It was Team 10's day off so Naruto and Kiba had roped some of their friends over to Naruto's place for some fun and games. The old gang of Naruto, Kiba, Shino, Choji, and Shikamaru were sitting at Naruto's table which was loaded with snacks. Naruto grumbled as he looked at his friends, "Come on guys! Why do I always have to be the Battlefield Master whenever we play Battlefields and Bijuus?"

Shikamaru sighed and said, "Troublesome. Naruto, you haven't always been the Battlefield Master whenever we've played B&B. We've all taken a turn being the BM for a campaign. It's just that you're the best BM we have since you're always able to rapidly come up with new ideas or react to whatever dumb shit Kiba tries to do."

At this point Kiba cut in with indignation in his voice. "I do not do dumb shit in our gaming sessions Shikamaru!"

A lazy smirk appeared on Shikamaru's face as he rebutted Kiba. "Oh really, then I suppose your idea to use a level 4 bard to try and lull a level 50 demon to sleep with a rap song? Might I also remind you that your bard character was without his principal musical instrument because an NPC set your lute on fire after a failed attempt to woo the NPC bar owner's daughter?"

Choji stopped snacking to chuckle at the memory and join the conversation. "I remember that session. Didn't Kiba's bard end up getting eaten and we had to spend most of the day trying to find a way to get the demon to regurgitate Kiba. Only, we took too long to secure the vomiting elixir and had to wait a game week for Kiba's character to come out the other end as a level 1 character?"

Shino decided now would be a good time to point out more of Kiba's flaws as a gamer. "Kiba, you typically drive our adventures by causing the party to try and bail you out of mess you cause from our previous efforts to bail you out of a prior mess. Some of this is simply the result of poor dice rolls. However, a large portion was due to a lack of critical thinking on your part. It is generally advisable to not use a fireball spell in a cave filled with unknown gas or to try and steal the evil overlord's amulet of power while the evil overlord is wearing said amulet."

Kiba grumbled as everyone laughed around him. "You all would have been thanking me for reducing the warlord to a wimp if the dice had cooperated." As the laughter died down, Kiba turned to Naruto and spoke again. "All jokes at me aside, you are the best Battlefield Master we've got Naruto. The campaigns are always better when you run them."

Naruto looked at his assembled friends and sighed. Perhaps he shouldn't have used his ability to gain more time to think of responses by briefly entering his mindscape for a few seconds of real time? He then said, "That's just it guys. I do very well with campaigns in B&B. I don't want to be the BM for two reasons. First, I don't particularly feel like being one at the moment. However, the bigger reason is that I don't know how well I'd do running a one shot game session that I put absolutely zero planning in. Things aren't like they were in the Academy when we could schedule sessions around classwork."

That was something that caused all of the young men at the table to frown in thought. Silence filled the gathering of friends at the fact that there were no more guarantees of regular periods when all of them could hang out together. Hell, there wouldn't be a guarantee in the near future that all of them would be alive and healthy in the future. The newest batch of genin was getting closer to their second month in Konoha's forces and there were rumors that C Rank missions would be available to them soon.

Choji spoke up to break up the silence. "I think it would be kind of unfair for Naruto to have to plan everything for a B&B game on such short notice. Besides, we'd spend all day planning the game that we probably wouldn't be able to play it. Why don't we play a game of Anklebiter? Kazuki Takahashi Games has a new variant of Anklebiter that I picked up the other day."

The other guys looked at each other and nodded their heads one by one in agreement. Choji pulled out the deck of cards for Anklebiter and handed it to Naruto. The blonde ninja shuffled the deck for a good minute and then dealt out everyone's starting hands. House Rules were quickly declared and the various players started to use henge to represent the various changes their characters had undergone.

After an hour of play, there was an utterly bizarre array of henges sitting around Naruto's general purpose table. Naruto was currently henged to look like a female bombshell version of himself in fetish fuel armor with an utterly ridiculous oversized spatula on his back. Choji looked like a werewolf. Shikamaru was under an illusion to look like he was wearing a full set of samurai armor. Shino had given himself the appearance of having four more arms and that his body was made of metal. As for Kiba, he had henged to look like his body was wood and one hand looking like it was attached to a flamethrower.

