Living Puppet
by Lord Dragon Claw
Disclaimer: A toilet attached to a wall is not art.
Chapter Two: Teams
"Hey!" called out Kiba. "What are you doing here, Naruto? Only the students who passed were supposed to arrive today!"
"I had a talk with Iruka-sensei," began Naruto. "He allowed me to do an extra-credit assignment which brought me up to passing."
"What?"
"Essentially, I was allowed to learn a different version of the bunshin instead."
He proceeded to show them a Mizubunshin. He left out the fact that he had gone and learned the Kagebunshin from the scroll before returning it to the Hokage.
"So, how did you learn the water clone?" asked Chouji.
"You'd be amazed by what you'd learn from a scroll you got off of a Kiri nukenin. But that is one of the few jutsu I was able to learn from it."
Sasuke was a little jealous of Naruto knowing a jutsu that he didn't.
"Although the Mizubunshin is solid, it has one-eighth of the strength of its maker, it has a limited range on how far away it can be from its maker, there is a limit on the number of water clones the maker can control, and the Mizubunshin are limited to physical attacks and water jutsu. But, you don't need much strength to chop things to pieces."
His clone pulled out two katanas from its sleeves.
"The blades on those cloned swords are just as sharp as the real thing," stated the blonde puppet.
"NARUTO! Stop showing off!" commanded Iruka.
"Hai," replied the tsukumogami as he dispelled the Mizubunshin.
"Alright, I've got your team assignments right here. Team 1..."
Naruto didn't pay much attention, but he started listening in as some of the stronger students' names were being called.
"Team 7: Jounin instructor is Hatake Kakashi. Team is comprised of Yamanaka Ino, Inuzuka Kiba, and Uchiha Sasuke."
A cheer from a blonde fangirl occurred while a wail from a pinkette could be heard.
"Team 8: Jounin instructor is Yuhi Kurenai. Team is comprised of Nara Shikamaru, Hyuga Hinata, and Uzumaki Naruto. Team 9..."
Naruto took a cursory glance at his two teammates. Seems I got the lazy boy and the shy girl. It may be a little difficult to motivate them. Hmm...
"Team 10: Jounin instructor is Sarutobi Asuma. Team is comprised of Haruno Sakura, Akimichi Chouji, and Aburame Shino. And finally, Team 11..."
Earlier that day...
"Due to Naruto showing that he had learned the Mizubunshin to me, I think that the teams need to be reorganized a bit."
"Oh?" inquired the Hokage. "Then why didn't he just use that instead of the regular Bunshin when you tested him?"
"He said he didn't trust Mizuki."
"Well, he's got good instincts. The ANBU arrested Mizuki last night and Morino-san has managed to get a confession out of him. Seems he was planning on stealing the Forbidden Scroll. So, what do you think the teams should be?"
"Well, Kakashi-san has requested to teach the Uchiha, if he passes the bell test, so Sasuke will be with him. To round off the abilities, Inuzuka Kiba for his tracking and detection skills and taijutsu, and Yamanaka Ino for her interrogation and infiltration skills."
"So, no specialization teams this year?"
"Pretty much. Your son, Asuma-san, will get Akimichi Chouji for his taijutsu and defensive jutsu, Aburame Shino for his detection and tactical skills, and Haruno Sakura for her slight genjutsu skills and offensive potential."
"Offensive potential?"
"Well, assuming that Asuma-san will expand her chakra reserves, she could become quite powerful due to her almost perfect control."
"I'll offer this suggestion to my son though: he should take her to the hospital to learn from medical ninja."
"Actually, that's a really good idea. I think that Yuhi Kurenai-san should train Hyuga Hinata, to get her confidence up. Since Hinata specializes in taijutsu, I think we should include Nara Shikamaru for his ability to capture opponents to allow Hinata to attack, as well as Uzumaki Naruto for his long-range jutsu and puppetry."
"So, instead of having three specialized teams out of the eleven that passed the initial test, you want three diversified teams that can handle whatever situation?"
"Well, yes. Also, I tried to get their personalities to be rounded-off."
"You do realize that Ino is a fangirl for Sasuke, don't you?"
"So was Sakura, who was your choice to put on that team. Ino, however, is not as easily distracted and therefore will not slack off in her training due to Sasuke being on the same team as her."
"Touché."
When Kurenai came to pick them up, she took them to a café to get to know them better. But she was perturbed by the fact that the prices of the coffee and everything else had skyrocketed since that morning.
"I can't believe these prices! I wonder what happened..."
"Sensei, it is because the owner of this establishment hates me. We'll forgo the drinks for now, unless you know how to fix the problem..."
