continued as they came to a dango shop where they sat in one side of a booth while the woman sat on the other. It wasn't until she got her order that she got to business.
"So you three were the ones assigned to me." Finishing her first set of dango, she placed the stick in her mouth. "Have to say that I'm not impressed."
"Now wait a minute." exclaimed Naruto as he had enough of what was going on. "What right do you have in treating us like nuisances?" A stinging feeling on his cheek was suddenly felt. Pulling his hand from it he saw blood as the cause was from the woman who threw the stick that she was chewing on.
"Seeing as how I'll be the one to possibly train you give me the right. Name's Anko Mitarashi. Think my reputation speaks for itself. Now let's get to your test." That got confused looks from the three. "What? Did you think that passing some silly academy test makes you genin? After being placed on a team, the assigned jonin gives their own test. Helps determine whether the rookies are worth the time. Tomorrow at 8AM, show up at training field seven. That's when your true test will happen." Taking the remainder of her dango, Anko walked out of the shop.
"This is why I think most women are troublesome." muttered Shikamaru. "I'll see you guys tomorrow." With a small wave he left too.
Following his example, Naruto and Hinata headed home too. "What do you think will happen tomorrow?" the Hyuga asked as they walked.
"Don't know." confessed the blond. "I'm in the dark about this. There have been stories about Anko that I've heard. She has a tendency to be eccentric." Glancing over Naruto noticed the conflicted look on his friend's face. "What's the matter?"
"It's nothing." Hinata tried to brush away the concern but it was proving ineffective. "I'm worried that we won't meet the expectations that everyone has for us."
Placing a hand on her shoulder, Naruto turned Hinata so that they were face to face. "Don't let yourself become doubtful.
Whatever that psycho woman has planned we'll get through it. I promise you that." Apparently those simple words did the trick as Hinata gave him an appreciative smile.
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Next Day…
As instructed, the three genin arrived at the training field. They didn't arrive first as Anko was there, finishing up a little snack. Already they were on guard as there was no telling what the woman might have planned.
"You decided to show up. That's good. Saves me the trouble of dragging your assess here myself." Getting up, Anko stretched to get out any kinks. "All right, as I told you yesterday, those who graduate the academy are given a test by the jonin their assigned with to see if they're ready for the next stage of being a shinobi. My test is quite simple. All you have to do is survive." That put the kids more on edge.
"Relax. It's not what you think." Anko assured offhandedly. "What I mean is that for one hour you three will try not to be caught."
Although already having an idea what this was leading to, Hinata had to ask. "Who'll be after us?"
"Slowly a smile, that seemed somewhat predatorily, appeared on the jonin's face. "Me. For the hour I'll try capturing you by any means, fatal force notwithstanding. If at least one of you has avoided capture by the end of the hour you'll pass." The laid-back attitude the jonin had been portraying left, being replaced by seriousness. "Test begins now." Immediately the three kids got moving.
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Staying hidden behind a tree, Hinata checked her surroundings. Although she could see Anko, it didn't lessen her worry as there was no telling how she might appear. Another concern was that she couldn't spot either of her teammates. Wasn't the first time she berated herself for separating from the others. "Need to find them. Something about this test doesn't feel right."
"You know you really should be using your Byakugan more." advised someone. Turning around, Hinata saw that it came from Anko who had snuck up without making a sound. "It'd help prevent being ambushed."
On instinct Hinata threw a palm thrust but all she hit was air as the jonin easily avoided the attempted strike. Before she could try anything else her left arm was cut by a kunai that had been thrown. Ignoring the pain, she placed her right hand on the wound and started healing it.
"So it's true. You know some medical ninjutsu." surmised Anko. "Good to know. I don't have to worry about treating you afterward." Again the jonin went after the Hyuga. Even using her Byakugan it was difficult to keep from being taken down. "That kekkei genki is impressive. However..." Before continuing, Anko crouched down and swept at the girl's legs. As Hinata fell she was hit with an elbow to the stomach which drove her harder into the ground. The combined assault resulted in her being knocked unconscious. "...it's not unbeatable."