Naruto looked at his friends and said with a smug look on his face, "Okay everyone. I'm fighting a level 17 monster and I've got an attack of 37. Can any of you boost the monster?" The other guys at the table looked at their hands and shook their heads one by one. Naruto's grin grew bigger and he said, "Going once, going twice, and that monster's ass is grass. I now go up a level to level 20 winning me the game."

In the customary manner of the group, Naruto created the illusion of a sign above his head that had 'bow to me bitches' written on it. Everyone else rolled their eyes and sent a quick glare to Kiba who had started this little inane tradition. One by one the friends dropped their henge, got on the floor, and bowed to Naruto with their hands making obscene gestures. Choji was the last one to bow to Naruto since he was in second place. Naruto dropped his henge after Choji's show of submission and said, "Okay guys, what restaurant do you want to deliver to us for takeout? Dinner is on me tonight."

The four friends had a spirited debate for a minute over what restaurant they were going to eat from that night. They soon came to an agreement and Naruto pulled out the takeout menu for the restaurant since it was one of the ones that the group usually chose to go eat at when they were all together. Naruto got everyone's orders, created a kage bunshin, handed the clone some cash, and then sent the clone off to get dinner.


A week after Naruto's house gathering, Team 10 was assembled in the Hokage's Tower ready to get a mission. Fuka led her team into the mission assignment room and over to where she could browse the C Rank missions. Both Kiba and to a lesser Sakura were secretly hoping to have their first C rank mission. Naruto was ambient about the team getting a C rank mission. Fuka's latest test of Naruto's system had confirmed that his reproductive system had matured enough that his bloodline could be salvaged in a worst case scenario.

Naruto was just happy that he wouldn't have to undergo any more tests and that Fuka tested him in the privacy of her house during her later testing. It was nice that she had apologized for letting her distaste and desire to just get the testing over cause her to test him in the field. That didn't make Fuka's actions any better in Naruto's mind, but it did allow him to understand his sensei's actions. Part of Naruto wished that all of that testing could have been handled by a doctor. However, that would have generated paperwork that was vulnerable to theft. It was best to keep everything on a need to know only basis which only meant Hiruzen, Naruto, and Fuka at the current time.

Fuka looked through the listing of missions and then nodded her head. She led her team over to the administrative ninja who was filing the missions and inquired, "Is the mission request C-545-68721 still open?"

The administrator glanced up at Fuka and Team 10 before consulting his list. After a few seconds he replied, "Mission C-545-68721 has not yet been claimed. This mission was sent in by the commander of the 10th Yari regiment of the 3rd Corps, Lord Hitsugaya. Per a 545 mission request, this mission has been verified through proper channels as an authorized mission for another branch of the Fire Daimyo's military forces. This mission is a C Rank mission request for a team of ninjas to assist Lord Hitsugaya in a series of training exercises to be run for his regiment. Training exercises include sabotage detection, scout detection, and assassination prevention wargames. Expected time of mission is two weeks not counting travel time to get to the 10th regiment's base. Will you be accepting the mission?"

Sakura and Kiba were a bit surprised when they heard the administrator read the mission description and they learned what the mission involved. They weren't surprised at the administrator reading the mission description to them. That was something they were used to since it was done every time a mission was picked out from the available list to make sure there weren't any errors. It was the mission itself that surprised the duo.

As her genin watched, Fuka nodded her head and spoke. "Team 10 under my command will accept the mission." The administrator then handed Fuka the mission packet that contained a copy of the mission parameters as well as instructions on how to get to the 10th's base. Fuka gave the packet a quick once over and then stepped out of the way so that the next set of ninjas could put in their mission request. Team 10 was then lead out of the Hokage Tower by their sensei.

Once outside, Sakura spoke up in a questioning tone. "Sensei, I'm thrilled that you think we are all ready for a C Rank mission. However, isn't this a little outside of our team's abilities?"

Fuka shook her head as she looked at the junior kunoichi on the team. "Not for this mission Sakura. C Rank missions like this are a way for the Army to let their new recruits cut their teeth so to speak on their anti-shinobi tactics. A team of say Chunin or Jonin would just simply overpower the recruits to the point that the recruits wouldn't learn anything useful. After the exercises with us and a few more months additional training the recruits might be ready for the B rank version of this mission. That would involve either Jonins or a team of Chunins who specialize in such actions."