Kurenai smirked. She went and talked to the manager and demanded that the prices be brought back down, or else she'd invite Might Guy's team over for a round of sake. Since the manager had heard what had happened when Rock Lee had a mere sip of sake, he hastily agreed to lower the prices. He even gave her a large discount!
The beautiful Jounin returned to the table, and Naruto noticed she was grinning.
"So, what happened?" he asked.
"Oh I threatened to invite Team Guy over for some sake."
"B-but sensei... I h-heard from N-Neji-niisan that L-Lee-san isn't a-allowed to have s-sake anymore."
"Precisely why the owner agreed so fast."
"Hey, Shikamaru, wake up!" said the blonde.
"Troublesome blonde. What is it?" muttered the lazy boy as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"Sensei wants you to drink this."
Still not fully awake, Shikamaru downed the whole cup before he realized what it was.
"DAMNIT NARUTO!"
The puppet laughed. "But Shikamaru, you fall for that trick every time! You still haven't learned that when I offer you something to drink, it is always coffee!"
"Still troublesome. Now I can't fall asleep for a few hours!"
"Which is why your grades have significantly improved since we met... anyway, how about a game of shogi?"
"Alright, troublesome blonde."
Kurenai cleared her throat.
"Heh, sorry sensei," apologized Naruto.
"Sorry," muttered the Nara boy.
"Anyway, I do believe we need to do introductions. My name is Yuhi Kurenai. I specialize in genjutsu. I like flowers, soap operas, and coffee. I hate pig-headed bigots and kunoichi who don't take their jobs seriously. My dream is to have my genjutsu surpass even the legendary Uchiha. Hinata, I'd like you to go next."
While Kurenai was talking, Naruto and Shikamaru had pulled a gameboard and pieces from somewhere and began to play. They were obviously still listening though.
"Um... I'm Hyuga Hinata, and... um... m-my specialty is my cl-clan jutsu, the Byakugan a-and the J-Juuken... um... I like math a-and reading... I d-dislike h-how my f-father b-berates me for ev-everything... um... and I h-hate how the Br-Branch Line are sl-slaves to the M-Main Line in t-the Hyuga Clan... and... um... my d-dream is t-to be as g-good a ku-kunoichi as t-the Legendary Tsu-Tsunade and t-to g-gain the attentions of... um... a certain person..." She said this last part while glancing at Naruto.
Well, she certainly has confidence issues like I had heard, mused Kurenai. I wonder how I can help her with her dreams and her self-esteem?
"Hinata, that was wonderful! Nara boy, you're next."
"Troublesome. My name is Nara Shikamaru. I specialize in strategy and my clan jutsu, involving my shadow. I like shogi, sleeping, and cloud watching. I dislike loud people, coffee, and troublesome things. And Naruto's in check."
"So I am," replied the blonde. He moved a piece. "Your move."
"My dream is to become an average ninja, marry a girl who is neither beautiful nor ugly, retire and have two children: a girl first and then a boy. Then I want to spend the rest of my days playing shogi or cloud watching. And Naruto's in checkmate."
"Damn!"
"Well, that was an interesting dream. It seems you have your life pretty well-planned-out, huh?"
"Yeah."
"Naruto, you're next."
"Very well. My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I specialize in puppetry and water jutsu, despite my wind affinity. I like art, pranks, and puzzles."
Seems like I may have an apprentice for genjutsu, mused Kurenai before Naruto continued.
"I dislike people who hate me due to my status, people who would use me for political gain, and snakes. No, I am not afraid of them, I just don't like them. My dream is to become one of the greatest artists of our time, specializing in sculptures or puppets."
I definitely have an apprentice for my genjutsu. I wonder if he really isn't afraid of the snakes like he says. I'll have to test him on that during the bell test. And the Hokage did mention that Naruto knew he was a Jinchuuriki.
"Another wonderful dream."
Good. She didn't question my motives, though I didn't really lie either - I just gave her only a part of the truth. The plan is coming together - soon she'll be teaching me very powerful genjutsu! Itachi-san could only teach me so much.
"We'll meet tomorrow morning at Training Field 12 for a survival test. Until then..."
Kurenai used the shunshin (body flicker) to disappear from view.
"Survival, huh?" wondered Naruto aloud. "Shikamaru, if it were to come to a combat situation, how should we go about it?"
Better let him plan this battle, Naruto inwardly mused. If I were to do it, I might not be able to hold back.