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"Something wrong." sensed Naruto from where he was hiding. "Something must've happen but what?" He considered making a move but stopped when he heard something sneaking up behind him. Turning around he prepared to fight.
"Easy. It's just me." revealed Shikamaru. Luckily Naruto had stopped himself before landing a blow. "You're good. It took me a while to find you."
"What about Hinata? Do you know where she is?" Shikamaru's distraught look was all the answer needed. "Damn it. I didn't think she would get one of us already." Putting aside his anger, the blond focused on the matter at hand. "We got to go save her." He didn't get far as he was stopped by other person there. "What are you doing? Let me go."
"Hold on. I know you're worried but you got to keep a level head." Thankfully Shikamaru's advice got through as Naruto calmed himself. "Good. This isn't something we can do with us halfcocked."
"You're right." Naruto agreed now that he was more composed. "We have enough to worry about as it is." Feeling there was more to that, the Nara boy waited for further elaboration. "I asked around and learned that Anko is known to be...acentric at times and specializes in situations like this. She got the advantage over us in so many ways."
"Troublesome." muttered Shikamaru to the obvious. "Confirms what I expected." This time it was Naruto who wanted further explanation on what that meant. "Think about it. It's as though there's more to this than just avoid capture. Almost as if there's some kind of hidden meaning behind it all and I believe I know what this is about."
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"Okay. Where are they?" After making sure that Hinata was secure, Anko went to search for the other two. She thought it would take some time but something caught her eye. Standing in a small opening was Naruto.
"Now what could he possibly be up to?" Unable to stop her curiosity, Anko stepped down beside the blond though kept her distance. "So you decided to come out in the open instead of trying for a surprise attack. So people weren't exaggerating when they said you're different from others"
"What can I say? I'm one of a kind." Naruto's laid back attitude shifted to a more serious one. "However, I believe you already knew that."
"Oh, you mean that. Yeah I know and who cares?" Anko clarified with force. "That was just something that you were forced to take on. Respect that you haven't let it bring you down. I'm working on a time limit here so let's get things moving."
Respecting her honesty, Naruto agreed with the request. "That's works for me. Don't expect me to go easy on you." That was fine with the jonin as she had something eager smirk on her face. "For some reason that look doesn't promise anything good."
"His assumption proved to be accurate as the blond had to quickly defend himself as Anko closed the distance between them and tried to take him down. Backing up he hoped to have time to think of what to do but didn't have time as he again had to protect himself from another attack. It wouldn't work for long as he would receive a nasty cut to his right hand. Fortunately he would finally able to get some actual distance as it allowed his cut to heal.
"Heard that you had quick healing and this just proves it." Anko remarked as he witnessed what happened. The discovery only seemed to please her as she got a gleam in her eye. "Now I don't have to really worry if you get all cut up." Adding to the uneasiness, she licked some of the blood on the kunai that made the cut.
"Need to change it up." Naruto reached into his pouch and pulled out a small object. Throwing it down it exploded in a dense smoke. Whatever he was going to do it wouldn't be known as he was suddenly stabbed in the back with a kunai.
The surprisingly callous move was revealed to have another reason as Naruto faded away. "Using smoke to hide the switch with an illusion won't work. You'll have to do better than that." Without looking, Anko threw the kunai she was holding and went straight for the blond who was trying to hide in a tall tree.
It was coming at such a fast speed that there was no time to avoid it as the kunai stabbed into his leg. Falling out of the tree, Naruto hit the ground with a thud. When he made no sign of moving, the jonin got a bit concerned. She was going to see if he was okay but he exploded in a puff of smoke and when it went away there was only a log with a crude face with a tongue sticking out drawn out.
"Clever." Anko muttered. Amused by the whole thing she had to laugh. "This might turn out to be more fun than I thought."