Kiba blinked his eyes in confusion and annoyance. "Wait a minute Sensei. Are you saying that we got this mission because these army punks are too pathetic to handle ninjas who are actually suited to the mission?"

Naruto rolled his eyes and then lightly smacked Kiba on the back of his head. "Use your brain Kiba. We're supposed to help the Army out with a training exercise. It's like when the Chunins would spar with us back in the Academy or when Fuka tests us. You've got to start at a lower level or you won't get anything out of your training. This time we get to be the teachers even if we are learning something at the same time."

Fuka nodded her head in agreement and then took over the conversation getting everything back on track. "Okay you three I need you to listen up. We will be leaving tomorrow at 6 am sharp to head to base starting from our usual training ground. I expect all of you to be there ready to leave without delay. You should plan for a several week long mission when you pack your supplies. Also, you shouldn't forget that there is still the possibility of danger for us once we leave Konoha's Han. We will be staying within the Land of Fire and traveling along well patrolled routes so the possibility of danger is low. However, a low possibility is still a possibility and other villages have been rumored to attack rival nations genin teams under the cover of a bandit group to weaken their rivals."

Both Sakura's and Kiba's eyes widened slightly when they heard that rumor while Naruto got a distant look in his eyes. Culling future enemy shinobi forces was no rumor and Konoha was not blameless in that regard either in the past. All of the Hokages had issued such missions to ANBU operatives in the past. The only good thing about that nasty little secret in Naruto's mind was that such missions had steadily decline since Konoha was founded. By the time Minato had become Hokage culling missions had more become missions of opportunity for agents operating in enemy territory on other missions. It was difficult to determine when an enemy team would be at a particular location where such a mission could be pulled off. A botched culling mission could easily result in a village losing a large amount of reputation and missions.

The jonin then said, "You all have rest of the day to prepare for our mission and to relax before we leave. After you've seen to your supplies I recommend that you have some fun. There little chance of relaxing while on a mission." With that said, Fuka left the trio alone to think about what they each wanted to do for the day.


It took Team 10 almost 4 days to reach the 10th regiment's base running at a steady pace from dawn until dusk. Fuka didn't have her students run at their absolute fastest since this was a long distance run. However, even Naruto was winded when the team stopped for lunch and dinner each day. This pace was slowed down to a brisk jog when the team was only a few miles from the army base since Fuka didn't want her team to give a bad first impression.

Fuka gave her students a faint nod of pride as they all approached the entrance guard station of the Army base. Naruto's extraordinary stamina had been given enough of a chance to recover any exhaustion he had been feeling prior to the cool down jog. Sakura had put some of her specialized kunoichi training to use and had used her makeup on the run to hide the signs of her exhaustion. There were signs of how tired the young kunoichi was if one knew where to look and spent a bit of time looking. Kiba had some sweat stains, but he had unsealed his backpack from the scroll Naruto had given him at Sakura's suggestion. He now had the excuse of being the team's pack mule for the day to hide why he looked worse for wear compared to the rest of his team.

The only reason Fuka and her students were concerned about their appearance was because of the professional rivalry that shinobi had with the regular army. It was something that all of the military forces had. Both the Shinobis and the Army had a similar rivalry with the Navy. This was the case in most nations. Sometimes, the rivalry between a nation's military forces was a healthy competition while other rivalries were down right toxic. The Land of Fire's military forces favored the friendly competition side of the spectrum.

There were two guards at the guard station at the base's entrance. One of the guards looked to be in his mid-twenties while the other was about the genins' age and looked familiar to Fuka's subordinates. The older guard motioned to the younger guard who promptly gave his elder a salute. Team 10 watched as the younger guard left the guard station and walked towards them. The guard was wearing a lamellar cuirass over a vest with armored sleeves. On his head was a jingasa that looked to be made from leather. Both the armor and the jingasa were painted in the traditional red and black pattern used by the Land of Fire. His armament was a Yari that he loosely held in one hand and a wakizashi that was in its sheath on his belt.

With a cheerful and slightly enthusiastic tone in his voice, the guard spoke up. "Halt and identify yourselves."