After Shikamaru was done planning, Naruto asked Hinata if he could speak with her alone. She blushed, but agreed. He took her to an alley (after ditching his ANBU shadows) and told her to activate her Byakugan. She blushed again and nearly fainted, but Naruto insisted, so she activated it. What she saw shocked her.
"W-what happened!"
"I've been in a lot of fights. On two different occasions, my two original arms got cut off. I didn't know any medical jutsu, so I made these larger arms. Then, I figured out how to attach my original arms as well and control them through puppetry. Now I can use all four, but since it looks a little freaky, I keep the two smaller ones hidden."
"B-but what a-about y-y-your..."
"What?" Naruto looked down, wondering what she was talking about. Then he realized what it was. "Oh that. Yeah. I lost my legs at the waist early on. I replaced them with a new set, but then those got cut off at the knee, so I created these feet."
Hinata sighed. So that's why he was missing that particular organ.
"Hinata-san, I wanted to show this to you so that you'd know. I don't want Kurenai-sensei to know because then she would pity me. I don't want pity. And if word of this gets out, I'd be mocked at every turn and the villagers would think of me as even more of a monster than they already view me as. So please, don't tell anyone. Not even the Hokage. Not even your family. No one."
Hinata blushed a little due to the amount of trust Naruto was apparently putting in her, so she agreed.
Act like I trust her and she's willing to do whatever I ask? Wow, she must really be attention-starved to be this easily manipulated! I feel dirty; manipulating her is like kicking a puppy or something.
The next day, Kurenai found her three students waiting, Naruto and Shikamaru engaged in a game of shogi. As she walked up to them, she heard something that surprised her, if only mildly.
"Checkmate," stated the blonde.
"Troublesome," replied the lazy boy.
"Okay team, listen up!" began the red-eyed kunoichi, causing the three genin to look at her. "In the Hokage tower, there are two bells, similar to this one -" She held up a simple silver bell. "- and you must retrieve them by noon. The Hokage and his staff are aware of this, and they will try to stop you. Whoever returns to this training field without a bell will be sent back to the Academy. Any questions?"
"No."
"N-no."
"Troublesome."
"Begin!"
And the three genin ran for the tower.
Not one of them asked why there were only two bells... maybe they figured it out? If so, I'm impressed. I wonder how they are going to pull this off though...
"'Combat situation'?"
"Meh. I predicted it wrong. Despite not mentioning it yesterday, I also specialize in stealing stuff. I can do that while providing a sufficient distraction with my puppets. Hinata, all you need to do is locate the bells. Shikamaru, what do you think of this plan?"
"Well, considering that you left me with the option to either help you steal the bells or help you create a distraction, I like it so far. I believe I will help with the distraction. Do you have a puppet appropriate for the situation?"
"Yes. Hachi, my spider-shaped puppet. Other than the blades that adorn the feet, the puppet is primarily a capture or retrieval mechanism. That should be useful."
"W-wait! You c-can con-control your p-puppets through walls?"
"Sure. It is simple enough, though moderately more difficult than doing it normally so. Also, I have written seals on the backs of the eyes - I can see what the puppet sees. It was confusing at first, but I've learned how to deal with it."
"Troublesome. Naruto, I've decided to pretend that I've fallen off the deep end, for added effect."
"Better than what I had planned."
"... what did you have planned?"
"Something involving a pink tutu, but I was hesitant to mention it until too late. But I think your plan would work better."
"..." Shikamaru was annoyed.
"..." Hinata was blushing.
They both were sweatdropping.
Kurenai arrived at the tower before them and went into hiding in order to watch. Naruto detected her almost immediately.
Hinata located the two bells, though she didn't seem to detect their sensei. One bell was in the Hokage's office and the other was three floors below it, in the women's restroom.
Naruto unsealed Hachi, allowing Shikamaru to get up on the spider puppet's back. Naruto then sent it to attack random people while Hinata observed from hiding, to allow her to detect any problems and deal with them. Naruto sprinted straight up the side of the building, not bothering to use his chakra and opting instead to grip the brick with his feet. Still, he managed to minimize the scratches to hairline imperfections, showing an above-average level of stealth.
Kurenai was impressed. She wouldn't be so impressed had she known what Naruto did to incapacitate the Hokage, but Hinata blushed furiously.
"Oiroke no jutsu!" (sexy no jutsu)
"Wha-?"
"Hiruzen-kuuuuuuun!"
Poor perverted old man didn't stand a chance.
Naruto removed the bell from his desk and left the room, henge'd as one of the ANBU in the room who had consequently lost consciousness at the same time as the Hokage. When he came to the women's restroom where the other bell was, he released one of his smaller puppets - an unnamed one in the shape of a scorpion with another one of those special eyes on it - into the restroom. He quickly controlled his puppet to take the bell back to him and pocketed it.