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A quarter mile away, Naruto was on the ground, slumped against a tree. He was trying to remove the kunai that was in his leg and after struggling for a bit, he managed to pull it out. Holding back a curse he waited for his wound to heal. In the meantime he tried to assess the situation.
"That was too close for comfort. Good thing I knew the substitution jutsu." Feeling that the leg wound had healed he got to his feet and shook any remaining tension from the limb. "This can't keep going. Need to end this quick."
Before Naruto could have a chance to give it much thought, he was wrapped up by a giant snake. It had coiled so tightly around him that he couldn't get himself free. "Guess I was mistaken." Making her way over, Anko had a somewhat disappointed expression as she observed the scene. "You showed such promise and here you are. Feel disappointed."
Instead of making some type of retort, Naruto chuckled. "Who said anything about me trying to beat you?" Leaving the question out there, he disappeared in another puff of smoke. Anko was confused but started considering what was said.
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"About time you showed up. I was starting to get bored waiting."
"Give me a break. Everything bores you, Shikamaru." Naruto retorted offhandedly. After getting away, he had searched for his teammate. "Tell me that you were able to do your part."
Letting out a sigh of annoyance, Shikamaru cocked his head to the side. "I did. It proved troublesome to do so." Walking over nearby they saw a large tree that had grown at the edge of a small hill with some of its roots poking through the ground. A portion of the ground that was underneath the tree had been removed to create a makeshift cave. Inside of it was Hinata, bound and gagged.
"She's been there ever since I found her. Looks like she's been left unguarded, can't be sure though." Shikamaru informed. "Feels like a trap, doesn't it?"
"Looks like it. I'll go first." Cautiously Naruto started making his way over to his friend. Seeing this, Hinata got wide-eyed and shook her head. She tried to say something but couldn't as the gag stopped her from saying anything.
Nothing looked out of the ordinary until he stepped on a patch of loose soil. A moment later the surrounding ground caved in, causing the blond to fall into the once hidden pit. Another surprise came when it was revealed that inside the pit were bamboo poles sticking up to skewer anyone that fell in.
Luckily for Naruto he kept that from happening by grabbing a pole with both hands and placed chakra on his feet to stick on the side of the two neighboring poles. Shifting his weight he performed a modified handstand before pushing himself off to land safely away from the pit. Whatever satisfaction that he might've had was forgotten by the appearance of someone.
At the top of the cave's opening was Anko. She was sitting on the lowest branch of the tree and gave a small insincere clap. "I'm impressed." Leaning forward she fell off the branch and landed gingerly on her feet. "You keep me distracted while the Nara boy searched for the Hyuga girl. Nice strategy."
"Shikamaru came up with the plan. All I did was put it into motion." Naruto clarified. "Had you going though, didn't I?"
Instead of being angry, Anko actually seemed amused. "That you did. Unfortunately…" Snapping her fingers, two large snakes burst out of the ground and coiled around both Naruto and Shikamaru. Like earlier escape was impossible. Moments later a beeping sound was heard. "…your time is up."
With that announcement, the jonin expected a variety of responses. None of them were the one that she got as the two captured would be genin started laughing. Even Hinata, while the gagged, could be heard laughing. Before any questions could be asked, all three disappeared in puffs of smoke.
"Perhaps you should reconsider your decision, sensei." Walking over were the three kids. "We passed your little test after all." Each of them had a smile as they knew that there was no other choice.
To her credit, Anko actually chuckled. "Guess the rumor of you knowing the shadow clones jutsu was accurate. You couldn't have escaped my first snake without it." She stared at all three of them in an evaluative way. "A deal is a deal. From this point on you're my students." This announcement had shouts of joy from the now official genin. "This might turn out to be very interesting then I originally thought."
You likely saw that I changed the team line ups and I did that for a couple of reasons. Wanted to keep it from being like the cannon and with what I plan to do as the story goes on, it was best to go this way. Would like to say that I'll update very soon but sadly with my track record, I think it's best to say that I'll do what I can to post the next chapter within a month. See ya.