Fuka took a step forward and said, "I am Jonin Asakawa in command of Genin Team 10 of Konoha here at the request of Lord Hitsugaya per Mission C-545-68721 that he sent in. With me are my subordinates Genin Uzumaki, Genin Inuzuka, and Genin Haruno who comprise Genin Team 10. We require entrance into this base and request a meeting with Lord Hitsugaya so that our mission can begin."

A frown appeared on the ashigaru's face for a split second before he nodded his head and said, "Let me check with Sergeant Hojo to verify that you are who you say you are." The young foot soldier then walked back to the guard post and talked with the now named sergeant who was still manning the guard post. The two ashigaru talked among themselves for a few minutes while consulting several clipboards.

Team 10 silently waited for the ashigaru to verify their right to be here. Kiba and Sakura were wondering what on earth was taking the duo so long to do their duty. Naruto and Fuka were wondering if this delay was possibly a power play on the ashigarus' part. It wouldn't be the first time that a member of the armed forces did something to inconvenience someone from a different branch as a minor game of one-upmanship. The best thing to do in that kind of situation, if this was a small power play, was to ignore the inconvenience. If things took too long then a backhanded compliment was a good way to put the offender in his or her place.

Finally, the ashigaru were able to find the notice of the expected arrivals of konoha ninjas. Sergeant Hojo got out of his guard post and approached the shinobi team. The sergeant gave Fuka a respectful bow and said, "Sorry about the delay Jonin Asakawa. Our itinerary had your ETA at some time tomorrow or possibly even Thursday for that mission."

Fuka nodded her head accepting the apology. "That's understandable. We were able to claim the mission shortly after it was posted in Konoha. A little padding is to be expected in the time estimate since one never knows what types of teams will be available when a mission arrives at Konoha. Can we see to meeting with Lord Hitsugaya and then the billeting of my team?"

Sergeant Hojo nodded his head and then pointed to his fellow ashigaru. "Private Rock can see to it that you're escorted to the guest lodging on base. I'll send a message up the chain to notify Lord Hitsugaya that you are here. The commander is supposed to be preforming a major inspection of the armory and forges today so he is not likely to get to seeing you for several hours."

The Konoha ninjas nodded their heads in agreement as Sergeant Hojo went to inform Private Rock of his duties. They watched as the two soldiers quickly and quietly talked for a minute. Private Rock then walked forward and said, "Follow me to your quarters."

Team 10 quietly followed Private Rock pass the guard station and through the outer walls of the base. A quick look at the base revealed that it was the standard setup for a Land of Fire military base. Immediately after the main defensive walls were open spaces that were marked off as training fields. Several of the training fields were occupied with companies of ashigaru that were going through different drills.

Private Rock was leading Team 10 down one of the paths through the training when Sakura asked a question. "Private Rock, would you mind telling me if you've ever been to Konoha or not? It's just that I could have sworn I've seen your face before, but I just can't place it."

A glum look crossed Private Rock's face as he answered Sakura's question. "I'm from Konoha." That statement killed any chance of further conversation between the ashigaru and the shinobis. No one from Konoha started out wanting to join the Army as an ashigaru. If someone had it would have been the talk of the village. The only way Private Rock could end up in the Army was if he washed out of the Academy or was part of the daimyo's tithe. This made things rather awkward for trying to start a conversation.

Shortly after the conversation died, the group of shinobis' with their escort exited the training zone and entered the area of the base where most of the buildings were located. The group was escorted past several rows of barracks and led down a path that led to small houses with tiny front yards. Both Sakura and Kiba were a bit surprised at this sudden change in the base layout. However, both Naruto and Fuka knew that they were now in Samurai country. As befitted their station as officers in the army, the samurai had their own private homes where their families lived. Several young children could be seen playing in a few of the yards.

The shinobi were lead to one of the smaller houses closer to the training fields. Private Rock turned to Team 10 at the front of the house and said, "This is the guest quarters that has been set aside for you while you are on your mission." He then pulled out a key and handed it to Fuka. Once Fuka had the key he pointed down one of the roads. "The Commissary is that way three blocks on your right. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to return to my post."

Fuka nodded her head and said, "Understood Private Rock. We can handle things here for ourselves. You are dismissed and may return to your post." Private Rock gave Fuka a salute and left the team in front of their quarters for the next week.