Outside, Chuunin, Jounin, and even ANBU were having trouble stopping the rampaging spider puppet with an apparently mad genin riding it. Whenever they got close to disabling one, the other would capture them allowing the first to knock them out.
Meanwhile, Shikamaru was singing the song "I'm a Little Teapot" - he did lose a bet earlier that morning, after all - over and over again. Suddenly, another ANBU finally managed to land on the spider's back and hit Shikamaru on the back of the neck, evidently knocking him out. The spider fell down immediately after Shikamaru was out cold.
"Thank you, Boar," replied an ANBU with a cat mask on. "But you had the duty of guarding the Hokage. Why leave your post?"
"Orders," responded the ANBU. "I am also to take this genin to his sensei - she probably put him under a genjutsu as punishment for some offense or other."
The other ninja nodded their heads in understanding.
Boar then hefted Shikamaru over his shoulder and picked up the spider puppet, though it appeared to be straining his muscles. He then disappeared.
Kurenai wondered when Naruto learned the Shunshin, but then she noticed that Hinata had also left the area. She quickly returned to Training Field 12 only to find them waiting for her.
Naruto was lazing about on top of his spider puppet while Shikamaru attempted to teach Hinata how to play shogi. As one, the genin turned to face their sensei, the Nara and Hyuga children proudly displaying the bells tied around their necks.
"It seems you three figured out the purpose of this test. When did you figure it out?"
"When you told us that there were only two bells," responded Naruto.
"We figured you were trying to divide us," continued Shikamaru.
"B-but teamwork w-was needed to g-get the bells," explained Hinata.
"So we figured we needed to do whatever possible to get them, regardless of who got sent back, if you planned on doing so anyway," finished Naruto.
"So, you volunteered to be held back if necessary?"
"Sure," retorted Naruto. "I can deal with another year of boredom."
"Well, the truth of the matter is that none of you are going back to the Academy. You all passed! You can have the rest of today off, but tomorrow we will be working on team dynamics and training."
Shikamaru simply leaned back and began to watch the clouds. Naruto started checking his puppet for damage as well as making a list on what needed to be replenished. Hinata was unsure what to do until Shikamaru remembered what he was doing before their sensei arrived. He sat back up and resumed teaching her how to play shogi.
Kurenai still had some work to do, such as report to the Hokage on how her team did.
Surprisingly, Kakashi was on time to the meeting. Out of the eleven teams to pass the Academy exams, only three managed to pass their bell tests.
Asuma began reporting first.
"I had them take the combat version of the bell test. They passed, though barely. Their tactics only worked because Chouji defended Sakura from me while Shino took both of the bells and gave them to each of his teammates. No one was tied to the log. Need I mention that they passed?"
Kakashi then gave his report.
"They took the combat version as well. Sasuke was rather arrogant and tried to take the bells by himself. Ino and Kiba at least tried to work together to get a bell, but failed. I ended up attaching Sasuke to the log while threatening to fail them if anyone fed him. Immediately after I appeared to have left though, Kiba started shoveling food into the Uchiha's mouth. It was rather amusing. Ino shared her meal with Akamaru, Kiba's battle partner. They passed."
Kurenai grinned.
"Infiltration version. I've got three geniuses, even though Hinata has a lack of confidence. I'm unsure of all of the details, but Naruto and Shikamaru created a distraction just after Hinata located the two bells in the Hokage tower with her bloodline. Then, Naruto entered the building while Shikamaru pretended to be insane and stood atop Naruto's spider puppet. After about ten minutes, what appeared to be an ANBU came out of the building and pretended to knock Shikamaru out. Obviously, it was Naruto. He picked up the seemingly unconscious boy and his puppet and shunshined back to the meeting point; I had no idea Naruto knew a move reserved for Chuunin. Hinata had already made her way back or Naruto picked her up as well. Regardless, they were waiting for me back at the meeting point. Though I must ask, how did Naruto get past you, Hokage-sama?"
"Er... the details are rather unimportant."
"He appealed to your inner pervert, didn't he?" guessed Asuma. It was his father they were talking about, after all.
The Hokage blinked, and then his face went red from embarrassment.
Most of the females in the room glared at the dirty old man who was their leader.
End Chapter Two.
Next Chapter: Missions, bridges, and hard liquor.
Author's Notes
Well, this was a fun plotbunny, but I really screwed it up. Still, it is a good idea that I'd like to see explored, but I don't have the time to do so. If someone wants to pick it up, they should PM me for the details and for permission.