Sakura cheerfully hummed to herself as she lathered up her hair in the shower which was perfectly hot and steamy. Getting from Konoha to this base had taken the team four days of long sweaty running from sun up to sun down with no access to showers or any other way to get clean. It wasn't Sakura's first time going without an evening shower to freshen up after a long day of work. That joyful experience happened back in the Academy with a weeklong outdoor survival training exercise. Of course, that had been worse for Sakura since she had needed to spend time with over 100 other students who were covered in sweat and grim.

There were ways to help deal with getting dirty out in the field. Deodorizers and a quick wipe down of the limbs with a damp washrag helped keep things manageable for the trip. If there had been any on the route and if the time allowed it the team could have visited a bathhouse. Or, and this was a possibility that Sakura was hoping to hold off on as long as possible, the team could have used a river or lake to bathe in. The idea of bathing in water that had only kami knows what in it did not match Sakura's idea of getting clean.

Finally satisfied with how clean she was, Sakura turned off the hot water and exited the shower filling the small bathroom with steam. The young kunoichi quickly dried off and then wrapped a towel around herself to preserve her modesty. She grabbed her dirty clothes after her towel was secured. Sakura then exited the bathroom, took a few steps down the hall, and entered her cramp assigned room. She closed the door and changed into her only remaining set of fresh clothes. The dirty clothes Sakura had been wearing before were added to the pile of laundry from her travel pack.

Now dressed for success, Sakura exited her temporary room and called out, "Hey Fuka! I'm going to get my laundry started now."

Fuka shouted back, "Hold it right there missy!" Sakura blinked her eyes several times in surprise and confusion at Fuka's response. This gave the jonin the time to walk over to where Sakura was standing. Fuka put her hands on her hips and said with a cross look on her face, "Your laundry is going last in the rotation Sakura."

A puzzled look appeared on Sakura's face. "Why sensei? I can understand if you want to claim first use of the washer, but why am I going to do my laundry last? Kiba and Naruto are out at the Commissary picking up groceries. They're not going to be back for a while so wouldn't it delay things if I wait for them to do their laundry first?"

With annoyance in her tone, Fuka quickly answered her confused pupil. "Laundry is going to be delayed because you used up all of the hot water in the tank Sakura! Remember, this isn't your home in Konoha. This is guest house for relatively low priority guests at a regular military base. Luxuries like large amounts of hot water come at a premium here. Thanks to that shower of yours the hot water tank will likely take an hour to refill."

The pinkette's cheeks gained a rosy hue as Fuka verbally laid into her. Sakura lowered her head to look at her feet and put her hands together behind her back. "Sorry about this Sensei. I swear that I won't do this again."

Fuka gave Sakura a hard look for a few seconds and then said, "Apology accepted Sakura. It was an honest mistake. I know that you rarely repeat mistakes after they've been pointed out to you and your punishment has already been declared so there is not much more that needs to be said to you about this. However, I do have a bit of advice for you Sakura. Next time you should either take shorter showers or you should grab one of the boys to shower with you in order to conserve water."

As Fuka expected, Sakura's face snapped up into view now red as a tomato. "What?" Sakura let out a half shriek half yell of surprise. "How can you suggest such a thing sensei?"

There was a mischievous and slightly bittersweet look in Fuka's eyes as she watched her student dance to the tunes she was calling out for Sakura to play. The girl still had so much to learn about being a woman in general and more particularly about being a kunoichi. Fuka sent up a silent plea to the kami to give Sakura the time needed to grow into everything at her own pace instead of forcing the lessons on her too soon. This was one of Fuka's common pleas that she sent up in regards to her students. She had been planning on broaching this subject once the mission was over, but now was a good enough time.

Sakura was about to go into a rant when the older kunoichi put to fingers to her student's lips. Fuka waited a moment and then removed her fingers from Sakura's mouth. Those fingers were then used to loosen Fuka's belt slightly. She then brought the hand up to the front of her blouse and pulled on it to reveal her right breast to Sakura. The genin could see that her sensei had a built in bra cup sown into her blouse and that the woman's breast was fully exposed.

The jonin brought her other hand up and pointed to her breast. She then said in a lecturing tone. "This is one of the weapons that nature has given to us as kunoichis. There aren't too many men who can avoid being distracted by a sexy woman's body. However, in order to use it a kunoichi must become confident in their looks and either learn to ignore their shame or get rid of it entirely."

Fuka paused her lectured for a moment to close up her blouse and then she continued to explain things to Sakura. "Wanting to protect your modesty is a virtue for most women. However, to kunoichi this virtue becomes a potentially deadly vice. If your clothes get damaged in combat, which they likely will, you cannot stop fighting to cover up. Let's say you are barely able to doge a shuriken from an enemy on the side, but it cuts your shirt like this." Fuka paused to run a finger over the top of her blouse near her breasts.

She then continued knowing she had Sakura's attention. "Think for a moment what a cut like that is going to do to your outfit Sakura. Part of your bra will almost certainly be exposed. Depending on the style of outfit you wear you might have your entire bra exposed or even have your girls freely swinging. What are you going to do in combat in this circumstance? Even if you use just one arm to hold up your shirt you've lost the ability use the vast majority of ninjutsu, most genjutsu, and most taijutsu styles will be hampered. A simple distraction weapon would just cripple you in a fight mean you will be beaten and killed if you're lucky."

A chill filled the room with the two kunoichis as the full implications of what Fuka told Sakura hit the younger ninja. The two of them had talked about the unique problems that kunoichi faced if captured by the enemy before. However, it hadn't really hit Sakura just how easily she could be defeated and subjected to that kind of treatment. Sakura might not be the best fighter in her graduation cohort. But, she was competent for her age and experience.

Sakura looked Fuka in the eyes allowing the older woman to see the hint of fear in her eyes. She then nervously said, "How do I avoid that?"

The jonin put a comforting hand on the young teen's shoulder and replied, "As I said, you must become confident in your looks and learn to deal with your sense of shame. I know that it sounds like something easier said than done to you. However, I'm here to help you through the process and insure that you thrive as a kunoichi."

"First, let's talk about your looks Sakura. You're a very cute girl and you show all the signs that you'll be an attractive if not beautiful young woman in the future. It may not always seem like that you since you're growing and comparing your looks to older women like myself. Don't try to deny it because I was there when I was your age. There is a fact that you can use to give yourself confidence in your looks. No kunoichi that took her training seriously has ever been ugly outside of massive battle scars. There have been some plain kunoichi, but the training we undergo insures that our bodies stay in shape and almost all men find that sexy."

Sakura thought about that fact and nodded her head in agreement. None of the kunoichis she saw around the village were ugly. She then asked, "What's next sensei?"

Fuka smiled and answered, "What's next as you put it is learning to get rid of or to ignore your sense of shame. Despite my teasing earlier, jumping to the shower with one of your teammates isn't something to do at your age or level of training. Kunoichi train to handle their shame through a series of stages. The first stage of the training will involve you sparing in a bikini usually with another young kunoichi. I'm thinking of trying to rope your friend Ino in for this to help you. After you're comfortable with fighting both men and women in a skimpy swimsuit the next step to spar topless. This is typically done with another kunoichi or with one's boyfriend. A variant of this stage is for the kunoichi to work for a few weeks as a dancer in a strip club. However, that is usually favored by the kunoichis who are going into seduction/infiltration careers since the clubs give them extra skills useful for their careers. Finally, the training is considered complete when the kunoichi can spar while fully nude."

There was a slight look of disbelief in Sakura's eyes when Fuka told her this. Fuka smiled and said, "I might not want to fight buck naked, but if I can then I don't have to worry about wardrobe malfunctions hindering my combat abilities. Now, why don't you take a minute or two so you can relax? The boys should be back soon and I doubt you want them to asking you why your face is so red."


Author's note: Happy Memorial Day everyone. Sorry this chapter took so long to come out, but other hobbies had calls on my time. Yes, Private Rock is Lee that we all know and love from canon Team Guy. Love the guy as a character; however, I could never understand how he could be in the Shinobi Forces. In the real world, people with disabilities that prevent them from fulfilling their expected duties cannot serve in the military. How could Lee with his inability to use charka which is a basic necessity to be a ninja in Naruto be allowed to stay on the force? More to the point, how could he even become a ninja since he wouldn't be able to pass the initial canon test that gave Naruto so many problems.